Kootenay BizBlog :: Keith Powell

KOOTENAY COMMUNITIES SEAL DEAL TO DIVE INTO WATER CONSERVATION

Civic officials from throughout the Kootenays promote water conservation.

Three Kootenay communities Golden, Creston and Trail signed CBT’s Water Smart Charter on Wednesday, March 24 along with 18 other local governments. CBT’s Water Smart initiative aims to reduce community water use across the Columbia Basin by 20 per cent by 2015. By signing the Charter, communities are committing to work together and with CBT to achieve regional water conservation goals.

The event took place at a regional workshop in Cranbrook which kicked off the first steps to creating a Water Smart Action Plan for each of the 19 participating communities.
A Water Smart Team will provide one-on-one technical support to help communities prepare, develop and monitor a customized plan, and CBT will provide up to $10,000 in matching funding to support the implementation of the plans.

The local governments participating in this initiative include: Castlegar, Cranbrook, Creston, Elkford, Fernie, Fruitvale, Golden, Kaslo, Montrose, Nakusp, Nelson, Radium, Salmo, Slocan, the Regional Districts of Central and East Kootenay, Sparwood, Trail and Valemount.

View the Charter and learn more about CBT’s Water Smart initiative.

Budget Increases Support Selkirk College Programs

The federal budget, which was announced on March 4, 2010, demonstrates an understanding that colleges, institutes and polytechnics are integrated with the industrial and technological drivers of the economy, and Selkirk College President, Marilyn Luscombe, is pleased with the support shown for post-secondary education.

“This budget acknowledges and supports the key role of colleges in supplying the advanced skills and applied research that underpin economic growth and productivity improvement,” says Luscombe. “The federal government is doubling the amount of money in the College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program-supporting the applied research needs of industry, especially in small and medium enterprises. It is our expectation that this will directly translate into increased post-secondary opportunities and linkages with industries in our region.”

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges, of which Selkirk College is a member, has been heavily advocating for increased federal support for the Community Colleges Innovation Fund. The Fund was doubled
and will now be $30M per year instead of $15M. Prior to the expansion of this Fund, Selkirk College was awarded an additional $199,000 from the CCI Program over the next two years for the Selkirk Geospatial Research
Centre. The college is now hoping to access more of such funding into the future.

“Successfully landing this grant is a major step forward in building applied research capacity for the college and the region we serve,” explains School of Renewable Resources Chair, Peter Schroder. “It is our hope that this grant can lead to opportunities for applied geospatial research that can serve students and businesses in our area and beyond.”

The grant will help support decision making for forest carbon management. More specifically, it will sustain research that is aimed at developing software applications for assisting small and medium size businesses involved in forest management to become more adept at managing forest land for a variety of new values such as carbon sequestration.

The budget also announced investments in retraining and apprenticeships, much of which will be delivered by Canada’s 150 colleges, institutes and polytechnics, along with a welcome focus on aboriginal education.

Nelson Dentists move to new location

PhotoCredit: Dr. Kevin Smith

Nelson Dentist, Dr Kevin Smith. is pleased to inform the public that he has relocated his clinic to 802 Baker Street in downtown Nelson. Both Dr Kevin Smith and Dr. Bruce Johnson welcome new and previous patients to visit them at their new location in downtown Nelson.

Invermere NAPA store relocates to spacious new building

NAPA Auto Parts in Invermere has moved into their new building in the commercial business park in Athalmer, located across the street from Kicking Horse Coffee. The NAPA store is owned and operated by Brady Zuback who has ran the retail outlet for nearly 10 years. It was previously located in the less visible Invermere Industrial Park. "I want an open atmosphere and a place where people can see everything available for them to have at the store. I wanted to open everything up. I try to make things as easily accessible for the customers as I can," Zuback recently told the Valley Echo newspaper. The new high visibility location will better serve locals and visitors (even with motorhomes) with easy access off the main highway into Invermere. NAPA is an international chain of auto parts retailers with close to 600 stores throughout Canada and over 80 years of history. It is the goal of every NAPA Auto Parts stores in Canada, including the new store in Invermere, to help keep your car young a long time and re-enforce that NAPA is the right brand for the job.

KRIC Presents Two Important Workshops for Business

The Kootenay Rockies Innovation Council (KRIC) invites you to two great workshops aimed at helping your business thrive.

Facilitated by senior business executives with a wide range of experiences in corporate Canada, you’ll be able to tap into their considerable breadth and depth of knowledge to enhance your own business plans and operations.
KRIC is pleased to kick off our “Entrepreneur Essentials” Training Series March 29 and 30th with:
March 29th: Clearing the Fog: Finance for Non-Financial Managers
March 30th: Crossing the Chasm: Spotlight on Commercialization and Distribution

For more information visit www.kric.ca And be sure to register by March 26th to get early-bird rates!