We are writing on behalf of the Penticton branch of the Canadian Red Cross Health Equipment Loan Program. The program offers medical equipment to individuals in the community for short-term (up to three months) or palliative use.

Each year, the national HELP program lends much-needed health equipment to thousands of Canadians dealing with illness or injury, empowering them to live full and independent lives. We supply items such as crutches, wheelchairs, bathroom aids, walkers and much, much more.

The program is presently available to our community Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and we are very concerned that these hours may have to be cut back. The program is run by volunteers and some have left, or are about to leave, for winters in warmer areas, while others have moved on to associated programs such as our palliative program.

With flu season coming, we are worried that illness of the volunteers may affect the program’s availability or wear out our present pool of dedicated volunteers. So we are asking for assistance to keep the program running as it is presently without having to cut back services.

We are looking for individuals who would enjoy volunteering their time and skills to assist with client service, cleaning equipment and office duties. Volunteers help select and fit medical equipment to the client according to professional referrals. They do not need to know about medical equipment, as training is provided. All our volunteers also learn to deal with the paperwork and cleaning of the equipment.

We provide training, support and opportunity for you to help. In return we ask for a commitment of a maximum of four hours a week. It is an opportunity to not only help others, but learn new skills and have a good time. Please consider volunteering your time to this very worthwhile program and call the Penticton HELP depot at 250-493-7533 to learn more.

The program operates on donations alone, and gets no other financial assistance. If you are unable to donate your time to assist those in our community living with illness or injury, perhaps you can make a financial contribution to help ensure the program will continue. Thank you.

Lynne Napper, HELP co-team leader

Dara Murphy, HELP co-team leader

Penticton branch of the Canadian Red Cross

Body armour not to blame

It’s no wonder the Body Armour Control Act is a ‘first in Canada.’ One would have to be extremely naïve to believe that banning body armour would reduce the potential for violence in public places.

If our solicitor general is serious about public safety, he would instead encourage people to wear body armour to protect them from stray bullets, just as we are required to wear helmets and use seatbelts.

Penalizing citizens for wearing protective gear is about as stupid as it can get, and waiting for Premier Campbell and his gang of rubber stamps to declare war on organized crime and illegal drugs could also be a long one.

A world-class drug trade potentially could yield a cool billion dollars in HST revenues, as drug money flows through our B.C. economy, and Campbell is becoming desperate for that cash to pay for the Olympics.

The police are caught between a rock and a hard place (our politicians and the courts), and we cannot blame them for embracing anything that might help in their hopeless fight against crime and criminals, but they need more effective tools, like mandatory minimum sentences for weapons-related crimes.

Andy Thomsen

Summerland

Bearing bouquets

Today I would like to offer bouquets — one to the keep-fit class at the Legion on Mondays and Thursdays, not too strenuous for older people.

Another bouquet goes to Gary Litke, the Penticton councillor who realizes how hard it is for those on very marginal incomes to deal with extra costs for necessary health care.

It is fine to have price increase for those with cash flow that goes beyond necessary items — but for those who only get enough to pay basic essentials of life those increases can create real hardship.

R. Fowler

Penticton

Setting the stage

It is exciting to see that regardless of the economic situation and major cutbacks to cultural groups that there are success stories in Penticton.

At a recent meeting of Penticton Chamber Theatre, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2010, the members laid out an ambitious and exciting program for its future. One decision that was made was to ensure that each year Penticton has an entry in the O-Zone Festival, which takes place at one of Theatre B.C.’s member theatres in the valley. The winning entry from that festival goes to Mainstage, where they compete with winners from across the province.

The play the chamber chose to enter in 2010 is Tartuffe by Moliere, beautifully translated by Ranjit Bolt, a rollicking comedy set in the time of Louis XIV in France. The play will be directed by Josephine Patterson, one of the founding members of Chamber Theatre. Auditions for Tartuffe will be held on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at Okanagan College Lecture Hall. Chamber Theatre encourages anyone interested in becoming part of the dynamic theatre scene in Penticton and helping Chamber Theatre celebrate their 10th anniversary to come out.

Chamber Theatre is well known for presenting Shakespearean plays outdoors every summer and will continue with that as well as undertaking some fundraising events to assist other groups in the area who are having to deal with budget cutbacks. It is truly a creative community at work.

Sharon Amos, president

Penticton Chamber Theatre