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Langford-based Olympians shock fans with silver

Plus, local student wins third in global competition, RCMP distracted driving campaign, and more

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Good morning! 

The community is buzzing with excitement for local Olympic rugby champions, who are taking home a silver medal after a hard-fought battle in the finals. Challenging teams they never imagined to defeat, read all about the women’s win, and more, in today’s edition of the newsletter.

Emma

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TRANSPORTATION

Recent Westshore texting and driving blitz called a disappointing success

Distracted driving campaign in Langford. Photo: West Shore RCMP

On July 25, a distracted driving blitz conducted by the West Shore RCMP at Peatt and Goldstream in Langford yielded disappointing results. Despite extensive warnings and signage about the campaign, drivers continued to engage in distracted driving. During the operation, police issued 30 tickets and 18 warnings for distracted driving, alongside six tickets and three warnings for other offences.

A similar effort in Saanich last fall recorded 50 distracted driving violations in just three hours, highlighting the ongoing traffic safety issue. West Shore RCMP Constable Sean Van Londersele expressed disappointment, noting the high number of citations despite ample advance notice to drivers and a highly visible enforcement presence.

"Drivers would have passed by numerous signs warning them against distracted driving before being pulled over by police,” said Londersele in a news release about the Langford campaign. "We were disappointed in the high number of tickets we issued for distracted driving. We had hoped the number would have been much less.”

The campaign, a joint effort involving local police, ICBC Speed Watch volunteers, and BC Highway Patrol, was promoted ahead of the effort. Recent statistics have demonstrated that the problem of distracted driving is widespread and growing in BC and beyond.

According to ICBC, distracted driving contributes to 40% of police-reported crashes and about 80 deaths annually in BC. New automated flagger assistance devices (AFAD) will soon be implemented to enhance safety in construction zones. 

"We have always taken a zero-tolerance approach to distracted driving, and it needs to stop," said Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general.

COMMUNITY

Local student takes third in the International Economics Olympiad

Photo: Submitted by Chau Anh Ngo

The International Economics Olympiad (IEO) just wrapped up on Tuesday, and Pearson College UWC is getting excited to welcome home student Chau Anh Ngo after she won a bronze medal for her talent. 

The second-year student took on the challenge of the IEO from July 22 to 30, competing against 38 countries in a free annual competition for high school students around the world to foster and nurture a passion for economics and finance.

It has been a strenuous road for Ngo, who spent hours every day dedicating her time to learning material, practising questions, and balancing daily activities. With the help of her economics teacher Samuel Perez de Leon, Ngo was able to push herself to where she needed to be for the event. 

“It was so fun to learn new things,” said Ngo. “It was great to receive so many supporting messages and notes from my friends and teachers; for economics, I self-study with online sources, notes, YouTube, and it's also useful to practise maths and read econ news too.”

With the competition hosted every year, Ngo encourages others to try out new things and challenge themselves like she did. With her friends and family at her side, Ngo says she can’t thank her community enough for their support. 

“I think the mental support from [everyone] was so valuable to me,” said Ngo. “It was a great opportunity for me to take part in this competition, I was able to see the subjects from a much more creative perspective and also got the chance to meet up with a lot of people and test out my teamwork ability too.” 

Pearson College UWC confirmed to the Westshore that Ngo finished the tournament with a bronze medal. Keep your eyes out for the results in the next coming weeks.

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SPORTS

Island Olympians take home a silver medal

Smiles and tears. Canada surprises with silver in Paris. Photo: Rugby Canada

They held their own against the finest and, even in defeat, gave Canada its best-ever finish in their sport.

On July 28, the Canadian women’s rugby team opened the Paris Games by defeating Fiji 17-14 but were trounced 33-7 by tournament favourite New Zealand. 

They began the July 29 matches by beating China 26-17 behind two tries from 2016 medalist Charity Williams. That put the fifth-ranked Canadians through to the quarterfinal, where they stunned their hosts and supporters in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris. 

The team—who train in Langford—shocked audiences by beating the undefeated and third-ranked France 19-14, denying the French a medal at home and silencing a huge crowd of 60K+ at Stade de France.

France led 14-7 early in the second, but sacré bleu! UBC’s Piper Logan delivered her second solo score of the game before Chloe Daniels broke the tied affair with a decisive try in the final minute, propelling Canada to Tuesday’s semifinals.

Following a shocking win, the team astonished the Australians—and the rugby world yet again—by dumping the Aussies 21-12 in a come-from-behind upset in front of 70K+ at Stade de France. This pushed them to take on the challenge of the gold medal match. 

Moving on to their match against New Zealand, the Canadian women’s rugby sevens squad dropped a compelling, hard-fought 19-12 decision to a star-studded New Zealand team that was perfect in Paris and fully deserving of its successful defence of Olympic gold.

But if the Kiwis were consummate, the Canadians were captivating. 

At the risk of chipping in from the peanut gallery, we’d say it’s fair to describe Canada’s silver medal as a golden moment. Never had Canada veered within the exclusive lanes occupied by the Aussies and New Zealanders. Not at this level. From the peanut gallery, yesterday’s silver sure tastes a lot like gold. 

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Around the 'Shore

🍻 Brewery and the Beast brings in over 50 local chefs: More than 50 Island-based chefs are scheduled to come to Langford’s festival of meat, Brewery and the Beast, a massive event that is slated to be one of the city’s biggest events of the year. The festival will bring in different meats, drinks, and live music to Langford’s Starlight Stadium on Sept. 22, and is expected to be the biggest version of the festival yet since its start in 2012. [CHEK]

🔥 Sooke Potholes blaze being held: BC Wildfire Services have announced that the Old Man Lake wildfire is now being held as of Tuesday morning. The fire, which reached its peak at 230 hectares, is no longer out of control and is projected to remain within its boundaries based on current conditions. [Victoria Buzz

🚌 Westshore to get rapid bus lanes: The BC and Federal Government have come together to widen around 3.8 kilometres of roadway on the TCH between the McKenzie Avenue interchange and the offramp to Colwood both north- and southbound. The width will allow buses to use an alternate lane and, along with the widening of the Colquitz bridges and improvements BC Transit is making from Six Mile to View Royal, is expected to help with commute times in the area. [Capital Daily]

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Community Events

🎨 Sooke Fine Arts show: Head to the SEAPARC Recreation Centre this Aug. 1 to 5 for the Sooke Fine Arts Show. With different feature events and times, the show is host to a variety of local artists and artwork to check out—tickets are available online and at the door

🛍️ Fridays at the Station: Head to the Langford Station this Aug. 2. for Fridays at The Station. Taking place every Friday from 4-8pm, enjoy an evening of BC craft beer flights, live music, a variety of food truck options, and shop at the local businesses and art studios. This event will feature the Darkest Horse as the live performer, so make sure to head on down for this free event. 

🚒 Firefighters historical museum: On Aug. 3, the Colwood Volunteer Firefighters Association is inviting the community to visit the Colwood Firefighter's Historical Museum and learn about the history of firefighters in our community. Going from 9am to 2pm, learn about Colwood’s fire department and their work since opening in 1939.

What’s Offshore?

No ships today!

Westshore Snaps

Back lighting on a rufus feather display. —Gary Woodburn, Colwood

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