FRIDAY
$1.25
inc. H.S.T.
June 1, 2012
A division of
Vol. 27 No. 44
COMOX VALLEY RECORD Your community. Your newspaper. www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
GOLF COACH H
A Crown Isle employee is now a B.C.-level coach. ■ B19
The Evergreen Seniors will present the second annual fundraiser for the Sonshine Club on June 10 at 2 p.m. A Tribute to Don Messer will feature local fiddler Glen Hiebert as Don Messer. Glen is one of the best fiddlers anywhere, and those who have seen and heard Glen fiddle throughout the Valley will agree that Glen’s fiddle and supporting musicians will send you home as if you had heard the great Don Messer and his Islanders in person.
... Complete story on ■ B7
FINDER ■ Weather
A2
■ Lottery
A6
■ Ferry Schedule
A6
■ Arts
Erin Haluschak Record Staff
MESSER RELIVED
■ Editorial
Gasoline pricing volatile
A24 B1
■ Worship Directory
B13
■ Sports
B19
■ Classified
B25
Many Comox Valley motorists were caught off guard Tuesday afternoon when gas prices jumped more than 10 cents at pumps around the area. Prices rose as high as $1.439 per litre at some stations before dropping to $1.349 per litre at some pumps Wednesday, where they remained as of Thursday afternoon. Jason Toews, Gasbuddy.com cofounder, a website dedicated to tracking gas prices and trends across Canada, said one of the reasons for the spike is refinery issues on the west coast of the U.S., which directly impacts B.C. “Gas prices are dictated by the law of supply and demand, and with issues at a refinery, this directly impacts the supply,” he explained. “Add this to the summer driving season and the weaker Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. is not helping.” A fire on the central crude distillation unit at a BP refinery in February near Cherry Point, Wash., closed the refinery, but it reopened this month. The refinery is the third-largest on the West Coast. According to reports, Phillips 66, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Tesoro Corp were performing maintenance at three of the five refineries in the San Francisco area, which dropped gasoline supplies on the West Coast to the lowest level since December 2008. Toews noted it’s not out of the question to see prices rise even higher this summer, even reaching $1.50 per litre. “That’s quite possible. The one wild card in all of this how long until the refinery issues will be resolved?” As of Thursday, the average ... see COST ■ A2
MARGARET DAVIES SHOWS off the brand new smart meter installed Wednesday at her 23rd Street home in Courtenay. PHOTO BY SCOTT STANFIELD
Smart meters have arrived Scott Stanfield Record Staff
When Margaret Davies arrived home Wednesday, a Corix employee was about to replace her hydro meter with a smart meter on the wall of her garage. The Courtenay resident, who had received an advance notice from BC Hydro, said the installation was completed in a matter of minutes. Davies does not speak favourably or negatively about the devices, which have caused a great deal of controversy throughout the province. “I really don’t know what to think about the whole thing,” she said. “On the one hand they’re saying it’s good and then some people are saying it’s awful. How
do you know, really? “You talk about supposedly bad vibes off of these things. Well, look at all the electronic stuff these days. What about that? “I guess you could say I really have no opinion. I would love something that would cut my hydro bills but that ain’t gonna’ do it, I don’t think ... I knew it (smart meter) was coming sooner or later.” According to BC Hydro, smart meters create a more efficient power system and will save money in the long term through reduced loss and reduced theft of electricity. Due to rate changes, the amount on bills will be higher than for the same month a year ago. If comparing a recent bill to an older one, customers need to look
at electricity consumption, which is reported in kilowatt hours, not the dollar amount of the bill. Bills may be larger than expected because they cover a longer period of time, the company said. While some B.C. municipal councils are calling for a moratorium on mandatory meter installation, BC Hydro spokesperson Ted Olynyk notes some municipalities have supported the smart meter program. “And conversely, if someone in that community that has voted in favour of the program has requested a delay in installation, we would honour that,” he said. “The relationship BC Hydro has is with each individual customer, not with a strata council, a neighbourhood, a community or a ... see BC HYDRO ■ A3
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