The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, September 2, 1992 ROBSON MECHANICAL DUTY AUTOMOTIVE Rotary exchange students arrive in Castlegar ARTHUR JOYCE For The Sun Looking forward to the chal- lenge of a new culture, stu- dents have just arrived in Cc HEAVY AUTOMATIC T ° asp iP in the Rotary Club's annual student Fal Yur Supply Lists For Less At Carls Drags COMPETITIVE PRICES GREAT SELECTION WHERE QUALITY COUNTS CARL'S PLAZA DRUGS 365-7269 of Kushiro, on Japah's northern island of Hokaido, and Marie number of prerequisites such as English, Math, and Social Studies as well as any électives the stu- dents choose. Both students inter- viewed hope to learn to speak English fluently and will pursue Canada? “Everything is bigger, and people seem to be less stressed,” says Mitsue will board with the Tony and Diane Guglielmi fami- ly, Christine with Henry and Lor- raine John, and Marie with Len and Lillian Voykin. Four host families will rotate students every three months throughout the stu- dents’ year-long stay. Later this month, Tony and Diane’s daugh- ter Irene leaves for Italy, “excited, but a little bit scared”. Stanley Humphries graduate Rory Perrier recently left for her year in Rotary Club member John Charters says the program has run EAROUT SPpvrEecri ak =o aeCHAS & oe owe e 1991 Pontiac 6000 LE « = 3.1T. fuel injected V/6 & automatic transmission € air conditioning € Balance of GM 3 year, 80,000 km. bumper to bumper warranty 12,489 New 1991 List Price — $20,462 See a Kalawsky Sales Professional Today! KALAWSIKY PONTIAC BUICK GMC (1989) LTD. ——THE KING OF CARS—— for 12 years and was largely the brainchild of fellow member Ron Ross. At about 30 members, the Castlegar club has the highest number of exchange students per capita in the district, perhaps (L-R); Lorraine John, Diane Guglielmi, Mitsue Hamamoto and Christine Didier. even in North America. “Initially it was a hard sell, but it’s grown’ with the years and the kids love it,” says Charters. “We have to credit the people of Castlegar for getting behind it.” Ferry committee without a cause? SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor Members of the Robson Ferry Committee, who have been fight- ing hard since 1988 to see the return of the Castlegar-Robson ferry to the Columbia River, have now seen an end to their cause. Members of the committee attended Thursday’s press | conter ence held by Transp don’t think there is much point now in carrying on,” said Fernie , Allam, one of the committee members. She added that while Charbonneau’s announcement is a good ‘one, it still does not change the fact that the Castlegar-Robson ferry was wrongly removed. “(The announcement of a bridge) doesn’t change the principles that were wronged in the past.” Char d that Highways Minister Art chatter neau, who announced that con- struction will start this year on a new bridge. Ferry committee members, who have been advo- cating a return of the ferry, admit that a long-term link is better than one which floats. “You can’t steal abridge,” said construction on a new $26 mil- lion bridge project will begin in November, after a tendering pro- cess has been completed. Approximately $3 million worth of construction work will take place this year, with the remain- der occurring over the next year. The bridge is expected to be one of the i to the Social Credit government's ae in 1988 which resulted in the disappearance of the Robson- Castlegar In November of that same year, Mike Harcourt promised that if he became premier, the ferry would be restored. The committee held on to that Promise, and made sure through various newsletters, protests and statements to both NDP and Socred politicians and leaders, that Premier Harcourt would his promise. Now that a bridge has been ferry members will be re-evaluating on whether there is a need for the ittee’s fi - d in June 1994. “I per- sonally am very happy to see a definite starting point to this bridge,” said Darlene Schultz, also on the committee. One ferry committee member who was not present to hear Charbonneau’s announcement, was Terry Dalton, who is recov- ering from an illness at his home. Dalton was the spokesperson for the ferry committee and had worked hard in an attempt to bring the ferry back to its original location on the Columbia River. Dalton was also an advocate of the proposed bridge, saying he would support a permanent link if it would be built in an adequate time frame. Other committee “I'm sure that the committee will have one final meeting, but I said they would be vis- iting Dalton later that day to tell him the good news. NOW OPEN | Quality Care Dry Cleaners | Clip this coupon 233 Columbia Ave., Castlegar © 365-6761 | (Bonnett's Men's Wear) PROFILE WEDNES Y, September 2, 1992 iB Front-line medical care A closer look at the Castlegar ambulance service ci The local boys take over. The ambulance service, besides responding to emergency calls, are also temporal for transfer- Story and photos by Jason Keenan ring patients from the air ambulance to the hospital, as well as the opposite. They're the people you never want to meet - the paramedics from the Castlegar ambulance service. You're most likely to run into the two full-time and 19 part-time ambulance attendants informing the public about car or Bravo shift is the main shift, on the ambulance which the full- timer will be on. “Some of us do it because we want to make it easier for response time.” Every ‘second counts in a life-and- their role in the community than you are to meet them after having an accident. “It’s not really for the money, it’s that we enjoy doing it and helping out the community,” said Tom Campbell, one of the local ambulance ser- vices part-timers. He's been with the service for the past seven-and-a-half years, though he started riding with them five-years before that “I started in grade 10, riding around and observing, watching the process." After getting his Industrial First Aid ticket, and class four drivers license, he joined the service in’1985. You may have see Tom driving around town, or having a cup of coffee at a local restaurant. Even though he’s dressed in uniform, he's not Officially working. ‘ “Us part-timers are all volunteers, and we only [ get paid when we get a call,” he added. Visits to schools, or special programs like Home Alone at the Castlegar Recreation Centre, and office tours do not count as calls. They don’t get paid. For seven part-timers, the ambulance service provides their only income. “It's definitely not-for the pay,” said Ken Hunter-Oglow, a part-timer who has been with the local ambulance service for six months. “I enjoy the work, and I enjoy working with the community.” Both Campbell and Hunter-Oglow agreed that wishing for more work and more pay is a catch-22. More work means more people are being hurt. “I don’t like to see people hurt, but I would like to see a first-car shift where you get $20 to cover the day’s expenses,” added Hunter- Oglow. When an ambulance attendant is on call, all they have to do is be available, and carry their pager. Some take the extra step by being in the station 402 office at 2233 6th Ave. when they're on call. A first- death emergeficy. : Not every(gall is a life-and-death emer- gency, though. In fact, when I rode around with Campbelt and full-timer Lawrence Chemoff two weeks ago, the only call that came in between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. was a patient transfer. Not the gory, siren-spin- ning, tire-squealing stuff I expected when I sighed up for the ride. Instead, it was a father leisurely drive up to the airport, where we waited for the B.C. Government Ambulance Service plane to arrive with a patient transfer. Because more sophisticated treatment is available only in other parts of the Province, usually on the coast, the most effective way to get people to that treat- ment is by jet. The ambulance service transfers the patient from the plane to the hospital. Blueberry-Paulson bridge. The job sometimes has its gory moments. To deal with the gore, attendants have to know the nuts-and-bolts of first aid. But sometimes the scene is too much. “If to want to go puke your guts out on the side, you can,” ” Camp- bell said. But you have to fight it back until the patient is taken care of. Campbell has never had to deal with a serious accident involving a friend. “I have known the people; not as friends though, not a close friend,” said Campbell. He and Chernoff agreed that if they know the patient personally, it is easier to calm them down during the crisis sit- uation. And, since it is likely the attendants will see the patients again, they can follow up and see how Ss went. Being able to deal with those S is the main reason behind the constant upgrading of the services, drugs, and treatments the ambu- lance service can administer. “We try to provide the ultimate patient care before they get to the hospital - that’s the bottom line,” said Chernoff. Protocols, info sheets ng the new to help put cutting-edge treatment in to operation. “You're adding to your arsenal. The more things you can do for your pans the better.” { Campbell and Chernoff’s job doesn’t end at the hospital doors though. In get- ting the patient, who was an elderly. lady, transferred, the two attendants take her right up to her room, help her off the stretcher, and then fill out the paper work. And since the hospital doesn’t employ a porter, Camp- bell carried the lady's bags up to her room. “It’s not like you take them in the hospital door and off-load them,” said Chemoff. The office is responsible for p service to the far flung area stretching as follows: south along Highway 22 to the Silver City Trap Club; north to Bonnington on 3A; up to Slocan City along Highway 6; up to the junction of Highway 3A east towards Salmo along Highway 3; and west along Highway 3 to the Like any job, the paper work never ends for Lawrence Cher- noff (I) and Tom Campbell. 1700 Columbia Ave., Costleg and SAVE 365-2155 Collect TRAIL, FRUITVALE, ROSSLAND CUSTOMERS CALL 364-0213 Coupon THE B : Tom Campbell processes the patient, u ‘ and administers the necessary Care, while in transit to the hospital ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee