FRIDAY
< Another ‘C’ for Sam
NOVEMBER 22, 2013
Reinhart gets a Team WHL captaincy | Page 8
The jolly streets of Cranbrook > Janus and our infrastructure evolution, Part II | Page 7
1
Like Us
$ 10
TownsmanBulletin
INCLUDES G.S.T.
Follow Us @crantownsman
Proudly serving Cranbrook and area since 1951
Vol. 61, Issue 227
www.dailytownsman.com
A listening ear in a time of need The chaplains at East Kootenay Regional Hospital move through the wards, offering to help in whatever way they can
SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
Change is in the air at East Kootenay Regional Hospital, as long-stand-
ing chaplain Werner Froese retires on Dec. 13. The hospital’s first chaplain, Werner began helping patients and
their families with spiritual care in 2005. It was soon after the renovations at East Kootenay Regional Hospital, which
included a chapel for the first time. “I approached Ron Foubister, the Presbyterian pastor, to enquire if
they had a chaplain here. He said, ‘No, we would like to have one.’ Since I had retired from a church in Chilliwack and
moved here, I became available to do that,” said Werner. “As a pastor, I’ve been visiting people in the hospital for 30 or 40
COURTESY SHARON TREFRY
Students at Amy Woodland Elementary School are pictured getting ready to take part in celebrations marking Louis Riel Day. The event featured special activities, including Métis jigging and the raising of the Métis flag at Cranbrook City Hall. See more on Page 5. Back row: Cody, Kayden, Rose and Tawny. Front row: Ethan, Dan, Maddy, Aleah, and Emma.
years. I have really appreciated visiting the patients and found that the training I had before was suitable.” Before Werner came onboard, each Cranbrook minister was on a schedule to be on-call for the hospital, but they were rarely called out. Over the years, Werner has helped thousands of people in innumerable ways. “There are some very good memories,” he said. In one touching story, Werner remembers going into the emergency room and being greeted by the friends and family of a man who had just been brought in. They asked Werner to visit the man, but he was surrounded by medical staff so Werner introduced himself and said he’d be back later. “The next day I came and immediately this fellow said, ‘What do I do now? I’ve denied God my whole life.” Werner helped the man approach God in his own way. “The next day, he was gone. What do we do? Do we say, was he ready? That’s not our call, not at all. We just show them the way.”
COMPASSION , Page 3
Region looks to take advantage of new Kelowna connector ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
With the recent launch of Pacific Coastal’s Okanagan-Kootenay connector flight that links Kelowna and Cranbrook, the two cities are looking to create some new initiatives. The new flight makes Kelowna a 45-minute flight
away and so presents some potential for innovative opportunities. On Wednesday, representatives from the Kelowna region and the East Kootenay met to discuss some ideas. Kevin Weaver, economic development manager for the City of Cranbrook, high-
lighted some of the initiatives from a regional perspective. Representatives from Cranbrook, the City of Kimberley, the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce and other organizations met with counterparts from Kelowna. “This came quite suddenly and we only had a couple of hours,” he said. The meet-
ing was a sort of brainstorming opportunity on how to leverage the new air service to bring about new opportunities. For tourism, there was discussion about developing better packaging at both ends. “It’s about getting more traffic going back and forth,
because we do have a lot of residents in both areas that have activities but don’t spend the time,” Weaver said. Kelowna is also a hub airport that has direct flights to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix, among others. The University of British Columbia in the Okanagan (UBCO) and College of the
Rockies (COTR) participated in talks on how to leverage post-secondary institutions. “The college (COTR) is trying to build their applied research capabilities so I think there is the opportunity for the college to work with UBC Okanagan.”
See KELOWNA , Page 4