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Marking Remembrance Day in the area P. 15-17
Swimmer on national radar
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
P. 23
Ladysmith Festival of Lights Society vicepresident Greg Edwards (left) and president Cliff Fisher share a laugh as they work to string lights along First Avenue during the Festival of Lights community workparty Sunday, Nov. 2. Volunteers put up lights and decorations all day in preparation for the 27th annual Light Up celebration, which will take place Thursday, Nov. 27. For more photos from the workparty, please turn to page 8. LINDSAY CHUNG
Full house hears from Ladysmith candidates
Aspen Gainer THE CHRONICLE
So many people attended the Ladysmith all candidates meeting last Wednesday (Oct. 29) at Aggie Hall that the 200 chairs on the floor were filled, and many more people stood or sat in any available space. And those people saw a lot of passion and dedication in front of them. Every one of the 14 candidates that spoke (three running for mayor and 11 running for councillor) communicated their passion, conviction and dedication to Ladysmith. Each candidate had their own favoured issues and personal insights on the town’s issues to bring to the table. Every answer to the two prepared questions demonstrated that each candidate had taken the time to not only talk to members of the community face to face, but also to do personal research on the hot button issues with which Ladysmith residents are concerned. There were two main themes that became clear throughout the evening. There
was much discussion of the waterfront and how to develop it and clean it up for public use. Candidates also discussed the importance of economic development, especially through revitalizing the downtown core. One of the questions prepared by the host Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce was “what actions or steps will you encourage town council to take to enhance business attraction programs and to create greater economic diversity and growth?” Mayoral candidate Aaron Stone talked about identifying business opportunities and marketing those opportunities to attract business from out of town and abroad. He wants to focus on making the town attractive so business will come and stay, adding to the tax base, lessening taxes for individuals. Mayoral candidate Marsh Stevens mentioned that being part of the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) doesn’t work for Ladysmith. He wants decisions made for the town by the town. Stevens also talked about the importance of a commu-
nity economic development group, which would get input from the town but keep the town “at arm’s length” so the group could make decisions that are good for both the town and for the corporate world. Mayoral candidate Gord Horth had a strong focus on developing the waterfront and using it to good effect. He mentioned cleaning up the areas that are rundown and currently unusable and then working with an economic development group to plan and build a business base and public use plan for the waterfront area. Leading off the council candidates, Cathleen McMahon discussed the importance of revitalizing old and derelict buildings that are currently unused, especially in the downtown core. According to McMahon, 50 per cent of the town’s population has a high school diploma or less. She spoke of engaging with the town’s youth to educate them and keep them in the area with improved job prospects. Bob Cross believes in the necessity of a task force to attract business. He pointed
out Ladysmith has specialty shops, not box stores. He believes Ladysmith needs to continue to specialize rather than trying to compete with large chains. He also mentioned that the visitor centre had lots of visitors this summer, and wants to increase community engagement with visitors. Carol Henderson wants to bring the core of Ladysmith back to life. She discussed a heritage committee working with an economic development committee. These groups would provide guidance for business aspirations. Henderson also talked about filling gaps in retail and tourism and about consulting with locals on what kind of stores they want. She wants to attract jobs that pay more than minimum wage. Duck Paterson talked about hiring an economic development officer, a paid professional, to move business development forward. He also wants to see a bigger partnership between council and the Chamber of Commerce. He also mentioned the importance of business incentives to keep See Economic Page 4
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