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Back to school!
Monday Aug. 30 was a day filled with excitement
as kids returned to another school year.
photo by Gillian Beckett
Survey shows residents happy with quality of health
services
By Cindy Ballance
Editor
Two Okotoks teens spent a long night on Crandell Mountain last week after
an adventurous hike in Waterton Lakes National Park left them stranded on a table-sized
ledge.
But steps Amanda and Sheila Paton, 17 and 14 respectively, had taken before heading
out on the day hike Aug. 17 turned what could have been a family tragedy into just
a cold night on the mountain.
The two sisters had hiked the popular Bear's Hump trail that afternoon before deciding
to continue their climb along a southeast ridge to the mountain's summit.
'It was kind of the classic situation,' said Janice Smith, a communications officer
with the park's warden service. 'People go up the Bear's Hump trail and decide to
climb higher. It's actually an easy climb to a point and then it gets more difficult.'
The sisters, after negotiating some rather difficult sections and realizing the hike
was taking longer than expected, started down.
Smith said the two girls took what they thought would be an easier route to the valley
floor, only to find themselves on a series of ledges above a cliff.
'It was getting dark and they were really losing the light,' she said. 'That's when
they realized they wouldn't get off the mountain that night.'
The pair instead settled in for a long, uncomfortable wait on the ledge overlooking
the Alkamina Pass.
'We were just really glad we had done it enough to know to have extra food and clothing
and stuff,' said Sheila. 'We did some not-so-bright stuff, but there were a few things
that helped us out.'
The girls were reported missing later that evening and their car was discovered in
the Bear's Hump parking lot.
'People figured they were up on the mountain, but it's just too dangerous to try
a night rescue,' Smith explained. 'So they stayed there overnight.'
The teens' father and uncle arrived in Waterton around 6:30 am the following morning.
The two girls were staying at a cabin owned by the uncle, Larry Henderson, and had
informed their parents of their hiking plans prior to climbing Bear's Hump.
'We knew they were gone because they check in before they go on a hike,' said Jim
Paton, the girl's father. 'And we knew something was up because they didn't call
that night.'
Around 7:30 am the teens were spotted on the ledge, but the rescue team decided a
climb would take too long and prove too dangerous. Instead, a helicopter was summoned
from Canmore so that a long-line rescue could be attempted.
With such a rescue, a warden climbs into a harness and attaches himself to a line
hung beneath the helicopter. He is then carried to the stranded hikers.
After the helicopter arrived at 9 am, Brent Kozachenko, a public safety specialist
at the park, was given the job of bringing the girls to safety.
'It took awhile for the helicopter to get here from Canmore, but the rescue went
surprisingly fast once it arrived.' Smith said. 'By 9:30 am we had the second girl
on the ground.'
Paton was impressed with the rescue effort, noting searchers were already hard at
work when he and Henderson arrived early that morning.
'(We're) not only grateful, but really impressed,' he said. 'They pretty much knew
where to look for people. They were competent and experienced.'
Paton said his daughters, who he described as experienced hikers, won't soon forget
the ordeal.
'It's really been an experience,' he said. 'When they went to bed the following night,
they had dreams of falling off a mountain. But that's understandable -- the ledge
they were on was about the size of a table-top. You can imagine how hard it is for
two people to get to sleep on something like that.'
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Cataract surgeries now available in High River
By Gillian Beckett
Staff Reporter
For those living with cataracts there is no such thing as a crisp, clear day . .
. as their sight is often filled with haze.
However, thanks to a new cataract surgery suite at the High River Hospital, people
with cataracts can now look forward to less cloudy days.
After a lengthy fund-raiser which included the efforts of the High River District
Health Care Foundation (HDHCF), district Lions Clubs and the Lions Club International
Foundation (LCIF), $78,000 was raised to purchase equipment needed to perform cataract
surgeries.
On Aug. 26, the new equipment which includes a microscope, a potential acuity meter
and a phacoemulsifier were put to the test as the first three patients underwent
cataract surgery, performed by Dr. Karin Verstraten.
'The surgeries have gone wonderfully,' said nurse manager Janice Giles. 'This clinic
was in great need for people (living) in the Foothills. . . we already have a list
of patients scheduled for October.'
While the cataract surgery suite will accommodate about five cataract surgeries per
month, Giles said she expects the number of patients to grow as referrals from physicians
in Vulcan, Claresholm, Black Diamond and surrounding areas come in.
With the doors of the cataract clinic now open in High River, cataract patients will
no longer have to travel to Calgary to receive treatment as the clinic is well equipped
to handle post-surgery care.
The process is both effective and convenient for doctor and patient as once the surgery
is finished, patients can go home that day. Follow-up visits are then done at the
hospital the next day, then at one week, two week and six week intervals.
For cataract patients like Dave Jensen of Nanton, this is welcome news.
Jensen, who was the second patient to have undergone surgery since the suite opened,
previously had to travel into Calgary to have a cataract removed from his right eye.
'There is no sense going all the way into Calgary, it's very inconvenient,' said
Jensen, who had surgery on his right eye done at the High River Hospital. 'I have
to be here tomorrow morning (for a follow-up visit), that's good enough for me.'
Jensen's room-mate Helen Todd, who will be undergoing cataract surgery next month,
agrees.
'It's much easier to drive to High River from Nanton,' said Todd. 'I hate driving
in Calgary, it's so busy.'
With the recent establishment of the new Cardiac Care Clinic at the High River Hospital
and a fund-raiser being held to upgrade the emergency and acute care departments
at the hospital, both the HDHCF and the LCIF hope to eliminate the need for any patient
living in the MD of Foothills area to travel into Calgary.
'I think it's fantastic, this is what the community really needs,' said Bernie Gribben,
district governor of LCIF. 'This is a pilot project that many other rural communities
in Alberta can follow.'
Gribben added that the Lions Club will be working again with HDHCF in the near future
to raise funds for a STARS Air Ambulance landing pad at the High River Hospital.
'(Currently) STARS Air Ambulance has to land at the High River Airport and the patients
have to be transported from the airport to the hospital,' said Gribben. 'The landing
pad is a priority.'
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