It's finally happened - Kaslo and region finally has its own web-based news and information source. Thanks to the hard technical work of Michael Rogers, we're finally in a position to "flip the switch" and go live with Kaslo.org!

At a meeting last night at the home of Janet Mayfield and Randy Morse, fifteen local residents were introduced to Version 1.0 of the website. Rogers explained how to upload articles and photos, answered a lot of questions ("will there be a 'letters to the editor' section?" - yes, we're going to call it Speaker's Corner, and it should be on the site soon; "can we change, add, or delete article categories?" - absolutely, in fact we're in the process of doing that already - look, for example, for an Environment category soon; "can we create regular columns, say one on gardening in the West Kootenays, or another on why things are as they are in this neck of the woods?" - absolutely, no problem; "can we have a 'Photo Album,' where residents can post their favourite pics, with captions? - you bet), and ended the session by inviting attendees to sign on as Kaslo.org's first contributors,

Kaslo.org is intended to compliment the excellent existing media we have access to. In fact we hope to see regular feature sections on the Kaslo.org site provided by the Pennywise, Kaslo Cable, and the Valley Voice. Kaslo.org is different in several ways: we're web-based, which means that we can feature content very quickly - an article reviewing a concert at the United Church or a comedy skit at the Langham can literally be published to the site within minutes of the performances' completion. We rely on you - members of the community - to contribute Kaslo.org's content, because we are a community-based initiative (a collaboration between the Kaslo & Area Residents Association and the Kaslo Internet Society). Because we're online 24/7 and available on the world-wide web, those of you who travel, or those of you with friends and family who live "somewhere else," will find Kaslo.org a terrific way to stay up to speed on what's happening back home, and sharing Kaslo and area news with your far-flung families and friends, wherever on the planet they happen to be.

We're trying hard to make this thing work as well as possible right from the start. Having said that, there will be some early glitches. We ask for your patience. But far more importantly, we invite - in fact we urge - your participation! Its really easy to become a contributor. All you have to do is click on Contact Us at the top of the home page, send us an email, and we'll fire off a Username, Password, and a few simple instructions to get you started. All we ask of our contributors is that they avoid profanity and potentially libelous content - that sort of thing will cause the site's administrators (currently Morse, Addison and Rogers) to contact you and let you know the article can't be published as-is. Otherwise, away you go, and we'll publish your article and/or photo as soon after your submission as possible.

It's the 21st century. Over the last 100+ years Kaslo's had some daily newspapers. Now we have Kaslo.org. We hope you enjoy it. And we hope even more that you'll contribute to making it the most informative, lively, compelling, and - dare we say it? - fun community information site in the country!