NEWS: Tough drunk driving laws return with a fix
COMMUNITY: Wet’suwet’en history gathers ancestral roots PAGE 9
PAGE 7
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2012
Proudly serving Houston and District - Home of Canada’s Largest Fly Rod
www.houston-today.com
NO. 31 $1.35 Inc. HST
Sinking floor shuts suites at Cottonwood By Andrew Hudson Houston Today
Sherry Kelly photo
BBQ Benefit
From left to right, Kalampreet, Malerie, Keely and Jody, all friends of Rhianna Malkinson, drive more traffic to a benefit BBQ for her and her family outside the Bulkey Valley Credit Union on July 27. In one afternoon, the event raised $11,500 in support as Rhianna undergoes 10 to 12 months of treatment for Hodgkins’ lymphoma. Donations to the Trust for Rhianna Malkinson can be made in person at the Bulkley Valley Credit Union, or by mail to PO Box 1691, Houston, V0J 1Z0.
A sinking foundation under the west wing of Houston’s Cottonwood Manor has forced BC Housing to close six of the wing’s eight suites for seniors and people with disabilities. Now, as BC Housing studies all options for the wing, people who live and work at Cottonwood say it would be a shame not to rebuild or repair it. In the worst of the eight affected apartments, closest to Buck Creek, the floor has sunk so low that doorways stand at odd angles and a gap of more than two inches has opened between the ceiling and the kitchen wall. Cathryn Olmstead is executive director of the Smithers Community Services
“ “We’re working with BC Housing to explore options.”
- Cathryn Olmstead
Association, which took on care of Cottonwood Manor from the Houston Lions Club in 2010. Olmstead says BC Housing has been grappling with what to do about the sinking west wing for some time. The most affected suites have been closed for over a year. “I think what complicates it is that there’s quite high vacancy rates in Houston,” Olmstead said. See SUITES on Page 2
Private medical records faxed to Houston autobody shop By Andrew Hudson Houston Today
After three years, John Van Veldhuizen is fed up with getting private medical records mistakenly faxed to his autobody shop. “I just want it to stop,” he says. The fax number for Van Veldhuizen’s of-
fice at ARP Collision differs by just one digit from that of the Houston Health Centre. Van Veldhuizen says he hasn’t received a lot of the medical faxes— maybe two a year for a total of six. Some, like the fax he got last week, list nothing but a patient
“
“I just want it to stop.”
name and d phone h number. Others are more serious breaches of privacy.
- John Van Veldhuizen “I’ve had cancer diagnoses, one for a broken arm where someone was getting his cast taken off, all kinds
of age-related things,” he said. At first, Van Veldhuizen tried to take care of the faxes by himself. If the sender included their phone number on the fax, he called them back. If they didn’t, he shredded it. Last year, Van
Veldhuizen phoned Northern Health twice to complain, most recently in November. While the faxes came from doctors’ independent clinics, and not from Northern Health workers, Van Veldhuizen did hope the health authority could solve the issue by speaking to work-
ers at those clinics. “I think I’ve done everything I can possibly do,” he said. Steve Raper, a spokesperson at Northern Health, says they will notify all the patients whose records were misdirected and work with providers to resolve the issue. See FAXES on Page 2