FRIDAY
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JULY 5, 2013
Two attacked by grizzly near Fernie | Page 4
Counting strokes in Revelstoke > Local golfers at BC Junior Golf Championships | Page 8
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Vol. 61, Issue 130
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Homeless need shelter facility
Salvation Army, Community Foundation waiting to hear of funding while homelessness increases S A LLY MACD ON AL D Townsman Staff
They are virtually invisible, but there are hundreds of people dealing with homelessness in Cranbrook. Between February 2011 and June 2013, Cranbrook’s Homeless Outreach Program helped 171 people in varying degrees of homelessness. A vital step in helping these people is a new homeless shelter, a $16 million proposal by the Salvation Army and the Cranbrook and District Community Foundation that is awaiting funding from BC Housing. “Homelessness is increasing, as are the needs of the people we are dealing with,” said Erin Pan, Cran-
brook Homeless Outreach Coordinator. The program launched in November 2008 and has since helped 473 clients with issues of homelessness. They generally fall into three categories: those at risk of being homeless, for example people who have received an eviction notice, or who know they won’t be able to pay the next month’s rent; the “hidden homeless”, meaning people without a fixed address who may live in tents or motor homes or couch surf; and the absolute homeless – people who have no residence at all and sleep on the street.
See HOMELESS, Page 3
No wake zones on Wasa Lake S A LLY MAC D O N A LD Townsman Staff ARNE PETRYSHEN PHOTO
Trevor McLaughlin stands by his trusty steed outside the office of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman Thursday. McLaughlin, on his way across Canada, left Creston Thursday morning and was intending to make it to Fernie by the end of the day.
Ontario youth biking across country to raise awareness for Parkinson’s ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
For just over a week Trevor McLaughlin has been peddling across Canada. McLaughlin, a 19-year-old from Wallaceburg, Ontario, is on his way back to his hometown, choosing foot power and two wheels as his mode of transportation. On his way through Cranbrook on Thursday he stopped in to talk to the Townsman, be-
fore continuing on the journey to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s Disease. McLaughlin was motivated when the disease hit close to home. “My grandpa was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about 10 years ago,” he said. “The last two summers I’ve done 5,000 kilometres in southwestern Ontario combined and this year was just the next step.” On Thursday he was on his
seventh day, and had cycled just over 700 kilometres. “My goal is to be done by Aug. 20,” he said. McLaughlin and his mother, who follows by car, stopped at the tourist information centre, which recommended he stop in at the newspaper office. He was only in town for half an hour before continuing on to Fernie. For more info, check out McLaughlin’s Facebook page “Trevor’s Ride For Parkinson’s.”
The final hot spot for flooding after record rainfall at the end of June, Wasa Lake is slowly but surely on the decline from flood level. The water continues to drop at a rate of about one inch every 24 hours, a relief for nearly a dozen homes that were impacted by the flood last week. Over the Canada Day weekend, the Regional District of East Kootenay was asking people not to use boats on the lake to alleviate further flooding impacts for affected homes. On Thursday, July 4, that request was downgraded to a no-wake zone on the southern half of the lake, where the most affected homes are.
See NO-WAKE, Page 4
COURTESY RDEK
The regional district has placed a voluntary no-wake zone at the southern end of Wasa Lake in the shaded area, from 200 metres north of the Cedar Road boat launch on the east side of the lake, and below the north end of Larch Road where it meets Wasa Lake Park, 250 metres north of Lodgepole Road on the west side of the lake.