TUESDAY
S I N C E
MAY 13, 2014
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Vol. 119, Issue 73
105
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INCLUDING G.S.T.
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Petition brings bridge plans to a halt BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Trail council’s vision of a second crossing over the Columbia River upstream from the Old Trail Bridge lost its footing last week after about 20 per cent of Trail voters signed a petition against construction of a pedestrian walkway. The group opposed to the walking bridge garnered almost double the signatures required to grind the project to a halt before handing over a stack of signed petitions to city hall Friday afternoon. “The premise is that the piers on the old bridge can be repaired at the same cost as the walking bridge,” said Ron Joseph, a Trail resident and petition spearheader. “But there is no will to repair the old bridge, they want a new bridge.” More than 1,200 people signed on to stop the city from borrowing $5 million required to build the Columbia River Pipe/Pedestrian Bridge at the south end of town. Through the alternative approval process, the city advertised its intent to take out the loan twice in April, which gave electors 30 days from the second notice to petition the project and collect signatures
from 10 per cent, or 573 Trail voters. Pending a thorough review of the petition forms to confirm the validity of signatures, it’s safe to say there are over 573 valid signatures, Michelle McIsaac, Trail’s corporate administrator, told the Trail Times Monday. Over 20 businesses were willing to put the petition on their front counters for customers to review and sign, according to petition organizer Norm Gabana. “In discussion with the residents who circulated petitions door-todoor it was unanimous about the acceptance of wanting to have a vote,” he added. Now, with an estimated $5,000 cost, a future pedestrian crossing can be brought to Trail voters during the Nov. 15 municipal elections. “In terms of next steps, council will decide whether to proceed to a vote on the borrowing bylaw,” said McIsaac. “In which case the bylaw would be submitted to the Inspector of Municipalities’ first for approval; voting would be scheduled once the inspector’s approval is received.” See REVIEW, Page 3
District set to cancel recess, shorten school days BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Elementary school students will no longer get a 15-minute recess come May 20, following a decision made by School District 20 released Monday. The third week of strike action by the British Columbia Teachers' Federation was met with the decision to shorten the school day for SD20 schools by 15 minutes as a means of lessening the duty for district management staff, who have been respon-
sible for before-school, recess and after-school supervision since teachers refuse to perform those duties as part of their strike action. “After trying for almost three weeks to maintain the current schedule we cannot continue,” explained superintendent of schools Greg Luterbach in a letter to parents and guardians. “This decision is made to ensure student safety and reduce the burden on district management staff who
already had full-time work to perform prior to covering all the supervision.” Andy Davidoff, president of the Kootenay Columbia Teachers Union, said it didn't take long for SD20 administrators to convince the board to jump on the recess cancellation bandwagon this time around. “Our district did not cancel recess during a similar job action several years ago but it appears administrators See SHORTER, Page 4
VALERI ROSSI PHOTO
Miss Trail Ella Meyer and Trail Princess Samantha Theobald were full of tears and sparkle after they were honoured with the 2014 titles at the Trail Ambassador Program’s Miss Trail Pageant.
Silver City royalty crowned BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Miss Trail pageant winners were left in a state of euphoria Friday night following a sixmonth ride that ended with the crowning of this year's ambassadors. The crowd was on its feet when Ella Meyer received royal treatment with the title of Miss Trail and a “14-pound crown” to match the heavy duty of acting as ambassador for the next year. Alongside, Samantha Theobald will proudly represent the City of Trail as Trail Princess, judges decided at the 2014 Miss Trail Pageant. “I don't think this is real life,” said Meyer. “I think I'm going to wake up tomorrow from this beautiful, crazy dream.” Theobald's childhood dream of participating in the pageant came true this year, with a title in the end to boot. At four years old, she decided she wanted to be like mom (Rhonda Theobald)
and take part in the Trail Ambassador Program. “I could not wish for a better person to share this with,” she manged to get out before the newly crowned embraced and burst into more tears of joy. Throughout the evening it was difficult to tell who was going to snag the titles up for grabs, which also included Miss Congeniality won by Vivian Huang. The five 16 year olds started their journey in flats and in fear of public speaking –- known then as Miss Firefighter Samantha Theobold, Miss Italo Canadese Ella Meyer, Miss Kiwanis Monica McPhee, Miss Knights of Pythias Alyssa Hunt, and Miss Legion Vivian Huang — but ended poised in heels and gowns speaking in front of a 260-person crowd at the Charles Bailey Theatre. “The glitz and glam is not even sprinkles on a cake,” said Meyer, See TALENT, 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
Monday, May 19 is
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