Over the Edge + December 9th, 2009 Greywolves Show Guns Who's Boss With 10-4 Win GRAHAM MACK CONTRIBUTOR First of all, you might be wonder- ing: who are the Greywolves? The Greywolves are a hockey team in the Shooters Pub Rec Hockey League that consists of many UNBC stu- dents. However, since they are not directly affiliated with UNBC the ‘wolves receive very little media at- tention or coverage of their games. So, while I hope you were cheering on the Timberwolves to four big wins over Quest, I attended my first rec hockey game in Prince George. Coincidentally, they were playing the Guns, a team from my home- town of Quesnel, who made the ill-fated choice to travel to Prince George and play the Greywolves. The Greywolves scored early and often in the first period as they notched the first goal of the game six minutes in. From that point on they never looked back and when the buzzer sounded to end the frame it was 4 — 1 ‘wolves. This was an impressive feat considering they played a substantial portion of the period shorthanded. The Guns opened the scoring in the second period but the Greywolves respond- ed to score three unanswered goals. Going into the third the‘wolves had a comfortable 7 — 2 lead. The third period started exactly the same as the second with the Guns opening the scoring, however they could not rally major comeback. The ‘wolves scored three quick goals and cruised to strong 10 — 4 win, It was solid game for the Grey- wolves despite the early penalty troubles. They managed to outwork the out-of-town Guns and domin- ate the pace of the game. If it werent for the Gun’s goalie, the score could have been considerably more lop- sided. While the Greywolves goal- tender saw limited action, he made some key saves to keep the game out of reach for the Guns. Most im- portantly, congratulations have to be sent out to the players sporting the classy mustaches for ‘Movem- ber’ Undoubtedly, Lanny McDon- ald would be proud. Despite the Greywolves solid on- ice product, attendance to the game was lacking. Most rec hockey games draw small crowds, a loyal contin- gent of friends, family, and girl- friends. But there is always room for more. If you're looking to watch some hockey but dont feel like spending you hard earned dollars on a Cougars game, the Greywolves play right next door to the CN Centre in the Kin facility, At this weeks deadline, the ‘wolves sched- ule has not been confirmed but prospective spectators can check www.recsms.com/league_index. cfm?LeagueID=1 for more infor- mation. Greywolves games are a 100% free but a warm coat is highly recommended to avoid hypother- mia in the inherently frigid Kin Centre. Furthermore, if you would like to see a local team actually win a game, the Greywolves are a good bet. They sport a record of 12 wins and 4 losses while the lowly Prince Geroge Cougars have the worst rec- ord in the WHL, with 4 wins and 20 losses. The Greywolves deserve some student support so if your ex- periencing some live hockey with- drawals, or you're a Leafs fan that can't remember what a win looks like, check out a‘wolves game in the near future. BACHELOR & BACHELORETTE PARTIES, MOXIES MONDAYS, CHRISTMAS LIGHT TOURS, FUN WITH FRIENDS, BIRTHDAYS, WEDDINGS (LARGE & SMALL), ANNIVERSARIES, AND MUCH MORE ANY TIME IS LIMO TIME! www.sweetdreamslimousine.com (250) 613-5607 wn ZN News 3 Cutting nurses from blood service chain raises fears of blood contamination ASHLEY GABOURY CUP CENTRAL BUREAU CHIEF WINNIPEG (CUP) - Nurses’ unions across Canada are voicing concerns that a request put forth to Health Canada by the Canadian Blood Services that proposes changes to current blood donor screening processes could affect the safety of Canada’s blood supply. In February of this year, Canadian Blood Services proposed a pilot project that would use trained clinical assistants to screen potential blood donors instead of nurses, and instead having nurses filling leadership roles at blood donation clinics. After the announcement, a number of nurses’ unions across Canada voiced their concerns to the proposed changes. In November, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions sent a second letter to federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkag detailing their objections to Canadian Blood Services’ proposed pilot project. “The Canadian Blood Services is convinced that they're going in the right direction regardless of the concerns of the nurses working for them,” said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. According to Ron Vezina, Canadian Blood Servi- ces spokesperson, a shortage of nurses across Canada is the chief reason for the proposed changes, as regis- tered nurses are currently the only clinic staff screening donors, “At any given month, we run a ten per cent shortage at CBS clinics and that certainly impedes our ability to collect sufficient quantities of blood . . . It is an oper- ational challenge for us to run at a ten per cent nursing shortage,’ said Vezina. He said that allowing clinical assistants to screen po- tential blood donors would also improve efficiency and flow, making it a better experience for donors in terms of shorter wait times. Canadian Blood Services, he continued, does not see it as necessary to have nurses conducting donor screening and that each clinic would still have at least two registered nurses on-site to provide necessary as- sistance. “The screening process is very prescriptive. There is a donor criteria selection manual that is very compre- hensive... [Nurses would be] available for escalation if there is anything that goes beyond routine in terms of screening the donors,’ he said. “We know [this type of process] works in other countries [including] the U.K. and the U.S. They've done so very safety and very effectively. Wed like to try it here in Canada.’ The clinical assistants would have to pass a program that is currently being developed by Canadian Blood Services in conjunction with Ottawa's Algonquin Col- lege. Silas said that the national nurses’ federation has urged the federal health minister not to approve the proposal put forth by Canadian Blood Services. The blood services organization, said Silas, “is suggest- ing that you will have nurses on site acting as advisors or manager. What we have found, with the exception of the U.S., is that yes, there are multi-skilled workers ... to do the questionnaire or the process of the blood donation, But [in other countries], if a donor has any problems, or it’s a first time donor or a donor that hasn't given in a long time, they are referred immediately to a nurse.” Marlene Brown, vice-president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses echoed Silas’ concerns saying that nurses have the unique skills necessary to interview blood donors — skills that trained clinical assistants may not have, “Registered nurses have a level of skill ...in interview- ing because they use all of their knowledge and their education, They will have different triggers for when to probe deeper for more questions,’ said Brown. Both Silas and Brown noted that in the 1980s, at least 2,000 people were infected with HIV and 30,000 in- fected with Hepatitis C after receiving tainted blood or blood products. The Krever Inquiry was set up in the wake of the mass problems, finding that careful screen- ing is essential to maintaining a safe blood supply. “We have a lot of experienced nurses working with the blood service program who were there when the safety recommendations were put in place and they don't want us to go backward,” said Silas. “We have a very safe blood product and blood service, and why risk it right at the point of donation?” According to Vezina, safety is the first and foremost priority of the Canadian Blood Services. “That’s why we want to do this pilot and prove that it is a model that makes sense — that it’s safe and also that it leverages our nurses and their special knowledge and their expertise in the role that we need them to be in.’ Vezina said Canadian Blood Services expects a re- sponse from Health Canada sometime within the new year as to whether or not they can proceed with a pilot project using skilled workers for screenings. Neutrons go cold JAMES JANZEN THE UNITER (UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG) WINNIPEG (CUP) — Ever wonder what you could do with a jar of neutrons unbound from their proton partners? University of Winnipeg physics professor Jeff Martin wonders this every day — and he's been given millions of dollars to show the world just how cool an ultracold neutron is, “Anyone with a high-energy proton beam is inter- ested in this,’ Martin said. Proton beam or not, international interest is high for this relatively new technology. It involves smashing atoms at high speeds to separate protons from neu- trons and supercooling the neutrons to a point where they can be contained and experimented with. Possible experiments with the unbound neutrons in- clude measuring their lifespan of and observing their gravitational effects, A given atom consists of a nucleus, comprised of positively-charged protons and a neutral neutrons, surrounded by smaller negatively-charged electrons moving around in shells called orbitals, It takes a great deal of energy to break a nucleus into its protons and neutrons, “There's a lot of people saying, ‘If we could only take this bottle of neutrons we could do some kick-ass ex- periments’... Our job is to provide the neutrons,’ Mar- tin said, Currently the only sources of ultracold neutrons are in France, Japan and New Mexico. The sites are all ex- perimental and Martin believes he can make a better one. Martin is planning to build the world’s most concen- trated source of ultracold neutrons at the TRIUMF National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics at the University of British Columbia. The facility, a spallation ultracold neutron source, is scheduled to be operational in 2013. Of the $10 mil- lion the project is expected to cost, $4.225 million was awarded to Martin this past summer from the Can- ada Foundation for Innovation, the largest grant ever awarded to a Manitoba academic by the foundation. Another $4 million has been donated by Japanese inter- ests, alongside $2 million from the TRIUMF National Laboratory. Smaller funding has been donated by pri- vate industries and the Government of Manitoba, Despite being located away from his campus, Martin is confident students from the University of Winnipeg will be involved in both the building stages of the pro- ject and the experiments once it’s finished. Martin said he always has undergraduate students working alongside him and the project will be a unique opportunity for physics students. “Our students will very easily be able to have access to the facility,’ Martin said.“ We own this thing, we're at the top... We're leading the world in this type of research.” The Einstein-inspired Martin, who grew up close to Portage la Prairie and is a University of Manitoba grad, has always had his work take him away from home. “Td love to have a neutron source in Winnipeg . . . if someone would like to build a nuclear reactor here,” Martin said.“But nobody's going to give me that much money ... yet.’