THURSDAYJULY 31, 2014
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KIDFEST IS FOR ALL AGES
FINDING DEALS ON THE FRONT YARD
August 10 event has a variety of entertainment this year
Tis the season for garage and yard sales — check our listings before you head out
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AFTER-HOURS HEALTH CARE
Clinics for Qualicum Local physicians stage a pilot project for August JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
Family physicians are creating after-hours walk-in clinics in Qualicum Beach in a pilot project for August they say will complement, not compete with, the operations of the Oceanside Health Centre. The doctors say they are responding to survey results gathered in the spring and will determine whether the clinics continue past August after studying the data gathered during this pilot project. “The community wanted some after-hours, walk-in access,” said Elliot Freedman, a consultant working with the Oceanside Division of Family Practice. “We think there’s a demand for it and we think it will be full-up.” The clinics will be open Mondays (excluding the holiday Aug. 4) from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Qualicum Medical Centre on Fern Road; Tuesdays from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. at the same location; Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Beach Medical on Beach Road; Thursdays from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Primrose Medical Clinic on Second Avenue; and Fridays from 6:30 p.m.8:30 p.m. back at Beach Medical. The physicians estimate they will be able to see 8-15 patients — tourists and residents alike — each day. Doctors say incidental, pressing — but non-life-threatening — medical issues may be brought to the after-hours clinics. These include things like earaches, fevers, removal of foreign bodies, heat stroke, hives and rashes, insect bites, lacerations, nausea, skin infection, sore throat, sprains and wound care. See EXPANSION IS POSSIBLE, page A42
JOHN HARDING PHOTO
Fishmonger Colleen Williamson of Eat Fresh Urban Market in Parksville displays a sockeye salmon caught recently in local waters.
GREAT SEASON IN FULL SWING
‘Epic’ salmon run this year CANDACE WU
news@pqbnews.com
Parksville Qualicum Beach is experiencing its best season of fishing in the last decade. That’s the word on the dock at least — from experienced guides, weigh scales and tackle shops in the area. French Creek Harbour Store owner Kari Wheatley described this year’s salmon run as “epic.” Wheatley said the store extended
their hours of operations to seven days a week — up from six days — just to accommodate demand. “We just saw a 42-pound spring come in,” she told The NEWS from the seaside shop buzzing with fishermen Tuesday afternoon. “And we had a 32-pound one on the weigh scale last weekend.” Additionally, Wheatley said this year’s sockeye predictions are unprecedented. “We’re expecting to see what peo-
ple are referring to as ‘a wall of sockeye,’” she said. “That means there will be more sockeye here than anyone has ever, or will ever see.” Don Graves, Good Times Salmon Charters owner and guide, said the sockeye run predictions are “the highest in a few years but haven’t been proven quite yet.” Graves said sockeye won’t start showing up in the waters lining Parksville Qualicum See WILD COHO, page A7
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