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JUNE 25, 2013
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Cranbrook’s Brad Lukowich signs on with Lethbridge| Page 8
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Vol. 61, Issue 122
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Watch is on for Wasa as rest of region begins recovery While the highways in the East Kootenay are all open, at least to single lane alternating traffic, forestry roads are in poor shape
SAL LY MACD ON AL D Townsman Staff
Drew Prinn and friend at the Harnas Wildlife Foundation in Namibia. Prinn spent a month at the animal sanctuary.
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Namibian heart of Animalia Cranbrook animal health tech student gets hands-on with a vast array of African fauna ARNE PE TRYSHEN Townsman Staff
Drew Prinn has always had a love of animals, so when an opportunity to go and volunteer in Africa came up, she took it. Prinn, who is from Cranbrook and preparing to enter her second year of Animal Health Technology at Thompson Rivers University, was told of the volunteering opportunity by a professor, as students had gone to the Harnas Wildlife Foundation in Namibia a few years earlier, and had a great experience.
Prinn said it didn’t take much time to decide. “I looked at it and decided if I’m going to do something, it’s got to be this year,” she said. “It looked like an awesome opportunity so I took a chance and I jumped on it and it turned out to be the right decision.” So did she like the trip? “Like it is an understatement,” she said, adding that her month there was way too short. Harnas is a large animal game-reserve and wildlife rehab centre that allows for
volunteers to get hands-on experience working with lions, cheetahs and others. “The first four days we learned how to prepare the food, and then after that we got to do the fun stuff like tour, research and all that,” she said. “So we had an understanding of what we feed (the animals) and why before we got off to do the fun stuff.” The volunteers were divided up into four teams and each team was responsible for a group of animals. “For example, my group was responsible for a cheetah,
leopard, 61 mongooses, two meerkats, three vervet monkeys, three donkeys, eight turkeys, eight ducks, seven cats, five dogs and then I did the horses,” she said, noting that she specializes in horses. “There were four teams, so you can imagine the size of the farm and the animals that were on it.” The animals themselves arrive injured or orphaned, and as they come in they are evaluated by the staff to determine which tier they go into.
See WILD THINGS , Page 3
The East Kootenay is switching from emergency to recovery as creek and river levels begin to decline. However in Wasa, the flood is still on its way. According to a statement from the Regional District of East Kootenay’s information officer Loree Duczek, things are improving across the region. In Kimberley, Mark Creek and Kimberley Creek levels are dropping, stabilizing the flood situation. The highway through Wasa is now open to single lane alternating traffic, but the threat at Wasa Lake is by no means over. The Kootenay River peaked Saturday evening and levels have begun to decline. However it takes seven to 10 days for Wasa Lake to see the effects of high water in the river. It’s expected that water in Wasa will rise quickly. A sandbagging station has been set up at Wasa Community Hall. Water Stewardship BC has also been in the Wasa area completing assessments near the Lake and Cameron Pond. The water level in the slough end of Cameron Pond dropped about 0.4 me-
tres yesterday. There is an area along the old roadway between Cameron Pond and the slough that is showing some signs of erosion, so it is being monitored. “We are encouraging residents and prop-
“We are encouraging residents and property owners in Wasa who are near the water to ensure valuables are moved out of basements” Loree Duczek
erty owners in Wasa who are near the water to ensure valuables are moved out of basements, and take steps to prevent belongings from being affected by floodwater,” said Duczek. In Hosmer, evacuation orders were rescinded Sunday with residents allowed to return home. The Forest Service Unit Crew stacked 3,000 sandbags ready to put into use at the Hosmer Fire Hall. Clean up kits were expected to arrive from the Red Cross Monday.
See RECOVERY, Page 4