WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
JANUARY 8, 2014
1 8 9 5
Vol. 119, Issue 4
105
$
INCLUDING G.S.T.
Follow us online
West Kootenay fishing report Page 9
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Property values Fruitvale resident discovers artistic remain stable in region talent in aftermath of brain injury BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
For Dean Scott, having a conversation at a party with someone would be like trying to tune into one radio show while 10 played at the same time. But if you get the chance to talk with the Fruitvale resident one-on-one, you'd never know he has a brain injury and his animated storytelling will likely have you in fits of laughter. Scott's life has dramatically changed since a toboggan accident in 2006 landed him in the hospital where he suffered from oxygen deprivation and, as a result, an anoxic brain injury. He no longer does well in crowds, gets distracted quite easily and loses his train of thought. But he has learned to accept his new challenges and is the first to make light of it. When the former rigger hung up his hard hat and tuned into his artistic side, he first discovered leather work, and now music. His leather creations are on display at the West Kootenay Brain Injury Association's art gallery in Waneta Plaza, which is currently open on Wednesdays and during special mall events but its hours may VALERIE ROSSI PHOTO become more constant if there is volunteer interest Dean Scott has found peace in art since a tobogganing accithat now comes with more dent led to a brain injury that changed his life. support. The West Kootenay to people with disabilities paralysis and some physical Brain Injury Association who may need some help disabilities,” explained assohas received nearly $9,500 getting back out in the ciation executive director to run its Connect Program community and relearning Kelly Johnson. “They lose a from now until November. skills. lot of self confidence so they The non-profit organiza“When you have a brain tend to isolate themselves at tion was one of 12 projects injury a lot of people lose home.” to receive funding from the confidence in their abilities The grant will allow the Disability Without Poverty because sometimes their organization to connect Network, which works to abilities to communicate these individuals with their support the improvement of — read, write, speak — community again by supsocial inclusion outcomes. have been affected or they porting them in a volunteer Connect provides support actually end up with some See KIDS, Page 3
Houses in Greater Trail are worth about the same as last year, according to the latest assessments mailed out last week. It's a trend most of the province shares except northern B.C. communities where property values spiked as high as 26 per cent due to the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. In Trail, house prices dropped 1.7 per cent meaning a single family dwelling averages $171,000 compared to $174,000 in 2013. The numbers reflect the region's housing market as a whole but the drop in price isn't a worry, according to the local deputy assessor. “Trail is representative of the range for the West Kootenay,” said Dennis Hickson from Kootenay Regional BC Assessment (BCA), based in Nelson. “This year's decrease is not significant,” he explained. “I consider these types of changes are not market movements that are a cause for concern. Rather, I think they imply a healthy balance of supply and demand in the market place.” Rossland real estate saw a slight decrease with housing falling from $243,000 to $238,000 which is a nominal change, said Hickson. In the villages of Warfield and Fruitvale, home values remained
unchanged at $170,000 and $186,000 respectively, and Montrose real estate increased marginally with the average house selling for $222,000 compared to $219,000 in 2013. In aggregate, areas A and B saw a minimal drop, however further east in Salmo, village real estate had a 2.8 per cent increase in market change. “This is a similar change to other communities in the area and again implies a stable market place,” explained Hickson. Although the assessment authority hasn't carried out door-to-door inspections since the late 1990s, new technology, which includes aerial views and street front photography, is being employed to verify property inventory. Additionally, when homeowners take out building permits, their residences are inspected by a BCA appraiser, and properties that are sold are viewed to keep records current and to aid in the valuation process. “It's kind of interesting that the last number of years the West Kootenay has show great resilience in the market place,” said Hickson. “Everybody is interested in what their greatest asset is worth, and the properties have retained their values very well.” See DAM, Page 3
UPDATE
Still no cause found for Waneta fire BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
A structure fire on Old Waneta Road last month will go down in history as one of the largest fought locally, but the cause of the inferno may forever remain unknown. In the early hours of Dec. 11, an onsite storage unit behind JF Auto Centre went up in flames, along with 28 vehicles it was housing and an attached greenhouse where owner John Foglia grew fig and other Italian specialty trees. “There is no cause determined,”confirmed Terry Martin, regional fire chief. “We've ruled out electrical and everything else so unfortunately it will go down as undetermined.” The extensive damage to the
storage unit was a barrier to pinpointing the origin of the fire, however Martin explained the area of origin was inside the greenhouse on the river end of the building. “But what happened inside that greenhouse, we will probably never know.” Private investigators from ICBC and an insurance company were on site within two days of the fire, but according to Martin, they've all come to the same conclusion. “We work together with those folks to find and share information,” he said. “But in this case, we were not able to come up with a definitive cause.” So far, no dollar loss amount has been released, added Martin.
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
299,000
229,000 Fruitvale 399,000 FOR MORE INFO GO TO GREATERTRAILREALESTATE.COM OR PHONE 250.368.5000 $
Warfield
$
$
Fruitvale All Pro Realty
Thea Stayanovich
Mario Berno