WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
APRIL 30, 2014
1 8 9 5
Vol. 119, Issue 67
105
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INCLUDING G.S.T.
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Warfield ready to discuss recreation deal with Trail BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
Sarah Benson (front) led the Trail Ambassadors in a walk down history lane during a tour of historical buildings in downtown Trail on Sunday. A new category was added to the program this year that challenged the girls to brush up on the Silver City’s past and present their new-found knowledge to a panel of six judges. (From the left) Monica McPhee, Miss Kiwanis; Alyssa Hunt, Miss Knights of Pythias; Samantha Theobald, Miss Trail Firefighters Local 941; Ella Meyer, Miss Italo Canadese; and Vivian Huang, Miss Royal Canadian Legion Branch 11.
Ambassador candidates get a taste of city’s history BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
If you think winning the Miss Trail title is all about beauty, then think again. The May 9 pageant promises to be a “no holding back” show of glitz and glam, according to the group of young role models getting ready to put six months of training on display as they vie for the Silver City crown. But getting there was more of an exercise in putting pen to paper and brushing up on Silver City history for this year’s five candidates in the Trail Ambassador program. On Sunday’s soggy afternoon the Grade 11 girls huddled under one umbrella and traipsed through puddles in downtown Trail for an entertaining lesson about the city’s historical buildings from Sarah Benson, director of Trail Museum and Archives The walking tour played into the program’s new educational category, worth 10 per cent of the final tally on pageant night, in addition to
the traditional challenges that have contestants learning to write engaging speeches, and conquering fears of performing and speaking in front of a crowd. “We looked at the main role of our ambassadors, which is promoting the Trail region,” explained Michelle Epp, program coordinator. “And we realized that our candidates were not being given the opportunity to showcase their knowledge in this area.” The girls were tasked to research Trail history, the city’s tourism opportunities, and one or all of the Home of Champion categories of sports, industry or lifestyle, before presenting their newfound knowledge to a panel of six judges last week. “We told them to think about something they are passionate about,” said Epp. “Not only did they display new knowledge of their city, they were forced into conversation with strangers (judges).” See CANDIDATES, Page 3
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Good news for Trail is that Warfield council did an about-face on Friday and requested to meet with the city and hammer out a new recreation and cultural services deal between the two municipalities. The city received a letter on April 25 from John Crozier, Warfield’s acting mayor, that said village council would like to revisit negotiations, confirmed Trail Mayor Dieter Bogs at Monday night council. “Our focus is that we want to reach an agreement so this is good news.” The bad news, according to the Trail mayor, is the wording Warfield council chose when relaying its decision to village residents. According to the village’s Monday newsletter, Warfield council had one discussion with Trail’s (recreational) negotiating committee last fall, but since that time the city never returned to the table, which left Warfield no alternative but to take “the path chosen.” Additionally, the village’s position is that Bogs presented Trail’s proposal at the November meeting and requested strict confidentiality with all negotiations. “The good news is that they want to open up discussion,” said Bogs.
“But when I see the press release claiming that they had only one discussion with us, that is very unfortunate.” Besides the Trail mayor, Coun. Kevin Jolly and Coun. Robert Cacchioni attended the first gathering with Warfield council, which was an open meeting, according to the Trail councillors. “We were dealing in good faith,” said Jolly at the city governance meeting, earlier that day. “The first meeting I asked if it was closed meeting and they very specifically said ‘No, this is not a closed meeting,’” he continued. “But they didn’t want any administrators in the room, for whatever reason.” In light of the “he said he said” situation, any future meetings with Warfield council will be on record, followed up with an official email or letter and made available to the public. “To completely ignore the discussions where we were actually talking about options and opportunities that we might be able to address is disappointing,” said Bogs. “Their press release tells me future discussions with any member of Warfield council will definitely be recorded.” See TRAIL, Page 3
SCHOOL DISTRICT 20
Funds cut to community school BY ART HARRISON Times Staff
A quiet crowd of approximately 20 spectators was on hand Monday night as the School District 20 (SD 20) Board of Trustees met at the Kootenay Columbia Learning Centre in Trail to pass the first two readings of the balanced budget, as is required by the Ministry of Education. Among the spectators for the open meeting was a group of residents of Blueberry Creek who came to the open meeting hoping the board might re-assess its decision
to cut $20,000 in funding from the Blueberry Creek Community School. Although a number of trustees openly voiced their regret at having to make the decision to reallocate the CommunityLINK funds that had previously been directed towards the community school, the board stood by its decision to distribute the money between a number of SD 20 schools that had never previously received any of the funds which are targeted towards vulnerable students. See LACK, 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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Thea 250.231.1661
Mario 250.368.1027
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8400 Theatre Rd, Rossland $412,000
4 Nelson Ave, Fruitvale $155,500
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