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Vol. 120, Issue 128
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Team BC brings home bronze Page 9
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Fire suppression continues in Rock Creek Affected properties referenced with maps and matched with RDKB’s ownership data BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
There’s no sense of when the Rock Creek wildfire crisis will end. Alan Stanley, from the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Trail, is mapping out the devastating fire that rapidly spread through the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) jurisdiction west of Rock Creek Thursday afternoon. The fire is now 3,750-hectares in size and considered zero per cent contained. “At this point, it seems to be settling into a bit of a long term event,” Stanley said. Evacuation orders were issued to 240 properties and by noon Friday, Highway 3 and Highway 33 remained closed to all traffic. The corridor section remains too dangerous to access so an aerial assessment of affected properties was made by helicopter Saturday, then cross referenced with maps, and matched with the RDKB’s ownership data base. “At that point we knew the owners and cross referenced
that with the evacuee registers,” explained Stanley. “That was the main way we tracked most of the people down to inform the homeowners of their situation.” Thirty homes and 11 additional properties, most on Highway 33 west of Rock Creek, were destroyed by the fire that grew more than 2,000 hectares in 24 hours. Over the next few days, aircraft including air tankers will be supporting ground crews as they continue to extend control lines near properties by establishing machine-guard and fuel-free areas. The fire is under investigation though suspected to be human-caused. Highway 3 was re-opened Saturday night and 88 residents were allowed to return home Sunday. Evacuees from the Kettle River Provincial Park were transported back to the site that day, to gather belongings and vehicles before vacating the campground. According to the EOC, wildfire and municipal firefighters were able to save all of the camper’s possessions. See ENTIRE Page 3
SHERI REGNIER PHOTO
To raise awareness of Angelman Syndrome, a condition Fayth Gould of Trail was born with, her family and friends have organized an all-day bake sale slated for Wednesday, beginning at 10 a.m., in the Waneta Plaza.
Fundraiser set to raise awareness of Trail tot’s genetic disorder BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Chances are you’ve never heard of the UBE3A gene or Angelman Syndrome (AS). The Gould family wants to change that following their sweet little girl’s diagnosis. Fayth Gould is a bubbly Trail toddler who turns three in November. She was born with the chromosomal anomaly, but was only recently determined to be lacking the specific gene which causes AS. To raise awareness about the condition, her family and friends have organized an all-day bake sale slated for Wednesday, beginning at 10 a.m., in the Waneta Plaza.
Money raised is just icing on the cake, says Fayth’s mom Stacey Gould, adding that all proceeds will go to the Canadian Angelman Syndrome Society. “We are baking up a storm, and accepting any and all donations,” Stacey added. “Anything will be appreciated. If people want to donate baked goods, canning, or money, they can just drop it off at the mall the morning of the bake sale.” The syndrome affects about one in 15,000 people, but Fayth is the only known case in the West/East Kootenay. “To me the awareness of this syndrome is most import-
Back to School Shopping? WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED AT WANETA PLAZA
ant,” explained Stacey. “For myself, and just about everyone I have talked to, they had never heard of Angelman Syndrome. Although there is nothing you can do to prevent it from happening, it is something to be aware of. My goal is to spread the word.” The complex neurogenetic disorder is rare and often remains hidden until the infant first shows signs of developmental delay at six months. Diagnosis takes several years because unique clinical features, such as severe speech or intellectual impairment, an unusual gait, tremulous limbs and an unusually happy demeanor, may not
manifest until the child is one year or older. That’s exactly what happened before Fayth was diagnosed earlier this year ®C though maternal intuition told her mom that something was amiss long before. “I have an older daughter as well,” explained Stacey, mentioning Felicity Gould, 6. “When Fayth was not reaching the same milestones, like sitting unassisted and crawling, it caused red flags to go up.” Stacey’s pregnancy was textbook, the C-section birth went according to plan, and by all accounts, Fayth was a healthy newborn. See MOM Page 8
Late Night Shopping
Thurs. & Fri. to 9pm Free kids playroom and ball pit
www.wanetaplaza.com
5 min. east of Trail on Hwy 3B
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