TUESDAY MAY 29, 2012
www.pqbnews.com
THE RIFLEMAN
ROLLER DERBY
A24
A31
Parksville mayor Chris Burger helps local fish and game club mark their 100th anniversary
Holly Go Blightly and the Rollers are coming to Oceanside Place
ENVIRONMENT
First broom, now Gorse A second invasive plant, looks a lot like broom, but is deemed a whole lot worse AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
There has been progress in dealing with the invasive Scotch broom in District 69, but some are sounding the alarm about what could be a worse foreign plant. Gorse (ulex europaeus), also known as Irish hedge, looks a lot like broom, with little yellow flowers, but the stems are thorny and the seeds are much harder to get rid of. Joanne Sales, with the Broombusters Invasive Plant Society, said gorse is currently limited to a few small spots including Middlegate and Errington roads in Errington, across from the Nanoose Bay ESSO, and most notably the empty lot on Highway 19A across from Parksville’s industrial park. Unlike broom, gorse can’t just be cut in bloom, but fortunately it doesn’t spread nearly as fast either. The plants are closely related, they are both high in oil making them a fire hazard, but unlike broom, gorse requires several years of careful GORSE, OF COURSE See PLANT, page A8
RCMP ART
Musical Ride series Joan Larson’s work in Parksville in mid-June AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
Artist Joan Larson’s RCMP Musical Ride paintings will be on display at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre in mid-June. The 21 painting series documents the world famous horse
show in intricate detail and will be shown in celebration of culture and heritage just before Canada day, explained PCCC executive director Margaret Spruit. She said they haven’t done an art exhibit like that before, but when See LARSON, page A9
BRENDA GOUGH PHOTO
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS: Quality Foods marked its 30th anniversary with a fireworks show in Qualicum Beach Saturday night. It was also to precursor to the town’s annual Family Day event, and our coverage of that is on page A5.
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