LOCAL NEWS: GEOPARK OPEN HOUSES ▼ A3
Times
Thursday, February 26, 2015 ▼ Volume 51 No. 9 ▼ www.clearwatertimes.com ▼ $1.35 Includes GST
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First Place Best All Round Newspaper & Best Editorial Page Second Place Best Front Page All of Canada <1,250 circulation 2014 First Place General Excellence B.C. and Yukon <2,000 circulation 2014
Learning about the healing power of animals Former sergeant in charge of Clearwater RCMP and his wife explore new careers Keith McNeill
A local couple that has been through a trying time is slowly recovering with the help of each other, family, friends, their religious faith and ... alpacas. Stu Seib was the sergeant in charge of Clearwater RCMP detachment from 2003 until 2011. In November 2011 he was promoted to staff sergeant in charge of the Merritt detachment. In an attempt to deal with the many high stress situations (very disturbing and violent scenes) that he had witnessed over his years of service, he began self-medicating with a controlled substance. Realizing his helplessness and due to his strong personal beliefs, in January, 2011, he chose to turn himself in. Following an investigation that made headlines across Canada, he was charged with stealing cocaine from the evidence locker in Merritt. Eighteen months later he pled guilty to “breach of trust.” He was handed a conditional discharge, 50 hours of community service, plus one year probation. He also resigned from the RCMP. He was able to get a pension, but it was less than what he would have
received if he had continued on his career path. “What do you do if you’re all of a sudden in retirement?” he asked. “We were both too young to do nothing.” He and his wife, Bobbi, decided to stay on in the house they were building southeast of Clearwater. They investigated various items they could produce and sell from the acreage they own. One item they looked at was birch syrup. They travelled to a farm near Quesnel that produces it commercially. The farm also raises alpacas and they noticed some alpaca blankets for sale. They were amazed by how soft and warm the wool was. On their way home they spotted some alpacas by Highway 24 near Bridge Lake. They stopped to take some photos and the man from the house started shouting and waving at them. They thought he was angry about them taking photographs but, in fact, he wanted to show them a newborn alpaca. That was enough to convince them to buy six of the animals from a woman near 100 Mile House.
Clearwater area resident Stu Seib offers his hand to one of his alpacas to sniff. Although the animals look cuddly, they actually don't like being handled. Alpacas are highly social and very intelligent animals. Seib and his wife, Bobbi, have a small herd that they are raising for the animals' warm and lightweight fleece. Photo by Keith McNeill
Two years later they bought eight more from the same lady. Those purchases plus a couple of births (and one death) mean they now have a herd of 17. “They’re a very peaceful animal,” said Bobbi Seib. “Generally speaking, the only noise they make is a low hum when they are contented.” A couple of guard dogs live with the herd but one time when they might have been needed, the dogs were nowhere to be seen. A bear got into the
pasture with the alpacas. The mothers gave an alarm call, herded the young ones together, then formed a line between them and the bear. Two of the bigger alpacas advanced on the bear, stamping their feet, making short charges, and looking fierce. After a while the bear decided he had seen enough. He jumped over the fence and went back into the forest. Alpacas are sheered once a year in June. They don’t like the
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process but they do like it when it’s over. The animals need to be strapped down when they are sheared. The work is done by a travelling professional. “After it is done, they just go crazy. They dance around for hours. It must feel good to get rid of that heavy fleece,” said Bobbi Seib. Alpaca fleece is 5-10 inches in length and differs from the typical sheep’s wool. It is several times warmer for its weight, and there is no lanolin.
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It is hypoallergenic, which is good for the people who react to the itch in sheep wool. Although not fire-proof, it is fireresistant. The best fleece (firsts) comes from the alpaca’s saddle area which is called the blanket. The seconds and thirds come from the rest of the animal. The fleece is separated by grade and also by color (there are 52 recognized natural alpaca colors). Continued on page A11