THURSDAY
S I N C E
JANUARY 2, 2014
1 8 9 5
Vol. 119, Issue 1
105
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INCLUDING G.S.T.
A look back at local sports highlights Page 9
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
TOP STORIES OF 2013
Rossland students move into Crowe The Trail Times is reviewing some of the top stories of 2013 as it closes the book on a busy year. BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
Clara Murray has been volunteering her time and knitting expertise to the Trail Hospital Auxiliary for two years. Murray was sharpening her knitting needles and picking out a colour of wool to begin a set of baby booties for the new year.
Hospital waits for New Year’s baby BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Knitting needles at the Trail Hospital Auxiliary are click-clacking as volunteers wait to hear if booties and blankets for the New Year’s baby gift basket should be a shade of blue or tint of pink. Although there is no word if the stork has arrived at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH), the maternity ward does have five expectant mothers due within the first few weeks of the new year. “We had a couple of deliveries Christmas Eve but it has been quiet since then,” said Karina Poznekoff, maternity/ pediatric patient care coordinator. “We look at it like every delivery is exciting and the day of the week or year doesn’t matter,” she explained. “But we definite-
ly have to make more phone calls to the community about the New Year’s baby because so many donations are made to the newborn and mom.” Throughout the year, members of the Trail Hospital Auxiliary donate their time and creative energy to weave the tiny and colourful woollen sweaters, booties, hats and blankets that are sold in the KBRH gift shop or donated as gifts to various community charities. “Everything in the New Year’s basket is made by our ladies,” explained Karen Hadley, president of the auxiliary. “We have a room full of balls of wool that have been donated,” she said. “So when someone would like to knit for us, we give the person the wool and they donate the item back to the gift shop,” Hadley continued. “Some of the clothes are so
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fancy and fun like little ladybug sweaters. We even have one lady who makes frilly dresses and nightgowns for us out of the goodness of her heart.” The Trail Hospital Auxiliary was founded in 1943 with a mission to raise funds to advance care and comfort of those in need and provide funding for patient related equipment and programs. Today, the charity’s presence is felt throughout the hospital and the impact of the volunteers’ commitment is hard to miss. This year, the 60-member organization brightened the KBRH Health Foundation’s Critical Care campaign with a $30,000 contribution made during the annual Light-Up the Hospital’s Pledge Day (Dec. 6) and a $4,000 donation slated to maintain the hospital’s gardens. See MEMBER, Page 8
The sound of protest was heard this year from Rossland parents who were against the closure of their secondary school and sending grades 10-12 students down to Trail for education. School District 20 (SD20) made the diffi“I still wish cult decision of closing that I could be MacLean Elementary School, selling it to graduating in the Rossland French RSS but the school for $1 million, change was and moving K-9 students into the former easier than I Rossland Secondary expected. School (RSS) to save an estimated $265,000 MEGAN HEXIMER on a dwindling budget based on enrolment that followed suit. Fearful chatter was silenced when about 120 of Rossland’s senior students transitioned into their new school, commute and larger social circle with ease. Like most of her peers, Grade 12 student Megan Heximer was disappointed that she had to spend her final year in a new school that wasn’t in her community and was no longer a walk from home. “I mostly tried not to think about having to move there,” she admitted. “Many Rossland kids weren’t looking forward to the move and I knew that a lot of the Crowe kids weren’t looking forward to having us down there so I wasn’t sure how well the transition would be for everyone.” Heximer was also worried about what the teachers would be like. She was comfortable with the Rossland teachers she had grown to know over the years and didn’t know what to expect. But it didn’t take long to see that the teachers were dedicated, welcoming and accommodating, much like the other students. See MUSIC, Page 2
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