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THE OLDEST wEEKLY NEwSPAPER IN THE CANADIAN wEST
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Volume 131 Issue 47 Friday, January 31, 2014 www.minnedosatribune.com 90 cents plus tax
Weacknowledgethe
nancial support of the
Government of Canada
throughthe
CanadaPeriodical Fund
of theDepartment of
CanadianHeritage.
Need help with your RRSP Decision?
Our knowledgeable staf are here to help you
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Call Jef Dusessoy at 204-867-6357 or
Carol Taylor at 204-867-6368

By JENNIFER PAIGE
E
very year in facilities across the country, staf, stu-
dents, parents and public health battle with the
infestation of head lice. And while its a common issue
year-after-year, there still seems to be stigma attached.
Tere shouldnt be a stigma around this issue.
Anyone can get it, it is a common issue and it is really
a community problem. Te only way that it can be tak-
en care of is if people are willing to work together and
communicate to control it, said April Prokopchuk, lo-
cal public health nurse with Prairie Mountain Health
Authority.
Tere are a number of myths surrounding head
lice that may have contributed to the attached stigma.
Despite what many people think, lice and nits are not
caused by poor hygiene, they cannot jump from scalp-
to-scalp and they do not cause or carry disease.
Te fact of the matter is that anyone and everyone
can get head lice. Its the most common in younger,
school-aged children. Schools can often act as a focal
point for transmission as it is a place where a number of
children are in contact every day.
Lice are very small insects, about the size of a sesa-
me seed. Tey live on peoples scalps and are typically
found along the neckline and behind the ears. Tey can
be grey, cream or tan colored and when they bite, the
scalp can become itchy and red.
Transmission usually occurs through contact of
personal items that touch the head and nape of the
neck. Hats, helmets, furry coat collars, scarves, hair
brushes, combs and hair ornaments are the usual sus-
pects.
Every year around the same time we see this issue
arise and it always seems to peak around the time that
winter gear comes out. Many times in a rush to get out
the door for recess kids forget the importance of keep-
ing personal itemspersonal, added James Sheppard,
principal of Tanners Crossing Elementary School.
Continued on Page 3
Control through
Communication
Battling Head Lice
Celebrating 100 Years
Photos by Jennifer Paige
By JENNIFER PAIGE
T
he small community of Clanwilliam celebrated an
impressive 100 year anniversary of its Clanwilliam
Curling Club this week. Te community commemorated
its 100 years of curling action with a week of events in-
cluding their annual mixed bonspiel.
In the last 30 to 40 years we have seen many small
communities diminish and as you drive through these
communities you will notice curling rinks overgrown
with weeds and falling down, but here in Clanwilliam we
have managed to buck the trend. Our curling rink con-
tinues to be something that draws people together and
opens its doors to anyone, said Doug Dowsett, curling
club member and speaker at the Clubs opening ceremo-
nies on the evening of Tuesday, January 28th.
Continued on Page 5
Te opening ceremonies of the 100th anniversary bonspiel of the Clanwilliam
Curling Club were held Tuesday evening. Te bonspiel runs until Sunday, February 2nd.