B4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 2, 2002 TERRACE STANDARD _. S PORT S TV’s fish man 638-7283 “-SKEENA ANGLER: ROB BROWN Through Glass Dimly y mother has driven the roads in M Vancouver and Burnaby for 50 much as a small chip on her wind- shield. I have been driving the highways and byways time and I've replaced four windshields, [ don’t know anyone who hasn’t sustained windshield damage in the past or isn’t driving with a the size of golf balls that highway contractors toss on our roads in the winter when they go sanding. years and has never suffered so that knit together the north coast for half that cracked windshield thanks, in large part, to grit When the right wing zealots who masquerade under the Liberal banner raised the ICBC de-. ductible on windscreens as part of their attempt to recoup the revenues they'd forgone as a resull of their ill-considered tax break for the well-to- do, they, in effect, imposed a tax on northerners and all the citizens of this province who dwell in places where it gets cold in the winter and not all the roads are paved. Raising the cost of windscreen replacement is just a small injury compared to the other heavy blows the Liberals are dealing the communities of the north coast. Take Kitimat. When asked by that city’s citi- zens to clamp some legislative restraints on Alcan so as to curb the multinational’s expan-.- sionist desires to sell power, and thereby pre- vent more smelter downsizing, the Premier said he would do “what is best for the province.” -You-can-bet your pay cheque — if you’re still getting one — that an unabashed corporatist lick-. spittle like Campbell will decide that what is best for Alcan is best for all of us. Thanks to softwood tariffs and corporate boondoggling, the industries that formerly pow- ered the north are hobbled. Things are so bad in places like Hazelton and Smithers that the ma- jority of the few people still working are civil servants. So what does the Teflon Premier do? He lays off a lot of them and reduces the te- ‘sources to the remainder just in case they aren’t ° .totally demoralized already. _What are we northerners to fall back on? Tourist revenues now rival those fram here. Skeena has the best sport fishing in the world. The North Coast has breathtaking viewscapes and just enough road to take advantage of most of them. There is first class hiking. There is climbing. There is hunting, There are river raf- ting opportunities, There are historic sites wait- ing to be refurbished. The salt water recreation potential off the shores of Prince Rupert and Ki- timat are waiting to be tapped. You might ex- pect the provincial government to help further northern tourism. Last Friday I was walking out of Kleanza Park when I encountered Hardy Mehs and group of German tourists walking in. Hardy wondered aloud at why the gate to the park was locked. | tald him that ] feared that the gate would be locked permanently since other popuiar camp sites in Skeena are slated to been closed. To this point in our history the parks in this province have been a proud part of our heritage. Under Billy Bennet’s Socreds they took hit but still managed much of their appeal. If Camp- bell’s plans come to fruition the park system in this province will be shell of its former self. To encourage tourism we need to erecting more parksites not wreck the existing ones. Bilt and Dave, the resident fishery at Cedar- vale, tell me that when they were growing up, the ferry across the river there was used by tour-~ ists all summer and most of the fall. At a time when they should be reactivating those river fer- “ries and identifying new locations so that tour- ists and residents can access the new road sys- tem on the west side of the Skeena, the govern- ment is reducing the hours of the remaining ferry at Usk and talking about privatizing it, an action which will lead to its inevitable demise. As for the best salmon fishery in the world, and the commercial fishery based at Prince Ru- pert, the Liberals have found a way to endanger both. Enviros and sparties haven't hobbled the commercial fishing industry. Fish farms have. The reason fishermen are getting less than a buck a pound for coho this year and just over a buck for sockeye is because the fish farms that produce 60 per cent of the world’s salmon have glutted the market. Even though the threats to wild salmon from escaped fish, pollution, and increased parasit- ism are well documented the world over, the Liberals have given the industry a green light on this coast. , The Liberals are in the drivers’s seat in B.C. They peer over the wheel through the wind- shield into the future. Unfortunately the visibility is poor because ' the damn thing is cracked. By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN TONY RUTLEDGE says he’s not just another fat fisherman catch- ing bass on the banks. “I’m a high energy, fast paced, big fish fishing guy,” he says with a laugh. Rutledge, who makes his home in Terrace along with his wife Rose and their two children, is the host of Sportfishing with Tony Rut- ledge which aits four times week- ly on Canada’s Outdoor Life Net- work (OLN), What makes his show different from other fishing programs is its focus on fitness in addition to get- ting out on the water to haul in huge fish. “In each episode I have a one- minute fitness segment,” says the athletic, former kickboxing coach. Those segments see Rutledge taking a few jabs, mountain bik- ing and highlighting other outdoor Sports the Terrace area has to offer. First and foremost, though, his show spotlights the incredible fishing opportunities right here in the northwest. “We’ve shot a lot of content in ‘the Terrace area and gone as far east as Red Deer, Alberta,” Rut- ledge, 38, says. The Kitimat and Skeena rivers feature prominently in this sea- son’s 13-episode run. The show also shines the spotlight on local people who appear regularly offer- ing everything from fishing tips to cocking ideas. The northwest has incredible, untapped potential for tourism, says Rutledge, and that’s why this year so many episodes were filmed in this area. “We've got some of the best fishing, biking, kayaking and ocean fishing in the world and no- body knows about it,” he says. Judging by the feedback he’s been getting, the show is making people want to fish — and do it in the northwest. “I had one lady just under 70 years old who told me she felt like jumping into her car, driving here to Terrace and catching a big schlab,” says Rutledge, who’s also coining new catch-words on the air. “A schlab ~ that’s a huge salmon,” he explains. “‘What a schlab’ — the guys love it!” Rutledge is no stranger to tele- vision, having hosted a fishing program on Prince George’s com- munity channel for five years be- fore moving to Terrace and star- ring in Tight Lines on CFTK for another five years. Last year he got his big break after negotiating a deal with OLN for 13 episodes. The show pre- miered in September and airs Sa- turday and Sunday mornings. Not only is Rutledge making a living off of the show, but it’s also created two full time jobs. His editor and producer, Russell Skeet, moved from Prince George to work on the show and Rut- ledge’s mother also moved here to TONY Rutledge is one of the Outdoor Life Network's newest telavision show hosts. SARAH 4. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO work as his full-time secretary. Though Rutledge’s first love is the northwest, home of the world’s biggest Chinook salmon catch, next season the show’s moving in a new direction. “] plan on making all of Cana- da my playground and making a living off fishing,” Rutledge says. “I don’t have to be a millionaire as long as 1 can make an ade- quate living I’m happy — and doing something I love.” Sportfishing with Tony Rutledge airs 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sun- days at 9:30 a.m. Minor hockey players adjust to new rules Wi Face off THE 13th annual Todd Gieselman Memoria! hockey tournament hit the ice in Terrace Sept. 21-22, Gieselman was a goalie in the Terrace men’s hockey league before he died in an in- dustrial accident. The oldtimers tournament was hosted by the Evergreen Pub hockey team. Six teams battled it out but it was Kiti- THERE are a few changes in store for young Terrace hockey players taking to the ice this winter. Age requirements for levels of play have changed, body checking is being in- troduced at a younger age and a new rule takes effect in regards to the centre line. @ Division age change The age cut off has dropped by one year for players moving up in the divi- sions. For example, players aged 10 and 11 used to playin the Atom division. That division is now for players aged 9 and 10. The Peewee division has bumped the age bracket down to 11 and 12 year olds, Bantams are now 13 and 14 and the Mid- gets see players aged 15-17 lacing up. “It makes for a better Midget divi- sion,” says Chris Gunalaugson, president of the Terrace Minor Hockey Association. “It gives us a three-year division which gives us more players.” Last year there were just two Midget house league teams, With the age change registration in that division has jumped bumping the number of teams to four. mg Checking Players are checking earlier this year as well, While checking used to be intro- SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO mat's JHW Construction who came out on top. duced at the Bantam level, this year players will start in the Peewee division Kicking for Canada By JAIME S. SPYKSMA WHEN Jon Pelster’s grade 4 class asked him what he did this summer, he didn’t give them the usual reply. After all, he had just returned from an ex- perience of a lifetime. The teacher at Centen- nial Christian School represented Canada as a soccer player at the Global Association of Culture and Peace (GACP) conference this August in Daejeong, South Korea. Pelster played against five different teams in a tournament that paralleled the World Cup format Aug. 11-18. He also played in the World Cup stadium on the same field as the players from the tournament did only weeks before. The Canadian team finished up in eighth place oul of 12 teams and played teams from England, Germany, Italy and the United States. The team was relatively inexperienced due to the age of most of the soccer players. “I would say that I was one of the oldest, being 25 (years ofd),” he says. Former Terrace resident: Stuart McKisic played on the Canadian soccer team al the GACP conference last year and wanted to start up his own team. He joined up with another former Terrace resident, Ryan Orr and toge- ther, they hand selected their soccer team. Pelster, who currently plays in ihe Terrace men’s soccer league, was one of the few members of the team who resides outside of the Greater Vancouver area. Soccer wasn’t the only reason Pelster was interested in going to the GACP conference. He couldn’t pass up the chance to spend with plans to introduce checking at the younger, Atom division nexi season. “You will be starting at a younger age where there’s not as much chance of get- ting hurt,” Gunnlaugson explains. “We'll be able to teach the respect there easier as well. That’s a big part of checking, the respect for your opponent.” Before checking starts, coaches will have to take a special checking clinic before teaching their young charges. “We're not just going to let the kids out there and start checking — they are going to be taught properly.” m@ Centre line Another change this year comes with a new rule regarding the centre red line. That’s the line which determines icing and a two-line offside pass. This year it will be removed for the two-line offside Pass, opening up the centre ice area. “That'll allow longer passes. through the neutral zone,” Gunnlaugson said. “As it sal before, you could pass from your zone up to the red line, now you can pass from your zone out to the opponent’s blue line.” The new rule is being introduced on a trial basis for this season and the decision whether to keep it or return to the old rule will be made at next year’s B.C. Amateur Hockey Association’s annual general meeting. time in a different culture and form new friendships through the peace conference. “It was worth every minute,” he says. The GACP, conference lasted eight days with athletic competitions and cultural events throughout South Korea. The group uses sport, mainly soccer, and atts and culture mediums to promote peace and fove with other nations in an effort to break the boundaries and misunderstandings pf racial differences. This was the sixth global conference held by the group. “The magnitude of the conference is huge. Over 400,000 Koreans are members and the opening ceremonies had 30,000 in atten-— dance,” says Pelster. The cultural experience affected Pelster the — most. He was awestruck by the important role that Koreans take as being hosts. “They were very flexible in terms of plans, in contrast to Canadian culture, And they are very respectful and generous,” says Pelster. Only knowing a few words of the Korean vocabulary meant language was a barrier, but © Pelster says he adjusted well to the culture. ; “Besides ihe fact that you eat rice all the time, I really leatned to appreciate their cul- ture and the people of Korea,” he says. Pelster was one of only 29 Canadians to at- tend this conference. Being Canadian meant being a celebrity. “People were pointing at us and screaming, ‘he looked at me!’” he says. “When we walked into the (World Cup) stadium for the opening cere- JON PELSTER had the chance to play soccer and meet new people at a unique event in Korea this summer. monies and 30,000 fans were cheering for us, Pil never forget it,” grins Pelster. . “We were the first country to walk in and | ’ didn’t realize how much Canada means tothe Korean people. That was definitely my most memomble moment.”