COmmunauté • COmmun i ty
Ravens rule on rugby turf
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
(EOSSAA) finals. St. Thomas Aquinas Ca- tholic High School’s varsity girls squared off last Fridaymorning against Cornwall’s Holy Trinity Falcons and then Bishop Smith from Pembroke.The Ravens tore into the Falcons 38-0 then blanked Bishop Smith 32-0. “It was that easy,” said coach Penny Long- val, regarding the opening match against Holy Trinity. “It was great. A nice way to start the day.” The Ravens scored half a dozen tries du-
(OFSAA) championships. “All we know about Lasalle is they have three very large players who usually carry the
ball for the entire game,’’ said coach Longval. “If we can keep possession, well, our girls are quick.”
Two matches down and one more left to claim the title.That’s how everything stands for the St.Thomas Aquinas Ravens varsity girls’ rugby team. The Ravens shut down the opposition when they hosted one of the two elimina- tion rounds May 22 for the Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletics Association
Votre santé | Your health Protégez-vous et votre famille de la rage
Après ce dernier hiver long et froid, il n’y a pas de doute que vous anticipez avec bonheur de passer du temps dehors avec votre famille maintenant que la température se réchauffe. Mais avec l’arrivée du printemps vous devez également prendre des précautions pour vous protéger contre la rage, une maladie mortelle qui se transmet aux humains par le contact avec les mammifères et les chauves- souris. Les personnes attrapent habituellement la rage après avoir été mordues par un animal infecté ou si la salive d’un animal enragé entre en contact avec les yeux, la bouche ou une plaie ouverte d’un humain. Il est important de vous assurer que vos enfants et vos animaux de compagnie n’aient aucun contact avec les chauves-souris et les animaux sauvages quand ils vont à l’extérieur, puisqu’on estime que le risque d’infection pour les enfants est quatre fois plus élevé que pour les adultes. Si malgré tous vos efforts, vous ou un membre de votre famille se fait mordre ou entre en contact avec un animal ou une chauve-souris qui pourrait avoir la rage, communiquez immédiatement avec le bureau de santé. Son personnel prendra en charge l’incident et déterminera s’il est nécessaire d’administrer un traitement post-exposition. Un autre moyen de protéger votre famille et votre communauté est de vous assurer que le vaccin contre la rage de votre animal de compagnie est à jour. En fait, la loi exige que tous les chats et chiens de trois mois et plus soient vaccinés contre la rage. Même les animaux qui restent à l’intérieur doivent être vaccinés régulièrement parce que les chauves-souris peuvent entrer dans n’importe quelle maison. La castration ou la stérilisation de vos animaux de compagnie peut aussi leur donner une mesure de protection. Enfin, si vous découvrez un animal sauvage blessé à l’extérieur, n’y touchez pas. Ne l’amenez pas non plus dans votre maison pour essayer de l’aider à guérir même si vous êtes tenté de le faire. Il est plus sage d’appeler le service de contrôle des animaux et de laisser les professionnels prendre la situation en main. Pour de plus amples renseignements sur la maladie de la rage et sur la vaccination contre la rage, allez sur le site Web du BSEO à www.bseo.ca. Vous pouvez aussi appeler au 613-933-1375 ou 1-800-267-7120 et demander la ligne Appel-santé. Protect Yourself and Your Family from Rabies After a long and cold winter, I’m sure you’re looking forward to spending more time outdoors with your family now that the weather is warming up. But the arrival of spring also means you must take some precautions to avoid rabies, a deadly disease that can be passed on to humans through contact with mammals and bats. People usually become infected with rabies after getting bitten by a rabid animal or if their eyes, mouth or an open wound come into contact with a rabid animal’s saliva. An important step you can take is to make sure your children and pets avoid all contact with bats and wild animals when outdoors, as it is estimated that the risk of children being infected by rabies is four times greater than adults. If despite your best efforts, you or a family member are bitten or come into direct contact with a potentially rabid animal or bat, contact the health unit right away as it will look into the incident and determine if rabies post-exposure treatment is necessary. Another step you can take to help protect your family and community from rabies is to make sure your pet’s rabies vaccine is up-to-date. In fact, it’s required by law that all cats and dogs three months of age or older be vaccinated against rabies. Even indoor pets must receive the vaccine regularly because bats can enter into any residence. Having your pets spayed or neutered can also help keep them safe. And lastly, if you come across an injured wild animal when outdoors, do not touch it or bring it into your home to try to nurse it back to health. While it may be tempting to do so, it’s safer to call animal control and let them handle the situation from there. For more information on rabies and rabies vaccination, visit the EOHU’s website at www.eohu.ca. You can also call 613-933-1375 or 1-800-267-7120 and ask for Health Line.
Russell’s Ravens of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School (maroon) brought the Holy Trinity Falcons (green) down to the ground in the first round of the EOSSAA varsity girls’ rugby series.
ring eachmatch with four conversion kicks against the Falcons and one convert against the Pembroke team. Ravens kicker Emily accounted for all the conversion kicks. Du- ring the Falcons game, Alexa Beehler scored two tries while her Raven teammates Sara Baas, Mady Blythe, Darien Drevniok, and Alixha BrindAmour each scored single tries. Haleigh McKenzie, Taylor Bray, Madeline Clouthier, andDrevniok, Beehler, and Blythe each scored a try against Bishop Smith. Coach Longval noted that the Ravens played against Bishop Smith during one of their earlier field trip tournaments and beat the Pemberton team 5-0. She credited all of the extra games outside of the regular league season plus the Ravens’ willingness to start training for rugby last October, months before the April season start, for the team’s successful performance on the field this year. “We are doing that well,” Coach Longval said. “We’ve gotten really better in the past months.” One of the chief spurs to the Ravens this season, Coach Longval noted, was the desire
to beat their main rivals in the Prescott- Russell region, the Rockland District High School Wildcats. “Every year, our goal has been to beat Rockland,” she said. “We’ve been in this league for 10 years and never done it.” St. Thomas Aquinas had always finished second in the Prescott-Russell school rug- by league until this year when the Ravens beat the Wildcats two games straight in the regional finals, earning them their first EOS- SAA hosting right. Coach Longval credited a training strategy that included entering more out-of-town tournaments and always signing up for the elite division matches against higher-level schools and using that experience against their regular league opponents. “We played the best to become the best.” This week, the EOSSAA finals match was scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, against La- salle at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School. Winning the match would mean a Russell rugby teamat the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Athletic Associations
Par | By Linda Cléroux Gestionnaire de programmes, Maladies infectieuses
Bureau de santé de l’Est de l’Ontario Program Manager, Infectious Diseases Eastern Ontario Health Unit
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