THURSDAY January 15, 2015 Vol. 30• No. 1 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
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Promoting workplace safety in schools ... Page 3
ARTS
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CD release party for local musician page 17
Top-notch talent in town for Towhee hoops tourney page 28
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The endangered Southern Resident orcas pod grew by one with a spotting of a calf - known as J50 - near the waters of Vancouver Island. The presumed mom J16 Slick is on the far side and sister J36 Alki is on the near side. The photo was taken Jan. 11, west of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. PHOTO BY MARK MALLESON, PRINCE OF WHALES, COURTESY OF ORCA NETWORK
Endangered orca pod adds newborn Students line up for RCMP camp..... Page 3 YANA fundraiser on the horizon .... Page 42
WinterJam 100 concerts kicked off last night. There are 10 more concerts this month.
Good news for pod that lost a female and her fetus last month Erin Haluschak Record Staff
It was a good way to end the year for the Southern Resident orcas, as the endangered pod grew by one with a spotting of a
BRIAN
The 19-year-old orca was found near Bates Beach and brought ashore for biologists to perform an exam and post-mortem. The Southern Resident community had been dropping in population to 77 members, and was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. According to the Orca Network, no other female has given birth at over 42 years of age in the four decades of demographic field studies of the pod. The recent spotting of J50 indi-
cates the birth may have been difficult, with deep tooth marks on its dorsal fin, indicating assistance by another orca. Balcomb noted on the Orca Network website at a day or two old, J50 snuggled in her mother’s slipstream, and looked healthy and energetic. A report earlier this week said the pod was heading north from Puget Sound, possibly toward Nanaimo. The pod passed through the Georgia Strait southbound two weeks ago.
Cancer survivor collecting mastectomy bras for a cause Erin Haluschak
It’s been two months since the election. Why hasn’t the Maple Pool lawsuit been addressed in council?
calf near the waters of Vancouver Island. Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research out of Washington State confirmed 42-year-old J16 (known as Slick) most likely birthed her baby — known as J50 — shortly after Christmas. Balcomb discovered J16 with her newborn calf during an encounter off the south shores of North Pender Island. The news comes shortly after the pod lost a pregnant female, J32 or Rhapsody, in December.
Record Staff
Despite a language barrier and cultural shift, Anne, a local breast cancer survivor, knows she has a deep connection with women
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in the small Mexican village of Rincón de Guayabitos. The Comox Valley woman is collecting mastectomy bras to bring to cancer survivors who may not have access to proper garments to help with healing
and overall self-esteem. She is leaving mid-February for four weeks, and on her first visit, she hopes to distribute as many bras as she can to women who need assistance. “I know what women go
through with their self-esteem; you’re left with a bra that is fitted with a prosthesis, but after surgery you’re given a foamy and it slips all over the place and doesn’t fit properly.”
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