Barb Brouwer

Snow shovel woes: How to avoid injuries in the day-to-day of winter

Snow shovel woes: How to avoid injuries in the day-to-day of winter

Physiotherapists see influx of clients during winter months

Snow shovel woes: How to avoid injuries in the day-to-day of winter
Sockeye Salmon swim in the Adams River towards their spawning grounds in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park on Sunday, Oct. 12. (File photo)

Returning Shuswap sockeye drop by 700,000

Sockeye returning to local spawning grounds down by almost 700,000 fish

Sockeye Salmon swim in the Adams River towards their spawning grounds in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park on Sunday, Oct. 12. (File photo)
Blind since birth, Jody Hanna has found a way to let her creativity shine at Salmon Arm’s Inclusive Arts on Hudson Avenue. (Jodi Brak/Salmon Arm Observer)

Blind B.C. artist uses fingers for creative vision

Shuswap art studio helps people with special needs express themselves

Blind since birth, Jody Hanna has found a way to let her creativity shine at Salmon Arm’s Inclusive Arts on Hudson Avenue. (Jodi Brak/Salmon Arm Observer)
Stephanie Weightman began trying to access daycare services for her daughter, Quinn, when she was just three months pregnant. With her maternity leave over and some holiday time used up, the young mother is running out of time to find qualified daycare. (Photo submitted)

Childcare crisis looms over B.C. Interior

Shuswap parents frustrated by lack of spaces while care providers struggle to find qualified staff

Stephanie Weightman began trying to access daycare services for her daughter, Quinn, when she was just three months pregnant. With her maternity leave over and some holiday time used up, the young mother is running out of time to find qualified daycare. (Photo submitted)
Columbia Shuswap Regional District firefighters attack a blaze in a home on Centennial Road in Blind Bay on Monday, Jan. 14.                                (Sean Coubrough photo)

Dog dies saving B.C. family from burning home

Homeowners safe but one pet missing, another confirmed dead following fire

Columbia Shuswap Regional District firefighters attack a blaze in a home on Centennial Road in Blind Bay on Monday, Jan. 14.                                (Sean Coubrough photo)
A BC Coroner’s Report that provides confirmed and suspected illicit overdose deaths indicates that between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2018, there were 32 deaths per 100,000 individuals in the Interior Health Authority – the second highest in the province. (File photo)

Use of street drugs in B.C. Interior compared to playing Russian roulette

Overdose deaths spike in Interior Health over past five years, help available

A BC Coroner’s Report that provides confirmed and suspected illicit overdose deaths indicates that between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2018, there were 32 deaths per 100,000 individuals in the Interior Health Authority – the second highest in the province. (File photo)
This fieldfare, a member of the thrush family, was spotted among a flock of robins during the annual Salmon Arm Bird Count on Dec. 16. This is only the second time the bird, which is native to northern Europe and Asia, has been seen in B.C. (Roger Beardmore photo)

Rare Russian bird sighting sees birdwatchers flock to the B.C. Shuswap

The fieldfare, a member of the thrush family, might have made its way to B.C. from Russia

This fieldfare, a member of the thrush family, was spotted among a flock of robins during the annual Salmon Arm Bird Count on Dec. 16. This is only the second time the bird, which is native to northern Europe and Asia, has been seen in B.C. (Roger Beardmore photo)
Shuswap Children’s Association physiotherapist is Estera Hazlewood is teaching four-year-old Oli Brooks how to push a button on an adaptive car. The association is unable to provideOli with the number of hours he requires for his complex needs. (Zev Tiefenbach photo)

Provincial funds not adequate for four-year-old boy’s health needs

Only Shuswap Children’s Association funded to help, but not enough for young Oliver

Shuswap Children’s Association physiotherapist is Estera Hazlewood is teaching four-year-old Oli Brooks how to push a button on an adaptive car. The association is unable to provideOli with the number of hours he requires for his complex needs. (Zev Tiefenbach photo)
Chélie Elsom stands in front of bags of recyclable plastics in Salmon Arm, plastics that, in B.C., will be remanufactured into new items. Elsom has created a petition she hopes will be presented in the House of Common, asking for a national strategy that will prohibit the use of single-use plastic. (Lachlan Labere/Salmon Arm Observer)

BC resident calls for national plan to tackle plastic

Shuswap petition calls for zero plastic waste in Canada by 2030

Chélie Elsom stands in front of bags of recyclable plastics in Salmon Arm, plastics that, in B.C., will be remanufactured into new items. Elsom has created a petition she hopes will be presented in the House of Common, asking for a national strategy that will prohibit the use of single-use plastic. (Lachlan Labere/Salmon Arm Observer)
Hundreds lined the shores of Adams River on Saturday Oct. 13 (Carmen Weld/Black Press Media)

Sockeye run in Shuswap expected to be close to 2014 numbers

Salute to the Sockeye on Adams River continues until Sunday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m.

Hundreds lined the shores of Adams River on Saturday Oct. 13 (Carmen Weld/Black Press Media)
Delegates to a conference in Salmon Arm were told that Forest Nursery Association of BC (FNABC) members are considered to be world leaders in tree growing practices and stand ready to help grow the hundreds of millions of trees that will result from Forest Enhancement Society BC sponsored initiatives. (FNABC photo)

A B.C. society helps to reforest Crown land after wildfires

Forest Enhancement Society of BC focuses on wildfire mitigation and the reforestation

Delegates to a conference in Salmon Arm were told that Forest Nursery Association of BC (FNABC) members are considered to be world leaders in tree growing practices and stand ready to help grow the hundreds of millions of trees that will result from Forest Enhancement Society BC sponsored initiatives. (FNABC photo)
Summer sockeye stocks have been returning to spawning grounds at Scotch Creek and Anstey and Seymour rivers while late-run sockeye that call the Shuswap home, including the Adams and Eagle rivers, will soon be on their way. (File photo)

VIDEO: Millions of sockeye to spawn on B.C. rivers

Early estimates are that 2.2 million of those fish will make their way to the Adams River

Summer sockeye stocks have been returning to spawning grounds at Scotch Creek and Anstey and Seymour rivers while late-run sockeye that call the Shuswap home, including the Adams and Eagle rivers, will soon be on their way. (File photo)
20 years later, destructive ‘98 B.C. wildfire a reminder that fire fuels need to be cut

20 years later, destructive ‘98 B.C. wildfire a reminder that fire fuels need to be cut

Counsellor and fire chief look forward to new provincial program to reduce fire fuel.

20 years later, destructive ‘98 B.C. wildfire a reminder that fire fuels need to be cut