Lake Cowichan Gazette, February 17, 2016

Dig In: Just add clay: sandy soil lacks nutrients for plants PAGE 8

Chamber Week: Visitor Centre traffic up 12 per cent in 2015 PAGE 6-7

Gazette

Quick landing: Engine trouble forced aircraft down on highway PAGE 9

The Lake Cowichan

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016

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VOL. 20, NO. 7 | $1 + GST

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www.lakecowichangazette.com

IT’S MARDI GRAS IN LAKE COWICHAN James Affleck, left, and his brother Joey are ready to chow down. This is their first time celebrating Mardis Gras and they like it. For the full story and more photos, see page 10.

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2 Wednesday, February 17, 2016 | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | www.lakecowichangazette.com

◆ WILDLIFE

Bear tranquilized, relocated to bush JAMES GOLDIE GAZETTE

A conservation officer was able to tranquilize an orphaned baby bear and relocate it from under a resident’s deck to the bush outside of Lake Cowichan. [PHILECIA ISAACSON PHOTO]

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An orphaned baby bear has been captured by conservation officers and is running free again in the forest approximately 10 kilometres outside of Lake Cowichan.

“It was under someone’s porch in town,” said conservation officer Scott Norris. “We tranquilized it and removed it.”

The bear was supposed to be euthanized but the drugs used to sedate it wore off earlier than anticipated by conversvation officiers.

When they opened the cage to bring it out, the bear bolted and escaped.

Norris said a decision was made

not to fire shots after the bear because of the potential danger to the public that would have caused. “[This] will give it one more shot to survive on its own outside of town and let’s just hope that it does,” he said.

“I guess it was meant to live.”

Norris emphasized the importance of residents keepin g their garbage locked up and secure. He said that when bears become habituated to garbage it is not possible for them to be rehabilitated.

He added that while his team never likes to euthanize bears, if this orphan cub returns to town he and his team will have no choice but to kill it.

New funding ‘good news’ for community $2.5 MILLION, From Page 1

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A total of $73.3 million was distributed between the 57 B.C. communities this year.

Tauseef Waraich, manager of recycling and waste management for the CVRD, said he was pleased by the decision to fund upgrades to the Meade Creek facility, located just outside of Lake Cowichan. This was the CVRD’s first time requesting gas tax funds for Meade Creek.

“We’re all excited about this,” he said. “We weren’t too sure this project would be picked for the funding so to get $2.56 million in funding, I think that was very good news for the community.”

Waraich said the upgrades to the recycling centre will include the installation of a proper scale house and more space on site for vehicles.

“It’s a very tight kind of location at this moment and not much room to manoeuvre,” he said. “If you have a normal scale house…it will take [customers] less time to go from scale to payment to dropoff their materials.”

The Meade Creek Recycling Centre will continue to accept the same

The CVRD has received $2.56 million to upgrade the Meade Creek Recycling Centre and close the site’s ash landfill, which is leftover from the location’s former incinerator.

[JAMES GOLDIE/GAZETTE]

material it currently does — everything from paper to batteries to organic waste — but with more bins and improved marking.

Waraich said he anticipates the centre will be able to recycle more material as a result of the upgrades.

In addition to these changes,

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the money provided to the CVRD will also go towards closing the ash landfill leftover from an incinerator which was previously operated at the location.

“We have two options: to completely remediate it or risk manage it,” said Waraich.

Remediation would involve completely removing all the leftover ash, but according to Waraich it does not always “make economic sense” to do so. In the case of the CVRD’s former Peerless Road incinerator, a covering was placed over the ash landfill to prevent rain and surface water from causing chemicals in the ash to leech into groundwater.

Whether or not that is what will happen with Meade Creek depends on forthcoming chemical analysis of the site.

On Feb. 22, the CVRD will announce a request for proposals from engineering firms seeking to design and develop the project.

“It should be good for local companies and local people,” said Waraich, although he noted there are no plans for the completed facility to employee more staff than the current Meade Creek facility.

The project will start later this year and will be completed in 2018 with an estimated budget of $4.22 million. The CVRD will borrow the remaining $1.66 million not covered by the gas tax fund.

www.lakecowichangazette.com | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 3

From left: Greg Smith, Bob Day and Steve Vatcher from Lake Cowichan pose for photos with volunteer firefighters and local politicians in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, following a donation of firefighting equipment from the Lake Cowichan Volunteer Fire Department in January. [SUBMITTED PHOTO]

Firefighting gear outfits Mexican crew

A city on the west coast of Mexico is thanking Lake Cowichan for a large donation of equipment that will help its team of volunteer firefighters better handle emergencies.

Steve Vatcher, a member of the Lake Cowichan Volunteer Fire Department, thought of the donation after a tragedy he witnessed in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, where his family has vacationed since 2002.

“Last year in 2015 when we were down there, there was a drowning on the beach there and I was one of the responders to it,” he said.

The ambulance and the fire department were called and Steve said he was shocked by what he saw when they arrived.

“They showed up and they really didn’t have any equipment. And that kind of got me motivated more to find out more about them. And to find out more about what they do and what they need.”

Vatcher made a connection with the Zihuatanejo volunteer fire department and discovered its

members had very little equipment and their second-hand fire truck — donated by a community in California — did not have a functioning pump. When Vatcher returned to Lake Cowichan, he spoke with fire chief Doug Knott and learned they already had boxes of gear set to be donated to Firefighters Without Borders, a non-profit organization that seeks to assist emergency service agencies in developing countries.

The gear in Lake Cowichan had expired.

“It’s not that it’s not good. It’s just that with WorkSafe regulations and such, after so long we can’t use it because of those regulations.

So we’ve always donated it,” said Vatcher.

He contacted Firefighters Without Borders and got their permission to bring that equipment to Zihuatanejo, which is not currently a community registered with the international non-profit organization.

“They had a fire the month before we arrived and it was a bucket brigade, essentially,” he said. “There’s a

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Last month, Vatcher and his wife, Rona, paid out of their own pockets to transport 10 sets of turnout gear (helmets, coats, pants and boots) to Zihuatanejo during their annual Mexican vacation. Their friends (Greg and Jen Smith, Bob Day and Laurie Johnson) assisted them in the equipment’s delivery and witnessed the firefighters’ reactions firsthand.

“It was one of those moments.

I teared up in the background there because wow, these

people they had like three sets of grungy gear and now they have 13,” said Day, who was not travelling in an official capacity as a councillor from the Town of Lake Cowichan.

“I hope I have the privilege of going back and doing that again one day. I hope that in the future if there’s anything we have that can’t be used because it’s expired, I hope we can get it to them for use.”

Day noted that while the fire department is a department of the town, there have been

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no official discussions about further involvement with the group in Zihuatanejo.

According to Vatcher, the recipients of the gear were extremely grateful.

“Hopefully it’ll help them going to the next call,” he said.

“If anyone’s going to Zihuatanejo and sees the fire department running around with Lake Cowichan Fire Department gear — because they have some of our coveralls that say that on the back — it’s not us, it’s just our gear.”

Please contact the Pet Emporium 250.749.4454 to schedule an appointment.

ANGLICAN St. Christopher and St. Aidan

BAPTIST Cowichan Lake Baptist Church

February Services Feb 14 at 1:00 p.m.

Feb 21 & 28 at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Service 10:30 a.m.

Sunday School 10:30 a.m.

70 Cowichan Ave. W Lake Cowichan 250-749-3466

8259 Beaver Road Lake Cowichan 250-749-3211

Pastor Dale Winters

PENTECOSTAL ROMAN CATHOLIC Lake Cowichan St. Louis Christian Fellowship de Montfort 10 King George St. South Lake Cowichan 250-749-6492

60 Fern Road Lake Cowichan 250-749-4103

Sunday Service 10:30 a.m.

Mass Sunday 9:00 a.m.

Pastor Terry Hale

Fr. John Vines

7451770

4 Wednesday, February 17, 2016 | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | www.lakecowichangazette.com

TO COMMENT

We welcome your original comments on editorials, columns, on topics in the Lake Cowichan Gazette or any subjects important to you. Only letters that include name, address and day and evening phone numbers and that are veried by the Lake Cowichan Gazette can be considered for publication.

Got a news tip? Email us at: editor@lakecowichangazette.com

OPINION

Letters to the editor and articles submitted to the Lake Cowichan Gazette may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms and will be edited for clarity, grammar and length. Publication is not guaranteed.

Email your thoughts to editor@lakecowichangazette.com or fax it to us at 250-749-4385

Drinking water rightfully first priority for Town

While it is disappointing that the Town of Lake Cowichan did not get the money it asked for to upgrade its waste water treatment plant, there is no doubt that the town’s drinking water needs to be the rst priority.

If the town gets the grant it has applied for to upgrade its water treatment plant and put an end to the numerous boil water advisories that have been plaguing residents it will be a big, and important win.

The spectre of Walkerton, Ont., where people died in 2000 from contaminated drinking water — something most of us consider to be a problem reserved for countries in the Third World — continues to haunt Canadian communities across the country.

Like Lake Cowichan, many have found deciencies in their water systems, or those systems are simply getting old and are in need of repair.

Having to boil water for drinking and other household uses is certainly inconvenient, and one cannot help but be concerned about people missing a notice when it comes out, or running out of bottled and boiled water at some point and just deciding a little bit can’t hurt, thereby risking their health.

Water can seem so innocuous, but anybody who’s ever gotten an illness from imbibing a bit of H2O in a tropical destination knows just what it can carry.

The cleanliness, or lack thereof, of the water to be used for sporting events at the upcoming summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August is a huge concern for athletes who are going to be competing at the venues that locals have long use as sewer and garbage dump.

It already promises to be one of the biggest stories of the Games, and not in a good way. There have even been some rumbling about some athletes pulling out, for fear of getting ill.

Nothing is more vital to a community than its drinking water. Safe drinking water in a foundation stone that needs constant monitoring and attention.

The waste water treatment plant is, of course, a vital link in the clean water chain as well, so we hope that in future rounds of infrastructure funding it can get some love as well.

But let’s be able to drink from the tap rst without fear.

Letters to the editor: YOUR SAY

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Letters to the editor are welcome, but writers are requested to keep their submissions to 350 words or less. Keep it local — letters raised in response to issues raised in our pages get top priority. Letters will be edited for clarity, grammar, length — attack the issue, not the individual. All letters must contain the name, address and signature of the writer, and a phone number where they may be reached during business hours. Thank you letters will not normally be considered for publication. editor@lakecowichangazette.com

Town leaders need lesson in priorities It is very unfortunate that the governing powers in Lake Cowichan found the funds to spend millions upgrading the sports arena that is probably used by 35 per cent (?) of the residents, but cannot find the money to upgrade the water system used by 100 per cent of us.

Priorities do not look to be high on the list of our elected public servants.

Maybe future mayors and council we elect will have the sense to take care of the infrastructure (water sewers roads sidewalks) rather than spending

money on planning new town offices, town parks and sport fields.

I guess they could say to future residents, yes come to the lake to live, play at a nice sport centre and enjoy the beautiful landscaping, but we may make you really sick with our foul water.

Bert Lievre Lake Cowichan

Election numbers reality check Mr. Sawchuk needs a reality check on his assertion that

Rachel Notley and the NDP did not win the Alberta election. His “facts and reality” are anything but. His vaunted Tories had the following results in the general elections for Canada for the Harper era: • 2006 — minority government with 36.3 per cent of the vote.

• 2008 — minority government with 37.65 per cent of the vote.

• 2011 — majority government with 39.62 per cent of the vote Rachel Notley and the NDP won in Alberta with 40.6 per cent of the vote, a better result than any by Harper’s Tories.

Barry Patchett Chemainus

Caycuse • Honeymoon Bay • Lake Cowichan • Mesachie Lake • Youbou

Box 10, Lake Cowichan, British Columbia V0R 2G0 Street Address: 170E-Cowichan Lake Road Phone: 250-749-4383 FAX: 250-749-4385 Classifieds: 1-855-310-3535 (toll free) EDITORIAL: editor@lakecowichangazette.com ADVERTISING: production@lakecowichangazette.com PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY BLACK PRESS LTD. Canadian Publication Mail Sales Product Agreement #1090194 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

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www.lakecowichangazette.com | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 5

Street Beat

With Malcolm Chalmers

The Gazette asked: Would you like to see Lake Cowichan Council meetings broadcast on the Internet?

Graham McKechnie

Don Palmer

Joy Becvar

Marc Latreille

Bear Hamilton

“Not for me, I’m not particularly interested in that.

I am not sure it would be too riveting.”

“No, I have lived here 76 years and I’m not too impressed [with councils].

I don’t think it would make any difference, it wouldn’t change them.”

“Yes I would actually, there would be more transparency then.”

“Yes, I would like to see it on the Internet, otherwise I wouldn’t go to them. I live on the Internet.”

“I would like that very much. I think a lot of people would are interested but it’s that getting up and going there...I think a lot of people would watch it.”

Letters to the editor

Housing czar defends drug ghettos

Political leaders asleep at the switch?

H

Hello Christy Clark, hello Justin Trudeau, hello you out there: Is everyone asleep at the switch? “Asleep at the switch” is a railway term.

I live on Vancouver Island and was raised in Chemainus. In our youth, the entire community had access to and used the lakes, rivers and mountains directly behind town, the area known as Copper Canyon.

Being from Chemainus had its advantages: we swam in the gin clear waters of the Chemainus River, we fished at Rheinhart Lake and, yes, we hunted the hills for grouse and deer.

In the last few months, a noticeable change has taken place in Copper Canyon and, as I am told, in similar areas across the Island. The public is being denied access to them. The security guard who monitored access to Copper Canyon is no longer there to wave us through.

Instead, there is a locked gate.

When my brother John and I tried to go hunting in the canyon in September, we discovered we were locked out. We were pissed, especially because, as John explained, the company had no right to lock us out. Timber companies don’t own the lakes, rivers and Crown lands beyond those gates, and they were granted huge tax concessions through reduced stumpage fees etc. to build the logging roads they now claim as theirs.

John and others contested a similar lockout in Sooke after a forestry company closed access to a public beach that the community had used for generations. The stink raised in Sooke hit the Times-Colonist, and guess what happened? The signs were removed and access was reinstated.

What’s going on across the Island might be more forgivable if the companies that once cre-

ated so many jobs that entire towns were built for the workers and their families were still investing in these towns, but they aren’t. A feller buncher rips through the woods and gobbles up logs. The logs are trucked to the ocean, loaded onto freighters and shipped elsewhere to be processed.

Want another example of what’s going on beneath our noses? The first passenger railway on Vancouver Island was called the ENR, which stands for Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway. It was granted a huge tract of land, currently approximately two million acres, to run a passenger service from Victoria to Coutenay in perpetuity.

I know this because I was the conductor on the line.

When CPR sold to Rail America, the unions fought the transfer based on the argument that the CPR should be bound to the original agreement because a spart of that deal it had acquired CPR Forest, which comprised the lands granted to run the rail line. The unions lost. Rail America took over and subsequently went bankrupt, passenger service is no longer and the lands granted to run the railway are still held by corporations, now Timberwest and Island Timberlands.

Hello? There is no more passenger service, but these lands are still held privately and the salt on the wound is that public access to our local forest land is being denied. How about restricting the access to public roads to these companies, or at least a fee for running their trucks on public property?

Christy Clark, Justin Trudeau, you out there: “asleep at the switch” means the switchman fell asleep and failed to send the train or boxcar down the right track.

Doug Irving Saltair

ousing Minister Rich Coleman was flabbergasted at the angry response to his solution to the Victoria courthouse “tent city,” the latest tarp-covered camp to spring up in southern B.C. Coleman announced two temporary shelters with three meals a day and medical supports. One is a former nursing home close to the courthouse squat, conveniently located near panhandling and drug dealing spots as well as taxpayer-funded services. The other offers indoor or outdoor tent space at a former youth custody centre, with a dedicated downtown shuttle bus so these “victims” of “homelessness” don’t have to endure B.C.’s most generous transit bus system.

We weren’t consulted, said the indignant spokespeople for those bringing new-looking tents to take advantage of food and other handouts, offered in B.C.’s warmest climate by the province’s most naïve local government.

But this was just a show for the media by our resident professional protesters, some of whom aren’t really “homeless.”

After the reaction, which Coleman described as “bizarre,” the combined 88 housing opportunities are being snapped up.

Those on welfare will have to fork over their $375 monthly housing allowance, as the province continues to convert more housing and offer more rent subsidies.

It’s no wonder that southern B.C. is the destination of

Transfer money to French immersion It occurs to me that perhaps the people in China, Taiwan and Japan “who will be involved in trade and commerce with Pacific Rim

By Tom Fletcher

BC Views

choice. Coleman said it’s always been a seasonal thing, but this winter has been the highest in a decade, largely due to an exodus of economic migrants from the downturn in Alberta, naturally heading for B.C.’s most desirable real estate.

I asked him about two other homeless hotspots. In Abbotsford, campers have ignored a city deadline to take down structures in a three-year-old camp, after temporary shelter and costly provincial supports were brought on. A courtroom and street confrontation looms with self-styled “drug war survivors” and their Vancouver legal help.

In Maple Ridge, a tent camp sprang up next to the local Salvation Army shelter, with people cycling through the shelter’s 15-day limit, camping and being fed until they could go back in.

Mayor Nicole Read, who has worked in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, said Maple Ridge took on its own outreach, shelter and housing effort because the province’s $1 million-a-year Salvation Army operation isn’t working.

Coleman is not amused. He said he’s had no complaints about Abbotsford’s Salvation Army shelter, and Read is the

nations” should be taught English in their schools. I so wish I spoke French and learning to do so is still on my bucket list.

I admire the parents who are happy to camp out to ensure spots for their children in the scarce programs available in

only one griping. And no mayor is going to tell him how to spend provincial dollars. Maple Ridge now has two shelters with accompanying street drugs, prostitution and crime.

I asked Coleman about the 10-year-study led by Simon Fraser University researcher Julian Somers on the housing, outreach and services in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. This is the heart of B.C.’s “housing first” strategy, where the province has bought and renovated 30 “single room occupancy” buildings, built another dozen and poured in every possible support, including the buyout of high-living executives at the Portland Hotel Society.

The study found that the hardest cases are worse off than ever, based on court, hospital and other service records, while the influx to the notorious Vancouver drug ghetto have tripled in 10 years.

“I haven’t had a chance to go over that report yet, but I disagree with the assumption I’ve heard already, because I walk the Downtown Eastside,” Coleman said. “I don’t know if they do every few weeks to a month, but I’ve been doing it for about nine or 10 years and I can tell you it’s a whole lot better down there.”

The question is whether problems are being solved, or just better hidden from view.

Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca Twitter: @tomfletcherbc

this province. Perhaps we could transfer the taxpayers’ money currently given to so-called private schools to opening more French immersion classes.

Victoria Sundberg Stewart Duncan

66 |Wednesday, LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 February 17, 2016 | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | www.lakecowichangazette.com

www.lakecowichangazette.com

Chamber Week Cowichan Lake Chamber proud to represent area JAMES GOLDIE GAZETTE

Recipients are thrilled with their Chamber awards. [GAZETTE FILE]

The Chamber of Commerce plays a big part in Lake Days. [GAZETTE FILE]

Volunteers help to decorate the Visitor Centre for Christmas. [GAZETTE FILE]

Proud supporter of local business

In Business for Business

A Member of the Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce

Lake Cowichan Home Centre LTD. Everything for the Do-It-Yourselfer 130 Neva Rd.

250-749-6618 lcirly@shaw.ca

B.C. Chamber of Commerce Week has arrived, an opportunity for chambers and boards of trade from across the province to showcase the work they do and possibly attract new members.

Between the Cowichan Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Lake Cowichan Downtown Renewal Committee, and the Lake Economic and Activity Development group, citizens could be forgiven for feeling a little confused about just what exactly each of these groups does, particularly the chamber, which has existed longest of all.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” said chamber president Jim Humphrey. “It’s always looking for ways to promote and enhance local businesses and support the businesses that are members.”

Humphrey first moved to the Cowichan Lake area in 1999 when he developed and opened Beaver Lake Resort. He joined the chamber and served as a director the following year. By 2001, he was president — a position he held for seven years. Last year he was asked to return, and he obliged.

He acknowledged that not everyone knows how a chamber is structured and just what it can do for local businesses.

“It’s there for the businesses of Area F and I and also the Town of Lake Cowichan. It is there through a fee-for-service contract with the Town of Lake Cowichan, Area F and I direc-

A proud member and supporter of the Chamber of Commerce

Proud to be the voice of business in the Cowichan Lake area.

Lake Cowichan

250-749-6614

tors. [It] operates the visitors centre, which is for the benefit of all the people who come to see what we have to offer in the Cowichan Lake area,” he said.

The chamber uses its membership fees to promote and advertise the area.

“So with more of the businesses being members, that gives us more money to be able to market the area so people can come and shop and play and stay in the Lake Cowichan area.”

According to Humphrey, the Cowichan Lake Chamber of Commerce has the lowest membership fee on Vancouver Island.

He also noted that participating business owners can decide for themselves just how involved they would like to be in the chamber’s activities.

“If you want to get involved, the sky’s the limit. If you don’t,

We support our local Lake Cowichan Chamber of Commerce

s ’ d o R

AUTO GLASS & UPHOLSTERY

& Auto Service 728 Neva

Jim Humphrey, Chamber president

250-749-3244

125C South Shore Rd.

250-748-4466 #2 - 2986 Boys Road, Duncan

you just pay the membership and come out to the dinner meetings or whatever you want — that’s fine too,” he said.

The chamber is a distinct entity from the downtown renewal committee and LEAD, although all three groups have similar goals.

The Lake Cowichan Downtown Renewal Committee is a group of business owners and citizens focused on revitalizing the downtown core of Lake Cowichan.

LEAD, which formed in October 2015, hopes to capitalize on Sunfest’s move to the area.

And while LEAD’s membership is not exclusively business owners, Humphrey acknowledges the chamber does support it in various ways such as providing LEAD with office space for meetings or funding their printed materials.

“There’s huge overlap,” he said.

The chamber is always seeking new members, which Humphrey said, in addition to the added financial capacity, strengthens its ability to advocate on behalf of the region’s businesses.

“It’s that numbers game, right?” he said.

“We are the voice of business to the three levels of government that we have within our community…And when you can say you have 200 or 250 or 300 members, people — especially politicians — take a little more notice of that than if you say you have 20 or 25 members.”

See AREA, Page 7

A proud member of the Chamber

Mayor and Council Town of Lake Cowichan

From the staff and management your local newspapers

February 17, 2016 | LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE www.lakecowichangazette.com Wednesday, | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 |7 7

www.lakecowichangazette.com

Cowichan Lake style Traffic at Visitor Info Centre up 12 per cent last year JAMES GOLDIE GAZETTE

In recent years, traffic at the Visitor Information Centre in Lake Cowichan has been increasing annually and 2015 was no exception.

By Dec. 22, the centre, operated by the Cowichan Lake Chamber of Commerce, had received 42,538 visitors — a 12 per cent increase over the previous year — and this despite some unfavourable outdoor conditions in the summer due to wildfires.

Katherine Worsley, the centre’s coordinator, said she had been concerned the fog-like smoke that caused irritation to people’s eyes and throats might negatively impact tourism in the area.

“I was amazed at how many people still came through during those times,” she said. “People were still coming to our area to find out where they could go where there was no smoke.”

The Pacific Marine Circle Route, which takes travellers from Victoria to Lake Cowichan

to Port Renfrew and back to Victoria, brings a lot of traffic through the visitor centre and when the wildfire at Lizard Lake restricted access to Port Renfrew from Lake Cowichan, it was up to Worsley and her staff to help road weary and frustrated travellers make alternate plans.

Over the course of the year the visitor centre is staffed by one full-time employee, three local part-time student employees and many volunteers. The students not only answer questions about what to see and do in the area, they also make postcards and brochures, and help with training for visitors (particularly seniors) using the centre’s computers.

Worsley said festivals like Heritage Days and Lake Days continue to bring large numbers of people into the visitor centre.

She noted the crowning of the Lady of the Lake and the Lake Days parade are particularly popular events.

“I love to see all the annual

The totem pole going up in Ts’uubaa-asatx Square in the heart of Lake Cowichan was a highlight of the year for the Chamber. [GAZETTE FILE] events that [bring people] this way, all the time,” said Worsley.

“This year we also had a bigger influx of people for the Mesachie ball tournament, which is held the Father’s Day long weekend.”

However, 2015 featured one unique event for Lake Cowichan which Worsley described as

especially important: the raising of the totem pole in Ts’uubaaasatx, the town square by the library.

“I would say that that was our biggest highlight. It was amazing, it was enjoyable, people from all age groups came out to witness that, and then there was

the big dinner at the community centre,” she said.

Looking ahead at 2016, Worsley said she is excited about all the annual events as well as some new additions to the Lake area such as BC Hockey’s under-18 female invitational selection camp and Sunfest Country Music Festival.

“I’m expecting to see more businesses open up. And when you look at Sunfest being a part of that, it would be nice to see a bicycle shop for bicycle rentals.

It would be nice to see a doggy daycare because at the Sunfest, there’s no dogs allowed on the grounds.”

Worsley and her staff collect information from all visitors who come through the centre such as where they’re from, what kind of information they’re seeking and how long they plan to stay in the community.

For newcomers or people contemplating a trip, her message is simple: “Welcome to Cowichan Lake. We’re waiting!”

Area has ‘grown up a lot’ in recent years, but still more to do COWICHAN, From Page 6 In 2015 the chamber had 87 members.

Humphrey said he has noticed a number of changes to the region since he first arrived, and says the area has “grown up a lot” over the past decade.

“We haven’t [had] real great success at attracting huge employers to our area but we

have taken great strides for those who have come,” he said, using Tim Hortons as an example. “That’s really helped the employment of our youth as well as other people who needed jobs in the Cowichan Lake area, but mostly it’s youth that do those jobs. So in that sense we do see some changes.”

Volunteer burnout has been an increasing problem in

Proud to Lake be part of Cowichan Cowichan Lodge A Suite Lake Place to Stay District A Proud Chamber Member of and Commerce

Supporter of the Chamber

201 Cowichan Lake Rd.

250-749-6717

recent years, and it’s something Humphrey said he sees across the province, not just around Cowichan Lake.

“When you keep turning to and relying on volunteers, there comes a time when most folks are saying ‘Enough already. I can’t give anymore’,” he said.

“If you have everything [dependent] on volunteers then it’s a business set to fail.”

LAKE COWICHAN

Dr. Ken Welch (Dentist)

A Proud Member & Supporter of the Chamber 83 Cowichan Lake Rd.

250-749-6335

A proud member & supporter of the Chamber

74 Renfrew St., Lake Cowichan

250-749-6111

Some of the ways the chamber has combated this problem is by hiring students to work at the chamber’s visitor centre and by hiring Katherine Worsely as coordinator.

“She has a big job in membership. She does a lot with programs and events. We can’t solely rely on volunteers all the time so we have taken avenues to correct that.”

Lake Cowichan Area

B&Bs Cabins and Lodges

Thank You! Thank You! Cowichan Lake District Chamber and Visitor Centre for a warm welcome to our visitors lakecowichanbb.com

Humphrey, who not only owns a tourism-related business but is also chair of the Tourism Association of British Columbia, said the area’s beauty and economic potential still remains largely untapped.

“We have not yet capitalized on tourism,” he said. “I look around the Cowichan Lake area and with a 34 kilometre long lake, tourism could be huge.”

Proud Supporter of the Chamber and local business Lake Cowichan

Furniture & Appliances LTD. 169 South Shore Rd

250-749-4363 lcfurniture@shaw.ca

66 |Wednesday, LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 February 17, 2016 | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | www.lakecowichangazette.com

www.lakecowichangazette.com

Chamber Week Cowichan Lake Chamber proud to represent area JAMES GOLDIE GAZETTE

Recipients are thrilled with their Chamber awards. [GAZETTE FILE]

The Chamber of Commerce plays a big part in Lake Days. [GAZETTE FILE]

Volunteers help to decorate the Visitor Centre for Christmas. [GAZETTE FILE]

Proud supporter of local business

In Business for Business

A Member of the Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce

Lake Cowichan Home Centre LTD. Everything for the Do-It-Yourselfer 130 Neva Rd.

250-749-6618 lcirly@shaw.ca

B.C. Chamber of Commerce Week has arrived, an opportunity for chambers and boards of trade from across the province to showcase the work they do and possibly attract new members.

Between the Cowichan Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Lake Cowichan Downtown Renewal Committee, and the Lake Economic and Activity Development group, citizens could be forgiven for feeling a little confused about just what exactly each of these groups does, particularly the chamber, which has existed longest of all.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” said chamber president Jim Humphrey. “It’s always looking for ways to promote and enhance local businesses and support the businesses that are members.”

Humphrey first moved to the Cowichan Lake area in 1999 when he developed and opened Beaver Lake Resort. He joined the chamber and served as a director the following year. By 2001, he was president — a position he held for seven years. Last year he was asked to return, and he obliged.

He acknowledged that not everyone knows how a chamber is structured and just what it can do for local businesses.

“It’s there for the businesses of Area F and I and also the Town of Lake Cowichan. It is there through a fee-for-service contract with the Town of Lake Cowichan, Area F and I direc-

A proud member and supporter of the Chamber of Commerce

Proud to be the voice of business in the Cowichan Lake area.

Lake Cowichan

250-749-6614

tors. [It] operates the visitors centre, which is for the benefit of all the people who come to see what we have to offer in the Cowichan Lake area,” he said.

The chamber uses its membership fees to promote and advertise the area.

“So with more of the businesses being members, that gives us more money to be able to market the area so people can come and shop and play and stay in the Lake Cowichan area.”

According to Humphrey, the Cowichan Lake Chamber of Commerce has the lowest membership fee on Vancouver Island.

He also noted that participating business owners can decide for themselves just how involved they would like to be in the chamber’s activities.

“If you want to get involved, the sky’s the limit. If you don’t,

We support our local Lake Cowichan Chamber of Commerce

s ’ d o R

AUTO GLASS & UPHOLSTERY

& Auto Service 728 Neva

Jim Humphrey, Chamber president

250-749-3244

125C South Shore Rd.

250-748-4466 #2 - 2986 Boys Road, Duncan

you just pay the membership and come out to the dinner meetings or whatever you want — that’s fine too,” he said.

The chamber is a distinct entity from the downtown renewal committee and LEAD, although all three groups have similar goals.

The Lake Cowichan Downtown Renewal Committee is a group of business owners and citizens focused on revitalizing the downtown core of Lake Cowichan.

LEAD, which formed in October 2015, hopes to capitalize on Sunfest’s move to the area.

And while LEAD’s membership is not exclusively business owners, Humphrey acknowledges the chamber does support it in various ways such as providing LEAD with office space for meetings or funding their printed materials.

“There’s huge overlap,” he said.

The chamber is always seeking new members, which Humphrey said, in addition to the added financial capacity, strengthens its ability to advocate on behalf of the region’s businesses.

“It’s that numbers game, right?” he said.

“We are the voice of business to the three levels of government that we have within our community…And when you can say you have 200 or 250 or 300 members, people — especially politicians — take a little more notice of that than if you say you have 20 or 25 members.”

See AREA, Page 7

A proud member of the Chamber

Mayor and Council Town of Lake Cowichan

From the staff and management your local newspapers

February 17, 2016 | LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE www.lakecowichangazette.com Wednesday, | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 |7 7

www.lakecowichangazette.com

Cowichan Lake style Traffic at Visitor Info Centre up 12 per cent last year JAMES GOLDIE GAZETTE

In recent years, traffic at the Visitor Information Centre in Lake Cowichan has been increasing annually and 2015 was no exception.

By Dec. 22, the centre, operated by the Cowichan Lake Chamber of Commerce, had received 42,538 visitors — a 12 per cent increase over the previous year — and this despite some unfavourable outdoor conditions in the summer due to wildfires.

Katherine Worsley, the centre’s coordinator, said she had been concerned the fog-like smoke that caused irritation to people’s eyes and throats might negatively impact tourism in the area.

“I was amazed at how many people still came through during those times,” she said. “People were still coming to our area to find out where they could go where there was no smoke.”

The Pacific Marine Circle Route, which takes travellers from Victoria to Lake Cowichan

to Port Renfrew and back to Victoria, brings a lot of traffic through the visitor centre and when the wildfire at Lizard Lake restricted access to Port Renfrew from Lake Cowichan, it was up to Worsley and her staff to help road weary and frustrated travellers make alternate plans.

Over the course of the year the visitor centre is staffed by one full-time employee, three local part-time student employees and many volunteers. The students not only answer questions about what to see and do in the area, they also make postcards and brochures, and help with training for visitors (particularly seniors) using the centre’s computers.

Worsley said festivals like Heritage Days and Lake Days continue to bring large numbers of people into the visitor centre.

She noted the crowning of the Lady of the Lake and the Lake Days parade are particularly popular events.

“I love to see all the annual

The totem pole going up in Ts’uubaa-asatx Square in the heart of Lake Cowichan was a highlight of the year for the Chamber. [GAZETTE FILE] events that [bring people] this way, all the time,” said Worsley.

“This year we also had a bigger influx of people for the Mesachie ball tournament, which is held the Father’s Day long weekend.”

However, 2015 featured one unique event for Lake Cowichan which Worsley described as

especially important: the raising of the totem pole in Ts’uubaaasatx, the town square by the library.

“I would say that that was our biggest highlight. It was amazing, it was enjoyable, people from all age groups came out to witness that, and then there was

the big dinner at the community centre,” she said.

Looking ahead at 2016, Worsley said she is excited about all the annual events as well as some new additions to the Lake area such as BC Hockey’s under-18 female invitational selection camp and Sunfest Country Music Festival.

“I’m expecting to see more businesses open up. And when you look at Sunfest being a part of that, it would be nice to see a bicycle shop for bicycle rentals.

It would be nice to see a doggy daycare because at the Sunfest, there’s no dogs allowed on the grounds.”

Worsley and her staff collect information from all visitors who come through the centre such as where they’re from, what kind of information they’re seeking and how long they plan to stay in the community.

For newcomers or people contemplating a trip, her message is simple: “Welcome to Cowichan Lake. We’re waiting!”

Area has ‘grown up a lot’ in recent years, but still more to do COWICHAN, From Page 6 In 2015 the chamber had 87 members.

Humphrey said he has noticed a number of changes to the region since he first arrived, and says the area has “grown up a lot” over the past decade.

“We haven’t [had] real great success at attracting huge employers to our area but we

have taken great strides for those who have come,” he said, using Tim Hortons as an example. “That’s really helped the employment of our youth as well as other people who needed jobs in the Cowichan Lake area, but mostly it’s youth that do those jobs. So in that sense we do see some changes.”

Volunteer burnout has been an increasing problem in

Proud to Lake be part of Cowichan Cowichan Lodge A Suite Lake Place to Stay District A Proud Chamber Member of and Commerce

Supporter of the Chamber

201 Cowichan Lake Rd.

250-749-6717

recent years, and it’s something Humphrey said he sees across the province, not just around Cowichan Lake.

“When you keep turning to and relying on volunteers, there comes a time when most folks are saying ‘Enough already. I can’t give anymore’,” he said.

“If you have everything [dependent] on volunteers then it’s a business set to fail.”

LAKE COWICHAN

Dr. Ken Welch (Dentist)

A Proud Member & Supporter of the Chamber 83 Cowichan Lake Rd.

250-749-6335

A proud member & supporter of the Chamber

74 Renfrew St., Lake Cowichan

250-749-6111

Some of the ways the chamber has combated this problem is by hiring students to work at the chamber’s visitor centre and by hiring Katherine Worsely as coordinator.

“She has a big job in membership. She does a lot with programs and events. We can’t solely rely on volunteers all the time so we have taken avenues to correct that.”

Lake Cowichan Area

B&Bs Cabins and Lodges

Thank You! Thank You! Cowichan Lake District Chamber and Visitor Centre for a warm welcome to our visitors lakecowichanbb.com

Humphrey, who not only owns a tourism-related business but is also chair of the Tourism Association of British Columbia, said the area’s beauty and economic potential still remains largely untapped.

“We have not yet capitalized on tourism,” he said. “I look around the Cowichan Lake area and with a 34 kilometre long lake, tourism could be huge.”

Proud Supporter of the Chamber and local business Lake Cowichan

Furniture & Appliances LTD. 169 South Shore Rd

250-749-4363 lcfurniture@shaw.ca

8 Wednesday, February 17, 2016 | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | www.lakecowichangazette.com

COWICHAN LAKE

With Malcolm Chalmers

Smile FILE

Name: Jodi McKenzie O c c u p at i o n : chiropractic assistant Hometown: Lake Cowichan I’ve always wanted to do: ski dive Most people don’t know that: I am an open book Favourite food: Greek Best thing about living here: the people Favourite activity: I like to travel Proudest moment: completing the West Coast trail How do you define down time: curling up with a good book I wish I was better at: nothing, I am good at everything If I was stuck on a desert island I would definitely need: a pool boy Favourite time of day is: morning because it is quiet My guiltiest pleasure is: chocolate and wine My go-to wardrobe staple: scarves In my car I listen to: classic rock In my fridge you’ll find: a science experiment

Jodi McKenzie

NEWS TIP? 250.749.4383 Call or email

editor@lakecowichangazette.com

TOFINO • PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK RESERVE • UCLUELET

Pacific Rim Whale Festival March 12-27, 2016

Any clay will do when you want to amend your sandy soil to bring back nutrients. [MARY LOWTHER PHOTO]

Just add clay: sandy soil lacks nutrients to keep plants growing

W

humus. The same hen I got is true for the soil. my soil Therefore, if we analysis add the minerals back from the lab our soils need I was surprised to along with clay, discover my soil compost and some lacked clay. It sure of our best garden had me fooled. soil, the worms will We need clay in , 2016

By Mary Lowther find the mix and the soil to retain incorporate it into minerals and their end product, compost. If soil although which end is which is mostly sandy, like mine in escapes me. An added bonus is Mesachie, compost and fertilthe compost will retain more izer disappear, as plants use nitrogen with the clay and them up and the winter rains soil added since less nitrogen wash them out. off-gases as ammonia, and Adding clay to the soil and the resulting compost will be the compost heap will allow greater and more stable. fertilizer and organics to If you have a mostly clay soil chemically bond with the clay you might find it hard going particles and become humus every spring when you dig it that can remain stable for up. Dolomite lime, a source of many years. Humus retains calcium that increases pH, has nutrients in the soil, availbeen recommended for years able to plants even after the because it brings with it much unbonded compost is used up.

As the worms in the compost magnesium for no extra cost.

The problem is that magnebin ingest clay and organics sium has been found to tighttheir digestive juices chemen up clay soils, so every year ically bond them before the the clay soil gets tighter and worms excrete the result as

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tighter and plants can’t absorb nutrients from it.

The answer is to stop using dolomite and instead, use a combination of agricultural lime and gypsum: the lime gently supplies the soil with calcium while the gypsum makes calcium immediately available to plants, along with abundant sulfur.

Magnesium levels will gradually subside and the clay soil will loosen and become permeable to nutrients it can bond with, soil biota and plant roots. This process is called flocculation, a word that sounds like something geese do in mating season, but actually makes your soil easier to work and produces better vegetables.

In short, if your soil is mostly sandy you might want to add clay this year. Any clay will do. Just dig it up, dilute it with water maybe for easy spreading, and add it to the soil.

With a helping hand from David Lowther.

www.lakecowichangazette.com | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 9

Engine trouble caused hasty landing JAMES GOLDIE CITIZEN

On Tuesday afternoon, a homebuilt Zenith CH801 airplane made an emergency landing on Highway 18 between Lake Cowichan and Skutz Falls. Pilot Stewart Hicks cited fuel starvation as the issue that forced him to land, the exact cause of which is still unknown. He said the engine cut out just above Lake Cowichan.

“My first thought was getting it down in one piece. And me with it,” he said. “I just came in for a normal landing, with no engine, and on the road. And fortunately there was no truck coming in the other direction.”

He was making a local flight at the time.

“I was heading up the Valley and then back to Duncan,” he said. Hicks knew he was in trouble when, just as he reached the south shore of Cowichan Lake, his engine cut off.

He brought it down onto the highway about four kilometres outside of Lake Cowichan. The RCMP was alerted by a passerby at approximately 1 p.m.

An RCMP officer speaks with pilot Stewart Hicks on the side of Highway 18, where Hicks made an emergency landing on Feb. 9. [JAMES GOLDIE/GAZETTE] “The complainant basically said there’s an airplane taxiing on the highway,” said RCMP Cpl. Rory Goncalves. “By the time we go out there the owner and operator of the plane had been able to push it mostly off of the road.”

The pilot was assisted by members of the public in pulling the plane off to the shoulder.

Goncalves said there were some “close calls” on the highway that afternoon due to motorists trying to stop and take photos.

“I just want to make the public

aware that distracted driving is a big issue these days and if we weren’t occupied dealing with that plane we would be writing a lot of tickets because there were a lot of people driving and taking photos as they drove by, causing some grief for us,” he said. “[It was] a definite concern for safety, especially with the logging trucks going up and down that highway. Traffic slowing down, a logging truck doesn’t have the same stopping power as a car might,” he said.

“Luckily no one was injured.”

Goncalves said he could not comment on whether or not the pilot faces any charges or safety violations. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is responsible for investigating aviation accidents or emergencies. The board did not respond to the Gazette’s requests for information by press time.

In all his time with the RCMP, Goncalves said he has never witnessed something quite like Tuesday’s incident.

“I’ve seen a lot of things, but this is my first time dealing with an airplane landing on a highway. Not something you see every day,” he said.

The pilot echoed this sentiment.

Hicks has been flying since the 1960s and says he’s never experienced something like this.

“Not on a road, no. It’s a first,” he said, adding there was no damage to the plane during the course of the landing.

“Any landing you walk away from is a good landing,” he said.

Area “I” residents discuss Youbou’s public image JAMES GOLDIE GAZETTE

A town hall gathering may not be the most romantic of places to spend Valentine’s Day, but that didn’t stop a dedicated group of about 30 people from attending an Area I community consultation in Youbou on Feb. 14.

Area director Klaus Kuhn hosted the meeting to share his perspective and answer questions on a number of issues including the weir in Lake Cowichan, the future of the Yount school building and what can be done to address beautification issues on the streets of Youbou.

Kuhn said Area I residents are telling him the weir at the south end of Cowichan Lake — owned and operated by Catalyst Paper Corporation — is not an issue they want their district involved in.

“My opinion has been that the weir was built by Catalyst to supply the mill with water. So in essence, the weir is really Catalyst’s problem,” said Kuhn, refer-

Area I director Klaus Kuhn at a Feb. 14 meeting. [JAMES GOLDIE/GAZETTE] ring to potential costs associated with maintaining or upgrading the weir to improve water flow to the Cowichan River if lake levels once again run low at the end of summer. “If it is Catalyst’s responsibility, it really should be Catalyst who pays for it.”

Chris Leischner, president of the

Youbou Community Association, addressed the audience about the idea to turn the former Yount Elementary School into an economic and social hub for the community. “[The school] is sitting there so beautiful. We don’t want to see it dilapidate,” she said.

Kuhn said he likes the idea, but stressed the need for any future development of the school to have some business or economic driver at its core, noting that the heating and lights alone would cost $50,000 annually.

He also reported that the school district is not looking to sell the property, but might consider leasing it at a very low rate.

“The question is simply: do we have enough energy in this town and enough willpower to want it,” he said. “I will not support it unless I get the feeling that we have that.”

Although spring is technically not for another month, spring cleaning on the streets of Youbou generated much discussion at the town hall.

“Knowing that the Sunfest is going to come and people are going to come and look at Youbou and Youbou is not exactly attractive,” said Kuhn, referring to some properties in the community littered with junk and looking unsightly.

He said it might be possible for the CVRD to bring large bins into Youbou for a weekend and offer a free drop-off point for any local waste.

Some audience members raised concerns about the number of unlicensed, unused vehicles that sit on the roadside in Youbou, parked on the shoulder of the road in front of homes.

“Many of the vehicles that look like they’re on private property are actually not,” said Kuhn pointing out that the CVRD has no authority to remove these vehicles or enact bylaws forcing their owners to move them.

Responsibility lies with the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, whose concern is whether or not the vehicles are blocking traffic, not whether they are interfering with a community’s beautification goals.

“It’s a battle,” said Kuhn.

“I don’t know what to do with this, I only know I want to get it done.”

A10 www.lakecowichangazette.com 10 Wednesday, February 17, 2016 | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | www.lakecowichangazette.com

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FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

IN MEMORIAM

IN MEMORIAM

INFORMATION

Gordon John (Cougar)

MUTCH December 9, 1928 - February 20, 2010

Always remembered with love.

Trudy Kungold Ammann DEATHS

DEATHS

Edward (Ted) John Knott

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LEGALS

Born January 19, 1940 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Victoria, BC to Wallace and Beatrice Knott.

Dad left us February 9, 2016 to attend the eternal hockey game.

After a long courageous battle with various health issues, dad is no longer in pain.

After 57 years of marriage, Ted leaves his loving wife Sharon, daughters Shirley (Jeff) Neiser, Diana (Dougie) Elliott, Darlene Knott, grandson Colin Neiser (Stephanie), Kylie Neiser, Jourdan Elliott, brothers Gordie Knott, Doug Knott and their families and family friend Doug Skubovious.

Dad lived his first few years in Victoria moving to the Lake when he was five years old. Dad met mom as a young man, they soon married and raised their 3 daughters in the home they built in the early 1960’s on Rockland Road.

Dad’s lifelong love of hockey was instrumental in our Village building it’s first ever ice arena where dad spent his efforts, along with others, starting The Lakers Senior men’s hockey team.

Dad was also an avid sports fisherman where he caught many a “big one� at the Nitnat Gap. He was an expert at catching the fish but did we mention he would never eat it!

On warm sunny days you would find Ted cruising on his Goldwing bike and later years his Ford Mustang Convertible.

After retirement from a falling career, Mom and dad spent their latter years enjoying friends and sunshine at their second home in Indio, CA where they spent many months throughout the winter.

Family and friends are invited to join in a celebration of dad’s life at the Cowichan Lake Curling Arena, 311 South Shore Road Sunday February 21, 2016 from 1:00 pm til 3pm.

Flowers great fully declined, donations on dad’s behalf can be made to The Heart & Stroke Foundation or the Canadian Diabetes Association.

For those who love, time is not.

Missing you today and always.

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www.lakecowichangazette.com | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | Wednesday, February 17, 2016 11

New tax credit for CF retirees

LAKE BLOOMERS BRIGHTEN VALENTINE’S DAY

JAMES GOLDIE GAZETTE

Susanne Thom, left, and Lynn Abrams of the Lake Bloomers Garden Club sell Valentine’s Day bouquets as a fundraiser. They brought in more than $300 for their group. They received donations of materials for the floral arrangements from Country Grocer, Roses and More, Thrifty Foods, Superstore and Save-On Foods. “Even though we do flowers and vegetables, we thought this would help our club,” said Abrams. “And help out people with a Valentine’s bouquet. Take the pressure off!” [JAMES GOLDIE/GAZETTE]

With tax season having arrived, the Royal Canadian Legion in Lake Cowichan wants to make sure retired members of the Canadian Armed Forces are aware of recent changes to the tax system.

“It’s important to get this info out to retired Canadian Forces personnel,” Wilma Rowbottom, president of the Legion Branch 210, said in a written statement.

“The government has approved a tax exemption for retired CF personnel who are paying for medical and dental services.”

According to Rowbottom, retired personnel should contact their medical and dental providers and explain they are inquiring about a tax credit for the public service health care plan (PSHCP).

“The new regulations allows you to receive a T4 slip which can be used for taxes,” said Rowbottom.

“If you have not filed a claim to date, the return is back-dated to 2006. A nice benefit.”

Rowbottom said PSHCP staff are being swamped with requests for this documentation and that eligible retirees should be prepared to wait for this T4.

Cowichan Lake SERVICE DIRECTORY COVAL PLUMBING After Hour Service | Seniors’ Discounts Renovations | New Construction | Repairs Hot Water Tanks | Drain Cleaning Septic Design & Installation Water Services 20+ years experience

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TO BOOK ADVERTISING SPACE AND EXCELLENT SERVICE CALL

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Lauri.meanley@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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OPEN: Mon.-Sat: 5am to 10pm Sun: 7am - 8pm

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13.00 $ Large Weekly Ads 26.00 Small Weekly Ads

$

Colour additional $15.00 per ad

12 Wednesday, February 17, 2016 | THE LAKE COWICHAN GAZETTE | www.lakecowichangazette.com

You’ll Feel Like Family.

Midweek Specials Wed. thru Sat. February 17 - 20, 2016

Proud to be serving the Cowichan Valley since 1985 GIVEAWAYS! FEBRUARY 19-27, 2016 IN-STORE COOKWARE FACEBOOK COOKING LESSONS

In our Deli…

Grimm’s

Hot Pepperoni

4

97

Reg. 1 0.99

EACH

10 Lb. Box

Campfire

F O R

Fully Cooked Entrées

In our Deli…

3

400 g

97 EACH

Schneider’s

Garlic Sausage Reg. Retail 1.59/100g

Apple Pies 9”

Maple Leaf Prime

Reg. 8.99

Deep Dish

Buy One Get One

FREE

6

In our Deli...

.97

100 g

EACH

Cut From Canada AA Beef

Schneider’s

Boneless Brisket Pot Roasts

3

lb 8.75 Kg

Schneider’s

Old Fashioned Ham

97

97

1

lb 3.24 Kg

EACH

In our Bakery...

2 500

• Sweet & Sour Pork • Beef in red Wine Sauce • turkey in Homestyle Gravy

6

47

97

(Approximate)

375 g

LIMIt 4

Granny Smith Apples

Sunkist Navel Oranges

600 g

Bacon

B.C. Grown Extra Fancy

California Premium Quality Sunkist

Neowp Cr

Grill’ems Chipotle Chicken Sausages 375 g

Reg. 5.99

1

Offers valid at Lake Cowichan and Cobble Hill Country Grocer locations only

WAtCH For our

FLYER THIS FRIDAY in the Citizen Newspaper

1400 Cowichan Bay Rd, Cobble Hill • Open Daily 8 am - 9 pm 83 Cowichan Lk. Rd, Lake Cowichan • Open Daily 7 am - 9 pm All items while stocks last.

97 EACH