Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News, January 03, 2018

MULTIPLEX SURVEY RESULTS

YEAR IN REVIEW

Information gathered shows dip in support

We look back at what hit the news in 2017

3

10-11

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018

Westerly News

TOFINO-UCLUELET

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Proposed new cell tower draws ire Tofino’s council asks Telus to return with more information on project ANDREW BAILEY andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Tofino isn’t sure the potential good created by a new cell tower would outweigh the potential harm of impacted views and radiofrequency exposure.

Telus wants to spend roughly $400,000 to erect a new 40-metre cell tower on privately owned land at 1440 Pacific Rim Highway, but Tofino’s municipal council declined to endorse that idea during their last regular meeting of 2017. Telus’ Land Use Consultant Brian Gregg gave a presentation to council on Dec. 14, which he hoped would lead to a motion that stated council was satisfied with Telus’ consultation process and that the new cell towers location were acceptable.

Continued on A2

Hobson wins big award Conservation efforts heralded ERIN LINN MCMULLAN Special to the Westerly

The call to action comes in unexpected moments. In November 2011, Mark Hobson’s paintbrush stops mid-air as he listens to CBC radio in his remote floathouse studio in Lemmens Inlet near Tofino, BC. Joe Oliver, Natural Resources Minister for Stephen Harper’s government, is speaking about the approval of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline from Edmonton, Alberta to Kitimat, BC in the home of the Kitimaat and Haisla people.

Kitimat, a place Hobson called home for six years, is amidst the Great Bear Rainforest, where, every chance he got, he tagged along on his dad’s fishing trips to paint.

Continued on A9 See TURN page 0

POLAR BEAR SWIM 2018: Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne joyfully waves in the New Year alongside an energetic crowd of West Coasters at the annual Polar Bear dip at North Chesterman’s Beach on Monday. Surfrider Pacific Rim also hosted a beach clean, Coastal Bliss held a special yoga class, and Jamie’s Rainforest Inn provided hot chocolate, cookies, and a beach fire for the swimmers. See more photos on page 6.

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A2 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

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Telus tower criticized

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Grant-in-aid Application Deadline is January 31st The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District provides Grant-in-aid assistance once a year in order to assist local non-profit organizations that provide a benefit to one or more electoral areas in the Region or the entire Regional District.

The Grant-in-aid policy and application form can be found on our website at www.acrd.bc.ca For more information, please contact the ACRD @ (250)720-2700

We’d like to thank our members for their support in 2017 and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!

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From A1 Instead, he was asked to return to council chambers in the New Year better prepared to address local concerns around location options and radio frequency exposure.

Gregg said the new tower is needed to boost network reliability and data input speeds as the company’s only other tower in town is no longer able to handle the demand put on it, especially during the community’s busy summer months.

“The reason we’re proposing it here is because there’s a real problem and the engineering team has identified it as one Josie Osborne of our worst performing sites,” he said. “If the service was good we would not be proposing this.”

He said the company’s consultation process included notifying roughly 60 nearby property owners, 18 of whom provided feedback with 11 expressing opposition to the project, five supporting it, and two being neutral.

He said the two main reasons given for opposition were the tower’s potential visual impact and potential exposure to high radio frequency levels.

He suggested any concerns around radio frequency exposure should be directed to Health Canada as the tower would operate at 0.62 per cent of the safety limit outlined in Health Canada’s Radiofrequency Exposure Guidelines.

“While it may seem counterintuitive, having a low-powered site closer to where you’re living actually enables your device to operate at a lower power and is arguably safer than trying to connect to a tower that might be 20 or 30 kilometres down the road,” he said.

In terms of visibility, he assured the tower would not need any lights or markers, according to Nav Canada, and that the proposed site was as far away from town as it could possibly be while still being able to resolve Telus’ network capacity issues. Prior to Gregg’s presentation, council heard from several locals who raised concerns about the potential project as well as a petition with roughly 200 signatures that opposed the tower being erected at the proposed site.

Coun. Greg Blanchette asked what the ramifications would be if council did not endorse Telus’ project. Gregg suggested Telus wouldn’t force the $400,000 project onto the community and would, instead, spend that money elsewhere.

“For all intents and purposes, if we don’t win your support, I think it’s very unlikely that you’re going to see that investment in the infrastructure,” he said. “If you were to reject us and tell us to go look at other options, it puts the whole thing into a lot of uncertainty.”

Coun. Al Anderson said he struggled with the idea of endorsing a project that had received so much opposition from community members and Mayor Josie Osborne said more information, and conversations with Telus, would be needed for council to make its decision.

“Welcome to Tofino,” she said to Gregg. “This is obviously a place where people deeply deeply care about certain things and I think that a lot of very interesting and valid questions and concerns have come up.”

Just a reminder, Black Rock is closed from January 2 at noon, reopen Friday, January 19 at noon.

■ ■ ■

~ Float Lounge Entertainment starts up again on Thursday, January 25 at 7pm with Geoff Johnson!

TELUS PHOTO

This photo simulation by Telus shows how a new cell tower would be seen by drivers heading into Tofino.

“Welcome to Tofino.”

– Josie Osborne

Coun. Cathy Thicke expressed concern over Telus only offering one potential site for the tower and Coun. Dorothy Baert questioned whether the company had done their homework.

“Do you really understand why people buy property here?...Our nature defines a lot about how people regard this place and why they choose to live here,” she said. “I don’t feel satisfied that Telus has really been rigorous enough.”

Council agreed to put their concerns in an email to send to Telus and invite the company back for another presentation in the New Year.

After the meeting, Telus spokesperson Liz Sauve told the Westerly News the company would present to council again in early 2018.

“Council has asked us for some more information, and as soon as we receive their questions we’ll provide them with all of the information they need to make a decision,” she said.

“We’d really like to enhance service in this area, and we’re hoping to come to an agreement with council early next year so that we can make this investment in Tofino.”

She said the proposed new tower would boost current coverage and provide new coverage in areas around the southern part of town where there is currently little to none. She added the new tower would also “enable emergency calls to 911 for any cell phone user, regardless of the users cell phone provider.”

“Our existing site in the community is struggling to keep up with the growing demand as more and more people are relying on a wireless signal,” she said. “As a result, customers are experiencing slow download speeds and in some cases, dropped calls.”

BLACK ROCK OCEANFRONT RESORT www.blackrockresort.com Tel: (250) 726-4800

■ ■ ■

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Majority oppose skating rink

Wednesday, January 3, 2018 A3

TOFINO RECYCLES Remember –

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!

ACRD survey results released

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TIDES & WEATHER

ANDREW BAILEY andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

THURSDAY JAN. 4, 2018

The West Coast Multiplex survey results are in and show a drop in support for the proposed project.

Overall, 51 per cent of the survey’s respondents oppose and 38 per cent support a property tax increase to help fund the operating costs of the multiplex’s proposed firstphase, an ice-rink.

In a 2012 referendum, 1,094 West Coasters voted 62 per cent in favour to cover the proposed multiplex’s operational costs up to $450,000 annually.

The Alberni Clayoquot Regional District distributed a survey in November, both online and in hard copies mailed to property owners and a total of 1,472 were completed: 744 online respondents and 728 hard copies.

Ucluelet submitted the most responses with 690, 46.9 per cent, followed by Tofino with 602, 40.9 per cent, and local First Nations communities making up the remaining 12.2 per cent.

Of the West Coast’s eight communities, local First Nations communities showed broad support for the project, while Ucluetians were split 45

TIDE

02:09 07:40 13:42 20:23

The Pacific Rim’s popular Surfrider Foundation chapter ended 2017 on an inspiringly high note as its chair, Michelle Hall, received a Tofino Volunteer service Award for her efforts to clean local shorelines and encourage e nv i ro n mental stewardship in her community.

Michelle Hall “She has been at the lead of a tremendous team of volunteers contributing to beach cleanups and leading systemic changes in the way we conduct ourselves and our businesses to reduce the impact of plastics on the environment,” said Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne.

“She consistently deflects

Feet

3.3 1.3 3.8 0.2

10.8 4.3 12.5 0.7

9°/8° Rain and drizzle

FRIDAY JAN. 5, 2018 TIDE

02:56 08:33 14:33 21:09

Metres

Feet

3.3 1.3 3.6 0.4

10.8 4.3 11.8 1.3

10°/7° Breezy with rain

SATURDAY JAN. 6, 2018 TIDE

This graph released by the ACRD shows how each community feels about raising taxes to support an ice rink. per cent in favour and 43.4 per cent opposed and Tofino showed heavy opposition at 59.8 per cent opposed and 30.7 in favour.

Support for the rink was stronger among renters than owners as 54 per cent of respondents who identified as an owner of a local property opposed the project compared to 34 per cent of renters.

“This may speak to owner/ co-owners seeing a direct relationship between their household costs and taxes, while household costs tend to be aggregated in property rental calculations and may not be seen as having direct impacts on renters,” the ACRD’S sur-

vey report suggests.

The 728 paper copy respondents were given an additional question, not available in the online version, that asked about use and 44 per cent said members of their household would “never” use the facility, compared to 9.5 per cent who said members of their household would frequently use it.

Over half of all respondents, 52.3 per cent, took the option to write in additional comments and only 8 per cent of those that did expressed support for the project.

The most common comment topic, which appeared in 20 per cent of the surveys, was around a swimming pool

being preferred over an ice rink. Opposition to the tax increase was the second most frequent comment, appearing in 13 per cent of the surveys and 9.8 per cent of respondents suggested the estimated $14-$18 million price-tag was too high for an ice rink.

The ramifications of the survey’s results remain unclear, though both Tofino and Ucluelet’s municipal councils are expected to discuss the issue during their first regular meetings of the year: Jan. 9 in Tofino and Jan. 23 in Ucluelet. A full rundown of the results can be found at the ACRD’s website, www.acrd.bc.ca.

Surfrider chair celebrated ANDREW BAILEY andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Metres

praise and thanks to the value of the entire Surfrider volunteer team. That’s appropriate, of course, and we are grateful for all of the Surfrider efforts, but Michelle’s particular ability to rally and inspire others to contribute to a better world is what sets her apart.”

Hall told the Westerly News she was “completely surprised” to be named the recipient during Tofino’s Dec. 9 council meeting as she had been invited to attend under the guise of applying for a special permit for Surfrider’s planned Jan. 1 cleanup as part of the community’s Polar Bear Swim event.

“I had no idea that it was actually to receive an award,” she said.

“After realizing what was happening, I was so honoured and emotional to have been recognized, and really delighted to receive such a recognition from my community.”

Hall said volunteers foster positive experiences for both locals and visitors in Tofino and it is important she is delighted to see her town’s council recognize those efforts.

“It will encourage more volunteering, and continue to build a happier community for everyone,” she said.

“These people are the ‘spirit of Tofino’ and why it feels like a magical place to live…

Whether you have lived here six months or 60 years, we can all be part of creating a community that continues to enhance the quality of life for everyone.”

Hall has been the Surfrider chair since 2015 and has been delighted to see the positive impact her group has had.

“Surfrider to me, is not only tackling some of the most talked about problems of today like plastic pollution and water quality, it is protecting the biggest part of this planet, the ocean and

all of the life that connects to that,” she said. “The ocean is what connects us all and who doesn’t want to be committed to that?”

She added she’s enjoyed meeting like-minded locals who have been steering environmental stewardship efforts for decades.

“I have learnt so much from others, many people in this community have become mentors to me and have helped me navigate unknown waters and given so much encouragement and support when it mattered most,” she said. “So many people in the community became new and dear friends to me through volunteering, and the existing friends I have, are of course volunteering in all of their generous offerings.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about Surfrider’s efforts can check out the group’s website, created by volunteer Alyne Francis, at pacificrim.surfrider.org.

03:45 09:31 15:27 21:56

Metres

Feet

3.3 1.4 3.3 0.7

10.8 4.6 10.8 2.3

9°/5° Cloudy with showers

SUNDAY JAN. 7, 2018 TIDE

04:36 10:35 16:27 22:47

Metres

Feet

3.3 1.4 3 0.9

10.8 4.6 9.8 3.0

8°/5° Rain and drizzle

MONDAY JAN. 8, 2018 TIDE

05:29 11:46 17:35 23:42

Metres

Feet

3.2 1.4 2.8 1.2

10.5 4.6 9.2 3.9

7°/7° Mostly cloudy

TUESDAY JAN. 9, 2018 TIDE

06:26 12:59 18:53

Metres

Feet

3.2 1.4 2.6

10.5 4.6 8.5

10°/6° Sun through high clouds

WEDNESDAY JAN. 10, 2018 TIDE

00:42 07:22 14:10 20:15

Metres

Feet

1.4 3.2 1.3 2.5

4.6 10.5 4.3 8.2

8°/5° Periods of rain

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OPINION

A4 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

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Behest of the West

Be it resolved that sticking to resolutions is tough Get out the barbells, diet sodas and nicorette patches West Coast, it’s New Year’s resolution time and the alarm clock is ringing on our self-improvement pursuits.

Whatever dish you’re hoping 2018 serves you, you’ll need ambition to sit at the table and perseverance to stay seated while being peppered with adversity.

Improvement can’t be made without sacrifice. It takes time and effort to get better.

Whether you plan to give up smoking, get more exercise, volunteer or eat better, you will need to slay the dragons of doubt to get there. Naysayers abound and the rocks they throw can turn the back of your own mind into your biggest critic.

The sword of sticktoitiveness is heavy and monstrously easier to put down than to wield.

Just ask anyone who’s ever pitched a project through the labyrinth of our council chambers or been pummelled with harrumphs by our local gossip gauntlet.

Telus has resolved to spend roughly Taking away those blind corners and wid$400,000 on erecting a new cell-tower in ening that currently treacherous stretch to Tofino. The province plans to spend $30 four lanes is both needed and long overdue million to make a 1.5 kilometre stretch of the though, so thumbs up to the province’s peronly way in and out of where we are better. severance. Accidents are never scheduled The West Coast Multiplex society wants to though and thinking about ambulances and search crews maneuvering build us an ice-rink and then those closures is terrifying. We a swimming pool as part of a assume contingency plans will staged Multiplex project that would significantly enhance be hashed out to get our heour recreational options. roes, and those who need them, Improvements can’t be made through, but that’s an awful lot without sacrifice and we’re set of blasting being done and rock to make a few if those three being removed to simply yell, dreams come true.

‘Car!’ and clear a path.

The highway work’s set in Telus is claiming their resoluAndrew Bailey stone and nothing we say at the tion for 2018 is necessary too, province’s public engagement but considering the company sessions this month—Jan. 23 in Tofino and has promised not to force their 40-metre Jan. 24 in Ucluelet—will stop the only door tower onto Tofino’s sightline, it’s tough to in and out of here from slamming shut on see that one going through. The Tofitian landscape doesn’t change without a fight and us each night.

the tower’s opposition dominated the day at Tofino’s Dec. 9 council meeting. Sometimes it takes noise from the no-side to wake up the yes-side though, so we’ll see if Newton’s Third Law of Motion brings an equally adamant opposite reaction when Telus returns.

The regional district’s Multiplex survey results were predictable, yet somehow the decision our leaders make based on those results will be surprising either way. The results suggest raising taxes for an ice rink is unpopular, though Tofino and Electoral Area C were the only communities staunchly opposed and local First Nations communities gave the project a considerably rousing endorsement. Do we simply rip up 2012’s referendum results because a survey suggested 51 per cent of us now oppose the plan, or will the Multiplex Society find a way to persevere? I hope it’s the latter. Recreational diversity for our local youth is a sweat-worthy pursuit.

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Mail: E-mail: Deadline:

Box 317, Ucluelet B.C. V0R 3A0 reporter@westerlynews.ca Sunday at 2pm

Marcie Callewaert snapped this shot of a lone transient orca that made a brief appearance in the Ahousaht Harbour last week. Based on the whale’s identification number, T103, it was born in 1968. Callewaert was thrilled to catch a glimpse of it from the Kenzie Girl water taxi. Do you have a photo of our unique local landscape that you would like to share? Send it to us at Office@WesterlyNews.ca.

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Question of the week Did you participate in a Polar Bear Swim to kick off 2018?

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Last week’s question Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

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LETTERS

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Letters to the Editor Deadline: Sundays 2:00pm Andrew.Bailey@WesterlyNews.ca

Letters to the Editor must be signed and include your full name, home town and contact phone number. Those without these requirements will not be published. Letters must be 300 words or less and are subject to editing. The News retains the right not to publish submissions.

ROAD CLOSURE CONCERNS Re: Highway 4 set to close every night, Westerly News, Dec. 20.

I have some serious concerns and questions about the proposed Kennedy Hill upgrade closure times and also find it alarming that local tourism-based businesses were reportedly the first to be informed; it seems like there was a dismissal of the needs of residents.

Transportation of patients from the coast to higher level of care is difficult; having this added obstacle will further complicate things and has the potential to dangerously delay patients’ access to care.

Will other other emergency vehicles like the SAR truck be given priority to get through as search calls are frequently at night?

Most SAR team members are in private vehicles though and would likely be detained, again causing possible delays in care for someone in dire need.

In spring we will hopefully have an active duty SAR dog on the coast; she has the potential to get called to assist other teams on the Island and could also get delayed.

What about families who are urgently trying to see a critically ill/dying person? They may be flying/ferrying in late or rushing from across Island; delays could mean missing the opportunity to say goodbye.

Access to veterinary care is a long commute across Island and adding hours to this during an emergency can make the difference between survival and death.

These emergencies often happen at night.

Many workers commute past this area; they may need to adjust travel times or spend nights away from home potentially causing issues with financial hardship (hotels, food), child care, and quality of life.

Adjusting travel times may put a larger number of fatigued drivers on the road leading to increased accident risk. Transparency from ministries involved and communication from the decision-makers would be valuable.

It is difficult to accommodate the needs of a community without opening a dialogue.

Réanne Hamel Ucluelet

TRENDING ONLINE HISTORIC WIN FOR YOUNG TOFINO SURFER:

TRENDING ONLINE LOCAL ARTIST HONOURED FOR INSPIRING TOFINO AND UCLUELET:

She’s a beautiful human for sure.

Robin Faith Signy Cohen definitely deserves this award.

Thank you Signy!

Lynette Dawson-LaPerouse Signy Cohen is a great artist and amazing woman.

Rosy Jensen Only wish I had some of her work in my home; it is almost as good as being there in person.

Beautiful work.

Michaela Harcourt

Read the full story online at:

westerlynews.ca

VIEWPOINT: FAMILY OF HUSBAND AND FATHER WHO DIED AT WICK BEACH THANKS COMMUNITY: Wow, that’s a hard read. But, much appreciation to them for writing this.

Jay Eskayeedee Thank you for sharing your story. Much love to you.

So beautifully written. Thank you for speaking from the heart and reminding all of us to pause.

So much love to you and your son.

Peace be with you. Ukee is here for your return one day.

Bob Purdy

Jenny Marie

Congrats again Mathea!

Josh Temple Letters to the editor must be signed and include your full name, home town and contact number. Those without these requirements will not be published. Letters must be 300 words or less and are subject to editing. Deadline for letters is Sunday at 2 p.m. The Westerly news retains the right not to publish submissions.

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If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact: editor@ westerlynews.ca or 250-726-7029. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the web site at mediacouncil. ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

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Heather Barret McArthur Way to go ‘Eh Team!’

Wednesday, January 3, 2018 A5

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IN FOCUS

A6 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

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A stampede of New Year’s well-wishers charge towards the open ocean to ring in 2018 with a frosty plunge at North Chesterman Beach. The event was hosted by Coastal Bliss Yoga, Jamie’s Rainforest Inn and Surfrider.

Tofino dives into 2018

Over 100 Tofitians celebrated a fantastically frigid launch into 2018 at the community’s annual Polar Bear Swim event on Jan. 1. Coastal Bliss Yoga, Surfrider Pacific Rim Foundation, and Jamie’s Rainforest Inn teamed up to host the well-wishing event where locals, young and old, took their first oceanic dip of 2018 together.

For more photos of community events check out our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/WesterlyNews.

NORA O’MALLEY PHOTOS

Big ups to Surfrider crew Colleen, Lilly, and Tim for coordinating the event and helping over 100 locals chill into 2018.

Rob Chase and son Ethan Chase earned a gift card to Jamie’s by being the first to grab hold of the Surfrider flag.

Friends from Chilliwack Shanna, Rebecca, Hannah, and Tiffany were gung-ho to celebrate their first Polar Bear Swim.

Little polar bears cozied up to the beach fire after their dip.

Swimmers take in their first feel of frigid 8 C water temperatures.

Tofino Yoga’s Dede Monette namaslayed the chilly dunk in style.

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

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Wednesday, January 3, 2018 A7

PHOTO ANDREW BAILEY

Jordan Frank of Ty-Histanis, front, and Ucluelet local James Griffin, right, celebrated with their local search and rescue volunteers at Long Beach on Sunday after winning WISAR’S vehicle-naming contest.

Youth name local emergency response vehicles West Coast Inland Search and Rescue volunteer crew engages students in competition ANDREW BAILEY andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

What’s in a name? Well, youth engagement for one.

West Coast Inland Search and Rescue members gathered at Long Beach Sunday morning to celebrate the naming of their two rescue vehicles.

The crew’s rapid response jeep will now be known as ‘The Yeti’ and the command truck which houses communications systems and search maps has been aptly dubbed ‘Duke.’

“The initial response team will deploy in The Yeti and then Duke will come in later on and set up a command scenario,” said SAR member Garth Cameron adding ‘Duke’ is a “very commanding name” and ‘The Yeti’ symbolized being in the bush and mobile.

“Yeti’s are big and strong and this truck looks strong.”

– James Griffin The names were submitted by West Coast youths James Griffin, 9, of Ucluelet and Jordan Frank, 12, of Ty-Histanis.

The Search and Rescue team undertook a naming contest where students at both Ucluelet Elementary School and Tofino’s Wickaninnish Community School submitted potential names.

“We really wanted to engage the youth of both communities. We’re here to service the communities and the people who visit the Coast and it’s just an awesome opportunity to have youth involved with what we do,” Cameron said. “Getting the youth involved with what we do and

have them partake and have their names actually on our vehicles means the world to all of us.”

About 15 members of the SAR team selected the name at a pizza night where they faced a tough task with many awesome names put forward with honourable mentions going to ‘Eagle Eye,’ submitted by seven-year-old Chloe Alexander, ‘The Husky’ submitted by eight-year-old Hannah McCarthy and ‘Cougar,’ submitted

by Phoebe Ford.

“We had names that were really close seconds and we were humming and hawing. It was a very difficult choice,” Cameron said. “So what we did is we put all the names that we liked up on a board and we put stickers next to them…The ones that had the most stickers were the winners.”

The winning names were placed on their respective vehicles Sunday morning and

PLAY WIT H YOUR F OOD! Get toothpicks and your favourite snack to build a house, tower or circle by attaching the snack with toothpicks.

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Griffin was thrilled to see his suggestion, ‘The Yeti,’ shine prominently on the jeep.

“I really like ‘The Yeti’ name and thought it would be a cool name for the search and rescue truck,” Griffin said.

“It’s white and it’s big. Yeti’s are big and strong and this truck looks strong.”

Frank was equally excited to see his suggestion, ‘Duke,’ on the command vehicle.

“It seemed like a good name for a bigger and tougher truck,” he said. “It’s exciting to have my name picked.”

The Yeti has been part of the Search and Rescue team since April, 2017. Duke is entering its fifth year of service, according to Cameron.

Along with having their names immortalized on the vehicles, Griffin and Frank both received a new backpack with prizes inside that included a headlamp, water bottle and first aid kit.

A8 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

www.westerlynews.ca

Poor lighting caused close-call at airport TSB releases report on 2015 near-miss

ANDREW BAILEY andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Poor lighting was a key cause of a terrifying near-miss at Long Beach Airport in 2015, according to a report released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada on Dec. 20.

A helicopter owned by Helijet International Inc. left Vancouver late at night on Nov. 15, 2015, and headed to Long Beach Airport in response to a medevac call in Tofino, according to the report, which states that two pilots and two paramedics were onboard.

The pilots disengaged the autopilot about 600 feet above sea level as they prepared to land, but lost control when the helicopter’s airspeed slowed, a high rate of descent developed and rotor speed began to decrease,.

The aircraft was a mere three-feet above the ground when the pilots regained control and brought the helicopter back up to 500 feet before preparing to land, which they were able to do. No injuries were reported.

“They couldn’t have got any closer,” Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigator Chris Johnston told the Westerly News on Wednesday afternoon. “They were all very lucky…Had they been another 100-200 feet further in the approach, and they settled like they did, they would have been in the trees. They were very fortunate that when they did settle, or come out of the sky, that they were over the beach.”

The helicopter was damaged in the incident, which caused the medevac to be cancelled and the patient was transported by vehicle over Sutton Pass, “On further inspection, it was determined that each of the main rotor spindles had come into contact with the elastomeric blade retention bearings on the main rotor hub and that a main rotor damper oil line had been broken,” the report states.

A medevac landing area was set up at Long Beach Airport after Transport Canada deemed the Tofino Hospital’s medevac pad was unsafe in December, 2011.

“Plans were made to temporarily relocate

TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD OF CANADA PHOTO

This image from a report released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada shows a helicopter’s approximate flight path in red, with the helicopter travelling from the top right to the bottom left. The helicopter is believed to have been roughly three feet off the ground when pilots regained control. medevac operations to CYAZ [Long Beach Airport], which was not certified for night operations. Helijet, the British Columbia Ambulance Service, and the airport operator worked with TC to develop an interim solution,” the report states.

The report suggests Transportation Canada officials had met with Long Beach Airport personnel as well as Helijet and a local B.C. Ambulance Service paramedic and provided a list of eight actions that needed to be taken before night medevac operations could take place at the airport.

Those actions included enhanced lighting around the main terminal building, the Tofino Air hangar, and the Quonset hut, the illumination of a windsock to the south of the runway, consultations with NAV Canada for a 24/7 automated weather observation system and a risk assessment by the airport to ensure the facility could handle the additional level of service.

“Only one of these requirements, the illumination of the windsock, had been implemented before night flights into CYAZ began,” the report states. “Neither the air-

port operator nor Helijet informed TC that night medevac operations had begun.”

Johnston said that, had they been completed, the eight actions laid out by TC would have significantly decreased the possibility of Nov. 15’s incident.

“I don’t think that Transport Canada, or the operator, or the airport, followed through on those recommendations that Transport Canada had made and flights commenced and continued without that being checked,” he said.

The lighting the helicopter pilots had to work with consisted of twelve “temporary Turboflares set up on the compass rose and an illuminated windsock,” according to the report.

“They were shooting their approach to a ring of lights. But, unfortunately, a ring of lights, when you’re a distance away, appears like it’s one light and it doesn’t give you any sort of closure rate,” Johnston said. “The 12 twinkling lights there looked like one light so they thought they were really far away when, in fact, they were quite close and that’s when they pulled on the reins so

to speak and slowed the helicopter right down and that’s when their brains kind of got mixed up on where they were going.”

TSB investigator Rob Chiatto told the Westerly News that any disciplinary action for continuing medevac operations before those eight actions were taken would be up to Transport Canada.”

“The Transportation Safety Board has no regulatory power,” he said. “We do not assign liability. All we do is try to show what happened in the accident to prevent accidents from happening in the future.”

A Transport Canada spokesperson told the Westerly the report is being reviewed.

“We are thoroughly reviewing the report and will not hesitate to take actions should issues affecting aviation safety be identified. Transport Canada will follow up on any findings of non-compliance with the Canadian Aviation Regulations.”

The TSB’s report states that Long Beach Airport has installed the necessary infrastructure for night operations, and was fully night-certified by Transport Canada on Jan. 9, 2017.

www.westerlynews.ca

TOFINO LEGION MEMBERS & GUESTS - Info: Call 250-725-3361 All Canadian Citizens and Many Others are Welcome to Join – No Military History Needed

Be sure to Renew your Legion Membership for 2018.

SPECIAL EVENTS ALBERNI VET CLINIC WEDNESDAY, January 17 – 1:30 - 4:00pm Please call for appointments (they fill up fast!) or for more information: 250-723-7341

REGULAR EVENTS GAMES & SOCIAL FRIDAYS 4-11pm • Drop in Pool, Ping Pong, Foosball, Darts DART LEAGUE MONDAYS 7pm BINGO! WEDNESDAYS 7-9pm THE OUT TO LUNCH BUNCH • Monthly seniors’ lunch and socializing at the Legion.

• All seniors welcome. For details: 250-726-6655.

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

www.westerlynews.ca

Wednesday, January 3, 2018 A9

Local artist earns conservation award From A1 Oliver is discussing a plan that will see supertankers navigating through narrows in pristine waters filled with humpback whales, sea otters, and thousands of Pacific white-sided dolphins. The Great Bear Rainforest is the world’s largest intact tract of temperate rainforest: 32,000 square kms stretching 400 kms up BC’s coast from the Discovery Islands to the Alaskan border.

Artist-activist Hobson, recent recipient of Artists for Conservation’s (AFC) Simon Combes Conservation Artist Award, recalls how he dedicated the next 13 months to stopping the pipeline. He mobilized 50 committed artists, including Robert Bateman, Roy Henry Vickers and Jeffrey Whiting, AFC’s founder and President, to paint in plein air in Kynoch Inlet in the Great Bear Rainforest for five days in June 2012.

The Art for an Oil-Free Coast campaign to stop the pipeline had all the elements to capture the public imagination, with the “most spectacular wilderness area in the world” and the “Spirit Bear” (white Kermode bear) as poignant symbols of all that might be lost.

“It was a full year of operating flat out.

I made hundreds and hundreds of phone calls,” said Hobson, who selected artists based on their connection to the land and passion for the project.

Earlier in 1989, Hobson spearheaded a similar initiative with 100 artists, including

Bateman and Vickers, to help successfully defend against logging old-growth forest in Vancouver Island’s Carmanah Valley.

This time, he partnered with Raincoast Conservation Society, then already in their 11th year of peer-reviewed advocating to protect coastal species and their habitat.

During the thick of the project in 2012, 29 fin whales, second-largest mammal on the planet, were spotted near the entrance to the Douglas Channel right on the proposed supertanker route.

Discussing the risks for a devastating oil spill, Hobson explains these supertankers were “not designed for going through that kind of system.” To turn a ship that large, on average four to six times the size of the Exxon Valdez, requires action three kilometres in advance.

“I had the privilege of joining Mark as an artist in the Great Bear Rainforest as part of the Art for the Oil Free Coast campaign he led with the Raincoast Conservation Society,” said Whiting via email.

“As a participant, I witnessed first-hand his visionary leadership and relentless and reasoned passion for the cause. I also witnessed the enormous respect both the artist and science communities have for him. He is especially deserving of recognition as someone of great humility who always redirects the spotlight on others around him.”

“I’ve enjoyed Mark’s commitment to the

environment over the years,” said Roy Henry Vickers via email.

“I was inspired to work with Mark on the Carmanah Valley project in 1989 as well as, Artists For An Oil Free Coast in 2012. We have a duty as artists to protect the environment as it is our sustaining force in life. I will continue to fight to protect the beauty of BC inspired by artists like, Mark Hobson.”

By August 2012, Hobson was working on the book, Canada’s Raincoast at Risk: Art for an Oil-free Coast, featuring multi-media artwork from carving to jewellery. A fiveweek art tour opened on Granville Island in Vancouver and travelled straight into the heart of oil country with a show at City Hall in Calgary, Alberta.

Local Strongheart Productions’ documentary premiered to rave reviews at Vancouver International Film Festival. Cameron Dennison emphasized, “Mark’s commitment to the environment is obvious and demonstrated by his actions every single day.”

On November 29, 2016, Justin Trudeau called a halt to the pipeline, promising a moratorium on oil tanker traffic on BC’s coast and a partial ban in a May 2017 bill.

Tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude or persistent oils would be prohibited from stopping at ports from Vancouver Island’s tip to northernmost BC on Alaska’s border.

Hobson is thrilled to receive an award whose past recipients include his heroes: David Shepherd, Robert Bateman, Richard Ellis, all people whose work is in the circle of environmental activism and art.

“You can’t be in love with wildlife,” he says simply, “without wanting to keep it around.”

Witness Hobson’s mesmerizing “Grizzly Bear on the Khutze Valley,” painted from memory in 2015 and inspired by earlier Great Bear Rainforest visits.

Hanging in his Tofino gallery’s window, its incredible depth of field suggests a landscape that both transcends and hovers on the vanishing point.

The grizzly, at its focal point, stares down seagulls near his salmon catch, while around the riverbank one of their confederates feasts on its spoils. The river is located at the head of the Khutze Inlet and at the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, north of Bella Bella.

“It is with delight that I heard that Mark Hobson will receive the AFC Simon Combes Conservation Artist Award,” said Robert Bateman via email.

“Art and Nature seem as central to Mark as they are to me. He is not only an excellent artist, but also a superb educator in natural history. His enthusiasm and knowledge have stimulated countless people and promoted the most worthy cause of a life lived with and in Nature.”

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A10 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

Your favourite newspaper at the click of a mouse.

www.westerlynews.ca

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YEAR IN REVIEW JAN. - JUNE 2017

Dr. Farid Nikfar

is now working with Dr. R. Nystrom Dr Farid Nikfar is Accepting New Patients and Existing Patients Are Welcomed.

Call 250.724.4343 for an appointment 4115 6th Ave, Suite 100, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 4N1

District of Tofino 2018 Council Meeting Schedule Date

Time

Meeting Type

Location

January 9

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

January 23

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

February 5

6:00 pm

Committee of the Whole

Council Chamber

February 13

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

February 27

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

March 13

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

March 19

6:00 pm

Committee of the Whole

Council Chamber

March 27

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

April 10

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

April 24

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

April 30

6:00pm

Committee of the Whole

Council Chamber

May 8

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

May 22

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

June 11

6:00 pm

Committee of the Whole

Council Chamber

June 12

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

June 26

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

July 10

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

August 14

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

August 27

6:00 pm

Committee of the Whole

Council Chamber

August 28

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

September 25

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

October 9

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

October 15

6:00 pm

Committee of the Whole

Council Chamber

October 23

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

November 6

10:00 am

Inaugural Meeting

Council Chamber

November 26

6:00 pm

Committee of the Whole

Council Chamber

November 27

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

December 11

10:00 am

Regular Meeting

Council Chamber

Schedule is subject to change with notice.

PILOT HOUSE MEDIA PHOTO

Lynda Kaye joins an empowering Women’s March on Jan. 21, 2017, in opposition to America’s new president, Donald Trump. Marches were held in both Tofino and Ucluelet.

New top cop in Ukee WESTERLY STAFF office@westerlynews.ca

Jan. 4 • A four-year-old Chesapeak Bay Retriever named Louie was reunited with his family in time for Christmas after spending a week lost in the wilderness. Volunteers from the West Coast’s Coastal Animal Rescue and Education Network were alerted to Louie’s disappearance and immediately began organizing searches and combing the Coast. They found him near a Kennedy River rest stop, and lured him out with food offerings.

• Tina Windsor, owner of Tofino’s Picnic Charcuterie, was nominated for Small Business BC’s Premiere’s Choice Award. The ethical and locally sourced meat shop was a top five finalist.

• Tofino Bottle Depot owner and operator Ann Kim announced the depot’s operations would be terminated on March 13 due to space and parking limitations.

Jan. 11 • Two Tofino coffee shops were broken into. Const. Chris Lemon said Tofino Roasting Company and Tuff Beans were robbed on Dec. 31 and Jan. 5.

Jan. 18 • A new police chief was selected to head up Ucluelet’s RCMP detachment, which was without a commander since February 2016. Cpl. Steve Mancini from Barriere, B.C. aced the panel interview, and Ucluelet’s mayor Dianne St. Jacques said he had good leadership qualities and would be a good fit for the community.

• Just two months after its purchase of Ukee Cable, Telus announced the purchase of Mascon’s B.C. operations, giving the media mogul a dominant stake in the West Coast.

Jan. 21 • Tofino and Ucluelet organized marches to peacefully oppose the agenda of America’s new Donald Trump administration. More than one million people participated in rallies around the world.

Jan. 25 • A truck driver was turning off Yew onto Campbell Street when a crane attached to his truck got caught on a Telus cable. Seemingly unaware of the snag, the driver continued to turn, causing a Hydro pole attached to the cable to come crashing down. The incident killed Tofino’s power for roughly seven hours.

Feb. 1 • Edge-to-edge marathon and relay race both get axed from the 2017 event schedule. The half-marathon, and 10-kilometre option remain, and a five-kilometre family-friendly race was added.

• Ahousaht First Nation publicly announced a Land Use Vision for their territory. The release builds on the $1.25 million economic partnership agreement between the provincial government and Ahousaht that was signed in August 2016.

Continued on A11

www.westerlynews.ca

YEAR IN REVIEW: JANUARY TO JUNE

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

Wednesday, January 3, 2018 A11

Marcel Midlane rocks Cops for Cancer

From A10 Feb. 8 • Kids enjoyed a rare snow day on Feb. 3 as an uncharacteristic snowfall blanketed the Coast forcing schools to close.

• Ucluelet Warriors take a small but mighty squad of five wrestlers to the Alberni Invite wrestling tournament on Feb. 3rd and 4th.

Mayben Crabbe, Ottis Crabbe, Leigha Auld, and Owen Rhodes all brought home gold medals in their weight class. Rookie Kaida Evans fought her way to a bronze.

Feb. 15 • The West Coast received new, lidded recycling bins from the Alberni Clayoquot Regional District.

Roughly 1,400 recycling containers were delivered to home in Tofino, Ucluelet and Electoral Area C. • The Long Beach Airport Advisory committee officially scrapped the pursuit of renaming the airport during their Feb. 1 meeting because local leaders couldn’t agree on what else to call it.

Feb. 22 • Shovels hit the ground as construction on the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s federally funded $17.7 million Pacific Traverse Trail officially kicked off. The five-metre wide, roughly 25-kilometre multi-use trail will span the Park Reserve’s north and south borders, connecting Tofino and Ucluelet.

March 1 • A helicopter lifted a large navigation buoy off South Florencia Bay beach on Feb. 22. The roughly 7,700-kilogram Carolina Channel Light and Whistle Buyo Y42, colloquially known as ‘Red Can’, was swept away from its usual spot off Ucluelet’s Amphitrite Point during a winter storm.

March 8 • Longtime Ucluelet Elementary School principal Jennifer Adamson accepted a position with the Victoria School District where she will be a school-based principal and also work in the Aboriginal Nations department.

• Tofino’s Toby Theriault, 12, received one of six Young Birder Awards bestowed by the B.C. Field Ornithologists on Feb. 26. The young birder set off on her first Big Year, an annual international competition amongst birders who try to spot as many species as possible. She recorded 217 species.

• Ucluelet’s Mayben Crabbe wins gold at the provincial high school wrestling championships in Salmon Arm. March 15 • Canada’s Minister of infrastructure and communities alongside B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure announced their respective governments have committed to splitting a $27 million bill to upgrade a portion of Highway 4.

• Surfrider installed cigarette butt canisters throughout Tofino and

Ucluelet as part of a ‘Hold onto Your Butts’ campaign designed to keep beaches and streets clean while raising awareness of cigarette pollution.

March 22 • Ucluelet got a taste of Hollywood as film crew and cast from ABC’s television pilot ‘The Crossing’ began shooting down at Wya. • The provincial government officially handed off a roughly $3 million, 18.3-hectare portion of land around Amphitrite point to the District of Ucluelet.

• The District of Tofino received $1 million from the B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure to put towards connecting the municipal multi-use path with the new Pacific Traverse Trail project.

March 29 • Ahousaht First Nation members rescued six distressed mariners about two kilometres from Tofino in the early morning hours of March 24. A vessel crashed into rocks near Meares Island, leaving the six people onboard stranded.

• The Pacific Rim National Park Reserve shut down public access to Wick Beach and surrounding area for 24-hours after a wolf attacked a dog near Wick’s parking lot on March 23. The dog survived the attack.

• Ucluelet’s Floathouse Patio and Grill took home both the People’s and Judge’s Choice trophies from the 2017 Chowder Chow Down competition held during the annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival.

• Tofino’s Hillary McLeod sang her way to the top spot of a soldout Tuff City Idol 2017 for her stunning performance of ‘Hello’

by Adele and ‘Piece of my heart’

by Janis Joplin.

April 4 • Const. Marcel Midlane tries out for the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock bike team.

• Tofino surf instructor Adam Tory collected over 30 used surfboards to send down to Nicaragua for a surf education program.

April 12 • Ucluelet Co-op begins to phase out single-use plastic grocery bags.

By the end of June 2017, plastic bags will be eliminated from the store.

• The Pacific Rim Arts Society hosted the Arts BC Conference from April 27-30 in Tofino and Ucluelet.

April 19 • Ahousaht’s Maaqtusiss’ students Shandon Thomas, Serana Kaloucokovale, Marieta Kaloucokovale, Janae Sam, Keitha-Lyn Atleo, Samara Swan and Jaylynn Keitlah were selected to represent B.C. at the North American Indigenous Games in Toronto in July.

• Creative Salmon’s general manager Tim Rundle received the Canadian Organic Trade Association’s Organic Champion of the Year award.

April 26 • Tofino General Hospital Foundation’s third annual gala at Shelter Restaurant garnered over $120,000, which more than doubled the amount that was raised the year before.

• Pacific Sands installed new staff housing units without a permit and removed foliage from an area they weren’t supposed to touch.

To make amends, the resort had to replant foliage and pay for an environmental professional to assess and repair any damage.

• West Coasters gathered at Chesterman Beach on a rainy Earth Day, April 22, to create a human banner spelling out ‘Water is Life’ in an effort to drum up local opposition to the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline extension project.

May 3 • Two men from Alberta were killed in a sport fishing tragedy near Tofino on April 30. They were lost when a 8.5-metre sport fishing catamaran capsized in the open ocean northwest of Bartlett Island. Three others were treated and released.

• Ucluelet local Ellen Kimoto is assisting with a massive investigation into the properties lost by roughly 30,000 Japanese Canadians who were forced into internment camps in 1942. Landscapes of Injustice is a seven-year, $5.5 million, research project that was launched in 2014 and is headed by the University of Victoria.

• Ucluelet’s municipal council denied an application to put a Mexican cuisine food truck on empty green space adjacent to Davison Plaza. The food truck faced an uphill climb since first being presented to council in March with Larch Road residents raising concerns about increasing the area’s traffic.

• Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce handed out glass starfish trophies to six Tofino businesses at an awards gala. Long Beach Lodge took home business of the year, Sea Monster Noodle won Best New Business, Non-profit of the year went to Surfrider Pacific Rim, Best Small Business was Rare Earth Weddings and Events, Customer Service starfish trophy went to Robbie Elliot from Shelter Restaurant, and Business Leader award went to Lewis and Cathy George from House of Himwitsa.

May 10 • The NDP’s incumbent Mid Island-Pacific Rim candidate Scott Fraser was re-elected on May 9.

• Wild Pacific Trail Society unveiled a new viewpoint called ‘Inspiration Point’. Located on the Lighthouse Loop section of the trail, the new attraction takes visitors down an impressive flight and wooden steps towards three stunning ocean lookouts.

• Const. Marcel Midlane was announced a member of the 2017

ANDREW BAILEY PHOTO

Willow Hopkins helped Marcel Midlane raise $3,000 at a Cops for Cancer Spin-AThon event in August. Midlane’s total Tour de Rock efforts tallied $60,000.

Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock team.

May 17 • Twelve new Canadian National champions were crowned at the 11th Annual Rip Curl Pro Tofino.

Peter Devries reclaimed his place at the top of the men’s podium. At 11-years-old, Sanoa Olin became the youngest professional division winner in the history of the event.

• A colossal cleanup of Clayoquot Sound got underway. Dubbed ‘Clayoquot Cleanup’, the project involves a two-year effort to clear marine debris from every nook and cranny of the Coast.

May 24 • The ACRD proposed a ban on the disposal of recyclable corrugated commercial cardboard at the Tofino-Ucluelet West Coast Landfill. The ban was scheduled to take effect in July after a sixmonth education period.

• A black bear made its way through Ucluelet. The bear was spotted around town for about a week, showing up in people’s yards and green spaces.

May 31 • A male wolf was shot and killed

by Pacific Rim National Park Reserve staff after the animal attacked a leashed dog near Green Point Campground.

• Two men who attempted to steal a camper van in Tofino were arrested thanks to two courageous kids. According to Tofino RCMP, two men forced their way into the vehicle, but were fought off by the two kids, who were inside the camper at the time.

• Tourism Tofino’s executive director Kirsten Soder announced she would be moving on from her role with Tofino to become the executive manager for Tourism Campbell River. Soder began

working with Tourism Tofino in 2010.

June 7 • The Pacific Rim National Park Reserve received $72,000 to help clear the mess left by 35 styrofoam-insulated shipping containers that spilled off a cargo ship off Long Beach on Nov. 3.

June 14 • A northern fur seal made history as it was returned to the open ocean off Ucluelet’s little beach.

The small animal, dubbed Flores, was believed to be the first northern fur seal ever rehabilitated and released by the Vancouver Aquarium.

• The Hesquiaht First Nation put a hydro power project together to decrease Hot Spring Cove’s dependence on diesel fuel. The $7 million project would decrease the First Nation’s dependence on diesel by 67 per cent, according to John Ebell of Barkley Project Group.

• Tofino Resort and Marina installed a new boat dock. The new marina increased moorage capacity from 32 small vessels to about 53. The structure coast the new owners about $1.5 million, according to project supervisor Gord Plecas.

June 21 • A flipped fuel truck closed Highway 4 on June 15. The truck spilled roughly 3,000 litres of aviation fuel near Kennedy Lake.

• Another wolf was shot and killed near Ucluelet by B.C. Conservation officer. The wolf was believe to have attacked tow dogs at a local campground.

June 28 • Wild Pacific Trail founder ‘Oyster’ Jim Martin was honoured with a Meritorious Service Medal from Canada’s Governor General at a ceremony held at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall on June 23.

A12 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

www.westerlynews.ca

GAMES & PUZZLES WEEKLY CROSSWORD

PUZZLE #181110

NORA O’MALLEY PHOTO

CLUES DOWN 1. The arch of the foot 2. Canadian peninsula 3. Koran chapters 4. Abba __, Israeli politician 5. Youngster 6. Burns

PUZZLE #181110

HOROSCOPE ARIES Expressing yourself authentically is proving difficult, Aries. But this will pass shortly. Eventually, your persistence will pay off, and others will see that your intentions are genuine.

TAURUS If your dreams are within reason, there is no reason why they can’t come to fruition, Taurus. You just may need a few friends in your corner to help make things happen.

LIBRA Libra, others feel like you have everything figured out this week and are as sensible as can be. But there’s a fun side of you that is just waiting to pop out.

SCORPIO Something in your life is causing you undue stress, Scorpio. Find a way to let it all go by focusing on thoughts and things that bring you happiness.

GEMINI Gemini, don’t obsess about a specific approach to working through a problem. Seek feedback from a number of people and explore all of your options.

CANCER Cancer, it may take an intense effort to concentrate on your work this week because your thoughts keep drifting elsewhere. You must rein in your wandering mind.

LEO It may be challenging to separate your fantasies from reality right now, Leo. Even though things are vivid in your mind, others may help clarify things for you.

VIRGO Surprising news leaves you a little bit frazzled, Virgo. However, once you work your way through the surprise, you’ll see that this news bodes well for you.

SAGITTARIUS Sagittarius, it may seem like your time in the spotlight has come and gone, but that isn’t the case. You have plenty of time to show what you can accomplish.

CAPRICORN Capricorn, your vision of the future may be set right now, but there is always room for some modifications. Embrace some of the uncertainty that can lead to greatness.

AQUARIUS Aquarius, no career goal is out of reach right now. Therefore, if you’ve been thinking of a career move, now is a great time to put those plans in motion.

PISCES The search for the truth could lead you on a bit of a wild adventure, Pisces. Eventually, you can get to the bottom of the situation.

SUDOKU

7. Comedienne Gasteyer 8. Valley 9. Belongs to sun god 10. Nickel 11. Great in salads 12. Leader 13. Forced through a sieve 14. Entryway 15. Support pillars 25. Aquatic mammal 26. __ Farrow, actress 27. Unhappy 29. Holds molecules 31. Thrifty 33. French dynasty 36. Scottish port 38. Irish militant organization 39. Dawn 41. Musical group of seven 42. Used to fry things 43. Carrot’s companion 46. Rough stone landmarks 47. Fourth son of Jacob and Leah 49. Goes against 51. Passion 53. Hard white animal fat 54. Soybean pastes 55. Beckon 58. Mountain and morning are two 60. Self-referential 64. Data executive 65. Retirement plan 68. Star Trek character Laren 69. You and I

THIS WEEKS ANSWER

CLUES ACROSS 1. Put within 6. Learned person 12. Resistance 16. Female title 17. Logical basis for a belief 18. Of I 19. Indicates position 20. Article 21. Insignificant organizational member 22. __ route 23. Expression of disapproval 24. Microelectromechanical systems 26. Ponds 28. Satisfy 30. Dad 31. Spanish soldier “El __” 32. Pouch-like structure 34. Obscure unit of measurement 35. Okinawa prefecture capital 37. Platforms 39. Jazz singer Irene 40. Benefits 41. Hellenistic governors 43. Brownish-green fruit 44. Needed to see 45. Political action committee 47. Fast plane 48. Bahrain dinar 50. Urgent request 52. Raccoon genus 54. Millisecond 56. Atlanta rapper 57. Rural delivery 59. Intrauterine device 60. The Wolverine State 61. Free agent 62. For instance 63. Reduces 66. Lincoln’s state 67. Quit 70. Midsections 71. Bullfighting maneuvers

Local First Responders pulled a flipped over vehicle out of the ditch on Dec. 20, 2017. The incident occurred outside of the northern boundary of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

THIS WEEKS SUDOKU ANSWER

Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

Wednesday, JanuaryNews 3, 2018 A11 A13 Wed, Jan 3, 2018 Ucluelet Western

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

www.westerlynews.ca

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INDEX IN BRIEF FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS ..............1-8 COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS....9-57 TRAVEL .......................................61-76 CHILDREN ...................................80-98 EMPLOYMENT .........................102-198 BUSINESS SERVICES ...............203-387 PETS & LIVESTOCK .................453-483 MERCHANDISE FOR SALE........503-587 REAL ESTATE...........................603-969 RENTALS.................................703-757 AUTOMOTIVE...........................804-862 MARINE...................................902-920

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CARDS OF THANKS

CARDS OF THANKS

Ludlow John

Passed Away November 7, 2017

The family of the late John Ludlow, wish to extend heartfelt appreciation for the outpouring of love and support they received during this difficult time.

The many kindnesses and condolences will never be forgotten. To family and friends who were able to attend the celebration of John’s life; having you present made this day especially memorable and a special thank you to Emily Ferguson, Mitch Chandler and Marley; Jennifer, Donald, Fionna and Max Ludlow and Paul and Michael Ferand for traveling from afar to be with us.

They also wish to extend sincere gratitude to the emergency room doctors and nurses at WCGH and the staff at the Chapel of Memories for all they have done.

John will be forever missed.

With warmest regards, Dorothy, Kelly, Ken, Tina and family

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COUNSELLING IF YOU want to drink, that’s your business. If you want to stop, we can help. Alcoholics Anonymous, Ucluelet/Tofino 1800-883-3968.

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Production Worker (Ladysmith): Ladysmith Press is hiring Production Workers for their continually expanding collating department.

This is a general labour position that requires frequent lifting up to 10 kg and involves the handling of newspapers and advertising supplements.

For more information on these vacancies and other regions throughout B.C. visit:

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A14 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

www.westerlynews.ca

Oak Bay gathers to honour young sisters ISLAND IN BRIEF

As the hundreds of residents and guests started to break away in groups and file toward Beach Drive, a light drumming began near the water’s edge at Willows Beach. As the public vigil to honour the lives of little Chloe and Aubrey Berry ended, not far from the playground at Willows Beach Park where they sisters loved to play, a First Nation drumming circle performed into the crisp night air.

“I’ve had the pleasure to sit in front of that little girl last year when she was at Willows,” said James Taylor after the song finished. Taylor works for the school district sharing his grandfather’s stories and songs with the next generation. He met Chloe at École Willows Elementary in Oak Bay where she attended Kindergarten last year.

“I shared that song with her last year along with some of the stories that mean a lot to me,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion. “In that beautiful little face … in the picture she drew (that) I have at home. That honour song was for her … and the teaching behind that song that I shared with her goes out to you.”

It was a poignant moment to end an hour of poignant moments during the candlelight vigil, from descriptions of Aubrey, 4, playing Gabriel the Angel in the nativity pageant this year, to Chloe, 6 acting as mediator on the playground.

The sombre event Dec. 30 was in remembrance of the sisters whose bodies were found in an Oak Bay apartment Christmas Day. Police are investigating the incident as a double homicide.

Rev. Michelle Slater, Oak Bay United Church read an email from the girls’ grandparents Brenda and Malcolm, thanking attendees of the vigil. “We are extremely grateful for the kind support we and Sarah have been given at the most desperate of times. These children were the light of our lives and a big part of our extremely small family. We are so grateful that we shared their lives.”

The letter went on to thank all those who “gave the girls wonderful friendships” and the first responders who “were so kind Christmas night at a time of unfathomable loss.”

Family friend Sandra Hudson called the vigil an “incredible show of support” for the sisters’ mom, Sarah Cotton.

“She is a wonderful person and she’s really loved by this community as were Chloe and Aubrey,” Hudson said. “I think all the people coming out tonight is bringing that love that Sarah has shown for so many back to her.”

– www.oakbaynews.com

Victoria’s first baby of 2018 a surprise for mom and dad The Tuit family had planned a quiet New Year’s Eve at home, just mom, dad and two-year-old Jorie.

But when Elaine’s contractions started just after 1 a.m., her husband Rob says he figured she’d be in labour for at least another 24 hours, like she was with Jorie.

A vigil was held Dec. 30 in Oak Bay, honouring two young sisters who were found dead on Christmas Day. “It just literally went from being OK, to ‘I have to push’,” Rob says.

Hallie Rae Tuit made her debut at 4:53 a.m., weighing 8lb. 4 oz. hand delivered to her mom, by her dad, in the laundry room of their Brentwood Bay home.

“I called an ambulance, and five minutes later, a baby came out,” he says. “Ten minutes after that, the ambulance arrived.”

He’s chuckling now as he recalls his hectic morning, gathering blankets and pillows and corralling a two-year-old with a screaming wife and a 911 dispatch operator on the phone.

“I’ve been a firefighter for a lot of years so I was able to stay calm,” he says. “But I haven’t delivered a baby before.”

Despite Elaine being almost five days past her Dec. 27 due date, Rob says neither of them thought they would become parents of Victoria’s first baby of 2018.

Both Elaine and Hallie are now resting comfortably at Victoria General Hospital.

British Columbia’s New Year’s baby came just seconds after midnight, a baby girl born to a family in Surrey, weighing 8 lb. 7 oz.

Shortly after, at 1:23 a.m., Vancouver Island’s first baby of 2018, Chase Luca Taylor, was born to his Nanaimo parents Bruce and Paige, weighing 9 lb. 11 oz. at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

— www.vicnews.com

Quadra Islanders join the protest against Site C dam project “The first principal we need to operate on is that every one of us in Canada is a partner in reconciliation,” said Lola Murray, one of the Site C protestors on Quadra Island, quoting Chief Robert Joseph.

Chief Robert Joseph’s message through reconciliation Canada rings true for a

group of Quadra Islanders who are gathering signatures on letters opposing the NDP Government’s Site C Dam decision, on Friday.

“You can’t just honour treaty rights when it is convenient and when it is not convenient to ignore them,” said Sonja Charlesworth.

The NDP government gave the go ahead to the project earlier in December.

“It’s clear that Site C should never have been started,” Premier John Horgan said at the time. “But to cancel it now would add billions to the province’s debt – putting at risk our ability to deliver housing, child care, schools and hospitals across B.C. And that’s a price we’re not willing to pay.”

The Quadra Island group, an island near Campbell River, is joining others across the province who are holding candle light vigils and planting yellow stakes in the ground in solidarity with the Profit River and West Moberly First Nations who are seeking an injunction to stop the project.

– www.campbellrivermirror.com

North Cowichan limits use of fireworks to three days per year Fireworks in North Cowichan will now be restricted to three times a year, with requests for other dates to be approved by the municipality’s CAO or his designate.

There were no restrictions with respect to dates fireworks permits may be issued in North Cowichan, but council decided at its meeting on Dec. 20 to limit fireworks permits to Jan. 1, July 1, and Oct. 31 and allow requests to be made for other dates.

North Cowichan’s fireworks bylaw prohibits the sale of fireworks in the municipality and prohibits possession and discharge of fireworks in North Cowichan without written permission from the municipal clerk.

KERI COLES/OAK BAY NEWS

In a report to council, Alyssa Meiner, deputy director of corporate services, said North Cowichan receives fireworks-related complaints and questions from the public about the fireworks permit process every year.

“Fireworks complaints in North Cowichan are likely the result of fireworks being discharged without a valid permit,” she said. ]Meiner said the Cowichan Valley Regional District restricts fireworks permits to Jan. 1, July 1, and Oct. 31 and special request dates must be approved by the CVRD board.

– www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com

Alberni raises funds for family of teen killed in tragic accident A community is banding together to show support for the family of a 17-yearold girl who was killed in a tragic accident at a busy intersection last month.

A large memorial can be found at the corner of 10th Avenue and Redford Street in memory of Nikita Hedingham, including a Christmas tree with working lights and ornaments donated by community members. Friends and family gathered on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas songs in the teenage girl’s memory.

A GoFundMe campaign for Nikita’s family has also drawn support from the community, garnering more than 800 shares in a week.

The campaign was created on Friday, Dec. 22 by Ben Maartman, Nikita’s great-uncle.

By Thursday, Dec. 28, the campaign had reached more than $8,000 of its $25,000 goal.

The GoFundMe campaign can be found at www.gofundme.com/in-memory-of-nikita.

– www.albernivalleynews.com

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

www.westerlynews.ca

Wednesday, January 3, 2018 A15

C O M M U N I T Y

events

CALENDAR events

SURFRIDER MEET UP, Wednesday, Jan. 3.

6:30-8:30pm at the Tofino Brewing Company. Find out about beach clean events, programs and campaigns, and visions moving forward into 2018!

KNOW YOUR FOOD TALK WITH DR. THEIRRY VRAIN. Friday, Jan. 12. 7-9pm at Darwin’s Cafe.

LIVE MUSIC: GEOFF JOHNSON, Wednesday, Jan. 3. 3-6pm at Long Beach Lodge.Cozy up in the Great Room and take in the stunning views of Cox Bay while listening to acoustic cover songs.

UCLUELET ALANON GROUP Wednesdays, 7:30pm, Catholic Church (use side entrance below), 1663 Peninsula Rd.

LIVE MUSIC: NORM SMITH, Thursday, Jan. 4. 10pm at the Hatch Waterfront Pub in Tofino.

Norm plays a 12-string guitar and harmonica and has a huge repertoire.

STITCH N BEACH, Tuesday, Jan. 9. 5:308:30pm at Zoe’s Bakery in Ucluelet. New year, new bad, used fabric!

Challenge your sewing skills or repair that old pair of pants you’ve been meaning too. Free event, snack provided!

YOUTH ART NIGHT, Tuesday, Jan. 9. 5-6pm at Ultramarine Art Supply in Tofino. Youth Art Night is a social space for creating, crafting, and exploring visual art, geared towards youth ages 10-17.

Absolutely no experience necessary!

FEATURED EVENT OF THE WEEK

WOMEN’S WALKING Wednesdays, 11am12:30pm. Meet at WCRS Hub in Ucluelet. Easy walking group followed by tea LIVE MUSIC Wednesdays, 3-6pm The Great Room at Long Beach Lodge.

PICKLEBALL Mon., Wed., Sat., 8am-12pm, Tofino Community Hall. Free.

CHI GONG Wednesdays, 10:3011:30am, UCC Main Hall. $2 drop SOUP LUNCH Thursdays, Noon1:30pm. the Hub, UCC.

FOLLOW @TofinoEmergency

IMPORTANT NOTICE MONTHLY OUTDOOR WARNING SIREN TESTING

ongoing

PILATES Wednesdays, 6-7pm.

Tofino Community Hall. $10 drop-in.

TOFINO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

DROP-IN SATURDAY CRAFTING ULTRAMARINE ART SUPPLY Every Saturday in January. 12-3pm.

Drop-in Family Friendly Crafting throughout the month of January! Each week they will be creating a new craft. This Saturday you can make ORIGAMI PIRATE SHIPS! These crafts are suitable for all ages - parents attend with their children (adults without children also welcome). $10 each craft, includes all materials. Contact ultramarineartsupply@gmail. com with inquiries.

service

service

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH Saturday, 5pm. 441 Main St., Tofino

HOLY FAMILY CHURCH Sundays, 10am. 1163 Peninsula Road

TOFINO BIBLE FELLOWSHIP Sundays, 10:30am.

Tofino Legion.

Please be advised that the District of Tofino conducts monthly testing of the Cox Bay, Mid-Chesterman and North Chesterman outdoor warning sirens (a.k.a. tsunami sirens) on the first Friday of each month at 11:00 am.

The purpose of monthly testing is to ensure that the sirens are functioning effectively and to increase awareness of the importance of personal emergency preparedness.

Siren testing will sound like this: • “This is a test of the emergency warning system. This is only a test.”

• Westminster Chime (10 sec) • “Test of the emergency warning system is complete.

This has only been a test.”

For testing purposes, the Westminster Chime is used because it is the allclear tone used in emergency warning systems around the world.

In the event of a real emergency such as a tsunami warning, the sirens will emit a wailing tone and a voice message will indicate the level of alert and advise that listeners tune into an official source of information, such as the local radio station at 90.1 FM for details.

To learn more about Tofino’s emergency preparedness plan and to subscribe to emergency notifications from the District of Tofino, please visit: http://tofino.ca/emergencypreparedness For more information, please contact: Keith Orchiston, Emergency Program Coordinator, District of Tofino Email: korchiston@tofino.ca, Phone: 250.725.3229 ext. 708

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ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH Sundays, 11am. Ahousaht CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH Sundays, 10:30am.

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or email nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca to book your unique ad.

To submit your activities, e-mail: office@westerlynews.ca, fax: 250-726-4248 or drop by: #102-1801 Bay St, Ucluelet. We accept your Arts & Entertainment, Service Group, Non-Profit Organization, Church, Library, Fundraiser, Open to the Public Notices on a first come, first served basis.

TOFINO

Nutrition

Avoid toxic weight gain

Protecting ourselves from endocrine disruptors

Weight gain is caused by more than diet and disruptors which are stored in our fat cells. Deexercise including genetics, metabolism and its toxification will facilitate clearing endocrine set point and environmental factors such as disruptors from the body. Some activities to start endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disrupters are the detoxification process include losing body toxins that have an affinity for fat cells and are fat which will release the toxins to be excreted stored in these cells effecting metabolism and and sweating them out through exercise, hot hormonal balance which promotes weight gain. yoga and saunas. Avoid adding more toxins by These chemicals such as BPA, PBDE, Teflon, eating a diet of organic vegetables, grains and pesticides, herbicides, phthalates and dimeat when possible and using toxin free oxins are found in cosmetics, household self-care and household products. There products and agricultural chemicals. are two iPhone Apps that list cosmetics, They are either ingested or absorbed cleaners, personal care products and through the skin and can increase aptheir level of toxicity. One is “Think petite and promote fat build up around Dirty” and the other is “Environmental the major organs causing a “spare tire” Working Group (EWG)”, both available at the waistline. for free from the App store.

Water is often a source of toxins and How do we protect ourselves from enTRACY LISTER docrine disruptors? Avoid packaged and the water used in bottled water is not processed foods, plastic containers and plastic always toxin free and it is bottled in plastic which wraps. Don’t use Teflon coated pans; stainless leaches toxins into the water during its self-life. steel is best. Switch to natural cosmetics, soaps, If you use well water have the water tested and shampoos, lotions and household cleansers Eat filter the water using the recommended filter organic or even better grow your own food. based on the toxins in the water. But beware, Organic food is grown without the use of pesti- as the toxins are clearing the body you may feel cides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers but the unwell, but the results will be worth it in the end. organic farmer can not control what happens in Tracy Lister is currently a doctoral student the neighbouring fields or with industrial waste in clinical nutrition at Maryland University of which may result in contaminating the organic Integrative Health and is a clinical dietician , crops due to wind and water run off. residing in Ucluelet, with 25 years experience Most of us have been exposed to endocrine covering most areas of dietetics.

s r u o H r e t Win : FOOD STPOMRDEAILY 0

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GAS BAR: DAILY 0 PM

6:30AM - 11:0

H I N G: T O L C E F I L O TOFIN M DAILY - 5:0AY0APND MONDAY) 0AMN SU 10:0 ND LOSED O (C

O R E: T S E R A W D R HA ON-FRI

0 PM M 8:30AM - 5:3 SAT & HOLIDAYS 0 PM 8:30AM - 5:0(CLOSED SUNDAYS)

A16 Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News

www.westerlynews.ca

Public Notice of Information Session Highway 4

Kennedy Hill Safety Improvements Project The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure invites the public to attend an information session regarding the Kennedy Hill Safety Improvements Project planned for the Pacific Rim Highway 4 adjacent to Kennedy Lake.

Ministry staff will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.

Two drop-in sessions are scheduled for the following dates and locations: Tuesday, January 23, 2018 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Best Western Tin Wis Resort 1119 Pacific Rim Highway, Tofino, B.C. Wednesday, January 24, 2018 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Ucluelet Community Centre 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet, B.C.

For more information, please visit the project website at www.gov.bc.ca/highway4kennedyhill or contact the project team by telephone at 250 751-7152 or by email at kennedyhill@gov.bc.ca

DREW PENNER PHOTO

From left, William Sicard, 22, Melyna Racine, 25, and Paul Chaleat, 25, try to visit the library on a Monday, but it’s not open.

Tofino waits for library DREW PENNER Special to the Westerly

Literacy lovers, don’t hold your breath.

A new library branch location is still “a long ways off,” and even then improved hours are not guaranteed, according to the District of Tofino’s representative on the regional library board.

“It’s too early to say it’s even going to happen,” said Coun. Al Anderson, about the possibility of the library moving from its current “temporary” location, which is below the minimum size set for such facilities. “Tofino has always kind of been in this limbo state.”

In 2016 the entire Vancouver Island Regional Library system had 2.6 million visits, as people accessed 5.1 million print and digital items.

Library staff say Tofino’s library has also seen increased usage in recent years.

But Anderson says the local branch is caught in a Catch 22. It can only remain open less than half of a regular work week, because of the funding it receives, but that figure is based on how much usage it gets.

“A lot of it’s around union issues,” he said, noting library employees must have two consecutive days off. “We do our best to keep the branches open as much as possible.”

Anderson said the provincial government “stopped funding libraries” around 20 years ago and would like to see more money reinvested in the community resource.

He said that the last time Tofino looked at including a new multi-purpose facility featuring a library, officials found it would cost about $12 million to build—just a few million shy of the estimated cost of building an ice rink by the airport.

“I don’t think the taxpayer can bear that kind of pressure right now with all the other things we have to do,” he said. “There’s what we dream of and what we can afford.”

The District of Tofino has offered part of the parking lot by the district office for the space, but there are other new libraries in the queue ahead of Tofino.

“There’s only so many people that can move ahead,” Anderson said, though he added, “The library right now is too busy for the amount of resources we have.”

Diane Brennan, who represents the City of Nanaimo on the library board, said the regional partners are “holding steady” on their long-term library building vision.

“Everybody has waited,” she said, pointing to similar literary desires in Cumberland and

the Cowichan Valley that did come to fruition.

She said if people in Tofino are not happy with the current funding model, it would have to be raised at the regional discussion table.

“This is a funding model that we put in place several years back,” she said. “I think most of us are satisfied with it.”

All the smaller libraries are allotted fewer hours than urban ones, she noted. Local staff say it’s something would-be patrons often complain about. William Sicard, 22, a Tofino resident, recalls trying to visit the library at about 1 p.m. on a Wednesday, only to find out that’s one of the days the branch doesn’t open.

“I thought it was kind of weird,” he said.

While Salt Spring Island resident Gale Buffett, 60, was visiting Tofino with her husband David, 62, she was surprised to hear the Tofino branch is only open 17 hours a week. The Salt Spring Island Public Library is open from 10-5 p.m. six days a week.

“In every community, you need a place where everyone can go where it’s ‘equal opportunity,’” she said. “Whether you’re rich or you’re poor, everybody goes to the library. If you don’t have a computer, you can go the the library and tap into ‘normal society.’”

That’s why she volunteers at her branch, taking on tasks like fixing book bindings.

“It’s like a hub,” she said. “On Friday night they have a games night so you have young people who go there.”

But Tofino’s library isn’t set up to accept volunteers, Christine Lowther, a local author and library assistant, had to explain to someone who offered their services. And, over 12 years at the Tofino branch, she’s seen staffing levels decrease, not increase. She’s also seen the role of the local branch change.

“The library isn’t so much about books anymore,” she said. “I think a lot of people are there for DVDs and free computer-use and printing.”

It serves as a lifeline for people who don’t have any other way to get on the internet, Lowther points out, noting there are only two computers.

“It does get crazy in summer time,” she said.

“One or two more public computers would be great.”

Because the Ucluelet library’s partial hours are not set up to alternate with the Tofino location, it can be helpful, because it allows for communication between the branches in real-time, she said.

Lowther said the library is important for both residents and visitors, and she hopes support for it only increases over time.

“I love the library,” she said. “I want everyone in the community to love the library.”