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Top stories in Oak Bay this year qualify as scary or odd

Most read in 2017: police investigation, king-of-the-salmon, bearded dragon, levidromes, tent city
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The most read stories in Oak Bay (oakbaynews.com) this year all qualifty as scary or odd.

The top stories linked back to a violent attack this spring that remains under investigation by the Saanich Police Department.

On April 25 around 7 a.m. police responded to a 9-1-1 call, which police believe came from the woman found in the home on Esplanade, indicating she was attacked with a machete. The woman suffered injuries from an “edged weapon” police say “may have been a machete.”

While the community continued to voice concern privately, publicly, many trusted in the police investigation.

In September, a man walking his dog on Rattenbury beach discovered a rare type of ribbonfish washed ashore. The rare king-of-the-salmon was identified online by an Island biologist.

The unique name of the king-of-the-salmon originates from Makah First Nation legend, in which the fish (Trachiptreus altivelis) was believed to be the “king” that would lead salmon back to their rivers to spawn, noted Jackie Hildering, a biologist and marine educator, who goes by the handle of The Marine Detective on her blog.

The third top story also includes an animal, but unexpectedly in the Cowichan Valley.

In Late July, conservation officer Sgt. Scott Norris received a call from someone at a Cowichan Valley logging contractor, saying they’d found a bearded dragon lizard on a logging road.

Driving along a logging road, “he realized there was a bearded dragon on the side of the road there sunning itself. He stopped, and phoned us. He was able to pick it up, it was pretty tame.

“So, I went out and met him and picked it up from him. It appears as through it’s an unwanted pet that someone has abandoned,” Norris said at the time. Links to social media saw Wise Claw – the bearded dragon lizard reunited with his family in Glenora, though that story didn’t make the top read in Oak Bay.

A local second-grader looking to add a word to the dictionary finished fourth in the most read stories. The first story about Levi Budd was a huge hit online, and follow ups have been popular as well. Levi learned that all words used to describe a palindrome-like word, one that that makes a different word backward – weren’t in the dictionary. His goal is to get the word levidrome in regular use so it will be considered for a dictionary.

What would the year be without something unexplained? A June story about a UFO spotted near Sooke Basin finished fourth in the most read category. A Sooke resident saw a large round glowing object hover and fly across the basin.

Tent city’s three-week stay in Oak Bay hit the top read for 2017. While a first story outlined the protest camp’s move to a park behind municipal hall was well read, as was the move to Willows Park, it was the move to the cenotaph that got the hits online.


 
cvanreeuwyk@oakbaynews.com
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Christine van Reeuwyk

About the Author: Christine van Reeuwyk

I'm dedicated to serving the community of Oak Bay as a senior journalist with the Greater Victoria news team.
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