Volume 1 Issue 6

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Volume 1 Issue 6

Where has all the water gone?

Valemount’s Cranberry Marsh muddy; wells run dry Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com Valemount’s muddy Cran- to come up to the house where berry marsh is not much use there’s a well. They had to buy to canoers this year. Mud flats hay this year because didn’t have grown their tentacles this have enough water to make it summer as another dry season themselves this past year. takes its grip.

He guesses part of the problem Residents around the marsh is the low snow-pack. are also suffering. Ron Baer “In the last couple of years the owns land adjasnow has had no cent to Cranber- “Last year, we had three substance to it. It’s out of four dugouts dry. just been kernels, ry Marsh.

“There is no wa- This year all four are but no content.” ter table,” Baer dry.”

People with stansays. dard 18-foot wells Ron Baer, resident He says the tahave now had to ble has dropped adjacent to Cranberry go deeper, he says.

Marsh some 15 feet in The water qualthe last seven ity has also gone years. He had to dig a 305-foot down, with more iron, Baer well to reach water. And other says. Some residences near the water around his property is marshland are on village water still drying up.

– but many still get their water “Last year, we had three out of from the ground. four dugouts dry. This year all “You can’t condemn people for four are dry.” wanting to move to the counNow his horses and cattle have try, and have a five-acre plot of

Photo: Laura Keil Valemount’s Cranberry Marsh was developed by Ducks Unlimited in the 1980s. The Bailey portion was never meant to be dry. Drought conditions have dried both portions of the marsh further.

their own,” Baer says. “But on the other hand, when there’s a lot of hot years and we’re on a sand pile, then the water levels

take a beating.”

The marsh itself has never been full, says Bruce Harrison with Ducks Unlimited. But the

combination of leakage, little rain, and below-average snowpack has meant the marsh is looking more like a meadow.

Cont’ A4

Saas Fee condo project overcomes “hiccups”: village Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

While there is still no word on financing for the Saas Fee condo proposal for Valemount, some roadblocks have been cleared on the government side.

Valemount Village adminis-

trator Tom Dall says there were some “hiccups” in communication between the Ministry of Transportation and Saas Fee. “We’ve cleared up those and hopefully we’ll have a resolution to that within the next

three weeks,” he says.

In order to change local zoning bylaws for the development, the Village had to get approval from the Ministry of Transportation. Approval is necessary for any development within

700 metres of the highway.

The approval is one issue that was outstanding, Dall says.

The Saas Fee development was first proposed two years ago.

Developers have been working on obtaining financing and

government approvals.

“We’re working very hard to make it happen,” Dall says.

Shirley Saunders, president of Saas Fee did not wish to comment at this time.

More Inside: From Moldova with Love

Jasper farmer’s market takes root

A2 Wednesday, July 21 2010

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Cross-border farmer’s market

Photo: Laura Keil Above: Nicole Gaboury checks out the Kale at vendor John Crowley’s table. Right: Su Young-Leslie of Jasper was one of only a handful of Jasper merchants. She advertised her “one-block” diet of Chard. She lives less than a block from the Farmer’s Market.

Deb Cochrane of Dunster set up her table under a tarp at the Jasper Legion last Wednesday for Jasper’s first Farmer’s Market. She had 50 heads of lettuce for sale. At the end of the market, she had only a dozen remaining. John Crowley, who was also selling food at the market, hawked the remaining fresh greens to Jasper restaurants. It took less than an hour to get rid of the rest.

“The Jasper market is just amazing,“ says Pete Amoony, one of the people involved in the growers group. “The market in Jasper is an untapped market for the Robson Valley, because we do have good growing soil and Jasper doesn’t.”

The vendors at the market were primarily from the Robson Valley and members of the Three Valleys Community Development Co-operative. The co-op formed a subgroup last winter dedicated to growers in the region.

It costs $100 for a lifetime membership to the co-op, which allows membership to the Robson Valley Growers. Amyoony says the idea is to connect growers in the region to help one another and to encourage younger growers.

The growers group is also open to crafts makers in the region.

Amyoony says while the prices may be slightly higher than the supermarket, the trade-off is worth it.

“If you’re getting chemically-treated, GMO food from Brazil or California, it’s not as good for you as locally-grown organic stuff. So you should expect to pay a little more.”

Photo: Laura Keil

“Jasper is an un-tapped market for the Robson Valley, because we do have good growing soil and Jasper doesn’t.”

Pete Amyoony, Robson Valley Growers Just 25 minutes west from Mt. Robson...

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service

savings Photo: Laura Keil Giriish Bromley of Valemount trucked his pine pole benches and a bed frame to Jasper last Wednesday.

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

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Explosion wakes residents

A3

Dunster Farmer’s Market a-buzz

Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

A loud bang south of Valemount woke up nearby residents early Sunday morning.

“We could feel the cabin shaking, like the walls were vibrating a little bit,” said Rebecca Lerch, who was at home when she heard the explosion. “I thought it was a tree that fell on the roof because we have a lot of big trees around there.”

A Valemount resident had contacted authorities on Saturday saying he had found detonator cord used for explosives while cleaning out his residence.

Constable Howard Price says they called in demolition experts from the Vancouver RCMP in order to safely

detonate the cord, which has explosive properties.

“We found a pit area that was nice and deep,” he says. “We detonated it in a safe area, just so it could be disposed and not used again.”

The detonation took place away from residences in a pit, west of highway 5, Price says. The cord was likely more than a decade old, and was used by the man in a former job.

The type of explosives found in the garage were legal, Price said, and the man followed proper protocol by turning them in to the RCMP.

Some 50-100 people showed up last Saturday for the Dunster farmer’s market, which runs each Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Community Hall. Above, Karen Baer of Dunster sells baked good to Helen Harmon and Blanche Powell of Valemount.

Jail birds unlikely to fly in the Valley Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com As the deadline approaches for a report to reach Valemount council on the potential for a prison in the village, spokespeople from B.C. Corrections and Corrections Canada say there are no current plans to expand this way anytime soon.

Alain Charette, Spokesperson for Corrections Canada Pacific Region, says that from the federal perspective, nothing new is on the radar anywhere.

“I checked with Ottawa and our response is quite simple: there are no plans to build new federal correctional institutions at this time.”

Alain also says that any new capacity will be developed on the sites of existing institutions.

B.C. Corrections echoed the federal government’s stance.

Marnie Mayhew, spokesperson for B.C. Corrections, says the province has already developed a three-phase capital plan. Only three projects under phase one has been approved for funding at this time: the Prince George Regional Corrections Center has been expanded by 20 cells. These cells are for female inmates and the project should be completed within a month. In the lower

mainland, The Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, a medium-security facility for low-risk offenders, will also be expanded by 104 cells to accommodate higher risk inmates. This will free up more space for male inmates at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre which will also be expanded by 180 cells. These projects should be completed by early 2011, Mayhew says.

She adds that while there are additional demands from around the province at this point in time, there is no approved funding for any projects beyond the first phase.

Valemount is not the only interior B.C. town lobbying for a correctional facility.

The Bear Creek Correctional Center in Clearwater was closed in 2002. It was a minimum-security facility with an inmate-run sawmill. It was built to hold approximately 60 inmates. Recently, there have been calls from within the Clearwater community as well as by the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union to re-open the correctional centre.

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A4 Wednesday, July 21, 2010

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Fewer tree roots to retain water after Pine Beetle Cont’ from A1 Ducks Unlimited has been monitoring the marsh water levels since they created the wetland in 1981.

They built the dyking systems, pathways, and water controls that prevent the water from running out of the marsh. The land became a provincial wildlife management area after it was created.

The two sections of the marsh – McKirdy and Bailey – were never filled completely, Harrison says. Part of the problem is leakage. Ducks Unlimited punctured gravel seams in the earth under the marsh during construction, which now lets water escape into the water table, instead of being held there as it normally would be.

“The Bailey portion is dry, and it was never intended to be dry,” Harrison says.

Harrison says their data shows the water levels have cycled up and down, with distinct drops of half a metre in the mid-1980s, 1993-1994, 2004-2005 and again recently.

“There is no improvement in sight, unfortunately,” he says. “Without a supplementary source of water such as McKirdy Creek, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature.

McKirdy Creek used to run into the marsh, but was diverted in the 1950s to run into Canoe River instead.

“That sort of thing would never happen now, but back in the 1950s, it was different rules.”

Ducks Unlimited has looked at a number of ways of increasing the water in the marsh since the 1980s, Harrison says. One way, he says, would be to try to redivert McKirdy Creek so it empties back in Cranberry Marsh instead of the Columbia system – but Colum-

bia system is now covered under international treaty.

“To try to divert water out of the Columbia system which also travels through the United States, would exceptionally difficult to open up that treaty again.”

He says even if you could do that, there’s not a whole lot of water open to use.

“Even if you got permission to do that, that water is mostly under license for other users, so it’s not certain we’d even be able to put it into the marsh for conservation purposes.”

He says “The marsh just hap- the postt r e at m e nt pens to be the most water from the village graphic example of that that flows into the marsh helps reduced water table,” some to sustain the water level.

Wayne Van Velzen, Min“It’s maybe istry of the Environment, a little sterile, but it’s Parks and Protected Areas still pretty good stuff.

So that definitely helps, but there’s just not enough water flowing into Cranberry to make a difference,” he says.

The new water treatment plant may have decreased the amount of water flowing into the marsh as well.

Harrison says wetlands across B.C. have suffered from a dry decade. He says the reality is that most wetlands in B.C. are still recharged to a large extent by the snow pack, which has not arrived in the same quantity as before.

Maria Lerch and Gerhard Oberauer live 1 km from the marsh on Cranberry Lake Road. They built a new well this past winter, after losing raspberry bushes and fruit trees.

“The ground was completely dry,” Lerch says.

They came to the Valley 15 years ago, and said they noticed the water level dropped when the old golf course was put in. Now that the gold course is gone, however, it’s unclear where the water is going.

Wayne Van Velzen, Area Supervisor, Mount Robson Ministry of the Environment, Parks and Protected Areas Division, who oversees the marsh, says he has investigated all the water that usually flows into the wetland.

“What’s supposed to be going into the marsh is going into the marsh,” he says. “There’s just more going out than going in.”

He says the run-off is quick, the snow-pack is low, and the mountain pine beetle has destroyed a lot of trees that used to retain run-off.

“The root systems of those trees aren’t retaining the moisture in the soil,” he says. “As much as the pine are consuming water, they are also conserving water, whereas now the water is just going down the slope and disappearing and not really having a benefit.”

The most graphic example, he says, is homeowners who have been here 20-30 years who have never had trouble with the water table until now. They have had to decrease consumption or build new wells.

“The marsh just happens to be the most graphic example of that reduced water table,” Van Velzen says.

“You can pour water into it all you like and it’s just going to get distributed into the water table, instead of staying in the marsh.”

Comments? lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

The Rocky Mountain Goat is distributed free weekly Office: 1070, 5th Avenue, Valemount British Columbia

Laura Keil

Telephone: (250) 566-4606 E-mail: jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com, or lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com Web-site: www.therockymountaingoat.com Mail Address: Box 21, Valemount BC, V0E 2Z0

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Jim McKirdy turns 90, parties like it’s 1945 Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com Jim McKirdy and his family stand on a ridge overlooking the North Thompson River.

The cable cart is on the other side. The only way across the gulf is the cart.

Some 40 feet below them water gushes over rocks. Jim, in his early 50s, rubs his hands together, stares up at the cable and grabs it. He swings his legs up; the cable bends with his weight. His daughter, Flossie, and son, Walt, watch his nimble body shimmy across the gulf, moving hand over hand, high above the water.

“Dad just hopped on the cable and put his feet up there with no safety equipment at all,” Flossie Smith says.

Now at age 90, Jim’s dare-devil antics have waned, but the McKirdy legacy as a pioneer family lives on in stories. On Sunday Jim celebrated nine decades in the Valley. His wife Doris sat across from him at a folding wooden table in the yard of their daughter and son-inlaw on McKirdy Road. The road was named after Jim’s father, who staked his homestead in 1907.

Before coming to the Valley, Jim’s father Fulton McKirdy worked on railroad bridges, sleeping in the wooden matrix under the bridge as trains rattled through the canyons in the mountains.

He kept watch for fire, and never had much trouble with heights – a trait he likely passed to Jim. On Sunday, some great-grandchildren and other young relatives leapt on the trampoline, bouncing high and throwing off each other’s balance.

Photo courtesy of the Valemount museum Jim and Angus McKirdy both served in the Canadian Forces during the Second World War.

Relatives from as far as Ontario picnicked on the lawn or sat around wooden tables in the yard and ate lunch.

Jim got up and ambled across the lawn to fill his plate. He came back with two pieces of watermelon, some berry sauce and two spoons. He lay one spoon next to Doris and sat down.

Offering food to others was always part of the McKirdy philosophy, Smith says.

As the McKirdy’s raised their six children, the food they produced was mostly for their own sustenance, but there was never any doubt about having enough, Smith says.

“Someone would stop by and Mom would say ‘Come on in for dinner’ and add some water to the soup,” she says.

She remembers her Mom bringing home visitors to stay for dinner.

Sometimes they would stay years.

“There was actually a brother and sister that came and knocked on the door and said ‘Our uncle’s beating up on us can we come live with you?’ And they did. They lived with them probably about five years until they were old enough to move out on their own.”

In total, Doris and Jim raised about 20 children including their own.

“There was the idea that there’s always going to be enough,” Smith says, who learned to cook for 12 people by the time she was a teenager.

After cupcakes from the birthday cake were served, the sky took on a gloomy grey. Jim and Doris’ daughter Ann and son-in-law Gordon Carson struck up music on guitar and accordion on the covered porch. Smith says the music reminds her of family jam sessions when she was young. Her dad would play the fiddle, often late into the evening.

“I’d be upstairs in my bed and I’d be

listening to him as he played,” she says.

Even though age has crept up on him, jim has tried to keep the same energy as when he was younger. He still drives, albeit slower than his younger days, and once in his 70s, he gathered around the grandchil-

From above, counter-clockwise: Doris McKirdy and great-granddaughter Renee Rondeau. Jim McKirdy at his birthday celebration July 18th in Valemount.

Great-grandchildren Wyatt Rondeau and Kai Bolla. Doris McKirdy and Jim McKirdy raised about 20 children, including their own. They also welcomed many guests into their home when they ran a Bed and Breakfast, some of whom are remembered on the McKirdy’s photo wall.

Photos: Laura Keil

dren to show off a skill he’d learned in the army. The trick was to jump over a broomstick without letting go. He made it – but injured some tendons in his leg.

“He still expects that he should be able to do everything that he did when he

was 20,” Smith says, smiling.

Jim says he’s in better shape than most people at his age. He doesn’t do much work anymore, but takes it easy with Doris in the house they have lived in for nearly half a century.

A6

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

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WWOOFing in the Valley

Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

At one point in time, travellers with little money would stop by a farm, offer to help for a couple weeks for room and board and then move along.

Today those frugal itinerants are organized and knocking on doors all over the world. They are wwoofers and every year they descend into the Robson Valley to work on organic farms for four to six hours a day in exchange for food and a bed.

Wwoof stands for World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, and travellers can find wwoof hosts in over 40 countries in the world. They register through a website where they make contact with hosts.

Nancy Taylor has been hosting at her acreage in Dunster since 2003, but hasn’t been listed in directory in last couple years. She says she does a lot of “sub-woofing” – in other words, borrowing wwoofers from other hosts.

Photo: Laura Keil

“Within the first two weeks, I said, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ I spent three months here.” -Danielle Denis-Lalonde

Several dozen WWOOFers make the Robson Valley their home each summer. The young organic farm workers come from all parts of the world, and of varied backgrounds. Above, Danielle Denis-Lalonde of Calgary, a chartered accountant, hangs out in a school bus converted into WWOOFing living quarters with fellow WWOOFer Stuart Hart, a graphic designer from England.

Got a good WWOOFing story?

Send it to us! lkeil@ therockymountaingoat.com

A6

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

WWOOF work: a chore others avoid Today, five wwoofers are in her yard helping to tear stucco off the outside of her house. The sun is out and so are the mosquitoes. They run into a problem with the insulation under the siding, so instead Taylor asks the five young people to pick Red Clover heads in the garden to dry for tea.

“It’s amazing. You get four people doing it, and in 15 minutes, you have enough for the winter,” she says.

Taylor has done wwoofing herself, when she studied in Nova Scotia. She says she did regular wwoofing work, such as stacking wood and weeding.

“It was fun,” she says. “Often when you’re touring a place, you’re just skimming the surface. You don’t really get to know what’s really happening there.”

A lot of people can’t afford to travel because of accommodation and food, Taylor says. Wwoofing gives them the opportunity to travel cheaply and connect with the community they are in.

Many wwoofers are students, or young people taking the summers off of their full-time jobs.

Danielle Denis-Lalonde, 29, lives in Calgary, but has wwoofed in the Robson Valley for the past three years. She is a chartered accountant, but was working with the Alberta government in environmental work. Last year, she quit her job to wwoof full-time.

“I got fed-up with the pace of change,” she says, of working at her job. She plans to work at a ski resort this winter, before returning to wwoof again next year.

She has organized outings this summer such as hikes to Kinney and Photo: Laura Keil Berg Lakes for wwoof- Coline Mollard-Ravanel, 21, studies physical geography in her home country of France. ers and anyone who is interested. She also helped organize nis-Lalonde says of her effort to con- built a campfire next to the school bus bonfires and movies nights in Dunster nect wwoofers in the Valley. “We have that was renovated as wwoofing living for wwoofers. often found that some WWOOFers get quarters. Other wwoofers live in old “People often feel a bit isolated,” De- left out simply because we didn’t know campers overgrown with tall grass, but they were here and/or had no way to cozy nonetheless. contact them.”

The six wwoofers here tonight A whole vocabulary “Often when you’re touring a are from France, Gerhas developed around place, you’re just skimming many, England, the wwoofing: wwoofer, the surface. You don’t re- United States and Canwwoof work, sub- ally get to know what’s really ada. They listen to muwwoofing, wwoof famsic that pumps out of happening there.” ilies, and wwoofettes the school bus on a steor what happens when reo that Denis-Lalonde Nancy Taylor, Dunster wwoofers have chilinstalled two years ago WWOOF host dren. when she stayed at this Despite the manual farm. An apple’s throw labour during the day, from the campfire are at more relaxed farms, wwoofers can fields of vegetables the tend to during roughly set their own hours, getting up the day. Some are here for two weeks, just before noon, if they so choose. some for six. They have all travelled a On the weekend, wwoofers gathered long way to spend time with the people at one of the host’s in Dunster and of the Robson Valley.

Photo: Laura Keil Martin of Italy and Tobi of Germany built a new deck on their wwoofing farm in Valemount.

Got a good WWOOFing story?

Send it to us! lkeil@ therockymountaingoat.com

Photo: Laura Keil A WWOOF outhouse. Sometimes WWOOFers are asked to build outhouses.

A8

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Valemount insurance high, tied to Williams Lake Pay-as-you-drive gaining momentum Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

The concept of mileage-based vehicle summers. insurance rates has been around for a Former Valemount mayor, Jeannette while, but now Vancouver filmmaker Townsend, says that in the past this isCliff Caprani is leading a citizen’s charge sue was brought up many times at vilto try and get such a system implement- lage council. ed in B.C. in the near future. His fight “They told us that accident rates were includes an online petition, which is high. I went to see the solicitor general gaining momenabout the accitum.

“In P.G. I pay something like $200 dents issue. He Insurance rates a year less for insurance than would not accomare a contentious modate. He said when I register my vehicle in Valeissue for many the province was mount” Valemount residivided up into

Jimmy Lerch, UNBC student dents. While Mcregions.” from Valemount.

Bride is included Ed Jerick, ICBC in the Prince District SuperviGeorge sub-region of ICBC’s massive sor for the Williams Lake sub-region, North Central Region, Valemount has says that Valemount is not the only mubeen included in the Williams Lake sub- nicipality in northern B.C. that has comregion. Simply put, this translates into plained about ICBC insurance rates. higher rates for many drivers. The dif“Smithers and Telkwa also get excited. ference in rates is not petty cash either.

They are right on a regional borderline,” “In P.G. I pay something like $200 a he says. year less for insurance than when I Jerick says that Underwriters has register my vehicle in Valemount” says looked into refuted accident rates many Jimmy Lerch, a UNBC student who re- times. turns to Valemount to work during the “They go by crash frequency, and the

postal code of the person making the claim. An Albertan claim for an accident on Highway 16 will not reflect on Valemount’s insurance rates. If someone from Valemount gets in a crash in Kelowna, for instance, the claim would register under their Valemount postal code as well.”

Jerick does stress that if any group feels that they have their own statistics to refute ICBC’s rates, they should not hesitate to lobby.

“The UBCM (the Union of B.C. Municipalities) could lobby if the villages wanted to go this way.”

He says that at the moment however, frequency of accident claims with Valemount postal codes attached to them is reflective of the Williams Lake sub-region. He also says that while he is aware of mileage-based rate lobby groups, ICBC has not moved in this direction yet.

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Shirley Bond says that while ICBC does not currently offer rates based on mileage, they do offer cus-

tomers the choice of some rate classes that take in account distances travelled.

While the province has started looking into way to encourage B.C. citizens to drive less, she has concerns regarding how a strictly mileage-based insurance system would affect the north of the province.

“Residents in the northern region commonly have long commutes and therefore any change towards this type of policy should not be taken lightly.”

She does, however, see a mileage-based system as something work considering.

She says other jurisdictions have undertaken pilot projects to test the viability of distance-based rating plans.

Bond encourages anybody to send feedback regarding ICBC rates, and how they affect northern communities.

Back in Vancouver, the push to limit the use of cars through insurance rates continues to gain support. A copy of Caprani’s petition to implement a province wide pay-as-you-drive insurance policy can be viewed online.

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Gardening with Pete

Peter Amyoony Special to the Goat

The past few days have brought that mid-summer heat which reminds us how important water is to growing a good garden. If you are gardening on quick draining sandy soil this is a good time to apply a mulch of old straw, leaves, grass clippings, etc. You can also add some sawdust or wood shavings to any of the above. Recent studies have shown that the sawdust or shavings do not rob nitrogen from the soil other than at the very surface. Once plants are established, it has very little negative effect on them. Remember too that when you water, it is better to water in the early morning or the evening as you will lose less water to evaporation. This also gives the plants a chance to absorb lots of water to get them through the warm part of the day. It is also better to really soak the garden a few times a week rather than a light sprinkling every day. The light sprinkling encourages

the roots to come to the surface and the plant will be stressed when the surface dries out on hot afternoons.

This time of year it is also important to keep your eye on your garlic and onions. This is especially important if you planted your garlic last fall. (Mid October is the ideal time to plant garlic, but you can still get a decent crop if you plant in early spring.) Fall planted hard neck garlic will be forming the scapes about now. Scapes are the little pigtail stems that grow out of the center of the leaves. Try to cut off the scapes before they have made one coil as they rob energy from the underground bulb. You can use the scapes fresh wherever you use garlic or you can chop and freeze them for winter use.

Both garlic and onions should be fed and well watered until mid to late July.

This encourages lots of top growth of leaves. I side-dress with sifted sheep

manure. From the end of July on, they should get no water or feed. This encourages them to dry down and put all the top growth into the bulb.

Keep your eye on the lower two or three leaves of garlic. When they turn brown, it is time to check a few bulbs.

Dig around a few to see if they have formed cloves yet. (Garlic grows a round solid bulb first before maturing into the individual cloves.) Also look to see if the “papers” (skins) have formed well. After the papers are well formed, you don’t want them to get any more water as the skins will rot and the garlic will not keep well. If it does get rainy, it is best to pull the heads and hang them in an airy shed to finish curing.

When your onions start to fall over (usually around Aug 1) it is time to hold back all water and help them cure for winter storage. Some people break the tops over with a rake, but there is a

danger of center rot if rain gets into the broken leaves. I find it best to pull some dirt away from the bulbs and leave only the bottom of the bulb and the white roots in the ground. The onions usually fall over on their own in a few days. The tops will begin to brown and die back.

If it looks like rain, I pull the onions, tie them in bunches of 6 or 8 and hang them in a warm dry place to continue curing. (More on this in a later column) P.S. – Don’t forget to pinch off the wilted flower blossoms in your containers, hanging baskets and flowerbeds if you want the plants to continue blooming all summer.

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

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Call Joe at 250-566-1444 or jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

The Tourism Directory

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

A9

$50 for 4 weeks, or $20 for one week

Teepee Meadows Cottage

Spectacular mountain and marshland scenery Phone:250-566-9875 Located 3 km west of Valemount

Hosts: Claude, Alke & Noland Germain 545 Jack Adams Road, Box 786 Valemount, BC V0E 2Z0 Open at 4:30 pm daily 1002 5th Avenue Valemount, B.C.

Don’t miss out!

Tourists read The Rocky Mountain Goat

Visit us at www.caribougrill.com

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. jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com www.therockymountaingoat.com

The Business Directory

Briefs: SUN PEAKS IS OFFICIALLY BRITISH COLUMBIA’S 161st INCORPORATED MUNICIPALITY. On June 12, 2010, Sun Peaks electors chose Al Raine as mayor, and Dr. Mario Pozza, Ines Popig and Mike Forster as councillors. Darcy Alexander, vicepresident and general manager of Sun Peaks Resort Corporation, was appointed by the Province as the final member of council under special legislative provisions for mountain resort municipalities.

The Province presented the new municipal council with two cheques: a pro-rated Small Community Grant in the amount of $115, 597 and a per capita grant of $59,400. This funding will help Sun Peaks transition from an unincorporated community to a municipality.

Sun Peaks is the first mountain resort municipality established under the Local Government Act. The municipality is also B.C.’s 188th local government (161st municipality), and the newest municipality since the incorporation of West Kelowna in December 2007.

Community Events MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN BC AT UNMATCHED LEVELS An unprecedented 896 major construction projects, worth an estimated record of $191 billion, were planned or underway in British Columbia during the first quarter of 2010. The number of proposed projects, 547, is also an all-time high. Since 2001, the number of projects has nearly tripled, and their value has more than quadrupled BUILDING PERMITS ON THE RISE According to Statistics Canada, the value of building permits issued in British Columbia during May 2010 was $754 million, a 53 per cent increase compared with May 2009. The value of year-to-date building permits totals $3.6 billion, up by $1.2 billion or 51 per cent compared with the first five months of 2009.

The CMHC reports than British Columbia is Canada’s in new housing starts in 2010. Over the first half of the year, almost 11,500 new housing units broke ground, up by 117 per cent compared with the same period in 2009.

APPROVED DESTINATION STATUS WITH CHINA NOW IN EFFECT In June 2010, Approved Destination Status with Canada took effect, enabling Chinese visitors to travel to Canada through organized, pre-sold group tours. With Approved Destination Status designation, tourism businesses, destination marketing organizations and tour operators can actively market British Columbian and Canadian tourism products and experiences within China. Previously, Chinese travellers could obtain exit visas to Canada only if travelling for study, visiting friends and relatives, business or independent tourism activities.

BC’S HOUSEING SALES CONTINUE POSITIVE REBOUND The British Columbia Real Estate Association reports there were more than 34,600 residential home sales during the first five months of 2010, a 31 per cent increase over sales numbers from the same period in 2009. In 2009 more than 85,000 homes changed hands in British Columbia, a 23 per cent increase over 2008’s sales figures.

Three Valleys Community Development Cooperative AGM Friday, July 23 6pm Potluck; 7pm meeting 8360 Read Road, Dunster Nancy Taylor’s residence Info: Nancy 968-4358 or Rashmi 566-8428

Solution to puzzle on next page:

A10

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Plain Talk Horoscopes

Twenty for a Toonie: The Classified Ads 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 announcements are welcome at the same rates.

The Rocky Mountain Goat reserves the right to refuse to print any classified submission that is not an advertisement of a private sale, or rental arrangement.

How to submit an ad

To submit your classified ad, e-mail or call the goat, or place your ad in an envelope with payment and drop it in our mailbox, 1070 5th Ave Why pay more for a classified ad than what you are selling is worth?

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

Salvaged metal siding for sale. Perfect for any outbuilding or shop. Approximately 550-600 square foot coverage. Will consider any offer! Call Joe 250-566-1444 Trusses for sale. Approximately 42 foot span. 14 units. Single slant, could be modified with a chalk line and skill saw. Now considering offers! Call Joe 250566-1444 and skill saw. Now considering offers! Call Joe 250-566-1444 Varying lengths of florescent light fixtures for sale.

Will consider any offer! Call Joe 250-566-1444 Lost Two fishing tackle boxes.

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

Lost Black Samsung Telus Cell Phone. Please call 250566-4044.

Garage Sale Garage Sale. Valemount Hotel Parking Lot July 24th 10 Am. No early Birds !!

Our classified Ads are cheap, and EVERYBODY reads a free newspaper.

Call 250-566-1444 to place your ad today!

Place a small photo of your item

By Craig Elder, M.A. Economics

For Sale

Wanted

500 gal. single-wall fuel tank. Asking $200. Call 250566-5069, ask for Jared

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

Heifer and one-year old llama for sale. Cute kitten to give away. Call 250-5660010, ask for Maria.

Looking for copper piping.

1/2 inch rigid or solf. Will take 3/4 inch. Call 566-9875, ask for Noland.

House for sale. Three bedrooms. Two bathrooms.

14th Avenue. Asking $175, 000. Call 1-867-332-4778.

Ask for Ryan.

Harwood Flooring. 150 square feet or more. Call 566-0010 before 10:00am and after 7:00pm, ask for Jimmy

Mobile Home with full addition, and large garage on a lot, in Valemount recently renovated. comes w/ fridge stove washer dryer.

Currently rented. Asking $110.000.00 O.B.O Call 778 328 7285 leave a message.

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

Aries: Your life is prone to seeming like a sitcom this week. Avoid wacky neighbours to minimize the effects.

Taurus: You will have ‘Mary had a little lamb’ stuck in your head for a few days this week.

Gemini: You should not have read Taurus’ horoscope. You can already hear the tune echoing in your head.

Cancer: You don’t need to worry about another birthday for a year, so just relax.

Leo: Be very careful, recent sun spot activity has opened many portals to worlds our eyes were not meant to see.

Virgo: The universe feels pretty bad and a little guilty about the last few weeks. Expect a pleasant surprise to make up for it.

Libra: Your problems will likely go away today if you just ignore them.

Scorpio: If you are at a crossroads, spin around until you are really dizzy, then choose a path.

Sagittarius: Thursday you will be hit by an overwhelming desire for pizza.

Capricorn: I forget what your horoscope is.

Aquarius: No one believes you.

Pieces: Your search for inspiration will annoy those around you.

For Rent House For Rent. 3 bedrooms. 14 th. Wood Heat and propane. $900/month.

Call 1-867-332-4778. Ask for Ryan.

Personals Seeking girl to tie me down.

I have been flighty for most of my life, but recently a close call has led me to reevaluate what I want. I am well built. I tread lightly, but always leave lasting impressions wherever I go. I have been through two relationships. I was suddenly replaced once and stolen the second time. Don’t be fooled, if you want to posses the combination to everything that I am, call me up, and we can go for a friendly ride. Call 250-566-4606.

Ask for the red bike.

within a classified ad for only $10/week.

Be the first to sponsor the $2 classified ads!

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

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

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

A11

“The vehicles are so big here”

Reflections of a Moldavian student learning English in Valemount Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

est underground wine cellars in the world. In Cricova He had never heard of the Robson Valley before there is a wine cellar I visited as a child. Vladimir Putin coming here, but Corneliu Candu says that living and celebrated his 50th birthday in one of the luxury suites working here has changed how he views the world. in this cellar. In this city, the streets are named after “My city is compact. Everybody walks or bikes there. types of wines” Everything is closer. The streets are narrower, not deCandu says that the international tourism market is signed for cars.” also picking up back home.

Candu says that while infrastructure is one major “Definitely more Western tourists are coming to our difference between our two countries, there are still city during the last four years.” major political differences too, despite the fall of comCandu says that becoming a year-long tourist has munism. changed his own perceptions.

“Some say it was better during the Soviet Union. Cur“I climbed McKirdy Mountain with three friends. I rency was more stable. In Moldova, times have always took my shoes off on the way down because my shoes been hard. Before the collapse, people had enough were too slippery. The local guys I was hiking with money to buy whatever they needed, although things were amazed. In the villages in Moldova during the were rationed. One person could only buy one loaf of summer people go bare foot all the time.” bread.”

For Candu, the hike was memorable in other ways Candu remembers the period between 1991 and as well.

2000 as being particularly hard.

“On top of the summit I could see all the mountains “There were no jobs, no money. around. On the horizon, nothing but mounPeople would have to trade. My tains. In my country we do not have this. father had ten pigs. He traded There was some snow too. We slid down like the bigger pigs for honey. He also a toboggan. We also had lunch on the top of traded some for a T.V. This was the mountain. The hike was amazing, wonabout fifteen years ago.” derful, fabulous.”

Bartering livestock as a way of For Candu, the last 11 months in Canada life may seem normal to many, have clarified many misconceptions he had even in Canada, but Corneliu’s faabout Canadians as well. ther was no farmer.

“It surprised me about Canadians. Some “We are a middle-class Moldasay that Americans do not know much about vian family. My father was a meoutside their country, but I found that many chanical engineer, and my mother Canadians are the same. For instance, Canwas a chef. My father designed ada has two official languages, but Canadian heater systems specifically for kids do not care to learn more than one.” schools. But we did not have a Candu says this is very different than in his car.” own country.

Modern Moldova is a country “In Moldova all the young people are inwhich, according the Candu, is terested in other countries. We study on our inspiring much more hope within own a lot more than here. Young Moldaviits citizens. ans really dream about internships in other “The last four years things are a countries, Canada, USA, Italy and Spain. little better. There has been some Our government does not try to keep talPhoto: William Vanderzwan increase in salary.” ented people in our country. Many doctors While these gains are welcomed Corneliu Candu enjoying the scenery on top of McKirdy Mountain. leave. A doctor in our country makes the Moldova is a country with many languages. Roma- same as a cook.”

by Moldavians, Candu says that most in his country earn a fraction of what people earn here, even people nian is the main language, but Russian and French are Candu also has some other opinions on Canadian also spoken. working in hotels like himself. kids.

Candu says that he does miss his home, and he looks “I make about $11/hout working at a hotel here. It is “In my opinion, kids need to be outside. Canadian much easier to save money here than in Moldova. In forward to his return to his city, Straseni. kids are very vulnerable. They spend too much time “My city is a very proud city. It is very green. We are in the house on computers. In my country, kids spend most jobs in Canada, I would make in one month what one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It is very their time outside. Even in the city, kids play on the in Moldova the same job makes in one year. Food and clean too. The lakes are pretty clean.” rent is cheaper in Moldova, but technology is twice as street. Some kids here in Valemount have never hiked Candu says that his city is a regional hub with a pop- up a mountain,” he laughs. expensive as here. Rent in my city is only $30-40 per ulation of about 18,000. month!”

“It is so beautiful here, I do not understand why.”

“It’s a mixed economy, lots of vineyards and orchards Despite the high costs, Candu says that Moldavians With his final week in Canada drawing to a close, too. There is agriculture, but there is some industry as Candu says that he is already thinking about how he are starting to embrace technology. well. But it is giving way to more agriculture.”

“Everybody has a cell phone now” will miss Canada and Valemount, the town he has Candu attributes this phenomena to a lack of foreign called home since December.

There are other developments changing Moldova too.

“Maybe fifty percent of Moldova youth are going to investment into Moldova’s industrial economy.

“I have here very good friends and I will miss them.”

For Candu, it is Moldova’s wine industry which carUniversity now.”

But obtaining a university degree in Moldova does ries the most pride.

“One of my earliest childhood memories is visiting require dedication outside of the classroom. comments?

“I pay $500 for a year of university in Moldova. This the wine cellars. In Moldova we have two of the largjnusse@therockymountaingoat.com equals 2-3 months of work saving everything, living with my parents.”

Candu is working towards becoming a physio therapist. He has two more years left. He says that a growing number of Moldovan youth are travelling now, although these costs are usually prohibitive.

“I saved my money for six years to come to Canada for one year.”

According to Candu, it was an early fascination with Canada that led to him deciding to come here.

“When I was little, I would study about countries. I learned that 60% of all lakes in the world are in Canada. I was fascinated with fishing and Moldovan fishers would talk about Canada. I went fishing here, but I did not catch anything,” Candu laughs.

There were also other reasons why Candu chose Canada.

“There are two languages in Canada. I liked this too.”

A12

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Right Agent... For Today’s Market 1095 Dyke Rd, McBride

Spittal Crk, Tete Jaune Cache

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

$299,000

Each office is independently owned and operated

$159,000 -Valley view home -5 bdrm, 4 baths -Open and spacious -On 13.5 treed acres

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

On the river, McBride

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

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-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

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Dyke Rd, McBride REDUCED

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-Excellent location -Treed 79 acres -2 fresh water creeks -Valley, river views

A M

L iller 250-981-5742 or 250-569-0125 or Toll Free: 1-877-732-5767 • allanmiller@remax.net www.robsonvalleyrealestate.ca THE HARD-WORKING NICE GUY MCBRIDE, VALEMOUNT, AND AREA

Business Watch

Jody Newham and Leah Zeilinger of Valemount (left) and Emma, Lowyn and Ben Van Waerbeke Photo: Laura Keil of McBride wait for the train on the Valemount train platform last week. Below: Canoe Mountain

Photo: Laura Keil

Cathy Crofford is now renting bikes at Cathy’s Premier Laundry and Sasquatch Cafe along Highway 5 in Valemount.

She says people have been asking about rental bikes at the info centre every week. She plans to rent out six bikes until Thanksgiving and open up again on May long weekend.

Anyone over age 12 will be able to rent a 21 or 28 speed bike, with helmet and lock. The bikes are available to take overnight.

The Rocky Mountaing Goat is available weekly on Wednesdays. Next issue: July 28 , 2010