Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News, March 23, 2016

Whale fesT conTinues

Tuff ciTy idol champs

9

10

Our calendar tells you where to be and when to be there.

Locals sang their hearts out for competition’s crown.

Westerly News

TOFINO-UCLUELET

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Tuff to nix fossil fuel investment

WesterlyNews.ca

$1.25 (including tax)

Coun. McMaster opposes; says those who fear climate change should leave Tofino Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Some local governments want their green to stay green.

Currently, municipal councils across the province invest in a Municipal Finance Authority Fund (MFA) and roughly 10 per cent of this fund, according to Tofino Coun. Greg Blanchette, is invested in fossil fuel industries.

Blanchette brought a motion to Tofino’s council last week to encourage the MFA to create an investment option for local governments wanting to steer clear of fossil fuels.

He noted Tofino has roughly $8 million invested with the MFA. “Thus it follows that $1 million GREG BLANChEttE or more of the district’s reserves are indirectly invested in the fossil fuel industry, including fracking, pipelines and tar sands production—those very industries whose effects may in coming decades wipe Tofino as we know it off the map,” he said.

He said he was “shocked” to learn Tofino was invested in industries that, he believes, contribute to climate change.

“Tofino is incredibly vulnerable,” he said. “Because of our position as a climate change victim, which we’re feeling already, and we will feel exponentially more in coming years and decades, it is really morally incumbent on us to push forward this motion and to be proactive on the climate change front in everyway that we possibly can.”

See GREEN page 5

ANDREW BAILEY PhOtO

BIG UPS tO ChOW DOWN: Over 500 chowder enthusiasts basked in the warm chowder-filled ambience of Sunday’s Chowder Chow Down, deftly hosted by the Food Bank on the Edge Society. From left, Ucluelet locals Jacob Salmen, Carla Pinelli, Tes Lalonde and Nicole Callow inhaled chowders crafted by the West Coast’s top chefs. See more photos on page 6.

Local fish farm culled 15 sea lions Clayoquot Action calls Cermaq’s December cull a “massacre” Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

A heavy sea lion cull has local angst against salmon farms running high. Over a two-day period in December—Dec. 3 and 16—Cermaq employees shot and killed 15 California sea lions at the company’s Binns Island salmon farm near Tofino.

Local conservation organization Clayoquot Action issued

a statement on March 21 calling the cull a “massacre,” and urging the company to shut down the 17 salmon farms it operates in Clayoqout Sound.

“Killing marine mammals in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve which is renowned for wildlife viewing is wrong. It’s time for Cermaq to remove their salmon farms from Clayoquot Sound,” said Clayoquot Action co-founder Bonny Glambeck.

See SEA LIONS page 11

Page 2 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

HOUSING

Tuff targets illegal rentals District hopes to free up space for local housing Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Tofino is no longer willing to wait for complaints before dealing with illegal vacation rentals.

During March 15’s regular meeting, Tofino’s municipal council directed its staff to put together a long-term plan to deal with short-term rentals and Bed and Breakfast regulations that includes “immediate actions for education and enforcement.”

The motion was brought forward by Mayor Josie Osborne and unanimously approved by council.

Osborne noted nightly tourism accommodations are regulated but these regulations are only enforced on a complaint driven basis and she suggested a more proactive approach was needed before unlicensed nightly rentals kill JOSIE OSBORNE the local housing supply and bring extinction to affordability.

“A thriving tourism industry is a key part of Tofino’s success, yet the community faces significant challenges such as affordability and limited availability of housing for local residents, including the tourism industry labour force,” she wrote in her notice of motion.

“Over the last two or three years, lack of housing has become even more critical as year-round and seasonal residents struggle to find affordable, adequate accommodation. Although many homebased nightly rentals were legalized more than a decade ago by the District, this use has emerged as an area of concern in the search for solutions to tackle affordability.”

She acknowledged rental suites are a vital source of revenue for many Tofino homeowners but suggested more accommodations for tourists means fewer housing options for locals.

“Further, the use of online marketing and booking tools appears to have contributed to a proliferation of unlicensed nightly rental activity,” she wrote.

“The District of Tofino has a variety of authorities to regulate accommodation rentals to ensure a safe, responsible short-term rental industry that minimizes impacts on neighbourhoods, contributes to meeting visitor expectations in a world-class resort municipality, and creates a level-playing field for all business owners and operators.”

Coun. Dorothy Baert suggested Tofino’s housing fund only contains about $7,000 and wondered how staff planned to fund the rental review.

District CAO Bob Macpherson said staff has enough resources to get started but more would be

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“My main intent for this motion was to stop being complaint driven and to begin being proactive.”

- Josie Osborne Coun. Greg Blanchette asked how poised staff was to tackle the issue and noted the word ‘immediate’ in the motion.

MacPherson responded it would take several months to get something going.

“By immediate, I don’t want to pretend that that’s tomorrow or next week,” he said.

“By immediate, I mean within the next few months we’ll start getting some materials together so we’re very clear on what’s permitted and what’s not permitted.”

Coun. Ray Thorogood expressed disdain for Tofino’s current complaint-driven enforcement process.

“That is a mindset that just drives me nuts,” he said. “I’d rather it not be complaint driven; if there’s a problem and a complaint great, if there’s not a complaint and we find it, deal with it.”

Osborne said that’s exactly what her motion would do.

“My main intent for this motion was to stop being complaint driven and to begin being proactive,” she said.

Thorogood said the district should start taking a proactive approach to all of its bylaws.

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needed next year.

“For 2017, as we step up more active enforcement, I think we’re going to need to have a conversation about additional and different resources,” he said.

Coun. Duncan McMaster asked if the long-term strategy would include a review of the district’s current bylaws.

MacPherson responded the relevant bylaws are already under review.

“Those bylaws are actually under review now, we’ve had our lawyers have a look at where the challenges are with the existing bylaws and start developing a table of contents or bulleted list of the things we need to identify and come back to council for further direction,” he said.

McMaster doubted education would need to be one of those bullet points.

“I personally believe that the vast majority of the people not conforming to the bylaws know they’re not,” he said. “How long does this education process go before we start to get proactive?”

Osborne said that would be answered in staff’s report.

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The Westerly News | Page 3

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

March 23 Ucluelet Recycles Remember –

RedUce , ReUse , Recycle !

Tofino has nixed its permit process and banned all fireworks displays outside of five specific days of the year.

WESTERLY FILE PHOTO

SonBird

BYLAW

Fireworks permits extinguished Tofino puts 360-day ban in place to prohibit loud fireworks displays Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Fireworks permits are about to go the way of the dodo in Tofino.

The district has lit the fuse to blow up its permit process and ban fireworks outside of five specific days.

Back in November, Tofino’s council had grown weary of the endless string of noise complaints stemming from unexpected fireworks displays around town.

District staff explained fireworks could not be set off without a permit but it was tough for residents, and bylaw enforcement officers, to know which displays were permitted and which weren’t. After hearing this, council decided to nix permits altogether by restricting fireworks to specific days of the year and they waited on a report from staff to determine which days JOHN GILMORE those would be.

That report came in last week as Tofino’s Fire Chief John Gilmore presented a draft bylaw that listed Canada Day, America’s Independence Day, Halloween, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day— July 1, July 4, Oct. 31, December 31 and Jan. 1—as the nights to light the sky.

Anyone caught setting off fireworks outside of those five days would face a $200 fine.

“It is expected that by focusing firework displays to these days that it will improve the ability of both Bylaw Enforcement Officers and the RCMP to enforce the control of fireworks displays outside of the permitted days,” Gilmore wrote.

He added that permits would not be required on the five permitted days.

“This provision simplifies the bylaw and will reduce staff time,” he wrote.

Coun. Duncan McMaster asked why July 4 was included and Gilmore responded that many Americans visit Tofino to celebrate their country’s Independence Day. “Then I want Guy Fawkes day,” McMaster said sparking laughter from his fellow councillors.

“I’m serious…this is British Columbia, if you’re going to have July 4, you’ve got to have Guy Fawkes Day.” Coun. Ray Thorogood suggested letting the Americans have their fun.

“I hear what Coun. McMaster is saying, but we get a lot more Americans up here for that period of time. Let them celebrate,” he said.

Coun. Dorothy Baert said she was fine with the five days.

“If somebody wants Guy Fawkes Day, or something, I suppose they can always come to council and petition for a change to the bylaw,” she said.

Coun. Greg Blanchette suggested banning all private fireworks displays.

“It’s like open season on those five days; anybody can do any-

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Tides & WeaTher ThuRsday 24 TIde

thing at all…Why don’t we just ban fireworks by anyone at all except for the district, which can put on big fireworks displays like the stuff we have out over the harbour,” he asked.

“All of these little homemade settings off of stuff, ban them entirely. I don’t see that they add a whole lot to anybody’s celebration of any of these days.”

Osborne said that wasn’t council’s intent when it started the process in November.

“When we had our council discussion before, we understood that there are families who like to do this and that it’s a fun activity and I didn’t ever get the sense from council, in that first go round, that we wanted to completely eliminate it altogether,” she said.

“We were looking for an easier way to enforce it and to prevent this proliferation of loud noise…I think to go so far as to say that only the district of Tofino can do it might be perceived as a bit of a fun-killer.”

Baert agreed.

“I understand the concerns of residents but I also, as a traveler, have really enjoyed that kind of sense of celebration that happens at particular periods of time,” she said.

Blanchette asked if exceptions could be made for celebrations outside of the five permitted days.

“We might want to put an escape hatch in here that somebody could get a special permit from council for a one-time very significant event,” he said.

“If the Rolling Stones came to town and wanted to do a pyrotechnics stage display, I would like to see us be able to say yes to that, or some huge Treaty settlement in the area that we wanted to celebrate.”

District CAO Bob MacPherson said bylaw amendments could allow for these sorts of exceptions if the district knew far enough ahead of a specific event.

Blanchette also asked about movies being filmed in town.

“If a movie needed some kind of fireworks-type special effects, [would] that fall under this and require an exemption,” he asked.

MacPherson suggested movie crews would need to request the same sort of amendment that the Rolling Stones would.

“I hadn’t considered movie pyrotechnics,” he said. “The only way they would be able to do something like that would be to seek an amendment to the bylaw.”

Osborne suggested moving ahead with the five-day strategy and revisiting it if problems occur.

“We could probably think of any number of exemptions to add,” she said.

Council unanimously agreed.

Under the soon-to-be-extinct permit process, a fireworks permit required a $50 deposit that was returned if no cleanup was required by the district; meaning nixing the process won’t nix any revenue.

After the meeting, MacPherson told the Westerly anyone with a current fireworks permit would have that permit honoured.

“We’d try to find a way to honour permissions that we’d already given,” he said. “I’m not aware of any that have been issued in the last little while that are going to get caught up in that though.”

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Page 4 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Westerly Opinion

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Celebrate silent times? C’mon!

Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

A not-so-silent majority of silence seekers have killed local celebrations.

We can still party, as long as it’s not too late, and we can still go to the beach, as long as we don’t bring beer, but last year’s letter writers are this year’s victors as fireworks died in Tofino last week.

They will be resuscitated on certain holidays; Canada Day’s night will still light the harbour, but in terms of celebrating personal or mutual accomplishments, they’re dead.

I hear the letter writers as loudly as they hear the fireworks they’re so furious about.

I have never lived with anyone as long as I’ve lived with my beloved pitbull Sandy.

She is fantastic and wonderful and a gift and I didn’t rescue her she rescued me, and all of that, but when it comes to keeping calm she comes up well short.

If she hears fireworks, she immediately focuses on putting her paws in every square inch of the house at once because we are under attack and she has to protect us.

If my son Jr. hears fireworks, he concludes that sleeping during such an exciting time is intolerable. Once the noise stops, it’s obviously his important duty to tell everyone in the house about what he heard and about all the wonderful things that noise might have come from. Dinosaurs are his go-to hypothesis. It’s a lecture I can’t sleep through and, like his dad, he can sometimes take forever to wrap it up.

My 6-month-old daughters Crimson

and Clover are just becoming aware so everything they see is new, terrifying, exciting, and worth shouting about. When their spectacular eyes shut, it sparks a wonderful fantasy starring the mythical creature known as ‘an hour to get chores done’ and there’s nothing quite so frustrating as hearing fireworks start to explode and watching those gorgeous eyes jolt awake.

You and I are exhausted. We work weird hours. We work late, often all night. Tickets to paradise aren’t given to slackers. We live in a world peace rarely visits and, whenever it does, it’s not insignificant.

We can be forgiven for getting so defensive whenever our peace is threatened but can we be forgiven for refusing to trade even a moment of it for someone else’s celebration?

We’ve earned the right to fill our lives with responsibilities. We have not earned the right to tell our neighbours’ kid who just graduated, got married, published their first novel, or achieved some other oncein-a-lifetime feat, to keep it down or get out of town.

Life is full of truly amazing and inspiring moments that should be celebrated with as much gusto as one can muster. How dare we even attempt to extinguish a worthy celebration’s spark?

If I ever get married—relax mom, this is hypothetical—I’d want fireworks to be involved. Ditto for my kids’ graduations. If the Blue Jays were to win the World Series, how could we not light up the night?

Yet here we are, living in a world where we can’t.

There were absolutely unnecessary fireworks being set off by inconsiderate beach-goers celebrating whatever day of the week it was and council was right to put an end to the sleepless hours these unwarranted fireworks caused. The most perplexing part of all this though is that the one thing that could have linked our parties was seemingly never considered.

Fireworks permits were free. Where was council’s alternative revenue refrain on this one? If a fireworks permit cost $300, the only fireworks we’d hear are the ones truly warranted and the district’s piggy bank would start filling up with all kinds of leveraging funds and council grant money.

The district’s staff claimed permits made enforcement impossible because bylaw officers couldn’t know if the fireworks being heard were permitted or not.

Couldn’t that be solved by a simple calendar outlining permitted fireworks displays?

Heck, put that calendar online so everyone can know when fireworks are coming.

We’ve talked about this before but let’s make it the chorus: council can’t be blamed for this. They are particularly receptive to letters and letters complaining about fireworks filled their mailbox last summer. It’s tough to gauge if these letters were worthy of the power they wielded because anyone who hates fireworks had a reason to write in, whereas writing an impromptu letter to your local government about how much you love fireworks would be adorable but also strange.

Those letters are no longer impromptu.

They are now needed. Any interest?

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

Do you plan to go whale watching this summer?

Last week’s Question

Do you feel your town needs more safety signage?

17% YES

83% NO

The Westerly News | Page 5

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

LocaL voice

USS Band gives thanks david mcpherson

Local Voice

This year’s Black Rock and Roll fundraiser for the USS Band Program was a great success!

Young and old enjoyed the music by USS student band Open to Interpretation as well as Left at the Junction and The Barkley Sounds.

There was tons of yummy food and even some prizes courtesy Tofino Brewing Company (thanks!).

This event would not be possible without the generous support of the community.

First and foremost, thanks to Black Rock Resort for providing the location and service staff for the event.

The ballroom looked absolutely fantastic! Thanks also to the bands, and our sound guy Mike Shepherd for donating their time and equipment.

Thanks also to Abbondanza, Cedar Grill, Blackberry Cove, Far West Foods, The Gray Whale Deli, Howlers, Solidarity Snacks, The Blue Room, Thay Tea, Ukee Dogs, The Barkley Cafe and the Ucluelet Coop for donations of food.

Thanks to Nic from Natural Kontact Photography for the great pictures.

Finally, thank you to all the parents who manned the door, picked up food, and helped keep the event running smoothly.

David McPherson is the USS Band teacher.

Mother’s Day plant sale The clock has ‘sprung’ forward. The weather is crazy. It must be spring here on the West Coast!

Once again we have a request for all of you gardeners out there.

The Historical Society’s highly anticipated Mother’s Day Plant Sale is fast approaching, and we really need your contributions.

Bulbs, seeds, cuttings, and plants large or small, we want them all, so please keep us in mind as you putter in your gardens.

If you have plants to share, but no pots to put them in, please make a request via our email account: pacificrimhistory@gmail.com and we’ll be

happy to get some pots to you.

The Plant Sale will take place at the UAC Hall on Saturday, May 7th, with the doors opening at 11 a.m., so be sure to join the lineup for the treasures within!

Plants can be dropped off at the UAC Hall the morning of the 7th between 9-10:30 a.m., or between 5-6 p.m. on Friday the 6th.

As always, the success of this important fundraiser stems from, and is rooted in, the offerings we receive from local gardeners. We value your green thumbs, and appreciate your support!

Shirley Martin is a member of the Ucluelet and Area Historical Society.

Green investments sought by Tuff continued from page 1

Blanchette said the idea was not to force the MFA to remove fossil fuel industries from its portfolio, but to create a separate investment option.

“It would be a much tougher struggle to divest the existing fund, whereas creating a parallel fund that councils or districts can choose to invest in is a much more streamlined way of doing it and really doesn’t pit us against our neighbours,” Blanchette said.

“If you’re really worried about sea level rising and climate change you shouldn’t be living in Tofino.”

- Duncan McMaster Coun. Al Anderson suggested other communities might respond negatively to an alternative fund popping up.

“What if a community that was dependent on oil or fossil fuel extraction for their livelihood wanted MFA to create a fund to only invest in fossil fuels as a counter measure to this,” he asked. “Sometimes, I think things are best left alone.”

Blanchette suggested such a fund would be environmentally, and economically, irresponsible.

“Several high profile organizations have pointed out that investments in fossil fuels are getting more and more and more risky,” he said.

McMaster argued fossil fuel investments are actually a good call right now because he believes the market will rebound and he spoke against micromanaging the MFA. “In my own investments, if I’m paying an investment house to look after my money then as long as they’re giving me a good return and are protecting my investment, I don’t went to interfere with the job they’re doing,” he said.

He said he wouldn’t want to have to explain to taxpayers that the district’s revenues were down

due to lower investment returns.

“I’d just be happy to leave it as it is and, I think, if you’re really worried about sea level rising and climate change you shouldn’t be living in Tofino,” he said. “Climate changing was happening before the Industrial Revolution, it’s going to happen, it might happen a bit sooner but it’s going to happen.”

Coun. Ray Thorogood joined McMaster’s opposition.

“I’m quite satisfied to leave things as they are.

The market generally sways direction itself,” he said.

Blanchette said council had a responsibility to act and expressed disappointment in those opposed to his motion.

“The science is indisputable that the fossil fuel industry, that the carbon industry, is causing great shifts in atmosphere, great shifts in the ocean and those shifts are, I would say indisputably, going to cause great impacts, huge impacts, on Tofino,” he said.

“It’s quite shocking to me that the councillors who are supposed to be responsible for this town are willing to let even a dime of Tofino’s money be invested in the industry that is really indisputably pushing forward this enormous worldwide change.”

Mayor Josie Osborne agreed.

“I for one am not content to leave things as they are,” she said.

Coun. Dorothy Baert was also in support.

“Currently I invest in a green fund and I’m satisfied with that. It works well enough for me. I don’t get quite the return on my dollars but it works,” she said.

“I think it just behooves us to say that we want to know that we have an alternative where we put our money.”

Blanchette’s motion passed with McMaster and Thorogood the only votes in opposition.

V OT E !!

COME OUT AND PARTICIPATE IN THE 2016 BUDGETING PROCESS BY VOTING FOR YOUR FAVOURITE COMMUNITY ARTS AND CULTURE PROGRAM Advance Voting – March 29th - April 1st, 9am - 4pm at the Municipal Hall Proposal Expo – April 2nd, 10am - 2pm in the District of Tofino Council Chambers Organization Aeriosa Dance Society Carving on the Edge Festival Society Clayoquot Oyster Festival Society Dan Law – supported by Columba Church Friends of Clayoquot Sound Pacific Rim Arts Society Tofino Arts Council Society Tofino Arts Council Society Tofino Botanical Gardens Foundation Tofino Clayoquot Hertiage Society Tofino Public Market Society Westcoast Winter Music Society

Program Birds Land 2016 Carving on the Edge Festival 20th Anniversary The Rowan Tree Project Earth Keepers: Youth Arts Engagement The Pacific Rim Summer Festival Outdoor Concert 2016 Tofino Boardwalk The Dreamer Examines His Pillow Sculpture Symposium Development of Museum Exhibits – Phase 3 2016 Tofino Market Entertainment West Coast Winter Music Series

You can view summaries of programs on the District’s website under latest news prior to Advance Voting. You can learn about the programs from the organizations at the Proposal Expo prior to voting.

DISTRICT OF TOFINO PO Box 9, 121 3rd Street, Tofino, BC V0R 2Z0 | 250.725.3229 | www.tofino.ca

7515820

shirley martin

Local Voice

Page 6 | The Westerly News

PHOTO FEATURE

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Chowder Chow Down ANDREW BAILEY PHOTOs

The Food Bank on the Edge hit a homerun in its first crack at hosting the West Coast’s popular Chowder Chow Down event on Sunday. Over 500 tickets were sold to the event, which saw locals and visitors enjoying the best chowders on the Coast. Local chefs were all smiles as they kept the UCC full of happy eaters and happy stomachs. Big ups to all the volunteers who made this event the best it could be.

For more photos of this event and others, visit: www.facebook.com/WesterlyNews.

Chef Ian Riddick of Tofino’s Long Beach Lodge was thrilled to earn an emphatic thumbs up from Ucluelet local Hailey Morel.

Stoked Tofitians Ariel Weiser Novak and Dani Carli had a blast.

Mallory Maftei of Victoria wasn’t too young to take in the fun.

Australians, from left, Rachael Eastman, Janece Peters, Errol Eastman and Amelia Dunn, were thrilled to chow down.

Tofino’s Kirsten Soder helped son Clifford enjoy the chowder.

Ucluelet’s Margaret Morrison shared a smile with Ukee Mayor Dianne St. Jacques.

The Westerly News | Page 7

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Westerly Life

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

250-726-7029

nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca

NORA O’MALLEY PhOtO

Wildlife watchers spotted a grey whale at the north end of the Broken Group Islands on March 16. Happy whale watchers have filled the Coast for the ongoing Pac. Rim Whale Festival.

TOURISM

Tourists migrate to whale-watching Coast Americans Gail and Larry Miesner made the journey north to Vancouver Island from their home in Sebring, Florida, to escape the crowds brought on by their county’s annual motor race month.

While they considered staying around Victoria or venturing to Whistler for a couple days, the allure of seeing grey whales was enough to spark their enthusiasm to do the extra five-hour drive cross Island.

“It was a long drive, but it was worth it. And that was even before the whale tour. We haven’t met one person who wasn’t just really gracious, very nice people. That’s a treat,” said Mr. Miesner who saw his first whale by happenstance on a halibut fishing tour in Alaska.

The couple opted to book with Beachcombers Ocean Tours, a smaller tour operator captained by Ucluelet’s Cam MacPherson.

MacPherson, who has been a whale watching and wildlife guide since 1999, took the Americans up the Ucluelet inlet to marvel at an eagle’s nest and a colony of sunbathing sea

lions before zipping out towards the Broken Group Islands.

Prior to leaving the dock, MacPherson had checked-in with other local wildlife guides via the radio to find out where the whales were situated.

“We all help each other because the more eyes on the water the better. We know as the seasons repeat themselves where they are going to be this time of year,” he said.

En route to see the giant mammals, MacPherson enlightened his guests about the areas’ rich maritime heritage.

“It’s nice to tell them about the Japanese fishing industry, a bit about the First Nations, pioneer history, and a little bit about the geology,” MacPherson said.

As luck would have it, Mr. and Mrs. Miesner were able to watch a humpback whale and several grey whales while onboard MacPherson’s 28-foot Lynwood Bertram boat.

Mrs. Miesner remarked in jest that it felt like they were on a whale hunt, but MacPherson said Beachcombers, along with the other established whale watching companies in Tofino-Ucluelet, operate under a strict code of conduct.

“Just like your family and children, we want the animals

to rest and play and do all their normal activities without being herded along the beach by a boat. We try not to stress them out,” he said.

“We like to get all the boats on one side so the whales don’t feel like they are being surrounded. We must stay 100-metres away from the whales. If they are travelling we cannot get in front and cut them off. That’s wrong. We must not approach them directly from behind, like we are following them. We’ve got to stay on the sidelines and watch them from a distance.”

MacPherson said on some days, if the operators feel the whales are stressed out, they back away.

After their Canadian whale watching adventure, the Miesner’s went off to feast on local seafood.

“The food is great in this area. You’re fortunate to live here. This is beautiful. And again the people are wonderful.

That’s probably the coolest thing,” said Mrs. Miesner.

And if Trump becomes President elect?

“We’re gonna move out here and move in with y’all,” they said.

73019925

Nora o’malley

nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca

Page 8 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Easter is time for reflection on the Coast REV. WILL FERREY

Local Voice

JOHN ENNS PHOtO

Rev. Will Ferrey led Tofino’s annual Blessing of the Boats as part of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival celebrations.

on Easter Sunday. The power of death is unable to contain him, and he is restored again to life. This is the good news that we celebrate on Easter Sunday, this is the good news that we celebrate throughout the year: Christ, who was dead, is alive again, and in his resurrection we also will have eternal life.

And we know equally that the story of Tofino, the story of the West Coast, doesn’t end with the Leviathan. This town

will carry on, as it always has. We, as a community, will again find the good news in the summer season, and in the quietness of winter.

We will carry on, not forgetting, but knowing our story doesn’t end in tragedy.

Reverend Will Ferrey is the Pastor of St. Columba Church in Tofino and Long Beach Pastoral in Ucluelet.

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On March 14, I was privileged to lead the annual blessing of the boats, a long-standing tradition in Tofino, and part of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival.

This is a service that I’ve been happy to lead since I arrived in Tofino, often partnering in this with my Catholic colleague, Father Roger.

It’s always a moving ceremony, with reminders in the prayers and words of blessing that the ocean can be a difficult and unpredictable place to work. This year, with the tragedy of last October present in all our minds, it was more moving than ever.

When the Leviathan sank, it was a terrible reminder to all of us who work and play on the ocean of that same ocean’s danger and unpredictability. There are thousands of stories all through history of experienced mariners being caught unawares by weather and waves.

On the cold and rainy March 14 event, as I shivered on First Street dock with a leaflet and a spray gun full of holy water, I was acutely aware of the fragility of the boats that passed by, and the value of the lives of those who crew them.

In the Christian tradition, we are in the midst of Holy Week, the week that leads up to Easter. As Christians, we believe that it is difficult or impossible to fully celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday unless we spiritually walk with him the difficult road of his arrest, trial, torture and death. It is never an easy week. Even as spring explodes around us in a riot of new green and new growth, we sit together and talk about death, the death of a good man, the death of God made flesh.

It’s not an easy week, and it has not been an easy winter in Tofino. In Holy Week, we are reminded that all of our lives end in death, and we are reminded that the evil that is often present in the world is impossible to ignore, and difficult to overcome. Sometimes the Empire wins. Sometimes boats sink. There is death in the world, and danger, and it is often unexpected.

But the story doesn’t end there. The story of Christianity doesn’t end with the death of Jesus on the cross, and the story of Tofino doesn’t end in October 2015. Jesus is executed by the Roman Empire on Good Friday, but is resurrected

The Westerly News | Page 9

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Pacific Rim

Whale Festival

Guest Speaker w/ Kristin Kanes, Threats to Orcas

Wednesday March 23, 2016: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Long Beach Lodge , Tofino

The iconic orcas in the waters around Vancouver Island are facing threats to their habitat, health and survival, with one population nearing extinction. How did we get here, and what needs to change? In this talk, Kristen Kanes will discuss the history of our relationship with orcas, how our activities impact them, and what we can do to improve their lives.

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T H U R S D AY Guest Speaker: Karla Robison, Tsunamis and Earthquakes Thursday March 24, 2016: 10:00 am - 11:00 am Ucluelet Community Centre, Ucluelet

W E D N E S D AY

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Maritime Kid’s Day - Tofino Wednesday March 23, 2016: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm The Tin Wis Resort - Best Western / Tofino, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve Join us for an all-out afternoon of fun, art, science, and music. Activities for all ages!

Featuring Norman Foote, a celebrated performer from Vancouver who has created a special niche in the music world and amassed a crossgenerational following. His musicality is like no other, mixing clever hooks, witty wordplay and comedy all to great effect.

There are also games, arts & crafts, touch tank with sea stars, face painting and so much to do, we have to host this event in each town! Parks Canada, The Rainforest Education Society, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ocean Networks and the Four Frames photo booth are some of the participants. This year we are extremely pleased to welcome back Strawberry Isle Research – Build a Whale!

Since 2012, Karla Robison, Emergency services, District of Ucluelet, has been a contributory figure for the Japan Tsunami Debris file by establishment of Ucluelet’s Marine Debris Program and as a local government subcommittee representative for the Provincial-Federal Japan Tsunami Debris Coordinating Committee Planning and Scientific Monitoring teams. Ucluelet’s program has gained respect and recognition from neighbouring communities and jurisdictions, all levels of governments, international scientists and organizations, local to international media companies, and the people of Japan. The District of Ucluelet was awarded $81,538 in 2014 for shoreline cleanup efforts in the Ucluelet, Barkley Sound and Broken Group Island areas.

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Maritime Kids Day - Ucluelet Thursday March 24, 2016: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Ucluelet Community Centre, Ucluelet

Join us for an all-out afternoon of fun, art, science, and music. Activities for all ages!

Featuring Norman Foote, a celebrated performer from Vancouver who has created a special niche in the music world and amassed a cross-

generational following. His musicality is like no other, mixing clever hooks, witty wordplay and comedy all to great effect.

There are also games, arts & crafts, touch tank with sea stars, face painting and so much to do, we have to host this event in each town! Parks Canada, The Rainforest Education Society, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ocean Networks and the Four Frames photo booth are some of the participants. This year we are extremely pleased to welcome back Strawberry Isle Research – Build a Whale!

–––––––

F R I D AY Guest Speakers: Margaret Horsfield & Ian Kennedy, Tofino and Clayoquot Sound, A History Friday March 25, 2016: 10:30 am - 11:30 pm Remote Passages Marine Excursions, Tofino

A lively and fast-paced presentation about the history of Tofino and Clayoquot Sound, based on the book. This is the only comprehensive history of the area, filled with many entertaining stories.

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Guest Speaker: Silva Johanssen, The Story of the Pass of Melfort Friday March 25, 2016: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Ucluelet Community Centre, Ucluelet

Amphitrite lighthouse, which celebrated its 100th birthday last year, was built because of this wreck. Hear local interpreter and naturalist Silva Johansson tells this intriguing but tragic story. Presented courtesy of the Wild Pacific Trail Society.

and photographer, Jeff George when he was offered a position at Lennard Island Lightstation near Tofino. She has now, as a relief lightkeeper herself, worked on a dozen different lightstations on the BC coast.

She has resumed her former life as an author and she’s been happily writing books, making slow good food and gardening in all four seasons in salt spray, high winds and fog since 2008. Caroline will present an entertaining thirty minute slide show and talk, suitable for all ages, with lots of wildlife, lighthouse and whale photos by Jeff George, and sign copies of her bestselling book, Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper.

–––––––

Thin Blue Line - with photographers Paul Nicklen and Christina Mittermeier Saturday March 26, 2016: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Shore, Tofino Admission: $15.00

A talk by world-renowned photographers Paul Nicklen (National Geographic) and Christina Mittermeier. Ocean Outfitters is proud to present an unforgettable evening of spectacular photography, enlightening stories and a hopeful perspective on the worlds oceans. SeaLegacy is an organization dedicated to protecting the oceans of the world. Paul and Christina, two of the directors and founders of SeaLegacy have always used their passion for photography and storytelling to share the wonders of the natural world. They are sharing their passion and talent to shine a light under the Thin Blue Line where the mysteries of our oceans hide.

–––––––

S A T U R D AY Guest- Caroline Woodward, Light Years Memoirs of a Modern Lightkeeper Saturday March 26, 2016: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Remote Passages Marine Excursions, Tofino

Caroline Woodward left a busy and rewarding life in publishing to join her husband, lightkeeper

7514572

Spout it out!

2016 is our 30th Anniversary!

March 12th- 27th, 2016

Page 10 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

1-877-248-4664

NORA O’MALLEY PhOtO

Tuff City Idol runner-up Remi Adeyinka, left, leans on her mom and grand prize winner, Phillis Merasty.

Idol contest rocks Tofino Nora o’malley

nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca

Jack’s Pub was ablaze with live jams and outrageous costumes last week as 10 finalists vied for the title of Tuff City Idol 2016.

Singer number one, Alex, set the tone for the night by smashing an empty bottle of Lucky in a mock bar fight during his performance of Trouble by Pink. Then singer number two, Letitia, came out in a radiant mermaid costume and the contest really set sail.

In the end, it was contender number lucky seven, Phillis Merasty, who would wow the judges with her first performance of Proud Mary by Tina Turner and bring the house down with her second performance of the Caribbean classic Hot-Hot-Hot. Merasty walked away with the $1,000 grand prize and the coveted Tuff City Idol trophy.

“I’ve been a Tina turner impersonator for a while at casinos and stuff back home,” said Merasty who arrived in Tofino only six months ago from Saskatchewan.

“I came out here for a one year break because I’ve been teaching for 25 years. This is what I do with my students. I teach six-year-olds how to dance. Last year we won singing Hot-Hot-Hot. They dressed up like me,” she said.

Merasty’s daughter, 23-year-old Remi Adeyinka, took home second place and a cash prize of $500 for her performance of Is This Love by Bob Marley and Waterfalls by TLC. “I learned the rap in like a week. Normally when I performed it I would do like a freestyle thing, but I thought if I could get Lisa Left Eye Lopes’ rap down

that’d be sick,” said Adeyinka.

Adeyinka might have been the runner up of the contest, but she doubled up on her winnings as her mom promised to contribute half of her grand prize towards her daughters’ upcoming trip to Toronto.

“It was crazy competing with my mother. At home all her glitter stuff was everywhere. She had all her wigs thrown about. But mother knows best,” said Adeyinka. “I didn’t know until last minute what song I was going to do first. She helped me pick the song.”

This was the first – and maybe last – Tuff City Idol performance for Merasty and Adeyinka.

“I’ll probably be moving away soon. I’m thinking I won’t be here next year. But it was exciting. The people were so supportive. I found like four guys here at the bar to carry me when I was singing HotHot-Hot,” Merasty said.

“The Tofino crowd is dope. Since the first day that I ever performed here everybody was feeling it. Like, I get it, it’s a small town and there’s not a lot to do here so like Wednesday night is the night and people are out and ready to support and jam out. I dig y’all. I dig y’all so much,” Adeyinka warmly expressed.

One of Ucluelet’s many vocal talents of the night, Elyse Eyford, claimed third place for a second time, having won the same $250 prize back in 2014. She planned to take her backup dancers out for sushi with some of the winnings.

Music for the fourth annual Tuff City Idol was provided by Coral’s Karaoke and kudos are in order to judge Bruce Neugebauer from Okanagan Spring Brewery for donating the cash prize.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Sea lions were culled by local fish farm

The Westerly News | Page 11

continued from page 1

problematic.

“We hadn’t had a farm in that area for a few years so maybe that was an attractant to them,” he said.

“If we’ve got the right sort of system set up, and if we can anticipate things properly, we can usually minimize any sort of negative interactions with wildlife. This was just an unusual combination of a bunch of different things that came together that unfortunately led to the culling of these animals.”

“Our goal is always to have zero marine mammal deaths, even one is just not acceptable.”

- Grant Warkentin, Cermaq He said Cermaq employees shot the 15 sea lions and the carcasses were taken to a facility for disposal.

“It’s been policy for probably more than a decade to not have any guns on-site and if there were a lethal incident, it’s only carried out by somebody who’s got all the necessary permits and requirements,” he said.

He assured Cermaq would do everything it can to avoid culls in the future.

“Over the past decade, we’ve found ways to prevent interactions, particularly with predators like seals and sea lions…sometimes you just have a certain site in a certain place and a certain set of circumstances that come together,” he said.

“As Tofitians know, the ocean is different everyday, so sometimes you just can’t predict what’s going to happen…Our goal is always to have zero marine mammal deaths, even one is just not acceptable.”

He said predator security at Binns Island has been upped since the incident.

“We’ve improved the fencing around the system and made it stronger,” he said adding nets don’t always work on sea lions.“ They’ll try to actually physically climb onto the system and then jump into the pens and some of the animals are pretty huge and they can really throw their weight around.”

7504108

“While in Norway this winter we learned that the industry there is in a state of crisis due to uncontrollable outbreaks of sea lice and disease, and escapes. The Norwegian model of open-net pen salmon farming is not working in Norway, and should never have been allowed in British Columbia,” Glambeck said.

Cermaq spokesperson Grant Warkentin told the Westerly the cull was necessary because the sea lions were damaging the farm’s infrastructure and putting the company’s salmon and employees at risk.

“We tried everything that we could to get them out of the pens, to scare them out, to lure them out, without having to use any sort of lethal means but they unfortunately didn’t get out and we had to do it this way,” he said.

“They were doing physical damage to the system and with that many large aggressive animals…they’re not really something a human is going to be able to scare away if they don’t want to be scared away.”

Warkentin acknowledged Cermaq’s shooting of the animals has locals upset.

“I totally get it. We’re pretty upset too. This is not something we want to do; this is the absolute last resort and it’s unfortunate that we had to get to this point,” he said.

“All our people live and work on the Coast and they enjoy and love the wildlife too, so for us to have to take lethal action is the last thing that we want to have to do but in certain extreme circumstances that’s unfortunately the way it has to go.”

He said wildlife culls are rare at Cermaq’s fish farms and the company’s public reporting suggests its last cull in Clayoquot Sound was in January 2014 when two harbour seals were killed at its Plover Point farm.

“It hardly ever happens that we even have one or two animals that become a problem, so over two days to have this many animals be such a large problem is pretty unusual,” he said of the Binns Island incident.

He said the Binns Island farm had been fallow for several years before reopening and this likely contributed to the increased sea lion activity but he added that Cermaq does not see the site as

Page 12 | The Westerly News

GAMES & PUZZLES

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

ANDREW BAILEY Photo

toFINo WINS SPoUt BALL: The Tofino Volunteer Fire Department beat Ucluelet’s Volunteer Fire Brigade 4-2 to be crowned the champions of this year’s Pacific Rim Whale Festival Spout Ball Challenge on Sunday. Ucluelet’s defeat came in front of a hometown crowd outside the Ucluelet Community Centre.

TheUcluelet Westerly News News | PageA13 13 Wed, Mar 23, 2016 Western

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

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Page 14 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Tuff’s council gives nod to new computers Tofino’s councillors vote to choose, and keep, their district-issued computers up to $750 Andrew bAiley

andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Tofino’s councillors want to choose their own computers and have those computers comped by their constituents.

Council is set to adopt a new remuneration policy that would allow each councillor to pick the machine they’ll work with each term and be reimbursed for up to $750 to purchase it.

Finalizing a new computer policy has been somewhat of a white whale for council as the issue has been on their desk for about two years.

The policy was first adopted in 2005 in an effort to ensure councillors could access meeting agendas and emails. Under the original policy, the district office chose and purchased new devices for each councillor at the start DOROTHY BAERT of every term.

During an October 2014 meeting, district CAO Bob MacPherson tried to convince council to allow their staff to purchase their computers on an as-needed basis, rather than at the start of every term, and also to let these devices remain the property of the district, rather than the property of each councillor.

He said this would cut costs as computers could be handed down from outgoing to incoming councillors and added that council’s computers contain district-eyes-only information at-risk of being released to the general public by councillors who keep their computers after leaving office.

Council shot down MacPherson’s recommendation because they were unwilling to hand over their devices but, during the discussion, several councillors raised concern over the iPads staff had purchased for them that term.

This distaste for the iPad led council to direct staff to craft a new policy that would allow each councillor to choose their own machine and be reimbursed for their expense, rather

than be supplied one by the district.

MacPherson presented a draft policy last week, which would have reimbursed council for up to $500 for a computer of their choice, but council did not believe this would cover their costs.

He noted the Microsoft Surface computers used by council last term cost about $300 each.

“I think you can get lots of things for up to $500 that would cover council business,” he said.

Coun. Greg Blanchette agreed.

“If a $500 gizmo will do the job, then anything that I want “I think all councillors end up using their comput- over and above that I should pay for myself and I’m more ers for personal work, and maybe personal business, than willing to do that,” he said. as well as council things and whatever they buy Baert said the bump up to $750 would average out to should be partly funded personally, not fully funded roughly $180 per-year over council’s four-year term.

“I don’t think that’s a hugely onerous ask for the work by the district.” that happens,” she said.

- Al Anderson Baert also opposed a prorated system MacPherson had MacPherson stated in his report that the $500 amount suggested where, after a term’s first year, the $750 amount was based on the average cost of computers for council’s would start to shrink.

MacPherson said the prorated system was to prevent last last few terms as well as the current cost of an iPad Air, minute scores. which retails for roughly $450.

“One of the things we would hope to avoid is in the 47th Coun. Dorothy Baert was adamant that the $500 figure month of a 48-month term, we get a receipt and a request was too low.

“I don’t think $500 is sufficient,” she said. “I just bought for a computer from someone who doesn’t plan on running again,” he said. a replacement computer for $1,500.”

Mayor Josie Osborne suggested bumping the amount to She said councillors need up-to-date technology to be $750 and pushing back the prorated system so that it would effective.

“This is for the work we’re doing and it needs to be sup- kick in after two years instead of one.

“We’ve deliberated this a billion times in this term and ported,” she said. “I’d like the amount changed to $750.”

Coun. Al Anderson said $500 could cover the cost of a we’re trying to set policies for future terms,” she said. “We’re machine that could handle agendas and emails and sug- still within the two years of our term, so anybody who goes gested any capabilities beyond that shouldn’t be covered by out and buys a piece of technology today can have their reimbursement up to $750.” taxpayers.

Council approved Osborne’s compromise unanimously.

“Anything over and above that would be luxuries, more Baert asked whether the new policy’s effects would be than is actually required for council work. So, I guess my point is, to what extent are we providing a computer or tab- immediate.

“Some of us have been waiting for this remuneration let, or whatever, to councillors for council work,” he asked.

“I think all councillors end up using their computers for policy and have had no choice but to go out and get new personal work, and maybe personal business, as well as technology,” she said.

Osborne assured her that, as long as she had a receipt, council things and whatever they buy should be partly fundshe could be reimbursed. ed personally, not fully funded by the district.”

AROUND THE ISLAND

Nanaimo looks into mayor’s legal costs TAMArA CUnninGHAM

Nanaimo News Bulletin

Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay billed the municipality just over $3,000 in legal fees last year, a move allowed if authorized by council or covered under the city’s conflict of interest policy.

In this case, it was neither, but the City of Nanaimo paid the bill anyway. McKay spent $3,068 on legal costs in 2015, a Freedom of Information request shows.

According to city staff members, the mayor and councillors can spend money on legal fees in two ways: through a policy that allows politicians to seek legal advice on potential conflict of interest or with the authorization of council.

The mayor, however, does not recall using the conflict of interest fund in 2015 and said council did not authorize the expense.

City staff have no record of council authorization for the expense, and there’s been confirmation the legal expenditure was not for conflict of interest legal fees.

McKay would not say what the legal expense was for, calling it privileged, but said the expense is allowed and referred to the community charter.

“The mayor is the CEO of the organization, has a responsibility to the community and can seek legal advice as required,” he said.

According to Tracy Samra, city manager, the mayor has

unique duties under the charter and in order to carry those out he may need to get legal advice, but he has to get a motion to authorize and he has to share that legal advice.

“I am not aware of a policy or motion that authorized the mayor to incur those expenses,” she said.

Victor Mema, the city’s director of finance, believes staff members followed process and from his perspective the mayor’s expense fits one of the two avenues of authorization.

If the mayor is saying it fits something else, he needs to explain what that something else is “because now I’m interested,” said Mema, who later told the News Bulletin he plans to talk to the mayor and might need to recover some money from him “or he can point me to the community charter.”

aware improvements “may not be aligned with some of our clients’ expectations.”

Sid Alamo of Nanaimo, who has camped at China Creek Marina for the past three years, and fished here for 11 years—relocated from the Lower Mainland to Nanaimo because of its proximity to Port Alberni. He stays at the marina for five months out of the year, and objected to a proposed change that he said would force him to remove his camper during the winter instead of paying to store it at the campsite.

The access road to China Creek makes moving boats and campers a challenge, said Alamo.

Knezevic said some campers misunderstood changes to storage and hydro charges, but thought everything had been ironed out by last week.

“Cecilia (Addy, marina manager) is going to find a solution,” he said.

One compromise PAPA was happy to reach was opening the marina a month early, in April.

The port authority leases the marina from the Province of B.C., and had to ask permission to extend the lease. The marina was typically open May to September, but will now open in April, Knezevic said.

Ron Lafreniere, who brings his boat to China Creek every year from Alberta, said the monthly moorage rates are among the highest on Vancouver Island because the marina is only open five months out of the year, but Knezevic said the seasonal users are paying an adjusted rate.

“The seasonal amount would be twice as much if not more, if use was calculated per month,” he noted.

Port Alberni campers upset over change SUSAn QUinn

Alberni Valley News

The Port Alberni Port Authority wants to make changes at China Creek Marina to attract more users. But a group of seasonal campers—some of whom have been renting space for their fifth wheels and mooring their boats for more than a decade—say the changes are penalizing faithful clients.

After a flurry of e-mails from numerous seasonal campers and businesses that were worried they would be affected if the campers left the marina, port authority president Zoran Knezevic said “I think we’ve settled all the complaints.”

PAPA wants to attract more users to its facilities, make its operation more efficient “and to market the marina to attract more customers,” Knezevic said.

He told one business owner in an e-mail that he was

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

community calendar

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

WED. MARCH 23 PICKLEBALL

Featured Events for the Week MARCH 27 - UClUelet eAsteR egg HUnt

POOL NIGHT

Thousands of colourful eggs filled with chocolate, candy and prizes will be scattered over Ucluelet’s Big Beach for kids of all ages to hunt for on March 27. Special sectioned off area for ages 5 and under. Hot chocolate & cookies available under the Big Beach gazebo. This family event kicks off at 12:30 p.m. and everyone is invited to particpate in the fun; all ages welcome.

7-11 p.m. Tofino Legion

MARCH 27 - tOFInO eAsteR egg HUnt

5-7 pm, WCS, all ages welcome.

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

SOUND OF FREEDOM

The Easter Bunny is hopping into Tofino and will be hiding eggs throughout the Tofino Botanical Gardens. Locals and visitors are encouraged to check out the Tofino community Easter Egg hunt on March 27. Meet at Darwin’s Cafe at 11 a.m. and please bring an eco-friendly basket to collect your eggs. This is a free, family-friendly event. Come one, come all!

7:30-9 p.m., Clayoquot Theatre.

FRI. MARCH 25

Sun. MARCH 27

MOn. MARCH 28

SENIORS SOCIAL AFTERNOONS

YOUTH GAMES NIGHT

CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH

DROP-IN SOCCER

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. MARCH 24 BINGO 7-10 p.m. Tofino Legion.

7-9 pm. Ages 10+, WCS.

KARAOKE 10 p.m., Officials Sports Lounge

7:30p.m., St. Francis.

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE 10:30 a.m. Tofino Legion.

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH

UCLUELET AA

10:30 a.m., UCC.

8p.m., Holy Family.

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

TOFINO ExPRESSIVE WRITING WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN

UNITED/ANGLICAN SERVICE

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

4 p.m. UCC.

DARTS AT THE LEGION

ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH

SAt. MARCH 26 ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

11:00 a.m. Ahousaht.

5:30 p.m.

TOFINO BIBLE FELLOWSHIP 10:30 a.m. Tofino Legion.

OPEN SKATE

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

Sun. MARCH 27

HOLY FAMILY CHURCH 10 a.m. , 1663 Peninsula Rd. Ucluelet

8-10 p.m. Tofino Legion.

tuE. MARCH 29 FOOD BANK ON THE EDGE Distribution day, 1-3 p.m.

YOUTH BADMINTON 6-7 p.m., WCS.

TOFINO EASTER EGG HUNT

DROP-IN SOCCER

HoPPY EASTER!

7-9 p.m. WCS gym. $3.

DROP-IN BADMINTON

5-7 pm, WCS.

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

ST. COLUMBA CHURCH

AA MEETING

4-5:30 p.m. Seaplane Base, $5

YOUTH BASKETBALL

10:30a.m., 1419 Peninsula Rd.

11 a.m., Tofino Botanical Gardens

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

UCLUELET EASTER EGG HUNT

CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH

12:30 p.m., Big Beach Gazebo

TOFINO LEGION YOUTH NIGHT 7-9 p.m., Tofino Legion.

YOUTH NIGHT AT THE ANAF 6-8p.m., ANAF Ucluelet

10:30a.m., 1419 Peninsula Rd.

art lovers love artSplash!

Jacqueline chamberland

Local Voice

Mayor Josie Osborne was pleased to pick the winning raffle tickets at the ArtSplash! draw. Winners are: Lois Moraes – a Mark Hobson print; Dale Vipour – Archipelago Cruises Wild Life Cruise for two; Craig Marsh – One-night-stay at the Whiskey Landing Lodge; Melanie Carefoot Taylor – a Dian McCreary photo; David Bech Langley – a Shannon McWhinney original print; Christy McChalenko – a Starbucks Basket donated by Crystal Cove; Phil Clarke and Doug Ison both won a local history book and map donated by Image West; Sonya Emperingham – a painting by Marla Thirsk; L. Melonney – an Alison Tremain print on wood; Tom and Judy Schmidt – a Pacific Rim Arts Society Season Pass for 2 for all 2016 paid events.

Thank you to all participants, sponsors and vol-

JACQuELInE CHAMBERLAnD PHOtO

Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne pulls out the winning ArtSplash! raffle tickets.

unteers for this year’s ArtSplash! and much gratitude to our wonderful host, Black Rock Ocean Front Resort and to the donors of this year’s prizes.

Over 50 artists participated in a very successful annual Art Show presented by the Pacific Rim Arts Society at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort during the first ten days of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival.

TIA TRAVISS

“Here to help you live the dream…”

RE/MAX Mid-Island Realty Tofino

250-534-9842 cell | 250-725-2038 office tia@realestatetofino.ca | www.realestatetofino.ca

7249084

The Westerly News | Page 15

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Page 16 | The Westerly News

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

ANDREW BAILEY Photo

Food Bank on the Edge executive director Cris Martin handed the Chow Down’s top prize to Bradley DeClercq of Port Alberni’s Starboard Grill who won both the Peoples’ and Judges’ Choice awards.

Chow Down scores big CRIS MARTIN

Local Voice

On behalf of the Food Bank on the Edge Society, I want to say thank you to those who made this year’s Chowder Chow Down a big success.

The participating restaurants: Howler’s, Solidarity, Black Rock, Shelter Restaurant, Jamie’s Rainforest Inn, Long Beach Lodge, Sea Shanty and The Starboard Grill, seriously, eight of the best chowders on the planet. It was a pleasure to host you and thank you for participating.

Thank you to our judges: Mayor Josie Osborne, Jackie Godfrey, Les Dorion, Dan Hayes, Laurie Gehrke, Sandy Rantz, Joanne Sasvari, Alexander McNaughton and Teddie Geach (Ocean Wise representative). They unanimously voted The Starboard Grill this year’s winner. Thank you for your impartial and focused judging.

Our volunteers were a perfect mix from the

7109559

250-725-2121

TOFINO

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11 to 11

FREE DELIVERY After 5pm on orders over $21

7112946

community: Food Bank on the Edge, The Whalefest Committee and the Junior Rangers. Everyone worked very hard and I know they had a great time.

Thank you for your contribution to the success of this event.

Thank you to the District of Ucluelet, DJ Mike Productions, Ucluelet Parks and Recreation and The Westerly. We had lots of technical support and are grateful for your help.

The Chowdown was organized chaos from the get go. We tried some new ideas to mitigate the crowdedness in the hall. We think it worked even though the crowds were still alive and well and hungry. We thank you all for your support and participation in this year’s Chowder Chow Down.

Cris Martin is the executive director of the Food Bank on the Edge Society.