Fire season heats up
Firefighters remind that butts and bark don’t mix well Page A3
NEWS: Stroke victim belies age myth /A6 ARTS: New columnist keeps eye on arts /A8 SPORTS: ’Rocks connect with community /B15
GOLDSTREAM
NEWS GAZETTE
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
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Aerial rescue on Hwy. 1 bridge View Royal ladder truck helps police bring troubled man to safety
Arnold Lim/News staff
Front-row fans let their feelings be known during the Saturday night set of Billy Talent at Rock the Shores in Colwood.
Crowds rockin,’ rowdy, but good-natured Spectators at third annual Rock the Shores pass the litmus test for open liquor rules Arnold Lim News staff
Rock the Shores has left the building. Tom Cochrane, Billy Talent and Our Lady Peace have performed, the food trucks have long moved on and the stage that was once front and centre for tens of thousands of screaming fans, has been packed up for another year. The event has grown from a one-day event with The Tragically Hip headlining, to a three-
day event featuring 23 bands, increasing traffic at and around West Shore Parks and Recreation in every imaginable way. Organizers did their homework for the event. Last year’s well-publicized complaints, from hundreds of ticket holders being stuck in line while opening acts played, to long and slow-moving beer lines, to a dearth of washrooms and places to fill up water bottles, were ironed out this time around. Even changes to liquor laws that allowed for open alcohol any-
where onsite, effectively eliminating fenced beer gardens, weren’t an issue, according to West Shore RCMP. “As with any large-scale event, we are monitoring service levels – people drinking and partaking in the event – and this year has been very similar to previous ones,” said Cpl. Kathy Rochlitz. She added that no “negative effects” were seen as a result of the liquor rule changes. ‘We determine it to be a success when we have no major inci-
dents involving ourselves. What we have seen is consistency (with prior years) … We have noticed no major change for the good or the bad.” St. John’s Ambulance divisional superintendent Martin Wong said they had 14 or 15 attendants in the field at any given time, guided by a dispatcher working out of the command centre with the RCMP and Colwood Fire Department. PlEASE SEE: Concert goers, Page A4
View Royal Fire Department’s aerial ladder truck was needed late Saturday to help police safely bring a man to the ground who was sitting on the ledge side of the Helmcken Road overpass across the Trans-Canada Highway, potentially ready to harm himself. Just before midnight, West Shore RCMP received several 911 calls from the public voicing concern that the man, 22, was ready to do something drastic, especially given his location on the traffic bridge. Police arrived and began talking to the man, who was reportedly resistant to talking or receiving help. Officers were able to secure the man, but due to the precarious position on the overpass, the fire department was called to provide aerial assistance. Firefighters on the ladder used a safety harness to secure the man and allow him to be brought back over the railing to the roadside on the bridge. The man was transported to nearby Victoria General Hospital for care. The rescue saw police block the northbound lanes of the highway for about 30 minutes while the operation took place. editor@goldstreamgazette.com
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