Comox Valley Record Year In Review: NOVEMBER

Telethon raises $117,719

The Comox Valley Child Development Association Telethon took place Nov. 3, bringing in the second-highest amount, only upstaged by 2017’s record-breaking total of $148,008. As usual, the telethon featured an array of the Valley’s talented musicians and performers. The money raised at the event helps fund programs and services at the CVCDA.

RCMP search for man after alleged assault

Postal workers go on strike

Canada Post workers in the Comox Valley joined their colleagues across the country by taking to the picket lines. Major issues included pay equity for rural routers, job security and over-burdening in terms of parcel volumes. At the end of November, the Senate passed back-to-work legislation after nearly six weeks of rotating strikes.

CVRD staff go on strike

In mid-November, unionized members of the CVRD who work at the Comox Valley Sports and Aquatics centres voted in favour of a strike. Staff wages range from $15.75 to $26.87 per hour and the union, United Steelworkers Local 1-1937, want a 2.5 per cent increase each year. The union stated that the CVRD was proposing a percentage too low for the cost of living. Just over a month later, the CVRD and the United Steelworkers reached a tentative agreement.

$10 a day child care comes to Comox

Tigger Too Early Learning Centre in Comox was selected as one of the 53 facilities across the province to participate in an 18-month pilot project to test the “universal child care” plan. The prototype centres will deliver child care at a maximum cost to the families of $200 per child each month. Tigger Too’s normal rates are $750 per month for a three-to-five-year-old and $950 for children under three. Across the province, parents of about 2,500 children will benefit from the prototype.

Hornby receives affordable housing funding

Hornby Island is among 42 B.C. communities that will receive government funds to construct new, affordable rental homes. The Hornby Island Housing Society will receive $2.6 million to build 26 townhouses and duplexes for families, seniors and workers. The project will be called Beulah Creek Village and will be built on an 18.5-acre property between the school and the Co-op.

Wells selected as CVRD board chair

Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells added another title to his name after being selected as the Comox Valley Regional District board chair. Both Wells and Edwin Grieve were nominated to serve as the chair and each received five votes after two separate elections were conducted. Names were drawn out of a hat by outgoing chair Bruce Jolliffe and Wells was announced as the winner. Area B director Arzeena Hamir was elected vice-chair.

Dog bear-sprayed in Comox

On Nov. 15, Liz Lyle-Mattson was taking her labrador, Buddy, for a walk in the Northeast Woods when she was approached by an elderly couple who she says were yelling about her dog being off-leash. After an altercation, nine-month-old Buddy was bear-sprayed by the couple. After the incident, other Comox residents began coming forward with stories about an older couple threatening to bear spray their dogs for being off-leash.

There are no off-leash parks in the town, but another dog owner, Brenda Cardinal, estimates 90 per cent of dog owners walk their dogs off-leash in the area. She says she has never had a problem with an off-leash dog.

In December, RCMP identified the couple but no charges were laid.

Discussions have resumed in the Town of Comox about creating an off-leash or leash-optional park.

ARTS

The third annual Woodstove Festival came to Cumberland with performers, workshops and all things art. Though there weren’t any actual woodstoves, there were more than 100 musicians and artists from all over the country who came to share their craft.

SPORTS

Courtenay golfer Abigail Rigsby ended the season with her second tournament win at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate. She shot one-under-par 70 in the final round, matching her career-best score. A junior at Oklahoma Christian University, Rigsby also won the Midwestern State Invitational in Wichita Falls, Texas. Rigsby fractured her foot shortly after the first tournament and spent all season rebuilding her game after the injury.

Carter Woods has been racking up the wins in mountain bike racing and in cyclocross. The 16-year-old from Cumberland has won numerous provincial and national titles, Enduro events and races in the Canada Cup series. In November, Woods won two races at the Canadian Cyclocross Championships in Peterborough, Ont.