Page 14 The Colebrook Chronicle Friday , February 17 , 2017
Around The Region
About a foot of fluffy white snow has coated everything north and south of the border this week . Corey Bellam photo .
UPCOMING SHERBROOKE WINTER CARNIVAL
The 51st edition of the Sherbrooke Winter Carnival is just around the corner . The fun all kicks off on Saturday , Feb . 25 , with three venues to include downtown Sherbrooke , Parc Jacques Cartier and Mont Bellevue Parc .
All will be alive with activities for both young and old to include blow-up games , snow tubing , dog sledding , zip line , euro-bungee , horse-drawn wagon rides and much more to experience all weekend long . Admission is $ 10 and all are welcome to attend .
– Corey Bellam
FLU STRAIN HITS EASTERN TOWNSHIPS While out and about this past weekend , we decided to stop in at the Centre Intergre Universitaire de Sante et de Services Sociaux de l ' Estrie Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke at 110 Lafontaine Street in East Angus . It is a rest home that offers short-term and longterm care to its patients , as well as therapy in one side . This rest home opened last fall and is now offering care to many up above the border .
There has recently been a very severe flu breakout that packed all hospitals , so many patients were brought to this rest home to make room at the hospital . Around a dozen were brought to this site , and many are still there .
The flu seems to have a tight hold on the Eastern Townships and most of Quebec . Last week , the amount of flu-related cases went down , but this week it is rising again at Sherbrooke Hospitals .
The flu bug that is hitting the Townships so hard is the H3N2 strain of the flu . This strain is covered by the flu shots many of the population received last fall . This shot covers the H3N2 and is said to be 42 % effective . Last year , the flu shot was 0 % effective . The situation at the hospital is stable but extremely fragile and can change very fast from day to day . The hospital emergency rooms are full to capacity , and very often overfilled . The rate of flu changes hourly . It is advised that the best way to avoid the flu is hand washing hand use of hand sanitizers .
– Corey Bellam
TEN YEARS AFTER FAMED SNOW STORM This reporter has just finished shoveling out after the last snow storm that dropped very close to a foot of the white stuff on the Eastern Townships and Northern New England this past week . It gave us reason to stop and think about Feb . 14 , 2007 , when well over two feet of snow fell in less than 24 hours , amidst high winds . The roads were blocked solid in most of Southern Quebec that day . The streets in Sherbrooke were full of snow . Plows were stuck . A young lady was stranded in a car in the heart of Sherbrooke and having a baby . Rescue workers used snowmobiles to reach her and transport her and baby to the hospital .
We remember that day all too well . We plowed snow all day and half the night that day back in 2007 . We remember seeing deer in our field trying to cross , stuck in the snow storm , some of which unfortunately froze right in their tracks . It certainly made this past week ’ s storm seem bearable in comparison .
– Corey Bellam
The rest home in East Angus has seen an influx of activity with overflow patients from local hospitals being placed here , to make room for flu treatment at the hospitals . Corey Bellam photo .
Steam was rising at the former Cascades Paper Mill , now Graphic Packaging International , in East Angus , Que . This huge paper production plant employs many from East Angus and the surrounding towns . Corey Bellam photo .
Obituaries
Claire G . Owen
CLAIRE G . OWEN
COLEBROOK – Claire G . Owen , 96 , of Colebrook , passed away early Saturday morning , Feb . 11 , 2017 , at the Coos County
Nursing Hospital in W . Stewartstown surrounded by members of her loving family .
She was born in Bath , Me ., on July 7 , 1920 , a daughter to the late Matthew and Adelle ( Moore ) Greenleaf . Claire was raised in Sanford , Maine , and graduated from Farmington State Normal School in 1941 . She began a long teaching career at the Cone School in Columbia that same fall .
Claire came to the Colebrook school to teach 6th grade in 1943 . Her teaching career in Colebrook continued for the next 34 years , where she had three generations of students from many local families . She married Frank Owen in 1944 . Since 1961 , she enjoyed many wonderful times at Kamptukumtu on Diamond Pond with her family .
She was a member of the Monadnock Congregational Church in Colebrook , the American Legion Auxiliary , and a member and Past Matron and Past Grand Ruth of the Eureka Chapter # 2 , Order of the Eastern Star , also serving as secretary for the chapter for 17 years . She was also active in the local PTA when her children were in school . She was a member and past president of the Metallak Retired Teachers Association . Following her retirement from teaching , Claire continued to do volunteer work at UCVH , for the chamber of commerce , and the blood bank . She was an avid bridge player , as well .
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