The ever-evolving responses and restrictions for battling the COVID-19 virus continued into April as all students from Grade 4 and up were mandated to begin wearing masks in school, upon return from their spring break holidays.
School District 71 made the move in accordance with new provincial health orders announced at the end of March, in response to a spike in COVID cases.
RCMP were called to intervene at a Courtenay business after anti-makers forced their way into the store and would not leave.
According to a My Tech Guys staff incident report obtained by the Record, a customer called regarding a computer part. When informed of the company’s mask policy, she indicated she was not comfortable abiding by the rules, so the staff agreed to serve her outside, as per company policy.
Once she arrived at the business, a staff member met her outside and informed her he had her replacement part set aside, and would return shortly with it.
“Upon coming back out with the new product for exchange, a second woman in camo pants approached and they both pushed closer to me when the door opened,” said the staff member in her report.
The two women barged into the showroom and proceeded to loudly play anti-COVID and anti-vaccine videos and recordings. The police were called, and the women refused to leave the store until police arrived.
The police escorted the two women off the premises.
Local governments, KFN meet
The Comox Valley Regional District came together with the K’ómoks First Nation and elected officials to discuss how local governments can move forward to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (The UN Declaration).
The provincial legislation guiding this work (UNDRIP) received Royal Assent in November 2019, and elected officials in the Comox Valley have been eager to discuss how these opportunities to implement the UN Declaration can be applied at the local level.
“Developing co-operative and collaborative relationships with our local municipalities as well as improved communications amongst each other is a vision KFN has had for several years,” said Hegus Nicole Rempel. “It is through events such as the Community to Community Forum hosted by the CVRD that we begin to understand each other and our governance structures better. It is an opportunity to explore areas of mutual interest, the challenges we face, and how we can strengthen relationships and continue our work in reconciliation.”
Golden performances
Students in the Comox Valley got a chance to test a range of skills in the spring, with many posting strong showings at the regional Skills Canada BC competition.
The North Island regional competition featured more than 450 competitors from grades 6 to 12, representing more than a dozen schools in a dozen different events, including carpentry, culinary, electronics, welding, media animation and TV/video production.
Comox Valley district students showed impressive finishes, earning gold medal placement in 10 of the 12 events.
Over the course of three days, Jan Kotyk of Merville ran 203.77 kilometres, with an elevation gain of 1,659 metres, on the northern end of Vancouver Island. He spent 27 hours and seven minutes covering the distance.
He did it to raise money for YANA (You Are Not Alone), a Comox Valley charity that supports families that need to travel outside the community for medical treatment for a child under 19 or for a pregnant mother.
Kotyk raised more than $3,400 during his run.
City’s first nuisance property
One month after 19 people were arrested at a raid at 1655 20th St. in Courtenay, council officially declared the notorious rental home a nuisance property and gave landlord Amandio Santos a list of obligations.
According to a report, the city has spent more than 1,000 hours — not including time invested by police — dealing with compliance issues at 1655 20th. The Nuisance Abatement and Cost Recovery Bylaw authorizes staff to charge for municipal services, including policing required to abate nuisance activities. Recoverable costs range from $38 an hour for parking control to $92 an hour for the RCMP inspector.
By summer, Santos had put the house up for sale. A ‘sold’ sign was posted on the property in October.
5th St. Bridge Project begins
The 5th Street Bridge facelift began in April. The $6.5-million project involves structural improvements, new coating to repair and prevent corrosion, and deck repairs. The project, which was originally scheduled to take six months, has been plagued with delays and is now on pace for completion in January 2022.
Robber gets 500+ days in jail
Michael D.R. Heatley, who robbed the Ryan Road 7-Eleven a year earlier, was sentenced to 573 days in jail, along with a two-year probation term and a lifetime firearms ban. On April 3, 2020, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Heatley entered the 7-Eleven wearing a hoodie and bandanna around his face. He demanded all the money behind the counter, then left and was last seen running toward Headquarters Road. He was arrested later in the month.
$368M cocaine seizure
A 41-person air task force, including 12 members from 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron at 19 Wing Comox, contributed to the seizure of approximately three tonnes of cocaine worth more than $293 million USD ($368 million CND) in March.
The seizure was part of Op Caribbe – Canada’s participation in U.S.-led enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Multiple stabbings in Comox
Three youths were taken to hospital after suffering stab wounds at a bush party in Comox Saturday, April 17. The party was in a well-known sandpit area just north of Highland School. Three teens were injured, suffering serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Comox Valley RCMP had a suspect in custody within 24 hours of the incident.
Historic name change
Danita Bilozaze of the Comox Valley became the first Canadian to have her official government documents changed to reflect her proper family name, in accordance with a Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada call to action.
No. 17 (of 94 calls to action) calls upon all levels of government to enable residential school survivors and their families to reclaim names changed by the residential school system by waiving administrative costs for a period of five years for the name-change process and the revision of official identity documents, such as birth certificates, passports, driver’s licences, health cards, status cards and social insurance numbers.
Bilozaze had discovered that her great grandfather’s surname was changed from Bilozaze to Loth by the Canadian government.
Ancient turtle discovery
Russ Ball discovered an 80-million-year-old sea turtle while fossil hunting along the banks of the Puntledge River. The discovery itself was made in January, but it took some time for the Vancouver Island Paleontological Society to confirm it and for teams to come up to extract the fossil. The extraction took place in April.