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Santa’s Workshop helpers complete job for 2023

Driftwood Staff
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Santa’s Workshop helpers complete job for 2023

Sixty-four Salt Spring families with 105 children will be waking up to a happy Christmas thanks to the hard work of 17 volunteers and the donations from many islanders.

According to Wendy Eggertson, head elf of Santa’s Workshop, groups deserving of special mention include the Salt Spring Toy Run, Salt Spring Propane, Country Grocer, the “car group,” Salt Spring Island Firefighters Association and two condominium communities, and individuals Stephanie Bond, Barbara de Freitas and Sharon Valder.

Eggertson also expressed gratitude to everyone who donated to collection boxes at Country Grocer, West of the Moon and Mouat’s Home Hardware.

“Also a big thank you to the Baptist Church, who has provided us with a warm and spacious space in which to do our work,” she said.

For people who want to contribute toys next year, donation boxes will be placed from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15.

NURSE (nee Watson), Judy

Driftwood Obituary
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NURSE (nee Watson), Judy

Judy Nurse (nee Watson) Saltspring Island BC (previously Saskatoon, Prince Albert & Regina SK) passed peacefully, at home and on her own terms on December 14th, 2023.

Judy’s final days and weeks were filled with gratitude and she lived a happy and fulfilling life to the end surrounded by those she cherished most. Judy is survived by husband Murray, brother Gerry Watson, children Laura Morris (Roger), Michael Nurse, and Heather Connolly (Darragh) as well as grandchildren Caiden & Jeremy Morris and Sam & Julia Connolly. A Celebration of Judy’s Life will be planned for the new year.

Judy was creative and generous with a scientific mind, filling her life with adventure, both far from, and close to, home. Judy’s warmth radiated. She was happy, grateful and generous with her time and her love. When she wasn’t deep in conversation with family and friends or working on a project, Judy spent her time reading, baking, painting, organising, meditating, walking, hosting parties and travelling.

Judy’s love of a project led to many great creative enterprises, a lot of which were focused towards her children and grandchildren. Judy wrote each of her grandchildren an illustrated story (or two) which were always a little bit goofy and lots of fun. She made puppet videos (https://youtu.be/ gN4FtYL3J28 ), puzzles, cook books, comfort blankets, boo-boo cream and sing-along music videos. Judy’s many projects and adventures were shared with her husband Murray, with whom she shared 52 loving years.

Judy grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan and attended Sheldon High school where she was valedictorian in her graduating year. She studied Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan before starting her career as a Public Health Nurse. Judy furthered her academic career with a Master’s of Science in Epidemiology, also from UofS. Although Judy always said her most important job in life was being a mother, she committed her professional life to a nurturing and fulfilling career in Cancer research and education.

She enjoyed spending her summers at the cabin at Pebble Bay, Iroquois lake, SK where she revelled in the community spirit of breaking bread together and raising young families together. Judy retired at the age of 55 to Salt Spring Island, BC where she quickly joined the community by volunteering and getting involved. Over her 18 years on Salt Spring, Judy was on the board of the Painters Guild, ArtSpring, and SSI Library.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following charities:
Salt Spring Public Library (www.saltspring.bc.libraries.coop), Salt Spring Foundation (www.ssifoundation.ca)
or Stqeeye’ (www.stqeeye.ca),
an indigenous run, not for profit organisation based in BC.

MACPHERSON, Patricia (Pat) Jem

Driftwood Obituary
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MACPHERSON, Patricia (Pat) Jem

1936 – 2023

November 7, 2023 – Patricia (Pat) Macpherson, age 87, peacefully with her husband and her island family at her side. Survived by her soulmate John Macpherson, adoring pup Angus, her loving sisters in-law Carol Macpherson (Michael Johnson) and Laurie Hayes (Glenn), much extended family, half brothers Richard Ellison (Maggy) and David Ellison, estranged daughter and son Jane Mackenzie and Garnet Bartlett, and grandson Mackenzie (Mac) Flett.
Pat had two quite full lives, beginning in Perth, Scotland. The class system grated, and she emigrated to Canada at 20 with husband Godfrey Bartlett. They worked across Canada and eventually settled in Surrey, operating their own business. They divorced after 28 years.

Pat then met John in Vancouver in 1986. The two had an instant “meeting of the minds” and became inseparable friends, dreaming, philosophizing and cycling. They also adventured – first to the US, then to Thailand, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, visiting friends, hiking the Himalayas and living as pilgrims in Buddhist monasteries. They married in 1988 and bought their first home.

They cycled the Camino in 1991, purchased land on Salt Spring in 1994 and built their dream home in 1999. They then opened Cloud 9 Oceanview B&B and treated some 2,000 couples to a taste of Salt Spring. Pat especially loved entertaining family and friends, the two also finding time to travel to Australia, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Britain and more.

Pat rediscovered cycling at age 74, which inspired younger friends. Soon she was organizing tours to Chemainus, Victoria, Merridale Cidery and more. She spent her 79th birthday cycling Thetis Island and cruised and cycled the islands of Croatia at 83.

Pat struck some as a “deep, introspective person with a vast curiosity, intuition, and insight into the world around her’’. Many others recall her humor, laughter, wisdom, generosity, directness, kindness to all creatures, loyalty and her wide welcoming smile for newcomers. Pat’s gold standard was one of mutual inclusion. John was hugely proud of her and his family loved her dearly.

Pat also loved science, mechanics, arts and crafts, literature and supercars. (A Ferrari rental for her 65th was well received.) A lifelong reader, Pat had a frightening knowledge of the life sciences and more besides, sharing deeply with her Book Club and many friends. She volunteered at the Library and for the annual Book sale as well, and especially loved “volunteering” for her Wine Club duties – researching, sipping, laughing and sharing no-nonsense opinions about the quality on offer.

Pat disavowed spiritual beliefs but resonated with the wisdom of Zen, which merged science and her own sense of self, birth, life and death. As a dewdrop slips into the shining sea or as a cloud forms and changes but does not “die”… Pat was a natural.

Pat and John remained devoted, and Pat lived to the last fully present and engaged. She went in gratitude and peace, with nothing on her bucket list and no regrets. Heartfelt thanks to Pat’s closest friends invited as beloved witnesses (Wendy Vine, Victoria Skinner, Karen Laidlaw) and to Dr. Holly Slakov and Nurse friend Isy Cohen for their compassionate professionalism. Pat is fiercely missed but not gone: her heart beats on through all of us who loved her.

“Uncomfortable” Christmas With Scrooge message proves timely

Gail Sjuberg
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“Uncomfortable” Christmas With Scrooge message proves timely

I hope everyone had a chance to see Christmas With Scrooge at Fulford Hall this past week, and if you didn’t there might still be tickets at Salt Spring Books for the last show tonight (Dec. 20).

Christmas With Scrooge is a beloved Salt Spring cultural institution and I got to see it again last Thursday night. I love the mix of things that stay the same and the new additions as the musical evolves. Sue Newman — daughter of Ray and Virginia Newman, who birthed the musical play 52 years ago — and the show’s director and producer, still opens the post-prologue action as the elegant dancing Christmas Fairy whose wand turns on the Christmas tree star’s light. The most recent Scrooge (Patrick Cassidy) and Cratchit (Kevin Wilkie) are perennially delightful, yet fresh faces are always in the mix of a Scrooge show.

I thought this year’s cluster of Cratchit children and Spotty Dogs were remarkable, and the show featured exceptionally strong singing from the cast. I was especially moved by the rendition of Not So Long Ago in the scene where Belle Merriweather (Amber Tuttle) sets loose her once betrothed young Scrooge (Liam Hackett) due to his toxic obsession with gaining wealth.

I wasn’t sold on the move to Fulford Hall when the show first went there in 2019. It seemed harder to follow the action and to hear some people when they weren’t facing our way. Some of the traditional theatre “magic” was gone with less sophisticated lighting and being able to take in the whole scene at a distance on the ArtSpring stage.

But this year I didn’t seem to miss a word and, in addition to being impressed by the lovingly appointed Fulford Hall for the occasion, I appreciated several aspects of the in-the-round format. Those included seeing audience members across from me smiling, laughing and singing; being able to admire the stunning costumes up close; sensing everything that goes into the movement of actors, dancers and singers because you can almost reach out and touch them.

An unexpected effect of the format was feeling discomfort at the depictions of poverty. When the desperation of the beggars, pickpockets, drunks and other poor people are right in your face, it definitely has more impact.

That feeling was rekindled the next day after I had a conversation with a long-time islander whose freely divulged opinions I always enjoy hearing. She shared her concerns about Ganges and said people who were down on their luck and crazy, basically, should find another community to hang out where there were more services for them. She speculated that islanders’ generosity was encouraging more of the same high-need people to come here. She wondered if our food security programs were not reaching the longer-term families and seniors who “really” needed them because more demanding newcomer street people were being served first. Valid concerns and questions, no doubt.

I know some people have had unsettling experiences in Ganges and/or Centennial Park in recent years, but our village centre is no different than any other community of our size. I’m not sure why we expect to be spared the unpleasant outcomes of our country’s failure to maintain adequate housing stock for people of all income levels in the past 20 years and to provide enough access to mental health services. We know that insecure housing and mental health problems are inextricably linked.

Some illuminating facts about public housing funding were shared by the Capital Regional District (CRD) senior manager of regional housing Don Elliott in a presentation at the Nov. 23 Local Community Commission meeting. From 1983 to 1986, the Capital Region Housing Corporation created an average of 115 units of affordable housing per year with financial help from provincial and federal governments. As that funding steadily declined and then dried up, so did public housing creation in the CRD. Except for one project the CRD funded on its own, and one anomaly, zero units were created for 15 years — from 2003 to 2018 — representing the philosophy of private-enterprise-all-the-way governments.

“That’s the problem that we are now facing,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to solve, is all of that lack of investment from senior levels of government.”

Elliott said the CRD’s housing corporation has returned to the 1980s level of housing creation thanks to investments made in recent years, while noting the financial challenges to maintain that level or, ideally, exceed it are significant. Public acceptance of property tax increases — or a switch in priorities — to help fund housing projects is needed.

A number of individuals and organizations are obviously trying hard to create housing on Salt Spring. Similarly, the Ambassador Program, the Mental Wellness Initiative and Mental Health First Aid courses, and our current crop of socially aware RCMP officers, have had some success while working to minimize issues in Ganges.

I don’t want to downplay people’s reasons to feel fearful or uncomfortable in our public spaces. We would all rather walk around Ganges seeing only securely housed, unstressed and happy folks, right? But that’s not the reality here or almost anywhere these days.

But back to Christmas With Scrooge. I found the preface of the program interesting as it reminded us of the continuing validity of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol story: “We have endeavoured in this Ghostly little Play to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put our Audience out of Humour with Them-selves, with Each Other, with the season or with Us. May it Haunt Your Home pleasantly, and no one wish to forget its message.”

With that the Newman family is perhaps suggesting that we need to be “haunted” and even made to feel uncomfortable by witnessing poverty up close, whether depicted by actors in Fulford Hall or real people in Ganges.

Editorial: Feedback loop

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Feedback loop

One could be forgiven for thinking that islanders are simply ungovernable.

The news continues to tell stories of local governments struggling to act in ways that reflect the values of their communities. And if Salt Spring is unified in any way, it might be in a belief that our governments have no idea what those values are. 

How else to explain the surprise officials repeatedly express, facing events that seem as predictable as sunrise? When an advocacy position is confidently taken at one meeting, it will bring a crowd in opposition at the next; when our officials are begged in one moment to enforce a bylaw, they are guaranteed to be chided later for doing so. When they feel they’ve heard that the best course of action is no action against an infraction, they will hear the precise opposite — and with equal passion — just weeks later. 

If they don’t react based upon what they hear, they’re out of touch. If they do, they’re submitting to the loudest complainants.  

From bylaw enforcement to land-use decisions to housing security and even in designing a public park, there are always multiple opinions on the best way forward. Unfortunately, many officials seem simply to react to each voice they hear, and in succession.  

While they must consider public opinion, if our elected officials hope to learn what their community values by quantifying feedback — a notion reflected in every “due to the large amount of comment” justification we hear for decisions — they are doomed to continue the cycle, and deservedly so. Taking the call for more feedback to its logical conclusion, 12,000 letters on each topic would reduce every matter to another election. It sidesteps the duties of office.  

Moreover, islanders have consistently shown an unwillingness to “settle” for a majority-rule, zero-sum approach, truly believing they can find solutions that work for all of us. 

If an opportunity to build from common ground and transcend reactive governance exists, perhaps it lies in nurturing public buy-in for our longer-range projects, like the official community plan now ready to be revisited. A community’s guiding documents can reflect a more stable shared understanding of its values, of decisions made on what we find important. Building more durable common consent could reduce the reliance on selective application — giving the public some idea of what to expect — and help our officials stop chasing ephemeral public approval. 

Divided Trust committee advances ADU plan

Robb Magley
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Divided Trust committee advances ADU plan

Development of a path toward “legal” accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on Salt Spring is moving ahead, possibly as fast as provisions of the Local Government Act allow — and Salt Spring Island’s Local Trust Committee (LTC) is using every procedural tool in the book to swiftly launch a plan meant to increase housing stock. 

The course set, perhaps counterintuitively, included passing a resolution to “proceed no further” with the just-downsized Bylaw 530, which envisioned a small-scale map-based approach for ADU zoning, showing few properties where they would be allowed, but contemplating a streamlined “spot zoning” pilot project for islanders to request their property be added to that map.  

But while Bylaw “530-Lite,” as trustee Laura Patrick had nicknamed it, was officially abandoned at the LTC’s Dec. 14 meeting, the functionally identical Bylaw 537 appeared in its place — this time introduced specifically noting the LTC would not hold a public hearing, a move allowed since the bylaw was consistent with the island’s official community plan.  

And, with public notification to indicate a first reading was incoming at a yet-to-be-scheduled special meeting — and with a stated intent to complete second and third readings at the same event — the new bylaw could be finalized in near-record time, after which the “spot zoning” applications could conceivably begin. 

But trustee Jamie Harris, long an ardent supporter of ADU provisions, said he was concerned the “spot zoning” would have too many procedural hoops to jump through to be considered truly streamlined.  

“I don’t trust this process,” said Harris. “I’m definitely afraid that the second part of this, the pilot project, will not anywhere near encompass what it needs to.”

Harris specifically called out the potential for what he thought would be unreasonable “proof-of-water” requirements; neither those requirements nor any others have yet been specified, although Harris had earlier expressed skepticism on different agenda items surrounding a project charter.  

“I would propose that we try to expedite the OCP [revision] process,” said Harris. “Let’s fix the OCP and put the original Bylaw 530 through.” 

Harris had earlier lamented that the OCP revision was going to take too long, and had pressed for finding a way to shorten the process timeline. Planners said the regulatory requirements for amending an OCP demanded specific steps, none of which could be skipped in ways that might meaningfully shorten the time needed. 

The Bylaw 537 meeting will be held by Jan. 23.

Firefighters douse car fire at ArtSpring 

Robb Magley
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Firefighters douse car fire at ArtSpring 

Officials said a car fire burning just a few streets away from the Ganges Fire Hall was brought under control quickly, as firefighters responded within minutes to the ArtSpring parking lot. 

The call came in shortly after noon Tuesday, Dec. 12, according to Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) Deputy Chief Dale Lundy, who said the fire was fully resolved — and firefighters were back in service — in less than an hour. 

“Six firefighters and two trucks came to the scene,” said Lundy. “Thankfully not a raging fire, it was kept inside the cab.” 

Using a little more than 200 gallons of water, the fire was contained to the passenger compartment of the single vehicle, Lundy said, although the car and its contents were likely a total loss. Police were also on-scene during and after the fire, according to Salt Spring RCMP Detachment Commander Sgt. Clive Seabrook, who said the fire was “not suspicious.” 

“As the vehicle is parked on private property, we have left it with the land owner to work with ICBC for removal,” said Seabrook.  

Harbour House hosts tree fundraisers and seasonal fun

Driftwood Staff
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Harbour House hosts tree fundraisers and seasonal fun

The Harbour House Hotel is once again the spot to enjoy the Festival of Trees — a long-running fundraiser for the Salt Spring Island Food Bank and Copper Kettle Community Partnership — as well as other special holiday-time events.

Festival of Trees co-founder Lynda Turner said the 2023 event has more trees than ever before entered by community groups and businesses. Trees can be viewed daily at the hotel through the morning of Jan. 2 at 10 a.m., when the winner — determined by the amount of food bank donations placed under the trees — will be declared.

As well, the Forest of Miracles, sponsored by Country Grocer at the Harbour House, sees several Christmas trees decorated by island businesses that will be auctioned off on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. at Woodley’s Kitchen. All proceeds will support the Greenwoods Eldercare Society. People are asked to bring a food bank donation or make a cash donation to Copper Kettle for viewing the trees.

Harbour House Hotel has also added a Reading Tree to the festival. For every book read from students, an entry form provided by teachers will be entered into a draw for five different Squishmallows prizes.  

Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) athletes will benefit from yet another Harbour House event. Three Taste of the World dinners presented by Woodley’s Kitchen in the Crofton Tree Room — on Dec. 15, 22 and 29 — will see at least $20 from $70 tickets sold benefit the GISS athletics program.

On Sunday, Dec. 17, the Harbour House hosts Breakfast With Santa, with tickets needing to be purchased from Woodley’s by Dec. 15. On Dec. 16 and 23, Seniors Christmas Tea events are taking place, with advance tickets required and on sale from the restaurant.

For details about all Christmas on Salt Spring events, including the ones mentioned above, see the Christmas on Salt Spring website page.

RCMP officers receive honours for bravery, quick action

Robb Magley
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RCMP officers receive honours for bravery, quick action

Two Salt Spring RCMP officers received recognition during a gathering at the Legion that brought the island’s first responders together Thursday, Nov. 30.  

Const. Hardip Gill and Const. Felix Charette-Thibault were each presented with a certificate from visiting Superintendent Ray Carfantan, Acting Commanding Officer for the RCMP Vancouver Island District — both for above-and-beyond actions taken before they transferred to the island.  

According to an RCMP release, Charette-Thibault had responded to a medical emergency in Duncan, where he recognized the person had suffered an overdose, administered Naloxone and provided CPR until paramedics arrived. The victim was transported to hospital, where she passed away several days later. Although not the outcome hoped, it provided time for the victim’s family to say good-bye, according to the release. Charette-Thibault was nominated for a St. John Life-Saving Award. 

While working in the Lower Mainland, according to RCMP, Gill witnessed a shooting and chased an armed assailant on foot through a densely populated residential area. Cornering the suspect in a residential backyard, Gill apprehended him, and the suspect was subsequently arrested. Deputy Commissionaire Dwayne McDonald, Commanding Officer for British Columbia, said Gill’s dedication and courage helped bring a successful conclusion to the incident, and that his actions and dedication to duty brought credit to himself in keeping with the highest traditions of the RCMP. 

Salt Spring Detachment Commander Sgt. Clive Seabrook said he was pleased the officers were recognized. 

“The actions of Const. Gill and Const. Charette-Thibault highlight the excellent work done every day by our officers across the country,” said Seabrook. “I am very proud to work with all of the staff and RCMP officers here.” 

Campers eye CRD’s Kanaka Road land

Robb Magley
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Campers eye CRD’s Kanaka Road land

Salt Spring’s Local Community Commission (LCC) heard an 11th-hour proposal from a local non-profit society hoping to negotiate a winter space for people displaced after an encampment at Drake Road was dismantled. 

After BC Housing evicted campers from its property on Nov. 7, according to Chuan Society’s Kajin Goh, it was unclear where people who had sought their own accommodations there would end up. 

“There’s been a bit of a scattering and a scramble to figure out what to do next,” said Goh, appearing before the LCC Thursday, Dec. 7, on behalf of Chuan. He was flanked by Jenny McClean and Andre Toto Rodrigues, who he identified as fellow Chuan council members.  

Goh told the commission Chuan Society has been working on Salt Spring for six years, advocating generally for “well-being in our community,” although much of the work touches on the underhoused, mental health and addictions, he added. Chuan has been operating Gabriel’s Kitchen, a program for food-insecure community members to prepare and share a Saturday night dinner — operating on donated ingredients, a grant from Island Health and the contribution of a kitchen space on McPhillips Avenue from the Gulf Islands Family Together Society, where they cook and serve once per week. 

In the wake of the eviction at Drake Road, Goh said, he and Capital Regional District (CRD) director Gary Holman had discussed the need for a “society in good standing” to coordinate some agreement between the CRD and campers.

Goh and Chuan’s council brought a proposal to the LCC that centred around allowing the eight to 12 people from the Drake Road encampment to over-winter in RVs and tents at a CRD-owned property — specifically one on Kanaka Road, between the Gulf Islands Secondary School property and the Rainbow Recreation Centre’s pool parking lot. 

The need would be until late April, Goh said, and the Kanaka location was the group’s preference. Despite the best efforts of LCC members and Chuan, no private landowners had stepped forward to offer property for them. 

“We have some cognizance of that site,” said Goh, “because we did have a warming space there.”  

Goh noted the “Warming Space Collective” encampments, which occupied the Centennial Park gazebo and part of Mouat Park successively during winter 2021-22, were “not specifically a Chuan project,”  although they were “connected” to it. Some people who sought their own accommodations there — and elsewhere across Salt Spring Island, as those encampments were forced to dismantle — had been living this fall at Drake Road. 

“Winter is coming on pretty soon,” said Goh. “We’ve been pretty lucky that it hasn’t gotten really cold, but you know, two years ago we hit minus 10 degrees on Christmas Day.” 

Among possible issues Goh and Chuan already identified on Kanaka was whether an off-leash area could be defined; he said many have service dogs that are important to their emotional health. In addition, availability of washrooms was a concern — with no water or power available at the site, Goh said there had been discussion of setting up a porta potty.  

“It’s also been commented that some of the service workers might be able to use that as well,” offered Goh, “So we’ve doubled the use of that.” 

Cost for a porta potty runs $1,500 for six months, with two pump-outs per month, according to LCC member Gayle Baker, and it was unclear whether potential campers would be expected to pay a fee to park on the property. 

“It’s not to say that there won’t be costing here, but we always find creative ways to deal with that, and we’ve been pretty good at fundraising,” said Goh. “There has been talk about maybe the CRD being able to financially support this in some way, and that would be most welcome.” 

Commissioners were sympathetic but expressed concerns about conflict — not only with pool patrons and community gardeners come spring, but more immediately with significant project work taking place this month. CRD staff will require near-constant access this winter to the storage area on the property — and the gravel road leading to and from it. That leaves the least-muddy spot on the property out of the running for camper space; Chuan council’s other suggestion, offered Goh, was to perhaps also allow campers to use some parking spots at the pool. 

“There are a lot of people in the community who just wish these kinds of challenges just somehow evaporated,” said LCC member Brian Webster. “That doesn’t happen; I appreciate you taking the initiative, but I’m really concerned about our staff [being able] to manage the CRD properties we have, and this has kind of been sprung on them. I appreciate that something was talked about in October, but there was no proposal that’s been on an agenda.”

Parks manager Dan Ovington said that in previous years there was discussion of a group submitting a park use permit application for staff to review, but that had never materialized into a formal proposal. 

“So we’re into December,” said Ovington. “Staff are in the middle of the recreation centre shutdown. In addition to the regular pool maintenance that we’re doing, we have multiple replacements that are going on within the filtration room. And in addition to that, as you may have noticed, there’s a very large construction project happening in the middle of Ganges. I just want to remind everybody of everything that’s in motion that’s extremely time-sensitive to our existing obligations.” 

“We would have proposed sooner, I think,” said Goh, “if we could have had a magic ball to see ahead into the future. But we were hoping things [at Drake Road] would work out. I know this is a late proposal, but it took a lot of internal discussion for us to feel that we could have the capacity to help with this project.” 

Holman asked whether Chuan would be willing to be the designated responsible party for a park permit. 

“It would require things like liability insurance, provisions surrounding drug and alcohol use at the site, and ensuring a limited number of campers,” said Holman. “Because once it’s established, folks will tend to gravitate to it.” 

Goh said the details could be ironed out — because it needed to happen. 

“I think what we need to do is run it by our council, and speak to the potential campers,” said Goh. “We didn’t imagine this was going to happen without conditions to protect the site, as well as respect what’s happening there.” 

Goh said Chuan’s council would be meeting soon, so plans were made to coordinate with one or two LCC members in the coming days to bring forward a formal proposal for use of CRD land — hopefully before temperatures drop further. 

“I think with the human realities of the people involved, I’d just ask everybody to be as understanding as possible,” said Webster. “The fact is there’s a time pressure here. Let’s all do the best we can.” 

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