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News & Community Notices

Open house a way to say thank you to community

Olivier Chiasson tries his hand at extinguish­ing a small barbecue fire, with some help, during a previous View Royal Fire open house. (DON DESCOTEAU /NEWS GAZETTE STAFF)

Kids can earn they'll treasure a certificate Rick Stiebel
News Gazette staff

Give your kids a chance to feel like a firefighter for a day. View Royal Fire Rescue is hosting its annual open house this Saturday (June 10) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the View Royal Public Safety Building, 333 Old Island Hwy.

Kids of all ages who go through the nine stations set up by firefighters will earn their Junior Firefighter certificate.

There will be hot dogs and treats as well, said View Royal Assistant Chief Rob Marshall.

"It's our way of saying thank you to the community for their support," he added.

Marshall thanked Quality Foods, Top Dog Pizza and Island Return-It for their generous assistance with the event.

reporter@goldstreamgazette.com

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Local student's oral report resonates in all languages

SD62 well represented at competition
Rick Stiebel
News Gazette staff

An Ecole John Stubbs student's presentation on women's rights earned her an award at the 2017 Concours d'art Oratoire.

Grade 9 Francophone student Linnea Sly placed second for her presentation "Les droits d'une femme" (The Rights of a Woman) during the Canadian Parents for French B.C. & Yukon competition that included 10,000 students from across the province.

Sly was one of 264 students that made the finals for the French speaking competition, which took place May 6 at Simon Fraser University.

Belmont Secondary Grade 11 student Markus Meyer joined four others from Ecole John-Stubbs in the competition, including Grade 6 Late Immersion student Fiona Black, Grade 7 Early Immersion student Emily Priebe, Grade 7 Late Immersion student Mataya Dorland-Meagher, and Grade 8 Immersion student Shaan Brar.

Students competing in Concours not only improve their French language skills, but develop confidence, time management and become more effective communicators, said Diane Tijman, president of Canadian Parents for French B.C. & Yukon in a media release.

"We are so proud of all our Concours participants," she added.

This year marks the 34th anniversary of the competition. There are currently 180,000 students in the province participating in the Core French program.

reporter@goldstreamgazette.com

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Letters to the Editor

Public continues to worry about speeders

Re: Speeding worries Lagoon-area residents (Letters, May 26)

I continue to read in the Goldstream Gazette about speeding all around Langford. I not only read it but I see it, why isn't something being done about this?

Do RCMP not hand out tickets for speeding, I guess if you aren't watching for them you wouldn't know that.

Maybe we need to increase our number of officers in Langford, I don't mind one bit paying more taxes to accomplish this.

I have talked to our municipal hall about the speeders going up Langford Lake Road at 60 km/h and more in a 30 km/h zone, right past Belmont secondary and a residential area.

I am going to purchase the small plastic little man with the slow sign on it and put two of them on Langford Lake Road, one half way up the hill and one at Clearwater Road.

If the RCMP and town hall won't do anything maybe the residents should.

And it's not only going on in Westhills but I see it all over Langford. I moved here four years ago and cannot get over the drivers that speed. Like Ian Preston said in his letter May 24th, heaven knows what the traffic will be like when the Westshore Parkway is put through to Highway 1. Langford builds and builds but does nothing about the traffic'.

Sorry Stew Young, but that is the truth.

Karol Sanderson
Langford

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Where are the police on the West Shore

Re: Show respect for Lagoon area residents (Letters, May 31)

Susan MacDonald's letter raises in my mind the question "Where are the police?"

MacDonald says they are there sometimes. I think that police repeatedly in the face of the deliberately dangerous drivers is the only thing that will stop them. Typically they are skilled at spotting police, so I recommend police be on foot lounging behind trees and in corners.

From my observations in Esquimalt and Saanich I say that speed bumps and other "traffic calming" schemes will not work — off-roader wannabes and road-racer wannabes view them as a fun challenge.

I ask Ms. MacDonald and all readers if they will develop and vote for candidates who will do government's duty to protect individuals, instead of wasting money on cutesiness like the fake stonework on Wale Road.

The current mayor and majority of council won't — and have claimed Colwood could not afford more policing. The next municipal election is only a year and a half away.

PS: I think more police feet on the street would increase apprehension of drunk drivers earlier. I think that some deliberately dangerous drivers will go on to theft, rape and murder because the underlying mentality is the same.

Keith Sketchley
Saanich

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Trudeau falling short on international aid election promises

• How many people have sheepishly admitted that President George Bush is starting to look good under the circumstances? North of the border, we can hardly make the same comparison, however, when it comes to international aid, Stephen Harper might outshine Justin Trudeau's Liberals.

While Mr. Trudeau is happy to pose with Malala Youfsafsai and offer honorary citizenship, his government is certainly not doing much by way of international aid for countries that need a boost to escape the cycle of poverty.

It is well documented that when girls are educated, they make better decisions for their families, which in turn betters their communities and their countries.

Canadians have repeatedly expressed that they care deeply about the role that Canada plays on the international stage and Malala Youfsafsai specifically asked that we take a leadership role in helping girls become educated.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is starting to fall short on his campaign promises. The oft-quoted "We're back" is losing the significance that it had when first quoted.

Connie Lebeau,
Victoria

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