NANAIMO REGION
VIU students have added options for public transit A new express bus will add options for students to get to Vancouver Island University more quickly from other areas of the city when school begins in September. A5
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The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Saturday, August 29, 2015 WEATHER
Storm could cause water woes Nanaimo officials issue drinking-water notice following report regarding weather-pattern change DARRELL BELLAART DAILY NEWS
Officials are bracing for a possible impact on Nanaimo’s water quality this weekend from a major weather system looming over southern B.C. Heavy rain has the potential to cloud normally clear drinking water, which could lead to a boil water advisory. City of Nanaimo waterworks officials issued a notice on Friday, after Environment Canada alerted the public about a “major
change in the weather pattern,” following a prolonged summer drought. Nanaimo’s drinking water comes from the south fork of the Nanaimo River. During drought, the forest floor becomes littered with dust and debris. “If you douse that with heavy rain, you’re going to get excess stuff carried into the water supply,” said Bill Sims, City of Nanaimo manager of water resources. Chlorination may not completely kill the microbes that pose a
health threat, especially for seniors, youngsters and others with a weakened immunity. “There is certainly a higher risk of pathogens and bacteria getting into the water and there’s a risk that disinfection will not be as effective,” Sims said. Past heavy rain events, usually in winter, have taught city officials that storms can affect water quality. For most people, it’s more of an inconvenience than a threat, but if residents notice a brown colour they should
check with local media sources or online to see if a boil advisory has been issued, Sims said. Two storms converged over southern B.C. Friday, merging two jet streams into a single river of sub-tropical moisture that bathed the south B.C. coast with the first significant rainfall in months. Forecasts call for between 80 to 120 millimetres of rain through Monday morning. “What’s most significant about this weather pattern, it’s going to stick around for quite a while,”
said Lisa Coldwells, Environment Canada meteorologist. Today’s forecast calls for 20-30 mm of rain in Nanaimo, a high of 18 C, showers and a low of 13. Periods of rain are forecast through Wednesday. For current weather forecasts visit www. weather.gc.ca. Follow the city of Nanaimo twitter feed for boil advisories: @cityofnanaimo. Darrell.Bellaart @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235
HEALTH
Resolution calls for vaccination declaration DARRELL BELLAART DAILY NEWS
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sland Health’s experience quickly identifying which children were immunized during last year’s measles epidemic helped direct a national call this week for better systems to track childhood immunization records, says Nanaimo’s top doctor. A resolution passed at the Canadian Medical Association’s annual general meeting in Halifax this week calls for governments to require parents to declare if their children are vaccinated before they enter the public school system. Because Island children are vaccinated at public health clinics, the information is readily available, says Dr. Paul Hasselback, central-Island medical health officer for Island Health. “In Nanaimo, almost all immunizations for children are provided by the health unit and goes into electronic databases, so we have information on all children,” Hasselback said. “I think that led to what the CMA was discussing at their annual meeting.” The national resolution by doctors stops short of making vaccinations mandatory, but instead calls for parents to provide proof children have been vaccinated. Hasselback said some provinces do a better job of tracking children’s health records, and even within B.C., some systems work » Use your smartphone to jump to our website for updates on these stories or the latest
Cloudy, light rain High 18, Low 13 Details A2
better than others at making the information available when it is needed quickly, such as during last year’s measles outbreak. “It only took us a very small space of time to get a list of who was in school and cross-link that with our database so we knew who was fully immunized, and treated everyone else as if they haven’t been, unless parents could provide documentation. “It all happened very quickly – within 24 to 36 hours we had all the records.” In some parts of the province, doctors do childhood vaccinations, and the data is not as readily available. “We’re not in bad shape. That’s not necessarily the case across Canada,” Hasselback said. The exercise did uncover something else – a need for higher vaccination levels among Island school children. When 90 per cent of a population group is immunized, “herd immunization” will curb the spread of an outbreak. “The CMA resolution didn’t go as far as to say all children should be immunized when they go to school. We know that under-immunized children put others at risk (and) our immunization rates are coming down in some instances,” Hasselback said. Darrell.Bellaart @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235
Edison Beckett, 4, is held by his father, Matt, while receiving a vaccination by Desiree Ord at the Nanaimo Health Unit on Friday. Matt braced for the worst, above, but was pleased with the end result. [AARON HINKS/DAILY NEWS]
Fighting wildfires takes unique skills
Rhodesie Cup marks end of Clippers camp
Local forest firefighter crew leader Xenius Damborg says his difficult trade is more about forestry knowledge than raw strength in the heat of the battle. » Nanaimo Region, A3
Forty players made their best impressions on Mike Vandekamp Friday night during the annual Rhodesie Cup intrasquad game. The exhibition season now begins. » Sports, B1
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Nanaimo Daily News and nanaimodailynews.com reach more than 60,000 readers each week in print and online. General inquires: 250-729-4200 | Newsroom: 250-729-4224 | To subscribe: 250-729-4266 | Copyright 2015. All rights reserved
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