NANAIMO REGION
Fairwinds development sale confirmed by GM Details of the golf, housing and recreation development in Nanoose Bay will be available in the coming days. A3
NATION & WORLD
U.S. wins it all
Greece makes historic ‘no’ vote in referendum
The United States blew out Japan to win the FIFA Women’s en’s World Cup in Vancouver
Results show that 61 per cent voted against demands from international creditors for more austerity. A6
Sports, B1
The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Monday, July 6, 2015
Story teller
CITY
Thanks in large part to soccer historian Robert Janning the tale of Snuneymuxw soccer legend Harry Manson is gaining international acclaim
Dams issue back to council SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
Soccer historian Robert Janning, right, and relatives of Nanaimo soccer pioneer Harry Manson inspect the Grand Challenge Cup in December of 2013. [DAILY NEWS]
‘Xulsimalt’ broke racial barriers playing soccer
T
he story of Harry Manson is gaining new traction as international media have begun to pick up on the epic tale of the Snuneymuxw soccer star. On Saturday, BBC World Service Sportshour aired a piece on Manson, who broke barriers in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a First Nations soccer captain. He rose to fame as the captain of the indigenous Nanaimo Wanderers soccer team, a dominant club that posted numerous wins from 1897-1904, including a city championship. This new international attention comes on the heels of Manson’s recent induction into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame on June 17 at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. It’s been a long road to recognition for the sports star, who was run over by a train in 1912 while on a trip into town to get medi-
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Sunny High 29, Low 17 Details A2
cine for his infant son, and whose who was working as a cab driver, history was unknown even to his Janning found new purpose in descendants until recently. his quest and began to research Much of his newfound obsessively, piecing the fame can be traced to the story together painstaktireless efforts of Vaningly through what he couver-based soccer hiscould find in the library’s torian Robert Janning, microfiche. who stumbled across “I feel this story was Manson’s story while laid in my path for a researching the history reason,” said Janning. “It of soccer in B.C. filled that void that was Already a soccer fan created when I stopped when he moved to Canusing. I bottomed out on ada from Europe in the a crack pipe. I started Julie late 1960s, he decided to with beer and moved to Chadwick research the local histhard liquor and pot. I hit Reporting ory of the sport and was my bottom when I felt mystified when he found my sanity was slipping no information in the and recognized that if I Vancouver public library. was going to carry on the way I “I realized if I wanted answers was I probably didn’t have a lot of to the questions I had, it would be time left.” up to me to launch an investigaJanning enrolled in a creative tion,” said Janning. writing class and the result of A self-described recovering his six years of research was the alcoholic and drug addict in Vanbook Westcoast Reign: The Britcouver’s Downtown East Side ish Columbia Soccer Champion-
ships 1892-1905. Throughout his search, in which he realized Nanaimo had been the central hub of soccer in B.C. during this era, he noticed a name that kept surfacing — that of Harry Manson, also known as Xul-si-malt. Uncertain of how to proceed, Janning got a nudge when his mother, hoping her son would move to where she was located on Vancouver Island, sent him a job posting from a local Snuneymuxw wellness centre. “The contact person’s name was listed as Emmy Manson, and I thought ‘What are the chances of her being related to Harry Manson?’” said Janning. See JANNING, Page A5 » We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to letters@nanaimodailynews.com. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
Reverse weather trend leads to smoky skies
Timbermen continue to slide with 7-6 defeat
Nanaimo residents woke up Sunday to an orange haze after winds brought in ash from forest fires burning throughout Vancouver Island and B.C. » Nanaimo Region, A5
The Nanaimo Timbermen lost their eighth straight Western Lacrosse Association game Saturday night at home to Lewis Ratcliff and the Langley Thunder. » Sports, B1
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NANAIMO TO THE WORLD.
Nanaimo staff members have put forward a recommendation for city council to endorse a new auxiliary spillway for the lower Colliery dam, expected to come before council tonight. The recommendation comes after the province’s Environmental Appeal Board quashed the city’s bid for a stay on the B.C. Water Comptroller’s order on the city to upgrade the dam to address safety concerns. The dam currently does not meet provincial regulations; in particular, engineers have determined the spillway of the dam is undersized, which could cause the dam to overtop with water in an extreme flood. With its legal avenues seemingly closed and more than $2.5 million spent so far, council is now faced with a new deadline of July 24 to select a construction option to bring the structures into line with the regulatory standards. Two main options have been identified out of reports by the city’s contracted engineer, Golder Associates. The first would involve building a new labyrinth spillway, an option that would involve removing much of the original structure at a cost of $8.1 million. The Snuneymuxw First Nation, which has treaty rights in the area, has stated its support for this option already. City staff are recommending the city construct an additional, auxiliary spillway to handle excess water flows, in particular a box culvert, open channel design at an estimated cost of $2.8 million to $4.6 million. However, this will require a 15 to 20-metre-wide construction corridor and will see a loss of trees in the area. Alternate designs range in costs from $3.3 million to $5.5 million. Mayor Bill McKay has urged council to choose a construction option from the dams, but there is still considerable opposition in parts of the community, as well as on council, to the proposed modifications to the dam and park.