Salt Spring News

Southern Gulf Islands 3:51 PM PDT Sunday 29 September 2013 Wind warning for Southern Gulf Islands continued Damaging winds are forecast for tonight with wind gusts of 100 km/h expected. This is a warning that potentially damaging winds are expected or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..listen for updated statements. An intense Pacific storm is expected to impact the South Coast tonight. The associated low pressure centre is forecast to make landfall along Central Vancouver Island this evening then quickly moves inland overnight. Strong southeast winds of 70 to 90 km/h ahead of the low will shift to damaging westerly winds with gusts to 100 km/h in its wake. Additionally in Howe Sound and the Lower Mainland further rainfall amounts of 50 to 70 mm are expected by Monday morning. Government of Canada Local Forecast

Salt Spring Island, BC –- On September 3rd in the Supreme Court of BC supported the Capital Regional District Noise Suppression Bylaw (No. 3384) for Salt Spring Island following litigation by the Salt Spring Island Rod and Gun Club to challenge the bylaw. Over the past two years the CRD has received numerous complaints from neighbours adjacent to the Rod and Gun Club property about the noise from the discharge of firearms. In response, the CRD Bylaw Enforcement issued a number of tickets to the Salt Spring Island Rod and Gun Club. The Salt Spring Island Rod and Gun Club challenged the bylaw in response to the tickets. The Court confirmed that the bylaw could regulate noise disturbance where the standard is clearly defined by the bylaw and can restrict the discharging of firearms before 9AM or after sunset. The noise bylaw cannot have effect of prohibiting the lawful use of a properly zoned property like the Rod and Gun Club. “I am happy that a decision has been made …

On August 26th, 2013, at 1:30 pm, the Lake Cowichan RCMP received a report of a logging accident off of the Meades Creek Mainline near the town of Lake Cowichan. A 41 year old Saltspring Island man, employed as a faller by Hancock Forest Management was struck by a falling tree. The injuries he sustained were fatal. The Lake Cowichan RCMP, the B.C. Coroners Service and Work Safe B.C. are continuing their investigations. The man's name is not being released at this time pending notification of Next of Kin. Lake Cowichan File # 2013-1308 2013-08-27 09:51 PDT Cpl. Larry OLSON Lake Cowichan RCMP Work (250)749-6668 Email: bcrcmp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Carol McKeen sent us this photo reporting a possible cougar scat sighting at 1010 Sunset Drive. Looks fresh! Does it look like cougar scat to you? Should we add the sighting to our interactive Wildlife tracking map?

Salt Spring Island featured in BBC Travel. Nice travel story with mentions of our many local travel businesses. Strolling the crowded streets of Vancouver, western Canada’s largest metropolis, it is easy to be lured by what is just outside the city. Looming mountains, the shimmering Pacific Ocean and dozens of tiny tree-topped islands constantly wink at you between downtown’s forest of shiny glass towers. But while the area’s peaks and beaches are well-visited, a trip to the Southern Gulf Islands – strung like hundreds of pearls between the mainland and giant Vancouver Island – is one of the most popular ways to tap into a chilled-out British Columbia vibe. The smaller inhabited options – such as tranquil Galiano and quirky Saturna – have their fans, but Salt Spring Island is the archipelago’s biggest enticement. The most populous of the group (more than 10,000 people call the 180sqkm landmass home), its tree-fringed country lanes connect colourful wood-built communit…

More than a hundred concerned Salt Spring residents filled the Lions Hall for Thursday's Trust meeting. The hot topic was an application by Platform Properties Ltd. to amend our Official Community Plan and to re-zone the former Bullock Lake Resort property, which would allow the applicant to develop up to 123 vacation rental units on the site. It was clear that many people invested their afternoon not to hear what the developer's representatives had to say, but rather to voice their concerns about the impact this development would have on our community. A broad spectrum of speakers made statements to the trustees that the development was a bad idea because of the large amounts of groundwater it might consume, about the potential for wells drying up in the area during the summer season, about the potential for increased vehicle traffic four hundred visitors would create, about the financial impact the resort might have on well established local resorts and B & B operatio…

New changes are being proposed to the Bullock Lake cottages property that suffered a large fire in 2007 and ended the project as it had then been planned. The new owners are proposing a revision of the OCP to support changing the property's status as well as an additional 73 new houses on the property. There is an amendment request review planned for next week. This is your chance to learn about the property and voice any ideas or questions you might have about the proposal. Thursday 25th July: Legalising Bullock Lake Cottage Resort on Robinson Rd to be discussed at next Islands Trust Meeting Date: Thursday 25th July at TIME TBC. Where: The Lions Hall Originally called The Salt Spring Village Resort, The Islands Trust will be reviewing a request for an amendment to the OCP (Official Community Plan) that would legalise 50 houses on Bullock Lake Cottages Resort. The request also makes provision for another potential 73 houses. If you are interested in hearing more ab…

UPDATE - July 9th, 2013: Local RCMP have confirmed that Solomon Ruben, a resident of Salt Spring Island faces charges of assault causing bodily harm and attempted murder related to the stabbing of two young women on Saturday evening. He is scheduled to appear in Duncan Provincial Court today. UPDATE - July 7th, 2013: : The suspect sought in a stabbing on Saltspring Island has been apprehended. The Saltspring RCMP thank the public and media for their assistance in this case. On July 6th, 2013 at approximately 6:00 p.m., Saltspring Island RCMP responded to an altercation involving a man and two women at a residence on Howell Lane, on Saltspring Island. Upon arrival, investigators found that the two women had been stabbed repeatedly by a 24 year old Saltspring Island man. Both women were taken to hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries and later released. The suspect also sustained undetermined injuries in the altercation. The suspect, who was known to …

The CRD Salt Spring Transportation Commission (SSITC) approved the bus shelter design for the bus pullout on the South side of Lower Ganges Road. The selected design was from local artist Matt Brain. The design focuses on the moon snail shell, and the organic spiral design also echoes shapes of the island’s natural beauty. The wooden bench in the design evokes driftwood, and the corrugated metal roof is a nod to Salt Spring’s agricultural heritage. A local artist, carpenter, fabricator, and metal smith, Matt has worked on projects ranging from museums and exhibit spaces to public art and sculpture. The rough footprint of the selected design is 9 feet by 4.5 feet, the height to be just over 8.5 feet. The wood truss is a custom shape to be laminated out of fir strips. The metal roof has a one foot overhang all around and is graded to shed rain water to the back of the shelter. The Commission Shelter Design Panel considered an online poll, eleven designs from other comm…

Despite the efforts of dozens of rescue and medical personnel yesterday, the 3 year old girl injured in a serious crash on Saltspring Island has succumbed to her injuries. She passed away yesterday evening at BC Children's Hospital. The girl's mother and 5 year old sister remain hospitalized in Victoria with serious injuries. Their husband and father is by their side. This is a very difficult time for those directly affected, and the entire community of Saltspring Island, states Sgt. George Jenkins, the Detachment Commander for the RCMP on Saltspring Island. We will continue to investigate the cause of this crash, and remain committed to supporting the families involved in the difficult times ahead. The BC Coroner Service attended the crash scene last night, and have commenced a parallel investigation into this child's death. Questions related to the BC Coroner Service investigation should be directed to them. The identity of the child will not be released at this t…

Shaw TV's James Green meets a family who runs a metal recycling business but may be forced to leave Saltspring Island as the community voted against keeping their business. The recent online poll, after 1,000 votes, suggests that the Islands Trust did not vote inline with community expectations on their recent re-zoning application.

There have been rumours swirling for a few weeks that Moby's Oyster Bar & Marine Grill, the iconic pub at the end of Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island might be closing and we can now confirm that the pub has indeed closed. A sign posted on the door of the pub confirms that they have closed until further notice. This now just weeks after Bruce's Kitchen suffered a similar fate. What is happening to our restaurant community on Salt Spring Island?