November 18, 2015 Wednesday
News updates: westerlynews.ca
Johns added to shadow cabinet ANDREW BAILEY
Westerly news ndP leader tom Mulcair has appointed local MP gord Johns to the ndP’s shadow cabinet as the critic for Small Business and tourism. “it’s absolutely an honour to officially serve as your elected Member of Parliament for courtenay-alberni,” Johns said through a recent media release. “as the ndP critic for Small Business and tourism, i want to bring courtenay-alberni’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit to Ottawa. i’ll push hard to find new ways to attract tourists to canada and give our small businesses a break.” Johns said he will be constantly reminding canada’s liberal government about the promises they made during the campaign. “the liberal government made a lot of commitments this campaign and the ndP is going to keep them accountable,” he said. Johns is currently assembling political teams for his parliamentary and constituency offices and can be reached at gord.johns@ parl.gc.ca. Starting nov. 23, locals will be able to reach him in Ottawa at 1-613-992-0903.
Serving Tofino and Ucluelet
Spill Drill
INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
REMEMBRancE: local voice Julius Smolders recounts father’s time at war. PAgE 5
cWFS RaiSES $1M:
Eagle Marine staff Jeff Lee and Cavin Donald deployed booms for a mock marine oil spill last week. Photo Nora O’Malley.
Mock oil spill at Ucluelet fuel dock NORA O’MALLEY
Westerly news
Hypothetically speaking, 1,000-litres of hydraulic oil spilled into the ucluelet harbour last week tuesday morning (nov. 10) from a ruptured bulk tank at the fuel dock. this annual mock marine spill scenario provided vital training time to Eagle Marine – columbia Fuels staff Jeff lee and cavin donald and operations manager Mike Marriott, who would ultimately be the first responders in the event of an actual real andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca oil spill.
although Eagle Marine contracts Western canada Marine Response corporation (WcMRc) to mitigate spills, it takes the corporation 5-hours to arrive on scene from nanaimo and initiate clean-up. “Me and cav did the initial containment in the bulk with spill pads and spill booms. and then we took the boat out and made a secondary barricade in the water to contain it, down stream from the tide,” said local surfer and fuel dock attendant Jeff lee. “Everything was set-up really well. We just had to tie
them together and get them in the water. it was pretty simple, actually,” he said of the training exercise. “i’ve never done anything like this in my life as far as containment for any kind of spill. there are days when i’m going to be down here alone, so it’s good to know that you’re not going to screw up somewhere you love, like the harbour.” While lee and donald contained the spill, Marriott called WcMRc for emergency assistance and contacted Emergency Management B.c.
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(EMBc) and the coast guard to alert them of the mock spill. the notification process proved to be problematic as it took Marriott six attempts before getting a definitive response from the coast guard. later on in the debriefing portion of the emergency training exercise, the question arose as to whether or not it was even the responsibility of columbia Fuels to alert the coast guard or the responsibility of EMBc. See MOCK OIL SPILL, pg. 14
the cWFS reached the $1 million mark for the first time ever in 2015. PAgE 9
RElEaSE tHE FiSH: the ucluelet aquarium is set for its annual release day celebration. PAgE 16
FEATURING UP TO $6000 IN PRIZING! Receive a Draw Ballot Form during the Regular Booklet Session for the Draws. Each week’s Draw Ballot is different in value. Value of each week is posted in the Bingo Hall. 1 Draw will be made each Bingo Session from Nov 22 – 24, 2015. Prize for each draw ranges from $200 - $1000 depending on which “Week” is stated on the draw ballot form that is drawn. RT : SESSIONS S6TA NOON & :15 DRAW DATES, NOV 22 – 24, 2015 Player must be in attendance, and bought into the current regular bingo session to win the draw. Seating may be limited, seats are first come first served. Prize must be accepted as awarded. Regular Booklet Session must be in play , and player must be bought into the current regular bingo session to receive a draw ballot form.