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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Your source for weekly news and views in the Robson Valley

Volume 1 Issue 17

Dunster school sold to community

Photo: Laura Keil This photo taken June 24th shows Dunster community members who attended the school’s 94th anniversary celebration. Since that time, over 100 residents have rallied to keep the fine artsfocussed school open. School District #57 officials have finally agreed to pass the school to the Dunster Fine Arts School Society in an affordable way.

Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

The canvas tent that currently stands next to the Dunster Fine Arts School grounds will be coming down this month, as students once again have free rein in the halls of the Dunster school building.

As of Nov. 1st, the Dunster Fine Arts School Society, created this summer for the purpose of obtaining the building, will pay just

More Inside:

over $450 a month for the mortgage, plus utilities and insurance, for seven students to attend home-schooling classes inside its walls.

Community members will finally own what they call the “core” of their community, as the school district allows them to pay the mortgage payments directly to the school district at 3.2 per cent interest on a seven-year term.

“It’s really precedent-setting and it’s a very good approach. I think it’s a real win for both sides.”

Lyn Hall, Board Chair of School District #57

Complementary health care for a system in crisis?

Parent Seth Macdonald was part of the effort to keep the school building open for the use of their children.

“We fought so hard to get hold of the building,” he says. “It’s daunting. But it’s the best scenario in my view.”

School district board chair Lyn Hall says the board has submitted a request to the Ministry of Education for approval to transfer the building.

“This is no different than any other real estate transaction,” he says. “The only difference is there isn’t a bank or lending institution involved. We are the holder of the mortgage.”

He says desks and supplies will not be returned to the building, since it is only the land and building being sold.

More safe shelters needed

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A2 Wednesday, October 6, 2010

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Freak monsoon rains damage Bone Creek project Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

An estimated 24 mm of rain fell between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Sept. 28, causing a wash out at TransAlta’s Bone Creek hydro project under construction 20 km north of Blue River. According to TransAlta spokesperson Tana Smith, the natural phenomenon caught them by surprise.

“There was a mud slide approximately 16.5 km upstream we believe may have contributed to the flooding. The containment wall was not breached, however the water overflowed over the containment banks and into the pentstock. This flooded out the facilities at the bottom of the pentstock pipe which has not yet been hooked up to the generator house,” she says.

For a few hours, water flowed freely down the pipe causing significant damage to the main generator housing site.

Crews and heavy equipment were able to create a diversion ditch back into the river before damage to structural foundations occurred. At the bottom site, tools were lost and some equipment was damaged.

Trucks were also left half buried in mud, and a small lake formed at a lower cleared area on the lease site. Smith says some debris washed down the pentstock pipe and questions remain regarding its damage.

“We’re currently doing an assessment to see if we have to mitigate any of that, however within 24 hours of the flood, the site returned to near normal conditions.”

At the intake site, where the containment banks were breached, some contractors reported losing valuable equipment including generators and power tools. Some crews were already onsite when the breach occurred, but because crews were not yet working, nobody was injured Smith says.

“They were able to leave on their own.”

Smith says that TransAlta expects to be completely cleaned up and back into construction mode by the end of this week.

This event is not expected to delay the project completion date set for this winter.

Smith adds that efforts have already been directed to improve the containment walls and banks at the intake site.

“We have ensured that this won’t happen again.”

Nusse Construction Basements to roofing Bathrooms and decks Renovations and retrofits

Photos submitted

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

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More safe shelters needed in Valemount

Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

The Robson Valley Support Society is looking for more homes in Valemount to support women needing shelter from family violence.

There is currently only one shelter available in the village; six shelters are available in the Robson Valley.

Shelley Battensby, who co-ordinates the Safe Shelter program in Valemount, says entering shelter is often the first step for a woman in crisis who is escaping abuse. To help those women, the Safe Shelter program involves a network of private safe homes operated by volunteers.

“They open their homes to women who are in crisis and need a place to stay.”

She says they support around 100 women in the valley each year, though the number using a shelter varies dramatically each month. Sometimes it is half the women who come through, other times very few.

If the offender is taken into custody, support can often occur through outreach while the woman and children stay in their home. Sometimes the woman is looking for counselling or support, but does not want to leave.

“It’s not critical proportions,” she says.

“But it means that one home is the only one we call.”

While the woman is in shelter, the agency helps her to look at her options and how she can execute a plan to be safe – whether that means a permanent move or returning to the relationship. If the woman has been controlled financially, she may not have the funds to travel or get new accommodations.

“It can be a scramble. You have to look at some pretty fast logistical issues.”

She says violence often involves control: whether it be control of self-esteem, finances or personal movement. It may also mean indirect violence such as hitting the wall next to the person or kicking the dog.

If a shelter isn’t available, she says they would likely set her up in a hotel, but they don’t have a budget to sustain that. As it is, women can only use a home shelter for five days. Often it’s for a weekend.

Sometimes women use the shelter before they go to a transition house in a larger centre, where they can get better in-house health and legal supports. The support society also offers counselling for women and

children who have encountered violence in the home, as well as outreach services.

She says having more than one safe house in a location is not just for the women who use the shelters, but also for the shelter operators to support one another.

“They know who one another is, so they can reach one another,” she says. “It’s an isolating thing. They can’t talk about it.”

A good host understands the dynamics of domestic violence, is a good listener, and has space in their home, she says. They must also have a life that supports the confidentiality, meaning they don’t have a lot of company or live in the busiest area of town.

“You see some pretty sad stories,” she says.

“A shelter operator may be really impacted by that and you need a place to put that so you need good self-care.”

“A lot of it is just being that sympathetic ear, you know, put the cup of tea down and just say ‘You’re safe now.’”

She says men are an important part of that. All the shelters have men. She says the women need to see that men can be respectful and supportive.

More services such as group counselling sessions would also help men who are vio-

lent. No such services exist in the Valley, however, which Battensby says is a big gap.

“We all fall in love for good reasons and that’s the real challenge with living with abuse is you love this person but they’re hurting you. It’s such a contradiction and you kind of battle it out inside yourself.”

Battensby says doing a presentation at the Valemount women’s conference was a way of putting out a call without doing a public recruitment.

“We did get some interest there so hopefully we’ll have some potential for new shelters, but we’re always looking for people who are interested in getting involved,” she says.

Often children are part of the mix. Elizabeth de Vries, who works out of McBride does counselling for children and youth who have witnessed violence in their home.

“I help them learn healthy ways to express their feelings because they’ve learned unhealthy ways growing up around someone who uses violence.”

“It’s breaking that cycle and teaching them more appropriate ways of handling their feelings especially their anger.”

Society to seek multiple uses for school building Cont from A1

“It’s really precedent-setting and it’s a very good approach,” Hall says. “I think it’s a real win for both sides.”

The society had enough money through donations to pay the $3,000 down payment. Macdonald says they will be doing aggressive fundraising, applying for provincial and federal grants, and seeking private donations to fund the mortgage and utilities - which could be as much as $9,000 a year. Insurance costs would be on top of that. Broken down over the year, with no change in enrollment, the cost would be upwards of $2,000 per student per year, without taking into account in-

surance and repairs.

Macdonald says some of the students who have enrolled in the McBride or Valemount elementary schools may return, but nothing it certain. There were 27 students enrolled at the school at the end of June, the school district citing budget restrictions and low enrollment for the closure. Members of the school board estimated they would save roughly $172,000 a year by closing the school.

The school was gutted and classrooms have been empty since that time. Community members occupied the school gymnasium for five days protesting the school’s closure and lack of transparency

by the school district, but left after an injunction was obtained by the school district. They have been in discussions with trustees and board members throughout and since that time.

Hall says while the sale is “precedentsetting” the district will not be listing other empty school buildings for sale. Some 13 other elementary, middle, and secondary schools were closed last year. Hall says they will consider applications to use the buildings from community groups.

Macdonald says parents and community members will continue to take turns acting as teacher as they have thus far in the school year. Macdonald says they are

still in discussions with the school district about implementing a Wells model for the 2011-2012 school year, where the district would supply a teacher. He says they may go down to a 3-day school week in the school, with remaining class time conducted at home, in order to cut costs.

The school society currently has over 100 members.

Macdonald says they will now look at ways to use the building for purposes other than elementary education, and plan to host a concert there at the end of October.

Got a comment? lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

Want to improve your photography?

Join a class at Kiwa Crafts!

Each class will focus on one component of good photos Topics include: lighting, flash, lenses, composition, movement, night shots, portraits, photo gifts and photoshop basics.

8 classes for $80 4 drop-ins for $50 Firs set of classes: Oct. 14th-Nov. 4th Next set: January 6th-27th Call: 250-566-5135 or show up Oct. 14th 6:30-7:30 at Kiwa Crafts The hope is to get a Valemount Photography Club going!

The Rocky Mountain Goat is issued every Wednesday

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Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Gardening with Pete In the past 50 years or so, garlic has gone from being rarely used in North America other than in ethnic cooking to being one of the most widely used seasonings in daily cooking. If you haven’t tried growing your own garlic you are missing the freshness of homegrown and the fun of trying many different varieties. Garlic is easy to grow and does well in our area.

There are three main types of garlic. The most common one found in the stores is from California or China and is usually the “soft-neck” type. It has no center stem and has many small cloves in the center of the bulb.

The one most commonly grown around here is the “hard-neck” type and has a hard stem growing out of the center with only six or eight large easy to peel cloves around the stem. The third type is the “elephant” garlic that has very little “real garlic flavour” but grows very large bulbs.

All the books and magazine articles seem to claim that garlic usually takes about three years to acclimatize to an area. By then it will be producing at its best. However one Russian variety that Irene Froese of McBride brought in from the coast took off from the first year and produces one of the tastiest and large bulbs of any I have grown.

Garlic can be planted either in the fall (mid Sept to mid Oct.) or in the early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Fall planted garlic always seems to do better and grow larger as the roots get established over the winter and they just take off as soon as the soil warms up in the spring. If you can purchase bulbs grown locally, your chances of success are better. Many

Letter to the editor

of the bulbs in the grocery stores are sprayed with growth inhibitors so they don’t sprout.

Prepare a bed with lots of organic matter such as compost or rotted manure and be sure there is good drainage. I plant in 3 ft (1M) wide beds raised about six inches (15cm). Break the heads apart into individual cloves and plant them with the blunt end down about 3 in (8cm) deep and 6 in (15cm) between cloves. If planting in the fall, it is best to mulch the entire bed with straw or leaves about 6 in (15cm) deep to protect the cloves from being heaved out of the ground by frost.

When the soil warms up in the spring, the mulch can be removed to the compost pile and the bed should be kept weed free as garlic does not do well with the competition. The bed should be watered well and deeply during dry spells but all water should be cut off by mid summer so the heads can mature. When the leaves start to turn yellow and the papers (skins) have formed well on the bulbs, the heads can be lifted, the soil shook off and the roots trimmed to ½ inch (.7cm) from the bulb.

If you can dry the bulbs with the leaves and stem intact for two to three weeks in a well ventilated, dry shady place all the good from the leaves and stem will go into the bulb and the curing process will be better. After curing, cut off the withered leaves about 1 in (2.5cm) above the bulb and store in very cool or warm dry spot.

Do not store where the temperature is between 45-60(515C) or where it is moist, as they will sprout and rot.

Once you are hooked on “home-grown” the storebought just won’t do!

I was one of the people who did not return the survey.

Also I was one of the people who walked out of the meeting when it became apparent that it was nothing but an insulting farce.

Here are some of the reasons I did this and why a lot more people did not respond.

1/ Knowing the ideal person to be on the board does no good when the village makes all the decisions 2/ When there is no representation outside the village 3/ when most of the questions had nothing to do with the real problems such as a good marketing system for the wood, open bids, properly laid out and supervised blocks plus good silverculture.

If people had been given a real choice it would make a difference in the amount of people who answered the survey. Also the people who made side comments were ignored.

This is the trouble with all surveys and ballots they should have a ‘none of the above’ on them so that people could at least let the management know they did not approve of the processor the people on the ballot. The way it is now if you participate you are approving the process and if you don’t you are perceived as agreeing with the status quo.

I would have a lot more respect for Mark von der Gonna if he did more on the job he’s paid for and less on politics we have enough politicians!

Dave Marsh McBride

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

Laura Keil

Co-Owner Editor/Reporter lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

Joseph Nusse

Co-Owner Publisher/Sales jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com Illustrations by Luke Siemens

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 The Rocky Mountain Goat is produced and distributed by ‘The Rocky Mountain Goat News’ and is subject to copyright. Reproduction, or distribution of any article, photo, or other content must recieve prior consent from Joseph Nusse (Co-Owner/ Publisher) or Laura Keil (Co-Owner/Editor).

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

Convenience Mail Delivery Subscription For questions, call The Goat at (250) 566-4606, or e-mail jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

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Within Canada ($90/Year) Postal/Zip Code: e-mail: Phone:

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Wednesday, October 06, 2010

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Economic Opportunities presentation in McBride Significant crowd shows openness to ideas Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

About 25 to 30 McBride residents turned out for a luncheon and presentation on the Robson-Canoe Valleys Economic Opportunities Plan by Paul Blais, an economic consultant with Ontario-based firm Millierdickinsonblais Inc. on Monday afternoon. The economic plan is the result of an extensive study done by Blais under contract for the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.

Terry McEachen, general manager of Community and Development Services, says the study was not just a chance to explore future options.

“The idea was to get the area working as a unit.

Together Valemount and McBride can achieve a lot more.”

Blais echoed this vision in the one-hour presentation which involved slide shows and video of successful diversification efforts by other communities in the United States faced with similar economic shifts. Blais pointed to communities in Minnesota and Oregon as examples of how single-resource dependent towns can successfully get through the tough times which result from their economic life-lines being cut.

“It is better to be stable than it is to be crashing and growing, crashing and growing,” says Blais. “It is better to have fifty business employing two people each, than it is to have one business employing one hundred people.”

While a wide range of possibilities to attract such business were explored during the presentation, Blais

Secondary School New Bride c s M Graduation Dinner Caterer Needed!

This year’s graduation class will be holding their grad on Saturday, June 25th at the Robson Valley Recreation Centre. We are looking for a caterer for approx 450 – 500 people. Bid to include menu plan, copy of Caterer’s License and references to be submitted to the McBride Secondary School by Friday, December 10th. If you have any questions, please call the school at 250-569-2295.

McBride Secondary School Craft Fair The Craft Fair will be held on Saturday, November 27th. Tables are $10.00 each or 15% of profit whichever is greater. If you would like to reserve a table, please call the school at 250-569-2295. There is no guarantee that you will be able to have the same table as last year, so make sure you book your table early.

If you can sing, dance, play an instrument etc. and are interested in participating in the Talent Night, please call the McBride Secondary school at 250569-2295 for more details by Friday, October 22nd.

Proceeds towards the McBride Secondary School Snowboard Team.

focussed on the concept of attracting ‘lone eagles’ – independent business people and active retirees.

“If you think about larger economic centers, there are a lot of people leaving for quality of life considerations,” says Blais. “Many of these people can run their business online. We call them the creative class. The average annual income of these people is significantly higher than labourers, service jobs and agricultural jobs.”

Blais says that to attract such independent business people, certain considerations must be made. He says high-speed internet is very important and cannot be ignored. Other potential weaknesses for the valley to attract such people are employment options for spouses, office and commercial space, distance to larger centers, as well as a lack of a local marketing plan.

Blais adds that though they may seem trivial, managing a town’s image on web services such as Facebook, Google and Google Maps as well as Wikipedia can also pay off since these are the very first source many potential visitors look to for any information.

Blais also noted that, especially in B.C., the importance of tourism is starting to become appreciated, although he noted that McBride does lag behind Valemount when it comes to embracing this growing provincial industry.

Photo: Joseph Nusse

“There is an increasing awareness that this is not just about $6/hour jobs. There are management jobs and even more, tourism is a venue for international branding of your town.”

A draft print of Robson-Canoe Valleys Economic Opportunities Plan is now available. Blais says that he has conducted over fifty one-on-one interviews with various valley residents and politicians to help in his conclusions. He still encourages input, however he asks that anybody with input contact him within one week since the draft plan will be approved by the regional district very soon.

McEachen says funding for the study mainly came out of federal funds tied into mountain pine beetle remedial efforts. Approximately $52,500 came from the federal agency Community Economic Diversification Cont`on A12...

Wildlife Management Area proposed for Cranberry Marsh Groups to conduct open house for residents Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com There’s more than a diversity of water fowl in Valemount’s marsh: there’s also a diversity of labels.

The provincial government is proposing to incorporate Valemount’s marsh into one wildlife management area (WMA). Currently, the marsh falls into three categories: the Starratt wildlife sanctuary, a nature trust, and a map reserve for fish and wildlife management.

The change will streamline management and increase the ability to enforce regulations for users of the wildlife habitat, says Tom Clermont, Land Securement Coordinator for the Nature Trust of BC. “The WMA provides more of a provincial designation, so a higher profile,” he says.

He says it will also open the marsh to more funding options in order to fight invasive species and maintain the wetland and expand the trail system.

“It’s one of the top areas for wildlife viewing in the province because it’s right off the highway,” Clermont says. “I’ve never seen any of those viewing towers you have in any other wildlife area in the province.”

He says the designation also means incompatible activities such as ATVing can be more strictly enforced.

Activities such as canoeing and skating on the marsh, which have not been possible in recent years due to water levels, will likely still be considered valid activities as part of a management plan. Some activities in a WMA require written permission from the Regional

Photo: Laura Keil Manager, Environmental Stewardship Division, Ministry of Environment.

A WMA designation can serve as a legal mechanism to help implement wildlife/habitat conservation objectives identified in a strategic land use plan. Wildlife and habitat management options are flexible, ranging from no intervention at all to significant restoration and enhancement efforts. The designation of a WMA does not affect any rights granted before the designation.

The Ministry of Environment and staff from The Nature Trust of BC and Ducks Unlimited Canada are holding a Public Open House at the Valemount Best Western Inn and Suites Thursday Oct. 14th, starting at 5:30 pm in the Eagles View Banquet Room. The intent of this open house is to provide the public information on what a WMA is, and how the designation can lead to effective long-term stewardship of the conservation lands.

Cont`on A12...

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Health care crisis: is alternative the answer?

Laura Keil lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com Last week Cathy McLeod, Conservative MP for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding, made a motion in parliament to reform our country’s health care system.

In the motion, she recommends three changes: an increased adoption of technological developments; better recognizing the changing roles of health care professionals vis-a-vis the needs of Canadians; and a greater focus on strategies for healthy living and injury prevention.

The motion, which passed in the House of Commons, doesn’t have any teeth. It won’t compel the government to make any concrete changes. But it brings to light some of the challenges our country will face in coming decades: a health care system taxed by the needs of an ageing population and the need for alternative ways of treating patients.

“The needs of Canadians have switched to an older population and one that has to deal in a much more significant way with chronic disease,” McLeod said in an interview from Ottawa. “Responding to chronic disease requires a completely different approach than responding to acute episodic needs.”

The motion’s emphasis on healthy living and injury prevention is something traditional, alternative or complementary medicine has long touted as part of their domain.

But will alternative health be our medical salvation?

Many Canadians are skeptical about techniques that they perceive as un-scientific or just plain weird. Most have been raised with the idea that health care means physicians who studied anatomy and disease for four to six years. The lack of regulation doesn’t help this.

Across the country complementary and alternative health care services are not treated uniformly or as an integrated part of most western medicine.

Yet, more and more Canadians are turning to these practitioners. In 2003, onefifth of Canadians aged 12 or older, some 5.4 million people, reported having used some type of alternative or complementary health care in the year before the survey, according to Statistics Canada. About 15 per cent of Canadians aged 18 or older had used alternative health care in the year before the 1994/95 National Population Health Survey, indicating more Canadians used alternative health services in that time.

An estimated 11 per cent of the population aged 12 or older had consulted a chiropractor (the most common form of alternative care) in the year before the 2003 survey. Around eight per cent had consulted a massage therapist, two per cent an acupuncturist, and two per cent a homeopath or naturopath.

Due to the uneven regulation of complementary health, some of these services are

Local acupuncturist Micah Yoder uses suction cups to stimulate circulation on her patient’s back. She lights alcoholic swabs on fire inside the cups and then places them on the skin where increased circulation is desired.

lumped into the same category regardless of the practitioner’s training and ability.

Only chiropractors are regulated across the country.

B.C. is the most well-regulated province of alternative medicine. It was the first to regulate practitioners of traditional Chi-

its own regulations in 2011.

The province also pays for part of some treatments, such as acupuncture or massage.

But there are dozens more treatments out there. And the message from the government thus far seems to be: try at your own risk. Most treatments are very subtle and non-invasive. But they come at a price.

For people suffering from chronic disease however, complementary medicine is a welcome option, especially when facing a dire diagnosis that is equally as debilitating mentally as it is physically.

“I would like to see the government cover it more because it’s preventative.

It’s going to keep them out of the health care system.” Micah Yoder Alaina Chapman Registered massage therapist

nese medicine, who treat disease by restoring the flow of energy through the body with herbal remedies and therapies like acupuncture. B.C. also has the most stringent educational standards for massage therapy in North America — requiring three years of training. Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador are the only other provinces to license massage. Acupuncturists are regulated in B.C., Alberta and Quebec and soon in Ontario.

Naturopathic medicine, a system of therapeutics that emphasizes the body’s ability to heal itself, is regulated in B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Alberta expects to introduce

Acupuncture, acupressure, NAET Micah Yoder practises acupuncture in Valemount, McBride, and Jasper.

“Do you feel that?”

“Yup.” Yoder is attaching a vaccaria seed to Antje Schoenfelder’s ear. It’s not the kind of treatment you’d expect when you go to the health clinic. But Yoder’s work as acupressurist and acupuncturist is touted by doctors in the same building who refer patients to her.

This is Schoenfelder’s first time having acupuncture. The seed taped to her ear can be left there several days. And as is characteristic of the profession, stimulation on the ear is not for the ear itself. Ear seeds are often used to treat back pain.

“Did the crunchiness go out of your shoulder?” Yoder asks. She gently places a hand on Schoenfelder’s shoulder and

Photo: Laura Keil

pumps her arm slowly.

She says the ear is a microsystem of the body, and different spots on the ear correspond with different parts of the body. It’s all based on Chinese medicine and the Meridian System.

But the treatment isn’t just for people who are afraid of doctors.

“It’s also for people who have gone through the medical system, done all the tests, and they’re told there’ nothing wrong. But they still don’t feel right.”

The effects can see miraculous: pain disappears, people can walk, they can think clearly and make big decisions, Yoder says.

The needles, like the seed, stimulate that area of the body increasing blood flow to areas that may be deprived. But not all the work happens in her treatment room: she says it’s equally important that people keep a healthy lifestyle.

Yoder moved to Dunster eight years ago, and got into acupuncture after skimming through an acupuncture book in a friend’s car on the way to Prince George. She tried it on herself and found she felt and thought better.

“It was like a load of fog had lifted,” she said.

She says a lot of people are skeptical.

“They come in and say ‘I’m here because someone told me to come but I don’t believe in it. Then afterwards they’ll say, I didn’t believe in it, but I do see a change.”

There are 1000 points through the body.

She says the back has points for internal organs.

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

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Local health practitioners speak about their work She even helps people rid themselves of allergies using a system called NAET. She can re-programme the person so their immune system doesn’t perceive the foreign substance as dangerous.

In some ways this style of health care is a more privatized one. After all, most people are not covered for these kinds of therapies. Some insurance companies cover a certain number of massage therapy and physio therapy treatments per year. Low-income earners are eligible for 10 discounted acupuncture or massage treatments every year, receiving $23 back from the government for each session (roughly $50-$75).

They used to be fully covered. On the other hand, pharmaceutical drugs can be just as costly.

It’s a start, says Alaina Chapman who usees the same room as Yoder in the medical clinic.

Alaina Chapman Therapeutic Massage

“I would like to see the government cover it more because it’s preventative. It’s going to keep them out of the health care system.”

Being in the clinic increases their legitimacy as a medical treatment, she says.

They receive many patients who are referred by local doctors.

Chapman first got a massage treatment to treat jaw and neck pain.

“I was so taken aback,” she says. “Sometimes people have a perception that massage is just for relaxation, but I had no idea how therapeutic it could be.”

She said her posture improved, and her neck pain went away.

She says she gets a lot of doctor referrals, for people suffering from chronic pain, sciatica, injuries, stress, or back problems.

Some just want to maintain their health.

She sees 10-15 patients a week, and will be now offering services in McBride on Wednesdays.

She adds massage therapy has a lot of amazing physiological effects. It increases serotonin, decreases cortisol, lengthens muscles, increases circulation, she says.

If a patient has an injury or the muscle is tense, it decreases blood flow to the area.

“We can address the issues but we can never take away the disease” But a patient can heal from tension headaches or spasms from sciatica.

“When I get elderly patients who say without massage, they couldn’t walk, that gives me goosebumps.”

Hopefully they won’t have to go back to the doctor, if a doctor referred them for massage. She says often people are referred back and forth between massage, acupuncture, chiropractor, physio therapist depending on their needs.

“In Japan, Shiatsu is more a part of the norm of everyday life. Some people come in for tune-ups on a daily or weekly basis. Others come before they get sick to prevent illness because it’s too expensive later on.”

Seiji Hiroe, Shiatsu practitioner

Seiji Hiroe Shiatsu Seiji Hiroe, 62, knows how far the acceptance of alternative medicine has come in his career. When he moved to Valemount 30 years ago, he was denied a permit to practise massage because the current council said it was “related to prostitution.”

“It’s wonderful how the attitude of the village has changed,” he says.

At that time, there weren’t even any permanent doctors, he says, just locums.

“Each person has to look after their health, not just a doctor or pharmacist or chiropractor,” he says.

Hiroe practises a type of Shiatsu called Koho. But he often mixes his techniques.

His mother did Shiatsu on a small-scale in Japan. There, Shiatsu is more part of the norm of everyday life. Some people come in for tune-ups on a daily or weekly basis, he says. Others come before they get sick to prevent illness because it’s too expensive later on.

The basic tenets of complementary medicine, which often stem from Traditional Chinese Medicine, focus on the intertwining of spiritual, emotional and physical health.

He says he didn’t believe that shiatsu worked when he was in high school and his mother offered to give him Shiatsu for a headache.

“I said no I don’t believe that, it’s not scientific, it doesn’t work.”

After he immigrated to Canada, and came to Hinton, he married a woman who died at 25 from cancer.

She had pain after her treatments.

“I didn’t know what to do,” he says. “So I gave her Shiatsu.”

The treatments worked. Each time, she said the pain left temporarily. Even temporary relief was good for someone who had pain all the time, he says.

At the time there was no shiatsu school in Canada. So he went back to Japan to take the same type of Shiatsu as his mother. He then worked with persons with disabilities in Edmonton, helping them to sleep and relieve pain.

Regena Bergen Meditation

Regena Bergman says she got into meditation because she knew she needed something to calm her brain – what she calls her “monkey brain.”

“I tried many different ways of calming my brain, I’d buy books and that, but none of them worked because I wanted immediate satisfaction and none of them were giving me that so I would try them for a while and quit them.”

You can still have thoughts going through your head and it still makes a difference.

It took a couple weeks to see a difference – her thoughts were not as negative.

“It’s such a big relief – it just beats us up,” She says a little girl told her she had anxiety and Bergman told her she very seldom has stress now. The little girl asked why and she said because she meditates. A few days later she got the idea to teach meditation to children, since children often have anxiety they aren’t able to express.

“I think it’s very important to find a place to calm yourself. It can be in your own house. It can be as easy as taking deep breaths and that lowers your blood pressure and makes you calmer.”

She says her research suggests there are many advantages to meditation and one of the major ones is less stress.

“I remember in high school how much peer pressure there was, and stress there was,” she says. “Self-confidence is a big thing too.”

She’ll be teaching youth 9-19 after school beginning this month.

“We want to balance the mind, body and spirit. When our heart opens more, then we’re kinder to people, we have compassion.”

She says the goal of alternative health practitioners is to assist people – but people have to do the work themselves.

“People like to have a quick fix,” she says.

“Ultimately it’s our responsibility to look after ourselves.”

Sue Gehrig

Ancient healing and stone massage Like Bergman, Sue Gehrig’s ancient healing hot stone and crystal massage is based on the idea that each person is responsible for his or her healing.

“Everything I do is ceremony,” she says.

“People want you to come and clean out their house – you do the same thing in their body.”

Gehrig’s treatment room is much different than the one used by Chapman and Yoder. A faux fire place is lit, and all around are crystals, rocks, candles, while soothing music plays on a cd player.

For Gehrig, it’s about bringing the old into the new, which is how she advertises her therapy: The Ancient Art of Healing

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

in Modern Times.

In 1998 she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Was told she could manage her pain but there was no cure. But she wanted a different way to think about it.

“They were very honest,” she says. “They said they couldn’t heal me. So who was going to heal me? I had to do it.”

She sees it as being a pioneer in changing the way she views the world. And that directly impacts her thoughts and emotions which in turn affect her physical health.

“Our notions create our physical illnesses and addictions,” she says. “How to change a belief system?”

She says the most important thing is to be loving to yourself and to create ritual and ceremony. The impact of healing our own self ripples outward to our family and community.

“When we’re born who gives us our perceptions? Our parents, our peers, our technology. We have to take responsibility for healing instead of giving it to the doctor or hospital. The doctor and hospital are a part of me.”

Barbara Faust GeoTran and detoxification

Barbara Faust does detoxification through GeoTran, Bio-Electric Lymphatic Drainage, and IonCleanse Electronic Detoxification. She says tools like GeoTran can help people deal with their problems no matter where they are.

“If we entertain a lot of negative thoughts, we accumulate a lot of toxins and we’re unable to process information correctly.

She says it is important to offer solutions to people that empower them.

She uses GeoTran to do muscle testing and call up stress – in other words muscle glitches. Then she enters a correction in the body in the energy and information field. It sounds very sci-fi, but Faust says it is effective.

“The person has new neural pathways to go on a new journey on what they’re wanting to change,” she says. “We need tools that allow us to change in the blink of an eye.”

She says she learned the techniques in 2002 from the inventor of GeoTran in Calgary. She says she was frustrated as a physiotherapist about always seeming to treat only symptoms.

“Geotran – for me that was it. It allows you to address problems when they’re still in the energy and information field. They haven’t manifested in the body yet.”

It’s not a feel-good thing like a massage.

It’s more like a viral scan on a computer – something you do every day.

“Many people today they crash – because of toxic overload,” she says, adding the effects can range from lower stress, less pain, increased creativity, and happiness.

“Our health care system is in a crisis. People need to take care of themselves. We must be responsible for our actions and what we don’t do.”

A8 Wednesday, October 06, 2010

VACS Presents second show of the season Banff Film Fest. attendance down

Joseph Nusse jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

something very goal-driven, writing with a sense of purpose,” he explains.

“I’ve always got a list of ideas, but it’s something that takes some getting used to —but it’s something that I don’t mind taking a break from. I did a lot of this the past three years, walking in and meeting a complete stranger and having a personal conversation about whatever we’re going to be writing about.

Jason picked up guitar at age 8 and started writing songs at 16, around the time he joined his father and brother onstage in their “hobby” band. Country was a natural direction for him. “My parents always had country music on,” he says. “I never liked anything hard or anything that made me feel angry, but I definitely grew to like rock, like AC/DC’s Back In Black.”

Although he knew he wanted to be a musician, Jason followed his friends to college as “the thing to do.” He graduated from the business program at Ottawa’s Algonquin College, and then decided on a career in music, but the degree has proved useful. “It gave me a lot of tools to run my own busi-

While Valemount Arts and Cultural Society is looking forward presenting Jason Blaine at their next show this Saturday, organizer Neysa Weatherbee says they are hoping for a better turn out than last week at the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

“We needed to sell another 30 tickets to break even,” says Weatherbee. “This was the first time in three years that the film festival did not cover itself.”

Jason Blaine is a Canadian country singer/songwriter who has started to establish himself with multiple albums, and repeated country chart listings. According to Blaine, his third album, Sweet Sundown, digs a little deeper than his last album. From dealing with life as a touring musician to saying thank you to the peacekeepers overseas, the Canadian country singer-songwriter decided to get a bit more serious this time around.

“I didn’t want to completely recreate my last record,” says Jason, 29, a native of Pembroke, Ontario, who now calls Nashville home. “Right now, I’m focusing on writing for my career and writing less, gathering up really good ideas and turning them into

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ness and help me in the decision making process,” Jason says. “It still is the music business, but I’m thankful that music comes before the business.”

In 2002, he won Country Music Television’s Project Discovery competition, which launched his career with the 2003 single “That’s What I Do.” His independent full-length debut, While We Were Waiting, comprised of songs he wrote during and after college, came out in 2005 and included the Top 25 singles.

There is also one cover song on the album, Bryan Adams’ “When You Love Someone.”

The original version Jason danced to with his bride at their wedding.

“I always loved it and I believed it would make a great country song,” says Jason, now a father of a 3 year-old girl and year-old boy.

Weatherbee says that this year will likely be a really telling year as to how the theatrewill be able to survive.

“We’ll probably look at trying to find more funding for next year. This year we got some grants directed at our dance presentations.

We may need to find some funding to bring

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the Banff Mountain Film Festival back next year.

Weatherbee adds that VACS has posted a link of a Jason Blaine music video at www. valemount.org/theatre. Tickets are available at Infinity or at the door.

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DESSERTS Baklava $7.00 tray 2 pieces for $1.50

$10.75 $10.75 $7.75

Fotoosh Salad $4.50 Tabouli Salad $5.75 Hommous and Pita Bread $4.50

Drinks Canned Pop $1.25 Bottled Water $1.25 Coffee/Tea $2.00

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Closed Monday

Taxes not included, prices subject to change

www.therockymountaingoat.com

The Tourism Directory

Call Leigh at 250-569-8807 or info@leighcreative.com

Open at 4:30 pm daily

CLOSED from October 11 5th Avenue till 1002 November 04 Valemount, B.C.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

$40 for 4 weeks, or $20 for one week

Teepee Meadows Cottage

Spectacular mountain and marshland scenery Phone:250-566-9875

Eatery and Gift Shop

1152 - 5th Ave, Valemount B.C. 250-566-0154

Located 3 km west of Valemount

Visit us at www.caribougrill.com

A9

Hosts: Claude, Alke & Noland Germain 545 Jack Adams Road, Box 786 Valemount, BC V0E 2Z0

The Business Directory New Construction, Renovations Additions, Framing, Finishing Cabinetry & Wood Doors

Certified Septic Installer Bobcat Skid Steer With Various Attachments

G & A Moore Ventures Gerald Moore Contractor

McBride, BC

Windshield Repair/Replacement Specialists

PET SUPPLIES-HOME ELECTRONICS SHAW DIRECT TV-SIRIUS RADIOS FLAT GLASS-MIRROR-SCREENS CUSTOM VINYL SIGNS-BANNERS-VEHICLE GRAPHICS-MAGNETIC SIGNS WOOD & PELLET STOVES & SUPPLIES WOOD PELLETS @ Country Wide Sales & Services Ltd Conveniently located downtown @ 1160-5th Ave

www.mooreventures.ca Tel: 250.569.2269

CRACKMASTER

Cell: 250.569.7147

Open 9 am -5:30 pm Monday thru Friday

250.566.4380

For Drywall Services CALL TODD @

WAHOO ENTERPRISES

250-569-0320

STR8 UP Renovations New Construction, renos, form building. shops, decks.

Journeyman carpenter, 17 years experience.

Call Jeff Wagner, 250-569-7906

A10

Wednesday, October 06, 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.

Building Materials

For Sale

For Sale

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

5th Wheel. 28.5’ Citation Supreme 1997 Excellent condition, Queen walkaround Bed, Oakcabinets, 2 DoorFridge, Microwave, 3 Burnersstoveoven, Full Bath, Awning, Airconditioning, $14900.00. Call 1-250-566-9884, Valemount or jvgeorgeca@yahoo.ca

Glass carboys, $20 each (retail $40) and multi-purpose plastic tubs 30L, $15 Call 250-566-4606

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

Flooring, Wide Plank Fir, 8”, T&G, new, kiln dried, select grade, $2.95/sqft. Please call 250-573-1817 evenings.

How to submit an ad Found

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

By Craig Elder, M.A. Economics

1 pair of black, OR, Goretex gaiters on McKirdy Peak.

Call 250-566-4396 to claim.

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

Mazda B4000 4/4 1994.

C/W Canopy, 2 sets of tires on rims, well maintained, kept all receipts, 293K. Reason for sale; family got bigger. Asking $2500. Call JF at 250-566-8411.

Village of McBride

Braun Juicer.-Multi-press MP-50. Fruits and veggies, gently used. $45. Pressure canner “Wearever” $70. Lv msg: 250-566-1588.

Two used satellite dishes. As is, taken off of house. Open to offers, 250-566-1444.

Minolta 2050 copier with two bottles of toner. Asking $300 OBO. Black and White copying only. Upto 11x17 size, also double sided. Older machine but still reproduces well. Handy for someone who needs to make copies of maps, booklets, handouts, etc. Call Rashmi at Infinity 250-5664225. Available for testing / viewing at Infinity Office & health, Valemount.

Wanted

INVITATION TO TENDER

Wanted: Coffee grinder. Call 250-566-4606.

For Rent Shared Accommodation dwntwn McBride Incl: lge bdrm with private entrance, ADSL, phone/voice box, furniture. Shared: util, TV, house/yard. NS, ND/A (no drugs/alcohol), No Pets.

Refs plse. $450 - 569-8807

The Village of McBride invites tenders for the construction of the Raven Road Rest Stop, and associated site servicing in McBride, BC. The major work components include: - Installation of 996m of owner supplied 50mm dia

water service.

- Installation of 813m of owner supplied 63mm dia

sewer forcemain.

- Installation of owner supplied septic tanks and

pump system.

- Construction of Insulated Concrete Form Wash

room facilities including plumbing, HVAC, and electrical.

- Construction of 200m of gravel walking trails.

- Directional drilling.

ARE YOU BORED? I’m looking to start a friendship club for winter sports, hiking, events and activities in Jasper, and nighboring towns. Call Vanda www. at: 250566-0173.

Older 2 bedroom house on 6th Ave. $450/month plus utilities. 250-566-4790.

Sealed tenders for –“Village of McBride – Raven Road Rest Stop” will be received at the offices of the Village of McBride, 100 Robson Centre, McBride, BC, V0J 2E0 until 1:00 p.m. local time, October 12, 2010 at which time all tenders will be publicly opened.

Roommate Wanted $295 plus shared utilities.

1 bedroom in 2 bedroom apartment in Valemount.

250-566-4044 Nanny Needed Nanny Required. Sept – Dec part time. Requires 2 days in Crescent Spur, 2 days in Dunster Jan–Apr – full time live in at Crescent Spur. Salary based on experience. Pls email resumes or inquires to Jessica@crescentspur.com.

You can reach me at 250553-2300 or 250-968-4486.

Raven Road Visitor Stop

Tender documents may be obtained from the office of the Village of McBride or from the office of R. Radloff & Associates Inc., 925 Vancouver Street, Prince George, BC, V2L 2P6, after October 1, 2010 upon deposit of a certified cheque in the amount of fifty ($50.00) dollars payable to the Village of McBride. The deposit will not be refunded.

Bidders must provide proof of satisfactory completion of previous work of like kind. The lowest priced or any tender will not necessarily be accepted. A site visit will be held on October 7, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. local time. For inquiries please contact Chris Morgan, AScT, R. Radloff & Associates at 250-562-6861 (fax 250-562-6826).

Carpool

Employment

I am looking to carpool Quickway Pilot looking periodically with someone for part time drives. Phone .net who travels to Jasper, and to 566-1722, or fax resume to Sudoku, Kakuro Puzzles travel to other towns.&I Futoshiki will 566-4207, or mail Box 69 pay for part gas! Call 566- Valemount.

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Tenders must be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the tender package. Tenders must be accompanied by: a) A Bid Bond, Certified Cheque or Irrevocable Letter of Credit in the amount of Ten (10%) percent of the tender price. b) A Consent of Surety relating to subsequent security arrange ments for Performance and Labour and Materials payment guaran tees.

Aries: You are slowly disappearing from the realm of existence, re-establish that you exist and occupy space with those around you.

Taurus: Now is the time to plan how you will be spontaneous on Saturday.

Gemini: Putting forth your best is always important, or at the very least when people will be judging you.

Cancer: You don’t know where you are going, nor do you have a good idea of who you are. Maybe you are a secret agent with amnesia?

Leo: Today you feel completely different from yesterday on many issues,pretend to never having held your previous views.

Virgo: Life is a test, and if you stay calm and prepare you can pass and maybe let your friends cheat off your answers.

Libra: Today you want to make the world a better place, but you don’t know how to help. Maybe TV will have suggestions...

Scorpio: This week you will meet someone you care deeply about, not for the first time, but you will still meet up with a loved one.

Sagittarius: You have many social opportunities this week, you best pass on some of them so people will think you are important.

Capricorn: When someone tries to pressure you this week by using the phrase “No one ever died because of …” stop and think if that is true before making a decision.

Aquarius: Things have been a little rough recently but there is hope and if you weren’t such a pessimist I’d tell you to look to the future.

Pisces: You are overwhelmed by the desire to fly this week, but jumping from a high structure with balloons and/or kites is not the recommended method of flight.

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www.therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Community Events October

Oct. 14 Open House for proposed Starratt Marsh wildlife management area Valemount Best Western Hotel and Suites Drop-in 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Valemount Chamber of Commerce AGM 7 p.m., Best Western Hotel Oct. 14 Valemount Chamber of Commerce AGM Oct. 16 Jason Blaine Valemount Commmunity Theatre 7 p.m.

Oct. 27 McBride Secondary Talent Night 7 p.m. at the Roundhouse Theatre $5 admission, children free For details or to enter, contact: 250-569-2295

November

Nov. 20 Valemount Arts and Crafts Fair Location: Valemount Secondary gym Contact Jan @250-566-4396 to book a table

A11

Ongoing diversions Every Wednesday Valemount Seniors’ Music Night, 7p.m.

Location: Valemount Golden Years Lodge

Every Thursday Cribbage tournament, everyone welcome Location: Valemount Golden Years Lodge lower level 1-4 p.m.

Every Friday In Valemount: Musical jam at The Gathering Tree cafe, 7 p.m.

Hamburgers and drinks at the Legion, 5:30 p.m.

Every second Saturday Valemount Circle Dance, 7pm - 9pm Contact Micah: 250-566-1782 First Saturday of every month Dunster Family Dance 7pm to 10pm Instruction from 7-8pm and short sessions throughout the evening. Lots of variety dances (waltz, fox-trot, polka, cha-cha, two-step-schottische, etc). Pot luck snacks at 9pm and then more dancing until 10pm. Admission - $5 for anyone over 12 maximum of $10 per family.

Got a community event or announcement?

Let us know!

Hooray McBride Hospital Volunteers

We wish to express our appreciation for the beauty of the well-kept gardens at the McBride Hospital grounds and all the work involved in keeping it so nice. We had the opportunity to visit the gardens frequently this summer and loved watching the waves of new flowers coming in one after the other all season long. It’s like having our own little Botanical Gardens right here in McBride.

We would also like to thank those who gave us a tour through their lovely private gardens, specifically Dawn Hickerty, Connie Gainer and Thelma Molendyk. And we also enjoyed the colourful pansy gardens at the station. We particularly enjoyed seeing the frogs on their lily pads! Thank you McBride!

- McBride Active Living Group

Robson Valley Weather

lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday 21 0

Thursday 18 1

Friday 14 6

Saturday 15 7 P.O.P. 60%

Sunday 13 8 P.O.P. 60% Photo: Laura Keil

About 50 people stayed for the dance at the Dunster community hall following the annual fall harvest supper. A family dance is held the first Saturday of every month at the hall for all ages from 7-10 p.m.

Monday 11 2

A12

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Low water level still an issue... ...Cont` from A5

Jackie Edwards and Alaina Chapman enjoy the dessert selection at the annual Harvest supper in Dunster last weekend. Over 100 people showed up for the dinner and dance and which took in $105 in donations for the Community AsPhoto: Laura Keil sociation and $75 for the Dunster Fine Arts School.

McBride slow to embrace tourism... ...Cont` from A5

Initiative (CEDI), $30,000 of provincial funding came from the Omineca Beetle Action Coillition (OBAC), and the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George contributed $18,500.

Following the presentation by Blais, David Baleshta of Investment Capital Branch, Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development gave a shorter presentation on investment tax credit options offered by the province for larger, shovel-ready

private capital investments. Projects such as mill construction and alternative energy plants can qualify for up to a 30% tax credit. Baleshta emphasized that the any project must be at a stage where construction will start immediately.

Similar presentations were given in Valemount Tuesday evening after the time of press.

Comments? jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

The groups will also meet with the village earlier that day to discuss the possibility of increasing the water level, which is currently very low. The marsh experiences cycles of high and low water levels due to natural fluctuation, but the water level has been lower since the 1980s when Ducks Unlimited punctured the sand bed while installing islands.

The proposed development of McKirdy Park along the north edge of the marsh would be outside the wildlife management area and would not be affected by the change in designation, Clermont says.

The Nature Trust of BC and Ducks Unlimited Canada support the Ministry of Environment’s proposed change.

The Nature Trust of BC acquired 100 ha of uplands along the south east side of the Cranberry Lake wetland from 1975 to 1980. Ducks Unlimited Canada, then worked to create permanent wetlands through the construction of a series of dikes and water control structures in the early 1980s which created two additional compartments to enhance the marsh.

Before these two conservation groups became involved, a local farming family who had the foresight towards protect-

ing wetlands instead of trying to drain them, made the first move towards conservation by donating over 200 ha of private land to the province to create the unofficial Robert W. Starratt Wildlife Sanctuary in 1971.

The Nature Trust now leases their private lands to the Ministry of Environment and recently all Crown land parcels within the area referred to as a wildlife sanctuary have been transferred or leased to the ministry. Management of a WMA is often carried out through partnerships with local governments, First Nations, stewardship groups and concerned citizens.

Cranberry Marsh is used by many species of ducks, geese and other birds as a stopover during migration and for nesting. The wetland is also used by muskrat, beaver, moose and a variety of small mammals.

There are currently 23 wildlife management areas in BC, ranging in size from the 17-hectare Coquitlam River area to the 122,787-hectare Todagin area. Clermont says it may take one to two years before the designation comes into effect.

Comments? lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com