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Vol. 89 Issue 13 • Wednesday, March 28, 2012 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 Includes HST
B.C. Midgets Tier 4 championship wraps up in Nakusp By Claire Paradis Arrow Lakes News
The B.C. Midget Tier 4 Championship blew through town last week, whipping Nakusp Falcons fans into a frenzy. In preparation for the March 18-21 games, shops up and down Broadway decorated their windows, welcoming teams from across the province and from the Yukon. At the arena, the hockey-induced excitement intensified, with home team games packing the parking lot with cars and the rink with fans. Stakes for the 50/50 draws were high too, with prizes over $1,000 being given out during Falcons games. Fans decked themselves out and painted their faces in Falcons colours, blew horns and hollered their hearts out for the home team for these few days over spring break. After a Saturday night banquet, the hockey started 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, March 18. First up were the Fort St. James Stars against home team Nakusp Falcons. Scoring early, the first goal went to the Stars’ D. Sheeham less than 30 seconds into the game. It was their first and only goal of the game, first tied by Z. Friedenberger then topped by M. Hascarl in the first period. The second period saw the only other goal, which was scored by Falcons’ K. Nishida. Later that night, the opening ceremonies were held before Nakusp faced the Chetwynd Giants. All six
teams lined the ice showing their colours for the tournament’s official opening. There was a moment of silence in memory of the passing of Ben Big Canoe, a long-time minor hockey fan. His wife Christine Big Canoe commemorated her late husband by taking part in a ceremonial puck drop. Then, it was Giants versus Falcons. Nakusp was ahead two goals by the end of the first period, with the spread increasing four to zero by the end of the second. Early in the third period, Chetwynd player R. Spoklie scored their sole goal, which was followed by six more goals by Nakusp. Friedenberger scored four of Nakusp’s ten, with K. Nishida, R. Bateman, D. Hascarl and D. Devin supplying the rest. The next night, it was Saanich Braves against Nakusp Falcons, an evenly matched game with hardwon goals on both sides. H. Kincross scored the first goal for Saanich, but a power play goal by R. Bateman tied it up in the first. D. Hascarl and D. Devlin scored in the second, with Saanich coming back to tie it up with goals by R. Rhynas and G. Soloman. In the third period neither goalie let any shots in, and the score remained a 3-3 tie. Tuesday night’s game saw Falcons taking on the Kelowna Rockets. The first goal was scored nearly a minute and a half into the game by Kelowna’s
Nakusp Falcons had the town cheering them on when they played. Here, they are competing again the Kelowna Rockets. PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAYLA MARSHALL C. Murray, with D. Hascarl tying it up in the first period. The next goal was scored in the second by J. Pankiw for the Rockets. D. Hascarl answered Kelowna’s goal again in the third period, making it 2-2. Kelowna delivered three more pucks into the Falcons’ net, one of which made an unpredictable bounce over the Falcons’ goalie’s shoulder. The result was a 5-2 score for the Rockets.
On the final day, the Nakusp Falcons competed with the northernmost team, the Whitehorse Mustangs. The Mustangs started off the scoring with a goal by T. Charlie in the first. Nakusp answered with three goals in the second period by C. Reimer, R. Bateman and J. Streliev. G. Aird scored one more for Whitehorse in the second, making the score 3-2. The third period saw Nakusp
score five more times, with goals by M. Zorn, D. Hascarl, Q. Volansky, and M. McCoy (2), while Whitehorse put two more in, thanks to S. Roberts and G. Aird. Nakusp was just shy of the final game, coming in third over all. At the end of the game, the Mustangs who had travelled very far to get to Nakusp, were
See ‘hockey’ page 8
Reactions swift, and mixed, to Jumbo resort approval By Claire Paradis Arrow Lakes News
More than two decades after it was first proposed, the Jumbo Glacier Resort has received a nod of approval from the provincial government. The proposed resort would operate year-round thanks to the glacier located on Crown land 55 kilometres from Invermere. Reaction to the announcement has been swift and mixed. The BC Chamber of Commerce applauded the move, seeing it as a step toward expediting the approval of large-scale projects. “This project has been reviewed to death,” President and CEO of the BC
Chamber of Commerce John Winter said about the 22-year wait for approval by the B.C. government. “Where major projects are concerned, we very much hope that this is a harbinger of things to come,” commented Winter. Not everyone has seen the announcement as a move in the right direction. Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy characterized the approval as a surprising and devastating blow to the area. “People in Kootenay West have written and e-mailed me to say they strongly disagree with building a resort in the Jumbo Valley,” said Conroy. “It doesn’t make sense environmentally or economically.”
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In a statement to the press, Conroy claimed that the project’s proponent doesn’t have a financial backer. “So this project has no support and no money, but the government is determined to try and force it through,” Conroy said, who also remarked that making the announcement in Victoria rather than coming to face the people in the area was very disrespectful. Alex Atamanenko, Member of Parliament for BC Southern Interior also voiced his dismay at Jumbo’s approval. “The Liberal government has seen fit to make this decision in spite of years of fighting against the development of Jum-
bo by communities and individuals,” said the NDP MP. Not only that, Atamanenko sees this as the wrong time to be starting a project that will put more expense on taxpayers. “The Jumbo resort is being proposed in a region that already has a dozen ski resorts within 150 kilometres. The proposed access road upgrade is at great taxpayer expense. Climate change is a fact of life. Why the province chose to make this decision at this time is incomprehensible. Which British Columbians are benefitting from this project?”
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