Comox Valley Echo - January 27, 2014

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TUESDAY.COURTENAY, BC. JANUARY 27 2015

ECHO

NEWS Comox Valley Weather

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Tuesday Mainly cloudy with 60% chance of showers.

High 9°C.

Wednesday Cloudy.

Low 3°C. High 9°C.

Thursday Cloudy.

Low 6°C. High 9°C.

Friday Cloudy.

Low 5°C. High 8°C.

Saturday Cloudy with 30% chance of showers.

Low 2°C. High 8°C.

For the latest Comox Valley Weather visit: www.comoxvalleyecho.com

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Comox Marina tenants protest ‘excessive’ berthage fee hikes

BY MICHAEL BRIONES Echo Staff

A delegation of marina tenants in Comox have expressed their displeasure over what they view as an” extraordinary” increase in berthage fees over the last decade.

A ro u n d 3 0 te n a n t s filled the council chambers Wednesday to raise their concerns. Their spokesperson, Bruce Morrison, said their presentation was timely because they are a newly elected council and are on the verge of setting this year’s budget that includes the Comox Municipal Marina Fees Bylaw.

They presented council with a package that included marina analyses that highlighted their case as to why they feel the annual fee hikes are “excessive and in-

This is not a luxury marina. They are not rich guys’ boats.

We think it’s pretty high for some of the boats.”

BRUCE MORRISON Tenants’ spokesperson

equitable to boaters.”

There are 144 marina tenants, said Morrison, and they would like a freeze or a moratorium on further increases. He pointed out that in 2006 fees for a 34foot boat slip, not including electrical power charges, were $1,470. That amount has dramatically increased to $2,672 in 2015.

Morrison said it equates to an increase of about 80

per cent over the last ten years or a per annum hike of about 8 per cent.

“Our position is, the fee increases averaging eight per cent per year unrelated to increases in marina expenses are unjustifiable and unfair to marina tenants,” said Morrison. “We suggest that the fee increases are inconsistent with the concept of a self-

supporting and affordable community marina.”

The group pointed out the marina facilities lack amenities for tenants and that the fees they’re paying are nothing more than a source of revenue for the town.

The town currently has a Waterfront Development project that is geared towards making the marina

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 19 Wing Comox will be holding an Armed Forces Day/Air Show on 15 Aug 15. In order to ensure the success of this major event, the Organizing Committee is conducting a request for proposal for food and beverage vendors. The RFP package is available by e-mailing justin.gillis@forces.gc.ca with vendor contact info including name, mailing address and e-mail address.

The closing date for bids is Fri, 27 Mar 15.

a place to visit and also link it to the downtown core. Morrison said they are subsidizing this project through the fees they pay but do not see direct benefit to the tenants.

They feel the impact it will have is on the proposed elimination of 16 parking spots which will make loading and unloading to the wharfs less con-

venient than at present.

Council was made aware that the majority of the marina tenants own small craft between 20 and 30 feet.

“This is not a luxury marina,” said Morrison, because a large number of the modest small boats are valued in the $10,000 to $15,000 range.

“They are not rich guys’ boats,” he said.

As an example, Morrison said if the fee for a 24foot slip is $1,593 per year, an owner of a boat valued at $15,000 could end up paying in excess of 10 per cent of the boat’s value annually to rent a slip at the marina.

“We think it’s pretty high for some of the boats,” said Morrison.

The group wants council to take their presentation about marina rates into account when setting future fees in the new budget. Morrison stressed that they are not looking for any subsidy.

They would like to request that the town consider or recognize the value of establishing a marina tenant advisory group that will work together with the town on rate setting, marina improvements, regulations and other matters mutually beneficial to both sides.

JAN 23

JAN 29

Jan. 23– Jan. 29

For the most up-to-date information on the boil water advisory visit

www. comoxvalleyrd.ca/boil

Cinema #4: “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Royal Ballet Saturday, January 24th, 10:00 am (ends 1:10 pm). Doors open at 9:30 Approx. 3 hrs, 10 min. 2 intermissions.

Cinema #1: “American Sniper” 14A Violence, coarse language.

Nightly except Sunday: 6:40 (9:05) & 9:35 (12:00). Sunday, January 25: 7:20 (9:45) & 10:10 (12:35) Saturday & Sunday Matinees: 12:30 (2:55) & 3:25 (5:50) Cinema #2: “Mortdecai” NYR Nightly: 7:00 (9:00) & 9:40 (11:40) Saturday & Sunday Matinees: 12:20 (2:35) & 3:35 (5:40).

Sunday Matinees: 12:50 (2:50) & 3:35 (5:35) Cinema #3: “Strange Magic” NYR Nightly: 7:10 (9:00) & 9:30 (11:20) Saturday & Sunday Matinees: 12:20 (2:10) & 2:35 (4:25) Cinema #4: “The Imitation Game” PG: Nightly: 6:50 (8:55) & 9:25 (11:30) Saturday & Sunday Matinees: 12:40 (2:45) & 3:15 (5:20) Box Office Hours for Jan. 23th – 29th.

Nightly: 6:00 pm – 9:50 pm. Saturday & Sunday Matinees: 11:30 am - 3:50 pm

www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

3

One of the many renderings for proposed Comox waterfront development on the former site of the Edgewater Pub.

Development dead in the water Comox council rescinds resolutions for major waterfront project

BY MICHAEL BRIONES Echo Staff The proposed major mixed commercial and residential development on a waterfront property on Beaufort Avenue in Comox is no longer happening.

Comox council has rescinded resolutions they approved for the project on September 15, 2010.

The owners were granted permission to build a 62-

room hotel with underground parking on 1805 Beaufort Avenue and for surface parking on 1823 Beaufort Avenue. But the plan never took off.

Council, at the time, directed staff to issue development permits, variances, and flood plain exemptions but were subject to completion of a range of outstanding items, which were never completed.

The property owners dropped their initial pro-

posal and requested the conditional approvals to be retained until a new application was introduced to council.

A new design was submitted on Oct. 5, 2013 for a mixed-use 28-room hotel and a 42-unit residential building and parking. They were brought before council on Nov. 6, 2013 and were given some breaks to make the development happen. But since then it went stale. Not

further submissions were made and the applications were closed on Oct. 6, 2014.

One of the reasons the project was shelved is a change in ownership. As well, one of the properties, 1823 Beaufort Avenue, is now for sale.

Mayor Paul Ives said they are disappointed not to see this project come to fruition. He blames poor market conditions as the main reason why it didn’t

happen. The initial cost to build the project was $18 million.

“In the last couple of years, this project has gone through different plans,” said Ives.

“I think it was in 2008 when the economy went sour. I suppose it’s a reflection of the difficulty in getting financing for this kind of project.”

Ives said they’re still confident something will be built because it’s a

prime lot adjacent to the Comox Marina with great views of the water and the mountains.

“There hopefully would be some opportunities over the next year or two,” said Ives.

“They are included within the town’s incentives plan that we developed for the downtown so as matters proceed in other projects, perhaps it will get them some impetus moving forward.”

Outdoor preschool plan shifts from Comox to Cumberland

BY MICHAEL BRIONES Echo Staff A new outdoor school that’s been planning to open in Comox and use Mack Laing Park as its classroom has switched its focus.

After careful consideration, the brainchild behind the preschool outdoor concept, program director Jarrett Krentzel decided to move it into the Village of Cumberland’s Coal Creek Historic Park.

With the Mack Laing Park preservation initiative still far from fruition, Krentzel said he needed to move forward and start the school this coming September.

He has re-named the school

from Mack Laing Nature ‘Tree’School to Hand-In-Hand Early Years Nature Education Program.

“This started out with its roots in Comox and I know there’s a lot of Comox families that are quite disappointed that I had to shift locations,” said Krentzel.

“Even still, there are those who are willing to make that drive right into Cumberland Forest.”

The objective remains the same. It is an outdoor educational program designed to offer a unique early childhood learning experience for 3-5-year old children.

Krentzel said the classroom is the natural environment of Coal Creek Historic Park. The natural resources around the park will

be used as educational tools. He said chairs are logs, pencils are the sticks and many more possibilities.

Permits and licensing are currently in the process of being approved, said Krentzel. The school is already drawing a lot of interest from parents, he said, who have been emailing him.

The program will have two certified Early Childhood Educators, who will be teaching a maximum of 16 students. Expanding on the BC Ministry of Education’s Early Learning Framework, the emphasis will be on a nature and play-based curriculum. It aims to encourage preschoolers to engage their environment through art, music, games, physical activities

and group learning.

Krentzel said he believes in establishing a strong educational base for children that will help to them to become more responsible and conscious of the environment as they grow up.

“Why not start their environment education right at the beginning so they can have that foundation,” said Krentzel. “You don’t need to start at when they’re 15 or 16 or 17-years old.

They’re way beyond the point of interest, some of the teenagers.

So if we capture them at a right age, we hope they can become the stewards we want them to be in the future.”

The model for this nature educational program is comprised of two components: Ecology and

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Informational Seminar at Crown Isle Resort &Golf Community Copper Room On Thursday February 5th at 7:30pm This is series of workshops will explore how to costomize my way of being to ‘do’ and ‘get’ what I truely want.

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Adventure Education and two stages: Seeds & Roots. Seeds are three-year olds and meet Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Roots are fouryear olds and meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The price for Seeds is $169/month and Roots is $244/month.

Registration will begin midFebruary and classes will start in September, 2015.

The program will be held in an outside environment and if there is severe weather, it may be necessary to use the picnic shelter.

For more information, please contact Jarrett Krentzel (Program Director) at 250-6500438.

Ladies Night: Feb 6th 7-9pm plate for someone special or just for you!

Date Night: Feb 5th 7-9pm Bring a date and make matching mugs!

Super Bowl Sunday Feb 22nd 1-3:30 This has nothing to do with football! Join us for some bowl

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

ENVIRONMENT

Boil water advisory persists, causing headaches for businesses Restaurants are feeling the pain as they incur extra costs for buying bottled water, have to stop making specialty products

BY DREW A. PENNER Echo Staff

Customers are frustrated and upset. Why is it happening now more than before? And what’s happening to change it.”

LYNDA BROCKLEHURST Tim Hortons owner

I asked for a latte and they said they couldn’t do one. It’s a hard thing.

These people have to make ends meet.”

LARRY JANGULA Mayor of Courtenay

I appreciate the inconvenience especially and extra level of work this puts on businesses. We wouldn’t recommend a boil water notice if it wasn’t important” DR. CHARMAINE ENNS Medical Health Officer

A month-and-a-half long boil water advisory with no known cause and no end in sight has business owners in Courtenay and Comox scratching their heads as they grapple with extra costs.

Lynda Brocklehurst, owner of the four Tim Hortons restaurants, says this has impacted sales and raised plenty of questions among confused customers that she just can’t answer.

“It doesn’t look good,” she said, adding, “It’s hard to get information about what’s going on.”

Local restaurants have been struggling to deal with customer complaints and more complicated goods and services procedures since December flooding released particles into the drinking water that health officials are concerned could be harmful to some people.

While the Timmies coffee makers heat the black gold to a hot enough temperature to kill any pathogens, the fast food giant’s latte and hot chocolate machines had to be taken out of service in the Comox Valley.

Brocklehurst doesn’t want to guess how much business she’s missed out on, but she says her bottled water costs have already

jumped by at least a couple thousand dollars, which employees now have to use just to make soup, for example.

On top of that, Brocklehurst has been paying to help cover national advertising campaigns for products she can’t even sell - one of which was specifically geared around enticing people to try hot chocolate.

And while Brocklehurst is sympathetic to the situation the regional district has found itself in, that’s not such an easy sentiment to pass along to people looking for their caffeine fix.

With the iconic Roll Up the Rim promotion just on the horizon she’s worried the prize giveaway could backfire when winning customers come to claim a free drink of their choice only to learn in Courtenay and Comox they don’t have much of a choice.

“Customers are frustrated and upset,” she said, adding she has questions of her own.

“Why is it happening now more than before?

And what’s happening to change it.”

She’s trying to be patient and wants to know that local officials will do what it takes to come up with a solution so this never happens again.

Courtenay mayor Larry Jangula says he has seen

January 28 th is

Sarah McKennell, assistant manager at Tim Hortons pours one of the few drinks the fast food business can still make as the boil water advisory persists.

Lynda Brocklehurst, owner of the four Tim Hortons restaurants, understands there is little the regional district can do to solve to current boil water advisory but wants assurances it won’t happen again.

(excluding sales merchandise)

R

(Continued on page 5)

Shay Martineau and Greg Donnelly, cooks at Islanders Pizza and Pasta, say the food prep process has become a bit more complicated.

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the local business struggles first hand, describing a time he went into Tim Hortons for a specialty coffee.

“I asked for a latte and they said they couldn’t do one,” he said. “You just accept it.”

But with local businesses already hit by taxes and a sluggish economy, the added impact of not getting tap water for free without boiling it is another cruel blow, he noted.

“It’s a hard thing,” he said. “These people have to make ends meet.”

And some people have felt the consequences of the water advisory even more acutely.

A mother from Comox emailed Jangula revealing when she was boiling a pot of water she spilled the liquid on herself and got third degree burns.

Dave Leitch, senior manager of water and wastewater services at the Comox Valley Regional District says he wishes he had easy solutions.

“There’s not a whole heck of a lot you can do,” he said.

“We kind of have this passive role right now.”

He’s leaving the job of sorting out the water problems to Mother Nature, but notes the level of particles currently found in the water is hovering around 1.4 turbidity units - down from around 20 during the flooding, but still above the 1 unit deemed safe by the provincial health authority.

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

5

Jungian ‘Shadow’ presentation Friday The Comox Valley C. G. Jung Society will host a presentation entitled “Why good people do bad things: Understanding the

role of the Shadow in our daily behavior” by Jungian Analyst, John Betts on Friday, January 30.

Most of our human

conflicts stem from Shadow issues. The Shadow is that part of our personality we refuse to own up to, so we project

Who will capture the 10th Cranium(r) Challenge crown? Join in the fun at this round-robin tournament in the Evergreen Lounge at the Florence Filberg Centre from 6 p.m. on Saturday, 31st January 2015. With prizes and the title of Cranium(r) Champions at stake, you don’t want to miss this! Snacks and beverages will be available for sale. Proceeds support the 4R’s Education Centre (Soc.), a local non-profit organization which has been providing specialized one-on-one teaching to children with learning differences and/or disabilities since 1989. Registration deadline - January 29th. $50/team of 4 adults (16+); $30/team (child); $40/family team of 4 (2 adults, 2 children). Register now by calling 250-338-4890.

it onto others. History holds many examples of how extreme behaviours can result from Shadow issues (i.e. the Holocaust), but why do these atrocities continue today (i.e. Ukraine-Russia conflicts, ISIS)? At the core of these tragedies is the Shadow.

John Betts (MA, Psychology) is a Zurich trained Jungian Psychoanalyst, who lives and works in Victoria. In addition to supporting several Jungian Societies with his lectures and workshops, John has produced the engaging ‘Jung Podcast’, a free series of lectures on the fundamentals of Jung’s Analytical Psychology. See www.jungian.ca The presentation will be in Room 203, Tyee Hall, North Island College at 7 pm on Friday, January 30, 2015 at a cost of $20 at the door, or $15 for Jung Society members.

Boil water advisory a hardship for businesses (Continued from page 4) The CVRD has been pumping around 10 - 15 per cent more chlorine than normal into the water system, and is trying to find out what percentage of the water has been clouded by inorganic versus organic matter.

If they can show that the remaining turbidity is made up of non-living particles that could allow officials to lift the boil water advisory, said Dr. Charmaine Enns, medical health officer for the North Island with Island Health.

She’s been pleased by how well local businesses have dealt with the added challenge of boiling water.

“I appreciate the inconvenience especially and extra level of work this puts on businesses,” she said.

“We wouldn’t recommend

a boil water notice if it wasn’t important.”

Some officials believe logging in the Comox Lake watershed played a central role is promoting erosion, leading to the poor water quality. Enns thinks it’s good people are wondering what caused the boil water advisory, but says it will take time and hard evidence to find the culprit - and that might not be easy.

“I think in order to answer the question to prevent it from happening again we have to understand what happened in the first place,” she said.

“We have to at least try.”

Corporate stores and small independent businesses are both feeling the pinch.

Lorna Hughes, owner of Cardero’s Café, says it’s a bit more inconvenient now

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that she can’t use her ice machine and has to bring in water from home.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” she said, adding, “We can’t do any smoothies.”

Shay Martineau and Greg Donnelly, cooks at Islanders Pizza and Pasta, say the food prep process has become a bit more complicated. They have to use bottled water to wash off vegetables like lettuce and tomatoes. To make pizza dough they first have to boil water, then mix that with bottled water so the temperature drops to a manageable level.

“It has to be a certain temperature to activate the yeast,” Martineau said. “It’s just more of a hassle and it costs a lot of money.”

Comox Mayor Paul Ives said local governments will need to work together to prevent this situation from

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happening again, but noted that could mean a $30-50 million investment in water infrastructure.

“It’s certainly been an inconvenience for people having this now for a month and a half,” he said.

“Everyone has to stay the course and do what’s best for health and safety.”

As tough as the new boil water reality is for businesses, Dianne Hawkins, president and CEO of the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce, says it has also revealed a kinder side of the Valley, pointing to stores selling bottled water to restaurants at a reduced cost as an example.

“It’s still a situation we have to deal with,” she said.

“The interesting thing about our community is people are faced with a challenge and they figure out a way to overcome it.”

Isfeld band and choir students having garage sale to fund New York trip Mark R. Isfeld Senior Band and Choir students are going to New York City in April.

While there, they will be performing at various schools in New York City including the Bronx and Harlem. This will be a great learning experience and an opportunity to share music with those communities.

The students will also have the opportunity to visit Radio City Music Hall, attend several Broadway musicals, the Metropolitan Museum and more.

Recently the Senior Band received a high adjudication at the November 18, 2014 Band Festival in Courtenay.

They were invited to Toronto to participate in a National Band Festival.

Because their trip to New York City was already

planned, they had to decline this honour.

The Senior Band is made up of grade 10 - 12 students, the Choir is made up of grade 8 - 12 students and are directed

by Wayne Kuhnert and Jennifer Riley.

To raise funds, they are hosting a huge Garage Sale and Bake Sale on January 31 from 8am to 3pm in the Multi-purpose room at Mark Isfeld.

Community donations are gratefully accepted and can be dropped off from 4 - 7pm on Friday, January 30th in the Multipurpose Room.

This is a great time to clean out your garage, cupboards and crawlspace and donate your treasures to this worthy cause.

For more information please contact Deb at newyorkbandtrip2015@ gmail.com

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

ECHO

OPINIONS

LETTERS

A better plan An open letter to the Manno Theos, Chair of the Sewerage Commission, copied to the elected representatives of the Comox Valley, filed with the Comox Valley Echo for publication: The $25 million plan to patch the Courtenay and Comox sewerage system is a policy chosen by politicians mostly no longer in office.

The sewerage force main that crosses the exposed foreshore below Willemar Bluff must be removed from that potentially disastrous route. To reroute it overland is estimated to cost $25.7 million- give or take 35%.

There are no good locations for the 25 ft pit to hold the 250hp pumps that will stink, nor a good route for the one meter pipe that could interrupt ground water along the way. All would invade parks or residential areas.

But it is much worse than that. Simply rerouting the force main is a bad plan to patch up an ageing, outdated system.

If this $25 million project goes ahead it will commit the Comox Valley to the existing system for at least another generation. A system that will still pump sewerage in a 30 year old pipe along the foreshore of the river and the bay to Jane Pl in Comox, at perhaps lower risk of breakage than the exposed portion, but with even worse consequences should

it fail. Its installed life expectancy was 40 years.

The treatment plant at Brent Rd will continue to befoul the neighbourhood around Curtis Rd. Treated but not clean outfall will continue to be discharged off Cape Lazo. The system will use ever more electricity to pump more sewer as energy prices rise. Money will be spent patching and mending a sub par system.

So we should open the debate much wider than how and where to pump.

Before we take a $25 million step let’s make sure we have decided where we could go. It is the right time both because we are about to embark on a major expense and because we’ve just had an election. The majority of the sewer commission who made these decisions have not returned, three of them because their visions for the valley were rejected by voters.

To open the dialogue I offer this: Waste water is a resource we can harvest. The abandoned mill site on the Dyke Rd. remains zoned I-1 (heavy industry) and is for sale. All the sewerage of Courtenay already runs there.

A state of the art treatment plant there could return potable water to the river or be saved to irrigate crops. The pipe below Wilimar Bluffs will need to be protected until it can be de-

COMOX VALLEY ECHO An independently owned and operated newspaper published by Echo Publications at 407-E Fifth Street, Courtenay, B.C. V9N 1J7 Phone 250-334-4722 Fax 250-334-3172 Classifieds 250- 334-4215 Circulation 250-334-4734 E-mail: echo@comoxvalleyecho.com Publisher Dave MacDonald Editor Debra Martin Advertising Manager Keith Currie Office Administrator Deb Fowler Circulation Manager Hedi MacDonald Production Manager Ryan Getz

commissioned.

At the same time we can begin to prepare for the following generation of human waste disposal that does not use precious potable water.

Even now there are systems being developed that harness energy rather than consume it, others that produce safe compost that could be a blessing to farmers as fertilizer prices rise.

If local rules gave a break on utility bills to those whose approved systems work independently, then by the time the system we build for our children ages, the one for our grandchildren will be underway.

Rob Rhodes Croteau Rd. Area B The undersigned Comox Valley residents endorse opening this debate without endorsing any particular system or route: Elaine Codling, Courtenay; Liz Rhodes, Courtenay; Laurence Playford-Beaudet, Courtenay; Cathy Talbot, Curtis Rd. Area B; Susan Cook, Comox; Jesse Kerr-Halls, Area B; Arlene Trustham, Courtenay; Courtney Powell, Comox; Sue Roper, Comox; Tim Crossin & Mary Lang Area B; Ross Glover Area B; Wendy & Sandy Masterton Area B; Michael Smit, Area B; Brian Ross area B; Dan Salomons, Comox; Pam Munroe, Courtenay.

ENJOY WHILE WE CAN All material herein is protected by copyright.

Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without written authorization from the publisher.

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement Number #0661538

Some observations on “The right to free smirch” in 23 Jan’s Echo Opinions: I too am a Mercer fan, but

unlike the writer, I applaud Rick for stating what should be obvious to all of us: as Canadians we have the right (under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms - enshrined in our Constitution) to freedom of expression, and inherent in that - the right to offend. The corollary to that, of course, is that no one has the right not to be offended.

Were the writer to think a bit deeper about her sadness over Mercer not wanting to surrender that right, she might realize that to give up the right to offend means giving up the right to free expression: whatever one says will undoubtedly offend someone (as I probably have just done). I have no way of anticipating how others will react to my opinion.

While thinking that through, she may also discover the answer to her three rhetorical questions: Do I have the moral right to hurt another/ to besmirch another’s beliefs/ to deliberately cause more anguish to my fellow man? The short answer of course is yes. Like evil, what hurts, besmirches, causes anguish to another is in the eye of the beholder.

Many others may be perfectly fine with what you say.

To the last point about “before we go public, we can consider both legality and morality and delete that which offends.” The fact that

the letter appeared publicly would lead me to believe the author did not.

Keep in mind the quote (commonly attributed to Voltaire): “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

For now, let’s continue to enjoy Rick Mercer and our right to free expression - while we still have it. (But that’s another discussion for another time.)

Lou Cassivi Courtenay

CREDIBILITY LOST My husband very openly expressed an observation via a very public forum by submitting a letter to the editor on Dec 31, 2014.

Interestingly people responded through ‘beefs & bouquets’ which enabled them to hide behind the veil of anonymity.

Unfortunately, anonymity also has a hidden cost: credibility. Just food for thought.

Sandra Felgenhauer Courtenay

WE NEED STRATEGY A recent poll by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) shows that a majority of Canadians are worried about being able to pay for the health services they’ll need after they retire. Not all health care services are covered by Medicare, a fact

which causes many seniors to feel increasingly vulnerable. Seniors are also concerned at the growing inability of our hospitals and long-term care facilities to meet the demands of Canada’s aging population.

The government likes to tell us that our Medicare system is one of the best in the world, but of the 11 countries ranked by the Commonwealth Fund, Canada is the second from the bottom at number 10.

We have the worst “timeliness of care”, the secondworst overall efficiency and the longest wait times in emergency rooms.

By 2030, 25% of Canadians will be over 65. We need a national health care strategy to address the growing needs of an aging population, and we need it now.

Unfortunately, the Conservative government is committed to CUTTING health care funding by $36 billion over a 10-year period, starting in 2017.

The Greens, NDP and Liberals are all committed to making a national strategy part of their election platforms. I urge you to think carefully about the health care system you want for yourselves and your children when you vote in the next federal election.

Kathie Woodley Courtenay

www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

7

Call for referendum on Hornby fire hall

BY MICHAEL BRIONES Echo Staff Following the defeat of the alternative approval process, the Hornby Island Fire Hall Renewal Select Committee does not want to immediately proceed to a referendum.

But they’re going to recommend to the Comox Valley Regional District board to hold the referendum for a loan authorization bylaw on April 18, 2015.

The committee needs additional time to revisit the process that would fund the construction of

the new fire hall on Hornby Island. Island residents overwhelmingly opposed the project in the AAP that ended on January 15, 2015.

The CVRD received 212 valid electoral responses by the deadline that opposed the borrowing of $1.6 million to build the project that would be paid in 20 years.

Should the board agree to proceed with the referendum, there is going to be a cost attached to it.

It could range from $8,000 to $10,000, which would be charged to Hornby Island fire pro-

tection service in the 2015 financial plan.

The referendum question resident would be asked is: “Are you in favour of the Comox Valley Regional District adopting Bylaw No. 350 being “Hornby Island Fire Protection Service (Fire Hall Construction) Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 350, 2014” to enable the CVRD to borrow $1,600,000 to construct a fire hall on Hornby Island?”

Additional conversations with Hornby Island will be conducted.

The team working to rescue the sea lion (Photo Credit: Vancouver Aquarium)

Comox to expand on WiFi box areas

BY MICHAEL BRIONES Echo Staff Comox council is set to allow telecommunication modules to be installed at certain areas in town like the Comox Marina.

Council gave a Comox Zoning Amendment first and second reading. It also approved that a public hearing be held in council chambers.

The proposed change would permit WiFi boxes in commercial, marine, industrial, park, institutional and agricultural

zones, subject to regulations on location and size.

The town has received inquiry about the installation of a WiFi box on the Comox Valley Marina office building which is zoned M2.2 Marine Commercial. A telecommunication transmission system is not permitted in M2.2 zone. Because of its size and its industrial appearance, they are restricted to industrial and public assembly zones.

But the current demand

for WiFi services has prompted the creation of better modules that are smaller in size and can be inconspicuous.

The proposed zoning amendment, however, would limit the location of the WiFi box to a building’s roof, side or rear elevations and the height would not be more than two metres above the roof. The total number of modules will be limited to three per parcel and the size not more than 0.1 square metres on any one elevation.

One more sea lion rescued

BY MICHAEL BRIONES Echo Staff Another sea lion with an entanglement was rescued on Monday.

Experts from Vancouver Aquarium, along with help from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, were once again out at Fanny Bay searching for sea lions needing rescue.

The team was looking for a Stellar sea lion with entanglement that was spotted the last time they

were out here on Vancouver Island.

Led by Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena, who is the only professionally trained veterinarian in Canada able to perform these challenging rescues, they were able to locate one animal and quickly administered anesthetic.

Crew members quickly removed the entanglement on the neck of the animal, which was iden-

tified as a packing strap, carelessly discarded.

The team went to look for more sea lions in distress but did not have much success in finding others. However, the team was still pleased to have rescued one Stellar sea lion, which is a specie of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act. The aquarium receives funding from the Canadian Wildlife Federation for Stellar disentanglements.

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

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MONEY MATTERS YOUR RETIREMENT SPENDING GUIDELINES How much should you spend when you’re retired? Interesting question. Even if you have a high net worth, you will face uncertainty over how much you can afford to spend in retirement – especially if you are a retired business owner or professional because you may have little in the way of guaranteed pension income, thus presenting you with the challenge of determining a sustainable draw on your investments. Factors such as market variability, inflation and taxes only add to the uncertainty.

So … whether you’re already retired or soon to shut the office door for the last time, here is a six step plan to help put your retirement spending concerns to rest by determining your retirement income longevity.

STEP 1 – PREPARE A PERSONAL PROFILE The level and frequency of income you will need (and/or the withdrawal rate from your investments held within Registered Retirement Savings Plans and other income-producing investments) depends on a number of factors: • Your investment profile – for example, if

you are a conservative investor, you would expect a lower return than a more aggressive investor, and therefore your withdrawals should be lower.

• Your years in retirement – your retirement could span 40 years and, generally, a longer duration requires a more prudent withdrawal strategy.

• Your income requirements – will you need to draw on investment income every month or can your defer or decrease income to offset periodic declines in portfolio value?

Step 2 – Know your income from other sources Your retirement income will derive from sources other than your personal retirement savings such as the Canada Pension Plan/ Québec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP), Old Age Security (OAS) and company pension plans. Add them all up.

STEP 3 – KNOW YOUR EXPENSES Add up your expected expenses – both essential and discretionary.

STEP 4 – BRIDGE THE GAP Calculate the gap

This column, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. (in Québec – a Financial Services Firm), and Investors Group Securities Inc. (in Québec, a firm in Financial Planning) presents general information only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any investments. Contact your own advisor for specific advice about your circumstances. For more information on this topic please contact your Investors Group Consultant.

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STEP 6 – MAKE ADJUSTMENTS If your expected withdrawal rate is not sustainable, based on the projected returns from your current savings and investments, you will need to re-evaluate your registered and non-registered portfolio with the aim of improving returns – or you may need to reduce the scope of your retirement plans.

Work with your professional advisor to develop a personal plan that takes into account all of these factors and provides peace of mind. Very often, a high net worth individual will discover that they can afford to spend much more than they thought.

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

9

Celebrating the Valley’s finest Chamber of Commerce presenting annual awards Saturday night The Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce Annual awards have been celebrating local businesses and individuals since 1974!

This success of this local awards program is largely due to the incredible support from the local community and from our sponsors.

We would like to extend our thanks to this year’s event sponsors.

The 2014 Award Finalists Are: Agricultural Business of the Year - Sponsored by MNP Black Creek Farm and Feed Supply Hollie Wood Oysters Siefferts Farm Market Business Leadership (formerly Professional Merit) Award - Sponsored

by First Insurance Meaghan Cursons Robert Mulrooney Linda Oprica Business of the Year Award - Sponsored by

Thrifty Foods Blackfin Pub Level 10 Eurospa Prime Chophouse and Wine Bar

Ltd. Polka Dot Pants Pantuso Dance Studio Young Entrepreneur Award - Sponsored by Wedler Engineering Alex Lochmatter Allison Mackenzie

Citizen of the Year (Lifetime Achievement) - Sponsored by Canadian Tire Michele Morton Murray Shackel

Youth Leadership Award - Sponsored by

Customer Service Award - Sponsored by Axis Heating + Cooling Lisa Kavanagh Darilyn Keene Pieter Vorster Heritage Recognition Award - Sponsored by Vancouver Island InsuranceCentres Comox Valley Child Development Association Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park Laughing Oyster Bookshop New Business of the Year - Sponsored by Presley & Partners CanWest Mechanical

NIC School of Business Maddy Monteiro Highland Aboriginal Student Council President’s Merit Award Sponsored by North Island College Not open to nominations - recipient announced at this year’s awards gala

Congratulations

Noor Ahmed won the Professional Merit Award in 2004 Purely Flower Boutique Rainforest Outdoor Living Not for Profit Organization Award - Sponsored

by Pacific Sleep Care Comox Valley Transition Society

Cumberland Community Forest Society Glacier View Lodge Society

to all the nominees for the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce Awards, you are all very deserving recipients.

Small Business of the Year Award - Sponsored

by Glacierview Financial Axis Heating + Cooling

The Incredible Team of 55 Employees treat their customers as fond family members.

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Thank you for making the Valley a striving Force.

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10

www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

Citizen of the Year 1974 Dorothy Stubbs 1975 Tucky Schellink 1976 Sid Williams 1977 Cyril Burns 1978 Herb Bradley 1979 Hank Schellink 1980 Lil Lefcoe 1981 George Hobson 1982 Monsignor John Tunner 1983 Cliff Laver 1984 Ruth Masters 1985 Alice Bullen 1986 Norman Leung 1987 Andy Jackson 1988 Dorothy MacDonald 1989 Mike Fournier 1990 Maudie Hobson 1991 Add Clement 1992 Marty Douglas 1993 Jeannie Harder 1994 Marie Gordon 1995 Sandra Williams 1996 Sylvio (Skip) Blain 1997 Beryl Regier 1998 Margaret O’Rourke 1999 RobRoy MacGregor & Harold Flint Sr. 2000 Archie Forrest and Mac Wilson 2001 Herb Bradley 2002 Cynthia and Martin Davies 2003 Mary Oliver 2004 Ruth Masters 2005 John Challender 2006 J.H. “Chip� Ross 2007 Vicki Woods & Bonnie Bragg 2008 Derek Newnes 2009 John Marinus 2010 Bent Harder 2011 Paul Berry 2012 Pamela Crowe & Ron Webber 2013 Dona Cameron Business of the Year 1987 Courtenay Toyota 1988 Central Builder’s Supply 1989 Mike Finneron Pontiac

1990 Coast Country Realty 1991 Mt. Washington 1992 Hot Chocolates 1993 Comox Builder’s Supply 1994 Ski Tak Hut 1995 Coast Country Insurance 1996 Comox Valley Credit Union 1997 Field Sawmills 1998 Fanny Bay Oysters 1999 Canadian Tire 2000 Kingfisher Resort & Spa 2001 Quality Foods 2002 Coast Westerly Hotel 2003 Atlas CafÊ 2004 Billy D’s Pub & Bistro 2005 Thrifty Foods 2006 Cumberland Ready Mix 2007 Mike Hamilton Logging 2008 Coastal Eyecare Centre 2009 Rehabilitation in Motion 2010 Hot Chocolates & Cakebread Artisan Bakery 2011 Mt. Washington Alpine Resort 2012 ABC Printing and Signs 2013 St. Joseph’s General Hospital

1992 Crown Isle 1993 T.F. Specialty Sawmill 1994 Comox Valley Funeral Home 1995 Comox Valley Party Rentals 1996 InFocus Magazine 1997 Comox Valley Echo 1998 Fitness Excellence 1999 Woodland Flooring Company Ltd. 2000 Central Island Broadcasting 2001 WestJet 2002 Natural Pastures Cheese 2003 Zen Zero Juice Fountain 2004 Home Depot 2005 Riding Fool Hostel 2006 Ambassador Shuttle Service 2007 Old House Village Suites & Hotel 2008 BodyNetix 2009 Berwick Comox Valley 2010 Locals Restaurant 2011 Blue Toque Sports Swap 2012 Daryl Robbins CGA/Notary Public 2013 Cascadia Liquor Store

Small Business of the Year 2003 Sound Advice 2004 North Island Laboratories + McSwiggins CafĂŠ 2005 Courtenay 5th Street Florist 2006 Mudsharks Coffee Bar 2007 TC Valley Collision Ltd. 2008 McKinnon Photography 2009 My Tech Guys 2010 Delaney Relocation Services 2011 Appletree Market 2012 Ambassador Shuttle Service 2013 I-Hos Gallery

Professional Merit Award 1994 Fred Bossom 1995 George Law 1996 Marcia Allardice 1997 Presley and Partners 1998 Richard Swift 1999 John King 2000 Dr. Joe Zanbilowicz 2001 Comox Valley Funeral Home 2002 Dr. Robert Clarke 2003 Dr. Paul Helpard 2004 Noor Ahmed 2005 Lara Greasley 2006 Doris Weislein 2007 Colleen Inglis (London Drugs) 2008 Tim Cowan (Medicine Shop) 2009 Clarice Coty 2010 Helen Boyd 2011 Philip Round

New Business of the Year 1987 Images School of Beauty 1988 Brian McLean Chev. Olds 1989 Village Foods 1990 Washington Inn 1991 Simon’s Cycle

2012 2013

Ann Scott Westjet YQQ

Heritage Recognition Award 1993 Farquharson Farms 1994 Comox Valley Insurance 1995 Central Builders 1996 Comox Moving and Storage 1997 Reliable Autobody 1998 Rickson’s Menswear 1999 J.R. Edgett Construction 2000 Searle’s Shoes 2001 Graham’s Jewellers 2002 Coast Radio 2003 Leung Grocery 2004 Comox Valley Auction Sales 2005 Sawchuck Pile Driving 2006 Studio One 2007 Comox Valley Youth Music Centre (CYMC) 2008 Courtenay Fish & Game Protective Association 2009 Comox Valley Exhibition 2010 Creative Employment Access Society 2011 Rotary Clubs of the Comox Valley 2012 Courtenay Elks Lodge 2013 Mike Hamilton Logging Agricultural Business of the Year Award 2009 Blue Moon Estate Winery & Tria Culinary Studio at Natures Way Farm 2010 Eatmore Sprouts & Greens 2011 Ironwood Farm 2012 Coastal Black Estate Winery & Meadery Local Hero Award 2009 Steve Butcher and Constable Don Sinclair 2010 Tyler Burgess 2011 Steve White 2012 AWARD RETIRED Customer Service Award

2005 Candice Wheeldon (Thriftys) 2006 Mark Reisinger (Safeway) & Benoit Croteau (Thrifys) 2007 Ruth Vanderlinden (Benino Gelato) 2008 Tracey Hill (The Anco Motel) 2009 Carol Bissell (Planet Kids) 2010 Dana Nutland (Best Western) 2011 Dawn McRae (Custom Gourmet) 2012 Bryan Wiley (ABC Printing) 2013 Jill Rushton (Old House Village Hotel and Spa) Environmental Initiative Award 1990 C.A.R.E. 1991 Village Foods 1992 Imagination Marketing 1993 Pacific Bio 1994 None Awarded 1995 Project Watershed 1996 Courtenay Bottle Depot 1997 Kingfisher Resort 1998 Beaver Meadows 1999 C.V. Auto Recyclers 2000 Tsolum River Restoration Society 2001 BC Shellfish Growers Association 2002 Millard-Piercy Watershed Stewards 2003 Mount Washington Alpine Resort 2004 Cumberland Community Forest Society 2005 TD Friends of the Environment Foundation 2006 Courtenay & District Fish & Game Protective Association 2007 Woodland Flooring & Millwork 2008 Jill Ackerman 2009 Jack Minard 2010 George Harrison 2011 Fish and Game Protective Assn..

The Environmental Initiative Award

was retired in 2012 Youth Leadership Award 2013 Gregory Tinga Young Entrepreneur Award 2013 Kory Wagstaff (Prime Chophouse & Wine Bar) The George Muir Memorial ~ President’s Merit Award 1982/83 Muriel Watts, Skip Blain & Murray Francis 1983/84 Stan Hagen 1984/85 W.J. (Bill) Olds 1985/86 R. (Dick) Grant 1986/87 Darlene Weir 1987 W.J. (Bill) Olds 1988 Bev Olds 1989 Jane Howard & Sue Bennett 1990 Kim Leaky 1991 Not recorded 1992 Not recorded 1993 Focus on the Future 1994 MacDonald Wood Park Society 1995 B.C. Winter Games Committee 1996 John McLean 1997 Glacier View Lodge Society 1998 Mike McLaughlin 1999 Joe Oviatt, Art Meyers 2000 Mt. Washington Alpine Resort 2001 Comox Valley Airport Commission 2002 CFB Comox 2003 Ed O’Donnell 2004 Dave Mellin 2005 Jon Toogood 2006 Comox Valley RCMP 2007 Bert Heeringa 2008 Audrey Craig 2009 Brad Minton 2010 Susan Kelsey 2011 Andrew Macmillan 2012 Edwin Grieve 2013 Murray Presley

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

11

It’s ‘Midnight in Gotham’ for awards gala The Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce this year’s theme for Annual Community Awards is Midnight in Gotham - a classy and sophisticated soiree emulating the world of Bruce Wayne.

The 40th Annual Community Awards will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, January 31st, 2015 at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay.

Ticket purchase includes: champagne recep-

tion, gourmet four-course meal, silent auction and other evening festivities.

Gourmet dinner options by Custom Gourmet Catering include one of the following entrees: Lemon Pepper Chicken, Roasted Vegetable Phyllo or Citrus Spiced Salmon.

Thank you to all our sponsors - many of these businesses have been supporting the Annual Community Awards for years and are the foundation of its success:

Event Sponsors: The Comox Valley Record and 97.3 The Eagle Agricultural Business of the Year Award Sponsor: MNP LLP Business of the Year Award Sponsor: Thrifty Foods Citizen of the Year (Lifetime Achievement) Award Sponsor: Canadian Tire Customer Service Award Sponsor: Axis Heating & Cooling Ltd. New Business of the

Year Award Sponsor: Presley & Partners Heritage Recognition Award Sponsor: Vancouver Island InsuranceCentres Business Leadership (formerly Professional Merit) Award Sponsor: First Insurance Small Business of the Year Award Sponsor: Glacierview Financial Young Entrepreneur Award Sponsor: Wedler Engineering Youth Leadership

Award Sponsor: NIC School of Business Not for ProďŹ t Organization Award Sponsor: PaciďŹ c Sleep Care

Presidents Merit Award Sponsor: North Island College Tickets: $85 (+GST)

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s to ALL n o i t a l u t a Congr ward Chamber A and a s e e n i m o n You to k n a h T l a speci their r o f r e b m the Cha g outstandin in our s t n e m e v achie y.

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12

www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

VALLEY

people

Furthur - The bus that spawned a thousand cultural references.

Denman Island filmmaker traces beginnings of psychedelic culture 32,000 km of road, hundreds of hours of film and plenty of unique stories shape project

BY DREW A. PENNER Echo Staff

Back on Denman, Colby O’Neill has been cutting together footage for the latest Lotus Eater Films production.

Colby O’Neill sips his coffee as the pitter-patter of rain adds a dreamy touch to the Sunday afternoon in one of his favourite Denman Island haunts. He’s recently returned from the biggest adventure of his life filming hundreds of hours of footage for a documentary called Going Furthur that his company, Lotus Eater Films, is producing about an epic journey commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Merry Pranksters’ voyage to the New York

World’s fair in 1964.

Along with shooter Matt Pidutti, O’Neill beat out dozens of other film crews, including one from the Discovery Channel, for the rights to document the modern incarnation of the initial trip.

The Lotus Eater Films project covered 32,000 kilometres and touched down at a wide variety of music festivals from coast to coast, welcoming a fresh crop of participants “on the bus” every few stops.

For O’Neill this was more than just a chance to have a blast like the kids who did more to create psy-

chedelic culture than anyone else. It was a chance to tell a new story.

“It felt like everything I’d done my entire life was preparing me to go and do this,” he said. “I can actually step in and write the next chapter of the literature that inspired me the most.”

If you could trace the evolution of global hipster culture, music festivals, electronic art installations, the hippie ethos and flash mob installations back to ground zero, you’d be hard pressed to find a better catalyst than author Ken Kesey, (Continued on page 13)

13

www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015 (Continued from page 12) Neal Cassady (the inspiration for the Dean Moriarty character in Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road) and their collective, who called themselves Merry Pranksters for the random artistic stunts they would pull in public.

The California-based band of youth painted up a school bus - nicknamed Furthur after a misspelling on the front of the vehicle - and headed out across the heavily nuclear family-structured United States during a period of unrivaled prosperity and straight-laced values in the West post WWII. Heavily influenced by the DayGlo Color Corporation’s fluorescent paint (which they seemed to use everywhere), the Pranksters took pure pleasure out of playful interactions with confused police officers, which they filmed - an early indicator of the post-millennial cell phone culture to come.

They visited the more Eastern-influenced psychedelic pioneer Timothy Leary’s crew in New York, stopped in at the World’s Fair and hit up the Calgary Stampede on the way back to California.

Of course they gulped down copious amounts of

LSD as part of the journey - which was legal at the time - baffling observers young and old alike who caught wind of their mindexpanding exploits.

It was this road trip, and the series of parties that followed (called Acid Tests), that O’Neill and Pidutti set out to honour, during a crowdfunded bus trip with Kesey’s son Neal behind the wheel.

“They were the first ones doing liquid light shows, playing video content and having live bands just jamming. They were definitely innovators just pushing it along,” O’Neill said, explaining today’s electronic music festivals draw a direct lineage to the Pranksters. “The transformational festivals 100 per cent blossomed out of this world.”

A Kickstarter campaign set the project into motion, with donors who chipped in $200 or more getting the opportunity to hop “on the bus” for a portion of the trip.

The idea of whether you were “one the bus” or “off the bus” was the Pranksters’ way of separating the squares from the open minded, and many of the original crew drifted in and out of the community as they chose one path or another in their lives.

The 50th Anniversary tour visited Timothy Leary’s house in New York, as the Merry Pranksters did on their original journey.

O’Neill’s journey was structured a little more formally - and lacked acid apparently - but carried the same intent. His film aims to capture how the modern incarnation of the Pranksters’ gallivanting affected the lives of the participants.

Clips of the film reveal an almost summer camp-like atmosphere where travellers form amazing bonds in a short amount of time, as the bus itself winds its way from the West Coast, through Americana and beyond - that is, Furthur.

W i t n e s s i n g C u l t u re Bloom Growing up on Den-

man Island Colby O’Neill was fascinated by tales of pre-hippie culture, even adopting names amongst his friend group that referenced the original Merry Pranksters. That’s why heading out to chronicle a 32,000 km expedition was particularly special for him.

“I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” he said. “I can actually step in and write the next chapter of the literature that inspired me the most.”

He definitely has a resume that fits the bill.

After all, in 2013 alone O’Neill spent 55 days in tents shooting music festivals.

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To get a sense of just how fascinating and influential the Merry Pranksters were, just talk to Royston resident Manny Meyer, who has known O’Neill since he was a child.

Meyer actually played at one of the first Acid Tests with his band the Anonymous Artists of America.

At the time he was working at Stanford, but he couldn’t help but be drawn in by the strange world emerging around him - thanks in large part to his next-door neighbour Richard Alpert and an interesting character named Ken Kesey.

“You’re living next to

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these people who are doing different things, unusual things, taking lots of acid - which I didn’t particularly consider my type of drug to be frank,” he said. “Kesey was pretty much the centre of the beginning of all this in the sense that he took this whole psychedelic movement and just ran with it like a football player would run.”

Both Alpert and Kesey had been involved in medical drug tests, and both took a particular liking to acid, which was legal at the time.

Kesey believed acid could be a force to free creativity and allow people to be more “up front” about everything. Lo and behold their influence (established in part due to money flowing in from sales of Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) helped spawn the Grateful Dead. They also held some of the first electronic music spectacles.

Meyer, who has fond memories of hanging out with famous authors and artists, was just one of the many people O’Neill interviewed to delve deeper into the origins of culture for the film. O’Neill says getting to tell this story for people who may not be (Continued on page 14)

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

(Continued from page 13) aware of the beginnings of these elements was a treat.

“There are millions and millions of people now that are involved in this festival scene, and a lot of them don’t know why it’s happening,” he said. “I hope we can expose the people that are going to these festivals now to the roots of the culture, to the stuff that’s inspired it.”

Meyer, for example, ultimate-

ly helped set up a commune on Denman Island, which was at least partially inspired by the Merry Pranksters model.

The Journey The first stop was Gathering of the Vibes in Connecticut, a Dead Head festival that has grown into a gathering of 35,000 and features artists like John Fogerty and Ziggy Marley.

Later they hit the Werk Out

in Ohio and even pulled in to Bethel, New York, the site of the Woodstock festival. There they found a replica of the Merry Prankster bus in the museum.

Two weddings even took place during the journey, one of which was presided over by Wavy Gravy, one of the ‘60s-era Pranksters.

Great North Festival in Maine was an enjoyable end to the big trip, O’Neill remembers.

“It connected the dots between the generations the best,” he said. “It had the Dead cover stuff; it had the jam band stuff; it had some art installations; it had some live painters.”

O’Neill does lament the hypercommercialization of alternative culture. But he says he’s glad he could use his film to explore a time when it felt like everything was just beginning.

“It was just about radical in-

clusion,” he said. “One of the questions we asked everyone was ‘This is the 50th anniversary of the initial tour. What do you think happened with the culture from then until now - and what do you hope to see in another 50 years?’”

The independently-funded film has attracted the interest of many global media outlets and has begun selling presales at www.goingfurthur.com

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Building in the Valley for over 80 years MON-FRI 7a-5:30p | SAT 8a-5p | SUN 9a-5p

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15

Bridge #2 (Courtesy of the Courtenay and District Museum 2007.251.72)

HUNT FOR HISTORY WITH JUDY HAGEN

Building a vital bridge link in Courtenay When European settlers arrived in the valley they chose land easily developed on the east side of the rivers. It would be ten years before a bridge would be built across the Courtenay River to provide access to the “west”.

The site chosen was the head of navigation, where the river narrowed and became shallow. Boats had only been able to go up river as far as “Green’s slough”.

At the same time that the bridge was being constructed, Reginald Pidcock was building his lumber mill on the west side of the river, near where Central Builders is today, so the new bridge was for a time called “the mill bridge”.

The contract for the bridge was very specific.

Everything was to be first class whether in workmanship or materials.

“The Bridge was supported by two ninety-twofoot spans resting on a centre pier of unbarked cedar piles. At each end was the abutment pier of twelve piles. The bridge deck was thirteen feet in width: wide enough for a wagon or a team of oxen.”((Wilderness Profound.p109) Even in those earliest years of settlement, the seasonal flooding of the Courtenay River was of concern. The government engineer having noted the unusually high water of 1865, requested that the underside of the bridge was to be a full three feet higher than the flood mark of nine years earlier.

The construction of the bridge was completed in 1874, but the official opening was delayed until the Dominion Day Celebrations of 1875.

“When he was a small boy” commented Florence Radford remembering in 1940 what her brother Lou Cliffe had told her, “he came to the celebrations of the opening of the first bridge across the “Courtenay River, which was on the first of July. There was a great-to-do about. Joe Fitzgerald, Chas. Hooper, Bob Jones, ‘Handsome’ Harry Huston and others were busy broad axing the timbers to go across the bridge so that they would be smooth enough to dance on. For that was one of the big events of the day - the dance on the new bridge. It had been roofed in completely with small firs and dogwood trees in blossom and made a very pretty picture. The celebrating started with a picnic at noon and was kept up all day until the early hours of the morning. ‘Handsome’ Harry was one of the characters of the time. He was an Englishman, who had all the comic songs of the day on his tongue, and he was a great favourite at all the gatherings.”

Bridge #1 (Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of British Columbia)

Bridges #3 and 4 (Courtesy of the Courtenay and District Museum 2007.251.72) With access to the west side of the river, a road was constructed leading to Comox Lake and became known as the “lake trail road”.

Within twenty years, the Bridge was showing signs of wear and tear. In August 1899, the Cumberland News noted that a new survey had been completed and there would be plans for a new bridge, but in September they cautioned that, “The Courtenay Bridge is receiving temporary repairs at long last and now we can cross it for the next few weeks without making our wills before doing

so”.

Construction for the new bridge did not begin until February 1900.

Within 15 years, this second Courtenay Bridge having developed a list and sway, was condemned. There was a fear that it would collapse at any time.

Courtenay businesses began to lobby for a new bridge as early as 1915, but all capital projects were halted until the end of the Great War. The old wooden structure was replaced by a steel bridge in the summer of 1923. A temporary foot bridge was built to provide pedestri-

an access to town. Some Courtenay residents were inconvenienced during construction while others came to like the temporary arrangements.

“All vehicles went by way of the Condensory Bridge for three months.

Farmers brought their milk, cream and produce to the Courtenay Hotel then carried or trundled it by wheelbarrow across the Slough Bridge, over the foot bridge up the main street and the hill to the Creamery. Stopping enroute to chat with friends or have a ‘quick one’ in the Riverside.

By the time they had

sauntered across the foot bridge, advised the workmen on the proper way to build a bridge, walked across the Slough Bridge, they felt it was time for ‘one for the road’ at the Courtenay House.

A whole day could be spent in relaxed neighbourly visiting. There was an air of comradeship in Courtenay as farmers and citizens got to know one another better.”(All About Us.pp45-46) In October 1923, barriers came down and the first to unofficially use the new bridge was Mr. H.D. Baker, driving the Comox Creamery milk truck.

This third bridge lasted until 1959.The plans for a new structure called for moving the old bridge up stream about the width of the new span, and have the new bridge, which had been built in Richmond, brought up by barge and set in place. There were many skeptics about the plan, but one night, with a high tide, the old bridge was moved and the new bridge was floated into place, raised up by jacks, turned to align with the new approaches and was gently set down exactly as the foreman had planned.

The previous day, a fire truck with crew was driven across to the east side so that if fire broke out they could attend.

Then in the moments before the old span was to be moved, the ambulance came racing down Fifth Street, across and off the bridge. It was a last hurrah for bridge number three before demolition.

16

www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

Spectacular silvers and a record-breaking backside

Lacrosse registration online

Valley athletes make mark on world scene

CARRIERS WANTED No collection required. Great exercise!

BY DREW A. PENNER Echo Staff Comox Valley skiers and snowboarders once again showed the world their explosive abilities in a week that was packed with some amazing performances and impressive style.

From the Sharpe siblings strutting their stuff to a pair of silvers at the 2015 FIS World Freestyle Ski & Snowboard Championships in Kreischberg, Austria to Spencer O’Brien locking down the ďŹ rst ever backside 900 in X Games history, the last few days have been exciting for supporters. “I was pretty much a basket case all day today,â€? said Don Sharpe, father of Cassie and Darcy, the day his daughter edged out a Swiss skier to take second place in the half pipe event. “To see the happiness on her face was great.â€?

Virginie Faivre of Switzerland grabbed gold with 83.8, while her teammate Mirjam Jaeger took the bronze with 79.8.

It’s been an intense ride to the podium for the Comox resident, who double ejected out of her skis after overshooting a pipe lip in New Zealand while training back in September.

She suffered a broken collarbone and underwent surgery, requiring her to have screws and plates put in.

Sharpe gave a CBC reporter a little insight into her game plan going into the ďŹ nal run of the day, right after her stellar effort that was marked by ďŹ nesse and technical grace. “I went big for the last run and brought all the pieces together that I’ve worked so hard for,â€? she said, explaining she had been attentive to the whims of the judges. “I grabbed my ares and they rewarded me.â€?

Cassie was just seven years old when she started skiing. “She got out on the snow every chance she would get,� her dad remembers, thinking about just how far she’s come. “It’s pretty exciting to see her get to this level.�

Her brother Darcy was closing in on a bronze in

The Comox Valley Lacrosse Association has started registration for the 2015 season. There is a 2015 registration link on our website, www.comoxvalleywild.com.

Lacrosse is the perfect off-season sport for hockey players and is lots of fun. We offer teams for players born between 1999-2010. Our teams will ďŹ ll on a ďŹ rst come, ďŹ rst served basis, so register early.

Call Comox Valley Echo • 250-334-4734 or drop by 407-D 5th Street, Courtenay

Cassie Sharpe, right, stands on the podium with the silver medal in ski half-pipe

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Darcy Sharpe, right, celebrates his silver medal finish in the ‘Big Air’ snowboard slopestyle competition the snowboard slopestyle event through three rounds of 10 snowboarders giving their all.

On the very last run of the day he dropped from third to fourth.

Heading into the men’s Big Air competition he wasn’t about to disappoint.

Only Roope Tonteri of Finland could best his score of 169.5 (with an impressive 173.75).

He rose to the top of the pack thanks to his execution of not only a stellar switch backside 1260 but also a frontside double 1280.

Like his sister he too had fought his way back an unfortunate setback.

“It’s a big conďŹ dence boost,â€? he said in a release. “I was happy to land my runs.

Those were the best I can do right now after coming off some big injuries.�

But the extreme talent from the Valley wasn’t done there. After an exciting drive at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Spencer O’Brien had something special up her sleeve for early 2015.

Building on the legacy of Cheryl Mass, who dropped an unprecedented ďŹ rst backside 9 by a woman back at the Euro X Games in 2012, O’Brien wound up and went big, sticking the landing on the trick in Aspen, an X Games ďŹ rst for a female rider.

Get your address sign made while you wait The Comox Valley Monarchs Lions Club will be making 911 reflective address signs while you wait.

It’s being held at the Central Builders in Courtenay from Jan. 29 to 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Club members will make these valuable

address signs, which are geared to help emergency responders locate those in need, as well as make it easy for people to find addresses they are looking for.

It costs around $40 and they will make it according to the number layout you desire — vertical or horizontal.

This Lions fundraiser has received a positive response from home owners and businesses and the club hopes to exceed sales from last year.

One hundred percent of the money raised from this project stays in our community. www.911reflectivesign.ca.

IF YOU HAVE A DOG OVER SIX MONTHS OF AGE AND LIVE IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS YOU NEED TO LICENSE YOUR DOG EACH YEAR:

Baynes Sound - (Area ‘A’ - Vancouver Island portion) South of the City of Courtenay to Cook Creek, including Minto, Royston, Union Bay and Fanny Bay. Lazo North (Area ‘B’) The Comox Peninsula, Little River, Balmoral Beach, Point Holmes, Bates Beach, Meadowbrook, Huband Road, and Tsolum.

Puntledge-Black Creek (Area ‘C’) Merville, Black Creek, Dove Creek, Saratoga Beach, Arden (west of Cumberland Road), Powerhouse Road, Lake Trail, Marsden, Plateau Road, and north to the Oyster River.

Note: Residents of the City of Courtenay, Town of Comox and 9LOODJH RI &XPEHUODQG PXVW FRQWDFW WKHLU PXQLFLSDO RIĂ€FHV to obtain dog licences.

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www.comoxvalleyecho.com TUESDAY.JANUARY 27, 2015

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Along with our 1-800-222 (TIPS) line, tipsters can report information via our secure WebTips application at www. comoxvalleycrimestoppers.bc.ca and now we accept anonymous tips via Text Messaging.

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