Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1044
68F
26
footwear
TOLL FREE1-888-227-1434
See Our Selection Online:See Our Selection Online:www.palliserchevrolet.comwww.palliserchevrolet.com
Call or stop by Call or stop by for a test drive.for a test drive.
Wayne Wayne ArdronArdron
Sales Sales RepresentativeRepresentative
MON-FRI (9 AM-6 PM) SAT (9 AM-5 PM) 4604-42 AVE., INNISFAIL, AB.*All price are plus GST (5%) Vehicle may not be exactly as illustrated.
[email protected]@palliserchev.com
1032
05D
17
Wayne’s Deal of the Week!
Wayne’sSale Price
2013 CHEV SILVERADO LT Z71 4X4 CREW CABStk #7203B. Black, 5.3L
V8, 23,000 kms
$31,252
Wayne’sWayne’sSale PriceSale Price
2012 CHEV SILVERADO LTZ 4X42012 CHEV SILVERADO LTZ 4X4Stk #1284A. Black, 6.2L V8, heated & cooled leather seats, 33,000 kms
$$36,22436,224
CERTIFIED
PRE-OWNED
CERTIFIED
PRE-OWNED
TOLL F
$$Wayne’sWayne’sSale PriceSale Price
BY RENÉE FRANCOEUR
ADVOCATE STAFF
Vision mate Pat Christoph steers Barry Weather-all around a giant puddle at the Three Mile Bend off-leash dog park in Red Deer.
“Be careful Pat; I could just jump in there like a 10-year-old, you know,” Weatherall, 52, said with a laugh.
Arm in arm, the pair spend a couple of hours a week joking and strolling the area with Weatherall’s guide dog Owen.
They were matched up by the Canadian National Institute For The Blind about a year ago.
Weatherall, legally blind after a workplace acci-dent in 1998, had been looking for a vision mate who was keen on long walks for months.
Christoph, a realtor, had her eye open for a unique and active volunteering opportunity because she said she “likes keeping busy and meeting new people.”
When her daughter mentioned being a vision mate, Christoph decided to give it a go.
“It turned out better than I could have hoped for,” she said. “We’ve become friends. I look forward to coming down here.”
“She also gets to chase Owen around, which can be quite fun,” said Weatherall, nudging Christoph.
“He loves to play, especially chasing balls. He’ll steal other dogs’ balls. He al-ways comes back, though, when called. He keeps an eye on us.”
The vision mate program with CNIB has been around for decades — much longer than anyone can remember, said Jung-Suk Ryu, communications manager for the Alberta and Northwest Territories chapter.
“It’s a critical part of our or-ganization. We couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers, such as our vision mates. It’s an added value to our clients,” Ryu said.
The program provides regular social interaction and compan-ionship to people who are blind or partially sighted, offering such help with everyday activi-ties as reading mail, organizing, going for walks and running errands.
Six vision mates volunteer in Red Deer and there is an “immediate need for more,” in the city and around Central Alberta, said Wody Bergquist, the CNIB’s administrative assistant in Red Deer.
Bergquist said some volunteers have been with
the program for over 10 years and that there has been a slight increase in the number of ded-icated vision mates recently thanks to more advertising.
Christoph and Weatherall walk, rain or shine. This winter’s plunging temperatures and unprecedented snow cover didn’t keep them indoors either. Apart from his weekly excursions with his vision mate, Weather-all also walks Owen, a six-year-old German shepherd, with other friends at least 10 km a day, he said.
Losing his sight was an uphill battle in many ways but has had little impact on the former plumber and hot water engineer’s active lifestyle. He is a rock climber, swim-mer and triathlete. He’s a gym regular and has tried his hand at ice climbing and white water rafting. He is currently in the thick of renovating his basement. He’s largely inde-pendent and learned how to grocery shop, cook and clean house on his own.
He also does a number of presentations to oil-patch and construction companies as a representa-tive of CNIB’s Eye Safety Program.
“Vision mates is great, especially for socializing more with people you’ve never met. I’d recommend it to anyone,” Weatherall said.
An eye for friendship
Red Deer LIFE Sunday, April 13, 2014 3
Photo by RENEÉ FRANCOEUR
Pat Christoph, vision mate for Barry Weatherall, pets Weatherall’s dog Owen at their regular outing at the off-leash park at Three Mile Bend. “If he acts up, Pat’s the one who runs to catch him,” Weatherall said with a laugh.
It turned out better than I could have hoped for. We’ve become friends. I look forward to coming down here.Vision mate volunteer Pat Christoph
‘‘
