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South end dives into Duncan pool Two-tier fees waived: Mill Bay, Shawnigan, Cobble Hill and Cowichan Bay now partners in Cowichan Aquatic Centre Don Bodger
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Andrew Leong
Fatima de Silva prepares a meal for her regular clientele at her downtown Duncan restaurant Thursday. But the Bistro 161 owner is also preparing another, bigger meal — a Boxing Day feast to feed the valley’s homeless.
Cooking up a Boxing Day feast to remember At Bistro 161: Community rallies to help downtown restaurant Feed the Need Maeve Maguire
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istro 161 owner Fatima de Silva isn’t buying presents for her family this year. Instead, she is giving a moment of hope to the homeless. De Silva and her staff regularly participate in the Meals on the Ground program. Twelve groups, including restaurants like de Silva’s, churches and families, prepare dinner for the homeless once per month, which provides three meals per week. Program volunteers pick up the prepared food and serve it out of the Cowichan Green Community’s
Peter Baljet
new location at the Phoenix Station Motor Inn. But when de Silva heard no one was available to make a meal around Christmas Day, she volunteered to do a Boxing Day meal. This time, however, de Silva felt compelled to do things a little differently. “The groups are getting bigger. There didn’t used to be such a staggering number. Sometimes 20 or 30, now there are up to 75. And there are some people bringing children. That was too much for me.” This new reality inspired de Silva to open her Kenneth Street restaurant to host the Boxing Day dinner. “The thing that triggered absolutely sheer sadness was when one of the volunteers told me we’re seeing kids now coming with their parents. I was shocked. At some point you still need to hold some kind of hope. I’ll cook the dinner and take it there? No. Where’s the hope in that?” One of Bistro 161’s regular customers heard
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about the Boxing Day meal and spread the word that de Silva would be needing volunteers and funds to make the day a special one. De Silva is overwhelmed by the response from the community. “The Old Farm Market came on board. Susan Minette at the Duncan Garage offered to do dessert. Morning Mist in Cowichan Bay is providing homemade ice cream. Cow Bay Pub is helping. Suddenly people all over the place are offering to help us out in donations, offering to pay for meat, breads, napkins, juices.” As of Dec. 12, the public and businesses had donated $1,700 for gifts and $1,800 for food. She said any excess in contributions will go toward feeding families into January. “People were being so generous so we started asking ourselves when are these people going to be really stranded? We heard January can be a really tough month for most of the families.” more on page A4
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here will be no more paying double to swim in Cowichan Aquatic Centre for south Cowichan residents. Cowichan Valley Regional District directors have reached an agreement to drop the centre’s two-tier fee structure for Mill Bay, Cowichan Bay, Cobble Hill and Shawnigan Lake. In exchange for a level fee structure at the pool, taxpayers in those communities will pay $2.67 per $100,000 of property assessment toward the pool, with the money coming out of the Kerry Park rec centre budget. “This is good news for the Cowichan Aquatic Centre for all our communities because it means we can increase the users at our pool,’’ said North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure. “We’re hoping to open the facility to them early, even though the agreement starts Jan. 1.’’ “This is going to level the playing ¿eld somewhat,’’ said Ron Austen, the CVRD’s general manager of parks, recreation and culture.’’ No tax increase is expected for the new partners because a Kerry Park re-roo¿ng project debt initiated six years ago is being retired at the end of this year. “They’re redirecting the retired debt load,’’ said Austen. “That will go into paying these costs.’’ The deal also ends a service withdrawal process initiated by Cowichan Bay. The Bay will continue as a Kerry Park partner, but will not be responsible for any major capital improvements. “It’s something that needed to happen,’’ said Cowichan Bay director Lori Iannidinardo. “It’s a bit about fairness. Cowichan Bay historically paid higher taxes. This agreement will help equalize it for the four areas and still keep us as a funding partner for Kerry Park.’’ Iannidinardo thinks this is a big step toward solving the larger issue of regional recreation. “That’s my ultimate goal,’’ she said. “I think recreation and recreational facilities are important for all.’’ There’s another group happy about the resolution of the Cowichan Aquatic Centre to a larger degree. “From a staff perspective, I know the good staff at the pool will really welcome this,’’ said Austen. “Their staff has just been getting berated by residents from electoral areas that don’t contribute,’’ said Mill Bay Director Mike Walker. “Their numbers are way down.’’ more on A5
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