Volunteers renovate Port Alberni Youth Centre Alberni Album, Page 10
22C 11C
Cloudy, light rain Serving the Alberni Valley
www.avtimes.net
Monday, June 1, 2015
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
City short on critical funds » Community
Money needed for upgrades to water pipes, says mayor MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
prompted me to talk to my mom who volunteers with victim services,” Norris said. Norris said it was the first time in her career that she had heard of Friendly Phone Service, which has been running out of the Sunshine Club for over 20 years. Provided as a free service, volunteers check on registered clients with a daily phone call. If they do not receive an answer after three attempts, the program’s co-ordinator will follow-up with contact people and from there, will contact the RCMP if necessary. Although run through the Sunshine Club, it is open to the community as a whole and was established after two similar incidents occurred two decades ago. “The RCMP auxiliary came to us to see if there was anything we could do,” said Sunshine Club member and Friendly Phone Service director, Wendy Stanley.
The City of Port Alberni does not have enough money for critical infrastructure upgrades, says the mayor. The city’s auditor Don Jones presented the 2014 financial statements to council last week. Total revenue was $34.2 million, with total expenses of $32.6 million. While a decrease in expenses was budgeted, actual costs increased by over $1 million. Revenue decreased by about $1.6 million, mostly because of a drop in infrastructure funding from the federal and provincial governments. Major infrastructure needs and a shortage of funds makes it difficult to undertake all RUTTAN the necessary improvements in the city, said Mayor Mike Ruttan. “It’s always a concern when we’re not in a financial position to devote as much money towards our critical infrastructure as we’d like to,” said Ruttan. “Like every other city in North America, our infrastructure is aging and we’re at that point where we need some serious investment in order to bring it up to current standards. “This year in the 2015 budget we’ve got a million and a half dollars devoted particularly towards pipes – water pipes and so on,” Ruttan noted. “We could use many times that. It’s a matter of how much staff, how much capacity, so on and so forth. But the need is there.” Three major infrastructure projects are currently underway. A $2.7 million flood abatement initiative for Dry Creek is being funded with a $1.8 million government grant from the Building Canada Fund. The city borrowed $900,000 to cover the rest. A $2 million loan from the Municipal Finance Authority was converted to long-term debt this year to pay for improvements to the Bainbridge Water Treatment Plant.
See SUNSHINE CLUB, Page 3
See CITY FUNDS, Page 3
After experiencing a harrowing discovery, Tara Norris is spreading the word about local services available to maintain contact with seniors living alone. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
Woman finds senior deceased in his home after a month, promotes phone check-up KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
T
ara Norris recently experienced something she hopes no other medical receptionist will have to go through. She discovered an elderly patient who passed away in his home. Now, the 10-year secretary for Dr. Freddie Meyer is on a mission to do something about it. About two weeks ago, Norris was attempting to follow up with the senior citizen. She had not been able to reach him and decided to follow her gut instinct to check on him on her own. “I knew him because he had worked around the office over the years, fixing tiles and painting,” Norris said. She knew he lived alone and had no family members in town. “It was a Friday night and I went to his house after work,” she said. “I knocked and there was no answer. At first I won-
» Use your smartphone to jump to our Facebook page for updates on these stories or the latest breaking news.
“I knocked and there was no answer. At first I wondered what I was doing but I felt compelled to check on him.” Tara Norris, secretary for Dr. Freddie Meyer
dered what I was doing but I felt compelled to check on him. I asked the neighbours if they had seen him. I was a bit nervous so one of the neighbours came to the door with me.” They smelt decay and called the police immediately who took over the investigation. The man had no known illness and is believed to have been deceased for about a month. Norris returned home and was feeling shocked and uneasy. “As soon as it happened a friend told me about a volunteer phone service, which
Hupacasath woman runs for Green Party
Tseshaht Market win spring basketball title
Hupacasath First Nation member and Alberni resident Brenda Sayers has put her name into the political arena and will run for the Green Party in the next election. » Alberni Region, 3
The Tseshaht Market Raptors held onto a tight lead against the underdog Concrete Impressions Rockets to claim the local men’s hoops championship. » Sports, 5
Inside today Weather 2 What’s On 2
Alberni Region 3 Opinion 4
ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 103
Sports 5 Scoreboard 6
Comics 7 Classifieds 8
On the Island 9 Alberni Album 10
$1.25 newsstand (HST incl.)