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FRIDAY JUNE 22, 2018
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CPR
Business owner is sharing how to save a life Man who has saved two lives is training his staff to do the same thing Janaya Fuller-Evans
editorial@burnabynow.com
Having the right skills at the right time can save a life, and Joseph Halfar should know – he’s saved two. Halfar, who owns Prorise Painting, was driving in Burnaby on business nearly a year ago when he saw someone in distress. “I was at the corner of Willingdon (Avenue) and Hastings (Street), waiting for the light to turn. And there was a guy stumbling, looking like he was drunk, sort of leaning on the fence,” he told the NOW. “I worked with the City of Burnaby as a lifeguard for 10 years so I kind of clued in, wow, this guy is having a heart attack. So I pulled over and got out of the car and said, ‘Hey, how’s it going, my name’s Joseph, are you doing OK?’ And he dropped to the ground, basically he collapsed.” Halfar called 911, and then the man stopped breathing, he said. “I was doing CPR on him there on the corner, and the crazy thing is, people were just walking by on their phones,” he added. The paramedics arrived and worked on the man for 20 minutes, according to Halfar. “Three days later, the police called and said, ‘The doctors want to thank you for saving his life,’” Halfar said. Then, this past April, Halfar was at a yoga class. Soon after class began, a woman collapsed, he said. She stopped breathing, and Halfar performed CPR on her. She had a heart attack but survived. Because of these two incidences, Halfar has decided to provide his employees with CPR training and urges other employers to do the same to build a larger network of people with lifesaving skills. He credits his lifeguard training for his quick response and ability to help two people in medical distress. “When I worked for the City of Burnaby, I never did CPR on anyone,” he said, adding you never know when the training will be needed. “It does help, to make sure you know what to do, because it can happen any time.”
OLD LETTERS: From left, former Seaforth Elementary students Aidan Maddalozzo, Antony Shiu and Mei Doerksen read letters they wrote to themselves in Grade 3. Members of teacher Lynda Glavas’s 2006/07 class reunited at Seaforth Monday to open a time capsule they sealed 11 years ago. PHOTO CORNELIA NAYLOR
Letters a blast from the past
Former Seaforth Elementary students open time capsule assembled in Grade 3 Cornelia Naylor
cnaylor@burnabynow.com
What a difference a decade makes. That was the lesson at Seaforth Elementary this week when a group of former students returned to open a time capsule they sealed when they were in Grade 3 – 11 years earlier. Now 19 and 20 years old, 11 former students (12 if you count one who attended via Facetime) gathered in the Seaforth library Monday to read letters they wrote to themselves more than a decade ago. Most had completely forgotten what they wrote. A couple laughed when they discovered how far behind they were on parenting timelines they’d laid down in Grade 3. “You’re going to be a great mom when you’re 20,” wrote Vanessa Chan.
That seems a bit hasty to the SFU visual arts student now. “I think back then I thought 20 was going to be like, you’re a grown-up, you have your family and all that stuff,” she said. Clarissa Montgomery’s predictions for the future were also off the mark, but not quite so far. She had planned to be a teacher but has since decided to become a speech therapist. “It’s super cute,” said the SFU student of her Grade 3 letter, which was filled with “yes, no, maybe so” checkboxes to questions like “Are you enjoying reading this as much as I’m enjoying writing it?” Aside from no longer planning to be a mom in her 20s, the interests classmate Mei Doerksen put down in her letter are still pretty current. She’s still really focused on school as an international studies student at SFU.
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But her “future board” (a collage of cutout images created by each student to capture their Grade 3 interests and future aspirations) did include a shout-out to Avril Lavigne. Aidan Maddalozzo’s activity level, meanwhile, has changed dramatically since Grade 3. His letter was all about not having much to do outside of school back then. Those days are long gone for the BCITtrained electrician. “I have a job, so I have to work. I actually have to do something,” he said with a laugh. One of Antony Shiu’s future aspirations, according to his Grade 3 letter, was to spend time in the woods taking photos of different “harmless” animals. “It’s nice to reflect back to see what you were like in Grade 3,” he said. Continued on page 5
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