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Rockies players pile up on goalie Jason Sandhu after their surprise win against Fernie on January 13th. The Rockies rose up from the bottom of the standings to beat the Ghostriders, who are leading the league.
family shares 3 Kootenay adoption story
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LOCAL NEWS
Regional district agrees to facilitate faster internet service DAN WALTON dan@invermerevalleyecho.com It’s normally not as profitable to deliver high speed internet to rural areas, but a federal subsidy program has changed that — and the smaller communities in the valley are likely to benefit. For a private firm interested in expanding online networks, more than 80 per cent of broadband infrastructure project costs will be covered. FlexiNET and Wink Wireless have both shown interest in projects around the valley, affecting areas in and around Edgewater, Spillimacheen, Brisco, and Canal Flats. Of the incentive subsidy, some will be provided regionally. If an application is successful, the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) indicated during its regular meeting on Friday, January 9th a willingness to support 17.5 per cent of the project costs. The federal government provides 50 per cent of the cost, and the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) will cover an additional 17.5 per cent. “The federal government wants everyone to have minimum 5 MB internet service available to as many Canadians as possible,” said Shawn Tomlin, See A4
Rockies win back-to-back DAN WALTON dan@invermerevalleyecho.com The Fernie Ghostriders and Nelson Leafs were both crushed by the Columbia Valley Rockies last week. Both opponents posed a large threat. Nelson has more than twice as many points as the Rockies in the standings, and Fernie is the leading team in the Kootenay Conference of the KIJHL. But despite the imbalance in the standings, Columbia Valley didn’t relent against Fernie during the Ghostriders visit on Tuesday, January 13th. “There were good, timely saves by (goaltender Jason) Sandhu in the first — they came out hard,” said Rockies general manager Ross Bidinger. While the Rockies were outshot 18-10 in the first period, Columbia Valley’s Harrison Davies scored the lone goal midway through.
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Halfway into the second, Davies scored again. Assists went to Sam Young and Damon Raven. But just nine seconds after taking a 2-0 lead, a quick goal by Ghostrider Sam Plaquin cut his team’s deficit in half. Minutes later, Joel Burgess of the Ghostriders, who is among the league’s leading scorers, tied the game at two. The tie carried into the third period, but was quickly broken by Kale Johnston of the Rockies. But less than a minute later, a shorthanded goal by Plaquin evened the score at three. As the third period was reaching its midway point, Columbia Valley’s Dario Piva scored to reclaim his team’s lead for the third time. Fernie was hungry to tie the game again. While the pressure was intensifying as the clock wound down, the Ghostriders exchanged their goalie for an extra attacker. See A2