TUESDAY JULY 2, 2013
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Vol. 61, Issue 126
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BARRY COULTER PHOTO
Mayor Wayne Stetski presented the Student Citizenship Awards at Sunday’s Canada Day celebrations in Rotary Park on Monday, July 1. Three students from Parkland Middle School and three from Laurie Middle School have through their efforts made Cranbrook and their schools better places. Left to right: Justin Walberger, Nicole Byford, Ine Fourie, Mayor Wayne Stetski, Missy McDonald, Eden Miller and Lydia Van De Castle.
Koocanusa higher than expected Water is being spilled from Libby Dam to keep the reservoir low, while BC Hydro works to contain debris before it reaches the popular recreation spot S A L LY M AC D O N A L D Townsman Staff
Koocanusa has reached 2,454 feet in elevation, just five feet below full pool, after the heavy rainfall of late June. Information released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week said that Koocanusa saw very high inflows during the rainfall event. The reservoir that contains water from the Kootenay River and Elk River before it flows through Libby Dam, Montana, saw 94,000 cubic feet a second of water coming into it on Friday, June 21. By Thursday, June 27, it had dropped to 50,000 cubic feet a second coming in. That is still high: by compari-
son, on Friday, June 7, 36,000 cubic feet a second was coming in. To cope with the massive amount of water reaching the reservoir, engineers maxed out the amount of water going through Libby Dam to 25,000 cubic feet a second. Over the weekend of June 22 to 24, another 3,000 cubic feet a second was spilled over the top of the dam. “Discharge will continue at elevated levels until flows have dropped and we are able to pass inflow,” said the Army Corps’ Adam Price in an operations update. However, the huge amount of water going through Libby
Dam is not causing problems downstream, according to Price. “Kootenay Lake is seasonally low, and the stage at Bonners Ferry is expected to stay several feet below flood stage,” reads the update. Koocanusa was not expected to be as full as 2,454 feet this summer. In May, BC Hydro and the Army Corps said that the reservoir was forecast to reach 2,453 at the end of July, and stay at that level until September. The large volume of water flowing into the reservoir is bringing debris that could hamper recreational users of Koocanusa.
See KOOCANUSA , Page 4
Local naturopaths hoping to get wider access to labs A R N E P E T RYS H E N Townsman Staff
Dr. Trent Brereton, a naturopathic doctor from Cranbrook, was in Cranbrook City Council last week looking for support to allow naturopathic doctors the ability to prescribe lab work. Dr. Brereton explained that currently naturopathic practitioners have quite a few limitations compared to medical doctors, for instance not being able to visit patients in the hospital and not being able to prescribe lab work. For lab work, a naturopathic doctor
has to get his patient to see a medical doctor. At the hospital, Brereton said, naturopathic doctors have to visit patients as a friend, because of limitations. Brereton said naturopathic doctors serve a different function than medical doctors, in that they practice preventative medicine rather than treatment of conditions. He said that aligns closely with provincial and federal health care policies. “It’s very cost effec-
tive, it’s much more cost effective to treat a person preventatively than to treat a disease once it’s settled in,” he said. “As such, our profession is trying to let folks know this is what we do, and in fact, we have a lot to offer in terms of saving money at the provincial and national level.” In 2010, naturopathic doctors began prescribing naturally derived pharmaceuticals, and he said they’ve had an excellent safety record.
See NATUROPATH , Page 4