The arts: Duncan set to name city street after artistic icon Family: Mother Goose hatching literate local families
page 18 page 12
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, January 23, 2013
Deal struck to sell Caps Don Bodger
News Leader Pictorial
T
he Cowichan Valley Capitals will have a new owner at season’s end. Caps’ majority owner Stew Gordon revealed Tuesday he reached an agreement Monday afternoon to sell the team. The buyer is “not local,’’ he said. The rumour mill had been working overtime around Cowichan Arena about the status of the B.C. Hockey League club. “It was put out there a little bit and a person approached me right away,’’ said Gordon. “It’s not 100 per cent signed up. It’s all hand shake and that kind of stuff.’’ The buyer is not being identi¿ed at this time. Gordon earlier Stew Gordon: quashed one ruit’s time mour about former National Hockey League player Cliff Ronning buying the team, calling it “untrue.’’ Gordon ¿rst bought shares in the Caps three years ago. He became the majority owner of the club in March of 2011. Gordon cited time constraints as one of the main reasons he decided to sell the team, with his time stretched between the Gordon ‘N’ Gordon Interiors business he runs in Victoria and family matters. He was also the longtime owner of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Kerry Park Islanders before selling the club in December to Mark and Denika Osmond, owners of the Black Swan Pub in Shawnigan Lake. “We did great with the Islanders,’’ said Gordon. “Once again, I didn’t pay enough attention to it.’’ The Caps are struggling on the ice this season with the worst record in the BCHL and Gordon hopes someone else can invest more time in the team. “It’s time to move on,’’ he said.
Andrew Leong
Duncan Garage Showroom patrons make their way across the railroad tracks on a foggy Monday night. While morning fog isn’t unusual for the Duncan area this time of year, the dense fog blanketed the valley all day Monday was unusual, observers say.
Fog foils Åights, and slows ferries across Cowichan Poised to lift: Cotton-like conditions to melt in rain forecast for today Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
T
his week’s fog bank grounded air Àights in and out of Cowichan, slowed some ferries, and iced roads while the pea soup is forecast to lift with Wednesday rain, of¿cials said. “Usually when we get rain, it tends to burn off thick fog,” Chris Carss, volunteer weather observer for Environment Canada, said of the cotton-like clouds that covered much of Cowichan Sunday and Monday. “We’ve been in and out of thick fog, and that hasn’t been restricted to any
time of the day. “It’s an inversion with a pool of cold air trapped near ground level, with warm air on top.” The inversion meant subversion for Harbour Air’s seaplane Àights servicing Maple Bay and other island docks. “We’ve been grounded for three days,” executive vice-president Randy Wright said Tuesday. “We grounded 50 Àights coastwide.” The white bog also smothered Àights at Victoria and Vancouver airports, he noted. “We’ve been doing this for 30 years, and safety is number one. Mother Nature can throw you a curve ball.” She tossed delays at BC Ferries’ crafts serving some Gulf islands and the mainland. “We took some traf¿c away from the airports,” said Ferries’ spokeswoman
Deborah Marshall. Monday runs between Chemainus,Thetis and Kuper islands; the Coastal Celebration serving Tswassen and Schwartz Bay; and the Queen of Cowichan between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay saw delays of about 10 minutes. But that time was eventually recovered, she explained. “Our bridge teams are highly aware of other vessels in the area. “With extremely thick fog, ferries may run slower. We have radar and that certainly helps. It also helps when drivers reduce speed, noted Leon Bohmer of highways contractor Mainroad South Island. While police reported no fog-related wrecks by press time, the misty chowder caused some slick, black ice on stretches of Cowichan roads. Carss said when mercury moves just
below freezing at night “we get what’s called freezing fog, and black ice is one thing you get with it.” Mainroad fought it by reapplying its salt solution. “We use a liquid-brine, anti-icing material, and the fog dissipates that,” Bohmer explained of higher moisturedilution rates, forcing reapplication in some areas. Still, while Duncan was blanketed, Lake Cowichan and the Malahat were mostly clear, he reported. Dense fog hits the valley about once a year, Bohmer added, while Carss called the condition more rare. “The last time I remember fog conditions like this was December 1999, and it went on for a week,” said Carss. “While Mount Prevost was sunny and mild, we were damp and cold at ground level. These fog bowls come with high- pressure weather.” Follow us on
Put your payments on ice.
OR
Don’t pay for 90 days on all Civic financing¥.
Lease the 2013 Civic DX for
#
178
$
* per month for 48 months
3.99% APR. $1,880 Downpayment MSRP** $16,935
DL#5963
MODEL FB2E2DEX ¥No payments for 90 days offer applies to ¿nance offers on all new 2013 Civic Sedan models, purchased and delivered by January 31st, 2013. Offer available only through Honda Financial Services, on approved credit. Monthly payments are deferred for 90 days. Contracts will be extended accordingly. Interest charges (if any) will not accrue during the ¿rst 60 days of the contract. After 60 days, interest (if any) starts to accrue and the purchaser will repay principal and interest (if any) monthly over the term of the contract, but not until 90 days after the contract date. Standard rates do not qualify for deferred payment offer. Offer ends January 31st, 2013 and cannot be combined with any other offers.*Limited time lease offer based on a new 2013 Civic DX 5MT model FB2E2DEX. #3.99% lease APR for 48 months O.A.C. Monthly payment, including freight and PDI, is $178.77 Downpayment of $1,880.00. ¿rst monthly payment, environmental fees and $0 security deposit due at lease inception. Total lease obligation is $10,460.96. Taxes, license, insurance and registration are extra. 96,000 kilometre allowance; charge of $0.12/km for excess kilometer. **MSRP is $16,935 including freight and PDI of $1,495 based on a new 2013 Civic DX 5MT FB2E2DEX.
Discovery Honda
6466 Bell McKinnon Road, Duncan
Toll Free 866-413-8597
www.discoveryhonda.com