Jan. 4 — “Last night I didn’t want to go to sleep because I just wanted to stare at her all night long.” — Chrystal Anderson, mother of first Comox Valley newborn of the year.
Jan. 9 — “I don’t think it’s any one factor alone that’s causing this, but I think we can’t deny the fact that they’re hurting, and that if you walk around in the downtown area, you see vacant stores, you talk to other owners who are thinking about closing out soon — to me, it’s a huge concern.” — Larry Jangula, Courtenay mayor.
Jan. 11 — “It was a bunch of white powder; it was really deep and I couldn’t see anything. I fell off a 25-foot cliff, hit a tree and knew right away I was hurt. I felt my leg snap in multiple places.” Andrew Stickney, Comox Valley.
Jan. 16 — “We are cautiously optimistic that these statistics represent a full recovery following a severe economic depression that dampened travel trends across the country.” — Fred Bigelow, Comox Valley airport CEO.
Jan. 18 — “We exited 2011 with a $30,000 capital deficit that would have shut the society down if not for this grant. Without adequate funding, we have no chance of achieving our operational mission or other society mandates and goals.” — Catherine Miller, president, Sid Williams Theatre Society.
Jan. 25 — “With a 10-year agreement, we can move past the strife and disruption of the past and focus on what matters most — working together for students across British Columbia.” — Don McRae, education minister.
Jan. 30 — “We’re optimistic — this framework seems to be one that we can work together on and move forward,” said Stanley. “Whether we’ll get labour harmony for 10 years I don’t know, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.” — Steve Stanley, president, Comox Valley District Teachers’ Association.
Feb. 1 — “They said as long as your doctor has his office or her office in Campbell River you can get it free but since my doctor was in Courtenay I had to pay.” Samantha Pattison, heart patient.
Feb. 6 — “There’s a great gasp factor and, you know, it’ll be in the newspapers, a 20-per-cent increase, you know, we can all clutch our chests, OK, that’s $3 a month, is what that increase actually is….” — Jon Ambler, Courtenay councillor.
Feb.13 — “There’s a lot of questioning going on out there right now. What do they want their legacy to be? What do they want to contribute for that final third of their lives?” — Sara Darling, Boomer Generation documentary co-producer.
Feb. 22 — “It’s been a long time coming. It’s nice to be recognized. They’ve been using it for the last 20 years, and it’s deteriorated our road system.” — Leslie Baird, Cumberland mayor, re CV Waste Management Centre.
Feb. 27 — “Get the message out before the student population has decided who’s cool, who’s not — geek, nerd, cool, jock, goth, loser, smart or another label.” — Steven Baird, managing director, Street Smart Kidz.
March 6 — “In today’s society, nobody knows addition or subtraction anymore; we have machines for that. And, instead of becoming simpler, it becomes more complicated but, being good consumers, we just go along with what we’re told and swipe our card.” Andy MacDougall re rounding up prices in absence of pennies.
March 8 — “Educate a boy and you educate a man. Educate a girl and you educate a family.” Adelaide Hoodless, founder, Women’s Institute.
March 13 — “Canada had its first female doctor in 1875, the first female lawyer in 1892, the first female member of Parliament in 1921, and the first member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010. But young women today say, ‘It’s not good enough. We expect more.’ ” — Richelle Gardiner-Hynds re International Women’s Day.
March 15 — “Clearly, politics got on board, because the solution we’re getting is not for the best patient care. Obviously a group of people or peoples split the difference.” Fred Bates, former regional hospital board chair, re Campbell River getting its own hospital.
March 19 — “It’s important to demystify (the issue) and get down to the facts. It sounds clichéd, but (the kids) are our future police officers, educators, journalists and businesspeople.” — Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, Comox Valley RCMP.
March 26 — “We are going to be definitely putting a new roof on, and Rotary will do that. That’s effective immediately — it rains harder inside the building than it does out.” — Art Meyers re Comox Valley train station.
April 9 — “I don’t think they’re ever going to stop people from going. People have been going there for the last 100 years.” — Kyle Bourquin re Stotan Falls.
April 11 — “…Now the airport today is nothing but a big cash cow, And now these guys who have taken it over … are now asking to get paid. And the guys who really did all the hard work did that for nothing and did it for a love of the community.” — Tom Grant.
April 28 — “To be honest, I’d rather practise my guitar than do my math homework, but I’m still on the honour roll at Mark Isfeld Secondary.” — Keisja Cox.
April 25 — “I know the hospice society has a dream. They’ve raised about $500,000 so far. What they’re looking for is multi-millions, and we will be there to support that.” — Christy Clark.
April 30 — “We think Cumberland has one of the best mountain bike trail networks on Vancouver Island and in the province.” — Mike Manara.
May 2 — “He was one of those people who loved to work, didn’t work to live. He loved being in school — he was very, very rarely away.” — Phil Maund re the sudden, unexpected death of popular Cumberland Junior School teacher Ted Newman.
May 7 — “That afternoon, Gary and his dad had to sit down and decide if we were going to carry on or get out of farming completely. It was now or never at that point.” — Suzanne Knopp re still-operating Knopp’s Dairy Farm.
May 9 — “We have invested a great deal of time and money to create a great riding product, but over the last few years, the numbers have not been there to support the elevated operational costs.” — Don Sharpe re Mount Washington Alpine Resort closing its summer bike park.
May 16 — “Whether it’s as an employee of a non-profit organization or if it’s as a private citizen who’s engaged in efforts in the community to make life better for people, that’s where you’ll find me.” — Kassandra Dyke, defeated B.C. election NDP candidate in the Comox Valley.
May 28 — “There were 10 or a dozen ducklings there who were all gathered around the mother as she was, you know, dying.” — Brad Funk.
May 30 — “Sue Bannister is an amazing teacher. She gives so much to our school and our class — she parents the kids, she parents the parents, she goes that extra mile — she deserves this.” — Kindle Parsons re Canadian Family Great Teacher Award.
June 11 — “I’m just really interested in space technology and kind of the unknown factor that space has to offer, so it’s mostly the unknown discoveries that are waiting to be made that I want to help do.” — Roderick Gravoueille re a homemade weather balloon he planned to launch.
June 13 — “My comment to him was that I really don’t want to see Cumberland separated. If they want to move us into the (Nanaimo-Alberni riding), so be it, but that I was really concerned about being divided.” — Mayor Leslie Baird re redrawing federal riding boundaries.
June 25 — “I was one of those kids, you know, that rip everything apart, take it all apart, and not put it back together most of the time.” — Vanier student Chris Leclair after winning a gold medal for the second time in Skills Canada’s national electronics competition.
June 27 — “The fact that Courtenay is even in the running on this national contest is fabulous. Winning this contest would be a tremendous boost for our community.” — Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Dianne Hawkins about a Benjamin Moore contest.
July 2 — “If we do this, we won’t be dealing with developers. We’re going to be dealing with property owners. They want something that is plug and play.” Marvin Kamenz re coach houses to be offered as alternative living spaces in Comox.
July 9 — “We want to teach the kids at a young age that you can do CPR, and also be aware of things that can cause accidents. It’s something that we’ve wanted to do for a very long time, and this school district is amazing.” — Jamie Harris re a St. John John Ambulance provincial pilot project in Cumberland.
July 23 — “You have a place that you have been welcomed to, and you are happy trying to make a home camping out there for years, and then suddenly, boom, there is a flood, and then, even more suddenly, boom, the powers that be want you out.” — Kymme Patrick after writing a play based on Maple Pool Campsite.
July 30 — “For downtown to survive, we need to shop locally in downtown. Businesses survive because of people shopping locally — they don’t survive on tourism because tourism isn’t 12 months of the year.” — Sylvia Webb re closing downtown Courtenay business Sylvie’s Boutique after 20 years.
Aug. 8 — “Fishing is something that must be in our gene structure going back in time when our ancestors lived off the land. I think to think of fishing as one of our natural bonds to the mysteries of the natural world.” — Record outdoors columnist Ralph Shaw.
