1. travel
2. tourist facilities
3. bed and breakfast

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www.sookevoicenews.com
News and views for attentive,
inquisitive readers! ~ 4 pages this issue
Sooke Voice News
The
WEB COURTESY EDITION
Friday, January 9, 2015
Sooke, BC
v2
News about the Vancouver Island west shore and beyond,
with a focus on wellness, learning and insightful living.
Say it one more time: Roundabout construction in Sooke town centre
... 1
More flu hospitalizations among island seniors this season ... 2
‘Bin there, then gone’: garbage without a transfer station ... 3
800 names on waitlist to get a family doctor at Sooke clinic ... 3
Young people in two holiday-season motor vehicle incidents ....... 4
SOOKE VOICE NEWS on the beat
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Photo: Sooke Voice News
Sidewalks, repaving, and the
roundabout: summer 2015
Road contruction in summer 2015 may take care of the ‘transitions’ at the
corner of Sooke Road (Hwy 14) and Otter Point, and at Murray Road.
Sooke is likely to see road and sidewalk construction in town centre this
summer, according to a consultant's report about sidewalks, given at the District of Sooke Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday evening, January 5,
held in council chambers.
The verbal report was presented to Sooke Mayor Maja Tait and Council
by Nathan Dunlop of the Victoria-based McElhanney engineering firm, who made
it clear that his company has the sidewalk contract but that it is the BC Ministry of
Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) that will be doing the roundabout construction. The roundabout project goes to tender in March and would likely be
awarded by May 2015, said Dunlop.
The roadwork and sidewalk installation will likely to take place at the
height of the fishing-hiking-camping summer tourist season during which time
Communities in Bloom judges are also in town for a few days for the District’s
participation in that province-wide community beautification program, and the
Sooke Fine Arts Show runs for almost two weeks.
Sooke residents have long asked for improved sidewalks in town centre, while the long-proposed roundabout has for years been the subject of mixed
reviews from residents and businesses. Once complete, the sidewalks will provide improved pedestrian walkability from Church Road heading west to Otter
Point Road. That portion of the project (together with other sidewalk work) was
anounced back in June 2014 by then-Mayor Wendal Milne.
District of Sooke engineer Elisabeth Nelson confirmed at Monday night’s
meeting that the road work will include 'transitions' (at the corners of street intersections), which might finally take care of the considerable surface slope and
irregular surfacing at two corners of concern -- turning right from Sooke Road
onto Otter Point Road (of particular mention by Councillor Kerrie Reay) and
turning right from Murray Road onto Sooke Road). The dips in pavement at
those two corners presently serve to slow down traffic as drivers aim to be cautious about possible vehicle damage. Sudden slowing and maneouvering at those
corners could possibly contribute to accidents (including one time last year or
so, when a large truck widened its turn from Sooke Road to Otter Point Road,
but not enough... and hit a hydro pole).
Pavement resurfacing of sections of Sooke Road will be done as well as
some bike lane installations. Doing sidewalks and the roundabout at the same
time saves money for the District of Sooke,
with project management expertise being
provided by MOTI.
The roundabout is apparently intended to slow down traffic and help with flowthrough of traffic in town center. The project
has been on the books for years at the insistence of MOTI, with construction promises
repeatedly discussed and announced by now
three Mayors, since at least 2010.
Wadams Way that opened in August
2014 (500km from Church to Otter Point,
Sooke Road (Hwy 14) and
north of and parallel to Sooke Rd) does propresent walkway looking
vide some relief of town-center traffic, and
west from Church Road
was a major infrastructure accomplishment
toward Evergreen Shopping
(below budget and within schedule) by the
Centre (June 2014).
District of Sooke in 2014. SVN
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“Je Suis
Charlie”
January 7, 2015
FREE SPEECH
Vol.4 No.51
ISSN 1925-2722
Regional & national:
@SookeVoiceNews
Vancouver Island:
@IslandLensBC
Local: @SookeVoiceLOCAL
Tweets also posted live at:
www.sookevoicenews.com
Insight news published weekly
on Fridays (print & online) by
Brookeline Publishing House Inc.
FREEDOM
OF SPEECH.
It matters.
EDITORIAL REPORT
by Mary P. Brooke, B.Sc., Cert PR
Editor & Publisher, Sooke Voice News
Pavement greatly in need of
repair and regrading at Sooke
Road & Otter Point Road in
town centre. (Jan.2015)
Drug Mart Sooke
“The international Jihadist
movement has declared
war.” ~ Prime Minister Stephen
Harper, January 8, 2015
Ten journalism professionals -- three of
them political cartoonists -- were gunned down
in a precise execution attack in their office during that day’s editorial meeting at the Charlie
Hebdo weekly news magazine in Paris, France
on Wednesday, January 7. Two policemen
were also killed. The two killers were eventually located and shot dead on January 9 while
exiting a print company where they had hid,
about 40km from Paris.
Once quoted as saying, “I’d rather die
on my feet than live on my knees,” Charlie Stéphane Charbonnier, publisher-editor-in-chief of Charlie
Hebdo publisher and editor-in-chief Stéphane Hebdo, was among the outspoken
Charbonnier, age 47 (1967-2015), was one of political journalists and cartoonists
the people singled out for death in the attack who were targeted and slain in Paris
by the evidently well-trained gunmen, with a this week by Jihad terrorists.
third man waiting beyond the barbaric scene as a scout.
Worldwide TV and online news coverage of this event heard elected leaders, policy makers, world affairs academics and journalists speaking readily for
the right to free speech, freedom of ideas, and freedom of movement in a democratic society. It’s what the brave soliders of free nations fought for in World War
II, it’s what 21st-century terrorism apparently seeks to quash out.
A crowd of 10,000 people in Paris raised then pens in quiet protest that
same night after the shooting. Many held signs Je Suis Charlie (standing in unison with the principle of free speech that the French publication actively stood
for), which also spread rapidly on Twitter #JeSuisCharlie (at one point Tweeted
out 4,000 times per minute).
Prior to last week, Charlie Hebdo was not a household word. Now it is.
One million copies will be published of the next edition, as a well-funded statement from other news media that freedom of the press will not be extinguished.
Charlie Hebdo (published 1970 to 1981; 1992 to present) is part of a tradition in
French journalism of the same genre as the scandal sheets that denounced
Marie-Antoinette in the run-up to the French Revolution. Notorious for its scathing political cartoons about world leaders and many religions, it has a regular
circulation of 45,000 (available at newstands in Europe and also Montreal).
This terrorist attack will not be a flash in the pan. This event has declared
war on editorialized and independent news media, and everyone who lives in a
free society should care about this, otherwise free speech becomes controlled
by powers of the day. People have a right to know what is going on in their
society, and while information is instantaneously rampant and available to all
through the Web and mobile technology, there will always be a role for those who
spend their days, indeed their lives, deep in thought about how to articulate the
freedoms that so many of us have come to take for granted, tracking history as it
unfolds -- and who dare to pen the words that contribute light to humanity.
The tragic event in Paris on January 7, 2015 is a wake-up call that we
must protect the right to know that we can wake up in the morning and hope to
live a normal day without fear. That we will know what our elected leaders are
doing to improve laws and policy. That we know about and have input into where
our communities hope to head as compassionate, supportive places to live. And
also, sadly, that we know about dangers of all kinds that might lurk out there -better to know than be taken off guard.
And what can you do about all this? If you know someone who is afraid of
free speech, you could ask them why. Keep the conversation going. SVN
Widely sourced on the Internet
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EDITORIAL
Friday, January 9, 2015 ::: SOOKE VOICE NEWS
SVN editorials aim to explore broader issues of concern to
the local community, economy and society as a whole.
The pen: mightier this week Does your marketing mix for 2015 include
Sooke’s most sought-after reading experience?
What else would an editor write about this week than
Photo: Veronique Gagnon
the murder of journalists in a targeted attack on an outspoCall 250-642-7729 or
ken publication?
Sombre, horrid stuff. But it matters.
email to: advertising@sookevoicenews.com
While fully tragic, the January 7 terrorist attack
on the editorial staff of the French weekly newsSooke
News
paper Charlie Hebdo helped democratic nations
A
smart
place
for
people
to see your
around the world remember to sharpen their
news
and
marketing
messages!
view as to the continued need for freedom of
Print & Online
expression.
Mary P Brooke
Pens have risen in the hands of mourn* Small ads start as low
Editor/Publisher ers everywhere since Wednesday, in defiance
Sooke Voice News
as $25/week. Call
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Publications around the globe have featured ‘the
250.642.7729
power of the pen’ in some manner or another this week, and
some have reprinted Charlie Hebdo political cartoons that had, over the years,
raised the ire of some but also the properly critical thoughts of many. It was
Condensed from information on Wikipedia
these cartoons that evidently pushed Jihadist extremists over the edge this
“The pen is mightier than the sword” was coined by
week into a barbaric terrorist act -- by French citizens against their own (not English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 in Richelieu.
the first against Charlie Hebdo, the office of which was bombed in 2011).
Assyrian sage Ahiqar, who reputedly lived during the early
No doubt some of the Charlie Hebdo content was ‘over the top’ and
7th century BC, coined the first known version of this
far beyond the edge, but what mattered is that it could be said and put out
phrase. One copy of the Teachings of Ahiqar,
there. While some TV news media called the 45,000 print circulation of Charlie
dating to about 500 BC, states that
Hebdo ‘small’, that is actually a sizeable if not critical mass to tip awareness
"The word is mightier than the sword."
on key problems of our time. And all this has occurred where else but in
Greek playwright Euripides, c. 400 BC apparently wrote:
France... home of freedom and liberty as basic human needs, the desire for
"The tongue is mightier than the blade."
which was forever seared into the human imagination by the engimatic Jeanne
William Shakespeare around 1600, in Hamlet
d’Arc who immortalized that cry in France in the early 1400s.
Act 2, Scene II "... many wearing rapiers
Already we see that that the power of ideas reaches far beyond the
are afraid of goosequills".
cruel swath of violence -- an act intended to instill fear and doubt about
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821),
freedom of expression immediately became a rallying cry in all democratic
known to history for his military conquests, also left this
nations for the continued right to free speech.
oft-quoted remark: “Four hostile newspapers are more
It is through open thought, free speech and creativity that individuto be feared than a thousand bayonets.” He also said:
als, communities, and nations learn about themselves. Freedom of expres“There are only two powers in the world, saber and mind;
sion is a necessary human experience, for it serves to reveal and to heal.
at the end, saber is always defeated by mind.”
S VN
Voice
‘Power of the Pen’: who said it?
The Sooke Voice News
Published by Brookeline Publishing
House Inc., Sooke, BC, Canada
Mailing: PO Box851,Sooke,
BC, Canada V9Z 1H8
Phone: 250-642-7729
Fax: 250-642-7785 | Text: 250-217-5821
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Twitter: @SookeVoiceNews
(regional / national);
@SookeVoiceLOCAL (Sooke local);
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Publisher, Editor, Writer, Layout,
& Ad Sales: Mary P. Brooke, B.Sc.,
C ert PR
Publishing Assistant:
Jennifer Brooke. Delivery Support:
Les Haddad. Contributors: Steve
Sorensen. Contributions welcome from
the community. Webserver Management: Les Oberg. Printing: MapleLine
Business Centre. Deliveries: Bulk drop
to various coffee shops, hotels, banks, communityareas; to some residential addresses,some
Readership: Base of 3,500
print & online; includes print delivery direct
to selected businesses weekly. Retail:Colourprint edition $1.75 at Shoppers Drug Mart
(Sooke). Online: Print/PDF digital colour
version at www.sookevoicenews.com
PDF subscription: $28+GST for 18
weeks by email. Print subscription
weekends.
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BC & NATIONAL NEWS
Harper in BC: pulls no
punches about Jihadist war
weekly by 1st class postal mail:
$35+GST for 20 issues in greyscale, or
12 in colour. National Library
Registration: ISSN 1925-2722
Letters published in Sooke
Voice News do not necessarily
represent the opinion of the
publisher, editor or staff.
The publisher reserves
the right to decline any article,
ad or contribution.
Current edition (PDF),
archives, breaking news:
www.sookevoicenews.com
A national day of mourning in France on Sunday, January 11 will memorialize political journalists who were singled out and murdered in Paris on January 7.
Freedom of expression and freedomof the press were
deemed by democratic nations around the world as being
under attack in the killing of the political journalists.
On January 8, Harper said during an apprenticeship
program announcement in Delta, BC: “The international
Jihadist movement has declared war on anybody who does
not think and act exactly as they wish they would think and
act”. He continued: “They have declared war on any country like ourselves that values freedom, openness and tolerance ... it's not going to go away. It is the reality of the world
we're living in, and we're going to have to deal with it for
some time to come," he said to the crowd.
Debate among four guest commentators on the
CBC's Power and Politics TV show on January 8 was somewhat split on whether Harper's comments were political
grandstanding in an election year or whether his strong words
to a crowd were genuinely indignant over the tragedy. SVN
Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld
Screen shot
BC & NATIONALon Twitter: @SookeVoiceNews
Vickers heads to Ireland
1,424 more trades seats
House of Commons sergeantat-arms Kevin Vickers, who
became a household name in
October after his fast-thinking
confrontation with a heavilyarmed gunman in a hallway on
Parliament Hill on October 22,
has been appointed as Canada's
next ambassador to Ireland.
The diplomatic appointment is effective Jan.
19, and is considered a step up and certainly is a
recognition of his bravery and service to country
when parliament was under seige.
Vickers became sergeant-at-arms in 2006,
after retiring from the RCMP. SVN
BC has invested $6.8 million to fund an additional 1,424 critical trades seats at 14 public postsecondary institutions throughout BC it was announced Monday January 5 by the BC Ministry
of Advanced Education.
These trades seats "make it even easier
for individuals to get the training for in-demand
jobs," a news release said.
An expanded BC Access Grant program
makes trades training more accessible for students in financial need. Eligible students may
receive up to $16,400 in non-repayable funding
to study in-demand foundation trades programs
such as steamfitting, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, carpentry, welding and millwright.
The release says there are expected to
be one million job openings in BC by 2022 -- see
www.workbc.ca .
The BC Government's 2014 to 2022
timeline implies about an 8-year phase until most
of the older workers have retired, and that they
are allowing at least 3 or 4 years for the postsecondary programs to get up and running to full
capacity to produce employable graduates. SVN
WE B VERSI ON
Regional tour on
education in BC
BC Government
A forum called BC Focus on
Learning: Rising to the Global
Challenge will be held in Vancouver on January 29, featuring five
international experts on education
transformation, it was announced
this week in a release from the BC BC Minister of
Education Peter
Ministry of Education.
Fassbender
A new agreement between BC and Shang"These experts will engage
influential education, economic, and business stakeholders hai, China will encourage participation in
(including teachers and school administrators) to highlight major trade conferences in both locations,
BC's international leadership in education transformation." aiming to advance economic partnerships
The forum lays the foundation for a series of re- between both regions. The 2015 action plan
gional tours that BC Education Minister Peter Fassbender focusses on facilitating commercial partnerwill lead, to continue the education transformation discus- ships between businesses in the technolThe prevalence of flu is contributing to higher than normal sion at the local level and highlight work already underway ogy sector. In particular, the action plan will
patient volumes in Island Health hospitals, particularly on in specific schools (Grades K to 12). Tour stops will be promote Shanghai business participation in
the 2015 Hydrogen and Fuel Cell ConferSouthern Vancouver Island where 74 patients are presently announced in the weeks ahead. SVN
ence in Vancouver April 27-28. SVN
in hospital with flu (49 of those in Victoria), said Island Health
media relations manager Sarah Plank, on January 8.
At least another week of higher than normal level flu activity is The proposed new federal legislation to
expected across the region. There have been 200 cases of hospitalized tighten up security in Canada “attempts to use
flu patients in the island’s 2014-2015 flu season so far, compared to 151 those incidents (e.g. attack in Ottawa last fall)
for the entire 2013-2014 season. The season runs to and into March.
to promote their agenda,” says Randall GarriPeople are to remain home if sick and should avoid visiting people son, MP who is Public Safety Critic for the Offiwho may have compromised immune systems, including seniors at resi- cial Opposition. Garrison says the NDP argued
dential care facilities which have been particularly hard hit on Vancouver that government’s responsibility is to protect
Island (20 facilities so far, compared to 3 to 5 last year).
both civil liberties and national security. “There’s
The H3N2 virus has mutated once already this flu season, says no contradiction.”
Plank. This year’s vaccine included specific protection to last year’s strain
“Bill C44 expands powers to CSIS, but
of H3N2 which still provides “some protection”, said Plank.
we need to make sure they’re effective and add
Across Canada there have been 1,302 hospitalizations as of Janu- extra oversight,” to protect civil liberties, said
ary 3 (up from782 at Dec 20) for the 2014-2015 flu season and 69 deaths Garrison in an interview with Sooke Voice News
(up from 40 at Dec 20). Symptoms, vaccines: www.viha.ca/flu SVN
in December. SVN
Fuel cells and more
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Flu hospitalizations up over Xmas
Security bill should do both, says Garrison
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SOOKE VOICE NEWS ::: Friday, January 9, 2015
West Coast Lifestyle
LOCAL NEWS ON TWITTER: @SookeVoiceLOCAL
Sooke & West Shore NEWS
Bin there, then gone
Daily news updates - LOCAL NEWS:
www.sookevoicenews.com/SOOKE-LOCALbreakingnews.htm
WHERE TO GET SVN
A large commercial-size refuse collection bin
was placed at the corner of Idlemore Road and
Sooke Road by Sooke Disposal Ltd a few weeks
ago, positioned immediately in front of an
Idlemore Recycle Centre sign at that corner. The
bin blocked view of the Idlemore sign, said
Idlemore Recycle Centre owner Dale Arden.
The bin became relocated partway down Wayward Sooke Disposal bin
Idlemore Road, and meanwhile became loaded quickly became filled up with
items large & small.
up with discarded items by passers-by.
“The District of Sooke did receive a complaint regarding the Sooke Disposal bin on Idlemore Road,” said District of Sooke Bylaw Enforcement officer
Medea Mills this week. “Sooke Disposal was contacted and a request was made
for them to remove the bin, which they have done,” she said.
Sooke Disposal has been without a garbage transfer station location since
their lease ended on Butler Bros land in 2012; they’ve since been unable to
secure appropriately zoned land. Without a home-base location they must drive
directly to Hartland Landfill every time a truck fills up. If the route gets behind
schedule and the landfill closes, they’re in a pinch. Also, the additional driving is
not ‘green’ for the environment and requires additional wages to be paid, explained Mike Winter of Sooke Disposal Ltd who said that zoning issues with the
District must be sorted out if his family business is to thrive.
Meanwhile, Sooke Disposal continues serving its customers. By the end
of January they hope to have their pink kitchen scrap bins ready for customers.
The pickup fee for clearing the 32-gallon totes will be $7.95/month. The pink
colour will differentiate the totes from others, and are part of a donation program
to the Canadian Cancer Society. Private haulers incur fines at the CRD’s Hartland
Landfill if kitchen scraps are found in garbage delivered to the site. SVN
www.sookevoicenews.com ::: Page 3 of 4
Sooke Voice News
Courtesy greyscale print copies of this newspaper are available for pickup at:
SOOKE: Cafe Mat, Castle Cold Beer & Wine Store, Cathy’s Corner Cafe,
Kelz Bake Shop, Mom’s Cafe, Peoples Drug Mart, Prestige Oceanfront Resort,
Reading Room Cafe, SEAPARC, Serious Coffee, Sooke Harbour House,
Sooke Library, The Stick, West Coast Natural Foods.
PORT RENFREW: Port Renfrew Library.
LANGFORD: Great Canadian Oil Change, Juan de Fuca Constituency Office,
Serious Coffee (West Shore)
In the lobby while you wait: SOOKE: Island Haircutting,
RBC, TD, West Coast Family Medical.
Colour digital edition ONLINE:
www.sookevoicenews.com
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at Shoppers Drug M art (Sooke)
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Please support our advertisers who help make this publication possible.
Line-ups for kitchen scraps service
West Coast FamilyMedical website
800 names on Sooke clinic wait list
Photo: Sooke Voice News
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A pitch was made to Sooke Council on
January 5, at their committee of the whole,
to continue with the initiative of trying to imPersonnel at the Alpine Group retail centre in Langford were busy all this
prove the availability of various levels of
week, getting existing and new customers signed up for the kitchen scraps
medical and health care in the Sooke area.
pickup service (photo). There were times when customers were lined up right
The presentation called "Building a
out the door to the street to get their green totes (a small one for the kitchen,
Healthy Community in Sooke" was made by
and an 11-gallon tote for taking bagged scraps to the street on pickup day).
As CRD has banned kitchen scraps from the landfill (as of Jan 1, 2015),
Linda Nehra of the Primary Health Care Servwest shore residents can use their own food digester units in addition to
ices Working Group of the Sooke Commucomposting, or get scraps picked up by a commercial service such as Alpine’s
nity
Health
Initiative
(CHI),
the
same
group
West Coast Family Medical Clinic
(weekly, bi-weekly, or once a month). There are also drop-off recycling centers
that
organized
the
GP
For
Me
Forum
in
Dein Sooke has a wait list of 800 peos uc h as I d lemore Rec ycl e i n S o oke. ww w. cr d.b c. ca/ ki tc hen sc ra ps
ple. Total number of doctors to in- cember 2013 and the Public Health Forum
www.alpinegroup.ca | www.sookevoicenews.com/archives.htm (Dec 12, 19, 26; Jan 2)
crease by one to 7 in June 2015.
followup event in November 2014.
SVN
CHI co-founder and leader Marlene Barry attended the presentation; Barry has been instrumental in the success for CHI for over 10 years.
Municipal governments do not fund health care -- that is a provincial budget responsibility throughout Canada. However, in the last two years the District of
Sooke has invested time and resources to support CHI initiatives toward improving the health-care availability aspects of living Sooke.
Sooke is not exactly fully rural, yet is far enough away from the Greater Victoria core area to be a challenge for some people seeking medical care to find and
reach care in a timely and affordable manner. Nehra proposed to council that in addition to staying abreast of the concerns in the community about physician
availability, that the District consider having a Standing Committee or other formal body to continue putting pressure on BC Health, Island Health, and other authorities
with health governance responsibilities, to maintain and improve the situation for Sooke residents. According to statistics presented Monday night, there are 800
people on the waiting list for a physician at the local West Coast Family Medical Centre in Sooke. And while 26% of Sooke's population does not have a family doctor
at all; of the 74% who do have a family physician, many travel outside of Sooke to visit that physician's office. The meeting was told that the number of physicians at
the Sooke clinic will increase from six to seven in June 2015 -- one new family physician will start in June, and another will take take over for a retiring physician. Mayor
Maja Tait said that as Council begins to establish its strategic planning for 2014-2018 next month, that the health initiative aspects would be considered. In the past
few years, many Councillors have voted against any grants or funding related to health care or even child care and social-care programs, citing the 'downloading' of
health care responsibilities from the Province as the reason to not undertake expenses from within the District of Sooke budget. Many if not all Councillors support the
importance of these issues, and have (and likely would still) write supportive letters of advocacy or support to health authorities and other key players. SVN
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Sewage gets into shoreline waters in
Victoria/Saanich/Oak Bay area
Extremely heavy rainfall from the evening of Sunday, January 4 into and during the day Monday January 5 resulted in combined stormwater and wastewater overflows along the shorelines
of Greater Victoria.
The Capital Regional District (CRD) advised residents to avoid swimming or wading in
waters along affected shorelines, saying the wastewater could pose a health risk. “Wastewater
(sewage), heavily diluted by stormwater is now flowing into the ocean at several outfalls in
these areas,” it was stated in a news release. “The areas affected extend from Finnerty Point,
near Queenswood, to Clover Point, on Dallas Road and from McLoughlin Point west to Saxe
Point.”
CRD Water Quality is in the process of collecting samples. As a precaution and in consultation with Island Health and the local municipalities, beaches within the affected areas were
posted with public health advisory signs which were to remain in place until sample results
indicate otherwise. The signage was to be removed
once the enterococci levels fell below the 70CFU/
100mL recreational limit.
Wastewater in the Sooke area is managed
for the District of Sooke by a private company called
Friendly service!
Bring in this
EPCOR, and is not part of the CRD wastewater
coupon
for
system. Since EPCOR installed the wastewater and
sewer system in the mid-2000s, waters of the Sooke
Harbour have been much improved over years
on your next 872 Langford Parkway
where crabs and other sealife were affected by
250-590-5678
oil change!
wastewater.
CRD water quality specialists test the water
Open daily ~ in Langford
quality of Sooke shoreline areas every year, and
Mon-Sat 8-6 & Sun 10-5
provide a verbal and written report to District of
Like us on Facebook!
Sooke council including any changes (higher or
VicGreatCanadianOilChange
lower bacterial counts) at particular spots along the
THIS COUPON EXPIRES: February 9, 2015
Sooke shoreline. SVN
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Happy New Year!
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Elevator access
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WHAT’S GOING ON
District of Sooke Regular Council Meeting. Mon.
Jan.12. Council Chambers. Agenda/webcast. www.sooke.ca
SD62. Education Committee of the Whole Meeting
Tues. Jan.13 at John Stubbs. www.sd62.bc.ca
Sooke Voice News ~ ad deadline for Jan.16 edition.
Wed. Jan 14. 5pm. Book 3 ads for 10% discount. 250-6427729 advertising@sookevoicenews.com
Awareness Film Night. Wed.Jan 14. 7 pm. “The Clean
Bin Project”. Film and discussion about reducing our garbage
footprint with Buddy Boyd of Gibsons Recycling Depot & Sooke
Mayor Maja Tait. EMCS Theatre, admission by donation.
@SookeVoiceLOCAL
7-Day
Unlimited
Pass
Friday, January 9, 2015 ::: SOOKE VOICE NEWS
Free event postings courtesy as space permits.
PRIORITY TO ADVERTISERS
Only $20
Sooke Yoga ~ at 6750 West Coast Rd
in the Hope Centre
EMCS Open House. Wed.Jan 21. 6:30 to 8pm.
emcs.sd62.bc.ca
Coa st C apital F ree Swim . Fri. J an 2 3.
6 to 9pm.SEAPARC. www.seaparc.ca
Building the Future: Global Governance in the
New World Order. Bahá'í talk by Don Brown. Sat.Jan.24
6:45 pm. Cook St Activity Centre, 380 Cook St, Victoria
District of Sooke Regular Council Meeting.
Mon. Jan.26. Council Chambers. www.sooke.ca
EMCS Semester 1 Final Projects Night (art,
film, drama). Tues.Jan 27. 7pm. emcs.sd62.bc.ca
SD62 Semester 1 Provincial Exams. Feb. 2
to 5. EMCS. Grades 10 to 12. emcs.sd62.bc.ca
A Taste of BC. Sat. Feb.7. Fundraiser by
Sooke Harbourside Lions. 7 to 9:30 pm.
Victoria Film Festival. Feb.6-15.
Family Day in BC.Mon. Feb.9. Statutory holiday. Long weekend Feb. 7-9.
MORE EVENTS: www.sookevoicenews.com/
Sooke-area-events.htm
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Tea tells the tale
Awareness Film Night
& Transition Sooke
present
January 14 ~ EMCS
Film & discussion
about reducing our
garbage footprint.
Now 16 flavours of Silk
Road Tea in stock!
It started with four tea flavours, and now it’s up to 16! That’s all
about the Silk Road organic tea products selling at A Sea of Bloom
retail flower and gift shop in Sooke otwn centre.
And first it was just the loose tea leaves for sale in the attractive silvery round containers. Now also Silk Road teabags are
available, for tea-drinker convenience.
“Artificial flavours” as found in some teas (including gluten,
dairy, soy and chemicals) are not in Silk Road products. The Silk
Road tea line has been produced out of Victoria since 1992.
The increase in tea sales at A Sea of Bloom in Sooke tells
the tale that more people are shopping at that store, and that tea
is popular for one’s own enjoyment and for gifts. SVN
Admission by donation.
www.awarenessfilmnight.ca
1904 Maple Ave. S.
Lots of parking
M-Th 10-3 | F 10-2
In Sooke since 2007 Other times by appointment
New to Sooke? New
mom? Bride to be?
Giftware
Jewelry
Plants
Flowers
2052 Otter Point Rd
250-642-3952
Sooke Voice News
250-642-2268
Handling documents professionally since 1995
Loose tea
& bags
Open
daily!
COPY-FAX-SCAN | FLYERS & TICKETS
~ Digital document management ~
www.maplelinebusinesscentre.com
A Sea of Bloom
www.aseaofbloom.com
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Don’t miss a single issue!
3 ways to subscribe
BC Government
Sport money
in BC
A new round of grants under the BC Sport Participation Program (BCSPP) will provide thousands of British Columbians with
new opportunities to participate in and enjoy the benefits of sport
through the Local Sport Development, Girls Only and Forever
Coralee Oakes,
Active Bodies 55+ programs, announced Coralee Oakes, MinisBC Minister of
ter of Community, Sport and Cultural Development on January 9. Community, Sport and
Total funding of $52,695 to 32 programs will buy equip- Cultural Development
ment, as well as train leaders, officials or coaches, and teach participants sport skills.
Successful applicants include municipalities, Aboriginal groups and not-for-profit organizations delivering programs that make community sport more accessible to people
of all ages, abilities and demographics throughout BC.
BC and Sport Canada have invested $953,330 in the BC Sport Participation Programthis year to increase participation in sport and enhance sport organizations' ability
to deliver sport programs. Since 2001, BC has invested more than $1 billion in sport
and is providing over $50 million this year.
Since its inception in 2004, the BCSPP has provided over $9 million to multisport and provincial organizations. This funding has captured upwards of 650,000 new
sport participants in approximately 220 communities provincewide, and has delivered
training to more than 24,000 sport leaders. www.viasport.ca SVN
WE B VERSI ON
2014: a busy year for Sooke Fire Rescue
Print: by postal mail
A New
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Local news & views ~ journalism on Vancouver Island’s west shore
Weekly print edition and online daily news updates since 2011.
Oil prices dropped again this week, but notso-much at the retail gas tank STEADY AT THE PUMP
The price of crude oil fell below 50 cents per barrel earlier this week. So
people naturally wonder why the price at the retail gasoline pump doesn’t
plummet further than it already has. For a few weeks now the retail price
has hovered around $1/litre in the west shore area and few are complaining, as the price of gas was as much as $1.50/litre at various times in the
past few years.
Likely the gasoline companies don't drop their prices directly in relation to barrel prices because they’re at the end of the delivery food chain.
Retail gas stations have inflexible overhead to cover (rent/mortgage, staff,
advertising, utilities, etc) which does not go down when oil prices do. The
barrel/crude prices won't stay very low forever -- middle east oil producing
countries have come right out and said they will keep their prices artificially
low as a way to squeeze out competitors (USA, Canada, Russia and other
oil-producing nations). Retail stations meanwhile must cover their own service-delivery costs and don't want to 'give away the store' by following the
downhill political slide of crude.
Consumers are already happily accustomed to cheaper gasoline
prices compared to the last four years. This is good for budgets of individuals and families, as well any businesses who rely on transportation as a
key part of their service delivery. Too bad gasoline can’t be stored for a
rainy day! ~ Editor SVN
WE B VERSI ON
The Sooke Fire Rescue Department had another extremely busy year. And while
emergency calls were down in number (compared to 2011-2013), the scale of many of
the incidents was far greater, said Sooke Fire Rescue Chief Steve Sorensen this week.
“In two of the fires, the community was at times only moments away from a major
interface fire occurring. Only through tremendous effort of dozens of emergency personal and our outstanding mutual aid help was further disaster averted,” he said.
The lower emergency call count can be largely attributed to a change in fire
department policy by which “C” level medical calls at night are no longer attended unless by special requested of the ambulance service. A total of 613 “Emergency Calls”
were attended in 2014. Major calls of the year included:
•
February 6 – Assisted Otter Point FD at a fully involved structure fire on West
Coast Rd. Sub zero temperatures caused much of the water spray from firefighting
efforts to freeze across the highway causing some tough road conditions.
SOOKE FIRE RESCUE SERVICE
Submitted by Sooke Fire Chief Steve Sorensen
•
February 14 – Major early morning fire at Park Isle Marine on West Coast Rd
Dec 28. An SUV with four young people inside went off the road across from
involving several boats and a large warehouse structure.
•
May 21 – Complex rope rescue op- the Sooke Museum. It went down the hill and rolled over before coming to rest
eration at Sooke Potholes. Injured climber against a large tree at the bottom of the steep hill. All occupants managed to
Ask a Doctor
was brought up shear cliff face in stretcher. get out on their own, but required transportation to hospital with non-lifeof Optometry
•
July 31 – Fully involved house fire threatening injuries. The call came in
on Facebook
in 5100-blk Sooke Rd that spread quickly, at 21:40 and 10 Sooke firefighters
Dr. Joslin,
were on scene for just over an hour
causing spot fires in the forest. / .... SVN
In the Prestige
Dr. Morin &
Full list coming in the Jan 16, 2015 Sooke Voice News assisting BC Ambulance with patient
Oceanfront Resort, 6929
Associates:
care and the tow truck operators to
West Coast Rd, Sooke
Doctors of
recover the wreck.
Optometry
Join us on Wednesdays!
Jan 1. A young man appears to have
Providing comprehensive eye health
fallen
asleep
at
the
wheel
and
drove
Order 1 entree,
and optical services to the growing
Upcoming Public Meetings
off
the
road
into
a
deep
ditch
and
then
get 2nd one half-price
community of Sooke for over 20 years.
hit
a
hydro
pole.
There
was
signifi$5
for house white/red,
#5-6726 West Coast Rd
Regular Council Meeting
cant
damage
to
his
truck,
but
he
was
single
Caesars, single house
Phone: 250-642-4311
Monday, January 12
not
injured.
The
pole
appeared
ok
and
high
balls,
& islander draft
Email:sookeod@shaw.ca
at 7:00 pm in Council Chambers
power was not lost. The call came in
Kids dinner $5 (special menu)
Schedule subject to change.
www.sookeoptometrists.ca
at 17:01. Eight firefighters were on
Call 250-642-1634 to confirm meetings.
778-425-0888
scene. SVN
Agendas:
Happy New Year 2015!
www.sooke.ca
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Young people in holiday season MVI’s
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LOCAL
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