SOOKE
NEWS MIRROR
2010 WINNER
BLUEGRASS SPECIAL
Editorial
Pickers and strummers get together Oct. 27. Page 13
COHO KINGS Page 8
Entertainment
Page 12
See who won for the biggest salmon of the derby.
Sports/stats
Page 25
Page 28
Agreement #40110541
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Your community, your classifieds P22 • 75¢
Hope for Sooke homeless Sharron Ho Sooke News Mirror
The Hope Centre, an affordable housing project, geared towards aboriginal and non-aborignal youth in Sooke and the Greater Victoria area has been given a federal funding jump start. The Capital Regional District board approved a recommendation to distribute $1.8 million from the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy to the centre on Oct.10. The project’s total cost is $5.9 million. The Hope Centre, which is a partnership between the M’akola Housing Society and Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, will be located on 6750 West Coast Road. According to Angela Hudson, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul executive director, the four-storey building will be developed on the site currently occupied by the society’s thrift store. It will have 25 units for youth under the age of 19 and young adults over the age of 19. “The majority of them will be low-income and this is a low-income building, but some of the suites will be a little bit higher income, not market necessarily, but they’ll be higher,” Hudson said. Space on the bottom level has been allocated for the thrift store, and the second floor has been designated for education facilities and a social concern office. “We won’t be duplicating services we have down-
town, but we’ll be talking to the service providers in Sooke to see where there’s needs and gaps and things that we can sort of fill,” Hudson said. She said some of the services that have been identified as possibilities include a free income tax program to low-income families and singles, a meeting space, counselling, and home visitors to go and work with the people in Sooke. The project came about after a needs assessment performed in Sooke identified a need for housing, subsidized housing and low-income housing in the area. “What we’re looking at doing is reaching out to the population of youth that is aboriginal as well as non,” Hudson said. The Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness acts as an advisory board to the CRD, making recommendations on project selections for Federal Homelessness Partner Strategy funding, and identified the Hope Centre as a top priority. According to Andrew Wynn-Williams, Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness executive director, the Hope Centre was identified as a priority out of three other projects, because of its focus on aboriginal and non-aboriginal youth, and the introduction of homelessness services to an outlying area. “Homelessness is not
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Pirjo Raits photo
Aivars Logins stands watch over Jake Grant‘s premises until plywood can be put over the store front after an early morning crash.
Truck smashes out store front Pirjo Raits Sooke News Mirror
An early morning crash left the premises of Jake Grant Jewelry Design full of glass and exposed to the elements. RCMP report the Saturday, Oct. 13, 1:35 a.m. vehicle crash wiped out the front plate glass windows of the jewelry store as well as smashing the picnic table alongside the Alternative Kitchen. It appears the driver of the 1997 grey Toyota 4-runner lost control at the corner of
Otter Point Road and West Coast Road and smashed into the jewelry store before reversing and going back through the intersection to come to rest on rocks by the AK. There was no attempt to steal anything from the jewelry store, and by the time the police arrived the driver had locked the truck doors and fled on foot. “There was nothing taken from the store and there was no attempt at robbery,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Stephen Wright. The police canine squad
was called in and the scent was picked up and followed to an apartment block on Townsend Road. The scent was lost at that point. The owner of the Toyota called in later on Saturday to report his vehicle stolen. Wright said there is enough evidence to suspect impaired driving. “Alcohol is a factor,” he said. As of press time there is no report as to the extend of the damage to Jake’s. The RCMP are continuing their investigation and will be looking at the video from the
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business premises and the Ident Section will be involved as well. They are asking any witnesses to come forward. If you have any information call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or Sooke RCMP at 250-6425241. In another incident on the same weekend, a blue 1991 Ford Mustang, with BC licence plate, 830SXK was reported stolen from a residence in the 2300 block of French Road North. The vehicle was reported stolen at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13.