Voice Health Report  Staff Report                  September 1 2009

What To Do About The Flu

Learn the symptoms and be prepared
 

The 2009 school season is beginning again in Chilliwack and this time it brings with it the danger of spreading it throughout the community.

People at risk like those who have immune system problems, pregnant women; people of any age with heart disease, asthma, diabetes and other chronic illnesses; children under 2; people over 65 should all try to take precautions; like avoiding certain public places unless they need to and using surgical masks; frequent hand washing; avoid coughing directly into public spaces. Better yet just stay home and ride it out. Rest, and get plenty of fluids, health officials agree.
Who is at risk?
While people over 65 tend not to catch swine flu, they are primary targets of the regular seasonal winter flu — and there's no way for patients to tell one flu from the other strain. Those over 50 should get a shot. For children, pediatricians advise watching activity levels. Being listless or lethargic can be a warning sign of worsening illness.

If you're in a risk group category then it's best to be prepared. You can see your doctor to get a Tamiflu kit to use when you need it. Doctors would rather get a call from or see a high-risk person "sooner rather than later" to decide if they need the anti-flu medications Tamiflu or Relenza. The drugs work best if taken within the first 48 hours of symptoms.

When is it a real emergency?
When does it get bad enough to see a doctor or go to the emergency room? If it's hard to breathe then that's an emergency.

Symptoms include fever of 100 degrees or more, cough, body chills and aches, congestion. Diarrhea and vomiting sometimes occur, particularly with the swine flu that doctors call the 2009 H1N1 flu. Signs to seek emergency care include shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, confusion or seizures, persistent vomiting or inability to hold down liquids, bluish lips.

Last year I got a good dose of the flu and it seemed to have run it's course after a week or so and then over the next two or three days my throat became infected which had me in emergency at 3am. So, if fever goes away and then a new one sets in days later, seek medical care. That can be a sign of bacterial infections that sometimes follow any type of flu.

Please don't base any kind of self diagnosis on this article. I've written it only as a way to empower people with some information regarding the influenza season ahead of us in the fall.

According to the Centre For Disease Control's latest charts well over 36,000 people have or have had the H1N1 virus. 500 people have died in the USA from this virus. Predictions go as high as 90,000 H1N1 related deaths over the winter months.

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The following is the CDC's weekly report on H1N1:

2008-2009 Influenza Season Week 33 ending August 22, 2009

All data are preliminary and may change as more reports are received.

On June 11, the World Health Organization raised the pandemic alert level from Phase 5 to Phase 6 indicating that an influenza pandemic is underway. The novel influenza A (H1N1) virus now will be referred to as “2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus.”

Synopsis during week 33 (August 16-22, 2009)

Influenza activity remained stable or continued to decline in most areas of the U.S. However, activity appears to be increasing in the Southeast. A total of 8,843 hospitalizations and 556 deaths associated with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses have been reported to CDC an increase from 7,983 hospitalizations and 522 deaths from the prior week

During week 33:

• 804 (18.0%) specimens tested by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories and reported to CDC/Influenza Division were positive for influenza.

• 99% of all subtyped influenza A viruses being reported to CDC were 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses.

• The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the epidemic threshold.

• Five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported and all were associated with a 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.

• The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was below the national baseline. Region IV reported ILI above their region-specific baseline.

•  Two states and Puerto Rico reported geographically widespread influenza activity, 13 states reported regional influenza activity, 10 states and the District of Columbia reported local influenza activity, 24 states reported sporadic influenza activity, one state reported no influenza activity, and Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not report.
   

 Exclusive Voice Report   September 15 2009

Public Hearing

Chilliwack Bets On New Gaming Centre
Gather your quarters up, slot machines are coming to Chilliwack.                         Craig Hill/The Voice

A near capacity crowd fills Evergreen Hall for a public hearing on the Chilliwack Gaming Centre.

    Chilliwack residents wanted a voice for the proposed gaming centre and last night at Evergreen Hall they got their voice. All 500 of them and until 1 am too. The loquacious crowd was buzzing from the onset and the floor was obviously slanted towards the "Yes" side as speaker after speaker took the microphone. Agencies, associations and individuals all expressed dismay at the thought of losing funds which a gaming centre could bring for charitable causes.

    Slots are new to Chilliwack as are other forms of gambling that the centre will bring with it. Some say it's about time slot machines got here as every other municipality has those little robotic cash vacuums in them.

 
    Over the course of the evening, 69 people patiently waited for their turn at the microphone and to lay their cards on the table and of those 69 people only 5 of them were opposed.

    Greg Walker from the BCLC started off the evening and said the lottery commission has done it's homework. "This is a solid economic study that we have done here which is very thorough," he said.

                                       Greg Walker from the BC Lotteries Commission explains

                                       to council why a gaming centre would be good for

                                       Chilliwack.

    Walker also addressed problem gambling. "As far as social responsibility is concerned, we have programs in place like self-exclusion, license plate tracking, photos etc. to help those who have problems with gambling."

    There was nothing concrete about the "projected revenues" and how much that the Gaming Centre and its 100 slots will siphon off residents and plop into charity coffers. Coun. Janzen asked for numbers and  Walker was evasive. "It varies depending on the location," he said.

 
Pat Johnson, who was with the Upper Fraser Valley Community For Kids contingent, an offshoot from the BC Children's Hospital, was adamantly opposed to losing funding. "My vote is yes and if this money (from the Chilliwack Bingo Association) dries up rest assured we will be knocking at your door," said Johnson pointing at council members.

    One of the "No" people was Dan O'Hara who felt that a casino would hurt the community more than help it. "Expansion of gambling in Chilliwack will have a negative impact on families and it's ironic that we have to use our gaming money to help kids."

    If there was such strong support for the Chilliwack Gaming Centre at 46125 Olds Drive, which will create approximately 100 new jobs, then why even bother with a public meeting like this?

    Coun. Stewart McLean bristled at the question and insisted that it was not a waste of precious resources. "For months we have done studies and we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to be heard before we made our decision," he said.

Coun. Stewart McLean

    Ironically it was McLean's vote which led to a split in council's decision and Mayor Sharon Gaetz broke the stalemate by going along with the majority and voting for it.

    Will this lead to a 25¢ coin shortage in Chilliwack? Who knows but dust off your Mississippi gambling hat.

© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

 Exclusive Voice Report                             September 23 2009

Public Rally At Courthouse

Worldwide Rally For the Prince Of Pot In Chilliwack
Ooo that smell, can't you smell that smell?

Craig Hill/The Voice

Craig Hill photos

Rally organizer Jason participates in some passive civil disobedience at 4:20 pm in support of Marc Emery at the clock tower plaza on Saturday.

    Vancouver has Marc Emery. Abbotsford has Tim Felger and Chilliwack has Jason.

    Whether you knew it or not, Saturday was a worldwide rally to free Marc Emery. Emery announced last month that he was going to take a cross-Canada final "Farewell Tour" after being busted selling marijuana seeds to the people in the USA. He'll be traveling stateside later this year for sentencing.

    Although Chilliwack wasn't on Emery's itinerary, a small group of supporters gathered at the courthouse Saturday afternoon nonetheless. Armed with placards, handouts and the obligatory doobies, they got the attention of passing cars with friendly waves who tooted and waved back in support.

    Jason, from Chilliwack and organizer of the rally, believes strongly in what Emery is trying to do referring to him as a "Man Among Gods" in a   Marc Emery

press release last month.

    For a brief time Jason stood alone on the windy corner, slowly but surely people drifted on up and grabbed some of his placards. "I advertised this all over town including the court house," said Jason noting that the his courthouse signs were removed.

Jason shows one of his signs Saturday afternoon.

    As more people joined, more signs were waved and more horns were honked and the rally was a relaxed and low key event which became more colourful when forest nymphs Brittany and Alana descended from rays of sunshine adorned with pot leaves woven in their hair. Elvinish beauties.

    HEU member and palliative care worker, Alana, had only just heard about the rally at the last moment and bolted out the door to join them at the clock tower. She met Emery in the past and has donated money to help with his legal fees. "The whole idea of denying people    

                                                    Alana and Brittany lend their support.

the right to choose this lovely wonderful plant is absurd. It's absolutely ridiculous that Marc Emery is going to jail in the USA for selling seeds," she said.

    "Because of my illness I need this," said another. "I eat it because f the Omega 3 and protein. The seeds are loaded with protein," said Barb.

    Jason really wants to help bring attention to Emery's cause and according to him there are vast numbers

Supporters at the Marc Emery rally.

of people who smoke pot on a daily basis. "162 million worldwide smoke pot regularly," he said.

    For Jason, this is just the beginning. He wants to hold more rallies in the future now that he's cut his teeth on this one. "I plan on doing this again and again to help bring awareness to the war on drugs and how it's not working."

see more rally pictures here

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 Voice Report                                        Tuesday September 29 2009

Military Funeral                                                               

Chilliwack Says Goodbye

To Col. Roger St. John

Staff Report

                                                                                                                          Craig Hill photos

Twelve gun salute at service Monday afternoon for CFB Col. (Ret.) Roger St. John.

    Hundreds of people filled First Avenue Christian Assembly for the military funeral for CFB Chilliwack base commander Col. (Ret.) Roger St. John.

    St. John served as the last base commander before it closed in 1997 and prior to retiring after 32 years in the service.

                                                      For more pictures go here

                                                                                                © Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

 Voice Special Report                          Thursday September 24 2009

The Olympic Torch Relay

No Glitches In Olympic Torch Dress Rehearsal
Testing 1-2-3 Testing

                                             Craig Hill/The Voice

                                                                                                                        Craig Hill photos

Final torch bearer Bet Tuason lights up the stage in a mock ceremony at the Leisure Centre Wednesday.

CHILLIWACK, B.C. - It was rings n' things in Chilliwack. The longest torch relay in Olympic history doesn't begin for over a month but some residents of the city got an early look yesterday at the cross-country caravan when the Coca-Cola Torch Relay trucks made a practice run from Hope to Chilliwack where a stage was already setup in the Leisure Centre parking lot. The entire entourage sans the stage, then traveled on to Abbotsford to finish the Fraser Valley leg.

There was a little pomp and ceremony as the mock parade moved through Chilliwack town but this was just a test of the system and it was the first and only stage setup pre-Olympics anywhere in Canada. Games organizers were confident the "dry run" went off without a hitch or a glitch.

Suzanne Reeves, Director of Communications with VANOC, said the focus of the celebration is on the 150 or so torch bearers who will proudly carry it on the route through Chilliwack and passing it to the final runner who will then light the torch on the stage. And just like crowds did today, they'll cheer loudly in February.                                  Suzanne Reeves stands in front of "Colossus"

"This has been 3 years in the planning and today we launch in earnest and it's going to be very exciting, like the first day in University," said Reeves.

The torch begins its 106 day odyssey from Greece to Whistler where it lands on Canadian soil beginning in Labrador October 20 then linking over 1000 communities across Canada before arriving at it's final destination February 12, 2010 in Whistler, BC.

The unique and colourful stage at the Leisure Centre actually turns into a truck like a huge transformer after the ceremony and will be one of two that are setup alternatively at each event along it's 45,000 km route. It features a large graphic of a woman who staff affectionately refer to as "Colossus", added Reeves.

Final torch bearer Bet Tuason, who is also a demo leader in the Paralympics was chosen from a pool of peers who make significant contributions to the community. Even though it was a practice event he was thrilled nonetheless and despite the searing 30c temperature in the parking lot he was still proudly wearing the Olympic colours including the toque and there was nothing "mock" about his enthusiasm. "I'm totally excited. Man, this is great! It's undescribable (sic)" he said.

Tuason who is handicapped and in a wheelchair also works with the School Day program where he demonstrates various Olympic sports to school children. He wasn't positive whether or

not he would be directly involved in

the actual torch run but remained

The Canadian Olympic torch on        optimistic. "Not sure if it will happen

display in the mobile truck.                but I'm hoping so," he said  

.

Chilliwack is one of 200 "Celebration Community" cities across Canada which will be having various torch run celebrations. There'll be live entertainment from acts like Montreal's Gregory Charles. More details to be released later from the Community Celebrations Task Force (CTS) who has $40k to play with for the event.

The Coca-Cola Co. and the Royal Bank of Canada are the two big "Presenter Sponsors" of the Torch Relay and both were on hand at the Leisure Centre. Coca-cola was giving out unique bottle-shaped cans of coke and a trailer-housed interactive display and all of the Olympic torches from the early 1900's.

Some of the formerOlympic torches looked like nothing more than a kerosene lamp mounted on a pole and as the years passed the torches were remodeled with elements of where the Olympics were that year. Canada's very unique contribution to this historical lineup was a torch designed   Coca-Cola Olympic truck.

by Bombardier which was one of the tallest of all. It looked to be approximately 50" tall. It's like a swoosh, swatch, swish . . . like skiing? You get the idea. It looks like a big white Bic lighter that's been stretched and bent.

Etienne (first name preferred), route-maker for La Belle Province, was a part of a big contingent of French-Canadian staff in green shirts. Etienne traveled around Canada visiting the Rockies and the Okanogan before landing in Vancouver where he found the job. He's looking forward to being with the torch for it's 106-day journey. "It's fun and it's exciting," he said.

People gathered around the stage and the national anthem was sung by talented Quebec quartet Le College Vocal de Laval. Mock emcee, Randy Ferguson, spoke to the crowd of mostly media and staff. "We are super excited to be a part of the Torch relay's 106 days across Canada," he said.

Le College Vocal de Laval singing group.

"We're privileged to have these talented people carry the torch and (today) we are getting a flavour of the celebrations of the torch," Ferguson said after doing a practice countdown.

Ferguson showed Vanoc and the Olympic organizers appreciation in his address to the Sto:Lo nation. "We thank the Sto:Lo people," he said.

Stol:Lo elder Margaret Comadore spoke highly of the Olympics and the torch run to raucous applause from the crowd. "I am hoping the tribes presence will be evident and we praise and honor those who will carry the torch," she said. "I raise my hands in the tradition of our people and              Sto:Lo elder Margaret Comadore.

welcome all and hope everyone enjoys the culture and carries the torch high."

John Furlough (Furly) who was at the dress rehearsal had some optimistic words. "This is a team that has really come together. They are a family and today was a big confidence-builder. We should feel terrific about what will be a great odyssey," he said. "I can't imagine the wonderful time    

you will have."
VANOC director John Furlough.

Despite a truck breakdown in Hope at the start, Furlough said glitches were almost non-existent. "We had some very minor adjustments to make and did well doing it for the first time live and have moved the project to a very good place."

To Furlough, the torch run will bring communities together in ways not seen before and it's an important celebration for all Canadians. "We want people to have a sense of ownership over these celebrations," he said.

Cpl. Jen Allan, RCMP Public Affairs & Media for the games says there will not be any really extra policing to do on the relay however there was a group of special police officers training, the Torch Relay Security Team, alongside runners as escorts and flame attendants as well as general security for celebrations. And just like the representation of athletes from across Canada in the Olympics, the RCMP will have a cross-country contingent of their own.

"There will be 23 police agencies representing Canada's law enforcement from across the country," said Allan.

Who will be the final runner to light the torch in Chilliwack? Stay tuned. We'll find out February 7th 2010 when the torch stops for real here.
For more information: www.vancouver2010.com

For the complete photo gallery go here.

                                                                                    © Copyright (c) The Valley Voice News

 A Voice Report   September 14 2009

Craig Hill/The Valley Voice