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COWICHAN VALLEY — Adding extra ferry surcharges is only pouring fuel on the fire for irate Vancouver Island residents, according to Keith Rush, chairman of the Thetis and Penelakut Island ferry advisory committee.

When he signed on with the naval reserve as a fuzzy-faced 16-year-old, Chris Preston had no idea he’d still be in the fold 44 years later.

COURTENAY — An outdoor synthetic ice rink that will be one of the big draws of the upcoming Winter Bites Festival has been constructed at Simms Park in Courtenay.

PORT ALBERNI — Silent and still, a pair of feline eyes peer out from under a thorn bush at the edge of a large wooded area on Argyle Way in Port Alberni.

GABRIOLA — Gabriola Island residents say there could be severe economic fallout if ferry service reductions go ahead as planned.

DUNCAN — Former Duncan mayor Jim Quaife died at Cowichan District Hospital on the morning of Jan. 9 after a battle with cancer.

NANAIMO — A new network of sirens, set up to warn of imminent dam failure in the Harewood neighbourhood of Nanaimo, was tested in conjunction with an evacuation drill at John Barsby Community School.

PORT ALBERNI — Shipping activity increased sharply at the Port Alberni Port Authority in 2013. According to data from the port authority, there was an increase of 177,284.

Alumni of Oaklands Elementary School would have felt a sense of nostalgia last week as they visited their old stomping grounds during the school’s centennial celebrations.

NANAIMO — While the City of Nanaimo considers the possibility of a waste-to-energy garbage incinerator, other bodies are waging conflicting information campaigns.