About 225 sailors and officers onboard HMCS Vancouver were in Ho Chi Minh City this past week, part of an operation called WESTPLOY 16.
Vancouver’s current deployment is partly a goodwill tour of Pacific countries. It’s also a chance to assess the capabilities of Halifax-class frigates after they have undergone modernization to extend their lives.
HMCS Vancouver and its crew have been at sea since departing Esquimalt in June and have already completed several exercises. The ship is expected back in December, so it’s hoped all the crew will be back in Canada for Christmas.
Most of the officers and crew aboard Vancouver work out of CFB Esquimalt. But many of the crew have been posted in for the trip from other parts of Canada.
Firefighters pitch in for the kids
Victoria-area firefighters dropped off a $25,000 cheque last Wednesday earmarked for the pediatric unit at the Victoria General Hospital.
The cheque is part of a 10-year $250,000 pledge made in 2011 by the Professional Firefighters of Greater Victoria Charitable Foundation promising to support pediatric care at the hospital.
This year’s cheque will go to purchase bilirubin analyzers used to measure the likelihood of a jaundice in a baby still in untero.
Surgery will give youngster new hope
Dan Murray, a third-generation Saanich man, didn’t realize how many friends he had, until his nine-year-old daughter Madeleine needed out-of-country medical help.
“It’s been overwhelming, the support,” said Murray in a telephone interview from Florida where Madeleine, “Maddie,” is getting specialist medical help.
Maddie was born with arthrogryposis, a congenital condition in which muscles around joints are overly contracted, often putting a joint into a permanent hooked position. In her case, the condition has pulled her chin on to her chest, making swallowing, even breathing, hard.
Throughout her life, Maddie has undergone 10 surgeries in B.C., and four of them have been unsuccessful.
At the Florida clinic she underwent an initial surgery last Friday. Now begins weeks of adjustment to bring her head up into forward-looking position. Later, surgeons will perform major surgery to remove some of the damaged vertebrae in her neck and permanently fuse others.
B.C. Health has not been able to help. So the Murrays have remortgaged the family home and cashed insurance policies to raise $150,000. The community has raised a further $50,000. But the full treatment and costs, however, are expected to top $500,000.
Want to help? Go online to gofundme.com/MadeleinesSurgery/donate.
Ancestral remains returned to First Nations
People strolling the University of Victoria campus one day this month might have seen a funeral, part of a university effort to forge a new relationship with First Nations.
Prof. Ann Stahl, chairwoman of anthropology, said the funeral Oct. 7 was to return First Nations ancestral remains from storage at UVic to the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations.
“We have been trying to work very carefully and respectfully with First Nations peoples to make sure their ancestors are properly cared for,” Stahl said.
Stahl said the remains came to UVic in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, when there was little protocol for dealing with First Nations remains. When graves were uncovered by something like construction, the RCMP or B.C. Coroners Service were notified.
Once it was decided the remains were historical, a researcher at UVic moved them into storage on campus. There was no malice, only a genuine desire not to allow them to be destroyed.
Today, when historical remains are unearthed, the B.C. Archeological Branch is notified and officials there turn to local First Nations for help and guidance.
“It’s important to understand the way archeology is conducted today is not the way it was conducted in the past,” Stahl said.
Scientific study is for the birds
Feeding birds in winter can make for pleasant garden viewing, but those interested can turn a quiet hobby into part of a major scientific study.
Bird Studies Canada and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the U.S. are asking bird-lovers to join Project Feeder Watch, a 30-year-old project to gather data on North American birds.
Kerrie Wilcox, spokeswoman for the non-profit Bird Studies Canada, said the scientific worth of Project Feeder Watch is its data stretching back three decades and the widespread geography of the participants, 3,500 in Canada and 18,000 in the U.S.
“It’s very good data,” said Wilcox in a telephone interview from Bird Studies headquarters in Port Rowan, Ont.
So, for example, Project Feeder Watch has provided data to indicate the evening grosbeak, once a common visitor to North American feeders, has disappeared from much of its former range.
Joining Project Feeder Watch costs $35. Participants are sent a subscription to BirdWatch Canada, a poster of common feeder birds and tips on how to gather the sightings so their observations can become part of the study.
To join go online to feederwatch.org or telephone toll-free to the Canadian co-ordinator at 1-888-448-2473.
Dine out to help Anawim House
A chance to dine with street people and to pick up the dirty dishes can be had at a special $100/plate fundraising supper next month at Anawim House.
Anawim Companions Society, celebrating its 25th anniversary, is hosting a fundraising supper, along with music and dancing and a chance to clean up after yourself. It’s to raise money for its work helping people deal with issues such as addiction, mental health or just bad luck.
“It will be a different kind of gala,” said society board member Jim Ross of the supper.
The society operates Anawim House, 973 Caledonia Ave., a supervised home and transition house for seven people at a time. Those seven must be drug- and alcohol-free and are required to prepare 30 free breakfasts, lunches and dinners every day.
Meanwhile, all those taking a meal at Anawim House must be sober. They must also abide by Anawim’s zero tolerance for violence, abuse or any other lack of respect, for anyone.
Anawim Companion Society operates its house on the principle that everyone has a responsibility to chip in and help. So diners, even the paying ones, might be asked to clear away a few tables.
Anawim’s 25 anniversary fundraiser is on Friday, Nov. 18 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Church Hall, 4635 Elk Lake Dr. in Saanich. For tickets contact Terry or Jacquie, at 250-382-0283 or by email at [email protected].
Inn staff ready to fling pies
Afternoon diners at the Inn at Laurel Point on Thursday can catch a view of flying whipped cream and pastry.
As part of the hotel’s annual fundraising drive in support of the United Way, staff will fling pies at the faces of their colleagues. The lucky ones will get a chance to fling a pie at their supervisors.
“It’s tons and tons of fun,” said Avril Matthews, of the Inn at Laurel Point.
Matthews said every year, employees and the hotel have a big push to raise money for United Way. The “Battle of the Pies” is just one event, albeit one of the most eagerly anticipated.
The Battle of the Pies is on Thursday, from 3 to 4 p.m. on the Aura restaurant patio.
Matthews said it’s not meant for public participation. But anybody dining in the hotel restaurant or strolling the path next to the Inner Harbour can catch a peek.
“You will see flying whipped cream everywhere,” she said.
Oak Bay pumpkins will last and last
Oak Bay is putting a little trick on display this week in advance of the Halloween treats: no-rot artificial pumpkins.
The sixth annual Pumpkin Art on the Avenue will feature more than 500 carved pumpkins, including 30 new ones with faces of local celebrities and new members of the Royal Family.
But these pumpkins, all individually carved, are artificial. It avoids that slow rot inevitable with the real, grown variety.
Pumpkin Art on the Avenue runs from Thursday, Oct. 27, to Monday, Oct. 31. It can be viewed at the rear of Oak Bay municipal hall, 2167 Oak Bay Ave., from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and until 10 p.m. on Halloween night.
Help Habitat and get a mop
There’s still a chance to get a free Swiffer mop and help Habitat for Humanity continue its mission to provide safe, decent, affordable homes.
Swiffer has agreed to donate $1 for every transaction made at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore from Oct. 17 to Oct. 31.
Also, while supplies last, every person making a purchase at ReStore will be given a free Swiffer mop.
Habitat for Humanity operates nearly 100 ReStore outlets across Canada, selling new and used building supplies, furnishings, appliances and decor to raise money to build homes for Canadians.
Using volunteer labour, funder support and donations of money and materials, Habitat of Humanity builds affordable homes for qualified families. Homes are also partly financed with monthly payments set to 25 to 30 per cent of family income.
Victoria ReStore can be found at 3311 Oak St. and in Langford at 849 Orono Ave.
Contest could fund adventure playground
The District of Saanich is hoping citizens will join them in a corporate contest to raise $70,000 to build an adventure playground for older children and teens.
Citizens can go online and vote as many as 18 times to support the Saanich bid. Even if the proposal doesn’t win, it will make for an interesting public feedback excercise.
The contest is being run by property and casualty insurance group Aviva Canada. The municipality hopes to select and later turn a small grove of trees near Saanich Commonwealth Place into a natural, adventure-style play area.
While not finalized, the plan is to have ropes and other chances to climb and swing in a natural setting.
Eva Riccius, Saanich manager of parks and recreation, said the department asked older kids and teens what they would like to see in a park.
They said loud and clear that parks are OK, but there is nothing to do in them.
“By the time you are 12 you are kind of done with [swings, slides and monkey bars],” said Riccius.
To learn more, and to vote, go to avivacommunityfund.org.
Diwali a feast for the eyes and taste buds
For Victorians who want to check out a real-life, retina-burning Bollywood experience, the Victoria Hindu Parishad and Cultural Centre offers the annual Diwali show.
Known as the Hindu Festival of Lights, the evening will be an offering of dance, music and bright, bright, colourful costumes. It will be followed by the chance to sample a little Indian food, spicy and sweet with chai, Indian tea.
The show is on Saturday, Oct. 29, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Farquhar Auditorium, University Centre at the University of Victoria. Tickets are $20 and available at the UVic Ticket Centre.
For more information, go to victoriahindutemple.com.
