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Ratepayers call for fire board transparency

Elizabeth Nolan
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Ratepayers call for fire board transparency

The departure of former chair Ron Lindstrom, trustee Jo MacDonald and chief administrative officer Laurie Taylor from the Salt Spring Fire Protection District over the past month inspired an increase in public attendance at the board’s Sept. 21 business meeting, where several ratepayers called for more transparency and better attention to governance procedures.

Surprise news that Lindstrom and MacDonald had left and that former CAO Laurie Taylor would serve the final two months of her contract on paid leave did not sit well with those who have long questioned the board’s practices, or with some who have more recently become involved.

One participant at the town hall session, who was identified as having a family connection to Lindstrom and also as being a district ratepayer, requested the board undertake an external review to make sure trustee roles are understood properly.

“I’m asking for a review of the board to ensure we have a board that has the proper governance structure, that’s not involving itself inappropriately with operations but that is clearly providing strategic directions to firefighters,” said Erin Price. “I‘d like to see a level of reflection around the number of resignations and the broad scale, the broad spread of resignations. That to me is a red flag. As a taxpayer, that tells me there is serious dysfunction going on at the board level.”

Julia Lucich, a frequent critic of the fire board in the past, noted the board did not appear to have followed procedures around public notification for the special meetings that were called to deal with the resignations and the aftermath.

Past trustee Mark Lucich said part of the problem is the form of governance, and suggested now might be the time to investigate whether another body could take over responsibility. He also found problems with the board’s current campaign to build a new fire hall, which he said is unfolding in much the same way as past failed projects.

“As far as building a new fire hall in the district, I think you need to consider the governance issue as part of potentially the problem, and the solution could be taking a look at what could happen if the CRD [Capital Regional District] takes over the fire district,” Mark Lucich said. “They have the ability to get grants and other forms of funding that this form of government can’t get.”

Lucich added he felt trustees are asked to spend an unreasonable amount of time and don’t usually have the expertise required to do things like plan a new fire hall.

“I think what you’re seeing in resignations is the frustration that happens and it seems to be fairly periodic — it’s not an unusual thing to happen in this board, there’s a lot of stresses that go on,” Lucich said.

Per Svendsen, who has agreed to stand as interim board chair until the district can elect a full board, said the return of past CAO Andrew Peat will bring some stability until the district can find a suitable candidate to replace him.

“We’ve all been under a lot of stress — myself, trustees, fire department employees — due to the COVID circumstances,” Svendsen said. “The world is slightly changed from what we knew six months ago, and along with that we’ve coped with a few issues . . . so we ask that you bear with us. We’re a dedicated group of trustees, we are professionals and we’re talented, and we each have our own areas of expertise. We’ve had some hiccups in the road, and now we’re moving forward.”

Lindstrom and MacDonald’s letters of resignation were made public on Sept. 25 and can be found here.

For more on this story see the Sept. 30 Driftwood newspaper.

Calligraphy and poetry collaboration on exhibit

Driftwood Staff
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Calligraphy and poetry collaboration on exhibit

Salt Spring calligraphers and local poets have teamed up to create an exhibit at the library’s program room through October.

Salt Spring Poems in Calligraphy is a celebration for environmental awareness and the appreciation of nature that came about when the library’s exhibit coordinator Maureen Milburn approached Salt Spring Calligraphy Group member Delaine Faulkner last fall about mounting a group show with some island poets. The event was to be a fundraiser for the Salt Spring Public Library’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

According to press material, the poets each submitted suitable works for the exhibit and, together with the calligraphers, selected poems based on the themes of environmental awareness and the appreciation of nature. Excerpts from individual poems, or poems in their entirety, are beautifully rendered by the calligraphers and prepared for display in the library’s program room.

The calligraphy artwork will be for sale and all proceeds will be donated to the library.

Participating poets are Lorraine Gane, Diana Hayes, Peter Levitt, Rowan Percy and Murray Reiss. The calligraphers are Faulkner, Solveig Brickenden, Judy Nurse and Ida Marie Threadkell.

The exhibit can be seen in the program room on Mondays through Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Community leads campaign to support Daniel Lantz’s family

Elizabeth Nolan
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Community leads campaign to support Daniel Lantz’s family

Salt Spring Islanders are mourning another community loss following the untimely death of Daniel Lantz last week.

Lantz, who would have turned 40 in February, was reported to have died suddenly on Sept. 21. Emergency services including Salt Spring Fire Rescue were called to a north-end property on Monday afternoon. Friends have confirmed that Lantz died in an accident doing tree-falling work that day. The BC Coroner’s Service is investigating to determine the cause of death and any contributing factors.

Lantz leaves behind his wife Aki, eight-year-old daughter Sora and six-year-old son Tida. Kristine Poetker, whose children go to the same school, has opened a GoFundMe campaign with a $50,000 fundraising goal to help support the family.

“They’re a very close family. They stayed close to home a lot and were really supportive and loving and spent a lot of time together. They’re a really heart-centred family with a lot of love for each other and their community,” Poetker said.

Poetker said Lantz had lots of friends and loved to play music. He played drums and jammed weekly with a group of close friends. She added the whole family loves nature and trees and are very connected with the outdoors.

“Daniel was always a shining light, always smiling. He loved to celebrate life every day,” Poetker said.

Aki is originally form Japan and her family is all located there, but she is receiving support from Daniel’s mother Linda, who lives on Vancouver Island and is staying with the family on Salt Spring for now. Daniel’s brother Raymond has also come to B.C. and is making daily visits. The island’s strong Japanese community is lending their support as well.

As Poetker explained, Lantz was the primary earner for the family through his work as an arborist and a tree-faller. His wife was primarily responsible for caring for the children and the home, so the loss will have an ongoing financial impact, as well as being emotionally devastating.

Islander Bryan Young also knows the family and has asked friends to please contribute to the fund if they can.

“Daniel was such a lovely soul,” Young said. “There is a word in Japanese — ‘genki’ — that doesn’t have an apt translation. It means ‘peppy,’ ‘full of bright spirit,’ or ‘positive’ and that was Daniel. He was also the husband to our land when we first bought it, bringing our old fruit trees back to life beautifully.”

A celebration of life for Lantz was held outside the family’s home on Sunday.

Donations can be made at gofundme.com.

Backyard burn ban lifted

Driftwood Staff
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Backyard burn ban lifted

Backyard burning with the appropriate permit is allowed on Salt Spring Island as of noon today, Sept. 25. 

Although recent rainfall has reduced the wildfire risk in the region, Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue asks islanders to “conduct open burning responsibly to reduce the likelihood of starting a wildfire.”

Machine piles are not permitted at this time.

For more information, people can contact Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue at 250-537-2531 or visit www.saltspringfire.com.

Campfire or backyard burning permits are acquired by completing the fire-permit application on the SSIFR website.

Funds needed to complete Larmour land purchase

Gail Sjuberg
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Funds needed to complete Larmour land purchase

An urgent campaign to purchase property owned by one of Salt Spring’s early environmentalists before his death in 2016 is underway.

A group of neighbours to property located between Beddis and Sky Valley roads owned by Mike Larmour’s estate have been working behind the scenes for about a year on the purchase of two 20-acre lots. The Salt Spring Island Water Preservation Society has recently agreed to be the title holder and issue charitable tax receipts for all donations of $20 or more.

SSIWPS president Maxine Leichter said her group was pleased to step up and take on that crucial role.

“It’s just a fabulous opportunity to acquire a beautiful property to help us protect the Cusheon Lake watershed,” she said, adding, “We fear if we don’t buy it it will be logged like the other parcel [on Beddis Road], which would be bad for the watershed.”

Having the SSIWPS own the lands is especially poignant because Larmour was one of the people who spearheaded the society’s creation in 1982.

“It’s so fitting to be buying the property that Mike owned because he was a founder of the society and a big supporter,” said Leichter.

Rodney Polden, a neighbour who is actively involved in the land purchase effort, said Larmour had hoped to protect the wetland areas on his property through a covenant or some other means but did not have the opportunity to do so prior to his death.

“It is a remarkable property,” said Polden. “It contains so many ecosystems . . . and microbiomes. There are some species on this property I have never seen anywhere else on Salt Spring.”

While the property has some “magnificent” trees, the biodiversity supported by all of the land’s values is what makes it so significant, he said.

With two adjacent properties owned by Polden and his neighbour both protected by an Islands Trust Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program covenant, if the Larmour lots are purchased it will result in a substantial contiguous area of land protection.

“The larger and more protected the areas are the better,” said Polden, as it gives vulnerable species more room to move, thrive and nest.

Gathering of pledges for the Larmour lands campaign is going well, said Polden, but more funds are needed to complete an imminent purchase of the first lot, known as Lot H, as well as the second “Lot F” parcel, which also contains some agricultural land. The estimated total required for both lots is between $1.2 and $1.5 million. 

The SSIWPS has set up a dedicated email address — ssiwps2020appeal@gmail.com — to take etransfers and handle inquiries about donating and the property purchase. Polden is also available to answer any questions people may have. He can be reached at penrod@saltspring.com or 250-537-5082.

Cheques can also be mailed to the SSIWPS at Ganges PO Box 555, Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 2W3.

Funds will be returned to donors if the lot purchases do not occur.

The neighbours and SSIWPS have appreciated support provided by the Salt Spring Island Conservancy and the Islands Trust Conservancy to date, although neither organization currently has the capacity to accept a land ownership role. The SSIWPS has experience in holding and managing lands as the longtime owner of 272 acres of watershed lands in Channel Ridge.

All photos by Rodney Polden.

Sharp-shinned hawk seen on the Larmour lands.

Wetland area of Lot H of the Larmour lands.
Fir and cedar trees on Lot H of the Larmour lands.
Red squirrel on the Larmour lands.

 

California silk moth from Larmour lands area.
Larmour lands Lot H.

SD64 reconfiguration possibilities laid out

Elizabeth Nolan
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SD64 reconfiguration possibilities laid out

The Gulf Islands School District’s senior administrators have provided more information on how schools could be reconfigured across the district and what that would do for balancing the operations budget.

School District 64 is currently in funding protection with the Ministry of Education but must find the savings to eliminate a budget shortfall of $1.1 million or more as required by the Schools Act. District superintendent Scott Benwell and secretary treasurer Jesse Guy presented five potential scenarios to achieve that by shifting how schools are arranged in terms of grades and island constituents during a special committee of the whole meeting on Thursday evening.

“We recognize the emotion, energy and anxiety for some as we move through this process together — and in fact it’s no different for us,” Benwell said in opening the presentation.

Scenarios included in the modelling are the status quo, and the configuration model staff were directed to study more deeply in June that would involve closing Salt Spring Middle School and having students on the other Southern Gulf Islands attend grades 8 and 9 on Pender. Three other potential scenarios were also provided and show how variables such as unique geographic funding would be impacted.

School districts that are unable to submit a balanced budget face the prospect of being replaced by a ministry-appointed trustee.

“We don’t want to lose our autonomy. We don’t want our future determined by outside forces,” Benwell observed.

Guy said the district has implemented cost-cutting measures that will make up for some of the shortfall. Challenges in addition to the funding model are the district’s geography, a high number of facilities compared to students and a trend in declining enrollment that’s expected to continue based on island demographics for pre-school aged children.

Resident student enrollment in SD64 peaked at approximately 1,840 students in 1994-95 when the current configuration was established. The district currently has around 1,450 resident students, but the number could dip as low as 1,220 by 2025-26.

Guy noted the district is trying to better rationalize equity of spending and equity of services for all schools and islands. At the moment, water taxi costs mean a much higher portion of the deficit stems from the outer islands: $2,060 per SGI student compared to $670 for Salt Spring.

Variables that could produce savings include a potential $450,000 per year to be gained from closing Salt Spring Middle School. Consolidating bus routes so that one Salt Spring route is eliminated would potentially save $45,000, while eliminating all school bus service across the district would save $675,000.

In order to keep the status quo school configuration, district staff suggest they would need to end all school bus service, find $250,000 from school budgets, cut $75,000 in student boarding subsidies and find $160,000 in other district savings.

At the opposite end in the range of possibilities is a scenario that imagines moving Galiano, Mayne, Saturna and Pender schools to a K-12 model, with no change to configuration on Salt Spring. This model would mean a unique geographic grant of $1,020,000 due to all students attending their neighbourhood schools (and where those schools are located), as well as more than $1 million saved by not having water taxi costs. Though the scenario is far-fetched, staff said the $1.045-million surplus produced could go toward providing more programs on the Southern Gulf Islands.

The scenario singled out for greater study in June still includes cuts to school and district budgets, as well as the SIMS closure and one bus route cut. It would bring in an extra $230,000 in unique geographic funding and allow for an annual surplus of $35,000.

The initial release of the scope of opportunity document outlining this scenario produced considerable concern for families who don’t live on Salt Spring. District Parent Advisory Committee rep Jonathan Lane forwarded a number of concerns from parents to the session, but Lane said he had a list of 50 people who had questions for him to pass on. Lane noted his high school-aged son has been able to take part in things like robotics and band. If the Southern Gulf Islands students are sent to Pender for grades 8 and 9 instead of Gulf Islands Secondary School on Salt Spring, he doesn’t think his daughter now at Mayne Island Elementary School will have those same opportunities, and many other parents feel the same way.

An action line in the scope of opportunity directing staff to look into special programs likewise rang alarm bells for many as French Immersion, the Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts and other programs suddenly seemed to be at risk.

District staff said the modelling does not project cutting programs and they are in fact optimistic these can be maintained. As for French Immersion, Guy suggested that under the Pender hub scenario, more students from across the district might be able to attend instead of mainly Salt Spring kids since there would be more room on the water taxi. The program could perhaps offer selection by a lottery system.

An opportunity offered by opening a second regional high school on Pender would be the chance to focus on an attractive speciality, for example the sciences, Guy suggested.

Individual questions from the general public were not heard at Thursday’s session. Parents and other community members are encouraged to use the Feedback form on the sd64.bc.ca website. All feedback will be included in the board’s next meeting agenda.

Thursday’s Zoom meeting was recorded and a full transcript will be available within two weeks on the meeting date. The most recent reports with modelling and other data are available now on the website.

The school board will discuss input received at their next committee of the whole meeting in October and are expected to vote on a configuration decision at their November board meeting.

Poultry club hosts big show

Contributed Article
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Poultry club hosts big show

By JULIE NOWELL

SPECIAL TO THE DRIFTWOOD

Salt Spring Island Poultry Club brought their A game this weekend at their first American Poultry Association event at the Farmers’ Institute.

On what would have been the Salt Spring Fall Fair weekend, guests and exhibitors were instead treated to a beautiful display of heritage poultry.

Saturday’s event saw 39 individuals entering 135 birds, including turkeys, geese and chickens, as well as a well-appointed raffle table filled with donated items from the community, and all required COVID-19 safety measures in place.

The show champion award was a Rhode Island Red pullet entered by Ted Baker. These are a grouping of birds Baker has been working on since attending a show in the Fraser Valley last winter, and it was a real win for our island that he took top spot. Our reserve champion was a black and white Magpie duck entered by Matt Smith of Saanich Poultry Club.

Junior champion went to Izzy Nowell with her bantam Rhode Island Red pullet. Almost half of the show entries came from Salt Spring juniors and it was amazing to see a junior entered bird in competition for show champion.

As well, with off-island entries and poultry being highly competitive, we wanted to make sure an on-island bird took home a grand champion win. Baker picked up the Salt Spring champion award with his Rhode Island Red pullet. Baker walked away the big winner of the day, with Nowell following close behind.

True to form, we brought forward our favourite fall fair prize of “Best Pet” as well as adding in a new category of “Best Hair.” Best Pet went to Bryn Pyper for her Silkie x Sultan, and Best Hair was awarded to Caitlin McDermot and her Silkie Cross. 

The Salt Spring Poultry Club offered the show as a fun event for the poultry enthusiasts to show off their hard work. The club has grown to over 200 members and is actively working to increase the sustainability and quality of poultry on the island. 

All winners and sponsors are posted here:

 

 

Valdy kicks off ArtSpring season

Contributed Article
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Valdy kicks off ArtSpring season

SUBMITTED BY ARTSPRING

He’s created 16 albums, 22 singles, four gold records and has nearly half a million recordings sold worldwide. He’s won two Juno awards and had seven Juno nominations. He’s earned An Order of Canada, for heaven’s sake!                                                                                

And who, exactly, might we be speaking of here? Salt Spring’s very own Valdy, of course.

Consider the reviews: “Few performers are capable of achieving the kind of energy he generates on stage.” — Globe and Mail.

“…unquestionably the most public performer in Canada today, and the most loved.” — Macleans.

“Valdy elicited a genuinely warm standing ovation, the real kind, where the applause continues long after the encore is assured.” — Winnipeg Free Press.

How fitting it is that our very own Valdy should be opening the new ArtSpring season on Oct. 2, 3 and 4. The last time this Canadian folk legend played the ArtSpring stage was in 2014, so we’re all really ready for another shot of his gracious and magnetic charm. Being such a key part of the island community makes him the perfect fit to launch the 2020-21 season.

Keep in mind that there are only 50 seats available for each performance, making this an unusually intimate experience. Also, please remember that the performance will be one hour long, with no intermission and no concession sales, in order to keep our patrons as safe as possible.

Rock on, Valdy, we’re really looking forward to another great show.

The Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m. while the Oct. 4 show is a 2:30 p.m. matinee.

Viewpoint: Public invited to fire budget meeting

Contributed Article
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Viewpoint: Public invited to fire budget meeting

By STAN SHAPIRO

As it has done for the last number of years, the Salt Spring Island Fire Protection District board will again present its proposed 2021 taxpayer requisition to the community.

It will be done at a budget town hall being held “COVID style” on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. in the Farmers’ Institute. Particular attention will be called to the reasons behind the proposed increase in the budget. Interested Islanders will then be provided with the opportunity to comment on the budget. This type of community feedback has in past years resulted in a number of significant changes being made in the draft budget before it was finalized.

A number of “cost of living” increases are reflected in the proposed $4-million budget. However, the major difference between the current budget and next year’s is a $250,000 allocation for repairs to the Ganges Fire Hall. Although that hall will, subject to taxpayer approval, be replaced in the not-too-distant future, some repairs cannot wait. WorkPlaceBC has ruled that the current building has for too long been an unsafe environment requiring immediate corrective action.

Also, a widely representative community committee has recently recommended that, once the fire hall moves, the vacated building should be repurposed for community use.

The fire board would be happy to see this happen as long as it receives fair market value for the property. The amount received would then be used to reduce the cost to taxpayers for the new building. 

The draft 2021 budget will be available as of Sept. 24 for public review on the fire board website (www.saltspringfire.com).

The Oct. 4 open house is being held as a face-masked event at the Farmers’ Institute in the main hall, a location that allows for social distancing.

Due to COVID-19 limitations, those attending should preregister by Thursday, Oct. 1, either by email, admin@saltspringfire.com, or by calling 250-537-2531. Attendees will be asked to provide their contact information and sign in at the door. 

The open house will also be offered by Zoom with the link posted on the fire board’s website (www.saltspringfire.com) the week of Sept 28. Zoom attendees should email their questions to admin@saltspringfire.com by Thursday, Oct. 1, so they can be answered at the open house, Should you need any additional information, please contact the fire department office at 250-537-2531.

The writer is a member of the Salt Spring fire board’s communications committee.

Editorial: Learning curve

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Learning curve

The Gulf Islands School District’s present funding crisis is a new iteration of a near constant theme heard over two decades.

Changing demographics and declining enrollment on one hand have met with increasing costs and unchanged geographical challenges on the other, with transportation at the intersection. A study of similar-sized school districts in British Columbia shows the Gulf Islands outspends all but one on student transportation and housing. These costs can’t be reduced much unless some radical changes are made.

Getting rid of the free school bus service that most islands currently enjoy is one option, though not enough to overcome a $1.1-million annual shortfall. Changing the configuration of schools so that students stay longer in their neighbourhood facilities is another.

The district’s legislated need to produce a balanced budget has often seemed at odds with its goal of providing excellent education for all of its students equally. That is more pronounced than ever in the potential plan for configuration the board and administration singled out as deserving more exploration over the summer months.

This path would change all elementary schools to cover grades K-7, and eliminate the middle school. But while Salt Spring students would carry on to Gulf Islands Secondary School after that, students living on Saturna, Mayne, Pender and Galiano islands would spend grades 8 and 9 on Pender. Those students could then choose to go to GISS or continue on through Grade 12 and graduate out of a new Pender secondary program.

Outer island parents who already feel their kids are missing out by having limited access to Salt Spring’s middle school are guessing there will be even more social and educational drawbacks to delaying the move to a bigger school community until Grade 10. And although the board and staff have said the savings produced could make sure innovative and fun programs are available at both high schools, the ability to double all the sports teams, band and theatre programs and extra-curriculars is indeed questionable.

All options are still open. Deciding how to measure “equity” and applying it in a way that makes sense to families is the epic task the school board must now undertake.

Community members can help them by submitting the feedback form at sd64.bc.ca.

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