TUESDAY
S I N C E
APRIL 1, 2014
1 8 9 5
Vol. 119, Issue 51
105
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INCLUDING G.S.T.
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Slush Cup makes a big splash at Red Page 2
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Changes to ALR a ‘slippery slope,’ says MLA
AN EYE FOR ANTIQUES
BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Changes to the B.C. Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) will result in the loss of muchneeded farmland and will eventually do away with the 100 Mile Diet, according to Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy. The NDP MLA is not keen on the Liberals’ announcement of dividing the land reserve into two zones, which could open up her riding's farmland to development. The change would see the land reserve divided into two Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) zones — opening up much of the Interior's farmland to more development — under changes introduced by the provincial government last week. Under the new system, Zone 1, which covers prime farmland in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island, will see very few changes. While Zone 2, covering farmland in the North, the Kootenays and the rest of the Interior, will see farmland protection rules loosened to allow for more nonfarming activities. Conroy lives in Pass Creek, where she raises cattle on ALR land. She, along with the opposition caucus, doesn't want this to pass and has an online petition that has gained much attention from like-minded folks. “I think it's the start of a slippery slope of taking out agricultural land from the reserve so that people can make money off of it,” she said from her office in Victoria. “The agricultural land reserve has been here since 1973 and the whole goal around it was to protect land permanently and we think that this is the start of removing it, to ensure that friends and insiders have the accessibility to a commission where they can say 'I want to subdivide it.'” This is not how the province has presented the news. The changes, resulting from the government's core review of the commission, will help farmers and farm families get ahead by recognizing regional differences, strengthening regional decision making and enhancing the ALC's service to the public, it was noted in a news release from the Ministry of Agriculture. The introduction of two ALC administered zones is designed to better recognize the province's regional differences, it is also noted. In Zone 1, where land is in greater demand and there are development and population pressures, decisions will continue to be made on the basis of the original principle of preserving agricultural land. See RDKB, Page 3
ART HARRISON PHOTO
Peter S. Blundell, of Guardian Estate Appraisals, spent Friday and Saturday in the United Church hall in Trail pouring over local residents’ heirlooms and second-hand store treasures. Some family myths were shattered while others walked away with a new-found appreciation of some of their paintings, silver tea sets, and hand-me-downs.
Warmer weather a wake-up call for bears BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Bears living within Greater Trail are enjoying the last leg of hibernation before the warmer weather and familiar smells awake them from their den, according to the local WildSafeBC coordinator. Though Sharon Wieder's work doesn't officially start up until May, she expects reports will begin to trickle in
soon. “In Trail, obviously it's warmer a lot faster than up in the mountains so if the snow is melted high enough up where the bears have been denning then they'll start to come out,” she said. “The smells will bring them out like the fresh greens — grass is what they usually eat in the spring and things are starting to green up.” In the meantime, she's reminding
residents that it's time to assess their animal attractants. “The big one is the bird feeder and convincing people it's time to put them away or at least not leave them out all the time because that will attract all kinds of animals,” she said, adding that sunflower seeds offer hungry bruins about 10 times as many calories as huckleberries. See BEARS, Page 3
Contact the Times: Phone: FineLine250-368-8551 Technologies 62937 Index 9 Fax:JN250-368-8550 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242
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