THURSDAYSEPTEMBER 12, 2013
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YOUNG STARS HAVE TALENT
CLOSING IN ON 42 YEARS OF SERVICE
Banks family has been fighting fires here since 1942; see Thursday Spotlight
A competition focusing on young musicians includes locals
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RAIL CROSSINGS
Qualicum won’t pay Meanwhile, town has to work with ICF on digital arts studio JOHN HARDING
editor@pqbnews.com
Without any open discussion or even the result of the votes, Qualicum Beach town council announced Monday night they had passed three motions in camera related to the Island Corridor Foundation and a possible future use of the old train station. Council directed the town’s cultural development and communications consultant and staff to proceed with establishing the proposed Qualicum Beach Digital Arts Studio — a coworking space for digital arts industry talent and mobile professionals — at the train station on a one-year trial basis. School District 69 and the town were in discussions about the arts studio possibly going in a portion of Kwalicum Senior Secondary. “This (digital arts) industry is an industry that moves quickly,” school district Acting Superintendent Rollie Koop said Wednesday. “If the town has found an option that they can get to more expeditiously, we have to respect that. The door is always open to continue the discussions.” The local school board had discussions in the spring about pursuing a possible partnership with the town on the plan, but as Koop and others have said, there are many challenges when mixing private ventures into school-districtowned property that is active with students. In response to a request from The NEWS, the town’s cultural consultant, Patricia Hunstman, explained how the town arrived at the train station site, as opposed to KSS. “The KSS space is still a longer-term possibility and we’ll continue to keep partners such as the school board informed of our progress,” Huntsman wrote in an e-mail. See STUDIO, page A4
LINDA MATTESON-REYNOLDS PHOTO
DOUBLE SISTERS: Kelly Mullen, left, and Jackie Milligan are sisters and so are their dogs (Chloe on the left and Sophie on the right). They were spotted Sunday at the Paws for a Cause event in Parksville that raised more than $5,000 for the local SPCA.
SMALL FISH BEING IMPACTED BY SEAWEED HARVESTING?
Sand lance is lunch for salmon NEIL HORNER
news@pqbnews.com
Some central Island residents are worried the removal of wrack from local beaches might lead to their ruin. Speaking at Tuesday night’s Regional District of Nanaimo committee of the whole meeting, Ramona deGraff said the harvesting of seaweed that has washed up on local beaches — otherwise known as wrack — could have unintended consequences for local marine life.
6 Months
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Of particular concern, she said, is the sand lance, a small, slim fish that she said lays its eggs in the washed up seaweed at high tide, right at the same time as the annual harvest takes place. The sand lance is an important food for salmon. “People were authorized to remove 500 tons in 2012,” deGraff said. “There was a lack of notification and there was no environmental assessment done.” Beach wrack, she continued, also serves as habitat for birds and other
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creatures. “Decaying seaweed is an enormous food source,” she said. “It is not an excess commodity. There are many threats to our marine system. Is it prudent to remove another food source?” She noted the timing and location of the seaweed harvest in the BowserDeep Bay area is problematic. “I was on the beach and they were harvesting directly on top of spawning sand lance,” she said. See IMPACTS, page A3
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