February 4, 2015

Chronicles: Fathers of the First Cowichan Fall Fair

LIVING, Page 16

Excellent outing not enough as Bays beats LMG

SPORTS, Page 21

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

SWASHBUCKLING PIRATES A HIT

Woman escapes kidnap attempt KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN

Police are trying to track down a man who tried to confine a hitchhiker to his truck in an incident in mid-January.

The female hitchhiker was given a lift on Chemainus Road from a man in a small, blue pickup truck — possibly a Ford Ranger.

The driver attempted to grab the woman’s leg and refused to allow her to exit the vehicle. She managed to jump out, however, when the truck slowed down near the highway, and she ran to safety.

The truck continued southbound down the highway.

The driver is described as about 45 years old, with grey hair and a goatee. He had a medium build and rough, worn-looking hands.

Anyone with information should contact Ladysmith RCMP at 250245-6070 or Crime Stoppers at 1800-222-TIPS (8477).

‘Poor wandering one,” sings the lovely young Mabel (Hanna Seinen) to her pirate beau, Frederic, (Rupert Koyote) in the South Island Musical Theatre Society’s production of The Pirates of Penzance, which continues this weekend at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre. For more photos from the show see www. cowichanvalleycitizen.com [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN]

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

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Man arrested in B&Es ANDREA RONDEAU CITIZEN

A 17-year-old man was arrested as a suspect in two break-andenters Thursday night after being tracked from a crime scene by police service dog Enzo.

Just after midnight on Thursday an officer on patrol in Duncan was alerted to a break and enter that had just happened at an antique shop in the 300 block of Duncan Avenue.

Someone using the building had heard the culprits inside. After the thieves left, the witness ran outside and notified the passing officer.

While that theft was under investigation, officers were notified of an alarm at the nearby Romance

Shop on Trunk Road. When they arrived, they found that shop had also been broken into and items had been taken.

That’s when Enzo was called in to assist.

The dog tracked the suspect to a spot outside a nearby residence on Cowichan Way where he was hiding. The 17-year-old was arrested without incident.

He is described as being “well known to police.” He’s been charged with two counts of beak and enter and will appear in Duncan Provincial Court.

“A quick response by on duty officers, along with PSD Enzo’s keen nose, solved these crimes in an efficient manner,” said Sgt. Chris Swain in a press release.

Owners of stolen items sought A Toyota pickup lost its fender in a crash at Somenos Road and Highway 18 on Friday. [ANDREA RONDEAU/CITIZEN] ANDREA RONDEAU CITIZEN

Are you missing a violin, sports trading cards or water skis?

The Shawnigan Lake RCMP may have found your stolen property.

In November of last year the detachment recovered numerous stolen items, including: • two older violins, both in cases and both appear to be in poor condition • an older brown box, containing

numerous sports trading cards; • an older pair of Gringo water skis with a family name written on the back of them.

Officers would like to speak with the owners in hopes of returning the items.

If anyone has any information they should contact Const. Raelyn Hart at the Shawnigan Lake RCMP at 250-743-5514 and quote file number 2014-2875 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

One injured in Friday crash on Highway 18 ANDREA RONDEAU CITIZEN

Two vehicles were damaged and one person was taken to hospital by ambulance with non-lifethreatening injuries following a crash near Duncan on Friday afternoon.

Around 3 p.m. police and other

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emergency personnel were called to the intersection of Somenos Road and Highway 18.

N o r t h C ow i c h a n / D u n c a n RCMP Sgt. Chris Swain said that a white Toyota pickup pulled out onto Highway 18 from the stop sign on Somenos Road “when it was unsafe to do so,” and collided

with a black Chrysler car.

The car spun into a ditch.

One passenger from the car suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Cowichan District Hospital for treatment.

The driver of the truck was charged under the Motor Vehicle Act with Unsafe Start.

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News

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

Stroke survivor’s tale drives home campaign purpose KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN

A big month of fundraising kicked off Monday — as it has for the last 29 years — with the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s annual Celebrity Breakfast at Duncan’s Travelodge Silver Bridge Inn. The legacy of the breakfast and longtime chair Colleen Marsel includes more than $222,000 in fundraising in previous years, and generous donations from a host of community groups and individuals on Monday got the local branch of the Heart & Stroke Foundation well on its way to hitting its $15,000 goal for 2015.

Guests of honour at the breakfast included TD Bank District Vice President Ian Troup, BC & Yukon Heart & Stroke CEO Adrienne Bakker, and Vancouver Island Community Development Coordinator Jodi Gaiser. But the speaker who most captured the crowd’s attention was Mark Miller, who shared his story of survival with the audience.

A former telecommunications executive, Miller was doing volunteer work in Tanzania when he contracted malaria, which led to a blood clot and stroke.

Unlike Tanzania, where he did not receive proper treatment for his condition, Miller pointed out that Canada has a much better standard of care, including ready access to ambulances and clotting treatments.

“I want everyone to realize we are in a

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Local celebrities Harold Wallace, Mike Coleman and Norm Sowden were named finalists for the men’s costume contest at the 2015 Heart & Stroke Celebrity Breakfast. Coleman, with his own pot of gold, was awarded the prize in a close audience vote. [KEVIN ROTHBAUER/CITIZEN]

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“With a stroke, you’re never going back. But every day gets better.”

MARK MILLER, stroke survivor

wonderful place in the world,” he said.

Miller had hoped to share his story about how the Heart & Stroke Foundation helped get him from a wheelchair five years ago to his feet today, but he arrived at the breakfast in a wheelchair due to a broken foot he suffered just recently — the product of the very active life he is able to live, which included kayaking and ziplining excursions last summer.

Even cooking bacon has been an adjustment, as he can no longer stand at the stove to cook. Instead, he puts it on a baking sheet in the oven. But the results are the same.

“I had to change the way I do it, but I still get bacon,” he said.

Miller had been asked to share his story four years ago, but his mind wasn’t in a place to let it happen.

The fact he was able to speak on Monday speaks to his recovery.

“With a stroke, you’re never going back,” he said. “But every day gets better.”

In the coming weeks, more than 1,700 volunteers will begin door-knocking for Heart & Stoke on Vancouver Island, including 271 in the Cowichan Valley.

Shawnigan holding street name challenge LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN

Shawnigan Lake is celebrating BC Family Day (Feb. 9) with a special community event that offers residents a chance to get to know more about their own local area.

There’s a challenge to visit eight locations and determine how each street came by its name. Passports are available at

the Shawnigan Lake Museum and The Chippery at a cost of $3 per person, which includes a boxed lunch. Then, your search can begin.

Once you’ve made the rounds, bring those completed passports to the Shawnigan Lake Community Centre from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for food, fun and prizes.

Sounds like a great family day.

News

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

5

Crofton mill feeling hit of dropping dollar LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN

Catalyst is still a major player in North Cowichan’s economic and tax landscape, despite efforts to stop the municipality putting all its eggs in one basket.

Rob Belanger, Catalyst manager, spoke to council at its regular January meeting, giving some background and adding some new information to keep councillors — and the big gallery at the meeting — up to date on doings at the company’s Crofton mill and elsewhere.

One timely subject Belanger addressed was Canada’s plunging dollar.

“Foreign exchange? There’s a lot of volatility in that. As a Canadian company selling in U.S. dollars, that has an advantage for us but not as great as some people think.

Our customers are not dumb. They put a lot of pressure on us and we give up foreign exchange in pricing to a great degree. We also buy a lot of our raw materials in U.S. dollars,” he said.

“And our debt is all in Canadian dollars so a debt of $28 million that started off at par is now $35 million.”

He also talked about the demographic of Catalyst’s workforce, calling it “another challenge and an opportunity we face.”

Belanger explained that the average age of a mill worker in Crofton is around 50 as the baby boomer generation works its way through the mill.

“That creates a challenge because these are employees who have been around for 25-30 years and have a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise so when we lose them we have to train people,” he said.

“But this also provides opportunity for jobs. For a decade before 2012, we virtually did not hire as a company. In 2013 with attrition starting to occur with retirement, we hired 54 people just in Crofton. In 2014, last year — 75 people. And already this year — 10.

“There’s a huge job opportunity over the next five years. A lot of the people we are getting are local people with young families. They are starting out their careers in very good paying jobs. So that’s something we obviously want to sustain,” he said.

However, Belanger also said the company was concerned that there might be moves afoot at North Cowichan to reverse a tax shift a few years back that gave the operation a break.

“We really want to thank North Cowichan council for that change which really supported the retention and growth of Class 4

Rob Belanger, Catalyst manager business in the area.”

He also said it was “a very important contribution” towards helping Catalyst when the company went into creditor protection in September 2012.

“I think it was also an important and shrewd business decision by council to reduce the dependence of the District of North Cowichan on a single taxpayer.”

Belanger tried, briefly, to explain that the company is trying to manage its cash flow in the face of a lot of challenges while still maintaining enough to keep afloat.

“In 2013, our cash flow was minus-$22 million and so far for three quarters in 2014, it’s minus-$5 million so we see improvement, which is good, but it’s still negative.”

They need $63 million of available earnings just to pay for interest on debt, the pension plan, and capitalization required to sustain the operation, he said.

“When the cash flow is negative, you’re burning cash, you’re going into your savings. We are burning cash as a company.

That is not a good position,” he said.

Crofton includes both a pulp and a paper mill. The other Catalyst mills in Port Alberni and Powell River are paper only.

“So paper’s very important to us. Paper demand has declined significantly, particularly in newsprint. It’s because of these,” he said, holding up his phone. “It’s the digital age. Our industry is under significant pressure from loss of demand. In the last nine months, newsprint pricing in North America has gone from $680 a tonne to $620 a tonne — a nine per cent reduction.

“We make 350,000 tonnes of newsprint so that nine per cent translates into $7 million in lost revenue just in the last nine months.

“Similarly in pulp, there’s pricing volatility. In the last four years the price of pulp

Watermain Flushing Chemainus Water System As part of an ongoing program of providing quality water to our customers, please be advised that the Municipality of North Cowichan, Utilities Department, will be undertaking routine watermain flushing in various areas of the Chemainus water system between Monday, January 19, and Monday, February 16, 2015 inclusive.

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has ranged from $800 a tonne to $620 a took on extra debt but we believe we’re gettonne. Again on about 350,000 tones of pulp ting assets that will work well for us in the that’s a 30 per cent change that’s worth $60 future,” he said. million of revenue.

During questions from councillors, Bel“We don’t have $60 million to withstand anger explained to Coun. Al Siebring that that kind of change in our pricing.” the company’s three operations in B.C. react Fibre availability is another problem. in concert.

“We’re looking at a 20 per cent increase “Crofton did well last year. If pulp’s doing in fibre costs in the next five years. That well, the most profitable act that we have is means we’re looking at $32 million for just Crofton because it has a pulp and a paper mill. Conversely when that pulp market Crofton.”

Chips are short because whole logs are drops, we lose a lot of money in Crofton. going to China and also because of beetle Fortunately for the company, our paper mills can now use a low cost raw material. kill in the forests of B.C.’s Interior.

Having BC Hydro push up costs over the It’s a cycle.

“Some years I can say Crofton is No. 1. I next five years by 30 per cent doesn’t help, like those years. And I can go back a few either, he said.

“We, as a company, are BC Hydro’s largest years ago and pulp was losing money and customer. There’s a lot of energy in making our paper business locally was supporting pulp and paper. That’s a $50 million increase it. That’s why I chose to present as a total company.” over the next five years,” he said.

All of that means that Catalyst executives and planners are doing a complicated dance, and it’s one that’s made even tougher when opportunity unexpectedly comes knocking.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

OUR VIEW

Not doing enough to clean up unsightly plots t certainly appears to the naked eye that not enough is being done about derelict properties and unsightly buildings in the Municipality of North Cowichan — indeed, in the Cowichan Valley.

We’ve all seen them. These are the properties where piles of refuse teeter in the backyard, a haven for rodents. These are the burnt-out remains of fires gone by that have been left to be taken over by weeds higher than your head.

It’s important to distinguish between derelict and under construction, or derelict and just not

I

very pretty.

Sometimes the line between under construction and left to rot can be difficult to pinpoint.

But after years of no movement and even deterioration, it becomes clear to even the layman who’s never read a bylaw governing the subject that something should be done and the owners are not going to be the ones to do it without prodding.

Sometimes abandoned buildings even become hazards with sagging roofs and sinking foundations, broken windows and animal residents.

Let’s be clear. We’re not talking

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about someone whose property is mostly tidy but there’s one area of haphazardly stacked wood, or an unattractive compost pile, or a space that somebody uses to work on farm equipment, or store a few odds and ends.

Not everyone grooms their yard so that not a blade of grass is out of place, nor tree left untrimmed.

We’re not talking about homes that perhaps need a little TLC and a coat of paint.

We’re not suggesting that everyone be held to standards typical of a particularly stringent strata.

But right now properties are

being allowed to molder for years before any action is taken.

This is a problem not just for neighbours’ property values but for health and safety reasons for the whole community.

Those rats making a colony in that unsightly yard? They’re not just sticking to a limited square footage.

Those precarious structures abandoned by owners are a magnet to the adventurous youth, who’s probably not concerned enough about safety to adequately decide if the floor and ceiling is really stable enough.

We must begin to do better.

four years from 2009 to 2013 the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) logged a total of 536 communications with public office holders (read: Harper government). Over the same period, the Climate Action Network (CAN) logged a grand total of six, or just a little over one per cent of communications compared to CAPP. If that isn’t enough, CAPP membership currently represents over 90 per cent of produced crude oil and natural gas in Canada with yearly revenues totaling $120 billion a year. At the time of writing, I couldn’t even get the CAN website to load.

Re: Citizen article Jan. 14, page 5.

Don Malcolm’s complaint of potholes on the highway should be addressed. Not only on the highway, but Duncan itself and surrounding areas. In particular, the ones filled in last year back near Staples and Jim’s Pools and Spas to name a few of many.

These lame patch jobs are only temporary fixes to save money that cost more in the long run.

I must say, when the Department of Highways was run by the government years ago, we had better roads due to the quality of work done by these crews; they at least paved a problem area rather than patch most roads.

Unfortunately the government contracted out the crews’ jobs to save a buck, then the quality was sacrificed. Now we have tar-filled cracks and patches all over the highway stretching for miles if you take notice in your lane, if not speeding, of course.

The contracting out of professional skilled jobs has a costly side effect. For example, the hospitals’ housekeeping departments where employees with many years of experience and training were let go and replaced by private contracting companies. This inexperience led to outbreaks of Norwalk and superbugs they had to contend with that former hospital employees never had, due to their expertise, and the same applies to the highway crews of the past.

When it’s done right the first time, quality comes first before the dollar profit of private contractors for the government, in my opinion.

John Lisson Duncan

John Carreck Duncan

Publisher Shirley Skolos Editor Andrea Rondeau Advertising director Shirley Skolos Circulation manager Audette LePage Newsroom 250-748-2666, extension 235 news@cowichanvalleycitizen.com Advertising 250-748-2666, extensions 223, 227, 228, 229, 230 Classified ads 1-866-415-9169

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Submitting a letter to the editor is now easier than ever — you can do it online by going to the Cowichan Valley Citizen website, www. cowichanvalleycitizen.com, and clicking on the Opinion tab. Then click Send us a letter.

Write 300 words or less on the topic of your choice, include your full name (first and last), and a town you hail from.

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Contracting out caused road, hospital problems

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A couple of points about Mr. Elley’s letter Re: Stickers on gas pumps a hairbrained scheme I too have just finished reading about the presentation by Mr. Shirkey to the CVRD about warning labels on gas pumps.

I then finished reading Mr. Elley’s letter from Jan. 28. To make things transparent, I do not know either of these gentlemen and do not yet have an opinion on the efficacy of labels on pumps. I have two points of contention.

First, Mr. Elley begins with an ad hominem attack against Mr. Shirkey simply because of where he is from (Toronto). A 0.4 second Google search informed me that

Mr. Elley himself is from Simcoe, Ont. The point is anyone who so chooses may address any municipal council for any reason.

My second point concerns Mr. Elley’s characterization that these “lobby” groups are less than altruistic in their motivation; the most “harebrained” of these comments sums it up nicely. “I am suspicious that somewhere some company associated with this huge environmental industry has a contract to make and distribute the labels.” Reading that was so ridiculous to me I almost spat out my coffee!

Here’s why: I compared the reported lobbying communications from the two largest lobby groups on either side of the climate change issue. In the

Opinion

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

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LETTERS to the editor Municipality’s tax comparison ranking misleading North Cowichan has begun working on its 2015 budget and property tax plans. I think that council should be focusing on real community needs and priorities and stop spending on discretionary luxury wants of the bureaucrats. Our community has already hit the limit of reasonable property taxes.

The Municipality of North Cowichan, in its update, published on Nov. 21, boasts that MNC’s residential property taxes are the eighth lowest among 22 Vancouver Island communities at $1,659 for the average assessed home.

This advertisement distorts reality. Is this an analysis with the objective of warning MNC taxpayers that council and staff believes that there is a lot of room to raise our property taxes?

It is more foreboding if you, our new council members, buy into this advertisement as some on council already have.

However, what MNC does not tell you is that the three main reasons for that ranking have nothing to do with sound municipal management. The reasons are structural and mask the reality that for the services we receive, our taxes are indeed high.

The reasons our taxes are eighth lowest are:

Don’t try mushrooms unless you’re an expert Re: mushroom picture on page 8, Cowichan Valley Citizen I was flabbergasted to see the picture of mushrooms on page 8 of today’s paper with a recommendation to eat them. I cannot say whether or not they are actually “shaggy Parasols”

7

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MY TEACHER WAS... DRACULA? 1. MNC has some major industry (sawmills and pulp and paper) within its boundaries that bear a disproportionate amount of tax. Most communities in the ranking do not have this.

2. The Island Savings Centre taxes are not billed by MNC to the south end taxpayers but are buried in the taxes billed by the CVRD and so are not included in the MNC taxes for the purpose of the ranking. They should be!

3. MNC has an all-volunteer fire department.

Of the 22 towns with higher residential taxes than MNC in the list, almost none have any proportion of major industry except for Port Alberni. Nanaimo and Ladysmith have a much smaller proportion of their taxes from major industry and Ladysmith’s sawmill has just given notice that it is going on indefinite shutdown. MNC collects $4 million in property taxes from major industry. Without that support, residents would see a hike of $350 per average home.

If council thinks that tax is not at risk in the future, think about how Campbell River just lost its major industry pulp and paper mill. Sadly, two councillors, Mr. Walker and Mr. Siebring, have stated that they want to shift even more tax burden to major industry. That would be a serious mistake and jeopardize some of the best paying family supporting jobs in the private sector in our town.

During council’s last term,

bylaw 3526 (Revitalization Tax Exemption bylaw) was passed giving tax breaks to major industry and now we have councillors proposing to change course? It is total nonsense and illogical.

Council must not allow this to happen!

The taxes for community centres, like our Island Savings Center in most of the towns in the list are taxed by the community, not by the regional district as is the case for the ISC. For example, in Nanaimo, the Port Theatre is billed through city taxes and included in the ranking. For the average home in MNC’s south end, that works out to $330 that should be accounted for in the comparison with other Island communities — it is not included in MNC’s taxes in the ranking.

Add those two adjustments to the average in the update and our taxes increase to $2,339 on an apples to apples comparison.

That puts our taxes third highest of the 22 communities.

If we had a full time fire department, we could be the highest.

Are you on council going to guarantee that we will never have a full time fire department?

It is now time for this council to understand the true nature of our tax structure compared to other towns and realize that the spending is indeed out of control and has to be reined in.

as the text says (they could be), but they very similar to white Amanita, an extremely toxic and hallucinogenic mushroom which I have seen growing in the forests around Duncan fairly often.

Google “White Amanita” and you will see what I mean.

I can also say that eating a mushroom that was identified through Google is extremely

risky. Accurate identification of mushrooms based on photos is almost impossible, unless it is one of the few that are really unique.

We can only hope that no one poisons themselves after reading the paper.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Cowichan Valley Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Society Time: 7:00pm Day: Thursday March 5, 2015 Where: Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre • Presentation of Annual Reports • Election of Officers

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• [Contributed by Danielle van Schaik] I was looking at old school and class photos in the hallway at Drinkwater Elementary, when I came across an unusual class photo. It’s from 1981, and while everyone else is dressed normal, the teacher is dressed as Dracula (?). Anyways, it caught my eye as something kind of interesting, and I wondered if maybe there was a story behind it?

FYI, every other class and teacher from that year is dressed completely normal.

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Opinion

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen Volunteer Fire Department.

Astrid Notte Duncan

Government gets failing grade from students North Cowichan volunteer firefighters saved our house On Dec. 23, 2014, I had just pulled up in front of my house when my grandson got out and spotted smoke and flames in front of my car.

It was surreal. We just had time to escape.

I phoned 9-1-1.

Cuddling my grandson, we both watched helplessly as the car burned, exploded and melted right in front of our eyes.

Now my concern was also about the house and other dwellings. But there appeared two red angels in the form of fire trucks.

The firemen proceeded to put out the fire and saved our house.

I was appreciative when one of the owners in the strata helped me with the clean-up the next day.

A heartfelt thank you for those that supported me in time of need.

How fortunate I feel to live in a community surrounded by caring people. A big thank you to the North Cowichan

The B.C. government just announced another cut to B.C. universities and colleges. This time they have cut funding for Adult Basic Education (ABE).

The ABE program has served as an entry point for thousands of British Columbians who, for whatever reason, did not succeed in the B.C. K-12 school system. The cost of the program across the province was just under $7 million in its entirety. This is a small price to pay to allow people to upgrade and enter trades or academic programs to fill the everincreasing skills gap.

This cut is petty, backwards, and hurtful to citizens who want to pursue greater opportunity in our province. Worst of all, this cut was unnecessary because the province is projecting a surplus of almost $200 million this year. As a result of continued mismanagement of the B.C. education system, this government gets a failing grade from students.

Crofton mill [CITIZEN FILE] Sherry McCarthy Chairperson, VIU Students’ Union Local 61 Canadian Federation of Students

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AMEND SOUTH COWICHAN ZONING BYLAW SOUTH COWICHAN ZONING AMENDMENT BYLAW NO. 3893 (Cobble Hill R-6 Zone) (APPLICABLE TO ELECTORAL AREA A – MILL BAY/MALAHAT and ELECTORAL AREA C – COBBLE HILL) NOTICE is hereby given that the CVRD Board will consider reading a third time and adopting the above noted Amendment Bylaw at the regular Board meeting of February 11, 2015.

As per Section 890(4) of the Local Government Act, the Cowichan Valley Regional District Board of Directors has reviewed South Cowichan Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3893, and found it to be consistent with the policies of the South Cowichan Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 3510. Therefore, a Public Hearing has been waived and the Board has directed that this Public Notice occur in its place. South Cowichan Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3893 received first and second reading at the December 10, 2014, CVRD Board meeting.

South Cowichan Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3893 would amend South Cowichan Zoning Bylaw No. 3520 (2012) in two ways, both of which only affect the central portion of Cobble Hill Village: 1. In the Mixed Use Residential (R-6) Zone, the permitted use “Residential dwelling located above a commercial use” would be removed and replaced with: “Residential dwelling in association with a commercial use”.

2. In the Mixed Use Residential (R-6) Zone, a residential use density limit would be introduced, permitting only one residential dwelling in association with a commercial use, or one single family residence, or one duplex per parcel of land.

A copy of the Amendment Bylaw and relevant support material may be inspected at the Regional District Planning & Development Department office: 175 Ingram Street, Duncan, BC From Friday, January 30, 2015 to Wednesday, February 11, 2015, between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except Monday, February 9, 2015, being the BC Family Day statutory holiday. A copy of the Bylaw and supporting material may also be viewed on the CVRD website at the following address: http://www.cvrd.bc.ca/index.aspx?NID=1282.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Mike Tippett, Manager, Community & Regional Planning, Planning & Development Department at 250-746-2620.

Advocates should utilize facts, not allegations Re: “Don’t take Cowichan’s water for granted” opinion piece, Jan. 28.

I agree with Dr. Goetz Schuerhoz that his “thought provoking facts and figures on the water issue” are indeed provocative. Being a former employee with responsibilities in the Catalyst Pulp and Paper Mill water systems, I offer the following observations.

1. It is needlessly and unfairly provocative to state that the mill’s water consumption figure is “alleged” because it is not measured at the “intake”, technically meaning on the suction side of the pumps.

The flow is measured at the inlet of the filter plant (water treatment plant), but it can also be determined by the head in the surge tank off Gibbins Road.

Is the doctor alleging that the residents who live along the pipeline right-of-way and hikers who use the trail on it would not notice leakage, or would conspire to conceal it? There are a number of air vent-vacuum breakers along the pipeline, which may discharge small amounts of water from time to time. It is not true to state (twice) that the 34 million gallons are Imperial gallons — they are U.S. gallons, thus the usage is overstated by 20 per cent.

2. On what basis of fact does the doctor make his assertion of “an outdated and leaking pipe system inside the mill?”

3. The statement that the water used by the mill is “discharged…without being recycled as required by pulp mills in Europe and other countries which recycled their water up to 20 times” is not true, as is evidenced by the fact that water consumption is the same now as it was when Kraft pulp production was one-third of what it is now, and before the thermomechanical pulp mill and associated paper machines were built.

It is true that prior to concerted water conservation efforts, usage could reach 58 million U.S. gallons per day, in the heat of summer. Whenever I hear the phrase “up to”, as in earnings from home-based envelope-stuffing, or the life of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) my BS alert activates.

The quoted “20 times” would seem to be applicable to nuclear and fossil fuel power plants whose condensing steam turbine cooling water is recycled through the use

of cooling towers whose combined drift, evaporation and blowdown losses are about five per cent per cycle. I challenge the doctor to identify even one European pulp mill which recycles its process water 20 times. Europeans may accept municipal refuse fueled district heating plants and gigantic parabolic cooling towers in the midst of their communities, but this is not the case here in B.C. 4. I gather that he doctor did not earn his doctorate in mathematics, for 34 million gallons (U.S. or Imperial) does not equal 168.2 million litres. In fact, I am beginning to suspect that his doctorate has been used far outside its area of relevance in an attempt to add credibility.

5. Using the doctor’s data, the unit cost of water sold to North Cowichan is $307.70 per million U.S. gallons. For those Crofton residents who might wish to compare this to that charged them by the municipality, it equates to 7.75 cents per cubic metre.

Bear in mind that Catalyst pays the costs of pumping, filtering and disinfection the water it supplies to North Cowichan. This would seem to be at or below the cost of supply.

I suggest that if advocates truly have a just cause and wish to gain widespread and lasting public support, they utilize facts — not unsupported allegations or cherry-picked data, and refrain from attempts to point the finger of blame in one direction only.

We need only look into a mirror to see who is responsible for last summer’s water panic, which was due in part to the river water level/flow needed to operate the Joint Utility Board sewage treatment plant and to dilute its effluent.

Locating the plant there may have been the cheapest and simplest option, but was it really appropriate, if the health of the lower Cowichan River is important?

We had an unusually dry summer, but the rains came at the end of October, as they historically do.

With relief from stubborn adherence by the B.C. government to the rule curve governing the release of water from the weir at Lake Cowichan, and a modest increase in weir height, the vast storage capacity of Cowichan Lake can be better utilized, to the benefit of all — humans and fish.

Wayne Nolan Crofton

Island Round-up

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

9

◆ COMOX

BC Coroners Service identifies Puntledge River victim As a Comox Valley father watches his infant son cling to life in a Vancouver hospital, emergency crews who rescued the newborn and his mother from a river Friday remain optimistic.

“We’re all hoping there can be a miracle for this father and son so that they can be reunited,” said Paul Berry, search manager for Comox Valley Search and Rescue.

The newborn’s 26-year-old mother Veronika Sophie Weaver, died Friday night. Her husband, who works for the Comox Valley School District, is at his son’s side at B.C. Children’s Hospital, Berry said.

The baby is just seven months old. He is the couple’s first child, Berry said.

On Friday, when 911 calls from witnesses at 2:29 p.m. reported a mother and baby floating in the Puntledge River in downtown Courtenay, first responders rushed to the scene and launched a search by land, air and water.

Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue team members search the Courtenay River on Friday [MICHAEL BRIONES/COMOX VALLEY ECHO]

When You Buy From Galaxy We Will...

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Bainbridge Lake Water set to open; users should cut use Wednesday

PRICES IN EFFECT UNTIL February 11th

The City of Port Alberni is asking residents to be stingy with water usage on Wednesday as municipal workers cut off the community’s supply.

Water will still be available to residents, but from 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. the source will be limited to five reservoirs.

The supply is being shut off to allow a 20-inch pipe to be rerouted, necessary work as the city prepares to open the Bainbridge Lake Water Treatment Plant this spring at the bottom of Franklin River Road.

The new treatment plant is currently being built by the existing Bainbridge Pumphouse.

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News

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

School calendar 2015 up for debate

HAIL THE HAGGIS

LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN

Andrew Hutchison lifts a quaich of scotch to the Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin’ Race as it rests before him on the ceremonial table during the kickoff of the annual Robbie Burns Night by the Cowichan Pipes and Drums Society held recently at the Silver Bridge in Duncan. [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN]

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The Cowichan Valley school district is sending out a calendar for the next three school years, asking for public feedback.

The calendar has been contentious in some past years and both officials and trustees have to get working because, according to Sheryl Koers, assistant superintendent, a board-approved calendar must be submitted to the Ministry of Education by March 31 and consultations with the public must be held before then.

“The timelines are such that we need to get on this right away,” she told the trustees at the Jan. 7 board meeting.

And at the committee of the whole session Jan. 20, she and superintendent Joe Rhodes explained to the board of education that, typically, district staff puts a draft calendar out for consideration to be sent out to district workers as well as the community for feedback. “When you receive that feedback, if you need any alterations, you make those changes. Then we submit that to the ministry and the ministry looks at it for compliance that it meets the School Act requirements around the number of instructional hours for students,” he said.

The calendar that goes out to the ministry usually goes before the professional development days are nailed down because those need to be negotiated contractually with the union, he said, adding, “they usually ratify that by the end of April.”

Koers explained that the calendar is generally put on the district website to spur feedback.

She also said that through the schools parents and students get the chance to see it and comment, and employee groups are also asked to take a look.

Sheryl Koers “Comments then come back to the superintendent’s office. We have in the past done a survey and we have also had a public meeting, but that didn’t go as well. There were only 17 people that attended and it was a meeting that also included discussion about property disposal and, as it turned out, most of the 17 were there about the property disposal.

“But, by and large, we have found that going out to the schools and putting it out on the website and asking for written submissions seems to be where we get the bulk of our feedback,” Koers said.

Rhodes said that besides circulating it to the district’s union representatives, it’s also passed along to the district parent advisory council and these groups have often returned useful feedback on plans for the calendar.

Some years back, there was significant debate at the board about the idea of increasing the spring break period to two weeks to cut costs but more recently concern about that has been more muted.

DRYGRAD FUNDRAISER DANCE

support

Email in your photos of your…

h Wedding h Special Anniversary h Engagement h Wedding/Honeymoon (maximum 2 photos, excellent quality please) Send images and contact info to sskolos@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

Deadline Feb. 20, 2015 Drop off at The Citizen off at 251 Jubilee St., Duncan

Feb 7th @ 7pm cssdrygrad@gmail.com Tickets $15 250.246.0000

News

Imposter using BBB name in calls to Island businesses Better Business Bureau serving Vancouver Island is warning local businesses to be on the watch for an imposter targeting companies and pretending to be a BBB representative updating business information.

BBB has received an influx of calls recently from a number of concerned companies that have been contacted via phone by a person claiming to work for the “Better Business Bureau in Victoria,” and requesting detailed information from the company to “update their profile.”

Businesses who have been contacted by this imposter report that: • Their call display shows either an unknown phone number, unavailable phone number or the phone number listed as 1-000-012-3456; • When the company asks any questions or if they can call back, the caller immediately hangs up on them; and • The questions being asked include information such as business contact information, the number of employees working at the business, the total number of computers used at the company and email addresses for each employee.

“We have no idea at the moment who is out there falsely using the BBB’s name to collect information from businesses, nor what exactly their ultimate angle is,” said Rosalind Scott, president and CEO of BBB serving Vancouver Island. “Other BBBs in North America have also reported receiving calls from local businesses about their BBB’s name being used in a similar situation.”

“At this time we can only speculate that the imposter is part of some sort of scam to collect information from businesses that they can sell to a third party, use as part of a fake directory/invoice/ fee for service type of scam, or for the purposes of company identity theft,” states Scott. “This is a frustrating situation for us at BBB because we do in fact often call businesses to legitimately update the information on a company’s BBB Business Review. The difference, however, is that our staff are always transparent about their reason for calling, will happily provide you with their contact information (including name, title, phone, extension and email) and our phone number is always recognizable on call display as being the Better Business Bureau.”

If your company receives a suspicious, unsolicited call from someone with an unfamiliar name claiming to represent BBB (or any organization for that matter) be sure to: • Ask the caller to verify their identity and reason for calling.

• Ask to call back and write down the caller’s name and phone number/extension number.

• If you have call display compare the information on the call display with what the caller is claiming.

• Look up the main number for the local branch of your BBB or the agency the caller claims to represent and ask to be directed to the person who contacted you.

• Refuse to give out private or unnecessary company information to just anyone who calls claiming to be from a legitimate sounding organization.

• Inform the BBB that your company has become a target of such a suspicious call and provide us with as many details as possible.

If a company wishes to update the information on their BBB Business Review they can do so by phone, mail, fax, email or go directly to: www.bbb. org/vancouver-island/updatecompany For more information about scams, frauds and tips to protect yourself go to: bbb.org/Vancouver-island

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

11

12

250-748-2666 ext. 225 arts@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

A&E

Production of ‘Pirates’ strikes gold for Society LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN

‘Go ye heroes, go and die!’ Mabel (Hanna Seinen) urges a group of terrified policemen who have just confessed that ‘when the foeman bares his steel, we uncomfortable feel.’ [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN]

Major General Stanley (Terry Finch) tells the world all about himself. For other photos see cowichanvalleycitizen.com [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN}

Frederic (Rupert Koyote) listens as Ruth (Mary Egan-Popovich) explains how he came to be apprenticed on a pirate ship. [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN]

It’s easy to understand why Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance has remained a firm favourite with theatre companies for more than a hundred years.

It’s tuneful and funny and offers loads of scope to everyone performing in it.

The South Island Musical Theatre Society’s production, which continues this week at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre with an evening performance Feb. 6 at 7:30 and a matinee Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. and then again Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, offers a great time out for the whole family.

Sure, the story is late Victorian and silly, but the plots of musicals are often fluffy. That’s half the fun of them.

And, as librettist W.S. Gilbert would have loved, this Pirates is full of up-to-date political jokes as well so be sure to listen for them.

And you can hear them, too.

This cast’s diction is so superb that you can follow everything that’s happening with ease.

Costuming is bright and appropriate, dancing and general movement around the stage crisp and

undistracting and humour oozes from every available opening.

Everyone was smiling when we left the theatre.

Ah, but what about the singing, you ask?

Anyone who knows musical theatre knows that Pirates of Penzance offers a challenge in casting because the lead roles are vocally demanding.

The part of Mabel, in particular, calls for a soprano to parody an operatic diva, which means she herself has to have a fistful of notes on offer every night.

Hanna Seinen handles that task with grace, and her Frederic, (tenor Rupert Koyote) is also able to provide thrilling thrusts into the stratosphere.

Pirate King Jacob Dennison leads his band of cut-throats with plenty of dash and flash.

Major General Stanley (Terry Finch) is funny and fluent in his important role while insouciant Mary Egan-Popovich puts everything she has into the role of Ruth.

But it’s the enthusiasm of everyone involved in this show that really gets the stage glowing.

You’ll see that when you go this weekend. Don’t miss it.

vancouver island symphony

YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE WEEK a valentine special

Nadya Blanchette

Ken Lavigne

Soprano

Tenor

Cowichan Performing Arts Arts CentreCentre Cowichan Performing

Thursday 12 Saturday February Adults $40 or Rows A, B, and C $25 Adults $40& Students $5 at 7:30pm Rows A, B, and C $25 January 17 Children

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Children & Students $5 Cowichan Ticket Centre Cowichan Ticket250-748-7529 Centre Telephone:

Telephone: 250-748-7529 www.CowichanSymphonySociety.ca

Gabrielle Lepage is 12 and attends Bench Elementary School in Grade 7. She plays piano, recorder, and marimba. She has student Owen Laurie as a piano teacher and Ms. St Cyr as choir director at Bench. She was delighted to sing with the Cowichan Consort Orchestra in December with CBC’s Bob McDonald guest narrator for ‘The Snowman’. The song Walking in the Air was very memorable to sing in the concert.

COURTESY COWICHANMUSICTEACHERS.COM

A&E ◆ COMING THIS WEEKEND

Buskers invited to compete for studio time Buskers Burn-off?

Nope, nobody’s putting feet in frying pans or even lying around on tanning beds.

On Saturday, Feb. 7 starting at 8 p.m. the Duncan Showroom will be busker central as they host a special contest.

It’s open to all who have registered in the last year to busk in the Cowichan Valley and the winner gets a day of recording at the Woodshop Studio with Zak Cohen.

Each contestant gets to play two songs, originals or covers.

The judges for the event are Shelley “Sweet Potato” Brown, Georgia Foster and Bill Levity and the emcee for the night is Scott Owen.

This contest is sponsored and produced by Eugene Smith.

Entrance for the audience is a suggested $10 donation.

The whole thing sounds like a winning idea so get there early to get a seat for a fun evening out.

◆ COMING IN FEBRUARY

Showroom welcomes, Smith, Semko and more February is a packed-full month at the Duncan Showroom.

Here are a few examples of what’s on the agenda. Shows begin at 8 p.m.

• Friday, Feb. 13, the Dave Camble Collective, which includes talented Island musicians such as Glen Taylor, Martyn Jones and Ray Visscher, plus special guests, hits the stage. Tickets are $15 at the door or $12 in advance.

• Saturday, Feb. 14, enjoy Norman Foote and Eugene Smith.

While Foote is predominately a Juno-winning family-friendly entertainer, he does have a collection of other songs that are full of insightful wit. Smith is another world class entertainer who calls Cowichan home and also has some songs you haven’t heard.

So, if you’re looking for a night of rare quality, get on downtown.

Tickets are $20 each at door or two for $30 in advance.

• By Sunday, Feb. 15, Ross Neilsen, a road warrior from Fredericton, N.B., will be in spreading the faith of the blues and sure to delight the ears of the Valley’s large cadre of blues fans. Tickets are $15 door $12 advance.

• Another award-winner, Dan Frechette, hits the Showroom Stage Thursday, Feb. 19, bringing Laurel Thomsen with him. From Winnipeg, he released a recordbreaking 10 albums in 2012 while Thomsen is an American genrebending violinist touring Canada.

Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 in advance.

• Sunday, Feb. 22 Jay Semko, of Northern Pikes fame, is touring the Island and the Showroom has snagged this Canadian musical institution for a concert.

Tickets are $22 at the door or $20 in advance.

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

13

◆ VALENTINE’S DAY

Ballet company brings Cinderella to Duncan theatre LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN

Ballet Jörgen is bringing it’s audience-pleasing style of ballet back to Duncan, offering Cinderella as a special Valentine’s Day treat, Saturday, Feb. 14 starting at 7:30 p.m. onstage at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre.

It’s wonderfully apt that on the most romantic day of the year, the story of Prince Charming’s quest to find his true love gets a happily-everafter retelling in this show.

This will be a third year for Ballet Jörgen in Duncan and if the response to previous ballets here is any indicator, then Bengt Jörgen’s magnificent version of Cinderella is sure to be a hit with Valley dance fans.

We all know the tale but this is ballet, after all, so expect a few twists.

When Cinderella encounters an old lady, a magic seed and a flock of enchanting fairies, she begins an adventure that will change her life and upset her snooty stepsisters.

Jörgen’s choreography balances the fairy tale with contemporary family relationships in what the founder and director of the Toronto-based company calls “a wonder-filled evening of laughter and love.”

Cinderella’s story has been around for more than 3,000 years in various forms, he says, adding, “the many interpretations always revolve around finding someone because of a shoe. In Egypt, someone found someone through a sandal.

“There’s a story from China 2,000 years ago and one from Europe 400 years ago. There’s something at the heart of it that is very powerful,” Jörgen said.

As in previous years, Ballet Jörgen is recruiting local dancers to augment the cast and experience the world of professional touring ballet first-hand.

The local dancers had not yet been chosen by press time.

Tickets are $36 for adults, $32 for students and seniors and $20 for children.

Note to families: Buy one adult ticket and receive up to two child tickets at half price.

Purchase tickets by phone at 250-748-7529 or online at www. cowichanpac.ca or in person at the Cowichan Ticket Centre.

Colourful costuming and exciting choreography add to the grace and beauty of the tale of Cinderella in Ballet Jörgen’s version of this ballet. [SUBMITTED]

A hilarious musical comedy of the 1920s!

‘Cowichan Valley Citizen’

BOY FRIEND THE

Tel: 250·746·8123 Email: ken@kenneal.com Website: KenNeal.com Facebook.com/kennealduncan

February 25 –28, 2015 7:30 pm | All Seats $27

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Valentine Diva This year’s Valentine concert presents one of Vancouver’s finest sopranos in a program to warm the heart. It features beautiful opera arias from La Boheme and Tosca, as well as Ave Maria and Sigmund Romberg’s romantic operetta Desert Song.

Book, Music & Lyrics by SANDY WILSON With permission from Music Theatre International

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Sunday Feb 15 2:30pm

14

A&E

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

◆ VALENTINE’S DAY

Tenor to melt hearts at Feb. 14 concert LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN

Always a favourite with Valley music fans, Ken Lavigne will sail into the high Cs during his performance at the symphony concert Feb. 14. [CITIZEN FILE]

National Theatre Live Broadcast in HD

TREASURE ISLAND Spectacular. Daring.

Fun for all the family.

Thursday, Feb. 5 / 7:00pm Vancouver Island Exclusive Canada’s Ballet Jörgen

CINDERELLA “A honey of a production” - Hamilton Spectator

Saturday, Feb. 14 / 7:30pm

cowichanpac.ca 250.748.7529

News tip?

Call the Citizen at 748-2666 or drop by our office on Jubilee Street

Ah, Valentine’s Day is on the way. Our thoughts, and those of many Valley music lovers, naturally turn to that most romantic of tenors, Ken Lavigne.

The Cowichan Symphony Society is stepping out with a special concert Thursday, Feb. 12 at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre entitled He Sings, She Sighs: A Valentine Special with Ken Lavigne and Nadya Blanchette.

A Chemainus resident who has traveled the world, Lavigne, is a favourite wherever he sings, combining a silky voice with great looks and a warm, relaxed stage presence.

And when it comes to performing those romantic numbers that makes the ladies in the crowd simply swoon, he’s your tenor.

The show also appropriately includes a love interest: soprano Nadya Blanchette.

This international star can deliver it all. From ingenue to femme fatale, her delightful voice and charismatic onstage presence can handle everything from the great operatic arias to

Broadway favourites.

No wonder the Symphony Society’s Ted Rhodes is personally calling the show He Sings, She Sighs, We Melt.

Backing it all is the Vancouver Island Symphony under the baton of Pierre Simard.

It’s a Valentine special but also a real adventure for the heart.

Lavigne calls it love, plain and simple.

“This is love: be it love of life, love of family, friends, or that special someone,” he said. “It’s a great show with beautiful music, weaving our own stories, and those of the music. It’s a concert that will appeal to all lovers. We are singing duets and solos from West Side Story, South Pacific, Moulin Rouge, and on the operatic side, from Tales of Hoffman.”

Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $40 for adults, with a reduction to $25 if you sit into rows A, B or C. Groups of 10 or more????? also get tickets are $25 apiece for adults. Children and students can get in for $5 each.

Call the Cowichan Ticket Centre at 250-748-7529 to reserve today.

[SUBMITTED]

Big band heads to Crofton LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN

If you like your music on the large side, there’s a treat for you on Sunday, Feb. 8, as the 17-piece Arrowsmith Big Band comes to the Crofton Hotel pub for the popular Jazz at Crofton series.

Bands of this size offer plenty of precision as well as power and they’ll fill the space like no other orchestra by employing five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones and a four-piece rhythm section in classic big band arrangements from Count Basie to the more contemporary stylings of today.

Led by drummer Michael Wright, the group showcases the musical talents of professional musicians, school and university instructors as well as some fine student musicians.

The show runs from 2 to 5 p.m. and musicians are invited join in a jam session during the last hour.

In case you’re new to this series, the pub is located at 1534 Joan Ave., a stone’s throw from the Saltspring Island ferry terminal.

Admission is $10. For information, call 250-324-2245 or visit http:// croftonhotel.ca/entertainment.

Marimba band will get you on your feet Duncan’s Mercury Theatre turns into a dance floor Saturday, Feb. 7 as Masimba Marimba invites everyone who needs a lift to “Come Dance Your Spirit”.

The lively group is celebrating the release of their new CD, Dance Your Spirit! And then the evening will melt into a special musical event with Chris Bertin and Ted Wright.

It all begins at 7 p.m. with Bopoma Community Music and just grooves on from there.

Never been to the Mercury Theatre? It’s at 331 Brae Rd., in Duncan, above and behind the Duncan Garage.

You can get tickets at the door for $15 or purchase them in advance for $12 from The Community Farm Store and Bopoma Community Music.

Children 12 and under are admitted free with an adult.

Lexi Bainas, Citizen

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

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16

Living

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

Cowichan’s Fall Fair lives on as the Cowichan Exhibition. [CITIZEN FILE]

2015 VIBE Awards Call for Entries Now Open!

www.VIBEawards.ca The Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Vancouver Island (CHBA-VI) is pleased to invite all professional member companies involved in the residential building industry to participate in the Inaugural 2015 VIBE Awards (Vancouver Island Building Excellence), showcasing the best in residential construction, design and renovation that Vancouver Island has to offer.

• Call For Entries NOW OPEN! • Deadline for entry is March 16th • Eligible projects were built, renovated, developed, created and/or marketed between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2014

CALL FOR ENTRIES

• Black Ties Awards Gala is on Saturday, May 23rd, 2015 at the Coast Bastion Hotel in Nanaimo • View the Categories & Criteria and Enter Online at www.VIBEawards.ca

“We’ve got world class homes being built here on the island, we want to celebrate that!”, said CHBA-VI President Chris Cross SPONSORS

Vancouver Island NewsMedia Group

More about the Fathers of the First Cowichan Fall Fair ohn Newell Evans was tell“The hay was baled in an ing us about the fathers old hand press and, by the of the first Cowichan Fall way, our baling did not Fair which has morphed into cost us so much as our new today’s venerable Cowichan Exhibition. These thumbnail power presses cost us.” sketches, written in 1929, JOHN NEWELL EVANS, Agricultural Society were based upon his own involvement with the AgriculCHRONICLES tural Society and his personal T.W. Paterson acquaintanceship with his ing their incomes by taking on subjects. contract work, some of it dauntIt’s this firsthand association that makes ing. Men really were men in those days, his portraits, tantalizingly brief though and the women, too! they are, so historically valuable. But he Although in his day one of the Valley’s didn’t finish so we’ll pick up his story most energetic pioneers (according to today with James Kier, eldest son of the Evans), S. Bednall is a lesser-known name pioneering Somenos district settler, Archi- in local lore. Stepfather of Henry Bonsall, bald Kier. this Derbyshire dairy farmer settled on “Jim Kier was a hustler. He did a lot of what became the Elkington Estate on [horse] teaming in the district. He got his Maple Bay Road. Evans remembered him first team from Joseph Drinkwater for for his cheesemaking, for having one of constructing a part of Drinkwater Road the first frame barns (built for him by from where Joseph Drinkwater’s barn Duncan’s namesake, W.C. Duncan) and stood to the hill [generally speaking, from for shipping much of his hay crops to VicSomenos Road towards today’s Highway toria by steamship.

18] or in other words, through the swamp.

“The hay was baled in an old hand press And it was a soft spot. It took lots of brush and, by the way, our baling did not cost us and gravel to bear up a load. It was a pubso much as our new power presses cost us lic road construction by a private individ[in 1929]. It was usually $2 per ton, tied up ual. I don’t think [North Cowichan] Counwith bale rope. We had a proverb in the cil ever even gave him a vote of thanks for old days, ‘Bale rope and nails have been the work.” the saving of B.C.’ Many times we found It was Jim Kier who brought the Valley’s their usefulness.” second mowing machine all the way from William Chisholm of Maple Bay (more England to do custom work. He didn’t specifically, today’s Bird’s Eye Cove spare his machine, Evans recalled, willFarm on the Genoa Bay Road) was a ing to “take it anywhere, often into places good friend of John Mahoney. They were not in a fit state to put a machine in. He “always together,” wrote Evans. “They also brought the first reaper that had to were together asking the Council to build have a man stand on the table to take the a trail over to Chisholm’s. If the Council sheaf off the table, and the first threshing would do that they would not ask for any machine, all for custom work.” more. But every year we had to improve The horse-driven threshing machine was the trail until it became a road. Today it is a marked improvement over having to the most expensive road we have to keep thresh by human threadmill or, worse, by up when we consider its mileage and the using a “poverty stick” — a flail — or havamount of traffic.” ing the horses or oxen separate the grain James Flett played a role in the Valley’s from the chaff by trampling it. agricultural progress and one of the most Evans credited Kier with having done colourful of them all was William Beaumuch to “push us forward”. Another mont whose Maple Bay Hotel and wharf thresher for hire was William Robertson served as a shipping terminal for farmers of Westholme who charged 10 cents per before the building of the E&N. “He was a bushel, separated by which means Evans great character...a Spiritualist [who] could doesn’t tell us. quote Scripture all day. He kept a bar and Joe Richards, also of Westholme, was many tales could be told of the boys of the another farmer and a road builder of early days when they met at Beaumont’s... note; it was he who built the first muni“[Beaumont] made very considerable cipal wharf at Maple Bay. We can’t help money and retired to live near the Willows but admire the energetic spirit of these in Victoria. While he had many failings, pioneers who not only had to carve their he also had some very good traits which homesteads, literally, from the forest, but balanced his accounts in this world.” build and operate them with little more than their own labours while supplement- www.twpaterson.com

J

Valley Calendar Miscellaneous • Cowichan Fish and Game hosting Canadian Firearm Safety course, restricted and non-restricted, starting Friday, Feb. 6, at Glenora clubhouse.

Info and registration: Mike 250-7480319 or email canadianfirearmsafety@ shaw.ca • Would you like to experience the freedom and power of spiritual awakening? Two-hour event with Zensho Gabriel, Harmony Yoga, 360 Duncan St., Feb. 8, 1-3 p.m., Feb. 13, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Info: Cecile 250-932-1116.

• Inner Peace Lecture with Gwen McGregor, educator with Inner Peace Movement of Canada, Travelodge, Duncan, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 90 minutes, 1 and 7 p.m. Subject: trusting your intuition for peace of mind and enjoy heartfelt good cheer. Cost: $21 at the door. Info: www.innerpeacemovement or 1-877-969-0095.

• Somenos Women’s Institute and DUC Circle of Friends present U2 can Upcycle “Used becomes Unique”, Saturday, Feb. 28, 1-3 p.m., Duncan United Church. Admission $15, includes lunch. Tickets in advance only at Duncan United Church office, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-noon, or call Jan 250-746-4389 or Sandy 250-748-5820.

Speakers: Jackie Kitzler of Java Island Bags, Barb Smith of Beverage Buddies and Priscilla Brewer of Upcycled Furniture. Proceeds to Somenos Women’s Institute 2015 Bursary Fund.

• Love horses? Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association needs dedicated volunteers in lots of different areas.

Help our special needs riders to reach their goals in the ring. No experience necessary, training provided. Info: 250746-1028, email info@ctra.ca, website www.ctra.ca

Seniors • Bingo for over 19s, Seniors Activity Centre (198 Government St., Duncan), Tuesday, Feb. 3, 11:30 a.m. Early Bird Draw, Loonie Pot, Odd and Even, Number Seven and Bonanza. Info: 250746-4433 or www.valley-seniors.org • Valley Seniors Activity Centre, 198 Government St., Duncan open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Saturday. $20 per year. Carpet bowling, cribbage, billiards crafts, bridge, choir, bus trips on our own bus. Live music Mondays and Wednesdays 11:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. Dances every 1st and 3rd Saturday evening 7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

Open to public for Bingo each Tuesday.

Many special events throughout the year. Check out Monthly Newsletter at valley-seniors.org and consider membership if you’re 55 years or older. Info: 250-746-4433.Info: 250-746-4433 or www. valley-seniors.org • Chemainus 55+ drop in centre muffin mornings Wednesday and Friday 9:30-11 a.m. Come and meet new friends.

• Chemainus 55+ drop in centre new activities: floor curling and darts.

• Chemainus 55+ drop in centre cribbage every second and fourth Saturday, 1-4 p.m.

• Chemainus 55+ drop in centre line dancing every Tuesday, 9:30-11 a.m.

Recreation • Art Healing: Special series, led by Francoise Moulin, artist and community connections program coordinator, Cowichan Intercultural Society. Sessions designed to stimulate your own creative process through art,

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015 beginning with watercolour. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2-3 p.m., South Cowichan Library. Call library to register, 250-743-5436.

• Family Storytime at South Cowichan Library: Social time of stories, songs, and activities for children ages 3-5. Tuesdays, Feb. 3–24, 10:30-11 a.m.

Drop in attendance.

• Teen Yarn Craft Group, Duncan library, Thursdays, 5-6 p.m., ages 13-18.

Learn to knit, crochet. Extra needles and yarn provided.

• Family storytime at Duncan library Tuesdays, 10:30-11 a.m., ages 0-5 and families. Stories, songs, rhymes and fun.

• Art Film Night at Sylvan United Church, monthly double features $5.

For info see Facebook page or sign up for distribution list at artfilmnightatsylvan@gmail.com • Seniors Dragon Boating, Monday and Thursday mornings 9:30 a.m., Hecate Park. Info: sandysand007@ shaw.ca • Swing Dance Lessons Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m., Island Oak High School, 5814 Banks Rd. Duncan, $10 per class, $12 drop-in fee, private lessons available.

No partner necessary. Info: Josef 250709-8583, jgraf5@yahoo.ca • Badminton, Frances Kelsey Secondary School gym, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.

Call 250-743-3487.

Meetings • Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m., St. John’s Anglican Church Hall, 486 Jubilee St., Duncan. Guest speaker, question/answer period. Info: 250-746-6419.

• New book club at Duncan library.

Group to meet third Saturday of every month noon-1:30 p.m. Leave name and number at front desk of library to find out more or call library 250-746-7661.

• Cowichan Valley Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of each month at St. John’s Anglican Church hall, 486 Jubilee St., Duncan, 7 p.m. Newcomers welcome. Info: 250-709-2608.

17

REALTORS HELP FIND HOMES FOR EVERYONE

From left, Sandi Doerksen (Warmland House staff), John Scull (Canadian Mental Health Board), Stephen Wiles (CMHA board), Dave Mitchell (outreach manager), Wendy Shaw (CMHA board) and Jason Finlayson (Vancouver Island Real Estate Board president) gather to celebrate the presentation of a $1,000 cheque from VIREB to Warmland House in Duncan for the second year in a row. [SUBMITTED]

NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE TEMPORARY USE PERMIT PROPOSED SPECIAL EVENT TEMPORARY USE PERMIT NO. 2-E-14TUP (COWICHAN VALLEY TRAP AND SKEET CLUB) (APPLICABLE TO ELECTORAL AREA E – COWICHAN STATION/SAHTLAM/GLENORA) Public Notice is hereby given that the Cowichan Valley Regional District Board will consider a resolution to issue a Special Event Temporary Use Permit to the Cowichan Valley Trap and Skeet Club at its regular meeting of February 11, 2015.

If approved, the Permit will allow the Club three (3) additional special event shoots per year and will adjust start times for weekend competitive shoots from 10:00 am to 9:00 am in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The subject property is outlined on the map below, and is legally described as The South ½ of Section 9, Range 8, Sahtlam District (4505 Cowichan Lake Road).

Arts • Calligraphy Show 2015, Feb. 4-25, Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley 17th annual show and sale, The Loft Gallery at Valley Vines to Wines, Mill Bay Shopping Centre, Tuesday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Improve your night photography with tips and techniques presented at Ladysmith Camera Club, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m., Hardwick Hall, High Street at 3rd Avenue in Ladysmith. Non-members $5 drop-in fee.

More information: www.LadysmithCameraClub.com • Warmland Calligraphers meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 9 a.m.-noon, Mellor Hall, Cowichan Exhibition grounds. Info: warmlandcalligraphers@shaw.ca or http://members.shaw.ca/warmlandcalligraphers.

• Cherry Point artists weekly painting sessions (September to June), Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Cowichan Exhibition fairgrounds.

Experienced and beginners welcome. Info: Jack 250-746-4795 or Olive 250-746-8020.

• Cowichan Valley Artisans year round studio tour: 14 professional studios to explore. From Mill Bay to Ladysmith. www.cowichanvalleyartisans.com for details of each studio’s hours. Admission free.

A copy of the proposed Temporary Use Permit and relevant support material may be inspected at the Regional District Planning & Development Department office: 175 Ingram Street, Duncan, BC From Friday, January 30, 2015 to Wednesday, February 11, 2015, between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except Monday, February 9, 2015, being the BC Family Day statutory holiday.

A copy of the draft Permit and supporting material may also be viewed on the CVRD website at the following address: http://www.cvrd.bc.ca/index.aspx?NID=1282.

All submissions in response to this Notice must be received by 10:00 am, Wednesday, February 11, 2015:

Fax: 250-746-2621 Email: ds@cvrd.bc.ca Mail and/or deposit at the Regional District office, 175 Ingram Street, Duncan, BC, V9L 1N8 Please note that all correspondence submitted to the CVRD in response to this Notice will form part of the public record and may be published in a meeting agenda that is posted online when this matter is before the Board or a Committee of the Board. The CVRD considers the author’s address relevant to the Board’s consideration of this matter and will disclose this personal information. The author’s phone number and email address is not relevant and should not be included in the correspondence IF the author does not wish this personal information disclosed.

For more information on disclosure, contact the CVRD FOI Coordinator at 250-746-2507 or 1-800-665-3955.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Rob Conway, Manager, Development Services Division, Planning & Development Department at 250-746-2620.

18

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

19

20

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

Sports

250-748-2666 ext. 236 sports@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

21

Excellent outing Capitals sink in Powell River not enough as Bays beats LMG SWEPT OUT: Caps fail to

gain points

KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN

KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN

Everything looked good for Cowichan LMG against Bays United last Friday except the final score.

A Bays team battling for a spot in the provincial tournament was able to upset the league champions 2-1 at Westhills Stadium.

“We played quite well, but it wasn’t our night,” coach Glen Martin said. “We went there and played hard. They’re a pretty good team. They took care of their chances and we didn’t take care of ours.”

Bays opened the scoring 30 minutes in off a scramble in front.

“It was not a very good goal on our part,” Martin said.

Not long after, Tyler Hughes set up Dan Citra, and the teams went to the locker room tied at 1-1. Cowichan stepped it up in the second half, but still ended up down 2-1 when the final whistle blew.

“We played better in the second half and lost,” Martin said. “But that’s how it goes sometimes.”

With Cowichan pushing for the go-ahead goal, Brad Archibald tried to score, but he was denied.

Bays took the ball back down, and with left back Archibald caught on the counterattack, they were able to get the ball to Jordie Hughes — Tyler’s brother — and he scored at the 66-minute mark.

Cowichan pushed for the tie over the remainder of the game, and had time to do it, but couldn’t score again.

It didn’t help that Bays is trying to get into fifth place in the Vancouver Island Soccer League and get a berth in the provincial tournament.

“They’re definitely more of a desperate team,” Martin said.

Although his team had locked up the Div. 1 title a week earlier, Martin made good on his promise not to take it easy down the stretch.

Dan Citra scored Cowichan’s lone goal against Bays United last Friday.

[CITIZEN FILE]

“We played better in the second half and lost.

But that’s how it goes sometimes.”

GLEN MARTIN, Cowichan LMG head coach

“We didn’t coast,” he said. “We tried to win the game from the very beginning.”

New signing Andres Algarin nearly helped Cowichan to a tie, but his shot went over the bar.

Algarin was one of several players Martin was assessing as the team prepares for another shot at the Jackson Cup. “I got a good look at quite a bit of the team,” he said. “We were looking at players and getting ready for the cup coming up.”

Cowichan will close out the regular season this Friday against Vic West at 7:30 p.m. in Ladysmith. They’ll be looking for a win and some momentum to carry into their first Jackson Cup game on Feb. 14.

Steve Drane Harley-Davidson

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Vancouver Island's only authorized Harley-Davidson retailer ®

Check out our page on Facebook: Search ‘Cowichan Valley Citizen’

2940 Ed Nixon Terrace Victoria, BC V9B 0B2 250-475-1345 SteveDraneHarley.com sales • service • parts • collectibles • accessories

After beating the Powell River Kings in Duncan last Tuesday, the Cowichan Valley Capitals were hoping to take some momentum to Powell River for a two-game set over the weekend.

It didn’t work that way, as the Caps suffered losses in both road games.

“We’re disappointed,” head coach Bob Beatty said. “We needed to get at least a split and possibly a sweep to look at a playoff spot.”

The Caps lost 8-2 on Friday and 6-4 on Saturday.

“Friday night, we weren’t very efficient,” Beatty said. “Our puck management was poor, and we weren’t very good away from the puck. They’re a good team, and they’re hungry, but we needed to be better.”

Powell River scored four times before Darien Craighead finally got the Caps on the board 13 minutes into the second period. The Kings added another four before Ben Verrall scored his first BCHL goal to make it 8-2.

Matt Zentner started the game in net and lasted two periods, allowing six goals on 31 shots.

Lane Michasiw replaced him for the third period and surrendered eight goals on 10 shots.

The Caps gave up just one powerplay opportunity in the game, but the Kings made sure to take advantage of it. Cowichan was 1-for-4 with the extra man.

The Caps were able to make things interesting on Saturday as they tied the game at 4-4 in the third period, but they were unable to take the lead or preserve the tie

Darien Craighead scored three of the Caps’ six goals in two losses to the Powell River Kings. [CITIZEN FILE] and force overtime.

Trailing 4-2 after two periods, the Caps got a shorthanded marker from Craighead and an even-strength goal from Connor Russell to draw even with their hosts. Unfortunately, Kings forward Adam Tracey scored twice to put his team back up, and they never let the Caps back in.

“We didn’t get the puck out when we could have,” Beatty said.

“It ended up being kind of a broken play, and they were able to get a scoring chance.”

The shorthanded goal was Craighead’s second of the game, coming on the heels of a secondperiod even-strength effort. The 17-year-old also chipped in with an assist on Russell’s goal. Brodie Smith had opened the scoring

just past the three-minute mark of the first period. Michasiw got the start and played all 60 minutes, making 33 saves.

The Caps failed to make up any ground on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, who remain nine points ahead in the race for fourth in the Island Division. The Bulldogs also have four games in hand.

If there is any salvation, it’s that the Caps play their next four games at home, beginning on Saturday, when they play host to the Vernon Vipers at 7 p.m. On Tuesday they will get a visit from the Bulldogs.

“We definitely have to win our home games and do well on our swing to the Mainland,” Beatty said. “Every game is paramount now.”

2015 Budget Meeting Schedule CVAC Jaguars Track & Field Club

REGISTRATION & AGM

Wednesday, February 18, 2015 Board Room, Island Savings Centre Returning Athlete’s registration 6:00 - 6:25 pm AGM to Follow at 6:30 pm New Athlete pre-registration 7:00-7:30 pm (Birth certificate required) Registration open to Athletes 9 years (Born 2006) and older Club Merchandise available for purchase

2015 Fees: $215 per athlete (includes BC Athletic Fees) New and returning athletes welcome.

Maximum enrolment 110 athletes.

For more information contact: Laura Dewitt registrar@cvac-jaguars.com • 250-597-3186

The Cowichan Valley Regional District is holding a 2015 Budget meeting on the following date and location: February 12 – 7 pm Cowichan Lake Recreation Commission Cowichan Lake Sports Arena Multipurpose Room If you have any questions or comments regarding the 2015 Budget please contact Lyle Smith at 250.746.2500 or by email at lsmith@cvrd.bc.ca

22

Sports

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | Cowichan Valley Citizen

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Your Cowichan Valley Capitals Saturday, d February F b 7th 7:00 pm

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F b Tuesday, February 10th 7:00 pm

Lightning teams sweep Island championships KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN

It was truly a banner day for Mid Island field lacrosse as all three Lightning teams claimed their Island championships in Nanaimo on Sunday and advanced to their respective provincial tournaments.

The U16 Lightning vanquished the Nanaimo Raiders in their quest for the title, while the U14 and U12 teams both defeated Vic Field 2 teams in their championship games.

The U16 Lightning had played their closest games this season with the Nanaimo Raiders, but that pattern didn’t continue last Sunday as Mid Island prevailed 12-2 in the one-game final.

It didn’t help the Raiders that they had played a two-game semifinal series against North Island over Saturday and Sunday to decide the Island semifinal, including a two-hour marathon on Sunday morning.

Mid Island scored the first three goals of the game, and got out of the first quarter with a 3-1 lead.

Both teams doubled their totals in the second quarter as they went to the halftime break with the Lightning up 6-2.

Six unanswered goals in the second half secured the Island title for the Lightning.

“The team played well as a whole,” manager Gina Jung said. “A few lapses in the penalty department — lack of discipline.

Both teams were a bit flagrant with their sticks.”

Clayton Vickers and Brian Robb both had hat tricks. Jack Chicquen scored twice, and Brayden Grantham, Brayden Zunti, Thomas Vaesen and Lucas Nagel had one each. James Taylor chipped in with two assists, while Colton Lidstone, Ryan Dueck and Robb had one helper apiece.

Defenders Zunti, Mathieu Jung, Marc Gagnon and Jacob Taylor

played shutdown defence, while goaltender Parker Teufel got the win.

The U14 Lightning got past Vic Field 2 by a 7-5 score in their championship match. Arthur Miller scored four times, Derian Thompson had two goals, and Caleb Nordstrom added one.

Just a day earlier, the U14s had defeated Pacific Rim in the twogame Island semifinal.

Surrounded by thick fog, Mid Island roared out to an 11-0 win in their first game against Pacific Rim, then did themselves one better with a 12-0 victory in game two.

Mid Island goalie Sam Baxter posted both shutouts behind the strong Lightning big sticks.

“The defensive team of Colin Jeffrey, Leino LeStage and Nathan Clark were a power house in both games, letting nothing but the wind past them,” manager Paula Harris said.

Thompson scored three times in game one, while Nordstrom, Miller and Ryan John had two goals apiece and Kurtis Smith and Denton Macdonald rounded out the scoring. Nordstrom, Miller and Jazzy Shafi were credited with assists.

In the second games, Macdonald and Miller recorded hat tricks, Thompson had two more goals, and Nordstrom, Smith, Hunter Wells and Logan Hammerer had singles. Thompson and Nordstrom each had two assists, while Smith and Teagan Cunnah had one each.

The U12 Lightning, who had won the semifinal a week earlier, beat Nanaimo 7-1 in the Island final.

Patrick Wong had two goals, while Brandon Carlson, Cameron Lumb, Nathan Beech and Conner LochLabelle had singles.

All three Mid Island squads will head to Burnaby to contest the provincial championships on Feb. 20-22.

The U16 Mid Island Lightning defeated the Nanaimo Raiders for the Island championship. [SUBMITTED[

The U14 Mid Island Lightning defeated Vic Field 2 for the Island championship. [SUBMITTED]

The U12 Mid Island Lightning defeated Vic Field 2 for the Island championship. [SUBMITTED]

Sports

Cowichan Valley Citizen | Wednesday, February 4, 2015

T-Birds fourth at junior Classic KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN

Naoki Hasegawa drives to the net during Cowichan’s win over Belmont in the Thunderbird Classic opener. [KEVIN ROTHBAUER/CITIZEN]

The Cowichan Thunderbirds were edged by a single basket in the third-place game of the Thunderbird Classic junior boys basketball tournament last Saturday.

The T-Birds lost 52-50 in the bronze-medal match of their eponymous tournament to finish fourth. Eston Unrau had 17 points, while Zach Waddington added 13.

Cowichan opened the tournament with a 52-31 win over Island rivals Belmont behind Unrau’s 21-point outing.

In the semifinal, the T-Birds lost 49-26 to St. George’s School.

Cowichan led 13-12 after one quarter, but St. George’s ramped up their defence and shut the TBirds down the rest of the way.

Waddington finished with 14 points.

Walnut Grove, the top-ranked team in the province, won the tournament final 51-40 over third-ranked St. George’s.

Cowichan’s Waddington was named to the tournament allstar team.

23

Mill Bay rink gets past Korean team in Duncan Ladies’ Spiel KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN

The B event at the 16-team Duncan Curling Club Ladies’ Bonspiel at the Glen Harper Curling Centre on Jan. 23-25 was won by a team from close to home, but they had to beat a well-travelled opponent to do it.

The Mill Bay rink skipped by Rhonda Stoner and including Heather Koniuk, Gertie Pick and Kristi Zinkiew won the B event, sponsored by Hardie Honey, ahead of the second place team from Gyeongbuk, South Korea, skipped by Jang Hyeji and including Im Gaeul, Kim Ju Eun and Lee Heejin.

In third place was the Marianne Saunders team with Lorri BellWiles, Glenda Barrett and Bonnie Segger. Fourth place went to the Tracy Gamble rink with Cathie Lambert, Kelsey Dentoom and Glynis Buchanan.

The A event, sponsored by A&W, was won by the Nanaimo rink of

Heather Lindsay-Lacuyer, Teri Palynchuk, Darcy Dreger and Linda Torgerson. Second place went to the Louise Martin team, with Teresa Williams, Maria Elzinga and Elaine Hutchinson. In third was the Pat Moore team, with Lynn Mellemstrand, Karen Lundstrom and Maria Fernau.

Fourth was the Nanci McArthur team, with Linda Rumley, Vicki Janzen and Stacey Neen.

The C event went to the rink skipped by Christine Moroz, with Jacquie Lau, Susan Chepil and Cheryl Cameron. In second was the foursome of Mary Gibbs, Jan Giles, Sue MacDonald and Laurie Arscott. Third place went to Vicki Sjoberg’s rink with Sara Ferrario, Shawn Bates and Tara Burnell.

Sandra Colton’s team with Jennifer Berg, Lee Ann Kelly and Jan Hardie placed fourth.

The Biggest End competition was sponsored by Glen Harper and won by the Lindsay rink with a “big end” of six.

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