FRIDAY JUNE 26, 2015 VOL. 42, NO. 22
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The babies of 2014
And more photos from this year’s Father’s Day picnic
How could I not live here?
Meet Bowen’s most recent RCMP arrival
Outstanding athletes
Young Bowen Islanders impress at WVSS, yet again
Farmers’ and the new Tailgate Markets Council holds off on declaring Cove on-leash zone MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Vivian, Rosie, Corrina, Daphne, Kamile and Sarah say the Tailgate Markets are a fun way to sell produce and products from their gardens in between the monthly Farmers’ Markets. Marysia McGilvray photo
MARYSIA MCGILIVRAY SUBMISSION
F
or three Saturdays now, folks have been pulling up at the BICS parking lot to sell their freshly picked produce, plants, and eggs to eager buyers. These Tailgate Markets were a lead-up to the first Farmers’ Market of the season (June 27), a bigger event where locals will also be selling homemade jams, baked goods, pies, preserves, coffee, tea, garden crafts, seedlings, herbs, and more. This new food sustainability initiative allows growers to arrive with whatever is fresh and ready to sell and to leave when they are sold out. It’s a fast and fun way for the community to connect every non-farmers-market Saturday, from 10am until sell-out through to October 26. Some of the produce seen so far at the tailgate sales are: Easter egg radishes, large heads of lettuce, a variety of greens and herbs, squash starts, eggs, garlic scapes from the youth garden, fig trees and the first Bowen-grown raspberries of the season. Besides being
a venue for filling up on seedlings, greens and treats, the markets are a chance to meet food growers on Bowen and ask a few questions—the farmers have been happy to trade tips, and to share their stories of growing on Bowen. Vivian Pearce of Shady Acres says the Tailgate Markets, which are a new initiative of Bowen Agriculture Alliance, made possible thanks to support from the Knick Knack Nook, let her share the extra greens and herbs from her garden. The larger Farmers’ Market will run June 27, July 25, August 15, September 12, and October 3, from 10am-12pm in the BICS undercover area. It will have tents, tables, kids activities and buskers and be a lively market with a larger spectrum of farm and garden produce and related local items. At the Farmers’ Markets, Daphne Fargher of Foxglove Ranch will be selling fresh fruits, produce and her limited edition homemade raspberry and rose-petal jams, as well as her grandmother’s recipe marmalades. Daphne’s daughter Kamile Fargher will be selling her famous homemade fudge. Farming is Daphne’s “lifetime dream and job,” and she’s happy Kamile is interested in it as well.
BICS students participating in the final competition on Sports Day, last Friday. Meribeth Deen, photo
continued PAGE 3
Of the 21 incidents of “dog aggression” that the municipality’s senior bylaw officer, Bonny Brokenshire, reported to have occurred between the beginning of 2014 and April, 30 percent of those occurred in Snug Cove. Brokenshire told council this week that nowhere else on the island are such incidents so concentrated, and recommended that the Dog Control Bylaw be amended to include an onleash area in Snug Cove. Councillor Alison Morse said that thanks to the amendments made to the Dog Control Bylaw made back in 2005, there was no need to go through a full bylaw amendment to create an on-leash zone. Council had the option of simply passing a resolution, and the regulation will come into effect immediately. Councillor Sue Ellen Fast said that she was not “fully in favour of the bylaw” and questioned whether the dog aggressions incidents are the result of one poor handler, and if so, suggested other means of regulation. Brokenshire responded that in fact a minimum of 6 people, and possibly as many as 10, have been associated with dog aggression in Snug Cove. She added that the Cove is also an area where other types of dog incidents - such as feces being left on the sidewalk, barking or dogs running into traffic - have been reported. Following a brief discussion about the problems that can occur with dogs roaming free on beaches, Fast questioned whether leash laws might negatively impact Bowen’s “laid back” lifestyle, and whether there might be a seasonal element to the complaints being made to bylaw services. To that, Brokenshire responded that while the number of complaints certainly does rise during the summer, dog incidents in the Cove occur all year long.
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→ BOWEN ISLAND
P R O P E R T Y TA X E S
Property tax payments for 2015 are due by Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 4:30 pm. A 5% penalty will be added to total outstanding current 2015 taxes after the due date. An additional 5% penalty will be added to all unpaid current taxes after August 1, 2015.
NEW! Bowen Island residents eligible for the Home Owner Grant can claim their grant through the BIM website at www.bimbc.ca.
→ A N U P D AT E O N I S L A N D PLAN 2015
In April Municipal Council unveiled our 2015 strategic plan, now posted at www.bimbc.ca. On June 15 we discussed how things are going. I’m happy to report that we have made headway with our 11 priorities. Here are some of the highlights.
A1 – Address the Docks Issue We adopted a bylaw preventing the construction of new docks at Cape Roger Curtis. CRC dock applications before Council have been dealt with and a dock application policy has been drafted.
A2 – Manage Our Parks, Trails and Beaches We have hired an employee to do trails, parks and public spaces work and co-ordinate trails volunteers. We have applied for grants to improve our mapping data. Trail counters have arrived and will soon be installed on our trails to help us allocate resources.
B1 – Rezone and Sell Some Community Lands We have identified two areas for discussion. The first is immediately west of Seniors Lane on the main road. And the other is a small lot off Green Road near the Killarney Lake picnic area. We have engaged a land economist to help us determine values and explore marketing options.
D1 – Actively Support Diverse Housing We are working with Snug Cove House to ensure access to the infrastructure they need to move forward with their work plan. Council will also revisit the proposed, but never adopted, accessory building bylaw. This is a big deal. We may allow the construction of more than one home on a single lot. Our hope is that this bylaw would encourage the construction of rental cottages.
E1 – Continue to Clean Up Mannion (Deep) Bay Staff is finishing up a management plan to support our application for a Licence of Occupation (LOO) for Mannion Bay. Once we have the LOO we can control long-term moorage and reduce some problems. (Last winter we had several boats grounded or sunk.) This initiative is proceeding well and I believe Council will support the plan.
F1 – Improve External Fundraising and Relationship Building Council has identified the projects that require assistance and is working to identify funding options. Council has had productive meetings with MP John Weston, MLA Jordan Sturdy and Metro Vancouver Chief Administrative Officer Carol Mason.
F2 – Start on an Integrated Transportation Master Plan We secured funding from TransLink for public consultation this summer with a view to possible changes in our bus routes or schedule. Do go to our website at www.bimbc.ca and check out Island Plan 2015 for yourself. We want to know what you think of it and our progress to date. Here’s our email address: mayorandcouncil@bimbc.ca. Mayor Murray Skeels
→ WAT E R U S A G E
R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S
The following recommendations apply for all Municipal Water Systems:
NO LAWN SPRINKLING NO CAR/BOAT WASHING NO DECK/POWER WASHING
B2 – Provide Improved Municipal Services
CONSERVE WATER OR HAVE NONE.
This is a major initiative driven almost entirely by staff. The main focus is to finish action items identified in the prior council’s 2013 strategic plan, including completing a subdivision and servicing bylaw. We now have a communications policy that has brought you things like this Island Page. The audio in council chambers has been upgraded so you can actually hear what’s happening. We got a grant to help pay for our asset management plan software.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Public Works department at 604-947-4255.
C1 – Community Centre and Municipal Offices Planning We are building consensus on this one. In July staff will make recommendations based on a review of the many past proposals, and in September Council will decide on the plan and engage a project manager.
C2 – Improve Snug Cove Our new parks maintenance person will begin work this month on many small improvements in the Cove. The kiosk on the dock will soon be completed, the heritage cottage area has been spruced up, and a new garden replacing much of the paved sidewalk from the ferry will go ahead in the fall. An oil and grit separator will be installed in the cove, but it will be under the road so you’ll never see it. Bowen is also participating at the “novice” level in the Communities in Bloom program. There are at least 15 other small projects being prioritized and costed.
C3 – Fire Hall Planning In July Council will review the building and site proposal. A detailed work plan should be in place by the end of September.
→ NOTICE OF
CONSTRUCTION IN SNUG COVE
June 30 - July 31, 2015 Installation of an oil-water separator Visit www.bimbc.ca for more information and construction updates.
→ COMPLETE FIRE BAN IN EFFECT
NO Open Burning NO Camp Fires NO Beach Fires
TO REPORT FIRES, CALL 911
WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM
Local growers enjoying weekly tailgate markets from PAGE 1 Corinna Headley of Home Farm Gardens says, “For me, I really wanted my children to know where their food was coming from. We started with just a small family vegetable garden, and raising chickens, meat chickens and eggs, and it progressed from there. For the past three years, we’ve grown enough food for about five families in our own garden, and that’s where a lot of the inspiration came from, to go bigger.” Home Farm Gardens is a regular produce seller at the Tailgate Markets, and will also bring their fleeces, wool socks, lavender, and soap to the Farmers’ Market. Rosie Montgomery, also of Home Farm Gardens, adds, “We’re having a ball, and we’re doing well, and it’s fun for us. We’re excited to sell wherever we can because this is the first year of our market garden. We’re looking forward to the big market this week-
end. We’re just so grateful people are supporting us.” Support for the Tailgate sales, the Farmers’ Markets and connected programs such as the Young Farmers of Bowen comes from BAA, the Knick Knack Nook, BICR, BICS, the CSA’s Bowen Grows Project, the Young Farmers of Bowen Program and the BICS student garden club. Thanks also to the many volunteers and local growers and artisans who make the market wonderful and to the community for supporting locally grown food and food sustainability on Bowen Island by participating in the markets. All ages are invited to the markets! To busk or book a table please contact Marysia McGilvray, Famers’ Market lead, at bowenislandfarmersmarket@gmail.com. If you have some fresh produce from your garden you have too much of, but not enough to have a table, the Young Farmers will sell it for you at the Farmers’ Markets!
Concentration of dog-related incidents in Snug Cove
FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015 • 3
“It would become essential...” Rotary hears pitch on Gigabit for Bowen idea
Ken Simpson believes that Bowen Island will be left behind if we wait for our current internet service providers to upgrade infrastructure.
Meribeth Deen, photo
MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Dogs on-leash outside Rustique Bistro. Meribeth Deen, photo
from PAGE 1 Councillor Gary Ander said that this kind of regulation is important in order to give bylaw an enforcement tool. “Most people I find in the cove have their dogs on leashes. It’s so standard in most of the world, especially in a congested area, that I think its just the way it should be and we’re long overdue for this bylaw.”
A majority of councillors agreed that this measure should move forward, allowing some time for community education on the matter before bringing the regulation into effect in late July. Once that happens, dog owners will be subject to fines of $25 for a first offence, $50 for a second offence within a 12 month period, and $150 for a third offence within a 12 month period.
Bowen Islander Robert Ballantyne says that, on a daily basis, he speaks to people all over the world – as if they were right there in front of him. Think Skype, but higher quality. Making use of this tool would be easier for him, Ballantyne says, if he could tap into an Internet network with higher upload speeds. “But every time a service provider calls me and makes an offer, they talk about download speeds. As soon as I ask about upload capabilities, they go silent,” says Ballantyne. “I’d considered the possibility of splitting the cost of a commercial connection with a few of my neighbours who also work in technology. That would cost $300. When I heard about this idea to get an island-wide Gigabit connection I realized that the commercial option made no sense. I could pay what I’m paying now, and get a connection that’s 75 times faster than what is currently available.” Getting a “Gigabit for Bowen” is an idea that islander Ken Simpson brought forward to council earlier this year and would mean establishing a communityowned Internet network offering a one gigabit per second (i.e. one billion bits per second) optical fibre Internet connection to everyone who signed on to it. Ballantyne arranged for Simpson to give a talk on the idea to Bowen Island Rotary last week. He also spent the afternoon with former Bowen Islander, Deepak Sahasrabudhe, working to set up a live-stream of the talk. Despite spending the afternoon looking for a way to make it happen, Ballantyne and Shasrabudhe could not figure out how to get enough upload bandwith from Collins Hall to make it work. Simpson explained to the group that our current Internet connections are “asymmetrical.” “The Internet connection that you are currently getting on Bowen is maybe 25 megabits per second – in the download direction – but in the upload direction, it’s capped at no more than 5 megabits…. That’s a trick that they pull because they have a limited amount of bandwidth in cable, and they know that you’re more interested in downloading stuff
BC Ferries REGULAR SCHEDULE REGULAR SCHEDULE March 12, In Effect14 Mayto15October to October 13,2015 2014
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BOWEN ISLAND Snug Cove
Leave Snug Cove
6:00 am * 6:00 am 7:00 am* 7:00 am * 8:00 am 8:00 am 9:05 am††# 9:05 am# 10:05 am 10:05 am 11:05 am 11:05 am 12:10 pm 12:10 pm 2:35 pm 2:35 pm 3:45 pm 3:45 pm 4:45 pm 4:45 pm 5:50 pm 5:50 pm* 6:50 pm 7:50 pm 6:50 pm * 8:40 pm 7:50 pm^# 9:40 pm 8:40 pm# 9:40 pm
Distance: 3 NAUTICAL MILES Crossing Time: 20 MINUTES
Leave Horseshoe Bay
5:30 am** 5:30 am 6:30 am** 6:30 am 7:30 am** 7:30 am 8:35 am * 8:35 am 9:35 am## 9:35 am 10:35 am 10:35 am 11:40 am 11:40 am 12:45 pm 12:45 pm 3:10 pm pm 4:15 pm pm†† 5:15 pm pm 6:20 pm pm* 7:20 pm 7:20 pm^* 8:15 pm 8:15 pm## 9:10 pm 9:10 pm 10:05 pm 10:05 pm
VANCOUVER Horseshoe Bay
^ DAILY EXCEPT
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SATURDAYS # DAILY EXCEPT DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS SUNDAYS DAILY EXCEPT SATURDAYS & DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAYS & SATURDAYS SUNDAYS DAILY EXCEPT DAILY EXCEPT SAT, SUN & SAT,19, SUN MAY JUL&1, MAY 18,SEPT JULY1 1, AUG 4, & AUGOCT 3, SEP 13 7 & OCT 12
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† THE WEDNESDAY THE WEDNESDAY SAILINGS WILL SAILINGS WILL BE BE REPLACED REPLACED BY BY DANGEROUS DANGEROUS CARGO SAILINGS. CARGO SAILINGS. NO OTHER NO OTHER PASSENGERS PASSENGERS PERMITTED. PERMITTED.
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Hosted by:
Canada Day Community Celebration Featuring Black Molly
Wednesday, July 1st 2015, noon – 3pm Free Family Event in Crippen Park, Bowen Island Concession(s) available or pack your own picnic! Come. Dance. Play. Celebrate!
With thanks to:
4 • FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015
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viewpoint
Martin Marine - Round Bowen Race Dear Editor,
The Bowen Island Yacht Club (BIYC) held its 27th Annual Martin Marine Round Bowen Race on Saturday, June 13th. This race is the largest single start sailboat race on the west coast and 100 percent of the proceeds from this event go towards the Learn2Sail program right here on Bowen. Preliminary numbers indicate that we raised $7500 towards the construction of a new Junior Sailing Facility. We hope the community had a chance to enjoy the day and cheer on the visiting racers from their favourite beach. The results are available at www. biyc.bc.ca, along with many pictures and video (courtesy of SeaSnaps). An event such as this requires a great deal of organization and hard work. BIYC would like to thank the committee and volunteers which help make this event possible. In particular, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pernille Nielson, Jason Zahara, Jon Bell, Greg
Fighting for democracy in Howe Sound
Crowe and Joanne Forbes. Special thanks to Oydis Nickle and the team at Union Steamship and Damien Bryan for acting as RC boat on the fine yacht Sea Fiesta. The Bowen Island Yacht Club would like to thank our ALL of our sponsors, this event would not be possible without their generous contributions, ongoing support and the amazing prizes that were donated. Thanks to Doc Morgan’s Pub and Ginger 66 who proved once again that excellent musical talent is abundant on this fair isle. If you or your child would like to give sailing a try, please contact us through our website at www.biyc.bc.ca. We would be thrilled to take you out for a sail. Regards, Geoff Jarvis, Commodore BIYC
The Write Stuff. The Undercurrent encourages reader participation in your community newspaper. You must include your full name and a daytime phone number (for verification only). The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, legality, brevity and taste.
All Advertising and news copy content are copyright of the Undercurrent Newspaper. All editorial content submitted to the Undercurrent becomes the property of the publication. The undercurrent is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, art work and photographs. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
How appropriate is it for a company to hire PR firms, such as Hill + Knowlton and National Public Relations, to lobby the federal government all the way up into the Prime Minister’s Office? How appropriate is this when this company has the Canadian Environmental Assessment Office indirectly assessing its application? How appropriate is it to lobby the Canadian Environmental Assessment Office at the time when your proposal is under review? What does your intuition tell you? Right, it is not, but that is exactly what Woodfibre LNG is able to do, and not a peep is coming from anyone in our governments about this. Woodfibre LNG does not appear in the BC lobbyist registry, but of course that doesn’t mean anything in Christy Clark’s government, notorious for not keeping records. While we, as citizen groups, have a hard time to even set up an appointment with our local MP, hired lobbyist from PR firms and company representatives have no problem chatting up to elected officials: Christy Clark happily has a picture taken with Woodfibre LNG owner, Mr. Tanoto, while MLA Jason Sturdy has his table sponsored
by Woodfibre LNG at last February’s BC Liberal fundraiser We are now waiting for the environmental assessment of the Woodfibre LNG’s proposal, and its outcome is yet unclear. Will it include a risk assessment of the LNG tanker routes? We don’t know. We realize that there is too much at stake to be nonchalant about and that we cannot always rely on the governments to look after the interest of our region, our province, our country and our world. The decisions about to be made, if negative, will seriously change the character of Howe Sound. People on Bowen Island have shown they care about this issue: more than 1,150 Bowen Island residents have signed the Howe Sound Declaration and the number is still growing. We will take this clear indication to our MLA and MP. Join the Save Our Sound Flotilla on July 11 at 11am to cross the proposed LNG tanker route at 12 noon! We are asking for some of your time away from the Bowen’s Steamship Days but, like the organizers of Steamship Days, we want to celebrate the beauty of the place we live in and we like to keep it that way for the generations to come. On behalf of Concerned Citizens Bowen, Anton van Walraven
Ferry vouchers from the Helping Hand Fund Dear Editor Many thanks to Adam Holbrook and the members of the Bowen Island Municipal Transportation Advisory Committee for their donation of 12 ferry vouchers to the Bowen Community Foundation (letter, June 19). We are pleased to announce that these vouchers will be distributed
Here’s how. To submit a letter to the editor, fax 604-947-0148 or mail it to #102, 495 Government Rd., PO Box 130, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0 or email editor@ bowenislandundercurrent.com. B.C. Press Council. The Undercurrent is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2. For information, phone 1-888-687-2213 or go to www.bcpresscouncil.org.
Dear Editor:
through the Foundation’s Helping Hand Fund, an emergency response fund for Bowen Islanders in crisis, delivered confidentially via local community organizations. Soren Hammerberg Chair, The Bowen Island Community Foundation
Fabulous flamenco Dear Editor, A big thanks to Monica Laurin for bringing her wonderful Flamenco performance to Tir Na Nog last Friday. Our family enjoyed an evening of
beauty, colour, very talented and dedicated Flamenco dancers and amazing musicians. It is a show that we look forward to again next year. Vera Keogh
What Bowen does well, it does REALLY well Dear Editor, Bowen does a few things really well – like Hallowe’en and Remembrance Day for starters. But it does one thing really, really well – this village sure knows how to raise kids. By press-time, my last-born will be one day out from graduating from Grade 5 at BICS. Over my 25 years on this rock, kids of mine have spent 18 of their years at BICS – every one of them under the expert guidance, care and love of an awesome group of teachers, support staff, volunteers and administration. He’s leaving BICS now, and looking back on his years and those that his brother and sister spent at BICS, on behalf of my kids, their mothers and me – thanks for all you gave to my chil-
dren. Amazing. For better or worse, my last-born was born to play team sports – it’s his passion. That puts him in the crowd that spends hours every week, week in and week out, in all sorts of weather, on and off ferries, in and out of car pools, with an army of buddies and small handful of coaches, managers, parks and rec staff, and volunteers to get them going, develop their abilities, corral their energy and teach them the finer points of life like sportsmanship and team play. It takes a Mensa brain to put together our family schedule every week, but it pales in comparison to the heart that those people bring to their passion for sports and our community’s children – thanks for all you gave to enrich my child’s life. Amazing again.
But, it’s not just about my children and what they do with each of their days. It’s all around us – look at all the good stuff that’s happening in all the preschools and schools, and with all the piano, dance, gymnastics, singing, soccer, guitar, library, ultimate, arts, violin, horses, taekwondo, hockey, play/after school care, and on and on it goes. Our children are lucky; we are truly blessed. So, thanks be given, this and every spring, to all of you who so wonderfully help to raise and educate the Bowen Island children. With love from a Dad, Doug Hooper
#102–495 Bowen Trunk Road, PO Box 130, Bowen Island BC, V0N 1G0
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First understand the law, Mr. Long Dear Editor, I MUST respond to Bud Long’s letter to the editor of June 19th. My letter of June 12th was written from a professional planner’s perspective. It did not advocate for implementation of the Official Community Plan (OCP) “in an extreme form”. Where did Mr. Long get that notion? An OCP’s implementation is guided by the Municipal Act. The OCP is a legal document. The OCP can be amended through public process and bylaw. While the OCP is not “a holy scripture” (but thanks Mr. Long for the accolade!!) and, since it has been developed through extensive community dialogue (please see Section 1.1.1 of the OCP for details), it is an OCP with considerable public input and support. As I have said many times, including my June 12th letter, our OCP, which was an Update of the 1994 OCP, was one of the most thorough OCP Update processes undertaken in British Columbia. Mr. Long would do well to thank his fellow citizens for their time and input to the creation of this significant document. He is welcome to disagree but he should not ignore history or rewrite it. Healthy disagreement is a good thing, but when it is cloaked in conspiracy theory, it is not helpful. After all of the input and opportunity for the community to help frame the OCP, Mr. Long suggests that the OCP should have been submitted to a referendum. Sorry, the intent of the legislated process, which sets out required steps for OCP development and adoption, is intended to avoid OCP by referendum. I have never heard of an OCP going to referendum. In fact, I suggest that the provincial government would frown on such an idea. Because the Council of the day did not hold a referendum, Mr. Long states “that is a strong indication that the council (of the day) feared the proposed OCP would be rejected.” As an independent
FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015 • 5
Crippen Park Father’s Day Picnic, 2015
professional planner who is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners, I state categorically (again!) that Bowen’s OCP is a very clear, forward looking, comprehensive and well written document and I can confirm that it had widespread support (not total of course, as Mr. Long demonstrates). While I do believe that the bylaws Mr. Long references, attached inappropriately to the OCP at the time, were excessive and poorly written, they are not part of the OCP (and should never have been) and should not now be part of the existing OCP conversation. They are simply a ‘red herring’. Mr. Long also takes issue with my statement in reference to the docks at Cape Roger that “private ownership does not trump public good.” As a professional planner, I stand by that statement and reference Canadian law (with its British roots) that confirms, (unlike the United States where private property rights are enshrined in the constitution) that the public good is a key driver in Canadian land use law. Mr. Long goes on to suggest that my statement somehow condones “property confiscation” and leads to “public larceny.” Again, Mr. Long, we have legal processes in place that set out how the ‘taking’ must be a legitimate public need. My lesson from living on Bowen for 23 years is this: we need to do more celebrating of diversity of opinion, more creating and promoting respectful dialogue and more honouring the work of our volunteers, while agreeing to disagree but in a collegial way. And, we need to ensure we apply our OCP fairly and comprehensively as guided by the requirements of the Local Government Act. It is our Official Community Plan in name and law. Sincerely Dave Witty PhD, MRAIC, FCIP, RPP
From top: Bowen babies born in 2014 (Dayna Purdy, photo); with a little help from the moms, kids beat Dads in this year’s tug-o-war; serious competition in potato sack races (Meribeth Deen, photos)
On the calendar SATURDAY JUNE 27
SATURDAY JUNE 27
SUNDAY JUNE 28
WEDNESDAY JULY 1
THURSDAY JULY 2
FRIDAY JULY 3
SATURDAY JULY 4
Farmer’s Market BICS, 10 a.m. - noon
Bring your scarecrow to the Demonstration Garden behind Cottage 20 in Davies Heritage Orchard for Bowen Island’s first-ever Scarecrow Contest. NOON!
Dressage in the Meadow 1 - 3 p.m.
Canada Day Celebration at Crippen Park Noon - 3 p.m.
Duplicate Bridge @ Bowen Court Call Irene @ 2955
Wish Ron Woodall a Happy Birthday at The Snug, 3 p.m.
Bowen Island GIVES Hike Up Mt. Gardner Fundraiser
Prime Rib and Jazz Bowen Island Pub Featuring Stephen Fisk, John Stiver, Steve Smith, Buff Allen 7 - 9 p.m.
Library Annex & Gallery Fundraiser Bowen Island Pub Silent Auction Live Auction starts at 3 p.m. event runs until midnight
Kayak Around Bowen Race, pre-race meet-up starts at 9 a.m. at the Bowen Island Marina 2 p.m. Post-Race Refreshments followed by awards ceremony and BBQ
Bowen Island Museum & Archives AGM 12:30 at Dallas Marina 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Antique Appraisal Fundraiser
AA Meeting Collins Hall 7:15 p.m
JULY 10 - 12 Steamship Days! During the 1920s, steamships brought vacationers to the island’s resort cottages, dance pavilion, and apple orchards. Bowen Island became the holiday playground for up to 1,400 people a day. Steamship Days brings back that lively vacation spirit, with music, ice cream, and free activities. Check out the full schedule of events in the July 10 edition of The Undercurrent.
Steamship Days: Classic cars, old boats and so much more Meribeth Deen photo
6 • FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015
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Municipality announces Bowen Island a welcome change for newest RCMP arrival planner’s departure MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
In a press release sent out on the afternoon of Tuesday June 23, BIM announced that planner Cari St. Pierre is no longer a municipal employee. Hired at towards the end of the summer in 2014, St. Pierre had island experience having lived and worked for years on Hornby Island. Municipal
Chief Administrative Officer Kathy Lalonde told The Undercurrent that there were currently no details about the end to St. Pierre’s employment that could be released. Towards the end of July, the municipality will welcome new junior and intermediate planners – Daniel Martin and Emma Chow. Until their employment begins, planning work at the municipality will be covered by planning consultants.
Const. Chris Coulter is thrilled with his move from Nanaimo to Bowen Island. Martha Perkins, photo
Grade 7 students Briar and Ava race for the finish line at BICS annual Sports Day.
Jamie Woodall, photo
MARTHA PERKINS CONTRIBUTOR
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Not everyone would think that becoming an RCMP officer was a “safe” career alternative. But after a few too many “exciting incidents” as a pilot and flight instructor, Chris Coulter was ready for the switch. “You’re on the ground at least so, to me, it’s a much safer place,” says Bowen Island’s newest RCMP arrival. His first six years with the RCMP were based in Nanaimo and he requested Bowen as his next posting. “Everything we read about Bowen Island was that it was a fantastic place for us. Being a guy from downtown Toronto, how could I not live here? I sat on a beach yesterday and felt I was in Jamaica with the turquoise waters and hot, sunny weather.”
Const. Coulter and his wife, who’s on an extended maternity leave as a realtor, have a one-year-old daughter. (“We’re waiting until we forget about sleep deprivation before we have a second,” he says.) After only one week on the island, they know they’ve made the right choice. “Here you get a chance to connect with people instead of ‘putting out fires’ and moving on to the next call,” he says. “It’s nice to help people come to their own solutions.” And while it means giving up anonymity when not on duty — “You’re always aware that you’re looked at as wearing the police officer’s hat” — Coulter says it’s a welcome consequence of living in a place where you can get to know people and vice versa. “The community on Bowen Island should think of the police like a hard hat,” he says. “You hope you never need it but we’re here to help out when you do.”
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Marine trail opens for Sea To Sky kayakers MARTHA PERKINS CONTRIBUTOR
It’s not every sea kayaker who will want to paddle from Squamish to Bowen Island or Gibsons but, if they do, they now have a map of where they can pull up for the night. This Saturday, the 40-kilometre Sea to Sky Marine Trail will have its official Bowen Island launch. Five years in the making, the trail designates six overnight camping spots in the Howe Sound and three provincial park options — Porteau Cove, Halkett Bay and Plumper Cove. “It’s one more great connection to the water and a really nice amenity,” says project manager Gordon McKeever, who scoured the coastline looking for appropriate sites and deftly navigated various hoops at four levels of government. He says he was very touched when representatives of Squamish Nation presented him with a drum at the launch in Squamish. “Howe Sound was a Squamish pond for millennia. This is a way for their youth to reconnect with a landscape that’s been in their backyard,” says McKeevor. The trail is a land-to-sea connection for the Trans Canada Trail and also connects to the 180-kilometre Sea to Sky Trail, which will eventually run from Squamish to D’Arcy, 150 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. It’s part of the BC Marine Trail Network. The trail wouldn’t have been possible a few decades ago because few people wouldn’t have seen the recreational possibilities in these waters - it was a body of water associated with industry and pollution. In recent years, however, “the egregious sources of pollution have cleaned up their act” and people are realizing that they don’t have to go far to get away from it all. There’s no reservation system for the campsites on the trail but McKeever doesn’t think there will be a run on the sites that aren’t part of a provincial park. “Sea kayak camping is not a low-entry activity,” he says. “It requires special gear and special knowledge.” Nor is he worried about a negative impact on the land. “The sites are very isolated. Wilderness backpackers have a tremendous respect for nature and they’re used to rustic conditions.” A trail map will be unveiled after Saturday’s award presentations for the Round Bowen kayak race at Bowen Island Marina. Speeches will likely take place around 3:30pm. For a map and information, please go to SeaToSkyMarineTrail.ca, which links you to the BC Marine Trail.
Kayaks, canoes and SUPs to race around Bowen June 27
Kayakers chase the ferry out of Snug Cove at the start of the Round Bowen race. Martha Perkins, photo
MARTHA PERKINS CONTRIBUTOR
Wes Hammer once circumnavigated Bowen Island in his kayak in two hours and 25 minutes. The North Vancouver paddler will once again be the one to beat in this Saturday’s human-powered version of the Round Bowen race. There are 26 categories of races, everything from Hammer’s high performance kayaks to stand-up paddleboards. Last year, one paddleboarder did the entire race using his hands as paddles. For those who aren’t quite up to the entire 33-kilometre round-Bowen adventure, there’s also a half-island race (14 to 19 km depending on which way the wind’s blowing and, therefore, which way the race is heading.) So far there are 54 competitors but race organizer Brent O’Malley of Bowen Island Sea Kayaks says more are always welcome. There’s a 9:30 a.m. start from Snug Cove for regular kayaks and SUPs, a 10:30 start for high performance kayaks and ocean-rigged canoes, and an 11:30 start from Tunstall Bay for the half-island race. There’s a post-race salmon barbecue at Bowen Island Marina. The fee is now $75. To register go to BowenIslandKayaking.com.
FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015 • 7
BEING PREPARED FOR THE UNPREDICTABLE The measures we’re taking to ensure our project is designed to withstand the following natural hazards:
1 in 2,475 year earthquake
Wildfires
Major and minor avalanches
1 in 200-year instantaneous peak flows*
* Mill and Woodfibre Creeks
Please share with #workingforsquamish Ask a question at askwoodfibrelng.ca
8 • FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015
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Congratulations to Bowen’s Athletes of the Year MARY ANN ZAKRESKI
SUBMISSION
Congratulation to Ben Welsh who follows in the footsteps other Bowen Island boys awarded with the West Vancouver Secondary School Grade 8 athlete of the year award. This marks the sixth consecutive year that this honour has gone to a Bowen Island boy. In previous years the award has been brought home by Jack DeSante, Finn Morales, Charlie Welsh, Elliot Beamer, and Matias Blomberg/Finn Rainsley-Ray.
Team Black beats out Team Pink in Co-Ed Soccer finals LAWRENCE SPARLING SUBMISSION
Bowen footballers played-out yet another hard fought co-ed soccer tournament this past weekend. Games ran all day Saturday, and audiences witnessed some spectacular battles. By the end of the semi-finals on Sunday morning, we learned that Team Black (led by Gillian Drake and Lee Vincent) would meet Jason Campbell’s Team Pink in the final. The afternoon sun was at full strength as they set to it. Pink surprised Black and scored early and looked like they would run away as they added two to their lead. Black doubled down and scored before the half where it sat at 3-1. Black closed the gap to 3-2 with a spectacular full
field shot from Chris Wilson (playing goal keeper for Black) which arched over Mateusz Krukowski in the opposing net. Pink forced their way back to make it 4-2 and Black’s late rally brought the final score to 4-3 for Pink. Jason Campbell celebrates his sixth and final year in the league with a win with his teammates Mateusz Krukowski, Josie Huskisson, Colin Annable, Mimi Jones, Scott Stevenson, Wade Morrisette, and John Reid. Clive and Kathleen Jones generously hosted the wrap up potluck party on Sunday evening. The Bowen FC Co-ed League continues to provide an extremely positive focus for the soccer community on Bowen encouraging anyone age 16 and up to get involved. Prior soccer experience is not required.
Ben Welsh (left) and this year’s Grade 11 Athlete of the Year, Charlie Welsh.
Mary Ann Zakreski, photo
Josie Huskisson chases Team Black’s Deidre Farah.
Emmett Sparling, photo
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FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015 • 9
History is alive and well at the Museum & Archives
KATHRYN NEY SUBMISSION
The image of a Remington typewriter has caught the eye of Bowen Island community members in the windows of shops and cafés around Snug Cove during the past week. It is featured on the posters for the upcoming AGM and Antique Appraisal event, which will be hosted by the Bowen Island Museum & Archives on Sunday, June 28 from 12:30 – 3:00 PM. Sequestered behind a row of Lodgepole pines, the modest front of the Museum building has often gone unobserved by passers-by despite its central location on the corner of Miller and Bowen Island Trunk Road. This year the AGM event aims to expand its membership base and make its ongoing preservation of Bowen history more widely known and accessible. It is a way for the Museum & Archives to reinforce our connection with both the Island and Lower Mainland communities, and to ensure that the material we document continues to be shared and pre-
served. I began working at the Museum & Archives two weeks ago, as an Archival Assistant for a summer term of the UBC Arts Co-op program. During my first day working in the Archives, a young child came upstairs full of questions about what he had seen in the exhibit below. He told us that what made the Bowen Island Museum & Archives so special for him was that he could interact with the objects –fascinated by the old Remington, this little boy came upstairs to do his own research at the Archives. It just so happened that we had a second typewriter sitting on the office table. A much newer Olympic model, it was owned by the famous sportswriter Jim Kearney, who lugged it across the world to cover the Munich Olympics of 1972. As with many children his age, our young visitor was thrilled with our story and began typing away on the same keys that Kearney had idled over. Not really into news reporting, the boy began drafting a Superman installment on how the Marvel hero saved Bowen Island.
continued PAGE 10
No. M151088 Vancouver Registry IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA BETWEEN
On July 6, 2015, His Holiness The Dalai Lama celebrates his 80th birthday. On July 5, 2015, quite brazenly, His Fartness The Cartoonist celebrates his 80th birthday. Woodall claims that this was never meant to be a race and he certainly never intended to win by a single day. He is very concerned that everything is okay, karmically speaking. The Atonement party (with cake and refreshments hosted by the Undercurrent) will be held at The Snug at 3 p.m. on Kafka’s birthday. God forbid anyone should bring a gift.
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SUBJECT TO RULE 15-1 FORM 10 ADVERTISEMENT To: Connor Lockhart TAKE NOTICE THAT on 12/Jun/2015 an Order was made for service on you of a Notice of Civil Claim issued from the Vancouver Registry of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in proceeding number M151088 by way of this advertisement. In the proceeding, the plaintiff claims the following relief against you: a. an award of damages for: i. non-pecuniary loss; ii. loss of past and future income; iii. loss of income earning capacity; iv. loss of domestic capacity, past and prospective; v. damages pursuant to the Health Care Costs Recovery Act; vi. past and future care costs including "past cost of health care services" and the "future cost of health care services" as defined in the Health Care Costs Recovery Act; vii. an "In Trust" claim for relatives and others who provided care and assistance to the Plaintiff; viii. special damages; b. interest pursuant to the Court Order Interest Act, and c. the costs of this action You must file a responding pleading/response to the Notice of Civil claim within the period required under the Supreme Court Civil Rules failing which further proceedings, including judgment, may be taken against you without notice to you. You may obtain, from The Law Courts, Vancouver Registry, at 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2E1, a copy of the Notice of Civil Claim and the order providing for service by this advertisement.
www.firstcu.ca | 604.947.2022
This advertisement is placed by the plaintiff, Mollie Magee-Davis whose address for service is Bungay Law Office, #100 – 1090 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2W9, fax number for service 604-684-4302. C1166125
10 • FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015
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Spirit of Community...
Summer fun lies ahead with Bowen Rec
Rosie Ander (left) and Madeline Jones. SHELLEY SHANNON SUBMISSION
From left: Kristin Jarvis, Jennifer Pardee, Katherine Gish. Community School Association, photo
MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Jennifer Pardee was unanimously nominated by the Community School Association executive to receive the Spirit of Community Award this year for her work in helping facilitate a high level of communication and a clarity of process between District 45, BICS, CSA, CSC and the PAC. CSA representative Kristin Jarvis says that “In addition to her ongoing diplomacy and leadership, we are truly
appreciative of just how much time she spent ‘on the ground’ showing up to advise at strategic planning, rolling up her sleeves to help at fundraisers, and helping to focus endless committee hours.” The award includes a cheque for $200.00 to be donated to a Bowen community organization of Jennifer’s choice. Pardee designated her funds to be targeted to supporting her passion, the BICF Youth Council which is under development.
Bowen Island Community Recreation is ready for the summer and we would like to introduce you to our amazing summer staff supervisors. Madeline Jones will be working with our day camps for 8-12 year old “Day Trippers” and Rosie Ander is back to supervise “Island Adventure” camps for 5 ½ ( and must be going into kindergarten) - 7 year olds. “Hi everyone! I’m Maddy and I will be one of the counsellors for Day Trippers this coming summer!
I am going into my third year at Queen’s University where I study Arts. I love outdoor activities especially ones which include the water! Some of my favourite memories of my summers growing up were going to day camp on Bowen. This year I cannot wait to create some of those amazing and crazy times with you! “Hey Everybody! My name is Rosie and I am so excited to be returning for my fifth summer working with the Island Adventurers. With my background in Early Childhood education, we are adding some new and action packed activities to our itinerary. We’ve been planning like crazy to make this the best summer yet and we can’t wait to spend it with you!”
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Bowen Island Gives (BIG!) organizers are preparing for the annual Mt. Gardner hike and fundraiser on Saturday July 4, 2015. Ginger 66 will be playing at Cates Hill Chapel that evening from 7:00pm-12:00am. The BIG! party is free for those who participate in the hike; additional tickets will be available for sale at the door for $15. All funds raised will be donated to Covenant House. Visit www.bowenislandgives.com to register for the hike.
Connect with the past at this weekend’s Antique Appraisal from PAGE 9
FIRST CREDIT UNION IS HIRING! Position: Teller (Bowen Island Branch, Permanent, Part time)
First Credit Union is looking for a team-oriented individual to provide a high caliber of service. The successful candidate must commit to the service standards of First Credit Union and will possess the ability to work in a fast paced environment. A high level of professionalism must be maintained at all times. Candidates must have excellent customer service skills, ability to foster business development, adhere to security procedures and limits, be able to multi-task, have excellent organization skills, and be able to problem solve. Must be available to work on Saturdays. Please forward your resume and cover letter to HR Manager, Angie Poulsen (angie.poulsen@firstcu.ca) by July 6th, 2015 (end of day).
It may be that his typewriter creation was not too far off the mark – not only is local history central to what Bowen Island is, but there is something heroic in ensuring that those details are saved. And just as importantly, that they are brought out and shared with incomers, new comers, old timers, and overseas visitors alike. In our guest book, a recent entry reads “Interesting objects” in a friendly scrawl, alongside a name from Munich, Germany. It is not just off-island visitors who come to the Museum & Archives for the first time. A mother returning from the Artisan shops was caught unaware when I mistook her for a visitor. She decided to extend her shopping trip, and brought both her young daughter and father into the Museum. Her father was visiting from the family home in Patagonia, but she herself has been a resident on Bowen for almost a decade and did not know the Museum existed. Peering around at the objects we have on display, that same old Remington typewriter caught her eye. She told me when she was a school girl in Patagonia, the typewriters they used were identical. This single object suddenly opened a clear memory from her own past. “There was a tidal wave,” she said, “and seawater came up to our knees. The light was coming in, and there was seaweed hanging from the typewriter, one just like this.”
The words and objects housed in the Bowen Museum & Archives can have their own history and can also speak for themselves. The Remington, donated by Katie Carter in 1994, has in only two weeks allowed two visitors to personally connect with the past. The Antique Appraisal will be a similar opportunity for familiar and unassuming heirlooms from Island homes to shake off the dust of disuse and be given new value. It is important for the Bowen Island community and incoming visitors to see that the Museum & Archives is not a backlog of public records, or a storehouse of dated local knowledge. Local history is not an empty history of facts and dates, but one with names and faces that can connect a stranger to a time so spatially or temporally removed from their own. In community development, it offers a deep-seated anchor amidst tides of cultural and generational change. It is something that we share, and can continue to share, no matter what year we were born or what corner of the world we were born into. I feel privileged to be part of the work done here at the Bowen Island Museum & Archives and I hope that this letter finds itself out in the community to gather and strengthen public support. I highly encourage everyone to attend the AGM and Antique Appraisal Fundraiser – to bring by your heirlooms, to share your own family histories, and to take in the timeless view of Snug Cove over some locally made treats at Bowen Island Marina.
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FRIDAY JUNE 26 2015 • 11
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Gigabit for Bowen still looking for leadership from PAGE 3 Simpson also explained that having an optical fibre connection would mean greatly reducing the “latency” of your Internet connection, which is the time it takes for each individual bit of data to make a round trip to the Internet and back. The combination of reduced latency and vastly increased speed would greatly improve the quality of interactive services such as Skype and FaceTime, enabling high definition video conferencing of a quality most people have never experienced. All of Bowen, said Simpson, is currently being served by less than one gigabit of bandwidth. In a survey of the room, one audience member said that he was paying $40 per month for an Internet connection as part of a sixmonth promotion, but that ordinarily the cost would be $60 or more.
The extra money they [Telus and Shaw] make is based on having a duopoly that limits competition... “The cost of providing a broadband Internet connection is $5 per month,” said Simpson. “That’s their actual cost. The extra money they [Telus and Shaw] make is based on having a duopoly that limits competition…. With community operated Internet we can definitely bring the cost down, and improve service dramatically.” Simpson uses the town of Olds, Alberta, as an example for the creation of community-based optical fibre Internet service, providing a gigabit connection to every home or business. Olds spent $12 to $13 million dollars initially to set up their system. Simpson estimates that Bowen could set up a similar system for a one-time investment of roughly $6 million. Bowen may also be at a strategic advantage in comparison to Olds. Lance Douglas, a former CEO of the Olds system (called O-net) was at Collins Hall for Simpson’s talk. He said that although Shaw and Telus claimed to not be concerned about losing a market as small as Olds, they reacted very competitively once O-Net was set up. “The Olds Institute spent eight years trying to get fibre into the town. They worked with Telus and they worked with Shaw, and they just wanted to get the infrastructure into the town without
the excuse that it wasn’t available,” said Douglas. “About 11 months after I got there we had the infrastructure up and running… Shaw and Telus started offering very deep discounts to businesses just to stay with them, and not move over to the local system. And then Telus started building a fibre network in the next town over, using something called GPON to bring fibre closer to each home – but not gigabit service. They hired the same construction company we were using for the deployment in Olds, forcing us to scramble for construction resources.” Douglas said that as an island next to a large population area, Bowen might be able to avoid some of these challenges. “It’s unlikely the incumbent Internet providers will install fibre to the home on Bowen Island before they finish doing that in the rest of Metro Vancouver – and that effort will take years. Bowen will be last place – it has to come from the community.” Scott Armstrong, the owner of Swift Fox Systems, was also at Collins Hall for the Rotary meeting. His company is in the business of helping small communities set-up and maintain their own networks. He pointed to the town of Milk River, Alberta (with a population of less than 1,000 people) as another place that has successfully started a community-based Internet service provider. “Their service grew organically from a shared antenna service set up in the 1970s so that the population could watch television,” said Armstrong. “Today, their community-based Internet service employs three local people full-time.” He added that the leadership of the system, which is structured as a co-op, is not necessarily tech-saavy. Towards the end of the evening, Simpson told the audience it may actually be possible to set up a pilot project connecting a portion of the island such as Artisan Square or the Cove with gigabit Internet via cost effective wireless links rather than undersea fibre optic cable. However, before anything moves forward, a committed group needs to come together and get the ball rolling. When asked whether he would be willing to spearhead such an initiative, Robert Ballantyne said he is not able to take on another leadership role but he would happily lobby for it. “There are many people, like my fellow Rotarian Piers Hayes who say, I only use the Internet for email so what we have now is okay,” says Ballantyne. “But if we had the service that would be available with a gigabit connection, these people would find ways to use it, and it would become essential.”
CANADA DAY
This year you don’t even need to pack a picnic MARTHA PERKINS CONTRIBUTOR
Canada Day is a communal celebration of everything we love about this country. And on Bowen Island, that sense of being part of one big happy family is almost palpable. The Bowen Island recreation department is hosting a three-hour, old-fashioned family picnic on July 1 from noon to three. There’ll be cake, of course, but so much more. • bring a picnic blanket to stake out your corner of Crippen Park • if you don’t feel like packing your own picnic basket, Alderwood Farm and The Pub will have concession stands • play a game of badminton, croquet or bocce • keep your kids busy with crafts, face painting and tattoos • take part in the community art project which, this year, will focus on the Canadian flag in honour of its 50th birthday • enjoy the music of one of Bowen’s newest band, Black Molly, as well as a performance by the Bowen Island Gymnastics Club • after the cake is cut around two o’clock, burn off all that sugar by taking part in the tug of war, sack races and relays • cool off by joining the crowd in getting doused by water courtesy of the Bowen Island Fire Department. The event is free thanks in part to a grant from Heritage Canada.
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