Blog

Good Neighbour Award nominee: Jim Wright!

We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small.  Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.

This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].

CHRIS TRENDELL NOMINATES JIM WRIGHT:

“He was one of the very early settlers in Lynn Valley; one of World War II’s returning vets. It was a time when there was no shopping mall, just a few scattered shops and a goose farm not far from where he still lives on Coleman Street.

Although he asked for little help from those around him, he gave abundantly to anyone who came to his door. (And, after we built our own home across the street in 1965, we knocked on that door often! He was always there to lend a hand, or invite us in to watch the football game, election returns, or moon landing with him on the TV by the fireplace.)

James, Jimmy, Chick or Mr. Wrightman as he was called, depending on your relationship with him, is gifted with the ability to “fix it.” His workshop was a mystery to all who entered. The tools were cleaned, polished and in place. Although the tools looked new, they had by and large been passed on to him by his father who had brought them from England.  

During the winter, he would be seen and heard on his small Sears ride-on tractor, clearing the sidewalks of snow in front of Upper Lynn School and for many blocks around.

You don’t see Mr. Wright around much at public events or large gatherings, but I think he is well-known by many people for his repeated acts of kindness over his many decades in Lynn Valley.”

December 14, 2012 in Blog, Contests, Current News, Notable Neighbours

Good Neighbour Award nominee: Gillian Konst!

We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small.  Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.

This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].

ANDREA WINTERBOTTOM NOMINATES GILLIAN KONST:

“Thank you for organizing the first Good Neighbour Award. I would like to nominate my neighbour, Gillian Konst.

On many occasions, Gillian has been a lender of cups of sugar, onions and over-the-fence cuttings of her favourite plants/flowers from her garden. She has invited me inside her home on the spot for a cup of tea or glass of wine, but it’s the greater good that she demonstrates in the community that makes her a Good Neighbour: no matter what committee chair she sits on, her enthusiasm, determination and helping hand is always appreciated.

Gillian recently helped me to establish a Laughter Yoga group at Mollie Nye House and accommodated my newly formed “Write Away” writing group at Mollie Nye House as a great outreach to the Lynn Valley writing community. Gillian and I go way back when we were both parents active at the Eastview Elementary School council spearheading various committees. I would be happy to tell you more about  Gillian’s selfless, supportive, neighbourly ways!”

Gillian Konst and Eric Muira represented the Lynn Valley Community Association at last year’s Canada Day festivities in LV Village:

 

December 12, 2012 in Blog, Contests, Current News, Notable Neighbours

Good Neighbour Award nominee: Wayne Gooch!

We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small.  Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.

This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].

CHRISTINE GOOCH NOMINATES HUSBAND WAYNE:

“I would like to nominate my husband, Wayne Gooch. 

Wayne is outside more than he is inside.  He continually helps our neighbours, whether it’s to put up some siding on their home, de-thach their lawns, give them a Christmas tree or to simply lend an ear. 

Wayne has a heart of gold and funnily enough…he doesn’t realize it.  It just comes naturally to him. 

He is such a humble man and I am so very proud to call him my husband.”

December 10, 2012 in Blog, Contests, Current News, Notable Neighbours

Black Bear Band hosts Winter Concert

The annual Winter Concert put on by our very own Lynn Valley community band takes place on Monday, Dec. 17, at Kay Meek theatre, and it is always a crowd-pleaser (they have good goodies, too!) Admission is by donation. Details here (and if getting out more will be part of your new year’s resolve, why not consider joining? Check them out on their website.

 

 

December 9, 2012 in Blog, Community Events

Good Neighbour Award nominee: Stephanie Brawn!

We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small.  Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.

This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].

MICHELLE POTTS NOMINATES STEPHANIE BRAWN

“Hi, I would like to nominate Stephanie Brawn for the good neighbor award. We have two small children and one is in school. There were times when our little one was napping during pick up time at school. On more then a few occasions, rather than wake him up and create loads of stress on everyone she would come over to the house while I went to get my daughter from school.  I have a hard time asking for help but Stephanie makes it easy with her willingness.  We love having her as a neighbor.”

December 7, 2012 in Blog, Contests, Current News, Notable Neighbours

Good Neighbour Award Nominee: Rene Valen!

We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small.  Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.

This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].

THE WAARNES NOMINATE RENE VALEN

“I’d like to nominate Rene Valen as a GREAT neighbour!  He goes way beyond GOOD.

My husband and I live a couple of blocks south of him so we are relatively close.  We’re the type of people that like to go on vacation a lot.  Some long trips, some short, but all very frequently.  We’re also the type of people who adore our cat and treat her like a queen.  So needless to say, we want the best care for her while we’re away. Rene has gone above and beyond for us, as he has been easily the best cat-sitter of all time.  He’s Uncle Rene to our cat.

Rene has cat-sat for us on simple weekends away to three-week vacations.  He comes in the morning before he leaves for work to feed and play with her, and then comes in the evening after work to feed and play with her, and spend quality time with her.  He’ll have dinner at our home and watch television for a while, simply to provide company for the cat.  He even emails us pictures of her (curled up on his lap) so we know she’s OK!  We’re pretty sure the cat is very pleased with this arrangement, as are we.

Rene takes no payment for his services.  The best we can do is buy him some pot pies from the British Butcher and leave them in the freezer for some dinners or drop off a batch of cupcakes to his home once in a while. He is incredibly generous with his time.  What a fantastic neighbour!

We think he is the GREATEST NEIGHBOUR IN LYNN VALLEY!  We nominate him for the GOOD NEIGHBOUR AWARD.”

Nadine and Simon Waarne

PS – He’s also adopted plants of ours that have grown too large for their space!

December 3, 2012 in Blog, Contests, Notable Neighbours

Good Neighbour nominee: Patty Hopper of Vancity!

We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. They don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow Lynn Valleyite. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].

 LYNN VALLEY VANCITY NOMINATES PATTY HOPPER

“We would like to nominate Patty Hopper for Lynn Valley’s 2012 Good Neighbour Award.  Patty is a beautiful person, an exceptional role model, a fun and loving friend, a powerful business woman and most importantly a wonderful daughter, sister, mother and wife. It must be really hard to be so exceptional at all those things, but Patty makes it seem effortless. She exceeds expectations in every category of life and gives back to the community she lives in every day! Patty sets the bar high and we could all learn from her and her success’  and positive outlook on life.”

Patty is Vancity’s local mobile mortgage specialist, who lives here in Lynn Valley. Her fans at our LV Village branch went on to share with us a PowerPoint they had created about a project Patty launched in memory of her best friend’s daughter, Ashley Lowey – a cause you can support this Christmas and all year ’round!

“During the times when her eldest daughter was hospitalized, Lori Lowey called on her friend, Patty Hopper.

As Ashley Lowey, Lori’s eldest daughter, bravely battled cancer during her teens, the illness often brought her and her mother to B.C. Children’s Hospital, often without warning, leaving her mother needing essentials.

When she visited Lori at her daughter’s bedside, Patty would pack her a bag of key items she might need: a hairbrush, comb, shampoo, make up, magazines, deodorant—supplies for an unexpected overnight stay, sometimes stretching out for days.

Patty would spend hours in the hospital with her friend, and saw parents come and go, often staying for days without any supplies.

“I would watch these parents coming out of showers…drying themselves with their  T-shirts,” she said.

In February 2009, Ashley Lowey lost her fight against cancer. Patty wanted to honour the teen’s memory and help other parents in need.

“The bag (idea) originated because Lori is my friend and I was bringing her a bag, two or three times a week while her daughter was there,” she said “Once she passed away, I just felt there was such a need for these parents to have something, you know, when they show up unexpectedly. We just started collecting stuff. It’s kind of just gone from there.”

Hopper started having parties at her house, where she and her girlfriends would bring items to put in bags and prepare them together. Slowly word spread, and  the Vancity Credit Union in Lynn Valley and the branch on Pemberton and Marine donated many bags. A local fabric company donated material to make more.

Said Patty: “It  was interesting, because the first day I delivered a box, I walked into the hospital…There was a lady standing there in the middle, and she was on her cell phone and she was beside herself. And she was like, ‘I’ve been here for four days, I haven’t been home, I have nothing, I need someone to drop me off some stuff.’ I just thought, ‘This is why I’m doing this.’”

Would you like to contribute items or a cash donation towards an Ashley Comfort Kit? Staff in Lynn Valley’s Vancity would be very happy to accept your offering. Here are suggested gifts: 

December 1, 2012 in Blog, Contests, Merchant Mentions, Notable Neighbours

Visible walkers get home safely

This week a Lynn Valley friend and I were talking about how difficult it can be to see pedestrians on these ever-darker evenings. Unfortunately, we both knew of people in years past who had been killed while out walking in the dark.

Even though pedestrians may have the ‘walk’ light and be in a crosswalk, dark clothing and/or the brightness of oncoming headlights can transpire to render walkers almost invisible until it’s too late.

A few years ago, a walker came abreast of my car while I was stopped at a stop sign. Having just driven past her (on a road that had no sidewalks), I rolled my passenger-side window down to let her know (in the nicest of terms!) that she really was invisible, and to please take care while she’s out walking. Unfortunately, her response was to chew my head off! My well-intentioned concern had obviously missed the mark, but still I hope she remembered what I said the next time she went out after daylight hours.

Pedestrians simply can’t expect their visibility to be a driver-only responsibility. The most cautious and alert of drivers can fail to see someone who has chosen to dress in all-black ninja garb. And when that someone chooses to dash across the street mid-block rather than use a crosswalk, the chances of an unfortunate collision are even greater.

Of course, many kids think they’re ‘too cool’ to wear reflective clothing, and many adults think they’re exempt because they’re careful to only cross at marked crossings and they stay well to the side of the road. But as RCMP Cpl. Richard De Jong noted in today’s press release – which described three North Van pedestrian accidents that took place in a two-hour span! – all three incidents occurred while the pedestrian was in a marked crossing.

Share this news with your kids, and take it to heart yourself – whether you’re the walker or the driver. When you’re driving your children somewhere in the evening, point out to them how difficult it is to see those pedestrians who are clad in dark clothing compared to those who have dressed with visibility in mind.

Get in the habit of wearing a light-coloured coat, carry a small flashlight, wear clothing with reflective strips built in, and PLEASE remember not to assume that you are easily seen at night time. If you’re being responsible and walking home after an evening at the pub, be extra cautious navigating the streets. Drivers, take that extra moment to search out potential pedestrians, especially when you’re turning left over a crosswalk.

Let’s work together to make sure that all our LynnValleyites get home safely this winter season. A person’s life can change tragically in an instant. Taking a few minutes to search out a flashlight before your walk is well worth the time.

– Peggy Trendell-Jensen, editor

 

November 29, 2012 in Blog, Current News

Register schoolkids before Dec. 21!

Here’s an important tip for parents of kids entering school in September 2013 – be sure to do it before Dec. 21st!

As long as a child is registered for a school before this date, he or she cannot be denied a placement in the school. However, if a child registers AFTER Dec 21 (even if they move into a house across the street from the school), the North Vancouver School District can redirect them to another school that has more open spaces.

Here are some other quick facts for new scholars:

A parent/guardian can register their child for kindergarten if, on or before
December 31st of that school year that child will have reached the age of five years. For example, for the 2013-2014 school year, the student must turn five prior to December 31, 2013.

Here’s where to register:

Central Registration Office
2121 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver
604-903-3368
Hours of operation:
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Mon to Fri)

When to register:

Nov. 5 to Dec. 21, 2012

What to bring:

* Completed registration form (available at www.nvsd44.bc.ca)
* Proof of age and legal name (birth certificate or passport)
* Proof of residence (BC Hydro bill, purchase agreement, or tenancy
agreement)
* If not born in Canada – Passport and Permanent Residence card or Canadian
Citizenship card

Please bring original documents. Staff at the Central Registration office
will make copies. All registration forms and related documents must be submitted in person to the Central Registration office.

Thanks, Cindy Lanctot, for all the info! For more school news and links to our Lynn Valley neighbourhood school websites, have a look at our Schools page.

 

November 25, 2012 in Blog, Current News, School News

Lynn Valley runner has a peak experience

When Lynn Valley’s Hilary Ewart successfully tackled her second Knee Knacker Run earlier this year, one might have thought that running up and down our North Shore mountainsides would have been enough of a challenge for one year. Soon, though, she was determined to hit new heights – just a few months later, she was embarking upon a 100-mile race through India’s Himalayan range.

Hilary returned from her adventure in mid-November, having coped with the over 11,000-ft. altitude, rustic conditions, and some gruelling climbs. Did she love it? Absolutely. “It was such a new experience,” she says. “You were constantly being stimulated. There were so many ‘wow’ moments – it was like the stuff you see in movies.”

Hilary and the 65 other international runners, including friends from the North Shore, travelled terrain that ranged from meadow, to jungle-like forest, to bare mountain ridges. A definite highlight was the dramatic scenery, says Hilary, and it just kept getting better throughout the five days of the 100-mile run; by Day Two, their vista encompassed all the highest peaks in the world. (For a participating journalist’s day-by-day account of the run, visit here.)

While it is a race, Hilary and her friends were more than willing to “waste” time stopping and taking photos and just absorbing their surroundings. The annual race organizer, Mr. Pandey, reluctantly records the participants’ completion times, but insists that the experience is all about the journey, not the destination nor the time it takes to get there.

Hilary, who returned with hundreds of photos and an even greater number of unforgettable memories, couldn’t agree more. We’ll look forward to hearing where her path leads next!

 

November 24, 2012 in Blog, Current News, Notable Neighbours