Powell River Living March 2015 issue

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MARCH 2015

New! Zest, our free wellness magazine, inside.

Education • Weddings • Women’s Day • RN’s journey • Stargazing

Why choose Stubberfield Funeral Home?

• Stubberfield handles all your funeral needs right here in Powell River.

• Stubberfield has Powell River’s ONLY crematorium.

• Stubberfield has reception facilities and a full chapel, conveniently located on site.

• Stubberfield is a locallyowned, independent business.

• Pat & Joanne are licensed, experienced, professional funeral directors who help you every step of the way.

Don’t miss the Montreal Canadiens Alumni Game March 28 at 7:00 pm at the Hap Parker Arena A fundraiser for the Powell River Hospital Foundation & the Regals Hockey Society.

Powell River has been trusting Pat and Joanne with funeral preparations for more than a quarter century.

Providing dignified service to the region since 1969 7221 Duncan Street • 604 485-4112 •stubberfieldfh.com

Zane in the morning

Katy in marketing

Coffee with the Mayor Coffee with the MLA every Wed at 10am Players who could be part of the lineup: Guy Carbonneau, Steve Shutt, Patrice Brisebois, Shayne Corson, Chris Nilan, Dave Morissettee, Steve Begin, Sergio Momesso, Mathieu Darche, Gilbert Delorme, Jocelyn Lemieux, Richard Sevigny, Sebastien Bordeleau, Pierre Dagenais, Jesse Belanger, Normand Dupont, Stephane Richer, Yvon Lambert, Donald Audette, Yves Racine, Steve Penney, Enrico Ciccone, John Chabot, Mathieu Dandenault, Karl Dykhuis, Alain Cote, Gilles Thibaudeau, Rick Green, Guillaume Latendresse.

Head coach Guy Lafleur 11 players will be part of the event.

VIP tickets available at TAWS for $75

CALL in with your questions & concerns! or facebook / email at 957onair@coastfmradio.ca

Includes reserved seat, meet and greet players and VIP lounge admittance after the game. But hurry…only 200 available!

95.7fm

Rush tickets $25

available at TAWS, The Lockeroom, Anderson’s Men’s Wear, Hospital Foundation Society members and Canadian Tire.

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get to know us

Amy Sharp

greatest hits from the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s asharp@vistaradio.ca 604.485.4207

In a forest of choices, one company stands alone.

Kelly Edwards brings to Powell River 12 years experience of successful business sales of promotional products to Corporations, Schools and Teams, as well as special event planning.

Call Kelly for your next bright idea.

Swag • Events Marketing • Awards Sponsorships • Golf Trade Shows • Office Supplies

Phat Ideas Kelly Edwards Promotional Product Specialist

Quality MLS® service, best commission rates, FREE Property Evaluations.

Katheran Milne Realtor® 39 years 604.487.0737 www.katheran.com

forestry?

Are you looking for a career where you can make a difference? Here in BC, we have a renewable and high-tech industry that is looking for skilled workers.

One in five jobs in BC is related to forestry, making it our biggest employer. With 60 million hectares of forests, BC’s great outdoors provides a wide variety of employment opportunities.

phatideas@shaw.ca

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CERTIFICATE BOAT OPERATOR DEGREE HEAVY MACHINERY OPERATOR HARVESTING SUPERVISOR RENEWABLE RESOURCE

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FOREST PROFESSIONAL WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST GIS SPECIALIST FOREST MODELING SPECIALIST CAREER CERTIFIED FALLER

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ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FISH & WILDLIFE TECHNOLOGIST IN-DEMAND HEAVY MACHINERY MECHANIC MILLWRIGHT DIPLOMA

Forestry Education

Have you considered

604 414-3643

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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CONTRIBUTORS

WHAT SHOULD YOU HAVE LEARNED AT SCHOOL?

“I took in the big picture of the whole sky ...Suddenly my perspective changed. The giant square over the carport was Pegasus. Wow, Pegasus!

Look at that. “ - Michael Moonbeam, page 10 CONTENTS MARCH 2015 This magazine is 100% locally owned and operated Powell River Living is supported entirely by our advertisers. We encourage you to choose the businesses that you see in these pages. We do.

Member of:

Quilters Never Quit

Celebration of Quilts coming up

I Made the Move

Brewmaster & Librarian & Toddler

Star Gazing Aha Moment

Moonbeam shows what he knows

Tattooed Man

Artist Paul Paiero transforms

An official encounter

Memoir of meeting the Gov Gen

Seedy Saturday

Mark your calendar: March 14!

Groundswell

Publisher & Managing Editor

Isabelle Southcott • isabelle@prliving.ca

Associate Publisher & Sales Manager

Sean Percy • sean@prliving.ca

Sales & Marketing

Suzi Wiebe • suzi@prliving.ca

Special Projects Coordinator & Graphics

Pieta Woolley • pieta@prliving.ca

Accounts Receivable

Lauri Percy • lauri@prliving.ca

Katrin Harry , Raven Events

Wicked Weddings

PRL’s ultimate guide

Seniors made digital films And they’ll be showing them

Hello, Powell River

Zenaida MacDonald, RN

International Women’s Day Who’s your mentor?

What’s Up?

Special O takes Gold!

Estate Planning

Have more control with this solution

Take a Break

ON THE COVER Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, and Rod Innes knows where the birdies is. The local photographer excels at capturing images of birds. photo by Rod Innes

Crossword and Horoscope

A Growing Concern

JVW is back with garden planning!

Education Month Round-up of schools

Food Challenge

Publisher faces healthy grub

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“School was a great experience for me. I consumed everything presented to me. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t so much about what I was taught, it was about how to learn and discover the world around me. “

ILONA BEIKS is Powell River’s Literacy Outreach Coordinato, Education Coordinator at the Vancouver Writers Festival, and a life-long literacy advocate.

“School should have taught us to take way more risks, in every field. Everything is a risk: having children, getting married, changing jobs, going to school, believing, trusting. Failure is a great teacher, success teaches nothing useful, unless, you bet the farm. Chancing the loss, makes the gain so much richer.”

GILLES PATENAUDE is a Certified Financial Planner and Life Agent for Qtrade Asset Management Inc. and Westview Agencies Ltd. Gilles and his wife have five children. He loves knowing people, growing things, reading, hiking, kayaking, fishing and everything outdoors.

“I wish I had learned more about people and relationships.”

ISABELLE SOUTHCOTT publishes Powell River Living Magazine. She has been a working journalist for more than 30 years with daily and community newspapers and this magazine. She has two teenage boys and loves running with her Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

“I wish we’d been offered the ‘Grad Transition’ program that the students must now complete before graduation. It makes the graduate think about their future and develop goals and strategies to obtain those goals.”

LYNN MCCANN was born and raised in Powell River where she is well-known and appreciated for her gifts of helping others and her sense of humour. .

“I learned I loved my books. I would read adventure stories like Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki expedition about his adventures across the Pacific in between periods at school.”

ROD INNES is well-know for his bird and plant photography. He lives in Wildwood.

We welcome feedback from our readers. Email your comments to isabelle@prliving.ca, or mail to Powell River Living, 7053E Glacier Street, Powell River, BC V8A 5J7 Tel 604.485.0003 No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions that may occur. © 2015 Southcott Communications. We reserve the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.

Volume 10, Number 3

ISSN 1718-8601

Powell River Living is published

by Southcott Communications.

Complete issues are available online at:

www.prliving.ca

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

When kids secretly learn stuff at school...

T

he other day I asked my 15-year-old to find a screwdriver for me. “Robertson’s or Phillip’s?,” he asked. “The kind with the square in the centre,” I replied.

Alex fetched the screwdriver and then proceeded to enlighten me on the history of the Robertson’s screwdriver. “Did you know the Robertson’s screwdriver was invented by a Canadian man called Peter Robertson?” he said. “It is much better than the American screwdriver, the Phillip’s, but it isn’t as popular because the Americans won’t admit that the Canadian system is better.”

I looked at my son in amazement. “Where did you learn this?” I asked.

“In my mechanics class,” he answered nonchalantly.

Wow, I thought. How cool is that?

“And Mom,” Alex continued. “The only reason why it

isn’t the top screwdriver is because Henry Ford refused to admit the Canadian one was better.”

Sometimes I ask my kids what they learned in school that day and they say, “Nothing.” But I know they did.

Conversations like this prove it.

March is all about education. In this issue, you will read stories about what the different schools are up to. You will learn about programs, opportunities, and changes that are taking place in School District 47.

The School District’s special section begins on Page 29 with a message about personalized learning. Inside, stories about each school highlight their uniqueness and focus.

March 20 is the first day of spring. Crocuses and daffodils poked their heads through the soil last month and I’ve heard the telltale whir of lawnmowers.

Although March is Spring Break, there are still opportunities to learn. One is at a Powell River Livingsponsored night sky astronomy / astrology workshop from 7:30 to 9:30 pm on March 15 at Willingdon Beach with Michael Moonbeam.

This month, we also launch the first issue of ZEST, a health and wellness magazine. Inside are inspirational and motivational stories and ads informing us of the great services and changes to businesses that will help you live a healthy life.

So get learning, get healthy and get reading.

ISABELLE SOUTHCOTT | isabelle@prliving.ca

Where grooms register. *

*AND AWESOME BRIDES

It’s tradition to set-up your newlywed home with essentials, but why stop with kitchenware?

Come in and register for something you’ll actually use (like a circular saw).

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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Quilters never quit They just keep us in stitches

Even though many years have passed Margie can still recall what her favourite quilt looked like.

“It was a double wedding ring quilt. It had a white background and quilted with soft tones of blues, and pinks and greens and yellows,” she recalls. “It was just fabric that had been collected by my aunt.”

It was then that Margie decided someday she would make her own double wedding ring quilt so she began collecting fabric to make one.

“I used to make my own clothes,” she explained. “I learned to sew on a tiny hand-cranked Singer when I was seven. My sisters and I would make doll clothes.

CELEBRATION OF QUILTS What: A biannual Powell River quilt show showcasing traditional and art quilting work of its 72 members, plus junior members.

When: March 14 & 15 Where: Dwight Hall

Fabrics • Notions • Patterns Books • Wonderfil Threads Longarm quilting available Sign up for quilting classes

! on so s pen po o sh

Please call for open hours 604-485-5668

deborahjenkins@shaw.ca 6952 Duncan Street

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STITCHED TOGETHER: Jaya Nouwens (left) and her grandmother Sandra Johnstone make time for quilting and for each other. They one of several grandma-granddaughter duos sewing together with the Timberlane Quilters Guild.

When I was 13, I was allowed to use Mom’s bigger machine and began making my own clothes.”

Margie would save all the leftover fabric from her clothes for her ‘someday’ quilt.

That someday didn’t happen right away. In fact, it took a long time. But finally one day, when Margie was in her late 20s, she sat down to make her first quilt.

Years have passed, but Margie is still at it today.

Although she hasn’t made that double wedding ring quilt yet, she will, she says.

“Just this winter I finally used some of that fabric to make double wedding ring table runners for my sisters and they loved them,” she said. “I have all the fabric and the pattern to make a king size double wedding ring quilt for myself. I just have to make it a priority.”

In the meantime, there are other art forms calling to Margie. She took up oil painting ten years ago and now, she’s incorporating her love of painting and quilting with fabric painting and making art quilts.

“I love birds,” she explains. “I use a fine tip gel pen – you can actually buy fabric paints in marker pens. You need to use one that is especially for fabric so they are permanent and do not bleed.”

“There are a number of ladies in the Timberlane

APRIL 2015 TOUR SCHEDULE

Margie Facey-Crowther was just 13-years-old when she first fell in love with quilting. She remembers visiting her Aunt Vi’s house in Salmon Beach, New Brunswick, and admiring the beautiful quilts that lay on top of the beds.

“I learned to sew on a tiny hand-cranked Singer when I was seven. My sisters and I would make dolls clothes.”

– Margie Facey-Crowther Quilters Guild who are much more experienced than I am when it comes to making art quilts and they have made them using paint brushes and ordinary acrylic paint. Some use these gel pens or paint pens and some do it with thread and they call it thread play. You can use different colours of thread to make landscapes or any type of picture you want. I have been doing both.

But most of what I have done is free motion quilting and it takes a lot of practice to be able to smoothly get the fabric through the machine so that your stitches are fairly even in length.”

Margie and other members of the Timberlane Quil-

est. 2004

April 1: Nanaimo Casino Day Trip April 18 - 20: Weekend Casino Trip - Lower Mainland April 27 - 29: Island Casino Hop

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone”. - Reba McEntire tel: 604.483.3345 We would love to have you join us! cell: 604.483.1408 heathertours.com BC Reg. No. 30400

Store in Lund open 10-4 Wed - Sun

GUILDED AGE OF QUILTING

71st ANNUAL

Guild members meet the first, third and fourth Tuesday of the month at the Seniors Centre in Cranberry and everyone is welcome.

Guild members are always looking for ways to promote sewing in the younger generation and not long ago, they bought a sewing machine for a 4-H member.

As well, they will award a $500 scholarship to a Brooks Secondary School who wants to pursue their studies in the fibre arts.

For more information please visit www.timberlanequilters.com or call Sandra Johnstone at 604 485-7349.

Grand Concert

ters Guild love to help others discover the joy they’ve found on their quilting journey by teaching others how to quilt. Recently, some of the quilting grandmas began teaching their granddaughters the craft. The granddaughters who are learning from their grandmothers are: Abby Francis (Kathleen O’Malley); Trinity Jacques (Eleanor Delaney); Jaya Nouwens (Sandra Johnstone) and Brianne Werner (Gail Werner).

Club president Sandra Johnstone, who is teaching her granddaughter Jaya Nouwens, is loving the time they spend together and the fact that she is able to share a skill that she is passionate about. Jaya is working on a pet quilt that she will enter into the Celebration of Quilts quilt show on March 14 and 15 at Dwight Hall. She is quilting a dog blanket in bright red, white and blue.

“My favourite part of quilting is sewing the pieces together on the machine and choosing the fabric,” Jaya said. “But there really isn’t any part of quilting that I don’t enjoy.”

The Timberlane Quilters Guild promotes quilting by teaching skills. The guild also helps community groups by providing quilts for those in need. Quilters have fun when they get together to quilt and talk about what they’re doing, says Sandra.

PUT A BIRD ON IT: The bird placemats were made

by Margie Facey-Crowther. Using photos she’d collected for inspiration, she drew the birds by using a permanent fine black marker pen. Then she painted them with acrylic fabric marker pens and quilted around the paintings with black

Evergreen Theatre Saturday, March 7 7:00 pm

Selected performers from festival competition.

Tickets available at Powell River Academy of Music, Breakwater Books & Coffee and at the door. $12 Adults $8 Seniors $6 Children under 16

Remember, Powell River hosts the Performing Arts BC Provincial Festival May 26-30, 2015

POWELL RIVER IMMIGRANT SERVICES At The Learning Centre

4727 Marine Avenue (above Bank of Montreal) 604-485-2004

We’ re 604.485.7676 4487 Franklin Avenue pinetreeauto@shaw.ca

prou

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s up

and home décor services

thread. “I have a passion for birds so the subject matter was easy to pick. I used some fabric I had collected from clothing my sisters wore when they were teenagers to make the double wedding ring table runners.”

por ta

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ticeship

Jill Amatt

604.344.0017 jillspainting@gmail.com

Newcomers & volunteers welcome!

FREE: English Classes

Information & Help Cultural Events DROP IN: Monday – Thursday 9:30 – noon

and industry-based trainin

g.

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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I MADE THE MOVE

Ask anyone. He came for the beer; It’s all about she came for the books

B staying power.

ecky Burbank and Scott Martin moved to Powell River from Montreal in January with their twoyear-old son Hugo. The couple, who are both originally from New Hampshire, met while in high school. They moved from New Hampshire to Montreal so Becky could attend school and fell in love with the city. Their son was born there and they will always have a strong connection to Montreal, but they are happy to begin exploring Western Canada and start a new adventure in BC. As a librarian and brewer, both looking for new positions, they say they were both lucky to find jobs in such a beautiful part of the world. Before moving, Scott had connections to Townsite Brewing and it was through them that Becky was made aware of the opening at the Powell River Public Library.

If you want staying power, “Go where the readers are.”

Why did you choose to move to Powell River?

Becky • Scott was offered a job at Townsite Brewing and I was offered a position at the library, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to move to such a beautiful and close-knit community.

When? Where from?

Becky • We landed in Powell River on January 9th, and were on the only plane to land that day due to fog, a

What people are saying about Powell River Living magazine:

travel complication we had never considered! We came from Montreal, though we were born and raised in small town New Hampshire.

Scott • Well, I was born in Miami, and then moved to New Hampshire.

What surprised you about Powell River once you moved here?

Becky • The massive trees, I still cannot stop craning my neck to look up at these unbelievably tall trees. And the fog, I have never been in such lingering fog, it’s mysteriously beautiful. It has been a few years since we have lived outside of the city, I was surprised at how quickly I forgot about taking a moment to stop and talk, with anyone. People have their guard up a bit more in the city.

Scott • Also, strangely enough, the ocean smells different on the West Coast, almost not at all.

What made you decide to move to Powell River?

Becky • Work was the main factor, but we had been looking for a community that is close and supportive, and someplace we could be outside, and enjoy nature.

Powell River struck us as very family friendly, a good

local musicians showcased every Sunday 6pm

“It is never boring to read an issue.”

“The magazine stimulates my thinking.”

Zane in the morning

Katy in sales

“It’s an escape.”

“I lose myself in the pleasure of reading Powell River Living.”

“It’s an avenue to learning about new products.”

“Advertising in Powell River Living says good things about the brand advertised.”

“I like the ads as much as articles.”

PowELL RIvER PuBLIC LIBRARY presents award-winning BC Publisher

HowARD wHItE

READING and Q&A MONDAY, MARCh 16 • 2:00 pm CRANBERRY HALL

organic tunage: 30 mins of interview & locally produced music! every Sunday 6pm

6826 Cranberry Street, Powell River

Go where the readers are.

604.485.0003 8

• prliving.ca

Publisher Howard White reads from his father’s fascinating memoirs and answers questions about writing and the book publishing industry in BC. (604) 485-8664 • www.powellriverlibrary.ca www.harbourpublishing.com

95.7fm get to know us

greatest hits from the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s Amy Sharp 485-4207 kwebb@vistaradio.ca

SPRING & SUMMER Active Living Guide

place to be a kid. Scott and I grew up near the Atlantic Ocean in New Hampshire, so moving to a town on the sea was another big draw for us. Mostly though it was the lure of blackberries and oysters.

Where is your favourite place in Powell River?

Becky • There are a few; the list seems to grow every time we go someplace new.

The beach at Mowat Bay, Inland Lake, and Townsite Brewery. The pool in the Rec Complex is high on our son’s list, and of course any place with a view of the sea or mountains.

Scott • Second that!

How did you first hear about Powell River?

Becky • I heard about it after seeing a collection of images of the Hulks, later we heard more from friends who moved here.

Scott • I’ve been following the progress of the brewery from the beginning.

What would make Powell River a nicer community?

Becky • Montreal ruined us on pastry, we would love to see a pastry shop in town to visit early on the weekends.

Scott • A really nice brewery, oh wait...

If you were mayor of Powell River what would you do?

Becky • Bike lanes, bike lanes, bike lanes.

Scott • Funicular or a monorail.

If you were a fly, which wall in town would you like to inhabit?

Scott • Any outside wall, so I could look at the water and feel the breeze. Birds and

bats might be a problem though. Maybe Dragonflies, do you have dragonflies here?

What are Powell River’s best assets?

Becky • That view! Though, I have thought a few times while driving down Duncan, that driving into a ditch is a real possibility, so maybe the view is a hazard.

I just can’t stop looking! Also, the friendly people who live here have made us feel so welcome. Our moving truck didn’t arrive for almost two weeks after we moved in and our landlord brought us extra blankets.

Scott • Definitely the people, it is nice to be in a town where the residents care so much about the community and its future. That and endless things for kids to do.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Becky • Perhaps the move to Powell River, we moved our family across the country to a new place, sight unseen and fingers crossed.

Scott • I haven’t told Becky yet, but I bought us a $400 block of cheese I saw at Quality Foods.

Which talent or superpower would you most like to have?

Becky • The ability to approve my request to join the PR Swap’n Shop :) Scott • Summon the wildlife to do my bidding. Like the yard work or dropping off the recycling.

If you know someone we should feature in I Made the Move, please email Isabelle@prliving.ca with your idea.

Registration opens March 6th Web Registration for Active Living Guide programs.

Simple & Convenient

SEE WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER PROGRAMS, EVENTS, ACTIVITIES & MORE The Spring and Summer

• Sign on to the web site:

www.PowellRiver.ca • Click on Departments – Parks, Recreation & Culture – Recreation Schedules and click on the “Register Online” button.

• or go directly to: onlineca. activecommunities.com/ powellriver • or call 24-hr info line (604) 485-2891

•

Active Living Guide will be available online and in the

Weekend Shopper

March 6th.

•

Find us on Facebook at PowellRiverRec.Complex POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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Looking at constellations

From stumbling in the dark, to the ‘aha!’ moment I

BY MICHAEL MOONBEAM

retired last summer, so I now possess more time than brains. Never one to back down from a Quixotic challenge, I decided to ‘memorize’ the entire night sky.

Observing the stars in constellations began for me with my partner Amanda.

As is often true for us, her fire warms us both. She would point out some figure or object in the summer sky (which is denser and more difficult to discern than the winter sky) and I would politely agree – but not really understand. It all felt a little abstract. I knew my way around an astrology chart, but navigating the night sky was still out of my reach.

One clear winter night, trundling through my backyard, I spotted Cassiopeia’s ‘W’ shape over the garden. I realized “Hey! Maybe I can find Algol.” Now in constellation, Algol indicates the sev-

“Standing in the cold night, my forehead freezing, I was utterly transfixed by her pale green glow.

She didn’t seem that bad.”

– Michael Moonbeam

ASTROLOGER VERSUS ASTRONOMER: To the ancient Greek pioneers of astrology, the star Algol (above) formed the severed head of Medusa, in Perseus’ hand. To astronomers - modern scientists armed with telescopes – Algol is a binary star, two stars orbiting around a common centre of mass (below). Which view do you prefer?

ered head that Perseus carries. It’s no ordinary star. She is the baddest of the bad.

To science she is just an eclipsing green binary. But to the ancient wizards of astrology, she was filled with dread. ‘The head of the demon.’ Medusa herself!

Standing in the cold night, my fore-

Make your own star-gazing adventure Have you ever thought of having this kind of adventure in your backyard? How does one get started in observing? Like all interstellar journeys, good warm clothes including finger gloves, toque and an ‘old school’ Dr. Who scarf are a must and of course several readable maps. A red colored flashlight will help you consult the star charts without disturbing your night vision.

• My current favorite star map is Will Tirion and Brian Skiff’s Bright Star Atlas 2000.0 ($9.95) it’s simple, inexpensive, and easy to use in the field. The Constellation Handbook, by Antonin Rukl ($22.95) is an insightful read with lots of pictures.

• Download a nice clear map for free from telescope.com. For one with more written information go to skymaps.com.

• ‘Sky and Telescope’ magazine has a great online resource.

• As far as smart phone apps go, I spend a lot of time with ‘Night Sky 2’ (though not while actually observing).

• From astrological author Bernadette Brady, Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars and her software program ‘Starlight’ are the new standard in star lore.

• The real key to a successful night of observing is actually found in your own heart as a special moment between you and the mysterious night sky.

Let us CELEBRATE

you and your

children 10

• prliving.ca

Save the date! The 12th annual

Ages & Stages Fair Friday, May 8, 2015 Recreation Complex For ages 2 to 5 (and their siblings) free children’s books • free healthy snacks • vision, hearing, dental & speech information • parenting help: screen time solutions • fire truck • outdoor play ideas • Orca Bus • children’s activities

Try boxing.

It’s fun and it’s FREE! Join Les Vegas and the rest of the crew from 5 to 6:30 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Powell River Boxing Club gym at Oceanview Education Centre.

For more info call, 604 485-7095 Improve your self-confidence and learn the “manly art of self defence.”

Dog Gone Grooming Do you have a fur-baby? We’d love to meet them!

Come visit Jessica and Lou Anne.

Limited spaces available.

Grooming • Bath • Brush • Nails Teeth Brushing • Ear Cleaning Nail trimming by appointment only. Donations to local charity.

Donating to local charity since 2009.

6758 Cranberry Street • 604 483-2293

ALL-AGES EVENING WITH MOONBEAM What: Join Texada star-gazer Michael Moonbeam for an unforgettable night learning to identify stars in the night sky. Also, there will be a bonfire... bring snacks to share!

When: Sunday, March 15, 7:30pm til 9:30 pm -- weather dependent Where: Willingdon Beach Why: Keep education happening over Spring Break. Learn the fundamentals of star-gazing so you can lie out under the sky this summer and build on what you know. head freezing, I was utterly transfixed by her pale green glow. She didn’t seem that bad. Quite stunning actually.

I looked for pointer stars in the ‘W.’ I had a good star map. I was certain I had found the star, but at night your eyes work differently. When I tried to match the stars to the figure on the paper, I got confused.

So I took a step back and realized how arbitrary the constellations are. Stood back a little further, and took in the big picture of the whole sky looking for pairs, groupings and clusters. Suddenly my perspective changed… the giant square over the carport was Pegasus. Wow, Pegasus! On the other side of the sky, that giant cross shape is Cygnus the swan. Look at that. Beyond fear is freedom and flight!

Is there any more awe-inspiring sight than a vaulted indigo sky salted with a trillion brilliant stars? Yet how often do we take a moment to crane our head skyward and reckon with the celestial architecture? In modern terms there are only 88 ‘official’ constellations. Most of us could name at least the Big Dipper and Orion. It occurs to me if the constellations were reshaped into corporate logos we would know enough for 10 skies!

Stars truly, are the most amazing things: they often exist in pairs, even triplets and quads, in all manner of size, color and combination. They really are the grand artists of the universe, exotic, dynamic, creative, compelling, and so powerful.

Stars are both the engines and mothers of creation.

Their intensity illuminates every corner of human endeavor from geology to history; of course physics, chemistry, and astronomy, even mythology and my interest astrology are all made richer in the transiting light of stars.

www.tawsonline.com opping s for sh k n a h T e!! at hom

Find us on Facebook Twitter: @Taws_Cycle 4597 Marine Avenue 604-485-2555

FREE

COFFEE with

BREAKFAST SANDWICH

BECOME A STARRY EXPERT

Timberlane Quilters’ Guild presents

The Powell River Public Library is an excellent resource for helping children and adults tune in and turn on to the night sky. Here are a few staff recommendations:

CELEBRATION of

QUILTS

Books Constellations

By F.S. Kim (2010) Find the constellations

By H. A. Rey (2008)

Saturday March 14 10 am to 5 pm

The Kids Book of the Night Sky

By Ann Love and Jane Drake (2004)

Sunday March 15

The Stars: A New Way to See Them

By H.A. Rey. (2008)

10 am to 4 pm

Stars! Stars! Stars!

By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (2009)

Admission $5 • 12 & under free

Starry Sky

By Kate Hayden (2006)

Dwight Hall

6274 Walnut St (Townsite) eBook Lunch and tea room Sales boutique Merchant mall Raffle • Door prizes Educational displays Interactive quilt displays

Skywatcher's Companion: Constellations and Their Mythology. A starry, starry night discovery book

By Stan Shadick (2007)

eAudiobook (listen to while looking at the stars) Stargazer’s Alphabet Night-Sky Wonders from A to Z

By John Farrell. (2011)

For more info:

timberlanequiltersguild.ca

Magazine Sky and Telescope has some free articles online for stargazing with children

Online PBS also has a nice youtube video featuring the H.A. Rey books above about activities for kids about stars.

Think Real Estate.

GriffithsProperties.com val@griffithsproperties.com



604 483-6930 1-877-485-4231 toll free 4766 Joyce Avenue

New bike park opening • Weekends on mountain bike trails • Weekday cycling to school & work

It’s bike season!

Bike service: $29.99 (+ Parts)

2015 Fit Bike

Is your bike up to the challenge? Ours are!

Treat your family to a stylish, safe ride in 2015

FREE

Enjoy a free small Van Houtte ® coffee with the purchase of any A&W breakfast sandwich.

One coupon per customer please.

Not valid with any other promotional offer. No cash value.

Valid until March 8, 2015.

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

11

‘Man’opause transforms artist

Darkness and light inspire rebel soul

BY ISABELLE SOUTHCOTT isabelle@prliving.ca Dread, fear, panic, filled her mind as she felt the first twinges of labour pains.

She did NOT want this child to be born in Fredericton, NB. Vincenzo had the Lincoln fueled and ready (he was to be an uncle after all), with gas in the tank and Scotch whiskey in his belly they raced to the hospital…

Toronto General. They made it, Vince only stopping for fuel, kept awake by endless cigarettes and stories best left untold.

This is how Powell River artist Paolo (Paul) Paiero entered the world.

“I grew up hearing that story,” said Paul recalling how his Italian mother was adamant that her child wasn’t going to be born in Fredericton.

And born he was but his interest in art didn’t really develop until he hit his late thirties. By then, he was living in Quesnel

“Art was a way to show the world I was angry... that I saw things differently. I guess it was a way to purge those feelings.”

– Paul Paiero and decided to take a Bob Ross painting class. “And from there it just took off.”

Paul has always felt like a bit of an outsider. Perhaps that’s why he sees the world differently and perhaps that’s why he paints from a different perspective. He says art has helped him express his feel-

EVENT TITLE What: Paul Paiero’s art show & opening When: Opening: March 5, 7 pm Art Show: March 3 til 31 Where: Vancouver Island University Why: This early childhood educator has transformed himself and his art from expressing darkness to humour. ings and has allowed him to move on.

In Quesnel, Paul and his wife “did the back to the land thing.” He hunted, fished, raised pork, rabbits, and chickens on 10 acres in the middle of nowhere.

When the pine beetle invaded they sold and moved to Fort St. John. But Fort St. John never felt quite right to Paul.

“I didn’t fit in,” he says. “I’ll tell you a story and maybe you’ll understand why.

We bought a house with a west coast look in (I found out later) a very snooty neighbourhood. In those days I had long hair and tattoos (still does). It was a warm day and I was wearing a tank top. I went for a walk to the video store. Now we’d only lived there for two or three weeks,” he explained. “I was walking to the store and an unmarked van stopped me and demanded to see my ID.” One of his new neighbours had seen him wandering about the neighbourhood and thought he looked shifty so he called the police. A few days later Paul was at the mall and someone else didn’t like the look of him. He overheard the man say: “Why is it I always see someone like this when I don’t have a gun?”

Paul decided that maybe this wasn’t the place for him. So when they could they began looking at other communities. They looked at many houses for sale on the Internet and picked communities that appealed to them. When they ar-

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST: Paul Paiero, grandfather, caregiver, rebel, tattooed man, back-to-the-lander, intellectual artist. rived in Powell River, something clicked.

“It felt right,” said Paul simply. They returned to Fort St. John and put their house on the market. Fifteen days later they returned to Powell River and bought a house.

Paul says he has very liberal views and very conservative views. “Art was a good way to show the world I was angry…that I saw things differently. I guess it was a way to purge those feelings.”

Initially, Paul said his art was very dark but that changed since becoming a grandfather and going through “manopause.”

“I am much calmer and I think I have injected more humour in my work.“ With a diploma in early childhood ed-

ucation and many tattoos, Paul appears to be a contradiction. “I started getting tattoos when I was in my late thirties in Quesnel,” says Paul rolling up his sleeves to expose one arm covered in colourful tattoos and the other, in black ink images. “This is a stickman offering his heart to a dragon,” he says of the tattoo on his back.

Paul’s two arms are covered in two different styles. “This is more modern, pop art,” he says of his right arm. “It’s kind of like me, the good side and the dark side.”

Paul is a seasonal artist. His studio is in the garage right beside his motorcycle.

It’s chilly and damp out there so he takes a break from art in the winter.

“I like to make people think.”

The Boardwalk Restaurant in Lund There's always a reason to come to Lund! Here’s another...

Book the restaurant for Special Events Find us on

Lingcod, salmon or halibut with Kennebec fries & housemade tartar, $17

WINTER HOURS • Friday 4-8, Saturday 12-8, and Sunday 12-6 pm (Ask about special events)

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Our famous Fish ‘n’ Chips!

Spring Break visitors?

Bring them to Lund!

604 483-2201 • theboardwalkrestaurantpowellriverlund.com

‘Weird pants’ erode pomp

BY LYNN MCCANN

D

uring the 18 years we raised our grandchildren, we enjoyed one two-week period of peace and relative tranquility. For the first week, tenyear-old Amanda was away at Moorecroft, the United Church camp at Nanoose, while little Tony, aged 11, stayed home. The following week, Tony was at camp while Amanda was home with us in Powell River. The switchover weekend was the highlight of both their young lives.

Due to a medical appointment in Vancouver, we did the circle tour to get to the camp.

The switch of children was made and we enjoyed a delightfully dull trip to Little River. The ticket taker informed us that we would be parked beside the Lieutenant Governor, Iona Campagnolo’s official car. Well.... how about that!

As soon as we parked, I made a dash for the biffy and as I was returning in a more leisurely fashion, Amanda leaned out the van’s passenger window and started hollering.

“Hey Grandma.... (pointing to the kilt clad chauffeur standing next to his car right beside her) that guy is wearing a skirt!!! And.... he’s got a knife in his sock!!!!

Grandma, Grandma... do you see the other guy’s pants??

They are sooooo weird!!!!”

She had the complete attention of everyone in the lineup... including Mrs. Campagnolo, who was sitting in the car trying to keep a straight face.

I quickly closed the gap between us, hoping Amanda would lower her voice accordingly. No chance! “No kidding Grandma... that guy’s got a really big knife hiding in his sock!!! Why’s he got a knife in his sock???”

“I don’t know Amanda. If I wanted to know the answer to that, I’d ask the guy with the knife!”

By this time, Mrs. Campagnolo was out of the car and standing beside the van giggling as Amanda was looking at the chauffeur in consternation, and he was trying to look nonchalant.

Before Amanda could get her answer, over the parking lot loudspeaker, the offical party was invited to please board the ferry. They all scurried into their car and drove off, with Mrs. Campagnolo doubled over laughing in the back seat.

Once we all boarded the ferry, Amanda, who was normally very shy and never spoke to strangers, and the Lieutenant Governor got together once more and soon were head to head, chatting about camp and the frustrations of wearing kayak skirts. (I couldn’t figure out why anyone would wear a skirt kayaking).

Amanda told her how I made her behave nicely on the ferry and Mrs. Campanolo told Amanda how her mother gave up trying to make her and her brother behave on the old Union Steamship boats.

When she discovered Amanda was a Girl Guide, her aide was dispached to the car to get pamphlets, pins and paraphernalia about her official office for Amanda to use towards her civics badge. The picture I took of the two of them showed two brand-new friends having a wonderful time together!

It was obvious that this Queen’s representative preferred fun to protocol!

Canada’s current Governor General, David Johnston, came to the coast in late January, and accepted an honourary doctorate of laws from Vancouver Island University.

Here’s what he said that week: At VIU On young people: “To say that you are responsible and that you can solve the woes that afflict our society may be a lot to put on your shoulders. But I do so because I know, from experience, that young people can handle it.

You are resilient, creative and strong-willed. And you bring a fresh perspective wherever you go.

We ignore your opinions and ideas—and minimize your contributions—at our own peril.”

To the Vancouver Board of Trade On immigration: “As a nation that continues to be built on immigration, Canada must reaffirm its commitment to diversity, and to viewing it as a key asset for engaging with the world. The people-to-people ties that exist between Canada and the countries of the Asia-Pacific are deep and rich. We owe it to ourselves and to the world to find innovative ways to connect and form partnerships for mutual benefit.”

COMFORT COMES TOGETHER

Mon-Fri 7 - 9:30 • Sat & Sun 8 - 9:30 Town Centre Mall • 604.489.0099

Locally owned and operated

Max Cameron Theatre presents

Lynn McCann wrote this piece with the Powell River Public Library memoirs writing group.

Roofing you can trust.

Don't miss celebrated vocalist and comedic performer Bridget Ryan's jaw-dropping and outrageous cabaret, Here's To The Ladies Who Laugh. It's one part musical theatre, one part stand-up and totally unforgettable. With Broadway blockbusters to obscure off-broadway gems, tossed in with a few 80s song mash-ups, you won't just be rollin’ in the aisles, you'll be dancing in them! Accompanied by the one and only Jen McMillan, this show is a really, really good time.

Tues/Wed March 10 & 11 7:30 nightly

Max Cameron Theatre presents

As Powell River’s leading roofing contractor since 1980, we provide high-quality installations of all types of roofing systems, and all of our workers are trained and ticketed in each specific roofing application.

• Commercial and residential • Torch on membrane systems • Single ply roof systems • Hidden fastener metal roofing • Cladding and corrugated metal • Fiberglass asphalt shingles FREE s • Composite shingle roofs ate • Green roofing certified Estim • Repairs and maintenance • Roof consulting and planning • Custom sheet metal and flashing sales • Mechanical and HVAC sales and service • Red Seal Certified Tradesmen

Don't miss celebrated vocalist and comedic performer Bridget Ryan's jaw-dropping and outrageous cabaret, Here's To The Ladies Who Laugh. It's one part musical theatre, one part stand-up and totally unforgettable. With Broadway blockbusters to obscure off-broadway gems, tossed in with a few 80s song mash-ups, you won't just be rollin’ in the aisles, you'll be dancing in them! Accompanied by the one and only Jen McMillan, this show is a really, really good time.

Tickets $24 (Senior/Youth $20) from the Academy of Music Box Office, Breakwater Books on Marine Avenue and at the Max on of the day of the performance.

For more information call 604.485.9633 or 604.483.3900

PR Women in Business Reception & Trade Show starting at 6:15, Tuesday, March 10 www.MaxCameronTheatre.ca • www.prwomeninbusiness.com

Better Business Bureau & Roofing Contractors Association of BC

www.nelsonroofing.com

(604) 485-0100

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

13

Warm growing season coming soon: Seedy Saturday

BY WENDY DEVLIN

en years ago, a few local seed savers sat around a table, wondering how to create interest about the importance of seed saving. Several had previously attended Seedy Saturdays, (Canada-wide seed swaps), in other communities. As the then-president of the Powell River Farmers’ Institute, I suggested that we sponsor a Seedy Saturday here.

The idea fell on fertile ground.

In March 2005, some 60 people attended Powell Rivers’ first Seedy Saturday at Vancouver Island University.

Although not having much previous experience in coordinating community events, I sensed the idea would grow quickly and so rented a larger venue at Community Living Place in Cranberry for the event in 2006.

That year, over 300 people attended the seed exchange,

T

SEEDY SATURDAY GROWS UP What: The 10th annual Powell River Seedy Saturday When: Saturday, March 14 at 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Where: Powell River Recreation Complex Deets: A two dollar admission fee gives participates access to event activities. Children under 12 attend for free. If you are new to seed saving, and don’t have seeds to swap, hundreds of local seed packets donated by local growers are sold for fifty cents a package. (limit 10 packages) Gardening and farming books or magazines are also exchanged at the swap. workshops and information tables.

On March 14th Seedy Saturday celebrates its tenth anniversary. Besides the community seed/book swap, Seedy Saturday has grown to include seed and garden product

Easter t

April 5

Holy Week & Easter Come and See!

Palm Sunday •10 AM Maundy Thursday • 6 PM Good Friday • 10 AM Easter Vigil • 8 PM The Resurrection of Our Lord •10 AM Faith Lutheran Church ELCIC • 4811 Ontario Ave • 604.485.2000

Celebrate Easter At Powell River United Church

Good Friday Service - 10:30am Easter Sunrise Service - Valentine mountain Easter Service - 10:30am New! Our interim minister is Rev. Randy G. Antle

Powell River United Church A welcoming congregation

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6932 Crofton Street (On Duncan) • powellriverunitedchurch.com 604-485-5724 • churchmowse@gmail.com

vendors, eight workshops, a children’s activity center, silent auction plus refreshments available for sale all day.

Dozens of volunteers donate time to the event, attended last year by more than 600 people.

Since 2015 has been declared by the United Nations as International Year of the Soil, Seedy Saturday is providing Powell River gardeners more opportunities to learn how to build their garden soils.

Workshops on composting, mushroom growing and building soils with bokashi, biochar or rabbit manure will share a wealth of information for growing abundant and healthy crops.

Hundreds of people have contributed to making Seedy Saturday possible, these past ten years, but he driving force has been a crew including Helena Bird, David Parkinson, Christine Dudgeon, Julie Thorne and Sharon Deane.

2014

SCHOOLand DISTRICT Preschool children their #47 families are invited WELCOMES ALL to visit School3-5District #47 elementary schools YEAR OLD CHILDREN

Come and enjoy a mini school day LOCATIONS AND for DATES: designed preschool children.

Kelly Creek Community School

(604) 487-9022

Visit the kindergarten class, library, music room & gym.

Thursday, March 13, 2014, 9:00-10:15am Meet school staff and ask questions about school.

James Thomson Elm. School (604) 483-3191

PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES Westview Elementary School (604) 485-5660 Westview Elementary School (604) 485-5660 ARE INVITED TO VISIT Wednesday,April April9, 9, 2015, 2014, 1:00-2:30pm Thursday, 1:00-2:30pm SCHOOL DISTRICT #47 Edgehill Elementary School (604) 485-6164 ELEMENTARY James Thomson Elementary School (604) 483-3191 Wednesday, April 23, 2014 1:00-2:30pm Tuesday, April 14, 2015, 1:00-2:30pm SCHOOLS Texada Elementary School (604) 486-7616 Kelly Creek Community School (604) 487-9022 Come and enjoy a mini school Friday, April 25, 2014, 9:30-11:00am Wednesday, April 22, 2015, 10:30am-12:00 Noon day designed for preschool Thursday, April 3, 2014, 1:00-2:30pm LOCATIONS AND DATES:

Henderson Elementary School (604)

483-9162

Henderson Elementary School (604) 483-9162 children. Visit the kindergarten Tuesday, May 6, 2014, 10:30am-12:00pm class, library, music room and Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 1:00-2:30pm gym. Meet school staff and ask

Edgehill Elementary School (604) 485-6164 questions about school.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 1:00-2:30pm

BY CALLING Texada Elementary SchoolREGISTER (604) 486-7616 THE SCHOOL Friday, May 22, 2015, 12:00Noon-1:00pm FOR MORE INFORMATION:

RegisterTel: by calling the school.

(604) 485-6271 ext 2244 For more information, contact Rita John at 604-485-6271 ext 2244 or rita.john@sd47.bc.ca email: rita.john@sd47.bc.ca

Let the Sparks Fly! Igniting connections between the past and future of Powell River’s economy Katrin Harry, owner of Raven Events and Communications, recently spoke with the Groundswell leadership to further the community conversation about the future of Powell River’s economy, environment and social well-being.

Tell us about Raven Events and Communications.

Katrin • Raven Events and Communications is a fullservice event management business located in Sliammon. We handle all facets of event organization from design to production. Raven Events is owned

by QWASTeNAYe ~ L. Maynard Harry, the Principal Partner, along with me the Managing Partner. Our Aboriginal Business Match (ABM) tradeshow connects Aboriginal communities with the private sector to create opportunities for business. In 2015 we will produce three events engaging over 350 Aboriginal communities across Canada and the same number of companies. At each tradeshow delegates initiate new business deals worth over $30 million.

Groundswell integrates economic, environmental and social sustainability principals. How are these important to you from a business perspective?

Katrin • Very important. We must be connected to the well being of our community. We work with a clear vision for the future. The revival of entrepreneurship in Sliammon is a big part. Sustainability is at the heart of Aboriginal culture. Our business is knowledge-based with low impact while technology allows us to connect with our market. We see technology as a powerful tool to build rural economies. We create quality jobs and generate all our income outside of Powell River while spending much of it locally.

Your ideas to cultivate a thriving community?

Katrin • Powell River has successfully invested in developing an arts and culture infrastructure. The drivers and organizations are already building a unique brand and the cultural initiatives create a lot of buzz in and out of the community. We suggest dialling this up a notch as it holds significant potential for even

created my own reality. I decided a while ago to be authentic rather than compliant. I do suffer the consequences at times, yet this approach enables me to create strong relationships. It is the core of my relationships that create professional and personal stability.

How might Tla A’min and Powell River work together into the future?

Katrin • The partnership between Sliammon and Powell River is nationally recognized and is an example of solid leadership. Continuing to collaborate, to pool resources for joint initiatives such as a museum or cultural centre can benefit both communities and support the richness of two distinctly different communities that have much in common.

What is it about our community that makes you proud?

Katrin • The mix of creativity and productivity in the region from Townsite Brewing growlers to Amanda Martinson jewellery, Pollen Sweaters, musical talent developed by Olga Tereshchenko and her colleagues at the Academy of Music and so much more. Powell River is an energetic place to be!

AUDIO WALK PROJECT What: Recording soundscapes that share our region’s history.

When: Contact Megan Dulcie Dill at megandulcie@shaw.ca for more information.

CONFERENCE PLANNING What: Groundswell conference planning When: March 12, 2 pm Where: VIU more economic and social return.

As the mother of a teenager, I see much opportunity to work with youth. As an event manager, I see great potential for more events, engaging youth, for cementing Powell River’s cultural brand, and maybe even for a smaller version of ABM to attract investment and generate business.

What has been your strongest career motivator?

Katrin • The need for personal independence. I need to be self-employed as I’m unemployable. I truly

What is Groundswell?

Groundswell, the January 2014 conference at VIU, brought 160 community members together for a day of inspiration, creativity, ideas, and relationships that focused on a positive future for our region.

Participants expressed a strong interest in creating a better understanding of the dynamic links between economic, social, and environmental wellbeing.

They were also eager for the conversations that started at Groundswell to make their way into the community, and to see these efforts result in concrete actions. This series is part of that effort.

To learn more: read the full Groundswell conference report: wordpress.viu.ca/ddcc/ groundswell-conference/.

Please join the conversation on Facebook: facebook.com/ddccPR

GROUNDSWELL: inspiring creativity, ideas, and relationships that advance the wellbeing of our community

Get involved in the Groundswell community audio walk project, recording soundscapes that share our region’s history. Contact megandulcie@shaw.ca for more information.

Next Groundswell meeting is March 12, 2:00 pm, VIU. Join us!

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

15

What kind of a wedding will you have?

In Powell River, we’re blessed with a trio of helpful archytypes: hippie, traditionalist and hipster. Of course, most folks here are a combination of two or three. Powell River Living has supplied this handy guide to planning the perfect PR wedding.

Hippie

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Traditionalist

Hipster

Age of bride & groom

42, 48

19, 21

33, 29

Engagement

After living together for 14 years, you decide together with your six children one night under the stars.

The bride drops hints. The groom proposes ‘on bended knee’ in a restaurant on Valentine’s Day.

As part of a performance piece, the bride asks the groom at Burning Man.

Invitations

Hand-delivered note on velum; professional calligraphy.

Mailed paper invites with RSVP card (prestamped), image of two shiny, embossed overlapping rings.

Eco-friendly website with stylized Instagram feed and Facebook invites.

Location

Dinner Rock.

Parents’ church, then familystyle restaurant for reception.

Townsite permaculture garden & labyrinth for ceremony.

Dwight Hall for reception.

Bride’s outfit

Grandmother’s wedding dress with sweet pea bouquet and bare feet.

On-trend white gown, satin pumps, gloves, blue satin thigh garland.

Vintage golden Dior gown, crystal and feather hair band, fishnets.

Groom’s outfit

Linen pants, bare chest, lots of hair.

Tuxedo. Rented. Matches the Shorts. T-shirt. Beard. Top seven groomsmen. hat.

Ceremony

Deeply spiritual-but-notreligious. Guests hold hands in a circle.

“Do you take this man / woman to be your lawfullywedded husband / wife?”

Photographer

Fine art photographer Photographer and videogracaptures event in grainy B&W pher. Formal shoot staged at film. relative’s barn.

Journalistic photographer – plus 100 cell phones.

Rings

Leather.

Gold.

Recycled bicycle tires.

Food

Local shellfish buffet.

Farmer’s market bread and salad greens.

Five-course meal including steak or chicken (choice), and pasta.

Seaweed kimchi. Sesame panko-crusted invasive bullfrog legs.

Feature drink

Homemade blackberry wine.

Cosmos served in Mason jars.

Seasonal Townsite brew.

Cake

Gluten-free, dairy-free, quinoa-based cake topped with child-made clay bride & groom figurines.

Three-tier vanilla cake with gelatinous vanilla puddinglike filling. Fondant exterior. Plastic bride & groom figurines.

Fair-trade chocolate cake with wild cranberry-infused butter-cream frosting. No figurines.

Flowers

Seaweed and sunflowers.

Red roses and baby’s breath. Mini succulent gardens in glass.

Music

Accordion and banjo jam.

DJ and light show.

Friend’s hot indie band.

Guest Accommodation

Tents in a field.

Hotel.

B&B.

Gift Registry

Ecossentials.

Sears.

Sunshine Coast Outfitters.

Honeymoon

Magical Dome in Lund.

Disneyland.

Powell River Canoe Route.

Bride and groom cry as they say their self-written vows.

Acrobats perform.

Locavore? Stress no more!

Ten ways to Powell Riverize your party Summer 2015. Are you planning a wedding? Eek! So exciting. Or, are you planning a family reunion, group ‘glamping’ trip, anniversary party, conference, meeting, or other brouhaha? Make it memorable by considering quality first, and enlisting local expertise and ingredients. You’ll be glad you did.

1. Host it here

Beautiful, affordable and diverse, Powell River offers a unique range of venues and accommodations. Dwight Hall, the Patricia Theatre, Treefrog Bistro, the Rodmay Hotel, the Boardwalk Restaurant, Herondell Bed and Breakfast, local churches – whether you need something for a handful of your closest crew or a hall-full of hundreds, there’s something here to fit your vision.

2. Cater it here

Mitchell Brothers, the Chopping Block, Safeway, Rene’s Pasta and many other local businesses can cater to your whims.

Planning a Summer Wedding?

Craft your own favorite wine and customize it for your event

Squatter’s Creek Wines On Premises Wine Crafting Bridal hair and make-up Hair extensions Gel nails Lashes Manicures Pedicures Brow Threading Waxing

604.485.7775

squatterscreekwines.com

Get your bridal glow on at Afterglow!

On-location services available.

#105-7075 Alberni St (604) 485-2075 www.afterglowhairlounge.com

Share the Love with Personalized water bottles

Weddings • Wedding Anniversaries • Business Anniversaries • Family Reunions • Etcetera Bottles and water from Aaron Service & Supply Customize your own label with a logo, photos or your love story

AARON SERVICE & SUPPLY since 1978

•

604 485-5611

•

trevor@aaronservice.com

•

aaronservice.com

•

4703 Marine Avenue

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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3. Hire a photographer here

Browse through their amazing Web sites. Kennedy Photografik; Exposure Studio; Tara Glen Photography and others can capture your big day in a way that a crew of cell-phone toting buddies simply can not. Professional photography honours your guests at family reunions, weddings and other sentimental events.

4. Rent your stuff from here

Need a giant tent, a tuxedo, 500 dinner plates, water stations or taxis? You can find it right here in Powell River. Ask at Aaron Service & Supply; Armitage Men’s Wear; Relay Rental; Powell River Taxi and other businesses.

5. Plan your menu from here

The Winter Farmer’s Market, The Open Air Farmer’s Market, the Kelly Creek Market and other locavore encounters are a great place to start.

But so are the local fishermen on the wharf, the Chopping Block, and Ecossentials, a purveyor of many locally-made products, including favourworthy chocolates and teas.

to Desolation Sound Resort, the Magical Dome in Lund, the Old Courthouse Inn, the Rodmay Hotel, Beyond Bliss, or another swish choice.

9. Make yourself pretty here

Just about anything aestheticians can do in Vancouver or New York, you can have done in Powell River.

Think hair and make-up at Afterglow or Scizzors salon, or matching tattoos or piercings at the Powell River Tattoo Company. The Wedding party can find fab local wear at Sublime, Armitage, The Knack, and elsewhere.

10. Say “thank you” with gifts & cards from here

Send your guests home with a piece of Powell River to remember your amazing event. Find unique artist-made cards at Artique Gallery or Creative Rift on Marine, preserves from Wild Westcoast Rainforest Products, something unusual from Paperworks, or a treat from Velma’s Candy. tara glenn photography

6. Drink here

Powell River’s most talked-about export, Townsite Brewing beers, instantly hips-up your event.

Make sure you score points for sophistication too, with Squatter’s Creek Wines or Westview U-Vin U-Brew.

7. Register here

Keep your dollars local as you set up your home with dishes, linens, furniture, camping equipment (like matching kayaks, naturally) and more by registering at your Hometown Sears Store, Canadian Tire, and others. Don’t forget to register at Valley Building Supplies to get the tool shed stocked up, too.

8. Plan to escape from here

Honeymoon? Mental health-break after your family reunion? Call your local travel agents to set up something grand. Or keep it local with a visit

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604 483-9345 thepatricia@shaw.ca www.patriciatheatre.com

Seniors conquer film tech

BY ILONA BEIKS

A

s long as there have been campfires, humans have gathered around them and shared their experiences. Walk, canoe, traverse along the shoreline and mountain trails and you will hear stories.

The power of a story lies in the impact it can have on our minds, opening us to a perspective that we may not have gained through our own lives.

That’s the power that gave rise to a new local project, which is about to wrap up.

Since the spring of 2014, Digital Storytelling for Seniors has mentored 24 Powell Riverites.

The goal of the program is to help seniors share their stories with the community while learning new computer skills from volunteers of all ages.

For the participants, it wasn’t always easy, but it was very worthwhile.

Storyteller Cynthia Barnes, for example, tangled with the foe of technology in making her film. She acknowledges that she was definitely out of her comfort zone, daunted by integrating story, images, and sound with a new technology.

“But then,” she said, “organization came out of the chaos.”

Cynthia’s vision for her story was originally about her daughter. During

SENIOR’S FILMS What: A group of Powell River dwellers will screen their stories at the Digital Storytelling Program’s gala premiere.

When: 1:30 pm on March 28th Where: Carlson Club production, however, she discovered an audiotape made by her father with a song that he wrote and sang: “May the Best to you come true.”

And she instantly knew that this was the jumping point.

Amy Heather, PREP Coordinator, also known as “the heart and soul and glue of the program” has been deeply moved by this project which began in 2014.

“The power of a story seems to lie in the impact it can have on our minds.”

Claudia Medina, internationally acclaimed filmmaker, is one of the instructors in the program.

“I was in awe of the courage in the groups, since taking on new technology and a new landscape of tools and skills can be overwhelming for anyone, but people dove right in, and even when it got super frustrating and hard, they all kept going and produced really great work.”

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POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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HELLO, POWELL RIVER

Beyond books Explore with the Library Zenaida (Zeny) MacDonald Passion: Education and health Position: Float nurse (RN) at Powell River Hospital Other interests: Advocacy for domestic workers

Mango Language Learning Dust off your Dutch skills, or pick up some Portuguese phrases, with our new online language resource.

Taking Professional Photos Learn the secrets of photography from local expert Jen Kennedy.

Thursday, March 26, 7 – 8 pm at the Library.

Registration required.

“Whatever I do, I do my best: bed-making, toilet cleaning, or accounting.”

“When I see kids here complaining that they don’t have the right Reebok shoes, that just shows me they don’t know what real poverty is.”

“My hope for Misty [Zeny’s 12-year-old daughter] is that she’ll continue my dream to be a doctor.

If she wants to, of course. All I want for her is to do what she wants. I just hope she wants what I want! ”

Dream big, study hard

Oil lamps light the way to RN success

BY PIETA WOOLLEY | pieta@prliving.ca

A Road Oft Travelled Listen to Celtic storyteller Mary Gavan spin tales of travel in Scotland and back in time.

Friday, April 10, 7 pm at Evergreen Theatre.

connect imagine inspire visit us at powellriverlibrary.ca 4411 Michigan Avenue 604-485-4796

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A

s a young girl growing up on a farm in the Philippines, Zeny MacDonald considered herself middle class by local standards. At that time, in that place, she explains, that meant she and her older brother and sisters had enough rice, fish and vegetables to eat every day – though they still slept on bamboo mats on a dirt floor, four children to a bedroom. Her mom, she says, used to complain that Zeny burnt too much lamp fuel, as she stayed awake studying in to the evenings.

“I can still see the black smoke on the wall,” she says.

Zeny wipes away tears as she fondly remembers her childhood. She walked to and from school in both rainy season and the blistering equatorial heat, cooked for her family starting at age seven, and tended the crops – always with an eye to advanced education.

The contrast to today is overwhelming; as we speak, she’s seated on a plush couch in her enormous Westview home, with an expansive view of Texada and Harwood islands. I’d asked her how she became a Registered Nurse at Powell River General Hospital, and her story took us across the Pacific Ocean, back to the 1970s.

The answer is, she has worked incredibly hard, consistently, for decades.

“I’ve always been very academic. I loved school,” she says. “I knew if I became valedictorian of my elementary school, I could get a scholarship to study in high school.

So I was always top of the class academically, though not

athletically!”

Thus, the oil lamp and smoky black walls. She became valedictorian of both her elementary and high schools, and won a scholarship to the University of Baguio at 16.

Her goal, way back in 1984: become a doctor.

The scholarship paid for her tuition, but she worked in the school’s library to pay for boarding. And, she collected frogs on her trips home, to sell to other biology students, for spending money. She bought treats with it: cassava, corn and boiled banana.

“Junk foods were too expensive.”

Zeny graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree, cum laude. She couldn’t pursue her doctor dream due to lack of funds, so she became a high school teacher – at 20.

“The school kids in the Philippines are different,” she notes, saying that she had to learn how to be authoritative with the big boys in the class, some of whom were older than she was. “There’s a sense of respect for teachers. They say ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am.’ So there’s that tradition.”

Part of that Philippine tradition of respect includes sending your own parents a chunk of each paycheque, which she did. But her pay was just $150 a month. $50 went to her parents, and the rest, to living expenses. It was then that she decided to come to Canada, to get ahead.

“I’d read a lot about Canada, and I thought it was a friendly, multicultural land of opportunity.”

The next part of her story illustrates just how strong-

headed she is.

Even with her education, she wasn’t welcome here under most immigration programs. So, determined as ever, she decided to become a nanny in Singapore, as a route into Canada’s live-in caregiver program.

For two years, she nannied two girls. At the end of her contract, she had planned to apply to come to Canada. But her employers blackmailed her, she recalls, and she was stuck nannying for them for another two years.

“Almost every day I was crying,” she says. “’Why am I doing this,’ I thought. ‘I could just go home.’ But then there would be no chance of getting to Canada.”

She finished her contract, and made it to Surrey BC, under the live-in caregiver program. – where she spent another two years as a nanny.

It was 1995. Finally she was in Canada, her revised dream of becoming a nurse stretching out before her.

While nannying, she also volunteered for a domestic worker advocacy group in downtown Vancouver, and

contact: julie@catfishcreative.ca 604-578-8523

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Catholic School

Celebrating over 50 years of knowledge, faith and love.

Assumption Catholic School

The students in the photo are in Grade 1: Lok Hang Wong, Eliana Thoma and Eric Ruegg.

“Preparing you for life, not just the next grade.”

7091 Glacier St. Powell River, B.C. 604-485-9894

www.assumpschool.com

Making a difference, one child at a time All students – Catholic and non-Catholic – are welcome Kindergarten to Grade 9

Meeting students’ needs:

Assumption School has affordable tuition that is fully tax-deductible.

Please call the office, email or visit our Web site for more information.

Pier 17, Davis Bay 604 •741• 0792 4675 Marine Ave., Powell River 604 • 485 •1249 nicholas.simons.mla@leg.bc.ca www.nicholassimons.com follow Nicholas on twitter @NicholasSimons

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tudents learn selfdiscipline participating in the bowl of rice lunch (see photo, right) held once a year on Ash Wednesday.

We welcome drop-in visits:

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Serving Powell River — Sunshine Coast

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Encouraging and promoting good habits of compassion, leadership, respect, modesty, empathy, obedience and self-control are all part of being a student at Assumption School.

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“Almost every day I was crying. ‘Why am I doing this [working as a nanny in Singapore]? I could just go home.’ But then, there would be no chance of getting to Canada.

– Zeny MacDonald

started taking preparatory classes for nursing – while sending $400 each month back to her parents.

Over the next few years, Zeny earned her permanent resident status, met and married Ian MacDonald (now her husband), had a baby, and at 29, started nursing school at Douglas College when that baby (Misty) was just a few weeks old.

Her struggles were not over. She lived in New Westminster during the week for school, while Ian lived in Squamish, with their baby and Zeny’s mother. All day on Saturdays she would cook meals appropriate for her mother, baby and husband, and freeze them. Sundays, she would bus back to school.

“It was very hard at first not to see my family daily, but it needed to be done for our future.”

She graduated, earning her RN diploma at Douglas College. She started working fulltime plus overtime as an RN while continuing to work towards her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at BCIT. Eventually, the chaos lifted. Zeny, Ian and Misty moved to Powell River. Ian built her a swish, airy home.

Zeny started working at Powell River General, and she eventually earned specialties in perinatal health, critical care, emergency and trauma. Misty, now 12, attends Assumption Catholic School. A few years ago, Zeny and Ian built her parents a house, as well.

“Nursing is the easiest job I’ve ever done, and it pays well.”

Zeny has given up her dream of becoming a doctor, but she says she is very happy as a nurse. Instead, she dreams of unlimited opportunity for her daughter.

“I hope she’ll continue my dream to be a doctor,” Zeny says, tearing up again. “If she wants to, of course.

No pressure, Misty! All I want for her is to do what she wants. I hope she wants what I want.”

Meeting parents’ needs:

✧ Uniforms & small classes

✧ Earthquake early-warning system

✧ Trip opportunities: Camp Homewood (Quadra Island); We Day; Strathcona; Victoria

✧ Free bussing schedules custom-made to meet families’ needs

✧ New “mile-long” playground slide for 2015! ✧ Zero tolerance for bullying – strong emphasis on creating a safe, inspired space for learning ✧ Student-led mass, relevant theology

✧ Regular communication between parents, teachers and administration; our doors (and email!) are always open ✧ Specialty electives for Grades 7 to 9 include: Hockey, Hip Hop, Curling, Gymnastics, Drama, Band, Info Tech, Pleasure Craft Operator's Certification, Digital Media, and Social Justice

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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International Women’s Day 2015:

Make it Happen What a year for Powell River.

Half of the city councillors we elected in 2014 are women. On school board, 60 percent of trustees are women. A woman leads our province, and a woman is president of the Texada Chamber of Commerce.

Women helm Powell River’s two largest nonprofits, and lead the executive and board of our health authority. In business, women won about half the accolades at February’s Horizon Business Awards.

Small in numbers (but big in moxie), women also sit on the regional district, Tla’Amin First Nation Council and Naut-sa Mawt Tribal Council.

Away from those official recognitions, Powell River women constantly bring their skills, time and energy to their day-to-day work as mothers, grandmothers, volunteers, wives, artists, activists, educators, health workers, labourers, entrepreneurs and professionals. Equal respect for these very diverse roles is at the heart of what

International Women’s Day has been about since 1911.

We celebrate women on Sunday, March 8. This year’s United Nations theme for IWD is Make it Happen – for more women in senior leadership roles; for equal recognition of women’s in the arts; for growth of women’s owned businesses; for increased financial independance of women; for more women in science, engineering and technology; for fairer recognition of women in sport; and for greater awareness of women’s equality.

Give us bread, the old poem goes, and give us roses.

Here in Powell River, we make it happen, because we are always making it happen.

Congratulations, women of Powell River!

Katryna Lawry

Julie Groshak

Linda Mayenburg

First Credit Union/ QTrade Asset Management What motivates / inspires you? The passion of the people I work with. Their knowledge, drive and abilities to work with our members/clients gives me motivation to deliver exceptional service for each member/client I meet with.

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

I am fortunate to be surrounded by many inspirational women both personally and professionally. My mom has been a major inspiration for my career; she is the hardest working woman I know.

How do you do it all? I love what I do - the people I work with and the relationships I have built with my clients.

Barb Cooper

Westview Agencies/ QTrade Asset Management

What motivates / inspires you? It could be a smile from a long time client now able to retire, from a new client that has seen how much they can save in a year, or from my grandchildren when we make cookies. My family is very important so naturally I’m inspired to pass along what I’ve learned from my grandmother and mother to my daughter and granddaughters.

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

I am lucky to have many of them. From my mid-teens to now I have always been drawn to strong women who can be a consummate professional in their chosen field and still maintain balance in their home and family.

How do you do it all? Quite frankly, I don’t really know. I just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.

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Westview Agencies

Westview Agencies

What motivates / inspires you? I enjoy working in a team environment that fosters optimism and positivity in achieving our purpose

What motivates / inspires you? Being able to help my clients. It is exciting to help old and new clients with whatever insurance needs they have. I want to be able to help my clients understand their insurance policy, what it covers or doesn’t cover.

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

My previous Leaders where I used to work (Robert & Shirley Burns and Mike Russell) – they positively impacted my life when I was developing my career. But most of all my mom.

How do you do it all? I am blessed with an awesome husband, he is my partner and best friend. I believe we are all here to fulfill a purpose in this life and I consistently work on being mindful to that fact – I strive to be the best person that I can be.

Kim Rowbotham

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

Don Jones, previous owner of Westview Agencies. He was a true leader and was highly regarded by both his employees and the entire insurance industry, including his competitors. He was always looking for ways to be involved in our community and to make Powell River a good place to live.

How do you do it all? With support from my wonderful husband.

Michelle Challe

First Insurance

First Credit Union

What motivates / inspires you? People motivate me – I love helping and making people happy. It brings such satisfaction to see a smile on someone’s face after I have just helped them.

What motivates / inspires you? The place I work, live and the people I get to help in business motivate and inspire me. It’s easy to be inspired with a great environment.

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

My mom – she is an incredible woman that has accomplished so much. She has allowed me to develop my own career and supported me along the way. She has taught me integrity, work ethics, respect and perseverance.

Dianne Tuck, a wonderful woman from Bella Coola, influenced my career in lending. From there I have had many mentors along the way, including my current manager.

How do you do it all?

Besides multi-tasking and prioritizing, I have learned to set aside certain times of my day for certain activities.

Most importantly I have a great support team – my husband, three kids, mom and co-workers.

How do you do it all?

It seems that a lot of woman today are balancing home, children and a career. It can be busy. Having an employer that supports you and a passion and love for your work makes it easier. I also am lucky to have supportive family and friends.

Kelly Edwards

Nicki Lister

Isabelle Southcott

Phat Ideas

A&W

Powell River Living

What motivates / inspires you? In business, I am motivated to do the best I can for each customer in order to have a happy customer. And in life outside of business it would be the same, seeing people smile and happy is inspirational to me.

What motivates / inspires you? My staff and team members. I love that we employee young people and watch them grow into amazing young adults. I am so proud of our “kids” that we currently employee and have employed in the past that have gone on to University and successful careers.

What motivates / inspires you? Stories, stories and more stories.

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

Tom Peters, an editor at the Chronicle -Herald newspaper, taught me that everyone has a story, all you have to do is ask.

As a mother of two girls life has always been busy. Our oldest daughter Katherine is getting married and our youngest daughter Emily is playing for Junior Roller Derby Team Canada. I stay on track by keeping my nutrition in check and getting my exercise in as well. My husband Matt and I have always been a strong team and we are relying on each other this year.

How do you do it all?

With help from my great staff, of course! I find going for a good run helps me plan and organize my day and it gives me the energy boost I need to accomplish what needs to be done. I’m a story magnet who loves getting to know the people behind the stories. I’m lucky that my job at Powell River Living and teaching public speaking at Sunshine Coast Health Centre gives me the opportunity to meet great people and do what I’m passionate about.

Rachelle Ford

Kim Miller

How do you do it all?

My father, who owned and operated retail businesses for 35 years, as I observed his success and how he delivered top customer service!

How do you do it all? By keeping it simple and managing my own time wisely.

Jacquie Dawson

Max Cameron Theatre

RBC Mortgage Specialist

What motivates / inspires you? I get an unbelievable sense of satisfaction from witnessing a delighted audience and I knowing I’ve played a small role in making something special happen.

What motivates / inspires you? My clients – they come first – helping them achieve their financial goals is the motivation you need daily to do the best you can do each and every day.

Powell River Chamber of Commerce Manager What motivates / inspires you? I am inspired by the wonderful business community we have, Young entreprenuers as well as seasoned business people.

I enjoy working for and promoting them in many ways. I love telling investors and visitors why they should live, work and play here.

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

Who is a mentor who influenced your career?

My dad. Working for RBC is the most exciting career I have ever had – being able to provide financing and advice to clients to purchase their largest asset has been very rewarding.

My Grade 8 music theory teacher. His seemingly effortless sharing of his love of taking music from the page to the stage led me to life-long and international adventures in the arts.

How do you do it all? Firstly I am a wife and a mother of 3 and then a mortgage specialist. Doing both doesn’t always come easily – but the rewards have outweighed it all. You just find the time to serve your clients – and then do all the other duties as well. I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love doing what I do!

How do you do it all? Balancing home and work is a challenge that we all face in life, but living loving and breathing what you do makes both home and work extremely gratifying. I wish there was more time in everyday to do more of everything.

Who is a mentor who influenced your career? I am blessed to have brilliant mentors and important people in my life, to many to mention. We all have someone to THANK. How do you do it all? I have always been a busy person but now at 50 I have also found contentment. I find time for family and friends as well as community events. My grandkids keep me grounded.

Flying Yellow Hous e ur ing yo cover ulch, f o d ho m g met s and scapin rubs, path eeds and d n a l n h A with s t. tering grass lowers wa grass to cu h e r o m whic no there’s

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Annual spring clean? Moving? Call Carol.

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Corporate Law Family Law ICBC & Personal Injury claims Wills & Estate Planning 604 485-2771 • 4571 Marine Avenue

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

23

WHAT’S UP

Gold for Special O!

Powell River Special Olympics Curling team won gold at the 2011 BC Special Olympics Winter Games in Kamloops last month (see photo, below), advancing to nationals in Cornerbrook, Nfld. in 2016.

The team is composed of Lance Barker, lead; Dale Eckert, second; Michele LaCroix, third; Richard Lang, skip; Thomas White, alternate together with Cameron Reid, head coach and Susan Storry, assistant coach.

In other news, Special O curling coach Cameron Reid is going to the Canadian Clergy Championships (Friar’s Briar) in Okotoks March 2 to 6, along with locals Jim Sawka, Bob Simonar and Brian Stanton. Cameron has gone before, winning in 1984 and runner-up in 1993.

Festival of Performing Arts

The 71st Festival of the Performing Arts holds its Grand Concert at 7 pm March 7 at the Evergreen Theatre. Selected performers from festival competitions will showcase their talents and perform in this extravaganza. Tickets at the Powell River Academy of Music, Breakwater Books and the door.

Powell River will also host the provincial Performing Arts Festival from May 26 to 30 this year.

Call for wearable art fashions

eCouture Wearable Art Fashion Show is looking for submissions from artists on the Sunshine Coast by March 14. The show will be held April 24 at the Rodmay Hotel. The focus is wearable fashions that incorporate natural materials, naturally dyed or printed fabrics, local fibres, artrageuos wearable’s or altered couture. Visit www.artpowellriver.ca and click call for artists at the top of the page.

Rod Innes Art Show at Magpie’s

Local photographer Rod Innes has a three-month show underway at Magpie’s Diner in Cranberry.

Rod’s photos of wild native plants, scenery, wildlife, sky scenes, and insects have been published in international magazines. Over 600 of his flora photos and 160 of his fauna photos are on UBC’s Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia website. Rod also paints and some of his artwork will be on display. A photo of a young woman he shot a long time ago will be included.

“I love her eyes, and just the way she is looking.”

Rod says he loves taking photos of people. “I see women and men who are 60 and 70 years old and I love to photograph them. They are just gorgeous. It doesn’t matter about your wrinkles.”

Simons on agriculture committee

Powell River-Sunshine Coast NDP MLA Nicholas Simons will lend his voice to a newly formed opposition standing committee on agriculture and food.

According to NDP party leader John Horgan, “New Democrats believe that agriculture deserves a place in the legislature and we fully intend to give it the attention it deserves.”

New Democrat agriculture spokesperson Lana Popham noted that a standing committee could help reverse the age gap in B.C.’s agriculture industry by developing strong agricultural policies that get young people into agriculture, and allow them to make a good living.

Award-winning publisher reads

That was funny!

Here’s to the Ladies Who Laugh will be at Max Cameron Theatre at 7:30 pm on March 10 and 11. Bridget Ryan’s musical theatre comedy cabaret with Jen McMillan on keyboard, has rave reviews. Vocalist and comedic performer Bridget Ryan’s outrageous cabaret is one part musical theatre, one part stand-up and hilariously unforgettable.

throughout 2015. Featured acts of kindness will be posted each week at millionacts.ca. Powell River Shelter Manager Brandy Craig poses with a lucky dog who has just been adopted!

SPCA: Million acts of kindness

The BC SPCA is marking their 120th anniversary with a Million Acts of Kindness campaign for animals

BC book publisher Howard White will talk about and read from his father’s two memoirs at an event hosted by the Powell River Public Library on Monday, March 16 from 2-3:30 pm at Cranberry Hall.

White will read from his father’s two memoirs, That Went by Fast: My First Hundred Years and Milk Spills and One-Log Loads: Memories of a Pioneer Truck Driver. White’s father, centenarian Frank White, sifts through White’s many adventures as a pioneer truck driver, camp owner, boat builder, garage mechanic, waterworks operator and husband to New Yorker writer Edith Iglauer.

Get your fertilizer together!

Spring is here!

We have bulk fertilizer of all kinds, plus other stuff you need for spring, like grass seed and deer fencing. ge

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We allow pets to bring their people into the store.

Everything for your pet, livestock, farm and garden needs.

Cut out this coupon & submit it at the event for a prize!

Cake of the Month Raspberry Chocolate Mousse with Hazelnut Meringue (Dacquoise) Gluten-free cake for 2 to 10 people

THIS IS A FREE EVENT! Employers register at rob@careerlinkbc.com More info: 604.485.7958 www.careerlinkbc.com

4701 Marine Ave 604 485-4555

Better control over your estate

BY GILLES PATENAUDE Do you have concerns about passing on your estate to your children or others? Perhaps your beneficiaries don’t manage money well and you are worried that they will waste what you have worked so hard to save.

If they have marital problems you might worry that the money meant for them may go elsewhere. Maybe you would like to give more money to one beneficiary without the others knowing.

Are you afraid that your will may be contested and your last wishes challenged? Or would you like to be able to leave more to your beneficiaries, but are afraid to invest and lose money?

What if your will gets tied up in probate and you would like to leave your executor funds to take care of the estate until things are settled? Are you concerned that joint ownership with your children may not be the best course for you? Segregated funds may be the answer.

A segregated fund is an investment

Reserve for buffet nights

that comes with some very useful features: Named beneficiaries; by-passes the will, so no probate fees, quick payouts, and private; you can choose how the funds are paid out – lump sum, annuity, or deferred payment; not contestable in most cases; 100% Death Benefit Guarantee, so you can invest and not worry about your estate receiving any less than what you put in, and possibly much more; Creditor protection for most.

In the meantime, you still have access to your money, and you haven’t locked yourself into any permanent course of action.

All of these benefits are available for less than one per cent per year.

Find out what segregated funds can do for you!

Gilles Patenaude, CHS, is a Certified Financial Planner with Qtrade Asset Management Inc. and holds a life insurance license as well as a certified health insurance specialist designation.

Tastes from Around the World & get $4 off Buffets every Tuesday

Date Night every Saturday night

3-course meal $45 per couple. includes appy to share, an entree each, dessert to share

Mar 3rd Mexican • Mar 10th Italian Mar 17th Irish • Mar 24th Moroccan • Mar 31st Thai

Patio is open, come enjoy the gorgeous sunsets!

4603 Marine Avenue

Reservations recommended

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Refreshingly Different

604-485-0010

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In May, Powell River Living will publish the sixth annual edition of

homen grow

This publication focuses on local food & agriculture.

More than a grower’s or diner’s guide, Home Grown also takes you behind the scenes to see who’s creating food, where and why.

Powell River agriculture in Local food and

FREE Summer 2014

We’ll look at how you can grow your own, who is growing food, and share maps and instructions to help you find where to get locally-produced food.

Full-service banquet room up to 80 guests; call Amanda

www.treefrogbistro.com

• Want to get on Powell River’s food map?

• Want to get the word out about your products or services?

Contact Sean at 604 485 0003 sean@prliving.ca or Suzi at 604 344 0208 suzi@prliving.ca DEADLINE IS APRIL 8

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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TAKE A BREAK

Your local horoscope

Boat not ready for the season?

We can help.

With Texada Island astrologist, Michael Moonbeam (astrologywithmichael@live.ca)

Bow To Stern

Enthusiastic Mars joins hands with value-conscious Venus, and together they leap forward into the path to thinking for yourself.

Fiberglass Repair Martin Brager

mckjb@telus.net 604.223.4440 • 604.485.4984

101’.

Scorpio

Cancer (June 21/22-July 22/23)

The world is drawing you in so many directions but your emotional compass points to the shared vision of your home and its future. ‘Research your Roots’ at the Library March 25th.

(Oct 23/24-Nov 21/22) Inspiration runs high, but so can tempers. Make time to play. Your instinct and intellect blend seamlessly. How about learning some ‘secrets’…of taking pro photos at the Library March 26.

The healing Sun restores our sense of self-trust and Sagittarius encourages us to value (Nov 22/23-Dec 21/22) Leo our authentic needs as the Collect that fire in your belly and (July 23/24-Aug 22/23) innocent beauty of our Movement. Passion. Desire. catapult it towards the future you soul’s future.

Travel. But where is the reflec- know you deserve, the gods are

5814 Ash Avenue

Aries

604-483-4130

(Mar 21/22-Apr19/20)

local76@unifor76.ca

Drop-in welcome Ages 3-10

9 am-5:30 pm

4Pillar

Early Learning Centre Education • Referrals Resources • Support

Roxanne Penner

Executive Director

604-414-5757

roxannepenner@shaw.ca 5110 Manson Ave V8A 3P1

Bill Bailey

Fireworks abound! But with all the skeletons out in the open be careful what you swing at! Experience ‘For the Love of Nature’ March 14th, Cranberry Community Hall.

Taurus (Apr 20/21-May 20/21)

An unconscious urgency ripples your deep waters. Expound the vision of your dreams. Light the candle, draw the bath and remember. (Don’t forget ‘Seedy Saturday’ March 14th @ Complex.

Gemini (May 21/22-June 20/22)

Trying to please everyone is exhausting! You know in your bones what to do. Ever consider writing your story? March 25th at the Complex ‘Memoir Writing

604 223-0811 billbailey@coastrealty.com blog: privbillbailey.wordpress.com/

tion? The deeper side of your nature looks back at you from across the room. Hear Howard White at Cranberry Community Hall, March 16th.

Virgo (Aug 23/24-Sept 22/23)

Avoid power struggles. Perhaps magnetic tensions require a more subtle approach. Smart Phone Tech Savvy night at the Library March 19th …maybe there is an app for that.

Libra (Sept 23/24-Oct 22/24)

Take opposition as an up draft of hot air; open those fresh dried wings and soar. Looking to express some creativity? There is a fibre event at the Beach Gardens March 27, 28, 29.

watching with catcher’s mitts!

Career Link Job Fair March 19th.

Capricorn (Dec 22/23-Jan 19/20)

What ‘feels’ like vulnerability is an inspired doorway to your ‘unconscious’ needs, a meditation group might be just the thing to bring perspective and insight.

Aquarius (Jan 20/21-Feb 18/19)

Plunge your hands in the earth, star person…Feel the depth and strength of your contribution to us all. Invite Taurus to Seedy Saturday March 14th.

Pisces (Feb 19/20-Mar 20/21)

Your strength, resilience, and perception are all magnified this month but it may take the presence of another person to bring your powers to the surface.

Celebrate our two year anniversary with aSpring rejuvenation 60 min for $50 Travelling for Spring Break?

Spray Tans

Tanning packages New swim & resort wear Hats & flip flops

604 485-4225 216 – 4801 Joyce Ave

Instant Cash Refunds Basic Senior/Student Returns $35 Basic Returns $45

Byte-Size Tax Shop Over 25 years of experience

Open Year Round

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Reiki Zen shiatsu Reflexology Aromatherapy Couples massage Four hands massage Pre and post natal massage Swedish & deep tissue massage

• prliving.ca

604-485-7009

in the Town Centre Mall

Marie Eve Barnes 604 414-9772

Eve Stegenga

604 414-5991

Gift Certificates & Mobile Service Available

4680 Willingdon Avenue

DIGITAL STORYTELLING

Premiere March 28th Carlson Club 1:30 pm Tickets $5 Call Jenny Taves at PREP at 604 485-2004 Since last spring, Digital Storytelling for Seniors, has mentored 24 Powell River Seniors in storytelling – digitally.

Come hear stories! Only 5 minutes long.

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Complete Auto Repair Any Make & Model

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Powell River’s only locally-owned, full-service grocery store

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5687 Manson ave • 604.483.4011 open Daily 9 aM – 6 pM, Fri until 9 pM

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locally owned since 1946

Lund Water Taxi

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Mitchell Brothers’ Good Neighbour Loyalty programs helps support the community that has supported us throught years.

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local produce in season

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We know people love local products... so do we. We offer local produce and 604-483-9749 products when in season and available to us.

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Daily runs to Savary Island • shop Charters serving Savary Butcher Island & surrounding areas, including Sunshine Coast We are proud to offer a full-service Butcher Trail • Phone for reservations • Phone hours 8 am – 6 pm

How well do you know Powell River Schools?

Across 1) Teacher’s group 3) Tress trimming 6) Old Westview school 8) Kitchen arts 11) SD47 money monitor 12) See the sea 14) French school 15) Abbottsford school 17) School’s top doc, or Christmas 18) Grief Point’s new tenants 20) High school principal 23) Log dump, and former school 26) College for ESL 28) Papa’s program 29) Church school 30) Outdoor centre 32) and Scanlon 33) Southern school 34) Smallest elementary 35) Grad diploma or tree

Down 1) Day off for kids, not teachers 2) Sliammon school 4) University acronym 5) Brooks Theatre 7) International partner 9) Board chair 10) High schoolers at VIU (2 words) 11) Townsite elementary 13) Metal melting 16) No more point 18) Old school on Manson 19) Academy location 21) Student transporters 22) Outdoor adventure tourism acronym 24) Elected reps 25) Homeschoolers acronym 27) Where the uniforms go 28) Immersion language 30) Board rookie 31) Newest (photo) D

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Bison Ground • Steak • Stew in-store Bakery & Deli Roast • Patties Party Platters, salads made fresh in store n ze Kangaroo Ground plus much, much more.

Fro Wild Boar Ground Local beef All cuts 4741 Marine Ave 604 485-4838 Local pork All cuts sh Fre Come try our smoked products!

Local eggs

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Shop, all cutting is done right in the store.

Chose from a great selection of Dressed to Ostrich Ground Grill items, marinated steaks and kabobs, Elk Ground • Steak • Stew sausages made in store.

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Industrial & Residential Falling Danger Tree Removal Topping, Limbing, Pruning Clean-up/Chipper available On-Site Milling

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Sort seeds & sketch

Spring is for dreaming and cleaning

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une-up all your tools, and machines. This includes sharpening, cleaning, oiling, and purging of the useless tools. (Remember if you buy quality tools they can last a lifetime.)

If you’re planning to plant bare root plants, now is the opportune time. This

Weed the garden. Get out there before they get away on you. Even if you can give it only a quick hoe it will be better than nothing.

Cut down ornamental grasses, ferns, and other perennials still up for winter interest. While you’re out there, have

A growing concern

BY JONATHAN VAN WILTENBURG | edenhort@gmail.com includes fruit trees, roses and other ornamental specimens Prune your shrub roses. Remember they do well with a hard pruning rather than soft. Also try to prune to an outward facing bud to ensure proper growth.

Split up some of your early flowering spring bulbs and plants to spread them around the garden. Things like primulas, snowdrops, and crocuses.

Sow some seed. Indoors, sow your heat lovers, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, and ground cherry, the sooner the better! Outdoors, when the soil is warming, consider sowing some early greens, peas, spinach, summer cabbages, parsnips, carrots, beets, potatoes and chard.

Secure and apply compost, well-rotted manure, or seaweed to enhance the nutrient and organic matter content of your soil. Five to 10 cm topdressing should be adequate to smother the weeds from taking over and provide cover to hold moisture.

a look at the perennials and decide what needs to be split, moved or yanked out in the near future.

Jot down some larger garden projects that you would like to see done this year. Commit to tackling as least one of them.

“Weed the garden.

Even if you can give it only a quick hoe it will be better than nothing.”

Construct a seed-sowing schedule, or find one online. Sketch out your garden plot and plan your rotations. Sort through last year’s seed and purge the ones that have expired.

Woodland Strawberry If you are interested in expanding your edible plant collection, think about planting the woodland or wild strawberry (fragaria vesca). Hailing from northern Europe these little plants are prolific, delectable and a welcome addition for both a seasoned or beginner gardener.

Typically grown as a more formal border plant, the woodland strawberry provides elegant ongoing conspicuous white flowers that fit well in both flower and vegetable garden settings. The flowers look typical to that of the cultivated strawberry (white with yellow centers), but they sit more upright and deliver smaller dark red fruits. The fruits, although modest in size, are the contrary in yield and flavour. They make a satisfying in-the-garden snack or can be gathered en masse to add another dimension to salads or desserts. Wild strawberry ice cream is certainly one of the best!

Cultivation

Select a cultivar that does not produce runners, as they are much easier to manage.

Plant in a well-drained sunny to light shade location; the soil should be rich and slightly acidic. Plant them 20-30cm apart; taking care not to plant the grown shoots too deep. Adequate water moisture is imperative especially in periods of dry weather or fruit production will dwindle. Feed with a well-rotted topdressing of compost in the fall or early spring.

Harvesting Harvest fruits as they swell, become fragrant, and turn deep red. The fruits should fall easily from the plant. The fruits do not store well so plan to use them as soon as possible.

Propagation Propagation is primarily accomplished by division, however plants can and will propagate from seed. This undoubtedly will leave you with the added bonus of volunteer strawberry plants throughout your garden.

Bulbs, blooms and begonias!

It’s time to plant, and Mother Nature has what you need to get your garden growing!

Who knows better than Mother Nature?

PNW Seeds 28

• prliving.ca

garden & home decor • lawns • pets • plants

We’re on Duncan Street 604.485.9878 facebook.com/MotherNaturePowellRiver www.mother-nature.ca

S I D T R L I C O T O 47 H SC

EDUCATION MONTH 2015

DIVERSITY

OPPORTUNITY

INNOVATION

COMMUNITY

MOMENTUM

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Personalized Learning in Powell River Don Fairbairn, Director of Instruction, SD47

ritish Columbia continues to move forward with a plan that will result in paradigm changes as to how education is delivered in our province. BC is in its fifth year of this plan as the Ministry of Education continues to operationalize this innovative educational system entitled Personalized Learning.

This movement can best be defined as a realignment of the educational processes that is designed to more directly meet the specific needs, interests and abilities of individual students.

Diversity has been the theme in Powell River as the schools in our District move forward, each with their own vision and plan as to how to best meet the needs of their specific clientele in their own unique educational settings.

James Thomson uses the ecological and French Immersion elements of their schools as a launch pad for a number of initiatives. Kelly Creek features an innovative outdoor education program.

Edgehill looks to community and social responsibility to foster growth in all areas. The Partners in Education program offers opportunities to students to learn in a home setting versus a bricks and mortar school. Henderson too values community and is in the midst of developing an exciting after-school pilot program. Westview utilizes a custom designed personalized facility extremely effectively in numerous areas. Texada makes being a small school a strength and asset. Destination Imagination provides an exciting “thinking outside the box” opportunity for elementary students from all schools. Brooks, our lone high school, is rich in opportunities ranging from the arts to academics to sports to career opportunities.

I am sure that as you read the articles in this special section, what you read will make you feel that your children are in very good hands as Powell River continues to gain momentum in personalizing student learning.

School District 47 • 4351 Ontario Ave. Powell River, BC V8A 1V3 • 604-485-6271 • www.sd47.bc.ca POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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TEXADA ELEMENTARY

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Texada: The Little School that Could Rhonda Gordon, Principal

he buzz word for the BC Ed. Plan is “Personalized Learning.” Texada Elementary, the smallest school in the district, currently enrolls 38 students from K to 7. The task of meeting the demands of our multi-grade classrooms has given us a head start on the rest of BC in addressing students’ personal learning needs.

This year our school goal focuses on improving reading scores for all students. A daily whole-school reading program is in place where all students are grouped according to their needs and abilities. We were “Adopted” by Chapters-Indigo this year, and thanks to Cole’s staff, our library has gained $2000 worth of new books. Student selection input has really increased personal ownership of our library. Students have a great deal of choice in what they read and everyone has access to books that interest them.

Students have the same teacher for multiple years and the close, enduring family-like relationships that develop allow us to tailor instruction to individual student interests. We try to provide students with a range of activities and experiences that they might not otherwise have, living on a relatively isolated island. This includes a full music program, complete with Scottish Country dance lessons, school choir and a grade 3-7 band program. Our visual arts program pulls in community members for activities such as pottery, combined with special trips to Skylight Art Studio in Powell River. Students experience sporting events through organized gymnastics and karate lessons, skating trips, and activities such as the weekly RCMP sponsored floor hockey and basketball clinics. Our school gardening project has great potential for students to develop their interests in sustainability, cooking and community. We think of ourselves as the school that not only can but does.

MULTI-GRADE FAMILY FEELING MUSIC AND ARTS

HENDERSON ELEMENTARY Henderson: “Small School – Big Heart” Kristen Brach, Principal

H REMODELLED SMALL CLASSES AFTER SCHOOL PILOT

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enderson Elementary has been completely remodelled this year and looks like a new school! Still to come this year though are school garden, blacktop, landscaping, and gym siding upgrades. The big changes however go well beyond the physical plant to Henderson’s very school culture.

We are a small school with small classes that offer many different programs to meet the individual needs of all our students. Reading and math intervention are built into our day so that children can receive small group instruction to enhance understanding of those important skills. Many of our school events focus on the development of community, as students are involved in the planning, care and harvesting of the garden and also in the preparation of shared meals in the gym, with soup lunches as well as a pancake breakfast.

Destination programs (Conservation and Imagination) involve many of our students in project learning featuring creativity, planning, and problem solving opportunities plus environmental sustainability initiatives. Brooks secondary school students at times assist us with some of our special programs and events and often we have access to the Brooks facility itself.

This spring Henderson will be running an after-school pilot project that will see us provide an expanded offering of both academic and recreational activities on a daily basis at no cost to parents. Stay tuned for more details about this unique exciting opportunity for Henderson students.

At Henderson, we believe it is our job to provide a safe and caring environment for our students that builds strengths and talents while teaching them the skills they need in order to have continued success in school and in life.

EDGEHILL ELEMENTARY

E BELONGING SUCCESS CONSERVATION

Edgehill: Preparing Students for the Future Tawnie Gaudreau, Principal

dgehill’s school motto is “We take care: of ourselves, of others and our place.” We set out each day to operationalize those principles in the way we organize and conduct student interaction and learning. At the heart of our school is our very strong sense of community where staff, students and parents work extraordinarily hard to establish a positive learning environment that meets the diverse needs of our learners. A strong sense of belonging and acceptance of all is at the core of our goals.

With the rapid changes in our world today, students need to be prepared with a different set of skills than schools provided in the past. Our teachers take a holistic approach to learning; teaching the whole child while focusing attention on individual student strengths and interests. Research shows that for children to be successful post-graduation, they must be engaged and invested in their own learning. At Edgehill we work hard to provide opportunities for all to find success, both academically, socially and emotionally.

Educating children to be committed to environmental sustainability and stewardship continues to be an important target for our school. Parents, teachers, and students consistently work to address environmental issues in and around our school. An active Destination Conservation Team has facilitated a number of very worthwhile undertakings. Projects for this year include: a litterless lunch campaign, school wide gardening, composting and recycling programs, many classes making reusable sandwich wrappers and a recent partnership with Mother Nature who supplied the materials to grow microgreens.

Our school is a dynamic and exciting place to learn and to thrive, where the best interest of the children in always at the heart of our thoughts and actions.

JAMES THOMSON ELEMENTARY

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James Thomson: A School En Route to Excellence Jasmin Marshman, Principal

ames Thomson is undergoing a transformation; inside and out. Our French Immersion program continues to grow and flourish. We are looking forward to becoming a K-7 program in two years.

Our English stream is experiencing great success through our Professional Learning Pilot, with smaller reading and math groups running in the morning with no interruptions.

We are proud to be in the top ten schools provincially for the effectiveness of our numeracy instructional program. School wide, we are engaging in best practice to attend to our students’ different learning styles and help them stay engaged positively.

Classrooms are outfitted to provide students with the opportunity to self-regulate and deal with any anxiety or stress. This includes a variety of imaginative play spaces on the school grounds, alongside traditional playground equipment and games.

The garden, wigloo and a daily Lego club provide quiet, free and unstructured play opportunities. Quiet retreats are set up in many classes; including quiet corners, daily yoga, meditation, and engaging in Mind Up. Many classes have exercise balls for seating when chairs are not a match, as well as child exercise bikes that allow for exercise while working.

We are seeing the benefits of these daily practices and are excited to add self-regulation to the list of life skill learning at James Thomson.

LEARNING PILOT ECO-IMMERSION FOOD GARDEN

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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BROOKS SECONDARY Brooks: Into The Future Jamie Burt, Principal

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t is a very exciting time in the world of education for our students, our staff and our wider school community. Our province has been setting up structures and encouraging schools to create a more flexible and dynamic system where students are more engaged in their learning and better prepared for their life’s journey. We feel we have truly embraced this at Brooks over the past few years and are eagerly anticipating finding new and innovative ways for our students to explore their interests and passions.

One exciting change happening this semester is the expansion of our current Brooks Online Program into a separate Math/Science Centre and a Humanities Centre. These two centres will provide a wider variety of options and choice for more of our students. Online courses will continue to be offered as well as supporting students who are taking advantage of other distance learning opportunities. The centres will also serve as a place where students can go for supervised studies and receive direct guidance from a teacher.

Our staff continues to work hard in ensuring our students have a wide variety of choice in the courses that they can take. For a mid-sized high school we are pleased with the course selection available for students. Our standard core academic courses are complimented effectively with a variety of electives including: woodwork, metalwork, culinary arts, textiles, a variety of visual art classes, drama, photography, digital media, video game design, a variety of PE courses, business course options and more. Our Dual Credit programs continue to be a draw for our senior students. Carpentry, automotive, welding, culinary arts, hair dressing, film school, Coast Mountain Academy and the new dual credit academic option are excellent opportunities that our students continue to take advantage of.

The true strength of our school continues to be the people that occupy it. Our students are incredible. Our staff and our wider community continue to work hard and be creative to find ways to help these capable young people thrive in our rapidly changing world.

BROOKS ONLINE DUAL CREDIT CHOICE

KELLY CREEK ELEMENTARY

K OUTDOORS FREEDOM GLOBAL CITIZENS

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Kelly Creek: Where we bring the outdoors into the school and the school into the outdoors.

Andrew Shostak, Acting Principal

elly Creek Community School is an Outdoor Education School fostering rich learning experiences, environmental respect and healthy living through exploring our outdoors and connecting children to nature. The staff and community of the school look to provide multiple opportunities for children to connect with one another and with their surrounding natural environments through lessons in our outdoor classroom and many walking field trips to locations close to the school.

Through the outdoor environment, students grow unique individual interests in the areas of outdoor adventure and outdoor education. Students are given the chance to experience the natural world first hand allowing them to try many different things to see what piques their interest. This process allows educators to begin shifting their own approach from being a deliverer of materials to being the helpers and guides facilitating students to learn about how they themselves learn.

This approach to learning gives the freedom to explore learning opportunities not only within our own school but throughout the entire district. We are able to take advantage of everything that makes Powell River what it is. Obviously, for us, that encompasses the amazing natural environment that surrounds the school and the city. We have a most beautiful facility at the Outdoor Learning Centre at Haywire Bay and our classes take advantage of this by accessing the programming available to provide our students with many rich learning opportunities.

At Kelly Creek Community School, our goal is to provide opportunities for our children to experience nature in its purest forms. We believe that this will result in developing wellinformed global citizens able to apply their knowledge to new situations throughout their lifetime.

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION

I MULTI-GRADE FAMILY-LIKE MUSIC AND ARTS

PIE: The Fastest Growing School in the District Stephanie Hall, PIE Coordinator

n September 2003, twenty-three Grades K to 12 Powell River students registered in the new Distributed Learning School, Partners in Education (PIE). The school was established to meet the needs of a small group of Powell River students whose parent had decided to enrol their children in a home schooling program rather than have them attend classes at a traditional bricks and mortar site. The following year a group of parents from the CourtneyComox area became interested in the program and requested an extension of the PIE program to the Island community as well. Since then PIE has quietly but steadily increased to its current size. Today, the student population has 288 students and is now the third biggest school in the district (Powell River, 97; Comox Valley and Campbell River,168; and various other BC locations with 23 students).

Distributed learning is becoming increasingly popular in all of British Columbia as students (and parents on their behalf) look to find alternative forms to provide flexibility in scheduling and delivery formats to fit their family lifestyle while still meeting the educational goals for their children. The quality of on-line programs continues to improve and the PIE staff spend a great deal of time making sure that we remain current with new materials. A problem unique to DL schools is the need to provide social activities for students who are working in a home setting. A year end whole-school camping trip, numerous mini-courses, science fairs and pure social celebrations such as the Winter Wonderland skate serve to fulfill this role for now.

We are well aware that “bigger does not necessarily mean better” and that we have the ongoing responsibility of ensuring quality programs for our students. That is a challenge that PIE fully recognizes and will continue to take very seriously.

WESTVIEW ELEMENTARY Westview: Designed for Personalized Learning Scott Fisher, Principal

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estview is one of the first elementary schools built in the province that was designed with personalized learning in mind. The building features a multitude of learning spaces that provide multiple instructional opportunities designed to go hand in hand with the new curriculum. Our Learning Commons is a large, flexible space that allows students to explore their interests in many different ways. The mobile computer labs allow students to further their research and curiosity wherever they may be in our building. Our multi-purpose room has a state of the art kiln and is attached to a fully operational kitchen. Teachers and students can take full advantage of this space to enhance learning with multiple cooking projects, elaborate artwork and multi-class presentations. Westview Elementary’ s high school sized gymnasium houses our intramural and extracurricular sports activities as well as allowing ample room for all classes to participate in daily physical education programs. Our state of the art, well-equipped music room, has contributed to the continuation of our fabulous music programs. When weather permits, the outdoor learning areas allow access to classroom gardens. The Stepping Stones program provides preschool children access to an inspirational and imaginative learning area. We also have regular access to the Orca bus helping younger students get the start they need on their careers of lifelong learning.

We are very proud of the strong educational foundation that Westview Elementary School offers students and we are excited about the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead in meeting the unique learning needs of each student. Education in our school is the shared responsibility of the home, school, and community. In a caring, cooperative, safe environment, every student will prepare for lifelong learning and living in our diverse society.

CURIOSITY INTRAMURALS STEPPING STONES POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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READY, SET, LEARN

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Come and Enjoy a Mini School Day Designed for Preschool Children Rita John, Early Learning Coordinator

eady, Set, Learn is again being offered to three to five year old children in School District #47 schools. Sessions will continue to focus on school readiness and will present steps both children and parents can take to encourage positive school experiences.

Positive experiences at school help to create a disposition in children that embraces learning.

Preparing children for school optimally starts well before children are five. The minischool day will bring children into the library, music room, kindergarten and gym. Ten minute stations are set up in each location. Before the event starts, and after children have visited the stations, there will be time for parents to talk to school staff and ask questions.

Participants at each school will be limited to 15 children, to encourage more intimate experiences for adults and children. Parents are asked to phone the school to register their child. Participating families will be offered a book and a bag of supplies that can be used at home to extend the activities offered at the event.

It doesn’t matter what school families attend for Ready, Set Learn. Positive experiences at any school makes adapting to school easier. Families are welcome to visit as many schools as they like.

For more information call (604) 485-6271 (ext. 2244) or the school you would like to attend. See SD47 website for Ready, Set, Learn schedule: www.sd47.bc.ca (Under Programs and Services > Early Learning) or check out the ad on Page 14.

SCHOOL READINESS FREE BOOK ACTIVITIES

DESTINATION IMAGINATION

C PERSISTENCE ENGINEERING FINE ARTS

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Destination Imagination Theresa Verdiel, Special Education Coordinator

ollaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity are some of the key components of the new BC Education Plan. A greater emphasis is being placed on students’ ability to work together, problem solve, and think outside of the box. Destination Imagination (DI), an international problem solving program, has been a part of the Powell River education system for the past 11 years.

Destination Imagination provides students with an opportunity to work on a team challenge that promotes these skills, in addition to encouraging risk taking, flexibility, persistence, respect for others and having fun! Opportunities for students to participate begin as early as Kindergarten. Each year student teams choose a challenge from engineering, the sciences, fine arts, improvisation, or community service, depending on where their passions lie.

Teams are comprised of up to seven students who work together over a period of months to arrive at their unique solutions. An adult team manager acts as a facilitator and coach but the true solutions come from the students themselves! Recognition is given for the originality of their solution, as well as the team work demonstrated by the group.

Teams register for a regional tournament supported by many great volunteers hosted

by Powell River School District #47 and depending on their results, an invitation could be extended to the provincial tournament, and possibly even to the Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee. Powell River has, in fact, been represented twice at the Global Finals, where our teams have participated amongst thousands of other youths from all over the world!

Health Challenge

Sugar, sugar every where

H2O is no double double

BY ISABELLE SOUTHCOTT | isabelle@prliving.ca

Why do people like me sign up for food and fitness challenges in January and then moan all month about how hard they are? I know, I know. I only have myself to blame. I fell in love last year with an amazing guy (yes you Dwain Davis) and gained ten pounds.

You know how it is. You hang out with your sweetie.

You cook amazing meals for each other. Your sweetie finds out you have a sweet tooth and he spoils you and before you know it, your clothes are tighter and bigger numbers are appearing on the scales.

So when Terri Cramb, owner of T-Fit Training Centre suggested I might like to try the Total Challenge, I said yes.

T-Fit’s Total Challenge is a six-week program that focuses on eating whole food and balanced living. It’s about making sure you exercise and take care of yourself. It’s about no dairy, no legumes, no sugar and no alcohol for 30 days.

Sounds easy right? Well it isn’t. I’d never realized

there is sugar in so many things! Did you know there’s sugar in pasta sauce, fruit juice and barbecue sauce? At first I thought I’d never be able to do this but thanks to Terri and nutritionist Kitty Clemens, it was possible.

The recipes posted on the group’s Facebook page kept me from being bored with my food. And the two-month pass to T-Fit and Nourish yoga studio give you every opportunity to take care of yourself.

I won’t bore you with the first few weeks and tell you how much I missed sugar and wine. Instead we’ll fast forward to February where I’m on the home stretch of T-Fit’s Total Challenge.

My clothes are looser and the numbers on the scales are encouraging. I know, we weren’t supposed to weigh ourselves till it was over, but come on, if you think 25 women (and one guy) who want to lose weight and get healthy will go without weighing themselves for six weeks, you’re delusional.

I like to challenge myself. I went skydiving when I was 30. I had kids when I was 35. I ran my first marathon when I was 40. Without challenges I’d become lazy and boring.

Rachelle Ford had done the Total Challenge a couple

times before. At first I couldn’t understand why someone would go through this more than once but half way through my perspective shifted.

It’s the same reason why people continue to go to exercise classes, I thought. It’s about support and motivation.

“I needed a shakeup,” says Rachelle. “I’ve always exercised a lot but the biggest change has been the variety of exercises I now do.”

Rachelle looks great. She’s lost many pounds and inches. If she can do it, I can too, I thought.

My biggest challenge was the food and trying to drink enough water (which I didn’t). Giving up cream in my coffee was really tough. I don’t like black coffee. It makes me gag.

Really, the exercise part wasn’t that hard as I’ve always run a few times a week. I like the social part of running as I usually have a running partner. That, and I feel like I am being a good dog mother to Hunter.

I tried a yoga class during the challenge. I liked it, I really did but I didn’t make it back because of a time conflict: my son’s hockey is a priority these days.

I was not the gold star gal as I wasn’t able to make all the meetings and I fell down on the food diary after Day Three.

I know. How hard is it to keep a food diary?

Well, it’s harder than you think if your nickname is Woman who Flies by the Seat of Her Pants. I guess I just wasn’t organized enough and committed enough to the food diary to make it work but I was committed to the food changes. Ten pounds in one month! I am back to where I used to be.

I have learned about mindful eating. I’ve learned not to slather butter on all my vegetables. I’ve learned that ice cream is not your best source of calcium and I’ve learned that women of a certain age can’t eat like 20 year olds without gaining weight.

“Giving up cream in my coffee was really tough. I don’t like black coffee. It makes me gag.”

My new plan is not perfect but it is better. Much better. My sweetie and I are eating more whole foods. We think about our meals in advance. I know I will not follow the challenge forever but I will go back on it for a couple weeks here and there because I know how great I feel when I eat well. I am a realist. I enjoy a cheeseburger and I like beer. I won’t eliminate my treats forever but I won’t eat them on a regular basis.

And really if I can improve my eating habits and create a healthier future, I think I’ve succeeded.

We’ve got what your Leprechaun is looking for!

Crossroads Village • 4801 Joyce Ave • 604 485-8251 • Mon – Thur 9 am – 6 pm • Friday 9 am – 9 pm • Saturday 9 am – 6 pm • Sunday 10 am – 5 pm

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

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BUSINESS CONNECTIONS

BY KIM MILLER| office@powellriverchamber.com

E

xposure Studio Photography opens this month in the Georgia Centre, beside Powell River Optometry. Photographer Sarah Schindel, 19, says having a studio means sameday availability for shoots, no matter the weather. It also allows her to specialize in newborn photography. Sarah does location shoots for weddings and other events. Frames and prints of Sarah’s work, as well as jewellery from Feather Point designs, are available at the studio on Franklin Avenue. Visit exposurestudiophotography.com or call 604 483-8085 A new HVAC company called 21 Degrees Mechanical Ltd. opens in Powell River this month. Located on Glacier Street, this supplier of heating, air conditioning, hot water and fireplace solutions has businesses on Vancouver Island and now in Powell River. 21 Degrees Mechanical provides complete heating and ventilation solutions from installation to service and maintenance. Call 604 487-2100.

Deborah Meier has launched Inner Light, a healing

Mill Direct Quality Cedar Products

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1.855.79.CEDAR 604.487.4266

and counselling service. Deborah has been studying at the Self Realization Meditation Healing Centre for several years – in Somerset UK and Halfmoon Bay, BC. What began as a one week course became a soul journey of discovery and joy. “When I was to study meditation, I began to receive healing and can attest to the benefits, especially over time,” she says. “Now as a Self Realization Centre trained Natural Spiritual Healer and Counselor, I am able to give to others what I have been so fortunate to receive and am pleased to offer this dynamic yet gentle and down to earth therapy here in Powell River.” Contact Deborah at 604-483 8927 or deborahmeierhealing@gmail.com Red Lion Pub is under new management. Tanya Kurtz is leasing the pub for a year with an option to buy from the current owners who wish to retire. Tanya, who owned Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget, is a resident of Wildwood with a background in catering, special events and decorating. Kurtz has revamped the menu and will update the décor. “I’m hoping to bring it back to a neighbourhood pub,” she said. Friday night jams with Sam Hurrie and Dennis Fox are planned as well as acoustic and vocal jams on Saturdays.

Kim Hopper is the new associate/owner of the Powell River Shopper’s Drug Mart. A born and raised Powell Riverite, she’s been with the company since 1992, and with the Powell River store since 1994. She was the associate/ owner for three years before starting her family in the mid-90s. Shopper’s requires that its owners be pharmacists, since that is the store’s primary focus. Kim, a registered pharmacist, has managed the pharmacy for 18 years.

“Most of the staff we have now we’ve had for 20 years, and with the brand new store and the kids a little older, it was just a good fit. We have great people to work with,” she said.

Pacific Point Market, at the corner of Joyce Avenue and Highway 101, will open in April. The 6,500 square foot full service grocery store will include Serious Coffee’s first franchise off Vancouver Island. As well, Pacific Point Market will be home to the first public electric car charging station in Powell River. The store will be open from 6 am to 10 pm seven days a week, says Tod English. “It will include a meat and deli department, fresh produce with as much local produce as possible and a grocery department.” For more information visit pacificpointmarket.com.

Origin Chiropractic and Orthopedic Centre is open for business at Gibson’s Crossing. Dr. Jeremy Buhay, a Saskatchewan native, has been enjoying the perks of a West Coast lifestyle for the past few years and is excited to call Powell River home. He has partnered with Powell River local Dr. Brittney Chisholm, who is happy to be returning to her hometown after a decade of educational pursuits.

Together they will provide healthcare services for musculoskeletal conditions and injuries. For schedules, fees, and conditions they treat visit www.originchiropractic.ca or call 604 485-9896. For tips, or to ask a question, check out their Facebook page.

Jill Amatt has started a new painting company, Jill’s Painting. Jill and her painting team have a number of years of residential and commercial painting experience.

They do interior and exterior jobs, large and small. Jill can also customize your living space by creating custom-made clay tiles, custom drawer and cupboard pulls, and other unique home decor ideas. Visit Jill’s Painting on Facebook at fb.com/jillpaints to view some of the projects they have completed. Or call (604) 344-0017.

Phat Ideas has been in operation for 12 years, with a customer base in Alberta and now Powell River. Phat Ideas helps decision makers decide how to display their logos on everything from flip flops to wireless speakers to bargain tshirts and custom hats. Owner Kelly Edwards, who moved to Powell River to be finished with the brutal Alberta winters, invites people to bring their product requirements to her for price quotes. She is currently working from home but plans for a showroom are in the making. Phat Ideas also has an online rewards program. Contact Kelly at 604 414-3643 or phatideas@shaw.ca Tanned, Wild and Woolly Processing will open their new storefront location at 6797 Cranberry Street on March 16. The tannery, which takes sheepskins that would otherwise be discarded, uses natural methods to turn them into rugs, chair covers and artisan throws. Products are available for purchase online at www.tanwildwool.ca Grassroots Botanicals Wellness Cooperative, from Powell River is now accepting new members. If you have ADD/ADHD, MS, anxiety/depression, arthritis, chronic pain, sleep disorders, migraines, IBS, cancer, or a head injury and would like to access medicinal quality cannabis, visit the website to find out how to become a member. There is also a wide selection of Indicas and Sativas, as well as extracts, and non-psychoactive salves for pain and eczema, and cannabis infused massage oils. Check out www.grassrootscannabisdispensary.com to download an application.

Willingdon Creek Village will open later this month.

The new residential care facility will have 21 more beds than its predecessor Olive Devaud as well as five additional nursing positions. The facility will feature 102 beds, including a secure 17-bed special care unit for residents with advanced dementia and challenging behaviours. The additional beds are funded by Vancouver Coastal Health through a shift of resources from six acute care beds at Powell River General Hospital. “On average, the hospital has 14 patients at any one time occupying hospital beds while they wait for discharge into a more appropriate care setting,” says Mike Nader, chief operating officer of VCH’s Coastal region. nuEssence Salon and Day Spa opened earlier this year at 4553B Marine Avenue. Owner Agnieszka Sliwinski says her spa caters to women and men and is modern, yet warm, elegant and affordable. For an appointment call 604 485-6336 or email nuessence@shaw.ca.

Come for a visit ... stay for a lifetime.

Call today for your free Comparative Market Analysis.

604 483 1568 | info@carlamckamey.com | carlamckamey.com

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR March 5

March 10 & 11

Research your Roots

Ladies Who Laugh

6:30 to 8 pm at the library with Ray Sketchley and Claudia Cote. To pre-register call 604 485-4796.

Here’s to the Ladies Who Laugh at the Max Cameron Theatre at 7 pm.

March 6

March 12

The Breeding Ground

Board Games by Night

First acoustic night of original music, cover sets and activities with local musicians at the Community Resource Centre from 7:30 to 11 pm. By donation.

6:30-8:30 pm at the library. Try one of the library’s games or bring your own the second Thursday of the month. All ages (10+). For a list of games visit powellriverlibrary.ca.

March 7

March 14 and 15

Kiwanis giant book sale Books and miscellaneous items including Lions Club marmalade. 10 am to 1 pm. 4943 Kiwanis Avenue.

Cheapest books around. Donations welcome.

Paddling For Life

Celebration of Quilts From 10 am to 5 pm, March 14 and from 10 am to 4 pm, March 15 at Dwight Hall. Admission $5; 12 and under free.

Bike and Skate Park

March 10 WOWs Burger and Beer

donation (suggested $5). SLAM guidelines and registration information at powellriverlibrary.ca

March 16

March 25

That Went By Fast

Memoir Writing 101

Join Howard White, publisher of Harbour Publishing and editor of the BC bestselling memoirs That Went By Fast and Milk Spills and One-Log Loads, for a reading and Q&A about memoir writing and the BC publishing industry from 2 to 3:30 pm at Cranberry Hall.

With writer/editor Sandra Tonn at the library. An introduction and workshop to get you inspired to and started on writing your family stories. No experience necessary. Elm Room, Rec Complex. To register, call the library at 604 485-4796.

March 17

March 26

St. Patrick’s Day

Taking Professional Photos

Wear something green!

WiL performs Short performance and Q&A with songwriter WiL at Base Camp from 1 to 2 pm before going on stage at the Evergreen with Burton Cummings. By donation.

With Jen Kennedy. 7 to 8 pm at the library. To register email Mark at mmerlino@powellriverlibrary.ca or call 604 485-8664.

Photo entries open

The legendary rocker of The Guess Who fame, live at the Evergreen Theatre at 7:30 pm.

The Powell River Nature Digital Photo Competition will be launched on March 26 by the library. For submission info please visit the library’s website at www.powellriverlibrary.ca

Seedy Saturday

March 19

March 27 to 29

9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Powell River Recreation Complex.

Tech Savvy: smart phones

Dragon Boat’s Burger & Beer fundraiser at 5:30 pm at the Carlson Community Club. Tickets $15.

Call 604 485-3828.

Grand opening from noon to 3 pm at the Powell River Recreation Complex

dent. Come learn about the stars and the night sky!

Enjoy a bonfire at the beach. By donation.

March 14

Campfire Sessions “For the Love of Nature” at Cranberry Community Hall from 7 to 8:30 pm. Ten local experts share their passions about nature. Contact Mark 604 485-8664.

Whales and Dolphins BC /Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWS) Burger and Beer (or wine) Night at the Savoury Bight Seaside Restaurant at Beach Gardens from 5-7 pm. Tickets $15. Tickets at Savoury Bight or from Wild Ocean Whale Society members. For more info call 604 485-9138.

March 16 to 27 School District 47 Spring break

Burton Cummings

Discover the many handy tools in these tiny devices.

7 to 8 pm at the library. Preregister. mmerlino@ powellriverlibrary or 604 485-8664.

Career Link Job Fair

Spring Bootcamp. 8:30 am to 5 pm. Sycamore Commons, Townsite Anglican Church. Classes and hands-on workshops on self-reliance and selfprovisioning, especially food gardening. Kevin. wilson100@shaw.ca.

At the Powell River Rec Complex from 11 am to 2 pm.

Employers register at rob@careerlinkbc.com More info 604 485-7958 or careerlinkbc.com

March 28

Poetry SLAM

Stargazing with Michael Moonbeam

7-9 pm at Cranberry Community Hall. All ages; all skill levels. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Admission by

This page sponsored by:

Performance is Our Responsibility.

Next day, damage-free delivery.

WWW.CITYTRANSFER.COM

Digital storytelling Seniors’ films at the Carlson Club at 1:30 pm.

CALL TODAY to schedule your next delivery

POWELL RIVER | SUNSHINE COAST | VANCOUVER

St. Patrick’s Day Stock up on your Irish beer & Irish whiskey

310-CITY (2489)

Happy Appy Hour Come get deals on appys & drinks 4 to 5 pm every day

Open 9 am to 11 pm daily Corner of Duncan & Joyce • 604 485-9343

604 483-3545 info@shinglemill.ca www.shinglemill.ca

All spirits and select beer at or below government liquor store prices!

Proud Member of the PR Chamber of Commerce

Bottom paint • Fiberglass repair • Epoxy Transoms • Gelcoat colour matching Outboard Corrosion Repair Complete overhauls

TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST and so much more!

Bow To Stern

• Full mechanical repairs • Nation-wide guarantee

Fiberglass Repair

mckjb@telus.net 604.223.4440 • 604.485.4984

Urban Homesteading

March 21

March 15 At Willingdon Beach from 7:30 to 9:30 weather depen-

Martin Brager

Fibre Retreat Full weekend of events and workshops. See prfiberfest.com.

Call us today at 604 487-9602

• Regular transmission service keeps your transmission healthy • Diagnostic equipment to save you time & money

We are under construction but we’re still open!

Stop in and see what we’re up to!

Mon–Fri 8-9, Sat 8-6, Sun 10-5 4720 Joyce Ave Store: 604 485-4649 Auto Parts & Services Centre: 604 485-4639

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

37

Congratulations Gilles!

21o Mechanical is now offering the New Degree of Service, Quality and Dependability to the community of Powell River

Come see our extensive showroom and support Powell River’s SPCA

Gilles Patenaude, Mutual Funds Representative | Qtrade Asset Mgt. Life Agent | Westview Agencies Ltd.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 11am - 3pm

‘by donation’ BBQ: 7030 Glacier at Joyce gilles.patenaude@westviewagencies.ca 604.485.7931 ext. 240

We are proud to announce that Gilles Patenaude has completed his Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) certification.

The CFP® certification is the most widely recognized financial planning designation in Canada and is considered the gold standard for the profession, representing the highest level of competence, ethics and practice. Gilles is looking forward to assisting existing and new clients with all their financial planning, investment, and life insurance needs.

live broadcast

professional grade Lennox heating and cooling equipment 604.487.2100

showroom@21deg.com

7030 Glacier V8A 5A1

Mutual funds and financial planning services are offered through Qtrade Asset Management Inc., member MFDA

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REGISTRATION Register early to get your school of choice

Congratulations on providing outstanding customer service!

FOR: New Students or In-District Transfers KINDERGARTEN to GRADE 7 For the 2015/2016 School Year DEADLINE: March 31, 2015 Kindergarten Students s Please bring proof of age (child must be 5

by December 31, 2015). A birth certificate is preferred. (The Ministry of Education stipulates that parents may defer the enrollment of their child for not more than one year.) Register at your school of choice by March 31, 2015. (After March 31, 2015, register centrally at the School Board Office.*) French Immersion (K-1) s Register at James Thomson Elementary (full with wait list).

Partners in Education Program (new registrations) s Register at School Board Office.

Grade 1 to 7 students new to Powell River or students wishing to transfer to a school outside of their catchment area must register at their school of choice by March 31, 2015. (After March 31, 2015, register

Tim Holl at Staples is this month’s Smile!

Service Award winner offering up expert knowledge of computers and computer accessories along with excellent customer service.

Smile! Service Awards are presented by Tourism Powell River, and sponsored in part by Powell River Living.

centrally at the School Board Office.*) Elementary students registering after March 31, 2015 are not guaranteed enrolment in their home catchment area or at their school of choice as registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Had a great customer service experience?

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Registration forms are available at schools or can be prepared in advance by downloading from www.sd47.bc.ca (click on Registration under Quick Links) or www.sd47.bc.ca/about/Pages/registration.aspx S

Nominate someone for a Smile! Service Award by emailing the person’s first name and business name to info@discoverpowellriver.com or visit Facebook, or nominate them in person at the Visitor Centre at 4760 Joyce Ave.

* The School Board Office is located at 4351 Ontario Avenue, Powell River, BC V8A 1V3

y u B l a c o L ring p s r o f

Watch for Sears Days coming soon !

Since 2010,Westview resident Carl Haakenson has owned your local Sears Hometown Store. Please drop by. Carl can help make your home and yard even more fabulous in 2015.

When you shop at your Hometown Sears Store at Powell River’s Crossroads Village, you’re saving money and supporting a small, locally-owned business. Thank you!

Delivery available.

Use your SEARS CARD and get minimum 2x points every day

Over 5,000 new lower prices Lawn tractors, mowers, patio furniture and more to get you ready for spring!

If it’s available from Sears, it’s available in Powell River. Delivery available.

Mon – Sat 9:30 – 5:30 • OPEN SUNDAYS noon – 4 604 485-2701 4801 Joyce Ave. Crossroads Village

Hometown Store

POWELL RIVER LIVING • march 2015 •

39

Why is this couple so happy and relaxed?

They are relaxed because they know the sale of their home is in good hands with Brandy Peterson.

Brandy works hard to handle all the details, so you don’t have the stress so often associated with buying and selling real estate.

She gives up-to-date market information and recommendations, so you can have confidence in your decisions and get the most out of your property, and so you can find the right home for you.

And Brandy will help negotiate the best deal.

Call Brandy Peterson today, so you can relax, too.

Wondering what your home is worth?

Know someone moving to Powell River?

Call Brandy today for a free comprehensive, comparative market analysis, and marker research, so you can make an informed decision when pricing your home.

Brandy is looking for buyers, and if you recommend her to your friends or family, you can trust she’ll make you look good. Plus, if you refer a friend, she has a special gift for you!

Let’s 604 485-4231 office | 604 344-1234 direct | 1-877-485-4231 toll free | coastrealty.com | brandypeterson@shaw.ca | 4766 Joyce Ave 40 talk!

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