Bowen Island Undercurrent March 11 2021

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RICHARD THE TICK: he’s a survivor

Thursday, March 11, 2021 • A1

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THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021 BLAZE AWAY

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A happy ending for a red tailed hawk with lead poisoning PAGE 7

Bowen vaccinations EVERYONE OVER 80 NOW ELIGIBLE TO CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT

BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

TONY MAINWARING PHOTO

MIRACLE ON BOWEN: Two pilots walked away from a dramatic helicopter crash on the west side of

Mount Gardner March 5. Monday, another helicopter lifted the pieces of the crashed aircraft off of the cliffside where it had landed and moved them to a barge waiting in the bay below. (The cockpit is seen above leaving the clearing.)

See the story on p. 9.

WATERFRONT

Waterfront 1O acre building lot

More than a million phone calls to B.C. COVID-19 vaccination booking lines jammed call centres Monday and Tuesday, with callers reporting dropped phone lines and busy signals, causing stress and confusion across the province. (Telus, who has the call centre contract, has since apologized.)

However, Bowen Islanders have had additional confusion as to when they are eligible to phone to book an appointment.

Everyone will be eligible but the question is when.

While Vancouver Coastal Health has seniors in urban municipalities registering in cohorts (instructing seniors over 80 to register on three different days a week apart depending on whether they were 90+, 85+ or 80+) it instructs everyone born in 1941 or earlier in rural and coastal communities to register as of March 8.

Despite information on its website to the contrary earlier this week, Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed Wednesday that Bowen Islanders fall into the “rural” category.

“Due to travel constraints and because there is a small population of seniors 80 years of age and older who reside on Bowen Island, residents in this community who are 80 years of age and older are eligible to book their appointment starting Mar. 8,” said VCH in a statement.

This statement contradicted a previous statement dividing Bowen’s 80+ cohort into three groups.

As of March 10, several Bowen Islanders over 90 have reported being unable to get appointments at the only on-island clinic so far listed on the Vancouver Coastal Health website. The clinic is scheduled to take place March 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bowen Island Community School. These nonagenarians have instead been directed to a West Vancouver clinic.

“VCH is monitoring appointment bookings and, if necessary, will expand the number of appointments available on Mar. 19,” said VCH in the statement late Wednesday afternoon.

Eligible islanders are to call VCH’s appointment booking phone line at 1-877-587-5767 to register for an appointment and are to have on hand, a pen and paper, personal health number, full name, date of birth, postal code and phone number.

The phone line is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Events March 22, 2021 6:15 pm Regular Council Meeting

March 11, 2021 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm Virtual Public Open House All meetings are online via Zoom and

open to the public, unless noted otherwise.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

We’re hiring - Human Resources Coordinator BIM is looking for permanent part-time Human Resources Coordinator to join our team. This is a half-time (17.5 hours per week) position. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the HR Coordinator is responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing the organization’s human resources strategy. The ideal candidate is a competent leader with strong emotional intelligence, excellent communication skills and comfortable working with staff across all municipal departments.

The successful applicant will have relevent experience and a strong skill set.

Qualified candidates must apply by 12:00 pm on Friday, March 26, 2021.

Help slow the spread of COVID-19:

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs

We are hiring - Emergency Program Coordinator Stay home if you’re sick

Clean your hands frequently 2 m or 6 feet

Keep a safe physical distance

BIM is looking for permanent part-time Emergency Program Coordinator (EPC) to join our team. This is a 15 hour per week position. Reporting to the Fire Chief, the EPC is responsible for developing, overseeing and coordinating the community’s emergency management program. They will develop, maintain and implement emergency plans; the overall emergency program; emergency volunteer programs; and various programs that engage community, regional, provincial and federal partners in emergency planning, preparedness and response.

Register for a vaccine when it’s your turn

A critical role of this position will be to assist in the project management and delivery of new $3.6 million fire hall infrastructure project.

Qualified candidates must apply by 12:00 pm on Friday, March 19, 2021.

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

620 Laura Road Cidery Council Meeting via Zoom 6:15 PM on Monday, March 22, 2021 PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

A Temporary Use Permit application has been submitted for 620 Laura Road to permit a cidery.

The proposed cidery will utilize the existing apple orchards on site to produce cider for sale on site or through the Liquor Distribution Branch. The cidery will be permitted to produce cider, provide on-site sales, and provide tours of the cidery and associated orchard. A picnic area is proposed to be located adjacent to the cidery.

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 our website

bowenislandmunicipality.ca/planning TIMELINE:

The Bowen Island Municipality Planning and Development department has an immediate opening for a temporary part-time Planning Clerk, three days per week from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

This contract will initially be for a period of nine months with a possibility for extension thereafter. Applications must be submitted by 4:00 pm on March 12, 2021.

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs

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, March 22, 2021 Online via Zoom For instructions on how to submit comment, go to:

We’re hiring - Planning Clerk

Contact Us Phone: Fax: Email:

For TUP-2021-0017

The successful applicant will be willing to live on Bowen Island and have relevent experience and a strong skill set.

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/jobs Wear a mask in indoor public spaces

Seeking Public Comment

www.bowenislandmunicipality.ca/council-meetings

To ensure a fair process, submissions cannot be accepted once the meeting has ended.

Questions? Please contact Daniel Martin, Manager of Planning and Development, at 604-947-4255 ext 230 or by email at dmartin@bimbc.ca

Find us on Facebook Bowen Island Municipal Hall 981 Artisan Lane Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G2

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday Closed statutory holidays March 11, 2021

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Thursday, March 11, 2021 • A3

Muni Morsels: Debate over ecosystem protection and BIM committees’roles It was a particularly uneventful Bowen Island Municipality regular council meeting March 8. However, a recommendation from the Parks, Trails and Greenways for BIM to create a development permit area to protect Bowen’s coastal areas did prompt not only a discussion of the feasibility of such protections but lively debate about the roles of BIM’s dozens of committees. (Development permit areas are designated spaces where one must get a permit before conducting any kind of work, theoretically protecting the land therein.)

The only protection in the “important interstitial space” between the sea and land on Bowen is a 30-metre maximum building setback, said Coun. Sue Ellen Fast. The setback is only for buildings (erecting fences, tree clearing and other activities can happen in this area) and depending on the distance of neighbouring properties to the water, the setback can be smaller. “There’s nothing to protect the plants there, the natural drainage, the sand and gravel that might find its way to the beach to be spawning grounds,” she said.

“We’re in a climate emergency. And we’re in a biodiversity emergency as well. Extinctions are climbing,” said Fast.

“We’ve been setting aside parks, nature reserves, and little areas. But are we living in harmony with nature?”

Mayor Gary Ander opened the discussion saying he thought this was outside the purview of the Parks, Trails and Greenways committee (he would rather it come from the

environment committee). Ander added that a development permit area for the entire shoreline would be extremely hard to do. “There’s private property, there’s government strips, there’s Crown land,” said Ander, adding that he doesn’t see the urgency as there is the 30-metre setback.

Coun. Maureen Nicholson pointed to council’s draft strategic plan for this year, which lists “identify possible tools for ecosystem protection” and “develop an ecosystem protection policy” among its priorities. But, took issue that this proposal was coming from a committee and not council.

“While I agree that ensuring ecological and aesthetic shoreline assets is essential for an island community, I don’t like the process here,” she said. “I think the committee was probably quite aware that there was something a little irregular about what they were doing.”

While Nicholson said she wouldn’t support this recommendation from a committee, she said she’d support it as part of the strategic plan. “Because that’s where we take into consideration all of [our] other objectives,” she said. “And where we consider the costs and where we consider the impacts on staff.”

Fast defended the committee in that “greenways” is part of its mandate and that part of the committee’s mandate is to help with planning.

CAO Liam Edwards said he thinks that a big function of

committees is to suggest work council should consider but wondered if there was a way to have committees understand the implications of work for staff time.

Coun. Rob Wynen and Coun. David Hocking while theoretically supportive of the DP area were concerned about the level of difficulty of imposing such a bylaw and the staff time that would be required. Wynen particularly wanted more information about the feasibility and usefulness of such a bylaw.

Coun. Alison Morse pointed out that this would mean amending the Official Community Plan and the Land Use Bylaw – which would be long and contentious like the environmentally sensitive areas bylaw that was never adopted.

Councillors also noted that there was a site alteration bylaw in the works, which could cover off some of this concern. Councillors Nicholson and Michael Kaile are also working on a review of all of the municipal committees.

Council put off the development permit matter until its strategic planning was done.

“This is something that I know a lot of islanders are really interested in, especially since the clearing and the big tree at the firehall site,” said Fast. “People are stopping me on the trail, saying, ‘How could you let that happen?’

“I think people are…looking to me to protect nature.”

COVID-19 VACCINE INFORMATION FOR SENIORS

SENIORS, IT’S TIME TO BOOK YOUR COVID-19 VACCINATION. Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton and Bowen Island Now eligible to call: • Seniors 80 years of age and older (born in 1941 or earlier) and Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) people 65 years of age and older (born in 1956 or earlier) and Elders

VCH Vaccine Clinic Information: Visit vch.ca

Clinical questions: Please speak with your family doctor, nurse practitioner, or call 8-1-1

APPOINTMENT BOOKINGS: Call the VCH vaccine appointment booking line at 1-877-587-5767 based on your age group.

The phone line will be open daily from 7 am – 7 pm.

Questions about COVID-19: Call 1-888-COVID19 or visit gov.bc.ca/covid19

A4 • Thursday, March 11, 2021

bowenislandundercurrent.com

VIEWPOINTS EDITORIAL

The mythical ‘easy’week is coming

What a week.

A really tough week makes every week preceding it seem easy – I’m looking forward to that mythical “easy.”

There’s a great deal of confusion about the vaccination schedule – who is eligible and when. At least three times in the past 48 hours (as of publication time), the information on the Vancouver Coastal Health website regarding Bowen Island has changed. We’ll continue updating our website and Facebook page as soon as we get information. If you don’t use Facebook or internet, give me a call at 604-314-3004 and I’ll bring you up to speed on what I know. It’s on all of us to make sure that all of Bowen’s eligible seniors and Indigneous people over 65 are kept informed of how and when they can get vaccinated.

If you’re willing to chat about how your vaccination quest is going, call me or email editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com. This is an event for the Bowen history books.

With one another on island, especially on Facebook where it’s easy to let out steam, we need to be kind.

We’re so close. So close.

On a different note, it’s not every week Bowen sees a helicopter crash, let alone a helicopter crash with a happy ending. Most people I have talked to just shake their heads at what a miracle it was everyone (or anyone) walked away. (See the story on p. 9.)

Maybe that’s this week’s message – it’s any landing you walk away from that’s a good one.

Bronwyn Beairsto, editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Still living the consequences ofTrust planning

DEAR EDITOR: The last couple of issues you have published letters to the editor praising the Islands Trust. I strongly disagree with these analyses and verbiage. My experience and observations of the Islands Trust’s planning or lack of, is completely opposite. The Islands Trust’s answer to planning has always been negative to everything.

Our current municipality has been stuck with all of the Island Trust’s bad planning. The Trust does little to nothing now, thank

goodness. I don’t understand why we are still paying the Islands Trust more than $300,000 per year to review our municipality’s work?

As an example, when the Trust was doing the planning, they should have planned for basic ferry traffic and future developments. There was no planning, no marshalling or parking areas. The marshalling now runs up the main street to the school, blocking merchant parking and creating congestion. The parking lots that now service the ferry are far from the ferry and there are no planned

walk-on or pick-up areas.

The island also needed a marina. The Islands Trust fought the marina development for years.

They also fought the Snug Cove sewer system for years, then stopped the marina from hooking up to the sewer for another four years. None of it made any sense. They simply fought all development by placing anything not zoned into 10-acre zoning to slow or stop growth. That might slow growth but it’s bad land use and planning.

Rondy Dike

DEAR EDITOR: Pertaining to the Islands Trust: one of the recent letters to the editor by Tom Edwards (Feb. 25).

The letter explained that the Trust comes with a cost, a big cost. More than $300,000 this coming year.

Since the municipality’s inception, $4 million has been siphoned from our community.

We all know how the local merchants feel – “shop local.” Why are

we as a community continuing to conduct business with an off-island establishment?

Bowen has two councillors acting as Island Trustees: one in favour, the other asking for a review.

Right from the very start of Bowen’s incorporation, some 20 years ago, a movement was started by Coun. Richard Underhill to rid ourselves of the burden of the

Trust. I believe the time has come for a public referendum on the issue.

The result will be like the national park vote – no parks.

Only on this occurrence, Bowen would be ahead by thousands of dollars that one can touch and use for local improvements.

Erwen Smith

Time to put theTrust to a referendum

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. Please limit to under 500 words.

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.

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EDITOR Bronwyn Beairsto 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 AWARD 2011

SPECIAL THANK-YOU Audrey Grescoe

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.

bowenislandundercurrent.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Cidery not aligned with initial orchard vision

DEAR EDITOR: The notice given by council on Feb. 23 to consider the issuance of a temporary use permit for cidery use for Laura Road was a surprise to neighbours not informed of any such a development already in progress with the liquor and cannabis regulation branch.

When John and Josephine Riley started their orchard collection of species and varieties of apple trees 30 years ago, there was never any intent of commercial apple production.

Their desire was to assemble for their preservation as many species and varieties of apple trees from everywhere possible in Europe and North America. This was to counteract commercial apple production letting many heritage varieties disappear, as in the controlled world market of today, they are considered of low interest.

Under John and Josephine Riley’s management and thanks to their enormous amount of time and hard work invested over 27 years, the orchard collection reached close to a thousand species and varieties of apple trees, all well documented for their origin and history, their compatibility with the West Coast climate and soil conditions with the potential intent to propagate the best varieties for gardeners.

John Riley needed a special technical understanding of apple cultivation to succeed in that project: particular root stocks were used to obtain dwarf hardy trees to be espaliered on a special structure with a strict procedure of pruning twice a year, to secure and limit each tree’s yearly production to a

few pounds only, for their long-term survival. The apples are of varied size, colour and taste – no more than a hundred being of cider variety.

John and Josephine Riley sold their property a few years ago. The new owners planted another apple cider orchard of 200 trees. However, the soil condition of the orchard is like most soil conditions on Bowen Island – far from the best for a commercial apple tree production. At best, cider production should be considered as an agricultural experiment: it does not justify a commercial cidery and the sale of alcohol permitted by a license of the liquor and cannabis regulation branch.

Any commercial activity including picnic area and sale of promotional products should take place in the commercial areas of the island: Snug Cove and Artisan Square.

The property of Laura Road is in a rural residential zone. It should never be rezoned rural commercial given its limited access, being at the end of a deadend road. The connection with the trail network of Mount Gardner and Bowen Bay is a favourite walking location of many islanders and horse riders. The neighbourhood does not need a tourist attraction of a cidery, if it is to keep Westside Road safe to all.

Furthermore it would be ironic to have a cidery named after John and Josephine Riley when their true legacy to Bowen Islanders is their apple collection, probably unique in Canada, and in need of being protected and included in the Bowen Island heritage sites register.

Anne and André Chollat

Thursday, March 11, 2021 • A5

OCP doesn’t support a cidery

DEAR EDITOR: John and Josephine Riley (with André Chollat’s help) spent decades building a unique apple orchard on Laura Road. As their immediate neighbour for all those years, I was privileged to watch the progress of their vision as I developed my own happy place, the horse farm I had always dreamed of. John’s gift of heritage apples for the horses was welcomed each year.

When I watched the council meeting on Feb. 22, where the temporary use permit application for a cidery on Laura Road was presented, I was surprised that none of the councillors, who I know are very familiar with our Official Community Plan and zoning regulations, seemed concerned that the property in question is zoned Rural Residential 2.

I thought that among those concerns, there would be consideration and questions about why, although the term “winery” is included in the OCP, their own planner advised that a winery “is not permitted in any zone”. A cidery being, functionally and legally, the same thing as a winery. Also, although tourist commercial zoning can be obtained, the OCP explicitly does not support destination attractions and seeks to

limit tourist commercial facilities to the Cove. In a rural residential area there should be no light industry or commercial business and of course the usual bylaw regarding excess noise should be applied (so no business until 11 p.m. seven days a week in a residential area as proposed in this temporary use permit.)

However, as an impacted neighbour, by the time I received my official letter from BIM seeking public comment, there had been time to do some research and I discovered that basically a TUP trumps all the wellthought-out provisions in the OCP. The OCP is crafted to ensure our careful stewardship of the land on Bowen Island and with the community’s blessing laying out who can do what where. Obviously within the OCP there is provision for development and rezoning etc. and this is an often unavoidably lengthy process with thorough scrutiny of every aspect of the proposal. That level of community involvement is how we collectively build and manage our shared island home. This TUP applied for in January, made public in February, could be approved in March.

Christine Miller

It’s more than time to end herring fishery in the Salish Sea DEAR EDITOR: Every year at this time the herring lay and fertilize their eggs, turning the waters milky white, in what is one of the great sights on the B.C. coast. The concentration of herring ignites a feeding frenzy of birds and mammals. This is on again right now, though you’d hardly know it. There was a time when Snug Cove would be seething with herring, and the roe would hatch into billions more that would become food for birds and rockfish, salmon, seals and sea lions, and these in turn would be food for orcas, dolphins, whales and bears.

The herring spawn, so vital to the entire food chain, is a shadow of what it once was. The great spawns in Squamish and other parts of Howe Sound have all but disappeared.

Department of Fisheries and Oceans still allows a herring fishery to take place near Hornby Island, so once again commercial fishing boats are scooping up much of the remaining herring, bringing in a catch worth a mere $16 million, undermining the ecosystem of the Salish Sea and jeopardizing tourism, whale-watching and recreational fishing –

industries of vastly greater size. To add insult to injury, the herring roe are exported to Japan where they fetch a modest price and the fish, themselves, are ground into food for farmed salmon and for fertilizer.

There is no reason why the herring stocks cannot be greatly restored, with benefits for the salmon, orcas, and so on, and vast benefits for recreational fishing, whale watching, tourism and, ironically, the commercial fishing industry.

Stopping the small herring fishery in B.C. would give so many species a chance to recover and, ironically, increased salmon stocks would ultimately profit the fishing industry far beyond the money they make now.

It’s time to put an end to this short-sightedness. Do join the calls for the end of the herring fishery. A petition can be signed at conservancyhornbyisland.org. You can outline your concerns in a letter to: Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Minister’s office, 200 Kent St, Station 15N100, Ottawa ON K1A 0E6 or email: min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

Peter Williamson Director, Bowen Island Conservancy.

On the topic of editorial discretion and bias

DEAR EDITOR: Every time I submit a letter, a column, or an opinion piece to the Undercurrent, editors have always demanded to back up my claims with sources or references. And whenever a detail slipped my attention, editors have consistently come back with the message: “What’s your source for that?” And for good reason: We are living in an age where accuracy of information cannot be discounted.

Not surprisingly, the note by Gayle Stevenson on Tom Edwards’ letter a week earlier, outlining accusations of “objectionable editing,” caught my attention.

Let’s be clear that an editor can edit,

add, alter or shorten any letter to the editor that is submitted, as long as it does not alter the intention of the letter. Usually an editor would go back to Edwards for clarification. Sometimes that doesn’t happen.

The “objectionable editing” concerned some information that was missing from Edwards’ letter. Edwards wrote: ‘In its new budget, the trust wants to add another four staff members.’ To which the editor added: ‘two of these positions are grant-funded, temporary positions.’

Edwards continued: ‘In the Trust budget last year of $8 million dollars, $5 million was for staff wages.’

To which the editor added: ‘Much of

the staff budget is in planning services, which Bowen does not pay into.’

This is crucial information.

I don’t think that at any point Edwards had the intention of leaving some crucial information out to misinform the people of Bowen Island about the Trust’s current budget. I don’t believe that for one moment. So I have no doubt that Edwards was more than pleased that the Bowen Island Undercurrent has an excellent editor who is obviously up to speed on the file of the Island’s Trust and was able to add that missing information.

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bowenislandundercurrent.com

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS BC POLICE ACT SHARE YOUR VIEWS

by Friday, April 30

The Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act wants to hear your views on policing and related systemic issues.

The Committee will review all input and invite interested participants to make presentations.

For full details, visit our website or call the Parliamentary Committees Office at 250-356-2933 or toll-free 1-877-428-8337.

Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act

www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/rpa

Brush up on your mental health skills new Caring Circle course MAUREEN MACKEY

Contributor

“It’s okay to not be okay,” suggests Dr. Stephen Kiraly, retired psychiatrist and Bowen Islander (letter: Feb. 5, 2021).

Mental health difficulties are common and expected during these difficult times and are generating a “parallel pandemic” of mental health challenges (World Health Organization). COVID-19 is a collective stressor—we all react to the uncertainties and to safety restrictions and limitations. Most of us face unexpected impacts upon our relationships, family, work, recreation, finances, travel and other challenges.

Everyday life has changed.

Even the most simple things have become complex. And connecting with others, even on Bowen, is complicated.

Our usual stress management strategies and coping skills have been tested for a year now. Do you sometimes feel stretched to the limit?

How is your COVID fatigue going?

Caring Circle’s new Mental Health Skills course is designed to help you take charge of your mental health while you build resilience.

Strategies to strengthen your mental health can prevent serious mental health problems such as clinical illness while helping you with dayto-day life.

This course will be offered via Zoom—six two-hour classes over six weeks for islanders aged 25 and up. Our aim is to provide a friendly, supportive and safe class experience to help interested Bowen Islanders improve their mental health within the context of the impact of the pandemic and island life.

We are all on this island and in this pandemic together.

The course focus is on improving confidence and skill-managing mental health. Real-life everyday examples are the basis for skill application. Weekly homework involves reading and practice. The course is practical and structured.

Classes do not involve counselling or therapy. Safeguards

to protect privacy and confidentiality will be in place.

The volunteer course instructor and designer is Maureen Mackey, RN, BSN, MEd(DE), whose professional background includes psychiatric nursing, adult education and online teaching.

Individuals who are a good fit with this course are interested in taking a pro-active approach to current mental health struggles. People who are particularly fragile or mentally ill are better served through targeted help from their health care providers.

Computer skills required include independent use of email and Zoom (which just takes opening a weblink and using your computer or smartphone audio and camera.)

This starts soon and is a small class. Date and time will be adjusted to best suit participants.

Interested or curious? Call or email Colleen O’Neil from Caring Circle today to learn more: 604-947-9100 or info@caringcircle.ca. Confidentiality and privacy will be assured.

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MARCH 1121

Catching Stars Gallery Featured Artist Katie Mainwaring Artist in Residence March 15 and 20

THURS. MARCH 11

BIM Public Open House: Land Use Bylaw Changes 2:30 - 4:30 pm Zoom

Rotary Speaker: Jayne McMillan, ESS services Zoom 7:30 pm Check bowenrotary.com for the Zoom invitation.

FRIDAY MARCH 12

Youth Centre Friday Nights 12-18 yrs 650 Carter Road 4:30 -9 pm Air Hockey tournament Pre-register at bowenrecreation.com

WED. MARCH 17

Storytime with Aubin Live on Zoom from the Bowen Island Public Library 10:30-11:00 am Register at bipl.link/ storytime

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bowenislandundercurrent.com

Thursday, March 11, 2021 • A7

Blaze flies again

Bowen Islanders and a Delta wildlife society saved the red-tailed hawk from potentially fatal lead poisoning BRONWYN BEAIRSTO

Editor@bowenislandundercurrent.com

A red-tailed hawk made a triumphant return to Bowen Island on the noon ferry Feb. 23.

The raptor was rescued at Cape Roger Curtis at the beginning of January, where he was found dehydrated and weak, suffering from lead poisoning.

“I honestly didn’t think he was going to make it – he was in such terrible, terrible shape,” says Kirsten Degner. She and her 10-year-old daughter Chloe took the bird to the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility in Delta, but rescuing Blaze – as they called the hawk – was a community effort.

It started with a Facebook post from Daniella Sorrentino at the beginning of January, wondering about a bird just sitting on the trail at the Cape.

“She was really worried and didn’t know what to do about it, because it was going to be dark soon,” explains Kirsten.

As Kirsten and Chloe have rescued animals in the past, they grabbed a carrier and a towel and headed to the Cape to see if they could help.

“I was able to just lift it up,” recalls Kirsten. “It was so weak, it couldn’t even hold its head up. It was totally limp in my hands.

“You could feel every single bone.”

After the hawk stayed the night at a local falconer’s home, managing to eat a little, Kirsten and Chloe took Blaze to OWL. The veterinarian took over Blaze’s care. “He was wonder-

KIRSTEN DEGNER PHOTO

KIRSTEN DEGNER PHOTO

Blaze when he was rescued in January.

Blaze just before release in February.

ful,” says Kirsten. “He was showing us all the different areas on the hawk and what they were going to check for.”

They weighed Blaze but couldn’t yet take a blood sample because of the state of the bird.

instructed to get him back to the island as fast as possible so that he would have ample daylight to get his bearings straight after being released,” says Kirsten.

Some of the crew that helped rescue Blaze gathered to see the now-healthy hawk off. “It was really lovely to see him to see him back on Bowen,” says Kirsten. “He flew out of his crate and way up into the trees.

“It was absolutely fantastic.” * Kirsten and Chloe would like to say a huge thank you on behalf of Blaze to everyone that was involved in his rescue – read the entire account at thewoodlandstudio.ca/2021/02/ its-been-quite-awhile-since-chloe-and-i.html.

For more information about OWL or to donate, visit owlrehab.org.

Another note: it is illegal to capture, transport, possess, import and export raptors without a permit, however, once an injured raptor is reported to OWL, the bird falls under OWL’s license and an expert will talk you through next steps.

Lead poisoning is a common reason for raptors to end up at OWL. The neurotoxin is often ingested from fishing tackle or lead ammunition, or from other animals that have eaten tackle or ammunition, says the society’s website. Symptoms of lead poisoning, which affects birds as well as larger animals (like humans), can include loss of coordination, inability to stand, blindness, respiratory issues and more. A piece of lead the size of a grain of rice can kill a full-grown eagle in 48 to 72 hours, says the website.

Wildlife professionals can treat lead poisoning, if the bird comes in soon enough (though sometimes the damage is permanent), which OWL did with Blaze.

By the time Kirsten and Chloe picked up the hawk the other week, it had more than doubled in weight. “We were

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PETER MCLEAN PHOTO

Dick the tick in his plastic sleeping baggie.

Three months in a plastic sleeping baggie: the true story of Richard the Tick

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On this day...three months ago...to the hour...I removed a tick from my leg. It hadn’t been there long...December 4... my birthday...my Birthday Tick.

I wet a scrunched up piece of paper towel and put it in a baggie...along with the tick...for safe-keeping until I sent it off for Lymes analysis. I forgot about it until I found the baggie under some papers a month later.

When I first rediscovered it I thought it may have melted and figured the faint brown smudge on the still damp paper towel was the decomposed remnant of this despicable critter. Yet...a couple of hours later I noticed a dark speck on the wet towel that was now sweating in a rare beam of late morning sunlight...it was tanning itself. Hardy thing.

I kept it where I could see it as one does with all things risky.

One morning I was astounded to see it run from one end of the baggie to the other. This was no limping, malnourished tick...this was a belligerent bug showing no signs of diminished mojo.

It ran. See Tick run. It has no name. It has no life to speak of. It has ambition though...one day I saw it investigating the baggie’s patented, hermetically closed seal for a flaw that might offer an escape route. Failed crusade...but ambitious nevertheless.

A vague sense of guilt is tainting the suburbs of my auric field...guilt so inconsequential that the simple act of giving this micro-vampire a name might make my guilt vanish.

Dick?

Either that or release it into some invasive bush across the street...the latent Buddhist streak in my nature suggests that releasing Dick into Bowen’s wilderness instead of bursting his wretched carcass between my thumbnails would be a wise karmic option. Wouldn’t you agree?

I mean...he is still thriving...now...three whole months later. He has no iPhone or Netflix...no wine nor puzzles...no social life = no need for a mask...just 24/7 in a plastic sleeping-baggie with a wet paper-towel to suck from and hide under. Must be musty.

The worst part is Dick probably hates me...I strongly doubt he would have taken into consideration that I am the only reason he hasn’t frozen to death. What does HE know about cold? Oh no ... what if it’s Eunice??? Gawd ... now I REALLY feel awful.

The only good thing that’s come of this is there is now documented proof that manna is real...but we shouldn’t get too excited about that...there was just enough for a tick and now all three months worth of it has been squandered...on Dick.

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Pilots miraculously walk away from dramatic helicopter crash BRONWYN BEAIRSTO / ALANNA KELLY

Bowen Island Undercurrent / Glacier Media

Mount Gardner residents placed themselves along the roadside Friday morning, pointing fire trucks on to where they’d watched a Bell 212 helicopter crash into the woods minutes earlier.

Bowen’s deputy fire chief Ian Thompson got the call at 9:49 a.m. March 5.

“We thought for sure it was going to be a body recovery,” said Thompson.

When they got there, the helicopter was split nearly in half – the tail sitting apart from the body. Several trees had fallen across the 57-foot aircraft that had come to rest on a cliff’s edge, lodged against a giant tree. The cockpit was crushed and nearly upside down – one of the rotors sitting in front of the cockpit.

Yet, miraculously, the only occupants, two Airspan Helicopters pilots walked away.

The Transportation Safety Board hasn’t released any

IAN THOMPSON PHOTO

First responders got the call just before 10 a.m. March 5.

information about factors of the crash but speculation ranges from mechanical failure to high winds.

Several witnesses and video footage show the helicopter spinning down into the woods.

“I heard the strange noises – it didn’t sound proper for a helicopter,” said Irene Paulus, one of the Mount Gardner residents who helped point the firefighters toward the crash site. “I looked out my window and saw it looking like it was trying to land.

“And it began to spin around and spin around,” she said.

Paulus’ husband Tony Mainwaring, was falling trees in the yard when he saw the helicopter flying “out of control” above him.

“It just all of a sudden rotated upside down and then it came up over our house,” he said. “It was definitely rotating and out of control.”

Realizing what was happening, Mainwaring managed to pull out his phone and record the video that would be broadcast across major news networks as the media descended on Bowen.

“I just couldn’t believe it was going down right [near] our place and then it hit the ground,” recalled Mainwaring.

He, Gordy Percer and Dave Conn set off to search for the helicopter.

“We went up into the rhubarb and started searching until we finally found it,” he said. The men were the first to find the downed aircraft and its crew.

“I just screamed and there was a guy up there and I went, ‘Oh my god, are you the pilot?’ And he said, ‘Yes,’ which totally shocked me.”

“One of the rotors is sitting right in front of the cockpit, which is totally gone, I don’t know how they got out,” said Mainwaring.

“They’re two of the luckiest guys going right now,” said Thompson. “There were a few little cuts on their hands and that’s about it.”

Mainwaring – who even knew one of the pilots – noted that the two seemed in good spirits.

“I did have a quick whisky afterwards,” Mainwaring said.

While the air ambulance was on scene, the pilots decided

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The helicopter came to rest against a giant tree on a cliffside.

to take the ground ambulance and water taxi to Vancouver General Hospital (they were sent to hospital as a precaution).

BC Hydro had contracted the Sechelt-based helicopter company to place some wooden structures for a transmission line replacement project on the North Shore, said a BC Hydro spokesperson. The aircraft wasn’t carrying any load or any BC Hydro workers at the time.

A Transportation Safety Board investigation team arrived on Bowen Saturday morning to examine the site.

Sunday, Mainwaring was back up on the hillside. As a tree faller, he was contracted along with Bowen Tree Service to help with the salvage operations – clearing the trees off of the helicopter, stabilizing the helicopter and the tail section with ropes so that they could be extracted.

“Otherwise it would’ve just rolled off the cliff,” said Mainwaring.

Monday, the extraction team came and took off the skids and got the site ready to lift the helicopter pieces (an intact Bell 212 is 6,500 lb) onto a waiting barge in Galbraith Bay. “It was a very technical extraction – it took us the whole weekend since the crash,” said Mainwaring.

But, both Mainwaring and Paulus stress that the response to the crash was a community effort – from the neighbours directing the fire trucks to the hard-to-find site, to the more than a dozen volunteer firefighters who responded to what initially sounded like a fatal accident scene, to the searchers, investigators and salvage crew.

“Everybody’s family in a way,” said Paulus.

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Thursday, March 11, 2021 • A9

5:20 am except Sundays 6:20 am 7:30 am 8:35 am 9:40 am 10:50 am 12:00 pm 1:10 pm 2:55 pm 4:00 pm except Wednesdays 5:10 pm 6:15 pm 7:25 pm Mon Wed Th Fri 7:26 pm Tue Sun 8:30 pm 9:30 pm 10:30 pm

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Note: Schedules subject to change without notice: Please check BCFERRIES.COM Schedule changes on statutory holidays

A10 • Thursday, March 11, 2021

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Thursday, March 11, 2021 • A11

‘If a book has a map, it’s usually worth reading’: Katie Mainwaring and her maps at Catching Stars KATHLEEN AINSCOUGH

Catching Stars

With the coming of spring, Catching Stars Gallery features artist Katie Mainwaring’s new works which are reflective of the beauty of her surroundings, her lifestyle, and also hint at the world of fantasy that is hidden in her imagination.

Katie’s subject matter varies from detailed line drawings of her maps to the more recently inspired landscapes and the emerging new growth of the wild plants and flowers of her homelands.

Katie moved to Bowen as a teenager and now lives and works here full time and creates from her home in the Mount Gardner area. She joined Catching Stars Gallery in the fall of 2019 as an associate member.

When she is not making art, Katie works with Bowenshire Stoneworks and as a landscape gardener.

Her process when she is working on her signature map pieces involves many layers of work to get the geographical accuracy of the map, before embellishing with her fantastical characters; mermaids, dragons, sea monsters, sunken treasures and more.

“Maps have always been a passion. I always say if a book has a map, it’s usually worth reading,” muses Katie. “The thing is with maps, they need to be accurate. It’s quite a process actually.

“For the maps of Bowen and Vancouver Island, I first do a wash with coffee grinds, then using nautical charts as a guide, transfer the map to the actual art paper. Then, I draw the lines in ink. Once all the technical stuff is done, I can get in there and have

some fun with all the embellishments and labelling.

“I love calligraphy and penmanship, so it’s a cool way to integrate it into my art.”

Painting landscapes and nature is intuitive and therapeutic and as Katie explains “It’s almost like it’s not really me painting and it just kind of happens. I feel like a vessel almost. Especially when I paint clouds. I love painting clouds.”

Other artists provide a lot of inspiration for Katie as well. “I think it’s important as an artist to always be observing others’ work. It keeps the creative juices flowing. A few artists that truly inspire me are: J. R. R. Tolkien, Josephine Wall, Amy Brown and Kinoko Craft.”

When it comes to her artmaking, a favourite quote describes her philosophy of creating, being that it’s okay to follow your

dreams and not allow the world to control you.

“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities,” said J.R.R. Tolkien “Another thing that I always tell people who say they wish they could be so talented or that they wished they were an artist, everyone is an artist, somehow,” says Katie.

“It’s in there, even if you don’t know it.

“One’s art is like a piece of their spirit. It’s a very personal thing to share,” she says. “I can say that my work is a small reflection of my mind, especially the piece Wayward Windows, the most literal interpretation of my imagination.”

Stop in and see Katie’s work in person at Catching Stars Gallery, open seven days, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. She will also be artist in residence at Catching Stars Gallery on Monday, March 15 and again on Saturday, March 20.

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Get to know your neighbour NEXT UP IN OUR NEW Q&A SERIES: VAUNE KOLBER When did you move to Bowen?

July 15, 2014.

How did you come to be on Bowen?

We didn’t know much about Bowen and then my hus-

band, David, went one day for a massage from RMT Harmony Shire. Harmony was working in Vancouver but living on Bowen.

He went for a session on a Friday and he walked out of the session

and phoned me and said, ‘Can we book a cabin or a cottage or something on Bowen for the weekend?’

I was like, ‘What? Why?’ He said, ‘Well, Harmony has been living there for the last several months.

And she was just going on and on about how wonderful she felt how healthy she felt.’

We came for the weekend, we looked around, we fell in love with it. And then by three months later, we’d bought the property that

we’re on now. It was a huge leap.

We didn’t really know how great it truly was.

Where on Bowen do you live?

On the west side in the Sealeigh Park neighbourhood.

Fill the ferry lineup gap or don’t fill the gap?

Absolutely fill the gap. Especially now that there is that sign at the top that says if you’re here, turn around and go away. Because if there are still spots available because they’re not filled, then some people might actually turn away and miss the ferry when they actually could fit on.

What’s your favourite Bowen fact?

How engaged everyone is. For instance, when there’s an election and you have the highest voter turnout in the province, basically. It’s off the chart.

And it tells me it’s an incredibly engaged community. And that’s a fact that I really love because it really shows what this community is about.

What’s a Bowen Islander?

Someone who wants to feel part of a welcoming, supportive, engaged community.

I think this past year, we’ve seen examples of that. People helping people in need,

whether it’s because of their health issues, or the house that just burnt down and displaced two families.

And also everything that the community did, even the Economic Development Committee, to support businesses during COVID. Everyone just jumped in and did everything just to keep things going as much as possible.

What’s your favourite COVID-19 balm or activity?

I love walking around Killarney Lake and also I started doing Mary Letson’s half-hour morning zoom classes, which are really great. Very energizing.

For the latest COVID-19 and vaccination and Bowen Island information, please visit bowenislandundercurrent.com/ coronavirus-covid-19-information

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