B6 Friday, February 14, 2014 - The Morning Star
Editor: KathErinE MortiMEr
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Life
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Carvers create joy for children Katherine MortiMer Morning Star Staff
A tiny panda shares space with a pinkspotted brown bear, as a spirit bear snuggles next to a grizzly. They are part of a collection of 24 bears which have been hand-carved by members of the North Okanagan Wood Carvers Society to be donated to children in need in Haiti. The project got its start when club director Geoff Warrington learned that many children in Haiti do not have toys to call their own. The club connected with Westsyde Fellowship Church in Kamloops and its youth pastor, Jordy Orsetti, who is travelling with a team of youth and adults to Haiti this summer. “Jordy’s mom is a friend of my wife and he was looking at some of my carvings and asked if I could come up with an idea for something he could take with him to Haiti,” said Warrington. “Recreation isn’t even part of their vocabulary and so I thought these rolling bears would make a great toy for a child, plus they are small enough to easily transport.” Club members embraced the idea with enthusiasm and quickly got to work carving the rolling bears, so-called because they can be rolled easily along a playing surface, from asphalt, to grass, to wood floor. “We left them up to individual club members as to how they wanted to do them,” said club president Elizabeth Doucette. “These were new for me, and we had fun with them.” Orsetti and his team of 14 young people and six chaperones will travel to Portau-Prince, Haiti in July, where they will make the five-hour trip southwest of the capital, to Les Cayes. The young people range in age from 13 to 19 years of age and will be in Haiti for 10 days. “A lot of what we do with the kids there is breaking down barriers,” said Orsetti, “where we see the differences between us, but also the similarities.” The team will be hosted by former Kamloops residents Rod and Debbie Wray, who now live in Les Cayes and are working as missionaries with Harvest International. On its Web site, the organization explains, “it is a facilitator, assisting
New arrivals
Jan. 11: Born to Brooke Haines and Chris Plante of Vernon, a boy, 9 lbs. 13 oz., named Nixon Zander Axl Plante. A brother for Skylar, Taelor, Michael, Makayla, Devin, Tifara, Janoah, Kaemyn, Draydin and Zechariah. A grandson for Kelly Deere of Kelowna, B.C.; Terrylynn Aucoin, Aj Aucoin of Stilesville, N.B. Jan. 12: Born to Dane and Angela Storey of Lumby, B.C., a girl, 8 lbs. 12 oz., named Raiella Sage. A sister for Malia May, 2/12. A granddaughter for Alan and Jean Goettemoeller, Mike and New Additions Suzette Storey, all of Lumby. A great-granddaughter for Lucy Rouck of Vernon, Norill Storey of Lumby. Jan. 16: Born to Bill and Angie Spencer of Vernon, a girl, 9 lbs. 14 oz., named Saige Brooklyn. A sister for Liam, 3 1/2. A granddaughter for Doug and Donna Adams of Salmon Arm, B.C.; Maurice Spencer of Manchester, England; Mary McCarthy of Edinburgh, Scotland. A great-granddaughter for Simone Adams of Deloraine, Man. Jan. 16: Born to William Robins and Kristan Mahar of Vernon, a girl, 7 lbs. 11 oz., named Taysa Harriet Bernice Mahar-Robins. A sister for Koenn, 6. A granddaughter for Vicky and Andy Brownell, Emery Robins, Grace Aljam, all of Vernon, B.C. A great-granddaughter for Ellen Desjarlais of Vernon. Jan. 18: Born to Byron Oswald and Tiffany Day of Vernon, B.C., a girl, 4 lbs. 14 oz., named Aria Jennifer Kendall Oswald. A sister for Ella, 2 1/2. A granddaughter for Elaine and Rob Day of Logan Lake, B.C.; Betty-Lou and Edward Oswald of Rock Creek, B.C. Jan. 20: Born to Matt and Santana Brown of Armstrong, a girl, 8 lbs. 11 oz., named Charlotte Grace Kaisa. A sister for Lily and Amalia. A granddaughter for Rob and Debbie Brown of Armstrong, B.C.; Shannon Kummel of Courtenay, B.C. A greatgranddaughter for Betty Brown of Armstrong. Jan. 21: Born to Ryan and Missy Chambers of Vernon, a girl, 8 lbs. 5 oz. named Claire Danielle. A granddaughter for Barb Conard of Nanaimo, B.C.; Willy Conard of Comox, B.C.; David Chambers, Pauline Chambers, both of Vernon, B.C. A greatgranddaughter for Art and Mona Chambers of Squaw Valley, B.C.; Marriette Gagnon of Edmonton, Alta.; Donna Trace of Ladysmith, B.C.; Marcelle Conard of Montreal, Que. Jan. 24: Born to Ami Hill and Dylan Cunliffe of Vernon, B.C., a girl, 7 lbs. 7 oz., named Brynlee Rae Elaine Cunliffe. A sister for Ella, 2 1/2. A granddaughter for Brian Hill, Pauline Ulatowski, Kim Marie, all of Vernon.
Stork report
Katherine MortiMer/Morning Star
Youth Pastor Jordy Orsetti, with Westsyde Fellowship Church in Kamloops, accepts a gift of hand-carved rolling bears from Geoff Warrington and Elizabeth Doucette, with the North Okanagan Wood Carvers Society, to be given to children in Haiti. Christians who are called of God to meet the physical needs of poor people in this world, and empowering them as they earn the right to minister to their spiritual needs as well.” In Les Cayes, Orsetti and his team will spend several days working with children from the community of Renault, taking part in recreation, helping to build a gym and attending Sunday school. “We’ll also perform several days of wedding ceremonies for groups of couples who wish to be married,” he said. “This will be followed by a lot of festivities and feasts honouring the newlyweds.” “We appreciate all of your efforts on
behalf of the kids in Haiti,” said Orsetti. “We’ve had so much support from everyone.” nnn On Tuesday, VCAC executive director Lynne Hossay was asked to pick the winners of the best carved rolling bears. She admitted it was tough to make a decision, but in the end named Shirley Pattyson’s panda and Gail Kopp’s brown bear as the winners. Founded in 1995, the North Okanagan Carvers Society meets at the Vernon Community Arts Centre Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. New members are welcome, and annual membership is $35.
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