WEDNESDAY October 3, 2012 Vol. 27 No. 79 ••• $1.25 inc. H.S.T.
COMOX VALLEY
FIRST IN
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ARTS
SPORTS
The Vancouver Island Music Business Conference is returning with a new twist. page 13
Torrid Glacier Kings have leapfrogged from worst to first. page 25
E IS PRO
UD TO B
RING YO
U
Octobe
r 18
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Cougar thwarting attempts to capture Scott Stanfield Record Staff
Conservation officers continue to search for a cougar that could be the same cat spotted at numerous locations, mostly in Comox, the past two weeks. Officers and a hound searched in vain Sept. 20 and again last Thursday for what appears to be a young, small cougar that had been spotted near Salish Park. “That’s the sighting that seems to be most consistent,” conservation officer Mike Newton said, noting multiple calls about sightings at the park near Highland Secondary and Brooklyn (Lazo)
Elementary. “For the last eight days we’ve attempted to run that cat three times now unsuccessfully.” Brooklyn, which backs onto the park, employed a lockdown Sept. 20. On subsequent days the school’s boundary was reduced to keep students away from fences and gates. “We deal with dangerous animals in the same respect that we would deal with dangerous people in terms of our lockdown process and protecting students,” Brooklyn principal Paul Berry said. School District 71 does not have a policy per se regarding poten... see IT’S BEEN TOUGH ■ 2
September was warm, just not record-setting Erin Haluschak Record Staff
HAPPY BIRTHDAY APPLES Amanda Quinn of Pressing Matter scoops apples into a mobile apple press at the corner of Third and Fitzgerald in Courtenay. The apple pressing Saturday was part of the 100th birthday party for the Old Orchard neighbourhood. PHOTO BY ERIN HALUSCHAK
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Although it was warm, dry and for the most part, technically, still summer, September in the Comox Valley did not break any weather records. It gave the record books a good run for its money. According to Environment Canada, the Valley received 7.4 mm of total rainfall, falling shy of the record of 0.6 mm set in 1990, said meteorologist Gary Dickinson. Although it did feel unusually dry, Dickinson explained the lack of precipitation is not out of the ordinary. “It does happen; history has shown there have been some dry Septembers,” he noted. As for the warm temperatures,
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the area did beat its average of 18.8C, with a daily average of 20.1 this year. Although the extended summer did feel warm, it did not break any individual daily temperature records. Looking ahead to the next week, the dry, warm trend will continue, confirmed Dickinson. “There looks to be a strong ridge of high pressure that will see dry, sunny weather,” he said. “It looks quite good for at least a week or 10 days.” Although one last push of warm weather before winter has been welcomed by many Valley residents, Dickinson said the rainy season is not far away. “November hasn’t arrived yet,” he added. photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com