100% Locally Owned & Operated Work Begins on Slocan Valley Fibre

May 20, 2021 The Valley Voice 1 Volume 30, Number 10 May 20, 2021 Delivered to every home between Edgewood, Kaslo & South Slocan. Published bi-weekly. Your independently owned regional community newspaper serving the Arrow Lakes, Slocan & North Kootenay Lake Valleys. Work begins on Slocan Valley fibre-optic line by John Boivin, Local Journalism cable being hung sometime in July, Society will share updates through their to hear if they’ll receive funding communities for information about Initiative reporter depending on when Telus completes communication channels, say officials. to add several other communities their internet speeds in an effort to build More than two years after first its preparation work. Work on the underwater section of to the fibre-optic line. The CBBC support for their application. being announced, crews broke ground Other prep work began appearing the project, running the line along the applied for funding in March to build Two years of work Monday on a project to bring the Slocan in April. A local Facebook group posted bottoms of Slocan and Summit Lakes, a 70-kilometre spur line from Nakusp When the project was first Valley into the 21st century world of a warning that people with utilities isn’t expected to begin until the fall. down the Arrow Lakes to Burton and announced in March 2019, officials communication. under the heritage rail trail should Once the main line is in place, Edgewood. It’s part of the CBBC’s had optimistically predicted work Work on the $10-million, contact the contractors laying the fibre- the Columbia Basin Broadband overall project to connect 79 rural would be completed in a year. That 120-kilometre fibre-optic line from optic cable. Corporation (CBBC) will work with communities with high-speed service. was seen as ambitious even then, and Playmor Junction to north of Nakusp “Right now, they are trying to local internet service providers to set However, “we may not know the permitting difficulties and other issues began with a crew in Slocan village identify all the locations where they up the ‘last mile’ connections, allowing status of our application to this fund prompted officials to recalculate the setting up its construction site. potentially may come across a line,” homes and businesses to connect to for many months,” Hoodicoff warned. timeline last fall. “Equipment will then be moved said the post on the Slocan Rail Trail the high-speed network. That work They’re also waiting to hear the The project is now expected to be to Kennedy Road for the start of Facebook group page. “They will be could take several years as well (see results of their application for funding completed by spring of 2023. the rail trail install heading south to digging a narrow trench 18” deep. Most “‘Columbia Basin Trust picks up ‘last from the Universal Broadband Fund, The Slocan Valley line is only half Elliot Creek bridge on Thursday, May lines are deeper than that and it won’t mile’ portion of fibre-optic project,” and whether some communities qualify the project, with the CBBC planning to 20,” said Delphi Hoodicoff, head of be an issue. They will be reaching out Valley Voice, February 11, 2021). for federal support for better internet build a fibre-optic backbone between communication for the Columbia Basin to adjoining landowners, but we want Spur line access. The CBBC had asked residents Jaffray and Roosville in the East Trust, the organization spearheading the to make sure no one is missed and that Meanwhile, officials are waiting of Slocan, New Denver, and other Kootenay, as well. project. “Picking up again on Tuesday, there are no surprises for anyone!” May 25, conduit will be installed from The post indicated the process of the south side of Elliot bridge, at a pace cable installation may take up to two of about one to two kilometres per day.” months along the 60-kilometre-long She said by the end of the first rail trail. week, about 10 kilometres of fibre line Closure warning should be under the historic railbed. The Slocan Valley Rail Trail has The big delay in getting the project become a popular recreation amenity started – getting permits to lay the fibre- during the pandemic, and officials warn optic cable underground along the rail there could be some small sections trail, along the bottom of Slocan and closed off temporarily while work is Summit Lakes and along telephone done on the line. poles to Nakusp – was almost complete, “Initially, they may be hopping all Hoodicoff told the Valley Voice. over the place, prepping sites to link The job has been broken up cable segment before they drop in the among several companies. The prime line,” explains the post. “We are hoping contractor for the rail trail underground disruption will be minimal, but there work is Axis Technical Services. Lite may be brief periods when the trail will Access Technologies is handling the be closed to traffic.” over-air section of the project (between Both Rec Sites & Trails BC as well Amelie Tremaine was one of many New Denver area musicians to perform during the Hike for Hospice event on May 16. There were several places to stop and enjoy music Hills and Nakusp), with fibre-optic as the Slocan Valley Heritage Trail and refreshments along the route – in celebration of the New Denver Hospice Society’s 30th anniversary. The hike was well attended and raised about $1,500 for the society. 100% Locally Owned & Operated 2 NEWS The Valley Voice May 20, 2021 Slocan Valley municipalities receive FireSmart Canada award submitted partnerships between SIFCo and our and properties. communities,” says New Denver Mayor forest and parks management, land The wildfire protection work done by three municipalities would not have “Working with SIFCo over the Leonard Casley. use planning and private business and the Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative been possible without the tremendous past decade has proven to be a great FireSmart Canada is a industry. The goal of FireSmart Canada (SIFCo) in partnership with the three support of councils and staff over the asset in reducing our wildfire risk by multidisciplinary non-profit association, is to reduce the wildfire risk to property, Slocan Valley Villages has recently been last 12 years.” taking on doing a whole community made up of members representing infrastructure and public safety in the recognized by FireSmart Canada. SIFCo leadership has helped the wildfire mitigation plan instead of national, provincial and municipal Canadian wildland/urban interface All three Villages have received three Villages acquire over $2 million doing a patchwork effort. This has led associations, government departments by helping communities become fire- the FireSmart Community Protection in grants, allowing for wildfire interface, us to greater success in protecting our responsible for emergency services, adapted. Achievement Award, which identifies educational events and community communities across Canada that have resiliency work to reduce the wildfire done outstanding work towards reducing risks within and surrounding the three their wildfire risk. communities. “Undertaking landscape-level The work is continuing with the fuel management projects requires Slocan Valley Wildfire Resiliency partnership, vision, and a willingness to Program, where residents of the three lead the way,” said Stephan Martineau, communities will be informed about SIFCo manager. “The success of these wildfire reduction efforts for their homes The three Village Mayors received signs recognizing their municipalities as FireSmart communities. Also present were Stephan Martineau, SIFCo manager and Michelle Griffiths, SIFCo’s Slocan Valley Wildfire Resiliency Program coordinator. School resumes in Nakusp as COVID case numbers continue to fall by John Boivin, Local Journalism Eight people in total came down so,” she said. “I think we’re in a really Initiative reporter with cases of COVID from the good place.” Students and teachers resumed exposures at NES. So many staff and Taylor says the next few weeks classes at Nakusp Elementary students were on self-isolation – 120 will see more outdoor classes School on Monday after a two-week of 159 students – it was impossible taking place as well, as schools take shutdown prompted by exposure to for the facility to keep open, officials advantage of better weather to reduce the virus that causes COVID-19. said at the time. the chance of further exposures. “The school reopened its doors Since the high point in infections, Provincial numbers and welcomed back all the children however, the number of cases in the While the cases in Nakusp made and staff on May 17, and everyone community – and the schools – has the subdistrict a temporary hotspot for has been super-supportive of the gone down, leaving the district on the Interior Health, overall the province need to close,” says Terry Taylor, road to recovery from the incident. continues to show a slow decline in superintendent of School District 10 “Really COVID cases in schools the number of cases and an increase Arrow Lakes. are a reflection of what’s going on in the number of people vaccinated. in the community,” Taylor told the During the week May 2-8, there Valley Voice. “There’s been a steady were six cases reported in the Arrow decline since the high… and the Lakes health service area, one in the schools are in good shape.” Kootenay Lake area and 10 in the Taylor says the district’s response Nelson area. to the virus’ arrival (which was From the beginning of the never declared an official ‘outbreak’ pandemic to April 30, 2021, the by Interior Health) followed the Arrow Lakes had had 11 cases, playbook the district had been Kootenay Lake 13 and Nelson 157. working on for months. All that As of May 17, there had been preparation and planning paid off, 139,664 total cases in the province.

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