TUESDAY
S I N C E
JULY 8, 2014
1 8 9 5 Yu captures Western title at Birchbank
Vol. 119, Issue 104
105
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INCLUDING G.S.T.
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Sizzling start to July weather
NEW BOILERS LIFTED TO ROOF OF GTCC
Hot temperatures increase fire danger warning BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
A distinctive change in weather the last day of June led the way for temperatures that could reach red-hot this week. A ridge of high pressure from the south should build sunny, dry and warmer than normal conditions across the majority of the region, according to a local forecaster. “There’s a chance to actually see it warm to 34 degrees by Tuesday,” Ron Lakeman told the Trail Times from his Castlegar weather office. “But I like to reserve the word ‘hot’ for anything over 34 C. “And there is potential for ‘hot’ by Wednesday.” With the rise in temperatures over the weekend, the Southeast Fire Centre raised the fire danger warning from low to moderate throughout Greater Trail. That means forest fuels are drying and there is an increased risk of surface fires, so the centre’s fire information officer asks anyone carrying out forest activities, to exercise caution. “We want people to take the proper steps when having camp fires,” said Jordan Turner. “Have water on hand to put out fires when they’re done and have necessary hand See DRY, Page 3
GUY BERTRAND PHOTO
It may have been a hot day in July but staff at the Greater Trail Community Centre was focused on the cooler months as two new boilers were hoisted to the roof of the building on Monday. The new condensing boilers, which have an efficiency rating of 95 per cent, replaced two 24-year-old atmospheric boilers, which had an efficiency rating of 50 per cent. The cost of the new boilers was approximately $200,000.
No local impact predicted for 911 change BY LIZ BEVAN Times Staff
This fall, emergency 911 calls will be answered over 600 kilometres away but Greater Trail residents aren’t expected to see a change in response time. Beginning in November, 911 calls from nine districts, including the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB), will be handled by E-Comm, a 911 and emergency dispatch service in Vancouver. Terry Martin, Kootenay Boundary Fire Department chief, says the switch is going to be only a slight change and both callers and firefighters won't notice a difference
after 911 is dialled. “When you dial 911 and you get an operator and right now, that call is answered in Kelowna. The only difference is that it is now going to be answered in Vancouver,” he said, adding that the fire department will be receiving calls the same way it always has. “We are referred to as a secondary safety answering point and [Vancouver] will still forward the 911 call – if it’s for the fire department – to us in the same amount of time, in the same manner as they would from Kelowna. We are not going to be seeing any difference in [response time]. It is going to be a
seamless change.” Chief Administrative Officer for RDKB, John MacLean, confirms the change will be unnoticeable to callers and local emergency services, and will actually save the district a few dollars every year. “It's mostly a lateral change and is actually representing a small cost decrease to us of around $16,000 to $20,000 per year, which we think is pretty good news,” he said. For the districts affected by the change, Robert Hobson, chair of the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the current home to the RCMP's 911 call answering service, says over the next five years, mil-
lions of dollars will be saved. “By contracting our 911 service to E-Comm, over the five-year agreement, the regional districts will see a 25 per cent reduction in overall program operating costs,” he said in a press release. “That translates into total savings of more than $2.1 million for the program, proportionately shared by the regional district partners.” Not to worry, the E-Comm 911 answering system isn't going affect call priority either. MacLean says the new system will still allow individual emergency services to determine call priority. See CALLS, 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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