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MISSING HIKERS FOUND OK
Kokanee Glacier - file photo
TMTV BCTV KOOTENAYS Aug 2, 2005 - A day trip to Kokanee Glacier Park ended up as an overnight stay in the woods. A local man and his girlfriend from Vancouver had gone for a day trip in Kokanee Glacier Park on Saturday and over extended themselves and were too far from their vehicle to return before nightfall. They were reported overdue by family Saturday night after they failed to return. They were found by Kokanee Helicopters who was providing air support for Search and Rescue. The couple was returned safe and sound.
DROWNING ON SLOCAN RIVER
TMTV BCTV KOOTENAYS Aug 2--A 28 year old males body has been recovered from the Slocan River just west-upstream from the Shoreacres bridge. The Nelson RCMP had received a report that a male had been floating down the Slocan River with his friends and body surfing in the current and appeared to be having difficulty. His friends lost sight of him and searched for him along the shoreline. When he failed to reappear they contacted the RCMP who then contacted Nelson Search and Rescue and the Beasley Fire Department who located the body. No name or home town has been released at this time.
2 DEAD IN MURDER SUICIDE NEAR NELSON
UPDATED JULY 23, 2005 6:30am
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays --The Nelson RCMP, BC Coroners Service and the Kelowna RCMP Major Crime unit are investigating the suspicious deaths of two residence of the Blewett area. RCMP received a call from a 13 year old boy that his mother had been killed by her common-law husband who in-turn took his own life. The incident occurred in the 2900 block of Blewett Road.
Police attended and located and found a 72 year old deceased male and his 40 year old common-law wife.
The males name is Kenneth Gordon Miller who dies as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. Police are not releasing the females name or how sge died at this time.
The 13 year old boy was visiting from Quebec at the time and was not harmed in the incident.
Police will confirm that no complaints of domestic violence involving these individuals had been received at the Nelson Police office prior to this incident. The deceased had moved to the area from Penticton a year ago.
GOUK WILL NOT SEEK A FIFTH TERM FULL STORY
Pedro Creek Logging Protesters found not guilty of criminal contempt of court: Watersheds still in Danger. FULL STORY
Close call for Interior community FULL STORY
Slocan Valley residents lose millions in alleged investment scam Full Story
Local Fish & Wildlife Get $3.9 Million: Compensation Program Announces 10th Year of Funding Full Story
Budding Biologists helping Kids to Release White Sturgeon Full Story
New Web sites to store public's digital content FULL STORY
B.C. AND ALBERTA WORK TOGETHER ON PORTS, PINE-BEETLE MORE
B.C. PROTECTS TWO MILLION HECTARES OF WILDLIFE HABITAT MORE
Baucus gets raucous reception from Canadians FULL STORY
B.C. polygamists want age of consent raised FULL STORY
B.C. hockey referee fears for his life FULL STORY
REMAINS IDENTIFIED FULL STORY
Canadian company quietly given coal mining exploration permit FULL STORY
Adventure Engine Goes International
Submitted
Rossland, British Columbia - July 13th, 2005 Rossland based, Adventure Engine Inc. has just gone international! North America's newest online marketplace to shop for, search, and book adventure travel vacations now offers travelers holiday options ranging from heli- fly fishing and cat skiing in British Columbia, to exploring exotic markets and adventuring to some of Vietnam's most intriguing waterfront venues on luxury junks.
"Since launching less than 50 days ago, the response to our service has been terrific" stated Kristi Calder, Regional Sales manager for Adventure Engine in British Columbia. "We have outfitters from the USA, Yukon, and British Columbia using our travel portals, and clients can now select from vacations which take place from Rossland, BC to Africa!", states Calder.
Adventure Engine (AE) is a search engine, database and online marketplace designed for adventure tour operators, resellers and consumers, powered by a technology application which can be shared with any travel or event company. This application enables any company to add a virtual storefront with search engine capabilities directly to their website, at a fraction of the cost when compared to other alternatives.
The system has also been designed to enhance and protect company brands. AE's Travel storefronts are fully customizable, and integrate seamlessly within existing sites. In the case of travel associations or chambers of commerce, search parameters can be restricted to show only their members products, and the association generates commissions for all sales booked on behalf of their members.
Be certain to check out www.adventureengine.com for your next travel vacation or to learn more on how AE can assist your company or association with marketing, partnership opportunities and online travel bookings.
Website: http://www.adventureengine.com
FLESH-EATING DESEASE KILLS KOOTENAY MAN
TRAIL, B.C. -July 13- A man who died during emergency surgery after being transferred from Creston hospital by air ambulance had flesh-eating disease, health officials say.
After laboratory tests confirmed the cause of death, enhanced infection control procedures were instituted in the Creston and Trail hospitals, said Dr. Nelson Ames, medical health officer for the West Kootenay.
"I want to assure the public that this is an extremely rare occurrence and it does not pose a general health risk to the population," Ames said in a statement.
Health-care workers and others who came in close contact with the man have been offered an antibiotic that is the recommended preventative treatment in such cases.
The 41-year-old man was brought to hospital in Creston by his neighbours on Thursday in a confused state and showing poor vital signs, said Stephen Harris, a spokesman for the Interior Health Authority.
His condition deteriorated after being transferred to hospital in Trail, as blisters developed on his infected arm.
He died while surgeons were performing an emergency amputation.
Nelson hotel re-opened as its original namesake
Photo from www.humehotel.comKBS RADIO NEWS JUNE 27--A piece of history has come back to Nelson, known for the past 20 years as the Heritage Inn, the 100-year-old building will be known once again as the Hume Hotel. The granddaughter of the hotel's founding father, Fred Hume, came to Nelson from California for the re-dedication ceremony.
Dawn Broshier was very touched by the gesture. She said, "It is such a great pleasure for us to be here today. We call it our little divine providence. We had no idea what was going on with the Hume hotel at all. So it was just extra, extra thrilling for us."
Nearly 100 people attended the grand re-opening ceremonies in Nelson this weekend.
Fiery crash closes Highway 3,
TMTV for BCTV on Global June 14
GRAND FORKS, B.C. (CP) -- A transport truck failed to make a turn, smashed into a bridge and exploded in flames in the middle of this southern British Columbia city on Tuesday. "I heard him hit," said Dorrie Papove, who works in a restaurant next to the bridge. "I thought it was a bad thunder storm." The fate of the truck driver was not known and police were not immediately available for comment. Papove said the flames from the truck were higher than the eight-metre-high structure of the bridge. She said the truck was completely destroyed in the blaze, which occurred at about 5 p.m. "It's ashes pretty much," said Papove, who made the 911 call. "Not much left. The Yale Bridge also caught fire. The accident has closed Highway 3, which connects communities across southern British Columbia. Grand Forks is about 150 kilometres west of Trail.
BCTS Winlaw Creek Harvesting Found Appropriate
Photo from Valhalla Wilderness Society
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS
VICTORIA – Timber harvesting in the Winlaw Creek watershed was appropriate and there is no evidence that it damaged the watershed, the Forest Practices Board reported today.
An August 2004 complaint by the Winlaw Watershed Committee alleged the BC Timber Sales program (BCTS) broke a commitment to consult with the complainant before logging in the watershed. The board also investigated whether BCTS’s logging plans included adequate precautionary measures, and whether the logging had a negative effect on water sources.
“The board found BCTS in full compliance with legal requirements and water resources were not damaged by forest practices,” said board chair Bruce Fraser. “There was no evidence of a past or present commitment to consult the complainant before beginning logging activities on the cutblock.”
The investigation determined that BCTS used a 1999 watershed assessment to guide its replanting and regeneration strategy, in order to limit the impact of logging activities. Following a site visit, board staff found no evidence of any sediment or oil-based material in the stream, and no indication of negative impacts from burning waste lumber near the watershed.
“The complainant has legitimate concerns with preserving water quality in its local watershed. To address these concerns, a high level of two-way communication between licensees operating near watersheds and local user groups is required,” said Fraser. “In this case, while there had been good initial communication between BCTS and the complainant on the general management plan for the watershed, the process broke down due to shifting priorities and program changes.
“The board hopes that BCTS and the watershed committee can re-establish an effective public consultation process, and urges all parties to communicate proactively when activities are planned for their watersheds”.
COURT BLOCKS BC PARKS DESTRUCTION OF TURTLE HABITAT
TMTV/BCTV KootenaysNELSON B.C.,–May 29--Road building by BC Parks which would harm the habitat of a threatened turtle species is illegal, the BC Supreme Court ruled this morning. Madame Justice Sinclair Prowse held that the provincial government had no authority to relocate an access road in a wetland in Grohman Narrows Provincial Park just west of Nelson.
The West Kootenay EcoSociety, represented by Nelson lawyer Joanna Cowen, filed a petition in BC Supreme court objecting that the proposed road would violate the Park Act by destroying the
habitat of the Western Painted Turtle – a species that the
province recognizes is threatened. The group pointed out that
the road was being relocated in order to meet the financial needs
of a new development going in across the highway from the park.
“This was a little group fighting for a little pond in a little
park and it will make big waves,” said West Kootenay EcoSociety
board member Suzy Hamilton. “This sends a strong message that
the Minister has to obey the Park Act, just like everyone else.
This is a victory for all small parks in the province.”
West Coast Environmental Law, which provided funding for the
EcoSociety’s challenge, was also elated. “The province was
basically arguing that the Park Act applies to the public, but
that the government can ignore it,” said staff lawyer, Andrew
Gage. “This decision affirms that parks are for British
Columbians, and for wildlife, and that has priority over any
inconvenience to a local developer.”
Grohman Narrows Provincial Park was sold to the government in the 1970s by a Nelson resident under the condition that it be made a park. In the early 1980s the land received Class A Provincial
Park status and has been used by thousands of residents and
school children alike.
Documents presented in court indicate that BC Parks knew that
moving the road would impact the painted turtle population, and
especially turtle hatchlings, and that regional WLAP staff in
Cranbrook had recommended that the road not be relocated due to
harm to the turtles and public concern. However, these
recommendations were ignored.
NEWS FEATURE
Fuel leaks leave landowners in toxic limbo
By ben parfitt Straight.com
Grand Forks BC - -May 24--Almost immediately after the pump was turned on at PW-1, people knew something was wrong. Local residents complained that their drinking water smelled strange, like lighter fluid. After fielding numerous complaints, the pump was shut off in the fall of 1981.
At the time, Production Well Number One was one of four drinking-water wells operated by the City of Grand Forks and had recently been deepened to increase capacity. Even with its expansion, PW-1 remained the smallest of the wells, a fortunate coincidence given that the city is located in the arid Kettle River Valley, where water is at a premium. Nevertheless, PW-1’s loss meant Grand Forks lost 10 percent of its available drinking water, putting a real crimp on supply.
Several months later, on May 19, 1982, PW-1 was brought back on-line. The lights at the City Hall switchboard lit up again. Caller after caller made similar complaints. The water had a weird smell and taste, as if it was contaminated with gasoline. For the second time in half a year, PW-1’s pump was switched off. Shortly after, city and provincial environmental officials began investigating how suspected toxins had made their way into Grand Forks’ water supply.
Twenty-three years later, the events at PW-1 loom large in a dispute pitting a half-dozen small businesses in Grand Forks against Chevron Canada—a dispute that is of interest to property owners elsewhere in B.C. who are dealing with the sorry environmental legacy of leaking underground fuel tanks. Questions are being asked about why the provincial government—regulator of hazardous wastes—failed to ensure that the ground around PW-1 was detoxified before the pollutants wormed their way into the ground beneath area businesses. And questions are also being asked about recent changes to provincial environmental legislation, changes that may put public health at increased risk.
“The thing that really bothers us is that this came to light in 1981,” says Kim Nielsen, who along with her husband, Tonni, owns a property near the former well. “The city well to the west of the Chevron station was contaminated and Chevron drilled a new well for the city. So the city got their well and their money. But the province didn’t say anything to anybody else in the area. It just seemed to die after that.”
For more than 20 years, in fact, the issue was moribund. But all that changed last year when the Nielsens decided to put the property they had purchased 13 years earlier for $70,000 up for sale. When a prospective buyer arrived, they learned they had a problem. Before getting a bank loan, the buyer was told the lender needed an environmental assessment of the property. The assessment, which cost the Nielsens $5,000, was essentially an historical overview of the business property and surrounding area. And it turned up details of the earlier events at PW-1 and contamination of the surrounding aquifer.
Not only did the report scuttle a $155,000 sale, but also it forced the Nielsens to spend $15,000 on a more detailed environmental study. Ironically, the company they chose, Golder Associates Ltd., previously worked for Chevron when problems at PW-1 surfaced. In order to establish whether or not the Nielsen property was contaminated, Golder sank three test wells. Water tests at two of the wells turned up unacceptable levels of hydrocarbons and metals exceeding Canadian health and safety standards. According to Golder, the toxins came from off site. The most likely sources were the Chevron station, a former Texaco station (Texaco is now owned by Chevron, part of a business empire that last year reported net income of $13.3 billion), two other properties where gasoline pumps were once located, and a former fuel tank on a property where a self-storage business now operates.
The Nielsens, who, along with a handful of other local business owners, have hired Vancouver environmental lawyer Wally Braul, recently proposed that Chevron and they exchange whatever information they each had on the Grand Forks pollution plume. Chevron’s lawyers turned down the request in mid May.
Coincidentally, questions about multiple pollution points confronted City of Grand Forks and provincial Ministry of Environment officials in 1982 when they investigated what had contaminated PW-1’s water. Notes on that investigation are included in a 1988 report by Piteau Associates Engineering Ltd., which was hired by a Vancouver law firm acting for the City of Grand Forks.
In July 1982, Marc Zubel, a ground-water expert with the Ministry of Environment, came to Grand Forks from Victoria. Within 10 minutes of resetting the pump at PW-1, Zubel turned on a nearby faucet and immediately detected “a faint smell, reminiscent of lighter fluid”. Zubel ordered water tests, which turned up hydrocarbons that were clearly moving in the ground water and had either come from some nearby bulk gasoline storage tanks that had earlier been decommissioned or two gas stations.
Further tests in 1987 by Piteau identified the Chevron station as “the most likely source” of the contamination. At three of seven test wells drilled, Piteau detected a marked petroleumlike odour and dark, discoloured soils. Significantly, the three holes ran in a line running away from where an old, 5,000-gallon, rusted-metal underground fuel tank was removed by Chevron. The second hole was opposite PW-1, the third toward the Texaco station. The line paralleled the underlying aquifer’s ground-water flow.
Chevron later paid the city for a new well, pump, and other equipment, along with an undisclosed amount of cash. A November 28, 1990, letter to the city from Roger Kestell, Chevron Canada’s vice-president of marketing, suggests the cash payment could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. (In the letter, Kestell wrote that it was “acceptable” to calculate the interest alone at $55,000, and he also offered to increase Chevron’s “bottom line” offer of a month earlier by $15,000.)
Chevron Canada spokesperson Deidre Reid declined to comment on the settlement, citing confidentiality. “We would not be able to disclose exact numbers.” As for whether or not groundwater and soil continues to be degraded in Grand Forks, Reid said “three sites of potential contamination” might explain any ongoing problems.
She said Chevron previously dealt with off-site contamination from its Grand Forks station by hiring consultants to devise a cleanup plan. The plan consisted of placing “soil vapour extraction equipment” both on and off the gas-station property. The equipment uses air to suck up vapours. But, according to Braul, that “has little if any effect on cleaning up the plume of pollution that has left the property”.
Beyond the use of the vapour extractors, Reid said “accredited professionals” advised that the best treatment option was “natural attenuation”.
Natural attenuation is essentially a euphemism for doing nothing. Over time, air and bacteria in the soil will break down the hydrocarbons in the contaminated soil, making it less toxic. The critical issue for property owners is just how much time is involved. If the pollution is extensive, it may take decades to be rendered harmless.
This fact appears to have been much on the mind of provincial Ministry of Environment staff in 2000, when they considered a natural-attenuation cleanup plan submitted by Imperial Oil. At issue was an extensive pollution plume from a gas station Imperial owned in the Village of Salmo (Imperial is part of oil giant Exxon Mobil, which reported 2004 net income of $25.3 billion). The ministry was prepared to accept the plan. But not, as British Columbia’s Supreme Court later heard, without tying its approval to Imperial first compensating several local residents whose properties were damaged by the plume.
Imperial argued in court that the ministry’s position on compensating property owners was “irrelevant” to approving the company’s cleanup plan. Not only did the court agree, but also it ordered the province to pay Imperial almost $240,000 extra in legal fees.
Several months after that decision, Imperial purchased three local properties affected by the pollution plume for an undisclosed amount of money. One of the properties, a café, had been in disrepair for years, its owner unable to obtain loans to upgrade it because of the liability associated with the pollution. The café was subsequently bulldozed and the property fenced in. The other two properties were leased back to the Village of Salmo, which now collects rent from the occupants. The settlement ended a bitter five-year battle, during which property owners were told the assessed value of their land was, in some cases, $1.
Other landowners similarly affected by gas-station pollution may not be so lucky, however. Faced with delays, they may be forced to live either with a cloud of liability hanging over their properties or elect to pay for their land to be cleaned up and seek to recover costs in court. If the subsequent lawsuit fails, they pay twice: once for the cleanup and once for their lawyers.
Back in Grand Forks, the Nielsens and others hope for a different outcome but know that they face an uphill battle. Their hope rests on the fact that the provincial government has yet to produce anything showing it approved a cleanup plan, even though provincial environment officials knew 23 years ago that there was a problem in the community.
In addition, the 1988 Piteau report proposed a detailed cleanup plan for the wider area. That report said that the contaminated aquifer required “biorestoration”—in this case, a process that involved pumping nutrients and bacteria into the earth for a period of between one and five years at a cost of $300,000 to $1 million in 1987 dollars. This would turn the hydrocarbons into a less soluble form, including gases, and would help slow the flow of toxins to surrounding properties.
“If Chevron and the ministry agreed that natural attenuation would work, then they should provide us with a certificate of compliance for the site, indicating that this site has been properly remediated,” Braul told the Georgia Straight. “My clients have good reason to believe that no approval in principle or certificate could be justified in these circumstances and that, in fact, they don’t exist.
“Natural attenuation should be used very selectively and very carefully and only in circumstances where local residents aren’t impacted. This is not one of those circumstances,” Braul added.
Don Vergamini, a contaminated-sites officer with the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection in Kamloops, confirmed to the Straight that a review of ministry files shows that the documents Braul refers to don’t exist. However, at a meeting between ministry and company officials in 1995, Vergamini said, Chevron felt it had cleaned up all the “free product” it could and that any remaining pollutants would, over time, be rendered benign. The ministry essentially concurred. “I don’t think there was much follow-up after the meeting in ’95, when they said the pollutants would naturally attenuate,” Vergamini said. He added that if the government concluded today that the environment or human health were at risk in Grand Forks, it could still step in and issue a cleanup order.
Across B.C., hundreds if not thousands of people live close to gas stations where underground metal fuel tanks were in use for decades, tanks that are known to corrode and leak. Although most metal tanks have been replaced with more durable double-hulled fibreglass units, pollution problems similar to those in Grand Forks and Salmo exist in numerous communities across the province.
More disturbing, Braul says, is that recent changes to provincial laws may place public interests at further risk. The changes came following a “contaminated sites review” initiated by the Liberals after their successful 2001 election campaign. The review triggered new legislation, the Environmental Management Act, which replaced the earlier Waste Management Act. Under the new act, approved professionals from the private sector, as opposed to public servants, are increasingly relied on to look at contaminated sites or properties that might be designated as such and to play a bigger role in designing cleanup plans for them.
Braul, who drafted B.C.’s original contaminated-sites regulations, and who is advising a panel of registered professionals who will be affected by the new act, says the changes have environmental experts in the private sector concerned. Although public servants are protected from prosecution by statutory immunity, professionals in the private sector are not. “We rely heavily on approved professionals already,” Braul says, “and that could spell trouble if there’s not adequate liability protection and affordable insurance products. Without that, there will be reluctance on the part of approved professionals to offer services and the system could grind to a halt.”
From the perspective of Kim and Tonni Nielsen, however, it seems things came to a halt a long time ago. Today, they live with the consequences. Twenty-three years after the province learned of events at PW-1, they are stuck with a business they can’t sell, a company cleanup plan that consists of doing nothing, and a public regulator that seems oddly indifferent to an environmental problem two decades in the making.
Nelson Surgeon Files Law Suit Against the Interior Health Alleging Charter of Rights violation.
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS May 12, 2005
Dr Ken Muth, a long time Nelson surgeon, has filed suit against the Interior Health Authority (IHA) in the BC Supreme Court. The writ claims that the IHA has infringed upon his rights under Sections 6, 7, and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The IHA has refused to permit Dr. Muth to engage a locum (temporary replacement) so that he may take respite from his practice or pursue continuing education. Dr. Muth also alleges that the IHA is discriminating against him personally. He states "I may be the only physician in Canada to ever be denied the right to choose a locum physician".
Dr Muth has been a surgeon in this idyllic West Kootenay town for over 30 years however his life changed drastically over the past 3 years since the IHA began controlling the delivery of health care in the southern BC interior.
Prior to their reorganization, Nelson had a thriving general surgery department with a staff of 3 general surgeons. With the reorganization of services Dr. Muth refused to leave Nelson, staying in the community he loved. He now provides surgical procedures, caesarean section back-up and emergency room on-call services.
The IHA’s decision is that if Dr. Muth goes on vacation or wishes to have time away, he is not allowed to freely choose a locum physician to work in Nelson to service his patients.
This comes on the heels of the IHA’s dispute with Okanagan pathologists which saw 10 of them submit their resignations to the IHA.
Got Bats?
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays May 10
The Kootenay Community Bat Project (KCBP) is gearing up for another year of identifying local bat species, providing educational programs and workshops, and assisting landowners with bat issues.
There are sixteen species of bats in BC, and half of them are considered vulnerable or threatened. Very little is known about bats and local biologists are trying to change that. Following up on the success of the Slocan Valley Bat Project last year, the KCBP will be expanding its area to include the entire West Kootenay.
“We had amazing success last year,” says Juliet Craig, Outeach Biologist for the project. “Residents were great for reporting their bats and allowing us come out to see them. We discovered over 75 roost sites, including important colonies of the rare Townsend’s big-eared bat.”
During a site visit, biologists will bring a bat down (if possible) from the attic or barn for resident’s to have a close look at. Because they have their rabies shots, biologists are able to safely handle bats, allowing them to identify them. They measure and weigh the bat, provide information about bats to landowners, and provide ideas for addressing concerns such as smell and noise
“Some people don’t mind having bats in their buildings, while others are looking for methods to remove them,” explains Craig. “We provide people with information and ideas for addressing their issues, whether that means leaving the bats where they are, or removing them from the roost site with as little impact as possible. We also encourage people to monitor their bat populations by letting us know when the bats are returning from hibernation, or leaving in the fall. This information is very valuable, since there is very little known about local bat species.”
Funded by the Columbia Basin Trust, and supported by the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, the Kootenay Community Bat Project is a leading example in North America of a community-based project that engages the community in bat conservation, incorporates local knowledge in identifying roost sites, and works with landowners towards the conservation and enhancement of roost sites.
If you have bats living in your buildings, you are encouraged to call the Kootenay Community Bat Project at 352-2260 or email kootenaybats@uniserve.com. See www.kootenaybats.com for more information.
Juliet Craig is a Registered Professional Biologist with Silverwing Ecological Consulting.
COMMUNITIES LIKE NELSON ABANDONED BY CAMPBELL
MEDIA RELEASE
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays May 1, 2005
(Nelson) -- Just as he's done to so many smaller BC communities, Gordon Campbell has abandoned the people of Nelson, NDP Leader Carole James said today.
"Gordon Campbell's one-sided approach has done immense damage to the community of Nelson over the past four years," said James. "But today I am making firm commitments that will address many of the issues I have seen in Nelson and too many other communities."
"All of Mr. Campbell's bragging about the economy will not restore the vital public services that he has cut from Nelson and from other small communities like Nelson," said James. "Too often, when Mr. Campbell makes economic decisions, he hurts ordinary people and their communities. With high resource prices, there is no excuse for failing to support communities such as Nelson."
James made the comments following a walking tour of downtown Nelson, where Gordon Campbell has cut beds from the community's hospital, closed the legal aid office, closed the Ministry of Forests office, and cut community-based addiction and outreach services.
"Mr. Campbell cut long-term care beds and other services in the Nelson hospital without even talking to the community," said James. "Mr. Campbell's one-sided record shows that he doesn't listen and he doesn't care about community needs, even when it comes to health care."
James said she would give local people the right to elect representatives on the regional health authority so they will be directly accountable to the communities they represent instead of to the premier's office. She also reiterated her commitment to add 6,000 long-term care beds over the next four years and to double funding for addiction prevention services.
"After four years of Gordon Campbell's invitation-only government, average families are paying more in taxes and fees and getting less health care," said James. "On May 17, voters won't need invitations from Mr. Campbell to make their voices heard."
Liberal Fundraising Scandal
TMTV for CTV NEWS April 30
The Liberals have found themselves putting out another fundraising fire.
This one stems from a meeting in the Kootenays last year, and another case of taxpayer's money ending up in the party's coffers. When the community of Nelson needed additional dollars to complete a new rec centre several local politicians met with a provincial minister and asked for more money, which they got.
But what they gave in return is once again raising eyebrows about the Liberal Party of BC's fundraising methods. A few months after the meeting, at which Economic Development Minister John Les and local Liberal MLA Blair Suffredine were present, the district was billed $350, which was paid to the BC Liberal Party.
Suffredine insists the meeting was a political event, but admits his party should not have accepted the money. The Liberal Party is blaming a local volunteer and has sent the cheque back to the district.
But this isn’t the first time the party has had to pay back ill-gotten funds. They have made payments to several municipalities to the tune of about $2,000.
But why the money was accepted in the first place is still the big question, and Liberal leader Gordon Campbell is struggling to explain. "There may be confusion between MLAs and their riding executives but there will be no confusion in the future. It was wrong to do it and that’s why the dollars are going back."
Campbell says his party will amend the party constitution to make it clear that a political party should not ask for, or accept donations from government.
B.C. Ambulance Service says response time in child fatality satisfactory
Canadian Press April 30
INVERMERE, B.C. (CP) -- The B.C. Ambulance Service has conducted a review of its response time into the death of a two-year-old boy from Canal Flats and determined its performance was satisfactory, the superintendent of the service's East Kootenay region said Friday. Dave Brooks said the review was prompted by an inquiry from the boy's grandfather who questioned whether the ambulance took too long to drive the 50 kilometres between Invermere, the nearest ambulance service station, and Canal Flats. The ambulance made the drive in 26 minutes, four minutes under the standard time, said Brooks. "Our review is done and we are satisfied," said Brooks. The young boy died in hospital after he was run over Monday in the family's driveway by a family member. The ambulance service said its vehicle made the journey to Canal Flats and was met one kilometre north of the community by a volunteer industrial ambulance that had the child and was driving to hospital in Invermere, said Brooks. Before the child could be transferred to the Invermere ambulance, a helicopter with a doctor and nurse landed on the side of the highway and the child was taken to Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. He suffered severe injuries to the right side of his body as well as massive head trauma. RCMP said a vehicle was backing out of the driveway when the boy ran up to it and was struck. Brooks said one issue that remains to be resolved is how to better improve the ambulance service's ability to contact the volunteer ambulance group in Canal Flats when necessary. He said the Canal Flats fire department experienced difficulty in contacting someone with the Canal Flats First Aid Association, which is responsible for the industrial ambulance. "We made several attempts to contact them," said Brooks. The association is volunteer and the industrial ambulance drivers are not paramedics but have first-aid training, said Brooks.
CASTLEGAR PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICES TO BE CUT
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS April 30
Outpatients will soon find it harder to get physiotherapy service at the Castlegar Health Centre (formerly Castlegar & District Hospital) according to information received from Scott Leyland, Interior Health’s Professional Practice Leader for Trail and Castlegar rehabilitation services, in response to a Health Watch inquiry.
“Patients tell me there are already long waits for service,” said CDHW president Bob Jackson. “These changes will make access even more difficult, even though there may be some improvement for at-home patients.”
According to Leyland, outpatient service will be reduced to approximately 7.5 hours a week, and the reason is budgetary.
“A system of priorizing clients will be instituted to insure fair and equitable access for key conditions and to achieve reasonable wait list times,” wrote Leyland.
“What is a reasonable wait time?” wondered Jackson. “Patients recovering from injuries or surgery often need physiotherapy without delay to avoid becoming permanently disabled, yet I hear of waits of four to seven months.”
Although there are private physiotherapy clinics, their services are not covered by the Medical Services Plan, and many patients may not be able to afford them.
“It’s another example of the health authority being penny-wise and pound-foolish,” said Jackson. “Patients whose rehabilitation is incomplete or delayed are surely prime candidates for further injury and readmission to hospital through the emergency room.”
Services to Talarico Place residents, including convalescent patients, are not affected, according to Leyland.
The physiotherapist will provide service to some patients in their homes, which will mean a good part of her day will be spent on the road. This may improve service to patients who find it difficult to travel to the Health Centre, but, along with the reduction in outpatient hours, means that she will be able to see fewer patients.
According to other sources, no cuts to physiotherapy services are planned for patients served by Trail or Nelson rehabilitation staff.
BC Hydro and Nelson Hydro each contribute $50,000
to permanent hydroelectric exhibit at Nelson MuseumTMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS April 30
NELSON - BC Hydro and Nelson Hydro are the first contributors to a permanent
hydroelectric generation exhibit in the new Nelson & District Museum. Each
utility presented a $50,000 cheque during an announcement today
"BC Hydro has a rich history in the Kootenays through the construction and
operation of the Columbia River Treaty projects and related facilities - an
integral part of fulfilling our purpose of providing reliable power at
low-cost for generations," said BC Hydro Executive Vice president,
Generation, Dawn Farrell. "This contribution will move us closer to becoming
one of the most respected companies in BC by enabling future generations to
learn about our lasting legacy."
"The City of Nelson is proud to see its historic City Hall building serve as
the new home for our archives, museum and art gallery," said Nelson Mayor,
Dave Elliott. "We are especially pleased that this proposed high quality
exhibit will engage the public about the social, environmental and economic
realities of hydro power."
"The Nelson Museum, Archive, Art Gallery and Historical Society appreciates
the generosity and leadership of BC Hydro and Nelson Hydro in seeking to
establish a first class exhibit that will spotlight a major piece of our
region's history and serve to educate museum visitors for years to come.
This attraction will compliment the museum's natural history, First Nations,
cultural history and Nelson area exhibits," said Society President, Don
Lyon.
The Society's vision is to unveil an interactive hydroelectric exhibit
including computer and static displays by the summer of 2006. The scope of
the displays will include historic and present day hydro facilities on the
Columbia River and its Kootenay and Pend d'Oreille river tributaries.
"Nelson Hydro has been producing and delivering green electricity to the
residents of Nelson and area since 1896," said General manager, Russell
Leslie. "Today, we can stand alongside the best in the industry and showcase
the history and importance of hydroelectric generation."
"This hydroelectric exhibit will give tourists a sense of the inner workings
of a generating station without actually having to visit one," said BC Hydro
Safety and Technical Services manager, Roman Dusil. "We place a high value
on maintaining public safety and minimizing security risks at our facilities
- this exhibit supports these values."
Trail Mayor still upset after hospital report
BK RADIO NEWS April 29 - -TRAIL MAYOR DIETER BOGS IS TIRED OF PEOPLE PUTTING DOWN THE REGIONAL HOSPITAL.
BOGS SAYS IT'S A TOP-NOTCH FACILITY WITH EXCELLENT STAFF.
"it's very discouraging to see people making those discouraging comments on a continuing basis when so many people are working so hard."
BOGS QUESTIONED THE ACCURACY OF A RECENT T-V REPORT ON THE STATE OF HEALTH CARE IN THE KOOTENAY BOUNDARY.
BUT HE SAYS THE INTERIOR HEALTH AUTHORITY HAS DECIDED NOT TO MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT IT.
A CALLER TO THE BKR NEWSLINE, MEANWHILE, ACCUSES THE MAYOR OF NOT LOOKING BEYOND CITY LIMITS.
"if dieter bogs listened to people outside of trail he'd hear some of his stories and some of the things that have happend...and perhaps interior health may want to look at reinstate full time surgery in nelson."
Second municipal donation to B.C. Liberals revealed
CBC News Apr 28 2005NELSON, B.C. – CBC News has learned that another local government has unwittingly donated taxpayers' money to the B.C. Liberal Party.
- FROM APRIL 26, 2005: Liberal fundraising tactics under fire
The Regional District of Central Kootenay paid $350 last August to send 14 representatives to a breakfast meeting with Economic Development Minister John Les.
Regional district CEO Carol McGowen says district representatives wanted access to the minister, to learn the status of an application for $600,000 in infrastructure money.
McGowen says the district understood the event was a "no-host breakfast" – not a Liberal fundraiser.
That was also the understanding of local Liberal MLA, Blair Suffredine, who also attended the breakfast.
"As far as I know, we didn't do party fundraisers last year. And so I would just assume that if we all went somewhere for a meeting and everybody got assessed a bill for their attendance, it's based on the number of people they sent," he says.
"I mean, we did have breakfast, but it wasn't a fundraiser. They would have just paid the amount that was charged by the hotel for breakfast. It wasn't paid to the B.C. Liberal Party to have a profit."
- INDEPTH: B.C. Votes 2005
However, the B.C. Liberal Party charged people attending the meeting more than double the hotel price for breakfast.
Suffredine's campaign manager, Ben Arcuri, sold tickets to the event, and he says it was clearly a fundraiser. And a Liberal party executive in the riding also told CBC News that the event was, in fact, a party fundraiser.
Earlier this week, similar donations in northwestern B.C. led to the resignation of the president of the Liberal Skeena riding association.
'Extinct' First Nation gets ancestral bones back
Wed, 27 Apr 2005 CBC News
NELSON, B.C. - RCMP in British Columbia have returned some human remains that washed up on the shores of the Arrow Lakes to a First Nation that's supposedly extinct.
In March, the bones of two people were found near a traditional burial ground of the Sinixt First Nation in the West Kootenay region.
The federal Department of Indian Affairs declared the Sinixt people extinct in 1956 for the purposes of the Indian Act, so the provincial government asked two neighbouring First Nations if they wanted the remains.
But Marilyn James, the appointed spokesperson for the Sinixt or Arrow Lakes Indians, stepped forward to claim the bones instead.
"Because of our distinction of extinction, it's very hard for people to officially make contact with us," said James, who estimates there are still 6,800 Sinixt descendants alive in British Columbia and Washington state.
RCMP in Castlegar released the bones to James last week.
"You can tell when bones are happy and they're not very happy," James said of the bones, which hikers discovered washed up on the shore.
Similar remains have been found occasionally near the Arrow Lakes over the past 15 years.
No more polygamy with girls under 18, B.C. sect says
CBC News REPORT
CBC NATIONAL NEWS-April 20- CRESTON, B.C. - The wives of polygamists from a religion-based community near Creston, B.C., defended their lifestyle at a meeting Tuesday night, but also said girls under 18 will no longer enter into "plural marriages."
- INDEPTH: Marriage by the Numbers
The women are part of a secretive breakaway Mormon sect that believes one man may have several wives. (The official Mormon Church banned polygamy in 1890.)
They fully admit that their families are breaking the law.
But during the "Summit on Polygamy" sponsored by their church at a recreation centre in Creston, the women said their lifestyle is just another aspect of the multicultural fabric of Canada, and should be respected on freedom-of-religion grounds.
"Our lifestyle is not for everyone, and may not be the right choice for you," Leah Barlow, who was raised in the faith, told non-members attending the meeting. "But for us, this is the right choice."
Critics speak of very young pregnant wives
The 1,000-member community of Bountiful has attracted criticism recently because some older men have nearly 30 wives, some as young as 14.
Larry Corville, who protested outside the meeting with a handful of other people, said he worries about the young mothers he sees visiting Creston from time to time. Some of them are pregnant while they still seem to be children themselves, he said.
"We see them come to town with one in the sack ... and they don't look like they're 15, 16 years old," he said.
Only two girls younger than 16 have ever entered into what the women of Bountiful call plural marriages, the community countered Tuesday night. One was a day shy of her 15th birthday when she married an older man.
- FROM THE FIFTH ESTATE: Polygamy in Bountiful
Barlow said the congregation has now decided that won't happen anymore.
"Girls will not be allowed to enter into plural marriage until they have reached the age of consent of 18," she said.
Neither the women nor Winston Blackmore, a leader in the sect who acknowledges having "married several very young wives in my life," would explain why that decision has been made now.
Blackmore would only say that in the past, leaders in the U.S. were preaching that the end of the world was about to occur, and teenage girls were anxious to be married before it was too late.
He added that in his case, it was the girls who told their parents they wanted to marry him, and leaders above him told him to comply with their wishes.
Lives described as happy, except for discrimination
The women of Bountiful served homemade cookies as they mingled with Creston residents at the meeting, their braided hair and modest pioneer-style dresses setting them apart.
One after another, they described how happy they are sharing husbands with their "sister wives" and attacked activists who claim they have been brainwashed from an early age to accept polygamy.
The women said the biggest problem they face is prejudice. They told of banks that refused their business, and of physical attacks on their children.
In 2004, provincial officials said they would look into accusations of child abuse, forced marriage and sexual exploitation at the Bountiful commune. They also said there had been complaints about racist teachings in the community's schools.
Mormon splinter group holds polygamy summit
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays Wednesday, April 20, 2005CRESTON, B.C. -- A Mormon splinter group has invited British Columbia's Attorney-General and his counterpart from Idaho, among others, to attend what it is calling a polygamy summit.
Polygamy has been practised openly for more than 60 years in the fundamentalist Mormon community in Bountiful, B.C. The summit is to be in nearby Creston on Today.
Last summer, B.C. Attorney-General Geoff Plant announced the start of an RCMP investigation into allegations of child abuse, forcible marriage and sexual exploitation. No charges have been filed in the community in southeastern British Columbia.
The Idaho legislature recently formed an interim committee to investigate rumours of Mexican "baby" brides being sold to men in southern Idaho and allegations of border crossings by young brides for the community in Bountiful.
On its website, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has also invited a representative of the B.C. Teachers' Federation and Audrey Vance of a group called Altering Destiny Through Education to attend the meeting on today.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Plant said the invitation has been passed on to Solicitor-General Rich Coleman, but he won't be attending because a provincial election campaign formally starts today.
Ms. Vance, whose group has been critical of the fundamentalist Mormon community, said she might attend.
"I'm considering my options," she said. "I'd hate to go and support something that's illegal so I'm still thinking about it."
Winston Blackmore, the self-proclaimed bishop of Bountiful, declined to discuss the summit but indicated the community of 1,000 feels it has been victimized by biased media coverage, which is one of the reasons for the summit.
On the church's website, Mr. Blackmore denies having 30 wives and fathering a hundred children.
Teachers' federation spokeswoman Nancy Knickerbocker said her organization would attend because of the legal issues," she said.
The federation has called for an investigation of a private school located at Bountiful, Ms. Knickerbocker said, out of concern for educational standards at the facility and allegations that teachers at the school teach racial superiority.
Attendance at the meeting on today is limited to 400 people.
CHANGES PROTECT MOUNTAIN CARIBOU
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays Mar 22
NELSON – Government has approved new land use changes to protect Mountain Caribou herds in the Kootenays, announced Nelson-Creston MLA Blair Suffredine and Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Wendy McMahon on behalf of Sustainable Resource Management Minister George Abbott today.
“We recognize the importance of conserving Mountain Caribou,” said Suffredine. “That’s why we are taking steps to protect sensitive areas of caribou habitat.”
The variances to the Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan and the establishment of the Revelstoke Higher Level Plan will:
Improve mapping to reflect best available information on prime Caribou habitat.
Improve forest management direction by outlining clear legal objectives.
Adopt new science and research for Mountain Caribou management.
Maintain existing Mountain Caribou herds while recovery options are being developed.
Provide management direction for biodiversity, scenic areas and grizzly bear.
“These measures are being taken based on new scientific information,” said McMahon. “We are making these changes to ensure the herds in the region can be maintained.”
Land and Water BC has also placed a moratorium on new commercial recreation licensing in these legally established Mountain Caribou habitat zones in the Kootenays until September 30, 2006. This includes habitat for the Central Selkirk, South Selkirk, Central Rockies, Revelstoke and South Purcell Mountain Caribou herds.
“I am encouraged by the government’s initial work through the species at risk co-ordinator to address recreation impacts facing Mountain Caribou,” said John Bergenske of Wildsight. “We now want to see the government proceed with enforceable policy that curtails tenured and non-tenured recreation and logging in critical habitat.”
“We look to strike a balance between the environment and a competitive, stable economic business climate,” said Abbott. “We are able to modify these plans so that we can incorporate new science and new strategies to benefit species at risk.”
A provincial recovery plan for Mountain Caribou is being completed through the office of the provincial species at risk recovery co-ordinator. A scientific committee of leading Mountain Caribou biologists is expected to release initial options for herd recovery this fall.
Local Fish & Wildlife Get $3.9 Million: Compensation Program Announces 10th Year of Funding
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays Mar 21.
(NELSON BC) More than $3.9million from BC Hydro has been earmarked for local fish and wildlife projects in the next 12 months, announced Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (CBFWCP) Co-chair Wayne Stetski today.
“This is the 10th year that we have funded conservation and enhancement projects across the region,” says Stetski, “Many of this year’s projects focus on endangered or species at risk and we are working with a range of partners to ensure biodiversity in the region.”
The CBFWCP is a joint initiative of BC Hydro, the Ministry of Water, Land & Air Protection and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife populations affected by construction of BC Hydro dams in the Columbia Basin.
The 2005 - 06 funding will be shared between 11 fish and 22 wildlife projects that address sturgeon, grey wolves, bald eagles, great blue herons, bull trout, kokanee, bighorn sheep, northern leopard frogs, caribou, western painted turtles, bats, bobolinks, western skinks, large mammals, amphibians and more. Other projects are aimed at habitat restoration, endangered forests and species inventory work. For a complete list of 2005 – 06 funded projects visit www.cbfishwildlife.org.
“A significant portion of our annual funding goes towards the fertilization program in the Arrow Lakes Reservoir and Kootenay Lake, one of the largest lake restoration programs in the world,” says CBFWCP Co-Chair Kevin Conlin, “As a result of the fertilization program, the number of kokanee spawners has increased dramatically and is approaching historical, pre-dam levels as a result.”
Increasing the number of kokanee benefits other species such as the large Gerrard rainbow trout, bald eagles and grizzlies as well as enhancing economic benefits by improving fishing and tourism opportunities.
“We know projects like this are making a real difference and helping species impacted by BC Hydro dams,” says Conlin, noting that since the Compensation Program was established in 1994-95 more than 600 projects have been funded throughout the East and West Kootenay and the Upper Columbia area.
To date, the CBFWCP has invested more than $30 million delivering fish and wildlife projects. Almost one-third of those projects focused on species at risk. Projects are delivered both by Compensation Program staff and a wide range of partners including First Nations, industrial partners, local communities and environmental groups.
“We are doing our part to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife and we are excited to be working with so many other committed partners,” says CBFWCP Program Manager Maureen DeHaan.
“By funding these important ‘hands on’ projects the Compensation Program is helping maintain a healthy ecosystem for our resident fish and wildlife,” says Richard Spilker from Nelson, a volunteer public representative on the CBFWCP Steering Committee. “Protecting the area’s fish and wildlife is good for the environment and it’s good for the local economy.”
BCTV Kootenays On-line for 3 months
Mar 10, 2005
Nelson BC - - -The on-line trial version of BCTV Kootenays is 3 months old today. The visitors to the site continue to grow everyday and the response from viewers is overwhelming.
TMTV who owns and produces BCTV Kootenays celebrates its 25th year of providing TV news coverage to BCTV Newshour and many other TV stations and broadcast networks from all over the world.
BCTV Kootenays will continue to bring local, BC and world news to the Kootenay/Boundary area on-line as long as people want it and that they maintain a strong viewership.
The site is not clogged with advertising and is not advertising driven. It is here to provide news and information to the people of the Kootenays.
The site is updated several times per day or as-news-happens. BCTV Kootenays posts the unedited version of a story, press or media release giving the full story if available.
If you have anything you wish to have posted or want to comment on BCTV Kootenays dot com please e-mail bctvnewstips@tmtv.net
Fatality at Teck Cominco Trail Operations
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays Tuesday Mar 8.
TRAIL, BC, March 8 /CNW/ - Teck Cominco, Trail Operations regrets to announce that a worker employed by a contractor collapsed on site, was rushed to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, and was pronounced dead at 6:34 am. The identity of the worker has not been released pending notification of next of kin. The cause of the fatality is not known at this time. Teck Cominco immediately notified the WCB, RCMP and the coroner and is cooperating fully in the investigation of the matter. The company stopped maintenance work immediately as a precautionary measure. Arrangements have been made for the services of counselors for the work crews and the Emergency Response Team. On behalf of Teck Cominco, Mike Agg, General Manager of Trail Operations, expresses deepest sympathies to the worker's family and loved ones.
Doukhobor monument on hold
Posted Mar 6 2005
CBC NewsNEW DENVER, B.C. – Some Doukhobor people who were seized from their parents in the 1950s says they're relieved the province has decided against going ahead with a planned monument.
About 200 Doukhobors were interned as children for up to six years by the provincial government in a sanatorium in the West Kootenay community of New Denver.
The government had started building a monument and picnic site to commemorate the children's hardship.
But members of the New Denver Survivors Coalition considered the monument an insult.
"I feel it's such a great victory to us that if I don't get anything else from the government, at least I retained my heritage," says spokesperson Walter Swetlishoff.
Swetlishoff says Doukhobors don't believe material objects such as icons or monuments can have any such meaning. "They want to put plaques here about our suffering, which is exactly what we don't believe."
The internment of the children was the subject of an Ombudsman's investigation the late 1990s, which called on the government to apologize.
Instead, there was a statement of regret in the legislature by Attorney General Geoff Plant last October.
Plant says some coalition members did want a monument originally. And he says the province has already spent more than $10,000 on the site.
He says the project is now on hold "indefinitely" because of the lack of support in the Doukhobor community.
Remote system counters BC slide threat
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays Mar 1
REVELSTOKE - A $943,000 state-of-the-art remote avalanche control system has now been installed on the Laurie avalanche path, east of Revelstoke, to reduce the threat of natural avalanches on the Trans-Canada Highway, Columbia-Revelstoke MLA Wendy McMahon and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced today.
"The Trans-Canada Highway is a major trading and travelling route not only for this region, but for all of Western Canada," said McMahon. "It is imperative that crews have the best technology available to make this highway safe for travellers. This new remote avalanche control system is a big step in that direction."
The remote system, called Avalanche Guard, consists of a tower containing explosives, which can be discharged from a safe location by remote control to trigger a controlled avalanche. On the Laurie avalanche path, 50 km east of Revelstoke, four towers have been installed in three locations, allowing crews to discharge explosives to the precise spot they are needed. The system comes equipped with a total of 60 charges - enough to last for an entire season.
"This new system improves safety and reliability on the Trans-Canada Highway," said Falcon. "Because crews can trigger the explosives by remote control, rather than by helicopter, we'll be able to activate a controlled avalanche in poor weather conditions, day or night, even if the visibility is bad."
Large destructive avalanches from the Laurie avalanche path affect Highway 1 on an average of once every 3.5 winters. In order to ensure driver safety, preventative road closures are periodically required in order to pre-emptively activate small avalanches using explosives, which significantly reduce the likelihood of larger avalanches. Most planned avalanche closures last two hours or less.
"We're committed to keeping B.C. highways safe, open and efficient so goods and people can move comfortably," said Falcon. "Our plan to modernize our highway system will create jobs, fuel economic growth and improve the quality of life for all British Columbians."
British Columbia is the first province in Canada to use the Avalanche Guard, which is widely used in Europe.
More lodges planned for B.C. parks
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays for BCTV Newshour on Global
CBC REPORT
VANCOUVER – Environmental groups say leaked government documents show the B.C. Liberals are planning to allow a major expansion of private lodges in provincial parks.
The documents from the Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection outline plans for 12 exclusive lodges – with 80-plus beds each – built within park boundaries in the next five years.
Anne Sherrod, of the Valhalla Wilderness Society, calls the plan outrageous because there's been no public consultation.
"It's a gross betrayal of trust to the people who have paid generation after generation so that future generations can have something that is wild and free," she says.
Sherrod says the government has shortlisted 10 parks for development. "By opening parks to that, the government is basically dismantling our parks system."
Water Land and Air Protection's Bill Barisoff is defending the plan.
He says the idea isn't new, noting that three provincial parks – Manning, Cathedral and Kokanee Glacier – already have lodges that are good models for what the government wants to do elsewhere.
"We are not building mini-Whistlers all over the province," he says. "It's a matter of creating access. It's a matter of building access to parks for seniors and families."
Barisoff also says the government hasn't created any regulations for the lodges yet, and accuses the environmental groups of misconstruing the government's plans.
B.C. polygamists want age of consent raised
TMTV for CTV NATIONAL NEWS- FEB 18
CTV.ca News Staff
Fifteen women from a polygamous community in British Columbia made a rare public appearance Friday, to voice their support for a proposal to raise the age of consent in Canada.
The woman travelled from Bountiful, B.C., to Winnipeg, Manitoba to speak out at a conference on sexual exploitation and child brides.
"It will really help us a lot,'' one of the women told a roundtable that included police, teachers and child rights advocates.
"Come on, children are children. I know as a mother with younger girls I encourage my girls not to get married too young.''
The women wanted their views heard because they knew Debbie Palmer would be attending.
Palmer grew up in Bountiful. At the age of 15 she became the third wife of a man 40 years her senior.
Seventeen years later she left the community, spurred by her childrens' complaints of abuse at the hands of male elders and her own suspicions that young girls were being sent as child brides to polygamous communities south of the border.
Two decades on, Debbie Palmer is still concerned.
"I am concerned for those children all the time," she told reporters. "We have no idea what's happened to them."
But the Bountiful brides surprised Debbie Palmer with their support for a law banning child marriages.
"I think it's a very astounding statement on their part,'' she told reporters, recalling her experience in the breakaway Mormon sect.
"I've got documents from sermons that were preached in 2000 and 2001 that were urging the girls to get married as quickly as possible because they needed to belong to a husband before the end of the world came.''
But according to Marlene Palmer, who is still married to the man Debbie wed at 15, her community supports efforts to raise the age of sexual consent in Canada from 14 to 16.
"I think 15 is way to young to start practising sex and especially to a multimarried man," she said.
On the request of the B.C. Attorney General, the RCMP investigated allegations of sexual abuse, incest and forcible marriage in the remote B.C. community. No criminal charges have been laid.
Although the legal age for marriage varies from province to province, the age of sexual consent is set federally at 14 nationwide.
Under an amendment tabled by the Liberal government in Ottawa, the age of consent would remain 14, but judges would be able to decide whether individuals as old as 18 were being exploited.
With files from CTV News and The Canadian Press
B.C. hockey referee fears for his life
TMTV for CBC TV National News - Feb 18
Last Updated Feb 18 2005 08:50 AM PST CBC News
NELSON, B.C. – A hockey referee in Nelson claims he received a death threat after he made kicked a player out during a men's recreational league game last Sunday.
Ross Owens says the player threatened to hurt him after a call he didn't agree with. So he fined the player and kicked him out of the game.
But he says the the player then returned to the ice, and threatened to kill him.
"He was emotional when he said he was going to hurt me. But when he came back from the bench he was cold and calm and just deliberately pointedly saying he was going to kill me. It just blows my mind still. I'm in shock."
Owens walked off the ice and called 911,while he says other players from both teams heckled him.
"I was scared and that's hard to admit because I'm around a bunch of macho men you know, and it's not the thing to do to call the police,"he says.
Police in Nelson are still investigating the allegation, and will decide next week if charges should be laid.
"Comments are always made between players to players and referees, and at this point in time we don't feel the threat is imminent," says Inspector Henry Paivarinta.
The player accused of making the threat is out of town. But his brother told CBC News that he doesn't believe any threats were made, and that the level of hockey may be just too aggressive for Owens.
However, the referee says he's still afraid, and wants the player charged to send a message that death threats are not just part of the game.
"I've been losing sleep, and I haven't been able to study. It's been rough. I shouldn't have to be looking over my shoulder all the time worrying about some guy coming to get me over a $50-fine."
Chocolate Saved Her Life
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS for BCTV Newshour on Global and CNN - - -Feb 18
A woman in Nelson spent nearly two hours trapped in freezing water, after her SUV flipped into the Kootenay River on Valentine's Day.
And, believe it or not, a box of chocolates is being credited in helping save her life.
The woman was found by her boyfriend, who went looking for her when she didn't show up for work early Monday morning.
Crews say the woman was stuck between the two seats and was breathing in an air pocket.
A firefighter said a heart-shaped box of chocolates was floating in the vehicle and eating them helped keep her core temperature up.
The very lucky woman was taken to hospital with hypothermia and released.
TRAIL MAN IDENTIFIED AS VICTIM OF BRIDGE ACCIDENT
BK RADIO NEWS FEB 6-- A TRAIL MAN IS DEAD AFTER HIS VEHICLE SMASHED THROUGH A CEMENT GUARD RAIL ON THE KINNAIRD BRIDGE AND PLUNGED 50 METERS INTO THE COLUMBIA RIVER.
TWENTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD JOSHUA DEE MCLEAN WAS FOUND INSIDE HIS DEMOLISHED JEEP WHEN A CRANE RAISED THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE FAST FLOWING RIVER.
R-C-M-P CONSTABLE TONY HOLLAND SAYS THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELLING WEST AT ABOUT 3 A-M FRIDAY.
"It went up on the sidewalk, then veered left and impacted strongly enough on the fenceline to break off two of the panels and the vehicle went over into the river. It was sitting in five to seven meters of water."
HOLLAND SAYS MANY PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED IN THE RECOVERY.
"Civilians, the fire department, search and rescue, 15 police officers. Including the dive team, it could be close to 50."
HOLLAND SAYS IN HIS 24 YEARS OF SERVICE HE'S NEVER SEEN AN ACCIDENT LIKE IT.
R-C-M-P AND THE CORONERS OFFICE ARE INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES OF THE CRASH.
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays on GLOBAL
Vehicle Flies off Bridge - Vehicle Recovered
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays - -Friday Feb 4 & Saturday Feb 5-
Just before dark Friday evening RCMP divers located the reck of the vehicle which had smashed through the guard rails of the Kinnard Bridge in Castlegar and flew 100 meters into the Columbia River. The vehicle was located just south of the bridge in about 7 meters of water.
The unrecognizable Jeep Cherokee was folded and the roof completely crushed was pulled to the bridge deck by a large crane as several people gathered on the shores of the Columbia river to watch, "hopefully a one time accident" sayed one Castlegar Local. "I've been here since this bridge was built and have never scene a vehicle go through the bridge. Over the years people have jumped off to their deaths and big trucks have smashed into the railing but none have gone through. This guy must have been flying!"
A male was found pinned in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. RCMP will continue to investigate. The lone occupent is 26-year-old Joshua Dee McLean from Trail BC.
Car flies off bridge, lands in Columbia River
CBC RADIO REPORT- Feb 4 2005 02:55 PM PST
CBC RADIO -CASTLEGAR, B.C. – Search and rescue crews and dive teams from as far away as Kamloops are looking for a car that plummeted off a bridge early Friday morning near Castlegar.
The vehicle smashed through the waist-high guard rails of the Kinnard Bridge on Highway 3 and fell 100 meters before disappearing into the Columbia River.
Police have no idea how many people were in the vehicle.
Divers searching the river have been hampered by a swift current and powerful eddies near the bridge pilings.
A crane is standing by to pull the car out when it's finally found.
Highway 3 has reopened to traffic.
Police are asking for information on anyone who might have gone missing Thursday night while driving in the area.
REMAINS IDENTIFIED
Kimberly Ann Sargeant
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays JAN 26, 2005
Nelson BC- Nelson City Police have released the indentity of human remains found in a heavily wooded area east of Nelson. The remains have been identified as 23 year old Kimberly Ann Sargent who disappeared March 22, 2004.
Her vehicle was found in the Mount Station Road parking area back in March of last year. An extensive search was launched during that time by the Nelson City Police, Nelson RCMP, & Nelson Search and Rescue. All searches were negative.
Police wish to make it clear that foul play has been ruled out in this incident. The Coroners office is now conducting their investigation, and accordingly, the cause of death or circumstances surrounding the death will not be disclosed at this time.
CBC Reports: Police credit psychic with finding body
NELSON, B.C. – Police in Nelson have found the body of a young woman who went missing last March – and they're crediting a local psychic for pointing them in the right direction.
Kimberley Anne Sarjeant was last seen walking alone in a popular hiking spot near Nelson. Her car was discovered parked nearby and police say they used every tool at their disposal to try to find her.
Sgt. Steve Bank says that included search dogs, helicopters, and infared heat detectors. But none of the standard search techniques seemed to work.
So, Bank called on a local psychic for help.
Police had already searched along an abandoned railway line where the 23-year-old woman was last seen.
But local psychic Norm Pratt steered police away from that trail. About a kilometre into nearby woods, he found Sarjeant's clothes. Her remains were discovered in the same area.
"Without the use of the psychic I think I'd still be looking for this person," says Sgt. Bank.
Police aren't releasing the cause of death, but Bank says it's important the public know that foul play is not suspected.
Sarjeant's disappearance had led to some fear about the dangers of young women hiking alone in the area. Now, police say people don't need to worry about the area.
"I use that recreation area all the time with my kids," says Sgt. Bank. "There is absolutely no cause for concern."
Bank says people should just use normal caution in the wilderness area.
Global Disease Having an Impact on BC’s Remaining Northern Leopard Frogs.
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays. Jan 25, 2005
Two dead northern leopard frogs found near Creston BC, having been infected by the chytrid fungus – a disease that is responsible for decimating frog populations throughout the world.
West Kootenay BC. It’s called chytrid fungus and, having already decimated frog populations in Australia and South America, it is perhaps the biggest global threat facing amphibians. It is now present in BC’s only remaining population of red-listed (endangered) northern leopard frogs near Creston in south-east BC.
“The situation is of great concern”, says Wayne Stetski, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (CBFWCP). “Over the last few years a number of partners have worked together to rebuild the stocks through the Northern Leopard Frog Recovery Project. It is early days, but this fungus may deal a severe blow to this sensitive species”.
Chytrid (pronounced ‘kit-rid’) fungus was just discovered in 1998, but new research suggests that the disease originated in Africa. A team of international scientists, led by Ché Weldon from North-West University in South Africa, isolated the fungus from specimens of African clawed frog, preserved in the 1930’s. While this research is not entirely conclusive, it does provide a compelling hypothesis of how fungus has become a global threat to amphibians.
African clawed frogs are able to carry the chytrid fungal infection, but they do not die from it. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, these frogs were used for human pregnancy testing and laboratory experiments. Female African clawed frogs lay eggs in response to being injected with the urine of a pregnant woman.
When new technologies for pregnancy diagnosis were developed in the late 1950’s, many were released including some that may have carried the fungus. Since then, African clawed frogs have continued to be used as laboratory animals and have also become popular pets. The accidental escape or intentional release from either source may be responsible for the spread of the disease
While it is not known exactly how chytrid fungus kills its victims, the fungus infects the skin of the frogs which frogs use to breathe and absorb water. Some researchers suspect that the frog secretes a toxin while others think it simply blocks the absorption of water though the skin.
The Weldon study demonstrated that by 1961 the disease had become established in frogs native to Quebec, which coincides with the decline of many amphibians. From the 1970’s onwards there has been a dramatic
decline in frog populations around the world, and research in BC has found that the fungus is impacting northern leopard frogs.
Doug Adama, Chair of the Northern Leopard Frog (NLF) Recovery Project and Wildlife Biologist on contract to the CBFWCP, admits that the discovery of the chytrid fungus creates a new challenge. “It comes on the heel of the degradation and loss of wetland habitats, pollution, and the introduction of non-native fish species.”
Each year the NLF Recovery Project raises and releases from 5,000 to 10,000 tadpoles or frogs. “We pay very close attention to ensure that our captive breeding program remains disease-free”, says Adama. “We undertake regular checks for chytrid fungus and all the tests done on captive frogs have returned negative. Once the frogs are released into the wild, however, we have no control over the disease.”
In recent years the NLF Recovery Project has recorded a marked increase in chytrid-related mortality, finding dead and dying northern leopard frogs in the wild. As a result the Project is expanding its disease monitoring to determine if other amphibians in the area such as spotted frogs or pacific chorus frogs carry the fungus.
Containing the disease will be tough according to Adama. “We have contemplated treating wild animals with an antifungal solution, but this is not a practical solution. The biggest priority may be to establish additional populations, including captive frogs”.
Partners involved in the NLF Recovery Project include the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (MWLAP), Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area, Columbia Basin Trust, the World Wildlife Fund and the CBFWCP. The CBFWCP is a joint initiative between BC Hydro, MWLAP and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife populations affected by BC Hydro dams.
For more information about the northern leopard frog recovery effort log onto to www.cbfishwildlife.org
Facts about the Northern Leopard Frog Recovery Project and chytrid fungus
There is only one known population of northern leopard frogs in BC, located in the Creston area.
The five-year NLF Recovery Project was initiated in 2001 and annually releases about 5,000 tadpoles and 5,000 frogs into the wild.
Chytrid fungus infects the skin tissue breaking down keratin (the same protein that is found in human fingernails), which causes the skin to slough off.
Very little is known about the life cycle of this fungus but it may have another life stage outside the skin of the frogs.
Dead specimens are submitted to the Animal Health Centre in Abbottsford and the Wildlife Health Centre in Saskatoon. They are diagnosed by examining the skin tissue under a microscope to identify the genetic fingerprint of the fungus.
Chytrid fungi (of which there are over 1200 species) are known to parasitize plants and insects but amphibians are the first (and so far, only) vertebrates that are infected by this group of fungi.
The cause of amphibian decline in general has proven far more complex than previously thought. In the mid-1990’s, amphibian declines were being attributed to increased UV-B due to the thinning of the ozone layer but there is little supporting data to support this hypothesis. It now appears that the disease is playing a significant role in the decline of many species, including the northern leopard frogs of BC.
Because of the risk of disease to wild animals, pet frogs, salamanders, reptiles or fish should never be released into the wild.
Questions raised over coroner's report
NELSON, B.C. –Jan 24--CBC News has learned that the coroner's agent who investigated last year's controversial death of a Nelson man called for recommendations that were not included in the final report.
Earlier this month the coroner's office labelled Edward Morritt's death accidental and made no recommendations. And the Interior Health Authority then used that report to defend its treatment of the 75-year-old.
- FROM JAN. 11, 2005: Nelson man's death ruled an accident
Morritt died from internal bleeding. He had ruptured his spleen when he fell in his yard. He was admitted to the Nelson hospital, but could not be diagnosed there.
The coroner's report says ultrasound equipment was available, but it was after-hours and no one was on-call to use it. The Interior Health Authority stopped paying for an on-call radiologist in Nelson two years ago.
The Nelson doctor tried to transfer Morritt to the regional hospital in Trail – but the request was denied for more than an hour because there were no available beds.
The Interior Health Authority has a policy that doesn't allow refusals of that sort.
- FROM APRIL 8, 2004: Health care changes blamed for senior's death
Coroner's agent Jim Draper says he's concerned about the restoration of after-hours diagnostic services at Kootenay Lake Hospital – and suggested that the coroner's final report make three important recommendations.
But he says none of those recommendations were included in the final report.
It's unusual for a coroner's agent to speak out publicly this way, but Draper feels strongly that the Morritt case shows something needs to change. "I think if you read the report, you'll find that there are probably areas of question that you might have as well."
- LINK: Coroner's final report
The assistant deputy chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, says she cannot discuss why the recommendations in Draper's draft report were not in the final coroner's report.
But she does say it's rare for a coroner to tell a health authority what to do. "That's probably something that, if the public has those concerns, they should ask the health authority, and there's likely a very good answer."
The health authority turned down CBC's request for an interview.
Health Minister Shirley Bond has used the coroner's final report to defend the cutbacks at Nelson's hospital – and to justify her decision not to hold a public inquiry into Morritt's death.
"And had there been recommendations necessary as a result of the the investigation that he made, he would have made the recommendations," says Bond.
Draper has since resigned from the coroner's service for unrelated reasons.
PROVINCE COMMITS $150,000 TO BRILLIANT BRIDGE PROJECT
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays---Brilliant Suspension Bridge is one of BC's oldest suspension Bridges It was built in 1913 by the member's of the Doukhobor, Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood ("CCUB") Organization, to provide a transportation link across the Kootenay River to Brilliant and the road to Nelson.
The members of the CCUB provided all of the labour and raised more than 2/3 of the costs of the bridge to provide a very important permanent transportation link for use by everyone in the area. A public works grant provided the balance of funding for the bridge construction. The bridge was a vital transportation link to the Castlegar Airport and the community of Ootischenia until it was decommissioned in 1968 when a new highway bridge was built.
BK Radio News Jan 23, 2005-- A REGIONAL DISTRICT DIRECTOR IS OPTIMISTIC RESTORATION ON THE OLD BRILLIANT SUSPENSION BRIDGE WILL START SOON.
GORD ZAYTSOFF SAYS THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT HAS MADE A 150-THOUSAND DOLLAR COMM
