SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN vets - SKEENA ANGLER ROB BROWN Cut the Crap hat we're looking at here is actually flipping the argument. That's the one which says we're exporting the high value wood, in fact, we'd be exporting the crap.” So said Skeena’s MLA Roger Harris in an article entitled “Hardwood May Tempt Chinese,” (Terrace Standard, 25 October 2003. ) It’s difficult to know precisely what Mr. Harris means by the phrase “flipping the argument,” In fact, it’s hard to know what Harris and many of his colleagues are talking about most of the time. This is because they express themselves in a fractured form of English that suggests they are either seri- literate or purposely attempting to cloud complex and contentious issues with ungrammiatical circum- locutions, A government that turned a provincial budget surplus into a deficit three times the size of the pre- vious record deficit by means of a tax giveaway that benefited the people who needed it the least at the expense of the people that needed it the most, then used that deficit as an excuse to implement legisla- tion designed to hobble social services and educa- tion, needs to cover its tracks with twisted diction. - MLA Harris believes he can persuade the Chi- nese to buy alder, birch, and cottonwood that they desperately need for their domestic furniture market thus leaving us with valuable softwoods, which, pregumably, we will contiate to tog aban accélérat- remarry ~ ell date after thé’second COniing of Skeena Cellulose, Harris's is the forest view of Primitive Man. In Roger’s wilderness there are good ‘and bad trees. It is a magic land where the forest is a garden. Alder, cottonwood and birch are weeds that must be removed, for removing them will improve the natu- ral processes and speed up the growth of profitable species, In this vision, every stick of mature timber needs to be cut and a new tree planted in its place. But where does Roger hope to find these hardwood groves? it wah ANGWer this question we need only to venture outside before the leaves fall and look at the moun- tainsides. The colourful bands along creeks and de- caying roads that are fast turning to, or have already turned, into waterways are hardwood stands. ‘You will also find them along the riverbanks and on the Skeena islands where giant spruce and cedar trees stood not so very long ago. The real estate highlighted by these brilliant yellow and red slashes is the best wildlife habitat in the Skeena drainage. The magnificent cottonwoods that hold together the Skeena islands along with alders, aspen, willow, ‘ osier dogwood and all sorts of other shrubs, are the seral species that appear afler damage or disruption. Like scar tissue on a wound they heal the landscape and represent the next step in forest succession, But axing this irreplaceable fish and wildlife habitat is not a problem in the Profitable Forest of Primitive Man (PFPM) where fish and other fauna are seen as impediments to economic growth. This is the forest land of monoculture and clear cuts where biodiversily is an irritating concept hatched by pesky biologists and promoted by enviros mak- ing the job of the Forest Giants and their hard work- ing armies of loggers more difficult thereby. The profound complexity of ecological connex- ions — the notion that hardwoods need softwoods and softwoods need hardwoods and that both of them need mushrooms, moss, bugs and birds-is con- veniently ignored in the PFPM, where il is assumed that ali species can thrive independently of each other. In the PFPM, man's economic dependence on ‘the trees is accepted but his ecological dependence goes unrecognized. And what about scenic splendour? In the aesthet- ic of Primitive Man it’s fine to turn a beautiful land into a land of beauty spots for short-term profit. -The PFPM is run on man’s timetable not na- ture’s, It is a land of boom and bust where raw Jogs roll down the highway and out of town so somebody else can realize their real value. It’s a place where the soil is treated like dirt.despite its fundamental importance to the trees and, by extension everything else in the ecosystem, _'. The entry in my dictionary says “crap” is an unsavoury term that “should be avoided by careful speakers and writers.” The first definition given is -fécal matter, No trees are listed but “a foolish talk or “nonsense” is given as an alternate definition. - “> Roger Harris’ scheme: 10 sucker the. Chinese fits “that definition perfectly. - TERRACE STANDARD. PORIS The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 5, 2003 - B5 638-7283 Legacy of Kings Ten years after the deaths of Rick and Paul King, money raised in their memory makes up the largest sum of cash given to the sportsplex fund By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN NORMA KING says it would have been her son's dream come true, Rick King, a former Terrace city councillor, an avid hockey fan and one-time minor hackey couch, was a huge supporter of bringing a second sheet of ice to Terrace: And with the current push to raise enough money to start construction on the project this spring, she says he would be proud, “Tt was something that was really near and dear to his heart,” says Norma of her son. “Maybe it's going to come to fruition and | know he would be happy about that ~ it was something that he had longed for and wanted to happen.” Rick and his 12-year-old son Paul died Nov. 6, 1993 in a car crash while driving home from Prince Rupert afler a Pee Wee rep hockey game. Rick lobbied -hard as a city councillor to get _ a second sheet of ice: He had coached minor hockey and was his son Paul’s biggest fan. Paul had just started playing rep hockey, In fact, the father and son duo were on their way home from the rep team's first road trip of the PAUL and Rick King. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The deaths of the Kings rocked the hockey season when the accident happened. Norma’s grandson, elated. “They were anxious to get home and tell mom about the hat trick,” recalls Norma. “He was a really outgoing young nian, he just loved hockey,” JACQUELINE Lenuik and Stephanie Leang are on their way to the toughest figure skating competition in the province. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO. skaters set on champs By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN GOING TO provincial championships is nothing new for Stephanie Leong — this year it will be her third trip to the prestigious event for competitive skaters, It’s been two years since a skater-from the Terrace Skating Club qualified for section- als - that was also the last time Leong made the trip to the championships, also called sectionals. - . Having that experience under her belt helps the 13-year-old approach the event with confidence and realistic goals. She’s aiming for clean programs, landing all of her jumps and finishing i in the middle of the pack. “I don’t want false hopes,” she explains, adding skating in the north is not as compel- itive or aggressive as skating with athletes from the southern part of the province where ice time is abundant and year-round. “Stephanie’s almost landing her double Axel and there’s a good chance some other competitors could be landing tples," Says her coach Barb Long. But competing when the stakes are highis Leong’s specialty. “Stephanie’s definitely a pressure skater and when the chips are down she shines,” Brush up on soccer skills YOUNG SOCCER players here can look forward to another round of indoor soccer clinics set to start in the new year. The clinics cover the fundamental skills of soccer including passing, receiving, con- trolling the ball with different parts of the body, dribbling. and. shooting. The goal is for the youngsters to improve on their own skills, learn. new techniques and prepare. for : next year’s outdoor season. Paul, had scored a hat trick in the first of two back-to-back games and he was . bigger and better things.” skaters will compete in next year's B.C. “recreation office at the. Terrace arena or call community and inspired some local business- men, including John Bandstra, Brian Downie and Paul King Foundation. - - The foundation held fundraisers including the per plate dinner. that was paid to the clty for "drawings of a pro- lost, Long says. This year, Leong will also have a team- mate competing at the event. Jacqueline Lenuik, 10, is going to section- als for her first time this year. Though she’s skated in province-wide non-compelitive events this is her first high-level experience. She admils she’s a little nervous but she's knows what to do to get into the right frame of mind. “I just think of what I have to do,” she says. She qualified for sectionals at her first competitive stream meet two weeks ago in Prince George, She’s got her sights set on landing her double flip and rotating her double loop — a jump using the edge of the skate’s blade. “I think she'll be awesome, she a very focussed kid and very determined,” says her coach Cathy Mills, “She skated very well in Prince George and came back even more determined to do Qualifying for sectionals means the two Winter Games in Port Alberni. The club also had nine skaters recently qualify for a non-competitive provincial competition called Stur Skate, in January. The clinics are taught annually by Terrace soccer player and coach Nick Kollias, They run for-four consecutive Saturdays starting January 10 and again Feb. 7. Classes are for soccer players aged five to 14 who were registered with the Ter- race Youth Soccer Association in the 2003 season: To sign up stop ‘by, the, parks and 615- 3000. sports retailer Bob Park, to establish the Rick and wildly successful Skate ‘97 auction and a $100 The group raised more than $40,000. Half of @ Pedal SUNNY skies last weekend lured road riders out of hid- ing to hit the pavement. Dave Stewart was one of six riders out Nov, | for a leisurely mid-day ride to Furlong Bay and back. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO posed building and for a 1997 referendum for an earlier, but unsuccessful, construction plan, Just last month, sports memorabilia purchased by the foundation and earmarked for future fund- raisers was sold at a sportsplex auction here. That event raised more that $17,000, signalling. a re- newed zeal for the proejet, The foundation can be credited for having a hand in raising a good portion of that money as well, says Bob Park, who shared Rick King’s vi- sion of the benefits of a second sheet of ice. , The foundation was disbanded four years ago and the remaining $20,737 was put ina bank ac- count in trust to the city, to be used specifically toward a second shect of ice. While the city has recently received pledges of money from numerous groups, the seed money from the Rick and Paul King Foundation remains the largest single ammount of cash in the bank for the project. In many ways the current push to build the sportsplex has the most likely chance of. going ahead than any previous proposal. That's because the city does not have to go to referendum if it needs to borrow cash to fill the gap between mon- ey raised and a shortfall in anticipated costs. Norma is hoping the project will happen and ground will break in 2004, “I know Rick would be very pleased and I know he would be working his butt off to get it,” says Norma. “I'm sorry it wasn’t Something | that could happen in his lifetime.” Bluebacks dive into competitive season THE TERR Bluebacks dove right into the competitive Seuson as the first meet of the year took to Kitimat’s swim- ning pool. | qr While the Methanex regional all-level ‘meet; las a phanige , to kick off the season if was more an opportunity for swim- mers to zero in on technique, “The focus on the competition was getting back to ba- sics,” says head coach Mike Carlyle. “They’re not in the same shape they were in at the end of the season Jast year.” That means regrouping and reminding swimmers where they can save the most time in a race. In the case of last week’s race that meant timing turns - the 7.5 metres going into a turn and the 7.5 metres coming out. “H can improve each of those turns by half a second, we're looking at 1.5 seconds,” he says. That's because an average 100 metre race in a 25- -metre pool incorporates three turns - the part of the swim where if a swimmer isn't aggressive enough, precious time can be “For someone who is going to nationals a 1.5 second improvement could mean a second swim or making finals,” Carlyle says, adding he was impressed with how well the Bluebacks were attacking their turns. Dakota Algor, Hayley Schmeidel, Evan Watsen, Allison Knoedler, Jason Ruchotzke, Vanessa Hardy and Edmund Swan each earned medals at the meet. power beat