Thanks to Our Broom Busters!
Several energetic community members took up the challenge to bust through some of the invasive broom on our highways and byways while it was in bloom and ripe for ripping away. Performing miracles on Miracle Way, Price Park, and Mile 77 Park was the sunrise team of Bee Greenway and Debbie Smith. Striking gold along the highway were weekend warriors of Jean Atkinson, Eva and Garry Fearon, Lori LaFave, Sandra and Brent McAffee, Julia Martinusen, Steve Watts, and Randall Wilson. Nipping the buds in the neighbourhoods were Erin Barton and Cathy Kanno. If we’ve missed any broom slayers, please let us know and we’ll give you a shout-out next time. As long as broom’s in bloom, continue to cut it away, especially if it’s invading your property. Next year, once we’re (hopefully) past Covid protocols, we plan to organize a community event and make even more headway on this pesky invasive species. For more information on broom busting, check out: www.broombusters.org.
Fly Your Flags for Canada Day
Once again, July 1 is time to hoist those maple leaf flags high and show our Canadian pride throughout Youbou and Area I. Enjoy decking out your own holiday gatherings with as many flags and as much red and white as you can muster, as we return to a more normal patriotic celebration. And if you wish to connect with others, the Youbou Community of Peace is planning a July 1stcelebration in the Youbou Church basement from 11 am to 3 pm.
Weekly Trash Pick-Up
Our trash pick-up schedule for Youbou and Area I will switch to weekly collection starting on Friday, June 18. Recycling in the blue bins will continue to be picked up only every other Friday.
Lifeguards and Swim Lessons
It’s time to sign up for swimming lessons at Arbutus Park. Lessons will run from July 6 through August 26. You can register at reccowichan.ca. For more information, go to cvrd.bc.ca Parks&Rec
For those just wanting to swim with a little extra supervision, lifeguards will be on duty from July 3 through August 29 until 5 pm every day. They start work at 10 am on weekdays and noon on weekends.
Church Services Resume
Sunday services at the Youbou Community church are starting a summer schedule. Check the Community of Peace Group web site or the Youbou Connection facebook page or call 778-429-8100 for schedule details.
Youbou Regatta Cancelled
Unfortunately, the annual Youbou regatta and parade is once again off the table for the town. Due to the uncertainties with Covid protocols and the advance time needed for planning, this event could just not happen this year. Let’s all look forward to bringing back the firehall breakfast, world’s shortest parade, the belly-flop contest, and all the fun of the regatta in August 2022.
Laketown Ranch 2020 Concerts Cancelled
Both Sunfest and Laketown Shaketown concerts have been cancelled for the summer of 2021. Laketown Shakedown has been rescheduled to June 30-July 2, 2022 and Sunfest has been switched to July 28-31, 2022. The musical line-up for both events will be announced at a later date. While many Youbou residents don’t attend these events, the town is affected by increased traffic and visitors during these busy concert weekends, so these changes are worth noting.
Yount School Update
The Youbou Innovation and Development Society (YIDA) reported that School District 79 (SD 79) had received four other offers besides the YIDA offer to purchase the school site. The real estate agent for SD 79 advised Yida representatives that the school board did not intend to proceed with the offer from YIDA.Representatives from YIDA are waiting for further details about the purchaser of the site and hope to engage with the prospective owners to see if the school building can be retained.
Sign Up for Emergency Notifications
The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD), its partner municipalities, and First Nations have launched a new and improved system to send emergency alerts and advisories to residents and visitors to the Cowichan region, including Youbou and Area I.
Cowichan Alert is a robust, easy-to-use platform that allows the timely delivery of information to residents, covering everything from fires and floods to road closures. You can download the free app on your smartphone, smart device and home computer, and personalize tour notifications by type, severity and location, ensuring you only receive information that is relevant to you.
“This new system will improve the ability of local governments and emergency agencies in the Cowichan Valley to get critical and timely information into the hands of residents,” said Aaron Stone, Chair of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. “It is our hope that every resident and business owner signs up, so they can stay informed about what’s happening in our communities, avoid dangerous situations and potentially even save lives.”
You can sign up for phone, text and email alerts, however phone and text will only be used in life-threatening and imminent emergencies. To sign up for Cowichan Alert and download the Alertable app, go to www.cowichanalert.ca
Zoom Update from Mosaic
submitted by Pam Jorgenson, RPF, Land Use Forester, Mosaic
In an effort to keep Youbou residents abreast of the latest information, Mosaic is pleased to provide an update on our activities in your area.
Harvest Planning:We wish to share some proposed plans for harvesting with the community. Our designs are for small openings, in alignment with plans we discussed in 2018. On Thursday, June 17 from 5pm-6:30pm, our staff will host a Zoom meeting for residents of Youbou, at which we will present our 2021-2023 proposed harvest plans. To sign up to attend, please click the link here: https://www.mosaicforests.com/youbou-planning-update.You will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link and instructions one week in advance of the meeting. For those who cannot attend, please send an email to pam.jorgenson@mosaicforests.comrequesting an informational brochure containing the presentation details, which will be ready to circulate by the end of June.
Road Conditions:In the coming days, Mosaic will undertake dust treatments beyond our paved sections of Northshore Road, and will monitor conditions throughout the summer. We have also completed gravel improvement in pull-outs along the paved sections of the Northshore Road. We’re in the process of removing the truck wash, after determining it to be of limited utility, given the other measures taking place. Along with Area I director Klaus Kuhn and key representatives from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, we have recently visited some public sections of Youbou Road and understand that more evaluation of drainage structures is currently taking place. The goal is to reduce the build-up of fine particles on roadsides, which causes mud and dust to accumulate.
New hiking and biking trails:We’re very excited to announce our partnership with the Lake Cowichan Trail Blazer Society, whose members will build mountain biking and hiking trails on our lands south of Lake Cowichan. We hope residents around Cowichan Lake, including Area I hikers and bikers, will enjoy this wonderful collaboration!
As always, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns about our activities via email at Pam.Jorgenson@MosaicForests.com
A Word from Klaus
submitted by Klaus Kuhn, Area I CVRD Regional Director
Mosaic has announced that they wish to inform the community about their plans to start logging some of the trees behind Youbou.
Somebody asked me: “What will you do about that and where do you stand on this issue?”
For an elected representative, this represents a conundrum. There is my personal opinion and then there is my opinion as the Area I representative of the CVRD.
My personal opinion is that I would prefer that Mosaic not harvest trees on the hillside behind Youbou. I would like to leave the hillside undisturbed, for aesthetic reasons as well as for environmental reasons. I also hope we can preserve the last stands of old-growth trees. Some years ago, after Jeff Zweig, the CEO of Mosaic, made a presentation to the CVRD Board, I sent him a letter stating that I would like my children, grandchildren and their offspring to have the chance to see how really old trees look in the forest. With today’s harvesting rotation of about 70 years, we may lose that opportunity forever.
These are my personal opinions, but there are personal opinions, and then there is the law.
My opinion as your representative at the CVRD has to be different, because the CVRD has no jurisdiction when it comes to Private Forestlands. I cannot say to Mosaic: ”I don’t want you to cut those trees,” because my opinion carries no weight. Mosaic is entitled to cut trees on their own property. They will have to adhere to safety, wildlife, and environmental regulations, but neither the CVRD nor I can stop them from logging.
Additionally, someone mentioned that I do not communicate enough with you—the residents of Area I. Maintaining good communication is a challenge for every public servant and improvements can always be made. I have to admit that I prefer Town Hall Meetings or direct person-to-person conversations, but during this past long COVID year, we could not meet in person for updates. If you would like to reach me, I am here, just know that I prefer an email or phone call rather than Facebook, so I can respond directly to you. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding. Let’s plan for more communication with each other as our community returns to a more normal state.You can always contact me by email at: klaus.kuhn@cvrd.bc.ca or, by phone at: 250 745 6243 or 250 701 3145.
Are You a YCA Member?
The Youbou Community Association is involved in helping community activities happen, such as the monthly newsletter, holiday decorating, hall dances and other events throughout the year. While we love our facebook friends, an official family lifetime membership in the organization is just $10 and involves filling out a form. It is a key to knowing what’s going on around Youbou as well as giving you a vote at our annual meetings. We’ll email you our colourful community newsletter every month. To join, reach out to cherylmtutor@gmail.com
Got News?
If you’d like to contribute news for the newsletter about a public event happening (or not happening) in or around Youbou and Area I, please send particulars about date, time and place to julia@raedwulf.org. You can also check our web site at youbouyca.comand our facebook page for the latest information.
Newsletter on Vacation
Note that this issue of the newsletter is the summer issue, rather than the June issue. The newsletter will be on vacation in July and August, but will be back for September, full of exciting events planned for a hopefully “normal” fall. Enjoy summer in Youbou!
Your YCA Board
Chair: Julia Martinusen
Co-Chair: Lori LaFave
Secretary: Randall Wilson
Treasurer: Steve Watt
Social: Eva Fearon
Garry Fearon
Publicity: Allan Gott
Membership: Cheryl Morgan
At large: Spencer Day
At large: Debbie Smith