For the second time in as many years, staff from the Town of Ladysmith and other community groups are hosting a glow-in-the-dark disc golf event at Transfer Beach Park, beginning at dusk on Friday, April 17 and running until around 10 p.m.

Town recreation programmer Matt Arnett said they run regular youth-focused programming on Friday nights, but as the weather gets nicer, they aim to move outdoors, with disc golf being an obvious choice.

“A very accessible sport that can be set up anywhere in any type of local park. We did it last year at Transfer Beach, which is obviously one of our marquee parks…and we had a lot of people out, so it was great exposure to the park. That connection introduced a lot of people to the sport of disc golf who had never tried it here, so that was the first time they played.”

Baskets affixed with glow sticks will be set up through the park, with each hole between 100 and 200 yards long, Arnett said.

The discs will glow too, creating a unique visual element at the famous park.

“All discs that we use are glow-in-the-dark, so you charge them up with any regular flashlight or a UV flashlight if you have one. We start playing at dusk, and it looks really neat having the neon yellow, green, and pink discs flying through the air at dusk and in the dark.”

Arnett said he’s been playing the sport for several years and has watched it grow.

Courses at Fuller Lake in Chemainus and Forrest Field in Ladysmith provide close-by options for regular players, with a local group called Parallel Disc Golf spearheading growth in the community, Arnett said.

A limited number of glow-in-the-dark discs will be available to use for the event on Friday night, however participants are encouraged to bring their own if possible.

Organizers are also encouraging all participants to dress for the weather.

Donations will also be collected for the Ladysmith Resources Centre Association’s Food Pantry program.

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Dozens of farriers from near and far are at Nanaimo’s Beban Park this week for a super clinic on proper care, maintenance, and construction of horseshoes.

Put on by the Western Canadian Farriers Association (WCFS), local Gabriola Island representative Saskia Juliette said they hold a couple of these events a year, emphasizing the importance of proper care of horse hooves.

“We shoe horses for all manner of reasons: to protect the feet, for therapeutic reasons, simply traction, we can add more traction or take traction away, and they might just need the extra protection because we work them more than they grow foot, so we have to preserve their foot.”

Ten people signed up for the Hammer In demo with Jack Ketel (second from the left) on Thursday. Ketel has represented Canada seven times at the international farrier level.

Taking place from Thursday, April 16, until Saturday, attendees can sign up to take part in several lectures and live demonstrations from well-known farriers and local veterinarians.

They also have anvils and forges on site to learn how to build your own horseshoe.

“The first day is what we call a ‘Hammer In’. It’s capped at ten people, and they are here to get one-on-one help with our clinician,” said Juliette. “They have their tools, and they’re allowed to even shoe this demo horse, and then the following two days, we have approximately 30 people here for demos and lectures.”

Juliette said events like this are less about the age of a farrier, and more about honing their skills.

“We have so many people at all different levels, it’s really cool to see. We have apprentices, fresh out of school, maybe out of school a year ago, and we have people that have been shoeing horses for the last couple of decades.”

More information on this event and the WCFA can be found here on their website, WCFA.ca.

Farrier events happen from Thursday, April 16, until Saturday at Beban Park around the Equestrian Centre. (Image Credit: Western Canadian Farrier Association.)

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The latest BC Coroners Service report (BCCS) showed 115 British Columbians died in February province-wide, down from 150 in January.

The service said that equates to about 4.1 deaths per day and that 78 per cent of the people who died in February were men, with 81 per cent of those deaths occurring inside, including 53 per cent in private homes.

Nine people in Nanaimo died in January, with 60 deaths due to toxic drugs recorded across Vancouver Island so far this year, according to the BCCS.

They said stimulants were the most common substance detected in those who died at 83 per cent, followed by fentanyl or its analogs at 80 per cent.

The central Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery Area had some of the highest rates of death in the province, with 34 so far this year, along with the Northern Interior (17), Kootenay Boundary (10), Vancouver, and the Northeast (4).

Numbers released by the health authority show 289 First Nations members died of overdoses in 2025 compared with 433 the year before.

First Nations members in B.C. make up approximately 3.4 per cent of the population, but accounted for 15.8 per cent of all toxic drug deaths in 2025.

The downward trend of toxic drug deaths in the province continues from the highest levels in 2023, where 197 people died that February.

In Nanaimo, 115 people died in 2023, 94 in 2024, and 70 last year.

April 14 marked the tenth anniversary of the province declaring toxic drugs a public health emergency, with more than 18,000 people dying since then.

— With files from The Canadian Press.

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The Crown corporation says the process is beginning after meetings with union officials.

In a news release, Canada Post says it’s converting about four million addresses to community mailboxes and the work is expected to take about five years, with different regions moving to community mailboxes each year.

The corporation says it’s starting discussions with 13 communities across Canada — including Ottawa and Winnipeg — as it prepares to move about 136,000 addresses from door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes in late 2026 and early 2027.

Canada Post says it’s also reviewing its retail network in preparation for closures of urban and suburban post offices in areas it says are currently over-served.

The federal government last year ended a decades-long moratorium on rural post office closures, a move that sparked some concern about the future of mail delivery in remote communities that aren’t well served by private couriers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press

Inspired by one of the greatest tours of all time, the 2026 shirt features a photograph of Terry on his Marathon of Hope, captured in the side view mirror of his van.
The back lists the communities he passed through, designed in the style of iconic concert tour merchandise.
It pays tribute to a journey that united a country and continues to move us forward, together, to Finish It.

See the merch HERE.

The Terry Fox Run is Sunday, September 20th. You can register for the Parksville run HERE.

RUN DAY DETAILS

Registration: 9:00 am

Start Time: 10:00 am

Start to Close Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location: Rathtrevor Provincial Park 1240 Rath Rd, Parksville – Picnic Shelter #1

If you are interested in volunteering, please email Kara kaddison@rdn.bc.ca

ROUTE INFORMATION

Distance: 4 km

Accessibility: Bicycle, Wheelchairs

B.C. Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma answered questions regarding prefabrication for public school additions, as well as new schools, during a recent Ladysmith news conference where it was revealed a new local elementary school would be prefabricated.

A reconfigured Ladysmith Intermediate School to be transformed into a prefabricated K-7 school at the former Ecole Davis Rd. School site in the south end of Ladysmith represents the first time an entirely new school will be built with prefabricated technology in the province.

“It is new, so our ministry is going to be working very closely with the school district to make sure it all goes well, but we’re hoping that this becomes a model for how we deliver other schools in the province,” Ma told the Wednesday, April 8 gathering.

The new 390-seat school budgeted at $37 million is expected to open in 2029 to replace the existing long-closed Ecole Davis Rd. School site.

A two-storey, 250-seat addition to Ladysmith Primary School will also be prefabricated, involving a budget of $15 million, which is scheduled to open in 2027.

Ma expected prefabrication for entire new school builds in the province to involve modular sections for classrooms and “tilt-up” concrete panels for larger spaces for gymnasiums and libraries.

She said it’s unclear how extensively prefabrication would factor into entire new school projects in B.C.

Since 2023, the B.C. government has funded prefabricated additions to dozens of schools across the province to create faster and budget-friendly outcomes.

Ma told NanaimoNewsNOW the off-site building technology is designed to provide 50-year lifespans, similar to traditional construction projects.

“Pretty much every single prefabricated school addition project that we’ve had in the province; it is virtually indistinguishable from a regular school expansion to anyone walking by,” she said.

The minister said prefabrication’s flexibility fits well for school expansions, pointing to the ability to fully integrate additions into existing facilities if desired.

“Some school districts will have them connect through the main school through a walkway, some school districts will have the additions separate annexes, and other school district’s will actually open up a wall in the school and provide basically a direct access into the main school.”

A statement from School District 68 noted the Ladysmith school projects are the only existing planned prefabricated projects in the district.

SD68 informed NanaimoNewsNOW that construction will be completed by the late spring or summer for ongoing prefabricated additions to Wellington Secondary School and Chase River Elementary School.

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An alternative approval process, requesting elector approval to extend the municipal boundary for the City ended Monday, April 13, with 287 valid forms registering an objection received prior to a 4:30 p.m. deadline.

Just under 8,000, or 10 per cent, of the eligible electors in the City of Nanaimo were required to stop the proposal.

With elector approval, it clears the way for around 800 people living on Snuneymuxw’s four reserves to cast a ballot for Mayor and Council in the October election, as well as other votes affecting the City of Nanaimo.

The move is still pending Nanaimo Council decision, due Monday, April 20, and subsequent provincial government approval.

Previously, some members had voted in Regional District and School District 68 elections, as well as votes for Snuneymuxw First Nation Chief and Council.

First announced in February, the move does not change any existing service agreements for infrastructure, transportation, and other assets.

SFN Chief Michael Wyse said at the time this step was a practical and meaningful way to further advance the relationship between the City and SFN.

“Snuneymuxw is Nanaimo, and Nanaimo is Snuneymuxw. However, when boundary lines were arbitrarily drawn on a piece of paper, Snuneymuxw was purposely left out of the municipal boundaries, and only a tiny portion was included in the RDN boundary.”

Opponents to the boundary adjustment said those living on Snuneymuxw First Nation land would not pay taxes to the city but would receive City infrastructure benefits.

They were also concerned about “800 organized votes,” which “could easily swing Nanaimo results in ‘friendly’ candidates’ favor [sic].”

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The federally mandated drill happened on Wednesday, April 15, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., involving several agencies which would respond to the real thing.  

Nanaimo Airport president and chief executive officer Dave Devana told NanaimoNewsNOW coordination and communication in drills like this is critical.

“It’s quite a real exercise, the ambulance service will have to care for the people that are injured, we have to transport them to the hospital — we’re just trying to practice everything that would happen in a real incident.” 

An on-site debrief was well, while more extensive post-drill discussions will also take place. (Image Credit: Nanaimo Airport)

Devana said volunteers made up the 53 passengers and crew on a Regional District of Nanaimo bus, representing an 84-passenger jet. 

Overall, Devana said about 100 people were directly involved in the drill, including first responders tasked with assisting patients suffering from a wide range of injuries. 

“Injured ones are scattered around the bus, people were stuck in the bus, we had a person with special needs to simulate what would happen to help rescue that type of passenger. Then the emergency responders come on scene, they don’t know what’s going to happen.” 

Devana said emergency exercise participants included their on-site, as well as regional fire departments, RCMP, BC Ambulance Service, military, and emergency management staff with the Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley regional districts. 

All facets of the drill were scrutinized at multiple airport locations, Devana said.

Officials with Transport Canada and NAV Canada were in attendance.

“They’ll evaluate how we did and then if they want us to make any changes to our emergency management plan, they will direct us to do so.” 

In addition, Devana said all agencies involved will provide their own accounts of how the exercise went from their perspectives to help make any refinements if necessary.  

Devana noted Nanaimo Airport conducts a live exercise every four years, as well as a table-top scenario annually. 

Nanaimo Airport was the site of a multi-agency emergency drill between scheduled commercial flights on the morning of Wednesday, April 15. (Image Credit: Nanaimo Airport)

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During the Wednesday, April 15, finance and audit meeting, a recommendation for Council to provide a financial grant of $100,000 for the Beyond Van Gogh experience, taking place between July 18 and Aug 29 was unanimously approved.

Port Theatre executive director David Warburton said the money would be used to reduce ticket prices for seniors, students, and families, with a long-term goal of developing a nest egg for future events of this scale.

“This becomes sustainable, independent of any requests to the City in the future…then we can reinvest that in bringing another exhibit, and there’s all sorts of exciting possibilities. If this partnership is proven to be successful, and I think it has…we have a model that maybe this could be something that would be exciting for us every year, or every other year.”

Warburton said around $225,000 has already been invested into bringing this exhibit to the Harbour City, between the Port Theatre, VICC, Tourism Nanaimo, and Nanaimo Museum.

Warburton said they want to be able to provide the full experience, but told the meeting staff and volunteers are needed to bring it all together.

VICC general manager Lucas Millin said Beyond Van Gogh hits all of their goals of attracting visitors, driving economic activity, while also providing community access.

Millin said Beyond Van Gogh is projected to inject upwards of $6 million in economic impact over the exhibit’s six-week span, providing more than just a short burst of economic activity that the VICC typically supports.

“But this is always in spikes. So this is going to be sustained, up to a thousand people a day, there will be foot traffic going through the downtown, it’s going to be significant.”

According to their budget report, bringing Beyond Van Gogh to Nanaimo is anticipated to cost around $1.13M, including $210,000 for licensing fees and $322,420 for a road crew, which takes about a week to bring all the exhibits into the VICS.

Expected revenue from ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorships, grants, and partner contributions totals approximately $1.12M.

The City said funding would come from the Special Initiatives Reserves, with some projects already funded have come in under budget.

The request still needs to be formally approved at a future Nanaimo regular council meeting, and would be included in the 2026-2030 financial plan.

More information on Beyond Van Gogh can be found here at islandevents.ca.

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Data from Fortis BC shows the Harbour City joined Saanich in leading Vancouver Island for the highest number of incidents involving damage to natural gas lines, with 14 in 2025, part of 109 across Vancouver Island and around 760 province-wide.

Ada Nadison, Fortis BC’s manager of the utility’s public safety program, said there’s a mix of frustration and empathy around these preventable incidents, with accurate mapping and use of services like BC 1 Call just part of the solution to stopping them.

“Depending on where you are in the province, those lines could have been installed maybe in the 1950s or 1960s, and as you can imagine, over the years, a lot can change to the ground from when it’s installed, whether it be erosion, flooding, grading changes, or landscaping.”

While gas line strikes are dropping, it’s still an issue in Nanaimo.

Parksville and Qualicum Beach registered a combined five strikes in 2025.

Numbers locally have dropped considerably over recent years, with 20 reported incidents in Nanaimo in 2023 and 17 in 2024.

Similar declines have occurred across B.C. with a reported 26.5 per cent decrease in damage to natural gas lines since 2021.

Nadison said contractors are legally required to call BC 1 Call before digging, to ensure they’re not near any underground infrastructure.

While Fortis BC is regulated to be a member of the nonprofit service, municipal governments and other non-oil and gas sector businesses may only voluntarily join.

Nanaimo is not a member but provides detailed mapping when requested, while Parksville and Qualicum Beach are both listed as member municipalities.

In addition to legal requirements for contractors, homeowners and hobbiests could face steep penalties if they damage infrastructure.

Nadison said Fortis BC is unable to fine directly, however they can recoup costs.

“We look at things like the amount of gas lost, materials required to repair it, the staffing required if someone hits a gas line. Depending on how serious the incident is, there might be several homes and businesses that will lose gas, so after we repair the line we have to go back and relight all the appliances, so that’s man hours as well.”

Fortis BC says 90 per cent of damage to gas line infrastructure is easily preventable via services like BC 1 Call.

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