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Your best source for weekly news and views in the Robson ValleyWednesday, July 07, 2010 Volume 1 Issue 4

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More Inside:JOP program approves fuel management, silviculture proposals

New highway bridge for Small River

Laura Keillkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

Dunster protesters obey court order, leave schoolLocal groups consider purchasing the building

After a swirl of action around the Dun-ster Fine Arts School this past week, including an occupation of the school gymnasium by residents for five days, a new path has opened up. Brian Pepper, superintendent of School District 57 has said the board will not review its decision to close the school, which is owned and operated by the school district. But Minister of Education Margaret McDiarmid sent a letter to the school district stating she would support an expedited transfer of the building to a buyer as early as the fall school year. That buyer – which would own and operate the building for the purpose of local education – may be in sight. The Dunster Community Forest and the Robson Valley Music Festival are two groups that may take on the building, at least temporarily. They are in discus-sions with the Regional District of Fra-ser-Fort George, the school district and residents of Dunster to see how quickly the transfer could take place. Ken Starchuck, who represents Dun-ster and the larger Robson Valley for the regional district, says they are waiting for a proposal from the community for-est, which was founded just last Novem-ber. “Right now they’re just a fledgling community forest,” Starchuck says. “This is going to be something to ig-nite them to say ‘We’ve got to move for-ward and come up with a plan to gener-ate income.’” Dunster residents involved in the plan are putting together a multi-year fi-nancial plan outlining how they would sustain the building. Starchuck says his organization would help the transfer in terms of a potential start-up grant of several thousand out of his $40,000-

$50,000 yearly discretionary fund. The district was originally approached as a buyer for the building, but in order to operate a building they would have to raise taxes in the area, Starchuck says. The residents push-ing to keep the school did not want to go down that road, he says, since they know there is not an appetite for higher taxes. School districts across Canada are dealing with similar rural school clo-sures and Prince

George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond says there are no easy answers. She says she would like to see an innovative ap-

proach to rural schools, where communities that wish to be more in-volved in the schools are allowed to be. She says small schools could look at having multi-purpose

buildings to disperse costs and keep the buildings viable. “I don’t have a specific model in mind,” Bond says. “What I’m concerned about is rural schools are closing right across

the country and in other countries as well.” Hundreds of rural schools have closed across Canada in the last decade, as budgetary pressures and urbanization continue to grow. Bond says one way to maintain small-er school may be to make the facility multi-purpose. “I think we need to look at facilities more broadly from a neighbourhood or community perspective,” she says. Continued A2

School district superintendent Brian Pepper speaks to Dunster parents protesting the school closure last week. Pepper served the parents notice that a court injunction had been filed to remove them from the building where they had been staying since June 28 after a door was left unlocked to the gymnasium.

Photo: Laura Keil

“They’re going to have to start cutting trees down and making money” Ken Starchuck, re-gional district

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Attention all Robson Valley tourism businesses: The Rocky Mountain Goat is now distributed free in Jasper and Mt. Robson

The Ministry of Education gives school districts more money for small rural schools, funding that increased this year. Bond says it’s more than just a money issue, but also changing demo-graphics. She says she would like to see a model where parents have a bigger role in managing or operating the school, like the one proposed by residents of Dunster. “How does the whole system react to that and then begin to use that as an op-tion for rural schools instead of having these parents having to fight their way through it?” “We do have McBride schools and Valemount schools, so there’s still op-portunities, and yet Dunster is unique and it’s a choice school.” Residents occupying Dunster school last week packed up on Friday after an injunction from the Supreme Court of B.C. demanding them to leave the premises immediately or face criminalcharges and forced removal. The injunction was sought by the School District 57 after parents and community members began their occu-pation June 28th, the last day of school. Several dozen protesters said they had no intention to leave until a deal was reached with the school district to keep the school open for local education. Julie MacDonald, the parent who or-ganized the sit-in, said they will con-tinue to lobby to keep the building open for the people educating their children in Dunster. “We live in a very rural area,” she says. “Sometimes I wake up in the winter and there are logs across the road. It takes us half a day just to clear the road never mind drive to McBride to drop off my child.” Brian Pepper says he is not sure how long the process would take the turn the property over to a third Party, but residents trying to keep their children in a local school say they worry a gap year would dissuade some parents from keeping their children educated in Dun-ster. Community members said the dis-cussion with Pepper last week went no-where and they still haven’t gotten an-swers to the questions they have been seeking.They gave a copy of their own sustainability report to Pepper, a rebut-tal to the school’s district’s sustainability report. The protesters are not allowed to come within 100 metres of the school, which makes Dunster’s only gas pump and general store legally off-limits. The clos-est gas station is 30 kilometres away.

‘Dunster School’ Continued...

Brian Pepper, superintendent of School District 57, was in the hot seat with Dunster residents last week as he delivered notice that the school board was seeking an injunction to force protesters off school property. The injunction, which cited fire safety among other things, was passed late afternoon Friday. Parents are looking to a “Wells model’’ that would allow for community-sponsored schooling in the old school building. Their meeting with Pepper last week included requesting details on the school district’s sustainability report.

Photos: Laura Keil

Wednesday, July 07, 2010 A3 www.therockymountaingoat.com

The Rocky Mountain Goat is a weekly free-distribution paper

joseph Nussejnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

Valemount Arts and Cultural Society and the Vale-mount Information Center are continuing a partner-ship that lets local artists display their works for sale. Local artist bring art in. When it sells, they bring something new. The display, occupies a large room on the main floor of the Valemount info center, consists mainly of framed paintings and drawings, although some mixed media works are also displayed. “This is the second summer of the partnership”, says Sandra Craig, Valemount Information Counsellor. “There is a guest book with lots of comments. We have sold a few pieces already this summer.” Craig says that they were surprised even last year how many pieces sold. “One person commented, ‘I just want to take a little piece of Valemount home with me’.” For more information on the project, or to inquire about displaying some of your own artwork, contact Pan Cinnamon 250-566-4674.

Profile:V.A.C.S. and Valemount Information Center partner again

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I just got back from the city last week and I’ve got to say how truly glorious it feels to be home in my mountains once again. After ten months of writing essays, studying for exams, wiping people’s bums, and comforting the dying, nothing reinvigorates me more than being back in the valley. After all the stress and turmoil of the concrete jungle I came home to a few surprises, not the least of which was my mother being on some sort of extreme new diet. It’s that new one everyone’s talking about in Valemount, “Eating For Life”, and it has done wonders for her—so a great big thank you to all the doctors and nurses and others helping out with this program! But my mom being on this diet also made me think about my last few years at school (I have one year left in a nursing degree) and what I’ve learned about obesity and just general physical and mental health as we get older: it all starts when we’re kids. It’s a simple fact that’s been proven countless times in countless ways and just makes common sense—the lifestyle patterns you establish as a child have a huge impact on your future health as an adult. We’ve all heard about the basic ones like “get lots of exercise” and “eat a balanced diet” and “don’t eat too much” but the one many people don’t understand and are forgetting about is “go play outside”. Want your kids to be happy healthy adults and not have to diet to save their lives when they’re 50? Get them playing outside.

Over the last 20 years, hundreds of studies have conclusively shown children who spend more time outside and less time in front of a screen are healthier. And not just in the obvious ways like not getting fat and all the complications that brings. Kids who play outdoors are more intelligent, more creative, succeed at school, get better jobs, are more artistic, experience less stress, commit less crimes, have lower suicide rates, suffer less form eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, and the list goes on and on. Kids belong outside. I would dearly love to write about all the other ben-efits of the outdoor childhood and how these come to be but I would fill this newspaper with it. But fear not! A talented author/researcher/parent has written a treasure trove for any parents wondering why and *how* to get their kids out the door. Richard Louv’s “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature deficit disorder” is a fun read and explains the importance of the nature experience in such obvi-ous, common-sense terms it’s hard to imagine how Nintendo even exists. Go to our library and order yourself a copy! And check out www.richardlouv.com And friends, we live in the Robson Valley—we have no excuse not to raise our children outdoors. Now that we know, ignorance is no excuse for condemn-ing our children to obesity, depression, and stress. I love this place but I’m still astounded at how many

children are not fortunate enough to have the outdoor childhood I did. Why is this happening? Why do we live in the heart of a nature playground paradise yet so many children are still being raised by Xbox and babysat by Playstation? Is it lazy parenting? Is it the ignorance believeing the couch is healthier than moss and dirt? Does anyone actually believe that shooting cops and smashing cars is healthier than building a tree fort? Then why do parents buy kids a game con-sole instead of a hammer and nails for a tenth of the cost? Is there a shortage of sand in the valley? Then why do I see backyards without a sandbox? Tide is cheap, antidepressants aren’t. If you’re the parent of a fortunate child who plays outside, please, be generous and open your heart to the needy: invite an under-privileged couch child to play in the sandbox and have a pinecone fight with your child.

-Noland Germain

Opinion:Our town needs more sandboxes

Do you have a comment?

lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

It seems like there is an awful lot of doom and gloom floating around Valemount these days. Busi-nesses closing, a very long spring, and yet another summer starting without any of the major develop-ments promised to us over the last few years coming to fruition. But wait. Is it really that bad? My con-dolences to several of the local businesses that have closed shop in the last two weeks, but is this really the end, or just a change? There are new businesses opening up. There are new owners moving in. Real estate is stale at the moment, but the bottom has not fallen out of the market. Here in Valemount over the next year or so we are going to see who really wants to be here, and who is less-than-attached to this valley. For sure, bills are bills and there are real unavoidable costs to life, but if there is a will, there is a way. There are always opportunities in any situation, and I would argue that there are many

opportunities staring us in the face. Has anybody ever had any inclination to start a small business? Some may laugh at me for saying this, but the time could never be better. Why? Rent on 5th Avenue is cheap right now. It has been beautified, yet the buildings have not looked this vacant in decades. But beware! Mark my words; there will never be a chance to pick up a commercial building on 5th Avenue for around $100,000 ever again! Sure, the next year may be uncertain, but after that it will pick up. Wood is leaving the valley at a record pace, but there are many specialty mills that are not making a huge effort to expand. Pine is free. There is a market for value added, it is sad that buying a mill is so out of reach of the younger generations, the very people with the energy to make a mill go. Perhaps some local families with the means should have a good intergenerational talk. Maybe there is a

younger person who has the enthusiasm, but lacks the initial financial means. Wood supply will never be cheaper that is for sure. As for me, I am sick of leaving to Alberta for work. I have decided to jump in and give myself no option but to plough ahead. I know that there is a market here in Valemount for any new business. I know that the margins are not huge, but local owner opera-tors will make it by. As for the future, look around. We still have the mountains. We still have tonnes of fresh water. We still have forests. We still have a major highway, railway, and very good municipal infrastruc-ture. Let’s take stock of what we have and run with it. I know that when talking to the older generation they can hardly figure out why so many are down. But after all, our seniors lived through the Great Depres-sion. As for the middle generations, please cheer up. Eventually this will all turn around, and all the fret-ting and gloom will have done nothing to turn things around quicker. Nationally Canada has been out of recession for a few quarters already. There is a lag time. We are near the bottom of the trickle effect. But when it does catch up to us here, you are going to wish that you had snatched up that piece of real estate, or started that small business on 5th. Mark my words, there are big things around the corner, even if no condos, zip lines or prisons ever get built.

- Joseph Nusse

lkeil@therockymountaingoat.comComments?

Beating the low-equilibrium trap

Wednesday, July 07, 2010 A5www.therockymountaingoat.com

Joseph Nussejnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

Sidebank failing on Tete Jaune area backroad

The Rocky Mountain Goat is looking for someone who regularly drives to Jasper on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Will pay gas/mileage.

Local forester still waiting on budget approval for upgrades

Through access on the only forest service road connecting Tete Jaune to Croydon is slowly being threatened by an unstable side bank. Local Ministry Forester Bob Mitchell says that the min-istry has started acting to address this issue, but as of yet, he is still waiting for final budget approval. “The plan is to rebuild the side bank and reinforce it with concrete lock blocks, but we are still waiting for a bud-get.” Despite budget restraints, Mitchell says that some efforts have already gone

ahead. “Trees have been removed because they were causing the slope to fail. The weight of the trees, combined with wind-caused movement of standing trees, has been contributing to the slope failing.” While the project is still on hold, addi-tional concrete lock blocks will eventu-ally be put in. According to Mitchell, an engineer out of Kamloops is still being consulted about the slope. The ministry plans to have the project completed by the fall.

While the provincial budget for Job Opportunities grants is 10 million dol-lars for 2010, over 90 million dollars worth of proposals in 500 applications were received. “Each application was ranked by an assesement process in Victoria. The ap-plications were narrowed down”, says Tracy Thompson, a spokesperson for the program. Some of the considerations each ap-plication was given were: *Cost per person and how many months of work would be created*The number of unemployed resource-sector employees that would be em-ployed*Percentage of application budget going towards wages*Level of impact on the local region as well as the province*Readiness of the project proposed *Standards already in place any work would conform to

*Resource dependency (how dependent the local community is on the natural resources around it)*Leverage and potential for multi-party funding*Were unit costs in line with proposal budget?*Level of risk, would people get paid?*General assessment of all budgets In the McBride area, only one propos-al has been approved. L.C.R. Holdings Ltd. will complete silviculture projects in the McBride area to a total value of $249,783.73. A similar project will be completed in the Valemount area by the same company to a total value of $249,980.93. The Village of Valemount also has been approved for a fuel man-agement project to a total value of $82,676.24. The vast majority of all Job Opportu-nities projects approved for the summer throughout the province are fuel man-agement or silviculture projects.

JOP program overwhelmed by applicationsOnly three applications approved for Robson Valley

Joseph Nussejnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

Maybe I should introduce myself first. I`m Tobias Mair and I´m a Wwoofer on Jim and Terry Stewart´s Farm for six weeks. Once in a while there happens some strange and crazy things on their farm like last Friday. Terry Stewart, Laura Keil, Cornelius and I were eating breakfast together. As Jim entered the dinning room and shouted: „The bull is out… The bull is out.“ – What?? During the summer Jim´s cattle is on the pasture of Angus & Marg McKirdy south of their farm. We run immediately out of the house into the car and drove up to the pas-ture. During this car trip Jim explained to us, that the bull is now on the pasture of Seiji & Catherine Hiroe. As we arrived, our bull and the other bull from their cattle were already fighting. Holy sh…!! You don´t want to come between these two giants with each one tonne.

Cornelius, who was wearing flip-flops, and I tried to seperate the bulls without getting crushed. We started with branches and loud shouting. After a few tries we had success, the bulls turned around and now we tried to hold at least a distance of 20 m between the two big “guys“. In the meantime Jim brought a sledge-hammer from his farm and we opened a part of the wooden fence. Then it was easy to navi-gate Jim´s bull and two calves into the other pasture. After we closed the fence, we could eventually finish our breakfast. Vielleicht sollte ich mich zuerst vorstellen. Ich bin Tobias Mair und ich bin seit sechs Wochen ein Wwoofer auf dem Bauernhof von Jim und Terry Stewart. Hin und wieder passieren einige selt-same und verrückte Sachen auf deren Bauernhof wie letzten Freitag.Terry Stewart, Laura Keil, Cornelius und ich aßen gerade zusammen zu

Frühstück. Als Jim in das Esszimmer hineinkam und schrie: „ Der Bulle ist ausgebrochen… Der Bulle ist ausgebro-chen.“ – Was???? Während des Sommers sind die Rinder von Jim auf der Weide von An-gus & Marg McKirdy im Süden ihres Bauernhofs. Wir rannten sofort aus dem Haus heraus in das Auto und fuhren hoch zu der Weide. Während der Autofahrt erklärte Jim uns, dass der Bulle nun auf der Weide von Seiji & Catherine Hiroe ist. Als wir ankamen, kämpfte unsere Bulle schon gegen den anderen Bullen von deren Rindern. Heilige sch…!! Du willst nicht zwischen die beiden Riesen mit jeweils einer Tonne kommen.

Cornelius, der Flip-Flops trug, und ich versuchten die Bullen zu trennen ohne zerkleinert zu werden. Wir starten mit Ästen und lautes Schreien. Nach einigen Versuchen hatten wir Erfolg, die Bullen wendeten sich voneinander ab und wir versuchten nun zwischen die zweien großen „Kerlen“ einen Ab-stand von mindestens 20 m zu halten. Währenddessen brachte Jim einen Vorschlaghammer von seinem Bau-ernhof und wir öffneten einen Teil des hölzernen Zaunes. Dann war es einfach den Bullen und die zwei Kälber von Jim in die andere Weide zu navigieren. Nachdem wir den Zaun schlossen, konnten wir endlich unser Frühstück beenden.

Wwoofer talesBull wrestling, a morning workout

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and fits your budget

Contact Joe250-566-1444,

jnusse@therockymontaingoat.com

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HST Seminar! Thursday July 15, from 10:00 a.m. - noon at the Best Western Valemount Inn and Suites Please register at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca, or call Vickie Houk at 1-888-805-6662

Moose Droppings: to the person who dumped Mck D garbage on Loseth Road. Bear Hugs: to Delores and Bill Moore who bestowed upon me seeds, potatoes and and a lovely tomato plant, just because.

Submitted by Christine M. Dolbec

Submit your own moose droppings and bear hugs!

Moose Droppings & Bear Hugs

Dunster Ice Cream Social

Top middle: Cathy Greenhaugh

Above: Chris Layton and JD Cardinal

Far left: Lukas Lerch

Recent changes to the maximum size of campfire permitted under a class II fireban have left many citizens confused. The new general rule is that no campfire can exceed half a metre by half a metre in size. However, many manufactured fire rings at provincial forest recreation sites exceed that limit, sometime by 100 percent. However, if you do light a fire within a fire ring at a recreation site and that ring exceeds the legal limit, do not expect a break if a compliance and enforcement official comes around your campsite. “It is the responsibility of individual campers to comply with the new rules” says Kim Steinbart, Provincial Wildfire Information officer.

According to Steinbart, if there is no burning restriction in place within your firecenter, those larger fire rings may be used to their full potential. If there is a class II ban in place, fires in that fire ring must still comply with the smaller size limit. “You can always build a smaller ring of rocks”, says Steinbart. Some manufactured metal fire rings at BC forest recreation sites are up to 36 inches in diameter, almost double the legal size for a campfire.

Already-existing fire rings no cause for variance

New smaller campfire size a firm rule

Comments?

jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

Joseph Nussejnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

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everybody needs to know about?

Buy a banner for only $10/weekEverybody reads the foot

jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com250-566-1444

Wednesday, July 07, 2010 A7 www.therockymountaingoat.com

Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

Submit your community event by e-mail at

lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com, or look for our drop mailbox at

1070, 5th Avenue

Photos: Laura Keil

The Rocky Mountain Goat is looking for someone who regularly drives to McBride on Wednesdays. Will pay gas/mileage.

Construction on a new bridge on highway 16 between Valemount and Dunster will slow traffic this summer, but the end result should be a boon for fish and wildlife. The bridge will span Small River, a 20-metre wide stream that is currently funnelled into a pipe before making it to the other side. Since the highway was built in the 1970s, fish have not been able to overcome the force of the water funneled trough the pipe. Now fish such as salmon can use the water north of the bridge for habitat. Once the bridge is completed this fall, the river will no longer narrow at the point of the bridge. The plan also includes a wildlife passage, something Paul Tiefensee who is overseeing the construction work says is important. “There are way too many animals struck on this road,” he says. “Bears,

New bridge for Small River

deer and moose are all crossing right now on the main highway.” The $3.3 million project is primarily to fix the pipe that channels water from one side to the other. The force of the es-caping water has created a large hole in the stream bed and eaten away at the soil under the pipe. If nothing is changed, the pipe could slip from its position and into the hole. Construction on the temporary one-lane bridge should wrap-up this week, but the end-date for the permanent bridge is not until the end of October. The contractors are using locally-supplied gravel and have hired several people from McBride and Valemount for grating, trucking, excavating and flagging. If anyone is interested in a job, fax information to 250-563-2931.

VSS CLASS of 2010 says THANK YOU!Andru McCracken / VCTV

Bear Paw Den QuiltingBest Western Valemount Inn & Suites

Bill KruisselbrinkCanadian Mountain Holidays

Canoe Mountain Extreme SportsCanoe Valley Skating Club

Cindy NewbyCIBC

Clair HarfordCountry Wide Sales & Services

Crooked Creek Flowers & GreenhousesDebby Ladouceur

Glacier AutomotiveGrad Parents & Families

Home HardwareInfinity Office & Health

Joleen GrahamJust Earth Pottery

Karen DoughtyKeith Heidorn

Lake District Maintenance Ltd.Lions Club

Loose Moose PubL & H Woodcraft

Marian Plummer / Just Plain & SimpleMcLennan Car/Truck Stop

Mike SimmsMike & Tracey Dryden

Monashee SpringsMt. Robson White Water Rafting

P&V Gas BarRaj Anghnoo & family

Returning Flow AcupunctureSagar PatelSandy Salt

Valemount Canada Post OfficeValemount Pines Golf ClubValemount Public Library

Valley Mountain WearVillage of Valemount & Community Members

VSS Staff & Students

A8 Wednesday, July 07, 2010 www.therockymountaingoat.com

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As owners, we live here too!

The Province is inviting input until July 9 to develop an implementation plan for the Zero Net Deforestation Act passed earlier this year. The act’s main goal is to achieve zero net deforestation in British Co-lumbia by 2015. First Nations, com-munities, sector associations, indus-try and all other British Columbians are asked to submit their comments before July 9 by a number of meth-ods, including using an electronic response form at www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/znd/feedback.htm., sending an email to ZND@gov.bc.ca, or by Mail to: Tom Niemann, Product Innova-tion and Climate Change Branch, Ministry of Forests and Range, PO Box 9525 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, B.C. V8W 9C3.

PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT FOR ZERO NET DEFORESTATION ACT

Keeping you in the loop

As you are travelling around the highways in northern BC this sum-mer, you may notice an activity where fresh rumble strips are being ground along the shoulders of the roadways. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is installing ap-proximately 230 shoulder kilome-tres of these simple safety devices in the Northern Region, including over 125 shoulder kilometres along Highway 16 from the St. Croix Bridge west of McBride to an area approximately 29 kilometres east of Terrace. They are placed in the shoulder of the road and only affect driving if the vehicle drifts past the white line on the shoulder of the road. Although they are not very wide or deep, the rumble strips create a loud, audible warning and a physi-cal vibration will alert the driver should they wander over the white shoulder line. An additional safety aspect of the rumble strips are that they provide a sound barrier for cyclists on the road.

MORE RUMBLE STRIPS FOR BC HIGHWAYS

CARBON-TAX ANNUAL INCREASE NOW IN EFFECT

British Columbians will be paying more at the pumps as the phase-in of the carbon tax continues with its annual in-crease July 1. Recently Finance Minister Colin Hansen announced the already-planned increase. “The revenue from the carbon tax is being returned to British Columbians through tax cuts and income credits ensuring more is returned to taxpayers than government collects,” said Hansen. “The carbon tax is being phased in to give individuals and businesses time to adapt and innovate in order to reduce emissions and offset the impact of the tax.” According the Hansen, the carbon tax puts a price on emissions to encourage British Columbians to make more envi-ronmentally responsible choices by re-ducing their use of fossils fuels. On July

1, 2010, the carbon tax rate on a litre of gasoline will increase by 1.12 cents to 4.45 cents per litre and by 1.27 cents to 5.11 cents per litre of light fuel oil. The B.C. Low Income Climate Ac-tion Tax Credit is paid quarterly and provides $105 per adult and $31.50 per child annually to compensate for the carbon taxes they pay. The credit is set to increase by a further 10 per cent in 2011, and is reviewed annually to ensure it continues to help offset the cost of the carbon tax for those with low incomes. According to Hansen, during the first two years of the carbon tax, some $848 million has been collected. The corre-sponding personal and business tax cuts have returned over $1 billion to British Columbians. That is $232 million more returned to British Columbians through tax cuts than was collected from the car-bon tax. Information on the carbon tax is available at www.fin.gov.bc.ca/tbs/tp/climate/carbon_tax.htm.

The Villages of McBride and Vale-mount are working on draft water conservation plans and have in-stalled water metres on some pipes. Eliana Clements, chief adminis-trative officer of McBride, says they have installed the metres on connec-tion points to monitor water use in each area of the village.

Both villages plan to metre water on commercial properties

“The intent of this is, we have high water usage: where is it going?” They do not have plans to install metres on homes, but will likely in-stall metres on most commercial properties in the coming year. She says the data will help the village determine whether there are leaks, and if they should be charging metre

rates instead of a flat rate. “It’s to protect the resources a com-munity has and not waste them,” she says. Tom Dall, chief administrative of-ficer of Valemount, says the village has already installed metres on most commercial buildings. The water conservation plans will

outline ways the villages can encour-age residents not to waste water.

Do you think water metres are a good idea?

Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, July 07, 2010 A9 www.therockymountaingoat.com

The Tourism Directory

The Business Directory

Teepee Meadows CottageSpectacular mountain and marshland scenery

Located 3 km west of ValemountHosts: Claude, Alke & Noland Germain

545 Jack Adams Road, Box 786Valemount, BC V0E 2Z0

Phone:250-566-9875

$50 for 4 weeks, or $20 for one weekCall Joe at 250-566-1444 or

jnusse@the rockymountaingoat.com

Science Council of BC Achievment AwardAmy von der Gonna

Recognition AwardJacob Miles

Scholarships & BursariesDanielle RowleyMathue Miskie Kaylee PawlyszynMatthew Vogel Georgia Betkus Chantel Kozachenko Megan HarstadSpencer Kimpton Craig Ryan Erich Monroe Robert Miles Justin Starlund Kyle Betkus Paislee HickertyAmy von der Gonna Ellise Bressette

Honour Roll Merit Roll Goal SettingDraizen Taphorn Genna Jacques Emilio CaputoAllana Starlund Jesse Ford Rebecca EllementVictoria Monroe Caleb Reimer Lauren MonroeJarett Vizza Colton Taphorn Erik BergAmy von der Gonna Brandon Vizza Kylie TaphornPaislee Hickerty Danielle Rowley Meagan TaphornGeorgia Betkus Mark Roth Paolino CaputoChantel Kozachenko Anya Richter Annaliise RemmelgErich Monroe Sherry Kelly Lena RichterMegan Harstad Matthew Vogel Sierra WingieSpencer Kimpton Logan Roussel Justin Starlund Kaylee Pawlyszyn

Subject Awards English – Jr. Paolino Caputo Sr. Amy von der Gonna

Fine Arts – Jr. Agnes Esser Sr. Genna Jacques

French – Jr. Paolino Caputo Sr. Anya Richter Home Ec. – Jr. Meagan Taphorn Sr. Draizen Taphorn

Industrial Ed.- Jr. Jonas Keim Sr. Mark Roth

Mathematics – Jr. Lena Richter Sr. Amyvon der Gonna

Media Design – Jr. Paolino Caputo Sr. Genna Jacques Sr. Victoria Monroe

Performing Arts – Jr. Agnes Esser Sr. Megan Harstad & Ellise Bressette

Physical Ed. – Sr. Jarett Vizza & Colton Taphorn

Science – Jr. Paolino Caputo & Mark Monroe Sr. Amy von der Gonna

Social Studies – Jr. Mark Monroe

CitizenshipErich Monroe

Top AthleteJr. Agnes Esser Jr. Kody PepperSr. Justin StarlundSr. Jarett Vizza

Top Academics

Grade 8 1.Jayda Mazereeuw2.Emilio Caputo3.Ryan VizzaGrade 91. Kylie Taphorn2. Jasmine Vogel3. Agnes EsserGrade 101. Paolino Caputo2. Mark Monroe3. Lena RichterGrade 111.Draizen Taphorn2. Allana Starlund 3. Victoria MonroeGrade 121. Amy von der Gonna 2. Paislee Hickerty3. Georgia Betkus

UNBC Scholar Draizen Taphorn

Governor General Award – Announced in September

McBride Secondary School Awards

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The Rocky Mountain Goat is a free distribution newspaper serving a population base of approximately 4,000 residents from Blue River and Valemount, to McBride and Dome Creek.

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Salvaged metal siding for sale. Perfect for any out-building or shop. Approxi-mately 550-600 square foot coverage. Will consider any offer! Call Joe 250-566-1444

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Twenty for a Toonie: The Classified Ads Plain Talk HoroscopesBy Craig Elder, M.A. Economics

Aries: If you can’t keep the fox out of the hen house, just call it a fox house. Taurus: You will be confident as long as you are ignorant to your many faults.Gemini: Do something, just because you can.Cancer: Beware, the universe has a low introduc-tory rate for karmic debt, just to lure you in.Leo: The stars are teaming up against you, prepare yourself.Virgo: You can breathe easy around others, now that you have brushed your teeth.Libra: You’re doing just fine.Scorpio: Others around you are looking for help, but you are well hidden.Sagittarius: Your life will take a sudden and un-expected turn when you change your underwear.Capricorn: This is a week of renewal, expect a call from National Geographic.Aquarius: You are almost done an important task but lack motivation. Pieces: Don’t ‘flounder’ on an important decision.

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Trusses for sale. Approxi-mately 42 foot span. 14 units. Single slant, could be modified with a chalk line

A10 Wednesday, July 07, 2010 www.therockymountaingoat.com

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500 gal. single-wall fuel tank. Asking $200. Call 250-566-5069, ask for Jared

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Tuesday, July 07, 2010 A11www.therockymountaingoat.com

Canada Day 2010

L-R Dean Schneider, Clayton Gee, Rob Raabis, Donovan Gee

Brandon Loren, Jaiden Peever, KristinPeever

BryanHannisLuke Hedberg

Mayor Bob Smith, Councilor Bobbi Roe

The Rocky Mountaing Goat is available weekly on Wednesdays. Next issue: July 14 , 2010

Gardening with PetePeter AmyoonySpecial to the Goat

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

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A12 Wednesday, July 07, 2010 www.therockymountaingoat.com

A real problem that seems to come up time and time again is trying to deal with scab on potatoes. There seems to be no sure-fire cure to prevent scab but if we understand it we can help keep it under control. Common scab is a soil-borne disease and oc-curs all across the country in most soils. Al-though it doesn’t affect the eating quality of potatoes, it makes them unattractive and if severe enough, it can reduce yields. It attacks the tubers when they are young and encourages a corky growth. It does not develop on tubers while they are in storage. It can also be found on beets, tur-nips and radishes. The scab organism doesn’t depend solely on po-tatoes or potato debris to carry it over from one year to the next. It is normally present in most soils, but its abundance and behaviour are affect-ed by soil conditions. Barnyard manure applied to the soil usually favours scab. The scab organ-ism persists for many years in soil that receives heavy applications of manure or on the site of an old barnyard. The disease usually does not occur in acid soil

with a pH below 5, but may be severe in sweet or alkaline soil with a pH of 6 or above. Warm dry soils favour development of the disease. Be careful with applications of lime. If you must correct acid soil problems, apply lime directly af-ter the potato harvest and then plant other crops in rotation for the next few years. If the problem is not too bad, a sprinkling of sulphur (ammonium sulphate) or pine mulch (the needles from and evergreen forest floor) will help make the soil a little more acid. For the past few years, I have been throwing a handful of peat moss in with each seed potato at planting time and have had very little scab where there was a real problem before. Peat is very acidic. I have also been throwing in a handful of alfalfa pellets with each hill and it seems to get them off to a healthy start. It is best to try to rotate your potato crop on a three to five year rotation so the scab organism doesn’t get a firm hold on that patch of soil.It is best not to add large amounts of manure or debris to potato soil and don’t pile and burn dry potato tops or other refuse in the potato patch.

The ashes from the fires tend to sweeten the soil. I haven’t found any potato to be immune to scab but some are more resistant than others. Ranger Russet, Burbank Russet (Netted Gem) and Sebago seem more resistant. It seems the best way to control scab is to move your potato patch each year but if you have a dry summer and sweet new soil, even rotation is no guarantee of a scab-free crop.

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