COMMUNITY Ambassador candidates prove they’re talented Page 8
SPORTS Princeton hockey player recruited up North Page 20
SCIENCE No more putting up with old brown apples? Page 4
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SPOTLIGHT The Similkameen
Volume 63 Issue 22
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Proudly serving the community since 1948 • www.similkameenspotlight.com
Michaela Garstin/Spotlight
A tarp blocks the view of the inside of a car behind the Sandman Hotel in Princeton where a man apparently committed suicide the afternoon of May 24. Delta Police have been called in to investigate the incident because it happened in front of police officers. Story on Page 9.
MLA meets with riled-up protesters Watch the video at similkameenspotlight.com
Michaela Garstin editor@similkameenspotlight.com
Fraser-Nicola MLA Harry Lali told a loud group of protesters outside Princeton Hospital that doctors aren’t coming to town because they can’t practice what they learned in school. “Doctors and health care professionals are under utilized in small communities because the government strategically pulled out services and put them in other areas,” he said. Doctors want to practice what they learned in medical
Weather Watch
school, including performing surgeries and delivering babies - practices Princeton Hospital no longer does, he said. More than 150 people gathered outside the hospital on May 22, holding signs saying “Save Our Hospital: Accidents Happen,” “Beware of Falling Standards,” and “We All Need 24/7 ER.” Princeton Hospital emergency department will be closed
Princeton
from midnight to 8 a.m. Monday to Thursday, Interior Health Authority announced at the beginning of April. Many residents thought the hospital would be restored in a year, but Princeton Hospital administrator Susan Brown said it will now take a least a year for changes to happen. Interior Health is trying to attract a new doctor to Princeton, a job the authority admits is extremely difficult. Rural towns are experiencing health care shortages because of the amount of time new doctors are willing to work, said Interior Health president Robert Halpenny.
See HEALTH - Page 10
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