Home Blog Page 383

Theatre Alive turns to stage events

Elizabeth Nolan
-
0
Theatre Alive turns to stage events

An important island arts and literary society is set to have a vital new role on Salt Spring, with the relaunch of Theatre Alive in the new year as a staged reading theatre series.

Helmed by actor/writer/director Chris Humphreys, Theatre Alive will enjoy a monthly run at Mahon Hall from January to June, beginning with The Importance of Earnest on Wednesday, Jan. 1. Humphreys directs Oscar Wilde’s comedy classic, with Adina Hildebrandt as Lady Bracknell. Young actors Izak Donnelly, Jo Gaffney, Chloe Haigh and Peter Hoskins will take the roles as the two main couples.

Theatre Alive was set up by Diana Hayes and Brian Brett in the 1990s to host literary events and author readings. The infamous Erotic Festival was a fundraiser for the series. Humphreys happened to be having dinner with Hayes and Brett recently when the topic came up. He’d already been thinking about doing more staged reading events after producing and acting in Art by Yasmina Reza for the Salt Spring Arts Council’s Easter Art Show program in 2018.

With Brett having left the island for health reasons and Hayes ready to retire her role, the time was ripe for a new iteration.

“For me it’s a way of bringing really great theatre to Salt Spring, and I’m quite excited about it,” Humphreys said.

“I really like staged readings,” he added. “It’s a way of accessing great plays without all the bells and whistles. You don’t need a ton of rehearsal — but I do insist on rehearsal. You can tackle big things because you’re not going to need big sets, you don’t need much costuming. And the feedback from the audience after Art and elsewhere that I’ve done it is they forget you’re even holding a script, which is great.”   

Some of the script rights are still being negotiated, but Humphreys has most of the 2020 season mapped out. It will include a mix of material from comedy to drama and perhaps even some tragedy, and also vary in cast size from the two-hander to the large ensemble.

“I want to try to reflect the diversity of the island,” he said. “One of the plays I’ll do this year will be a gay-themed play, hopefully Boys in the Band. I want to make [the series] as broad as possible and bring in a lot of theatre people from the community.”

Readings will include Red, which is about Mark Rothko and will star Jan Rabson and his son Hayden, to be presented during the Easter Art Show. God of Carnage, another play by Reza, is about two sets of parents who meet after one set’s child has hurt the other at a public park. Escaped Alone is a play for four older women by acclaimed playwright Caryl Churchill. Humphreys will close the season in June with a modern farce written by himself called Touching Wood. (Plays will not be occurring on the same day of the month each time, so people should check the schedule as it becomes available.)

Tickets can be purchased to shows individually, but Humphreys is also looking for subscribers to support the program. It will be possible to purchase the entire series at the first show on Jan. 1, which will mean six performances for the price of five.

The Importance of Being Earnest starts at 7 p.m.

For advance subscription purchase or more information, contact theatrealive2020@gmail.com.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 18, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Radio input requested

Elizabeth Nolan
-
0
Radio input requested

Community radio advocates are calling for local support for their project to return local programming to the airwaves at 107.9 FM.

The Gulf Islands Community Radio Society has reached an important step in its quest, with a call from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission asking for public comments regarding the “market capacity and appropriateness” of having radio serve Salt Spring Island. Radio society president Damian Inwood said that if the CRTC decides the idea is viable, the federal agency will then open the opportunity to submit licensing applications.

“What we would like to happen now, is that anyone interested in having a radio station for the Gulf Islands to respond saying it’s a good thing for us to have,” Inwood said.

“There are lots of reasons we think it’s a good thing,” he continued. “There will be local voices talking about news and events that actually matter to us rather than being about Vancouver and Victoria all the time.”

Promotion of local musicians and organizations is another benefit of having a local station. Inwood further pointed out that radio broadcasting would have been helpful during last December’s major windstorm to inform people about what was happening and where they could access services.

Salt Spring’s former radio station CFSI broadcast on 107.9 FM from 2009 to 2015, when the CRTC revoked its licence due to noncompliance with Canadian broadcasting rules. Though the radio station was a commercial venture, it involved many volunteer hosts from the community, and some of those have kept up their programming with the Gulf Islands Community Radio Society though online streaming at www.islandsradio.ca.

An agreement to use the two radio towers previously used by CFSI is already in place. Inwood said the community station would also like to use the former station’s radio frequency. Whether the CRTC opens the call for licensing applications, however, depends on the current step.

The online comment form is available here. Commenters will need to accept the terms by clicking in the tiny box at the bottom of the page, which then opens to the form with options either to comment, register opposition or register support. 

The radio society will have 15 days after the Jan. 15 commenting deadline to respond to any opposing submissions. For more information, see the Gulf Islands Community Radio Society page on Facebook.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 18, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Interpretive panels installed

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Interpretive panels installed

Thanks to a grant from Heritage BC, Island Pathways has just completed a project to install three interpretive panels along the Ganges Village Pathway Network.

Island Pathways collaborated with the Salt Spring Island Historical Society, Japanese Garden Society, the Farmers’ Institute and the local Anglican Parish on the content and design of the panels that illuminate aspects of Salt Spring’s human history. The Partners Creating Pathways Committee designed the podiums to hold the panels and installed them in the ground.

As a press release from Island Pathways explains, the Historical Society and Japanese Garden Society worked together on a panel about Okano Creek that is located on Atkins Road. A panel about the history of the Bittancourt Museum building at the Farmers’ Institute is located on Rainbow Road, and the third panel will be installed by St. Mark’s Cemetery when the pathway is completed on Lower Ganges Road.

Okano Creek is featured on one panel because the creek made it possible for First Nations people to save hours not having to paddle around the north end of the island. The creek route took them from Booth Canal directly to Ganges Harbour, a prime location for digging clams and fishing. The fertile soil of the Sharp Road area along Okano Creek and the temperate climate were also perfect for Japanese-Canadian farmers to set up huge greenhouses and farm field crops.

The Bittancourt Museum building panel on Rainbow Road relates to the island’s agricultural heritage and the museum that tells that story.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 18, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Viewpoint: Housing solutions exist

Contributed Article
-
0
Viewpoint: Housing solutions exist

By LAURA PATRICK

When I ran for Islands Trust in 2018, I said I would work to find solutions for the housing crisis. We risk losing organizations and businesses that are integral to our island life because their workers are struggling to find secure housing. 

I said that we should make immediate amendments to the land use bylaw to remove unacceptable encumbrances to farmworker housing, secondary suites and cottages.  Unfortunately, because of amendments to the Agriculture Land Commission, solutions to farmworker housing are now more difficult.

I said we should direct staff to review the many reports, surveys and studies already completed that identify affordable housing innovation and best practices. This is an important part of the OCP update project that is underway.

I also said we should hold community forums to better understand housing needs, but I have heard loud and clear that we already know enough about this topic, and to just get to work.

Finally, I said we should strongly advocate to senior levels of government for a unique housing strategy with dedicated funding.  While we may not have succeeded yet, I can assure you that your three island elected officials, Peter Grove, Gary Holman and myself, along with our MLA Adam Olsen, have advocated to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and BC Housing for solutions and funding. 

You also might not be aware of the recent 11th-hour funding crises for both the Croftonbrook and Salt Spring Commons projects. Resolutions to these crises came about through the hard work of the project staff, our Islands Trust staff and your elected officials working with BC Housing. 

Do you know why the Municipal Affairs and Housing Ministry recently reversed its position on funding for shelters and support? It’s because every organization and individual who cares for and supports our island’s growing population of homeless, along with all of your elected officials, collectively asked for support for a year-round shelter.  We thank MAHM Minister Selena Robinson for listening to us and for providing this much-needed support. Our island shelter can now remain open all year. Our voices are heard when we work together.

People like to pick and choose from the “Object Statement” in the Islands Trust Act to describe what they believe the Islands Trust is all about. I often hear the phrase “preserve and protect” in reference only to the environment. The Object Statement must be read and understood in its entirety. I believe it aims to strike a balance between conservation and development, and it recognizes that this can only be accomplished through cooperation with others. The only way the Islands Trust can effectively safeguard our island against a changing climate and development pressure is to involve others, including the local community and Indigenous peoples, in all of our work.

A critical message from a recent UN-backed report about the impacts of human activity states that “nature fares better when the people most connected to that nature — those living within it — are supported as the primary stewards.”  “When people benefit from biodiversity they protect it.”  Doreen Robinson, a wildlife expert at UN Environment, presented this message and she is correct.

Editorial: One year later

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Editorial: One year later

As the calendar inches towards Christmas Day, it’s hard for Gulf Islanders to not look with trepidation at the Dec. 20 date in between.

It was one year ago on Dec. 20 that an unprecedented windstorm — with gusts estimated as high as 120km/h at tree canopy level — uprooted thousands of trees, which also resulted in downed power, phone and cable lines, damage to homes, outbuildings and vehicles. Miraculously, no one was killed by falling trees or utility poles on our islands that day.

Clean-up and damage repair continues to this day, with plenty of physical evidence of the disaster still visible. Psychological impacts are another issue altogether, as the storm was trauma-inducing for many individuals.

Salt Spring’s Emergency Program and other emergency service agencies have spent considerable time in the past year assessing their response to the storm, dissecting what worked well and what could be improved.

A number of training opportunities for citizens have been arranged, including a workshop series held at the library and two recent Salt Spring Emergency Resilience Training multi-night sessions with hands-on activities for smaller groups.

More workshops on topics such as FireSmart, generators and food security are in the works, and another SSERT session is being planned for late January.

Islanders should take advantage of opportunities to learn more skills for dealing with disasters and to help mitigate them in the first place. They should also investigate the Emergency Program’s pod system to determine which pod their home belongs to and provide information about special needs or resources their family may have and, if possible, to volunteer in whatever capacity is needed. Making emergency prep plans with neighbours can also be done informally.   

Ensuring emergency supplies are adequate and periodically refreshed is another action that individual households can take.

Many of us will be prompted to talk about last year’s storm during this one-year anniversary period. We also need to act on that talk, taking what we learned individually, as families, neighbourhoods and island wide to better prepare ourselves for the next emergency situation that will inevitably come our way.

Islanders submit 1,850 elector response forms

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Islanders submit 1,850 elector response forms

The Capital Regional District’s Bylaw 4325 was rejected by twice as many Salt Spring voters as needed to defeat the proposal to establish a Community Safety Service.

According to the CRD website, a total of 1,858 elector response forms were submitted to the CRD by the Dec. 9 deadline. Eight of those were rejected, for a total of 1,850 valid forms. The CRD had estimated that 910 qualified voters — or 10 per cent — had to submit the forms in order for the bylaw to not be passed under the alternative approval process.

The 1,850 figure represents more than 20 per cent of Salt Spring’s qualified voters.

CLIFFE, Peggy Emmie

Driftwood Obituary
-
0
CLIFFE, Peggy Emmie

Peggy Emmie Cliffe
November 29, 1924 to November 22, 2019

We are saddened to say Mom passed away of heart failure, in the presence of her loving family, one week before her 95th birthday.

Born in Wales, Peggy moved with her family to Drumheller, Alberta at the age of 2 years. She lived for much of her youth in Calgary, where she met and married her husband Fred in 1944. They lived many places in Canada, as well as being station in Europe, with the RCAF. Fred retired from the RCAF in Ottawa, and they soon moved to the west coast, eventually retiring in Victoria. Fred passed away in 1986 and in 1996 Peggy moved to Salt Spring Island to join her family here.

While in Victoria she was the first leader of the newly established Sparks, of the Girl Guides of Canada. She continued here on Salt Spring as much as possible as a member of the Trefoil Guild.

Peggy was a loving person who enjoyed nothing more than giving. Everyone truly touched her heart. She loved her community and loved to be involved. She is known for her passion for animals: the birds, the deer, but most of all the cats and dogs in her life, they thought she was pretty special too.

She is survived by her three children, Jim Cliffe of Victoria, Janet Cliffe and Connie Wray both of Salt Spring. And as well, by many grandchildren and great grandchildren who embrace her in their love.

Mom, we truly love you, and you will always have a special place in our hearts.

A Celebration of Life, in spring, tba.

Bowen Queen moves to Fulford on Thursday

Elizabeth Nolan
-
0
Bowen Queen moves to Fulford on Thursday

Ferry passengers travelling between Fulford and Swartz Bay will have another service change to get used to during the Christmas holiday period, with the Bowen Queen coming onto the route from the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 19 through Jan. 1.

While the change was originally set to take place on the morning of Dec. 20, BC Ferries said the timing of moving three vessels to different ports meant an earlier start was needed. The Queen of Cumberland will sail as planned during the morning schedule on Thursday. The Bowen takes over starting with a 1:15 p.m. sailing out of Swartz Bay.

Since the Bowen is a smaller capacity ship than the Cumberland, changes to the regular schedule are also in effect during the holiday season to accommodate an extra round-trip sailing per day.

Passengers travelling to or from Tsawwassen through Swartz Bay are advised they will not find the same connections as usual. As well, Salt Spring transit service to the Fulford terminal will be not be able to meet the new ferry arrival/departure times during the holiday schedule.

BC Transit said that although it works hard to align its schedules with other transportation services when possible, it was not able to do so in this case.

“BC Ferries did notify BC Transit of the upcoming change in November. Due to a number of factors including time to adjust our schedules and customer information, at this time we plan on keeping our schedules as posted,” said BC Transit communications officer Jonathon Dyck. “We continue to work with BC Ferries and review our internal practices to find ways to create more seamless transportation connections.”

Check bcferries.com for the revised Fulford schedule.

 

Join the Driftwood team! Administrative assistant needed

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Join the Driftwood team! Administrative assistant needed

Driftwood Publishing Ltd. is looking for an Administrative Assistant. 

This position requires a multi-talented individual with a positive attitude and a good sense of humour, who would enjoy working in the fast-paced team environment of a community media business and is willing to do whatever needs to be done.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Answering switchboard and redirecting calls as required;

• Front desk service and general office support, including data entry;

• Paper delivery to dealers;

• Maintaining office equipment and ordering supplies for staff;

• Organizing and maintaining filing system;

• Assisting the publisher in compilation of reports and maintaining databases;

• Payroll, accounts payable/receivable;

• Office month-end reports, including reconciliation;

• Other duties assigned by the office manager or publisher.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Professional telephone manner;

• Excellent communication skills;

• Understanding of accounting principles;

• Ability to multi-task and work within deadlines;

• Excellent organizational skills;

• Accuracy and attention to details;

• Ability to take initiative and be helpful to all staff and customers;

• Good working knowledge of Excel, Word and PowerPoint;

• Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite an asset.

Interested people should forward their resume to Driftwood publisher Amber Ogilvie at aogilvie@gulfislandsdriftwood.com

Mill Farm plan in development

Elizabeth Nolan
-
1
Mill Farm plan in development

A treasured piece of Salt Spring could finally become more accessible to the community with new plans for the Mill Farm Park Reserve in the works more than 20 years after the first portion was acquired.

The 315-hectare asset in the southern mountain area includes three individual lots separated by Crown land that were acquired by the Capital Regional District between 1996 and 2004. While initiation of a comprehensive management plan is not being contemplated until 2025, a set of guidelines advanced by the parks and environment committee on Nov. 27 could offer a better user experience in the meantime. The CRD Board is set to vote on their recommendation today (Wednesday, Dec. 11).

Salt Spring Islanders who frequent the area feel it’s about time some attention was focused there.

“The park has been here for 25 years and the CRD still hasn’t begun to sign and maintain the trails. That’s very sad,” said Charles Kahn, who acted as a volunteer park  warden for the CRD from 2006 to 2014.

The original plot is crisscrossed with old logging roads, so there are plenty of unofficial hiking routes available. An anonymous person has posted homemade wayfinding signs at many of the junctions to help people avoid getting lost.

The 65-hectare property was first homesteaded 100 years ago by three Smith brothers from England, who installed the historic mill wheel that can still be seen in a creek. Later on it was owned in collective by a group of eight people who purchased it in 1981. A decade or so later, the need to sell and keen interest from a logging company prompted the community to raise $150,000 toward the $800,000 purchase. The CRD added two other portions to the park reserve off Mount Bruce Road and adjacent to Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park in 2001 and 2004.

The installation of new gates and barriers to prevent vehicles from entering the park reserve is listed as one of the first actions to take place under the interim management plan. The development concept includes creating a small amount of parking and an orientation sign at the primary access on Musgrave Road in 2020. A temporary toilet is also to be installed at this site in 2021.

Three signed trails would provide official access routes during the interim phase. Mill Farm Trail would link the Musgrave Road access to the Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park trails, and Lookout Trail would lead from Mill Farm Trail to a viewpoint location on the northwest side of the park, both to be completed in 2020. A third trail could connect Mount Bruce Road to the Salt Spring Conservancy’s Alvin Indridson Nature Reserve using former logging roads, but is marked as low priority.

Archaeological and ecological studies are to take place throughout the interim plan timeline.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 11, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

1...382383384...610Page 383 of 610