2006-11-10

VOL. 4 ISSUE 45

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LIFE 17

Veterans gather in Corner Brook for annual ‘smoker’

Raleigh women building mat hooking business

‘Blip or bomb’ Pollsters say Williams will survive latest controversy

IVAN MORGAN

D

adds, Jonathan will remain behind on the base to help out with extra work that needs to be done. Brother Brad says Jonathan’s been like it his whole life.

“He’s always been physically active, into sports,” he says. “There was no way you could get Jon into a desk job. Whatever he did, it was going to be hands-on, getting involved, doing something different all the time. Definitely not a 9-5 guy.”

Jonathan’s abundance of energy and willingness to give extends past his role as a soldier.

He and his fiancé, Kerri, are due to be married sometime after Jonathan’s six-month tour with the First Royal Canadian Regiment, an infantry unit, is over in February.

anny Williams’ popularity should not be significantly damaged by the political flap over his government’s decision to partially fund an unsolicited tender from a consortium of businesses run by his friends and former business associates, say two senior pollsters.

The consortium — including Persona Communications, MTS Allstream and Rogers Communications — is partnering with the provincial government to build a second fibre-optic network across the province.

Don Mills, president of Corporate Research Associates in Halifax, says this latest political storm — some say the first real political scandal of Williams’ administration — is probably not going to hurt him very much.

Mill’s company released a poll in September showing Williams with an astonishing 89 per cent satisfaction rate with his overall performance as premier, and pegging his party’s popularity at 73 per cent.

“It is very difficult for any government to maintain those high levels of standards, regardless of whether anything is going on or not. Very difficult.” Mills tells The Independent. “He might drop his personal popularity and his satisfaction numbers but they are still going to be high, and they are going to be historically high.”

The controversy began with the premier’s decision to pump $15 million of taxpayers’ money into a bid by three private communications companies to build a second fibre-optic network across the province. A small fire at Aliant recently knocked out telecommunications for much of the province, prompting questions about the necessity of a second backup network like the one proposed by the consortium.

Craig Worton, vice-president of public affairs for Angus Reid in Vancouver, says the premier’s high popularity cannot be ignored.

See “We’re all seeking,” page 11

See “Unprecedented,” page 4

Canadian soldier Jonathan Cranford of St. John’s pretends to smoke as he drives by a field of marijuana plants in Afghanistan.

‘This is real’

Family of soldier Jonathan Cranford cherish every e-mail and photo from Afghanistan

MANDY COOK

B

onnie Cranford keeps her son Jonathan’s e-mails, postcards and pictures from Afghanistan in a journal. The book, covered in sunshine-yellow happy faces, is stuffed with the computer printouts and written notes she uses to track Jonathan’s whereabouts.

“August 1, 2006. Jonathan leaves for Kandahar today,” the book reads.

Jonathan, 27, is Bonnie and Gary Cranford’s second child. Older brother Brad came first, and Heather and Jennifer followed, rounding out the couple’s fun-loving family. Nobody was

surprised when Jonathan volunteered to serve his country by enrolling in the military. When he couldn’t find work after graduating from a fire-fighting course at the Marine Institute, he told his father what he planned to do.

“One day he just said, ‘Dad, I’m not going to sit around and wait any longer. I’m going to join up in the military,’” says Gary. “And I said, ‘If that’s what you want to do, we’ll support you in it.’”

If there is one thing the muscular and suntanned Jonathan can’t do, it’s sit still.

According to his parents, he has energy to burn.

“He always wanted to be doing something, he never wanted to be lying around, he’s a doer,” says Bonnie.

Even when Jonathan and the rest of his platoon go on leave to drink and unwind, Gary

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Search and Rescue technicians charged with overfishing STEPHANIE PORTER

F

our Canadian Forces personnel were charged in May with overfishing scallops during military dive training off St. Alban’s on Newfoundland’s south coast, although their lawyer says they have a solid reason for pleading not guilty.

Based at 103 Search and Rescue Station in Gander, the four men — Darcy Keating, Bruno Mischaud, Morgan Biderman and Bruce Best — are search and rescue technicians.

Charged with exceeding the bag limit for their 2006 recreational scallop licences, the four are set to go to trial in February at provincial court in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Juan O’Quinn, the Gander lawyer who represents them, says the soldiers were dive training

aboard a Defense Department vessel when they were charged by river guardians.

Four of the men were in the water diving while a fifth waited aboard the boat, working as a safety. O’Quinn says the scallop catch equaled the quota the five men could legally take under their licences, but because one of the men remained in the boat, the men were charged with exceeding their bag limits.

“The fisheries officer wouldn’t allow the quota allowed for the individual operating as the safety person,” O’Quinn tells The Independent from his Gander office.

“All five men had licences but they only counted four. They wouldn’t use the fifth licence of the person who remained aboard the boat.”

The search and rescue technicians fished scallops on two separate days while on the training exercise.

O’Quinn says the men haven’t been disci-

“It was 13 years ago — I can’t remember what I spent last month … I thought I lived within the standards; and if I didn’t, I wasn’t wearing a mask and I didn’t have a gun in my hand.”

“All five men had licences but they only counted four.

They wouldn’t use the fifth licence of the person who remained aboard the boat.”

Juan O’Quinn plined by the military brass.

“I’m sure Transport Canada wouldn’t allow divers in the water without a safety,” O’Quinn says. “That’s just not safe.”

— With files from Ryan Cleary

— Placentia mayor and former MHA Bill Hogan, on the auditor general’s investigation, page 5.

SPORTS 29

Andrew Symonds steps up to skip BUSINESS 13

Trapnell’s Jewellery closes after 108 years and four generations Life Story . . . . . .

Paper Trail . . . . .

Style . . . . . . . . . .

Shift. . . . . . . . . . .

Classifieds . . . . .

10 10 21 25 32

2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

End in sight

OUTER RING REPAIRS

Experts predict an end to fisheries if we don’t change our ways

I

A stretch of the Outer Ring Road — the site of a fatal accident Nov. 6 — is being resurfaced.

Paul Daly/The Independent

n 1999, 125 million tonnes of wild or farmed fish were harvested around the world, which breaks down to 93 million tonnes of wild fish and 33 million tonnes produced by aquaculture. Of that amount, 45 million tonnes of fish were used fresh, 27 million tonnes were frozen, 12 million tonnes were salted and dried, 13 million tonnes were used in canning, and 29 million tonnes were used for fish meal.

At least 20 million tonnes of wild fish (representing about 8 per cent of the world’s total catch) were wasted, discarded as too small, deemed undesirable, or spoiled in drift nets. This continues each year.

With respect to the millions of tonnes of offshore stocks of northern cod that migrate from the offshore to the inshore in the spring and summer each year, our scientists warned that this biomass was reduced to about 2 per cent of its former size by 1992.

Despite the moratorium, our offshore stocks of northern cod today are still only about 2 per cent of what they were.

The weaknesses of NAFO are to be resolved with binding changes (due to a campaign led by Loyola Hearn) that we must ensure are carried out.

There are many other weaknesses, conflicts of interest throughout all sectors of the industry, between countries and provinces, gear sectors, inshore and offshore, that have ensured weak

JOHN CROSBIE

The old curmudgeon The greatest blame game in the world exists in the fisheries — internally, externally, internationally in every hemisphere and time zone. and ineffective management of fisheries in most of the world. This must be overcome.

The greatest blame game in the world exists in the fisheries — internally, externally, internationally in every hemisphere and time zone.

A United Nations agency reports that in 2004 total fisheries production — including wild and farmed fish — was 160 million tonnes, with 60 per cent or 96 million tonnes from the capture of wild fish and 40 per cent from aquaculture. China and Peru led all countries in wild-fish capture with almost 30 per cent. The top 10 countries in fisheries production do not include Canada!

The global leader in aquaculture production is China, with almost 70 per cent of all aquaculture production.

Nearly half of all fish eaten today is farmed, not caught. Without aquaculture there would be no way to meet the demand for fish.

The importance of fish to the feeding of the world population is illustrated by the total world trade of fish and fish products amounting to US $58.2 billion of export value in 2004. Primary sector employment in fisheries and aquaculture was estimated at 38 million people in 2002.

An international team of ecologists and other scientists reported earlier this month that the global seafood industry will collapse by mid-century if current fishing trends continue unabated. The study was published in the journal, Science, with scientists compiling data on all 7,800 species of seafood available around the world. This comprehensive look at the global damage wrought by industrial fishing led author Boris Worm of Dalhousie to conclude, “There is an end in sight, and it’s within our lifetime” and that “if we were to continue exactly what we’ve been doing over the last 50 years for the next 50 years, 100 per cent of seafood will be collapsed … and this includes everything from mussels to cod and sword-fish.” They found about 29 per cent of worldwide seafood species has already reached a “collapsed” state, where catches have declined to less than 10 per cent of average fishing output at which level fish populations start losing the ability to multiply.

They warn that by 2048 marine life could be reduced to poisonous algae!

They found as well that as biodiversity, the number of species in an ecosystem dwindles, so does water quality and with each species lost, the system becomes more vulnerable.

Where areas have been closed to fishing worldwide there have been increases in the number of species so there is still hope that there is time to implement worldwide fishing quotas, to create designated fishing zones and to protect vulnerable ocean areas so that the current destructive trend can be reversed.

This latest study again makes clear that the problem we have experienced off the East Coast of Canada is present throughout the world. It is up to the fishing industry, the fishers and the consumers of fish products to insist that every nation co-operate to save the fisheries of the world.

In 1849, the American writer Thoreau asked, “Who hears the fishes when they cry?” In 2006 we should heed his question and act convincingly.

The pace of evolution from common-property fisheries to rights-based fisheries has been tentative and cautious. Santayana once said “those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.” With moves in the direction of rights-based fishing pitifully slow while groundfish fisheries lurch from one crisis to the next, we must now put in place rights-based fisheries with individual transferable quotas as a much superior alternative to the common property regimes where the first takes the most in the race for commonproperty exploitation. As long as public subsidy underpins a common property fishery there will be no incentive for change or for governments to wake up to reality. A regulatory system based on licensing, as our history shows, is no solution with this latest scientific study indicating that within our lifetime fish stocks will collapse and the seafood industry be ruined.

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3

SCRUNCHINS A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia Scrunchins begins this week with Remembrance Day and the sacrifices our soldiers make around the world.

Interviewed this week on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, Canadian singer Tom Cochrane said he dedicated his new CD (his first in seven years) to the late Jamie Murphy, the 26year-old Conception Harbour-native who died in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2004. Cochrane — whose CD is called No Stranger — met Murphy on a visit to Afghanistan a few years ago …

HIGH ROAD Don’t look to The Independent this week for a Remembrance Day message from Premier Danny Williams … there isn’t one. While the premier’s office was to purchase ad space this week from various print media, a decision was made not to advertise with this paper. “We reserve the right to determine how to most effectively spend our advertising dollars,” said his spokeswoman, Elizabeth Matthews, in an email. Keep in mind that Danny still isn’t talking to The Independent, a rift that began with the paper’s coverage this past summer of the political spending scandal (although he also reportedly went off his head a few weeks ago when his new $200,000-plus, antique gold-coloured Bently was mentioned in this column). Ironically, the province’s controversial decision to pump $15 million into a new fibre-optic network developed by Rogers Communications, Persona Communications and MTS Allstream was made to provide an alternative to the monopoly held by Bell Aliant. At the same time, The Independent is trying our best to break the newspaper monopoly held by

The work also landed them on the Howard Stern Show and saw them chased throughout NYC by a camera crew.

Megan Cochrane, Simone Flynn and Hayley Aucoin took part in a North American promotional campaign for a New Brunswick company, Prelam Enterprises, and it’s Just’a Drop product. The campaign — dubbed “Be an Odour Voter” — surveyed Americans and Canadians about their personal bathroom habits. Just’a Drop is a “revolutionary bathroom freshener” that is affectionately touted as “the No. 1 solution to your number two odour problem.” As the name suggests, just one drop in the toilet bowl before you go ... the girls were chosen by Megan Cochrane’s aunt Laura Cochrane, president of Toronto-based public relations agency LexPR Canada and an ex-pat Newfoundlander.

Quebec-based Transcontinental, which owns most papers in this province from The Telegram and Western Star to just about every weekly. Guess a monopoly is only good to break when it doesn’t piss off the premier …

WINNING FORMULA In an interview with The Independent this week defending the province’s decision to subsidize a second fibre-optic network being built by a consortium including his company, Rogers Communications vice-president Ken Marshall quoted well-known industry analyst and consultant Eamon Hoey’s support as evidence that the deal makes good business sense. Hoey is widely sought for his knowledge and expertise in corporate Canada, and his website offers many samples of his work, including an article written for the Financial Post headlined Winners do not rely on government. Enough said …

NURSING WOUNDS Newfoundland and Labrador’s 5,000-plus registered nurses are currently voting on a new tentative agreement with the provincial government that, on the monetary side, will see a “reasonable increase” in shift premiums. Evening and night premiums will increase to 72 cents per hour, more than double the current rate of 33 cents per hour. Weekend and shift premiums will increase to $1.25 per hour, a huge jump from the current 28 cents per hour. The premium increases will cost the province an estimated $2 million a year. Here’s the rub: they won’t come into effect until June 30, 2008 — the very last day of the contract. And it took a discussion with the premier’s office to get that …

Cartoon by Brad Cranford

NATIONHOOD The federal Liberal race is caught up in the debate over the Quebec-as-anation issue, which threatens to turn into a full-scale battle at the Dec. 2 convention in Montreal. The party’s Quebec wing passed a resolution in October calling for the province to be recognized as a “nation within Canada” and for a task force to examine ways of “officializing” that status. Stéphane Dion told The Globe and Mail this week that the debate has been improvised, and that many groups in Canada

might want to be called nations in the Constitution, from aboriginal groups to Acadians, and possibly even Newfoundlanders, who used to have a separate dominion. I’d say we’re just as distinct as Quebec. Maybe not as plentiful, but just as distinct …

ODOUR VOTERS Three Grade 10 students from Mount Pearl Senior High were featured on Venture’s Dreamers and Schemers this past week for the unique jobs they landed this past summer in New York City.

King’s Point, Green Bay.

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

M

aurice Budgell and his wife Mavis recently sat down at their kitchen table in King’s Point and did up a list of families who have left their community for work.

That’s the sort of town it is — a place where you can know just about everyone.

Once a thriving industry town, King’s Point, nestled at the foot of Green Bay on the island’s northeast coast struggles to survive. With the forestry industry in decline, the community is looking for other opportunities to keep its economy going.

The Budgells decided, out of a population of 900, around 300 people have left in the last decade. Over 30 have left recently, says Budgell, 63, who retired less than a month ago.

“What has happened is with the (mill) closing in Stephenville, I mean it took the heart right out of this town,” Budgell tells The Independent. “Three weeks ago there were two tractor-trailer rigs and seven people left here in one day, with them and their pickups and their wives going to Grand Prairie, Alta.

There were no options.”

It wasn’t always that way in King’s Pont. Budgell recalls a time when the town boomed.

“A few years ago there were 50 tractor-trailers used to leave here every morning. We’re talking about some of them 32-wheelers either going to Abitibi Consolidated, or Corner Brook Pulp and

FREEDOM FIGHTER Colourful businessman Javis Roberts, owner of the controversial Dartmouth strip club Sensations as well as a troubled bus line, DRL Coachlines, died this past week. He was 45.

According to the Chronicle-Herald, Roberts and his wife invoked the wrath of a group of Dartmouth residents who vigorously opposed the strip club, saying exotic dancing brought drunks, drugs and prostitutes to their neighbourhood. But Roberts contended the opposition was a bid to regulate morality.

“I’m a believer of choice. I believe we live in a free environment — we’re not in Russia, we are not in a communist environment. It’s called freedom.”

Remember that this Remembrance Day weekend … ryan.cleary@theindependent.ca

Photo by David Tilley

‘Rather bleak’ King’s Point is losing residents quickly as the jobs disappear.

But there are positive signs to be found

Paper, or Abitibi over in Stephenville.

“We had a tremendous economy going on here for a good many years.”

King’s Point mayor Baxter Newman also remembers a humming economy.

“Back in them days it is different from what it is today. When I came out of school back in 1971 I could have had about a dozen jobs in one month in the forestry or the fishery. You could move around, you had a choice … A lot of kids came out of school and went to work in the forestry — they thought that was the thing — there were a few dollars.”

But now, the young people of the community are all moving away. “Most of them are … gone off to Alberta — I have two in Alberta.”

Newman believes there is a future for his town, but there’s frustration in his voice when he talks about the difficulty in getting projects off the ground.

“I am trying to get grants in the tourism sector. I did a proposal for an RV park,” he says. “I put in $10 an hour

for foreman and $9 for labour. What I got back from the Newfoundland government in regards to funding was to pay $8 for a foreman and $6.75 for a labourer. I couldn’t pay any more. If we did we would have to pay it ourselves.

That is the way things go.

“A lot of people who are gone away would come back home and work for half of what they are getting in Alberta, because they’re home and the cost of living is cheaper here. But you can’t come back here and work for $6.75 an hour.

Still, many have no choice. “It’s better than a rock in the pot, so they say,” he says.

Budgell tries to be optimistic, but admits it’s hard. “To me it is rather bleak. Those are the words that I would use to describe it.”

He mentions one local family’s recent disaster, when their longliner overturned in the bay while they were loading mackerel. Fortunately everyone sur-

vived, but it was just one more economic blow to the community.

Newman says forestry will never again be anything like it was in his youth. But he is an optimist, and sees hope in the future for his community.

He looks to tourism. King’s Point is a beautiful area, and has many strong attractions for tourists, says Newman.

There is the Alexander Murray hiking trail, and groomed snowmobiling tracks in the winter.

The area is a popular boating destination. Phase three of a new boating marina was recently finished, with a breakwater, slipway, and parking lot. He hopes to get a grant to add a building offering showers, a laundromat, and other such facilities. He says the facility will draw tourists from all over.

Newman says a new tour business, Coastline Tours, plans to offer eight-day tours from King’s Point up the Labrador coast and back.

In addition, there is a small local

economy. Green Bay Fibres, a boatbuilding business, employs 10 or 15 people. There are also several trucking businesses, a few contractors, and a flourishing farming industry. It’s also the site for the nationally renowned King’s Point Pottery.

Newman says he sees a trend that is going to spell good things for his community’s future: retirement. He predicts, in the next 10 years, a lot of people who moved away for work are going to come back.

He says while there are over 70 houses for sale in nearby Springdale, there are only two for sale in King’s Point. In fact, people are building houses.

“The town has six permits issued to start this fall or spring, and that’s a good trend,” says Newman. “Permits for new housing show us that there are prospects here.”

Budgell says he may take the time to write about another potential local tourist attraction.

“Back at the turn of the century, they were going to bring in ships from England, and transfer passengers here at King’s Point, carry them to the Bay of Islands, and put them on another vessel and ship them up the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The old railway bed that they started is still here.”

The idea, says Budgell, in the days before radar, was to avoid the treacherous fog of Newfoundland’s east coast.

The project was never completed.

“Sir Robert Bond lost his government,” he laughs. ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca

4 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

‘Unprecedented territory’ From page 1 “Given his strong popularity and the fact that he has really cultivated a populist image cloaked in businessman’s clothing, where people sort of appreciate his stands on provincial rights but also appreciate his past life in business,” says Worton. “Given that, it will be very difficult to take down his high standing amongst the public and ultimately all we can do is wait and see, and time will tell whether this is a blip or a bomb.”

Mills says the perception the government is dealing decisively with the fallout of the fire at Aliant may mitigate some of the controversy surrounding the deal with the consortium.

“A lot of people were impacted when the phone system went out, and there is probably a perceived need for backup for telephone service. On that side, people who were inconvenienced by the outage would think there was action taken to solve the problem,” says Mills.

“That is going to offset some of the negative impact of the deal. Having said that, however, if there was a perception of unfair advantage given to some companies, clearly that is going to impact some people’s view about the premier and his government.”

Both Worton and Mills say how the Williams government deals with the situation will ultimately determine how much damage his administration suf-

fers, but serious damage to his popularity is unlikely.

“The question is how deep it (the political damage) will be under the circumstances?” says Mills. “So many people were without telephone service for a fairly significant period of time that they might allow the government to take quick action to resolve it and it may not have as negative an impact as a consequence — but we won’t know until we actually do the research.”

“It depends on how it is managed,” says Worton. “It depends on how it gets distilled on the public level, whether people see this as something that is done in business and the business of government or if they see it as something more negative.”

“Any issue of this kind, any sort of potential scandal or something that doesn’t smell right ultimately gets driven by how much the opposition chooses to run with it,” he says. “This is very much in the hands of the politicians on either side to manage it.”

Mills says the premier’s popularity was bound to drop, no matter what he did or did not do.

“Where he is now is unprecedented territory for a premier or a government,” says Mills. “It is just impossible to keep it at that level, it’s just not reality. It is too hard to govern and try to maintain those levels of satisfaction, quite frankly.” ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca

Paul Daly/The Independent

More mussels

Federal report suggests 25,000-tonne potential for province’s mussel industry

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

2004 PRODUCTION OF FARMED MUSSELS (TONNES)

A

PEI:

federal government report written on the Canadian mussel industry says the future of Newfoundland and Labrador’s mussel industry is good, but improvements need to be made.

Government regulations, internal competition and poor marketing strategies are hampering its profitability, according to the report obtained by The Independent.

The Canadian farmed mussel industry: benchmark analysis for the US market, was written by GSGislason and Associates for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in March 2006. It compares the competitive advantages and disadvantages of the mussel industries in New Zealand and Chile to that in Canada in accessing the lucrative American market.

The report says there’s plenty of room for the Newfoundland mussel industry to expand tenfold. PEI produced 17,500 tonnes of mussels in 2004, Newfoundland 2,300 tonnes, New Brunswick 500 tonnes, and Nova Scotia 2,100 tonnes.

But while the Maritime provinces are near capacity for production, says the report, Newfoundland and Labrador has the potential to produce 25,000 tonnes a year. It identifies the south coast as a particularly good area for development.

The report says past marketing strategies have seriously impacted the provincial industry’s profitability.

Several years ago, it says, Newfoundland producers abandoned some established markets for fresh mussels in favour of making a lower-

Nova Scotia:

17,500 2,100

New Brunswick:

500

Quebec:

400

Newfoundland:

2,300

Eastern Canadian 2004 total production:

22,800

Newfoundland potential:

25,000

quality frozen, vacuum-sealed product.

Chile entered the market with a similar product at a lower price, squeezing out the Newfoundland product. In the meantime, Newfoundland lost its traditional fresh markets.

It says prices in the U.S. have been flat, and the rising US dollar and increased global competition are reducing profit margins. The report recommends the provincial industry co-operate on marketing and creating higher value products to deal with this reality.

NICHE MARKETS The report says Newfoundland should take advantage of its proximity to the U.S. to develop a high quality fresh product for niche markets, maximizing its profits. It says the Canadian industry has traditionally undervalued its product.

The report quotes Karl Kenny, CEO of Canadian Mussels Ltd., located in PEI, on the business philosophy behind Canadian mussel marketing: “Don’t charge less, sell better.”

Another impediment to success, suggests the report, are government regu-

lations: Chile and New Zealand are said to have streamlined regulations and therefore enjoy a competitive advantage over Canadian mussel producers.

The report outlines the many federal and provincial government departments, acts, regulations and boards that regulate the industry, and gives examples of the many environmental, transport, food inspection, and other regulations that require inter-departmental consultations. The report recommends streamlining these regulations.

The report also says European markets are accessible, but only if the industry cooperates on marketing and shipping, which has not been the practice in the past.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s industry still enjoys the benefits of being disease-free, which helps keep costs down. The other provinces have had problems with parasites and disease.

The report notes that New Zealand producers are vertically integrated grower-processor-marketers and have the advantage of economies of scale, keeping their unit costs down. This allows them to be more competitive and put pressure on the Canadian industry.

Larger farms, or more cooperation between smaller businesses, suggest the report, are also another way to remain globally competitive.

The report was presented to a “round table” group made up of industry and government representatives (including the provincial government) for discussion in March 2006, and a separate working group has been set up to deal with the findings. ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 5

‘Doesn’t bother me not one bit’ Former and current MHAs wait for auditor general’s report on expense account claims

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

A

uditor general John Noseworthy says his investigation into the political spending scandal is going smoothly, but he can’t say when it will be completed. Meantime, 122 former and current MHAs wait — at least two of them patiently.

“I am hoping it will be done — something by the end of November, but there is no guarantee,” Noseworthy tells The Independent.

“Everything is going according to plan, no problems at all. It is just very, very time consuming and detailed work, and as a result of that, it is difficult to pinpoint a day when it will all be completed.”

Former MHA Bill Hogan, now the mayor of Placentia, says the wait doesn’t concern him.

“Doesn’t bother me not one bit,” says Hogan.

He says he is comfortable knowing he stayed within the limits set down by the House of Assembly at the time. In fact, he remembers it was difficult to get expense claims processed.

Auditor general John Noseworthy.

“The thing I remember about (then House director of financial operations) Bill Murray was getting him to process

Paul Daly/The Independent

your claims,” says Hogan. “He was tough to deal with — it was slow getting money out of him, and he was slow

processing reports. He subjected everything to scrutiny.”

Ralph Wiseman, another former

MHA and the mayor of Paradise, says he is over the shock of the revelations now, but at the time he was surprised.

“In the beginning I guess it was devastating, mind boggling,” says Wiseman.

“I had some difficulty understanding how this could happen. I was disappointed, disillusioned, embarrassed, ashamed — all of these things.”

He says now he, like so many other former MHAs, patiently awaits the report. He says his conscience is clean.

Hogan agrees. He says a lot of time has passed.

“It was 13 years ago — I can’t remember what I spent last month,” he jokes. “I thought I lived within the standards; and if I didn’t, I wasn’t wearing a mask and I didn’t have a gun in my hand.”

On July 19, Noseworthy was asked

by Speaker of the House Harvey Hodder to look at the spending of every MHA since 1989, as well as into the legislature’s accounts for five fiscal years during the period dating back to 1999. The Constabulary is also investigating. ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca

‘Obliged to pay’ Residents of unincorporated towns should pay more for services such as swimming and skating: federal president

By Mike Flynn For The Independent

T

he president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities says residents of unincorporated areas should pay higher fees for activities such as minor hockey and figure skating in towns where they don’t pay taxes.

Wayne Ruth says residents of towns and cities pay taxes to maintain facilities such as dog control, stadiums and swimming pools. Those services are often used by people from unincorporated towns who don’t pay their share.

Ruth is also mayor of Kippens, a town near Stephenville on the west coast. Those two towns share some services, a system Ruth says works “extremely well.” Expenses are shared according to population.

Unincorporated towns are another kettle of fish.

To ensure all people are treated

“This could make things a lot cheaper for taxpayers. But everybody should be obliged to pay his or her fair share.”

Wayne Ruth

equally, Ruth says towns should charge a higher rate to residents of unincorporated towns for some services than to tax-paying residents. The higher fees would also apply to sports and recreation activities.

According to the Department of Municipal Affairs, there are 596 communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. Of those, 282 (representing 80 per cent of the population) are incorporated as cities or towns and have local councils that collect taxes to pay for such services as water and sewer systems, street lighting, garbage collection, fire departments, street maintenance, snow clearing and recreational facilities.

The other 20 per cent live in unincorporated communities, meaning there’s no local government. People who live there don’t pay municipal taxes and, as a result, don’t normally enjoy the same services.

There are exceptions.

While many unincorporated areas are fairly isolated, some border on larger centres, and have access to facilities without the burden of property taxes.

One of the largest unincorporated areas in the province is the Port de

SHIPPING NEWS Keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the ships in St. John’s harbour. Information provided by the Coast Guard Traffic Centre.

FRIDAY Vessels Arrived: Maersk Norseman, Canada, from Hibernia; Maersk Challenger, Canada, from Orphan Basin; Atlantic Eagle, Canada, from Hibernia; Cicero, Canada, from Montreal.

Vessels Departed: Burin Sea, Canada, to Terra Nova; Maersk Placentia, Canada, to Hibernia.

SUNDAY Vessels Departed:

Maersk

Challenger, Canada, to White Rose; Cicero, Canada, to Montreal; Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, to Erik Raude.

SATURDAY Vessels Departed: Atlantic Eagle, Canada, to White Rose; Maersk Chancellor, Canada, to White Rose.

SUNDAY Vessels Arrived: Atlantic Hawk, Canada, from White Rose.

Vessels Departed: Maersk Norseman, Canada, to Hibernia.

MONDAY Vessels Arrived: Atlantic Kingfisher, Canada, from Terra

Nova; Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, from Orphan Basin; Sir Wilfred Grenfell, Canada, from sea; Cabot, Canada, from Halifax.

Vessels Departed: Oceanex Avalon, Canada, to Montreal; Sybil W, Canada, to Long Pond.

TUESDAY Vessels Departed: Maersk Dispatcher, Canada, to Orphan Basin; Atlantic Hawk, Canada, to Hibernia.

WEDNESDAY Vessels Arrived: Cape Roger, Canada, from sea; Maersk Nascopie, Canada, from Hibernia.

Vessels Departed: Wilfred Templeman, Canada, to sea.

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Grave peninsula, which includes the communities of Bareneed, Port de Grave and Ship Cove, and is home to more than 1,000 residents.

The area borders on the Town of Bay Roberts, where homeowners pay property tax at a mil rate of 8.75. That means a homeowner in Bay Roberts with a $100,000 home pays $875 in annual property tax, plus water and sewer taxes of $300, for a total of $1,175.

Residents in the neighbouring unincorporated area pay no municipal taxes.

None.

Port de Grave resident Ross Petten says the only form of organized government in the community is a volunteer committee responsible for garbage collection. They collect $100 annually per household for the service, and the Bay Roberts volunteer fire department bills $50 for fire protection. Snow clearing is provided by the provincial government.

A one-time investment of between $5,000 and $7,000 for an artesian well ensures a supply of water, and $1,000 will generally take care of the septic tank.

Petten says residents have discussed the possibility of incorporation, but see little reason to — they have access to all amenities without the burden of municipal taxes.

Ruth says the federation of municipalities feels very strongly about the regionalization of services, especially with the decrease in population.

“This could make things a lot cheaper for taxpayers,” he says. “But everybody should be obliged to pay his or her fair share.”

The federation is promoting the concept and is in the process of hiring a community resource centre officer to work with the Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs to bring communities closer together on this issue.

6 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

‘When a dead child is valued less than a poached moose’

I

would like to address comments made recently by Bob Simmonds, the criminal defence lawyer who represented Robert Parsons in the hit-and-run death of Matthew Churchill in April 2005 while walking along the Bauline Line.

First, Simmonds states there was no evidence whatsoever of alcohol being involved in the crime. Wrong. Parsons admitted to drinking that night. And the reasons why there was no evidence of the level of his impairment? Parsons ran and hid until all evidence of alcohol was gone. He had recollection of events prior to and subsequent to the “accident,” but had no memory of the collision that cost Matthew his life. The fact that the man went off the radar for three days was the sole reason why there was no evidence of alcohol in his blood. What message is Simmonds sending to the public, or more specifically, the next idiot who drinks, then drives, then as a result someone dies? He’s telling them to run. Be a coward. Don’t take responsibility for your

DEBORAH BURTON

Guest column actions, and by doing so, you’ll also get off with a six-month sentence.

The judge refused to buy the cock-andbull story that it was a “waking diabetic coma.” The judge couldn’t figure out why in the midst of all this, Parsons didn’t see the broken window or the blood. The Parsons family knew that a child had been killed that night, and knew the damage on the car, but yet they still hid Parsons until they figured it was safe for him to come out of hiding.

Simmonds also said that the events of the night that Matthew died had destroyed both families. Wrong. One family was destroyed. The Churchills were devastated and can never possibly recover from the loss. The Parsons family is probably embarrassed. But that’s

about it. How can any person equate the loss of a child with the loss of respectability?

And Simmonds has the nerve to appeal. He believes that a six-month sentence combined with two years of parole is too harsh. What truly is harsh is what Rod and Desma Churchill have to deal with for the rest of their lives. It’s obvious that Simmonds is simply trying to make himself look attractive to the next loser who does something similar and needs someone like Simmonds to bail him out of trouble.

Something else … Simmonds said that Parsons did not apologize to the court, or more rightly, the Churchill family because he had been given no opportunity to do so. But immediately after sentencing when the judge asked Parsons whether he had anything to say, what was the response? “No, sir.”

So much for apologies.

In Simmonds’ recent television interview he passed another disgusting com-

ment. He said that if and when the Churchills are faced with the shoe on the other foot, they’d feel differently. Excuse me? No, Mr. Simmonds. When the Parsons are faced with the shoe on the other foot, it is them who will feel differently. When a child of theirs is killed by a person who runs like a scalded cat, takes no responsibility, and uses every avenue available to avoid taking responsibility, it is them who will feel differently.

And as for the justice system as a whole, it is beyond me how Parsons got away with one charge. How about vehicular homicide? Whatever happened to obstruction of justice? And on that topic, why wasn’t the lawyer who advised him to run and hide charged with obstruction? And with a possible sentence of life in prison, why was Parsons sentenced to six months? Is jurisprudence the culprit?

Was Judge David Orr held to such a lenient sentence because of previous cases? If so, it’s time to change. When a dead child is valued less than a poached

moose, it’s time to throw jurisprudence to hell. When will judges get the guts to pass sentences that are truly deserved?

Only then will jurisprudence mean anything.

As for Simmonds and his blatant disregard for Matthew, the Churchill family, and public safety as a whole, I am at a loss for words as to how anybody can make a living off the heartbreak and devastation of others. I agree with due process, and that people are innocent until proven guilty, but in this case, facts are facts. Matthew was killed. Parsons drove the car that killed him. Parsons was drinking. Parsons hid. Parsons escaped justice ... Thanks to you, Mr. Simmonds.

Deborah Burton lives in Mount Pearl.

Ryan Cleary’s column will return next week

YOUR VOICE Few signed up to be heroes Dear editor, I’d say that out of all soldiers in the entire Canadian forces right now, the overwhelming majority of them joined because it meant a steady job and a trade.

Smart move, especially if you’re from Newfoundland. I’d also say that very, very few of them signed up to be heroes.

The fact that many of them find themselves at this moment in Kandahar (or some other inhospitable place) means that despite their intentions that is exactly what they have become.

It is useful, especially this Saturday, to remember that these people grew up next to you, did everything you did growing up and now find themselves exposed to (among other things) landmines, suicide

bombers and exploding donkeys. I can only imagine it, but I imagine it’s bad.

So I urge everyone to put politics, foreign policy and geo-political economics aside. Please spare a moment to think of your brother, sister or buddy down the road who left for a job but found a jihad.

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

I guarantee it Michael Walsh, St. John’s

‘Something that gives me hope’ Dear editor, Congratulations on the excellent article by Maura Hanrahan concerning the neglect of the Mi’kmaq people and the injustice that took place at the time of Confederation (Aboriginals left out of Newfoundland’s Terms of Union; Indian Act rights denied them for years, Oct. 13 edition).

The mainstream media of our province continue to ignore our history and it is refreshing to read something that gives me hope that our entire story may someday be told.

Keep up your fight for the Mi’kmaq people.

Linda Wells, Bay St. George

‘Thank God there is one Liberal out there with a brain’ Dear editor, I noticed that John Efford is poking his face in front of the microphones again. Also Roger Grimes is making his political comeback by getting his face in front of any microphone he can find, including the open-line shows.

These two wanna-be politicians should realize that Newfoundlanders don’t have that short a memory anymore. We saw what those two did during their failed stay in office.

Poor old John took on Danny Williams and it ruined his career.

Roger gave away Voisey’s Bay and was about to give away Ben Nevis until Danny stepped in and annihilated him.

Poor MP Gerry Reid is attempting to clean up the mess Efford and Grimes left behind but every time he looks over his shoulder, there they are, reminding the people to be sure to vote Progressive Conservative in the next general election or face the possibility of having those two screw ups back again. Poor Roger even had a tape made to play on television announcing the great give-away deal he made on the lower Churchill

Gerry Reid

until sound minds in his party shut it down. Thank God there is one Liberal out there with a brain.

To all Newfoundlanders, just remember, if you hear or see the names Efford or Grimes floating around in the next general election, run like hell.

Don Lester, Conception Bay South

‘I never said one bad word about lawyers … until I went to law school’ Dear editor, Lawyers have a conflicting image in Canadian culture. Their reputations are as two-sided as the coins we pay them.

On one side, they are seen as rascals who profit from other people’s misfortunes. On the other side, the legal profession holds a certain amount of respect. Is this because the people who work in law really deserve prestige or because we give it to them out of habit?

I was never one to stereotype lawyers, to have bias against a group of people. In fact, I never said one bad word about lawyers … until I went to law school.

It did not take me long to realize that the worst part about law students is that they are going to be lawyers. Likewise, the sorts of supercilious, argumentative and snobbish “A-types” who are lawyers are the exact sorts of people who were law students. They have all the arrogance of stature and none of the wisdom that comes with years.

Law students are a step ahead. They know how to use all they have to work a situation to their advantage. In our common-law society, the interpretation (and application) of the law is in judges’ hands, but it is the lawyer’s job not just to convince the judge to decide in their advantage, but to wrap up that decision in a set of legal (and therefore legitimate) arguments. So every case is tied up in a nice, tight bow — or a linguistically favourable knot, if you like. I can understand that if you have committed a crime you want someone like this on your side. But do we want these qualities in people who will help to determine

our laws — either in the practice, the judiciary, or politics?

Aside from raw, analytical intellect, this is also a question of privilege. After a roll call in class a few days ago, I could not help but recognize some very familiar family names. Is it the same old affluent circles whose daughters and sons are getting into law school?

Articling and working in large firms?

Making influential friends?

“Representing the people” in democratic elections? One cannot deny the correlative relationship between law and politics. If these students I sit next to everyday are “the people” then I am afraid for our future. Between the future-leaders’ speeches, the arrogant professors, and 21 year olds using the phrase “ignorance of the masses,” I have a feeling that law students do not see themselves as ordinary people at all.

Even the law building sits distinctly on one corner of campus. The students within its hallowed halls have their own sports, social events, lounges, library, computer lab, movie nights, pub nights etc. My classmates seem to have no intention of being part of the “student masses.” And yet, I can’t help but think that in 15 or 20 years from now my classmates and other law students like them will be holding all the cards.

Don’t mistake me, these kids are intelligent, some of them are downright brilliant, but should intelligence be the deciding factor in who ascends the socio-political ladder to new heights of power? Raw intelligence does not measure compassion, diligence, open-mind-

edness, decency. Qualities that we desire in our leaders and our domestic policies.

Qualities that are difficult to find in my classmates.

No matter what you think of them, lawyers have an especial capability to acquire power. Law is a profession where people trust you with their money, their jobs, even their families.

Not to mention the fact that our politicians consistently come from the practice of law. The reasons why lawyers get into politics and why we elect them do make some sense. Unlike many people, lawyers have been taught the particulars of laws and government procedure and how they can be used to advantage.

Lawyers can also make a lot of money and gain influential friends while working at their private firms; two necessities in today’s democratic election process.

What I propose is for voters to look again at our leaders’ chosen professions and what it says about them. Perhaps we should be more critical of those who come from a background in law. It takes more than knowledge and prestige to do what is right for your country. A brief course in law can teach anyone how the federal and provincial legislatures work.

There are no courses in fair-mindedness, loyalty or integrity at law school. Some may say you have to give those up before you begin. Perhaps it’s time for voters to delve into another career pool.

The above letter was written by a student from St. John’s studying law in an East Coast university. She asked not to be identified.

‘Davida and Goliath’ AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

P.O. Box 5891, Stn.C, St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, A1C 5X4 Ph: 709-726-4639 • Fax: 709-726-8499 www.theindependent.ca • editorial@theindependent.ca The Independent is published by Independent News Ltd. in St. John’s. It is an independent newspaper covering the news, issues and current affairs that affect the people of Newfoundland & Labrador.

PUBLISHER Brian Dobbin EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Cleary MANAGING EDITOR Stephanie Porter PICTURE EDITOR Paul Daly PRODUCTION MANAGER John Andrews

sales@theindependent.ca • production@theindependent.ca • circulation@theindependent.ca All material in The Independent is copyrighted and the property of The Independent or the writers and photographers who produced the material. Any use or reproduction of this material without permission is prohibited under the Canadian Copyright Act. • © 2006 The Independent • Canada Post Agreement # 40871083

The Independent welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words in length or less and include full name, mailing address and daytime contact numbers.

Letters may be edited for length, content and legal considerations. Send your letters in care of The Independent, P.O. Box 5891, Station C, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5X4 or e-mail us at editorial@theindependent.ca

Dear editor, I watched NTV news last week and it was great to see Lorraine Michael of the NDP win the provincial district of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. She deserves every vote she received on election day. Congratulations Lorraine.

One thing that kind of got my eye was the fact that Premier Danny Williams for some reason found his way to Lorraine’s victory party and congratulated her while the cameras rolled.

I guess this premier will stop at nothing to have his mug in the spotlight. I am sure that I was not the only person who looked at Mr. Williams’ congratulations with a cynical eye.

While I know it is traditional for the losing candidate to visit the winning candidate in an election to offer his or her congratulations, the premier is hardly likely to show up and for good reason. It is the candidate’s victory and not a photo opportunity for the premier.

I am sure that Lorraine will be successful in her position as MHA for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi. As far as I am concerned Lorraine is now the effective opposition. The Liberals are

about as effective as wet blanket in a stream. They have become demoralized by their own infighting and poor insight.

So it is all on the shoulders of a petite woman. Davida and Goliath, although Davida has more than a slingshot to confound the mighty — she has all the people who support her.

Sheila Hunter, St. John’s

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 7

The right to die in private T

he other night I stood and watched an old man dying on a gurney.

I know I am not the first person to write a column like this. I stood there, late at night in a city emergency ward, watching this pale, toothless fellow in a plaid shirt lying under the fluorescent lights. He was gasping, his back arched, head tilted back, staring wideeyed up into the same void we will all someday gaze into. As I watched I thought about where our health “care” system is headed.

If I wrote I watched two people having sex on a gurney in the hallway of an emergency ward, I would be thought prurient. But if sex is an intimate and therefore private act, should not dying also be? What is more intimate an act than drawing your last breath? How did we get to the point where dying doesn’t warrant privacy?

I am not going to mention the hospital I was in, as I don’t want to contribute any further to the indignity this man suffered. Nor do I want the staff to be in trouble, as it was clear they were

IVAN MORGAN

Rant & Reason doing what they could with what they had. I would have liked them to have acted with a greater sense of urgency, but I haven’t been working in the conditions they are forced to for as long as they have.

I was there as moral support for my partner, who had suddenly developed searing abdominal pain, and was herself doubled over on a gurney. She was in distress, but it was soon eased.

This man was different. He was dying. His shirt was unbuttoned — on a younger man it would have looked daring — and I could see his pale bony chest expand jerkily as he struggled for every breath.

The nurses were tender and professional. He was rarely left alone.

Comforting words were given as they passed, but it was hardly their fault they

A wise fellow I know says governments always pick on the most vulnerable.

They don’t do so intentionally, it is just the way it works. sorrows. Did he sit up at night worrying about bills?

None of this seemed to matter much to him now. My partner’s suffering soon drew my attention away. Truth be told, I don’t know whether he did actually die.

I felt dirty, voyeuristic. Should I have been able to stand in a doorway and watch people walk by, averting their eyes? What right did I have to

watch him dying? If someone gives birth in public it’s a story. “Woman gives birth in cab.” Old man gasping his last on gurney in hallway — no story here.

A wise fellow I know says governments always pick on the most vulnerable. They don’t do so intentionally, it is just the way it works. Those who cannot speak up don’t get heard and therefore don’t get helped. Why does our society not think leaving a dying man on a gurney in a hallway is obscene? Why can’t we have the same reaction to that as we would to people having sex on that gurney? Why isn’t that a taboo?

Do we not all deserve the right, at the end of our lives, to at least die in private? Are we that strapped for cash we can’t make this a policy priority? I know nothing about this man, other than I am guessing he didn’t plan on lying on a gurney dying in front of blank strangers.

Do you? ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca

SHELTER FOR STRIKERS

YOUR VOICE ‘I liked what I read’ Dear editor, I’m responding to a letter in the Oct. 27 edition (More independent voices the merrier).

I liked what I read. I would also like to receive more information about this non-profit organization — the Newfoundland and Labrador Defense League. I don’t have a computer and

couldn’t sit with him. There were many other people to attend to.

I stood there watching, and wondering who he was. He was pallid and exhausted. His breathing slowed, the arch in his back relaxed, and his eyes narrowed to watery, expressionless black beads. He took sharp shallow breaths, his left hand fluttering in pathetic dismay.

I tried to imagine his life. I imagined him, years ago, a real St. Johnsman, laughing over beers in a club, maybe taking his girl out on the dance floor. I imagined him hard at work, perhaps a delivery truck driver, hat on a cocky angle on his head, cigarette behind his ear (when I was a lad I thought that was so cool) flirting with the shopgirls as he carried big cases into the shops on his shoulders.

I saw him as a boy, running excitedly alongside a marching band in a longforgotten parade. Maybe he liked trouting? Did he have family? I imagine the night he held his child for the first time.

Where were they now? Maybe they had moved away. I thought of his joys, his

don’t know how to use one, so is there a mailing address? I may not be good at expressing my thoughts but I agree with the letter. And yes, The Independent provides great service and is also a great voice for the province.

Ron Durnford, Stephenville Crossing

A wish for the front-page photo Dear editor, Lots of important matters were raised in The Independent’s Nov. 3 issue. I have to say though that there appears to be an all-pervasive pessimism towards just about everything that’s going on in this province. I suppose it’s a function of what’s not going on.

I must admit, I wish the front-page photo showed people trying to move to Newfoundland rather than applying for jobs elsewhere. It’s one thing to move elsewhere on the basis of choice, quite another to have little or no choice and I am well aware of the distinction. Ivan Morgan characterizes this rather ominously as “cutting down another generation.” I see it differently. I see in that photo a determined and somewhat courageous group trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.

He also suggests that some research on the long-term impact of this out-migration on our province might be in order. Fair enough, but I would be at least as interested to know the long-term benefits that moving has on these people and their children.

Through it all it appears that it’s Canada’s fault, they did it to us. You may as well say that no one should have moved to California. The sons and daughters of Kansas, Missouri, and Delaware should not have had to move. What a shame they had to move from home to help develop one of the strongest cultural and economic parts of the entire western world.

I say God bless and good fortune to these people, come home often, and take pride in a great country that values and welcomes you and your children anywhere you go.

And this brings me to Ray Guy and his Copesian fit (Parzival’s preening, Nov. 3 edition). I thought Ray was past his ad hominem vitriol and had moved on to his delightful and wildly imaginative “Let’s-join-India” phase.

In any event, as I understand Copes’ position at that time, our gluttonous 500-year-old volume-based approach to the fishery, a subsidized and seasonal industry at that, was unsustainable. As such, so was the population base. He was right so let’s give him at least some grudging credit.

I repeat, the wild fishery, as we once knew it, is over, finished. Copes saw this in an insightful and visionary manner. I see it merely in hindsight and that’s pretty easy to do. We don’t even have the guts to support a ban on bottom dragging, the scourge of the marine biomass. It’s pitiful and Newfoundlanders should speak to this now or forever hold their tongues.

Robert Rowe, St. John’s

Jim Cumby tars the roof of the makeshift shelter outside the Deer Lake airport. Cumby is one of the airport security agents, represented by Teamsters Canada local 855, who say they’ve been locked out by their employer since Oct. 3. The workers, who were making $9 an hour, are asking for increased wages.

Paul Daly/The Independent

Instilling pride in ourselves Dear editor, It has been grating on my nerves for so long that I have decided to write in my two cents on what is covered weekly in your publication. I feel it is my duty to say something, whether you disagree or not.

First off, let’s talk about where we went wrong as a province so long ago.

At some point in our history, we sent a clear message to the rest of the world that we are OK with being bullied. We are OK with the newfie jokes. We are OK with being put down despite our contributions. We can try and blame Canada, but the truth is that although we are hurt by the bullying, we allowed and continue to allow ourselves to be bullied. What’s worse are some ex-pats who are more than OK with it, and promote it … it’s got to change.

The next thing is something I have learned by living on the mainland. The

big difference there is that the positive news is put up front, the negative news is still told, but in a different way. In Newfoundland we ruminate; I see the same old thing — focusing in on the negative. You hear young people going around saying there are no jobs, nothing to do, no future … whether it’s true or not. This paper, I notice, prefers to perpetuate and sell this misery, instead of putting forth suggestions of how to change it.

Why don’t you do some interviews from “Fort McMisery” (a.k.a. Fort Crack, or Fort McNowhere)? Is this land of gold you tout weekly really what it seems? Or is it a handful of empty promises.

Any honest ex-pat Newfoundlander will tell you, it’s not the big-screen TV they bought in Fort McMurray, not the new F-150 they bought in Edmonton, not the new clothes they got in Toronto that are their

happiest memories. It’s hunting a moose in Point Lemington, eating a feed of turrs in Bay Bulls, copying ice pans in Burgeo, celebrating Guy Fawkes night in Twillingate, mummering in Trinity … the sort of stuff we took for granted.

My next beef is our constant lack of insight. The people (myself included) who say, “Oh this is temporary, I will be moving back,” and they expect the people left behind to toe the line, to keep the place warm for them for when they return. And we leave by the thousands.

If all who left, with all the experience and expertise they have accumulated were to return, can you imagine what we could be capable of? We have to do more to instill pride in ourselves again.

The “fighting Newfoundlanders” are still around, you just put them towards the end of your publication every week.

Chris Jenkins, Halifax

Where have all the donations gone?

Dear editor, Can anyone tell me what happens to the vast sums of money donated daily to Canadian charities? Fundraising for cancer is almost continuous. As I write this, pink ribbons adorn a multitude of products. The revenues generated are supposed to result in a cure for breast cancer. Where does all the money go?

Well I know where it doesn’t go. It is not used to support and assist in the

financial burdens incurred by cancer patients who are being treated outside the hospital system. The exception being the Newfoundland Cancer Society, which does provide some assistance in the form of wigs and prostheses. A great many cancer patients are not getting any help to buy drugs not covered by Medicare.

None of the charitable organizations publish a breakdown of their expendi-

tures.

We constantly hear emotional catch phrases like, “Run for the cure,” and “Find an answer to cancer.” We rarely ask them what they do with all the money. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical companies whine on about the billions they are spending on research and development. My question is this: are all the research and development funds taken from respective company coffers,

or are our charitable donations part of the deal? If they are, then how can their drug costs be justified? Is any of the money being used to determine what causes these illnesses? If it is, they are making remarkably slow progress.

I don’t believe that I have ever seen a financial report published by the Salvation Army. How are the Red Shield and Christmas kettle funds utilized? The money is supposed to go to

the poor. Christmas hampers are provided equally, by all the Christian denominations, not just the Salvation Army.

It is high time that charitable organizations — and there are a great many more than have been alluded to here — started to publish how they spend public donations. Until they do, they won’t get a red cent from me.

Brigid Kellett, St. John’s

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

8 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 9

IN CAMERA

‘Those were the days’ The weekend before Nov. 11, veteran members of the Royal Canadian Legion in Corner Brook hold their social event of the year, an 80-year tradition. Called a “smoker,” the torchlight parade, barroom gathering and meal was once a menonly event that lasted well into the night. The ranks are thinner every year and things have tamed down considerably, but the ritual stands — as does the story telling, laughter and camaraderie. Photo editor Paul Daly and managing editor Stephanie Porter stopped by last weekend’s festivities.

CORNER BROOK

By Stephanie Porter The Independent

V

eterans George “Hoppo” Gilbert and Stan Penney, clad in pressed navy blazers, grey slacks, berets and gloves, stride purposefully towards the Majestic Theatre in Corner Brook.

Medals are pinned, proud and straight, on both sides of their chest.

It’s a lovely fall evening, and the two have decided to walk to the start point of the annual torchlight parade, organized

by Branch 13 (Corner Brook) of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Gilbert talks about the last time he was in Belfast. It was in the 1940s, during the Second World War, when he was a member of the merchant navy. Now in his 80s, Gilbert is spry, a great storyteller, and one of the legion’s most active veterans.

Soon, conversation turns to the evening’s activities. The parade — a solemn 15-minute march from the Majestic to the legion (the route was chosen for its modest length and flat terrain) — is the one formal part of the organization’s “smoker,” held every year on the Saturday before Nov. 11.

“Oh, it’s just an excuse for a beer,” Penney says, laughing, when asked about the parade’s symbolism. “Isn’t that right, Georgie?

“It’s payback time.”

The laughter and banter ratchets up a notch when the pair reaches the gathering in front of the theatre. The cadet band is warming up, and everyone exchanges greetings and quick bits of news and gossip.

It all comes to an immediate halt, though, at precisely 7 p.m., when Penney — the sergeant-at-arms — calls the ranks to order. About 20 veterans take part.

With a final order of “march!” the band starts to play, the flashlights turn on, and the parade back to the legion begins.

It is as ordered and reverent a walk as expected from trained soldiers. There are few spectators, but passersby pause respectfully, and more than one figure can be seen in streetside windows, standing at attention.

The group reaches the legion and moves inside. Flags, gloves and berets are quickly put away; a round of drinks is poured. The next part of the evening, the relentlessly social one, begins.

The smoker is not an event to be missed. Branch manager Kevin Hollohan, who served in Cyprus in the early ’70s, says the tradition began with veterans of the First World War. “This branch opened, I think, in 1926,” he says. “So I think it’s about 80 years old. I know there are torchlight parades in other places, but the smoker is ours.”

For years, he continues, women were not invited. But there were hundreds of men, who would come by for a dinner of salt-back ribs, a step-dancing contest (the prize was a pair of shoes donated by a local shoe store), and poker games that would last to the wee hours of the morning.

“You couldn’t see up there,” says Second World War veteran and jewelry storeowner Fred Alteen, gesturing to the second-floor banquet hall. “There were hundreds of guys up there, everybody smoked.”

On this night, there are two dozen or so veterans, and about half as many spouses. Some have served in the Second World War, the Korean War, in Cyprus, Egypt, or elsewhere. One man recently returned from a six-month tour in Afghanistan. Everyone looks forward to the impending jigs dinner, which is still prepared by legionnaires.

“Now we’re older, and we get tired faster,” says Alteen. “We just don’t have enough people to help us, is all. It’s the same guys all the time, they’re all getting older, they can’t come in here and stand in there and cook 100 pounds of salt beef and three or four bags of potatoes.”

Hollohan agrees. “I just wish we had more of our veterans who were active,”

he says. “The ones we have, it’s the age, a lot of them are 82-plus. And when you’re 82, you’re not very active.”

There are exceptions to that rule.

Merchant seaman Gilbert, for one.

And Walter Lemessurier, who flew with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. Lemessurier proudly says he’s about to turn 83 — and he’s just as quick to say he puts hundreds of miles on his mountain bike every summer, and hundreds more on his cross-country skis in the winter.

Lemessurier is matter-of-fact about his three years in the air force, listing off his training and missions without missing a beat. He volunteered for low-level bombing on twin-engine aircraft, and flew from England and, later, Burma.

“Our squadron dropped the paratroopers that surrounded the Japanese and ended the war in Southeast Asia,” he says. “And for six months we had to pick up all the big shots from the allied armies from India and China and so on, and fly all those over the hump into the Himalayas.

“Another very unpleasant job we had, we had to go pick up the prisoners of war from the Japanese concentration camps; we flew them from where they were to India to hospital.”

He recounts his own near-crashes and, vividly, the day he saw a plane ahead of him, the squadron leader — carrying 22 prisoners of war — hit an unexpected patch of air and break up.

“The last thing we saw was the two

wings cracked off,” he says, then pauses. “You do remember a lot of bad times. When you think of your friends that died, that’s hard.

“But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Bill Osmond, 74, fought in the Korean War. Sipping on a beer, he proclaims himself “one of the young ones” in the room.

He remembers the day he joined the army. A cub reporter for The Western Star at the time, he was down on the waterfront, “reporting on this and that, whatever I could pick up.” The recruiting station had come to Corner Brook, and he dropped by.

“I went to get a story and they talked me into joining up,” he says, laughing.

“It’s one way for a person to see the world, I suppose. A young fella, 17 years old with a rifle on his back, going to Korea. It was hell for my parents. But it shows you more of the world, how the other half live. You grow up quickly, and you grow up with a different sense of being.”

When he completed his service in 1953, he returned to the Star, but this time on the production side of the paper business, taking on various roles until retirement, including shop foreman and ad manager.

It took him several years to join other veterans in activities at the legion. “I haven’t been to as many events as some of the fellows here,” he says. “When we first came back from Korea, a lot of

people didn’t want to accept us because we weren’t in the First World War or the Second World War. But, eventually, Korea was considered a war too.”

Osmond says today’s youth aren’t as interested in the forces because “they don’t want to be under control; you’ve got to be on parade and you’ve got to be neat and tidy and clean.”

And the other issue, he says, is that the war in Afghanistan is becoming too controversial.

“They’re playing too much politics with that,” he says. “It would be terrible for a soldier to pick up a paper and see that your government is not supporting you or the people in Canada are not supporting you.”

Osmond takes a step closer to a group

of five men, as raucous laughter erupts.

There’s no doubt about it— he’s now part of both the festivity and solemnity of the occasion, and he wants to hear what’s going on.

“You hear some good stories when you get into a crowd like this,” he says.

His words are right on the mark.

As the huge pot of potatoes boils in the small downstairs kitchen — and the rest of the dinner is being readied upstairs — the veterans stand and sit around the barroom, voices raising and overlapping as moments are relived, jokes told, stories spun and lives caught up on. For every person in the room, there’s a book’s worth of memories and opinion.

For some, this is one of the few times a year they’ll come to the legion; for

others, it’s a regular spot to stop in for a drink, a chat, a game of crib.

No one overlooks the fact that this event isn’t what it once was — and the legion isn’t the happening place it used to be.

Hollohan is at the legion most days.

The bar is open, even if most of the patrons now prefer a cup of coffee and a chat for their fix.

“Most days, we’d be lucky if we even pulled in $35 at the bar,” says Hollohan.

“It’s a losing proposition.

“Used to be, you’d come in for a drink after work, and you couldn’t hear for the stories … the bullets would be zinging all over the room, shrapnel going back and forth.” He laughs, as do those around him. “If you didn’t kill

five Germans before breakfast, you couldn’t get a beer.”

Today, the legion relies on banquets, dances, summer dinner theatre and weekly bingo. Any profit goes back to the community or the veteran’s fund; the $12,000 or so they collect annually from poppy sales is funneled into a veterans welfare fund.

The call to move upstairs for dinner comes. After the food, Hollohan plans a sing-along (“though nobody can carry a note to the door … but it’s fun”).

By 11 p.m., the place will be empty.

“When they were all younger, and you’d get a little bit of booze in them and they’d go all night,” Hollohan says.

“Those were the days.” stephanie.porter@theindependent.ca

Hallelujah!

It’s time for Handel’s Messiah.

Penni Clarke

David Pomeroy

David Malis

Wendy Hatala Foley

Join the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Choir and our four soloists for this glorious music. Newfoundland soloists Penni Clarke and David Pomeroy are enjoying flourishing careers. Baritone David Malis sings regularly with the Metropolitan Opera and has been to Newfoundland several times before. Newcomer Wendy Hatala Foley completes this outstanding roster. It’s a traditional way to begin the Christmas season.

Friday & Saturday, December 15 & 16, 2006 Basilica of St. John the Baptist—8pm Marc David conductor

Tickets: $26/22; $21/18; $14/12 Available at: NSO Office 722-4441; Bennington Gate, Churchill Sq. 576-6600; Jungle Jims, Torbay Rd. 722-0261; Jungle Jims, Topsail Rd. 745-6060; Fred’s Records, Duckworth St. 753-9191; Provincial Music, Campbell Ave. 579-2641; The Guv’nor, Elizabeth Ave. 726-0092. Not available at the door.

Peter Gardner General & Artistic Director Marc David Principal Conductor

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

10 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

LIFE STORY

‘Our first man of letters’ Springdale News, Nov., 1969

in North American hotels last year, an increase of 100,000 copies over the preceding year. World-wide annual distribution of Scriptures exceeds six million copies.

— Springdale News, Nov. 13, 1969 AROUND THE BAY It is a very deplorable fact that many of our oldest inhabitants have secret repositories, where documents are stored and locked up. Many of these people hold fast to these documents with the tenacity of leeches.

These old folks have passed the allotted span of life, and have the vital thread spun out to the very finest fibre; which may snap at any moment. As soon as that lifeline is parted, disinterested persons will unlock the secret drawers and ransack and burn the concealed comforts which have been loved and cherished for generations.

— The Trinity Enterprise, Nov. 29, 1913 YEARS PAST Canada must sell itself to Newfoundland, the editor and publisher of the Atlantic Guardian today told The Association of Canadian Advertisers. “I submit it is not enough to sell Canadian goods to Newfoundland on a straight across the counter basis at this time. You must throw in a generous dash of Canadian goodwill with the goods,” he said. He urged a goodwill trade mission to Canada’s new province-tobe.

— Observer’s Weekly, St. John’s, Nov. 2, 1948 AROUND THE WORLD After placing Black bound Bibles in hotels for about sixty years in motels, Canadian Gideons are now making Bibles available in two additional colours, Light Blue and Walnut. 382,000 Bibles were placed

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir – I think your entire approach to politics is irresponsible and does absolutely nothing to help people keep informed and abreast of the issues. Most of the candidates themselves do not even want to run and feel they were roped into it. This by-election should be nothing more than a popularity contest with we the people as losers. There will no doubt be a tirade of complaints against this council as there was with past ones. As we bitch and complain during the cold winter nights over a beer, or hot coffee, we will always remember the Great Campaign of ’75. What battle! At least we all know what we were getting into. Sincerely, Tom Garland — The Fog Horn, Harbour Breton, Nov. 10, 1975 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Could we read the hearts of women, what a vast amount of suffering would be exposed. FEMALE WEAKNESS has produced more invalids among women than any other cause. Have you any of the following symptoms? Nervousness, Weakness, Backache, Headache, “All Gone” Feeling, Variable Appetite, Restlessness, No Ambition, Easily Excited, Painful Periods, Bearing down Pains, Pimples on the face, Pains in the Loins, Eyes Sunken, No Vital Energy, etc. We CAN CURE you without cutting in YOUR OWN HOME by our new method treatment.”

— Harbour Grace Standard, Nov. 22, 1901

Philip Tocque never lost touch with his native Newfoundland, though his place in the province’s cultural history is often overlooked

By Keith Collier For The Independent

PHILIP TOCQUE 1814–1899

T

oday, Newfoundland and Labrador has a rich artistic and cultural heritage, a solid scientific community based around a university, and a history we are constantly learning to appreciate.

But the history and culture that form the basis of our identity as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are surprisingly young. It was because of people like Philip Tocque that they developed into something to be proud of.

Tocque was born on Jan. 14, 1814, in Carbonear. He was the son of a well-todo merchant, and his comfortable childhood included a good education.

His early life was somewhat predictable for a merchant’s son. In his early professional years, Tocque did some work at his father’s business, and later became a clerk.

By 1841, Tocque was a teacher in Port de Grave and then in Bird Island Cove, now Elliston. During this time, Tocque became known as a writer, publishing several newspaper articles.

His first book Wandering thoughts, or solitary hours was published in 1846. Tocque’s interest in writing and in science was well established by the time he became a clerk of the peace in the south coast town of Harbour Breton.

When he arrived in Harbour Breton in 1845, he found the two major merchants in the area had made an agreement that prevented the fishermen from getting fair prices for their fish.

Tocque published several critiques of the truck system, and drew criticism for doing so. The term “fishocracy,” used to describe the exploitative relationship between the merchants and the fishermen, was coined by Tocque.

By 1849, Tocque realized he had little opportunity for a successful future

in Newfoundland, having been denied requests for salary increases and for other appointments. His merchant father had been dead for almost 20 years, and Tocque had a family to support.

“It does appear hard that under such circumstances one should be necessitated to leave his native land,” he wrote, “yet I have no doubt I shall be able to push my way in any other colony.”

Like so many thousands of Newfoundlanders before and since, Tocque left his home in search of a livelihood.

Tocque arrived in Boston, where the industriousness and progress of New England inspired more writing. He published A peep at Uncle Sam’s farm, workshop, fisheries, &c. shortly after, meant to introduce Newfoundlanders to the United States. He studied theology in Connecticut in 1851-52.

He became an Anglican priest in 1854, and spent the next 23 years moving throughout rural Canada, preaching in small churches and parishes in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario.

Tocque worked mainly for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and devoted much of his time to building churches.

But, unlike many of his colleagues,

Tocque actively pursued his interests in other areas, devoting time and energy to studying and writing about oceanography, geology, natural history, politics, and economics. He was widely published, and frequently wrote about Newfoundland subjects.

Tocque became one of the first Newfoundlanders to become known as an earnest writer. His publications include attempts to familiarize readers with the island of Newfoundland, and in 1878 he published Newfoundland: as it was, and as it is in 1877, a kind of general reference about all things Newfoundland. It allowed Tocque to bring together his diverse interests in history, natural history and politics into one volume.

Today, Tocque has been largely forgotten. He has been called our first man of letters, but his position as an early Newfoundland writer is often overlooked. Tocque’s varied interests meant he did not devote himself entirely to writing about his home, but nevertheless, his writings lend insight into 19th century Newfoundland.

Perhaps part of the reason for overlooking Tocque’s early contributions to the written word in Newfoundland is because he lived and worked so much of his life away from home. But, as Marjorie Doyle notes in her biography of Tocque Newfoundlander in Exile, he may have moved away from Newfoundland, but he always kept in touch with home.

Throughout his life, Tocque held that Newfoundland was a beautiful place, rich in natural resources and with the potential for a great future. He became one of the earliest observers to criticize the arrangement between fishermen and merchant, and was never afraid to express his opinions. He may have been forced to live and work on the mainland, but he never lost his fondness for home.

In that way, Tocque was a true Newfoundlander in exile.

Philip Tocque died on Oct. 22, 1899, in Toronto.

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTNEWS • 11

VOICE FROM AWAY

‘We’re all seeking help from above ...’

From page 1 Although they have yet to be married, they are already wearing their wedding bands. Jonathan plays father to Kerri’s three children and thinks of them as his own. As Gary notes, Jonathan is a strong man “in many ways.”

His strength comes through, even in the correspondence Gary and Bonnie meticulously file in the happy face journal.

In an e-mail dated Oct.13, Jonathan writes: “In the main camp again to unwind before we head out in a few days. It is like the safe haven, the only place I can take time for myself and actually feel safe … I’m the prayer guy, whenever we leave camp to patrol, I read from the bible Heather bought me. We’re all seeking help from above, and I am the messenger.”

The next e-mail Bonnie received and attached to a page in the journal was dated Nov. 3. It is brief, with a quick update about the need for more supplies and that they are under daily fire from Taliban insurgents. Three sentences, that’s all the contact the Cranfords got from their son after a three-week drought.

Bonnie and Gary are extremely proud of their son — the picture from his military graduation is prominently placed on the mantel over the fireplace, not too far from all four of the Cranford children’s bronzed baby boots and pictures.

But they do worry. Bonnie says she copes by keeping busy and finding solace in prayer. She recalls an update from Kerri, after she spoke to Jonathan on the phone and heard gunfire in the background. She asked, in shock and disbelief, if it really was the enemy shooting at her fiancé. “‘Yes,’ Jonathan said. ‘This is real.’” mandy.cook@theindependent.ca Canadian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan: 2,500 Canadian fatalities in Afghanistan: 42 Number of Newfoundland & Labrador fatalities in Afghanistan: 4 Source: Department of National Defence

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12 • INDEPENDENTNEWS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

YOUR VOICE ‘Take an aggressive approach’ Editor’s note: the following letter was written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, with a copy forwarded to The Independent.

With a view to Senate reform. It anguishes me to no end knowing that our country continues to endure the costly propping up of an entity that by its very nature finds itself at odds with the true essence of democracy.

We continue to send our young men and women to foreign lands to fight and die to proliferate the worthy cause of government elected by the people.

If the sacrificing is to continue, let’s not be viewed as occupiers with double standards, but instead let’s be transparent by walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

Adequate equipment for our military and a withdrawal of the planned reduction in funding to the Status of Women are but two of the many worthy causes that could be addressed by the savings realized from a dismissing or at the very least a reforming of the Senate. Take an aggressive approach with Senate sanctions.

As with our premier, I am most supportive of many of your initiatives, and remain open minded about both his and your sense of direction knowing that it is born from the best of intentions. A man’s word is his bond, in both the public eye and perhaps more importantly in that loneliest of worlds — conscience.

Jerry Dean Mayor of Botwood

Ronald Dalton

Paul Daly/The Independent

The high cost of Canadian injustice Ronald Dalton’s biggest loss was time with his kids

By Tracy Tyler Torstar wire service

R

on Dalton was a bank manager, but he was naive. He innocently believed that since he didn’t kill his wife, he couldn’t possibly be found guilty of murder.

But Dalton was convicted — a mistake that stole 12 years from his life and led to two trials, an appeal, a lawsuit and a recent public inquiry into his case, as well as into two other wrongful convictions in Newfoundland.

“It’s been a $20 million make-work project for lawyers,” he said in a recent interview with the Toronto Star. He was in Toronto to speak to members of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association at their annual conference.

That high cost of injustice was due to the prosecution’s refusal to admit to a possible weakness in its case, he said.

A Crown culture that insists on winning at all costs and stubbornly refuses to concede error was one of the biggest barriers to overturning his conviction, said Dalton, who was 32 when his wife died.

Another was finding lawyers who were prepared to dedicate time to helping him, especially when he ran out of money.

Since he was charged, one organization in particular, the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, has gone to bat for victims of miscarriages of justice.

But Canada should not be depending on volunteer groups to investigate and expose miscarriages of justice, Dalton said. It needs a publicly funded review body operating at arm’s-length from government, similar to one in place in Britain, he said.

Defence lawyers at the conference had a rare opportunity to hear Dalton’s story in chilling detail, a story not well-known outside Newfoundland.

It began on Aug. 15, 1988, the longest day of his life. Dalton, a bank manger in Gander, had stopped at the RCMP detachment to pick up tickets for the policemen’s ball and made restaurant reservations to celebrate his upcoming 11th wedding anniversary.

When he arrived home, his three children were asleep upstairs. He joined his

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wife Brenda, who was watching the news and eating a bowl of cereal.

She began to choke. Dalton patted her on the back, but it didn’t help. Her face turned “beet red.” He went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, returning to find her unconscious.

“I ran my finger through her mouth and the top of her throat to see if anything was there,” he said. “I blew a few breaths into her and her chest would rise.”

Dalton called an ambulance and Brenda was rushed to hospital. An inexperienced resident was in charge of the emergency room and botched the resuscitation by sliding a breathing tube into her stomach instead of her lungs. The inside of her throat was inevitably scratched. She did not survive.

Dalton stayed up all night with the neighbours, “wondering how I was going to explain to a six-year-old and a nineyear-old that their mother is dead.” His youngest was 18 months old.

“I waited until the sun broke to do that.

I went into my oldest son’s bedroom, sat down on the edge of his bed and tearfully told him.” The two of them later knelt by his daughter’s bed and told her.

By nightfall, Dalton was charged with second-degree murder, based on the findings of a local pathologist who performed an autopsy. He was not allowed to attend his wife’s funeral.

In those days, the Crown was not legally required to disclose all relevant evidence to the defence. Close to his trial, Dalton learned that the pathologist, who had no formal training in forensic pathology, concluded Brenda Dalton had died from manual strangulation.

“He thought he was Quincy, basically,” Dalton said. However, there were no other signs of injury consistent with strangulation, such as external neck bruising, fractured cartilage or hemorrhaging in the eyes.

The Crown wouldn’t spend the money for a second expert opinion, Dalton said.

At his trial, the jury preferred the testimony of their local doctor over the defence expert, a forensic pathologist from Philadelphia who had performed thousands of autopsies, including hundreds involving death by strangulation.

Dalton spent two years languishing in

a 5-by-7 ft. cell in Renous penitentiary in New Brunswick, waiting for a trial transcript to be typed so he could proceed with his appeal. His trial lawyer strung him along for another two years after that. Four years into his sentence, Dalton learned he hadn’t done any work on the case.

Dalton found another lawyer, but the Newfoundland legal aid system took a year before deciding to fund the case. For the next two years, Dalton waited.

But once again, Dalton had been fed a story. Seven years into his sentence, he filed his own handwritten legal brief with the Newfoundland Court of Appeal.

“The catalyst for actually getting it to court was my filing a half-assed factum,” he said. “I was on my third chief justice by the time we actually got it going. One had retired and another had died.”

Through sheer luck, a junior lawyer from Dalton’s second lawyer’s firm put him in touch with St. John’s lawyer Jerome Kennedy, now a prominent advocate for the wrongly convicted. Kennedy pushed Dalton’s case, winning him a retrial. That lasted nine months, ending with his acquittal in 2000.

New medical evidence overwhelmingly concluded that Dalton had been charged with a crime that never occurred.

Brenda Dalton had choked on cereal and the marks on the inside of her throat were caused by attempts to save her life.

Earlier this year, in his report from a public inquiry into Dalton’s case and the wrongful murder convictions of Newfoundlanders Gregory Parsons and Randy Druken, commissioner Antonio Lamer, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, said the cases were largely the result of a dysfunctional Crown culture that was overzealous and blindly accepted police theories.

One day after the report was released in June, Dalton received a letter of apology from Newfoundland’s chief justice, Clyde Wells. He’s still waiting for one from the government.

“My daughter had just graduated from kindergarten when her mother died,” he said. “When I was acquitted, she was about to graduate high school. For me, it was always the measure of how much time had been lost.”

INDEPENDENTBUSINESS

FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10-16, 2006 — PAGE 13

From left to right: Joan Bishop and Geoffrey, Carla and David Hiscock in Trapnell’s Jewellery in St. John’s.

Paul Daly/The Independent

‘Happy memories’ Water Street institution and historical business closing up shop after 108 years

By Mandy Cook The Independent

T

he elegant and serene setting where the family and staff of Trapnell’s Jewellery have been providing wedding bands, gold lockets, freshwater pearls, barometers and clocks to Water Street shoppers for the past 108 years will be closing its doors for good at the end of the year.

A destination location, generations of customers have been visiting Trapnell’s as much for the beautiful jewelry displayed in the regal, velvet-lined glass showcases as they have for the attentive service.

Most notably, Joan Bishop, who, at the age of 81 says she’s “like the bird” or “Perfect!” when asked

“It’s not that Trapnell’s is not a viable, sustainable business, it’s just that not every generation produces a merchant or entrepreneur.”

David Hiscock about her health, has witnessed the Hiscock family proprietors and loyal customers alike mark many of life’s important milestones — birthdays, christenings, weddings

and anniversaries.

David Hiscock, who has decided to return to the military after a fiveyear “experiment” as Trapnell’s shopkeeper, says he has seen customers wait their turn to be served

by Bishop. After 65 years at the fine jewelry store, she’s as much an institution as Trapnell’s itself.

“I’ve seen people wait three or four deep for Joanie at Christmas because she has the memory of what he or she has had in their wardrobes over the past 10 years,” he says. “She will say, ‘No, you’ve bought the ring and the bangle, now you should buy this.’ They’ll say, ‘Now Mrs. Bishop, you know what I bought before, what way are you going to steer me this year?’”

Hiscock is the fourth generation of his family to run the store. He

spent 17 years in the navy, but upon his father Geoffrey’s retirement, decided to give retail a whirl.

He says it’s a “lovely” industry to be involved in, but ultimately realized it wasn’t for him.

“It’s not that Trapnells is not a viable, sustainable business, it’s just that not every generation produces a merchant or entrepreneur,” he says. “And after four generations, the business has been successful and while I could still provide for my family, I just don’t find it that rewarding.

“The dedication and long hours and everything else that goes with being an owner-operator of a small family business are tremendous. I guess it wasn’t for me after my military experience. So I gave it a fair shake, I gave it five years and

that was my business plan and I said thanks, but no thanks.”

The jewelry business in St. John’s has seen many stores come and go. Carla Hiscock stops count at 10, recalling Birks in Atlantic Place and Baxter Marsh’s Charm at the bottom of Prescott Street — and that was only during the 30 years she tended shop with her husband.

Since the days of Geoffrey’s grandfather, who purchased the business from Robert Trapnell in the 1900s, Trapnell’s Jewellery has weathered many challenges, including two world wars, the depression, and the more recent recessions of the ’80s and ’90s.

When Carla came on the scene in See “Highs and lows,” page 15

Searching for answers — together

T

he obscenely long line-ups of fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians at Alberta job fairs recently in St. John’s served as yet another stark reminder (as if we needed one) of the formidable forces that are eroding the very core of our labour market.

Demographic pressures, high unemployment, out-migration and economic paralysis in many rural areas, along with the glut of jobs and the pull of sky-high wages in western Canada, are all working against us.

So, an army of our highly skilled — and not-so-highly skilled — turned out at the fairs to sign up for jobs out west.

Meanwhile, a two-day symposium organized and hosted by leaders in government, business and labour was

RAY DILLON

Board of Trade held. The event tried to get at the challenges the province is facing and the factors that might build healthier labour markets in Newfoundland and Labrador.

That’s no simple task. We know Newfoundland and Labrador continues to have the highest unemployment rate in the country. Yet people are heading west in search of work.

It isn’t just this province that is feeling the pinch, mind you. According to the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, there was a net outflow of

14,000 people from all of Atlantic Canada to Alberta over the last year.

Even mighty Alberta (where jobs have grown by 102,000 so far this year) has its own unique labour market challenges — though theirs is more clearly an issue of supply, not having near enough workers to meet all the employment needs for skilled and unskilled positions.

Here at home, however, we are struggling to find the balance in labour supply and demand. In fact, it seems as though we’re struggling to even define the problems we’re facing. Is it that there are too few workers to fill jobs, or that there are too few jobs?

In reality, it’s probably a bit of both.

It’s a paradox of not generating enough jobs across the board in our economy, while at the same time hav-

We’re short on both jobs and workers. There’s a disconnect somewhere, and we’re having a tough time connecting the dots to create a more balanced labour market. ing glaring worker shortages in specific areas, from electricians, to truckers, to pharmacists — and the list goes troublingly on.

We’re short on both jobs and workers. There’s a disconnect somewhere, and we’re having a tough time con-

necting the dots to create a more balanced labour market.

At the job fair, some of the people that showed up looking for jobs were without the relevant training and skills the recruiters were looking for. And, here in our own province, many industries just can’t find the skilled workers they require.

Many assert that we need to do a much better job of responding to the needs of industry and the economy as we train and prepare people for the workforce.

That requires a multi-stakeholder approach involving government, employers, labour groups, trades colleges and universities.

There is hope that we are starting to See “Teachers,” page 14

A stunning collection of photography from the portfolio of The Independent’s own Paul Daly.

Available this fall. To preorder your copy, contact

Boulder Publications at 895-6483

14 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

Teachers ‘on the job’ From page 13 understand the relationship between school influence and career choice.

The Teacher Assistance Program (TAP), a joint effort between Skills Canada and the Department of Education, Eastern School District, Gonzaga High School, the Community Career Centre and a host of local businesses, is a program designed to increase teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the different skilled trades and the variety of educational and employment opportunities that exist now and in the future.

In this program, teachers spend time “on the job” at various employers so as to gain a first-hand understanding of different types of employment open to their students.

This program is long overdue and needs support to reach beyond its meagre beginnings. It is a sad statement on society that we have evolved to the point where the economics exist to send travel agents to experience exotic resorts to relay first-hand their experiences to leisure travel customers as they plan their vacations, yet we cannot prepare our teachers to offer the same sort of first-hand advice to students as they take an infinitely more important journey.

We have a lot of questions to

answer and work to do if we want to fill labour gaps and maximize the potential of our workforce.

In terms of recruitment and retention of workers, how do we become more strategic — at the policy-making level and at the firm level — about effectively attracting and keeping the people that our economy and employers require today and in the future?

What about succession planning?

It doesn’t just apply to small, familyrun businesses. In a labour force with many of its workers readying to exit for retirement and fewer young, skilled workers to replace them, how do we facilitate the transfer of important knowledge and skills from one demographic to the next within industries?

And how do we better promote, support and implement workplace training and apprenticeship opportunities and remove the barriers to providing these opportunities that employers typically face?

Government, business and labour all know the forces eroding our labour market are very real.

Are they surmountable? For now, we need to keep searching for answers, together.

Ray Dillon is President of the St. John’s Board of Trade.

Perry Giles, president of Marquee Communications

Paul Daly/The Independent

Let your fingers do the shopping Local Internet company celebrates first year

By Ivan Morgan The Independent

M

iser.ca, a locally owned and operated Internet company, celebrated its first birthday last week. The site, which markets itself as a local on-line “mall,” is expanding to offer services across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Perry Giles, president of Marquee Communications, which markets the Miser.ca website, says it has been a rough year, but the company has survived. Their goal now is to grow.

BEYOND THE BORDERS “Our plan has been — right from the get-go — to take it beyond the borders of Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Giles. “We built it here and tested it here and took our lumps here so we could protect the product before we went outside.

“We are expanding. We are in growth mode. We have hired new sales people. We have expanded our IT capacity in our ability to deliver to our advertisers. We are looking to take this to the next level.

“Miser.ca is more of a shopping

portal as opposed to a website …

We’ve branded Miser.ca as a local source — like a local on-line mall.”

Giles says Miser.ca is so much more than an Internet “Yellow Pages.” As a portal, Miser.ca offers consumers access to the local goods and services, as well as offering advertisers access to consumers on the Internet. They have also developed database-marketing strategies, which allow them to offer direct target marketing for advertisers.

He says they saw an opportunity for a new product that would respond to the growing number of people in the province who are shopping on-line.

“The way consumers were interacting with the Internet, there was a shift to take place,” says Giles. “We looked at it as an opportunity to create a local portal.”

It was also an opportunity to learn a lot of things the hard way. Two weeks after launching the product, their Internet host crashed, leaving them dark for almost three days.

“It was one of the worst things that could happen in your second week of business,” he says.

Giles says they looked for a local

host, but eventually decided on a new host in Atlanta, Georgia, as they offered the right level of security and reliability at the right cost.

Six months into the venture, Giles bought out his partners, when all agreed they wanted the product to move in different directions. He has since found new investors, who are silent partners.

BUSINESS IS GROWING Despite these bumps, Giles says the business is growing.

Giles says the site had 550,000 hits for the week of Oct. 1 — the week they went island-wide. More importantly, he says, were the 53,000 plus page views (the number of times a consumer actually opens the page to a client). He says page views are a more accurate measurement than hits.

Giles says he even loves the backhanded compliments he receives.

Sometimes people think that Miser.ca is a national franchise, and he is just the regional manager.

“I say no,” says Giles “This is a home-grown concept.” ivan.morgan@theindependent.ca

YOUR VOICE Ottawa’s ‘masterplan’

Skate • Snow • Style

Dear editor, I would like to make a few comments on out-migration from Newfoundland and Labrador, which seems to be reaching a crisis level. Parzival Copes, or should it be “Sir Parzival,” now that he has been invested into the Grand Order of the Rideau Canal or Canada or whatever it’s called, is back in the news.

Sir Parzival ruffled people’s feathers back in the ’70s when he suggested that Newfoundland’s population should be halved. Now, I’m no fan of Sir Parzival, but I think he was only doing what academics occasionally do to earn their corn and that is make pronunciations on de facto social policies and trends.

In this case, I believe “Lord” Copes was merely identifying a policy that had been in place for some time. I believe that right from the start, Ottawa had more or less a masterplan to deal with “the Newfoundland problem.”

Once they got the British out (that would have been relatively easy), they would have to get the Americans out and this, I would think, was a much more difficult proposition. Having accomplished this, however, Ottawa took steps to ensure that Newfoundland would never again present a problem to central Canada.

I believe one of the main features of their plan was the reduction of its popu-

Parzival Copes

lation — perhaps to as little as 200,000.

This would involve mostly the displacement of the province’s most vulnerable and at the same time the most independent and intractable people.

To accomplish this, every possible way in which these people could earn a living was eliminated — mines closed, the American bases closed, the railway shut down, and the fishery destroyed.

These abuses have become so pervasive

and ingrained, they have become “systemic,” so much so that it does not matter which party or who the prime minister is — nothing changes.

However, I find it ironic that the Alberta oil boom (something that Ottawa can’t control and doesn’t really like) is finally accomplishing what the stumblebums in Ottawa couldn’t do.

Joe Butt, Toronto

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 15

Highs and lows From page 13 the late ’70s, she recalls gold hitting $1,000 an ounce.

“I can’t remember exactly where gold had been but it had been nowhere and it went through this skyrocketing boom,” she says. “You didn’t know whether you should buy or not buy! So we struggled with that one and sorted it out and the next big thing that hit was the recession in the early ’80s.

“That was very difficult for everybody and we kind of tidied ourselves up and got lean and mean. So we dusted ourselves off and got through that but Lord, then another one came slamming into the early ’90s, and that one was probably worse because by that time everyone else was as lean and mean as they could be.”

Now that he’s tried running the family business, David Hiscock says he’s content to let it run its course. He says Trapnell’s is the ultimate success story because of the quality jewelry, the service, and the thousands of satisfied customers who left the quiet hush of the spotlight-lit shop with treasures in tiny boxes.

“I couldn’t have picked a better store,” he says. “When people are making purchases it’s usually for happy occasions. Births, marriages — most people are here to buy items as a token for a happy memory.” mandy.cook@theindependent.ca

Trust disclosure the real issue

By Ellen Roseman Torstar wire service

A

n important issue is being ignored in the controversy about income trusts. I’m talking about the disclosure of information to investors.

Where do the cash distributions come from? Can they be sustained? How likely are they to be reduced if the business hits a bump?

In other words, can you “trust” the “income” you receive from these tax-advantaged vehicles?

Investors are operating on faith, not facts, when it comes to income trusts, says the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, or CICA. “People buy income trusts for cash flow, and the valuation of income trusts is driven by cash flow,” says institute president Kevin Dancey. “It all comes down to a standard definition of distributable cash, which has been lacking so far.”

The accounting body hopes to bring some consistency and reliability to a most unreliable measure.

The group’s guidelines, six months in the making, were released this week — and might seem irrelevant after the Oct. 31 announcement of a clampdown on income trusts.

But remember one thing: existing trusts won’t have to pay the new tax on distributions until 2011.

This means investors can keep buying the trusts for four more years, based on what people think is a higher cash payout than they would get from interest or dividends.

So, here’s a summary of the accounting group’s key recommendations, arising from discussions with income trust issuers, regulators and investors: • There should be one standard term, “distributable cash from operations.” A recent study by Standard & Poor’s found 19 different names used for the concept.

• Cash flows arising from investing — such as the sale of capital assets — or from financing activities should be separately identified.

• What is management’s strategy to maintain productive capacity and manage debt? This should be clearly stated.

• What is the “payout ratio,” the relationship between the cash distributions paid to investors and the distributable cash from operations? If the ratio is 90 per cent or more, investors deserve to know because of the threat to long-term sustainability.

• What is the cumulative payout ratio since inception?

Management should reconcile the difference between distributable cash from operations and the amount of cash distributed to investors.

• Is enough cash being retained to provide for unfunded pension obligations, environmental liabilities and future income tax payments?

• Will the cash distributions make it less likely for the company to meet its financial commitments, such as loan covenants, in the foreseeable future?

Al Rosen, a forensic accountant and outspoken business columnist, has been vocal about weak disclosure.

In fact, he put out a report last year — prescient, I’d say — warning senior citizens that income trusts were too risky to own.

When reached last week while attending a court hearing, the often-cranky critic was quite happy with the guidelines on distributable cash.

“This is good news,” he said. “It’s much better than anything we’ve seen. I like what they’re trying to do.”

But that said, Rosen proceeded to rhyme off all the inadequacies.

“They could have done this three years ago. Why now?

They should be criticized for being slow.”

He’s right. Income trusts have been around for many years and grew to gigantic proportions after the stockmarket crash from 2000 to 2003.

Moreover, these are voluntary guidelines. Reporting issuers can decide whether to use the guidelines or not.

“There’s no teeth,” he complained. “The CICA was under heat for having done nothing, so it rushed this thing out.”

The recommendations are open for comment until March 31. Will investors still care by then?

And even if everyone agrees, the changes in reporting distributable cash won’t become mandatory unless Canada’s securities regulators get behind the proposals.

Rosen also has issues with how the accountants framed the proposals. The group wants income trusts to use the improved disclosure in “management’s discussion and analysis” or MD&A, provided to investors every six months.

But what about incorporating the disclosure into annual reports and quarterly financial statements? These are not included.

The bottom line: the institute of chartered accountants has done good work.

(You can see it yourself at http://www.cica.ca on the Internet.)

Yes, it’s late in the game. Yes, it’s not enough.

But with new taxes looming, income trusts may be forced by marketplace competition to disclose more to investors.

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16 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

Calgary biz travels east

By Mandy Cook The Independent

I

n software developer Tim Spracklin’s case, his philosophy of “Move, and your employer will follow,” worked for him.

Some might say it was a reckless move on his part, but not only did Quorum, a Calgary-based company, accommodate the homesick Newfoundlander’s desire to move home, they eventually hired 12 more Newfoundlanders to support him.

Quorum’s main product, Xsellerator, is an automotive dealership software system that runs all aspects of the car dealership business — everything from inventory to payroll to parts sales to mechanic’s hours. The company deals exclusively with Ford and General Motors, with 195 dealerships signed on across North America, including two in Labrador and two on the island portion of the province.

Spracklin says he isn’t surprised at the success of Quorum’s now four-year old east coast branch, considering the tightening up of Calgary’s job market in the past six months — and the excess of trained Newfoundland labour.

“In Calgary right now, as you know, there’s a real skills crunch,” he says. “Most skilled people go to the bigger money jobs with oil.

“In Newfoundland, there is an abundance of skilled, intelligent, educated people who are looking for work and have proven to be really good employees for us, and we offer very reasonable salaries for our industry, probably a little higher than what other (local) companies would offer, so it is a really great place for us to recruit.

“We have no problem filling positions here and we have had zero turnover so far.”

Spracklin says business is booming for

Tim Spracklin

Paul Daly/The Independent

Quorum, and his satellite programming house and call centre in St. John’s supports the larger versions in Calgary. He says the company is growing so fast — Quorum plans to add 150 dealerships to their roster next year and 300 in 2008 — they will need to hire even more employees.

Craig Nieboer, vice president and chief financial officer, expects Quorum to continue expanding eastward because of the groundwork laid by Spracklin.

“Call centres, through technology today, can be located anywhere,” he says. “Some people choose to locate their call centres in India.

“We’re a Canadian company, we wanted to keep our people and our resources in Canada, and we looked across the country and based on the fact that we had a development office in St. John’s with good people with intelligence and motivation that could man our call centre, we made our decision to expand.

“We will have an ongoing need to expand our development capability and right now there’s a lot of indication that future expansion will be focused on St. John’s.”

Quorum is currently in negotiations with Ford and Microsoft. They are the third largest provider for General Motors in Canada in automotive retail software. mandy.cook@theindependent.ca

YOUR VOICE MADD should have stripped it all off Dear editor, How ridiculous for a judge to ask the women of Mothers Against Drunk Driving to remove their Tshirts in the courtroom during the trial of Robert Parsons. What these women should have done was strip it all off and bared everything from the waist up. Maybe then the crazy justice system will realize just how foolish that ruling really was. It would be a wake-up call that would make headlines across the country.

Bill Westcott, Clarke’s Beach

Too much trail development is a bad thing Dear editor, Small wild spaces in the city are rare. For that alone, they should be heralded, celebrated, defended. Some are so beautiful … one can’t imagine anything ever happening to them.

There’s a wetland of significant size on Signal Hill, lying in a valley between the Johnson Geo Centre and Signal Hill National Park.

Few who have walked or driven up Signal Hill could fail to be moved upon seeing the fall flash

of colours, or notice the sweet mélange of bird song drift up from this valley.

Miraculously, it is a place as yet untouched by Tim Hortons coffee cups or rocks marked Dave loves Deb. Now, backhoes, stakes, and metre-plus deep crushed rock and gravel scar this urban wild space. Undoubtedly, these other emblems of civilization will soon follow.

The sad thing is, this is being done in the name of conserving

and enjoying our natural environment.

It is being done by a group that has done so much for the City of St. John’s: The Johnson Family Foundation and the Grand Concourse Authority.

They have brought us about 100 km of urban trails, a system that is heavily used and appreciated by residents and visitors.

But some places should not be developed for a trail system.

This extraordinary wetland is

one of them. Our own city council and staff might have picked up on the problems — only they no longer have an environmental advisory committee — that’s been defunct for the past three or more years.

You know, I love the trails around our city, but too much of a good thing, like too much medicine, can be a poison. I think we’ve found the dosage.

Alison Dyer, St. John’s

International Terrorism Once a day. Twice a day. Every day ...

Death rides initials; F-4s and F-16s, A-10s and B-52s.

Alpha-numeric murderers from bases, clean and safe and far away.

Bomb and strafe, again and again, waste a few video villains and back in time to play a game or two.

Hot Dogs.

Pop and popped amphetamines.

See themselves on TV. And old men on their doorsteps.

Children in the swollen streets, women in the jangled markets, mere targets from ten thousand feet.

Their sons and sisters, stupefied by the endless funerals, vow vengeance at the cowardly contrails.

David L. Benson, Tors Cove

INDEPENDENTLIFE

FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10-16, 2006 — PAGE 17

The work of North by Design, on display in Raleigh.

Photos Adele Poynter

Hooked on mats

By Mandy Cook The Independent

L

In wake of fishery collapse, Raleigh women hook designer mats

ike most women in her community, Raleigh resident Bernitte Smith used to process crab in the great northern peninsula town’s fish plant. Now, she makes “pretty good” money hand hooking mats using traditional techniques and locally-created designs. She says she couldn’t be happier in her new profession.

“It’s really relaxing, especially when we get new designs to do,” she says. “It’s a really nice job. I’d like to do it all my life — until I retire.”

It is a newly revived tradition, once practiced by many northern peninsula women, dating back to the days of the founding English and Scottish settlers in the region, reaching its pinnacle during the Grenfell Mission.

As the industry grew, and the women’s income grew, so did their self-respect. Their “mat money” was enough to pay for necessary supplies like food and medicine. They no longer needed to rely on marriage for their livelihoods.

Flash-forward a century, to 2005.

Smith and her husband, Noah, decided to resurrect mat hooking in an effort to revitalize their community.

Together with their marketing partner Adele Poynter, the Smiths approached 11 other women in Raleigh about joining their venture.

The women enrolled in a 10-week course at the College of the North Atlantic campus in St. Anthony, taught by mat-hooker Joan Foster from Springdale. By the spring of this year, they were in business, with six of the women mat hooking fulltime.

Poynter, who markets and sells the

handcrafted creations through her website and business, North by Design, says the mats the Raleigh women produce are not just folk art — they are art.

“They’re artists, really,” says the St. Lawrence native, sitting with tea in her living room, a pile of brilliantly coloured mats spread around her petite frame. “They don’t do a lot of straight line work. It gives you this kind of swirly effect and it gives it depth and texture and that’s what makes them so special. And the choice of colours and fabrics, the florets, the swirls — they pick all of this.”

A 20-year veteran of economic development, Poynter is fiercely devoted to the success of the Raleigh mat hookers. She says their product is generated from a very real need — the survival of a rural Newfoundland community — that results in a rigor-

ous insistence for impeccable standards worthy of global distribution.

“We insist on very high quality,” says Poynter, turning a sunny yellow starfish mat over in her hands.

“Sometimes these things have to be unraveled. If the women make even a tiny error, everything is fixed.

They are of exceptional quality. The back is neater than the front. It’s perfection, frankly.”

Each piece is a giddy confection of colour and shape, inspired by the natural landscape and wildlife to which the women are so tenaciously attached. There is a vivid school of orange caplin swimming in a green sea, pretty little cinquefoil flowers from the Burnt Cape, custom recreations of people’s homes and the classic drying salt cod.

Each is embellished with undulat-

The day Gerry Squires came to class

By Micheal O’Boyle For The Independent

I

n the early 1970s, I was an energetic geography teacher in St Paul’s High School in Gander and I specialized in coloured chalk maps of western Europe on the blackboard. My principal, Don Murphy, was impressed — and shortly afterwards I was the new art teacher.

Even though I had taken some basic art and design courses at university, I hardly considered myself any kind of artist. But I enjoyed it, and back in those days teachers were very adaptable. I

also found myself as the basketball and cross-country coach for the school.

In May of that year, officials from Baltimore High School in Ferryland were interested in hiring me to help coach the cross-country teams and the school administration also assigned me to teach geography and Grade 11 art.

The following September, when I took up my new position, I was pleasantly surprised at the great number of famous artists living all along the Southern Shore. At the time, Heidi Oberheide had established St. Michael’s Printshop, and many local artists were involved in printmaking and drawing. I

set about organizing a program to bring well-known local artists into the schools.

My first contact was Gerry Squires. I first met him during one of my jogs to the Ferryland lighthouse, where he lived with his family. Squires was supportive of the idea and, through him, I was able reach other great artists like Oberheide, Don Wright, Frank La Pointe, Arch Williams and many others. All were an inspiration to my students and myself.

One damp November morning Squires came to the school. It was to be See “A process,” page 20 Micheal O’Boyle, as painted by Gerry Squires.

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See “A sense of,” page 20

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

18 • INDEPENDENTLIFE

GALLERYPROFILE

CINDY FUREY Visual Artist GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR

By Janine Taylor For The Independent

C

indy Furey cannot remember learning to draw or paint — it just came naturally. Yet the demands of a busy teaching career and raising three children led her to retire her paintbrush for an entire decade.

When she picked it up again in 1990, a world of creative expression reopened.

This world is reflected in her art as one of simplicity. Furey takes rolls and rolls of film as she and her husband, Bill, tour Newfoundland. It is often from these photographs she becomes inspired to craft scenes — sometimes in acrylic, but most often in pen and ink and watercolour. Sometimes a stirring sequence of photographs will result in paintings relevant to a particular time or place.

“Certain things are calling me to paint them,” she says. “I like to capture life in the things I paint, whether it is clothes hanging on the line or a quilt.”

Like the smell of baking bread, Furey’s depictions of wildflowers in mist, abandoned stages slanting askew on rocks, and blankets blowing in the ocean wind are timeless and nostalgic.

Hangin’ Out in Fortune Harbour is vibrant and inviting, despite the perceived emptiness of the weathered yellow wooden house in the background.

The eye is drawn immediately to a billowing quilt of blues, greens and pinks which obscures much of the house. The pink-washed sky reflects the warmth of the quilt, giving an overall impression of happy domesticity. Both of Furey’s grandmothers were quilters, and she says that probably has a lot to do with her captivation with quilts.

A native of New Brunswick who has been living in Grand Falls-Windsor for most of her adult life, Furey feels sharing with other artists is as important as the art itself. She has held many positions with the Central Newfoundland Visual Arts Society in the past 16 years, including two years as president.

This year, she’s working with students at Woodland Primary School, which has received an ArtSmarts grant. She has also been teaching adult art classes since she retired more than three years ago.

“I go to bed at night sometimes and I think of what a student could do to improve a piece that they are working on,” she says. “I enjoy the interactions and helping others, but I always learn something, too. It’s a sharing.”

Fortunately, Furey likes to share her work. Currently, she has pieces on display at the Glynmill Inn in Corner Brook and the Tranquility Spa and Hunter’s Framing in Grand FallsWindsor. Whenever a visiting artist holds a workshop or a friend wishes to collaborate, Furey is the first one there.

Lupins, a watercolour piece painted on massa paper, is her most recent experiment. The green grass, pinktinged blue sky and bright flowers are softened and warmed by the stainedglass effect of the crackly massa paper.

It’s a material she has not worked with before, and she is proud of the results.

“It is really important to be true to your own art, but I’m open to all styles.

I like to experiment and try as many things as possible. If I’m not painting, if I’m not involved in art, there’s something missing. Art makes me whole.”

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTLIFE • 19

NOREEN GOLFMAN Standing Room Only

L

ast week I spent a few days attending a conference in the fort city of Quebec City, one of the most charming built environments on the continent. I’ve been there many times before, but not in a while, and not since all the renovating of the public spaces in the oldest part of the city.

The disadvantage of being at a conference in a city like that is that you don’t get as much time as you’d like to wander on your own. The advantage is that your conference schedule actually takes you through many fine historic properties anyway.

One of the key lectures at the conference was held at the provincial legislature, a stunning late 19th-century monument that sits on the brow of the city, imposing an elegant authority. Some smart civic managers light it up every night, when it shows itself off to best effect, its imperial grey stone softened with illumination, making it less intimidating, even more elegant.

The lecture was held in a grand main hall with enormous ceilings and tastefully elaborate decorative flourishes, otherwise used, amazingly enough, as a parliamentary cafeteria, one actually open to the public. Quelle bonne idée; how inspired! You can slurp your pea soup right next to a sovereignist on a Monday, a federalist on a Wednesday. It’s probably a humbling experience for elected official and voting citizen alike.

Afterwards, we all poured into the wide reception hall of the legislature for a reception, giving us a chance to gawk at more of the fine attributes of the building, the portraits of parliamentarians and symbolic artifacts of the power of New France. An easel supported a large framed poster of the current members of the National Assembly, with Premier Jean Charest’s smiling face top and centre.

Everyone was flushed and excited to have the opportunity to breathe in some grandeur and history, sipping (good) red wine in the space through which premiers Jean Lesage and Daniel Johnson had raced on their way to fleece Smallwood out of Churchill Falls, or through which René Lévesque had darted to grab a quick smoke.

When you travel, your senses are sharper,

The Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City

Vive la rénovation! your curiosity intensified, and there is so much about Quebec City that reminds a tourist of home that you can’t help but shape comparisons. Indeed, the parliament building, like so much of the architecture in Quebec City, is second empire style, the same practical style that dominates old St. John’s.

You know it primarily by its verticality, its double-pitched roof with a steep lower slope, dormer windows peeking out of the mansard.

All those narrow streets in the lower city are lined by second empire row houses, strongly resembling the tumble of downtown streets in our own capital city.

Old Quebec City is marked by the same 19thcentury architectural fashion as St. John’s but, of course, it also boasts churches and public buildings three and four centuries older and the famous, ultimately unsuccessful, ramparts intended to keep the British out.

Moreover, the characteristic locally quarried grey stone of most of the structures gives the city a solid sense of gravitas. A smoldering match and a bad wind could easily take St. John’s down in an afternoon.

But, amazingly, in spite of massive fires and undependable natural materials, many fine churches and solid buildings remain hallmarks

The Queen almost an instant classic But the cast of Flushed Away don’t fare quite so well TIM CONWAY Film Score The Queen Starring Dame Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen 1/2 (out of four)

A

lmost a decade has passed since a tragic motor vehicle accident took the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. If we remember correctly, the ensuing worldwide media storm made coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial look like a couple of hours of televised golf.

Anyone with a functioning tear duct and some claim to fame, from minor celebrities to heads of state, found themselves on the business end of a microphone, and on camera. It was a tragic event, and it was newsworthy, but let’s not forget that the entertainment media was all over it.

Great Britain’s dashing new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has been credited with anointing Diana “The People’s Princess,” a label that stuck right away in an environment where labels are everything.

While cameras captured the grief of thousands, brought it into the homes of millions, there was one face absent from the whole melee, that of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen is a speculative account of the week that transpired between the death and burial of Diana Spencer, focussing on both Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Blair, as well as the dynamic between them.

Screenwriter Peter Morgan, who we’re sure to hear more of later when The Last King of Scotland debuts, cleverly weaves a story that has us believing that we’re splashing around in the wading pool of life when, much to our surprise, we discover that we’ve been swimming about the deep end for quite some time.

What begins as a straight-forward narrative evolves into a study of character that plumbs depths much greater than one would have anticipated, given the atmosphere of superficiality established early on.

Of course, writing it is only part of the exercise. Bringing it to life on the screen is a greater challenge, well served here by the combined talents of director Stephen Frears and actress Helen

Mirren.

Frears has been turning out solid work for more than two decades, and like the best seasoned veterans, is able to draw upon the experience of working with Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls.

Likewise, the accomplished actress, who had made a name for herself on stage long before she became a household name with the Prime Suspect television series, also enjoys the benefit of collaborating with Frears.

The result is a stunning performance that conveys as much through subtle gestures as through dialogue. Completely engaged, we perceive as much as we are told, and we hang onto every moment for the meaning that could lie beneath it. A perfect example of talent combined with professionalism, Mirren’s work here is sure to be foremost amongst this year’s Oscar buzz.

On the other hand, the supporting players are presented with very thinly drawn, almost stereotyped roles, with Blair’s character falling somewhere in between.

Fortunately, the cast, under Frear’s direction, manages to barely avoid coming across like sitcom regulars.

This, however, is an integral part of the film’s mechanics. Despite the serious incident at the core of the story, levity enables us to focus on the issue at hand, the behaviour of Queen Elizabeth. What starts to resemble a sophisticated take on Keeping up Appearances gradually becomes an intimate tribute to one of the most respected public fig-

ures of the last century.

With Mirren’s powerhouse performance, Frears’ knack for storytelling, and awesome visuals, The Queen offers top-drawer entertainment that stays with viewers long after the end credits have rolled.

Arguably an instant classic, it’s a motion picture worth making the effort to catch on the big screen.

Flushed Away Featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet 1/2 (out of four) 84 min.

A pet mouse with a gilded cage of his very own in an opulent Kensington apartment, Roddy (Hugh Jackman) is living the high life, or as much of it as a mouse can. His posh lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, however, when a sewer rat pops up out of the kitchen drain, and fancies sticking around.

In an effort to rid himself of this intruder, Roddy suggests his new guest try out the Jacuzzi.

Unfortunately, this new arrival, knowing better, that Roddy’s Jacuzzi is actually the toilet, turns the tables on him, and flushes the privileged pet down the drain and into the London sewer system.

In jig time, Roddy discovers that there is a whole metropolis built up in the sewer, comprised mainly of rodents who are much happier than they would be on the surface, where people hate them. In his case, however, he has it pretty good “up above” and looks for a way to get home. His search leads him to the skipper of the Jammy

Roger, Rita (Kate Winslet), a scrounger with a few too many enemies.

A computer-animated collaboration between Dreamworks and Aardman (the company behind the Wallace and Grommit movie), Flushed Away has the look of claymation, and the characters are formed in the typical Aardman style. Although the voice cast is primarily British, the tone of the film is readily identifiable as American.

Consequently, there’s a lot of action for the sake of action, and pop culture references aplenty.

Much of the charm that we identify with Chicken Run and Wallace and Grommit is absent here, as the visuals seem to be more slick; buffed, polished, and given a good coat of Hollywood high gloss.

Yet, this is a fun motion picture that doesn’t take itself too seriously, nor mine the sewer for cheap laughs. One over-used running gag however, plays itself out too quickly. Taking its cue from the recurring mice in Babe, this film uses musical slugs a little too often.

What starts off as a cute Greek chorus becomes just a gimmick by the middle of the show.

Despite Aardman’s participation, Flushed Away is a far cry from the Oscar-winning The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but both adults and kids can safely expect to be entertained for the better part of an hour and a half.

Tim Conway operates Capitol Video in Rawlin’s Cross, St. John’s.

His column returns Nov. 24.

of the St. John’s landscape, speaking of older vernaculars and more stately lives. They give the city a rich character rarely found in the new world, and both the local resident and the passing tourist consistently appreciate the difference.

Our modern parliament building, however, is a 1960 art-deco oddity, likely to look even more peculiar as time marches on, no match for the grandeur of Quebec’s legislature, and it is hard to see it as a welcoming space for cocktail hour visitors eager to sip some history with their wine. Surely the alternative would be its predecessor, the Colonial Building, wrought of fine white Irish limestone, sitting handsomely on some of the oldest settled grounds on the continent.

The Williams’ government wisely rolled renewal of the building into its culture/heritagefriendly 2006-07 budget, and apparently plans are being considered for the best use of the building by the experts. I hope they are getting on with making the building as accessible as possible, a showcase of the vexed colonial history for which the building is named.

Credit must be given to the premier who started the restoration ball rolling quite some time ago. Clyde Wells’ plan to refit the Colonial Building as a courthouse might have backfired, but at least he had the right idea of preventing it from shameful neglect, and we have been talking about it ever since.

A vocal group of illustrious campaigners has since lobbied for returning the jurisdiction of the building to the national assembly, a noble if impractical outcome. Most likely it will become a public “interpretation centre,” and, if done right, a much used and admired one.

Standing in the spacious grandeur of the Quebec City parliament, I could easily fantasize about the potential of the Colonial Building as a site of similar gatherings, where you’d be able to sip your wine, chow down a pretzel, and breathe in the past, feeling a little more informed, a lot more enriched.

It is worth noting that many local websites with links to the Colonial Building, including the portal to the City of St. John’s, are pitifully outdated, still insisting the provincial archives are housed there. Ladies and gentlemen, retool your web sites. And let’s get that building up and running soon, too.

Noreen Golfman is a professor of literature and women’s studies at Memorial. Her column returns Nov. 24.

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

20 • INDEPENDENTLIFE

Where were the TV cameras?

Independent columnist Sean Panting revisits the MusicNL conference and his not-quite-bang-on awards predictions

By Sean Panting The Independent

T

he annual MusicNL conference and awards show wrapped up Nov. 5 in Stephenville. It was a chance for musicians from all over the province to get together and take the pulse of our home grown music biz.

You may recall that last week I made the bold — and possibly ill-advised — move of predicting some winners. As it turned out I was wrong more often than I was right, so I don’t think I’ll be quitting my day job, whatever that is.

My first prediction was also my first misstep. I picked Ron Hynes to win Male Artist of the Year and, in doing so, underestimated the huge support for another industry heavy hitter in that category, Kevin Collins. My bad. A long-time favorite in this province, Collins has been making waves in the UK as well, mostly by continuous hard slogging. For that, he more than deserves any recognition he gets.

I was right about Ron Hynes taking home Song of the Year for Dry, an unflinching look at his well publicized battle with substance abuse. When he took centre stage with his acoustic guitar to play the song at the awards show, Hynes ably demonstrated why he holds the title of Newfoundland’s greatest songwriter. He also took home the award in the Folk/Roots category edging out my pick, the Punters.

Hynes made it a hat trick with Entertainer of the Year. I had predicted Great Big Sea, but was clapping just as loudly as everyone else when Ron’s name was called. In the end Great Big Sea were shut out entirely when newcomers Hey! Rossetta walked away with Group of the Year.

Hey! Rossetta did a lot of walking to and from their seats to the podium that night, winning Pop/Rock Group of the Year, Album of the Year and New Artist/Group of the Year as per my prediction, and then messing up my perfect record with the Group of the Year win. Look for Hey! Rossetta and frontman/songwriter Tim Baker to make serious waves at the East Coast Music Awards conference in February.

Thankfully, my average came up a little with the announcement of the Female Artist of the Year Award. Sherry Ryan was indeed the winner there, and turned in a standout performance at the awards show as well as the songwriters circle earlier that afternoon.

As for the Alternative Artist of the Year award, I got plenty of mileage out of my classy disappointment face after all as Mark Bragg took home the honours for his album Bear Music and all of the hard work and touring —including dates in Ireland and Germany — he’s put in to promote it.

I had the honour of presenting the first ever Side Musician of the Year award myself, but was once again dead wrong about the winner. I’m sure Sandy Morris is OK with that, though. Where on earth would he put another award? His house must be positively overflowing with tiny engraved statues by now. Trumpet and guitar whiz Pat Boyle wasn’t on

POET’S CORNER

Josh Ward, Heather Kao, Tiffany Pollock, Adam Hogan, Tim Baker and Dave Lane of Hey! Rosetta were big winners at the MusicNL awards.

hand to accept the hardware — no doubt because he was on a gig — so I gratefully accepted on his behalf and am trying to come up with a method for scraping his name off and adding mine even as I write this.

A highlight of the show both for the Stephenville crowd and for me personally was the tribute to master fiddler Emile Benoit, this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shirley Montague digressed from the show’s script for a few moments to tell some personal anecdotes about Emile, there was a film montage of interviews and footage of the man in action and finally a

‘A sense of their home’

Mill Town

From page 17

That? That was our Crowned Selves looking to take up office; sit our asses on thrones of planks, on lake pontoons,

ing borders spotted with geometric shapes, or filled in with a rainbow of mottled speckles. They are either crafted from warm fuzzy homespun wool or recycled cotton/polyester blends. As Poynter puts it, the mats are made to invoke a sense of place — a place the women desperately want to stay.

“All of those women go into those mats, they have a sense of their home every time they make them,” she says.

“It’s something they can remember their grandmothers doing and they’re producing designs they have some affinity for and they’re producing art that they feel reflects them and their landscape and their culture. They’re not just up there making widgets.”

Poynter also notes the role women are playing in the endeavor. She remarks on the loss of men from rural communities and the need for those remaining to adapt.

“These women are being very resourceful about what they might turn their hand to. And I think if we start looking in places we haven’t always looked for where the opportunities are, you’re going to find more and more women are

there to wait out Accomplishment in the gummy light.

Gravel infected the corn-snow drifts melting over the shoulders of the drainage ditch. O sick piñata. Another’s mother spun on her belt from the basement joists.

Car lot, car lot, et al., matchsticks in the millions. We went bored, but our folks went boreder.

That was couldn’t tell pill from pill, or why a baldy sun lowered itself in the river, cooling slug, black smoke sniffing down over the hills from Quebec, bark blanket, dark pillow, dark you wanting a feelable ingrain, a knot for the coming awl. That was the wood in our Would that I might.

This poem appears in Airstream Land Yacht, a collection of poetry by Burin native Ken Babstock, a finalist for the 2006 Governor General’s Literary Award, poetry category.

Copyright © 2006 by Ken Babstock. Reprinted with permission from House of Anansi Press.

musical performance from Kelly Russell, Pamela Morgan and Bernard Felix, three brilliant musicians with close musical, personal and, in Felix’s case, familial ties to Benoit.

All in all, the night was a success despite a few empty seats in the theatre and a conspicuous lack of television coverage. CBC Radio personalities were out in full force for the weekend, launching the Radio Two service in the area and recording shows for future broadcast, but a TV camera or two would have significantly raised the stakes for everyone involved.

going to be part of those opportunities.

“Women are there in these communities, they’re energetic, they’re resourceful and they’re coming forward and they had the open mind to try this.”

Bernitte Smith hopes to see up to 25 people working in the studio, a building originally intended for a youth centre. She says the business must grow or Raleigh will become a place of the past.

“Our young families are moving away,” she says. “We’re hoping to be able to bring people back if we can be successful at doing that with our little fishing village. It’s really important to keep them home instead of closing up our town and letting it go down. It’s a crime to see people passing through and no one there to talk to.”

For more information, visit www.northbydesign.com, the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador or the Raleigh Historical Corporation. North by Design is always looking for fabric to recycle into their mats and eagerly accept donations. mandy.cook@theindependent.ca

Paul Daly/The Independent

With panels on songwriting, finding funding and union activities, showcases and songwriters circles, the weekend was intended to offer musicians the sort of information that helps turn a bunch of local music scenes into a provincial music industry with access to organizations and audiences on a national and international level.

Ultimately the success of events like MusicNL’s conference and awards show can really only be judged by the opportunities they create after the last chord is played, the last CD is handed out and the last schmooze has been schmoozed.

A process of discovery From page 17 a learning event for my students, but it turned out to be a mysterious and mystical event for me as well.

In his usual unassuming way, Squires walked into the classroom, loaded down with all his art materials and an armload of newspapers.

I greeted him at the door and directed him to my table at the front of the room. I took my red teacher’s book and my old leather case and went to the back of the classroom to observe. But the artist beckoned for me to come back — he indicated by an upward stretch of his hand that he wanted me to sit down at the front of the class.

He motioned for all the students to “coopy down” around him, as he was going to do an acrylic portrait of the teacher. The students giggled as I felt like a sheep about to be sheared.

Wouldn’t you know — the noise level increased dramatically and the students now looked forward to having some fun?

I looked stoically at Squires as I tried to hide my discomfort, praying it would all be over quickly. This was not the art event I had in mind.

The noise level lowered after each brushstroke and wash Squires put to paper. He used the newspaper as a sort of blotting paper for the water on the surface of the painting. At first, students were mesmerized by the monochromatic skin tones he used. I tried to keep still. Squires didn’t say a word, focusing on what he was doing.

There was a strange feeling in the classroom and then everything became silent. I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat. I felt as if a fever was leaving my body but I was still tense as I looked out towards the 60

eager eyes, entranced by the deft brushstrokes on the paper.

A process of discovery was taking place. I breathed deeply and sensed a spiritual event was happening. Was I there? I only could see the painting upside down, but I was awed by the events before me. I knew that my students and I had seen a master craftsman at work.

When he stopped and asked me to look at the painting, the class stood up en masse and applauded as Squires showed me his work of the last 20 minutes. I have the painting in my study to this very day.

Some people look at the painting, and say it is not me — they fail to see how the artist drew a picture of my inner soul at that point in time. On the surface, you will see my bushy red hair, long side burns and opennecked shirt. When I look deeper, there is much more.

It shows some of my 26-year-old determination and the uncertainty of what the world would hold for me.

Art critics will observe different layers and other meanings in this portrait. To me the work is a real treasure.

I am forever grateful to Squires for unlocking part of myself and sharing it with others. This painting will hang somewhere in this province long after I am gone.

Even though all this happened many years ago, I often meet Squires and we chat about the event. This work was done well before Squires became the recognized artist that he is today.

Micheal O’Boyle operates a yearround historical walking in St. John’s. boylemicheal@hotmail.com

INDEPENDENTSTYLE

FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10-16, 2006 — PAGE 21

Zip it good Jewelry the latest fashion incarnation for the functional and punked-out zipper

By Mandy Cook The Independent

G

eoff Meadus, proprietor of brand spankin’ new Melon clothing store at 156 Water St., says his theme is “fashion driven by art and music.” So it is no surprise to happen upon an innovative and funky item coined the “zipper necklace” in his glass display case.

Referencing the bold and fiercely anti-fashion days of punk, the zipper remains a favourite element in contemporary cutting-edge design — despite its original use by rebellious rockers of the late ’70s and early ’80s like The Misfits and The Ramones to buck the fashion establishment.

Radiating outwards from the strictly utilitarian purpose of holding up one’s pants, the zipper has travelled all over — showing up as erratic accents on shirts, pants, and, most notably, on the slashed back of Michael Jackson’s Beat It red leather jacket.

Here, a whole new ingenious purpose for the hard-working little zipper — a necklace by

Montreal designer Vanessa Yanow, whom Meadus discovered at a street stand on St. Laurent this past summer. He says the pieces caught the corner of his eye and he was immediately enthralled.

“They were just very colourful with the long, stream-lined and different coloured zippers, but I think it was more so the blown glass with the little trinkets inside,” he says.

“So you become very inquisitive as to what is this?

They’re very attractive, a lot of art gone into it, a lot of time and effort.”

Each glass pendant contains its own treasure. Feathers predominate but miniature forks and spoons, metallic glitter bits, safety pins and pompoms can be found. Some zippers are sturdy and wide; others are dainty, and more feminine.

Either choice makes a fashion-forward statement — and whether you zip it high so the delicate glass rests against the clavicle, or unzip it to let it trail down the décolletage is up to you. Anarchy rules! mandy.cook@theindependent.ca

Model’s necklace is available at Melon, $45.

Paul Daly/The Independent

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

22 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE

Saving the world with chocolate I

try hard as I can to be good to the environment. I go grocery shopping and take purple bins (Bin Shoppin’, they proclaim. Tell me about it). I try and recycle my recyclables, as often as I can. The last trip netted me $4.85 in change, and that was nearly two complete carloads full.

I try and eat organic as much as humanly possible. I want to feel that connection to the land and, like most people, I want that connection without tending to said land. Sure, I’ll pay a bit extra to help a local farmer. It should be that way — better product demands higher prices.

Even though we look for healthy foods, we still look for the treats and of course, chocolate. Let me tell you, I have solved that problem. Yes, my friends, we have organic chocolate, and this is positively the best stuff available.

Here is a simple chocolate primer: the higher the cocoa solids, the darker the chocolate; the darker the chocolate, the less sugar is introduced in the

NICHOLAS GARDNER Off the Eating Path chocolate. Therefore, the darkest chocolate available anywhere is bitter chocolate, which is just cocoa solids — no sugar added.

I am not much of a sweets fan. I really have not been one at all. However, I am certainly a fan of this stuff.

First, let me tell you that organic chocolate is tough to find in the city — but if you dig around enough you can find some. But I’m a little spoiled: I have mine from the mother country, in this case Italy, and transported through the country with the most chocoholics, England.

Organic chocolate is big business.

The chocolate giant Cadbury’s recently purchased Green and Black’s Organic Chocolate, one of the better companies, to boost its billion-dollar business.

They chose well — this chocolate is like nothing you have ever tasted.

The bittersweet Maya Gold chocolate is full of the coming Christmas flavours of cinnamon and orange.

There were hints of vanilla as well — just really good flavour all around.

The ginger had lots of flavour, but the candied ginger had a sugary residue and was slightly unsatisfying as a result.

To put them to a test, we compared these bars to some of the generic chocolate bars found everywhere. I won’t tell you what we tried exactly; it really is not worth it. The truth of the matter is that the everyday chocolates, including the original Cadbury’s Dairy Milk bar, taste horrible in comparison.

And why, you ask? There is so little cocoa solid in the generic bar it is hardly “real” chocolate at all. In fact, I much prefer the richer taste of dark chocolate.

It is more refined and the real taste of chocolate shines through, which is what you want in a chocolate bar.

Taste after taste and bite after bite we

dissected the chocolate. We were becoming full but we pressed on.

Finally in the organic section was a Green and Black’s milk chocolate bar filled with caramel. Now I like caramel and chocolate, heck, each time there is an Aero bar with caramel ad on TV I want to chime in with “Caw-wamewl.”

The chocolate was smooth to the palate and not too sweet, but the caramel was salted with organic sea salt. Salted caramels are fine too, but they should never meet in a bar. The

TASTE

T

he rich, peppery flavour of West Lake Soup will shield you from the cold winds of autumn.

This classic, Chinese soup is named after its area of origin, West Lake in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. It comes in beef and seafood versions and is so easy to make.

WEST LAKE BEEF SOUP Adapted from The Best Recipes in the World: More Than 1,000 International Recipes to Cook at Home by Mark Bittman. Shaoxing cooking wine is sold in Asian markets; you could substitute dry sherry.

• 6 cups beef stock • 2 tbsp cornstarch • 1/2 lb (225 g) sirloin, trimmed, chopped

Nicholas Gardner is a freelance writer and erstwhile chef living in St. John’s. nicholas.gardner@gmail.com

T.O. doctor wins Giller

Spicy Chinese soup for fall

By Susan Sampson Torstar wire service

overzealous seasoning with sea salt was enough for us to call it quits.

Who knew that chocolate could be so addictive? There are many people who claim to be chocoholics — completely addicted to the stuff. My wife is borderline — sometimes — she always seems to have a “fix” of chocolate nearby.

Pure dark chocolate, the darker the better, is her Achilles heel. And I have got to agree.

Taste after taste we went around the circle asking: which is better?

And the simple answer is that good, pure, high-quality chocolate is ultimately more satisfying. It has all the chocolate taste you desire in a quick fix and is complex enough to intrigue and beguile you with its depth.

If you can get your hands on some, it’s pure goodness. So let’s get out there and save the planet, one organic chocolate bar at a time.

• 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine • 3 tbsp soy sauce • 1 tsp white pepper • 1 cup frozen peas • 2 egg whites • 1 cup chopped cilantro In small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons stock and cornstarch. Pour remaining stock into medium pan.

Cover and bring to boil on high heat.

Meanwhile, mix sirloin, cooking

wine and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in medium bowl.

When stock boils, reduce heat to medium-high. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, white pepper, peas and beef. Return to boil. Stirring constantly with chopsticks, drizzle in egg whites. Stir in cornstarch mixture.

Cook until thickened, about 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Vincent Lam, a Toronto East General doctor who wrote a collection of short stories called Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize Nov. 7.

Presenter Margaret Atwood said Lam had helped fight the SARS outbreak in Toronto in 2003 and she said “medicine is a narrative art, just like fiction. Both have their fingers on life and death.”

She also called his book “subtle in emotion and occasionally gruesome in humour.”

Lam, 32, told the crowd he was “astounded and in many ways overcome” by winning the $40,000 literary prize and he hadn’t dared to prepare any remarks in advance “on principle.”

“I count myself a very fortunate person, but I have begun to realize that luck is not what it seems. It is either divine blessing or the kindness of people. Many who have been kind to me are in this room.”

He continued, "My parents came to this country when multiculturalism was just beginning to be acknowledged. As their son and as the second generation, I am proud to be here.”

He added that he was pleased to be on the same stage as the evening’s host Justin Trudeau, whose prime minister father, Pierre, had done so much for multiculturalism.

GALLERIES • New work by Will Gill and Anita Singh Germination Series at the Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, Baird’s Cove, St. John’s, 722-7177.

• Painting in the Garden, group exhibition at Memorial University Botanical Gardens, until Dec. 1.

• Land Escapes: journeys in fibre by Laurie Dempster and Vicky Taylor Hood and Clay Constellations by Karlie King • Thaddeus Holownia: The Terra Nova Suite, The Rooms, until Jan. 7.

• Light on the Land, nature and landscape photography by Dennis Minty, Bay Roberts Visitor Pavilion, Veteran’s Memorial Highway (Route 75), until Nov. 26.

• Melt, an interactive video installation

by Toronto-based Michael Alstad, at Eastern Edge Gallery, Harbour Drive, St. John’s • Simple Bliss: the prints and paintings of Mary Pratt. Opening reception at The Rooms, St. John’s, Nov. 10, 8 p.m.

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTSTYLE • 23

DETAILS

Funky, fine & divine: Beverly Barbour, director of the Anna Templeton Centre, and students enrolled in the College of the North Atlantic’s textile studies program model some of the products for sale at the annual Fine Craft and Design Fair, presented by the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador at the St. John’s Convention Centre Nov. 16-19. Clockwise from left: Barbour wears hat and gloves by Nortique; Alexandra Esperenza sports a knitted hat and felted wool mittens from Nonia while Tracy Bishop models a denim jacket by Barbara Burnaby and knitted scarf by Woof Design; Susan Langer wears a scarf by Brenda Stratton and necklace by Constantine Designs; Mandy Lee Dawe’s hat, scarf, wristies and skirt are by Charlottestreet; and Kathy Marsh wears a hat by Crowning Glory and a sweater by Inland Knitwear. These designers — and many other craftspeople and artists — will have booths for the duration of the fair. Check out the fair’s fashion shows Nov. 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov 18 at 3 p.m.

Paul Daly photos/The Independent

Acts of kindness

Maybe there is a greater purpose, writes Pam Pardy Ghent, a reason why our people are scattered to the winds

H

arbour Mille is at the end of the road. You have to turn around to leave. After three-and-a-half years in the shop, I know everyone and anyone who would visit their somebodies who live around here.

No doubt, the young fella who entered the shop this time wasn’t a livyer. So, like you would, I pronounced him a stranger and demanded we change that fact immediately. He was from Ottawa and had taken a liking to Newfoundland on a previous “for fun” visit.

He returned to make a life here, and was taking some time to explore the island as he waited for word on a job prospect. He was camping and the previous night had been a cold one. I was heading to my mother’s for morning brunch, and I took him along.

My mother saw us pass the church.

The table was set for three before we made it inside. We had a mug up fit for a hungry come-from-away. Mom wouldn’t let him leave without some of her homemade canned goodies — bottled moose and this year’s jams.

I walked my new friend around our community. I introduced him to a few locals and showed him a little of what

By Daphne Gordon Torstar wire service

G

ood news for handbag addicts.

An overflowing accessories closet is no longer just a purse collection; it’s a well-diversified investment portfolio.

There was a time when a handbag was just a useful pouch for a woman’s most treasured objects. But as women have become increasingly independent, mobile and active, our relationship with accessories changed.

These days, a purse is arguably the most important element in a woman’s wardrobe. It’s a status symbol. It’s a home away from home.

Perhaps, most importantly to a woman with limited resources, the Perfect Purse can be a smart investment.

The popular auction website EBay has helped create a hot global market for used designer accessories, so a wise purse purchase offers the potential for return on capital. Certain bags have sold for more than their retail value in stores, says Constance White, fashion director of the U.S.-based auction site.

“One of the things that helped put eBay on the map was the Murakami bag, designed by Marc Jacobs and Murakami for Louis Vuitton. You couldn’t get it in stores. So eBay was one of the few places you could get it, and prices went through the roof.”

In other words, it’s a seller’s market.

“When it comes to investment bags,” says White, “the prices on eBay rival the prices in stores. …. You’ve got the hardcore fashionista who wants the newest thing. And there’s the fashion editor who wants a bag in a specific colour that isn’t available any more.”

PAM PARDY GHENT

Seven-day talk life is like in our outport. I thrilled (I admit) in knowing that enquiring minds were dying to know who I had in tow, and for badness — as well as for the scenery — I took him up the hill and out of sight.

He was, I think, impressed with the town beneath him and with the hospitality he had found. The friendliness here was one reason he was hoping to make our island home.

An article written by Rick Bell of the Calgary Sun a few years back highlighted the uniqueness of Newfoundlanders.

If you ever lose your faith in people, he wrote, save your pennies and take a trip to Newfoundland.

It’s a place, he continued, where total strangers soon become friends. That is true, but I believe the best part of who we are is that a Newfoundlander is a Newfoundlander no matter where we happen to pitch.

I was returning from the U.S. one

Money bags Forget your mom’s pearls. The new heirloom you’ll covet may be her handbag We’ve long considered objects such as a string of pearls or a major watch to be the kind of item worth investing in. Now the handbag has reached such iconic status. Many designer bags these days cost more than $1,000 and even women who are frugal in every other area of life are willing to scrimp to buy the Perfect Purse.

“Part of it is the Sex and the City effect,” notes White, referring to the show that made it cool to mix a pair of dollar store short-shorts with Manolo Blahnik stilettos.

“Inexpensive fashions are so much more available, and it’s become a badge of honour to find a good deal. So you can buy Isaac Mizrahi for Fairweather clothing and then you can afford to pay for a luxury purse.”

Patricia Angyal, owner of the chic Web store stylefly.ca and a self-admitted Balenciaga freak, has owned about 10 different styles and colours of bags by the famous French design house. When she’s bored with them, she sells them on

time, and my flight home included a “quick stop” in Toronto, just long enough to clear customs and change planes.

Bad weather meant the chances of making my connection were slim, and indeed, by the time we’d landed, cleared customs and claimed our luggage, it was too late. It was 1 a.m. and the next flight home left in six hours. I figured a hotel was a waste of money, and I decided to spend the night in the airport.

People slept all around me, but I had no idea how to make those horrid chairs home for even a few hours. I scrunched down, but my back ached. I attempted to use my suitcase as an extension of this makeshift bed, but it kept tipping over. I wandered and was miserable.

I noticed a grated windowsill hidden by a group of chairs. Could I settle in a windowsill and sleep? I cuddled as best I could — avoiding the painful grate and, using my purse as my pillow, I drifted in and out of sleep.

I felt I was being stared at. I opened my eyes and there was a man smiling at me.

He sat in the chair in front of me, stuck out his hand, and introduced him-

EBay, sometimes netting a profit.

Angyal cheaps out on clothing and shoes, preferring to funnel funds into the handbags, which cost upwards of $1,100. To help support her habit, she engages in speculative shopping.

With Balenciaga, it’s all about colour, since the brand creates new colours each season. By betting that a certain colour will increase in value as soon as it’s discontinued, Angyal’s getting more than her money’s worth.

“Right now, I have a shoulder bag in magenta,” she says. “So I’m selling it for $200 (US) more than retail. Eggplant sells for $300 or $400 more.”

Others are so attached to their beloved bags they would not consider selling them, no matter what. Jacqueline SzetoMeiers is an investment banker by day and owner of goneshopping.ca by night.

She owns 38 bags by Louis Vuitton — possibly the most iconic label ever — and will have them till the day she dies.

Then, her daughter Rachel, who’s now a toddler, will inherit them.

But how is a beginner investor to navigate the marketplace? First, one must know the definition of an investment bag. Not all expensive bags are smart investments, notes Szeto-Meiers, a VP at TD Securities.

In her estimation, a recognizable brand is key. Established luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci and Hermès are on her list.

There are exceptions to the brand rule, notes Szeto-Meiers. Fondling a metallic bag by New York designer Rafe, she notes she’d never heard of him, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad investment.

“It’s like buying a penny stock. You can have the ability to identify something that’s up and coming.”

self. I took his hand, told him my name and, despite not feeling overly friendly — but ever mindful of my manners — I managed to smile back.

Originally from Stephenville, the man now lived in Fort Mac, where my own husband works. He was heading down to visit his aging parents and to bring his only child, a son, back to live in Alberta with him. The West had officially become home. It was, he said, time to admit it.

As we talked, he took out a lunch from his bag — yogurt, nuts, dried and fresh fruit. We ate, then he made an offer I couldn’t refuse. He would keep a watch over my things as I rested. He placed his extra clothes beneath me and helped me get comfortable. He stood guard as I slept, this time in comfort with his large coat beneath me.

I woke once and checked the time.

“Go back to sleep,” he said. “I’ll wake you in time.”

And he did. He teased that, while I was “kinda” cute, I also snored like a man. He watched my luggage as I freshened up for my flight, and had one more gift to give — a snack, in case I got sidetracked again. His flight was boarding and I still had half an hour to wait.

I gladly took the apple and yogurt he offered, but balked at taking his only spoon, obviously one from his kitchen.

“Don’t worry,” he joked. “I have 11 others just like it back home.”

While I’m not sure why he approached me — asleep like a bum on a grate in a cold, impersonal airport — I am grateful. While people napped in misery around me, I had a comfy bed and my very own guardian.

I left Ontario because I felt the urge to raise my son here, far away from the sometimes cold, heartless city of Toronto. Yet, it was there that an ex-pat found a fellow Newfoundlander, fed her and kept her comfortable, warm and safe. Maybe there is a greater purpose, a reason why our people are scattered to the winds. Perhaps it’s to make the rest of the world a little better, a little more friendly, a tad less cold. It’s a pretty thought, isn’t it?

I will do my part whenever I am given the opportunity. These strangers may never remember my name, but they will recall how well “this Newfoundlander” once treated them.

To my airport friend, David Morgan, thanks. To our new island resident, Tyler Ford, you are welcome.

A LITTLE OF YOUR TIME IS ALL WE ASK. CONQUERING THE UNIVERSE IS OPTIONAL. Think it requires heroic efforts to be a Big Brother or Big Sister?

Think again. It simply means sharing a few moments with a child. Play catch.

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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Newfoundland 1-877-513KIDS (5437) www.helpingkids.ca

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

24 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE

Decanters let wine catch some air

By Kim Honey Torstar wire service

T

he rube in you might wonder why you need to decant wine when it already comes in a perfectly good container. A few of you may have even drunk straight from the bottle.

But there is more than one reason you might want to buy a decanter, according to John Szabo, Canada’s only master sommelier and owner of the Toronto-based Centre for Vine Affairs.

The most important reason is that you want to leave the sediment behind. Produced naturally during the aging process mainly in red wine, these particles are formed when tannin — an organic compound found in grape skins that gives wine a mouthpuckering feel — combines with pigments.

Adding oxygen to the mix speeds the process. More sediment drops out and the wine has a softer taste.

Now you can aerate wine by pouring it into any old receptacle. “You could pour it into a helmet if you wanted to,” Szabo confirms.

But decanters, especially glass or crystal ones, accentuate a wine’s hue, particularly the reds.

“It’s all about elegance of presentation,” Szabo says, admitting that if someone gave him the $200 Riedel Duck decanter, he “wouldn’t send it back.” The Austrian wine accessories company has just introduced the Amadeo Lyra, a U-shaped beauty that Szabo calls “very sexy.”

Restaurants often use

decanters to bring wine to room temperature once it’s removed from the cellar and ceramic jugs can be cooled down to keep red or white below room temperature.

Crystal is better than glass because its irregular surface introduces more oxygen into wine, and the best all-purpose shape is called the captain’s decanter, which has a wide, bell-shaped base — which provides the maximum wineto-air surface ratio — and a narrow neck.

What needs a good decanting? Older, full-bodied reds benefit from aeration, as do some robust whites and reds.

Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines and blends are examples of big reds that need a good pour, as do Syrah/Shiraz and Italian Barolo and Barbaresco.

Whites that could use fresh air include high-end chardonnays such as Burgundy and Chablis, top-end reislings and Loire Valley whites. Light, fruity wines need not see the light of day until it’s time to drink them, lest you lose some of what Szabo calls their “delicate, volatile perfume.”

And the violent decant, where the wine is splashed in as hard as possible, is best for young, robust, tannic reds that need some spanking to soften them up.

Never store your wine in a decanter because the same principle is at work once the cork is popped: any wine left to its own devices will oxidize, leaving behind an unpleasant taste reminiscent of the cheapest plonk. We recommend finishing the bottle. After all, you have the perfect excuse: it will go bad.

EVENTS NOVEMBER 10 • Oliver! at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m. until Nov. 11.

• c2c Theatre presents The Stendhal Syndrome: Full Frontal Nudity and Prelude & Liebstod by Terrence McNally. Featuring Petrina Bromley, Neil Butler, Phil Churchill, Sandy Gow, Chuck Herriott and directed

by Brad Hodder. LSPU Hall, St. John’s, 8 p.m. Continues until Nov. 12.

• INXS at Mile One Stadium, St. John’s. Brian Byrne opens.

• Branch Night, featuring music, friends and fun from Branch on the Cape Shore. At the Bella Vista, Torbay Road, 7:30 p.m.

NOVEMBER 11 • Book launch: Hard-Headed and Big-Hearted: writing Newfoundland by Stuart Pierson, edited by Stan Dragland, 7 p.m. Star of the Sea Hall, Henry Street, St. John’s, 739-4477.

• Live Girlz alumni Liz Solo and Natalie Noseworthy (Sniz Nasti) at CBTGs, George Street, 10:30.

• Annual Remembrance Day craft sale, noon-5 p.m. at St. James’ Church Hall, Bond Street, Carbonear.

• The Air Force Association of Canada, 150 RCAF (North Atlantic) Wing Armistice Night dinner and dance on Saturday, 6:30 p.m., Building 565, Roosevelt Avenue, Pleasantville, 753-8970.

NOVEMBER 12 • French abstract expressionist Alain Potrel joins Canadian painter Ran Andrews for an eclectic contemporary art exhibition exploring the emotions of life through art, one day only. The Masonic Temple, Cathedral Street, St. John’s, noon-11 p.m. Music, prizes, food and cash bar.

NOVEMBER 13 • The Kreutzer Project: a dramatic chamber concert, featuring the Penderecki String Quartet and cellist Vernon Regehr, D.F. Cook Recital Hall (Memorial University), 8 p.m.

• Bill Rompkey will read from Your Daughter Fanny, 7 p.m., Belleoram Municipal Building, Belleoram, 739-4477.

NOVEMBER 14 • Irish singer/songwriter Johnny McEvoy at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m.

NOVEMBER 15 • Weekly afternoon concert by David Drinkell, cathedral organist, 1:15-1:45 p.m., Anglican Cathedral, St. John’s.

• Larry Foley and Pat Moran at folk night at the Ship Pub, St. John’s, 9 p.m.

• Wayne Johnston’s The Story of Bobby O’Malley, adapted

by J.M. Sullivan, starring Petrina Bromley, Neil Butler, Aiden Flynn, Mark O’Brian, Berni Stapleton, and Adam Brake. At the Rooms Nov. 15 and 16. Continues at Rabbittown Theatre until Nov. 26, 739-8220.

• WEST (Wendy, Elaine, Shirley and Tina), accompanied by the Louis McDonald Quartet. Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m.

• St. John’s Women’s Network dinner, with speaker Leslie MacLeod, president of the Provincial Advisory Council of the Status of Woman, 7 p.m., Holiday Inn, Portugal Cove, 754-0661.

NOVEMBER 16 • Cheri Pyne and Liz Solo at the Rose & Thistle Pub, Water Street, St. John’s.

• The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador’s annual Fine Craft and Design Fair begins at the St. John’s Convention Centre. Continues through Nov. 19, 753-2749.

• Memories: a tribute to Dolly Parton, featuring Ginger Bennett and directed by Jerry Doyle. Gander Arts and Culture Centre, 8 p.m.

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Mini-bike memories I

remember the first machine I ever I settled into assembling snazzy bought like it was yesterday, being “banana” bikes, real cool ones with a possessed with a fine, three-speed stick shift and sharp memory. Sometimes still own one to this very it’s a blessing, sometimes a day. curse.

Two weeks later I received It was 1975, mini-bikes my first paycheque, cashed were becoming popular and I it, bought a Honda 50 miniyearned for one badly. It bike and took the afternoon became one of life’s lessons off, having achieved my — if you want something, goal. The pure joy of riding you have to work for it. my own machine through MARK I took my first job at the fields on a summer afterWOOD Canadian Tire putting bikes noon was incredible, a together with the sole purWOODY’S tremendous sense of accompose of buying a mini-bike. I coursed through WHEELS plishment started working very my jean jacket. The scent of methodically, paying careful fir trees as I rode by in the attention not to scratch any paint on summer sun was never sweeter. I’ll the bike frame and ensuring every- never forget the smell of mud baking thing fit well. I was into quality control on my engine. My engine. before the phrase was common. Not a I strolled back to work the next single detail was overlooked on those morning, positively beaming. My bikes, a service you’d expect but often supervisor asked about my afternoon overlooked these days. off and whether I’d like to continue

working. It didn’t really matter to me, I had my mini-bike and cash to spare, but they needed me and I kept working.

Here’s where the story gets interesting — self-serve gas wasn’t invented at the time and Irving service stations had an absolute marketing epiphany that summer. They hired high school girls to pump fuel, dressed them up in blue and white sailor suits and called them Irving Girls. There were posters and promotions, the likes of which I’m afraid were never duplicated and have all but vanished, so we’ll have to rely on my fine, sharp, memory.

I cruised up to the gas pumps on my mini-bike, an independently wealthy teen, and entreated my charming attendant with a phrase so innocent it caused her to blush.

“I’ll have a quarter’s worth or fill it up, whichever comes first.”

Ah, those were the days, and just when I was thinking it couldn’t get any

I cruised up to the gas pumps on my mini-bike, an independently wealthy teen, and entreated my charming attendant with a phrase so innocent it caused her to blush.

better, I received a phone call at work.

It was the Holiday Inn up the road offering me the lifeguard job at the hotel pool, but they wanted me that afternoon. How could I refuse? I ran

around Canadian Tire looking for someone in authority but it was lunchtime. I found the main office upstairs with a secretary who offered to pass on my very important message: “I’d like to resign.” (I was always a gentleman, even back then.)

I don’t know how she didn’t burst out laughing, but she had to ask, “Yes, but who are you?”

I was paid for the morning at Canadian Tire and Holiday Inn paid me for the full day. I was truly basking in the sun as a lifeguard, and flush with cash, sold the Honda mini-bike and bought a slightly bigger Suzuki before I went back to school.

My first job, my first machine and my first resignation are all cherished memories, but what I really miss the most is passing a quarter to Irving Girls for half a gallon of gas.

Mark Wood of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s has a collection of 18 bicycles.

26 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

Drunken golf cart racing and other tall tales I

f Paul Tracy says he wasn’t drunk when he broke his shoulder blade in an accident two weeks ago, then I believe him — just as I believe Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay when he says he didn’t call MP Belinda Stronach a dog.

I have no reason to disbelieve anything anybody ever tells NORRIS me, whether it’s MCDONALD directly to my face or in newspapers or on TV. If somebody says something is true, or isn’t true, I assume they are telling the truth.

Having said that, something in the telling of that Tracy story sure got lost in translation.

The first version last weekend, which was published on the respected autosport.com Internet site and written by Autosport magazine’s North American editor David Malsher, contained the following quote from the world’s most famous English-Canadian racing driver: “Sorry to say it (the injury) was selfinflicted. I was at a party (in Las Vegas a week previous) and had had a little too much to drink, and we thought it was a good idea to go out on a golf-cart and try and jump sand-dunes with it.

“We were wrong. It wasn’t a good idea.

Jumped a sand-trap and ended up with the cart on top of me. Like I say, it sounded like a good idea at the time, but it didn’t pan out that way.”

Last Sunday, newspapers across North America published the autosport.com story. The Toronto’s Star’s headline said: “Tracy injured after drunken ramble in golf cart.”

That night on Dave Despain’s Wind Tunnel program on the Speed Channel, Tracy — who turns 38 next month — said

TRACK TALK

Forsythe Championship driver Paul Tracy drives to a second place finish at the Montreal Indy Champ Car race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Aug. 28, 2006.

the whole story was blown out of proportion, that he’d consumed only a few beers while watching Juan Pablo Montoya race in the Busch series and that he’d been jumping sand dunes in an ATV, not a golf cart.

Later in the week, Tracy told a reporter that he’d decided to pull himself out of the last Champ Car race of the season this Sunday in Mexico (Speed Channel, 4.30 p.m. NL time) because the injury wasn’t healing properly.

But Neil Micklewright, vice president of team operations for Forsythe Racing,

Tracy’s employers, told another journalist that it was a team decision. “We decided to withdraw the car (Tracy’s) because we want to give (two other drivers, Buddy Rice and David Martinez) our undivided support and attention in their first race.”

So there’s all sorts of conflicting information out there.

But the important thing is that Tracy says he wasn’t drunk when he hurt himself and that’s good enough for me.

But this “trouble with Tracy” act is really starting to wear a little thin, isn’t it?

Paul Tracy’s managed to get away with

being 16 forever because of a series of tolerant (and well-heeled) employers, all of whom looked the other way while he a) destroyed millions of dollars of equipment by crashing and b) attracted less-then-positive publicity by getting into arguments with race officials and by picking fist fights with his opponents.

Now, you can crash and brawl and act out when you’re young and brash and just getting started in open wheel racing. Many of the good ones do.

But at a certain point in time, they stop.

At a certain point, they grow up.

Mathieu Belanger/Reuters

Sebastien Bourdais has won three Champ Car titles in a row and you don’t see him crashing, fighting or acting out.

Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso don’t either. Nor do Sam Hornish, Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti or Tony Kanaan.

••• In the course of the last year, I’ve written many stories about young, talented and ambitious Canadian racing drivers who’ve all said the same thing about advancing in racing: they don’t have the money to do it.

The sums involved (all in US dollars) to climb the motorsport ladder are really quite astounding. For instance: • $750,000 for a season in Formula Atlantic.

• $400,000 for a season in Star Mazda (or Formula BMW, or Barber Dodge Pro, or “take-your-pick” — they’re all just about the same).

For your $400,000-to-$750,000, you get to drive a team’s car in a series. You get, presumably, a quality ride and technical support at all the races. Some teams will employ a driver coach.

From the team’s perspective, the $750,000 goes to paying all the expenses of running a racing operation — purchasing and maintaining the car and motor (the purchase is usually a one-time expense), the transporter, the wages of the employees (mechanics, engineers), the at-race expenses (airline tickets, hotel rooms, per diems, etc.) and so on. Plus, some money goes to paying the team owner a living.

From my perspective, a lot of that $750,000 — a whole lot, in fact — goes to pay for things other than the actual race car at the races, which is, after all, the whole point of the exercise.

It’s always bothered me that young drivers, and frequently their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and uncles and aunts, literally beg and borrow cash in order to “buy a ride” that, in reality, is really going in large part toward supporting or helping to maintain the lifestyles of team owners or team employees in all those various series.

There is another way to go big-league racing and it’s puzzling that more people don’t at least try to do it.

It’s called doing it yourself. It’s called running your own show.

For instance, if you want to run the IRL’s Indy Pro series (eight ovals and eight road courses in 2007), you can buy a rolling chassis from Dallara for $130,000 and they’ll throw in the chassis settings for most of the tracks you’ll run. The first Infiniti engine will cost you $40,000 and you’ll need two or three rebuilds at $13,000 per.

A good, used, enclosed trailer and hauler will cost you $50,000. Make a deal with the mechanic at your corner garage and get him to bring his tools. Find a graduating aeronautical engineer to help you trim out the race car. Promise them both excitement, plus motel rooms and meal money.

The IRL will pay you $5,000 to show up (you’ll have to kick back $1,000 as an entry fee but that will leave you with $4,000/race and that will pay for the gasoline to get you there, three motel rooms and fast-food meals). And last place at all 16 races pays $10,000.

Play your cards right and finish better than in last place and you could just about break even.

Formula Atlantic is a bit pricier — $300,000 for the car, engine and rebuilds — but the aim of the game is the same: to go racing. And while it’s an enormous amount of money, it’s still a lot less than $750,000.

Don’t think it can be done?

A few years ago, a young Canadian racer and his dad hit the financial wall we’ve been talking about here. They didn’t have the money to buy a ride but they didn’t want to throw in the towel. So they went Indy Lights racing on their own and on the cheap. The rest is history.

If Greg Moore could do it, anybody can.

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 27

Mazda revises forecast upward

A taxi story

Mazda Motor Corp. reported a 12 per cent drop in profits for the April through September period, a decline it attributed to an extraordinary gain in the same period the previous year.

But the Japanese automaker also revised upward its profit forecast for the full fiscal year through March. Sales grew 12.5 per cent in the first half to 1.52 trillion yen, up from 1.35 trillion yen., said Mazda, 33 per cent owned by Ford Motor Co. Strong sales of the Mazda CX-7 sport-utility, the Mazda5 minivan and MX-5 Miata sports car in North America helped to lift revenues, said David Friedman, Mazda’s senior managing executive officer.

LORRAINE SOMMERFELD MAY NO LONGER THINK CABBIES WILDLY MYSTERIOUS, BUT THEY STILL HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE IN HER HEART

hope

W

hen I was a kid, I had to hop in and out of them with surgery on my feet. First ease, as my sister Liz did when she one, then the other. I moved to Toronto. I’d visit, and as was pigeon-toed, which she’d stuff me into a cab I’m sure isn’t the medwhen we went out, she’d ical name for it, but it’s hiss at me to shut up. I pretty self-explanatory. tended to strike up conWhen I was in a cast the versations with the drivsecond time, I was taking ers, who frankly wanted a school bus to school. I me to shut up as much as was in grade 6.

Liz did.

The board of educaI soon learned that just tion at that time provided because Marie had let LORRAINE a taxi for kids that lived me sit in the front and SOMMERFELD outside of certain school mess with the meter, bus boundaries, or for other drivers didn’t welthose that found themcome such interaction. selves in my predicaWatching the glowing ment — unable to get to red numbers, I’d get the bus. We were a one-car family, antsy over how much to tip, how to but even if we hadn’t have been, I hand over the money and how to would have voted for the cab. politely say thank-you and goodI used to think taxis were wildly bye to someone that just wanted to mysterious. I had the same lady get to the next fare. You’re either pick me up every morning, and comfortable in a cab or you’re not. because Marie lived close by, she On a trip to England when I was would pull into the drive at the 13, Liz took my little sister same time. I would hop into the Michelle and me for a tour of front seat as she said hello in her London in a cab. She pre-arranged craggy voice. the tab with the driver, told us to She spoke like a quit playing with trucker, and I the suicide doors of thought she was the the big black car most exotic creature and off we went.

It’s long hours I’d ever seen. As she The driver never put the cab into shut up. On and on at best, and reverse, she would he babbled, happy push in the lighter to show off his tour dangerous and pull out her first guide knowledge to cigarette of the day. three captives. I moments I’d wait for her to loved it, and at worst. touch the glowing answered back, askcircle to her cigaing more questions rette, ready to inhale until Liz finally told the burning smell as me to quit encourit hit the tobacco. aging him. I believe there is a law, She’d crack the window, talking somewhere, about unmetered non-stop as she smoked non-stop. rides. But we knew it didn’t count, Sitting in the front seat of a cab because my father had been and inhaling noxious fumes, I’d scammed the day before leaving never felt so grown up. I memo- the airport. He’d paid 20 pounds to rized the name of her cigarettes, so take a 15-minute ride; Liz had that when I was ready to smoke I’d negotiated a two-hour tour for the remember. Du-ma-reer. Red pack- same sum. age. Some day I was going to One night, 10 miles from home, smoke Du-ma-reers.

I was stranded after a particularly I gave up my fascination with harrowing evening with a guy it cigarettes long before I gave up turns out I didn’t know as well as I my fascination with taxis. I longed thought. I was about 19, and not

POWER SHIFT

Magna Entertainment Corp. spilled more red ink and faced further shareholder wrath last week.

The struggling horse racing and gambling company said it lost $50.7 million (U.S.) in the three months ended Sept.

30, primarily because of heavy interest costs on its high debt load.

The red ink is worse than the $34.5 million that the company lost in the corresponding quarter last year.

At the same time, sales improved to $113.6 million from $78.8 million in the same periods because of much higher gambling revenue.

Magna Entertainment’s latest results pushed losses for the first nine months of the year to $74.8 million, up from $65.6 million in the same three quarters in 2005. Revenue climbed to $573.5 million from $486.4 million.

The company also said in notes to financial statements for the third consecutive quarter that its ability to continue as a business “is in substantial doubt.”

Magna Entertainment, the biggest owner of thoroughbred race tracks in North America, has liabilities of almost $1 billion, including about $500 million in long-term debt.

The company has about $400 million in shareholder equity.

Blake Tohana, Magna Entertainment’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, says the company is making progress in debt reduction by asset sales, partnerships and possibly raising equity.

— Torstar wire service

We’re here.

Hope through education, support and solutions.

1.800.321.1433

nearly as street savvy as I pretended to be. It must have been midnight when I raised my arm to a cab driving by with his light out.

He wheeled back, took one look at my terrified face and told me to get in. I told him I didn’t have enough money to get home. He took me home. I learned more than one thing that night.

Here’s the thing. I don’t know if you take cabs often or rarely. And

I don’t know who’s driving the cab you may happen to hop into. But it’s not the mysterious, glamorous job this 10-year-old once thought.

It’s long hours at best, and dangerous moments at worst.

A cabbie might bore you to death, make you laugh, or save your life. Or make you remember her 32 years later. www.lorraineonline.ca

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Track operator spills more red ink

For every question there is an answer.

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28 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

WEEKLY DIVERSIONS ACROSS 1 We need at least one a day 4 Nub in some fabrics 8 Town meeting places 13 Window framework 17 Eggs 18 River of N France 19 Shakespearean spirit 20 Forearm bone 21 Unbiased 23 ___-bye!

24 Worm, e.g.

25 Borneo native 26 Movies with many extras 28 Makes less sharp 30 Bay of Fundy island (N.S.) 32 Fleshy palate part 33 To see along the Saguenay 34 Tibetan bovines 35 French spice 36 Ont. town with large flying saucer 40 Quebec cheese 41 Its fruits are called keys 42 ___ voce (in a low voice) 43 Cellular letters 44 Attacks on all sides 46 Itchy bumps 47 Runs 48 B.C. painter friend of

First Nations 49 Angler’s aids 50 Morse and others 51 For a short time 54 Pierced with horns 55 Feeling friendless 56 Literary or rhetorical device 57 Welding gas 58 Stubborn as a ___ 59 Kind of cod 60 Assassinated 61 Ominous 65 Wind dir.

66 Caper 67 Chinese province 68 Self 69 Studying (2 wds.)

71 Senegal’s capital 72 Shoo!

73 Cuts 74 Stephen ___ 75 ___ Arabia 76 Poise 79 Finicky 80 Mosque cleric 81 Escape of information 82 Snow shelter 84 Longtime Chatelaine editor 88 Spice 89 Save for a ___ day 90 Fall (over) 91 Upon: prefix 92 Microbrewery products

93 Attire 94 Emphatic type: abbr.

95 Evil spell DOWN 1 Fireplace shelf 2 Ultraviolet rad.

3 Orangutan expert 4 Ship salvager’s aid 5 Pass the tongue over 6 Employ 7 Torments 8 Adroit 9 Palm native to Asia 10 Covers 11 Skippered 12 Foxy fellow 13 Area around a city 14 Park of “Air Farce” 15 Pique performance 16 Fedoras 22 “The ___ have it!”

27 French flea 29 Floor covering, briefly 30 Self-help refreshments 31 Leaf collector 32 Not lower 33 Marks a ballot 35 Tidal bore 36 Got a new address 37 Eat away 38 Guardian ___ 39 Having great bulk 41 Soft and powdery

42 “Clear the way!” sound 45 Cake covering 46 Third largest Great Lake by volume 47 Canadian jazz pianist Oliver ___ 49 Way of reasoning 50 Mochrie of “Air Farce” 51 ___ Craig, Ont. 52 Watch place 53 Sharpens 54 Object of Arthurian quest 55 Of the moon 57 A chorus line?

58 N.S. basin with world’s highest tides 60 Canadian precision aerobatic flyer 61 Japanese dish 62 Famous Shawnee who helped force surrender of Detroit, War of 1812 63 Good grief!

64 French roast 66 “Excuse me ...”

67 Bird of prey 70 Gets something stuck in windpipe 71 Fake ducks 72 Region of SW Germany 74 B.C. athletes

75 Sniff 76 Town in N.B., N.S., P.E.I., Ont. and Que.

77 Ring out 78 Skate string 79 Ballet movement

80 Inkling 83 Fish with long jaws 85 Snare

86 Unlock, to poets 87 Veto Solutions page 30

WEEKLY STARS ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APR. 19) Restless Rams and Ewes might want to let others finish a current project while they start something new. But if you do, you could risk losing out on a future opportunity.

TAURUS (APR. 20 TO MAY 20) The Bovine’s creative forces start revving up as you plan for the upcoming holidays. Some practical aspects also emerge, especially where money is involved.

GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) Moments of doubt disrupt your otherwise clear sense of purpose.

Don’t ignore them. They could be telling you not to rush into anything until you know more about it.

CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22) A planned trip might have to be

delayed. Plan to use this new free time to update your skills and your resume so you’ll be ready when a new job opportunity opens.

LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) A flood of holiday party bids from business contacts allows you to mix work and pleasure.

Your knowledge plus your Leonine charm wins you a new slew of admirers.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) An unexpected act by a colleague complicates an agreement, causing delays in implementing it.

Check out the motive for this move: It’s not what you might suspect.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23 TO OCT. 22) You might want to cut ties with an ingrate who seems to have forgot-

ten your past generosity. But there might be a reason for this behavior that you should know about.

Ask. SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21) Be careful not to set things in stone. Much could happen during the next several days that will make you rethink some decisions and maybe change them.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21) Your plans to help provide holiday cheer for the less fortunate inspire others to follow your generous example. Expect welcome news by week’s end.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19) You’re in your glory as you start planning for the holiday season ahead. But leave time to deal with a problem that needs a quick and fair resolution.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB. 18) The upcoming holiday season provides a perfect setting for strengthening relationships with kin and others. A new contact has important information.

PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20) Instead of fretting over a cutting remark by a co-worker, chalk it up to an outburst of envy of your well-respected status among both your colleagues and superiors.

YOU BORN THIS WEEK: You instinctively know when to be serious and when to be humorous; attributes everyone finds endearing. (c) 2006 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Fill in the grid so that each row of nine squares, each column of nine and each section of nine (three squares by three) contains the numbers 1 through 9 in any order.

There is only one solution to each puzzle. Solutions, tips and computer program available at www.sudoko.com SOLUTION ON PAGE 30

INDEPENDENTSPORTS

FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10-16, 2006 — PAGE 29

Andrew Symonds

Paul Daly/The Independent

Supporting cast

By Don Power For The Independent

Andrew Symonds moved from skip to third to gain experience in curling and get to a Brier, but injuries forced a slow learning curve.

A

s a star baseball player with the St. John’s senior league’s Shamrocks and St. John’s Capitals, Andrew Symonds is accustomed to going from first to third.

The big slugging first baseman has been a perennial all-star and a member of nine league championship teams wearing the green and gold. But this year’s first to third didn’t come solely at St. Pat’s, but took the 32-year-old all the way to the St. John’s Curling Club.

After several years of skipping his own team — first to a Commercial League title, then through the major league and most recently in Super League — Symonds decided he needed to gain more strategic knowledge of the game to reach the top.

So he abandoned his position at the far end of the ice holding a broom to join Rick Rowsell’s Quality Matters rink, which includes Craig Dowden and Dave Noftall, as third. A veteran curler who has skipped his own rink at the Brier (in 2000) and played third in another (1996), Rowsell would impart some game strategy into Symond’s thinking.

“I know he’s a great shooter,” Rowsell says. “We beat his team over the years on strategy as much as on shooting. He was

an obvious fit for me. reached up the first baseline to take a “At third, you need a big strong shoot- throw, and collided with the runner. His er, and Andrew is one of the best shoot- left arm was hyperextended, and he tore ers down there (at the curling club).” his ligaments.

Symonds also recognized his deficienThe next morning, his arm was placed cy in calling a game in a cast, and his was costing him wins. thoughts — uh oh — “We lost games last to curling.

“Once the cast went turned year because of strate“Once the cast went gy, not because of on, I knew I was done on, I knew I was shots,” Symonds says. for baseball,” Symonds “I realized that aftersays, adding it was diffidone for baseball. wards. cult to watch ShamI knew we could “So that’s why I was rocks’ four-game sweep interested in playing from the dugout. “I win it, but I knew I third for Rowsell. I knew we could win it, could learn a little bit but I knew I wouldn’t be wouldn’t be a part from him, worry about a part of it on the field. of it on the field.” shooting and not have “I thought about curlto worry about calling ing and how it would the game.” affect my sweeping. If Andrew Symonds But the best-laid I’m playing third, I’m plans in sports often go going to have to sweep. awry.

As long as the cast is on, I told the boys During game one of the senior base- in an e-mail, we’ll have to play like ball final against Guards, Symonds Randy Ferbey’s team. I’ll call the game

and throw third. Rick will sweep but shoot last.

“I can still throw third. That was the plan.”

But, Symonds hesitantly adds, “I didn’t know Rowsell’s situation at the time.

His injury threw a wrench into it.”

Around the same time Symonds had the cast placed, Rowsell discovered his bad knee required arthroscopic surgery, forcing him to the sidelines until December. That meant the new third would be pushed back into a familiar role, skipping a team.

Except this team’s goals and aspirations were a little different than the last team Symonds skipped. This year, the goal is winning the Tankard and playing in the Brier.

“There’s a little bit more heat on me now than there has been for the last three years,” he notes. “At that level, we were probably the most carefree team down there. We didn’t practise a lot as a team and we were very loosey goosey on the ice.

“This year, it’s 180 degrees different.

The boys are into it. We met numerous times this summer before the ice went down. We talked about spiels we were going to play in, strategies we were going to try. It’s very different than what See “Dealing,” page 30

Blah, blah, blogs Local sports chatrooms rife with criticism, rumours and innuendo

A

s an athlete who has been in the spotlight since the age of 13, Terry Ryan has seen his name in print more often than you can imagine.

From newspaper articles about leaving his Mount Pearl home to move to Quesnel, B.C. with his family, to playing junior hockey at 14, to playing major junior out west, to his first round selection by the Montreal Canadiens (11 years ago, believe it or not!) to his subsequent pro career, Ryan has been the subject of many articles and columns.

Not all were complimentary, but all were written by credible sports columnists or reporters and published in newspapers.

These days, Ryan finds himself back home in Mount Pearl and playing senior hockey with his hometown Blades. And just like the days when he was playing for a living, Ryan is subject to various stories and rumours about the game he loves.

All through September, Ryan’s name

DON POWER

Power Point was mentioned as a player on any number of teams, from Mount Pearl to almost every West Coast league team.

His ears must have burned from the online chats about him.

While Ryan still is good subject matter, apparently, the biggest difference from today’s ramblings and those of a decade ago are the authors and the place their stories are published.

No longer is sport reporting the domain of those who have long been known as ‘ink-stained wretches.’ Now, everybody with a keyboard and Internet connection can, and does, pontificate about sports.

Sports blogs run rampant over the Internet. Chatrooms, discussion forums

— call them what you want, if you have a favourite team in a sport, chances are there’s a site dedicated to it where you can voice an opinion.

Which is fine.

But now many of the top athletes — the pros, anyway — have their own websites, and THAT’S where their news is released. Think Tiger Woods or Barry Bonds.

Sports fans have always held strong opinions on one matter or another. Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams? Magic or Bird? Kareem or Wilt? Gretzky or Orr? Walk into any sports bar — any bar with a TV, really — and you can step into a debate about any number of topics. In a bar, though, at least you know what you’re dealing with. You’re arguing with a guy face to face.

What galls me are the rumours and innuendo started and spread by these people on-line, most of them anonymously. Granted, rumours are part of sport, and speculating where people —

especially in Newfoundland amateur hockey — will play is an enjoyable pastime for most. Some of it is in fun.

Sometimes, things get malicious and the website administrators pull the comments.

As someone whose face has adorned every column I’ve ever written, I think if you’re putting something out there for people to read and argue over — and some people believe the crap that floats around in these chatrooms — then you should sign your name to it.

Before you jump all over me, I’m not saying that sports fans shouldn’t be able to voice their opinions. They are, after all, the people who buy the tickets to the games. But if they plan on writing these thoughts and sharing them with the world, you’d like to think they try to be at least semi-literate. Or learn how to use punctuation. (A difficult chore in this province where a large portion of the population are functionally illiterate.)

Many of the sites I visited recently, in preparation for this column, are perhaps at the fifth grade reading level. (An argument could be made that’s appropriate for many of the local fans, but that’s another discussion.)

Without punctuation, some are even difficult to read.

The Internet is a wonderful tool, especially for reporters looking for information. The depth and breadth of knowledge is limitless.

Chatrooms and blogs also allow fans the chance to generate interest in their local clubs. And anything that can enhance fan attendance for Torbay games at Feildian Gardens — where there are about 15 fans in orange or blue insulated coveralls drinking from their flasks or six-packs — is not necessarily bad.

But something needs to be done to regulate it. donniep@nl.rogers.com

30 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

PAUL SMITH

The Rock

Outdoors

S

ometimes the simple things in life can be the most enjoyable. Often these things are in your own backyard, and while they’re not altogether free they can be relatively cheap. When I say things, I mean adventures — outdoor adventures, to be specific.

Outdoor adventures cover a broad spectrum of human/nature interaction, from climbing Everest, canoeing the Mackenzie, horseback hunting for elk in the mountains, snowshoeing in the woods behind your house, a May 24 trouting trip or a day of moose hunting.

The difference is a matter of scale, with regard to both financial cost and your own thirst for things beyond the day-today ordinary. All are good but not necessarily good, or possible, for all.

This year has been kind to me. I fished in Ireland, Labrador, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. I might never be that fortunate again. But it doesn’t really matter that much; I have plenty to enjoy right here. Last week, without the expenditure of jet fuel, I enjoyed a perfect Saturday mini-adventure. The only cost was time and a few litres of gas for the quad.

A friend of mine, Derek Young, has his first moose license, so hunting comrade Rob and I are helping him out. Rob and I are supposed to know the country and where the moose are and all that woodsy stuff. We’ve been out looking a few Saturdays but so far there’s no moose gravy for Derek. Well, it’s been wet and warm and windy (Rob and I know all the excuses). There have been cows and calves all over the place but the smart old bulls are laying low. Look out for a column entitled “Derek’s first moose” — I hope.

All day Friday and for most of the night torrents of rain fell, but light broke Saturday in a clear sky. The temperature had dropped 13 C overnight. I left home about 6 a.m. on my quad and followed the old rail bed and berry roads to Peter’s Path, where I met Rob and Derek.

What a way to start the day — riding along in the open air with a full moon high in the sky, while the first streaks of light do battle with night over Conception Bay. Bell Island was just appearing on the eastern horizon, and the cool air made me shiver for the first time this fall. After a short strategy session the three of us left our quads for some early morning hunting on foot.

The simple life Sometimes, the best adventures are in your backyard — and virtually free Quads are fine to get you where you are going, but leave you chilled and numb on cold mornings, especially when your clothes are prioritized for walking.

It felt good to be moving. There’s nothing like a brisk hike to get blood moving, and transporting some of that core body heat to fingers and toes. But pace yourself; sweat will make you suffer when you’re standing on a hill glassing for moose.

For a couple of hours we walked and scanned the country from our favourite hills. No moose. Back to the quads for a new strategy. We decided to give the Big

Mountain a try. Quads are great for getting around quick. The five or six mile ride to the mountain was much warmer than my earlier daybreak jaunt. The trail up the mountain is rough and challenging with a combination of steep grades, protruding boulders, stumps, and mud. It’s not for the faint of heart or novice rider.

We parked our machines right on top of the mountain where we could glass for moose while cooking up. Rob and Derek gathered wood, while I went to get water from a cool spring nearby.

The Big Mountain is one of the highest points on the Bay de Verde Peninsula at

690 feet. The view is breathtaking. Not only can you see any caribou or moose that moves from cover for miles around, but Trinity Bay is visible to the west and Conception Bay is in full view to the east.

Many days are too windy or cold to fully appreciate the Big Mountain’s full visual spectacle, but that day it was perfect.

Complemented by wood smoke, boiled tea, homemade bread, and a main course of caribou sausages and beans … what could be any better? Our bellies were filled, but still, no moose.

A walk would be nice to settle down the scoff. Down the north side of the

mountain we descended on foot, stopping frequently for Rob to practice his moose calling. It really does work sometimes.

We trudged a three-hour loop around the cutovers, woods and marshes before we tackled the walk back up the mountain. The Quad is rough on the bones but hiking up the mountain taxes the heart and lungs. We were all sweating too much when we finally reached the top.

Thank God for wool and breathable synthetics. We cooled and dried off quickly before the sun disappeared. As the sun collapsed in the west over Trinity Bay, we glassed in the fading light for moose on an evening stroll.

Finally, we spotted a bull and cow, but they were much too distant for a stalk that late in the evening. Oh well, we’ll just have to endure all this over again another day.

Paul Smith is a freelance writer living in Spaniard’s Bay, enjoying all the outdoors Newfoundland and Labrador has to offer. flyfishtherock@hotmail.com

Dealing with the pressure From page 29 I was used to previously.

“I knew when I accepted the position to play third for Rowsell that these guys were serious.

They had a sports psychologist last year. They had pre-game and post-game routines. We didn’t do any of that. We’d show up, play, have a beer and go home.”

“He’s never had a real team practice,” Rowsell says. “He’s never done sweeping drills, or worked on other parts of the game in a real practice, so he’s finding it a big difference. Andrew’s team wasn’t as serious. Now, he wanted to get to a team more dedicated and extra experience.”

However, that experience may have to wait.

With Rowsell watching behind the glass, game situation lessons have to wait until post-game. It’s not the best situation, both Rowsell and Symonds note, but it’s something they’re making work.

“I’m still learning, but it’s after the fact,” Symonds explains. “It’d be different if we were on the ice in the third end and I could ask, ‘What would you call here?’ and he’d say, ‘Play a freeze.’ Now we’re playing in the third end and I might call a hit, and then two-and-a-half hours later when we’re off the ice, he might say, ‘I would have called a freeze there.’”

This weekend, Symonds takes the Quality

Solutions for crossword on page 28

Matters team to Nova Scotia for the Sobeys Curling Classic. Next week, it’s the TravelSpiel at the curling club.

“Even though I’m not playing third right now,” Symonds states, “I’ll be ready when he comes back.”

Which could be sooner than later. Roswell’s knee is feeling fine, and if his physiotherapist gives him the go-ahead, he could be on the ice within a week or two.

The good news for the team is that all their troubles should be behind them when the club, zone and provincial playdowns arrive. That’ll help them attain their goal — being in Hamilton in March for the Brier.

“I hope our year can’t be any more screwed up,” Rowsell says. “We set our sights on winning the Tankard. Everything is preparation to get ready for the Tankard. As long as you get better and peak in February, that’s what you ask for.

“You’ve got to be used to playing in pressure situations, and it’s no different in curling or baseball. You’ve got to be able to deal with the pressure. Some people have it, some don’t. I know Andrew’s got it. I’ve seen it in curling.”

“It would be an absolute thrill to go to a Brier,” says Symonds. “Hopefully this year, we can go.” donniep@nl.rogers.com

Solutions for sudoku on page 28

NOVEMBER 10, 2006

INDEPENDENTCLASSIFIED • 31

INDEPENDENTCLASSIFIED FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10-16, 2006 — PAGE 32

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