It is now situated in the 4,000-square-foot space that used to be the home of Pamper Yourself Spa. The new building, which was officially opened in mid-October 2011, offers a spacious professional office from which the staff can serve the real estate needs of the Columbia Valley. The company previously was located in Athalmer across from Huckleberries restaurant.

“Overall the location, layout and atmosphere are superior to what we had previously,” Barry Benson, one of the branch owners, told the Columbia Valley Pioneer newspaper. “For our sellers we are now providing a high-profile location with significant traffic to better showcase their properties. For buyers we have a great, easy-to-find location and a pleasant, comfortable, professional office.”

The real estate company employs 11 people of which nine are licensed realtors.  

The purpose of the trip is to meet potential investors who, if interested, could bolster B.C.’s ski industry as a whole, and also local ski resort projects like the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort, should the development get the green light from the provincial government.

B.C. Minister Pat Bell is unable to make the trip to France, so he is sending East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett, former tourism minister, to represent him and the province.

The following people will be travelling in a group with Mr. Bennett to meet the French investors: Rainer Giersch (European representative for B.C.), Oberto Oberti (Oberto Oberti Architecture, Pheidias Project Management and Glacier Resorts Ltd.), Grant Costello and Jill Bodkin (Glacier Resorts Ltd.), Mayor Dee Conklin (Village of Radium Hot Springs), Rick Jensen (Panorama Mountain Resort), Doug Clovechok and Todd Mitchell (Invermere and the Columbia Valley), and First Nations representatives from the Simpcw Band of the Valemount, B.C., area, where another glacier ski development is currently being planned by Valemount Glacier Destinations Ltd.

Referring to the potential investors only as “a major resort company,” Mr. Bennett said, “The company has been interested in the Jumbo Glacier Resort (JGR) project for over a decade and is returning to B.C. later this winter to further assess JGR, as well as a project in the Valemount area. The company is well aware that the JGR project lacks a signed master development agreement, but is also aware that it has an Environmental Certificate and an approved Master Development Plan.”

Read the complete article here.

Source: The Columbia Valley Pioneer

The building has sadly sat empty for many years and now there is an effort to research its rejuvenation. Once the centre of Cranbrook's arts and culture activities, the popular Armond Theatre—complete with a spacious balcony—was split into two smaller theatres by its previous owners before being abruptly closed several years ago. At one point there was talk of transforming the vacant building into a nightclub but the effort ran into zoning problems and never got off the ground.

The memo from the Cranbrook Downtown Business Association states,

"Are there any interested parties who would like to be part of ‘The Committee to Restore the Armond Theatre’?  Initial research is underway. In order to proceed and take the project further, the committee is looking for committed individuals with a passion for the downtown and a willingness to participate in the work that will need to be done. Interested individuals can phone Jenny Humphrey for more information as to what has been accomplished so far: 250-426-8739."

The store offers an eclectic mix of home decorating items, furnishing and furniture, lamps, chairs and even a great selection of artisan breads from the Loaf Bakery in Fernie.

When I visited the General Store, owner Laurie Goodlad was away on a buying trip and is returning with even more home decor items to capture the fancy of the buying public.

So if you are looking for a unique home decor shopping experience, you might want to check out Muriel & Jane's General Store—a store even your grandmother would be proud of.

The store is open six days a week and is located across from City Hall in Cranbrook.

The Deputy Minister’s Contractor of the Year Awards recognize construction and maintenance companies demonstrating excellence in the categories of grading, paving, bridges and structures, and highway maintenance work throughout the province. The ninth annual awards were hosted by the B.C. Road Builders & Heavy Construction Association on Dec. 2 in Victoria.

The award runners-up in the paving category were Peters Bros. Construction Ltd. of Penticton for work on Highway 2, along with other South Peace paving projects, and Columbia Bitulithic of Coquitlam, for work on the Highway 13, 0 Avenue to 56 Avenue Project.

“This award is well-deserved and highlights the outstanding work Interoute Construction has done to improve Highway 3. The work that was done will make travel along this important corridor safer for residents, tourists, the forest industry and commercial transport vehicles,” said minister of transportation and infrastructure, Blair Lekstrom. “Congratulations to all our finalists for their work to improve and maintain B.C.’s roads, highways and bridges.”