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Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle Tuesday, March 26, 2013 3
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Police officers ask photographers to leave film set From Page 1 the writer behind Iron Man 3, and Frank Darabont, writer and director of The Shawshank Redemption. While by and large a big-league Hollywood production, last week’s Oyster Sto’Lo Road shoot involved a limited amount of local participation. David Harris Jr., a 37-year-old member of Stz’uminus First Nation and full-time cashier at the Ivy Green Husky, was hired on as a First Nations liaison Friday, March 15, he said. Harris, in turn, hired on five additional Stz’uminus community members Monday, March 18 to help with the work. Harris and his fellow liaison officers spoke with curious passersby, offering them limited information on the film and informing people of the land’s ownership. “If anyone comes up onto set,” Harris said, “I can go up and [talk to them about the movie] because this is Stz’uminus land.” Harris referred to the change of pace from cashier to film industry liaison as “quite the adrenaline rush” and said he welcomed the change of pace. He was scheduled to work with the film production crew until Friday. Thursday’s shoot was not without its share of behind-the-scenes drama. Randolph Chang and Justin King, a pair of Vancouver-based paparazzi photographers, followed the production company to Vancouver Island in search of candid celebrity shots. King said the production company ran heavy protection for the film’s stars in Nanaimo Wednesday night, making it difficult for the duo to score “the shot.” Following an
interior shoot downtown, TaylorJohnson made a clandestine exit through the building’s rear door, shielded from prying eyes and prowling camera lenses by umbrella-toting security, King said. “That makes it tough,” King added. “We just want to get something out there for the fans. Get people excited for the movie. Create some buzz and at the same time make some cash. That’s the name of the game. It’s literally a game of cat and mouse. Sometimes they come NICK BEKOLAY/CHRONICLE out on top. Sometimes we end up Ladysmith Mayor Rob Hutchins, right, and John Manson, director of infrastructure services, power up an getting the shot.” all-electric Nissan LEAF at one of the town’s new electric vehicle charging stations Thursday, March 21. The tables were turned on King and Chang last Thursday when they were asked to leave the set by representatives of the Ladysmith RCMP. King then discovered that some- Nick Bekolay one had drained the air out of THE CHRONICLE the passenger-side tires of his car. King and Chang were unimGone are the days of waitpressed with the game of brink- ing for lightning to strike the manship employed by the uniden- clock tower on town hall tified antagonists and exchanged before you’re able to charge harsh words with the production the batteries of your all-electric crew’s assistant location manager DeLorean. as a result, threatening to call the As an alternative to racing at RCMP. 80 miles per hour toward highPerhaps it was their turn to play voltage rigging strung up across the role of the beleaguered mouse. main street by eccentric silverGodzilla made its big-screen haired geniuses in the dead of debut in Japan in 1954, serv- night, electric car enthusiasts PHOTO SUBMITTED ing as an allegorical warning of are opting to plug into commerthe dangers posed by nuclear cial outlets, saunter on over to Mayor Rob Hutchins shared his photo of the first known users of Ladywar. According to Wikipedia, the coffee shops and sip on lattes smith’s First Avenue charging station with the Chronicle. Godzilla franchise now includes 28 for an hour instead. films produced by Toho Studios in And as of mid-March, elec- electric chargers. Victoria, Duncan and Nanaimo. Japan and a pair of American pro- tro-commuters now have the Most new electric cars come “Level 2” technology is what ductions filmed in 1956 and 1998. option of pulling over and pow- equipped with 120-volt charg- the CCI Fund targets, Manson Edwards’s Godzilla is slated to ering up in Ladysmith, too. ing options installed, Manson said, and through that program become the 31st film in the series The town installed two com- said, but this first-tier system Ladysmith has added its name during the same year the franchise mercial Leviton charging sta- requires as long as “20 hours to a growing list of communicelebrates its 60th anniversary. tions mid-March, said John for a charge.” ties that are home to charging Manson, Ladysmith’s director It’s an effective system for stations. of infrastructure services, at a commuters able to plug their While driving down First total cost of $20,000. cars into standard wall sockets Avenue Sunday morning before The Town has since recouped overnight, but it’s inconvenient last, Mayor Rob Hutchins said 80 per cent of that price when you’re away from home he spotted a blue Nissan LEAF tag ($16,000) from the prov- and your battery runs dry. parked at the charging station ince’s Community Charging “You have to charge it for an only days after it had been meeting to speak to the community Infrastructure (CCI) Fund, hour before you can move on installed. Manson said. about the closure. to the next station” Manson Hutchins stopped to speak to The CCI Fund, a $2.74-mil- adds. At the end of January, the Canadian the couple who were powering Cancer Society BC and Yukon lion program announced by At the opposite end of the up their car and soon discovDivision announced that, starting Minister of Environment Terry spectrum is a 440-volt direct- ered that the self-described March 31, the society will provide Lake in April 2012, was creat- current level-three charger “electric car geek” had forwardcancer prevention initiatives, along ed to introduce a total of 570 capable of recharging a dead ed the location of Ladysmith’s with support programs and ser- charging stations to communi- power cell in “about a half an new station to the hundredvices, to Ladysmith and Parksville- ties throughout the province by hour.” odd contacts in his electric car Qualicum residents through its the end of March 2013. “It’s serious stuff,” Manson network. While they may not be as said. “You don’t want to be unit office in Nanaimo because the “It’s pretty exciting to get this Ladysmith and Parksville-Qualicum fast as lightning, the 30-amp, messing around with that in technology,” Hutchins added. offices, both volunteer-run, will be 240-volt delivery systems —“a your backyard. BC Hydro’s pro- “I can imagine it was just like closed at the end of March. At the dryer plug is basically what viding [440-volt] stations and when the first gas stations time, Ilott said the changes were it is” — allow car owners to they’re about $70,000 apiece.” came out 100 years ago.” made to reduce administrative costs. recharge completely depleted BC Hydro will install 13 “fastHutchins said the town is For more information about batteries in four to six hours, charge” stations across the considering purchasing an allWednesday’s meeting, contact the Manson said. province, Manson said, includ- electric vehicle when it comes It’s a technology representing ing three stations on Vancouver time to replace vehicles in the Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce a middle ground in the world of Island that will be located in town’s fleet. office at 250-245-2112.
Cancer Society reps will address community Staff Writer THE CHRONICLE
If you have concerns about the closure of the Canadian Cancer Society office in Ladysmith, this is your chance to air them. The Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce is holding a public information session regarding the closure, which was announced in late January and is effective March 31, this Wednesday (March 27). The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at the Eagles Hall at 921 First Ave. Peter Kingston, vice-president of operations for the Canadian Cancer Society BC and Yukon Division, and Kathy Ilott, the regional manager for Vancouver Island, will both be at the
Electric car chargers arrive