FRIDAY
< It’s all on the line now
MARCH 20, 2015
Preview: Kimberley, Kamloops in KIJHL final | Page 9
Chinatown: Part IV
Regular season closing >
Series on the history of Cranbrook’s Chinese community concludes Page 7
Ice to meet Hitmen to finish season | Page 8
THE BULLETIN PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 83, Issue 55 | www.dailybulletin.ca
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Kimberley to get fibre-optic by September TR E VO R C R AWL EY
If all goes according to plan, Telus is hoping to have the first homes in Kimberley installed with fibre optic broadband Internet by June. Announced at the end of February, Telus staff has been working alongside Kimberley city staff and council to get the proper planning in place before beginning the process of connecting each home to fibre optic. Telus has made a $10.5 million investment into the community—without any government subsidization—in order to get the project off the ground. Zouheir Mansourati, Vice President of Broadband Implementation with Telus, said Kimberley is a test run of sorts to understand and work with the challenges of getting broadband into smaller, rural communities. “We felt at this point, with the [Tier] Three communities where there was a meaningful lack of broadband, access to the internet and to services that are very useful, we felt that we could come and practice what we need to do, strengthen our muscles, our knowledge and draw some lessons,” Mansourati. The process began last year as Telus began the consultation process with the community, according to Mansourati. That process is now over and it’s now time to go door-todoor to install the fibre optic cable. Mansourati said that contractors will request permission from each and every home and business to install
the fibre optic cable drop. The work will be done for free and home or business owners can make the decision whether or not they wish to connect to the fibre optic network or keep their existing internet services. Fibre optic technology will be installed alongside existing cable connections paths either aerially or buried below ground. “All this is done at no cost to the customer. In other terms, we build the service, we ask for their permission to do a fibre drop, we do the fibre drop, then there’s no obligation for them to buy the service,” said Mansourati. “If later they come and they request the service and we offer it and install it for them. That service would be any of: voice, internet access or Optik TV service or all three of them.” Kimberley has been divided up into what Mansourati describes as 13 fibre-serving areas (FSA)—the first of which should be completed by June with September as a completion date for all the rest. The Federal government’s definition of high speed internet starts at five megabits per second (MBps). The fibre-optic service provided by Telus will allow for over 100 MBps, depending on what services customers ask for, said Mansourati, which is comparable to speeds more readily available in major cities.
See CITY, Page 3
SUBMITTED
Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick takes the lead, getting pinned in advance of Daffodil Month by members of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Cancer Society asks Kimberley to unite for Daffodil Month SUBMITTED
For the Canadian Cancer Society, the daffodil is more than a simple flower. This bright and hopeful symbol shows people living with cancer that they don’t have to face cancer alone, and that we won’t give up until we have achieved our vision of a world where no Canadian fears cancer. During April – Daffodil Month – the Canadian Cancer Society asks all Canadians to buy a daffodil pin and wear it to show their support for those living with cancer. “We celebrate the ‘power of the flower’ all year round – but April is really our time to shine!” says Lynnette Wray, Financial Support Program Team Lead for the Canadian Cancer Society in the South-
ern Interior Region. “When loved ones are diagnosed with cancer, we often want to do something to help or honour them. This April, we want people to know that there is something they can do.” Kimberley residents can support Canadians living with cancer by wearing a pin and buying fresh cut flowers. Every donation made during the Canadian Cancer Society’s April Daffodil Campaign brings us one step closer to preventing cancer, detecting it earlier, improving treatment and helping Canadians live longer, healthier lives. Last year, thanks to everybody’s generous support of Daffodil Month, the Canadian Cancer Society was able to fund $45 million dollars in world-class research to fight all
cancers and help more than 85,000 Canadians through its information and support services. The Society also funds important cancer prevention work so fewer Canadians are diagnosed in the first place. “In April we like to focus on the support programs that help people on a cancer journey,” says Wray. “Like our Lodge in Kelowna where patients can stay during cancer treatments to the financial support program that helps pay for their travel expenses to get there. We also have a wig bank in our Cranbrook office where people can come and borrow a wig and get the emotional support they need.” Of the five different regions in the BC/Yukon Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Southern Interior Region
is the largest user of the financial support program. Since September 2010, over 1,500 clients have been approved for a total of over $700,000 in funding. “Our region is the biggest user of the financial support program for several reasons,” explains Wray. “We’re very geographically dispersed and patients often have to travel long distances for cancer treatment in Kelowna or Vancouver. For example, a patient in Cranbrook might need specialized treatment that they can only get in Vancouver. That’s 958 kilometres with limited low-cost transportation options and barriers such as mountain passes and winter weather.”
See APRIL, Page 3