June
As the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District (SD68)’s public consultation process entered its final four weeks, we reported that parents and Parent Advisory Council (PAC) members were questioning how public SD68’s consultation process around its 10-Year Enhanced Facilities for Learning Plan truly was.
In June, we also reported that a Couverdon-TimberWest development proposed for the north end of Ladysmith was expected to take decades to complete if approved by municipal and provincial regulators.
Frank Limshue, Couverdon Real Estate’s director of planning and zoning, said the build-out Couverdon has proposed for a 710-acre parcel of TimberWest property located northwest of Ladysmith “would happen over a 30-plus-year period.”
We introduced readers to Const. Misty Dmytar and her two-year-old son, Griffyn. Dmytar, a member of the Nanaimo RCMP who lives in Ladysmith, was part of the 2013 Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock team, and Griffyn, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at just four days old, is her main motivation for riding.
A large crowd was on hand June 24 to welcome WestJet Encore’s inaugural flight direct from Calgary to Nanaimo Airport.
July
In early July, we learned that North Oyster Elementary School would stay open for 2013-14 and a decision about the future of École Davis Road (EDR) had been delayed.
During a public meeting June 26 in Nanaimo, trustees took a number of steps, including approving a bylaw to close Cedar Community Secondary on June 30, 2014, giving parents and students the choice to come to Ladysmith Secondary School (LSS), although busing would not be provided.
For North Oyster Elementary, which was proposed for closure this year, the board passed a motion to extend the consultation period to Dec. 1, 2013, with a proposal to close the school on June 30, 2014. For EDR, the board passed a motion to extend the consultation period to Dec. 1, 2013, to allow time to consider alternatives, with a proposal to close the school on June 30, 2014.
The board also approved a motion to reconfigure LSS as a Grade 7-12 school in September 2014.
August
Maureen Martin earned the nod for Citizen of the Year for 2013 during Ladysmith Days at the beginning of the month.
Deputy Mayor Gord Horth and longtime friend Irene Deschene praised Martin for her contributions to community theatre and civic events prior to Martin receiving a commemorative print from the Ladysmith Ambassadors.
Ladysmith got ready to welcome its first BC Transit bus service. From Sept. 3 on, Ladysmith residents could expect transit service on four local routes with additional service to Chemainus four times each weekday and twice per day on weekends.
September
As excitement started building for the arrival of the annual Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock, we reported on a number of community fundraisers taking place in Ladysmith and Chemainus leading up to the main event.
As a new school year began, timetable troubles fueled tension at LSS. Course schedules handed out on day one of the new school year failed to meet the needs or expectations of close to half of the school’s students, and the school hadn’t addressed students’ concerns quickly enough, said LSS students.
Near the end of the month, cadets from Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron 257 Ladysmith celebrated the squadron’s 70th anniversary with nearly 300 cadets. Cadets from 10 squadrons from Vancouver Island and Powell River took part in the parade, which was followed by a military inspection inside Aggie Hall.
October
The Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock came to Ladysmith Sept. 30, and the riders received a rousing show of support. By the time the riders left town, Ladysmith businesses and residents had raised $45,000, more than double the $20,000 raised last year.
Homelessness made the front page when a new organization founded in response to the death of a local homeless man last winter teamed up with local churches and the Ladysmith Resources Centre Association (LRCA) to feed the hungry. The Ladysmith Homeless Aid Committee (LHAC), the LRCA and volunteers from Bethel Tabernacle served hot dogs and hamburgers to Ladysmith’s “financially vulnerable,” and volunteers with the LHAC and Social Planning Cowichan planned to follow up with a survey on low-income housing needs in Ladysmith, explained LRCA program manager Cindy Warren.
On Oct. 9, MP John Duncan, Stz’uminus First Nation Chief John Elliott and Ladysmith Mayor Rob Hutchins stood on the Stz’uminus Oyster Bay Reserve at Oyster Sto’Lo Road beside the Ivy Green Husky and cut a ribbon to celebrate the completion of water and sewer infrastructure for Oyster Bay.
Water and sewer services at Oyster Bay will make way for proposed development in the area, and will also secure a safe water source for the Stz’uminus community residing at Oyster Bay.
Later in October, we learned a petition was circulating to express support for keeping École Davis Road open.
In collaboration with the PAC, EDR parents Jessica Lowry and Graeme Rouse created a petition to demonstrate the support to keep EDR open.
“Our hope is that during this decision making time, this petition can help with a positive outcome for the school, for south-end Ladysmith and the entire Ladysmith community,” said Lowry.
November
Tons of volunteers turned up to help string lights, set up rooftop decorations and prepare the town for Light Up, which would take place on Nov. 28.
During a Nov. 4 meeting, Ladysmith council accepted an offer from the City of Langford to purchase the 2009 Supreme Trolley Bus for $82,000.
Parents and other members of the public were being invited to attend public meetings being held at the end of the month to discuss plans for the future of school facilities in the Ladysmith area. A Ladysmith Extended Consultation Working Group had been meeting since September to explore possible alternative options to closure. The group identified some possible options and was ready to present these to the public and obtain feedback.
At the end of November, École Davis Road’s PAC made a presentation to Ladysmith council regarding further evidence of why the school should remain open. Parents presented a petition with more than 1,155 signatures.
December
The 26th annual Ladysmith Festival of Lights Light Up celebration was hailed as a huge success, with reports of one of the biggest crowds and of the biggest parade. Cliff Fisher, president of the Festival of Lights Society., says the Ladysmith RCMP has estimated that between 22,000 and 23,000 people took in the Light Up festivities this year.
“That’s one of the largest crowds I’ve seen in my eight years being involved,” he said.
With 65 entries, this year’s Kinsmen Parade was the biggest one yet, according to Kinsmen member Duck Paterson.
At the beginning of the month, the Ladysmith Extended Consultation Working Group constructed and submitted a third option to SD68 with regards to school reconfiguration. The most notable point of the new Option C is that EDR would remain open, while North Oyster would close in June 2014.
When the SD68 board of education met in Ladysmith on Dec. 18, trustees voted to table all motions related to the Ladysmith zone proposals until the Jan. 29 board meeting. Trustee Nancy Curley also brought forward a notice of motion to reconsider the previously-approved motions that would move Grade 7 students to LSS, effective September 2014. She will bring these reconsideration motions forward in February.
At the end of December, we reported the Town of Ladysmith had received the formal boundary extension proposal from Couverdon Real Estate and received a schedule for the next steps in the process.
