Communities in Bloom
Darlene Kalawsky and Roxy Riley from Communities in Bloom gave a presentation to during council meeting on Nov. 14 informing council of the success of the group at the national awards ceremony in Quebec City.
Castlegar received five blooms at the awards and 840 points out of 1,000.
Kalawasky told council that Pat Field presented the Sculpture Walk program at the event in Quebec and it was very well received.
"I wanted council to realize the program is important for the City and continues to empower and embrace the concept of civic pride amongst our citizens and well feel this very strong element of securing Castlegar's future," said Kalawsky. "We want to thank council for continue to support this program."
Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff believes the Communities in Bloom project has really improved the look of the city.
"There's a lot of volunteers out there that are working hard to make Castlegar look beautiful," said Chernoff. "It's a huge job. To get five blooms like that is great - it shows the amount of work they do. It's about the pride of the community. It's hours and hours of work. They're out there in the rain and mud and just continue to pound away year after year. You hear comments from people that come into the city about how nice it looks and how beautiful it is with the flowers and the plants on the poles. To me, they're an integral part of the community."
Timmy's Christmas Telethon
Joanne Baker, Kootenay Ambassador for Lion's Club Timmy's Christmas Telethon, was part of a delegation. Baker told Council that the 2011 Timmy's Christmas Telethon will be airing on Shaw TV throughout B.C. on Sunday, Dec. 4 from 4p.m. until 10p.m.
"My job is to let people know the telethon is back after 12 years," she said.
Money raised from the telethon will go towards B.C. Lion's Society services such as Easter Seal Houses and Easter Seal Camps.
Baker also told council that the 14th annual Pump Gas for the Kids fundraiser at Benson Oil Plus in Castlegar was a big success.
"We've had amazing support from the community over all those years," she said. "This year Shaw cable came to tape our event. We hope we make the final cut for what they choose for the live telethon. We had two local families come to tie our event to Easter Seal House."
Anyone still wishing to donate can contact Baker at 250-365-3884.
Holiday Train
Council announced that the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train would be visiting Castlegar on Dec. 12. The train will be stopping at the Railroad Museum (400 13th Avenue) at approximately 3:30 p.m. and will be collecting food items and money to help local food banks such as the Community Harvest Food Bank in Castlegar.
"We'll have activities leading up to that and then of course taking in the festivities when the train is here: live music, the cheque presentation," said councillor Deb McIntosh. "Santa Claus is coming as well. So we'll have a bunch of things going on. It'll be a good family fun event. We hope all neighbouring communities come out and support the local food bank."
Change to Chances liquor license
Council voted to support the permanent change to the liquor license for Chances Gaming Centre in Castlegar to extend the hours from 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
"It now goes to the B.C. Liquor Control Branch where they will make the ultimate decision," said councillor Russ Hearne.
Neither City staff nor the RCMP had any problems with the hours extension, said Hearne. "It's not a night club or a sports bar," he said. "The casino attracts an older demographic that just wants to enjoy a nice meal and do some gambling."