Twenty Years of the Kootenay Ice
As I reflect on the past 20 wonderful years of Kootenay Ice hockey in our community, the first thing I think of is that it all coming to a sad end this next weekend.
The next thing is that Ed Chynoweth was an icon and personally to me a hero figure in regards to Kootenay Ice Hockey. Ed believed and was committed to small towns and cities all across the CHL. Without that vision and those kinds of ideals in the game, placement for teams in all those communities including Cranbrook would never have been possible.
Ed’s compassion for the spirit of the game was exhibited through his dedication to the players who played the game and to the fans who supported those players, these things were always his highest priorities. Through his dedication to the spirit of the game he created an intimacy between team and community, something I believe he was very proud of. And because of his pride in all these things we became proud of him for everything he contributed to our team and our community. Ed had an admiration for all aspects of the game he truly loved.
And what does it all add up to as an accounting for the last 20 years? Well it all equates to a proud and illustrious grand 20 year tradition in junior hockey, something that can never be taken from us. And something we are all proud of, a pride I feel for the best fans in the country and a pride I feel for every single player to play in the Ice organization.
I have resigned myself to the fact that nothing stays the same forever and I am disappointed about the Ice leaving. But I am optimistic that better days for competitive hockey in Cranbrook are ahead of us. Unfortunately the fans in the last four years haven’t had much to cheer about, but through the good and bad of it all, we all continued to cheer for our team because we all know that standing by our team is about much more than just winning.
I believe that the indelible spirit for the game here in Cranbrook and the Kootenays is alive and well and will always be strong for what ever our hockey future holds for us next. And what ever comes next I am sure that there is an appetite to support a competitive brand of hockey, together our fans and a new team can come together to create a new tradition, something we can proudly add to our traditional past, something we can all stand up and continue to take pride in.
The Ice may be gone but 20 years of traditional memories will never be forgotten!
James LeClair/Cranbrook
Democratic Rights of Stratas
Sunshine Meadows is an owner-occupied, 32-suite complex in Cranbrook. We have had, since 2005, a no-rental policy.
In April, 2018, B.C.’s coalition government under Premier John Horgan appointed a Rental Housing Shortage Task Force to come up with recommendations for a “quick fix” to B.C.’s rental housing shortage.
To our knowledge, stratas were not invited to participate in the engagement process by the Task Force. Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C. (known as CHOA) notified our strata via email on January 15, 2019, of the Task Force’s recommendations. The Task Force has 23 recommendations, including Number 9 which states: “Increase the availability of currently empty strata hosing by eliminating a strata corporation’s ability to ban owners from renting their own strata units.”
This is a violation of our democratic rights granted under the B.C. Strata Property Act!
The safety and security of owners is paramount in our building, as with many other strata complexes. The majority of owners are 55 years plus, and have voted for prohibiting renting/leasing by owners.
Strata fees would increase with renting due mainly to higher building insurance premiums, damages and repairs caused by unruly renters who have no vested interest in our buildings, etc. The value of our homes (units) would devaluate.
Our council is self-managed by volunteers. The workload would increase as the fees would be borne by the renter and not the landlords, who could be difficult to contact. The strata is not a party to the tenant-landlord agreement, and has no representation in the Tenancy Act nor on the Residential Tenancy Board.
It is our hope that all strata affected by such proposed legislation will petition via their MLAs to: “Allow strata corporations to continue to restrict/prohibit an owner from leasing/renting their units.”
The Sunshine Meadows Strata Council/Cranbrook
