June - Senior Connector

PAGE 12
Brown’s Repair Shop Ltd.
220 Lansdowne Street, Kamloops
Est. 1923 ERIC BROWN 372-3656
• The Key Man
IN YOUR BUSINESS
* Lest We Forget *
• Safe sales & service
• Lock sales & service
• Keys by code
• Window grilles
• Locks rekeyed
VIKING PC Computer
Services
Specializing in affordable
assistance, repairs and
upgrades in your home
or in our shop.
Reduced Rates for Seniors!
Call Ole @ 372-9718 or 319-0507
email: vikingpc@telus.net
#101 - 120 Vernon Avenue
Kamloops, BC
Beautiful 2 bedroom, 1 bath (walk-in shower)
2 year old condo. Located on the ground floor
with easy access off the gated patio. Includes
dish washer, refrigerator, stove, washer and
dryer and many senior-friendly extras.
Conveniently located across from North Hills
Centre, close to banks, post office and
other services.
To arrange a viewing call Keith or Sue at
(250) 828-2157 or (250) 851-5727
Offered for sale at $129,900
SENIOR CONNECTOR
Assisted
living
accommodation
Quiet home in
Brock, gardens,
Exp. caregiver,
small pet ok.
RENT NEGOTIABLE
Lauren (Lori)
250-376-4835
www.seniorconnector.com
Study finds Canadians need to improve
their fire safety preparedness
Although Canadians recognize
the importance of a
fire escape emergency plan,
the majority have never practiced
a home fire drill and
place themselves at great
risk, according to a new fire
safety study.
Sixty three per cent of
Canadians surveyed have
developed a fire escape plan,
yet an alarming 55 per cent
say they have never practiced
a home fire drill. In
fact, almost 40 per cent of
those polled don’t know they
have less than three minutes
to escape in the event a fire
starts in their home. A wellrehearsed
fire escape plan
can make a life-saving difference
by decreasing panic
and maximizing those valuable
few minutes in order to
get out safely.
It is not enough to simply
have a fire escape plan, you
must rehearse it — otherwise
it’s virtually useless,”
says Ken Kelly, president,
Canadian Association of Fire
Chiefs. “Practicing an escape
plan regularly will help you
react quickly in a real fire,
especially when smoke and
flames block your escape
routes, or if smoke detectors
fail to sound.”
According to Kelly, very
few people realize that in
real-life fires, smoke is black
Sweet
Dreams
CONTRIBUTED BY BRONWEN
SCOTT, UCC PUBLIC
RELATIONS
Think you got a good
night’s sleep last night
Likely you did, but if you’re
one of the estimated 6% of
the population with sleep
apnea, you may not even
know that your body makes
you skip out of dreamland
on a regular basis.
There are clues, however.
People suffering from sleep
apnea tend to fall asleep at
inconvenient times: waiting
for a red light, sitting inactive
in a public place, riding
the bus, or while reading,
watching TV, or listening to
a presentation. It’s embarrassing,
but most of all, it’s
dangerous.
Sleep apnea, a condition
where a person stops breathing
for a few moments at a
time—up to 20 to 30 times
per hour—during sleep, does
more than make the sufferer
tired all the time. It’s associated
with irregular heartbeat,
high blood-pressure, heart
attack, and stroke, as well as
depression, irritability, sexual
dysfunction, learning and
memory difficulties, and
falling asleep while at work,
on the phone, or driving.
As UCC Respiratory
Therapy program coordinator
Les Matthews says, “not
only do people not know
how big the problem of sleep
apnea is, they have no idea
how easily it can be fixed.”
and thick and very difficult
to see through. By practicing
a fire escape plan, people
will be able to feel their way
through the smoke much
faster than leaving it to
chance.
The study also found that
almost all (95 per cent) of
those surveyed have smoke
detectors in their home,
however, less than 20 per
cent test the batteries each
month and only one in four
replace the batteries twice a
year — both practices recommended
by fire safety
experts.
“Although fire safety preparedness
is important all
year long, summer is an
ideal time for families to
examine their current practices,
as it is the time of year
when they participate in
BBQs, campfires and fireworks.
Thinking
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
from Anaheim, California to
offer their support and help.
The attention to detail and
care given during my stay in
Royal Inland Hospital was
exemplary. I especially liked
the pre-admission routine
which answered all my questions
regarding the operation
and recovery. It took a while,
but was well worth the time
because it prepared a full
description of my vital signs,
general condition and gave
me ample opportunity to talk
about the specifics of my
operation.
The many inquiries of my
well-being during my stay in
hospital, as well the numerous
cards and flowers, lifted
one’s spirits and was very
much appreciated. After a
few more days of rest I’ll be
back on the scene. I look forward
to seeing you soon.
EMPTY
NESTERS
Before you list your home
for sale, read this Free
Report to discover how to
sell it for the most amount of
money and avoid making
9 common, costly mistakes.
Free recorded message
1-877-277-7316
ID #1013
PRUDENTIAL DESERT HILLS REALTY
Prisoner
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“You realize how much
freedom really means to
you,” said Trotter about his
time in the prison camp. For
many years he did not speak
to anyone about his experiences
there, which included
being blindfolded and stood
before a firing squad twice.
The German captors were
trying to obtain his valuable
pathfinding information.
Pathfinders located targets for
bombing.
Trotter said the camp “was
full of brilliant people who
had been in all walks of life
before the war.” He still marvels
at the ingenuity of a man
who built a small-scale working
submarine from
scrounged material and who
floated and submerged it in
the camp pond.
Clandestine radios were
built and encased in tabletops.
Escape tunnels were
dug under the hut’s brick
stove support. Sand from the
escape tunnels was removed
by the handful in a variety of
inventive ways, including
being hidden in exercise
horses. The prisoners even
managed to make usable golf
balls from old inner tube rubber
so they could while away
the time. As Air Officers, they
were not sent on work details.
The POWs tracked the
progress of the war by listening
to the BBC on the hidden
radios and Trotter said his
pathfinding experience came
in handy when he updated
their maps to indicate how the
front was changing as the war
drew to a close.
Finally released from the
Russian “cattle pens” in
North Germany by a British
armoured division, Trotter
celebrated the end of the war
in Brussels, after receiving
“500 francs, numerous flea
and louse treatments, and
new clothes,” he came back
to Canada on a POW ship.
After the war, Trotter
Announcing
Crossroad Café
The Crossroad Café is a non-profit
Christian based café which will be open on
designated Saturday nights from 6:30-
10pm. A variety of beverages and desserts
will be offered for a nominal fee. The profits
from this venture will benefit Youth Mission
initiatives in Kamloops.
The café will be a place for Christians and
non-Christians to come together for fellowship
and entertainment, to showcase local
talent, and to bring churches together.
Info: (250) 554-2811
Valleyview Bible Church, 2386 E.T.C. Hwy.
JUNE, 2003
returned to his home in
Saskatchewan and worked as
a fireman with the CNR for
three years before rejoining
the RCAF in 1948.
“Flying is like an addiction
to me,” he said. And
Trotter “flew all over the
world.” He spent time in
Korea and Viet Nam and
worked on peacekeeping missions
in Israel and Morocco.
He commanded NATO
Squadron 445 in Marville,
France from 1960-63.
During Trotter’s air force
career he also lived in
Edmonton, the Arctic,
Montreal, Toronto, Cold
Lake, Gimli and Kamloops.
He has remained here since
retiring in 1970.
Trotter married his wife
Val in 1948 and they have six
children and eight grandchildren.
In spite of a youth spent
travelling, three of his children
continue to live in
Kamloops.
In 1968 Trotter designed
Kamloops’ first emergency
disaster plan and his air force
transport experience led him
to get involved with many
community events and operations
over the years, including
the Canada Summer
Games and the Canadian
Senior Games. He’s still an
active fundraiser for the air
cadets.
The retired airman is an
avid golfer and has belonged
to the Kamloops Golf Club
for 36 years. He started a construction
company in 1970
that, among other things,
designed and built golf courses.
Mt. Paul is a Trotter
course and so is one in Wells
Gray Provincial Park. The
first nine holes at Aberdeen
involved his handiwork, too.
Trotter golfs about three
times a week, so his golf balls
fly even if he doesn’t anymore.
Having flown 44 missions
in a Lancaster during the war
and having logged 12,000
hours of flying during his air
force career, Trotter still
vividly remembers how it felt
to fly twice the speed of
sound in a CF 104 jet at
55,000 ft. He is looking forward
to speaking about the
WW II “Lanc” at an air force
museum in Nanton, AB on
Labour Day weekend.
He is also looking forward
to the resolution of his legal
case before the Supreme
Court. “I’m much wiser now
after this,” he said. He plans
to write a report on his pension
battle for posterity.