Island Resident Bill Henderson Receives the Order of Canada

Governor General Announces 100 New Appointments to the Order of Canada - His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, announced today 100 new appointments to the Order of Canada. The new appointees include 2 Companions (C.C.), 11 Officers (O.C.) and 87 Members (C.M.). These appointments were made on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada, including our very own Salt Spring Island resident Bill Henderson. The Order of Canada, one of our country’s highest civilian honours, was established in 1967, during Canada’s centennial year, to recognize outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Over the last 45 years, more than 6 000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order. Congratulations Bill!
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Video Series: Tour des Iles

This is the first of the "Tour des Iles" series of videos. Tour des Iles, from June 18 - 21, featured free boat and bus transportation between and within the Southern Gulf Islands - Pender, Saturna, Mayne, Galiano and Salt Spring Islands. The purpose of the event was to share the various gifts of these islands and to demonstrate the viability of small transport connectivity. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } This is the second video in the "Tour des Iles" series. Tour des Iles, from June 18 thru 21, featured free boat and bus transportation throughout the Southern Gulf Islands - Pender, Saturna, Mayne, Galiano and Salt Spring Islands. The purpose of the event was to share the gifts of the islands and to demonstrate the viability of local transportation conne…
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Robo-Call Phone Scam

No you did not just win a free trip with WestJet. We're receiving multiple reports of phone scams targeting locals on Salt Spring Island. We've also been receiving the same type of scam messages by phone. What makes these robo-call phone scams unique is that the scam appears to be spoofing local numbers. Numbers are showing up a few characters off the numbers of the recipients. For example, if your number is 250-537-8888 the phone numbers showing up in the call display might be something like 250-537-8889. When you receive the call two things happen. 1) You think it' someone local. 2) The number seems familiar somehow so you're more likely to answer it but the message is an automated robocall, not the person who owns that number. We also have a 604 mobile and the same thing has been happening for months with that phone as well. The scam is the same in both instances and while the numbers are often real, they aren't being placed by the person to whom the numbers belong. On…
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CRTC Revokes CFSI-FM Radio Licence

The Commission revokes the broadcasting licence for CFSI-FM Salt Spring Island and its transmitter CFSI-FM-1 Mount Bruce, British Columbia. The revocation is effective 25 July 2015, and the licensee must cease broadcasting by no later than the end of the broadcast day on that date. This revocation follows the Commission’s decision to impose six mandatory orders earlier in the licence term, which are set out in Broadcasting Decision 2014-330. In spite of these orders CFSI-FM continued to be in non-compliance with its regulatory obligations. As a result, the Commission has no confidence that the licensee will be able to operate in compliance with its existing or any new regulatory obligations for the remainder of the current licence term or for another licence term. Accordingly, the Commission considers that revocation of the licence is the only appropriate measure. As a result of this revocation, Canadians living on Salt Spring Island will no longer have access to the radi…
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People Profile: Jim Standen

Community People Profiles are a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our island home. These profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of these folks are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Jim Standen Here's a bit about Jim; I have been a volunteer in many roles including running the Fall Fair Demonstration tent with my wife, Sheri, for 5 years, and the Emergency Services POD leader for the Duck Creek POD for the past 3 years. I am currently involved with the promotion of Electric Vehicles on Salt Spring. I track the ownership of EV's, work with a team to promote additional Level 2 chargers on our island and am the coordinator of the EV car show on July 24 and 25. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? A friend with a yacht. What one thing about Salt Spring would you tell someone who ha…
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Linda's List: Start Sowing for Winter

Yes, I know, it is hard to think about next winter but it is time to start seeds of overwintering broccoli and cauliflower for harvest early next year.  And from now on, every couple of weeks for the rest of the summer is another planting 'window' for various crops. I have posted my winter harvest planting chart on my home page so that you can print it out and post it to remind you what to plant. The chart shows sowing dates, which can be either directly in the garden or in seedling flats. Given the difficulty of keeping things cool and watered this summer I am opting for starting more of this year's crops in flats where I can mind them more closely. Or start them in the garden in a small nursery area that you can keep shaded and watered easily. First, broccoli and cauliflower: Start seeds any time from mid-June to the end of the month. If you want to buy seedlings later, I suggest you check with your local nursery or seedling source to find out what varieties they will have…
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Saturday Market vendors of Salt Spring Team up to Raise $1500

On July 13th on Salt Spring Island, artists, farmers and food vendors got together to raise nearly $1500 for Pull Together. This was amazing work by people who already work amazingly hard. Special shout out to the Raging Grannies who gave us $100 and belted out some anti-pipeline anthems! Here are some great photos from the day’s festivities, which took place as part of the annual Sea Capers festival. Thanks much to Jack Rosen of Island Escapades who captained the day, leading boat building and boat races AND rocking a great online fundraiser with his kayak guiding staff & friends. If you want to join in but don’t know how, why not set up an online fundraiser? It’s super easy and you may be surprised how much you can raise by simply emailing & facebooking your friends and family.Check out our ‘friendraising’ platform here: and add yourself!
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New Bus Service to Ruckle Park Kicks Off Summer Changes

Summer officially starts soon and Salt Spring Island and BC Transit are piloting special transit service to serve the community through the season. Beginning Wednesday, June 24, the new #9 Ruckle Park service connects Fulford to Ruckle Park with two trips per day, seven days per week. This new pilot bus route to Ruckle Park will encourage residents and visitors to experience the beauty of this coastal treasure until September 26 when the bus service ends. Residents along Beaver Point Road and visitors can also connect to a bus route at Fulford to travel into Ganges where there are further connections for the island. The enhanced summer service will also add two additional trips per day to the #2 Fulford Harbour route. For more information about Salt Spring Island Transit, including routes, schedules and fares, please visit bctransit.com General inquiries can be directed to the automated number at 250.538.4282. All other customer service information can be foun…
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People Profile: Andrew Ross Collins

Community People Profiles are a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our island home. These profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of these folks are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Andrew Ross Collins Here's a bit about Andrew; My business is music and I run a record label and music publishing company [www.interchill.com]. We've released over fifty albums over the years, by artists from all around the world. Beyond that I volunteer with Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue [www.rcmsar25.com] and am active with the Gulf Islands Marine Rescue Society. I'm keen on tennis, disc golf, skiing and getting out on the water. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? Not so much what as who... My wife Ceridwen very sensibly insisted we start here when we were looking for a place to live and br…
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Highest-ranking Canadian in UN History Visits Forum

The Salt Spring Forum welcomes Louise Fréchette – Kofi Annan’s former deputy and the highest ranking Canadian in the history of the United Nations – for a frank conversation about the future of international cooperation on Friday, June 19th at 7:30 p.m. at ArtSpring. Louise Fréchette was the first Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1998 to 2006. The creation of her job in 1998 was a result of the reforms Kofi Annan had introduced in 1997. Fréchette’s mandate, quite simply, was to modernize the United Nations. In 2005, Forbes Magazine identified Fréchette as one of the most powerful women in the world. Louise Fréchette’s career began in 1971 in Canada’s Department of External Affairs. In 1985, she received her first ambassadorial appointment – to Argentina. In 1989, she was sent on a secret mission to Cuba to persuade Fidel Castro to support the Gulf War. From 1995 to 1998, Fréchette was Canada’s Deputy Minister of National Defence. She describes thi…
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Governance Committee Receive Instructions - Public Invited

The Salt Spring Island incorporation study committee are meeting at 4:30 PM on 15 June 2015 at the Wellness Centre, 120 Hereford Avenue, Ganges. The purpose of the meeting is for the committee to meet ministry staff and to receive instruction on the process. Members of the public are welcome to observe.
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Real Estate Views: In Deference to the Experts

I recently had a client that was about to put in an offer on a property and was feeling me out about what price they should put on the offer. This gets to be a very complex question depending on both the buyer and the seller. In my mind the main focus should be on facilitating a transaction. If there is no sale, neither the buyer nor the seller are happy. No one wins. The word “ wins” is very telling. It’s amazing how buyers go from a state of warm and fuzzy with visions of enjoying the property to gaming mode in the blink of an eye. When I say gaming mode, I mean they do a Jekyll and Hyde, Werewolf transformation. All of a sudden it is not about buying the property they want, it’s the competition, it’s the game, the ego. It’s the “ them or me” state of mind. The property becomes secondary. With any negotiation, there will be two starting points. The sellers price and the buyers price. The negotiations will hopefully settle out somewhere in between. This client quoted the …
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People Profile: Mike Stefancsik

Community People Profiles are a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our island home. These profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of these folks are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Mike Stefancsik Here's a bit about Mike; I've been in the island coming on 30 years. Co-owner at Windsor Plywood is where I hang my hat for a living and get a chance to embrace the community both in commerce and friendship. Our successes have been blessed upon us by loyal customers and staff and our little shop here has earned numerous store of the year awards along with recognition in advertising and marketing amongst the Windsor chain across the country. My other hat is as a musician and I have played professionally since I was 15, having to be escorted to our rooms when we were working in clubs. I have been a…
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Linda's List: Hot Summer Gardening Alert

Meteorologists are warning that the expected El Nino climate pattern this year is going to be a "super El Nino" comparable with the 1997-98 year. For coastal British Columbia, that brings record heat waves in the summer. With unprecedented warm Pacific water now reaching our coast, combined with a strong El Nino, which also brings warm water across the Pacific, gardeners need to be on top of managing for high temperatures. It starts this coming weekend and Environment Canada has issued a weather alert for a prolonged period of hot weather for coastal British Columbia, starting tomorrow and continuing through early next week. Predictions are for 27-31 degrees C (80-90 F), with the higher temperatures further inland. Managing for heat: Garden vegetables are most vulnerable to heat damage at this time of year because plants are still small, with shallow roots and young leaves. Shade young plants and seed bed: Cover small plants, at least for the midday heat for a few days…
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Salt Spring Island Incorporation Study Members Announced

Incorporation study application and selection process has been completed in accordance with the instructions received from the ministry and the committee has been appointed. The names of the committee are: Mark Aston As partner and co-owner of Spark+Co, an independent B.C.-based eLearning development firm, Mark brings a wealth of experience related to small and medium-size corporate and public sector business. Prior to Spark+Co., Mark spent more than 10 years in senior executive roles with the Rick Hansen Institute and the Rick Hansen Foundation. Earlier in his career, Mark managed environmental programs and affairs at the University of British Columbia. In addition to holding a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of British Columbia Mark also has a master’s degree in business administration from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. With more than 15 years of board experience, Mark joined the Island Savings Credit Union board in April 2011, serving on th…
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Salt Spring Reads - The Water in Between, A Journey At Sea

Salt Spring Reads is an online book club/review. For this column I try to find books that you might love to discover, books with a Salt Spring connection. Reviewed books are available at the Salt Spring Library and in local bookstores. Feel free to share your comments. The Water in Between, A Journey At Sea - by Kevin Patterson. Published by Random House Canada, this is a thick volume and an engaging read. Whether you are an armchair traveler or an avid sailor, the story of how Kevin Patterson set off to find islands in the South Pacific, and himself, is a good one. Disillusioned with life as an army doctor on the prairies, and a love life that left much to be desired, he bought a sail boat and decided to sail to Tahiti. He brought along plenty of books, and a mate who had slightly more experience on a boat than he did. Together they faced storms and endless days of no wind. They explored remote atolls and met sailors from around the world. I enjoyed the tales of li…
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Can Clean Energy Compete with Oil & Gas?

Can clean energy be scaled up to the global level, so as to deal with the global challenge of climate change? Can it compete – in business terms – with oil, gas, and coal? There are lots of clean energy projects on Salt Spring Island, ranging from the solar panels on the Gulf Islands Secondary School to the electric-car charging unit in the ArtSpring parking lot. But what about the bigger picture? On Saturday, May 30th at 7:30 p.m. Ross Beaty joins the Salt Spring Forum to discuss Clean Energy: From Alternative to Mainstream. Ross Beaty is a geologist and resource company entrepreneur with over 41 years of experience in the international minerals and renewable energy industries. He founded and chairs Alterra Power Corp., a clean energy company with geothermal, solar, hydro and wind power operations in British Columbia, Ontario and Iceland. Alterra operates five power plants, including British Columbia’s largest run-of-river hydro facility and largest wind farm, and two ge…
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