Sincere gratitude to the wise truck driver who not only quickly stopped his big rig but immediately turned off the engine when he encountered me riding my horse on Headquarters Road on April 25. While my horse is very road wise and usually calm, an approaching semi tractor on a narrow road turned out to be just a little too much for the horse to handle and he started to panic. Had the driver not stopped and killed his engine, all of us — truck driver, horse and rider — could have been seriously hurt. I wish I had noted the company name on the truck as I got my horse under control and safely passed, so I could call and express my thanks, but I was too focused on moving out of the way to take notes! Thank you also to the many courteous drivers who noticed my bright orange safety vest that says Pass Slow & Wide and who did just that. (Thumbs down to those who simply speed on by!) This time of year, horses and riders are a common sight on our country roads and we need motorists, cyclists and joggers to respect our right to ride on and need to use the roads to access local trails. For safety's sake — please slow down! FYI, cyclists and joggers, when you rush up silently behind a horse, you are acting like a predator. You can help riders stay safe by simply announcing your presence by talking. Equestrians everywhere will appreciate your co-operation.
Loud cheeps, chirps and tweets of thanks to all the participants of Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society’s second annual Walk for Wildlife on April 21 and to the people who sponsored them. There were 45 registrants and several furry friends strolling around the lagoon on a beautiful spring day. Because of all of you, we were able to raise just over $2,500 to help carry on with the care of our precious wildlife. Last year, MARS had close to 500 patients and the cost of caring for them is huge. Putting on an event like this takes a lot of planning and support from MARS members and the community. The following is a list of people MARS would like to thank: The City of Courtenay for allowing us to use the Airpark, Water Pure and Simple for donating water for the walkers St. John Ambulance for being on “standby” Quality Foods, Comox for the donation of fruit Scotia Bank, Comox for the use of their tent Marshall at Affordable Framing for matting and framing the prize in the “adult” category the Laughing Oyster Book Shop for donating a prize in the “child” category, local media for publishing our media release, all the businesses who displayed our posters, pledge sheets and table toppers. And last but by no means least, thank you to all the MARS volunteers. Without you, none of this would be possible. See you all next year!
The North Vancouver Island branch of the Canadian Culinary Federation sends a field of spring daffodils, tulips, and forget-me-nots to our supporters and suppliers who made National Pasta Night at the Avenue Bistro earlier this month such a huge
success. For the past two years, the chefs, cooks, and culinary students of NVICA have held an Italian family style pasta dinner to raise funds to support the education of our junior members. These four course evenings are proving to be a much anticipated event in the Valley and we all look forward to more pasta in 2014. We wish to thank our generous food suppliers Sysco-Canada, Pattison Farms, Tannadice Farms, Call of the Wild Seafood, GFS, Island Bison, Islands West Produce and Tree Island Yogurt. Our fresh local pasta came from Prontissima Pasta. Wine was supplied by Jason Hyde of Peacock & Martin and coffee and tea from Royston
Roasting Co. and Oughtred Coffee & Tea. We offer a full bouquet of flowers to Beyond the Kitchen Door for so generously acting
as our outlet for ticket sales. Thanks to both Trent McIntyre and Sandra Viney for providing a friendly venue for this fun evening. A special grazie goes to Connie Earl for making the impossible happen this year.
Just wanted to say thank you to the Prime Chophouse for the amazing food and outstanding service. I had the spinach dip, which was so good!
Congratulations to Adrian Dix and the NDP our next provincial government in waiting. Now that I am retired and trying to live on a fixed income which is less than half of what I earned when I worked and I am paying the appropriate low amount of taxes I am really beginning to see the merits of the welfare state. Big government, borrow, tax and spend now all makes sense to me. No pipe lines, mines, dams, NG development, tankers will keep my environment sustainable likely until I go to that better place. Freezing my costs for PHC, ferries, hydro and natural gas by subsidizing them with other people’s tax dollars is undoubtedly the socially responsible thing to do. Leaving the debt for the next generation to deal with, if they can find a job in B.C., really doesn’t concern me as my children and grand children live in another province. Where do I sign up! I can’t wait to vote!
OK. So it's spring/summer time again. You are making your way into your outdoor stuff. You come across a long tall black bag with wheels with a broken zipper at the bottom where it closes. Inside is a 10x10 white Caravan pop-up tent with the words Diane Bostock written in black ink in at least one of the corners of the covering near the Caravan Label. Thanks for storing this tent for us over the winter after your yard party or whatever it was that you borrowed it from us for. But we need it back so it can show up again at all those demonstrations and protests that we were using it for last year. Its time has come to return home. The same goes for the Have-A-Heart Raccoon Trap.
On April 24, my dearly loved cat of 14 years crossed over the “Rainbow Bridge” with the help of Dr. Elmer Phillipson and his staff at Comox Valley Animal Hospital. Although it was a very difficult situation for me, the kindness, compassion and comfort offered was exceptional. Most sincere thanks to Dr. Phillipson for providing such tender, loving care for several weeks prior to my decision that I must free my cat from pain. He pursued every option available to determine if an y quality of life could be enjoyed by my pet, and allowed me time to face the inevitable. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your expertise, time and patience with me. I would highly recommend this clinic to anyone seeking a health care professional for their pets.