Port Alberni Men’s Dart League wraps up Sports, Page 5
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Monday, April 6, 2015
EMERGENCY
Fire guts old Arrowview Hotel ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
An electrical fire gutted an unoccupied building Thursday night. The former Arrowview Hotel on Second Avenue and Athol Street was engulfed in smoke when the Port Alberni Fire Department received a call at approximately 8:40 p.m. Thursday. Utilizing the automatic mutual aid agreement, crews arrived on the scene with the Beaver Creek and Sproat Lake volunteer fire departments. “We arrived to see fire burning inside through the main level windows and smoke coming from various points of the building,” said Port Alberni Fire Department captain Randy Thoen. Thoen said a large master stream was used to initially knock down the fire, followed by hand lines to extinguish smaller areas. “We did a search of all floors to determine the building was unoccupied and maintained control of the scene to make sure there was no more smoldering,” Thoen said. Crews were on scene until
Firefighters on scene at a blaze in the former Arrowview Hotel Thursday evening. No one was in the building and the cause of the fire appeared to be electrical, according to Port Alberni Fire Chief Tim Pley. [JERRY FEVENS FOR THE TIMES]
“We arrived to see fire burning inside through the main level windows and smoke coming from various points of the building.” Capt. Randy Thoen, Port Alberni Fire Dept.
approximately 12:40 a.m. and delayed investigation until daylight. The building was in rough condition and appeared to be used for storage, Thoen said. Although used by a caretaker, no one was in the building at the time of the fire. The building’s power, water and heat remained in use. Chief Tim Pley of the Port Alberni fire department said the cause of the fire appeared to be electrical. The fire department secured the property and returned it to the owners.
ENTERPRISE
‘Heart of Vancouver Island’ promoted Alberni residents passionate about Valley identity push for new tourism brand Cycling committee encourages riders Alberni is ripe with potential for bicycling as a mode of transportation, say members of a new cycling committe.e. » Alberni Region, 3
Butcher threatens woman with shotgun
A Port Alberni man who pleaded guilty to uttering threats and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose avoided jail time. » Alberni Region, 3
» Use your smartphone to jump to our Facebook page for updates on these stories or the latest breaking news.
KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
The Heart of Vancouver Island. There is a small, but passionate, group of people who want to see this as Port Alberni’s long-term identity and means of branding the city both locally and internationally. The Facebook page aimed at showcasing Port Alberni as one of the “best places to live” has gained a large following, including fans from countries all over the world. Until now, the faces behind the page remained anonymous, but the secret reveal was leaked to the Alberni Valley Times on Friday. Ben West, currently living in Vancouver, has strong family ties to Vancouver Island, said everything that has evolved to this point was inspired by the City’s last place ranking in MoneySense magazine’s Best Places to Live in Canada last year. “When Port Alberni came out as the worst place to live, it really, really, really annoyed me,” West said. “It’s not true and it was hurtful. It was a cheap shot. So one evening I checked to see if the dot com was available.” It was, but instead of a website, West launched a farcical Facebook
Kama Money, Tashia Potter and Ben West all believe the Heart of Vancouver Island makes the ideal brand for Port Alberni and are hoping to garner the community’s support. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
page. “It was only meant for family and friends as a joke and as way to express myself,” West said. “I went to bed and the next morning I checked my phone and saw all of the alerts. It went completely viral overnight.”
From there, West decided to take it more seriously and kept the voice behind the page anonymous and one that represented all of the Alberni Valley rather than just one person. The reactions were positive but he also heard from people concerned about the
crime rate and the city’s lack of employment. “I saw this as an opportunity to do something,” West said. As a young person with an entrepreneurial spirit and in the hightech industry, West held a contest on the Facebook page to find someone who had the skills, talent and energy to promote the Alberni Valley through technology. The winner would receive entry into a social media course at UBC and guidance to establish a business in Port Alberni. After going through entries, West could not decide on one winner, so he chose Tashia Potter and Kama Money, both local residents whose skills complement each other. Potter was ready to take the step into entrepreneurship and Money, already employed full-time with the school district, was committed to using a new approach to educating the public. West shared the editorial keys of the Worst Place to Live with Potter and Money while they took the university course and on Canada Day last year, the three launched the Heart of Vancouver Island on Facebook. See HEART, Page 9
Inside today What’s On 2 Alberni Region 3
Opinion 4 Sports 5
Alberni Album 6 Scoreboard 7
Comics 8 Classifieds 9
On the Island 9 Living Well 10
$1.25 newsstand (GST incl.)
ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 65
Conversationss with a Rattlesnakee
BY Theo Fleury and Kim Barthel hel
Saturday, May 9 2015 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Doors open at 8:30 am
Hosted By Circles of Cedar Port Alberni Athletic Hall (Lunch Included)
Book signing with Theo and Kim May 8th 10:00 am at Alien Sports!
$35.00
Books on sale now at Alien Sports Kim Barthel
Alien Sports (Cash or Credit Card) 2916 3rd Avenue 250-723-9929
Echo Centre (Cash ONLY) 4255 Wallace Street
The Bulldogs Office (Cash ONLY)
Door Prizes!
Theo Fleury
Tickets Available at
Join us for a day of honest conversation and cutting edge information about healing from trauma. We all have it within ourselves to be the change we wish to see.
3737 Roger Street
Alberni Community and Women’s Resources (Cash ONLY) 3082 3rd Avenue
For more information please call 250-724-3273