FRIDAY
$1.25
inc. H.S.T.
March 16, 2012
A division of
Vol. 27 No. 22
COMOX VALLEY RECORD Your community. Your newspaper. www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
SY MAUND BUSY
Max Maund is a man on the move. ■ B11
ELEVATING ARTS
There is a buzz building about an exciting cultural event scheduled for May 5 in the heart of Courtenay. Elevate the Arts is a grassroots celebration of all things arts and culture that is gaining some serious momentum. Perhaps it’s because they’ve hit a nerve in our community. With so much discussion about how to keep our downtowns vibrant, this group seems to be grabbing the issue by the horns and stepping up to celebrate arts, culture and community in the core of Courtenay.
... Complete story on ■ B1
FINDER ■ Weather
A2
■ Lottery
A6
■ Ferry Schedule
A6
■ Editorial
A28
■ Opinion
A29
■ Arts ■ Sports ■ Classified
B1 B11 B24
OYSTER RIVER RESIDENTS got a nasty surprise when they had a tree fall on their home during the storm Monday. Some people who live there and in Black Creek were either trapped in their homes or prevented from returning home due to downed trees and power lines. PHOTO BY GORD KURBIS/CTV
Storm traps some people in their homes Renée Andor Record Staff
Residents of the Black Creek and Oyster River areas got a taste of an emergency evacuation during this week’s storm. According to Comox Valley Emergency Program (CVEP) coordinator Mike Fournier, Macaulay and York Roads were closed due to downed trees and power lines, trapping area residents on Monday. “Residents could not get back to their homes or leave the area,” said Fournier. “So we used our
emergency evacuation exit plan, in reverse, and allowed people to get back to their homes by the use of logging roads and a farmer’s field.” Fournier added that about 50 residents used the alternate routes, and were assisted by Oyster River Fire Department and the Comox Valley Ground Search & Rescue. Môde Guy and her boyfriend James Headrick used one of the old logging roads to get out of their home near Macaulay Road. They got through fine as they drove a truck with four-wheel drive, but
Guy said the roads were messy and not everyone fared as well as they did. “We were able to go, but there was huge floods and mud pits, and people were getting stuck,” explained Guy, adding that Headrick saw a number of two-wheel drive vehicles stuck when he transported a friend out on a different trip. Guy said the couple woke up Monday morning to no power or phone. They needed to get more gas for their generator — without power to their sump pump they would face a flooded basement.
When Guy got to a section of Macaulay a few kilometres east of her home, she couldn’t go any farther. “There were multiple power poles that had (come down) — one of them had actually snapped at the base — and then trees that had fallen on top of the power lines and then basically just knocked them to the ground,” explained Guy, adding that this part of the road “had power lines on the ground for about 200 metres at least.” According to Guy, the downed ... see POWER ■ A2
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