2024 Comox Valley year in review: November

Courtenay man visits 193rd country, becoming 'most travelled Canadian ever'

In late October, Ron Perrier landed at the Funafuti International Airport. 

He got out of the plane, checked in through customs with his carry on bag and left the airport into the capital city of Tuvalu, a small Pacific Island nation of just under 12,000 people. He didn't stay too long, and by the end of the day was on his way back home to Courtenay. While his visit was short, it was quite monumental for the traveller. It was, in some ways, the culmination of an 18-year odyssey. 

Perrier was able to finally say that he had visited every country in the world.

Comox Valley inventor pitches Dragon's Den on compostable glow stick tech

A few years ago, Paige Whitehead was swimming off of Savary Island when she noticed the water around her was glowing; fast forward to 2024 and she was about to go on stage to pitch an entirely new technology on the show Dragons' Den. 

Whitehead grew up in the Comox Valley, and now heads a company making compostable bioluminescent enzymes for industrial and commercial uses, which is a complicated way of saying her company, Lux Bio, makes non-toxic, biodegradable glow sticks and related products. Since that fateful night of swimming, she has figured out how to make the enzymes present in many bioluminescent animals create light for far longer than they naturally would, and how to put that biotechnology into commercial products.

Repair Cafe adds new life to Comox Valley

There was grease everywhere. All over my hands, my arms, and even my face. But I was going to get that bike shifting properly no matter what it took. 

Last weekend (Nov. 23), I, Marc Kitteringham, was one of the volunteers at the annual Repair Cafe at Lake Trail School. I was also the only one who signed up to fix bikes. While I only had two projects to work on over the four hours of the event, I spent every minute of those turning wrenches. 

The Repair Cafe is an event that takes place in different parts of the Comox Valley and Strathcona regional districts. They are put on by Comox Strathcona Waste Management, in partnership with local schools or governments. The main goal is to give broken things a second life and keep them out of the landfill. But another major benefit is building a sense of community resilience and connection.

Storm damage closes Comox Valley elementary school

A Comox Valley elementary school is closed Wednesday (Nov. 20) due to tree damage during the major storm that slammed Vancouver Island throughout the evening on Nov. 19 and into the following morning. 

Comox Valley School District (SD71) confirmed Ecole Puntledge Park Elementary is closed due to localized damage from a tree during the storm. SD71 will have more information for families of those who attend the school later Wednesday.

About 90,000 Vancouver Island Hydro customers woke without power and ferries to the Lower Mainland cancelled across the board Wednesday morning.

Living wage jumps over 10% in Comox Valley

The living wage in the Comox Valley has gone up over 10 per cent in the last year, according to the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives and Living Wage BC.

The calculation, which is the hourly rate two parents working full-time must earn to support a family of four, is now $24.36, up 10.63 per cent from 2023. For Port Hardy, the wage stayed the same at $24.88 per hour. The living wage report does not include figures for Campbell River. The largest increase over last year's living wage in B.C. was in Kamloops, where they saw a 13.3 per cent jump (though the report says that part of the increase is due to a change in methodology), followed by the Fraser Valley, jumping by 12.44 per cent. The Comox Valley saw the third-highest jump in the province. The community with the highest living wage is Whistler, at $28.09 per hour, followed by Clayoquot Sound at $27.42 per hour. According to the report, the lowest living wage in B.C. is $20.81 per hour in Grand Forks.

Minimum wage in the province was increased to $17.40 in June, 2024.

Pick up truck in the water at Denman Island ferry terminal

This morning (Nov. 15), at the Denman Island terminal, a pickup truck that was approaching the terminal went through a shore railing between two berths and into the water. The truck was not in the loading lanes at the time.

The BC Ferries crew responded and members were able to throw life rings into the water and bring the two occupants of the pickup truck to the shore. BC Emergency Health Services were on scene to attend to the occupants of the truck. 

There were no injuries to the BC Ferry staff or crew members and no damage to the ferry vessel or the ramp.

The plight of bees in the Comox Valley

At Smith Lake Farms, halfway between Merville and Black Creek are beehives tended to by Deborah Acheson and her daughter, Clea Adair.

Acheson has been a beekeeper for over 15 years, starting in Victoria. 

In 2012, Acheson moved to the Comox Valley and bought Smith Lake Farms, taking it from a modest six beehives to a robust 70. Along with the growth in beehives, she implemented educational programs to be offered to the public.

鈥淲e offer a number of different programs at the farm to do with beekeeping. The first one is an introduction to beekeeping and that takes you through to the intermediate level,鈥� explains Acheson. 鈥淭here are separate courses to do with queen breeding and using the French system of Queen breeding. We have plans to do a course for children this summer.鈥�

Sports:

Isfeld Junior Girls Volleyball team places first

The Isfeld Junior Girls' Volleyball team placed first at the North Islands Championships that were held on Nov. 2.

The tournament was held at Carihi Secondary located in Campbell River.

The team defeated rival school teams from Kwalicum, Ballenas and Vanier on Friday finishing first in their pool.

Saturday they won their matches against Highland and Vanier which took them into the finals against Dover Bay. They won that match in two sets. The scores of the games were close, at 25-22 and 29-27.

MVP's of the tournament were awarded to Rebecca Guile, Mira Herschmiller, Samara Bell and Kenzie Brookshaw.

Comox Valley cyclists set Canadian, World Hour Records

Barbara Morris doesn't really remember much from her Hour Record attempt.

"I've forgotten everything about how it felt during (the ride)," she said. "I remember before, I remember feeling quite nervous about the whole thing. Then you breathe, then you go, then you're done."

And when she was done, she was sitting with a new Canadian record distance for her category.

Arts:

New picture book invites young readers on 'Adventures in Desolation Sound'

Getting carsick in the backseat of your parents' car on the way to the ferry terminal is almost a rite of passage to people living on the west coast of B.C. and Vancouver Island.

It's also something Grant Lawrence describes quite well in his new picture book, "Adventures in Desolation Sound." The book features illustrations by Ginger Ngo, though thankfully most of the illustrations don't feature any bodily fluids. As the title indicates, the book follows the Lawrence family as they have adventures at their cabin located in Desolation Sound.

Hawksley Workman comes to entertain in Cumberland

Hawksley Workman has spent the last 25 years in the music business, constantly going through a metamorphosis with his sound.

He is currently touring Canada on a tight schedule, a new place every night with little downtime. But he loves the road.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no idle time on the road and I love that part about it. I love that every second is spoken for and that there鈥檚 purpose in every moment. Makes my life feel like there鈥檚 real value going on,鈥� shared Workman.