WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
SEPTEMBER 18, 2013
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Vol. 118, Issue 147
105
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INCLUDING G.S.T.
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Vacant building an eyesore for Spokane Street merchants BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
A group of business owners in downtown Trail are passionate about sprucing up their street to reclaim it as a shopping destination. Merchants along Spokane Street such as the Gift Shop, Women’s Journey to Fitness, and Ye Olde Flower Shoppe have spruced up their exteriors with fresh paint, planters full of colourful flowers, clean sidewalks and re-tiled front entrances. However, one very large obstacle stands in the way. A hindrance to improving the street’s image is the untidy appearance of the empty buildings, said business owners Sabine Mann and Maureen Dilling of Women’s Journey to Fitness. In particular, the former Liquidation World, a building that spans half the block and is right across the street from their newly renovated gym. “I can tell you that our members do say the building is a disgrace and really takes away from what we are all trying to do in making our businesses look really good,” said Mann. “I even offered to clean it and pretty it up if that’s what it will take,” she said, adding, “It just needs to be done.”
WHAT’S COOKING?
Unless the building poses a threat to public safety, such as a loose awning, the city cannot take action against the owner. “Responsibility for property maintenance and upkeep falls to the property owner,” confirmed Michelle McIsaac, Trail’s corporate administrator. “While the city encourages all property owners to take an active interest in beautifying and keeping their storefronts tidy, we can’t order them or require them to do so.” McIsaac acknowledged downtown properties making efforts to improve their storefronts, and said, “perhaps that attitude will catch on with others.” Although Mann is waiting for a response from the building owner who is out of the country, she remains hopeful that improvements will soon happen to the building. She suggested the possibility of mirroring Kaslo’s vacant downtown buildings, which have historical town pictures blown up and posted in the windows to create visual appeal. “Another idea is to bring the Trail Market indoors and into this building instead of the Cominco Arena,”said Mann. See STREET, Page 3
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
The kitchen in the Greater Trail Community Centre was open for business Tuesday as students in the food services worker program headed back to culinary class. The cafeteria is open Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Friday 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For information about the September menu options, call 364-5765.
Guest speakers share insight on mental health BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
A group dedicated to improving the health of Kootenay people is pulling back the stigma attached to mental health in a free lecture in Trail Thursday. Bridging the Gap: Healthy Minds, Healthy Communities has invited guest speaker Donna Harker to share her reflections on her personal experience with depression and anxiety while trying to stay productive at work and Dr. Jehannine Austin, a leader in the genetics of psychiatric
disorders. “The idea is by coming together to learn about things relevant to all of our health in a common venue, we hope to learn about the medical side of the issues but also to open a dialogue about the underlining social issues involved in many chronic illnesses,” explained Jaime Frederick, Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice's continuing medical education coordinator. “We feel that many people are not able to get the help that they need due to a complex inter-
“We feel that many people are not able to get the help that they need due to a complex interplay of social barriers ....” JAIME FREDERICK
play of social barriers and various stigmas against mental health and so by putting an event like this together we hope to increase our understanding of mental ill-
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when we do it impacts how we see ourselves, how we interact with others and it affects our ability to contribute to our communities. “We see it as a community issue, something that ideally people will want to learn more about.” This is the second free educational event Bridging the Gap has hosted, the first being a lecture from Winlaw resident Warren MacDonald's Challenge of Change. See LECTURE, Page 2
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ness as a community and for the community as a whole.” The Bridging the Gap committee is working towards broadening the community's perspective on mental health. The group is attempting to educate the public on their perspective, which is a healthy mind is essential to one’s overall mental and social well being. “Mental health isn't something you suffer from, mental health is actually a good thing,” said Fredrick. “We all slip out of healthy states occasionally and
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Contact the Times: Phone: FineLine250-368-8551 Technologies 62937 Index 9 Fax:JN250-368-8550 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242 Canada Post, Contract number 42068012