Up front: Firefighters busy battling blazes during fire prevention week page 5 Leaders: Duncan mourning pair of scroll of honour winners page 19 For all the news of the Cowichan region as it happens, plus stories from around British Columbia, go to our website www.cowichannewsleader.com Your news leader since 1905
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Authorities close river Weekend rain to the rescue?: Tuesday pulse aimed at desperate attempt to save salmon run Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
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rain dance is being A lonely salmon struggles to rehearsed by make it upstream in the Cowof¿cials who ichan’s drought-stricken river released Tues- bed. day’s pulse of Cowichan Lake water into the droughtcrippled Cowichan River. Brian Houle of Catalyst’s Crofton mill — holding the river’s provincial water licence — hoped chinook salmon, in the lower river and Cowichan Bay, take the liquid bait and swim upstream to spawn. The pulse would see water from Catalyst’s lake weir boost the heritage river’s Àows from ¿ve cubic metres per second to about 14 cm/sec. “We hope by midnight tonight (Tuesday) water will be moving through the lower river, and we hope the chinook respond.” That pulse, under federal Fisheries’ direction, would be tapered to ¿ve cm/sec by Friday evening. The move comes following Friday’s decision to close the river to all ¿shing. Houle was also praying for rain, forecast for Friday, to help save chinook stocks, some of which were trucked upstream last week by Cowichan Watershed folks. “The pulse in itself may not result in movement of the ¿sh. We have control over the pulse, but not the rain.” Big rain raising river levels could also help keep Crofton’s mill open. “With a presumption of no rain by month’s end, we’d have zero storage at the lake. If we don’t get rain, the mill would shut because we need water to run it,” Houle said yesterday. “The mill would shut down sometime in November.” That would be a massive drag to North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure. “It’s a huge concern for ¿sh runs, and a special concern to citizens and workers in North Cowichan if the mill has to close,” he said, pointing to potential income losses, and arid economic activity. more on page 3
COWICHAN AN
FALL 2012
Andrew Leong
Artist Kaye Smillie creates a pencil drawing of Beverly Koski at The PORTALS at Island Savings Centre on Sept. 29 during Culture Days in the Cowichan Valley. The culture continues throughout the winter in Cowichan, and today’s News Leader Pictorial contains our second-annual Arts and Culture Guide, packed with a whole season’s worth of arts and entertainment opportunities.
Special Supplement October 2012
Chemainus woman dead after scooter collides with truck Sunlight cause: Glare appears to have been a factor after woman hit while on an outing near her care home Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
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woman who died after a collision with a pick-up truck while riding her motorized scooter Thursday in Chemainus has been identi¿ed as Ruth Plester. Bright sun may have played a role in the death of Plester, 65, police said. “It appears the scooter was being driven northbound on Maple Street, and was crossing Esplanade Street in the crosswalk,” an RCMP release says of the 9:14 a.m. accident. A truck was pulling out of the parking lot near Kin Park, and turning east onto Esplanade, when the truck and the scooter collided.
Mounties found Plester unconscious with severe head injuries on the roadway. “The truck driver immediately stopped and rendered ¿rst aid. “The husband of the scooter driver was also on scene assisting with care, as he had been at Rotary Park waiting for her to arrive.” Plester was taken to the Chemainus hospital by ambulance where she was pronounced deceased, RCMP state. “The truck driver stated he was blinded by the sun, and did not see the scooter on the roadway. “A person who did not witness the collision, but arrived at the scene moments later, con¿rmed the sun was blinding from the direction of Esplanade, and may have been a contribut-
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ing factor,” police say. Speed did not appear to be a factor. No witnesses have been identi¿ed. A traf¿c analyst attended the scene, and investigation is ongoing. The B.C. Coroners’ Service is also investigating. Witnesses are asked to call the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP, or call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Plester’s sister Mary said Ruth had lived at Steeples, across from the Chemainus Health Care Centre, because of a physical disability since it opened. Ruth was severely injured in an accident when she was 19 years old and con¿ned to a wheelchair. — with a ¿le from Don Bodger