THURSDAY
S I N C E
SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
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Vol. 118, Issue 148
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Paws for a Cause in pictures Page 9
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Working group hopes to clear the air
Air quality concerns prompt action BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Residents in Trail have a new watchdog group ready to track down what is up in the air. The city averages six calls each month from people upset about smoke billowing out of the stacks, or about a strange “taste” and odour in the air. In response to those concerns, the Air Quality technical working group was formed at the Trail Health and Environment committee (THEC) meeting last week. “We’ve had quite a few complaints about the stacks, fugitive dust and other conditions this year,” said Mayor Dieter Bogs, THEC chair. “The issues are both health and aesthetic related. This group came about to gain better understanding of air quality issues for the community as a whole.” The working group was formed, instead of a committee, to allow for open discussion on issues that may be sensitive and to allow ad hoc members to join the meetings without constraint. West Trail resident Ron Joseph, chair of the group, said that he became concerned at the apparently worsening smoke conditions from Teck. “The group hopes to aid the process of reducing the overall emissions from the plant in Trail,” he explained. “It is my hope that the group will be able to spur on much needed visual improvements and the air quality.” See GROUP, Page 3
Lead testing clinic expands its reach BY ART HARRISON
ART HARRISON PHOTO
J.L. Crowe Secondary students, (from the left) Maggie Chan, Kara Deane, and Marthe-Lize Helberg working on their chops in the newly founded Jazz Band.
The sound of music returns to Crowe Addition of RSS students help revive school’s music program BY ART HARRISON
Times Staff
The Trail Health and Environment Committee (THEC) is set to hold its annual children’s lead testing clinic next week and is hoping parents from outside its usual testing area will participate in the clinic. The clinic will run at the Kiro Wellness Centre, on Columbia Avenue in East Trail over two separate schedules, Sept. 23, 24, and 25, and again Oct. 1, 2, and 3. The annual fall clinic will be offering blood-lead testing to the usual participants; children living in the program target areas most directly affected by potential See ALL, Page 3
Times Staff
While the halls of J.L. Crowe Secondary may not have been alive with the sounds of music last year, the addition of former Rossland Secondary School students and the band instructor, Jennifer Kolumbus, to the last surviving secondary school in the area is spurring a musical revival of sorts. “We’ve got a bunch that are keen to get a program started,” said Kolumbus. “There are some pretty talented, eager kids in the school, some are pretty young too.” Although RSS students have had an
active music program, at Crowe the band program has struggled to draw students in recent years and didn’t run at all last year. “Historically, band was a course option at the school, jazz or concert band,” said Dave DeRosa, principal of Crowe Secondary. “With any elective student choice plays a role in its success, students weren’t choosing it. We offered it off-timetable but there wasn’t enough interest.” The inclusion of students from RSS into the student body, who have had the opportunity to participate in a successful band program, seems to have been the tipping point which allows the return of the program to Crowe. “We’ve always had a core group at the grade 10, 11, and 12 level that had an interest in having a music program,
maybe eight or nine kids,” said DeRosa. “We just didn’t have the extra seven or eight that would be enough to make the program run. “I’m super excited, I’ve missed having a group of our kids that can perform in front of our kids. “I’ve been an advocate to make it happen and I’ll do everything I can as principal to support it.” The enthusiastic instructor for the program has admirable goals for the students, hoping to see them perform publicly as much as possible and to integrate with some of the other arts programs available at Crowe. “One goal is getting the kids playing in the community, show the community that we do have music and have kids who want to play,” said Kolumbus. See TEACHER, Page 3
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