Home Blog Page 450

Housing campaign shares stories

Gail Sjuberg
-
0
Housing campaign shares stories

Salt Spring Housing Action Committee has started their “Summer of Storytelling” campaign through public outreach, posters and storyboards to be posted around the island, at businesses, markets and public events.

The group hopes to reach people who are unaware of the scope of the crisis.

“The island has circles,” said group member Rhonan Heitzmann. “There are a lot of segments of people whose jobs, homes and friends are secure, so they know that it’s hard to find a house, but they don’t know how bad it is. We want to still engage people to share their stories and to hopefully find a way to reach out past the audience that has already been reached.”

The group plans to have information booths at the Tuesday Farmers’ Market in order to get the attention of more local people. Booths will have posters with stories of people affected by the crisis and a petition that will be presented to local governing bodies.

SHAC intends to build awareness about the issue over the summer and to help it become a major issue in the upcoming municipal election.

“I’m hoping it’ll be the major issue,” Heitzmann said. “If people want to talk about governance or the environment, I hope they’re talking about it from the point of view of how we house people sustainably . . . We want people to be serious about solutions and not just give lip service.”

Local elections will be held across B.C. on Oct. 20.

Though the situation is complex, Heitzmann believes that it can be solved, even if the solutions are complicated. The end of the crisis will come from a willingness to act and to do the work necessary to make change, he said.

“We’re hoping that creating the solutions to this crisis is a cultural shift. We need to work together to find solutions and be creative,” he said. “We need elected officials who are willing to do the hard work of shaking up the bureaucracy, and I think that’s what the next term is really going to be about.”

SHAC is looking for volunteers to help with the Summer of Storytelling campaign. Those interested in volunteering can sign up at saltspringsolutions.com.

Salt Spring paddler part of world championship team

Gail Sjuberg
-
0
Salt Spring paddler part of world championship team

A Salt Spring Island paddler can add “world champion” to her accomplishments after this year’s Club Crew World Championship Dragon Boat racing event in Szeged, Hungary.

Sabine Georgy, 60, raced on two teams at the event, competing in the Senior B and C categories. The Senior B team, which is for ages 50-59, placed third in the 200- and 2,000-metre races, as well as gold in the 500-m race. The Senior C Team is for ages 60-69 and they placed bronze in the 200-m, silver in the 500-m and fourth place in the 2,000-m events. Racers are allowed to paddle in younger age groups, so Georgy was able to compete in multiple events.

“Our goal was to be on the podium in all events and we achieved that,” Georgy said. “Becoming world champion was the icing on the cake.”

The event was Georgy’s first time competing at the highest level. At the event, 140 teams from 30 different countries were in attendance, with around 6,000 paddlers braving the hot and humid weather in Szeged.

Georgy started dragon boat racing with Salt Spring’s Spirit Point Dragons. After about six years with the local team, Georgy sought a higher level of competition and began training with the Gorging Dragons in Victoria.

For more on this story, see the August 1, 2018 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Nobody Asked Me But: Vitamin infusions a health topic battleground

Shilo Zylbergold
-
0
Nobody Asked Me But: Vitamin infusions a health topic battleground

What’s with all this infusion confusion diffusing through the fitness training rooms and health spas of the nation these days? Have the forces of anti-aging and eternal wellness tapped into the latest “Fountain of Youth” mania to deliver yet one more chance to sidestep the inevitable?

Indeed, it appears that the sudden profusion of vitamin infusion technology is about to pave the way for instant health and well-being for anybody willing to shell out enough coin to keep those employed at the wrinkles and belly fat brigade at bay for a few more calendar pages. And if it can chase away a bad hangover, bonus!

You may have seen YouTube videos of celebrities like Miley Cyrus getting vitamin infusions (trying to somehow squeeze the IV needle into a vein hidden among a camouflaged background of extremely loud and distasteful tattoos). This obsessive trend, however, is not limited to rock stars and internet celebrities. Even for ordinary, past their “best before due date” plebs like yours truly, who are old enough to have learned how to drive before Neil Armstrong took a giant leap for mankind with the original moonwalk, vitamin infusion is not really a wholly new concept. It’s been around at least since the 1960s when Dr. John Myers, an internist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, came up with the idea that our digestive, absorptive and detoxification systems were just not good enough to supply all the nutritional needs our imperfect beings craved. He proposed that a mixture of essential nutrients, hence called the Myers’ Cocktail, could be “mainlined” or IVed into the bloodstream on a regular basis to enhance the overall performance level of our bodies and turn us into biologically more efficient machines.

In the half century since, the cocktail has become increasingly popular, especially among naturopaths worldwide, with soaring claims that the increase in metabolization acts as an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging agent, thus giving the recipients more energy and making them look younger. Instead of having to ingest vitamins A through Z in pill or powder form, as well as popping a myriad of minerals as supplements from every corner of the Periodic Table, a megadose infusion of the cocktail can do the job in a matter of 30 minutes to two hours a week (depending on the size of the vein and the volume of the cocktail).

Although it may vary from cocktail to cocktail, a typical highball vitamin infusion contains ascorbic acid, calcium gluconate 10%, dexpanthenol, hydroxobalamin, magnesium chloride, niacinamide, pyridoxine, riboflavin-5-phosphate sodium, and thiamine HCL in varying amounts and proportions. Don’t be surprised if reading this list triggers night sweats and induced deliriums hailing back to days gone by when you walked in to a Chem 12 exam room totally unprepared.

Of course, where you find supporters of vitamin infusions, you will also discover equal amounts of naysayers and detractors of this recent phenomenon. In fact, the U.S. health-based watchdog Quackwatch, which monitors medical related frauds, myths and fallacies, has found these vitamin infusion treatments to be, at best, highly questionable and the mainly anecdotal results likely attributable to the placebo effect. In addition, at between $150 to $500 a pop, the most visible sign seen by people who receive these treatments is probably how quickly their bank accounts decrease and disappear.

Nevertheless, the infusion cocktail is gathering steam and spreading across the globe. Established boutique clinics such as Vita Squad, The Drip Room and The Hangover Club, equipped with registered nurses, are proliferating in upscale urban neighbourhoods. Mobile IV vitamin clinic buses (I kid you not) trawl the downtown streets in search of unsuspecting wellness freaks with both bulging veins and wallets.

What’s next? Believe it or not, we already have mobile IV units doing “home” deliveries. Call it a whacked-out version of “IV Drips on Wheels” or the friendly, neighbourhood “Wellness Welcome Wagon”, technology is more than happy to come to you if you can’t get your ass out the door. It’s only a matter of time before we see drive through infusion lanes at local “fast fusion” franchises. With a little bit of imagination, you can visualize MacFusion competing for your cocktail dollar with IV King. Not far behind, the Colonel will be offering 11 secret herbs and spices . . . er . . . vitamins and minerals to make your taste buds come alive with a sense of well-being.

You’ll be able to choose from among 49 delicious flavours of cocktails at IV’s “R” Us or go next door to Pokey’s where the “Hole in 1” special offers you your own personal La-Z-Boy recliner with its 39 customized settings and an advertising slogan that promises “1 poke fits all!”

So what’s the verdict? To IV or not to IV? Are you going to get rid of all that unwanted fatigue and general disorientation in your life by keeping on a healthy, nutritional diet and getting plenty of exercise? If that doesn’t work to your satisfaction, are you willing to augment the overall results by ingesting a boatload of pills and powders while you lather your body with oodles of salves, creams and ointments?

Or, are you ready to take the newest route to eternal health and beauty by plopping your butt down in the La-Z-Boy recliner infusion throne for up to two hours per week and making that intravenous drip into your bloodstream do the work for you?

Nobody asked me, but it appears to be a matter of choice. Social media sources are chock-a-block full of raving testimonials praising the benefits of the infusions. At the same time, critics from the medical establishment continue to pile on the measurable results, dismissing the findings and miraculous cures as part of a nationwide hoax and sham.

Of course, there is no reason why you have to choose any one particular route to good health. You just have to mix and match: eat organic foods properly, get plenty of rest, jog, lift weights, do yoga, pop pills, hydrate, moisturize skin, breathe essential oils and top it off with a weekly IV cocktail.

Now you’re really exhausted. Not only that, but you realize you’ve just kissed your retirement fund bye-bye.

                                                                                                                                                     

Editorial: Seeing [road lines] is believing

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Editorial: Seeing [road lines] is believing

Salt Spring Islanders are used to complaining about the state of the island’s roads, and for good reason.

Paving of our main “highway” and shoulders is overdue, potholes and crumbled road edges are rampant, and our road lines are often faded beyond usefulness. Many people state they will not drive at night, especially in winter months, due to the perceived dangers.

When Minister of Transportation Claire Trevena visited the island this spring, she commented that she frequently hears from Gulf Islands residents about their dissatisfaction with road conditions and maintenance.

The Driftwood recently reported from transportation ministry sources that Salt Spring was due to receive about $50,000 worth of road line painting this year, “sometime” before the end of the summer. In the past that timing would mean “just before Halloween.”

That’s why it was surprising to see yellow lines magically appear on Fulford-Ganges Road and beyond last Thursday morning, and white fog lines joining them on Tuesday morning.

We thank the powers that be in the transportation ministry and any other government officials who contributed to this quasi-miraculous event.

At the same time, repairs to Walker Hook Road, which suffered a major failure in one area last winter, are also well underway, proceeding sooner than expected.

Could we be seeing a tangible shift in how Salt Spring is treated when it comes to road maintenance issues, or is this not really unusual?

At the risk of becoming too complacent, though, we can’t help press for the transportation ministry to find a way to pave the road between Ganges and Fulford, and with a decent-sized shoulder. A promise to do that was part of the provincial government’s “offer of assistance” made to Salt Spring as an inducement to incorporate last fall, but it is something that should be done regardless of our governance choice.

With increased property assessments in the past two years, the provincial government should have received a nice windfall from our “rural” community. Spending some of that money on an upgraded Fulford-Ganges Road would be the right thing to do. Letting the island’s main road continue to deteriorate is irresponsible.

In the meantime, we will enjoy those bright road lines — for as long as they last.

NSSWD moratorium policy clarified

Gail Sjuberg
-
0
NSSWD moratorium policy clarified

The North Salt Spring Waterworks District is hoping to eliminate confusion through an update of its hook-up moratorium policy.

District manager Ron Stepaniuk explained that the wording of the previous policy made it sound like “a waiting list” could exist, which made people erroneously believe they might receive NSSWD service at some point in the future by being on a waiting list. No such list exists under the moratorium.

“It is simply a matter of clarification,” Stepaniuk said about the policy update.

All property owners who currently pay a NSSWD parcel tax on bare land still have the right to a water hook-up for a single residence or commercial unit.

“There are no changes relating to the criteria on which a connection will be approved, but the new policy explicitly states that properties not on the parcel tax roll will not be approved for a connection,” added NSSWD environmental manager Meghan McKee. “There was also some additional explanation added to the background section about the reason for allowing each property on the parcel tax roll to have one 3/4-inch connection.”

 NSSWD trustees passed the amendment at their July 26 public meeting.

The policy and its rationale is on the NSSWD website.

Lake levels

Despite Salt Spring Island receiving ample rainfall in June, St. Mary and Maxwell lake levels are dropping rapidly, reported McKee.

As of July 25, Maxwell Lake was just below the 2009 level but still above the 2015 level, which was the lowest since levels have been recorded in detail.

“We’re not in great shape,” said McKee.

“We may be going to Level 4 [restrictions] this year,” she said.

The district is currently at Level 3 restrictions.

For more on this story, see the August 1, 2018 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

 

BROWN, Juanita Vale

Driftwood Obituary
-
0
BROWN, Juanita Vale

Juanita Vale Brown
September 8, 1914 – July 19, 2018

Nita came to the end of her long life at the age of 103. She fell a little short of her 104 birthday this coming September. Her family has agreed that their Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother will be given the benefit of a few days, and will be given, in memory, her 104 years.

Nita arrived on Saltspring Island from Prospect Lake and Victoria with her husband Buzz and 3 of their (to be 4) children in 1947. They arrived in a model T Ford on the ferry which sailed from the very small wharf at the end of an unpaved road surrounded by dark forest. The Cy Peck was the only ferry sailing from Swartz Bay to Saltspring in 1947. It docked in Fulford Harbour where the few cars that it carried drove off at a village consisting of Pattersons General store, a gas pump and a few scattered cottages. The families pet cat “Ginger” escaped the car and began her life in the “wilds” of Fulford while the saddened children travelled through the Fulford Valley and along empty small winding roads until they were coasting down the Fulford Ganges hill and into a slightly larger village of Ganges.

Ganges became, over the years, a bustling rural village but on that day was rather bleak, very empty and housed only the Ganges Wharf, feed shed, Mouats General Store, Saltspring Trading Company, 2 garages, the Cenotaph, a few small retail stores, the Tides Inn and Rita’s Restaurant. The sea filled the present day Thrifties parking lot and Post Office area. The sea also crept over the narrow road leading to Mouats Store when tides and wind sent it flowing over the road. The side streets feeding into Ganges were residential with cottages and tidy gardens behind picket fences. The population on Saltspring was 2500.

Nita’s husband Buzz [Alfred Martin] was bringing his family to Saltspring where he was to be the new Provincial Governments Municipal clerk, Assessor and Tax collector. Buzz was also to manage the same for the outer Gulf Islands, issue drivers licenses, marriage, burial and fishing licenses. His office was in the 2 story old white boarding house sitting beside Mouats Store.

After settling in to her rented home Nita enrolled the school aged children at the Saltspring Elementary and High School. The building held grades from one to 12 and enrolled 325 students. Mahon Hall was the gym used by students while across the road was a logging dump.

Rural living on Saltspring in the late 40’s and early 50’s provided all kinds of experiences for the family. Nita slowly became involved in her new community and, over the years, while raising her children became active in outer island pottery and craft classes. This, over time developed with a small group of friends into Art Craft. Today Art Craft is a very vibrant organization with many talented artists showing their work at various venues and culminating in a summer show in Mahon Hall.

Nita, with her friend Kay Booth conceived and developed the Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop. They began with $250, space in Mouats basement and a portable sewing machine that was used to mend donations. Today the Thrift Shop is run by many volunteers and contributes $180,000 to the Lady Minto Hospital. Many people benefit from this small beginning.

Both Nita and Buzz were to become eager participants in many community events and organizations. Buzz became involved in the Chamber of Commerce, improving ferry service, the Golf Club and establishing Ruckle Provincial Park. Golf, fishing, badminton and Sea Capers were events that Buzz enjoyed. He always entered the walk-the-greasy-pole-event. It provided many laughs for islanders, his children and later his Grandchildren.

Nita and Buzz also contributed to the island-style social life by organizing and participating in island Masquerades that were heavily attended, [Fulford Hall] eagerly anticipated and always involved a great deal of hilarious behaviour and outrageous home made costumes.

After Buzz retired Nita started her Cottage Tea Shop in Mouats Mall. She spent many happy days serving her friends, family and tourists. Grandchildren loved to drop in when they were visiting the island and eat as many butter tarts or fresh blackberry pie as they wished. Nita’s friends enjoyed the daily gossip and the “laced” tea that she served from a tea pot on festive occasions.

Nita is predeceased by her husband Buzz and son, Lyle.

She is remembered fondly by her 3 children, 11 grandchildren and 18 grandchildren. Nita lived a full life and leaves behind many accomplishments and a great many memories.

Nita’s family would like to thank the angels/staff of Extended Care, who were her caregivers for almost 4 years. They each and all showed great care, love, compassion and patience.

The family will be spreading her ashes in fondly remembered locations on her island home of many happy years. A memorial bench will be placed in the village outside her tea room and will provide another pleasant spot to sit and reflect on how sweet island living can be when you participate, contribute and savour with friends, community and family.

Man with history of disappearances sought on Salt Spring

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Man with history of disappearances sought on Salt Spring

Salt Spring RCMP are seeking the public’s assistance in locating 46-year-old Jeremy Daniel Oakley.

Police state they received a report from Oakley’s ex-girlfriend advising that she had not heard from him in quite some time. 

“The last contact with Oakley was on June 22. He possibly moved to Salt Spring Island to work on a construction site in the south end of the island, but that has not been confirmed,” notes an RCMP release.

Anyone who may have seen Oakley should contact Salt Spring RCMP at 250-537-7250.

A man with the same name and age was the subject of a Maclean’s article in December of 2008. The story described how Jeremy Daniel Oakley, then 37 and of Halifax, was alleged to have faked his own death to escape charges of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl in Nanaimo in 2004.

According to Maclean’s, he was determined to be alive after being arrested for possessing child pornography in 2008.

Oakley was also reported missing in Victoria in 2016. An April 7, 2016 Victoria Times Colonist story contained a public appeal for help to find him at that time.

Salt Spring RCMP confirmed they are aware of Oakley’s past disappearances.

Islanders earn BC Games honours

Elizabeth Nolan
-
0
Islanders earn BC Games honours

Salt Spring athletes and coaches who participated in the 2018 BC Summer Games over the weekend were rewarded for their efforts.

Over 2,300 athletes aged 11 to 18 from around the province competed at venues in the Cowichan Valley from July 20-22. Salt Spring sent baseball player Matty Schure, sailors Callum and Cianan McGuffin, and swimmer Debbie McNaughton. Jacky Cooper took head coaching duties in equestrian sports and Jane James was an equestrian official.

“It was really fun and really well organized,” McNaughton reported of her first BC Games experience.

McNaughton earned a silver medal and beat her personal best time in the Special Olympics 50-m backstroke event. She earned fourth-place finishes and beat her best times in her two other races. McNaughton will be headed to Antigonish, N.S. to compete in Special Olympics national competitions this weekend.

Hanging out with the other athletes and meeting some of the people who will be going to nationals was a highlight of the weekend for McNaughton, who has been swimming competitively for four years.

“I like it because I’ve always really loved swimming,” McNaughton said about her reason for competing. “And I like the friendly aspect of it. Everyone is really supportive and cheers everybody on.”

McNaughton’s teammate Dawn Hadler will also be going to Nova Scotia for the national event.

Cooper has participated at many BC Summer Games in the past and this time was responsible for Zone 7, coaching three girls from Terrace.

“It’s giving back to your sport, and I love working with kids,” Cooper said.

Her team included the youngest rider in her division, an 11-year-old who completed two dressage tests and a musical free-style. Of the two 15-year-olds on the team, one received two gold medals and one silver, while the other rider received a personal high score.

The McGuffins earned a bronze medal in the Boys/Girls 420 sailing event with Callum as skipper and twin brother Cianan as crew.

Callum said one of the things he enjoyed about the BC Summer Games was meeting all the athletes from other sports — something they don’t usually get to do at sailing regattas. The venue at Maple Bay was also good, and had ideal weather with sunny skies and winds of 10 knots.

“The racing was quite hard because we were racing some of the best teams in B.C., McGuffin said. “It was a really hard competition.”

The team is fairly happy with their bronze medal, although McGuffin believes they probably could have advanced one or two places if they had put more attention on the rest of the fleet and less on the race course itself.

“We’re also just seeing that as a really good experience, just seeing how much mindset affects performance,” he said.

The pair competed at the Sail Canada National Youth Championships in Nova Scotia last summer and are now preparing to move up to a new class. After they compete at the provincial 420 Championship Regatta in Comox this weekend, the McGuffins will be replacing their current sailing dinghy with a 49er — an Olympic-class racing vessel described as “the world’s fastest one design non-foiling double-handed monohull.”

“It can do 20 knots downwind, so it’s pretty fun,” McGuffin said.

For more on this story, see the July 25, 2018 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Sailboat burns off Russell Island

Driftwood Staff
-
0
Sailboat burns off Russell Island

A family is safe after their sailboat caught fire while at anchor off Russell Island on Wednesday evening.

According to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, the distress call came in at about 6:30 p.m.

A Canadian Coast Guard crew from Ganges and Nick Boychuk’s Eagle Eye Vessel Assist boat responded.

The JRCC spokesman said Eagle Eye kept the burning sailboat out of harm’s way until it sank at approximately 7:40 p.m. He added that the family is “okay” but all of their belonging on the boat were destroyed.

The crew of BC Ferries’ vessel Queen of Cumberland was also asked to assist. The boat was running 55 minutes behind schedule as of 8 p.m.

Man overboard alarm prompts massive search

Elizabeth Nolan
-
0
Man overboard alarm prompts massive search

Members of Salt Spring’s Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue unit were called away from their weekly training session Thursday evening to assist in a search for a possible missing ferry passenger.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria tasked the local unit to search the waters between Crofton and Vesuvius following an alert from the BC Ferries vessel Howe Sound Queen.

According to BC Ferries, the search was activated when crew on the Howe Sound Queen discovered a passenger’s luggage, loaded into a wheelbarrow, had been left behind from the sailing that arrived at Crofton around 5:30 p.m. Crew searched the vessel but found no one, and did not see the passenger when reviewing footage of the sailing’s unloading and voyage.

An RCMSAR crew headed by coxswain David Cassidy along with crew members Lochinvar Roome and Duncan Elsey was on scene by 6:23 p.m. and began to search the ferry route. They were later joined by Canadian Coast Guard vessels Ganges 1 and the Cape Naden from the Ganges station, RCMSAR 29 from Ladysmith, a Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopter and the Ladysmith RCMP Marine Unit. Coast Guard coordinated the search for several hours.

“Being involved in a large-scale search like this is not new to RCMSAR units as we train all year round with each other and other first responder agencies,” explained Unit 25 communications officer Mike Murphy.

The Howe Sound Queen performed its next round trip with all hands on look-out. The extensive search failed to locate anyone in the waters between Salt Spring and Crofton. 

Eventually, with further review of video footage, BC Ferries staff determined the passenger had entered a vehicle on the car deck at some point in the voyage.

All parties stood down just before 9 p.m. The ferry had already been operating 25 minutes late when the call went out and ended up running 50 minutes behind schedule.

RCMSAR 25 recently upgraded vital electronic components that were field-tested during Thursday’s search. The upgrades were made possible by community funding from the Salt Spring Foundation.

1...449450451...610Page 450 of 610