Susie Quinn

Firefighters with Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department practice drafting and pumping techniques at McLean Mill National Historic Site in March 2024. (PHOTO COURTESY CHERRY CREEK VFD)

B.C. volunteer firefighters, SAR teams get tax break in federal budget

Fire chiefs say MP Gord Johns’ advocating for higher benefits will help with recruitment, retention

Firefighters with Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department practice drafting and pumping techniques at McLean Mill National Historic Site in March 2024. (PHOTO COURTESY CHERRY CREEK VFD)
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns, right, talks to protesters in front of the Port Alberni Friendship Center on Sunday, March 24, 2024. (PHOTO COURTESY CHARLAINE LACROIX)

Police called after protesters, MP clash over carbon tax in Port Alberni

RCMP called after threats made to Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns at city’s Friendship Centre

Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns, right, talks to protesters in front of the Port Alberni Friendship Center on Sunday, March 24, 2024. (PHOTO COURTESY CHARLAINE LACROIX)
The Hawaii Mars is preparing for its final voyage from Coulson Aviation Tanker Base on Sproat Lake to the Victoria International Airport. (SUSIE QUINN / Alberni Valley News)

Historic B.C. Martin Mars water bomber will fly one last time

Hawaii Mars will have a new home at the British Columbia Aviation Museum

The Hawaii Mars is preparing for its final voyage from Coulson Aviation Tanker Base on Sproat Lake to the Victoria International Airport. (SUSIE QUINN / Alberni Valley News)
The Port Alberni Fire Department responds as smoke pours from a building on Burde Street on March 27, 2024. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)

RCMP detonate homemade explosive device in Port Alberni building

Firearms, ammunition and homemade bombs found at Burde Street residence

The Port Alberni Fire Department responds as smoke pours from a building on Burde Street on March 27, 2024. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)
The big wave that came up the Alberni Inlet lifted houses off their moorings and shifted heavy items like cars and boats, leaving them in odd places when the water receded. (JAN JANSMA PHOTO)

Good Friday, 1964: remembering when the tsunami slammed Port Alberni

‘We could see houses and garages and stuff going down the river, there were boats up on the road’

The big wave that came up the Alberni Inlet lifted houses off their moorings and shifted heavy items like cars and boats, leaving them in odd places when the water receded. (JAN JANSMA PHOTO)
(Jacek Halicki - Wikimedia Commons)

B.C. nurse banned for five years following sex assault conviction

B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives signs joint agreement on ban with Colin R. Hall

(Jacek Halicki - Wikimedia Commons)
Helen Poon, 2020 BC Liberal candidate, Mid Island Pacific Rim. (FILE PHOTO)

Former Port Alberni city councillor dies after car crash overseas

World renowned car enthusiast Helen Poon was touring New Zealand’s North Island

Helen Poon, 2020 BC Liberal candidate, Mid Island Pacific Rim. (FILE PHOTO)
For three decades, Larry Horvath has managed to (mostly) keep his identity as the Cameron Lake Santa a secret. He used to spend Christmas Day with his furry companion. (FACEBOOK PHOTO)

Driver narrowly misses injury during Christmas Day rock slide on Highway 4

Tree damages pickup truck as it came down the slope, says Vancouver Island man

For three decades, Larry Horvath has managed to (mostly) keep his identity as the Cameron Lake Santa a secret. He used to spend Christmas Day with his furry companion. (FACEBOOK PHOTO)
RCMP-GRC crest

Port Alberni RCMP shoot dog after attack

Sproat Lake campers hear commotion, gunshot

RCMP-GRC crest
A land-based airtanker from Conair Aerial Firefighting drops retardant on a wildfire on Arbutus Mountain behind Shoemaker Bay, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Airtankers attack wildfire behind old log sort near Port Alberni

Fire still listed as less than one hectare; ground crews work on containment

A land-based airtanker from Conair Aerial Firefighting drops retardant on a wildfire on Arbutus Mountain behind Shoemaker Bay, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Paraglider Jack Pincus, centre, from the Comox Valley and rescuers Dave Potter from Totem Tree Service, right, and a member of Alberni Valley Rescue Society are flown away from Mount Irwin by Ascent Helicopters after Pincus was rescued from the top of a 35-metre Douglas fir. (PHOTO COURTESY DAVE POTTER)

B.C. paraglider recalls his Canada Day spent stuck in a tree

Jack Pincus ‘unlucky’ but unhurt on long weekend launch, rescuers free him after about 2 hours

Paraglider Jack Pincus, centre, from the Comox Valley and rescuers Dave Potter from Totem Tree Service, right, and a member of Alberni Valley Rescue Society are flown away from Mount Irwin by Ascent Helicopters after Pincus was rescued from the top of a 35-metre Douglas fir. (PHOTO COURTESY DAVE POTTER)
Workers put finishing touches on protective barriers along a two-kilometre stretch of Highway 4 where the Cameron Bluffs wildfire reached the highway. The Vancouver island highway has been closed since June 6, 2023. (PHOTO COURTESY MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION)

Highway 4 reopens on Vancouver Island after wildfire cut off coastal communities

Drivers told to expect long lineups, single-lane traffic until mid-July

Workers put finishing touches on protective barriers along a two-kilometre stretch of Highway 4 where the Cameron Bluffs wildfire reached the highway. The Vancouver island highway has been closed since June 6, 2023. (PHOTO COURTESY MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION)
A food truck belonging to Quality Foods drives ailong the detour route between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni to deliver goods on Friday, June 9, 2023. (B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION PHOTO)

Cameron Bluffs fire near Port Alberni grows to 208 hectares; Highway 4 remains closed

B.C. Premier Eby faces criticism over not opening Horne Lake route as fire cuts off communities

A food truck belonging to Quality Foods drives ailong the detour route between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni to deliver goods on Friday, June 9, 2023. (B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION PHOTO)
Raylene Watts, left, and Alex Tuele, both from Fanny Bay, visit the Port Alberni waterfront looking for treasure on Wednesday, March 9, 2023. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Treasure seekers scour British Columbia for pot of ‘gold’

B.C.-based scavenger hunt offered $1,000 if someone could solve five riddles

Raylene Watts, left, and Alex Tuele, both from Fanny Bay, visit the Port Alberni waterfront looking for treasure on Wednesday, March 9, 2023. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Tom Verbrugge and his son Mica have the bonfire stoked and the hotdogs ready to roast when Tom’s Trees Christmas tree farm opens on Nov. 26, 2022. (PHOTO COURTESY TOM VERBRUGGE)

It’s beginning to look a lot more expensive for a Christmas tree this year

Variety of factors contributing, effect on Islanders will vary depending on where you shop

Tom Verbrugge and his son Mica have the bonfire stoked and the hotdogs ready to roast when Tom’s Trees Christmas tree farm opens on Nov. 26, 2022. (PHOTO COURTESY TOM VERBRUGGE)
The ‘Every child matters’ barricade painted at the entrance to the ‘Orange Bridge’ (Riverbend Bridge) was vandalized sometime in the evening of Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Vandals paint racial slur on Port Alberni’s ‘Orange Bridge’ hours after reconciliation walk

Tseshaht First Nation denounces act, says there is ‘zero tolerance’ for racism in community

The ‘Every child matters’ barricade painted at the entrance to the ‘Orange Bridge’ (Riverbend Bridge) was vandalized sometime in the evening of Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
Brandon Cairney was declared missing in October 2017. He was found alive in September 2022 in Burnaby, B.C., but claims he is not Cairney. (RCMP PHOTO)

Port Alberni man missing for five years resurfaces, but denies he is Brandon Cairney

Mystery unfolds in Island Crime podcast update on men missing from Vancouver Island

Brandon Cairney was declared missing in October 2017. He was found alive in September 2022 in Burnaby, B.C., but claims he is not Cairney. (RCMP PHOTO)
Ted Eeftink of Ucluelet gazes out the window of Angel Flight pilot Bruce Burley’s Cessna C210) on the way to Boundary Bay Airport and cancer treatment in Vancouver. (PHOTO COURTESY BRUCE BURLEY)

Angels take flight over British Columbia coastline for 2,000 sick people

Angel Flight BC has made more than 2,000 special flights for patients needing medical treatment

Ted Eeftink of Ucluelet gazes out the window of Angel Flight pilot Bruce Burley’s Cessna C210) on the way to Boundary Bay Airport and cancer treatment in Vancouver. (PHOTO COURTESY BRUCE BURLEY)
The RCMP-GRC crest. (Black Press Media file photo)

Man drives stolen BC Ambulance vehicle across Vancouver Island before getting caught

Helicopter, police dogs called in after man reported with firearm and a crossbow

The RCMP-GRC crest. (Black Press Media file photo)
Michael Yellowlees and his Alaskan Husky, Luna, are embarking on another cross-Canada trip—this time in a car—to revisit places they walked in 2021. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Kilted Scotsman, dog retrace steps across Canada, reinforcing climate change message

Michael Yellowlees starts second cross-country tour with a July 3 gig on Vancouver Island

Michael Yellowlees and his Alaskan Husky, Luna, are embarking on another cross-Canada trip—this time in a car—to revisit places they walked in 2021. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)