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YEAR IN REVIEW: A look back at January, February, March 2024 in Castlegar

A look back at the first quarter of 2024

Jan. 4: The City of Castlegar said goodbye to corporate services manager Tracey Butler. Butler worked for the city for about nine years. During that time, she filled many roles on top of her regular position including bylaw manager, animal control, administrative support, health and safety manager and chief electoral officer. Butler took a position with the City of Trail.

Jan 14: Castlegar Search and Rescue airlifted an injured woman from the Selkirk Mountain Range. The 34-year-old backcountry skier from Calgary was located after an SOS emergency beacon was activated from a mountain hut. A group of five people had traversed Siwash Mountain between Castlegar and Salmo for a multiple-overnight backcountry skiing trip.

Jan. 11: The man who killed an Abbotsford police officer in Nelson was sentenced to five years. Alex Willness was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2020 death of Const. Allan Young. Willness, 25 at the time, hit Young on the head with a skateboard during a confrontation. Young, who was off duty while visiting Nelson, died five days later.

Jan 18: A Castlegar-area man was convicted of sexual assault of a minor. Lee S. Bonnell was tried by judge alone at the Nelson Supreme Court. where he was found guilty of one count of sexual assault involving a minor and one count of sexual interference involving a minor. In July, Bonnell was sentenced to six years incarceration, a 20-year national sex offender registry order, a 10-year firearms prohibition, and a DNA order. 

Jan. 22: A byelection was called for Castlegar school board trustee after a resignation. Gavin Fox gained his seat by acclamation in Nov. 2022, but stepped down just over a year later.

Feb. 1: The Province of British Columbia apologized to Sons of Freedom Doukhobors and their families for historic wrongs. Attorney General Niki Sharma visited Castlegar to deliver the apology and announce a $10 million compensation package.

Feb. 7: A Castlegar woman was ordered to spend the rest of her drug trafficking sentence in jail after being re-arrested for the same crime. Robyn Poznikoff was found guilty of two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of trafficking and possession of an unauthorized weapon in Nov. 2022 and given a conditional sentence. But just over three months into her house arrest, Poznikoff was again arrested for allegedly trafficking illicit drugs.

Feb. 8: The Castlegar Chamber of Commerce Board welcomed a new president after long-term president Stuart Ady stepped down and handed the role over to local realtor Jo-Ann Bursey.

Feb. 15: B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie visited Castlegar. Mackenzie said the province ignores rural elderly and called on the province to create a rural affairs ministry. She also released a report outlining issues facing rural seniors in health care, income, housing and transportation. It states that the province does not have a rural plan or strategy in any of those areas.

Feb. 17: At least 10 theft reports were filed with local police, primarily in the Emerald Park and Cone Hill areas. Police said the incidents began just before midnight on Feb. 17 and continued through the early morning of Feb. 18. The suspects entered unlocked doors and smashed vehicle windows to steal property. In break and enters at two residences the suspects stole vehicle keys and other property.

Feb. 18:  A 37-year-old man from El Paso, Texas, died in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 3A near Beasley. RCMP said that a Toyota Land Cruiser was located 60-to-70 metres down an embankment. The driver, who had been ejected from the vehicle, was pronounced deceased by paramedics.There was no indication of the involvement of drugs or alcohol. 

March 2: The Nineteenth won the People's Choice Award at the Kootenay Gallery of Art's Soup for the Cultured Soul event. Chef Sahdev Sharma wowed the attendees with his Asian Dumpling Soup.

March 3: A Castlegar senior lost almost $10,000 in a telephone scam. The 87-year-old woman was caught by a scammer who was claiming to be a friend in need of emergency cash. She shared her story with the community in order to warn others to be cautious of very clever fraudsters.

March 7: Kalesnikoff announced it will open a third mass timber facility near Castlegar. The building itself will be constructed in part using Kalesnikoff’s own mass timber components. The facility is expected to create about 100 new jobs and open in early 2025. The company says the new offerings will complement existing Kalesnikoff products and will be used for walls, flooring and full modular construction mass timber projects.

March 22: Castlegar’s housing and health-care project received provincial funding. The funding will go to Lu’ma Native Housing Society, which will serve as operator for the housing component of the new building to be constructed at 925 Columbia Ave. Plans call for a four-storey mixed-use building with medical and para-medical offices on the bottom floor and up to 68 non-market housing units on the upper floors. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2025.



Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
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