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Column: this and that for seniors in Quesnel

A seniors’ trek to Barkerville, recycling tips and more from columnist Ruth Scoullar
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Local seniors were bussed to Barkerville on the annual trek, organized by the Quesnel Rotary Club. Laurey-Anne Roodenburg photo

I’ve learned that it is impossible to accomplish anything worthwhile without the help of other people. age 82 – from Live and Learn and Pass it on.

Notice of cancellation

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the Road Safety Presentation of Sept. 26 has been cancelled. It is possible they may arrange another time in future.

Expedition to Barkerville

On behalf of those of you who were fortunate enough to be able to go to Barkerville Sept. 6 on one of the two buses sponsored by the Quesnel Rotary Club, we want to say a real big thank you. This is their 54th year of providing so much enjoyment for seniors. Prior to our departure, thanks to music by the Old Time Fiddlers in the Royal Canadian Legion, mixed with lively conversation of passengers, waiting for the bus was no ordeal at all. Thanks to the Legion also. Some of the Dunrovin residents also went on their bus.

Upon registering, each traveller was supplied with a name tag with a schedule and complementary lunch ticket to one of three restaurants (that’s a lot of people to feed all at once but they managed!) and admission to Theatre Royal. This year’s production of Mrs McGinley’s Gold Rush Variety Show was a real hit. The cast included Amy Newman, pianist Patrick Courtin, Brendan Bailey, Zander Felton and Rebecca Thackray.

There was an opportunity to do some shopping in the stores and the bakery, and appreciate continuing upkeep, improvements, and additions to the historic site. There were six Rotarians accompanying the group. The trip was made possible by a generous grant from the BC Gaming Commission to the Quesnel Rotary Club, which covered the substantial bills for the day. Again a big thank you to the Rotary Club for making this possible.

READ MORE: 55th annual Rotary Seniors’ Expedition to Barkerville slated for Thursday Sept. 6

Women’s Institute

I had the privilege of attending the Dragon Lake Women’s Institute (WI) meeting Sept. 7 at the home of Enid Leather. A number of topics were discussed, including using environmentally friendly small bags; the Fall Fair; the Adelaide Hoodless Homestead work shops via a virtual tour in October; contribution to disaster relief; making plans with Baker Creek Enhancement Centre in June; a tour of the Community Garden is available; pamphlets on composting.

The topic of recycling came up and they feel we should encourage friends and neighbours to reuse and recycle. Nettie Geofroy is collecting used stamps for the Cancer Society. Maxine Kalinski will take any kind of greeting cards for school students. They are collecting old chipped china for an Alice in Wonderland play.

Guest speaker Fritz Wyssen spoke about his job as a paramedic. He said the majority of paramedics are only paid when they receive an actual call-out and receive a small stipend as low as $2 per hour when they are on scheduled shifts. Quesnel has one 24-hour staffed car and the other is on pager callout. Med-evac services are not feasible for most areas of the North. Rather, they would like to see fully staffed ambulances with paid staff.

The public is encouraged to assist with their own emergency needs such as: well-lit address signs, clear medication and health lists close to the phone, in a vial in specific spot in the refrigerator, or near patients who may be able to gather it themselves.

A question of a Do-Not-Resuscitate order was raised, and it was confirmed that only with an official DNR order signed by a doctor would it be recognized by the paramedics.

Paramedic will look for a DNR and most people are now using new forms. A number of people have bracelets.

Ruth Scoullar is a regular Observer columnist.