NEW ART SPACE FOR TOFINO
UKEE SHAKES UP MANAGEMENT
Experiential gallery aims to shift experiences
District restructures emergency services
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Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Westerly News
TOFINO-UCLUELET
$1.25 (including tax)
WesterlyNews.ca
Woman dies in tragedy at Long Beach 52 year-old was in town for daughter’s wedding ANDREW BAILEY andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
An ocean accident off Long Beach claimed the life of a 52 year-old woman on Sunday morning, hours before her daughter’s wedding. Cpl. Stu Hert of the Tofino RCMP told the Westerly News police received a report of a woman in distress in the water near Lovekin Rock around 10:30 a.m. “By the time emergency services arrived, people in the area, and other surfers, had assisted in removing her from the water and First Aid was rendered, however she did not survive,” Hert said. He said no foul play is suspected and added that locals and visitors must be aware of the risks posed by the ocean. “Beaches in Tofino area are unsupervised,” he said. “People are responsible for their own safety and part of that is being aware that the ocean is unpredictable. The rip currents, the waves, all of that is unpredictable and it goes a long way to educate yourself about some of the common risks so you can try to avoid them.” Police have not released the identity of the woman, but Okanagan resident Victoria Emon told the Westerly News the woman was her mother, Ann Wittenberg, and that the family was visiting Tofino for Emon’s wedding, which was scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Continued on A2
sea otter place
See TURN page 0
q u a l i t y l iv i n g To fi n o l i fe s t yl e
NORA O’MALLEY PHOTO
CLAYOQUOT ISLAND 2018: From left: Surfrider volunteers Alex, Sam, Chloe, Erin, Zoe, Kristi, and Kelby reveal a handmade banner that was created for the annual Hands Across the Sand demonstration on May 20. Once a year, Clayoquot Island is opened to the public for exploration with free boat transportation from Tofino. See more photos of the Island event on Page 11.
Highway 4 closures get started May 28 ANDREW BAILEY andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
Drivers coming to and from the West Coast of Vancouver Island will soon need to schedule their travels around daily, and eventually nightly, road closures. From Monday May 28 to Friday June 1, Highway 4, between Port Alberni and the Tofino-Ucluelet junction will be closed from 5-7 a.m., noon-1 p.m. and 4-5 p.m. The closures are the kick off of an anticipated $38 million,
two-year, project that will straighten out a tricky 1.6 kilometre stretch near Kennedy Hill and remove a rock wall currently hanging over the highway. The project is being paid for by the provincial and federal governments with $24.6 million coming from the province and $13.5 million coming from Ottawa. Project coordinator David Gourley recently released the upcoming closure schedule from the week of May 28 and said commuters should expect delays of up to 30 minutes outside of the posted closure times. Continued on A12
Better hurry: Almost sold out!
Still sitting on the fence? It is unlikely there will be another opportunity to purchase a new townhome in Tofino at these prices.
625 Hellesen Drive Tofino BC Open House Saturday 1 to 4 pm Call Tariq at 250-266-3569 S SATURD0AY0 PM www.seaotterplace.com 1:00 - 4:
PO EN HOUSE