The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) has awarded nearly $20,000 in grants for groups and programs between Christina Lake and the West Boundary.
The RDKB’s board of directors voted to approve the grants at its last meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The $19,600 in funds came from regional district monies allotted to board directors’ electoral areas.
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Area C Director Grace McGregor supported grant applications for $4,500 worth of video-conferencing equipment for Christina Lake’s Welcome Centre and Community Hall. She meanwhile encouraged Christina Lake’s fire department to put in for a grant for the same purpose.
“We’ve got to keep Christina Lake connected,” McGregor told The Gazette Tuesday, Feb. 1.
Christina Lake Fire and Rescue Chief Joe Geary said the department will take her up on her suggestion, though that grant has not come before the board.
McGregor also supported a $2,000 grant application by the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA), who will use the money for its local “fish in schools program,” according to RDKB Corporate Officer Anitra Winje.
Area D Director Danna O’Donnell supported a $1,000 grant application for the same ONA program, to be run in rural Grand Forks. O’Donnell also got behind a $5,000 grant application by the Grand Forks Art Gallery Society, which will put the money toward modular shelving units.
Area E Director Vicki Gee went for a $5,000 grant for the Trails to the Boundary Society’s Kettle River Echo newsletter and a $2,100 grant for the West Boundary Senior Housing Society.
Gee said she supports grant-in-aid applications that offer on-going benefits to West Boundary communities. In practice, she supports applications by local non-profits.
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laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.ca
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