Reconciliation panel Media’s role in First Nations’ story discussed. Page 11 Culture conversation New department at city hall takes shape. Page 22 Resurrecting spirits Something’s brewing at new distillery. Page 7
Clippers raise their game Page 27
Celebrating
1988
2013
Years
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2014
www.nanaimobulletin.com
VOL. 25, NO. 88
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City reviews stability of former mines I hIgh-LeveL study to understand extent of shafts could cost as much as $50,000. By TamaRa Cunningham ThE NEwS BULLETiN
CHRIS BUSH/THe NewS BUlleTIN
get a grip
Michel Lagasse, a south end resident, throws sand onto ice-covered Needham Street after a surprise snowfall Monday morning. Icy conditions snarled the morning commute and triggered numerous traffic mishaps, including a minor five-vehicle pileup behind Lagasse that caused damage, but no injuries.
Recycling exchange seeks financial support By KaRl yu ThE NEwS BULLETiN
Lacking the finances to build a new facility, the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange is asking government for help. The not-for-profit recycling depot will have to relocate from its current Kenworth Road location in the spring, as the landowner is looking to develop the site, and is seeking funding and partnership with the Regional District of Nanaimo and the City of Nanaimo. A new facility is planned for an adjacent property and a develop-
ment permit is close to being secured, but the group doesn’t have the means to begin construction on its own. “The Nanaimo Recycling Exchange cannot manage the cost of construction of the new facility,” executive director Jan Hastings told the News Bulletin. “Over the past year, we have worked with Checkwich Poiron Architects to complete the building and site plan and we are ready to begin construction.” Hastings said the request for assistance is based on the costs of construction and during a presentation to the regional district board on Jan.
28, she said the construction budget is estimated at $1.7 million. The new facility would have a large building with space for recycling activity, a re-use material store, and education and administration services. As well, there would be a larger area for yard waste and the facility would be able to handle more vehicles with reduced wait times, according to Hastings. “There will be no more mixing of pedestrian and vehicle traffic with large commercial trucks and equipment,” she said. u See ‘RECYCLING’ /4
For 100 years, miners chased coal-rich seams beneath the Harbour City in search of black gold, carving a virtual honeycomb of underground tunnels. Now, decades after the hunt was abandoned, the City of Nanaimo is proposing its first proactive and “high-level” investigation into the stability of the underground network. The new study – estimated at $50,000 – comes on the heels of the discovery of a twostorey-deep mine collapse and developing sinkhole beneath a south Nanaimo road. It was the first time city officials had encountered a mine that presented an immediate and “serious” safety issue, prompting plans to search for other dangerous and weakened tunnels, said Poul Rosen, the city’s manager of engineering projects. The city is obligated to ensure roads are safe and “can’t ... knowingly allow these sinkholes to show up,” he said, adding the desktop study is potentially the initial step in a multiphased project to identify and remediate highrisk mines. A panel of experts would have to be hired to do the initial investigation, which is reportedly beyond the expertise of city staff members. “We need to take a step back and see which mines are the biggest concern ... and prioritize which ones we should focus our attention on first,” Rosen said, adding it will be a very highlevel and unique undertaking. “Right now we don’t know that much about the mines.” u See ‘HONEYCOMB’ /6
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