Canal Flats gets big bucks for arena upgrades
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
For residents of Canal Flats and their elected representatives, the promise of $800,000 from the province for much-needed arena upgrades has sent cheers throughout the community.
The money is coming from the Community Recreation Program, a fund Canal Flats Mayor, Ute Juras, took notice of during Premier Christy Clark’s speech at last year’s Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting. The Village immediately submitted an application, but they weren’t holding their breath, Mayor Juras said.
“Our arena is not just a hub for the community of Canal Flats but the …
Cougar kills prompt trail warning in Radium
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
Recent cougar activity in the Sinclair Canyon area of Kootenay National Park, near Radium Hot Springs, has prompted Parks Canada to issue a warning for three trails near the community.
The warning is for the Redstreak Campground Trail, Juniper Trail and Sinclair Canyon Trail, where people are advised to use special caution.
During the past week, three separate incidents involving cougars, or possibly the same cougar, have occurred in the area.
The first, which took place on March 18th, was the most spectacular. A cougar and a female …
Bladerunner graduates take control of their destiny
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
Entering the working world can be an intimidating prospect.
Resumé writing, preparing for interviews and acquiring the needed training can all be barriers to gaining employment, but a new program offered through a partnership between the Ktunaxa First Nation and the College of the Rockies in Invermere is helping residents take control of their destiny and find work locally.
The Bladerunner program was first established as a way for the trade industry in the Lower Mainland to find qualified workers leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics …
Deer solutions group seeks cull alternatives
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
A new group of residents are hoping to put the negativity surrounding the deer cull behind them, and discuss viable alternatives for future management of Invermere’s habituated deer population.
The urban deer cull, which began on February 25th and concluded on March 15th, was dogged with controversy, with only 19 of the permitted 100 animals killed. There were protests, there was alleged tampering with the clover traps used to capture the animals; there were even criminal charges laid and threatened against anti-cull advocates for alleged harassment of …
Major facelift upcoming for Invermere main street
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
Since Pothole Park was given its first facelift in 2008, the District of Invermere’s council and staff have been wanting to complete some major road upgrades along 7th Avenue to better connect the area to Invermere’s downtown core.
This dream has now become reality, as, at the regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, March 13th, council approved awarding a contract to C.A.P. Ventures Ltd. to undertake almost $800,000-worth of work.
This work will include upgrading and widening 7th Avenue between the Pothole Park plaza and the junction with 9th …
Local skier to carry Rick Hansen medal
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
As the 25th anniversary of the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay makes its way towards the Columbia Valley, local volunteers have been busy making arrangements and identifying “difference makers” to carry the singular Rick Hansen medal through the area.
Medal bearers in communities along the relay route were nominated by fellow residents to represent inclusivity, youth empowerment, environmental commitment or health advocacy in their hometown.
In Invermere, one of the local difference makers is 17-year-old Kate Gibbs, who is well known throughout the area as someone who has …
Cull expires, protection group talks to council
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
For the first time since the controversial deer cull began in Invermere, the Invermere Deer Protection Society, now an officially registered organization, formally approached District of Invermere Council to discuss moving forward and mending fences within the community.
Their new spokesperson, although self-admittedly a reluctant one, Charles Lamphier, appeared as an official delegation during the regularly scheduled Invermere council meeting on March 13th, and spoke at length about the society’s desire to work with council to find more palatable solutions for all wildlife issues within the district. …
Falks family embarks on African adventure
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
It was a cold January day when Joy and Stacey Falk received an email from their good friend in Africa.
In the email, their friend described the need for volunteers in hot, dry, Niamey, Niger. After a few more exchanges back and forth, the Falks have decided to uproot their lives in Invermere and move to the impoverished area for a two-year adventure.
Joy and Stacey moved to Invermere from Calgary seven years ago with their two daughters, 12-year-old Brianna and 9-year-old Rebekah. Joy currently works …
Citizens on Patrol need help
By Joshua Estabrooks,
Pioneer Staff
After a rash of thefts of items from unlocked vehicles in Radium Hot Springs, a conversation regarding the need for more volunteers to assist the police has begun in both Radium and Invermere.
There are currently four Citizens on Patrol groups operating in the valley under the umbrella group, Columbia Valley Crime Prevention and Intervention Society. The groups in Windermere and Fairmont Hot Springs have an adequate number of participants, but the groups in Invermere and Radium, with only three and two active members respectively, are in …
Anti-cull actions prompt charges and warnings
After a week of sporadic action against the ongoing deer cull in Invermere, two anti-cull protesters have had charges against them forwarded to the Crown, and two others have been warned to cease their harassment of a local contractor.
Contrary to other news reports, there were no charges filed against an individual who released a deer from a trap located on private property, as the trap was set up too early in the day.
However, on the evening of March 1st, two members of the Invermere Deer Protection Organization, one …
Lake Windermere rock groyne may go
It lurks just below the surface of the water at the north end of Lake Windermere, spanning much of the channel that becomes the Columbia River. It has wreaked havoc on boats and propellers, and was recently the subject of discussion at the District of Invermere Council meeting.
No, it’s not a mythical creature the likes of the Ogopogo or the Loch Ness Monster, but rather an underwater structure that was built in the late 1800s consisting of wood cribbing and rocks placed on top of a brush mattress, called …
Women help stamp out cancer
In an age of emails, text messages and Tweets, the aged stamp has seen its heyday come and go, but a group of dedicated ladies in Invermere is still collecting used ones as part of a massive fundraising initiative to help fight and treat cancer.
The women are members of Golden’s chapter of The Order of the Eastern Star, which is related to the Masons. Invermere used to have its own chapter, but as membership has waned over the past number of years they have now become affiliated with Golden’s …
Injunction squashed, deer cull moves ahead
The Invermere Deer Protection Organization’s (IDPO) attempt to extend the court-ordered injunction preventing the District of Invermere’s planned deer cull has been denied by the B.C. Supreme Court.
The court case deciding the fate of the injunction took up much of the day Friday, February 24th, but in the end the District of Invermere’s lawyers were successful in preventing an extension.
The cull continued forward as originally planned on Saturday, February 25th.
The lawsuit against the District of Invermere which seeks to overturn the bylaws approving the cull, as well as …
Snowmobile closure on Catamount revisited
Columbia Valley councils and other stakeholders are being asked by Recreation Sites and Trails B.C. for their input on proposed amendments to an area that has become a popular snowmobiling destination.
The area in question encompasses Catamount Glacier and North Star Glacier, which have both been under Section 58 closures to motorized recreation since 1996.
A Section 58 designation is a provincially-enforced closure of an area to restrict or prohibit recreational use.
The Catamount and North Star Glacier areas have seen an increasing number of user conflicts both before and after …
Barbed wire Bighorn rescued in Canal Flats
A distressed Bighorn sheep with barbed wire wrapped around its neck was rescued by Conservation Officers, thanks to a phone call by a concerned Canal Flats resident.
A resident notified the Invermere Conservation Officer Service on Tuesday, February 21st of a male Bighorn that had a strand of barbed wire tangled around its neck. Two officers responded to the call early the next morning, and located the ram on the east side of town, said Conservation Officer Greg Kruger.
Conservation officers estimated the sheep to be 6.5 years old, weighing approximately …
Recess cancelled due to deer
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
Recess at Eileen Madson Primary School was cut short on Thursday, February 16th, as a precautionary measure due to deer refusing to leave the playground.
There have been three incidents where students were either brought indoors or moved to a different part of the playground because of deer not leaving the area, said Paul Carriere, superintendent for School District 6, stressing that the moves were made as precautionary measures, not because students were in any immediate danger.
Thursday’s incident occurred when a group of deer on the …
Rockies wrap up tough rebuild season
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
The Columbia Valley Rockies may have ended the season with only three wins and a seven-point total from their 52 games, but their head coach is calling the first season of the newly-revamped team a success.
Going into the season, racking up wins was not the goal; establishing and developing a strong foundation for player development was the main priority, said Marc Ward, the Rockies’ head coach and general manager.
“Everyone defines success in their own way,” he explained. “I didn’t define success by getting 30 wins. Success for …
Invermere ordered to put brakes on cull
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
A group of deer lovers has taken legal action to halt the cull of 100 of Invermere’s urban deer population.
Opponents to the cull succeeded in putting a temporary stop to the cull process last week, when they served an injunction from the Supreme Court to the district that prevents the cull from going ahead until at least February 24th.
The injunction was sought by and successfully granted to the Invermere Deer Protection Organization, a group of residents opposed to the cull. The organization, along with Invermere resident …
Skijoring is far from boring
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
If you want to catch Raija Easterbrook these days, you’ll have to “hike up.” The Finnish-born Invermere resident has recently embarked on a journey through the world of skijoring, a sport that is closely related to dog sledding, but instead of a sled, she uses cross-country skis and is pulled by a team of two champion sled dogs.
Ms. Easterbrook moved to the valley from Manitoba in 1997, and being an avid cross country skier she instantly fell in love with the area. She competed in a …
Whiteway becomes a TV star
By Joshua Estabrooks
Pioneer Staff
The Lake Windermere Whiteway continues to receive attention from major media outlets across the country, this past week hosting the Discovery Channel’s Mark Miller for a segment on the weekly science show, Daily Planet.
Embedded with Mark Miller is the opening segment of the popular television show, which puts Miller in interesting situations as he learns the tricks of the trade for unique and bizarre jobs.
The network found out about the Whiteway through the media buzz that has surrounded the skating surface ever since it was …