COMMUNITY KEEPING AN ALERT EYE OUT

Some thoughts on a few different topics this week:

For starters, a pair of programs asking the community members to keep an
eye out on itself.

The City Watch program, launched last week by local CUPE members who work
for the Town of Ladysmith, involves outside workers trained to keep a
lookout for strange or suspicious activity in the community.

As these workers go about their jobs, they're also making our streets a
little safer by acting as another set of eyes and ears for local authorities.

It's hard to argue with that.

A second program, the RCMP's Coastal Watch, asks boaters and other marine
goers to keep an alert eye out for strange or suspicious activity on the
water, in an attempt to fight drug smuggling.

Anyone familiar with day-to-day marine activity can help the police, simply
by staying alert to anything out of the ordinary on the water. See our
story on page 5 for more information.

In health care, we're expecting to learn today just what the implications
are going to be for Ladysmith and Chemainus Hospitals.

And while the nature of the impending changes has been kept hush-hush, one
thing remains certain, there will be changes.

For us in Ladysmith and Chemainus, it will undoubtedly mean going further
afield for certain health care services, while other services will likely
be shuffled a bit to fill in a few gaps.

So brace yourself, folks, for better or worse, local health care is about
to undergo some alterations.

Sticking with health, it seems a few eager walkers are willing to take
their health into their own hands by ignoring warning signs in Crofton. The
community's seawalk is nearing completion, but isn't quite done yet, that's
why the 'Keep Out' signs are still up - and yes, they are there for a
reason and they do apply to you.