NANAIMO REGION
Feds drop cash on Island as election talk ramps up It’s been raining money in the form of federal funding announcements in Vancouver Island communities in recent weeks. Some pundits are calling it “Christmas in July.” A3
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The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Thursday, July 30, 2015 RDN
Park closed after sewage leak Effluent surfaces near beach at Morningside Park in Hammond Bay; fourth leak in the last two years ROBERT BARRON DAILY NEWS
Morningside Park on Hammond Bay Road is closed to the public until further notice. The closure is the result of a leak in the treated sewage effluent outfall line from the nearby Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre, which is operated by the Regional District of Nanaimo. The leak has resulted in treated
effluent surfacing near the beach in the park. It’s the fourth leak in the approximately 45 year-old outfall pipe in the last two years. Mike Linder and his children swim frequently in the ocean waters off the park and were there on Tuesday when the leak was first discovered. “It’s pretty disturbing considering my kids and about a dozen others were in the water at the
time,” Linder said. “I’m just hopping mad about it. I rushed my kids home and got them in the shower and I don’t think we’ll be swimming there again anytime soon.” The pollution control centre is in the middle of an $18-million sewer pipe replacement project, but the old pipes that take the treated effluent offshore have yet to be replaced. Sean De Pol, manager of waste-
water services for the RDN, said the district is working as quickly as possible to repair the pipe, which runs through the park. He said officials from Island Health have been at the site, as well as the adjacent Neck Point Park, to take water samples to determine the level of contamination. But he said, in his experience, it’s unlikely that enough effluent would have been released to have
any impacts on the beaches at Neck Point, which are popular with swimmers at this time of year. “We’re hoping to have the problem fixed on Thursday” De Pol said. “We had to stop digging on Wednesday afternoon when the tide started to come in.” Robert.Barron @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4234
» Safety
Hunter who shot Cecil the lion faces outrage
Walter James Palmer remained secluded in the face of protests at his suburban Minneapolis clinic and intense online condemnation for the shooting in Zimbabwe. » Nation & World, A9
Whitecaps aid Hope and Health program in city More than 400 Aboriginal children were at Beban Park fields for a day of soccer fun on Wednesday, which saw first team players come out to provide some tips and insight. » Sports, B2
PM may drop writ for election on weekend
The Conservatives are anxiously hoping to sign off on a massive free-trade deal before kicking off an election campaign that’s expected to start as early as Sunday. » Nation & World, A10
» Use your smartphone to jump to our website for updates on these stories or the latest breaking news.
Sunny High 30, Low 16 Details A2
Sweaty staff members last less than 40 minutes inside sizzling car JULIE CHADWICK DAILY NEWS
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ith record temperatures scorching us through July, it seems like every other week there’s a reminder from the police or the local SPCA about not leaving dogs in hot cars. And yet it still happens. On July 18, an officer had to shatter a car window to release a large German Shepherd cross that had been left inside for an estimated 40 minutes. To me, however, it seems less an issue of intentional neglect and more a crime of memory — either people simply forget the animal is out there or they don’t quite realize quite how hot it is, and that they’ll only be away from the car for a moment. It was with this in mind that photographer Aaron Hinks suggested we should lock ourselves in a hot car outside the office to see how long we could last. The temperature was about 26 C, with a breeze that made the heat fairly tolerable, so I agreed. I got my first twinge of uncertainty when Aaron informs me that the thermometer he has placed in the car outside is already maxed out at more than 50 degrees. Though I’m fighting the urge to chicken out, Aaron sets up a camera on the dashboard and we close the doors. Three minutes: “Imagine if you were a dog in here, it would be like you were wearing a mink coat,” says Aaron, whose forehead is already dewy. “And dogs can’t even sweat like we can.” Six minutes: Aaron’s on the sunny side of the car and his
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‘Nanaimo Daily News’ staff members Julie Chadwick and Aaron Hinks managed to last 38 minutes inside a sizzling hot car on Wednesday. [DAILY NEWS PHOTO]
Video: www.nanaimodailynews.com arms are getting wet. Sweat is trickling down his forehead. I still feel fairly comfortable and suggest we switch sides so I get the hot seat. One aspect I hadn’t considered was the lack of air circulation. It seems harder to keep cool when the very air you’re breathing is hot. Nine minutes: I’m still not sweating. Aaron tells me a story about how he found a tiny dog bouncing around in a hot car earlier this summer and waited for at least 10 minutes for the owner to emerge. She had gone in to get a
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sandwich and become caught up in the grocery store crowds. “It’s fine for us because we know we can get out whenever we want, but think about just being locked in here,” he says. His shirt and pants are getting soaked. 12 minutes: It’s getting difficult to breathe and decidedly uncomfortable. I think about the stories of babies being left in cars to die by otherwise well-meaning parents. It seems a double tragedy, like the Dallas county hospital CEO whose seven-month-old daughter died after she left her in the car while she rushed headlong into a hectic day of meetings, thinking she’d dropped her
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off at daycare with her brother. It’s hard not to feel bad for both her and the baby. We all make mistakes, it’s just that most of us have been lucky enough catch them before they turned fatal. 19 minutes: Sweat is dribbling down my chest and I don’t like the experiment anymore. I look at Aaron, who is squinting through dripping eyes at the camera. It’s stopped recording and has overheated. He puts it on the floor where it’s slightly cooler and in desperation I wonder if we should try crouching down there, too. See HOT, Page A6
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