THURSDAY
S I N C E
JANUARY 23, 2014
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Vol. 119, Issue 13
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Residents voice concerns over recreation Large turnout for meeting at Fruitvale Memorial Hall BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
It was a full house at the Fruitvale Memorial Hall Tuesday evening when over 200 people turned up to talk with the area’s recreation committee about the end of an agreement which has the Beaver Valley community paying double the fees to keep active in City of Trail facilities. The three-person Beaver Valley Recreation, Parks and Trails Committee (BVPARTS), comprised of Area A director and chair Ali Grieve, Fruitvale Mayor Patricia Cecchini (director) and Montrose Coun. and regional district director Don Duclos, announced its decision not to renew, renegotiate or extend the recreation services agreement with the City of Trail effective Jan. 1. The well-run meeting was facilitated by Ann Damude, an events manager from Rossland, and opened with Grieve and Cecchini providing background information which led to BVPARTS ending the five-year recreation contract. Absent from the table was Duclos, the Montrose representative in BVPARTS, who has since changed his stance to end the agreement and now stands with fellow village councillors, who
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
A crowd of more than 200 Beaver Valley residents gathered in the Fruitvale Memorial Hall Tuesday evening to engage in a community recreation consultation, after the area’s committee ended a cost-sharing agreement with the City of Trail. are in favour of renegotiating a deal with Trail. The meeting began with Grieve saying the rec agreement with Trail required an accounting of how the city has spent $1.2 million the valley communities have contributed to the service
since 2009, and those numbers have not been forthcoming. “It was not sufficient to know how many Trail residency cards were issued,” she said. “We need to know the usage of each of those cards to determine the value of our program.”
The three-term director seized the opportunity of the large gathering of constituents to address the underlying issue that ended the agreement, which is Trail’s intent to expand city boundaries to include the Waneta Dam in Area A.
“This process is being controlled by the City of Trail and the province,” she said. “It impacts all of the Beaver Valley and in my view it would not be fiscally responsible for us to enter into any new agreement or contract,” Grieve continued. “Without knowing what the impacts a boundary expansion would have on us should it proceed.” Cecchini reiterated Grieve’s viewpoint and said, “We did not feel that we had enough information to renew the contract. We came to realize we could not enter into a new contract and extend any further financial commitments until the proposal has been settled or gone away.” However, the mood of the meeting remained focused on addressing recreation concerns. From there, the public consultation split into round-table discussions in groups of six, with one “guide” at each seating, to answer a series of questions ranging from how current B.V. facilities can be improved, what new facilities and programs the community would like to see, and the pros and cons of entering into a new rec deal with Trail. In addition, attendees were invited to fill out individual questionnaires that will be added to 161 already completed surveys, and compiled in a report scheduled for public release around mid-February. See COMMITTEE, Page 3
Free broadband hookup sparks interest in Trail BY ART HARRISON Times Staff
By now most people will have heard about it, although they may not fully understand it, and some, depending on where they work, will have actually experienced it. Now, the majority of the businesses in the downtown core of Trail will have the opportunity to have that mysterious next step in Internet technology, broadband, installed for free until March 31. The Lower Columbia Initiatives Corporation (LCIC), along with the City of Trail and the Trail Broadband
Committee, are offering business grade fibre optic connection to eligible businesses in the city centre and will spend the next 10 days canvassing businesses and building owners to generate awareness, provide more information on the service, and make inquiries about their potential needs. “We're really excited to be working to bring free connections to the businesses and buildings in Trail,” said Terry Van Horn. “The hookup will be free until the end of March, then until July 31 the cost will increase to $750, and after Dec. 31 will go up to the regular connection fee
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of $1,500.” For those who are still somewhat mystified by all the chatter about broadband, it is, basically, just a much faster Internet connection, similar to what many will have had installed in their homes and businesses in the past. The main differences between the old and the new are that the materials and equipment used to deliver the service have generally changed and it really is faster. Until now, the majority of Internet connections have been over standard copper wire, either through existing phone
Dr. Jeffrey J. Hunt N.D. (250)368-6999 E-Mail: huntandhunt@shaw.ca
lines or coaxial cable that was originally run for cable television. Broadband is primarily run through fibre optic cable made of high-quality glass or plastic which isn't affected by electromagnetic interference and carries signals much further, and faster, without losing strength. One example that might help understand why broadband would be desirable is by comparing it to water. Think of a 45 gallon barrel of water, with the water in the barrel representing your Internet signal. See BUSINESSES, Page 3
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