For close to 20 years the District of Sooke has been holding a Safe Halloween for the trick or treating kids. It came about because of the vandalism and antics of some youth in the past and the need to have a place that was family friendly.
Mayor Wendall Milne said it was first organized by the community, then the volunteer fire fighters took it over and now they are wanting to turn it over to another community group.
“Anyone in the community can be the lead on it, there’s no cost just a lot of physical work,” said Milne.
He wonders if the community thinks it is important enough to continue, because if it is, then some group needs to step forward to ensure it happens on Halloween night.
“What do we do with this? Do we abandon it and shelve it at least for this year?” questioned Milne.
He said when it first began the entire Evergreen Centre was turned into a play zone. It moved to the Sooke Community Hall at some point, where it has been for the past while.
Safe Halloween is a bunch of structures which include a haunted house, which the kids love to be scared by.
“I still think it’s important for the social aspect but we can only do so much,” he said.
If there is interest out there in continuing this fun tradition, call Wendal Milne at the municipal hall at 250-642-1634.
Other news on the municipal agenda includes the building of new sidewalks. The sidewalk construction is a phased approach with the first zone stretching from Murray and Otter Point Road to where the new roundabout will be (opposite the exit from Evergreen Centre). This will lead up to the construction of the roundabout, which is inching closer with land acquisition dealings.
Mayor Milne said the talks with the Ministry of Transport and people at the ministerial level have “been positive to date.” He said, “they are not going to stand in our way. We are hoping the new connector road will take some of the weight off Sooke Road.”
Milne said there are 15,500 vehicles traveling through the center of Sooke every day. He is hoping people will check out the new connector road (Wadams Way) once it is completed and use it for their daily commute.
Coming up on the November ballot will be a borrowing question. The district wants to build a new community centre/library with seniors and youth in mind and they would need the authority from the taxpayers to borrow money which would be repaid over the next 20 years.
“There’s lots to do,” said Milne, “and not enough time to do it.”