Fallen firefighters have been honoured with the dedication of a new commemorative plaza and memorial wall by the Saanich Fire Department.
The occasion was Firefighters’ National Memorial Day, a chance to recognize the dangers firefighters face and acknowledge those who have given their lives for their jobs.
Named at the dedication were:
• Lt. Thomas Williams Jennings, who joined the department in 1942 and died of a heart attack at age 54 on Christmas Day 1968 while working at a structure fire.
• Firefighter Hugh Stanley Taylor, who joined in 1976 and died at age 43 in 1994 as a result of occupation-related cancer.
• Capt. Dann Marchessault, who joined in 1973 and died at age 62 in 2014 as a result of occupation-related cancer.
Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes said in a statement that the loss of the men at such early ages is a reminder that firefighting is a dangerous profession and that safety, health and wellness are important.
He said he was honoured to be at the ceremony “to recognize the incredible selflessness, courage and expertise firefighters demonstrate every day, and thank them for their commitment and service to our community.”
Saanich Fire Chief Michael Burgess said the department is committed to giving members the best in personal protective equipment, occupational health-and-safety programs and access to counselling and other services.
Firefighters’ National Memorial Day was established in 2017. More than 1,300 firefighters have fallen in the line of duty in Canada since 1848, according to the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Make-a-Wish launches online auction
The Vancouver Island chapter of Make-A-Wish, the charity for children living with critical illnesses, has launched an online auction to replace Unwined, the annual food-and-drink fundraiser on which it usually relies.
The auction features close to 80 items ranging from stays at Vancouver Island resorts to a Patrick Roy-signed hockey stick, a Richard Hunt bracelet, garments made by Quadra Island crafters and a heat pump, complete with installation. Bidding ends Sept. 22.
An online 50-50 draw ends the same day.
Go to makeawishbc.ca/unwined for more information.
Valued Elder awards set for Oct. 1
The Valued Elder Recognition Awards are set for Oct. 1, along with a live webinar looking at social isolation and seniors.
The effect of COVID-19 on isolation and will be among the topics discussed.
The event runs from 1:30-3:15 p.m. Register at https://tinyurl.com/IDOP2020.
As has been the case for the past 20 years, the Eldercare Foundation and the University of Victoria’s Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health are coming together to host the awards, which recognize special volunteer service. They will also mark the International Day of Older Persons.
This year’s recipients will be Eleanore Arkesteyn, Andree Galbraith, Mary Gidney, Suellen Guenther, Marg Palmer, Dick and Diane Payne, Janice Poulin, Beverly Unger, Trudine Wilson and Donna Zwiers.
The webinar will feature a three-person panel — research director at the Angus Reid Institute Dave Korzinski, University of Manitoba professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences Dr. Verena Menec and Eddy Elmer, a gerontology researcher and consultant in aging and mental health who is completing his PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Hike for Hospice returns
Following a postponement due to COVID-19 concerns, Hike for Hospice is back with a new, socially distanced concept taking place over two weeks.
The event began Sept. 15 and continues through Sept. 30, with people invited to bring their “bubbles” together or to walk while distanced on a three-kilometre, self-directed route. Hikers will start at the Victoria Hospice Community Support Centre on Chatterton Way and make their way around Rithet’s Bog — right across the street.
Leashed dogs are welcome and there will once again be a prize for best-dressed dog.
Participants are asked to register online and create a fundraising page.
The centre opened its doors last October, offering bereavement programs and free grief counselling. A Tree of Remembrance, where hikers can hang the name of a loved one, will be in place during the event.
Victoria Hospice depends on these types of events and support from the community for close to half of its operating costs. The fundraising goal from Hike for Hospice is $40,000 — which ties in with 2020 being the 40th year for the facility.
Register or donate at www.victoriahospice.org/hikeforhospice.
Also with hospice, friends who have been holding a golf event for the past 27 years have turned it into a hospice fundraiser. The Mountain Golf Tour, so-called because it used to have Mount Washington as a focal point, raised over $15,000 this year and $10,000 last year — and has generated about $35,000 overall.
The fundraising emphasis began in 2011 in honour of a member of the group who was helped greatly by hospice volunteers before his death.
Tour member Tarj Mann said participants make a donation to hospice up-front every year, some donate prizes and there are contests like daily 50-50 draws to generate more funds.
“Every time you lose a match you have to put money in the pot, those kinds of things,” Mann said.
He said that over the years the tour has seen more and more children of the original members getting involved, and contributing to the fundraising effort.
Top honour for safety volunteer
Judy Hagen, the Emergency Support Services director for Quadra Island, has been given a Public Safety Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award — the top honour for public-safety volunteers in B.C.
She has served as director of Emergency Support Services since cofounding Quadra Island’s emergency program in 2006, and also volunteers with the Quadra Island Fire Department, the RCMP Speed Watch program and more.
Before coming to Quadra Island, Hagen was in Invermere, where she volunteered in community-policing and crime-prevention programs.
Public-safety volunteers are vital, said Michele Babchuk, chairwoman of the Strathcona Regional District board.
“Judy Hagen, who has demonstrated long-term commitment to this need over decades of volunteer work, deserves high praise for all that she’s done,” Babchuk said in a statement. “Thank you Judy for your hard work over so many years throughout B.C.”
Marathon for Melanoma next weekend
The Canadian Walk for Veterans is going virtual Sept. 26 and 27.
The third annual event would normally be spread across the country with people walking “shoulder-to-shoulder” in honour of veterans and first responders.
But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are instead encouraged to come up with something active to do themselves during the two-day event — like walking, running, cycling, doing push-ups — and also take pictures or videos of their efforts to upload to social media as a show of support. Use the tag #Canwalk4vets.
The event will be a thank you to every essential front-lone worker across the country, organizers said.
Net proceeds go to Courageous Companions, which provides service dogs to veterans and first responders.
Register at canadianwalkforveterans.com. The registration fee is $20.
Virtual walk for veterans
Victoria’s Nigel Deacon, who was diagnosed with rare ocular melanoma 10 years ago, will be running/walking the 42-kilometre marathon distance Sept. 26 as part of Move for Melanoma, put on by the Save Your Skin Foundation.
Ocular melanoma, which occurs in or near the eye, is diagnosed in only a few hundred Canadians annually. The foundation said Deacon has to fight for treatment each time his condition recurs because there is no approved or covered treatment in the country.
Money raised through Move for Melanoma goes directly to people with various types of melanoma. The money helps with things like uncovered treatment, transportation and accommodation while receiving treatment, and lost wages.
People are invited to show their support virtually this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deacon, who joined with the foundation to form the patient-support group Ocumel Canada in 2019, said he hopes his upcoming effort will inspire people to donate.
“The loneliness of the long-distance runner is normal for me!” he said in a statement. “In a pandemic, patients still need support, perhaps moreso than ever.
“Your contributions will be welcomed with warm thanks.”
His fundraising team is called The Eyes Have It.
For more details and to donate, go to https://saveyourskin.akaraisin.com/ui/moveformelanoma2020/about.
jwbell@timescolonist.com
