Beacon Magazine 2011

July 2011 vol 6 issue 86

Community Living on Vancouver Island Fanny Bay to Nanoose

Foraging on the Island • 20 TrekOn! Native Herb Walk • 12

4 EDITORIAL 22

20

FEATURE

Transition to a Better Life

Foraging on the Island

BUSINESS & FINANCE

5 Biz Banter: What’s up in local business

GREAT OUTDOORS

12 Native Herb Walk

12 20 28 37

TrekOn: Native Herb Walk Through the Seasons: Foraging on the Island Tide Table Into the Garden

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 3 Beach – Blanket – Books 6 Moving the Ink off the Page 35 Green Mountain Music Festival IV

COMMUNITY LIFE

7 Vegetable Box Deliveries 14 Bringing the Past Forward: Part 1 19 Inspired by Community 28 The Art of Conscious Living 30 It’s Happening in Area H 34 On the Agenda

COMMUNITY PEOPLE

10

John Mills-Cockell: Making Beautiful Music

8 17,000 Year Old Wisdom 10 John Mills-Cockell: Making Beautiful Music 16-17 2011 Lighthouse Country Graduates 26 Images & Voices: Lynda Hearn

HEALTH

18 Dr. Neill Neill: Near Misses and Close Calls 31 Health & Wellness Matters

Fishes ~ Barbara Thomas

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THE REGULARS

3 8-39 40 41 4 2-43 44-46

Classifieds In the Stars Business Information Centre Community Events At Your Service - Local Businesses

BEACH – BLANKET – BOOKS

SUMMER PAGE TURNERS ...

by Sandra Wahlgren

O

ne of the joys of belonging to a book club, besides the good food and conversation, is being introduced to books and authors that you might not have chosen for yourself. Below are a few titles that I could easily read over and over again.

Fiction: The life and times of the Thunderbolt kid: a memoir by Bill Bryson (2007) – If you are of a certain age, you will relate to Bryson’s hilarious recounting of growing up in the 1950’s under the constant threat of annihilation by nuclear weapons. Each of us in our book club had to read aloud our choice for funniest anecdote. Suffice to say, there were twelve different passages, sore stomachs from belly laughing and not a dry eye in the house.

Water for Elephants: a novel by Sara Gruen (2007) – An historical fiction novel describing circus life during the depression. Jacob learns of his parents’ death while writing his veterinary exams. Distraught, he jumps the first train, not realizing it is a travelling circus. He is hired to look after the animals, but ends up looking after the circus “freaks” and the animal trainer’s wife as well. I could not put down this descriptive, horrifying love story.

Non-Fiction: The Happiness project: or, why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle, and generally have more fun by Gretchen Rubin (2010) – Ms. Rubin had a moment of sudden realization that she was in danger of wasting her life. To combat her bouts of melancholy, insecurity and listlessness she gave herself a year to experience what would make her happy. Each month lists a different focus – boosting energy; friendships; mindfulness; pursuing passions and gives readers easy suggestions that they can take away to create their own happiness.

The Wave: In the Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey. (2010) – I wouldn’t recommend reading this if you have just purchased a ticket for a cruise across the Atlantic. But if your bottom is firmly planted in a lawn chair, sit back and hang on. A well researched “factoid” book, interlaced with eyewitness accounts. The description of two fishing boats which rode a 1,740 foot wave (yes, you read that correctly) caused by an earthquake in Lituya Bay, Alaska was mesmerizingly scary. You might think twice about purchasing waterfront property once you have read this.

Hitchens vs Blair: be it resolved religion is a force for good in the world. The Munk Debate/Christopher Hitchens & Tony Blair (2011) – I listened to the CBC Radio excerpts of the Munk Debate between atheist and acid-tongued Hitchens and Blair, who converted to Catholicism after he left 10 Downing Street. What surprised me the most about this debate was the civility and humour displayed by these influential figures in such an emotionally charged subject. This book has the added feature of interviews with each man.

Each of these titles may be purchased at local book stores or borrowed from Vancouver Island Regional Library branches. Whether you are reading them on a plane, or on one of the hundreds of beaches that outline our island, grab a blanket, choose a book and enjoy your summer! ~ Sandra Wahlgren works for the Comox Valley School District. Some of the rules in Mrs. W’s library are – don’t let your pet goat eat your library books and don’t eat Cheezies while reading! These rules also apply to her friends who borrow her books...

“Discover the Healing Powers of Oxygen” #10 -1009 Allsbrook Rd., Allsbrook Centre, Parksville

877-954-0335 or 250-954-0335 www.oceansidehyperbaric.ca

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July 2011

VOLUME 7 NO 86 The Beacon is published monthly by EyesOnBC

Main Email: beacon@eyesonbc.com Phone/Fax: 250-757-9914 In Person EyesOnBC at Magnolia Court Box 182, #110-6996 W. Island Hwy. Bowser, British Columbia V0R 1G0 Mon - Fri 10-5 Journalists & Reporters Lisa Verbicky, Nancy Whelan, Rita Levitz, Georgia Nicols, Marilyn Dawson, David Morrison, JoAnne Sales, Harry Sumner & Miriam Shell, Carolyn Walton, Linda Tenney, Sharon Waugh, Shirley Culpin, Laura Busheikin, Dr. Neill Neill Volunteer - Cathy Balogh

ou may have noticed that the June Beacon didn’t arrived in your mailbox as usual.

And ... as the postal strike continues ... so it will be for the July edition as well.

Frankly, the postal strike has given us the push to ultimately make a much-debated business decision. Yes ... we’ve finally decided not to freely distribute The Beacon through Canada Post’s bulk mail system in the future.

Of course, our many paid subscribers will still enjoy the convenience of receiving their personal copy by regular mail each month.

Why the decision?

Hmmm...for oh-so-many reasons, but the primary one being that we just can’t afford the high cost of Canada Post distribution. In addition to that, there have been numerous behind-the-scenes frustrations with Canada Post’s web-based mailing program. Picture Sharon tearing her hair out each month as Canada Post’s system bogs down to a slow crawl, or crashes altogether. Not a pretty

Subscriptions

Canada - 1 yr: $30 incl HST United States - 1 yr: $55 (CDN Funds) Call 250-757-9914 to subscribe.

VISA & MasterCard accepted Printed in Canada - ISSN 1712-0918 Articles and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and published for general information purposes only. Articles are not intended to provide specific advice - the publishers will assume no liability.

Articles and/or data may not be quoted or reproduced, in part or in whole, without permission from the publisher.

Freelance Writers/Photographers: Queries can be directed to Linda Tenney or Sharon Waugh at beacon@eyesonbc.com

Linda Tenney co-Publisher tenney@eyesonbc.com

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/ July 2011

Tune in LIVE on the 1st Thursday of each month when Dave Graham of 88.5FM The Beach Radio and Linda Tenney talk about what’s going on in Lighthouse Country. Join them at 8:40am. ______________ And ... catch The Beacon Beat each Thursday morning at approximately 8:10 am for brief updates and news about what’s going on in Lighthouse Country! ~ The Beacon...we keep you informed!

Sharon Waugh co-Publisher waugh@eyesonbc.com

picture ... and definitely not worth the money we pay to use the service.

Only about half The Beacon’s print run has ever been distributed by bulk mail each month - the other half being distributed by Margaret, Frank, and in past years, my husband Bob. We’ve managed to find the ‘sweet spots” and Beacons literally fly off the shelves of our over 150 distribution points from Fanny Bay to Nanoose.

It’s taken us a long time to make this decision.

We weighed the pros and cons over and over again, and now that the choice has been made ... it’s just a matter of getting the word out.

Where can you find The Beacon?

You’ll be able to pick up your copy of The Beacon from most retail merchants, coffee shops and restaurants in Qualicum, Parksville and Lighthouse Country ... Quality Foods, Thrifty’s, Pharmasave, the Medicine Centres, the Qualicum Beach Visitors’ Centre, Tomm’s Food Village, Georgia Park Store, and The Bean Counter to name but a few. Check our website or Facebook page for a complete list of our distribution partners. We’re making it easy to find a Beacon when you need it, and we’re sure you’ll be able to find one near you.

Thanks for understanding why we’ve made this important business decision. We’re small, we’re independent, and we watch our “shekels” as closely as possible to ensure that we can keep doing what we’re doing. ~ Linda & Sharon PS ... Now is the perfect time to buy your personal subscription to The Beacon or give one as a gift - see page 46 for more information.

We’re on the Internet Facebook: www.facebook.com/beaconmagazine Twitter: www.twitter.com/beaconmagazine Blog: beaconmagazine.blogspot.com Web: www.eyesonbc.com

LOCALLY OWNED • COMMUNITY INSPIRED

Elizabeth Cudmore Customer Service cudmore@eyesonbc.com

Margaret Reid Advertising & Distribution margaret@eyesonbc.com

Frank Hladik Advertising 951-8824

S W

ith approximately ten years of experience, Steve Brown has been involved in many aspects of construction on Vancouver Island, he moved from Victoria to Qualicum Beach where he now calls home.

Since starting Brown’s Contracting, Steve has been involved in residential projects and commercial projects. Although excelling in interior finishing and kitchen installations, building garages, bathroom renovations, decks and fences, Steve also has much experience in hardwood and laminate floor installations as well as tile setting. To book your next home improvement project please refer to page 46 for Brown’s Contracting contact information.

T

ina D. Brown is the owner of the Health 4 Life Clinic. With ten years of study, training and education, she is an accomplished Nutritionist, Master Herbalist, Iridologist, Sclerologist, Acutherapist. Tina’s years of practical experience, teaching and consulting, is documented with many testimonials, positive results, and successes accredited to her. She has been involved in the medical field on Vancouver Island since 2001. Always having a divine interest in Natural Health, and the well-being of others, Tina believes in a patient-centered approach to health with comprehensive, individualized treatment plans and she is ready to work with your other health care providers. To book an appointment please refer to Tina’s ad on page 11 for more information.

SUMMER HEAT

is finally here. How’s your Air Conditioning?

AIR CONDITIONING SERVICE

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cott Towers of Healthy Soil tells us, “I’ve been an Island guy for most of my fifty years – a former synthetic grower who has discovered the power of nature – and with the zeal of a born-again, I’m hoping to help others find the true path of organic growing. As a first business venture I am excited with an original concept that will bring together quality organic products previously unavailable from one supplier. I believe that our Island community is ready for a 21st century Green Revolution!” Healthy Soil is located in Parksville on Fairdowne Road – turn at Spunkies Motorcyles, you will find Scott’s retail store next to First Choice Landsape Supply. Scott provides organic essentials for nourishing your gardens and lawns which are safe for children and pets and your water supply. You are invited to drop in for free samples. Scott is available for seminars and/or consultations outside business hours by appointment. Please refer to the ad for Healthy Soil on this page for more information.

“A

window is just a window” is no longer true in this day of technology, says Wayne and Holly Bowles of Complete Window Services in Parksville. “The industry has changed dramatically over the the past few years – no longer are windows just something to fill an opening, to let in light and a cool breeze – the quality, the structure, the details and the options are all part of the decision in choosing the window that is right for your project.” Wayne, Holly and their staff pride themselves in

their knowledge and with an accumulative 45 years in the window and building industry it affords everyone at Complete Window Services to boast that their service, knowledge and workmanship exceeds all expectations. An exclusive dealer for Vinyltek Windows and representing also Four Seasons Sunrooms, Milgard Windows and Gentek Windows & Doors, they are committed to best practices and have a continuing desire to provide leading edge technology ensuring our customers are doing a business with a company that cares about them, their home and the environment.

Complete Window Services is located at #7 - 1176 Franklin’s Gull Road in south Parksville’s industrial neighbourhood – please visit their showroom and schedule your in-home consultation. Stay tuned for the announcement in the August issue of the Beacon, in the Service Directory, for details on the opening of their second location in Nanaimo! Congratulations to Wayne, Holly and team on your business expansion!

A

new law firm, Lighthouse Law Offices, has opened its doors in the municipal centre of Bowser as at the 1st day of June, 2011. Its current hours of operation are 12 noon through to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. The lawyer, Harry A. Wenngatz, studied law in Ottawa, Ontario, and was subsequently called to the Alberta Bar in December of 1988. He is currently active in Alberta as in-house counsel for continued on page 9

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READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL

Barker takes this idea further:

by Laura Busheikin

“There is a communality that happens when you get together in a group and the focus is on ideas and the form these ideas are encapsulated within. Both writers and audience are inspired.

There are intimate solo readings, big mainstage events with panels of writers debating ideas, workshops, solo and small group readings, catered meals, and a lounge with activities such as Scrabble or communal poetry-writing.

Denman’s usually bucolic “downtown” becomes a buzzing hive of literary activity, discussion and conviviality.

“We looked at music festivals that have various stages and smaller day-time events and workshops, and learned from that,” says Juan Barker, the Festival’s Media Coordinator.

The resulting format encourages an unusual degree of intermingling, says Barker. “We encourage the writers to arrive on Thursday and stay till Sunday.

It’s not like they come, do their hour, then leave. They usually bring their families and are billeted on the Island.

You’ll see them on the main stage, at a themed reading or solo session, and at lunch, so you have lots of contact with them.”

BC writer Jack Hodgins, who returns to Denman for the third time to teach a fiveday writing intensive, says the Island’s festival is one of his favourites.

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/ July 2011

There’s a certain magic, he says, in being on a small island and having everyone and everything gathered in one place. “You feel that the whole of the island is where you are. Many of the people attending live within a few miles of the venue. You can walk across the road to the local bookstore and come away with armloads of books by the writers you’ve heard, without going more than a few steps. Denman brings it all to you.”

JACK HODGINS • SUBMITTED PHOTO

The Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival (July 14 – 17) provides a lively answer to that question. This event started out about 20 years ago as a series of lowkey poetry readings. In the last decade, it has grown into a four-day multi-venue celebration that draws several thousand participants and presents a roster of about a dozen Canadian writers, ranging from established stars of our literary legacy to upand-coming new voices.

“I’ve been to writing festivals all over BC and across the country,” says Hodgins, who has published 15 books, won many awards, and influenced a generation of BC writers. “Huge ones and little ones, every kind of festival imaginable in every kind of venue, and the one thing most noticeable at the Denman Island festival is the sense of intimacy.”

Hodgins says he usually has to be “begged or bribed” to read his work in public, because to him writing is a profoundly private act. “But when you have an audience that is so open and receptive,

ANDREW NIKIFORUK • SUBMITTED PHOTO

T

he idea of a “Readers and Writers Festival” might strike some people as a bit of an oxymoron. How can reading and writing, generally such solitary, quiet, and private activities, become, well, festive – social, active, and celebratory?

as the Denman audience is, it’s possible to establish a special kind of intimacy. It can be quite magical.”

“It is a bit like a ritual, almost a communion.

You come out of isolation and there is a sharing that happens. A few years ago a panel was looking at issues around violence against women and how men can free themselves from the traps that our training has set for us.

Audience members were crying. We all shared the experience and were to some degree changed, the way a deep reading experience changes you, but it’s communal.”

JOHN VAILLANT • MICHAEL LIONSTAR PHOTO

MOVING THE INK OFF THE PAGE

It’s important that people meet collectively around literature, since most literature is about our world and how we fit into it as human beings, says Barker.

Although festival organizers don’t deliberately set a theme when they plan the program, this year Barker sees a common thread around our relationship with place and environment.

John Vaillant, award-winning author of the non-fiction narratives The Golden Spruce and The Tiger, writes about the natural world, what we humans do to it, and what it does to us, says Barker. “And Andrew Nikiforuk will be reading about the pine beetle infestation. I’m looking forward to that partly because we as a community – and not just us – are dealing with those kind of issues, issues of commercial assaults on the environment, especially with the potential coal mine development going on.”

Also on the program for this year’s event are Anne Cameron, Evelyn Lau, Gurjinder Basran, Wayde Compton, Kate Braid, Daphne Bramham, Heather Burt, Bernice Friesen, George Fetherling, Paul Hedrick, and moderator Bill Richardson. All genres are represented from poetry to long-form journalism to fiction of various kinds.

For more information, ticket purchase, workshop registration and biographies of the writers, see www. denmanislandwritersfestival.com or call 250-335-2576 (information) or 250-3353353 (registration).

VEGETABLE BOX DELIVERIES

POPULAR TREND TURNS BACK THE CLOCK

by Shirley Culpin

‘Eat your vegetables’

T

he number of times that we all have heard that is beyond counting, but a trend that is sweeping the food world is making it easier to swallow. Home delivery of fresh, locally grown organic fruits and vegetables is not only re-awakening taste buds, but is also stimulating innovative culinary efforts as new produce varieties arrive at the doorsteps of area homes.

The cornucopia of appealing fruits and vegetables, novel and heritage, pushes the limits of gastronomic imagination beyond the bounds of plain old meat and potatoes.

The Island’s east coast residents are blessed with a number of producers and small distributors who offer box delivery programs from Merville right down to Nanaimo. Each of them employs a different modus operandi, but virtually all of them are dedicated to providing healthy organic produce.

One of the forerunners in the local organic market is Nanoose Edibles located at 1960 Stewart Road in Nanoose (Email neorg@ telus.net or phone 250-468-2332). Operated

by Lorne and Barbara Ebell, the picturesque 23-acre farm has specialized in organic produce pretty much from the get-go, when the Ebells ‘retired’ to the property twentyone years ago.

“It never was a hobby farm as such” says Barbara with a chuckle. “We started just farming for the neighbourhood, and pretty soon our customers were asking for organic food, so we began the process to become a certified organic producer.”

By 1997 the certification process was complete and the Nanoose Edibles box delivery program was up and running.

Each week Barbara delivers a varied box of fresh provisions door-to-door, primarily in Nanaimo. The Ebells are more than willing to deliver in the Oceanside area if demand warrants. But they are keen to encourage local residents, whether they need fresh produce or not, to visit the farm, enjoy the bucolic landscape, visit the poultry and greenhouses and take a breather.

This year the Ebells have devised a new program that offers delivery for one to three seasons – spring, summer and autumn. Each season is pre-paid, and subscribers have an opportunity early in the year to complete a survey listing their preferences as to what

they would like to see grown to fill the boxes.

Close on the heels of Nanoose Edibles is Rainbarrel Farm, located at 599 Garden Road East in Qualicum Beach (phone 250-752-0424). Operated by Lynn and Henry Mant and their daughter Tammy Treit on what is left of the old Mant farm, Rainbarrel originally received its organic certification while growing produce for the Thrifty’s food chain. Although the Mants no longer farm on such a large scale they remain dedicated to the concept of organic production. Their box delivery season runs from the end of June to the waning days of October, and they guarantee ‘our garden to continued on page 9

MINDI'S FARM

Locally grown fruits & vegetables

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Fresh Strawberries New Potatoes Fresh Peas Beets Spinach Romaine Lettuce and more...

Raspberries  797 Qualicum Road 752-9221 Farm Gate Sales & Qualicum Beach Farmers Market / July 2011 7

17,000 YEAR OLD WISDOM

INTEGRATING ANCIENT AND CONTEMPORARY VIEWPOINTS A personal account by Susanne Lawson

A

ccording to the “Bon” teachings of the Northern Treasure School in the Amdo Mountains of Tibet, Christopher Hansard is a LhaKhu or “Thunder Being”… a person who materializes on this plane every 700 years in order to help change consciousness.

When one looks into the history of Bon and of Christopher’s teachings and purpose, one begins to have an idea of the depth of such possibilities.

A “LhaKhu” – a Thunder Being of Christopher’s stature, is known as an incarnation of the energy of medicine.

Described as a bolt of lightning because he possesses a powerful energy, he is considered an awakener of consciousness. He chooses and designs his life before being born, then creates the right processes to fulfill his purpose. Coming at a time of great worldwide upheaval and dissatisfaction, the LhaKhu shows people how consciousness manifests itself in illness and helps awaken them to their innate healing potential.

Christopher’s personal history and training is quite remarkable….

Christopher was located through ancient divination and astrological knowledge by the Elders of the tribes in the Amdo Mountains in Tibet. His specially trained

Tibetan teacher, Urgyen Nam Chuk, a Dur Bon Ngagpa, located him at the age of four, playing on a beach in New Zealand with his parents. Christopher was expectant and reluctant to leave until he saw his teacher walking towards him on the beach when they recognized each other immediately. Christopher was acknowledged as a LhaKhu by his teacher and with the compliance of his parents, he then began his training in the psycho-spiritual and shamanic teachings of pre-Buddhist Tibet. Christopher’s parents wanted him to have a standard education as well, so on the weekends, before and after school and during holidays, he received preliminary training from his Tibetan teacher. At the age of eight, he began a 19year study of Tibetan Dur Bon Medicine of the Bon Northern Treasure School. His training was rigorous and disciplined.

His education spanned training in major surgery, 27 forms of acupuncture, 27 physiotherapies, 11 thousand herb combinations, 11 forms of psychophysical therapy and 108 psychiatric practices.

“I was taught a system of medicine whereby I could look at a plant substance and, based on instinct and extensive botanical training, would know how to use it, no matter where I was in the world”.

By reading 300 pulses on each wrist and looking at the eyes, skin and tongue, he can immediately interpret illness and essential life problems.

Christopher’s teachings are of the utmost importance for this era. The time is ripe

for ancient knowledge integrated with contemporary insight and wisdom. Taking the best of what has been passed down (and meticulously so through hundreds of years of committed teachers), doorways are opening for these teachings to permeate and guide our consciousness into a better understanding of who we are and what purpose we serve. These ancient Bon Teachings are the foundation of many cultures and Indigenous teachings present today have similarities that preclude individual and separate evolution.

“Simply by the act of starting to heal your life, you spark the healing of others and of the world in which we live. You don’t need to force this idea on other people. The quiet act of living in accordance with who you are and who you can be allows the natural influence of goodness to grow.

The Dur Bon teachings present an integrated, holistic system of traditional and current healing practices…a process of empowerment… which has brought wellness, health and happiness to many people, some that modern medicine had given up on.

These teachings are lessons in true empowerment, healing, understanding who we are, what we are capable of and why we sometimes derail our potential. It is a doorway into the mystery of humanity on this planet, who we really are collectively and what we do as individuals to make it better or worse. ~ CHRISTOPHER HANSARD is a Master of Tibetan Dur Bon Medicine with his central practice in London, England and conducts workshops and consultations around the world. He is also a Psychological Trauma Therapist and Therapeutic Facilitator.

Practicing Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and is a CCC registered Counsellor and Schema Coach.

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/ July 2011

Christopher Hansard, Master of Tibetan Dur Bon Medicine and practitioner from London, England is returning to Vancouver Island for two special workshops in September 2011

“It is better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep” ~ C. Hansard

continued from page 7 you in 12 hours or less’. “We have done lots of box deliveries in the past,” says Lynn, “and we have always delivered right to the door. We don’t do more than about a dozen weekly deliveries any more, but we also sell at the Qualicum Beach Farmers’ Market each week from late June to October.”

Cumberland’s Rachel Mooney has been running her Sunshine Organics (www.sunshineorganics.ca or phone 250-336-2435) box delivery program since 2004, when she started with 20 customers. Her weekly route now includes approximately 100 homes, including a central drop point on Denman Island.

Rachel had training in holistic nutrition when she lived in Vancouver, and was keen to see more organic food in the area when she moved to Cumberland. Initially she sourced all of her produce from area farms; that still happens when local produce is available, but during the winter months she imports organic produce from warmer climates. Rachel also offers delivery on a wide range of other local food products and grocery items.

Unlike many of the box delivery programs Rachel’s customers have the opportunity to choose what ends up on their doorsteps – they are allowed four substitutions per order, as long as they file them on the company web site by noon Monday.

The latest addition to the box delivery ranks is Fanny Bay Organics,(email leah@shimdesign.com or phone 778-427-4004) run by Leah Weinberg. Again, there is a bit of a different angle to Leah’s operation thanks to her children, who are picky eaters.

“I decided that if they weren’t going to eat much they would at least eat healthy,” says Leah. While living in Vancouver she organized a pre-school parents co-op that sourced organic produce for their respective families. When Leah, her husband and children relocated to Fanny Bay last autumn she brought the concept with her. She has teamed up with PineRidge Farm Market, near Spider Lake, to supply local organic produce, and when the local growing season is done, she sources products through a distributor in east Vancouver.

At present Fanny Bay Organics delivers 12-16 boxes on a biweekly basis.

So, it seems, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Fresh, organic produce conveniently delivered to your door – who would have thought that turning back the clock could be such a great thing? ~ BizBanter continued from page 5 an Alberta real estate development company, as well as with the British Columbia Bar in private practise, effective June 1, 2011. Mr. Wenngatz has a full service practise in real estate sales and purchases, mortgages, wills and estate matters, family and civil litigation matters, however, does not undertake any criminal matters. Mr. Wenngatz does have a refined area of expertise in strata matters as well as other forms of subdivision applications. Mr. Wenngatz looks forward to being a part of the Bowser community and to servicing the needs of the community as respects its legal needs. Lighthouse Law Offices is located at 6964 W. Island Highway in Bowser (next to Bowser Esso) Phone: 778-424-4234. / July 2011 9

CANADIAN COMPOSER MAKES BEAUTIFUL MUSIC IN DEEP BAY

By Carolyn Walton

I

nternationally-known Canadian music composer and sound designer, John Mills-Cockell, says when associates in the music world wonder why he’s spending his time hidden away in Deep Bay rather than living in Toronto where all the action is, he replies, “I love it in Deep Bay and have accomplished far more here in the past six months than I have for a long time.”

No small accomplishment, his work involves completing the last of twenty scenes for a three-hour opera, “Savitri and Sam”, the bittersweet love story in song of a Punjabi/Canadian girl and a Haisla First Nations boy, shades of a modern day “Romeo and Juliet” complete with cell phones! Created in conjunction with Ken Gass, librettist and artistic director of Factory Theatre in Toronto, Mills-Cockell also composed the score for the opera’s twenty-four piece orchestra.

Conductor, musician, musical director, arranger, contractor and audio engineer, this multi-talented musician has been involved in all styles of music and instrumentation: orchestra, band, vocal, choral, folk and contemporary.

“Theatre is my first love,” he admits.

“There’s something visceral about it that really gets to me.” Recent local works include Victoria’s Bluebridge Theatre production of “Streetcar Named Desire” last year, “Death of a Salesman” in 2009 and “Dark of the Moon” at the UVic Theatre in 2008; Phoenix Theatre’s “Romeo & Juliet” in 2009, “Medea” in 2009 and “Wind in the Willows”, 2007.

Mills-Cockell was only the second person to purchase the electronic Moog synthesizer from inventor Dr. Robert Moog in upstate New York, the first being American composer and electronic musician Wendy Carlos, creator of the popular ‘60s LP “Switched on Bach”. The first synthesizer recording ever made, it became one of the highest-selling classical music recordings of its era. Mills-Cockell and his multimedia group, Intersystems, played at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the first musicians in the world to perform a live electronic music concert. The group toured Canada and the U.S. and when it folded he joined the 10

/ July 2011

John Mills-Cockell • Carolyn Walton photo popular Toronto band, Kensington Market, once again touring North America.

When that band dissolved he loaded his synthesizer on the train, headed for Vancouver and joined Hydro Electric Streetcar, a group which began as a blues band, later evolving into an acid-rock band, packing local psychedelic ballrooms such as The Elegant Parlour, the Village Bistro, Retinal Circus and Big Mothers, in emulation of the San Francisco and Seattle scenes. “We were the loudest band in Vancouver,” he recalls with a chuckle, “and played all over the province, Prince George, even Nakusp in the West Kootenays.”

The definition of electronic music, according to Wikipedia, is music that employs electronic musical instruments such as the electromechanical sound produced by the Hammond organ or electric guitar and the purely electronic sound production achieved using devices such as the Theremin, sound synthesizer and computer.

Back in Toronto, Mills-Cockell founded the electronic rock band, Syrinx, with Doug Pringle, saxophones, Malcolm Tomlinson, drums and Alan Wells, percussion. Syrinx performed concerts with Ravi Shankar, Miles Davis, Lighthouse, Chilliwack, Bonnie Raitt and others. His first album, “Long Lost Relatives” produced by Bernie

Finkelstein of True North Records, was TN2, the second album the company recorded after Bruce Coburn, followed by Murray McLaughlin and other greats including Stephen Fearing, Rheostatics, Lynn Miles, The Guess Who, Joel Krocker and Randy Bachman.

Mills-Cockell entered the world of television, composing the film score for “Here Come the Seventies”, the well-known series running 26 episodes on CTV from 1970 to 1973. His theme song: “Tillicum”, named after Sechelt’s Tillicum Bay, received national attention as a Canadian radio hit in ‘71, and can still be heard on Youtube! He has since released more than ten albums, many available online.

John Mills-Cockell was nominated for a GENIE for his ominous film score for the 1980 “slasher-on-the rails” thriller, Terror Train, filmed in Montreal, starring a young Jamie Lee Curtis: won a CFTA award for best original score (the Newcomers; Italians): was nominated for a DORA for “best new musical” for the Canadian Stage Company’s production of “Donut City”

by Mills-Cockell and Douglas Rodger and received a SOCAN Award for “Outstanding Contribution to Music for Film” in 1990. ~ www. planetmusic.com/jmc

For me the first few words of George Gershwin’s classic ‘Summertime’ epitomizes living on Vancouver Island: “Summertime and the living is easy”. I remember as a young child in Campbell River peering up through my small bedroom window unto countless mornings of the bluest sky I have ever seen. Graciously these many years later that same crystal blue sky watches over me during our long summer days. It is on these days when asked by a traveler to the island “Does it rain much?”

We respond characteristically with the query, “What rain?”

Summertime Summertime on the Island the gift of a crystal blue sky suggests that anything and everything is possible today when a rising moon over Cadboro Bay or walking a windswept shoreline at Tofino forever answers the question why we live here Summertime when your garden is admired by many who savor its elegant fragrance but none more so than your faithful hummingbird whose morning fly by ritual becomes part of yours as you watch amazed as drops of morning dew are suckled away….one by one…then he is gone Walks take you to mountain views that take your breath away casual strolls on our countless bays and beaches give reason to smile out loud Summertime when the fruits and offerings of this island bless our tables and delight and tease our taste buds Qualicum Bay scallops and blackberries right off the vine..simply delicious fresh salmon and grilled eggplant on the BBQ create feasts of memories that no amount of gold could ever buy Summertime when weekend adventures to the Gulf Islands invite the day tripper and kayak warriors in all of us to mime the awe and exhilaration of those early explorers some infamous and others who became our ancestors it is easy to imagine Captain Cook shouting out drop anchor here And those who had crossed seven seas were home and like true islanders would never leave

Irish Summertime spent on virtually any part of Vancouver Island is a luxury that I never really truly appreciated until I spent years away. And it is the simpler things that make it so! Local farmers markets; Mid‐summer open‐air concerts and Sandcastle building contests not the least of many unique and delightful events. The simple luxury of enjoying an ice cream cone while walking along Qualicum Bay is something I have come to treasure! The easy manner in which islanders greet neighbors,friends and travelers alike always makes me feel as if I belong here‐ I always have!

Find more poetry by Oceanside resident “Irish” (Michael Poyntz) at www.thatcanadianpoet.com

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By Sharon Waugh Start: In your backyard, a meadow or on your favourite local streamside and woodland traipse.

“What is a weed? A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” ~ Emerson

W

eeding – an activity that most of us zealously tend to at this time of the year – pulling, digging, banishing those rascally intruders. I have caught myself justifying that I enjoy weeding because it is ‘mindless’ and that it gives me a tangible sense of accomplishment when that invasive patch of dandelions at my back door now mounts high in the wheelbarrow.

So I will admit that weeds at this time of the year can be my jailor, attention given to containing them could definitely cut into some prime time exploration of untapped Island trails. But, with the thought of any freedom being curtailed, and just like magic, an invitation appears to participate in a walking workshop to identify wild or native medicinal plants...or, as I refer to it now, an opportunity to embrace a paradigm shift about ‘weeds’.

Barbara Whyte, a K′omoks First Nations Elder, shares her knowledge of identifying, harvesting and medicinal applications of native plants, their preventative, maintenance and health-healing qualities, with a walk in a meadow beside the Puntledge River, in Courtenay.

Barbara, born in the community of the Deep Bay spit (nee Barbara Ann Billie), has followed a circuitous life path in healthcare, gracing the communities of Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii, Smithers, Harrison Hot Springs, Victoria and now back to teaching and practicing traditional therapies and holistic bodywork in the Comox Valley.

With a small handbook in hand, we set out to identify common plants in various states of maturity and habitat on the grounds of the Puntledge campsite. Stinging nettle, plantain, ribwort, horsetail and dandelion – all addressed and awarded deep respect with Barbara’s introduction to what they offer us for healing of our body, mind and spirit.

Key word – respect – I reacted by shoving my hands into my pockets, the dirt still fresh under my fingernails from the mornings weeding purge of the same plants that we were now examining as potential and willing partners in our health – one crank on the paradigm wheel.

Dandelions – you can never seem to get rid of them – have a list of benefits as long as your arm for correcting 12

/ July 2011

Barbara Whyte • Native Herb Walks • Sharon Waugh photo disorders of the liver, gallbladder, blood, and can greatly impact those with diabetes. Doesn’t it make you wonder if good old mother earth, in her wisdom, creates a brilliantly coloured, highly prolific ‘weed’, like the dandelion, to flag our attention to the urgency of repairing our over-taxed detoxification organs in the current epidemic of diabetes? ‘Mindless’ weeding – crank it over one more turn.

The notes on my handbook grow thick with applications of using plantain as a natural band-aid, identifying the short or lesser horsetail for future soaker baths to draw out toxins, stinging nettle tea for headaches and a longer term use for lung congestion. Barbara’s natural ease of teaching wraps her gift of innate awareness of the complimentary relationships that are possible between plants and humans. A storytelling experience that touches on auras, chakras and symbiotic energies that support a holistic philosophy of interdependence – my paradigm clicks into a 180 position of ‘allowing’ – I am now making space for these green partners in my yard and will be trekking with purpose to identify areas for future sustainable personal harvests. ~ Barbara Whyte’s next “Native Herb Teas for Health” August 28 1-3pm at the Puntledge RV Campground; $20. Celebrating NWC Indigenous Food of K′omoks First Nation Sept. 4 2-4pm; $20 at the Puntledge RV Campground.

Please call the I-Hos Gallery at 250-339-7702 for more information.

Recommended Resource: Wild Medicine of Coastal British Columbia by Kahlee Keane. Available at the Salish Sea Market, in Bowser. 778-424-2012

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BRINGING THE PAST FORWARD: PART 1

by Phyllis Chubb M.A., Jyotish Visharada, CVA; Jyotish Kovid, CVA

Another concept presented within the Vedas was one dealing with cycles – cycles of energy and cycles of time. It seems the o matter what doomsayers claim, the ancients had no difficulty with the idea of physical world will not end next year. the end of the world or the end of anything As the scales of accumulated knowledge When first discovered the ancient knowledge for that matter. They even have names for continue to tip in favour of earlier wisdom, was rejected simply because the information the energies associated with various stages the present understanding of our place in did not fit the existing idea of how the of being and to facilitate understanding the world will end. Many people think world and universe worked. For example, the flow of energies the energies were and feel that a major change in attitude the Vedas state the Universe and this world personified, given names and personalities and understanding of their place in the is many billion years old. The newcomers The energy of creation was called Brahma, universe has already begun. Support and to this knowledge knew that statement was the energy of sustenance became Vishnu encouragement for such change continues wrong, because to them, the world and the and the energy of destruction was Shiva. to amass from a variety of scientific fields. universe was 6,000 years old. Today it is The most interesting part of the recent known the age of the earth and universe Once again the newcomers, to this ancient discoveries is how they are doing no more is in excess of 13 billion years. (For more knowledge, rejected the idea of there than repeating the knowledge offered by information about how this time frame even being a constant and cyclical motion ancient wisdom. has been arrived at the reader can start at affecting all things let alone naming such http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_ energy. A glance in the mirror or at a child, Astrophysics, Astronomy, Biology, universe.) the pattern of the seasons, or the repeat Archaeology, Psychology and branches of of fashion styles more than confirms physical sciences are a few of the disciplines Not only did these so called deluded the existence of multiple cycles. Next validating the earlier recorded wisdom. savages, as the early Vedic people were month information supporting the power, With the growing body of knowledge, no first referred to, have the age of the earth consciousness and the existence of our longer are the gems of wisdom sounding so wrong they were wrong about lots of things. spiritual natures will be shared. ~ preposterous. Where did the original wisdom Another of their errors was suggesting that come from and why had it been discarded? all creation began from the eruption of a Phyllis Chubb’s desire to understand The answers to these questions, and more, single dot of massive energy. The name they the human mind and soul have been the will be the focus of this three-part series. applied to their imaginary initial explosion motivating passions of her life. Author, was Vishpot Bindu. Today we know that Counselor, Coach and Astrologer – Phyllis The wisdom referred to comes from the explosion as the Big Bang. Although the uses the discipline of psychology and Vedic Vedas and Puranas of ancient Bharhata, a theory of the Big Bang was put forward in Astrology to assist her clients in focusing country better known as India. In the simple 1927 it was not accepted until 1964 when on their consciousness and increased terms the Vedas are the recorded knowledge it was proven that space wasn’t empty… awareness. www.phyllischubb.com of an ancient people which focuses on the rather space is an area of high energy. (More interconnectedness of all creation. The details can be read on this topic by searching Puranas are a large collection of stories either Big Bang or Vishpot Bindu. http:// supporting and illustrating the data offered en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang) in the Vedas. Topics stemming from these

N

sources cover everything from creation, consciousness, food preparation, life cycles and what we would call civil law instruction and spiritual instruction.

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WHAT IS A “FRACTIONAL INTEREST” IN REAL ESTATE?

By Marc LaCouvée

Marc LaCouvée is a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Anchor Realty in Qualicum Beach. Marc prides himself on offering specialized and complimentary valueadding services that are well-suited to the unique needs of his Oceanside clients, including transaction peace of mind with Tranquilli-T. He is also one of a small number of accredited Seniors Real Estate Specialists® (SRES) in our region. Visit www.

LaCouveeHomes.com to learn more.

I was recently approached by a client who was interested in purchasing a ¼ share ownership stake in a vacation property. He had a number of questions about what he would actually be buying. In this series of articles over the upcoming months, I will attempt to explain the structure of this type of ownership.

Depending on the development, the buyer will obtain a ¼, 1/5, 1/6, or 1/10 fee simple interest in the title to the property depending on how many fractions the title has been divided into. Buyers obtain an undivided fractional interest in the property as tenants in common. Despite all the various names that can be commonly used, I will refer to the interest that each owner receives as a fractional interest. Also, because most of the fractional interest developments are currently located in strata developments, the examples used will relate to a strata lot.

Under the various offerings buyers will receive a fraction of the fee simple interest of the title to the property. The fractional interest is generally subject to a lease to the owners association or corporation. By selling a fraction of the title, the offering resembles the style of the original time share offering.

When a number of people own property and intend to share its use, some mechanism must be created in order to determine when each owner is entitled to occupy the unit. Arrangements must also be made for someone to pay expenses such as utilities, taxes, insurance, repairs and maintenance on the property

and, if the property is a strata lot, pay the strata fees and vote on behalf of the strata lot at the meetings of the strata corporation.

In order to facilitate the use of the fractional interests by the various owners, most developers establish an owners’ association or owners’ corporation to administer the use of the strata lot, maintain and repair the strata lot, collect assessments and pay expenses relating to the strata lot on behalf of the owners.

The organization of owners will generally be an association under the Society Act or a company under the Company Act. The owners’ association or corporation will be made up of the owners of the fractional interests. The members or the shareholders will direct the operation of the owners’ association or corporation, including the election of the board of directors.

Generally the owners’ corporation will hire a manager to carry out the various obligations of the owners’ corporation with respect to the management of the fractional interests.

As always, these articles are not meant to be taken as real estate or legal advice. Please be sure to consult your own team of professionals and do your own due diligence.

Next month I will talk about the legal structure and considerations for buyers. ~

/ July 2011 15

2011 Graduating Class of Bowser Elementary School Top Left: Lauren, Alex, Berit, Mr Seline, Julie, Declan, Tristan, Ashley, Liam, Kyle, Richard, Julia, Mr Adamson, Mr Cormier, Ms Bonnor, Drake, Tanner Bottom: Chris, Dylan, Jensen, Libby, Jessi, Taylor, Rebecca

From all of us at The Beacon Magazine ... congratulations to the 2011 Graduates from Bowser Elementary School! We wish you fun, excitement and success as you move on to the next important phase of your education.

16

/ July 2011

2011 Graduating Class of Kwalikum Secondary School

Top row from left: Ariel Bruhn, David Kraus, Kevin Biro, Michael Foulds, Cara Thomas Second row from left: Emma Purdon, Megan Smith, Monica Kuhn, Dakota Patterson, Keifer McMahon Bottom row from left: Michael Buerge, Spencer Rae, Thomas Flegel, Taylor Nigut

From all of us at The Beacon Magazine ... congratulations to the 2011 Graduates from Kwalikum Secondary School! We wish you a life filled with success and happiness in whatever further education or career you choose.

Missing: Gordon Purpur “Dr. Ian and Maggie Smith of Qualicum Beach congratulate the graduating students of 2011 and wish them well in their continued educational pursuits.”

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LESSONS FROM NEAR MISSES AND CLOSE CALLS

by Dr. Neill Neill

F

rom an early age whenever I wanted to try something new, my mother would grill me on my readiness: “How would you handle…?”

“What would you do if…?” “and if that didn’t work…?”

If and when she believed I had thought something through and would be able to keep a cool head when problems Dr. Neill Neill arose, she would give me the goahead. White-knuckle motherhood!

Just before I turned 11, I found plans for a duck boat in Popular Mechanics. I scaled the plans down to 8’ x 3’ x 11”. I used my savings to buy a toolkit by mail order and taught myself how to use the tools.

By spring I had built a boat. I scavenged some wheels from an old baby buggy and fashioned a boat trailer I could pull with my bicycle.

A friend and I hiked upstream to where I had stashed my boat and we rode it down the raging floodwaters over numerous ice jams back to town. At the edge of town the water level was almost up to the railway bridge.

We avoided disaster by lying down in the boat as we shot under the bridge with inches to spare. There were no life jackets in those days.

I have long since understood the inherent dangers of fast water, particularly fast icy water. I always wear a life jacket when on the water and I avoid floods.

I never heard my friends talk about their mothers putting them through this, but then they weren’t allowed to do as much. My mom was preparing me to face the risks of life, and we both knew the risks were real. I had already been revived after drowning at two, and had survived abduction and being left for dead at four.

I rode motorcycles for over 50 years. Early on I learned riding alone was the safest.

That way I alone was responsible for adjusting my riding style to road and traffic conditions. Evidence: I’ve ridden longer and further and in more countries than most riders, but without incident.

I wanted to visit my aunt and uncle in Toronto about 150 miles away, but we had no car. After her usual grilling, mom agreed that I could go by train. A few days later I boarded a CN train, changed trains in London, and was met by my aunt at Union Station in Toronto. I was six, and I knew there’s always a way to get someplace.

In my 30s I was traveling with my family in southern Mexico. We had parked our van on a side street in Oaxaca. While crossing a busy intersection as we strolled back towards our van, I suddenly had a feeling

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something bad was about to happen. We hurried the three kids back to the van. As I pulled out onto the street I could see in my rearview mirror a man rush out from the sidewalk and stab a screwdriver into the chest of another man, right in the spot where I had had that ominous feeling.

I was learning to trust my intuition/guidance.

In late afternoon fifty miles from anywhere I had half buried my motorcycle in mud at the base of a smoking volcano in northern Costa Rica. As I contemplated my situation, four cowboys appeared as if straight out of a spaghetti Western. I carried emergency rope, and one of the horsemen helped me free the motorcycle. Two days later in San Jose I heard the news that my volcano had erupted the night I was there and wiped out everything within a five kilometre radius.

I learned to be open to the appearance of angels in sticky situations, or more secularly, to be open to help that comes from unexpected sources.

Do take a few minutes to recall your own near misses and close calls, and reflect on what you have learned from them. ~ Psychologist Dr. Neill Neill maintans an active practice in Qualicum Beach, bringing innovative approaches to fostering healthy relationships and life after addictions. Call 250-752-8684 or visit his website www. neillneill.com. He is the author of the book “Living with a Functioning Alcoholic – A Woman’s Survival Guide.

T

he Qualicum Bay Lions would like to thank all participants who were involved on June 4 with the Prostate Cancer Walk.

We thank all individuals and businesses who donated to our Lions silent auction.

Qualicum Bay Lions made a donation to the Wildwood church of $400. This went towards funding a child to go to Camp Imaden, a summer camp for youths.

We will be making a bursary presentation on June 29 at the Kwalikum Secondary School. Come and show your support July 1 to July 3 at the 1st Annual Lighthouse Blue Grass festival at the community hall grounds in Qualicum Bay, we will be running a concession stand for this event.

D

ear Members and Friends:

Once again, I wish to thank everyone who so willingly saved, collected, trimmed, sorted and delivered canceled stamps to help: “Stamp out Cancer” Without your continued help and support we could not keep up our good works. A special thanks to many businesses and organizations that help with our project.

The funds derived from the sale of canceled stamps for the twelve month period ending April 30th, 2011, enabled the Foster Secretary Association, Order of the Eastern Star, to donate:$8,293.21 to our cancer projects.

This money is used either for research or cancer dressings; wherever it is needed. The need for dressings is still great so please help by telling your friends about this worthwhile cause!

Monies allocated to the Dressing Station Fund provide materials to the various dressing stations throughout the province.

These stations are manned by volunteer, Order of the Eastern Star members and many types of dressings are made and are supplied to any cancer patient at no charge, on a doctor’s note.

I would like to let our helpers know that we still have a market for Post Cards. These can be used or unused and I would appreciate receiving any that you may have so please do not cut the stamps off these cards. If you have any letters from foreign countries, I can market these if you would give me the whole envelope. Again this year, I am collecting Campbell’s Soup labels, just cut off the portions with price code and send them along with your stamps. Thanks!

Sincerely, Mrs Gladys Pierce (2) General Stamp Convener for: Stamp Committee, Foster Secretary Association Order of the Eastern Star All of the above can be dropped off at EyesOnBC in Bowser.

/ July 2011 19

FORAGING ON THE ISLAND

By Nancy Whelan The third in a series of five articles on Vancouver Island food production and distribution.

L

ewis Grizzard’s thought, printed beneath a painting of a juicy half tomato says it all: “It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato” … or strawberry, or apple, or carrot, I might add. Alas, the late Grizzard hailed from the American south upon which we Vancouver Islanders are still overly dependent for so much of our food.

But whether or not you grow your own tomatoes, there are many in our part of the Island who have taken up the challenge of providing a growing percentage of the food we need, while also providing the nutrition, the freshness, and the flavour to

Beyond actual sources of food itself, keep your eyes open for ways to improve your own kitchen garden.

Fresh from the garden • Nancy Whelan photo go with it. And there are others, too, who may not actually grow the food we eat, but contribute to our food security with knowledge – the what, who, when, and where of making good food available.

Starting with the hands-on provision of local food, i.e. naturally, Island grown fruits, vegetables, and meats, there are prime examples throughout Oceanside. Three years ago, PineRidge Farm Market on Turnbull Road in the Spider/Horne Lake area took the leap to literally start from scratch and put

FAX • COPY • PRINT

www.eyesonbc.com 20

/ July 2011

two acres into local food production. Now, their fruit and vegetables, all grown observing organic practices, are available seven days a week from 9 am – 8 pm starting in July. Further acreage is fenced and awaiting mature harvests, and owner Paul Christensen brings to his store food from other local growers. To help spread the word on local food, on Saturday, July 16th, Pineridge Farm will host a special “Meet Local Food Producers” day at the farm from 10 till 4 pm. continued next page

THROUGH THE SEASONS - CONTINUED Down-Island a bit, Zipp’s Farm, inland from Baylis Road, produces berries, fruits, and vegetables that can be found every Saturday at the Qualicum Beach Farmers’ Market and at the Nanaimo Farmers’ Market on the waterfront on Fridays. Early in the season, the farm’s greenhouses provide many of the fresh flavours we’ve been missing all winter. If you make it to the Markets early in the day during the summer you may have the exquisite privilege of securing one of the Zipp Farm canteloupes – a melon that tastes like a real melon oughta!

At Oceanside’s southern end is the venerable Nanoose Edibles in Nanoose. Long a source of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, Nanoose Edibles has a fond place in the hearts of good food lovers. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10–5 pm, they also offer local honey, salad dressings, salmon and tuna products. To acquaint people with their farm they have a walkabout policy that allows visitors and customers to walk around the farm and see what food production is all about. To help the home gardener, they carry bagged and bulk Seasoil and even present lectures on good gardening practices.

Not every community is lucky enough to have its own cheeseworks close at hand, but the Little Qualicum Cheeseworks in the Church Road area makes and sells an enviable selection of cheeses to nibble with those fresh, crisp fruits and veggies or to lay out a cheese platter for your next seasonal get-together.

A favourite source of eggs, from small to jumbo, thick juicy bacon, all kinds of pork products and sausages, and fresh or frozen whole chickens is the Sloping Hill Farm just west of Qualicum Beach on Parker Road. Sloping Hill Farm makes a point of allowing their chickens and pigs the best possible lives before coming to the table – “Happy Hens, Happy Pigs” they proclaim! Their products are available at the farm or the QB Farmers’ Market, and as a bonus they also offer their very own grown and milled, absolutely whole grain flour for sale.

These are but a sampling of the foods grown and produced

by Vancouver Island suppliers. In Oceanside, look for the “Oceanside Farm Products Guide” and find a comprehensive list of local food suppliers from Nanoose to Deep Bay. The “Comox Valley Growers’ Guide” presents an array of the same further up-Island. It claims that “The Comox Valley was recently named…as one of the top eight agricultural destinations in Canada.” And the new Island Edibles (a project initiated by The Beacon’s Linda Tenney and Qualicum Beach resident, Lorraine Browne) is a Facebook-based resource getting the word out about our mid-Island “Incredible Edibles”.

Beyond actual sources of food itself, keep your eyes open for ways to improve your own kitchen garden by getting acquainted with the work of “Seeds of Diversity”, and “Healthy Soil” (www.soilmicrolife.ca). Learn how to connect or reconnect with real food by googling “Slow Food” or Toronto’s “The Stop Community Food Centre”. Do you know about “WWOOFERs” – World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – those young people from 43 countries who work on organic farms for the experience and the chance to spend time in the country?

Wwoofers are working locally at Whiskey Creek Farm.

Look for local events scheduled throughout the summer that are helping to put good food on the tables of Vancouver Islanders. ~

FAX • COPY • PRINT

TRANSITION TO A BETTER LIFE:

HOW COMMUNITIES ARE ADAPTING TO GLOBAL CHANGE

by Lisa Verbicky

E

veryone has their breaking point, I guess. Mine was a ten dollar plate of bacon and eggs, plus tax. Staring up at me, a menacing, porky, half grin with lopsided eyes. Ten years of writing about growing better communities with articles on everything from buying local to carpooling, off-the grid neighbours and off-the-wall artists, world-community and wildlife festivals, fisheries and farms, green buildings and green space, working harbors and closing schools, co-ops, community currencies, commuting, food banks and families and it comes down to an overpriced attempt at a day off from cooking to wonder

22

/ July 2011

if anyone out there is listening. An eggy harbinger of what author Richard Heinberg calls “peak everything” the point at which decline and scarcity in things we depend on like oil, water, and food begin to really affect our lives.

According to the Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index, in the twelve months leading up to April, almost everything went up in price except shoes and clothing, including gas prices at 26.4%, and food prices as high as 6.7%. Shelter, restaurant meals, and electricity prices are also climbing. This is troublesome news for

Vancouver Island economies who import the majority of their goods by transport subject to spiking fuel prices, fare hikes and ferry executive salaries. Add on the price of suburban commutes or monumental city mortgages, natural disasters a.k.a. climate changes that have left kinks in our global food chain, a wobbly world economy, and the HST, and it’s no wonder Canadians are increasing their debt-load to cover basic everyday things. It all feels so out of our hands. I think it’s time to stay home, buy some chickens. continued on page 32

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Deez Bar & Grill

DON’T MISS IT! START AT 5pm

www.deezbarandgrill.com

GARDEN DINING NOW AVAILABLE

All musicians & singers welcome!

24

/ July 2011

Lefty’s

NOT OPEN FOR LUNCH IN JULY & AUGUST

www.leftys.tv

Tues to Sun 4pm - 9pm

PineRidge Farm Market

DINNER:

4:30 to 7:30 pm

Fish Tales

www.fishtalescafe.com

www.pineridgefarm.ca

Open Late 7 Nights A Week

Courtyard

4-180 W. 2nd Avenue

in the heart of Qualicum Beach Phone for Dinner Reservations:

Café & Patio

250.752.6693

Summer Hours:

June - September 5pm - 10pm 7 nights per week

Specialty coffees and smoothies.

• Gluten-free & allergy manageable choices.

www.giovannisqualicum.com

... join us for a fine dining experience

• Mom’s home-cooking uses local products.

• Eat-in or enjoy our quaint outdoor patio.

TAKE-OUT AVAILABLE. OPEN DAILY 7am • CLOSED SUNDAYS 673 Memorial Ave., Qualicum Beach

250-752-4152

Spend some time with us this summer on Facebook as we introduce you to Vancouver Island farmers, cheese makers, wine makers, beer brewers, artisan bakers and specialty food producers. We’re learning their secrets and sharing them all with you. See you on Facebook!

Find us and “like” us on Facebook • www.facebook.com/IslandEdibles

Buy Local • Eat Local

AT YP I

O

SUNN

Breakfast Lunch & Dinner

Children’s Senior’s & Menu Menu

Qualicum Beach Farmers’ Market www.qbfarmersmarket.com Opens for the season – Saturday, May 7, 2011 8am to noon - on Veteran’s Way Continues every Saturday May to October Errington Farmers’ Market www.erringtonhall.bc.ca/market.htm Opens for the season - Saturday, May 7, 2011 10am to 1pm Beside Errington Hall - 1390 Errington Road Continues every Saturday until September 24 Comox Valley Farmers’ Market www.comoxvalleyfarmersmarket.com Open for the Season Saturdays 9am to noon Exhibition Grounds on Headquarters Road Nanaimo Downtown Farmers’ Market www.nanaimofarmersmarket.com Opens for the Season - Friday May 6, 2011 Fridays 10am to 2pm Pioneer Waterfront Plaza - at the Bastion / July 2011 25

LYNDA HEARN

SHARING A CUPPA LIFE

By Rita Levitz

“I

love this time in my life now, I am involved with so many different people and so many different activities, and yet, somehow they all connect.” Lynda Hearn is a woman who lives with intention and combines deep thought with fervent action. Spending time with her means getting caught up in her enthusiasm, being challenged to re-evaluate what we think of as important, and always, coffee.

With her husband Colin, Lynda is the Tienes grano coffee company, providing direct trade coffee from Guatemalan farmers to Vancouver Island coffee drinkers. She is also a behaviour intervention worker with autistic children, home-schools her two daughters Robyn and Laura, was Pastor for Children, Youth and Families at Wildwood Church, and is Secretary of the BowHorneBay Community Club. There is a formidable link amongst all these diverse activities, a phrase that Lynda uses to describe each and every one of them:“Such an added value to my life!”

“I think we all need to recognize that we can be everyday people and still make significant changes in our world. It comes down to the LYNDA HEARN • RITA LEVITZ PHOTO

continued next page

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26

/ July 2011

250-752-8571

EE TR TT I F I E D

continued from previous page choices we make in all the little, everyday things. When I was in my twenties, I always wanted to do big things, but now I see that it is the small things that matter most. The small things are the big things.”

Lynda connects their family’s move to Bowser four years ago with the decision to live a more family-centered lifestyle. “I couldn’t ask for better people to be in my daughters’ lives than they have here. We found that before our move, we were very busy, but not really satisfied. We have created a lifestyle now where we decide what we value as important and then use our time, money and energy to reach the goals we have chosen.” Lynda is quick to credit the source of her inner strength. “Everything in my life is because of God’s great love for me. Without Him, I know I’d be in a very different spot in my life.” It is her gratitude that fuels her actions and drives her ability to turn words into deeds.

“Living here in Bowser I feel so blessed, beyond anything I ever expected. When we moved here, I looked for one place to volunteer that was central to the community, and the BowHorneBay Community Club definitely fits that description. In a one hour meeting, an enormous amount of work gets done, and it’s fun too!” At this year’s Lighthouse Country Fall Fair, you will find Lynda doing what she loves best, working in the children’s area. “I love working with kids – they give so much – and it is kids and families that will shift our culture.”

The theme of working with children and families, within a community setting, powers her family’s involvement with Guatemala as well. “Going to Guatemala in 2007 changed my life. It started out as a family holiday to Disneyland, when Colin, who wanted to do more with his life than just work, said, ‘What if we go further south?’ So we spent our three days in Disneyland and then spent two weeks in Guatemala working at an orphanage.

Robyn and Laura worked hard there too, and they loved it.”

“Our experiences in Guatemala totally shifted our perspective away from focusing just on what the world would provide for the Hearn’s. The people are hard-working and family-centered, good people just born in a different place. We thought we were ‘fixing’ them, when in fact they were changing what we valued. They have a better understanding of family and community than we do.”

Tienes grano grew out of the combined desire to make a real difference and Lynda and Colin’s love of good coffee. “I’ve been drinking coffee since I was twelve. Colin and I got to know each other over coffee. ‘It’s always been about the coffee’ was the joke at our wedding.” It is a true family business. The commitment to move it forward was made at a family meeting, with Robyn and Laura involved at every stage of the process. The impact on the country they have grown to love is two-fold. They buy directly from farmers they know, and then recycle a portion of the profits back into social projects in Guatemalan communities – projects like water treatment systems that they have seen put in, that they have seen being maintained.

When I described Lynda as “committed” she laughed. “I associate that word with people who have a focus and just lean in. I just want to sponge up every day. I’ll tell you who I am when I’m fifty!” ~

FAX • COPY • PRINT

HORNBY ISLAND

2011

PST Z+8

Our tide table measurements are taken from the Hornby Island substation. For other tides, visit http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/english/Canada.shtml on the Internet.

LOCAL TIDE

July-juillet

August-août

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/ July 3 2011

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The favourite new dog toys are Kongs – hard hollow rubber shapes which you stuff with dog food. We’re like living Kong toys stuffed with beliefs.

We learn most of our beliefs from our family and society, culture or mini subcultures. Our parents were wise when they advised us to choose our friends carefully, for we tend to adopt the belief systems of those who hang out with. Beliefs are highly contagious – and extremely powerful.

Some beliefs can hurt us terribly. There is an epidemic of primarily intelligent young women who starve themselves, and permanently damage their bodies and lives, as they strive to meet Hollywood’s and the media’s unnatural standards of “skinny is beautiful”. It’s a deadly belief system, irresponsibly imposed on a passive public.

Twenty percent of young women who fall for this belief system will die from their eating disorder. Most of our beliefs are more subtle and less harmful, but all belief systems that we hold to have a powerful impact on our lives.

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Kitchen Installations Interior Finishing Decks Small renovations Tile & flooring

Phone: 250.240.6966 Fax: 250.752.1681 Email: brownscontracting@live.ca

You may or may not believe in astrology (another belief system).

A highly respected astrologer once said that if we don’t know our astrological chart, it controls us nearly 100%. However, as soon as we study and understand it, then the likelihood of astrological influences controlling our lives is reduced by half.

FAX • COPY • PRINT

We don’t have to believe in astrology to accept the wisdom of selfawareness. While the jargon on the street tells us that what we don’t know won’t hurt us, Jungian psychology tells us that what we don’t know controls us. Lack of self-awareness blinds us; self-awareness gives us freedom.

Fortunately, we are adaptable beings and have great potential for change. But before we can make conscious change, we have to be conscious of what we’re changing. What DO we believe? It’s fun to just look around your living space and ask yourself, what do I believe about those framed photos, those people, the electronics and flowers, or this cup of tea or coffee? It’s amazing how many beliefs we have!

Back to our young visitor. I didn’t know if hers was a belief system of knowing or unknowing, of certainly or doubt. I suspected that what she thought was a strong belief (atheism) was really a rejection of someone else’s belief. After conversation, she agreed.

She couldn’t accept what someone else thought was theism, so she thought her only option was atheism. Quite often our belief systems are reactive, as hers was.

ARROWSMITH AUTO & TOWING LTD

Oddly enough, another one of the most limiting attitudes we can adopt is an overdose of certainly. Assuming that we “know it all” closes the door to learning more. No, the earth is not flat nor the centre of the universe; and no, atoms are not solid building blocks like legos. Every generation builds their worlds on beliefs that are later shown to be simply wrong.

That’s exciting. It gives us reasons to keep asking questions, whether we’re 23 or 83. If we aren’t interested, we aren’t going to learn much. If we have all the doors and windows of our minds closed, out of fear, reaction or certainty, nobody is going to force inspiration or insight upon us.

Diesel Repairs

So what do you believe? Is the fork on or off the table? Well, we don’t always know – do we? Minds shrink faster than wool in hot water.

Be curious. ~ Joanne Sales is a farmer, writer and EFT/ BodyTalk Practitioner.

She invites your comments: joanne@glasswing.com / July 2011 29

IT’S HAPPENING IN AREA H

FROM THE DESK OF DAVE BARTRAM Email: dwbartram@shaw.ca PH: 757-9737 • FAX: 757-9705 Bowser Village Centre Plan: Last month I wrote to you stating that there were two aspects in the implementation of the Bowser Village Centre Plan that are critical to its future success. They are the development of a community sewer system and public transit. After funding a Bowser Sewer Feasibility Study for the undeveloped land inside the Village Centre boundaries, the seven owners of undeveloped land inside the Village Centre boundary have not decided to start a community sewer system beginning with their properties. Without a community sewer system in the Bowser Village Centre and the commercial and residential densities designed to protect the rural integrity of the land outside the Village Centre, the community vision of the Bowser Village Plan will be difficult to achieve. The second critical factor is public transit. Community leaders Betsy Poel representing the Lighthouse Country Business Association, Sharon Waugh representing the Beacon, Elizabeth Hieronymi representing the Bowser Senior Housing Society and Joan Deen representing Bowser 211 Legion joined me in presenting a briefing to the RDN Transit Select Committee. At our request the committee passed a motion for the Board of Directors to direct staff to investigate the financial impact of introductory mid-day scheduled para-transit service (scheduled service to serve all customers). Although the Area H Group asked for implementation

30

/ July 2011

By Dave Batram, RDN Area H Director

in the 2011/2012 budget year the committee was not prepared to commit until a complete review of the financial impact and consideration of other requests for transit service were studied.

the ALC deems it appropriate to remove land from the ALR then the RDN Board will consider the development of the land in accordance with the RGS and OCP bylaws.”

Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR): The RDN Board received correspondence from the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) requesting that the RDN Board update its 2002 policy. The Electoral Area Planning Committee recommended that the staff forward all applications for subdivision and non-farm use of ALR lands to the ALC and include a report which outlines existing zoning including minimum lot area, Official Community Plan (OCP) and Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) policy and identifies if amendments are required to either if the application is approved by the ALC. In addition every application for subdivision and non-farm use of ALR lands will contain the following RDN Board policy statement. “As outlined in the Regional Growth Strategy, the Regional District of Nanaimo fully supports the mandate of the ALC and the preservation of land within the ALR for agricultural use. The RDN encourages the ALC to only consider subdivision of ALR land where in the opinion of the ALC the proposal will not negatively impact the agricultural use of the land or adjacent ALR lands.” In addition, every application for exclusion from the ALR will also contain the following RDN Board Policy statement. “If

Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Plan: As part of the plan, the technical working group has advised the RDN Board to begin developing a simple “Conceptual Water Budget Model” that provides a basic understanding of the physical flow system for each of the seven water regions across the RDN and helps to identify key data gaps. If there are concerns about how much water is available in a particular area, a more detailed study with more complex science in a smaller geographic area would be recommended. Water budgets can be used to: assist with long-term, region-wide water supply master planning; evaluate the cumulative effects of land and water uses within watersheds; provide a watershed scale framework for site scale studies (e.g. evaluation of a sewage and water system plan at a subdivision scale); improve our understanding of how to protect the ecological health of the region; help make informed decisions regarding the design and monitoring programs; and assist in setting targets for water conservation. The Committee of the Whole recommended approval of the project and funding from the existing budget.

by Lucy Churchill RN Qualicum Medicine Centres

SUMMER SAFETY AROUND MOSQUITOES What are Mosquitoes? - Mosquitoes are the most common flying insect in the world. They are aquatic in their immature stages (larvae) and must have still or very slow moving water in which to develop.

The larvae cannot develop in tall grasses or shrubbery, although the adults may be found resting in these spots during the day.

The females of some mosquito lay between 100 and 400 eggs directly on to the surface of water. Other species leave their eggs in a spot that will flood later, such as mud at the edge of a drying pond. It takes about four days for the larvae to become “pupae” (non-feeding stage before adulthood) where they form legs and wings. The entire lifecycle from egg to adult can take less than ten days when the temperature is favourable. Both male and female mosquitoes feed on nectar from flowers. Female mosquitoes must feed on blood from birds, animals or people to produce eggs.

What can they do?- Mosquitoes are known carriers of many diseases globally including West Nile Virus.

How to manage them? - Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water so remove any possible sites where mosquitoes could lay eggs, even in very small quantities. To control breeding sites • Eliminate sources of standing water in your yard. Store flowerpots, watering cans, boats and wheelbarrows upside down.

• Cover any garbage, recycling or composting containers, to prevent water from accumulating in them.

• Keep your swimming pool aerated cleaned and chlorinated even if not in use.

• Dump any water that collects on the swimming pool cover.

• Turn over plastic wading pools when not in use.

• Keep gutters clean.

• Repair any leaks from outdoor pipes, joints or hoses.

Change is healthy and useful. It has to be fought for most of the time. It’s not inevitable. It takes real leadership and real effort. But I think it’s really important not to take yourself too seriously. Dwight Eisenhower used to have a rule that you should always take your job seriously but not yourself. ~ Newt Gingrich

How to protect yourself? - During mosquito season (May to September), limit outdoor activities between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.

• Wear long pants and long sleeves as well as shoes and socks when outdoors.

• Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors.

• Repair or replace old and torn screen doors windows and vents.

• Use a personal insect repellent.

• If you choose to use an insect spray in the patio and garden area be sure to follow directions carefully.

In general, devices designed to trap and kill mosquitoes, or repellents other than those applied directly to the skin or clothing, have not demonstrated effectiveness at reducing mosquito populations. ~ / July 2011 31

continued from page 22 In BC, there are many communities addressing these woes by working at putting their own eggs in their own baskets, as ‘Transition Towns’.

The Transition initiative is a community-led response to the pressures of climate change, fossil fuel depletion, and world-wide economic contraction, says the Transition Network, the official support and training body of the transition movement. There are thousands of initiatives around the world attempting to reduce their dependency on oil, lower their cost of living, strengthen the local economy, and improve their quality of life without furthering their carbon imprint.

In 2006, Transition Town (TT), Totnes, UK, was the first to make this leap with a community-led plan to adapt to the changing world.

Today, Victoria, Nelson, Port Alberni, Powell River, Salt Spring Island, Cowichan, Vancouver, Maple Ridge and Sooke are all official TT’s with citizens looking at the ways in which they really want to live. Vernon, Kelowna, and Denman Island also began the transition process in January 2010.

What sets the Transition Town model apart from other ‘save the planet’ initiatives is that it does not focus on doom and gloom, but, on a positive vision, says Michelle Colussi, consultant with the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal (CCCR) in Victoria.

“The approach is lighter, more focused on how we can live better. It is not a lobbying effort but an action based approach,” says Colussi.

The process of becoming a TT begins with the people in the community. “Anyone can be involved. Everyone is needed,” says the Transition Town Totnes website.

Check our web-site for residential, recreational and investment properties.

“It’s not about government, or employers, its about us, the people asking ‘What does it look like to be less dependent on ferries, or to be self-sufficient with our food?’ and then figuring it out for ourselves,” says Colussi.

The move to transition actually starts with and is held by strong social networks, she says.

“The key to building community resilience is social cohesion.

Just by turning off the television for an extra two hours per week, we get extra time to reconnect with family and get to know our neighbours. When we replace weekends of shopping at the mall with spending time together we are redefining what it means to have a quality of life away from consumption. This is when we start to see the positive side effects of less and start building valuable relationships.”

The official transition process begins with an initiating committee that includes a cross-section of it’s citizens from a variety of backgrounds gathered to put a transition plan in place. Then comes the awareness building, educating the public on the issues facing our world and the possibilities of solutions through a variety of venues including film festivals, art, music, and public forums.

Next, a positive community envisioning session is held using the concept of ‘open space technology’ meaning that there are no roles at this meeting and everyone is conversing equally. Working groups are then formed with focused action on specific projects in the areas of food security, energy, re-skilling, community resilience, housing, ownership and finance, or whatever participants feel is important.

32

/ July 2011

continued from page 32 From there leaders evolve and become part of a core group that takes over for the original initiation group.

$

Community leadership under the TT model is unique in that it requires leaders to do personal inner work around the issues facing them and our world. In TT circles it is known as the ‘heart and soul’ piece, and includes support groups, the creation of new and positive rituals, and reconnection with nature, says Colussi. Leadership is also self organizing with and evolves when projects are started.

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The most common initiatives are in food security with projects like community gardens, gardening groups and food sharing projects.

The community resilience piece is about ‘everyone working together for everyone’s sake’, according to Transition Denman Island, and involves building a community’s capacity to manage change.

Re-skilling is one of the ways in which communities can pass on or relearn valuable skills needed to be more self-sufficient such as carpentry, gardening, canning, knitting, etc. There are a number of re-skilling festivals and folk schools popping up world-wide as a result.

Community-owned land and co-operatives are also a crucial piece to self-sufficiency, says Colussi, giving a community a better chance of surviving through collective effort.

“We have seen it over and over again, outside owners pulling out of communities when prices fall leaving behind unemployment and environmental destruction.”

Most TT’s also develop an Energy Decent Action Plan, seeking out ways to be less dependent on fossil fuels that might include car and bike co-ops, public or alternative transportation, trail building, and solar energy initiatives.

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Housing initiatives address the need for affordable, safe housing for all citizens with co-operatives, shared land, and innovative home financing.

Throughout this rather fluid process, transition, although communityled, is also bolstered by partnerships with government and a number of working groups, she says.

“There’s no straight road with TT,” she says. “Everything is so interconnected. Consumption is linked to fears, technology and energy to the environment and society, if you tackle any one of these you are dealing with another.”

The Transition Town model, although newly coined, is not a new concept. The depression era saw citizens mobilizing, doing without and sharing resources. The difference with TT is the adaptive piece, says Colussi. “We also now need to be more sophisticated with our solutions to address some of the issues we are facing.”

“The Transition model is simply the glue that connects all these wonderful initiatives, it is not the umbrella.”

So, things are changing, things always change. What makes us think we can keep going status quo. My guess is that we can’t. The signs are there, and what are we going to do, adapt, make our lives better?

Or just lay down and die? Not this chicken. ~

The Beacon Magazine is online Facebook: www.facebook.com/beaconmagazine Twitter: www.twitter.com/beaconmagazine Website: www.eyesonbc.com Blog: http://beaconmagazine.blogspot.com

/ July 2011 33

Qualicum Beach Town Hall • Linda Tenney photo

By Marilyn Dawson, Reporter t first glance, the agenda looked like a quiet evening ahead, a short public hearing, a delegation or two and the usual committee reports that make up a Town Council meeting. Who’d have thought a lengthy recommendation from the local Environment Committee would spark heated debate! The issue was the proposed Raven underground coal mine near Fanny Bay, which has drawn huge crowds to three recent public meetings at Union Bay, Courtenay and Port Alberni. Besides the hearings, environmental agencies of the provincial and federal governments were asking for citizen comment until June 27.

Other communities in the area have already submitted their concerns. Now it was Qualicum Beach’s turn.

First a bit of background. The proposed mine would extract supposedly high grade coal from deep in the ground, load it onto trucks and ship it likely to Port Alberni for an ultimate destination in Asia. That’s several truckloads a day seven days a week over a highway that is said to be one of the most dangerous in the province. The carrot dangled in front of the citizenry is the few hundred jobs it would provide over a 16year period.

Q.B.’s Environment Committee, made up of local residents with diverse backgrounds, has studied the issue and came away wanting more facts and so its impressive 26-item motion presented by Councillor Barry Avis, asked that the Raven proposal be submitted to both an expert review panel and a public enquiry panel to address such issues as financial gain to the community, health concerns, transportation problems, pollution, habitat and aquifer protection and effects on the tourism industry. The document paid particular attention to the potential damage to the coastal fishery and the burgeoning shellfish industry. There was also the transportation issue. “The section of the road from Qualicum Beach to Port Alberni is particularly unsuited to heavy truck traffic”, it said. Upgrading and future increased maintenance problems and monitoring costs need to be identified and passed on to the mine owners not left for taxpayers to pay.

Opposition to the document was swift.

Councillor Mary Brouilette said Council was overreaching; although she supported an independent review of the mine proposal, Qualicum Beach had no business messing with it. “We’re not building this mine on Memorial,” she said. It’s inappropriate to

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ask every councillor to support a very biased position.”

Councillor Jack Wilson agreed suggesting the mine protesters were a bunch of hippies, “a left- wing crusade that Council should not be part of.” (This may be a big surprise to the few hundred older residents who attended earlier meetings voicing concern for water and air quality.) Coun. Avis countered with a list of community groups and individuals supporting the move and Council finally passed the motion 3-2.

Coun. Wilson won a sort-of victory on another issue, lawn watering. In recent years he has annually complained that the hours were wrong. Watering from 7 pm to 7 am was neither good for plants nor gardener, although Engineer Bob Weir stressed it was necessary during reservoir upgrades. With construction nearing completion, he said residents can now water from 7 pm to 10 am.

Hot pink is the colour as Qualicum Beach’s merchants launch their Friday night market for the summer months. Look for “hot pink specials” at the downtown open air market that will be open until 9 pm. ~

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THE LITTLE FESTIVAL WITH A BIG HEART

By David Morrison

E

very picture tells a story and the one on this page is no exception. Yet behind this seemingly commonplace image of a young couple’s wedding day bliss is a story of tragedy, great courage, fierce determination and rare selflessness. It is a story I find profoundly inspiring, and in truth one I can hardly think about without welling up.

James and Kim Wood (née Black) married in the bride’s hometown of Campbell River on August 23, 2008. Thirty-three days later Wood, then aged 27, lay in a coma, fighting for his life in a Winnipeg hospital with his distraught new wife at his bedside.

Following a Winnipeg performance by Wood’s Vancouver-based rock band, The Hotel Lobbyists, their van came off the road outside Brandon, MB, in an accident that not only hospitalized Wood with critical injuries, but also took the life of the band’s drummer, Mike Gurr.

In July 2007 my wife Susan and I attended the first Green Mountain Music Festival (GMMF), staged in an idyllic setting on

private land at the base of Mt. Benson in Nanaimo. We were attracted by acts aligned to our tastes, the excellent value, and the fact that it was a fundraising event for Cystic Fibrosis Canada (CFF). Organized by the Nanaimo-born and raised Wood, it proved to be the festival highlight of our summer. In its wake I referred to GMMF in a (currently shelved) book project by saying “if I could design my own festival, the model wouldn’t fall too far short of this one.”

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that causes mucous to form in the lungs and digestive tract. Using airway clearance techniques sufferers must clear the mucous several times a day in order to prevent a build-up of bacteria that can cause bronchitis or pneumonia and subsequent lung damage. They must also take enzymes in order to assist with digestion. It is a high maintenance condition that for sufferers means a current life expectancy of just 3538 years.

Pediatric nurse Kim Wood, 30 years-old this October, is a cystic fibrosis sufferer. It is this reality of their daily life together that prompted her then fiancé to do whatever he could to raise money towards the advancement of research into combating the disease.

“Kim’s family are heavily into fundraising for cystic fibrosis,” says Wood. “They inspired me to do my share, my part. And the one thing I know best is music, so what better way?” And so GMMF was born.

When news of The Hotel Lobbyists’ tragic highway accident broke, it sent shockwaves reverberating through the music communities of Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Benefit events for Gurr’s family and the newlyweds popped up everywhere. The incredible response was not only in fitting tribute to the late drummer, but indicative of the esteem in which Wood is held among his peers. continued on page 36 / July 2011 35

continued from page 35 “I was just so blown away by the support I received from the music community on the lower mainland and the Island,” he says, seemingly still reeling from the reaction.

“All the fundraisers that were done for me, and for Mike, just trying to help Kim and I get back on our feet…it was amazing.”

Less than a year after the crash that by some miracle he survived, Wood was back at it, working himself into the ground at GMMF III. He had somehow managed to organize it during months of his agonizing rehabilitative slog back to a distant semblance of normality, focusing on it to aid his recovery. Many, including me, thought him crazy to even consider the possibility, but it is this indomitable spirit and drive to make a difference that have earned him the respect and admiration of so many. It is why all of the bands at Wood’s festivals play for free, why the volunteers working them

in any capacity are unquestionably happy to help. On his rehabilitation team’s strict orders, however, he was forced to take a rest last year, so the festival also took a break.

to expect he did not remain down for long.

Wood is using his time constructively and creatively while plotting his next move on the long road back.

The Hotel Lobbyists’ emotional final performance came at GMMF III, with the excellent Vancouver band Minto’s Jimi Cuel occupying Gurr’s drum stool. Lead singerguitarist Wood wore a t-shirt bearing an image of his departed friend and band-mate, and at the climax of a powerful set Susan and I were not the only attendees in tears.

“I’m doing a lot of volunteer work and I’m going to start doing some landscaping,” he reveals. “And I’ve been volunteering at an organization called VAMS – Vancouver Adapted Music Society – doing a lot of studio work recording disabled musicians.

So I’m maybe interested in becoming a music therapist, but need to get a Bachelor of Music and learn the piano, so I have a lot of work to do!”

Three years after the accident Wood’s rehabilitation continues. It has of course affected many areas of his and Kim’s life, including how he is able to make a living.

Before the crash Wood had been a substitute teacher for three years and loving it, but the extent of the brain injury he sustained means he is no longer able to teach. This realization devastated Wood for a couple of months, but in the manner all that know him have come

GMMF IV takes place in its usual location of 3116, Northwood Rd, Nanaimo, on Saturday July 16. Featuring twelve independent rock and roots-rock bands for a mere $25, it will be as great a day out as continued on page 38

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PLANT GROUPS Q: On the local garden tours and at Milner Gardens we’ve seen beautiful rhododendrons and azaleas. Are they similar plants or just how are they related in the plant world?

A: Basically, every azalea is a rhodo. In short, it’s the sex parts! But here’s the story…with plants, the fine differences between reproductive characteristics are used to identify, classify, and distinguish them from one another. All living things can be classified according to a system which has its root in the work of Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), who first grouped species according to shared physical characteristics into a taxonomical hierarchy. Since then, scientists continually update the taxonomy as new information is discovered with modern scientific method.

Working with plants, we usually hear about the bottom three ranks of the hierarchy in this order: family, genus, and species (which includes subspecies and cultivars).

Both rhodos and azaleas belong to the family Ericaceae, or Heath family, which is comprised mostly of calcifuge or limehating plants that love acidic soils. Many thrive in our temperate climate and you know them well: Vaccinium (blueberry, huckleberry), Viburnum (cranberry), different genera of heather Erica, Cassiope, Daboecia, Calluna, mountain laurel, and Rhododendron. Each of these is botanically different and therefore classed as a separate genus belonging to the Ericaceae or Heath family.

Rhododendron is a genus of over a thousand species of woody plants. Azaleas were once classed as a different genus of plant alongside Rhododendron, but now they are recognized as two of the eight subgenera of Rhododendrons: subgenus Pentanthera (deciduous), and subgenus Titsushi (evergreen). For hundreds of years, propagated by cuttings, plant enthusiasts have created genetically modified rhododendrons and azaleas producing over 10,000 different cultivars.

Ongoing genetic research in plants continues to drive their reclassification as more is learned of the very particular characteristics of sex parts and how individuals reproduce.

For a valuable discussion of this that is more scientific, check <http://www.flounder.ca/ FraserSouth/Goetsch-Eckert-Hall.asp> Q: I notice some perennials last longer than others in my garden. Is it something I’m doing as a gardener, or are there differences?

A: No, it’s probably not you. There are perennials that last differing lengths of time. Think of it in this kind of hierarchy for plant groups: trees, large shrubs, woody perennials, herbaceous perennials, biennials, annuals. You are asking about two of these groups – those with the word perennial in them. You probably know Hydrangea, roses, and rosemary. These are common examples of woody perennials, also known as subshrubs. Herbaceous perennials are either evergreen or deciduous. Regardless, there are both short and long living plants of each type.

Most short-living perennials can live up to ten years. Popular examples are: Aquilegia (Columbine), Coreopsis grandiflora, Delphinium, Dianthus, Gallardia grandiflora, Heuchera, and Scabiosa.

Long-living perennials usually survive at least twenty years and often last longer if properly maintained. Some common ones you will recognize are: Aconitum (Monkshood), hardy Geraniums, Hemerocallis (Day Lillies), Hosta, Iris, Sedum (Stonecrop), and Paeonia (Peony) that can live fifty to sixty years in favourable conditions.

When planning your plantings, choose short-living perennials to fill in spots while waiting for bigger plants to grow. As the perennials fade or finish, the others will take over their space. Longer-living perennials can be used more as feature plants in the garden since they will last. When buying perennials, how old they are won’t be as significant for long-life perennials, but is definitely an important consideration for short-life perennials. Consider this: the older the plant is when you buy it, the shorter time you will have to enjoy it in your garden. So it’s preferable to buy plants in 4″ pots than those bigger. With thoughtful planning, all varieties of perennials have their rightful place in the garden. ~ Harry Sumner is a certified arborist & garden coach. Gardening questions are welcome at 250-248-4512 or shellms@telus. net.

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250.757.8724 / July 2011 37

continued from page 36 • The Little Festival with the Big Heart the previous three festivals. Susan and I can attest to that. With an extraordinary $15,000 raised for CFF to date, Wood is hoping for his biggest turnout and level of support to date, stating that it would be an “absolute dream” to raise $10,000 at this year’s event.

A stellar support cast of bands from Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo (including Minto once more) sets the scene for joint headliners Bison B.C. and Bend Sinister, but of particular note is the GMMF debut of Wood’s new project, Megabear! (Exclamation point deliberate and warranted.) There is truly no keeping this man down!

Although every cent of profit goes to CFF, this festival still costs $5K of Wood’s own money to stage, so donations are most welcome. If any individual or company reading might be interested in helping in this respect, Wood would like to hear from you. (Contact details below. To this end he would like to publicly acknowledge the financial and logistical support of Bone Rattle Music (Vancouver), Delicados (Nanaimo), Coast Realty (Nanaimo), Shepard Trucking and Shiloh Lindsey).

It is for his lovely wife and fellow cystic fibrosis sufferers – staring daily at the near-certainty they will depart this world before reaching forty – that Wood toils as he does. Yet as inspiring a figure as he has become, it is Kim’s humbling, matter-of-fact approach to her situation that in turn inspires him.

“Kim, honestly, is my hero, for how strong she has to be to deal with this,” he says. “Her philosophy is ‘it could always be worse’, you know?” ~

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For further information on Green Mountain Music Festival IV, including full line-up, ticket outlets and directions, please visit www.greenmountainmusicfestival.com. To enquire about making a donation to GMMF, even after it has occurred, please contact James Wood by email at swoodypants@hotmail.com. (Anyone not wishing to attend the festival but wanting to purchase a ticket in support of the cause is gratefully encouraged to do so.) To get involved or make a donation directly to Cystic Fibrosis Canada, please visit www.cysticfibrosis.ca, email info@cysticfibrosis.ca or telephone toll free on 1-800-378-2233.

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THE FIX-IT SHOP – Repairs to: Lawn Mowers, Small Engines, Garden Equipment. FMI Call (250) 702-2191.

WEB SITE & SOCIAL MEDIA – Do you need a Web Site or Social Media presence? Perhaps you would like to learn how to use social media and how it can help you promote your product or business. I can help AND I use local products and services! Reasonable rates, experienced with references. FMI Call (250) 240-5535.

RAW FOODS BY DEBORAW – Interested in learning how to transition into a healthy lifestyle incorporating Raw Foods? I can help! Private or Group courses offered. Inquiries welcome. FMI email deborahbtobin@gmail.com.

PERENNIALS FOR SALE – $5 a gallon pail all summer! FMI Call 250-757-9901 FOR SALE AT GREAT SAVINGS! Arrowsmith Golf and Country Club membership - $2,000. Club price $5,500. Phone 250-752-3188.

GODDESS ESSENTIALS HAIR STUDIO & MOBILE SERVICES – Master Colourist/Barber/Stylist. 20+ years of expertise. Eco-friendly services for the whole family. Organic & Natural based products. PPD & Ammonia-free hair colour. Go Green! Linda 250-5868323 www.goddessessentials.com

MEMORABLE LINES writing and memoir service can solve all your business and personal writing puzzles.

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TIME TO GET ORGANIZED! Call the man with a truck! 250-757-9182 THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF QUESTERS – No meeting July & August. Next meeting will be held Mon, Sept. 26, 2011. FMI Call Chris (250) 752-1419.

FIRST RATE MASONRY – Over 13 years experience providing first rate, creative workmanship within budget and on time. Old brick restoration. All stone and tile work. Fireplace facing. Retaining walls and pavers. Chimney construction, cleaning and repairs. FMI Call Jason Buxton (250) 802-5515 COAL CREEK FARM – on MacArtney Drive in Fanny Bay has naturally fed, free range duck, chicken, turkey and goose meat available various times of the year. Please call for availability – ask for Paul or Christine (250) 335-1322.

PICK-UP AND DELIVERY – Tune-ups and repairs to riding lawnmowers and all small engines. Buy and sell used equipment. Call Ron 250-240-1971 e-mail: ronmorrison100@gmail.com

LEARN TO PLAY PIANO/KEYBOARD – EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN! All ages, formal or just for fun. In home/studio.

First lesson free! Inquiries welcome. FMI Call Gina at “Music Land” (250) 9273005.

THERAPEUTIC FOOT REFLEXOLOGY – Sessions $50 for 75 mins my home.

Home visits are available. Release your body’s self-healing ability through deep relaxation. Please call Marie at (250) 335-0850.

HOME & GARDEN DECORATING EVENT. Sunday 17th July, 10am - 3pm - Furniture, vintage textiles & clothing, lamps, art, prints, bric-a-brac, etc. Free seed and plant swap at noon.

To rent a table phone Liz at the store.

Regular shop hours as usual. Mildred’s Memorabilia, 3215 Brooklin Lane, Hilliers, (located on Hilliers Road South, 6 km west of Qualicum Beach). Open Wed to Sun 11-4 (or by appointment) ph. 250-752-1700.

FOOTCARE – HYGIENE Soaking feet, cutting nails, filing calluses, treating dry skin – fingernails too. Reflexology – 1 hour sessions. Services offered from Nanoose to Union Bay. Please call Vikki @ 250-757-9244

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OUTDOOR INK AND WATERCOLOR INSTRUCTION WITH ARTIST CINDY MAWLE THURSDAYS 9-12 am, $45 SUPPLIES INCLUDED NO ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE REQUIRED private group sessions and childrens mini also available 250 757 9252 /cindymawle@hotmail.com www.cindymawle.com Studio: 5320 West Island Hwy, Qualicum Bay

DON’S HOME REPAIR – plumbing repairs and installations, complete renovations, no job too small. Call Don @ 250-757-8757 or cell 250- 951-8757 STAMP COLLECTIONS/ ACCUMULATIONS WANTED – Mint or used, will take all, cash or consignment, top prices paid. Call Russ at 1-250-3141021 or email at ingruss@telus.net

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We know you’re thinking about a subscription to The Beacon Magazine See page 46 for details / July 2011 39

Aries (March 21-April 19) Without question, the next six weeks will boost your focus on home, family and domestic issues. Many of you will enjoy a gathering of the clan. Family discussions will take place. Furthermore, you’ll want to tackle family repairs at home and fix up the place. (Many hands make light work.) Some of this energy will translate into increased reading, writing and studying as well. By the way, you’ll be oh so charming in all your communications. (This could be a good time to hit a relative up for a loan.)

Taurus (April 20-May 20) This month, you’re eager to take short trips and explore more of the world,.

In particular, you’ll be very talkative and chatty. You have something to say because you want to enlighten others. You’re also busy earning money in the month ahead, as well as spending it on beautiful things for yourself and loved ones. Actually, your money scene looks quite good right now! (Money in the bank always improves your digestion.)

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You’re becoming more aggressive! (It might be wise to burn off some of this pent-up energy through physical exercise or outdoor activities, before it builds up within you, making you snarky!) This month you’re also focused on money matters, cash flow and earnings. Expect to discover bright new, moneymaking ideas! Meanwhile, back at the think tank, the next month is the time to take stock. What’s the picture with your earnings and assets?

Cancer (June 21-July 22) The Sun is in your sign giving you a lovely boost of energy, plus an opportunity to recharge your batteries for the rest of the year. This great lighting also attracts favourable opportunities and important people to you. However, this boost of energy might also cause some of you to dabble in secret love affairs. (Don’t blow something solid for a mere bon bon.) Whatever the cause, you’re engaged in behind-the-scenes activities. By all means put yourself first now! This is the one time of year when this is totally appropriate.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) This month, you feel pulled in two directions. Initially, you want to lie low and

work behind the scenes to get ready for your new year (birthday to birthday). You need to figure out what you want! (Write down four things you want to do. If you specify your goals they more likely become a reality.) However, Mars will push you into active, intense relationships with others, especially in groups.

So one moment you’re hiding at home – and the next moment, you’re out there flying your colours! Go figure.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You’re busy, popular, ambitious, and out there, being everything to everyone. That’s why this month is an unusually popular time for you. You might be involved with younger people or you could be teaching something.

Fiery Mars is now at the top of your chart, arousing your ambition to achieve something and make a name for yourself. Meanwhile, back in the supply room, fair Venus could instigate a romance with your boss (or someone older or richer). You’re cooking on all six burners!

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) This is the only time all year when the Sun is at high noon in your chart, acting like a spotlight on you. This means everyone notices you more than usual, but more than that – they think you’re hot! Why? Because the Sun is a marvelous “light” on you. Since this makes you look so impressive, it’s a given that someone will ask you to take on increased responsibilities. Say yes – you’ll handle it. Travel also appeals now. Use your influence with bosses to explore more of the universe. Study, learn and travel!

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Your gonads are in overdrive. That’s why sex is going to be hot for most of you. (And for others? Well, Woody Allen claims he was the best he ever had.) Romance will be sweet, affectionate and passionate. Buy something sexy.

(You love great undies.) Gifts and favours might come your way. But in the bigger picture, you want to travel and explore. Take courses, learn a new language. If you can’t travel, be a tourist in your own city. Explore philosophies and life-belief systems. Study astrology.

(Start with my book.) Natch!

FAX • COPY • PRINT

40

/ July 2011

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Tread carefully because fiery Mars is opposite your sign until August. This can make you easily irritated with others, especially partners and close friends. Please take note: patience is your greatest ally. Patience diffuses your anger and gives you a moment to think before you speak. Ironically, Venus is also opposite your sign, ready to repair any damage. (You can get through this unscathed if you’re patient.) Expect a focus on shared property, inheritances, taxes, debt and the wealth of others in the next month.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You want everything to be organized because you want to be proud of your digs. You want to put your hand out and find whatever you’re looking for. Just imagine – alphabetized CDs and DVDs, library books returned, recycling gone, piles of paper sorted and filed, and even a respectable medicine cabinet! (Guests always peek.) Meanwhile, both Mercury and the Sun are opposite your sign, increasing your focus on partnerships and close friends, helping you to learn more about how you relate to others.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Romance, love affairs, vacations, sports, playful activities with children and fun times appeal to you this month. But you’re also working hard. So it’s a time to work hard and party hard. Since you’re keen to be organized, respect this urge. Let it galvanize you into action. Give yourself the right tools and support materials to do a great job. (You will love yourself afterwards when you survey your kingdom and everything is nicely pulled together.) And hey - then come the rewards. Party on! (Sometimes life just gets better and better.)

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) This is the perfect time to slip away on a vacation. You want to get out there and do your thing! Beaches, trails, foreign cities, resorts and adventurous road trips will beckon to you. You might go with family, you might go alone, or you might go because you have suddenly met a new lover! There’s a strong focus on romance and love affairs for your sign. Nevertheless, renovations and re-decorating projects at home will keep you busy. Oops – tension at home requires patience and tolerance. (Margaritas can help.)

39 YEARS OLD & GETTING BETTER & BETTER!

A

n important word has been added to the description of St. Mark’s Fair, and that word is ‘community’. St. Mark’s Fair has changed over the past thirty-nine years from an event which served a local church, to one that serves the local community. Yes, one of the largest and oldest Fairs on Vancouver Island is now known as St. Mark’s Fair: A Qualicum Beach Community Event.

The Fair involves the Anglican and United Churches, Royal Canadian Legion #76, and the Qualicum Beach Curling Club. It has grown to encompass many community partners who participate in the organizing and delivery of the products, food, and entertainment. The volunteers are proud that their efforts support services in the Oceanside area.

Last year the entire St. Mark’s profit (plus more) was donated to worthy

causes right in the community, and this will continue. Monies raised by the Fair through stall rentals to exhibitors and vendors are donated to youth and seniors’ community programs. Also, all of St. Mark’s venues, including the bake table with famous Holy Roller Pies, rare and used book display, jewellery, Country Market, New to You Clothing, drinks and food stalls, donate their profits to community projects.

In the last three years Fair proceeds have been used to purchase equipment for Eagle Park such as bed tables, a blanket warmer, a special reclining chair that converts to a bed for visiting family.

The Fair proceeds continue to support the lunch program in Qualicum Middle School and a youth worker in the middle and high schools.

St. Mark’s Fair is a Qualicum Beach Community Event and we welcome you to share in the fun and bargains 8:30 to 3 pm, Saturday July 23rd. ~ submitted

SATURDAY JULY 23 8:30AM TO 3:00PM

Memorial Avenue & Veteran’s Way

BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTRE Our Advertisers

A QUALICUM BEACH COMMUNITY EVENT FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

Category............. Ad Page

EyesOnBC Business Centre............................ 39 Arrowsmith Automotive Automotive Services.......................29 Dominion Lending Centres, Elaine Peligren Business & Financial Services...........9 Jennifer Hubbard, Solicitor, Notary Public Business & Financial Services.........40 NR Insurance Services Business & Financial Services.........47 Wisdom is Within Coaching Business & Personal Coaching........20 Medicine Centre Health Services...............................31 Seren Home Care & Support Services Health Services...............................45 Thermography Clinic Vancouver Island Health Services...............................18 Gemini Technical Services (Appliances) Home & Garden Services................46 Horne Lake Electric Home & Garden Services................45 King Renovations Home & Garden Services................45 Lighthouse Trucking Ltd. Home & Garden Services................45 NorthPacific Window Home & Garden Services................19 Qualicum Bay Custom Carpentry Home & Garden Services................45 Witte Construction Home & Garden Services................45 Kerry’s Sewing Basket Home & Garden Services................44 Handy Sandy Services Maintenance Services.....................44 Royal LePage - Carol Gregson Real Estate......................................32 Arrowsmith Golf & Country Club Sports & Leisure..............................14 Peter Mason Land Surveyor Surveying & Land Information........45 The advertisers listed here also have their business cards and brochures racked with us at The Beacon office in our Community Information Centre. If you require further information about any of the businesses noted above, please feel free to call or stop by our office. We support local business and firmly believe in the power of networking.

Collectibles, Antiques, Books, Artwork and Crafts by local artisans, White Elephant Tables, Baked Goods, “Famous” Holy-Roller Pies.

Children’s Activities and Entertainment!

Consider the planet and bring your own re-usable shopping bags.

THE OLDEST AND LARGEST FAIR ON VANCOUVER ISLAND Tune in LIVE on the 1st Thursday of each month when Dave Graham of 88.5FM The Beach Radio and Linda Tenney talk about what’s going on in Lighthouse Country. Join them at 8:40am. ______________ And ... catch The Beacon Beat each Thursday morning at approximately 8:10 am for brief updates and news about what’s going on in Lighthouse Country! ~ The Beacon...we keep you informed! / July 2011 41

Community Events

The Perfect Mortgage takes you where you want to be...

CreditMaster Ask how you can have one today!

LIGHTHOUSE COMMUNITY CENTRE (LCC) Qualicum Bay - INFO: LOIS NELSON: 757-9938

Taoist Tai Chi Society Classes at LCC and Fanny Bay OAP Hall. FMI Susan @ 757-2097

Pancake Breakfast, Flea Market, Live Music, Veggies, Poultry & Small Animal Swap, Master Gardeners: – Sun July 10 th, 8am-noon. The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Deep Bay) will be cooking up breakfast this morning.

Lighthouse Trails Group needs your help. Val Weismiller: 757-9667

Saturday July 2nd – Pancakes & Bluegrass Idol! Emcee, Roy Yeatman 9:00-10:00 Bluegrass Band Contest First Round. Round Two and the final contest round will be on the main stage - check your program. 10-11am.

Open Stage, get up and try out your music on the audience! (please sign up with emcee, prior to Saturday morning) Sunday July 3rd - Pancakes & Bluegrass Gospel Emcee, Roy Yeatman 9:00-9:30 featuring the Wildwood Church Choir and the Island Gospel Centre Group accompanied by some of our great bluegrass musicians 9:3011:00.Bluegrass Gospel Open Stage.

Lighthouse Seniors #152 – Annual picnic Aug 24th from 11-4pm. Next meeting Sept 13th.

For more info call Shirley at 757-2384 Lighthouse Floor Curlers – Summer curling begins June 6th to Sept 12. Mondays 1 pm at the Lions Rec Hall, Qualicum Bay. Drop in $2.

FMI Call Dennis Leach 250-757-8218 or Tillie Murray 250-757-9218.

Winds Warriors Sailing Program – Ahoy there all 12-16 year-old sailor wannabes!

Here’s your chance to spend a fun-filled week in July learning all aspects of laser sailing in beautiful Deep Bay! Each weekly session will consist of four full days, limited to six students per session. Book early and we look forward to seeing you. Dates: July 4,5,6,7; July 11,12,13,14; July 18,19,20,21; July 25,26,27,28. Cost per session: $150. FMI and to register, contact George Gutsche 250-7578480 AA Lightkeepers: every Fri. 8pm. Info: 250-7578347 Bridge at LCC Nordin Room – 1-4pm Friday afternoons. Call Ann: 250-757-8194

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/ July 2011

Belly Dancing – Mondays at 7pm at the Bowser Legion. Inquiries welcome. FMI Email bowserbrynn@yahoo.ca LIGHTHOUSE RECREATION INFO PATTY: 757-8366 shipshore@shaw.ca Junior Tennis: Monday and Wednesday mornings in July at the Bowser Tennis Courts. $45 per student.

To register or FMI contact Deb Penley, 250-757-9560 email d.penley@shaw.ca Bowser Tennis Club (Bowser Legion Courts): Adult

novice 6:30pm Mondays; Adult club doubles drop-in, Wed 6:30pm. FMI Phone Bob 250-757-8307 or steelehunt@shaw.ca RDN ACTIVE LIVING GUIDE Bowser Breeze “Day” Camp – July 18-22 for children ages 6-12 years, 10am-2pm, at Bowser Elementary School Cost: $60/5days Please register early at 250-248-3252 or 250-752-5014 with credit card or in-person with cash or cheque at the RDN Recreation office (in EyesOnBC, Bowser) Mondays or Thursdays between 10am and 2pm.

For more information please contact RDN programmer, Chrissie Finnie at 250-757-8118 or cfinnie@rdn.bc.ca.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS & CLUBS The Lighthouse Country Fall Fair exhibit guide is available online – start planning your entries now! www.communityclub.ca Fall Fair is September 3rd!

Qualicum Beach Garden Club – meeting on Tues, June 14th, 7.30 pm QB Civic Centre will feature an Expert Gardener Panel – Lorraine Wilson, Master Gardener; Kathy Claxton of Arrowsmith Greenhouses & Gordon Mackay of Alba Plants will share their expertise to answer your gardening problems and questions.

Bring along samples of plants, pests, etc., for identification. www.qualicumbeachgardenclub. wordpress.com.

July 2011 Eaglecrest, Oceanside’s Garden Club – meets 7:30 pm, July 20 in QB Civic Centre. Rusty Joerin and Phil Kennedy will speak on the topic “Enjoying your garden using photography” with emphasis on notecards and wall art. All Oceanside residents welcome.

PineRidge Farms First Country Craft Sale to be held at the farm market on Sat. July 2nd from 10am to 3pm. We are looking for crafters, if anyone would like to participate please contact Paul or Kris by email at pineridgefarm@ me.com 1st Annual Meet Your Local Food Producer Event – Sat. July 16th 10-4 pm at PineRidge Market Farm, 2715 Turnbull Rd., Spider Lake. Come out and taste local foods.There will be horse and buggy rides for the kids and adults as well. www.pineridgefarm.ca The local Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit (Deep Bay) will be hosting the pancake breakfast in conjunction with Lighthouse Community Centre Flea Market held on July 10th.Come join in the fun. All proceeds will go to the up keep and maintenance of our rescue boat “Mapleguard” The Qualicum Bay Lions meet from September to June on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. We have a dinner at 6 pm and meetings start at 7 pm. Our meeting hall is just behind the Light House Community Hall on Lions Way. We are a volunteer group that helps our community in many ways. If you are interested in joining our club, contact Shirley Phillips at 757-8384 or George Stringer at 335-299 “Like” BowHorneBay Community Club on facebook and stay up to date on community events in Lighthouse Country! We’re also online – view our website at www. communityclub.ca. Looking for a place to get involved in your community? Come join the club and meet great people!

FMI call Sheena @ 757-9991 Lighthouse Country Scrapbookers meet third Saturday monthly at the Lions Den, Qualicum Bay, 9:30am to 4:30pm, $10. Door prizes. More information call Jorgie (250) 7578358 or Shirley (250) 757-8384 Mark this on Calendar! Lifering Weekly – Alcohol/drug discussion meetings. Thurs at 7:30pm – upstairs at the SOS Centre, 245 W Hirst Ave, Parksville. No charge, non religious.

FMI call 250-752-1058 or 250-951-7675.

Lighthouse Spinners – Every Tues. 10:30-2:30pm in the Community Centre Board Room. New members welcome. FMI Jo 250-757-8402

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JULY ! www.rcl211.ca July 26

Branch 211 Executive Meeting

Hall Rentals 250-757-9222 • Mon to Fri 9:00 am - 12 noon

July 1 July 16 July 16

Canada/Family Day Celebration Giant Meat Draw (steaks!)

Cold Plate - LA Serving.............. from 5pm to 7pm

Horseshoes Belly Dancing Mixed Darts

Sundays..........................................1:00 pm Mondays.........................................7:00 pm Fridays............................................7:30 pm

Now open Sundays from 1 to 5 pm Dance To Timberline Band – Free, live old-time Country & Rock’n Roll music. Every Wed. 7:30 -10:30pm Parksville Legion, 146 West Hirst St., Parksville. All welcome.

Beta Sigma Phi – an International Women’s Group promoting Life, Learning & Friendship. In the Oceanside area 7 chapters hold bi-monthly, day or evening meetings. FMI call Margie Healey 250-757-9125.

Living with Cancer Support Group – 1st Thurs of month, Gardens at Qualicum Beach from 1:30 to 3:30pm. This group is not only open to cancer patients but also to their caregiver. FMI Rosemary at 250-9512167.

Kiwanis Club of Parksville/Qualicum Beach meets on the 1st and 3rd Tues. at the Kiwanis Village 250 West First Ave. QB at 7:15pm. 19 plus are welcome if you wish to assist seniors and children in need in our Community. FMI Call Thomas at 250-752-7424.

Fanny Bay Community Garage Sale/Junk-in-your-Trunk on Aug. 6th at the Fanny Bay Hall from 9 am to 1 pm. Bring your treasures to sell. For table rentals and information please call 250-335-3282.

/ July 2011 43

Certified Septic System Specialist Sand & Gravel Topsoil Bark Mulch Septic Systems Driveway Chips Water Lines

Culverts Drain Problems

Accommodation

Septic Installation

We encourage you to “think local” when looking for products or services

Monthly Rentals Available September to April

Call Lauren & Save

44

/ July 2011

Cranial Sacral Therapy

Military Surplus Pellet Fuel Sales

Drywall

Sewing Services Home Repairs

Signs

Electrical Services

Picture Framing

Custom Carpentry

Fencing

Home Improvement

(250) 757-8156 or (250) 954-8716

Darlene St Jacques RCST R Registered Cranial Sacral Therapist

Heart Hands Mind Body in Motion 250.752.5842 250

email: craniosacral11@gmail.com www.mycranialsacral.com

Nature’s Own Medical Clinic

Your Local Entertainment Centre

Heating

Movie & Game Rental

Septic Services

BOWSER

. New Releases . Great Library Selection . New & previously viewed movies for sale . Machine Rentals - N64, PSX & XBox . Game Rentals - N64, PSX, PS2 XBox & GameCube

Ask our Staff for your hard-to-find titles Reservations Accepted

757-8353

2003 Kobelco SK160Lc Excavator for Hire

Advertising

Witte Construction

the foot sanctuary reflexology $ 22 foot massage Pedicures $ 25 1 hr. stimulating

T.J. Farrell

250 • 240 • 7778 tjfarrell@shaw.ca

Plumbing

Foot Care

ph. 757-9713 c. 927-2157 e. shaun.witte@gmail.com

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL ALTERNATE ENERGY

Home Support

Call Trish 757.8030 tomandtrish@shaw.ca

Sand - Gravel - Topsoil

Call 250-757-9914

Est. 1985

ED KING

Cabinets & Woodworking • Custom•Kitchen Entertainment Centers • Spray Booth Painting & Lacquering

Phone: 250-738-0462 Cell: 250-927-0590 e-mail: kingreno@telus.net Qualicum Beach

Book Antiqua French Script

Serving Bowser & Deep Bay

House Painting

You could be advertising here next month

Heating & Cooling

WCB & Insured Shaun Witte Owner/Journeyman

Electrician

Construction

LTD

Custom Renovations

Excavating

Land Surveying

#3 - 6996 West Island Hwy, Bowser

105 Islewood Dr. Bowser, BC V0R 1G0

Home & Yard Care • House & Pet Sitting Home Support for Seniors & People with Special Needs 250-752-6734 Dini Owsianski info@serencare.com • www.serencare.com BOWSER TO NANAIMO

/ July 2011 45

Philip Brown

Enviro Products

Plumbing Gas Heating

Yoga Classes

250-240-4902 • 250-757-8077 EVENINGS

Appliance Repair

Custom Fitting, Crafting, Regripping & Repair

Barber Services

(250) 954-3328 · Cell (250) 240-7167

Tree Service

Parts Store Open Mon to Fri 9-4

/ July 2011

Plumbing & Gas Services

Custom Golf Clubs

INSTALLATION SERVICE & REPAIRS

ERIC BURT

Accredited Clubmaker

Chimney Cleaning 46

PLUMBING • GAS • HEATING

.. Biodegradable Free .. Solvent Concentrated Phosphate Free

Join us for worship, prayer and fellowship with others from the community

ROASTED FRESH DAILY

Roastery and Coffee Shop COOMBS JUNCTION 2701 Alberni Hwy.

Sunday Worship 10:00 am

18-24 Scale Cars & Motorcycles

600 cars to choose from

• Hot Food • Ice Cream

• Espresso • Cold Drinks

COOMBS VILLAGE CENTRE

Shopping & Attractions for the Whole Family A Home for Life for previously-owned parrots OPEN 10am to 4pm 7 days a week

Have a Gouda Day! OVER

60

KINDS

800 PARROTS

W NO N E OP

New & Used Gift Store

All proceedss from m ou ou store sales go directly to our centre our to rescue, rehabilitate, h bili ffeedd andd house our birds.

2116 Alberni Hwy - Coombs, B.C.

951-1166

• Gift & Souvenir Shops • • Antique stores • • Clothing & Jewellery • • Boutiques • Food • LICORICE • Ice Cream • DUTCH IMPORT • Pottery • STORE 14-1243, Alberni Hwy., Coombs • Glassware • Native Art •

(250) 954-2336 www.iloveoma.com Email: aranea@shawbiz.ca

On the Alberni Highway (Hwy 4A) Just 5 minutes from Qualicum Beach and Parksville

ODDS ‘N SODS 248 .7026

www.butterflyworld.info

10am - 5pm daily

WORLD & GARDENS

Coombs, BC

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ORCHID GARDENS

The Big Bug Jungle & Turtle Town n

• Furniture • Collectibles • Art Gallery • Antiques • Musical Instruments • Jewellery ACCEPTING HIGH-END CONSIGNMENT FURNITURE Coombs Junction • Alberni Hwy., & Hwy. 4

For more information call Hank 250.594.0209 or 250.667.1154