Home Blog Page 281

Local COVID cases at 24 in one week

Driftwood Staff
-
3
Local COVID cases at 24 in one week

The Gulf Islands have recorded their highest number of COVID-19 cases in a one-week period since the beginning of the pandemic.

From Oct. 10-16, 24 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by the BC Centre for Disease Control.

As the average daily case rate of new cases per 100,000 population sets Salt Spring’s rate at 20 (or approximately two new cases per day based on a 10,000 population) and the other Gulf Islands at zero between Oct. 12 and 18, all of the 24 cases can be assumed to be on Salt Spring Island.

As well, Island Health has extended the dates of an exposure notice at Fulford Elementary School to include Oct. 5, 12 and 13 from the originally posted Oct. 4, 6 and 7.

Click on the chart above to see the number of cases and trend for the southern Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands region for the past four weeks.

Island set for Fabric Frenzy Sale this weekend

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Island set for Fabric Frenzy Sale this weekend

Salt Spring Island has been without a dedicated fabric arts store for several years now, but thanks to the island’s Rotary Club, this weekend’s Fabric Frenzy sale will help fill the gap.

Beginning on Friday, Oct. 22 from 4 to 7 p.m., the Farmers’ Institute hall will be open for shoppers to buy anything and everything related to sewing, quilting, knitting and fabric art passions of any kind at what Rotary describes as “insanely low prices.” The sale continues Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $2.

Patrons must provide proof of double vaccination and wear masks.

The Rotary club is extremely grateful to everyone who donated so many quality items: from sewing machines and sergers to patterns, craft kits and miles of fabric and yarns. All sale proceeds will benefit youth mental health programs on Salt Spring Island.

For more information, email ssirotaryfabrics@gmail.com.

Viewpoint: Housing crisis stories shared

Contributed Article
-
2
Viewpoint: Housing crisis stories shared

BY SALT SPRING SOLUTIONS

Earlier this summer a surprising controversy arose over whether or not it was appropriate for our local government to find solutions to the island’s workforce housing crisis.

The heated battles we witnessed over the Housing Action Program Task Force — a citizen committee with no decision-making power but whose recommendations are about to be submitted to the LTC next month — and the proposed inclusion of “healthy communities” as one of the three priorities of the Trust in the Trust Policy Statement showed us that our community has a lot to learn about how the workforce housing crisis is ravaging our community.

In July our organization asked Salt Springers to share stories of their struggles with housing, and whether they were considering leaving the island as a result of the crisis. The #GoodbyeSaltspring campaign was born. By the end of the summer, we had received an incredible 58 written stories.

According to the stories, many fully employed people are losing sleep, working multiple jobs without days off, living in shabby spaces with mold and uninsulated walls, with no access to hot water, and putting up with much much more, just to keep a roof over their heads. At least three stories came from health-care workers — directly connected to the Gulf Islands’ only hospital — on how the crisis was hurting their ability to keep staff and services operating.

According to the BC Non-profit Housing Association, over half of Salt Spring’s population spends more than 50 per cent of their income on shelter costs. Some stories reported people spending over 70 per cent of their income.

Although the impacts of a lack of workforce housing are many, one symptom perhaps visible to everyone by now has been the increase in local businesses curtailing their hours of operation due to staff shortages. It’s not just from the pandemic.

Excerpts and photos from these stories have been posted in a quilt-like display on a window generously provided by the Salt Spring Coffee cafe in Ganges, for the public to engage with. Included in the display are quotes from interviews conducted for the articles published in the Finding Home column in the Driftwood. The display will be moving to different locations around the island including Mouat’s Trading Co. and Rock Salt Restaurant & Café this fall and winter to reach as many people as possible.

The display includes a QR code to sign a housing petition asking local governments to remove their operating silos and work harder to solve the workforce housing crisis.

At the Global Climate Strike event held earlier this month, our coordinator Aina Yasué implored the community to stop thinking housing solutions for people will harm our ecosystems: “Almost every story submitted spoke about people’s love for our island’s natural environment and the need to protect it. Smart solutions will see us use less water, energy and resources than how we currently live and build. But we can’t lose sight of something else we depend on tremendously: people. Please don’t settle for simplistic ‘people vs environment’ or ‘environment over people’ responses to this pressing issue. Let’s lean into the complexity and do big things together as a community that make us a more sustainable and more just place to call home.”

Racers set for championship event at the Sailing Club

Contributed Article
-
0
Racers set for championship event at the Sailing Club

SUBMITTED BY THE SS SAILING CLUB

Salt Spring’s sailing club is hosting the Canadian Radio Yachting Association Pacific Region International One Metre (IOM) Championships this coming weekend off the club docks. 

Boats are one metre in length and radio controlled with two channels operating the sails and the rudder.

Around the world there are many clubs and international, national and regional regattas are held on a regular basis, with lots of international travel. Coming to us this weekend is Peter Grimm, who represented Canada in the 2019 world championship in Brazil. Also travelling to us will be two New Zealanders and we look forward to sailing with them as theirs is a true sailing nation. The event is capped at 20 boats and is fully subscribed.

Local sailors Mark Wallace, Gyle Keating and Martin Herbert will be joined by a talented big boat sailor, our secret weapon, whose identity we refuse to disclose at this time. We have been in training all summer but have not travelled far afield so we were encouraged in early September when Herbert won the wooden IOM nationals hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. While there, the boats graced the dining room of the club for a “show and shine” event and voting. Best in show went to David Cook of Victoria while two boats built by Herbert completed the podium.

Racing starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23 and the regatta chair hopes to complete 24 races by 3 p.m. on Sunday. 

This event is the last of our 2021 season but the locals keep an eye on the weather and try to get out once a week to race around the buoys. 

Unicorns Continue to Inspire on Salt Spring

Contributed Article
-
0
Unicorns Continue to Inspire on Salt Spring

By ROBIN JENKINSON

Three years ago last week, then Alberta Premier Rachel Notley famously singled out Salt Spring Island while debating environmental activist Tzeporah Berman, saying, “Here in Alberta we ride horses — not unicorns. And I invite pipeline opponents to saddle up on something that is real.”

Notley’s quote comparing Trans Mountain protesters to “dewy-eyed unicorn jockeys” was widely publicized.

In response, the local Transition Salt Spring group produced decals representing the Salt Spring Island Unicorn Riders Association and even held a unicorn-themed electric vehicle light parade.

Community activist David Denning penned a rejoinder in the Times Colonist, asking whether it wasn’t high time for all Canadians to “embrace the unicorn.” He pointed out that “It would be extremely foolish to ruin a perfectly wonderful planet with fossil-fuel emissions when we already have all the technologies and can quickly create the opportunities to power it 100 per cent with electricity and renewable energy . . .EVs are totally real.”

Transition Salt Spring observes that unicorns represent magic and enchantment and bless virtuous people with wisdom and miracles.

“Without unicorns, it’s hard to imagine a better future,” said Transition Salt Spring chair Bryan Young. “And riding one isn’t so different from riding a horse, so folks will likely adjust easily.”

Perhaps we can all stretch our imaginations a bit, inspired by this fantastical beast that rewards the pure-hearted seeker with wisdom, helps the gentle and kind to spread peace, heals the incurably wounded, and who is most likely to be encountered in wild, beautiful places, such as these Gulf Islands.

Transition SS helps islanders tap into winter rains

Contributed Article
-
0
Transition SS helps islanders tap into winter rains

BY ANDREA PALFRAMAN

Transition Salt Spring

It’s an October morning in Ganges Harbour. Crowded around the Rotary dinghy dock are assorted skiffs and rowboats, each filled with gallons upon gallons of rainwater. Looking at the collection, you can’t help but notice how prolifically these vessels collect rain when the season is right. 

While mariners may need to crack out their bailing buckets, this year it’s with relief that we tug on our rubber boots. We’re emerging from a drought season that was longer, hotter and more noticeably harmful to our salmon, cedar and ecosystems than any in recent memory. Squelching through soaked gardens, it’s easy to wonder, “if only we could time the rains to come when gardens need it most!” 

Thanks to the availability of rainwater catchment systems, it’s not only possible, it’s simple and affordable.

Islanders are catching on — big time. Recently, Transition Salt Spring piloted a Rainwater Harvesting Rebate program for homeowners looking to install rainwater catchment systems. Transition was overwhelmed with applications, and the program, which provides $250 to $500 towards the installation of cisterns, is now fully subscribed.

Shannon Cowan of the Salt Spring Island Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA) was one of those applicants. Ever since moving to her property five years ago, she’s wanted to connect her wide barn roof to a garden irrigation system.

Having put together the Non-Potable Rainwater Harvesting Best Practices Guide through her work with SSWIPA (available at https://tinyurl.com/ssiwpa-guide), Cowan started to envision her own system within the larger body of knowledge. The system she’s designed involves installing new gutters with leaf guards and downspouts, and two new tanks and pumps. This rain storage from the metal roof of her barn will be pumped uphill to her hybrid drip-fed/spray garden irrigation system. The whole system will be set up to be drawn upon during the dry times with water from her artesian well on tap for late spring when groundwater is still plentiful.

“I have been involved with water and watershed protection for eight years,” said Cowan. “It’s my humble opinion that if we consider rainwater catchment as the only source of fresh water on the island with which to treat our outdoor spaces — our lawns and gardens — we’d have enough water to spare to meet housing needs and ecological needs that we are currently falling short on.” 

The math is compelling. If Salt Spring Islanders were to install 1,000 new 3,000-gallon rainwater catchment systems, the island would keep 3,000,000 gallons from being drawn from St. Mary Lake. That’s about the equivalent of 43 Rainbow Road pools and could possibly allow housing and commercial constraints to ease. Currently, a moratorium on new water hook-ups is affecting affordable housing initiatives and holding up our community composting facility at The Root. 

“Even though the onus is on the homeowner who has the funds to do this, any amount of collection and storage helps. You can literally put in a system worth $500 and it will make a difference,” said Cowan.

Enter Chris Dixon. A former commercial tomato grower and passionate water conservation advocate, Dixon said, “I had the privilege of running Jane Squier’s commercial hydroponic greenhouse for a year back in the early 2000s. Because she runs a commercial hydroponic system, she is a master at water harvesting. I just looked at what she did and thought, this makes total sense. I went home and set myself up.” 

Dixon has no aspiration to store drinking water; what he catches he uses to water garden vegetables and irrigate shrubs and fruit on his half-acre plot. In his heyday, he grew 380 tomato plants commercially, along with 300 feet of blueberry bushes. At that time, he was gathering 20,000 gallons in two swimming pools in the Cedar Lane water district — where drawing groundwater for commercial irrigation is strictly prohibited.

“Now, we’re on the North Salt Spring Waterworks system, so, depending on the circumstances — and this year was particularly harsh — there are watering restrictions in the district. Anything a person on the shared system can do to store water and use it locally helps the entire community.” 

He bought a used above-ground swimming pool and modified it to hold roughly 8,000 gallons of water, which he collects off his roof through a downspout leading directly into a garbage can. In the can is a pump with a float switch. When the can is full, the pump comes on and empties the water into the swimming pool. A floating pool cover reduces evaporation and also keeps the mosquito population down. 

“There’s tonnes of water: the pool fills in two weeks once I’m into the season. I’m pretty close to having spent $500 on the entire system.”

That spend includes purchasing a second pump, available locally at a cost of between $100 and $150. 

“With a changing climate, it’s getting drier and drier every summer, and heavier downpours are running off the land faster in the winter,” explained Cowan. “With 2,000 wells on the island, watering our gardens out of that groundwater supply alone is unsustainable.”

The worst-case scenario? Wells could start drying up, forcing people to rely yet more heavily on water companies to truck in water. 

Cowan suggests that people “collect the rain, and use it where it is, instead of moving drinking water for non-potable purposes over long distances.”

Blessed with a bounty of rain — over 900 mm of it, give or take, each year — it’s heartening to see the community getting organized around this precious resource in response to a changing climate.

To learn more, come to the One Cool Island Climate Action Coach webinar called How to Install Your Rainwater Harvesting System on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. Registration is easy and free or by donation by going to Transition Salt Spring’s website referenced below or to https://form-can.keela.co/rainwater-webinar.  

While the Transition Salt Spring’s Rainwater Harvesting Rebate has been fully subscribed, there is a waitlist for those who would like to install an eligible system should the Capital Regional District provide additional funding for this program. It is unclear whether funding will be renewed at all, but to get on the waitlist go to https://form-can.keela.co/future-rainwater.

One Cool Island is a regular series produced by Transition Salt Spring on how we can all respond to the climate crisis–together. Andrea Palframan is a member of Transition Salt Spring, and volunteer communications contributor. To support our work and read the Salt Spring Island Climate Action Plan, go to https://transitionsaltspring.com.  

Firefighting recruits wanted for salt spring department

Contributed Article
-
0
Firefighting recruits wanted for salt spring department

By EMELIE PEACOCK

Driftwood Staff

Salt Spring’s fire department is on a recruitment drive for new members and tonight Hall 2 will be open to anyone interested in joining. 

The open hall will be at the Fulford Fire Hall (#2), 2470 Fulford-Ganges Rd., tonight (Oct. 19) at 7 p.m. The fire department is hoping to have six to 10 recruits join, with applications due by Oct. 29. It is also looking for people to join the department’s board of trustees with nomination papers due in this Friday. 

Being a firefighter is a constant learning process, said Acting Fire Chief Jamie Holmes, which is what makes the gig such an exciting one. He started as a new recruit on the island 25 years ago.  

“Products change that we use to put out the fires, buildings change, so that has to change your technique and how the fire behaves. Technology and vehicles are always changing, so that changes how you do an auto extrication . . . It’s always evolving,” he said. “And we cover so many different aspects: Rope rescue, water rescue, auto extrication, firefighting, medical.” 

The skills firefighters learn, from first aid to driving, are also very useful in other aspects of life, Holmes added. 

Recruits should be available every Tuesday evening for the first year of their training, which involves safety training, followed by breathing apparatus, hose work, ladders, salvage and more. Within around six months new recruits will be going to calls in support roles. 

Holmes is looking for six to 10 people join the 43 paid-on-call firefighters and 10 career members that make up the island’s fire service. The department is unique compared to others, Holmes noted, as it is situated on an island and has no mutual aid. 

“For Salt Spring, help is a long ways away if we need it,” Holmes said. “A lot of people say, ‘Why do you need so many members for Salt Spring and why do you need all the trucks and why do we have three hall?’ It’s all to do around that there’s no mutual aid, there’s nobody else coming to help, so we have to kind of deal with the situation ourselves and have the manpower and the resources to handle it locally.” 

Holmes referred people to the fire department’s website (https://saltspringfire.com/recruit/) for more information on becoming a recruit. 

The Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District is also actively looking for people to put their names forward as trustees on the department’s board. Nominations close at the end of the day on Friday, Oct. 22 and more information can be found at https://saltspringfire.com/notice-of-nomination-for-three-trustees/. 

The Gulf Islands Fire Rescue Cadet Camp is also running again next spring break, Holmes confirmed. The fire department has done recruiting in schools and will be interviewing candidates ahead of the spring camp.

Parents concerned about COVID-19 notification process

Contributed Article
-
0
Parents concerned about COVID-19 notification process

By MARCIA JANSEN

DRIFTWOOD CONTRIBUTOR

After learning about recent COVID-19 cases in the school system on Salt Spring Island, parents of school kids are concerned about the slow and sometimes absent notification process by Island Health.

Parents of children who were in close contact with a student with COVID-19 at Fulford Elementary School on Oct 4, 6 and 7 were notified by Island Health a few days after the infection was confirmed, and it took the agency until Oct. 13 to add it to a website list of potential exposures.

“When there is a COVID-19 case in a school, we don’t hear about it fast enough or we don’t hear anything at all,” explained Adria Kray, co-chair of the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), articulating the concerns of local parents. “It is important to know what’s happening with cases in schools so people can make informed decisions about how to keep their families as safe as possible.”

DPAC had an extra meeting last week with superintendent Scott Benwell to address the concerns of the parents and to talk about the safety of the children in school.

“I hear and share the frustration,” said Benwell. “We are trying to get the information out as quick as possible, but that’s all we can do, our hands are tied.”

Because of privacy guidelines, the schools are not allowed to share information school-wide about COVID-19 exposures with parents, he said. Only individuals at risk will be contacted.

Kray hopes that the notification process will change back to the way it was last year when a notice was sent home to families in the schools.

“We shouldn’t have to go to a website to see if there is a COVID case in our schools, or hear it from the rumour mill. We’re talking about public health, and Island Health should be more open about it.”

For more on this story, see the Oct. 20 issue of the Driftwood newspaper.

CRD implements employee vaccination policy

Driftwood Staff
-
0
CRD implements employee vaccination policy

The Capital Regional District is joining other governmental organizations in mandating that its employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Throughout the pandemic, the CRD has aligned its response to support the overall provincial pandemic response and has continued to deliver critical and essential services to the region, such as drinking water, waste management, social housing, regional parks, and emergency management,” said CRD chief administrative officer Bob Lapham in a press release on Wednesday. “The CRD has, and continues, to strongly encourage all of its staff to be vaccinated. While we are confident that the overall vast majority of staff are vaccinated, implementing a vaccination policy at this time is one additional measure to ensure our workplaces, our staff and our public are as safe as possible.”

The CRD has approximately 1,100 employees.

By Dec. 13, CRD employees and volunteers will be required to prove their vaccination status with their BC Vaccine Card to confirm they are fully vaccinated.

“The Dec. 13 timeline was chosen because it allows sufficient time for employees who have not yet received their first dose of vaccine to be fully vaccinated,” explained the CRD press release. “Refusing to comply with the proof of vaccination policy by Dec. 13 may lead to employment consequences which could include the cessation of employment.”

Accommodations will be made for the few employees who are unable to be vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons.

PARKS, Victor John Dr.

Driftwood Obituary
-
0
PARKS, Victor John Dr.

Dr. Victor John Parks
FULL OF LIFE AND LIVED A FULL LIFE
Dr. Victor John Parks, 79, of Elora, Ontario, passed away on August 23, 2021 at home, surrounded by his family.

Vic was born to parents Norman and Marjorie Parks on October 12, 1941 in Surrey, England. Vic is survived by his wife Uta his daughters Dr. Deanie Parks-Clements (Greg), Dr. Victoria O’Leary and his son Jason Parks (Lisa); grandchildren Murray and Lisa Clements, Thompson and Scarlett Parks and Craig Bishop; sister Barbara Zaccai (Ouzi); and nieces Shelly Zaccai (Darryl), Gail Zaccai Esh (Matt), and Jennifer Douglas (Jason).

Vic’s family immigrated to Canada in 1958, making Etobicoke home. Vic married his love Uta in 1963 before graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College with a doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1964. He began his veterinary career in Seaforth and later in Streetsville.

He was passionate about animal health and he soon left private practice to become one of the first industrial veterinarians in Canada. He felt he could contribute more to animal health through industry. He went on to complete his MBA at McMaster University. Vic held managerial positions at companies including Canada Packers, MTC Pharmaceuticals, and Ciba Geigy, with his career culminating in 1997 after joining Novartis Animal Health Canada. In 1998, Vic became President of Novartis Animal Health Canada. In 2004, he took his expertise to the US becoming the Head of Human Resources, Novartis Animal Health in Greensboro, North Carolina.

His passion about animal health and wellness and his belief in giving back to the veterinary profession, led him to spearhead donations to OVC from the animal health industry and the Parks family. In 2006, Vic retired from Novartis and he and Uta moved to their beloved mountainside property on Salt Spring Island, BC.

He loved agriculture and volunteered at 4H Calf Club and Pony Club events, as well as sitting on local fair boards. Vic had always been involved with horses – training steeplechase horses, raising foals, and encouraging his daughters with their riding. His interest in cattle genetics led to Tara registered Limousin cattle, a breeding operation at Tara Hall Farm. His love of cattle (and of course beef steaks – a good prime rib never went astray) led him to become president of the Ontario Limousin Association. Much to his chagrin, each monthly meeting started with a KFC feast and he had to learn to eat with his fingers (where’s the beef?) He enjoyed gardening, especially growing vegetables and fruit. Unfortunately, for Uta (the canning and freezing department) he was much too successful!

Vic was famous for his humorous “one liners” and loved a good party. He took top honors in the Limbo, taunting partygoers and family alike with “how low can you go”. He loved singing Harry Belafonte like the “Banana Boat Song’’ to his children and Johnny Cash “I Walk the Line” to his wife. He loved his family deeply. He was involved in their hobbies and activities including numerous horse and cattle shows, dance recitals, band concerts, soccer games, and skiing. He was always available to help or to counsel his children and grandchildren.

His love of chess, bridge and all things financial kept him vibrant throughout his years. There wasn’t a problem he could not solve. He never took NO for an answer. His determination drove him to give his best at everything. If it made sense to Vic, he would wholeheartedly embrace it with courage, intelligence and passion.

The family gratefully thanks Dr. Brault, Dr. Gower, and the kind and caring staff at Mapleton unit, Riverside Glen in Guelph.

Vic lived a full life and is deeply missed. In his memory he would like donations to be made to the Dr. Victor Parks Memorial Fund, Groves Memorial Community Hospital (gmch.ca) in Fergus, Ontario.

1...280281282...609Page 281 of 609