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THURSDAY
1895 - 2015
DECEMBER 3, 2015 Vol. 120, $ 05 Issue 189
1
INCLUDING G.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Riverfront Centre size shrunk to fit budget
Chiropractic is proven to be safe & effective.
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THE COLOUR OF CHRISTMAS
SHERI REGNIER Trail Times
The new Riverfront Centre is going to be a little bit smaller after costs came in $3.7 million over budget. Based on a concept plan and budget developed in early 2014, the city took the matter of borrowing for a new library/museum to referendum last year. Overwhelmingly support was received during the November civic election, allowing Trail to take out a $6.3 million loan to construct the new facility. What a difference a year makes because the city’s current estimate nears $10 million. So to cut costs, and bring the project back into the realm of possibility, the city’s building committee opted to reduce the facility’s size by 2,000-square feet. “What exactly is going to be lost is very difficult to say at this point,” clarified Trail Mayor Mike Martin. “I know there is going to be a redesign of some stair access and things like that, but it’s too early to say more,” he added. “But the one commitment that we provided, and is understood through all of this, is it will not impact the services and the facility will be an exciting new feature for downtown Trail.” The project’s total expense now stands at $7.7 million. That’s after reducing the building’s footprint to 15,000-square feet, taking into account the net loan of $6.2 million, and factoring in $500,000 from Columbia Basin Trust. What’s left is a $974,000 overage that Martin maintains that will not further impact Trail taxpayers. Instead, council is tasked with managing the city’s capital works program to ensure the capital budget doesn’t blow up to accommodate the additional construction costs. That commitment will most likely take two or three years of planning and result in other capital projects being delayed. “Generally the capital budget runs a little over $2 million (annually),” explained Martin. “So one of the things discussed Monday afternoon was that during our 2016 capital budget deliberations, we will look at how we incorporate the $900,000 movCONTINUED ON PAGE 2
frost y’s
liquor store Located in the award winning
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Sheri Regnier photo
Bright red poinsettias provide a colourful background at Ferraro Foods, and the plant is a popular purchase for shoppers in the downtown Trail store. But it’s likely most don’t know what makes poinsettias turn red, or it is actually the plant’s leaves that provide color through a process called photoperiodism. This process, in response to certain amounts of light or lack thereof, turns the leaves from green to red (or pink, white, and other shade variations). What most people mistake as flowers are, in fact specialized leaves, or bracts. The small yellow flowers are found in the center of the leaf branches. (pictured: Emilie Clarke, Ferraro Foods florist)
Christmas spirit lights up Greater Trail communities Jingle Down Main, Rekindle the Spirit of Christmas, Silver City Nite kick off holiday fun VAL ROSSI Trail Times
Old St. Nick will be making his rounds this weekend with Trail, Rossland and Fruitvale on his radar. His first stop will be in Fruitvale Friday night for the village’s Jingle Down Main
event, where the community spirit is expected to be full to the brim. “Everybody is in an upbeat, Christmassy spirit,” said village Coun. Bert Kniss, who’s overseeing the event that runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Main Street will be closed
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to traffic to make way for latenight shopping, horse-drawn wagon rides, face painting, food galore, weather-dependant toboggan runs, and performances by the Harmaniaks and Kootenay Jack. Of course, the event wouldn’t be the same without Santa Claus, who will be onto the village’s pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to 11
a.m. Saturday morning at the Fruitvale Memorial Centre. Fruitvale firefighters will be cooking, and the Beaver Valley Nitehawks will be serving breakfast with all proceeds donated to the Fruitvale Community Chest to help with food hampers in the valley. Jingle Express will also be running Saturday with schedCONTINUED ON PAGE 7
KOOTENAYS Sawmill Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
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Contact the Times:
Phone: 250-368-8551 FineLine Technologies JN866-897-0678 62937 Index 9 Fax: 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242
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