Abeego buzz
Victoria entrepreneur wows celebrity chefs Page A10
WING’S
NEWS: Police want mental health team /A3 ARTS: Artists being selected for mural project /A12 SPORTS: Cougars shoot for sixth straight win /A13
RESTAURANT
Chinese Cuisine
VICTORIANEWS Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Proudly serving Esquimalt & Victoria
Take Out, Eat In, and Delivery Open from 11 am - 10 pm Daily 90 Gorge Rd. W
250-385-5564 www.vicnews.com
Police searching for new recruits Pamela Roth Victoria News
Like many teenagers, Debbie Justice was unsure what she wanted to do once she finished high school. She wound up working at a government job that wasn’t going anywhere, so Justice decided it was time to explore other options. One of those options was going back to school to get an education. Another was volunteering with the Victoria police reserve constable program for threeand-a-half years. It was there that Justice received first-hand experience working with the police, paving the way to a career that’s now spanned
nearly 20 years. “It was a long road for me. I started applying in my early 20s and didn’t have the education or volunteer experience,” said Justice, noting officers have to have thick skin. “Getting a job in Victoria in policing was like winning a lottery.” The Victoria Police Department consists of 243 sworn members and continues to actively recruit as more veteran officers retire from service. Four retirements are anticipated in January. Human resources Sgt. Greg Holmes expects a “significant amount” of officers will be hired during the next three years. PlEASE SEE: Selection, Page A3
Kendra Wong/Victoria News
No stone left alone More than 70 students from Central Middle School painted poppies on small stones and placed one on each of the roughly 500 gravestones of veterans buried at Ross Bay Cemetery last Thursday. For the full story, see page A8.
Victoria mayor requests meeting with Justin Trudeau Kendra Wong Victoria News
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps hopes to establish Victoria as a city to willing partner with the federal government in a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Helps is currently in the process of trying to set up a 15-minute meeting with the newly-elected prime minister during the Tourism Industry Association Conference in Ottawa at the end of the
the
month. She said there are three main topics she hopes to discuss: thanking him for federal funding for the sewage treatment plant and updating him on that project, as well as the Belleville Ferry Terminal. Helps also hopes to discuss housing affordability in the region. “To talk about his commitment to what he calls social infrastructure, particularly housing affordability, and let him know we’re here as a partner to try and get enough money for affordable housing in
During the conference, she also hopes to touch base with as many ministers as she can to talk about upgrades to the Belleville Ferry Terminal. Last month, upgrades began to the terminal, used mainly by Black Ball Ferry Line and Clipper Navigation. The work should be complete in 2017. The roughly 12-person delegation, which includes Victoria councillors and members from Tourism Victoria, will head to Ottawa from Nov. 31 to Dec. 2. kendra.wong@vicnews.com
our region so that everyone who wants to work and live here has a home,” she said. Helps said she’s making this meeting a priority and that there is an 87 per cent chance she could score a meeting with Canada’s top dog. “We don’t have any Liberal MPs here, but I think Mr. Trudeau’s approach to democracy is that everybody who is representing their people on Parliament Hill should be able to represent. I’m looking forward to working with our local MPs here as well,” she said
RENAISSANCE retirement residence NOVEMBER
Thursday 12th Saturday 14th
“The Art of Living Well”
QUALITY • COMMUNITY • LOCATION Move in by December 1st 1:30pm - 4:30pm and we pay for the MOVE 1188 Esquimalt Rd. (Village Centre)
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