TUESDAY
S I N C E
NOVEMBER 26, 2013
Smokies Ice-Breaker
1 8 9 5
Page 2
Vol. 118, Issue 186
105
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Grocer, Sensible BC petitioners at odds
Ferraro Foods offers online apology BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Ferraro Foods is offering an apology to customers and canvassers who may have felt uncomfortable following an incident in front of its store on Saturday. Petitioners for the Sensible BC campaign were near the store collecting signatures for its petition for the Sensible Policing Act to decriminalize marijuana possession. Ferraro Foods asked the canvassers to move off of its property when customers made complaints about the canvassing. A video on Sensible BC's Facebook page and YouTube captures storeowner Danny Ferraro saying “we're asking everybody to ignore them” while he greets customers, in some instances standing between the customers and a canvasser. Now Sensible BC is looking into pursuing legal action. “I think that when it comes to the Recall and Initiative Act there were some laws broken,” said Sensible BC Kootenay West campaign organizer Susan Yurychuk. “I mean you can't persuade or compel an individual to vote or refrain from voting for and against an initiative and he was standing See POLICE, Page 3 ART HARRISON PHOTO
Volunteer driver, Andy Roberts, gets a hand from members of the Trail Smoke Eaters unloading freshly delivered Christmas trees at Butler Park Saturday for the annual Kiwanis Club tree sale fundraiser.
Trucker helps out Christmas tree fundraiser BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
We all know how Santa Claus comes to town. But how do the hundreds of evergreens arrive from forest and tree farms to Butler Park for the annual Kiwanis Christmas tree fundraiser? For more than a decade, Andy Roberts has been volunteering time and sometimes, student drivers, to make the trek to the East Kootenay to load natural trees and, since last year, Chilliwack for cultured varieties. Roberts is president of the Mountain Transport Institute, a professional truck driver training school in Castlegar, and
makes the yearly round trip, free of charge, for a few reasons. “We realize that when we are training our new drivers on our local roadways that we do delay people from time to time,” said Roberts. “This is one way we can give back to the communities that we operate in.” When possible, a student will be on board during the eight-to-12-hour trip to Fort Steele, Wasa and Invermere, or to Chilliwack overnight, along with instructor, to pick up the festive foliage and fill a 53-foot trailer. “This gives the student real life experience planning the trip and finding the location,” explained Roberts. “But if
Upcoming events at Waneta Nov.28th - Dec.1st annual
Christmas Craft Fair
it doesn’t fit well with the schedule, I’ll go myself.” Robert’s will drop off almost 400 cultured trees and a limited number of specialty fir and spruce species at Butler Park early this week at no charge to the Kiwanis. The Trail Smoke Eaters were on hand to unload the Christmas trees before Roberts headed out with the rest of the fragrant load to deliver, at no cost, to the Castlegar Rotary Club. “Both the Kiwanis and Rotary Club are excellent local organizations that provide real value to our communities,” explained Roberts. See TREES, Page 3
Plaza
Nov.30
th
Santa
Arrives!
Nov.29th BLACK FRIDAY at Waneta Plaza
Great deals and crazy specials!
Enter to win a 500 gift basket!
$
Brakes put on free New Year’s Eve bus rides BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
New Year’s Eve party-goers will not be revelling on free bus rides in Trail this year after drunk and rowdy youth left drivers and their security officers concerned about their own safety last Jan. 1. “Historically Trail has had New Year’s Eve service,” confirmed Meribeth Burton, BC Transit spokesperson. “But because of the incidents the last couple of years the operating company and their security have certainly made their case from a safety perspective,” she said. See INCIDENT, Page 3
Late Night Shopping
Thurs. & Fri. until 9pm
www.wanetaplaza.com 5 min. east of Trail on Hwy 3B
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