Trail Daily Times, October 13, 2015

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1895 - 2015

AVAILABLE OCTOBER 13, 2015 Vol. 120, $ 05 Issue 159

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INCLUDING G.S.T.

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

Illegal dumpers may soon face fines BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff

People who dump their junk may soon be subject to more than a slap on the wrist. Trail council and city staff are reviewing the ticketing bylaw to include a fine for illegal dumping because currently, offenders only receive a warning letter by mail. City cameras have captured a number of vehicles driving up to the Sunningdale water tower area with full loads then coming back down empty. Licence plates have been pulled, vehicle owners identified and “cease and desist” letters sent – but that's all that can be legally done at this point. Ongoing clean up costs fall solely to Trail taxpayers every time the city picks up messes, most often found in Sunningdale's upper bench, around Violin Lake and near airport lands in Waneta. “What I have been researching is making a change to our Municipal Ticketing Bylaw to include a fine for illegal dumping,” confirms Michelle McIsaac, the city's corporate administrator. “In this way, rather than receiving a warning letter, those observed dumping illegally will receive a ticket.” Provided the fine is under $1,000, the city's bylaw enforcement officer can issue the notice after the fact. Before fines are implemented, however, any bylaw changes require council consideration, three readings and final adoption. The proposed bylaw amendment is tentatively slated for the Oct. 26 regular council meeting, added McIsaac. Those changes can't come soon enough for the city's public works department. “This illegal dumping costs the taxpayers' dollars because of the additional work we need to do,” says Larry Abenante, manager of Trail's public works. “There's signage telling people not to dump and signage telling them there are cameras,” he

explained. “I don't know what else we can do.” The problem persists, which is worst in the area north of Sunningdale, Abenante pointed out. “Yes, there are people dumping one time,” he said. “But other people are caught on video going up there umpteenth times, and they are from all over like Rossland Avenue, Sunningdale, Glenmerry, and Warfield.” He also challenges the fallacy that illegal dumpers don't have money for landfill fees or lack awareness about the environmental harm of their actions. Photos Abenante shared with the Trail Times show mostly newer model trucks with attached trailers, fully loaded with waste. There's a shot of a young woman stylishly dressed driving a shiny white SUV-type vehicle. She stops in the middle of a grassy field, opens the hatchback and unloads boxes and garbage bags before hopping back in and driving away, all while an older woman sat in the front seat. Abenante recalled that particular dump revealed a lot of dog feces, and garbage bags filled with household waste. “These are people who can afford to go to the landfill,” he concluded. So, the message is the city knows who you are, is planning on handing out a hefty fine, and officials have no plans of scaling back surveillance. Trail council recently updated its video surveillance policies as the system continues to grow in size and scope. Amendments include the additional locations of CCTV cameras within the city and at City of Trail worksites. Notably, existing access rights to the recorded images are unchanged. That means a private citizen still has to contact the RCMP with a complaint and request a file be opened before the possibility of pulling video images.

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BRISK BUSINESS AT ADVANCE POLLING

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There was a steady stream of citizens exercising their democratic right over the weekend as advance polling for the upcoming federal election took place at the Trail Memorial Centre as well as other locations throughout the region. Election day is on Oct. 19. See story on Page 2.

Fruitvale man dies in boating accident

BY TIMES STAFF A 30-year-old Fruitvale man has died after a boat struck a rock on Kootenay Lake on Sunday evening. At approximately 9 p.m. Kaslo and Creston RCMP, along with emergency services, responded to a report that a boat had struck a rock while traveling on Kootenay Lake near Riondel.

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Four people were on the boat at the time of the collision with the other three transported to a local area hospital. No names have been released. The matter is still under investigations to determine the cause of the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Creston RCMP at (250)428-9313 or Crime Stoppers.

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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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