Beacon Magazine - October 2010

OCTOBER 2010 vol 6 issue 77

TrekOn! Fisherman Trail • 12

Cougar Annie 16 | Cracking the Creative Zone 11

Community Living: Fanny Bay to Nanoose

2 / October 2010

Fisherman Trail

12

Cougar AnnieVancouver Island Legend16

Don Stone McMillan

21

Mike Yip’s “White Raven” • Caught in the act in Qualicum Beach, BCSee more of Mike’s bird photography at www.vancouverislandbirds.com

Cathy Hazzard & Glenn Meads...

Dowsing for Lunkers

4 EDITORIAL

32 FEATURE Helping Youth Get Back on Track

BUSINESS&FINANCE 5 Biz Banter: What’s up in local business10 Real Estate

GREATOUTDOORS 12 Trek On 21 Through the Seasons 27 Tide Table37 Into the Garden

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT 8On Writers and Writing 11Cracking the Creative Zone: Cindy Mawle 20ECHO Players: Mousetrap 33 Reel Reviews 35Joey Clarkson

COMMUNITYLIFE 6 Inspired by Community 29 The Art of Conscious Living 30 Its Happening in Area H 34 On the Agenda COMMUNITYPEOPLE 7Out of the Nest: Greg Wood 15 Rolling Out the Barrels of BC Brews 16Cougar Annie 18 Don Stone McMillan 26Images & Voices:Margie & David Healey HEALTH 31Health & Wellness Matters

THEREGULARS 39 Classifieds 40 In the Stars 41 Business Information Centre 42-43 Community Events 44-46 At Your Service Index & Businesses

Sharon Waugh photo

4 / October 2010

by Linda Tenney

You’re sure to enjoy our eclectic collection of community stories this

month ... starting with legendary tales of Vancouver Island’s Cougar Annie (p.16), trekking the Fisherman Trail with Sharon Waugh (p.12), discovering how Joe Friede is getting a kick out of helping wayward youth back on the right track (p.32), learning how and why writers write (p.8), and finding out how Cindy Mawle cracks her creative zone (p.11). Like I said ... it’s an eclectic collection.

As you can see from the abundant notices on this page, and throughout the rest of this edition, local charities and non-profit groups are gearing up for a season of fund-raising. We encourage you to consider each cause and donate when and how ever much you can. It truly is what ‘community’ is all about.

Especially important are our local food banks, and donating can be as easy as dropping a can of soup into the collection bin at your local grocery store. (See page 5 for more information).

Enjoy the month and don’t forget that we’re also online ...

www.eyesonbc.com

www.facebook.com/beaconmagazine

beaconmagazine.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/beaconmagazine

Linda Tenneyco-Publisher

[email protected]

Frank HladikAdvertising951-8824

Sharon Waughco-Publisher

[email protected]

Elizabeth CudmoreCustomer Service

[email protected]

Margaret ReidContract Distribution

October 2010 VOLUME 6 NO 77The Beacon is published monthly by EyesOnBC

Main Email: [email protected]/Fax: 250-757-9914

InPersonEyesOnBC at Magnolia Court

Box 182, #110-6996 W. Island Hwy. Bowser, British Columbia V0R 1G0

Mon - Fri 10-5

Journalists & Reporters Lisa Verbicky, Nancy Whelan, Rita Levitz, Georgia Nicols, Marilyn Dawson, David Morrison, JoAnne Sales, Harry Sumner & Miriam Shell, Carolyn Walton, Linda Tenney, Sharon Waugh, Shirley Culpin, Georgia Maclean, Laura Busheikin

Volunteer - Cathy Balogh

SubscriptionsCanada - 1 yr: $30 incl HSTUnited States - 1 yr: $55 (CDN Funds) Call 250-757-9914 to subscribe. VISA & MasterCard accepted

Printed in Canada - ISSN 1712-0918

Articles and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and

published for general information purposes only. Articles are not intended to provide

specific advice - the publishers will assume no liability.

Articles and/or data may not be quoted or reproduced, in part or in whole, without

permission from the publisher.

Freelance Writers/Photographers: Queries can be directed to

Linda Tenney or Sharon Waugh at [email protected] LOCALLY OWNED • COMMUNITY INSPIRED

FOOD DRIVE TO BE CONDUCTED IN THE DEEP BAY FIRE PROTECTION AREA

Volunteers from the DBVFD will be collecting non-perishable food items during

the a one-day collection event on Saturday November 27th.

Food collected will be donated to our local Food Bank at the Wildwood Church, and any monies received will be donated to the Bowser Legion Ladies’ Auxiliary for their Christmas Hamper project. ~ submitted

On the heels of their first successful ‘Scotch’ event earlier this year, the Royal Canadian

Legion Branch 211 in Bowser is hosting its second "Scotch Tasting & Food Pairing" seminar with Macallan & Highland Park’s Brand Ambassador J. Leslie Wheelock. Mark your calendars for Saturday October 9, 2010 at 1:00pm. We’re sure you’ll enjoy this tasty, informative & exciting seminar that’s expected to be another sell-out! Tickets are $100 and are available at the Bowser Legion, 7035 W. Island Hwy., or call Susan at 250-757-9222 ~ submitted

ANOTHER ‘SCOTCH’ EXCLUSIVE IN BOWSER

FUREVER AFTER SMALL DOG RESCUEFALL FIESTA FUNDRAISER

Please come out and join us for our biggest fundraiser of the year. Furever After Small

Dog Rescue Society’s Fall Fiesta Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, November 6th at Eaglecrest Golf Club in Qualicum Beach. Tickets are just $35 each and include a beautiful buffet dinner, silent auction, games and prizes. Enjoy an evening of fun while helping dogs in need! Donations of items and/or services for the silent auction are still needed and greatly appreciated. For more information, please call 250-752-4522 or e-mail [email protected] ~ submitted

/ October 2010 5

Do you celebrate with a glass of wine now and then? Take a look around your ‘cellar’ and wine tasting area – are you in need of some accoutrements to enhance your imbibing? Look no further than the Qualicum Village Winery at 675 Fir Street to find the newest and greatest in wine accessories and giftware. Wine glasses, aerators, decanters, gift bags, corkscrews and wine stoppers (is there such a thing as ‘left-over’ wine?) are now a new and integral part of Gillian and Bill Purdy’s fine wine-making establishment. Sounds like a must-do stop to put a dent in your Christmas shopping list! Salut!

We say ‘good-bye’ and best wishes to Victoria Jackson, formerly of the Gardens at Qualicum Beach, and send a huge heartfelt thank you for all that you have done for families and business in your community. In the same breath we send a warm welcome to Krysta Demers as the new Marketing Manager at the Gardens. All the best in your new position, Krysta!

JoAnne McKee of Oceanside Bio-Energy Centre has let us know that she has a new location for her business. Formerly located in Chilham Village, Qualicum Beach, JoAnne has moved her practice to 833 Poplar Way in Hilliers. Please note her new phone number is 250-594-5155 when calling

to make your next appointment. Thanks JoAnne!

It’s the Grand Opening season for Scrapbooking Retreats at Wyldflower B&B and Christmas seems to be on the minds of our local business people. Owner Jocelyn Rod is offering “gift certificates...a perfect gift for any and all Scrapbookers.” Jocelyn can be contacted at 778-424-2224; please reaquaint yourself with her website www.wyldflower.ca.

Dog fancier alert! Come and shop to your hearts content at the new The Village Puppy & Boutique conveniently located at #10-221 Second Avenue West, Qualicum Beach, in Chilham Village. Kelly Mullen, former owner of The Little Dog Shop, has taken canine giftware for both the dog lover and the beloved fido to a whole new level. Fall coats and handknit sweaters, a seasonal selection of costumes for Hallowe’en, gourmet treats and spa products for your four-legged friends are just a few of the carefully chosen, quality items in Kelly’s shop. You’ll find artwork for your home and ‘human’ apparel that makes a perfect statement of your appreciation for your pet. The Village Puppy is open Monday to Saturday from 10am – 4pm; please give the shop a call at 250-594-4999 for more information. ~

By Sharon Waugh

‘FILL THE FOOD BANKS’ FOOD DRIVE

From September 20 to November 15, 2010 Shaw Cable is proud to

introduce a project to fill a local food bank in our area. This is one of our most ambitious initiatives to date and this is our chance to help fill the gaps within our communities. Our goal cannot be achieved in isolation. We need your help! We invite you to join the cause to makes this a success.

Goal: to donate a total of 1 million pounds of food to our Food Banks

Give three times more with Shaw. For every pound of food donated, Shaw and Campbell’s will each match the donation.

As a Shaw employee and a resident of Lighthouse Country, I have set up a donation box at Tomm’s Food Village (in the tent area) and at the Georgia Park Store. ~ Sincerely, Jerry Deterding

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and on our own developing website

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for details and updates

The Island Gospel Centre has had a face-lift! Or perhaps the better word is “roof-

lift”. For over 20 years this congregation has been meeting in what was once the Bowser Elementary School. Our long-term lease of the building has allowed us to worship and build our ministry at very minimal cost. Recently, however, a roof that could no longer be fixed with temporary measures required us to face the cost of replacement. Several options were considered, but the placement of a truss roof seemed to be the best.

As you can see, the end result has not only given us a dependable roof, but has greatly enhanced the appearance of our worship place. In keeping with the many “green initiatives” of the day, we have gone green! (see our ad on page 36 of this edition of The Beacon)

In addition to many hours of volunteer work, we wish to thank Ron Ryvers, our contractor, and all those who worked with him. A job well done!

“Thank you” to each of the following:• LDGS Ltd. – Ron Ryvers, contractor,

together with his crew of Josh Ryvers and Stuart McLeod. Service well beyond the terms of our agreement.

• Fred & Wilma Ryvers – for providing the original concept, crafting the exterior cross, cement steps and untold other contributions.

• Kevin Bull – donation of eaves troughs and downspouts.

• RWJ & Company – electrical service and lighting.

• Tim Andres – painting and glass treatment.

• Phil & Marie Harlow – painting.

• ADAM Integrated Service – Grant & Joshua Meikle, signage for the front of the church.

• The Catholic Diocese of Victoria – owner of the building for authorizing and supporting this endeavor.

• And to a number of individuals who assisted with preparing the building for painting and who pruned trees and did general yard clean-up. Also to each one who has contributed financially to this project. ~

♦

A big heartfelt “thank you” to those who came out to have their hair cut and/

or made donations in support of the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock. The day was great fun and a big success – I hope to see you again next year! ~ Linda Hall, Studio Salon, Bowser.

/ October 2010 7

4647 Thompson Clarke Drive E., Bowser

Greg Wood (Bowser Elementary School, Qualicum Beach Middle School,

Kwalikum Secondary School) is a true islander. His love for this land and this water is an integral part of who he is, and the choices he makes.

“My parents divorced when I was three, and my mother, Sandra Murphy, bought a place in Bowser next to my grandfather, Clifford Cronk, and that’s where I grew up.”

“I remember always following grandpa around. He was a very independent soul who worked off the land, grew a garden and lived a very simple existence. He had a large impact on how I view the world. As my wife Hollie and I raise our two daughters, Jasmine and Roseanna, I try to remember what is truly important.”

Although he is only thirty-seven, some of Greg’s memories of this area seem to be of a bygone era. “I spent most of my youth at Bowser Bill’s Resort. In the spring and summer months there would be people from all over who came for the fishing. I’d spend hours listening to their stories, with the eagles flying overhead.”

Changes in the texture of life here affected Greg, as they did many of his generation. “As I grew up, all of my friends moved to find work. There was no fishing, logging was coming to an end, so there was no reason to remain in Bowser. But there was something holding me here that I couldn’t

By Rita Levitz

quite put into words. Now I know it was the beauty of the area that has kept me here.”

After high school Greg went to work for Sharon and Glen Hadden at Fanny Bay Oysters. “I was already naturally curious of anything that had to do with the water, so off I went.”

It’s also where he met his wife. When Fanny Bay Oysters was sold a few years ago, “Hollie Wood Oysters” was born. “We sell fresh oysters directly to restaurants. Crown Isle, Avenue Bistro, and The Beach Club are a few of our weekly customers. By selling locally we reduce our carbon footprint. Our delivery vehicles run on propane. I’m an avid believer in being the change you wish to see in the world.”

However, for Greg and others, there is an ominous cloud on the horizon. “Oysters provide a sustainable gateway to the future. They need pristine water quality in order to grow and thrive. Our farm is threatened by the proposed Raven Coal project. This is extremely frustrating to me, since I’ve worked here all my life. I know of all the jobs in Baynes Sound that could be at risk – anything to do with scallops, herring, oysters, clams, geoducks, or new species that could be developed, like urchins or cockles.”

“I’ve seen logging disappear; I’ve seen fishing disappear. Now, more than ever we need to value and cherish our natural resource, for the present and for future generations, so they too can be as lucky as I’ve been, to work and live in such a naturally beautiful place. Please write to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) online on the proposed Raven Project so our voices are heard loud and clear.” ~

Related links: holliewoodoysters.com

Greg Wood • Rita Levitz photo

GREG WOOD:BELIEVES IN BEING THE CHANGE

OUT OF THE NEST

8 / October 2010

ON WRITERS & WRITING

Of all the many types of writing people do – fiction, poetry, screenplays, chil-

dren’s literature, etc. – it’s hard to say which is the most difficult. But writing history would certainly be a contender. You face all the usual challenges of finding the right words and put-ting them in the right order, of keeping at it even when your bottom has fallen asleep from too much sitting, and you’ve also got a huge responsibility – to get the story straight.

Yet people love to write about history, and the books and articles they produce are essential parts of our social, cultural and political fabric.

I spoke with a couple of history writers to see why they do it, how they do it and what they get out of it.

Beacon readers will know Rita Levitz through her monthly articles, each presenting the story of a local person. She is also the co-author, with Leah Willott, of Images and Voices of Lighthouse Country: A Pict/Oral History of Deep Bay, Bowser, Qualicum Bay and Horne Lake, published in 1997. The book took four years to produce. Levitz says she and Willott had no idea of what they were getting into.“It was like jumping into deep water and not knowing where the shore was, how long it would take to paddle there, and what it would look like when we landed,” she says.

“We spent many hours interviewing people, we hosted teas, and we spent many hours at the Courtenay Museum looking at old news-paper articles.” “What kept us going was that we’d run into people we’d interviewed and they’d ask, ‘So, when’s it coming out?’” she says. “There were many people who felt part of it and wanted it to happen because it was carrying their history and their memories.”

People feel validated when their stories are told, she says. And the accumulation of all the different individual stories becomes something bigger – the story of a community, which is equally meaningful.

“If an individual’s roots are important, then a community’s are too. A recorded history gives grounding and roots to a community; you need to know where you came from when you are looking at where you’re going,” says Levitz.Denman Islander Graham Brazier also looks at history to shed light on the present and the future. Currently, he is writing a three-part history of coal mining in Tsable River area for the Denman Island Flagstone. The topic drew him because of the proposed coal mine in Fanny Bay. As a community, a corporation and a government debate the pros and cons of this project, it’s useful to know what has happened in the past.

By Laura Busheikin

continued next page

OUR STORIES: A LEGACY OF PAST AND PRESENT

Leah Willott & Rita Levitz ■ Linda Tenney photo

/ October 2010 9

Brazier’s interest in local history began 20 years ago just after he moved to Denman Island.

“I got the idea to track down the very first written reference to the Island,” he says. “It was just a curiosity I had and it led me to get familiar with the Provincial Archives.” In fact, the day I talked to him he was preparing to head down to Victoria to spend a few days in the Archives.

“The Archives are wonderful. There was a fellow some years ago who intended to write a book on coal mining but never completed it. His material is there – 87 boxes! I’ve picked out six I want to go through.”

Brazier never did find the first written description of Denman Island. “It’s very likely that it is probably written in Spanish and exists somewhere in Madrid,” he says with a chuckle. But he did find an abiding interest in a significant historical moment – the first encoun-ters between Europeans and North American First Nations.

“I’m looking for insight into how all…this….happened,” he says, pausing a moment to contemplate just what he means by ‘this’. “How the Europeans moved in, how relationships got established, how we [Europeans] became dominant, and now here we are, every-where.”

In thrall to this topic, Brazier has spent the last few years research-ing what will be a book-length work about the history of the Hud-son’s Bay Company in British Columbia. Although Brazier works hard to get his facts right, he is sceptical about the notion of historical truth.

“Historical questions give you ideas that there are answers. Sure you can track down facts like the date a coal mine opened, but mostly what you get is the illusion of answers. It’s as evasive as philoso-phy,” he says.

Levitz encountered similar challenges in pinning down the truth.

“There are a lot of important questions around what history is. People say history is written by the victors…certainly it isn’t object-ive, it isn’t flat and it isn’t static,” she says. For all kinds of reasons, some stories get distorted, or simply lost, as time passes. “One story was really hard to get. There used to be a large Japanese settlement at the Deep Bay spit; they had to leave in 1941. We really wanted to find a Japanese person from then to have their stories told. We couldn’t track down anyone, even though if you look at a picture from the Deep Bay School from that period it was mostly Japanese students.”

Although presenting history “correctly” is a complicated business, Levitz, Brazier, and many other history writers hidden in our midst keep working at it. Thanks to them, our community’s stories will continue to be recorded, helping us understand our past as we move into the future. ~

Images & Voices is available for purchase at local retail outlets including the Salish Sea Market in Bowser. The Denman Island Flagstone can be picked up on Denman Island.

continued from previous page

The glory of friendship is not in the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is in the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quotable

10 / October 2010

We, as a family, are very proud of our mother. She is in her eighties and still

walks most mornings for her exercise, come rain or shine. She loves to travel and has just returned from Haida Gwaii. She is active in the lives of her grandchildren, pursues her volunteer activities in the community and is passionate about her gardening.

What happens when her lifestyle slows and her needs begin to change though? She has made it clear to all her children that she plans on staying in her home. With the level of community and family support she enjoys, there is no doubt she will do this gracefully and graciously. However it will not be without its challenges.

A significant concern that many people have as they grow older is the fact that they may have to leave their home. This often means leaving behind a comfortable setting, a familiar community and circle of friends and many memories. In addition there is often a sense that a certain amount of control is lost when one leaves their home. This “control” often underpins our feelings of dignity, respect, quality of life and independence. It is often our homes that can help define who we are and provide a strong sense of security.

Today, with the unprecedented level of good health we enjoy as a society, seniors staying in their homes is becoming much more common. I believe this trend will continue to grow as there is increased awareness and acceptance. This is called “Aging in Place” and there is a growing segment of the renovation business that is enabling our seniors to stay in their homes. It is currently estimated that some 70% of seniors spend the rest of their lives in the place where they celebrated their 65th birthday.

So where is the additional support for seniors? In our communities there are numerous resources and companies like “The Nurse Next Door” (see their ad on page 38) or “Claire’s Home Care” that can provide any level of support to those who

By Marc LaCouvée choose to stay in their homes. Other great resources locally include the Society of Organized Services (S.O.S.) or the website www.Seniors101.ca with their wealth of information and guides.

Below is a helpful guide for you if you want to stay in your home and plan on making some renovations for your changing needs.You may wish to consult a professional early in your evaluation process. No one is going to make all of the modifications, but be wise regarding those you focus on. i.e. if you already know your eyesight is failing, focus on modifications that benefit poor, or poorer eyesight the most. If you have arthritis that impairs mobility, focus on modifications that cater to your anticipated increasing mobility limitations.

General • Adapt lower floor of home for possible one

level living

• Increased incandescent general and specific task lighting

• Easy garage or parking access

• At least one entry is without steps

• Doorways 36” wide with off-set hinges on doors

• Levered door handles instead of knobs

• Electrical outlets at 18 inches instead of 12

• Easy to open or lock patio doors and screens

• Light switches at 42” instead of 48

• Adjustable controls on light switches

• Luminous switches in bedrooms, baths and hallways

• Strobe light or vibrator-assisted smoke and burglar alarms

• Lower window sills especially for windows on the street

• Programmable thermostats for heating and cooling

• Contrast colours between floor and walls

• Colour borders around floor and counter-top edges

• Non skid flooring

• Matte finish paint, flooring and counter-tops

• Non-glare glass on art work

• Peep hole at a low height

• Incorporation of emergency response system installed or wearable

Bathroom• Lever faucets and faucet mixers with anti-

scald valves

• Temperature controlled shower and tub fixtures

• Stall shower with a low threshold and shower seat

• Grab bars at back and sides of shower, tub and toilet or wall reinforcement for later installation

• Bathrooms with turn around and transfer space for walker or wheelchair (36” by 36”)

• Higher bathroom counters

• Telephone jack

• Installation of medical response device

Kitchen• Kitchen cabinets with pullout shelves and

lazy susans

• Easy to grasp cabinet knobs or pulls

• Task lighting under counters

• Cooktop with front controls

• Side by side refrigerator

• Adjustable upper shelves and pull out lower shelves

• Variety in kitchen counter height – some as low as table height (30 inches)

• Gas sensor near gas cooking, water heater and gas furnace

• Colour or pattern borders at counter edges

Living Room• Seating at least 18 inches off the floor

• Chairs with sturdy arms

Marc LaCouvée was born and raised on Vancouver Island. He is a REALTOR® and is a Dad. He has spent his lifetime exploring this great paradise. Whether supporting Oceanside Minor Hockey, other local organizations or attending PAC meetings, Marc is committed to community, his family and area that he and his children live in. Marc works for RE/MAX Anchor Realty in Qualicum Beach. www.MarcLaCouvee.com

Please refer to Marc’s ad on page 29.

REAL ESTATE

SIMPLE HOME MODIFICATIONS CAN HELP MAKE THE DREAM COME TRUE

AGING IN PLACE

/ October 2010 11

Bowser Painter, Cindy Mawle can’t help herself when it comes to moving out of her comfort

zone. Her adventurous spirit and drive to create simply won’t let her stay there. If the only constant in life is change, than this self-taught artist is right on track, experimenting with a myriad of styles, medium, techniques and degrees of colour.

“Believe me, I would love to stay within my comfort zone, but, I have this drive to change it up constantly,” she says.

Mawle’s work ranges from acrylic still life’s of Jell-O desserts, whimsical forest-scapes, and dancing silhouettes, to subtle landscapes in oil, textured ink and acrylic figuratives, brightly coloured mini-canvases, and both abstract and expressionist pieces.

Her works carry a soft, earthy palette of forest greens, fall yellows, chocolate browns, rusty reds and blue, reflective of her coastal surroundings.

Although some of her work has been compared to Emily Carr and the Group of Seven, she personally strives for uniqueness, she says, and to stay true to her “creative soul”.

“I paint how I feel about a particular subject. Some people say my paintings have a calm energy about them.”

Mawle, who grew up in Sooke, has always had the passion to create in everything she does, she says.

“My art has always been a lifelong gathering of knowledge,” says Mawle.

When she was too busy to paint in her 20’s, she collected art supplies; squirreling them away for the day she would have time to use them. That day came after she moved to Didsbury, AB, pregnant and in a new town. She later taught children’s art classes for nine years.

Since moving to Bowser in 2004, she tries her best to paint everyday, despite having many things that pull her away from her studio, she says.

“Some of it is self-imposed, like the fear of beginning,” she says. “I’m getting better at breaking through that and just going downstairs and just starting something.”

Mawle says she could paint twelve hours a day if she had the chance in between helping her husband with a home-based business,

spending time with her 1 1/2 year old granddaughter, and tending to her vegetable garden.

“I feel sometimes that there is just not enough time to paint all that I would like too.”

It’s a feeling that comes from being a cancer survivor of nine years, she says.

“I want to challenge myself to get as far along as I can while I am on this earth.”

This past year, Mawle took on the amazing challenge of painting 100 pieces a day for 100 days.

“The whole experience made me realize how creatively strong I am, and reminded me that you only get back what you put in. I guess I’m driven to succeed.”

Cindy Mawle is a resident artist at T.O.S.H. She has recently been juried into four Federation of Canadian Artist Shows. Her paintings and cards are on display at the Salish Sea Market in Bowser’s Magnolia Court. For more information on her works and upcoming shows visit www.cindymawle.com

by Lisa Verbicky

CRACKING THE CREATIVE COMFORT ZONE WITH PAINTER CINDY MAWLE

Cindy Mawle with her newest piece, Musical Shenanigans

Lisa V

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12 / October 2010

Start/Finish: Robertson Creek Hatchery near Port Alberni

Distance: ~ 6.5 kilometres; combination of woodland trail, logging and hydro access roads.

Trek time: ~ 1.5 hours on easy terrain

Guides: Alberni Valley Trail Guide; justabunchahikers.ca (use Hike Maps on the sidebar; go to Fisherman Trail large)

Trailhead Directions: From the Port Alberni Visitors Information Centre travel west on Highway 4 towards Tofino; from the intersection of Pacific Rim Highway travel approximately 10 kms to Great Central Lake Road, turn right and carry on for another 6.5 kms to Robertson Creek Hatchery. Please note that the parking lot is gated and is locked promptly around 3:30pm every afternoon (hours are posted).

Route directions: Walk into the hatchery from the parking lot, the trail head is near the kiosk to the left of the fish raceways. The trail exit is within sight of the parking lot. Take a map with you, using the your position in relation to the waterways and powerlines to keep you on course.

The anticipation of the return of salmon to the spawning grounds rivals that of the springtime arrival of herring on our west coast. The end to the adult life span of the salmon is the prelude to the birth of a new generation...we are fortunate to witness and celebrate this cycle every year in our local rivers and in a magnified manner at our hatcheries.

Robertson Creek Hatchery, located on the Stamp River near the outlet of Great Central Lake, officially opened in 1960 touted as the largest artificial spawning channel in North America. It was originally designed to introduce pink salmon into the Somass River system and today the hatchery produces eight million chinook smolts, one million coho smolts and 180,000 steelhead smolts each year – the resulting adult salmon production is 150,000 chinook, 100,000 coho and 10,000 steelhead per year.

Before you head off on the trails take a peek at the salmon holding in the raceways through the underwater viewing areas and you may time it right to observe hatchery technicians sorting 30 and 40 pounders as to their readiness in preparation for egg takes.

continued next page

By Sharon Waugh

Shar

on W

augh

photo

s

TheFishermanTrail Chinook intercepted

on the home-stretch to Robertson Creek Hatchery; landed by Lukas Litwinowich...and coveted by Bill Waugh (right)

/ October 2010 13

Courtesy: www.justabunchahikers.ca created by Bill Grant Windley

Fisherman Trail

The trail winds along the Stamp and Ash Rivers, offering views of the 26 mile long Great Central lake and its floathouse community which started in the late 1800’s. Travel is necessary along Ash River Main for a couple of kilometres before crossing back over Great Central Lake Road and returning on a rolling hydro access road. A sidetrip could be made at this point into Turtle Lake to watch some sunning Painted Turtles.

Is there a formula for calculating how many bears are commuting on the same trail as you by the frequency and distance between their scat? How loud can you sing in the bush? Just keep in mind both you and the bear are attracted to the colourful spawning salmon so keep a heads-up for an unexpected close encounter...a shot of adrenaline just reminds you that your “flight or fight” response is in fine working order! ~

Trek Pick: Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest, Second Edition by Andy Lamb & Phil Edgell. A comprehensive field guide to marine fishes of BC and Pacific Northwest States with descriptions of each fish’s habitat, physical characteristics and behaviour; includes catching tips for anglers and cooking ideas for seafood dining. Co-author and underwater photographer Phil Edgell was a fish culturist and manager at Robertson Creek Hatchery for several years. Available at the Salish Sea Market in Bowser.


THE PARKSVILLE QUALICUM COMMUNITY FOUNDATION PRESENTS:A FASHIONABLY FUN EVENING

Are you ready for a night on the town? Clear your calendar on October 7th at 6:30 pm for your evening out at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre. Gather some

friends and reserve your seat or, for even more fun, a ‘table for 10’ for a fabulous night of fashion – all in support of local fundraising efforts for continuing Breast Cancer research.

Your ticket will include a glass of bubbly, appetizers and a specialty dessert while you get to sit back and admire a runway full of ‘fabulous fashions’ featuring local mer-chants apparel and accessories. A silent auction will round out the evening.

Tickets are available at Petal & Kettle in Parksville and Fresh N Fabulous in Qualicum Beach; $30 each or $250 for a table of 10. Please call either Mary Brouilette (250-752-7269) or Sherri Verdec (250-757-8279) for more information. ~

14 / October 2010

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/ October 2010 15

Everyone’s heard a version of the old joke: “A man walked into a bar…”

but Courtenay’s Leo Buijs did just that, spending five months of his life checking out the province’s more than 30 breweries, 23 brewpubs and their beers. His findings are in his book, Beers of British Columbia. Here you’ll find everything you ever wanted to know about BC brews and were afraid to ask.

Not a regular imbiber of “brewskies or barley sandwiches” myself, I do enjoy the odd cool one (as long as it’s a local brew) on a hot summer’s day, so although I had purchased Leo’s book as a Father’s Day gift for my husband, I found myself leafing through its pages, fascinated by the actual number of listings right here on Vancouver Island alone.

When I met Leo at his book signing in Courtenay I invited him and his wife Marianne to attend one of the monthly meetings of the Oceanside Media Club where he explained to members that he did not have to handle such a “tough” job alone but had his son help him out! And he emphasized that it’s an unbiased review as he has paid for all the beer he has tasted out of his pocket. “There was no free lunch.”

Originally from the Netherlands, Leo confesses, “My passion is travel, exploring pubs and breweries wherever I can.” While living in Victoria, Leo observed the craft brewing revolution take off with Spinnaker’s Brewpub, the first to come on the scene in 1982, making it the province’s first microbrewery, then explode in Whistler with the Whistler Brewing Company, which had come home after brewing in Kamloops under the ownership of Alberta’s Big Rock. However it wasn’t until he had moved to Courtenay, encouraged by the success of his earlier guidebooks on dog walks around Victoria and Vancouver & the Gulf Islands that he decided to investigate the craft brewers who have made the audacious beer creations that make the BC beer scene so unique.

Beers of British Columbia breaks the province into three main beer regions: Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland and Interior and The North, separating

ROLLING OUT THE BARREL OF BC BREWSBy Carolyn Walton

microbreweries from brewpubs. I was surprised to discover Island microbreweries that I didn’t know existed, such as Nanaimo’s Fat Cat Brewery Ltd., operated by Bunny Goodman and her partner and brewer Rob Haseloh, which produces beer from scratch in small controlled batches. Their ales and porters are additive-free, available onsite and they welcome visitors to tour the plant. House specialty is a Pompous Pompadour Porter, a “big beer for people who enjoy the dark side of beer” the book notes. Newest guy on the block is the Rim Rock Brewpub in Port Alberni.

I was amused at some of the names of the breweries and brewpubs: the Dead Frog Brewery in Aldergrove, BC, Sailor Hagar’s Brewpub in North Vancouver and Storm Brewing in east Vancouver and loved such eclectic beer labels as: Tin Whistle’s Black Widow Dark Ale, Steamworks Brewing’s Blitzen Christmas Ale, Phillips Brewing Co.’s Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale and Forbidden Fruit, Longwood Brew Pub’s

Framboise, “The one with the silky pink head”, Fernie Brewing Company’s What The Huck-Huckleberry Wheat and Howe Sound Brewing Co.’s Total Eclipse of the Hop!

Leo and his wife Marianne are involved in their Courtenay community as well. Marianne volunteers for Comox Valley Youth Music Centre, which many local musicians have come through in the last forty-two years, Dianna Krall, one of them, while Leo works with the Comox Dinghy Sailing School, a joint venture of Comox Valley Yacht Club and the Comox Bay Sailing Club. Their winter home is in the quaint Mexican town of Todos Santos, situated directly on the Tropic of Cancer in southern Baja California. It was here that Leo began his writing career, freelancing for the Gringo Gazette. “I couldn’t just sit on the beach all the time.” he explains. He then took lessons via the internet from The Ottawa Writing School, which he says was a challenge as English is his second language.

Beers of British Columbia is available at Mulberry Books in Qualicum Beach and in the Salish Sea Market in Bowser. ~

Leo Buijs • AUTHOR AND BC BREW CONNOISSEUR

16 / October 2010

The comfortable French Creek home occupied by Pat Meadows is a far cry from the rugged wilderness homestead that dominated

a good portion of her summers over the course of 46 years. Pat is the granddaughter of Ada Annie Rae Arthur, aka Cougar Annie, a Vancouver Island legend.

For 70 years Cougar Annie and her family (four successive husbands and eight children) toiled on a remote 117 acres of wilderness 30 miles up the coast from Tofino. The family moved to Boat Basin in 1915, where Ada Annie established a thriving nursery business, farm, small general store and post office. Many years of hardship and lack of opportunity saw most of the Rae Arthur offspring flee the isolated homestead as soon as they were able. That included Pat’s mother Margaret, the third-born. Ada Annie, however, seldom left her beloved haven – health issues were the only thing that could tear her away for even short periods.

Years of back-breaking labour by Ada Annie, her children – and anyone who happened to visit – resulted in one of Canada’s most magical gardens. The matriarch’s reputation on the coast was further enhanced by her steady hand on a shotgun and her wily methods of dispensing with the wild critters that threatened her livestock and five-acre garden. She disposed of over 70 cougars during her years at Boat Basin, thus earning the nickname by which many came to know her.

Pat’s recollections of her ‘Granny’ are many and varied. From the time Pat was born, and for the ensuing 46 years, she would travel to Boat Basin with her mother and brother each summer. The heavy workload with the nursery and livestock dictated that anyone who visited Ada Annie was met with the same question: what are you going to do (to help) while you’re here?

“She was extremely intelligent,” recalls Pat. “She didn’t mess around. You went there to work, regardless of your age.”

“When I got asked by Granny what I was going to do to help,” says Pat with a smile, “I told her I wanted to write her life story. She was really pleased that I wanted to do that, so we would sit and talk and I

COUGAR ANNIEA VANCOUVER ISLAND LEGEND

By Shirley Culpin

Pat Meadows Cougar Annie’s grandaughter

Shirley Culpin photo

continued next page

/ October 2010 17

would write it all down. I used to have a ball up there – I would play with the animals, and talk to Granny. It was a wonderful place for so many reasons.”

Pat’s notes from those long-ago summers became a twelve page biography, an intimate look at the beginnings that shaped her remarkable grandmother.

Pat continued to journey to Boat Basin into adulthood, eventually taking her own children there too. As Ada Annie aged alone on the isolated homestead and became increasingly infirm Pat became something of a long-distance overseer of her affairs.

She was living in Port Alberni in 1985 when she received a call at work indicating that she needed to get to Boat Basin quickly.

“They told me that Granny was dying, “she says, “We flew up there and took her to the Tofino hospital. She was 93 or 94 then. I haven’t been back to Boat Basin since, although my mother went back, and my kids have been there.”

Ada Annie lived until she was almost 97. Once she was released from the hospital Pat purchased a small house in Port Alberni for her, and arranged for a caregiver.

“She had looked after herself all her life,” says Pat, “But it got to the point where she needed more than what she was getting, and she ended up living in the old folks section at the Alberni hospital. They took great care of her. They used to curl her hair, and she could never understand why – she thought it was such a frivolous thing.”


No surprise, really, for a woman who had been practical and frugal all her life.

Cougar Annie’s garden has undergone some changes since her departure, first in the hands of Peter Buckland, who realized its heritage value and restored and enhanced much of it, and most recently, in the care of the non-profit Boat Basin Foundation. This past summer the property was put on the market with hopes of finding a purchaser who would appreciate its legacy and be able to offer sufficient financial

support to ensure that it endures. According to the listing agent there has been interest from all over the globe but as of mid-September, no purchaser had been found.

How does Pat feel about the sale of the property that has played such an integral role in her life?

“The selling upsets me,” she says. “I only hope that some private purchaser doesn’t buy it. I would really like to see the natives take it over and operate it.” ~

For more information on Cougar Annie and her garden, visti www.boatbasin.org.

Left: Cougar Annie and Willie Rae Arthur on their Wedding DaySeptember 14, 1909.

Photo courtesy of Pat Meadows

Below: Cougar Annie’s Cabin at Boat Basin as it appears today.

Rich Osborne photo

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DON MCMILLANTHE MAN WITH A CONTINUING CURIOSITY

By Georgia Maclean

Donald Stone McMillan came into our world on February 4, 1921, not in a conventional hospital but in Mrs. Wilson’s

Nursing Home on what is now Wembley Road but was then the Island Highway.

His parents had arrived as homesteaders in 1913. His mother, a ‘city gal’ from New Jersey, had been a nurse in the US Navy. His dad was from Guelph, Ontario but was working south of the border, and, as luck would have it, had to take an injured co-worker to the hospital where he met his bride-to-be. She was persuaded to start a new life

on Vancouver Island, with the assurance that she would encounter neither a tornado nor rattle snakes!

They built their first family home on Bennet Road, carried water in buckets and cut wood to stoke the woodstove. Don attended the Little Qualicum School for eight years and then The Old School House on West Second Avenue in Qualicum Beach. By his own admission, he was no scholar. While he was still in high school he built a

small sawmill, and at that point a compassionate teacher encouraged him to follow his dream.

Even in their teens, Don and his older brother Jack were accomplished woodsmen. When they wanted to go fishing and had no boat, they decided to build one. This first venture was such a success that they were soon in the boat building business. The Captain of the Princess Mary which made the Vancouver – Powell River – Hornby Island – Denman Island – Deep Bay – Union Bay– Comox run, was so impressed that he ordered one for himself.

By 1940, however, Don realized that the sawmill business had more potential than boatbuilding, and McMillan Bros. Logging Company and Dashwood Mills became his sole focus. They acquired new timber lot licenses and from 1943-45 were commissioned to ship their lumber via east coast ports on merchant marine ships to the United Kingdom. Precisely where the shipments were going and how the lumber was to be used was considered classified information, but Don believed that it was bound for Liverpool and London to repair the docks that were so crucial to the war effort and had been so badly bombed.

Donald Stone McMillan • Patricia Sibley photo

continued next page

/ October 2010 19


During this busy time, Don met and married the charming Nancy Camp, the first cashier at the Qualicum Beach movie theatre. Their 61-year marriage has been blessed with two daughters and two sons.

In addition to his self-described ‘escapades’ in the logging business, Don found time to participate in the growth and development of Qualicum Beach. He served as a Village Commissioner in the early 1950’s.

As an enthusiastic supporter of the Qualicum Beach Rotary Club, incorporated in 1947, Don willingly volunteered his time, expertise and building materials to such Rotary projects as the waterfront promenade; the Curling Rink, and the Qualicum Beach Airport, initially only a primitive gravel landing strip. In 1958 the landing strip was paved, and donations of equipment, labour, materials and cash enabled further development during the 1960’s and 70’s.

In 1974 Don decided he could finally find the time to attend Rotary’s weekly meetings and became an official member of the Rotary Club of Qualicum Beach. At the venerable age of 89 he continues to give unstintingly of his time and energy. He is the embodiment of the Rotary Club’s motto: Service above Self. Over the years, Don and Nancy have hosted Rotary International exchange students from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Argentina and the Philippines, many of whom they are still in touch with today.

When Don is asked about the secret to his longevity, he is happy to share it: keeping physically and mentally active, a continuing curiosity in the world around him, and the fostering of enduring friendships – obviously a winning formula! ~

LOCAL RESIDENTS’ GROUP HOLDS 1ST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Corcan Meadowood Residents Association is a non-profit organization established in October

2009. The association provides residents in the Corcan-Meadowood area with a voice and a vehicle to identify and complete projects that improve our area. Currently, our main goal is to obtain access to Highway 19 off Corcan and Nahmint Road via an interchange. Other projects include a Community Park, Regional Park and a Community Centre located near the Meadowood Dashwood Fire Hall.

To join the association and share your position on the “Proposed Highway 19 Access”, please attend our first Annual General Meeting on Saturday, October 2, to be held at the Lighthouse Community Centre at 240 Lions Way, Qualicum Bay. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with the meeting starting at 10:30 a.m.

Official Speakers from the Regional District of Nanaimo, Ministry of Transportation and Provincial Government will be attending.

For more information or to contact us please visit www.meadowoodresidents.com. ~ submitted

See our AGM Notice on page 28

20 / October 2010

ECHO players first play of the 2010/11 season is fast approaching. The Mousetrap is a 1940’s murder mystery written by Agatha Christie and is the world’s longest running

play of any kind. The Mousetrap is now in its 57th year and has run continuously at the St. Martins Theatre in London since 1974. Our play will run from October 6th to October 24th. We are delighted to have Eileen Pope as the director along with a distinguished cast of ECHO players. This play has thrilled audiences around the world and we are pleased to bring it to our stage here in Qualicum Beach. Reserve your tickets early to be sure of your favourite seat by calling our Box Office at 250-752+3522 or emailing [email protected]. Our theatre address is 110 West Second Street in Qualicum Beach.

The play is about a young couple, Mollie and Giles Ralston, who have started up a new guesthouse in the converted Monkswell Manor in Berkshire. The weather is frightful and they find themselves snowed in together with four guests and an unexpected visitor, who claimed he ran his car into a snowdrift and needed lodging. The Berkshire police telephone to say that a Detective Sergeant Trotter will be calling as they suspect a murderer is on his way to the guesthouse, following the death of Mrs. Maureen Lyon in London. Shortly after, Detective Trotter arrives on skis to interview all the people at Monkswell Manor.

Later that day one of the guests – Mrs. Boyle – is murdered, and they realize that the killer must be amongst them. The suspicion falls first on Christopher Wren, a strange young man who apparently fits the description of the murderer. However as the plot unfolds, it becomes clear that the killer could be any one of the guests, or even the hosts themselves. Towards the end of the play, Sergeant Trotter assembles everyone in the dining room with a plan to set a trap for the killer. In a clever conclusion, the murderer is identified! ~ submitted

Tickets are available from ECHO’s Village Theatre Box Office located at 110 West 2nd Avenue in Qualicum Beach. Tickets may also be ordered by phone at 250-752-3522, and you can find more information about this season’s line up at www.echoplayers.ca.

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/ October 2010 21

“I like crows…there is much to admire in their intelligence…as well as in their

beauty,” said J. Fenwick Lansdowne, the renowned painter of birds. A Halifax friend, who, to his wife’s dismay, likes to feed crows from his penthouse balcony, feels the same way – his office abounds with their images.

When it comes to the raven, known as Trickster, Magician, and Creator, it has made its indelible mark in early cultures around the world; from the Haida, whose raven created the earth and hung the sun in the sky, to the Biblical raven sent from the ark to report on the receding waters, to the Scandinavian god Odin, attended by two ravens who collected and whispered news into his ears, the raven is a big name in mythology.

Both our crows (Corvus caurinus) and ravens (Corvus corax) are known as Corvids and their fossils date back to the mid-Miocene period about 17 million years ago. They are found in most parts of the world except the two poles and South America. While the two species are very similar in appearance, a closer look at both their image and their habits makes it fairly easy to tell

them apart. The crow is more numerous and common, more often found hanging around man’s territory, is the smaller bird, and is readily identified by its strong “Caw, caw” voice. The raven is the larger, not as prevalent near human habitat, and has more of a croaking voice.

In flight, these two corvids are distinguishable by the raven’s spade-shaped tail as opposed to the crow’s straight-across appendage, and by the raven’s flight feathers

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continued on page 22

which are widely spread and forward-curving, similar to a vulture’s. In the close-up view, the raven has the larger, coarser bill, with a shaggy ‘beard’ of feathers below, and perhaps some ruffled feathers toward the crown. Both species are barnstorming fliers, often performing aerial stunts, seemingly for the fun of it.

While the crow is common in urban settings, the raven’s choice is wild forests and

White RavenMike Yip photo

“The white-feathered raven delighted in beauty, and he breathed joy and happiness into everything he made,” says Catherine Feher-Elston in her book, Ravensong”

22 / October 2010

mountains; they do not usually migrate. Both enter the breeding stage at about three years of age, building sturdy nests of sticks high in the forks of trees, the raven sometimes choosing a cliff ledge. The raven may indulge in spectacular courtship antics, even gliding upside down to attract a mate. The birds are known to be monogamous and mate for life. Urban crows seem able to survive on smaller ranges or breeding territories, and these territories, unlike the raven’s, often overlap, probably because of the ‘fodder’ provided by man. Actually, the survival of corvids, their fitness and reproduction, has seemingly increased with human development. Both birds are long-lived and the body to brain ratio of corvids is believed to be only slightly lower than a human’s.

While the female is incubating the usually four or five bluish-green or speckled eggs for 17 –20 days, the male feeds her, but both take on the chore of feeding the young for the month it takes them to fledge. These black scavengers are omnivorous, eating insects, smaller birds and their eggs, fish, small mammals, fruits and vegetables. Ravens are known to follow large predators to feed on the leftovers of their prey. They depend on the predators to ‘open’ an animal as they themselves do not have the beaks for tearing into flesh.

Crows and ravens have been vilified and persecuted by farmers and gardeners but centuries ago in Europe they were protected because of their garbage pick-ups. In reality, the birds do more good than harm because their lifestyle includes the eating of hordes of insects and disposing of trash.

Crows and ravens had their day as sacred beings in the beliefs of most native American peoples. Raven’s “children” – including the Haida, Kwakiutl and Tlingit, believed that Raven had always been and always would be. “The white-feathered raven delighted in beauty, and he breathed joy and happiness into everything he made,” says Catherine Feher-Elston in her book, “Ravensong”.

Perhaps White Raven gave us the special beauties we enjoy here in our own part of the Island. While very rare in most parts of the world, white ravens have been reported here for over a decade. Local photographer and writer, Mike Yip, has photographed a pair of young white ravens and their nest-mates behind Qualicum’s Ravensong Pool and near the town ball fields.

It appears that white ravens are the result of a genetic quirk in the parents that produces offspring without the normal black pigmentation. If such parents’ offspring is all white with pink eyes it is an albino; if the young have some colouration or are without the pink eyes they are known as leucistic. The birds seen by Mike had blue eyes, as do most young crows, so they were likely leucistic.

According to the Vancouver Sun, the white raven foretells “the destruction of the world”. Considering the mythological White Raven’s delight in joy, happiness and beauty, we should be able to enjoy these avian friends in a more optimistic light. ~

Corvid notes: The European Crow, when going to some particular place, flies with steady wingbeats and in a perfectly straight line, hence our expression “as the crow flies”.

An experiment showed crows prefer French fries in a McDonalds bag over those in a brown paper bag! ~

continued from page 21

/ October 2010 23

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26 / October 2010

“Every minute of every day counts, don’t you think?” Whether fishing, volunteering, or just taking the time to appreciate the beauty of Deep

Bay, Margie Healey’s statement is an apt descriptor of how she and her husband David live their lives.

Although the differences in their personalities are obvious, Margie being a whirlwind of energy and David seemingly quieter and more reflective, after thirty-one years of marriage, they actually meet somewhere in the middle. “Some of my good qualities have rubbed off on Margie and some of Margie’s

have rubbed off on me. We complement each other, wouldn’t you say?”

“We actually lived almost parallel lives growing up,” explains Margie. “We both grew up in isolated communities, David across the inlet from Egmont, which was only accessible

by boat, and me in Yellowknife. We also had no road access.” David started rowboat fishing when he was eight; Margie spent her early years flying into bush camps and fishing with her dad.

David continues their story. “My parents, Cy and Elsie, moved to Deep Bay in 1961. He was the fish buyer, and they also ran the general store. I went off to University, but spent every summer here, helping my parents.” David got a Master’s degree from UBC in Physical Oceanography, and worked as a scientist on the Department of Fisheries’ weather ships.

“I loved the field work, but not the report writing. I really wanted to be a fisherman.” With his home port as Deep Bay, David deckhanded, bought a troller, and then had a boat built for him by Cyril Thames. “His were the premium wooden boats on the coast. I still fish lingcod and salmon with the Ocean Siesta.”

Meanwhile, in 1972, Margie purchased Seacroft Resort in Bowser. “I met my first Bowser friend there, Vera Reid. She had worked for the former owners,

By Rita Levitz

then worked with me. She is now ninety-four and still my dearest friend and an inspiration to me.”

David and Margie’s parallel lives were about to come together – a dance, a whirlwind courtship, and three months later, they were married.

“We fished together for the next five years, lingcod in Baynes Sound and salmon on the West Coast. David was the Captain of the boat and I was the Captain of the home. I cleaned fish for five years. I like seeing what’s inside of things. I’d release the live baby crabs from the coho’s stomachs, do C-sections on any dogfish that had died and release the live babies – at least let them have a chance. I was scared my first month out on the West Coast, but learned that fish boats are a lot tougher than people.”

“I wasn’t getting any younger, though, and after trying for five years, lo and behold, in my forty-fifth year, our beautiful daughter Katie was born.” Time does continue on. Katie is now 27, married, has a Masters in Earth and Ocean Science and works as a scientist in Courtenay.

Margie has played a founding or instrumental role in many diverse local organizations, often serving on the executive. “She likes to be President,” laughs David.

“I’m not afraid to make a decision. You can’t just sit on the fence and expect something to get done. You have to make it happen, but you need a team effort to do that. Over the years I’ve learned to work with people, that it is cooperation and respect that gets things done.” For thirty-eight years, fundraising has been Margie’s forte, whether for a school library or adventure playground, for setting up The Old School House as an art gallery or making sure the SPCA has the funds and property to operate successfully.

“I guess that’s where my background in banking and finance has come in handy. Marketing is what I do best. If I see a cause, something that needs to be done, I will go out and find the money for it.” Margie is currently the Director and Treasurer of the Deep Bay Harbour Authority, and newly-elected President on City Council for Beta Sigma Phi. Meanwhile, David has spent many years representing lingcod fishers on government and advisory boards.

Although Margie says she learned the value and habit of volunteering from her mother, David says, “I got it from my wife.”

David and Margie live active, hard-working, mutually supportive lives, yet feel also blessed by the serenity and healing quality of their hilltop home, overlooking the docks of Deep Bay. As Margie puts it, “Eagles nesting nearby, herons roosting, deer gracing our yard…who could ask for anything more?” ~

MARGIE & DAVID HEALEY

Margie & David Healey ▪ Rita Levitz photo

/ October 2010 27

OCTOBER 2010

Our tide table measurements are taken from the Denman Island substation. For other tides, visit http://www.

waterlevels.gc.ca/english/Canada.shtml on the Internet.

28 / October 2010

By Carol Plaisier

Do you know anyone that is invested in the sock market? Sock drawers,

coffee cans, backyards or mattresses? In an uncertain market, many investors turn to ‘alternative’ investing options, but that is no reason to remain in ‘defensive mode’ indefinitely.

Today, it is easy to look back and say ‘I should have invested more money’ or ‘I should have stayed invested’ but in the latter half of 2007 and 2008 it seemed that the markets would never stop declining. Fear of losing everything was a major factor in the investor’s selling decision, possibly against the advice of their advisor. This doesn’t mean that you should accept all the recommendations of your advisor, especially if you do not understand how and where they research their recommendations. Signs of a weakened advisor/client relationship occur if your advisor does not contact you on a regular basis or only does so when they are recommending a trade or tells you ‘don’t worry, you’re in for the long haul and the markets always bounce back’ more than once.

October 4 – 10, 2010 is Financial Planning Week in Canada. Visit www.financialplanningweekcanada.ca to take a

short financial fitness quiz. Your answers to these few questions will quickly let you know how you feel about your financial well being. It is never too late to develop a comprehensive financial plan, whether you are starting your first job or whether you retired five years ago.

An advisor you trust will help you to understand your risk tolerance in relation to your life goals and to understand whether or not your expectations are realistic. This allows you to make adjustments as you go, to ensure that you will be able to reach and maintain your desired lifestyle.

Financial planners look at all areas of your personal financial situation – what you own, what you owe, your investments and your household budget. Having a portfolio reach a certain dollar value is not the same as reaching your life goals, such as becoming a homeowner, taking your yearly desired vacation or retiring in the lifestyle you want. When you think of your portfolio, it is not the dollar amount that really means something to you; it is what those dollars represent in terms of your life goals. Your advisor will also address the areas of tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning, asset

PROMOTION

management, financial management (day to day) and risk management in terms of your life goals.

An unknown tomorrow does not mean that you have to scrape by today! ~

For further information, Carol Plaisier, Investment Advisor with Dundee Securities Corporation, Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund, is a DundeeWealth Inc. Company can be reached at the DundeeWealth office in Parksville (250) 248-2399, or by email: [email protected]. www.carolplaisier.com

This article was prepared by Carol Plaisier, CFP®, FMA, AMP (Accredited Mortgage Professional) who is an Investment Advisor with Dundee Securities Corporation, a DundeeWealth Inc. Company. This is not an official publication of Dundee Securities Corporation and the author is not a Dundee Securities analyst. The views (including any recommendations) expressed in this article are those of the author alone, and they have not been approved by, and are not necessarily those of Dundee Securities Corporation.

Contact Carol for a ComplimentaryFinancial Health Check Up Today!

Lighthouse Community Centre240 Lions Way, Qualicum Bay, B.C.

Registration: 9:30 a.m. Meeting: 10:30 a.m.

Your support fuels our plans! Please come with your ideas & feedbackYour support fuels our plans! Please come with your ideas & feedback

Corcan-Meadowood Residents Association1st Annual General Meeting • Saturday - October 2nd

Elaine Peligren, President • Phone 250-729-7099 (ext. 234)www.meadowoodresidents.com

• Important information regarding the progress of the Highway 19 access• Government O�cials from the Regional District of Nanaimo, Ministry

of Transportation & Provincial Government• Progress Reports on Community Park, Regional Park and Community Centre

/ October 2010 29

THE LINES WE DRAW IN SPACEBy Joanne Sales

My shopping cart kept rolling down the hill towards the fender of my car. “Stay…

stay,” I said out loud to the cart. A man passing by looked at me in amusement. “You talk to your shopping cart too, don’t you?” I asked. My guess is that he doesn’t. He draws the line on that one. No talking to shopping carts. We humans draw lines in space all the time. Sometimes we mistake them for solid lines and build whole belief systems upon them. But more often, these distinguishing differences between us are arbitrary, shifting, and erasable.

That man in the parking lot talks to people and probably dogs – but there he draws the line. I’m more inclusive and a bit of a blab-bermouth. I also talk to chickens, blueberry bushes, the sun and rain, and an occasional shopping cart. At the far extreme of this “ruler of behaviour” are sad disorders like schizophrenia. Russell Crowe, in the movie A Beautiful Mind, has to ask a student, “Can you see that man?” He sees people that we don’t see, so he needs to check in when someone new arrives, to make sure that his reality still aligns with ours. We humans like to line up our lines. But it’s hard, because spaces are like the trails of fireworks – they are not laws of the universe. We create and collect them as we go along.

My newborn granddaughter’s eyes shifted around like water in water. They were not fo-

cusing on anything. She didn’t have anything to hang on to yet. No lines. She immediately set to work detecting and drawing lines in space, under the guidance of her teachers, culture and highly creative brain. Eventually, she developed some kind of cosmology. She drew enough lines and now it works. She is at peace with her new world, sings and eats blueberries and jumps on the trampoline.

Over time, we accumulate lines. By the time my grandfather moved in with us in 1957, his mind was heavy with the weight of too many lines. For one, he was prejudice (pre-judged) against Catholics. To be quite honest, I don’t think he had many other groups in his com-munity to be prejudice against. His world was small. Nevertheless, we humans like to draw lines, so he drew a line, and Catholics were on the other side of it.

There were Catholic kids who played in our yard. At the ripe age of nine, back by the clothesline, we debated the existence of purgatory. (I wish I had a recording!) I won’t deny it – there was a line in space between the Catholic school kids and the public school kids. They could spell “encyclopedia”, and the public school kids could not. (Until we watched Pinocchio.)

Arbitrary? Yes. Most lines are arbitrary. I’ll drink coffee on a trip but never at home (I don’t want to wash the coffee pot). I’ll eat chocolate but only dark, fair trade chocolate

– it keeps me in control. My husband allows himself beer but never hard liquor, out of re-spect for the slippery slope of alcoholism. We have dress code lines, food lines, career lines, budget lines; so many things we think are right or wrong, acceptable or not. Some lines are quite upsetting to others. Many divorces are caused by conflicting lines regarding that very important topic – dirty socks. Can you leave them on the floor? For how long? Who picks them up?

What will you eat and what won’t you eat? How do you divide up the hours? The laundry? The saved and the unsaved? What is okay to talk about and what is not? We discover these lines as we get to know each other. But the art of conscious living is in knowing ourselves. Where do we draw our lines?

The lines we draw will and should change with time, in the process of maturing and waking up. We may even decide to erase a few. We don’t want to return to the unfocused open space horizon of a newborn, but the world would benefit from more people recognizing that most of our lines are arbitrary, shiftable, and erasable. We don’t need to take them all so seriously. We don’t need to overreact when someone steps over the speech line, colour line or clothesline (ha ha). As always, the key is consciousness.

What is it that a newborn can’t see that we have taught ourselves to see? There is a thin line between recognizing lines in space and drawing them. Which is which? That is a topic that mystics and quantum physicists continue to explore. No matter how many sunrises and sunsets we have seen, we still don’t know the answer to that enigma. It is the mystery that keeps the story interesting – and puts our lines in perspective. ~

Joanne is an organic blueberry farmer, writer and EFT Counselor living in Qualicum Beach. [email protected]

30 / October 2010

IT’S HAPPENING IN AREA H

Email: [email protected]: 757-9737 • FAX: 757-9705

By Dave BatramRDN Area H Director

Legion Military Service Recognition Book: The Board approved $925 towards advertising and printing of the BC/Yukon Command Recognition Book to help Command improve services to Veterans in the more than 150 Communities served by the 154 Legion Branches and 100 Ladies’ Auxiliaries throughout BC.

Development Permits: The Board approved an application to relax the minimum 10% perimeter frontage requirement on a proposed two lot subdivision at 226 Kenmuir Road and at 6190 & 6208 Island Highway West in conjunction with a lot line adjustment.

Local Calling Area between Bowser and Union Bay: Both the RDN and the Comox Valley Regional District have supported the establishment of a local calling area between prefixes 335 and 757. Telus advises that the implementation should occur in March 2011.

Bowser Village Centre Sewer Study Bylaw: The Board approved Bylaw #1604, 2010 establishing a service for the purpose of undertaking a sewer feasibility study in the Bowser Village Centre. Funding for the feasibility study is provided from Federal Government Community Works Funds,

the RDN Liquid Waste Management Planning Service and seven Bowser Village Centre property owners.

Bowser Waterworks District Infrastructure Planning Grant: The Board supported the Bowser Waterworks District application to the Provincial Ministry of Community and Rural Development for an Infrastructure Planning Grant to investigate the availability of additional source water to compliment a future water system balancing reservoir project.

Provincial Ministerial Order for the Protection of Coastal Douglas-fir on Select Crown Land: Bowser area has the largest segments of the Provincial Ministerial Order with 873 ha. The Province removed 3.8 ha of land within the Bowser Village Centre to allow for future civic and community uses, including a possible seniors’ housing project on the site. The disturbance of the ecosystems by either development or forestry is prohibited on these lands by Ministerial Order with the intention to conserve the red listed or endangered ecosystem. This combined with the Old Growth Management Areas proposed in DL86 by the Ministry of Forestry goes a long way towards not only protecting

the ecosystem but also our precious water supply in the Bowser and Deep Bay Water Districts. Now if we can only get people to stop illegal dumping of garbage on these lands!

Bow Horn Bay Fire Department: The Board approved Bow Horn Bay Fire Departments recommendation to purchase a fire engine from Rocky Mountain Phoenix at an estimated cost of $281,040 including taxes. $238,595 will come from the vehicle reserve fund with the remainder budgeted as part of the 2011 tax requisition from property owners served by the Bow Horn Bay Fire Department.

RDN Toilet Replacement Incentive Program: This highly successful Electoral Area part of the Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Plan is complete for 2010 when all the budgeted funds were expended. By the 25th Aug 550 rebates resulted in over 13 million litres of water remaining in local aquifers, protecting vital groundwater resources and promotion long-term sustainability in the Region. The RDN Water Services will continue to accept eligible applications which will be held on a first-come, first-serve basis for funding when funding is approved as part of the 2011 Budget process. ~

Electoral Area ‘H’ (Bowser)Parks and Open Space

Advisory Committee

NOTICE OF MEETING

The next Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee meeting will be held at Lighthouse Community Centre, 240 Lions Way,Qualicum Bay, on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 9:00am.

For information please contact the RDN Recreation andParks Department (t: 250.248.3252), visit the website at:

www.rdn.bc.ca or email [email protected].

/ October 2010 31

Last month we discussed some aspects of Sleep Apnea, this month we will continue with how Sleep Apnea is diagnosed

and what treatment options are available. About 50% of people with Sleep Apnea have been found to have essential hypertension (High Blood Pressure) and when the Sleep Apnea is treated quite often the elevated blood pressure corrects itself.

Effects of Sleep Apnea on health:

The main effects of Sleep Apnea are sleep deprivation and oxygen deprivation and these have serious health consequences and can even be life threatening.

Sleep deprivation: Sleep Apnea hurts the affected person and their bed partner. Frequent waking, whether remembered or not, causes fitful sleep and prohibits therapeutic rest. Often a person with Sleep Apnea will wake up feeling like they have not slept or have difficulty staying awake during the day.

Oxygen deprivation: When you stop breathing your brain does not get enough oxygen. Serious health problems can result from oxygen deprivation due to Sleep Apnea including; heart disease, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction and learning/memory problems.

Diagnosing Sleep Apnea: If you suspect you have Sleep Apnea, there are a few things you might do in addition to seeing your physician.

1. Keep a sleep diary. For a few nights, you or your sleep partner can record if you are snoring, how loud your snoring is, how well you are sleeping, whether you are having trouble breathing (choking or gasping for breath) and whether you are feeling refreshed in the morning.

2. Record yourself sleeping. Recording yourself can be a helpful tool for your doctor.

If you suspect you have Sleep Apnea consult your doctor or see a sleep specialist.

Things you can do to help include: Losing weight; stop using alcohol, tobacco and/or sedatives or anything that relaxes the muscles of the throat and encourages snoring; sleep on your side; elevate the head of your bed 4-6 inches; maintain regular sleep hours; use a nasal dilator, breath right strips or saline nasal spray

Treatment may include finding a sleep specialist who may suggest a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine to use each night. Dental appliances and oral devices such as a mandibular repositioning device and the tongue retaining device have been found to be effective but need to be fitted by a dentist specializing in Sleep Apnea. ~

SLEEP APNEA

Submitted by Lucy Churchill, RN

PART 2

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In 2009, Parksville City Councilor, Al Grier was looking for a way to help Oceanside youth at risk to get back on the right track.

Today, ‘Life Without Fear’ has helped 44 young people to get off the street and on the right road, and has now expanded to include Canada’s first ever Youth Ambassador Program (YAP).

“I wanted to help turn the lives around for some of these young people,” says Grier.

The free martial arts based pilot project is for males and females age 16 to 19, and offers free German Ju Jutsu classes from 8:30 pm to midnight, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, at the Parksville German Ju Jutsu Systems (GJJS) DoJo. It provides training to enhance self-confidence and self-respect, as well as training, licensing and employment opportunities in the security industry.

Former Oceanside RCMP Police Chief, Glen Moffat of Moffat Security Consulting an Private Investigating Inc. is approved by the Justice Institute to train youth in the program in Basic Standard Training (BST) and Advanced Security Training so that at age 19 they are licensed to work as security guards, armored car drivers, for alarm companies, and perhaps eventually go on to work in law enforcement.

“This program provides youth who may have made poor choices with certified training and an opportunity to be duly employed within the security industry,” he says.

A year and a half ago, Grier and fellow councilor and 5th Degree Kung Fu practitioner, Susan Powell, joined forces with GJJS Sensei’s and program founders Deltef Joe Friede and Jeremy Buerge, and a group of dedicated citizens and RCMP (both active and retired) to offer a Ju Jutsu based program to reduce crime.

Friede has dedicated the past two years to establish the GJJS Foundation, a not for profit organization and registered charity, which provides preventive programs and services based on the specialized Ju Jutsu Martial Arts system, with the goal to decrease crime, violence and vandalism.

German Ju Jutsu incorporates strong values and techniques from many different martial arts styles. It is different than other martial arts in that its primary focus is to work to de-escalate a conflict

INNOVATIVE OCEANSIDE PILOT PROJECT

HELPS YOUTH GET BACK ON TRACKby Lisa Verbicky

Jeremy Buerge and his son, Michael, at the German Ju Justu Dojo

/ October 2010 33

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situation before using force, says Friede, who holds a second-degree black belt in Ju Jutsu with 25 years as a coach and competitive fighter.

The program provides a positive environment through mentoring and role modeling that encourages creating new relationships with others and with society, says Friede who is also a trained hypnotherapist and has helped hundreds of victims of crime and violence.

“Kids today are facing some unique challenges,” he says. “Everything is so fast paced, so connected with texting, the Internet, social media, and gaming culture. They’re growing up in an environment of intense peer pressure, and the aggression level is high.”

Many of these kids are ‘fringe players’ who may have come from abuse and neglect, and prefer to follow a peer leader down a road that might lead them to trouble with the law, drugs and alcohol, says Grier.

The program is based on the German Synanon program that has helped thousands of people get off heroine through martial arts since the 1970’s and focuses on mental coaching to build confidence, discipline, awareness, confidence and self-esteem.

“Martial arts can open up and create new pathways for these young people. It is fascinating to see the change when we reconnect mind and body,” says Friede.

Based on RCMP reports, the program has already been successful in reducing the incidence of vandalism and dumpster fires, says Friede.

“Each one of these young people has changed their lives by finding an interest in martial arts,” says Grier.

“The biggest improvement has got to be his grades,” says one mother about her teen on a YouTube Video posted on the GJJS website. “They are up something like 75 per cent, his attendance is up, and his whole attitude has changed.”

The video on www.gjjs.ca captures teens as they wrangle each other with precision into pretzel-like positions. In one scene, the foundation’s president Grier and vice president, Sue Powell go head to head with boxing gloves.

Youth are introduced to the program by peers, teachers, or by the RCMP who hand out cards to youth who come through the station or are wandering at night. They must qualify for security training by being 18 and having completed their green belt.

The City of Parksville has supported program by waving the rent on the city-owned building where the GJJS operates.

In April 2010, GJJS became an official non-profit, breaking ground in Ottawa by creating a new charitable category as a “social enterprise”, a status that allow them to run independently in the best interest of the kids over the long term, says Friede.

The program has gained support from the City of Parksville, Town of Qualicum Beach, the Regional District of Nanaimo, the School District, the RCMP, local fire departments, the Attorney General, the Justice Institute, and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, says Friede.

“We are fortunate to have such highly skilled members in our organization, who are interested in the community and youth at risk. This makes a difference not only in the community, but by taking these young people under their guidance, it provides the opportunity for them to become great citizens,” says Grier in a news release.

“Joe has the ability to bring the best out in youth, he’s incredibly dedicated to the entire Oceanside area. This is a great program to focus troubled youth and I have no doubt that it will be successful,” says Moffat.

GJJS was nominated for a 2009/2010 Glossy Award by the Parksville Chamber of Commerce.

“Joe is everything in the program, he has worked extremely hard for this organization from day one without pay. If there are awards to be given out it would be for Joe Friede, and his partner Jeremy Buerge. They have done a remarkable job,” says Grier.

“It’s a place to dream,” says Buerge, a second degree Ju Jutsu black belt with experience as a youth mentor and fire training officer. ~

For more information on the GJJS Foundation, visit www.gjjs.ca. Mar

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Residents of Qualicum Beach could be excused if they thought their vociferous

challenge had ended the debate over the de-velopment of the college site. At the second public hearing, after a long evening, Council voted 3-2 against third reading and the audience of more than 100 souls left with applause and smiles. Fast forward to Mon-day night at the regular September Council meeting and those smiles would have faded had anyone in the gallery been there to hear Councillor Kent Becker flip-flop and vote to reopen the mess. The college inn was not on the agenda, but with prompting from Councillor Jack Wilson, Councillor Becker said he hadn’t heard one of the motions at the public hearing and moved that the Town and developer try to resolve the issues that infuriate nearby residents.

Councillor Becker said he had supported this project because of the need to do something. At present, what one sees in this upscale area is a dilapidated remnant of the inn that supposedly will be restored to a building befitting its Heritage Site status, if the de-velopment gets the go-ahead. The rest of the site is surrounded by a construction fence.

Not a pretty sight, yet the residents stand firm. Yes it needs to be developed, but not this way, with three buildings massed on 2.1 acres looming over nearby homes.

Residents made it clear they don’t care that the developers bought the property in 2006 and want action, or that the town staff and council have spent hundreds of hours work-ing on this issue. Councillors were told over and over it was their job to follow the will of the people. More than once the “we put you in office, we pay your salary” mantra was invoked as residents took the microphone. The audience was fairly well-behaved, although a titter ran through the crowd when Ainslie Foster, representing the developers, said the “silent majority” in Qualicum Beach supported this plan. There was not much silence at the Civic Centre that night.

One of the issues of great concern is the setback. Experts from both sides have said the bank is safe, but residents, mindful of the slide on the Eaglecrest slope (not that far away) want a setback of 20 metres. Marilyn Buchan whose home on Judges Row sits in the shadow of the potentially highest

building said she is unable to get insurance in case of a catastrophe. Margaret Adair who owns properties on Judges Row and Burn-ham Road worried about a possible decrease in property values as well as the stability of the bluff. “It’s a concern, a huge concern.”

Height and the project’s overall massive appearance are the other sticking points. Pat Jacobson, who lives on Burnham, showed the audience that new projects can blend with old by presenting photos of small de-velopments around the town that work with the neighbourhood. So, what happens next? With Monday’s vote in favour of getting the applicants to address citizen complaints, it’s back to sec-ond reading when it appears on the agenda again. Then there’s a third public hearing. The Mayor and Councillor Barry Avis have steadfastly voted against the project. Coun-cillors Becker, Wilson and Mary Brouilette have largely ignored resident wishes in fa-vouring the development. Who will prevail? Stay tuned. ~

By Marilyn Dawson, Reporter

THAT OLD COLLEGE INN:CHAPTER FIVE (OR IS IT SIX?) THE SAGA CONTINUES...

/ October 2010 35

How was your summer? Mine was excellent, thanks. Susan and I pootled

about the island, as you do, indulging in seasonal adventures ranging from noshing on frozen bananas to being moved to the core of our souls by an Inuit throat singer.

One satisfying event we attended was a Comox art show in a beautiful garden belonging to friends. As at their first such show last year, a live soundtrack was provided by a local musician, further enhancing the relaxing experience of ambling around the garden, gazing at the art.

This year it was the turn of Joey Clarkson, a 20-year old singer-songwriter from Merville. It was a hot day, so relief from the blazing sun was found in the shade of the garden’s trees, listening to her play. And what extraordinary songs this young lady writes, two in particular serving to demonstrate the emotional extremes she is capable of inducing in the listener. One concerns an elephant and an inchworm; so affecting a tale it is that Clarkson’s performance provoked tears in Susan and others listening. In direct contrast, The Strudel Song is one of the wittiest and most lyrically imaginative songs I’ve heard in quite some time. It is not every day, after all, that one encounters a song with an opening line like: In Grade 7 I had a science project where I had to make a model of the earth, including all the layers, and I chose to make mine out of pastry!

This great song and others Clarkson performed that sunny Saturday are taken from her 6-song, eponymous debut EP, just one plate this driven individual has had spinning recently. (It is indicative of her work ethic, incidentally, that she took the trouble to travel to The Outback Kangaroo Farm in Arlington, WA, in order to have her photograph taken with a baby kangaroo – a joey – for the EP’s cover shot.)

Listening to her music it genuinely is difficult to tell from whom she may draw inspiration, so I asked her recently what she listened to growing up, and if she has any particularly strong influences. “I was a huge fan of classic rock, meaning from the 50s and 60s,” she begins. “I used to listen to a lot of musical theatre stuff, and the only

popular band I was into when growing up was the Spice Girls! And I don’t know if ‘influence’ is quite the right word, because I don’t sound anything like her, but one of my role models, who I aspire to be more like, is Ani DiFranco. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to her and I like how she’s been successful, but done it in her own way. I find that she never sacrifices her music to the ‘rules’ of songwriting, not worrying about if it rhymes or contains the ‘right’ amount of syllables. It’s probably why her songs aren’t successful on the radio, but she commits to the feeling she wants in the song. There’s no compromise.”

As Clarkson herself acknowledges, I was quite surprised to hear this from a musical perspective, but considering American folk-rocker DiFranco is a feminist icon whose creative fruitfulness yielded 17 studio albums before reaching the age of 40 last month, it’s easy to understand why any musician, female or male, would admire all

that she is and does. So looking back now at The Strudel Song’s opening line, thinking on what Clarkson says about DiFranco’s approach to songwriting, the inspiration fuelling the fearlessness with which she tackles her craft becomes apparent.

In respect of the “musical theatre stuff” Clarkson mentions enjoying, it is a huge part of her life. She conducts classes and workshops in musical theatre for children, and has been an instructor and musical director on many productions for the TheatreWorks Centre for Performing Arts in Courtenay. She tells me that her experiences in this regard have shaped her into the engaging performer we witnessed playing in that garden. “I credit a lot of my ability to get up on stage to TheatreWorks,” she says. “It did so much in boosting my self-confidence and training me in my ability to publicly speak. It was never easy for me. I

By David Morrison

JOEY CLARKSON:

THE WORLD IS HER STRUDEL CRUST

continued on page 36

JOEY CLARKSON, JESSE McCLOY and BREANNE LARSON ■ Katie Clarkson photo

36 / October 2010

started with this when I was about 11, I guess, and it really got me into doing directing and the theatre I love.”

All things considered thus far, it is unsurprising to learn that Clarkson, in collaboration with her dear friend, Breanne Larson, has written a musical. Already staged locally this year, she describes it as “a glimpse into the life of baristas and their interactions with customers in a coffee shop, while focusing, well…it’s got a hint of an Internet dating relationship in it! It’s a little love story based in a coffee shop!”

Does this award-winning young woman never sleep? Apparently not, as the next step in her hopeful rise to stardom is currently being organized, albeit an ambitious one to present her sometimes beautiful and sometimes quirky pop songs to an overseas audience. Accompanied by Larson and guitarist Jesse McCloy, Clarkson is headed to the UK for a string of shows in November. With dates still to be confirmed as you read, through personal connections she hopes the band may also be able to secure a few gigs in Germany. Her anticipation is tangible. “I’m so very excited for this!” she gushes. “We’re booked to be over there November, December and January, so I’m looking into finding a sponsor so I can go to MIDEM (Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale, held annually in Cannes) at the end of January, if possible, and for November we would like to organize between 15 and 20 gigs. So that’s our ultimate goal; I don’t know if it’s going to happen. We just want to go and promote ourselves and be positive and see some of the world at the same time. If it goes well we hope to do a Canadian tour next year.”

I really have to hand it to this kid, as she is absolutely going for it. Yet despite her personal ambition, Clarkson is someone firmly in touch with community and extremely proactive when it comes to the difficulties of others. Locally, she has spent eight years volunteering in the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, and she was so moved by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that, with likeminded friends, she founded KATTALIST: Kids Acting Together to Assist Lives in Suffering Times. A fundraising group dedicated to “underprivileged and disaster-struck people,” KATTALIST is now shelved, but simply because the various members have dispersed far and wide following graduation; Clarkson sees no reason why it or a renamed, similarly intended group will not return in the future.

So as we nudge into the fall and I find myself still humming The Strudel Song as I go about my days, I can’t help but ponder something else its composer told me back in the summer. “I don’t consider myself to be a very funny person, but if humour shows through in my songs it is always honest humour,” she said. No kidding, eh? I’d say everything about Joey Clarkson is built on honesty, wouldn’t you? ~

For more information about the music and other activities of Joey Clarkson, please visit the following websites:

www.joeyclarkson.comwww.joeyclarkson.cawww.myspace.com/JoeyClarksonMusic www.reverbnation.com/joeyclarkson

continued from page 35

Come enjoy the harbour with us!Come enjoy the harbour with us!

1077 Lee Road, French Creek Harbour

Winter Hours: Monday to Friday ~ 11am to 3pmSaturday & Sunday ~ 8am to 3pm

YES! We serve breakfast on weekends!YES! We serve breakfast on weekends!

/ October 2010 37

Q: With fall being clean up season, can you please advise us how much to cut back on the following: Fuchsia (hardy), Spirea bumalda, and Buddleia davidii? We’re nervous.

A: Many gardeners have what I call a healthy ‘fear of cutting’. With such a wide variety of plants to care for, it’s difficult to be sure of what to do. On one hand, it’s good to be cautious because once cut, you can’t put it back, and some trees should never be cut other than to clean up broken branches. On the other hand, some plants and trees are actually dependent on regular trimming to look their best, not scraggly. It’s important to learn proper pruning techniques (take my course in October) and to know your plants’ needs so you can encourage optimum growth and health. Plants are pruned in various ways at different times of the year.

The deciduous shrubs you mention are members of what is called ‘Pruning Group 3’ which are plants that flower on the current year’s growth or new wood. All three benefit from cutting back about a third of their growth in the fall to protect them against winter damage. That will be enough for the year for the Spirea unless it is old, in which case you cut it again in March to just above the ground. The Fuchsia is also cut to the ground in spring, and the Buddleia may be trimmed to one or two buds above last year’s cuts at that time. Remember, how anything is pruned depends on many things: age, location, weather, and future plans for it (do you want it tall, wide, short?) to name a few. Generally, the more you keep plants in this pruning group trimmed, the more new growth, and therefore flowers, you will get. Often, cutting back rejuvenates and restores the vitality of plants.

Q: I’ve renovated a bed by removing some old shrubs and spraying the periwinkle with Roundup®. When I dig, I keep finding Periwinkle roots and I wonder whether it would be okay to plant.

A: It’s best not to plant yet. Periwinkle and other stoloniferous plants need two to three treatments of Roundup® to achieve a 90% success rate. It’s better to keep working your bed, removing the roots you find, and adding compost to improve the soil. Being an evergreen, every time the weather gets nice throughout the year, Periwinkle will sprout. You’ll need to paint the leaves with Roundup® to control it. After diligence through the fall and early spring, you can safely plant in late spring, expecting to continue eradicating unwanted plants and developing your bed with good soil.

Q: I had a bountiful harvest from my apple tree this year, but I can’t help thinking it used up a lot of energy to do that. What kind of fertilizer should I apply to replenish the soil?

A: You’re right that it takes a lot of nutrients out of the ground for a tree to fruit and that the ground needs feeding. The best form of fertilizer is compost. Compost feeds the soil in the most natural way, taking the leavings of our fall harvest and spent plants and transforming them into the medium for new life. Your own back yard compost (fish compost or sea soil) is just fine. I always say, “If you feed the soil, the soil will feed your plants.” Spread it 3-5 inches under the tree keeping it at least 6 inches away from the trunk. (Touching could damage the tree.) Now is a perfect time to do this since here on the coast, the tree’s roots keep working to store energy all winter. Every time it rains, nutrients will feed it so that the natural cycle continues. Happy Thanksgiving to all. ~

Harry Sumner is a certified arborist and garden coach. Gardening questions are welcome at 250-248-4512 or [email protected].

IN THE FALL, THINK RENEWAL

Have you been inspired by someone or something in your

community? Let us know and your story could appear in The Beacon.

Email, phone or drop in to see us in Bowser!

[email protected]

250-757-9914

TEMPLE GRANDIN – IN STORE NOWWhen I saw the cover of this movie, it was not one that I would normally pick to watch. You know the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”? Quite often, I find myself doing just that, judging a movie by its cover. So I gave Temple Grandin a chance. It was, in my opinion, such an excellent movie. I highly recommend it.

Temple Grandin is a biopic directed by Mick Jackson and starring Claire Danes as Temple Grandin, a woman with autism who revolutionized practices for the humane handling of livestock on cattle ranches and slaughterhouses.

SKELLIG THE OWL MAN – IN STORE NOWI thought this was a great family movie. My girls really enjoyed it.

This moving tale of a boy who befriends a mysterious man with unearthly powers will cast a spell on the entire family! Young Michael hates his dilapidated new home, he’s worried about his sick baby sister and he’s bullied at school. But life changes when he stumbles upon “Skellig” hiding out in a backyard shed (Tim Roth, The Incredible Hulk), and quickly realizes that there’s something very special about him. As magical things start to happen, an entirely new world opens up to Michael, who turns to a reluctant Skellig for help when his baby sister takes a turn for the worse. Don’t miss this unforgettable story about the power of friendship and family, the beauty of hope and the rapture of learning to fly.

Come on in and check out some other great New Releases: A great action/comedy Killers starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Helgl; Harry Brown a crime/drama starring Michael Caine; a wonderful, inspirational family movie Letters to God; and a great romantic/comedy starring Queen Latifah and Common in Just Wright – just to name a few.

OCTOBERS NEW RELEASES: The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan; Splice; for vampire lovers comes Lost Boys: The Thirst starring Corey Feldman; Sex and the City 2; the second movie in the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series is The Girl Who Played with Fire, another must see. Don’t forget to come in and get How to Train Your Dragon. See you in the store. ~

BY JORGIE ALEXANDERBOWSER VIDEO SHOWCASE

2010 Music Line-up at the

Qualicum Acoustic CaféFriday October 1 • Saskia and Darrel from SaskatchewanFriday November 5 • Four on the Floor from VictoriaThursday November 18 • Genticorum from QuebecFriday December 4 • Helen Austin from CourtenayThursday January 6 • Foghorn Trio (Caleb Klauder, Sammy Lind and Nadine Landry)

Rotary HouseBeach at Fern Road

Doors Open 7pm$5 (children are free)

Friday October 15 • Emma Beaton & Friends at the Oceanside Community Baptist Church • Doors open: 7pm. Show starts at 7:30pm.

Special Concert

/ October 2010 39

WILDWOOD COMMUNITYCHURCH

113 McColl Road, BowserSunday Morning Worship 10:30 am

757-8136RELOCATING TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL AREA! Looking for land to build a quality home & shop. Minimum size of one useable acre in Qualicum Bay or Bowser. Call Duane @ 250-701-3454

LOOKING FOR A HOUSEKEEPER? I have good references and am available for a housekeeping. FMI Call Louise 250-757-9901.

WANT TO INCREASE YOUR FINANCIAL IQ? CashFlow is a game designed to help you do just that in a fun, friendly way! Interested? Call Colin or Lynda at 250-757-9596.

WHY GO TO TOWN? Guitar lessons in your home! Acoustic or Electric. Reasonable rates. FMI contact Mike Lane at 250-702-0485 or [email protected].

BOAT FOR SALE – 30 foot, yellow cedar stripped plank hull. Sound, but needs paint. Some other work required therefore, offering cheap. $5,000 OBO for quick sale. FMI Call 250-339-9124.

FOR RENT QUALICUM BAY – 3 bdrm, 1 bath. Suite with a beautiful ocean view and large private deck. $1000/month + utilities. Avail. Oct. 15. FMI Call 250-757-8765

BOWSER BOTANICAL FARMS – Yardwork, fall clean-up. Pruning and trimming. Perennials for sale. Call John & Louise 250-757-9901

BAREFOOT HOOF TRIMMING A correct barefoot trim can improve your horses overall health and well being. Certified trimmer now accepting new clients. Reasonable rates and discounts offered. FMI Call 250-752-8380.

STAMP COLLECTIONS/ACCUMULATIONS WANTED – Mint or used, will take all, cash or consignment, top prices paid. Call Russ at 1-250-314- 1021 or email at [email protected]

PICK-UP AND DELIVERY – Tune-ups and repairs to riding lawnmowers, all small engines and related equipment. Call Ron 250-240-1971 e-mail: [email protected]

WANTED – 2 entrepreneur-minded individuals to work with expanding established business. 250-954-0074

HOUSE SITTING POSITION WANTED Healthy senior couple (with experience and references will care for your home plus any pets. We are available from December to April. Our areas of interest are Duncan, Naniamo, Ladysmith, Chemainus, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Bowser, Deep Bay, Courtenay, Comox etc. Our services are free and we pay our own L.D. phone calls. Contact Gord and Millie via e-mail: [email protected]

HUGE ANTIQUE SALE – MILDRED’S ANTIQUES celebrating 30th Anniversary. Savings up to 30%+. Great selection of furniture, paintings, prints, lamps, china, glass, silver. Top prices paid for silver & quality antiques. Single items to estates. Mildred’s Memorabilia, ph. 250-752-1700, 3215 Brooklin Lane, Hilliers, Qualicum Beach located on Hilliers Road South (off Hwy 4, 3 km West of Qualicum).

FOR SALE – 2005 Nissan 4 x 4 X Trail. Only 114,000 kms, runs like new. Clean, non-smoker. $12,000 OBO. FMI Call 757-2020 or 250-240-0904

SORT IT! – Simplify your life. Need help getting your errands done? Delivery, appointments. De-clutter your home or wardrobe. Organization, consultations, seasonal updates. Help is at hand. 250-240-3508

COAL CREEK FARM on MacArtney Drive in Fanny Bay has naturally fed, free range duck, chicken, turkey and goose meat available various times of the year. Don’t forget to order your Thanksgiving Turkey. Please call for availability – ask for Paul or Christine (250) 335-1322.

FIREWOOD – Legally obtained, seasonally dried firewood. $180/cord for dry fir, $160 mixed. Custom cut. Tax inc. discount for local seniors. Call 250-757-8006 or 250-240-2533

THERAPEUTIC FOOT REFLEXOLOGY – Sessions $40 for 75 mins my home or yours. Release your body’s self-healing ability through deep relaxation. Please call Marie at (250) 335-0850.

THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF QUESTERS – Next meeting Monday, October 25th. Call Chris for more information at 250-752-1419

WRITING SERVICES – Get help for all your business writing needs such as brochures, ads, newsletters, product descriptions, press releases, reports & websites. Or, tell your story with a print, audio or video memoir. Call Jane 250-335-1157 www.memorablelines.com

AD-SAFE – reliable transportation to appointments, shopping, errands, outings. Ferry and airport service as well. Call Marilee at 250-757-9967 or 250-954-9925

YOU CALL…I HAUL – small loads, garden waste, construction debris, unwanted misc. junk, small moves, prompt service. Call Ron 250-757-2094 or cell 250-228-1320

DESIGN & DRAFTING SERVICES. Residential – Commercial – Renovations Project Manager. Full Service Drafting Services from concept to completion. Call Deb Nicol. [email protected] 250-607-7038

FOOTCARE – HYGIENE Soaking feet, cutting nails, filing callouses, treating dry skin – fingernails too. Reflexology – 1 hour sessions. Home visits. Please call Vikki @ 250-757-9244

DON’S HOME REPAIR – plumbing repairs and installations, complete renovations, no job too small. Call Don @ 250-757-8757 or cell 250- 951-8757

WHISPER FARMHorse Boarding – Long or short term

Qualicum BeachCall Sue 250-752-3293

[email protected]“Time Spent with a Horse is Never Wasted”

WANTED! Self-Board Situation for 1 Horse – less pasture the better as this hardy little guy is a very easy keeper. Stall not required, loafing shed ok. Willing to pay reasonable board, fix/upgrade fencing or help care for your animals on a relief basis. Experienced horse owner since 1992. Resident and business owner with excellent references. Please call 250-757-9939.

40 / October 2010

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) The daily tempo of your days is accelerating! This is abusy month with short trips, errands, conversations with relatives and siblings, studying, writing, and a busy-ness that seems to keep increasing on its own. (Stop watering it.) Actually, this will be a productive month because you’re determined to pull your financial scene together, especially where it’s coming apart at the seams. You’ll enjoy this busy pace because it’s stimulating, exciting, and full of new opportunities to meet new people and discuss new ideas. Fresh, fresh, fresh! Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Your attention is on financial matters and cash flow. “Show me the money!” You’re looking for ways to boost your income or get a better job, or a new job, or make money on the side. Meanwhile, some of you are contemplating major purchases. It’s all about money in/money out. You might also be focusing more than usual on your possessions in the month ahead with respect to cleaning them, maintaining them, repairing them, whatever. Your communication skills are smooth and bolder! This serves you well. Privately, you’re questioning your values. “What’s it all about, Alfie?” Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) It’s your turn to recharge your batteries for the rest of the year. Both the Sun and Saturn are in your sign, which happens only two or three times in a 30-year cycle. You’re gearing up for your future. You’ve been letting go of things and are probably still doing so. This lightening of your load will allow you to enter a new world, with new responsibilities, and possibly even a new or different daily wardrobe! Older Librans might recall whatever was happening around 1981-1983. You are entering a similar window of time now. Fortunately, your job is improving. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) You have mixed messages this month. One message urges you to lie low and work quietly behind the scenes. This makes it a good time for research and secret activity. However, both Venus and Mars want you to get out and schmooze! They make you appear attractive, confident, and assertive. This doesn’t mean you’re all dressed up with no place to go. It means you’ll be busy interacting with others, and then suddenly, for a few days, you’ll disappear. If people ask where you are, tell them you’re working on your Halloween costume. (The truth!)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) What a popular month! Accept all invitations. Extend some to others from yourself. Join clubs, groups and organizations. Meet people for dinner, lunch, and coffee. Share your hopes and dreams for the future with others because their feedback will help you. The next six weeks are also a wonderful time for you to assess your goals. You have big ideas! Do not be seduced by a velvet rut. (You generally aren’t.) Many of you are having secret love affairs right now. Is that why you are texting and talking into your sleeve? Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) This month, the Sun is like a spotlight on you. This means others notice you more than usual, especially bosses, parents, teachers, VIPs, and the police. Furthermore, this “good lighting” makes you look great in their eyes. This is why you’ll be approached with new jobs or increased responsibilities. Obviously, you should milk this! Demand the advantage! Competition within a group makes your teeth itch but Venus paves the way to make you smooth and diplomatic. (You’re great at diplomacy when you want to be.) Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You’re desperate to escape from the cube farm, or whatever makes you feel imprisoned. (You’re sending messages in fortune cookies: “Help, I’m trapped in a Chinese bakery!”) Naturally, you want to travel. You want to watch those telephone poles going by, or better yet, hop a jet to an exciting destination. Do what you can to find adventure and expand your horizons! If you can’t travel, be a tourist in your own city. Sign up for a course. Learn something new. Push the sides of the envelope. People in power will help you now. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Many of you feel intense and secretive this month. It’s not that you have something to hide (although you might). More likely, it relates to your sex life. It might also be related to shared property, inheritances, taxes, debt or something you own jointly with someone. Perhaps something under dispute? Travel plans and publishing, the media, medicine, higher education, and the law intrigue you. Exchanges with partners and close friends are friendly and chatty. But underneath all this, what drives you is a desire to improve yourself. Yes!

Aries (March 21-April 19) The Sun is now as far away from your sign is it gets all year, which is why you’ll need more sleep this month. This placement of the Sun brings two other messages: First, its opposition to you makes you focus on partnerships and close friendships more than usual this month. You can learn more about your style of relating. Secondly, this month brings you greater acknowledgement and publicity for your talents and your achievements. Yay! The Sun is now “rising” above the horizon, moving higher and higher. Definitely get your beauty rest! Taurus (April 20-May 20) You’re shifting into work mode. While it’s true that you love your creature comforts, when the right kind of work comes along you’re indefatigable. Not only will you work hard this month, you’ll strive to get better organized. You want your life to run like a well-oiled machine. Something might make you rebellious now. Perhaps you’re working harder because you want greater freedom? Some of you will spin off into self-employment or contract work. (Then you don’t have to deal with those annoying people.) Gemini (May 21-June 20) Tra-la, tra-la, it is to laugh! Romance, love affairs, and saucy flirtations are on the menu this month. Accept invitations to party. Enjoy the arts and sports. Playful activities with children will delight. Find ways to express your creative juices. Sing, draw, dance, write, carve, weave or grab a camera. By all means, slip away on vacation if you can because this is the best time all year for a fun vacation! Head for the mountains, head for the Sun, just head somewhere! Bosses and people and authority might throw you a curveball. Don’t sweat it. You can catch it. Cancer (June 21-July 22) Fred Allen said, “Happiness is having a warm, loving, caring family in another city.” Expect to be in the bosom of your family this month You’ll be more involved with your own immediate family, or you’ll be visiting family, or family will visit you, or all of the above. During this month, seek out private moments at home if you can because you have something to do. Memories of your childhood will bubble to the surface. Discussions about securing your home base are important. This is your goal for the next few years. You want a secure anchor in the world.

/ October 2010 41

Our Advertisers ............................Contact ......................................................Category ................ Ad PageEyesOnBC .......................................................... 757-9914 .................................................................... The Beacon Magazine / Business Centre . 23

Arrowsmith Automotive ....................................... 752-1662 .................................................................... Automotive Services ...................................18Qualicum Auto & Marine Supply Ltd. .................. 250-752-5621 ............................................................ Auto & Marine Supplies. .............................45

Career Centre ..................................................... 248-3205 .................................................................... Business & Education. ................................45Jennifer Hubbard, Solicitor, Notary Public .......... 752-6951 .................................................................... Business & Financial Services. ...................40NR Insurance Services ....................................... 752-3086 .................................................................... Business & Financial Services ....................12Dennis Ponto, Accountant .................................. 757-8581 .................................................................... Business & Financial Services ....................46Wisdom is Within Coaching ................................ 757-9794 .................................................................... Business & Personal Coaching ...................21

Handy Sandy Services ....................................... 757-9599 .................................................................... Maintenance Services.................................44

Medicine Centre ................................................. Fern Rd 752-9911....Memorial Ave 752-9976 ............ Health Services ...........................................31Jonathan Martin CCST, CRRP ........................... 250-586-3316 ............................................................ Health Services ...........................................21

Nurse Next Door, Peter Coulter .......................... 250-752-2597 ............................................................ Health Services ...........................................38

Tracy Hebert R.M.T............................................. cell 927-1471 ............................................................. Health Services ...........................................46

Bowser Roofing .................................................. 757-9827 ........................248-1633. ........................... Home & Garden Services ...........................47Camelot Electric .........................................................................................250-752-7999 ..................... Home & Garden Services ........................9,46Camelot Excavating ....................................................................................250-752-7909 ..................... Home & Garden Servies .........................9, 46Camelot Homes ..........................................................................................250-752-7909 ..................... Home & Garden Service ...............................9Gemini Technical Services (Appliances) ............ 752-6871 .................................................................... Home & Garden Services ...........................46Horne Lake Electric ............................................ 250-240-7778 ............................................................ Home & Garden Services ...........................45Lighthouse Trucking Ltd. .................................... 757-2047 ........................cell 927-7577 ...................... Home & Garden Services ...........................45Northpacific Window ........................................... 752-5312 .................................................................... Home & Garden Services ...........................19Qualicum Bay Custom Carpentry ....................... 250-757-8996 ................cell 250-954-7700............... Home & Garden Services ...........................46Witte Construction .............................................. 757-9713 ........................927-2157 ............................ Home & Garden Services ...........................45

EyesOnBC (in Bowser) ....................................... 757-9914 .................................................................... Copy / Fax / Office Services. ......................23

Re/Max First Realty - Setter & Associates .......... 951-4078 ........................1-877-752-6089 .................. Real Estate .................................................47Re/Max First Realty - Tom Whitfield ................... 248-1071 ........................1-888-243-1071. ................. Real Estate .................................................18

Arrowsmith Golf & Country Club ......................... 752-9727 .................................................................... Sports & Leisure .........................................40

Peter Mason Land Surveyor ............................... 757-8788 ........................1-800-350-5394 .................. Surveying & Land Information .....................45

We encourage you to “shop local” whenever possible. Below is a list of local businesses that offer a variety of services and products for your personal and professional needs. Tell them you saw their listing or ad in The Beacon. And, if you use and can recommend a local business or service, we ask you to share the news with your neighbours, friends and family. Your positive referrals will ensure a strong economy in your community. And that’s important!

BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTRE

A-Company Military Surplus & Adventure Clothing ....................... 44Advanced Hypnosis ......................... 44All in One Bobcat ............................. 44Alpine Cedar .................................... 45Arrowsmith Heating ......................... 45Blue Star Trucking ........................... 45Bondy and Sons Heating & Cooling 45Bowser Video Showcase ................. 45Browns Plumbing & Gas .................. 46C.F. McLean Pellet Sales ................ 44Camelot Electric .............................. 46

SERVICE DIRECTORY LISTINGCamelot Excavating ......................... 46Career Centre .................................. 45Coastal Water Systems ................... 44DIY Helper & Handyman Services .. 44Deja~Vu Decor ................................ 45Dennis Ponto, Professional Accounting .................. 46Ed & Willems - House Painting ........ 45Evelyn’s Barber Shop ...................... 46Gemini Appliance Repair ................. 46Handy Sandy Services .................... 44Horne Lake Electric ......................... 45

Island Scallops ................................ 44Jim’s Mowing ................................... 45Level 6 Drywall Contracting ............. 44Lighthouse Trucking ........................ 45Master Lawn Maintenance .............. 46Mr. Land Clearing & Septic Ltd. ....... 46Oceanside Yoga .............................. 46PC Plumbing & Gas ......................... 44Peter Mason Land Surveyor ............ 45Powerwise Electric .......................... 44Qualicum Auto & Marine .................. 45Qualicum Bay Custom Carpentry .... 46

Qualicum Bay Plumbing .................. 45Qualicum Clothworks ....................... 44Shaklee - Sharon Waugh................. 46Studio Salon .................................... 46Tracy Hebert, Massage Therapist ... 46Wilson Exteriors ............................... 44Witte Construction Ltd. .................... 45

NEW THIS MONTH!Dynamic Drywall .............................. 45 Gabriels’ Attic ................................... 46Kerry’s Sewing Basket ..................... 44Biscotti di Notte ................................ 46

The advertisers listed here

also have their business cards and brochures racked with us

at EyesOnBC in our Community

Information Centre. If you require further

information about any of the businesses noted

above, please feel free to call or stop by our

office. We support local business

and firmly believe in the power of

networking.

Page 44-46

42 / October 2010

LIGHTHOUSE COMMUNITY CENTRE (LCC)Qualicum Bay - INFO: LOIS NELSON: 757-9938

Pancake Breakfast, Flea Market, Live Music, Veggies, Poultry & Small Animal Swap, Master Gardeners: – Sunday Oct. 10th, 8am-noon. The Lighthouse Hall Board will be cooking up breakfast this morning.

Lighthouse Seniors #152 – Monday Oct. 4th,11:30am at the LCC. Soup and Sandwich. New members welcome. FMI contact Layne 250-757-8217

Lighthouse Floor Curlers – Curling every Mon. & Fri. at 1 pm at the Lions Rec Hall in Qualicum Bay. New members welcome. FMI call Dennis Leach 250-757-8218 or Tillie Murray 250-757-9218.

Carpet Bowling at LCC: Oct – April 12:45 to 3:15pm. Tues. and Thurs. Everyone welcome, exercise and fun, come out and meet your neighbours. FMI Call Layne 250-757-8217.

AA Lightkeepers: every Fri. 8pm. Info: 240-757-8347

Bridge at LCC Nordin Room - starts again in September. Call Ann: 250-757-8194

Taoist Tai Chi Society Classes at LCC and Fanny Bay OAP Hall. FMI Susan @ 757-2097

Lighthouse Trails Group needs your help. Val Weismiller: 757-9667

LIGHTHOUSE RECREATION INFO PATTY: 757-8366 [email protected]

Children’s Community Halloween Party at the LCC on Sat. Oct. 23 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. Volunteers needed. FMI contact Barb Dinning @ [email protected]

Men’s Drop in Floor Hockey – Tues. evenings from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at Bowser School. FMI Call Kevin Bull @ 757-8423

Adult and Teen Badminton (13+) – Bowser school gym Thur evenings, 7-9 pm., starting Oct. 7, drop-in fee: adult $3, students $1 racquets available, beginners welcome. Info: 250-757-8307 or [email protected]

Family Gig – Richard Sales and the Good Naturals at the Lighthouse Community Centre; Sat. Nov. 27 Tickets: $5 per person or $15 for a family of 5 Time TBA

RDN PROGRAMSBowser Buddies 0-5yrs Oct 7-Dec 2 Thu 9:30-11:00am Lighthouse CC $44/8

Sports for Shorts 3-5yrs Oct 16-Nov 27 Sat 9:30-10:15am Bowser Elementary $38/7

Girls Just Want to Have Fun 6-11yrs Oct 18-Dec 6 Mon 3-4:30pm Bowser Elementary $52/8

Hoop Making Workshop 8-12yrs Oct 4 Mon 3-4:30pm Bowser Elementary School $30/1

Family Night Volleyball 13yrs+ Oct 18-Dec 6 Mon 6:30-8pm Bowser Elementary $39/8

Hatha Yoga 16yrs+ Bowser School $68.70/8 Mon 6-7:15pm Sep 27-Nov 22 Thu 6-7:15pm Sep 30-Nov 25 Lighthouse CC 68.70/8 Tue 9:15-10:30am Oct 5-Nov 23

Focus on Fitness 16yrs+ Sep 22-Oct 27 Wed 10:30-11:30am Lighthouse CC $48/6

Please contact Area H RDN programmer, Kim Longmuir at 250-757-8118 or [email protected] for detailed program and registration information. Drop by EyesOnBC to pick up the new Fall/Winter Active Living Guide.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS & CLUBSDance To Timberline Band – Free, live old-time Country & Rock’n Roll music. Every Wed. 7:30 –10:30 pm Parksville Legion, 146 West Hirst St., Parksville. All welcome.

Knox United Church is holding a Variety Show fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundations “Inspire the World” campaign. Well known local and Nanaimo will contribute their talents performing music, dance and magic! Tickets are $15 available at the Knox United Church in Parksville and both Mulberry Bush bookstores.

Fanny Bay Community Association will be starting dinner (Baked Spaghetti) and movie (Mama Mia) again Oct. 16th at the Community Hall. There will also be a raffle available, so buy your tickets before or at the dinner. Lots of good prizes available. FMI and reservations Call 250-335-3282.

Qualicum Beach Family History Society will meet Oct. 20, 7pm. rear of Legion Hall in Qualicum Beach. The speaker is Mike Bluett who will present us information on the new web-site that he recently built. Jillian Bennett 250-752-7043

Thank you to all our sponsors, volunteers, donors for the silent auction and guests at the Lighthouse Country Fall Fair. What a great success! If you’d like to be a part of the team, we’d love to have you! www.communityclub.ca or call Sheena at 757-9991.

Community EventsCommunity EventsCommunity EventsCommunity EventsCommunity Events

Are your Savings

“Falling” behind?

AskyourCreditUnion

ProfessionalToday...

Theycanhelp!

/ October 2010 43

October 2010Sojourn to India 16th Annual Child Haven Dinner Oct 22, Parksville Community Centre. Doors and Marketplace open 5pm Indian buffet dinner/Silent Auction. Entertainment Kumbana Marimba.Tickets $35 adults; $5 children under 13. $40 limited at the door. The Shoe Inn QB or Fireside Books, Parksville. FMI Call 752-3216 or 248-3202

Community Workshop on Seniors Housing Options in our Area will be held on Wed. Oct. 6 from 9am – 4 pm at LCC. Community groups who work with seniors are invited to participate. Free workshop, but advance registration is required. Contact Sally Barton of Bowser Seniors Housing Society at 250-757-8455 or [email protected].

Beta Sigma Phi – an International Women’s Group promoting Life, Learning & Friendship. In the Oceanside area there are 7 chapters holding bi-monthly, day or evening meetings. Inquiries can be made to: Margie Healey, 250-757-9125

The Underpants by Steve Martin at the Bailey Studio Sept. 30 – Oct. 16, 8pm, matinee Oct 3, 2pm, $16-18. FMI Call 250-758-7224, Sea Drift Markets, Nanaimo Museum, www.nanaimotheatregroup.com

Echo Players’ Society is pleased to announce that the 6th Annual Vancouver Island Juried One Act Play Festival will be held at the Theatre from Mon. Nov.1 to Sun. Nov. 7. FMI regarding plays, times or ticket prices phone Margaret Jenkins at 250-752-0593 or Doug Toombs at 250-951-2124.

Circle Eight’s Square Dance Club invites you to our Square Dance Fri. Oct 8 at St. Stephen’s Church Hall, then every 2nd and 4th Friday with rounds at 7:30pm and dance at 8:00 pm. You are also invited to our Beginner’s class which started Tues. Sept. 28 and continues every Tues. at 7pm same place. First 3 lessons are free. FMI Call Elden at 250-752-3758 or Janet at 250-752-1542.

Corcan-Meadowood Residents Association – 1st Annual General Meeting Sat. Oct. 2. 9:30 am at the Lighthouse Community Centre. See ad on page 28.

“Living with Cancer Support Group” – 1st Thurs of the month at the Gardens at Qualicum Beach from 1:30 to 3:30pm. This group is not only open to cancer patients but also to their care giver. FMI Call contact Rosemary at 250-951-2167.

“Art Break” Painters & Residents of the Gardens at Qualicum Beach 1st Art Exhibition. Thurs. Oct. 21 from 1 to 4pm. Open to the public. We invite you to view their work.

Union Bay Fire Rescue 75th Anniversary Celebration Sat. Oct. 23, at the Union Bay Community Hall. Dinner & Dance. Comedy by Kenny Shaw. Music by Jak Shtik Band. Live / Silent Auction & Door prizes. Tickets are $35 per person available @ End of the Roll, Waverly Pub Comox Clothing, Union Bay Market. Proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Society FMI call Brenda 335-2511 or Darcy 335-2940

The Qualicum Beach Historical and Museum Society will hold its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre at 7:30 pm. New members are most welcome. For more information please telephone the Qualicum Beach Museum at 250-752-5533 or e-mail: [email protected]

Qualicum Beach Probus Club meets at St.Stephens Church hall at 9am on the first Tuesday of each month. The speaker on October 5th will be Ms. Renate Sutherland who is the Executive Director of the Society of Organized Services (SOS).Visitors are welcome.

44 / October 2010

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/ October 2010 45

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/ October 2010 47

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6996 West Island Hwy Bowser, BC V0R 1G0

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Beacon Magazine - October 2010

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