Anti-fossil fuels rally
Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Shannon McPhail from the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition will speak at a Squamish rally against fossil fuels on Saturday.
My Sea to Sky is hosting Break Free from Fossils Fuels, which starts at 9 a.m. at O’Siyam Pavilion on Cleveland Avenue in downtown Squamish. The event is coordinated by 350.org and Greenpeace Canada.
There will be a march to the Woodfibre LNG/FortisBC office starting at 9:30 a.m., followed by the speakers at 10 a.m. A similar event in Burnaby will follow from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, see www.myseatosky.org or the Break Free from Fossils Fuels page on Facebook.
More than 300 women helped
More than 90 women and children in Squamish sought safety at shelters in 2015 according to the Howe Sound Women’s Centre Society. Squamish’s Transition House and Safe Home gave shelter to more than 60 women, equalling 800 bed nights, and temporarily housed more than 30 children, equalling 400 bed nights, according to the centre. About 250 women called the crisis line.
Man sentenced
A Pemberton man has been sentenced to six months in jail for seriously injuring a Squamish woman in December of 2013, according to Squamish RCMP.
Jan Marthinus, 55, also received a six-month conditional sentence to run consecutively with the jail term, a year’s probation and a five-year driving ban, according to police.
Katherine Ciechanowski was seriously injured in the accident, police said.
Marthinus was under the influence when the accident occurred and fled the scene, according to Squamish RCMP.
Marthinus pleaded guilty to one count of impaired driving causing bodily harm and one count of hit and run.
New ball field lights
The Squamish Slo Pitch Association (SSPA) and the District of Squamish will team up on Saturday night to officially turn on the new field lights at Hendrickson Fields.
The ceremony will begin at 8 p.m. and will be followed by a friendly ball game. Everyone is welcome.
Schools chosen
The next locations for the Hub for Active School Travel (HASTe) program are: Brackendale Elementary encompassing Don Ross Secondary, and Valleycliffe elementary encompassing Cedar Valley Waldorf School and Sea to Sky Learning Connections (in the former Stawamus Elementary building). The school travel planning program aims to connect communities through cycling and walking.
HASTe involves engaging with parents and students to find out why people drive to school, walkabouts with stakeholders such as district staff and council members, and action plans to make travel by foot or bike safer.
Workshop for renters
Want to know your rights as a renter? The Squamish Public Library is hosting a Your Residential Tenancy Rights workshop on Thursday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. This workshop will give a brief overview of residential tenancy law in B.C. and talk about tenancy situations under the Residential Tenancy Act.
Honouring the Truth
A study and discussion group, Honouring the Truth and Reconciling for the Future, will be held at the Squamish Public Library on Friday, May 27 at 1 p.m. and then every other Friday from May 27 to Aug. 22 from 1 to 2 p.m.
On May 27 at 1 p.m., an opening ceremony and discussion of Introduction and Commission Activities in the Truth and Reconciliation report will be held. For more information, go online to squamish.bc.libraries.coop.
Car rally Saturday
More than 140 specialty, high-end cars will stop in Squamish for a few hours on Saturday as they wind their way from Vancouver to Squamish to Pemberton, and finally back to Whistler.
The Diamond Car Rally is a free car show at Chances Casino that will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The funds raised from the event will go to more than 20 charities in B.C. For more information, go to www.diamondrally.com.
Truck route input sought
The district is set to begin consultation on a potential truck route as stage one of finding a permanent truck route through downtown Squamish to the industrial businesses on the waterfront.
So far, truck route options are Loggers Lane, Third Avenue with a direct avenue to Bailey Street, Seventh Avenue Connector and a Westminster Crossing.
A public open house on the options is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, May 18, 5 to 8 p.m. at the Squamish Seniors’ Centre.
Mini-pitch on the way
A mini-pitch may soon be on the way for Squamish.
Squamish Youth Soccer Association and the U.S Soccer Foundation have partnered to build a mini-pitch north of the artificial turf field next to the kicking wall on district land.
At Tuesday’s committee of the whole, council voted to provide a licence of construction to the soccer association, which had received a grant from the foundation, according to a proposal document.
The mini-pitch will be fenced in and made up of a rubberized surface on top of asphalt about the size of a tennis court, the document states. The pitch will be branded with Whitecaps, Adidas and US Soccer Foundation logos.
Construction is set to begin in June, with an anticipated completion date of July 22. The district will maintain the pitch, which is an amenity worth about $115,000, according to district staff.
