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Volume 20, No. 35
Concerns voiced over cost of expanding Valley bus services By Philip Round Echo Staff
In some ways Markus is a typical Grade 5er. In other ways he’s on the extraordinary side.
TAKE THAT CANCER! Markus battles the evil alien invaders By Drew A. Penner Echo Staff In many ways Markus Yule is just an ordinary Grade 5 kid who likes playing video games Call of Duty Black Ops 2 and playing with Nerf guns. But ever since the doctors discovered two large tumors in his head the 10-yearold has been fighting a different kind of boss - evil cancer invaders. “It’s an alien - it’s not supposed to be in your body,” he said, explaining the way he thinks about the rigorous treatment process for a pair of tumour that popped up on in his head. ‘We’re like jabbing it with swords. It’s like jab jab jab jab jab jab!” This is new territory for the upbeat youth with heaps of per-
sonality. “The hardest thing for me has just been trying to go through this,” he said. “Because the treatment itself isn’t like anything I’ve ever done in my life.” At least 16 local women have agreed to donate their hair to Angel Hair for Kids which supplies wigs to cancer patients, while raising money for the Yule family. The May 6 event at Roots Salon on 5th Street in Courtenay at 4 p.m. will feature food for participants from Plates Catering and door prizes for the public from Derm Essentials and Sunkissed Beauty Bar, among others. “It’s amazing and it’s selfless,” said his mom Yvonne. “I know how girls are about their hair.” (Continued on page 3)
Markus is working on a comic book that will help other kids battling cancer.
Concerns about the cost of expanding local bus services in the coming years is being voiced by several Courtenay councillors. At Monday’s committee of the whole meeting, Coun. Starr Winchester said the most ambitious expansion plan would see a $100,000 annual increase in the share of operating costs Courtenay would have to cover - and that scale of increase would multiply in the years to 2018. That was, she suggested, an unsustainable rise that would not be welcomed by taxpayers, and more cost-effective ways of providing local bus services had to be considered. Councillor Bill Anglin said Transit services were an important part of the community, but key questions that needed clear answers were: Could they be provided more efficiently? and How should any ongoing subsidy be funded? He noted that over the past 15 years the number of hours buses operated on Valley routes had almost doubled (from 14,500 to 27,000), while the statistics indicated ‘boardings’ - the number of passengers - had more than tripled (from 182,000 to 578,000). He questioned some of the statistics, suggesting people who used transfers when changing buses would be counted as two boardings, but in reality would be making only one journey. And, he suggested, it did not necessarily follow that adding more hours or more routes would produce even better results. “Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come,” he commented, noting an experimental service designed to serve CFB Comox to match civilian shift times had seen very little use. Statistics showed that some services passing through rural areas had only one or two passengers per run, and it might be a better use of the existing budget to switch some of those operating hours to improve urban services where potentially more people could use the buses. Anglin suggested consideration be given to consolidating the existing system before expanding in new directions at significant additional cost. At present, the total operating budget of Comox Valley Transit is about $2.5 million a year. Of that, just over 19 per cent is covered by fares, and a further 47 per cent by the provincial government through BC Transit. (Continued on page 2)
Canary in the coal mine Firebrand Cumberland councillor Kate Greening to quit politics By Drew A. Penner Echo Staff Cumberland’s most outspoken councillor - who ruffles feathers as a matter of course and takes great pains to make sure every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed - will not seek re-election this year. Kate Greening, a feisty woman who doesn’t mince words, revealed to the Echo she will not run in November elections, having tired of politics. “It’s a whole bunch of bullshit,” she said of the political game. “I’d rather be putting it on my garden than shovelling it.” Greening has built up a reputation as a canary in the coal mine over two terms as councillor, and further back as a member of the public. She fearlessly stands up
against what she sees as negative forces and runaway processes, although at times critics contend her actions are needlessly nitpicky or contrarian. “You can push anybody’s buttons that you want to,” she said, characterizing council as an Us vs. Them struggle. “You don’t think they push buttons?” Her announcement comes after weeks of public rebukes in council chambers culminated in a stern talking to from Mayor Leslie Baird after an off-handed comment during a vote she lost April 28, to which Coun. Roger Kishi took offence. “I please wish you wouldn’t do that,” Baird said, noting Greening has a right to speak but “not that way.” Kishi had called out Greening at their previous meeting for what he called “a personal attack on other council members” as Greening grew frustrated with
discussions around the Village’s potential involvement in a regional wastewater project. “We all have the right to our opinion and to make that known,” Baird said. “We don’t need the comments Kate.” Greening made a name for herself as a thorn in the side of Trilogy developer John Evans, who gained concessions from a previous council the last time an Official Community Plan was developed. Her vigilance in scouring documents has been monitored by Village staff, with a multitude of amendments she brought forward being incorporated into this round of OCP crafting. In her day job as a notary public in Courtenay Greening deals with wills, powers of attorney, subdivisions, development permits and more. (Continued on page 2)
Kate Greening goes through a zillion and one proposed amendments during an Official Community Plan public input meeting.
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