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It is wonderful to see our river and lake back at healthy levels and flows after the seemingly endless summer of 2014.  As we all know, when the rains came they came in spades and within a few weeks our weir was full and our river was as high as it ever got last winter.  The salmon immediately sensed this and bolted up the river, evading the predators in the estuary and getting to their preferred spawning grounds without difficulty.

The voters of Cowichan just gave their elected representatives a mandate to do good things. In broad terms, there were two currents swirling around the election, one about what local government can do and one about what it can’t – or shouldn’t. The former turned out to be stronger.

For information about voting for Residents Living On First Nations Reserve Land, click here.

With the municipal elections approaching, I have been reflecting back to the last time we had them. I was 20 & advised to vote to bring the youth vote up. I unwittingly checked boxes for candidates without knowing what their campaign was or where they stood on local issues. I picked familiar names that I saw on picket signs by sidewalks or overheard other people mentioning. At 25, having voted in various elections since, I now realize the importance of voting. This is our opportunity to be heard and have a say in how our community is governed for our current and future sustainability.