Westerly News
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August 19, 2015
News updates: westerlynews.ca
Sick man rescued from freighter ANDREW BAILEY
Westerly news
Rescue teams evacuated a sick crewmember from a freighter about 250 k.m. west of tofino on aug. 8. When the freighter requested the evacuation, the Joint Rescue coordination centre in Victoria dispatched the 442 Squadron Buffalo and cormorant crews. a cH-149 cormorant helicopter and cc-115 Buffalo airplane were launched and two Search and Rescue technicians were lowered about 25 metres to the deck of the ship in order to prepare the patient for evacuation, according to a recent media release. captain dennis Power, 19 Wing Public affairs Officer, told the Westerly news the rescue crews arrived on scene around 6 p.m. and had the sick crewmember on his way to medical attention in short order. “the whole time from arriving on scene to having him in the helicopter was probably about 25 minutes and then they flew him directly into the canadian Forces base in comox,” Power said. He said the patient was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital in stable condition. andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
Wednesday
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THIs WEEK:
tOuRiSt tOWn: ucluelet’s tourism numbers have skyrocketed from last year. PAgE 2
Ben Muise of shawnigan Lake flossed his skateboarding prowess in Ukee’s skate bowl on saturday. The bowl will soon be supplemented with a 2,000 sq. ft. streetstyle section. Photo Andrew Bailey
Federal funding en route to expand Ukee’s skate park ANDREW BAILEY
Westerly news
ucluelet is getting ready to roll out a $120,000 addition to its local skate park. ukee’s skate bowl was built in 2008 and a street-style section was always part of the plan but the district needed to save up, and wait for a government grant, before moving ahead, according to the district’s director of parks and recreation abby Fortune. this wait is now over as ucluelet efficiently pounced on the federal government’s recently announced canada 150 grant opportunities. “We picked the skateboard park because it was a project that we had on the back
burner for a bit and that we could do matching funds on,” Fortune said. “this would just add a whole other element and diversity to the bowl.” the canada 150 grant will provide $60,950, which the district will match, to transform roughly 2,000 sq. ft. of land surrounding the bowl into a street-style skate park by 2017. the $120,000 project will kick off with public consultations this fall to help the district get its bearings on what the skate park’s new addition should look like. anyone wanting to be involved in the process is encouraged to contact Fortune at 250-726-7772 or afortune@ucluelet.ca.
“it’s not going to be an overnight thing but we really want public consultation on this,” Fortune said. “We are going to want to put a committee together for this project and if anyone’s interested please let me know.” the skate park’s new addition will add to the budding haven of outdoor recreation growing around ucluelet’s community centre as a new outdoor volleyball court and improved bike park are currently being installed across the street. “We continue to try to develop this area as the hub for the community,” Fortune said. “Whether it be standalone outdoor recreation, or whether it be programming within
the centre, this is an area where people can gather and that’s really, really, important to us.” the federal government’s canada 150 grants are expected to provide $150 million worth of funding over the next two years in honour of canada’s 150th birthday in 2017. “the canada 150 community infrastructure Program will help fund renovations, expansions and rehabilitations to existing infrastructure that provides community and cultural benefits for the public,” according to a government of canada media release. andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
FESt a SuccESS: the tofino lantern Festival rocked its 15th annual appearance on Sunday. check out our special Westerly life collector’s edition to see some of the magic. PAgEs 7-10
FRiEndlY FOR all agES: ucluelet is working on an age Friendly action Plan that will benefit locals and visitors of all ages. PAgE 11
Raising standards In salmon farming
We hold seven third-party certifications, more than any other salmon farmer in the world
Sustainable Aquaculture
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