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DYCK, Steven Robert

Driftwood Obituary
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DYCK, Steven Robert

Steven Robert Dyck
May 25th 1978 – December 1st 2018

Our beloved Steven left this earthly plane on December 1st 2018. We miss him more than there are words.

His sudden passing has left a big hole in many hearts. We, his mom Lynn Demers, his brother Jason Dyck and sister Alli Hames are so grateful for the treasured memories of having him close to us for the last 18 months of his life. He leaves behind his three precious gifts to this world, his children, Asher, Abielle and Aiven Dyck. He has left some big boots to fill. May we all learn from our dear Steve’O and leave this world having shared our kindness with those who need it most.

We will be holding a Celebration of Life for Steven at the Community Gospel Chapel on April 6th at 1 pm.

Please join us in celebrating love, kindness and compassion in honour of our dear Steven.

BETTS, Sophie

Driftwood Obituary
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BETTS, Sophie

Sophie passed away at the impressive age of 104 at Lady Minto Hospital and will be greatly missed by her loving family. Sophie was born in Nelson, BC in 1914 and married Roy in 1937 in Chilliwack after a career as a nanny. She raised her family in North Vancouver and in the early 1960s bought the Gingerbread Cottage on Mayne Island where her family enjoyed many visits and happy memories. In 1970 Sophie and Roy built a permanent home next door to the cottage. She was an active member of the Mayne Island community and enjoyed painting, sewing, canning, carpet bowling, fishing and playing bingo. She loved her trips to Reno and to Ireland with her daughter Muriel in 1996 to visit her father’s birthplace. In 1990 Sophie and Roy moved to Salt Spring Island and she volunteered for Seniors For Seniors and knitted for the Lady Minto Hospital Auxiliary.

Sophie was a wonderful hostess and enjoyed many visits from her extended family and friends. She always made everyone feel special and it is true that each one of her three children, Muriel, Ted and Brian, their spouses, and her seven grand-children and twelve great-grandchildren were convinced they were her favourite. She loved her nieces and nephews and their families dearly too, and could be counted on to remember everyone who was part of the family and who was related to who. She had a great sense of humour, could out-Charleston all of us and had a sharp eye for anything out of place.

Sophie wishes were for “no fuss” about her passing but family and friends are welcome to perform a kind act or make a donation of your choice in her honour if this brings comfort to you.

A huge thank you from the Betts and Hale families to everyone who cared for Sophie with kindness and compassion in her final years.

BERNER, Marcie

Driftwood Obituary
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BERNER, Marcie

It is with love that we announce the passing of
Marcie Berner
Sept 1948 – Feb 2019

A Haida Epitaph
“Death is as gentle as a
whale’s fin slicing air.
Death is going to a new realm
as a raven went to sky country, and that is just like entering
a new whale’s body
from outside to inside.”

Marcie and Tony are dancing somewhere…
Remembrance to be announced in May.
Shalom Marcie

Island authors get nods

Elizabeth Nolan
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Island authors get nods

Authors of island provenance are abundant on the BC Book Prizes shortlist this year, with both newcomers to the field and veteran authors among the finalists. 

Those being considered with Salt Spring connections are Aidan Cassie, Kathy Page, Robert Bateman and Margriet Ruurs, and Harley Rustad.

Cassie is in the running for the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize for her picture book Sterling, Best Dog Ever. It is the first published book for the author/artist, who both illustrated and wrote the story.  

In the same category are a pair of well-known Salt Spring names, with Ruurs’ story Robert Bateman: The Boy Who Painted Nature illustrated by the famous island artist in question. Ruurs has written 35 children’s books and received multiple awards for many of them.

“When my publicist told me the news I barely believed it,” Cassie told the Driftwood. “And then my friend, Margriet Ruurs, wrote to congratulate me right after … it’s so amazing that we’ve both been nominated for the same prize.”

Cassie had a foretaste of her success, and was equally shocked and excited, when the Toronto Public Library put Sterling on its top 10 list for “First and Best” books in December. She said being recognized here in her own province feels even more fantastic.

“I’m so fortunate to have such a great group of author pals on Salt Spring; crit partners who helped make Sterling the book it is. There can’t be a better place to be a writer than in the Gulf Islands,” Cassie said.

In other BC Book Prizes categories, Salt Spring’s Kathy Page is up for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for her novel Dear Evelyn. The story of a 70-year marriage that begins with World War II and sours over time won the Rogers Trust Fiction Prize last November. Her two previous books were both nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize finalist Rustad was born and raised on Salt Spring and now lives in Toronto, where he is an editor at The Walrus magazine. He made the shortlist with his nonfiction book Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees. The investigation of logging companies and eco-champions fighting over Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests started out as a long-form article in The Walrus that earned a National Magazine Award. The book was also a finalist at the 2018 Banff Mountain Book Competition.

Valley of Death greets team

Contributed Article
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Valley of Death greets team

BY FRASER HOPE

DRIFTWOOD CONTRIBUTOR

All week Old Boys coach Graham Tweddle begged, pleaded and even plastered posters at strategic points throughout the island with the message “Your Team Needs You,” hoping to avoid the ignominy of a cancellation with the scheduled game versus Cowichan Classics in Mill Bay.

Injuries to key personnel saw only nine Old Boys answer Lord Kitchener Tweddle’s call for more troops because, let’s be clear, it usually is “war” when Salt Spring plays Cowichan or Duncan.

A Fellini nightmare scenario was in the offing with Tweddle starring as the dispirited coach suffering from creative inspiration as he tries to direct the Old Boys in an epic struggle against one of the best teams in the league. 

Team transport was whittled down to three vehicles as the ferry traffic threatened a one-sailing wait for late arrivals. A Salt Spring Ferry Advisory Committee member was on hand to provide updates about the BC Ferry Corporation’s plans to bring order to the expected chaos of the upcoming summer schedules, much like Tweddle’s plans for the game: order out of chaos.

So into the Cowichan Valley of Death rode the nine Old Boys. Off-island shoppers to the right of them! Off-island shoppers to the left of them! Off-island shoppers to the front of them! 

Bolstered by two of Cowichan’s finest reserves, the Old Boys started off like Scotland’s national team. Not a good start then! They were two goals down to the opposition, in Scotland’s case Kazakhstan, in the opening minutes. The advantage of surprise saw goalkeeper Richard Steel, one of the walking wounded, outdone by a magnificent 40-yard shot that dipped at the last to come off the crossbar for the early lead. Within minutes the speedy upfront home attackers used the wide-open steppes of Kazakhstan to sweep in behind the Old Boys’ defence for the second. 

But true to the fighting spirit of previous matches, Old Boys roared back and a shot from David Toynbee, ably assisted by Mike McCormick, had enough power to  break through the goalie’s gloves to cut the deficit. Lo and behold the same duo managed to work into a goal-scoring position, helped by some deft footwork from Andrew Haigh, to equalize the score to the consternation of all at the field. 

The Cowichan coach had a fit of apoplexy, berating his team in German for their casual approach. “Just Don’t Talk About the War!” (Fawlty Towers BBC 1975-79.)

Disaster coach Tweddle left the field with a pulled hamstring after trying valiantly for the lead. The team was up the creek now with no coach, never mind a paddle.  Cowichan pressed their continuing advantage and passed up bountiful opportunities to bury the Old Boys. Half-time came with the score tied at 2-2. The greatest heist since The Great Train Robbery of the ‘60s!

Against all evidence to the contrary, the Old Boys now felt a win was well within their grasp.

As the second half wore on, the game became a little more testy. Players on both sides niggled at each other and the referee was having some difficulty in bringing about peace in our time. 

Over-exuberance in the counter-attack saw Cowichan on a half-way break that left Steel facing three possible scenarios for saves but each with little chance of success. Cowichan took a 3-2 lead.

Toynbee then was caught reacting to an upturned boot and was dismissed from the field by the ref. It was a golden hattrick: two goals and a red card all in the same game! A first for the Old Boys archives.

Shortly afterwards, Dave McColl interacted “forcibly” and was warned by the referee. Not surprisingly in “shadowing” an attacking forward into the penalty box, a stumble was interpreted by the ref as a blatant foul and a penalty ensued, giving Steel no chance.

McColl was red carded and joined Toynbee on the sidelines to enjoy the warm sunshine. Two Daves. Good name for a pop group! The referee, deciding that his control of the game was slipping, (a bit like Theresa May and her Cabinet) blew for an early full-time. The Battle of Frances Kelsey was over with a 4-2 win for Cowichan.

The ferry schedule out of Crofton allowed more time than usual for postgame analysis around the cooler. Thoughts revolved around the parentage of the referee, but as the saying goes, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (Monty Python Eric Idle 1979). 

Natural Resources Canada’s cartography section and Google Maps have been asked to update their maps with a crossed-sword symbol to mark The Battle of Kelsey Field 2019. In fact, they should wait one week before updating as the Old Boys play the other half of the Devil’s spawn, Duncan 48s, at the same location, Frances Kelsey Field in Mill Bay on Sunday, March 31 at high noon. 

Black balaclavas will be issued to whoever turns up to play for the Old Boys in memory of the Battle of Balaclava, Crimean War 1854 and the First Battle of Frances Kelsey, 2019.

Car demolition sparks fire

Gail Sjuberg
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Car demolition sparks fire

The Salt Spring Island Fire Department responded to a call for a vehicle on fire on Stewart Road on Thursday.

The vehicle was being taken apart at the Marcottes’ wrecking yard in the 100 block of Stewart Road at around noon. A mechanic was removing the fuel tank and lines from the vehicle when it sparked and caught fire.

“It was fully lit. We put about 400 gallons of water on it,” said firefighter Warren Nuyens.  “There was no extension into any other areas . . . [the mechanic] was actually pretty quick to get everything out of the way.”

BC Ambulance was also on scene, treating one person for burns.

Traffic on Stewart Road was down to one lane for part of the afternoon.

Community troupe presents classic comedy

Elizabeth Nolan
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Community troupe presents classic comedy

Salt Spring Community Theatre offers a classic and hilariously dark comedy for its spring show this year, presenting Arsenic and Old Lace over two weekends at Mahon Hall.

Opening on Friday, April 5, the Joseph Kesselring script is directed by Suzanne Rouger and stars Ann Stewart, Mary Lowery and Daniel Squizzato, with Metta Rose and Scott Merrick in supporting roles.

Many will be familiar with the hit movie adaptation featuring Cary Grant. For those who need some refreshing, the action centres around New York drama critic and author Mortimer Brewster, who suddenly decides to get married and arrives in Brooklyn to inform his two aged aunts. While there he discovers their well-intentioned “charity” scheme of murdering lonely old men to give them peace, and has to contend with his two equally insane brothers — one a deluded soul charged with burying the victims in the basement, and the other a psychopath who travels with his own plastic surgeon so he can regularly change his identity using other men’s faces.

Rouger said she chose the play partly because she wanted to work with the older demographic that makes up such a big part of the island community.

“And I love the classics. Some of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s plays are so clever with their comedy. They were written before you were allowed to go for the cheap laughs, like fart jokes,” Rouger said.

This large cast may pose logistical challenges for the production, but it also helps fulfill the community theatre mandate by offering a wide variety of roles with different expectations and stage time. There’s room for theatre veterans and avid enthusiasts as well as those who are perhaps dipping their toes into those waters for the first time.

Rouger said she saw many brilliant women in the auditions for the aunts, Abby and Martha Brewster. Stewart and Lowery were special standouts, though, both for their sharp comedic impulses and for the way they play off each other.

“It came down to chemistry between the two sisters. They just had the chemistry from the beginning,” Rouger said.

Squizzato only ventured into community theatre a few years ago but quickly became an accomplished and committed actor, appearing in serious and silly roles with equal success. He was a natural fit for Mortimer. Rouger has also been impressed by Rose, who appears as Elaine. She’s smart, charming and one to watch, the director said.

Community theatre stalwart Scott Merrick gets to pull out his comedy arsenal — including a German accent — for the role of corrupted plastic surgeon Dr. Einstein. To give an idea of the possibilities, Peter Lorre played the part in the film version. 

Arsenic and Old Lace is set in 1941, but stage instructions note the house has not changed since the Brewsters’ Edwardian grandfather established it. To help get things just right, retired film set designer Jim Erickson is mentoring community theatre set designer Suzanna Devitt. Erickson is also contributing items from his personal collection such as wallpaper and window dressing from the actual time period.

For more on this story, see the Mar. 27, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Feds take on wrecked boat authority

Elizabeth Nolan
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Feds take on wrecked boat authority

The Gulf Islands is a confirmed hotspot for dumping wrecked and unwanted boats, but new federal legislation could make a significant impact toward clearing coastal waters.

Bill C64, or the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, received royal assent on Feb. 28 and is expected to become law this summer. It recognizes the responsibility and liability of owners for their vessels and gives Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada wide powers to act when that responsibility is neglected.

Susan Pickrell, the Coast Guard’s superintendent of vessels of concern for the western region, said it’s not just a perception that Salt Spring and other nearby islands have more than their fair share of abandoned boats.

“I think it is a hotbed for vessels that fall under the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act,” Pickrell said. “You do have a higher concentration than elsewhere on the coast — and than elsewhere in Canada.”

Pickrell noted that many boats in the area have already been cleaned up by the Dead Boats Society and other groups taking advantage of federal funding under the five-year Oceans Protection Plan. However, she also observed that Ganges Harbour had three new wrecks this week compared to just the week before.

One of the most visible examples of derelict boats in Ganges is the twin-keeled Castle Finn, which ran aground last November and hasn’t moved since despite a massive community effort in the winter. Two fires have since reduced the ship to its hull, but the boat remains stuck on the foreshore.

Contrary to information given out by the Castle Finn’s owner, the Ganges Coast Guard did not assist in bringing the boat to shore and did not grant permission for it to be there.

“The Coast Guard would not have the authority to grant permission for this person to beach her vessel,” Pickrell said.

In this case the Coast Guard removed the hydrocarbons when the vessel first got into trouble. (Anything left over burned off during the fires.) As the boat was not deemed to be a hazard to navigation under Transport Canada regulations, that ended federal jurisdiction. The Coast Guard has been keeping tabs on the situation and working with the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.

Pickrell said the Castle Finn will be a great example of a test case when Bill C64 does pass. The legislation gives officers a wide list of situations under which action can be taken, and the power to serve the owner with a deadline. Noncompliance could amount to a heavy fine — up to $5,000 per day. The large amount is meant to be an incentive for boat owners to take the appropriate action rather than just accepting a fine.

For more on this story, see the Mar. 27, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Centennial Park playground replacement begins

Gail Sjuberg
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Centennial Park playground replacement begins

The playground in Centennial Park will be replaced this summer, as the second phase of the park’s upgrade project begins.

Now that the washroom portion of the plan is nearing completion, the island’s parks and recreation department will be consulting with various community groups about the look and feel of the new playground, as well as specific features that the community may be interested in.

“We want as many people as we can to give input . . . Centennial Park is kind of our central hub, so we want to make sure it reflects Salt Spring values,” said Dan Ovington, parks and recreation manager for the CRD.

Thanks to a $100,000 donation from the Salt Spring Lions Club, the playground project’s budget has been doubled. Initially, the Parks and Recreation Commission earmarked $100,000 for the playground portion. Since the entire park is built on fill, any upgrades will need additional drainage put in, along with properly engineered footings. The extra money from the Lions gives PARC more flexibility for the playground.

“We’ll be able to do something really really great that I think both the community and all of the visitors are going to appreciate,” Ovington said. “This will allow us to expand the options that we can look at, but also will help us keep true to the feel of Centennial Park in trying to honour some of the history with the design as well.”

The project is expected to be finished in August, with community consultation happening within the next month. PARC has planned a pop-up session in the park to get people’s feedback on April 20. That input will help finalize the design, which will be approved by both PARC and the Lions Club before construction begins.

Postponing the project until after the Saturday market season was contemplated, but since the current playground is falling into disrepair, it was decided that completing the project sooner was better than later. Work will occur during the week, and the impact to the market will be minimal.

“We had to remove the slide earlier this year just because of safety. A lot of the structures that are there are at or near the end of their life,” Ovington said.

Some parts of the existing playground, such as the historic rocking horse, will be kept in the new design. The CRD will also discuss materials used for the ground surface, with an eye on longevity and affordability.

No demolition date has been set, but the playground will stay up for as long as possible to minimize the time that kids have to go without a place to play in the park. No trees will be removed from the site, said Ovington, with the design incorporating existing trees.

For more on this story, see the Mar. 27, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Tsawout logging action delayed

Elizabeth Nolan
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Tsawout logging action delayed

A controversial clear-cut logging operation on Saturna Island’s Indian Reserve 7 is on hold while Tsawout First Nation members opposed to the project continue a peaceful stand on the property.

“We’re trying to make sure everything stops right now,” said Perry LaFortune Sr.

As of Monday, around 80 per cent of the 60-hectare parcel know as Block A had been cleared by contractors Chemainus Forest Products, on behalf of Tsawout and Tseycum First Nations. People who are opposed to the project are hoping to save the remaining 20 per cent, while Tsawout Band Council wants to complete the project before a March 31 deadline.

LaFortune is one of the Tsawout members who has been “occupying” the reserve by being on site during the past week. His family is deeply connected to the land as a place to practise traditional cultural activities. A camp that his grandfather established and the family has used for generations is located just south of the new logging road.

“All I want is for our people to be protected,” LaFortune said. “They have to make sure it is in the best interests of our people. It’s not about money, it’s about doing the right thing.”

Money is a huge factor for the band council, which is struggling to find the funds for an important community project. Council member Mavis Underwood said after the contractor gets its cut, they expect around $2.5 million in profit, to be shared between Tseycum and Tsawout.

In Tsawout the money is earmarked to build a new community longhouse where family and community memorials, namings, blessings and celebrations take place. The longhouse is deemed critical to maintaining community health and well-being. The building will also help generate revenue as it can be rented out when not in use.

“It’s a decade-old plan that we’ve returned to every year. We’re trying to figure out a way to balance it out with our need for revenue and trying not to incur another debt,” Underwood said.

Tsawout Council says the project was undertaken not only as an economic development opportunity but to remove built-up ground cover from deadfalls and debris, to help eradicate invasive plant species and to respond to concerns about root rot and beetle infestations.  

“It was hoped that with some planned reforestation and replanting that the area could be improved as a hunting place for traditional medicine and food plants.”

For more on this story, see the Mar. 27, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

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