The Daily Gold

​The Christian Fellowship Church is celebrating our 50th anniversary on August 25th! Service at 10:30am with a potluck lunch and a short celebratory program to follow. Everyone is welcome!

Everyone is welcome to participate in a Terry Fox Run, regardless of age, athletic ability or socio-economic standing. While the Run does not have an entry fee or minimum donation we do ask all participants to fundraise or make a donation.   You can raise funds online, use a pledge sheet or make a donation at the Run site. Whatever your choice, please know that every dollar counts. If you can help as a volunteer it would be greatly appreciated, please contact Donna Rawlings Schneider

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“How do we all work together to make sure medication is affordable and people can access it?”

That’s the question North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney is asking. 

She says the main thing she’s been hearing from the riding is that not only does medication need to be affordable, but it has to include rare diseases too.

Blaney says a single-payer public model needs to come into play to alleviate some of the accessibility issues, which mainly involves cost. 

“I’m hearing stories from seniors and families, even from doctors, talking about trying to prescribe medication and they’re either cutting it in half because they want to stretch it out because a little bit of medication is better than none because of costs.”

A single-payer model means working with businesses, and provincial and federal governments to figure out a way to pay into the system so people can get medication. 

“What’s heartbreaking is when people can’t afford medication and they either get very sick or unfortunately die because they can’t access that medication.”

She says the point is to make sure this doesn’t happen in Canada as much as possible.

“That means, let’s make a process where it’s more affordable but also accessible for everyone.”

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Campbell River is the first community on Vancouver Island where residents will be able to purchase weed directly from the province.  A government-operated B.C. Cannabis Store will open July 31 at the Discovery Harbour Shopping Centre, located in the 1400 block of the Island Highway.A government store will also open in Cranbrook on the same day.

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They'll be the third and fourth provincially run stores to open in B.C. since the federal government legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018.  Bilney said the Campbell River store created 16 jobs with government benefit packages. The province plans to open stores in the Island communities of Port Alberni, Courtenay and Parksville next.

There are currently two B.C. Cannabis Stores operating in Kamloops.

Customers have referred to the provincial pot shops as "the Apple stores of cannabis" because of their bright, minimalist esthetic and the knowledge employees have about the products in store, Bilney said.

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Gold River Days August 22 - 25

The Parade will be on Saturday August 24th
The Chamber of Commerce is organizing the parade again this year. If you would like any information please contact Roger Steele or Linda Vandenberg. Let’s make this years Parade the Biggest!!

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The fate of the southern resident killer whales is so closely entwined with chinook in the Salish Sea that some fear a decline in the salmon species could lead to the end of B.C.'s cherished orca population.

Killer whales around the world have adapted to feeding on just about everything else that swims in the ocean, including halibut from the deep sea, seals and sea lions from the rocky shoreline, baby whales from their mothers' sides and even the livers of great white sharks.

The urgent question now is whether the southern residents could adjust to the disappearing chinook, expand their palates and open up their menu options.

Lance Barrett-Lennard, director of the marine mammal research program at the Vancouver Aquarium, said it would be difficult — but not impossible.

"Until a few years ago I would have said no, they're just absolutely fixated on chinook and I don't see the prospect for them switching diets to be at all promising. But there is some new evidence coming out," he told CBC.

• Southern resident killer whales look underfed; researchers tracking chinook salmon to find out why

That new evidence suggests the southern residents enjoy snacking on a wider selection of fish than previously known.

Whether those mildly adventurous habits could save the population will depend on the abundance of other fish species and the orcas' ability to change their hunting techniques.

That's because while killer whales are renowned for their intelligence and ability to learn new things in captivity, in the wild they're creatures of habit, slow to experiment with the unfamiliar.

'A very conservative side'

John Ford, a retired cetacean researcher with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, says hunting chinook is part of a strong, traditional culture for the southern residents.

"The animals have a very conservative side to them," Ford said. "Ultimately, other generations may be innovative enough to specialize on different kinds of prey and make a successful living at it, but in the short term they seem to be behind."

Nonetheless, the whales do like to mix it up now and then.

Cancer patients on Vancouver Island now have access to a unique scanner that can deliver precise images of cancer cells, helping doctors build individual patient care plans.

The diagnostic tool, known as a PET/CT scanner, is now in operation at the BC Cancer centre in Victoria and is the first of three such scanners in the province operating outside Metro Vancouver.

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Premier John Horgan says the service means thousands of Vancouver Island patients will be spared a trip to Vancouver and can expect "better, faster diagnostic services and care, closer to home."

Health Minister Adrian Dix says 1,900 Vancouver Island residents had to travel last year for such a scan, but once the new service is fully operational as many as 2,200 scans will be administered in Victoria every year.

The BC Cancer Foundation raised most of the $6.5 million for the project, helped along by a family's donation of $2 million, $1 million from Thrifty's and the Ministry of Health provided $1.2 million.

BC Cancer's chief medical officer Dr. Kim Nguyen Chi says the scanner is a critical component of enhanced cancer care for Vancouver Island residents.

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"A PET scan allows us to image a cancer molecularly, and in combining it with a CT scan, we can very accurately and sensitively diagnose where a cancer is," says Chi.

Those details help doctors design individualized treatment plans, says Chi.

Researchers also benefit, he says, because the scanner allows them to develop and research innovative future therapies.

The first procedures were performed at the new facility last week and Horgan says it has been named the Gordon Heys Family PET/CT Suite, in honour of the $2-million donation received from the Heys family of Nanaimo.

The longest and steepest zipline on the island is near completion.

Once open, those who dare will find it at Mount Washington Alpine Resort. 

Despite the wet start to July, crews were still able to work on the line. They were testing parts of the line late last week. 

When finished, the line will be 2.3 kilometres long with speeds near 100 kilometres per hour and a drop of 415 metres. According to other media reports, the whole line will include four spans with two cables side by side. 

The first span goes from the top of Mount Washington and down to the little Mount Washington. The next three travel down the mountain over the treetops, ending at the resort’s snow building. 

The two bottom lines will open this summer, but there is no word yet when this season it will be. 

For more information on pricing, visit Mount Washington’s ZipTour site.

Congratulations to Greg Koster for winning the Men’s Amateur 2019 with a score of 141 and to Kent Reesor for winning low net with a score of 136. Thanks to the staff, volunteers, sponsors and everyone who pitched in to make this year’s tournament a succes

We are pleased to announce that L'il Roadie is open Tue thru Saturday 5ish to 9ish. AND we have draught beer, bottled beer & wine!

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The Annual Gold River Men's Amateur golf tournament will be held on July 19th, 20th, & 21st. The Golf Course & restaurant will be closed, to the public, on these days and will reopen on Monday, July 22nd. @ 8:00 a.m

One of three surge towers at the John Hart dam in Campbell River was felled in a controlled demolition Friday. Incendiary devices were placed on the girders at the base of the 90-metre tower, causing it to carefully crash down like a large tree.

A 450-metre safety zone was established around the towers prohibiting entrance to the surrounding public trails and two access roads. To maximize a safe fall, some of the eight supporting legs were cut using linear shaped charges, with kicker charges used to ensure full metal separation. The tower is in the process of being removed and the steel recycled, with a second tower's demolition scheduled for some time next week.

A third tower to the south will remain in place. While not part of the hydro-electric facilities, the tower holds valuable communication equipment, serves as a beacon for the local airport and has heritage value. 

The 90-metre towers were once the highest towers on Vancouver Island. They’re visible from certain areas of Campbell River and from boats on the surrounding water.

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In operation from 1947 to 2018, they protected the 1.8-kilometre penstocks that led from the dam to the generating station from short duration water pressure changes that happen when water flow is increased or decreased.           

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