Physician Recruitment for New Denver
The Slocan Community Health Centre, located in New Denver, is seeking two physicians. The SDCC is supporting this through their Health Committee consisting of Chamber members including local government representatives and community members with knowledge of health services in the Valley.
A Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee is also working hard on this recruitment (250-358-2561).
Meanwhile, the Health Care Centre is fully functioning with a 24-7 Emergency Room.
Postings for these positions can be found online at:
Interior Health Authority’s ‘Better Here’
Health Match BC
Society of General Practitioners of BC
Locums for Rural BC
More information about physician recruitment for the area can be found at ‘Divisions of Family Practice – Kootenay Boundary‘ online.
Help spread the word! #DoctorsParadise
The Slocan District Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber’s Health Committee are thrilled to announce the release of the Slocan Community Health Care Centre Physician Recruitment Video. What a beautiful feature highlighting the area we are so lucky to call home.
Watch the video here
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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdjgZgWD5DU&feature=youtu.be
Please consider sharing widely. Word of mouth is an important component of physician recruitment. Let’s share with the world what the Slocan Valley has to offer!
Rosebery to Summit Lake Rail Trail and Moto Bypass Trail approved
The Rosebery to Summit Lake Rail Trail has been given the green light by the provincial government.
The Rail Trail, Motorized Bypass Trail, and Girl Guide Recreation Site were approved by Justin Dexter, Recreation Officer with Rec Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC), in a letter dated December 4, 2017.
The one big change from the proposal that was publicized in February is that most of the rail trail will be designated non-motorized once the Moto Bypass Trail is built and open. In the proposal we saw in February, most of the rail trail was going to be open to motorized use. The switch to non-motorized use was made “after reviewing all stakeholder (RDCK, Habitat, BCTS, First Nations, Forestry, Resorts, etc.) responses and public referral responses and making a land management decision based on that feedback that is consistent with the legalities of Crown Land use and one that significantly improves the status quo,” explained Dexter.
He added that hundreds of public comments were received as part of the process.
The Summit Lake Rail Trail will be non-motorized from Rosebery to Ruby Range Road just north of Summit Lake, with the exception of the section between the Girl Guide Camp and the gravel pit in Hills. This section will be open to motorized use to accommodate access to the Moto Bypass Trail.
The Moto Bypass Trail will run basically parallel to the rail trail, on the west side of Summit Lake and the west side of Bonanza Creek. It will stretch from the Hills gravel pit to Ruby Range Road, where it will meet the multi-use (motorized allowed) rail trail to Nakusp.
The Moto Bypass Trail staging areas will be at Bonanza Forest Service Road and Summit Lake Ski Hill.
The Bypass Trail will be closed at certain times of the year, to be determined by government biologists, in consideration of the blue-listed western toads that live in the Summit Lake area. Gates and educational signage will be installed at both ends of the trail to explain and enforce closures.
The Bypass trail mostly follows existing logging roads – Bonanza and Summit – and also follows existing cross-country ski trails at Summit Lake Ski Hill. A 0.7-kilometre section of new trail will have to be built, and will be done when (or after) BC Timber Sales builds an extension on the north end of Bonanza Forest Service Road.
The rail trail will continue to be multi-use (motorized and non-motorized) until the Moto Bypass Trail has been built and is operational.
The Girl Guide Camp has been approved as a day recreation site.
Dexter notes in his approval letter that overnight camping may be considered in future, and that RSTBC would support an application by the RDCK for a Licence of Occupation for the trail from Rosebery up to and including the Girl Guide Camp, as an extension of the existing Galena Trail. The RDCK holds a Licence of Occupation for the Galena Trail, which runs from Three Forks to Rosebery.
The proposal for the trail and bypass trail was hashed out by a group of four people, facilitated by John Cathro of Kaslo. The group’s job was to create a plan that would balance concerns around the sensitive ecosystems in the area and the position of ATV enthusiasts wanting motorized access.
As reported in the Valley Voice Newspaper, Dec. 14/ 17
Schools Facilities Plan is Good News for Winlaw and Slocan
School District 8/ Kootenay Lake officials and interested Slocan Valley parents and community members gathered at Appledale Hall on October 30 for an update on the Slocan Valley Family of Schools Facilities Plan.
Beginning with the background, Secretary-Treasurer Kim Morris presented the information to more than 20 parents and children.
After significant public protest over Winlaw Elementary School closure last spring, the ministry came forward with a Rural Education Slocan Valley Family of Schools Facilities Plan update Enhancement Fund (REEF), to be released in the current 2017-2018 school year and used for operational purposes only. School District 8 applied for REEF and was awarded a total of $404.000; $357,677 to keep WEG open and $46,947 to keep Jewett School open in Meadow Creek. The amount of the grant is the same amount it would cost the ministry to close the schools.
Morris said REEF was being made available to preserve schools in small rural communities where students would be displaced if the school closed.
The board plans to access this funding for the schools until it expires. In the meantime, the board is seeking to build capital reserves via the sale of surplus properties.
Six surplus SD8 property appraisals are completed with an estimated value of $1.2 - $1.8 million. The surplus properties include:
Creston Education Centre,
Yahk Elementary School,
Kin Park Property in Creston,
Salmo Elementary School,
Al Collinson Elementary and Gordon Sargent Elementary in Nelson.
The board office on Johnstone Road will be reappraised in the winter of 2017, said Morris.
“It’s a good news story for WE Graham Community School in Slocan. Overall, there was an increase by 20 students over what we thought,” said Morris.
Information in the Facilities Plan will be updated semi-annually, including enrollment projections, property disposal status, capacity utilization, facility condition indices, programming and transition updates, as well as capital planning status updates.
The provincial mandate to restore the 2002 collective agreement is a welcome change, said Morris, but 36 more teachers in the district this year also proves challenging, as space is
extremely limited. Also, the board is not certain how it will impact capacity utilization.
As SD8 continues to monitor and respond to challenges, they are also tendering architectural services for the expansion projects so they are ready and able to take advantage of possible surplus dollars, said Morris.
The next steps also include forming an inclusive design team with teachers, parents and children as part of the team. Space needs will have to be re-evaluated, property disposal will be monitored, and the board will work with the ministry to customize a design template for the new Salmo K-12 configuration.
Ultimately the aim is to prepare a ‘shovel-ready’ project, she said.
For the full article by Sandra Smith,
see p. 8 Valley Voice Newspaper Nov. 16, 2017
http://www.valleyvoice.ca/_PDF_2016/ValleyVoice171116web.pdf
Rural Dividend grants, and the Slocan Valley Regional Economic Development Implementation Plan Project
reported by Jan McMurray, Valley Voice
Oct. 19/ 17
The BC government has announced the recipients of the latest round of Rural Dividend grants, and the Slocan Valley Regional Economic Development Implementation Plan Project is on the list. The project has been approved for $159,600. Slocan Valley receives funding for economic development The three Slocan Valley Villages (New Denver, Silverton and Slocan) and RDCK Area H are partners on the project, which will develop an implementation plan based on the recommendations of t h e R e g i o n a l E c o n o m i c Development Strategy. The strategy was completed in April this year by EDCD Consulting.
Rural Dividend grants totalling $10.1 million were announced in this round. In the Kootenays, other grants are going to Community Futures Central Kootenay ($100,000); Kootenay Association for Science & Te c h n o l o g y ( $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 ) ; Kootenay Employment Services Society ($99,840); Merry Creek Trail System near Castlegar ($50,000); Morning Mountain to Nelson (via Cottonwood Lake) Trans Canada Trail Project ($88,155); East Shore Enhanced Tourism Education Program, $100,000.
The strategy report is available here.Slocan Valley Economic Develpoment Strategic Plan FINAL (1)
Slocan Valley Economic Development Commission working to improve local economy
Slocan Valley Economic What … ? … well might you ask. Who are we? What do we do? Why? Are we making a difference? Well, we are 10 of your neighbours, a mix of elected officials from each of Silverton, New Denver, and Slocan, and Area H, plus six community representatives from the Villages and the rural communities that surround them. We sit on a duly constituted (through the Regional District) body called a Commission; we discuss, debate, consult, brainstorm and make decisions on actions that we believe can benefit the Slocan Valley economy in some way. Yes, the Commission is supported through taxation – and we develop, submit for approval, and adhere to an annual budget that outlines the types of activities we expect to engage in during the coming year. Those activities include:
• Maintaining the www. slocanvalley.com website, which showcases the valley, communities, businesses and organizations, recreation and cultural opportunities and events, as well as being a place where the EDC itself can post information we have to share;
• Partnering with the Slocan District Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute on two Business Retention & Expansion surveys – one, for bricks & mortar businesses going on four years ago, and one this year focusing on home-based businesses. Each of those surveys has provided us with good information about the economic life – strengths and weaknesses – of our valley and all its communities. This information helps us develop programming aimed at supporting economic growth in general, and business people’s skills in negotiating the ups and downs of the 21st Century economy;
• Sponsoring a series of ‘Lunch & Learns’ on various business topics, engaging other businessrelated service providers to come and talk to small groups of local businesspeople over lunch;
• Sponsoring a half-day Succession Planning workshop (with lunch!) as an opportunity to learn the options, and to network with other business folks in similar stages of their business development; and …
• Presenting this coming weekend two half-day workshops on Succession Planning and on Social Enterprise as an organizational option.
We will also continue to work with the Villages and the Regional District on developing a comprehensive regional economic development plan, and are awaiting the determination of our joint application for funding for this through the Rural Dividend Program. We are always looking for opportunities to partner with groups and organizations on initiatives that will improve the economic development infrastructure of our region, by creating new partnerships and collaborations. Slocan Valley EDC meets several times a year - our next meeting will be Wednesday, November 8 at 6 pm in Slocan at the Village Office. The public is always welcome to attend. If you have any questions, or want to provide feedback, please feel free to contact us at info@slocanvalley.com