Kamloops Connector May 2020

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VOL. 29, NO. 1, MAY 2020 POWERED BY KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK | A PROUD PART OF ABERDEEN PUBLISHING

Time to plant a resiliency garden Page 3

Book some time to catch up on your reading Page 8

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Pandemic won’t stop walks from taking place — online Page 19

THE ART OF SOCIAL DISTANCING Dave Eagles/KTW The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a number of sudden changes in society, including the need to stay at least two metres (six feet) from one another as we keep trying to flatten the curve and await the creation of a vaccine. As such, solo walks, such as this sojourn that took a resident past the striking murals of downtown Kamloops, will remain a popular activity for those seeking to keep active and healthy.

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Resiliency gardening amid the pandemic:

It’s all about encouraging people to share and work together to grow more food locally

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The COVID-19 epidemic is challenging and changing many aspects of our lives.

One place that disruption has been felt is in the food system. The problem is that not enough of the food we eat is produced locally. Instead, we rely on a vast network of global supply chains that create just-in-time delivery of food goods from farms to our plates. Unfortunately, this system lacks resilience in times of crisis.

COVID-19 has meant some farmers can’t plant or harvest as usual. There have been instances of meat-processing plants, shipping and trucking all being negatively impacted.

Hoarding and panic buying have only worsened the situation. The only upside of empty shelves and long lines at the grocery store has been a renewed interest in cultivating a more resilient food system.

The Kamloops Food Policy Council (KFPC) is joining that effort by launching our Resiliency

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Gardening campaign. It’s all about encouraging people to share and work together to grow more food locally.

It’s also meant to be fun and full of healing for body and spirit in these stressful times.

We are working with our partners to ensure there is enough educational programming available so new gardeners can feel confident they will get good results this year.

We’re getting creative and replacing workshops with online offerings. If you have land, we want you to join us in planting your very own Resiliency Garden.

Gardening can give you a good workout, decrease your stress level, elevate happiness (soil contains a natural antidepressant), and boost your immune system (direct exposure to microorganisms).

Growing food is a great way to increase your self-sufficiency and get access to fresh (really fresh) vegetables while participating in a healthy outdoor activity. You will definitely know where your food comes from. Sharing surplus produce with friends and neighbours makes the project even more meaningful.

Many people have unused garden space in their yards because they can no longer do the hard work,

Julia Maika

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don’t have time, or are simply disinclined to have a garden. Backyard sharing is a great way to see that your space is put into production by someone who is keen to grow. There is a new online GardenShare program where people with unused garden space to share can list it online, and interested local gardeners can get in touch. You can find more information and register online at youngagrarians.org.

Another option is to join KFPC’s collaborative garden on Clapperton Road in North Kamloops, across from the Kamloops Food Bank. We want to grow as much food as we can there and we are

Garden Greens Salad Dressing

looking for people who are interested in either helping in the garden in exchange for fresh produce or taking over a small section on their own.

We can offer land, water, tools, and guidance from our experienced permaculture garden manager. Maybe you would like to try a Three Sisters Garden and don’t have space, or you want to experiment with growing ancient grains. In any case, we would love to hear from you.

It is a community development project and we welcome community input. For more info, email sandra@kamloopsfood policycouncil.com.

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Variety is the spice of life Kamloops birdwatch NAOMI BIRKENHEAD

On one of my hikes the other day, I encountered a lovely gentleman and, with respect to the rules of physical distancing, he put forth a very interesting question to me.

“For the purpose of evolution and adaptation, why are there so many variances in bird species?” he asked. “Do colour and song impact genus survival?”

Within a small area and in a matter of minutes, I observed seven different species: western meadow lark, mountain bluebird, yellow-rumped warbler, black-capped chickadee, ruby and golden crown kinglets, kestrel and redtailed hawk.

I sat there pondering his query.

Evolution. Adaption.

Natural selection.

Heritable variations.

Whatever the term used, we often think about it in relevance to survival;

the progression and sustainability of a species.

Is colour, song, flight pattern and individual behaviour pivotal for specie continuance? I think that is something that could be debated.

Taxonomy identifies, names and classifies genus groups for the purpose of tracking and understand genealogy and descendent.

There are three branches used in this study: • phylogenetics, the study of this progression or history of species and relationships by way of shared decent; • phenetics, the study of similarities; • morphology, or evolutionary taxonomy, which is a mixture of both.

Some aspects of these studies are based on hypotheses. We can only speculate on the integration or purpose of genetic deviations and what compels them to occur, or that similarities in gene pools reflect a descendent.

Currently, there is between 10,000 and 18,000 taxa of avian identified worldwide today. There is great debate over the term “species” and how we classify them, hence the broad range of 10,000 to 18,000. These numbers include subspecies and variants listed as their own grouping.

Of course, I am no expert

on these matters. I am what some people have coined a birdwatcher — a citizen scientist. Of the 750 species residing in Canada, I have identified 187 in and around the Kamloops area.

All have distinguishable and unique behaviours — from their flight patterns and vocal calls to feeding, mating and nesting. The longer I observe them, the more they intrigue me.

So, is their vast variance simply due to genetic mutation or recombination from ancestors past. Or are these deviations the outcome of a certain level of intelligence and sense of community and individualism?

We as humans are 100 per cent similar, yet are completely separate in our identities by the way we conduct ourselves inside of our environment. These characteristics can imprint and be passed along for no other purpose than they were a part of our interaction and experience.

I hope you find the wonder of variation as fascinating as I do. More than 75 species flutter around this area we roam and 750 fill the skies over this great Canadian country. You don’t have to look far to witness natural adaption in progress.

I would love your feedback. Email me at naomijbirkenhead@ yahoo.ca.

Naomi Birkenhead photo

The Kamloops connection continues

My two cents Christopher Foulds Editor

Yes, the Kamloops Connector carries on amid these uncertain pandemic times.

Since the last edition of the Connector to this May issue, the world has changed dramatically — and suddenly.

We are nearing two months of this (hopefully temporary) new normal, with the economy battered, people anxious and governments and health experts working

frantically to right the ship.

In the meantime, we can keep working on what we do at Kamloops This Week and its monthly newspaper, the Connector — we can continue to publish, to inform, to entertain and to connect with the community.

Like almost every segment of the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact has been felt at Aberdeen Publishing, parent company of KTW and the Connector. Due to this fact, there have been temporary layoffs, with Connector editor Moneca Jantzen being among those affected. We here at KTW are looking forward to the day she returns and assumes control of her popular monthly publication amid what we hope is the old normal.

(For an example of Moneca’s character, consider this: after she was laid off due to the pandemic, she donated to the KTW Reader Support Program. That speaks volumes about Moneca as a person.)

In the meantime, we will endeavour to keep publishing this unique periodical because, truly, there is nothing else like it being produced in Kamloops.

The Connector is different from Kamloops This Week and other media outlets in that it does not focus on hard news or breaking stories. It differs from the fledgling online news sites in that it does not deal in clickbait practices to lure eyeballs for webpage views.

The Connector is about connecting — with the community, with advertisers, with readers and between readers — via an eclectic mix of information.

Gardening advice, medical information, book reviews, home renovation tips, hobby features, financial knowledge, puzzles and even a bit of fiction for your enjoyment are the ingredients that form the Connector each month.

And, while there are trusty columnists and writers who appear regularly, we have and will continue to add to the pages you are holding with stories we feel you will find informative and entertaining.

Those pages containing the stories and columns you need now, more than ever, are only possible with the revenue support realized from advertisers who continue to use the Connector to carry their messages to the community. Kudos to those who are working with us to keep the community connected.

This May edition of the Connector comes in at 20 pages. That is a few pages shy of what we normally print each month, but still a decent size considering the environment in which we are publishing. That is a testament to the stellar work Connector publisher Linda Bolton has done in forging the bonds she has with Connector clients.

Many of the articles and columns in this edition are pandemic-related, which is unavoidable, considering the vast majority of us are all living through the greatest challenge in our lives. But not everything in these pages is connected to COVID-19 — and that’s good, because we all need a break, now and then, from the information avalanche of the pandemic.

We hope to have familiar and new voices in the Connectors to come.

If you have an article or column that might fit within our pages, or an idea you feel is worth considering, please email us at editor@connectornews.ca.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe.

Voices of Experience www.connectornews.ca Telephone: (250) 374-7467 Office Hours: Monday – Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Please address all correspondence to:

Kamloops Connector 1365B Dalhousie Drive Kamloops, BC V2C 5P6 Advertising Sales/Publisher: Linda Bolton (778) 471-7528 lbolton@ aberdeenpublishing.com Editor: Christopher Foulds editor@connectornews.ca Graphic Designer: Lee Malbeuf creative@connectornews.ca Kamloops Connector is a monthly newspaper dedicated to inform, serve and entertain adults 45 and over.

We aim to publish on the last Friday of each month and copy/booking deadlines are either the 2nd or 3rd Thursdays of each month. Please request a publishing schedule for specific information.

Kamloops Connector is published by Kamloops This Week, part of the Aberdeen Publishing Group.

Letters to the Editor must be signed and have a phone number (your phone number will not be printed unless requested).

Other submissions are gratefully received although Kamloops Connector reserves the right to edit all material and to refuse any material deemed unsuitable for this publication. Articles, group and event listings will run in the newspaper as time and space permit.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from Kamloops Connector.

The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Kamloops Connector, Kamloops This Week or the staff thereof.

Subscriptions are $35 per year in Canada.

Any error which appears in an advertisement will be adjusted as to only the amount of space in which the error occurred. The content of each advertisement is the responsibility of the advertiser.

Kamloops Connector recommends prudent consumer discretion.

MAY 2020 | 5

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A tale of passionate perseverance

By Dick Parkes, Kamloops chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada

D

oug McCloy is a true B.C. boy, having lived his entire life of 73 years only in Vancouver and Kamloops.

McCloy was born in 1946 in Vancouver General Hospital and lived with his parents and brother in their little house on Dumphries Street, eventually attending David Thompson High School.

His first job was pumping gas at a service station after classes and on weekends.

Upon graduation, he got steady work at the Bonner and Bemiss factory, where they made large paper bags.

He earned enough money to buy his first car — a 1948 Dodge coupe. He then went up-market, replacing the Dodge with a 1963 Pontiac two0door sedan, which was, in turn, replaced by a 1967 Ford Mustang.

McCloy’s mother was a childhood friend of the wife of the owner of Kamloops Glass and when McCloy heard about an apprenticeship position open at that business, he left Vancouver and arrived in Kamloops in 1968, where he has been ever since.

McCloy moved into an apartment with a couple of buddies while learning about the automotive and residential glass business.

During his off-hours, McCloy joined the Rocky Mountain Rangers reserve unit, carrying on from his similar association with the Canadian Army reserves in Vancouver.

Driving around town in his Mustang, between the North Kamloops and Valleyview A&Ws, was a favourite pastime and that is how he met his future wife, Suzanne.

They were married in 1970 and eventually raised two boys: Jeff and Chris.

The family cars during this time became a 1970 Mercury Cougar SR7, then a 1976 Chevrolet Impala coupe, followed by a 1963 Chevrolet short box pickup.

The McCloys became residents of Beaver Crescent in Dallas and, as McCloy’s interest in all things automotive increased, he built a large garage in his backyard.

His father-in-law, Bill Brandon, was a member of the Kamloops chapter of the Vintage Car Club of

Canada (VCCC) and had a few vintage cars in his possession, among them a 1941 Cadillac and a 1926 Model T Ford.

The two men became quite close and began ice racing together with a Datsun 510. Most weekends in the winter were spent racing the Datsun on Barnes Lake, near Ashcroft, while the rest of the week was spent repairing the car for the next race. They were fairly successful in their ice racing ventures and McCloy still has the trophies displayed in his home.

One day, while working in Brandon’s garage, McCloy looked at the Model T Tudor sedan sitting in the corner and asked his fatherin-law what he was going to do with it. A deal was made and McCloy took the Model T home to his own garage, joined the VCCC and began the restoration, taking the car apart right down to the frame and starting from there. The result, after several years, was one of the nicest Model T Fords you will ever see.

Sometime in 1991, the Kamloops chapter decided to make a bid to host the 1993 May Tour, the annual convention of the VCCC. When the bid was accepted, the group began organizing the 1993 Overlander May Tour.

As it had done during the two previous Kamloops May Tours, the group planned to raffle off a car to enhance the event, help defray the costs and donate funds to charities.

A decrepit Ford Model A Tudor sedan was located and purchased and McCloy became the ramrod in charge of its restoration.

The Model A was moved to his garage and a twoyear, from the ground up restoration began, which was completed just in time for the Tour.

In addition to taking on the massive project, McCloy has been active in other capacities as the chapter’s property manager and served two terms as president. After 17 years with Kamloops Glass, McCloy decided it was time for a career change, so he took a locksmith course, applied for a position with the Kamloops-Thompson

school district and worked there, looking after locks, windows and doors in all the local schools until his retirement.

McCloy’s life took a huge U-turn in 2002 when he suffered a severe stroke while attending a Kamloops Blazers game. After a stay in hospital, he ended up in the Berwick on the Park care home, at about the same time his marriage ended.

McCloy is a fighter, however, and after about two years in Berwick, he

decided to get his life back together and moved out.

He had a small house (with a large garage) built in Valleyview, got his driver’s licence back and, in 2010, purchased a beautiful 1966 Ford Mustang GT. Although still experiencing effects from his stroke, McCloy continues to tinker with his Mustang in his garage and participate in car club events. And, if any club members are having issues installing a new windshield or glass in their vintage

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Top: Doug McCloy and his 1926 Model T Ford.

Left: Doug McCloy’s 1963 Pontiac two-door sedan.

Right: A young McCloy with his 1967 Ford Mustang. autos, he is always eager to lend his expertise.

McCloy’s younger son, Chris, recently moved back to Kamloops and, obviously inheriting some of his dad’s mechanical abilities, has restored a 1978 Honda Civic hatchback, just like one he had when attending

high school.

It is heartwarming to see the second generation becoming interested in preserving our automotive heritage and McCloy is an inspiration to us all, showing that life can go on, even after the major setbacks one has endured.

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Estate plans can help you answer questions about the future

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The word “estate” conjures images of great wealth, which may be one of the reasons so many people don’t develop estate plans.

After all, they’re not rich, so why make the effort?

In reality, though, if you have a family, you can probably benefit from estate planning, irrespective of your asset level. You may well find that a comprehensive estate strategy can help you answer some questions you may find unsettling — or even worrisome.

Here are a few of these questions: • What will happen to my children? With luck, you (and your co-parent,

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to the beneficiaries you’ve named.

• Who will oversee my finances and my living situation if I become incapacitated? You can build various forms of protection into your estate planning, such as an enduring power of attorney, which allows you to designate someone to manage your financial affairs if you become physically or mentally incapacitated. You could also create a power of attorney for personal care, which allows someone to handle health care decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself.

• Will I shortchange my family if I leave significant assets to charities? Unless you have unlimited resources, you will need to make some choices about charitable gifts and money for your family. But as part of your estate strategy, you do have some appealing options. For example, you could establish a trust, which provides financial support to your chosen

charities for a period of time, with the remaining assets eventually going to your family members. A charitable remainder trust, by contrast, can provide a stream of income for your family members for the term of the trust, before the remaining assets are transferred to one or more charitable organizations.

As you can see, careful estate planning can help you answer many of the questions that may be worrying you. Be aware, though, that certain aspects of estate planning, especially those related to living trusts and charitable trusts, can be complex, so you should consult your estate-planning lawyer or qualified tax professional about your situation.

Once you have your strategy in place, you should be able to face the future with greater clarity and confidence.

Member Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Member – Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

Planning in the time of COVID-19

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if you have one) will be alive and well at least until your children reach the age of majority (either 18 or 19, depending on where you live). Nonetheless, you don’t want to take any chances, so, as part of your estate strategy, you may want to name a guardian to take care of your children if you are not around. You also might want to name a trustee — sometimes called a guardian of the estate — to manage any assets your minor children might inherit.

• Will there be a fight over my assets? Without a solid estate strategy in place, your assets could be subject to the timeconsuming, expensive — and very public — probate process. During probate, your relatives and creditors can gain access to your records and possibly even challenge your will. But with proper planning, you can maintain your privacy.

As one possible element of an estate plan, a living trust generally allows your property to avoid probate and pass quickly

Legal ease KERRI D. PRIDDLE

This viral pandemic has left many of us at home and concerned about uncertainty of the immediate future. The suddenness of events unfolding has created some anxiety around the question: What will

happen if I get sick?

Thankfully, we have our wonderful Royal Inland Hospital staff working to make sure the answer to that question is that you will be cared for and you will get well again.

To add some comfort to the uncertain times, it is reassuring to have all of the legal paperwork in place for such an event as sudden illness, to be sure your life will continue to run smoothly while you are being cared for by healthcare workers.

There are two documents that are useful in such a circumstance: Power of Attorney and Representation Agreement.

A Power of Attorney

appoints someone to deal with the legal and financial aspects of your life for you if you should become incapacitated and cannot act on your own behalf.

The person you appoint can step into your shoes and complete the real estate transaction you had pending, pay your bills or act as a litigation guardian for an ongoing legal matter.

A Representation Agreement appoints someone to deal with your health, well-being and comfort if you require assistance or cannot speak for yourself due to illness.

Your representative can act as a substitute decisionmaker or merely to assist you in making decisions

for medical treatment or care.

If you do not have these documents in place, most lawyers are speaking with clients by video or over the telephone to give advice and take instructions, with a follow-up meeting to sign the documents using a physical-distancing protocol depending on individual circumstances.

Planning ahead is one way we can all find comfort during this unique time.

Also, many of us have estate planning on our ‘todo lists and are now using the extra time we have while in isolation to finally get that accomplished and off the list.

MAY 2020 | 7

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Watch for the differing signs of various illnesses

HEALTH MATTERS MISSAGH MANSHADI

I have worked as a pharmacist for 25 years and, for the first time, I am seeing anxiety levels among patients increasing significantly, with many of them taking anti-anxiety medications.

Even my staff are showing high levels of anxiety when they come to work. Sometimes there is confusion as to whether they might have COVID-19, the common flu, a cold or allergies.

I would like to salute all of our front-line workers and thank them for their courage for serving their country.

Below are differences between some of those conditions and some tips as how to identify them: — People with COVID-19 have a range of symptoms, from mild to severe. These symptoms may appear from between two and 14 days after exposure to the novel coronavirus: • fever;

• cough; • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; • chills; • repeated shaking with chills; • muscle pain; • headache; • sore throat; • new loss of taste or smell.

— The common cold usually appears between one and three days after exposure and signs and symptoms differ from person to person: • runny or stuffy nose; • sore throat; • cough; • congestion; • slight body aches or a mild headache; • sneezing; • low-grade fever; • generally feeling unwell (malaise).

The discharge from your nose may become thicker and yellow or green in colour as a common cold runs its course. This isn’t an indication of a bacterial infection.

-- I hope — be they healthy or at risk of illness — have had their flu shots and those who are candidates for pneumonia shots have had their pneumonia shots. Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly and hit you hard.

People who are sick with flu often feel some or all of these symptoms: • fever or feeling feverish/

RIH Foundation launches campaign to help health-care workers The Royal Inland Hospital Foundation has created a campaign to collect funds to provide further assistance to frontline health-care workers at Royal Inland Hospital.

The RIH Foundation is taking donations to support frontline health-care workers and help ensure they have the equipment and tools they need to provide the best care possible.

The foundation is hoping to raise $60,000 to fund the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other needs for frontline health-care workers.

In a letter to donors, the foundation outlined how hospital operations have changed and how workers have been impacted.

“Amidst the COVID-19

pandemic that we now find ourselves in, the significance of our hospital and critical needs of our health-care team is top of mind for everyone,” the letter reads.

It goes on to explain how the hospital has effectively been divided in two, with the emergency room and ICU separated to ensure patients with respiratory symptoms are kept apart from those without.

The letter also acknowledges a wide range of workers who are continuing to help the hospital deliver safe care, including housekeeping staff, patient porters, unit clerks, security, administrators, medical technicians and IT staff.

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chills or no fever; • cough; • sore throat; • runny or stuffy nose; • muscle or body aches; • headaches; • fatigue (tiredness).

Some people may be stricken with vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

— Hay fever only occurs at certain times of the year

and if you experience the symptoms listed below, it’s a sign you have a seasonal allergy. Triggers of hay fever vary from one season to another. Spring allergies are usually caused by tree pollen and summer allergies are caused by grass pollen. Indoor allergens can also cause allergy symptoms. Symptoms of seasonal allergies range from mild to severe. Take

an anti-histamine for a few days and see if your symptoms decrease.

The most common symptoms include: • sneezing; • runny or stuffy nose; • watery and itchy eyes; • i tchy sinuses, throat or ear canals; • ear congestion; •p ost-nasal drainage.

Less common symptoms include:

• headache; • shortness of breath; • wheezing; • coughing.

People with hay fever and asthma can also experience asthma attacks.

Note: The above information should be considered general guidelines. Consult your medical provider for any symptoms that are severe or concerning.

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8 | MAY 2020

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In Kamloops, book some time during the pandemic Legends Used Books in Dufferin and Andrena Book Company in Sahali both offer delivery and pickup service for two weeks

by Michael Potestio, Kamloops This Week

L

ocal bookstore owners have found a new way of putting pages in the hands of people looking to catch up on their reading during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

Dave Marklinger, who owns Legends Used Books in Dufferin, is offering readers who are selfisolating his Words on Wheels delivery service.

“Basically, it was a good way to stay connected with people. I know a lot of people are isolating and they can’t really leave the house to get books, so it’s good way to bring it to

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them,” Marklinger said.

Readers simply email Legends with their name, address and their desired genre and Marklinger will deliver the books in batches of four or eight.

“Mystery, science fiction, non-fiction, romance, whatever, or if you want say surprise me, you can get a mixture of stuff,” Marklinger said.

Andrena’s Book Company in Sahali offers delivery and pickup service.

Customers can call or email the used bookstore with their request and, if it’s in stock, it will be delivered, co-owner Andrena Blair told KTW. “We don’t want to let our customers down. You need something to do, something to read. We have puzzles and movies.

People need entertainment for sure. This is hard on people, especially older people,” Blair said, noting the store has even mailed an order to a customer.

In offering the service, Marklinger hopes people will keep their options open and broaden their horizons, but he noted he can check his stock for specific requests.

“Broaden things, discover new authors,” he said. “Something you may not have thought to pick up before. You might enjoy it, you might not.”

Payments at both stores can be made via e-transfer to avoid contact altogether due to the pandemic.

Both store owners have received positive feedback for offering the service and have been making deliveries using their own vehicles.

Blair said general fiction has been her bestseller, along with a number of authors, including George Orwell and Hunter S. Thompson.

“Some people will phone and say, ‘These are the kinds of books I like. What are your suggestions?’” she said, noting puzzle orders have also been popular.

Marklinger said orders have varied and no particular genre or author has stood out.

Though social-distancing measures enacted by the province to combat the spread of COVID-19 have shuttered many stores, the brick and mortar locations of Legends and Andrena remain open.

Legends is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week.

“I figure I’ll stay open until they tell me to not to,” Marklinger said.

Blair said the pandemic has been hard on business.

Two of the regular complement of four staffers are working and the operating hours have

been reduced to 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., five days a week.

Business has slowed down a bit at Legends, but earlier in March, when the pandemic became apparent, Marklinger said sales were well above average.

“For the first little bit there, I guess people were trying to stock up on books before they isolated.

I was doing three times my regular business on some days,” Marklinger said.

To adhere to social distancing, Andrena allows a maximum of five people into the store at one time.

“And we’ve got lots of disinfectant of course,” Blair said, adding she is very conscious of the rules, as are customers.

The pandemic has led to a more rigorous cleaning regiment at Legends, but maintaining social distancing in the store has not been an issue.

“The most people I’ve ever seen in the store at one time is six — and that includes me,” Marklinger said.

Those looking to place an order for books from Legends can call 250-250-377-8793 or email alegendisyou@shaw. ca. Those wishing to place an order for books from Andrena can call 250-851-2665 or email at abcbookco@gmail.com.

MAY 2020 | 9

www.connectornews.ca

BOOK REVIEW

By Marilyn Brown

The Book of Wonders Julien Sandrel

Translated from the French by Ros Schwartz Quercus publisher, 2018, fiction, 216 pages

THE VILLAGE OF CHASE

Thanks Everyone who is providing essential services for us all in this strange time Please ensure you connect with your neighbours, and especially any seniors on their own that might need assistance with grocery shopping or other services.

L

ouis is the nearly 13-year old son of Thelma, a single mom.

After she finally rouses her sleepy Sun King, they make their way to the dreaded weekly brunch with Thelma’s mother. Thelma states, “I didn’t know it yet, but there would be a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ that Saturday, 7 January 2017.”

As they make their way through the crowd, Louis is exasperated by his mother taking a call from work when he is trying to talk to her. He takes off on his skateboard, loses control and crashes into a lorry. The clear blue sky of the Parisian winter day is rent by Thelma’s agonizing scream.

Even though Louis is in a comatose state, he tells the reader early on that he thinks he is dead. He also shares some of the things he loves: soccer, manga, the rapper Maitre Grim, Pokémon YouTube, Granny Odette and his mom (most days).

He is a bright kid whose pals call him a geek because his vocabulary is advanced.

Like teens everywhere, he has a keen eye for the incongruities between what adults say and what they do. He also has a sharp sense of humour.

When doctors reluctantly conclude there has been no improvement in the patient’s condition, Thelma fights for her son in a creative way — she will use the notebook in which Louis has written his wish list of adventures to complete

before he is too old. She vows to live the adventures Louis has listed, then present the audio-visual account to Louis, bedside.

This may be the key to waking Louis.

The first adventure for Thelma is Tokyo.

Thelma marvels from her lux multi-storey hotel at the glittering evening cityscape, feeling for herself what novelist Amelie Nothomb calls “mental defenestration,” the sensation of “jumping into the void.”

Is Thelma up to the other Tokyo challenges — to cross the busiest intersection in the world (Shibuya) as a pedestrian, with eyes closed? To carouse in a karaoke bar? To possibly consume live seafood from a small locals-only type bar and grill?

Louis has many more destinations and daring “to do’s” in his “book of wonders.”

The reader is treated to the (mental) reactions of Louis as he is astounded by his mother. In the meantime, the sub-plot of the relationship between Thelma and Odette, her tenacious mother, is heartwarming.

The Book of Wonders is light in tone, considering the topic, easily read in a short session or two and the character of Louis is endearing. The power of a mother’s love resonates in this novel, a good choice to read as we near Mother’s Day. The author, Julien Sandrel, was born in southern France. This is his first novel, already published in dozens of countries.

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10 | MAY 2020

www.connectornews.ca

ABS brakes, air bag and tire pressure monitor

By Gary Miller, Retired Service Advisor

Happy

Mother’s Day

Sunday, May 10, 2020

250-372-1234 • info@cfselaw.ca

A

BS brakes, air bags and tire pressure monitors are common safety-related items found on most cars and mandatory on all new vehicles that we see on the road today.

I was asked what these items are for and why I need to repair them if they fail.

ABS, which stands for anti-lock braking system, was primarily designed to maintain a better level of steering control in low traction driving conditions. As long as a wheel is rotating, the driver maintains some control of the steering direction. If the wheels are locked up and sliding, it is like the old saying: “Now the tail is waging the dog.”

There is absolutely no control and the vehicle is victim to what the road surface has to offer, which is sometimes pure ice, which is great for skates, but not rubber tires.

When ever a vehicle starts up it does its own self check to confirm system integrity. If a fault occurs it will turn on the ABS warning light, disable the ABS functions and the vehicle resorts back

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result in improper airbag deployment.

(Because of certification requirements, mixing of a Canadian market vehicle’s airbag is incorrect and vice versa with its U.S. counterpart.)

The tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is an electronic system designed to monitor the air pressure inside the pneumatic tires on various types of vehicles.

A TPMS reports real-time tirepressure information to the driver of the vehicle, either via a gauge, a pictogram display or a simple lowpressure warning light.

Nor was this system mandatory in Canada, but since it is installed on vehicles, it does have to work as certified by Transport Canada. In the U.S., TPMS was legislated under the Tread Act to minimize the frequency of tire-related issues due to underinflation. It had become quite a concern that required government involvement to resolve.

For any concerns or questions, email me at bigsix8280@yahoo.ca.

Funeral homes adjusting amid the pandemic

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She’s always been the independent type.

to normal non ABS operation. As long as the brake pedal is firm you should have regular brakes.

(One other note: ABS brakes don’t operate below 12 km/hr and, if your tires are tread-bare, the ABS may not be able to work.)

Airbags were never mandatory in Canada because more than 90 per cent of Canadians wear their seatbelts. It is the seatbelt the saves lives. The airbag is classified as a supplemental restrain system, which only adds a little extra level of protection. Since most of our vehicles are made for the U.S. market and the use of seatbelts there was at less than 50 per cent, airbags were introduced to North American for compliance and safety reasons.

Airbags and seatbelts on some vehicles work in tandem with each other. When the system is activated, because of an impact, the seatbelt has a small charged device that will pull you back against the seat before the airbag is activated. That way, your body is not twisted, which could

A few days ago, the local TV station came by to interview me for their news hour.

I also heard from several radio station news departments and a number of newspapers/online news sites. They all wanted to know two things: How has the COVID-19 virus affected the families you serve? How has the virus affected the way your funeral home operates?

In addition to the media, health-care providers across North America are asking funeral homes and crematoriums about their ability to serve in the event of mass casualties.

You’ve probably seen the refrigerated trucks on TV parked outside hospital morgues.

Health-care providers

First, it’s apparent to me that most families are holding off on services for their loved one until the pandemic ends. Delaying Murray’s service can take a toll on people, but most people want to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Also, the vast majority of people no longer have viewings or formal funerals as most people choose cremation and have a gathering of family and a few friends. This is not because of the pandemic; rather, it reflects changing patterns of consumer behaviour. Even these informal gatherings are being put on hold, however, until the pandemic passes.

When people visit our funeral home, it is clear everyone is attempting to practice physical distancing — most people even bring their own pen.

As far as how the novel coronavirus is affecting the way we operate our funeral homes, it appears that all funeral homes in the area have clearly made adjustments. Each home has a sign on the door, advising visitors of the precautions being taken.

Most are trying hard to

want to know how many deceased people the community’s funeral homes can properly hold. They also want to know how many cremations can be performed per day if the worst case scenario unfolds.

The media ask their two questions out of curiosity and to put together a helpful story for their readers or viewers. Healthcare providers ask funeral homes about their capacity to care for deceased people, in an effort to be ready in the event of a worst-case scenario.

So, how many people can Drake care for at our funeral home at one time?

As of late April or early May we anticipate being able to care for 28 people at a given time. This is because we are opening a new crematorium in Kamloops. It’s located on the east side of Kamloops, out by the BC Wildlife Park.

Our new crematorium will allow us to perform up to six cremations per day. I sincerely hope this pandemic will not take a toll on our community.

Whenever we are called upon, however, we will be there to help.

Now, back to the media’s questions.

protect staff and visitors from exposure.

As far as the risks we take in caring for Murray, this hasn’t really changed a lot as most funeral directors and embalmers have been well trained to use personal protective equipment and to exercise caution.

We have been trained to assume everyone we care for may put an embalmer at risk. We are, however, using extra precautions. This includes always wearing gloves, masks and face shields.

We’re living through a pandemic. The response around the world is unlike that of any other time.

Complete economies have nearly closed. Funeral homes, however, carry on, ready to serve anyone in need. Hats off to the media for spreading the word about the realities facing funeral homes. And hats off to health-care providers in many communities throughout North America.

They are trying very hard to prepare for the worst case scenario.

Fortunately, it looks like we may not face the widespread harm we initially feared.

Stay well, all.

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MAY 2020 | 11

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The Rivertown Players show must go on(line)

By Randi Edmundson

CONSIGNMENTS WELCOME

T

his summer will be a special one for the Rivertown Players, marking the 20th season that the troupe of emerging artists has provided free entertainment to Kamloops families.

Over the years, the Rivertown Players have adapted and evolved, growing from a two-play repertoire in Riverside Park to a four-play season in parks and at events across Kamloops.

This year, the group may be facing its biggest challenge yet — the inability to gather in person with its audiences. But the Players face challenges every summer, from flash floods and strong winds that tear down their sets to intense heat and smoky skies that keep their audiences indoors — and they always overcome.

The Rivertown Players program, run by the Kamloops Arts Council and facilitated this year by Project X Theatre’s artistic producer (and Rivertown Players alumni) Randi Edmundson.

It gives young artists mentorship and a safe space to try their hand at every aspect of theatre production, from writing, acting and directing to designing, building, budgeting and marketing the shows.

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From left, last year’s Rivertown Players: Dez Geddes, Brendan Law and Jane Harestad.

Every summer, every show and every audience provide unique learning opportunities and the growth of the program over the past two decades means that each new set of summer students gains a hands-on understanding of what it means to create theatre in their present moment.

This summer, our present moment includes a global pandemic and wise public health measures that mean we may not be able to gather in person for a long time. Arts and theatre organizations across Canada are grappling with the very same question: What does it mean to create theatre without a live, in-person audience?

The Rivertown Players

will be a part of this national conversation, which makes for an incredible learning opportunity and an enormous chance to be creative.

So, stay tuned for what the Rivertown Players come up with amid the pandemic.

Emerging artists are the lifeblood of the Kamloops theatre scene, injecting fresh ideas, asking questions and pursuing creative impulses with abandon. With live online programming, shows from afar, theatrical social media experiments and, possibly, much more, the Rivertown Players will be there to entertain Kamloops families this summer — just perhaps not in person.

Catch Ryan7 on a virtual stage twice weekly From travelling the world while performing on Princess Cruises to delivering concerts from their Kamloops home on Facebook Live, it’s been a strange and exciting time for Sabrina Weeks and Mike Hilliard, who perform as Ryan7.

They have taken their musical show online to provide entertainment for those stuck at home during the pandemic.

“Every bar and restaurant is closed and a lot of venues have cancelled all their concerts,” Weeks told KTW. “We just felt like we could do concerts for people from our house, so at least we can offer a little piece of what people are missing.”

Weeks said they plan to continue performing twice a week, with up-tempo offerings on Fridays and slower, ballroom style songs on Tuesdays.

Many of the fans they’ve connected with on the cruise lines are tuning in, Weeks said, noting those audiences are big on dancing.

The shows can be viewed Tuesdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. online at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ SabrinaAndMikeLive/. People can request songs they might like to hear, either in

advance or in the chat during the show.

Their time on Princess Cruises gave the duo the opportunity to see much of the world at a time just before travel of that kind ground to a halt amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, had it not been for a vocal injury that forced the pair to return home, they might very well have still be on a cruise ship during the start of the pandemic.

“I’m grateful for perfect timing,” Weeks said.

And, though it might not have the same kind of glamour that comes from travelling the world, she’s just as happy to be able to offer Kamloops — and the world — a little something to lift hearts in these difficult times.

“We’re doing these concerts for love,” Weeks said. “We’re doing it out of the goodness of our hearts and our desire to create community in a situation that is making it quite difficult to connect and stay connected.

“And we’re offering these little 60-minute concerts as a way to try and escape the stress and fear of the situation.”

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12 | MAY 2020

www.connectornews.ca

Dave Eagles/KTW More than two-dozen colleagues and friends decorated their vehicles and paraded past the house of recent retiree Karen Gamracy at her Barnhartvale home on April 16.

Gamracy greeted the parade of well-wishers offered their congratulations to after she retired from Thompson Rivers University, where she was director of advancement.

A message from the Village of Chase:

IN THESE TRYING TIMES, PLEASE LEND A HELPING HAND

D

uring this very trying time that has befallen all of us around the world, please remember to reach out by phone or via the internet to those in your community who may need a helping hand.

Do you know someone who could benefit from some assistance in getting groceries? Do you now someone in need of a bit of yard work? Do you know someone who needs a comforting voice on the other end of the phone?

Please consider helping those in our communities who may need a little extra boost or cannot get out to purchase the essentials.

And during this difficult time, our food banks need our help more than ever.

There will be people who

have relied on food banks in the past and there will be those, now out of work and never expecting to be in such trying times, who need assistance from food banks.

Please ensure you consider donating to your local food bank

We already know Kamloops is a kind place – and with the COVID-19 crisis, there are more opportunities than ever to celebrate that.

That’s what our new Kindloops program, presented by Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union, is all about. We’re going to celebrate all the acts of kindness Kamloopsians are doing for each other right now.

All you have to do to participate is give the name of a local individual who’s done something kind for someone else in Kamloops. We’re going to publish those submissions in Kamloops This Week every week for the next 12 weeks, and pick one random submission each week. The person who performed that act of kindness and the person who nominated them will each get a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant.

Then, when the COVID-19 crisis lifts, we’re going to put all the entries together into a special commemorative edition, celebrating all the acts of kindness that have been nominated, and pick one random entry. The person who performed that act and the person who nominated them will each win a prize of $500 worth of gift certificates to local restaurants!

Celebrate kindness with us in Kamloops with Kindloops.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

• Go to www.kindloops.com OR • Enter via social media - put your nomination in Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and just tag Kamloops This Week (@kamthisweek) and include the hashtag #kindloops in your post

whatever you can spare.

Food donations are always welcome, while cash helps food banks buy items vital to ensuring continued nutrition for those in need.

In such trying times, and having to stay away from one another to reduce the

spread of the COVID-19 virus, there are things we can do to help one another. The Village of Chase thanks everyone for continuing to show community spirit wherever you are and for generously supporting those in need.

MAY 2020 | 13

www.connectornews.ca

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14 | MAY 2020

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Storm Clouds?

Crossword

by Adrian Powell 1

Message from

MP CATHY MCLEOD During these challenging times as we sacrifice to stay close to home, we can take solace in the fact that this effort will not only protect ourselves but those we love and who live around us.

It is not an easy process to stay away from family and friends, miss out on celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, religious gatherings. Some of us have come to rely on Skype or Facetime to stay connected, instead of family dinners or weekend gatherings.

I want to acknowledge all of the Canadians who are going above and beyond during these unprecedented times. To the nurses, the doctors, the truck drivers, the grocery store workers, cleaners, pharmacists, farmers and other essential workers – we say, thank you.

In the meantime, for anyone needing assistance of any kind, my team is prepared to do all it can to help in any shape, manner or form.

We are just a call away 250-851-4991. Wishing you all health and safety in the days and weeks to come. And remember history assures us that this too will end and soon there will be better days.

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Clouds?

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by Adrian

by Adrian Powell Powell

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O N E M EMSESS S E NEDNOD OD ADRA TRST S S A D L Y

B O N D

Mail or drop off your entry to: Kamloops Connector, 1365B Dalhousie Dr, Kamloops, BC, V2C 5P6 or email your details with “Dunes Contest” to win@connectornews.ca. Random draw from entries submitted for the contest. One entry per household. Draw date: Friday, May 8 at 9:00 am.

Prize must be accepted as awarded. Winners will be called to arrange pick up of their prize.

E O N B L E B O U E A E R O N T H E R A I N S SEESVWEEEWD RE EDPDEPOENO NB LBEL BE RE AR AR ORUOEU E A EAREOR E M OMPOEEPR S I SN I GN IGN I I NN I TNHT EHRE AR I AN I M A I N H M S O COTC TQ OQMO MS ESVE EVRE ERDE I R A SB O AE MEMMEMRE R UBNY U N N T FHAFEEAW RE IIRENI D EM AM I AN I NH MHSM I LDA EL R E S I DN SE AR L L I L R I AR AS OSYOAY N BS LB MOLW I O TIWNHI I N YN I TNHT EHWE IWN I DN T RHEREPENSP SE VEEVSE SN ANSAAS LA E REER EO MOEMNE NS MS IMT I HT YH E O S T O O S TS AT RA TR TH EHNE N E S ATGAHIGEL I S I L TUI YN T Y E OESO S T OTOO N S H EHERERERC AEOSCMO EEMSETSHT EHSEUSNU D O E NEDI NAD I RDDT ED SNESN SE REARSAES

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Cathy McLeod, MP

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MAY 2020 | 15

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A message about community

By Amber Vanderwal, Nufloors Kamloops

M

any of us have been spending a lot more time in our physical home – the more time we spend away from our loved ones, the more we realize home truly is where our heart is. During the times of uncertainty, numerous adaptability requirements and isolation, our message to you is to stay resilient.

Our community will come out of this stronger than before, with the important realization that effort and attitude make all the difference.

When it comes to supporting local business, this time is a reminder that doing so is an intentional act. Much like relationships, flowers will blossom where there is care, water and sunshine.

Some things come naturally – we can’t control whether the sun shines or not – but other things do require intentional and careful effort.

When it comes to your home, perception is key. Being home for endless days on end can be monotonous but remember that you are the creator of your environment. Giving a stale space a fresh touch has endless possibilities.

You can start with switching rooms around or swapping items. If you have the ability and means, this is a great opportunity

Congratulations

DONNA JESSE who won $50 TO CANADIAN TIRE, and to LOUVELLE NICKLAS and ARIANE BERTHELOT who both won $25 TO CANADIAN TIRE.

City of Kamloops

to support local.

Many local retailers have moved their business online even though their store front may be closed.

Other businesses, such as the trades (including flooring stores), are by appointment. There are plenty of affordable, easy to install, in-stock products when it comes to flooring.

For items you love but aren’t in stock, shipping is usually a couple weeks

out. If you have extra time on your hands, this is an opportunity to tackle that home project now.

To reiterate: Stay resilient. Be intentional.

The flowers that grow are the ones that are watered.

Take time to connect with loved ones and be open to adapting what that looks like for now. Remember, we rise when we lift others up. Stay positive and we will see you on the other side of this soon.

SUDOKU

WATER RESTRICTIONS MAY 1 TO AUGUST 31 Waterworks Bylaw No. 12-31—No sprinkling or irrigating is allowed between 11:00 am and 6:00 pm on any day. First offence will result in a $100 fine; each subsequent offence will result in a fine of $200.

• Even addresses may sprinkle or irrigate only on even numbered days.

• Odd addresses may sprinkle or irrigate only on odd numbered days.

• Complexes with internal addresses are to use the internal address to determine watering days.

• Watering between midnight and 6:00 am is restricted but is allowed if sprinklers are controlled by an automatic timer.

• All outdoor handheld hoses must be equipped with a spring-loaded shut off nozzle and are permitted at any time.

Stay Connected

Kamloops.ca/WaterSmart

Fiction for you: A forever tale 16 | MAY 2020

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By Rita Joan Dozlaw

D

on’t be shocked when I tell you this, but I am a wedding gown and this is my forever tale.

I once had such youth that I hung around in a swank salon! The ladies who came and went appreciated my unique flair and sense of style. They were also drawn to my exquisitely understated exterior, which covered any shape or form to create drama from scene to scene, or I should say seam to seam.

Touchy-feely patrons went into a trance of visions as they ran their fingers along my French Alicon lace-topped bodice. I felt shy with all the attention from those betrothed young women.

I stepped back on the wide wooden hanger and hid behind the shoulders of other gowns — like a wallflower. I knew I had beauty, but I was very modest.

When I told you I was a wedding gown, I sang because it feels so lovely to be me. Yes, you heard me right. I have a singing voice. It formed while I was being designed and sewn.

The rustle of silk organza and the rhythm of my stiff crinoline creates lovely sounds. As well, I reach heavenly tones just from swooshing my hem. From my own musical entrances, it was natural to become a dreamer.

Once, I dreamed of a young unassuming girl taking notice of me.

She was delicate and, figuratively speaking, saw her future through rosecoloured glasses. My strongest desire was to find a real girl like that — a girl who would stay interested in me forever and love me just the way I am.

I dreamed she’d walk right in to the salon with her heart on her sleeve and, perhaps, be naïve about life, but sincere about love. I dreamed she was looking for me, and then, one gorgeous day, I looked about and found her!

I elbowed my way into the front row centre of the rack and when Melody, the saleslady, pushed the other beauties along the rod, I almost suffocated. The last thing I needed was to get crushed and crinkled just when I had finally spotted my dream girl. I struggled to overcome my shyness; for the first time in my life, I truly wanted to be noticed. When the girl approached and saw me trying to survive the wishy-washy clients in the salon, she reached out her slender manicured hand, complete with a diamond ring, and touched my shoulder as if playing tag.

“You’re it!” she raised her gentle voice and sang along with mine.

Her touch was irresistible and I was hooked — or rather unhooked from the hanger.

I got a great big bear hug, which made me limp with disbelief. I laid over her arms like a hopeless waif as she carried me to a change room. The décor fit the tastefully fashionable clientele and I wondered, ‘How did I get so lucky?’

I was given the liberty to sprawl over a chair and I was even allowed to drape onto the thick carpeted floor. No one scolded me to get up off the floor — such freedom!

The most beautiful girl in the world shed her clothes and stood bashfully in her bra and underpants before the full-length mirror. A

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

slight shiver rolled over her shoulder and, in a flash, I was being man-handled

by Melody. Her matronly voice suggested, “This one’s easier to step into, dear, rather than pull it over your head.”

The bride-to-be slipped her slender arms into my tapered sleeves and, in an instant, the covered buttons down my back submissively allowed themselves to be scooped up by a pick and twisted into their partner loops.

Melody gathered my flowing double pleats and guided them to fall graciously to the floor around the girl’s bare feet.

In the flurry of excitement, I sensed love in the air. It was love at first sight for me. The

young woman stood erect, examining every angle, scrutinizing every curve — and although the mirror reflected perfection, the moments were agonizing for me. When I could barely take any more, she wrapped her arms around herself and hugged my bosom while twirling me.

Her decision was made.

Eureka. Everyone in the salon agreed we were meant for each other.

Melody carried a protective shiny wardrobe bag over to me, then tied my sleeves up with ribbons so my narrow shoulders wouldn’t slip off the satin hanger. She scrunched and shoved until I was completely inside the bag.

Just like that, everything went dark as I heard the

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• Kamloops Brain Injury Association • Kamloops Minor Hockey Association • Canadian Cancer Society • Humane Society • Juvenile Diabetes Association • Turtle Valley Donkey Refuge • United Way

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I perceived, from her adoring eyes, her thoughts.

We make a beautiful pair.

At the chapel, lifting an armful of me to avoid tripping, she climbed the altar steps. There, I bowed with her as she knelt. When she stood, she clung to her fiancé’s arm. I whispered my love, through a swoosh of my flared hips, as she whispered her vows. Her husband wrapped us in his arms and I knew he loved us both. They kissed and held hands while we descended the altar stairs— like a trailing ivy descends over its own banister.

To conclude my forever tale, my girl often holds me close, even though I’m a jaundiced, wrinkled antique; for, to her I will always be precious.

Happy

Some of the organizations we support include:

• RIH Foundation • Heart and Stroke Foundation • TRU Sports Foundation • SPCA • Kamloops Hospice • Kamloops Wildlife Park • New Life Mission

slim zipper wriggle up the middle of the wardrobe bag imprisoning me.

One spring morning, my nightmare of seclusion ended; my girl came back, unzipped the bag and kissed my lace. I dignified a counter and, as though Melody had done it all before, I was folded into an ornate box with crocheted handles. Yards of mintscented tissue paper engulfed me. The next thing I knew, I was on the back seat of a Karman Ghia en route to Niagara Falls.

Behind closed doors of a private dressing room, my girl wiped tears from her cheeks. To add to her joy, befitting a bride-tobe, I caressed her whole body. She primped before the looking glass and

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Mothers Day Don’t forget Mom on May 10th

MAY 2020 | 17

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Gardengate May plant sales in Kamloops will proceed

I

n May, Gardengate will be selling certified organic bedding plants grown by Gardengate participants and volunteers.

The sales will take place on Saturdays — May 9, May 16 and May 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. — at the Gardengate facility, at 915 Southill St. in Brocklehurst.

All on-site sales and order pick-ups will be observing safety procedures in relation to COVID-19 including distancing, limitation of people on site, and using purchase via credit or debit card instead of cash or cheque if possible. Online pre-ordering is recommended and encouraged to reduce the number of people at the facility during sale times.

For more information on the online orders or to find out more about the expansion project and other ways you can support it, go online to www.opendoorgroup.org, call 250-554-9453 or email robert. wright@opendoorgroup.org.

The Open Door Group’s Gardengate program is funded

by Interior Health and is a partner of the Kamloops Food Policy Council. The horticulture program helps those with addictions and/or mental-health issues.

The program has been operating since 2000 out of space in Brocklehurst that is largely unusable during winter months due to lack of heat.

“This is a difficult time for many people and gardening is a great thing to turn to during all the social distancing and stay-athome orders, especially with the upcoming warmer weather,” said program manager Robert Wright.

The plant sale will support space expansion for Gardengate, allowing more people to access the program. The cost of the facility expansion is $500,000 and more than $150,000 has been raised so far.

Plants for sale at Gardengate during the May 2018 fundraising event.

COPING WITH BEING COOPED UP

By Cathy Lidster

I

was gardening, when two kids approached, asking for newspapers to make a papiermaché pinata to cheer up their socially isolated grandpa. That made me smile. Then I realized I had no leftover newspaper because it was not being delivered to my home and that made me sad.

There have been many things that have saddened me lately. Missing my grandkids is my biggest one. What is yours? How are you coping with being cooped up on command?

Are you taking extra good care of yourself?

Here are nine

suggestions for coping as we coop apart together: • Eat for your health like never before. No more procrastination. Get serious on this. Whole organic foods and clean filtered water is a must now more than ever.

Please give your gut a break from the onslaught of genetically modified foods and microbe-killing pesticide spray. If you think it is too expensive or time consuming to search and buy healthier produce, please do the math. What is the expense of you or your loved ones getting sick? If you stop burdening your immune system

with chemically altered Frankenfoods, you will at least give it a chance to be able to fight for you.

• Sleep well and rest often. This is wartime on your fight or flight response. It is exhausting to keep up with the news and the challenges with which we have been quite suddenly targeted. Nap and rest without guilt.

You need it to rejuvenate, repair and replenish your energy.

• Stop following the news non-stop. It fluctuates so dramatically right now that your emotions are being roller-coastered, draining neurochemicals and your

energy at a time when you need them most.

• Get sunshine — and plenty of it. Get out and walk in it or sit with skin exposed. Vitamin D builds immunity.

• Get out in nature if and where you can. Find an allowable fresh-air place to breathe in and admire the opening of spring. Do this daily.

• Learn something new.

Food for the mind keeps your thoughts in line. It is also anti-aging, which means stronger immunity.

• Play as though your soul depends on it — because it does.

• Share your laughter,

your feelings and your wisdom. Tell your story.

That is why you here at this time. Share your time (volunteer to make sandwiches, deliver groceries or help at a hot line).

Even though we Canadians are pretty stoic in our duty to help each other by being separate, and even though we have our wry sense of humour that keeps us looking for a bright side, I think it is important to also acknowledge our feelings and share them in a way that helps us connect even more.

In so doing, we may

even help those who suffer regularly with chronic sadness or depression.

Perhaps now they may not feel quite as alone in their plight.

Cathy Lidster, GCFP, ABF, ACNRT, is a stay-at-home health consultant, helping those who wish to help themselves live a happier, healthier, and more vital life so they can raise future generations of healthier, happier and wiser humans.

She can be reached by phone at 250-819-9041 or by email at cathy@cathylidster.com.

More articles about health and nourishing wellness can be found online at www. cathylidster.com.

STAY CONNECTED with Family & Friends TODD

STONE

MLA Kamloops-South Thompson 446 Victoria Street Kamloops, BC V2C 2A7 todd.stone.mla@leg.bc.ca toddstonemla.ca 250-374-2880

PETER

MILOBAR

MLA Kamloops-North Thompson 618B Tranquille Road Kamloops, BC V2B 3H6 peter.milobar.mla@leg.bc.ca petermilobarmla.ca 250-554-5413

Peace of wild things 18 | MAY 2020

That said, I am still able to slip away to a quiet space on the land. There, I watch tiny buds begin to loosen their grip on the way things are to allow the green leaves of tomorrow to slip into the world. Every day, those leaves take another small step into the warmth of sunshine — slowly, slowly opening more fully into who they are called to be.

As you read this, I imagine those leaves will be wide open, tiny flags waving in the breeze, celebrating the newness of life around us.

In my space, I sit beside

Colouring outside the lines REV. LEANN BLACKERT Wild Church

As I write this, we remain cautious in our living with COVID 19 and its implications for all of us.

Church Directory

COMMUNITY CHURCH 344 Poplar

A Place to Belong!

UNITED CHURCHES OF CANADA

Sunday Service 11:00 am Sunday School 11:45 am

Kamloops United Church

Please check out our website for any upcoming events

250-554-1611 www.kamsa.ca

www.kamloopsunited.ca 421 St. Paul St. • Sundays 10 am Rev. Dr. Michael Caveney

Mt. Paul United Church

www.mtpauluc.ca 140 Laburnum St. • Sundays 10 am

Plura Hills United Church

www.plurahillsunited.com 2090 Pacific Way • Sundays 10 am

a fast flowing creek. A mourning cloak butterfly flits around me as I watch the water run by in a hurry to get to what’s next. I am very aware that the natural world knows nothing of this pandemic — this very large and presumably long pause which holds humanity in its grip.

We live in the grip of a virus that brings sickness and death, while the natural world is offering us signs of new life every day. In a world looking for — living for — signs of hope, we in the Northern Hemisphere are now surrounded by them: • t ulips poking up through the soil; •b irds busy building nests; •b utterflies chasing sunbeams through the trees; •d andelions dancing in the breeze, inviting bees to a veritable feast.

The natural world has much to teach us when we take time to look and to listen. This earth is our home and she is home to so many of our forgotten kin. Saint Francis understood this when he wrote his song of praise to one who created all things, naming and claiming the natural world as our kin: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brothers Wind and Air, Sister Water, Brother Fire and Mother Earth.

During this shutdown of our human world, we can celebrate our wider earth family. We cannot hug one another but we can find a tall, strong tree to lean into with a hug. We cannot sit across the table having coffee or tea with a friend,

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Kieran Rankin photo Cooney Bay on Kamloops Lake is one of many places in the Kamloops area where one can commune with nature. but we can pull up a chair beside our favourite house plant and share our heart with them.

All that we cannot do with one another we can still do with our family in the natural world.

We are being held in the grip of a pause — a pandemic pause. We humans are so much like the waters of that creek, wanting to rush on to what is next. Pausing is hard for us.

I invite you to live into this pause.

To be awake to the signs of new life all around you.

To stop and listen to the birds, easier to hear in a world greatly silenced.

To sit in a sunbeam, relish the warmth, knowing Brother Sun is

pulling forth new life in our midst.

To sit for a time with our brothers and sisters and to experience the peace of the wild things.

In his poem by that name, The Peace of the Wild Things, Wendell Berry invites us to find peace in the midst of despair for this world. It’s almost as if he wrote it for these days: When despair grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of

grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the dayblind stars waiting for their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

May you rest in the grace of this world — may the peace of the wild things ease your despair for this world …

Rev. LeAnn Blackert is in ministry with the new Wild Church in Kamloops (wildchurchbc.org), where she works with Michele Walker and Lesly Comrie.

Blackert is spending her “stay home” time with her partner and two cats. She enjoys quiet mornings on her back deck, reading books and connecting online with her Wild Church community.

Zone 8: 55+ folks count for a lot Submitted by Linda Haas

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• Apartment living for seniors • Beautiful gardens • Walking distance to North Shore shopping • One block from McArthur Island • Within the same for more information or complex as the to book an appointment North Shore Community Centre #307-730 Cottonwood Ave. & the Moose Lodge Kamloops, BC V2B 8M6 • Suites for purchase info@cottonwoodmanor.ca (life-lease) • SAFER (wait list)

Call 250-376-4777

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In normal times, Zone 8 members of the BC Seniors Games Society would be counting the days and weeks until the next meeting, the playoffs for their sport/activities and the registration deadline for the September Games.

However, due to the current health crisis, Zone 8 meetings are postponed indefinitely and there are no playoffs due to the 55+ BC Games in Richmond being cancelled this year. We all hope we can count on the provincial Games taking place in Victoria in 2021 and the 2021 Canada Seniors Games being held in Kamloops.

Most importantly, we need to

count on what is very important right now and into the future. We count on family and friends to speak with, to share ideas and feelings, whether happy or sad or anxious, and even to provide some of life’s material necessities.

We count on newspapers, radio, technology and the telephone, and the generosity of those we know, along with strangers, to keep in touch with the world outside of our restricted spaces. We count on those who love us and love and appreciate those who care.

As one person on TV said recently, there is an expanding “attitude of gratitude.” Hopefully, this will

continue long past the health pandemic.

We need to be able to count on each other, to build and maintain trusting relationships within family, organizations and society. No one should have to stand alone. We should watch over each other, not in a threatening way, but in a considerate and helpful manner.

We don’t know how many years are left to each of us, but I just solved a word puzzle that inspired this month’s article and whose advice I wanted to share: Don’t count your years; make your years count.

Keep well. We’d like to count on that.

MAY 2020 | 19

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Unfolding like Fundraising walks in science fiction Kamloops move online

The inside story WENDY WESEEN

Science fiction had never been my thing, not since I watched a movie about Flash Gordon when I was 10. So I hardly know what to write.

There’s a tremendous societal and personal impact and many dimensions to the COVID-19 crisis and it has unfolded like a science fiction story, a period movie or biblical passage about a plague. “Surrealistic” is a world most often used.

I’ve experienced grief and terror, engaged in the social science of it, worked with anxiety and counselled bereaved people. While in isolation, I’ve talked to umpteen people. It’s all I can do.

This catastrophe includes a profound universal fear, disappointment and what I interpret as multiple losses. But in the middle of it all is loneliness, loss of routine and stability, trying to protect and help children develop resilience, unique challenges of personal circumstances, the unexpected and unpredictable, and, finally, the profound confrontation of the unknown and uncertainty.

I experienced a sense of loss of control when I realized I wouldn’t be moving into assisted living as planned in April and that my pension plan might crash. As seniors accustomed to grief primarily defined as the loss of a beloved person, we don’t always recognize grief when it visits us on and off through our life span. As we age, we suffer multiple losses: our fitness, health and mental capability, relationships, homes and belongings, hopes, dreams and expectations we don’t have time to finish and even belongings such as a ring down the kitchen sink

or a pair of leggings with buttons down the side.

I feel the sadness of loss, but eventually move on to life that includes looking for the silver lining in loss and adversity — if given lemons, then make lemonade.

There are some horrible stories and challenging losses in living. But I’m dumbfounded by this one — a billboard advertising how incredibly connected the human and morethan-human world are to each other. I’ve been in strict isolation for 40 days, nursing three chronic diseases, including diabetes, and can’t take chances. But as a person who has been in human service my whole life, I have never felt so helpless.

All I can offer is compassion and willingness to listen to stories with heavy emotional content without judgment. All I can offer is strict adherence to public health advisories while witnessing the pain and suffering of the deaths of my own generation, despite loneliness and the logistics of getting my nutrition and health care needs met, despite the loss of hugs and face-to-face interaction with others, despite postponement of medical tests vital to a future quality of life and despite the multiple challenging emotions of a whole globe interdependent on each other.

Go ahead and complain and whine, go ahead and express your sadness and fear, but at the same time, figure out what you can gift to the world, find and be a listening friend, teach children resilience and resourcefulness and use the time to reflect what might be the silver lining.

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew.

This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, without luggage, ready to manage another world. And ready to fight for it.”

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has led to cancellation or postponement of scores of events, but some organizations have pivoted to staging them online.

In May and June, the IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s, the Kamloops Kidney Walk and the Kamloops Walk for Peace, the Environment and Social Justice will all be held via the internet.

• Speakers, poetry readings and musical performances will highlight the altered agenda of the peace Walk, which will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 9, through the online videoconferencing program Zoom Webinar.

In past years, hundreds of people would meet at the downtown Kamloops Regional Farmers’ Market on a Saturday in May and march through the streets before returning to the marker and takin part in a festival in the schoolyard of the former Stuart Wood elementary. This year, participants can go online to https://zoom.us/webinar/register/ WN_kla1e2eUTYSCIyPsWWLu3A to register for the event.

• The Walk for Alzheimer’s will take

Participants march in the 2017 Walk for Peace, the Environment and Social Justice. The 2020 event will be done virtually, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as will other fundraising walks. place online on Sunday, May 31.

The event will start at 9 a.m. and can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. Participants will be able to stream the walk live, while joining in the fun from their living room, backyard or balcony.

The broadcast will feature participants from all across Canada who will share their personal stories of how dementia has affected their life, as well as competing in fun challenges and walking in a safe space.

Funds raised will help fund programs and services to support people living

with dementia in Kamloops. They will also help enable research into the causes of and cure for dementia.

To register, go online to walkforalzheimers.ca.

• The Kamloops Kidney Walk had been scheduled for Sept. 20 at McDonald Park. Instead, the event will take place on Sunday, June 7, via a virtual walk.

The virtual walks are being called Walk The Block. More info is available online at kidneywalk.ca or at https://kidney. akaraisin.com/ui/BCWALKS2020/about.

Welcoming May

May brings Spring Weather, Gardening, Mother’s Day and Victoria Day. We would like to recognize all the super moms out there on double and triple duty working, educating and caregiving full-time, and in some cases, healthcare workers being isolated from their own families so they can look after others.

Thank You Super Moms

Monday, May 18, 2020

Sunday, May 10, 2020 Mother’s Day

Happy Victoria Day

Spring is the best time for Gardening The benefits of urban agriculture are wide-ranging and include:

• Improving access to fresh, affordable, healthy food • Promoting physical exercise, mental health, social interaction, and improved quality of life through activities like community gardening • Promoting community education about diverse aspects of the local food system and ecology • Promoting development of small businesses and stimulating the local economy

TODD

STONE

MLA Kamloops-South Thompson 446 Victoria Street Kamloops, BC V2C 2A7 todd.stone.mla@leg.bc.ca toddstonemla.ca 250-374-2880

PETER

MILOBAR

MLA Kamloops-North Thompson 618B Tranquille Road Kamloops, BC V2B 3H6 peter.milobar.mla@leg.bc.ca petermilobarmla.ca 250-554-5413

20 | MAY 2020

www.connectornews.ca

Hearing loss prevention Learn how to protect yourself from hearing loss Most causes of hearing loss are impossible to prevent. However, noise-induced hearing loss is not.

What is noise-induced hearing loss?

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is hearing loss caused by either exposure to a loud impulse sound like a gunshot or explosion, or prolonged exposure to high levels of noise. It can happen immediately or gradually over time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 40 million US adults have noiseinduced hearing loss, which is preventable.

1. Use hearing protection around loud sounds. Foam earplugs are an economical solution, or consider purchasing custom earplugs to best reduce the sound levels.

2. Turn the volume down on the TV, radio, music, etc.

3. Avoid loud or noisy activities/ places, when possible.

4. Limit your time exposed to loud sounds.

Noises below 75 decibels (dB), are unlikely to cause hearing loss. Sounds 85 dB and above can. Below are the decibel levels for common sounds — and their associated hearing loss risks

5. When listening to loud sounds (e.g., music, concerts, fitness classes, etc.), take breaks from the noise.

6. Move away from the loudest sound source (e.g., speakers, fireworks, etc.).

Preventing noise-induced hearing loss

7. Give your ears time to recover after being exposed to loud noises.

Fortunately, noise-induced hearing loss can be prevented. Preventing noise-induced hearing loss requires you to do three things: 1. Know what sounds are too loud (anything above 85 dB) 2. Either avoid loud sounds or limit your exposure or proximity to them 3. Wear hearing protection when you can’t avoid or move a safe distance from loud noises

8. Do not put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear! This includes cotton swabs, bobby pins, keys, paperclips, or anything else you might use to clean or scratch your ears.

Due to COVID-19 we cannot do office appointments at this time.

During closure, we will mail out batteries.

Please call and leave your mailing information.

10

tips to help protect your hearing

9. Keep moving! Exercise keeps the blood pumping throughout the body, including the ears. This keeps the internal parts of the ears healthy.

10. Get your hearing tested, especially if you experience a change in your hearing, ringing or fullness in your ears over 24 hours.

414 Arrowstone Drive Kamloops, BC 250.372.3090 Toll Free 1.877.718.2211 Email: info@kamloopshearingaidcentre.ca or online at:

www.KamloopsHearingAidCentre.ca Find us on facebook: /KamloopsHearingAidCentre