Our Community in Review PART 2
of 5 ~ 1988-1993
Your Community Newspaper since 1982
We are pleased to share our beginnings right here in 1982!
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30th Anniversary Series
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 The Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Community in Review ~ 1988
TOP STORIES • January, 1988: The Regional District of Nanaimo votes approval of a state-of-the-art recycling program, called the Brini system, to solve the district’s growing garbage problem. • February: Construction begins on the $4.4 million curb and gutter project through Parksville. • March: Federal fisheries officials announce Chinook salmon ceilings effective April 1 of eight tagged fish, down from 20, in an attempt to curb declining Chinook stocks in the Georgia Strait. • April: Qualicum Beach residents and the RDN trash town council’s plans for a stump dump outside Qualicum boundaries. • May: The Western Premiers Conference is held in Parksville and district with most of the talks held on the luxury yacht, the Hotei. Attending the huddle were Bill Vander Zalm (B.C.), Don Getty (Alberta), Grant Devine (Saskatchewan) and Gary Filmon (Manitoba). • June: A $650,000 addition begins on Kwalikum high school.
TV crews film an injured eagle being rehabilitated at Errington’s North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre.
• July: The Great Gate Debate begins as Parksville council decides to close the gates to the beach drive until September’s end, in an attempt to stem Community Park vandalism. Residents swamp council with protests regarding the gate closure. • August: An Aquila Air plane is forced to abort takeoff from Qualicum Airport after a door pops open during takeoff Aug. 30. • September: The Vancouver Canucks skate into Parksville Sept. 9 for their annual training camp. • October: The sale of Schooner Cove Resort to Fairwinds is confirmed Oct. 21. • November: Concern over a proposal to develop the Parksville Flats area caught the ire of many residents, despite the denial by Parksville city council that an official proposal had been brought to their attention. • December: Parksville resident Howie Meeker announced he would retire from professional broadcasting of NHL games.
An elephant sniffs the photographer in this image taken during a visit by the Shrine Circus to Parksville in 1988.
The News gets behind the Society of Organized Services’ Christmas is for Kids effort.
Anchor Realty 113 West 2nd Avenue, Qualicum Beach Tel: 250.752.2466 www.remax-anchor.ca
#21 - 826 West Island Highway, Parksville Tel: 250.248.1071 www.remax-first-bc.ca
Each Office Independently Owned and Operated
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S ERVING O CEANSIDE S INCE 1988 The RE/MAX Anchor and RE/MAX First teams work hard to make this a better community for you to call home. We are both Miracle Offices focused on giving back by donating a portion of the commissions from each and every sale, along with proceeds from annual CMN fundraisers, to the Children’s Miracle Network for the BC Children’s Hospital.
30th Anniversary Series
The Parksville Qualicum Beach News Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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Community in Review ~ 1989 TOP STORIES • January, 1989: A troupe of locals set off to Tofino to join in the effort to save wildlife and clean the oil-soaked beaches following the Dec. 22, 1988, 875,000-litre oil spill off northern Washington State. • February: Locals were treated to a bleated white Christmas when more than 27 cm of the white stuff graced the area. The snow flew and temperatures dipped to -12C, creating hectic road conditions. Weeks later, mother nature dumped another 37 cm of wet snow. • April: Parksville council received a petition containing 2,500 signatures from Friends of Parksville Flats Coalition supporting the Coalition’s efforts to protect the Flats. • May: Parksville’s eighth annual Sandcastle Competition was postponed and rescheduled for July 22, 1990. Poor tides, problems concerning the Sandcastle dance and insufficient numbers of volunteers were cited as reasons for the postponement. • July: The big story of July was the installation of condom machines in local high schools in a bid to prevent the spread of the AIDS virus. • August: Plans for a hospital is District 69 were approved by the regional hospital board. Local officials hoped to see the hospital built within five years. Regional municipal officials later decided Qualicum Beach would be the best location for the hospital. • September: Parksville’s curb and gutter project came in more than $2 million over budget. The cost overruns initially raised fears the city could see its $1.48 million share go up. • October: Hopes of obtaining a hospital in Qualicum Beach soon were dashed by Comox MLA Stan Hagen in a speech to the District 69 Health Planning Society. • November: RCMP seized a cache of weapons. Large amounts of marijuana and cocaine were also captured in a series of raids by Parksville, Nanaimo, Victoria and Montreal RCMP. • December: Whiskey Creek residents expressed frustration at water contamination.
Advertisers in The News have also been creative in their messages to the community.
The News has always appreciated the hard work of its carriers.
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30th Anniversary Series
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 The Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Community in Review ~ 1990 Parksville Flats saved in close council vote
TOP STORIES • February, 1990: Robin Mannix pled guilty to charges of arson in connection with the August, 1989 torching of the Lasqueti Island community hall. The fire had been the climax to an escalating struggle between some islanders and loggers that summer.
PARKSVILLE — January, 1990. The controversial Parksville Flats was purchased by Swiftsure Developments of Victoria. The surprise purchase came on the heels of an attempt by the Pacific Estuary Conservancy Program to secure 191 acres of the property that is considered the most sensitive ecologically. By August, Parksville council had ejected Swiftsure Developments’ proposal to build condos on 26 acres of the 216-acre property which includes beachfront, estuary and wooded areas. Parksville mayor Paul Reitsma cast the deciding vote defeating the zoning bylaw.
• March: A 402-unit adult condominium project for the Parksville Flats was unveiled and met with “cautious optimism” by Parksville mayor Paul Reitsma. The Friends of the Flats were shocked by the size and density of the development. • April: A Victoria-based company purchased the Park Sands Beach Resort. Principal shareholder Robert P. McAdams told The News the long-term plan is to create a comprehensive development of the entire area. • May: The legality of the NRGH’s decision to attach an abortion referendum to Nov. 17 municipal ballots was investigated because of concerns it could affect the outcome of the municipal election. • June: Funding in excess of $1.5 million was approved for the Lions Housing Society’s low-cost family housing project. The targeted completion date for the 20-unit project is late spring, 1991. • July: Firefighters responded to what they called the biggest blaze they’ve seen in years as the Early Bird/Aquila Cedar complex in Errington was leveled by a hugh fire on the morning of July 7.
Members of Friends of the FLats jump for joy after the City of Parksville council voted to reject a condo proposal for the Flats.
Junior B hockey starts up this year PARKSVILLE —Parksville welcomes Junior B hockey to the city, when the Parksville Generals play their inaugural game. The Gens win their home opener, 9-5, over the Peninsula Eagles. The Gens are still on the ice today.
• September: Junior B hockey made its debut in Parksville with the Island Hall Generals playing their first home game. The Gens won their home opener, 9-5. • October: District 69 moved one step closer to having its own acute-care hospital as the province approved planning funding for a 75bed extended care facility. • November: In Qualicum Beach, former mayor Art Skipsey retired from office. Jack Collins was elected new mayor. In Parksville, Paul Reitsma retained his mayor’s seat. • December: Anton Kruyt, Area G electoral (French Creek) representative, was elected as chairman of the Regional District board.
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A short time after the vote, above, a move begins to buy the Flats. This issue remains as contentious today.
Our Community in Review available online at: www.pqbnews.com
30th Anniversary Series
The Parksville Qualicum Beach News Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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Community in Review ~ 1991 TOP STORIES • January, 1991: Peace activists Laurie MacBride, Norman Abbey and Brian Stedman were on trial in January on charges of dangerous and suspicious behaviour at a 1988 rally for Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in Nanaimo. • February: Federal fisheries biologist Ken Wilson claimed that wild Coho salmon would be a creature of the past within 20 to 30 years. • March: Coombs residents fought to keep their post office, which had been in the Coombs General Store since the 1920s. • April: The first ever Brant Festival took flight in April, 1991. Organizers estimated 1,200 people attended, half of them coming from off-Island. • May: A light plane manned by a film crew crashed into a mountainside just south of Horne Lake on May 8. All 11 passengers survived the crash. • June: Comox MLA Stan Hagen announced June 17 that he would not seek the leadership of the Social Credit Party. Hagen said he would throw his weight behind then-Premier Rita Johnson. • July: Qualicum Beach received a $350,000 provincial grant to build a new airport terminal. The money was added to another $900,000 worth of grants to be put toward the project. • August: A fire destroyed Mid-Island Exteriors’ cedar lumber yard in Parksville Aug. 25. Damage was estimated at $500,000. • September: Parksville Crime Stoppers gets its own phone number. The number enables callers to directly access the Parksville RCMP. • November: Parksville-Qualicum NDP MLA Leonard Krog announces that the province will either buy or expropriate the Parksville Flats. He was speaking for himself at the time. • December: Cliff Leffler is named Parksville’s Citizen of the Year by the Parksville and District Chamber of Commerce in its annual community awards.
Longtime News columnist Nancy Whelan — as she was in 1991.
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Students from PASS/Woodwinds alternate school protest the start of the 1991 Gulf War.
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30th Anniversary Series
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 The Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Community in Review ~ 1992
TOP STORIES • January, 1992: Errington residents continued to fight between themselves over whether to consider zoning bylaws that would allow for some local land use planning. • February: Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, became the honourary patron for the 1992 Brant Festival. • February: A fresh infestation of gypsy moths in Parksville spawned a new campaign by Agriculture Canada to eradicate the pests with a bacterial spray. • March: The Island Hall Generals hockey team won the Island championship by default, after Kerry Park failed to raise a team for the fourth game in the series. Parksville had outscored their opponents 31-3 to that point of the playoff. • April: A public hearing into proposed bylaws for the Parksville Flats saw residents demanding the wholesale resignation of Parksville city council. • May: Craig Reid, known as “Mr. Qualicum” was honoured by the Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce for his long years of service. • June: Two cougars were found and shot by a conservation officer near Bowser elementary school. • July: The Parksville Lions water spray park opened at the Community Park. • August: Doctors in District 69 discussed opting out of the medicare system, joining colleagues in Nanaimo and Kamloops, because the provincial government had put a cap on their earnings. • September: A new ambulance station opened in Qualicum Beach. The town had been served by Parksville before. • October: The Parksville Flats issue came to a close (?) when it was announced the province and The Nature Trust would pay $2.7 million to preserve a 64 ha. portion of the forest and estuary. • November: The first Citizen of the Year in Qualicum Beach was Margot Cyr.
Protestors were not shy in stating how they felt over the city’s handling of the ongoing Parksville Flats issue.
Flats stays topical PARKSVILLE — In May, the Society for the Preservation of the Englishman River Estuary (SPERE) held its inaugural meeting and set a mandate to fundraise for the purchase of the Parksville Flats. Mayor Paul Reitsma called another public hearing into the Flats zoning process, which came during negotiations between the city, minister of environment John Cashore and MLA Leonard Krog on a proposal to turn over 40 acres of estuary lands to the public. SPERE would later reveal no agreement existed between the parties and a provincial spokesperson said the province had not yet made up its mind on such a proposal. •In March, Parksville mayor Paul Reitsma promised the city would spend $250,000 toward the purchase of the Parksville Flats, if a deal could be struck with the owner. Meanwhile, crews began clearing trees from the Flats as developer Tony Young moved ahead with plans for an RV park and recreation centre. • In July, Parksville city council drafted a bylaw for the Parksville Flats and put a moratorium on issuing building permits for the area.
The News tackled the issue of smoking and how some local people were trying to break the habit.
Trustees wrestle with condoms in schools The school district wrestled with the decision of whether to install condom machines in middle schools to enable students aged 11 to 13 to buy them. Central Vancouver Island health officer Dr. John Millar said making condoms available to such young children is an “educational ploy” ad “symbolic was of augmenting the educational process.”
Congratulations to the Parksville Qualicum News on 30 years in our community.
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30th Anniversary Series
The Parksville Qualicum Beach News Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Community in Review ~ 1993 TOP STORIES • January, 1993: Dozens of angry fishers took to the streets of Parksville in survival suits. They were demonstrating against the Aboriginal Fishing Strategy, which allocates fish to native commercial fishers. • February: The Canadian Coast Guard decided to close its hovercraft search-and-rescue station in Parksville Bay. Lasqueti Island residents, who relied on the station for medical emergencies, said the removal of the hovercraft would cost lives. Three Parksville resorts are among the best places to kiss in the Northwest, according to a just-released book. The Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest, by Paula Begoun and Stephanie Bell, cites Beach Acres Resort, Tigh-Na-Mara and the Bayside Inn as the best hotel/ restaurant locations in the area. Tigh-Na-Mara gets “irresistible” rates, according to the book. • March: Helen Dunlop, 79, was sexually assaulted and strangled in her Parksville home. The death shocked the community, especially local seniors. Seventeen police officers were put on the investigation team. • April: Qualicum Beach mayor Jack Collins was among the area residents angered over increased costs for a proposed pool there. The pool was to go to a district-wide vote in June, but the director of one electoral area, George Holme of Nanoose Bay, withdrew his riding from the vote. • May: A $1 million-plus rebuilding job at Schooner Cove Maine was completed in May. The work was required after winds, clocked at about 75 knots lashed the marine in Nov., 1992. • June: District 69 got a new name — the “Island’s Jewel”. It was selected June 12 by judges in a contest put on by the Parksville-Qualicum Beach Tourism Association. The name was submitted by resident Holly Mitchell. • July: About 100 people took in the Lighthouse Community Centre’s 10th anniversary July 24. • August: Delmar French was arrested in Nanaimo and charged with the murder of Parksville senior Helen Dunlop. French, who works in the construction business, was a neighbour of the victim. • September: Cam Weir brought back a haul of six gold medals from the B.C. Seniors Games. The 81-yearold swimmer from Nanoose Bay finished first in the 50, 100 and 200 metre backstroke, as well as the 50, 100 and 200 metre freestyle. • October: the long-awating $1 billion Victoria to Campbell River inland highway construction project is getting underway again. Premier Mike Harcourt promises the new highway will be open by 1999. • November: After many months of planning and years of lobbying, two transit buses started their new runs in Parksville and Qualicum Beach. The transit system will also carry passengers from Parksville and Qualicum Beach to Nanaimo on a daily basis. • December: A plea from the Society of Organized Services brought a last minute flood of cash and gifts, helping to raise $70,000 for their Christmas program.
Yet another phone scam in this area By Richard Brower News Reporter A Qualicum Beach woman is warning others in the area about a telephone scam she experienced last week. The scam involves telephone solicitations by Corporate Claims out of San Diego, Calif. RCMP in Nanaimo and Colwood have already received complaints about the company as has the Better Business Bureau in the U.S. The woman, who does not want her name used, says a man who identified himself as Mr. Bates called Monday to tell her she had won $25,000 and a trip to Honolulu or Florida in a contest. The woman said she does send in to contests sometimes but had no idea what
the man was talking about. “I really tried to get him to say who the company was,” said the woman, but she was not able to ghet the company name.
Celebrating our Commitment to the Community We are extremely grateful for the support of all our customers and look forward to continuing to serve you in the future. #4-287 Martindale Road, Parksville • 250-248-4664 • www.parksvillefloors.com #
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30th Anniversary Series
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 The Parksville Qualicum Beach News
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Dashwood fire chief Nick Acciavatti loves the excitement and community involvement of his job.
Dashwood fire chief serving the community AUREN RUVINSKY
writer@pqbnews.com
Lighthouse Country
D
ashwood Fire Department Chief Nick Acciavatti is uncomfortable with the attention it brings him, but loves the family and community atmosphere of his job. Acciavatti moved to the area as a kid and got involved with the department as early as he could, at age 16 almost 20 years ago. “A good friend of mine was in the Coombs department and I saw how much fun he was having,” he said, and the rest, as they say, is history. He highlights that fun — often overlooked in the important work fire departments do — when they look for more recruits, as they are about to start doing. “It’s not every job where you get to jump in a truck and race off to an emergency,” he said. They currently have around 40 active volunteers in a community of 3,700, which is pretty impressive compared to other similar size communities, he pointed out. “We are beyond fortunate.” He said the department’s two halls, including the one in Meadowood that opened in 2008, have unique issues with getting their volunteers out to emergencies, especially during the
day when people might be far away at work, or out somewhere enjoying the area’s abundant wilderness. That will be the focus of their upcoming volunteer drive, where they will focus on young adult and middle age applicants who will more likely be around for the long haul. Their members represent the entire range of the community from age 15 to 73 with everyone from nurses and teachers to retirees and people who work from home. He said they generally find it rewarding from the small amount they are paid for calls and training, to the great insurance and perks like the Meadowood Hall gym and the valuable community networking. Acciavatti, who has moved away and back a few times, keep going back to his Dashwood home base where he became deputy chief at the age of 21 and has been chief since 2006, a year before he became a paid staff member. The department is well known through the region for it’s fundraising events including the head shave for cancer in April, their Halloween haunted house and giant garage sales. For more information or to apply check their active website (www.dashwoodvfd.com) and Facebook page, stop at the hall at 230 Hobbs Road or call 250-752-9882.
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