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Editorial: Market changes positive

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Market changes positive

Revitalizing Centennial Park’s plaza was not really a priority a few years ago.

When it came to the now-disbanded Salt Spring Parks and Recreation Commission recommending the re-allocating of hundreds of thousands of Community Works Fund dollars to revitalize the plaza, no one put the project anywhere near the top of their personal “island project” wish list. 

But, as our local Capital Regional District (CRD) director has said, sometimes you go where the grant money leads you — and in this case it led to something of a bargain, as we saw workers break ground on a million-dollar project for a fraction of that cost, thanks to a substantial Pacific Economic Development Canada grant that turned out to be a good match for sprucing up the home of our oft-admired Saturday Market.  

While construction certainly seems to have taken quite a breather over the holidays, there has been a flurry of activity behind the scenes as a new Salt Spring Island Saturday Market Society has taken the reins of the complicated venture, set to spread out over the new surface this spring. The society has islanders wearing many hats on its board; in addition to vendors, representatives of the broader business community and non-profit organizations like Salt Spring Arts will continue to weigh in as the vitally important market launches into 2024. 

The CRD had been running the day-to-day operations of the market, the responsibility for which landed in its lap as part of its broader commitment to Centennial Park itself. And while it may have made a certain amount of sense, it has been unique in the province; no other such market is run by a parks department. 

Regional officials deserve praise for their flexibility in working through the financial implications of a non-profit-run Saturday Market; while details have not yet become public, our suspicion is that Salt Spring may have seen yet another bargain here. And the people here on the ground who stepped up, formed a society and took on the challenge deserve our support as well. 

It is important that such a special island resource and tradition remains “governed” — if anyone could be said to be able to do such a thing — by Salt Springers. We look forward to welcoming back the Saturday Market to its new digs under new leadership on March 30.

Society takes on Saturday Market operations

Gail Sjuberg
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Society takes on Saturday Market operations

When the Saturday Market opens for the 2024 season on March 30 this year, patrons will surely notice the refurbished Centennial Park plaza area.

But what might not be immediately obvious is that the market will be run by a community-based society rather than the Capital Regional District (CRD), which inherited the venture decades ago due to its location in the CRD-owned park.

The Salt Spring Island Saturday Market Society, which was formed for the purpose of bidding on a CRD request-for-proposals first issued a couple of years ago, is now in charge of operating what most people consider to be Salt Spring’s largest visitor attraction.

Society president and jeweller Alvaro Sanchez is a 33-year market vendor who has immersed himself in market operation by serving on the former market advisory group and through other activities.

But he stresses the society board also has representatives from the business community and non-profit organizations, such as Salt Spring Arts and the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce, with a view to ensuring the whole community benefits from and is connected to the market.

“I know we cannot make everybody happy all the time, but so far the response has been excellent,” said Sanchez. “The vendors are so thankful; everybody I’ve talked to is so thankful that we made the effort to run the market in a way that works for everybody.”

The group is now advertising to fill a part-time market coordinator position, noting that person will be an employee of the society and not a contractor. Two peak-season assistants will also be hired.

While the volunteers involved admit doing everything required has been a huge amount of work, they are buoyed by how it has worked out and have enjoyed working with all parties.

“It’s actually been a great experience,” said society vice-president Susanna Kong, also a market vendor selling Elfworks Studio crafts. “We arrived at all the decisions by consensus and talked through everything, so it’s been very good. Everybody just wants to make it work well.”

Registration for vendors will begin in February through the saltspringmarket.com website. The society was able to acquire the existing URL for a long-existing site and it will be the go-to spot for market information.

Also of interest to vendors is the return to the “point system,” which has not been used in recent years after the pandemic hugely affected operations. It sees vendors accrue points each time they attend the market, with more points translating into better booth locations. Sanchez said that has the effect of increasing vendor numbers during the non-summer months, making for a better experience for market patrons and encouraging shoulder-season tourism.

Aaron Bouchard, of Pacific Puzzle Co., has taken on the society’s secretary position. He observes that the society will be engaging customers through social media channels and promoting the island as a whole.

“When you bring a community element to it, it’s out of necessity that the vendors and the market will work together to promote this island. These vendors are a really bright bunch of people who all love this island and are representing this island on Saturdays in a huge way.”

Jennifer Emekoba, who owns Osisi Boutique in Ganges Alley with her husband John, said she feels honoured to be part of the society’s board of directors and looks forward to the market’s next chapter.

“The park refurbishment, alongside new, community-led Saturday Market operations, starts a positive chapter for our local economy,” she said. “As business owners neighbouring the market, John and I are excited to see the results of the park’s beautification and the new market commence this spring.”

The CRD did not provide a comment on the change as it has not yet been discussed publicly. A report is expected at the Jan. 18 Salt Spring Local Community Commission meeting.

GISS Dance Affinity show rescheduled for Jan. 23

Driftwood Staff
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GISS Dance Affinity show rescheduled for Jan. 23

UPDATED ON JAN. 22 FROM ORIGINAL STORY: Poor road conditions due to snowfall cancelled both scheduled Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) Dance Affinity shows at ArtSpring last week, but the show has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 23 instead.

As dance teacher Sonia Langer explains, students study hip hop, jazz, ballet and contemporary dance and create their own choreographic work while in the program. Their newest pieces are featured in Affinity.

“Our vibrant and enthusiastic youth have been working hard in the studio to create grooves and moves to enliven our time together at ArtSpring,” she said.

The Affinity shows will include a heartfelt duet from Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts alumni Claire Whitelaw and Claira Hunwicks to the music of Mitski, as well as solos by both dancers.

Also included in the show is a lively jive piece to Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock and a full group piece to Beyoncé’s Break My Soul.

Tickets for Affinity are available through ArtSpring, online or at the box office on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or before Tuesday’s show, if available.

Baltimore Consort shares Angel’s Wede program

Contributed Article
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Baltimore Consort shares Angel’s Wede program

Submitted by Kirsten Bolton

FOR ARTSPRING

An accomplished ensemble that has enjoyed Billboard’s award as Top Classical-Crossover Artist of the Year returns to ArtSpring for a show next Friday, Jan. 26.

The Baltimore Consort has been described as “perhaps the best balancing act of period authenticity, instrumental precision, and sheer fun in the early music community today,” (Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA.)

The group was founded in 1980 to perform the instrumental music of Shakespeare’s time with instruments common in this period. Shakespeare’s music tapped into the popular repertory of the Elizabethan period; the tunes heard in taverns, on street corners, in the theatre, and accompanying dancing.

It was also a period where music started to get written down for the first time, and ensembles of six, named English Consorts, or Broken Consorts as the music was often in bits and parts, began to form. The Baltimore Consort has taken up this tradition and gone on to explore early music from England, Scotland, France, Italy and Spain, focusing on the relationship between folk and art song and dance.

In 2020, the musicians were asked if they could perform a women-themed program to celebrate the centennial for women’s right to vote in the United States. Angel’s Wede: Music of Mary, Queen of Scots was the result and features French music in addition to Scottish, with touches of Italian for Rizzio, her murdered lutenist (and papal spy?) and an English piece by William Byrd commemorating her martyrdom, titled In Angel’s Wede.

Instead of the usual six instrumentalists, this intriguing performance features five musicians who are joined by soprano Danielle Svonavec and captivating narration by Emmy Award-winning television and radio personality Robert Aubry Davis, a Washington-based lecturer and host of Millennium of Music, a program dedicated to music from the thousand years before Bach, now in its 44th season.

Tickets are on sale by phone, in the box office, or online. Theatre Angel tickets available for $15.

Annual Christmas count results both pleasing and surprising 

Robb Magley
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Annual Christmas count results both pleasing and surprising 

Organizers of the 2023 Salt Spring Island Christmas Bird Count are delighted with results coming from a counting day that saw unseasonably mild weather and many record or near-record species counts.

And whether your tastes run toward the sooty or spotted, the yellow-rumped or the ring-necked, there were a few surprising sightings on Dec. 17, according to coordinator Tim Marchant. 

This year’s robust total tallied 15,673 birds of 100 species across the zones that make up the combined Salt Spring and Prevost Island count, Marchant said, and with record numbers of surf scoters, great blue herons, kingfishers, flickers, pileated woodpeckers and golden-crowned sparrows during the 35th year of the event. 

Marchant said despite 10 to 15 per cent fewer counters out this year compared to the last two — and a lower number of total counting hours — there were higher counts, including near-record numbers of ring-necked ducks, cormorants and towhees. 

“And a good showing by mergansers, California quail, buffleheads and chickadees,” said Marchant, who said the birds-counted-per-counter figure varies considerably each year, from as few as 65 to as many as 155 birds spotted by each person on average. 

“Maybe the good weather during the fall and during count week allowed more birds to stay a bit further north this year?” said Marchant. “Or maybe the residents were more visible/accessible this year — not hiding deep in the branches due to cold?” 

Marchant said intriguing numbers came from counts of American robins and pine siskins — 7,500 fewer this year than during a record count year in 2020, despite generally high count numbers across other species.  

“Which is why I look to the friendlier weather as a possible cause, rather than cyclical food sources or year-to-year counting differences,” said Marchant. “And of course it’s usually a combination of factors.” 

As with every year, the groups had a few unexpected sightings — birds not seen for a few years — including the sooty grouse, spotted sandpiper, pine grosbeak, yellow-rumped warbler and Lincoln’s sparrow. 

The “signature sighting” of this year’s count was a pair of Indian pea fowl, Marchant said. 

“Debate rages whether they ‘count’ as wild or domestic,” he said. “I am told that the population has to be established for quite some time in order to be officially counted by Audubon, but there is no doubt that they were seen — and so we are counting them, much as the longer-established wild turkeys on Saturna are counted.” 

Next year’s count — which will be Salt Spring’s 36th, and the Audubon Society’s 125th — will be held Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. For more information, visit naturesaltspring.org and birdcount.org. 

Salt Spring’s CRD budget nearing final phase

Contributed Article
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Salt Spring’s CRD budget nearing final phase

By EARL ROOK and GARY HOLMAN

The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board approved a provisional budget, including that for delegated Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission (LCC) services, on Oct. 25, 2023.

The board will approve a final budget in March. The final budget will be based on further public input, updated property assessments and 2023 year-end surpluses or deficits for various CRD services.

The unique aspect of this CRD budget is that the operating and capital budgets for most of our local, island-wide CRD services are now decided by the LCC. 2024 is a particularly challenging budget year, but the difficult decisions that this budget requires will be made by an elected body of five, not a single CRD director. All of these decisions must now be made in regularly scheduled public meetings, agendas for which include provision for delegations or presentations from the community. This, and the consolidation of service delivery, previously overseen by four separate, appointed volunteer commissions (to whom we owe a great debt), represents a fundamental improvement in local governance.

The LCC is facing a particularly challenging budget in its first months of operation. Not sworn in until June 2023, the commissioners were presented a provisional budget by CRD staff at their September meeting proposing a 20.5 per cent increase in the 2024 requisition over 2023. So, in addition to facing a steep learning curve regarding the CRD budgeting process and the details of over a dozen individual service budgets, the commissioners have only had a very short period of time to try to mitigate the impacts of significantly increased costs. The LCC has already made difficult decisions in order to reduce the tax impacts related to their delegated services, and will be considering further possible measures to reduce taxpayer costs over the coming weeks.

Overall CRD Proposed Requisition 2024

The total proposed 2024 CRD (including LCC) and Capital Regional Hospital District (CRHD) requisition is $8.37 million, 9.6 per cent over 2023. The requisition for the “average” residential property 2024 (valued at $1.1 million in 2023) would be $1,276 ($106 per month). The total proposed requisition for LCC delegated services is $5.478 million, an increase of 12.7 per cent over 2023, and comprising about seven per cent of the overall 9.6 per cent increase.

This requisition, plus user fees for some services, funds a range of CRD services and amenities, including local LCC services such as parks and recreation, transportation, liquid waste and community economic development. Region-wide CRD services include parks, recycling, hospital facilities, land banking and housing, and emergency telecommunication. Sub-regional CRD services include building inspection, noise and animal control, and emergency planning.

Major Contributing Cost Factors

The most significant cost factors contributing to the proposed requisition are: core inflation and negotiated CRD staff wages and salaries; Covid-related 2023 deficit carry-overs for services that are partly reliant upon fee revenue (e.g., parks and recreation, SIMS and transit); and restoration of local capital reserves, particularly for the local parks and recreation service.

The most significant 2024 requisition impact regionally is for affordable housing and regional parks. Any changes in Salt Spring’s share of regional services will be determined by changes in Salt Spring’s share of overall assessed values in the CRD, data for which is not yet available.

With respect to local LCC services, the top priority of commissioners is to maintain the level of local services it oversees. Cost increases beyond LCC control make maintaining service levels difficult without a significant requisition increase.

Parks and recreation represents by far the largest portion of the requisition increase for LCC services, for all of the reasons cited above. Requisition increases for public transit (increased BC Transit bus lease fees); the library (volunteer declines forcing staff increases); liquid waste (increased hauling fees); and grants-in-aid (restoring the requisition to historic levels), in that order of significance, also contribute to the proposed LCC tax increase. The community economic development requisition was reduced due to a large operating surplus and reserve resulting from refocusing this service in a more project-oriented strategic direction.

The proposed CRD budget by service for 2024 can be found on the CRD website in the agenda package for the Jan. 18 LCC meeting. The LCC will also be discussing the budget at a special Feb. 1 meeting, also to be held at the SIMS boardroom. The LCC will meet every third Thursday of the month thereafter during 2024, with evening meetings to be announced.

If you want to present to the LCC, or have any questions or comments on the CRD budget, please email LCC chair Earl Rook (erook@crd.bc.ca) or CRD director and LCC vice-chair Gary Holman (directorssi@crd.bc.ca), and your comments will be shared with all LCC members. LCC commissioners also maintain office hours most Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the CRD offices at 108-121 McPhillips Ave. Feel free to drop in (no appointment needed) to talk with a commissioner.

Earl Rook is chair of the LCC; Gary Holman is LCC vice-chair, and Salt Spring’s electoral area director to the CRD.

SSIFR crews battle two fires in two days

Driftwood Staff
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SSIFR crews battle two fires in two days

Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) firefighters battled against extreme cold and high winds for six hours on Friday night after responding to reports of a residential structure fire at 8:12 p.m.

According to a SSIFR press release, upon arrival at 105 Cusheon Place, crews found a fully involved, two-storey residential structure fire.

“Multiple lines were used to contain the fire to the building of origin and to protect adjacent structures and trees,” states the release. “Eight fire apparatus and 21 firefighters responded to the scene and approximately 12,000 gallons of water was shuttled from the Beddis water system.”

No firefighters were injured.

The structure, which was unoccupied at the time of the fire, was a total loss. SSIFR said the fire is currently under investigation but does not currently look suspicious.

SSIFR thanked the RCMP, BC Hydro, BCAS and Emcon for their assistance at the emergency scene.

SSIFR personnel also extinguished a recreational vehicle fire on private property on Aust Way on Thursday, Jan. 11.

Sixteen firefighters and six trucks responded to reports of the blaze, a robust response which SSIFR Deputy Chief Dale Lundy said was partly out of precaution and partly due to the need to bring water to fight the fire at what could have been a relatively remote site — up a road that was once a driveway on the west side of Fulford-Ganges Road. 

“Most of what you saw rolling was the tankers that carry water,” said Lundy, “because where we were heading there isn’t much. It’s better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have.” 

Lundy said the initial report was also that the RV fire was threatening nearby homes, which thankfully was found to not be the case once they arrived; there was an outbuilding adjacent to the RV, but it wasn’t affected. Nobody was home at the time, according to Lundy, who said he saw heavy flames and smoke as he arrived. 

“It was good to have the manpower,” he added. “We definitely used all the people fighting the fire.” 

The trailer was fully engulfed when the first firefighters came on the scene, Lundy said, and the blaze was successfully contained to the single RV. There were “too many variables” to be able to determine what started it, he said.  

“But we can say that we didn’t find anything suspicious,” said Lundy. 

Arctic blast puts Salt Spring on ice

Robb Magley
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Arctic blast puts Salt Spring on ice

Near-record sub-zero temperatures struck the Gulf Islands this week, and despite relatively little snowfall the impact of the season’s first significant winter weather was felt across the region. 

Adverse weather and unsafe docking conditions caused delays and cancellation of several ferry sailings, as BC Ferries fought rough seas and high winds on the Vesuvius-Crofton and Fulford-Swartz Bay routes — and the Tsawwassen ferry was unable to land at Sturdies Bay on Galiano Island Thursday night through Friday morning. 

Most areas on Salt Spring saw around two to four centimetres of snow on Thursday evening, and slick roads put a few drivers into ditches; but it was the wind and dangerously cold temperatures — measured as low as -12 Celsius on some parts of the island — that caused the most grief.  

As icy winds swept through Ganges Harbour Thursday afternoon, islander Norm Edwards sourced funds from a number of local businesses to quickly cover temporary moorage and electricity costs for local liveaboard residents who could bring their vessels to Kanaka Wharf or the Breakwater Dock to ride out the storm in relative safety. 

On land, BC Transit buses meanwhile went to limited “main road” service late Thursday, with several routes taking well into Saturday to come fully back online. Emergency crews contended with an early-cold-snap RV fire Thursday, but Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Dale Lundy said despite the biting cold, firefighters’ response was unhindered. 

“Most of our equipment is kept indoors, so we don’t have to worry about pumps freezing and that sort of thing,” said Lundy. “Any apparatus we have outdoors, we drain all the water out. But we haven’t had to chain up our trucks.” 

Lundy said the cold proved a good reminder of the importance of being mindful of space heaters and other things that might start fires — as well as tending to exposed pipes and water lines that might freeze. 

The emergency shelter at Island Community Services (ICS) announced activation of its Emergency Weather Response (EWR), which increased overnight shelter capacity to 34, according to ICS operations manager Rob Wiltzen, who said individuals had a warm dinner, a safe, supervised place to stay overnight and breakfast for community members needing shelter while temperatures remain low. 

“For us it meant we needed to convert the downstairs of the main building into a temporary overnight shelter,” said Wiltzen. “That means staffing, bedding and nutrition for another site.” 

On Monday Wiltzen said seven people accessed the EWR program, so there was still capacity; anyone in need should contact the shelter office at 250-537-9971 ex. 244 with any questions or to arrange an intake.

Other ICS programs weren’t impacted, he added, as the EWR program is only for overnight and not during the day, when other programs would be running and using that space.  

A slow warm-up occurred in the past few days, with a high probability of snow expected for Tuesday evening, changing to rain on Wednesday. 

Simon Millerd and Friends at All Saints

Contributed Article
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Simon Millerd and Friends at All Saints

SUBMITTED BY MUSIC MAKERS

Hosted by Music Makers of the Anglican Parish, local trumpeter Simon Millerd will be presenting a concert of original music with some off-island friends this weekend.

On Saturday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., Millerd will be joined by Dan Reynolds on piano and Mike Bjella on tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute for a unique, enlivening sonic landscape that is enhanced by the excellent acoustics in All Saints by-the-Sea. Their music follows the tradition of jazz as a “melting pot” of different influences, being highly influenced by classical, folk and Indian Carnatic music.

Reynolds, a brilliant pianist and composer from Vancouver, has been joining Millerd for periodic jazz vespers services at the church over the past year. Bjella is no stranger to the island and will be travelling from Vermont to bring us his highly energetic, inspired and joyful improvisations.

Bjella and Millerd will also be giving workshops at the high school and with local big band Swing Shift at the Salt Spring Island Multi Space for those who are interested in jazz, improvisation, original music and creativity. Get in touch with Michelle Footz at mfootz@sd64.org to learn how to participate. (All welcome, bring your own instrument.)

Reynolds and Bjella have a beautiful duo recording entitled Love Songs that is available everywhere. Millerd will soon be releasing a new album called The Hush, which features both Bjella and Reynolds, some of which was recorded live at All Saints church last summer. They will again be recording the Jan. 13 concert.

Concert tickets are available at the door for $20 and $10 for students. Infants are welcome free of charge. The concert will be one set, no intermission, approximately one hour and 15 minutes in length.

Defoliating moths targeted for eradication in 2024 spray program

Robb Magley
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Defoliating moths targeted for eradication in 2024 spray program

 This past summer’s efforts to slow an invasive insect infestation were successful, according to provincial officials, who hope a targeted spraying this summer will be enough to eradicate Salt Spring’s spongy moth population. 

Last seen in the 1990s, the invasive moths were detected again on the island in 2021; monitoring efforts the following year revealed a growing population of the insects (from six to 14), which — while caterpillars — are voracious defoliators of several native tree and shrub species, according to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

In response, 2023 saw the implementation of a high-density trapping program, one that set out more than 700 bright green tent-shaped traps across three different zones on Salt Spring Island — near St. Mary Lake and around the Vesuvius area.  

That program appears to have helped limit the growth and spread of the insects — 14 moths were detected at the end of 2023’s trapping — and one 48-hectare area is targeted for aerial spraying this spring to hopefully close the deal. 

Across B.C., 13 different aerial spray events will be required by forestry officials in coming months, in several efforts to control spongy moths.

Salt Spring’s treatment area is one of the smallest, according to the ministry, partly thanks to last year’s traps keeping the population here from becoming more established.

The pheromone traps only lure male moths, although provincial research scientists estimate each unmated pair removed from the population can eliminate as many as 1,000 caterpillars the following year. 

Unlike ground-based spraying, such as took place near Lee’s Hill in 2007, aerial applications are used partly because they require a lower concentration of the bacteria-based insecticide preferred by the province’s Spongy Moth Technical Advisory Committee — in this case expected to be Foray 48B, an Organic Materials Review Institute listed product certified in 2018 for use in organic production. 

The spongy moth is the common name for Lymantria dispar, renamed from “gypsy moth” by the Entomological Societies of both Canada and the United States in 2022. The name references the insect’s “spongy” egg masses, often found in the branches of the same deciduous trees the hatched insects will devour — and which have been known to cause rashes when handled.

Recently, the egg masses have been found more often in human-made shelters — including under vehicle wheel wells, which has helped them spread from Ontario into B.C.  

Across Canada and the U.S., particularly in the northeast, spongy moths deforest roughly one million acres of forest in an average year, according to the ministry. 

Virtual open house sessions will be held in February, officials said, to provide program information and answer questions.  

For more information visit www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/managing-our-forest-resources/forest-health/invasive-forest-pests/spongy-moth. 

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