LIGHT UP BOWEN DETAILS: Santa, sugar plum fairies and more
$1
PAGE 5
inc. GST
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2019
VOL. 45, NO. 47
BIUndercurrent
TRUST ME SERIES Shari brings in a musician and a photographer to tell tales of adventure
BowUndercurrent www.bowenislandundercurrent.com
PAGE 8
On our own together: NERP REVIVING THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM TO BUILD ISLAND COMMUNITIES’ DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
BRONWYN BEAIRSTO
editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com
meaning and belonging and those of us who are now long past those years know from experience and observation that this can be an especially vulnerable time. Some young men and women experience traumatic events and others may begin to develop problems with issues of mental health.
To state the obvious, Bowen is an island. In a major disaster it’ll be an island without stable mainland support. Emergency services on and off island will be overwhelmed by sheer demand and short supply. So in preparation for a potential disaster, Bowen Island Municipality is hoping to draw on one resource Bowen has in spades: community. The municipality is revitalizing the Neighbourhood Emergency Response Program (NERP) that looks to boost island communities’ preparedness and self-sufficiency. NERP was born of the particularly devastating storm of 1990 that left much of the island without reliable power for two weeks. “Meanwhile a number of people were caught in dangerous situations. As it became known later, a widow in her eighties, living alone, was without heat, light or warm food for two days. She was discovered burning books to keep warm,” Undercurrent columnist Lois Meyers Carter wrote in 2010. “By the way, it became clear that the island needed an organized method for finding and helping people when catastrophe struck,” wrote Meyers Carter. NERP has ebbed and flowed as volunteers came and went but BIM is putting renewed energy into strengthening the program and is sending a callout for volunteers. “I would like, ideally, to have every volunteer be responsible for no more than 18 homes,” said Edward Wachtman, NERP’s lead coordinator. He calculates that with 800-odd households on Bowen, between 70 and 80 strategically placed volunteers would give the island good coverage. “The goal of having the entire island covered is ambitious,” acknowledged BIM’s emergency program coordinator Jennifer McGowan.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
BRONWYN BEAIRSTO PHOTO
EGGING ON THE SALMON: The Department of Fisheries and Oceans delivered 100,000 pink salmon eggs to
the Terminal Creek Salmon Hatchery Tuesday. Pictured: Tim Pardee (left) and Jlonka Bally-Brown (right) show a new volunteer, Denise Richard, the salmon eggs. Within the next several months BIFWC volunteers will also receive chum and coho eggs which will be cared for at the hatchery. More on page 9.
Providing help for youth at risk COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FUND AVAILABLE NEIL BOYD
Bowen Island Community Foundation
The tragic death of Kipp Thompson last fall and the recent heartbreaking loss of Shilanne Stedmances have reminded us of the vulnerability of youth and the need for our community to make a greater effort to provide
resources for youth at risk. Both Kipp and Shilanne were in their early 20s, much loved and well-supported by their family and friends. But, both grappled with issues that placed them at risk of harm. The transition from adolescence to adulthood can often be difficult. We are all trying to make some sense of
Ho ho here we go... Christmas has arrived at the Bowen Building Centre Lights, decorations, crackers and great stocking stuffers! Bowen Building Centre 1013 Grafton Rd Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.