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2015: A look back at the year that was

JANUARY After years of sitting in Long Bay, the 110 metre former warship, the HMCS Annapolis, has a sink date.

JANUARY

After years of sitting in Long Bay, the 110 metre former warship, the HMCS Annapolis, has a sink date. The Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia issued a press release this week to announce that the ship will be towed to Halkett Bay on Jan. 13, and sunk on Jan. 17.

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Bowen Islander Ken Simpson reminded Mayor and council this week of what he saw as one of the best ideas to come out of the 2014 election: the creation of better internet service to the island. Simpson proposed that Bowen, like the town of Olds Alberta, could create a community owned fibre optic network.

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Nerys Poole, representing the Bowen Island Conservancy, congratulated council for making time to discuss the Natural Areas Protection Tax Exemption Program (NAPTEC) yet again. Back in 2011, council approved the program, which was set up and is administered by the Islands Trust, in principle. In 2013, Mayor Jack Adelaar stated his opposition to the program, saying it would cost the municipality money and affect Bowen’s tax base. In January, councilors reviewed the program and its feasibility on Bowen yet again, opening up the possibility for implementing it here.

FEBRUARY

Bowen Island councillor Maureen Nicholson says she was pleased to see so many Bowen Islanders turn up for a Woodfibre LNG open house seeking information. She says the open house mirrored her experience at a seminar she and councillor Sue Ellen Fast attended in Squamish in December, in that the level of production was very professional – the difference, she says, is that the Bowen Island event industry representatives were willing to answer questions.

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A municipal council meeting started with a plea to hold-off on a resolution made by councillor Sue Ellen Fast that recommends taking a position on the Woodfibre LNG project. Councillors learned that deadline for comments on the project’s environmental assesment has been extended by 15 days from the previous deadline of March 9. However, after a single presentation and some discussion, a majority of councillors voted to move with Coun. Fast’s suggestion, and draft a letter of concern about the proposed LNG export facility to be built near Squamish.

MARCH

Bowen-based businesses set-up displays in the Bowen Island Community School gym in order to promote themselves at the first-ever Bowen Island Business Showcase, organized by the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and Bowen Island Tourism. About 50 members of the public stopped by to check it out, but based on the fact that they managed to sell all the table-spaces available for businesses, the event is likely to be put on again next year.

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Bowen Islanders were preparing to experience yet another increase in the cost of their ferry trips – this time, by 4.1 per cent. Many coastal communities are organizing protests and strategies to show their dissatisfaction with the situation. Councillor Melanie Mason wants the Transportation Advisory Committee (BIMTAC) to be offered some direction in terms of engaging the community on this issue, and measuring the impact of this next round of fare increases.

However, Councillor Alison Morse effectively delayed the discussion of this matter until March 23 by being the lone council-member to vote against putting the item on meeting’s agenda.

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Starting in June, Bowen Island will be connected to Howe Sound in a new way: the island will offer one of five access points for the Sea to Sky Marine Trail.

The Marine Trail will connect to the 180 km of terrestrial Sea to Sky trail stretching from Squamish to D’Arcy, and the Trans-Canada Trail, which stretches from coast to coast. Gordon McKeevor addressed council with information about the planned network of launching points and camp sites for sea-kayakers looking to explore the Sound.

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Mike Buda, the Interim Executive Director of the Metro Vancouver Mayor’s Council, came to council to explain his perspective on why Bowen Islanders should vote in favour of creating a “congestion improvement tax” that would create a 0.5 percent regional sales tax to fund a transportation that will accommodate 1 million new residents in Greater Vancouver by 2040.

APRIL

For Brian Biddlecombe, owner of Bowen Island’s Cormorant Marine water taxi service, watching the HMCS Annapolis sink to the bottom of the ocean for the purpose of becoming an artificial reef was a once-in a lifetime experience.

Biddlecomb says that he waited in his water taxi with a group of people who were eager to watch the event at the edge of a boom blocking off Halkett Bay for nearly two hours while more than 100 other boats rallied for a spot along the edge of the Bay

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On May 5, a revamped Queen of Capilano was set to be back in action between Horseshoe Bay and Snug Cove, with room for extra cars on deck. Councillor Melanie Mason is hoping that those extra spots won’t actually be necessary, as efforts to reduce travel by car as well as new options becoming available will make this the less attractive choice for people travelling to the city.

At council, Municipal Chief Administrative Officer Kathy Lalonde said that meetings with TransLink yielded positive results for at least the temporary continuation of the express bus that takes commuters downtown and back. TransLink agreed temporarily transfer the Independent Transit Service (ITS) agreement to the service until the end of June. For continuation after that, an application will need to be made to the board of TransLink.

MAY

Council declared that every resident of Bowen Island has the right to live in a healthy environment including the right to breath clean air, drink clean water, consume safe food, have access to nature, know about pollutants and contaminants released into the local environment and participate in decision making that effects the environment. The City of Richmond, Vancouver, Port Moody, Squamish and Port Coquitlam have all passed similar declarations, which will be brought forward to the province with the aim of enacting an Environmental Bill of Rights.

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Council listened to Bowen Islanders and legal representatives of Bowen Island property owners express both their support and disagreement with the proposed Bylaw 381, 2015, to ban all future dock construction along the shoreline at Cape Roger Curtis. In the face of lawyers representing the Cape on Bowen and waterfront property owners, Bowen Islanders who support the measure urged mayor and council to act on behalf of the public and move forward with the Bylaw 381.

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During the public comments period regarding proposed Bylaw 381, which effectively bans docks on the shoreline of Cape Roger Curtis, the Municipality received 102 comments in support of the bylaw, and 121 comments and signed petition letters against the bylaw. With this information in mind, councilors proceeded to express their own thoughts and sentiments on the bylaw, and then vote in favor of it by a margin of 4- 3.

JUNE

According to survey results released by Vancouver Coastal Health, Bowen Islanders eat lots of fruit and vegetables, have high rates of physical activity and a low rate of sedentary activity in front of television or computer screens. However, the numbers in this survey are not all positive, and do not necessarily reflect the real challenges many Bowen Islanders face when trying to access healthcare services. Caring Circle Executive Director Colleen O’Neil says the result that surprised her most in the Bowen Island Community Health Profile is that 85 percent of Bowen Islanders have a family doctor.

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“Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, everything is wonderful on Bowen Island... thanks for the great ride home...”

Ann McDow posted these words on the Bowen Island Bus Facebook page, and they seem to reflect the mood of the regulars om the express bus, or “super bus” run by Peter King to and from downtown Vancouver every weekday, especially those making use of the new water taxi service that takes people from Horseshoe Bay to Snug Cove at roughly 4:30 and 5:40 each evening.

The water taxi service started operating a few weeks ago, when a commuter called Cormorant Marine Water Taxi Service from the bus pick-up location at Burrard and Georgia at 4:59 p.m. and asked for a water taxi to meet a group of passengers at Horseshoe Bay 20 minutes later.

JULY

The owner of lot 17 at the Cape on Bowen, Shu Lin Dong, filed a petition against the municipality of Bowen Island asking for a declaration by the courts that Bylaw No. 381, which prohibits dock construction along the Cape’s coastline, illegal.  The petition says that the bylaw extends beyond the municipality’s legislative authority, is discriminatory, was adopted in bad faith, and was passed in breach of its duty of procedural fairness.

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While everyone else in the Lower Mainland pondered why so many people voted No in the transit referendum, the opposite question is being asked here: why did so many Bowen Islanders go against the tide and vote Yes?

Bowen Island topped the charts for the Yes side, with 62 per cent agreeing to the proposed 0.5 per cent surcharge on the provincial sales tax to pay for an expanded transit system and 38 per cent voting no — practically the reverse of the total tally.

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Up to 40 boats, many from Bowen Island, blasted their horns in unison on North Side of Bowyer Island last weekend to protest the plans for the construction of a $1.7 billion dollar Liquid Natural Gas conversion facility at the former Woodfibre Pulp and Paper mill near Squamish. Bowen Islander and protest organizer, Anton Van Walraven says the event was planned to coincide with the flotilla traditionally organized by the Future of Howe Sound Society, but also, to come close to the release of the provincial Environmental Assessment results.

This process, however, was put on hold since the Squamish First Nation conducted its own environmental review of the project, and has made 26 conditions to be met before the project moves forward.

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Paul Hooson stood before council yet again, offering a brief history of the committees struck and reports written in an effort to move forward plans for a community hall on Bowen. After wrapping up, he told council that this presentation would be his last.“I’m feeling resigned,” said Hooson in an interview following the meeting. “I’m not sure if that’s a stage of grief, but that’s where I’m at.”

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According to the numbers, the housing market on Bowen was still hot – very hot. Since the beginning of January, 55 homes had sold, while in all of 2014, the total was 60.

AUGUST

In his 30 years in the food and beverage industry, Glenn Cormier has learned how to do virtually every job in the business. As the owner of the Bowen Island Pub, that experience has come in very handy.

The West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce gave Cormier a vote of confidence by choosing the Pub as the Small Business of the Year at its recent Excellence Awards. Like the other Bowen Island recipient, Andy Rainsley of Bowenshire Stoneworks and Landscaping, Cormier was totally taken aback by the win.

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Bowen Island’s Kailey and Sam Spear were catapulted into a whole new universe of fandom after their film won the grand prize in The Storytellers: New Voices of the Twilight Saga.

The Mary Alice Brandon File has been viewed more than three million times by Twilight fans (and, undoubtedly, every single person on Bowen Island.) Their screenplay is based on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide by Stephanie Meyer.

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Out of all the wonderful Bowen individuals who have been granted the annual Citizen of the Year award, two couples had previously won: Ross and Lois Meyers-Carter in 2007, and Don and Dianne Marshall in 2013. Among the flurry of submissions this year, another pair shone through: David and Shirley Wrinch. The couple, who have spent countless hours donating their time and costumes to previous Bowfest parades, would get to join the floats themselves.

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Children on Bowen Island were learning a new safety skill — how to operate the island’s first traffic light.

An energetic group of children took the solar-powered LED pedestrian crosswalk near BICS through its inaugural paces. Push the button, wait for the crosswalk’s yellow lights to start flashing, look both ways and then cross Bowen Trunk Road once all the cars have stopped.

SEPTEMBER

As a tattoo artist, Kelly Miller has to have a steady hand and a keen eye.

Who knew those skills would help her win the overall title in the axe-throwing contest in the Loggers Show at Bowfest?

As the top point-earner among the women axe throwers, she beat the top man, Mark James, in the hotly contested event. (James, it should be noted, had out-thrown his two axe-wielding sons for the men’s title.)

 “It was awesome,” says organizer Gary Anderson of Metro Blasting, which sponsored the event. With less than a month to prepare everything — including the herculean job of embedding the poles for the pole-climbing event — Anderson also opened up his back yard so the lumberjacks and jills could axe throw like no one was watching in preparation for their Bowfest debut.

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Property owners who want to permanently preserve naturally significant portions of their land will soon be rewarded.

Bowen Island council agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding that will bring it into the fold of the Natural Area Protection Exemption Program. This allows eligible property owners to receive an exemption of up to 65 per cent of their property taxes in exchange for signing an Islands Trust conservation covenant.

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Everything is on the table when it comes to a study into the possibility of a fixed link between the mainland and Sunshine Coast, says Jordan Sturdy.

But the table can just as easily be cleared, the MLA  for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky said.

“We may find out that the naysayers are right — [the Howe Sound] is too big, too deep, too whatever to even begin to consider any type of crossing but let’s get a little more information… about what’s potentially realistic and what’s not,” he told the Undercurrent.

OCTOBER

“Magnificent. Very positive. Very encouraging. Long overdue. Very much needed.”

Do you get the sense that after years of frustration about problems caused by derelict boats and the behaviour of some people living on boats in Mannion Bay, Bruce Russell was one happy man?

“I’m grateful for all the support,” he said after Bowen Island council passed a resolution that will see the municipality eventually take control of the bay (which is also called Deep Bay.)

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The Liberal tide washed up and over our shores as former West Vancouver mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones beat incumbent Conservative MP John Weston in the federal election.

Goldsmith Jones took the riding with 55 per cent of the votes to Weston’s 26 per cent in the riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country. Before cheering supporters amid a sea of red in West Vancouver, Goldsmith Jones called being elected “the greatest honour of my life” and “a tremendous responsibility.”

NOVEMBER

Film trucks rolled in to Bowen as 120 film crew personnel dispersed around the island for the filming of a pilot for a TV series called ‘Shooter.’

A waterfront home in Arbutus Point was staged as the home for the main character. At the house, an outdoor play-set and picnic table are set on the lawn with ocean views beyond. From around the woodshed a jeep squeals up to the house with the main character, played by Ryan Phillippe at the wheel.

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In an architectural slight of hand, a new building at the entrance of Snug Cove will camouflage one of the island’s less attractive features.

Rondy Dike’s new two-storey building, which council approved, will be built in the parking lot of Union Steamship Marina parallel to the southern walkway leading to and from the ferry dock.

Built in the same heritage style as his USSC Marina building, and painted with the same colours, one storey will be visible from the road while, from the parking lot, two stories will be visible.

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Andrea Bastin collaborated with a group of four other islanders including Lizbeth Turner, to raise enough funds to sponsor a refugee family from Syria. The group set their sights on raising $30,000 in 30 days.

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Word got out quickly. There had been a fire. Everyone was safe but there was smoke and water damage and a family without a home. Within hours a fund was set up on the internet to accept donations for the family. In 48 hours almost $15,000 had poured in.

Julia Tweten finds it hard to hold back the tears when she describes the night that she and her girls Paige and Piper, watched her husband Shane fighting the chimney fire along with the rest of the fire-fighting team. 

The family had been renting the home a short time, since the summer, and it was just about to change owners when the chimney caught fire.

DECEMBER

Nancy Lee won top honours for fundraising for the Movember Foundation Great Canadian Fire Challenge. She raised $4,500 in a month for men’s health, beating out all the men competing on the island.

While she says that she got a big chunk of change in donations for the shaving of Gary Ander’s moustache, the spunky woman says that she could still ”beat the boys,” at fundraising.

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Bowen Island Municipality will look at turning part of its land on Cowan Point into a permanent home for Loggers Sports – if not quite as quickly as its creator might like.

Gary Anderson, who created the inaugural Loggers Sports show during this past summer’s Bowfest celebrations, made an impassioned presentation to municipal council Monday night (Dec. 14), urging lawmakers to give him the go-ahead immediately so he could start work in January for next year’s show.