FRIDAY
S I N C E
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OCTOBER 12, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 196
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Sledge hockey star prepares for Trail camp Page 13
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Bus routes can be a slippery slope Resolution gets unanimous support at UBCM BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
Sarah Dufresne, right, takes one for the team on Wednesday as she gets an influenza vaccine needle from pharmacy manager Lee Boyer in Ferraro Foods. Right now the pharmacy is offering flu shots on a walk-in basis, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Flu clinics signal start of season BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Even though people are disheartened about the prospect of the entire NHL season being cancelled, they can still look forward to another season. Influenza (flu) season is approaching and Greater Trail will be host to four training camps (flu clinics) beginning Oct. 14 before the games begin in earnest this fall. The flu vaccine is free for many people including people over 65, children up to five years old, aboriginal people, health care providers and pregnant women. According to Interior Health, the flu is a highly contagious infection and can be very serious, especially for those with heart, lung and other health problems. In years when influenza is
widespread in B.C., hundreds of people may die from influenza or its complications, such as pneumonia, said Dr. Rob Parker, IHA medical health officer, in a press release. “The two most important ways to protect yourself from getting the flu are to wash your hands frequently and get your flu shot,� he said. “Flu vaccinations are a proven, safe and effective way to reduce your chances of getting the
flu. The flu shot also lessens the severity of symptoms for those who do get the flu.� Dr. Parker also noted that the flu shot cannot give people the flu. The vaccine used in B.C. contains dead influenza viruses that cannot cause infection. The flu shot is anywhere from 60 to 90 per cent effective in preventing influenza, he added, and if people don’t get it they can’t spread it.
Greater Trail clinics • Kiro Wellness Centre, 1500 Columbia Ave., Trail, Oct. 14, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Drop in. • Fruitvale Hall (1968 Main St.), 367-9186, Oct. 23, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Drop in. • Kiro Wellness Centre, 1500 Columbia Ave., Trail, Oct. 28, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Drop in. • Kiro Wellness Centre, 1500 Columbia Ave., Trail, Dec. 12, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Children’s second immunizations by appointment.
People not eligible for the free flu vaccine through the publicly-funded program should contact their physician, local pharmacy, walk-in clinic, travel clinic or private provider to arrange one. Many physician offices and pharmacies—such as the pharmacy in Ferraro Foods— also provide vaccines free to those who are eligible. For more information about influenza, contact your local public health office (look under Interior Health in the blue pages of your phone book) or visit our website at www.interiorhealth.ca. Information is also available on the Immunize BC website at www.immunizebc. ca, or on HealthLink BC at www.healthlinkbc.ca. You can also call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to speak to a health-care professional.
Trail’s topography was the top topic of a resolution at the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting in Victoria. Being situated on the steep valley sides of the Columbia River, some Silver City neighbourhood streets and avenues find themselves as slippery slopes when winter hits. As a result, the city’s burly buses are unable to make it up the grades, negating transit service to the residents in older areas—like West Trail—on heavy snow days and stranding some residents. Late last month, Trail council advanced a resolution—provincial development of a rural transportation strategy—towards solving that situation that received unanimous support at the convention of all municipal governments in B.C. But Mayor Dieter Bogs said the resolution had Trail’s unique topography of steep streets at its heart. “Buses here find it difficult to run up (to West Trail) during certain times in the winter,� he said, adding that a few days a week are being missed in the heart of winter. “We need a more comprehensive strategy for rural B.C. and rural transportation.� If there can’t be buses running during those times, Bogs added, maybe they need to initiate a taxi service for that short of a time frame. The province could work with the local taxi service and coordinate transportation at same rate as if people took a bus, he explained.
See UBCM, Page 3
District meeting will discuss French immersion’s future BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
Chloe Sirges took a step into the dark and then a few great people turned on the lights. More than one year ago 12-year-old Sirges left the familiarity of primary school at Webster Elementary in Warfield and began Grade 7 at Twin Rivers Elementary in Castlegar. But it wasn’t the unfamiliarity of a new school that challenged Sirges, it was how her education and social life was changed. Sirges began the long journey north to Castlegar to enroll in a French immersion school, something that isn’t offered in her
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See MEETING, Page 3
Contact the Times: Phone: 250-368-8551 Fax: 250-368-8550 Newsroom: 250-364-1242 Canada Post, Contract number 42068012