Who cares for the caregiver?

It`s a question gaining prominence as more Victoria families find themselves in caregiving situations, due to an aging population.
It`s also the theme of a free workshop coming to the city on Nov. 2, offered by the non-profit Alzheimer Society of B.C.
Self-Care for the Caregiver, designed for family carevigers dealing with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, explores what contributes to stress and burnout and how to recognize the signs.

"When supporting a person with a chronic illness, it is vital that the caregiver stays well," says Christin Hillary, the Society`s support and education coordinator for Greater Victoria.

The session runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2 at James Bay New Horizons, 234 Menzies St. For information and to register call 250-382-2052 or email chillary@alzheimerbc.org

Participants should bring their own lunch. Coffee and tea will be available by donation.

The workshop is partially funded by Pfizer Canada Inc., RBC Foundation, Provincial Employees Community Services Fund, Janssen Ortho Inc., Province of B.C., Lohn Foundation, the Province of B.C. and The Victoria Foundation

More information on Alzheimer's is available at the Society website at

It's that time of year again, where we gather to celebrate the spooky and for the GVCEC to host our largest event of the year - our 6th Annual Pumpkin Smash. The event will be held November 6th and 7th from 10 AM to 3 PM each day. Bring your family and friends, and of course your pumpkins, and join us for Tombstone Tipping and other family games to help us raise awareness for composting! Last year we managed to divert over 13 tonnes of jack-o-lanterns from the landfill - let's see if we can beat that this year!

Saturday, November 6th - Cloverdale Thrifty Foods, Fairfield Thrifty Foods & Iroquois Park in Sidney
Sunday, November 7th - Hillside Thrifty Foods & Iroquois Park in Sidney

Based on valuable community input, the City of Victoria has developed a draft transportation plan that will guide traffic and trail improvements to make Beacon Hill Park safer and more enjoyable. Drop by an open house to learn more and provide input. Some of the proposed improvements include road closures to reduce cut-through traffic, methods to slow down traffic, ways to maintain access to the park's recreation features, parking, and trail improvements. Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m., Fairfield Gonzales Community Centre Out of School Care Room, 1330 Fairfield Road, and Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m., James Bay New Horizons Activity Room, 234 Menzies Street. Registration is not required. Complimentary refreshments will be served. Free childminding available. For more information, visit and click on What's New?

On October 29, 2010, the Odeon Theatre in Victoria will be showing a spectacular new movie about the epic journey of Rick Hansen, our very own Man in Motion. Heart of a Dragon tells the gut-wrenching tale of Hansen's arduous climb up the Great Wall of China. You are there "up and close" to see courage and tenacity played out against the exquisite beauty of a far eastern landscape. This movie will challenge every pre-conceived idea about people with disabilities and is a ' must-see ' event. Please see my full article in the December Beacon on this poignant movie that left an imprint on my heart and soul.

By Doreen Marion Gee

City planning is much talked about these days, and that is importantbecause Year 2050 is not so very far ahead of us.So much for the city, but how about James Bay?When I ponder about what makes our community so important, I look at theOgden Point breakwater, the cruise ships, Beacon Hill Park, Toronto Street,Irving Park and Five Corners, and I wonder: which of these could beimproved? I have many ideas; and so could others.I don't suppose City Hall cares much about my imaginations, but mayor andcouncil might give some thought to the payoff to Tourism Victoria. Havingmore items to laud in its literature about our fair city would be a plus indestination competition in Western Canada.Costs have to be factored, of course, but added value is alwaysprofitable.

Just one example: Five Corners could be transformed into a plaza (giving James Bay a true heart), where, in preparedness for a crippling earthquake,we could organize relief activities and under which we could stockpile vitalsupplies. More agreeably, a beautiful, and peaceful oasis.There would be no capital cost waste--a plaza would be a beautifulmeeting-place in what, by Year 2050, is destined to be a concrete jungle.The costs of such a project by then would be prohibitive.

Redner Jones

Want to research your family tree but aren't sure where to start?  Or maybe
your family history research has hit the proverbial brick wall.  The
Victoria Genealogical Society is holding an Open House at their Resource
Center, 947 Alston Street in Vic West on September 18.  It's the perfect
time to pay us a visit and see all the family history resources we have to
offer.  Doors will be open from 10am till 4pm.  Door
prizes, refreshments and great company are waiting for you. Info
250-360-2808 or www.VictoriaGS.org 

More details:

The Victoria Genealogical Society (VGS) was established in 1978 as a
non-profit volunteer society whose aim is to further the study of genealogy
- the exciting search for one's ancestors and family history.

The VGS Resource Center at 947 Alston Street in Vic West is a great place to
meet people who truly care about the past and families; people who can teach
you wonderful lessons about research and history. You can work directly with
these people, learn from them, and help each other as you search for your
family.  

The VGS Resource Center is open Monday - Friday 12 noon to 3:00 pm, (except Thursday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm) and Saturday 12 noon to 4:00 pm.  Parking is free. For information call  the VGS Resource Center at 250-360-2808 or see http://www.victoriags.org/library.htm.

The VGS Open House on September 18th at the Resource Center 947 Alston
Street also kicks off another season of Genealogy Workshops.  The
Workshops are held from 10 till noon, Saturday mornings thru the fall
and winter.  See our schedule of upcoming workshops and speakers at
http://www.victoriags.org/events.htm  

The VGS also provides monthly meetings, welcoming new members and
encouraging more seasoned researchers to share their experiences and swap
stories. Members and guests chat about Family Tree research and enjoy a
guest speaker whose presentation is of interest to the Family Tree
enthusiast.  See the schedule of upcoming meetings and speakers at
http://www.victoriags.org/meetings.htm    

VGS Members receive a copy of our quarterly Journal filled with stories
about family research. 

Members have the opportunity to join one or more SIGs - Special Interest
Groups - where members with similar interests and research objectives participate in small, focused meetings and discussions.  See http://www.victoriags.org/sigs.htm for the schedule of SIG meetings.

Members also get free access to the VGS genealogical
Resource Center and its collections, including the BC Vital Statistics
records on microfilm (BC births, marriages, deaths), information on local
history, and books, maps, periodicals, working papers and CDs of
genealogical interest re: Canada, the UK, Eire, the US and other countries.

The Resource Centre offers free parking and free wireless connection to
the internet (bring your laptop), as well as free access to the
www.ancestry.com 

By Josie Bannerman

Steve Fonyo and Lisa Greenwood's wedding on Saturday August 28 went off without a hitch. The weather co-operated, and the setting was spectacular. A crowd of family, friends and well-wishers cheered as the groom, then the bride walked down the steps to the beach.

Many of the people who came to the wedding had their own personal reasons for attending, and positive memories of Steve Fonyo's achievement to share. Fonyo, who lost a leg to cancer, ran across Canada in 1984-85, raising $14 million for cancer research.

One of the people attending the wedding was Steve Rookyard, pictured below. Twenty-five years ago, Rookyard was a student at Central High School in Victoria. "I was a bit of a jock in those days," he said. Rookyard ran cross-country, as well as track and field, and he was chosen to be a member of the school honour guard that ran the last 10 kilometers of the Journey for Lives marathon with Steve Fonyo.

Rookyard recalled waiting in the rain on May 29, 1985 out by View Royal overpass on the Pat Bay Highway for Fonyo to arrive. On the run into town, he reminisced, kids from local elementary schools lined the route. "Lots of them didn't really know who Steve Fonyo was," he said. "When they saw me running along, they thought I was Fonyo!" Accompanying Fonyo on the last leg of his journey was a highlight for Rookyard.

My own memories of May 29, 1985 are not quite so personal as Rookyard's. I lived on Government Street, just a few blocks from the shore where Steve dipped his foot into the Pacific and ended his run.

Do you have photos or memories of Steve Fonyo's run, or of his wedding that you would like to share? If yes, email them to the Beacon at jbbeacon@shaw.ca with the subject line "Fonyo Memories".

The James Bay Community Market is presenting our inaugural Homegrown Lecture Series on Saturday, July 24, all day at the market site. "Getting Started: Fall and Winter Food Security" is the theme for this FREE day of talks and demonstrations from Victoria's premiere gardening experts.

Our goal with this event is to provide easily accessible information and resources to community members who want to learn more about gardening in small spaces, about gardening in windy James Bay, about contributing to their food security and to a healthy and vibrant local food system.

To celebrate the beginning of this community education tradition, 150 FREE winter vegetable starts will be given out to participants at this event!

Come by the market to hear from the following amazing and knowledgeable speakers:

9:30am - PHILIP YOUNG: "Starting from Seeds: The Basics"
Longtime Glendale Gardens teacher and gardener, Philip Young has over 40 years of gardening experience. In this lecture he will demonstrate how to select seeds and grow your own productive winter vegetables in even the smallest of gardens.

11am - CAROLYN HERRIOT: "The Winter Food Garden"
Learn how to plan and plant a productive winter food garden with acclaimed author, educator and regular columnist for GardenWise and Common Ground magazines, Carolyn Herriot. Carolyn grows certified organic seeds for her Seeds of Victoria business at her nursery, the Garden Path. She has recently released her second book entitled "The Zero Mile Diet: A Year-Round Guide to Growing Organic Food" (Harbour Publishing). Her book will be available for sale at the market!

12:30pm - HECTOR BUSSIER: "Growing in Small Urban Spaces"
Retired Horticulturalist with the City of Victoria and Horticultural Society Member, Hector Bussier will explain in his talk how to get the most out of our small backyards, balconies and patios.

2pm - KIM WATT: "Compost and the Urban Garden"
The Victoria Compost Education Centre Site Manager brings the dirt on small-scale composting systems. Other Compost Ed volunteers will be on site all day at the market to provide info as well.

I live in the James Bay community on Oswego Street just off of Dallas Road with my better half and our close friend and roommate. We have been broken into twice in the past four weeks and it should be noted that on both of these occasions we have been home and sleeping.

The community should be aware that these burglars do not seem to be afraid of lights being on, people home sleeping, or music playing on the stereo for that matter. I'll paint you a picture of what happened in both instances.

The first burglary occurred on May 23 at approximately 3:00am. Someone or someone's came through our dining room window with the help of a screw driver while my fiancé and myself, and our roommate and her boyfriend were in our respective bedrooms (not quite sleeping). The kitchen light was on and there was music playing from an iPod on the living room stereo. These people crawled through the dining room window and withdrew a couple knives from the knife block and proceeded to rob us of laptops, backpacks, and other miscellaneous electronics all while we were in our bedrooms (not quite sleeping). We all had thought we heard some noise but chalked it up to each other in our separate rooms. Shortly after that the music playing from an iPod on the living room stereo stopped and we thought it had ended or died due to a dead battery. We were not really concerned. Our roommate got up shortly after the music died to get a glass of water and noticed that the dining room window was wide open and all of her school equipment was missing along with the iPod that was once plugged in to the living room stereo not 12' from our bedroom doors. This is when we realized we had been burglarized. The police were called and a statement was made. The burglars made off with a number of items that they could fit in the backpacks that were stolen from our house. We found some miscellaneous belongings scattered around the neighbourhood, though nothing of major value. The locks were changed due to keys being stolen and we went on our way trying to gain back our sense of security.

June 27 2:30am; home in bed and sound asleep. My fiancé wakes up in the back (detached) room after falling asleep watching TV to find the exterior door wide open on both the detached Rec Room and back door to our house. We have been burglarized again!! We have not had the chance to submit our claims for the first lot of stolen items, but what had been replaced (laptops and such) were stolen again. I might also add that since the last burglary we have been leaving the majority of our lights on. It needs to be stressed that these burglars were in our house again while we were sound asleep and took the time to gingerly and quietly unplug a 44" television and walk it down our driveway and down the street or in a waiting vehicle. Again the police were notified and we were told to better secure our house and again we have changed all of the locks.

This is absurd! It's one thing to come home to a burglarized home, but to know that someone has been in your house twice while you slept and (probably looked over us) is completely unacceptable.

The "what if's" start to play out in your mind...what if someone woke up, what if someone gets hurt, what if, what if....

We have no doubt that they will be back because they haven't quite stolen everything; the TV stand and kitchen sink are still in place and although we have taken precautions again to better secure our home and ourselves we as a community need to keep our eyes and ears open for any suspicious activity that happens at any time of day/night and even more so when it is dark out. Our peace of mind may be gone for the time being but if we can all watch out for our neighbours it will only make for a better community.

As for the police in this matter, once they are back from break and or vacation they will be following up on the leads they have from the prints left on some personables and the phone calls placed from our cellular phones. We hope that this will lead them to the culprits that stole our peace of mind.

Everything is replaceable unless it's a life.

I hope the James Bay community can learn a lesson from our story and don't take for granted your neighbours as someone is obviously watching.

This summer, VIDEA is hosting a forum for youth by youth. Despite many milestones in equity and equality, deeply rooted gender injustices still pervade daily life globally. Gender inequality is a reality in Canada, and has severe repercussions on human rights internationally. On August 13^th and 14^th  VIDEA hopes to unite youth in the Greater Victoria area to discuss gender and international development as it relates to them personally, locally and globally. At Langham Court on the 13^th we will engage in a provoking introduction to gender theory by Professor Cole Little and establish relationships between youth delegates to nurture healthy, organic discussion, and listen to some great local music. On Saturday we will be moving to the Michelle Pujol room at UVic where we will host such renowned scholars as Dr.Laura Parisi, Dr.Janni Aragon and Lara Quigley, and workshops by NGOs including PRIDE, Project Respect and more. This forum will also serve as an opportunity for youth to explore gender creatively, and through discussion with fellow youth. We hope to develop the tools and resources to continue positive change in our communities, in the aim of creating a more equitable community locally and globally. For more information contact mquigley@videa.ca