The recent decision by the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to step back from its proposed shift to year round time alignment and instead move toward public consultation is a clear reminder of why local journalism still matters.

Sparwood Mayor David Wilks announced during the April 7 regular council meeting that he will resign effective May 1 as he and his wife prepare to move to Lethbridge, Alberta.

Sparwood council accepted the district’s 2025 draft financial statements on April 7 after hearing the municipality received a clean audit opinion and ended the year with an accumulated surplus of $118.5 million.

The Crowsnest Pass Repair Cafe is set to return on Saturday, April 11, with organizers hoping a longer day and growing public awareness will bring more people through the doors.

District of Sparwood council scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, March 31 at 6 p.m. in council chambers at the municipal office on Spruce Avenue, with the published agenda showing little public business before a planned closed session.

I had the idea, now that Western culture’s Easter acknowledgement has passed, that I would like to share with my readers all about the wonderful Easter baked goods stories for which my country, the Ukraine, is famous. Of course, this sharing primarily includes Easter bread, which our housewives traditionally bake just before Easter. Many new recipes and varieties of Easter bread have emerged. Cottage cheese, candied fruit, and lemon or orange zest have become popular additions to the dough. Previously, the dough was simple, consisting of eggs, butter, flour, and sugar. Instead of yeast, homemade sourdough was used, and the dough was kneaded in stages over a long period of time. All this was done by hand, and it is still believed that the warmth of one’s hands imbues the product with the best and brightest feelings, thoughts, and mood.  Housewives prepared meticulously for the dough preparation and sometimes they would ask anyone creating excessive noise and fuss to leave the kitchen. Usually, it was the husbands, but children, on the contrary, were often involved in the dough preparation process and performed simple tasks.  For example, they cracked eggs or sculpted dough decorations; it was educational and fun.

Elk Valley Resources says a new socioeconomic analysis shows its operations remain a major driver of employment, wages and tax revenue across southeastern British Columbia and beyond, including in nearby Crowsnest Pass. The report, released April 1, was commissioned by EVR and prepared by KPMG using 2024 data.

As a small businesswoman and the owner of a community newspaper approaching its 97th year of publication, I feel for the first time in many years that reaching the 100-year milestone is a now real possibility. Two federal government policies have been game changers for my newspaper and for our community.

A regional wildfire preparedness event returning to Jaffray on May 1 is being positioned as more than a family friendly spring outing. For residents across the Elk Valley and South Country, organizers say the third annual Ember Stomp is meant to provide practical, local information that could make a real difference when wildfire risk rises.

Crowsnest Pass council’s March 24 public input period brought a wide range of con-cerns to the table, from healthcare recruitment efforts to criticism over council conduct and an explanation from a landowner involved in logging near a local heron rookery.

The Oldman Watershed Council told Crowsnest Pass council on March 24 that water quality in the mountain headwaters remains strong, but drought on the land could still become a major concern in 2026.

Ever since I was a youngster I have had a fascination with caves. It has never left me and I find myself inevitably drawn to any dark shadow or interesting feature of any depth in a rock face. I guess that is why I didn’t “bat” an eye when I went to work 2 1/2  miles underground  in the Vicary Mine while in college. Spelunking is probably a in-bred after effect of my coal mining family history.

There is a map on the table in Edmonton that could soon change the political shape of southern Alberta.

If adopted, the Electoral Boundaries Commission’s final report will not eliminate Livingstone Macleod, but it will significantly redraw it. And this is not a minor adjustment. It is a real shift in which communities belong together and how this region is represented moving forward. 

Crowsnest Pass council, in a tie vote, defeated a motion that would have allowed administration to use up to $100,000 from the mill rate stabilization reserve to support hiring a municipal recruitment firm as the municipality continues efforts to fill two senior vacancies that have remained open, one for four months and one for up to six months.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada returned to Crowsnest Pass council on March 24 with an update on its local work, ranging from invasive species control to fire mitigation and wildlife connectivity monitoring along Highway 3.

Recently I posted an image on social media from a marvelous history book entitled “Michel Memories” that resonated really well within facebook land. That is to say; it drew out memories which people readily shared. I have discovered that this is a wonderful way to connect us all , on just about any subject.  A facebook post done on the old Crowsnest Lake dance hall (now gone) some time back drew almost a hundred responses and some lovely personal memories that I got to share in a column.

Sparwood council has awarded its 2026 paving program contract to Terrace Construction while also signalling it may skip a planned town hall later this spring as the current council nears the end of its term.

Sparwood council has adopted a zoning amendment that will formally allow farm animals on Michel Creek Road properties where that type of use has existed for years.

Sparwood’s planning and development department used a March 17 presentation to give council a closer look at the daily pressures facing the building department and the growing importance of geographic information systems, or GIS, across the municipality.

Sparwood council has approved the bylaw changes needed to launch its new district wide curbside recycling program and move ahead with a food waste diversion pilot this spring.