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Extreme Low Temperatures Continue in Gulf Islands

Driftwood Staff
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Extreme Low Temperatures Continue in Gulf Islands

Environment Canada is warning the Southern Gulf Islands will see temperatures with windchill down to minus 20 until mid-week, conditions in which frostbite and hypothermia can develop quickly.  

A weather warning is in place for the Southern Gulf Islands as well as Metro Vancouver, up the Sunshine Coast and into Whistler. These areas will see temperatures down to minus 7 or 8 C. on Monday night and wind chill values near or below minus 20 degrees Celcius as Arctic winds flow from the Interior to the coast. 

The cold streak is caused by an “an Arctic ridge of high pressure over the B.C. Interior . . . bringing strong and bitterly cold outflow winds to the coastal communities and resulting in very cold wind chill values.” 

Monday afternoon and into Monday night will see some improvement, with wind chill between minus 10 and minus 20. Yet Tuesday night and Wednesday morning are expected to be down to minus 20 windchill again. Temperatures will start to increase during the day Wednesday, but with more snow expected on that day.

Environment Canada warns frostbite and hypothermia can develop within minutes in these conditions. Anyone not dressing for the weather is at risk, so people are being urged to bundle up and minimize any exposed skin if they are outside.

“Any outdoor activity exposes you to an increased risk of frostbite,” Environment Canada added.  

“Public Safety Canada encourages everyone to make an emergency plan and get an emergency kit with drinking water, food, medicine, a first-aid kit and a flashlight,” the warning stated. 

Petition Asks for Two Ships on Route 6

Gail Sjuberg
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Petition Asks for Two Ships on Route 6

A Salt Spring man who wants to see gridlock reduced on the Vesuvius-Crofton ferry route has created a Change.org petition to press BC Ferries for action.

David Courtney has proposed that when the MV Quinsam vessel is brought on to the route in the spring of 2022 that the MV Quinitsa also be kept in service to increase the number of sailings and capacity.

As of Thursday morning the petition titled “2 Ferry Service for Vesuvius Bay to Crofton – The Fix for Route Six” had received 527 signatures.

Courtney maintains that having two ships on Route 6 will reduce traffic congestion at both Vesuvius and Fulford Harbour terminals on Salt Spring, and at Crofton on Vancouver Island, whose community is also impacted by long lineups of travellers on Chaplin Street.

Traffic on Route 6 has been up significantly in 2021 when compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic) months, resulting in frequent sailing waits in Vesuvius Bay and Crofton.

Courtney’s proposal is detailed in this opinion piece published in the Dec. 8, 2021 Driftwood.

Ten Gulf Islands Cases Among Recent COVID Surge

Gail Sjuberg
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Ten Gulf Islands Cases Among Recent COVID Surge

As COVID-19 cases rise around the province and the world due to the Omicron variant, Island Health has issued a notice of potential exposure at Gulf Islands Secondary School.

The dates in question are Dec. 13, 14, 15 and 16.

As per Island Health policy, anyone who was deemed to be in close contact on those dates with people testing positive will be notified directly by Island Health.

Most recent BC Centre for Disease Control figures (click on ‘Map’ and then the ‘Greater Victoria’ inset) have nine new reported COVID-19 cases on Salt Spring Island between Dec. 13 and 19, and one case on the other Southern Gulf Islands.

On Tuesday, British Columbia saw an all-time daily high of new cases — 1,308 — since the beginning of the pandemic.

A COVID vaccination clinic is now in operation in the annex at Salt Spring Island Middle School (with the entrance from Park Drive). Island Health has stated that people needing first or second doses of vaccine may get them by walking in, while booster shots will be given by appointment, but some Salt Spring residents have reported being able to get a booster shot on a walk-in basis as long as enough time has passed since receiving their second shot.

Call 1-833-838-2323 to book an appointment for a booster. More information is available from Salt Spring’s public health office at 250-538-4880.

People who feel they may have symptoms of COVID should phone 1-844-901-8442 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily to arrange for testing, and isolate themselves from others.

New Provincial Health Orders

Revised provincial health officer orders announced Monday and Tuesday and in place until Jan. 18, 2022 are as follows.

* no organized indoor social events and gatherings of any size;

* concerts, sports games and theatres reduced to 50% seated capacity, regardless of venue size;

* closing gyms, fitness centres and dance studios;

* closing bars and nightclubs;

* limiting table sizes at restaurants, cafes and pubs to a maximum of six people per table with physical distancing or barriers;

• Indoor personal gatherings are limited to your household plus 10 visitors or 1 other household. Everyone 12 + must be fully vaccinated;

• At restaurants, cafes and pubs, customers must stay seated and cannot move between or visit other tables. Masks are required when not seated;

• All sports tournaments and related travel are not allowed.

For worship services, the following applies, but people should check with their faith group about whether or not they intend to proceed with in-person services:

• If all participants are vaccinated as determined by the worship service leader, there are no capacity restrictions on worship services and choirs.

• If participants are not all vaccinated, worship services and choirs are limited to 50% seated capacity.

• Masks are required but can be temporarily removed for ceremonial eating and drinking, and by officiants, readers or for singing a solo where physical distancing is observed.

Islands Trust Urges Rogers to Meet With Residents Over Cell Tower Location

Emelie Peacock
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Islands Trust Urges Rogers to Meet With Residents Over Cell Tower Location

The debate around a proposed emergency and wireless communications tower is not over, as local politicians hope to get Rogers and concerned residents near Channel Ridge to meet. 

The joint Rogers Communications and Capital Region Emergency Service Telecommunications (CREST) tower proposal has gone through a federal approval process and was also given a statement of concurrence by the Salt Spring Local Trust Committee (LTC) in July. Yet concerns from residents which arose after the letter of concurrence was issued must be addressed, said LTC chair Peter Luckham.

Most of the concerns from residents of Canvasback Place, some of whom live within 40 to 100 metres of the proposed 40-metre tower, “came late into the decision making, and that’s unfortunate, but is also indicative that folks in the neighbourhood didn’t hear about it,” Luckham said. 

The LTC was advised that Rogers undertook public consultation, yet local resident Julian Clark called the consultation “woefully inadequate” and trustee Laura Patrick voted against issuing the letter of concurrence. Trustee Peter Grove has also since raised concerns that the tower application may have been misleading and due process on consultation may not have been followed. 

“We are concerned about the points raised by the residents . . . it seems apparent to the LTC that more communication is necessary with neighbouring property owners regarding the placement of the telecommunications facility,” Luckham wrote in a letter to consulting firm Cypress Land Services, which works with Rogers. 

Luckham said he is now waiting to hear back on this request to have Cypress host a public meeting to answer questions around “fulfillment of the requirement to consult” and minimizing impacts of the placement of the tower. 

Luckham clarified that at the time they issued the letter of concurrence, Salt Spring’s LTC did not have a policy on the siting and use of telecommunications towers. While a model antenna strategy was developed by the Islands Trust and while neighbouring Galiano Island has their own strategy, Salt Spring had not amended nor adopted the Trust’s model strategy. The default consultation procedures of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the federal body which deals with telecommunications licensing, would apply. 

In letters to the LTC, residents said they support the building of a CREST tower on the island. It is the proximity to their homes and it being close to an already existing TELUS communications tower that they oppose. Clark stated that the closest home is 43 metres from the proposed tower site, and there are at least 10 homes within 300 metres of it. 

Two of the residents closest to the site, Connie Nichols-Ledger and Frank Ledger, wrote that they fear the effect of radio frequency waves on individuals with medical equipment such as pacemakers, as well as the potential devaluation of their homes should the tower be built. They suggested alternate locations on Channel Ridge which are undeveloped. 

Health aspects of antenna sitings are not something within the LTC’s ability to decide on, Luckham noted, with standards set by Health Canada. 

Luckham said it’s important not to create false expectations around what will or will not be done about the tower.

“What we need to do is determine whether or not Rogers is able to answer concerns that have been raised by members of the public to the community’s satisfaction,” he said.

One future possibility is negotiating the actual siting of the tower, which would happen between landowners Onni Group and Rogers.

The LTC, “if it became apparent that there was a lack of consultation to the community,” could also rescind the letter of concurrence, Luckham said. He stressed that it’s too early to say, and that this option has not yet been discussed by the LTC. 

ISED confirmed that while it’s not typically done in these kinds of situations, the LTC can rescind a letter of concurrence.

“If you believe that the LTC based its decision on inaccurate or incomplete information then you may be able to consider this action, but if not then you may have to accept the scenario and consider how things might be handled differently in the future,” ISED noted in communication with Islands Trust planners. 

A letter of concurrence is seen as the final step of a “fully complete and acceptable consultation,” ISED stated, “and the proponents would have the authority to start planning the construction of the facility.” During planning the LTC can communicate with the proponent and ask about “possible changes to the structure, location, etc.” ISED added, yet the LTC is under no obligation to do so. 

Channel Ridge is CREST’s second attempt at locating a tower on Salt Spring Island in recent years. The first proposed location at the Salt Spring Legion branch, meant to improve coverage in Ganges, faced strong opposition. CREST was strongly encouraged by the LTC and community members to identify other locations, Luckham said, and “did a pretty broad sweep of the island to identify locations.”

With coverage gaps on the west side of Salt Spring from Vesuvius heading north, the tower is meant to improve emergency communications for CREST, which delivers radio communications to first responder agencies, including Salt Spring Fire Rescue and the BC Ambulance Service.

Partnering with Rogers allows cost savings and cuts down on the number of towers and poles in the visual landscape, CREST’s general manager Gordon Horth explained in April. Using the existing TELUS tower was not possible, Horth explained, as it was not adequate structurally to take on the equipment needed by CREST and Rogers. 

Reading-Crazed Class Nets $2,000 For Food Bank

Emelie Peacock
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Reading-Crazed Class Nets $2,000 For Food Bank

For fifth and sixth graders at Salt Spring Centre School, reading is a way to relieve stress, be creative in your own head and also raise thousands of dollars for a local cause.  

The seven-member class got together ahead of the holidays and decided to read as much as possible and gather pledges along the way from friends and family. The read-a-thon brought in over $2,000 and the class decided the Salt Spring Island Harvest Food Bank was the place these hard-earned dollars should go. 

Olivia Novak brought the idea to her class, having done her first read-a-thon on her own when she was 10. Living in Vancouver at the time, she remembered feeling sad, guilty and unable to do anything to help people experiencing homelessness in her city. She decided to act by reading 11 books and gathering $1,000 in pledges, with a matching donor who brought her donation to Vancouver’s Convenant House to $3,000.

Olivia’s little sister Emilie, 8, also got on board this year and read Judy Blume’s Fudge books, as well as The Nevergirls. The sisters raised $1,803.

“We’re like a reading family,” said Olivia. “We usually read with our mom, stay up super late and read by the fire . . . My dad’s reading too.”

Everyone in the class went about choosing the books they liked and gathering funds their own way. 

“I’m not the fastest reader, I just like to enjoy the book,” said Aliza Lindzon-Graham, who read The Hidden Kingdom, book three in the Wings of Fire series, every night before bed. Each chapter brought in $2 for the read-a-thon.

Julia Bowland gathered $2 per book, reading 10 books in four short days. Bowland prefers to read graphic novel format as “it gives you more context because there’s more pictures, and it gives you the whole story but with less words.” 

“It’s like you’re living in the book, it’s like you’re seeing it happen almost. It’s really, really calming and it kind of feels like a TV show but better,” said Olivia Novak of her joy of reading. Among other books, she read the Hunger Games series, as well as Divergent and The One and Only Ivan. 

The fundraising effort was a collaborative one, said teacher Daniel Squizzato, as was choosing where the funds should go.

“It’s local and many different types of people, including kids, benefit,” he said of the reason the class chose the food bank. 

“It’s such a small population, we’re going to make a pretty big impact,” Lindzon-Graham said. 

“It feels really good, and I’m happy I did it,” said Emilie Novak. “I want them to feel like we do, to have a home . . . because no one should feel like they’re not wanted or something.” 

For people wondering what books to stick their noses into over the holiday, Lindzon-Graham’s reading list may inspire. She’ll be reading The Marrow Thieves, The Hobbit and the fourth Wings of Fire book. 

Olivia said she hopes to turn the read-a-thon into a yearly tradition. And for people who might be feeling a little helpless with what is happening in the world or in their community, she recommends to “just try.”

“It doesn’t always have to work but you can at least try, then you’ll know. If you never try then you’ll never know what you can do,” she said.

Are Some of Us Giving Away Our Freedoms for Privileges?

Contributed Article
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Are Some of Us Giving Away Our Freedoms for Privileges?

By Dr. Manon Bolliger [ND] (de-registered as a naturopathic physician)

I can appreciate that those who followed the mandates and placed their trust in “the science,” the appointed experts, the media and the pharmaceutical companies sincerely believe they have done the right thing.

But are we aware as a collective that there are many people who should not risk taking these shots?1 Are we aware that those who have naturally acquired immunity are at greater risk of side effects from vaccines? 2 A recent study in Vancouver supports further investigation of how anti-body-reactivity may impact the clinical severity of COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 vaccine responses. 3

In the Lancet, a respected medical journal, in an article entitled “Covid-19: stigmatizing the unvaccinated is not justified,” Gunter Kampf warns us that both the unvaccinated and vaccinated play a relevant role in the pandemic.4 This is why some countries have chosen to focus only on the most affected of our society, have spared the children who have statistically no benefit from these shots, respected natural immunity, and like Japan, are leading the way to “No Force, No discrimination.” 5

Recent research has confirmed that the vaccines neither confer long-term immunity nor stop the spread, rendering them, defacto questionable as “vaccines.” In fairness to the pharmaceutical industries, their aim was to reduce illness and death and never claimed the injections would prevent infection or reduce transmission. In fact, even the health “experts” like Dr. Anthony Fauci have admitted that the vaccinated and the unvaccinated are the same in terms of viral load. In fact, he claims that the vaccinated harbour more virus than the unvaccinated. 

Let’s face it, your innate immune system is your front line of defence. When infection succeeds in getting beyond the innate immune system in the upper respiratory tract, the adaptive immune system is engaged. This allows antibodies and other cellular defences to be created against many different aspects of the coronavirus (not just the spike protein). By contrast, COVID injection recipients’ adaptive immune systems are triggered unnaturally to create antibodies only against the coronavirus spike proteins. This leads them to not only depend on regular boosters, but in turn reduces their own natural immune system’s responses. The artificial adaptive antibodies are sub-optimal in neutralizing coronavirus, therefore there is a risk of “antibody dependant enhancement.” This has been observed in prior animal studies where animals who had received the vaccine and later were exposed to the virus, died in all cases. 6

Since less than 0.3 per cent of COVID-19 infections are fatal, with a study from March 2021 finding deaths generally occurring in extremely elderly, obese or unhealthy people, 7 it is important to make informed decisions on our health. Countries such as Israel are now on their fourth booster, and yet they have some of the highest COVID-19 rates. The public health authorities are saying we may need continual boosters to maintain antibody levels. However, the artificial adaptive immunity does not adapt as well as natural immunity to variants. Vaccines are not risk-free. With each booster comes a risk of adverse reactions.

There is emerging data on serious consequences and deaths from this adopted solution such as cardiomyopathies, 8 neurological issues, acquired immunodeficiency syndromes, 9 inflammatory bowel disease and “unexplained” increases in cancers, miscarriages and infertility. 10 We cannot really know the long-term impact of this apparently “quick fix” solution on our health, and as professor of risk management Norman Fenton shares we may not have the true mortality rates correct. 11

I believe that we risk prolonging the pandemic by counting solely on vaccine-induced immunity rather than working with our entire community to reach herd immunity. Because these vaccines are targeted and bind to only the virus spike protein, not only do they override the antibodies of the innate immune system, they also produce less broad protection. With this narrow focus these antibodies override the innate immune system from engaging future infections. This eliminates the first and most important line of defence, the innate immune system, from both fighting the infection and adapting for future variants.

A risk-benefit assessment is essential for any treatment, including vaccine therapy.

If the vaccine companies have negotiated indemnity from the consequences for their trials, ending late 2022/early 2023, who will pick up the pieces for our seriously injured? For our strained economy?

Should we allow our government to act as our doctors and make decisions for us as business owners? Decisions for us as families telling us who and whom we can invite?

While many took the vaccine to benefit society, how beneficial is it to have a divided society? Why are our freedoms being treated like privileges? Have we lost our way as Canadians?

The writer has been a naturopathic physician for 30 years and is recently retired. She divides her time between Salt Spring and Bowen islands.

Editor’s note: Links to sources for footnoted items in this submitted opinion piece are hyperlinked in the preceding sentences.

Christmas With Scrooge Offers Past Video Version for 2021

Contributed Article
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Christmas With Scrooge Offers Past Video Version for 2021

By SUE NEWMAN

Newman Family Productions

It’s Christmas, again! Bah, Humbug! God Bless Us, Everyone!

Oh, these songs that go round our heads at this time of year, thanks to my late parents Ray and Virginia Newman.

Christmas With Scrooge may not be able to perform live for you again, this year, but we’ll be airing the 2019 version that ran at Fulford Hall via this Vimeo link.

I originally wrote this piece for the Driftwood and Aqua magazine from a little flat in Edinburgh, where my youngest daughter now lives. Patrice started out as a Spotty Dog, from the famous Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig’s Ball, in our musical version of the Dickens classic Christmas tale, as did my sister, Amy. My eldest daughter, Lauren, and I did not. (You can’t have everything!)

But so many have gone through the ages of their young lives, travelling through roles into their adulthood, a Cratchit child to a Ghost, as Scrooge does, through his redemptive journey, and as only a community show that is celebrating its 50th year can!

But . . . without the show, (sometimes the show DOESN’T go on), I decided to go for a visit.

As I sat with my glass of peaty scotch in a well-worn, warm and inviting pub, I looked up to see a collection of small, leather-bound books staring at me. The one called Dickens Christmas Stories practically jumped into my lap. So, I picked it up and read. I was reminded that I needed to write something for Driftwood/Aqua editor Gail Sjuberg and my community.

Then Patrice walked in and told me about the nearby churchyard that inspired the writer. There he was:

Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie

Born 1792

Died 1836

A vintner and corn merchant, he was a “meal man.” Dickens visited the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh in 1841, and possibly looked at a mossy headstone of the man. But whatever the reason, he mistook it for “mean man” and later wrote in his notebook that “to be remembered through eternity only for being mean seemed the greatest testament to a life wasted.” The kernel was planted.

Ebenezer Scrooge

Conceived 1841

Born 1843 in A Christmas Carol

Died ?

No! He’s still alive today, even on Salt Spring, although taking one more year to … be safe (due to Covid).

This is our 50th celebration, Christmas with Scrooge, on our little rock, and we really hope to come back next year to party with all our families, friends and neighbours. In the meantime, enjoy the 2019 version of the show with the link provided earlier in this story!

Coast guard, local responders deal with sunken boat and fuel spill in Ganges Harbour

Emelie Peacock
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Coast guard, local responders deal with sunken boat and fuel spill in Ganges Harbour

Coast guard and local operators conducted a midday operation Friday to bring up a sunken sailboat and clean up fuel spilling from it near Powder Islet in Ganges Harbour. 

The effort took around two and a half hours to complete, said Nick Boychuk of Eagle Eye Marine Services, who worked with Island Marine Construction Services and the Canadian Coast Guard to bring the boat to the surface and mop up fuel.

Coast guard personnel put in an absorbent boom to absorb any petroleum products coming to the surface from the sunken boat. Island Marine then brought a crane and barge to lift the vessel, which had its keel dug into the mud at the ocean floor in about nine metres (30 feet ) underwater. 

No one was onboard when the vessel sunk, said Boychuk. The owner had checked on the boat a few days prior but was unaware of why it would have sunk. The boat is now floating, Boychuk said, and the owner is going to stay on it overnight to monitor it. 

Eagle Eye Marine lifts around five boats a month, Boychuk said, so what happened today is a common occurrence. 

“Luckily it was reported right away,” Boychuck said, reminding people if they see boats sinking to report them to the coast guard and not only post on social media as has happened in the past. The coast guard will assess whether there are hydrocarbons on board and if so, begin the response effort right away. 

Call the coast guard at 1-800-880-8852 to report marine pollution. 

Loud bang Awakens Galiano Islanders at Epicentre of Friday Earthquake

Emelie Peacock
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Loud bang Awakens Galiano Islanders at Epicentre of Friday Earthquake

One loud bang and then nothing. That’s how Wade Chernoff describes the early morning earthquake that woke up Gulf Islanders and was felt as far away as the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. 

No damage or injuries have been reported from the 3.6 magnitude earthquake that took place around 4:13 a.m. Friday morning. The US Geological Survey (USGS) logged the epicentre of the earthquake 12 kilometres east northeast of Ganges at a depth of 17.3 kilometres. 

“I joked when it hit that ‘Wow, we must be in the epicentre or something.’ It was just a big bang,” Chernoff said. “It was just quite an impact . . . just like one sharp explosion almost.”

A USGS map shows the epicentre near Ellis Road on Galiano Island, very near Chernoff’s home on that road. A few years ago, Chernoff found out he lives very close to a fault line that runs from Georgeson Bay in Active Pass across the island to just behind his home and near the golf course. Perhaps the quake happened along this fault line, he said. 

Chernoff was dead asleep at the time, and the bang woke both he and his wife Jing Wang. Their cat Weeba was also up and acting strangely.

“Normally he’d be sleeping heavily but no, he was up and just kept staring in silence just wondering what happened.”

Right away Wang knew it had been an earthquake, while Chernoff thought it might have been a tree hitting their house and went outside to check. Both had experienced earthquakes before with shaking and rattling, yet this one was only a bang not followed by any aftershocks. 

Rachelle Hayden was one of the few people awake before the earthquake, owing to her job at the Sturdies Bay Bakery.

“I was actually making myself a coffee and I heard rumbling and it sounded like it was coming my way,” she said, describing the sound as a loud one which “literally sounded like the earth was moving.” 

“I’ve never experienced an earthquake before, so I really had no idea what was going on . . . and then the house started shaking, and so that’s when I clued in,” Hayden said.

Her home on Gulf Drive was rattling, rather than swaying, and she could feel the earthquake shaking the ground. 

“At that moment I felt like, ‘Wow, this is Mother Nature.’ And anything can happen and I couldn’t control it,” Hayden said.

The shaking lasted less than 30 seconds, during which time Hayden said she froze. She didn’t have time to think of her emergency plan or of positioning herself in a safer spot in the house. 

Hayden has since spoken to many people at the bakery, the “epicentre for coffee” on Galiano, she said, an apt joke after the morning’s excitement. Some customers told her they slept through the earthquake while others described rattling waking them up. People’s pets also had a diversity of experiences, with some people’s dogs barking like crazy and others’ cats sleeping right through it. 

Many who posted online about the earthquake confirm they experienced a loud bang, around 4:13 a.m., with some reporting hearing rumbling before the bang. Others reported their homes shaking and windows rattling. A total of 783 people have so far reported to the USGS that they felt the quake, with responses from as far away as Sooke, Sechelt and Aldergrove. 

Gulf Islands the epicentre of Early Morning Earthquake

Driftwood Staff
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Gulf Islands the epicentre of Early Morning Earthquake

A 3.6 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Gulf Islands early Friday morning.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicentre was located 12 kilometres east northeast of Ganges at a depth of 17.3 kilometres, which is indicated on an Alertable BC map as being near Morning Beach on Galiano Island.

A number of people have reported on social media that they felt the quake, which occurred at 4:13 a.m.

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