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October 31 2013 Vol. 28 • No. 88 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
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Reality sets in for water rates
Company owner perishes
Scott Stanfield
Erin Haluschak
Record Staff
Record Staff
Mock water bills will soon be replaced by actual water bills in the Comox Valley Regional District. Beginning December, residents in the Arden, England Road, Greaves Crescent, Marsden/Camco and Comox Valley water local service areas will be charged the following tiered metered water rates, approved Tuesday by the CVRD board: • $22.17 flat fee per month, up to 15 cubic metres per month; • Tier 1 charge of 64 cents per cubic metre over 15 m3, up to 45 m3 per month; • Tier 2 charge of 79 cents per cubic metre over 45 m3 per month. Rates will be charged on a tri-annual basis.
A Merville businessman was one of three men identified who died in a floatplane crash at Potts Lagoon on West Cracroft Island last Thursday morning. Frederick Gerald Cecil Wiley, 40, died in the Cessna 185 owned by Air Cab of Coal Harbour, along with the second passenger, Norman Slavik, 59 of Surrey and pilot Kevin Roger Williams, 42, from Lake Country in the Okanagan. Wiley owned Courtenay-based Cold Stone Logging while Slavik was a forestry consultant. The plane left to pick up the two men in Port McNeill and flew southeast to West Cracroft Island. Slavik was doing consulting work and had to fly into the area for an audit, said his uncle, Jack Bush, who lives in Comox. “Norm was a really successful businessman; he was in the forestry industry for quite some time. He graduated from BCIT with a diploma in forestry management and he’s been in the forestry industry for a number of years,” Bush told media. Bush said he believes the crash, on the east side of Robson Bight east of Alert Bay, was witnessed. “It was like they ran
PAIR
The issue has sparked a great deal of controversy in recent weeks, especially in Area B (Lazo North). Some residents say their mock bill charges were considerably higher than Courtenay and Comox. Courtenay charges a $343 flat rate, which jumps to about $400 including frontage tax. Comox residents choose between a flat rate of $327 per year on property tax bills, or a metered rate of 93 cents per cubic metre for consumption exceeding 12 cubic metres per month. According to the CVRD, about 1,000 of 1,500 rural households will pay the same or less for water under a metered billing system. About 300 households will pay the base amount of $266.04 per year. The flat fee currently in place is $435.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
ATV has risks Renee Andor Record Staff
MERVILLE BUSINESSMAN FREDERICK WILEY, 40 was one of three men who died when this floatplane crashed on West Cracroft Island. PHOTO BY CAMPBELL RIVER SEARCH AND RESCUE
out of air. They went into a turn and then they just dropped; that means you stall.” The floatplane crashed into dense forest and came to rest vertically. As a result, volunteers
from Campbell River Search and Rescue were called to help remove the bodies. All three men died on impact, and the Cessna was brought to Campbell River to be examined.
The crash remains under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board and WorkSafeBC. — With files from the Campbell River Mirror and CTV Vancouver Island
Even when safety precautions are taken, riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) comes with risks. “Somebody can be wearing all of the safety gear and that still doesn’t prevent a fatality,” says Comox Valley ATV Club president Tony Stetner, as he offers an example. “You and I could both go down the same street on a
motorcycle and I could hit it one way and be mildly injured, and you hit it just a little bit differently and you could lose your life.” According to the BC Coroners Service and the RCMP, Courtenay man Lee Raymond Hamilton, 20, died Saturday when his ATV went off the Trent River Main logging road. He was wearing an approved helmet and face shield. Hamilton was following ... see TRENT ■ A2
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