June - Senior Connector

JUNE, 2003 SENIOR CONNECTOR www.seniorconnector.com PAGE 7
Mike’s musings
By Mike Keetch
Positive thoughts about Kamloops
This column will be my
first attempt at writing for a
newspaper. With that
thought in mind, please bear
with me while I try to contribute
something worthwhile.
Although I will try to
produce a column for each
issue, it will not have a regular
theme, rather it will
contain whatever strikes my
fancy or whatever you, the
readers, want.
Everywhere we turn
these days people are
always talking about the
negative things happening
around our city. Whether it
is in the media or just talking
with friends, the discussion
seems to focus on what
we don’t have or what we
have lost to other cities like
Kelowna.
Although I have been
known to play devil’s advocate
on more than one occasion,
I believe it serves us
much better to focus on the
positive aspects of the place
we choose to call home.
Here are my thoughts on
why Kamloops is a great
place to live. First of all
there is the location. We
have very little to worry
about in the way of natural
disasters such as earthquakes
or tidal waves. We
have four distinct seasons
unlike other places that
have either wet or not wet
and cold or not so cold. We
have, within a one hour
drive, some of the best
recreational facilities to be
found in Canada. These run
the gamut of skiing at Sun
Peaks to the beach at
Shuswap Lake, as well as
enough lakes for fishing to
allow you to fish a different
lake everyday for over a
year. Within the city we
have 80 parks available to
us. There are opportunities
for every citizen to partake
in whatever sport they
choose, regardless of age or
ability. For entertainment
we boast at least 11 theatre
screens, the Pavilion and
Sagebrush Theater’s, Kamloops
Players, Kamloops
Symphony, Kamloops
Community Orchestra, the
Kamloops Rube Band,
Kamloops Big Band and
the list goes on.
To enrich your mind we
have the University
College of the Cariboo as
well as a number of private
learning institutions. We
have a very active business
community that gives us
access to almost anything
we desire. Our business
community also contributes
a great deal to any
number of charities and
other groups around town
in the form of sponsorships,
time and funding.
Kamloops boasts the best
volunteer base of any city
that I have ever been
aquainted with. These volunteers
allow us to host
such major events as the
Briar, Canada Summer
Games and the B.C.
Seniors Games, as well as
many others. We also have
the Blazers Hockey team
that has spread the awareness
of our city far and
wide.
For our children, we
have an abundance of
sporting activities for them
to participate in. We also
have the Kamloops
Wildlife Park, which is a
magnet for all ages, summer
and winter. The
Wildlights display at
Christmas is a sight to
behold!
The things I have listed
are just some of the reasons
that Kamloops is a great
place to live and I am sure
there are many more that I
have missed.
To be sure, we cannot
turn a blind eye to the
things we perceive to be
wrong and it is our duty to
react in whatever way we
feel is appropriate to correct
those things. In short, I
believe we live better if we
think about the positives in
life rather than the negatives.
Until next month think
positive and enjoy what we
have.
•••••
Random thoughts; Why
do we drive on a parkway
and park on a driveway
Why does sour cream have
a best before date
The Kamloops Wildlife Park
Four new wolf pups are
keeping the Kamloops
Wildlife Park Society’s
Animal Health Technician
John Benedik playing Mr.
Mom! Bottle feeding four
voracious wolves can be a
challenge. This task was
made even more interesting
combined with a cross-
Canada flight from Ontario
to Kamloops. Benedik was
definitely the most popular
person for 10 hours travelling
time at the airport and
on the plane. Haliburton
Forest & Wild Life Reserve
donated the four wolf pups
to the Wildlife Park. Born
on May 3rd of this year the
pups were only 14 days old
when Benedik made his
return trip to Haliburton,
Ontario.
According to renowned
Canadian biologist R.D.
Lawrence, “Many now look
upon the wolf as a symbol of
courage, endurance, and
intelligence”. Wolves once
ranged through out most of
the Northern Hemisphere
including 600 km from the
north pole on Ellesmere
Island and portions of
Seniors
Entertainment!
Crafts!
Greenland! Other than
humans, wolves have had
the largest habitat range of
all terrestrial mammals. In
North America, Canada may
be the last refuge for approximately
35,000 to 40,000 of
this magnificent symbol of
the wild.
The Kamloops Wildlife
Park would like to invite the
public to participate in naming
two of the wolves. They
will be having a video in the
Lafarge Education Room
showing their weekly development.
Entry forms will be
available on your admission
to the Park. We are hoping
for names that are unique
representing either First
Nations origins or significant
Canadian heritage. A
one sentence explanation of
the name is required. Two of
the wolves will be named
internally by staff.
Visitors to the Kamloops
Wildlife Park will be invited
to meet the pack at the
beginning of the summer
season. Until then, the wolf
pups are in quarantine
receiving daily attentive care
from our zookeeping staff.
Oasis Cafe
540 SEYMOUR ST. 372-5110
You don’t have to be a member to
enjoy a nutritious meal with us!
Hot Lunches
Monday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Select from 2 entrees including dessert
$5.50 Including Taxes
Soup $1.50 Soup and a Bun $2.00
Sandwiches $2.50
Fresh Fruit Cup (In season) $2.00
Salads (Garden, Pasta, or Cole Slaw) $2.00
Coffee or Tea .75 Refills .25
Pop $1.00 Juices $1.00 Milk $1.00
Tues & Thurs Night Buffet Dinners
5:30pm-6:30 pm $7.50 per person
Look for our Sunday Buffet Dinners twice monthly
LUNCH!
Pancake Breakfast
Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
2 Pancakes, 2 sausages, $3.00
Other menu items available
Oasis Cafe is open 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday.
Breakfast is served each day.
Drop in any time for a coffee and goodies.
CARNIVAL!
McArthur Island
Sunny Weather: West of Norbrock Stadium
Rainy Weather: Youth Centre Gym
Wednesday, June 11
11 am - 2:30 pm
To stay informed about their
progress, please check out
Games!
• Lunch $5 (payable at the park)
Entertainment ~ Old Time Fiddlers
Bingo • Bocce • Blackjack • Balloon Darts
• Old Fashioned Baked Beans and Burger Bar-B-Que
Please call 828-3500 to register
(this is so we know approximately how many lunches to prepare).
the Park website at
www.kamloopswildlife.org
Prizes!
Program #39493