Ladysmith Chronicle, December 30, 2014

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ChronicleChronicleLSS students present their Dance Showcase Friday

Event marks 100th anniversary of Mairs death P. 4P. 9

Police urge caution around creeks after rescueLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

Police are warning the public to be ex-tra cautious around rivers and creeks af-ter rescuing a 30-year-old Nanaimo man from Haslam Creek Sunday.

On Sunday, Jan. 12 at approximately 3:25 p.m., a male called 9-1-1 to advise he had been swept into Haslam Creek just north of Ladysmith after going four by fouring in the area.His Jeep took on water, and he was swept out of the vehicle into the creek,

Sgt. Sheryl Armstrong said in a news release. He was able to reach his cell-phone and call 9-1-1.

Ladysmith RCMP, Nanaimo RCMP, Search and Rescue, the Cedar Fire De-partment and the Cranberry Fire Depart-ment all assisted in the search for the male.We had to go down the riverbanks to search for him, said Armstrong.

The man was located in the creek after being swept downstream for about one kilometre and brought to shore, accord-ing to Armstrong.

He was taken to the Ladysmith Com-munity Health Centre, where he was treated for hypothermia and other non-life threatening injuries. He was released later in the day.Armstrong says it is very important for

people to remember that waterways are far more dangerous with all the rain we have been getting in the area.With the recent rains, people are re-minded the rivers and creek levels rise and there could be significant undercur-rents, she said. This situation could have turned out

much worse and serves as a reminder to those who are around the water to use caution.Armstrong urges drivers not to cross

waterways.Even if youve been across it before,

you dont know what conditions have changed, she said, noting it could be much deeper, and you wouldnt be able to notice that. Its really important you dont go four by fouring across streams and creeks if possible.Armstrong does not know if the driver

was going across the creek in this case.

Grade 5 student Abbie Cobb is ready for her turkey feast Jan. 8 at St. Josephs School in Chemainus. The feast was part of the schools Epiphany event. The school held an Epiphany Mass, and students and staff members dressed royally in their nest attire to honour the visit of the Magi. This event is meant to help students understand the signi cance that Christ came for all people, for all nations.Students were asked to write out what their spiritual gift for Jesus is, such as being kind, more helpful or compassionate and understanding. They celebrated with a feast provided by the schools parent auxiliary. LINDSAY CHUNG

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ChronicleChronicleLSS hosts Dr. Dunk Invitational

LSS Grade 11 student headed to Brazil P. 4P. 11

SD68 sets meeting for Feb. 6 in LadysmithRoss ArmourTHE CHRONICLE

The Nanaimo Ladysmith Pub-lic Schools Board of Education (School District 68) has an-nounced it will hold a special meeting in Ladysmith in early February solely relating to the future of Ladysmith schools.

The meeting will take place Thursday, Feb. 6 at Ladysmith Secondary School at 6 p.m.The board has particularly scheduled that meeting in Feb-ruary for Ladysmith so that people in Ladysmith will be able to attend, said SD68 di-rector of communications Don-na Reimer.Although a regular school

board meeting is scheduled for later this month on Wednesday, Jan. 29, Ladysmith school re-configuration will not be on the agenda.Our January meeting will be held in Nanaimo [at the school board headquarters], said Re-imer. Its a regular meeting so we will have other business on the agenda that night. The Ladysmith schools topic will be spoken to at the February meeting.

Despite the Ladysmith schools debate set to be all-quiet at the January meeting, one thing that will be discussed that night is the prospect of busing from Cedar to Ladysmith Secondary School (LSS).

With Cedar Community Sec-ondary set to close this June, more than half of the soon-to-be disarrayed students there have chosen to attend LSS rather than John Barsby Com-munity School in Nanaimo.

The school board originally stated that buses from Cedar would not be put on but then requested a report following the popularity of a move to Ladysmith.

That report came at the Jan. 8 regular meeting from trustee TerryLynn Saunders, who is set to put forward a motion regard-ing busing Jan. 29.

Saunders outlined that when South Wellington Elementary closed last year, buses were

put on for the students there to now attend Chase River El-ementary.

The report perceives that four new bus routes would need to be created for busing to John Barsby and LSS and would cost over $850,000 initially.

In other Cedar-related school news, Cedar Second-ary Schools fate could be de-cided in the courtroom, not the boardroom.

The high schools impend-ing closure will go before the courts, as SD68 submitted its response on Wednesday, Jan. 15 after the Snuneymuxw First Nation filed for a judicial re-view.They file theirs first and then

we respond to them and we have just completed that pro-cess said Reimer. I believe they have an opportunity to re-spond to what we have filed.

Steve Rae, spokesman for Save Cedar Schools, said the closure process didnt include proper consultation.The whole thing is a rush, he said. All weve ever asked, all the Snuneymuxw has ever asked, is to take a step back, sit down, go through all the different options, see what the costing is on each of them and involve the community.A hearing is expected in early

March. with files from Karl

Yu and Greg Sakaki

The school board will hold a special meeting to deal solely with the future of schools in the Ladysmith zone

Eden Haythornthwaite places owers at the grave of Joseph Mairs, a coal miner

and trade unionist who died 100 years ago, just shy of his 22nd birthday. The Joseph

Mairs Memorial Committee hosted the 12th annual Joseph Mairs Memorial Sun-day, Jan. 19 in Ladysmith, and this years

event included a panel discussion with young people about The Next 100 Years.

LINDSAY CHUNG

Mairs Memorial

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ChronicleChronicleNew column from Ladysmith Mayor Rob Hutchins

Morgan Davis performs food bank bene t P. 13P. 6

SD68 votes to close cole Davis Road in JuneRoss ArmourTHE CHRONICLE

The doors of cole Davis Road Elementary will be slammed shut this June, as School District 68 voted Thursday, Feb. 6 to close the school.

Following a special meeting held at Ladysmith Secondary, the school board will now send Davis Roads French Immersion program to North Oyster Elementary, as of September. North Oyster will now become a dual-track school and remain open.

French Immersion students currently enrolled at Davis Road will either have the choice of following the program to North Oyster, or changing to English

track at either Ladysmith Primary or Ladysmith Intermediate.

Kindergarten to Grade 3 students in English track at Davis Road will now head to either North Oyster or Ladysmith Primary, with Grade 4 to 6 English students at Davis Road having the choice of Ladysmith Intermediate or North Oyster.

The move comes after the school board also decided to send Grade 7 English-track students to Ladysmith Secondary, leaving North Oyster as the only K-7 school in the Ladysmith area. Grade 7s-to-be from Davis Road can choose either.The district will do a feasibility study about the possibility of Grade 8 French Immersion at LSS, said Donna Reimer, SD68s

director of communications, in an e-mail to the Chronicle.

With Davis Road closing, its catchment area will merge with Ladysmith Primary and Intermediate so students staying in town will have transport provided as per Board Procedure 4400.

SD68 will explore transportation options, for a specific transitional period, including a user pay system, for Davis Road students moving to North Oyster.The time for decisive action

has come, said board chair Dot Neary at the meeting, after a similar meeting on school reconfiguration in December saw key decisions stalled. Taking no action is not an option.

In the last five or six years Ive been on the board, weve been working to get a new school in Ladysmith, said trustee Donna Allen at the meeting. Now this recommendation enables us to fill all the seats to capacity and allows opportunity, through the B.C. Liberal governments policies, for an attempt at a new school. Some argue that theres no money available to fund a new school, but I think thats a defeatist attitude.

Ironically, there was a moment of hope for distraught Davis Road parents at the meeting as the original recommendation on the agenda, entitled the Senior Staff Option, put forward to the board actually failed.

That option would have closed

Davis Road in June 2014 but would also have closed North Oyster in June 2015, taking French Immersion to Ladysmith Intermediate.

But only Neary, Allen and trustee Jamie Brennan voted for that option with trustees Bill Bard, Nancy Curley, Kim Howland, Bill Robinson, TerryLynn Saunders and Sharon Welch voting against.

The motion that passed came about after Howland made an amendment to the senior staff option, turning it into one very similar to Option A provided by the Ladysmith Working Group.As a result, French Immersion

will now be taken out of the Town of Ladysmith completely.Sustainability in Ladysmith is

Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Unit 29 Ladysmiths new boat takes to the water for the rst time in the Ladysmith Harbour Feb. 6. It took three years of fundraising and the assistance of the local communities, marine organizations, mariners and BC Gaming grants for Unit 29 the second-busiest station on B.C.s West Coast to get the new rescue vessel, which was built in Sidney. Find out more about the new boat in next weeks Chronicle. ROSS ARMOUR


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Council begins the Alternative Approval Process for Couverdonboundary expansion Lindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

Ladysmith council has accepted the boundary extension proposal submitted by Couverdon Real Estate, triggering an Alternative Approval Process and taking a step closer to bringing about 700 acres of TimberWest land into the town.At a special council meeting Jan.

28 at the Ladysmith Seniors Centre, council heard a presentation from Bob Smits of the North Oyster Diamond Ratepayers raising concerns about Couverdons boundary expansion proposal, and a presentation from Couverdon, the real estate company of TimberWest.

Couverdon and the Town of Ladysmith are brokering a deal whereby Ladysmith would expand city limits to include a 700-acre parcel of land west of the Diamond stretching from north of Grouhel Road to Malone road in exchange for Ladysmith gaining title to about 500 acres of TimberWest land adjacent to Stocking and Holland lakes. If everything goes ahead, Couverdon would foot the bill to build roads, install services and subdivide lots in preparation for the sale of parcels beginning in early 2017. TimberWests proposal calls for a phased development that includes 1,500 housing units.

Couverdon first introduced the notion of a boundary expansion in 2009, and the company held an open house in July 2011 to gauge public sentiment. Last summer, Couverdon effectively entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Town of Ladysmith, which outlines the expectations and process, explained Frank Limshue, Couverdons director of

planning and zoning.Limshue told council that if the

boundary expansion is approved and the lands are re-zoned, TimberWest would be looking to develop in phases, and the timetable for all four passes is 30 to 40 years.

In terms of the land use concept, James Miner, a managing principal with Sasaki Associates Inc., which has been assisting with the project, says Couverdon is looking to set a new standard for development on the Island, as they are looking creatively at housing density, offering trails for walking and biking, and green infrastructure, with higher density closer to town and less density farther away.

In his presentation, Smits urged council to slow down the process to provide more information and include more people in the process.Keep in mind every decision you make will have an impact on every jurisdiction around Ladysmith, he said. Wed prefer they were done on a regional basis with everyone having some input and not just the Town of Ladysmith; perhaps a Cowichan Valley Regional District committee with representative from Ladysmith, Area G and Area H would be a good start. Given that Couverdon has said this is a long-term development plan, couldnt we delay this matter to find out exactly what the financial impact, the sustainability cost of this development will be?

Protecting the watershed is a big piece of this process, as around 700 acres of forest land in the Holland Lake and Stocking Lake watershed would be turned over the community.

Ladysmith Mayor Rob Hutchins says the Town has coveted the

Three-year-old Nicky Williams of Saltair enjoys the snow Monday morning behind Aggie Hall. Environment Canadas forecast for the Nanaimo Airport shows sunny skies and highs of minus-one to plus-one until Sunday, with a 60-per-cent chance of urries for Sunday, Feb. 9. LINDSAY CHUNG



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ChronicleChronicleLadysmiths Jesse Winter captains LMG Pringle

Lena Birtwistle opens for PixElle Feb. 8 P. 14P. 15

Crowder will not run again in 2015Ashley DegraafTHE CHRONICLE

Nanaimo-Cowichan MP Jean Crowder said she was recently reminded theres never a good time to leave.And that rang true for the 10-year

New Democratic Party Member of Parliament last Thursday morning (Jan. 23), as she announced she will not be putting her name forward in the next federal election.

Crowder told the media spending more time with her family is the main reason shes decided to step down when her term ends, 18 months from now.I will not be retiring. I will be stepping away from the job as a Member of Parliament but I fully expect to continue to be active in my community, working hard for the things I believe in, Crowder said during a press conference held at her constituency office on Ingram Street in Duncan. Its hard to walk away.

Crowder has been chewing on the decision since the fall, but it really hit home during the Christmas holidays.I have three adorable

grandchildren who live on the other side of the continent, and with my travel schedule, I simply dont see them enough and theyre growing up before my eyes and its time for me to make them a priority.

The decision didnt stem from the federal decision last year to split her riding into the new Nanaimo-Ladysmith and Cowichan-Malahat-Langford ridings.It was a factor in that it was a

good time for me to make that decision, but the riding being divided in half wasnt the driving force in this, she said. It started in the fall, when people started asking where I was going to run. Thats never been a question before, I was always going to run.When people started asking me, I thought I need to make a conscious decision about this. And as I thought about it, and thought Im actually going to be 63 in 2015 and I thought can I do another four years? I would be 67 by 2019.

Crowder supporters say she will leave big shoes to fill.She was very concerned about things, sincerely, not for things because it was the right thing to say, but because she meant what she said, long-time NDP volunteer Trudy Thorgeirson said.

Thorgeirson worked closely with Crowder even before she was first elected in 2004, and in many different organizations, not just in her position as MP.I started working with her

even before she got onto North Cowichan (council), Thorgeirson said. We worked together when I was president of the Volunteer Cowichan board, and I was able to get her on the board. I think it was Toastmasters where we met in the first place.She was really just a very friendly person and very easy to work with and get along with. I never found her cross, just very pleasant.

Crowder said she couldnt be more proud of the work the NDP team has done and she looks

Twelve-year-old Jason Fisher of Crofton helps gather strings of lights during the Festival of Lights take down work party Sunday, Jan. 26 in Ladysmith. This was Fishers rst time volunteering for a Festival of Lights work party, and he was volunteering with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron 257 Parallel. For more photos from the work party, please turn to page 10. LINDSAY CHUNG

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Nanaimo-Cowichan MP Crowder talks budget

Local skier off to BC Winter Games P. 13P. 18

Davis Road parents bemoan SD68 decisionRoss ArmourTHE CHRONICLE

With School District 68 choosing to close cole Davis Road El-ementary this June, the pain and reality is just settling in for EDR parents and ad-vocates.

Students current-ly enrolled at the school will now need to choose between Ladysmith Primary, Ladysmith Interme-diate, or North Oys-ter Elementary, with French Immersion only being offered at the latter beginning-September 2014.

There could not have been a worse outcome for Ladysmith schools at [the] school board meeting (Feb. 6), said Carrie Segreto from Davis Roads Parent Advisory Council in an email.

To say were upset is an understatement. The appalling actions of the School District 68 trustees and staff in the past year can only be described as bullying. They have acted in an unac-ceptable, disrespect-ful, and just simply scandalous manner in enforcing their

Enhanced Facilities Plan.

Segreto will be one driving to North Oys-ter everyday come September in order to keep her kids in the French Immersion program but shes not happy about it.I would like to ac-

cept this and move forward [as] school closures happen all the time, right? After our schools com-munity has fought for almost a year to keep cole Davis Road open, I would like to admit defeat, find the positives in the school boards

plan, and assure my children that moving them to North Oyster for French Immersion is the best thing to do. But I cannot accept defeat when the game was full of misrep-resentation, played unfairly and with so much disrespect to the players. And I cannot accept a plan that is bad not only for our children but for the residents and Town of Ladysmith as well, wrote Segreto.Davis Roads catch-ment area is the only one in all Ladysmith zone schools in which current enrolment

projections show sub-stantial growth in the population. [It] has been operating at ap-proximately 200 per cent its capacity for the past several years. Many families have moved to the south side of Ladysmith specifically for this popular, successful school with its amaz-ing group of staff and teachers and its strong, supportive parent community. Even with the risk of the school being closed, enrolment for French Immersion Kindergarten at Davis Road for the 2014/15

school year was full with a waiting list of 11 children.

Segreto now feels the hard work put in by prior Davis Road parents in years-gone-by, in order to establish French Im-mersion at the school, has all gone down the drain.In moving the pro-

gram out of a com-munity, making it dif-ficult to access, the school district is con-tributing to the elit-ist stigma associated with French Immer-sion. Over the past months, at public meetings and through

numerous letters and social media, Davis Road parents have indicated they would not opt to have their children attend French Immersion at North Oyster El-ementary, mainly due to its remote location. Families chose to live in Ladysmith for its small-town feel, walk-ability and close-knit community.For several years,

Davis Road was among the top three priorities in the districts capi-tal plan to be reno-vated or replaced.

Kay Rogerson celebrated her 100th birthday with lots of family and friends on February 8, 2014. A huge Canuck fan, she received a jersey with her name and the number 100, signed by the entire Canucks team. SUBMITTED

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Daylight Savings is coming March 9

SD68 votes for buses to N.OysterRoss ArmourTHE CHRONICLE

School District 68 voted last Wednes-day to provide busing from the south end of Ladysmith to North Oyster Elementary School come Septem-ber.

With cole Davis Road Elementary closing this June, a motion was passed to put on buses for cur-rent French Immer-sion students there heading to North Oys-ter in order to contin-ue in the program.

The bus route will contain stops at Davis Road, Ladysmith Pri-mary and Ladysmith Intermediate, en-route to North Oyster.The transition work begins now, said su-perintendent Dave Hutchinson at a spe-cial meeting held Feb. 19 at SD68s headquar-ters in Nanaimo. The transportation will be French Immersion students from Davis Road to North Oyster for a seven-year pe-riod. Its transitional. Were proposing for French Immersion students only, but courtesy riders will be permitted if there is space, with first priority being the siblings of French Im-mersion students.

Hutchinson indicat-ed the busing service will cost the school district around $12,000 a year.

School board chair Dot Neary, along with fellow trustees Jamie Brennan, Bill Bard, Kim Howland, Sharon

Welch and Bill Robin-son all voted in favour of the motion. Only trustee TerryLynn Saunders was against, with Donna Allen and Nancy Curley absent.I believe we should do this, said Welch.

We are in danger of losing students to a different district if we dont provide busing, and I think it would be a sad day if stu-dents leave because their own district cant provide them with the transport they need to get to their school.

Saunders argument was that because Cedar Secondary students choosing to attend Ladysmith Secondary from Sep-tember were not provided with buses, neither should Davis Road children going to North Oyster.It disturbs me that

were giving a partic-ular group so much more than weve giv-en any of the students in Cedar, said Saun-ders. Its as if Ce-dar doesnt want the buses and theres a whole bunch of them who want to come to Ladysmith. Whats upsetting me the most is that here we are, weve been told over and over again we have absolutely no money whatso-ever to provide any kind of busing, and yet were just going to pull out the money from I dont know where, even if its only $12,000 a year.Im disgusted. I think its great for the

French Immersion kids and its great for North Oyster and I re-ally support that. But I hope we can then look at busing from Cedar again and find a way.

The busing system to North Oyster will last until June 2021. and every current French Immersion student at Davis Road is guaranteed a seat.

Incoming French Immersion Kinder-garten students as of September will be classed as courtesy riders.Parents of new kids

coming into the pro-gram need to know that the year their kids are in Grade 7, there wont be any busing, said SD68s director of commu-nications, Donna Re-imer.

Staff confirmed the calculations on seat-ing were done based on the 138 students currently enrolled in French Immersion at Davis Road.

Thus, with current Davis Road Grade 7s heading into Grade 8, courtesy space is available as none of those students will need transport to North Oyster from September.The district is relo-

cating a district pro-gram and students enrolled in it expect to complete it, said Neary.Weve made a deci-sion to ship that to another location so its only fair to pro-vide transportation to bridge that gap.

John Marston carves a canoe during the Heritage A oat event Feb. 22 at the Ladysmith Maritime Society Community Marina. The event was part of Heritage Week in Ladysmith and was put on by the Ladysmith Maritime Society and the Town of Ladysmiths Heritage Revitalization Advisory Committee. STACEY CROSSLEY

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Orcas post impressive results P. 13

Manufactured home parks in Saltair up for discussion ThursdayRoss ArmourTHE CHRONICLE

The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) is on the verge of amending a bylaw that will allow for on-site homes to be built in a trailer park in Saltair.

The move comes amidst an out-cry from locals who are saying CVRD officials are sending afford-able housing to the wall in the area.A public hearing has been sched-

uled for this Thursday (March 6) at the Mt. Brenton Centre in Saltair.The CVRD is on the verge of

changing affordable housing in the Cowichan Valley forever, Sal-tair resident Lynne Smith, who is against amending the bylaws, wrote in an e-mail to the Chronicle.

[It] is on the verge of amending the Manufactured Home Park MP-1 zone bylaw in Area G Saltair/Gulf Islands.What does this mean to afford-able housing in the CVRD? It means that land speculators will be looking at properties zoned MP-1 as land grabs. The past ten-ants of Seaside Manufactured Home Park (Seaside Trailer Park) could tell you what it is like to be evicted to the curb.

Back in 2007, WCY Rentals bought Seaside Trailer Park, planned for re-development, and ended up evicting many residents who were living in manufactured homes in the park. Very little happened apart from a few fallen trees back in April 2008 that forced some resi-dents out quicker than they would have liked, according to Smith.

The park was home to many se-

niors who were able to live in wa-terfront properties at an affordable cost on low income.

In July of last year, the company was given the go-ahead to re-devel-op the park, which they now want to turn into a housing subdivision with many homes being built on what used to be occupied by trailer rentals but they need the bylaw to pass at the CVRD first.The density in the park would

change to nine on-site built homes per hectare, wrote Smith. A nine-on-site-built-homes subdivision is a high-density residential subdivi-sion and does not belong in a man-ufactured home park MP-1 zone.

If the amendment goes through, Smith fears a similar approach will be taken by developers across the Cowichan Valley and beyond.If the CVRD approves theses

amendments, [it] will change the face of affordable housing and pos-sibly changed the density allowed in rural and semi-rural areas in the Cowichan Valley forever, she said.What happens in one CVRD elec-toral area zoning bylaw is like a vi-rus and spreads to other electoral areas. It can even set a precedent.According to the CVRD, the pur-

pose of Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments under discussion at the public hearing is to amend the MP-1 zone to permit site built dwellings as an alternative to the mobile homes and modular homes that are pres-ently permitted in the MP-1 zone.

Thursdays public hearing will start at 7 p.m. at the Mt. Brenton Centre at 3850 South Oyster School Rd. in Saltair.

Snow blanketed Ladysmith early last week, creating many great photo opportunities, not to mention many chances to toboggan and make snowmen. It looks like the snow that still lingers will melt soon, as Environment Canada forecasts rain and warmer temperatures all week. TERESA MCKINLEY

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Two people are dead after early-morning reLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

Two Ladysmith adults lost their lives in a tragic fire early Saturday morning.

Ladysmith Fire/Rescue responded to a call on Pictou Road in the Diamond area Saturday, March 8 around 3:30 a.m.

They were told two people were still in the building, and they en-countered heavy flame and smoke when they arrived there, says fire chief Ray Delcourt.We tried to do an interior attack to do a rescue, but our guys were turned away, he said.

Delcourt says about 22 firefighters responded to the early-morning call, and firefighters from North Oyster were on standby at the fire hall.

The identities of the fire victims had not been released by the B.C. Coroners Service by press time, but Delcourt can confirm that two middle-aged people were in the home at the time, and their cat and dog also succumbed to the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and has not yet been determined, but Delcourt says that, at this time, the fire is not considered suspicious.

One thing Delcourt does know is that there were no working smoke detectors in the home at the time of the fire.

Its a sad incident that affects not only the family and neighbours, but firefighters as well, and Delcourt hopes the story might serve as a bit of a reminder about the value of installing working smoke detectors in your home.Its law to have them in there, and weve encountered very few peo-ple who actually have these, he said.

Ladysmith Fire/Rescue has been working hard to promote the im-portance of working smoke detectors for a while, and Delcourt says that theyve been to many minor fire calls where there were no work-ing smoke detectors, and they had to install detectors when they left the building.I think weve installed over 70 smoke detectors in the last year, he said. Its a pretty cheap investment that can and will save their lives.

Local residents can call Ladysmith Fire/Rescue at 250-245-6436 at any time, and Delcourt says firefighters will call back and can sched-ule a day and time to come and install smoke detectors for them.Theres a need for it, he said. It definitely helps us out.

Coleton Horsley of the U13 Boys Mid-Isle Diamondbacks gets away from a Nanaimo player during the gold medal game Sunday, March 9 during the House League wrap-up tournament at Forrest Field in Ladysmith. The Diamondbacks were ranked seventh going into the tournament, and they won a silver medal, losing the nal to Nanaimo in a penalty kick shootout. Please see page 13 for more information. LINDSAY CHUNG

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Alternative Approval Process now closedLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

About 30-40 people showed up at Ladysmith City Hall Friday, March 14 at 2 p.m. to deliver a box full of signed Elec-tor Response Forms before the deadline in the Towns Alternative Approval Pro-cess (AAP) for the Couverdon boundary expansion process.

Mary Marcotte, the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) director for Area H (North Oyster/Diamond), ad-dressed the crowd before going inside City Hall with Ladysmith resident Carol Henderson and a box with more than 1,300 signed forms, which indicate that the eligible elector is opposed to the boundary expansion.It is my very great honour to be able present these petitions to the Town of Ladysmith on behalf of the concerned cit-izens whove gone out and campaigned and who have made the democratic process work, Marcotte said, standing on the steps of City Hall. It was a real grassroots community agenda here to ensure that we have a say in what hap-pens to the future of Ladysmith. At first, it felt like a real David and Goliath kind of thing, a real midget trying to take on a giant, but I found pretty soon, I had a ton of giants, and they were all standing there beside me working together, and, in fact, they were standing in front of me. Its not something that was driven by anybody. There were concerns, very le-gitimate concerns, and I think that were ensuring that democracy takes its place.

Ladysmith council has accepted an ap-plication from TimberWest/Couverdon Real Estate the real estate business of TimberWest to extend the Town of Ladysmith boundary to take in 700 acres (283 hectares) of lands owned by Tim-berWest/Couverdon. The lands lie to the west of the Town boundary, stretching from north of Grouhel Road to Malone Road, and are undeveloped.

This idea was first introduced to the community in 2008.

Council has three key criteria for its consideration of the proposal: Acquisition of approximately 500

acres of watershed lands (both Stock-ing Lake and Holland lake) to protect the drinking water that supplies the Town, the Diamond and Saltair and the proposed service to Stzuminus First Na-tion. These watershed lands are not part of the lands being considered for the boundary extension area; they would be owned by the Town, but would remain

outside the Towns boundaries in CVRD Electoral Area G (Saltair). Viewscape protection of the forested

hills behind Ladysmith. These lands are not part of the boundary extension area.

The future development of the bound-ary extension lands must be consistent with Provincial Smart Growth Practices and supportive of the Towns Sustain-ability Vision.

Couverdons application was accepted by council Jan. 8, triggering the AAP.

Through the AAP process, if less than 10 per cent of municipal electors submit

an Elector Response Form in Lady-smiths case, that would be 623 the boundary extension request will be deemed to have the approval of the elec-tors, and the proposal may proceed to the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development for consideration. If the application does not get elector ap-proval, council will then decide whether to take the question to the Towns voters in a referendum.

For the purpose of conducting the AAP, the number of electors was calculated as 6,226.

About 30-40 people gathered outside Ladysmith City Hall to deliver signed Elector Response Forms March 14. In front are CVRD Area H Director Mary Marcotte (left) and Ladysmith resident Carol Henderson, who delivered the box of forms to Town staff. LINDSAY CHUNG


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Couverdon proposal doesnt get approvalLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

The preliminary results for the Couverdon boundary extension Alternative Approval Process in Ladysmith are in a referendum will need to be held for the proposal to go any further.

The Town of Ladysmith recently conducted an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) to determine if the public supports proceeding with a proposal submitted by Couverdon Real Estate/TimberWest to expand the Town boundaries to include ap-proximately 700 hectares of land owned by Couverdon/TimberWest.

The Town received 1,601 valid Elector Response Forms stating electors were against the proposal, and since more than 10 per cent of eligible Town of Ladysmith voters responded to the AAP, the proposed boundary expansion can only pro-ceed if the Town obtains the assent of electors through a referendum.

The AAP is a way of gauging pub-lic opinion on matters that are im-portant to the community, and this process has been used in the past for issues such as borrowing for the remake of First Avenue, the build-ing of a new RCMP detachment office, the building of a new water supply pipeline, and the purchas-ing of a new fire truck, explained Ladysmith Mayor Rob Hutchins.

The process for undertaking an AAP is established by the provincial government.Public dialogue is vital in any com-

munity, and the Couverdon bound-ary extension application has cre-ated that dialogue, Hutchins said in an e-mail to the Chronicle. Council expected and wanted to hear from citizens who had questions and concerns about the proposed boundary extension. During the AAP, it became clear that our citi-zens and neighbours have concerns and questions, particularly about

water supply issues. The Town has commissioned nu-

merous studies over the last two de-cades and invested millions of dol-lars in water supply improvement. Today, the Town is using less water annually than it did 25 years ago. All studies using historical climate data indicate we have adequate supply of drinking water to support a popula-tion of 18,000 envisioned in our Of-ficial Community Plan.

The work on climate modelling for water supply issues is under-way, and council may decide that the work should be completed be-fore further considering next steps in the process, including a possi-ble referendum on the matter of a boundary expansion, according to Hutchins.

Hutchins says council is looking closely at the issues community members raised during the AAP, es-pecially watershed protection and water supply.These are matters that concern

council members as well, and the boundary expansion proposal in-cluded protecting significant por-tions of our watersheds that are now private managed forestland, he said. We believe that we can find ways to address citizens concerns, protect our watershed, ensure an adequate water supply and encour-age sustainable economic growth. The concerns of our citizens that led to the defeat of the AAP are heard and respected by council.

The boundary extension applica-tion was initiated by Couverdon, not council. Couverdon first brought the proposal forward to council and the community in 2008.

Hutchins says the Town will con-sult with Couverdon prior to consid-ering whether to hold a referendum and timing of such a referendum.

The AAP results will be officially reported to council at the Monday, April 7 regular council meeting at 7 p.m. at Ladysmith City Hall.

Three-and-a-half-year-old Harrison Blatchford-Duncan of Ladysmith has a ball Sunday, March 30 at Ag-gie Field during the Bring Back Play Funmobile tours visit. The tour is sponsored by ParticipACTION and Healthy Families BC, and the campaign is meant to inspire parents and caregivers to motivate children to move more through play. LINDSAY CHUNG

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Fundraising drive underway for cancer patientLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

Ladysmith is known for its community spirit, and that strong spirit is coming out once again, as the community rallies around a young fam-ily.

Steven Knowles, a father of four young children, was diag-nosed with testicular cancer at the begin-ning of March, and he and his family re-cently learned that it has spread to his stomach and lymph node glands.

Necole Young, who was best friends with Knowles when they were growing up, de-scribes Knowles as a fantastic father and amazing best friend.He has the quick-

est wit and a rotten sense of humour, and there is never a dull moment, she said.

Even when you think youre safe with him, he finds some way to roast you. He always puts a smile on ev-eryones face for sure. Steven has had his issues over the years, but hes a really good guy. Hes really atten-

tive with his kids, and they are definitely his world.As a friend, to me, hes someone if I ever have a problem, I can count on him. Hes very protective of his friends.A variety of fund-

raisers are being set up to help Knowless family.

On Friday, April 18, singer-songwriters Ryan McMahon and David Bitonti are performing at In The Beantime Caf, and they will be donating the proceeds from the show to the family.

The show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are available for $10 in advance by calling 250-245-2305.As well, The Short

Close Song Shelter is accepting food dona-tions during the Fri-day, April 25 Wooden Horseman concert.

Young and Katerina Papadopoulos, an-other good friend of Knowless, have been busy working on a number of fundrais-ers.Hes going to be in for a very tough, long road, and I just hope we can ease that bur-

den for him, said Young.

A garage sale is be-ing planned for Satur-day, April 26 in front of 420 Buller St. from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a bake sale, raffles and possibly a hot dog sale.

Looking ahead to early May, a fundrais-ing event is planned for Saturday, May 10 at the Sportsman Pub. There will be live mu-sic by the Dead Byrds and by the Diamond Dawgz, a silent auc-tion, a 50/50 draw and much more.

Young says the night will have a carnival-like atmosphere.We are really trying for a big fun atmo-sphere that night no time for worries, she said.

The silent auction will run from 5-11 p.m. at the Sportsman, and Papadopoulos is making a very large basket to be raffled off. Tickets for the raffle will be on sale starting Wednesday, April 9, and the draw will take place at mid-night on May 10.

See Fundraiser for Knowles on Page 5

The Ladysmith Arts Council was one of many vendors taking part in the Ladysmith Home, Garden and Business Show March 28 and 29 at Aggie Hall. LINDSAY CHUNG

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Ladysmith man bringing gaming worlds togetherLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

A Ladysmith man is bringing the building blocks medium and table-top gaming industry together for the first time and hoping to bring families together in the process.

Darrin Root has created Steel Wheels, a tabletop collectable game for the hobby gaming industry that he believes has many unique advan-tages that set it apart.It is the first game ever to use the

building blocks medium to build its game pieces, rather than the tradi-tional metal or plastic models that require glue, paint and advanced modeling skills, he said. Its the industrys first turn-based racing combat strategy game.

Root says there are no dark themes, and this is a game that brings the whole family together and has been enjoyed by players aged six to 60. It is the first game to incorporate league and campaign play right in the game design and the first hob-by game with a co-operative game mode, according to Root.Were a big fan of unplug and

play, said Root. We want to get people off video games and into more family time. Thats why we made something appropriate for the whole family.

The Steel Wheels journey started when Root and Alex Augello no-ticed there was no racing combat game in the hobby gaming industry. Most games were army-based, mov-ing men and vehicles around.

Root grew up in Ladysmith but moved to Alberta for work, and it is there that he was first exposed to the hobby gaming industry. He says he used to make models in Ladysmith, but once he got to Ed-monton, he was exposed to Games Workshop, best known for its table-top war games, which, he explains, are build and play instead of just

build and look.Root says he played a lot of games

that were more for adults because the rules are intense, and they are expensive.Theyre a little hard to get into, he

said. A friend said we should build on a game within the Games Work-shop framework. We first included ourselves within their umbrella, and it was a racing game because there wasnt one. We basically made it for ourselves, but it caught on with dif-ferent gamers.

When they approached Games Workshop about developing the game, they didnt get far at all. But that didnt discourage them, and they kept trying.I moved back here and thought it

was still a niche that needed to be filled, said Root.

Root says many hobby games are expensive because you need glue and paint and good models. It can be hard to get into and hard to teach kids on such an expensive model.I thought its too bad there isnt

a model that keeps together from friction, and Lego works like that, said Root.

Nine-year-old Maddex Neufeld gets her face painted by camp leader Morgan Hedin during Ladysmith Parks, Recreation and Cultures Spring Break Superhero Daycamp, which took place March 17-21 at the Frank Jameson Community Centre. LINDSAY CHUNG


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Emily Weeks crowned Ladysmith AmbassadorLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

There were a lot of tears, laughs and hugs Saturday night, as the reigning Ladysmith Am-bassador team said goodbye and this years eight-month pro-gram ended in the crowning of a new Ladysmith Ambassador and two Vice-Ambassadors.After the 13 2013-14 candi-

dates had given their sponsor speeches and answered an im-promptu question in front of the judges and after all their scores had been calculated, three young women were chosen to represent Ladysmith in 2014.

In front of a large crowd at the Frank Jameson Community Centre Saturday, April 12, Emily Weeks was named Ladysmith Ambassador, while Hana Rein-hart and Yvonne Houssin were chosen Vice-Ambassadors.[It feels] like this isnt even real, this is all a dream, an ex-cited and emotional Weeks said, not long after being crowned.

Its amazing. Its a great, great feeling. After eight months of hard work and dedication by everyone, its a huge relief.

Weeks, who is 16 and in Grade 11, feels the best part of being involved in the Ladysmith Am-bassador Program for the past eight months has been getting a sense of feeling in the commu-nity.We got to be huge parts of

Ladysmith, getting to do things we dont normally get to do, she said.After receiving the crown

from outgoing Ambassador Kristy DeClark, Weeks said she

is most looking forward to the experiences shell have in the coming year as she represents Ladysmith at various commu-nity events and across the prov-ince.Ive been watching Coronation for quite a few years now and al-ways, in their speeches, the Am-bassadors talk about what an amazing year it was, and I cant wait to have those experiences, she said.A number of awards were pre-

sented during the Coronation

Evening.Samanta De Souza won first

place in the talent category, while Yvonne Houssin was second, and Melissa Mrus and McRae Berrow tied for third.

In the speech category, Hous-sin finished first, while Reinhart and De Souza tied for second, and Berrow finished third.Angela Stachow was voted

Miss Congeniality by her fellow candidates.

The Ladysmith Ambassador Committee presented a Per-

sonal Growth Award to Chris-tina Youngren and Reinhart for flourishing throughout the pro-gram.As well, 2013 Ambassador

Kristy DeClark and Vice-Ambas-sadors Kira Mauriks and Sydney Jordan received scholarships from the Ladysmith and District Credit Union.Youve represented Ladysmith

very well, thank you, Deputy Mayor Duck Paterson told the departing Ambassador Team.

Ladysmith is very, very fortu-

nate to have young people like you coming up and represent-ing the towns dream of being a town where everyone wants to be.

The Ladysmith Ambassador Program works to foster self-esteem, leadership and commu-nity spirit in young women aged 16 to 19 who are residents of Ladysmith and are enrolled in high school.

In the past eight months, the 13 candidates participated in an eight-week Toastmasters course to prepare for their speeches, worked on showcas-ing a talent, spent many, many hours volunteering in the com-munity, participated in fundrais-ing events for the Ladysmith Ambassador Program, did an in-depth one-on-one interview with the judges and were also marked on their attendance and poise.Its truly amazing to see young

women from different back-grounds come together and develop poise and self-confi-dence, said Jayse Van Rooyen, a member of the Ladysmith Ambassador Committee and former Ladysmith Princess, who emceed the Coronation Evening with Madeline Trem-blay. Although only three will be chosen tonight, they truly all are winners.The candidates have worked

very hard over the last eight months representing the com-munity, and the Ambassador Committee is very proud of them, added Tremblay.

The program is supported by many service clubs and busi-nesses in the community.

As eight-month program ends, Weeks named Ladysmith Ambassador, Hana Reinhart and Yvonne Houssin crowned Vice-Ambassadors

Emily Weeks was crowned 2014 Ladysmith Ambassador Saturday, April 12 during the Coronation Evening at Frank Jameson Community Centre. Right before Weeks received her crown, Hana Reinhart and Yvonne Houssin were named Vice-Ambassadors. For more photos, please see page 8. LINDSAY CHUNG

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Council working toward a 4-5% tax increaseLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

Its that time of year again when Town of Ladysmith staff and council have to make some important decisions about taxes, fees, projects and priorities, and councils financial plan discus-sions continued April 14 with a look at water and sewer fees.

Every year, the Town charges water utility fees, and those are used to fund water operating costs.

Staff is recommending that council increase the quarterly water base charge by $1.05 and increase each step by $0.05, ef-fective for the third-quarter bill-ing. As well, staff recommends council include a policy in the

2014-18 Financial Plan to in-crease the water rates, by by-law, by $1 to the quarterly base charge and increase each step by $0.03, effective each year on Jan. 1.Its not a radical amount, but

increasing year after year, well be able to pay for some of these projects and put some money aside, said Erin Anderson, the director of financial services.

This increase works out to $0.35 a month extra for 3,400 us-ers, noted Mayor Rob Hutchins.

Staff is also recommending council increase the water parcel tax by $20 per year to $130 per parcel, which works out to $1.75 a month.It is a very reasonable price for

a precious resource, said Coun.

Gord Horth.Both of these increases were

supported by council.Council also supported increas-

es to the sewer utility fees, while the sewer parcel tax will see no change and stay at $269 per quar-ter.

Sewer utility fees will increase by $1 a month to $15, effective for the third-quarter utility billing. A policy of increasing the sanitary sewer rate monthly charge, by bylaw, by $1, effective each year on Jan. 1, will also be included in the 2014-18 financial plan.

In terms of property taxes, noth-ing is set in stone yet, as council and staff work to find an increase that everyone can live with.

When council and staff first started discussing the financial

plan in late March, they were looking at a property tax in-crease of about 3.14 per cent, and Anderson says that with some general capital projects moved forward, its now around 3.65 per cent.

Anderson says the Towns bud-get is increasing $265,223 from last year to this year.

The Towns current policy is to shift the tax burden away from major industry (Class 4). Coun-cil wants to reduce the share of property tax paid by Class 4 by at least two per cent over the years 2015-18.

At the April 14 meeting, coun-cil also decided it wants to con-tinue with the current policy of the residential (Class 1) tax in-crease being no more than five

per cent after new construction figures and the Class 6 (com-mercial) increase being no more than half the residential class increase. Council also directed staff to increase the reliance on Class 8 (recreation/non-profit) by the amount of the assessment increase.

Councillors said they would be comfortable with a residential tax increase of four per cent but no more than five per cent.Its important to note that with-

in this budget, where it stands now, this is not providing new services its just maintaining, said Horth.

The Towns financial plan must be approved by May 15, and council will make more decisions in the coming weeks.

Chip Nary of Crystalline Vortex Pottery displays some of his work at his Third Avenue studio dur-ing the Ladysmith-Chemainus Spring Art Tour Fri-day, April 25. Nary was one of 12 participants in the three-day self-guided tour organized by the Ladysmith Arts Council. For more photos, please see page 8. ROSS ARMOUR

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Stzuminus denies access to its watersLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

Late Friday afternoon, the Stzuminus First Nation took the step to prohibit access to its waters in Kulleet Bay, up toward Dodds Narrows and south to Sansum Nar-rows and Active Pass.

Until further notice, Stzuminus First Nation will prohibit access to its Core Territory in the Salish Sea by all vessels, including but not limited to, commercial fishing ves-sels, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) vessels, and any non-native civilians and government officials.

In a letter sent to federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea Fri-day, May 2, Stzuminus First Nation Chief John Elliott explained that Stzuminus First Nation and neigh-boring nations have been left with no recourse but to re-claim their Core Territory in the Salish Sea.The Stzuminus people have con-tinually occupied our territory along the Salish Sea for countless generations thousands of years before European arrival, he wrote.

The ongoing actions of the Depart-ment of Fisheries and Oceans have failed to follow federal Aboriginal Consultation and Accommodation laws, failed to appropriately man-age or allow for co-management of fisheries within our territory and, ultimately, have failed to recognize Aboriginal Rights and Title.

First Nations never ceded their rights to any of their resources or land, and Aboriginal Rights the practices, customs and traditions

unique to First Nations that First Nations participated in prior to contact with Europeans which are separate from Treaty Rights, are constitutionally protected and cannot be extinguished by any gov-ernment, explained Elliott.

In his letter, Elliott states that DFO must make swift and sweep-ing changes to their procedures and policies to appropriately accommo-date Aboriginal Rights and Title.The DFO continues to favour ex-

isting commercial monopolies and continues to inadequately consult with aboriginal groups when enact-ing policy, he wrote. Due to its gross mismanagement and failure to follow government mandates, we can no longer allow the Depart-ment of Fisheries and Oceans to manage fisheries within our terri-tory. We cannot stand by while fish stocks within our territory con-tinue to be depleted and our rights ignored.

Elliott also sent a letter to B.C. fisheries sectoral groups, such as the Underwater Harvesters Asso-ciation and the BC Shellfish Farm-ers, stating that: We understand that this [action] will create chal-lenges for all parties, and we would like to firmly state that our fight is not with the commercial harvest-ers. Our fight is with the DFO alone, and our hope is to compel them to follow Canadian law when enacting new policy and change their exist-ing policies surrounding aboriginal access accordingly.

Ray Gauthier, CEO of Stzuminus Four-year-old Jackson Masters (left) and three-year-old Rhys McKelvie show off the sh they caught at Chemainus Lake during Kids Learn to Fish Day May 3. Please see page 5 for more photos. LINDSAY CHUNG

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Keith Turner celebrates 107th birthdayRoss ArmourTHE CHRONICLE

Keith Turner, who is believed to be the oldest man on Van-couver Island, was at the cen-tre of a birthday party last Wednesday (May 7) at La Rosa Gardens, as he celebrated his 107th birthday.

A bumper crowd packed into the dining room at La Rosa, including a live brass band, Ladysmith Mayor Rob Hutchins and councillors Duck Paterson, Steve Arnett, Bill Drysdale and Glenda Pat-terson.Asked how he approaches

each and every day these days, Turner said, It depends what happens the night before.

Turner also said he does not have a secret to living so long, stating its important just to

behave yourself and kill time.Cake was served to everyone

in attendance, with Turner cut-ting and eating the first piece alongside five-year-old great-grandson, Jakoby.

Granddaughter Donna Gi-annakos, Jakobys mother, said that her grandfathers key to living so long has been his stubbornness and positive at-titude.Grandpa has always been very stubborn and active, she said. On his 100th birthday, he traveled to Egypt where he fell in the dining room and broke his neck. But that didnt faze him because hes so stubborn. He never gives up, he never complains and is just so posi-tive about everything in life. Hes always happy and is grate-ful for everything.

Mayor Hutchins gave a speech on Turners life, and Patterson presented the birth-day boy with a selection of Purdys chocolates on behalf of the Town of Ladysmith.Its a remarkable milestone that we celebrate here today, said Hutchins. Although Stats Canada wont give out these

details due to privacy issues, we believe the oldest person living in Canada is a woman in Langford, B.C., who is 113, but she was born in Iowa, United States. The oldest person liv-ing in the country who was born in Canada is a Victoria woman at 110. The oldest man born in Canada is Gordon

Mackee, who is just a little bit older than Keith at 107, and he lives in Vancouver.

Hutchins went on to con-firm that the Victoria woman, Mackee and Turner were re-markably all born in a similar territory of southern Manitoba.Although born in Manitoba,

Turner moved to Saskatch-

ewan at the age of five and then to B.C. to work in 1929 in Anyox, north of Prince Rupert.After that, he moved to Hed-ley, B.C., and started build-ing an aerial tramway used for transportation down the mountains, said Hutchins. It was around that time he met his wife, Betty Thomson, and the two married in Washing-ton State due to the marriage licence law in Canada.

The marriage licence back in those days meant couples would have to wait two weeks to say I do.In 1944, the two moved to Ce-dar, where they lived for many years, said Hutchins. Keith began working for Madills mills where at one point, he was asked to fire all the wom-en. He refused to do it, saying they were the best workers and never complained. He then went on to travel the world for his job, all over North and South America and Asia pro-moting equipment.At the age of 102, Keith de-cided to drive to La Rosa in Ladysmith and he voluntarily handed in his drivers licence at 103. He told me he smoked like a train till he was 60 and also hated broccoli and Brussels sprouts, so the secret isnt that, Hutchins said, smiling.

The Town decided the Pur-dys gift would be suitable as the chocolate company is also celebrating its 107th anniver-sary.We hope theres enough there to keep you going till youre 108 Keith, the mayor said in conclusion.

Keith Turner was the man of the hour Wednesday, May 7 when he celebrated his 107th birthday at La Rosa Gardens in Ladysmith. Turner, who was born in Manitoba and moved to B.C. in 1929, is believed to be the oldest man on Vancouver Island. FILE PHOTO

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Recycling changes start this weekStaff WriterTHE CHRONICLE

Big changes are coming to recycling in the Cowichan Valley this week.

The May 19 introduction of the new Multi-Material BC (MMBC) recycling program means the list of recyclable items accepted at your curbside is changing.

While recycling will still be picked up in yellow bags at the curb, and the pick-up days and frequency wont change, there are some significant differences in what you can put in those yellow bags, begin-ning today.

Film plastics will no longer be accept-ed in curbside pick up. Instead, they will

be accepted at the Junction Bottle Depot and the Peerless Road Recycling Centre.

Film plastics include: Clear or opaque retail bags for grocer-

ies or dry cleaning Clear or opaque bags for bread, news-

papers and flyers Clear bags for produce and dry bulk

foods Frozen vegetable/fruit bags Outer wrap for bulk paper products

and soft drink and can flats Water softener, salt and garden prod-

uct bags Outer milk bags and pouches Diaper and feminine hygiene product

outer bags Pre-washed salad bags

A number of items have been added to the list of acceptable curbside products, including: Clean gable-top cartons (milk, milk-

type beverages, cream, substitute eggs) these will continue to be accepted in the organics bin Some aerosol containers Clean plant pots and trays Clean aseptic boxes for milk, milk-

type beverages, soup, broths and sauces Clean paper packaging coated in wax

these will continue to be accepted in the organics bin Clean hot and cold drink cups these

will continue to be accepted in the or-ganics bin Telephone books and other directories

Cowichan Valley residents have five local recycling depots that will take glass, film plastics and Styrofoam items, including Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) Recycling Centres at Peerless Road, Bings Creek, and Meade Creek, as well as Island Return-It bottle depots in Ladysmith and Duncan.According to the CVRD, multi-family

dwellings will continue to be managed privately, so those residents should speak with their service providers with regards to any changes to their recycling collection programs.

Information, including recycling loca-tions and hours, can be found at www.recyclinginbc.ca or www.cvrdrecycles.bc.ca.

Patrick A. Dunae, author of the book Ladysmith Our Community. Your Credit Union. A His-tory, which was commissioned to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Ladysmith and District Credit Union (LDCU), cuts the cake during LDCUs anniversary celebration Friday, May 16 at the cred-it union. Proceeds from sales of the book are being donated to the Ladysmith and District Historical Society. LINDSAY CHUNG




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ChronicleChronicleLadysmith teams sweep Forrest Tournament

Kids Pirate Day coming up May 31 P. 3P. 15

No school today as rotating strikes beginKarl Yu and Lindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

At an impasse with the B.C. government at the bargaining table, teachers in B.C. will begin rotating strikes, with Nanaimo-Ladysmith district teachers set to picket today (Tuesday, May 27).

Schools will be open, but there wont be instruction and buses wont run, Dave Hutchinson, school district CEO and su-perintendent, said in a letter to parents. He asked parents to keep children home for safety reasons. School will resume as usual on Wednesday (May 28).

Mike Ball, president of the Nanaimo Dis-trict Teachers Association, said the move

from the first stage of job action, which in-cluded limited supervision and no contact with administration, is due to a combina-tion of factors.The lack of progress at the table has

triggered the escalation to Phase 2 but be-cause their wage offer is significantly low-er than our proposal and theyre not deal-ing with class size and composition at all, that has caused a lack of progress, which has triggered the escalation, Ball said.

Peter Fassbender, B.C. Minister of Edu-cation, said the province has made sig-nificant concessions to move toward a settlement, reducing contract length from 10 to six years and offering a $1,200 sign-ing bonus.

Teachers made concessions with their last proposal, according to Ball. He said teachers reduced their request for cost of living allowance and wage increase, while offering a four-year deal with the province.It was a significant move from our last

proposal, Ball said. Its just a case of whether the government can move also.

Rotating strikes will occur at B.C. school districts until Thursday (May 29), and any further action will depend on progress at the negotiating table, said Ball.

The third stage, a province-wide strike, would require another teachers union vote and there would have to be two work-ing days notice to employers.

The school district recommends check-

ing its website, at www.sd68.bc.ca, its Facebook page and Twitter feed (@sd68bc) for up-to-date information.

In the Cowichan Valley (School District 79), teachers will be striking Thursday, May 29, and buses will not be running.

Ladysmith, Parks and Recreation is offer-ing a kids camp today (Tuesday, May 28) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Frank Jameson Community Centre.

A day of supervised games, sports, swim-ming, arts and crafts and movies has been planned for children aged five to 12. It costs $30 for the day and $15 for siblings. For more information, call 250-245-6424 or visit www.ladysmith.ca. with files from Tom Fletcher

Capt. Cole Cook of the Cranberry Volun-teer Fire Department checks les on his smartphone in front of the smouldering

remains of the Country Kitchen restaurant at the corner of the Island Highway and

Beck Road in Cassidy Monday, May 26. Crews were called to the scene at 2 a.m.,

but were unable to save the structure.The cause of the re had not been deter-

mined by press time, and the Nanaimo RCMP is asking for information from the

public. Please turn to page 4 for the story. CHRIS BUSH




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Celebrate Ladysmith Maritime Heritage Day

Mid-Isle mens Highlanders win 5-1 P. 11P. 5

Local couple writes about drone warfareLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

What difference do drones make? How do these unmanned aerial vehicles affect conflict and security around the world?

Those are some of the questions hus-band-and-wife writing team Ann Rogers and John Hill of Ladysmith asked them-selves while writing their new book, Un-manned: Drone Warfare and Global Security. The book was published April 20, and Rogers and Hill will be speaking about their work Thursday, June 5 at the Ladysmith Library.Rogers and Hill combine thoughtful anal-

ysis with a flair for fresh and accessible writing, Christopher Jasparro, co-author of International Conflict Over Water Re-sources in Himalayan Asia says about the book. Their contention that we have entered an era of nano-war is disturbing yet bears serious thought by policymakers, war fighters, scholars and the public alike.

Drones unmanned aircraft that are more formally called UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) or RPAS (Remotely Pi-loted Aerial Systems) have become the controversial new weapon of choice for the U.S. military abroad. Unmanned de-tails the causes and deadly consequences of this terrifying new development in war-fare and explores the implications for in-ternational law and global peace, accord-ing to a press release.Ann Rogers and John Hill argue that

drones represent the first truly globalized technology of war, it states. The book shows how unmanned systems are chang-ing not simply how wars are fought, but also the meaning of conflict itself.

Drone warfare is a subject that matches the couples backgrounds and experience.

Rogers is the former deputy editor of Janes Intelligence Review in London and the author of Security and Power in the British State. She is a political studies professor at Vancouver Island University

(VIU), teaching security. Hill was formerly the China Watch editor for Janes Intelli-gence Review, and he has reported widely on security and military matters for a range of Janes publications. He is current-ly the Writing Centre Co-ordinator at VIU.

When Rogers was coming up with ideas for current lectures for her security stu-dents, she was reading about the use of drones in Pakistan and thought that would make a good subject for a lecture. She put drones on the lecture schedule, but when she started researching the sub-ject, she found hardly anybody was writ-ing about drones.

The couple started working on the book two and a half years ago.

Their research question for the book was what difference do drones make?Theres this technology out there that

people find interesting, alarming, disturb-ing, useful, and we were wondering does it actually make a difference that theres no one in the cockpit of this aircraft, said

Hill. We took as our sort of theoretical starting point the great Canadian theorist Marshall MacLuhan, who urges us when considering technology to look at not the task that the technology is sort of overtly set but to look at the wide-scale changes that technology brings to human society.As Rogers puts it: we know what it does

and its pretty obvious what it does, but do people do things differently because of it?After researching and writing the book,

Hill and Rogers found that yes, drones do make a difference in conflict.The difference it makes, or the differ-

ence it seems to us to make, is that it lowers the threshold to the application of military-scale force to an extent that it becomes possible and appropriate, in the eyes of those who are applying it, to target individuals, said Hill. And thats what were calling nano-war to try to capture that very small scale of target, an actual named person.

Youngsters take part in the Kinsmen Bullhead Derby during Ladysmith Kids Pirate Day Saturday, May 31 at the Ladysmith Maritime Society (LMS) Community Marina. The day featured a wide variety of fun activities, and Cliff Fisher from the LMS reports that there were more young families at the marina this year than he can remember. SHIRLEY TRIPP



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Crowd-funding a kids bookLindsay ChungTHE CHRONICLE

Colin Pickell of Ladysmith has always dreamed of writing a book. And now his dream is one crowd-funding campaign away from be-coming reality.

Pickell who manages The 49th Caf in town has written a childrens book called Who Will Tuck Me Into Bed?, featuring illus-trations by Amanda Key, a recent graduate of the Vancouver Island University graphic design program.

Pickell and his wife have two sons, aged seven and five, and when his oldest was a baby, as a new dad, Pickell loved singing him to sleep at night. One night, he had an idea that made him laugh

what if he were an opera singer, and he didnt know how soothe his son to sleep because all he knew how to do was belt out operas?From there, I just kind of imag-ined what about a family where ev-erybody has a talent, and theyre very worthwhile talents, but not when youre trying to soothe a child to sleep, he recalled. So I created this family of really loving, really sweet people who try really hard to tuck him into bed, but it doesnt work because it makes him more awake. The fathers an opera singer. The mothers a writer, but she only writes thriller novels so all of her stories scare the heck out of him. And theres a grandma and a brother and a sister and an uncle, so I just kind of got this idea, kind of a twist on the bedtime routine. Its a little bit funny because the boy knows that this isnt going to work, but he lets

them each take their turn because he just loves them and he doesnt want to offend them.

Who Will Tuck Me Into Bed? is a rhyming book because those are the books Pickell loves to read to his children.

Pickell says he started making a conscious effort to write the book about two and a half years ago.I had the idea, but every time Id sit down to write it, Id get frustrat-ed because I couldnt get past the first paragraph or two and gave up, so about two and a half years ago, I started really actively writing it, he said. Id take breaks, and Id get writers block. Then I contact-ed a lot of publishers and agents. The childrens book markets pret-ty saturated, and I wasnt able to crack it, so I decided to look into doing it myself, and thats when I found Amanda. Along the way, I had Kickstarter recommended to me by a few different people.

Pickell says it is frightening to take this idea that was in his head for so long and put it out there, ready for people to enjoy or cri-tique.Ive never really done a creative project like this before, and its a little bit intimidating, he said But its exciting, and the response has been great.

Pickells campaign had already raised 16 per cent of its goal be-fore it had even been up for 24 hours.People are really getting behind it, and I feel really lucky to have a community of supporters, said Pickell. Its something Ive always wanted to do, and I think writing

Joey Rice adjusts his cap as he prepares to walk into the gym at Ladysmith Secondary School Friday, June 6 for the schools commencement ceremonies. For more photos of the Class of 2014 and a list of graduates, please turn to pages 8 and 9. LINDSAY CHUNG


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Documents

Ladysmith Chronicle, December 30, 2014