TUESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2014
www.pqbnews.com
BCYCNA
Gold 2012 General Excellence
SHELLFISH DYING
TALENT AND A $5M INSTRUMENT
Globally-renowned Chooi brothers return to Qualicum Beach with the VSO
Qualicum Bay company loses $10 million and cuts workforce
A15
A5
DOGS KILL AGAIN IN HILLIERS
‘Silent hunters’
Llama killed this time; fear a child could be next JOHN HARDING
editor@pqbnews.com
The death toll of animals continues to rise in Hilliers, and the list now includes a couple of dogs and a llama. Two dogs, one with a bullet wound, were destroyed by the Regional District of Nanaimo’s animal control contractor Feb. 14 after the owner voluntarily gave them up when faced with evidence they killed a llama at a neighbouring property, according to the RDN’s Tom Armet. Scotty Taylor confirmed two dogs killed his six-year-old llama named Marcus. “It was a nasty kill, very gruesome,” said Taylor, a Hilliers resident. “These are nasty, nasty dogs. Silent hunters — they didn’t even bark.” When Taylor heard his llama in distress, he checked out the situation, saw the dogs turning their attention on him, and went into the house to fetch his gun. When he returned he said the dogs were back on the carcass of Marcus. “I shot one of them,” said Taylor. “I didn’t kill him, I wounded him, knocked him down.” Armet said the owner of the now-destroyed dogs still has two doberman/pitbull crosses on his Hilliers property and the fence — partially destroyed by a wind storm, allowing the two offending dogs to escape — has been repaired. Taylor said because of these dogs, he fears for the safety of his wife and neighbour when they go for a walk in the area. “If those dogs are loose . . . kids and people . . . those dogs will attack,” said Taylor. The same dogs were allegedly involved in the attack on other livestock in the area in October of last year, including five sheep and some quail that were pets for children in the area. See BULLET WOUND, page A5
AUREN RUVINSKY PHOTO
SNOW DAY: Unlike many neighbouring areas, schools were open Monday in School District 69 (Qualicum) but buses were not running and many took a snow day to enjoy the projected 15 cm of slushy, white stuff, which slowed driving but sped up toboggans on the famous Parksville Community Park hill, where Alexis and Mya Mercier (above) had some fun Monday morning. Municipalities remind people it’s their responsibility to shovel sidewalks and they say they will plow roads on a priority basis.
Fell ignores ICF’s ‘intimidation’
CANDACE WU
news@pqbnews.com
RDN director Julian Fell said he “simply disregarded” a demand made by the Island Corridor Foundation to apologize and retract comments he made in a memo to mayors, MLAs and First Nations last July. Despite ICF’s threat to take Fell to the Supreme Court of B.C. upon non compliance with the demand, made clear through a Sept. 24 letter written by Duncan-based lawyer Andrew Lacroix, Fell said no legal action has since transpired. Fell said the letter was “intended to
intimidate me by sounding authoritarian, serious and menacing.” But upon critical review, Fell said he found the letter to be “bluff and bluster.” ICF allege Fell made “defamatory statements” alluding to the non-profit organization executive’s secrecy and personal interest, according Lacroix’s letter. The letter goes on to claim that Fell advanced a “conspiracy theory, inferred “some kind of inside job” and perpetuated falsehoods in his memorandum. But Fell stands by his word.
“Since everything I said was true, or considered true based on the wording by the ICF, I concluded their letter was for intimidation purposes,” said Fell, adding that he has received a great deal of support from directors and councillors of the other regional districts. None of the allegations in Lacroix’s letter have been proven in a court of law. “Some other parties also told me they too had been threatened with defamation action if they revealed information about the ICF,” said Fell. “I (find) myself in good company.
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See THE ICF, page A5
Exploring Your Relationship With Food: Wed. Feb. 26, 6:30pm Clinical Counselor, Cindy Thompson will give you some strategies that will help to make a difference in your relationship with food, and shift how you think about meals in the future.
Heart Health and Diabetes Grocery Tour: Thurs. Feb. 27, 7pm Meet Dietitian, Colleen Canning, in our seminar room and then walk over to QF for a lesson on reading labels, and selecting the best foods for your healthy lifestyle.