Denman Island says: Thanks, but No Thanks.

The North Denman Lands scenario continued this weekend with an Islands' Trust sponsored community "round table" discussion. There was a good turnout from residents that wished to voice their views on the subject.... the overall point of view (in my estimation) was that less is more. The proposed 60 lot subdivision, (revised from 87) is doomed to fail. It seems that Islanders will (if necessary) forgo gifts of land from developers in order to maintain the rural-ness of the Island. The format of the meeting was to give anyone and everyone a chance to be heard for two minutes or less. Near the end of the meeting, a representative of The Kingsway Group development company took the microphone. When his time expired, he asked to be able to continue. He was refused the time and walked away in a huff. As he passed by us, someone jeered, "go home".... his reply was, "I will, and I'll take my land with me". I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I certainly appreciate the Islanders willingness to show that this island is not up for grabs. I'm confident that it will remain a rural paradise. I was very impressed with the overall quality of the event. It will go a long way to healing the divisiveness that this proposal has caused within the community. To read previous comments about the development in previous blogs... click here

I watched The Walmart Nation this weekend. Although I don't make a habit of shopping there.... I doubt they'll see me again. We're shopping the big boxes less and less. The Lumber packages for the house have been ordered through local lumber supply companies, even though we (knowingly) are paying up to 20% more than (Agent Orange) Home Depot. I'm cheap, so this has not been easy to do. HD has supplied the smaller purchases and goods that locally based suppliers could not.

Straw Bale House Update: The weather looks promising to have the roof trusses delivered on Thursday. We've finally made a decision on a straw supply. We'll bite the bullet and have the straw shipped from Alberta. Flax straw is the flavour of choice as it is the most rot resistant. It's only drawback is it's flammability. The high oil content of flax makes it a little more flammable during the construction process. Once plastered, the house will be far more fire resistant than houses built with conventional construction.