BREAKERS – timely tidbits and follow-ups to previously published stories:
- Want to vote by mail? Order your ballot before October 17.
- We spoke too soon! 263 Buller Road is not cleaned up.
- RDN automated garbage system swings into gear
- Tide chart for Qualicum Beach
Want to vote by mail? Order your ballot before October 17.
If you are not comfortable going to a polling station during a pandemic, you can opt to vote by mail in the upcoming provincial election. Don’t delay though — Elections BC recommends you request a vote-by-mail package before October 17.
Elections BC says all voters can vote by mail: you don’t need a special reason. You can request a vote-by-mail package online or by calling Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683. Completed vote-by-mail packages must be received by Elections BC before 8 p.m. (Pacific time) on Saturday, October 24.
We spoke too soon! 263 Buller still not cleaned up.
Faith and David Robertson alerted us to an assumption we made in a recent Second Opinion QB article Town not enforcing builder compliance about the five-year-long nightmare neighbours of the “waterfront garbage dump” at 263 Buller Road. We had written, “We checked the property on September 18 and noted that the three large shipping containers, piles of decaying building materials and sundry garbage strewn around the property appear to have been cleared away, leaving only some concrete foundations. Finally, it appears that this mess is being cleaned up.”
Not so. The Robertsons informed us that “while they have made a start on the property it is by no means cleaned up. There are still piles of used wood, roof joists, metal siding, bags of insulation, crumbled cement and other things. They probably won’t be finished here for a few weeks. [Property owner] Kurt Miller then has the option of re-applying for a building permit and we can start all over again.”
We confirmed that this waterfront property is back to looking like the “unsafe, hazardous construction site” that it has been for most of the last five years.
RDN automated garbage system swings into gear
Starting October 1, 2020, the new automated curbside collection service will begin for all single-family dwellings within the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) excluding the City of Nanaimo. Residents can simply roll their new carts to the curb on their regularly scheduled collection day.
The RDN tells us that the new automated service is a cleaner, safer and smarter way to collect waste. Residents are reminded that all material must be placed inside their new carts with the lid completely closed. Carts need to have 1m (3ft) of clearance between the carts and any obstacles, such as parked cars, poles, trees, etc. and 3m (10ft) of clearance above.
The RDN collection trucks are Certified Clean Idle and more fuel efficient, which mean they will burn less fuel, and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Tide chart for Qualicum Beach
Note: if you are a boater or need to know exact tides in Qualicum Beach for other reasons, the best source of tidal information is the tide chart for nearby Northwest Bay on the Canadian Hydrographic Service website.
