TUESDAY JANUARY 12, 2016
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Trailer Park Boys actor teaching classes in Qualicum Beach
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HOMELESS SHELTER
Close to capacity
Volunteers always needed for the Parksville facility CANDACE WU
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NEW YEAR’S BABY IN PARKSVILLE QUALICUM BEACH REGION
Thomas joins the Kavanaughs J.R. RARDON
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One of Santa’s scheduled deliveries on Christmas day arrived more than a week late for a Nanoose Bay family. But the gift was worth the wait. Thomas Kavanaugh arrived the morning of Jan. 3 at Nanaimo Regional Hospital to become this region’s first baby of 2016. He is the third child of Rob and Erica Kavanaugh and joins sisters Claire, 8, and Marie, 5. “He was due on Christmas,” said
Erica, a 37-year-old realtor with Royal LePage in Parksville Qualicum. “The late arrival suits his temperment, though. He’s like his middle sister, pretty laid-back.” Thomas arrived at 7:12 a.m., a hefty nine pounds, three ounces at birth. Erica was attended at the birth by the Errington midwives, who had also been involved with the birth of her daughters. Thomas was born following a short labour, Erica said, without any complications.
The girls were at home, being watched by their grandparents, when Rob called to share the news that they had a new baby brother. The couple had left the baby’s gender a surprise, opting not to learn in advance through an ultrasound. “We were just going, like, yay!” Claire said as she and Marie pantomimed dancing with their hands pumping the air. “We both wanted a brother. I thought it would be a little different; I thought a boy would be fun.”
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J.R. RARDON PHOTO
Thomas Kavanaugh, this region’s first baby of 2016, is the centre off attention while resting with parents Rob and Erica and sisters Claire, left, and Marie. Thomas was born Jan. 3 at Nanaimo Regional Hospital.
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It’s been a record year for Parksville’s extreme weather shelter. The facility providing solace for those less fortunate was open 25 nights in December alone operating at close to full capacity, according to Salvation Army manager Lisa Clason. She said the shelter was also open 14 nights in November and seven nights in January so far. “The weather has been wet, windy and stormy,” said Clason. “It’s been storm after storm. Even though it was mild and raining there was no way someone could stay dry.” The shelter, which now operates out of the old B.C. Ambulance Station in Parksville, is open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. providing clients with two hot meals (dinner and breakfast), a bed with blankets and pillows, showers, dry clothes and most importantly — a safe place to sleep. The protocol for Parksville’s extreme weather shelter is standard for extreme weather shelters on Vancouver Island, according to the Oceanside Task Force on Homelessness. Implementation of the extreme weather response plan is called when weather conditions are deemed severe enough to present a substantial threat to the life or health of homeless people. Extreme weather conditions are defined as: temperatures near zero with rainfall that makes it difficult or impossible for homeless people to remain dry; sleet/freezing rain; snow accumulation; sustained high winds; and temperatures at or below -2 Celsius, taking into account wind chill. Clason said it’s been “very difficult” to find and retain volunteers for the extreme weather shelter given the late night hours and sometimes “unpleasant” circumstances.
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