Tie salesman sells style, character at Cariboo music festival
Published July 15
Young Thayus De Groot may not be old enough to drive, but he is already earning a few dollars of his own.
The 100 Mile House resident was at the Arts on the Fly music festival in Horsefly, B.C. on July 13 with his parents, enjoying the live music in style, as he dressed in a 1940's-era wardrobe, complete with a fedora, suspenders, button-down shirt and a tie.
Thayus carried with him a briefcase of neckties he was willing to part with, for a price, allowing others to take a tip from his fashion lead.
Thayus' parents said the young man's personality accounts for much of his sales. Thayus was also practicing his favourite dance, the jig, at the River Stage during a performance by Zonnis.
Horsefly students help launch StoryWalk season
Published July 18
Young authors in Horsefly are helping to bring the community together through storytelling.
Students at Horsefly School are participating in a new StoryWalk season with the Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy, creating stories by illustrating them and turning them into books, and are having fun while learning in the process.
“Each writer has a unique identity and individual abilities,” said Kindergarten and grade one teacher Kathy Farkas. “During bookmaking, they make decisions, take actions and even take risks. If children are not trying to write, they are not learning to write.”
A StoryWalk is a deconstructed book with laminated pages clipped to posts throughout green spaces and outdoor paths, which provide opportunities for family engagement and outdoor learning and exploration, in addition to just reading.
Men provide some helping hands at Williams Lake community garden
Published July 18
Members of the Williams Lake Men's Shed group were out rebuilding dilapidated raised garden beds at the Memory Garden on Carson Drive on Wednesday, June 26.
The men have been meeting for the past six months, and the group is part of a movement across many western countries to offer opportunities for men to come together, socialize and do volunteer handiwork in the community. The original movement began in Australia about 30 years ago, according to Bert Groenenberg, who is one of the local shed members.
The garden was started by a high school student initiative around 2012, said Tatjana Bates, registered dietitian with Interior Health (IH) who is the lead helping oversee the garden. She said the garden is part of food security work IH does for the area and it is all volunteer-driven.
"It takes many helping hands to run a large community garden," she said.
Bhangra dancers bring joy, culture to Williams Lake
Published Aug. 15
It was a full circle moment for Williams Lake mayor Surinderpal Rathor Thursday evening (Aug. 8) at the Performances in the Park event.
Rathor, the city's first Indo-Canadian mayor, opened the evening, telling the large, diverse crowd of his first experience coming from India to Williams Lake in 1974. He recounted how he could not get a job at first because he was told he was not 'neat and tidy' with his beard and turban. Determined to succeed, a young Rathor shaved his beard and cut his hair, which he said saddened his wife.
With that, Rathor invited guests up to the stage to sing or dance, including Deskhsa Amal, Timmy Thampy as well as a large group of local women who performed Gidha dancing.
Thrilled by the performances, a group of men danced in the crowd and even hoisted the mayor up onto the shoulders of another man and danced. Rathor was gently placed back down where he spoke of what the evening meant to him.
"Today's event is a true mosaic, a true celebration of multiculturalism," Rathor told the Tribune of the celebration.
Williams Lake Tribune's newest newspaper carrier is 6-years-old
Published Aug. 29
Wanting to boost her chore allowance, a six-year-old girl in Williams Lake suggested to her parents she could get a job delivering newspapers.
Row Kimberlin did her first delivery on Thursday, Aug. 15, and from all reports enjoyed the experience.
While she started to get tired halfway through, and her mom Kim Kimberlin assisted in delivering some of the papers, Kim said Row perked back up when she realized her friends were watching her.
"Once she was done, I asked her how she felt and she said 'I feel powerful.'"
Kim said Row made a resume and applied at the paper, landing a successful interview.
Williams Lake students blow past goals for Terry Fox fundraiser
Published Oct. 10
Columneetza Junior Secondary School had some impressive results for their Terry Fox Run fundraising.
This year, staff and students came together for a week-long fundraising event, focused on raising awareness about cancer and gathering donations for the Terry Fox Foundation. The idea was simple—get students running for a week and encourage donations through a friendly competition between classes.
As a school, Columneetza set an ambitious goal: to raise $800, which would fund one full day of cancer research, and to collectively run 500 laps (200 km) in Terry Laps.
The staff and students far exceeded these expectations, raising a total of $1,279, and students completed an incredible 3,485 laps, totalling 1,394 km.
This event brought out the best in students—their selflessness, generosity, and care for others shone through in every lap and every donation.
Hauntingly happy birthday for Williams Lake 11-year-old
Published Oct. 24
When Sarah Sigurdson asked her daughter Ellie what she wanted to do for her birthday, she was surprised with the response she got.
Ellie asked for a ghost photo shoot, an idea she got from the internet and had seen on Tik Tok.
A ghost photo shoot involves putting on a white sheet, a pair of sunglasses and going and taking photos "having a grand time doing whatever may be outside your home" according to the artist website Lenkaland.
Alea Sales, Brittany Neels and Ellie, along with Ellie's sister Haylee and brother Bodhi all went up to the Russet Bluff behind their home and the Asbestos Pits, two spots Ellie enjoys hiking and side-by-siding with her family.
Ellie said the best part was her mom taking them to the bluffs. She said she has always like ghosts "because they're unique."
Legion celebrates 90 years in Williams Lake
Published Nov. 7
With 90 years in Williams Lake, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 139 has seen its fair share of changes among its ranks and across the community.
Branch 139 was chartered on Sept. 6, 1934, about eight years after the nationwide veteran's organization was first incorporated.
In the early days, Branch 139 met in a quonset hut on First Avenue, and only veterans or their relatives could be members of the legion.
When asked to describe what makes Branch 139 unique, Abbott said: “It's one of the friendliest places to be.” She compared visiting the legion to having friends in your living room. “It’s that kind of familial warmth,’ she said.
“It’s an incredible feat,” Abbott said about making it to 90 years, and while times have changed, she said veterans continue to need support today.
Recycling hero makes big haul of Williams Lake butts
Published Dec. 5
Wilber Saunders is showing Williams Lakers their butts.
Cigarette butts, that is. Saunders, known for his incredible work cleaning up litter across the community for over a decade, carefully sorts the waste he picks up, recycling as much as he can. Saunders spends time most days collecting garbage he finds along the roadways and in parking lots and other spots during the snow-free months of the year.
After sorting it all, he was recently packing up and shipping around 100 pounds of cigarette butts, thanks to a partnership with the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society (CCCS).
While Oliver Berger, a waste-wise educator with the CCCS, applauds the work Saunders is doing, he also appeals to smokers to help out by dealing with their own waste, either by choosing filter-free cigarettes or saving their own butts and recycling them, rather than making work for a volunteer like Saunders.
"You can do better," said Berger in his post. "Let's not leave this up to one person to fix."
"It's going into our environment ... it's going into our watersheds," Saunders said, noting he's not doing all this work for himself, as he will be 80 next month.
"It's for the next generation."
Cariboo organ donor saves 5, inspires mom to volunteer
Published Dec. 19
“Live life and pass it on,” that’s the message sisters Deanna Desjarlais and Debbie Lynn carry with them as the mother and aunt of an organ donor who saved five lives.
Deanna and Debbie thanked a team of health-care workers Monday, Dec. 2 at the Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH) with a box of festive popcorn.
The sisters are the only two Cariboo-based volunteers with BC Transplant, which for 33 years has been delivering popcorn to health-care teams across the province in thanks for their part in making organ donations and transplants possible.
For Deanna, thanking the staff for the work they do means a lot. In July of 2021, her son Cayden Desjarlais lost his life after a motorcycle accident in 100 Mile House. When she was told there was no hope for her son, Deanna was surprised to learn Cayden was registered as an organ donor and could save another life. In the end, he saved five.
Since his passing, Cayden’s mother said she has “morphed into a different Deanna.” She began volunteering at the hospice in 100 Mile and worked as a patient ambassador at the local hospital before becoming a permanent receptionist there.
“It’s exactly where Cayden wants me to be,” she said.
