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PENINSULA NEWS REVIEW - Friday, January 24, 2014 2014
Peninsula News in brief Growers, sellers to meet
CENTRAL SAANICH — Former B.C. agriculture minister Corky Evans will deliver the keynote address at the annual Meet Your Maker conference Jan. 27. Held at the Saanich Fairgrounds, Meet Your Maker is a networking event for local food producers and food buyers. It is not open to the general public. Evans will speak to issues regarding the Agricultural Land Reserve and the food economy. Learn more at www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca.
— Submitted
Watch for bats
VICTORIA — B.C. environment ministry biologists are asking the public to watch and report bat sightings this winter, as they try to track a disease that has killed millions of bats in eastern and central Canada and the U.S. White Nose Syndrome is a fungal disease that kills bats during their winter hibernation. No cases have been reported in western North America so far. If you see bats, live or dead, report sightings at 250-3879500.
— Tom Fletcher/ Black Press
Active Pass lighthouse a heritage site Iconic light station in the Gulf Islands National Park was built in 1969 Devon MacKenzie News staff
The landmark lighthouse in Active Pass has been given heritage designation by the Federal government. The 45-foot lighthouse is owned by Parks Canada and is part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. It is the third lighthouse on that particular site and was built in 1969. It is still functional today. “This is a very significant designation and it essentially means the buildings and site will be protected and maintained,” explained Norman Shields, the Heritage Lighthouse Program manager from Parks Canada. Shields added the Active Pass lighthouse heritage designation includes the keeper’s residence on the site as well as the storage shed and radio room. The lighthouse is what many people call an apple core lighthouse, explained Shields, meaning the bottom pillar is white with the top portion, painted red, flaring out slightly. “It’s definitely an iconic lighthouse, it’s well known to British Columbians and because it’s on the ferry route from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, it’s seen by millions of people every year,” said Shields. The lighthouse in Active Pass was designated in
Submitted photo/David Dick, Parks Canada
The lighthouse in Active Pass was given heritage designation earlier this month. December of 2013 along with the lighthouse at Estevan Point in Hesquiat Peninsula Provincial Park. The two new designations mean that since August of 2012, 11 lighthouses in total
across Canada have been given heritage status. “The Active Pass and Estevan Point lighthouses located in important British Columbian waterways are illustrations of the significant
role lighthouses have played in our maritime history. [The heritage] designation will allow us to preserve a part of British Columbia’s extraordinary heritage and remind us of the essential role light-
houses along our entire coast have played in our past and continue to play today,” said federal Minister of Industry James Moore of the designations. Lighthouses have to qualify for heritage designation by fitting into three basic categories, explained Shields. The historical aspect of the lighthouse, the architectural aspect of the lighthouse and the community value of the lighthouse and property are all considered in the nominations. “The historical aspect of the lighthouses speaks to how the lighthouse fits into the wider theme of history in the area it’s located,” explained Shields, adding that the architectural aspect and community value of the site speak more to the physical aspects of the lighthouse and the property it’s located on. The Active Pass and Estevan Point lighthouses join two other heritage lighthouses which were designated in May of 2013: the East Point lighthouse on Saturna Island and the Fisgard lighthouse at the entrance of Esquimalt Harbour. For more information on heritage lighthouse designation visit pc.gc.ca and click on the National Historic Sites of Canada tab. reporter@peninsula newsreview.com
Flying Club encouraging people to show spirit Steven Heywood News staff
Go Canada. It’s only two words yet they sum up the Olympic spirit being shown by the Victoria Flying Club — the spirit they hope will catch on among business and individuals in Greater Victoria. The club, headquartered in North Saanich at the Victoria International Airport, put up two large ‘Go Canada’ signs this month, in anticipation of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia next month. “It’s only two weeks away,” says VFC’s operations manager Marcel Poland. “When
Steven Heywood/News staff
The Victoria Flying Club’s hangar on Canso Road. Its windows have been decked out in large Go Canada signs, in the spirit of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. it was (the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver) this was all over the place. We want to get the spirit out there and this was one way we could do that.”
Travellers can see the sign as they arrive or depart from the airport and the club has issued a challenge to others via their Facebook site. They
hope people will submit their own photos of their Olympic spirit in a special Go Canada album. Poland said all that’s on offer is bragging rights —
something he hopes Canada will be bringing back from the Games as well. “We’re getting the message out there,” he said. “Even though the Games are in Russia, a world away, we are hoping people will show their support for our athletes. It’s something fun that people can do.” Poland encourages people to show their Olympic spirit on signs, in poses or in other ways and post photos to the club’s Facebook page. People can see the club’s Go Canada sign on the airport side of their hangar on at the end of Canso Road, next to the airport control tower.