6 | THE ALDERGROVE STAR | Thursday, October 15, 2015
www.aldergrovestar.com
6 | The Aldergrove STAr | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015
www.aldergrovestar.com
opinion
p u b l i s h e d a n d p r i n t e d b y b l a c k p r e s s l t d . a t 2 7 1 1 8 F r a s e r h i g h w a y, a l d e r g r o v e , b c v 4 w 3 p 6
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Sky-high accomplishments of a down-to-earth man By MARK RUSHTON Aldergrove Star
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Unpretentious, rather than humble, is about the best word I can come up with to describe Chris Hadfield. He is a man who spent more than half a year in space, has flown on three missions beyond our atmosphere, is the first Canadian to walk in space, and commanded the International Space Station. And those are but a few of his incredible accomplishments. Yet to hear him speak about his experiences is to listen to a man describing what seem to be almost ordinary, though other-worldly, events. He is, beyond a doubt, one of the most classy and captivating speakers I have ever had the privilege to listen to. Despite all the time in space, Chris Hadfield is about as down-to-earth as you can get. Describing the landing and extraction from the capsule that carried him back to Earth, and the effect on his body and brain from the reentry, he said, “All you want to do is puke, but the guys helping you out want to talk, so you talk, then you puke.” He also drew smiles and chuckles from the audience at Abbotsford Centre last Saturday night when he told of the violent shaking astronauts experience in the first two minutes of liftoff, when the booster rockets propel them from zero to thousands of miles an hour, then the
almost serenity of travel as the space shuttle separates on the final leg of the journey to the ISS. Though he is a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and from his first glider flight as a kid has flown 70 different types of aircraft, Hadfield was actually a civilian, though a member of the Canadian Space Agency, when he commanded the International Space Station, having retired from the military some years prior. And not only has he orbited the earth thousands of times in the ISS and space capsules, he has gone round our globe 10 times as his own “heavenly body” during the two times he spent on space walks outside the station. He brought forth a few chuckles when he said, while walking in space, he actually let go of the space station framework for a few seconds, just to see what it was like to be truly free of the bonds of Earth and man. One of Chris Hadfield’s greatest accomplishments, however, has been his ability to bring the appreciation of space to the masses. His use of social media, his photographs from space, and the recording of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” that captured the world have made him perhaps the most recognized and renowned astronaut of the modern era. His description of holding a guitar in the weightlessness
of space was entertaining, as was the mention of the slight rewriting of Bowie’s song (with his permission, of course) – “The astronaut died in the original version. Couldn’t have that!” An interesting aside to the song was that Hadfield had requested that NASA in Texas provide a guitar for the space station. Oddly enough, what was provided was a small instrument made right here on the Lower Mainland of British Columbia! Couple that with the Canadarm developed in Richmond, Hadfield’s basic military training done in Chilliwack and his first university experience at Royal Roads in Victoria, our province has played a prominent role in the exploration of space. Now in retirement from the military and CSA, Hadfield lives in Victoria with his family. What led him to become Canada’s most celebrated astronaut? He was nine years old when in 1969 he watched the first men walk on the moon and determined then that he wanted to go into space. Set a goal, he said, and do everything you can towards achieving it. He did just that, and the world, and space, is a better place because of that nineyear-old’s determination to succeed where few have gone before. markrushton@abbynews.com
Editor: In October, three interactive, drop-in Open Houses will be held by the Mayor’s Standing Committee on Public Engagement to gather information on how people want to be engaged during planning and development processes. We are asking everyone who has an interest in how our community develops to attend, because every opinion counts. The input you provide now will have an impact on our community’s future. People have different ideas about how our neighbourhoods should grow and develop and we want to be sure there is strong two-way communication between the Township and residents regarding these important issues. Not everyone will agree with the decisions Council makes, but it is imperative to us that everyone has a chance to express their opinions and feel that they have been heard. To do that, we want to be sure we are connecting and communicating with the public in the way that works best for them. The Township already provides several opportunities for public inputsuch as charrettes, open houses, and public hearings - but we want to know if there are different and better ways to gather people’s viewpoints. That is why we need to hear from you. On behalf of the Public Engagement Committee and Township Council, I am asking everyone in the community who is interested in development and how our community is growing to come out to have your say. Please make a point of attending one of the Open Houses and tell us how you want to interact with the Township. The drop-in sessions will feature interactive stations, voting games, a dialogue circle, and a visioning wall so that people can provide input in a variety of fun, interesting ways. Whether you stay for a few minutes or several hours, stop in and make your opinion count. The information collected will help form a new engagement policy, guidelines, and suggested tools for development processes and policies that will be presented to Council for consideration later this year. The Public Engagement Open Houses will be held Tuesday, Oct. 20, 5 - 9 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre; Thursday, Oct. 22, 5- 9 p.m., at the Aldergrove Kinsmen Community Centre; and Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. at George Preston Recreation Centre. See you there! Mayor Jack Froese, Township of Langley
Taking a stand on climate
Editor: I want my vote in this election to stand strong on the issue of climate change and our urgent need to protect our environment. I want my grandchildren to experience clean air and water so that they are able to enjoy the benefits of living in the best country in the world. We have to be tough and put the quality of our life before economic greed. We need our government to take the appropriate actions and create environmental laws that protect our environment. Most importantly, our government must hold those accountable who deliberately destroy our environment by imposing more than fines.I want better protection of our natural resources. I want us to leave an environmental legacy for future generations. We can elect a government that represents our collective voice. Kim Bucholtz, Aldergrove
Can we help the refugees?
Editor: As I watch the news I see thousands of Syrian refuges moving across Europe and I see many groups of healthy young men among them. This begs the question, why are these young men not in the Syrian army helping to defend their country? If they are allowed to emigrate into Canada will they help defend their new home if the need shall ever arise or will they high-tail it back to Syria? The government sees these refuges as future taxpayers so they are prepared to overload our health care and welfare system for future tax income. Before you can tax people they must be employed. At this time we are having a hard time employing our own young people and skilled workers. As the government spends money they don’t have all Canadians who worked and paid for our services will lose out as those services are bled dry. Elderly Canadians now have to work two more years to get the pension. Our medical system is on its knees. Canada cannot afford the humanitarian effort as proposed. John Winter, Langley