THURSDAYOCTOBER 8, 2015
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General Excellence
SHE SAVED HER SON
HE BELIEVED IN PARKSVILLE
Lynda went through 35 plastic surgeries after house fire in ‘83
A city councillor for 12 years, Jim Banks died last week at the age of 80
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FEDERAL ELECTION
Spotlight on ocean
Conservatives, NDP make safety and ferry promises JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
The frontrunners in the race to represent the riding that includes Parksville Qualicum Beach focussed this week on the waters surrounding Vancouver Island. NDP candidate Gord Johns said his party would allow BC Ferries and the provincial government to access federal funding for ferry infrastructure, terminals, fleet upgrades and new vessels. Johns did not indicate how much money would be available, but he did say it would come from the federal government’s New Building Canada Fund, a pot of taxpayer dollars municipalities traditionally access for infrastructure projects. “The Harper Conservatives have prevented BC Ferries access to basic infrastructure funding that would help reduce ferry costs for BC,” Johns, the NDP candidate for Courtenay-Alberni, said through a news release. “Tom Mulcair and the NDP will end Harper’s unfair policy that is hurting our coastal communities.” Johns also said that in September, Conservative candidate John Duncan insisted that Ottawa would never consider increased support for the BC ferry system. The federal government does support the ferry system, to the tune of $28 million a year. “Fare increases and service cuts from BC Ferries have had a negative impact on communities in Courtenay-Alberni and they haven’t been addressed at a federal level,” said Johns. “People depend on our ferry system for transportation, work, jobs and our economy.”
AUREN RUVINSKY PHOTO
SPECTACULAR CRASH AT THE ROUNDABOUT: A vehicle travelling northbound into Qualicum Beach from the Inland Island Highway at a very high speed hit the roundabout just before noon Monday. The vehicle was moving fast enough to clear the top of the roundabout. The driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
FISH IN THE SALISH SEA
37 new species added CANDACE WU
news@pqbnews.com
Coho salmon may need to move over and make room for the likes of the Pacific viperfish, long snout prickleback and Jordania Zonope. According to a new report spearheaded by University of Washington biologist Ted Pietsch, Fishes of the Salish Sea: a compilation and distributional analysis, the number of marine fish is up 14 per cent in the Salish Sea from the last survey conducted in 1980.
That makes for 253 fish species in the Salish Sea, which encompasses the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands and the Canadian Gulf Islands. In total, 37 new species were added, and five species were removed from the list because researchers couldn’t find evidence of their presence in the Salish Sea. VIU Deep Bay Marine Field Station manager Brian Kingzett said the data comes as no surprise — but it opens
the door to a plethora of possibilities. “As water warms it’s absolutely expected we will see new and novel species as the species move northward,” he told The NEWS Tuesday, noting the North Pacific is about three degrees warmer offshore. “This is also being seen in Europe.” Subsequently, Kingzett said fish native to the Georgia Strait may also move northward as water warms.
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when you Purchase $30 of Halloween Accessories, Make Up, or Decorations **Valid only at Pharmasave Qualicum Beach. One offer per customer. Cannot be combined with other offers. Some exclusion may apply. Offer expires Saturday October 31st, 2015.