FRIDAY MARCH 6, 2015 VOL. 42, NO. 09
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Three months’ work
Elected leaders take stock of what they’ve accomplished
Silence
Pauline Le Bel reflects on 10 days without words, work and the internet
Signs of spring
A local photographer captures the sight of Bowen as it blooms
Local businesses make connections despite sunshine at first ever Business Showcase MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
BICS students Megan and Tessa interview Carol Petersen, owner of Nature Encounters in Snug Cove. This is part of a project done in collaboration with the Bowen Island Museum and Archives where the students learn about local history, business, and interviewing techniques. Sarah Haxby, photo
Caring Circle: Filling in Bowen’s healthcare gaps and much, much more MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Bowen Island is a community of 3,600 and many more in the summer, with one full-time doctor equivalent, when the Ministry of Health recommends a one doctor per 1,200 person ratio. We have no medical clinic with no regular after hours or urgent care service, no taxi, limited bus service, difficult terrain for seniors, and no ferry between 10 p.m. and 5 p.m. and mid day. This is a story Caring Circle Program Director Colleen O’Neil tells over and over again in her pleas to get off-island medical service deliverers to understand the on-the ground situation on Bowen. It is a story she told again at council last week. O’Neil, flanked by Caring
Circle President Diane Marshall and Communications Director Julia McCaig went on to explain what Caring Circle does in a typical month in the hopes that the organization might qualify for core funding from the municipality, ensuring that the program director salary would be covered consistently, year after year. In the past year, Caring Circle has connected 36 people needing a ride into town to get to medical appointments with volunteer drivers, organized three 6-week mental health programs, set up hearing screening clinics, and partnered with Seniors Keeping Young (SKY) to create a community lunch program. Really though, these examples don’t create a complete picture of what Caring Circle does, or what O’Neil takes-on in the average week or month.
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On Saturday morning, West Vancouver and Bowen-based businesses set-up displays in the Bowen Island Community School gym in order to promote themselves at the first-ever Bowen Island Business Showcase. The event was organized by the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, with the assistance of Bowen Island’s First Credit Union. The Executive Director of the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, Leagh Gabriel, estimates that 50 members of the public stopped by to check it out and noted that most people don’t want to spend a sunny Saturday in a school gym. However, based on the fact that they managed to sell all the table-spaces available for businesses, the Chamber will likely go ahead and organize the event again next year. “The West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce is interested in just about any opportunity that can offer exposure, and that was the purpose of this event,” says Gabriel. “It allows businesses to let local residents know they are there, which is good for everyone. If one person came through who has an ailing parent or relative, and now knows about what’s offered by Amica or Westerleigh retirement homes, then that is a good thing.” Gabriel says that one of the things she was surprised by was the lack of Bed & Breakfast owners who set up at the event. “I’ve always thought that B&B’s are one of Bowen’s biggest assets, as we have a real lack of accommodation options in West Vancouver,” says Gabriel. “I didn’t meet any accommodations owners on Saturday.” Carol Petersen, owner of Nature Encounters in Snug Cove, did attend the business showcase but was not solely focused on the promotion of her guest suite.
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