Vision Nanaimo INSIDE
Vision NANAIMO ess te on economic progr An annual upda
Arts & culture contribution Sector injects $150 million into local economy
Art display VIU art students host annual year-end show. PAGE 24 First win Senior lacrosse team overcomes Coquitlam Adanacs. PAGE 30 Coastal Living Transportation routes designed with vehicles in mind. PAGE 11
2014
Nanaimo’s changing waterfront
Plans in the works to build Hilton hotel
page 3
page 8
te shows approxima Composite image Hilton hotel, based location of proposed on architect’s renderings.
COMPOSITE IMAGE
www.nanaimobulletin.com
TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014
VOL. 26, NO. 5
Teachers walk picket lines
Blaze razes restaurant early Monday BY CHRIS BUSH
I
THE NEWS BULLETIN
A restaurant popular with Nanaimo and Ladysmith residents was ravaged by fire early Monday morning. Country Kitchen, located south of Nanaimo in Cassidy at Island Highway and Beck Road, burned to the ground. Firefighters, who were still at the scene at 8 a.m. knocking down hot spots in the smouldering remains of the structure, said the alarm was called in at 2 a.m. No one was known to be in the building at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. The cause of the blaze is being investigated, but has not been determined. The building, which has long been operated as a roadside restaurant – formerly known as the Frog and Puddle and prior to that as the Juniper Cafe – recently underwent extensive re n o v a t i o n s b e f o re reopening in late April as the Country Kitchen. If anyone has information on this incident, please contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com. photos@nanaimobulletin.com
ROTATING STRIKE today in Nanaimo.
BY MELISSA FRYER THE NEWS BULLETIN
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Ready to ride
The office will seem like a bit farther than a hop, skip and a jump away for Inuktun Service’s Steve Pilcher, left, who plans to ride his unicycle to work and Craig Senych, who has committed one morning of Bike to Work Week to ride 70 kilometres on his Trek touring bike from his home in Maple Bay. For a story on their plans for Bike to Work Week, please see page 28.
A letter went home with students yesterday to provide parents with details of what to expect during the lockout and rotating strikes by teachers in Nanaimo school district. Spokeswoman Donna Reimer said the list of questions and answers was provided by the province, which imposed a lockout on teachers this week, barring work 45 minutes prior to and after scheduled classes, as well as during lunch and recess. “It probably has the most complete info in regards to the lockout,” Reimer said. Nanaimo teachers are on strike today (May 27) as part of rotating strikes throughout the province this week. Classes will be in session tomorrow. The lockout is an attempt to bolster the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association’s case for cutting
salaries by 10 per cent in response to the strike action. BCPSEA chief negotiator Peter Cameron said the lockout terms match existing union work hour restrictions and do not interfere with voluntary activity. Teachers can choose not to contact parents or take part in graduation, but the lockout doesn’t prevent that and there is no pay to cut for such volunteer activities, Cameron said. B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker said Thursday the stop-work order will disrupt after-hours activities, including graduation ceremonies and may disrupt report cards and marking of provincial exams for graduating students. “No more calls to parents, no more e-mails home, it all comes to an end because of the lockout,” Iker said. Reimer said Nanaimo school district will plan day by day as the situation unfolds. For more information, please visit www.sd68.bc.ca.
Repair&Wea editor@nanaimobulletin.com – with files from Tom Fletcher
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