August 17, 2015 edition of the Alberni Valley Times
10
KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES Last week the Alberni-Clay- oquot Regional District re-opened parks and trails for public use, but nearby trails remain closed due to con- tinued dry conditions. The board made the decision last Wednesday to open the Log Train Trail and Alberni Inlet Trail to public use. The ACRD announced clos- ure of those two local trails near the beginning of July. This announcement marks the first opening. “The fire hazard rating is moderate, it is forecast to increase in the next few days but decrease over the weekend,” ACRD CAO Russel Dyson wrote in a request for decision. The regional district cau- tions users to be conscientious and take precautions regard- ing fire safety. Other trails on the Island continue to have locked gates. The Regional District of Nanaimo follows instruc- tions from landowners Island Timberlands and Timber West for some area trails, and as such, the Arrowsmith CPR trail and the stretch of the Trans-Canada Trail from Cowichan to Nanaimo remain closed. “They will likely stay closed until the end of the fire sea- son,” said Joan Michel, RDN parks and trails coordinator. “They are on private land so we have to abide by the land- owners’ requests.” The RDN has not had to close its local trails. “Generally speaking, people using the trails are good,” Michel said. “They are the eyes out there and help report anything. They also come in by foot, not vehicles, and that is usually where the trouble comes.” Gates to Island Timberlands’ land within the Valley were recently opened to public access, however. “We are grateful for the access to the private lands and value that relationship great- ly,” Michel said. Wendy Thomson, manager of administrative services for the ACRD, said the regional district posted signs on affect- ed trails, as well as posted notices on its website and in the local newspapers. “They could consider closing them again, but it depends if the dry conditions continue,” said Thomson. Thomson advises to keep a watch for public information through the season. [email protected]250-723-8171 REGISTER NOW For courses starting in September www.nic.bc.ca/fallcourses | 250-724-8711 www.nic.bc.ca Serving the Alberni Valley www.avtimes.net Monday, August 17, 2015 Jello Jump lures more than 300 spectators Alberni Region, Page 3 29C 12C Sunny Weather 2 What’s On 2 Alberni Region 3 Opinion 4 Community 5 Sports 6 Scoreboard 7 Comics 8 Classifieds 9 Vancouver Island 10 ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 156 $1.25 newsstand (GST incl.) Inside today Controversy surrounds black bear rehabilitation For the past 20 years, the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre has been rehabilitating black bears on Vancouver Island. » Community, Page 5 Alberni wrestlers win gold, silver for Team BC Wrestlers Aaron Badovinac and Seth Price travelled with the 22-member Team BC to compete in the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games. » Sports, Page 6 » Use your smartphone to jump to our Facebook page for updates on these stories or the latest breaking news. ENVIRONMENT Rock ‘n’ Shaker The band Illvis Freshly rocked the stage Friday night at the Five Acre Shaker. Story on Page 3. [SUPPLIED PHOTO] REGION » Outdoor entertainment DYSON ACRD re-opens some trails for public; dry conditions continue Small beach fi re set south of Port KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES A small beach fire was sparked near Polly’s Point in the early hours of Friday morning. The result of beach users ignoring the current fire ban could have been much worse, according to officials. Reports of the fire were called in to both the Port Alberni Fire Department and Coastal Fire Centre. “We had a call come in at 2:30 a.m.,” said Randy Thoen, Port Alberni’s chief fire prevention officer. “We were requested by Coastal Fire Centre to attend.” When crews arrived, a resident identified the best route for fire- fighters to access the beach. The fire was extinguished with portable pumps and forestry hand tools. “After it was extinguished, we checked for anything under- ground,” Thoen said. The crew was on scene for approximately two hours. Coastal Fire Centre reported the fire as fairly small, measuring three by three metres. Thoen asks that the public be aware of the dry conditions. “Even with the recent moisture we are still under a fire ban,” he said. “We ask people to respect it and not to have outdoor fires even if they are near the water and think it is safe. We are still extremely dry as evidenced by some of the small fires in the regional area.” Thoen reminds anyone who sees a fire to report it to 911 and an operator will direct it to the appro- priate department. [email protected]250-723-8171 Careless beach users spark blaze, ignore city ban » We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to letters@ avtimes.net. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
Transcript
KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Last week the Alberni-Clay-oquot Regional District re-opened parks and trails for public use, but nearby trails remain closed due to con-tinued dry conditions.
The board made the decision last Wednesday to open the Log Train Trail and Alberni Inlet Trail to public use.
The ACRD announced clos-ure of those two local trails near the beginning of July. This announcement marks the first opening.
“The fire hazard rating is moderate, it is forecast to increase in the next few days but decrease over the weekend,” ACRD CAO Russel Dyson wrote in a request for decision.
The regional district cau-
tions users to be conscientious and take precautions regard-ing fire safety.
Other trails on the Island continue to have locked gates.
The Regional District of Nanaimo follows instruc-
tions from landowners Island Timberlands and Timber West for some area trails, and as such, the Arrowsmith CPR trail and the stretch of the Trans-Canada Trail from Cowichan to Nanaimo remain closed.
“They will likely stay closed until the end of the fire sea-son,” said Joan Michel, RDN parks and trails coordinator. “They are on private land so we have to abide by the land-owners’ requests.”
The RDN has not had to close its local trails.
“Generally speaking, people using the trails are good,” Michel said. “They are the eyes out there and help report anything. They also come in by foot, not vehicles, and that is usually where the trouble comes.”
Gates to Island Timberlands’ land within the Valley were recently opened to public access, however.
“We are grateful for the access to the private lands and value that relationship great-ly,” Michel said.
Wendy Thomson, manager of administrative services for the ACRD, said the regional district posted signs on affect-ed trails, as well as posted notices on its website and in the local newspapers.
“They could consider closing them again, but it depends if the dry conditions continue,” said Thomson.
Thomson advises to keep a watch for public information through the season.
Serving the Alberni Valley www.avtimes.net Monday, August 17, 2015
Jello Jump lures more than 300 spectatorsAlberni Region, Page 3
29C 12CSunny
Weather 2What’s On 2
Alberni Region 3Opinion 4
Community 5Sports 6
Scoreboard 7Comics 8
Classifieds 9Vancouver Island 10
ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 156 $1.25 newsstand (GST incl.)
Inside today
Controversy surrounds black bear rehabilitationFor the past 20 years, the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre has been rehabilitating black bears on Vancouver Island. » Community, Page 5
Alberni wrestlers win gold, silver for Team BCWrestlers Aaron Badovinac and Seth Price travelled with the 22-member Team BC to compete in the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games. » Sports, Page 6
» Use your smartphone to jump to our Facebook page for updates on these stories or the latest breaking news.
ENVIRONMENT
Rock ‘n’ ShakerThe band Illvis Freshly rocked the stage Friday night at the Five Acre Shaker. Story on Page 3. [SUPPLIED PHOTO]
REGION
» Outdoor entertainment
DYSON
ACRD re-opens some trails for public; dry conditions continue
Small beach fi re set south of Port
KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
A small beach fire was sparked near Polly’s Point in the early hours of Friday morning. The result of beach users ignoring the current fire ban could have been much worse, according to officials.
Reports of the fire were called in to both the Port Alberni Fire Department and Coastal Fire Centre.
“We had a call come in at 2:30 a.m.,” said Randy Thoen, Port Alberni’s chief fire prevention officer.
“We were requested by Coastal Fire Centre to attend.”
When crews arrived, a resident identified the best route for fire-fighters to access the beach. The fire was extinguished with portablepumps and forestry hand tools.
“After it was extinguished, we checked for anything under-ground,” Thoen said.
The crew was on scene for approximately two hours.
Coastal Fire Centre reported the fire as fairly small, measuring three by three metres.
Thoen asks that the public be aware of the dry conditions.
“Even with the recent moisture we are still under a fire ban,” he said. “We ask people to respect it and not to have outdoor fires even if they are near the water and think it is safe. We are still extremely dry as evidenced by some of the small fires in the regional area.”
Thoen reminds anyone who sees a fire to report it to 911 and an operator will direct it to the appro-priate department.
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» Today’s weather and the four-day forecast
ArtsLounge Music with Mohr Masala,
alternate Mondays to City Council Meetings from 7 to 9 p.m. at Char’s Landing.
Timbre! Choir is looking for new mem-bers in all sections for their 43rd Season. Rehearsals commence Monday, September 14th. Please contact Pat Venn at (250) 723-2380 or Patricia Miller at (250) 390-7508 for more detailed information.
Sports & recreationThe 4H Boots n’ Bridles Horse Club
meets the first and second Satur-day of the month at 11 a.m. at 6199 Smith Rd. No horse required. Info: 250-723-8392.
Drop-in circuit training. Stay fit and have fun. Sundays at 3 p.m. Info: 778-421-2721.
Horseshoe Club practices Sundays at 11 a.m. at Dry Creek Park. Info: 250-724-4770 or 250-723-6050.
Adult drop-in badminton on Mondays, from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Alberni Ath-letic Hall. Info: 250-723-8990 (Marg Hudson).
After School Burn - Youth Parkour, ages 7 to 12, on Mondays and Fridays, April 13 through May 22. Sign up at Echo Centre. Info: 250-723-2181.
Lawn bowling drop-in for families every Friday from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Age 12+ for fun games, refresh-ments and goodies. 250-731-6375 or [email protected]
Crib Night every Monday at 7 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion branch No. 293 Alberni Valley.
Special interestCome and join us for Laughter Yoga
at West Coast General Hospital, room A, every Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Cost is by donation, all proceeds to the WCGH Foundation. Info: 250-723-0548.
Mondays at Maquinna School Gym - drop-in gym and reading time from 9 to 10:15 a.m.
French Parent On Tots play group meets Mondays, from 9 to 11 a.m. in room. 2 at Alberni Elementary School.
EventsFarmers’ Market is now open every
Saturday morning, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Cherry Creek School.
Spirit Square Farmers’ Market at Har-
bour Quay, every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Meat draws and other social events every Saturday at the Royal Can-adian Legion Branch No. 293, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Every Sunday afternoon, from 3 to 5:30 p.m., the Kingsway Pub holds a meat draw and 50/50 raffle to benefit the Alberni Valley Hospice Society and Ty Watson House.
Child and youth Nights Alive, free drop-in recreation-
al program for youth, ages 12-18, Saturday nights from 8 p.m. to midnight at Gyro Youth Centre. Info: 250-723-2181.
Support and helpPort Alberni Alzheimer’s Society Care
Givers Support Group meets every third Monday of the month at Fir Park Village in the activity room at 6:30 p.m.
Meals on Wheels, program needs vol-unteer drivers. Info: 250-730-0390.
Pregnant? Concerned? For caring counsel call 1-877-88WOMAN.
Low Vision group meets one Monday per month at Abbeyfield (base-ment) at 10 a.m. Call 250-724-0933 for more information.
First Open Heart Society of Port Alberni support group. Info: 250-723-2056 or 250-724-2196.
Literacy Alberni, drop-in times Mon-day through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Info: 250-723-7323.
AddictionsAl-Anon and Al-Ateen Support Groups,
for family and friends of problem drinkers, meet Saturdays at 10 a.m. (3028 Second Ave.) study group. Info: 250-723-5526, 250-723-2372 or 250-720-4855.
Alcoholics Anonymous, Port Alberni. Info: 1-800-883-3968.
Narcotics Anonymous, 1-800-807-1780 for meeting times and locations.
Port Alberni Friendship Center offers free counselling on addictions, men-tal health, relationships and other
issues. Info: 250-723-8281. Everyone welcome.
What’s comingMaritime Discovery Fishing Derby
for children, Aug. 22 from 10 a.m. to noon. Free, includes crafts and snacks.
A.V. Legion Branch 293 Fun Fishing Derby Saturday, Aug. 22 6a.m. to 9p.m., Sunday Aug. 23 6a.m. to 11a.m., final weigh in 11a.m. Tickets available at the Legion and Gone Fishin’.
Words on Fire, Open Mike, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at Char’s Landing. Feature presenter is Stephen Novik, who will launch his second chapbook of poetry.
Wings for Angel dinner, entertain-ment, silent auction for Hugginz Foundation, Aug. 29. Tickets at the Best Western Barclay or call 250-735-7595.
A.V. Legion Branch 293 Fun Fishing Derby Saturday, Aug. 22 6a.m. to 9p.m., Sunday Aug. 23 6a.m. to 11a.m., final weigh in 11a.m. Tickets available at the Legion and Gone Fishin’.
Hawaiian at the HarbourDan Washington and Rhylie Lee are ready for the final Our Town event on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The Luau theme will take place at Harbour Quay from 6-8 p.m. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
REGION TODAY TOMORROWHI LO SKY HI LO SKY
Lower Fraser ValleyHowe SoundWhistlerSunshine CoastVictoria/E. Van. IslandWest Vancouver IslandN. Vancouver IslandCtrl. Coast/Bella CoolaN. Coast/Prince RupertQueen CharlottesThompsonOkanaganWest KootenayEast KootenayColumbiaChilcotinCariboo/Prince GeorgeFort NelsonBulkley Val./The Lakes
LEGENDs - sunny w - windy c - cloudyfg - fog pc - few clouds t - thundersh - showers fr - freezing rain r - rainsn - snow sf - flurries rs - rain/snowhz - hazy
Get your current weather on:Shaw Cable 39Shaw Direct 398Bell TV 505
Campbell River26/15/s
Tofino21/13/s
Port Hardy18/15/pc
Billings24/14/r
VANCOUVER ISLAND
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ALBERNITODAYMonday, August 17, 2015 | Contact the newsroom 250-723-8171 | [email protected] | STORY UPDATES: www.avtimes.net
VALLEY
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ALBERNIREGIONMonday, August 17, 2015 | Contact the newsroom 250-723-8171 | [email protected] | STORY UPDATES: www.avtimes.net
500-person fundraising concert in Beaver Creek for youth projects considered a success by organizers
5-Acre Shaker a charity money makerKRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Two days of live music, hun-dreds of tickets sold and five acres of a festival atmosphere ended with a successful charity event on in Beaver Creek on Sunday.
According to organizer Jess Towers, the Five Acre Shaker went over without a hitch.
“Overall it went really well,” Towers said. “There were no major incidents.”
Instead there were crowd-pleas-ing bands and concert goers hav-ing a good time, she said.
“A lot of my area was in dealing with the bands and so many of them said they couldn’t believe there was a festival of this cali-bre in Port Alberni,” Towers said. “I heard nothing but posi-tive feedback and that it was well-organized.”
Towers and co-organizer, Lance Goddard, did their homework ahead of time to ensure the event was run safe and without incident.
Originally hoping for 1,000 people in attendance, the two were permitted by the regional district to hold the event as long as ticket sales were capped at 500. Even with a crowd that large, and under drought conditions, fire risk was a concern, but they had all authorities confirm their plans months prior to the event.
“On Wednesday, the Beaver Creek Fire Department volun-
teers did a walk-through and felt there were no concerns,” Towers said. “They felt we covered all bases.”
The following day, the RCMP and regional district planner did the same thing and said every-thing looked like it was under
full compliance, Towers said. “In the end, there were no
incidents, except a minor first aid call,” Towers said. “It speaks to always having a strong risk management plan in place, which we did, and we were able to mitigate any risks.”
When final numbers are tallied, any proceeds of the event will be donated to the Zattzoo Project, an organization run by Kimberly Blake and Dallas Ward, in mem-ory of their son and brother, Zakk Coss, who died in a car acci-dent near Duncan last year. The
Project is aimed at funding youthprojects that do not receive gov-ernment funds.
Despite the lower attendance, Towers hope the Zattzoo Project will still benefit.
She hopes to continue the legacy by making the event a long-lasting community music festival.
“Lance and I will sit down while it’s fresh in our minds and see what next year holds for us,” Towers said.
Five Acre Shaker co-organizers Jess Towers (left) and Lance Goddard put safety precautions in place on the five-acre Beaver Creek property to host another 500-person fundraising concert on the weekend. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
“In the end, there were no incidents, except a minor first aid call. It speaks to always having a strong risk management plan in place, which we did, and we were able to mitigate any risks.”
Jess Towers, Five Acre Shaker organizer
» We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to [email protected]. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
COMMUNITY
Jello JumpKaden Tardif does a cannonball into a vat of Jello during an event at Port Alberni’s Pacifc Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership on Friday afternoon. One hundred jumpers fell into the mixture to earn a chance to win a car, a spectacle that lured more than 300 people during a hot afternoon. Showers were on site to help participants clean up. [PETER McCULLY, TIMES]
Submissions must include full name and contact info.
People from the Alberni Valley are doing amazing things all People from the Alberni Valley are doing amazing things all around the world. We want to tell their stories.around the world. We want to tell their stories.
We want to tell stories of why people choose to call the Alberni Valley home. Do you or someone you the Alberni Valley home. Do you or someone you
Submissions must include full name and contact info. The eyes have itFetch a Friend
from the SPCA today! spca.bc.ca
Central Park an ‘amazing step forward’
It is a pity some poor folk can only think about taxes when someone has a vision to beauti-fy our town.
Kudos to Stacy Gaiga and husband for envisaging this wonderful park in the uptown area. This will be an aesthetic bonus for everyone and much needed change from the bland and basic big box area on John-ston Road.
Thank you to the Gaigas and to council for this amazing step forward.
Margaret GrowcottPort Alberni
Rainbow crosswalk proposal ‘a new low’
We have reached a new low with the proposals for painted, gay crosswalks on 3rd Avenue from the old Zellers building to Argyle Street and one from city hall to Char’s Landing.
How gay are city hall and Char’s? How suitable would be a gay crosswalk to Gaiga’s new park?
Why haven’t the proposals been submitted to the Traffic Advisory Committee, local police, and the Motor Vehicle Branch? Why is Councillor Sharie Minions supporting the proposals off the top of her head (as she frequently does
with city matters)?The proposals are undoubt-
edly going to be costly (with ongoing maintenance) and the money could be much better spent on new sidewalks or repairing existing ones.
If the proposals go through, there will be no need for any rebranding of our community.
Richard BergPort Alberni
Think twice about desalination solution
Re: ‘De-salination is Alberni’s water shortage solution’ letter, August 14, Page 4
Seawater desalination is one of the most expensive sources of fresh water because desalination requires a lot of energy. Accord-ing to a report from Pacific Insti-tute, “Desalination plants on average use about 15,000 kilowatt hours of power for every million gallons of fresh water that’s produced.”
There are also environmental costs. High energy requirements can raise GHG emissions. Small ocean creatures like baby fish and plankton can get sucked into desalination plants, upsetting the food chain.
On the plant maintenance and operation side there is also concern of what happens to the concentrated salt brine. Pump-ing this brine water back into
the ocean can harm local fish habitat.
Responsible disposal of this brine can add substantially to the operating cost of the plant.
Conservation and recycling programs are much less expen-sive and more sustainable alternatives to building desalina-tion plants.
Guy LangloisPort Alberni
Deception from Prime Minister’s Office
In 2007 Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in best holi-er-than-thou stance, ordered his Conservative caucus to have no further dealings with former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. This followed testi-mony given to the Ethics Com-mittee by Karlheinz Schreiber and the former PM in what was known as the Airbus Affair. Depending on whose testi-mony you believe, envelopes containing either $225,0000 or $300,000 in cash were accepted by the former PM from the Ger-man businessman representing Airbus.
Fast forward eight years to the latest Tory scandal with the trial of hand-picked Sen-ator Mike Duffy. Canadians have waited with bated breath for the star witness to answer questions concerning an email that said: “We are good to go
from the PM.” The answer finally came from
the ever-smiling Nigel Wright, who is said to be deeply reli-gious; he quoted scriptures during his cross-examination, apparently to justify “doing a good deed” of cutting a person-al $90,000 cheque for Senator Duffy.
According to Mr. Wright’s sworn testimony, “Good To Go” referred to the Prime Minister agreeing to the “media line” that had been concocted by his team in the PMO. It declared that the errant Senator had repaid his own overblown expenses; intending the whole sordid story to end there. According to court testimony the devious strategy back-fired, as the media line was a deception.
For years we’ve known that Lyin’ Brian Mulroney earned his sobriquet, now we know that Deceivin’ Stephen Harper has earned his monicker, too, and he seems anything but holier-than-thou these days. In fact, the more Tory scandals change, the more they stay the same.
Sir Walter Scott’s words are ringing through the Ottawa courtroom, and should be ring-ing in voters ears on October 19th : “Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we prac-tise to deceive !
Bernie SmithParksville, B.C.
Informationabout usAlberni Valley Times is operated by Black Press Group Ltd. and is located at 4918 Napier St., Port Alberni, B.C., V9Y 3H5. This newspaper is a member of Alli-ance for Audited Media, Second Class Mail Registration No 0093. Published Monday to Friday in the Alberni Valley, the Alberni Valley Times and its predecessors have been supporting the Alberni Valley and the west coast of Van-couver Island since 1948.
General Office/Newsroom: 250-723-8171 Fax: 250-723-0586 [email protected]
Editorial board
The editorials that appear as ‘Our View’ represent the opinion of the Alberni Valley Times. They are unsigned because they do not necessarily represent the personal views of the writers. The positions taken are arrived at through discussion among members of the editorial board.
Letters policy
The Alberni Valley Times welcomes letters to the editor, but we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, taste, legality, and for length. We require your hometown and a daytime phone number for verification pur-poses only. Letters must include your first name (or two initials) and last name. If you are a mem-ber of a political or lobby group, you must declare so in your submission. Unsigned letters, hand-written letters and letters of more than 500 words will not be accepted. For best results, e-mail your submission to [email protected].
Complaint resolution
If talking with the managing editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about a story we publish, contact the B.C. Press Council. The council examines complaints from the public about the conduct of the press in gathering and publish-ing news. The Alberni Valley Times is a member. Your written concern, accompanied by docu-mentation, must be sent within 45 days of the article’s publica-tion to: B.C. Press Council, PO Box 1356, Ladysmith, B.C. V9G 1A9. Visit their website at www. bcpresscouncil.org.
Closed schools can be public hubsWhen is a school not a
school? When it’s a neighbourhood green
space. Or a place where day-care and seniors’ services cohabit in the same building. Or a structure where cultur-al and recreational services exist to “nourish community life.”
That’s the case an advisory group has made to Ontario Pre-mier Kathleen Wynne to trans-form schools in danger of closing because of declining enrollment into “community hubs” that will continue to serve neighbourhood residents.
Wynne says she is “fully sup-portive” of the recommendations in the report. And that’s a good
thing. It’s clear that some schools must close: school boards shouldn’t hang on to dozens of half-empty buildings at the expense of funding proper servi-ces for current students. But it’s also true that school properties should not be sold off in a rush to private interests when some of them can be re-purposed for public service, recreational, and community space.
The advisory group, headed up by Karen Pitre, made 28 recommendations to try and break down the “silos” that pre-vent community groups from co-operating to buy schools. The report also highlights the need for provincial ministries to cut bureaucratic red tape and work
together to take advantage of the opportunity these schools present to house various services under one roof.
Among the recommendations:Giving boards of education
twice as much time to look for new buyers for a closed school – 180 days instead of just 90. The extra time would help commun-ity groups find ways to work together to purchase buildings and give provincial ministries a chance to see if they can make use of the buildings.
Selling a closed school at less than the market price to make it affordable for community groups to buy the sites to transform them into community hubs.
Creating a provincial “lead”
entity to help build bridges between various players from municipalities to school boards to health agencies and employers to find tenants to create com-munity hubs.
Another idea that might prove even more important was put forth by Toronto District School Board trustee Pamela Gough. That would see the province con-sider other current uses when it is considering which schools are underused and should be put up for sale. Currently the criteria for whether a school stays open or closed are based solely on enroll-ment. Low enrollment can mean a school may face closure even though it contains a well-used daycare or recreational facilities.
The report cites the town of Petawawa as an example of how municipalities and school boards can co-operate to create com-munity hubs. Petawawa entered into an agreement with the Renfrew County District School Board to share community recreation facilities. This means students have access to curling and hockey rinks while town residents are able to use school gyms.
In the end, some schools may well be worth saving even if there aren’t enough students in a neighbourhood to fill their halls. It just takes a little co-operation and imagination.
4 Monday, August 17, 2015 | Contact the newsroom 250-723-8171 | [email protected]
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Monday, August 17, 2015 | Contact the newsroom 250-723-8171 | [email protected] | STORY UPDATES: www.avtimes.net
HEALTH SAFETY
Build a culture of family fi tness How many tie downs do you actually need?
What is your ‘household culture’? Stop to think for a second about it.
Your household culture is often the deeper value and under-standings your family shares with each other. Usually these are the things that are not neces-sarily articulated easily because they are embedded in daily life, the basic underlying assump-tions. Such as what you know and understand about daily household life in terms of things such as Internet access, TV time, and priority of homework, com-munity or environmental stew-ardship…and of course your household beliefs on the import-ance of physical activity.
As the adults in the lives of your children: grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc, you can encourage this culture. Any-thing adults demonstrate as a behaviour has a greater impact on children than what we say.
Families care about the amount of physical activity that children get, but they need to care about the amount of physic-al activity the family gets. You can have high values, but with little follow-through you won’t change the culture. Adults need to take the lead and set the cultural value around physical activity, have the vision and then also take part and be seen achieving fitness and activity goals too.
Tips for Building Your Family Fitness Culture:
• What you give to yourself, you
give to others. Invest in a small amount of time each day to exercise, and be seen exercising! You get your exercise time in, and the kids in your life see it too. You feel recharged and ener-getic and can give more to your family. It’s good for your health and you know it’s good for your kids too.
• Don’t expect your kids to do it if you don’t do it. Be the change you wish to see…it gives you credibility. If it’s so important to pass the message onto kids, you should be willing to do it to.
• Model it and love it. I have early childhood educators who come to my after-work class at the childcare centre they work at. These ladies are busy and energetic all day long with the kids and still take the time to fit in exercise after a long day.
The best part is as the kids are leaving during the day they love to peek in and find out what Peggy, Louise and Lisa are up to, and they are pretty excited about it. Peggy, Louise and Lisa are happily exercising, and love to give a wave to the kiddos (unless we are doing a burpee drill, in which case they are happy only after the burpee drill is over).
• Gain momentum in building your culture by achieving quick wins. Setting small, quick goals that are realistic and achievable gives your family momentum and motivation to go on to the next goal. Set goals for yourself as the adult too. Let the kids hear and see you celebrate your fitness ‘wins’…maybe it’s sign-ing up for three-kilometre race or commenting on how great you feel after your walk.
• Make sure you spend time building culture together. You’ve got activity goals in mind for your kids, you’ve got fitness goals in mind for yourself, but never forget a family culture of activity should include a lot of time being active together. Go for small hikes and explore new swimming holes, try snowshoe-ing, take bike rides, walking trips to the grocery store, play outside games, PLAY with your kids in the park…DON’T sit and watch.
• Do it often and make it a hab-it. Make it stick and soon it will be a part of your family culture. Once it’s a part of the culture, you’ve won, and you will always make time for it.
The load consisted of rough lumber, about 2x6 or 2x8 size 12 to 14 feet
long and 3 feet high on a flat deck trailer pulled by a large pickup truck. Load security was provided by a single heavy strap wrapped once around the middle of the load. The combination was being pulled at highway speed which was 90 km/h.
Do you think that this load was secured to the trailer sufficiently?
Even if you knew nothing about the rules that must be followed to properly tie down this load I think you would join me in shaking my head.
Have you seen a commercial truck drive past with a sim-ilar load at any time while you were driving? How many straps did they have wrapped around the load and how big were they? This knowledge alone should tell you that one strap is not enough.
The minimum number of tie downs needed is determined by the length of the load. Since the load was more than 10 feet long but not more than 20, it needed three. These straps
must also be distributed equal-ly along the load.
Next, the capacity of the tie downs must be considered. The aggregate strength must be at least equal to half of the weight of the load. Depending on how strong the tie downs are, you may end up having to use more than the minimum of three but never less.
There are many other loads and situations that can compli-cate securing a load fully and properly. Rather than trusting to luck, a quick call to the nearest weigh scale, some of which are always open, will get you the expert advice that you need for everyone to be safe.
SusanFoxThe Happy Life Project
» Susan Fox, BCRPA Certified Fitness Professional and Personal Trainer, believes in positive change and enhan-cing quality of life through fitness. Her goal is to collaborate in creating a vibrant, healthy community where all ages enjoy engaging in movement and daily activity. She can be reached at 250-730-0008 or susanfoxfitness.ca.
WILDLIFE
FRIENDSHIP
Releasing captive Island black bears back into the Wild
For the past 20 years, the North Island Wildlife Recov-ery Centre has been rehabili-
tating black bears on Vancouver Island.
It has always been a contro-versial subject between wildlife rehabilitators and those who believe that captive bears cannot successfully be released back out into the wild.
Finally after three decades a research article has been released speaking to this subject and the reading is very interesting. John Beecham, an expert in these mat-ters and mentor of our founder Robin Campbell, has finally made his finding available to the general public.
The rehabilitation of bears for release is expanding globally because of increased human interaction. Data gathered from around the world show orphaned bear cubs are kept in captivity for two to 14 months and are released in areas with suitable habitat components.
The report examined the fates of 550 captive-reared bears raised in 12 geographically disparate areas across three continents under a variety of management regimes in an attempt to evaluate the efficacy of raising orphaned bear cubs for release back to the wild. Their
analyses reduce many uncer-tainties surrounding the fate of captive-reared bears and provide evidence that releasing orphaned bears back to the wild is a defens-ible management alternative.
Captive-reared bears released to the wild met the primary and secondary definitions of success; survival rates, human conflict levels, and reproduction by cap-tive-reared and released bears in this study were comparable to those reported for wild bears.
The options when faced with an orphaned bear cub are: leave them and let nature take its course, put them in permanent captivity, euthanize them, or place them in a captive-rearing facility for release back to the wild at a future date.
The North Island Wildlife Recov-ery Association responded many years ago to the public outcry and demand for giving orphaned bear cubs a second chance. At that time, founder Robin Campbell met with government officials along with other interested parties
to successfully devise a plan to change the Wildlife Act.
The society has spend over $400,000 of the public’s money to build a treatment centre, three bear enclosures for infant bears, junior bears and bears being pre-pared for release. Bears may sta-
yat the centre for up to 18 months depending on the scarcity or abundance of food sources upon release.
The study just released gives the credibility that NIWRA has have been looking for. The centre’s main goal is to release these cubs
to continue their lives as they were designed to do and to keep the public safe.
» Sylvia Campbell works at the North Island Wildlife Centre. If you would like more information about wildlife, call the centre at 250-248-8534.
Sylvia CampbellWild N Free
A study just released gives the credibility that NIWRA has have been looking for. The centre’s main goal is to release thesecubs to continue their lives as they were designed to do and to keep the public safe.
Tim ScheweBehind theWheel
» Tim Schewe is a retired RCMP constable with many years of traffic enforcement experience. To comment or learn more, please visit www.drivesmartbc.ca.
Sheldon Tom and Izzreal Unger had a good time hanging out at the Nuuchahnulth Tlu-Piich Games picnic at Williamson Park on Friday. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
TENNIS
WESTERN CANADA GAMES
6
SPORTSMonday, August 17, 2015 | Contact the newsroom 250-723-8171 | [email protected] | STORY UPDATES: www.avtimes.net
Two local wrestlers set example for provincial athletes, Badovinac undefeated to qualify for 69kg fi nal
Alberni leads Team BC to gold SUBMITTED FOR THE ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Local wrestlers Aaron Bado-vinac and Seth Price travelled as part of the 22-member wrestling contingent of Team BC to com-pete in the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo, Alta. Aug 6–11.
Team BC was dominant in both the male and female divisions.
Days one and two of competi-tion saw BC face off against each province/territory in a dual meet format.
Dual meets are team compe-titions where one athlete from each weight class wrestles their opponent’s athlete in the same weight class and the victor scores points for their team. The team with the most total points wins the dual.
BC was dominant against NWT, Nunavut and Manitoba on day 1, giving them confidence heading into a challenging day 2. BC bat-tled a tough Saskatchewan squad early on the second day. The girls team won 36–17 and the boys won 44–8.
The final dual was against the home crowd favourite, second seeded Alberta, who, like BC, was undefeated coming into the match. Emotions were high as both teams had their sights on gold.
The number one ranked BC girls’ team started things off for Team BC by winning their meet by a score of 35–14.
“The atmosphere in the build-ing was electric and the intensity on the mats was awesome!” said head coach Kate Walker. “The girls used the energy of the crowd to fuel them and they were unbeatable.”
The Alberta and BC men’s teams were much more evenly matched than the girls and the highly anticipated dual lived up to the hype. BC dropped a couple of bouts early on but big wins by 76-kilogram Harbans Gill and 69-kilogram Aaron Badovinac of Port Alberni turned the tides.
“Aaron has been the leader of the men’s team both on and off the mats since we came togeth-er,” said coach Mike McDonald. “He wrestled lights-out and he definitely pumped our guys up.”
BC secured the team title with three matches left and won by a final score of 27–22. Team BC went 5–0 in team competition to take the gold medal.
This is the first time in BC’s history that both the female and male teams won gold.
The final day of the tournament
was the individual competition. Athletes were ranked based on their individual results from the dual meets and Team BC had an unprecedented 20 of 22 in the gold medal finals.
Alberni’s Aaron Badovinac went 5–0 in dual meet action to put him in the 69-kg final.
“Aaron has a commanding presence on the mat and he is technically very good. He moves extremely well making him hard to score on,” said coach Danny Einhorn. “Bado won four of his five matches by 10–0 technical superiority, proving he is the guy to beat.” Only Alberta’s Austin Gartman was able to score on Badovinac the entire tourna-ment. Badovinac continued his dominance in the final by defeating Saskatchewan’s Josh Guthrie by another 10-0 technical superiority.
Alberni Wrestling’s Seth Price was also in the gold medal final. Price defeated his Saskatchewan opponent to make the final where he met the only guy to beat him: Alberta’s Owen Martin.
Price battled hard in the final
but was not able to beat the very tough and more experienced Mar-tin, losing 12–2.
“Seth is the grittiest kid on the team” stated Mike McDonald.” He has tenacity and determin-ation, qualities that you can’t teach. Seth is young and has a ton of potential and a very bright future in this sport.”
Price is only 12 years old and had to have special permission to wrestle at the Games after mak-ing Team BC. He is going into Grade 8 at ADSS and will be a tre-mendous addition to the Armada wrestling team.
In total all of the 22 Team BC
wrestlers competing in the indi-vidual tournament came home with medals: 11 gold, 9 silver and 2 bronze.
BC’s success at the WCSG can be attributed to the outstanding coaching staff and the commit-ment of the athletes to the rigor-ous training schedule. Coaches Kate Walker, Mike McDonald and Danny Einhorn invested significant time and provided quality training opportunities to develop these athletes along with approximately 25 alternate athletes who did not attend the games. Alberni’s Isaac McDonald, Daniel Spencer and Morgan Dag-
enais were alternates, who took advantage of the development opportunities, which included weekly practices at Simon Fraser University combined with camps in Idaho, Washington State and Alberni. These training oppor-tunities allowed the athletes to grow as a team and learn as individuals.
Alberni athletes will now take some time off the mats. Training will resume at the beginning of November.
The WCSG occur every four years and include teams from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Mani-toba, Nunavut and the NWT.
Team BC at the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo, Alta. this month. Team BC set a precedent with both male and female teams winning gold. Two Alberni wrestlers were on the team; Each fo the team’s 22 members came home with a medal. [SUBMITTED PHOTO]
Alberni’s Aaron Badovinac wrestles Austin Gartman of Alberta at the Western Canada Summer Games. Badovinac was undefeated in the tournament, winning gold in the 69-kilogram class. Gartman was the only wrestler who managed to score on Badovinac during the competition. [BOGETTI-SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY/TEAM BC]
“Aaron has been the leader of the men’s team both on and off the mats since we came together. He wrestled lights-out and he definitely pumped our guys up.”Mike McDonald, Team BC coach
Murray wins third Rogers Cup titleBILL BEACON THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to win the US$4.1 million Rog-ers Cup on Sunday, ending an eight-match losing streak to the world’s top-ranked player.
Second-seeded Murray posted his fourth tournament victory of the year.
He won $685,200 for claiming the Rogers Cup for a third time after hoisting the trophy in 2009 and 2010. His three wins tie Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi for second place all-time behind Ivan Lendl’s six victories.
The two top seeds split the first two sets in a three-hour match in hot, muggy conditions at Uniprix Stadium.
It played out with Murray serv-ing at 3-1 in the third, already up a break.
A ferocious baseline battle went to deuce 10 times and Mur-ray fought off six break points to all but put the match away.
Djokovic had two more break points in the final game, but Murray pounded two service winners and eventually won when Djokovic hit a ground stroke long after a brief rally.
Murray is 9-19 in his career against Djokovic and beat the Serb for the first time since the 2013 Wimbledon final.
Swiss BB Gun hits a Rogers Cup bullseye GREGORY STRONG THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — For months, Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic has been tabbed as one of the rising stars on the women’s tennis scene.
This week at the Rogers Cup, she showed that she can hang with — and beat — the sport’s elite.
Bencic capped her improbable run to the final with a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 3-0 victory over Simona Halep on a hot, sunny afternoon at Aviva Centre. Halep, who was hampered by a left leg injury, cramps and heat exhaustion, retired early in the third set.
It was yet another upset win for the unseeded world No. 20. She beat four of the top five seeds — including Serena Williams in the semifinal — to claim her first Premier-Five level title.
“It’s like I cannot believe it, and it’s amazing,” a giddy Bencic said afterwards. “I have no words for this, and definitely talk about a tough draw.”
The 18-year-old Bencic took out a murderer’s row of WTA talent en route to her second career title.
Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard was the first to fall. Fourth-seed-ed Caroline Wozniacki was next, followed by Sabine Lisicki, fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic, the top-seeded Williams — who lost for just the second time all year — and finally the second-seeded Halep.
Bencic became the first teen-
ager to win the $2.51-million tournament since Ivanovic took the crown as an 18-year-old in 2006. Bencic earned $456,000 with the victory and could move as high as No. 12 when the updated world rankings are released Monday.
“Now I actually feel like I belong here and that I can really be one of the top players,” she said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
Halep needed treatment and massage therapy at times during the match. She used ice towels and drank fluids to try to cool down and did well to force a deciding set.
But Bencic didn’t let up, taking the first three games in the deci-sive set before Halep decided to end it.
“I was thinking that I need a miracle to finish the match,” Halep said. “I knew that I had no power so I tried just to finish the match, but at 3-0 I said there is no sense to continue and I stopped.”
Halep, who was looking for her fourth title of the season, earned $227,640 as runner-up. She still plans to play at next week’s stop in Cincinnati.
Both players primarily stuck to a baseline game and used their strong returning skills to their advantage. Breaks were more common than holds in the early going.
Halep tried to shake out her leg pain at times in the opening set but with a 6-5 lead, she called for a trainer to work on her left
quadriceps. She returned to the court with a bandage taped to the outside of her leg.
Bencic held serve and trailed 1-4 in the tiebreaker before tak-ing control with four straight points. Halep misfired wide to set up a set point and Bencic converted when the Romanian found the net.
Down 1-2 in the second set, Halep had the trainer come out
again to rub her left leg under the knee. She also had ice towels wrapped around her neck and upper legs while her blood pres-sure was checked.
A heat alert was in effect for the Toronto area and while the temperature was 30 C, the humidity made it feel like 37 C. It’s also usually a few degrees warmer on the shadeless hardcourt.
Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, poses with winner’s trophy after defeating Simona Halep, of Romania, in the women’s final at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Toronto on Sunday. [THE CANADIAN PRESS/FRANK GUNN]
GOLF
CFLWEEK 8EAST GP W L T PF PA PtHamilton 7 5 2 0 243 136 10
Toronto 7 5 2 0 193 183 10
Ottawa 7 4 3 0 134 198 8
Montreal 7 2 5 0 142 135 4
WEST GP W L T PF PA PtCalgary 7 5 2 0 185 151 10
Edmonton 7 5 2 0 180 101 10
B.C. 7 3 4 0 166 211 6
Winnipeg 8 3 5 0 160 237 6
Saskatchewan 7 0 7 0 174 225 0Saturday, August 15Hamilton 52 B.C. 22Calgary 48 Ottawa 3Thursday, August 20Montreal at B.C., 10 p.m.Friday, August 21Hamilton at Edmonton, 9 p.m.Saturday, August 22Calgary at Saskatchewan, 7 p.m.Sunday, August 23Ottawa at Toronto, 4 p.m.
SATURDAYSTAMPEDERS 48, REDBLACKS 3First QuarterCal — TD Mitchell 11 run (pass from Mitchell to Harrison) 5:47Ott — FG Milo 31 10:38Second QuarterCal — TD Mitchell 1 run (Paredes convert) 2:16Cal — TD West 17 pass from Mitchell (Paredes convert) 7:58Cal — FG Paredes 22 14:03Cal — TD Rogers 23 pass from Mitchell (Paredes convert) 14:57Third QuarterCal 0:06...Cal — Safety 3:46Cal — TD Walter 6 run (Paredes convert) 9:01Fourth QuarterCal — FG Paredes 34 1:08Cal — FG Paredes 36 5:26Cal — Single Maver 56 10:45Ottawa 3 0 0 0—3Calgary 8 23 10 7—48Attendance — 27,566 at Calgary.TEAM STATISTICS Ott CalFirst downs 10 20
Yards rushing 21 92
Yards passing 179 275
Passes made-tried 17-35 20-31
Return yards 138 172
Interceptions-yards by 0-0 1-20
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 0-0
Sacks by 5 5
Punts-average 11-41.3 12-45.6
Penalties-Yards 9-65 6-55
Time of Possession 27:06 32:54Net offence is yards passing, plus yards rushing, minus team losses such as yards lost on broken plays.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRushing — Ott: Walker 7-11, Johnson 3-10. Cal: Walter 10-41, Mitchell 3-22, Harrison 7-18, Moniz 1-8, Parker 1-3.Receiving — Ott: Sinopoli 3-50, Elling-son 3-46, Johnson 3-31, Jackson 3-24, Walker 2-11, Price 2-10, Macdonell 1-7. Cal: Rogers 5-92, West 2-54, McDaniel 4-47, Fuller 3-27, Parker 1-26, Harrison 3-19, Cote 1-10.Passing — Ott:Burris 7-17-114-0-0, Demarco 1-8-7-0-1. Cal: Mitchell 17-25-243-2-0, Tate 3-5-32-0-0.
MARLINS 6, CARDINALS 4 Miami ab r h bi St. Louis ab r h biGordon 2b 5 2 3 0 Carpenter 3b 4 0 2 0Rojas 3b 5 0 0 0 Piscotty lf-rf 4 2 1 1Dietrich lf 4 0 2 3 Heyward rf-cf 4 2 2 3Morris p 0 0 0 0 Grichuk cf 2 0 0 0Ramos p 0 0 0 0 Maness p 0 0 0 0Bour 1b 4 0 1 1 Peralta ph 1 0 0 0Ozuna cf 4 0 0 0 Broxton p 0 0 0 0Gillespie rf-lf 4 0 1 0 Molina c 4 0 0 0Hechavarria ss 4 2 2 0 Wong 2b 4 0 0 0Mathis c 3 1 1 0 Reynolds 1b 4 0 0 0Phelps sp 1 0 0 0 Kozma ss 4 0 1 0Narveson p 0 1 0 1 Martinez sp 1 0 0 0McGehee ph 1 0 0 1 Bourjos ph 1 0 0 0Ellington p 0 0 0 0 Villanueva p 0 0 0 0Dunn p 0 0 0 0 Choate p 0 0 0 0Suzuki rf 1 0 0 0 Moss ph-lf 0 0 0 0Totals 36 6 10 6 Totals 33 4 6 4Miami 100 041 000 —6St. Louis 102 010 000 —4E—Wong 2. LOB—Miami 5, St. Louis 4. DP—St. Louis 1. 3B—Hechavarria (5), Dietrich (1). HR—Piscotty (1); Heyward
PARAPAN AMMEDAL STANDINGSFinal medal standings at the 2015 Parapan Am Games (ranked by total gold medals won):Nation G S B TotalBrazil 109 74 74 257Canada 50 63 55 168U.S. 40 51 44 135Mexico 38 36 39 113Colombia 24 36 30 90Cuba 19 15 13 47Argentina 18 25 24 67Venezuela 8 14 25 47Chile 4 2 6 12Jamaica 2 2 1 5T&T 2 0 0 2Ecuador 1 0 4 5Bermuda 1 0 0 1Uruguay 1 0 0 1Nicaragua 0 0 4 4Costa Rica 0 0 2 2Puerto Rico 0 0 2 2D.Rep. 0 0 1 1
WHAT CANADA DID What Canada Did on Saturday — the
Parapan American Games:FOOTBALL (Seven-A-Side)Men — Canada (1-3-1) lost 2-1 to Venezuela in the bronze-medal game. Samuel Charron, Ottawa, scored the
GOALBALLMen — Canada (5-2) won the bronze medal, 13-3 over Argentina.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALLMen — Canada (5-1) earned the silver medal after losing 62-39 to the U.S. in the
were Nik Goncin, Regina, with 17 points and David Eng, Montreal, with 12.
MLSEASTERN CONFERENCE W L T GF GA PtsD.C. 13 8 5 35 29 44New York 11 6 6 38 25 39Columbus 9 8 7 38 39 34New England 9 9 7 34 36 34Toronto 9 10 4 37 41 31Montreal 8 9 4 29 31 28Orlando 7 11 7 32 41 28New York City 7 11 6 34 37 27Philadelphia 6 13 6 32 43 24Chicago 6 12 5 27 34 23
WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T GF GA PtsLos Angeles 12 7 7 44 31 43Vancouver 13 9 3 37 26 42Kansas City 11 4 7 37 25 40Portland 11 8 6 26 28 39Dallas 11 7 5 33 29 38Seattle 11 12 2 30 27 35Houston 8 9 7 30 30 31San Jose 8 10 5 24 29 29Salt Lake 7 10 8 27 38 29Colorado 5 9 9 20 25 24NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie.x — clinched playoff berthSaturday, Aug. 15New York 3 Toronto 0New England 2 Houston 0Los Angeles 2 Dallas 1Kansas City 4 Vancouver 3Portland 1 Salt Lake 0Sunday, Aug. 16Seattle 4 Orlando 0Philadelphia 3 Chicago 3Wednesday, Aug. 19New York City at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.San Jose at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.Friday, Aug. 21Houston at Portland, 11 p.m.Saturday, Aug. 22Orlando at Toronto, 4 p.m.San Jose at D.C., 7 p.m.Kansas City at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.Philadelphia at Montreal, 8 p.m.Colorado at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.Dallas at Vancouver, 10 p.m.Seattle at Salt Lake, 10 p.m.Sunday, Aug. 23New York City at Los Angeles, 3 p.m.
ENGLANDSaturdayPREMIER LEAGUEEverton 3 Southampton 0Norwich 3 Sunderland 1Swansea 2 Newcastle 0Tottenham 2 Stoke 2Watford 0 West Brom 0Leicester City 2 West Ham 1ChampionshipBurnley 2 Birmingham 2Brentford 4 Bristol City 2Derby County 1 Charlton Athletic 1Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Fulham 1
Preston North End 1 MK Dons 0Middlesbrough 3 Bolton 0Nottingham Forest 2 Rotherham United 1Queens Park Rangers 2 Cardiff 2LEAGUE ONEBarnsley 1 Burton Albion 0Rochdale 2 Blackpool 0Bradford City 1 Shrewsbury Town 1Bury 2 Swindon Town 2Coventry 4 Millwall 0Oldham Athletic 1 Fleetwood Town 0Peterborough United 2 Colchester United 1Port Vale 1 Gillingham 1Scunthorpe 2 Crewe Alexandra 0
Walsall 2 Southend United 0LEAGUE TWOWycombe Wanderers 2 Barnet 0Carlisle United 4 Cambridge United 4AFC Wimbledon 2 Crawley Town 1Leyton Orient 3 Dagenham & Redbridge 1Luton Town 2 Oxford United 2Morecambe 1 Accrington Stanley 0Newport County 2 Stevenage 2Northampton Town 3 Exeter City 0Portsmouth 2 Plymouth Argyle 1Bristol Rovers 1 Yeovil Town 0Hartlepool United 2 York City 1SundayPREMIER LEAGUEArsenal 2 Crystal Palace 1Manchester City 3 Chelsea 0ChampionshipWolverhampton Wanderers 1 Hull 1Reading 0 Leeds 0LEAGUE ONEWigan Athletic 0 Doncaster 0
DENMARKSuperligaSaturdayAaB Aalborg 3 AGF Aarhus 2SundayEsbjerg 2 Nordsjaelland 1Brondby 4 Viborg 0Randers FC 3 OB Odense 2ÑÑÑ
NETHERLANDSEREDIVISIESaturdayFC Zwolle 3 De Graafschap 0Ajax 3 Willem II 0ADO Den Haag 4 FC Twente 1Excelsior 2 AZ Alkmaar 2SundayPSV Eindhoven 2 FC Groningen 0Feyenoord 2 Cambuur 0FC Utrecht 1 SC Heerenveen 1Heracles Almelo 3 NEC Nijmegen 0
PORTUGALLiga PrimeiraSaturdayFC Porto 3 Guimaraes 0Sunday
SCOTLANDPremiershipSaturdayCeltic 4 Inverness CT 2Dundee 2 St. Johnstone 1Hamilton Academical 4 Dundee United 0Aberdeen 2 Motherwell 1Partick Thistle 2 Kilmarnock 2Hearts 2 Ross County 1
SOCCER
TENNISATPROGERS CUPAt Montreal, CanadaSunday, Aug. 16 resultsMENSinglesFinals
CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayKansas City 71 46 .607 — — 8-2 W-3 42-20 29-26Minnesota 59 58 .504 12 11/2 5-5 W-2 38-24 21-34Detroit 56 61 .479 15 41/2 4-6 L-1 28-30 28-31Chi. White Sox 55 60 .478 15 41/2 5-5 W-1 30-28 25-32Cleveland 54 62 .466 161/2 6 5-5 L-2 24-34 30-28
WEST DIVISION W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayHouston 64 54 .542 — — 4-6 W-1 40-19 24-35L.A. Angels 60 57 .513 31/2 1/2 3-7 L-3 36-23 24-34Texas 59 57 .509 4 1 6-4 W-4 26-29 33-28Seattle 55 63 .466 9 6 5-5 W-1 26-33 29-30Oakland 51 68 .429 131/2 101/2 3-7 L-6 27-34 24-34Note: d-clinched division title; x-clinched playoff berth; w-clinched wild cardSundayToronto 3 N.Y. Yankees 1Baltimore 18 Oakland 2Seattle 10 Boston 8 (12)Chi. White Sox 3 Chicago Cubs 1Houston 6 Detroit 5Minnesota 4 Cleveland 1Texas 5 Tampa Bay 3Kansas City 4 L.A. Angels 3 (10)SaturdayN.Y. Yankees 4 Toronto 1Boston 22 Seattle 10Baltimore 4 Oakland 3Chicago Cubs 6 Chi. White Sox 3Kansas City 9 L.A. Angels 4Detroit 4 Houston 2 (11)Minnesota 4 Cleveland 1Texas 12 Tampa Bay 4MondayOakland (Gray 12-4) at Baltimore (Tillman 8-7), 7:05 p.m.Minnesota (Gibson 8-9) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 4-9), 7:05 p.m.Cleveland (Salazar 10-6) at Boston (Barnes 3-2), 7:10 p.m.Seattle (Walker 8-7) at Texas (Hamels 0-1), 8:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Ramirez 9-4) at Houston (Kazmir 6-7), 8:10 p.m.Chi. White Sox (Rodon 5-4) at L.A. Angels (Heaney 5-1), 10:05 p.m.TuesdayN.Y. Mets at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.Minnesota at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.Cleveland at Boston, 7:10 p.m.Seattle at Texas, 8:05 p.m.Tampa Bay at Houston, 8:10 p.m.L.A. Dodgers at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.Chi. White Sox at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.WednesdayMinnesota at N.Y. Yankees, 1:05 p.m.Seattle at Texas, 2:05 p.m.L.A. Dodgers at Oakland, 3:35 p.m.N.Y. Mets at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.Cleveland at Boston, 7:10 p.m.Tampa Bay at Houston, 8:10 p.m.Chi. White Sox at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.ThursdayMinnesota at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.Cleveland at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.Texas at Detroit, 7:08 p.m.Kansas City at Boston, 7:10 p.m.Tampa Bay at Houston, 8:10 p.m.Chi. White Sox at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.
SundayPittsburgh 8 N.Y. Mets 1Atlanta 2 Arizona 1 (10)Milwaukee 6 Philadelphia 1Miami 6 St. Louis 4San Francisco 5 Washington 0L.A. Dodgers 2 Cincinnati 1Colorado 5 San Diego 0SaturdayArizona 8 Atlanta 4Pittsburgh 5 N.Y. Mets 3 (14)Milwaukee 4 Philadelphia 2St. Louis 6 Miami 2San Diego 7 Colorado 5L.A. Dodgers 8 Cincinnati 3San Francisco 12 Washington 6MondayArizona (Hellickson 8-8) at Pittsburgh (Cole 14-6), 7:05 p.m.Miami (Nicolino 1-1) at Milwaukee (Garza 6-12), 8:10 p.m.San Francisco (Heston 11-7) at St. Louis (Wacha 14-4), 8:15 p.m.Atlanta (Perez 4-3) at San Diego (Rea 1-0), 10:10 p.m.
TuesdayToronto at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.Arizona at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.Kansas City at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.Detroit at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.Miami at Milwaukee, 8:10 p.m.San Francisco at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.Washington at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.Atlanta at San Diego, 10:10 p.m.WednesdayMiami at Milwaukee, 2:10 p.m.Atlanta at San Diego, 3:40 p.m.Toronto at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.Arizona at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.Kansas City at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.San Francisco at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.Detroit at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.Washington at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.ThursdaySan Francisco at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.Arizona at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.Philadelphia at Miami, 7:10 p.m.Atlanta at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.Washington at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.
GIANTS 5, NATIONALS 0 Washington ab r h bi San Francisco ab r h biTaylor cf 4 0 0 0 Blanco cf 2 1 1 0Rendon 2b 4 0 1 0 Duffy 3b 4 0 0 0Harper rf 4 0 0 0 Belt 1b 4 1 1 1Escobar 3b 4 0 0 0 Posey c 4 0 0 0Zimmerman 1b 3 0 0 0 Pence rf 4 1 1 2Desmond ss 3 0 1 0 Crawford ss 3 0 1 0Werth lf 2 0 0 0 Maxwell lf 3 0 0 0Ramos c 3 0 1 0 Tomlinson 2b 3 1 1 0Ross sp 0 0 0 0 Adrianza 2b 0 0 0 0Treinen p 1 0 0 0 Bumgarner sp 3 1 2 2Janssen p 0 0 0 0 Espinosa ph 1 0 0 0 Thornton p 0 0 0 0 Totals 29 0 3 0 Totals 30 5 7 5Washington 000 000 000 —0San Francisco 000 310 10x —5LOB—Washington 4, San Francisco 3. DP—Washington 1. 2B—Belt (28), Crawford (26), Bumgarner (1). HR—Pence (9); Bumgarner (4). SB—Desmond (10). S—Ross. Washington IP H R ER BB SORoss L, 3-5 4 6 4 4 1 6Treinen 2 0 0 0 0 2Janssen 1 1 1 1 1 1Thornton 1 0 0 0 0 0San FranciscoBumgarner W, 14-6 9 3 0 0 1 14J.Ross pitched to 3 batters in the 5thUmpires—Home, Jeff Nelson; First, Laz Diaz; Second, Chris Guccione; Third, Cory Blaser.T—2:17. A—41,904 (41,915) at San Francisco.
SPORTS FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 | ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES | 7
BASEBALL
Brewers farmhand MLB’s fi rst openly gay playerTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — It had been a long day and night for David Denson, in so many ways.
His team had been swept in a doubleheader in the low-level Pioneer League, he didn’t have much luck hitting and he’d made a throwing error, too.
But it wasn’t a total loss.As the 20-year-old Denson headed to the Hel-
ena Brewers’ clubhouse at Melaleuca Field late Saturday, a middle-aged fan of the opposing Idaho Falls Chukars approached and extended his hand.
“I’m proud of you,” the man said.“Thank you,” Denson said.Hours earlier, the Milwaukee Brewers minor
leaguer had become the first openly gay active player on a team affiliated with Major League Baseball.
The news broke in the middle of the second game, after he reached out to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell told his team about Denson’s story after its 4-2 win Sat-urday night over Philadelphia at Miller Park.
“It’s a very courageous move on his part to be the first one, the first active player to make this announcement,” Milwaukee star outfielder Ryan Braun said Sunday. “Hopefully, everybody is at a point where we can just be supportive, not just understanding, but accepting and supportive.”
ACROSS 1 Tip one’s hat 5 Mural base 10 -- 1 (speed of sound) 14 Indigo plant 15 Luncheonette lure 16 Melville novel 17 LP player (hyph.) 18 Not hold back (3 wds.) 20 Porch adjuncts 22 Mr. Hammarskjold 23 Dromedary stops 24 Kitchen gadget 26 Pumper’s pride 27 Made driving hazardous 30 Abate 34 Whole lot 35 Trunk or torso 36 Flood control 37 Technical sch. 38 Cover story 40 Hyper ending 41 Use sparingly 42 Way out 43 Rudder control 45 Hung freely 47 “La Mer” composer 48 Get -- of that junk! 49 Zenith opposite 50 Sporty fabric 53 Worthless coin 54 Iffy attempts 58 Pine product 61 Emmy relative 62 “Sting like -- --” 63 Brawl weapons 64 Longest arm bone 65 Cabbage unit 66 Highest point 67 Turner and Koppel
DOWN 1 Dit partners 2 I’m working -- --! 3 Drum’s companion 4 Most pert 5 Muffle 6 Eaten away 7 Up to now (2 wds.) 8 Metro haze
9 Galley mover 10 Bog 11 Cookie man 12 Rum partner 13 Whacks weeds 19 Bonilla or Bonds 21 Overindulge 25 At ease 26 Looked at the books 27 Eavesdropped
28 Sri -- 29 Ruhr Valley city 30 Kind of story 31 Goddesses’ statues 32 Valleys 33 Polishing agent 35 Small amount 39 Jar’s need 40 Say without thinking (2
wds.) 42 “Forget” a letter 44 Wading bird 46 Complained ceaselessly 47 Unnerves 49 Boom-box issue 50 Nile god 51 Garage service 52 Environs 53 Use a spoon 55 Ready, willing and -- 56 Wrap tightly 57 Octopus habitats 59 Gridiron div. 60 PST minus 3
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Start approaching a situation involving your finances and another party. You have a spe-cial type of allure that encour-ages others to listen. Your vision will be well received. A close associate most likely will go along with an unusual idea. Tonight: Out with a friend.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)You come from a secure point of view. You will see a signifi-cant difference in perspective once you are willing to brain-storm with a partner. Somehow you will land at a midpoint that makes you both happy. Defer to others openly. Tonight: Get some extra R and R.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Your ability to tackle a prob-lem and get ahead emerges. You will find that a different approach will work if you are able to come from a grounded point of view. Your creativ-ity emerges and adds to the energy of today’s interactions. Tonight: Ever playful.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)You might not be able to see a situation in the same way someone else sees it. A strong
barrier could result. You are likely to see a personal matter blow up unless you are willing to listen and sympathize. Con-sider the alternative. Tonight: Stay close to home.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)Keep the brakes on spending, and be wise about investments. With some guidance, you could be hitting a financial peak. You will discover the power of your words -- just see how people respond to you. Others natural-ly gravitate toward you. Tonight: Make it your treat.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)You beam and others respond in kind. Be as forthright as pos-sible. Discussions seem to be animated and full of informa-tion. Listen well. Use caution with overindulgence. You will be a lot more upbeat than you have been. Tonight: Make a purchase that you have been considering.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)Keep your own counsel rather than get yourself in trouble by saying exactly what you are thinking. Your opinion could be transformed by the end of the day anyway. Regroup and
handle a personal matter in the late afternoon. Tonight: Beam in whatever you want.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)A meeting could have an excel-lent outcome for you. You will see a positive response, as long as you give others an entry point. Be more direct in a con-versation. Touch base with a loved one at a distance whom you care about. Tonight: Play it cool.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)If you feel negative, do your best to let go of this feeling. Try to have a discussion with a loved one. Take action if need be, rather than settle into a funk. By midday, you might decide to join some of your friends. Your mood is likely to change as a result. Tonight: Don’t sulk.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)Connect, talk and research. You have most of the day to come to a conclusion. A friend could be very difficult and touchy. Be smart. Don’t try to push this person just to get positive feed-back. Leave him or her alone. Trust your judgment. Tonight: Assume the lead.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)Reach out to someone at a distance, or be ready to dig in and do a lot of research. This person serves as a mentor for you. Remain optimistic and forthright when dealing with an unusual new topic. Make plans to take a vacation soon. Tonight: Relax at home.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You’ll want to listen to what is being shared. At first, it could seem as if everyone has a lot to say; however, you might deter-mine that there is little of value being verbalized. Reach out to your trusted sources before making a move. Tonight: Make time for a favorite person.
BORN TODAYFrontiersman Davy Crockett (1786), film producer Samuel Goldwyn (1879), actor Robert De Niro (1943).
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HI & LOIS by Chance Browne
ONE BIG HAPPY by Rick Detorie
ARCHIE by Henry Scarpelli
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LAURA KANE THE CANADIAN PRESS
OLIVER, B.C. — Residents in southeastern British Columbia are regrouping from an immense and fast-spreading wildfire that has so far wiped out 29 homes and forced hundreds to flee with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Kerstin Klenheimer and her hus-band deserted their house when the 37-square-kilometre Rock Creek fire broke out Thursday evening. On Sunday she stood next to a charred piece of property on the side of a highway and stared into the dis-tance at the fire burning near her house.
“It was like a tornado coming — a fire tornado coming up the valley,” she said, recalling the moments before their hasty departure. “There was no time. You just have to run.
“It’s just been a frightening few days and my heart goes out to all the people in Zamora, Westbridge (and) Rock Creek,” Klenheimer said. “Let’s just band together and get through this.”
Premier Christy Clark visited a community centre packed with evacuees in nearby Midway on Sun-day. She told reporters she wants to see harsher penalties for people who start forest fires.
“If you are found to have been throwing a cigarette butt out of your car, perhaps one of the pen-alties available should be that we should be able to take away the use of your car for a period of time.”
The blaze in Rock Creek began by a highway junction and is believed to be human-caused. Clark said if evidence shows an individual is responsible, that person will face consequences.
The premier predicted the cost of fighting fires this season could bal-loon to as much as $400 million. The province budgets for fires on a five-year average, working out to about $60 million a year.
The aggressive blaze forced camp-ers at the Kettle River Provincial Park to rush out on foot last week, leaving nearly everything behind, including vehicles and trailers.
Campers were escorted back in small groups on Sunday to pick up their belongings.
The winding highway leading into the park was flanked by heaps of destroyed homes and scorched earth.
The biggest challenge to fighting the several aggressive blazes that have flared up across the region has been the strong and gusty winds, said Kevin Skrepnek of the B.C. Wildfire Service.
The wildfire service hadn’t called for any significant wind on Sunday,
said Alan Stanley of the Kootenay Boundary Regional District. But that situation could change quickly, he warned.
“You can’t guarantee anything with a wildfire,” he said. “It is bold, all-caps ’unpredictable’ with several exclamation marks.”
Some 220 fires continue to burn across B.C., out of a total of more than 1,600 that have sparked since Apr. 1. More than 900 people remain under evacuation order across the province, including 240 in the Rock Creek area.
Some evacuation orders were recently downgraded to alerts, meaning the occupants of 88 homes and businesses were allowed to return.
Another two wildfires in the heart of B.C.’s wine country, near Oliver in the Okanagan Valley, continued to smoulder on Sunday, with scores of residents still forced from their homes.
Though residents affected by the three-square-kilometre Wilson Mountain fire were allowed home Saturday, about 110 people living near the 15-square kilometre Testal-inden Creek fire remained under evacuation order.
The B.C. Wildfire Service reported that a stray drone had grounded fire aircraft at the Testalinden fire.
This is at least the second instance so far this year where a drone has interfered with firefight-ing efforts.
CLASSIFIEDS MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 | ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES | 9
Residents regroup after devastating fi res rip through southeastern BC
A helicopter dumps water on flames from a wildfire near Oliver on Sunday. THE [CANADIAN PRESS/JONATHAN HAYWARD]
WILDFIRES
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AROUND THE ISLANDBlack Press
◆ QUALICUM BEACH
Toddler hit by family friend’s car will be OK
A two-year-old Qualicum Beach girl is expected to make a full recovery after being run over by a vehicle Aug. 7, according to police.
Oceanside RCMP Cpl. Jesse Foreman said the girl returned home Tuesday from B.C. Chil-dren’s Hospital in Vancouver, where she was airlifted.
Foreman said the girl sustained a concussion from the accident and received stitches at the hospital.”
Police were called to a home along Widgeon Road in Qualicum Beach after a call that a family friend had run over a young girl.
“It’s not a criminal investiga-tion of any nature,” confirmed Foreman. “It was a complete accident.”
◆ CAMPBELL RIVER
Campfi re ban yanked in portion of north Island
Effective Wednesday, fire is OK again in Campbell River.
The campfire ban within the Campbell River Natural Resource District area of the Coastal Fire Centre was lifted at noon on Aug. 12.
And the City of Campbell River pulled its ban on open fires with-in city boundaries to align with the Ministry of Forests Coastal Fire Centre.
The Coastal Fire Centre lift-ed the campfire prohibition in these areas due to the amount of precipitation that was recently received and a forecast of addi-tional precipitation.
Residents are reminded that burning wood for recreational purposes is limited to using a permanent outdoor fireplace, barbecue or fire pit
◆ PARKSVILLE
Fire chief warns fi re risk continues despite rain
Despite recent rain, a return to hot, dry summer conditions is forecast, leading authorities to remind people overall conditions have not improved.
“People need to continue to be vigilant,” said Parksville fire chief Doug Banks. “Be aware of your surroundings.”
The fire danger rating dipped from extreme to dangerous thanks to some rain and cooler temperatures last weekend, meaning Parksville’s stand-by fire crew was off duty for a time.
“But if it’s back up at extreme for a few days we’ll bring them back,” Banks said.
The rating had returned to extreme Tuesday, just two days after the weekend rain.
◆ COWICHAN
Sunfest might now shine at a different location
Organizers of Duncan’s Sunfest Country Music Festival — one of Vancouver Island’s biggest annual music events — is consid-ering moving the event to Cowic-han Lake.
The proposed venue, recently purchased by the owners of Sun-fest, is located off the Youbou Highway, about five kilometres from the town of Lake Cowichan.
Sunfest PR manager Emmalee Brunt said the organizers have deemed the move necessary due to the growing popularity of the event. About 50,000 country music fans flocked to the festival this year, featuring Keith Urban.
Carrie Underwood has been announced as the headliner for next year.
Courtenay man saves girls from river tragedySCOTT STANFIELD COMOX VALLEY RECORD
The unthinkable might have happened had Andrew Payne not been in the right place at the right time.
On Aug. 7, the 32-year-old Courtenay man jumped into the rapids at Nymph Falls on the Puntledge River and saved two young girls who had slipped into the river.
“If they weren’t exactly where they were, there would have been no chance,” said Payne, a retired member of the military who con-siders himself a “river rat.”
He and two friends, Cole Howey and Steve Tobacca, were at the falls but had separated. Tobacca was with his daughter Austin, 11, and her younger friend Jaydyn. They were near the part of the river known as the grotto.
“It’s pretty dangerous,” Payne said. “Water funnels in from the top and it stirs inside like a wash-ing machine. It’s undertow and it’ll shoot you out the bottom, if you’re lucky.”
He says Tobacca and the girls were walking across the river when one of the girls slipped. Both girls were sucked into the top hole of the grotto.
“Nobody goes in there because it’s so dangerous,” Payne said. “It’s like a hole in the rocks underneath.”
A limping Tobacca — who Payne says had tried to rescue the girls but was sucked out at the bottom of the river — was screaming that they were still inside.
“They had been underwater (chest level) about five minutes,” said Payne, who dove under-
neath the current and came up underneath the rocks.
When he reached an air pocket, the girls were holding each other and screaming. They were hud-dled in a spot the size of a small car tire.
“That’s the only thing that saved them. All around them, it’s just undertow with water shoot-ing in.”
Payne managed to reach the girls on his second attempt.
The back of the Jaydyn’s head was split open. Bear-hugging Payne, she took a breath at his count of three.
Then they went underneath the water, and back up and under the falls. Payne managed to hold onto a rock, and walked part way across the rapids while holding Jaydyn. Then he jumped out of the waterfalls and handed her to Howey, who was halfway in the water.
Payne jumped in a second time to reach Austin, who was crying. He got her on his chest and con-ducted the same exit manoeuvre.
“We both got sucked into the undertow. She held her breath, and the current sucked us right out and spit us out down the falls.”
He passed Austin to Howey, who handed the youngster to others who had gathered.
“It’s crazy. For a young child, I can’t imagine what they went through,” Payne said. “It was the best case scenario. Things couldn’t have gone any better.”
“It doesn’t get any closer than that,” Howey added. “It was the best of a bad situation.”
An exhausted Payne threw up when the ordeal was over.
Jaydyn wound up with a couple stitches in the back of her head. But other than some scrapes and bruising, the girls are fine.
COMOX VALLEY
Andrew Payne, seen here at Nymph Falls, is a regular at the site and has intimate knowledge of the currents. [FACEBOOK]
MICHAEL BRIONES COMOX VALLEY ECHO
A 41-year-old Courtenay man suspected in the death of a Comox Valley man Tuesday night appeared in court Friday morning and is now facing a second degree murder charge.
The suspect was identified as Shane Stanford and is known to Comox Valley RCMP.
Stanford has already four other unrelated charges pend-ing against him that included assault, possession of stolen property and breach of his own recognizance.
The RCMP are still continuing their investigation of the late Tuesday night incident that took place on the Riverway Trail just behind Courtenay City Hall at around 10:30 p.m.
A 23-year-old male, who police later identified as Kevin John Burns of Courtenay was discov-ered with severe injuries.
He was taken to St. Joseph’s Gen-eral Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after.Stanford remains in police custody.
The case was adjourned until Aug. 27.
Police are asking anyone with information that may assist inves-tigators to call the RCMP detach-ment at 338-1231 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Suspect arrested in Tuesday murder
COURTENAY
10
VANCOUVERISLANDMonday, August 17, 2015 | Contact the newsroom 250-723-8171 | [email protected] | STORY UPDATES: www.avtimes.net
NANAIMO
Green Party leader pledges to restore funding for veteransSPENCER ANDERSON NANAIMO DAILY NEWS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May pledged to restore cuts to veteran services during a cam-paign stop in Nanaimo Friday.
Speaking at a local Royal Can-adian Legion, May also said the Greens would reinstate monthly payments to injured veterans to counter the ‘lump sum’ pay-ments brought in by the Con-servatives in 2006, although the party acknowledges the policy change would cost “tens of mil-lions of dollars annually.”
She was flanked by supporter Capt. Trevor Greene, a Nanaimo resident and arguably one of the country’s best-known veterans.
Greene famously suffered a severe brain injury after being struck in the head with an axe by a teenager while he was serv-ing with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan in 2006. He had stopped and removed his hel-met to talk to a group of village elders.
Since leaving the military, Greene has embarked on a pro-lific career as a researcher and public speaker. May introduced Greene, praising his conduct in the field.
“You are Canada to me, Trev-or,” she said, choking back tears.
In an emotional speech punc-tuated by long pauses, Greene slammed the governing Conserv-atives’ military record, citing their failure to retain its seat for the country on the U.N. Security Council.
He also said Canada has dras-tically reduced its involvement in peacekeeping missions.
“We’ve become a laughing-stock,” he said. “We lost (our sec-urity council seat) to Portugal. That’s how far we’ve fallen.”
The announcement centred on resources for veterans. May sug-gested her party’s position was one accepted by a majority of the population.
“I have not met a single Can-adian who thought it was right that we should nickel and dime
our veterans,” May said. “I don’t know a single, soli-
tary soul who believes this was right. I know a lot of Con-servatives who voted for these cuts who don’t think they were right.”
May, who was also joined by Nanaimo-Ladysmith Green candidate Paul Manly and candidates from other parts of Vancouver Island, promised her
MPs would vote to restore $266 million in funding to Veterans Affairs Canada.
She also committed to fund-ing the training of service dogs for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a program she estimated that would cost $1 million.
May’s appearance marks the first election campaign stop of any major party leader in the city.
Wounded veteran Trevor Greene speaks to the crowd at a Green Party event in the Royal Canadian Legion. [AARON HINKS/NANAIMO DAILY NEWS]
