On Wednesday, July 23, Bruce Lohnes, the superintendent of atmospheric monitoring for the Interior, North Pacific, and Yukon, came from his office in Richmond to present a long service award to Aveley Ranch for providing climatological data for over one century.
One hundred and one years ago, Theodore Moilliet, known as TAM, inquired of the federal government if it was interested in establishing a weather station on Aveley Ranch. Since then, people on the ranch have recorded the high, low, and present temperature each day, plus the amount of rainfall and snowfall. The government provides the necessary equipment.
The Vavenby site is part of a national group of stations from coast to coast, mostly voluntary. These stations provide information twice a day. The observations go into the climate archive database of Environment Canada. The temperature and precipitation data are used to calculate monthly averages and extremes for each site. The data from the Aveley Ranch is available for the public and various organizations.
The observations from the ranch may eventually be enhanced by Environment Canada’s Meteorological Service. This site is a high priority long term reference climate site. The enhancements would include additional instrumentation to measure wind, precipitation, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and snow depth. The real-time data would be transmitted to Environment Canada on an hourly basis, 365 days a year. This kind of upgrade would support the daily weather forecast production for the area.
Lohnes’ job includes checking on all automated stations, upper air stations (balloons), lightening stations, and climate stations in his area. He is responsible for the ongoing operation, maintenance, installation, and upgrading. Data from these stations is used by Environment Canada to do forecasts.
Vavenby woman hopes to achieve dream
Vienna Moilliet, age 22, is getting a wish come true. She has wanted to be a midwife and a missionary for a long time. When she was 14 or 15 a friend told Moilliet about the Newlife International School of Midwifery (NISM) in the Philippines. She came across a DVD about the school and watched it. She also looked it up on the computer. Moilliet instantly fell in love with the school because it taught both fields that she wanted to do.
She first applied to NISM in 2013. The school encouraged her to get more course work done. She did and she went to Spain to do some missionary work. Moilliet applied again and was accepted. Along with her high school and college grades she had to include her spiritual testimony, references, and a letter from the church leaders.
She will leave home on Aug. 13 for Calgary where she will visit grandparents. From there she will fly to Toronto and then to the Philippines. She will travel with another Canadian student to the school. They switch planes in Manila and then go on to Davao City. They expect to arrive on Aug. 19.
Orientation will take place in Davao. That is also the main school/clinic site. There is a smaller training center in Tabuk. After her orientation in Davao, Moilliet will go to Tabuk with one other freshman. They do not know each other yet.
NISM is an American-based school that trains women to get a degree in midwifery and also trains the students to use it in a missionary site. It is a very small school, having only 13 freshmen, mostly women from the U.S. The students are trained by Filipino midwives. The training clinic in Davao is called Abundant Grace of God Maternity Center and the name of the clinic where women deliver their babies is called Mercy Maternity. The course is 2 ½ years long. The month of August, 2015, will be the students’ first break. If money permits Moilliet will come home to visit.
The cost of the course, books, and travel is approximately $30,000. Moilliet has paid for everything herself by saving the money she earned from various jobs. Vavenby Christian Church helped her with a scholarship. Room and board is free. Students are given rooms on the floor above the clinic. The school told Moilliet to bring cool and modest clothing. She is taking her laptop for school use and to keep in touch with her family.
Vienna is following in her grandmother, Alice Moilliet’s, footsteps. Alice was a nurse and people in the area came to her for medical assistance. She delivered a lot of babies. There was no Clearwater hospital at the time. Her grandmother has become Vienna’s inspiration.
Watch for cougar
An old cougar has been seen around town. It was also seen chasing Shooks’ cows. People should keep their small animals in the house at night.