Tag Archives: Radio

Business, Housing

The Cortes Island Wood Makerspace

Cortes Island’s dream of having a makerspace has become a reality. The Cortes Wood Makerspace is being set up in the Orchard Village Shop, 671 Sutil Point Rd, Mansons Landing.

“This idea has been around for a long time. I have heard people talking about it for at least 15 years and some old timers apparently remember even longer. We have lots of people who are woodworkers  or building their own homes and not everyone has to build a shop for themselves and equip it with machinery,” explained Hannu Huuskonen, the Shop Master. 

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Health, Politics

Anna Kindy: Waiting for the legislature, the Health Crisis & Being the MLA for North Island.

Anna Kindy was sitting in her Campbell River office. Her assistant stood almost out of the frame long enough to wave, before handing Kindy a headset and disappearing. The thing I find refreshing about Kindy is she doesn’t sound like a politician, which is understandable because she only recently became one. She and her husband are both doctors. Anna Kindy was elected as the MLA for North Island on October 19, 2024 and is the Health Critic for the Conservative party Shadow Cabinet, but has yet to sit in the legislature. 

This fact emerged when I asked her about the trips between her home in Merville and the provincial legislature.

Continue reading Anna Kindy: Waiting for the legislature, the Health Crisis & Being the MLA for North Island. →
Development, Housing

Construction coming to the (Many) Common Areas of Mansons Landing

Close to 50 people turned up at Mansons Hall on January 24, for an update on the construction coming or already underway in the downtown Mansons area. The Cortes Housing Society, Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA), Cortes Island Community Foundation and Cortes Island Pickleball Society were on hand to describe what’s taking place at Rainbow Ridge, the multipurpose courts and the Village Commons. 

 Regional Director Mark Vonesch exclaimed, “The big news here on Cortes is that the Housing Society is going to start building houses this year.” 

Sandra Wood, who’s been at the heart of the Rainbow Ridge affordable housing project from the beginning, added, “It’s exciting to finally get shovels in the ground. We feel like we’ve been shovel ready for years.”   

Manda Aufochs Gillespie, from the Cortes Island Foundation, described another focus of the meeting “More and more, it’s clear that the Village Commons is really this whole area and all the things that we gather in the heart of Mansons to do.”

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Food

Cortes Island’s Community Meal Program

There is a community meal somewhere on Cortes Island every week. 

“A warm bowl of soup, or a stew, that’s at the heart of it. Then there’s always some sort of fresh veggies or a fresh veggie platter cut up.  Folks are getting that kind of food in them.  Then bread and butter, because that’s just the  basics for everybody and usually a dessert, some sort of cookies or brownies and the whole meal includes gluten free and vegetarian options,” explained Yasmina Cartland.  

“There’s nothing you have to do to come to lunch. Everyone can come. You don’t have to prove that you need it. It’s completely inclusive. It’s meant to be a warm social time and it’s meant to actually nourish people with some warm nourishing food.”  

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Development, Sports

Petition Against Making Quadra Residents Pay For REC-CREATE Strathcona Gardens

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A timeline on the REC-REATE – Strathcona Gardens Revitalization Project website traces the origins of this project back to an operational review in 1998. At that time, most of the community was satisfied with the existing facility and the idea of building a new complex did not gain momentum until 2015. A community survey taken between February 2nd and March 2nd that year found that  someone from 72% of the Campbell River and 64% of Area D households visited Strathcona Gardens at least once a year.

Construction for Phase One,  the New Aquatic and Wellness Centre, finally began on September 10, 2024. However the estimated cost of this project had risen to $73 million and the Strathcona Regional District is exploring the idea that Quadra Island and Sayward taxpayers should be contributing.

Nothing has been decided, but the SRD has received a stream of letters from hundreds of Quadra Island residents stating they do not use Strathcona Gardens and definitely do not want to pay for it!  A little group calling itself the Friends of Area C collected hundreds of names on a petition opposing the suggestion that Quadra taxpayers should be included in Strathcona Garden catchment area.  

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