Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News, February 17, 2016

WresTLing ChaMpions

MissouLa in Tofino

USS wrestlers took top prize in Island Championships.

Childrens theatre group will present Aladdin on Feb. 27

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Westerly News

TOFINO-UCLUELET

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

WesterlyNews.ca

New police chief lands in Ukee

$1.25 (including tax)

Sgt. Jeff Swann will stay in town until house sells.

Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Ucluelet has a new police chief.

Sgt. George Jenkins landed in his brand new beat from Salt Spring Island earlier this month and has taken Ucluelet’s policing reins from outgoing detachment commander Sgt. Jeff Swann.

Swann fought hard for an extension to his Limited Duration Posting (LDP) in Ucluelet, and had the community’s support behind him, but his bosses said no and will transfer him to Port Alberni.

This transfer will not take effect until Swann’s house is sold and he will remain in Ucluelet until then meaning the local detachment will have two sergeants.

Jenkins told the Westerly News he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from his new detachment so far and Swann has been showing him the local ropes.

“I have a really good feeling about the dynamic here and I think Jeff and I are going to work very well together while he’s here and I’m going to be sorry to see him go,” Jenkins said. “I hope that it takes him a while to sell his house.”

Jenkins said he could relate to Swann’s situation as he was in a similar LDP bind on Salt Spring.

“I went to Salt Spring knowing that it was a LDP for four years but I hoped that they would just keep letting me stay, but the writing was on the wall and I had to go,” he said.

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ANDREW BAILEY Photo

StAYIN’ ALIVE: You can’t keep a good sea turtle down, apparently, as this tropical Green sea turtle’s condition continues to improve at the Vancouver Aquarium after he was found hypothermic on Wickaninnish Beach. Read about it on page 7.

Ucluelet adopts strict smoking laws Council looks to remove cigarette smoke and butts from sight Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Dark times are ahead for Ucluetians who like to light up.

Ucluelet’s municipal council officially adopted a new smoking bylaw last week aimed at keeping second-hand-smoke away from non-smokers.

BC’s Tobacco Control Act makes it illegal for smokers to smoke within 3 metres of doorways or inside public buildings, but Ucluelet’s new bylaw goes further by stipulating that smokers must be at least 8 metres away, both horizontally and verti-

cally, from any doors, windows or air intakes.

This includes e-cigarettes.

The bylaw also prohibits smoking on balconies, patios, yards or sidewalks that are connected to, or associated with, businesses with food or alcohol services and on public lands including parks, beaches and trails.

Anyone caught contravening the bylaw will face a $50 fine though its language indicates enforcement will not be a top priority for district staff.

See BYLAW page 5

Page Page 2 2 || The The Westerly Westerly News News

Wednesday, Wednesday, February February 17, 17, 2016 2016

MID ISLAND REALTY

Mieke Dusseldorp Happily serving T & Ucluelet Cell: 250-726-3888 s Fax: 888-885-0005 s

www.miekedusseldorp.com

250-726-2228

Read us online: www.westerlynews.ca

USS Photo

USS Warrior Lukas Bewick, in blue, lifts his opponent with a ‘double leg’ move during the weekend’s Island Championships on Salt Spring Island.

USS Island champions Local wrestlers takes top honours at Island tourney Mike Rhodes

Local Voice

The USS Warriors Wrestling team had a stellar showing at last weekend’s Vancouver Island Zone Championships held on Salt Spring Island.

The irony of travelling to a different island to compete in the ‘Island Championships’ did not deter our athletes as they all competed hard and came away with the hardware to prove it.

The girls regained the status of championship team from friendly rivals ADSS of Port Alberni on the strength of their individual standings.

Heather Morrison, Murrin Bewick and Mayben Crabbe all brought home gold medals while Maddy May earned silver and Leigha Auld a bronze.

For Heather and Murrin this caps their high school wrestling career at the Islands as they are graduating this year but they have set the stage well for Maddy and Leigha who are in grade 8 while Mayben is a grade 11 team leader.

The boys also did very well, competing against much larger teams, to battle their way to third on the shoulders of grade 12 wrestlers Van Law and Everett Watson, who finished with silver and bronze medals in the same weight division.

Grade 10 Lukas Bewick earned a tough silver and grade 9 Ottis Crabbe’s bronze secured him a spot in the provincial championships with the rest of his teammates two weeks from now in Abbottsford.

Our little school has built up a well-earned reputation on the Island and many of our athletes are known around the province as ones to watch out for.

The focus now shifts to preparing for the provincial championships. For as much pride as there is for the team to have done so well at the Islands, it is still not the final stage of the season’s journey.

Wrestling on the Island is strong but there are a lot of tough kids around the province and it will be exciting for our Warriors to test themselves against the best in BC. From a coaches’ perspective I could not ask for a finer group of athletes to coach. Each week we put in hours of practice and many kilometres travelling to compete and it’s paying off in our late season results.

These kids have been supporting each other and pushing each other to get better all season.

I expect this to continue right through to the final whistle in Abbottsford.

I would also like to say thanks to the rest of the school and our communities for the encouragement and support throughout the season and while we can’t predict or promise results we can guarantee there will be no quit in our west coast athletes and they will leave everything they have in them on the mats.

Mike Rhodes is the coach of USS wrestling.

The Westerly News | Page 3 The Westerly News | Page 3

Wednesday, February 17, 2016 Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Feb. 17 Tofino Recycles Remember –

Reduce , Reuse , Recycle !

SonBird

Refuse & Recycling

250-726-4406 ANDREW BAILEY Photo

Locals are needed to replenish the ranks of Ucluelet’s recreation commission, which plays a key role in shaping the community’s recreational landscape and assets like the Ucluelet skate park.

commission call-out falls flat Ucluetians snub recreation commission as no locals come forward Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Ucluelet is trying to lure locals onto its recreation commission but hasn’t had any bites so far.

The commission is a key shaper of the community’s recreational landscape as it makes recommendations that help direct the district’s focus and funds.

Ucluelet’s municipal council is revitalizing the commission and adopted a revamped terms of reference on Jan. 26 before putting a call out for applicants but had received none by last week’s regular meeting.

Coun. Sally Mole told the Westerly after the meeting that she was disappointed in the lack of interest.

“It was actually a bit of a surprise, I expected not a lot but even just a couple of responses,” she said.

She suggested Ucluelet’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan, published in 2013, exhausted the commission’s members so new recruits are needed.

“A lot of our time was spent on the master plan which is fairly dry, not terribly exciting, not sexy; it’s hard to get a, ‘Yay we did it,’ kind of feeling from the master plan so I think that maybe burnt a few people out,” she said.

“We had some people who were keen to move on the skate park and the bike park and that just seemed to hit barrier after barrier and people did get discouraged, so there may be a little bit of that left over.”

Improvements to the bike park and skate park have since started humming and the commission will also play a key role in determining whether Ukee Days eventually moves to Tugwell Fields.

“Those are three pretty big things and I know there’s people out there that are interested,” Mole said.

“We’ve got to make it fun, we’ve got to make it something that people are proud to be part of and feel like they’re accomplishing something; not going to meetings for the sake of meetings.”

She suggested the commission could also be a valuable fundraising tool and noted her time spent on Tofino’s rec. commission saw a lot of successes.

“We’d pick something from the master plan and fundraise like heck, have a lot of community involvement and it was a lot of fun and people did feel like they’d accomplished something—the thing would be done there’d be a ribbon cutting and everyone would be happy,” she said.

“I’d like to see us go a bit more in that direction. I think it’s more motivation for people to be involved and actually do something hands-on.”

She said the commission is a vital source of on-the-ground information for council.

“If we have a diverse group that can bring all those opinions together, then we get a really good reflection of what the community’s looking at and I think that’s really valuable to help council in their decision making,” she said.

“Parks and recreation is also moving a lot into the health sphere and working alongside health authorities and looking at more of a preventative thing like, ‘Be active or be sick later’… anyone who’s got an interest in park development, recreation programming and building healthy communities; that’s really what parks and recreation is all about.”

Coun, Randy Oliwa suggested an early-year lull might be to blame for the lack of applicants but also noted participation is declining throughout BC and this decline was discussed during a recent Local Government Leadership Academy forum he attended in Vancouver.

“It’s basically happening all over the province,” he said. “Sadly there was a trend within the province resulting in committee and board members getting burned out with no, or very little, new recruits joining.”

He suggested one reason for this might be that the traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday model is going extinct and people are struggling to synch their schedules with others to set regular meeting times.

He added though, that other local groups are thriving and suggested council needs to look into making the commission more enticing.

“There’s other groups within our community that are doing amazingly well…It’s not that people are sitting at home, they’re just participating in other things,” he said.

“We as council need to look at it and somehow make it a little more attractive and tweak it a little bit and repost it and hope for the best.”

He believes Ukee’s current baby boom will quickly add to Ucluelet’s participant-roster as new parents look to get involved in recreational opportunities for their kids.

He agreed with Mole that the commission is a valuable resource and suggested it can help identify trends and bring forward new ideas to fill recreational gaps council may not see.

“It’s just a group that comes together to brainstorm and put recommendations forward to council and then we can budget accordingly and get them going,” he said.

“If you’ve got an idea for a program, what better way to implement it than sitting on the rec. commission, getting the support of that committee, having it come to council; we budget for it, boom your program’s operating…I think it’s awesome.”

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Page 4 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Westerly Opinion

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We don’t look cool anymore Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

If you’re a smoker you’ve heard this before but it can’t be heard enough times; smoking will very likely kill you and I. Cigarettes are lethal. We know that’s true yet we do it anyway. We do it largely because Dirty Harry did it, Holly Golightly did it, Danny Zuko did it, Tyler Durden did it and Rocky Balboa did it.

From tough guys to romantics to greasers to hipsters to jocks, there is no demographic that hasn’t seen a movie idol look cool smoking.

And smoking absolutely did look cool.

That’s a fact. Anyone who denies that fact is pandering but we need to face the reality that that fact is dead. Smoking hasn’t looked cool since the late-1990’s.

It just looks stupid now. We look stupid. We look stupid because we’re publicly consuming a product that tells us it’s going to kill us and shows us photos of exactly how it’s going to do it.

We all have different reasons for needing to quit, which is to say we all have different reasons for wanting our lives to continue a while longer.

We have kids, we have parents, we have friends, we have pets we have jobs, duties and responsibilities that will be kiboshed if we fulfill our smoking prophecy and kill ourselves.

It’s going to be extremely hard to do but somehow you and I need to stop.

Here’s my plan.

I have managed to cut myself down to one pack per day, that’s 20 cigarettes, so

if you’re following me you’ll need to adjust your algorithm accordingly based on your own consumption.

I’m going to pick a day where I don’t smoke. Pick a day, any day. I’m going with Wednesday because that tends to be the least stressful day of my workweek.

That might mean I need to lock myself away like Dr. Jekyll to decrease the damage done by Mr. Hyde because who knows what kind of Hulk I turn into without nicotine, but I’m going to do it. every Wednesday, I’m going to take the roughly $14.25 I save from not buying a pack of smokes and donate $10 to Cops for Cancer and give the rest to my son who loves collecting change in his piggy bank.

I will do this because it is an investment in my future. Jr. will soon be old enough to understand that blowing his money on Nerf gear is awesome and not only will I have given him the financial means to get an impressive collection going by then, but I’ll still be alive to Nerf out with him.

Nerf, unlike smoking, remains very cool. eventually I’ll cut another day out of the week and by that time my daughters will have piggy banks and they too will discover Nerf and I will be alive when that happens.

I’ll keep knocking off days until my life becomes a smoke-free Nerf paradise.

What you do with the money you save is your business; the point is we’re going to save it and we’re going to save ourselves.

We can’t make cigarettes illegal because that would have a prohibition-like effect and birth an unnecessary black market that would accomplish nothing.

What we can do is realize we’re killing ourselves and hurting those around us.

We need to stop it.

The non-smokers have clearly waged war against us. Ucluelet passed a bylaw last week that is a clear condemnation of smokers. Parks, beaches, trails, sidewalks, you name it; all off limits to us.

They have good reason for this quarantine.

Cigarette butts topped the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup’s 2015 Dirty Dozen list for litter with a disgustingly whopping 409,417 butts picked up by volunteers. Food wrappers came second with 93,129. Not exactly a close race.

We, the smokers, can’t be trusted to find a trash can and that’s a good enough reason alone to not invite us to their parties but that’s not the most important reason, this is: according to America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, second-hand smoke has killed roughly 2.5 million non-smokers since 1964.

We’re murdering them.

They are right to wage war and I say we fire up the white flag.

Dirty Harry, Holly Golightly, Danny Zuko, Tyler Durden and Rocky Balboa were fictional characters. We aren’t. Our lives extend past their movie credits. Let’s stop killing ourselves.

We don’t look cool anymore.

Question of the week Vote at: www.westerlynews.ca before MONDAYS at noon

Do you agree with Ucluelet’s new smoking bylaw?

Last week’s Question

Will you miss the Canadian Princess?

57% YES

43% NO

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Bylaw hits local smokers hard continued from page a1 “The intent of this bylaw is to set standards of general public interest, and not to impose a duty on the District of Ucluelet or its employees to enforce its provisions,” the bylaw states.

Coun. Randy Oliwa told the Westerly he believes the community will support the new regulations.

“It’s a general recognition that we as a society are moving towards a healthier lifestyle and I believe the community supports that,” he said.

“The community will benefit by not being exposed to air pollution in our public areas; additionally litter and conflict should be rerandy oLiWa duced.”

He added the district should be proactive in its educational outreach by installing signage and distributing information to ensure locals and visitors are up to speed on the new bylaw’s ramifications.

Coun. Sally Mole acknowledged the bylaw carries stricter stipulations than similar smoking bylaws in other communities but said it was the right step for Ucluelet to take.

“It is, of course, easy enough to adopt; how it’s enforced may be a little more challenging but the first step is establishing the bylaw,” she said. “It does seem a little more harsh perhaps but I think it does give us the tools to enforce if we want to.”

She added the bylaw’s enforcement could be focused on specific high-use areas.

“One of my pet peeves is [smoking at] the skate park. We’ve got little, little, kids there and then we’ve got some older kids who do hang out there and smoke and then there’s the littering aspect; it’s just trashy looking,” she said.

“If we chose to, we could say ‘Let’s start enforcing this bylaw in that area and just generally clean it up,’ and maybe you just start in little pockets and build that message.”

She agreed with Oliwa sentiment that the community would support the new bylaw.

“I don’t think it’s one of those key controversial items in the community but I think this is just one step in helping that healthy community vibe that we’re trying to put out there and I think the community supports that general concept very much so,” she said.

“We all want to live in a healthy community…We want to be seen as a healthy community but also live as a healthy community.”

Ucluelet’s police chief Sgt. George Jenkins told the Westerly his detachment could help the district enforce the new bylaw.

“In absence of a bylaw officer, or when they’re not working, we’ll step in and take some of that responsibility,” he said adding anyone who sees someone contravening a known bylaw should contact the district office.

“Ideally most bylaw issues should go to a bylaw officer but we’ll certainly step in and support the legislation and make sure that it’s adhered to.”

Ucluelet has been working on the new bylaw since a May 2015 presentation from Central Island Medical Health Officer Dr. Paul Hasselback who urged council to consider a strong anti-smoking bylaw.

“Ucluelet is one of a few communities that have not looked seriously at a clean air bylaw when it comes to tobacco,” Hasselback said during his presentation.

“I put it out to you as a challenge and I’m happy to work with you if you’re willing to consider that.”

He had also stressed the inclusion of e-cigarettes.

“What we’ve been suggesting is that e-cigarettes be handled the same way that other tobacco products are, so where tobacco products are allowed—and there’s lot of places where people can use tobacco products—would be the appropriate locations for using electronic vaping devices as well,” he said.

The Westerly News | Page 5

Page 6 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

LOCAL VOICE:

Tuff chamber update Chamber of Commerce week from Feb. 15-19.

JEN DART

Local Voice

It’s Chamber of Commerce week across BC (Feb. 15-19th), so it seems like a good time to talk about what Chambers do in communities they serve.

In Tofino, the Chamber represents over 300 businesses. We offer a range of services to help businesses directly and we also have ways of helping them indirectly.

For instance, housing is one of the main issues facing businesses in Tofino – specifically staff housing, as well as affordable housing in general. This is not an issue that any one agency can solve on its own, but we sit on the committee that has made it its mandate to address this issue – the Community Economic Development Advisory Council to the District of Tofino. Most recently this committee suggested it might be time to reform the Tofino Housing Corporation to sit as an arms-length committee of council to make some moves on the housing front. In the meantime, the committee suggested the district hire someone to look at immediate, temporary shelter possibilities for this coming summer. This is still in process at the council table.

The Chamber also spearheads the Tofino Ambassador Program, a program that’s the envy of other tourism communities. We offer this free course to newcomers to town (and many long-time locals) as well as front line staff, in partnership with the Raincoast Education Society. The program is funded by Resort Municipality Initiative, through the District of Tofino and Tourism Tofino.

The curriculum has had the yearly input of different partners, including the District of Tofino, Tourism Tofino, Parks Canada and others. Partic-

ipants in the Ambassador Program courses learn about the history of Tofino, the community and businesses, ecology and the environment, as well as customer service training and Tofino etiquette.

This made-in-Tofino course brings together a wealth of information to ensure that everyone has the right information to share with others about this awesome town we live in. And yes, it’s free!

We’re in the process of planning the curriculum for this year and we welcome your input. Classes will start in April (please check www.raincoasteducation.org and tofinochamber.org for updates on course dates.)

This year we have a new awards program that will recognize the contributions of local businesses to Tofino. The Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards are in six categories: Best Small Business, Best Large Business, Best New Business, the Non-profit Award and the Business Leader Award. If you’d like to nominate a Chamber member for an award, please see the link on our website and Facebook page (TofinoChamber) for the electronic nomination form. If your business would like to sponsor an award, please contact me at info@tofinochamber.org. For sponsorship, your business will be featured in all advertising for the awards, our social media feeds, and a representative can present the award on behalf of your business on Awards Night at our Annual General Meeting at the end of March (date TBA).

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for regular Chamber updates.

Jen Dart is the executive director of the Tofino Long Beach chamber of commerce.

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The Westerly News | Page 7

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Westerly Life

The West Coast’s News Source Nora O’Malley, Advertising Representative

250-726-7029

nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca

VANCOUVER AQUARIUM PhOtO

This Green sea turtle is somehow overcoming overwhelming odds and staying alive. Vancouver Aquarium staff have been treating him since he washed up near Ucluelet last month.

Comber the sea turtle on road to recovery

Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

A Green sea turtle is miraculously recovering after washing up on Wickaninnish Beach last month.

The turtle was hypothermic and in rough shape when he arrived at the Vancouver Aquarium on Jan. 23 but the aquarium’s head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena told the Westerly on Monday that the turtle, dubbed Comber, has made strides and moved into a larger pool over the weekend.

“He seems to like that in terms of being able to swim around a little bit more and being a little bit more active; he’s certainly very aware, he’s watching us now so all of his faculties are coming back and I’m pretty happy so far,” Haulena said adding his optimism is mixed with caution.

“The biggest one in the last few days is making sure the digestive track works all the way through and that’s basically watching for poop…When any animal strands, bad things have happened to this animal. We know from all the years doing this stuff that things can go wrong at any time and you might discover things that the animal is hiding early on that all of a sudden manifest.”

Survival was initially considered a long shot for the tropical turtle, whose natural habitats are closer to Mexico and Hawaii than the West Coast of Canada.

“Once they start getting caught into water that becomes progressively cooler, their whole physiology slows down into more or less a comatose kind of state,” Haulena said.

“It is often very difficult to tell whether they’re even alive or not so you’re bringing back an animal that has kind of almost gone away, it’s brain is somewhere else, it’s slowed itself down so far that it’s barely functioning at any detectable level…So when you do kind of see them responding to what you’re doing, it’s a really great feeling.”

Haulena praised his team’s effectiveness at overcoming the odds so far.

“The team that I have the privilege to work with is abso-

lutely phenomenal and I’ve seen these guys shine in the most dire situations, when we’ve been faced with animals that have had no chance, when the odds are stacked up against them, I’ve seen them come together, work as a team all nightlong, 24-hours a day for long stretches of time,” he said.

“These guys are awesome and it’s heart and soul, blood, sweat, tears; they just go forth and do whatever they can.”

He said the aquarium needed to make rapid preparations when they heard the turtle had been found near Ucluelet.

“Once we get that report over at the aquarium the crew mobilizes very quickly,” he said.

“The key factors for a turtle that separate them from some of the other animals that we deal with is we have to warm them up very, very, slowly and very, very, precisely.”

Comber’s body temperature was 11.2 C when Haulena first met him and this needed to be raised, by less than 2 C per day, to at least 20 C. Haulena was amazed by the aquarium’s engineers who managed to set up a habitat in time for the turtle to move in.

“Our engineering staff went bonkers trying to get a habitat ready for this guy,” he said.

“We were trying to set up a bigger habitat in a section of the aquarium that hasn’t fully come online so they were dealing with all the problems associated with that; it’s just like starting up a brand new house but add a few layers to that.

They’re dealing with the turning on the lights for the first time kind of scenario and getting all that done really, really, fast.”

Once the turtle arrived, Haulena’s crew got to work with fluid support, antibiotics and frequent monitoring and the results have been very positive so far.

“He’s been progressing right along where he should be,” Haulena said. “If he actually could read, it looks like he read the book and he’s following along with us, which is great. So far he’s hit every marker that we want.”

While Haulena has treated many Green sea turtles in his career, he said Comber is the first distressed sea turtle to

receive treatment at the aquarium in at least 10 years.

He hopes to see the animal released back into the wild.

“Because this animal is coming from the wild and it should be in good enough shape to be able to take care of itself, if we could turn it around, it’s a release candidate,” he said.

He added there will be hoops to jump through as Comber is a threatened species and must be transported across the border to San Diego where the water is warm enough for him to be released.

“That means he needs a lot of paperwork that sometimes can take a long time, and sometimes can never happen, and that’s unfortunate but all those things are designed and put into place to protect animals from being traded and animal from being illegally harvested and that sort of business,” he said.

“But on the flip side of things, when you’re trying to do something really good for these guys sometimes that permitting process actually interferes a little bit with trying to do the best you can.”

While Comber is doing well, Haulena said his condition could change on a dime and nerves won’t be calmed until the animal is back in the ocean.

“You never stop worrying, particularly about a rescue animal. They always are going to be complicated. I guess you relax when you get the animal transported to the next facility to a certain extent and then, of course, when you do hear about the animal being released, or when you’re there watching the animal be released, that’s where you finally go ‘Okay, It’s all out of my hands now,’” he said.

He said Comber has won the hearts of the aquarium’s staff and students.

“It’s kind of cool to see people who have not had the opportunity to see something like that up close, see it in intensive care and see him getting better,” Haulena said. “You kind of relive all that fun magic when you were young and wanting to do this kind of thing so it’s cool; it’s very inspirational.”

Page 8 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Cops for Cancer fundraiser approaches Local RCMP planning garage sale, barbecue and bottle drive at UAC Hall on March 5 Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

ANDREW BAILEY Photo

Ucluelet’s Cops for Cancer headshave is an annual fundraising favourite but the organization’s efforts run year-round and locals are encouraged to get on board a new committee aimed at creating more Cops for Cancer opportunities. we recently held at Co-op to support the Food Bank on the Edge, the generosity of this community was overwhelming and so greatly appreciated,” she said.

“Thanks to the community of Ucluelet for their generosity and support for fundraising efforts and community events such as this. Ucluelet is a great place to live.”

Cops for Cancer is best known locally for its annual Tour de Rock ride where police officers from various Island detachments cycle over 1,000 kilometres together to raise funds and awareness.

Midlane noted the organization’s efforts are year-round and said the Ucluelet RCMP hopes to kick up a committee to keep the fundraising train rolling.

“We are starting a committee made up of anyone from the community that wants to come up with other fundraising ideas and help to implement them,” she said. “It’s a great way to show your support.”

Anyone interested in joining the committee, or supporting its efforts, is encouraged to contact Midlane at the Ucluelet RCMP detachment: 250-726-7773.

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Ukee’s RCMP are asking locals to help them spread some love to kids who need it.

The local police detachment is hosting a garage sale, barbecue and bottle drive on March 5 to raise money for Cops for Cancer.

The event is being organized by Naomie Swann and Carrie Midlane and will see RCMP staffers and volunteers filling the UAC Hall—1510 Peninsula Rd.—with fundraising festivities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We are asking for anyone from the community with garage sale or bottle donations to drop them off to the detachment until March 4,” Midlane said. “We will use these items to hold a garage sale by donation. We will also have a BBQ going with the members manning the grill and collecting bottles.”

She noted the local RCMP hosted a similar event two years ago that raised over $2,000 for the cause and she hopes to see locals ring in similar success this year.

“They can come do a little shopping, have lunch made by the [RCMP] members and drop off their bottles all while supporting a great cause,” she said. “Everything will be by donation and all proceeds will go to Cops for Cancer.”

Cops for Cancer is focused on paediatric cancer research.

“Your donations fund the best pediatric research and life-saving clinical trials in Canada. Researchers are working to improve the detection and diagnosis of cancer and to find more effective, safer treatments,” according to its website.

The organization also supports Camp Goodtimes, which provides fun and positive experiences for children and families living with the disease.

Midlane is confident Ucluelet will answer the call for support and noted the community is not one to let a good cause pass by.

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The Westerly News | Page 9

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Tofino to host children’s theatre Aladdin Nora o’malley

nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca

Aladdin, Genie, Princess, Ali Baba, and a chorus of fleet footed camels will be lighting up the Wickaninnish Community School main stage at the end of the month, and Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) is set to cast up to 60 local youth.

School age children from kindergarten to grade 12 are invited to attend casting call, which is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 22 from 4-6 p.m. at the Wickaninnish Community School in Tofino.

Missoula coordinator Suzanne Ryles said the travelling theatre company was brought to Coast by the Pacific Rim Arts Society as a way to give children the opportunity to learn how to speak publicly and act in front of an audience.

“I signed my kids up back in ‘99 when there was no other theatre activities going on in town. I just wanted to give them that chance of trying something new,” she said. “My youngest daughter does want to be an actress and a lot of that has come from Missoula.”

A success story worth noting is Tofino’s Karis Cameron who acted in the MCT production of The Little Mermaid over 8 years ago. Cameron now plays the lead role of Dylan Blake in the teen mystery/drama TV series Open Heart.

Ryles explained that on audition day, the children will be

PACIFIC RIM ARTS SOCIETY PhOTO

Local kids from kindergarten to Grade 12 are encouraged to audition for this year’s Missoula production in Tofino. asked to stand in a circle and say their name and age. She said those vying for the bigger roles need to speak with emphasis and speak with very good pronunciation.

“They (the directors) are looking for kids who can speak up and be heard by an audience because they are not micro phoned. And if you can sing, sing out loud. Michael Row the Boat Ashore is usually one of the songs they ask them to sing

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every year.” she said.

Those attending the audition are required to stay the entire two hours. Rehearsals will be conducted throughout the week from 4-8:30 p.m. each day, leading up to the grand theatre performance on Saturday, February 27 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“Parents don’t have to stay for rehearsals but they should definitely pack an extra snack for them,” notes Ryles.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

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andreW BaiLeY photo

Sgt. George Jenkins is Ucluelet’s new chief of police and arrived at his new detachment from Salt Spring Island earlier this month.

New top cop ready for community beat continued from page a1 “I felt for Jeff that he’s in a place he wants to stay and he’s having to go but that’s kind of the reality and we know that coming in.”

Jenkins acknowledged the community fought hard to keep Swann in town and said replacing him will be a tough task.

“People here love Jeff and I don’t blame them. He’s done a great job here,” he said.

“It’s a little intimidating, I’ll be honest, but I think I bring a lot to the table as well and in the transition I think we’ll do very well together and when Jeff moves on I think my strengths will work well in this community.”

Like Swann, Jenkins has a keen interest in community policing and during his time on Salt Spring he served on several boards and committees helping to write grant proposals and administer programs around mental health, homelessness and affordable housing issues.

He also enjoyed being active with local youth and sat on a social enterprise committee, which sought ways of turning garbage and recycling disposal into fundraising ventures for local programming.

“It was very rewarding because it was a chance for me to have a positive outlet which kept me balanced,” Jenkins said.

“In police work, there’s a lot of negative things that you encounter and this was just a real positive way of giving back and keeping me centred.”

He believes the skills he developed through this work will transfer well to Ucluelet.

“I’m new here now and I need to be seeing where my gifts could best be utilized,” he said.

“I’m looking at how I can contribute in a meaningful way to this community, independent of my job here as the detachment commander.”

Jenkins celebrated his 24th anniversary with the RCMP last week and said he began his policing career as an Auxiliary Constable in Mission.

“I determined through that work that policing would be something I’d very much like to do and something that would be suited to me and my personality,” he said.

He went through three RCMP postings in Alberta, including an 8-year stint in Grand Prairie, before heading back to BC with postings in Surrey, Langley and the Fraser Valley.

He spent the past five years as Salt Spring Island’s detachment commander.

“That was the first time I was responsible for the operation of

a detachment,” he said.

“It was a steep learning curve…As a detachment commander, especially in a smaller detachment, you wear a lot of hats; you’re doing supervision of the officers, your liaising with the community, you’re managing all the administrative tasks that keep the place operational.”

He said Salt Spring brought the “toughest” and “most rewarding” experiences of his career.

“It was really a great experience but it was probably the most challenging post I’ve had,” he said adding Salt Spring has a population of about 12,000 with eight police officers.

“You’re spread a little bit thin but, that being said, we had really good people and we did very well considering. We were creative solving problems and it was a really good experience.”

He hopes to continue building on Swann’s community policing efforts while adding his own flavour to the local detachment.

“I love what Jeff’s done here,” he said. “The relationship and the trust he’s formed with the community is just outstanding so I want to keep that going and build on that…I’m very much a community policeman but I also have strengths that I want to bring to this community and this unit.”

Jenkins attended last week’s regular council meeting in Ucluelet to introduce himself and said he plans to have further discussions with council to hash out this year’s policing priorities.

“We’re working up some priorities and we’d like them to give us some feedback on, what they think are issues that we should be focused on,” he said adding the community’s input will also be sought.

“We’ll take all the information and we’ll develop an annual performance plan, probably with at least three activities, that we can focus on and at the end we can measure how successful we’ve been.”

An avid fisher, Ucluelet’s new top cop is stoked on his new home.

“It’s a very friendly town, it’s got that small town feel that I love…It very much resonates with me both as a citizen and also as a policeman,” he said.

“To put it in perspective, we would move to this community if I didn’t have a job here. The fact that I have a job here and we can support ourselves is just a bonus on top of a bonus…It’s just everything I could have asked for.”

Jenkins arrived in Ucluelet with his girlfriend Dana Hicks and the couples’ two dogs: Duke and Tuesday.

The Westerly News | Page 11

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

PHOTO FEATURE

Valentide’s Cleanup NORA O’MALLEY PHOTOS

The Surfrider Pacific Rim Foundation hosted its monthly beach clean on Sunday, focusing on the waterfront between Monk’s Point and Meare’s Landing.

About 25 ocean lovin’ locals pitched in and yummy hot chocolate was provided by Remote Passages and the Tofino Hostel.

For more community event photos, visit: www.facebook.com/WesterlyNews.

Beach clean volunteers showed off their ‘I heart Tofino’ in front of the Surfrider Pacific Rim tent on Sunday.

Locals took in an impressive trash-haul.

Victoria and Joyce sported full rain gear and warm smiles.

Local girls unearthed some unusual treasures from the shores in front of Remote Passages.

Trash was collected, separated and recorded.

The cleanup focused on Monk’s Point and Meares Landing.

Page 12 | The Westerly News

GAMES & PUZZLES

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

BARBARA SCHRAMM PHoto

HAPPY tRAILS: Ucluelet Video Services dished out a generous donation to the Wild Pacific Trail Society last week. The company’s Tina Ferguson handed a $1,540 cheque to the trail’s manager ‘Oyster’ Jim Martin. In a statement, the company said it appreciates the society’s hard work and dedication and noted these efforts produce tremendous benefits to locals and visitors. Society member Barbara Schramm was thrilled with the company’s generousity. “Donations are the only way the society can expand the trail, or offer interpretive walks, so we are very grateful for community support,” she said.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Ferries bring in fare flexibility

Ferry corporation offering discounts to off-peak users JOHN MckINlEY

john.mckinley@blackpress.ca

When you choose to ride a B.C. ferry will have a direct relationship to how much money you have left in your wallet as soon as next year.

The ferry corporation has been calling a recent series of discounts offered to off-peak users “promotions.”

But it would be just as accurate to call them “research,” and come 2017 you will also be able to call them standard practice.

The details have yet to be worked out, but that is coming over the next few months, and variable pricing on ferry fares is expected be in place as soon as the computer system can be upgraded to handle it.

“We are going to be introducing fare flexibility,” BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said. “In 2017, we are going to roll out a variable policy.”

What that means is ferry users can expect fares to reflect the laws of supply and demand. The cheapest fares will be attached to a particular route’s least popular sailings, the most expensive to the most popular.

One goal of the new system is to redistribute ferry use pat-

terns: attracting more passengers to the emptiest boats, while reducing the space crunch during the times of greatest demand.

BC Ferries is hopeful this will result in better cost efficiencies.

“If we can shift traffic to the off-peak times, we may not have to schedule an extra trip,” Marshall said.

Another goal is to give people an incentive to take a trip they may not have previously made.

A 30 per cent reduction in off-peak hours recently announced for March is the third in a series of promotions designed to give BC Ferries brass an idea of what might work. The previous two — with different benefits and criteria — ran in the late summer/ early fall, and in the weeks prior to Christmas.

According to Marshall, those promotions were effective in increasing the number of people using under-utilized routes, but it has yet to be determined how cost-effective the shift was.

“We have a lot of number-crunching to do,” she said.

BC Ferries’ President and CEO Mike Corrigan said last fall the new model will be designed to match other models common in the travel and transportation industries.

The changes are expected to be implemented fleet-wide.

New policy for problem bears Province says review not sparked by officer’s refusal to shoot JOHN MckINlEY

john.mckinley@blackpress.ca

A new provincial policy for dealing with problem bears is expected to be in place this spring.

But officials say it is not the byproduct of a high-profile incident in Port Hardy last summer where a conservation officer disobeyed orders when he refused to shoot two bear cubs along with their garbage-conditioned, human-habituated mother.

Bryce Casavant was suspended and later reassigned to a role outside the conservation service for defying orders, when he determined the cubs could be rehabilitated and sent them to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre near Parksville against the orders of his superiors.

“Prior to this incident, a review of the provincial procedure was already underway,” the ministry told Black Press in an email forwarded from its communications department.

The email states the policy — Preventing and Responding to Conflicts with Large Carnivores — is a collaborative effort be-

tween the Ministry of Forests and the Conservation Officer Service.

“Committee members will update and define roles pertaining to agency mandates, define operational procedures and put forward recommendations for improvements,” the email states.

The ministry said the policy — a draft of which is not yet ready for the public — will continue to take into account public safety and the animal’s ability to survive in the wild.

“Any decision involving bear cubs is made on a case-by-case basis with professionals, including senior conservation officers, regional ministry biologists and the provincial wildlife veterinarian,” the email states.

The ministry also confirmed that it will be releasing the Port Hardy cubs — known as Jordan and Athena — back into the wild within the next few months.

It would not discuss the grievance Casavant lodged in order to get his job back, which is still subject to arbitration.

Quality Foods sees expansion Award-winning shopping experience expands into View Royal Black PRESS

office@westerlynews.ca

Quality Foods, which began in 1982 as Qualicum Foods in Qualicum Beach, expands their award-winning grocery shopping experience in the Greater Victoria region in just a few short weeks.

As one of three founding partners, Ken Schley believes the time is right for a move into View Royal. “We’re very excited to expand our unique brand of grocery retailing to residents of View Royal and the surrounding communities,” states Schley. ”Eagle Creek Village is destined to be an active hub for the area, and we’re thrilled to be the grocery store for this vibrant multi-use development.”

The island-owned grocery company opened their QF WestShore location in Langford, their first foray into the Capital Regional District, in July 2014. “The Western Communities have welcomed us with open arms, and we couldn’t be happier with the relationships we have established in the community so far.”

Quality Foods has a well-established presence on Vancouver Island with ten stores north of the Malahat, and another in Powell River. The new 45,000 square foot QF View Royal location positioned on Helmcken Road raises the store count to thirteen.

Schley anticipates that it may potentially appeal to residents be-

yond the Western Communities. “With our close proximity toVictoria General Hospital, we feel that a more diverse group of people will have the opportunity to experience our unique brand of grocery retailing, and hopefully continue to shop with us over time.”

“We will have all of the same features available to shoppers that has made our Langford store an award-winning shopping destination,” says Schley, “with the additional mezzanine floor which will be home to A Step Above, our signature store within a store featuring the best in kitchen, home décor and giftware.”

Thursday, February 25 at 10:00 am is the selected time for the official ribbon cutting and opening doors to the general public.

A special sneak preview evening, on Wednesday February 24, has been set aside for seniors aged 65+ and those with mobility issues to beat the crowds and experience the store beforehand.

“We are proud of the result of nearly thirty four years of learning, innovating and tweaking that has culminated in what we believe to be a flagship independent store in the grocery industry.

The powerful blend of information we have accumulated from our customers’ feedback, applying new methods of doing things from technology to work flow - and being open to change, even when it’s difficult, has made us stronger as store operators and as people over the years.”

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

community calendar

The Westerly News | Page 15

To submit your activities; e-mail: office@westerlynews.ca, fax:250-726-4248 or drop by: #102-1801 Bay St, Ucluelet

WED. fEb 17

featured Event for the Week

TUFF CITY IDOL

feb. 17 - 20 Tofino film fesTival

PICKLEBALL 5-7 pm, WCS, all ages welcome.

The Tofino Film Festival is once again hosting their four-day film celebration at the end of the road.

You don’t want to miss these ‘best-of-the-fest’ movie selections from around the globe. Allow us the opportunity to provoke youre imagination, stimulate conversation, and challenge your ideals with an engaging line-up of cinematic arts, wine and food. Various venues and times. For more information visit: www.tofinofilmfestival.com.

POOL NIGHT

thu. fEb. 18

Sun. fEb 21

MOn. fEb 22

YOUTH BASKETBALL

DROP-IN BADmINTON

TOFINO ExPRESSIVE WRITING WORKSHOP FOR WOmEN

Jack’s Pub, 9:30 p.m.

7-11 p.m. Tofino Legion

DROP-IN BASKETBALL 7- 9 p.m. WCS gym

SENIORS SOCIAL AFTERNOONS

1:30-4 p.m., Tofino Legion.

ST. COLUmBA CHURCH 7 p.m. 110 2nd St.

ARTS GROUP

7-10 p.m. Tofino Legion.

DROP-IN VOLLEYBALL 7-9 p.m. USS. $2.

thu. fEb 18 BINGO 7-10 p.m. Tofino Legion.

HEALTHY BABIES PROGRAm/ FAmILY TIES 10:30 a.m, UCC

5-7 pm, WCS.

DROP-IN BADmINTON 7-9 p.m. USS gym. $2.

FILm: ‘IN TRANSITION’ 7 p.m. UCC. Worry about the future? Get inspired to create a self-sufficient, resilient community in Ucluelet.

fRI. fEb 19 DROP-IN BADmINTON 7-9 p.m. USS gym. $2.

YOUTH GAmES NIGHT 7-9 pm. Ages 10+, WCS.

3–6p.m., UCC.

DROP-IN SOCCER 7-9 p.m. WCS gym. $3.

CHRIST COmmUNITY CHURCH 10:30am, 1419 Peninsula Rd.

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH 10:30 am, UCC.

6:30-8:30 p.m. , 250-726-2343

UCLUELET AA 8pm. Holy Family.

DARTS AT THE LEGION 8-10 p.m. Tofino Legion.

ST. COLUmBA CHURCH

tuE. fEb 23

10:30 a.m. 110 2nd St.

YOUTH BADmINTON

UNITED/ANGLICAN SERVICE

6-7 P.m. WCS.

4 p.m. UCC.

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH 11:00 a.m. Ahousaht.

UCLUELET ExPRESSIVE WRITING WORKSHOP FOR WOmEN

6:30-8:30 p.m. 250-726-2343

TOFINO BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

KARAOKE

10:30 a.m. Tofino Legion.

THE EDGE YOUTH ROOm

10 p.m., Officials Sports Lounge

HOLY FAmILY CHURCH

TOFINO LEGION YOUTH NIGHT

THE EDGE YOUTH ROOm

10 a.m. , 1663 Peninsula Rd. Ucluelet

7-9 p.m., Tofino Legion.

MOn. fEb 22

YOUTH NIGHT AT THE ANAF

2–6p.m. UCC.

AA mEETING THE EDGE YOUTH ROOm

7-9 p.m. USS gym.

7:30pm, St. Francis.

UCLUELET AA

8pm. Holy Family.

SAt. fEb 20

DROP-IN SOCCER

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

7-9 p.m. USS. $2.

5:30 p.m.

2–6p.m. UCC.

6-8p.m., ANAF Ucluelet

FEEL LIKE DANCING FOOT CARE

Tofino Legion. Phone for appt. 250927-1859.

CARGO THRIFT STORE

Accepting used housewares, clothes, books movies & music

OPEN 11-5

Monday-Saturday 243 Main, Ukee (across from CIBC)

Supporting local charities Discounts for donations

Page 16 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

West Coast reviews marine spatial plans West Coast Aquatic hosts public events in Ucluelet and Tofino to discuss all sectors Nora o’malley

nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca

West Coast Aquatic (WCA) has developed marine spatial plans of Clayoquot and Barkley Sound.

The plans were exhibited at public reviews last week in both Tofino and Ucluelet and are also available online.

The documents form an interactive marine atlas for the West Coast and convey our marine spaces in a holistic way.

“It’s not just information from one sector, it’s all of the sectors,” said Tawney Lem, executive director of the WCA Management Association. “This is about bringing everyone that has an interest in marine spaces together.”

It took WCA four years of data collecting to the develop the maps, which include detailed information from federal, provincial and regional government, coastal First Nations communities, commercial sport and aboriginal fishing, environmental processing, aquaculture labour, marine transportation, and forestry.

“People are really excited about it. They are excited to see local values being documented so that they can be considered in decision making. They’re excited about it as an educational tool,” said Lem. Drafts of the maps can be viewed and printed from the WCA website, and Lem explained that they are in the process of building an online tool that will enable anyone with a browser to play interactively with the map layers.

“We will embed video that tells the story of a particular site, photos, research documents... It will become an animated thing,” she said adding that they can put an audio file in to help First Nations youth learn how to pronounce place names.

The marine maps indicate where all the fin fish and shell fish farms reside in relation to other values, such as community development and ecologically sensitive areas.

Co-chair of WCA Tony Bennett said the plans are an ex-

Nora o’malley Photo

West Coast Aquatic’s executive director Tawney Lem eyes a map of Grice Bay at the UCC public review last week. cellent decision support tool for First Nations to deploy on the aquaculture industry.

“This gives a tool for the Ahousaht First Nation, who has the ability to determine what happens in their traditional territories, to utilize the information and to work with the fish farms to put better placement in or to deny further sites,” he said.

“There are areas for example where it says activities such as fin fish or shell fish is not recommended in the most part it is because there isn’t the bio capability to support it. Either

it’s too exposed, it’s too shallow, whatever that is. That is a piece of the plan and it’s not just fin fish and shell fish, it’s for any tenured use,” said Lem. During the data collecting stage, WCA hired one representative from each of the First Nations communities whose sole purpose was to work with the Elders and those is the communities that dealt with the marine environment.

“Now, we are bringing the maps back into the communities to say, did we get it right? Is there additional knowledge that you would like to see added into the maps,” Lem asked.

7457158

COMFORT

FOOD

FOR EVERY MOOD NOW SERVING TWO RIVERS MEATS! 1576 Imperial Lane, UCLUELET

(250) 726-2103

250-725-2121

TOFINO

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11 to 11

FREE DELIVERY After 5pm on orders over $21