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_CENTRAL SAANICH _ PENINSULA NEWS REVIEW 3

Judy Reimehe

Peninsula News Review t “ps Reeve Sydney Pickles

and his council, seen
here in 1971, held their
meetings at the Pioneer
Log Cabin.

he area now known
as Central: Saanich.
seceded from the
Municipality of. Saanich on
Dec. 11, 1950. It became a
municipality. in its own right
in January of 1951.
Jt was a revolt that turned
‘. into a rout. Farmers in the
Central Saanich: area ‘had
long been grumbling about
rising taxes and. urban con-
trol by Saanich, but it took a
~ grassroots movement led by ~

Ray Lamont, senior
statesman for Central
Saanich as one of its
founding council mem-
bers, was the last to sign
the BC Book, brought to
the Log Cabin for the cer-
emony.

On display was one of the 9 ==aniu
original Central Saanich —-- Below, Wayne Hunter

“"» Sydney Pickles to see the Police uniforms, which reads some passages
split take place. were very military in _—sfrom the Jan. 6, 1974

; ‘We were lucky. If Centr al style and color. Sidney Review to the au--
Saanich hadn't gone its own ~ dience.

way then, they may have: fie PLM Bs 5
taken Royal Oak with them. § | ee
And there was tumbling. in
. Cordova Bay, too,” Saanich
Mayor Frank Leonard told - : Re
the people gathered at the : ie See leer
Pioneers’ Log’ Cabin Mu-. aed ees Bs : es EP on aa
seum on East Saanich Road Dec. 12.

To commemorate: the municipalities 50th. anniver sar ary, :
Leonard, presented Central Saanich Mayor Wayne Hunter
with sailague. that: contained the minutes of the April 24,
1950 council. meeting, at which the final deci: ision was made..
The January 13, 1951 election that formed: ‘the first coun-

cil for Central Saanich, records its members as: Reeve aa
ney’ Pickles: € ai :

ay 2 ALLO

erick Thompson and: Harold Andrew.
Lamont was ‘Present at. the eae a heothes fo celebration, :

.-Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Norma Sealey,
‘who shared a wealth of information about the early days of
Central Saanich. Many of the names she mentioned ‘were
a reflec ted by: the. oy Photographs on the walls surround. :
ing the crowd. -

a: When it came to naming the new muinicipality, ity was sug:
Tes ey -gested+that, since the area lies between Saanich and North -
ee “Saanich, ‘chrtral Saanich would identify its geographic lo-
H--- cation, and that.was chosen.It could have been Picklesville,
1.2 g', . which was also’ ‘suggested - —— council thought better of it.

HY Now on its-own, Central Saanich brought with it from

a... Saanich $54, 787, being. 11.5 per cent of the Saanich assets.

From that.was deducted $12,680 on account of superannu- .
= . ation obligations and $7, 199 for unpaid. taxes which could:
“be recoverable...

Pickles and council were dissatisfied, for onc thing at be-
ting denied ashare of the million-dollar Saanich waterworks |
undertaking profits, which Pickles said should have
br ought a further $115,000 to Centr al Saanich, | repor ted),

fies
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ites

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“So [ waited for the Saanich declaration and made‘ours
‘the same,” he is reported as saying. The consequence was
~ such a surplus at the end of the-year that Central Saanich.
~ “taxpayers had a year without taxes for general purposes sand.
administration the year following.
“Tt was_a_ fly-by-the-seat-of- “your-pants philosophy’ that:
suited the municipality in many ways. Take, for instance, the
emergency vehicles. Pickles donated a long-wheeled- base = ae
truck for conversion as ambulance or auxiliary fire truck
and two nozzles, while Victoria loaned a mobile pumping
unit and 1,000 feet of hose.

‘countant: auditor lan Ross who, along with RE Blandy, CX

“vt Hunter in his speech last weck. amined 97 Saanich byl ; f
. os a i ylaws proposed for adoption and found Harry McNichol headed the volunteer firemen, with . :
ne quoted EL OD y commenting: "We, have be “them to be “remarkably outdated with: many invalid -deputies Art Bolster in the West and Vic Heal in the East.
cage” Pushed OF WI Ni 5 nd will pn he “ 8 clauses.” ” ~The whole outfit was under the tutelage of the North
ied fale m er ying nou 8 ane wil ‘ ‘blish di, the fle loling Reeve Pickles said council would “adopt them en block Saanich Volunteer Fire Chief Art Gardner, “who molded the
_ ith ity ne aaa ate aes V3 electi " rede and make the necessary alterations later.” raw material and with his men assisted in the conversion of,
a municipa ily, the ine Off ay Hee a nt 7 we ree vi “Pass everything that brings in money and we'll go on equipment at the Sidney headquarters,” Hunter “Teported.
tig .clarec by Returning Mi a . ane ay 7 pet from there,” advised Councillor Lorne Thomson, Later, they In exchange, Central Saanich council voted $500 to the
fice of Hafer I rol Picn is Mine Calin} es Sannicht MCCUNES picked out the 16 bylaws considered most urgent for im- Sidney Department, plus money to pay the light hills,
took place at the Pioneer's Log Cabin in Saanichton, mediate use and adopted them, Council went through its own growing pains at the coun-

gk :
we ares ate, tet heal A a As forthe mill rate, Pickles later confessed (The Sidney cil table, where countless contentious debates caused tem-
municipal staff, along with setting te mi | Review, Jan, 6, 1971) he had no idea of what rate to declare’ pers to flare and opinion to. he hopelessly divided, Twice

Ne , hs ‘in sat a eaten Hye emy mons as _ Inthe first year, but was very Mice aware {hint it must tot” “Ree ve Pickles exercised hig prerogi live of holding. up nit
is. baseline, AL NANG AS Advisor | y me exceed that of Saanich, me: CONTINUED ON TAGE 5

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