THURSDAY April 25, 2013 Vol. 28 • No. 34 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
Peace Begins At Home April 14-28
COMOX VALLEY
Your community. Your newspaper.
ARTS
SPORTS
A barber in the Comox Valley harbours an ambition to follow in the footsteps of Carol Burnett. page B1
Snow is in short supply for the annual Royal LePage Comox Valley Snow to Surf Adventure Relay Race. page B7
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Loooong lens for Snowbirds
Hospice promises doubted
Astronaut shoots photo of planes practising near CFB Comox
Erin Haluschak Record Staff
Although provincial Liberal leader Christy Clark’s stop at the site of the Comox Valley Hospital Tuesday had campaign promises for health care, it left some feeling the promises fell a bit short. Following a photo opportunity on a frontend loader and smoothing a freshly-poured sidewalk with Comox Valley MLA Don McRae, Clark promised her government would enable further investments in health care. “In our platform, Strong Economy ... Secure Tomorrow, today’s BC Liberals are committed to increasing the number of hospice beds by 100 per cent, by 2020,” Clark said. “We will work with the Comox Valley Hospice Society to help make their dream for a new hospice a reality.” Terri Odeneal, executive director of the Comox Valley Hospice Society, said she is very pleased to hear the Liberals are recognizing the need for access to residential hospice care in the community, although is concerned end-of-life care has yet to become a priority for VIHA. ... see LACK ■ A3
SECOND
Erin Haluschak Record Staff
CHRISTY CLARK PILOTS a piece of equipment helping with site preparation at the location of a new Comox Valley hospital. PHOTO BY ERIN HALUSCHAK
From Capt. Thomas Edelson’s eye, it may have just been the perfect Kodak moment. Although he didn’t snap the photo, the Public Affairs Officer of the Snowbirds may have co-ordinated one of the most original, technical and precise photos taken of the Canadian Forces Snowbird team — 370 kilometres above the earth. Col. Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station (ISS) and former fighter pilot with the Canadian Forces, took the photo early Sunday evening as the ISS flew over Comox. “I got a phone call from (Hadfield) Sunday and I put it on speakerphone to let him talk to the team,” explained Edelson who is here with the Snowbird team for two weeks while they train at CFB Comox. “He said he was just over the coast of Africa and asked what the weather was like (over Comox). He said he’ll see us in 40 minutes.” Edelson noted it was a “complete team effort” to get the team ready for their
third flight of the day, who watched the rare 11-plane team formation along with the CF-18 Hornet take off for their flight with a tight two-minute window for the photo. He knew the photo worked shortly afterwards, when his phone rang with a call from space. “Commander Hadfield called right back and said he got it — he could see it from the space station with his naked eye.” The ‘Super Canada Goose’ formation was chosen to incorporate the 11-plane formation (usually the demonstration team consists of nine planes) and the team intentionally put down more smoke to be highly visible. The photo, which was released by the Snowbirds Monday and tweeted by social media-savvy Hadfield Tuesday afternoon, came together when what Edelson described as “a ton of variables had to line up.” “I had the idea awhile ago, because I thought it would be a really neat way to get a picture of the team from space. I thought originally we might be able to get it taken by a satellite with optics, but then found out Hadfield was going to be the first Canadian to be commander of the ISS, and thought it was fortuitous.” Edelson contacted the Canadian Space Agency and co-ordinated with cur... see TOUGH ■ A2
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