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Campbell RiveR miRRoR First issue 1971
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Coldest Night organizers hope walk will raise $30,000 to help homeless Lindsay Chung Campbell RiveR miRRoR
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or one Saturday evening in February, Campbell River residents can get a feel for what it’s like out on the streets, while raising money to help those who live there. The third annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk will take place Feb. 20. It’s a chance to walk two, five or 10 kilometres downtown to raise money for Campbell River Family Services (CRFS). “We walk around the downtown core of Campbell River at five, six o’clock in the evening, so it gives people just a little taste of what it’s like to be outside, regardless of the weather,” said event organizer Paul Mason. “We were quite lucky last year; it was a beautiful evening. But the year before, there was rain and a mix of snow so it was quite uncomfortable, so it just gives people a little feel of what it’s like to be outside. But, you know, at the end of our walk, we go into a nice warm building, we have a bowl of chilli, we have hot chocolate and people go home to their warm beds - and the homeless don’t.” Mason feels that in the past two years, this experience has helped open people’s eyes to the challenges faced by people who are homeless. “It really creates an awareness of being on the streets, regardless of whether it’s Campbell River or anywhere else,” he said. “The thing about it, too, is it’s a family event
Quinsam Coal photo
Underground mining at Quinsam Coal will be suspended indefinitely, the company announced.
Quinsam Coal suspends operations
lindsay Chung/Campbell RiveR miRRoR
If Paul Mason of Campbell River Family Services is wearing a colourful toque on the front of the Mirror, that must mean it’s almost time for the annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraising walk for the homeless.
so we have parents with their kids in strollers. It’s also a way to create awareness with younger people. School District 72 is very involved with us too; I go to the schools and talk about homelessness and talk about the resources we have in town and also talk about the
Coldest Night of the Year, getting the awareness out there - because it is a community issue.” Coldest Night of the Year is a fun, family-friendly walking fundraiser that raises money for the hungry, homeless and hurting
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Due to a prolonged and steep decline in thermal coal prices, changes in market demand and policy disincentives, Quinsam Coal cannot operate economically and will suspend coal production indefinitely, General Manager Gary Gould announced last week. Mine operations will be placed into “care and maintenance” and all contractual supply commitments will be met from existing inventories. Quinsam will continue to meet its obligations under the Mines Act and the Environmental Management Act. Quinsam’s current workforce of 66 will be reduced significantly during the transition to the care and maintenance mode. “This is a sad day for us,” Gould said. “As an important contributor to the mid-Vancouver Island economy, coal from Quinsam has been an
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important source of locally-sourced fuel and raw material feedstock for the Pacific Northwest cement industry since 1987.” Quinsam Coal began as an open pit mine in 1986. It switched to underground mining in 1993 with open-pit mining ceasing in 1994. Quinsam produced high-quality thermal coal that was sold to the cement industry in British Columbia and to international cement and power-generating customers around the Pacific Rim. Coal from Quinsam was trucked to the Middle Point barge-loading facility in Campbell River and then was loaded onto barges for either: 1) direct shipment to the cement industry, or 2) shipment to Texada Island, where it is transloaded onto Handymax and Panamax-class ships for delivery to international customers.
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