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WASTE REDUCTION WEEK P. 2 EDITORIAL P. 6
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RCMP HAS NEW POLICE CAR P. 3 CUSTOMER APPRECIATION & SMALL BUSINESS WEEK P. 4-9
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Almost E. coli
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Honorary Fire Chief
Sam Redding
Omineca Express A boil water advisory lasted from Saturday until Wednesday, October 16 for residents in the Northside Water Services area of Vanderhoof. This was a result of one sample containing Escherichia coli contaminants, a harmful bacteria commonly found in the intestines. Because of the long weekend, the sample couldn’t be tested at the Vancouver lab until Tuesday, which meant that the 200 customers as well as hospital residents lived on boiled water for several days. “It seems to be most likely a sampler error,” said Wesley Manwaring of Northside Water Services (NWS). “It was just one sample taken so there was nothing to compare with at the time and being closed on the weekend of course Murphy’s law will come into effect.” The samples were sent out on Monday evening and didn’t return until Wednesday afternoon at which time NWS informed residents that all was well. “[They] took a long time to get the results but yeah all seven samples that we sent in for the retest came back clean,” said Manwaring. “It was the lowest count you could get for a positive count. Maybe a finger got too close to the bottle or was touching the top of the bottle. Just somewhere in between here and the lab I guess it got contaminated.” Most of Vanderhoof uses the districts water service so they were unaffected by the advisory.
Vanderhoof children kindergarten to grade four entered a draw to become “Fire Chief of the Day” during Fire Prevention Week October 6-12 and Callum Johnny from McLeod Elementary School had his name drawn. Johnny, and his mom, rode around town in the fire truck, visited the fire hall and had lunch all while hanging out with Fire Chief Joe Pacheco.
Honorary citizens award Sam Redding Omineca Express The District of Vanderhoof is looking into creating a system of awards that would give recognition to members of the community of anyone outside the district who deserves recognition for their work. Vanderhoof council members have
been discussing for several weeks now on the options available for a Honorary Citizen award. There are several choices available which change the wording to Freeman of the City or an individual is given the keys to the city but the meaning remains the same. “We just want a way to show recognition to people in the community that do significant things for the town,” said Gerry Thiessen, mayor of Vanderhoof.
This award is something brand new, no such award has ever existed in the district. Some of the options discussed have, along with a physical award in the form of a plaque or trophy of some kind, the ability to vote on district decisions the same as any citizen of Vanderhoof can. Vanderhoof councillors have yet to finalize the award in any form but are expected to make a decision in the next couple months.
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