The Beaver Valley Curling Club received some good news following a very difficult season.
The club is one of several Greater Trail non-profit organizations that are the recipients of Regional District Kootenay Boundary grants.
Funding from the Area A Gas Tax will see the Beaver Valley Curling Club receive a $15,000 grant to replace its kitchen stove and ventilation system to meet BC Building Code and National Fire Protection Association standards required by building insurers.
“The curling rink is one of the best run clubs in the province, and basically self-sustained by volunteer groups,” said Area A director, Ali Grieve. “But recently insurance companies told them they needed to change their (industrial) fan in the kitchen to bring it up to code.”
The upgrade will include a new vent hood system, fire suppression system and makeup air unit. The project will begin in early spring and end in October before startup of the next curling season.
In non-pandemic years, the B.V. Curling Club hosts four bonspiels each curling season and the kitchen provides food service for competitors and spectators.
This year, the curling season was cut short by the December restrictions placed upon indoor activities and sports by the provincial health office and, as a result, the club’s men’s, women’s, retiree and mixed club seasons were cancelled.
Area A also stepped up and helped the curling club weather the financial storm with a $5,000 grant to help with maintenance over the winter.
“We gave them an additional grant to help them survive,” said Grieve. “It’s the lack of bonspiels, and that’s where your income comes from so because they have no activity, Area A also provided them with a grant in aid.”
The building, also built by volunteers, is generally available for rentals to the community during the off-season, but may be closed again this summer due to COVID.
Area A helped out the Beaver Mountain Snowmobile Association with $5,000 in funding. Pending the province’s approval, the snowmobile club will construct an all-season backcountry shelter on their crown land tenure in the Archibald Creek area, which will provide outdoor enthusiasts a place to warm up, rest and relax while enjoying the outdoors.
Construction is planned for May with completion slated for October 2021.
In addition, Area A awarded a grant-in-aid worth $10,000 to the Fruitvale Elementary PAC for Garibaldi polished stone and concrete benches.
The benches are for public use especially families who walk their children to and from school, or residents that have their daily walks on Columbia Gardens Road.
“I walk by there and drop my grandkids off there all the time,” said Grieve. “And I always see moms with babies in their arms, moms with kids hanging off them, and families there on weekends watching their kids slide down the hill.
“While it is a school, it is also a community gathering place, and it’s for families to enjoy the public space.”
In addition, Area A provided the Village of Fruitvale with a $3,000 grant for a tool/garden shed in its newly relocated community garden and $2,500 to the B.V. Blooming Society.
Electoral Area B/Lower Columbia-Old Glory awarded $5,000 to Casino Recreation for Casino Recreation Lands surveying costs for Kootenay Columbia Learning Centre, as well as $750 for a Graduating Student Bursary.
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