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Courtenay jumps in Canada-wide quality of living survey

By Drew A. PennerEcho Staff

Courtenay scored better than any other town or city on Vancouver Island north of the Malahat in a cross-country look at the best places to live. The city moved up 54 places in the MoneySense magazine rank-ings, beating out Nanaimo, Duncan, Powell River, Campbell River, Parksville and Port Alberni, in that order.

The magazine uses census data and takes a largely financial approach to evaluating the various communi-ties with more than 10,000 people across Canada. Each city is ranked against its peers and overall.

“Courtenay had a big jump up this year,” said Sarah Efron, deputy edi-tor of MoneySense magazine. “That puts it in about the middle of the pack.”

Unemployment, population growth and precipitation were some of the factors considered in the eval-uation. Nearly half of the top 20 cit-ies on the list are located west of Winnipeg.

St. Albert, Alta., nabbed the top spot overall edging out Calgary, which won last year.

Strathcona County, Alta., Ottawa, Ont. and Burlington, Ont. rounded out the top five.

Only Saanich (14) and Victoria (76) managed to place better than Courtenay on the Island, and Port Alberni, found itself on the very bot-tom this year at 201.

In the previous survey Courtenay,

which includes Comox, Cumberland and most surrounding rural areas, dropped to 153rd place from 73rd in 2012. In 2011 the city hit an even 100.

This year Nanaimo (126) fell below the city in the rankings, after doing better than the Comox Valley municipality by 65 spots last time.

Nanaimo’s spot in the survey was mostly due to a 9.3 per cent unem-ployment rate, $370,000 average home prices and high rate of crime.

Under the MoneySense methodol-ogy Courtenay’s 9 per cent unem-ployment rate and $385,000 home prices were not helpful factors, but the Comox Valley was noted as a good place to bike to work, get cared for by a doctor and enjoy arts and culture activities.

“We think culture is important,” Efron said.

“That’s the place you live. You want to have access to be able to enjoy entertainment.”

Weather was also an important element in deciding the top cities in the magazine’s analysis.

“We look at days with rain,” she explained, “but we also look at tem-peratures and days above zero.”

Mayor Larry Jangula didn’t quib-ble with the analysis.

“That rings pretty true to me,” he said of the number 99 status. “I’m always pleased when we’ve scored well on something.”

Jangula added he’s excited we beat out Nanaimo and our other neighbours, and says the middle of

(Continued on page 2)

City comes up ‘99’ in MoneySense’s 2014 edition of its annual rankings

Rescue operation fails to find and save Kiyo

By Michael BrionesEcho Staff

The sea lion named Kiyo, which appears to have a wire wrapped deep-ly around its neck, is still out there somewhere.

After two days of searching near Fanny Bay by the team that consisted of Vancouver Aquarium’s rescue crew, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the distressed California sea lion that sparked the rescue campaign was nowhere to be found.

The rescue crew, which covered haulouts of California and Stellar sea lions, lasted two days.

However, the operation was not completely in vain as the group was able to save two other sea lions that had similar entanglements.

One rescued sea lion was first believed to be possibly Kiyo but after careful examination and comparison of the photos the rescue crew took and the one taken by wildlife photog-rapher Netonia Chatelaine, they con-

cluded it wasn’t him.“I am sorry to say that unfortu-

nately we didn’t locate Kiyo,” said Lisa Spaven, marine mammal research technician with the DFO. “But cer-tainly the fact that we were able to disentangle two animals was a good success. This is only the third and fourth animal that have been disen-tangled in B.C. thus far. We are defi-nitely making great strides in our ability in this regard.”

The team successfully immobilized two animals, including one adult male California sea lion suffering from an entanglement and deep wound on his neck. The animal was tranquilized while resting on a log boom. The crew then climbed on the log bundle and disentangled the mate-rial from his neck as he slept.

“This particular sea lion was the unsuspecting victim of plastic pack-ing strap tightly wound around its neck,” said Vancouver Aquarium head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena. (Continued on page 3)

By Drew A. PennerEcho Staff

Christina Cox was excited to return to her own home after staying across town with her daughter while in and out of hospital for a couple months. The 81-year-old has been in the 11th Street residence for about 40 years and still likes pruning the trees and gardening on the prop-erty. But when she tried to turn the heat back on Feb. 20 - no luck.

“I think we’re out of oil,” she thought. “There was absolutely nothing.”

Since she had just recently filled the tank she knew there would be evidence of oil everywhere if there had been a leak.

The RCMP investigated the possible theft but because there had been snow on the ground during January and February there were no tracks in the dirt on the side of her house to gather as a clue to the disappearing liquid.

On March 9 police looked into a report of 1,000 litres

of heating fuel that vanished from a home on the 4700 block of Headquarters Road. In that case, the man had also been away dealing with medical issues.

Although in that instance, there was a chance the valves could have been leaking.

Cox says she has suffered a large financial setback, and cautions people to keep their oil tank caps locked on.

“I felt really bad because it was going to last me until June,” Cox said. “I never worry about it. But this time I did, and it’s gone.”

Her daughter Samantha Christiansen says it’s tough for her mother who lives on a pension. Now she doesn’t feel comfortable going away for more than a few days, especially since her mother recently suffered a heart attack.

“She’d like to be home,” she said. “But I can’t leave her here for an extended period of time with just an electric heater.”

(Continued on page 2)

Christina Cox recently discovered a bunch of heating oil had gone missing from a tank outside her Courtenay home.

Heartless oil thieves leaveelderly resident without heat

One of the entangled sea lions helped this week. Photo by Neil Fisher/Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre

Effort still a success as two distressed sea lions get disentangled by Aquarium crew

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(Continued from page 1)

The irony is that Cox has always been one to conserve energy. She likes to make her oil stretch as long as possible.

“I try and make it last,” she said, adding there is no need to overheat the place.

“I don’t have it on at night. If it’s warm I don’t put it on.”

She now plans to get through the

rest of the cold months with a little block heater.

“I have no money,” she says with a feeble chuckle, “so I’ll just stay cold.”

For Cox there’s not much left to do but laugh at the situation, and she wonders what kind of karma could be in store for whoever did this.

“Something bad might happen to them,” she said. “Who knows.”

(Continued from page 1)

the pack rank is a result of the unique economic landscape of the Comox Valley.

“On the one hand we don’t have very good jobs here,” he said. “The other side of the equation is we have people who come here that, I’m not saying they’re rich, but they’re not poor.”

Trying to balance all the impor-tant parts of civic growth, from building culture to dealing with crime to focusing on lifestyle oppor-tunities is easier said than done.

“It’s like walking a tightrope,” he said, noting he’s glad to see the sur-veyors picked up on Courtenay’s significant character traits here, where, he says - “There’s a real dif-ference to things.”

By Philip RoundEcho Staff

Courtenay City Council is plan-ning to spend just over $5 million on ‘capital’ items this year.

Such projects include additional street paving, sewer and storm drain construction, building improve-ments, vehicle replacement, and upgrading equipment ranging from computers to ventilation systems.

Details were set out by staff at a special city council meeting on Wednesday evening as part of the annual budget process.

And they had some good news for those who may be seeking re-elec-tion in November, and for the resi-dents they represent: No additional taxation will be required this year to fund the proposals.

But there could be multi-million dollar projects coming down the pipe in future years - notably a fire hall in east Courtenay (currently under review) and a new police headquarters in downtown (project-ed in five years) - which certainly would have big tax impacts, and will need electoral approval before going ahead.

In a written report, the City’s chief administrative officer, David Allen, said freezing the tax require-ment for capital spending in 2014 “is not felt to be sustainable over

time.”But he noted the City’s director of

financial services, Tillie Manthey, had worked out that of the $5.1 mil-lion in proposed spending, only 16 per cent ($854,000) would need to be charged direct to general taxation this year, and no new borrowing would be required.

The rest of the money needed for the capital program - amounting to more than $4.2 million - would be found from various City reserves, charges levied on development proj-ects, external grants, unspent sur-pluses from last year’s capital pro-gram, federal gas tax refunds, and some of the profits the municipality gets to share from Chances Gaming Centre.

And while the $854,000 balance still needs to be added to property tax bills, that figure is lower than the one budgeted and charged on last year’s bills, so it can be absorbed without adding a cent to the 2014 invoices.

But for the future, Manthey had noted current projections for the four years following 2014 did show increases, although firm decisions on the priorities and projects to be pursued did not have to be taken on those during this year.

Council unanimously endorsed the proposed capital spending pro-gram after taking a little over two

City’s $5m project spending ‘won’t increase taxes this year’ hours to go through the financial documents line-by-line looking for more detail on some of the sugges-tions, ranging from the cost of setting up a new municipal website to the extent of paving planned for city roads. But nothing was cut from, or added to, the proposals presented by staff.

The 0% change in tax require-

ments for capital spending does not mean property tax bills overall will be frozen. Council debates and deci-sions on the day-to-day operational budget for the City will not happen until next month, so the implications are not yet known.

Furthermore, the tax notices issued by the City also have to include charges from external authorities,

such as the regional district and the school, hospital and library boards, which independently determine their own budgets. All are rolled up to cre-ate a single, total tax bill to each property owner.

It will only be May that the final totals and bottom line implications will be known for sure.

Courtenay moves up ranks

Thieves leave senior in cold

Heavy rain and snow fail to ease concerns over water supplies By Philip RoundEcho Staff

Saturday’s torrential rain and heavy snowfall on the mountains hasn’t done much to ease BC Hydro’s concerns over local water supplies for the coming months.

“The past month, and this past weekend, have seen a well-needed break from the dry weather condi-tions since October,” said power company spokesperson Stephen Watson.

“While this has helped marginally for the near term operations, the wider concern for water abundance for the spring and summer hasn’t changed that much.”

February water inflows into Comox Lake Reservoir were only 37 per cent of normal, said Watson. However, there was a normal amount of precipitation for the month that mostly fell as snow.

“The daily water inflows from last Saturday’s storm were the highest we’ve seen in five months - they reached about 89 cubic metres a second - but they were not as high as forecast due to less-than-forecast precipitation and greater-than-fore-cast snow accumulation.

“The next two weeks or so looks to be relatively dry, with a light pre-cipitation event likely this week-end.

“Water inflows are looking to be back down to around 25-30 metres per second by the end of the week.”

He noted the level of the lake sur-face had been hovering around the 132-132.4 metre range for months with little fluctuation.

On a positive note, “it has risen nicely from the Saturday storm and is at 133.1 metres and is slowly ris-ing - 135.3 metres is considered full.”

BC Hydro had been operating its Puntledge generating station at

20-40 per cent of capacity since October to conserve water for down-stream fish habitat, and for the moment the additional water flows have allowed power output to rise to 75 per cent of the maximum.

But Watson said levels based on current forecasts it would need to cut generation back again over the next few weeks.

The snowpack on the mountains is, however, building up - and is an essential element for maintaining spring and summer flows as it melts. It is currently at 52 per cent of normal

for the time of year, up from 28 per cent a month earlier.

Looking further ahead towards the summer, inflows into the lake are cur-rently forecast to be about 75 per cent of the average recorded over the past 50 years. But, Watson noted, there can be wild variations in those fore-casts, and nothing can be taken for granted.

“We still need much more wet weather over the next few months to recover, and even then, it may not get to average conditions,” he added.

pround@comoxvalleyecho.com

MADD Canada has named Norm Prince of Union Bay as its new volun-teer community leader for the Comox Valley and surrounding areas.

In the role, he becomes part of a nationwide network of volunteers who represent MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and deliver its message and programs to local communities.

“We are proud to welcome Mr. Prince to our amazing and dedicated volun-teer team.” said MADD Canada National President Angeliki Souranis.

“Our chapters and community lead-ers undertake a diverse range of activi-ties within their communities to help achieve MADD Canada’s mission of stopping impaired driving and support-ing the victims of this violent crime. They truly are the heart and soul of our organization”.

Prince became involved with MADD Canada more than ten years ago when an impaired driver killed a student at the high school where he taught at the time in Port Hardy.

Having seen first-hand the devasta-tion the death caused students, families and the community, he started the

MADD North Island Chapter to provide resources to the community, support victims and their families and educate the community about the dangers of impaired driving.

As a new community leader, Prince will focus much of his initial efforts around public awareness and educa-tion initiatives and building partner-ships with stakeholder and community organizations with similar goals of ending impaired driving.

“These deaths and injuries are com-pletely preventable,” he said. “They can all be avoided if people do not get behind the wheels of their vehicles impaired.

“I want to be part of the solution and I am confident that Comox Valley will be supportive of the effort to stop these senseless tragedies from occurring on our roads and in our community.”

In 2012, Prince received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his volunteer contributions to MADD Canada and in 2003 he was awarded MADD’s Volunteer of the Year for British Columbia.

Union Bay man is MADD Canada’s new community leader

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TOWN OF COMOX PUBLIC NOTICE

SNOW AND ICE CONTROLTO ALL RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS WITHIN THE TOWN OF COMOX

With the upcoming winter season, please note the following regarding:

During snowfall and ice events, the Town of Comox will make every effort to provide for the reasonably safe movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. As with all services provided by the Town of Comox, snow and ice control is limited by staff, equipment and budget restrictions.

In keeping with Town Policy 4037R, the Town of Comox will proceed with the ploughing of roads upon accumulation of 100 mm of snow or when lesser accumulations have resulted in dangerous conditions. This policy grants priority to the various routes in the following order:

Arterial Roads1. Collector Roads2. Local Roads3. Cul-de-sacs4. Lanes5.

In addition to the above, priority is also given to the routes serving public facilities including the Fire Hall, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Municipal Hall, School Zones, Bus Routes and the Comox Recreation Centre.

Snow removal and de-icing from sidewalks shall be limited to sidewalks along arterial and major collector roads, with first priority given to opening one side only. Municipal staff will also endeavour to clear snow from sidewalks fronting properties owned by the Town of Comox, while removal of snow from sidewalks in commercial zones remains the responsibility of the individual property owners.

Ploughing of snow will result in a windrow of snow across private driveways and business accesses. The Town of Comox regrets this; however, we simply do not have the resources to clear these windrows from individual driveways.

During snowfall events, the Town of Comox would offer the following HELPFUL HINTS: Avoid depositing snow removed from driveways, sidewalks and parking areas onto the adjacent 1. roadway. In most cases the Town of Comox will have little choice but to redirect it back into the area from which it came. Remove all parked vehicles from the streets until such time as ploughing has been completed. 2. Ensure your vehicle is equipped with good snow tires and add additional weight if required. 3. Allow for additional travel time between home and work, drive slowly and stay well back from the 4. traffic in front of you. Do not attempt to pass snow ploughs or sand trucks. 5. Please assist the Town in reducing flooding problems by clearing snow and debris away from and 6. around catch basins. The Town of Comox encourages everyone to assist the elderly and infirmed with removal of snow 7. from sidewalks and driveways.

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“This is often what we find on them - it’s the perfect size for them to swim into and difficult for them to dis-lodge themselves.

“It’s a good reminder for all of us to not throw debris into our waterways as careless behaviour can directly impact marine animals, which can result in permanent injuries and death.”

The rescue trip wouldn’t have been possible without the extraordinary efforts made by DFO officers, said Haulena. He also thanked the operators of the yard where the Aquarium’s Rescue Centre team did the dis-entanglement; the boom boat operators and yard staff were exceptionally accommodating.

Haulena is only one of a few veterinarians in the world, and the only one in Canada, who has experience immobilizing sea lions with an anesthetic drug deliv-ered by a dart. He said “rescue efforts involving sea lions are extremely challenging and can be very dangerous.”

Marine mammal anesthesia is risky; it was a 15-year process to develop an effective combination of drugs and protocols to safely dart sea lions for the removal of entangled gear, usually around their necks.

The rescues are resource-intense, often take place in remote locations and, because they require the right team, equipment and weather conditions, take time to coordinate.

Last fall, Haulena and marine mammal consulting biologist Wendy Szaniszlo, along with a large Vancouver Aquarium crew, whale watch operator Brian Gisborne, DFO, and Parks Canada, successfully disentangled two animals for the first time in the Barkley-Clayoquot region.

Photographer Chatelaine, who spotted Kiyo first in Fanny Bay suffering from what appeared to be a wire wrapped tightly around its neck, is disappointed that he wasn’t found. However, she was pleased to see the operation end up rescuing two other sea lions.

Spaven said this may help pave the way for more rescue operations in the future.

“That’s certainly what we hope for,” said Spaven. “We would like to get out there more regularly to disentangle sea lions. But because of the logistics around just how resource intense this kind of response is, the different things we have to consider before heading out, and the very specific team that we need, it may very well be that our better use of our resources is to plan a more regular survey effort to disentanglements rather than do them on a one-off case by case basis as they’re reported.”

Spaven added that they will be looking at areas in times of the year where they’re likely to see a number of entangled animals where they can do the most res-cues.

If Kiyo is spotted again, Spaven is not ruling out

another rescue operation. “Certainly we would consider another

response, it’s not out of the question,” said Spaven, who is encouraging people to report marine mammals that are entangled or even dead.

The sea lion rescued is not alone in its injuries, but the aquarium cautions that they are large, wild animals and rescues should not be attempted by the public.

If you see a marine mammal in distress, call Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at 604 258 SEAL (7325) or

Fisheries and Oceans Canada at 1 800 465 4336.

“Concerned citizens who are calling in about marine animals in distress are taking the right steps,” adds Haulena. “It’s impor-tant that people do not try to handle them. Improper removal of entangled gear may make the injury worse as vital structures, such as veins, arteries and nerves lie in close proximity to the entanglements.”

The aquarium also reminds the public to not dispose of debris into our rivers, lakes and oceans.

Shoreline debris can often be confused by marine animals as food or they may become entangled.

For members of the public wanting to get involved in protecting marine wildlife by keeping shorelines free of litter, register to clean a shoreline today at www.shoreline-cleanup.ca.

Vancouver Aquarium is a self-supporting, non-profit and does not receive ongoing funds for rescue efforts such as this one. To support the efforts of the Rescue Centre, please visit www.vanaqua.org/mmr.

Rescue crew tends to entangled sea lion at Fanny Bay. Photo by Neil Fisher/Vancouver Aquarium

Sea lions helped

A4 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

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Tuesday, March 18

By Michael BrionesEcho Staff

The Comox Valley Teachers Association’s overwhelming vote for job action is a sign of frustration with the BC government, according to president Steve Stanley.

Their total surpassed the overall 89 per cent yes vote that was con-ducted province-wide from March 4 to 6.

Stanley would not reveal that exact number but indicated it wasa little bit over 90 per cent. He added that it’s indicative what the local teachers are feeling.

“We really want to make our progress at the bargaining table,” said Stanley. “But we’re feeling that the government is not taking us seriously.”

Although the union now has a clear mandate from its members, the job action will not be imple-mented any time sooner.

“We have a three-phased plan if we get to that point,” said Stanley. “But right now, we’re hoping just having a strike vote alone would be enough to convince them to start being more serious and respectful.”

Teachers now have 90 days to activate job action. Any initial job action will be administrative in nature and will not include:

• Immediate school closures or disruption for students

• Ask teachers to stop participat-ing in extracurricular activities

• Affect report cards or communi-cation with parents.

The demands of the local associa-tion, which has around 700 mem-bers, are similar to the provincial issues, said Stanley.

“We want a fair deal,” said Stanley. “Teachers like to have cost of living increase tied to our salary. We also would like to have better support for our students in the classrooms every day. We’d like our class size composition language that was given back to us in the Supreme Court, we want that honoured and we want the government to come forward with funding for that.”

Stanley said they’re not looking for an exorbitant amount of money but something that’s in line with the cost of living.

Teachers are also disappointed that the salary increases the union is negotiating may have to be shoul-dered by cash-strapped School District 71, which is already facing a shortfall of about $1.5 million this school year and anticipating anoth-er $2 million next year.

“The local trustees are trying their best to stretch their budget as far as they can,” said Stanley. “They won’t be able to do it. They have to cut programs, cut people and service. And that’s our biggest concern in the bargaining table. Our local school board is not the enemy here. They don’t control their funding so we understand their position.”

There is no set time when the strike vote will be activated. It will depend on negotiations.

“BC teachers are committed to negotiating a deal at the table. That is our goal,” said BCTF President Jim Iker. “The vote is about putting pressure on both sides to get an agreement. We will work very hard to get that negotiated settlement without any job action. A strike vote is a normal process in labour relations and helps apply pressure to both parties during negotia-tions.”_

If, at some point talks stall or

government does not move on key areas, that initial job action could escalate into rotating strikes. There will be no full-scale walk out. Such

action would require another prov-ince-wide vote of the BCTF member-ship.

Local total surpasses provincial average of 89 per cent yes vote

Comox Valley teachers overwhelmingly favour job action

By Michael BrionesEcho Staff

NDP leader Adrian Dix says it’s time for the BC Liberal government to come clean and negotiate a new collective agreement with the teach-ers honestly.

Dix was in Comox Valley yester-

day and met with teachers and resi-dents. He was also in Campbell River where he talked about issues sur-rounding the public school system and the changes that needs to be done. He also focused on the ongo-ing contract negotiations between the government and the BC Teachers’ Federation.

“There’s never been a time when public education is more important, when students needed more of their public education,” said Dix. “What we’ve got now is 10 years of division caused by the Liberal government in the evidence in the court case that showed the premier and the govern-ment deliberately misled people

NDP leader Adrian Dix talks to teachers and residents at Zocalo’s Café on Monday. In attendance was former Comox Valley NDP candi-date Kassandra Dycke and Comox Valley Teachers Association president Steve Stanley.

about their intentions. They were try-ing, for their own political purposes to promote the Liberal Party attrac-tively to promote a school strike. And they continue to do this. They con-tinue to play games. What we need right now is for people to work together to promote a better system and address issues like class size and compositions.”

Earlier this year, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the province’s legislation stripping teachers of the right to bar-gain class size and composition was unconstitutional.

The court also found the BC Liberals had bargained in bad faith. It awarded the union $2 million in damages.

The government has appealed. But if the decision stands, it would require provisions for class size, composition and specialist teachers to be restored to 2002 levels, requiring the hiring of many more teachers.

Dix said the teachers should not be criticized for doing their best to

improve students’ education despite working in a system that has been contravening existing laws for more than a decade.

“There are hundreds of classrooms in the school district (71) that break their own laws,” said Dix. “We’re talking about 80 classrooms with more than six special needs students. They are very difficult classrooms to teach.

“Their own laws said it shouldn’t be more than three. In that sense, it’s one thing for the government to be doing what they do, and that’s play-ing games and attacking the teachers. It’s another thing when they don’t respect their own laws.”

Dix also criticized the government for “acting in a childish way” in their attempt to provoke teachers to go on strike in the past.

It’s time to end the games, he said. “The way forward is to negotiate in good faith.”

NDP LEADER WANTS PROVINCE TO NEGOTIATE HONESTLY

NewsComox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014 A5

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Over Spring break in the Comox Valley there will be lots of fun, fam-ily oriented activities for children to enjoy at your public library.

Come and visit the library to check out the new arrivals of DVDs, music CDs, books and magazines and enter the Spring Break Contest to win a fabulous prize.

Families are invited to attend a puppet show, “The Stinky Cheese Man”, a laugh out loud entertain-ment suitable for all ages. The Stinky Cheese Man will play at the Comox Library Wednesday March 26 at 11 am and at the Courtenay Library on Thursday afternoon, March 27 at 1:30 pm.

At the Comox Library children are invited to drop in for Puppetpalooza on March 19 at 10:30 in the morn-ing. Children will make a puppet out of recycled materials and house-hold items.

If you visit the Courtenay Library on Thursday March 20 or 27th, there will be a large selection of board games and puzzles to play with from 2 to 4 pm.

On Saturday, March 22 there will be a Family Storytime with favourite stories and a puppet making craft at 11 am.

For young artists, there will be a Manga drawing workshop lead by local artist Brenna Mcdonagh, on Wednesday, March 26 at 10:30 am. Later, the same day, at 2 pm, there will be a session of TumbleBooks, digital picture books to read-along with or just to enjoy.

On March 29 come and meet local children’s authors Tanya Smallwood and Nicki Wiegland who will intro-duce their new book Mar & Jack, a children’s Mount Washington adven-ture story. Tanya and Nicki will be at the Courtenay library Saturday, March 29 at 11 am.

Courtenay Library will be open every day during Spring Break and children are invited to play with the library’s LEGO collection available most afternoons.

At the Cumberland Library there will be a Puppet Making craft ses-sion on Friday March 21 from 3 to 4 pm and a TumbleBooks storytime on Friday March 28 starting at 3:30 pm. Lego will also be available most afternoons.

All library programs are free to attend. Come one, come all! See you there! For more information call your local public library: Comox Library 2250-339-2971, Courtenay Library 250-334-3369, Cumberland Library 250-336-8121.

Meet theStinky Cheese Man!Lots to do at yourpublic library duringSpring Break

Want to show off your “Gangnam Style” moves or let us know what really “Does the Fox Say?” Then don’t miss out on this opportunity to dance your way into Spring Break, Tuesday March 18th from 3-8pm at The LINC Youth Centre. This is a just for Tween (9-12 yrs), supervised event and will be load-ed with prizes, 2 DJ’s, a laser light show, dance-offs and so much more. Tickets are on sale now at The LINC and Lewis Centre for $6 and will be available on the day of. Each ticket will include a chance to win one of our door prizes. Bring a friend, put on your dancing shoes and come on down.

Spring Break Tween Dance @ The LINC

Local farmer Arzeena Hamir, will give a great tomato-growing workshop this Monday, March 17 at the Black Creek Community Centre from 7-9 p.m. Please call to pre-regis-ter: 250-337-5190.

This Growing Great Tomatoes workshop is both for people who have grown tomatoes for a very long time and have had issues come up, as well as new gardeners who have never grown tomatoes. Topics will include starting tomatoes from seed, indoor, outdoor and container tomatoes, soil, pests and dis-ease control, and varieties to grow in our region.

Arzeena Hamir runs the 26-acre Amara Farm, (in the Grantham area of the Comox Valley) which produces 50 different veggies and fruits. She holds masters in agriculture, sits on the board of the Comox Valley Seed Savers, and is active in ALR and GMO issues.

The Black Creek Community centre is pleased to be offering a series of workshops with Hamir. For more information, visit our website at www.bccaonline.ca or call 250-

Tomato-growing workshopMonday at Black Creek

The Saltwater School is host-ing a Dinner and Silent Auction fundraiser March 20 at the Prime Chophouse and Wine Bar in Courtenay. Funds raised from the Dinner & Silent Auction will go towards families who require tuition assistance.

The Prime Chophouse and Wine Bar is generously offering a set menu of three choices including a vegan option. This is part of Prime’s “Throwback Thursday” in which they offer a choice of burger, pasta or vegan gluten-free entree plus selected wine, beer or non-alcoholic bev-erage for $20 and the restaurant will “throw back” $5 to our school.

Stop in anytime between 5pm and midnight for dinner. Stay for an hour or stay all night! Families with children welcome

between 5pm and 7pm - bids for children focussed auction items will close at 7 pm.

The Saltwater School has had many donations of items and services from the wider commu-nity. These items were donated by local community businesses and Saltwater families. The event organizers have deliber-ately taken donations which are affordable for families of all income levels. Children can also bid on some items.

The Saltwater Parent Group is currently looking for help with donations. If you are a business, or have a service you want to donate for the Silent auction please contact Bobby Boyd at bobby.b@saltwaterschool.com

FMI: visit the web site: www.saltwaterschool.com or face-book page.

Saltwater School hosting fund-raiser at Prime Chophouse next week with silent auction

Tomato seeding

A6 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

News

I hope everyone gets the chance to check out Comox Valley Camera Club’s

2014 ImageFestSaturday, March 22nd, 7pm at the Sid Williams THeatre

437 5th Street, Courtenay BC l tel: 250.703.2422 fax: 250.703.2425 • don.mcrae.mla@leg.bc.ca • www.donmcraemla.bc.ca

Don McRae, M.L.A.(Comox Valley)

The E & N Railway has provided transport for a diverse group over its 100 years.

The Prince of Wales arrived by rail at the Courtenay E & N station in September 1919 aboard his private rail car, the Nanoose.

Comox Valley children knew that Santa Claus was coming to town via the train in 1923. Booth and Lavers Big Store made it possible.

Circus trains with coaches full of animals and entertain-ers came to Courtenay on the E & N tracks-- from Conklin and Garrett’s Circus in the 1920s, to the elaborate Clyde Beatty Circus in the 1940s and 1950s.

Courtesy Courtenay and District Museum.

102nd Battalion Soldiers transported over the E & N Railway. Soldiers trained at Goose Spit, Comox, WW I.Photo Credit: Courtenay and District Museum 2004.28.2

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A unique tasting experience has come to the Comox Valley and food lovers will be delighted. Signature Oil & Vinegar specializes in fresh, high quality extra virgin olive oils and Italian balsamic vinegars.

When you walk into the shop at 2060 Guthrie Rd you will be greeted by 37 gleaming stainless steel con-tainers called fustis, each with a different product available for tast-ing before purchase.

“That’s the only way you really know what you’re getting,” says co-owner Lisa Whitmore. Olive oil, it seems, is not created equally. When Whitmore and her business partner, Sigrid Lees, went to Oakland, California to study the olive oil industry, they were stunned to learn a significant percent of what is available in grocery stores does not meet the standard for authentic extra virgin olive oil.

Unlike wine, which improves over time, olive oil loses its health benefits and flavour within a year, even if the bottle has never been opened. The date on bottles in gro-cery stores is the date the product was bottled, not the date the olives were pressed. Signature is bringing in fresh olive oil twice a year from seven different countries, including Italy, Australia, and Chile. Each of the oils is subject to a full chemical and sensory analysis and nothing but the highest quality product is shipped.

The aim of the new tasting bar is to change the way consumers under-stand the benefits of olive oil through accurate information, tastings, and education on why fresh is always best.

North Island’s first Oil and Vinegar Tasting Bar opens in ComoxSampling these products is much like wine tasting.

There are substantial differences in character between the different kinds of olives. The staff at Signature can guide you in pairing the right oil to the correct balsamic. All of the vinegars are organic, made in Modena, Italy, and barrel aged up to 18 years.

“The blackberry/ginger dark balsamic paired with Persian Lime infused olive oil is amazing on spinach salad,” says Lisa. The products can be used in everything from marinades to pasta sauces. Their philosophy is fresh plus natural leads to delicious.

The prices are reasonable with a 200ml bottle at $12 and a 375ml at $18.

‘This is an everyday product,” says Sigrid. “We don’t want to be a special occasion boutique. We want to be your next stop after the bakery or the grocery store.”

The new shop has been open less than a month, but plans to expand into evening tasting events and olive oil 101 sessions. The tasting bar is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm.

Cumberland’s green grocer celebrates 6 years of communityWhat began as a sort of selfish idea

has ended up being an integral part of the Cumberland Community.

“We were frustrated that we couldn’t buy a full range of groceries in our own town.” says owner Tina Willard-Stepan. “We felt it was really important for Cumberland to have access to services in their own com-munity.”

In March, 2008, Seeds Food Market opened its doors with many empty shelves - each with a sign on it that read ‘This is your shelf - tell us what you want’. They have spent the past 6 years doing just that - bringing in what customers want.

Getting to celebrate their sixth anniversary this month is a testament

to just how much stuff Cumberland wanted. “We love playing this role in our community - they have shown such fantastic support”, says Tina’s husband and business partner Jim, adding with a smile “And now we can buy wholesome food right down the street.”

And they have done it well. They have several awards and nominations under their belt. The first was a Chamber of Commerce Customer Service Award in 2009. They have also been a finalist for several Island and Province-wide awards, including BC Small Business Best Employer for 2010 and Community Impact for 2011 and 2012. In 2013 they were also a finalist for Vancouver Island Business

Excellence Community Impact and Green Business Awards. “These awards are really cool - we see them as acknowledgement that we are doing something right” says Willard-Stepan. “But at the end of the day we are really just very happy to be doing what we are and grateful to the com-munity for supporting it.”

Seeds will be celebrating this mile-stone with an in-store draw for ‘Thank You Cumberland’ gift baskets. Draw to happen on March 14th.

Seeds Natural Food Market is locat-ed at 2733A Dunsmuir Avenue in Cumberland, on the corner of 3rd and Dunsmuir. (250)336-0129 www.seed-foodmarket.ca or www.facebook.com/seedsfoodmarketSeeds owner Tina Willard-Stepan

NewsComox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014 A7

By Drew A. Penner and Philip RoundEcho Staff

A proposal to try to get patients and visitors eating local food at the planned Courtenay hospital has grabbed the attention of local politi-cians and snagged a promise of cooperation from the health district as the regional district mulls pitch-ing in $75,000 towards a study.

Sandra Hamilton, a business development consultant with BC Partners for Social Impact, describes the research she hopes to embark on as an “ideal” pilot project to help Island Health maximize the $4.5 million it spends on food in Northern Vancouver Island.

“Ninety-six per cent of our food comes from off the Island,” she said, while addressing Cumberland coun-cil March 10, suggesting now is a perfect time to embrace a change. “We are building two new hospitals in the middle of an agricultural community on an island, which gives us a distinct competitive advantage.”

Under an initiative called Food Environment Economic Development (FEED) Comox Valley, Hamilton wants to see a new distribution sys-tem that will benefit local farmers and keep hospital visitors, residents and patients healthier.

The concept is to stop the current practice of local farmers sending their wares to either Victoria or Vancouver only to have some of it driven right back for sale in the local market.

“This is an idea for getting local food into the hospital through a new mechanism called a community contribution company that was cre-ated last year by the BC provincial government,” she said. “It leverages your tax dollars. It gives farmers the opportunity to have secure contract demand year-round from a taxpay-er-funded institution.”

But there are huge unknowns related to the plan.

“The biggest question is, ‘Is it economically viable?’” she said, not-ing the challenge is to compete with the current robust distribution that uses the American interstate net-work. “Quite frankly nobody knows if it is or not. Nobody knows if we can grow local food on the Island anymore at commercial scale and get it into a hospital at close to the price that is currently coming up the I-5 with all the transportation costs and all the middlemen.”

A $75,000 grant has been put on the table to explore the issue if Hamilton can come up with match-ing funds from the local govern-ment.

Already Island Health has agreed to turn over its procurement data to

Sandra Hamilton wants to find a way to get local food into the new Courtenay hospital.

facilitate research, planning to reveal what they buy, product codes for easy comparison, specific prices and the cyclical or non-cyclical nature of the business elements.

“We’ll take that information and be able to use it with the farmers and see if we can match supply to demand and see exactly how close we can get to growing food here and then taking it into the hospitals to serve,” she said.

In order to secure the 75 grand from the McConnell Foundation the matching dollars must be sourced by April 4. The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) considered covering the tab during its committee of the whole Tuesday.

There was enthusiasm for the project in principle, and staff were directed

to look in to the possibility of whether unallocated federal gas tax refunds

that are currently held in regional district reserves could be used as a

grant from the CVRD towards the research costs.

Projects to cut greenhouse gases are one of the things you can use gas tax refunds for, but administration want ensure research into the sub-ject qualified specifically before mak-ing any funding decisions.

CAO Debra Oakman also stressed that Sandra Hamilton also had to come up with detailed research objectives and outcome, not just an outline of her idea, in order for the CVRD to consider releasing funds

during one of two board meetings between now and the deadline.

Hamilton told the board that local MLA and social innovation minister Don McRae and provincial agricul-ture minister Pat Pimm were both aware of the idea and had shown

real interest in its progression.She noted getting local purchasing

into procurement was simple. Thehospital, for example, could just

make it a condition that a certain percentage of

food supplies by any food supplies contract bidder had to come from the

Island. A bigger issue would be if Island’s farmers could supply what’s needed or even a portion and what that would cost.

As CVRD board chair Edwin Grieve pointed out, almost one third of the entire

Comox valley is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, but overall current

production is very low and a lot of the land is either unused or under-used.

Island Health says it is committed to procuring local food for patients, and notes that already 50 per cent of the bread and proteins on Central and North Vancouver Island are sourced locally.

Discussions are presently under-way to improve access to traditional foods through a traditional food pro-gram, and “edible landscaping” is part of the plans for the North Island Hospitals Project.

The $75k question: Can we improve hospital meals? Regional district considers supporting look at using local

By Drew A. PennerEcho Staff

A new pedestrian-friendly learn-ing campus came one step closer to reality as Cumberland council agreed to a land swap with the local school district which will allow the project to proceed as a single parcel of land.

A section of School District 71 land at the corner of Silecroft Road and Beaufort Avenue will switch to Village ownership, while Cumberland would give up part of its property along Ulverston Avenue, between First Street and Egremont Road.

Since the .92 acres currently owned by Cumberland carries a market value of $169,740 compared with $145,755 for the .79 acres of land the community will receive, the school district will be responsible for coving the majority of costs asso-ciated with the land swap and road closure.

Next administration will bring a bylaw forward to close Ulverston Avenue, though whether the project could be complete by the beginning of the 2014/15 school year would be up to School District 71 to figure out.

Coun. Kate Greening said the land should be kept for all the commu-nity to use.

“I betcha there’s a lot of people who cut through there to get to downtown Cumberland,” she said. “That’s what stops me from support-ing it.”

Upon learning that the site is intended to be opened up to the community for walking and biking purposes, she decided to vote in favour of the agreement.

The land will become one large piece of public assembly-zoned land and if School District 71 ever wanted to sell the property development applications would likely come before council to consider.

The authorization vote passed

Land-swap sets scene for pedestrian-friendly learning zone in Cumberland

A8 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

News

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Maxwell RussellTUCK

DOB: 1991-07-01182 cms, 68 kgs, Blue eyes, Brown hairWarrant: Breach of proba-tion, Warrants in other juris-dictionsComox Valley file # 2012 - 4414

Taylor JamesMUELLER

DOB: 1993-07-10173 cms, 64 kgs, Blue eyes, Brown hairWarrant: Breach of probationComox Valley file # 2013-765

If you have any information about the whereabouts of either of these two people, call the Comox Valley RCMP Detachment at 338-1321, or Comox Valley Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (1-800-222-8477). You don’t have to give your name and you could be eligible for a cash reward.

WANTED

www.comoxvalleycrimestoppers.bc.ca

Comox Valley RCMP responded to the following incidents between March 4 and 10:

On March 4th a report of a stolen vehicle was called into police by the owner. The vehicle was left running, unlocked, in front of the owner’s resi-dence lon the 2300 block of Lake Trail Road in Courtenay. (2014 - 2573)

Police received a report of an aban-doned older motorcycle on March 4th, being found on Lake Trail Road near the Highway 19 overpass. Shortly after receiving that report another report was taken of a motorcycle being stolen from a garage on the 4600 block of Cumberland Road in Courtenay. The motorcycle was returned to its owner. (2014 - 2553 and 2014- 2457)

On March 6th a break and enter to a residence, located on 350 Powerhouse Road in Courtenay, was reported to police. The homeowner stated that the thief probably entered via the unlocked side door. Once inside they stole a phone and an iPad. (2014 - 2612)

Police took a report of a theft of a heavy stone bird bath and its base from a residence on the 1700 block of Grieve Avenue in Courtenay on March 6th. The homeowner located the bird-bath a short distance away but the base, that has a bird engraving on it, is still missing. (2014 - 2616)

On March 6th a report of a theft of two Trek mountain bikes was taken by the Comox Valley RCMP. The home owner reports that the two bikes went missing from a closed garage, which is situated on the 2600 block of Penrith Avenue in Cumberland. One of the bikes is red and white and the other is white and

brown and they are valued at $4500. (2014 - 2622)

Police responded to a theft in progress at the Nelson construction yard located at 3132 Grant Road in Courtenay on March 6th. Two males were attempting to leave with some scaffolding but were locked into the materials compound. One male fled but the driver remained on scene with his vehicle and was arrested. The police dog attended and a track was located and followed into Cumberland where the track was lost. ( 2014 - 2628 )

On March 8th a report of a vehicle driving into a yard on the 1200 block of 21st Street in Courtenay was called into police. The homeowner stated that the truck had driven over a bush and the driver had fled the scene. This investigation is

continuing. (2014 - 2704) The owner of Parker Marine called police on

March 8th to report that someone had cut the chain link fence that surrounds the property and had stolen a 9.9 HP Yamaha motor from a boat that was in the compound. (2014 - 2708)

On March 9th police took a report of a theft of approximately 1000 liters of fuel oil from a tank at a residence on the 4700 block of Headquarters road in Courtenay. The fuel oil was taken over the last several months. (2014 - 2740)

On March 10th police responded to a report of a home invasion at a residence on the 4600 block of Cumberland Road in Courtenay. The home owner stated that 3 or 4 men busted into the house demanding money. This investigation is continuing. (2014 - 2776)

POLICE BLOTTER

Coke bust follows two-month drug investigationBy Drew A. PennerEcho Staff

A Comox Valley RCMP drug squad investigation launched in January has culminated in the arrest of three people and the sei-zure of cocaine, marijuana, cash and drug paraphernalia, police said.

According to Const. Don Sinclair two adult men were charged with possession for the purpose of traf-ficking while a female youth has not yet been formally charged.

“Drugs are a huge component of crime,” he said. “People either live off the avails or they commit crimes to get the drugs.”

Police initially kicked off the investigation on Jan. 11, and after things heated up March 7, one of the men was arrested along with the minor, leading police to a house on the 4600 block of McLaughlin Drive in Courtenay.

RCMP officers obtained a warrant and executed a search which netted quantities of cocaine and marijuana police have not yet disclosed. They also found drug-related items such as scales, Sinclair said, noting police surveillance efforts had paid off.

“People in that social world will not agree with me, but I definitely think that drugs are the root of a lot of our problems,” he said, noting the individuals caught up in this incident were known to police beforehand.

The male homeowner at the resi-dence was arrested and is being charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking in a narcotic.

“It went down without incident,” Sinclair said of the search.

Two men, Cody Van Ly, 21, and Corey Dewhirst, 37, were released and will face drug charges at a later date.

Comox Valley RCMP were alerted to a theft in progress March 6 at Nelson roofing on Grant road in Courtenay.

Two men were seen to be loading scaffolding into a truck that was parked inside the business com-pound.

A quick-thinking employee locked the main gate and trapped the suspect vehicle inside the com-pound.

The driver of the suspect vehicle stayed on scene but the passenger fled on foot into the wooded area by the business.

The police service dog was called and attended to the area. A track was located and followed into the town of Cumberland while the sur-rounding area was contained by several police cars.

The track led through thick brush, marshland and even swift flowing water but the suspect male who fled was not located.

If you have any information on this crime or person responsible you are asked to call the Comox Valley RCMP at 250-338-1321 or if you wish to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS ( 8477 ). You can also text from a cell phone to - cvc-stips to crime.

Quick-thinkingemployee lockswould-be thief in

Follow comoxvalleyrd

Schedule Some

at the CVRD’s sports and aquatic centres

Spring Break Fun!

Swimming, Skating, Shinny...

For spring break schedules visit: www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/recor call 250-334-9622, ext. 1

• Hot water tank replacement• Drain cleaning & fl ushing• Poly “B” replacement• Video inspection

250-338-802624 HR Service

terranovaplumbing.ca

While you’re not looking, this is what’s happening to BC’s world renownedrecycling program.

Well, lookie here.

One minute you have a perfectly good Blue Box recycling

program. The next, something new and rather questionable is

being put in its place. And they thought they’d get away with it

right under your nose, without telling you or asking your opinion.

That’s definitely not democracy in action.

The BC Government, elected by us to represent our best

interests, has decided to offload the costs of recycling to big

multi-national corporations. To implement this new plan,

they’ve set up an association that doesn’t really seem to hold

the environment, local jobs, or the municipalities that run the

Blue Box program, close to its heart.

Perhaps that’s why some of our local elected officials

are using the word “scam” to describe how the new

program is being set up. It’s also perhaps why several

of BC’s municipalities refuse to jump on board.

That’s gotta tell you something.

Now it’s your turn to let Premier Christy Clark know

what you think. Contact her today to say that dismantling

an already-working recycling

program to replace it with

something that few people think

will be as good, is a bad idea.

This Message is brought to you by:

What’s going on here?

Email Christy Clark at premier@gov.bc.ca or call 250-387-1715. For more info, visit RethinkItBC.ca. #RethinkItBC.

NewsComox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014 A9

301-178 Back RoadSunny southern exposure with marvellous mountain views. Adorable 1bedroom, top corner condo with elevator. Well managed complex with bright clean lobby & shared laundry - all with secure & convenient entry and access. New Price

$94,90010% down -approx. $444/mo. 25 yrs 5yr term 3.5%

First Time Buyer?304-178 Back Roadunit has been painted and is ready for you to move in. Two bedroom condo located centrally -great floor plan.

$119,900

377 Gardener Way, ComoxSimply gorgeous 3 Bedroom, 3 bath, 2387 Sq ft family homecurrently under construction in sought after neighbourhood onlyminutes to all the amenities of downtown Comox.$539,000

$319,900 This sparkling family home located in the centre of Comox is one of the few homes in this price range with an ocean view. Featuring a large lot with 2 gas fireplaces and an ocean view overlooking Comox Bay. Close to schools, the hospital and bus routes, this is a fine family home.

30 - 2010 20th StreetA bright patio home that shows well with new paint and carpet. Twobedrooms with an ensuite in the master and a large storage/laundryroom. Open living room with vaulted ceilings. Comes with a garageand another parking space at the front. $249,000

Rancher in Royston 4354 Briardale RoadLarge 0.21 acre property close to beaches. This Rancher comes completewith 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a sunken living room and large deck.Private large yard is fenced.PRICE REDUCTION $314,900

282 Anderton Road, Comox(e) waynemcloughlin@remax.net

| 250-897-9189 (c) • 250-339-2021 (o)

Wayne’s quote of the week

New Pricemls 357998

10% down -approx. $547/mo. 25 yrs 5yr term

OPEN HOUSE at 1pm-3pm

Saturday March 15

2158 Downey AveHosted

by Ian Doe

By Philip RoundEcho Staff

Jill Rushton has travelled the globe, visiting 36 different coun-tries on four continents so far.

Now she’s eager to welcome the world to the Comox Valley, having been appointed the new general manager of the Old House Village Hotel and Spa in Courtenay.

On Monday, hotel owner Roger McKinnon is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on the premises to introduce her in her new role to the business community.

He acknowledges many people will already know her, as she has worked at the hotel for the past three years in a variety of roles, initially as front desk manager.

After a two-year period as sales and events manager she became assistant general manager and since March 1 has held the top job.

“Jill’s bubby and refreshing per-sonality, and her knack for attract-ing guests, groups and corporate business, makes her the natural person to run our hotel,” says McKinnon.

“We are truly fortunate to have such a dedicated and experienced GM that knows the area and the people and is well respected and loved by all.”

Prior to joining the Old House, Rushton - who recently won the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Customer Service Award - worked in Victoria for ten years, eight of them with The Empress Hotel.

Born and brought up on the Island, she told the Echo she loved meeting and chatting with interna- The new general manager of the Old House Village Hotel and Spa, Jill Rushton.

Global traveller welcoming the world to the Valleytional visitors at The Empress, espe-cially watching dramatic sunsets with them.

“I was always awestruck with the sunsets, and so were they,” she said. “I still am.”

“I am from the Island and as I’ve travelled around the world I have always been an enthusiastic ambas-sador for it. I still am - and now for the Old House Hotel, too.

“There are so many great reasons to visit the Island, and we have fabulous facilities here to welcome them at any time of year.

“We also have a very happy team at the hotel and spa, and a happy staff means happy guests. It really shows.”

The boutique hotel on Riverside Lane offers 79 en-suite rooms, all with kitchens or kitchenettes, as well as its full spa and heated out-

door pool, both open all year round.

In addition to attracting tourists on vacation and commercial book-ings from people doing business on the Island, Rushton is keen to increase the number of weddings, conferences and meetings that take place at the hotel.

She says the establishment and popularity of the independently owned and operated Locals Restaurant on the site has proved to be a perfect fit for mutually benefi-cial promotions.

Rushton is also proud of the Old House Village Hotel’s role in the community, supporting events and good causes, including the annual Mayors’ Charity Golf Tournament that has raised tens of thousand of dollars over the past four years.

pround@comoxvalleyecho.com

The Alberni Project Museum and Memorial in the Comox Centre Mall announces its annual Coins For Convoys Campaign.

Donations of spare coins are solic-ited to support the museum and its acquisitions for 2014, the Year of the Veteran. Every cent donated repre-sents one nautical mile across the Atlantic Ocean from Halifax, Canada to Portsmouth, England. A Battle of

the Atlantic map will be on display in the museum during the campaign with a corvette convoy making prog-ress across the sea.

The TAP Facebook page will also be posting updates of the convoy’s voyage to and from Canada.

Come into the museum and drop your coins into the bucket and see how your pennies, dimes and loo-nies help save the people of the UK

during WWII. Large folding money donations buy your own ship! Come and join in the fun and learn about our naval history and help support this great Comox musuem.

www.facebook.com/TheAlberniProject

‘COINS FOR CONVOYS’ CAMPAIGN AT ALBERNI PROJECT MUSEUM

A10 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

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Pie Lady offering a taste of England By Philip RoundEcho Staff

After Christine Hurley moved from the UK to Canada 25 years ago, she found she loved almost every aspect of life in her newly-adopted country.

But one thing was missing - the taste of traditional English steak-and-kidney pies.

True, there were pies on sale in stores, but she considered they tast-ed nothing like those she remem-bered from the old country.

And many home-made pies she sampled were often pot pies, not ones fully encased in pastry.

Keen to show what ‘real’ pies were like, she started making them as Christmas presents for her new Canadian friends...and never stopped.

For the past three years, she has been sharing the taste of a selection of her own pies with customers at the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market, doing business as ‘The Pie Lady.’

And the tasty treats have proved so popular she has now completed her own commercial kitchen at 1570 Webdon Road, just off Lake Trail Road in Courtenay, and that is her new business base.

“No one will ever be disappointed with my pies - every one is hand made from scratch,” she says. “I cut and inspect every little piece of meat and my pastry is so thin so it’s all about the filling - lots of it.”

Her range of pies - in addition to the original steak-and-kidney com-bination - includes beef cooked in Guinness, steak and mushroom in red wine, an ‘Aussie’ pie (lean ground beef in sweet gravy), chick-en, and chicken and vegetables. Broadening her menu, she also makes shepherd’s pie with cheesy potatoes, salmon with scalloped potatoes, and chicken cooked in raspberry cider.

Hurley once lived in Cornwall in southwest England, so she also offers what she calls “real Cornish pasties” on her menu as well as

quarter-pound sausage rolls.Her pies are all ready to bake, but

are not fully cooked. “The best pies are right from the oven,” she says. “When you buy a cooked pie, the

meat is cooked once and when you take it home to warm it up, it’s cooked again with the pastry.

“Once that is all done you have a very dry pie, and that is not what I am selling. Home-made flavour fresh from the oven is what it’s all about.”

She says her business, branded as ‘Meat Piez,’ was set up to fill an “authenticity gap” that folks from the UK, Australia and New Zealand often noticed.

“My business is built on a founda-tion of good old fashioned taste with no preservatives, additives, added

salt, or monosodium glutamate (MSG) in my recipes.”

She adds: “Each pie is hand crafted to the highest quality, keeping in mind the majority of grandmothers and mothers who developed the taste and texture in times gone by.”

With her new facilities, Hurley has been able to expand her range even further including adding a selection of really big fruit pies weighing in at two kilograms each.

Being a one-person business,

Hurley notes she can’t be on hand at her Webdon Road address all the time, but now opens each Saturday morning and into the early afternoon for people to pick up freshly-made orders or select from her freezer stock.

She can also arrange to be there on other days if people call her at 250-334-0275 - and she will deliver to local addresses for larger orders. For more information, check out www.meatpiez.com

A traditional Cornish pasty.

Pie Lady Christine Hurley

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NewsComox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014 A11

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By Philip RoundEcho Staff

The major contract is set to be signed next week to get things mov-ing on a major sewer project intend-ed to serve Royston, Union Bay and potentially Cumberland.

At Monday’s meeting of Comox Valley Regional District’s electoral areas services committee directors recommended acceptance of a $406,259 bid from Associated Engineering Ltd.

The work involves detailed con-sultancy services to progress the development of a liquid waste man-

agement plan as well as undertaking an environmental impact study - both key requirements of the provin-cial environment ministry.

In a public tendering process, Edmonton-based Associated Engineering - which has offices in Victoria and Vancouver - was one of three competing bids received by the regional district for the work.

Final approval of the contract is expected at a full regional district board meeting next Tuesday, but directors signaled their enthusiasm by offering unanimous support on Monday.

Rural A director Bruce Jolliffe,

whose electoral area includes both Royston and Union Bay, commented: “There are a lot of challenges ahead of us, but this is a good first step - we’re moving forward.”

Last year, the federal government announced it would provide $15 mil-lion towards the $42 million cost of building the first phase of the sewer scheme, intended to address issues such as failing septic fields and potential contamination of Baynes Sound.

The regional district itself will use $2 million of federal gas tax refunds towards the cost, and will look to borrowing the $25 million balance to

ensure up to 2,000 homes and busi-nesses can be connected - 700 in the Royston and Union Bay areas, and potentially another 1,300 in Cumberland.

A referendum may yet be required in the rural areas before construction can go ahead, as completely new ser-vicing infrastructure will be required in those areas as there is no existing network of pipelines and pumps, unlike in Cumberland.

The first phase of the project envi-sions a wastewater treatment plant and collection system to collect, treat, reclaim and reuse wastewater from high-density areas in the heart of both Royston and Union Bay and - if nego-tiations are successfully completed - Cumberland.

The new plant, once built, would treat wastewater to bring it up to reclaimed water standards. Heat would also be recovered from treated effluent and to offset heating costs at the facility and its buildings, with any excess heat and reclaimed water made available to off-site users to provide energy benefits and help reduce the use of potable water for such things as irrigation.

An ocean outfall would need to be constructed for safely discharging

treated water to Baynes Sound with-out negative impact on the aquacul-ture industry.

The recovery and reuse of nutrients from sewage biosolids would be pos-sible through composting at the regional district’s existing facility at Cumberland, where SkyRocket soil amendment is created.

Associated Engineering’s work, working closely with regional district staff, is scheduled to continue throughout 2014 and into 2015.

It will include extensive communi-ty input and public consultation, including the establishment of an advisory committee including mem-bers of the public and the aquaculture industry as well as a range of techni-cal and other experts. There will also be newsletters, public meetings and online information to keep people informed about progress.

Once stage one of the sewer scheme is complete - the federal government grant offer is conditional on it being finished by September 2018 - sur-rounding residential areas could be added to the system in stages, but the timing and funding for those has yet to be agreed.

pround@comoxvalleyecho.com

Engineering contract will get big sewer project moving

By Drew A. PennerEcho Staff

In July Cumberlanders will get their first bill under the new con-sumption-based water billing method, covering the months of April, May and June.

Council passed fourth and final reading of the bylaw March 10 at their regularly scheduled council meeting.

“It was a long process,” said Mayor Leslie Baird, during the dis-cussion following the meeting. “I think people are okay with what’s going on.”

Baird says she’s only received one complaint so far.

“When they saw how much it was going to increase they really didn’t have an issue,” she said. “It’s a new way of doing business for the community.”

While Coun. Kate Greening moved the bylaw motion at this council meeting she has brought up concerns in the past about the fairness of the new billing system.

“It will be interesting to see how many complaints come when they get an actual bill,” she said during question period in council cham-bers after the bylaw passed.

Based on rate agreed on in January Cumberland residents will now be charged $31 per quarter plus $0.42 per cubic metre for water used. Multi-family dwellings will be subject to a $27 per unit charge per quarter plus $0.44 per cubic metre.

Commercial rates were set at $0.68 per cubic meter on top of a fixed charge based on meter size (for example 3/4 inch service will cost $29.18 four times a year; 6 inch service will cost $230.40 each quarter).

The water rate change was spurred by the government officials who told the Village to install water meters.

Coun. Kate Greening had opposed anything but a flat water rate for users in the past.

Fourth reading passed unani-mously.

Hopes of bringing high-level wom-en’s hockey to the Comox Valley next year have been dashed.

A consortium of Vancouver Island communities had planned a bid to host the National Women’s Under-18 Hockey Championships with games in Nanaimo, Parksville, Duncan, Port Alberni and Campbell River as well as Courtenay.

Comox Valley Regional District threw its weight behind the bid in November, offering $3,000 towards the cost of funding a top-quality pitch to Hockey Canada.

It was due to be made by the Vancouver Island Sport Tourism Council, but on Tuesday the regional district’s sports centre commission was told the proposed bid was not moving forward this year after all.

“Unfortunately, some of the part-ners were not able to receive approv-al prior to the bid submission dead-line,” reported CVRD chief adminis-trative officer Debra Oakman.

“In light of this, the Vancouver Island Sport Tourism Council has decided to postpone their application and submit it for the 2016 event.”

BID FOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP POSTPONED Pay-for-what-you-use water rates come into effectCumberland initiates ‘new way of doing business’

OpinionsECHO

THE COMOX VALLEY ECHOAn independently owned and operated

newspaper published by Echo Publications at

407-D Fifth Street, Courtenay, B.C. V9N 1J7

All material herein is protected by copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without written

authorization from the publisher.

Publisher Dave MacDonaldEditor Debra MartinAdvertising Manager Keith CurrieOffice Administrator Deb FowlerCirculation Manager Hedi MacDonaldProduction Manager Ryan GetzPhone 250-334-4722 Fax 250-334-3172Classifieds 250- 334-4215 Circulation 250-334-4734E-mail: echo@comoxvalleyecho.com

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement Number #0661538

Letters to the Editor

Put the pressure on the airport

A12 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

There have been numerous letters to the Editor concerning the huge inconve-nience experienced by Comox Valley air-port passengers due to flight delays and cancellations caused by some tall trees on Kye Bay Rd.

In a letter on March 11, 2014 Ms. Panchyson stated that there was a lack of facts dealing with this issue.

I conducted research on this issue and found the following facts:

The first is that all landowners except three have agreed to the tree topping as it is a safety concern.

One reason for denying the topping of trees on one of the three properties was that the largest heron rookery on Vancouver Island existed on his/her prop-erty (according to a Nov 10, 2011 letter). I did research on this matter and found that the rookery does not exist, the birds have left.

Another fact is that government and airport officials have stated that nothing can be done to expedite the topping of the trees because there is legal action by the landowners in question.

I contacted the Federal Court Registry in Vancouver and was told that two legal actions on the matter have been discon-tinued and there are no current actions on record.

To say the least I am amazed that the appropriate government bodies cannot resolve this problem after several years of work. This worries me.

It does not really matter whether one or two hundred flights are cancelled by the tree height issue, it should be resolved.

If you use the Comox Valley airport I recommend that you contact the govern-ment and airport officials to express your concerns, because you may be the next passenger missing a flight due to some tall trees.

T. WalshComox

Mayor & Council, Town of Comox, Re: Proposed Park Dedication and Rezoning:

I attended the 5th March 2014 Open House in respect to the proposed park dedication and rezoning and have con-cerns as follows.

1. The OCP supports a “comprehensive park system that provides natural habitat and wildlife connectivity as well as active recreation opportunities for the commu-nity.” The intersection of Comox and Anderton is very busy and potentially dangerous. Encouraging more deer cross-ing in this area does not make sense, neither does adding even more pedestri-ans and cyclists to the mix.

2. Carthew Creek is not a natural fish habitat...it is a run-off. Chlorinated water and soap from the nearby car wash runs into it. A number of years ago, the car wash had a soap spill. The suds in the creek were as high as the neighbours garage roof...he has a picture of it. You can check the creek almost any day and see evidence of soap. Never seen a fish though.

6. If Carthew Creek must be protected, a chain link fence would do the job. An easement on the properties on either side would suffice...this is done in Courtenay and seems to work well.

4. An off street “trail” would be next door to us and the increased pedestrian and cyclist traffic (and probably skate-boarders) would interfere with the “quiet enjoyment” of our property.

5. If the current proposal is carried out, It is obvious the Town would have to purchase the property at 1995 Comox Avenue at considerably more expense to the taxpayers. The Town has already

spent $650,000 on 1988 Beaufort Avenue, and acquiring 1995 Comox Avenue to facilitate the “off-street” trail would cost as much or more. That’s well over a mil-lion tax payers dollars for something nobody really needs or wants.

6. 1988 Beaufort Avenue should be sold and the funds put towards a sidewalk on the south side of Comox Avenue connect-ing Ellis and Rodello. This is not just a matter of convenience but a matter of safety for those residents who must use the intersection on a regular basis.

Joyce HallowellComox

Kay Kennedy may not like Harper, and I’m not fond of him myself, but compar-ing him to Hitler and implying his poli-cies might result in a Holocaust goes beyond ignorance, it’s odious, and disre-spectful to the memories of those who experienced the Holocaust and to their surviving family members.

J. CatesComox

In response to K.Kennedy letter 11 Mar 14.

Although you made some reasonable points in the letter you lost any argument you had when you mentioned Hitler. It was unnecessary and destroyed any cred-ibility you may have had.

I am not a conservative nor did I vote conservative ever but I take real offense when someone likens the legally elected Prime Minister of my country to one of the worst mass murderers in the history of the world.

Please don’t do it again.Don Buchan

Letters

With reference to the article which appeared on the front page Friday, “Hospital, BC Ambulance to investigate claim....”.

To say I was dismayed to read this would be an understatement. The young man referred to in the article is the same person who spent all of the previ-ous Saturday volunteering at Seedy Saturday, (that story was carried on page 5) along with his room-mate who is also mentioned in the article.

Both these young men are examples of the very best of our youth and what we should all wish every young person to be. They were kind, interested, worked very hard all day and even offered to come dig a pond in my garden! That he, or others, should ever be on the receiving end of this kind of prejudice is astounding.

What is even more disturbing is that had he not trained as a marine firefighter, he would not have known what treatment he should have received. Though he didn’t get that treatment, without this knowledge he likely would not have made a claim.

Will we never end this racial prejudice?Claudette Preece

Courtenay

The Comox Valley Conservation Strategy Steering Committee has written to Mary Polak, the BC Minister of the Environment, to request the withdraw of Bill 4, legislation to change the BC Park Act.

The mandate of the BC Park Act is to “protect rep-resentative and special natural places within the province’s Protected Areas System for world class conservation, outdoor recreation, and education.” The government has been entrusted to preserve these areas as parkland for current and future genera-tions.

At present the BC government is proposing legisla-tion under Bill 4 that will allow our Parks to be used as corridors for pipelines, transmission lines and resource roads. The legislation, if passed, would allow the issuing of park use permits to conduct “feasibility studies” which are now included under the definition of “research projects.”

The proposed legislation defines a “feasibility study” as research that can include the following:

“... the feasibility of the location, design, construc-tion, use, maintenance, improvement of a road or highway, pipeline, transmission line and telecommu-nications project.”

Bill 4 will also allow feasibility studies for “a pre-scribed project or a project in a prescribed class of projects,” leaving the door open for any type of proj-ect to be considered.

The legislation would allow feasibility studies to be used to “inform a decision of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the Legislature in relation to the boundaries of the protected area,” allowing parks boundaries to be changed to accommodate industrial activity.

Research is necessary for acquiring information which can be used for improving management of park assets. “Feasibility studies” can lead to the with-drawal of park land and is contrary to the aim of protecting park lands.

This proposed legislation puts into question the whole purpose of the Parks Act. The trust that BC citizens have in the role of government to manage park lands is in jeopardy.

David Stapley,Program Manager

Comox Valley Conservation Strategy Steering Committee

Ted Menzies is the chief lobbyist for the GMO industry. I think he is a little biased. He is using his Canadian political connections to benefit the 36 major members of Croplife Canada who are the manufacturers of pesticides, seeds and fertilizer.

He replaces Norm Hepworth (also an ex-member of parliament) who was president for 5 years and was appointed Chairman of the Board to Genome Canada after his resignation from Croplife.

The association twists statistics to suit its market-ing plans. The following example from their web site implies that GM crops contributed to the following:

In 1900, fifty cents of every dollar earned was spent on food. Today, we spend just 10.6 cents of every dollar we earn.

That’s 110 years ago! In those days people died from starvation, today they die from eating and we call it progress.

Armin Sachse

Right now, there’s a legal attack before the courts that could turn Canada’s Medicare system into a US-style for profit system.

The attack is driven by Dr. Brian Day, owner of a Vancouver for-profit surgical clinic, Cambie Surgery Centre, known for unlawfully billing patients and the taxpayer-funded Medical Services Plan.

If Dr. Day wins this case, we’ll lose the public health care system that we all rely on. DDWe;ll beWe’We’ll be like the United States where it costs the average family $16,000 a year. I can’t afford that on my retirement income!

Most Canadians don’t want to see a system in Canada where we risk losing our homes or go deep in debt when we or our loved ones get sick or injured.

Poll after poll shows that Canadians favour invest-ment and innovation in public health care to improve the system for everyone, not the expansion of for-profit health care that benefits only the wealthy elite.

Public health reform should start with looking at what makes a community healthy and how this will save medical dollars, not going for an American style private health care system. Let’s focus on strengthen-ing our treasured system.

Medicare is ours to protect. Contact your MP and MLA, let them know what you think.

Go to www.savemedicare.ca for more information.Cliff BoldtCourtenay

Will we never end prejudice?

A LARGE COLLECTION of robber’s masks and guns should go to the Regional District Sports Commission politicians. If they are going to use the “alternative approval process” and make it virtually impossible for voters to have their say in the matter, they might as well dress the part. The only member with the ethics to stand up and say she was uncomfortable with not going to a referendum being Cumberland Councillor Gwynn Sproule. The other members, led by Manno Theos, should be hanging their heads in shame as while they pay lip service to democratic values they’ve set in place a process that is completely unfair and undemocratic. There is absolutely no way a minimum of 4800 people will be able to head to the Regional District offices and fill out forms in time to stop this commission from borrowing the nearly 2 million dollars for this project thereby making us all pay for it for at least the next twenty years. I don’t wish to see curling stop in the Valley but to have so many voters pay so much over so many years to accommodate so few people in their hobby doesn’t seem right to me. This facility did not start falling down overnight, it has been for some time and the curling club should have been raising funds for many years to support their hobby and facility. To expect so many others in this community to have to borrow and pay for this with interest is selfish and unfair. Local

politicians need to rein in their spending ESPECIALLY when it comes to small niche special interest groups like this that take far more than their fair share.

BIG BOUQUET to the writer who called religion what it really is, “dangerous and useless” and I would add the word silly to that also. It has always amazed me how people have no problem believing that a whale swallowed some guy, swam around for a few days, and then spit him out onto a beach, alive no less! Yet evolution backed up by years and years of research and evi-dence (a word unknown to religion) is not to be believed. As to the tax exempt status of churches, if folks want to gather together at a place and talk to their imaginary friend I really don’t have a problem, but they should pay taxes like any other club.

BOUQUETS to the Echo for printing ALL letters it receives for the Beefs and Bouquets. Regarding the comments on the “Rainbow Flag”. It is always interesting to see that if you have a comment supporting the Gay community you are a good person. If you have a comment not supporting them you are narrow-minded or you are pushing your “religion”. Freedom of speech has to work for everyone. I don’t believe in making derogatory comments about anyone but if I believe in what the Bible teaches (and I do)

I am entitled to my opinion just like you are entitled to yours. The writer is misinformed if he/she thinks all comments made are a lack of tolerance, bigotry or homophobia. Yes some can be but to paint everyone who has a different belief or opinion is in itself not being tolerant. Seems to me the blade swings both ways. I am grateful the Echo is not afraid to print ALL opinions and is not fearful of a tongue lashing from the Gay supporters or anyone if they don’t like what someone said.

WE’VE BEEN OUT LOOKING at some properties for sale, and we’re surprised and put off by the number of trampolines that we see people put too close to their neigh-bour’s fence. There should be some kind of setback bylaw of 2 meters that applies to trampolines as it does for other things. Not everyone wants to watch or listen to your kids screaming & jumping up & down while they are trying to relax on their patio.

WE’RE NOT SURE why REMAX has decided to put all their real estate listings in their own separate flyer, but we personally liked it better when ALL the valley listings were in one place in the weekly edition. It was easier to grab the one paper and sit down and look through everything at the same time. Buyers are interested in proper-ties, not the real estate offices.

More Beefs and Bouquets

CONCERNS OVER PARK

HITLER REFERENCE ‘ODIOUS’

YOU LOST ARGUMENT

MEDICARE SYSTEM IN DANGER

WRITER IS GMO CHIEF LOBBYIST

BILL OPENS DOOR TO INDUSTRY IN PARKS

Beefs&Bouquets

Beefs&Bouquets

Beefs&Bouquets

The Comox Valley’s First and Best Readers’ Forum

This week’s winner, drawn at random from submissions received up to Tuesday, is:

Winners, you may pick up your prize certificates at the front desk of the Echo, 407-D Fifth Street, during regular business hours.

Thanks to everyone for the great submissions- keep ‘em coming!

This week’swinner Our weekly feature, Beefs and Bouquets,

is intended to be a light-hearted forum for you, our readers, to express brief views on issues and events in your lives.

It’s not intended to hurt people or make unsubstantiated and libelous comments.

Names won’t be published with the beefs and bouquets; however, we do need your full name, mailing address and tele-phone number for verification purposes.

Each week someone will win a 2 Classic Cheese Basket Meals from Dairy Queen. Have fun with this!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS!

Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014 A13

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BOUQUETS to the two residents who showed up at the CVRD board room on March 6, to ask questions about the CVRD budget. This meet-ing was advertised on the CVRD website and in the 2 local newspa-pers so why did not a few more of the 65,000 Comox Valley residents show up? Likely because the budget was a done deal, and their presence would be a waste of their time. They have all but given up. CVRD direc-tors should really think about this approach to “public consultation”. Likely, voters will turn out in larger numbers in November!

BOUQUET to The Echo for print-ing my note regarding the Abomination. Freedom of speech is not dead yet and thank God, because it’s very apparent by the responses to my note that there are certain people in our society that would like to take this freedom from anyone whose opinion or morality differs from their own. I fully expected the name-call-ing. I was called homophobic and a bigot. The first term was expected, as this is a label given by those who abide by the homosexual agenda to anyone who disagrees with their choices to stifle dissent. A bigoted person is an unreasonably intolerant person, therefore, sorry, that term doesn’t apply, as I am a reasonably tolerant person. However, I am free to disagree with you as you are with me, and we’ll leave it at that.

BIG BOUQUET of Roses and Puppy Kisses to Dr. Joan and Brenda at Shamrock Vet Clinic, who on 25 January 2014 stood by our side and allowed our beloved Zoe Claire to pass onto Rainbow Bridge. Sadly on the 6 March 2014 they once again stood firmly by our side as we unex-pectedly lost our beloved “Stewie”. We want to extend many more roses and puppy kisses to our Dr. Joan and Dr. Pawel of Shamrock who together tried so very hard to save our beloved Stewie and stood by him until we were able to arrive as he passed onto Rainbow Bridge. Brenda, thank you for taking care of Stewie’s favorite “night night monkey” and ensuring he had it with him when he too passed onto Rainbow Bridge. Cris, you were once again with our family during our up and down emotional roller coaster, never doubting us, always working hand in hand doing whatever was needed to help Stewie. Special thank you to all our friends who stood by us during these very difficult times, especially our friends at CVFH who helped us celebrate “Stewie’s Life”

MY BEEF is these bike riders that don’t stop at sign or red lights. And that ride on the wrong side of the road. And drivers that don’t know how to use four way stop signs.

THE BIGGEST BOUQUET to the gentleman who, walking his dog at 4 am, took the necessary actions to report my car on fire - thank you, thank you, thank you! And an even bigger bouquet to Louise at Reliable

Autobody and Cathy at Georgia Straight for making sense of some-thing that just didn’t make sense - you are wonderful!

I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER a bou-

quet to the Purolator delivery lady who cares for the Daye/Anderton Rd. area - you are the best. A beef to the organization who are responsible for snow ploughing Daye Rd., Comox. Please can you clear our road sooner next time we have a snow fall - the road was impassable really for days. Finally a kind bou-quet to Emma Thompson, clinical psychotherapist, and all the luck in your practice move to CVMC-Walmart site - may your new patients experi-ence you in your new “home”.

COMOX BAY CARE SOCIETY wishes to thank the Rotary Club of Sunrise and the Beach Street Players of Comox United Church for their amazing performance of Struttin’ at the Speakeasy with a portion of its proceeds to support the work of the Care-A-Van’s six programs. A won-derful time was had by all!

A BIG BEEF to whoever continues to knock over our trash can or move it on trash night. What the hXXX is your problem? What don’t you like about where we put our trash can? It’s the same place as all the other trash cans and isn’t blocking the sidewalk. Ring our door bell. We’d love to talk to you!

HUGE BOUQUET to the kind cou-ple who anonymously paid for lunch of 5 Red Hat ladies on March 6th at Jo Klassen’s. A most generous treat very gratefully received.

A BIG “BOUQUET” and thanks to Brett of the Comox Works Department. Your team was amazingly prompt and efficient. The water main on our street had ruptured and was spewing water, mud and stones 30 - 40 feet in the air and on our house. We called the water line break in at 4:15AM. They were driving away with the problem resolved and the mess cleaned up by 7:45AM. Major dam-age was averted by the team’s profes-sional actions. Very impressive! Dave of Nelson Roofing stopped by and found no major problem. He did some tidying up to the gravel on the roof that got washed out of place and that seems to be the end of that. Thank you again. James of Dale’s Plumbing and his crew faced a more formidable task. Every faucet and toilet were virtually plugged with grit and stone that had been forcibly ingested by our water system during the break. By the end of the day they had resolved all the issues. Great job! Thank you to all concerned.

WARM THANKS to the wonderful person who turned in my lost wallet to Searle’s Shoes last week and called my son to say it had been found. Your honesty is an affirmation that we live in a caring community.

BOUQUETS to the Comox Valley Watershed Group for their initiative to restore eel grass in the Estuary.

Next century, environmentalists will wonder which fools allowed many hectares of plastic seabed netting in Baynes Sound as part of an “experi-ment”. Environmentalist or Opportunists? Enuff Said.

I AM WRITING THIS BEEF about

all governments, feds, provincial municipal in how the people of this country have fought for the rights and freedom to live, work, raise families. They, the government, have lost this part of Canada by shipping all raw logs out of this country to be manufactured and then buy the wood back. Harmac in Nanaimo was to shut down but the employees bought into the company and are very successful, a great model to fol-low. Now we are going to ship oil to China to be refined. What is wrong with us, we need to stop all this and put the people of Canada first and create more jobs here because we would do a better job of looking after all the concerns of the environment. WAKE UP CANADA, We are paying more and more taxes with less money, and the feds like to give away taxpayer money to other coun-tries. It’s time to help Canadian workers.

I WAS JUST READING BEEF to BCTF about kids education—-when did you ever think that Christie Clark gave a rat’s a— about our kids edu-cation. She could care less about a judge in favour of our kids.

A VERY LARGE BOUQUET to the entertainment committee at the Comox Legion. I was one of the lucky ones that attended the “Red Skelton” and Kenny Shaw Show Friday night. The meal was delicious and the entire hall did not stop laughing for 2 hours. Great job every-one!

TO THE GENTLEMAN in the

crosswalk at Anderton and Comox Ave on March 5th around 6:45 pm, I would like to offer a sincere apology for nearly running you down. Someone following in the car behind me alerted me to this near miss. I truly did not see you (no excuse) and I thank God that you had the quick reflexes to get out of danger. I will approach crosswalks more cautious-ly in future. Again, I hope you can accept this heartfelt apology.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEND a big beef regarding the closing of our Safeway! Not only will I be losing the important Airmiles that are the only way I get to see my kids once a year, but I no longer will be able to find any Lucerne products or Edwards coffee anywhere on the island! Safeway is the only place I will buy my meat too. We have two Quality Foods and two Thrifty’s now, and NO SAFEWAY! This is ridiculous. I feel so bad for all the employees that have been there for years. So sorry that the all-mighty dollar and own-ing large chains of stores is more important than people’s lives!

I WOULD LIKE TO SEND a “love-ly bouquet” out to “Gigi’s” restaurant

MANY THANKS to my new neigh-bours for coming over and clearing the snow from my driveway. Thank you again, from Bill and Vera.

A FEW DAYS AGO I was at the car wash near 26th St. I punched in the code and entered the wash area, fol-lowed the instruction but nothing happened. Behind me was a man in a grey truck waiting his turn. He saw I was having difficulties and came to help. He said he would punch in the code again if I gave him the receipt, which he did. He then came to return the receipt and the wash cycle started. Quite a bit came into my car, I quickly closed the window, but the poor man must have been soaked. I want to thank him and I’m so sorry at the outcome. You know who you are. This sounds like an English movie but it really did happen. - Embarrassed lady.

A GREAT BIG BOUQUET to John Stoyles from the Courtenay Best Western Hotel for his generous hospi-tality last week. Excellent customer service! You rock! :-)

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PROFESSIONALISM OF BUSINESSES? You show up to do the work you were hired for by one per-son, but do not finish; instead you go to another job, then come back to do your work a few days later or do not show up at all. Not like the old days where a business would do what they were hired for; only then would they go on to the next job - isn’t that what a business is about? You don’t leave people hanging! You shouldn’t be in

in Comox. I was in recently with some friends and found it very good. The food was delicious, the prices were very competitive and the service was efficient and friendly. There are regular western entrees on the menu as well as some Asian cuisine. I would recom-mend it to anyone and will definitely be returning.

BEEF TO MUNICIPAL POLITICIANS and their constant borrow & spend ways. Spend money from a contingen-cy (emergency) funds to investigate a bridge for 1 special interest group. Commit to millions more for a non-viable train set for another. Borrow millions more to buy a new curling rink for yet one more special interest group, all without approval from voters first. We all know the old “act now, we don’t have time to consult” line. It’s usually sound financial practice to rush in right? 1.9 million plus interest and we can’t take the time to consult voters because if we did we might sacrifice a curling season? Wow. I don’t see solu-tions to the vastly more important problems in the Valley. I also don’t see on their schedule much time for the general public to use the curling rink, it’s not actually very inviting at all for newbies, unlike other recreation facili-ties. It seems like we’re supporting the hobby of a few with a huge price tag. Perhaps the club asking should have been fundraising for the last 10 years or so to contribute half? Is it fair for the taxpayers to foot the whole bill? I’m in some hobby clubs. Maybe we should consider showing up at RD / Council meetings to have our hobbies support-ed too. Local politicians are being very generous. Oh wait... it’s our money they are taking without asking and I for one am fed up.

Email to: echo@comoxvalleyecho.com

A14 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

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ExtraThe COMOX VALLEY ECHO ❑ Friday, March 14, 2014

Comox Valley, BC

ECHO

ECHOetc.888 (Komox) RCAF Wing, Air

Force Association is holding a Beer and Burger Silent Auction fundraiser, Sunday, 16 March at their lounge, 1298 Military Row, Comox.

Tickets are $10.00 and will be available at the door, starting at 4pm. Numerous items have been gener-ously donated by the businesses in the Comox Valley for the auction and some proceeds will be donated to 386 (Komox) Air Cadet Squadron.

Celebrate Saint Paddy’s Day in style at the Courtenay Legion this Friday, March 14th! At noon we will serve “Leprechaun Burgers” (quarter pounders with cheddar, sweet onions and guacamole) for only $4.50.

In the evening Cross Town Express will play their lively dance tunes right after the Meat Draw. We’ll serve a fabulous Irish Dinner of Corned Beef, Colcannon (Google it!) and Soda Bread for just $10 at 6:30.

There will be costume prizes and spot dances, so please grab a friend and come on down! Legion mem-bers and bona fide guests are wel-come.

Let’s celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by being as green as we can. Dance and listen to a variety of music played by REISS VINK tonight in the Rotary Hall at Courtenay Recreation’s Filberg Centre tonight Friday March 14th from 7:30-10:30 pm.

Members and Non-members wel-come to a very pleasant time to be had by all.

The B.C Retired Government Employees Association, Comox Valley Branch, meets in the Lower Native Sons Hall on Tuesday, March 18. Potluck lunch at noon, meeting to follow.

Guest speaker about travel. All members welcome. FMI: 250-0338-6930.

The Comox Valley Lions and the Community Volunteer Income Tax Progam are offering free income tax preparation for lower income resi-dents.

The sessions are being held March 18, 25 and April 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, from 1-3 pm, in the Lions Den at the rear of 1729 Comox Ave., Comox.

Income limits to qualify for the free service are: Single person up to $30,000; couple, up to $40,000; one adult with child, up to $35,000 with each additional dependent adding another $2,500; interest income less than $1,000.

FMI: 250-339-6232.

Beer, burger, auctionevent at 888 Wing

St. Patrick’s food andfun today at Legion

St. Patrick’s dance atFilberg centre tonight

Retired BC employeeshaving lunch Tuesday

Free tax preparationfor low income people

Representatives of Valley environmental groups gather with the Mack Laing Committee at Laing’s first home, Baybrook

Overlooking 6,000 years of the K’omoks estu-ary’s cultural history and standing on the Comox Valley’s premier cross-cultural heritage site, at Baybrook, Project Watershed and Comox Valley Nature, together with the Mack Laing Committee, inaugurated a far-reaching project to assess the heritage value and implications of the many con-servation and environmental projects they undertake and are planning to develop through-out the Comox Valley.

Wherever we work, stand or walk in BC, we do so on traditional First Nations heritage territory, and sometimes where westerners have made his-tory that has shaped this province’s future.

Mack Laing’s heritage home, “Baybrook” which stands on the largest forest midden in British Columbia is the Comox Valley’s foremost histori-cal landmark of this relationship.

In a bold far-sighted move Project Watershed and Comox Valley Nature with Area B heritage funds have joined to hire Nutesne Consulting, a First Nations firm, to prepare a heritage assess-ment of the natural and cultural heritage potential of the projects which some 25 conservation and environmental groups carry in every corner of the valley.

PW and CVN recognize that notwithstanding

the very significant economic value of their work, they also have a significant heritage component of interest to many visitors, and that it is important to co-ordinate work in order to preserve and enhance heritage values for forthcoming genera-tions.

For thousands of years heritage and conserva-tion are what has given the Comox Valley its repu-tation as the “Land of Plenty”, as its historians and archaeologists have duly noted.

As CVRD Director Jim Gillis pointed out at the event: “We must celebrate, promote and enhance our natural assets and heritage to bring more rev-enue into the Valley”.

Shane Hartman, the principal at Nu’tesne Consulting is a graduate of UNBC’s Natural Resource and Environmental Studies programe.

He brings to the project independent objective professional skills, and special expertise and expe-rience in identifying and measuring recreation risks and opportunities to heritage.

Given the importance of the estuary’s archaeo-logical heritage and its potential sensitivity to ongoing and future restoration programs under-taken, it is critical to bring professional First Nations expertise to assess both educational and recreational opportunities and their potential risks

to the Comox Valley’s heritage and enhance cross-cultural partnerships.

“Change in the way we do business has been upon us since the ongoing recession of 2008, as BC Nature’s motto says: ‘To Know Nature and Keep It Worth Knowing’ is the only way to be sustainable. And that’s the Mack Laing way,” said CVN’s president, Dr. Loys Maingon.

An indirect beneficiary of this project is the Mack Laing Heritage Society’s plan to restore Mack Laing’s home, Baybrook.

As the valley’s premier cross-cultural site, given the historical importance of Mack Laing and the rich First Nations heritage associated with the midden and the estuary’s archeological and natu-ral history, this is a conservation crossroads.

The location presents a unique opportunity to develop heritage opportunities inherent in conser-vation tourism which the Mack Laing Society, together with PW and CVN feel is essential to the future of Baybrook.

Kate Panyatoff, (Mack Laing Heritage Society of the Comox Vally) pointed of that: “Young people who come to the valley need to find the sense of continuity that heritage that is essential to com-munity building.”

- Submitted by Comox Valley Nature

Key environmental groups launch ‘Heritage Crossroads Study’

Learn about fossils in amber and fossils of the Ice AgeGraham Beard, co-author of “West Coast

Fossils”, will present a lecture about fossil insects and plants in amber and also the large fossil mammals of the ice age.

The lecture will be at the Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontological Centre at 1:30 pm Sunday March 16th.

Learn about the amazing preservation of insects and plants in amber that are formed from fossilized tree resin.

Beard will explain the fossilization process and the many different types of specimens found in amber. Graham will also explain how to identify true amber from replica amber by determining the specific gravity.

After the presentation he will be happy to confirm if you have a real amber gemstone or if you have been unlucky to have acquired a fake.

Amber has been collected, traded and prized by humans since Neolithic times, some 13,000 years ago.

Learn about the fictional theory about DNA

found in a mosquito that leads to the movieJurassic Park and ask, could DNA be capturedin the cells of fossilized animals in the future?

In contrast to amber, Beard will present thefossils of the Ice Age; mammoths, mastodons,giant sloths that were travelling to VancouverIsland via a land bridge less than 20,000 yearsago.

What happened to these large ice age mam-mals? Were they pushed to extinction by the iceage or did man kill the last of them off forfood?

Learn about the scientific study on near per-fectly frozen specimens of mammoths. Are thereteams of scientists trying to resurrect extinctspecies or is this just more science fiction? Comelearn about our paleontological history.

This presentation is sponsored by theVancouver Island Paleontological Society andThe Courtenay and District Museum andPaleontological Centre. Call Dan Bowen 250 8975026 or Pat Trask at 250 334 0686 for moreinformation.Insect in Amber; Mother Nature’s time capsule

B2 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

What’s On

At its February 25, 2014 meeting, the Comox Valley Regional District board of directors proposed to adopt Bylaw No. 318 being the “Denman Island Heritage Conservation Service Establishment Bylaw No. 318” which would allow the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) to establish a heritage conservation service for Denman Island residents as part of a restructuring initiative of the existing service.

Under the restructured framework, the funds requisitioned for heritage conservation services from Denman Island can be used to

Currently, an electoral area heritage conservation service is operated for heritage conservation activities within the electoral areas of the CVRD. This restructured service would direct the funds raised under the existing electoral area service to have Denman Islands funds apply only to Denman Island heritage conservation activities. The maximum requisition for the Denman service will remain the same as it has been under the existing service.

The CVRD may proceed with the adoption of Bylaw No. 318 if fewer than 78 electors (10% of the total number of electors on Denman Island) within the service area sign and submit elector response forms opposing the CVRD board’s adoption of the said bylaw. Otherwise, if 78 or more valid elector response forms are received, the CVRD board must obtain the assent of the electors by way of referendum before proceeding with the bylaw.

Elector response forms are available on the CVRD website and

Denman Island heritage conservation service area. In order to be counted, forms must be received at the Comox Valley Regional

Deadline for submission of original signed elector response forms: 4:30 p.m. on April 17, 2014.

holidays) from the date of this notice until April 17, 2014 or by

at www.comoxvalleyrd.ca.

James Warrenr

PUBLIC NOTICE OF ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS

HERTIAGE CONSERVATION SERVICE AREABylaw No. 318 - “Denman Island Hertiage Conservation

Service Establishment Bylaw No. 318, 2014”

At its February 25, 2014 meeting, the Comox Valley Regional Districtboard of directors proposed to adopt Bylaw No. 317 being the “Hornby Island Heritage Conservation Service Establishment Bylaw No. 317” which would allow the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) to establish a heritage conservation service for Hornby Island residents as part of a restructuring initiative ofthe existing service.

Under the restructured framework, the funds requisitioned for heritage conservation services from Hornby Island can be used to

Currently, an electoral area heritage conservation service is operated for heritage conservation activities within the electoral areas of the CVRD. This restructured service would direct the funds raised under the existing electoral area service to have Hornby Islands funds apply only to Hornby Island heritage conservation activities. The maximum requisition for the Hornby service will remain the same as it has been under the existing service.

The CVRD may proceed with the adoption of Bylaw No. 317 if fewer than 81 electors (10% of the total number of electors on Hornby Island) within the service area sign and submit elector response forms opposing the CVRD board’s adoption of the said bylaw. Otherwise, if 81 or more valid elector response forms are received, the CVRD board must obtain the assent of the electors by way of referendum before proceeding with the bylaw.

Elector response forms are available on the CVRD website and

Hornby Island heritage conservation service area. In order to be counted, forms must be received at the Comox Valley Regional

Deadline for submission of original signed elector response forms: 4:30 p.m. on April 17, 2014.

Additional information may be obtained from the CVRD offices

holidays) from the date of this notice until April 17, 2014 or by

www.comoxvalleyrd.ca.

James Warrenr

PUBLIC NOTICE OF ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS

NOTICE TO ELECTORS WITHIN THE HORNBY ISLAND HERTIAGE CONSERVATION SERVICE AREA

Bylaw No. 317 - “Hornby Island Hertiage ConservationService Establishment Bylaw No. 317, 2014”

Have you called Welcome Wagon yet?

Call Welcome Wagonif you are…

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Charissa 250-336-2275

New Baby:Charissa 250-336-2275

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Wednesday, April 2 - 10:00 - 11:30amCourtenay Filberg Center

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St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is a national holiday in Ireland, so the Irish are delighted that it falls on a Monday this year. That is not so good for Canadians wanting to cele-brate Paddy’s Day, so Celtic Cargo Cult invite you to join us on Saturday or Sunday for St. Patrick’s weekend! (If all goes to plan, next year we might suggest St. Patrick’s week).

You can catch David Somers and Celtic Cargo Cult at Zocalo Café on Saturday, March 15, 7-9 pm. There is no cover charge. On the corner of

Cliffe Avenue and Fifth Street in Courtenay, Zocalo provides an ideal intimate setting in which to enjoy the band’s original music and unique arrangements of traditional and con-temporary Irish songs. In addition to its mouth-watering desserts and cof-fees, it also has a licensed dining menu with beer, wine and liqueurs. An Irish pub night in a family-friendly setting!

The weekend continues with a 2-6 pm show at the Comox Legion on Sunday, March 16. An Irish pub

afternoon in a grow-up friendly set-ting!

The band consists of singer-song-writer David Somers (guitar and vocals), David Hext (bass and vocals), Chris Manuel (lead guitar) and “Bootless” Bob Henderson (drums). Together Celtic Cargo Cult brings a fresh feel and a distinctive sound to old world music .From heartfelt ballads to high energy Celtic rock, their shows will stir your soul and move your feet.

Celtic Cargo Cult, left to right: David Somers; Chris Manuel; David Hext. Hiding behind the drums, Bob Henderson.

TWO ST. PATRICK’S CELEBRATIONS WITH CELTIC CARGO CULT

FAT OYSTER READING SERIES CONTINUES MARCH 19 IN FANNY BAYthe Arts. Community sponsors include Macs Oysters, Fanny Bay Oysters, Hollie Wood Oysters, YogaStream and the Laughing Oyster

Book Store. Cost is $5.00. The Fanny Bay Hall is located at 7793 Island Highway. FMI 250-335-1157.

Another great evening of author readings is coming Wednesday March 19, 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Fanny Bay Hall with writers Terry Glavin, Sarah de Leeuw and Grant Shilling present-ing their work.

Glavin’s work has garnered many awards including the Hubert Evans Non Fiction Prize for The Last Great Sea: A Voyage Through the Human and Natural History of the North Pacific Ocean which was published in 2000. In 2009 he won the BC Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence. His most recent publications include Come from the Shadows: The Long and Lonely Struggle for Peace in Afghanistan, published in October 2011, and Sturgeon Reach: Shifting Currents at the Heart of the Fraser which he co-wrote with Ben Parfitt in 2012.

Sarah de Leeuw has a PhD in Cultural Historical Geography and works as an associate professor in the Northern Medical Program at the University of Northern BC in Prince George. Sarah also has a BA in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria. As one might guess from this education combina-tion, she is a well published aca-demic, but de Leeuw is also making her mark in other writing genres. She has published three books to date including a memoir Unmarked: Landscapes Along Highway 16 (2004). De Leeuw won the CBC Literary Award for creative non-fic-tion in 2009 with her work “Columbus Burning”. Her first book of poetry, Geographies of a Lover, published in 2012, won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for the best work of poetry by a BC author.

Grant Shilling has an extensive list of publications to his credit and at one time was the editor and pub-lisher of the Gulf Island Gazette. He lives in Cumberland and works as an outreach worker for the Comox Valley’s homeless community.

Shilling’s two books reveal his love for surfing and his thoughtful nature; The Cedar Surf: An Informal History of Surfing in British Columbia was published in 2003 and Surfing With the Devil: In Search of Waves and Peace in the Middle East was released in 2012.

Shilling is currently writing a book about Fanny Bay artist George Sawchuk which will be released this summer. This work is being spon-sored by the BC Arts Council and will build on previous publications by Shilling about Sawchuk which include a February 2012 article in the Globe & Mail “Self-taught artist fol-lowed Thoreau to the woods and never looked back”.

The Fat Oyster Reading Series is presented by the Fanny Bay Community Association with assis-tance from the Canada Council for

The boys of XLR8 return to the Whistlestop Pub with their Rock ‘n Roll Extravaganza! This Friday & Saturday, March 14 & 15. Frontman guitarist Mr. D & Johhny B, drummer from “Sweeney Todd”, formed XLR8 almost 16 years ago and it has evolved into a 5-man powerhouse, bringing in lead guitarist Billy Young, keyboardist Ricky Bossom of The Pink Floyd Tribute “All in All” and the newest member Georgie M of “Mr. Completely” on bass. Together they present some classic tunes in an entertaining stage show featuring music from the 70’s, 80’s through today. XLR8 light up the stage at 9:00. Come early for best seats!

XLR8 BACK TO ROCK THE STOP!

Grant Lazlo will make ya move your feet’n’booty listening to bouncy refash-ioned vintage sounds! Saturday, March 15, The Waverley Hotel. $15 advance tickets available at Bop City, The Waverley Hotel, by phone (250) 336-8322 or online at cumberlandvillageworks.com. Doors at 9:30 pm. With special guests the NakedDjs. Grant Lazlo’s sound is the amalgamation of his multiple loves in music,melting electronic beats with a subtle use of vin-tage sounds in a way that’s called today ElectroSwing.https://soundcloud.com/grantlazlo

Grant Lazlo at The Wave

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ABC’s freshman comedy is taking a leaf out of “Cheers’” book and centring the whole show around a bar and its patrons. The entire first season will follo

the 10 main characters over the course of a single evening in a chic Manhattan bar. “Mixology” premieres Wednesday, Feb. 26 on ABC.

February 21 - 27, 2014

Bottoms up

The cast of “Mixology”

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The Full House combo features stellar musicians

Jazz at The Little Red Church continues under new name: ‘The Beltone Jazz Series’

JazzVille Promotions is excited to announce Beltone Hearing Care Centres, as the Major Sponsor of the monthly jazz performances, now known as the “Beltone Jazz Series”.

Event coordinator Rob Peterson wishes to thank owners Jeff and Sharon Germain, for their generous support of this highly successful live jazz series.

On the heels of a great evening of jazz last month, the next perfor-mance on Thursday, March 20 prom-ises to deliver another great evening of live Jazz entertainment, featuring the highly skilled Jazz Combo “The Full House Band”. So, fasten your Jazz seat belts for an evening featur-ing the hard bop style of Horace Silver and Art Blakey!

The Band is led by one of Vancouver Island’s finest Saxaphone and Clarinet musicians, Claudio Fontinato, whose solo work is abso-lutely incredible and performed with effortless mastery. Claudio’s many credentials include studies at Berklee College of Music and per-forming for none other than Oprah Winfrey. In 2012 Claudio partnered with Juno award winner, Phil Dwyer, to form Seawind Musical Instruments, a business partnership involved in the assembly and distri-bution of their own custom line of Saxophones. FMI www.seawind-music.com

Other members of the 5-piece combo include an exceptional drum-mer, James McCrae. Based in Nanaimo, this “in demand” drum-mer has performed with the likes of Connor Stewart, Kyle Gorenko, Nico Rhodes and Nic Lavrivieire, to name a few. To say the least, the word “sensational” best describes the drumming skill that James will have on display.

On keyboard is well known Nanaimo musician Patrick Courtin, an active member of the Nanaimo music community. Patrick holds a Bachelors Degree in music and a Grade 10 Conservatory level and performs in the Nanaimo and Area Musicians Big Band.

On Bass and Guitar is Doug Gretsinger, a well known Vancouver Island musician, with 3 CD’s to his credit. Doug is one of the busiest musicians on Vancouver Island with current projects in 8 different groups as detailed on Doug’s website, fast-fingersdoug.wix.com

Rounding out the personnel is the high caliber musicianship of Larry Miller, on Saxophone, Flute and Clarinet, Larry holds Masters of Music degrees from the University of Victoria. Musical credentials include performances with the Motown group, “The Temptations” and per-forming during a previous appear-ance of Bob Newhart in Victoria.

Opening Act ! - Local musician, Matteo Kennedy, will open the show.

This multi-talented rising music star will be applying his power vocals and guitar to a mix of jazz standards and Blues. Well beyond his years in musical maturity and winner of the 2010 Valley Idol, you are in for a treat.

The “Beltone Jazz Series” is a family friendly venue, located at The Little Red Church hall in Comox..

The purchase of tea, coffee, soft drinks and goodies is currently by donation to the Comox Valley Therapeutic Riding Association.

Advance Tickets are $10 and avail-able at Bop City in Courtenay and The Red Carpet Boutique in Comox.

Doors open at 7:00, performances begins at 7:30.

The ‘Full House Band’ performing March 20

Courtenay Little Theatre is pleased to invite members of the community to another of its popular evening of theatre presentations on Tuesday, March 18th at its club rehearsal venue, The Space, 1625 McPhee Avenue (behind Jet FM), with tea and coffee at 7 PM and entertainment beginning at 7:30 PM. Admission is by donation to the Bursary Fund.

This month’s lineup features a short scene from CLT’s production, “On Golden Pond” by Ernest Thompson, directed by Kirstin Humpherys and featuring Gail Limber and Tony Arnold.

The story revolves around a spirit-ed and lovable elderly couple looking forward to spending their 48th sum-mer at their cottage on Golden Pond when their daughter, her fiancé and his teenage son arrive to stir things

up. Come and sample a short “teaser” preview of this sure to be popular show, which will run from April 10th to 17th at the Sid Williams Theatre.

Tickets for the full show are already selling well at the Sid Williams Ticket Centre www.sidwilliamstheatre.com.

To round out the evening, Des Lindo is presenting his original script, “Not Just a Bunch of Cukes”, a tongue in cheek playlet which Lindo describes as, “a drama that deals with the perennial problem of cultivating to excess a certain large and tasteless vegetable.”

Set in the English county of Highbrydshire, it features such delightful characters as Mrs. Barbara Picklesworth and her naughty, un-married daughter, Nellie; the irre-pressible Major Geoffrey Hubbard and his bossy wife, Hilda Hubbard;

Mrs. Marjorie Melon (relic of the late Sir Humphrey Melon), and Marjorie’s son, the dashing Captain Charles Melon. States Lindo, with relish, “Not Just A Bunch of Cukes celebrates the arrival of Spring, the birds and the bees, and all activities that enjoy Mother Nature’s blessing.”

Refreshments will be available from 7.00 p.m. and the presentations will begin at 7.30 p.m., followed by a short general meeting at the conclu-sion. B

e early for a good seat, as seating is limited to 100 and these evenings are very popular.

See Courtenay Little Theatre’s web-site www.courtenaylittletheatre.com for additional information on the Comox Valley’s award-winning com-munity theatre group. |

Get a sneak peek of CLT’S ‘On Golden Pond’

Forbidden Jazz Trio returns to Zocalo Café for an eve-ning performance on Friday, Mar. 14. Featuring Jake Masri on trumpet, flugelhorn, & vocals, Rick Husband on guitar, & Grahame Edwards on bass, they strive to reach audi-ences of all ages by performing a wide variety of timeless jazz standards. Representing more than 4 decades of expe-rience, their unique blend of voice, brass, & strings will weave their collective magic through 2 sets of entertaining music.

Making a special appearance with the trio is guitarist Rick Husband, who has performed extensively throughout Vancouver Island - in big bands, traditional/mainstream jazz combos, & country rock groups.

We invite you to join us for a casual, entertaining eve-ning of jazz. Music commences at 7:00 pm and admission is by donation. The spacious café features local artwork & it’s licensed kitchen offers a wide selection of beverages along with sweet & savory dishes. For more info, please contact Zocalo Café & Gallery 250 331 0933, or simply drop by the corner of 5th Street and Cliffe Ave. in downtown Courtenay (www.zocalocafe.ca.)

FORBIDDEN JAZZ TONIGHT

Wake Owl will be gracing The Avalanche Bar and Grill with their musical presence tonight at 8 p.m.

This amazing up and coming talent has an upbeat atmospheric vibe and may prove to be one of your favourite shows this year. Wake Owl was just nomi-nated for a Juno Award for Best Breakthrough Artist.

Singer/songwriter Colyn Cameron has been immersed in the world of music for the past ten years. Now based in Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR, Cameron was originally born and raised in southern California.

After graduation Cameron trained in organic agricul-ture at Emerson College in England, worked on differ-ent farms throughout the UK, Germany, Chile and Canada and traveled the world.

Upon returning from his travels, Cameron spent some time playing in bands before deciding to record the songs he had written after his journey, and thus began his first completed body of work, the Wild Country EP. Released in January of 2013, Wild Country was a five-song EP that served as a prelude to Wake Owl’s debut full-length, The Private World of Paradise.

The Private World of Paradise was recorded at National Freedom studios in Oregon with producer Richard Swift (The Shins, Foxygen). For the first time, Cameron has written and recorded with a band.

From start to finish The Private World of Paradise is effortlessly cohesive, telling stories of love, loss, and dreams.

“The title was a phrase that came to me one day and just stuck with me,” notes Cameron.

“I wrote it down a lot and the more I thought about it the more I realized a lot of the songs on the album were me in some sort of paradisiacal imaginative state. In that moment of writing the songs I felt very isolated. It’s a very private world that is hard to share with people. It’s humorous to me because any kind of actual paradise is anything but private or limited to one per-son’s experience. I like that sort of juxtaposition and duality in the meaning.”

Juno award nomineeWake Owl here tonight

Guitarist Rick Husband is making a special appearance

B4 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

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Lynnette Callan is the featured speaker at the March 18 meeting of the Comox Valley Horticultural Society. Her lecture is titled, “New Methods for Growing Modern Roses.”

When Lynnette Callan and her late husband, Gordon, retired to the Comox Valley, they purchased one acre of land situated in a rural area one block from the sea. The property was smoth-ered in broom and weeds and subject to high winds, but that did not stop Lynnette from pursuing her creation of an enchanted garden that eventu-ally was a showcase for over 800 roses.

Her success was realized when this wonderful garden became a part of the garden tour for the World Federation of Rose Societies Conference held in Vancouver, BC in June 2009. It was the only Vancouver Island garden included in the tour.

Since then, Lynnette has downsized onto only half an acre and is busy preparing for another rose garden of

more modest size. She says for this spring, she plans to start with only 200 roses!

Lynnette is a certified authority on roses having studied under a British Rosarian. She has accumulated a wealth of knowledge regarding rose history, breeding, propagation and disease control. With over 50 years of experience, she is known worldwide as “The Old Rosarian.”

Through her not-to-be-missed slide presentation, Lynnette will be enlight-ening us about the new breed of roses which have arrived in Canada from Europe and are proving to be almost disease-free for the West Coast. All are welcome to attend.

The evening on Monday, March 18 begins with our Meet ‘n’ Greet at 7 p.m. in the Conference Hall at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay. Fee for non-members is $5. For more information, visit the website at www.comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca or contact Leslie at 250-337-8051.

It is all rosy at the Comox Valley Horticultural Society meeting

‘Constellation’, one of Lynnette Callan’s many roses she’s produced

Russell Cannings has recently spent a year exploring every cor-ner of the province to find almost every kind of bird which resides in British Columbia.

In so doing he set a record of 373 species in a year. This experi-ence has resulted in a useful guide compiled and written with his father, Richard Cannings, on where to find birds in BC, Birdfinding in British Columbia.

Russel Cannings will present a one-hour slide lecture, “Birding in B.C.”, at the monthly meeting of CVN at the Filberg Seniors Centre on Sunday, March 16 from 7am to 9pm. He will also be on hand to sign copies of his book after the lecture.

Russell Cannings is an avid young birder from the Okanagan and has worked as a field biologist throughout British Columbia for the last 10 years. He is currently attending Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo where he hopes to acquire a high-school-teaching degree (In History of all things!).

He is also a regular birding-guide for “Avocet Tours,” and runs the BC Bird Alert-a province-wide blog on the latest rare bird sight-ings.

The province has recognized the many contributions made by Richard Cannings, and his broth-ers Sydney and Robert, to our understanding of our natural his-tory. Russell Cannings is a young graduate of UBC whose first publi-cation promises to further his fam-ily’s legacy to our understanding of this province’s exceptional flora and fauna.

Comox Valley Nature is a non-

profit society affiliated to BC Nature consisting only of unpaid volunteers. CVN fulfills its educational mandate by hosting monthly lectures, organiz-ing free weekly guided hikes for members, and a free monthly walk open to the public. The society also undertakes a variety of environmen-tal projects. Aside from its main activ-ity as a non-profit, Comox Valley Nature also supports specialized groups ( Birding, Botany, Garry Oak Restoration, Wetland Restoration, Photography and Young Naturalists Club) which have separate monthly activities. Membership in BC Nature and Comox Valley Nature is $30 per adult and $40 for a family.

Founded in 1966, it is one of the

oldest environmental societies on the North Island. Meetings and lectures of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society are held on the third Sunday of most months at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton, Courtenay.

Meetings and guided walks are open to the public, including children and youth. Lecture is free, though a $4 contribution from non-members is appreciated. New memberships are always welcomed.

Anyone interested in this lecture or participating in CVNS activities can also contact us at the website http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/ or Loys Maingon (CVN President) at 250-331-0143.

Russell Cannings will talk about birding in B.C. this Sunday

Comox Valley Nature hosts author Sundayof groundbreaking guide to birding in B.C.

Sports and RecreationComox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014 B5

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RANK NAME PTS11 Wheel Snipe Celly2 106012 NHLTeddy2 106013 Giants 105814 Andre Sutter3 105615 john beston2 105516 Hugh Jassol 105417 Freebie2 105418 ravi4 105019 Sharks3 104920 Skates backwards2 1049

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D’Esterre Duplicate BridgeResults for Tuesday, March 4 (26

pairs):N/S - 1. Maureen Olafson and

Philip Sanford; 2 Dianna Rickson and Howard Cohen; 3. Sharon Feduniak and Jean Tait; 4. Bernice and Lloyd Snyder; 5. Betty and Tom Thomsen.

E/W - 1. Judy and Ron Morrison; 2. Lynn and Dick Sangster; 3. Eileen McLean and Betty Fountain; 4. Carole and Jack Bradshaw; 5. Marilyn Hanna and Freida Home.

Results for Saturday, March 8 (12 pairs):

1. Maureen Olafson and Philip Sanford; 2. Lynne and John Godfrey; 3. Corinne Montgomery and Barb Casey; 4. Pat Ailles and Rona Lawson; 5. Maggie Wynde and Clark Graham.

Friday night Duplicate BridgeResults for Friday 7th March, 8

1/2 tables:N/S - 1. Dave Robinson and Mary

Ann Aikman; 2. Gary and Fran Priestman; 3. Jim and Joan Base.

E/W - 1. Betty Fountain and Phyllis Taylor; 2. Lyall and Maureen Ashbaugh; 3. Lorraine Ramsbottom and Patty Wheeldon.

BRIDGE NEWS

Bowling highlights from Codes Country Lanes:

Monday AM Club 55 - Arnie Auerbach 190, George Railian 183, Evelyn Foot 172, Nick Tjart 220, Leona Miller 176, Marie Israel 228, Linda Jeffery 181, Barb Casey 195.

Monday PM Club 55 - Val Johnson 179, Rita Grill 181, ARNIE MORRISON 308, Bruce Ram 189, Ben Braun 215, Ivan Ally 204, Pat Huntley 178, Bill Tower 200, Shirley Evans 196, Rick Kroeker 249, John Kendall 200, Pat King 197.

Tuesday Breakfast - Mina Putnam 206, Marilyn Shetterly 205, Penny Savin 208, Laurie McWillis 255, Shirley Mangano 239, Barb Randall 206, Karen Annand 195, Pat Fish 212.

Tuesday Cllub 55 - Garry Pearson 197, Allison Bennett 137, Judith Munro 129, Ed Schievink 105.

Tuesday Mixed - John West 291, Andrew Stubbing 240, Ed Carefoot 220, Cindy Eckstein 201, Peter Mahovolic 275, Craig Finnick 239, Brian Booth 255, Bill Bundridge 198, Bud Taylor 280, Rick Granneman 238, Bob VanNes 219.

Wednesday Club 55 - Bert Brown 255, Laurie Aucoin 257, Laura Webber 172, Heather Abraham 189, Paul Riley 168, Nick Tjart 252, Gerry VanAchte 222, Marie Israel 202, Pat Schmidt 227.

Tuesday/Wednesday Courtenay Rec - Rose Fulcher 158, Carly Buchan 146, Daniel Erb 156, Gary Scavarda 141, Clayton Heid 169, Scott Burden 126, Tiffinee Nicoll 137.

Wednesday Mixed - Duwanee Granneman 213, Dan Robson 256, Steve Robson 287, Gary Coombs 250, John West 207, Paul Zorz 228, Brian Booth 269, Tom Nurse 227, Vicki Major 194, Dave Ponds 273, Al Gavel 235, Gord Pottruff 205.

Thursday Club 55 - John McLean 224, Bob VanNes 219, Arni Morrison 212, Kelvin Davis 187, Rick Kroeker 291, John Kendall 230, Rick Rodriguez 232, Vicki Bailie 193, Sharon Shepard 190, Barb Casey 200, Mina Putnam 189, Vera Winter 224, Linda Meers 187.

Youth Bowling - Janessa Zhang 159, Raelyn MacDonald 68, Brycen MacDonald 45, Morgan Grout 79, Talisha Miller 105, Devin Sorensen 80, Lucien Rousseau 119.

Thursday Mixed - Laurie McWillis 234, Duwanee Granneman 209, George Wedge 197, Jane Wedge 183, VERN GREENHILL 347, Janet Butler 220, Jessica Gireaux 235, Chris Roberge 235, Rick Granneman 225, Coral Tanner 192, Dawn Hill 293, Rose Stenenbaugh 248.

Friday Club 55 - Jim Bennett 195, Ickle Brown 200, Gerhard Sorger 193, Arnie Auerbach 219, Ev Andrews 228, Doris Cosman 269, Millie McCharles 190.

Special O - Mathew Strachan 206, Trevor Carter 180, Amy Baudais 121, Mary Evans 132, Melissa Knight 168, Jack Errington 176, Sherri Lines 202, Sarah Lariviere 128, Ken Davidson 145.

CODES COUNTRY LANES

As the finale to what can only be described as a truly bizarre season, the Vanier girls snowboard team came home from the BC Alpine Provincial Championships at Whistler Blackcomb sporting bronze medals around their necks.

With the lack of snow early this season at Mount Washington the local high school racing season came to an abrupt end in January.

The Vanier team, however, decid-

ed to move forward and after the mountain reopened, with only one gate practice, they represented Vancouver Island at the provincial championships last week.

The boys ski team placed a respect-able 12th in a very competitive field. Vanier’s top placing went to Blake Stotzer who sat in 22nd place after day one and finished 23rd in the province after the second day of competition.

Maite Duhaime was the lone girls’ skier to represent Vanier and she placed 60th in her first appearance at the provincials.

The week, however, belonged to the girls snowboard team. Madi Gold

led the way on the first day of compe-tition placing 4th in the Giant Slalom, setting the girls up in third place after day one.

Kelsey Barton picked up the slack on the second day placing 5th in the Terrain Giant Slalom ensuring the girls a podium finish.

Keely Orrick and Bryanna Maclaren rounded out the girls’ team getting points for the girls on both days which ensured the bronze medal for Vanier.

What impressed coaches Ken Erikson and Andrew Young the most

was the fact that all four Vanier girls placed in the top 40 riders of the prov-ince in spite of the fact that they had not raced this season and had just one gate practice.

The Vanier alpine team want to extend their heartfelt thanks to Mike Manera and the snow school at Mount Washington. In spite of the early sea-son conditions the mountain made every effort to accommodate the three local schools in their efforts to run practices and to hold extra practices after the local racing season was called to an end.

Vanier snowboarders win provincial bronze Girls rise to the occasion to end a truly bizarre season

G.P. Vanier provincial team (left to right), Andrew Young (coach), Kelsey Barton, Madi Gold, Bryanna Maclaren, Keely Orrick, Brian Cherry, Maite Duhaime, Blake Stotzer, Nik Dunn, and Ken Erikson (coach)

B6 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

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Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014 B7

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B8 Comox Valley Echo Friday, March 14, 2014

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