Clearwater Times Monday, April 9, 2012
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Clearwater turns down the lights during Earth Hour TIMES STAFF
Time out at the bistro Residents from Forestview Place extended care wing at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital get ready to visit Bayley’s Bistro in Brookfield Mall for a coffee outing on Monday of last week. Pictured are (l-r) Hyacinth Eustache (Chu Chua), Edgar Horrocks (McBride and Barriere), John Vreeman (Clearwater), attendant Melissa Langenan, and Alex Slavichuk (Barriere). Photo by Keith McNeill
North Thompson Valley Hospice House given charitable status Barriere Star/Journal Within a few short days the North Thompson Valley Hospice House Society learned that it had achieved two important goals. On Tuesday, Mar. 20, board director Joan Purver informed the board that the goal of signing up 100 members in 2012 had already been met before the end of March. In fact it had already Whatever is in this been exceeded. Purver told envelope is either the board that so far 150 going to make or members had joined the mar my entire day. society. On Saturday, Mar. 24, Steve White society president Steve White telephoned each board member to tell them that he had just received an envelope in the mail from the Canada Revenue Agency that contained exciting news. White said, "As I held up the envelope in my hand I turned to my wife, Sheena, who is also a member of the board, and said, "Whatever is in this envelope is either going to make or mar my entire day.'" The contents of the envelope were in fact confirmation that the society's application to Canada Revenue Agency to be considered a charitable organization had been approved. White went on to say, "These two happenings affirm our belief that our goal of establishing and operating a hospice house in the North Thompson Valley is both supported by the community and recognized as a worthy and charitable cause." North Thompson Valley Hospice House Society began as a small group of interested people meeting informally to talk about the possibility of setting up a hospice house in the valley; and after meetings held over several months the group decided that it should take the next step and apply to become a registered society.
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A part of this process was the group had to select its first board of six members; with the initial board members being Joan Purver of Barriere, Drake Smith and Jean Nelson of Clearwater, and Barb Denton, Sheena White, and Steve White of Little Fort. The province officially recognized the society less than a year ago in May 2011. North Thompson Valley Hospice House Society holds two major fundraising events each year. The next event, which takes place on April 28 and 29, is the Antiques Appraisal Weekend in which Peter Blundell, an accredited appraiser, examines items brought by members of the public. Blundell provides information about each item including its likely place of origin and its history. The two-day event is always interesting and entertaining. The annual Bike Challenge is held in the early fall. Two teams of cyclists set off at the same time, one from Clearwater and one from Barriere, and race towards Little Fort. The team that has covered the greater distance at the moment that they meet is the winner and then owns the trophy for the following year.
Did you turn your lights off during Earth Hour? If you did, then you helped Clearwater to rank in the top third of the communities in the province. According to BC Hydro, Clearwater reduced its consumption of electricity by 3.2 per cent from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 31. That placed in the 23rd spot amongst the 76 communities in B.C. ranked by their Earth Hour participation. Revelstoke placed first, with a power reduction of 12.1 per cent. Pemberton came second at 6.8 per cent and Ladysmith was third with 5.8 per cent. Kamloops, the only other nearby community in the rankings, placed 15th with a 3.6 per cent reduction. "I want to commend BC Hydro for the great work it does in promoting Earth Hour," said Terry
Lake, the Minister of Environment. "Earth Hour is about conserving energy in the short term but it also gets us to think of easy ways to reduce our energy consumption over the long term, which in turn helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions." Earth Hour is an annual global event hosted by the WWF
(World Wildlife Fund) and supported provincially by BC Hydro. This year marks the fifth year of BC Hydro's support of the event. The goal of the event is to encourage individuals to turn off unnecessary lights and electronics in an effort to conserve power and in doing so, demonstrate support for climate change reduction efforts
“When you need us, we’re close by” When a death occurs, I’m here to help you, every step of the way. 24 hours a day, every day. If you have made pre-arrangements elsewhere and would like to discuss having your local funeral home take care of you, please feel free to call.
NORTH THOMPSON FUNERAL SERVICES 73 Taren Drive, Clearwater, BC, V0E 1N2
Call Drake at 250-674-3030 or 1-877-674-3030 day or night.
Drake Smith, MSW (Funeral Director/Owner)
Taxing? It doesn’t have to be! Drop by our conveniently located office where we can advise on, and take care of all your tax filing needs
Personal tax returns Business tax & corporate year-end reporting Small business review & planning service Estate & retirement planning Bookkeeping services -----------------------------------------------343 Clearwater Valley Road (TNT Building), Clearwater Monday - Thursday 8:30 – 12:30 & 1:30 – 4:30 -----------------------------------------------Phone: 250 674 2442 info@joanneovenden.ca www.joanneovenden.ca
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with MICHELLE LEINS
The average age of a Canadian woman giving birth to her first child has gone up significantly over the generations. In 2008, this average age was 29.3. This age in the U.S. is 24.9. It may be simplistic to relate a woman’s skin condition with her bone health, but that’s exactly what researchers found. Women with more face and neck wrinkles seem to have lower bone density in the hop, heel and lower back areas. It’s another reason to take care of our skin during the sunny days of summer coming soon. Now that spring is here, it is a good time to check the medicine cabinet for old, out-dated medications. Also ensure the medication storage area is totally out of reach of curious children. Medications like opioids (codeine, morphine), benzodiazepines (diazepam, oxazepam), blood pressure and heart medications can be harmful to children. Ensure drug safety in your home. Canadians are living longer than ever before. Early diagnosis and treatment of diseases is part of the reason for this. And the older we get, the more medications we seem to take. It’s important to take your medication as your doctor directs. If you need help organizing your medications, our pharmacists can help. Our pharmacists dispense more than just medication. We dispense information. Use our pharmacists to further your education about the medications you are taking.
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