The outage is scheduled to span 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on that day.

BC Hydro advises customers in those areas to protect all sensitive equipment in advance of this maintenance.

For further information, customers are invited to call: 1-888-769-3766.

Research done by Surrey Fire Services, in partnership with the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), shows that in 11,000 residential fires in B.C. from 2006 to 2011, nearly 70 per cent of the fire scenes examined either had no smoke alarm or the smoke alarm wasn’t functioning. The research predicts that working smoke alarms could reduce annual fire deaths by as much as 32 per cent.

“This is a very poor report card on the state of functioning smoke alarms in our province and country,” states Len Garis, president of the Fire Chiefs’ Association of B.C. “As a fire service, we now have the opportunity to work together and make a real difference on this important safety issue. We’ve tackled this issue before, but this time we’ll be looking for permanent, sustainable solutions.”

Some components of the campaign are a national injury reduction forum to be held this fall, a call to action on behalf of local fire departments to address this issue in their communities, exploring the potential to develop a school-based curriculum for fire prevention, and encouraging federal politicians to focus on design changes to smoke alarms to address design deficiencies that enable them to be disconnected.

Here are a few items that have worked well for me and will save you a bit of money. I’ve added a very low-end price of each “real deal” item if you were to buy it from a photo supplier.

Aluminum foil and cardboard: If you enjoy shooting close-ups of flowers or insects, a little aluminum foil wrapped around a piece of cardboard makes a sturdy reflector. This simple trick provides a neat way to lighten the shadows on your subject. The real deal will cost in the $40 range.

Garbage bag: Plastic garbage bags can be used to cover your camera and lens in the rain. They come in many sizes so it won’t be hard to find one to suit your needs. I carry a large one so I can lay it down to stay relatively clean while shooting at ground level. In a pinch, a big bag serves as a raincoat as well. The real deal will cost you $20 at the very least.

Umbrella: A small compact umbrella can be used to diffuse harsh light. A white or clear umbrella works best. The real deal will cost you approximately $95.

Pipe insulation and duct tape: Wrap the legs of your tripod in foam pipe insulation and secure it with duct tape. These days duct tape is available in many different colours and patterns. This will help when handling your tripod on cold days and will provide a cushion while walking with the tripod slung over your shoulder. The real deal will usually cost between $50 and $65, or even more.

Beans, cloth and velcro: A homemade bean bag can be made from these items combined with a few sewing skills. Use it to support your lens when shooting from your car window. The real deal will cost you $50 at least.

If you’re lucky, you may have everything on this list kicking around your home. If you have any tips of your own to share please do.

He spent this season building up his legs to handle the regulation 185 centimetre GS skis, and 165 cm slalom skis on which he’s required to ski, as per FIS rules.

“The kid’s 100 pounds and five foot,” explains Jim Knowles, Thapa’s coach. “To try to get a stiff, men’s 185 to work, to bend that ski, you need muscle, you need weight. So what we’re working on now is building up his legs so he can handle these skis. He does fairly well on them, he’s come a long way this year, I’m really happy with where he is.”

Presently, Thapa is dry land training twice per week, and looking forward to spending more time on his bike.

“He’ll be doing the Gran Fondo Highwood Pass in Alberta in the beginning of July, which is 157 kilometre, 7,000 foot climb,” says Knowles. “This year we’re taking a Sun Peaks team—Alain Cordonier, Blair Jones wheelchair athlete, and Promo. Our training rides consist of Kamloops to Logan Lake and back.”

The Gran Fondo Highwood Pass race takes place on Canada’s highest paved road, between Longview and Morley, Alberta, on July 7.

Ryan Oevermann’s a second degree black belt in the martial art, and an instructor with the Northern Taekwon-do Academy, the body under which 23 Sun Peaks youth are learning South Korea’s national sport.

“This was something that was on the back burner of my brain, and it worked out timing-wise,” explains Oevermann. “The Delta Hotel was accommodating in making sure we had a place for training, so everything fell into place. The kids tried it and were enthusiastic; the parents are very excited about it.”

Each Tuesday and Thursday, for one hour sessions, Oevermann and 23 kids gather to work on the art and sport of taekwondo. On top of learning the skill, and the discipline, Discovery Centre students enrolled in Oevermann’s class receive credit toward their physical education curriculum. The distributed learning model that governs their schooling allows students to apply extracurricular classes such as music or sports to their school reporting, explains Jillian Schmalz, teacher at the centre.

Dan Yano’s son Kiyomi takes the classes, and despite only being in kindergarten, he enjoys the activity, while his father appreciates the etiquette it brings.

“He loves it for sure. Five is quite young, but he really digs it,” says Dan. “He calls Ryan sir; it’s discipline.”

The group warms up, practices the set of movements, or patterns, that are specific to each level, they spar, and they work on self defence techniques, all while maintaining the discipline inherent to the art.

When the class deals with self defence, Oevermann frames scenarios in every-day applicable situations such as encountering a bully, or being approached by a stranger.

“The parents get a peace of mind that their kids are learning basic techniques about how to say, ‘Hey this is a stranger . . . or this person is trying to take me somewhere and he’s not my dad.’ These are really important things you have to think about,” explains Oevermann. “I might even say that there are more life skills involved than exercise (in taekwondo) but exercise is a key foundation that goes all the way through it.”

This session of instruction will wind down in June, to be resumed in the fall. Oevermann is eager to see the returning students, as well as some new faces, in September.

“There’s the potential for an adult’s class in September so we’ll be looking at that and keeping track of people who want to try that out,” says Oevermann. “I recommend (people) come out and try a couple classes and make sure it’s something they enjoy before they register.”

Dan, for one, is keen to give taekwondo a go.

“(I’d do it) to do something that (my son) does. It’s more or less if he does it, it’s something he and I can work on together,” says Dan. “There’s been lots of people asking if they can do it too, as adults.”

For more on Taekwondo at Sun Peaks, call Ryan 250-371-0733.

We’ve often talked about separate realities, a term Sydney Banks used to describe the difference in each individual’s response to any given situation or event. There have been many studies to support the idea that we all really do see the world through different lenses.

The clearest example of this phenomenon may be seen in witness’ accounts of an accident. There are often vastly different interpretations of what occurred. One witness may swear the car involved was a blue Ford while another will be sure it was a gray Chevy. One driver may be described by some as 5’8’’, heavy set, mid 20s, by others as 5’11’’, muscular, mid 30s.

Another amusing example is a family’s response after watching a television show together. Depending on their line of work, ages, hobbies, etc. the viewers will notice different things. A teenage boy will comment on the racy sports car while grandma may not even notice the car. Dad might pick up on the clever advertising or the dynamic between boss and employee while mom may notice people’s body language and how they communicated. Same movie, different lenses.

As we notice these subtle differences in how we each view events, a door is opened to greater acceptance and understanding of another’s point of view, and being “right” takes on a whole new meaning. Maybe there are many sides to every question. Perhaps there’s something to be learned by another’s point of view, something worth considering.

That’s not to say we must bow to every opinion or perspective. We each have personal values and codes of conduct based on our life experience and our innate wisdom. We all have issues about which we feel strongly. What understanding about separate realities does, however, is allow us to see the other persons perspective as simply that—another perspective. It depersonalizes the situation.

We’re then able to move from an adversarial position of reactivity and “need to be right” to one of deeper innate wisdom and common sense.

For example, when we observe what we believe to be injustices or an abuse of power it’s far more effective to address it from a position of resolve and calm than from a position of anger and judgment. Remember, we’re smarter when we’re calm.

There’s a profound freedom that comes with seeing that we are all creating our own reality moment to moment. It’s testament to the amazing power of thought and to the abundant choices available to us at any given time. “My reality or yours,” both attempts to interpret the world, each one our own movie. Let’s make it a good one.