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APRIL 26, 2013
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Vol. 61, Issue 81
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Baker ‘bot beats best at B.C. bout
MBSS students have won medals in robotics, mechanical drafting at a provincial contest SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
Residents Sandi McWhirtier and Emmanuel Murphy sit with Baker near the Baker Gardens complex.
ARNE PETRYSHEN PHOTO
Baker Gardens residents hope lost dog has found its home ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
When Sandi McWhirtier opened the door during last week’s cold spell, she never expected to find a small shivering dog in front of her porch. She picked him up and, after walking up and down a few blocks looking for the owners, brought him inside to
warm up. A week later and the dog, being called Baker, has become the darling of Baker Gardens, a modular housing complex for seniors and persons with disabilities. “He has the people around here loving him,” she said. “They just love him to death. It’s inspiring just to have him around.”
McWhirtier recalls seeing mysterious taillights outside as she was watching TV the night the dog appeared. She went out for a smoke and to look around and that’s when she heard him. “He was out there in the freezing cold,” McWhirtier said. “I heard this little weeny bark, and here was this little
dog.” McWhirtier said the problems came in the last few days, as she is not allowed under the Canadian Mental Heath Association (CMHA) lease agreement to keep pets. None of the tenants are.
See LITTLE , Page 3
Four Mount Baker Secondary students have won medals for robotics and mechanical drafting at the Skills BC Competition. Edmond Yoo, Derek Johnson and Landon Harvey won a gold medal for robotics, and Simon Eaton won a silver medal for mechanical CADD drafting at the competition in Abbotsford on April 17. Electronics teacher Bill Walker said he’s very proud of his students, who will now represent B.C. at the national skills competition in Vancouver from June 5 to 8. “We’re going to the nationals, as long as we can get enough money to go,” said Walker. “We’re hoping to go there and bring back another gold.” The students have been working on their robot since the first week of the new school year. “It would be hundreds of hours,” said Walker. “You get really attached to the robot, building it and making it better.” In the competition, the robot must complete a task more effectively than a competing robot, Walker explained. “It’s basically a radio-controlled forklift. It picks up pallets, it has to
drive over an obstacle course, then it has to deliver them into a rack. There’s another robot going against you. You get more points for more of these pallets you have in a row, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally,” said Walker. “While it can do the same task, a lot of the robots were very different looking. They are all built from scratch. Most robots didn’t look like any other robot; it depended on the kids’ imagination – how it was going to look and how it was going to perform the task.” It’s the third time electronics students have competed in the Skills BC competition, and the second medal won. Last year, Mount Baker students received a silver medal. “We’ve participated three times now, and in the three years we’ve won a silver and a gold. That’s not bad,” said Walker. “It’s not easy to build a robot that can even get into the competition, let alone win it. It’s very tough.” Meanwhile, drafting student Simon Eaton won a silver medal for mechanical CADD drafting at the competition.
See LOCAL, Page 3