Starfield Brings the House Down!

Yikes - This is scary! It happened the day after Adam and a bunch of our youth leadership saw Starfield in Victoria. This is why we never allowed a mosh pit when I was at Harvest City Church. The floor just couldn't handle a hundred people jumping up and down at the same time. I think the engineers need to re-think thier load-bearing calculations for churches with this in mind!

Here is the article (for those of you who won't bother to go here).

Church stage collapses in Abbotsford, B.C.
JEREMY NUTTALL Globe and Mail Update
April 26, 2008 at 10:47 AM EDT ABBOTSFORD, B.C. —

There was carnage at a Christian rock show in British Columbia Friday night when the floor of the venue collapsed.

Twenty three people ended up in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious. The incident happened around 9:30 pm about 70 kilometres East of Vancouver in Abbotsford at the Central Heights Church. About 1,000 people were at the church to see the Christian rock band, Starfield.

"The portion of the floor that gave way is directly in front of the stage," said Constable Casey Vinet of the Abbotsford police. "

Const. Vinet said a section of the floor roughly seven meters by seven meters gave way at some point during the show. When the floor collapsed, it sent audience members — most of them teenagers — plummeting five meters to the church basement. Why the floor gave way has not been determined, but some witnesses have said equipment fell from the ceiling and crashed into the floor, causing the collapse.

"Everything that can be done will be done to determine the cause," said Const. Vinet. "Right now, we've called out our detective unit and our forensic identification services team. They will take over the scene and begin an investigation."

Const. Vinet said 32 people were treated at the scene. David Plug of Fraser Health said two people were sent to special units in Vancouver for care. He would comment on the nature of the injuries.

The emergency room of Abbotsford Regional Hospital was packed last night as victims of the fall waited to receive care. Mr. Plug said as many as 15 people were told to go to other hospitals, all within a half an hour drive. The waiting room was filled with people bearing somber eyes and frowns. Others seemed in disbelief as they waited for medical attention. Mr. Plug said staff were ready for the push of wounded concert-goers.

"It was a relief they handled it so well," said Mr. Plug. "And that there was not as many people injured as their might have been."

Mr. Plug also said, because of a local pastor and his knowledge of families in the area, it was much easier than usual to locate relatives of injured youths. He said that help keep operations at the hospital running smoothly. There has not been comment from the church on the incident.

Ponder

"Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, than thing for you is sin.” - Susannah Wesley

What season is this?

What season is April? Right now I am in in Alberta visiting my parents, and it is a freezing cold -9, with a few light flurries. But then Scott Chadwich emailed me some pictures that he took THIS MORNING of his yard in Nanaimo. I thought he was joking. Well, at least I don't have to worry about my new shrubs drying out while I'm away!

Getting things to grow

We've been busy planting shrubs and ground cover the past few weeks. We've put in about 160 plants so far, and we still have to do trees and large shrubs. Most of what we've done so far are a couple of different types of yellow varigated cedars shrubs,

a bunch of creeping broom, which is supposed to be a great ground cover for steep slopes, (looks kind of ugly now!),

and some scotts pine, among other things. Let it grow!

The grass is green and growing

Well, thankfully the snow didn't hang around and I was able to get back to the yard work. Yes, the lawn actually needed cutting.

But to be honest, I also had to try out the new mower. I traded the one I had purchased last fall in on a new self propelled model. The old one was a good machine with a 6.5 horse Briggs and Straton motor, but it seemed a little heavy, and the hills in the to yard just proved too much for the regular push job!

So the new one is orange. And yes, Don, it is a Husqvarna, a 5521BBC with a Honda motor to be exact. Variable speed rear wheel drive, blade brake (so you can turn off the cutting blade but still walk the machine), single leaver multi-wheel height adjustment, and of course option to mulch, side discharge, or rear bag. We take lawn mowing very seriously.