Cortes Currents
1,486 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 23 hours ago -Cortes Currents is a news platform that asks what's current in Cortes and the Discovery Islands. Web articles & radio podcasts: Cortes Island, Quadra Island, Discovery Islands, Campbell River: news, lifestyle, local politics, affordable housing, economy, food security, health, ferries, tourism, history, culture, environmental issues, sustainable forestry, oyster farming, the arts, First Nations, energy, climate change, overshoot
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Episodes
Meeting of Cortes Island's small businesses
September 18, 2023 23:43 - 5 minutes - 11.6 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Sixteen Cortes Island business people, plus board members from the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA), came out to the Conversation Cafe in Mansons Hall on Thursday September 14. They came from Whaletown, Cortes Bay and Mansons Landing. There were representatives from the construction sector, value added wood products, food production and cottage industries like cosmetics and jewelry. Some had been in business for years, and others were j...
How can the region promote free stores and other waste reducing facilities
September 18, 2023 14:32 - 2 minutes - 6.19 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - At a time when the average Canadian spends more than $3,000 a year on clothing, many Cortes Island residents are satisying their personal needs and disposing of clothing through the local freestore. Similarly, Creative Deconstruction has suppiled materials used in ten new homes on Cortes Island. Mark Vonesch, the Regional Director for Cortes Island, suggests that centres like this may offer a model that needs to be promoted throughout the Comox and Strathcona Re...
Anonymous donor gives 250k for Cortes residents in need
September 15, 2023 12:13 - 5 minutes - 7.64 MBLouis Belcourt/ CKTZ News - An anonymous donor has donated around $250,000 to create a one time, experimental grant program that gives directly to the Cortes community. The Cortes Island Community Foundation (CICF) was chosen to create the program and distribute the funds in the form of one time, cash "gifts" to individuals. The gifts never have to be paid back, and the CICF do not need receipts of how the cash was spent. "We want people to apply for money for their specific needs instead o...
Proposed Open Fire Ban & moving towards a Dog Control Service
September 15, 2023 11:31 - 5 minutes - 13.5 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Regional Director Mark Vonesch brought two Cortes Island motions before the SRD Board on Wednesday, September 13. Both were passed with no opposing votes. The first was to draw up an Open Burning Bylaw in the parts of Cortes Island within the South Cortes Fire Protection Area. However the electorate needs to approve the second item, a proposed Dog Control Service. Vonesch was on the way home, waiting in the ferry line-up at Heriot Bay, when he spoke with Corte...
A new semester at the Cortes Island Academy
September 14, 2023 12:45 - 8 minutes - 18.5 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Cortes Island Academy kicked off its second year with a ‘meet and greet’ barbeque on Tuesday, September 5. Students and homestay parents met with some of the people working behind the scenes. School started the following day. “Right now, the students are just going back into the classroom after being in Carrington for the last four days on a camping trip that started on the weekend and went into the week. They are still in the outdoor education fundament...
The fate of 3 wharves in Area C
September 14, 2023 11:50 - 4 minutes - 10.9 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been nine years Transport Canada (TC) transferred administration of three wharves in Discovery Islands-Mainland Inlets (Area C) to the Strathcona Regional District (SRD). The SRD was also given $2.9 Million for maintenance and upgrades that were to be completed before November 2024. The work was not done and now the cost of upgrading the wharves Owen Bay on Sonora Island, Surge Narrows on Read Island, and Port Neville on the northern shore of the Johnston...
Folk U: Open Mic at Friday Live Music
September 12, 2023 21:44 - 1 hour - 245 MBManda Aufochs Gillespie/Folk U - The tenth and last concert in the Friday Live Music Series was an open mic afternoon. Welcoming in the fall on September 1st in the Village Commons tent, the event was a well-attended last hoorah. Performers featured were Louis Belcourt, Sun Rob, Tashi, and Jemma & the Good Thing. Manda Aufochs Gillespie hosted the concert live on Folk U Radio. The series was sponsored by the Cortes Island Community Foundation. Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every ...
Folk U: Basil at Friday Live Music
September 12, 2023 21:21 - 1 hour - 182 MBManda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On Friday August 25th, Basil performed the ninth concert in the Friday Market Live Music Series. An island singer-songwriter, their music was beautiful and heartfelt. Manda Aufochs Gillespie hosted the concert live on Folk U Radio. The series was sponsored by the Cortes Island Community Foundation. Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeat...
Greg Osoba comes to Folk U Radio
September 12, 2023 20:56 - 59 minutes - 137 MBGreg Osoba comes to Folk U Radio by Cortes Currents (https://cortescurrents.ca/)
Paul Muskee on Klahoose Aquaculture & QXMC
September 12, 2023 13:34 - 10 minutes - 23.2 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Paul Muskee has been working for QXMC for close to 15 years and the last decade of that has been with Klahoose Aquaculture. “I feel like my life has led me this way. When I was younger, I did work in aquaculture and I did work in forestry. I was also a mining technologist for a bunch of years, but I grew up around Powell River, Lund and Desolation Sound. Running boats has always been part of what I've done. I've loved working for Klahoose. They've been a gre...
A blueprint for Cortes Island's future: Why the Conversation Cafes are important
September 11, 2023 12:24 - 7 minutes - 18.2 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) is hosting an in-person community discussion with Cortes Island’s small businesses in the Pioneer Room at Mansons Hall on Thursday Sept 14, 2023. This is the first in a series of 6 ‘Conversation Cafes’ meant to update Cortes Island’s Local Economic Action Plan (LEAP) in an inexpensive way. “Our Local Economic Action Plan is five years out of date,” said Kate Maddigan, CCEDA’s Economic Developme...
Ann Mortifee: A 3 year pilgrimage & returning to music
September 07, 2023 21:23 - 26 minutes - 59.8 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - (The second is a series of interviews with Ann Mortifee, click here to access part one.) Ann Mortifee seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough few artists even dream of, when she left the music industry in 1975. EMI Records had just produced her second album and set up a world tour. Yet Ann’s inner voice clearly stated, “if you go down this path, you will not fulfill your destiny.” She resisted at first, but finally told her music director, “I'm leaving ...
At the Cortes Library: Insects a Presentation
September 06, 2023 02:08 - 7 minutes - 17.4 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Sean Nightingale, from Wild Cortes, will be giving a presentation about insects, at the Cortes Island Regional Library from 5:30 to 7;00 tonight.
Dreaming I am Ann
September 04, 2023 18:46 - 28 minutes - 66.2 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The first in a series on interviews: Ann Mortifee is probably the most famous musician on Cortes Island, which is more of a compliment than it sounds like because there are a lot of talented musicians on Cortes. However from the start of our interview, it was apparent this story was about a lot more than singing. I had this bizarre feeling to lead with the question, ‘When did you start becoming Ann Mortifee?’ Her answer came out of the memories of a 4-years-...
QXMC: Search for a new General Manager
September 03, 2023 12:36 - 7 minutes - 16.1 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - QXMC, the Klahoose First Nation development company, is looking for a new General Manager. “We’ve retained a search company that has a great track record of looking for candidates of this type of size. In the past, we’ve used companies like Boyden that sort of do searches for Fortune 500 companies, and that’s not what we’re looking for,” explained Ron Buchhorn, Chairman of the QXMC Board. “We’re looking for people who can run a diverse business. We’re proba...
QXMC: The Squirrel Cove Project
August 31, 2023 23:53 - 4 minutes - 9.79 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been almost two years since a parcel of land the Klahoose acquired in Squirrel Cove was added to the reserve. Shortly after that, the Klahoose development corporation (QXMC) discussed plans to develop 30-40 campsites. Then there was talk of a gas station. All of these ideas became much more real about a month ago, when a contractor started falling trees. Now there is a cleared area and freshly drilled well on the part of the property west of Squirrel ...
nate hagen interview consolidated
August 31, 2023 22:36 - 12 minutes - 16.9 MBLouis Belcourt/ CKTZ News - Cortes Island's Manson's Hall will be host to a live production of "The Great Simplification" podcast this Monday evening for the first time. "The Great Simplification" is the #1 earth science podcast on Apple podcasts in Canada, the United States and other countries. The podcast has been producing episodes since early 2021. Guests are from a wide range of scientists, leaders, activists and thinkers and conversation topics span "human behavior, monetary/economic s...
What’s been happening with the renovations at Gorge Harbour
August 31, 2023 16:11 - 12 minutes - 29.3 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - t has been about seven months since operations at Klahoose Gorge Harbour were scaled back due to a need for extensive renovations. While much of it is not visible to the public, QXMC, the Klahoose First Nations development corporation, has been very busy since then. On Wednesday Ron Buchhorn, Chairman of the Board of QXMC, and Marco Bedetti, who has been Resort Manager since April, gave Cortes Currents an overview of what they are doing. Buchhorn explained...
Erin Robinsong's reading
August 30, 2023 14:55 - 10 minutes - 24 MBRecorded by Bill Weaver - Erin Robinsong's reading at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Book
Norm Gibbons: The beginnings of cultivated oysters, landscaping and novels
August 30, 2023 13:18 - 10 minutes - 24.8 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - By 1979, Norm Gibbons wanted a change. He had been one of the partners in the Refuge Cove Store for the past eight years. He had not yet decided to move to Cortes Island, when he started looking into the oyster sector. “Oysters weren't cultured at that point in time. There were just oysters out there. Anybody involved in the industry picked oysters, shucked them, and sold the shuck to Vancouver.” “Then I found out about this operation down in Lasqueti Island...
Nancy Beach vs the Property Assessment Review Panel
August 30, 2023 12:41 - 2 minutes - 4.95 MBSubmission by Nancy Beach - The opinions that follow are those of the person expressing them and not necessarily shared by Cortes Currents, or Cortes Radio. The following submission was made by Nancy Beach. After dealing with BC assessment for 17 years or more, in regard to my small farm on Salt Spring Island, I have come to the conclusion that: Farm assessments should be administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, not the Ministry of Housing. The system for assessing farm status needs...
Audio of 'BC Assessment v. Nancy Beach'
August 30, 2023 12:36 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBAudio from meeting recorded and submitted by Nancy Beach
Audio of BC Assessment v. Nancy Beach
August 30, 2023 12:36 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBAudio from meeting recorded and submitted by Nancy Beach
Ruth Ozeki's reading
August 29, 2023 17:08 - 20 minutes - 47.5 MBRecorded by Bill Weaver - Shaena Lambert's reading at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Book
At the Museum: An evening of real Hawaiian music
August 29, 2023 13:13 - 22 minutes - 52.1 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - years. He started coming after a family sailboat trip through Desolation Sound. “The last two days of that trip were spent at Manson's Landing and Gorge Harbour. And we just said, ‘holy cow, we got to check this island out!’ So the next summer we rented Cedar Moon for the first of many years and came up for one or two weeks, pretty much every summer since.” Antle is also the lead vocalist in a band that plays traditional Hawaiian music and this Thursday, Aug...
Shaena Lambert's reading
August 28, 2023 23:42 - 16 minutes - 36.7 MBRecorded by Bill Weaver - Shaena Lambert's reading at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Book
Rex Weyler's reading
August 28, 2023 16:17 - 18 minutes - 41.2 MBRecording by Bill Weaver - Rex Weyler's reading at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Book
Norm Gibbons' reading
August 28, 2023 15:05 - 22 minutes - 51.4 MBRecording by Bill Weaver - Norm Gibbons reading at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Book
Priya Huffman's reading
August 28, 2023 14:39 - 10 minutes - 9.28 MBRecording by Bill Weaver - Priya Huffman reading at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Books
25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Books
August 28, 2023 12:45 - 14 minutes - 33.8 MBRecording by Bill Weaver - On the evening of Friday August 20, 2023, in the Cortes Co-Op Courtyard, 155 people arrived with their folding chairs to attend a 25th Anniversary Celebration for Marnie’s Books. First Marnie gave a history of her book selling, and the origins of the Courtyard. Then Shaena Lambert, Rex Weyler, Priya Huffman, Norm Gibbons, Ruth Ozeki, and Erin Robinsong read from their writing. For two hours these wonderful presenters held this large crowd spellbound. This event was...
Can chainsaw use be prohibited during the summer heat?
August 26, 2023 18:20 - 4 minutes - 10.3 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The #1 complaint the Cortes Island Fire Department received this summer was that some people continued to use chainsaws despite the drought and the possibility of sparking a wildfire. Interim Fire Chief Eli McKenty said this occurred in multiple locations across Cortes Island. He explained the current regulations are ‘too fuzzy’ to enforce and a possible solution may be adding chainsaw use to the proposed Cortes Island Open Burning Bylaw currently before the Str...
FOCI reports increased numbers of Barn Swallows and Nighthawks, fewer heron nets
August 25, 2023 11:55 - 3 minutes - 7.18 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) are reporting a possible resurgence of the island’s Nighthawk and Barn Swallow populations, but found fewer than normal Great Blue Heron nests. “FOCI has been interested in Species at Risk here on Cortes since we started. We have a section on our website about Species at Risk. You can go look them up. We love to engage the community. Each year, we put a spotlight on some Species at Risk to highlight them and bring awareness ...
Beginnings of the Co-op at Refuge Cove
August 24, 2023 16:26 - 19 minutes - 44.3 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Norm Gibbon’s novel ‘Sea Without Shores’ is set in the tiny village of Refuge Cove, on West Redonda Island, during some of the years he was a member of the community. Refuge Cove’s story goes back several decades before that, but in today’s broadcast Norm outlines some of the history surrounding the beginnings of the Refuge Cove Land and Housing Co-op.
A walk to Carrington Lagoon and Grandmother Grove - George Sirk
August 23, 2023 17:32 - 17 minutes - 40 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - George Sirk explained some of the history and wildlife that he and Kim and their friend Janet Gemmel recently explored during a walk to Carrington Lagoon and Grandmother’s Grove. “Janet Gemmel came to visit us for a week. Her husband, Jim Palmer, died last December. He had a very rare lung cancer.” “Jim and Jan lived out in Carrington, at the Reversing Rapids, in the 80’s. So Jan wanted to take the ashes back and release them there, but she forgot to bring th...
Michael Keith returns to Live Music Fridays
August 22, 2023 16:27 - 1 hour - 215 MBManda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - Michael Keith played a beautiful set in the Village Commons tent on the afternoon of August 18th. The eighth concert in the Friday Market Live Music Series was well-attended and full of laughter. Playing an entirely improvised set, Michael entranced the audience with a wide variety of musical textures – made entirely through his guitar and pedals. About halfway through the concert, he began to improvise an song about the Village Commons. He sang: “The Villag...
How the Cortes Island Fire Department has prepared
August 22, 2023 11:56 - 10 minutes - 23.9 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There have been large wildfires on Cortes Island, in the distant past. The largest shown in the 2011 Wildfire protection plan was more than 330 acres in extent, and there were two fires that burned close to 255 acres. Those were Those were in 1932, 1924 and 1923, respectively. There hasn’t been a fire larger than 10 hectares since at least 1950. This could change, as our summers become warmer and dryer. Last week Premier Ebby declared a state of emergency in...
Folk U: Heather Wolf and the Wild Revival come to the Village Commons
August 21, 2023 18:02 - 1 hour - 190 MBLouis Belcourt/ Folk U - On August 11, Heather Wolf and the Wild Revival played the seventh concert in the Friday Market Live Music series under the Village Commons tent. Performing an eclectic mix of music, they captured the attention of the audience with their sweet harmonies, contagious energy, and vulnerability. The Portland-based band tries to come to Cortes every summer and were originally brought by Heather Wolf. Heather has family ties to Channel Rock and has been a both a camper and...
Wildfire Update for our area: Day 4 of the State of Emergency
August 21, 2023 12:27 - 5 minutes - 11.8 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In the midst of the worst fire season in BC’s history, Premier Ebby declared a state of Emergency last Friday. However there are no major fires in the Discovery Islands. The Village Bay Lake Fire, on Quadra Island, seems to have been brought under control in a single day. Aside from that, the closest wildfires are in Phillips Arm and the Strathcona Provincial Park. Cortes Currents asked BC Wildfire Information Officer Kimberly Kelly for an update on local...
Why Cortes Island does not need Facebook
August 21, 2023 10:58 - 5 minutes - 13.4 MBRoy L Hales/Cortes Currents - While there are Facebook groups on Cortes Island, they have largely been marginalized by a wiki style community bulletin board. The Tideline is not a place for personal webpages or a typical news website, but for the past 20 years most of island’s population have used it to post notices, community announcements, reports and advertisements. Someone suggested that this may be a model for the rest of the country to emulate, now that Facebook has barred Canadian ne...
Village Bay Lake Fire smaller and 'being held'
August 18, 2023 20:06 - 3 minutes - 7.48 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Village Bay Lake Fire, on Quadra Island, is no longer considered out of controi. The size has shrank from 4 to 1,5 hectares in extent, and according to BC Wildfire Information Officer Sam Bellion, it is now ranked as being held. “Last night, they did blanket it in retardent. Crews worked through the night to action the western side of the fire. This morning, when we saw that update to the size, they also observed just rank one low smoldering ground fire al...
Final - Sandcastle Day on Cortes Island
August 18, 2023 11:26 - 9 minutes - 21 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Sunday, August 13, was Sandcastle Day at Smelt Bay on Cortes Island. There were about 20 entries, made by sculptors whose ages ranged anywhere from 18 months to 81 years. Some of participants live on Cortes, but others are visitors from as far away as Campbell River, Victoria, Vancouver, Langley, Quebec City or even England. It was a hot, but very windy day and you can hear the breeze pushing against my mic throughout the broadcast. Three of the entries were a...
Cortes Fire Department creates wildfire brigade, begins recruiting
August 17, 2023 12:25 - 9 minutes - 13.6 MBLouis Belcourt/ CKTZ News - The Cortes Island Fire Department is creating a new Wildfire Brigade to serve the community. It’s function will be to support the department during major wildfire events with Wildland firefighting, structural protection, and support tasks. In a deployment, Wildland members will work in teams supervised by existing department officers or team leaders. "We had a fire on the island in late June, the largest wildfire event we've had in many years. And a lot of conver...
Denise Wolda: Coming home to Cortes
August 16, 2023 21:55 - 24 minutes - 55.3 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The course of Denise Larson’s life took a radical change in 1983, when she and two of her band members came to Merville. They were professional musicians promoting her third record. It was nice to get out of Vancouver, but Denise did not have any expectations of a small dance in the Merville Hall. Then Ron Wolda walked into her life. She had actually met him two years earlier in Courtenay, but at that time they both had other partners. Now they were single. Ron ...
Behind the scenes: The 60 heroes of Lovefest
August 15, 2023 14:39 - 7 minutes - 17.6 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Behind Lovefest’s ongoing success, and the success of so many festivals and community events around the province, is a dedicated corps of volunteers. According to Amy Robertson, who oversaw this part of the festival, “We had about 60 volunteers this year. They were doing everything from making sure that parking is safe out on the road and that the blue bus has a good place to park. Volunteers sell tickets, help the vendors and they're setting up. They do a l...
Why is Lovefest such an ongoing success
August 14, 2023 15:29 - 19 minutes - 45.5 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - I can’t take too much heat anymore and had to pack it in by 4:30, but it was already apparent that this year’s Lovefest was another success. How does a little music festival on a remote island consistently draw crowds larger than the entire adult population? Singer/songwriter Denise Wolda gave a partial answer to this during a totally unrelated interview a few days ago: “ I wanted to talk a little about the current musical scene on Cortes. This is a very ...
Denise Wolda: From Farmer's daughter to professional Musician (Part 1 of 2).
August 11, 2023 14:17 - 23 minutes - 53.3 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - If Cortes Island had an anthem, it would very likely be the chorus of 'Feel the Island.' The songwriter, Denise Larsen, was a professional musician for twenty years prior to her marriage to Ron Wolda. Her story goes back through the folk revolution to rural Saskatchewan. In the first of a two part series about her work, Denise Wolda talks about her journey from being a farmer's daughter to the 20 years she was a 'professional' musician.
Songwriters of Cortes: a sharing of songs and experiences
August 10, 2023 15:59 - 16 minutes - 15.1 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Four of Cortes Island’s women songwriters, and one man, got together for an afternoon of sharing stories and songs on August 6. More than fifty people gathered under the big top in the Village Commons to listen to Denise Wolda, Josie Simpson, Juli Nelson, Brenda and DJ Hanson.
Last Minute updates from Lovefest
August 09, 2023 11:24 - 4 minutes - 11.4 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Four days until Lovefest, at Linnaea Farm on Saturday August 12. Rex Weyler has a couple of updates: “One thing that's new is Amber from Klahoose is going to sing us a couple of songs early on in the show. The other thing, that I just heard from our community action bus driver. is that people can actually flag the bus down anywhere on the route between Manson's Hall, Gorge Hall, and Squirrel Cove Store during the day. If you go out on the road in front of y...
The First Month as Project Manager of the Village Commons
August 08, 2023 15:38 - 8 minutes - 20.2 MBRoy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Richard Andrews compared his first month as Project Manager of the Village Commons, in downtown Mansons Landing, to the years he was the Executive Director of a non profit in Vancouver. “There's a lot of planning going on right now. We're in phase one of our build. We have the welcome pole to make, and a big pavilion. The funnest work is going to be making a playground. The vending zone and the playground are mysterious right now. I have an idea of what they...
Folk U at the Friday Market Live Music: Jemma Hicken
August 07, 2023 17:14 - 1 hour - 204 MBManda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - On Friday Aug 4 Jemma Hicken joined Manda Aufochs Gillespie under the big tent in the village commons for another edition of Folk U’s coverage of the Friday Live Music series. Musician/reporter Louis Belcourt was a special guest. Jemma played from her newest CD, ‘Get It Together’ and talked about the production process. “It takes a lot to make a CD, mostly money,” she explained. “I actually cold contacted this guy named Corwin Fox, whose style of music ...