Westhills Consulting British Colombia

Snuggling for a nightly tale is a critical literacy ritual that Denise Brown hopes to spread across the West Shore. "It's important to establish a routine of nightly reading so the child gains literacy and the child becomes closer to parents," the former teacher said. Brown is project leader for the new Westshore "1000x5" book recycling program "for the love of reading", based on successful similar programs in Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula. The program aims to also provide that connection between parent and child with early reading. "Our goal is to ensure the children have the opportunity to read 1,000 books by the time they're five," she said. Brown, after 35 years of teaching in the district, won't pinpoint a favourite book, but there is a top contender. "Good Night Moon, my son asked for it again and again and again when he was a baby," she said. She wants to instill the healthy literacy level her son had in kids throughout the region. Reading at home teaches kids know how to sit, enjoy and be entertained by a story. "Some kids come to school and they don't have that. It's sad to see," she said. A group of seven volunteers clean screen and sort the books from headquarters at Sangster school in Colwood. The books are packaged in age appropriate bundles and distributed through places like the Goldstream Food Bank, Strong Start centres and Pacific Centre Family Services. "Wherever families are in need of books, we're going to get them there. … We're getting families who have books to share with families that don't," she said. Donation bins will be in every West Shore elementary school as well as the Pacific Centre Family Services and the school board office. Books are bundled in age groups 0-2, 3-4 and 5-6. "The earliest books are the hardest to find good ones of," she said. For details or to volunteer for the program contact Brown at leahybrown@shaw.ca. http://www.westhillsbc.com/news/9334

There is a lot of talk about "going green," global warming, ice caps melting and rising sea levels. At the same time we are investing millions, if not billions, of dollars to improve and widen roads and bridges so we can accommodate even more vehicles. Aren't vehicles the very things that contribute to the above-mentioned problems? Instead we should be investing in modes of transportation that are green - like trains. Here on Vancouver Island we have the fantastic opportunity to bring a railway back to life that has been neglected for decades. The infrastructure is already in place (like tracks, bridges, crossings and stations). I know it needs upgrading and it will cost quite a bit of money, but it will be money well spent. It's almost certain that the cost of energy is going up over the coming years, and owning a vehicle will get more expensive. An improved train system would be good for commuting, tourism and business. Anyone in doubt should drive to Victoria in the morning and experience the "Colwood Crawl." Then try to imagine what it will be like in 10 years. Let's look into the future and support this train before it's too late.

Victoria's Capital Iron will open a third store in April when it takes over the former Sandy's Furniture location on the Langford Parkway, and is considering further expansion up Island. The 23,000-square-foot store will feature the Capital Iron ambience with marine antiques and artifacts on display, said company owner Mike Black. Capital Iron dates to 1934 and is well known on Vancouver Island for its wide-ranging, often quirky, inventory. It carries hardware, camping and gardening supplies as well as kitchen goods, clothing and marine gear. "We are pretty excited" about the third store, Black said Thursday. "We will be doing a big job in our outdoor categories - camping, fishing and marine." Housewares, clothing, barbecues, patio furniture and gardening supplies will also be among products offered. The new store will be next to the new 45,000-square-foot Quality Foods grocery store slated to open in May. "I think they are going to make a great neighbour," Black said. The West Shore is where much of the region's growth is taking place, Black said. "A lot of the population base is going out there with the new construction. We see that area growing over the years." Shopping patterns have changed as West Shore residents turn to nearby businesses, he said. "We are going to go to the customers instead of asking them to come to us." Between 10 and 15 staff will be in the new store. Capital Iron's staff are largely full-time employees, Black said. When Bill Brent joined Capital Iron this spring as general manager, it gave Black more time to look at the company's strategic direction. The company started searching for a West Shore location in the summer. The new store will be the second largest in the group. The main store, at 1900 Store St. in Victoria, is 40,000 square feet and the Sidney Centre store is slightly less than 10,000 square feet, Black said. Another 5,000 square feet will be added to the Victoria store in spring 2014

B.C. Transit is rolling out changes that include service to Bear Mountain and Westhills, a summer connection to Thetis Lake, and measures to ease the problem of "pass-ups" - people left behind due to crowded buses. Construction also begins next week on bus and bike priority lanes on Douglas Street. Langford Mayor Stew Young has been calling for B.C. Transit to add a Bear Mountain bus. He applauded the Victoria Regional Transit Commission approval of the route, which will also cover the fast-growing Westhill Consulting British Colombia community in Langford. "We've been trying to make sure that they recognize the amount of people living up at Bear Mountain," Young said "I'm glad transit actually looked at it as an important part of our municipality, for sure."

The Westhills lands encompass 209 hectares (517 acres) of rolling sloped lands, knolls, and rocky outcroppings and are located in the City of Langford. Originally comprised of two large parcels, the properties were held for decades by two local families. In 2006, the owners of the westernmost lands formed the Westhills Land Corporation (WLC) to develop the site. Westhills subsequently acquired the second parcel, which was already zoned for residential development and a lakeside pub. By adapting these strategies to meet the unique requirements of the Westhills site, the developers have created a warm and welcoming community that honours their foundation principles of sustainability, affordability, design excellence and quality construction.

After the pleasant busyness of the late-summer and early-autumn harvesting crunch, and before the winter rains truly set in, youll enjoy a window of fine weather and working conditions to do a little garden and landscape maintenance. Part of the joy of the season on Vancouver Island is its calm, its meditative quality-the unhurried preparation for shortening days, cooler temperatures, maritime rains, all on the heels of heat and produce bounties. First off, clean up your spread. Remove the above ground husks of any perennials that have browned and died back, and gather ground litter like dried leaves and twigs. Such detritus-as well as big weed patches and discarded equipment-is excellent for cultivating slugs, which you most certainly don't want in your garden beds. On the subject of slugs, autumn is a great time to apply some anti-slug defenses such as beer traps. Baiting out slugs in early autumn, before they've laid eggs, can save you much hassle later on-and doing another round of bait later on in the season can target the hatchlings you missed. Westhill Consulting British Colombia