FRIDAY APRIL 26, 2013 VOL. 38, NO. 48
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Underneath the Lintel on Bowen this Friday before going on tour
He says - she says
Bowfest controversy continues, even during volunteer appreciation week
What’s cooking?
Okra - your soon to be favourite food, prepared Indian style
Boat launch Council revisits discussion about merits of Tunstall Bay boat SUSANNE MARTIN EDITOR
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the rescue centre doing research for my Masterworks presentation,” Perroni said. “As part of my project, I wanted to raise awareness in the Bowen Island community of what to do in the event that anybody sees an abandoned seal pup on one of our beaches. I think that a good way to do this is by putting signs up on the approximately 12 major beaches on Bowen.” Perroni included a draft sign in her package for council.
he Tunstall Bay boat launch has been on council’s table for many years with monies held in reserve for its construction. Last month, council instructed staff to proceed with the preliminary work but reservations about the cost of the project were under discussion again at the April 22 special council meeting. Public works manager Wil Hilsen sought approval for the municipality’s purchasing policy to be waived in order to award a contract to an engineering firm familiar with the project. Hilsen recommended to award “a contract in the amount up to $27,566 in order to complete the detailed preparation for the Tunstall Bay boat launching facility” to Integrated Planning and Consulting Ltd. “There is limited time to conduct all the processes involved,” he said. “and I would recommend to carry on with same engineering firm.” Hilsen also distributed a schematic, showing the break-down of project cost over its lifecycle as outlined in the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure. The document labels the start of a project as “small cost,” with engineering estimated at 1 to 2 per cent and construction 6 to 18 percent. Operations and maintenance are referred to as “large costs” at 80 to 93 per cent. “We are talking about the life-cycle of a project and the big costs are for maintenance and operations through its life,” Hilsen said. In light of the expense of the project, councillor Wolfgang Duntz wanted to clarify that he had stated his opposition to going ahead with the boat launch at the March 25 council meeting. “We had our strategic planning workshop in March and set our priorities a that time,” Duntz said. “The merit of the Tunstall Bay boat launch was based on the need for emergency access.”
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Bowen’s RhythmKids perform at Ainslie and Twyla’s Earth Day sale last Sunday. They performed routines called ‘Wild Salmon: Lifeline of our Coast’ and ‘Earth our Home.’ To learn more about RhythmKids, see www.rhythmkids.weebly. com. RhythmKids rehearse every Sunday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. To join, contact artistic director Gail Lotenberg at ad@ linkdance.ca. For more about the Earth Day sale, see page 5. Debra Stringfellow photo
Student takes concerns about seal pups to council SUSANNE MARTIN EDITOR
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rade 9 student Isabella Perroni is passionate about seals and petitioned council at the special council meeting on April 22 to pay for and put up signs to educate the public about what to do upon finding a seal pup on the beach. “My name is Isabella Perroni, and I am a Grade 9 student at Island Pacific School,” Perroni began her presentation. “Every year, the Grade 9s do a year-long project called
Masterworks. It involves doing research, writing a paper, and giving an oral presentation. I have chosen the topic for my project to be about seals and a program run by the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.” Perroni explained that the rescue centre is part of a Vancouver Aquarium program that rescues marine mammals that are found injured or abandoned. They are brought into the facility, treated and cared for and released back into the ocean after they recover. “I have learned a lot about seals and
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