THURSDAY
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK Thursday, September 26, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 77 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
Word play or an attack on rights? By Andrea Klassen STRAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
cave men Caver Chas Yonge explores the Devil’s Washing Machine in Glacier National Park. Nicholaus Vieira photo
By Dale Bass STAFF REPORTER dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
When Nicholaus Vieira goes into a cave, Ann Cheeptham knows she’ll soon be busy. Vieira is an extreme caver and, when he goes into some of the deepest and darkest caves, he collects micro-organism samples he sends to Cheeptham, a microbiologist who teaches at Thompson Rivers University. She uses these samples in her research, trying to identify those that might be used to create new antibiotics. The work will be highlighted in the Saturday, Sept. 28, season premiere of 16x9, a currentaffairs program on Global. The pairing is the result of the tried-and-true somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody.
wendysBC.ca
Cheeptham said she met Philip Whitfield, a caver and president of the B.C. Speleological Federation, and told him of her work. (Speleogology is the study of caves). “Nick called me,” Cheeptham said, “because Phil had put my name out to people he knows and about the work we do here.” The television segment came about when Carolyn Jarvis, the chief correspondent on the show, called Cheeptham on the advice of Vieira. Cheeptham was delighted to find someone who not only could take on some of the cave exploration she and her students had been doing, but somebody willing — eager, in fact — to go into those deeper, darker and often colder crevices she cannot enter. The TV segment will feature
Vieira’s work for Cheeptham in Glacier National Park between Revelstoke and Golden. The caver has gone into the Nakimu Caves, a six-kilometre cave system in the park that is made up of cold, damp caverns and narrow passageways. He told KTW he got hooked on his profession when he was a novice caver in a location with others, a cave that had seen plenty of people go through it. “Someone in the group looked down and said, ‘What’s that in the water?’ and we discovered it was a troglobite no one knew was there,” Vieira said. A troglobite is a creature that lives in the dark parts of caves. That’s what really hooked me, discovering things,” he said. “You discover a lot about yourself, as well.” X See CAVE CULTURE A21
There was opinion, but little action, as councillors this week debated what to do about the Kamloops Pro-Life Society’s banner, which was back in the sky this month over Tranquille Road and Victoria Street. The banner, which reads “one life can make a difference” and “protect human life week,” stirred up controversy in 2012, despite having been hung without complaint for several years before that. While the outcry was more muted this year, the city did get a letter from Allysa Gredling, who also wrote in 2012 to express her distaste for the banner. “I do not understand why city councils are choosing to support these discriminatory activities,” she wrote, “But, your choice speaks volumes about a complete lack of respect for the individual rights of women in Kamloops and everywhere.” Coun. Nelly Dever agreed. “Basically, I don’t understand why we’re allowing this banner to be up because I think it goes against the rights of women,” she told council. CAO David Trawin said the city’s lawyers have looked at the sign and at council’s policy on banners and don’t think the city can remove it without vio-
lating its own policies. That could leave the city open to being sued. “We certainly support individual rights of women,” Coun. Tina Lange said. “But, the bottom line is, legally, our hands our tied.” That wasn’t good enough for Coun. Donovan Cavers, who wanted the city’s legal team to review its decision in conjunction with an opinion from the West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund relating to struggles Kelowna has had with proclamations of human right-tolife week. Only Lange and Coun. Nancy Bepple supported Cavers’ bid. Coun. Pat Wallace believes language on the banner is vague enough that it isn’t necessarily upsetting. “We have a country in the east that just fumigated a few hundred children to death,” she said in reference to ongoign strife in Syria. “All this says is ‘protect human life.’ You can read anything into that.” Cavers disagreed, arguing that since the banner also bears the pro-life group’s logo, the underlying theme is obvious. “When anyone knows what the mandate of this group is, the words read ‘donot-have-an-abortion week,’” he said. Council agreed to send Gredling a letter explaining why the banner will continue to fly.
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Coun. Nelly Dever believes the pro-life banner “goes against the rights of women.” On page A8 of today’s paper, KTW’s Dale Bass says the debate goes against common sense. Tell us what you think of the issue. Send your opinions via email to editor@kamloopsthisweek.com