97/16 - Prince George's Weekly News

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MCKINNON’S ART SHOW FEATURED AT CITY HALL FRANK PEEBLES 97/16 staff

The sizable and stirring paintings of Audrey McKinnon have reached new heights. They are all the way up on the fifth floor of city hall.

This week the local painter had her works installed for a year-long exhibition in the place where the mayor and city’s senior administration have their offices.

McKinnon is the latest in an annual rotation of Prince George visual artists who get to showcase their work on the fifth floor, as part of the Community Arts Council program called Artnerships that connect artists with businesses for long-term displays.

Mayor Lyn Hall made the connection as part of the cultural side of the 2015 Canada Winter Games. The inaugural artist was Lheidli T’enneh First Nation painter Jennifer Pighin, followed through the years by, in chronological order, Laura Chandler, Cher French, Kat Valcourt and now McKinnon.

“City hall is a place you can really show art off, they have a lot of big spaces, a lot of interesting wall space in interesting rooms, a lot of different people coming and going all the time, they really need art in here, and it’s a place where art really fits,” said McKinnon, who tends to work on large-scale canvases. “So many people who never normally go out looking to see art will now get that exposure. That’s a great use of City Hall.”

Hall has been pleased with the annually refreshed look of the place, and enjoys that different kind of showcase that the city hall’s senior administration spaces can offer an artist.

“I wanted to open up to artists within the community,” he said, knowing the Community Arts Council had the ability to bring forth the city’s best. “We have a lot of traffic on the fifth floor. We wanted the artists in the community to have another place to show what they were doing, show their talents.”

A recent addition has added to that artistic depth in that space. A large array of vintage photographs has been added on the fifth floor, all depicting black and white scenes of Prince George. These are permanent. It draws eyes in interest to the walls shared by the rotating artwork, so even more engagement is possible.

“So it’s an interesting dichotomy of old heritage images and right next to it or on the wall over you could have a piece of modern art,” Hall said.

“I came to the space and checked it out. I knew I

97/16 photo by Brent Braaten

Artist Audrey Mckinnon and Mayor Lyn Hall hang her work on the fifth floor of city hall. The art work will be on display for the next year. wanted to do something impactful,” said McKinnon.

“All of these paintings, every single one of them, I did especially for this exhibition.”

It’s her most personal work yet, for the young veteran of the local arts scene. She often works with spraypaint, and she often works on surfaces much larger than herself, so ladders could be considered as much a tool of her artist’s trade as her paintbrush.

And it was the paintbrush that drew forth these new images. Her current home studio (plus winter weather) is a room in the basement, which prevented her from using the spray-cans and wide vistas she is so comfortable with.

The works are still big, by the standards of most commercial artists, but she has to be able to get them in and out of her art room. She said that the restrictions actually made the process more animated for her. Like the

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“I definitely wanted to go large, that was always part of my plan here,” she said. “I got so excited about neon yellow and beige. I know, that’s not something you normally hear, but I think this is a great place to get excited about beige. It’s a colour with unusual depth, more than you’d realize, and I do think that parallels municipal politics. That wasn’t intentional, but it works. What goes on in City Hall can be mistaken for tedious, but it’s all about people’s lives and how we live in our community.”

“Audrey’s work represents a more urban-style art, a youthful look,” said Lisa Redpath who coordinates Artnerships for the Community Arts Council. “I’ve been a fan of Audrey’s for many years, and we were looking for something fresh and in a different direction this year.

She was a perfect fit.”

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SERVICE CENTRAL FOR THE SCOTTS SENIORS’ SCENE KATHY NADALIN

J

ohn Scott, a recipient of the British Columbia Medal of Good Citizenship award, was born in Calgary, Alta in 1943. This prestigious award is bestowed upon individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the wellbeing of their communities through their exceptional long-term volunteer efforts and John certainly fits that description.

John was an apprentice soldier at the age of 16 which made the Canadian army his legal guardian from the age of 16 to the age of 18. He credits that experience for his service-oriented career. When he completed his apprenticeship, he was posted to Winnipeg with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. During his career, he served in various military bases in Canada, Germany and Cyprus.

While he was serving in the army, he happened to drive through Prince George (in 1961) on his way to Dawson Creek. He loved what he saw of the city and hoped to one day return and perhaps make Prince George his home. Little did he know that all of that would come to pass.

John said, “After I was released from military service in 1977, I accepted a job offer in Prince George working for Acme Strapping and I have been here ever since. I worked for the company as a service representative and worked on the lumber strapping machines for 14 years. My area covered everything from 100 Mile House west to Prince Rupert and everything in northern B.C. “Later I worked for Del Schneider Hydraulics as a technical sales representative followed by sales in the sawmill industry. I worked for P.G. Valve and Fitting selling Swagloc valves and fittings, then Canadian Wallamet Industries, then IKS and finally Camco Industries as a salesman selling saws and knives for the sawmill industry.

“I retired in 2004 due to medical problems. I was only 61 and I was misdiagnosed with lung problems only to learn later that I had some pretty serious heart problems that literally stopped my heart from beating. The first time that my heart stopped beating we were out at Francois Lake and a friend of mine

who had CPR training worked on me and saved my life until the fire engines along with medical help showed up at our camp.

“This was a close call. I was diagnosed as having a heart attack caused by blockages and required four stents. Later I was found to have blockages to all five of the major blood vessels to my heart which prompted a five-bypass or quintuple bypass surgery which made all the difference in the world.

“I recovered from the surgery, we sold our 100 acre farm out at Hoodoo Lake and we moved into town.”

John and Wilma Scott continue to be active in the community during their retirement years.

Here they are in 2019 and as they were for their wedding in February 1963.

John’s early retirement allowed him to become an even more active volunteer with the Royal Canadian Legion. He has been a member since 1979.

John met his wife Wilma Wilson in 1962 on a blind date when he was stationed in Winnipeg, Man. Wilma, who was born in 1943, was working in the purchasing department for Bristol Aero when she met John.

She said, “we got married in 1963 and I followed John in his military career as we were transferred from place to place.

When the children started to arrive, I happily became a stay-at-home mom.

We had two boys; Steven (deceased) and Glen (Lorna) and with our blended families we have five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

“When we came to Prince George, I

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worked on a temporary basis at the College of New Caledonia to a full-time position in the printing department. I printed all the course exams and all the printing requirements for the CNC faculty. I loved the job and the people and after 26 years of service I retired in 2003.”

Wilma served as the secretary on the board at the Legion for many years but her favorite position was membership chairman. As the years went by, she was always available to fill in as needed but has since retired to allow younger members to carry on.

Over the years, John has volunteered for local organizations including the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43, served as the Northern B.C. Representative for the Canadian Army Cadet League and he is a staunch advocate for the Connaught Youth Centre. He is currently the vice president of the Royal Canadian Legion BC/Yukon Command.

He started the Nechako Scout District, served as the district commissioner, the assistant provincial commissioner and was a Scouting Cubmaster for the 15th Cub Scout pack.

John said, “I would like to take

this opportunity to thank Pathfinder Endeavours Ltd. for all the work they did making the renovations for our new Legion premises at 1116 Sixth Ave. Much of their work was donated and they get the credit for the gorgeous bar in the Branch. There were many other volunteers, too numerous to mention them all, who donated both their time and money toward the new Legion.

Thank you to each and every one of you.

“As young soldiers, we were taught by Second World War veterans and Korean War veterans who had been through a war that we needed to pay back. They were certainly big on teaching us young fellows that we always needed to say thank you for what we received. They always repeated that we should be grateful and pay back. Those veterans did so much for me; if it hadn’t been for them who knows which direction I might have gone.

“My heart is all around the veterans and what the Legion stands for.

Unfortunately, our membership is down and we desperately need members and especially younger members. I just want to mention that a person male or female no longer needs a military or a family military background to become a member.”

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97/16 staff photo

Cordelia Hultman of Grouse Mountain Ski Club, right, takes on another racer in the dual slalom team event at the Teck under-14 provincial alpine skiing championships two Sundays ago at Purden Mountain Ski Resort.

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For 12 seasons, alpine skiing legend Rob Boyd had the Canadian flag tattooed on his skis.

From 1985-97, Boyd carried the mantle left in the 1970s and early-80s by the Crazy Canucks - Jim Hunter, Dave Irwin, Dave Murray, Steve Podborski and Ken Read - who earned their nickname pushing the limits to the edge of recklessness on the World Cup stage in skiing’s ultimate speed event.

At a young age Boyd conquered his fear of going fast and racing to the verge of disaster on the slopes of the small ski resort his parents owned in Vernon (Tillicum Valley) and used that as a springboard to become a three-time World Cup champion in the downhill event.

Boyd was 16 when he and his family moved to Whistler and by that time he was already on the provincial team and two years later he made the national downhill team and finished in the top-10 at two World Cup events. He cemented his legendary status 30 years ago in February 1989 when he became the first Canadian male ever to win a downhill on home soil at Whistler. After three Olympics and 28 top-15 World Cup finishes, Boyd retired.

At the height of his career, Boyd qualified for six world alpine championships and part of that was competing for Canada in a dual slalom in the Nations Team Event. Each country selects its top racers (male and female) to form teams of six to compete head-to-head in a bracketstyle elimination on a short course in minute-long races. Each win is worth a point and the team with the most points after each round advances to the next round.

Two weekends ago at Purden Ski Resort 60 kilometres east of Prince George, 160 skiers, including Boyd’s 13-year-old son Dylan, got a taste of their own team event when they raced the dual slalom competition at the Teck under-14 provincial alpine championships.

Fun was the name of the game with each of the 32 teams made up of of skiers from different clubs. For that one day, those kids weren’t competing for the zone they lived in or for the club they belong to and they had an absolute blast.

“Rather than doing it by team or zone, this is an opportunity for kids to mix and mingle with kids from the same province who are the same age and we’re seeing more of that,” said Boyd. “(Dylan) had a riot. This removes that (barrier) to try to

level the playing field a bunch more.

“It’s a lot of runs (for the teams that advance through all four rounds) but a really great, fun format - a chance for them to mix and mingle and meet other people from the province. Down the road, if they continue to race, they’ll see them again and again. Great memories, great format and I really love the way Purden poured out for this event, it’s been really great coming up here.”

It was the 53-year-old Boyd’s first visit to Prince George and to Purden and conditions were pretty much ideal after 50 centimetres of new snow the week before the race. Although there was a lot of snow to pack the day before the racing started, sunshine and warm temperatures all weekend put smiles on the faces of everybody connected with the three-day competition, which included individual slalom and giant slalom events.

Team No. 31 (Alex Waldrum and Alexa Brownlie of Whistler Mountain, Addyson Kuss and Tessa Wang of Grouse Mountain and Reed Kelly of Revelstoke) won the team event, edging Team No. 13 (Noah Fischer of Grouse, Joy Attalla of Fernie, Noah Paltinger of Revelstoke, Heidi Schenk of Whistler and Aquinna O’Grady of Kimberley) for top spot on the podium Team No. 32 (Forrest Sevoy of Whistler, Alessandra Cicilese of Blackdogs - Lake Louise, Noah Smith of Grouse, Amelia D’Andrea of Smithers, Manu Gandhi of Cypress and Jacqueline Smith of Whistler) won the bronze-medal duel over Team No. 27 (Jamey Bachand of Prince George, Marek Krampl of Red Mountain, Claire Richardson of Vernon, Raleigh Robertson of Whitewater and Marlo Parkhill of Whistler).

Rob Boyd “My team was really fun, it was an awesome team,” said the 13-year-old Krampl. “We were from all around the province and everybody was fun to talk to. I got to meet new people and new friends. We got fourth. We just tried hard and knew we could win it and just did it. Anybody could win it, it’s who wants it the best.”

In each round, each skier raced both courses so all the finalists took 10 runs on the dual slalom course, which kept the two snowmobiles busy hauling them back up the hill on a rope tow. It was a tiring day for Gandhi but well worth it.

“It’s really fun, it’s fast-paced and really exciting, it’s a lot of nerves,” said Gandhi, who finished sixth in the GS. “It’s 20 gates, all-in. You get to know new people, it’s a good time. I didn’t know my teammates before this, it’s a good event. Purden has been a really good host, the tracks here are awesome.”

Al Bull, coach of the Whitewater team from Nelson, loves the team concept and would like to see the same format used at future provincial championships. Bull coached the Kootenay team last year at B.C. Winter Games and knows how those kids have stayed in touch with each other through social media channels. He figures those same electronic ties will bind kids who didn’t know each other before they became teammates at provincials in the team slalom.

“It really brings out a different level of competition in them and it’s really cool to see, they pulled off a great event here,” said Bull.

“They try to make the teams as fair as possible, based on (individual times in) Friday’s slalom. For the kids that make it all the way, it’s an endurance race for sure.”

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ODD COUPLE SIZZLE ON SCREEN FRANK PEEBLES 97/16 staff

The ingredients they have to go out and find, but then the tastes become refined.

Moosemeat & Marmalade is a television show that bundles up for the wilderness, loads the gun, baits the hook, sets the snare, combs the flora, and patiently gathers the natural bounty humans have depended on since cave cuisine.

The show also sharpens the knife, opens the spice rack, heats the saucepan, and sets the table for a genteel meal fit for high society.

Those two worlds could collide and crumble in the hands of haughty hunters and chauvinist chefs, but when you have Art Napoleon and Dan Hayes pulling the trigger, it is a sumptuous meal for the mind.

Both hosts live in Victoria where they met accidentally but almost immediately understood they were different feathers from the same bird.

Napoleon is originally from Moberly Lake north of Prince George where he grew up in close touch with the land and his Cree and Dane Zaa heritage. He was chief of the Salteau First Nation and now has a master’s degree in language revitalization from the University of Victoria.

He came to national attention first as a celebrated musician, has a natural comedic delivery to his showmanship and made the transition to television hosting when he met classically trained British chef Hayes, who was trained by the legendary Rick Stein at England’s prestigious Poisonnerie de l’Avenue restaurant. Hayes also spend time growing up in Ibiza, Spain, before moving to the world’s most British city outside of England where he co-owns (with wife Micayla) The London Chef cooking school, cafe and caterer.

That latter profession is what brought British Hayes in touch with our Salteau Napoleon.

“Art already had something in the pipeline, developing a show with (television producer) Hilary Pryor at May Street Productions, and at the same time my catering company got the contract to do the food for (children’s show) Tiga Talk and Art happened to be one of the characters in Tiga Talk. Art and I started chatting in the lineup as he was getting his food, I was serving, and we very briefly talked about hunting as kids, growing up hunting, while Hilary was standing behind him and overheard this great big Cree and this white guy chatting about those bizarre similarities, and lots of differences, obviously. So Art and I did a screen test, took the concept of the show they were working on, and put me into it, and it became a bigger thing. It took off. I think I’m right in saying, now, that it’s in nine countries.”

“He knows the tricks of the trade,” said Napoleon of his oddcouple co-host. “I’m

97/16 handout photo

Dan Hayes and Art Napoleon star in the APTN television show Moosemeat & Marmelade. impressed by any chef who knows the scientific aspects of what happens when you put this with that, the terminology, I pick up so much just by cooking with him. I’m starting to understand the culinary world a little more because I was always just a short-order cook, a home cook, and a bush cook in firefighting camps where everything was done on gas stoves or wood fires. That’s really more my specialty, but now I want to see what can be created by using wild game and wild plants using new ways. I can now make a mean moose curry, a moose nose taco, mixing other styles with our traditional ingredients.”

So Hayes, although the apparent socialite, was actually a hunter back in his European childhood, and Napoleon, the apparent bushman, was actually versed in cooking. They trade off on primary strengths, but both hold some grasp on the other’s essence.

They needle each other on camera, and make fun of their supposed shortcomings, but the banter is good-natured fun and always comes around to a mutual respect by the end of each episode. Hayes might complain about the howling frigid air as they trudge out on the tundra to shoot an Arctic hare, while Napoleon laughs it off as child’s play, but both put in the work to track the quarry and Hayes is the one to shoot their prey.

In the same episode, Hayes makes fun of Napoleon’s use of canned mushroom soup as an ingredient in the hare dish they co-create back in the kitchen but Napoleon explains that it is a staple of rural

pantries and commonly used in home cooking on First Nations reserves. Hayes reluctantly admits, in the end, it tastes excellent, and Napoleon takes advice on ways to make a wholesome meal around the main hare dish.

“I can’t say it has changed me as a chef, is the honest truth, but I have learned a huge amount from Art,” said Hayes.

“Words can’t explain what I’ve learned from Art in terms of what one can eat walking through a forest. His knowledge about plants and shoots and moss and twigs and bits he insists in sticking in my mouth - he hasn’t made me sick yet, I’ll give him that, nor has he made me high as a kite on hallucinogens. And I’ve also learned a lot about the spiritual side of foods from Art. Now, I’ve always been a hunter. I grew up hunting and fishing, it’s a big part of my life and continues to be, and I have immense respect for what I kill, but I still don’t have a spiritual connection to it, and I’m not sure I ever will, but I can claim that I’m starting to understand the spiritual connection.”

The show has advanced public knowledge on both sides of the skillet: the healthy and delicious possibilities of a local at-hand diet, and also how worldly preparation techniques are immensely helpful and much easier than you might think.

The show also explains that Indigenous traditions can be easily applied as well, and that meat is not only healthy but also part of an ecosystem balance involving humans.

“We all know how easy it is to plant carrots in Iqaluit, eh,” Napoleon deadpans.

Moosemeat & Marmalade also has a side-series of mini documentaries on the topics of food security, the implications of genetically modified food sources, cumulative impacts of industrialized food production, and other societal food topics.

The appendage series is called Food For Thought, there are four episodes (each centred on a direction) and has already won awards for the duo.

It’s the first example of the additional material Hayes and Napoleon could potentially have in their sights as Moosemeat & Marmalade rolls out its fourth season on APTN in Canada, plus other networks internationally. They have also added episodes in other parts of the world to their extensive Canadian travels.

“My favourite part still is and always will be the going out and filming,” said Napoleon. “It’s going out, engaging with communities, meeting people, it always feels like an adventure being out on the road with the crew. I live for it.”

Hayes keeps hoping Napoleon will bring him back to this area to visit family and go out into the Moberly Lake backcountry to explore for foraged food and cultural connection.

Napoleon will be in Lheidli T’enneh territory in Prince George as the musical guest and master of ceremonies for the Fourth Annual Ying’hentzit First Nations Art Gala on April 27 at the new Uda dune Baiyah Community Centre. This is a fundraiser for Carrier Sekani Family Services.

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SUPER DRINKS NOT THAT SUPER FOOD FOR THOUGHT

KELSEY LECKOVIC

While superfoods have been popular for awhile, super drinks are a relatively new trend. Juice fasts, the Master Cleanse and other liquid diets have become more popular over the past decade as celebrities preach their benefits as detoxifying agents, capable of inducing rapid weight loss.

While many foods and fluids are promoted as having similar extraordinary benefits, one common denominator between most is that those benefits are often overstated and any evidentiary support, no matter how weak, is exaggerated to show clear connections. Since I clarified the health benefits and nutritional content of some common superfoods several weeks ago, it seems only appropriate to do the same for a few of the trendiest super drinks as well: 1. Kombucha Kombucha is a slightly-sweet, slightlyacidic beverage made by fermenting tea, sugar, yeast and bacteria. The popularity of this fermented tea is driven by the claims of it being a probiotic-packed beverage with a multitude of health benefits, but the evidence to support these claims is limited at best.

The composition of kombucha can vary based on the ingredients used and

the fermentation, so not all brands are created equal. Kombucha is a source of probiotics, but contains a variety of strains in varying amounts, so you may not be consuming the strain that is specific to the digestive results you want, in an amount that would be beneficial.

Although there have been a host of animal studies examining the health benefits of kombucha, there have been no studies involving human subjects since 2003. Since kombucha is a fairly expensive drink, it’s up to the consumer to determine if that added expense is worth it, given that there is no scientific evidence to support any therapeutic claims regarding kombucha.

Kombucha can be part of a healthy diet, but more research is needed to determine its biological effects in humans. As well, it is not recommended for pregnant and lactating women, and may be unsafe for people who are immunecompromised, such as those with HIV/ AIDS and cancer, so it should be avoided in these populations.

2. Warm lemon water Warm lemon water apparently paves the way for losing weight faster by flushing out toxins and balancing pH levels in the body.

When looking at detox claims, it’s important to remember that the human body has kidneys, a liver, skin and a pair of lungs that detoxify and remove waste products. There is a lack of evidence to prove that any food can cleanse your body of toxins.

In reference to the second claim, the

idea of balancing pH levels in the body through food seems to have come from the idea that chronic disease can grow and thrive in an overly acidic or alkaline environment. At best, there are inconsistent results from low quality studies showing any connection between chronic disease and the pH level of the human body. Also, while dietary intake can influence urine pH levels, blood pH is not influenced to move outside the normal range. The body has mechanisms, including involving the kidneys and lungs, to maintain blood pH within a narrow range; lemon juice is not needed for this purpose.

3. Coconut water Coconut water is heavily marketed as a natural alternative to traditional sports drinks, mostly due to its electrolyte content (sodium and potassium). Coconut water also contains carbohydrates, fat, protein and small amounts of several micronutrients and has been shown to be an effective water for hydrating the human body. Coconut water is generally lower in calories, carbohydrates and sodium than most sports drinks, but much higher in potassium, so if you struggle with high potassium levels, coconut water may not be for you.

In rehydration trials, fluid retention and percent rehydration (this reflects how well body weight and hydration level is restored) were similar between sports drinks and coconut water, but better than with plain water, due to greater urine output with plain water. Other studies have found similar rehydration

NortherN Medical Society PreSeNtS

rates with coconut water, sports drinks and plain water.

Since brands of coconut water and sports drinks will vary in terms of nutrient content, I can’t say that both would be equally beneficial for rehydrating after exercise. It’s best to evaluate these drinks on an individual basis. If you’re buying a drink (sports drink, coconut water or other) for the purpose of rehydrating after exercise, look for the following: water as the first ingredient, 4-8 grams of carbohydrates per 100ml, 45-70mg of sodium per 100ml, and 8-20mg of potassium per 100ml.

4. Matcha Matcha is a powdered green tea that has, like many superfoods, grown in popularity because of its antioxidant content.

While matcha is a source of antioxidants, including Vitamin K, many companies have taken advantage of it’s image as a health food. Matcha is now being added to everything from chocolate to cookies and cakes in an effort to capitalize on a trend and potentially increase the healthiness-factor of a product.

If you enjoy the taste of matcha and appreciate the additional antioxidants, it may be for you, but the best way to get a wide variety of antioxidants in your diet is by eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and not simply relying on one product.

Kelsey Leckovic is a registered dietitian with Northern Health working in chronic disease management.

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This week in history from the Prince George Citizen archives

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USE YOUR GIFTS

Le Cercle des Canadiens Français de Prince George Presents

Festival d’hiver

LESSONS IN LEARNING GERRY CHIDIAC

Winter Festival Merci à tous nos commanditaires!

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Merci a tous les bénévoles qui ont contribué au succès du Festival d’Hiver FRANCOFUN 2019! Nous avons été comblés par vos talents et votre dévouement. C’est un rendez-vous l’en prochain pour le 35e Festival d’Hiver FRANCOFUN! Le Cercle des Canadiens Français thank you to all our volunteers for your help in making the 2019 FRANCOFUN Winter Festival such a success!

See you next year for the 35th edition of the FRANCOFUN Winter Festival!

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As we go through life we are given many pieces of advice. Those which are most truthful tend to survive the test of time, and the best advice brings enduring happiness and a sense of peace.

At an orientation social before I began my first assignment as a young teacher, I sang a song for an appreciative crowd.

I had the audience roaring in laughter as I did my own unique rendition of the 1966 Troggs hit Wild Thing. If you dare to search my name and the title of the song on YouTube, you will get an idea of the performance they saw.

More significant than the song was the reaction of Bishop Fergus O’Grady, the man I had left Toronto to work for.

O’Grady has been rightly called one of the primary builders of Prince George and northern B.C. He seemed to recognize something in me because he took the time that evening to give me a piece of advice I’ve never forgotten.

He said simply, “that was really great.

You have a gift. Make sure you use it for good.”

I knew that he wasn’t talking about my musical talent because it was sorely lacking. I had moved Prince George to teach, and his statement meant a great deal to me as I struggled through the demands of my first years in the profession. I knew I had a gift, and that it needed to be used to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

As I worked for O’Grady, I realized that he had a very unique impact on people.

Everyone smiled when he walked into the room. He not only used his position of leadership to do good, but he also empowered everyone around him. We recognized that there was indeed something special in

each one of us, and we were inspired to do our greatest good.

Though he died in 1998, O’Grady’s influence continues to have a significant impact on my happiness, not only in my profession but in every aspect of life.

There are two key components to his lesson. The first is to recognize and celebrate one’s giftedness. We are all unique. Some are good with people, some are good with numbers. Some are great teachers, some are wonderful artists, some are gifted builders and some are talented in business.

Some abilities we are aware of and some we have yet to discover. It doesn’t matter what the gift is, as long as it brings us joy.

The other point is that we need to use our talents to do good. When we do so, we make our world better, we empower and serve our neighbours, and we can go to sleep peacefully each night knowing that we have made a positive difference in the world. This may be reward in itself, but it is also true that when we do good for others, good things tend to happen in our own lives as well.

As I’ve moved forward in my career, I’ve realized how important it is for me to be like O’Grady. My students certainly need to know that they are gifted and that they have a positive contribution to make. It doesn’t stop there, however. This is something that everyone I encounter needs to be reminded of, whether they be colleagues new to the profession, school administrators, custodians or cooks. Something powerful happens when we speak these truths to one another.

We are all born with a unique and inherent capacity to do good. There is also great peace and satisfaction in knowing that despite the troubles around us, we have done our best brightening the lives of others, even if it just involves singing a ridiculous rendition of Wild Thing.

Gerry Chidiac is a champion for social enlightenment, inspiring others to find their greatness in making the world a better place. For more of his writings, go to www.gerrychidiac.com

QUESTION YOUR POLITICS THINKING ALOUD TRUDY KLASSEN

I had the pleasure of attending the final event at UNBC’s political week, which was called What Conservatives (and everyone else) Gets Wrong. Politicly-minded students Micah Green of the UNBC Conservatives and Mackenzie Kerr of the UNBC Greens were the main organizers.

Representatives from the Greens, Liberals, NDP and Conservatives were asked to share what they think their party gets wrong. Each representative shared quite honestly and I could tell that they had spent quite a bit of time thinking about what their party gets wrong. This was so refreshing, because so often in our public discourse we argue for our tribe, our worldview, and don’t think critically about what we get wrong.

I will share two points each person felt their party(ies) gets wrong: Charles Scott speaking about right-of centre parties: 1. the conservative’s faith in social stability leading to social mobility doesn’t take into account that people are products of their heritage.

2. current B.C. Liberal vision is perfect for a campaign in the 1980s.

Tracy Calagharos on the federal Liberals: 1. she gamely admitted that she thinks the federal Liberals are a party waiting for people to die before it can be renewed because it is so rooted in old school politics.

2. their sanctimonious attitude of believing they are the natural governing party of Canada.

Jillian Merrick on the Green Party: 1. thinking everyone would agree if only they were smarter.

2. at risk of being an urban party Trent Derrick on the NDP: 1. leaves little room for individuals 2. its secularism is a disappointing drift from its foundations in Christianity.

The ability to think critically about our own worldview is desperately needed, especially in a multicultural, secular society like ours and each of the speakers did a good job. I applaud each of the speakers, as they each obviously cared about their party’s impact on the world around them.

You can access a video of this event at UNBC Conservatives Facebook page and I encourage you to watch it. Your next coffee with friends, and possibly even your foes, will be enlivened and encouraging, especially if you bring some humility to the table, like these brave speakers did.

AROUND TOWN

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THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 | 9

Comedy night

Little art show

Mike McGuire is surrounded by women. The jokes could abound from that point alone, but each one of these funny females will bring their own tickle trunk full of laughs, and headliner McGuire is at the main mic for a reason.

Mike McGuire’s One Man Show happens Saturday at Artspace along with undercard comedians Cindy Klassen, Monita Ranu, Neelam Pahal, Kylie Lweis Holt and MC Virginia O’Dine. Showtime is 8 p.m., tickets are $15 available in advance at Books & Company.

The Best Damn Little Art Show Ever is coming up May 3 from 7-9 p.m. at Groop Gallery downtown (1127 3rd Ave.). This is the annual 6x6 art show and auction, where the artists are a mix of brand new and well established and all creations limited to six inches in any direction. It is a fundraiser and a great way to showcase the local arts scene.

Tickets are $10 to attend, and participants are encouraged to bid, bid, bid.

Adcance tickets can be purchased at Studio 2880

Legion show

Black and white ball The Mayor’s Black & White Ball For The Arts happens May 4 at the Prince George Civic Centre, with cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7. Attire is formal with a black and white colour theme. Purchase your tickets at the Theatre NorthWest website. All money raised isshared between Theatre NorthWest, the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and the Community Arts Council.

Canadian singer-songwriter Billie Zizi is coming to P.G. She will headline a show at The Legion on Saturday, along with special musical guest Amy Blanding and friends. Zizi is from Edmonton, bringing a “contemporary R’n’B melody, adding a certain avant-jazz vibe with her guitar forays to create a sound as accessible as it is experimental.”

Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Teen Tabletop Meet Up

Studio 2880 exhibit

Every Monday until May 27 from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way, try your hand at a variety of tabletop games. All experience levels welcome. Bring your own decks for MtG, Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh. For 13 to 18 yrs.

For more information call 250-563-9251 or email ask@pgpl.ca.

Painter Darin Corbiere will open his new exhibition at the Studio 2880 Feature Gallery on April 11 starting with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Entitled Seeing Things In A Different Light: Changing Perspectives, this special presentation of the Community Arts Council will run until May 9.

Wheelchair Rugby

Healthier You Awards The annual social calendar highlight Healthier You Awards are coming to the Ramada Ballroom on April 12. Tickets are $60 for this award show and dinner gala recognizing excellence in healthcare, fitness and multiculturalism in Northern BC hosted by MLA Shirley Bond in partnership with the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society and the Prince George Citizen media team.

Attendance purchase available on the 97/16 file photo eventbrite website.

Bob Blumer hosted the Iron Ore chef challenge in Prince George in 2015. He returns to Prince George on April 17 for the PG Chef Challenge.

Rock concert

Bob Blumer back Celebrity gastronaut Bob Blumer is coming back to Prince George for an interactive evening of food and exciting culinary competition. April 17 is the night of the second PG Chef Challenge With Bob Blumer, held at the Black Clover Banquet Hall with cocktails at 6 p.m. and the first course served at 6:30.

Five of Prince George’s top restaurants face off in a multi course dinner to raise money for Prince George Hospice Society.

The competitors are Ryan Cyre from White Goose Bistro, Brian Quarmby of Birch & Boar Butchery, Jagdish Gill from Karahi King, Kelly MacKenzie from Cimo Mediterranean Grill, and Jim Demarce from The Twisted Cork.

Each chef will present their original dish as a course for the meal which will be concluded with an original dessert from none other than Bob Blumer himself.

Tickets are $100 and only 100 tickets will be sold. Reservations can be made via email to dyanne@unltd.me.

Tea n’ Beads n’ Bannock Wednesdays from 7 to 10 p.m. at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St., there is a community beading circle hosted by Lynette La Fontaine, a Metis artist who blends traditional art and teachings with contemporary flair in the form of acrylic paintings and beadwork. Learn by watching, asking and doing. This is not a class, but a place to bring beading projects and sit together to inspire, connect and learn from one another. Anyone with an interest is welcome. Admission is by donation.

For more information visit www.ominecaartscentre.com.

PHOTO: JOAN MARCUS.

Local classic rock band Bralorne will perform a free show at Books & Company on April 12 starting at 7 p.m.

Create and bake Kids can learn fundamental art skills with some of the city’s local artisans, then bake some special treats with some of the city’s culinary artists at Art Monkeys Create & Bake on April 12 (a school Pro-D day) from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Studio 2880 (located at 2880 15th Avenue). It’s for kids 6-11 for $60 per child.

Reserve spaces by calling 250-563-2880 or go online to www.studio2880.com.

Every Tuesday until May 28 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the College of New Caledonia , 3330 22 Ave., wheelchair rugby program runs weekly. No experience is necessary and all equipment including sports wheelchairs are available. Everyone welcome. BC Wheelchair Sports annual membership is $10. In this full-contact sport, athletes play in tank-like wheelchairs and hit each others’ chairs in an attempt to carry a ball across the line. For more information call 250-649-9501 or email Northern@bcwheelchairsports. com.

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April is Dental Health Month The health of teeth and gums can impact other parts of the body The importance of maintaining clean teeth and healthy gums goes beyond having fresh breath and a white smile. Many people are surprised to discover that oral hygiene plays an integral role in overall health.

Research indicates that oral health mirrors the condition of the body as a whole. Also, regular dental visits can alert dentists about overall health and pinpoint if a person is at a risk for chronic disease. An oral health check-up also may be the first indication of a potential health issue not yet evident to a general medical doctor.

Heart disease According to the Academy of General Dentistry, there is a distinct relationship between periodontal

In 2007, the Harvard School disease and conditions of Public Health reported a such as heart disease and Regular dental visits link between gum disease stroke. Joint teams at the and pancreatic cancer. In University of Bristol in the can alert dentists about the ongoing study, 51,000 United Kingdom and the overall health and men were followed and data Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, found that pinpoint if a person is at was collected beginning in 1986. The Harvard people with bleeding gums a risk for chronic disease. researchers found that from poor dental hygiene men with a history of gum could have an increased risk disease had a 64 percent of heart disease. Bacteria increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared with from the mouth is able to enter the bloodstream men who had never had gum disease. The greatest when bleeding gums are present. That bacteria can risk for pancreatic cancer among this group was stick to platelets and subsequently form blood clots. in men with recent tooth loss. However, the study This interrupts the flow of blood to the heart and was unable to find links between other types of oral may trigger a heart attack. Brushing and flossing health problems, such as tooth decay, and pancreatic twice daily and rinsing with mouthwash can remove cancer. bacteria and keep gums healthy.

Facial pain

alzHeimer’s disease

The Office of the Surgeon General says infections of the gums that support the teeth can lead to facial and oral pain. Gingivitis, which is an early stage of gum disease, as well as advanced gum disease, affects more than 75 percent of the American population.

Various health ailments, including poor oral health, have been linked to a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. In 2010, after reviewing 20 years’ worth of data, researchers from New York University concluded that there is a link between gum inflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. Followup studies from researchers at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom compared brain samples from 10 living patients with Alzheimer’s to samples from 10 people who did not have the disease. Data indicated that a bacterium “ Porphyromonas gingivalis “ was present in the Alzheimer’s brain samples but not in the samples from the brains of people who did not have Alzheimer’s. P. gingivalis is usually associated with chronic gum disease. As a result of the study, experts think that the bacteria can move via nerves in the roots of teeth that connect directly with the brain or through bleeding gums.

Dental decay can lead to its own share of pain.

Maintaining a healthy mouth can fend off decay and infections, thereby preventing pain. pancreatic cancer

These health conditions are just a sampling of the relationship between oral health and overall health.

Additional connections also have been made and continue to be studied.

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HIGH-FUNCTIONING ADDICTS ARE REAL ASK AN ADDICT

Dear Ann: Did you ever use while at work?

I read your question and was shocked at the tsunami of shame that I felt.

Even after all these years I continue to feel intensely horrible about this. I am loath to admit that yes, I used while at work. I want to crawl under a table; whither and die – I do not wish to disclose this terrible truth. However, this is the icy reality I re-live, I can never escape what I have done. Without recovery, these shameful feelings would most certainly drive me back to my drink.

No one knew I was an addict; I felt afraid to disclose because I was always ashamed. To compensate for being an addict, I overachieved and tried very hard to do well. I excelled at my work and consistently received outstanding performance reviews. I was a top honours student (in university that is; I barely passed high school). I discovered pot at 14 years old and smoked it five times a day. The only time I felt accepted by others was when I was high; it seemed people liked me better that way.

I felt insecure and was bullied when young. At 12 years of age, my family moved to a new city. I promised myself then, that I would never be made fun of, ever again. I pretended to be confident and self assured; I did everything I could to be popular with kids. Alcohol and pot became my best allies. Using was the only time I felt comfortable with others.

Alcoholics, addicts, we feel different from you.

Even before our first use we knew something was wrong.

Until that magical first drink/drug, we feel we do not fit in. There is a subtle yet

NEWS

omnipresent angst which is soothed only by use. It is powerful, wonderful and the only way to even slightly OK. I completed nine years of post-secondary education while using and during this, received accolades, recognition and always top honours – including a coveted University President’s Scholarship Award.

Despite all this success, I felt completely a fraud.

Only alcohol and drugs, not academic achievements nor sterling reviews provided me any confidence or ease.

No matter how well I did, I believed I was horrible, evil, an immoral person.

No one knew my sordid secret. Even in rehab, while sitting amongst other professionals in recovery (doctors, lawyers and RCMP) I was frequently told “Ann, no matter what you say, I can never believe you’re an addict. You just don’t look like one!”

I suppose addicts need two heads, neon signs and bloody needles stuck in their arms.

I completed graduate work while popping over the counter (easy to buy) Tylenol 1: 10 to 12 tablets, 4 times a day. Acetaminophen can be toxic to the liver. For ten years, I consumed over 12,000 mg/ day (max recommended daily dose is 4,000 mg). To offset the caffeine in these pills, I swallowed 10 Gravol each night, to help me to sleep.

I hate myself for doing this.

Even though I know addiction is a medical illness and not something I chose, I still believe I am somehow at fault.

I am evil and horrible and feel toxic shame.

Without recovery, these feelings drive me to use. I need more drugs for relief but shortly after, find only pain. With more pain, I use more drugs which then in return, causes more pain.

This excruciating cycle seems never ending.

Until I find recovery, I know no other way out.

WINTER TIRE REGULATIONS EXTENDED Drivers are reminded that winter tire regulations have been extended to April 30 on many highways - including almost all throughout northern B.C. - to account for early spring snowfall.

The restriction ends on Sunday for only a few routes in southern B.C., the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said.

In the rest of B.C., vehicles must be equipped with tires with the mountain/ snowflake or mud and snow (M + S) symbol when travelling on designated routes.

They must also be in good condition and have a minimum tread depth of 3.5 millimetres.

“For rural highways and mountain passes, tires with the mountain/snowflake symbol provide the best traction and handling,” the ministry said.

Here are some further tips for travelling in winter driving conditions:

- Check the weather forecast and adjust travel times to more favourable conditions, or choose alternative routes.

- For current road conditions, check DriveBC before leaving, as well as the nearly 800 highway webcam views available at more than 400 locations throughout B.C. - Wear comfortable clothing that does not restrict movement while driving, but bring warm clothing (winter boots, coat, gloves and hat) in case getting out of the vehicle is required.

- Have an emergency plan and ensure the vehicle is equipped with a windshield scraper and snow brush, food and water, a first-aid kit and other emergency supplies.

- If stuck or stranded, do not panic. Stay with the vehicle for safety and warmth and if a cellphone is available, call for roadside assistance. If there is an emergency, call 911.

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SPRING EQUINOX CELEBRATION SET FRANK PEEBLES 97/16 staff

The daylight and nighttime have reached their equilibrium. This, more than setting clocks ahead an hour, dictates our natural flows of life. The balance of day and night (it occurred on March 20) has been observed by various global cultures of eons, usually as a time to party.

In honour of this annual natural event, the city’s anachronist club is gathering for the Cold Keep Spring Equinox Celebration.

“This particular event is in it’s first year,” said Mike McPherson, the seneschal (president) of the Shire of Cold Keep, the Prince George chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a cast and crew of enthusiasts dedicated to recreating the best of the Middle Ages.

The event is centred on a set of workshops for people curious about the Middle Ages and the ways modern people can have olden days fun with that lifestyle.

“We’ve got instructors coming in to teach on a variety of topics,” McPherson said. The instructors will be holding character to enhance the anachronist experience. The class list includes: - Introduction to the SCA with Mistress Thorey - Seaxes (Viking-age knives) with Oli

- Arrow making with Guillaume - Period Pigments with Duchess Helene - Heraldry of names and devices with Master Vlad - Herbalism with Mistress Thorey Other classes are expected to be added, and there will be demonstrations of combat, armour and weapons, so McPherson said the club expects there will be narry a drop of boredom spilt.

“We’ll also have a potluck feast at the April event and then spend the evening hanging out and enjoying each others’ company,” he said. “The Shire of Cold Keep has been active in the Prince George area for more than 20 years, and we typically run two events and a couple of demos each year. After our April event we will be at Northern FanCon where it is our hope to bring a medieval village to life to give the Con goers a taste of some of what we do for fun.”

There is also the club’s champion’s tournaments coming up in July at a site near Clucultz Lake. The Cold Keep Spring Equinox Celebration is a good time to come ask questions about that highly anticipated annual event.

The spring fling takes place April 13 at Knox United Church, one of the city’s oldest buildings downtown. It happens from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Cost is $15 regular, $10 for club members, and free for anyone 18 and younger if they are accompanied by an adult.

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RESCUE DOG DIES SAVING ADOPTED FAMILY 97/16 WIRE SERVICE

They say the first life Zero saved was his own.

He was a month old and alone on the side of a Texas highway. The abandoned Great Pyrenees puppy limped on a broken ankle. That’s how Laura Martinez and her family found their dog, nearly three years ago.

The vet told them Zero didn’t have a chance and advised the family to put him down immediately. But they couldn’t do it. Martinez’s children were already attached — plus, they all thought they spotted something special in the young animal. Today, Martinez says that decision is the reason she’s alive.

“We were meant to find him,” she said. “And what he did was what he was meant to do. That’s the only thought making it any better.”

Of course, she didn’t know any of that when they brought Zero to his new home, well before a gunman opened fire at a child’s birthday party and forever changed their family. All they knew back then was that their new pet needed their help.

The kids named him Zero, after Jack Skellington’s spooky ghost dog in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. So sick in his young age, he was spectral — yet fiercely loyal. But later, after Zero clawed his way back to health, more at peace with the world of the living than that of the dead, the family began calling him something else: “Zero the hero.”

It’s Martinez who likes to say that Zero saved his own life. But really, it was her

97/16 news service handout photo

Zero, a Great Pyrenees, was shot and killed while defending his family from a gunman who opened fire at a birthday party.

– and her large family – who rescued him when he needed it most. A few years later, Zero did the same for them.

On March 10, Martinez’s daughter was celebrating her 12th birthday. Their house was full of youngsters, more than a dozen, ages 5 to 15, and the mood was

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jovial. Out front, Martinez was grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, Zero lounging at her feet, and her stepdaughter and two sons mingled beside her. Yet, when a longtime family friend pulled up to her driveway, she expected trouble.

Martinez had confronted the young man, 17-year-old Javian Castaneda, the day before, telling him she suspected that he had broken into her house and stolen cash and some jewelry. Police said Castaneda and the family started arguing in the driveway. Martinez asked him to leave, but he lunged at her and hit her in the face, she said. One of her sons started to fight back, but Castaneda pulled out a gun.

“None of us knew he had a gun,” Martinez said, recounting the years Castaneda played on her sons’ football teams and slept over at her house.

By Martinez’s count, Castaneda fired at least nine times. His first shot hit the

garage door. At the crack, Zero sprung at Castaneda. Martinez, momentarily stunned, watched her dog jump.

“How did you know to do that?” she remembered thinking at the time.

Then, Martinez said, Castaneda shot Zero in the chest. He kept firing, hitting one of Martinez’s sons in the foot. Zero got back up and leaped at Castaneda again, biting at his arm.

“Zero just did it instinctively,” Martinez said. “I guess he just knew that when that thing hit him, it hurt.”

Castaneda shot Zero in the ear, she said, then hit her stepdaughter twice in the back. Zero pounced a final time before taking another bullet in the stomach. Martinez ran toward her dog and Castaneda shot her in the leg and fled.

“I can honestly tell you there’s no way we would be here without Zero,” Martinez said. “The reason why all our wounds are below the waist is because every time Zero jumped up... it kept him from being able to aim.”

Days later, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department arrested Castaneda and charged him with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is in jail with a $90,000 bond. Martinez, her stepdaughter, and her son are all home recovering from their wounds.

After the shooting, another of Martinez’s sons and a neighbor took Zero, who then appeared paralyzed, to the vet.

Martinez said she wanted to accompany them but had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment of her own injuries.

This time, the family had no choice.

They put him down that day.

Now, Martinez is tallying the costs, the time she’ll miss at work. She’s raising money to try to cover the damage. And her family is reeling from Hurricane Harvey, which flooded their home a year and a half ago. The kitchen cabinets still need replacing.

But the biggest loss, she said, will always be Zero - who won’t be lying under her feet, or snuggling next to her in bed, or waiting for her to get out of the shower.

Instead, he’s memorialized in their front yard, with signs that remind the family and the world of a dog who has earned his nickname more than once: “Zero our hero.”

ARTS

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MCGUIRE THE MAN AT THE MIKE FOR SATURDAY COMEDY SHOW

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THe SuperconSciouS experience

end The Leg es u Contin

April 13 7:30 pm

VAnier HAll TickeTsnorTH.cA

FRANK PEEBLES 97/16 staff

Some of the city’s best up-and-coming comedians are mixed with some of the city’s most established comedians, and Mike McGuire will be there, too.

McGuire is not like the others, you see. He is the outlier. The exception. The punchline, even.

There are six comedians on the marquee for this extravaganza April 6. Yet it is called Mike McGuire: One Man Show.

How could this be when the billing also has Cindy Klassen, Kylie Lewis Holt, Neelam Pahal, Monita Ranu and the evening’s emcee is Virginia O’Dine? One man show? It’s a head-scratcher.

O’Dine and Klassen have been on so many comedy stages around the city over the years that audiences are quite familiar with them by now. They are known comedyties (yes, that’s a play on words).

The other three on the undercard are lesser known but that’s changing by the week. They are taking advantage of the all too few opportunities to work their material at open mic events, opening act positions, amateur nights and so forth. Each of them is new, but has experience at places like Sonar, Nancy O’s and Nelly’s Pub. “I was a class clown in school, I saw some standup, and I always felt I could do this, but I was really a lot more reserved,” said Ranu. “I would joke around with my friends but I never wanted to be the centre of attention, until some things happened and I had some breakthroughs in my life, and I suddenly saw myself going for it.”

Now she has five stage appearances under her belt (and counting quickly) and she hosts a radio show called Laugh Lounge on CFIS-93.1.

Holt also started out in comedy from a reluctant beginning in Toronto where she attended a show at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club “and I saw a couple of comics who didn’t do very well, and they got booed and I thought nope, that’s not anything I want to sign up for, I want no part of that” but as the years went by and her personality developed a fierce, outspoken streak, it almost naturally led her to a microphone.

Before long she was opening for comedy star Brent Butt.

For Pahal, the relationship with comedy has been on-again, off-again. She kicked butt at an amateur competition, and did some more of these entry-level shows, but she was also a university student so she had to concentrate on studies more than new material. But the stage kept calling so she would binge-joke.

“I was doing every weekend for awhile, there, and I was definitely burning out.

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Local comedian Mike McGuire will be headlining the One Man Show on Saturday at Art Space. not just glitz and glam and roarrrrrrrr. If mind a bit, it became really clear to me Something had to go,” she said. “But I am I have Mike giving me pointers and feedthat this city has a really strong contindone school right now. I start my master’s back, then yes, I think I could do comedy gent of women doing comedy. Women program in a year and a half, so all I have as a profession, but definitely I’m going to probably comprise 40 or 50 per cent of to do for that time period is work and the regular standup performers in Prince comedy. I could see myself taking standup keep doing it just for my own fun.”

“It changes for me,” said Ranu. “I always George, as they should, because it is 2019, a lot farther, I could see myself touring, think of it as a hobby, but then I see how so it just unfolded from there.” and I really love it, that’s what keeps drivmy act has been developing, and comparThe comedians in the area have some ing me to do it, so we will see what hapsocial media chat rooms they frequent for ing that to other people, and admitting pens with this window of time I have.” peer communication, so McGuire tossed how I feel about it, I love it, and I can see All three of them point – literally, they the idea out into those streams. “Within the possibilities, I know it is out there as pointed right at him – at McGuire as a reason they are approaching comedy with an option for me, but for now I’m happy to an hour I had everyone,” he said. “I texted Virginia directly, because she is the most have it as a hobby.” new confidence. As perhaps the single experienced and has a lot of recognition In case, it was still flying under the most experienced and consistent standup for her funny work, and Monita was the radar, the show is called Mike McGuire: artist in town, he has been careful to use first to respond that she was in on this, One Man Show because he is the only act his veteran status for the benefit of newand it just tumbled together in a flash.” comers. in this event with outdoor plumbing.

“I’ve always been open about just yelling McGuire and the five female comedians “I often come up with the name of the at people, so I think I’ve come a long way in the One Man Show take the stage at show before I even have the material because Mike was honest with me right to Artspace on Saturday (doors at 7 p.m., for it,” he said. “I had the title One Man my face, but respectfully, about how I had jokes at 8). Tickets are $15 in advance at Show pop into my head, and once I was all this energy but no real substance,” said Books & Company or at the door while conscious about the way that could be a Holt. “I needed more punch line payoff, supplies last. play on words, and turned that over in my

Opening Reception Thur · April 11 · 7:30 pm

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Artist’s Talk with Simon Rivest Fri · April 12 · 7:30 pm Doyon-Rivest. Les Bienfaits de la Reflextion (detail), 2018.

SENIORS

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ROLLED JOINTS FOR ACHING JOINTS 97/16 WIRE SERVICE

The group of white-haired folks - some pushing walkers, others using canes - arrive right on time at the gates of Laguna Woods Village, an upscale retirement community in the picturesque hills that frame this Southern California suburb a few kilometres from Disneyland.

There they board a bus for a quick trip to a building that, save for the green Red Cross-style sign in the window, resembles a trendy coffee bar. The people, mostly in their 70s and 80s, pass the next several hours enjoying a light lunch, playing a few games of bingo and selecting their next month’s supply of cannabis-infused products.

“It’s like the ultimate senior experience,” laughs 76-year-old retired beauty products distributor Ron Atkin as he sits down to watch the bingo at the back of the Bud and Bloom marijuana dispensary in Santa Ana. Most states now have legal medical marijuana, and 10 of them, including California, allow anyone 21 or older to use pot recreationally. The federal government still outlaws the drug even as acceptance increases. The 2018 General Social Survey, an annual sampling of Americans’ views, found a record 61 per cent back legalization, and those 65 and older are increasingly supportive.

Indeed, many industry officials say the fastest-growing segment of their customer base is people like Atkin - aging baby boomers or even those a little older who are seeking to treat the aches and sleeplessness and other maladies of old age with the same herb that many of them once passed around

97/16 news service photo

A group of seniors from Laguna Woods Village consult with sales associates at Bud and Bloom cannabis dispensary in Santa Ana, Calif. The seniors boarded a bus for the pot shop and spent hours choosing from a variety of cannabis-infused products, including candies, drinks and weed. at parties.

“I would say the average age of our customers is around 60, maybe even a little older,” said Kelty Richardson, a registered nurse with the Halos Health clinic in

Boulder, Colorado, which provides medical examinations and sells physician-recommended cannabis through its online store.

Its medical director, Dr. Joseph Cohen, conducts “Cannabis 101” seminars at the

nearby Balfour Senior Living community for residents who want to know which strains are best for easing arthritic pain or improving sleep.

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T H U R S D A Y , A P R I L 4 , 2 0 1 9 | 17

MORE SENIORS USING MARIJUANA the benefits of marijuana for specific problems. There’s evidence pot can relieve chronic pain in adults, according to a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, but the study also concluded that the lack of scientific information poses a risk to public health.

At Bud and Bloom, winners of the bingo games take home new vape pens, but Atkin isn’t really there for that. He’s been coming regularly for two years to buy cannabisinfused chocolate bars and sublingual drops to treat his painful spinal stenosis since the prescription opiates he had been taking quit working.

It was “desperation” that brought him here, he said, adding that his doctors didn’t suggest he try medical marijuana. But they didn’t discourage him either.

The dispensary is filled with the 50 people from the bus as they peruse counters and coolers containing everything from gel caps to drops to cannabis-infused drinks, not to mention plenty of old-fashioned weed.

Adele Frascella, leaning on her cane, purchases a package of gummy candies she says helps keep her arthritic pain at bay.

“I don’t like to take an opioid,” said Frascella, 70.

Fashionably dressed with sparkling silver earrings, Frascella confirms with a smile that she was a pot smoker in her younger days.

“I used to do it when I was like 18, 19, 20,” she said. “And then I had a baby, got married and stopped.”

She took it up again a few years ago, even investing in a “volcano,” a pricey, high-tech version of the old-fashioned bong that

97/16 news service photo

Adele Frascella, left, and Donna Miller chat in a free shuttle bus on the way back to their retirement community after visiting Bud and Bloom cannabis dispensary in Santa Ana, Calif.

Gizmodo calls “the ultimate stoner gadget.”

But these days, like many other seniors, she prefers edibles to smoking.

Renee Lee, another baby boomer who smoked as a youth, got back into it more than a dozen years ago after the clinical psychologist underwent brain surgery and other medical procedures that she said had her taking “10 meds a day, four times a day.”

“And I wasn’t getting any better,” she said, adding that she asked her doctors if she might try medical marijuana as a last resort.

They said go ahead and she found it ended

her pain.

In 2012, she founded the Rossmoor Medical Marijuana Club in her upscale San Francisco Bay Area retirement community.

“We started with 20 people, and we kept it really quiet for about a year and a half,” she said, noting that although California legalized medical cannabis in 1996, it was still seen in some quarters as an outlaw drug.

Her group has since grown to more than 1,000 members and puts on regular events, including lectures by pro-cannabis doctors and nurses.

People Lee’s age – 65 and over - are the fastest-growing segment of the marijuanausing population, said Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and aging at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He believes more studies on the drug’s effects on older people are needed. And while it may improve quality of life by relieving pain, anxiety and other problems, he said, careless, unsupervised use can cause trouble.

“We know that cannabis can cause side effects, particularly in older people,” he said. “They can get dizzy. It can even impair memory if the dose is too high or new ingredients are wrong. And dizziness can lead to falls, which can be quite serious.”

Richardson said Colorado saw an uptick in hospital visits by older users soon after the state legalized cannabis in 2012. The problem, he said, was often caused by novices downing too many edibles.

That’s a lesson Dick Watts, 75, learned the hard way. The retired New Jersey roofing contractor who keeps a winter home at Laguna Woods Village began having trouble sleeping through the night as he got into his 70s. He attended a seniors’ seminar where he learned marijuana might help, so he got a cannabis-infused candy bar. He immediately ate the whole thing.

“Man, that was nearly lethal,” recalled Watts, laughing.

Now when he has trouble sleeping he takes just a small sliver of candy before bed. He said he wakes up clear-headed and refreshed.

“And I have it up on a shelf so my grandkids can’t get to it,” Watts said.

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© 2019 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 35, No. 17

Can you solve the riddle created by Kid Scoop mascot Woodword?

Share these optical illusions with a family member!

Wise Eyes

There are two Y’s in the grid below. Can you find both in under 30 seconds?

Solve my tricky riddle!

A B C

How many smailes can you find on this page?

Circle all the money amounts you can find in the newspaper in one minute. Now tally the amounts you found. How much do they add up to?

What’s Your Angle?

Do you see triangles here? Look again. There are no real triangles here – only three V shapes outlined in black and three white shapes that indent the circles.

Standards Link: Investigations: Find similarities and differences in common objects.

This is called the Hermann Grid Illusion. As you concentrate on the grid, you can see black dots. Try to count them.

When you do, you’ll see that all the dots are white.

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS BORDERS DEALER ICEBERG BENT CIRCLE RULER RAINBOW TALLY EYES SQUARE TROVE LINE DATE

Find the words in the puzzle.

How many of them can you find on this page?

S V B R R T I B S S

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Write down all your favorite jokes and riddles and read them aloud to a friend.

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20 | T H U R S D A Y , A P R I L 4 , 2 0 1 9

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