THURSDAY September 25, 2014 Vol. 29• No. 77 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
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Local director nears golden milestone with ‘Enchanted April’ Page 21
Darcy staying Sharpe Down Under Page 36
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Distracted driving blitz nets 41 tickets Erin Haluschak Record Staff
PHOTO BY DAVE SILVER
Jennifer Geoffrey of Victoria, and Chris Spoor of Brentwood Bay – Team Spoffrey – lead a charge of kayakers in the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race on Comox Lake Saturday morning. More than 200 teams took part in the multiple-discipline event, which had two categories – Enduro (50km) and Sport (30km). See page 35 for a full recap.
McRae addresses disability hiring at community resource fair Scott Stanfield Record Staff
For the first time, the provincial government has declared September as Disability Employment Month. The idea is to celebrate people with disabilities in the workforce, along with the employers and communities that
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support them. Comox Valley MLA Don McRae — the Social Development and Social Innovation Minister — is spending the month encouraging employers to make disability hiring a priority. “We’re ready to hire persons with disabilities, but sometimes government has barriers, or
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maybe we have barriers,” McRae said Friday at a community resource fair at the Lewis Centre. “We can do better.” He shared a comment made by Rick Hansen, the Man in Motion, who believes in a threepronged approach whereby persons with disabilities, employers and government need to do bet-
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With the hopes of educating rather than enforcing, Comox Valley RCMP Const. Don Sinclair said a recent blitz on distracted driving netted 41 drivers tickets for talking or texting on their mobile device. Monday, police in the area had extra enforcement to remind drivers to leave their phone alone while they drive, he explained. According to ICBC, distracted driving is now the second leading cause of car crash fatalities in the province. Between 2009 and 2013, there were 88 deaths in the province attributed to distracted driving, with 12 of the deaths occurring on Vancouver Island. Sinclair said use of cell phones is becoming more rampant amongst drivers, and drivers should be reminded of certain misconceptions when it comes to mobile devices and driving. “Even talking and holding your phone when it’s on speakerphone is an offence or texting while the car is waiting at an intersection,” he explained. Officers have been catching drivers through strategic means, he noted, with police disguised as ‘squeegee kids’ keeping an eye out for offending drivers. There will be further enforcement throughout the month and year. Sinclair suggested drivers invest in a hands-free Bluetooth option if a phone must be used while driving, pull over to a safe location to answer a call, turn off the phone or, to resist the temptation altogether, place the cell phone in the trunk while driving.
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