The Current brings Valley readers the following recent news items.
Metro, Pharmasave, Valu-Mart adopt 9-step guide to prevent the spread of COVID-19
- Shop alone.
- Limit the number of shopping trips.
- Respect rules of social distancing (2 metres)
- Limit handling of products.
- Pay with a card.
- At checkout minimize contact and respect social distance.
- Respect any product limits per customer.
- Wash your hands before and after shopping.
- Please be patient and courteous with staff and other customers.
Total Fire Ban coming says MV Fire Chief
After April 1st, Madawaska Valley residents are accustomed to being able to purchase burn permits. But due to the pandemic, Fire Chief Corwin Quade told The Current, “I am putting on a total fire ban, Hasting Highlands has also issued the same sort of ban. BLR and KHR are at level 1. The reason behind the ban is we are trying to prevent any sort of wildfire calls due to the ongoing virus issues. The fine for disobeying the ban is $615 fine, $485 per truck per hour, and $30 and hour per fire fighter minimum of 2 hours.”
Quade says costs can mount up quickly. “For a wildfire one pumper, one tanker and a rescue truck responds to this sort of call and an average of ten fire fighters.” He says with the admin fee, HST and the fine, “The total would be $4,355.30.”
Spring freshet: so far, so good
Quade is MV’s Community Emergency Management Coordinator (CEMC) and as such he participates in regular calls with government and local partners who monitor the likelihood of spring flooding in the Valley. He told The Current the spring freshet is behaving as a “normal year, so far no real flooding concerns.”
SFMH and Valley Manor seek volunteers to sew face masks
Both St. Francis Memorial Hospital (SFMH) and Valley Manor are looking for volunteers in our community to help make material masks for our healthcare workers. If you know how to sew and are interested in helping, they would love to hear from you.
As there is a limited supply of materials, please use your own reserves of materials. The masks require fabric that is 100 percent cotton, tightly woven. Please use clips instead of pins if possible and use a ballpoint needle on the sewing machine. Ball point needles separate the fabric instead of putting a hole in the fabric.
It is important that a consistent pattern be used – please see below for each institution.
For SFMH:
Click HERE for a printable pattern.
Click BELOW to watch a YouTube video.
Mask drop-off and pick-ups will be arranged without in-person contact. If you have any further questions or are able to help, please contact Christine Hudder at christine@sfvhfoundation.com or 613-585-0518.
For Valley Manor:
Click HERE for a printable pattern.
Click BELOW to watch an instruction video:
Please put any masks you make in a plastic bag and drop them off at the front entrance to Valley Manor in the labelled bin. If you need masks picked up, please call Valley Manor activities department at 613-756-2643, extension 225. We ask if volunteers are picking up that you leave the masks outside. You may also call if you have questions or difficulty with the pattern.
Both institutions say,
Thank you for sharing your time and skills. It is very much appreciated!
Barry’s Bay Railway Station offers FREE WiFi Hot Spot
No internet at home? Wish you could take advantage of online resources during the pandemic? Madawaska Valley is providing a WiFi spot at the Railway Station. Please adhere to all SOCIAL DISTANCING rules when accessing WiFi from the parking lot and surrounding area (e.g. Remain in your vehicle or if you do not have a vehicle please keep at least 2 meters/6 feet of distance between anyone else in the area). Look for RAILWAY GUEST and sign in with password: Madawaska
