Community comes together to add heat to The Hub

Published: September 28, 2012 6:00 AM
Updated: September 28, 2012 12:38 PM

It is amazing what can happen when you are optimistic.

Well, optimistic and willing to work at it with gusto. The whole Hub project has been an amazing experience so far, and what happened in September left me exhausted but smiling from ear to ear.

It began last March when the Cowichan Station Area Association applied to CVRD for a portion of the federal gas tax grant.

The CSAA became the first non-government organization to receive funds, and it put the association into new territory.

When we started the project, we inherited two antiquated and inefficient oil furnaces. The heating bill last winter was astounding ? more than $3,000 per month.? That was why we strove for sustainable green geothermal energy, perfect for a large place like The Hub.

The contract for the project was awarded to Mercury Refrigeration from Shawnigan.? Jason Rockson suggested that the field across the road from the buildings was the right place to lay the pipes. This also gave us the added benefit of an upgraded and now level playing field.

The project estimate came in several thousand dollars over what we had received from the grant so it was time to lean on the community at large.

Now, when I think large job involving earth, I think of the Ellison brothers, Barry and Brian. Meeting them on site they remarked on the size of the job. I joked, ?Well, we are all working down here for free, sure you don?t want to get a piece of the action??

After tidying up the jobs they were working on, and put the next ones off, they stepped in. A fast and furious ten days followed.

I made great lunches, and kept them watered to keep them coming back. Numerous volunteers have helped me and Steve ? from Mercury lay more than 8,000 feet of pipe in perfect trenches, six feet deep, eight feet wide and 250 feet long.

More community members stepped up, volunteering their heavy equipment and their time to finish the massive job.

Steve even sold tickets he purchased months ago, and worked overtime to help get finished so the Ellisons could move on to their next jobs.

The days were long, the air dusty, and the heat in the 30s. One day it was 38 in the cab of Barry?s excavator.

But I know everyone is proud of how the community banded together to do good work for the next generations.

As I write this, Brian is still on site.? While the rest of us are burnt out, he is tidying up, perfecting another job, before he heads off to the next.

This project, however, is one in a lifetime. Thanks to all for making it a reality.

Sarah Davies-Long is the CSAA director who co-ordinated the geo-thermal project, part of an ongoing process to transform the old Cowichan Station Elementary School into a community hub.

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Source: http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/opinion/170598636.html

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