THURSDAY February 26, 2015 Vol. 30 • No. 17 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
COMOX VALLEY
ARTS
SPORTS
Big Sugar going acoustic for Sid show page 15
Towhees stung by Stelly's at Island tourney page 21
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349 B 5th St, Courtenay 250-334-2043
Save the paint, buy a new bridge says Eriksson Scott Stanfield Record Staff
Comox teacher recovering from heart transplant ... 3
election!
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Instead of a paint job on an outdated and unsafe structure, Erik Eriksson would like to see a new bridge constructed on Fifth Street. The Courtenay councillor has received positive feedback about his idea for a new bridge that would be wide enough to accommodate motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. It would be something like the new Craigflower Bridge in Victoria that includes three vehicle lanes, bike lanes, widened sidewalks and enhanced lighting.
The new Craigflower Bridge in Victoria was built almost entirely with federal government money. FILE PHOTO Nearly $14 million of the $15.5 million to replace the bridge was covered through the federal gas
tax fund. The Town of View Royal and ICBC also kicked in funds. Eriksson considers the Craig-
flower Bridge to be a “mark of pride,” as opposed to the “hulking monster from the ’50s” that spans the Courtenay River. When driving down the Fifth Street hill, motorists are confronted with an abutment where a veering left turn is needed to access the bridge. “Coming back the other way you see a monster built in the ’50s,” Eriksson said at the Feb. 10 council meeting. “I want to ask everybody when they see this, do they really want to have this for another 50 years?” The Fifth Street Bridge was built in 1960.
... see BRIDGE ■ 7
Real-life incident puts military training exercise to the test at 19 Wing Erin Haluschak
General Election Day Saturday, November 15, 2014
Record Staff
See iNSide fOr: – Candidate Q&As – Voting times and locations – Voting eligibility – Government responsibilities
Record up for two Ma Murray awards ... 4 The Comox Valley Glacier Kings are through to the second round of the VIJHL playoffs.
The savings party appears to be over. Gas prices are on the rise.
A practice demonstration quickly turned to real life, as CFB Comox’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team helped neutralize a suspicious package Monday morning at the base’s mail room. Emergency response aided in cordoning off the building and surrounding area, explained Maj. Mary Lee, 19 Wing’s public affairs officer. Coincidentally, the EOD experts from across the Canadian Armed Forces are at the base to test their skill set around improvised explosive devices during a two-week exercise which began Feb. 16. They held a training session off-base at the Comox Fire Department Tuesday morning as part of Exercise Taz Runner. “It’s quite uncanny timing,” added Lee. “Even if the timing was a coincidence, we need to always be vigilant.”
... see EOD ■ 3
Canadian Armed Forces Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) experts from across Canada conducted a training exercise Tuesday morning at the Comox Fire Department.
PHOTO COURTESY CTV VANCOUVER ISLAND
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