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1895 - 2015
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
THURSDAY
South OkanaganWest Kootenay candidates ready for long campaign
Vol. 120, Issue 122
AUGUST 6, 2015
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Page 2
SHAMBHALA MUSIC FESTIVAL
Harm reduction plans help keep festival safe: organizers Ticket holders streaming in for Shambhala’s 18th year BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Shambhala Music Festival visitors may choose to experiment during their five-day stay and question whether that pill is, in fact, a safe bet. But the festival doesn’t turn a blind eye to drug use and instead leads with a strong focus on harm reduction and safety. “(We're) not about condoning or supporting drug use—it’s about understanding that people are going to do what they’re going to do—and our goal is for them to be as safe as possible,” says Britz Robbins of the Shambhala Music Festival. Drug education and pill testing is a branch of harm reduction, provided by ANKORS for over 13 years, and is considered an important resource for the over 10,000 people who make the Salmo River Ranch home for five days. “If a substance tests as 'unknown' or as something they weren’t expecting, we commonly see people throwing that substance out,”she adds. “Test results are also displayed for the public on a chart, alerting attendees of the physical appearance of any pills in which the composition doesn’t match what it’s being sold as. This allows attendees to make safer, more informed decisions.” Festival goers may also use Sanctuary, a quiet place to escape the party chaos, the Women's Safe Space and Camp Clean Beat, which is a clean and sober camp that offers three AA/NA-style meetings per day and a supportive environment for recovering users.
Smoke drifting into region from U.S. fires
KEVIN MACINTYRE PHOTO
The lineups were already growing Wednesday as festival goers arrived for the Shambhala Music Festival at the Salmo River Ranch There are roaming teams for Options for Sexual Health, which shares information and condoms, and an outreach team that spreads word of all harm-reduction programs found on the grounds. Safety is a year-round topic and is in full swing today, as cars roll into town. Last year, an army of 160 medical professionals managed the site while this year BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Most wildfires in the region are doused so where is this hazy layer coming from? Jesse Ellis, a forecaster from the Southeast Fire Centre, says smoke is drifting in all the way from Oregon, California and Washington. He checks out a map, looks at the weather charts and determines where the airmass is traveling from to get the prog-
it's shaping up to be another strong wall. Festival organizers want to ensure the celebration of electronic music is safe and preferably contained to the 500-acre ranch and do so by offering several branches of harm reduction, security and a medical team. An on-site medical building houses 14 beds for monitored care, treatment and
nosis. “It's partly the combination of a little bit of smoke from fires way down south of us,” he said. “Smoke particles in the air, plus high humidity values make it look a little bit hazier.” Smoke can travel long distances but generally stays in the mid to upper elevations so you can see it but can't smell it, he adds. That is “until there is some kind of an event that causes the atmosphere to
observation though minor incidents are generally handled in chairs set up in two four-by-four-metre tents next to the main building. Dr. Brendan Munn, who's also the BC Interior's mass gathering medicine representative for the University of British Columbia, acts as medical director. See HOSPITAL, Page 4 mix the higher level smoke down to the surface.” The closest active fire to Trail is about eight kilometres east of Salmo in a caribou habitat range called Hidden Creek. The blaze is 85 hectares in size and has been left burning since July 5 because it's considered a “modified response fire,” according to Karlie Shaughnessy, Southeast Fire Centre information officer. See SOME, Page 3
Contact the Times: Phone: FineLine250-368-8551 Technologies 62937 Index 9 Fax:JN250-368-8550 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242
welcomes
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778-456-2222
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Sherelle Milburn Massage Therapy
Francesca Cupello Kinesiology
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Free kids playroom and ball pit
www.wanetaplaza.com
5 min. east of Trail on Hwy 3B