September 2010 Okanagan Edition - North of 50

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LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDE September 2010 Vol. 8, Issue 9

Publications Mail Agreement 41188516ISSN# 1710-4750

North of 50®

Patients on Pot: the continuing controversy over medical marijuanaPaDDLes UP: Making a splash in a dragon boat

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At Askew’s we are proud of our long history of strong relationships with local farmers.

Since our beginnings as a small butcher shop in 1929, we have worked closely with local producers to supply customers with a wide selection of fresh, seasonal foods. Today, we continue to source food from the Thompson-Okanagan, Shuswap and Similkameen Valleys.

Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm is located in Salmon Arm and is family-owned and operated. The farm occupies several acres of lush pasture on which the family’s well-tended herd of sixty dairy cows graze. At Gort’s on-site factory, specialty cheese-makers trained in the European tradition work hard to produce a variety of delicious cheeses such as mild, medium, aged, spiced and smoked Gouda, plain and herbed Feta, and Maasdammer, a mild and nutty tasting Netherlands specialty. All of the cheeses are Certified Organic and made with milk from the family’s own cows. Gort’s smooth and wholesome cheeses are available at Askew’s in Armstrong, Salmon Arm and Sicamous.

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CONTENTS

FEATURES COLUMNS20 PADDLES UP:September Dragon Boat Festivals make a big splashBy Dawn Renaud

38 AL RAINE:Personality Profile of the mayor of Sun Peaks, BC’s newest municipalityBy Amber Yake

28 STAYCATIONSTake a Wild Ride on Hwy 97By Jim Couper

32 AWAY FROM HOMECruising the Mexican RivieraBy TJ Wallis

36 HEALTH MATTERS

40 ARTS HAPPENING

41 COMING EVENTS

43 JUNE ACTIVITIES

44 COMMUNITY EVENTS

46 CLASSIFIEDS & DIRECTORY

6 FROM THE EDITOR

7 YOUR LETTERS

14 REGIONAL ATTITUDEAn interview with Daryle Roberts

18 CALVIN WHITELetter From Deena’s Body

26 DON SAWYERFair Comment: Empathy - Or Else!

34 LISE SIMPSONSome mothers do have ‘em

37 BOB HARRINGTONIt’s Your World: Adversity

September 2010 Vol. 8, Issue 9

DEPARTMENTS

20 28 32

Patients on Pot:the FeDeraL GovernMent Makes Way For MeDicaL MarijUana By shannon LindenConflicting study results on the medical effects of marijuana, along with the inability to monitor patient intake, combined to make the prescribing of marijuana murky for Canadian physicians 10

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FROM OUR eDitor

North of 50° is an independent, f ree m o n t h l y publication, locally owned, produced and distributed throughout the Thompson /Nicola/ South Cariboo/ Okanagan and Shuswap areas by 0727724 BC Ltd.

Disclaimer: The publisher will not b e responsible for errors or omissions. In the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertisement that is incorrect wi l l not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid at the applicable rate.

The opinions and v iews contained in submitted articles to North of 50° magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher.

The publ isher retains the r ight t o e d i t a l l s u b m i s s i o n s , inc luding ar t ic les and letters to the editor, for brevity and clarity. Copyright is retained on a l l mater ia l , text and graphics in this publication.

No reproduction is allowed of any material in any form, print or electronic, for any purpose, except with the expressed permission ofNorth of 50 Publ icat ions (unless for private reference only).

Publications Mail Agreement 41188516 ISSN# 1710-4750

LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDENorth of 50

The one thing I really didn’t want for my 50th birthday was one of those over-the-hill parties with gag gifts and tacky decorations. Lucky me, in lieu of the cheesy party, my husband, Dean, chose to publish a very unflattering photo of me, along with my birthday announcement, prominently, in North of 50.

That was last December. I promised to forgive him for his inappropriate behaviour if he promised to take me on a Panama Cruise before my next birthday. Needless to say, the cruise is booked.

We got turned on to cruising about four years ago, when friends convinced us to join them on a Mexican Riviera Cruise (see that story on page 32). The year before that first cruise, I’d mustered up the courage to board a plane to England and that was triggered the onset of travel fever. Let’s face it, human beings were meant to travel. That’s why we invented the wheel – to go places. That’s why we invented the sailing vessel – to go places far way. That’s why we invented the airplane – to go places far away, faster. Travel is do-able. So we do it.

This will be my fifth cruise, sailing on the fourth different cruise line. Just for fun, I’m keeping a chronicle of my obsessive thinking for the six weeks leading up to the cruise - the planning, the dieting, the shopping - and the three weeks of the cruise – the exploring, the eating, the shopping. You can read all about it on North of 50°’s Travel Blog (www.northof50travel.blogspot.com), or follow the link on our website, www.northof50.com.

But before you sail away to the blog, make sure you don’t miss a single article in this issue of North of 50°. We start off this month with Shannon Linden’s provocative coverage of the legalization of marijuana for medical use in Canada. This controversial topic has been polemic, to say the least. Read the story on page 10, no matter where you stand on the issue.

With Dragon Boat Festivals in Kelowna (September 17 to 19) and Penticton (September 10 to 12) the timing was just right for writer Dawn Renaud to get some firsthand experience paddling with a dragon boat team. That story is on page 20.

Beginning on page 28, follow veteran travellers, Jim and Lian Couper, on their road trip up Highway 97, from the Okanagan through the Thompson and Cariboo. Next month they’ll take us even further north, as far as the Yukon border.

Finally, Kamloops writer Amber Yake chats with Al Raines, mayor of Sun Peaks, BC’s newest municipality. The former coach of the Canadian National Ski Team has had a long career in the hospitality and tourism industry and he shares his vision for Sun Peaks on page 38.

OK, now that you’ve read the magazine cover to cover, mosey on over to your computer and join us on our Panama Cruise: www.northof50.

TJ Wallis

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LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDE August 2010 Vol. 8, Issue 8

Publications Mail Agreement 41188516

ISSN# 1710-4750

North of 50®

INSIDE:BEEF IT UP AT THE 111TH IPEWILDFIRE! A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FORESTRY FIREFIGHTER

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YOUR LettersPUZZLinG crossWorD

August 2010 Vol. 8, Issue 8

Dear EditorGreatly enjoyed your magazine - articles very interesting and well written. Wanted to point out 3 spelling errors in the crossword puzzle. Important to note, as the very essence of crosswords is the spelling of words. I point these out as it may make a difference to your magazine as to whose crosswords you print.25 across - Titanic sinker should be iceberg, not iceburg30 across - European sea eagle should be erne, not ern58 across - Unearthly should be eerie, not erieKeep up the good work!

Donna Styles

Editor’s Note: Truth hurts. None of these words appear in the Meriam Webster On-Line Dictionary.

north oF 50 traveL BLoG

I think this is a great idea and am looking forward to reading your updates. I will never have the opportunity to travel like this so I will travel through your words. Have a great vacation and keep us all posted.

Rosemary O’Neal, ManagerHalina Seniors Centre

science center LookinG For voLUnteers

Dear Editor:The Okanagan Science Centre is seeking retirees, experienced and interested in electronics, mechanics, robotics and related fields. We are launching a new program that will bring the retired or semi-retired and youth together to create exhibits that will become part of the Okanagan Science Centre’s Halloween displays. Our goals are to bring different generations together to share their knowledge and skills, to engage today’s youth in science, and to rekindle the science participation of older adults.We will create exhibits that are animatronic. Animatronics is the use of electronics and robotics to simulate life. This technology was used for special effects in film long before the digital technology we are now familiar with was used, for example, the great white shark in JAWS and the beloved E.T. Animatronics is currently popular for its use in haunted houses. Imagine a monster turning its head 360 degrees, a witch flying overhead, or a moving skeleton, and you’ll get the idea! Since

the Science Centre’s haunted house event is already a link to youth in our community, it is a great starting place for this initiative. We hope to promote careers in science by attracting youth participation in this project, and to narrow the generation gap by drawing on the knowledge and experience of retired professionals. This new program is one of many new initiatives at the science centre that form the new “Multigenerational Innovations” with the goal of “igniting minds of all ages”.To support the work of our retired volunteers the Okanagan Science Centre will host two autumn events:•Tuesday, September 21, 11:30 to 1:30 pm, a lunch meeting “Aging Well – Ten New Ideas for All Round Health” with Dr. Mary-Ann Murphy, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, Okanagan.•Thursday, September 30, 7:00 to 9:00 pm, a dessert and coffee workshop “Are Youth Today Really So Different?” with Leigha Horsfield.If you or someone you know is interested in participating in this exciting new project or attending the autumn presentations, please contact Elizabeth at the Okanagan Science Centre, 250-545-3644 or [email protected]

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PublisherDean [email protected]

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LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDE

OUR contriBUtors

Kelowna writer shannon LinDen has a combined background in broadcast journalism and elementary education. Five years of working and traveling throughout the Middle East with her husband and two children inspired her to write about crossing the chasms of culture. Her work has been published in the United Arab Emirates and Canada.

North of 50

DaWn renaUD realized she needed an excuse for ignoring her chores and sinking into the alternate reality of a good book. Today she channels her creative imagination and affinity for words into more lucrative pursuits, writing for businesses and magazines and helping other writers hone their craft. Dawn lives in a tiny house in Penticton.

aMBer yake has been writing professionally since 2008 and has experience writing for several online and print publications. She has a Bachelor of Journalism from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. Her passion for writing started at a young age when she wrote and published her first “newspaper” at the age of 8. It was widely read by members of her family.

jiM coUPer is addicted to travel. His dependence on changing scenery has taken him (and co-dependent Lian) to the ends of the world’s most southerly and most northerly roads. He has visited 80 countries and written two books: Discovering the Okanagan and The Long and Winding Road (Highway 97). Travel writing pays for his habit.

tj WaLLis has been the managing editor of North of 50 since 2003, when she and husband Dean first started the magazine. Lately, she’s been preoccupied with their upcoming Panama Cruise (Sept 19 – Oct. 10). She is chronicling her obsessions about what to pack, losing weight and what shore excursions to book on her blog www.northof50travel.blogspot.com.

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Patients on Pot:the FeDeraL GovernMent

Makes Way For MeDicaL MarijUana

By Shannon Linden

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iMaGine yoU are a cancer Patient undergoing chemotherapy treatments. The dingdong of your doorbell might be music to your ears—and relief for your pain and nausea—as a courier delivers drugs to your door.

Wrapped in foil-lined pouches, your medical marijuana will come like any other pharmaceutical drug; clearly labeled for content and potency, instructions for use, and an expiry date.

RCMP won’t swoop in and seal your deal with an arrest for possession of an illegal substance. The pot you bought came from a safe source, grown, packaged, and specially delivered by your dealer, the federal government.

In July of 2001, Health Canada implemented the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR), a program allowing, under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a person who suffers from severe and debilitating medical conditions to access marijuana.

Before recreational users start freely rolling fatties, make no mistake—the privilege to partake is limited those who, with physician approval, qualify under specific, government-created criteria. Cannabis (marijuana) is a controlled substance and the growing and possessing of the product remains illegal.

Health Canada media relations officer, Ashley Lemire, puts it this way: “The importation, exportation, trafficking, production, sales, preparations, derivatives and similar synthetic preparations of cannabis is prohibited by law unless”—and here’s where things get interesting—“Authorized by Health Canada.”

cannaBis For the cUre

According to Health Canada, those who can apply to possess Cannabis fall into two categories. The first includes people requiring compassionate end-of-life care, those who suffer epileptic seizures, severe pain/and or muscle spasm from multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and disease, or arthritis, as well as pain, loss of appetite and severe nausea from cancer and HIV/AIDS infection.

The second category is reserved for those who have debilitating symptoms other than those described in the first category. A medical specialist must confirm a patient’s diagnosis and testify conventional treatments have failed or are inappropriate.

GettinG the GooDs

Prairie Plant Systems Incorporated (PPS), a Saskatoon based company specializing in the growing, harvesting, and processing of plants for pharmaceutical products and research, runs the government grow-op in Flin Flon, Manitoba.

Cultivation, harvesting, drying, packaging, storage, and testing of plants are performed under strict and controlled conditions in a biosecure, underground growth chamber. Soil-free mediums, irrigated potable water monitored for microbial and metal contents, and limited use of pesticides help produce proper pot.

Milling of the plant results in a homogeneous product, required for research purposes and accurate THC levels. Irradiation ensures users with compromised immune systems are not exposed to toxic spores.

And prices are competitive. Dried marijuana costs $5 a gram—plus tax. A packet of 30 seeds (3 seeds produce one plant) will run you $20—plus tax. Like any dealer, the feds want to be paid up front. According to Health Canada’s website (www.hc-sc.gc.ca) the program has grown in popularity and significant debt has been incurred as a result of accounts in arrears.

You can put your pot on your credit card but don’t expect help from provincial plans. Marijuana is not approved as a therapeutic drug under the Foods and Drug Act. You can, however, claim costs as medical expenses on your taxes.

Health Canada will issue a month’s supply of dried marijuana at a time, based upon the daily amount proposed by the medical practitioner, or the government will send a one-time-only shipment of seeds so that a license holder may produce his or her allotted supply.

Not comfortable growing your own stash? The government also issues Licenses to Produce on behalf of patients, to qualifying third parties.

It sounds simple enough. But according to many medical experts, the effects of medical marijuana are anything but clear.

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WieLDinG WeeD: More Grey than Green

Conflicting study results on the medical effects of marijuana along with lack of ability to monitor patient intake, not to mention the controversial nature of the subject, combine to make the prescribing of marijuana murky for Canadian physicians.

A Kelowna doctor (identified as “Dr. Smith” to protect patient confidentiality) says while the call for cannabis is common, endorsing the drug makes him—and many of his colleagues—uncomfortable. “I am in fact a vocal opponent,” he says. “The few patients I prescribe for were already using marijuana. They are typically complex patients who historically claim the drug is beneficial but it’s very difficult to monitor.”

Dyck’s Kelowna pharmacist manager, Cameron Zaremba, agrees. “The medication is ordered directly through Health Canada but it isn’t approved and it does seem like a messy way to give a drug. There are variable ingredients and it’s hard to monitor.” Zaremba says while he doesn’t see marijuana as a panacea for relief, he does try to keep an open mind, directing interested patients to further information.

Dr. Smith concedes marijuana may alleviate specific symptoms (particularly in spinal cord patients) but he ultimately believes giving the drug the medical nod may cause more head shaking problems than it cures.

Of particular concern to the doctor is the THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) component of cannabis. Marijuana contains over sixty cannabinoids and several hundred other chemical substances, with THC being the most prominent psychoactive cannabinoid. Its concentration determines the potency of the drug according to Health Canada—and can be incredibly dangerous, according to Smith and innumerable medical professionals like him.

“If you talk to pediatric psychiatrists involved in early psychosis intervention,” Dr. Smith explains, “There is a strong anti-marijuana stance in that group due to the effects they say come from heavy marijuana use in preteens and patients in their early twenties.”

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association’s website (www.cmha.ca), “Marijuana is safer than other street drugs in that no known overdose deaths are recorded from marijuana alone.” But the same information page cites several studies suggesting heavy use of marijuana can bring on psychotic states in healthy people and that young people who frequently use the drug are more likely to develop schizophrenia later in life.

Further warnings advise, when used in conjunction with other therapeutic drugs that share the same metabolic pathways, marijuana may mess with the prescribed drug’s effects. not the DeviL’s WeeD

If you want clean, quality cannabis for medical use, Kelowna’s BeKind Okanagan Growers and Compassion Club (www.okanagancompassionclub.com) claims to be your answer.

Co-founders, Bob K and his brother in law, Paul (both prefer not to use their last names) opened the club’s doors in August of 2009 with a mandate to promote and advocate for the health and emotional well being of medical cannabis users.

While the pair appreciate Health Canada’s program, they believe it doesn’t support quality of product or ease of accessibility people in crisis need. “The process is too

In the early 1900s pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly was producing whole

plant cannabis extractfor sale to patients whose

physicians recommended it. Today, prescription marijuana

comes in foil-lined pouches.

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lengthy,” Bob explains. “Physicians are reluctant to sign and even then, the government can turn people down. Without our assistance, people are waiting years to get help.”

Club clients include a man with neuropathic pain who was unable to navigate Health Canada’s website and a woman with fibromyalgia whose husband was getting ripped off, buying marijuana of questionable content at Kelowna’s City Park.

“People of all walks of life use our services,” Bob says. “A lot of them are women over 40 who don’t want anyone to know they use cannabis. These people are professionals but we’ve serviced the homeless and drug addicted too.”

Which is not to suggest BeKind isn’t a reputable business. “This isn’t a place to get high,” Bob insists. “You can’t come in here without medical documentation saying you have a condition that Cannabis helps.”

Rob Callaway, a member of the team with a Masters degree from UBC Okanagan, passionately educates visitors. “The general public only hears about the THC content,” he explains. “But CBD (cannabidilo) is the anticonvulsant, anti-anxiety component that counters the psychotic affects of THC. Health Canada only offers one strain and it seems to be too low in CBD.”

“We help people get exactly what they need,” he says. “If you have epilepsy we suggest you smoke Sativa product. For spinal cord patients, Indica is good.”

Ada Bertucci, an Okanagan Valley resident with Multiple Sclerosis, has been using medical marijuana since 1994. She used to buy ‘outdoor’ (pot with no name to it, from places like the park) but now she gets everything she needs, including dried marijuana she smokes and cookies she ingests, from BeKind. “Marijuana helps with muscle spasm, pain management, and insomnia,” she explains. “I used to take Valium. Now I only use Cannabis. It has kept me sane and spiritually it helps me deal with my diagnosis.”

For the most part, RCMP aren’t interfering. Staff Sergeant, Brian Gateley, unit commander for the South East District Federal Drug Section in Kelowna, says medical marijuana users stay within police radar. “We hear about people using it according to regulations. They aren’t really the problem. Our concern is more with distributors using licenses inappropriately.”

“Technically we are illegal,” Bob admits. “But the supreme court of Canada says compassion clubs must be recognized for the good they do. It’s civil disobedience.”

Last Dance With Mary jane

You can’t help but like the North Okanagan’s Marcel Dubois (not his real name). A charmer with an infectious smile, he’ll bend your ear, weaving his way through a lifetime of memories, spinning stories in his gravelly French Canadian accent. But you may not approve of his medical methods.

“I drink too much coffee,” he admits. “Ten to fifteen cups a day.” His physician shakes her head at the implausible invincibility of his lungs, subjected to steady streams of smoke—and not just the tobacco type.

“I’ve been smoking pot for half my life,” Dubois says. “It relaxes me.”

He used to smoke marijuana recreationally but since surviving colon caner in 1985 (he now has a colostomy) Dubois turns to cannabis for comfort. “I don’t bother with the government kind,” he admits. “I get if for free from friends.”

He says he has his doctor’s approval, claiming cannabis relieves pain, helps him sleep, and improves his appetite, not to mention his indigestion. “I used to have ulcers. I tried every kind of medication but now I smash marijuana up really fine and sprinkle it on my cereal with a banana and brown sugar. The ulcer is gone.”

Dubois lives alone. He’s still driving, hunting, and woodcarving. He says quite simply, the secret to his longevity is not slowing down. An artist, sculptor, carpenter, musician and violin-maker, he’s always “smoking busy.”

“Marijuana keeps me going,” he grins. “That and Aloe Vera gel.” At 101-years-old this October, clearly Dubois is onto something.

What may not be so obvious is where to stand on the issue of medical marijuana. It’s a complex, controversial subject—one demanding thorough research, expert advice, a little caution and a lot of open-mindedness before decisions can be made. At the end of the day, it’s very Canadian.

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REGIONAL

attitUDethis month, North of 50 had a chance to speak with Daryle roberts, Executive Director of Kelowna’s Living Positive resource Centre. Daryle has been Executive Director for 13 years, starting into his 14th year. Daryle has been involved in hIV/AIDS work since 1992, a year after his partner passed away. Since arriving in Kelowna, he has been involved in the community, on local Advisory Committees, Board Member of two national organizations, Neighbourhood Association and many more activities. In 2008 Daryle received the BC Community Achievement Award.

Living Positive Resource Centre has been delivering support services to people living with HIV/AIDS since 1992. How has the role of the organization changed over the past 18 years?

The role of the organization has changed from one of support and care for people living with and dying with AIDS, to an organization that provides prevention, education, support and awareness throughout Interior Health Authority region. The organization was started in 1992 and was known as the Kelowna and Area AIDS Resource and Education Society (K.A.R.E.S.). In December 1997, we moved our offices to make it easier for clients to access services and change

Dr. Cameron Bakala M.D. FRCSC

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the name to ARC, AIDS Resource Centre, Okanagan. We kept this name until 2004, when we started providing our services to People living with Hepatitis B, and C, along with HIV/AIDS. That’s also when we again changed our name to the Living Positive Resource Centre, Okanagan. We’re very active in the Communities we serve to address issues of Social Justice for those living with or affected by HIV or Hepatitis B & C.

Has the face of HIV/AIDs changed in the Okanagan over the past 18 years, and if so, how?

Yes. KARES was started 18 years ago to meet the needs of the many individuals who were living with AIDS and in most cases coming home to the valley to die. Back then, we had no medications to stop the progression of the disease. In 1996, the advent of combination drug therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS, changed lives. Many who thought they would die are still alive and are contributing members of society - working, volunteering and living in our communities. We have seen an improvement in the stigma and discrimination against those living with HIV, but in many of the communities we provide services in, this is still a big problem.

Today, what is the biggest challenge faced by people living with HIV/AIDS?

I would have to say the biggest challenge is for people diagnosed prior to 1996, before the Drug Therapies that are now available. These people were told to stop work, go home and wait to die. Well, guess what, they didn’t die, but the medications that were available prior to 1996 were very toxic with bad side effects, which these individuals still have to deal with. With the advent of HART, Highly Active Retroviral Therapy, the lives of people living with HIV have became more bearable. The side-effects of the new therapies are not as severe as the previous medications and have allowed People Living with HIV to live longer, healthier lives. So today, the biggest challenges are bringing in an income, housing, access to medical care or even to find a Doctor who will take on a new patient who is living with HIV. Just finding affordable, appropriate, accessible housing throughout the area we serve takes a lot of time. Also being open about ones HIV status is also a challenge, in dating, establishing relationships.

Does the public have any misconceptions about HIV/AIDS?

Yes, there are still many myths about HIV/AIDS. Although

our rates of infection in the Okanagan, are low, people need to understand that HIV does not discriminate on who it infects. HIV is in every segment of our communities. So where does that leave the AIDS Service Organizations in Canada? WHY are we not directing our limited prevention resources to the epidemiology of the disease in BC and Canada – which is not the general population.

As stated by Elizabeth Pisani in her book Secrets from inside the world of AIDS - The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS “In most countries outside east and southern Africa, AIDS is not ravaging the general population as was once feared. Yet politicians the world over know there are few votes in spending taxpayers’ money to provide expensive health care services for gay men, illegal drug users and sex workers, particularly if such services can easily look as if they are encouraging and facilitating behaviour the moral majority tends to disapprove of anyway. So figures and trends must be ‘beat up’ - cannily interpreted and presented in such a way as to imply that we could all be at risk.”

The Public Health Agency of Canada – still applies the Population Health lens to HIV/AIDS Programs, which should be allowing us to access the funding to direct our prevention work to the at risk populations. The Province of BC and the Health Authorities also subscribe to the Population Health mantra and we are required to frame our programs within this lens, although they have listed targeted populations which does not address the largest number of new infections in BC. This just doesn’t make any sense when you look at the epidemiology in British Columbia

The 14th annual Okanagan AIDS walk is on September 19th, starting at Kerry Park in Kelowna. How can people reading this interview get involved?

People can get involved in the 14th Annual AIDS Walk, by picking up a pledge for, from our sponsors or visiting our website at www.livingpositive.ca and downloading and printing pledge forms. You can put together a team and come out and walk, and support the Living Positive Resource Centre. Volunteers are also required, and if you want to volunteer contact Emily Ophus at 250-862-2437 or at [email protected] . We have great sponsors and lots of great prizes for many different categories. We are asking participants to wear RED this year.

northof50.com16

(l-r: Kevin Craig (Co-Chair); Emily Ophus (AIDS Walk Coordinator); Sonya Barker (Interior Savings); Daryle Roberts (Exec. Director Living Positive); Karen Alexander (Community Development, Living Positive)

Whether it’s the BLaZinG coMPetition of World Cup Ski Cross racing or the arena of municipal politics, Kelsey Serwa and Kevin Craig are two young people who have what it takes to take on opponents and win. Now this dynamic duo has teamed up in a different kind of battle – as Co-Chairs in the fight against HIV and AIDS in our community.

Living Positive Resource Centre Executive Director Daryle Roberts says, “We are so honoured that Kelsey and Kevin have joined us as Co-Chairs for the 2010 Okanagan AIDS Walk sponsored by Interior Savings. They are two remarkable young individuals who have a proven ability to inspire others, and are the kind of up and coming leaders that we need in order to continue the fight against HIV and AIDS right here in our community. The Okanagan AIDS Walk is our largest fundraising and awareness event, and provides funds which are urgently needed for HIV support, education and prevention programs and services.”

This years AIDS Walk moves to a new location at Kerry Park in Kelowna. The event takes place on Sunday, September 19th beginning at 9 am with registration and a pancake breakfast. Also new this year is an on-line registration and donation page to make it even easier to support this worthwhile cause – for more information check http://aidswalk.livingpositive.ca/application.php.

The Okanagan AIDS Walk is proudly sponsored by Interior Savings. For more information, call Living Positive Resource Centre at 1-800-616-2437 or visit us online at www.aidswalk.livingpositive.ca.

serWa & craiG to LeaD 2010 okanaGan aiDs WaLk

Fact sheet - 14th annual okanagan aiDs Walk sponsored by interior savings -

Sunday, September 19TH, 2010, Kerry Park, Kelowna

PUrPose: To raise awareness and provide public education to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS; to reduce the discrimination and stigmatization faced by those infected or affected; and to raise funds for direct client support and educational programming.

history: The Okanagan AIDS Walk sponsored by Interior Savings has been held in the Okanagan since 1997 and has raised thousands of dollars that stay right here in our community to support those individuals whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS. The Walk is hosted by Living Positive Resource Centre, Okanagan. Walks throughout Canada and internationally have raised millions of dollars worldwide to prevent the spread of this disease and to try to find a cure.

Where Does the Money Go?: All funds raised during our annual AIDS Walk stays right here in our community, helping to support those individuals who are living with HIV/AIDS and providing essential dollars for support, prevention and educational programs. In the past year, funds raised were used to subsidize emergency housing, medical fees, medications, transportation, purified water, utilities, hospital incidentals, personal needs, medical transportation, annual client functions such as Christmas dinners and educational programs.

AIDS Walk monies ARE NOT USED for ongoing operational funds.

northof50.com 17

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Stay and Play!When Most PeoPLe hear the WorDs “the battle at Midway” they think of Japanese aircraft carriers and American dive bombers dueling it out in the Pacific Ocean during WW II. However, to students of B.C. history, there was another battle of Midway fought between the railway construction crews of the C.P.R. and the Great Northern line over who had the right to lay track through Midway B.C. in 1905. A bitter professional rivalry existed between CorneliusVan Horne, who ran the C.P.R. and J.J. Hill the president ofthe Great Northern Line. Hill was the Canadian who hadconvinced Van Horne to come to Canada and ramrod theconstruction of “the national dream”. When these twomighty egos clashed over railway construction routes VanHorne prevailed, ousting Hill from the C.P.R. board. Hillthen built up the Great Northern Line swearing to getrevenge on the C.P.R. if he had to “go to Hell and shovelcoal to make it happen”.

When the two construction crews met up in Midway on the Canada-U.S. border, mayhem was a certainty. Fortunately the battle took place on the Canadian side of the line so no guns were allowed; it was strictly fists and axe handles. After an intense punch-up that relieved the boredom of railway construction, both sides withdrew to nurse their wounds and call for reinforcements. An even bigger brawl was imminent but for the wisdom of the town fathers of Midway who closed all of the bars in town! Next day, parched with thirst, the C.P.R. workers crossed the border to a pub in the nearby town of Ferry, Washington where they interrupted the partying of their Great Northern rivals. Given the option of resuming their brawl or lifting a few cold ones together the railway construction crews made the happier of the choices.

Shortly thereafter the lawyers from both sides arrived and took over the battle for right of way. Briefcases replaced bare knuckles. By the time the smoke had cleared from that battle each company had spent enough money on lawyers fees to build twelve miles of track! Guess who won “TheDonnybrook at Midway”? The song “Donnybrook at Midway” by The Kettle Valley Brakemen is available on the CD “Early Tracks”. To discover more about the group including concert schedules, other CDs and bookings please visit www.kvbrakemen.com

raiLWay taLes – a raiLWay riot!By Jack Godwin

northof50.com18

My Days here continue to be filled with fullness, the fullness of the heart. On Monday evening I went to the home of a 17 yr old girl, who had been pleading to be admitted to hospital for 2 months. She has MDR-TB again and has been reduced to skin and bones - a tiny, frail child who looks like one of the starving in the worst of African famines. She was in her bed and my female counsellor, Ziyba and I came to see her.

Her anxious father stood by the doorway watching us, hoping. His hands fidgeted at his sides as he listened. His gray hair, his sad, worn face, alone in his home with this young daughter and her smaller sister.

There was nothing I could do other than assure her I would try to get her in the hospital. She knows she is dying without treatment. There was nothing more that I could do, so I asked her if I could hold her in order to pass some of my energy to her. She agreed; her smooth, brown arms strained to push herself forward on the bed to a sitting position. I

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bent to her and held her.

In my arms, her body was like a casing of paper holding protrusions - her skin covering a spine and tiny ribs. She was fevered. I felt her cheek against mine and I cradled her in my arms and breathed. My breath long and easy and flowing, hers in short puffs; short life her remaining life. I held her a long time until I felt that we had been connected. Then I asked Ziyba to do the same.

As I looked at her again, she was more relaxed and so I held her hand and spoke of dying. I said, “I’m going to tell you the truth, but I want you to listen to all of it.”She nodded. Then, through Ziyba, I spoke.

“You might die.” Immediately her face broke slightly and tears formed. These were the words she did not want. I pressed her hand, put my finger to her eyes and said not to cry but to listen.There was not enough strength in her to now give way to tears. I continued, “You might die because you are so weak right now, but right now you are alive. And I might die, when I leave your home and get in the taxi to return to my own home. Crashes happen here all the time. You know that. We are all going to die. None of us knows when. That is what life means. Right now you and I are both alive. I felt your life in my arms. So, instead of thinking about dying, I want you to focus on living. To give your energy to living. Don’t run away from the idea that you might die. But keep your gaze on the truth. Right now you are as alive as I am. You want to get into the hospital. You want to start the drug treatment again. You know how hard the drugs are, but you want to do it. That’s who you are. You want to live. So go in that direction. Put your mind on living.”

Then, I asked her to eat more, to eat small amounts all day long. Yogurt, milk, eggs, rice, fruit, whatever her father could offer. Make herself eat. To drink more. To pay attention to strengthening her body. That was her job now. Ziyba and I left.

Outside in the taxi, Ziyba began to cry. I asked her what it was like to hold the girl, her patient. She said she had been afraid. Afraid to come so close to someone with so little left of her. I said, that was what we could give. We could give warmth. We could give our love. We could give her human touch. A message, however unconscious, that she was worth being held by other humans, male and female, that she had value, that she was wantable. To experience through the physical intimacy of another living human her own aliveness, her own presence, her own heart beating. That was what we could give. And if she would die that night then she would have died at least with that.

Ziyba cried because the girl’s mother had died only two years prior from MDR-TB. She spoke of how Deena had reached out to her two months ago for help when she showed signs of having MDR-TB back again, how Ziyba had tried to get the doctors to re-admit her for treatment. This little girl had already gone through two years of treatment and was designated as a completed case. Ziyba cried because she had not been able to convince anyone to re-admit the girl. Since she last saw her three weeks ago, the child had declined severely, wasting away. This little girl who Ziyba had cared about for months and months when she first joined MDR who was now on a death bed and so thin that she was barely a body at all. For this child, Ziyba, my 26 year old counselor, cried.

And.......the next day the little girl was admitted to the TB hospital. And...three days later she is still alive. I have looked in her eyes again and there is a difference. She sees hope. I asked her if she would like me to hold her again. She looked away and replied that I should make my own decision.

Calvin White is a retired high school counsellor who lives in the North Okanagan. He has over 70 essays published in various Canadian daily newspapers, including the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun and Province. If you have any comments on this column, you can write to Calvin White at [email protected] or to Calvin White c/o North of 50, Box 100, Armstrong, BC V0E 1B0

Calvin White is currently working with Doctors Without Borders in Uzbekistan, a landlocked former part of the Soviet Union. He will be there for about a year, working with victims of drug resistant tuberculosis and training counsellors to do the same. He continues to submit his columns to North of 50 from there.

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WHaT To Wear, WHaT To Wear. I dig through the gear I’d used for white-water kayaking in icy northern rivers. Keeping warm won’t be a priority on Skaha in the dead heat of summer. Wetsuit? Not likely.

At a business luncheon I’d mentioned my latest assignment: write about dragon boating. Marion—looking very fit as always (she’d recently completed a bike run from Vancouver to Seattle)—threw down the gauntlet: I couldn’t write about it if I hadn’t tried it. Her team, the Peach City Dragons and Dragon Ladies, would be practicing this evening on Skaha Lake. “Join us,” she’d said, and of course I’d accepted her challenge.

It all sounded so easy at the time, but I haven’t done anything strenuous for some time. And just what does a dragon paddler wear? I decide on a sleeveless shirt and loose fitting capris made from some wonder-fabric that dries quickly. Paddling gloves? Boots? I toss the whole kit in my trunk, add a towel, a bottle of water, and my lifejacket (the only one I’ve ever worn that doesn’t shove my shoulders up to my ears

while I’m seated), and head for the beach.

Two teams are gathering, and one paddler tells me to help myself to a paddle from the rack in the boathouse. They’re pretty much all the same, she says, but avoid those with rough spots on their handles. Looks like gloves are a good idea.

I take a few photos of the boat-launching process, then canvas the paddlers. They tell me they paddle because it’s great exercise, a good excuse to get out on the water, a social opportunity. “Dragon boating is the bestest sport on the planet,” says team coach Jen Monai, who has been involved with the sport for several years; she also paddles with another team, the Desperate Housewives. “Everyone can get out there and try it. It’s a sport for any age. I’ve been on a dock where they loaded a 94-year-old woman into the boat. She didn’t walk herself down there, but we got her in and she just paddled away. It was fabulous.”Along with their weekly practices, some teams compete in local, national and international festivals. A couple of

PaDDLes UPStory & photos by Dawn Renaud

northof50.com 21

years ago, Jen’s team made it their goal to get to a festival San Francisco. She says that was a “whole pile of fun,” but in terms of location we actually have better conditions right here in BC. “We have a great venue here in Penticton. Kelowna has a fabulous venue; so does Vernon. Salmon Arm’s is spectacular. And then we have all the ones on the Island. They’re just really well run.”

Several of these venues are managed by Go Rowing and Paddling (GO), an amateur association on a mission to get people of all ages and athletic abilities out on the water and having fun. Their Penticton manager, Don Mulhall, has been involved with the sport since 1993, when he joined a corporate team in Vancouver. He says it was the sport’s accessibility that drew him: there’s no need to be a jock to join.

Penticton’s festival, which runs Sept. 10–12, has grown by 50 per cent in each of the last two years. “We have 66 teams registered this year,” says Don, “which means about 1,800 athletes.” While they do rely on volunteers, GO has a team of people who fill the festivals’ key positions. GO also supplies the boats. “To make it fair, the boats are identical,” he says. Each is about 45ft long and weighs around 850lbs. For festivals they’re “dressed up” with a head and a tail, and a seat is installed on the prow for the drummer.

The teams race in different divisions, and one of the fastest-growing is the seniors’. In the mixed, at least 8 of the 20 paddlers must be women. There’s a separate division for all-women teams, and another for teams made up entirely of breast cancer survivors.

Beverly Rice often saw the dragon boats out on the water near her home, including Penticton’s Survivorship. “I was walking along one evening when they were just getting ready to go out to paddle,” she says. She’d finished her own treatment for breast cancer a couple of years before, and she stopped to talk. The team convinced her to climb into the boat right then and there. “I’ve been with them ever since.”Current captain Donna Walker joined the team as soon as she moved to Penticton, and says it’s not just about camaraderie and getting fit. By the time the season ends, she says, “you have such passion—you’re stronger, more athletic, and you feel so much better.” It also brings out the competitive spirit; a few years ago the team took first place in both the survivors’ and the women’s divisions in a Vancouver festival. “We can be very competitive when we’re racing,” agrees Beverley, “but we’re very supportive of the other teams.”

They’re supportive off the water, too.“On the boat, it’s just dragon boating; we don’t talk about breast cancer,” says Donna, but members also participate in a mentoring programs, fundraising and awareness campaigns—always with an accent on the positive. (Decorations for the recent Peach Festival parade involved a giant bra.)

The first survivor team was established in the late ’90s to find out if there was any genuine reason to restrict upper body activity after treatment for breast cancer. “Previously, it was a no-no,” says Beverley, who points out that paddling a dragon boat is more of a full-body workout.

She’s right. While I run to the parking lot to stow my camera, the Peach City Dragons and Dragon Ladies fetch the boat from across the bay. They pull ashore to pick me up, and I settle into a seat mid-ship right behind Marion. “Paddles up,”

Penticton’s Survivorship team heads out for practice. They’re just back from festival; some of their trademark pink gear is still in transit, along

with a few of their members.

northof50.com22

says Jen. I try to follow along with what Marion’s doing. After a few minutes of ineffective paddling—I’m not feeling any real resistance on my paddle (except when I rough up the handle on the side of the boat)—I’m relieved when Jen orders us to rest while she gives us a refresher on proper technique.

Turns out I should be watching the lead paddler on the opposite side of the boat. It’s the front pair’s responsibility to synchronize their strokes, and it’s our job to match their rhythm. We provide the power; at the back of the boat, the sweep steers by controlling the rudder.

Jen reminds us to sit close to the side of the boat, bending our outside leg at the knee and bracing our outstretched inside leg. Inside hand atop paddles’ T-shaped handle. Rotate torso. Lean out and forward, using upper body weight to plant paddle. Pull. Lift when

even with hips. Repeat.

We swap sides midway through the session, and at one point she divides us in the middle, two teams facing each other for a tug of war. We give it our all, but there’s no surprise when the side with the most men wins. While returning to the beach

we practice a series of power surges—alternating paddlers rest, crouched forward. When it’s my turn to paddle I get to lunge without fear of whacking Marion, but it’s obvious my technique still needs a lot of work.

A few muscle groups may be complaining when I climb out of the boat, but I’m not. Lots of laughter and a good workout—what a great way to spend a summer evening.

Above, Team effort: Getting the huge boats back out of the water is all part of the workout.

Below, A mixed team returns from evening practice. Although the boat belongs to the Survivorship team, they share it with others.

northof50.com 23

tickets are noW on saLe for Many Hats Theatre Company’s upcoming production of A.R. Gurney’s hit comedy “Sylvia.”

“Sylvia” is a love triangle with a twist. Boy meets Girl. Boy marries Girl. Boy finds Dog. Boy falls in love with dog. Wife hates Dog.

Up to this point Kate and Greg have had a long and happy marriage. Their kids are grown and on their own so it’s time to downsize and move to the city from the suburbs. One day on a break from the office Greg goes for a walk in the park and encounters a homeless but loveable mutt bearing a nametag that says ‘Sylvia.’

For Greg it’s love at first sight, Kate is less enthusiastic. The hilarity goes stratospheric when Greg takes the advice of Tom, another dog lover he meets in the park. Greg’s world is also populated by Phyllis a sophisticated Manhattanite, and Leslie an ambiguous Psychologist.

“Sylvia” stars Patricia Thomas as Kate, Phillip Seipp as Greg, Jane Saunders as Tom, Phyllis and Leslie; and, as Sylvia, Colleen Fox. “Sylvia” is directed by Ed Schneider.

“Sylvia” debuts on the Cannery Stage in the Cannery Trade Centre 1475 Fairview Road Penticton on September 9 and runs until October 2. Shows are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday matinee at 2:00pm. Tickets are $19 ($17 students/seniors) including HST and are available at the Wine Country Visitor’s Centre at Railway and Eckhardt in Penticton. Tickets may be ordered by phone at 250-493-4055

You can keep up to date with what Many Hats are doing via their Twitter site (http://twitter.com/ManyHatsTheatre) and their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28456105784

Many hats theatre coMPany Goes to the DoGs!

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as is oFten the case, I am currently reading three or four books at the same time. (Which might explain why it seems to take me forever to finish one.) But what’s interesting about my current crop of readings is that while they are from dramatically different genres, they all focus on one overriding issue – empathy, and its importance not only to personal happiness but to politics and even our very survival.

Empathy is commonly defined as “the ability to put oneself in another’s shoes,” and in his fascinating book The Political Mind, noted cognitive scientist George Lakoff tells us it is key to developing an understanding of our interdependent connections with the natural world and with each other. Developing such an “ecological consciousness,” he contends, represents a break from the concept of “economic man,” who acts out of unbounded self-interest and is fast “bringing

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death to the earth.”

While making the shift from “how to raid our environment for profit to how to live within it safely,” will not be easy, Lakoff tells us, it is possible – and necessary. Based on years of brain research, he demonstrates how we are hard-wired for empathy and thus have the equipment necessary to act in our collective self-interest rather than simply for individual aggrandizement. “We are born to empathize and cooperate,” he concludes.

From a dramatically different perspective, the Dalai Lama reaches remarkably similar conclusions. In his book The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World, the Dalai Lama, along with his collaborator Howard Cutler, sees empathy as the key mechanism for breaking down destructive “them and us” attitudes and for creating a society freer of loneliness, intolerance, racism and distrust through a focus on “our common humanity.”

“As modern society becomes more multicultural,” Cutler writes,” and we come into contact with diverse populations and a wider array of people, our capacity for empathy becomes increasingly critical.” Empathy, he continues, “has a powerful and almost magical effect in shifting our perspective to view others based on our similarities rather than our differences.”

Research shows that when we practice empathy toward one person in an “out-group,” we not only see the individual as a fuller, more complex human being, but we extend this understanding to the group as a whole. This “self-other overlap” makes it much more difficult to be biased, hateful or prejudiced since you are now seeing “the other” as being an extension of yourself. The outcomes read like a recipe for a better world: greater forgiveness, lower intergroup conflict, reduced distrust, reduction in social aggression, improvement in attitudes and evaluations of out-groups, and greater use of dialogue to resolve conflict.

The Dalai Lama, Cutler and Lakoff not only emphasize the importance of fostering empathy as part of our quest to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and equitable global society, they also agree that there are specific, effective strategies for developing our innate empathetic tendencies in families, schools and through the media. I’m feeling more optimistic already, aren’t you?

Well, now for the bad news. At the same time Lakoff and the Dalai Lama and Cutler were writing their books, a study

that measured the empathy levels of university students was being conducted at the University of Michigan. Ongoing since the 1970s, the study is able to measure the increase or decline of empathy over periods of time. The results of the 2008 study? Hope you’re sitting down.

“College kids today,” the report concludes, “ are about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago, as measured by standard tests of this personality trait,” with the biggest drop in empathy occurring after the year 2000.

So why such a dramatic decline in empathy among young adults? The researchers speculate that it may have to do with the simple overload of information, three times what it was 30 years ago. Another factor: this group of students grew up with video games, “and,” as the study notes, “a growing body of research...is establishing that exposure to violent media numbs people to the pain of others.”

The recent rise of social media may also play a role in the drop in empathy. Some studies indicate that relying on facebook, messaging and e-mail has actually reduced people’s capacity to perceive and recognize non-verbal cues, especially facial expressions. As well, online “friends” are easy to tune out, discard or decline when we are not in the mood to listen or respond, attitudes that could carry over to real life.

Whatever the case, this is not good news. But all is not lost. With the emergence of the New Enlightenment Mind, as Lakoff calls his vision of 21st century thinking that recognizes how the brain and mind actually work, Lakoff believes it is not too late to engender an understanding that “our brains evolved for empathy, for cooperation, for connection to each other and to the earth. We cannot live alone.”

But, he warns, “We’d better hurry up. The ice caps are melting.”

Don Sawyer is a writer, educator and former director of Okanagan College’s International Development Centre. He lives with his wife in Salmon Arm. You can contact Don Sawyer by email at [email protected] or by mail at Don Sawyer c/o North of 50, Box 100, Armstrong, BC V0E 1B0. For more information on Don’s writing and development work, visit his web site at www.northerned.com.

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stayCATIONS 53° 53’ NA staycation is a bit like being a tourist in your own town. Instead of travelling afar for a vacation, you stay home and relax, taking day trips close to home. Living in the Thompson Okanagan is a bonus for staycationers, considering all there is to do here. Plan your staycation just like you would a regular vacation. Set a time and date for your ‘departure’. Buy a local guidebook. Go on a winery tour. Spend a day at the beach. Have dinner out. Visit a museum or art gallery. Tee off one of the more than 50 golf courses in the Thompson Okanagan. Experience live theatre. Attend a musical festival or sports event. Find a new hiking trail. The trick to enjoying a staycation is to make sure you do what you would do if you were on vacation: relax and explore!

TaKe a Wild ride on 97By Jim Couper

northof50.com 29

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09°10’N The harrowing chronicles of vacation preparation and a gruelling 3 weeks on a cruise ship.

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NORTH OF 50° -SOUTH TO PANAMA

oF the 70 or so coUntries i’ve exPLoreD, never have I found a concentration of wildlife equal to that which lurks on the northerly portion of Highway 97. On a recent trip I encountered bison, caribou, moose, deer, black bear, mountain sheep, fox and beaver. Previously I’ve seen wild horses, skunk, porcupine and coyote. None were encountered while peering through a preserve’s protective fence or while whacking through the underbrush: all were spotted from a cushiony car seat and in most cases I had time to shoot the critters with my camera.

Without having safaried in Africa, I dare to say that this is the best place on the planet to have casual encounters with nature’s larger creatures. Deer can be seen almost anywhere (including my yard in Kelowna) while the rarer beasts start populating the roadside just north of Prince George where my first sighting was a mother bear and her furry cub wobbling across Highway 97. The greatest density came north of Fort Nelson where the big boys (bison and caribou) roam at will. This area also provides a home for Stone mountain sheep that are attracted to the roadside where they lick salt left from winter highway maintenance. Moose paddle regularly in roadside bogs while wild horses, on rare occasions, trot into openings.

Highway 97 happens to be the longest north/south highway in North America, stretching all the way from the town of Weed in California to the Yukon border. Take away the wonderful wildlife and you still have, in my opinion, the continent’s most interesting highway. It outpaces the much ballyhooed Route 66 for nostalgia and history. The U.S. portion of 97 features two ghost towns and dozens of dusty villages little changed from the ‘50s. However the best of natural splendour and quirky tourist magnets comes after one heads north from the Okanagan.

Let us take a leisurely drive north and see what this highway offers. First stop: Kamloops. In the Interior’s second largest city you can grasp the scope of feral fauna at its BC Wildlife Park and then go back to the time of steam with a ride on the Heritage Railway’s 1927 Spirit of Kamloops, which might just be robbed by Bill Miner and pals on horseback. Riverside

Go back in time with a ride on the Heritage Railway’s 1927 Spirit of Kamloops, which just might just be robbed by Bill Miner and pals on

horseback. Photo Jim Couper.

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Park, where the North and South Thompson rivers merge, offers free concerts every summer evening and is a Mecca of art and recreation.

After passing Kamloops Lake and viewing the balancing rock at Savona I suggest you speed past the cache of dowdy motels and gas stations known as Cache Creek then stop at the interesting historical museum in Clinton that displays a desk behind which Hanging Judge Matthew Begbie held court. Clinton and 100 Mile House offer up assorted junk and collectible shops for antique seekers and at 108 Mile Heritage Site a restored roadhouse, barn and original log buildings are yours to explore, free of charge. Just north of Clinton take a side road to Painted Chasm, a scaled down Grand Canyon that get no recognition. After 5 km. you’re back on 97.

Williams Lake, at the end of the lake, has a plethora of pleasant parks, but some will be more attracted to its good gas prices, usually 5 cents less than the Okanagan. Quesnel, as well as being a pretty place for an historic riverside stroll, stands as the gateway to Barkerville, the best restored gold mining ghost town in all of creation, although disagreement might come from the citizens of the Yukon’s Dawson City (not to be confused with Dawson Creek, ahead, both named after geologist George Dawson).

On a short detour east to Barkerville, Cottonwood House Historic site provides the best accommodation bargain you are likely to find: camping, a small four-bunk cottage or an historic log cabin, plus breakfast, firewood and a tour of this historic roadhouse settlement, goes for $12 to $40 (that’s per family, not per person).

At nearly 150 years of age the mountain town of Barkerville has an incredible history that includes being burned to the ground and then rebuilt, and having various revivals and desertions. After gold was found in 1862 the population ballooned and it became one of the biggest cities west of Chicago and north of San Francisco.

TO BE CONTINUED: Jim and Lian Couper’s road trip continues in the next issue (October 2010) when they head further north on Hwy 97.

(Top) Caribou, Fort Nelson(Middle) Barkerville street scene(Bottom) Fort Nelson, Muncho Lake, looking northAll photos by Jim Couper

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LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDE

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When My FrienD, Cheryl, called to say she and her husband, Chris, had found an incredible deal for a Mexican cruise vacation, our ears perked up. At a total cost of $511CDN per person, we were practically salivating. Of course, we’d have to share a stateroom to get that deal, but these veteran cruisers assured us that no one ever spends any time in their room. “The cruise ship is huge,” they said, “You won’t even know we’re there.” Cheryl’s enthusiasm was wildly contagious and before I could process a single rational thought, I heard myself reading aloud my Mastercard number and telling her to book it. My husband, Dean and I spent the next four months berating ourselves for the impulsive decision. Sure, we were all good friends, but would we still be friends after sharing a 10 x 13 room for seven days? We were about to find out … We boarded Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas at San Pedro pier, south of Los Angeles. The ship boasts a magnificent atrium (called the Centrum). Its centre piece is an outstanding 36-foot high polished metal sculpture, an interpretation of the dancing, sprite-like figure from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Comfortable seating areas and a champagne bar beckoned. A grand staircase leading up to the fifth deck and the pursor’s desk, along with two glass fronted elevators added even more elegance. Swept up in the opulence, I felt

confident that a small, shared stateroom was a fair trade off for this kind of luxury. Knowing our luggage was still en-route to our room, or perhaps in a subconscious effort to defer the inevitable, we dawdled in the Champagne bar and the Centrum, taking in all its glory. The extensive use of glass for decorative features, the glass roofs and large windows help create an amazing feeling of space, bringing the views of the outside in. A pianist served up soft melodies on the grand piano. Eventually, we made our way down the narrow hallway to stateroom 4011. Hesitantly, we swung open the door and moved single file into the room, leaving the one suitcase that wouldn’t fit, in the hall. For a couple, the small inside stateroom is perfect. For four adults it’s a disaster waiting to happen. Instantly, we knew that our friendship, tested in this way, would surely fail. In a desperate attempt to save our sinking ship called Friendship, Cheryl made a beeline to the Pursor’s desk and Dean began the phone work in two simultaneous, aggressive attempts to get another room – whatever the cost. Bigger staterooms are available where four will be quite comfortable, but trust us on this: The small stateroom with the Pullman bunks is too small for four adults. Luckily another stateroom was available and Dean and I gladly moved to the eighth deck. The staterooms sorted, we were free to explore the

crUisinG the Mexican riviera

By TJ Wallis

23° 13’ N

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rest of the ship. It’s huge! 915 feet long, 105.6 feet wide. The Vision of the Seas is twice as wide as Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive and three times as long and twice as high as the “Hollywood” sign. There are 11 passenger decks and capacity for 2435 guests and 742 crew. Though there is more than one restaurant on board, we enjoyed beautifully presented formal dinners served each evening in the two tiered Aquarius Dining room. Passengers are assigned to dining times, tables and tablemates. Huge windows and a grand staircase create an elegant atmosphere, but it is the staff who make dining aboard a delightful experience. The second day was spent at sea and provided a perfect opportunity to unwind by the pool and start on my tan - tropical beverage in hand. Drinks are not included in the cost of the cruise, but they’re reasonably priced (about $5 US each, not including the 15 percent mandatory gratuity). Evenings, we usually spent an hour in the Casino Royale before plunking ourselves in the plush velvet seats of the Masquerade Theatre to enjoy performances by The Coasters, some outstanding comedians, and a couple of contemporary musical stage productions. There’s plenty of other evening entertainment, too, including live music and dancing at the various themed bars and lounges. It would be impossible to take in all the daytime activities aboard ship. Each morning the Cruise Compass, a daily planner was delivered to our room, listing the activities of the day. To name just a few, there are ping pong tournaments, Spanish classes, cartooning instruction, digital camera seminars, a scrapbook workshop, an ice sculpture demonstration and poolside activities like the belly flop contest. Our ship boasted two pools (one indoor), 6 whirlpools, a gym, a rock climbing wall, and a day spa. Though we went ashore at every port-of-call, several people stayed aboard to enjoy the ship’s amenities. Our first port of call was Cabo San Lucas, at the southernmost tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortés meet. Though Spanish is the official language, English is spoken by most shopkeepers and restaurant staff. The bay is stunning with gorgeous sandy beaches and dramatic rock outcroppings. The harbour walkway is lovely; we were sidetracked by the sign for the Giggling Marlin, a hot spot famous for its party nights and a hoist that hangs patrons upside down next to a marlin mural (hence the name). It was a little early in the day for gymnastics, so we settled for a Cerveza or two, before hiring a glass bottomed boat to take us to Playa del Amor (Lover’s beach) for an afternoon of snorkelling. Our next port of call, Mazatlan, is a much larger centre than Cabo San Lucas. There, we hired a taxi – a cross between a volkswagon and a golf cart – to tour the

charming and historic sites of the city. We stopped to shop at Mazatlán’s Golden Zone. Though the Mexican and Indian handicrafts are pretty much the same as any shop in Cabos San Lucas, I found the prices in Mazatlan less expensive and the shopkeepers more willing to negotiate. At an open air bistro, we ordered a traditional Mexican meal – with Cerveza - and watched gutsy tourists donning well worn equipment to parasail off the beach. Ideally, I would have preferred another day at sea, before the third port-of- call, Puerto Vallarta, but since we were there, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see the sights The ship docks about three miles north of downtown Puerto Vallarta but private taxis and vans can be easily gotten outside the terminal gate. We had plenty of choices for shore excursions at all the ports-of-call. We stuck to water sports, but there are jungle tours, Hummer tours, tequila tours, glass factory tours, and whale watching tours. You can take a day sail on a pirate ship or a catamaran, or swim with the dolphins. And of course, there’s always shopping. At the end of a busy day in port, we returned to the ship for a fantastic meal a great show, and luxurious surroundings. As the ship sailed back toward Los Angeles, the temperature dropped a bit, triggering an enthusiastic discussion about booking a cruise to Alaska next summer. On the last day, we spent time at the indoor pool, and wandered through the on-board shops, which were surprisingly, reasonably priced. Arriving back in Los Angeles, some of our fellow cruisers were planning to take a Los Angeles Highlights excursion, to kill some time before their flights back home. We, on the other hand, decided to stay a couple of extra days. Who knew when we’d have the chance to come back? We wanted to eke out few more days of sunshine before returning to the snowy Okanagan. So, perhaps it wasn’t surprising to receive a phonecall from my friend Cheryl shortly after we arrived home: “Did you know you can get a direct flight from Kelowna to Los Cabos. Do you want to go? “Do we have to share a room?” “Of course not.” And then … before my brain had time to process a single rational thought, I found myself reading aloud my Mastercard number and telling her to book it.

Follow TJ and Dean on their Panama Cruise aboard Holland America Lines, leaving September 19, 2010 on North of 50’s Travel Blog www.northof50trvelblogspot.com or follow the link on North of 50s home page www.northof50.com

23° 13’ N

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at the Bank the other Day, a man waited in line for teller service. His Oscar-worthy performance of dramatically checking his watch, sighing loudly, and issuing beseeching glances to Heaven Above accurately delivered his message that he was a man in a hurry. When it was his turn he strode to a young teller and demanded she provide him with a printout of his most recent transactions, as he was confident the Bank had messed up his account once again. Politely, the teller asked him to produce his Bank client card, so that she could identify him into the computer.

One would think she had asked him to donate a kidney. He exploded in an outrage of indignation. “I have been dealing here since 1976” he began, “and I am never asked to produce identification. I am insulted. How dare you question my identity?” On and on his rude tirade continued. His nasty, spittle-flecked remarks bounced through the Bank like verbal grenades, thrown with the intent to wound. A senior staff member arrived on the scene in the proverbial nick of time. Smoothly, she provided the printout for the client, and out he stormed. In the calm that descended after his departure, the experienced banker turned to the young girl and said, to the great amusement of those of us within earshot, “Don’t worry about him. Every time he comes in, he seems to feel like he has to make some kind of statement.

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soMe Mothers Do have ‘eMAnd I guess today’s statement was that he’s a horse’s ass”.

If this fellow consistently conducts himself like this at his Bank, we can sadly assume that he trots around town treating the staff at the local gas station, video store, grocery store, insurance office and so forth in a similar manner. One wonders what a gem he is with his loved ones. Why is this man behaving in such a way? Perhaps he wasn’t held enough and loved enough as an infant. A psychologist might theorize that he suffers from a superiority complex. Another psychologist might diagnose an inferiority complex. Perhaps he has post-traumatic stress disorder. Perchance he has Social Anxiety Disorder. Depressive Personality Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder. Nearsightedness. Indigestion. Leprosy.

Must we dig for a deeper reason? Meaning absolutely no disrespect to the myriad of medical disorders that do truly inhibit one`s ability to function well in society, perhaps this individual is, as the Bank teller so succinctly put it, the human equivalent of an equine derriere.

Is it possible for a human to simply be naturally morose? Does gravity inhibit our ability to fly? Of course it’s possible for a person to be miserable. Some people are hard-wired that way. They are unpleasant at the cellular level. They have suffered no trauma...they are just a real-life version of Archie Bunker. We have all come across such people at one time or another, and no doubt some of us have all struggled to know the best way to deal with them. Their negativity can make us mad, or sad. We might puzzle over them, wonder what makes them tick, wonder how we can make them happier.

Well, in many cases we can’t make them happy. In fact no one can be responsible for another person’s happiness. So the best we can do if faced with an encounter with such a morose individual is to remain calm and poised. Similar to conversing with a sassy teenager, we mustn’t give in to the urge to lower ourselves to his snarky level. Be cool and classy. Kill him with kindness. And when he leaves your presence, may you have the quick wit of our above-noted Bank teller to quietly deliver a parting shot of such sweet perfection.

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heaLth MATTERS

If you have recently driven by Saddle Mountain Place in Lumby, you can’t help but notice all the digging going on! Construction has begun on our new Senior’s facility known as Monashee Place. The modulars have been delivered and after the foundations are complete the living units will be moved onto their permanent sites. The homes are designed to be joined together in two clusters of eight, a roof added, and then landscaped. Monashee Place is a new senior’s rental housing facility which encourages independent living for seniors on a limited income aged 55+ and for older people with disabilities. The federal and provincial governments partnered in funding this creative initiative and Skuka Enterprises Ltd. is the general contractor. The purpose is to enable seniors to remain in this community, comfortably and safely, for as long as possible. There are sixteen ‘Senior Friendly’ fully self-contained one-bedroom modular units available to rent. Each unit is 600 square feet and includes wider doorways and living area for wheel chair accessibility, step-in showers with an optional folding seat, wall mounted grab bars in the bathroom, light switches installed at 4’ and electrical outlets installed at 20”. These ground level units will complement the neighbouring forty units of Saddle Mountain Place where each of the units are upgraded as tenants vacate. Step-in

showers, bathroom bars, and laminate flooring are installed so that each unit becomes more ‘senior friendly’ as well. The directors are developing a five year plan listing priorities for upgrading Saddle Mountain so the aesthetics of Lumby’s senior complex is inviting and continues to be a nice place to live. The lounge at Saddle Mountain Place is being expanded at the same time to include a full sized kitchen, a comfortable common area, office space, a meeting room and storage areas. The funding for this project is from the monies donated by many community members along with funding through BC Housing. Saddle Mountain Lounge will close August 23rd and the Seniors Drop-in programs relocated until renovations are completed. For more Seniors Drop-in information, contact Whitevalley Community Resource Centre at 250.547.8866. Applications for either facility are available. If you have any questions, concerns, would like an application, or would like to make a charitable donation, please contact Lumby and District Senior Citizens Housing Society chairperson Judy Gibbs at 250.547.9666. If you are interested in joining the society to help with organizing this significant expansion the AGM is scheduled for mid September. A notice will be in the paper with the exact date a few weeks before.

saDDLe MoUntain PLace anD Monashee PLaceLumby’s Seniors’ Haven

loCal Girl raiSeS $565.00 To PurCHaSe eqUiPMent For the neW MaternaL/chiLD Unit at vernon jUBiLee

eiGhteen year oLD Mica LeMiski recognized the need for funding to support the purchase of equipment for the new Patient Care Tower at Vernon Jubilee Hospital. She understood that “medical equipment is costly and that there was no better place to help, than the new Mat Child unit.” On June 29th, at the Vernon Community Music School, Mica played piano and sang to a sold out audience of more than eighty people. Her concert featured many of her own compositions as well as other contemporary pieces. Not only was Mica busy this summer raising $565 for Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation’s Building a Tower of Care Campaign, but she completed her first CD of self compositions at the Hunter Audio Studios in Kelowna. Ms. Lemiski may be remembered as the third place finalist in “Our Kids Have

Talent”. Having graduated from Fulton High School this past spring, later in August Mica will be leaving for Montreal to further her studies at Mc Gill University. With her compassionate spirit, her future is bound to be bright.

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AdversityBy Bob Harrington

it’s yoUr WorLD

this MorninG i PickeD UP a light Swede saw and went to call upon a hemlock tree. Had I taken a chain saw, I would have had no story to tell; but I like the quiet swish of a Swede saw and disdain the raucous bellow of the power saw. The hemlock I went to call upon was one that had been nudged some years ago by a bulldozer. Although the bulldozer had perhaps given it only a friendly tap, the hemlock had reacted by tipping to an angle only about twenty degrees above the horizontal. Its branches made it an effective barrier to my nearby trail, and I decided that it should be converted into firewood. Some who have sawed away at tipped over trees know what I could expect. The grain was pinched and twisted and tough, and after only a few strokes the saw was grabbed and pinched. I had to use a wedge, and found that some chunks were better chopped with an axe. By the time the hemlock was converted into firewood, I had done a good half days work. I’ll say little about the splitting except that the twisted grain made that task about as problematical as it is supposed to be for a rich man to get into heaven. When I had finally finished, I sat down with my back against a stump and filled a cup from a thermos of coffee. I mused upon the truth that lurks behind the statement that there is strength in adversity. It was adversity in the form of a bulldozer that had tipped the hemlock sideways and to compensate for its position, it had developed a tough and twisted grain that made it a Hercules among hemlocks. Once in the east, I saw a yellow birch tree that had rooted atop a big rock in a pocket of dirt and moss. Over the years it had sent down roots over the bare rock until it was

rooted in the soil beneath. Its roots now completely encircled the boulder upon which it reposed, and it sat upon its throne like a king whose armies had conquered the world….except that the labors of the yellow birch were perhaps of a more noble nature. Perhaps its efforts were not more unusual however than those I noticed in an abandoned navel training station in the U.S. In its deserted company streets, mountain ash trees were poking their way up through what had once been pavement. Nature waits patiently and when man’s temporary reign is abdicated, the inimitable seed works its way through paved ground and reclaims her own. As I sat musing, many examples of adversity sifted through my mind. For example, I thought of the sand grain which irritates the oyster and eventually is coated with mother of pearl until it produces the gem of commerce admired by so many. Here, adversity is transformed to beauty. I thought of the adverse conditions on steep mountain slopes which developed the agility and grace of the mountain goat, and thought too of the whistling mountain winds which had helped develop the long soft coat of these mountain acrobats. Indians catching candlefish along the Nass River in B.C. would carry the rendered oil of the fish far inland to trade it for goat skins which they used for blankets. Isn’t it adversity that causes an apple tree to put forth larger and better apples as a result of pruning? Is it not perhaps adversity that has developed the rapid growth of many grasses as a response to grazing? Is it not even adversity that causes us to react against a disease such as chicken pox and thereby develop a life long immunity to it? Today of course, adversity is taking new forms. Ecological insight is informing humanity that it can no longer consume the Earth’s riches with impunity. Likewise knowledge of pollution problems informs us that we can hardly continue to be haphazard in introducing all sorts of exotic chemicals into our environment. We daily learn anew that every action has its equal and opposite reaction. Perhaps we need adversity in this way. We need it to remind us that we must give as well as take. When Winston Churchill wrote the book he called Their Finest Hour, he may have been premature. Mankind as a whole may yet see its finest hour, and it may be that adversity will be the stimulus that will bring it about. Strange, isn’t it, even a tipped over hemlock tree suggests things that we should think about? All nature has a tale to tell us if we will only listen

Check out Bob’s latest book, The Soul Solution:The Need for a Theology of the Earth with a foreword by Dr. David Suzuki

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aL raine is a Man who turned a lifelong passion into a lifelong career. Raine has made skiing his life’s work. Along with wife, Nancy Greene, he has been instrumental in the development and promotion of ski tourism in British Columbia, first at Whistler and now at Sun Peaks Resort, the community to which he was recently elected mayor.No stranger to resort living, the 68 year old has plenty of ideas for Sun Peaks. Employee housing, a school and healthcare are just a few of the items on his agenda. “In order to have a great resort, you must also have a great community. I truly believe you have to look after the employees of a resort and their families,” he says. Raine was actively involved in the Sun Peaks community leading up to his appointment as Mayor. He was a board member with the local Tourism Association for the past fourteen years and was chairman for the last two . While some might think that Raine has his work cut out for him, this isn’t a man who stands down to a challenge or an adventure. As a young teenager he hitchhiked up to Seymour Mountain every weekend to ski. “I would leave my skis up at the mountain but I’d take my poles and boots and people knew I was heading up to ski. I don’t ever recall waiting more than 10 minutes to get a ride, anyone who was going skiing and who had room took you.” he laughs. Before long, Raine was skiing year round. When he graduated high school he was ready for a real adventure – ski

racing in Colorado. But Raine never made it there. While working in the Yukon, he met a few Austrian ski racers who convinced him, that if we was truly serious about the sport, he should go to Austria. On a whim, Raine packed his bags and headed to Austria. Three years later, he moved back to Canada, bringing with him invaluable experience. “When I was in Austria I learned that the resort is a way of life. Ski instructors, operators of hotels, people who have joy from skiing make the resort their life. Other people come and stay in their hotel and go to skiing lessons and really get to love skiing and the whole resort experience. It’s a lot of fun.” He’d also dabbled in coaching there, but he could not have known that he was about to embark on his biggest adventure yet: Head Coach of Canada’s ski racing team. When he first returned to Canada he began coaching the Ski Hawks in Montreal. His reputation as a great coach began to grow. “[When] the head coach for the national team announced that he was going to step down and I got petitioned, I felt I was too young; I was only 28 years old and didn’t feel like I had the experience that you really, really need,” he says. But with the encouragement of friends, Raine took the position and excelled at it. In five years, he took a team that was unnoticed and uncompetitive to the next level. For the first time, Canada’s National Ski Team emerged as a real threat to the dominance of the European nations. Of all the things he has achieved, Raine considers this his greatest accomplishment. “When I first took over we were really somewhat disorganized,” he explains. “We weren’t at a competitive level and when I left we were.” With the success of the National Ski Team under his belt, Raine spent a few years working at Whistler and for the province of British Columbia. Eventually, he was ready for a change. Once again, he relocated across the pond, this time to Switzerland, where he taught tennis and skiing and spent time with his family. Raine has spent the majority of his life living and working at ski resorts. It is little wonder that he still makes time to do the thing he loves best: skiing. “I ski at least every morning and probably every third day all day,” he says. “90 to 95 per cent of the time I’m with resort guests. You can make peoples’ day because when you know the mountain and you know where the best snow and weather is you can take people to spots they hadn’t even dreamed of going and it gives them a real thrill.”

aL raine By Amber Yake

Photo by Melanie Simmons/Sun Peaks Resort

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Accounting BookkeepingIncome Tax PreparationOffice RentalsAdministrative Services

Armstrong Business Centre

Serving Armstrong Spallumcheen for 9 years

We are here for you all year long!

Box 100, 2516 Patterson Avenue, Armstrong. BC, V0E 1B0 P: 250.546.8910 E: [email protected]: www.tjwallis.com

Big Presence for Small Business

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4th to 12th - Hurricane Donna, kills 148 in Caribbean & US5th - Cassius Clay captures Olympic light heavyweight gold medal9th - Birthdate of Hugh Grant, London England (4 Weddings & a Funeral, 9 Months)10th - NY Yankee Mickey Mantle hits 643’ HR over right field roof in Detroit11th - 17th Olympic games close in Rome Italy19th - The University of Calgary is founded24th - 1st nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, launches (USS Enterprise)26th - 1st of 4 TV debates Nixon & Kennedy took place (Chicago)26th - Longest speech in UN history (4 hrs, 29 mins, by Fidel Castro)29th - “My Three Sons” starring Fred MacMurray, debuts on ABC-TV29th - “Tell Laura I Love Her” by Ricky Valance peaks at #1 in UK30th - Flintstones premieres (1st prime time animation show)

Raine is also an avid road cyclist, tennis player and golfer. Staying active and being physically and mentally healthy is very important to him. When asked what his future plans are Raine explains the secret to all his success. “I never thought more than two or three years ahead,” he says. “I never planned to be a coach, I never planned to be a hotel operator, I never planned to get into the resort planning business, yet opportunities present themselves and I took them.”

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September 17, 7:30 pm, SHANE PHILLIP.

September 4 to 25, “THE STORY OF RUTH” The watercolour journals of A.A. Brooke. Opening: Sep 3 at 7pm.

September 9 & 23, THURSDAY NIGHT JAZZ. First and Third Thursday Night Jazz hosted by Sandy Cameron and Brian Pratt-Johnson, 7 - 9pm. Admission by donation (suggested minimum $5).

EXHIBITIONS VPAG vernonpublicartgallery.com

Now to October 14, DAVID ALEXANDER MOVING TARGETS: IN FLUX at the Topham Brown Gallery.

Now to November 3, SCOTT BERTRAM UNFIXED at the Caroline Gailbraith Gallery.

Now to October 14, BRIAN MONTEITH: Unfinished Business at the Up-Front Gallery.

Now to October 14, SOOKINCHOOT “Seeing Oneself” at the Community Gallery.

KAGkelownaartgallery.com

PERFORMANCES

CREEKSIDE THEATREwww.creeksidetheatre.com

VERNON PERFORMING ARTSticketseller.ca

September 10 to November 5, BETTY SPACKMAN: FOUND WANTING.

PENTICTON ART ART GALLERYpentictonartgallery.com

Now to September 15, Kalamalka Vertigo at Okanagan College: RECOLLECTIONS: Recent work by Gale Woodhouse. (The current exhibition can be viewed during college hours from now until September 15th.)

GALLERY VERTIGOgalleryvertigo.com

Now to September 26, THE TREE: From the Sublime to the Social. What becomes a legend most? Canadian icons that retain their symbolism generation after generation, such as the beaver, the canoe and the lone, struggling tree, come to mind. This exhibition on the tree as a subject in art was curated by Daina Augatis (Chief Curator and Associate Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery [VAG]), with the assistance of VAG Assistant Curator, Emmy Lee. It was organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and opened there in 2008. A smaller, touring version of the show was offered to the public galleries in British Columbia by the VAG’s Across the Province Program, an excellent initiative that works to connect all B.C. residents with works in the permanent collection of the VAG.

September 26, 8:00 pm, AN EVENING WITH GORD DOWNIE AND THE COUNTRY OF MIRACLES.

September 25, 7:30 pm, GLOBAL SPEAKER THOMAS DOYLE. Audiences are moved by his articulate and compassionate enunciation of the widespread victimization of so many, and of the healing which is possible.

October 3, 8:00 pm, CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: ABBEY ROAD. A performance of the Beatles’ landmark album, Abbey Road, performed by Classic Albums Live!

SAGAsagapublicartgallery.ca

September 18, 7:30 pm, IGOR SAAVEDRA.

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September 3 to October 2. Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Gallery’s Annual Ribbon Show. Reception September 11, from 11 am to 1 pm.

September 10. Mickey Rooney, Let’s Put on a Show! 7:30 pm at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1435 Water Street. Mickey Rooney, whose personal motto is “Don’t retire, Inspire!” is set to celebrate his 89th Birthday with an international tour of his and Jan Rooney’s Musical “Let’s Put On A Show!” an autobiographical musical, highlighted with film clips, humor and anecdotal memories. Drawing on a rich 80 plus year career, the musical numbers are broad ranged and are taken from Mickey’s films, as well as some original tunes and Jan’s vast repertoire, including her tribute to Patsy Cline. Additionally, the show features a moving tribute to Mickey’s famous co-star from his days at MGM, Judy Garland. As “Let’s Put on a Show!” amply demonstrates, Rooney remains a charming, one-of-a-kind legend whose presence is timeless. For tickets phone 250.762.5050 or visit mickeyrooney.com.

September 11 & 12. Lake Country ArtWalk showcases original works of art & live performances created by visual & performing artists living in the Okanagan Valley. 10 am to 5 pm. Lake Country Community Complex, 10241 Bottomwood Lake Rd. 250.766.4406 or www.artwalk.ca

September 11 & 12. Summerland Fall Fair. Summerland Curling Rink. A unique Fruit industry based exhibition, 101 years old with its own personality and full of community spirit. Come join us and participate in a 101 Mile Dinner evening, a family Pioneer workshop with hands on activities, or walk though a Middle Ages History Living Encampment. 250.583.9178 www.summerlandfallfair.com

Sunday September 12. The annual Saskatchewan reunion in Salmon Arm, to 3 p.m. at Holiday Inn Express. A Salmon Arm man will talk about the sport of shooting gophers in fields they wrecked. He and a friend or two take a trip to southern Saskatchewan every year, ask permission of the landowner and shoot to their heart’s content. Some farmers or ranchers will supply the ammunition. Everyone is invited to the reunion, even if you just visited Saskatchewan. Bring memorabilia for the display table, and finger food to share, like sandwiches or cookies. $5 per person to pay for room rent and beverages. 250.832.4831.

September 16,17 & 18 - Back by Popular Demand! Starring: MARTY EDWARDS (Kinda Kenny) as seen

coMinG EVENTS septemberon Oprah, Jay Leno, CNN and CHBC and SHERRY GORDON, #1 “Dolly Impersonator” as seen with Legends In Concert – Las Vegas. Tickets $21.00 Doors open 6:30 pm For info phone 1.888.811.2288. Salmon Arm – Sept 16 - Salmar Classic Theatre - Tickets 250.832.2263, Vernon – Sept 17 - Recreation Centre Auditorium - Tickets 250.545.6035 ext 0, Summerland – Sept 18 - Centre Stage Theatre - Tickets: 250.494.0447.

September 18. Rockhounds Tailgate Sale. 9am to 3pm, south Parking Lot of Swan Lake Nurseryland, Hwy 97, Vernon. Rocks, Minerals, Beads, Hand Crafted Jewelry, Crystals, Gift Items & Used Lapidary Equipment. Everything hobby related. Call Gloria Bordass, 250.493.1027 or Fran Brooks, 250.546.0177 for more info.

September 18. Louisiana Hay Ride at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1435 Water Street. 7:30 pm. Featuring over 30 songs made famous by artists such as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Ray Price, Patsy Cline, Johnny Horton, Marty Robbins and more, the Louisiana Hayride will delight you from start to finish. Go back in history with the cast of the Louisiana Hayride. Performed by William Brookfield, Gil Risling, Mike Melnichuk, Andrea Anderson, Ron Boruta, Patrick Ryley. Written/Produced and Hosted by Lori Risling. Tickets 250.762.5050 or louisianahayride.com.

September 19. Harvest Celebration at RJ Haney Heritage Village & Museum, Salmon Arm. A diversified collection of local restaurants, brewers and wineries treat you to a culinary experience. Enjoy live music and fall harvest decorations in the tranquil setting of the village. Get your tickets early. Advance tickets $20 per adult, $25.00 at the gate. 250.832.5243.

September 19. Ian Tyson in Concert at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1435 Water Street. 7:30 pm. Songs include “Four Strong Winds”, “Summer Winds”, “Navajo Rug” and “Old Corrals and Sagebrush”. A rodeo rider in his late teens and early twenties, Tyson took up the guitar while recovering from an injury he sustained in a fall. Tickets 250.762.5050 or visit www.iantyson.com.

September 19 to September 26. 6th annual Fungi Festival. The 2010 Festival will guide people to identify & actually pick wild mushrooms, & have a gourmet experience in the Shuswap area. The festival week will provide exciting guided tours every day, Monday to Sunday, including

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Your tax-deductible gift to Vernon Jubilee Hospital

Foundation will support health care needs for residents living

in the North Okanagan, Columbia/Shuswap.

For more information call (250) 558-1362 or visit

www.vjhfoundation.org

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Walking Tours & The Grand Camping Tour. Presentations, Cooking, Vendors & Exhibitors & informative Slide Shows. 250-836-2220 or www.fungifestival.com

September 21. 7:30 pm. Sarah Harmer at the Kelowna Community Theatre, 1435 Water Street. Singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer began her solo career in 1999 playing dates with the Indigo Girls, Great Big Sea, and Moxy Fruvous. Harmer’s first album outside of Weeping Tile was a tribute to her father titled Songs for Clem. Credited to Harmer and Jason Euringer, the folksy album was released independently by Harmer, but was eventually given wider release by Universal Canada. Her proper debut album, You Were Here, was released in mid-2000 by Zoe Records, and showed a polished, more mature side to her music than her work with her former band. It wasn’t until 2004 that Harmer returned with a follow-up, All of Our Names, while in 2006 she explored her country and bluegrass side in I’m a Mountain, which garnered the singer three Juno Award nominations. 2010 saw the release of her fifth album, Oh Little Fire, which features guest appearances from Neko Case, Julie Fader and James Shaw (Metric). Heather Phares, and Rovi. For tickets phone 250.762.5050 or visit sarahharmer.com.

September 25. North Okanagan Ploughing Match 4600 Lansdowne Rd. Spallumcheen. Horse ploughing, both sulky and walking ploughs, tractor ploughing includes world class competitors, intermediate & junior classes. Also a well attended antique tractor class. You will have an opportunity to try your hand at ploughing. We are rounding up some local mayors & other politicians for a special competition. The match is located north of Armstrong in the township of Spallumcheen. Follow Hwy 97A on kilometre north past Armstrong turn left onto Lansdowne Rd, follow the signs to 4600 Lansdowne Rd and have a great time. 250-546-3411 or 250.832.5700

October 1. Dog Days of Summer at See Ya Later Ranch, Okanagan Falls 2575 Green Lake Road. For the eighth year in a row the dogs get the run of the winery! Join the team at See Ya Later Ranch for an afternoon of fun while raising awareness and funds for the BC SPCA. Bring your favourite four-pawed buddy to discover local vendors and enjoy various dog treats. While your best pal is making new furry friends, there will be plenty on hand for you to enjoy such as current and newly released See Ya Later Ranch wines. All proceeds to the BC SPCA. Enter the doggy fashion show to win fabulous prizes! 250.497.8267 www.sylranch.com

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sePteMBer ACTIVITIES

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ARMSTRONGKnitting Circle. A relaxing evening of sharing, learning & meeting new friends. Bring a project, needles & yarn or just yourself. Beginners always welcome. Now accepting yarn donations for local charitable projects. Judy at 250.546.9475 or Marlene at 250.546.6325. www.knittingcircle.ca

Armstrong Toastmasters. All ages welcome! The best communication & leadership training you can get in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. Every Tuesday, 7:20pm to 9:30pm. Coffee, tea & snacks. Armstrong Spall Chamber of Commerce, 3550 Bridge Street. 250.546.3276 or 250.558.8110 or visit www.freewebs.com/armstrongtoastmasters/

ENDERBYEnderby and District Wheels to Meals Society Luncheon held every Wednesday at the Seniors Complex. 1101 George St. Come for a home cooked meal & visit with friends. Meals $6. You must be 65 or older.

Enderby Cliff Quilters meet at Enderby Evangelical Chapel, 1st & 3rd Mondays of each month, 1pm to 5pm. Call Sonia at 250.838.0685 or June at 250.903.1799.

Enderby Women in Business Meeting, Thursday July 15, at 7:30 am, Enderby Chamber. Doors open 7 am - Breakfast $2. Guests welcome! Contact Maureen 250.306.3379 for details.

KELOWNAThe Kelowna Newcomers Club meetings 7pm, 3rd Wednesday of each month at the Seniors’ Centre on Water Street. Interesting and informative speakers. Many activities available. Coffee & goodies served 250.764.9686.

Kelowna Singles Club Upcoming Dances at Rutland Centennial Hall - 180A Rutland Rd. N. Doors Open - 7:00 pm Dancing 8:00 pm - 12 am Bar & Refreshments Available. Contact 250.763.1355 or 250.763.1867. August 7th Music by Sierra - Western Theme, August 21st Music by Glory Days.

Ballroom dancing every Sunday evening. 7:30 to 10:30 pm at the Water Street Senior Centre, 1360 Water Street Dress code: no jeans, runners, or sandals. Dance lessons 1/2 hour before the dance. Cost $6.00 Tea, coffee and cookies included.

Raging Grannies; a group of concerned ladies who express their concerns with satirical songs & other activities. Meet 2nd & 4th Mondays, 11 am, Kelowna Legion, 1380 Bertam. 250.860.1576.

The Alzheimer Society of BC holds a support group for people in the early stage of Alzheimer Disease & related dementia on Tuesday mornings at 865 Bernard Ave. 250.860.0305

or [email protected]. Also a support group for caregivers of people with Alzheimer Disease & related dementia on the 2nd Tuesday of the month in the evenings.

The Rug Hooking Circle meets every second Monday at 1pm in Room 204, Rotary Centre for the Arts. Practice a traditional Canadian art form in a group setting. Angela at 250.767.0206 www.rughookingteacher.ca

Westside Jam. Open mike jam every 1st and 3rd Friday, 6:30 to 9pm. C & W, blues, bluegrass; old-time, gospel, etc. Meets at Westside Seniors Hall in Westbank. Carl 250.707.1030 or Gerry 250.768.4421

LUMBYLumby Legion. Thursday, darts, Friday, pool, Saturday meat draws. 250.547.2338.

PENTICTONThe Penticton Seniors Computer Club drop-in days at the Leisure Centre, 439 Winnipeg Street, are: Monday 1 to 3pm, Wednesday 1 to 2pm, Friday 1 to 3pm. Mac Computer Support Monday 10 am to 11 am. Members and visitors welcome. 250.492.7373.

The Penticton Concert Band rehearses under the leadership of Gerald Nadeau on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30pm at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church Hall in preparation for upcoming concerts. Intermediate to advanced players www.pentictonconcertband.ca or 250.809.2087

Penticton South Okanagan Seniors Wellness Society 696 Main St. Programs for the community. Volunteer Development, Friendly Visitor Program, Health Education, Elders Leading & Adopt-A-Grandparent. 250.487.7455.

Royal Canadian Legion. Monday Night is Miser Monday with chicken wings & baron/beef $3 each, bar specials. Entertainment 5 to 9:00pm every Monday. Friday is membership appreciation night. 5:30 to 6:30pm full course meal & entertainment, 6:30 to 10:30pm. Wednesday is Bingo Day, 1:00pm & 6:30 pm Bingo. Meat Draw every Saturday & Sunday; 250.493.0870

The Franco 50+ group meets Thursdays to socialize in French, from 1:30 to 3:30pm. Lina at 250.492.2549

RUTLANDDance with live music every Saturday night at the Rutland Activity Centre. 7:30 pm. For those 50+. $4 members, $6 non-members.

SALMON ARMSalmon Arm Duplicate Bridge club meets at 6:45pm every Tuesday at the downtown Activity Centre & every Sunday at 12:45

community Events

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pm at Branch 109. 250.832.7454 or 250.832.7323.

Fletcher Park Seniors Resource Centre 320A 2nd Ave., N.E. Meals on Wheels, Lunch With Friends, Monday Morning Market, Shop & Drop, Income Tax Service, Advocacy, Foot Care, Volunteer Drivers for medically related appointments, up. 250.832.7000.

SICAMOUSSenior Citizen’s Meals (Wheels to Meals) at the Eagle Valley Haven in the C o m m o n R o o m . Phone ahead, 250.836.2437 or 250.836.4718 or 250.836.4302 or 250.836.2031.

Sicamous Family Market at the Seniors Activity Centre, Saturdays 8:30am to 2pm. 250.836.2587.

taPPenCarlin Hall, Bluegrass/Slowpitch Jam. Tuesday nights 7 to 9pm. Bluegrass instruments only. 250.835.2322.

VERNONThe Vernon Seniors Choir under the direction of Lyn Taron rehearses each Wednesday from 12:30 to 2:30 pm at the Halina Complex in the Vernon Rec Centre. Our motto is “ Music is our contribution.” 250.545.3119 or 250.542.2264

Elks Lodge, 3103-30th Street. ELKS CRIB TOURNAMENT -first and second Sunday of each month. Cost $ 10 Please bring your own lunch . Registration at 9:00 am Everyone welcome.

ELKS MEGA MEAT DRAW - Third Sunday of each month at Elks Hall - 3103 - 30th Street. Doors open at 1:00 pm Mega Meat Draw - Meat Basket - 50/50 draw and concessions available. Bar open at 1:00 pm Draws start at 2:00 pm . Everyone welcome.All monies raised go to children and charities in Vernon.

Fun Time Seniors 50+ Thursdays at the Schubert Centre from 10 to 11:30am. Free event including games, entertainment, talks & videos. 250.545.5984 or 250.549.4201.

Oil Painting. Drop-in Fridays 1 to 4 pm at the Vernon Community Arts Centre. Fee is $3 for members, $4 for non-members.

First Tuesday of every month the Vernon Placer Miner Club (gold panning club) meets at 7 pm, bsmt of Peace Lutheran Church at 1204-30 Ave. Guests welcome. Memberships for family, $20/yr. Donna Smith 250.545.3832 or [email protected] or Jerry Stainer 250.549.4395.

Sunshine Seniors meet 2nd & 4th Friday of the month, downstairs at the Peace Lutheran Church, 1204-30th Ave. 1:30 pm. All 55+ invited to fellowship, devotions, games & always excellent treats & coffee. Annual membership is $3.

Vernon Horseshoe Club - practices at 6:30PM Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Clubhouse on Alexis Park Drive. No charge to come out and try pitching horseshoes. For more information call 250-503-1639.

Schubert Centre, 3505 30th Ave. Shuffleboard, Monday to Friday at 8am 250.549.4201

1st & 3rd Saturday of every month from 10 am to noon. Knitting Circle at Gallery Vertigo. Admission is a $5 donation to Gallery Vertigo’s Smarties Family Sunday Art Program. 250.503.2297 or see www.galleryvertigo.com

Vernon Lawn Bowling Club in Polson Park offers 3 free lessons to beginners! Appropriate footwear the only requirement. Wednesday, Friday & Sunday at 1pm and every Tuesday & Thursday at 6:45pm. For details, www.vernonlawnbowlingclub.com or e-mail [email protected] or call the club at 250.542.0212.

October 1 & 2. LEGACY OF QUILTS VII. Vernon Silver Star Quilters Quilt Show Friday, October 1 from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. & Saturday, October 2 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Vernon Recreation Centre, 3310 - 37 Avenue. Elinor Hinds 250.558.0200 or [email protected]

Interested in Electric Cars? SENS (Sustainable Environmental Network Society) will be holding a demonstration and information evening on electric cars on Thursday September 23rd, at 7PM, at the Vernon Schubert Centre. Geoff Elliot will demonstrate how a pure electric car works today and Terry Dyck will present information about electric cars of the future.

WINFIELDCribbage Tournament at the Seniors Activity Center 9832-Bottomwood Lake Rd. Each 3rd Sunday of the month. Entree fee $12. Excellent lunch included. Games start at 10am. Play partners & meet new friends. John 250.766.3026

List your community event by calling toll free 1-877-667-8450 or email details to [email protected].

Wordsearch solution: Medical miracle or hophead hoax

crossword solution:

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Classified & Directory

Doug Braun, R.D.Erika Braun, R.D.

DENTURISTS

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Armstrong Wine and Brew

Box 339, 2545 Patterson Ave.Armstrong, BC V0E 1B0, 250-546-6954www.armstrongwineandbrew.com

1996 - 2010 Monthly Specials

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Valley MonumentsMemorials of Distinction

Keith or Evelyn Franklin

4316 29th Street, Vernon, BC V1T 5B8Phone/Fax: 250.542.6411 Toll Free: 1.877.511.8585

Free Classified ad Policy We’ll place your ad, up to 25 words FREE, as long as the value of the item you are selling is under $1000. This offer is available to individuals only and is not available to businesses or commercial enterprises. One ad per household, space permitting. The rate for business / commercial ads or for items valued over $1,000 is $14 plus tax up to 25 words then 25 cents for each additional word. Email your ad details, along with your phone number and address to: [email protected] or fax to: 250.546.8914

Buy an RV lot on beautiful Swan Lake in Vernon, B.C. Cheap living at $150/month. View lots at www.swanlakervlots.com.

Couch & Loveseat in excellent condition, multi Blue /Green Colour with Oak trim. $325. Phone 250.549.1910.

9” Table saw, Beaver Rockwell 3/4 H.P. 22”X50” cast iron table- $250. 10” Mastercraft bench top table saw - $65.00. Phone 250.558.1456.

Chevy alternator, $65. 12 volt Dewalt cordless drill with 2 batteries, charger & case, $50. Metal Coleman cooler, $25. Phone 250.542.5698.

Soloflex Home Gym, used once, includes butterfly and leg attachments, plus two weight strap sets, $999.99. Revelstoke 250.837.3741.

Telex noise cancelling aviation headset, brand new, never used, $250.00. Revelstoke 250.837.3741.

9 drawer dresser with 7ft. high mirrorm $120. 6’x6’ entertainment centre, $250. Gentlemans dresser, $55. 40’s Music Box Collection, $19 each. Piano keyboard (new, still in box), $110. Queen size bed headboard, mattress, box spring & frame, $350. Phone 250.276.3808.

Selling houseful of antiques and collectables, metal detectors, like new, paintings, toys, 1920s hudson bay 4 stripe blanket - like new, and much more. Phone 250.765.3274.

Scooter in new condition, selling for $800. Phone 250.765.3274.

Moduline Home For Sale in Westbank, 2 bed, 2 bath, own land, $35/month strata, 12x32 insulated garage, maintenance free yard, $255,900. Phone 250.769.6446.

Frontier Roof Rack to fit ‘98 Honda Civic or similar car without gutters. Rack stored indoors, rarely used, $50. Phone 250.453.9964

For saLeMITA DC-3060 Photocopier. 30 copies per minute, three on-line paper sources, 500 copy management account code usage, reduction, enlargement & zoom magnification. $500. Phone 250.546.8910.

For saLeInsulated Steel Door with sidelights & frame, 6ft. wide x 7 ft. high, only 4 years old, $200. Phone 250.546.8975.

The October issue of North of 50 ° offers a special, fun & unique advertising

supplement for Women In BusinessCall 1.877.667.8450 for details or see our

media kit on-line at www.northof50.com

northof50.com 47

LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDE North of 50

Business owners have relied on print ads for generations, and the internet won’t change that. Even Google says so.

A recent study commissioned by Google has revealed some interesting facts about the relevance of print advertising.

• About 47% of people responded to print ads and logged on to the internet to browse through the site advertised. • 72% of people who responded to a print ad actually made the purchase. • 50% of respondents admitted that their confidence in a product advertised on the Internet dramatically increased when they also saw it advertised in print.• 26% of readers cut out an ad for future reference. • 64% of people admitted that they paid more attention to print ads than those that appeared online.

The study showed that people find on-line ads to be an interference and more than one in four consumers said that they would rather pay for online content in order to avoid ad exposure. A study by Deloitte on how advertising impacted readers showed the same result.

Magazines and newspapers have a wide reach and are deeply woven into the collective conscious of the readers. It is precisely because of this they trust a product that is advertised in the print media more than a product that is advertised online. Print media gives advertisers significant local reach and so it is the best advertising medium for companies that wish to target a local audience.

People often do other things while they watch TV or listen to the radio, but they usually put their full concentration into reading print. You can’t drive a car or talk to your spouse while you read ads. North of 50° is a socially relevant and responsible regional

magazine that publishes original, provocative feature articles. North of 50° prides itself in being a credible

magazine that brings global issues home.

To advertise, call 1.877.667.8450 or email [email protected]

Google study shows

Print advertising Works

northof50.com 1

LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDE April 2010 Vol. 8, Issue 4

ITS NOT EASY BEING GREEN

What’s the Alternative?

AN EARTHSHIP

Darfield Family Goes Green

BACK TO THE EARTH

Oliver Couple’s Rock Solid Home


ISSN# 1710-4750

North of 50EARTH DAY AWARENESS

April 22, 2010

northof50.com 1

LOCAL LATITUDE, GLOBAL ATTITUDE May 2010 Vol. 8, Issue 5

A WONDERFUL WAY TO FAMILY

The Road to Adoption

OKANAGAN/SHUSWAP MOMS

Striving to Find Balance

GRANDPARENTS RAISING

GRANDCHILDREN

Making it Work

JOURNEY OUT OF DEPRESSION


ISSN# 1710-4750

North of 50THE MANY FACES OF FAMILY

Diverse Households in the Okanagan

®

Psych! Made you look!

northof50.com48 Underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

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September 2010 Okanagan Edition - North of 50

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