Newspaper Clippings / Public Hearing Advertisements (Goldstream Gazette)

Grandmothers for Africa raise $100G with virtual tour

Riders averaging age 70 wind up fundraiser at Mile 0

Kiernan Green
News Staff

For about 30 elder Victoria cyclists, a “tour across sub-Saharan Africa” reached a finale at the Mile 0 monument the morning of Sept. 12. Those who peddled from Central Park to the Beacon Hill Park monument on a windy Sunday morning made up about half of the total Victoria Grandmothers for Africa group; 65 cyclists ages 58 to 86 who rode a combined 28,000 km in support of peers in Africa.

This year’s 15th annual fundraiser raised $103,000 for African grandmothers who are building community against AIDS, HIV and this year, disproportionately low COVID vaccination rates.

Mayor Lisa Helps joined the Victoria Grandmothers on the final 3.5 km leg of their cycle for a fifth year in a row.

“It’s physical labour, as you know, but it’s also such a good cause,” she told the cyclists. “Even as the world changes and causes change, what you’re doing is so important.”

Only about three per cent of the African continent’s population is vaccinated, Helps said, compared to Canada’s 67.8 per cent, according to the World Health Organization and the government of Canada. Funds raised by the Victoria Grandmothers will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers for Grandmothers campaign, which has funded matriarchal leadership in response to the African AIDS crisis since 2006. Seventy-six cents for every dollar donated to the foundation goes directly to their cause, according to Charity Intelligence Canada.

Victoria resident Lisbie Rea, a retired professor of theatre who rode Sunday, said she attended a conference of 500 elder women in the southeast African country of Eswatini, confronting community gaps created by the AIDS crisis.

“It absolutely changed my life (and) gave me a focus for my retirement,” she said. “They are astonishingly inventive, courageous women and they deserve all of the support that we can give them.”

To that end, Rea said the Victoria Grandmothers asked their cyclists from Victoria, Campbell River, Duncan, Ladysmith and Merville to push themselves on their individual biking routes.

“Don’t be too cautious – dare yourselves to go as far as you can” was the ethos, she said. One elder cyclist who aspired to 50 km finished the campaign with 300 km behind her.

Those interested in donating towards the Victoria Grandmothers’ efforts can do so online at victoriagrandmothersforafrica.ca.

“We, as grandmothers and in solidarity with grandmothers, understand (the African elders) impetus to look after their orphans,” Rea said. “We want to do everything we can.”

Following the ease of pandemic travel restrictions, Helps said she wouldn’t put it past Victoria’s grandmothers to bike across the sub-Saharan continent in actuality.

About 30 of the 65 Victoria Grandmothers For Africa group participated in the final stretch from Central Park to Mile 0 on Sept. 12. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

Victoria Grandmothers for Africa organizers wave kanga-fabric flags gifted from 100 Villages NGO, as their cyclists approach the Mile 0 monument. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

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Notice of Public Hearing — City of Langford

The City of Langford has received an application to amend Zoning Bylaw No. 300 by means of the proposed Bylaw noted below. All persons who believe that their interest in the property is affected by the proposed Bylaw will be afforded an opportunity to be heard by presenting written submissions prior to 3 pm on the day of the Public Hearing or by making oral submissions at the Public Hearing. Please be advised that no submission may be received by Council after the close of the Public Hearing and any submissions made to Council, whether orally or in writing, will form part of the public record.

PLEASE NOTE: This meeting will be held electronically, and not in-person. Information about how to connect to this meeting is indicated in the table below.

Teleconference # 1-855-703-8985 (Canada Toll Free) OR 1-778-907-2071 (long distance charges may apply)
Meeting ID #850 0276 1754 / Zoom.us or Zoom app on your mobile device

The Public Hearing is not an information session and Council will not answer questions about the proposal or proposed bylaw(s) except to provide clarification. The purpose of the Public Hearing is for Council to hear the views and opinions of those members of the public who wish to make comments. Please have all your questions answered in advance of the Public Hearing by contacting the Planning Department as noted below.

The complete Agenda including the Bylaw and other material that Council may consider in relation to the bylaw will be uploaded to our website www.langford.ca the Friday afternoon before the Public Hearing.

Questions or comments may be submitted via email to planning@langford.ca, in writing to Langford City Hall, 2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Avenue, Langford, BC, V9B 2X8, or by calling 250-478-7882.

Marie Watmough
Acting Director of Corporate Services

Proposal (Bylaw No. 1856)

The purpose of Bylaw No. 1856 is to amend the City of Langford Zoning Bylaw No. 300 by amending the zoning designation of the lands that are the subject of Bylaw No. 1856 from R2 (One- and Two-Family Residential) Zone and adding to the RM9 (Medium Density Apartment) Zone to allow for the construction of two apartment buildings with approximately 113 units.

Applicant: Rachael Sansom

Location: The lands that are the subject of Bylaw No. 1856 are 2627 and 2631 Millstream Road as shown shaded on the included plan.

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NOTICE OF PROCEDURE BYLAW AMENDMENTS

The City of Langford will consider rescinding first, second and third readings and giving new first, second and third readings of “Council Procedure Bylaw No. 1971, 2021” at the special Council meeting Monday, October 4, 2021 at 5:30 pm. Members of the public wishing to participate can dial in to the meeting (phone number and conference ID to be posted at Langford.ca). The purpose of these amendments is to repeal and replace the Council Procedure Bylaw which was enacted in 2004. Some of the changes include updating the language and making modifications to the electronic meeting participation provisions in accordance with the City’s new processes. Copies of the proposed bylaw may be viewed on the October 4, 2021 and October 18, 2021 special Council agendas at Langford.ca, or by appointment from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday (holidays excluded) at Langford City Hall, 2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Avenue, Langford, BC. Following the October 4 meeting you may also request an electronic copy of the bylaw by contacting the City. The City of Langford encourages the public to stay home and contact the City online or by phone, especially if they feel unwell. Please contact Adriana Proton, Manager of Legislative Services at 250-478-7882 with any questions on this Bylaw.

Adriana Proton
Deputy Corporate Officer
t 250.478.7882
e hello@langford.ca
2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Avenue
Langford, BC V9B 2X8

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Proposal (Bylaw No. 1998)

The purpose of Bylaw No. 1998 is to amend the City of Langford Zoning Bylaw No. 300 by amending the zoning designation of the lands that are the subject of Bylaw No. 1998 from R2 (One- and Two-Family Residential) Zone and adding to the P1A (Neighbourhood Institutional) Zone and to amend the text of the Zoning Bylaw to allow for a 44-child group daycare.

Applicant: Roya Adami

Location: The land that is the subject of Bylaw No. 1998 is 2619 Sooke Road as shown shaded on the included plan.

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‘Hundreds’ of deer dropping dead on Vancouver Island

Kevin Laird
Sooke News Mirror

Sooke resident Susan Renaud’s Maple Avenue North property is an idyllic place for black-tailed deer, a spot where the animals come to play, rest, nibble on a handful of grass, and lick up a few drops of water. Does have given birth three times in her backyard over the last 15 years.

But several weeks ago, Renaud came across two dead fawns in her yard – for no apparent reason. It was a devastating discovery.

“It was very upsetting. The deer to me are like pets,” Renaud said.

Among neighbours, Renaud is far from alone. Since last fall, Sooke residents and others from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands reported hundreds of strange deer deaths to local and provincial officials. At first, provincial officials weren’t sure what was killing deer. They reasoned it could be anything from fertilizers to pesticides – or a virus.

But after tissue samples were sent to Canadian and United States laboratories for testing, the real culprit emerged – a fast-spreading virus in deer that operates not unlike COVID-19 does in humans.

Adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD) poses no risk to humans, livestock or pets – but until now has never been recorded in B.C. First discovered in California in 1993, the disease has gradually moved up the west coast. In 2017, about a dozen animals fell ill in Washington state. The condition began showing up in the Gulf Islands last fall.

Provincial wildlife veterinarian Caeley Thacker said the virus is “very contagious,” spread by direct contact between deer and through the air. Like COVID-19 in humans, research suggests healthy-appearing deer can shed and spread the virus.

“There’s not a whole lot known about the disease,” Thacker said. “We know from other places it seems to be a nose-to-nose contact transmission pathway. We don’t think there are insects or anything like that involved, but, again, we don’t know.”

Visible symptoms of AHD include difficulty breathing, foaming or drooling from the mouth, diarrhea, and seizures. Other symptoms include ulcers and abscesses in the mouth and throat. Thacker suspects “hundreds” of deer have died from the disease on Vancouver Island in less than a year but doesn’t think it can wipe out the deer population since the disease only transmits from direct contact.

Part of the problem with monitoring the disease is the only reliable diagnostic tool is collecting samples from the carcass of dead deer.

“We can’t tell until the animal is dead if it has AHD,” Thacker said.

So far, deer affected with AHD have been found between Sooke and Courtenay. But sampling is limited due to laboratory capacity and financing.

“We’ve only been testing animals from areas that haven’t been identified, so we’re tracking the spread of the disease rather than the prevalence. The sampling is limited to new areas,” Thacker said.

The province is also collecting blood samples from live animals to see if some deer create antibodies and survive the disease. The province asks anyone who sees deer with symptoms of AHD to report them to the Wildlife Health Laboratory at 250-751-7246.