Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District

Members of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation talk with Port Alberni RCMP on March 17, 2020 at Sutton Pass along Highway 4. (Nora O’Malley photo)

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation asks travellers to stay home

Members of the west coast nation were at Sutton Pass trying to turn people away

 

A locked gate prevents access to a logging road on Mosaic Forests land in 2017. (ELENA RARDON/ Alberni Valley News)

Pilot project aimed at keeping access open to Vancouver Island back country

Trial access plan in Alberni could provide template for other Mosiac forestry roads and properties

 

Construction takes place on Bamfield Main in early February 2021. (PHOTO COURTESY CTV NEWS)

Ongoing Bamfield roadwork unrelated to planned $30M fix

Construction by Mosaic unrelated to $30M upgrade ordered in wake of fatal bus crash

 

The Vancouver Island Connector along with the Tofino Bus will not be resuming service this month and will remain suspended until further notice. Black Press file photo

Suspended bus service sparks concern across Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island Connector will not be resuming service this month

The Vancouver Island Connector along with the Tofino Bus will not be resuming service this month and will remain suspended until further notice. Black Press file photo
En route to service clients on the Kennedy forest road, KUU-US community outreach workers Kara Bryant, Mark Vandervelde and Michelle Anderson show some of the essential items they provide to those in need. (Nora O’Malley photo)

Crisis workers expand services to West Coast’s forestry roads

“The district has an obligation to take care of their workers as do employers.”

En route to service clients on the Kennedy forest road, KUU-US community outreach workers Kara Bryant, Mark Vandervelde and Michelle Anderson show some of the essential items they provide to those in need. (Nora O’Malley photo)
A Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation guardian took this photo of dozens of vehicles parked along a forest service road in the Kennedy watershed. (Submitted photo)

Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District looks at enforcement of illegal camping

ACRD currently does not have an existing bylaw service to tackle the issue

A Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation guardian took this photo of dozens of vehicles parked along a forest service road in the Kennedy watershed. (Submitted photo)
Reverend Brenda Nestegaard Paul prepares to record a worship session at Trinity Anglican/ Lutheran Church in Port Alberni. Nestegaard Paul has been creative in keeping her congregation connected through COVID-19. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Island faith leaders voice opposition to churches defying COVID-19 restrictions

‘The church is not just a building,’ says Vancouver Island pastor

Reverend Brenda Nestegaard Paul prepares to record a worship session at Trinity Anglican/ Lutheran Church in Port Alberni. Nestegaard Paul has been creative in keeping her congregation connected through COVID-19. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
A hungry black bear paid a visit to a Beaver Creek home on Friday, Oct. 30. He spent a few hours napping in a tree after eating some leftover apples. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

Wildlife conflicts down in Alberni Valley and on the West Coast

WildSafe BC reports numbers from 2020 season

A hungry black bear paid a visit to a Beaver Creek home on Friday, Oct. 30. He spent a few hours napping in a tree after eating some leftover apples. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
The electoral office for Mid Island-Pacific Rim riding was a quiet place in Port Alberni on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (ELENA RARDON/ Alberni Valley News)

BC VOTES 2020: Polls have closed and counting of votes has begun

Mid Island-Pacific Rim riding could have to wait for a winner to be declared

The electoral office for Mid Island-Pacific Rim riding was a quiet place in Port Alberni on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (ELENA RARDON/ Alberni Valley News)
The School District 70 administration office in Port Alberni. AV NEWS FILE PHOTO

School District 70 gets a new name

Name change reflects district’s West Coast roots

The School District 70 administration office in Port Alberni. AV NEWS FILE PHOTO
Scott Fraser, MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim, stands with his family. (FACEBOOK PHOTO)

Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser won’t seek re-election

Fraser one of two MLAs to announce intentions as election rumours swirl in B.C.

Scott Fraser, MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim, stands with his family. (FACEBOOK PHOTO)
The bus involved in a crash on Bamfield Road on Friday, Sept. 13 is towed away from the scene. PHOTO COURTESY CTV NEWS VANCOUVER ISLAND

$30M plan announced to make Bamfield Road safer

Gov’t announcement comes as first anniversary of UVic student deaths approaches

The bus involved in a crash on Bamfield Road on Friday, Sept. 13 is towed away from the scene. PHOTO COURTESY CTV NEWS VANCOUVER ISLAND
In 2019, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District installed this gate on the gravel road that leads to the West Coast landfill to mitigate illegal dumping. The gate is locked when the landfill closes. (Nora O’Malley photo)

Gates considered at Kennedy watershed

Tofino-Ucluelet locals reflect on solutions to clean up the backroads

In 2019, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District installed this gate on the gravel road that leads to the West Coast landfill to mitigate illegal dumping. The gate is locked when the landfill closes. (Nora O’Malley photo)
A Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation guardian took this photo about a month ago of dozens of vehicles parked along a forest service road in the Kennedy watershed. (Submitted photo)

Ucluelet RCMP increase patrol at Kennedy watershed

“There’s no social distancing and there is a lot of drugs; total destruction of the environment.”

A Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation guardian took this photo about a month ago of dozens of vehicles parked along a forest service road in the Kennedy watershed. (Submitted photo)
NEWS FILE PHOTO

School District 70 announces school restart plans

Students in School District 70 will only have two options for learning come September

NEWS FILE PHOTO
Lieutenant Ron Suits was a firefighter with Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department for four and a half years until he died while working a fire on July 16, 2020. (PHOTO COURTESY SPROAT LAKE VFD)

Vancouver Island fire departments to hold service for fallen firefighter

Sproat Lake volunteer firefighter Lt. Ron Suits died at the scene of a barn fire on July 16

Lieutenant Ron Suits was a firefighter with Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department for four and a half years until he died while working a fire on July 16, 2020. (PHOTO COURTESY SPROAT LAKE VFD)
Lieutenant Ron Suits was a firefighter with Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department for four and a half years until he died while working a fire on July 16, 2020. (PHOTO COURTESY SPROAT LAKE VFD)

Vancouver Island firefighters mourn one of their own

Volunteer firefighter Lt. Ron Suits remembered as one who loved to help others

Lieutenant Ron Suits was a firefighter with Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department for four and a half years until he died while working a fire on July 16, 2020. (PHOTO COURTESY SPROAT LAKE VFD)
Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department Chief Lucas Banton pours water on a barn fire on McCoy Lake Road on July 16, 2020. Crews from four fire departments in the Alberni Valley worked through the night to extinguish the fire, which caught in a hay barn at Tooth Acres, owned by retired dentist Dr. Fritz Zens. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Vancouver Island firefighter dies at scene of barn blaze

The volunteer firefighter suffered a medical emergency after arriving to assist

Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department Chief Lucas Banton pours water on a barn fire on McCoy Lake Road on July 16, 2020. Crews from four fire departments in the Alberni Valley worked through the night to extinguish the fire, which caught in a hay barn at Tooth Acres, owned by retired dentist Dr. Fritz Zens. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
All four Alberni Valley fire departments responded to a barn fire on McCoy Lake Road on Thursday, July 16. (SUSAN QUINN / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

Fire destroys barn at Vancouver Island hobby farm

Fire started while farmers at the farm west of Port Alberni were cutting hay

All four Alberni Valley fire departments responded to a barn fire on McCoy Lake Road on Thursday, July 16. (SUSAN QUINN / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
Cattle graze in a field at Arrowvale Farm and Campground on Hector Road near Port Alberni, B.C. (MIKE YOUDS/ Special to the News)

Island region one of three granted small-scale slaughter licensing status

Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District farmers can now apply for abattoir licence

Cattle graze in a field at Arrowvale Farm and Campground on Hector Road near Port Alberni, B.C. (MIKE YOUDS/ Special to the News)