FRIDAY OCTOBER 18, 2013
FIRE PREVENTION
OPEN HOUSE
Kimberley Fire Department welcomes visitors. See COMMUNITY SNAPSHOT page 4
THRONE SPEECH
WILKS SPEAKS
Lots of positives in Throne speech, MP says See LOCAL NEWS page 5
THE BULLETIN PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 81, Issue 203 | www.dailybulletin.ca
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AMBULANCE SERVICES
Service gaps cause for concern Are Fire Department First Responders a solution? C AROLYN GR ANT editor@dailybulletin.ca
How many times have you driven to Cranbrook and seen an ambulance sitting just off the road near the airport turn-off on Highway 95A? Anyone who makes the drive frequently will recall seeing an ambulance there. The unit waits “We are even at that location in more order to provide quick coverage to Kimberley dependent on when ambulances the ambulance here are busy. It’s an attempt to make sure than other there are no gaps in communities.” ambulance service. However, gaps do Mayor Ron exist and are a conMcRae cern to Mayor Ron McRae, who attempted to get some answers at the Union of B.C. Municipalities last month. “If both of Kimberley’s ambulances are out you will see one sitting at the airport,” McRae said. “At odd times, we’ve even had an ambulance come down from Invermere to cover. But typically, it’s a Cranbrook ambulance sitting there.” McRae says the fact that an ambulance has to sit on standby between Kimberley and Cranbrook makes a statement on the ongoing inadequacies of ambulance services in Kimberley. He says there have been a couple of recent incidents in which ambulance service was not available in a timely fashion. While declining to go into detail on these incidents, McRae says they were “pretty significant”. “We are looking for the Ambulance Service to do something about the gap,” McRae said. Discussions at the UBCM didn’t provide any answers. “I wouldn’t say they are resistant, but it does come down to costs,” McRae said. However, these gaps in service are especially important in Kimberley because the closest emergency room is at East Kootenay Regional in Cranbrook, which means you are some 22 minutes away from a doctor’s care.
See AMBULANCE , Page 3
STRUAN ROBERTSON PHOTO
the Kimberley Nature Park Society invited hikers to step out on Monday for the annual larch hike. Here are some of the twenty seven happy hikers at a viewpoint, looking west up the St. Mary Valley and admire the mix of fall colours as the yellowing western larch stand out against the darker greens of the pines and firs.
Business Awards finalists announced C AROLYN GR ANT editor@dailybulletin.ca
The votes on the best of Kimberley business are in and in the hands of Toni Lepore, CGA, who will announce the final results. Kimberley Chamber members will hear those results next Saturday, October 26 at the business awards gala at the Conference Centre. However, the finalists in each category have been announced. They are: 1. Retail Business of the Year - B&B Glass, The Back Door, The Great Canadian Dollar Store, Flowers Galore, Kootenay Mountain Works 2. Professional Services Excellence - Bear’s Eatery, Cherry Creek Properties, Creekside Physiotherapy, David Bellm, Re/Max Caldwell Agencies,
Rockies Law, Wallinger Day Spa 3. Business of the Year Bear’s Eatery, Creekside Physiotherapy, Kootenay Automotive Equipment, Pedal & Tap, Sullivan Pub 4. Youth Friendly Business Bear’s Eatery, Centex, Grubstake Pizza, Overwaitea, Snowdrift Cafe 5. Creative Professional Excellence - Denai Bell/Ginjer Jar, Flowers Galore, Go Kimberley, Story & Co. 6. Community Booster - B&B Glass, Grubstake Pizza, Kimberley Arts Council, MADD 7. Tradesperson – Contractor - Alpine Plumbing & Heating, ET Woodwork, Kitt Fine Homes, Meadowbrook Motors, Tyee Log Homes 8. Food and Beverage Indus-
try - Bear’s Eatery, Buddha Belly Deli, Grubstake Pizza, Pedal & Tap 9. Employee of the Year Janet Johansen, Libby Westergard, Simonne Desautels. Tamara Duggan 10. Environmental Stewardship - Green Earth Recycling, Kimberley Riverside Campground, MADD, Root For Me, Sprout Grocery, Togs N Toys, Wildsight 11. Entrepreneur of the Year - Bear’s Eatery, Creekside Physiotherapy, Green Door, Meadowbrook Motors, Velvet & Ginjer 12. Tourism Excellence Bear’s Eatery, Kimberley Arts Council, Kimberley Rafting Co., L&K Taxi, RCR 13. Home Business of the
Year - Creative Type BC (Jay Toner), Kootenay Automotive Equipment, Krevan Photography, Krista Smith (Hairdresser), Moody Bee, Scentsy by Katryna Sigurdson Tickets for the awards gala are now on sale and are available at the Chamber office, Burrito Grill, Creekside Physiotherapy, and Bear’s Eatery. Tickets are $55.00 and include a prime rib buffet. The guest speaker is Dr. Tom Ristimaki, a graduate of Selkirk Secondary School and great speaker with relevant insight for our community during times of businesses transition and success. For more information or to reserve your tickets, call Mike at 250-427-3666 or email manager@kimberleychamber.com