by Louis Belcourt | Sep 15, 2023 | CKTZ News
An anonymous donor has donated around $250,000 to create a one time, experimental grant program that gives directly to the Cortes community. The Cortes Island Community Foundation (CICF) was chosen to create the program and distribute the funds in the form of one time, cash “gifts” to individuals. The gifts never have to be paid back, and the CICF do not need receipts of how the cash was spent. “We want people to apply for money for their specific needs instead of trying to fit their needs into a box like most other grants,” says Isabelle McKnight, executive administrator for the CICF. “What the Cortes Foundation wants to do is just have people apply for what they actually need, whether that’s a car to get their kids to school or dental work that they need to get to town for, whatever it is.” The funds will be distributed in gifts ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 and aren’t taxable. The program is looking to focus on families and individuals that are in acute financial need. “It’s a very generous, one time thing that the donor has offered and they wish to remain anonymous,” says McKnight. “And it’s a pilot program, so if we can figure out how to run this and it’s really successful, we’re hoping to attract other donors to do projects like this, because this is the core of what we want the foundation to be, is to provide whatever people in the community actually need.” More information can be found at the CICF’s website. Listen below for more from CKTZ: https://cortesradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CKTZ-Giving-Well-Story-2.mp3 ”...
by Louis Belcourt | Aug 31, 2023 | CKTZ News
Cortes Island’s Manson’s Hall will be host to a live production of “The Great Simplification” podcast this Monday evening for the first time. “The Great Simplification” is the #1 earth science podcast on Apple podcasts in Canada, the United States and other countries. The podcast has been producing episodes since early 2021. Guests are from a wide range of scientists, leaders, activists and thinkers and conversation topics span “human behavior, monetary/economic systems, energy, ecology, geopolitics and the environment.” Nate Hagens, the host of the podcast, is “trying to educate and inspire broader society to meet the future halfway on the situation of our economy, our environment, and our society in the next decade or so.” He holds a masters degree in finance from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont, and uses his learnings to try and “explore the systems science underpinning the human predicament.” Hagens will give an overview of his perspective on the global situation, and discuss with attendees “how special Cortes Island is” and the opportunity it has for change. “In the face of what society is facing, and what an amazing opportunity you have with a small sized island with a 1,000 or so population, to change the initial conditions of your future. You’re not like Los Angeles or Toronto in your constraints.” The show will be at 7 p.m. on Monday evening, Sept. 4. To hear more about Thaysen’s experience with regional politics, listen to the CKTZ News Update below: https://cortesradio.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CKTZ-NATE-HAGENS-INTERVIEW.mp3 ”...
by Louis Belcourt | Aug 17, 2023 | CKTZ News
The Cortes Island Fire Department is creating a new Wildfire Brigade to serve the community. It’s function will be to support the department during major wildfire events with Wildland firefighting, structural protection, and support tasks. In a deployment, Wildland members will work in teams supervised by existing department officers or team leaders. “We had a fire on the island in late June, the largest wildfire event we’ve had in many years. And a lot of conversation came out of that around preparedness in general and how we notify the community of the status of a wildfire event and preparing in general for more serious wildfire seasons to come with changing climate and all of that.”, said Eli McKenty, Interim Fire Chief of the Cortes Island Fire Department. “And going over this, I realized that it’s much easier to train people for wildfire than as full department members. It’s a much smaller time commitment. Equipping them is not nearly as expensive. And there are a lot of people who would be a huge asset in a wildfire who don’t have the time to be a full member of the department.” Cortes residents, including summer residents, who are able to attend the provincially mandated basic training sessions and meet minimum medical and fitness requirements are eligible to apply. “Currently we have 26 members on the department. And I’d like to see double that number available for a major wildfire.”, stated McKenty. Canada is reporting its worst wildfire season on record in 2023, and the fire season isn’t over yet. Learn more about wildfire preparedness, safety and wildfires in B.C. here. Email chief@cortesfire.org...
by Louis Belcourt | Jun 3, 2023 | CKTZ News
Sunflower Foods, a local food company, launched a Pay It Forward program this winter as a way to donate healthy pre-made meals to the food bank. “We wanted to find a way to provide food for people who couldn’t afford it, who were on disability, who did need some sort of subsidy. At first we were just marking down the price for them and it was coming out of our pockets. It started to get a little more difficult for us and we didn’t wanna start losing money on this. And so we came up with the idea of having the community donate,” said Carrie Taylor, founder of Sunflower Foods. The Pay It Forward program started on Feb. 21. If someone wants to donate the cost of a pre-made Sunflower Foods meal at the local food bank, Sunflower Foods will match that donation. “So for the first month we didn’t have anything but the second month when we started the program, after we started the meal delivery service, we had something like 70 meals go in. So we had 35 donations. We matched it with 35 meals, and we had given away all those meals for free to people who needed them.” The company also launched a new meal delivery service on Cortes Island Feb. 1; this is currently the only delivery service available on Cortes since Meals on Wheels stopped during the pandemic. “There were a lot of people reaching out that wanted to make sure their elderly family members were eating well. Some of the people who used to rely on them Meals on Wheels program that...
by Louis Belcourt | May 26, 2023 | CKTZ News
Editor’s Note: Greg Osoba is a CKTZ News contributor. A local band is hosting a free show to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Six Foot Johnson — a band including Garden Stein on drums and vocals, Danfver Johnson on harmonica, rhythm guitar and vocals, Dave Murray on lead guitar, and Greg Osoba on bass and vocals — has practiced “over 800 times at about 40 practices a year,” including numerous live shows, over their 20 year career. The group considers themselves “Cortes Island’s house band.” “Well, 20 years ago I rented the Gorge Hall and I set up a bunch of instruments and invited everyone on the island to come and jam for my 35th birthday. And out of those jams, I met the guys that became Six Foot Johnson. And I said, ‘wow, we should keep playing, this is good music,'” said Stein. “And the band grew from that night, so I thought it would come full circle to rent the Gorge Hall 20 years later, set up the gear and play music with the same guys again.” The show will be free of charge and have a selection of DJ’s playing before and after Six Foot Johnson’s two one hour long live sets. “It’s a celebration, but we’re doing it as a gift to the community,” said Osoba. “It’s a 20 year anniversary and we are doing the show for free because it’s a give back to the Cortes community after all these years.” The show is on June 3. Doors open at 8 p.m. Listen below for more on CKTZ:...
