TUESDAY JUNE 9, 2015
Black Press C O M M U N I T Y
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General Excellence
THE CHEESE MAN IN QB
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Qualicum Foods’ Frank Trozzo has a cheese named after him
Former Qualicum First Nations chief shares her family’s story about residential schools
A23
A5
AFTER HOSPITAL TREATMENT . . .
No way to get home Island Health says it’s the patient’s responsibility AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
Released to the sidewalk at 3:30 a.m., a local senior’s recent trip to the hospital has her wondering about who is responsible for the wellbeing of patients. “I had a COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) attack and couldn’t breathe, so I called the ambulance and was taken to the hospital in Nanaimo (NRGH) in my PJs with nothing, not even my purse,” said a 67-year-old Parksville resident who didn’t want her name used. She said they got everything under control pretty quickly and released her at 3:30 a.m. “wrapped in a hospital blanket with no help, no idea how to get home.” With limited options at that time of the night and not wanting to disturb anyone, she ended up taking a taxi home for $85. It’s something she has heard has happened to others, including her neighbour. She said the taxi driver gave her a card for Granny Go Go (250-714-9715), but it wasn’t operating at that time of the night. “We are a companion service, we take people right from their bed and get them into their house and make sure they are comfortable,” said Granny Go Go owner Bonnie Brown. And they do it for around $30, but they don’t currently have an overnight driver. There are other services that transport people like Driving Miss Daisy (250937-8812) and some limited daytime services through the Society of Organized Services (SOS). Island Health confirms it’s the patient’s responsibility to get themselves home. “We do everything we can to ensure the patient gets home safely and with dignity, with particular focus on after-hours discharge of patients who may be vulnerable,” said IH spokesperson Valerie Wilson. See TAXI VOUCHERS, page A6
AUREN RUVINSKY PHOTO
It was a dramatic start to the Schooner Cove Lasqueti Race Around the Rocks Saturday as boats like the Shingebiss, above, whipped around the start boat to jockey for position before heading up island into the wind.
Perfect day for Racing Around the Rocks AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
As predicted by the experts on the start boat, Lawn Dart of Nanaimo won the Schooner Cove Lasqueti Race Around the Rocks Saturday. They completed the course from the marina around the island and several other points and back in 15 hours and 20 minutes, a little over an hour ahead of number two, Dream Chaser. The Lasqueti race had three divi-
sions, with Runaway Girl taking division two in 18:02, followed by another local boat, Whale Song in second. Ducatti won division three in 18:22, with Schooner Cove’s Freewind placing third in the division. The day included a shorter, Race Around the Rocks course, which was won by Swish in 12 hours, 33 minutes. It was described as a perfect day for sailing with beautiful sunny, clear
TAKE YOUR OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Locally Owned for over 30 Years, Proudly Canadian! WE DELIVER MON-FRI 8-6, SAT 9-5:30, SUN 10-5 720 MEMORIAL AVE., QUALICUM BEACH • 250-752-3011
skies and good wind. The NEWS thanks Joe Straka for taking us out for photos from his starting boat, the Arc Angel. Visit www.scyc.ca for more on the Schooner Cove Yacht Club. This was also the weekend the Black Press-sponsored Van Isle 360 race passed through the waters of Parksville Qualicum Beach. See inside today’s paper for a photo.
TO THE BEACH!
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