Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Richard Andrews compared his first month as Project Manager of the Village Commons, in downtown Mansons Landing, to the years he was the Executive Director of a non profit in Vancouver.


“There's a lot of planning going on right now.  We're in  phase one of our build. We have the welcome pole to make, and a big pavilion. The funnest work is going to be making a playground.  The vending zone and the playground are mysterious right now. I have an idea of what they might be. I have an idea of what people want because we have  a lot of documentation from the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) about the community process they went through to determine what was to be done with this property,” he said.


“Just today, in the midst of a staff meeting, we realized that maybe what we should be doing is thinking of the whole property as one big playground for people of all ages.” 


The Cortes Island Community Foundation hired Richard at the beginning of July. 


A lot of his first month has been spent in meetings


RA: “I’ve been coordinating a lot with other people about things to do, making plans, having meetings and discussions, listening to other people's opinions about how things ought to go.  That's like, reopening a part of my brain that's been fallow for a long time. So, it's probably good for an old brain to be engaged in that way again.”

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On Friday Aug 4 Jemma Hicken joined Manda Aufochs Gillespie under the big tent in the village commons for another edition of Folk U’s coverage of the Friday Live Music series. Musician/reporter Louis Belcourt was a special guest.

Jemma played from her newest CD, ‘Get It Together’ and talked about the production process.

“It takes a lot to make a CD, mostly money,” she explained.

“I actually cold contacted this guy named Corwin Fox, whose style of music I have appreciated for a long time. that he plays, I really wanted to work with somebody to produce the album who could hear lyrics and felt the lyrics were really important because my songs are usually pretty lyric heavy.”

“It took him a really long time to get back to me. but then he finally did get back to me and he said he would love to work with me. So we got together over the course of probably all together about a week and I recorded all of my parts on the album. Then Corwin beefed up all the songs with some amazing instrumental parts that he added on. (It felt like I was playing with a band, it was really nice.)

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -Google and Facebook took in $9.7 billion in advertising revenue during 2020, while the revenues of more traditional news outlets - who produce much of the actual news being posted on Facebook and Instagram - are failing. In response to Bill C-18, which requires them to pay Canadian media outlets a fraction of their advertisement revenues, the dynamic duo will no longer let Canadian news outlets post. 


This was brought home to Cortes Currents on Wednesday, August 2, when Facebook served notice that as a news outlet, Cortes Currents Facebook posts will no longer be viewable inside Canada. 


As only about 10% of my web traffic actually comes through Facebook, my reactions were mixed, but the strongest was curiosity. 


So I reached out to some local media outlets to find out:

 - What is their opinion of the situation?

- How does being cut off from Facebook affect their publication? 

The first to respond was Delores Broten of the Watershed Sentinel.  


“It's essentially a line in the sand for Canadian identity, in my mind. I'm  into that stuff these days because my mother's family's Ukrainian.  We're  focusing on identity destruction these days, but this is part of  that Americanization of Canada that's been going on since the fifties. There were various political movements and attempts to resist it even before that. In about the 1880s, there was a movement saying ‘Canada first.’ It’s always been a constant pressure. You have a big rich neighbor and a little colonial racist country, and we've had some good points, but overall, we have very little to keep this country separate. So with the news media going down, all the news is just going to be Hollywood gossip and Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump,” she said.


CC: Why Should Facebook give Canadian media a portion of its revenues? 


DB: “Why should radio stations pay the artists for their songs? When a radio station plays a song, they're using the artist and the producer and the whole company's work. They pay a royalty for that. ”  


Speaking as a former President of the Cortes Community Radio Society, this statement elicits mixed responses. Most of the artists I (Roy Hales) know are receiving what amounts to the price of a cup of coffee per year, but volunteer run stations like CKTZ cannot afford to pay more. That said, I agree with the principle that she cites, artists should be paid for their work.   


DB: “This is the same thing when Facebook and Instagram use News content that people like me and you and (God love us) Postmedia sometimes pay writers to create.  They're using our work for free. In the meantime, while they're doing that and building their audience, they are taking 10 billion, with a B, 10 billion a year in advertising revenue out of Canada and not paying a single cent of tax.” 


According to the Columbia Journalism Review, Google and Facebook are paying the media in Australia close to $150 million US a year. This has enabled the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to place 50 new journalists in underserved parts of the country. The United Kingdom, Indonesia and South Africa are considering similar legislation, as is the state of California.


CC: What was the remedy that the Canadian government came up with? 


DB: “The government was asking them to put about $250 million towards compensating news organizations.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The next show in the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery promises to be a treat. Vijen Vijendren is a retired art teacher, whose resume includes nine years at the Royal Palace in Brunei. He was also an elementary school teacher serving First Nations communities in Northern Alberta. ‘My Life in Three Chapters’ is his artistic autobiography, covering the period from his time abroad to settling on Cortes Island.

‘My Life in three chapters’ opens in the Old Schoolhouse Art Gallery at 6 PM this evening. The show can be seen Fridays, from 6 and 9 PM, and between 2 and 6 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, until August 13, 2023.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Cortes Island Museum is offering a full slate of special events this month

They start at 1 PM this Saturday, Aug 5, with Jewellery Identification. People are being invited to bring their own pieces. 


“I've got a small collection and  I'm going to at least bring some things that I have that I think are interesting.  We can go over the different types of materials, a little bit of the process of manufacturing and also go over the gems that are commonly found within pieces. We  even talk about  The time periods  the pieces have come from as their stylistic choices in manufacturing basically,” explained Events Coordinator, Alex Woywitka.


At 7:30 on Thursday August 10. Kim Marks will be holding a Tattoo Art Show in the Museum Heritage Garden.


AW: “Kim Marks is the premier tattoo artist on Cortes. She really does amazing work and is a really great drawer. A lot of my friends have really gotten a lot of work done from her.  Sun Rob is going to play some music for us and Kim is also going to have a table of pottery and other art that she's made.”


Lovesfest returns to Cortes Island on August 12, and the museum is hosting its own special event from 1 to 4 PM.


AW: “If you're at Lovefest,  stop in at Wild Cortes and take a look at  Trivia Jenga. It's a nice space that they have there, and  cool because it's in the basement of the Agricultural Learning Center there at Linnea.”


There will be a Literary Reading Evening at the museum on Thursday Aug 17th.


AW: “We are inviting authors. I've got a list so far of five authors from

Cortes who are going to come and read from their books.  It's something that  we do at the museum, maybe once a year.” 


CC: Can you release the names of the ones you've already signed?

AW: “I’d rather not at this point.  We don't have the poster made up quite yet for that one, but we've got some good people showing up.”


The History of Modern Toys comes to the Museum from 1-4 PM,  on Saturday Aug 19th 1-4


AW: “The vintage toy  show is going to be something that I do personally.  I've been buying and selling on the internet with that type of stuff since 2010. So I've really got quite a nice collection that it's pretty unheard of and a lot of people on the island probably have never seen a lot of this stuff before.”


“I'm going to bring in a lot of old stuff, maybe as late as the sixties and maybe as new as the nineties, but most of it is going to be from the seventies and then from the early eighties as well.”


“I'm going to bring in my 1966 Godzilla by Toho. It's not an original, but it's a replica of the one that they had used from the 1966 movie when they made it, versus Ebirah, which was another Godzilla monster.  I'm going to bring in some of my 1970s Shogun Warrior Robots: Great Mazinger and Raiden, for example.”

“I will bring in my Diaclone Great Robot Base and Fortress X Robots, which are probably two of the most amazing elite engineered toys that have ever come out. Some of these things that I am bringing are worth several thousand dollars each.”

There will be a Wetlands Conservation Presentation in the Cortes Island Library, at Linnaea, from 6-7 PM on August 23

AW: “Later on in August and then in early September, we're going to be doing a few more music events.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There was a great deal of anger on Cortes Island when the province lifted the open campfire ban on June 21.  As Nancy Kendel wrote in the Tideline, “We have had basically NO RAIN since beginning of May, and our forests are tinder dry!” The ban was reimposed days later, but the underlying problem persists today. Cortes Island is part of the Coastal Fire Centre, and the regulations governing it are drawn up in a wetter climate.

Regional Director Mark Vonesch brought this matter up before Strathcona Regional District Board on June 28, “I got a lot of alarming emails and phone calls regarding the lift.  I contacted the province and they said that they can’t change that decision, because it’s based on boundaries, unless we have a bylaw in place.”

The Board passed a resolution ‘that staff prepare an open burning bylaw for Electoral Area B for the Board's consideration.’

That was more than a month ago, but there has been little progress.

At the July 19 SRD Board meeting, Chief Administrative Officer David Leitch explained. “When Director Vonesch brought this forward, there was a real sense of urgency because there was no open burning ban, but that has been taken care of.  I think it's highly unlikely during the summer that, and those burning bands will be lifted anywhere through the province. Which gives us a little time to draft our own burning bylaw.”

“I did promise director Vonesch I would bring a draft bylaw forward. However, in the time that we made this motion, The province had lifted the open burning regulation across the province and since then,  they have downgraded that to eliminate any open burnings throughout the province. So I pivoted a bit and didn't bring a draft bylaw forward. As well, we had a couple other issues in terms of delegating the enforcement of that authority forward. That's why we have the report here with the recommendation we  receive input and based on the input, look to bring forward a draft bylaw for the board's approval.”

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On July 28, the Awakeneers joined Manda Aufochs Gillespie and Folk U under the big tent at Mansons Landing as Folk U for another Friday Live Music. This is the fourth time they have performed on her show. As Robert McKenty pointed out, “We make Folk University Radio a priority anytime we're coming to Cortes Island.”

The Awakeneers just released a new CD, and brought the songs to Gorge Hall that evening and to Mansons Hall on Saturday.

You can listen to them at awakeneers. com, on spotify. com, or on the Awakeneers Music App

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The most recent addition to Wild Cortes may turn out to be a species that has not been seen on Cortes for close to 50 years. Or it could be a Horned grebe, which is said to be fairly common.


“It's a Black-necked grebe. It's possibly an adult molting, or it could be an immature. I believe it's an adult male,” said Laurel Bohart, taxidermist and co-curator of Wild Cortes.


CC: What’s exceptional about this bird? 


LB: “Several things. First of all, this bird isn't supposed to be found anywhere near Cortes, and second,  it washed up on the beach after being killed by an eagle, and happened to wash up where somebody could find it. Right away.” 


CC: Where was that? 


LB: “A young girl, Nieve Leveque, found it at Sandra Wood's place, and they brought it to me immediately, right from the beach.” 


CC: Are we sure that it actually was on Cortes island? 


LB: “Absolutely”


CC: it couldn't have just drifted here? 


LB: “Nope, it was predated by an eagle and  a raven was attacking it when it washed up. Or what looks to me, is possibly the eagle simply dropped it, pursued by another bird and then the raven found it.” 


CC: Have you told any of our local birding experts, and what did they say? 


LB: “They said it couldn't happen, I have evidence that it can.” 


She pointed to the black colouring at the nape of the bird’s neck, which you can see in the podcast picture for this story.


One of the skeptics emailed Cortes Currents that the bird photographed in this article ‘looks like a Horned grebe in winter plumage.’ 


Black-necked grebes (also known as Eared grebes), ‘have a thin upturned bill, which this individual doesn’t.’   


“I would have to see the specimen in the hand and also forward pictures to other birders who are familiar with Eared Grebes for their opinion. The record needs to be collaborated, it's not just up to me to decide, that's how it works - a team effort. Again, in my opinion, from the pictures I've seen it's a Horned Grebe, further analysis is needed to prove the identity of the bird. It's great Laurel has taken the time to preserve the specimen.”


He stated there have been no documented sightings of Eared Grebes on Cortes for 50 years. 


While they have been reported in some Christmas Bird Counts (most recently 2017, 2019 and 2020), ‘there are no corresponding pictures or detailed field notes that would be needed to accept the record(s).’ 


“But Horned grebes love Cortes, they are very common and can be seen everywhere just offshore.”


If Bohart’s identification turns out to be correct, it seems likely that this may not be the first Eared grebe to visit Cortes in the past two decades. There have been unsubstantiated sightings in Christmas Bird counts as far back as 2003.


My anonymous skeptic did not discount the idea that Eared grebes could have visited, but wrote this bird is not one of them.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Part of the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) mandate is assisting people who need employment skills training. They were looking for ways to do this when the StrongerBC Skills Training Grants became available. While this is not a CCEDA program, it achieves their objectives and Kate Maddigan, CCEDA’s Economic Development Officer, has been promoting this program for the past month.

According to the provincial government website, the grant will pay for up to $3,500 in eligible short term skills training at public post secondary institutions.


“It has generated a bit of interest. People stop me on the street to say, ‘Oh, yeah,  I saw your post about that grant and I really want to try to apply for this or that.’ People have been emailing me. There was someone interested in applying for bookkeeping. A couple of people were interested in the building design and architectural CAD course. There was someone interested in website management,” explained Maddigan.


“I'm working with the North Island Employment Foundations Society, in Campbell River, to try and make sure that people know about these and  get some initiatives off the ground.”

“There are over 400 courses to choose from and this grant will cover the entire cost of the course. Most of them are online, which is great for people on Cortes.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Director of Cortes Island is considering the idea of having a dog control bylaw drawn up for his area, and the Director of Quadra Island has expressed some interest.


The idea was discussed at the Wednesday July 19 Electoral Areas Services Committee (EASC) Meeting. 

Mark Vonesch, Regional Director for Area B (Cortes Island), explained, “This request for a bylaw came out of a situation where a dog was out of control multiple times, scaring people and ultimately ended up killing another dog on the island. The dog owners approached the RCMP and said, ‘this dog killed our dog.’ The RCMP told them that they weren't able to do anything about it because there were no bylaws.”


Robyn Mawhinney, Regional Director for Area C, added, “On Quadra, I'm curious about this proposal.”   


Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) David Leitch responded, “If the Area Director wants a dog control service on Cortes, it can be quite simple. It's just creating a regulatory bylaw that states  whatever the Director would like with the intention of just having the RCMP enforce that. If you look at anything else, the costs can become significant.”