Salt Spring News

People Profile: Stan Shapiro

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Stan Shapiro Here’s a little about Stan; I have just a ended a fifteen year period of association , in one capacity or another, including eight years as a Director, with the SSI Public Library. Over that same 15 year period I was involved, at one time or another, with the SSI Philosopher Cafe Initiative, SSI Community Education, a number of Fulford based Associations and Citizen Committees,.and the 2012 Governance Committee. Since 2009 I have been a PARC Board member. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? In 1992 an SFU colleague invited us to visit him on the Island for a few day…

People Profile: Margriet Ruurs

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Margriet Ruurs Here’s a little about Margriet; Margriet Ruurs is the author of over 30 books for children. Her passion is to share the joy of reading, and writing, with others. She has conducted Writing-For-Children Workshops on the island and started a YA book club for adults who enjoy reading children's novels. 'Nature' and 'West Coast' are themes that pop up in many of Margriet's books. One of her Toronto based publishers even ended up selecting a Salt Spring artist, Allan Hancock, as illustrator for one of her books. Margriet speaks at schools around North America and at international…

People Profile: Banana Joe Clemente

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Banana Joe Clemente Here’s a bit about Banana Joe; I first stepped foot on this Rock back in the the Summer of 1978 when my parents purchased 10 acres on Horel Rd. I was 14 years old back then. SSI was a great weekend and summer vacation spot for our family since it was only a hop skip and jump from the mainland where we lived only a short distance south of Vancouver. Although I always had a great time in my visits here. I eventually moved here over 2 decades ago. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? I thought I would eventually retire here, but because I had an opportunity to mo…

People Profile: Jeremy Milson

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Jeremy Milson Here’s a bit about Jeremy; Co-Owner of The Salt Spring Inn, and eager community promoter of all things Island What brought you to Salt Spring Island? I wanted to live close to water in a moderate climate and to be more independent so I left a business career of 25 years, bought a business here and then moved from Calgary. What one thing about Salt Spring would you tell someone who has never visited the island? Be willing to encounter, learn from and respect, the most diverse and interesting group people you may ever meet. If you had a magic Salt Spring wand, w…

People Profile: Christine Torgrimson

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Christine Torgrimson Here’s a bit about Christine; Salt Spring resident for 15 years, the past chair of the Islands Trust Fund Board and has worked with dozens of conservation and community organizations. From 1999 through 2007, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, a Canada-U.S. organization partnering with over 100 citizen organizations, businesses and governments to maintain and restore the unique natural heritage of the Yellowstone to Yukon region. Also co-founded one of the largest and most successful U.S. land trusts. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? My sweethea…

People Profile: Jack Rosen

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Jack Rosen Here’s a bit about Jack: Jack Rosen has been Director of Island Escapades since its origin in 1990. While much of his formal education is in Recreational Administration, Jack has worked as an outdoor educator and guide for the last 20 years. Prior to Island Escapades and his employment as a youth worker within the Salt Spring Island school district, Jack was a counsellor of a wilderness program for B.C. Corrections. During these years, he had an incredible opportunity to explore the mountains and marine parks. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? We were looking to mov…

People Profile: Melanie Mulherin

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Melanie Mulherin Here’s a bit about Melanie: Melanie Mulherin Busy Mom OR Jam Empire builder! As it happens both and more, market vendor & artisan food producer. Her company SaltSpring Kitchen co. is steadily gaining recognition both on and off island for her small batch, artisan preserves. Specializing in savoury preserves to pair with cheese and unique bread spreads. She love to experiment and push the envelope with unexpected flavour combinations. In addition to building her jam empire, Melanie is working with a group of passionate and dedicated market vendors to produce the very f…

People Profile: Shane Hooper

Community People Profiles ‘Campus’ interviews are a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island with student interviews from Gulf Island Secondary School (GISS) by Amaranta MacAllister, a student who resides on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Shane Hooper At sixteen years old, the GISS student has already made a name for himself as a successful folk musician. His debut EP, Orange Honey, was featured under iTunes' 'New & Noteworthy', but he's no newcomer to the music industry. Shane has been preforming since early childhood, and is no stranger to the stage. I catch up with with Shane in between classes and ask him a version of the infamous five questions. He sports a warm-looking tan bomber jacket and a turquoise cap, exhibiting a fine taste in eclectic, indie style. Q. Describe a defining moment in your life. A. I'd say there are lots of defining moments. But, one, that I guess, …

People Profile: Jimmy-Joe Pearson

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Jimmy-Joe Pearson Here's a bit about Jimmy: My family used to spend most of our vacation time here on Salt Spring Island. From a year or two before I was born (1964) until 1079 or 80 we would spend our long weekends, spring breaks, summer vacations or any spare time at Rainbow Beach Resort. The Staceys had about a dozen cabins next to Booth Bay at the end of Rainbow Road that had cold water taps, potbelly stoves, bunk beds,an outhouse & a row boat for every cabin. as a young boy it was paradise. Salt Spring Island is my Happy Place. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? When I…

Alert: Snow Storm Updates

UPDATE: 06:00 AM, February 25th SCHOOLS: Salt Spring SD64 All Schools open, no morning buses. Occasionally, snow or inclement weather makes it necessary to run buses on “main roads only”. ROADS: Currently all ferry roads have been cleared but due to the weather there is now ice on these roads. Mainroad is currently focussed on de-icing these roads and will move to secondary routes this afternoon. Currently all ferry roads have been cleared but due to the weather there is now ice on these roads.USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN TRAVELLING BUS: Salt Spring Transit is reporting buses are back on regular routes, MAIN ROADS ONLY. This includes Fulford Ferry, Vesuvius Ferry and Long Harbour Ferry. UPDATE: 03:55 PM, February 24th Additional 5 cm of snow is forecast for tonight. A Pacific frontal system over the South Coast will continue to produce snow over the region this evening. Additional snowfall amount of 5 cm can be expected. As precipitation eases early this evening snow…

People Profile: James Cowan

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: James Cowan Here’s a bit about James: I'm a small town kid who moved to the city to pursue a music career, which led into a career producing major festivals across Canada. Now I get the best of both worlds by being able to live on Salt Spring with my family and work on festivals and events, doing what I love to do. It's my second year as the Coordinator for the Salt Spring Film Festival which brings both of my worlds together. The Film Fest has a great group of people at the core and it's a shining example of a small town event. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? We moved to Sa…

People Profiles: Gleb Kotov

A regular interview series with a "Campus" focus carried out by Amaranta MacAllister, Gulf Island Secondary School (GISS) student who hopes to pursue a career of film and fine art. This week she catches up with Gleb Kotov, a seventeen-year-old senior student, who moved to Salt Spring Island from Ukraine 2 years ago. We join him in the Gulf Islands Senior Secondary cafeteria over some lunch. He wears a leather jacket and fingerless gloves. His smile is wide and charismatic as we ask him five short questions. Q. Describe a defining moment in your life. A. Probably... I was in a plane, and I was going to Canada, and I saw everything changing. The trees, the water. I could feel my life changing. Q. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? A. My mom Elena and my stepfather, Ronald, got married. She moved to Salt Spring five years ago, and 2 years after that, she made everything possible to move me here too. Q. What is your favourite thing about GISS? A. How kind and open …

People Profile: Jim Burrows

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Jim Burrows Here’s a bit about Jim: For going on 19 years, I have been running food and beverage establishments on Salt Spring Island, a full generation of looking after and providing entertainment to Salt Springers. I have had a great time serving and operating from the Harbour House to the Vesuvius Pub to the Local and to Moby's. For the last 2 years I have been running the Clubhouse Bar and Grill ( which seems to be the Island's best kept secret ) at the beautiful Salt Spring Golf and Country Club. Non-members are welcome. Q: What brought you to Salt Spring Island? Visiting my pa…

GISS Wins Grand Prize in My Green High School Plan Contest

Victoria, BC – An innovative farm-to-cafeteria project is one of the winners of the “My Green High School Plan” challenge promoting high school greening initiatives. The Capital Regional District (CRD), in partnership with BC Hydro and Community Social Planning Council, promoted a challenge promoting sustainable behaviour changes in secondary schools. Four teams from across the region are receiving grants ($250 - $1,500) to help put their “My Green High School Plans” into action. Plans include waste reduction and education, farm-to-cafeteria food security, building sustainable energy systems and alternative transportation. The “My Green High School Plan” challenge supports the CRD’s Green365 project, which is comprised of four campaigns promoting sustainable behaviour changes in and around your home and asked high school students to propose ways to reduce their school’s eco-footprint, raise student awareness and change behaviour. “It’s inspiring to see how innovative and amb…

People Profiles: Mr. Donaldson

A regular Salt Spring Exchange interview series with a "Campus" focus carried out by Amaranta MacAllister, a student who resides on Salt Spring Island. This is her first time working with Salt Spring Exchange. She hopes to pursue a career of film and fine art, but for now she regularly attends Gulf Island Secondary School (GISS). Where she caught up with the drama teacher, Mr. Donaldson and asked him a version of our favourite five short questions, and got five slightly longer answers- Q. Describe a defining moment in your life? A. When I was in the eighth grade I was moving between Comox and Vernon and doing my course selection for the new school year. In Comox, I was inspired by my woodworking teacher Mr Owen Leung and wanted to continue this passion. All I knew was that I loved woodwork and I didn’t care what courses I had as long as woodwork was on the top of my list. In Vernon I didn’t click with my new woodworking instructor and so I switched into a Drama class and me…

People Profile: Elizabeth May

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured (honorary) local people profile is: Elizabeth May Elizabeth May is an environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and leader of the Green Party of Canada. Elizabeth became active in the environmental movement in the 1970s. She is a graduate of Dalhousie Law School and was admitted to the Bar in both Nova Scotia and Ontario. She held the position of Associate General Counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre prior to becoming Senior Policy Advisor to the federal minister of the Environment from 1986 until 1988. Elizabeth became Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada in 1989, a position she held until M…

People Profile: Kelly McAree

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Kelly McAree Kelly McAree brought his family from Kelowna in 2010 to be the manager at Hastings House, he has been active in many of the tourism related committees on Island and is often quoted in off island publications telling the world about how wonderful Salt Spring Island is. We caught up with him in the winter season as he juggles a number of hotel duties from greeting guests to stoking the fire, all without missing a beat and asked him our favourite five short questions. Q. What brought you to Salt Spring Island. A. I had the tremendous opportunity to lead Hastings House Country H…

Public Consultation on Salt Spring Island Biking

Victoria, BC–- The Capital Regional District wants to hear from Salt Spring Island residents on a feasibility study to potentially develop a cycling and pedestrian trail along a 1kilometre section of the south approach to Ganges Village on Fulford/Ganges Road. Public Consultation Meeting DATE: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 TIME: 3-6:30pm PLACE: Salt Spring Island Public Library “The Capital Regional District supports the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure on Salt Spring Island and all the community benefits it brings,” said Wayne McIntyre, Salt Spring Island Electoral Area Director. “The feasibility study and community feedback on the options outlined, as well as any new ideas, will help in our planning, including determining the next steps to consider for pedestrian and cycling improvements on this section of road.” These improvements would be made subject to community support and necessary funding. The feasibility study is coordina…

People Profile: Celia Duthie

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Celia Duthie Celia Duthie, at times a world traveler, successful entrepreneur, leader of a once BC corner stone "Duthie books" and trail blazer in online virtual stores. All before 1999 when she decamped with husband and 2 kids to the Gulf Islands to start another chapter, opening Salt Spring Woodworks that proceeded to grow in size and reputation, now Duthie Gallery and Outdoor Sculpture Park has become a serious fine art gallery representing many prominent artists. We chatted with her in the sculpture park surrounded by monumental figures and asked her our favourite five short questions. …

CRD Staff Release Report on SSI Gun Club

CRD staff release Gun Club report that will be an agenda item for the January 15th public Electoral Area meeting at the CRD hdqs at 1:30pm.

People Profile: Linda Ramsey

Community People Profiles is a series on the Salt Spring Exchange featuring local personalities on our dynamic Gulf Island. Our People Profiles are short interviews, with one answer questions to share with you a little about what each of the people we will feature are thinking about as they go about their lives living on Salt Spring Island. This weeks featured local people profile is: Linda Ramsey Linda Ramsey, a life long Islander and one of the owners of Pharmasave Salt Spring, is currently celebrating the 50 years her family has had a stake in the Pharmacy. Linda joined the Pharmasave team as a partner, along with her husband Gary, in 1997 and loves the creative day to day opportunities and working with her valued customers and team. We caught up with her as she zipped between the downtown and uptown stores and asked her our favourite five short questions. Q. What brought you to Salt Spring Island? A. My parents, Les and Sue Ramsey, moved over to the island from V…