Travellers with trips booked to southern Asia are advised to check the
fine print on their cancellation insurance.
John Hamilton, director of BCAA Travel Services, says people with
tickets to the region should not assume they can cancel without cost.
Only specific regions of some countries hit by the tsunamis may qualify
for refunds.Full
story
This was the week the flu season was expected to kick into high gear but,
still, there's not much of it around. The Chief Medical Health Officer
for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority says there are a couple of cases
of the flu around but nothing to be of any concern.Full
story
Fish Story With ProofThey weren't looking for a catch this big!
A commercial fishing boat recently caught a 1035 pound Great White shark
just off Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
While the ocean vessel Dawn Raider was commercial fishing for dogfish,
a Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15
minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look. That was long
enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope around it's tail and
that's when the trouble began.
The Shark reportedly took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards
through the water at about 7 Knots. The boat was taking on water over the
stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely
out of the water at times.
This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned.
Fishermen suspect the shark followed a weak El Nino current into waters
off Ucluelet in search of food.
News Release The Better Business Bureau and the BC Crime Prevention Association
are issuing this joint media alert to caution the public about indiscriminate
donations of money to help out relief agencies following the tsunami disaster
in South Asia on December 26, 2004.
Many natural disasters throughout the world spark the desire to help
out victims in several different ways and the public can express and fulfill
such needs through donations to legitimate charities. Unfortunately, there
is a dark side to relief efforts when fraudsters exploit the natural desire
to give in times of need. The sheer enormity of this particular disaster
in South Asia and the pleas for large-scale financial aid may blind some
donors, who have good intentions, to the potential for fraudulent canvassing
– this is exactly what some fraudsters are counting on!
At the time of issue of this release there have been no reported incidents
in British Columbia of fraudulent solicitations purportedly to support
the disaster relief efforts, however the Bureau and the Association consider
it timely to warn donors of the potential for fraud in this situation.
The Canadian Red Cross has appealed for cash donations for the “South
East Asia Earthquake and Tidal Wave Relief” and British Columbians can
read about the appeal on the Red Cross website at: http://www.chsredcross.org
where there are links to enable the public to facilitate their donations.
If you wish to donate, the Bureau and the BC Crime Prevention Association
urges you to choose from recognized agencies and financial institutions
as published through media announcements. “We regularly like to remind
British Columbians to check out the validity of fundraisers and determine
how their donation will be used before contributing”, said Sheila Charneski,
President of the BBB. “Regardless of the charity chosen, it is important
to ensure that a tax receipt is obtained. All legitimate charities can
issue such receipts.”
Posted: December
30 / 4:45 pm
Story# 6146 / Contributed
