FRIDAY
$1.25
January 6, 2012
A division of
Vol. 27 No. 2
COMOX VALLEY RECORD Your community. Your newspaper. www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
inc. H.S.T.
GO GREEN
Another honour for Taylor Green, page ■ 28
UNCERTAINTY
Carl has lived and worked in various Island communities since growing up in a foster home in Campbell River. Born in Alert Bay, the 45-year-old drove a forklift during high school in the ‘80s and worked about seven years at McDonald’s. But he developed a drinking problem and lost his job, after which he moved to Victoria where he attended a treatment facility. He moved into his own place and worked at the Salvation Army but was laid off when he fell off the wagon. Carl wound up back at the Campbell River McDonald’s before moving to the Comox Valley, where he found work at the Kingfisher Resort and the Comox Valley Recovery Centre.
... Complete story on page ■ 3
FINDER ■ Weather
2
■ Lottery
6
■ Ferry Schedule
6
■ Arts
16
■ Sports
28
■ Classified
35
■ Editorial
44
■ Opinion
45
LEWIS PARK DID NOT completely morph into Lewis Lake this week, despite record-setting rainfall. The weatherman says more wet stuff is on the way. PHOTO BY SCOTT STANFIELD
Record rainfall – and more on way Erin Haluschak
than usual this time of year, and noted the air mass currently situated above the Valley is one from the south, and not from the Arctic, as would usually happen. Benefitting from the increase in precipitation is Mount Wash-
Record Staff
Water, water, everywhere, and this time, there may be a drop to spare. With the latest storm to hit the area, the Comox Valley received record-breaking rainfall this week, with 41.8 mm falling Jan. 3 at the Comox airport, breaking an 18-year old record of 30.8 mm set in 1994. “There’s been a significant front stall right over the east side of Vancouver Island,” explained Ross Macdonald, meteorologist with Environment Canada. “There’s been some good moisture that’s been slow moving, and the combination of that gives a high duration of precipitation.” Macdonald added the increase in temperature is a bit warmer
“It appears that another frontal system with more rain will sit over the area, with periods of showers and rain, but perhaps we’ll see a few breaks of sun on Tuesday,” he noted. photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Hydro extends public safety advisory Record Staff The flood risk due to Wednesday’s storm has subsided. Even so, BC Hydro is advising people to stay away from the Puntledge River until Monday. The company said Wednesday it will release high volumes of water from the Comox Dam
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to control the Comox Lake Reservoir level, following the passing of the storm and a decline of river systems. The Tsolum River and Browns River that flow into the Puntledge hit high levels. The Browns went over 100 m3/s and the Tsolum peaked at about 240 m3/s — a flow level
almost identical to the storm last November. A Courtenay River flow of 400 m3/s or more at the Fifth Street Bridge can cause isolated flooding at high tides. A similar storm may hit the region Sunday. For this reason, the Puntledge River flows could be high through Monday.
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