July 14th 2010 volume 1 Issue 5

Williams says. “I just put my hand behind his neck there and told him to breathe.” Williams yelled for first aid and several first aid attendants rushed into the ring. “His cowboy buddy jumped in there and told him ‘Hang in there – keep breathing,’ cause you could see him start having a hard time to breathe.” Williams says he has never

seen someone die in the ring before, but has heard lots of stories of bulls stepping on riders’ heads or crush-ing their chests. A similar accident happened to his friend, but he sur-

vived. In the ring, it’s Williams and the other bull fighters’ jobs to protect the rider from the bulls once he is bucked or dismounts. On Friday, however, there was little he could do, as Derickson-Hall fell under the bull.

Rocky Mountain GoatThe

Your source for weekly news and views in the Robson ValleyWednesday, July 14, 2010 Volume 1 Issue 5

Free!

www.therockymountaingoat.com

More Inside:

Dunster School for $10? Business Watch: the bull, the bear and the goat

Laura [email protected]

Valemount rodeo death re-ignites safety debate for bull ridingRider wearing helmet, vest when struck by bull

The death of a young bull rider at the Valemount rodeo grounds on Friday is re-igniting a debate about safety measures at bull riding events. The 18-year-old bull rider, Makwala Derickson-Hall, was wearing a vest and a helmet during his final ride, but neither prevented a fatal injury when the bull’s hind legs landed on his chest as he scrambled to get out from under-neath the buck-ing bull. Derickson-Hall made it away from the bull and climbed a gate, before he fell to the ground. Wil-liam Williams, 26, a bull fighter in the ring at the time, caught Derickson-Hall when he fell from the height of the gate where he had climbed to protect himself from the bull. “He fell back and I could tell he was knocked out or something,”

Cont’ A2

Makwala Derickson-Hall (centre in the red vest) is shown here at the Valemount rodeo on Friday. The 18-year-old bull rider was scheduled to compete in the high school rodeo finals in Wyoming and the Canadian national rodeo in Manitoba next month. Derickson-Hall was a member of the Okanagan First Nation and had just graduated from Mount Boucherie Senior Secondary School. The bull ridden by Derickson-Hall was slated to buck again on Saturday, but the bull rider paired with him did not show up.

Photo: Laura Keil

International students a boon for local high schools

“I don’t think the design (of the vest) is adequate to cope with the forces that exist in professional rodeo or amateur rodeo.”

Dale Butterwick Professor, University of

Calgary

Some 20 international stu-dents will be calling the Rob-son Valley home this fall, as they settle into host families for the school year. The students, who are in

grades 11 and 12, are placed by Shecana International Schools, an organization based in Prince George. The organi-zation offers young people age 14 to 25 international student exchanges and gap-year travel programs. Each year about 100 students from abroad live

with host families in western Canada. Valemount Secondary School principal Dan Kenkel says the students will help boost the student population to over 100 next year. Some 12 students will be attending Valemount High School. Kenkel says his

family is taking in two stu-dents. The school has taken stu-dents from Shecana in the past, but never this many, he says. The students are mostly from south America and Europe, and there is one from New Zealand.

McBride Secondary School will take eight students if fami-lies are found to host all the young people wanting a place-ment. Families interested in host-ing a student should contact Shecana.

Laura [email protected]

A2 Wednesday, July 14 www.therockymountaingoat.com

Photo: Charlene Montpetit

fresh valueessentialsservice

qualityenjoy life taste it!

savingsselection

variety

Just 25 minutes west from Mt. Robson...

R.V. Parking!5th Avenue, Valemount BC

“He didn’t make a mistake, he just got thrown off and caught in a bad position,” Williams says. When Derrickson-Hall hit the ground his helmet flew off, though it was not apparent that he sustained a head injury. As the bull spun in a circle, its hind legs struck Derrickson-Hall in the side of his vest where there is little protection, Williams says. “The vest they got now is the best vest they got on the market,” he says of the bull riders, adding that when a 1900-pound bull steps on a rider at that angle, it can still cause a serious injury. University of Calgary professor Dale Butterwick, who has studied rodeo injuries since the 80s, says the vast majority of bull riding accidents involve either a head injury or a thoracic compression, where bones break in the middle section of the spinal vertebrae. While most bull riders wear vests and helmets, But-terwick says one person in North America has report-edly died every year since that time from rodeo events – over 80 per cent of the deaths in bull riding. “How much protection does the rodeo vest provide?” Butterwick and some colleagues created an online da-tabase in 2007 where members of the public can submit information on serious rodeo accidents. He says he will soon be publishing a paper on their findings, and hopes to make some recommendations. “The vast majority of fatalities that we’ve seen that have been entered into our database have involved a direct blow either to the sides, the front or the back of the thoracic cavity and the vast majority of those people had vests on,” he says. “Although it’s got lots of benefits, I don’t think the design is adequate to cope with the forces that exist in professional rodeo or amateur ro-deo.” Wearing a vest or helmet is not mandatory at World Professional Bullriding (WPB) events, which is typi-cal of most rodeo associations, says WPB president Ty Northcott. I’s up to the rider, he says. “I think you could have doubled the thickness of his vest and still had the same results.” He says he has been involved in ro-deo for over 40 years and he doesn’t know of any standard for safety equip-ment like vests. “I haven’t picked up a vest to see if there’s a tag in it saying it’s this ap-proved or that approved.” He says he remembers the days when bull riders would get on with no safety gear whatsoever. He says it would be difficult to enforce safety equipment on bull riders. The B.C. Coroners Service is continuing their inves-tigation into Derrickson-Hall’s death, but a full report likely will not be made public for several weeks or months. The rider who was supposed to compete after Derrick-son-Hall, Canadian bull riding champion Jody Turner, dropped out of the competition after the accident. About half of the 200-some people in the stands went home before it re-started about an hour later. Jesse Flett, a bull rider from Fort Vermillion went ahead with his ride once the ambulance left. “It messed with my head a little bit,” said Flett, who said he knew he was dead when the ambulance left. Some riders said they were concerned about the de-lay for the ambulance. Calls for assistance were made to B.C. Ambulance at 7:56 and 7:58, and the ambulance

arrived at 8:11, says Mike Michlako, executive director of B.C. Ambulance for northern B.C. Michlako says dispatch times indicate it took 15 min-utes for an ambulance to arrive on the scene and 30 minutes before Derrickson-Hall arrived at the health clinic in Valemount. The ambulance took one wrong turn on the way to the rodeo grounds, but was quickly re-directed, he says. The ambulance that arrived at the rodeo was from McBride but was already stationed in Valemount near the highway, about 7 km from the rodeo grounds, in

order to cover for Valemount’s two home ambulances, which had been dispatched to highway accidents. There was no paid medical staff at the event, but three medical staff were present who had officially volunteered to be on stand-by. Paul Wildeman, the owner of Wilde Services who volunteered his res-cue vehicle to the event, says calling B.C. Ambulance was better for the patient in this case. “The response was pretty quick,” he says,

adding that he called B.C. Ambulance immediately, even before he went into the ring to treat Derrickson-Hall. “By the time our protocols were in place, B.C. ambu-lance was there.” Over a dozen medical staff volunteered from the crowd. Several say Derrickson-Hall was never in stable condition, even when they evacuated him, and that he’d stopped breathing before he left the grounds. Wildeman had his private emergency transport vehicle on site, but he says the B.C. Ambulance was better equipped to deal with the situation and made the call to wait. Corporal Ed Burstrom of the Valemount RCMP helped perform CPR on Derickson-Hall immediately after the incident. He says having B.C. ambulance on-site would not have made a difference in this case, since the injuries were so severe.

“He didn’t stand a chance,” he says. Only eight of 19 bull riders scheduled to ride showed up on Saturday. A moment of silence was held before the bullarama to commemorate the death. Some 200 people showed up to watch the bullarama the next day, where people in the stands discussed the event. Friday and Saturday the top four bull riders split a cash prize of $4500. The bull ridden by Derrickson-Hall was slated to buck again on Saturday, but the bull rider paired with him did not show up. Derrickson-Hall was a member of the Okanagan First Nation and had just graduated from Mount Boucherie Senior Secondary School. His friends set up a memorial Facebook page for him. One comment reads “brother i miss you so much!!! i jus keep lookin at the door hopin and prayiing you will come home .... i love you .... ” Another says: “Toughest kid i ever met, went out with his boots on too soon.” Derrickson-Hall was a promising young bull-rider, qualifying for the high school rodeo finals in Wyoming and the Canadian national rodeo in Manitoba both next month.

McBride ambulance stationed in Valemount responded to call within 15 minutesCont’ from A1

Volunteer medical staff Kelly Hall and Owen Torgerson clean up medical supplies following the evacuation of Derickson-Hall from the rodeo grounds in a B.C. ambulance. The private rescue ambulance seen in this photo was not used to transport Derickson-Hall, as it was deemed safer by medical staff to wait for a B.C. ambulance. All medical staff at the rodeo were volunteers.

“I think you could have doubled the thickness of his vest and still had the same results.”

Ty Northcott, World Professional Bullriding

President

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 A3 www.therockymountaingoat.com

The Rocky Mountain Goat is a free weekly paper

Carrier Lumber begins work in the Raush ValleyLaura [email protected]

Carrier Lumber will begin cutting trees in the Raush Valley this summer, once they have completed a 10-kilo-metre road through the area. The Raush Valley comprises several hundred hectares of forest near Dun-ster. Half of the road is already complet-ed, a nd Carrier Lumber spokesperson Bill Kordyban says they will begin re-

moving pine and spruce trees by the end of the summer in the first logging block which is 53 hectares. The wood will be milled in Prince George. The plan to construct a road and log in that area has been criticized by the Fraser Headwaters Alliance, a non-profit conservation society based in the Robson Valley. Roy Howard with the Alliance says

the area should be protected from logging because it is the largest un-protected watershed south of Prince George. “We need to have some places on the planet that are minimally impacted by human beings that we can go back to and measure other areas against,” Howard says. Carrier has no definitive plans or

timeline for logging other areas along the road. Kordyban says the company exceeds all environmental standards in place. “We have to do the logging in the en-vironmentally sensitive way and that’s what we do,” he says. Carrier Lumber Ltd is based in Prince George.

A4 Wednesday, July 14, 2010 www.therockymountaingoat.com

Get exposure! Fill this space for only $50/week.

$47.50/week for 4 weeks, or $37.50/week for 10 weeks

Email Joe: [email protected]

or call 250-566-1444

Construction season has begun. In the regional district, 179 permits were approved since January, 27 more than were issued for the same period last year. 22 of those for single family dwell-ings. Six single-family dwelling permits valued at $1,403,000 were issued in June and the total value of building permits in the district since January is $8 million. In electoral area H, which encompasses the Robson Valley, there have been three new homes built since

Boost in district housing permits from last year

[email protected]?

January and 31 other permits totalling $1.5 million. In Valemount in June there were two active build-ing permits and two completed. The value of per-mits in the village from January to June is roughly $860,000. “It’s quite substantial given the economic climate,” says Valemount Mayor Bob Smith. In McBride there have been two new homes and seven other permits since January totalling more than $700,000.

Photo: Laura KeilA new house going up in Valemount this summer. Building permits in Valemount total more than $800,000 this year so far.

Discounted ads for long-term contracts!

$47.50/week for 4 weeks, or $37.50/week for 10 weeks

Email Joe: [email protected]

or call 250-566-1444

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 A5www.therockymountaingoat.com

Joseph [email protected]

No facilities to recycle used electronics in the Valley Residents faced with hauling waste to city or sneaking it into dumpsters

Do you need exposure?Let us help in developing an advertising plan that works

and fits your budget

Contact Joe250-566-1444,

[email protected]

Lead, mercury, cadium, tin, copper, silicon, thallium, beryllium, alumin-ium, polyvinyl chloride, polychlori-nated biphenyls and halogens, just to name a few, are all materials used to make electronics. One online study es-timates that in the United States, 70 per cent of heavy metals in landfills comes from discarded electronics. Their tox-icity ranges from mild to high, even in small quantities, but there are no facili-ties in the Robson Valley for residents to recycle their discarded electronic devices. Valemount resident Marie Birkbeck has decided to pursue the issue after hitting roadblocks with companies and agencies that have left her with a pile of electronic junk, and no local options for recycling. Birkbeck first realized there was a problem when she contact-ed a photocopier company asking them to come retrieve a broken machine. “They would not take it because it was too old,” she says. It was at that time she called the re-gional transfer station and asked about bringing it there. She was told that there are currently no facilities in place in Valemount for recycling electronics. “I was told to ‘load it onto some-one’s truck next time they go to Prince George, Kamloops, or Edmonton.’” But Birkbeck says other municipali-ties have found better solutions. In Jasper, every spring the town or-ganizes a ‘Recycle Roundup’. Discarded electronics are collected in one place and when there are enough pallets, a

provincial collection program retrieves the pallets free of charge. Birkbeck did some more research and realized that B.C. has a simi-lar program. In northern B.C., for larger organi-zations, Encorp Pacific (Canada) and the Electron-ics Stewardship Association of British Columbia provide free pick-up services. Accord-ing to an online brochure, anybody with a minimum of five pallets of dis-

carded electronics can fill out an online form requesting a free pick up. “I feel that a Recycle Roundup would

be a very successful endeavour given that many homes have replaced com-puters etc. and do not always think to take the old ones to the nearest city when they go. I feel that the village and maybe the regional

district could be involved in organizing our own ‘Recycle Roundup’.” According to Rachael Ryder, Waste

Diversion Program Leader, the Region-al District of Fraser-Fort George would be supportive of such a program. “We would need to figure out the lo-gistics of it, but it could be done.” She says this in Prince George, the Foothills Landfill collects electronics on pallets, and in the city Encorp runs a collection program out of the local bottle depot. “If it could be done out of the local bottle depot, this could work. The re-gional district could potential collect pallets of electronics at one of the Val-ley’s transfer stations. But there are re-quirements, the pallets would have to be stored in a dry place.” Tom Dall, Chief Administrative Of-ficer for the Village of Valemount, also see such a collection program as a ser-vice that will be needed in the future. “It would be the coucill’s decision overall, but the village would probably be in support of such program.” More information on options for re-cycling discarded electronics can be found athttp://www.encorp.ca/electronics/lar-gevolume. A pick up generator form (including instructions on how to prepare used electronics for pick up) can be upload-ed at http://www.encorp.ca/cfm/index.cfm?It=939&Id=16&Se=40.

Photo: Laura Keil

The recycling yard in Valemount. No electronic waste is allowed in the bins.

“We would need to figure out the logistics of it, but it could be done.”Rachael Ryder, waste diversion,

regional district

[email protected]?

Attention all Robson Valley tourism businesses: The Rocky Mountain Goat is now distributed free in Jasper and Mt. Robson


HST Seminar! Thursday July 15, from 10:00 a.m. - noon at the Best Western Valemount Inn and Suites Please register at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca, or call Vickie Houk at 1-888-805-6662

The bull, the bear and the goat Business watch in the Robson Valley

Extreme Mountain Sports in Valemount is expanding this summer with a new area to hold propane stoves and pipes, backcountry equipment, fishing equip-ment and Blaze King stoves among other items. Owners Shawn Pelletier and Sharon Rose Shalla say they hope to finish the con-struction by the time the snow flies.

Canoe Moun-tain Extreme Sportsexpands

Do you need extra buzz?Do you have one-time event

everybody needs to know about?

Buy a banner for only $10/weekEverybody reads the foot

[email protected]

Photo: Laura Keil

Owen Torgerson wants to know if he can save your heels for his wheels. The Valemount resident has been offering a rickshaw taxi service to callers and passersby to help fill the void for taxis in the village. The only cab service in Valemount shut down last year. Torgerson’s company Crossroad Cycle Cab can shuttle two people anywhere in the village for $2 a block. From the Via Rail station to a hotel along highway 5, it’s about $10. The young substitute teacher and repairman says he wants to be more than a taxi driver, and instead more of a “local concierge.”“I’d like to say to people, ‘Are you hungry? It’s wing night at this place, let’s go.’” Torgerson has been riding the bike for the past couple months to gain body strength to move the 175-pound buggy and weight of passengers. With two passengers and luggage, he says his legs are pulling close to 600 pounds. Eventually he says he would like to give local tours, to show tourists spawning salmon or scenic spots for photo opportunities. “Eco-friendly, low-carbon footprint tours would be fun,” he says. “And in one of the best scenery places on the planet.” He says he may use the buggy in wintertime, but his plan is to operate the service for the warmer six months of the year. A glass half empty?

Kiwas cafe has shut its doors permanently. The building at 5th Avenue and Elm St. in Vale-mount is now for sale.

Valemount resident Owen Torgerson shuttles train passengers Germaine Daze and Delia Loiselle to a nearby hotel in his rickshaw taxi.

New taxi in town

P&Vs gas bar to remain open “until I win the lottery” says owner, Pete Masciarilli. He says he has no plans to shut down unless he wins a few million first.


Laura Keil [email protected]

Submit your community event by e-mail at [email protected], or look for

our drop mailbox at 1070, 5th Avenue

Photo: Laura Keil

The Rocky Mountain Goat now has an all-hours submissions drop box.Look for the black mail box at 1070, 5th Avenue, Valemount, BC.

Parents and residents of Dunster are two steps closer to achieving their goal to keep Dunster Fine Arts School open in September. Community members submitted a formal request to the school district to transfer the school building to the Dunster Fine Arts School Society by Ju-ly29th. They have formedthe new society in order to purchase the school to continue local education. The school district has officially closed the school, and students were expected to attend elementary schools in McBride or Valemount, some 35 minutes away. In their application, Dunster school society directors offer $10 for the school property and request that items cur-rently in the building be left inside the school for the future use of students.

Parents occupied the building for five days beginning on the last day of school, until a Supreme Court of B.C. injunc-tion ordered them out of the building.School District 57 Superintendant Brian Pepper says the district has forwarded the letter to the Ministry of Education and is waiting for the go-ahead for the sale. The Minister already indicated in a letter to the school district last week that she would support an expedited transfer if a buyer could be found. Parents hope the building will be open for school in the fall. Pepper says the district remains open to providing teachers to the school, if the school’s other expenses are paid for privately by the school society. Lelani Arris, one of the people in-volved in the creating the society, says right now the society is a non-profit

organization, but they will eventually become a registered charity. Until that time, donations will flow through the Robson Valley Music Society so people donating can receive a tax receipt. Several Dunster residents have offered to donate one-time sums of money to help get the school going.

New Dunster school society applies for school property – offers $10

mountains, stopped for a chat today while I was gardening. The ones I met were exploring town, walking over to have supper at the Cariboo Grill. They were not interested in what the Japa-nese restaurant across the tracks had to offer, after checking it out. The ladies I met were moving on to Jasper tomor-row (and will experience the same old, commercial hustle and bustle over there). What about renting reconditioned bikes out for leisurely touring around Valemount, or maybe leading bicycle tours around the village, around the marsh trails, or even down to Kinbas-ket Lake for a day trip for the more ambitious? The tourist potential is not so ‘far-fetched’, and is probably huge for these overnight visitors - numbed-bums, finally extracted out of their bus seats, stepping down and off their charter busses. They just can’t wait to get mov-ing and stretching! Any surprise that locals, as well as tourists, are constantly walking up and down 5th Avenue all summer?

Peter Fox, Valemount.

DUNSTER FARMERS MARKET

SATURDAYS

10AM TO NOON

JULY 10th TO SEPT 11th

DUNSTER COMMUNITY HALL

SELLERS WELCOME !!

Contact Pete at 250-968-4334


Do you like The Rocky Mountain Goat?Do you appreciate our professional journalism and local enthusiasm?

Tell your municipal, regional, and provincial government representatives that you prefer to read announcements in

The Rocky Mountain Goat

As owners, we live here too!

Should Valemount get a prison? Vote online at www.therockymountaingoat.com

Intuitively, I know the tourism po-tential for Valemount’s alpine garden is highly underrated, which is a damn pity! We need to get a community garden going in Valemount ASAP. It’s the next best big thing to the public al-lotment gardens at the Ottawa Experi-mental Farm. Public viewing gardens are a huge hit or draw in Korea, Japan, China... which is exactly where so many of our summer tourists originate from. A bit of spiritual refuge, serenity, escape from the crowds, quiet recreation away from the noise, the hustle and bustle of the city, or just a place to sit and read a book under a shade tree. Just like Central Park in NYC, or Edward’s and High Park Gardens in Toronto, or the Japanese Gardens in Creston. And not to dismiss the possibility either, that tourists from downtown Tokyo are sim-ply fascinated to see how common food vegetables grow and are produced. I have been amazed and extremely frustrated knowing the enjoyment I get, and knowing the tourist potential for visitors from the Asia-Pacific, that Vale-mount Councils have resisted at every juncture, even despite the ad-hoc com-mittee’s suggestion to save the old high school property for a ‘Village Square’ concept, and investing or concentrating on making a public alpine gardens a four-season reality and setting the land set aside with a public commitment for such a central public space. Not a playground but a park, with viewing gardens, benches, maybe a fountain, allotment gardening parcels for young and old, and ultimately concession booths for an open public market. Another group of Japanese visitors, ESL students on a bus excursion to the

Opinion:Community garden still needed

Send in your travel photos from the Robson Valley area and we may

publish them!


While the Edmonton Marathon is still six weeks away, local server Lorelei Schneider is nearing the end of an 18-week training schedule designed to get her across the fin-ish line in around four hours. “My goal was to run a marathon by the time I was 40. When I turned 40 my mother passed away from diabetes. It has taken me two years, but when I did start training, I figured that somebody should benefit from it.” While Schneider played soccer in elemen-tary school, sports were never much of a personal pursuit for her, until her mother started suffering from complications due to her diabetes. “When my mother had a leg amputated due to bad circulation, I realized I should run because I can.” Both her mother’s legs eventually had to be amputated. Diabetes has affected other family mem-bers as well. Her sister had stationary diabetes during her pregnancy and she had a cousin who passed away from complications from the disease. Some three million people in Canada live with diabetes, a disease that prevents the body from making insulin or using it prop-erly to control sugar in the blood stream. Schneider needed to raise $500 in order for her to run the event for the Canadian Dia-betes Association. To date she has managed to raise over $1000. Running a few kilometres has always been a recreational activity for Schneider, but a marathon will be quite a leap for her, she says.

“I like to run on the trails. It is a nice en-vironment, but some marathon runners recommended that I get used to the road surface.” Her first race was in Hawaii last October. It was five kilometres. She also did the ‘Spring Runoff ’ in Jasper on Mothers’ Day as well as the ‘Salmon Run’ here during the spring festival. One of the reasons Schneider chose to run her marathon in Edmonton is due to the fact that her mother spent most of her time in the hospital there. Since she is now nearing the peak-intensi-ty section of her training schedule, Schnei-der has established a longer training route that reflects the nature of a typical marathon course. She runs a half marathon every Saturday. This week she will do a 29 kilometre run. She

now runs from Valemount to Tete Jaune and back.

“Some locals will stop and ask ‘do you want a ride?’”

So far training has remained only a mental game for Schneider. She is grateful not

to have had to deal with a physical injury. Despite this good luck, she says that the 18 month schedule has been very trying. “I started running 10 kilometres and it really seemed like a long distance. But the mental focus set in, and soon two more ki-lometres did not seem so hard.” Schneider also credits her husband and son for helping her remain focussed on her goal. She also has a four-legged training partner “I can’t have him on a leash – he goes too fast,” she says. For Schneider, the drive to continue run-

ning is not just an achievement goal. “There are many linked health benefits to running, in regards to diabetes. Lower body fat, better circulation as well as better heart health.” There is no proven way to prevent type 1 diabetes, but the onset of type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed through in-creased exercise, healthy eating and weight loss, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association. For Schneider, the countdown has start-ed to make her nervous, but she is already

Local mother to take on the Edmonton MarathonRunning in remembrance of loved onesJoseph [email protected]

looking ahead. “After I run it, if I do make it through, it will seem strange. I have never done any-thing this goal-oriented. I might need an-other goal.” To sponsor Lorelei Schneider go to www.teamdiabetes.ca. Just type in ‘Lorelei Schnei-der’ and city: ‘Valemount’. Pledges can also be made directly to Schneider in person.

[email protected]

The Rocky Mountain Goat is now distributed free in Jasper

“When my mother had a leg amputated due to bad circulation, I realized I should run because I can.” Lorelei Schneider

As the summer begins, the Valemount Community Theatre Committee is cel-ebrating five years of hosting presen-tations in the Valemount Secondary School theatre. According the Naysa Weatherbee, a committee member, the committee’s experiences have not al-ways gone smoothly. “The last five years have definitely been a learning process and has been excit-ing, sometimes scary, but always grati-fying.” During the 2009/2010 season, the committee has presented a total of seven events at the theatre, with six of them being live performances. These acts ranged from folk to country to in-strumental. Weatherbee says that this

line up reflects the committee’s desire to bring in acts for any taste. “We are committed to providing a wide variety of cultural experiences for our audiences, but we are also trying to find a good balance financially. The big-ger names areselling well while the lesser known acts are not as well attended.” For the committee, collaboration has been strong and included cooperation between the schools, village office, stu-dent organizations, students, and mem-bers of both the Valemount Arts and Cultural Society and the community. “The result of this collaboration en-abled us to offer shows, school work-shops, local organization fund-raising

concessions, student training for sound and lights, potluck dinners, advertising and ticket sales.” For the 2010/11 season the theatre committee plans to present fewer shows than last season. “We will limit ourselves to four mu-sical acts plus the Banff Mountain Film Festival. By doing this we hope to in-crease the attendance at the shows we do present.” The 2010/11 season includes adventure films, country music, world music, folk, and ballet. Weatherbee stresses that the committee we continue to seek funding to help offset costs and to keep the ticket prices affordable for the majority of the people in the community.

“We have had some incredible sponsor-ship from businesses in town. Of course thank yous would not be complete with-out one to our committed core audience group and to everyone who came and took in an evening of entertainment.” Weatherbee says that the theatre com-mittee would also like to send a thanks to the school groups who supply the re-freshments and keep the intermission an enjoyable community event on its own. “And to everyone else who has pitched in, you know who you are!” The Valemount Community Theatre Committee is made up of six members of the Valemount Arts and Cultural So-ciety.

Community Theatre Committee reflects on five years of presentationsSixth season plan: ‘less shows, with better attendance’Joseph [email protected]

The Rocky Mountain Goat is distributed free weekly


This week I would like to deal with a very large family of vegetables, the Cucurbitaceae Family. Don’t let the Latin name scare you! It includes many common cucumber varieties as well as watermelon, cantaloupe, gourds, “summer squash” such as zucchini and crookneck, “winter squash” such as hubbard, acorn and buttercup and many others. Because all members of this family produce both male and female flowers, they rely on insects for pollination.I have had many questions over the years about why the first flowers just fall off and don’t produce any fruit. The reason is that all of these plants pro-duce only male flowers for the first few weeks. As the plant matures and is able to produce fruit, it begins to have both male and female flowers. My dad al-ways tried to keep the first male flowers pinched off as he said it took strength from the plant and produced nothing. I usually forget and tend to leave them on and use the excuse that the bees will be used to visiting the plant and

when the female flowers appear they will quickly pollinate the first female blooms. If you look closely at any of the cu-cumber or squash varieties, you will see the difference between the two flow-ers. The male will have just the flower stem and then the yellow flower on the end of the stem. Inside the flower will be the pollen-covered anthers. The female flower will have the stem, a small immature fruit (the ovary), and then the flower. Inside the flower is the stigma, which is ready to receive the pollen when the flower opens. If you have a shortage of bees or wasps, you can break off a mature male blossom around midday, remove the yellow flower and rub the pollen onto the stigma of the female blossom. (When one old-timer in Prince George saw me hand pollinating in the pumpkin patch and heard my explanation, he exclaimed that it was the first time he had ever seen someone being a pimp for a pumpkin! To this day, every time I hand pollinate to save pure heritage

seeds, I still think of him!) If there is a long rainy spell at flower-ing time, many of the squash blossoms fill with water and rot. This gives a very poor fruit set. For winter squash, I find it best to break off all new blossoms after the middle of August to let the fruit mature for winter storage. I also cut off the vines about two or three leaves after the last fruit. This directs all the nutrients into the fruit. All the cucurbit family love two things – heat and lots of nutrients. I start all my cucurbit plants between mid-April and the first of May in the greenhouse in individual pots. They hate to have their roots disturbed! I transplant them out sometime from June 10 to 20th. I dig a hole 1ft, deep and about 1ft. across, dump in 2-3 gallons of manure and compost and hill the soil over the manure. Then I make a flat top on the little hill and a bowl-shaped depression in the middle. Into this bowl goes one squash plant or three cucumber plants. You can almost

see the day when their roots reach the manure. The plants turn deep green and grow like crazy!

Gardening with Pete

Pete Amyoony is a gardener in the Robson Valley of cen-tral B.C. high in the Rocky Mountains near Mount Rob-son. He has lived, worked and gardened in the Dunster area for almost thirty years.

Got a comment? Write us:

[email protected]

Peter AmyoonySpecial to the Goat

Spain have won the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, beating the Nether-lands 1-0 in the final.

A half-time ad during the World Cup final game

costs well over $1,000,000!

For those of us with more earthly advertising budgets,luckily there is The Rocky Mountain Goat.

Scientific studies confirm that tourists in Mt. Robson AND Jasper readThe Rocky Mountain Goat.

Photo: Laura Keil

It was with great consolation that I read this headline. I was cheering for Spain, but the real consolation was that this headline was on the BBC World News web site. I guess I am not the only acting editor who can man-age to make a ghastly mistake on a headline. Then again, stduy has shwon taht as lnog as the frist and lsat letetr of a wrod are corerct, msot pepole can raed oevr most splleing erorrs.

Lessons learned:*Laura, who was away to visit her grandma during the crunch time of issue 4, is a much better editor than I.

*Red Bull is no substitute for sleep.

*And… The Rocky Mountain Goat is now hiring staff.


While the export mar-ket for dimensional lum-ber has shifted far out of reach of the Robson Val-ley’s large mills, several smaller specialty mills have continued operat-ing even through the last two winters. In the Vale-mount area, three spe-cialty mills have markets for cedar products, but all three mill owners say that wood supply is becoming a big obstacle for them. Richard Tychowski owns and operates “Ski Lumber”, a small opera-tion producing mainly paneling and siding prod-ucts. “I only do value added” says Tychowski. Tychowski says that he sells white wood (pine, spruce and balsam) for $1000/1000 board feet, and dark wood (cedar, fir) for $1500/1000 board feet. He says that it has become very difficult to get any cedar from the community forest.

“I asked quite a few times for cedar. I have only received one load this year” According the Tychows-ki, the cedar that he did receive was low grade. “I can’t get any cedar from the McBride Com-munity Forest, I am now getting my cedar from a private contractor in Mc-Bride.” Jason Alexander owns

and operates ‘Cedar Val-ley Specialty Cuts’, a ce-dar shake and shingle mill 3 kilometres south of Valemount. According to Alexander, McBride has remained his only source

for cedar logs as well. “I have approached the Valemount Community Forest and have not been able to take delivery of any cedar to date. I have been told that there is some potential to get some cedar this fall.” Shane Brassette, Di-rector of the Valemount Community Forest, says the volume of cedar the community forest has processed to date is very low. “We logged 12 loads last summer, 10 of which was sold to a local mill. Over this past winter we only logged 20 loads of cedar. It was also smaller ce-dar, not the older growth some local mills need.” The Valemount Com-munity Forest has also spent most of their ener-gy on other markets. “The focus is still the pine. Our cut will taper off soon. After we deal with the larger volume sales, we will be able to focus in on specific needs of individual local mills.” Ed Anthony also owns a small mill 4 kilometres south of Valemount. An-thony’s mill has been pro-ducing true-dimension cedar cuts for a market in the lower mainland for 19

years. “Sewarne lumber used to buy my rough cut then re-mill it into many dif-ferent specialty products.” Anthony says that this past winter was the first time in 19 years that they lowered the price after he had already started mill-ing. “They said it was a result of the American market going flat.” Anthony says that trou-ble finding cedar log sup-ply has not helped him deal with these market shifts. “I never had a problem getting wood when it was the McBride Forest Dis-trict.” According to Anthony good cedar is available from the McBride Com-munity Forest but in the past he had to take alot of low grade with it. “There is a market for the low grade, but I would have to set up a second-ary production line.” Anthony says that his mill has taken delivery of ten loads from the Vale-mount Community For-est. “I ordered five loads and got ten. It was all little stuff. What I did cut up was top quality lumber though.” At this same time, An-thony’s market dried up when he had only pro-cessed five of the ten loads. Anthony says that there still is a market for clear, edge-grain cedar true di-mension 2/4’s. He says that low grade cedar can be made into this prod-uct, which does have a

good price. “The ideal would be to find a Chinese market. That market is not getting smaller. McBride is full of good cedar. We have lots too.” Bressette says that while he understands the diffi-culty local mills have had securing cedar log supply, he must stress that the Valemount Community Forest has not sorted any cedar to date. “There is no creaming, no high-grading going on for our out-of-town buy-ers. I have told the local mills that any cedar we can provide will have to be bush run, the same as our out-of-town buyers.” Brassette also refutes a rumour that out-of-town buyers are receiving wood based on a lower

stumpage rate. “Our stumpage rate is fixed. There is no lower stumpage for us when we ship wood. We are a dif-ferent kind of tenure.” While pine will remain the priority for the com-munity forest for the rest of the summer, Brassette says that he has already started some work to help address local specialty mills’ needs. “The community for-est sees the value of lo-cal manufacturing. It is just a matter of figuring out how we can supply them. Only three percent of our tenure inventory

is cedar. We also do not have as much of a varied of cedar to choose from as McBride. We have also applied for a boundary expansion. One of the goals is specifically to find more cedar.” Brassette says that he has started working on other ways to supply ce-dar to local mills as well. “I have set up blocks within our tenure for two local mills. It is set up as a similar system to what the McBride District had in place. More of a ‘grab it when you need it’ system within the community forest.” He also says that other efforts could help. A sort yard would allow for mills to buy exactly what logs they want, while allow-ing the community forest to get better prices based on grade instead of bush run. He also says that a self-loading truck would aid local mills greatly. But he says that allowing local mills to sort their own logs on landings in the bush will not come to pass. “We do not want parts of trees left in the bush.” Despite the limitations of the community forest’s tenure, Brassette does feel that the needs of local mills can be met. “It is complex, not that it can not be done. We just got this other cedar block approved on the Westridge. Pre-develop-ment work begins there this summer. There is another potential block down the East Canoe that we are looking at.” Brassette says the board

Local specialty mills having a hard time securing cedar Valemount Community Forest trying to balance locals needs with market demands

Local Issues Feature:

Joseph [email protected]

“The ideal would be to find a Chinese market...” Ed Anthony, Mill Owner/Operator

“We do not want parts of trees left in the bush.” Shane Bressette, Com. Forest Director

“I never had a problem getting wood when it was the McBride For-est District.” Ed, Anthony, Mill Owner/operator

of the Valemount Com-munity Forest has also decided to hold a ‘local manufacturers’ meeting’. Within the next couple of weeks a firm date will be announced. “It takes a bit of time to head in that direction. It has taken a year for me to get to know the mills and figure out how to meet their needs.

Why do local issues matter? We know because as owners, we live here too!

Do you have a local issuethat needs

professionaljournalisticcoverage?

Contact The Goat

250-566-5135

www.throckymountaingoat.

com

The Rocky Mountaing Goat is available weekly on Wednesdays. Next issue: July 21 , 2010


LOWER GENERIC DRUG PRICES ON THE WAY The price of generic drugs in British Columbia will drop to 35 per cent of the brand price, resulting in up to $380 mil-lion a year in total savings, following an agreement by the Province with the B.C. Pharmacy Association and the Cana-dian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS). “Quite simply, we were paying too much for some of the most popular drugs for high blood pressure, heart-burn, depression, epilepsy and choles-terol. Change was needed if we want to keep drug costs sustainable and redirect the money to cover new drugs and pro-vide better services” said Health Servic-es Minister Kevin Falcon. At present, generic drug prices in B.C. average roughly 65 per cent of the brand-name cost. The agreement, which will be phased in over three years, will see PharmaCare reduce the price it pays to pharmacies for generic drugs to 35 per cent. For example, by April 2012, the agree-ment will result in an estimated $7 mil-lion in annual savings to PharmaCare for costs related to the sale of the generic brand of Lipitor, the top-selling drug in the world used to treat high cholesterol. It is also expected to result in an esti-mated $9 million in annual savings for employer/union drug plans and indi-viduals paying out-of-pocket. The reduced generic prices will only apply to products covered by Pharma-Care. However, these savings will ap-

ply to all British Columbians regardless if they are covered by PharmaCare, an employer/union-paid drug plan, or pay-ing for drugs out-of-pocket. In addition to the estimated up to $170 million a year in savings for the health system, it is estimated that employer/union-sponsored drug plans and indi-viduals can expect annualized savings of up to $210 million. This represents estimated savings of up to $380 million a year in total. Effective July 28, the maximum dis-pensing fee reimbursed by PharmaCare to pharmacies will increase by 50 cents to $9.10. Fees will go up an additional 50 cents on Oct. 15, 2010 to $9.60, on July 4, 2011 to $10 and on April 2, 2012 to $10.50. These increases recognize the impact of reduced generic drug prices on pharmacy revenues and will preserve the ongoing viability of the community pharmacy sector in B.C. By year three of the agreement, $35 million will be reinvested into new clini-cal pharmacy services. These services will be defined over the course of the deal and include more complex services like medication management by phar-macists. The Province spends over $900 million a year through Pharmacare with generic drugs accounting for an ever-increasing proportion of that amount, totalling $286 million in 2008-09. This agreement is partially in response to recommendations made by the Phar-maceutical Task Force on pharmacy compensation and reducing the cost of generic drugs in B.C.

CHINESE PROVINCE SIGNS ON TO USE MORE B.C. WOOD A new agreement with the Province of Hebei further opens a market in northern China to B.C. wood products and wood-frame building technology, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell an-nounced recently. “Hebei Province is looking to B.C. for expertise and wood products to grow their wood-based construction sector,” said Bell. “This agreement provides an opportunity to showcase wood-frame construction in northern China.” The agreement with Hebei will lead to the construction of a wood-frame dem-onstration project, such as a multi-sto-rey apartment building. The project will show local developers and consumers how wood-frame designs are energy-ef-ficient, cost-competitive, and well suited to conditions on China’s northern plain. The arrangement builds on introduc-ing B.C.-designed wood truss roofing in Hebei and updating local building codes for wood-frame construction. Both projects were supported by For-estry Innovation Investment, B.C.’s in-ternational marketing agency for wood products, and Canada Wood, an indus-try marketing group. “The Hebei delegation is impressed with B.C.’s sustainable forest manage-ment, advanced wood science and building technology,” said Hebei Vice Governor Song Enhua. “Using wood products will speed up our new housing program and protect the environment by reducing carbon consumption.”

“Chinese officials are quickly becom-ing aware of the many benefits of build-ing with wood – energy efficiency, a low carbon footprint and earthquake-resis-tant,” said Bell. “Thanks to ongoing pro-motional efforts, Hebei sees B.C. as their preferred supplier of wood products.” Hebei has a population of 67 million people and a provincial GDP of over $240 billion per year – the sixth-largest in China. China is now B.C.’s fastest growing market for lumber products and re-cently passed Japan to become the sec-ond-largest market by volume after the United States. Lumber exports in 2009 hit a record high of 1.6 billion board feet valued at more than $327 million, and the equiv-alent production of six large Interior sawmills. Sales volumes in the first four months of 2010 are two-thirds higher than the same timeframe in 2009.

Keeping YOU in the loop!

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Briefs:Simone Von Velzen and Jesse Mason (left) and Rita and Vincent Lageschaar (right) react to Spain scoring the winning goal on the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup Sunday in Vale-mount. “I’ve been here two years and I’ve not been homesick,” Von Velzen says. “But this morning I woke up and I cried. I really wished I could have been there.”

Photos: Laura Keil


The Tourism Directory

The Business Directory

Teepee Meadows CottageSpectacular mountain and marshland scenery

Located 3 km west of ValemountHosts: Claude, Alke & Noland Germain

545 Jack Adams Road, Box 786Valemount, BC V0E 2Z0

Phone:250-566-9875

$50 for 4 weeks, or $20 for one weekCall Joe at 250-566-1444 or

[email protected]

Don’t miss out!Tourists read

The Rocky Mountain Goat

Do you have a business card?Placing a directory ad is simple.

E-mail jpeg or pdf files,or stop by our office to scan your card.

[email protected]

An Italian mountain village has been adopted by Libya’s leader, Colonel Muammar Al Qadhafi who was touched by the locals’ hospitality and warmth. Qadhafi “adopted” the tiny town of An-trodoco after discovering it by chance last year when he travelled to Italy for the G8 summit in the earthquake-hit city of L’Aquila. Nervous of driving through tunnels possibly weakened by the powerful quake on the motorway which connects Rome with L’Aquila, he instead instruct-ed his entourage to take a winding back route through the mountains. Qadhafi has reportedly promised to help the village by converting a historic palazzo (grand building) into a luxury hotel and setting up a business bottling mineral water from a mountain spring.

Libya’s Colonel Qadhafi adopts mountain village

Randoms:

Submitted by Karen Dabrowska

Photo: Andru McCrackenTravis Bryant showing off his skills for his girlfriend on Sunday.

Within Canada ($90/Year) International ($90/Year +Postage)Robson Valley ($70/Year)

Subscriber’s Name:

P.O. Box #:

Street Address:

City/Province/Country:

Postal/Zip Code:

e-mail:

Phone:

Please check off the appropriate boxes, fill out all of the lines, cut out the form along the dotted line, and mail with a cheque, or money order to:

SubscriptionThe Rocky Mountain GoatBox 21Valemount, BCV0E 2Z0

Convenience Mail Delivery Subscription For questions, call The Goat at (250) 566-4606, or e-mail [email protected]

The Rocky Mountain Goat is produced and distributed by ‘The Rocky Mountain Goat News’ and is subject to copyright. Reproduction, or distribution of any article, photo, or other content must recieve prior consent from Joseph Nusse (Co-Owner/Publisher) or Laura Keil (Co-Owner/Editor).

Joseph NusseCo-Owner

Publisher/[email protected]

Laura KeilCo-Owner

Editor/[email protected]

Office: 1070, 5th Avenue, Valemount British Columbia

Telephone: (250) 566-4606E-mail: [email protected], or [email protected]: www.therockymountaingoat.comMail Address: Box 21, Valemount BC, V0E 2Z0

The Rocky Mountain Goat is a free distribution newspaper serving a population base of approximately 4,000 residents from Blue River and Valemount, to McBride and Dome Creek.

The Rocky Mountain Goat is distributed free weekly

Salvaged metal siding for sale. Perfect for any out-building or shop. Approxi-mately 550-600 square foot coverage. Will consider any offer! Call Joe 250-566-1444

Hanging propane shop heater for sale. Listed as 65,000 BTU. Comes with mounting bracket. Will consider any offer! Call Joe 250-566-1444.

Varying lengths of flores-cent light fixtures for sale. Will consider any offer! Call Joe 250-566-1444

Classified ads policy

If it is for free, it is free. Up to 20 words for $2, 30 words for $3, 40 words for $4 etc. If the asking price is over $499, then it is $5 for 20 words, $6 for 30 words etc.

Non-business announce-ments are welcome at the same rates. The Rocky Mountain Goat reserves the right to refuse to print any classified submission that is not an advertise-ment of a private sale, or rental arrangement.

Used Building Materials

Twenty for a Toonie: The Classified Ads Plain Talk HoroscopesBy Craig Elder, M.A. Economics

Aries: Go with the crowd. Why would they lead you astray?Taurus: You are being watched. Act accordingly.Gemini: Communication is vital this week. Talk down to people so they understand you.Cancer: Someone knows your secret. Best start saving to afford the blackmail.Leo: When an old friend comes to visit, welcome them in... and hide the silver.Virgo: Make rational decisions to maximize your utility.Libra: Don’t forget, bacon is the most important meal of the day.Scorpio: When you are confronted by a problem this week, try going back to bed.Sagittarius: This is a good week to dust off your dancing shoes.Capricorn: Today is a good day to locate the smell in your fridge.Aquarius: You will be uncharacteristically charis-matic this week, don’t waste it.Pieces: Pay attention to your surroundings, so you don’t get ‘Cod’ with your pants down.

Be the first to sponsor the $2 classified ads!

Let The Rocky Mountain Goat assist your business with targeted marketing ideas.

Illustrations by Luke Siemens

Wanted

Trusses for sale. Approxi-mately 42 foot span. 14 units. Single slant, could be modified with a chalk line


To submit your classified ad, e-mail or call the goat, or place your ad in an envelope with pay-ment and drop it in our mailbox, 1070 5th Ave

Exclusive 2.25 inches high by a whole page width at the bottom of the calssified page for $85/week

and skill saw. Now consider-ing offers! Call Joe 250-566-1444

How to submit an ad 500 gal. single-wall fuel tank. Asking $200. Call 250-566-5069, ask for Jared

For Sale

Small truck canopy to fit S-10. Length 75” by width 60”. Message 250-566-1588

Lost

Two fishing tackle boxes. 22km on the West side of Kinbasket Lake. If found, please return to David Lerch, 566-0010.

For free! Desperately seeking a good home for a small 3-year old blue-heal-er-rottweiller cross male dog, or if you can also provide temporary foster parenting as well, please call: 250-566-0173.

For Free


Left: Viral Patel and Gregor Cuddeback from the Visitor Information Center dressed up for the Canoe Mountain Rodeo Weekend deco-rated business contest.

Right: Jorry Holmes flees a testy bull after getting bucked off on Friday.

Valemount’s Canoe Mountain Rodeo weekendJuly 9-11

Above: Patrick Houle holds on tight as bull fighters Kelly Morton (red shirt), Ty Prescott brace themselves for the bull.

Above Kelsey Griffin, Melanie Brown and Stacey Duncan hang out before Griffin and Brown do the entry ride for the rodeo Friday.

Jonah Reid from New Zealand keeps his free hand away from the bull as not to be disqualified.

Shaan Perry, one of the stock contractors at the rodeo.

The Rocky Mountaing Goat is available weekly on Wednesdays. Next issue: July 21 , 2010

Do you like The Rocky Mountain Goat? Are you selling a house? Tell your realty agent that you want to see your house listed in The Rocky Mountain Goat

Get the best exposure in the valley!Remember: EVERYBODY reads a free newspaper


The Right Agent... For Today’s Market

RE/MAX Centre city • 1679 15th Avenue • Prince George BC V2L 3X2 • 1-250-562-3600

Each office is independently owned and operated

250-981-5742 or 250-569-0125 or Toll Free: 1-877-732-5767 • [email protected], VALEMOUNT, AND AREA www.robsonvalleyrealestate.ca

Data is from sources believed to be reliable but accuracy is not guaranteed.

AL Miller THE HARD-WORKING NICE GUY

$315,000

$299,000

$350,000

$159,000 $349,000

$145,000

1095 Dyke Rd, McBride

4592 Mountainview Rd, McBride

Spittal Crk, Tete Jaune Cache

13292 Bunbury Rd, Tete Jaune Cache

On the river, McBride-Riverfront parcel-Over 217 acres-Private & secluded-Treed & cleared-Rare find

-Market garden potential-Prime 19 acre parcel -Sides highway for sales-On community water

Dyke Rd, McBride-Creekside cottage-On the Rockies-3 bdrm on 10.32 acres-Awesome views

-Nestled in the Rockies-Cottage & modular-Spectacular views-Private 9.15 acres

-Valley view home-5 bdrm, 4 baths-Open and spacious-On 13.5 treed acres

-16 unit MHP-Includes 1 park unit-Nicest in area-Excellent location

3270 Hwy 16, E, McBride-Excellent location-Treed 79 acres-2 fresh water creeks-Valley, river views

1890 Koeneman Rd, McBride

$399,000

-Nice private 2 acre parcel-Within minutes to river-Immaculate 4 bdrm home-Truck shop, gardens, etc

$239,000

Cathy Crofford and Kerri-Lynne stand outside Cathy’s Premier Coin Laundry and Sasquatch Cafe. They won first prize in the costume category. They also decorated the inside of the store and arranged this ‘sleeping cowboy.’

Photo: Laura Keil

July 14th 2010 volume 1 Issue 5

Documents

Transcript of July 14th 2010 volume 1 Issue 5