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2014 Comox Valley Growers Guide
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www.comoxvalleyecho.com Tuesday June 3, 2014
Price: 57 cents plus GST
Volume 20, No. 44
The scene pictured by passenger Danny Buttnor from the deck of the BC Ferry Queen of Burnaby yesterday morning.
Fisherman rescued as boat bursts into flames By Philip Round Echo Staff Ferry passengers on their way from Comox to Powell River yesterday witnessed the rescue of a prawn fisherman whose boat burst into flames, apparently the result of an electrical fault. The Queen of Burnaby ferry was
about an hour into its first run of the day when a radio message about the emergency was received at 7:30 a.m. and the ferry changed course to launch its rescue boat. To escape from the flames and a dense plume of billowing smoke, the lone fisherman had got in to his own dinghy and that was intercepted by another fishing boat in the Georgia
Strait that also responded to the alarm. Eventually the man was transferred to the ferry’s rescue craft and subsequently to a Canadian Coast Guard vessel that had been called to the scene. The ferry then continued its journey to Powell River, making a quick turnaround for the return to Comox
to try to catch up some of the lost time. But there was a domino effect of delays into the day - for example, the scheduled 10:10 a.m. departure from Comox did not get away until 10:45. For BC Ferries, public affairs manager Darin Guenette told the Echo their ferry crews were well trained for such rescue missions, which hap-
pened perhaps 12-15 times a year across the entire coastal ferry network. As for yesterday’s efforts, he noted the unnamed fisherman was safely transferred “so it was good work all round,” adding: “The adrenalin would certainly be flowing out there.” pround@comoxvalleyecho.com
City budget trawl to find money for fire training centre By Philip Round Echo Staff City finance staff will propose changes to the recently-approved Courtenay municipal budget next Monday to find the money needed to speed work on a new firefighter training centre. As previously reported in the Echo, the council has voted to move quickly to set up the state-of-the-art centre on land it already owns close to Home Depot, and intends to build a second City fire hall next to it later. Both are intended to be fully operational before the new Comox Valley Hospital opens across Lerwick Road in 2017. The latest projected cost for the entire fire department project is put at $5.7 million, with the site preparation at Waters Place estimated to cost $1.5 million, the training centre just shy of $1 million, and the fire hall itself $3.2 million. (Continued on page 2)
The Burke family is struggling to deal with the loss of a pet and a large vet bill for another.
Coutenay cougar attack leaves one feline dead, another seriously injured By Drew A. Penner Echo Staff Zoe and Floyd, brother and sister Siamese-tabby cats from the same litter, would clean each other and cuddle with each other on the couch. Sometimes in the middle of the night they would climb into bed with Kai and Hannah, the children of Melissa and David Burke. Floyd was the laid back one. Zoe was a bit more precocious. But last Friday everything changed when a young cougar snuck into the family’s Cumberland Road yard. Returning home around 8 p.m. from a
school movie night, Dave thought he heard a catfight in the backyard. But it wasn’t a housecat brawl. The wild cat had Floyd in his jaws. “Am I really seeing what I’m seeing?” he said, shooing the cougar. “He tried to take off with our cat at first.” Dave was glad the animal dropped Floyd and dipped beneath the fence, only to realize Zoe was lying limp nearby. Meanwhile Melissa arrived home with Hannah and a friend - who was ready for a sleepover - in tow. Dave yelled frantically. “What?” said Melissa, in shock. “A cougar in the yard?”
The girls headed to safety upstairs while Dave raced with Floyd to the vet to try to save Floyd. Melissa decided she best deal with Zoe’s limp body. “I grabbed the dead cat and brought it in the house,” she said. It wasn’t long before the cougar returned. “It was just sniffing around the perimeter of our yard,” she said, noting there was actually a deer it began stalking in the neighbour’s yard. “I was really worried there might be an ugly mess.” She wasn’t at peace until she saw the conservation officer arrive and heard the gunshot. (Continued on page 2)
Map showing location of proposed new fire hall
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