THURSDAY
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January 30, 2014 Vol. 29• No. 9 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
Local-boy-made-good Trent Freeman will help The Fretless quartet to launch a new CD in Comox. page B1
The TRU WolfPack have lost top volleyball player Brad Gunter of Courtenay to an ankle injury. page B11
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Marie Nonnast Bohlen and Jim Bohlen were founding members of Greenpeace, the Sierra Club of BC and involved with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. You can now own a piece of history from their estate. “It’s quite a significant estate,” explained Jean Rowe, proprietor and auctioneer of Auction House Vancouver Island in Comox who is holding an auction of their estate Feb. 4. “Both her and Jim were very active in the community and there are some very interesting pieces.” Born in Pennsylvania July 4, 1924, Marie was a founding matriarch of Greenpeace, along with being a consummate artist known for her nature illustrations. She passed away Jan. 5 at age 89 at her home in Courtenay, predeceased by Jim, 84, who died in July 2010. Marie became a well-known illustrator of children’s and nature books, and North American Birds was first published in 1963 by Women’s Day Magazine. The book includes 300 fullcolour paintings and earned acclaim from art critics. According to her obituary, Marie’s dedication to social activism and pacifism resonated with Jim when the two met in 1957. Loys Maingon, president of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society, knew Jim from his days as an engineering student at UBC, when Jim was an engineering ... see GEODESIC ■ A3
SAM STERK, 7, has raised almost $1,400 in memory of a beloved therapy dog called Faith. He’s shooting for $1,500 by Feb. 8, which is his next birthday.
Young Courtenay lad pays it forward Renee Andor Record Staff
A seven-year-old Courtenay boy has raised nearly $1,400 in memory of a therapy dog called Faith. Shortly after his family’s 13-year-old golden retriever passed away in November, Sam Sterk decided to raise money for the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), where Faith was trained. “They raise assistance dogs
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of clients in the Valley. Sterk says he was more interested in Faith’s role as a family member than the work she did, but after she passed away he decided he wanted to do a fundraiser in her memory. Sterk’s first fundraising idea was to ask his parents and extended family to give him money for Christmas instead of presents. Burgess says the family still gave Sterk some small items but he received significantly less than normal, and
than his brother, on Christmas Day. Sterk also set a donation jar up at the Potters Place, where his grandmother sells the pottery she makes. Sterk has so far raised $1,385. “I thought I was only able to get like $600,” Sterk says with a grin as he points out one non-family member generously donated $700 to his initiative. His new fundraising goal is $1,500. Donations will be
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for people with disabilities other than blindness and train therapy dogs to work alongside people who work in health care,” Sterk writes on his poster. “These amazing dogs are trained to turn on light switches, help people get dressed, pull wheelchairs, pick things up and be great companions. It takes between $50,000 and $90,000 to train one dog and I would like to help.” Faith worked with Sterk’s mom Nicole Burgess, who is a music therapist to a variety
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... see PARENTS ■ A3