City survey seeks input

In advance of annual budget deliberations scheduled for later this month, the City wants to know not only which services are  particularly valuable to you and your family but where you think  cuts could be made. 

With this in mind, a survey is available on-line at http://www.campbellriver.ca (look on the left side of the home page,  click on What’s New and then scroll down to “Tell us what you think - Campbell River Community Services Survey”).  A paper version was  in the newspaper last Friday, February 5.

The survey took me 10 minutes. Do your part and make time for it  before the deadline at noon on Friday, February 19.

Campbell River’s premier wooden building hosts Forest Minister

A sold-out crowd of Chamber members packed the Maritime Heritage Centre over the noon hour yesterday to hear Pat Bell speak. He is the Minister of Forests and Range and believes opportunities within the forest industry still exist.

 Prior to the Minister taking centre stage, Mayor Charlie Cornfield announced the creation of a Wood First policy by council last week. The policy is aimed at the use of wood in all new buildings funded by the City of Campbell River.

It’s important to support a wood culture in Campbell River His Worship said.

Minister Bell began his address to Chamber members by stating the Campbell River is a fork in the road. It’s time for decisions to be made about our future - do we want to continue to be a resource-based community or move towards a new way that could include tourism and various other opportunites. The challenge of how to create value for ourselves is ours to decide.

He provided some suggestions about where Campbell River could look for opportunities within the forest sector. Here are a couple:

* The creation of a bio-energy industry through using logging residues (more commonly known as slash to most people) to create wood-based pellets that would replace coal as a fuel source. Between 2.5 and 3 million cubic metres of slash existed in 2009 according to the Minister, providing significant economic potential for North Vancouver Island communities.

* Advanced and intensive silviculture. “We grow the best trees in BC here on Vancouver Island,” said Bell.

* The development of the Chinese marketplace. BC shipped 300 million board feet of lumber to China in 2007 – the equivalent of one mill’s entire annual production. The following year, that number had grown to 720 million board feet. As of the end of November 2009, more than a billion board feet of hemlock and cedar had made its way to China.

“If you send it, they’ll (the Chinese)  figure out something to do with it,” said Bell.

Don’t focus on the revival of the US market, he said. Look instead to China. That country could feasibly becoming BC’s number one customer by 2013, when our softwood lumber agreement with the US expires.

Bell predicted more mills will be open at the end of 2010 than were operating at the beginning.

During the question and answer period, Minister Bell was asked about the reopening of the Catalyst mill. It’s a “local decision” he said, adding that the government is involved but only “peripherally” since the issue isn’t within the province’s jurisdiction.

Employees from Corilar, Pallan Timber, and the City of Campbell River won door prizes.

Get ready to walk to Wok Box

Before the end of the year, Campbell Riverites will have another dining choice for lunch and dinner, this time with a decidedly Asian flavour. Carla Campbell is bringing the taste of Calgary-based franchise Wok Box to Mariner Square, beside Save-On Foods.

“It’s exciting to be part of a Canadian company,” said Carla. She’s heading off soon for three weeks training in the Lower Mainland although managing a food service operation isn’t new. Carla and her husband Ed currently live in Port McNeill, where they operate a Subway franchise. They will relocate to Campbell River when Wok Box opens.

The City of Campbell River has been “awesome”  in making the process of applying for the various permits as smooth as possible, Carla commented.

Inititally 14 people will be hired. Hours will be 10am to 10pm, seven days a week. The decor will include cedar booths. 

Stay tuned for details on opening day and in the meantime, check out Wok Box’s website at www.wokbox.ca for their stir-fry menus that include a variety of sauce and meat choices. Yum yum!

Tremain Media awarded promo video contract

Leah Tremain, of Tremain Media, has been awarded the contract to produce the three minute promo video that will be shown at Vancouver International Airport in the lead up to and after the Vancouver 2010 Olympics early next year. Production has started in and around our community with completion set for the end of August.

The video is jointly funded by the City of Campbell River and the Vancouver International Airport Authority.

City and Vancouver International Airport fund Campbell River video

Thanks to $10,000 from the Vancouver Airport Authority, operators of Vancouver International Airport, and with  matching funds from City coffers to create a video highlighting the community,  Campbell River’s personality will be on display throughout YVR starting in the fall and ending at the conclusion of the 2010 Olympics.

The funds allow for the creation of a three minute video with the theme “Welcoming the World – Show the World Who You Are” will be shown through the airport  as travellers arrive in BC both during the lead up to the Olympics and during the Games.

The Spirit of BC Committee requested $10,000 at the June 2 council meeting, which was approved unanimously by Council. 

After the video has finished its run at Vancouver Airport  the City of Campbell River takes ownership. 

“The end product can be used by all of us” (for marketing and business attraction purposes) commented Infilm Film Commissioner Joan Miller to Council Tuesday night.

In a May 25 press release, Paul Levy, Vice President of Planning 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the Vancouver Airport Authority said, “YVR is British Columbia’s airport, and as the official airport for the 2010 Winter Games, we have a unique opportunity to showcase our province and country”. 

“No matter where our customers fly from or what language they speak, we want them to know they’ve arrived in British Columbia and at the host city of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” Levy added.

The video will also be available online at www.yvrconnections.com.

YVR expects to welcome more than 17 million passengers in 2009, with an incremental 200,000 passengers travelling during February and March 2010 for the Games alone. As many as 80,000 passengers will use the airport per day at peak times during the Games.

All 16 communities chosen for these funds operate direct flights to Vancouver International Airport. Port Hardy, Tofino, Nanaimo, and Victoria also received money to produce their own promotional video.

Official presentation of local funds is expected over the coming weeks.  August 31 is the deadline for the video’s completion. The Spirit Committee is responsible for choosing the videographer who will film and edit the video.