Fatal accident
A Texada Island man died in a motor vehicle crash on Sanderson Road near Gillies Bay Road on Wednesday, November 30.
Donald Butters was dead at the scene when Texada RCMP responded to the accident around 8 pm. Two passengers in the vehicle were on scene when police arrived as well, but neither of them sustained any injuries.
The incident occurred when the vehicle being driven by Butters on Gillies Bay Road attempted to make a turn onto Sanderson Road. The vehicle ended up rolling over and landing in a ditch on the side of the road. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
A collision analyst from the Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service attended the scene to assist with the investigation.
At this time, it is unknown if alcohol was a factor, but this matter is still under investigation.
Prawn closure
Recreational prawn and shrimp harvesters have to pull their traps by the beginning of January because of area closures.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is closing recreational prawn fishing in a wide coastal area swath starting January 1, 2012 to March 31.
The closure, which includes the recreational harvest of prawns and shrimp by trap, ring net or spear while diving, includes sections of the Powell River area, Malaspina Strait and lower Jervis Inlet, Salmon and Narrows inlets, Nanaimo, a portion of the Alberni Inlet and Tahsis and Tlupana inlets. In Powell River, the closure affects the Lund area, Subareas 15-1 and 15-3, and around the Scotch Fir Point area, Subarea 16-11.
The closures are based on the results of prawn spawner index testing conducted in October and November. DFO has also closed some areas in the Powell River region to the harvest of bivalve mollusks, including clams, oysters, mussels, geoducks, scallops and cockles, due to unacceptable levels of PSP, paralytic shellfish poisoning, also known as red tide. Subareas 15-2, 15-3, 15-4 and 15-6 were closed as of Tuesday, December 6.
PSP can harmfully affect anyone consuming shellfish. Cooking does not destroy the paralytic shellfish toxin.
For more information, interested readers can refer to the 2011-2013 BC Tidal Waters Sport Fishing Guide. Detailed area information is available on the DFO website, or by calling the local DFO office, 604.485.7963.
Back at work
Marie Claxton, City of Powell River’s city clerk, returned to work on Monday, December 5. Claxton had been on a medical leave since the middle of November.
