Salt Spring News

Salt Spring Island RCMP Seeking Help Identifying Island Savings ATM Vandal

Local RCMP are seeking help identifying a suspect who was captured on security cameras defacing Salt Spring Island Savings ATM machines in the early hours of Saturday, September 5th, 2020. The suspect can be seen emptying liquid from containers while wearing a hood, mask and surgical gloves. Local reports at the time of the crime suggested the liquid smelled like urine. Anyone with information about the person in the photo is being asked to contact Constable Ted Turgeon of the Salt Spring Island RCMP at (250) 537-5555 or Crimestoppers at (800)-222-8477. The incident occurred the same weekend that feces was reportedly smeared on Beachside Cafe.

Local Organization SWOVA Becomes The Circle

This summer, SWOVA—Saltspring Women Opposed to Violence and Abuse—is announcing its new name. SWOVA Community Development and Research Society has become The Circle Salt Spring Education Society, a name that reflects its long-time work in schools with children and youth. The idea for the change was brought to the organization several years ago. SWOVA’s program facilitators suggested that SWOVA change its name to embrace a more inclusive perspective that empowers everyone with the attitudes and skills for healthy and respectful relationships. The process began with a discussion about how to prepare SWOVA for the next decades of its service to the Salt Spring community and beyond. After researching, brainstorming, and consulting, the organization’s staff and board decided on a name that’s easy to remember and say—a name that reflects SWOVA’s values, such as respect and diversity. Its new name—The Circle—reflects a key feature of the organization’s long-time work. When pr…

2020 North Salt Spring Water District Election Profile: Gary Gagné

About Gary Gagné I built my first home on Salt Spring in 1980 . As a bilingual retired marine officer, I’ve been a boat builder, sailor, Greenpeace Captain, and now a small scale farmer. This has all contributed to a very practical skill set which I have turned also to a great deal of volunteer work (30 years), with service to the environment (four years in Clayoquot Sound as a forest protector, campaigning for Elizabeth May, etc.) and community (on the board of directors for Island Pathways and several sub-committees: Partners Creating Pathways, Cycling Salt Spring and the newly formed Salish Sea Trail Network group; the past year on the steering committee for the Climate Action Plan 2.0 and its Transportation Working Group) and spiritual service (Open Gate Sangha). I am very happily married to artist, Cary Ennis. What brought you to the area? After building a sailboat and learning to sail in the Salish Sea in the early 1970's, I fell in love with the beauty and laid …

2020 North Salt Spring Water District Election Profile: Garth Hendren

About Garth Hendren My life on Salt Spring has been filled with wonderful people and amazing opportunities. Although I have hardly ever worked on Salt Spring other than in volunteer activities in the public sector, it has been a very satisfying place to live for the past 30 years. I am particularly proud of the work I did to bring to Salt Spring our new public library. In my eyes it shines as an example of what our community can do if we put our mind to it. Mu work in the field of education has taken me off the island to develop privately supported kindergartens, a nationally supported publishing house and the opportunity to oversee the audit of school districts for the Ministry of Education in a neighboring province. What brought you to the area? At the time that I was considering resigning from my position in the Ministry of Education in Edmonton Alberta I was given the opportunity to live pretty well where I wanted to in Canada. I was married with two school aged so…

Vesuvius Terminal Trestle Repairs August 31, 2020 - September 2, 2020

Please be advised that BC Ferries will be doing maintenance work on the Vesuvius trestle. This work will take place at night from August 31 to September 2, 2020. Work will include replacement of deck boards and cross ties on the trestle. Equipment being used will increase the normal sound levels within the terminal from 10:30 pm to 5:30 am. All efforts will be made to minimize noise. BC Ferries would like to thank customers and neighbours for their understanding as we complete the necessary work.

Join the 'Throw a Boat Down' Physical Distance Fundraiser for RAVEN Trust

A local organization has found a unique way to host a covid-safe, socially distanced fundraiser. Thursday, September 3’s “Throw a Boat Down” event will be a paddle-powered, floating concert where the audience is invited to arrive by paddle board, kayak, canoe or rowboat to tune in to the songs of Vancouver’s Luke Wallace. With a full paddle’s distance between watercraft, it’s a COVID-safe but splashy way to celebrate the start of the Labour Day long weekend. Wallace launched his new album, What on Earth, in early March and was set to tour behind the suite of songs at community halls and theatres up and down the B.C. coast. But covid-19 put the breaks on those plans, and he was forced to shelve the 1000 freshly pressed CDs and wait out the pandemic. Now, inspired by a summer of paddling around the Gulf Islands, Wallace is ready to call fans to a socially distanced ‘flotilla’ show. The live performance will begin at 6:30 pm - high tide - and will also be broadcast via Zoo…

BC Ferries Adds More than 750 Sailings to Help Rebuild Local Economies

BC Ferries announced today that its ongoing engagement with Ferry Advisory Committees has resulted in the company adding 769 sailings above contract on its minor and northern routes, with the new schedule matching pre-COVID-19 service levels. These additional sailings will be in effect from September 8, 2020 through to March 31, 2021. On behalf of coastal communities, BC Ferries thanks the government of B.C. for its support of the sailings above contract during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our communities are very supportive of these sailings above contract,” says Keith Rush, Co-Chair of the Ferry Advisory Committees. “Ferry Advisory Committees have advocated for years for increased service levels to ferry dependent communities. I applaud BC Ferries for their commitment to provide additional service through to the end of March 2021.” “Ferry service and sailings that meet community needs also help strengthen economic activity and recovery from COVID…

Elders Unveil New Interpretive Signage at Xwaaqw’um Village / Burgoyne Bay

On Sunday August 9, 2020 under COVID-19 precautions, a few families and elders unveiled interpretive signage at Xwaaqw’um Village. Please come and enjoy a seat at the new Xwaaqw'um Interpretive Signage with your friends and family. End of Burgoyne Bay road on the left, just before driveway to the red dock and parking lots. "My mom and my dad, in the spirit world now, they’re smiling now. This becoming a reality. So I’m really thankful, I’m really grateful for everyone to make this happen. Everyone who came to witness. All who came to be part. I’m so ever grateful for that. My name is Tousilum. I am of this home. I am of this land of Xwaaqw’um. I can’t say thanks enough. It’s such an honour to be home here in Xwaaqw’um. My late great granny lived here. There were 5 longhouses here. It’s always good to be home. With the interpretive signage here in Xwaaqw’um, so many of the friends and relatives have come together. The elders have come to be here. All of those who …

COVID-19: Research Team Using Island Health Data To Find Hidden Cases

A Victoria research team is using math and statistics to help anticipate future COVID-19 waves so that public health strategies can target ways to manage possible future outbreaks. This work is possible thanks to a $149,300 award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) COVID-19 Research Response Fund and the Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s (VHF) generous donors. “By estimating the number of undetected cases, we will gain a better understanding of the spread of the current wave and the underlying spread of a future wave,” explains Dr. Laura Cowen, principal investigator and Associate Professor in the University of Victoria’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. “Our mathematical model will allow the detection of early signals that a future wave has begun, and identify infections among high risk groups such as the elderly, school children, and long-term care clients.” Using Island Health data, Cowen (also the Associate Dean, Research in the Fac…

COVID-19: Hundreds of Contact Tracers to Be Hired in BC

The Province of British Columbia will hire approximately 500 additional health professionals to increase contact tracing around British Columbia, helping keep communities safe as it continues its COVID-19 restart plan. “We want to make sure people are kept safe in any COVID-19 outbreak, and one of the ways to do that is through strong contact tracing,” said Premier John Horgan. “These new contact tracers will provide an extra layer of protection by jumping into action as soon as there is an outbreak, and will start their detective-style work to find out who may be infected in order to protect all British Columbians.” Contact tracing works by following up with each person who has tested positive for COVID-19 to understand who their contacts may be and providing appropriate followup. Health authorities’ public health teams typically have staff who do contact tracing of communicable diseases as part of their regular work. However, given the scale of the response needed for C…

New Live Cam at Vesuvius Ferry Terminal

One of the locations for which we get the most requests to install a travel planning cam for Salt Spring Island is now finally live on the Salt Spring Exchange! The Vesuvius-Crofton Ferry is one of the most notoriously difficult locations to plan travel through on the island. Over the last many years, the run schedule has changed, there have been numerous ship changes, then there are the occasional mechanical and weather delays. Mix in seasonal tourism, hazardous cargo sailings and now, COVID-19 uncertainties, and you have a perfect storm of not having much sense about when, or if, you should travel through the Vesuvius terminal. Our team at the Exchange hope this new cam helps with some of those uncertainties and becomes another great travel and tourism resource for locals and visitors like the other cams already in our network. The new Exchange Live Cam at the Vesuvius Ferry Terminal is generously hosted courtesy of the wonderful team at the Seaside Restaurant who of…

Video: Attempted Assault of CRD By-Law Officer In Centennial Park

An aggressive incident was captured on video this evening in Centennial Park with a suspect attempting to assault the CRD By-Law Officer after being asked to leave the park after a separate alleged earlier assault attempt. This was the 2nd incident witnessed with the suspect attempting to assault the By-Law Officer. This video was of the 2nd incident after the suspect left the scene and then returned, attempted to throw a football at the By-Law Officer at full force at short-range but missed, then this incident was captured on video. Community members have been increasingly concerned about large groups of citizens gathering in the park, openly consuming alcohol and leaving significant amounts of trash and garbage in open park areas. At the time of this incident there was a group of 25+ people who appeared to be drinking alcohol in and around park benches, tables, trees and bushes while at the same time other community members were setting up for this evening's open air pe…

Scrap Your Car for an eBike Rebate Increase and Business Cargo Bikes

The Province is increasing e-bike rebates for individuals and businesses to help make electric-powered bikes more affordable and accessible, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “The popularity of e-bikes is on the rise and our government wants to encourage more people to purchase and ride these bikes,” said Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “That’s why we are boosting the e-bike rebates for people and businesses. E-bikes are a much cheaper alternative to cars and are a safe way to travel. We look forward to seeing more people using e-bikes for getting around.” People who trade in a vehicle to scrap now have access to a rebate of $1,050 toward the purchase of any type of new e-bike — an increase of $200 from the previous year. The rebate is delivered through the Scrap-It transportation options program. The ministries of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure are providing $1,000 toward the rebate,…

Local Resort Connected to Wellness Organization and Alleged Mainland Murder

Salt Spring Mineral Springs Resort is owned and operated by CreateAbundance International Institute Inc. / Golden Touch and has been the focus of recent media reports because of its alleged connection with Bo Fan, a Chinese citizen living in Surrey who was murdered in June, 2020. Create Abundance/Golden Touch was started in China and focuses on wellness or self-help through tapping energy in nature, according to videos and other information posted online, apparently by the group. It has been offering expensive classes and holding special events promoting its view on finding wealth and inner happiness to Chinese-speaking students in many places in the world, including in B.C. according to the Vancouver Sun. Mysterious activity near Salt Spring Mineral Springs Resort on Salt Spring Island has been recorded by local Joe Clemente as far back as 2018 when he captured video of military style training on North Beach Road that appears related to the resort. According to CTV an…

Obituary: Sally Joann Rycroft

Sally Joann Rycroft (née Fraser), April 19th, 1948 - June 9th, 2020 - It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Sally. She leaves Glen, her loving husband and partner of 45 years, daughter Lori Klear (Darsh), grandchildren Hayley and Tej, former neighbour and special friend Zoe, sister Nora Scherger, brother Bill Fraser, many dear friends, and much loved dog Magee. Sally was born in Winnipeg. Her father worked as a station master for the railways and the family lived in a succession of small prairie towns. However, Sally considered Sylvan Lake, Alberta, where she graduated from high school, to be her hometown. She was very popular at school, it must have been that impish smile, energy, enthusiasm, sense of fun and willingness to get involved. She was also good at numbers. In 1967, Sally moved to Calgary where she got a job with an accounting firm. This was the beginning of a long career path. Sally worked hard to gain her CGA, RFP, CFP, PRP desig…

New Round of Funding for Salt Spring Farmers' Market Nurtrition Program

To help more lower-income British Columbians, people expecting children and seniors gain access to healthy, locally grown food, the Province has provided approximately $1.88 million in funding to the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. The funds were provided to the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) to support the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program throughout the province. The program provides coupons for lower-income households to purchase fresh, healthy, local food at B.C. farmers markets. “Our government continues to support families and local farmers and producers as the demand for food programs has increased during this COVID-19 pandemic,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “This coupon program helps improve the health and well-being of British Columbians and builds a sense of community by encouraging people to buy nutritious B.C.-grown food from local farmers and producers. “Over this year, an additional 600 households, or approximately 1,800 i…

Serious Incident Under Investigation on Salt Spring Island

UPDATE: 2020 June 2nd - 12:35 PM - Local RCMP were called to a home on Fulford-Ganges Road just before 5 PM yesterday. Officers found a deceased 48-year-old male on the property and a 41-year-old female suffering serious injuries. The female later succumbed to her injuries. Police say no one else was injured or involved in the incident and there is no danger to the public. "Police are not looking for suspects and no charges are anticipated," RCMP Cpl. Chris Manseau said in a statement. UPDATE: 2020 June 2nd - 06:58 AM - Serious incident occurred in our community late yesterday afternoon in the 1500 block of Fulford-Ganges Road. RCMP police investigators have been on site all evening and are still in place as of this morning. Police checkpoints and white tents could be seen on the property. RCMP's Major Crimes Unit is investigating. BC Coroners Service is also investigating. This is an isolated, private incident. There is no active threat for the community according…

Island COMEBACK a Regenerative Initiative To “Keep Our Island Vibe Alive” Launches

Salt Spring Island has joined a pandemic economic response and recovery initiative called Island COMBACK. Created by a diverse cross-section of BC’s rural islanders, this grassroots gift certificate and donation program will assist our most vulnerable businesses and community groups during the pandemic and beyond. Rural islanders are interconnected, strong, and caring. Island COMEBACK’s goal is to help each island be better able to recover from the current crisis. There are 18 rural islands taking part including Salt Spring. Island COMEBACK is both a people-first, e-commerce site designed to promote and sell island created non-perishable and durable goods and services, and a donation platform allowing Salt Spring community groups and organizations to receive funds to assist with their immediate needs. It calls upon our local community, and the world, to support the recovery of our rural island culture, and economy by purchasing a gift certificate, making a donation or by doi…

BC MyHealth Provides Virtual Access to Health Records, Including COVID-19 Test Results

Enrollment in Island Health’s Patient Portal — MyHealth — has gone virtual, giving patients across Island Health easier access to their own digital health records, including COVID-19 screening results. In support of efforts to reduce unnecessary visits to our facilities, people can now sign up for MyHealth remotely. “With the newly available virtual enrollment feature, we are pleased the recently-launched MyHealth patient portal can play an even larger role in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Leah Hollins, Island Health board chair. “This is an empowering step for patients while adhering to the Provincial Health Officer’s direction on physical distancing and limiting visitors to our hospitals. With access to their own health records anytime from anywhere they can get all kinds of test results quickly, review results in real-time during virtual care visits, and make informed decisions about their care plan.” Information about the enrollment process is available…

Gallery: Ramona Lam The Front Step Photography Project

Local photographer Ramona Lam shares her charming photo series with the community taken during her Salt Spring 'The Front Step Project. She joined several photographers across the country in the #TheFrontStepsProject, a project started by Needham, Massachusetts, photographer Cara Soulia. This is not a typical get-dressed-up-and-pose-for-the-photographer kind of session. Participants met outside, sometimes in their pyjamas and slippers with whatever they felt most comfortable from around their home. Some even included their pets and kids, all at an appropriately safe distance with their photographer. In exchange, the participants were asked to make a donation to the Salt Spring Island Food Bank, SPCA or any local small businesses who are struggling, and reference #TheFrontStepsProject. Ramona continues her series until the end of the month and will share additional photos with us as the series continues. Be in touch with her if you wish to participate in the project.…

Breaking: Canadian Forces Snowbird Jet Crashes Near Kamloops On Way to West Coast Fly Over - One Team Member Dies, 2nd with Serious Injuries

One Canadian Forces Snowbird jet that was to fly over Salt Spring Island this weekend in honour of honour Cpt. Kevin Hage, whose has family that live on the island, crashed enroute in Kamloops. UPDATED March 17th - 08:00 PM: One member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was killed on Sunday May 17, 2020 and one other member injured in an accident involving a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CT-114 Tutor aircraft in the vicinity of Kamloops, British Columbia. Killed was Captain Jennifer Casey, the team’s Public Affairs Officer, originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Captain Richard MacDougall, one of the team’s coordinators and pilot of the aircraft, was injured and is being treated for his injuries. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds were deployed on Operation INSPIRATION, a cross-Canada tour to lift the spirits of Canadians and salute front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the accident, the CF Snowbirds were taking off from the airport in Kamloop…