News

Tsatassaya White Gabriola Arts Council At the Gabriola Arts Council, we’ve been hard at work preparing for the fall programming of “Breaking Bannock,” which is dedicated to uniting our community through cultural and educational events. In Canada since 2012 each...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News A special general meeting has been called by the Board of the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District for September 18. Two items are on the agenda for the meeting. The first is the Long Range Plan for the Gabriola Volunteer Fire...

Alexander Varty Lulu Performing Arts Listen closely and you can hear the ocean: a deep, thrumming pulse that evokes the surf breaking on the long beaches of Meares Island or the Esowista Peninsula. And is that birdsong? Perhaps the call of a varied thrush or a...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Board of Trustees for the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District (Fire Board) held their regular meeting last week on September 4. Before the meeting began, a member of the public - identified as Wayne Mercier - set up a tripod...

HOPE Centre Submitted Article When Suzanne Verstraete began her role as Executive Director at The HOPE Centre in 2021, her son, who had just turned two years old at the time, was awaiting an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. This process, along with coordinating all...

The Queen of New Westminster. BC Ferries photo Sounder News Following the recovery of the 60-year-old Queen of New Westminster’s propeller from the seabed September 7, BC Ferries announced that repairs required to the ship will keep it out of service for approximately...

Sounder News As all students in BC head back to school this week, they will be entering into buildings where restrictions on personal digital devices have been put in place by the provincial government. This past May, Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools adopted a policy...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Major and minor capital submissions for Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools include two for Gabriola Elementary School and multiple for Nanaimo District Secondary School. The board of education...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News In June, it was announced that Gabriola Elementary was selected as one of the schools that will receive school district before and after school care for this coming 2024-2025 school year. According to media representatives with...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is introducing a new waste diversion bylaw for all commercial, institutional, industrial and multi-family buildings throughout the region in January 2025. This new bylaw will apply to buildings with...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Gabriola Fire Chief Will Sprogis is encouraging the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to improve the mowing alongside Gabriola roadways. Sprogis said this past week, MOTI typically does the mowing in the early spring - however,...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) says that the Recreation, Parks, and Trails Master Plan for Electoral Area B will be resuming this coming winter. The Master Plan is intended to guide the management and development of parks,...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A new parental leave policy adopted by the Regional District of Nanaimo board allows for up to six months paid parental leave for directors. The board adopted the new policy and an amendment...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The Regional District of Nanaimo board of directors have added an additional staff position to the fall’s financial plan deliberations that would support the implementation of a five-year...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder In discussing when the Regional District of Nanaimo should wind down its leadership role in a legislative reform effort for B.C. regional districts, the board of directors voted to leave it...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Gabriola Fire Improvement District is able to list additional services within a bylaw, should those services be required outside of the listed goal of fire protection. Fire Chief Will Sprogis contacted the Sounder after the publication...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The regional landfill’s lifespan is now expected to be longer than estimated previously. As per a staff report delivered at the June 18 Regional District of Nanaimo board meeting, the 2024...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Last week, on Wednesday, August 7, BC Ferries added one extra round trip to the end of the schedule. This came at the end of an evening which saw vehicles lined up far down Port Drive towards the Helijet terminal, and travellers reporting a...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder There are two candidates vying for the open seat on Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools’ board of education. The nomination period for the trustee by-election closed Aug. 9 with two candidates...

Woodworker Jamie Doig created the bench for the GaLTT Wind Phone which was installed in the 707 Community Park on Gabriola. Submitted photo Gabriola Land and Trails Trust (GaLTT) In 2010 Japanese garden designer Itaru Sasaki set up an old telephone booth in his garden...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A project that will result in some of the most detailed mapping of land types and ecosystems in southwest B.C. needs volunteers to provide on-the-ground support. Action for Adaptation, a...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A report on banning fireworks sales in Regional District of Nanaimo electoral areas will be developed following support from the region’s fire chiefs. The fire services committee passed a...

Firefighters Ben Hooton (left) and Flynn McCreath with the attendees of this year’s Junior Firefighting Camp held in partnership with the Gabriola Recreation Society. Submitted photoGabriola Volunteer Fire Department Submitted article In July, the Gabriola Volunteer...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Board of the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District has been asked if it is considering whether it has the authority to collect taxes to pay for the medical call-outs responded to by the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department. The...

BC Ferries will be running a trial schedule from Aug 12 to Aug 16, with the second ship schedule starting and finishing one round trip later than usual.Heather O’Sullivan Co-Chair, Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee As you probably know, BC Ferries is running a trial...