Happy
Gan
news

By HUGH POWER
The Regular meeting of
the Happy Gang Centre
was held on Sept, 14, The
Meeting was chaired by
Vice President Cliff Best,
in the absence of President
- Mary’Ann Dilly.”

A minute of silence was
observed in memory of the

following; Gladys Oliver,

Muriel O'Boyle, and Mrs.
Barwise and Mrs. Hutson.

The biggest news of the
mecting was that the
centre qualified for a grant
to purchase. a new cooler
for the kitchen! The exec-
utive is looking for sugges-
tions as to what to do wilh
the presnet cooler and the
- Old freezer downstairs.
‘May reported that scho-
larships were presented on
behalf of the Happy Gang
to Travis Titcomb and Brie
Birdsell at the awards cer-
emony held at Caledonia
Senior Secondary School
in June.

May pointed out that
the centre. donated enovgh
money some years ago so
that the scholarships are
paid on the interest of this
donation. Therefore, it is
not necessary for the
centre ta provide money
each. year for a scholar-
ship.

Florence reported that
the kitchen did well ofver
the summer and on some
days collected more than
$200. The kitchen staff
was thanked for all their
hard work,

The social events of the
summer, Rene Cox’s pic-
nic and Mary Ann’s barbe-
cue, were both successful,
as were the float and pan-
cake breakfast during Ri-
verboat Days.

The Anniversary Dinner
is slated for Sept. 20. Tick-
ets are $3 a member. A
sign-up sheet is available

at the centre. The Bazaar'”>

tickets are available, and
May is looking for volun-
teers to sell them in the
mall.

A nominating commit-
tee waas elected and con-
sists of Mary Martin,
Corby King and Olga
Power. The following poi-
sitans are open: president,
second vice-president,
treasurer, and three dire-
tors,

Cliff Best announced
that Wayne Braid has of-
fered to’ come to the
cenire’s next meeting to
discuss the latest develop-
ments in legislation re-
garding Power af Attorney
when making a will.

Our next meeting is
scheduled.for Oct. 12 at 2
pm.

See you there!

From Bt
Massage

therapists

is thal it’s physically and
mentally challenging.

“You have to be 100
percent present for every
person who walks through
the door,” Strumecki says.
“It takes a lot of focus and
concentration.”

While -. highlighting
awareness about massage
therapy, these three
women also set the record
straight .about another
common -miscanception:
massage therapists are not
body workers or mas-
Seuses.

' Rather, they’re trained
members of the health
care system ‘who have log-
ged up to 3,000 hours of
training in an accredited
school (B.C. has twa) and
are regulated by the Col-
lege of Massage Therap-
ists of B.C.

Kantakis said they have
a code of ethics and must
meet established standards
of practice.

Many are “opted in” ta
- BC.’s Medical Service
Plan, which covers up to
12 visits a year, not in-
cluding user fees.

.from Bi

Choir had a thrilling time. |

choir (between 500 and

!600 voices) and a child-'

ren’s choir of similar size.

The adult choir sang six
pieces at the Gala Closing
Concert July 8: O Fortuna
by Carl Orff, Ave Maria by
Javi Busto,. Zadok the
Priest by Handel, Total
Praise by Richard Small-
wood, Hymn io Freedom by
Oscar Peterson, and the
Kathaumixw anthem, The
Spacious Firmament, wtit-
ten by local composer
Tobin Stokes.

It was thrilling to sing
with so many voices. The
guest director, Fred Sjo-
berg from Sweden, had
only five hours ta coax us
into a cohesive unit — a
challenging task, which he
met with good humour.

The Northwest Singers
had to arrange private re-
hearsal time to prepare
and warm up for their two
concerts and one competi-
lion, Several times we re-
heatsed in a school gym,
once in a glassed-in hall-
way behind the ice arena
and once in a forest.

. Our first concert was
called a Promenade Con-
cert. The promenade con-
certs were performed in
various public venues
around Powell River, free

to the public. We sang in

‘the Safeway mall with the
‘ +marvellous Seattle Child-

ren’s Chorus.

We then competed in
the Chamber Choir cate-
gory with five other choirs.
One was from Hong Kong
and another from Finland.

Our third performance
was a formal concert in
the Evergreen Theatre of
the complex. We follawed
a California choir; Taiwan
and Israel sang -after us.

There were a few im-
promptu performances as
well, as choirs sang in
restaurants around Powell
River and as the Northwest
Singers gathered on our
motel verandah, watching
the sun sel and the moon
tise by the ocean.

In between rehearsals
and performances, we tried
fa see as many other
choirs as we could. One of
my favourites was the
choir that won the coveted
“Choir of the World at Ka-
thaumixw Award” — the

enthusiastic and talented ~

Saskatoon Children’s
Choir.

Before we knew il, we
were in our costumes,
singing a the Gala Closing
Concert with the Seoul

National Symphony Or-
chestra, celebrating our
unique experience and:
saying good-bye to ane of
our members, Grant’ Huff-
man, who was heading to
his new home on Vancou-
ver Island,

If only we could have
shared this week with all
Our sponsors and suppor-
ters! We were delighted to
see a.few old friends and. -
choir members in Powell
River. For those of you
who weren’t there, we do
have photos. We are also
anticipating the arrival of
a Kathaumixw 2000 CD.
So, friends of the North-
west Singers will be able
to see and hear a little of
what we experienced.

Now that the Northwest
Singers are back at rehear-
sal, we find ourselves in
need of male voices, both
tenor and bass (or versatile
baritones).

If anyone is interested
in auditioning for our small
but enthusiastic choir,
please contact Marilyn |
Brodie, at 635-5312. And
once again, thank you to
everyone who cheered us
on. We hope our upcoming
concerts will, in some
way, repay your kindness.

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AN OPEN LETTER FROM BC'S MINISTER OF HEALTH

he BC Legislature has given unanimous
approval to the government's $40 million
solution for BC’s 1,000 rural and small
community doctors.

This means health authorities across BC. have
new funding to retain and recruit physicians where they
are most needed. New physician benefits are: ,

® new physician retention premiums
M increased on-call funding for specialists

@ increased funding for physicians to continue
their medical education

B new signing bonuses to hire up to 190
physicians in rural and small communities

The new funding is in addition to the more than
$35 million already committed to physicians through
other BC initiatives like the Northern and Isolation
Allowance, the Emergency Medical Coverage
Program, and the Rural Agreement.

| For more information call toll-free: 1-800-465-4911 or visit: www.health.gov.be.ca -

The government still stands by its offer of medi-
ation by an independent third party to provide a fair
and impartial comparison of ohysician benefits
between BC and other provinces.

The new benefits for physicians are supported
by more funding for phase one of the government's
new Health Action Plan. Hospitals will have new
funding for:

M more surgeries

@ training more nurses

= buying urgently needed equipment

Now that Premier Dosanjh and the other:
premiers have successfully secured mare federal funding
for health care, and BC’s finances are improving, let's all
work together for health care solutions that put

| patients ts first, 2am

~ Mike Farnworth, M inister

ar

BRITISH
COLUMBIA

MINISTRY OF HEALTH -_ | 7 7