Beacon Magazine - June 2011

June 2011 vol 6 issue 85

Community Living on Vancouver Island Fanny Bay to Nanoose

Five Festivals in Five Weeks • 22 TrekOn! The Kusam Klimb • 12

4 EDITORIAL

FEATURE

22

22

Five Festivals in Five Weeks!

Five Festivals in Five Weeks!

BUSINESS & FINANCE

5 Biz Banter: What’s up in local business 10 Farming Canadian “Black Diamonds”

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GREAT OUTDOORS

12 16 20 28 37

Farming Canadian Black Diamonds

TrekOn: The Kusam Klimb Exploring Our Parks and Trails Through the Seasons: Projects - Food Tide Table Into the Garden

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 6 Middle Mountain Mead: Nectar of the Bees 11 West Coast Fusion: Corry Lunn & Darrel Nygaard 35 The Rolling Museum

COMMUNITY LIFE

19 Inspired by Community 28 The Art of Conscious Living 30 It’s Happening in Area H 34 On the Agenda

COMMUNITY PEOPLE

7

The Legacy of St. Andrews Lodge

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The Legacy of St. Andrews Lodge KSS Honour Students Out of the Nest: Jimmy Foulds Images & Voices: Val Weismiller

HEALTH

18 Dr. Neill Neill: Life as Adventure 31 Health & Wellness Matters

Horseshoe Bay • Linda Tenney

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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 Index & Businesses

BOW-HORNE BAY COMMUNITY CLUB

CREATING FUN IN LIGHTHOUSE COUNTRY ~submitted he time is upon us…loosen-up Lighthouse Country – it’s that time of year again! It’s time to get ready for our upcoming 41st Annual Fall Fair.

Now that winter is finally behind us, it’s time for planting. This year our theme is: “Community, the Fruit of Our Labours” and we want to see our community members enjoying and showing off the fruits of their labours on September 3rd, 2011.

Your Community Club members have been busy recently organizing local activities for the community. April saw a very enjoyable “laughing success” evening of Trivia Night with all funds raised going back into the community. If you’d like to take a look at some of the questions, check out our website and look for “Trivia Night”. Special thanks to Sandra Wahlgren for all her work putting the challenging questions together.

Look for our exhibit guide in your neighbouring businesses or check out our website for further information: www. communityclub.ca. You can also contact Pat at 250-757-8806 or email jmclean01@ shaw.ca if you’re interested in volunteering this year at the Fair. We’d love to have your support. Up to 200 volunteers are needed to make this a “fruitful” success.

Volunteering can be for a couple of hours, or more, depending on what you’d prefer and we have many areas of choice. So, please, check out our website and join in the fun supporting your community.

An always very popular recent event was our Mother’s Day Annual Basket Sale held at the Pancake Breakfast at the Lighthouse Community Hall. Many thanks to Taffy George for her long-standing help and organization to make this a “growing good” activity and a special thank you to Brian Boyes at Lighthouse Feed & Garden Ltd., for his very much appreciated continuing support of our Basket Sale.

graciously sponsored by:

250.752.3522

TICKeTS available at the Theatre Box Office: TUES - SAT ............ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm SHOW NIGHTS ....... 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm MATINEES .............. NOON - 2:00 pm PeRFORManCeS: SHOW NIGHTS ................ 7:30 pm (Sharp) SUNDAY MATINEES ......... 2:00 pm (Sharp)

Look for us, and say hi at our table each month, on the second Sunday of the month, at the Pancake Breakfast in the Lighthouse Community Centre, while you’re enjoying meeting your neighbours and supporting your local community activities. ~

Over the river and thrOugh the wOOds

May 26 - June 12

written by Joe diPietro directed by wendy Punter An

out an Italian-American Family medy ab o C s u io Hilar info@echoplayers.ca - www.echoplayers.ca

/ June 2011 3

PRODUCED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICES INC.

If you want to try your hand with revealing your hidden or very obvious talents you’ve been working on throughout the year, we’ve got exhibits galore in various age categories that you or the younger members of your family can enter – even special contests!

Enter one or enter as many as you want!

There is something and more for everyone and if you can’t find something, let us know and we’ll see about making a category for it next year!

Now for something new – we hosted a dance! May 28th saw many busy finding those old bell bottoms and other delights from the 70’s and dancing to “That 70’s Band” in our wonderful Community Centre, with its awesome dance floor. A “rocking” good time was had by all.

Official media sponsor:

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place when we can still go snow-shoeing in the nearby hills? Have to admit that watching hockey playoffs in June in warm woolies does feel seasonally correct.

June 2011

VOLUME 7 NO 85 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

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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hhh, June...reach into your childhood memory bank as the calendar flips over to the first day of June. The daily squares were jammed full of to-do’s noting the end of the school year events...sports day, reminders to bake cupcakes for classroom wind-ups, making the thank you gift for the parting teacher...the time to clean out your desk and receive, take a deep breath, the final report card...would it say that you were recommended to move on to the next grade?... and on the third line of the calendar the magic date delivering the promise of hot, lazy days at the beach, slipping on thongs...oops,flipflops..and the heart-thumping possibility of a summer romance...yes! the coveted first day of summer!

Well, we do believe, and we are still ever so hopeful, that in lieu of spring not arriving this year that summer will arrive overnight – hot and furious – bringing our core out of its near-hypothermic state! Are we going to feel cheated when water restrictions are in

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

A couple of months ago we had a chuckle over an Interior daily newspaper that was making a big hullaballoo that for one issue it was going to print only ‘good news’...they were excited about the possibility of doing this for one issue expressing concern that they couldn’t possibly find enough content to do it on a consecutive day! Imagine – not being able to pull together enough good news or maybe, to be able to sell good news?

What a pleasure it is to be living in a community that values “the good” and expects to celebrate it within each issue of the Beacon – great stories of great people, great events and great businesses...we’re not Pollyanna’s about current reality in our community but we do feel balanced stories can present the challenges and choices to express optimistic expectations and positive resolutions.

It’s on this note that we are very honoured to welcome Dr. Neill Neill to our team of contributing writers; his practical and professional perspective dove-tails beautifully with the Beacon’s philosophy of supporting the building of inspired communities.

Do double duty this month by celebrating Father’s Day with dear old Dad at the Show & Shine (back page) in Qualicum Beach and the Vintage Car Club of Canada Antique Chapter’s visit to the area (page 35)...in between planting the seeds for your ‘world’s largest zucchini entry’ at the Lighthouse Country Fall Fair.

Why not seek out the good and share what you see with others – we’ll all benefit from your conscious actions. ~ Sharon & Linda

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

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he Red Door Gift Shop, in Qualicum Beach, has been refreshed with a brand new look, a new owner, and a special selection of gift ideas with a focus on conscious living...’West coast style’. We’d like to introduce the owner of her new venture, Marlo Coulson – “My background has been in the healthcare industry in Courtenay. I have always been drawn to ‘creating’ and am now excited to have opened my new spiritual shop, along with a hand-picked selection of unique product lines from across Canada.

The quaintness of this village has always appealed to me and I think it is a perfect place to blend local, handmade gifts, with Psychic and Angel Readings.” Readings are offered in-store Wednesday thru Saturday by gifted Readers. Shoppers can drop by for a quick reading, or make an appointment in advance by calling 250-752-7978. Located at 702 Memorial Avenue, Qualicum Beach, hours are 10 - 5 pm, Monday to Saturday and a current Reader schedule can be found online at www. reddoorgiftstore.com. Welcome Marlo! Please refer to Marlo’s ad on page 9.

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heresa Whitely, of Oceanside Yoga Centre in Qualicum Beach, is excited to introduce her new business partner, Jill Sawchuk, to the community. “Jill has been running a very successful yoga studio in Sayulita, Mexico, has studied all over the world and received her formal certification from the Sivananda International Yoga Vedanta Centre in Neyyar Dam, India. Jill

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will be joining us full-time in June and I am looking forward to expanding our schedule with her expertise.” Expansion has been key for Oceanside Yoga since last fall as changes included renovations to the studio space and the opening of a boutique, across the hall, which caters to ‘every yogi’s needs’– yoga clothes, mats, props and decor. Congratulations Theresa and a warm welcome to Jill! Please refer to the Oceanside Yoga Centre ad on page 46.

maximum benefits of massage. Colin aspires to become a cornerstone in the community with his charismatic personality and firm belief that massage therapy is the best form of preventative, holistic health care available today. So, while Colin takes care of the health of the community, Sarah brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm with an extensive background in arts administration, special event production and event planning – she is looking forward to bringing her skills to her new community ualicum Beach also welcomes the new and creating an enriching cultural niche owner of the Courtyard Cafe, Meryl of her own. And...we have heard thru the Tryon and, lovingly referred to by her Mom, proud parents grapevine...that Sheila and her “worker-bee” daughter, Erienne. Hailing Darrell Hutchison of the Bean Counter from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Meryl and Cafe, are very excited to have their daughter her family are excited to have moved back and son-in-law move into the arms of their to the surround of family and friends in the neighbourhood. To Sarah and Colin, a warm Qualicum Beach area where her husband Lighthouse Country welcome! was raised. Meryl assumed the helm of the cafe mid-March and has introduced their owntown Qualicum Beach Merchants speciality to the menu – crepes – available are “In the Pink” this summer ... every to appease your appetite all day long! “We Friday night from June 17 to September 2, make Crepe Lasagna, gluten-free, ideal for your favourite merchants will offer Hot Pink our celiac clients; fresh fruit crepes and my Specials from 5pm to 8pm. It’s a shop ‘til own invention...Crepe Benedict...you’ll just you drop event that you won’t want to miss have to come in and try it yourself. As the each week...along with the entertainment weather warms up and outdoor eating is and other vendors who have been invited enjoyable our take-out service is popular, to set up during the Friday event on a but so is eating-in – take advantage of our Pedestrian-only mall on Primrose Avenue sunken, courtyard patio dining area.” The between 2nd and 1st. For more information Courtyard Cafe is located at 673 Memorial call Faye’s Gifts, 250 752 1391. ~ Avenue, Qualicum Beach; open Monday nterested in starting your own business? thru Saturday 7 am - 7 pm. All the best of success Meryl! Please refer to the Courtyard Check out the Classified section on page 39 for a great opportunity in Qualicum Cafe ad on page 25.

Beach. Turn-key operation and training can agnolia Court, in Bowser, is also be provided. experiencing some shifts and exchange of ownership within its growing business community. We are sad to bid farewell to Barbara Rady RMT, who has been a dedicated healthcare practitioner in our community for the past 6 years – and we thank you for your compassionate care also 147 Fern Road wishing you the best on the next leg of your journey. As one door closes, another opens Qualicum Bach for new residents and excited new owners 250-752-3955 of Barbara’s practice, Sarah Hutchison and Colin Crooks RMT. As of July 1st, Colin will be welcoming former and new clients to his practice. Contact details are yet to be determined, so stay tuned!

Colin is a practiced Registered Massage therapist who personalizes his treatments based on the techniques best suited to reach the individuals goals. Because Colin’s background blends both spa and clinical settings, his firm, efficient style blends slow rhythmical movements with effective VALID THROUGH JUNE 30, 2011 massage therapy techniques to lull each MUST PRESENT THIS COUPON person into a relaxed state, achieving the

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MIDDLE MOUNTAIN MEAD

NECTAR OF THE BEES Helen Grond and Steve McGrath • submitted photo

by Laura Busheikin

I

n the beginning, there was mead.

According to Helen Grond and Steve McGrath, co-owners of Middle Mountain Mead on Hornby Island, mead, a wine made of honey and water, often flavoured with fruit, herbs and other botanicals, was the original fermented drink, crafted and quaffed by virtually all cultures around the globe well before the advent of beer, wine or spirits.

“It’s ancient, ancient stuff. Mead is part of our DNA,” says McGrath, with just the hint of a twinkle in his eye.

Estimates place mead’s beginnings back to anywhere from 8,000 BC to 30,000 BC. It is referenced in ancient myths and Norse epics, associated with gods and goddesses and kings and queens, and has been used in ritual and ceremony for millennia.

Ancient though mead is, it clearly has modern appeal, as Middle Mountain Mead’s sales records attest. The Meadery makes 4,000 – 5,000 litres a year and has grown steadily since it was established eight years ago.

“When we go to wine shows we are always the big hit with the younger crowd. They come back to our booth in droves and tell us that we are their favourite,” says Grond.

Middle Mountain Mead is riding on a wave of popularity that Grond calls a “mead renaissance”. Five hundred years ago mead had all but disappeared in most parts of the world, supplanted by cheaper and easier types of alcohol based on sugar and grains.

In the late 1970s, mead began appearing again, a spin-off of the interest in microbreweries and home-made wine.

“People are drawn to the historical and mythical aspects of mead. Once you dip your toe in that well, it’s compelling,” says McGrath.

“And people have got more adventurous.

They want to discover new things and not just drink what their parents drank,” adds Grond.

The mead renaissance is part of a larger cultural shift away from mass-produced, highly commercialized products, says Grond. “Our mead is so incredibly authentic.”

McGrath continues: “The whole process from start to finish is totally hands-on – 6

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planting, tending and harvesting our crops; making, bottling and marketing the mead.

Everything is local, organic and pure.”

While all these values attract people to mead, ultimately it is the drinking experience that turns curious tasters into dedicated fans. On this count, mead wins people over due to its uniqueness, versatility, and variety.

“Unlike wine, there are no rules,” says Grond. “You can drink it ice-cold, at room temperature, or heated up.” It makes a great aperitif, can be paired with many foods, especially desserts, and is a refreshing replacement for an evening glass of wine.

“We don’t stand on any ceremony with mead, because mead is its own ceremony,” says McGrath, again with a tiny twinkle in his eye.

Mead is endlessly versatile because it blends easily with other ingredients. Grond suggests that newcomers to mead start off with the traditional, unadulterated honey mead and then experiment with one of their twelve unique blends.

“We make probably the most unusual meads in the world,” says Grond. For instance, the Green Tea Elixir blend was designed to accompany Asian food. For really special occasions, she recommends Rosemead, a recreation of a traditional Polish variety.

Rosemead is flavoured with rose petals from bushes grown at the Middle Mountain Mead farm. It takes four years of harvesting rose petals intensively, for three weeks each

summer, to make one batch of this artisan liquor, explains Grond.

Poets, musicians and artists are drawn to the Mead Of Inspiration, which contains approximately 30 botanical ingredients and “has a whole cult following”, says Grond. Mead has classically been associated with creative inspiration, she explains, referencing the 1200 AD Norse saga, the Runahal, which states: “A drink I took of the magic mead / then began I to know and to be wise / to grow old and weave poems.”

The Middle Mountain farm perches three quarters of the way up Hornby’s Mount Geoffrey. Grond and McGrath reckon theirs is the highest house on the Island. Fields of lavender, raspberries, blackberries, roses, black and red currants, herbs, apple and plum trees, and even tea plants spread out along the hillside in front of the tasting room, which boasts a panoramic view of ocean and mountains. In keeping with their “do-it-yourself” approach, they also keep honey bees, an integral part of the operation.

McGrath and Grond say they love their farming lifestyle, the hands-on intensity of their business, and the positive responses of their clients. And of course, they do enjoy sipping on a delicious glass of mead after a hard day’s work. ~ Check out the Middle Mountain Mead web page at http://middlemountainmead.com to learn where to buy their products, when they are open for visits and tastings, and for more information about their products.

ST. ANDREWS LODGE

ELIZABETH LITTLE LEAVES AN UNFORGETTABLE LEGACY

by Shirley Culpin

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lizabeth Evelyn Alison Little was a legend in her own time, but she was never a legend in her own mind. She was ‘just Elizabeth’.

The Qualicum Beach icon, Citizen of the Year in 1983 and Freeman of the Town since 1998, died peacefully on March 23. The flags in town flew at half-mast the following day, signifying the respect and love accorded an Oceanside woman born-and-bred, a driving force behind much of what is special about her beloved home of 87 years.

Miss Little, as she was respectfully known by many, was a founding member of the Qualicum Beach Historical and Museum Society in 1982. She was also a life member of the Chamber of Commerce and undertook many responsibilities and activities in that capacity. But her role as owner and operator of historic St. Andrews Lodge and Glen Cottages is perhaps what has proven to be her strongest influence in the lives of so many.

St. Andrews Lodge was built in 1938 by Miss Little’s architect father Simon, his wife Dora and their children. As time and finances allowed the family also constructed eight housekeeping cottages. Over the years the charming lodge and cottages have served as temporary homes to soldiers during the Second World War and vacationers from all over the world, from every walk of life.

The tranquil escape, located on a pristine stretch of waterfront just off the Old Island Highway, has defied the march of modernity to a very great degree. To this day St. Andrews continues to offer travelers what has always been its stock-in-trade – comfort, total relaxation and warm hospitality at a reasonable price. It has no internet presence to speak of, there are no telephones in the cottages, no high-end entertainments to keep guests busy. The central green offers up the same recreational opportunities that it has for decades – a wooden teeter-totter, a swing made of tire and rope, and a ping-pong table.

And, of course, fronting it all is the glorious beach – the site over the years of countless evening beach fires and clam and oyster collection expeditions, long, lazy days spent sunbathing, reading and swimming. St. Andrews offers the stuff of an old-fashioned,

St. Andrews Lodge • Elizabeth Little (Shawn Dearin photo) completely relaxed vacation. Those wanting to flee the frenetic pace of today’s world cosy up in the cottages, throw off the cares of the day and enjoy the tempo of an era long-gone.

It was Miss Little’s determined attachment to the past that kept guests coming back year after year, generation after generation.

Those who appreciated the simpler things in life enjoyed a relaxed, kid-friendly, dog-friendly environment. There was a continuity to the St. Andrews experience that could be relied upon and that had families returning for 40, 50, 60 plus years. The ‘Royal Regulars’ as they became known, were often more like family than guests, and the affection between them and Miss Little was enduring. As a result, St. Andrew’s ended up hosting special celebrations such as weddings and family reunions, reaffirming its’ status as a special place for special times.

Miss Little ran St. Andrews single-handedly, with only some seasonal cleaning help, until she was 80. Seven years ago Shannon Willey assumed most of the responsibility for the day-to-day operation, with longdistance help from Miss Little’s niece Sandie Klein, located in California. Between them Shannon and Sandie managed to make some small, progressive changes at St. Andrews – there is a computer in the office now, and four years ago a clothes dryer was introduced to deal with the myriad linens that need to be laundered following the departure of guests. Prior to the arrival of

the computer, vacationers either phoned or wrote to Miss Little via Canada Post to make their reservations.

But still, in most things Miss Little has held sway. To this day St. Andrews does not accept credit cards. The reservation chart system she devised decades ago is still utilized by Shannon, who points out that it is a perfect organization method for the lodge’s needs. Miss Little’s mantra of ‘don’t change anything’ has been respected; the cottages continue to house an eclectic mix of furnishings, oil heaters and oil stoves. When the shake roof on the lodge needed replacement a few years ago, the new shakes had to be exactly the same dimensions as the originals – no small feat, and no small expense, either.

It was patently clear throughout the memorial service for Miss Little that her life and dedication to the home and town that she so loved were treasured by many. The stories of her industrious, fruitful existence were interspersed with recollections of her tremendous wit, her humility, her great sense of fun. It is difficult to believe that she will never again be seen bustling from cottage to cottage with her cleaning supplies, or dozing in the sun in front of the lodge as she did in her latter years. Elizabeth Little’s spirit, though, will continue to infuse St. Andrews with the great respect for and love of the past that she so cherished – a genuine legacy that won’t soon be forgotten. ~ / June 2011 7

HONOUR STUDENTS OF KWALIKUM SECONDARY SCHOOL We have now completed the introduction of the 2010-11 Grade 12 Honour Students at Kwalikum Secondary School. We wish to extend our thanks for sharing their future aspirations with their communities. ~ the editors

BEN DWYER I look back on all

of my memories at Kwalikum Secondary with a feeling of deep joy. I have made some unbelievable friends and have had experiences that I firmly believe will help me proceed to the next chapter of my life. I have been accepted to study at McGill University’s prestigious music program where I will pursue my dreams of becoming a professional musician. I feel that growing up in Qualicum Beach has given me the necessary foundation to move on and do great things in life.

NEIL GAMBLE KSS has been a

really great school. I have had a lot of fun here and I have learned a lot.

Next year I plan on going to VIU for the first year of an engineering degree. Then I plan on going to UVIC to finish the engineering degree.

ANNA MCCLURE I believe

people are the most fulfilled, bringing forth true happiness, when they find a balance; a balance between work, leisure and personal relations. Mastering this balance is the challenge which keeps us progressing through it all. Striving to be the best we can be at whatever it is we do. Everyone is born with something to shine for. Just make sure you don’t allow yourself to tarnish, and you will continue to shine gold.

LUSCHIA BAKKER-AYERS

During my years in high school I have grown to the person I am today.

I have learned the virtue of working hard to achieve what I want. In the future I know how hard I will need to work to become a surgeon. I am proud to say I learned the excellence of hard work at KSS.

“The roots of achievement lie in the will to become the best you can become.” ~ Harold Taylor.

JENIKA LINDSAY Throughout my

years at KSS, I have learned how hard it is to not simply walk away from a situation that is holding me back. I hope to one day work for the United Nations and help people all over the world from situations that are holding them back, because of the challenges they face. To my teachers for never under-estimating me and for setting me up for success, thank you.

NICOLE CAMPBELL Kwalikum has provided me with the knowledge and drive to carry on into my post secondary life. Next year I plan to travel to France where I will be an Au Pair for a family living there. While I am there I hope to learn the language better and travel around Europe. Throughout my high school career I have really enjoyed English and after I complete my ten months as an Au Pair in Europe I plan on attending the Master of Journalism program at UBC after getting my Bachelor of Arts.

SOPHIE MARSHALL Swimming has made a huge impact on my life for eleven years. The highlights were going to Provincials with the school team and Nationals with the Ravensong Breakers, and now I’m helping to coach the younger athletes. Going to Paris and Costa Rica were great opportunities, and I hope to travel more in the future. I had a great time at KSS, and next year I plan to attend UBC. BRAYDEN ERIKSEN Next year I plan to go to Utah Valley University, or UBC, on a golf scholarship. I would like to take Business Management or something in the sciences. My time with the KSS golf team has brought me some of my most fond memories. I have really enjoyed my four years at this school and I have met many great people along the way.

“Dr. Ian and Maggie Smith of Qualicum Beach congratulate the Honour Students and wish them well in their educational pursuits.”

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JAKE WUERCH My four years at Kwalikum Secondary School have been so amazing and memorable. I have nothing but great things to say about my experiences in high school, and the long-lasting relationships I have developed during that time. I am truly blessed to be raised in such a beautiful community with such a loving family. I believe in happiness.

BAILEY SALIANI I have really enjoyed

NOAH FAUST-ROBINSON After

GEOFFREY CAMPBELL

graduating I hope to achieve a degree in writing, with a minor in professional writing.

I plan on achieving this goal at the University of Victoria and then moving on to my master’s in journalism either at Carlton or UBC. I have greatly enjoyed my time at KSS and have enjoyed all opportunities presented to me. Good luck to my friends and fellow graduates as well as future graduates.

my time at KSS, but I’m excited for the next stage of my life. I hope to attend Camosun collage in the fall for tourism management to pursue a career working around the world. The thing that I will miss most about Qualicum Beach is simply the people. I would like to thank everyone who has gotten me to where I am today.

My time at KSS has been a life-shaping experience; meeting many amazing friends, participating in the inspiring music program and making close, personal connections with teachers that will never be lost. Although my public school education is finally coming to an end, my life in the real world is just about to begin. Next year I plan on attending either UVic or Emily Carr University to study Fine Arts.

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/ June 2011 9

TRAIL BLAZING COUPLE FARMS CANADIAN “BLACK DIAMONDS”

By Carolyn Walton PIONEER: A person who leads in developing something new. TRUFFLE: An underground fungus whose fleshy edible fruit is highly valued as a delicacy.

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ombine these two and you have the daring duo of Betty and Grant Duckett, following in their pioneer ancestors’ footsteps as trail blazers, developing Duckett Truffieres, Canada’s first truffle farm! Not content to harvest the more common white truffle, these entrepreneurs are raising the highly sought after black Perigord truffles, Canadian black diamonds, with their earthy, nutty, rich aromatic flavours.

Both Betty and Grant were raised in pioneer families who settled in Cold Lake Alberta in the 1900s, whom, Betty said, were always striving to find better or new ways. Betty’s grandmother was the first white woman in the area and Grant’s grandfather, born in Missouri in 1867, pedalled his way to San Francisco, boarded a sternwheeler up the coast, then mined coal on Nanaimo’s Jinglepot Road. He farmed in Bashaw near Calgary and later moved his family north to Cold Lake.

As if raising their two daughters, farming and running hundreds of miles of trap lines which had belonged to her parents, wasn’t challenge enough, both flew bush planes on wheels, floats or skis year round into hunting lodges in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan and operated the 350 acre Cold Lake Game Farm, a wildlife reserve to ensure the blood lines of moose, elk, deer and lynx! Meanwhile Betty volunteered with the Environmental Research Trust and Alberta Development Council and Grant spent years on local community planning and as a hospital board trustee! In fact it was after developing their own hardy brand of alfalfa seed with its nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots that they believed they could grow truffles on the roots of trees in the right environment. That brought them to the French Creek area in 2000 where they purchased forty acres of farmland, spent a million dollars levelling the previous pasture land and chose hardy BC trees, hazelnut and Garry oak as host trees for their black Perigord truffles.

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Truffle • Carolyn Walton photo

When we visited them in May they had just finished inoculating 300 hazelnut saplings with black Perigord truffle T. Melanosporum or spores, for delivery to a customer on the Island. When I naively asked about the inoculation process, Betty laughed: “That will cost you a million dollars!”, not realizing this is a well-guarded company secret! As they are diligent in maintaining a natural organic environment for the truffles, the entire process is extremely labour intensive, but family members pitch in to help. “This is supposed to be our retirement”, Grant chuckled. The Ducketts will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in just another two years.

Sought after by gourmets around the world, black Perigord truffles have been hunted for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and Romans called them the ‘Food of the Gods’ ranking with saffron, caviar and foie gras as the most elite of fine foods. They begin to form in spring and summer and mature in the fall and winter. Aromatic and pungent they are hunted using the help of dogs bred and trained for truffle hunting. Pigs were

formally used but they not only desecrated the surrounding soil, they ate the truffles!

Duckett Truffieres’ black Perigord truffles are sought after by chefs globally. “Our list has become a book,” Betty admits, “with no possibility of supplying the demand at this time – or with young plantations even being able to ensure supply enough to be ‘on the Menu’. With our oldest plantation going into six years, and production known globally to take nine to twelve years, it would be premature to develop any marketing strategies during our pioneering years.” The Ducketts have held their pricing at $3,000 to $3,500 per kilogram which can fluctuate with quality and quantity.

Betty and Grant were taking their truffle dogs for a walk when we arrived and immediately four curly-haired canines hurled themselves at us barking and jumping around us. “They’ll bark at you this time,” Betty explained. “But their noses are so sensitive, they’ll recognize you a year from now!” These gorgeous dogs are the Lagotta Romagnola, ancient working continued on page 41

CORRY LUNN & DARREL NYGAARD

WEST COAST FUSION

by Lisa Verbicky

I

t’s the first really sunny day, albeit cool, of spring when I park my car between the blue sea and the colourful storefront of Sea Change Gallery, in Union Bay. A handpainted sign outside says “RAKU” in bold letters. As I walk under a woven driftwood archway, I pass an assortment of creatively placed marine hardware, hanging sandstone, and tree burls already overflowing with mysterious hanging succulents. A narrow door leads me into a small storefront filled with an eclectic arrangement of pottery, glass, wood, and metal west-coast creations, where I come face-to-face with artist Corry Lunn. Dressed for the west in clogs, weather proof jacket and a charming felt fedora, she greets me with what I like to call a laid back Vancouver Island drawl, and her dancing hazel eyes.

Lunn and her partner in life and art Darrel Nygaard, have been busy churning out both functional and decorative works in an atmosphere of creative chaos for over ten years now. One glimpse beyond the showroom curtain, reveals a darkened workspace littered with strange tools, hoses, dust, wood, stone...what strange alchemy goes on here, I wonder.

Back in the shop, Lunn’s three-dimensional clay and copper enamel sculptures, wall hangings and crackled Raku vessels and serving platters feature every coastal inspiration from crows, ravens, starfish, salmon, eagles, mermaids and crabs – waiting to be pondered, brushed with a hand and taken home. Buddha is also present, as is a lovely desert-like lizard.

“I go on tangents,” says Lunn. “One year everything was octopuses, this year it may be something else.”

My guess is that it might be ravens, or should be. Her recent ‘tangent’ has yielded stunning graphic murals and trays featuring the black birds with a blood red sun on an ivory background, as well as handburnished, three-dimensional raven’s head vessels.

“Ravens are characters. They’re everywhere and they seem to each have their own personality,” she says. “I’m also struck by the communal nature of crows.”

Lunn, aside from a great art class in secondary school and a few workshops, is largely self-taught. Her specialty is 3D sculptures in clay, using the Japanese “Raku” method of firing that involves glazing the pieces in a red hot kiln and

then cooling them in sawdust. This gives each piece an unusual crackled and almost metallic finish. Lunn also specializes in vibrantly coloured enameled pieces by fusing glass to copper plating.

“I’ve always been drawn to the threedimensional experience. I like to create work that has tangible qualities,” she says.

Outside, I walk past a huge piece of thick curved glass, and a large, rusty metal object sitting on a giant piece of wood. I am now in Darrel’s zone and this is one of his future garden sculptures. Everywhere old-growth cedar burls and driftwood have been transformed into flower pots and bird baths, benches, water features, tables and planters. I’m having a flashback to when I continued on page 18

/ June 2011 11

KUSAM KLIMB

By Sharon Waugh Event: Kusam Klimb, Saturday June 18th Start/Finish: Heritage Hall, Sayward

La ur a M ac greg or

ph ot os

Distance: 23 kilometres Time: seven to nine hours (average hiker) Registration information: www.kusamklimb.com; entry fee $50 until June 17th; $60 on the event day Directions: Campbell River to Sayward: it takes approximately 55 minutes to drive from Campbell River to Sayward. Take the Inland Island Highway (Highway 19) north. Turn right at the Sayward Junction onto Sayward Road and proceed approximately 3 km to the Heritage Hall, which is the start and finish line for the race. The Heritage Hall is on the left-hand side of the road.

“The Kusam Klimb is a wild and rugged 23 km loop heading up and over Mount H’Kusam and down the Stowe Creek watershed. Starting at sea level, participants pass through some of the most spectacular scenery on Vancouver Island with views of mountain peaks and the Johnstone Strait as they negotiate their way over the welldeveloped trail. Are YOU tough enough?”

“A

m I tough enough?”...the gauntlet has been thrown down...and it has been lying on the floor for about ten years since I first read the challenge on the bulletin board at a Sayward gas station. The Kusam Klimb. It always seems that June rolls around and then...darn...I missed planning for it again. But, this year I have herded a small, but courageous, group of friends and family into saying “yes, lets do ‘er” and why not pick the year with the deepest and most lingering snow pack to make the route just a little more challenging?

This is the first time writing about a trek without personal experience, so it is backed with pure anticipation and speculation as I puruse on-line accounts from past years.

All the self-doubt questions are posed on the official website and registration site for the 2011 event – “Exactly how hard is the Kusam Klimb?” – “Can I really do it?”

– “Will I be embarrassed if I am slow?” There’s subtle assurance that this is not a race (that’s why is it called the Klimb) but the finish line photos are clocking runners in after two-three hours...hmmm...there was a Turtle Award for the stalwart last place finisher of 2010 celebrating a time of twelve plus hours...that’s slowing my heart down a little!

12

/ June 2011

I did connect with past Klimber, Laura Macgregor of Victoria, who eagerly shared her experience. “Yes, I have done Kusam Klimb twice. It is the most challenging and exhilarating race I’ve ever done. It starts out with a steep climb through the trees on a beautiful trail. Climbing, climbing and climbing... passing through a lovely mountain meadow and by a lake as well. Once you finally get to the top of the world you have to come down the mountain. There are ropes to hold onto to help guide your way down. Slipping and sliding down, all the way down. We had so much fun, running when you can...as it is a race.” Wait a second...did she say ‘race’ twice?

I’ll share one more thing about the route with you that I haven’t revealed to my ‘committed’ trekkers – the elevation and distance graph on the website – sealevel to 1,482 metres and back down – there’ll be a few anaerobic moments in the uphill grind! You know in the ‘funnies’ when they put those little bubble captions over the cartoon characters heads? I’m thinking that, for my friends, it will be filled with expressions of pure joy and gratitude! Care to join us? I’ll race you for the Turtle Award! ~

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OUT OF THE NEST : JIMMY FOULDS

by Rita Levitz

“I

t takes a lot to rattle me,” says Jimmy Foulds (Qualicum Beach Middle School, Kwalikum Secondary 2004), and it’s a good thing too. As Financial Assistant for the Town of Qualicum Beach, part of his job involves working with special events. The ability to remain calm and think on your feet is a definite asset. “You can plan and plan, but stuff always comes up at the last minute, and that’s exciting.”

The way Jimmy got his job with the Town is “signature Jimmy” – openness to new experiences, a bit of luck, and the willingness to take a leap. “I was working for the Town as a summer student while finishing my Finance degree at Vancouver Island University. One day while painting I was lucky enough to be introduced to the financial administrator and learned that he had a large finance-related project that he needed help with.

I jumped at the opportunity, did that full-time that summer, and then every Friday while I went to school.” After graduation he applied for and got his current job with the Town.

with. The people that volunteer to make the Town’s special events happen are amazing individuals and it’s a real treat to work with them. I organize the scheduling, set-up, clean-up, blocking of roads, and layouts for things from the Town’s perspective. I connect with the committees, ambulance,

When everything goes smoothly, Jimmy’s work, indeed, much of a Town’s work, is invisible. “There are so many things that local government is involved in. I couldn’t believe how much I used to take for granted until I started working for the Town.”

Jimmy was born in Qualicum Beach and grew up in Bowser. “I’m always proud to say I’m a kid from Bowser. I don’t think there is a better place for a kid to grow up.” It also means he especially appreciates how supportive his parents have been. “It’s not ’til you’re older that you realize how much they do. It’s mind-boggling really. I’m the oldest of four boys, and we were all involved in hockey, baseball, and many other things – all that driving!” Jimmy shakes his head in awe.

Jimmy is helping his dad coach his youngest brother’s baseball team.

“I think I get my love of working with kids from my dad, and my kindness and smile from my mom. In August I’m going to the Philippines to visit the university that my grandfather was president of and see what life is like in the country where my mother was born.”

“I’d be miserable if I was crunching numbers all day. I love variety; it keeps life exciting. My job offers so many opportunities – there’s always something new that I get to be involved

When I asked Jimmy what he would like to do in the future, I got Jimmy Foulds • Rita Levitz photo a list: “Travel the world for a year; start a business with my friends; volunteer police and fire departments and make sure more; run a marathon; renovate a house; everyone is on the same page. It’s a great experience more cultures…” And then there feeling when a team can work together to are all the things he hasn’t even thought of accomplish something.” yet…

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/ June 2011

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By Marc LaCouvée

W

ise real estate decisions are made when you have a clear understanding of your personal financial circumstances.

When assessing your situation, it is important to know that there is a broad range of cost-saving programs available to help you.

1. Home Buyers’ Plan – Registered Retirement Savings for Down Payments – Canada Revenue Agency’s Home Buyers’ Plan lets qualifying home buyers use up to $25,000 of their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to buy a home.

Couples can use up to $50,000. The home must be a principal residence, the home buyers must not have owned a home within the past five years and the loan must be repaid within fifteen years. For more information, contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-8281.

2. CMHC Green Home – The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers a 10% refund on your mortgage loan insurance premium and an extended 35-year amortization period when you buy an energy efficient home or make energy efficient renovations. Your new home must be either R2000 certified, have an EnerGuide Rating of 80 or be built by a member of a CMHC eligible energy efficient

3. First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit – The first-time home buyers’ tax credit (HBTC) is a non-refundable income tax credit for qualifying buyers of singlefamily homes, semi-detached homes, townhouses, mobile homes, condominium units, or apartments in duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and apartment buildings located in Canada. A share in a co-operative housing corporation that entitles you to possess, and gives you an equity interest in, a housing unit is also a qualifying home. The HBTC is calculated by multiplying the lowest personal income tax rate for the year (15% in 2010) by $5,000. For the 2010 tax year, the maximum credit was $750. For more information, contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-8281.

4. GST Rebate on New Homes – New home buyers can apply for a rebate of the federal portion of the HST (the 5% GST) if the purchase price is less than $350,000.

The rebate is up to 36% of the GST to a maximum rebate of $6,300. There is a proportional GST rebate for new homes costing between $350,000 and $450,000.

For more information, contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-8281.

5. BC New Housing HST Rebate – Buyers of new or substantially renovated homes priced up to $525,000 are eligible for a rebate of 71.43% of the provincial

portion of the HST (the 7% PST), paid to a maximum rebate of $26,250. Homes priced at $525,000+ are eligible for a flat rebate of $26,250. For more information, contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-8281.

And here’s one more way for you to save money!

6. BC Property Transfer Tax (PTT) Exemption for First-Time Home Buyers – Home buyers in BC pay a provincial Property Transfer Tax (PTT) when they buy a home. The tax is charged at a rate of 1% on the first $200,000 of the purchase price and 2% on the remainder. However, first-time home buyers may be exempt from paying the PTT on the purchase price of a home priced up to $425,000. There is a proportional exemption for homes priced up to $450,000. Qualifying buyers can’t have previously owned a home anywhere in the world. For more information, contact the BC Ministry of Small Business and Revenue at 250-387-0604.

If you are looking for more information about how you can save money when buying a home, I would love to help you. You can reach me easily by phone (250-752-2466) or email (marc@realestatequalicum.com).

Source: British Columbia Real Estate Association Marc LaCouvée is a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Anchor Realty in Qualicum Beach. Marc prides himself on offering specialized and complimentary value-adding 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.

PROMOTION

/ June 2011 15

EXPLORING OUR PARKS & TRAILS used boardwalk trail, while Wildwood Community Park offers more natural trails.

of natural forest. Although not open to the public for regular use yet (due to hazards and site assessments that need to take place or be removed), tours of the park will take place July 19 and August 20. Space is limited, so register ahead of time with RDN Recreation & Parks.

In addition to the trails, Dunsmuir Community Park offers a sport court to play a game of tennis or basketball, and in the near future, Henry Morgan Community Park will provide a park within close proximity to Bowser Elementary, Magnolia Court and the neighbourhoods in the area. Currently in the planning phase of development, Henry Morgan Community Park will be at the corner of Thompson Clarke Drive and Henry Morgan Drive.

On Saturday, June 18th, Moorecroft Regional Park will host the public during its Grand Opening ceremony and festivities.

Bring a blanket and bag lunch to this community picnic! The Ceremony will start at 1 pm and will include the release of an eagle from the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. Activities will be in the park from 1:30-3:30 pm. Free transportation is available from Nanoose Bay Elementary as parking will be very limited.

If you are looking for a little more outdoor adventure, take a short drive to Moorecroft Regional Park. Moorecroft is the Regional District of Nanaimo’s (RDN) most recent park acquisition. This beautiful 85 acre property is a gem with close to 2,900 feet of waterfront and approximately 79 acres

For more information on any of the RDN Parks or directions on how to get there see www.rdn.bc.ca, pick up a Parks & Trails Guide (available at EyesOnBC, Ravensong Aquatic Centre or Oceanside Place) or call 250-248-3252.

By Chrissie Finnie, RDN Recreation Programmer

W

ith its sunshine and usually warm but not too hot days, June is one of my favourite months to get outside and explore.

Whether it is that first cold dip in the ocean or a walk along one of the shady trails, getting out and experiencing the warmth and welcome of the outdoors is reviving.

You can find many “hidden gems” in our backyards and neighbourhoods, from a local community park to play with your children or a new trail to hike, there is something for you!

Lighthouse Country offers a number of beautiful and easily accessible parks and trails. Lighthouse Country Regional Trail has recently undergone upgrades to make the south loop more accessible. Whether walking, wheeling or using a cane, walker or wheelchair, you can enjoy the peace and tranquility of this wooded trail. Deep Bay Creek Community Park has a well-

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16

/ June 2011

Happy Summer and Happy Explorations! ~

PROMOTION

by Carol Plaisier

R

etiring doesn’t mean that you should stop retirement planning. Here are seven top retirement planning steps that will serve you well before and during your retirement: 1) Calculate how much money you will need when you retire. Use realistic rates of return when calculating how long your investment will last. Do not ignore inflation or the effect inflation will have upon the purchasing power of your income.

2) Review estate plans on a regular basis.

Ensure executors, powers of attorney, beneficiaries of registered plans and insurance policies and charitable causes are up to date. Second marriages or death of a spouse are significant triggers for an estate review.

3) What will be your sources of income?

Know where your retirement income will be coming from; government or company pension, registered plans such as a RRIF or RRSP, non registered funds or tax free savings accounts.

4) What is the order of investments you will draw upon for income? It may be more beneficial for you to draw from a registered plan instead of a non-registered plan at a given time.

5) What asset classes should you invest in? Diversifying your income source is a

good strategy anytime you are drawing an income from your portfolio. Bonds and interest income, dividends and capital gains are taxed differently and have different risk characteristics.

If you are losing sleep over your current or future financial situation, seek professional advice. After all, your own happiness, peace of mind and security will make retirement all that it is supposed to be.

6) Review your financial plan on a regular basis, at least annually. Get professional advice and do not hesitate to get a second opinion if you are not sure you are getting the service or advice you need. The knowledge and recommendations of a financial advisor can help you to keep on track and reduce your stress level over your finances.

For further information, Carol Plaisier, CFP®, Investment Advisor with DWM Securities Inc., can be reached at the DundeeWealth office in Parksville (250) 248-2399, or by email: cplaisier@ dundeewealth.com , www.carolplaisier.com.

7) Day to day market volatility and economic news, good or bad, can be overwhelming at times. You can listen to three different news sources and get three different opinions. Knowing what is important and what to ignore is no simple feat in this day and age of instant information. Distance yourself; you can’t control certain things, especially by worrying.

This article was prepared by Carol Plaisier, CFP®, FMA, AMP (Accredited Mortgage Professional) who is an Investment Advisor with DWM Securities Inc. This is not an official publication of DWM Securities Inc. and the views (including any recommendations) expressed in this article are those of the author alone, and they have not been approved by, and are not necessarily those of DWM Securities Inc. DWM Securities Inc., MemberCanadian Investor Protection Fund, is a DundeeWealth Inc. Company.

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LIFE AS ADVENTURE

by Dr. Neill Neill

I

was the oldest of four boys, and after our father died, mother supported us by taking in sewing. We were quite poor. I got an after school job as the janitor in a factory; it was the only way I’d have any money.

After a couple of years I got bored with that, so I beat the pavement to just about every business in our small Ontario town. I found a job hammering nails. The cut in pay from $.40 per hour to $.30 per hour was worth it for the new experience.

Unfortunately, this was to be a short-lived adventure; my new boss found out I was only 13, and child labour laws kicked in. I went back to my after school sweeping and toilets and kept a low profile.

My mother had always wanted me to go to university, but she died in a car crash when I was 16. Nevertheless, the janitoring and

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summer jobs financed my big adventure of going off to university. I was the first from my mother’s side to do so.

I had come to realize by the time I was 12 that I could choose to look at my life as a series of crises: drowning and resuscitation, abduction and torture, abduction and sexual abuse, father dying, poverty, my teacher labelling me “slow.” Alternatively, I could choose to look at my life as a series of adventures: solo hiking and exploring, hitchhiking to Toronto to spend a week each year at the CNE, long bicycling adventures, building a boat and riding the spring floodwaters amidst the ice jams on the local river, learning to hunt with a 12-gauge shotgun. I chose adventure over crisis.

When you are confronted with a life event, you are given a choice as to how you interpret it. And let’s face it; life has its ups and downs.

However, losing our business, our house and our vehicles cut our material ties to the east and led to the adventure of starting over on the west coast. Without the business crash 18 years ago, my adventures in writing might never have begun.

Family is one of life’s big adventures, and three of my adult children dying in the last five years has been tragic. However, the time before each one died was one of deep mutual reconnection and re-bonding as we said our good-byes… and that has been another blessing.

The nature of adventure changes with the life cycle. I gave up motorcycle adventure touring a couple of years ago (downgraded to four wheels) and am now much more focused on my healing work and internet outreach work.

I invite you to reflect on the positive adventures of your life that have arisen from the ashes of the not so positive. ~

Psychologist Dr. Neill Neill maintains an A “down” could be a disaster like a marriage active practice in Qualicum Beach, bringing innovative approaches to fostering healthy failure…or the opening for the adventure relationships and life after addictions. Call of remarriage. I’ve been blessed with that 250-752-8684 or visit his website www. adventure twice. neillneill.com. He is the author of the book, Living with a Functioning Alcoholic – A Another not uncommon disaster is a job loss or business failure that leads to the loss Woman’s Survival Guide. www.drneillneill. com of your hard-earned material possessions. continued from page 11 was a kid, building a house in the forest.

Planters are hung from rope and pulley, burls have been fused with driftwood like the notching in a log-house. From one hanging basket is a coil of metal holding a glass sea-float. It looks like a giant dangly earring. “Garden jewelry,” says Lunn.

Together, these friends of 37 years, have also been collaborating on “west-coast multi-media art”. Pouring their passions and individual talents into the process, they create works such as one that sits in the front of their shop...a large piece of driftwood, inset with one of Lunn’s colourful, copper enamel murals, decorated with fish carved from moose antler by Nygaard, and hung by an old metal pulley and some thick rope. They have also worked together to create wall sculptures using driftwood and hangings from sandblasted stone in motifs inspired by their surroundings and assembled with beach glass, cork fishnet floats, steel and wooden pulleys, chains, innumerable items from the beach, and fused glass.

This is what happens when two beautiful worlds collide.

And, they do this full-time, year round, says Lunn, who has her pick of numerous projects at various stages to work on day to day.

“An artist never stops being an artist,” says Lunn. “Art is always about creating something new.”

Corry and Darrel’s work is sitting in homes across the world including Australia, the United States, and Europe, but, they also have a loyal Island following, year-round.

“It’s interesting to see where our work ends up,” she says. “It’s amazing to know that we are connected to people around the world through art.” ~ Corry Lunn and Darrel Nygaard’s west-coast fusion art is available at the Salish Sea Market in Bowser. For more information visit www.sea-change.ca.

WALK FOR PROSTATE CANCER

J

oin organizer, Shirley Phillips, for the 1st Annual Walk for Prostate Cancer, June 4th at 11am, on the scenic Lighthouse Country Trail (South Loop) in Qualicum Bay. This event, sponsored by the Qualicum Bay Lions Club, will raise funds for the Prostate Centre in Victoria, which serves Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Funds will be used for research and education as Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, affecting one in six. Education and research are the keys to the successful treatment of prostate cancer.

“It’s important to participate,” says Shirley.

“Prostate cancer has touched two members of my family – one passed away but the

of local community. Thank you to all that donated: Quality Foods, Wreaths by Berry, Kootenay Coffee, Heaven on Earth, Credit Union, artist Darlene Gait and Things & Stuff. ~submitted by Peter & Carolyn Rose, Richard & Sue Emblem, Fred & Dagmar Aiken

other is doing just fine.” The Walk starts at the trail parking lot at the end of Lioness Boulevard (turn off Hwy 19A at Lions Way, across from the Sandbar Restaurant, then right on Lioness Blvd.); registration opens at 10am, there will be a fee to walk the day of and/or pledge sheets can be picked up in advance. For more information call Lion Shirley at 250-757-8384.

NEW EVENTS CALENDAR

THANK YOU FOR A SUCCESSFUL REUNION

ats off to Joe Hoefle, of Lighthouse Country, for publishing the first issue of the Bowser/Deep Bay Events Calendar.

A

good time was had by all the ‘Old Boys’ at the recent reunion of the classmates of the former Qualicum College School for boys. But event planners recognize wholeheartedly that the success of this event, attended by 115 former students, was made possible with the generous support

H

You’ll be able to list your garage sales, send a birthday ‘shout out’ and promote your community events with greater local coverage. Joe can be reached at bdbeventcalendar@gmail.com. ~

/ June 2011 19

Ginny (Virginia) Brucker and Rhonda Abdurahman displayT-shirt from Nanoose’s 5-kilometre walk, FEAT FOR FOOD, on April 17, 2011 to raise funds for the Nanoose Bay Community Cupboard, which helps supply local people with healthy food.

PROJECTS: FOOD

By Nancy Whelan

T

his is the second in a series of five articles on local food production, gleaning, and distribution.

Continuing with the current definition of ‘gleaning’, let’s look at some local projects and their activities which, while not the sole answer to food security, help groups and individuals stretch their food budgets, provide an alternative to industrial food production, and let people be active in securing food in a dignified and earth-friendly manner.

Starting at the southern extremity of Oceanside is the Nanoose Bay Community Cupboard which operates under the umbrella of the not-for-profit Nanoose Bay Community Services Organization (NBCSO) registered in March of 2011. The group credits the Parksville Salvation

20

/ June 2011

Qualicum Beach Farmers’ Market vice-president, Ron Campbell, notes that in the 1960’s, Islanders grew 85 % of their own food. Today we grow less than 5%. Food security this is not.

Army with sharing their expertise on the running of a successful food bank, and the safety concerns involved.

Every 2nd Thursday of the month the Cupboard opens to people who’ve made appointments to come with their list of needed staples. The Cupboard has a formula for the quantities of staples needed for different sized families, and people also have the option to choose from other extra items.

and weed the veggie beds during the summer. The Cupboard’s highest profile activity to date was the April 17th “Feat for Food” 5 km walk, hosted by Dr. Rustin Abdurahman and his Nanoose Bay Dental Clinic team, which raised funds to purchase needed food bank items in the months when donations are scarce. NBCSO’s “Christmas Elves” event helps make the holiday season a more nutritious and funfilled time.

Moving up-Island to Qualicum Beach, Oceanside Just two weeks ago Nanoose Elementary school Food Share is a local initiative supported in part children started planting garden beds to raise food for by the Qualicum Farmers’ Market, winter gardener the project, and volunteers will come to help water continued next page

THROUGH THE SEASONS - CONTINUED Diane Sharp, and Ashlee Sales. Theirs is a project of gleaning, garden sharing, and ‘plant a row’ of extra produce. The Farmers’ Market this year will feature a community table where gardeners can make available their extra produce, and also introduce people to the idea of growing their own food. The Market’s vice-president, Ron Campbell, noted that in the Sixties, Islanders grew 85 % of their own food while today we grow less than 5%. Food security this is not.

Besides the community table at the Market, extra produce and fruit that is picked, will be shared – among the home/garden owner, the volunteer pickers, the Salvation Army Food Bank and St. Stephen’s Church. The latter of these hosts a community meal every Thursday at noon and often has fresh produce and/or baked goods available.

Any food remaining is returned to the Salvation Army.

Those involved with getting this gleaning project going in Qualicum Beach have been encouraged with the high interest of gardeners and would-be gardeners and the enthusiasm of volunteers who see Oceanside Food Share as a way of meeting and helping and learning from one another, and giving the planet a break at the same time.

In Bowser, they may have the gleaning programme closest to the word’s original definition. Sheena McCorquodale, President of the Bow-Horne-Bay Community Club and busy organizer of the Lighthouse Country Fall Fair put forward the idea of gleaning when she noticed the number of local fruit trees and small orchards that apparently went unpicked.

Here was good nutritious produce going to waste. The waste may not have been intentional, but age and/or ill health sometimes prevent people from tending their trees or gardens.

In an effort to make good use of available local fruit, Sheena has started collecting the names of fruit tree owners willing to share their trees’ fruit, along with volunteers who are willing, and will be trained, to collect the fruit with the owners’ permission. Sheena is also looking at plans to use the community kitchen with Food Safe practices to produce preserves, jams, and jellies for the food bank.

Brian Boyes, of Lighthouse Feed and Garden, shares Sheena’s enthusiasm for this project and is working to identify local gleaning sites, recruiting people to help, and putting the two together to pick and distribute the available produce, and again, sharing the harvest among tree owners, pickers and the food bank.

Wherever it’s happening in Oceanside, gleaning has been a grassroots initiative, taken on by non-profit organizations who’ve modernized an ancient practice, shunned the object of accumulating capital, and concentrated on gleaning’s humanitarian essence to involve all ages in their communities and contribute to a healthier, more secure distribution of food. ~ Contacts for Oceanside gleaning projects: Virginia in Nanoose – info@nanoosecommunityservices.com Ashlee in Qualicum Beach – info@goodnaturefarms.com Sheena in Bowser – www.communityclub.ca In Victoria: Renate at lifecyclesproject.ca/initiatives/fruit_tree/ For more information you may want to browse: www.nanaimofoodshare.ca

FAX • COPY • PRINT

FIRST ANNUAL LIGHTHOUSE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL KICKS OFF FIVE FESTIVALS IN FIVE WEEKS

by Lisa Verbicky

M

usic lovers take ‘note’. Whether it’s some kind of celestial intervention or the clever fiddling of an ancient abacus, the universe has given us five full weekends this July. Yes, folks, the wheel of fortune has landed on ‘jackpot’, and the eight letter word is F E S T I V A L...five of them, all in the mid-Island region. Even Nostradamus could not have predicted something so totally ‘cool’.

Even better, kicking off this extra-ordinary month of music, is the first ever Lighthouse Bluegrass Festival, July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, featuring the traditional down-home, grassroots sound of guitar, banjo, stand-up-base,

22

/ June 2011

mandolin, fiddle, and lonesome harmonies of rural North America.

Put on by the newly formed Mid-Island Bluegrass Society (MIBS) and the Qualicum Bay Lions Club at the Lighthouse Community Park, the sure-to-be-annual, outdoor, family event features one evening and two full days of music from acts like Toronto’s The Foggy Hogtown Boys, Colorado’s Long Road Home with banjo legend Pete Wernick, a.k.a. Dr. Banjo, the Chris Stevens’ Family Band from Eagle Bay, B.C., Victoria’s Flash in the Pan, Clover Point Drifters, and Riverside Gospel Trio, Nanaimo’s own Skagway, and Mountain Ridge from Vancouver.

Located near the park playground, the forest and a few minutes from the beach, on-site, dry, and ‘green’ camping facilities are available at the event for up to 200 RV’s and tents...perfect for post-festival and parkinglot ‘picking’.

“The great thing about Bluegrass festivals is that the majority of audience members are also musicians,” says festival organizer, Sheena McCorquodale. Meaning that this festival is ripe for spontaneously erupting jam sessions using traditional Bluegrass

continued on page 32

194 Hamilton Ave., Parksville

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JESSE LAJEUNESSE Certified Groomer

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THERE’S A RUMOUR THE SUN IS ON ITS WAY.

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with your book of choice.

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH: BOOK “What they make a movie out of for television” ~ Leonard Louis Levinson 114 MIDDLETON AVE PARKSVILLE

250-248-1234

www.firesidebooksparksville.com

/ June 2011 23

STUFFED FRENCH S C TOAST O S

Stuffed with housemade blueberry cream cheese and blueberry syrup.

F.B.I. BELGIAN WAFFLES

Served with our blackberry compote, whipping cream, fresh strawberries and blueberry syrup.

SMOKED SALMON TART

Smoked Salmon, cream cheese, capers and lemon layered in between crepes.

SMOKED SALMON BENNY Poached eggs and Smoked Salmon on a toasted English Muffin, topped with hollandaise sauce.

BRUNCH Saturday & Sunday 11:30am to 2:30pm

Cozy Tudor-Style Co u o S Restaurant s u n

• Halibut • Ling Cod Specials • Prawns • Fresh Salads • Oysters • Famous Fish & Chips

Visit these fine restaurants and food outlets on the Internet for a peek at their complete menus and more ...

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24

/ June 2011

Fish Tales

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PineRidge Farm Market www.pineridgefarm.ca

Hungry! Call for Take-Out!

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

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...or join us for a fine dining experience

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!

“Like” us and sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter and get a FREE guide to local farms and markets.

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

Buy Local • Eat Local 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

WATCH THE STANLEY CUP FINALS

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 / June 2011 25

VAL WEISMILLER

FOLLOWING THE PATHS OF PASSION

By Rita Levitz

“T

he mist curling through the trees...it makes my heart go…I just have to paint it.” Val Weismiller’s watercolour paintings are just one of the ways she expresses her love of nature. “I’ve always liked to get outdoors. Whether it’s boating, kayaking, camping, painting or trail bashing, it’s all intertwined. The painting and the trail building is an attempt to share what I love, to have other people see what I see when I go for a walk in the woods – there’s always something new.”

Val was born and grew up in Duncan. “We lived on acreage beside a creek that flowed into the Cowichan River. My mother always said that I had fallen into that creek every month of the year. My dad was a rock hound and photographer, and I used to trail around with him. I went into the Horne Lake Caves when I was ten years-old, when it was just word-of-mouth.”

Married right after high school to someone who traveled a lot, Val’s two children, Paul and Rhonda, were raised all over BC. “By 1990 we decided it was time to come back home to the Island.” Val continued working in the recreation field, teaching aqua-fit at the Ravensong Pool and aerobics at Lighthouse Community Hall, but

Val Hykaway • Rita Levitz photo

continued next page

FAX • COPY • PRINT

THIS COUPON EXPIRES JUNE 30-2011

www.eyesonbc.com 26

/ June 2011

continued from previous page finally found the time to do something she had always wanted to do – learn how to paint. “I tried twice to register for Pauline Pike’s classes but was told each time that it was full. ‘How on earth do you get into her class?’ I asked. Well, you had to be there at 7:30 in the morning with your lawn chair and a thermos of coffee, so that’s what I did. Pauline was so encouraging and such a great instructor; I never looked back.”

Val, with her let’s-make-it-happen attitude, has always recognized that a dedicated mini-community of like-minded people can accomplish great things. Knowing the difference between wanting to paint and actually painting, Val and some other previous students of Pauline’s from the Bowser area formed their own Group of Seven. “We’ve been meeting and painting together once a week for about ten years. We encourage each other, critique each other’s work, talk art, go to art shows, laugh...and my, how we’ve all grown!”

Looking at Val’s paintings is to imagine brush strokes of light rather than water. “Painting makes you notice things, the smallest flower or a colour that jumps out at you. The rugged beauty of the West Coast of the Island inspires me no end; it really does something to my soul.”

If you are looking for Val on a Thursday morning however, you won’t find her in her studio. For the last fifteen years, Val has been trail bashing on Thursdays with a dedicated group of volunteers, creating and developing local trail systems. “It’s just been way too much fun to stop. We’d be in water up to our armpits and walk through brambles, ditches and Salal. We’d come home with twigs in our underwear, but you feel like you’re really doing something – a hot bath, a bowl of soup and ready to go again. Woohoo!!

It’s always great to meet people on the trails who’ve never been there before. We’re now working on trails through Dale Wilson’s woodlot. Anyone is welcome to join us.”

Val has been regularly involved with many community activities, such as the Fall Fair and the New Year’s Day Polar Bear swim. “I wanted to do it so bad this January, but I was doing chemo, so next year.” I asked Val how she had been diagnosed. “I had a routine mammogram at the end of last April, and spent a whole year of my life fighting cancer, first with the chemo, and then with the radiation.”

Her radiation treatments meant she stayed at the Cancer Clinic in Victoria for six weeks. “I met a lot of great people, all there for the same thing. We’d laugh, play jokes on each other, or say things that people not going through the same thing would hesitate to say. There was such camaraderie there.” Another mini-community accomplishing great things…

“My family and friends have been so supportive throughout this time; I value them so much. They’ve always meant a lot to me, but they are really special now. The illness sure knocks the stuffing out of you, but the prognosis is good. It’s time now to get back into my life again, to do what I love and get stronger as I do it. It’s time to be me again.” ~ Interested in trail bashing? You’ll find the Lighthouse Trails Group contact information in the Community Events of this issue, on page 42.

HORNBY ISLAND

HNP Z+8

June-juin pieds mètres

Day Time

Feet Metres

jour heure pieds mètres

4.7 1 0347 1131 0.4 4.7 WE 1902 3.1 ME

13.8 2.3 15.1

4.2 0.7 4.6

16

0428 1155 TH 1921 JE

14.8 0.7 16.4

4.5 0.2 5.0

15.1 0.7 16.1 10.5

4.6 0.2 4.9 3.2

2

11.8 13.8 2.0 15.4

3.6 4.2 0.6 4.7

17

0044 0518 FR 1236 VE 1959

11.2 14.1 1.0 16.4

3.4 4.3 0.3 5.0

15.1 0.3 16.4

4.6 0.1 5.0

11.8 13.8 2.0 15.4

3.6 4.2 0.6 4.7

18

0136 0609 SA 1316 SA 2035

10.5 13.8 2.0 16.1

3.2 4.2 0.6 4.9

10.8 14.4 0.7 16.4

3.3 4.4 0.2 5.0

4

11.5 13.5 2.0 15.7

3.5 4.1 0.6 4.8

19

0229 0701 SU 1354 DI 2110

10.2 12.8 3.0 16.1

3.1 3.9 0.9 4.9

10.8 13.8 1.3 16.4

3.3 4.2 0.4 5.0

5

0221 0630 SU 1357 DI 2128

11.5 13.1 2.6 15.7

3.5 20 0326 4.0 0756 0.8 MO 1430 4.8 LU 2142

9.5 12.1 4.3 15.7

2.9 3.7 1.3 4.8

10.5 13.1 2.3 16.1

3.2 6 0318 0729 4.0 0.7 MO 1439 4.9 LU 2203

10.8 12.5 3.6 15.7

3.3 21 3.8 1.1 TU 4.8 MA

0425 0857 1504 2214

8.9 11.2 5.9 15.4

2.7 3.4 1.8 4.7

10.2 12.1 3.6 15.7

3.1 7 3.7 1.1 TU 4.8 MA

0421 0841 1524 2239

9.8 11.8 4.6 15.4

3.0 22 0525 3.6 1011 1.4 WE 1538 4.7 ME 2244

7.9 10.5 7.5 15.1

2.4 3.2 2.3 4.6

Language reveals a lot about us. We refer to the head of the table, the seat of honour, taking the lead, looking up to someone - or down on them. We walk side by side, see eye to eye, share a common table. These phrases use spatial terminology to describe social, mental or emotional events and relationships. Our positions in space strongly influence our experience of life.

9.5 11.2 5.2 15.4

2.9 8 0525 1008 3.4 1.6 WE 1615 4.7 ME 2316

8.9 11.2 6.2 15.4

2.7 3.4 1.9 4.7

23

0621 1156 TH 1613 JE 2314

7.2 10.2 8.9 14.8

2.2 3.1 2.7 4.5

We could discuss at length the power associated with relative positioning, but what interests me at the moment is our attachment to our positions regardless. Inertia sets in even in the most miserable of seats.

8.9 10.5 6.6 15.1

2.7 3.2 2.0 4.6

9

0624 1153 TH 1714 JE 2354

7.2 10.8 7.5 15.4

2.2 3.3 2.3 4.7

24

0712 1415 FR 1659 VE 2344

6.2 10.5 10.2 14.4

1.9 3.2 3.1 4.4

7.9 10.2 8.2

2.4 3.1 2.5

10

0718 1344 FR 1823 VE

5.6 11.5 9.2

1.7 3.5 2.8

25

0756 1546 SA 1818 SA

5.6 11.5 11.5

1.7 3.5 3.5

In a workshop recently, the leader told us after the second day, “Ok, everyone, get up and change seats. Go to the back or the front, or from one side to the other.” What is the common response to such a request?

“What? I don’t want to move. This is MY seat.”

14.8 6.9 10.5 9.2

4.5 2.1 3.2 2.8

11

0035 0808 SA 1512 SA 1937

15.4 3.9 12.8 10.2

4.7 1.2 3.9 3.1

26

0017 0837 SU 1632 DI 1953

14.1 4.9 12.5 12.1

4.3 1.5 3.8 3.7

14.4 5.9 11.5 10.2

4.4 1.8 3.5 3.1

12

0118 0856 SU 1617 DI 2050

15.4 2.6 13.8 10.8

4.7 27 0057 0.8 0915 4.2 MO 1706 3.3 LU 2111

13.8 3.9 13.5 12.1

4.2 1.2 4.1 3.7

14.1 4.9 12.1 10.8

4.3 13 0203 0943 1.5 3.7 MO 1710 3.3 LU 2157

15.1 1.6 14.8 11.5

4.6 28 0.5 4.5 TU 3.5 MA

0142 0952 1738 2209

13.8 3.3 14.1 12.1

4.2 1.0 4.3 3.7

13.8 4.3 13.1 11.2

4.2 14 1.3 4.0 TU 3.4 MA

0250 1028 1757 2256

15.1 1.0 15.7 11.5

4.6 29 0230 0.3 1029 4.8 WE 1810 3.5 ME 2256

13.8 2.6 14.8 12.1

4.2 0.8 4.5 3.7

13.8 3.6 13.8 11.5

4.2 15 0338 1112 1.1 4.2 WE 1841 3.5 ME 2351

14.8 0.7 16.1 11.2

4.5 0.2 4.9 3.4

30

14.1 2.0 15.1 11.8

4.3 0.6 4.6 3.6

13.8 3.0 14.4 28 11.5

4.2 0.9 4.4 3.5

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

15.4 1.3 15.4 10.2

0000 0422 TH 1205 JE 1938

3

0044 0500 FR 1241 VE 2015 0130 0542 SA 1318 SA 2052

/ June 2011

0318 1107 TH 1843 JE 2338

SPATIAL TERMINOLOGY – PLEASE TAKE A NEW SEAT!

By Joanne Sales

S

eating arrangements seem like a simple thing. Not so. Not always.

King Arthur created the round table in hopes of avoiding the dramas that play out around square tables. The Bible says that even Jesus had suggestions about seating – “When invited to a feast, do not sit in the best seat.” (It’s way too humiliating to be asked to be moved down.) In the movie, Temple Grandin, one of the significant moments for this severely autistic, brilliant woman was when she moved from the back of the classroom and took a seat in the front row.

We’ve all experienced that. It seems that we literally get stuck in our chairs. First we take a seat rather arbitrarily. Then inertia sets in. Soon we become accustomed to the view from that seat, and we arrange our lives around that worldview. It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. And most important – it’s mine. continued on next page

When we get dislodged from our seat, physically or figuratively, we get nervous, egos get riled up, and subtle offense is taken. This can happen regardless of whether our challenged position is a seat in a room, or a physical, political, philosophical, religious, or emotional position. It’s not so bad when our bodies get stuck, but it can be a serious disaster when our minds get stuck.

I first realized the immense significance of mental positioning during a decade of deep immersion in the Hindu religion. (For our purposes here, let’s define the Divine as “That which is beyond positioning.”) To a Westerner, the many statues and images of the deities of Hinduism can appear as a primitive form of idol worship.

It was a tremendous ah-ha moment for me when I realized that the conceptual differences in relationship to the Divine were primarily one of position. As a generalization, in the West, we relate to the Divine in a vertical way: God is above, we are below. But the East, the devotee sits in the middle of the Divine and looks in all directions. God is everywhere, inside, outside, on all sides, up, down and around. There is God as Creator or Sustainer. Here is God as Mother, Friend, Ruler, or Supreme Intelligence. Over there is God inspiring creativity, giving strength, providing protection, abundance or healing. There are millions of roles, names and faces – but only One Divinity. It all depends on where you are sitting and which way you are facing. Again, it’s positioning.

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Even in our Western traditions, there is a difference between those who position Truth outside of themselves and those who seek it within. We tend to group ourselves with people who like the same kind of seating arrangements that we do. Familiarity makes us feel comfortable. But what happens in periods of rapid change – like now?

Once a friend going through difficult times noticed that others’ lives were also in a state of change. Everything was topsy-turvy.

“Somebody shook the box,” she said. I appreciated her humour about changes that were causing her considerable grief.

When something shakes the box, we humans tend to cling ever more ardently to our seats, and claim even more vehemently that our view is best with no changes to our current relationship, bank account, organization, political party, religion or whatever. But change happens regardless.

Sometimes we’re stuck in a bad place and change looks good. But sometimes we’re stuck in a good place, and change seems cruel and unnecessary. But stuck is stuck, and apparently not in alignment with our highest potential. One thing we can sure of – time will push us out of our comfort zone. We will get unstuck. Eventually we will let go of the familiar.

ARROWSMITH AUTO & TOWING LTD

This is where we feel the call to a deeper life; to put our roots into that which is beyond change – deeper, higher, transcendent, more expansive or more centered. (Again, we are using spatial terminology.)

But change is not the end of the game. Changing positions is not betrayal. We are expected to grow and change seats through the decades of our lives. We actually thrive on such growth!

Diesel Repairs

It is illuminating to explore and see how the world looks from a different position, tradition, practice, or worldview – not with the intention of putting down roots in that new position – but rather to broaden our understanding. It’s a wise person who seeks to expand their base before external circumstances demand it. Changing seats can change our lives. ~ / June 2011 29

IT’S HAPPENING IN AREA H

FROM THE DESK OF DAVE BARTRAM Email: dwbartram@shaw.ca PH: 757-9737 • FAX: 757-9705

By Dave Batram, RDN Area H Director

Emergency Social Services: The RDN Board approved payment of the annual maintenance fee for the Bowser Legion Branch 211 emergency generator beginning in 2012. This generator will be used to support the Bowser Legion as an Emergency Reception Centre. Also, the RDN Board has approved a Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Facilitator agreement with Mr Robert Dendoff ending in March 31st 2012.

Rails and Trails: The RDN Board approved the License of Occupation between the RDN, Nanaimo, Lantzville, Parksville, Qualicum Beach and the Island Corridor Foundation so as to provide access to the Islands’ rail corridor for a Trail by Rail System and other public utility works for the next 25 years.

Grants In Aid: The Board approved $2,000 for the Lighthouse Community Centre Society (Hall Board) to be used towards the purchase of exit signs, a sound mixer to improve the sound system, a projector, and cedar siding for building repairs.

30

/ June 2011

Bowser Village Centre Plan: There are two aspects in the implementation of the Bowser Village Centre Plan that are critical to its future success. They are the development of a sewer system and public transit. After funding a Bowser Sewer Feasibility Study for the undeveloped land inside the Village Centre boundaries, the seven developers are considering options as the start-up infrastructure costs are significant and the payback period is anywhere from 10 – 20 years. Their options are to either build under the old zoning with current septic technology or build to the new plan zoning with a sewer system that other residents, inside the Village Centre, would someday be able to join.

The second critical factor is public transit. BC Transit has completed the Area H Transit Feasibility Study and recommended introducing scheduled Midday Paratransit one day a week service to provide a basic mobility option. They say that this would be introductory service to ensure that a sufficient number of riders grouped together on trips would make the

service successful. If implemented this service would allow passengers to spend 2-3 hours in Qualicum Beach or be able to use the Intercity Connector from Qualicum Beach to Parksville, Nanoose, Lantzville, and Nanaimo.

The RDN Transit Committee is reviewing the study and will determine if costs and bus hours are currently available. A recommendation will be made to the RDN Board shortly.

Henry Morgan Community Park: The planning of this approximately one acre community park, located at the corner between Henry Morgan, East Thompson Clarke and Esray Road in the Bowser Village Centre, has started with conceptual drawings presented to the Area H Parks and Open Space Committee. Area H youths, through their schools, are being asked to participate in a questionnaire and drawing contest. Input can be made to Chrissie Finnie at the EyesOnBC office (Bowser) or Elaine McCulloch at EMcCulloch@rdn.bc.ca.

by Lucy Churchill RN Qualicum Medicine Centres

SUN SAFETY

N

ow that we are into the warmer weather it’s time to think about protecting yourself from the harmful rays of the sun. We all like to work, play and relax outside on a nice day. The warm rays of the sun feel good on your skin but too much sun can be harmful, so be careful. The sun’s burning rays are called UV (ultraviolet) rays.

UV radiation comes from a variety of natural and artificial sources including the sun, welding equipment, lasers, tanning equipment and certain lamps.

Serving many beneficial purposes, UV can be used to kill germs, treat various skin conditions and is necessary for the formation of vitamin D3 in our bodies.

Over-exposure to UV has been attributed to the following negative health effects: sunburns, premature skin aging, skin problems, eye problems and the weakening of the immune system.

SAFETY TIPS

• Plan to be outside in the early morning or late afternoon.

• Stay in the shade and/or out of the hot sun between 11 am and 4 pm.

Barbara Rady RMT Registered Massage Therapist

• If you are in the sun between 11 am and 4 pm, wear long pants, long sleeves and a hat with a wide brim to protect your skin from sunburn.

• Wear sunglasses that provide UVA and UVB protection.

• Use sunscreen lotion or cream that is SPF 15 or more. SPF means Sun Protection Factor.

• Use a sunscreen that says “broad spectrum” on the label. It will screen out most of the UVA and UVB rays.

Member Since 1981

250 240 7155

#204 Magnolia Court, Bowser BC

V0R 1G0

• Put sunscreen on your skin twenty minutes before you go out and re-apply twenty minutes after being out in the sun to ensure even application of product and better protection.

• Don’t forget your lips, ears and nose. These parts of your body burn easily.

• Water and sweat will wash-off sunscreen, so put more sunscreen on after you go swimming or if you are sweating.

SKIN DAMAGE A tan is visible proof that your skin has been damaged from ultraviolet radiation. Skin damage caused by the sun is cumulative, which means that long-term daily exposure to sunlight adds up. If the damage is too severe and the cells cannot repair it adequately, this can result in the development of skin cancer.

So be sun smart and have fun outdoors. ~ / June 2011 31

continued from page 22 instruments played by ear, following the guidelines of bluegrass jam ‘etiquette’, she says.

During the festival, musicians of all levels are also welcome to play with others in a ‘jam’ room.

According to McCorquodale, mid-Island music culture is growing with many newly retired people moving here, or spending part of the year here in their vacation homes or RV’s, and deciding to pick up their instruments after not playing in years, or choosing to follow their musical dreams into their retirement. Bluegrass, with it’s improvisational, play-by-ear, community ethic, lends itself nicely to this, she says.

The popularity of the Lighthouse Community Hall Pancake Breakfasts since the hall board added open mic and all level jam sessions, is proof she says that people are looking for a place to play, and listen to live music.

“We have seen the numbers go up from about 125 breakfasts to over 300 since we started the jam sessions in February,” says McCorquodale.

The weekend will also see a number of bluegrass workshops for beginners, from Colleen O’Brien’s “Slow Pitch” – An Introduction to Playing Bluegrass, to a banjo workshop or jam session with the man who wrote the book on banjo, Pete Wernick himself.

To keep music-goers going, the Lions Club will be serving up hearty dishes out of the Qualicum Bay Lions Club Hall kitchen, and there will be plenty of vendors on site. The hall board will also be hosting pancake breakfasts on the Saturday with the Bluegrass Band Competition, and on the Sunday with the Riverside Gospel Trio inside the Lighthouse Community Hall.

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The festival will also be giving away a spot on the main stage for a new up and coming band to the winner of the Bluegrass Bands Contest, raffling off instruments and souvenirs, and holding daily 50/50 draws.

Music runs Friday, July 1 from 5-10 p.m., Saturday, July 2, from Noon - 10 pm, and Sunday, July 3, from 10 am to 10 pm.

Offering the best deal on the Island for full-festival tickets, festivalgoers are looking at $68/adult and $65/senior or student for a full weekend pass including camping, $30/$28 for day passes on Saturday or Sunday, and $28/$25 for evening passes after 6 pm.

Kids under 12 are free.

The Lighthouse festival is the first of five within driving distance of each other, a boon to the mid-Island economy attracting visitors and festival-goers who are likely to stay in the area’s resorts and campgrounds for the entire month, take in our special west coast scenery, culture and hospitality, and visit our small businesses.

According to the Lighthouse Bluegrass Festival website, festivalgoers can Tour the Festivals starting in Lighthouse Country, then drive north approximately 46 km to catch the more eclectic Vancouver Island Music Festival (VIMF), Vancouver Island’s largest music festival, in Courtenay, July 8-10, taking in acts like Bluegrass legend Alison Krauss, rocker Jon Anderson, hip-hop group Arrested Development, Holly Cole, Rodney Crowell, westcoast roots musicians The Breakmen, Randy Newman, and many,

32

/ June 2011

continued from page 32 many more. VIMF also features camping, a ‘green’ festival plan, food venders, shuttle service and a huge children’s activity area.

Tickets as shown on www.islandmusicfest.com are $149/adults, $119/seniors, $69/youth until June 30, and go up to $159, $129, and $99 July to show time at the gate. Kids under 12 are free.

Music lovers can then drive south, approximately 135 km from Courtenay, July 16, to take in the ‘murals’ and the Chemainus Bluegrass Festival. Described as a ‘one-day Bluegrass extravaganza’ this festival features west-coast and Island performers like Corner Grass, Blue Grass Fever, Bryon Clayton Thomas, John Reischman & the Jaybirds, and another performance by Skagway. Entrance for this one-day event is by suggested donation of $10. For more information visit www.chemainusbluegrass.com.

From Chemainus, it’s a mere 19 km to Duncan for the Island Folk Festival the following weekend, running July 22-24 at Providence Farm. Put on by the Cowichan Folk Guild, the festival features home-grown musicians and a community-like atmosphere and also offers on-site camping, vendors, shuttle service, and a zero waste event plan. Performers are still to be announced. According to www. folkfest.bc.ca advance online weekend passes cost $75/adult, and $65/youth including HST. At the gate prices are $100/$90. Day passes are also available and children under 12 are free.

Finally, 88 km from Duncan, the 33rd Annual Coombs Bluegrass Festival bookends the season with more bluegrass, July 29-31, at the Coombs Rodeo Grounds. The oldest bluegrass festival in Canada, it features performers such as traditionalist bluegrass artists Mark Phillips & 3rd Generation out of Oklahoma, the harmonious High Rise Lonesome from Vancouver, Special Consensus from Chicago, Victoria’s the Sweet Lowdown, Top Secret Bluegrass Band from Calgary, and the local Branch 11 Old Time Fiddlers. The festival also features workshops, and includes ‘camping in the rough’ for $15/single night, and vendors. Ticket prices listed on www. coombsbluegrass.com are $73/adult and $62/senior for a weekend pass that also includes camping to $25 to $34 for a single day-pass.

Prices include all taxes. Day passes are also available.

Because you’ve taken the difficult step to prearrange your funeral, we’ve made transferring those arrangements an easy one.

All in, a person could theoretically follow the music in just over 288 km, not bad considering once you are on ‘the rock’ of Vancouver Island, it’s just a short ride from one to the other, with lots to see in between. Great for tourists, and even better for locals wanting to stay close to home this year.

“We by no means want to compete with the other festivals on the Island,” says McCorquodale of the new Lighthouse Bluegrass Festival.

With all the musicians coming out of the woodwork, she says that there is room for another festival.

“All the festivals work together to draw people to our area, to build on our local music culture.”

It is going to be a great summer. ~ MIBS is also still looking for volunteers for the Lighthouse Bluegrass Festival. For more information on the Lighthouse Bluegrass Festival or the Five Festivals Five Weeks Tour, visit www. lighthousebluegrass.com.

Prearranging your funeral wishes is meant to relieve your family of any stress and heartache they feel when they lose a very important member of their family.

Question: So what happens when changes occur in your life and you no longer wish to use the funeral home you prearranged at?

Answer: You transfer your prearrangement to a funeral home you are comfortable with.

Qualicum Beach Funeral Centre Ltd. 101-664 Beach Road Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 2N3 Phone: (250) 594-0305 Fax: (250) 594-0306 Email: qbfuneralcentre@shaw.ca

If you would like to discuss all your service options, including transferring a prearrangement, call us. / June 2011 33

Qualicum Beach Town Hall • Linda Tenney photo

By Marilyn Dawson, Reporter or weeks, shoppers have noticed considerable activity around TOSH, the venerable Old School House that, for many years, has served as the art centre of the town. Recently heavy equipment was brought in and the area taped off. At Monday night’s Council meeting, Public Works director Allan Cameron explained the problem, a possible $100,000 problem.

It could have been worse. The Town owns the building and staff is able to do the work, at first repairing the foundation, replacing doors and the deteriorating structural framing. But as work progressed, it became clear that the heritage building was in worse shape than originally thought; plans were revised to include replacement of the failing perimeter drains.

As anyone who has slogged their way through the rebuilding process knows, the unwritten law of renovations is; bad news follows bad news. That’s what happened.

The perimeter drains were only accessible by removing the sidewalk, which in this particular area was lined with 1001 engraved bricks. As slides showed here was no doubt about the condition of the drains, and of the building itself. Every nail in the footings

had rotted through. The framework showed water damage, as did the heritage door and the old wooden windows. There was so much rot it became apparent the only reason the building was still standing was its sheer weight.

So now the exterior siding is being replaced, custom built by Town staff. And those bricks in the sidewalk mentioned earlier are being taken up by hand because there’s a story to them. Former council member Marlys Diamond provided the history. She said that 25 years ago TOSH wanted to honour those who had made financial contributions to the building and set out to raise funds for that purpose. This group did not have a track record for fund-raising, but what they came up with eventually was $35,000, a huge amount at the time. She was pleased that the Town was sensitive to the issue, saving as many bricks as possible, even though they cannot be used again (too thin and soft).

The intact bricks will be given to TOSH and a plaque with the names of the donors installed inside.

Earlier that May evening, with a brand new fire engine parked at the curb, Fire Chief

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Darryl Kohse paid tribute to the volunteer men and women who had participated in the annual boot camp introducing fifteen area high school students to the rigors of firefighting in a week-long session.

Organizer Barry Blair praised the support from local merchants. Rotary clubs in Parksville and Qualicum Beach gave financial aid. Quality Foods, Giovanni, Bailey’s and Lefty’s provided sustenance.

Meanwhile, the regular brigade has been training on the new equipment. Each driver must have two hours behind the wheel and complete a closed driving course before going out on an emergency. And so it was left to Councillor Jack Wilson to ask the burning question of the day: why was the truck numbered 52, when obviously the town did not have that many trucks. It was a no-brainer for Chief Kohse: Qualicum Beach is designated Area 5 to firefighters, he said, and 2 signifies the engine. Number 1, no longer in service, is still used for parades and such, so it was logical this would be 2.

Now you know – in case anyone should ask.

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VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF CANADA ANTIQUE CHAPTER TOUR OF PARKSVILLE

THE ROLLING MUSEUM Peter Findlay photo

By David Morrison “As the horsepower in modern automobiles steadily rises, the congestion of traffic steadily lowers the possible speed of your car. This is known as Progress.”

I

~ Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986)

was absolutely horrified when I first read about cars with self-parking technology.

While admitting to Luddite tendencies I will happily embrace any new development of worth, but is this not technology for technology’s sake? I feel that such innovations, automotive or otherwise, those designed for our “convenience,” serve only to make us lazier. This one apparently negates the need for hands, as the driver does not need to touch the steering wheel at all as the car backs into a parking space. In the process these inventions considerably lessen or entirely remove the joy of interaction – in this instance the pleasure to be had from driving – therefore further disengaging us from the real world. This is not a good thing.

According to friends’ opinions I appear in the minority in this respect, so it is always a pleasure to encounter someone whose sentiments, even to a small degree, mirror my own. Peter Findlay, President of the Vintage Car Club of Canada’s (VCCC) Antique (pre-1915) Chapter, knows what I am talking about. A schoolteacher with a passion for beautiful old vehicles, ones with which drivers can fully interact and engage,

he does not even own a cell phone. “I don’t need all those gadgets and the things in my life they tell me I should have,” he says, to rapturous applause from my direction.

“You can connect to machines like these cars in a way you can’t connect to a gadget, to a technology of the current state,” continues Findlay. “With my car I can see things move, I can hear them, I can adjust them, and I can make them act differently. I need to understand my car on that level. Driving one of these vehicles, or just being around it, is not like anything else. It is a fascinating piece of mechanical technology.”

Between June 23 and 26 the VCCC’s Antique Chapter will be based in Parksville and touring the area for three days. “It’s a huge opportunity for the public to see how automobiles have evolved in a hundred years,” says Findlay, who as a teacher is naturally interested in the educational opportunities offered by these vehicular classics. He terms the VCCC a “rolling museum,” one promoting not only an appreciation of the design aesthetics and mechanical ingenuity of yesteryear, but providing a look at the parallels between antiquated propulsion systems and the green technologies of today.

“One of the cars we have is a steam car,” he explains, “so that takes you into the area of alternative forms of transportation and energy. In that era there were also electric cars, and even hybrid kind of cars that would run on both electricity and gas.

Connecting that with what’s going on now is fascinating.”

The roots of the VCCC lie in Vancouver almost seven decades ago, but it was not until 1958 that a proper club began to take shape. A gentleman by the delightfully contradictorily futuristic name of Buck Rogers placed an ad in the Vancouver Sun, inviting fellow old car enthusiasts to a meeting. Today there are 24 chapters boasting around 1,200 members who are proud owners of an estimated 2,500-3,000 vintage vehicles between them. The club’s website proudly states that its “main reason for existence is to share with as many other ‘old car enthusiasts’ as possible the joy of preserving and enjoying our precious historic vehicles.” Looking at the numbers continued on page 36

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continued from page 35 above, I would say it has been quite a success so far, wouldn’t you?

would be his retirement trip. We traced the trip to the day and to the route, as close as we could, to the original journey.”

It is very easy to understand the passion VCCC members have for their vehicles. As a layperson all you really need to do is look at them to get it. They are elegance exemplified.

But their easiness on the eye aside, it must be such a joy driving one of these cars. It is the magic of this experience that has Findlay for one utterly hooked, yet the enthusiasm for vintage automobiles, that now sees him as the Antique Chapter’s President, comes as no great surprise when learning of an extraordinary, epic journey he took 14 years ago.

The original journey to which Findlay refers was taken 85 years prior by freelance writer Thomas Wilby and his driver-mechanic, Jack Haney. (Freelance writer, huh? Hmmm… this gives me an idea! Anyone fancy a road trip?) Bearing in mind the 1912 REO travels at an average speed of just 30 MPH, it took Wilby and Haney just 49 days to cross the country. The former recorded the adventure in a book, the not surprisingly titled A Motor Tour Through Canada, while Findlay’s account of the journey with his father can be found online at www.antique.vccc.com/autotour.

“My father was a member of the VCCC when I was a very young child, so I guess I was born into this,” he tells me. “He’s always had an interest in old vehicles and is still active in our club with his 1912 REO. So I grew up driving these things and developed a passion for them as I learned more about them. But my real turning point came in 1997 when I accompanied my father on a cross-Canada trip – from Halifax to Victoria – in the 1912 REO. The reason for this was that my dad’s car is identical to the one that first drove across Canada, and he being a real enthusiast for Canadian transportation history had researched the whole journey and decided it

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/ June 2011

Despite the huge distance travelled, I like the simplistic way in which Findlay sums up the satisfaction of traversing the country, or in fact going anywhere, in such a vehicle: “You enjoy the world and nature a whole lot differently at a lower speed, with no windows. You feel so much closer.”

Of the VCCC Antique Chapter’s June Tour of Parksville, Findlay says: “We’ll be based out of Tigh-Na-Mara (1155 Resort Drive) for three nights – Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Each day we will be out on a tour somewhere for 80-100 miles. We are definitely a touring group; our cars are not display cars and not necessarily gleaming all the time, but they’re all drivable cars. That’s our goal – to get out there and use them.”

Nonetheless, the general public is encouraged to join in the fun by viewing the touring cars at Tigh-Na-Mara from approximately 4pm on each of the days, and also cheering them on as they make their way around the area. With such low average speeds the cars will of course only be travelling on back roads, so keep an eye out for them anywhere from Coombs to the Comox Valley.

And wherever they go, the drivers will be fully engaged, joyously interacting with their lovely machines, just like it was in the good old days… ~ For more information about the Vintage Car Club of Canada’s Antique Chapter and their June Tour of Parksville, please visit http://antique.vccc.com. For more general information about the VCCC and its activities, please visit www.vccc.com.

JOBS FOR JUNE Q: Now that it’s already June, what general garden tasks might I be missing?

A: In every month, there are general maintenance tasks to be done. This month is a good time to be deadheading your rhodos, azaleas, and lilacs right after they finish blooming. Better to do it as each plant finishes, rather than leave it too late to do all at once. If this task starts to be too much trouble or difficult for you, start to phase those plants out and select others that need less maintenance. Just like the deadheading, prune spring-flowering shrubs and trees right after they’ve flowered, too.

This would include lilacs, forsythia, mock orange, and deutzia to name a few. Another important task to remember throughout the growing season is to keep watch for signs of pests and disease in your garden.

Leaf-eating caterpillars can be treated with BTK (Bacillus thuringiensis), while Safer’s Defend® will control Black Spot and Powdery Mildew. These products are safe to use on fruit-bearing plants.

Q: What’s your opinion about the best method to water?

A: Many seasoned gardeners will know the answer to this question, but it never hurts to be reminded. For all plants in the ground, including grass, it is much better to water deeply less frequently, than shallowly

more often. This way, roots are encouraged to grow deeply into the soil which helps keep them stay moist longer and promotes stronger growth. Plants have a similar reaction whether they get too much or too little water; they simply stop growing.

So before watering anything, it’s best to determine whether or not it really needs water and the best way to do this is with a moisture meter. After you’ve used the meter a few times, you’ll get to know your beds’ water retention abilities and cycles. Every soil has its own rate of water retention depending on its structure so as you improve your soil, continue to monitor its need for water. Any new plantings, patio plants, and hanging baskets will need more vigilance and frequent watering. Your moisture meter will be invaluable with these plants to help you avoid over or under-watering.

Q: Last month you advised caution in staking trees. What about supporting my perennials?

A: Some of our perennials do need support (mostly due to hybridization), and this is a good time to get them in place before the plants grow too tall. This would apply to gladiolas (Gladiolus), monkshood (Aconitum), peonies (Peony), false sunflower (Heliopsis), and blanket flower (Gaillardia).

Of course, we all know clematis which, if left unsupported, would trail along the ground until it found shrubbery or trees to climb on.

Q: I know I’m supposed to wait until the leaves of my bulbs die because they are giving energy to the bulbs until they fade, but then after I remove them, I’m forever finding the bulbs when I dig to plant other things. Have you any suggestions?

A: Losing track of your bulb and corm plantings is not unusual. Many recommend making a drawing or map of your garden with plantings penciled in. I like to mark bulb placements right in the garden with shells, pebbles, or ornaments of some kind.

Another idea is to naturalize bulbs in with some ground covers like woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus). After your bulbs fade, it is a good time to divide and move them, especially if they didn’t produce very well. Remove any bad bulbs, choosing only the healthiest to replant. Happy Gardening!

Harry Sumner is a certified arborist & garden coach. Gardening questions are welcome at 250-248-4512 or shellms@telus. net.

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SAY YOU SAW THEIR AD IN THE BEACON! 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) 2405535.

COTTAGE FOR SALE – Must be moved! Approximately 700 sq. feet. Includes fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer/dryer. Cedar siding, cedar shake roof, updated windows and light fixtures, deck also included if wanted. $5,000 OBO Contact John at 1-250-390-3605 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 250-586-8323 www.goddessessentials.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) 927-3005.

ANTIQUES CLEARANCE SALE – Priced to clear! Country pieces and furniture to fix or refinish – big discounts. Lots of items at 50% off! Newer brown leather “Wakefield” armchair made by Lane Furniture USA, excellent condition. 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. 250752-1700 MEMORABLE LINES writing and memoir service can solve all your business and personal writing puzzles. Call 250-335-1157 or 888-330-8366 for a free estimate.

For a detailed list of services see www.memorablelines.com.

TIME TO GET ORGANIZED! Call the man with a truck! 250-757-9182 THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF QUESTERS – Next meeting will be on June 27.

Catherine Whittall will speak on Numerology. 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.

BAREFOOT HOOF TRIMMING A correct barefoot trim can improve your horses overall health and well being. Certified trimmer now accepting new clients.

Reasonable rates and discounts offered. FMI Call 250-752-8380.

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

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.

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 @ 250757-9244 DON’S HOME REPAIR – plumbing repairs and installations, complete renovations, no job too small. Call Don @ 250-757-8757 or cell 250951-8757 STAMP COLLECTIONS/ ACCUMULATIONS WANTED – Mint or used, will take all, cash or consignment, top prices paid. Call Russ at 1-250-314-1021 or email at ingruss@telus.net

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• Wildwood Community Church for their devotion through prayers, consultation, prepared meals and snacks.

• Bow Horne Bay Community Club for flowers.

• Milner Gardens & Woodland for recognition of her commitment to their organization.

• Our neighbours on Lambert Lane for the plants to enhance our garden which we loved so much.

J

Jane Ponto

• To Betty and family of St. Albert, Alberta who unselfishly gave their time and support.

• To Dr. Jack Bryant and staff of Courtenay.

ane Ponto passed away peacefully at home on April 29, 2011 and joins her predeceased daughter, Kathy. With her passing, she says goodbye to her sons, Dan and Jason, daughter, Gaylene, and her loving husband of 24 years, Dennis.

• To the home care nurses and support staff who unknowingly became part of our family.

We do not know why our Lord has prepared a place for her now, but her steadfast faith and strength have established a benchmark for her loved ones to follow. The number of cards and tributes to her are testimony to how much she was loved by everyone who met her. Her family wishes to acknowledge and say thank you to the following people and organizations:

• To the community of Bowser for your support, your hugs, offerings of lodging while in Victoria, and recognition of Jane’s love for everyone and community.

Dennis R. Ponto and family.

• To my clients for your understanding, gifts, prayers and support during Jane’s illness.

/ June 2011 39

Aries (March 21-April 19) Although this fresh Gemini energy will make everyone busier and more active, none will be as busy as you. Suddenly you have places to go, things to do, people to see! You’ll be taking short trips and exploring more of your daily world. Expect to meet new contacts and new friends, especially people who are younger than you. Many of you will find yourself reading and writing. Your focus on money will continue and with lucky Jupiter still in your sign, you rock!

and be more active in clubs, groups and organizations.

While you’re talking to others, by all means share your goals and dreams for the future with them because their feedback will help you. Because this is a social time of year for you, do not hesitate to establish who you are with your friends. Relax and be yourself.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) The Sun is at high noon in your chart acting like a spotlight on you. This is why others notice you more than usual, especially bosses, parents, teachers and VIPs. (The police will notice you more, too!) Fortunately, the Sun is a flattering light, Taurus (April 20-May 20) You’re swimming in the which is why everyone thinks you’re the cat’s meow. world of high finance! This intrigues you because Don’t question this. Just bow, smile and take credit for you’re the banker of the zodiac. You like wealth because you love beautiful things, creature comforts, everything. Naturally, others will ask you to take on increased responsibilities for something. Don’t worry, and the good life. Naturally, these things require say “yes”. some coin. You also like the security of mortgagefree land. Mercury, Venus and Mars continue to be in your sign; nevertheless, your focus now is on earning Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) You want to travel. You want to see those telephone poles going back. Others money and on major expenditures. are waiting to get groped at airports. That’s because you’re keen to expand through further education, and Gemini (May 21-June 20) Ta-da! The Sun is back rub shoulders with people from different backgrounds. in your sign for the first time in a year, giving you You’ll love meeting new people, discussing new a chance to recharge your batteries for the next year ahead. This is why you’re pumped with energy! ideas, and seeing gorgeous new places. It’s a great time to sign up for a course. Do whatever you can to It’s also why you’ll easily attract people to you expand your experience of the world, even if you are this month, along with favourable circumstances. just a tourist in your own city. Meanwhile, sex is hot (Naturally, you should milk this for all it’s worth this month. Could this be why your partnerships and because you only have this advantage once a year.) relationships are improving?

It’s very confidence-building. In fact, some of you might be coming on too strong for others.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) The Sun is in the part Cancer (June 21-July 22) This month, the Sun is in of your chart governed by your ruler Pluto, which a hidden part of your chart, which makes you want to means you’ll be dealing more with shared property, work behind the scenes or work alone. Even though taxes, debt, loans, mortgages, insurance matters, other planets encourage you to socialize, you will feel and anything that you share or hold jointly with the influence of the Sun urging you to withdraw and others. This passion you feel will express itself in hide. (“I need my blankey.”) Each sign gets this urge every avenue of your life: sex, friendship, work, ideas once a year – no biggie. Use this time to regroup and and ideals. You also have a strong drive for selfpull your act together before you take it on the road improvement now. (This is good.) Look around you to others you admire. (about a month from now).

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Whoa Nellie! Your dance card is full. Suddenly, everyone wants to see your face because you’re popular! Enjoy this wonderful time to schmooze with others, get in contact with friends,

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) The Sun is now opposite your sign for the next four-to-six weeks.

Naturally, this 180-degree focus draws your attention to partnerships and close friendships. You will

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/ June 2011

scrutinize these relationships, perhaps questioning their benefit to you. In doing so, you have a chance to learn more about your style of relating to others.

(This is an opportunity.) Another influence of the placement of the Sun is that you will need more sleep. The Sun is your source of energy, and it is as far away from your sign as it gets all year.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) This is one of the most powerful times of your life, where your cherished dreams can come true. For younger Capricorns, perhaps you’re graduating or getting a good job.

Older Capricorns will experience a career peak.

This is why you’re gung ho to get better organized.

Buy cleaning equipment, paint supplies, shelving, hangers, notebooks, file folders or whatever it takes to make you feel like you are more on top of your scene. You’ll love yourself for this later.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Lucky Aquarians are on vacation in the next six weeks because you want to goof off. Do anything that allows you to express your creative talents. Don’t worry about whether or not it is “good”. Creative expression is all about the “doing, not the product. Many of you are renovating or redecorating. You’ll enjoy entertaining at home, plus family discussions are very lively now. (“I’ve got the place child-proofed – but the kids still get in!”)

Romance and affairs of the heart get a lovely boost.

This is a fun time for you!

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Your focus is on home, family and domestic matters. This could be because of what is going on within your family dynamic, or because of real-estate dealings. Quite likely, you need more time at home to regroup and stabilize yourself. In fact, childhood memories might come bubbling to the surface of your mind. You’re still communicating clearly to others, but it would behoove you to seek some privacy at home. Find a place where you can curl into a fetal position and turn your electric blanket up to nine. ~

continued from page 10 – Black Diamonds breed, originally used for water retrieval in the Romagna area of Italy. When their marshy home area was drained in the mid 1800s they slowly lost their water retrieval function and gradually became specialized as truffle hunters.

Not just working dogs, they make wonderful pets with their bright, happy, affectionate and loving personalities, always with a fervent wish to please their masters. We are introduced to Dexter Dino, the male and dam, DCK Duchess, who began her truffle hunting career in 2009 and works in the off-season as a human/handicapped companion. In February, Duchess whelped a healthy litter of puppies, many already sold, but we love the adorable remaining duo of DCK Samuel Truffe and DCK Sebastian Archiepelago and are amazed to discover their fur is actually tight curly fleece like a sheep!!

The Ducketts believe that truffle farming could make small acreages viable especially on Vancouver Island. “You’d not just be growing truffle trees, you’d have an orchard of hazelnuts or a tree plantation as well,” Betty pointed out.

Learning from local natives, they harvest their Garry oak acorns, boil them to take out the bitterness, then puree them, adding some truffle making a high protein spread. Truffles are king on the Duckett menu, adding them to everything from omelettes, raspberry/blackberry jams, mustards and even popcorn! And they claim you can’t beat truffle wine! ~ Please visit www.DuckettTruffieres.com for more information.

BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTRE Our Advertisers

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

EyesOnBC

Business Centre.............................. 39

Arrowsmith Automotive

Automotive Services..........................29

Dominion Lending Centres, Elaine Peligren Business & Financial Services..........27 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

Tracy Hebert RMT

Health Services ................................46

Thermography Clinic Vancouver Island

Health Services...................................9

Camelot Electric

Home & Garden Services..................46

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..................44

Witte Construction

Home & Garden Services..................45

Kerry’s Sewing Basket

Home & Garden Services..................44

Handy Sandy Services

Maintenance Services.......................44

Re/Max First Realty - Setter & Associates

Real Estate............................................

Royal LePage - Carol Gregson

Real Estate........................................32

Arrowsmith Golf & Country Club

Sports & Leisure................................14

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.

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!

/ June 2011 41

Community Events LIGHTHOUSE COMMUNITY CENTRE (LCC) Qualicum Bay - INFO: LOIS NELSON: 757-9938 Pancake Breakfast, Flea Market, Live Music, Veggies, Poultry & Small Animal Swap, Master Gardeners: – Sun June 10th, 8am-noon. The Bowser Elementary PAC will be cooking up breakfast this morning.

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

CreditMaster Ask how you can have one today!

Lighthouse Seniors #152 – End of the season ‘Chicken’ dinner June 6th, Noon, at the Bowser Legion; $12. For tickets and 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 Taoist Tai Chi Society Classes at LCC and Fanny Bay OAP Hall. FMI Susan @ 757-2097 Lighthouse Trails Group needs your help. Val Weismiller: 757-9667 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

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/ June 2011

RDN ACTIVE LIVING GUIDE Bowser Breeze “Day” Camp – July 1 8-22 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 registration with cash or cheque available at Bowser Elementary School June 16th and 20th from 2pm-6pm or at the RDN Recreation office (in EyesOnBC) 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 “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 Eaglecrest, Oceanside’s Garden Club – meets 7:30pm June 15th in Q.B. Civic Centre. Diana from Diana’s Garden Centre & Florist in Nanaimo will describe “Step by Step – Dish and Succulent Gardens”. All Oceanside residents welcome.

Corcan-Meadowood Residents Association Information Meeting and BBQ - June 4th 11 – 3pm. At the Meadowood Store on 1221 Meadowood Way (off of Corcan Road) Qualicum Beach. All residents invited to attend and learn more about the proposed access to Highway 19.

FMI Call Dave Jones @ (250) 752-9699.

Coombs Big Dance 4U! with Smith & Noiles (Classic Country) June 11th: Chevy Ray & The Fins June 25th (Good ole Rock ‘n’ Roll).Doors open @ 7 pm at the Coombs Community Hall (rodeo grounds) Tix $15 @ Cranky Dog Music, Back Road Java, Shoe Inn, Coombs General Store lD required, reservations ph Doug 250-752-8505.

Tix $20 at the door. Sorry no minors “Forever Pops!” – Starlight Pops Choir presents favourites from Josh Groban, Toto, James Bond, John Williams, Cat Stevens and more! Sat. June

June 2011 18 at 2 pm Knox United Church, 345 Pym St., Parksville.

Tickets at the door (cash only). $20 adult / $18 senior & student. www.starlightpopschoir.com Dinner and movie at Fanny Bay Community Hall on June 18th at 6pm. Dinner will be baked ham, etc. and movie Father of the Bride. Tickets $6 for adults and $3 for kids 12 and under. For more information and reservations please call 250-335-3282.

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 Bay Day Family Fun – Sun June 12th Noon - 5pm. Union Bay Hall and Fields Concession. Kids races, games, prizes, raffles horse shoe tourney, ball games, oysters on the bbq, pies, beverages and much much more! FMI - Dave (250) 335-2317 Art Exhibition and Sale of Federation of Canadian Artists, Arrowsmith Chapter June 13-27th, 10-4:30pm.

Reception Wed June 22nd, 6-8pm; free draw 6:30pm @ The Old School House (TOSH) Art’s Centre, 122 Fern Road West, Qualicum Beach.

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 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 Elizabeth Cudmore 250-240-5535 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 250-951-2167.

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.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JUNE ! www.rcl211.ca June 1 LA Zone Meeting June 2 LA General Meeting June 28 Branch 211 Executive Meeting Hall Rentals 250-757-9222 • Mon to Fri 9:00 am - 12 noon

June 6 June 10-18 June 12 June 18

OAP Lunch...................................................12 pm Silent Auction Golf Tournament ...........................................1 pm Fish & Chips dinner (LA) ................... 5:30 to 7 pm

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

Parksville Career Centre - Finding the Fit with Myers Briggs Personality Assessment. Thursday, June 23, 9 am-4:00 pm.

Perform a comprehensive online assessment and gain insight on your personality type and how it relates to work that matches your preferences. You must first meet with an Employment Consultant.

FMI Call 250-248-3205 or email info@careercentre.org.

Parksville Career Centre - Architect Your Career. Thursday, June 9, 9:30 am-1 pm. Identify and explore occupations that fit your work interests, personality and values. FMI Call 250-248-3205 or email info@careercentre.org

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

/ June 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

/ June 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

Careers

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

Excavating

Land Surveying

Interior Decorating

#3 - 6996 West Island Hwy, Bowser

2003 Kobelco SK160Lc Excavator for Hire

DEJA~VU DECOR CUSTOM DECOR & WINDOW COVERINGS

250-752-8772

Call

Witte Construction

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

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL ALTERNATE ENERGY

T.J. Farrell

250 • 240 • 7778

Plumbing Sand - Gravel - Topsoil

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

Heating & Cooling

Taping House Painting

tjfarrell@shaw.ca

Book Antiqua French Script

Home Support

WCB & Insured Shaun Witte Owner/Journeyman

Electrician

Construction

LTD

Custom Renovations

Convenient In Home Appointments

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

/ June 2011 45

Philip Brown

250-240-4902 • 250-757-8077 EVENINGS

The Fix-It Shop Barber Services

Fix-It Services

Tree Service

Health & Wellness

Custom Fitting, Crafting, Regripping & Repair

/ June 2011

FEATURING TOTAL BODY WELLNESS PROGRAMS

FREE WEEK TRIAL

THE AMAZING IDEAL PROTEIN WEIGHT LOSS SYSTEM NOTHING TO LOSE BUT INCHES PHONE FOR AN APPOINTMENT

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

Serving Bowser & Deep Bay

Call Trish 757.8030 tomandtrish@shaw.ca

Appliance Repair

Electrical Services

Plumbing & Gas Services Experienced Professional Piano Movers Since 1958!

Local, Long Distance, World Wide Toll-free: 1-888-428-8488 Phone: 250-752-8448 Bob Sommers sommerspiano@shaw.ca

250-702-2191

250-586-3366

Foot Care

Chimney Cleaning Piano Moving

AAA Piano Moving

Repairs to:

• Lawn Mowers • Small Engines • Garden Equipment

FANNY BAY email: FixItShop009@gmail.com PICK UP & DELIVERY CAN BE ARRANGED

(250) 954-3328 · Cell (250) 240-7167

Phone: 250.248.4880 Cell: 250.927.1471

46

Enviro Products

Plumbing Gas Heating

Yoga Classes

INSTALLATION SERVICE & REPAIRS

ERIC BURT

Accredited Clubmaker

Healthcare

Custom Golf Clubs

PLUMBING • GAS • HEATING

.. Biodegradable Free .. Solvent Concentrated Phosphate Free

Parts Store Open Mon to Fri 9-4

ROASTED FRESH DAILY

Roastery and Coffee Shop COOMBS JUNCTION 2701 Alberni Hwy.

fast, fresh 250.752.0021

692 Primrose St. Qualicum Beach, BC

Gov’t Inspection Agency

Stop in and check out our great selection during Show & Shine Sunday, June 19

The name you can TRUST for all your auto repairs

Ph. 752-3550

Allan Roby 123 E. 4th Ave Qualicum Beach 250-752-5822

674 Memorial Ave., Qualicum Beach

e n i h S Show ‘n

QUALICUM BEACH

WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL ...YOU’LL FIND IT AT FAYE’S 142 Second Ave West Qualicum Beach, BC (250) 752-1391

Sunday, June 19, 2011 CARS • TRUCKS

Your Natural Foods Experts

Open late Friday nights June 17 to Labour Day Open: Mon-Sat 9-6 ~ Sun 10:00-5:00

149 2nd Ave W Qualicum Beach (250)752-3132

All day from 7:30am

Come see us on Sunday June 19th for our traditional “Brats on a Bun” with sauerkraut and “the works”, German Pretzels and the best Fritters and Donuts around!