Be prepared to bear with the fines if you leave your garbage out over night

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Court appearance today for Steven Michael Bacon in Makala Chang murder

The man accused of killing a Nanaimo teenager three and a half years ago, made his first court appearance today. 60-year-old Steven Michael Bacon is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Makayla Chang. The 16-year-old was last seen on March 17, 2017. Her body was discovered two months later but police won't say where. Today, Bacon appeared by video conference from Thunder Bay, Ontario, where he is being held.

Chang's father was at the courthouse in Nanaimo today. Kerry Chang says it made his skin crawl to see the accused killer. He says his family is grateful that the legal proceedings have started. Chang says it has been hard being kept in the dark about what happened to his daughter three and a half years ago. He says this tragedy can serve as a caution to parents.

“It's just really important to know what their children are doing. Who they're hanging out with and what's going on. I think it’s really important. Something that seemed so harmless in the beginning has turned out to be a tragedy, so... yeah."—Kerry Chang, Makayla Chang’s Father.

Meanwhile, Bacon remains in custody. His next appearance is set for October the 19th. No date has been set for a preliminary hearing.

Groundwater in Cassidy water cleared for consumption

It's safe to drink the water in Cassidy. Groundwater was tested in the area around the Schnitzer Steel operation near the airport, after a fire at the site more than a week ago. Island Health’s Medical Health Officers and Environmental Health team have determined the chemical results are safely within the maximum allowable concentrations set in the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines.

Fines meant to save bears from being euthanized

Some residents along Nanaimo Lakes Road have been fined for putting their garbage out the night before pickup. The Nanaimo News Bulletin is reporting the BC Conservation Officer Service issued seven tickets on Wednesday evening. Conservation Officer Stuart Bates says the reason enforcement is occurring now is that conservation officers know bears come for fruit trees on the outskirts of areas like Parksville and Nanaimo at this time of year. He says the goal is to prevent the bears from getting at garbage, becoming habituated and then possibly having to be euthanized. Bates says the $230 dollar ticket is for violating a bylaw that says garbage must not be taken to the curb before the pickup day.

Friday COVID-19 update

There are 139 cases of COVID-19 being reported in BC today, but not all of them are from the past 24 hours. 40 are cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health region that were confirmed between August the 11th and September the 16th, but not reported until today. There are no new cases confirmed in the Island Health Region today, however, there have been nine new cases of the virus in our region confirmed over the past week, bringing the total to 196 cases in our health region since the pandemic began. There were three deaths from COVID-19 on the lower mainland over the past 24 hours.