Salt Spring’s first regulation girls fastpitch softball field is set to be complete by the end of June, and officials have hammered out a responsibility-sharing agreement that partners the Gulf Islands School District (SD64) with the island’s Capital Regional District (CRD) to maintain it.

The two bodies will partly split mowing duties at the field, with the school district taking over each year from September until January. And school programs will have full access to the field during instructional hours, according to a report from Parks and Recreation manager Kent Bittorf, who laid out the agreement for Salt Spring’s Local Community Commission (LCC) Thursday, May 14.

“As we take it over, we’ll take over the bookings for the fastpitch field,” said Bittorf, “as well as the soccer field and the smaller baseball diamond on the site as well.”

The CRD will receive all revenues from bookings for the new Hydro Field, and will be responsible for repair and maintenance including the field, fencing, spectator seating, players’ dugouts and drainage — as well as operational costs for lighting. Against an estimated $2,500 in revenue from renting the field each year, the LCC approved an annual budget of $17,000.

The addition of the Hydro Field will also require an increase in staff resources to support booking requests.

“Our island benefits from having it, but it does cost money,” said LCC member Brian Webster. “We have to be willing to pay when we want something good.”

The $700,000 project at 160 Rainbow Road has been funded partially through capital reserve dollars and community works funds, but also thanks to a $300,000 anonymous donation received last year for the purpose. 

Salt Spring senior CRD manager Dan Ovington said feedback on the adjacent soccer field has consistently noted it is in “extremely poor condition,” and after talking to island sports groups the goal would be to continue improvements there — a “phase two” for the property once the ballfield improvements are complete and additional funding is sourced.

Details about a major grant toward a drinking water project on Salt Spring Island have begun to dribble out, with ratepayers in the North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) hoping for some relief — and district officials keeping mostly mum, in deference to the federal government’s plans for announcement.

“We’re still awaiting the word,” said district CAO Mark Boysen, who told trustees at their meeting Thursday, May 21 that he could publicly say that staff expected a draft agreement imminently — and that their proposal, seeking funding assistance for the Maxwell Lake treatment plant and an upgrade to the Crofton Pump Station, had been accepted in principle.

That could put upwards of $6 million — roughly 40 per cent of more than $16 million in projected costs — toward the two projects, significantly increasing the resiliency of Salt Spring’s drinking water supply. Dollars would flow to the district through the federal Build Communities Strong Fund, a $51 billion initiative toward a wide range of infrastructure projects across Canada.

“Based on our current cost, our eligibility looks like about $6.2 million,” said Boysen. “There will be a communications component that the federal government will be leading; once they do theirs, we can announce [details].”

Financial officer Tammy Lannan explained that, assuming the grant finalizes as expected, the district would be submitting monthly invoices to the program, and 40 per cent of eligible costs would be reimbursed.

The funding puts options on the table for the water district, she added, possibly including  lowering the annual debt repayment — by utilizing less of the planned $11.7-million loan or even looking at shorter terms.

“I can guarantee that next year, we will not be raising the tax by the $50 we were anticipating,” said Lannan. “So that’s good news.”

Potentially reducing the tax isn’t off the table, she added, although it’s far from certain. For a tax reduction, according to Lannan, the interest rate environment would need to be favourable; the district passed a borrowing referendum last year to help pay for the two projects, part of NSSWD’s strategy to improve water supply resilience — and drinking water quality — in the next few years.

An investigation has concluded pilots of a helicopter hit by lightning over South Pender Island three years ago could not have known conditions were building toward the relatively rare phenomenon of helicopter-induced strikes.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) also released a map May 13, drawn using data from flight recorders aboard the Sikorsky S-76C, showing it carved a tight, steep circle over Bedwell Harbour as it plunged from 4,029 feet to 885 in just 36 seconds the morning of Oct. 24, 2023. 

Working together, the two-person flight crew managed to successfully recover from the dive, ultimately bringing their 12 passengers from Vancouver to Victoria uninjured; that uncontrolled descent, according to the TSB’s May 13 report, was likely the result of helicopter-induced lightning, where the aircraft itself triggers strikes under certain conditions — despite little to no “natural” lightning activity nearby. 

In the new report, investigators said while all the ingredients needed for positive cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were present, current weather assessment methods don’t make those conditions “readily identifiable.”

“As a result, although these conditions were present at the time of the occurrence, information regarding them was not available to the flight crew,” according to the TSB, “and they were unaware of the possibility of lightning.”

Positive cloud-to-ground lightning makes up about one in 10 strikes, according to the TSB, and this one hit near the helicopter’s negatively-charged tail rotor blades — and with a peak current “beyond the certified design” of the rotor blade assembly, one of the two blades detached. 

TSB investigators said they conducted a search on South Pender Island for the missing tail rotor blade assembly, but were unable to find it or any associated aircraft fragments.

“The investigation found that, after control of the helicopter was reestablished, the flight crew had time to identify the options available and assess the risks before deciding to continue [to Victoria],” according to the TSB report. “The captain also identified a contingency plan to land immediately if the circumstances changed. With visual flight conditions observed along the remaining flight path, the decision-making process reasonably considered the variables present and integrated all the information available.”

Passengers in 2023 had praised the flight crew for landing safely after reportedly holding hands and texting loved ones during the uncontrolled descent; last summer, passenger William Wuehr sued operator Helijet for unspecified damages, alleging he “sustained psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression,” according to a court filing. At press time, public records for that case have not been updated since August 2025.

This weekend marks the unveiling of a project that hopes to illuminate a largely invisible part of island history, as the community is invited to join in commemorating the contributions, resilience and displacement of the pre-war Japanese Canadian community on Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands.

The Japanese Garden Society will host the unveiling of the new Japanese Canadian Memorial Story Project interpretive structure at Heiwa Garden on Sunday, May 31, encouraging reflection on the consequences of exclusion, racism and forced displacement.

“The purpose of this project is not only to remember the past,” according to the project team, “but also to create opportunities for reconciliation, learning, dialogue and community connection.”

The new interpretive structure installed in Heiwa Garden is the heart of the project, inspired by traditional Japanese-style joinery and woodwork. 

The structure houses four interpretive panels sharing stories of Japanese Canadian working life, family life and community-building on Salt Spring Island from the late 1800s onward.

The project also includes the installation of a new interpretive panel near the corner of Lower Ganges Road and Wildwood Crescent, recognizing the pre-war Japanese Canadian farming community that once thrived there, as well as revisions to the existing historical charcoal kiln panel in Mouat Park.

Organizers said the unveiling celebration will take place in two parts, the first being a space-limited invitation-only gathering from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. at ArtSpring. 

The second part, a public community gathering open to everyone, will take place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Heiwa Garden in Peace Park.

The gathering will feature remarks from community members, representatives of pre-war Japanese Canadian families and local elected officials, along with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and musical performances.

The event will open with a land acknowledgement and remarks by J,SINTEN John Elliott, respected Elder and SENĆOŦEN Language Knowledge Holder of the Tsartlip, W̱SÁNEĆ Nation.

Members of five pre-war Salt Spring Island Japanese Canadian families will attend the gathering. 

Before the Second World War, according to the society, eleven Japanese Canadian families lived on Salt Spring Island; following wartime uprooting, dispossession and displacement under government policies that did not support cultural diversity, only one family — the Murakamis — returned to live on the island after the war.

The Japanese Canadian Legacies Society is supporting 29 heritage projects across British Columbia to recognize and preserve the history and legacies of Japanese Canadians in the province. For information visit saltspringjapanesegarden.com.