by George Le Masurier | Nov 22, 2017
Photo: A view of Allen Lake, in the Perseverance Creek watershed. Courtesy of the Village of Cumberland.
While Courtenay and Comox residents suffer through another boil-water advisory this week, clear and drinkable water flows freely in the Village of Cumberland.
For Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird that fact alone justifies her council’s decision to not join the Courtenay-Comox water system. But she also likes to point out that the village will save millions of dollars for its taxpayers.
Because while those other Comox Valley elected officials search for the financing to build a $110 million water filtration plant, Cumberland has already received a $4.9 million grant to fund the $6 million first stage of its long-term water quality and supply system improvement plan.
Joining the Courtenay-Comox system would have cost Cumberland taxpayers $26.7 million upfront and annual operating costs of $600,000.
Bringing their own system up to current provincial standards will cost $6 million now (80 percent funded by the provincial Clean Water, Wastewater fund), another $6.5 million for further improvements through 2066, and annual operating costs of $255,000.
It was a clear-cut financial decision, Mayor Baird said, and it provides the village with water security for the next 50 years.
How the water system works
Cumberland Manager of Operations Rob Crisfield said the village’s water supply comes from five lakes in two separate watersheds — Allen Lake in the Perseverance Creek watershed, and Hamilton, Stevens and Henderson lakes and Pond. No. 2 in the Cumberland Creek watershed.
The five lakes in two watersheds that comprise the Cumberland water supply. The village has a license for future use of Vanwest Lakes.
A deep well drilled in Coal Creek Historic Park opened in 2013. It adds a groundwater supply to the watersheds’ surface water sources.
The system operates on nine water licenses, some issued as early as 1897, and serves Cumberland and everyone in the Royston water service area. The village owns all of the land around the lakes, but not all of the land in the watersheds.
That means the system is less susceptible to harmful logging practices in terms of the turbidity issue that plagues the Courtenay-Comox system. Cumberland has not issued any boil-water advisories.
However, some of the infrastructure in the hills above the village is more than 100 years old. While it’s been maintained well, many upgrades are necessary and underway.
Henderson Lake has the lowest elevation of the four lakes in the Cumberland Creek watershed, so its outflow makes the connection to the village’s water supply. It merges with a line from Allen Lake.
Where water lines from the two watersheds come together, the water is treated with chlorine. It then descends down to Cumberland via a single, one kilometer long 300 mm diameter pipe, before splitting again into two main trunk lines servicing different parts of the village.
What’s happening now
The village is installing a second “twinned” 300 mm pipe so it can regulate the flow from each watershed based on the amount of water stored in the lakes. That work should finish in mid-December.
Future work will include adding a new facility that will provides both UV and chlorine treatment. It will also switch from chlorine gas to sodium hypochlorite, which poses fewer risks for operators.
The village will also construct two new reservoirs to increase water storage capacity. One will go out to tender in the spring, along with the new UV treatment facility. The second reservoir will be built by the year 2040.
Sediment washing into Comox Lake through Perseverance Creek after a major rain event in 2014
Crisfield said the village will repair and replace some of its dams, most importantly the Pond No. 2 dam, which failed in December of 1972, causing a washout of the Henderson Lake dam. Both the Henderson dam and No. 2 dam were rebuilt in 1973, with a spillway out of Cumberland Creek watershed and into Perseverance Creek.
It was this spillway that undercut a kilometer-long 50-foot high bank during a major rain event in 2014. The ensuing slide washed sentiment, including clay particles, into Perseverance Creek and ultimately into Comox Lake, the source of drinking water for Courtenay and Comox. Following the slide, a the Comox Valley Regional District issued a boil-water advisory for Courtenay-Comox residents that lasted 49 days.
Crisfield said other dams will get either seismic stabilization, such as Stevens Lake did in 2014, or be completely rebuilt over time to meet the Canadian Dam Safety Guidelines in future years.
How residents benefit
When all the projects are completed, Cumberland and Royston will have a secure supply of water through 2066 that meets B.C. Drinking Water Guidelines. The more reliable and controllable system will reduce risks to human life, the water supply and the environment from a major earthquake.
The village was able to lift its moratorium on development in 2014 after opening the Coal Creek deep groundwater well.
It will surprise some that Cumberland is the fastest growing community in the Comox Valley. According to the 2016 Census statistics, the village grew by 5.6 percent to 3,600 residents. That beats Courtenay, Comox and all three regional districts, which each grew by 4.7 percent.
It’s even more surprising that during that same period of growth, Cumberland has reduced its demand for water by 41 percent, according to the June 2016 study by Koers & Associates Engineering Ltd. Cumberland residents used 49 percent less water and Royston residents used 17 percent less.
The lower water usage resulted from a new rate structure and the installation of water meters at all residential and commercial connections. People just naturally used less water. And the meters revealed many service leaks, which have been repaired.
Crisfield said once all these surface supply improvements are in place, Cumberland will have improved redundancy and reliability on water delivery, improved water quality and greater flexibility in how they can operate the supply system.
What’s next
- The biggest challenge confronting Cumberland is how to rebuild the Pond No. 2 dam; specifically where to direct its spillway. If it goes toward Cumberland Creek, it could affect water quality in the village’s system. If it goes into Perseverance Creek, it could erode more sediment into Comox Lake. Crisfield hopes that a study underway by Tetra Tech consulting engineers, of Nanaimo, will find a solution to that problem.
- Meanwhile, Crisfield is interested in the possibility of generating hydroelectricity by adding turbines into the system’s water lines. Due to the large elevation drop, there may be sufficient pressure to power the water treatment operations.
by Guest Writer | Nov 17, 2017
Editor’s Note: This obituary was submitted by the family
Ruth Jessie Masters was a war veteran, avid hiker, historian, naturalist, environmentalist, protester but maybe most importantly she was one of ours – born and raised in the Comox Valley. She was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Comox on May 7, 1920. She passed away peacefully at the new North Island Hospital in Courtenay on November 7, 2017. She was 97 years old.
Ruth lived almost her entire life in her own home, which she built on her parents’ property in Courtenay. She served in the Canadian Air Force as a clerk in England during World War II and was promoted to Sergeant. In Courtenay she worked as a legal secretary from 1952 until 1992. Ruth was an avid hiker throughout most of her life. She made her first hike up Mt. Becher with her family in 1933 when she was just 13 and five years later climbed Comox Glacier and became one of the first members of the Comox District Mountaineering Club.
Ruth was a dedicated local historian. She never forgot her time spent oversees during the War and she never forgot the many who did not return. She spent countless hours researching names on the local Cairn and then lobbied the provincial government to name lakes and mountains in the area for many of the soldiers who served in both the first and second world wars. Her detailed compendium, “Lest We Forget” is on display in the Courtenay Museum.
Ruth also compiled other local history books that are on display at the Courtenay and Cumberland Museums – ‘Courtenay’, ‘Forbidden Plateau’, and ‘Ginger Goodwin’, each one leather-bound and engraved by Ruth. They are all probably best thought of as loving gifts from Ruth to the people of the Comox Valley.
Ruth was an environmentalist before the word was invented. She was passionate about the need to protect wildlife and the natural world. She always spoke up for those without a voice and always fought to protect the natural beauty of her homeland, especially Strathcona Park and the Comox Valley.
Ruth was known to put her body between bears and trophy hunters. She was on the beaches in Tofino in 1989 to clean up after the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill. She carved up road-kill and drove them in her little red truck to wildlife rescue centres for food in both Parksville and the Comox Valley.
She could always be counted on to help out with blockades, protests and rallies to protect the environment. When mining threatened Strathcona Park she blew “Oh Canada” on her faithful harmonica at almost every arrest during the three-month standoff at Buttle Lake in the middle of the winter in 1988. She was a ‘master’ sign-maker, making directional signs for alpine trails and protest signs for her numerous causes.
Working side by side with her good friend Melda Buchanan around 1990, Ruth played a key role in lobbying to add forestland to Seal Bay Park. On a rainy, windy day in December 1994, along with Carol Neufeld and Fran Johnson, Ruth put her body in front of chainsaws to protect the trees in what we now all take for granted as MacDonald Wood Park in Comox. She donated 18 acres of her own land in Courtenay for the Masters Greenway and Wildlife Corridor.
Ruth ‘walked her talk’ and that is why so many remember her. She set an example for all of us for how to live on the Earth and leave it in better shape. Growing up ‘church-mouse poor’, as she would say, she always lived a modest life but was generous to a fault, giving to environmental organizations, wildlife protection groups, the SPCA, the NDP and many, many more.
Ruth was predeceased by her father, William Edward Masters, her mother Jessie Smith, and her only brother Bill. She is survived by her nephew James Edward Masters, distant relatives in Victoria and Ontario, and her God-daughter Lorrainne Dixon.
Lorrainne was tasked with making health care decisions in Ruth’s declining years and did an admirable job. Ruth was always firm that she wanted to live out her final years in her own home. As her health declined this was not always easy but Lorrainne held firm in respecting Ruth’s wishes and ensuring that Ruth was safe in her home.
Although she had few living relatives, Ruth built a huge family around her in the Comox Valley and in her declining years a small inner circle of that family helped Ruth stay in her own home.
Thanks must also be expressed to Ruth’s primary care giver – Yolanda Corke. Yolanda was Ruth’s daily lifeline, checking on her early each morning and afternoon and calling on volunteers when extra help was needed. More than anyone Yolanda provided the day-to-day care that allowed Ruth to remain in her home in her final years. Yolanda was at Ruth’s side when she passed away in hospital.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Ruth from 1 pm to 4:30 pm on Sunday December 10 at the Florence Filberg Centre – Conference Hall in Courtenay at 411 Anderton Avenue. Doors will open at 12:30. Donations may be made to the Ruth Masters Hero Spoon Award online at foundation.nic.bc.ca or by mail to North Island College Foundation, 2300 Ryan Road, Courtenay, BC, V9N 8N6, or to a charity of your choice.
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by George Le Masurier | Oct 24, 2017
The 2018 municipal election campaign got a jump start this week when Courtenay Councillor Erik Eriksson told Decafnation that he’s running for mayor.
Eriksson is the first Comox Valley candidate to formally announce his campaign.
While most incumbents and potential newcomers are still mulling the pros and cons of committing to a four-year term that won’t end until 2023, Eriksson said he couldn’t wait to start building support.
Eriksson said it wasn’t his intention to contest incumbent Mayor Larry Jangula for the mayor’s chair, but he also couldn’t wait for Jangula to finally decide if he’s retiring or seeking another term. Jangula has hinted at stepping down next year.
“I just had to get my campaign started,” Eriksson said. “It takes time to put together a successful support team for the mayor’s office.”
Voters go to the polls on Oct. 20 next year. The official nomination period for candidates begins on Sept. 3, 2018 and runs for 10 days.
Eriksson, who begins his sixth year on Courtenay City Council in 2018, is running on a simple platform: building partnerships.
He believes people who live in the region’s three municipalities and three unincorporated regional districts have common goals, and that by working together they can be more effective.
Eriksson isn’t using the “A-word” (amalgamation) because that’s a long and complicated process, which Valley voters have rejected in the past. But he believes there’s ample space for municipalities, the regional district, K’omoks First Nation and CFB Comox to share more services.
It’s one of his best skills, he believes, to resolve problems by helping people to find a common purpose.
“It’s amazing how effective you can be if you just talk … and discover that common ground,” he said.
Eriksson points to his support for the Committee to End Homelessness, the Community Health Network, the Food Bank and the Courtenay Youth Music Centre as examples.
If elected, Eriksson would apply those skills to bring the council together.
And he’s motivated by a single purpose, “to make things better for people who don’t have it so good,” he said.
Some candidates like to work on building campaigns privately, and announce at the last minute. But Eriksson didn’t hesitate to publicly announce his candidacy early.
“It’s going to take time to show voters all the ways we can work better through partnerships. I want to use the credibility I’ve built to champion this cause,” he said.
by George Le Masurier | Oct 19, 2017
They come here to retire. They come from across Canada, the United States and other countries. They come for the Comox Valley’s moderate climate and spectacular landscape.
They come, they stay and they age. And so the Comox Valley’s population has aged at a rate nearly double the provincial average.
Within the next 20 years, the Valley’s population of people 75 years old and older is predicted to double. People over the age of 65 already comprise almost a third of the Valley’s total population, and it will continue to be the region’s fastest growing age group.
They come because the Comox Valley is well-known as one Vancouver Island’s best places to retire.
But it’s less well-known that as a result of this increasing elder population, the Comox Valley has become a not-so-great place to grow old.
Especially for those of modest wealth.
If you can afford them, and find a vacancy, the Comox Valley appears to be awash in private seniors independent- and assisted-living facilities. Most are full and have long waiting lists, and new units sometimes sell out before construction begins.
But for seniors surviving at the lower end of the income scale, and those who need government assistance, there are fewer choices.
That’s why the recent closure of Abbeyfield House in Courtenay, which displaced 10 senior citizens from their independent living home, has created such a community uproar.
Abbeyfield House
The backstory of Abbeyfield’s closure reveals the root problem: There is a dearth of residential care beds and affordable seniors housing in the Comox Valley.
The province’s 12 Abbeyfield Houses are designed for lower income seniors and those who prefer a smaller facility. The houses, including six on Vancouver Island, provide affordable housing for people over the age of 55 who are capable of living independently, but want a “supportive domestic atmosphere (that) provides companionship and freedom from worries and chores.”
As Abbeyfield residents age and their health declines, and they can no longer live independently, it is expected they will move to more appropriate residential care facilities. Then Abbeyfield Houses can make room for independent seniors on their waiting lists. The Courtenay Abbeyfield House had more than 30 eligible seniors on its wait list.
Except there haven’t been any available beds in residential care or similar affordable housing facilities in the Comox Valley. And none of the Abbeyfield tenants wanted to move. They were content with the excellent “at home” care provided by Island Health’s home care program, which it would have continued to do if Abbeyfield had remained open.
When Abbeyfield closed last week, its youngest resident was 91. She should have been moved into residential care years ago, but Island Health had no where to put her. Instead, seven different Island Health professionals have been making an average of 115 visits per week to care for her and other (not all) of the Abbeyfield residents.
Many 91-year-olds do live in the community, however, some with support and some who can still manage independently. Age is not always an indicator of need for residential care.
Island Health told Decafnation that it supported Abbeyfield tenants to continue living in the community — as they do with any person who chooses to remain as independent as possible and who needs support.
But because the Comox Valley lacks sufficient residential care beds to meet growing demand, Abbeyfield had become a hybrid type of care facility to which it didn’t aspire or could afford.
The story of one Abbeyfield resident illustrates how ridiculous the situation had become.
An elderly woman resident suddenly required acute hospital care. The hospital treated her and then sent her back to Abbeyfield on a stretcher. She was bed-ridden. Abbeyfield sent her back to the hospital, which refused her and she landed back in Abbeyfield with Island Health workers providing the care she should have been getting in a long-term residential facility.
One Abbeyfield resident suffering from dementia has occasionally wandered off the premises, requiring the House Coordinator to find and rescue her. But the House Coordinator’s job is only to prepare meals and to do other household chores. There is no overnight supervision at Abbeyfield Houses.
When Abbeyfield closed its doors, Island Health was forced to find placements within the Valley for the tenants, which created a momentary housing crisis. Other people, who desperately needed beds and had waited patiently on the waitlist, were bumped — or triaged — to accommodate the soon to be homeless Abbeyfield tenants.
Placement in publicly-funded residential care is based on several factors, according to Island Health, including urgency and need, and the type of bed and geographical area selected. It is not a first-come, first-serve system.
Most of the former Abbeyfield tenants are now receiving care at Casa Loma; two went to live with family and one resides in another local residential facility.
But another group of citizens, called Save Abbeyfield, believes the Abbeyfield model is still viable in the Comox Valley. And they have offered to step-in and re-open the residence.
They hope to do that before the current board sells the property or gifts it to another non-profit organization.
Jennifer Pass, one of the Save Abbeyfield contacts, said they would address the residential bed crisis in a different way.
“It is necessary to have good relationships with sponsors, and have two sponsors for every tenant,” she said. “Sponsors must be well aware, when their relative or friend moves in, that it is for “independent” seniors. If the resident gets to the point of putting other tenants at risk, and if one has not the support of Island Health in moving the person along, then it may be necessary to evict the person.
“Often a person is hospitalized and then it may be crucial to not allow the person to return to the facility (Berwick, Casa Loma, etc.) all have to deal with this situation.
“I found with my mum that a clear letter as to whose responsibility it would be if she returned to Casa Loma (an assisted living facility) and had a fall or suffered physical harm in assisted living can be very helpful if presented to hospital staff.
“Having sponsors on side is very helpful, and achieved by good lines of communication from the outset.”
Pass and Abbeyfield board chair Joan Carson could probably agree on one point:
The lack of affordable housing for seniors and a lack of residential care beds are distinct problems that became linked because Island Health looked at Abbeyfield as a safe place to park people — its tenants were getting meals and some supervision.
Regardless of whether Abbeyfield reopens, a crisis-driven method of initiating change for our elders is unacceptable. Surely the provincial Ministry of Health can do better than this.
In response to a request for comment, MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard returned the following statement:
“It must have been very stressful for the tenants and families to learn that Abbeyfield was closing. I am glad that all 10 of Abbeyfield’s tenants have been placed in new homes – this is great news.
“One of our new government’s top priorities is improving the services people count on, and we’re working hard, but 16 years of B.C. Liberal neglect can’t be fixed overnight.”
It’s a politicized comment. And disappointing that the newly-elected MLA couldn’t say she was doing something specific to assuage a growing community concern.
And the problem gets worse
Seniors who require residential care beds aren’t just plugging facilities designed for independent seniors, they are also taking up acute care beds — and acute care funding.
Chris Kelsey, chair of the St. Joseph’s General Hospital board, estimates that more than 30 percent of the community’s acute care beds are occupied by people who need an alternate level of care (ALC). In other words, there are perhaps 40-50 frail and elderly people, who do not need acute care, taking up beds at the new Comox Valley Hospital because there is nowhere more appropriate to move them.
This problem isn’t unique to the Comox Valley, but it’s more severe here.
According to a 2015 report by the B.C. Care Providers Association, “roughly 13 percent of every bed-night (province-wide) is being used by somebody who should be at another level of care.”save Abbeyfield
Acute care beds cost taxpayers between $800 to $2,000 per day, while residential care beds typically cost about $200. The BCCPA has proposed redirecting some acute care funding to the development of new long-term residential care facilities.
Kelsey said St. Joseph’s recognized this problem many years ago when it created a transition unit to park people who were previously treated as medical patients, but no longer needed that level of care. It was a controversial move at the time, but is now common among the province’s hospitals.
Is long-term care help on the way?
The scope of the Valley’s problem starts to come into focus when you consider that just 4 percent of the senior population will want or require residential care and there are already 421 residential care beds in four publicly-funded Comox Valley facilities. All of them are full and they all have waiting lists.
Island Health planned to build 70 new residential care beds in the Comox Valley, and issued a Request For Proposal last year. That many new beds would have eased the pressure on many other organizations, including Abbeyfield.
But over the summer, Island Health withdrew the proposal shortly after the change in provincial government and its decision to move the four hospice beds at St. Joseph’s General Hospital to a secular facility, along with two new hospice beds.
The 70 new residential care beds are urgently needed, and their imminent construction gave hope to elderly caregivers and also to housing providers, such as Abbeyfield House.
But the withdrawal of the RFP was crushing. Local care givers now fear a multi-year delay in bringing the new beds into service. But Island Health is more optimistic. The agency told Decafnation that the new beds should be ready for occupancy in late in 2019.
Island Health Director of Residential Services, Tim Orr, says the RFP was withdrawn due to changing requirements and community input. That included whether people would have access to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and where to locate the four existing and two new hospice beds.
But increasing the number of residential beds in the RFP was also part of the discussion. Orr said Island Health recognizes the Comox Valley’s need for more residential beds, but also for more affordable housing for independent seniors. Other communities have more of the latter.
Orr said faith-based providers, such as St. Joseph’s, are not excluded from responding to the RFP because the typical level of cognitive deficit of residential care patients excludes them from qualifying for MAiD.
One bright spot in this quagmire is the proposal to redevelop and refocus The Views, a 117-bed residential care facility operated by St. Joseph’s. They are planning a dementia village facility, perhaps with more beds, surrounded by a campus of seniors care services that might include a pharmacy and seniors daycare.
They plan to proceed regardless if they are successful in a bid for the additional residential beds contract.
About 90 percent of The Views’ residents have dementia. And while the average age of residential care patients has declined, the percentage suffering with dementia is likely to increase.
To build its vision, St. Joseph’s intends to merge with Providence Health Care in a new society not governed by the B.C. Hospital Act. Because the province does not provide funds for capital construction, the new society could borrow against its assets and future revenue.
Kelsey is confident that Island Health supports this vision, especially since Providence already plays a leading role in B.C. dementia care.
Where do we go from here?
The residential bed crisis in the Comox Valley is a complex problem. It involves medical, ethical and financial issues that won’t be solved by multiple groups asking the provincial government for a variety and sometimes conflicting resolutions.
For political and practical purposes, Victoria wants to hear The Valley speak with only one voice.
But what voice? The absence of a Comox Valley-wide co-ordinating authority has in the past led to short-term thinking and patchwork solutions on a number of different fronts — sewerage, water treatment, transportation and so on.
In order to develop a regional strategy on elderly care and seniors housing for all income levels, all the disparate Comox Valley groups must work together. That doesn’t mean everyone has to abandon their philosophical principles.
It means finding common ground, those points on which there is collective agreement, such as the urgent need to provide more residential care beds. The Comox Valley needs to speak to Victoria in a singular voice on that issue.
by George Le Masurier | Oct 16, 2017
The purposeful neglect of the Mack Laing heritage house by the Town of Comox has reached a new low.
Hamilton Mack Laing gave his house, known as Shakesides, along with a substantial sum of money in his Last Will and Testament for the purpose of converting it into a public natural history museum. Laing, an internationally respected naturalist and ornithologist, died in 1982.
But the town has done nothing over the intervening 35 years to comply with Laing’s last wishes, and has intentionally let the building fall into disrepair. Council members apparently hope their neglect will garner support for the effort to tear it down.
But the Mack Laing Heritage Society (MLHS) hopes to preserve Shakesides in its current condition, at least until the B.C. Supreme Court rules on the town’s application to demolish the building. That seems reasonable.
And it was in that spirit that MLHS offered to place a tarp on the roof of Shakesides to prevent moisture from entering the building through a decades-old roof and to stop further deterioration of the famous naturalist’s home on Comox Bay.With another wet winter in the forecast, council members should have accepted the offer. Especially because MLHS members proposed to pay the entire labor cost of a professional installation.
And they made this offer with plenty of time to get such a simple task done over last spring and summer.
Vandals recently attacked Shakesides for the second time, but no other structure in Mack Laing Park. That suggests the vandalism is politically motivated. See the full gallery of photographs below.
MLHS President J-Kris Nielsen first presented the group’s offer verbally at a Committee of the Whole meeting on March 22, 2017, complete with projected costs. He followed that up with an April 17 letter to the town detailing a work plan that included drawings and itemized material costs totalling $1,892.80.
The letter was officially stamped “Received” on April 20, 2017.
Seven months later, the town has yet to respond. Not a letter. Not an email. Not a phone call.
The Town of Comox voted unanimously in February to ask the B.C. Supreme Court to release the town from the terms of the trust established by Laing’s Last Will. That would allow them to demolish the house. No court date has been set.
So the council might have figured, why spend even $1,800 to preserve a building we hope to tear down? Fair enough, but doesn’t decency require a reply to well-intentioned citizens, at the least?
And consider this:
The town has hired the law firm Young & Anderson to make their case for demolition to the province’s high court. If they succeed, the town has committed to spend around $300,000 of taxpayer’s money to pay lawyers, demolish the building and build a viewing platform.
Yet council members can’t find $1,800 for a group of passionate citizens to tarp the roof? The MLHS might have even paid the whole bill if council had made a civil response.
It’s shameful. But no surprise.
For 35 years, the Town of Comox has neglected the last wishes of this important literary and ornithological person, and mismanaged his trusts. It’s shameful how the town has claimed Laing’s celebrity, when convenient, but has always ignored his desire for a legacy.
Those who prefer to save Shakesides have criticized council and pressured them to act. But that’s no justification for a town government to disrespect its citizens. Or act vindictively. They deserved a reply.
And, really, it seems only fair to put a tarp on a leaking roof until the Supreme Court hears the case, because there’s no guarantee how the court will rule, or view the town’s behavior in this matter.
Meanwhile, Shakesides recently suffered another attack by pretend graffiti artists.
Like the graffiti attack in April, vandals again spray-painted the historical home with lame images. It wasn’t serious tagging, much less artwork.
These latest vandals might be the same person or group of people. They just made a better effort. We’ll never know for sure.
But it is interesting that, like the last attack, no other sign, bridge, post or tree was spray-painted. That makes it likely that this defacing of public property is somehow connected to the political and legal battle over the preservation of Laing’s home.
And, of course, the defacing fits nicely with the Town Council’s policy of intentional neglect.
