T. W. Paterson: Loss of Brigantine Florencia ended Victoria feud
LIVING, Page 20
WEDNESDAY
Two antagonistic women find friendship in theatre’s ‘Grace and Glorie’
A&E, Page 22
ONE IS ENOUGH FOR LMG /29
Serving the Cowichan Valley
www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Long waits greet early voters SARAH SIMPSON CITIZEN
It’s so easy for a casual observer to see, when a busload comes in from a care home, how much they love coming to the Forest Centre and, especially, riding the train. “They can get fresh air, see history and they don’t need to leave town to get to something like this,” Gale said.
An additional day of advance polling and more polling sites did little to alleviate wait times for those eager beavers wanting to do their civic duty over the Thanksgiving long weekend. Traditionally Elections Canada has just three days of advance voting but this year they bumped it to four. It didn’t matter though as lineups — in some places 90 minutes long — greeted voters hoping to cast their ballots in advance. North Cowichan councillor Al Siebring voted in Crofton about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. He said the wait time was about 35 minutes. That was similar to the wait at Mt. Prevost School on Sunday at about 1 p.m. The lines were not unique to the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding, but nation-wide. Close to 2.4 million people voted during the first three days of advance voting.
See WASHROOMS, Page 12
See TURNOUT, Page 12
Rick Faulkner enjoys the comfort of the newly installed hydraulic lift as he and his wheelchair descend from the train at the BC Forest Discovery Centre. Staffers Ron Jeskey and Tim Mitchell and volunteer Les Stewart are on hand to ensure safety during the Accessibility Days celebration. [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN]
BC Forest Discovery Centre gets a lift LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN
Now the entire family can easily enjoy riding the train and the other sights at the BC Forest Discovery Centre as wheelchair/handicapped access is improved at the popular tourist destination. Staff and volunteers from the Centre celebrated last Thursday and Friday with a pair of well-at-
tended Accessibility Days. “People have really appreciated it and it’s gone over so well today,” said a happy Chris Gale, manager of the BC Forest Discovery Centre, at the end of the first day of celebration. A lot of people who want to visit the Forest Discovery Centre are of an age where they or their partners may be dealing with mobility issues and Gale agreed
that has been a driver behind the push to increase accessibility at the site. “When we first talked about the idea we weren’t sure how it was going to go over. But once we started contacting the care homes and seniors homes they all got excited. And what a response to this: over 180 people today and probably another 120 tomorrow,” he said.
A Smile Changes Everything. Island Dental Health Centre Dr. Randy Koniuk Dr. Scott Stewart
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