THURSDAY
S I N C E
OCTOBER 31, 2013
1 8 9 5
Vol. 118, Issue 172
105
$
INCLUDING G.S.T.
Bruins battle Hawks Page 11
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
City balances costs with savings
A GARDEN OF GHOSTS
BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
Everything’s coming up ghouls for Fern Wilson, florist at Ye’s Olde Flower Shoppe in downtown Trail. The Spokane Street store is ready for a hallowed eve including treats of the aromatic variety.
IBEW voting on latest FortisBC offer BY ART HARRISON Times Staff
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213 is in the process of voting on the latest offer by FortisBC in an effort to end the 18-week lockout of 230 employees working in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in B.C.’s Southern Interior. “They held the vote in Trail Tuesday, and have voted in Penticton, now we’re moving on to Kelowna for their vote,” Business Manager for the IBEW, Rod Russell, said from
the Okanagan Wednesday. “There’s still some key concessions on the table but there’s a slight increase in the wages and lump sum payment they were offering.” Russell stressed that money hasn’t been the main issue for the workers in this dispute, instead pointing the finger at the concessions the company had been asking for that presented a sticking point. “Our international representative met with the company,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re going to go for it, it’s up to them.”
“ I want to know more about mutual funds.”
Director of Communications for FortisBC, Joyce Wagenaar, said that both parties in the dispute acknowledged the sensitivity of the situation and wanted to avoid the possibility of the employees being inflamed by media reports and therefore had kept their most recent discussions quiet. “Since last week both parties decided to come together,” Wagenaar said. “There’s a tentative agreement and the employees are holding their vote.” Russell said the new offer
was similar to the last one, which was rejected by the membership, but that they were committed to allowing the workers to make the decision for themselves. “If it’s ‘yes’ then we go back to work, if it’s ‘no’ then we’re back to trying to figure out how to get the public behind us in this,” Russell said. “I think we all know we’ve got good jobs, a decent wage. For us this isn’t about trying to get more of anything, it’s about trying to hang on to what we’ve got and not lose it.”
The release of Trail’s third quarter finances review reflects the city is on track to stay in the black by the end of the year. The third quarter report is critical to the city because the results can be used to determine, to a fairly high degree of accuracy, how the final year-end should come in, explained David Perehudoff, Trail’s chief administrative officer (CAO) during Monday’s governance meeting. “The results now being realized actually demonstrate a slight improvement over the previous quarter and it is hoped that this trend can continue now through to the end of the year,” said the CAO. Earlier this year, council approved in excess of 80 projects, with a total value of $8.5 million. So far, the city has managed to balance the scales of over-budget bids and cost overruns of current projects, including Victoria Street upgrades, by deferring further ventures not deemed high priority, representing a $419,000 savings. “There was significant adjustment to the capital plan in the second quarter, as part of dealing with the corridor project, to come up with additional funding,” said Perehudoff in his report to council. In addition, the legal fees budget, $70,000, has exceeded $93,000 due to numerous files including the boundary expansion proposal, sewer arbitration, and the ongoing expense for personnel related matters. See DEVELOPMENT, Page 3
FRUITVALE
New lighting will help visibility on Halloween BY ART HARRISON Times Staff
As the kid’s excitement reaches a fever pitch in anticipation of dashing from house to house collecting treats, local RCMP detachments and municipalities are working to make sure the evening is safe for the little ones and that any tricks don’t involve dangerous activity or damage to property. In Fruitvale, after a 15 year-old was struck by a passing vehicle crossing Highway 3B last Halloween night, the municipality See CASTLEGAR, Page 3
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