FRIDAY DEC 06 2013 VOL. 40, NO. 27
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News from Dorman Bioherm
Renovations in the Cove
Life by design
Underwater camera records footage of local sponge reef
Major expansion underway at Village Square
The Undercurrent’s first business column
Bowen businesses move forward without the Chamber
New business organizations “fill the gap� left by a now defunct Chamber of Commerce MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
canned and dried food, or soups in the food bank’s freezer. “In the time that I’ve been working, I’ve definitely seen a big increase in the level of need for this food,� says Clarke. “This year we’ve had a number of homeless people living on Bowen, but also I have had people with young families come up to me and say the Foodbank has been a lifesaver in a time of need.� Clarke insists that the Foodbank’s original mandate, to provide food in an emergency situation, remains its central purpose. “In the city there are soup kitchens, but that wouldn’t work here because the people who need food from us don’t want to be known, and in small community like this, you would be just far too visible.� Island Pacific School teacher Bronwyn Churcher says the idea that people who need to use the food bank might feel stigmatized was new to the student’s who were given an introduction to it by Reverend Sheilagh MacKinnon.
Last week the Bowen Island Chamber of Commerce sent a letter out to its members stating that the organization has “reached an impasse where membership dues and fund raising do not cover the costs to properly run the organization.� Chamber President Rod Marsh is resigning from his role, but will seek membership in the West Vancouver Chamber in order to continue accessing the benefits accorded with being a member of a Chamber of Commerce. As noted towards the end of the letter, Bowen businesses have already started to organize themselves beyond the umbrella offered by the Chamber. Jan Stevens, owner of the Lazy Bowen Hideaway and the organizer behind the Bowen Island Accommodation Association (which started in July of this year) says she’s disappointed to hear of the demise of the local Chamber, but thinks that becoming a part of the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce sounds like a good move. “I haven’t joined yet,� says Stevens, “but I plan to, especially seeing as there are no Bed and Breakfasts in the West Vancouver Chamber, I think we would be well represented.� Stevens said her initial intention with the Bowen Accommodation Association was to bring all 48 owners of accommodations establishments on the island together for monthly meetings to brainstorm ways of marketing together and supporting one another. However, she said that as of October, the Association decided to only have quarterly meetings.
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Sarah and Michael Ewert as Mary and Joseph, baby Sage as Jesus. More photos from Light up Bowen on page 12. Debra Stringfellow photo
Food Bank welcomes extra community support during the Christmas season MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
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lmost every day for the past 15 years Sue Clark has stocked the shelves of Bowen’s Food Bank at the Little Red Church. “Some days I come in and its completely empty, others its half-full,� says Clarke, who makes sure that toilet paper is always available, along with tins of milk. “We need to have full meals on-hand,� she says, “and once or twice a week, I put eggs and margarine out.� Every ten days or so, she goes shopping. “Walmart is the cheapest, and sometimes I walk out of there with two carts full of food, but sometimes I also go to Save-On Foods to purchase some things.� Clarke says that in recent years, she’s been spending at least $12 thousand in monetary donations per year to keep the shelves of the food bank stocked, and that amount does not include donations of
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