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ECHO
AUGUST 6, 2014
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CELEBRATING 55 YEARS IN 2014
Little Prairie Heritage Society celebrates grand re-opening of Chetwynd museum
NAOMI LARSEN Chetwynd Echo Editor –––––––––––––– CHETWYND – Following months of hard work, grant proposal writing, fundraising and elbow grease the Little Prairie Heritage Society celebrated the grand re-opening of the Chetwynd museum July 31. Long time Chetwynd resident and society president Shirley Weeks gave a bit of history on the building which was originally Chetwynd’s General Store and post office beginning in 1949. It was moved to its current location and serves as a reminder of Chetwynd’s history. “After several disasters the building became unsafe to use,� Weeks said to the small crowd that came out to help celebrate. “And a lot of very hard work has gone into the renovation of the main building.� Renovations included replacement of all flooring and lights as well as the repair of several joists, rafters, and fascia. They also gave the building
new windows, a new coat of paint inside. As well, the deck was repaired and traps were set to care of the rodent problem. Weeks said following discussions with an engineer, plans to refurbish the building were created and a plan of action was made. The museum was closed to the public during the summer of 2013 and every item was removed, photographed and catalogued. “When it came time for painting, flooring and installing new lights, the crew packed everything into two sea cans and following renovations everything was unpacked and reorganized into their rightful spots, Weeks said. “Julie Shaw and Bob and Bobbie Nicholson with several willing helpers worked very hard to produce the end result,� she said. “The District of Chetwynd provided major help over the years and the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) provided the
Parents will get $40 per day during BCTF strike INSIDE
Please see "SOCIETY," page 12
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Society will put time and energy into something more positive says president
LPHS member Shirley Weeks cuts the official grand re-opening ribbon July 31 as Bobbie Nicholson, Bri Ranta, Jerrilyn Schembri, Bob Nicholson and Julie Photo by Naomi Larsen Shaw look on. Alberni Valley Times –––––––––––––– CHETWYND – Parents will receive $40 a day for every child under 13 if the B.C. teachers' strike continues into September, Finance Minister Mike de Jong announced Friday. De Jong said parents will register online to receive the money to offset the cost of child care, tutoring or other educational opportunities. "I do want to emphasize DEJONG that this is meant only as a contingency if that circum- stance exists," he said.
Site C threatens valuable resources Page 6
"But if there is a disruption, if children aren't back in school, we understand that parents and families incur the bulk of the costs associated with that." De Jong said the government will pay out the money as quickly as possible. "I anticipate that would be early in October," he said. De Jong said the subsidies do not apply to students 13 and older because they have "additional resources and abili-
ENTER TO WIN TICKETS TO ALICE IN CHAINS
BY NAOMI LARSEN Chetwynd Echo Editor –––––––––––––– CHETWYND – A solution has been agreed upon in dealing with the large colony of feral cats living at Aspen Mobile Estates west of Chetwynd, however the solution has the local animal rescue walking away from any involvement. While On Our Way Home Animal Rescue president Alyssa Bond declined to comment on the meeting held Tuesday evening to the Chetwynd Echo, she did state on the organization’s Facebook page they would not be partaking in the program.
Please see "SPCA," page 3
ties" to access online tutoring and educational opportunities. They also do not require the same level of supervision as children 12 and younger, he said. The subsidies are expected to eat up approximately $12 million a day the government saves in education spending during a strike. Parents will not be eligible to claim for the days their children missed in Please see "GOVERNMENT," page 3
A terror of tyrannosaurs Page 9
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Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Chetwynd Echo
At a recent meeting regarding the feral cat colony at Aspen Mobile Home Park, residents voted to trap and euthanize any sick or diseased cats and spay/neuter and web photo release the remaining healthy felines.
SPCA to assist and help reduce costs associated Continued from page 1
Quintette No Shoot Boundary Notice With hunting season upon us, Teck would like to remind outdoor enthusiasts and anyone who may be unfamiliar with the Quintette property to please respect the No Shoot Boundary outlined in this map. The boundary is designed with everyone’s safety in mind as there are ongoing activities taking place at the Quintette mine and workers are active in the area. Please contact Ray Proulx with any questions or concerns at 1.877.544.3824 or drop by the storefront office in Tumbler Ridge. Thank you for your continued support.
“We apologize, but we have done all we can at this point and will put our time and effort into something with more positivity and less negativity,� Bond stated. Peace River Regional District Director for Area E Jerrilyn Schembri attended the meeting. She said compared to the last meeting held in mid-July, the atmosphere was much less toxic. “It was quite amazing,� she said. “The first meeting highly conflictual – there was a lot of tension between people. But this meeting as totally different.� Schembri, who chaired the meeting, said she started it by saying they were there to find solutions to the problem not to point fingers or rehash the issue. Chetwynd residents Justin and Rosemary Keutzer, who could not be reached for comment, had been assigned the responsibility of researching and presenting possible solutions. Schembri said their research showed between 75 and 100 feral cats in the park. They presented three different options. The first option was to catch and euthanize all of the cats at a cost of between $5,000 and $6,000 thus eliminating the colony entirely. However Schembri said, they would be hard pressed to find enough people to support that idea. “And the other thing is when you remove cats, you remove the dominant males and the territory becomes free for the taking and within a year the same number or more would be back there. And that would happen over and over again,� she said. The second option presented was a trap, neuter/spay and release program at an estimated cost of around $18,000. This cost would also include shots. The cats would be released back into the trailer park. “Again, it was a good option because you’re not harming, you’re not killing and you’re going to stop the procreation aspect,� Schembri said. The third and final option and the one
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that was agreed upon was a combination of the first and second option, with the euthanization of any sick or diseased cats and the trap/neuter/spay/release of the remaining healthy felines. Schembri said it would leave between 30 and 50 cats the park. “Everyone wanted option three,� Schembri said.. “Which was shocking to me. At the last meeting it was everybody get rid of them. It was really neat change in dynamics.� Schembri said a committee of residents has been formed to look into the costs etc. “The SPCA said they would assist and help reduce the costs,� Schembri said, adding a representative of the SPCA will also sit on the committee. However at the end of the day she said the issue truly belongs in the park’s owners and residents hands. “They need to own the issue and the solution,� she said, adding the PRRD has no legal right to step in at all. “It has to be done by the people of the park and I’m counting on them to move this forward.� Wendy Davies of the Dawson Creek SPCA also attended the meeting and she said she’s hoping more people attend the next meeting in a few weeks. “The community needs to be willing to participate,� she said. “This community needs to pull together to adders the issue.�
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Chetwynd Echo
3
Government has no intention to force teachers to work Continued from page 1
June, he said. As to what happens to the money the government has saved already, de Jong said "that's really a conversation that will take place at the negotiating table." He expressed hope that
the two sides will resume talks next week and reach a deal before school is slated to resume in September. "The message, I hope, that's being conveyed is that there is ... a need to end this recurring trend of not negotiating agreements," he said. De Jong said govern-
'You know what? School is not daycare. We want our public schools open Sept. 2. This thing has gone on far too long." Peace River South Teacher’s Association President Lorraine Mackay could not be reached for comment before press time.
son for the parties to sit down and hammer out a negotiated agreement." NDP education critic Rob Fleming accused the Liberals of "playing games" instead of negotiating an end to the llabour dispute. "I think parents are going to look at this and they're going to say,
Caribou penning project wins award
MIKE CARTER Chetwynd Echo Reporter –––––––––––––– CHETWYND The Resources North Association (RNA) has named the Peace Northern Caribou Committee as the 2014 recipient of it’s Cooperative Land Management Award, 250 News reports. “On behalf of the RNA Board, I’m very pleased to congratulayte the Peace Northern Caribou Committee for their BY
ernment has no intention of recalling the legislature early to force teachers back to work. The house is slated to resume sitting in October. "I think the pressure will begin to build long before October," he said. "I think the pressure will build in August.All the more rea-
ments, including his, have been too quick to impose contracts on teachers in the past. "I think the BCTF has come to expect that and that has characterized and influenced the relationship in negative ways," he said. De Jong repeated his assertion that, this time, gov-
of urgency that First Nations felt was needed to save the KlinseZa and other adjacent caribou herds in the Peace. Concurrently West Moberly First Nations developed a Recovery Plan for the Klinse-Za herd with inputs from biologists, government and their own traditional knowledge. This plan was released in 2013 and has formed the basis of the recovery efforts. The award was accepted in person by the PNCC Chair,
dedication, hard work and huge ongoing efforts to develop and implement recovery strategies for caribou,� said RNA chair, and the mayor of Mackenzie, Stephanie Killam. The concept of the Peace Northern Caribou Committee (PNCC) was initiated in 2011 through the leadership and vision of the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations in cooperation and with the support of Teck Resources due to the sense
• Saulteau First Nations Brian Pate of West Fraser Mills • West Moberly First Nations Ltd. (Chetwynd) "We are hon• West Fraser Mills Ltd oured to be recognized in this • Wildlife Infometrics Inc. way"said Pate ". This is truly • Spectra Energy collaborative project with all • Treaty 8 sectors doing whatever had to • Peace River Coal be done to make the project hap• Teck Coal pen. While working together • TransCanada Pipelines was a welcome reward, the op• Walter Energy portunity to do a hands-on, • BC Ministry of Environment proactive project that ‘gives • BC Ministry of Forests, back’ is the best reward." The committee consists of Lands and Natural Resource Operations representatives from:
Mills still being cited for wood-dust problems
ChetwyndĘźs West Fraser mill passes most recent inspection
CHETWYND ECHO STAFF –––––––––––––– WorkSafeBC continued to issue stop work orders and fines this spring for sawmills that failed wood-dust inspections more than two years after a pair of deadly mill explosions. But mills are starting to push back against WorkSafeBC's conclusions with at least one mill appealing the results. In a fourth round of inspections between April and June, 18 per cent of 82 mills received citations for dust accumulations, ventilation problems, inadequate dust control programs or the use of high-pressure air to move dust. Another 20 per cent of the sawmills were cited for less severe infractions such as inadequate dust inspections and training of workers, according to WorkSafeBC inspection reports obtained by The Vancouver Sun through a freedom of information request. The numbers are considered an improvement from a 42-per-cent failure rate for the more serious infractions in the previous round. Sawmills are being cited less often for failing to clean the main areas of their facilities, but WorkSafeBC is issuing orders to do a better job of cleaning wood dust from harder-to-get-to areas such as roof beams. Mills are also being cited for not doing a proper job of cleaning secondary mill buildings. Companies issued stopwork orders in this recent inspection blitz include Apollo Forest Products in Fort St. James, Dunkley Lumber near Prince George, Teal Cedar in Sur-
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rey, West Fraser in Quesnel, and Western Forest Products in Ladysmith. WorkSafeBC issues stop-work orders when they consider there is an imminent risk that could result in severe injury or death. But B.C.-based West Fraser, the world's largest lumber manufacturer, is appealing the safety agency's findings on May 14 that resulted in a stopwork order at its Quesnel mill. Similar to the other stop-work orders, the sanction was lifted within hours after a cleanup had been completed. WorkSafeBC officers determined levels of dust in a planer room were a risk of fire or explosion. Thin layers of dust were found in areas such as the trim of doors, electrical panels, emergency lighting, sprinkler pipes, on the floor under and within material stored in a corner of the room, and on electrical cables underneath metal floor covers. "Our employees are very dedicated and proud of their efforts to maintain a safe workplace at the Quesnel mill," West Fraser CEO said Ted Seraphim said in a written statement. "We were all disappointed to receive an order at the mill that we do not believe accurately reflected our operation, and we are appealing it." Seraphim noted that West Fraser has invested more than $21 million to improve dust removal equipment, cleanup procedures, worker training and internal inspections. West Fraser's sawmills in 100 Mile House and Chetwynd passed inspection, while its plant in Fraser Lake was cited for a lack of training on its dust control program.
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Western Forest Products says daily testing of dust at issue in their inspection in Ladysmith shows it was too moist and the dust particles too large for it to be an explosive threat. They are in discussions with WorkSafeBC on their findings, said company spokeswoman Amy Spencer. Western has also spent millions on equipment upgrades, worker training and dust management, she said. Its mills in Chemainus, Duncan and Port Alberni passed inspection. WorkSafeBC declined a request for an interview about the inspection findings until a planned release next week of the
results. The safety agency is under pressure - including from the B.C. Liberal government, unions and families of the victims - to ensure there is not another explosion incident. WorkSafeBC has also faced heavy criticism for botched investigations into the explosions at Babine Forest Products and Lakeland Mills that failed to result in charges. United Steelworkers local 1-424 president Frank Everitt said while inspections are much more thorough, that is rightfully so given the explosions that killed four workers. Sinclar Group president Greg Stewart acknowl-
edged a hazard was correctly identified at its Apollo plant. "The company will do its utmost to ensure it doesn't happen again, and will work collaboratively with WorkSafeBC to maintain compliance," he said in a written statement. Apollo was issued a stop-work order on May 28 for "unacceptable" levels of dust in a threewalled building where wood waste such as shavings and bark are stored away from the main sawmill. Inspectors found dust on rafters and behind a waist-high wall. A breaker panel and a frontend loader were considered ignition sources.
At Dunkley Lumber, an inspection found accumulations of wood dust in its sawmill on roof trusses, piping and other overhead structures. The mill was fined $52,500. Dunkley Lumber vice-president Jason Fisher said the mill prides itself on being among the cleanest in the industry. "If anything, this shows how vigilant you must be," he said. Sigurdson Forest Products in Williams Lake was issued a $66,448 fine for violations from January 2014. The company, a repeat offender, was also cited for inadequate ventilation and an inadequate dust control program on April 16.
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4
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Chetwynd Echo
Education is essential: up to a point
T
he way it's supposed to work is, all government spending gets approved by elected officials before Victoria Times the money goes out the Colonist door. They divvy the government's budget into "votes," with each vote representing a ministry's budget. Each one gets debated and passed in the house, and the money gets spent on the basis that it was scrutinized by elected representatives. The Education Ministry's $5.3-billion vote for the year was passed May 1 on the assumption that the money would run the school system. But there was nothing during debate about the prospect of carving $12 million a day in unspent money due to a teachers' strike out of the budget and handing it directly to parents. It raises the question of whether the potential September tactic announced this week is appropriate. It might be only parliamentary purists raising eyebrows at the government's fallback plan if the strike isn't settled by next month. But forking over $40 a day per kid under 13 to make up for the absence of a school system would be a pretty novel use of tax money that was originally dedicated for the school system - in fact, promised to school districts. No doubt there's a way around the convention, if it turns out to be a problem. There usually is. If the plan takes effect next month, the government could argue the money can't be spent as earmarked, because the teachers aren't working. So it is free to redirect it elsewhere. Or the issue could go to court, which is where the government and the B.C. Teachers' Federation spend a lot of time in any event. The B.C. Liberals are acutely conscious of how judges view their negotiating tactics these days, because the appeal of the government's huge loss to the BCTF is set for this October. The Supreme Court condemned their negotiating strategy and quashed their last legislation to do with teachers - again - in January. The government desperately needs to win the appeal and is leery of passing another law, after two previous ones have been tossed out of court. Another loss would hand the BCTF a huge win on the expensive learningconditions issues that are part of the dispute. Also in play is a novel sort of jujitsu strategy the government has adopted. As explained by Finance Minister Mike de Jong, teachers' contracts have been legislated so often that the BCTF now fully expects to be ordered back to work after work stoppages. He said past governments have reacted too quickly. The idea is that the BCTF goes to the wall with contract demands because they know a back-to-work bill will be coming eventually. The expectation becomes a strong part of their strategy. (That's why the union had next to nothing in a strike fund.) This time around, the government is holding off, in a bid to force real negotiations. They've been negotiating for 18 months, through two education ministers, two union presidents, a shakeup of the government negotiating side and one election. It's all been a pointless waste of time, but they'll take another run at it on Aug. 8. The announced plan to compensate parents through September if there's no deal confirms again there will be no back-to-work order at least until October. It gives teachers another paycheque-free month to examine their shrinking bank accounts and watch $12 million a day that could have been in their hands get doled out to parents instead. It also turns on its head the historic understanding that education is an essential service. It's that designation that always been used to justify imposing contracts on the BCTF in the past. The government got away with letting most of June go by without imposing a deal because it's a pretty unproductive month at the best of times. But holding to that stance at the start of another year makes something unmistakably clear. The B.C. Liberals think the education system is essential only up to a point. The more essential things are to avoid doing anything that would blow their chances in court this fall, and force the BCTF to accept the fact that the deal has to be negotiated this time.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Refugee healthcare cuts morally wrong and fiscally short-sighted
To the Editor, Canada has long been a safe haven for those seeking protection from violence and persecution in troubled parts of the world, but our reputation for compassion has been called into question by the Conservative government’s decision to deny refugee claimants health care. Since 1957, the federal government has provided health coverage to refugees arriving in Canada, many of whom are among the most vulnerable people in the world. Two years ago Minister Jason Kenney ended this compassionate practice, forcing doctors to deny coverage to some of the people in the greatest need. The human toll has been considerable. Refugees, most of whom will become Canadian residents, who can’t access care typically delay seeking treatment until their con-
ditions worsen. That leads to undiagnosed and untreated problems, greater health complications and higher costs to the health care system when they eventually arrive for treatment in emergency centres. This downloads costs to already cash-strapped provincial governments, and shifts care to Emergency rooms, which are the most expensive way to deliver health care. But worst of all, denying the initial care creates preventable suffering among the most vulnerable. The impact on pregnancies is particularly heart-wrenching. In many cases refugees’ newborns are premature, underdeveloped, with neurological problems and other complications because their mothers couldn’t get prenatal care. These newborns, who are Canadian by birth, will end up costing our health and education systems much more. It’s no wonder virtually every
medical organization in Canada was outraged at these cuts and the medical community has held annual rallies opposing them since they were announced. The Federal Court recently agreed, striking down the cut because it “puts [refugee claimants’] lives at risk, and perpetuates the stereotypical view that they are cheats, that their refugee claims are ‘bogus’…It undermines their dignity and serves to perpetuate [their] disadvantage.” The cuts to refugee health care have always been morally wrong and fiscally short-sighted. The Conservatives must drop their appeal to the Federal Court ruling and reverse the cuts. Yours sincerely,
Hedy Fry, MP Liberal Party of Canada Health Critic
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Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Chetwynd Echo
5
Forestry industry remains in good hands
I
MAYORĘźS REPORT with Merlin Nichols
just returned thoroughly impressed from a tour of operations in the Little Prairie Community Forest (LPCF). It is not often that an ordinary citizen gets to see forestry operations first hand. Every day we see logs rolling by on the trucks; we see logs being off loaded in the mill yards; we even see logs entering the mill. But to see trees being turned into logs – that doesn’t happen often for many of us. Because the District of
Chetwynd is a partner with West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations in the LPCF, I with CAO Doug Fleming joined a tour of the work sites with West Fraser foresters in charge of operations in the LPCF. You might wonder why I returned feeling so confident that things are being done right. It’s not like I am going blindly into the forest. I’ve worked as a logger; I’ve set chokers, felled trees, skidded logs – all of it a half century ago. But I know enough to recognize professionalism when I see it. And I saw the action and product of professional logging in the LPCF. Let me take you on a
word tour of my visual experience. Before a machine ever rumbles onto the logging site the area has been
system of roads. LPCF roads were laid out and built in a manner that will get the job done but not overdone. By this I mean
I’ve worked as a logger; I’ve set chokers, felled trees, skidded logs – all of it a half century ago. thoroughly assessed by professional foresters, archaeologists, and other technicians. Cut blocks are ribboned out, and maps prepared to guide the future work of foresters and loggers. Every logging site needs access – a road or a
that roads intended for short-term winter use will barely disturb the soil and will be hard to find in a few years. Roads intended for use over several years in all seasons are graded, ditched, and, where necessary, gravelled. Stream crossings
are constructed such that siltation is minimized and the stream beds are protected from machine damage – that is, no machine is permitted within the restricted area. Observing the bunchers, stroker, and dangle processors in operation gave me a sense of assurance that the operators were highly competent. Even the way the trees were bunched for the grapple skidders spoke of organization and careful management. But it’s not a country garden up there. Once the merchantable timber has been removed the sites do not resemble your back yard (I hope). But there is a future. Clear cuts, and this is a clear cut opera-
tion by necessity, will regenerate and a generation down the road we confidently can expect that our descendants will see thriving stands of new forest waving in the mountain breezes. The next stage in managing the forest has already begun. Some cut blocks harvested during the past winter have already been planted and the remainder is scheduled for planting in August. I am confident that forestry, still the mainstay of our local economy, is in good hands in Chetwynd. Disclaimer: The preceding is the opinion of Mayor Merlin Nichols and may or may not reflect the views and/or wishes of council.
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Log on and read the Chetwynd Echo at www.issuu.com “We apologize, but we have done all we can at this point and will put our time and effort into something with more positivity and less negativity�
EEK QUOTE OF W
-OOWH Society president Alyssa Bond in re: feral cats. see Page 1
Grizfest 2014 rocks Tumbler
Clockwise, : Ra McGuire, Brian Smith, Paul Roland Gogo, Scott Brown and Clayton Hill (in no particular order) say goodbye the crowd after their set at Grizfest on Saturday night of Grizfest 2014; John AngusMacDonald rocks out Sunday night at Grizfest suring the Trews and Trent Ernst, editor of the Tumbler Ridge News and drummer for Tumbler Ridge’s own Downwater Union rip it up during their set at Grizfest 2014. Photos submitted
Kudos
&
Kicks KUDOS ... to the local RCMP for keeping our roads and highways safe over the long weekend. KUDOS ... to the Rex Theatre for keeping up with the Joneses! KUDOS ... to the staff and volunteers of the Little Prairie Heritage Museum for all of your hard work to get the doors open once again to the public. KICKS ... to the jerks who don’t pick up their broken glass at local campsites. Do you have a kudos or kick for someone? Email them to EDITOR@CHETWYNDECHO.NET or drop them off at our office in beautiful downtown Chetwynd (inbetween SRCI and JobSearch)
You can email us at editor@chetwyndecho.net; mail to Box 750 Chetwynd B.C. V0C 1J0 or drop of your letter at 5016 50 Avenue. All letters submitted must be signed with a return address and daytime telephone number so we can confirm that it came from you. The Echo reserves the right to edit letters for clarity, legality, length and to refuse publication of any submitted material. We may also choose to use a letter as the basis for a story. So, be sure to keep your letters brief and to the point. Letters originating from the Peace region get priority. We encourage new contributors as we attempt to publish a cross- section of public opinion. - Naomi Larsen, Editor
6
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Chetwynd Echo
Proposed site C dam threatens valuable environmental resources: study
Times Colonist –––––––––––––– HUDSON’TS HOPE – Major projects such as the Site C dam in British Columbia's Peace River watershed could threaten up to $8.6 billion in ecological values, suggests a report commissioned by the David Suzuki Foundation. Faisal Moola, a chief scientist with the environmental group, said the 56,000-square-kilometre watershed is a "Fort Knox" of ecological wealth, with ecosystems providing benefits such as clean air and water, carbon storage and flood and erosion control. B.C. Hydro is proposing an $8-billion hydroelectric dam in the Peace River Valley, which would flood an 83-kilometre stretch of land along the river. It would be the third dam on the river, downstream
from the W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams. Moola said carbon stored in forests, wetlands and grasslands are conservatively worth $6.7 billion to $7.4 billion annually, while other ecological services amount to $1.2 billion a year. Policy-makers typically ignore ecological advantages because they appear to be provided by nature for free, he said. The study, authored by ecological economist Sara Wilson from the Torontobased firm Natural Capital Research and Consulting, included satellite images of the watershed and used modelling techniques to ascribe a dollar value to services such as water filtration by trees. "We know for example that forests are really im-
If we actually make a decision to further degrade the amount of natural forest cover we have in an area, that will incur explicit costs MOOLA
portant in terms of filtering water, but on the other hand, grasslands and farmland are really important in terms of providing habitat for bees and pollinators, which is something that is critical to sustaining agricultural commodities," Moola said. "If we actually make a decision to further de-
grade the amount of natural forest cover we have in an area, that will incur explicit costs. And in the case of water filtration, it's been very well documented that this will actually increase the cost to local municipalities to provide potable drinking water. And typically, those costs are downloaded to rate
payers." A spokesperson for B.C. Hydro was not immediately available to comment on the report. The utility has said the Site C dam would generate enough energy to power 450,000 homes a year. Further development in the area could erode its ecological benefits, Moola said. "The Peace region is already some two-thirds developed. Essentially, it's a perfect storm of logging, mining, conventional and unconventional oil and gas development. And there's a proposal to build a major dam on the Peace River that will further the cumulative impacts of industrial development on this region." Along with the two existing dams, the region has about 16,000 oil and gas well sites and about 8,500 petroleum and natural gas
facilities. The area would also be the heart of B.C.'s proposed liquefied natural gas industry. A joint review panel concluded this year that the dam would have significant adverse effects on the environment and wildlife. But it also said the project's benefits are clear and there are few alternatives to provide the type of long-term, inexpensive energy source proposed by B.C Hydro. The panel report, released in May, did not give a clear yes or no answer. The federal and provincial governments are expected to release a final decision this year. Provincial Energy Minister Bill Bennett has said that if approved, construction could begin in January 2015, and the dam would be completed by 2024.
Protect our water supply: dispose of household hazardous waste properly
Northern Environmental Action Team is partnering with the District of Chetwynd to present a four-week, public awareness campaign on the “health” of our local sewage system and water supply; the Pine River. Each week will have a different focus to help residents develop a deeper understanding of the system we take for granted. We all play a roll in ensuring safe water conditions and environmentally sound practices. Presenting, week four.
~ MAX DESJARLAIS ~
How do I say goodbye to a brother that I love as much as you? I still cannot believe you're gone, I'm still hoping it isn't true. Wishing this heartache was just a dream from which I'd wake up and find you still here, in life, with us or if not, somehow that time could rewind. For I don't know how to do it, how to say goodbye to brother like you. There is almost no one who's shared as much of my life who knows me as well as you. I often think of the memories we shared when we were young you teased me, played with me and laughed with me when our lives had just begun. When we shared simple thoughts and simple dreams and were lost in childhood plans dr eaming up our next adventures in the vivid ways only children can. Then I watched you suffer and I saw you die but all I could do was sit close by. You went away, we had to part, God eased your pain, but broke my heart. I cannot bring the old days back, your smile I cannot see. I can only treasure the memories of the days that used to be. Forever Loved "Chee-Chee" From your "Sissy" Margaret & Family
Submitted –––––––––––––– CHETWYND – We’ve been there, holding a jar, bottle or can of something we are not quite sure how to dispose of. Whether there are two tablespoons in it or two litres, proper disposal of oil, antifreeze, paint and a variety of other household products is important. Household hazardous waste is anything that you use at home (ie. not the industrial strength version) that has a hazard symbol on it. We all know that we should not heat or ingest these products because they are toxic, however, that toxicity does not disappear simply because we have finished painting the shed or changing the oil in the lawn mower. The Province of British Columbia has put some serious effort into ensuring that household hazardous
waste is disposed of properly, but the network of return locations only works if you see the value in taking your products back. Living near a river is both a blessing and a curse, the unpredictability of waterways can be a challenge and the importance of keeping toxins out of waterways falls to those on the front line. In an increasingly thirsty world, Canada, and BC, have an enviably large share of the global fresh water supply. Water from our part of the world flows north into the Arctic Ocean, home to one of the most unique, abundant and vulnerable ecosystems in the world. In plain
terms, this means that efforts to keep our local waters clean and healthy benefit not just our community directly, but every community the river travels through on its journey to the Arctic. Prevention is worth a pound of cure is not just for nagging nanas. It is true here as well. One litre of used oil can contaminate one million litres of fresh water and surprisingly, oil spills only account for 12% of water pollution, in fact, 80% of marine pollution comes from land. This means that pollution from spilling oil on your driveway or dumping leftover paint beside the house can be carried to the river during the next rain. The image below is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and shows agricultural runoff draining into the sea during a rainstorm.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Chetwynd Echo
7
Putting out fires
T
TUMBLER RIDGE NEWS ––––––––––––––
he trouble with writing about something as volatile as, say, a wildfire, is that by the time the paper goes to press, returns from the press, gets sent out to the carriers and in turn delivered to your doorstep, is that things change. In the last week, for instance, the weather has gone from unbearably hot to cool and wet to deluge. And, if the forecast is right, but the time this gets to your doorstep, it will be pushing unbearably hot again. This is a snapshot of the Red Deer Creek Fire Camp from after the dry hot weather, but before the wet rainy weather.
Thirteen km down the Ojay Main, along the second bend of an S curve sits the Red Deer Creek Fire Camp. The road falls as the old gas allotment rises, so it’s tough to truly get a sense of the size of the camp. There’s a parking lot, sure, and a series of trailers fronting the camp, but you have to wander through it to understand that this is a major operations. There are 15 ranger-style tents, 14 feet X 24 feet, and dozens of smaller two-man, four-man and even larger tents set up just east of the big tents. One of the trailers is for catering, with two more tents set up as a dining area. Other tents serve as warehouses or covered smoking areas for when it’s raining. It hasn’t rained here of any note for over a month, says Doug Smith, Incident Commander on the fire. Smith works for Alberta Wildfire Management Branch, and it takes a moment to readjust after meeting him, as the previous Incident Commander was also Doug Smith. The two look nothing alike. The BC Smith has since taken off to work the Mount McAllister Fire North of Chetwynd, leaving Alberta Smith in charge here. While Tumbler Ridge received about 20 mm last week, they may have seen two out at the fire. The trouble is the mountains, says Smith. “We’re in a bit of a rain shadow here,” he says, pointing towards the peaks of the Wapiti about 20 km to the west. With the prevailing winds coming from that direction, rainclouds have to climb up and over the peaks, typically dumping their load in the process. Fortunately, he says, the
cool, calm weather has reduced the out of control behavior of the fire, making it easier for firefighters to build fireguards. It hasn’t always been thus. The fire grew from a lightning strike to 300, then 500, then 6000 hectares in the course of the week, but when it got to that size, it seemed to have stopped growing. Crews were having success containing the fire, and the fire was close to 30 percent contained. Then, on July 15, the fire made a run for Alberta, growing to 33,000 ha in one 24 hour period, and pushing into the Two Lakes area. From Tumbler Ridge, the smoke billowing in the distance made people wonder if the fire was heading towards town, or if someone had set of a nuclear bomb. People who were here in 2006 began to have flashbacks to similar clouds billowing up and over the ridge. Just to give you some perspective, 33,547 ha, the latest given size for the fire, is 335.47 sq km. While most of that area has burned out, it is still hot in the middle, like a campfire that is no longer actively burning, hot embers can remain, embedded in the trees, in the ground. In fact, the centre of the burned area is still so hot that it creates its own weather patterns. On a calm day like today, that’s a good thing, as the hot air rising from the centre of the burned area draws the fire back into itself, reducing fire behavior as the fire is gently pulled back into itself. Which is all well and good, but there’s a reason why Capital Power built BC’s largest wind farm near Tumbler. It is generally windy here, and wind is the enemy of fire fighters. Fires need three things to continue to burn. They need heat, they need fuel, and they need air. While a good stiff wind will blow out a candle as it doesn’t have the sheer amount of fuel and heat to sustain it, a strong wind will cause a forest fire to spread rapidly and to burn hotter. It also causes the fire to spot, blowing hot ash and embers ahead of the fire, often causing smaller fires to break out ahead of it, sometimes as far as a few kilometres. Natural barriers like rivers and manmade fire breaks are useless in these situations. Add to this a rate of
travel of over 10 km/h, and you have a dangerous situation. When things like this happen, all crews can do is get back to a safe distance and watch. This is why the fire, which seemed to be trapped in a V created by the Red Deer Creek Valley and the Belcourt Creek Valley so easily escaped, growing over five times its size in one giant push. Hot weather and wind and forests filled with dead, dry beetle-killed trees can create a perfect firestorm, which is what happened on July 15. And while the promised rain has yet to materialize here at the fire on July 22, the cool, damp air means the fire is much calmer than a week before. Smith and I are getting flown over the fire. And while smoke is rising from what looks like hundreds of locations around the perimeter of the fire, there are only a few locations where the fire is active enough that flames are visible. As we walk the few hundred metres from the camp to a landing area up the road, Smith says this is perfect weather for fighting fires. No wind, cool, moist air. In the past week since the fire broke through the previous barriers, they’ve managed to get the fire about ten percent contained. On the most updated map—versions of which are everywhere around the camp—these are noted as lines of Xes. Compared to the size of the fire, these don’t look very impressive. Chad Morrison, Senior Manager for Wildfire Prevention, Wildfire Compliance and Investigation says that the fire’s perimeter is over 170 km. With 200 firefighters working on the fire that’s just over one man with a Pulaski per kilometre. Rather than spread the firefighters out, though, they work in teams, some working to protect bridges, camps and other structures in the area, others working to build fire lines. From the air, these workers are nearly impossible to spot. More visible are the helicopters bucketing water from the area’s lakes. We take a moment to watch one of these, dumping its load on a smoking patch of trees near a gas lease site, then flying to a nearby lake, filling up, then repeating the process.
“You can’t put out a fire from the air,” says Smith. “You’ve got to be down there on the ground.” He used to be out there, Pulaski in hand. From the way he ruefully pats his (nonexistent) belly, he misses the life of the fire grunt. Today, is a good day. The fire behavior is low. As we circle the fire, he points to where the fire is burning at the top of the ridge. On one side, the trees are blackened, obscured by the smoke. On the other side, a lush green forest is growing in the remains of the previous fire. Where the two meet, flame gouts up maybe 15 or 20 feet into the air. This is called candling, and this is one of the blessedly few places the fire is actively burning into the crowns of the trees. Elsewhere, the fire is barely visible amongst the trees, smoke pouring out from the hotspots. On the fire rank system, the fire is currently rank three: a vigorous surface fire, with occasional candling. On July 15, though, the fire was a strong rank five, exhibiting rank six behavior. Rank six is the highest rank a forest fire can get, a violent fire burning in the crowns of the trees and travelling at up to 18 km/h, but throwing hot ash and cinders ahead to start smaller fires, which then join up with the main fire. Because the fire is so big, it has many different fronts. In some places, the fire has burned up to the alpine, and, having run of trees, is slowly smouldering away near the top of the mountains. Elsewhere, the fire burns deeply in the heart of a forest. Still elsewhere, it is an interface fire, where wildfire threatens human structures like well sites and bridges. Smith points down to where the fire is slowly creeping across a cut block. While the trees here have been cut down, enough debris remains to feed the
fire. Etched through the block are a series of what look like roads, but is actually where a cat has pushed barriers through the debris and down into the dirt. Here, the fire will run out of fuel and die. If only it were so easy everywhere. But rugged terrain, dead trees and the sheer size of the area needed to be contained are only a few of the problems faced by the crews working the fire. We make our way back to the Ojay Fire Camp where the helicopter drops us off then and immediately heads back into the air to go and refuel. Smith says that, even with the projected rain, it’s likely that fire crews will be in the
area well into fall, mopping up the fire. Firefighters will have to dig up the burned areas until the ground is cool to the touch. Even with 200 firefighters, that’s nearly two square km that each person will have to go out and dig. That’s a lot of work, he says, and it isn’t unusual for crews to remain on a big fire like this until the snow falls. Shortly after going out with Smith, 50 mm of rain fell on the area, helping crews get a handle on the fire. As the paper went to press, the Grande Prairie Wildfire Management Area declared that the fire was being held. While fire danger was climbing, they didn’t expect the fire to grow past its current boundaries.
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8
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Beginner/Intermediate Drop In Yoga with Tim at the Chetwynd Public Library for the month of August. Cost is $10 per session. 8 Sessions in total. Starts August 5th ending August 28th. Runs at 6:45am-7:45am Tuesday & Thursday's. Please bring your own Yoga Mat. Call Tim for more information: 403-678-8586 Fun 3D Archery Shoot. Broken Arrow Archery August 9 2014 Registration 9 am to 11 am. Call 250-788-3638 for more info Keep a lookout for information on auditions for the fall play "Double Income No Kids". They will be held over two days (to accommodate schedules) on the fifirrst week of September. Rehearsals will take place 2 nights a week for 6-8 weeks, for an early November performance. 2014 Peace Region Community to Community Poker Run August 16 2014. Call the Chetwynd Chamber ofCommerce to register at 250-7883345. Free English Practice Mondays 9:30 am at Northern Lights College and Wednesdays at 5:30 pm at the Chetwynd Public Library Call 250-788-2559 Chetwynd Breastfeeding Support Network meets every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m at the Chetwynd Public Library. Taking Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Pine Valley Seniors Centre Call 250-788-3306 Pine Valley Seniors Hall weekly activities including Cribbage, Whist, Bingo and Carpet Bowling. Call Anita at 788-2307 for info. Pine Valley Seniors Hall Carpet Bowling Tuesdays @ 1:30 pm. FREE Cree Lessons Wednesdays 5-6 pm at Tansi Friendship Centre
Chetwynd Echo
Swallowing water can be fatal hours after leaving the pool
METRO –––––––––––––– Drowning is a danger any time of the year and wherever water is present. Instances of drowning escalate in the summer, when more people are apt to spend time in the pool or at the seaside. But drownings can occur year-round, and young children are at the greatest risk of drowning. While many people are familiar with the risk factors that lead to drowning, many have never heard of secondary drowning, a related condition that can occur hours after leaving the water. According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death across the globe, accounting for almost 400,000 deaths annually. When a person drowns, he or she takes water into their larynx and lungs, which is known as aspiration. Lack of oxygen in the body causes bodily systems to shut down, and cardiac arrest and brain damage can result. Secondary drowning, also known as dry drowning or delayed drowning, is a post-immersion respiratory syndrome. It occurs when water or another fluid has entered the lungs but has not caused enough initial trauma to result in fatal drowning. However, water that has gotten inside the lungs may cause damage to the inside surface of the organ, collapse alveoli and cause a hardening of the lungs that reduces the ability to exchange air. The body may also retaliate against the foreign water by drawing more fluid into the lungs. Over time, the lungs will suffocate themselves, which is why dry drowning can occur hours after exiting the water. Children tend to be more prone to dry drowning than adults. Parents are urged to keep careful watch over children who experienced distress in the water, which may have resulted
Children and adults can drown hours after swallowing water from a pool or another body of water. in the inhalation of fluid. Furthermore, the children who are most at risk for dry drowning are those with known breathing or lung problems, including underdeveloped lungs or asthma. The following are potential indicators of secondary drowning. Prompt action should be taken if any of these signs are noticed after an adult or child leaves the water. * Persistent cough: Anyone who has swallowed water will cough and sputter as the body attempts to naturally expel the water. But persistent coughing that lasts long after the water has been breathed in may be indicative of water aspiration in the lungs. * Confusion: Difficulty understanding verbal instructions or not being able to form words or thoughts may be a symptom of dry drowning. * Pain: Chest pain is a strong indicator of water aspiration. * Trouble breathing: Difficulty breathing long after a person has been swimming may indicate secondary drowning.
* Lethargy: Extreme tiredness or a sudden lack of energy may be indicative of a problem. Monitor for the symptoms of dry drowning anytime a person swallows water. Keep the person nearby and do not allow him or her to go to sleep, as some children have died from secondary drowning in their sleep. If you notice any symptoms of dry drowning, take the person exhibiting those symptoms to the hospital, as this is not something that can be treated at home. According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, a person would only have to inhale four ounces of water to drown and even less to injure his lungs enough to become a victim of secondary drowning. Emergency room physicians can remove residual water from the lungs and administer life-saving oxygen. Although not all instances of swallowing water will result in dry drowning, it is beneficial to understand and learn to recognize secondary drowning symptoms so fast action can be taken if necessary.
Baby’s Best Chance Pregnancy Outreach Program Drop in : Mondays 10am to Noon. Weekly Group Sessions Tuesdays 11 am1pm. Located at Kici. Alanon meetings 6:30 pm Tuesdays Mickey’s Place (behind A&W) Chetwynd Society for Community Living Board Meeting. First Monday of each month. 4699 Airport Road Ph: 250-788-4889. Homeschooling Network Thursdays 1 pm - 2 pm at the Chetwynd Public Library Muskoti Learning Centre Homework Club MonThursday 3 - 4:30 pm Quintessentials Quilters Guild. Meetings held every third monday at 7 pm at the Shared Ministry Church. Contact Joan at 250-788-2714 for more information.
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KFC Chetwynd 4800 North Access Rd. 250-788-9866
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Rhoda Mosher, far left and Trevor Mosher, second from right congratulate Lindsey Drover, Joe Disher, Jocelyn Disher and Jesse Disher for their first place win in the Danny Mosher Memorial Golf Classic July 10.
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Chetwynd Echo
A terror of Tyrannosaurs
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
“TheyĘźre moving in herds...â€?
TUMBLER RIDGE NEWS –––––––––––––– TUMBLER RIDGE – Anyone who has seen Jurassic Park knows that having a Tyrannosaurus chase you is a Very Bad Thing. But what if three Tyrannosauruses were chasing you? Well that would be terrifying. Or rather, it would be terror-fying, as the official name for a group of tyrannosaurs is a terror. While scientists have debated whether Tyrannosaurs hunted solo or in groups, local guide outfitter may have stumbled across the answer while out hunting back in the fall of 2011. Aaron Fredlund came across a track that belonged to a rather large creature while out guiding a hunt in 2011. The tracks were amazingly well preserved, but Fredlund just about gave them a miss. He is, after all, a hunter, not a fossil hunter. But he went back and took some pictures. And that was just about that, until wife Jessica noticed the photos. She
posted them to Facebook, asking if anyone knew what kind of footprint it was. People encouraged her to pass the pictures on to the Peace River Paleontological Research Centre (PRPRC). The pictures were passed on to Rich McCrea, who was in Australia at the time. As soon as he returned, he and his team went out to study the tracks and make casts before snow fell. The trouble with finding exposed fossils is as soon as they are exposed, they begin to weather. The next year, the re-
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searchers returned to the site, a slab of rock at the base of a cliff about 4 metres wide and 60 metres long. As they excavated the area, they found a series of other tracks, including a Hadrosaur track, some made by smaller theropods called Saurexallopus cordata, and, most excitingly, other tracks made by tyrannosauruses, parallel to the original. The findings were recently published at plosone.org, a peer-reviewed, open-access online publication put out by the Public Library of
Science. “The skeletal record of tyrannosaurids is well-documented,� begins the paper, written by Rich McCrea, Lisa Buckley, and a team of five other scientists. “Whereas their footprint record is surprisingly sparse. There are only a few isolated footprints attributed to tyrannosaurids and, hitherto, no reported trackways.� “The trackways were covered with a layer of bentonite, which is ancient compressed volcanic ash,� says Charles Helm. “The tracks were not made by T. rex, but by a
smaller tyrannosaur, possibly Albertosaurus.� But that’s up for debate. The tracks are unique enough that they have been assigned their own ichnotaxon—a taxonomic unit assigned based on the fossilized work of a creature, as opposed to the remains of the creature itself—named after Fredlund. The working name for the tyrannosaurs that made these tracks is the Bellatoripes fredlundi, which translates, very roughly from Latin into “Warlike Foot of Fredlund.� While everyone thinks
about the king of all predators, the T-Rex, when referring to tyrannosaurus, there are a number of smaller species in the same family, including the Albertosaurus, the Gorgosaurus, and the Tarbosaurus. However, without any skeletal remains, the new designation remains simply that: a designation. The findings seem to support that Tyrannosaurs may have been pack hunters, which is something that Phillip Currie has been arguing for years. In 2011, the very year these tracks were first discovered, Currie wrote the book Dino Gangs, proposing the idea. Not surprisingly, Currie is a co-author of the paper with McCrea and Buckley. In the movie Jurassic Park, Doctor Alan Grant (Sam Neil) sees the dinosaurs for the first time and says “They’re moving in herds. They do move in herds.� The movie went on to present the velociraptors (based on the real-world Deinonychus) as cooperative predators, but in that movie, the T-Rex stood alone. But in 1998, five years after the movie and eight years after the book, Cur-
RECYCLE IT! Can It, Sort It, Stack It....
Located at 4824 54th Street (behind the Town Plaza) in Chetwynd the Lions Recycling depot is the sole provider for recycling drop off services in the community. They offer many services to keep Chetwynd clean while helping the environment green. Recycling is a lot easier than people think and it is an easy habit to get into. First, get as few as three bins for your kitchen or porch – plastics, tins and paper. Rinse out your yoghurt cups, break down your cereal boxes and wash out those cans. Then bag them up and bring them to the Depot where staff will help you sort. If you are a business call them to have a free recycling box placed outside and for a nominal –and tax deductible – fee
they will come and pick your recycling up. The depot accepts a variety of recyclable items including: • paper (office paper, newspaper, cardboard, boxboard) • tin cans • All hard and soft plastic (milk jugs, yogurt cups, juice boxes and plastic bags) • Electronics (old stereos, computers, photocopiers) • Small appliances • Car batteries • Oil and oil containers • Cell phones • Batteries • Smoke and carbon dioxide detectors • Spray paint cans The depot also utilizes a used paint
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Please see "TYRANNOSAURUS," page 113
program where residents can drop off leftover paint. The paint is available for others to sign out and use on the condition they bring the empty cans back. They do not accept Styrofoam or antifreeze. Depot manager Sally Paquette requests drop offs be done during the day as the outside bins are strictly for afterhours. “Please come inside and our staff will help your sort your recyclables,� she said, adding there is a security camera on site. Paquette said the Recycling Depot also supports local youth clubs and organizations and will assist and donate space for local bottle drives. Contact the depot at 250-788-1111 for more information.
HOURS:
Monday 10 am - 4 pm; Tuesday - Friday 9 am - 5 pm; Saturday 9 am - 4 pm.
Pay Les Welding & Safety Supply Store
• Authorized Linde Bottle Depot • C02 refills for paint guns • Much more!
Open Mon. to Frii. 8 am to 6 pm 3794 Old Hart Wabi Road Across from Tumbler Ridge Turnoff
NORTH COUNTRY AUTOMOTIVE
• Preventative Maintenance • Winterization • Licence B.C. Inspection • Full vehicle servicing P: 788-9599 F: 788-7930
NOBODY DOES IT BETTER!
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We offer in home repair of all major appliances of all brands, as well as the supply of repair parts.
With years of experience we serve you better across the Peace Region – with weekly trips to Fort St. John, Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd – and book appointments by the hour for your convenience. Locally owned and operated 250-719-8872
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LIONS RECYCLING DEPOT HOURS OF OPERATION
Please be advised that the hours of operation for the Recycling Depot are as follows: Sunday - Closed Monday 10 am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 4pm
250 -788-1111
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Wednesday, August 6, 2014
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Please pick up an application form at the District office. Office hours are Mon. - Fri., 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. The District does not promise to provide a dog that meets your specific wishes but we do expect to offer a dog that you will like. Please consider this option for the care and protection of innocent animals. Thank you. District of Chetwynd
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The Chetwynd Echo reserves the right to classify ads under appropriate headlines and to set rates therefore and to determine page location. The Chetwynd Echo reserves the right to revise, edit classify or reject any advertisement and to retain any answers directed to the Chetwynd Echo. The Chetwynd Echo cannot be responsible for errors after the first publication of any advertisement. Notice of errors on the first day should immediately be called to the attention of the appropriate advertising department to be corrected in the next available edition. It is agreed by the advertiser requesting space that the liability of the Chetwynd Echo in the event of failure to publish an advertisement or in the event of an error appearing in the advertisement as published, shall be limited to the amount paid by the advertiser for only one incorrect insertion for the portion of the advertising space occupied by the incorrect or omitted item only, and that there shall be no liability to an event greater than the amount paid for such advertising. Advertisements must comply with the British Columbia Human Rights Act which prohibits any advertising that discriminates against any person because of race, religion, sex, color, nationality, ancestry or place or origin or because age is between 44 and 65 years unless the condition is justified by a bondable requirement for the work involved.
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Wednesday, August 6, 2014 11
Chetwynd Echo
Tyrannosaurus trackway site within boundary of proposed Geopark; to be presented at UNESCO Continued from page 9
rie located an old excavation site in Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park where a smattering of fossils had been excavated. Currie and his time fully excavated the site, discovering the remains of at least a dozen Albertasuarus, a member of the Tyrannosaur family. In 2000, he wrote the first paper suggesting “gregarious behavior in tyrannosaurids”. In that paper, he speculated that the creatures moved in a social group with complex hunting behaviors. Dino Gangs picks up on that idea, using new findings of 68 Tarbosaurus— another member of the Tyrannosaurus family— along the Korea-Mongolia border. The idea of Tyrannosaurus hunting in packs has received much opposition in the scientific community, with opponents arguing that bones alone are not enough to reconstruct dinosaur behavior. In an article published on the Guardian website, science writer Brian Switek (one of those doubters), says that “"bones alone are not enough to reconstruct dinosaur behaviour... I would be thrilled if palaeontologists discovered compelling evidence that tyrannosaurs were social hunters. A trackway preserving the footsteps of several individuals moving in the same direction at the same time would be excellent. But until then, tableaus of tyrannosaur families dining together must remain tantalisingly speculative parts of prehistory." That was on July 25, 2011. Less than three months later, that trackway was found by Fredlund. Rich McCrea was in Australia when he got the email from Fredlund showing a picture of
Fredlund’s foot, dwarfed by a giant track. When he returned, he went out to explore the trackway. It was even better than he was expecting. “On a scale of one to ten? These are a nine, going on ten.” He says the situation in which the tracks were made was near perfect. “Picture yourself walking across a muddy area,” he says. “The sediment would squish up between your toes, pressure bulges would form around your foot. Even though humans are small, if you step into mud that was mostly sand and silt and some organic, it would be really messy. There’d be these extra morphology features. “These creatures weighed three to four tonnes. But their footprints didn’t disturb the sediment. It’s punched down into it like a pencil into playdough. It just compressed the sediment, it didn’t displace it. In that way, it’s perfect. We get a true reflection of the foot of the animal. Footprints and trackways don’t usually record this one time record of the foot, it’s the interaction with the substrate; there’s a fourth dimension, of time, where the foot comes down, then the weight bearing phase, then the take-off phase, which causes the track to get messy.” McCrea says that trackways provide much stronger evidence than bones for a variety of reasons. “The main objection to using bones overmuch for interpreting behavior is they can be transported and concentrated,” says McCrea. “The Dry Island bone bed is a Point Bar deposit. A whole bunch of animals got caught up in what basically amounts to a log jam. There’s a lot of tyrannosaurs there, but did they succumb as a group in a flood, or were they washed up to the same place. “The strength in track-
ways is they can’t be moved. When you find a bone, you don’t know if the dinosaur lived there, you don’t even know if they died there.” McCrea says he found Currie’s interpretation of the bones compelling. “There were a lot of people seeing evidence of gregariousness in dinosaurs. When you’re doing science, what you’re doing is looking at the evidence for and against a particular idea. You’re not trying to go in any one direction, you’re just looking at the evidence. And that evidence was mounting.” The trackway, says Mc-
The trackways were covered with a layer of bentonite, which is ancient compressed volcanic ash HELM
Crea, brings another line of evidences and it strengthens the whole case. The trackway consists of six tracks showing three parallel trackways of creatures. While six tracks between three dinosaurs doesn’t seem to be many, the finding doubles the number of known footprints from tyrannosaurs. “We’ve had one in BC, but it was on an isolated block,” says McCrea. That fossil was found in 2004 east of Tumbler Ridge, also by hunters. “There are a few in Alberta, some in the US and one in Mongolia.” More importantly, this is the first ever trackway from a tyrannosaur. “It’s very compelling that when we had this discovery. It was three, moving in the same direction, in
see what’s brewing on the
job market. The Chetwynd Echo News Jobs Section chetwyndecho.net See Page 11
the area at the same time,” says McCrea. He says that people will no doubt ask if the tracks were made at the same time. To which the answer is yes. “The passage of time is recorded on tracksites. When you have a freshly deposited sediment, it’s quite waterlogged. When the first animals go across, they sink down more deeply. As time goes by, maybe a few hours, a few days, the sediment begins to dewater and becomes more resistant. If you have a tyrannosaur that weighs three or four tonnes walk across a few hours later, the sediment will have
becomes more compact, and the print won’t be as deep.” McCrea says there are about thirty other tracks in the same area, including hadrosaur tracks. While that creature weighs about the same as the tyrannosaur, their footprints are very shallow. McCrea says that often times, creatures will be funneled through the same area by a natural barrier, like a lake or a cliff. But, he says, the trackways of the other dinosaurs are going every which way. “They weren’t constrained,” he says. “There was no geographic barrier present.” McCrea admits that what they are doing is interpreting the facts that are present, and there’s a chance that they are
wrong. “We have this thing in science called parsimony. That states that the simplest answer is usually correct. This is the strongest case we have; this is the most parsimonious explanation. But it doesn’t mean its correct. There are no witnesses, and all the evidence has been left out in the rain for 70 million years. We see what’s left, and we make inferences. There’s always the chance for inferences. But there’s not likely to be any better evidence unless someone invents time travel.” McCrea says they did a simple mental exercise. Assuming that there was no natural barrier to the direction of travel, then the dinosaurs could travel whichever way they wanted to. “We divided the full compass into ten degree slices. So there are 36 directions the animals could have gone or a one in 36 chance of them travelling any one direction. If there’s two going the same direction, you have a one in 1296 chance. If there’s three, that increases to a one in 46,000 chance of them going in the same direction randomly. We didn’t put that in the paper, but it wasn’t chance is what I’m getting at. The trackways don’t cross. If they came a minute after each other, they could go whatever direction they wanted. But they didn’t.” The trackway is currently on a slab or rock about four metres wide by six long. The exposed end of the surface has eroded away. The leading edge disappears under a cliff. McCrea wonders if the trackway continues. But for now, he’ll have to keep wondering. “It’s at the base of a cliff, and we don’t have the resources and equipment to excavate it. But maybe this media interest will draw focus to the whole issue of museum funding.”
While the museum has been trying to get funding for a new major display around the discovery, that hasn’t come through, so a new, smaller display will be going up in a few weeks as a stop-gap. “We’re at this cusp where we could take a big step forward,” says McCrea. “Ideally, what I’d like to do is add another gallery or two on to the museum. Then we’d have three main exhibits from BC, researched in BC and discovered by local residents. That starts to take us away from being an attraction and being a destination.” Charles Helm says the publication of the article is the culmination of work of the past three years by the Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre and Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation. Helm says the museum was unable to publicly announce this site until it had been formally published in the scientific literature. The site is fragile, and public tours are not envisaged; instead, he says, an exhibit will be developed in the Dinosaur Discovery Gallery to interpret this globally significant site, along with replicas. “The timing of this announcement is fortuitous from the perspective of the Tumbler Ridge Aspiring Geopark Society,” says Helm, “We are preparing to travel to Stonehammer in New Brunswick in September for the International Conference of the Global Geoparks Network, supported by UNESCO. There we will learn if our proposal to become a member of this network is successful. If so, we would become the first Global Geopark in the west and the second in North America. The tyrannosaur trackway site is within the boundary of the proposed Geopark.
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Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Chetwynd Echo
The Little Prairie Heritage Society celebrated their grand reopening last week. Clockwise from top; a pair of dolls donated by the Campbell family; Faye Asleson and Ana Peasgood peruse a circa 1940s kitchen; Bob Nicholson gives a speech thanking everyone for attending; Shirley Weeks gets ready to cut the ribbon, some of the clothing display, Area E rep Jerrilyn Schembri signs the welcome book and Aayla Larsen and Bailey Bartlett take their seats in the old classroom. Photos by Naomi Larsen
Society thanks volunteers who made it happen Continued from page 1
funding to accomplish this major undertaking.” Weeks thanked everyone for a job well done. Area E Representative Jerrilynn Schembri also attended the event. The PRRD provided more than $103,808 in grant in aid funding for the proj-
ect. “We went about getting the funding in place and I remember thinking, what is the value of a museum? Is it an educational place? Is it a place to house and store our history?” Schembri did a little research and came up with an answer. “Museums are impor-
tant for people to help identify the culture of their country or city and learn the history of it. Asking if museums are important is like asking if history is important. They are also to curate and preserve. If we lose them we aren’t getting them back.” Shcembri says museums are brilliant public spaces
and one of the first things she thinks of when thinking what shall I do in the city – go see the museum. They can give you the context of the place you’re in. They’re a place to muse through and you can pretend you are living in another time and another era.” Schembri said
Chetwynd has a building and a museum the residents of Chetwynd can be proud of. Bob Nicholson, LPHS member has been a resident of Chetwynd since 1933 and he’s seen a lot of “stuff come and go” and “it’s so great to see these things preserved in this building and on this lot,”
he said. I think it’s wonderful all the volunteers who have put in time and effort and the wonderful the job the district and regional district have done in their financing.” The museum has been operating since 1987 and is open to the public during the months of July and August.
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