INSIDE: P.16

An Island Publishers Newsmagazine

ROAD

By VAUGHN COCKE
This Week Staff

imon Charlie hopped on his
bicycle for the last time the
morning of Sept. 24. He was on
his way to help a friend with
some home renovations when he was
hit by a car at the corner of Cook and
North Park streets. The 35-year-old
wood carver, who wasn't wearing a hel-
met at the time of the accident, died of
& head injuries a short time later in
hospital.
Charlie’s family and friends will remember
him as a sensitive, reliable person and a care-
ful cyclist. The Insurance Corporation of

British Columbia will remember him as a
statistic.
. )

UPTO HIS CHEST in kiwifruit, Balvinder Samra
checks 690 pounds of if in a single crate at
the Vantreight farm.
S

WARS

Every year about 20 cyclists are killed on
B.C. roads, and 90 per cent of them die from
head injuries. According to ICBC, 293 Greater
Victoria bicycle accidents last year resulted in
injuries. Seventy-five per cent of those injuries
were to the head. While helmet use is on the
rise, many cyclists, for a variety of reasons,
still choose to ride without protecting their
heads —and some, like Simon Charlie, pay the
ultimate price.

It's generally accepted that the number of
cycling deaths and injuries would decline
dramatically if every cyclist wore a helmet. In
the light of that consensus, a lot of people are
calling for legislation to make bicycle helmets
mandatory in British Columbia. Not surpris-
ingly, the B.C. Medical Association, whose
members regularly get a close and personal

Continued on Page 3

Eat your heart out, New Zealand

By LYONEL DOHERTY
This Week Staff

hat’s brown, fuzzy and
green inside? Some
farmers might say it’s a
little New Zealand on

Vancouver Island.

To Ian Vantreight, “it’s a little stick of
dynamite as far as nutrition goes.”

The Central Saanich farmer is referring to
kiwifruit he grows on two orchards owned by
the family business, G.A. Vantreight and
Sons.

If you really think about it, it’s no surprise
the tasty fruit is grown in B.C. Weatherwise,
there’s a touch of New Zealand here, and
farmers on Vancouver Island have proven
they can successfully grow this unique fruit
that is quickly growing in popularity,
Vantreight said.

The fuzzy, brown product, known as the
“Chinese gooseberry” because of its origin,
was first commercially grown in New
Zealand in the early 1950s. The name
“kiwifruit” was coined because of the
resemblance between the fruit and the
country’s national bird, the kiwi.

Continued on Page 4

_.. Where bikes and cars
battle if out and two wheels
have a distinct disadvantage

BOOKSWEST: ‘Tis the season
for giving and what better Gift
than books? Mike Steele
gives us some great choices
on Page 6.

CALENDAR: From animation

and animal tights to Zim- .

babwe and Zen, our calen-

dar covers the spectrum. Let

This Week help you plan your
week,

HISTORY: The Mundays had a
mission — explore and ex-
plain the mountains of B.C.
Read all about this dedi-
cated couple on Page 19.

A DETERMINED CYCLIST makes his rainy way up a hill on Foul

Bay Road lined with traffic.

MISS MANNERS: People who

brag about former wealth —

are a bore. Judith Martin tells
how to handle them on Page
1d:

CRITIC’S CHOICE: There’s
much te see on the stage in
Victoria this week, See what
Barb Little has to say about
the offerings on Page 14.

FUTURE WATCH: Canadians
are far i100 Complacent. We
should complain a lof more
Than we do when the service
is bad says Dr. Tomorrow. on
Page 9.

November 28, 1990