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Islanders assert contemporary edge

Elizabeth Nolan
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Islanders assert contemporary edge

The Salt Spring National Art Prize extended its gifts to art fans this week with the opening of the Parallel Show at ArtSpring.

Comprising 50 of the local artists who submitted to SSNAP, the show is an excellent opportunity to see how artists in the Gulf Islands are responding to contemporary art concerns. The show also celebrates an important constituent group among SSNAP entrants: as founding director Ron Crawford explained during Friday night’s opening reception, the national art prize relies upon people submitting works to make it financially viable (as well as to have a good show).

The works in the Parallel Show demonstrate a wide range of technique and expression, which Nicola Wheston has arranged into a dynamic yet cohesive whole. Karin Millson, who won the top viewers’ choice award at the inaugural Parallel Show in 2017, has another spectacular multimedia piece called Ledger of Thoughts. This work consists of hundreds of small objects made of thread, twisted into conjoined spider shapes with 12 legs each. The spider orbs are strung in garlands on wire; some of the central pieces in each string contain a central orb.

Millson explained that each shape represents neural connections in the brain. The white side represents activity during the 12 hours of the day, and the black side is the re-arrangement and sorting of information during dream life. The hanging structure references human calculating aids, both the abacaus and the ancient Andean quipu.

Also working with a deep conceptual base and intriguing visual expression is Melanie Thompson, who premieres a piece from her upcoming Shadow Show at the Salt Spring Gallery. A large square of black plastic deer fencing provides the base. The vertical columns are strung with fishing line, with a nearly transparent dried fish scale centred in each square. The work is projected off the wall so that subtle shadows double the imagery.

Seth Berkowitz’s photo Screamers 1 stands in stark contrast to these visions, with his apocalyptic view of nature destroyed. The sepia tone and misty background provide ironic contrast to the devastation in the clear-cut ground, a scattering of cut rounds framed in the mid-to-foreground.

Two brightly colourful works that were completed with patient exactitude and are shown side by side come from Gaye Gardiner and Cathie Grindler. Both deserve some extra time to ferret out all the miniature details. Strong works with a more limited palette and somewhat graphic sensibility come from Aja Robb and Lucas Wolf, while the sculptural/installation side gets fascinating pieces by two experienced yet constantly surprising artists, Judy Weeden and Martin Herbert, (who was the second-place viewers’ choice winner in 2017).

The Parallel Show is open daily. Viewers’ choice award-winners will be announced during the SSNAP gala awards night at Mahon Hall on Oct. 19.

For more on this story, see the Oct. 2, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Author set to give haunting talk

Elizabeth Nolan
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Author set to give haunting talk

The Salt Spring Historical Society will have a special guest for its upcoming session on Wednesday, Oct. 9, when best-selling author Shanon Sinn makes a presentation on some unusual aspects of local history.

Sinn is the author of The Haunting of Vancouver Island, which spent 42 weeks on the B.C. bestseller list and has just gone into its fourth printing in less than two years. While tales of ghosts, murders and sasquatches may seem outside the historical society’s regular purview, Sinn’s journalistic approach to the topic incorporates much of the history of Vancouver Island’s settlement. As he starts with the Victoria area and largely moves north as the book progresses, Sinn mirrors the settlement of the island.

“In a sense I’m telling the story of how it was colonized,” he said.

Sinn investigated many of the stories related to the supernatural that have been passed down in the process, as well as First Nations beliefs with historic and contemporary relevance.

Sinn earned his writing degree at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, where he was awarded the Barry Broadfoot Award for Journalism and the Gisele Merlet Creative Writing Award. Although collections of ghost stories with a regional connection are a common tourist shop draw, what sets Sinn apart is the excellent quality of his writing, coupled with his “skeptical believer” stance. Before writing his book, he did deep research into local legends to root out the truth, using newspaper articles of the time period and first-hand sources whenever available.

“In almost every case the history has been altered,” Sinn explained about popular ghost story collections. “I would check into the story and find out they didn’t happen or had been twisted quite dramatically. A lot of stories have been tinkered to make them more scary, or for other purposes.”

For example, Sinn’s research leads him to conclude there is no basis for the “Headless Woman of Mount Sicker,” and to set the record straight on the real facts of an infamous murderer said to have occurred in Victoria’s Fan Tan Alley.

Sinn said one of his goals in creating the book was to collect and curate the stories in an engaging way.

“I wanted them to all be quite unique and different, and also very visual,” he explained.

Another unique aspect to The Haunting of Vancouver Island is the inclusion of First Nations stories, instead of setting them aside in a separate book of “myths.” Sinn’s sources include James Swan, the hereditary chief of Ahousat, a First Nations village north of Tofino. A chapter on stories from that region was transcribed from an interview with Swan, in his own words.

“There are so many layers to what he’s saying. There’s not just the narrative on the surface, there’s also lessons being told,” said Sinn, who also took a course on Indigenous representation and misrepresentation at university to help get things right, in addition to consulting with other First Nations friends. The book has been strongly received in that sector; a teacher in Cedar actually told Sinn he considered the book to be an act of reconciliation.

The Haunting of Vancouver Island has been hard to keep in stock, it’s so popular, but with the fourth printing just out Sinn has been booked for a 10-stop signing tour. Books will also be available at the Salt Spring talk.

The meeting is open to the public and gets started at 2 p.m. at Central Hall. The event doubles as celebration of the 30th anniversary of the historical society’s establishment of the Salt Spring Archives.

For more on this story, see the Oct. 2, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Viewpoint: More safety input needed

Contributed Article
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Viewpoint: More safety input needed

By Chris Dixon

There has always been some level of vandalism on Salt Spring, just as there has always been a group of transient individuals whose primary focus is not their next retail experience. We can’t wish these people away, and more cops can only make their lives more precarious.

On the subject of a proposed new “security service” for the island, my first question would be whether this new service would benefit the entire island, or would it more specifically benefit the merchants and the landlords of Ganges who want it?

My second question would be: if the Chamber of Commerce wants additional police protection for their members’ businesses, why are taxpayers being asked to pay for it?

Then I would ask, how does the CRD, whom we do not elect, become the default provider of, and recipient of tax funding for, this service when we already have a contract for RCMP protection that benefits the entire island?

I’d need to ask whether a counter-petition, which will require productive people to invest their time organizing any opposition to the idea, is a credible gauge of public support?

I’d ponder our priorities as a community. Could these funds subsidize a publicly funded laundry and shower facility? Now that it’s dark and rainy, could it pay for painting the centre lines on our roads? Would these things have a greater benefit to a larger portion of our population than an additional uniformed presence on the streets of Ganges?

Can we say that the businesses of Ganges are collectively a single-focus group and that their priorities are different from the priorities of the majority of island residents? 

Can we contrast their desire for more business success with the reality that during the summer season, the feeding frenzy they cultivate is an equally unpleasant experience for residents and for visitors? 

Can they admit that Ganges is maxed out; a casualty of their own relentless advertising which seeks to commodify every possible aspect of our shared island home? 

Can they see how local residents subsidize their commercial success at a cost of personal discomfort and safety? When a laundromat can’t afford to pay rent, is that success?

I have been involved in two traffic incidents in Ganges this summer that could easily have had fatal consequences. Had there been a police cruiser present, each driver would have faced stiff penalties and possibly criminal charges.

It’s tempting to dismiss both these road-rage incidents as being caused by mannerless tourists, but it’s equally likely that the driver in both vehicles was a frustrated local. Driving and parking in Ganges, especially this year, has been a fundamentally frustrating experience.

In my opinion, a broader base of residents should be engaged to assess the issues and to make decisions regarding safety, comfort and livability in Ganges.

Personally, I’d advocate for less craziness, rather than more cops.

Editorial: Smoother sailing

Driftwood Staff
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Editorial: Smoother sailing

For Salt Spring Islanders who use the Vesuvius-Crofton ferry route with any regularity, last Thursday was a golden day.

That’s when BC Ferries announced it would be bringing the Bowen Queen onto that route in the spring of 2020 to service the busy season on the island.

The Bowen Queen is rated as being able to carry 61 “automobile equivalents” compared to the Quinitsa’s supposed 44. While there is concern about the Bowen’s capacity for commercial vehicles, i.e. the big trucks, the extra space will be much appreciated by residents and visitors.

Islanders angry about the overloads caused by use of the smaller Quinitsa when the Howe Sound Queen was retired in June had suggested the Bowen Queen as a solution. At the time the ferry corporation’s response was that the vessel was needed for the Alert Bay-Port McNeill route.

How the Quinitsa will fare over the winter remains to be seen, but lower traffic demand will no doubt make it a better situation for travellers than it was this summer.

Although many residents have said that Salt Spring felt busier than ever due to tourists this summer, the ferry traffic numbers do not support that observation. Traffic was up slightly between Fulford and Swartz Bay, and on the Long Harbour route in July and August this year, but it was down markedly between Vesuvius and Crofton: Vehicle traffic was down seven per cent in July and more than 11 per cent in August from 2018 levels. No doubt locals were not venturing off island as much due to the mayhem and word got out that trying to get on or off Salt Spring via Route 6 could be an exercise in frustration.

While BC Ferries deserved the criticism it received earlier this year for not having a realistic plan in place to deal with the Vesuvius-Crofton situation, it also deserves credit for hearing community concerns and coming up with an alternate arrangement for the peak seasons until 2022.

BC Ferries also has plans to improve the experience at the Crofton and Vesuvius terminals, which they aim to share with the public in November. We look forward to hearing what those plans may be as well.

Vandenberg found not criminally responsible for murder

Elizabeth Nolan
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Vandenberg found not criminally responsible for murder

Martin Vandenberg was found not criminally responsible for the murder of his mother Heather Jones at a B.C. Supreme Court sentencing hearing held in Victoria on Tuesday morning.

Justice Jennifer Power accepted the joint submission made by Crown prosecutor Jim Blazina and defence counsel Tybring Hemphill that Vandenberg was undergoing a psychotic episode brought on by undiagnosed schizophrenia when he beat Jones to death with a baseball bat on Dec. 6, 2017, and he was therefore unable to understand his actions were wrong. Her judgement is attached here.

Vandenberg was 22 at the time of the offence and Jones was 47.

With evidence that Vandenberg’s mental health had deteriorated while held at Vancouver Island Correctional Centre following his arrest, Power ordered that he continue to be held at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, where he has been since the spring of 2018. Vandenberg’s case history will be reviewed there within 45 days to determine the length of his confinement and treatment. His appearance at court Tuesday was by video link.

The victim’s mother Betty Jones and two of her sisters, Penny Jones and Tammy Large, were at the sentencing hearing. The family said they felt Vandenberg’s sentencing result was appropriate.

“We’re thankful he’s finally getting the help he needs and deserves,” Large said on behalf of the family. “Heather wanted that.”

“We got to tell him we loved him the last time he was here. That was nice,” she added.

Power based much of her decision on the expert testimony of two forensic psychologists. The court heard a summary of the evidence that proved Vandenberg was experiencing a serious mental disorder for some weeks before the murder took place. He had reported hearing voices that were telling him things he didn’t like. As well, a police report was filed in November 2017 when Vandenberg complained a female friend of his father’s had guns on the property and was threatening him, which was determined to be unfounded.

Vandenberg’s father Martin “Buck” Vandenberg had taken him to the emergency room at Lady Minto Hospital, where they were met by Heather Jones, the day before the murder took place. An appointment for a mental health assessment was booked for Dec. 8. Vandenberg then went home to his mother’s house and killed her sometime in the early hours of Dec. 6.

Betty Jones and her daughter Chelsea discovered the victim’s body, and those of her two small dogs, in the home later that morning.

When police arrived they arrested Vandenberg, who they reported appeared almost catatonic.

Vandenberg later explained in his interviews with police and a forensic psychologist that voices had ordered him to kill his mother or both he and his mother would be raped and then killed. He believed by killing Jones he was actually saving her from a worse fate.

“It’s apparent ‘MV’ loved his mother, as she loved him. Again, this is one of the great tragedies of this case,” Power said.

Power accepted recommendations from the Crown to order all the case material and testimony be sent to the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital review board, and that a DNA sample be collected from Vandenberg in the least intrusive way possible.

HOBBS, Federick John

Driftwood Obituary
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HOBBS, Federick John

Frederick John Hobbs
June 3, 1945 – September 23, 2019

Fred wrote his own obituary: Fred is dead. Golf clubs for sale.

Sadly, Fred succumbed to the ravages of AML, a brutal blood cancer. Ever the soldier, he fought bravely right to the end.

He is survived by his mother Ina of Haliburton, Ontario, brother Phil (Bonnie) of Lake St. Peter, Ontario and sister Jackie Hughes (Lonnie) of Haliburton, Ontario.

Left on Salt Spring to mourn his passing are Marianne, his wife of over 5 decades, son and daughter-in-law of whom he was so very proud, Chris and Darlene Hobbs, and his faithful dog Cyril.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church as Fred’s thank you to God for the many small miracles over the past 11 months, and his final gift to Marianne was to ask to be Baptized into the Church.

The family wishes thanks and blessings on the angels who walk among us: the staff from clerks to the nurses and doctors who service our hospital, Lady Minto. Thank you and blessings upon the Cedar Lane community and our faithful “dog sitter”, Letitia for caring for Cyril and keeping the home fires burning. And thank you, Father Scott and our parish family for being a part of this journey.

If you are able and have opportunity, please, in Fred’s memory, raise a pint. Not of beer, but of blood. Countless people we will never know donated the gift of life that kept Fred with us, so healthy, for so long – please consider becoming a blood donor.

Sweet dreams, sweet prince. May choirs of angels sing you to your sleep.

Rev. Cooke, Sharon Willa

Driftwood Obituary
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Rev. Cooke, Sharon Willa

Rev. Sharon Willa Cooke
June 7, 1933 – Sept. 28, 2019

Sharon Cooke, daughter of Dr. Richard and Marguerite Moore, was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and grew up in Toronto. A registered nurse, she went on to practice psychiatric nursing at Queen Street Mental Health Centre. After graduate studies at Simon Fraser University, she became a registered psychologist and practiced marital and family therapy. She was a founding member of the Canadian Association for Transactional Analysis.

Sharon completed theological studies at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto and was ordained to the United Church Ministry. She served as co-minister with her husband, Barry Cooke, at Salt Spring Island United Church, from 1989 to 1998, and at several B.C. churches thereafter.
Sharon was committed to the life and writing of Catholic monk, Fr. Thomas Merton. She studied at his French monastic community and helped found the Merton Society of Canada.

Sharon will be sorely missed by her husband, Barry, and their daughters, Shary (Daniel), Jen (Bruce +) and Jill (Mike), as well as her grandchildren, Michael (Angie), Griffin and Niko and Claire Savas, to whom she was completely devoted.

She was a sparkling and inspiring presence among family, friends and community, with a warm and inviting smile and a personal kindness almost without limit.

A celebration of life will be held at Salt Spring Island United Church, Wed., Oct 30, p.m. (time, t.b.d.), reception following.

In lieu of flowers, donations to The Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers to Grandmothers would be welcome.

Bowen Queen slated for Vesuvius turn

Elizabeth Nolan
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Bowen Queen slated for Vesuvius turn

Regular vehicle traffic on the Vesuvius-Crofton ferry route will hopefully see an end to overloads and missed ferries as of April 2020, with plans to replace BC Ferries vessel Quinitsa during peak seasons announced Thursday.

A news release issued by BC Ferries outlines a plan to deploy the Bowen Queen to the route between April and October in 2020 and to assess its use in future peak seasons from there, until a more permanent vessel replacement takes place.

The news release explains that staff met with Salt Spring community members in August to explore solutions for improvement after hearing customer concerns about overloads. Customers identified a number of common concerns, including insufficient vessel capacity, lack of customer amenities at terminals, inadequate customer information and commercial/dangerous good vehicles congesting peak time sailings.

These concerns were front and centre of the semi-annual public meeting with BC Ferries officials held in June, when a full house at the Harbour House Hotel meeting room demanded improvements. Many members of the public who attended that session and commented elsewhere wondered why the Bowen Queen could not be put on the route.

At the time, BC Ferries explained the ferry was needed to service the Port McNeill-Alert Bay-Sointula-route during its busy summer schedule. A new Island-class ferry is set to arrive there this winter.

Calculated at 61 automobile equivalent spaces or AEQ, the Bowen Queen has more capacity overall than the Quinitsa, which is calculated at 44 AEQ. The Bowen has less space available for commercial vehicles, however, because of the covered deck design. The open deck MV Quinsam (63 AEQ) is expected to be brought onto the route in a few years time, once two new ferries are deployed to Gabriola-Nanaimo.

BC Ferries said representatives and community members at the August workshop arrived at possible solutions and priorities for the ideas that would be most realistic to implement, while offering the greatest benefit. Other actions BC Ferries has taken include improved signage near the terminals regarding next available sailings. The ferry company is also analyzing how and where to install webcams, and ways to provide more timely sailing information. A community suggestion to move dangerous goods sailings to lower demand times is also being explored.

Meanwhile, terminal development plans for both Crofton and Vesuvius terminals are in progress, identifying changes that can be made at both terminals for improved customer experience for decades to come.

BC Ferries thanks all its customers who have shared feedback and suggestions on the service. The company states it is committed to making realistic changes that lead to improved service.

Islanders rally for the climate

Gail Sjuberg
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Islanders rally for the climate

For over two hours on Saturday, Sept. 21, Salt Spring Islanders of all ages and backgrounds lent their voices to those of millions of others around the world to demand tough action from all levels of government to combat global warming.

The event was part of a massive, global youth-led climate strike and was organized by a local volunteer team. It brought together speakers and guests from various island groups to find tangible ways of dealing with the crisis.

“We feel like it’s time to mobilize and attract as many new people to having a greater awareness of the climate crisis,” said event organizer Jocelyn Lukow. “Salt Spring is already a very aware community, and we’re very hopeful that people become active.”

One of the more poignant performers was the group of young girls, Isla and Juniper Hood Lundrie, Moira King and Aurelia Lukow, singing a cappella protest songs in front of the large crowd. Immediately following was a passionate plea from a Nancy Wiggin, a great-grandmother who begged for change.

Others included the Gulf Islands Secondary School dance class performing their tribute to Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who started the climate strike movement in 2018; farmer Sue Earle, who asked people to turn to locally produced organic food; and singer/songwriter Luke Wallace, who finished the event with a sing-along of The Plastic Ono Band’s Give Peace a Chance.

Worldwide climate strikes took place on Friday, Sept. 20 as part of the lead-up to this week’s United Nations Climate Action Summit. An estimated four million people from around the world took part in the strikes on Friday.

Lukow explained that Salt Spring’s event was held on Saturday to both give islanders the chance to take part in the Friday rally held in Victoria, and because more people would be exposed to the rally, held at Centennial Park during the Saturday Market.

Before this event, Lukow, a mother and nurse on the island, had never seen herself as a climate activist. She was inspired by the global call and actions by local youth and stepped up to take part.

“I personally have been over to Victoria for a climate strike with my small children and seen whole groups of youth ferrying over on the Fridays to be at the legislature … I think their energy and their passion is really making their parents and the older generation realize that they’re fighting for having a future and they are begging for their lives,” she said. “They’re begging to have a future. I think it’s so compelling that a lot of us just can’t look away.”

The climate strike, while inspired by the younger generations, was open to people of all ages. Lukow and the organizers wanted to reach as many islanders as they could. Climate change has an effect on everybody on the planet, not just the younger people, she observed. Lukow hopes that the effects of the strike would ripple through the island and inspire people to take action.

“I really hope that people feel that they can’t look away. I hope they realize that there’s a place for them in this movement,” Lukow said. “You can come in from where ever you’re at in your personal life.”

“You don’t have to be car-free, you don’t have to be at the point where you’re not flying, or you’re vegan. None of us are exempt from using fossil fuels at this point,” she added. “There is a place in this movement for everyone and it’s time to stop looking away and to join in.”

Also at the event were booths set up by various organizations to help people find ways to have an impact. Other events have been planned to keep momentum going, including a group bike ride to Victoria on Friday to take part in a climate strike event timed to coincide with the final day of the protest action week, as well as a follow-up bike rally on Oct. 7.

“It’s one thing to go to a rally, and then after people wonder ‘ok so now what?’” Lukow said. “We have to keep the momentum going.”

New regulations restrict open burning

Elizabeth Nolan
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New regulations restrict open burning

Burn bans across the coastal region were last lifted Wednesday, but along with the permission to deal with accumulated yard and worksite waste came new provincial regulations that will significantly restrict when and how burns take place.

Changes to the B.C. Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation that went into effect Sept. 15 will effect all open burning aside from campfires in the Gulf Islands area, which has been identified as having the highest level of smoke sensitivity. Salt Spring property owners doing backyard burns will likely soon need to apply for permits for each burning session, instead of having a year-round permit, and respect many other limiting factors.

Although the new regulations are already in effect across the province, Salt Spring Fire Chief Arjuna George said islanders will have some time to get used to the changes and for now things will remain “status quo.”

“Obviously there’s going to be some grace rolling that out. Unfortunately there’s been very little information from the province on it, other than it’s happening,” George said.

George met with the fire chiefs of the other southern Gulf Islands on Thursday to discuss the situation and make sure every district was on the same page. He said many of them had been unaware the change was even happening.

Under the new regulations, residential property owners will be restricted to burning on “good ventilation” days, and can do burning a maximum of 12 days per year (and six days in any month). Residents will need to respect setbacks from neighbouring houses and notify neighbours 24 hours in advance. All open burning must be completed by 4 p.m. or two hours before sunset, whichever is later.

Category 3 machine piles will now require larger setback distances from neighbours,  schools and care facilities, and seasoning of material for four months is now required. Burning will also only be permitted 12 days per year and six days in any month. The maximum burn period is reduced from 72 hours to two days. Material may only be added until four hours before sunset on the day burning starts.

Those doing machine piles will also be required to record the number of piles per site, size of each pile, volume of vegetative material burned, date of ignition and the venting forecast on the date of ignition.

“It really is a smoke control issue. The key is finding an alternative on Salt Spring, because if we don’t we will just increase the wildfire risk,” George said, adding people who don’t have options may be tempted to let fuel pile up indefinitely.

“We don’t want that build up,” he said. 

For more on this story, see the Sept. 25, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

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