Short-lived win
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Bayside Squash Club has its doors closed
Hydro scammers Pub owner shares story as warning to others
6
Women in Business Making an impact in the community
13-24
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Shining up north
Delta athletes win medals at Canada Winter Games
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Bluegrass concert
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
Delta has a new Idol!
SCAN WITH TO REVEAL PHOTOS & VIDEO
Students help save snakes Over 500 removed from construction site BY
JESSICA KERR
jkerr@delta-optimist.com
PHOTO BY
GORD GOBLE
Fourteen-year-old Marika Lyszczyk is the Delta Idol for 2015 after winning the crown at the live performance finals last Friday night at the Tsawwassen Arts Centre. See story on Page 3. Also see more photos and video at www.deltaoptimist.com.
Quality a car appreciates!
A group of Beach Grove Elementary students helped save the lives of several hundred snakes last week. The garter snakes had to be rescued as construction crews were scheduled to begin work on a section of the Boundary Bay dike. The students — Ben, Maya, Nic, Jude, Noah, Myles, Jasmine, Kaelyn and Lauren, who are in kindergarten through Grade 5 — were shocked when they heard about the impending construction. All frequently visit the area to search out the snakes. “We’ve all been going to the snakes since we were babies,” said Kaelyn. During the spring and summer, the snakes are active in the area and the kids often visit the beach, for class and after school, to play with them. “The snakes, to me, are sort of like family,” said Maya. The students saw the signs about the construction so they approached teacher/librarian, and mom to three snake lovers, Anne Kent. She said the kids were worried the snakes would be gone forever if they were disturbed by the dike work. During the fall and winter the snakes gather together to brumate (a form of reptilian hibernation). The reptiles cluster in empty burrows or holes under rocks in dens called hibernacula. Kent said classes from the school frequently visit that area of the dike to learn about the local
PHOTO BY
LARRY WRIGHT
Janelle Vanderbeek is shown with just a handful of the hundreds of garter snakes that are now being cared for by the Wildlife Rescue Association in Burnaby.
ecosystem first hand. “They were really devastated by the thought that this was going to happen,” she said. The children decided they needed to take action and got to work making signs asking the municipality to save the snakes. They put the signs up around the area where the work was taking place. Engineering director Steven Lan said when the municipality was alerted to the presence of the snakes, an environmental consultant took a look at the situation and a rescue plan was put into action. It included removing the snakes and moving them to Wildlife Rescue in Burnaby. See SNAKES page 3
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