Trail Daily Times, July 14, 2015

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TUESDAY JULY 14, 2015

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Vol. 120, Issue 108

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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO

KAST gets big funds from feds

HAVING A SPLASH

Government invests almost $750,000 to help boost mining and metals industry BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff

JIM BAILEY PHOTO

Billed as the Kootenays’ largest Slip ‘n Slide event, over 200 people gathered at Centennial Park in Glenmerry for an afternoon of fun. A 3,000 square foot sheet of plastic and some baby shampoo was used to propel participants down the slippery slope. See photos on Page 2.

Eight new fires reported since Saturday Small China Creek fire remains active BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff

Eight new fires reported since Saturday means in just one week, the South East Fire Centre has responded to 44 wildfires. That's more fires reported in seven days than the entire 2014 fire season to the same date, says Fanny

Bernard, fire information officer. “So it's a big fire load,” she explained from the centre's Castlegar office Monday morning. “We've had good success with initial attack crews working really hard in catching these fires when they are still small.” Clouds and light precipitation over the weekend provided fire crews some relief, she says, but fire danger ratings

remain mostly extreme in the region. “Cooler and higher humidity is helping the suppression efforts,” she said. “It's patchy at best and may only modify the (forest) fuel moisture content momentarily. But that changes pretty quick as soon as temperatures go back to seasonal and we get some sun.” She reminds the public that regardless the amount

of rain, campfires are banned, Category 2 and Category 3 prohibitions have not changed, and a public access restriction remains for the Sitkum Creek area. Since Saturday the Sitkum Creek fire, located four kilometres (km) north of Kootenay Lake, had consumed 450 hectares and after two days of fire suppression was 30 per cent contained. See EVACUATION, Page 3

It was a great day for KAST (Kootenay Association of Science and Technology) Monday when Kootenay Columbia MP David Wilks announced more than $748,000 in federal funding to set up a metallurgical incubator in Trail. The money from the Western Diversification Program will go toward setting up Metallurgical Industrial Development Acceleration and Studies, or MIDAS for short. The sector-targeted applied research and commercialization centre will provide downstream metallurgical expertise, a digital fabrication laboratory and business development support for the region. About 50 people gathered at the old Firebird Technologies location in Glenmerry to hear from guest speakers about the golden opportunity. The centre will assist with the establishment and growth of small and medium sized enterprises by strengthening the direct-to-market deployment of mineral/metal by-products. “Good things happen in small communities and we found as Firebird that we could actually take some products, especially metallurgical by-products from Teck, and make small industry happen,” said Don Freschi, entrepreneur in-residence for KAST and former CEO of Firebird. “That was a success story—we started an incubator in this exact building and we turned that into a multi-million dollar company, which we sold years ago.” He expects the same success for his new company Fenix Advanced Materials, which just started operating in his old stomping grounds. He and a small team will be making highpurity metals through a similar process of Firebird by specializing in the blending of metals that are then grown into crystals. The semi-conducting, metallic crystals are fashioned into optical components for heatreading lenses, navigational aids and other technologies. On behalf of the Honourable Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, Wilks touched on the value of the mining and metals industry as an economic driver, noting that companies within B.C. reported $8.2 billion in revenue last year. See CENTRE, Page 3

C o l u m b i a P o w e r is a place of great potential - a place where our employees shape their community and their future everyday. Visit columbiapower.org to learn why Columbia Power was named one of bC’s Top employers for 2015.

Contact the Times: Phone: FineLine250-368-8551 Technologies 62937 Index 9 Fax:JN866-897-0678 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242 Canada Post, Contract number 42068012


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