Bowen Island Undercurrent April 4 2019

THE “TRUTH” ABOUT LIEBEN: tall tales from April 1

$1

PAGES 8 & 9

inc.

GST

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

FIX-IT FAIR

VOL. 45, NO. 14

BIUndercurrent

Don’t throw out your broken things – bring them to Bowen’s best fixers! PAGE 10

BowUndercurrent www.bowenislandundercurrent.com

Asteroids and Eagles show courage BOWEN’S YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS ATTENDING THEIR FIRST TOURNAMENT WEATHERED A GUN SCARE AND PANICKED CROWDS BRONWYN BEAIRSTO Editor

UNDERCRURRENT PHOTO

Men on the Rock pose for a pre-rehearsal photo. David Brummitt, Aaron Davison, Tudor Weeks, Glenn Wolfe, Norman Thomson, Al Saugstad, Alan Whitehead, Paul-André Bégin, John Parker, Cordell Wynne, Brock Bytheway, Bud Massender, Hew Gwynne, Jack Callister, with choir director Nicole Zyczynski Thomas in front.

Hear rockin’men harmonizin’

DAVID BRUMMITT

Men on the Rock

There is something special about the sound of male voices in song. The harmonies are rich. In full voice, the power stirs the soul and vibrates through the listener’s entire body. It is a unique experience not to be missed.

Men On The Rock, Bowen Island’s own male chorus, is now in its third season. Starting with only six voices in September 2016, the choir has grown to 15 members, ages 22 to 80+.

“I’ve directed many different choirs but Men On The Rock just may be my favourite,” says director Nicole Zyczynski

Thomas. “It is extremely rewarding to direct a group of gentlemen who work so hard.”

Men On The Rock will present an eclectic program at their Spring Concert this Sunday at the Tir-na-nOg Theatre, drawing from songs spanning five centuries. The choir sings in four-part harmony most often accompanied on keyboard by the talented Nicole. Our repertoire also includes songs sung a cappella (without accompaniment) and several feature soloists drawn from the choir.

Men On The Rock perform songs from different genres, including folk, jazz, pop, and classical. Song writers from around the globe are featured: Stan Rogers,

Thomas Tallis, Violeta Parra, Tom Waits, Gordon Lightfoot, Paul McCartney, and Duke Ellington. The choir also performs songs made famous by popular artists: The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Turtles, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, and Great Big Sea. There is even an original composition from Nicole.

For this performance, Men On The Rock will be joined by two of Bowen’s most talented musicians. Juno Award recipient Buff Allen will play percussion and Tuen Schut graces the stage with the sweet sounds from his guitar.

The spring concert is this Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Tir-na-nOg. Tickets are $20, available at the Pharmacy or at the door.

While the Asteroids and the Eagles didn’t win a single game at their tournament last weekend, as far as their coaches and managers are concerned, the under-11 girls and under-nine boys Bowen Football Club teams deserved gold stars.

It was just before 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

The two Bowen teams were in the midst of the Whitecaps Adidas Cup, their season-capping tournament at Surrey’s Newton Athletic Park, alongside a few hundred other youth, when a gun scare sent players and spectators fleeing.

Though the RCMP later discovered the weapon to be imitation, the fear was real.

The girls team was mid-soccer game when the panic began.

Jean Coker, co-manager of the Asteroids, said she heard a commotion and someone yelled clear the field.

Coker helped usher the eight, nine and ten-yearolds off the field and they started running.

“We had one player who was injured. She couldn’t run. So one of our coaches ran back and threw her on his back,” said Coker.

“One of our coaches was on crutches and so she was trying to run on crutches,” she said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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2 • THURSDAY APRIL 4 2019

Event Calendar April 4 2019 5:00 pm Mayor’s Standing Committee on Community Lands Meeting

April 5 2019 9:00 am

WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM

Public Notice SEEKING PUBLIC COMMENT for DVP-05-2018 (510 Smugglers Cove Rd) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: A Development Variance Permit application has been submitted for 510 Smugglers Cove Rd (shown on map) to reduce setbacks to enable the construction of a tramway.

We are hiring: Summer Public Works Positions Bowen Island Public Works Department has full time positions available this summer.

Positions include: Public Works Parks Maintenance Crew and Public Works Roads Crew Parks Crew:

35 hours per week, 8:00-3:30 Monday – Friday May 6 – August 23

Roads Crew:

35 hours per week, 8:00-3:30 Monday – Friday May 6 – August 23

Housing Advisory Committee Meeting

April 8 2019 5:15 pm Public Hearing re: Bylaws 473 & 474,

Parks Crew will primarily be responsible for maintaining the Municipality’s parks, trails and public beaches. Roads Crew will primarily be responsible for assisting with the maintenance of the Municipality’s road system.

2018 (Veterans Park Rezoning) & Bylaw 461, 2018 (USSC Rezoning)

Regular Council Meeting

April 11 2019 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Firesmart Workshop

MORE INFORMATION AT MUNICIPAL HALL: The application may be viewed at Municipal Hall between 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday (excluding statutory holidays) or on the municipal website at www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/planning.

TIMELINE:

Fire Hall #2, 1421 Adams Rd

April 12 2019 9:30 am Community Economic Development Committee Meeting

April 15 2019 7:00pm Advisory Planning Commission Meeting All meetings are held in Council Chambers unless otherwise noted.

Council and Committee meetings are open to the public. We encourage you to attend in person or watch online.

The applicants will be comfortable working outside under varying weather conditions, work under supervision on a task-oriented basis, and hold a valid driver’s license. The positions also require that the crewpersons interact in a courteous manner with the public.

A complete posting and job description is available on the Municipal website or from the Municipal Hall.

Please submit your cover letter and resume by Friday, April 12th, 2019 at 4:00 pm to:

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME: Written submissions may be delivered to Municipal Hall (contact information below): • In person • By mail • By fax • By email to bim@bimbc.ca Submissions may also be made to Mayor and Council at the meeting: 6:15 PM on Monday, April 8, 2019 in Council Chambers, Municipal Hall To ensure a fair process, submissions cannot be accepted after the meeting has begun.

Questions? Please contact Emma Chow Island Community Planner at 604-947-4255 or echow@bimbc.ca

Community Grants 2019

Shayle Duffield, Human Resources Coordinator 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2 Email: hr@bimbc.ca Fax: 604-947-0193 www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs

Special Waste Dump Day @Bowen Island Recycling Depot Saturday, April 27, 2019

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Hazardous Waste and Paint Recycling @Bowen Building Centre Saturday, May 4, 2019

9:00 am - 3:00 pm

bowenislandmunicipality.ca/clean-up-days PAID ADVERTISEMENT

April 8 2019 6:15 pm

The application deadline for Bowen Island Municipality’s grants program is April 15, 2019. Beginning in 2019, there is one annual intake for Grants-in-Aid and Community Grants.

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/grants-for-the-community

General Enquiries

Contact Us

Phone: Fax: Email:

Bowen Island Municipal Hall 981 Artisan Lane Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2

604-947-4255 604-947-0193 bim@bimbc.ca

Find us on Facebook Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday - Friday, excluding statutory holidays Apr 4, 2019

Bowen Island Municipality

Join our mailing list bowenislandmunicipality.ca

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THURSDAY APRIL4,42019 2019 •• 3 3 Thursday, April

ISLAND NEWS

Rotary fundraising for ShelterBox PLEDGING FOR FUTURE BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor

When islanders head into the Snug for coffee next weekend, they’ll pass by a sturdy white tent.

While the Bowen iteration is for demonstration purposes, around the world similar tents shelter families in disaster zones.

The demonstration will be part of a Bowen Rotary fundraiser for people displaced by Cyclone Idai.

Last month, Cyclone Idai tore through Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. An estimated 1.7 million people were in the path of the storm. Hundreds of people died, thousands went missing and hundreds of thousands more were forced from their homes. In the weeks since, heavy rain caused floodwaters’ rise, the risk of cholera along with them.

ShelterBox is an international charity, founded in 2000 in the U.K., that provides shelter and supplies to people in the aftermath of disasters.

It currently has response teams in Malawi, where highly-trained volunteers are lending aid.

“Families require key aid items like emergency ShelterKits which contain heavy duty tarps, tools, and building materials to repair or rebuild homes; water filters to help protect from increased risk of water-borne disease; and mosquito nets to prevent against malaria,” reads a press release from ShelterBox Canada.

The organization is partnered with Rotary International, which has members all over the globe (more than 33,000 clubs) including in the Idai-affected areas. Rotarians are heavily involved in ShelterBox fundraising, Boweners included.

Rotary Bowen has raised more than $30,000 for Shelter Box since 2011. First for the tsunami that

hit Japan in 2011 (and caused the Fukishima disaster), then for those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 and then for the Nepal earthquakes in 2015.

To educate islanders about ShelterBox and the Cyclone Idai disaster, Bowen Rotary has invited Chris Loat, the Shelterbox Ambassador for the area, to give a talk next Thursday (April 11) at 7:30 p.m. at Collins Hall. They will then have the tent up over the weekend and will be collecting donations for Malawi. Islanders can also donate directly to ShelterBox online.

Loat has intimate knowledge of ShelterBox, not only as its ambassador, but his own son has been a volunteer with the organization. Loat told Bowen Rotarian Robert Ballantyne (in a phone conversation shared with the Undercurrent with permission of both parties) that the volunteers are undergo rigorous training before entering these difficult, disturbing and dangerous areas.

Loat also explained that ShelterBox only deploys with the permission of local authorities. Then, once the situation has stabilized, the organization returns to see what worked and what didn’t.

“There are so many things that need doing in the world, and Rotarians, particularly, can be very passionate about these things. Perhaps a hospital is needed or some sort of medical support. If we rush off and build the building, and there’s no one to man it, then the building is not very useful,” said Loat as an example.

Ballantyne is organizing the Bowen fundraiser.

“Bowen Islanders have I think a greater sense of what’s going on in the world than almost any other community I’ve ever been in,” he said. “I think the island perspective is different from other communities. And I think islanders understand that this is not that big a planet and what happens to people around the world does affect us in some way.”

JANIS SARRA

Contributor

The “Costing Climate Change” community meeting last month at Cates Hill Chapel heard the “Carbon Footprint Blues,” a song that follows an average office worker in Vancouver, calculating their carbon use, finding that by mid-afternoon, the individual has used 63.8 kilograms of carbon that day.

The blues song was followed by a song created at the seminar.

Sixty people at the meeting made the following pledges to reduce their footprints. They were powerful and hopeful messages about acting now for our future. Here is a selection of participants’ pledges: I pledge to use the bus more often; I pledge to bring recycling to developing countries and to use less paper; I pledge to ration my gasoline to one fill each month; I pledge to turn my computer off at night; I pledge to include all my relations (trees, birds, plants, fish, water, humans, animals) as my family; I pledge to commit an energy efficiency audit of my home; I pledge to respectfully engage with people uninformed with respect to climate change, to urge them to consider their actions, including, and particularly, politicians; I pledge to only take my car on the ferry when there are at least three of us travelling; I pledge to carry a

reusable water bottle and coffee cup; I pledge to use less electronics, keeping everything unplugged and turned off when not using it; I pledge to help move my community to regenerative agriculture; I pledge to switch to an electric car; I pledge to eat food created and transported only within 50 km. I pledge no more shaving in a running shower; I pledge to buy only used clothing, shoes and accessories, nothing new; I pledge to workto have a Green MP elected in our riding; I pledge to eat less dairy to create less methane; I pledge to leave all the plastic wrapping at my grocery store cash register so that they start to use less plastic; I pledge I will lobby my pension fund to invest ethically in my name; I pledge to disclose climate risk, not shield stakeholders from it; I pledge to hang dry my clothes much more often; I pledge to stop using take out coffee cups, no matter how much I want caffeine; I pledge to save up my trips to the Cove and not go several times a day in my car; I pledge to listen more to scientists about how rapidly change is coming if we do not change our patterns of activity; I pledge to talk to my company about how we can positively contribute to reducing our carbon footprint; I pledge to fly once a year; I pledge to give hope to others about climate change, as you have given hope to me today!

4 2019 4 ••THURSDAY Thursday, APRIL April 4,4 2019

bowenislandundercurrent.com WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM

VIEWPOINT

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Zoom Zoom closing for 2019 DEAR EDITOR: As many people know, Zoom Zoom Bowen was informed in January 2019 that there would no longer be space for us to operate at the same location we have been renting for the past two years (Trunk and Miller Road). Since then, we have been searching high and low to find any possible location which might satisfy both zoning requirements and our own safety standards.

Many supportive business owners and residents have reached out offering different locations from driveways to parking lots. We are grateful for the ongoing support of this community and the enthusiasm for the success of our little business which has evolved significantly over the past three years. Since opening in 2016, we have had over 2000 riders from 31 countries and are proud to call ourselves “Bowen Ambassadors.” We’ve worked diligently to be recognized by Trip Advisor as the number one “thing to do” on Bowen. We are a recognized as a “carbon positive” company (via carbon offsetting) through the support of a reforestation project on Quadra Island.

Over the past three years we have learned a great deal, including what it takes to prepare our riders appropriately to ensure their safety, and that of our own community members. With this as our primary focus while looking at new locations, we have had to consider many factors including the surface of the potential training area, our ability to designate space solely for training, the dry storage of the scooters and gear as well as consideration of pedestrian, ferry and vehicle traffic.

Ultimately, our inability to find a new location has primarily been related to the fact that we live on a small island with a limited commercially zoned area and very few paved spaces on which we can operate. Even within the commercially zoned areas, many do not allow for our type of business (“general services”), meaning that we would require a temporary use permit. This can also take six-to-eight weeks to secure. Ultimately, parking space requirements, a lack of storage space, liability concerns and/or zoning restrictions have emerged as insurmountable obstacles and it appears that we have run out of options.

Sadly, this means that Zoom Zoom close its doors for the 2019 season. We are trying to find a way to honour the gift certificates which were donated to local and regional charity auctions and are deeply appreciative of the many messages of encouragement that we continue to receive.

We are hopeful that Zoom Zoom will find its feet again on Bowen at some point and that we can continue to offer what we believe to be a valuable service for the island. We thank all of you for making it possible for our “lil red scooters” to bring visitors from every corner the planet to meet our welcoming community, support our local businesses and explore our stunningly idyllic little piece of paradise in an ethical and adventurous way.

— Jamie Woodall Zoom Zoom

Forest fire burning outside of Squamish STEVEN CHUA/JENNIFER THUNCHER

Squamish Chief

A wildfire burning at the 17.5-mile area of Squamish Valley Road came within 100 feet of a home on Tuesday.

The BC Wildfire Service firefighters and the homeowner were prepared for the approach.

“It was known and it was prepared for and there are sprinklers on the home and there was no danger at any time,” said Dorthe Jacobson, with the Coastal Fire Service.

Rain that started overnight Tuesday and continued into Wednesday is helping

combat the blaze.

On Wednesday afternoon, the fire, which started Monday afternoon, remained at 50 hectares in size, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

It is a Rank 1 to 2 fire, meaning it is smouldering with flames on the ground.

With higher ranked fires, flames are visible.

The Squamish Valley Road remains open but all non-essential travel is discouraged, according to the SLRD, as fire crews and vehicles may be on the road in the firework zone.

On Wednesday, 11 firefighters were on scene.

THE WRITE STUFF. The Undercurrent encourages reader participation in your community newspaper. You must include your full name and a daytime phone number (for verification only). The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, legality, brevity and taste.

HERE’S HOW: To submit a letter to the editor, fax 604-947-0148 or mail it to #102, 495 Government Rd., PO Box 130, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0 or email editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com.

All Advertising and news copy content are copyright of the Undercurrent Newspaper. All editorial content submitted to the Undercurrent becomes the property of the publication.

The Undercurrent is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, art work and photographs.

#102–495 Bowen Trunk Road, PO Box 130, Bowen Island BC, V0N 1G0 Phone: 604.947.2442 Fax: 604.947.0148 bowenislandundercurrent.com DEADLINE for all advertising and editorial: Monday, 4:00 p.m.

Bowen Island Undercurrent Subscription Rates: Mailed 1 year subscription on Bowen Island: $45, including GST. Within Canada: $65 including GST Newsstand (Single Copy) $1 per copy, including GST ISSN 7819-5040

The helicopter working Monday and Tuesday was grounded by clouds Wednesday morning.

The rain, though welcome, makes it very dangerous for firefighters on some of the steep slopes where the fire is smouldering, Jacobson said.

“Some of the areas where this fire is burning are quite tricky,” she said.

According to BC Wildfire Service, the blaze does not currently pose a threat to people or structures and is moving upslope, away from the valley.

A homeowner burning slash reportedly caused the fire, though an investigation is ongoing.

National NewsMedia Council.

EDITOR BronwynBeairsto editor@bowenisland undercurrent.com

ADVERTISING Tracey Wait ads@bowenisland undercurrent.com

CARTOONIST Ron Woodall

PUBLISHER Peter Kvarnstrom publisher@bowenisland undercurrent.com

2011 CCNA

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

The Undercurrent is a member of the National NewsMedia Council of Canada, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please email editor@bowenislandundercurrent. com or call 604-947-2442.

If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

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THURSDAY APRIL4,42019 2019 •• 5 5 Thursday, April

Bowen youths did “really well”despite gun scare CONTINUED PAGE 1

Coker said that it wasn’t clear at that point what was happening but the adults’ primary concern was getting the children to safety. She said that they ran a couple of blocks and hid the kids behind a fence, where they did a head count and ensured that the girls who weren’t with the team were safe.

“The girls, of course, were very upset. There was there was lots of fiction being shouted,” said Coker. “So we just really kept to the facts with the kids, that we didn’t know what was happening, that it was best to be safe.”

Meanwhile, the seven and eight-year-old boys were on a break. Most were at a playground. The Eagles coach, Deidre Farah, said she was sitting on a bench with her mother when she saw a swarm of people running, at least one of them talking about a gun. Unlike the Asteroids, most Eagles players were with their parents and left with their parents, said Farah.

But Farah wasn’t with her own children. Her kids were with Farah’s husband in the food truck area, right where the crowd ran through. In the melee, the three were separated, said Farah. Though the youngest soon reunited with his father, the older boy got lost in the crowd.

“My older son, we just, over spring break taught him my husband’s cell number and he had it memorized.” said Farah. She said that another coach spotted her son running with his friend, offered help, and her son was able to call her husband.

“It was very frightening but the kids were amazing,” she said.

Police cleared the field and news quickly spread online and on the radio that there was no risk to the public. While some games started back up at the field, the Bowen teams were done for the day.

Both teams returned to their hotels and relaxed and discussed the day’s scare.

The next morning, the teams returned to the field, which had increased security and police presence.

Though three Asteroids girls were unsure about playing, they wanted to return to Newton and support their teammates. In the end, they all took to the field.

“And our girls played amazing,” said Coker. “They, they just really came together as a team.

“They played tougher than they’ve ever played before.

They played harder. They played smarter. Just passing, they communicated. They played better.

“Even though it was really tricky, and they didn’t win the games, they have so much to be proud of about the tournament.

“I feel that going back there for them was very scary. But I think that they finished their season feeling a bit in control.

That they had come back to somewhere where they had had the biggest fright of their life.”

Coker said that while she didn’t wish the experience on anyone, it brought the girls closer together. She said that she expects to see many players return when the Asteroids reconvene in the fall.

Sunday marked the end of the Eagles’ first tournament.

“They did really well, really well, under the circumstances,” said Farah. “They were just there to play and have fun.

And we weren’t necessarily there to win. We were there for the experience of it.

“We were able to play again and just focus on fun.”

Farah said that Saturday was stressful for youth and parents alike but it gave her new perspective.

Students returned to school from spring break Monday.

MARIA TURNBULL, PHOTO

Deidre Farah (coach on far left) and Colin Turnbull (far right) with the Bowen FC U-9 boys team, the Eagles.

JEAN COKER, PHOTO

The Asteroids and their coaches weathered the tumult of the tournament and came out with smiles.

As Farah was making her son’s lunches Saturday’s events were running through her mind.

“And I was dropping them off at the bus [Monday] morning, the greatest thing was that the bus driver was one of the parents that was there. His son’s on the same team as my kids. And it was just like, you know, it’s safe,” she said.

Surrey RCMP said in a news release that a male was arrested Saturday for various offences related to the incident and released on a promise to appear. Charges have not been laid and the investigation is ongoing.

While the Asteroids and Eagles are done for the season, Bowen FC’s Soccer Academy starts up soon.

BOWEN’S DIARY: The Undercurrent’s society page Email us your special dates anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, births

Send pictures too!

editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

6 2019 6 ••THURSDAY Thursday, APRIL April 4,4 2019

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A look back at the news: April ‘79, ‘94, ‘09

CATHERINE BAYLY

Bowen Island Museum and Archives

The following are unedited snippets from past Undercurrents. To read the com-plete articles or to follow up on information please contact the Bowen Museum & Archives at bihistorians@telus.net or 604.947.2655

40 years ago - April 1979

“Gold Strike It has been most reliably reported that gold has been discovered at Hood Point. This gold, however, may be quite difficult to mine as it is in very deep and secure pockets.”

“The renewed proposal for a four-lane blacktop highway from Snug Cove to Adams Bay has been revived. This highway would carry all Sunshine Coast traffic from a large shuttle ferry from Horseshoe Bay, across Bowen Island to connect with a second shuttle ferry from Adams Bay to Langdale. This, it is said, would expedite Sunshine Coast and Bowen Island service.”

“Editor, Undercurrent: We see the price of power in British Columbia continuing to climb and, in an area such as ours where we are blessed with a super abundance of inexpensive power, I am beginning to wonder if this great increase may have something to do with the president chairman of the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority who is perhaps just a bit greedy.

Alex Tricity”

25 years ago - April 1994

“Bowen time to stand still Bowen Island is to remain an hour behind the rest of B.C., following a last-minute decision by the Islands Trust temporal subcommittee.

Most of Canada will switch to daylight savings at 2 AM a.m. this Saturday, but subcommittee chairperson B. Hynde–Times said there are many reasons to leave local clocks alone. In the interest of efficiency, BC ferries has asked the Trust to help speed up the crossing time, because Horseshoe Bay will move to daylight savings time while the island does not, passengers will arrive in Snug Cove 40 min-

utes before they leave the mainland.

“This will sharply reduce congestion during the peak summer months, he added.

A disadvantage to the scheme-known as daylight wasting time is that it will now take almost an hour and a half to return to the mainland, but a recent survey showed that most people leaving Bowen Island would rather stay here anyway” Russ Francis”

The following is part of an article written by Bob Turner Nature matters to Bowen couple.

“Few of us will ever know Howe Sound the way Sandy Ludwig does. For the past two decades, Sandy has been on the waters around Bowen five days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day, through every season. His trademark little salvage boat, the all-blue Meson, is a distinctive resident of Snug Cove.

Bob Turner spent the afternoon with Lois Myers-Carter and Bill Riddle who interviewed Sandy and Michelle Ludwig. The following are segments of the conversation about the natural environment around and about Bowen Island.

Whales - “I didn’t really pay attention to them when I first came. They were so common. They would come in groups and would be in the Sound at the same time. I don’t know what happened to the killer whales. In the early 1980s they just disappeared.

There is another whale, a solitary one. I’ve seen him for the last three years. It’s a False Killer Whale. Every time I would go out and he was around, he’d come right over for me. He must have known my engine. Then he just swim around me for a while, just playing.”

Snug Cove - “There was this mud flat with a channel across it. It is where Rondy’s parking lot is now. The channel was fed with fresh water from a creek and a ditch along Government Road. There was lots of eel grass and life.

Sometimes I’d look and there were thousands of crabs moving along the channel. There was a guy who was always digging clams on the mud-flat. Flatfish were common too.

They’d catch them off the government wharf. But this was before the first dredging - the first dredging changed all

Spring Jazz Benefit

that. The first dredging was in the mid-1980s. The dredge material was pumped up on land, near the area of the parking lot. Water full of silt flowed back into the cove from the dredge pile. The whole Cove was covered in a thick layer of silt. It killed everything.

There used to be oyster beds in Deep Bay. Right out in front of Betty Black’s. I don’t know what happened to them.

They just died.”

10 years ago - 2009

The April 2009 Undercurrents continued to reflect the Cape Roger Curtis debate.

The following headlines are found in the Comments and views section: • OCP should reflect clear vision for Bowen’s future • Cluster community finally getting things right Neighbourhood Plan will ensure access to CRC for all • • CRC plan offers wide ranging opportunities Be careful what you ask for - it always comes with a • price Petition reflects concerns over island wide impact of • CRC plan • Minimize development and maximize environmental protection in the Cape • Being well-informed is key Some letter writers imply that petition signers are • uninformed B.I. MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES

And then there was this sign greeting people coming to Bowen Island. Anyone remember it?

Bowen Island Community School

with the

CHRISTIE GRACE QUINTET Saturday, April 20, 7:30pm Cove Commons $35 in advance, $40 at the door

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Proceeds from this concert will benefit the Community Centre Project

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Featuring Christie Grace – Vocals

CLOTHING SALE May 11, 2019 10am to 2pm

Cates Hill Chapel

s

Donations: Spring clean your closets and donate gently used and clean

Presented by the Bowen Island Arts Council www.thehearth.ca

be in touch with your community.

anywhere.

www.bowenislandundercurrent.com

Adult (or Teen) clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, hats, scarves . . .

Drop Off: Clothing donations can be dropped off at the Lower Level Parking Lot of BCC, 650 Carter Road (Bin Outside Shed) or at BICS

Entrance Fee: Food Bank Donation $ or Non-Perishable Food Item Questions? Contact: bowenclothingsale@gmail.com

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THURSDAY APRIL4,42019 2019 •• 7 7 Thursday, April

BOWEN BEAT Playing spring break away

The last week of Spring Break brought with it many more fun and active days at the Bowen Island Community Recreation camps! Mornings were spent with Rebecca Lyne and afternoons with Jared Brown.

PHOTOS AND CAPTION BY SHEANA STEVENON

Our most elaborate April Fools joke Monday involved swapping some of the recognizable faces of the General Store and the Ruddy Potato. On the left, Corey and Nancy acclimate to their “new” till (Marcus Hondro). On the right, Iskra and Karen take over the General Store counter (Bronwyn Beairsto). Concept: Marcus Hondro. Thank you to our local stores!

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8 2019 8 ••THURSDAY Thursday, APRIL April 4,4 2019

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BOWEN’S FAKE NEWS SOURCE

Greatest art hoax on the West Coast: l’affaire Lieben

RON WOODALL Contributor

At some point, all of the nostalgia over the Union Steamship’s Happy Isle became just too tedious for Bowen’s arty crowd.

All that drinking and three-legged racing and out-ofwedlock recreation meant that very little art was being churned out on the island.

Even then, there was a sense of deprivation, impatient yearning to have lots of artistic stuff around. Implausibly, some believed that eventually it would be necessary to impose a Cultural Masterplan to secure a steady and ample supply of macrame and paper mache fish and sponge sunset murals. They envisioned cases of empty glitter bottles and mummified glue sticks and bins of colourful wearables, silkscreened stuff that no one would wear. Also, most important of all, many, many interpretations of the lighthouse.

So as this desire for serious artistic heritage, an art tradition began to grow, a plan began to hatch. Long before the alien autopsies, before Loch Ness or the Bermuda Triangle, there was Lieben.

The story was so charming. A generous and loveable couple built an artists’ retreat in a funky house on Bowen Island and invited the most celebrated artists and authors to come and stay and work and for years Lieben became an endearing island legend.

Where was Lieben? Some claim that a vacant lot was chosen in Eaglecliffe. It was declared the site of the conveniently-vanished Lieben and was whispered about for decades. No one ever actually checked the location because there was rumour of a deranged hermit with a shotgun.

Research was undertaken to seek evidence of visits by arts luminaries. They used the popular reference book, “Notable Canadian Freeloaders: West Coast Edition II” which also

BOWEN ISLAND MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES, PHOTO

Einar and Muriel Neilson on the Lieben property. had an extensive grant application writing appendix but to no avail.

But surely someone would have seen something? At the time, random rumours were circulated as to which luminaries were visiting and should be left alone because they were doing important things and therefore no one should go snooping around. Beyond that, not even one mildly notable inebriate with a typewriter was ever observed in the Cove.

So how did Lieben enter our folklore? It could be the late night planting of alleged foundation stones to satisfy the meddlers who insisted on trampling the vacant lot.

Recently, it was learned that there has been pressure over the last half century to have the lot designated Canada’s first National Historic Possibility.

But here are the facts.

The concept for his hoax was taken directly from the 1934 classic romance film Rumba. When Joe and Diana learn

that they share the same raffle ticket, they decide to start an arts club in Cuba. She brings a drunk with her but dances with Joe by mistake and then decides to become a schoolteacher. The original idea was to cast the couple at Lieben after the George Raft and Carole Lombard characters. But it was decided that names Joe and Diana were too obvious and so consultants were hired and recommended Einar and Muriel, using old phonebook technology. In the final scene, of course, everybody wakes up and it was a dream about a buried treasure in Nova Scotia but that part was omitted.

What a success story Lieben created! Previously, there were few examples of serious art on Bowen.

There was a clamshell ashtray at the Bowmart Cafe, the odd dashbaord religious figure, some framed chocolate box lids, and in the living room of the island’s only college graduate, Vladimir Trechikoff’s “Chinese Girl.”

Since L’Affaire Lieben, the local arts scene has thrived.

Now, Bowen has far too much art. It is stored away in crawl spaces and in old boat hulls. The concern about the island’s artistic excess has grown to a point where the University of Munich currently has a team evaluating the dangerous effect of local stored art which, it is feared, could throw the earth off axis. This is known in geophysical circles as The Bowen Wobble especially if the heavy loom and clay wheel effect sets in. Using atomic clocks, they have now also linked the local art surplus to the nightly phenomenon of many stars moving the wrong way.

Still, this peril has had virtually no effect on the frequency of local show openings and book launches except, perhaps, for the token gesture of trimming the crusts from the little sandwiches.

Perhaps the most conclusive evidence is the name itself.

“Lieben” means “love” and comes from the old German tennis term meaning “Nothing.” As in, nothing there. Nothing.

Editor’s note: Lieben was of course, real. You can read about it on the Bowen Museum and Archives website.

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THURSDAY APRIL4,42019 2019 •• 9 9 Thursday, April

OUR APRIL FOOLS ARTICLES

500 kayaks replace Queen of Cap

DAVID MCCULLUM PHOTOS

A photoshoped picture of the Bowen mastadon on Salt Spring Island.

Salt Spring’s great mastadon caper BOWEN ISLAND UNDERCURRENT

April Fools fan

Once, they roamed all of North and Central America. Now, for the first time in millennia, a mastodon roams again.

For more than a year, Bowen has been the notso-secret home of a driftwood mastodon. The artistic installation by local artist Guthrie Gloag has drawn tourists and locals alike to the proboscidean’s private perch.

However, it appears that over the weekend Salt Spring Islanders stole the mastodon and installed it on their own shoreline.

“I’m glad to know I wasn’t going crazy,” says Bowener Nick Charles, who said he thought he saw the silhouette of an elephant trundling down his street Saturday evening and reported it to police.

The thieves are thought to have rented a moving van on the mainland, driven it over, loaded up the 10-foot-tall sculpture and taken the three ferries to Salt Spring Island. How the thieves then

got the mastodon onto the cliff’s edge, where it now overlooks the Howe Sound Queen (Salt Spring’s ferry) route, is anyone’s guess.

Locals on Salt Spring seem quietly delighted with the migration.

“I can neither condone nor condemn this action,” said Dorothy Wynant, a representative from the Salt Spring Board of Tourism and Commerce. “But I can say that Bowen’s been bogarting the tourists in recent years. The mastodon gives Salt Spring a bit of an edge.”

The Salt Spring Police Force (SPF) is says that it needs to confirm that it isn’t a whole new mastodon.

“We’ve put in a call to Bowen RCMP,” said the SPF captain, Louis Renault. “We’ll have to get the artist out here to identify the work.

“The Bowen mastodon is quite famous now, naturally there’s going to be copycats.”

Meanwhile on Bowen, islanders have traipsed out to the mastadon’s former site, leaving bouquets of driftwood flowers and notes with wishes for the kidnapped creature to return home.

In an extraordinary measure to cut greenhouse gas emissions, BC Ferries is replacing the Queen of Capilano with a fleet of 500 kayaks. The transition is to start May 1.

While this pilot project affects just Bowen, BC Ferries hopes to roll out the program to all its minor routes.

“It’s obviously not a solution for our major runs between Vancouver Island and the mainland, but Bowen is a perfectly kayakable distance for most people,” explained a BC Ferries spokesperson Monday.

Kayaking the 5 km distance, a roughly hour-and-a-half paddle, will be an unwelcome change for many commuters but BC Ferries noted at some point the environment has to come before convenience.

“We realize this’ll be a big adjustment for islanders but we need drastic

carbon solutions,” said the spokesperson. “Boweners have been asking for an electric ferry for some time now.

We’re doing them one better.”

BC Ferries sent out a call for kayak instructors Monday. The organization will fund a series of 10 kayak lessons for each islander over the age of 12 and under the age of 75. Young children can either go in tandem kayaks with their parents or parents can get passes for the water taxi service that will run every three hours for those unable to kayak the crossing.

While there will still be one car service ferry in each direction every day, it will be reserved for supply runs for local businesses.

BC Ferries’ announcement came in the wake of TransLink announcing that it is replacing half of its bus fleet with bicycles built for 20.

INES ORTNER

found during our excavation for our onsite storage last year are in fact putrefied boards stemming from a Viking boat.

Therefore construction has been put on hold since the winter and this coming week we have a group of archaeologists starting the excavation process. Ground-penetrating radar tests suggest a larger structure reaching underneath the museum building and further steps need to be considered after initial archaeological tests.

Museum excavation uncovers viking ship Bowen Island Museum and Archives

We’ve been struggling to keep a striking development at the Museum and Archives under wraps, one that has enormous implications for how we understand Bowen Island’s history and the history of the B.C. coast.

Despite all previous assumptions that Vikings never reached the Pacific Northwest, we have scientific confirmation that the wooden fragments

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The Fix-It Fair and the right to repair MERIBETH DEEN

Contributor

What makes a real Bowen Islander?

You’re all too willing to go over the top on October 31.

You know your neighbours.

You don’t begrudge working for free.

Garbage really irks you.

There are plenty of other things, I’m sure, but it’s the garbage thing I want to talk about.

Here on Bowen, just about everyone accepts the complexity of our our recycling systems, our composting systems and the pricey stickers on our garbage cans. People grumble about all kinds of things here, but not this. In most communities, you’d risk a municipal shut-down by sticking a price tag of $92 dollars on a second garbage can, to be collected bi-weekly. On Bowen, we suck it up. Plenty of us even embrace it. Wastereduction is just one of our “things.”

That particular “thing” takes many forms, and one them is the bi-annual Bowen In Transition Fix-it Fair. What happens is that a bunch of handy people get together with their tools at Collins Hall and wait around for their island neighbours to bring them stuff that’s broken: toys, computers, vacuums, bicycles, clothing, you name it. As they toil, the neighbours get to know one another a little better, and the fixer shares her or his tips. Sometimes, the broken thing in question just can’t be fixed.

Actually, the truth is, there’s plenty that can’t be fixed. The Fix-it Fair’s volunteer electronics repair people will even tell you – the newer it is, the less likely it can be fixed.

At the Fix-it Fair, our handy volunteers will do their best to fix even the unfixable, and show you their whole process.

It doesn’t have to stop here, though. We

can ask companies to make their products more fixable. Eighteen states in the U.S. have passed “right to repair” bills. These require companies selling products (mostly electronics and heavy machinery) to offer tools, manuals and other supplies to make it possible for owners and independent technicians to fix their products. In Ontario, MPP Michael Coteau introduced a private members bill asking the same thing of electronics manufacturers in Ontario.

Increasing the longevity of our phones and computers would be better for our pocket books and obviously would reduce e-waste. It would also mean more precious metals could stay in the ground where they belong, and we could start looking for ways to deal with the toxic-sludge lakes that have been made processing them, instead of simply enlarging them.

It’s a big issue, with at least one straightforward solution.

Bowen Islanders have done such a great job of diverting waste by creating and running the recycling depot and the Knick Knack Nook – maybe it’s time we take the next step and ask corporations to be as responsible as we are?

While we’re getting our broken things fixed on April 14 (at Collins Hall, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.) we can talk about it more. Join the conversation at the Bowen In Transition Fix-it-Fair. This event is free.

Park Royal Cineplex opens

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As the closing credits roll at one North Shore movie theatre, it’s lights, camera, action at another.

After 20 years without moving pictures in West Vancouver, Cineplex Cinemas Park Royal and VIP is officially open.

The opening of the new state-of-the-art Park Royal location arrives soon after it was announced that the six-screen Esplanade Cineplex, also owned by Cineplex Cinemas, would be officially closing on April 2. The Esplanade had been in business in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood under various operators since 1990.

Located on the third level of Park Royal Shopping Centre’s south side (right above the Brick), the theatre features luxury recliner seating in each of its 11 auditoriums, along with a host of “enhanced movie-watching experiences” like UltraAVX, D-BOX motion seats, and an adults-only VIP section where moviegoers and film buffs alike can order food and beverages, from fresh salads and burgers to artisanal pizzas, which are delivered right to their seats.

Cineplex is in the process of getting its four VIP auditoriums at the new theatre fully-licensed, according to Van Lange, but guests can still purchase a selection of cocktails, wines and craft beers for consumption in the VIP lounge prior to showtime.

The addition of the Park Royal Cineplex could hopefully bring some more exciting options for West Vancouver and North Shore residents looking for a night out, said Ken Mont, executive director of B.C. operations for Cineplex Entertainment, adding that he imagines the movie theatre would also likely entice moviegoers from nearby Vancouver.

“We’re hoping that this does generate people coming out a little bit later and staying out a little bit later, and that’s part of the experience with the VIP,” said Mont.

This isn’t the first time Park Royal has played host to a movie theatre either. Famous Players operated the Park Royal Twin Theatres from approximately the mid-1960s and into the ’90s, according to an email statement from Christine Piers, marketing director at Park Royal. Shortly thereafter the shopping centre officially took over the theatre and operated it under the Park Royal Cinemas banner – exclusively screening second-run movies and repertoire films – until it finally closed in 2002.

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Heating up for summer at the Hearth Arts on Bowen KATHLEEN AINSCOUGH

The Hearth, Arts on Bowen

As spring buds, so do many initiatives from the newly-rebranded Bowen Island Arts Council, now operating as the Hearth.

We adopted the name, the Hearth, following a series of focus groups with members of BIAC and the wider community.

We came to the hearth, as a space and as a metaphor, for the creative in us all. A hearth nurtures the fires of creativity. It is a symbol of transformation. It is a gathering place for clan and community. Local graphic designer, Kirsten Degnar, created the new logo to accompany the brand. And it comes with a promise: we are all artists here.

Membership in the arts council is still key to our ability to support arts and culture on Bowen Island and beyond the island. Working with the municipality, we’ve advanced community centre project, with a federal-provincial infrastructure grant application submitted in early January.

Islanders can learn more about this project at a number of upcoming open houses. Fundraising will continue as well.

Our first year in the Gallery @ Commons ended in December with the It’s A Wrap exhibition. The second cycle began in January with the sold-out Lorna Crozier workshop and author’s presentation, co-hosted by the library. The Gallery reopened in February with the Mini Gala exhibition, which concluded with the live auction and black and white ball where we raised over $12,000.

We have lots planned for the Gallery this year.

Second Chances opened April 3 and May brings the Syrian Art Exhibit: a collaboration between Penticton Art Gallery and the Gallery @ Cove Commons.

Our programming continues with the return of Writing from the Belly of the Whale presented by author, Donaleen Saul. The popular Eat Drink Paint sessions, facilitated by Kathleen Ainscough, continue on May 25, this one inspired

by Claude Monet’s water lilies.

The now-acoustically-treated Cove Commons will host two jazz concerts. April 20 at 7:30 p.m. the Christie Grace Quintet will perform a community centre benefit concert. Then on Saturday, May 11, the Marc Atkinson Trio from Hornby Island will provide an evening of Gypsy Jazz.

Purchase your tickets early as seats are limited.

As an umbrella organization for arts and culture on Bowen Island, the mandate of the Bowen Island Arts Council is to further opportunities for the arts and artists and to work in a way that will socially and economically benefit our community. In partnership with the Hearth, the West Vancouver Library features the work of four of Bowen Island’s artists whose work pays homage to island life for the months of March and April. This exhibit was also part of the North Shore Art Crawl and helps to put Bowen artists on the map beyond the island shores.

Our youth summer job, Cultural Connector, is now posted on our website. Applications will be accepted until Friday, April 5.

Finally, our Annual Call For Artists for exhibitions in 2020 has just gone out. Artists can submit their applications by bringing their work to the Gallery @ Cove Commons on Monday, May 27. We welcome submissions from both local and off-island artists. For full information, please visit the website, or pick up an information sheet at the Gallery.

We’re open from Wednesday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Y! THIS SUA NTDA T D

TS THERE’LL BE TICKE

T

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Patient of the Week MEET STELLA This beautiful, charismatic dog recently spent 11 days in the I.C.U. after x-rays indicated aspiration pneumonia. With regular visits from her dedicated owner along with IV support and several types of antibiotics, Stella is making a good recovery back home. (A special steak dinner ordered in by Medical Director, Dr. Westcott, probably didn’t hurt either!)

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THURSDAY April APRIL 2019••11 11 Thursday, 4, 42019

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SLOW LANE CHRONICLES

Departing the Ferry Announcement MARCUS HONDRO

Columnist

UNDERCURRENT PHOTO

Marcus Hondro calculated exactly how much of the Queen of Capilano crossing is taken up with announcements (13 per cent). tion system and lifejackets located on deck 3, the passenger lounge deck. If it is deemed necessary a crew member will instruct you on how to put on a life jacket.

Remember you are on a vessel that can sometimes move unexpectedly so please use handrails, walk carefully, watch for high doorsills, be careful on outer decks that may be wet and watch out for strong winds that can knock you off-balance. Help your fellow passengers stay safe by keeping luggage out of isles and off of seats.

BC Ferries is pleased to provide a smoke free environment.

Customers are reminded there is no smoking onboard vessels or anywhere on terminal property; this includes the use of e-cigarettes. If you need any assistance during the voyage or when disembarking please identify yourself to a crewmember so we can help. Thank you for sailing with B.C. Ferries.

Okay, to begin let’s cut the first two sentences and start with “Please listen to the following safety announcement.”

Period. Simple. Don’t need “pleasant” or to be asked to “please take a moment” and nor do we need “safe at sea” (which, as we are at sea, seems a given).

Still with that opening paragraph, saying the crew is cer-

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Let’s start here: the Departure Announcement (upper case to denote import) BC Ferries plays upon our beloved Queen of Capilano could never be characterized as succinct. Brevity is not a virtue it possesses and, like the Marcel Proust tome In Search of Lost Time, it fails at being concise.

Rather the Departure Announcement could be deemed – sound familiar, deemed? (more later) – as…oh – garrulous?

Or perhaps we should be charitable and go with exceedingly thorough.

I spoke via email recently with Deborah Marshall, executive director of public affairs for BC Ferries, and she tells me ours is “generally the same as the rest of the departure announcements in the fleet.”

I told Deborah I’ve encountered islanders who find the Departure Announcement overlong (true). She said the “announcements were lengthened to include information on how passengers can make sure they stay safe not just in emergency situations but when moving about the vessel as well.”

Further, she said it was deemed necessary the announcement, written by ferry staff in 2015 with updates since, include information on new “policies and regulations.” It all adds up to a lot of verbiage for the (I assume) voice actor who got the gig (rats, forgot to ask for a name).

As Bowen is a short run, for us the length of the Departure Announcement is magnified. It has 234 words and runs nearly one-and-a-half minutes and when you add the Arrival Announcement – now played on the heels of the Departure Announcement – I estimate us islanders are hearing an announcement for 13.8 per cent of our trip.

When extrapolated over the course of a 90-minute route, such as Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, it would be like listening to an announcement for 12.3 minutes. To quote my teenage son “I suck at math (true),” but I stand by those numbers.

Clearly the Departure Announcement could be pruned and, not surprisingly, I have a few (or many) thoughts on the subject. But first let us first look at the DA in its entirety (transcribed by myself, any errors are mine): This is an important safety announcement. To make your journey today safe and pleasant please take a moment to listen to how to be safe at sea. There’s a lot of safety knowledge behind each BC Ferries crew member and all members of our crew are certified by Transport Canada and Marine Safety to deal effectively with emergency situations.

In the unlikely event of an emergency please stop what you are doing and follow directions from the crew. They will guide you to the emergency assembly area, Marina evacua-

tified etc. to “deal effectively with” etc., is unnecessary. We already know Alan and Blaine and Sandy etc. weren’t just handed a safety vest and pointed in the direction of the car deck.

In short, we’re happy with our Q. of C. staff, though I’m glad the guy who over-disciplined my son over a vending machines incident 12 years ago retired. I mean if you were 5 and heard a chocolate bar had fallen underneath one you, too, might crawl between the wall and the machine to find it.

In the unlikely event of an emergency please stop what you are doing and follow directions from the crew. Firstly, we Bowen Islanders are not so frail that invoking the spectre of an emergency requires it to be preceded by the assurance that such an event is “unlikely.”

And were there an emergency we wouldn’t need to be told to stop what we’re doing. After all, what could we be doing that’s more pressing than an emergency? Talking about where we’re taking the kids swimming? Trying to pull a child out from under a vending machine?

If it is deemed necessary a crew member will instruct you on how to put on a life jacket. Along with ‘brandish’ and ‘druthers,’ ‘deemed’ is a favorite word of mine but here it seems superfluous. Having said that, let’s keep it and go with: If it is deemed necessary that you require instructions on how to put on a life jacket then it might be best if you stayed home, locked the doors and took to using only plastic utensils.

There’s this: watch out for strong winds that can knock you off balance. Simply “watch out for strong winds” will do. Or cut the line entirely and let people get blown around the deck. Why? Because as all parents know there is no better learning tool than natural consequences. (See vending machine above).

Okay, now this has gotten overlong but before stopping I shall pen my own version of the Departure Announcement.

After all, criticizing implies an ability to do better. The following then is but 58 words, fully 176 words, and 45 seconds, shorter: Hey, listen up. In an emergency Alan and Blaine and Sandy etc. will help you put on a life jacket, though frankly that shouldn’t be deemed necessary. Also, please take a moment to walk firmly and don’t throw your luggage just any old place at sea. Oh, no smoking, which basically you should quit anyhow (true). Peace out.

On second thought, probably best to stick with the Departure Announcement we’ve got.

(True).

* DAILY EXCEPT SATURDAYS ^ EXCEPT SAT, SUN † DC WEDNESDAY SAILINGS WILL BE REPLACED

BY DANGEROUS CARGO SAILINGS. NO OTHER PASSENGERS PERMITTED.

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THURSDAY April APRIL 2019••13 13 Thursday, 4, 42019

OPINION

Recognizing the other “First responders” ROB WYNEN Contributor

Oh crud, here we go again I sigh as Blake and Marissa enter the building.

The couple frequent our community centre from time to time and you just know some issue is going to pop up during their visit. The couple has had many run ins with various members of our community, most would classify them as “trouble.” I try my best to think of them as a challenging couple with their unique perspective on what constitutes acceptable, or should I say, “normal,” behavior.

It didn’t take long before the radio asked for some support as there was a lady in the washroom who just flooded the toilet. Apparently our plumbing system was not up to the task of flushing down half a roll of paper towels.

Marissa had also become verbally abusive to a client who took issue with her actions.

One of our maintenance staff skillfully diffused the situation and the overflowing toilet was dealt with pretty quickly as well, but I have seen these issues get out of hand and it can happen fast.

Just the other week one of our fitness programmers was spat at by a homeless individual who was sleeping in our lobby. He then proceeded to throw a brick at our outside window. Another day at the office. It is often part of the job when working in public service.

I go through movie genre cycles ranging from old cheesy sci-fi to murder mysteries and recently ‘80s disaster movies. You begin to notice genre patterns pretty quickly, the houseboat filled with irritating, loud teens who get eaten by piranha or the couple moving into a creepy old home hoping to make it their new dream getaway until the chandeliers start leaking blood.

The scripts tend to be pretty tight and not wander too far off from the predicted norm.

The ‘80s disaster movies follow a script along the lines of a) major issue hits society (think earthquake, mutant spiders, meteorite shower) followed by b) all out chaos and c) the heroes saving the day. Often the heroes are military, police or fire services, the “first” responders.

Often the disaster movies based on real life events will follow with a thank you to all our “men and women” in uniform.

But who is truly first on the scene? Who are other very real heroes when a disaster strikes?

As the name would suggest, first responders are first on the scene of an event, usually some event that is unexpected and potentially dangerous.

In my day-to-day dealings with the public and having seen my share of unexpected potentially dangerous events, the first responder is almost always a member of the public or a staff person who we would not refer to as a first responder wearing a uniform. They are the grocery store clerks dealing with an irate customer, the librarian having to move along a homeless man trying to stay dry in the winter or the teacher attempting to calm down a student suffering from mental health challenges and acting out in class. Often these individuals do so with no official training, specialized equipment or authority.

When backup is called, police, ambulance, fire, the situation can be somewhat diffused, somewhat known and proper equipment is brought in to deal with the incident.

While I am lucky in my work environment to have some specialized equipment, AED units, First Aid kits, radio, and do get yearly training, for most first responders, none of this is provided. There is no warning that the incident is going to happen, and most frustrating to me, no recognition for the service.

So for all the people out there first on the scene of a crisis who takes action and helps out, thanks, you are too the first responders and doing the job in not ideal situations and

Do you have story ideas? Issues you want covered by the Undercurrent? Do you have an article you’d like to submit? We try to respond to all (serious) emails: editor@ bowenislandundercurrent.com. Or call us at 604-947-2442.

We love hearing from you!

KATHERINE GISH, PHOTO

Katherine Gish sent in this photo of eight orcas, playing in the sun and warmth, just off Worlocombe Island earlier this week.

Notice of Public Hearing HAVE YOUR SAY. Public Hearing April 8, 2019 5:15 pm Council Chambers

Municipal Hall

981 Artisan Lane

Land Use Bylaw and Official Community Plan Amendments Veterans Park Rezoning (Bylaw Nos. 473 & 474, 2018) USSC Marina Rezoning (Bylaw No. 461, 2018)

Veterans Park Rezoning

USSC Marina Rezoning

A rezoning/Official Community Plan amendment application is being considered for the parcel containing Veterans Park (shown on map) to facilitate community uses, including community park, auxiliary public works yard and future school site. The bylaws being considered are: Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 Amendment Bylaw No. 473, 2018.

431 Bowen Island Trunk Road (shown on map) is the site of the Union Steamship Marina. The marina has applied to amend the Land Use Bylaw for permission to build up to 6 floating buildings and up to 16 dwelling units to house marina staff.

The buildings would be governed by a Housing Agreement requiring that the units be available for Bowen workers from May to September. The bylaw being considered is:

Official Community Plan 282, 2010 Amendment Bylaw No. 474, 2018

Land Use Bylaw No. 57, 2002 Amendment Bylaw No. 461, 2018

Questions?

Contact Daniel Martin, Manager of Planning and Development

604-947-4255

How to get more information

dmartin @bimbc.ca

The proposed bylaws and background material may be viewed at Municipal Hall, 981 Artisan Lane, during office hours of 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays), or on the Municipal website at www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/planning

Ways you can Have Your Say bowenisland municipality.ca /planning

•

Speak at the Public Hearing: 5:15 pm on Monday, April 8 at Municipal Hall.

•

Write to the attention of Mayor and Council: E-mail: mayorandcouncil@bimbc.ca Mail: 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC, V0N 1G2 To ensure a fair process, Council cannot consider any submissions received after the Public Hearing has ended.

14 • THURSDAY APRIL 4 2019

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FOR SALE - MISC STEEL BUILDING Sale...”BIG Blow out Sale - All Buildings priced to clear!” 20X23 $5,977. 23X25 $5,954.

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Dr. Susanne Schloegl M.D.

Appointments Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri, 9am - 5pm ECG and HOLTER monitoring Artisan Square

604-947-9986

Dr. Tracy Leach, D.C. Certified provider of Active Release Techniques Artisan Square Tues. & Fri.

778-828-5681

Dr. Gloria Chao Family Dentist

Artisan Square 604-947-0734 Alternate Fridays 10am - 4:30pm Horseshoe Bay 604-921-8522

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BODY VITALITY MASSAGE THERAPY

Dr. Dana Barton

James Goldfarb RMT HOLISTIC BC#05279 COUNSELLING Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon Brooke Evans,

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Naturopathic Physician 596 B. Artisan Square

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Tues - 6:45 - 8:45 a.m.

Thurs. - 6:45 - 8:45 a.m.

For routine lab tests.

Specialized tests & children may be referred to the mainland.

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THURSDAY April APRIL 2019••15 15 Thursday, 4, 42019

Mike Allen conducts Space Elevator, a 20-piece jazz-rock band, in this photo.

Allen, who grew up partly on Bowen (he’s island musician Buff Allen’s son), describes their music as big band jazz meets experimental rock, complete with trumpets, trombones and two drum kits (“because why not?”) He says that it’s quite the spectacle, 20 people squished onstage playing crazy music.

The band is playing an album release concert April 6, 7 p.m. at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver.

Also featured in the concert are Phuture Memoriez and Jaymie Matthews, a quirky astrophysist who will come onstage and tell “weird cool things about space.”

PHOTO: GILLIAN WEBER-LEEDHAM

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR THURSDAY APRIL 4

Duplicate Bridge Bowen Court 6:45 - 10 p.m.

Info call Irene 604-947-2955 Women’s golf league tees off Bowen Island Golf Course 9:30 a.m. “Meet other women who golf, this year’s executive and hear plans for this year’s season. Coffee, goodies and friendship. Season runs from April to September. Tee off every Thursday morning at 9. All playing levels welcome.

We’d enjoy meeting you. For more info call Barb Rendell: 0838 or rgmiller1@shaw. ca or Jane Skipsey: 9747 or jskipsey@telus.net

FRIDAY APRIL 5

Dinner at the Legion Bowen Island Legion Doors at 5:30 Dinner at 6:30 Friday Night JAZZ at the Pub Bowen Island Pub 7-10 pm Featuring Stephen Fisk, John Stiver, Steve Smith, and Buff Allen no cover, and dinner specials.

SATURDAY APRIL 6

Bowen Island Trail Society AGM Municipal Hall 10:45 a.m. -

noon. Join BITS over brunch to hear a review of last year and what’s new for this year.

Coffee House Belterra Common House 7-9:30 p.m. Have a song or poem waiting for an audience? Bring it along to this fun family friendly event.

Coffee and tea by donation.

Feel free to bring a munchie to share.

Nature of Home: Adam Taylor Collins Hall Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Bowen from Below: Exploring Howe Sound’s Underwater Realm. Free event presented by the Bowen Library.

Second Chances Opening Reception Gallery at Cove Commons 6-8 p.m. Meet the artists who took unwanted items and crafted them into something new. Second Chances runs April 3 through May 5 at the gallery.

Murray Kinsley & Wicked Grin Bowen Island Pub. Put your dancing shoes on for this Maple Blues Award-winning band’s gritty, roots and rock! $10 advance tix at the pub.

SUNDAY APRIL 7

Outdoor Meditation Circle Meet at the picnic tables at the entrance to Crippen Park 11 a.m. Open to everyone.

Dress warmly. Tea will be served. No cost. More info: lisa.shatsky@gmail.com Free Tax Help Drop in 12 - 4 p.m. Volunteers will be available to help with simple tax situations for low to modest incomes . Please check bowenlibrary.ca for more info and to see if you’re eligible.

Small Pet First Aid Course Municipal Hall meeting room 9 am - 5 pm Hosted

by Canadian Animal Disaster Team and Bowen ESS. Register bowenislandcdart@ hotmail.com Fee $30 Men On the Rock: Spring Concert Tir-na-nOg Theatre 7 p.m.

With special guests Teun Schut and Buff Allen. Tickets $20 at the pharmacy.

MONDAY APRIL 8

Seniors Keeping Young 1070 Miller Road Exercise at 9 a.m., coffee at 9:45, Diana and Michael Kaile talking about their Journey into India at 10, and yoga at 11:15 a.m.. Yearly membership is $20, drop in

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY 6th APRIL 12 to 4PM

fee for the first time is $3 and $2 for members.

Regular Council Meeting BIM 6:15 p.m.

TUESDAY APRIL 9

Art Group Gallery at Cove Commons Drop in $2 Anne Boa : artist meet and greet Arts Pacific Gallery at Artisan Square 11 a.m - 4 p.m.

Arts Pacific Gallery welcomes new member Anne Boa. Drop by for a visit.

Emergency Support Services meeting 7 p.m. “Meet every second Tuesday of the month. contact ESS Director to let us know you’re coming BowenESS@bimbc.ca.

Earth Sounds Concert Cates Hill Chapel 7 p.m.

Fire Smart Workshop Fire Hall #2 7 p.m. Join us for a presentation by wildfire expert Bruce Blackwell, and learn what you can do to make your home and your island more resilient to wildfires. There’s lots of time for Q&A, so bring your questions!

Fix-it Fair Collins Hall 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Bring your broken tools, electronics, bikes even your worn out socks to this hive of handy people on Bowen.

Enjoy the revival of stuff at this free fun social event brought to you by Bowen in Transition.

Rotary ShelterBox talk by Chris Loat Collins Hall 7:30 p.m. Hear about ShelterBox’s disaster relief work around the world and particularly in Malawi in the wake of Cyclone Idai.

Outdoor Meditation Circle Meet at the picnic tables at the entrance to Crippen Park 11 a.m. Open to everyone.

Dress warmly. Tea will be served. No cost. More info: lisa.shatsky@gmail.com

FRIDAY APRIL 12

Dinner at the Legion Bowen Island Legion Doors at 5:30 Dinner at 6:30

Bowen Island AA Collins Hall 7:15 p.m.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 10

THURSDAY APRIL 11

Duplicate Bridge Bowen Court 6:45 - 10 p.m.

Info call Irene 604-947-2955

Free Tax Help Bowen Library Drop in 12 - 4 p.m. Volunteers will be available to help with simple tax situations for low to modest incomes . Please check bowenlibrary.ca for more info and to see if you’re eligible.

Friday Night Live Snug Cove Blues Band Bowen Island Pub 7-10 pm Live music, no cover, and dinner specials.

SATURDAY APRIL 13

Nature of Home: Michael Nicoll-Yahgulanaas Bowen Library Annex. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. WRECKConciliation now what?

SUNDAY APRIL 14

MONDAY APRIL 15

Seniors Keeping Young 1070 Miller Road will have exercise at 9 a.m., coffee at 9:45, guest speaker at 10 and Yoga at 11:15.

TUESDAY APRIL 16

Bowen Island AA Collins Hall 7:15 p.m.

SATURDAY APRIL 20

The Great Bowen Easter Egg Hunt pre- register at bowencommunityrecreation. ca

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 7th APRIL 12 to 3pm

1621 Amelia Lane $1,599,000 4 Beds, 3 Baths

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