PO yacht eect elteald « BOO? aR ahs Habeaneanlal 52 - Wednesday, May 25, 1994 - North Shore News Chatter was too NEWS OF THE WEIRD iN MARCH, George William -. Corrao, 41, was charged in the shot- ‘gun death of his mother in Milwaukee. According to.police, Corrao became agitated while the two were watching television, because his mother was talking incesgantly about Olympic skater Dan Jansen. A recent news brief ran in the “Williams Lake Tribune -read: “ ‘Boosting the Ranks of the Nursing Profession.’ Say it ain’t so. Yes, our story Tuesday. about the ‘Registered Nurses’ Association of British Columbia helping nurses did contain a typo. RNABC vice-presi- ‘dent Grace Budreau said the associ- ation wanted to help nurses who were laid-off, not laid, as we erro- neously stated in-our story. We -. apologize to Grace and want to set the record straight for those rushing ‘out to enrol j in the nursing g school.” ” For some-unknown evolutionary - reason, cougars are afraid of all ~ dogs -— including dachshunds. --FRANKY& RALPH - Po HUMANS 4R Prog Pa mans re . TM SWE ue u em vovneie | adie 5 Compiled by A.P. McCredie The cougar, also known as the puma, mountain lion or panther, once had the largest range of any mammal in the western hemisphere and its beleagured populations are hanging on in western North America. When a little dog staris barking, a 150-pound cougar will climb a "Paisonals REPTILE. © 0.K, Elkins LEADBELLIES tree to escape. The Pacific Yew tree that grows along the B.C. coast was long con- sidered a worthless “junk” tree by loggers. Now it is extremely valu- able as a fife saver for treating ovar- ian cancer, A chemical found in the bark of the yew, culled taxol, is promising as a second-line treatment of the disease. But since stripping the bark kills the tree and it takes three trees to treat one patient, there is a concern that the population of this newly valuable tree could be destroyed for this use. Crug researchers are now study- ing a a possible sustainable alterna- tive — the European Yew, which seems to have enough taxol in its needles to make the drug. Needles can be harvested with- out killing the tree. Of all the prescription drugs used by humans, 25% come from chemicals extracted from plants. © Moira Manion ’ FP puta sweet, Lovasee “¢ POISONOUS REPTILE. NOW, OR HOLD IT TILL THE HALF? Health coverage for dependents HELPS — AT HAND Question: Our daughter is 19 years old, living at home, and going to school. When the rest of our family. received new CareCards for our B.C. medical coverage, she’ didn’t get one. I wrote a letter to B.C. Medical about it and now she has her CareCard and her coverage. I think that other parents should be aware their children’s cover- age could lapse without them knowing it. ‘ Answer: Medical Services Plan (MSP) tells us that you should have received a letter from them two months before your daugh- ler’s nineteenth birthday, notify- ing you that her coverage under your policy would end if she were not attending, school! full-time and still mainly supported by you. MSP rules say that students can stay under their parent’s medical coverage after 19 years of age as long as they are full-time students, are primarily supported by their parents, and are not married or , living common-law. They do not: have tobe living at home with parents to qualify. A full-time stu- dent can stay under his or her par- ent’s coverage to a maximum age of 25 years. a child is not in school full- time and is still living at home, they can only be covered by a par- | ent's policy until they turn 19. If they move out before age 19, there is also the option of staying on the parent's coverage, but after their nineteenth birthday, they would be responsible for their. own cover- age. Billing notices would be sent H. H. SHRI MATAMI NIRMALA DEVi Can Cease directly to them. There is a good chance that | many 19-year-olds are not aware that coverage under their parent’s policy: has. discontinued. As you can imagine, the risk:of being without medical coverage could be cathy. Uf money is the problem, read- ers should be ‘aware that ‘they can apply for reduced premium rates. : Assistance is available from MSP ona: temporary or longer, term basis. To find out about ijualifications’.. for premium assistance. or for fur- . ther.information about MSP, ‘call 683-7151 in the Lower Mainland. Other areas can.call toll-free. 1- 800-663-7100. Or write to Medical Services. . Plan, P.O. Box 2000, Victoria, ; B.C. V8W 2Y4. 7 Information given in this cal- umn is intended only as a general’: guide and should not be applied te specific circumstances without further consultation. This column - is prepared with financial assis- tance: from the’ Notary Foundation. ‘ vel hanes ne Ciongite or dodging. ‘save $3 reg.: JP offer ends May Cae Saturday, May 28, « 2300 pm - Presentation House . (off ti the North Lobby) featuring” Margaret Lord, MLA‘ and Members of the North Shore Health Regionalization Planning Committee. Bring your questions and comments. Childcare available. Interim Regional Health Board Nominations Ope n Until: June 24 | Think about getting involved. We need people with skills and experience who represent a cross-section of the community. Their: task includes the development of a health plan and the integration, of health care services on the North Shore. 5 For more information call the Health Regionalization Office at) ; "990-9088, #119 - ‘255 West Ist St, Nort Vancouver B €, v7™M AGE.