MONDAY
S I N C E
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‘Ray of Light’ shines again
APRIL 9, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 68
110
$
Page 6
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
Dedicated volunteer recognized with prestigious provincial award Years of giving come back to honour Hebert with B.C. Community Achievement Award BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
While others are focused on receiving their Old Age Security at 65, Anne Hebert began giving something back. A long time resident of Trail, Hebert launched herself into a career as a volunteer after she retired, dedicating her time to four community organizations, and has continued to do so for almost 20 years. Now 84, Hebert’s contribution was recently recognized by the province when she received a 2012 B.C. Community Achievement Award, the only person in the Kootenay and Okanagan region to receive one — and part of a 40-person provincial contingent so honoured. And she earned it. On any given week Hebert performs a multitude of services for others, always willingly and always with a smile. For 18 years she has volunteered at the Salvation Army Family Services (Kate’s Kitchen) and the Food Bank, hosts the birthday parties at the Poplar Ridge Pavilion, and serves as a director of the Trail Branch of the BC Senior Citizens’ Association. She also helps out the Anglican Church food bank, canvasses for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, mans a Christmas kettle for the Salvation Army and was an Eagle for 35 years, volunteering extensively with their many projects. “I can’t say, ‘No.’ When people ask me to do something, I can’t say, ‘No,’” Hebert said with a chuckle. “And my health is fairly good so I can
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
Anne Hebert, a 2012 B.C. Community Achievement Award recipient, doles out a pot of soup she made earlier in the day at Kate’s Kitchen at the Salvation Army on Rossland Ave. do it.” It’s good to help people out, she said, and she wanted to give something back to the community she arrived in decades ago with her late husband, Wally, from Birch Hills, Sask. The two raised four daughters in Trail, but after her husband’s health began to fail 34 years ago she took a job at Teck. When Hebert retired 15 years later and her children were grown, she put her efforts into volunteering. The community achievement awards honour individ-
uals who have made a significant contribution either as a volunteer or in the course of their work. Although she was nominated by Salvation Army Community Service manager Linda Radtke, there was plenty of support from the other organizations Hebert has worked with. Everyone wanted to write a letter of support for Hebert’s nomination, said Radtke, but she wouldn’t have had enough envelopes to mail all of the letters. “She’s such a humble person, she does everything
behind the scenes and just keeps on serving, never complains,” said Radtke. Once a week, Hebert makes a pot of her delectable, homemade soup at Kate’s Kitchen, and has been a mainstay of the Salvation Army’s kitchen since it began on Bay Avenue near the Eagles Hall 18 years ago. When that soup kitchen location was closed it moved over to the basement of the Salvation Army Thrift Store where it continued to operate, despite not having a full kitchen — but Hebert kept on cooking and never complained. Five years ago they moved into the well-equipped building on Rossland Avenue and Anne’s culinary skills flourished there, cooking for up to 60 people on any given day. “I thought she was amazing when she first came to work for us, as all of our volunteers are. But Anne just kind of stands out because she never complains,” said Radtke. “To have somebody so humble get this award is so awesome. I don’t usually do this because each one of my volunteers is special.” Hebert and other recipients of the 2012 British Columbia Community Achievement Awards will be recognized in a formal presentation at Government House in Victoria on April 25 — receiving a certificate and a medallion designed by B.C. artist Robert Davidson. The Community Achievement Awards are presented by the British Columbia Achievement Foundation, an independent foundation established and endowed by the Province of B.C. to celebrate excellence in the arts, humanities, enterprise and community service. Launched in 2003, the award winners are selected by an independent advisory council.
MLA preaching poverty issue Jagrup Brar visits Trail Tuesday to detail his month living on welfare and add rural perspective BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
A B.C. politician who explored poverty by living on welfare for one month is coming to Trail on a tour of the region to understand the challenges faced in rural parts of the province. New Democrat MLA Jagrup Brar, small business critic, will stop in Castlegar first on his two-day trip prior to hitting Trail on Tuesday and finishing up his visit in Salmo and Nelson with Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy. “I think it’s great that he’s coming. It’s exciting that he’s bringing a perspective with him that I don’t think many people in our shoes have experienced,” said Conroy. “What he did for a month in surviving on social assistance down in Surrey and the Downtown Eastside is pretty amazing.” Brar accepted a challenge from the Raise the Rates Committee to live on a $610 allowance – given to a single individual expected to work – for the month of January. In order to experience all of the faces of poverty, Brar started his journey at a shelter in Surrey before moving into a roaming house – a nine-bedroom home with a shared washroom and kitchen – in the same city before moving to the Downtown Eastside for the remainder of the month. There he stayed in a single room occupancy – a small room with a hot plate and no fridge – and again shared facilities. He met with stakeholders and activists, single mothers, teen moms, farm worker refugees, people with disabilities, mental health and addiction issues and seniors during this
See MLA, Page 3
Accident claims Trail senior BY TIMES STAFF A Trail senior was pronounced dead at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Thursday after a truck collecting recyclables in her neighbourhood struck her down. Police, fire and ambulance were called to the scene on Woodland Drive in Glenmerry, where the motor vehicle accident occurred at approximately 9a.m. The victim has been identified as Elisa Sidoni. West Kootenay Traffic Services from Nelson have taken over the investigation, along with the Coroner’s office.
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