VE
The Invermere
g th e
ALLEY CHO
JUDO JAMBOREE Judo clubs from around the Kootenays were in Invermere on Saturday, January 10th and Sunday, January 11th for a regional training clinic. Travelling in from Vancouver was four-time Canadian champion Renee Hock who helped sharpen the skills of those in training.
C
6
4th 1 y r a u n Ja 2015 Vo l .
A look at Edgewater’s blessed building
9
PHOTO BY DAN WALTON
BERNIE RAVEN CHRIS RAVEN 1-866-598-7415 TEAMRAVEN.CA Offices in Panorama, Invermere & Fairmont
fitness fever 16 Kirks’ keeps spreading
1
$
05 INCLUDES GST
Maxwell Realty Invermere
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NO. 7856
Deer relocation concerns outlined by province STEVE HUBRECHT steve@invermerevalleyecho.com The provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) has clarified some of the concerns it has about relocation or urban deer. The Valley Echo had contacted the ministry for comment for an urban deer relocation story that was the lead news story in the December 17th issue. The ministry responded after press time that nobody was available for an interview, but a spokesperson was recently able to provide some insight on FLNRO’s position on relocation. “The literature and provincial biologists provided concerns with this option (relocating urban deer), including high deer injury and death associated with capture, transport and after release, un-
familiarity and competition with other deer in the release areas and the potential for disease transmission,” said FLNRO communications manager Sharon Dean. The proposal for an urban deer relocation pilot project is still in preliminary stages, but ministry biologists and local government representatives from the Kootenay region have invited a contractor to develop a work plan that might be used for a future trial project, according to Dean. “As deer are well established throughout their historic range in B.C., translocations are expected to have no significant ecological benefits. As transplanted animals often make unusual dispersive movements, the relocation of urban deer to new areas risks relocating the problem to new areas,” Dean said. See A4
LOCAL NEWS Incinerator shutdown causes foul odour in the valley STEVE HUBRECHT steve@invermerevalleyecho.com An overheated incinerator at Tembec’s Skookumchuck pulp mill resulted in an unpleasant odour pervading the Upper Columbia Valley late last week. An incinerator at the mill that burns non-condensable gases shut down automatically — as it’s supposed to — when the temperature of the gases it burns crept above 300 F (148 C), resulting in the venting of the gases (a standard safety measure) for 11 minutes on the night of Thursday, January 8th before the incinerator was restarted. A wind blowing from the southeast at the time meant the gases left a lingering smell in Canal Flats, Invermere, Panorama and other parts of the valley on the morning of Friday, January 9th. “We do apologize for the odour; it’s really difficult to avoid at times,” said Tembec acting technical manager Roger Puar. The high temperature triggered an alarm that shut down the incinerator at 10:12 p.m. on Thursday night. The machine was relit and running again by 10:23 p.m. An incident such as this is considered fairly minor although, as a matter of course, Tembec will be investigating it thoroughly, said Puar, See A2
Pynelogs Art Gallery
Artist Call-Out What does ART mean to you?
Guidelines & Application on-line
www.columbiavalleyarts.com
Follow Artist Resources page
Visit columbiavalleyarts.com for our current events calendar, or call 250-342-4423.