Sou-ke First Nation members Emily Crooks and Alison Sudlow are among 612 Indigenous students to receive more than $1.8 million in awards from the Irving K. Barber Society in support of their studies at public post-secondary institutions throughout the province. The society’s Indigenous Student Awards program is funded from the returns on a $10 million endowment fund established by the province in 2007.
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Premier and local MLA John Horgan was recently honoured and “blanketed” for his leadership in implementing the UN declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into provincial law by the B.C. Assembly of First Nations.
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It’s almost a month past Christmas, but we’d be amiss not to mention the good work of Stu Soderberg at Point No Point in Shirley. One of our circulation drivers was delivering paper bags for the annual Santa Run and Stu filled four bags on the spot, instead of waiting for the fire department to pick up. The driver promptly took it over to the Sooke Food Bank for distribution. Nice community spirit.
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Bad Dog Brewing Co. recently celebrated its second anniversary with the opening of a new tasting room at its 7861 Tugwell Rd. location. The brewery is open from noon to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. You can contact Rosie Lyle and company by phone at (250)-642-3621 or on the web at www.baddogbrewing.ca.
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Parvez Kumar worked for years with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA before retiring to Sooke, and has trained our country’s top astronauts such as Marc Garneau, Roberta Bondar and Julie Payette. The photo accompanying this column shows Kumar with Garneau following a ride on the Vomit Comet, a specially fitted aircraft that introduces astronauts to the feeling of zero-gravity spaceflight.
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Buzz Miriam announced the winners of Western Foods’ Christmas Contests and $50 gift certificate winners. Christmas contest winners were Daphne Peerless, Maria Medwedrich, Lindsay Haldaine, Roy Ossalton, Debra Pratt, Joyce Acreman, Tracey Kingston, Samantha Backlynd, Deb Bootomly, and Debbie Kangas. Taking home the gift certificates were Amy Markham, Marion Hutchinson, Marlene Hall, Wayne Crossley, Joel Dorval, Meltessa Robinson, Joy MacLean, Pamela Patterson, Barb Adsett, Joelle Bechamp and Sandra Clawson.
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Here’s another great prize awarded recently. Jackie Colliou won a $8,500 family travel voucher in a national Tirecraft contest. She was presented her winnings by Sooke’s Dumont Tire owner Jason Dumont. Jackie plans to travel with her daughter.
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Kevin Laird is editor of the Sooke News Mirror. His email is editor@sookenewsmirror.com.