Construction is already underway on a 22-acre property along the Island Hwy. north of Qualicum Beach, affectionately named Bear’s Buddies Animal Sanctuary, where senior, medically fragile, or unadoptable animals can age in peace and be monitored by a veterinarian.

But after investing $500,000 of their own money and $900,000 worth of external investments, Dr. Kimberly Atkinson-Spinks, her husband Keith, and their nonprofit organization are $70,000 short after having to pay unexpected money to move a house as a condition of their closing and securing of the land title before a Thursday, May 7 deadline.

“We have a crowdfunding platform going, and we’ve got a couple of thousand there. We’ve got some things that we’re trying to work in with other private people and have some possibilities, hitting up everybody that we know, friends, family, everybody, so many people are behind us.”

Atkinson-Spinks is looking to open an Island-first facility for aging dogs, but is days away from having the dream fail to materialize. (Image Credit: Bear’s Buddies Animal Foundation)

The idea behind the sanctuary is to allow animals who aren’t able to stay at their homes, for whatever reason, to live out the rest of their years in comfort on the expansive property.

Atkinson-Spinks said sometimes pet owners aren’t able to handle, either emotionally or financially, grim medical news regarding their animals, leading to euthanization before an animal is ready.

“There are times that we get a diagnosis that is ultimately going to be terminal, but they have so much life left in them, and the owners can’t handle it. They don’t want to see them deteriorate, there are lots of different reasons, and so they elect to let them go before they need to.”

She said the shelter system isn’t always set up to help animals with terminal diagnoses get adopted, leaving many dogs and cats in limbo.

“The dream was just to have a place for them so they could live out their last days, and because I’m a vet, I can recognize when they are ready to go and then let them go peacefully. But they don’t need to go before they’re ready.”

A veterinarian for nearly 30 years in the United States, with connections in New York, Idaho, and Washington State, Atkinson-Spinks moved to the region a few years ago with her husband Keith.

Long-term goals for the property and the foundation include a daycare and boarding centre and a mobile veterinary clinic serving different Vancouver Island communities, as well as various community events, including movies under the stars with four-legged friends welcome to attend.

Donations to the Foundation can be made online through a Zeffy crowdsourcing platform.

More information about Bear’s Buddies Sanctuary is available on their website.

Work is progressing on the site, with around $1.4 million committed to date. (Image Credit: Bear’s Buddies Animal Foundation)

We’re on Bluesky! Stay up to date on news across central Vancouver Island through Bluesky, by following @NanaimoNewsNOW.bsky.social.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

Dover Bay Robotics is charging up for the Skills Canada National Competition at the end of May, featuring high school students from across the country competing in over 40 trade and technology disciplines. 

Joe Spillman, Dover Bay robotics instructor, said four members of their Robotics Club represent skill, hard work, and teamwork. 

“Even one little thing going wrong with the robots going wrong during competition could affect your points and not allow you to qualify, so for them to win every game at provincials is outstanding.” 

Dover Bay Robotics instructor Joe Spillman demonstrating the results of a 3D printed robotic foot. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW.)

Dover Bay Robotics offers a club within the grade 8-12 curriculum, offering students resources to expand their ideas and enter competitions. 

With robotics becoming more mainstream in a variety of commercial applications, Spillman said his classroom has improved on many fronts since the program launched eight years ago. 

“The class in general has been upgraded with more equipment and more electronics, and this year we were able to get four brand new 3D printers from PAC (Parent Advisory Council), which has been such a huge benefit to the program.” 

Robotics at Dover Bay is much more than simply designing and building robots, Spillman said. 

Computer modelling and coding allow Spillman’s students to combine the worlds of software and robot production. 

“When I’m building projects for my classes, we are able to use the 3D printers and kids can model things online, and they can see what they’re making right away, and their eyes light up.” 

Dover Bay Robotics Club members headed to Toronto for the May 28 and 29 competition are a trio of grade 12 students: Haitao Yuan, Thomas Grounds and Jack Bannister, as well as ninth grade student Cody Croft. 

The team excelled at regionals at Wellington Secondary and last month at provincials in Abbotsford on the strength of three robots: two tele-operated and one autonomous bot. 

Croft said they excelled in a contest called ‘Fuses’ in Abbotsford. 

“We were one of only a few teams who were able to pull out all of the fuses and put in all the new ones in the correct order fairly repeatedly; that led us to success at provincials.” 

Another robot created by the club members successfully cleared debris and evacuated a mannequin out of a course, made to represent a factory.

Bannister said identifying problems and properly solving them is a huge part of excelling in robotics. 

In fact, Bannister and Robotic Club colleagues have deconstructed their robots to create even better versions of what they’ve made so far. 

“Improving a robot is something that’s going to happen at every step of the way; looking at each of the components and seeing what can be improved and what doesn’t need to be there in the first place,” Bannister said. 

Yuan said Dover Bay’s Robotic Club is the kind of specialty programming which makes a big difference in a lot of students’ lives, including his. 

“If I wasn’t doing robotics right now, after school every day I’d probably go home and sleep or play video games. I think having these specialized programs is important for high school kids to kind of know what they want to do in life.” 

Grounds, who has been part of the Dover Bay Robotics community for a few years, said he wasn’t entirely sure if robotics would lead to future career aspirations. 

However, he credits the program for offering clarity for his post-secondary and career aspirations. 

“It’s helped me really know that I want to become an engineer and go to UBC,” Grounds said. 

The club is attempting to raise $12,000 to cover the expenses of the four students and instructor Joe Spillman at the upcoming national competition in Toronto, which you can contribute toward here.

Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.

Data from Environment Canada showed the monitoring station at Nanaimo Airport registered record temperatures on both Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, as a ridge of high pressure brought unseasonably warm conditions and largely clear, blue skies.

Saturday saw Nanaimo break a 2016 record by just under half a degree when the mercury reached 27.4 degrees Celsius, while Sunday smashed a 1946 record by 2.5 degrees as instruments in the monitoring station recorded a maximum temperature of 28.1 degrees.

Records in the Nanaimo area have been kept since 1892.

The Harbour City wasn’t the only community basking in the heat and sunshine on Sunday.

Cache Creek, Lillooet, Osoyoos and Pemberton all reached over 30 degrees, while Comox, Campbell River, Port Alberni, Sechelt, and two stations in Victoria all set new records in the high 20s.

One monitoring station in Victoria Harbour saw the temperature reach 26.9 degrees, which broke a record of 25 degrees set in 1898.

More hot and dry conditions are expected through the foreseeable future, with forecasters calling for temperatures in the low to mid 20s for the first half of the week, before temperatures return to more seasonal norms beginning Thursday, May 7 and through the weekend.

No rain is forecast over the next seven days.

Average temperatures on the mid-Island for early May are maximums of around 16 degrees, and overnight lows of seven.

Follow us on Facebook. Join Everything Nanaimo on Facebook and stay connected with everything happening on central Vancouver Island.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

The first phase of a 195-unit, multi-storey rental housing build at the corner of Wallace St. and Wentworth St., owned and operated by TELUS Living, received an occupancy permit on Thursday, April 30, and began welcoming residents over the weekend.

Vice president of TELUS’ corporate real estate portfolio Manasweeta Bhatia told NanaimoNewsNOW the studio, one, two and three-bedroom units are available through their application process.

“We started our prospect tours [Thursday] into [Friday, May 1]. We’ve had a few families that have already visited, and there’s a lot of excitement in the community about the building opening. Leasing is available starting May 1…and we’ve got a few people that have already lined up with their application.”

A total of 145 units in the main building of the complex opened Friday, May 1, while the remainder will come at a later date, once construction in the second building is complete.

On-site amenities for residents include a fitness centre and rooftop patio, while a commercial space will be featured in the smaller building still under construction.

Bhatia said rents range from $1,500 per month to $3,500.

“We’ve got a whole span from about 343 square feet for the smaller units all the way up to 1,108 square feet for the larger three bedrooms.”

Nanaimo is the first project to be completed under the TELUS Living initiative, which takes existing property owned by the telecommunications company and repurposes it into housing.

A similar, albeit smaller, build in Sechelt is nearing completion, while applications are in place for rentals in Victoria and Vancouver.

Bhatia said “opportunities” exist in a wide range of Island communities, including Parksville, Duncan, Port Alberni, and the west coast.

Considerable tax incentives

As part of the approval process through the City of Nanaimo in 2021, TELUS applied for and received a 10-year property tax exemption for the project, totaling up to $2.5 million.

Pushed through the Downtown Revitalization Tax Exemption Program (DRTEP), the benefit was a notable factor in TELUS’ decision to proceed with the project, Bhatia said.

“There are a few other municipalities that are doing that to incentivize development in their downtown. Kamloops recently adopted the same policy, as has Edmonton. It’s not only a benefit for the community from a housing perspective but also the improveability of our sites…as well as the retail character for businesses around our sites.”

Mayor Leonard Krog supported the tax incentives in 2021 and remains in favour of them now, not only for the TELUS building but also for others in the works.

He said he campaigned in 2018, when he first ran for Mayor, to try and add 5,000 residential units in the downtown core.

“We have units that are going to be occupied through the weekend…the second phase is going to add more and the small commercial space. If the tax break got it over the finish line, and I think it’s fair to say it probably did, it’s great.”

He said each proposal is examined on its merits, with incentives in place for developers to bring the right type of project to the city’s downtown.

Krog added there are no guarantees incentives, or lack thereof, make or break a project.

“I think this is an example of where if it didn’t make it work, it certainly helped to make it work, and it’s worth it. The businesses in this community that will be the beneficiaries of the residents of this building, the commercial units that are available, and the new businesses that will start up are all a positive thing.”

He also said this project, in addition to two other major residential builds on either side of the Terminal Ave. corridor, are key components to revitalizing Nanaimo’s downtown core and its entry gateway.

“In order for businesses to survive, in order for people to invest, they need a population, and so these housing projects in and of themselves on their own are a huge incentive for redevelopment by private owners along the corridor.”

A further 163 units are nearing completion on Wallace St., at the Campbell St. intersection, while a trio of six-storey buildings are planned for Chapel St., across from the Nanaimo Courthouse, and would total 157 units.

TELUS owns an adjacent property to the new rental buildings, with Bhatia saying they will continue to look at all their real estate holdings to see how they can best use the land, in cooperation with local public and government consultation.

Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your email inbox every evening.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

The mean temperature last month was an even 10 degrees Celsius in Nanaimo, a full degree warmer than usual, making it the 19th warmest April in the city’s history.

Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada Brian Proctor, said it was a similar story across Vancouver Island.

“It was the third warmest April in Comox, the fourth warmest April in Campbell River, and even going across to Victoria/Gonzales, down near Juan de Fuca, the fifth warmest on the period of record for them.”

The Nanaimo Airport saw 35.2 millimetres of rain, about half of April’s regular amount, making it the 33rd driest since 1902.

Proctor said there is a clear divide in precipitation levels between the northern and southern parts of B.C., made evident by the April 1 report on mountain snowpack levels.

Areas in Central and Northern B.C. showed over 100 per cent of their normal mountain snowpack levels, while the southern half was below normal, with Vancouver Island the lowest in the province at 44 per cent.

Proctor said the possibility of long-term drought in May is likely “amplifying and becoming more extensive” for areas on the Mainland, with mid and high alpine regions seeing less snowfall than typical this winter.

“That’s really setting us up for less runoff moving forward, and less recharge of the aquifers….we’re probably sitting with somewhere between a 60-70 per cent chance of below normal precipitation for much of Vancouver Island for the month (of May)…it looks quite warm as well, I would say 70-80 per cent chance of above normal temperatures.”

Those conditions are likely to persist into the summer and even extend into the fall and winter, as Proctor said the La Niña pattern we saw over last winter was weaker than normal, bringing less rain with it than expected.

As that weather pattern fades, Proctor said an El Niño pattern is starting to develop and strengthen.

“While we’re looking warm and dry based upon what the upper air patterns doing, as that El Niño sort of intensifies moving through the summer into the fall and winter, it’s probably going to mean an even warmer winter for us, and even less precipitation for us as we get into our wet season…which is not a very good news story.”

Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

Numerous neighbourhood-level work parties are chipping away at a variety of pesky invasive plants around Nanaimo throughout May.

Recognized locally as Invasive Plant Removal Month, Damon Johnston, the City’s recreation services manager, said addressing this issue on public and private property makes a significant difference.

English ivy is one of numerous prominent Nanaimo-area invasive plants. (Image Credit: File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

He said locally led work parties happening all over Nanaimo are unrooting a variety of damaging plants, which he said can easily take hold and upend local ecosystems.

“Some of the really prominent invasives we see in the community are, Himalayan blackberry, hogweed, daphne, those things are very, very aggressive — Scotch broom is another one and English Ivy.”

Volunteer work parties with assistance from City staff are taking place at several parks during May, including large ones, as well as smaller local community parks.

After invasive plants are cleared out from local parks, City staff fill impacted areas with native plants, Johnston said.

“It’s not just about the removal, although very important, it’s about restoring the ecosystem once those invasives have been removed.”

On Saturday, May, 30 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the City is hosting its annual Drop Zone, taking place at Bowen Park off Wall St.

“This helps give people an opportunity to take this when they may not have space in their green bin to put a large quantity of invasive species.” Johnston said.

One of many invasive species removal gatherings taking lace in Nanaimo this month. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Follow us on Facebook. Join Everything Nanaimo on Facebook and stay connected with everything happening on central Vancouver Island.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

On the heels of a dominating 4-0 victory on Friday night, the Clippers rallied from a 2-0 deficit midway through the 2nd period to win game two against the Prince George Spruce Kings by a 3-2 score in overtime on Saturday, May 2.

Unlike Friday night, penalties were a major story in the first period, with the Clippers first to the penalty box less than three minutes into the period, followed by a pair of four-on-four situations.

No scoring resulted, with the Clippers outshooting Prince George 14-13 in the opening 20 minutes.

The Spruce Kings opened scoring early in the second period via Mason Loewen for a 1-0 lead, which was doubled 10 minutes later through Marcus Lougheed.

Prince George’s advantage was shortlived as Blake Jones scored for Nanaimo on the very next shift to cut the Spruce Kings’ lead to 2-1.

Shots favoured the Clippers 11-7 in the second period, with Nanaimo ahead 25-20 after 40 minutes.

The Clippers pushed for an equalizer in the third period and eventually found it via Charles Beland, who scored his league-leading 11th goal of the season as the team pulled goaltender Eliot Séguin-Lescarbeau for an extra attacker.

Shots were 9-8 in favour of the Clippers in the third period, with overtime pending.

Play remained relatively even in the first overtime session before Miller Kay scored his second goal of the postseason at 6:59 of the period to give the Clippers a 3-2 overtime win.

Séguin-Lescarbeau stopped 29 of 31 Prince George shots for his 10th win of the playoffs.

Nanaimo will return home on Sunday, May 3, and prepare for game three against the Spruce Kings on Tuesday, May 5, at Frank Crane Arena.

Sponsored by Pinnacle Pharmacy, visit them at 5771 Turner Rd or at pinnaclepharmacy.ca

The entire Beban Park complex will be fenced off and set up with a wide array of activities for Nanaimo and Ladysmith-area grade 12s, celebrating the end of their time in high school and the start of life as adults.

Nanaimo Dry Grad Committee’s Katrina Darwin told NanaimoNewsNOW they’ve got a massive night planned for graduating students on June 26.

“We take the Social Centre, Frank Crane [Arena], the swimming pool. New this year, we have the Centennial Building, and we also have Cliff McNabb Arena, so we have swimming, skating, we put the floor mats down in Frank Crane and turn it into a huge inflatable game and bouncy houses area, the Social Centre has a big dance party.”

Laser tag, a casino, band and a magician will round out activities for students to wander to and from between 6 p.m. on the Friday night and 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

A $75 entry fee gives access to everything, including food and drinks, with financial assistance available for families who need it.

The event is open to any grade 12 with a permanent address in Nanaimo or Ladysmith and will see students from Aspengrove, Nanaimo Christian School, Stz’uminus, Island ConnectEd and Learning Alternatives join SD68 students from the six local high schools.

With under two months to go, around 450 students have registered for the event, however organizers are expecting an increase from the roughly 700 students who took part in last year’s party.

The 2025 edition was a major gamble, after being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and not returning since.

“We definitely faced some struggles, because with it being six years since the last event and the whole post-COVID situation, a lot of things had changed. People hadn’t heard about dry grad in a while, people who used to support had reallocated their donations to other places, and we were trying really hard to get the community back on board.”

Businesses to provide sponsorship and prizes, as well as volunteers, are the main needs currently, with around 200 people required to make the night happen.

Darwin said she fondly remembers her dry grad event in Nanaimo.

“I was a pretty shy kid. I didn’t really have any friends who went with me, but I still had a fantastic time because there are just so many things to do that aren’t reliant on you having your core friend group there. Even if your friends aren’t available, or they don’t want to go because they don’t think it’s their jam, there’s still lots of really cool things to do.”

Preventing drinking and driving incidents linked to grad parties is also a major driver for organizers this year.

More information on the event, including ticket sales, is available on the Nanaimo Dry Grad website.

Follow us on Facebook. Join Everything Nanaimo on Facebook and stay connected with everything happening on central Vancouver Island.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

Parksville Fire Rescue was called to Winchelsea Motors on the Highway at McVickers St. on Friday, May 1, at about 2:30 a.m., chief Marc Norris told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He said firefighters were met with heavy fire involvement on the building’s east side upon arrival.

The building was unoccupied at the time, Norris stated.

A volatile fire lit up the overnight sky in Parksville on Friday, May 1. (Image Credit: Parksville Fire Rescue)

“The fire was controlled quickly, however overhaul and final extinguishment was slowed by areas of structural instability and collapse,” Norris stated.

Two two dozen Parksville Fire Rescue members responded to the scene.

Norris noted fire direct damage was reported to about half of the building, while heavy smoke and heat damage impacted the rest of the building.

A cause of the fire was not known as of late Friday afternoon, according to Norris.

Parksville Fire Rescue members attacking the blaze from the dealership’s roof. (Image Credit: Parksville Fire Rescue)

Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.

The two teams opened their third round BCHL Playoff series in Prince George on Friday, May 1, with the Clippers cruising to a 4-0 win at the Kopar Memorial Arena to take a 1-0 series lead.

The Clippers came out firing in the first period, establishing a substantial lead in shots on goal as the team peppered Spruce Kings starter Colin Reay.

Nanaimo broke the deadlock nearly 14 minutes into the period as a turnover in neutral ice was carried into the offensive zone by Miller Kay, whose shot rebounded off Reay to Charles Beland for a sharp-angled chance, resulting in Beland’s ninth goal of the playoffs and a 1-0 lead.

The Clippers and Spruce Kings opene dup their playoff series on Friday night in P.G. (Image Credit: Marlon Martens)

Nanaimo outshot Prince George 12-3 in the period.

A dominant game for the Clippers continued into the second with the Clippers scoring twice just 61 seconds apart, first through Beland’s team-leading 10th goal of the post season, then Will Subject’s first for a 3-0 advantage.

Nanaimo added a fourth goal via Landon Pappas nearly two minutes later for a 4-0 lead.

The goals chased Reay who stopped 19 of 23 Nanaimo shots in 25:54.

Nanaimo held their lead to the second intermission, outshooting the Spruce Kings 28-8.

The third period was more tame than the other two, with the Spruce Kings outshooting Nanaimo 11-5, but unable to make inroads into the Clippers advantage as Nanaimo took game 1 by a 4-0 score.

Clipper netminder Eliot Séguin-Lescarbeau stopped 19 Prince George shots to improve his record in the playoffs to 9-3, and earned his first shutout of the playoffs to go with five in the regular season.

Nanaimo was winless against the Spruce Kings through the regular season, losing in regulation three times and overtime once.

The Clippers were outscored 25-13 in those games.

Game two is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, with puck drop at 6 p.m. from the Kopar Memorial Arena in Prince George.

The series will shift to Nanaimo for games three and four on Tuesday, May 5, and Wednesday, May 6, both 7 p.m. starts at Frank Crane Arena.

Sponsored by Pinnacle Pharmacy, visit them at 5771 Turner Rd. or at pinnaclepharmacy.ca