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HAVE YOUR SAY: Comox students totally engaged, proud of cleanup effort

Grade 4 and 5 students from École Robb Road made their way to Kye Bay and Cape Lazo for their annual beach cleanup.

Four groups of Grade 4 and 5 students from École Robb Road made their way with parent volunteers to Kye Bay and Cape Lazo for their annual beach cleanup. They were granted a beautiful Tuesday morning on Sept. 24. Their cleaning job didn’t seem to be a titanic effort at first but how wrong they were. With their team, they filled garbage bags with pieces of Styrofoam, rope, plastic containers, plastic bags, food wrappers, cigarette butts, fishing crates, etc. They rolled out tires and carried out construction material, giant Styrofoam monsters, and buoys. As they were doing all this, team members collected data which will be collated and sent to the Vancouver Aquarium, our regional co-ordinator for the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. The kids were totally engaged and proud of their effort. It was also a fun way to play a scavenger hunt. However, they have also become more aware of the sad reality with the huge problem we have with our ocean pollution.  The four groups picked up about 3,500 pieces of garbage, some very small, some as big as their desk. We are all part of the problem and the good thing is that we’re all part of the solution. Félicitation Robb Road!

This week, CVRD area directors voted to give metered water customers  a break if they use less water. However, Comox council is leading the pace on conservation by offering a free meter and only charging a record low $210/year for conservers. Who will pay for this? The big consumers and many Comox consumers use more water that their rural neighbours — check out the consumption numbers on the Comox website. Meanwhile, Courtenay consumers pay the highest flat rate bill in the Valley ($440) and subsidize those Courtenay big-water consumers. Check the Comox website, on consumption rates. It seems that Courtenay council is the big holdout on meters and this will only push rates higher for Courtenay customers. More good news — future water rates are going up to cover Infrastructure improvements — way up.

Blessings to the wonderful people at Island CPAP Services in Courtenay for all the help they provided, in regards to getting my CPAP machine adjusted to my current needs. I would especially like to thank Mike for all the time he spent listening to me, and solving my issue. I have been sleeping better because of the adjustments he made. And I didn’t even purchase my CPAP machine from them. I hope Island CPAP is a permanent addition to the Comox Valley. They can count on me for all my CPAP supplies in the future. Thanks again.

What a great night! Texas Hold ‘Em, Blackjack, Roulette and more ‘funny money’ casino games were enjoyed by all who attended 4R’s Education Centre’s second Casino Royale fundraiser. 4R’s is very grateful for the generosity of local businesses who sponsored tables at the event or donated prizes and auction items. We couldn’t do it without you!

Re: Vehicles proceeding in marked crosswalks. Generally, any intersection is a legal place to cross the road. This is called an unmarked crosswalk. If a pedestrian is waiting to cross an unmarked crosswalk vehicle traffic is required to yield.

Scott Bennett demonstrated the professionalism, integrity, and dedication to promote Helping Bridge The Technology Gap, which is the motto of the VanIsle IT Services. Since my laptop lost audio, I have tried all the solutions suggested on the Web. Having found How To Fix No Sound on the Web, I downloaded the DriverFinder, which indicated that it found 21 out-of-date drivers. Therefore, I paid $33.55 CAD for the service.  When I called the telephone number that was provided to activate (1-888-280-8048), the technician (working for the Advanced Tech Support) told me that my laptop needs not DriverFinder but Tune-Up service, which will cost more than $200 USD. Being frustrated with the result, I found the VanIsle IT Services located right here in Comox (250-941-8282).  Scott detected the cause and fixed it in no time. Most remarkably, he explained that my laptop needs neither DriverFinder nor Tune-Up services.  He did not even charge for the service saying that, “He did not do anything,” which seemed to imply his philosophy of business: Helping Bridge The Technology Gap. Thank you so much!

Over the past few years we personally experienced a total of four accidents with deer at large on the B.C. highways. The last one which occurred a few months ago fortunately only damaged our vehicle; however, under slightly different circumstances it could have caused the loss of both of our lives and many others. For these reasons mentioned I am wondering what other people’s thoughts are about animals that cause severe damage to our vehicles and bodily harm. When I read about cougars attacking humans, I cringe. We also know that when apple season arrives we can expect bears at our property as it is on their shopping list. I don’t know what the total yearly damage is by just deer alone, but what I do know is that our damage over a period of seven years is about $6,800 paid by ICBC. I am thinking of a large fenced wildlife area, maybe like our provincial park up north. What are your thoughts? I know my thoughts are out of the box but not so long ago “No Smoking” was an out-of-the-box issue, too. Maybe it’s worth thinking about, because some of our loved ones might not be as fortunate as we were.

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Do you have somebody to praise or something you have to get off your chest? Have your say by submitting to editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com. Please focus on people's ideas rather than speculating about their character. You can also get a written submission to 765 McPhee Ave., Courtenay, B.C. V9N 2Z7 or fax to 250-338-5568. If you wish to talk to the editor, phone Mark Allan at 250-338-7816, 2309.