To the rescue

I am writing to applaud the excellent service of a security guard by the name of Harpindar (sorry if the spelling is wrong).

Aberdeen Centre is notorious for the confusing parking. Apparently, the signs don’t mean what they say. P2 is really on the first level.

On Monday, Aug. 1, after a nice dim sum lunch and some fruitful shopping, my elderly mother and I headed for our car to make our way home. Little did we know that this would take us almost an hour just to find the car!

After much circling around and coming to fear that our car may have been stolen, we were lucky enough to spot a security guard. This young man was very helpful and pleasant. Despite our somewhat confusing description of where we were parked, this nice security guard rode around on his bike and managed to find our car on the first level (yes, P2!)

Harpindar, thank you so much for helping us out that afternoon! My congratulations to your boss for having a fine employee like you. If you had other colleagues working with you to find our car that day, please thank them for us too.

I am secure in the knowledge that when my sense of direction fails and the signs are confusing, I can turn to the security guard. Yes, I think I will shop again at Aberdeen again.

Just Ducky

I would like it to be known that there are some very special people here in Richmond who care about the plight of wildlife and those who try to rehabilitate them. Those people are the kind and compassionate staff at Country Meadows Golf Course.

We rescued a two-day-old mallard duckling and raised “Ducky” for nine weeks, teaching him to forage, swim, dive and fly. His love and joy in life are clearly evident and we wanted to release him to live a proper duck’s life near a pond, a few ducks and people (he had never seen another duck before, so a proper environment for this imprinted bird was crucial).

We frequently dine at the Country Meadows Golf Course and found ourselves telling the story of Ducky to Debra, the restaurant manager. She encouraged us to consider the golf course as a potential spot for Ducky to live. One night, Ducky flew out of our yard and got lost. We found him the next day and decided it was time to move him to his new home. The caring support of Debra, Brenda and all the staff have brought hope and joy into this precious little duck’s life.

Old Mitchell is a valuable resource

As co-ordinator of the English Language Services for Adults program for Richmond Continuing Education, I found your article on the fate of Mitchell Adult Learning Centre (“Saving ‘Old Mitchell’”, July 28) of particular interest.

Those of us who work at the school see the many positive achievements of our 350 adult students and 40 pre-schoolers. Therefore, we are dismayed that there are those who would close the school because they consider it an eyesore. Couldn’t we try to think outside the box and come up with a solution to beautify the exterior walls? (Perhaps Richmond school children could paint murals which could then be mounted on the building. This would cost a lot less than $100,000!)

Our secretary Gerry Egdell hit the nail on the head when she said: “These people are all condemning it, but they’ve never been inside to look at it and see what we’ve done.”

Mitchell Adult Learning Centre is a valuable resource for East Richmond. New immigrants from diverse backgrounds come here to learn English, and this helps them find jobs and integrate into the community. Moreover, they learn about Canada and Canadian values.

Newspaper photos of Mitchell Adult Learning Centre always show an apparently empty old building. I’m attaching one that reflects the true nature of our school. Then, maybe the paint job wouldn’t seem like such a big issue.

More crows

Re: “As the crows fly,” Letters, July 28.

So that’s where they go! No. 4 and Alderbridge. At dusk I see hundreds of crows flying over my house (near No. 2 Road and Blundell) heading northeast.

I always thought they were heading back to Burnaby after a hard day’s work at Steveston. As to why, I don’t have the answer. Maybe someone southwest of me does?

At dawn each morning, they can be seen flying southwest, towards Steveston.

Editor’s note: There is also a large roost of crows near Lougheed and Willingdon in Burnaby. It is thought that the reason crows roost together is safety in numbers.