THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2013
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QUALICUM BEACH
Chief suspended, CAO ‘on leave’ Public safety concerns mount as volunteers talk about walking away from fire department JOHN HARDING
editor@pqbnews.com
A long-standing crisis at the fire department has become a public safety issue and requires RCMP involvement, a Qualicum Beach town councillor said Monday night. Coun. Bill Luchtmeijer put forward a notice of motion at council’s regular meeting Monday. Luchtmeijer, a former member of the RCMP, said the motion he will bring at a future meeting will state the “RCMP be informed of the alleged incident and all relevant evidence be turned over to them as soon as possible.” In an interview Tuesday morning, Mayor Teunis Westbroek said he spoke with Oceanside RCMP Staff. Sgt. Brian Hunter that day. “This is between two individuals and there is not going to be any involvement (in the investigation) by town staff or council,” said the mayor. Westbroek confirmed Tuesday that fire chief Darryl Kohse is currently suspended with pay. The fire department was recently the subject of a performance review by outside consultants. “I removed the fire chief from day-to-day operations so the review could take place without distractions,” said Westbroek. The review has been completed and council passed a motion Monday night to make it a public document, but Kohse remains suspended, said the mayor. “There are some implications with the review that we want to address with the fire chief,” said the mayor. “That should not be seen as a negative comment about him or his contributions to the town.” Meanwhile, the town manager was not at his customary seat during town council’s meeting Monday night. Westbroek said Chief Administrative Officer Mark Brown is “on leave.” Westbroek would not comment on the nature of Brown’s leave. “It is a personnel issue so I can’t really divulge that,” said Westbroek. After a brief outline of the story was posted to The NEWS’ website (pqbnews.com) on Tuesday morning, a volunteer firefighter called The NEWS and said he was still not confident anything was going to happen to improve the situation at the fire hall. “I know nothing is going to be done,” said the firefighter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “I have no respect for the mayor because he has done nothing to resolve this issue when he’s full well known about it for a long time. If he had respect for us he would have taken care of this a long time ago.” See THURSDAY SPOTLIGHT, page A5
PETER MCCULLY PHOTO
NEW MUNCHKINLAND OPENS: Candace Regen, left, and Kealan Savoy search for bugs in the tall grass this week during the opening of the new Munchkinland at Family Place in Parksville. MLA Ron Cantelon said Wednesday the provincial government will provide Munchkinland with $20,000 for equipment and furnishings.
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