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The holidays mark the gift giving season, where people head to stores finding the perfect present to put under the tree or fill stockings for friends and family. But it also can be the most stressful time of year for those facing financial challenges. West Vancouver Police, West Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services and West Vancouver Transit crew are teaming up again for their annual Emergency Services Gift Drive, collecting gifts for children across the North Shore. To spread the holiday magic, they are accepting donations of new, unwrapped gifts for children aged 18 or younger. All donations are delivered to the Family Services of the North Shore Christmas Bureau, a non-profit that helps families bring a joyful holiday season for their children. Cash, used toys or stuffed animal toys cannot be accepted. The toy drive marks its 19th year helping families around the North Shore. Donations are open until Dec. 20. Those hoping to donate can do so at the following locations: Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative . [email protected]Ottawa: A 22-year-old Indian student was stabbed to death during an altercation in Canada’s Ontario province, according to the police, who have arrested and charged the victim’s housemate with second-degree murder in connection with the case. Gurasis Singh, a first-year business management student at Lambton College, was stabbed on Sunday in Sarnia, police said in a statement. The police received an emergency call for a report of a stabbing at 194 Queen Street, where Singh and the 36-year-old accused Crossley Hunter were residents of a rooming house. They located Singh’s dead body and took Hunter into custody. In a later statement, police said Singh and Hunter were involved in a physical altercation while in the kitchen, where the latter accessed a knife and stabbed Singh multiple times, killing him. Police said they did not believe the crime to be racially motivated “at this time”. Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis said that despite the arrest, the “complex investigation” is ongoing. “The Sarnia Police Criminal Investigations Division continues to gather all available evidence to determine the circumstances surrounding this criminal act and what, if any, motive may have existed that led to the murder of this young man,” the statement quoted him. Davis added that the police, with Lambton College, “will continue our efforts to support Gurasis’ family and friends as they seek to navigate these tragic circumstances.” The college also issued a statement condoling Singh’s death. “Students are at the heart of Lambton College, and the loss of a student is a tragedy of the highest magnitude. We extend our deepest condolences to Gurasis’s family, loved ones, and friends,” it said. “Many of our employees knew Gurasis from teaching him or providing student services. Even more have stepped in to provide support for his grieving friends and classmates,” it added. Meanwhile, Hunter appeared by video before a Justice of the Peace and was remanded into custody. His next appearance will be later today.
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The ultimate five tricks energy experts use to keep heating costs down - including the way you can HALVE your bill By TOBY WALNE Updated: 22:47, 26 November 2024 e-mail View comments You may think that you’ve tried every trick in the book to keep your energy bills down and your home nice and warm as the temperature outside drops. But even if you’ve already insulated the loft and stopped every draught, there are still things you can do to make your home more energy efficient. Money Mail talks to the hands-on experts, from gas engineers to builders, for their practical tips that you may not have considered. Check your boiler’s pressure gauge Dom Roque, managing director of Dom’s Heating and Plumbing, recommends a few basic checks that you can do on your heating system to make sure it is in good shape. And an annual service from a professional, typically costing around £100, will be money well spent. Winter chills: Even if you’ve already insulated the loft and stopped every draught, there are still things you can do to make your home more energy efficient ‘An annual check helps spot problems – such as leaks and parts wearing out – before the boiler breaks down on Christmas Eve and you need an emergency call-out costing hundreds of pounds,’ he says. If you want to carry out a few simple checks yourself, the first step is to look at the pressure gauge on your boiler, says Dom. A modern pressurised boiler heating system typically reads between one and two bars when the boiler is on. If it’s any lower there may be a leak. The gauge is normally fitted on the outside of the boiler on the front of the unit – a circular dial the size of a small stopwatch. Look at this gauge, and if it is between zero and one put your ear to the boiler without touching anything and see if you can hear a slight hissing sound – indicating steam or water escaping the system. If you can hear that, then there may be a fault with a relief valve on the unit that needs to be replaced by a gas engineer. Also listen for a hissing sound coming from your radiators to check whether water or steam is escaping from them. If there is, you may be able to fix this yourself. At the top of each radiator should be a small valve with a square-shaped tap that can be tightened or loosened with a radiator key. These can be bought for around £2 from a hardware store. If there is a hiss you might turn it clockwise until it stops – and is closed. HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to save money on energy: What you need to know and energy-saving tips that work Don’t forget the hot water tank If you have a separate hot water tank in the airing cupboard, check if there’s an expansion vessel connected to it that needs repressurising. This is a metal cylinder about the size of a balloon that usually sits above, or to the side of, the hot water tank. It also acts as a relief valve. Containing both air and water, it takes in extra water when the tank and central heating system heats up and water expands – and releases it back again when it cools down. If it is not working properly then it might be full of water, and the only way the excess can escape is through an overflow pipe linked from the boiler to the outside of the house. You can identify the pipe outside your home to see if it is dripping. Details of the pressure required for the expansion vessel should be clearly marked on the side of the unit. If you have a modern bicycle pump that includes a pressure measurement gauge you might be able to pump the vessel back up to the required pressure level – but in most cases it is best left to the professionals. Do the radiators have cold spots? If your radiators are not warming up as usual and perhaps have cold spots near the bottom of them, this indicates they may contain sludge. Once fixed, your heating bill could be halved. It can be a messy job if you try sorting it out yourself, so it is best left to a qualified boiler expert who should have the equipment needed to clean out the radiators with a power flush. The equipment can sit outside the house. Dom says: ‘If your radiators are full of sludge, it makes them half as efficient – like boiling a pan of fresh water compared to one of mud. The latter can double heating bills.’ An occasional ‘power flush’ to your radiator system by a plumber costs around £300 – but Dom says it should pay for itself in a year. He adds that air in radiators can cause rust, so bleed them every year. You may be able to do this yourself. If you are not confident you can find practical guidance on YouTube. Other ways to stop winter burning a hole in your budget Ask your supplier for a refund: If you pay gas or electricity by direct debit, payments are usually based on an estimate of how much energy you use and may be higher than your actual consumption. It’s good to have a small buffer heading into winter, when you’re likely to use more energy. But you can ask your provider for a refund of any surplus. Go paperless: Some suppliers charge you for paper bills so go paperless to save cash if you can. Ovo Energy, for example, charges £1.50 each month for paper bills. Keep showers to four minutes: This can save you around £70 a year. Draw the curtains: Stitch thermal lining on to curtains – £10 per metre – and draw before sunset to keep warmth in to save £150 a year. Curtain shops such as Dunelm (dunelm.com) can provide further details. Turn thermostat down: Every degree you turn the thermostat down will cut bills by up to 10 per cent, knocking £145 a year off home heating. Be wary of going below 18c (64f), as this risks getting too cold. Put foil behind the radiator: Foil reflects heat back into the room to cut £120 off energy bills a year. A five-metre strip for five radiators costs £12. Check out DIY shops such as Screwfix for available options. Draught-proof windows and doors: Buy 20 metres of a door and window sticky-backed rubber seal for £24 and fix it around gaps to save up to £90 a year. DIY stores such as B&Q sell draught-proofing. Is there too much loft insulation? Builder Mike Edwards, 68, who began as a bricklaying apprentice more than half a century ago, fears too many homes fill any gap in their loft with insulation – which is a costly mistake. The co-founder of the website DIY Doctor says: ‘There is a misguided conception that a loft packed with insulation keeps bills down, when the opposite could be true. The roof space should be cool and draughty. Otherwise, hot air hitting the cold roof creates condensation that rots wooden joists and insulation gets damp.’ Mike suggests insulation should be 270mm thick – but not tightly packed down. If it is placed under boards in the attic there should also be a 50mm air space between the insulation and boards. You should leave a gap of at least 25mm between the insulation and eaves – the part of the roof that overhangs the wall of a house. Around 25 per cent of heat is lost through an uninsulated roof, so if done properly, it will save you at least £300 a year. Keep the heat in: Proper insulation is essential in any home - but too much can create condensation that rots wooden joists Put a jacket on an immersion heater This cylinder in the airing cupboard is rarely understood or used efficiently to keep energy bills down, believes Dom. He says: ‘Look at it as a giant kettle – with an electric heating element inside.’ There is no need to leave the immersion heater on all the time if you do not need hot water all day – as this can cost more money. Putting it on for just an hour before you need the hot water is enough time to warm it up. Dom says the cylinder must be well insulated – wrap it in a £20 jacket and ensure all connected pipework is also covered. This costs from £1 per metre of insulation, and should knock at least £50 a year off your heating bill. Dig out the instruction manual and make sure that the settings are providing warmth for the times that you need it. There is no need to leave it on when you are away for the day – perhaps at work – or on holiday. toby.walne@dailymail.co.uk Can you save money on energy bills? Check the best fixed deals When energy prices spiked most households slipped energy price cap tariffs, but it is now possible again to switch to fixed rate energy deals that can save you money. This is Money's recommended partner uSwitch lets you compare the best energy deals for you, based on your home and gas and electricity costs. > Compare the best energy deals with uSwitch* By entering your address and energy usage, you can search for energy deals that can cut your costs and suit how you live. Switching energy provider can also help the planet, if you move to one of the a green deals offering electricity from renewable sources and more environmentally-friendly gas. > Check the best fixed rate energy deals with uSwitch and This is Money * *Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. This does not affect our editorial independence. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS Easy investing Stocks & shares Isa £1.50 fund dealing 0.25% fee on fund holdings Investment ideas Free fund dealing Free fund dealing 0.45% account fee capped for shares Flat-fee investing No fees From £4.99 a month Trade shares and funds for £3.99 Social investing Social investing Share investing 30+ million global community No account fee Investment account Free share dealing Free fractional share* Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. This does not affect our editorial independence. *T&Cs apply. > Compare the best investing platform for you Share or comment on this article: The ultimate five tricks energy experts use to keep heating costs down - including the way you can HALVE your bill e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.UTICA – The start of the 2024-25 season hasn’t exactly been easy for Mike Hardman. Take last Saturday, as an example, for the new Utica Comets winger. Less than two minutes into the eventual 5-1 win at Rochester, the 25-year-old Hardman – playing in his first season with the Comets after signing with the parent New Jersey Devils in the offseason – got bumped by Brendan Warren into a stanchion near the Amerks’ bench. His face took the brunt of the collision with the glass. “My tooth went up into my lip. I got six stitches,” Hardman said with a slight chuckle. “So that’s kind of how it is going right now. I was lucky to not lose any teeth. ... I would have been pretty upset if lost a couple teeth. My mom was pretty happy about (me not losing any teeth).” He missed about nine minutes of game time in the first period to get stitched up – there was “a lot of blood,” he noted – and later scored the eventual game-winner in the second period. That was his 50th career AHL goal. It was part of a four-point weekend for Hardman, a central figure in helping the Comets secure their first win of the season Friday in Syracuse with a g ame-winning goal with 73 seconds remaining in regulation. For his contributions, Hardman was named the AHL’s Player of the Week for the first time in his career. “I feel like my linemates, Adam Beckman and X (Xavier Parent), they were awesome this weekend. I think we were all playing pretty similar. We were playing pretty well in the (offensive zone) there,” Hardman said. “I feel like it is a huge credit to them. We were just talking to each other on the bench and trying to help each out. (The Player of the Week honor) is nice to have. But, I feel like they helped me out a lot. We’re just trying to build off that into (Wednesday) and the weekend.” It was also a nice feeling, Hardman said, after dealing with a hip flexor injury in October and then an issue with his his acromioclavicular (AC) joint in his shoulder. He missed eight of the team’s 15 games between the two injuries. Hardman said he feels 100% now. “I feel like it was definitely frustrating coming to a new team and getting a couple injuries right off the bat. But, you know, the medical staff here was great and they really helped me out,” he said. “Coming back getting those two wins, it was an awesome feeling. We’re trying to build off of that.” Hardman is among the players trying to make an impression in an effort to get an opportunity at the NHL level with the Devils. Hardman played 164 games with AHL Rockford and 37 contests with its affiliate, Chicago before joining the organization. Comets interim head coach Ryan Parent referred to Hardman as “a really strong player.” “He does a lot of things well away from the puck,” Parent said. “When I watch him, he’s a great linemate because you know he’s going to be there. If you’re working with him, he does a good job of managing the game, delivering the puck and making it easy for the rest of his lines and for the team when he’s on the ice.” He’s got a chance to make an impression with the home crowd at 7 p.m. Wednesday when the Comets play their final home game of November against the Providence Bruins. It is the first of two visits to Utica for Boston’s AHL affiliate this season. “Hopefully, the guys will have energy and continue to build on what we have going,” said Parent, who noted the team’s better game management, special teams play and generating more offense by getting pucks to the net. Utica (2-10-1-2 overall, 7 points) continues to face an arduous uphill climb to get back into the conversation with some of the other North Division teams. The team enters this week 11 points out of fifth place, which is the eventual playoff cutoff line in the North Division. Parent has stated the team’s game is trending in the right direction. On Tuesday, the players seemed jovial during practice. “I think the biggest thing for our group is we’re not satisfied with two wins,” Hardman said. “I think we’re definitely a long way out of a playoff spot right now. But, we want to just keep climbing up the standings. Obviously a lot of games left in the year.” The Comets will try to end another extended winless streak, having gone 0-6-0-2 in downtown Utica this season tying the team record for longest winless stretch in a season. And, dating back to the 2023-24 season, Utica is 0-8-0-2 at home. The last victory was March 30 vs. Springfield. After Wednesday, Utica heads to Springfield for a 4:05 p.m. game Friday in Massachusetts. Then, Utica meets Providence again at 7 p.m. Saturday in Rhode Island to close November. While Hardman has gotten the chance to play close to home in previous seasons, this is the closest he’s consistently played near his parents and family in his pro career. He’s excited to have family at the two games this weekend in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. “My parents are pretty pumped to come to the games,” said Hardman, who played two seasons at Boston College. “I think I’ll have a good amount of family and friends at the game on Saturday. I’m really excited to see all of them and play in front of them since I haven’t really done that in the past couple of years.” Change Veteran defenseman Andy Welinski was released from his professional tryout contract, the team announced Tuesday. The 31-year-old appeared in eight games with Utica as a depth option. Parent said he believed Welinski was able to “find another opportunity,” but didn’t elaborate. Jackson van de Leest was recalled from ECHL Adirondack. He’s played two games with Utica this season.MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he had yet to fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris St Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage. Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches. “I don’t look at the table because, honestly. I don’t yet understand it,” Kompany told a press conference. “It will look good if we win a few more matches.” The Bavarians climbed to 11th with nine points from five games, a point off the top eight places that bring automatic qualification for the last 16. PSG are 26th on four, outside the playoff spots with three matches remaining in the first phase. In the new 36-team league format this season, teams face eight teams instead of meeting three opponents twice. They play half of those games at home and half away. The top eight sides advance directly to the last 16, while those finishing ninth to 24th enter a two-legged playoff for a chance to secure a spot in the next stage. “What’s important is to reach our goal. If we win our remaining games we have a chance to make the top eight,” Belgian Kompany, in his first season in charge at Bayern, said. “I’m obviously happy. Our pressing in the first half was very good. The discipline was there. We could have scored perhaps one or two more goals, but the result is good.” “We are on the right track but working to become even better,” he added. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );
From Charles Town: Trump, through threat of tariffs, has gotten the attention of our nation’s antagonists — everyone from Mexico to Canada over borders, China and Russia on trade and threats of war, including Ukraine issue, and Iran. Now, all the manufactured legal issues are dismissed, ending the unconstitutional “lawfare” that has cost taxpayers over $50M. If Trump can get all this accomplished before inauguration, think of what is to come. From Charles Town: Where is Harris? Hawaii on extended vacation? Walz is MIA. After over spending on election bid, campaign workers are being summarily dismissed without pay. The DNC union will not be paying severance packages. Donors are refusing to bail the DNC out, because they lost, catastrophically. Does this mean the financial collapse of the Democrat political machine? From Inwood: So, I guess in anticipation of the new administration, gas prices are $2.59/gallon in Winchester. The oil companies control prices, and they’re messing with us. Get ready for price increases on goods from Mexico and Canada. He promises a 25% tariff on all imports from them. You think vehicles are expensive now, just wait. Who’s going to harvest fruits and vegetables, when he deports all the immigrants? Not Americans. Food costs are going to be out of sight. From Martinsburg: Tom Homan, President-elect Trump’s pick for “border czar,” says he is willing to use extra-judicial processes to put Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) in jail. That is funny. However, it is not the way patriotic and law-bidding Americans talk. How would Homan like it if other Americans were to threaten him and his family with extra-judicial processes that would permanently affect all of their lives? Unlike Trumpers, real Americans believe in the freedoms and liberties defined by the U.S. Constitution. From Martinsburg: When will the citizens be given an update on the asbestos abatement at the public library on the square? We were originally told it would be closed for a year, and it doesn’t look as though they’re making any progress whatsoever.Gifts for Pet Lovers