Make every day Valentine’s Day

By Joanne McQuarrie editor@columbiavalleypioneer.com

A day of love - Valentine’s Day on February 14 - will soon be here. But - why wait for the 14th to roll around to show love, be love, give love? Every day can be a day with love in it. Love is healthy, good for us all. But first - Valentine’s Day. It’s characterized by the exchange of cards and gifts of flowers, chocolates and other items that symbolize affection or friendship. The history of Valentine’s Day is less than full of love though. Wikipedia notes that way back in the third century A.D. in Rome, there was a martyred Christian saint named Valentine, the bishop of Italy. He performed wedding ceremonies for couples who weren’t allowed to get married for various reasons. Valentine gave the married couple flowers from his garden - hence the tradition today.

One legend about Valentine is that he was arrested and imprisoned when he was caught marrying Christian couples and helping Christians who were, at the time, being persecuted by the emperor, Claudius Gothicus. Claudius took a liking to Valentine (a.k.a. Valentinus) until he tried to convert him to Christianity. That was not a good move: Valentine was beheaded for that. Valentine’s memory lived on in the churches dedicated to him in countries such as Italy. With that kind of an ending, one may wonder how Valentine’s Day became associated with romantic love. It has been speculated (Wikipedia) that Geoffrey Chaucer, a writer in England, wrote a poem about Valentines Day in 1382; he honoured the first anniversary of the engagement of 15-year-old King Richard 11 of England to 15-year-old Anne of Bohemia. That connection started the ball rolling and over the centuries, countries all over the world developed their own Valentine’s Day customs.

Valentine’s Day is many things, to many people: a celebration of romantic love; a reason to eat chocolate; a great way to show off your artistic talent in card-making. Whatever it is to you, remember that the underlying thread to not only Valentine’s Day but every day, is love, in many forms. Love makes the world go around.

Invermere COS deals with aggressive coyote events

Submitted by Greg Kruger Sergeant | Columbia-Kootenay Zone | Invermere BC Conservation Officer Service

During the third week of January, a resident of Radium Hot Springs was walking their dog in the north part of town along a trail in the Sinclair Creek valley. A couple coyotes approached to close proximity of the dog. The owner was able to secure the dog and walk away from the coyotes towards a main road where the coyotes then stopped following.

On Jan. 25, an individual walking their dog on the Lake Windermere Whiteway near Windermere Beach was approached by a lone coyote. The dog owner called the dog back and put it on a leash and proceeded to walk back to shore. The coyote followed for a short time a then continued wandering along the lake ice.

Also on Jan. 25, a dog walker was again approached by a coyote on Lake Windermere that started “lunging” at her larger-sized dog. The coyote kept following as they attempted to move away from it. A vehicle drove over after the driver witnessed this coyote encounter and intervened by driving between the coyote and the dog walker. The dog walker and dog were loaded into this vehicle and driven away from the coyote.

The Conservation Officer Service recommends: The public report any events involving wildlife that are a public safety concern. Use the 24/7 RAPP [Report all Poachers and Polluters] line @ 1-877-952-7277.

If you encounter a coyote that is aggressive towards you or domestic animal do not run away as this may trigger it to attack.

Back away slowly and speak in a loud and firm voice. Carry a sturdy walking stick or bear spray and should a coyote come close enough, then be prepared to use them.

Should a coyote attack, fight back with whatever is at your disposal to stop it [punches, kicks, throw rocks, hit with stick or rocks, spray with bear spray].

Coyotes showing aggression towards people is very rare. Most times, there is a domestic animal involved where the coyote may test to see if it could be a possible food source. Coyotes will become habituated to people and our communities if they are fed or find food sources.

On Lake Windermere, this coyote may have been intentionally fed by someone, or has found a food source from human garbage or discarded fish from ice-fishers.