Liquor branch practices criticized · OKANAGAN Kelowna app links homebuyers, sellers with real...

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Woman working to have sunscreen stations set up throughout Valley to spare others from same fate By KEITH LACEY Special to The Daily Courier A local woman who lost her son to skin cancer three years ago is on a mission to introduce sunscreen stations at all beaches, parks and as many other public places as possible across the Okanagan. Karen Wells is the founding director of Morgan’s Mole Patrol, a pending non-profit foundation she started in memory of her son Morgan, who died at age 33 in December 2016 from melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Wells said her goal is simple. She is working in tandem with the provincial Save Your Skin organization from Vancouver and hopes to have portable sunscreen stations in as many public places as possible in the Okanagan and across the province. As a pilot project this summer, Wells is working to officially introduce sunscreen stations at Gyro Beach, the Kelowna Golf and Country Club, and at the Kelowna Visitor Centre. Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in North America, surpassing lung and breast cancer, and just one blis- tering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles the odds of developing the dis- ease later in life, said Wells. “We really need this for our children and future generations,” said Wells, who broke into tears several times while recalling her son’s death and telling of her efforts to help others and prevent them from having to endure the same heartbreak and pain. Her son went from seemingly healthy to seriously ill in a mat- ter of months, and it’s difficult to believe a small mole led to such tragic consequences. “He had a mole on his back and went to his family doctor and the doctor said it looked benign,” she said. “It was frozen with liquid nitrogen and covered with a Band-Aid. He came home and high-fived me and said every- thing was fine.” It wasn’t. He returned to the doctor sev- eral months later and discovered a cancerous melanoma had spread to many parts of his body. He died several weeks later, leaving behind a wife and two young sons, one of whom was only six months old. “He went back to the doctor and it was too late . . . it came back Stage 4,” Wells said. “That’s the thing with melanoma. If it’s not detected early enough, it has the chance to spread very quickly, and it did. That was in March, and we lost him in December.” Only weeks before this inci- dent, she noticed a mole on her own leg, went to a walk-in clinic, was diagnosed with a small tumour and had it removed weeks later in late 2015, she said. Still reeling from Morgan’s death almost three years later, Wells said working to ensure oth- ers don’t suffer the same fate has “become my life’s mission.” “I’m trying to raise awareness,” she said. “If I can just stop one family from going through what my family has been through, to spare them, then my mission will be complete.” She started the Mole Patrol movement soon after her son was diagnosed, but has since added his name to the cause and is close to reaching non-profit status after teaming up with Save Your Skin. “My goal is to try and educate people on how to play safe in the sun,” she said. “I’m not saying stay out of the sun as we obvi- ously need the sun to heat the planet, grow food and sustain life, but you have to stay safe and be aware of how deadly the sun can be. Melanoma is a very surviv- able cancer, but only if you catch it early.” Wells was shocked by how many adults weren’t using any sunscreen when she took a sur- vey on July 1, a hot day. “There were 380 people ques- tioned and more than one-third admitted they did not wear sun- screen,” she said. “Many parents would walk by with their chil- dren and the kids were covered in sunscreen, but the parents were not. I couldn’t believe it.” The best way she could think of to help others is to install as many sunscreen stations as pos- sible in public places, she said. The stations will be filled with lotion featuring sun protection factor 30. “We’re trying to get these sun- screen stations at various loca- tions across the city and we’re just working on the logistics right now,” she said. Continued on page A3 SUNNY . H: 27, L: 14 KELOWNADAILYCOURIER.CA $1.43 + GST OKANAGAN Kelowna app links homebuyers, sellers with real estate agents SPORTS B.C. Lions coach wants players to focus on details against Eskimos — B1 THE OKANAGAN:CANADA S FOUR-SEASON PLAYGROUND Classified B6, B7 Comics B8 Crossword B5 Life & Arts B4 Lotteries A2 Obituaries B6 Opinion A8, A9 Sports B1-3 Weather B8 WISE WORDS To master a new technology, you have to play with it. — Jordan Peterson INSIDE WISE COUNSEL Telephone 250-763-4323 www.doakshirreff.com THURSDAY ,JULY 11, 2019 Audit finds many contracts don’t comply with gov’t standards By The Canadian Press VICTORIA — Staff at British Columbia’s liquor distribution branch should receive contract management training, says an audit that revealed contracts totalling millions of dollars were awarded without competition. Auditor general Carol Bellringer said Wednesday several contracts awarded by the province’s liquor branch did not comply with pro- curement policies, including some that were awarded without an open bidding process. The audit examined 74 directly awarded contracts valued at about $25 million and found more than half were directly awarded with- out the exceptional circumstances required to avoid the bidding process, she said. “In 41, or 55%, of the contract files we looked at, the reason for the direct award could not clearly demonstrate the existence of excep- tional conditions,” Bellringer said at a telephone news conference. Five exceptions are listed in the government’s Core Policy and Procedures Manual for contract procurement: a contract with other government organizations, proof only one contractor is qual- ified, an unforeseeable emergency that restricts time for an open bid process, a likelihood that compe- tition would interfere with min- istry security and a threat that public competition could compro- mise government confidentiality. Continued on page A2 Falls found to be leading cause of injuries that land seniors in hospital By The Canadian Press TORONTO — Falls appear to be the leading cause of injuries that land seniors in hospital, according to newly released data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information that has experts call- ing for more preventative educa- tion on the issue. The data collected from participating hospitals across the country shows that of the roughly 138,000 people aged 65 and older who were hospitalized for injuries between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018, 81% of them were hurt in a fall. The CIHI said it chose to zero in on seniors to help educate the eld- erly about the injuries most likely to affect them. “We do have an aging popula- tion, so we really wanted to focus on what’s happening to our sen- iors,” said Nicholas Gnidziejko, manager of clinical administrative databases operations at the non- profit agency. Fifty-one per cent of people admitted to hospital during the period analyzed were 65 or older, he noted, adding that in many cases the injuries that brought those patients to hospital were preventable. One falls prevention expert who looked at the data said falls are a particular problem for the elderly because they can lead to a litany of complications. “Falls are the scourge of growing older,” said Geoff Fernie, a senior scientist and falls prevention offi- cer at the University Health Network and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. “If you get older and you get admitted to hospital, it doesn’t take long before you can’t get up. You don’t have the strength. You don’t have the muscle mass. You also become depressed and isolated, and your gut stops working.” The number of people injured or killed as a result of falls is likely underestimated because the falls themselves often aren’t reported, he said. “It’s the pneumonia that they eventually die of, or the other com- plications,” he said. Continued on page A2 PUBLIC HEALTH Son’s skin cancer death sparks sunscreen drive KEITH LACEY/Special to The Daily Courier Karen Wells, with her granddaughter Aleighna, 7, shows off one of the sunscreen stations she is trying to bring to various public places in Kelowna, including the Kelowna Golf and Country Club, the Kelowna Visitor Centre and Gyro Beach, this summer. HEALTH CARE Report points to danger of falls for seniors ACCOUNTABILITY Liquor branch practices criticized

Transcript of Liquor branch practices criticized · OKANAGAN Kelowna app links homebuyers, sellers with real...

Page 1: Liquor branch practices criticized · OKANAGAN Kelowna app links homebuyers, sellers with real estate agents SPORTS B.C. Lions coach wants players to focus on details against Eskimos

Woman working to have sunscreenstations set upthroughout Valleyto spare othersfrom same fate

By KEITH LACEYSpecial to The Daily Courier

Alocal woman who losther son to skin cancerthree years ago is on amission to introduce

sunscreen stations at all beaches,parks and as many other publicplaces as possible across theOkanagan.

Karen Wells is the foundingdirector of Morgan’s Mole Patrol,a pending non-profit foundationshe started in memory of her sonMorgan, who died at age 33 inDecember 2016 from melanoma, adeadly form of skin cancer.

Wells said her goal is simple.She is working in tandem withthe provincial Save Your Skinorganization from Vancouver andhopes to have portable sunscreenstations in as many public placesas possible in the Okanagan andacross the province.

As a pilot project this summer,Wells is working to officiallyintroduce sunscreen stations atGyro Beach, the Kelowna Golfand Country Club, and at theKelowna Visitor Centre.

Melanoma is one of the fastestgrowing cancers in NorthAmerica, surpassing lung andbreast cancer, and just one blis-tering sunburn in childhood oradolescence more than doublesthe odds of developing the dis-ease later in life, said Wells.

“We really need this for ourchildren and future generations,”said Wells, who broke into tearsseveral times while recalling herson’s death and telling of herefforts to help others and preventthem from having to endure thesame heartbreak and pain.

Her son went from seeminglyhealthy to seriously ill in a mat-ter of months, and it’s difficult tobelieve a small mole led to such

tragic consequences.“He had a mole on his back and

went to his family doctor and thedoctor said it looked benign,” shesaid. “It was frozen with liquidnitrogen and covered with aBand-Aid. He came home andhigh-fived me and said every-thing was fine.”

It wasn’t.He returned to the doctor sev-

eral months later and discovereda cancerous melanoma hadspread to many parts of his body.

He died several weeks later,leaving behind a wife and twoyoung sons, one of whom wasonly six months old.

“He went back to the doctor andit was too late . . . it came backStage 4,” Wells said. “That’s thething with melanoma. If it’s notdetected early enough, it has thechance to spread very quickly,and it did. That was in March,and we lost him in December.”

Only weeks before this inci-dent, she noticed a mole on herown leg, went to a walk-in clinic,

was diagnosed with a smalltumour and had it removedweeks later in late 2015, she said.

Still reeling from Morgan’sdeath almost three years later,Wells said working to ensure oth-ers don’t suffer the same fate has“become my life’s mission.”

“I’m trying to raise awareness,”she said. “If I can just stop onefamily from going through whatmy family has been through, tospare them, then my mission willbe complete.”

She started the Mole Patrolmovement soon after her son wasdiagnosed, but has since addedhis name to the cause and is closeto reaching non-profit statusafter teaming up with Save YourSkin.

“My goal is to try and educatepeople on how to play safe in thesun,” she said. “I’m not sayingstay out of the sun as we obvi-ously need the sun to heat theplanet, grow food and sustain life,but you have to stay safe and beaware of how deadly the sun can

be. Melanoma is a very surviv-able cancer, but only if you catchit early.”

Wells was shocked by howmany adults weren’t using anysunscreen when she took a sur-vey on July 1, a hot day.

“There were 380 people ques-tioned and more than one-thirdadmitted they did not wear sun-screen,” she said. “Many parentswould walk by with their chil-dren and the kids were coveredin sunscreen, but the parentswere not. I couldn’t believe it.”

The best way she could think ofto help others is to install asmany sunscreen stations as pos-sible in public places, she said.

The stations will be filled withlotion featuring sun protectionfactor 30.

“We’re trying to get these sun-screen stations at various loca-tions across the city and we’rejust working on the logisticsright now,” she said.

Continued on page A3

SUNNY. H: 27, L: 14 KELOWNADAILYCOURIER.CA $1.43 + GST

OKANAGAN

Kelowna app linkshomebuyers, sellerswith real estateagents

SPORTS

B.C. Lions coach wantsplayers to focus ondetails against Eskimos

— B1

THE OKANAGAN: CANADA’S FOUR-SEASON PLAYGROUND

Classified B6, B7Comics B8Crossword B5Life & Arts B4Lotteries A2Obituaries B6Opinion A8, A9Sports B1-3Weather B8

WISE WORDSTo master a new technology,you have to play with it.

— Jordan Peterson

INSIDE

WISE COUNSEL

Telephone 250-763-4323www.doakshirreff.com

THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2019

Audit finds manycontracts don’tcomply with gov’t standards

By The Canadian Press

VICTORIA — Staff at BritishColumbia’s liquor distributionbranch should receive contractmanagement training, says anaudit that revealed contractstotalling millions of dollars wereawarded without competition.

Auditor general Carol Bellringersaid Wednesday several contractsawarded by the province’s liquorbranch did not comply with pro-curement policies, including somethat were awarded without anopen bidding process.

The audit examined 74 directlyawarded contracts valued at about$25 million and found more thanhalf were directly awarded with-out the exceptional circumstancesrequired to avoid the biddingprocess, she said.

“In 41, or 55%, of the contractfiles we looked at, the reason forthe direct award could not clearlydemonstrate the existence of excep-tional conditions,” Bellringer saidat a telephone news conference.

Five exceptions are listed in thegovernment’s Core Policy andProcedures Manual for contractprocurement: a contract withother government organizations,proof only one contractor is qual-ified, an unforeseeable emergencythat restricts time for an open bidprocess, a likelihood that compe-tition would interfere with min-istry security and a threat thatpublic competition could compro-mise government confidentiality.

Continued on page A2

Falls found to beleading cause ofinjuries that landseniors in hospital

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Falls appear to bethe leading cause of injuries thatland seniors in hospital, accordingto newly released data from theCanadian Institute for HealthInformation that has experts call-ing for more preventative educa-tion on the issue.

The data collected from

participating hospitals across thecountry shows that of the roughly138,000 people aged 65 and olderwho were hospitalized forinjuries between April 1, 2017,and March 31, 2018, 81% of themwere hurt in a fall.

The CIHI said it chose to zero inon seniors to help educate the eld-erly about the injuries most likelyto affect them.

“We do have an aging popula-tion, so we really wanted to focuson what’s happening to our sen-iors,” said Nicholas Gnidziejko,manager of clinical administrativedatabases operations at the non-profit agency.

Fifty-one per cent of peopleadmitted to hospital during theperiod analyzed were 65 or older,he noted, adding that in manycases the injuries that broughtthose patients to hospital werepreventable.

One falls prevention expert wholooked at the data said falls are aparticular problem for the elderlybecause they can lead to a litany ofcomplications.

“Falls are the scourge of growingolder,” said Geoff Fernie, a seniorscientist and falls prevention offi-cer at the University HealthNetwork and TorontoRehabilitation Institute.

“If you get older and you getadmitted to hospital, it doesn’ttake long before you can’t get up.You don’t have the strength. Youdon’t have the muscle mass. Youalso become depressed and isolated, and your gut stops working.”

The number of people injured orkilled as a result of falls is likelyunderestimated because the fallsthemselves often aren’t reported,he said.

“It’s the pneumonia that theyeventually die of, or the other com-plications,” he said.

Continued on page A2

PUBLIC HEALTH

Son’s skin cancer deathsparks sunscreen drive

KEITH LACEY/Special to The Daily Courier

Karen Wells, with her granddaughter Aleighna, 7, shows off one of the sunscreen stations she is trying tobring to various public places in Kelowna, including the Kelowna Golf and Country Club, the Kelowna VisitorCentre and Gyro Beach, this summer.

HEALTH CARE

Report points to danger of falls for seniors

ACCOUNTABILITY

Liquorbranchpracticescriticized