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Business notes: New dance studio opens in the Valley

This is Paish’s third Passion Performance dancing studio on the Island.
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A new dance studio is opening in the Cowichan Valley.

Rachel Paish, who is originally from Duncan, is opening a new adults-only Passion & Performance studio that will offer a variety of fun dance classes, as well as some great events.

Paish said the studio, which opens on Sept. 10 in its location at #102-5301 Chaster Way, will offer eight different dance classes, from traditional to more racy genres.

Four instructors will teach the classes, which will be offered at the studio from Monday to Thursday each week, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

This is Paish’s third Passion & Performance dancing studio on the Island.

The first was established in Victoria years ago, and she intends to open another studio in Sooke the same day as the one in the Cowichan Valley opens.

Paish said plans are underway to open more studios on the Island and the Lower Mainland, and she’s considering opening ones as far afield as Toronto and Ottawa.

“My location in Victoria is booming, and many of its students were commuting from the Cowichan Valley,” she said.

“People were telling me it would be a good idea to set up a studio here. It will be a test studio for all the others I have planned.”

Professional cleaners moving to Cowichan, setting up Irish Mop

Sharon and David Chapman are moving their professional cleaning business from Vancouver to the Cowichan Valley.

Sharon said she and David had been operating the Irish Mop in Vancouver for about a year, with a number of clients including movie studios and restaurants.

But Sharon, who is originally from Ireland, said the fast-paced and busy city life was not for them.

She said someone suggested that they should spend some time on Vancouver Island, so they camped in a number of Island locations and became enamoured with the slower and more relaxed lifestyle they experienced in the Cowichan Valley.

“We felt right at home in Duncan, and decided to move here and relocate the business as well,” Sharon said.

“We’re professional cleaners of residences and businesses. We just received our first call for service, and we’re hoping to make the business successful here.”

For more information, call 250-689-0682, or go to mindy123@live.ie.

Equine Emporium celebrating first anniversary Sept. 22

Equine Emporium is celebrating its first anniversary with Makayla Mercer as the store owner.

Mercer took over the business, which sells mainly quality western and English horse tack, apparel, boots, hats and other accessories, last year after the former owner retired.

The store, located at the Crossroads Centre on the corner of Koksilah Road and the Trans-Canada Highway, will host a customer appreciation day on Sept. 22 to celebrate Mercer’s first-year anniversary at the store.

Mercer said Equine Emporium will hold a store-wide sale on that day, with everything going for 20 per cent off.

Duncan consultant looking to use tech to end existence of landfills

Helmut Blanken wants to see the Cowichan Valley, and the world, free of landfills.

Blanken is the owner of Duncan’s HBHE Consulting which specializes in waste management and waste-water treatment.

The company is the local agent for the German-based Waste Tec GmbH, a provider of advanced waste-treatment technology for all waste streams from organic, garden, municipal and commercial waste, as well as bio-solids.

“Our goal is to eventually get rid of landfills by using the latest technologies to deal with waste in a way that will reduce the need for them,” Blanken said.

“I come from Germany which has a much higher population density than here so there are no places for landfills anymore. I also plan to provide environmental education to students at the farm of Amy and Tafadzwa Matamba on Cowichan Lake Road.”

For more information, check out hbheconsulting.com.

BC Chamber of Commerce says pipeline decision wrong message

The BC Chamber of Commerce is extremely disappointed that the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is now in legal limbo.

The Federal Court of Appeal quashed the approvals to build the controversial pipeline on Aug. 30.

Val Litwin, president and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce, said that after a 29-month review of the project, the National Energy Board concluded the project is in the Canadian interest and recommended its approval.

He said the process was “rightfully rigorous” and involved a record 404 intervenors and more than 1,200 commentators.

“The message we just sent to investors is that it’s nearly impossible to get resource projects done in Canada, despite following a robust federal regulatory process,” said Litwin.

“How much consultation is reasonable for the approval of resource projects? This opens up the floodgates to have a never-ending consultation process where the goal posts are ever-changing.”



Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
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