After hearing a number of concerns about the effects that COVID related isolation is having on youth, Desta Beattie contacted between 80% and 90% of the Cortes Island families with teenagers to see how they are coping. Her quiet, unassuming manner is almost the opposite of Maunda Aufochs Gillespie, whose bubbling enthusiasm is displayed in constant movement and ever changing facial expressions. Gillespie has also reached out into the community, giving it a platform to express itself and planting seed money where it is most needed. Their ministries, Cortes Island Family Support & Folk U, were the focus of the eighth Cortes Virtual Community Conference on May 19, 2020.
Continue reading May 19 Virtual Community Meeting: Family Support & Folk UTag Archives: Noba Anderson
Financial Impacts of COVID 19 on Cortes, Quadra & Other Electoral Areas
While only two projects have been cancelled so far, a significant number are on hold. Strathcona Regional District staff are monitoring the financial situation closely. Their preliminary report on the financial impacts of COVID 19 within the electoral areas suggests there will be a budget surplus “primarily due to staff vacancies, layoffs, and related travel and training costs.
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April 29th SRD Board Meeting: Decision To Go Public
The Strathcona Regional District is becoming more proficient at recording their meetings. Their second YouTube recording starts close to the very beginning of the meeting and is consequently twenty-one minutes longer. The most pertinent item at the April 29th meeting, for Cortes and Quadra residents, was the SRD board’s decision to go public.
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YouTube Recording of The April 15th SRD Board Meeting
A YouTube recording of the April 15th SRD Meeting is now available. Several Cortes and Quadra Island items were discussed at this meeting, which took place 23 days ago. In addition to grant applications from Linnaea Farm, Sierra Quadra, the Quadra Children’s Centre and two major projects from Quadra, there are questions of Board transparency and accountability.
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Developing Cortes Island Food Security
Representatives from two of the island’s better known organizations were asked to speak at the May 5, 2020, Cortes Island Virtual Community Meeting. Loni Taylor is one of the Directors of the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA); Tamara McPhail is the Executive Director of Linnaea Farm. Director Anderson asked how their organizations are developing Cortes Island food security.
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