Mon. June 19 - Victoria father's fatal fall abroad

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning !

Today we have sad news about the death of a young local, as well as stories on two high-achieving local twins and the latest update on one of the many Official Community Plans being completed in the region. One of the key issues in this plan concerns what homeowners can do on properties in certain areas—always a contentious type of municipal matter, at least for the specific (and often vocal) people to whom it ends up applying.

NEWS

Victorian dies after fall from bunk while travelling

A young local father, 22, died this month after returning to his hostel in Antigua, Guatemala, and falling from the top bunk during the night. He leaves behind a daughter, 2, who lives in Campbell River with her mother.

A family friend who described Nash Hellwig as “like a son to our family” wrote on fundraiser page that Hellwig was taken to the nearest public hospital, then to a private hospital for a CAT scan, then back to the public hospital to use the ICU. But the “excessive internal bleeding of his liver” revealed by the CAT scan caused a cardiac arrest that proved fatal. The friend, Stirling Fraser, wrote that Hellwig was not alone and was accompanied by other travellers and the hostel owners to the end.

Hellwig worked at Victoria Airport with the Air Canada Jazz crew but was passionate about boating and wanted to be a deckhand on a super-yacht some day. The fundraiser is intended to pay for the family’s travel and the funeral arrangements, and to help Hellwig’s daughter, Saylor, as she grows up without him.

Community’s response has moved mother
Mother Jo-Anne Hellwig gave an update this past weekend that she had been moved by her treatment on the flight back to Canada with Nash’s remains. She said the flight crew gave a short address explaining the situation and that fire trucks at YYJ created an arch of water for the plane to pass under. [Videos]

She was also moved by the success of the fundraiser, which has raised $31K of its $40K goal so far.

“Nothing can take away the pain and grief of losing a child,” she wrote, “but the support from all you Angels certainly lessens it.”

Capital Bulletin

🌦️ Today's weather: Showers: 30% chance in afternoon / 60% in evening. Some wind. High 17C (13 near Juan de Fuca Strait) / low 11. UV index 6 (high).

🌦️ This week’s weather: Some rain early in week, with sun and cloud and 20+C later in the week.

🫁 Air quality: Low risk today (2/10). Mild smoke from Washington state fire may reach South Island, with some light smoke from rest of Canada expected to waft over the Island tomorrow.

🚧 Sooke traffic delays at Church and Throup. 9am-2pm, Mon. & Tue.

NEWS

Twins first to share UVic’s Victoria Medal

For the first time ever, the award for highest GPA in UVic’s faculty of arts is going to two people. While it may be a first for the department, it’s hardly new to see the two as a packaged deal—the identical twins have been side by side their entire lives.

“We were walking to a class together when Sarah got an email saying, ‘Congratulations! You won!’ and I thought, ‘Hmm, I wonder if I won too?’ . . . then five seconds later I got an email saying I had won,” said Rachel.

Rachel and Sarah Lachmansingh, who both have a passion for the written word, moved to Victoria from Toronto to pursue UVic’s prestigious writing program.

The sisters both worked on UVic’s literary journal, This Side of West, and were mentees for the Writers Union of Canada BIPOC Writers Connect program. Of course, they’ve also achieved a lot on their own, with Rachel being a finalist in the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize and Sarah having published work in multiple literary magazines.

“Having the writerly culture in the program and Victoria in general, we felt like we were part of a community, part of a place where we all celebrated reading and writing and being thoughtful,” said Sarah.

NEWS

Contentious Sooke Official Community Plan revamp returns to council

The district chose last fall to wait to make a decision on the new community plan until after the election, with some members including Maja Tait arguing that not enough public consultation had been done. New public input has been gathered in sessions this spring, and this afternoon’s meeting is intended to have council hear additional public info (beyond the 70+ correspondences already collected in the agenda).

The 200-plus-page OCP report was received a year ago from contractor DIALOG, with some councillors objecting that the $200,000 project has typos and other flaws after a lengthy two-year process made difficult by the pandemic.

Changes since original proposal
Items changed in response to public concerns included the 30m buffer zone for the foreshore (a provincewide best-practice that Sooke reduced to 15m in response to homeowner concerns), the Community Residential designation of Whiffin Spit (now changed to Rural Residential), and the rural designation of Farrell Estates and West Ridge Trails areas (now changed to Comprehensive Development and Community Residential respectively).

Staff want to dispel concerns
Today’s agenda from Sooke staff attempts to tackle continued objections, saying that misinformation has gone around. Key points it lists as misunderstood or overlooked include:
-That foreshore work such as landscaping, removing invasive species, building retaining walls will not need approval.
-That even where density is increased from 50 to 70 units per hectare, individual projects will still need approvals and have to go through rezonings. Those certain areas are eligible for higher density, which has been contentious, but are not pre-zoned for it in the way that some in Victoria are.

The committee of the whole meeting begins at 1pm and will be livestreamed.

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Capital Picks

🏳️‍🌈 Pride Month movies: This Wednesday and Thursday at Cinecenta:
5pm – Soft, a 2021 movie about three queer street kids investigating a disappearance in Toronto.
7pm – 1995’s To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, which stars Swayze, Snipes, and Leguizamo as drag queens on a wild road trip across America. [Schedule]

🛍️ New Local Shop Alert! ️Shop MADE— featuring artisans from central Canada—is now open at the Bay Centre.*

🥕 Esquimalt Farmers Market returns: Live music, local artisans, and food trucks. Starts today and runs to Sept. 4. 4:30-7:30pm. Gorge Park. [Details]

🎟️ Roots Reunited silent auction ends this week: Locals can support refugees by bidding on dining, axe throwing, cider tasting, bowling, rock climbing, car shares, museums, ice cream, arcades, massage, and more.

🤝 Now hiring: Tenant Legal Advocate at Together Against Poverty Society.

*Sponsored Listing

In Other News

🎖️ Father’s medals stolen from schoolteacher after her workplace burns down
The Victoria teacher, who was working at Ricky’s Grill for the summer until it burned last week, is seeking the return of her late father’s medals. She says the medals, some of the last items she has from him, were stolen from her car over the weekend. [CHEK]

⚽ Pacific FC widens the gap as #1 team in Canadian Premier League 
The Langford-based pro soccer team took down second-place York United 1-0 yesterday at home, the week after beating third-place Forge FC 1-0. This opens up a five-point gap (21 points to 16) between PFC and both of those rivals, with PFC still having played one game fewer.
The local team won the 2021 championship over Forge but took a step back in 2022 after losing key players, falling in the CPL semifinals. But this year, PFC has been far and away the league leader, boasting a +11 goal differential when no other team is above +1.

In Case You Missed It

🍼 Fatherhood and mental health: We spoke with local dad and restaurateur-turned-author Graham Meckling about his new guide to becoming a father without freaking out. Watch the video or read the story here—the article text is now updated with more material from the video interview.

👴 Stories of Island fathers: From a dad helping a daughter chart a lost doll’s path to a son proving himself worthy of dad’s restaurant, these are the ways local dads live and leave legacies. [Capital Daily]

⚾ HarbourCats lose first home game: Victoria (11-4) failed to capture its 4th sweep in five series, beating the Yakima Valley Pippins at Royal Athletic on Friday and Saturday but not Sunday.

🧰 U.A. Local 324 has plumbing and pipe fitting positions available right now! They provide steady and stable employment with higher wages and generous benefits. Learn more.*

📁 Last day for Saanich 2022 Annual Report input: You can review the annual report here.

⚠️ Stay out of Island View Beach water, CRD says after nearby wastewater discharge this past week.

🤑 Saturday’s headlines: Meet the local $35M lotto winners and hear about the cross-country giving spree they have planned. Plus: a guy who just sailed 1,200km from here to Alaska, a beloved local swap-and-shop, and a suspicious fire on Douglas. [Saturday newsletter].

*Sponsored Listing