Up front: Baby among those OK after Mill Bay highway rollover Artists: Cowichan woman reaping what she sews
page A3 page B11
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
Friday, February 22, 2013
Reclaimed marsh land picked for new RCMP station Don Bodger
News Leader Pictorial
N
orth Cowichan has identi¿ed a 1.78-hectare parcel of land located on the north side of Beverly Street between the TransCanada Highway and York Road as a suitable site for a new RCMP building. During a four-year search, municipal staff had been unable to ¿nd a centrally-located site within the RCMP service area with easy access to the Trans-Canada Highway and close to the City of Duncan, Cowichan Tribes land and Vancouver Island University. But construction of a new Àood protection dike will create an area on Beverly Street for the new building on land already owned by the municipality. “We must ¿rst request and receive approval from the Agricultural Land Commission,’’ said North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure in a media release issued just prior to press time. He added policies established by North Cowichan’s Of¿cial Community Plan must also be followed and any exclusion request must result in a bene¿t to agriculture. Council has directed staff to make an application to the ALC. It will propose the inclusion of 3.26-hectares of municipally-owned land at the end of Beverly Street into the Agricultural Land Reserve in exchange for the 1.78-hectare site from the ALR for the proposed building. A decision from the ALC is expected later this year. The current RCMP building on Canada Avenue is deemed too small to accommodate staff and it does not meet the latest building and safety codes. Allowance has been made in the 2015 Municipal budget for construction of a new building. “A new facility is a critical component in our day-to-day service delivery and the planned location will allow for ready access to all of our coverage area and convenient access for the general public,’’ said North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP Inspector Kevin Hewco in a statement.
Darryl Robson of Lake Construction was among the crew working along the bottom of Lakes Road on Wednesday. The road is expected in reopen this weekend or early next week.
Dike project expected to provide 200-year protection $8.7 million: Work to wrap this fall on effort to prevent all flooding but the type that only comes around once every two centuries Don Bodger
News Leader Pictorial
T
he bridge at the bottom of Lakes Road in Duncan will remain closed for at least a few more days, as extensive work on the Lakes and Beverly diking project escalates. The closure went into effect Sunday and the Municipality of North Cowichan expected the detour to remain for a total of about a week, but it’s not ¿rm. “The nature of the work is such that should they run into an issue that caused a delay and we had given a ¿rm date, then we could be criticized that
the bridge was not open by the date indicated,’’ explained North Cowichan engineering manager Clay Reitsma. “So we indicated approximately one week for that reason.’’ What’s being of¿cially called “the Emergency Management B.C. Tier 2 North and South Flood Protection project” is on time and budget, according to Reitsma. “These Àood protection works will prevent a repeat of the November 2009 Àood event south of Somenos,’’ Reitsma pointed out. “These projects are protecting for the 200-year Àood. The November 2009 Àood event was a one-in-a-seven-year Àood.’’ The projects, all north of the Cowichan River, include the Lakes Road dike, Beverly Street dike, York Road pump station and the Quamichan Village bank stabilization. The projects are being managed by North Cowichan at a total cost estimated at $4.9 million. The Lakes Road and Beverly dikes from the roundabout to York Road will essentially be completed by the end of March. The Quamichan Bank
stabilization was completed in October of 2012. Phase 2, the part of the Beverly Street dike from York Road to the Trans-Canada Highway, started this week. The York Road Àood pump station will be constructed this summer and all Phase 2 work is due for completion this fall. This work is being done in conjunction with the Tier 2 South projects south of the river. These include the South Side Spur Dike upgrade, Connector dike, Mission Road dike upgrade, Hatchery Road dike and Hatchery dike repair. These projects are being managed by the Cowichan Valley Regional District and total cost is estimated at $3.8 million. All of the south projects will be constructed this year. “The deadline for completing all of the projects is March 31, 2014 but we expect to be completed before then,’’ noted Reitsma. He noted the project cost is being covered through a partnership among North Cowichan, the City of Duncan, the CVRD and Cowichan Tribes. more on A5
At Peter Baljet GM you will always be taken care of from the Sales Staff, and here’s why . . . y
Peter Baljet S
Dan Easton Sales Manager - 25 years
Andrew Leong
Craig Hindle Steve Aydon Sales Manager Sales - 8 years - 13 years
6300 Trans Canada Highway, Duncan
Joe Graham Sales - 14 years
Jerry Deol Sales - 20 years
Rob Eastman Mike Ulock Morgan Harrison Dave Pears Sales Sales Sales Sales - 10 years - 2 years - 13 years - 12 years
Sales & Service 250 746 7131
Bodyshop 250 748 4370
Red Bellis Sales - 7 years
Kim MacLean Ross McCualye Finance Manager Finance Manager - 11 years - 24 years
Parts 250 746 4466 www.peterbaljetgm.com