(Wednesday, April 21, 2010) Courtenay, BC – As part of the Brain Injury Awareness Month, the Comox Valley Head Injury Society (CVHIS) is proud to present their 17th Annual G & B Johnson Brain Injury Conference entitled Brain Injury: It’s In Your Community at the Best Western Hotel in Courtenay on June 17th & 18th 2010, featuring Ron Skelton, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria and Michael Joschko, Ph.D., Registered Psychologist.

The goal of CVHIS is to create awareness in the community and invite everyone to attend. An agenda, speaker information, and registration form is available at www.cvhis.org. The community can benefit from being better informed of brain injury as it is a problematic result of our continued need to increase the speed of life. Many are not aware that even a concussion can be classified as a head injury and is in fact the most common. Be a part of the solution by better educating yourself and those you love.

With any type of brain injury, a life is changed in an instant forever. With medical advances, many people that would have died in previous years are now surviving severe brain injuries. Survivors and their family can be significantly affected financially, socially and emotionally. The estimated costs to Canadians associated with TBI are upwards of $3 million annually. Some survivors recover quite functionally, while others require a lifetime of support. This year approximately 6,000 Canadians will become permanently disabled from TBI and over 160,000 will suffer a brain injury. Broken down, that is 456 people per day or one person every 3 minutes.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a result of an impact to the head or forces causing damaging brain movement. Lead causes of TBI include car accidents, sports injuries, and even simple falls but differ by age group. TBI is the leading cause of death and disability among children which can be caused by violence. Non-traumatic brain injury (called acquired brain injury) can be caused by illnesses such as encephalitis, epilepsy, and brain tumors. An anoxic episode is where oxygen flow to the brain is compromised. This can be caused by events such as a stoke, cardiac arrest, or a near-drowning experience.

The results of a brain injury are unique to each survivor. Some similarities between survivors often include; memory loss, headaches, impaired reasoning skills, reduced emotional control abilities, and sensory impairment. Although recovery is dependent on a number of factors facing each individual, it is important to recognize that the survivor has changed and cannot be “fixed”.

The community of survivors, family members, and caregivers we support show remarkable initiative in their progress of recovery. It takes significant courage and hard work for everyone involved in order to achieve successful rehabilitation. CVHIS is primarily operational thanks to the involvement and dedication by survivors and volunteers. Because of this organizational structure, CVHIS provides increasing services for members.

Presenting this upcoming conference enables CVHIS to provide information that will assist in support and prevention of head injuries. The community at large will benefit from this event and are encouraged to seek further information through our services.

If you would like more information on this event, or the organization in general, please contact Heather Wade or Andréa Grigg at 250-334-9225 or at info@cvheadinjury.com.

All roads closed on November 16, 2009 by flooding are now open.

Flows in the Puntledge, Courtenay, Tsolum and Browns River have dropped significantly since yesterday, and we are not anticipating any significant flooding at this time.

BC Hydro continues to manage flows into the Puntledge River at the Comox Dam.

River levels are being monitored both by the City and BC Hydro, and updates will be provided on this website and through local media.

The Comox Valley Emergency Program Coordinator is contacting the Provincial Emergency Program to determine if Disaster Financial Assistance will be available.

Massive flooding has forced emergency officials to close the bridges and several streets as flood waters rise. BC Hydro is also expected to be forced to release large amounts of water from the dam which will not help the situation.

As of 9:30 this morning the Dyke Road (into Comox) was still open, but it is expected that it will not remain so for much longer.

Word is schools are also closing early, so it is advised to just stay home and avoid the heavy congestion as people try to figure out how to cross the river!

The following is a press release  from the Comox Valley Regional District:

Thanks to the support of 23 local businesses and local governments, banners for the 2010 Olympic Games will be flying all over the Comox Valley.

The banners, heralding the 2010 Winter Olympics, will appear on Comox Valley streets and buildings, beginning around the middle of October. They will be on the streets when the Olympic torch is run through the Comox Valley on November 2nd, and will then be seen in many shops and businesses throughout the valley until the close of the Olympic Games held in Vancouver and Whistler in February 2010.

“We sold over 200 banners in a very short time,” said Ken Grant, member of the Comox Valley Olympic torch relay committee in charge of the banner program. “It was really heartening to have the immediate response from local governments and businesses, and it will be great to see the banners everywhere around the Comox Valley.”

The banners are approximately 6 feet x 2.5 feet in size and are locally made by Speed-Pro Signs in Courtenay. The organizations that have purchased banners are:
Mt. Washington Alpine Resort, Comox Valley Airport Commission, Royal Bank of Canada, Watson & Ash, Coast Realty Group, Gas & Go, Ives Burger Law, Coldwell Banker, Comox Valley Economic Development, Old House Village Suites, Presley & Partners Chartered Accountants, Tim Horton’s, Rice Toyota, Brian McLean ChevOlds, Best Western Westerly Hotel, Re/Max Ocean Pacific Realty, Beaufort Winery, Pateman & Company, Shelter Point Distillery Corporation, Town of Comox, Village of Cumberland, City of Courtenay, and the Comox Valley Regional District.

The Olympic Flame will visit the Comox Valley on November 2 as one of approximately 200 celebration communities during its 106-day journey across the country. The torch relay will visit every province and territory, including Canada’s most northern, southern and eastern points, before arriving back in the host province of British Columbia for the start of the Games on February 12, 2010.

Due to the continuing extreme dry weather and high fire hazard, the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is implementing a ban on fires at its Goose Spit regional park effective Friday July 31st, and continuing until further notice.

This ban follows the provincial government’s fire ban and is undertaken in the name of safety of property and surrounding flammable landscape.

“The CVRD is exercising caution during these very dry conditions,” said fire services manager James Bast. “Several jurisdictions have followed the province’s lead in implementing local bans, and we have assessed the situation at Goose Spit and have determined that a ban at this time would be in the public interest.”

Although only a portion of the spit is CVRD parkland, there are Department of National Defence structures along one end and, vegetation all along the spit and bluffs covered in grass and shrubs nearby.

“The regional district requests the community’s full cooperation in adhering to this ban,” said Bast.

The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is a partnership of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing nearly 60,000 residents with 85 services — from parks to full-service sports facilities to a solid waste system that serves both the CVRD and the Strathcona Regional District.

While the chances of contracting swine flu are very slim, there are some extra precautions you can take to help prevent the contraction and spread of this, and the regular flu. In today’s Record, the BC Government has posted an ad on what you can do to protect yourself.

• When you sneeze, use a disposable tissue
• Try to cough into your sleeve
• Wash your hands often with soap and water
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
• If you’re sick, stay home

If you are worried, the best place to start is not the emergency room. It is by getting the right answers. If you are feeling ill or have questions about swine flue call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 or visit www.fightflu.ca

Saturday: 16 cm
Sunday: 24 cm
Monday: 1 cm
Tuesday: 3 cm
Wednesday: 0 cm
Thursday: 3 cm
Friday: 10 cm

Forecast shows:
Tuesday Evening less than 1 cm
Tuesday Overnight 1-3 cm
Wednesday 5-10 cm

Its also expected to be cold for the next little while with temperatures dipping as low as -12 for Sat, followed by -8 and more snow on Sunday.

Thursday, Friday, and Sat this week are all expected to be Sunny, with temperatures ranging from -6 to -12.

Be sure to bundle up and cross your fingers that some of this snow, or some fresh stuff, is here for Christmas!

BC PROVINCIAL ELECTION 2009

If you are looking for Provincial Election Results for 2009, Please Click Here

The elections are now over, and the results from all your voting this past weekend are as follows. (These results are as noted on the official City of Courtenay, Town of Comox, Village of Cumberland, and Regional District websites. All results are noted as preliminary.

City of Courtenay

Mayor
Greg Phelps

Councilors
Larry Jangula
Jon Ambler
Manno Theos
Ronna-Rae Leonard
Murray Presley
Don McRae

School Trustee
Janice Caton
Danny White

City of Comox

Mayor
Paul Ives

Councilors
Ken Grant
Marcia Turner
Patti Fletcher
Tom Grant
Ray Crossley
Russ Arnott

School Trustee
Fran Goldberg

Village of Cumberland

Mayor
Fred Bates

Councilors
Gwyn Sproule
Leslie Baird
Bronco Moncrief
Kate Greening

Electorial Area A

CVRD Director
Bruce Jolliffe

School District 71 Trustee
Lori Fowler

Electoral Area B

CVRD Director
Jim Gillis

School District 71 Trustee
Tom Weber

Electoral Area C

CVRD Director
Edwin Grieve

School District 71 Trustee
Susan Barr

Island Trust Trustees

Denman Island
Louise Bell & David Graham

Hornby Island
Fred Hunt & Tony Law

All users supplied by the Comox Valley Water System including the City of Courtenay and Town of Comox will have strictly enforced sprinkler restrictions in place until Sept 30. (The regulations are actually in place year round, but strict enforcement runs between June 01 and Sept 30.

Sprinkling is permitted before 7:00 am and after 7:00 pm on even days or odd days where the last digit in your address is even or odd respectively.

Hand watering of your lawn is permitted at any time.