THURSDAY
S I N C E
MAY 9, 2013
1 8 9 5
The Fishing Report
Vol. 118, Issue 73
105
$
Page 11
INCLUDING G.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
You gotta pay to play
SPRUCING UP THE SPIDER
Silver City Days can take a hefty bite out of a family’s wallet BY ART HARRISON Times Staff
Every parent knows that taking the family for a day at the fair can leave you feeling like your wallet is considerably lighter than when you left the house in the morning. But how much does it really cost? Of course, the total can vary drastically depending on how hungry you are, how many rides you want to try and how big a prize you want to win. A conservative estimate for a family of four for the day; $40 for lunch, $25 for games, $45 for rides, $20 for snacks and drinks and $40 for dinner for a total of $170. According to the owner and general manager of West Coast Amusements, I.R. (Bingo) Hauser, the pricing for the rides at Silver City Days this year is the same as last year. “We're keeping everything the same this year but we'll have to look at it next year,” said Hauser. “The biggest cost we have is for fuel to bring these things here and it goes up all the time.” Hauser, who has been working in travelling shows in Canada since 1944, began as a lion tamer and moved west in 1947. He says that, as much as they try to keep the prices reasonable, everything costs more now than it once did. “Between the fuel for the trucks, insurance for the show, permits... everything goes up,” Hauser said. “I'm not sure how much longer these travelling shows will be able to keep going.” A leisurely stroll through the Silver City Days food mall and West Coast Amusements midway might give you an idea of how much you may need to withdraw from the bank machine before you take in the show this year. Basing an estimate on a family of four, two adults and two children, provides a starting point. The typical Saturday at the annual festival generally begins with the parade and carries on to lunch after the parade when the sidewalk cafe in the Cominco Arena opens at noon. Prices at the Smoke Eaters’ sidewalk cafe will be the same this year, according to Smoke Eaters president Tom Gawryletz. “We’ll have the usual spaghetti and meatballs with a roll, italian sausages, and pizza, beer and wine for the adults and pop,” Gawryletz said. “And we’ll have a condensed Spud Shack menu as well, with fries, onion rings and hotdogs for the kids.” See FOOD, Page 3
ART HARRISON PHOTO
Mike Dillerop of West Coast Amusements shines up the spider ride ahead of the opening of the midway at Silver City Days in downtown Trail on Wednesday.
Election creates its own employment boom BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
If you listen to the campaign platforms then you have probably heard that a solution to improve the economy is jobs, jobs and jobs. So, it is ironic that the provincial election itself has brought jobs, albeit temporary, to over 37,000 British Columbians, including 500 in the Kootenay West District. Since April 1, the District Electoral Office has been hiring locally, and offering a pay rate that is nothing to scoff at. Compensation for the day is $250. No experience is required but the worker, called an election official, must be at
least 15 years of age, literate in basic English and legally entitled to work in B.C. In order to work at the voting stations, a training session (approximately two hours) must be completed, which will net a pay of $35. The work day is long, and election officials must be prepared to sit or stand for extended periods. “Election workers are asked to arrive at 7:15 a.m. to set up their stations,” said Don Vinish, district electoral officer. “And there they must stay for the duration, until after 8 p.m. and until they balance.” From Trail to Trout Lake, there are 26 polling sites, officially called voting places,
to be manned by the election officials on Tuesday, said Vinish. Each table will have two ballot boxes, and be attended by two people at all times, he explained. Currently there are three places to advance vote, and in Trail, a fair amount of residents have already been in the electoral office on McQuarrie Street in East Trail, to place their votes, Vinish said. Results of those votes will be counted and added to votes on election day and released as an initial count later that night. Vinish said that a final count will take place in the East Trail office from May 27 to 29.
“Those days we count all those absentee ballots and add them to the initial count,” explained Vinish. “If the race is close, the absentee ballots could conceivably change the outcome.” This election, a full enumeration was not done, due to expense. “In the past, a full enumeration was done, which is door-to-door in the whole province,” he said. “That was just way too expensive, so this time, everyone had an opportunity to register on-line or at one of our registration desks. “Instead of going to the people, we had them come to us.”
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