“Barriere is going to submit a letter of request to meet with the Minister of Health to reaffirm our concern about the lack of available ambulance response people that is currently happening in the community,” commented District of Barriere CAO Bob Payette in an interview with the Star Journal last Monday.
Payette was referring to a letter provided to district council that was sent to B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix, from Barriere EMR paramedics, Heather Eustache and Deb Stamer.
The paramedics voiced great concern regarding the lack of staffing in Barriere and other rural community ambulance stations due to revised regulations regarding Emergency Medical Responders (EMR) and Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) patient service authorizations with B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS).
“We definitely want to have a conversation and try to meet with the appropriate ministers regarding these concerns with our first responders,” said the CAO, “It’s really very complicated, but the big question is who is going to transport the patients in rural areas? Hopefully, we can meet with the appropriate minister and other municipalities, possibly at the UBCM (Union of B.C. Municipalities) in September.”
Regarding other business in the community, an EV charging station is slated to be installed in Fadear Park at the bandshell, hopefully sometime later this year.
The dog park next to the Elementary School on Airfield Road is “just awaiting water line connects” and will then be ready for use. Street sweeping in Barriere has been completed, and crack sealing on the town’s roadways took place on May 30.
Payette said the district has now returned to Stage One Water Restrictions as of May 31, 2022, with the exception that permits the watering of new sod or newly seeded laws for the first seven days following installation during the Stage 1 prescribed watering times. You can find the Stage 1 Watering Restrictions on the District of Barriere’s website by going to: https://www.barriere. ca/p/local-notices
“A lot of people are keen and excited to be back to stage one,” said the CAO. “Now they can water gardens, etc., but we are noticing a number of houses are not following the stage one restrictions. We need people to water on their appropriate days, and in this way we can track the data from the water and well usage. We really need people to stick to their days and times, plus people won’t be getting confused about what day they should be watering.”
Payette says the district is keeping an eye on the possibility that a jump in temperature or excessive rain may be a concern for flooding, and that any area residents who have concerns their property may flood should area waterways start to rise can find sand and sand bags available outside the Barriere Search and Rescue hall.
“District staff meet with EMBC and TNRD staff weekly to keep aware of the high water level situation,” said the CAO, adding, “Barriere is going ahead with implementing the Voyent Alert system for its residents, and expects the system to be launched very soon.”
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