News

Roughly 300 women find themselves at a shelter after trying to flee abuse in their homes each year in the Comox Valley. And a new public awareness campaign that officially kicked off this week is hoping to show people that number doesn't have to be so high.

Although it wasn't the full grant Lake Trail Neighbourhood Connections was hoping for, Courtenay council increased a suggested one-time $3,850 grant to $9,000 to support the organization's budget Monday. Following a presentation to council March 21, the group requested council consider providing a grant of $18,987 towards their program budget of $30,737.

Vancouver Island North candidates are invited to two public forums announced so far this month for the Comox Valley.

Federal NDP candidate Ronna-Rae Leonard is backing community calls for a stronger environmental assessment into the proposed coal mine in Comox Valley.

Following a lengthy police investigation, charges have been laid against two men for a violent home invasion which occurred last September in Royston.

An early-morning blaze Monday burned through an unoccupied house on McIntyre Avenue in Courtenay, quickly spreading throughout the home by the time firefighters arrived on scene.

The City of Courtenay is taking the first steps toward a major $5-million renovation and expansion of the Lewis Centre. As part of its budget discussions last week, council gave city staff the green light to begin design work for the proposed renovation and expansion project.

Students were evacuated Tuesday morning from Georges P. Vanier Secondary School due to a suspected gas leak. The students were shifted temporarily to the nearby Comox Valley Sports Centre No. 2. No further details were available.