THURSDAY NOV 23, 2017 VOL. 43, NO. 44
$1
including GST
Watch for more online at: WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM
Vision for Community Lands
“Light Industrial,” housing and hospitality on the table for Lot 1
Sweet treats
Business highlights
MoeMakes reveals small secrets of baking empire
Yoga studio expands, Nature Encounter Tours becomes Squirrel
Deer remains found at CRC Conservation officer seeking information on investigation
MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Angie McCullough and Connie Smudge having a blast at the Legion’s late night bingo.
James Godfrey, photo
On the morning of November 14, Bowen Island residents called BC’s Conservation Officer Service after finding the remains of three deer on the roadside near Pebbly Beach on Cape Roger Curtis. Officer Clayton Debruin says the service is working in co-operation with the Bowen Island Municipality on its investigation, and both would like to urge anyone who might have any information on the incident to contact the Conservation Office Rapline (1-877-952-7277) or the
Municipality (947-4255). Debruin would also like to remind people that hunting on Bowen requires a liscence as well as a species license. Hunting is also subject to municipal bylaws that require hunting to be done with a longbow only, on private property with written permission of the property owner, and a permit for the use of longbows. “Those conditions are in place for public safety and proper wildlife management,” says Debruin. Improperly disposing of an animals remains, he adds, can cause a situation problematic to human health.
Shelter advocates seek municipal support MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Two weeks following the opening of the library’s upper level to create a temporary extreme weather shelter for Bowen’s homeless, a group calling itself the Bowen Emergency Shelter Team (BEST) is hoping that the board of Collins Hall will offer the space up for a shelter after it was initially turned down. Members of the group says this location is a good start, but not ideal and they want council’s support in finding a better long-term solution. “We’ll go with Collins Hall for now if that works out, but we really need something in the Cove for the long-term,” says Aryana Rayne. “According to our research, most municipalities in British Columbia have emergency shelters. Grand Forks, a
community of roughly 4,000 people has one and is considering the creation of a year-round shelter, for example.” Rayne adds that there is still no formal outreach program. “The only person doing any kind of outreach is Michael Chapman,” she says. “We put a call out last week asking people to step forward and help - Michael said he would go out with anyone interested and help make introductions, but the only reply was one individual who offered to cook.” On Tuesday, Rayne met with the municipality’s Emergency Services Co-ordinator, Jennifer McGowan, to sort out what needs to be done in order to get a shelter funded by BC Housing. Members of BEST met the following morning to start crafting an emergency response plan. “If we do get Collins Hall is offered up as an extreme weath-
er shelter, we’re going to have to sort out a lot of details to get it running. We’ll need to know who is going to run it, set it up, do outreach - and we’re going to have to define extreme weather in order to access funding from BC Housing,” says Rayne. “What we do know, is that the cold weather will be back soon, and we’ve got a moral duty to get a shelter set up. From there, we can look to longer term solutions, including housing options for our most vulnerable residents.” S H E LT E R S A N D S M A L L C O M M U N I T I E S I N B C :
• • •
Trail BC, Shelter open 24 hours just opened Merritt BC, Shelter open every night from Nov - April Salt Spring Island - Extreme Weather Shelter open every night, funded by BC Housing when the weather is “extreme” and by private donations on other nights.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Bowen Building Centre and we’ve got our merry on
SAVE 50% OFF
on select Christmas items candles, Advent Calendars and much more! We’re accepting food bank donations too. Store hours Monday thru Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed - Sunday