The Jasper Local May 1, 2016

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Sunday, May 1, 2016 // ISSUE 72

SLUSH FUN//SKI PATROLLERS SURF ONE LAST WAVE APRIL 24. WITH THE EARLY SPRING HEAT, MARMOT BASIN CALLED IT A SEASON A WEEK EARLIER THAN INITIALLY PLANNED. // BOB COVEY

Local fined for keeping wildlife parts A Jasper resident has been punished for the unlawful possession of wildlife parts.

On April 18 Frederick Carter pled guilty to one count under the Canadian National Parks Act (CNPA), receiving a fine of $9,000.

According to federal crown prosecutor Alexander Bernhard, the charge stemmed from the execution of a search warrant at Carter’s property 15 months earlier.

On December 8, 2014, park wardens discovered 54 single elk antlers, 46 single deer antlers, one big horn sheep skull and seven other pieces of antlers. He was initially charged with two CNPA offences.

“Neither of these offences require the wildlife to be taken from, to originate, or be harvested from the park,” Bernard said.

Carter, 60-years-old, has a record for previous wildlife offences.

Those offenses include a 2008 CNPA conviction after he transported a dead deer that had been killed on the highway; a 2013 Alberta Wildlife Act conviction for the unlawful use of bait to hunt a black bear; and another AWA conviction in 2015 for the unlawful possession of wildlife. For those offences his fines totalled more than $3,500.

As part of the April 18 sentence, park wardens retained custody of another big horn sheep’s head that was in Carter’s possession. They will keep it until Carter is able to prove to Alberta Fish and Wildlife that it was harvested lawfully, Bernard said.

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 72 // Sunday, May 1, 2016

editorial //

Local Vocal When I was a teenager, my friends

and I got a kick out of crank-calling random phone numbers we’d pull from the local directory. Typically, we’d order a pizza with nonsensical toppings or make girly voices to old bachelors we knew. We thought it was really funny, but eventually, we took it too far.

We made the calls from my basement bedroom.

As such, when the Calgary police phoned the next day, having traced one of these pranks to my parents’ house, it was my father who answered.

My dad had just got home from another long day at work. Instead of taking a shower and having dinner, he was informed by the duty officer that someone had called a city restaurant from his landline and told the maitre d’ that there was a bomb in the building. Yep. We were that dumb.

Obviously, my parents were fuming. My dad impressed upon me that such an idiotic move could have resulted in the building being evacuated. I could have been on the hook for the restaurant’s $5,000 of lost revenue, he spat. As a high school student, I barely had five bucks, let alone five thousand.

Luckily, the maitre d’s instincts told him or her the bomb threat was non-serious. But I couldn’t say that about my dad’s threats.

Thinking back to that day, I still get shivers.

Young people are capable of legendary stupidity—particularly when they’re trying to impress their friends. Young men, it seems, have an uncanny ability to make decisions which are so disassociated from the consequences thereof it’s a wonder most of them make it past their teenage years. I’m speaking for myself but nearly every friend I have can rattle off “moronic things I did as a kid” stories.

In that sense, I have a certain amount of empathy for young people who find themselves in hot water for decisions they truly regret making. Unfortuately, when you turn 18, the repercussions for jackass maneuvers are suddenly much more severe.

This is stuff boys should figure out before the law says they turn into men, but somhow it doesn’t always click.

To help them understand, perfect strangers often feel it’s their business to roll out the rants. However, I don’t think the public pile-on helps. Shaming someone, I believe, makes it less likely they’ll genuinely repent.

It’s how we respond after we mess up that really counts. A supportive community is one that lets those who make mistakes—and we all do—show what kind of person they really are.

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Dear Winter, You started out with such aplomb, so boldly you debuted Increased our expectations by orders of magnitude A foot of snow right off the bat, we couldn’t believe our eyes Little did we know it was El Nino in disguise When Christmas came and went sans storms we weren’t all that surprised It’s not like Santa’s never sailed in Jasper’s starry skies Though you sprinkled us with hope when the calendar year flipped You never turned the thirsty page; spring’s been a dry postscript Sure, whining ‘bout a lack of snow to ski on takes some cheek An obviously spoiled lot if that’s our main critique And let’s recall the magic Marmot has in all their groomers A sunny run on corduroy will cheer the gloomiest of doomers Don’t get me wrong, still with no snow, this winter was pretty good But here’s hoping next year turns around (knocking on all the wood) The bigger fear is what takes place if this trend persists Global warming or climate change: ignore it and we’re remiss —Bob Covey

The Jasper Local //

Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e 1e0

Published on the 1st and 15th of each month Editor / Publisher

Bob Covey.................................................................................... bob@thejasperlocal.com Art Director

Nicole Gaboury.................................................................. nicole@thejasperlocal.com Advertising + sales

Rachel Bailey........................................................................rachel@thejasperlocal.com cartoonist

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Local crime //

Sunday, May 1, 2016 // issue 72 // the jasper local// page A3

Trying to clean up his act A young man charged with mischief and break-andenter is trying to make amends with the community.

Parker Broadfoot was arrested by Jasper RCMP members for participating in a drunken crime spree that caused more than $5,000 in damages to public and private property.

Now, the 18-year-old is hoping that by coming clean about his actions and volunteering his time to local service organizations, he can begin to undo the hurt caused to his family and his fellow residents.

“I don’t stand by these actions,” he told The Jasper Local. “It was a big mistake.”

On April 19, RCMP were alerted to a breakand-enter at the construction site of the nearly-completed library and cultural centre.

Once inside, investigators discovered spraypainted graffiti on several walls, as well as discharged fire extinguishers around the property. Shortly after this call for service, police received another complaint of graffiti painted in the area of the pedestrian underpass, beneath the CN right-of-way.

“This location was subject to significant graffiti damage,” an April 20 RCMP press release read.

Eventually, more evidence of hooliganism mounted: a front end loader, a local business and the seniors’ residence were discovered defaced.

Broadfoot and fellow Jasperite Chase Fogarty-Landsman were charged with mischief and break-and-enter. Additionally,

Fogarty-Landsman was charged with breaching court documents.

Before his April 28 initial court date, Broadfoot reached out to various community organizations including the Municipality of Jasper, Jasper library staff and the Jasper RCMP. He wanted to show remorse for his actions, he said.

“I feel terrible. This wasn’t an act of rebellion…I feel like an idiot.”

I don’t stand by these actions, It was a big mistake.

To show his sincerity, he’s been volunteering for odd jobs at the Jasper daycare and has told library staff he’d be happy to help move supplies in when the construction is finished.

“I want to do anything I can to make things right with the community again,” he said. “I don’t want this to represent who I am as a person.”

On April 28, Jasper Provincial Court pushed back the defendants’ court date.

Broadfoot and Fogarty-Landsman will appear again June 9.

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

TAKING HIS LUMPS // PARKER BROADFOOT IS TRYING TO MAKE AMENDS WITH THE COMMUNITY AFTER bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com HIS INVOLVEMENT IN VANDALISM TO THE UNDER-CONSTRUCTION JASPER LIBRARY. // BOB COVEY

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page B1 // the jasper local // issue 72 // Sunday, may 1, 2016

Local Wildlife //

Jasper bears emerging early (and hungry) Look who’s up.

Bears are being spotted in Jasper a bit earlier than usual this year. They’ve been active near the golf course, the highways and even the ski hill.

But how do they know when it’s time to wake up from their long winter’s nap?

Unlike teenage humans, it’s not the smell of bacon and eggs that gets these big boys and girls out of bed in the spring. According to experts, it’s a combination of temperature, solar radiation, daylight…and whether or not their dens are getting flooded out.

“If the solar rays are strong enough to melt the snow their den is basically like living in a shower stall… and no one wants to do that,” said Gord Stenhouse, Alberta’s former top grizzly bear expert who now carries on his research through the Foothills Research Institute (fRi).

Bears hibernate in the fall—pregnant females den first, followed by non-pregnant females, followed by the males. When nap time’s over, the pattern reverses: boar grizzlies are first out of bed in the spring, while females with cubs remain curled up the longest. Researchers suspect this is nature’s way of increasing energy efficiency for needy bears-to-be.

“We can suggest adult females are trying to minimize the energy they expend during

hibernation because they put that into reproduction and nursing,” Stenhouse said.

Most females have twins; bears with a single cub are usually first-time moms. But whether or not both babies emerge in the spring depends on how the birthing, and the nursing, went. On April 27, Stenhouse was observing a female grizzly as she woke from her den site approximately 14 km south of the Jasper townsite at 2,400 m elevation (for reference, the peak of Marmot Basin is 2,612 m).

He said this particular bear emerged without cubs.

He planned to return to the den to try to determine whether she gave birth at all, and if so, what could have happened to her offspring.

“If they’re in poor physical condition when they go in they can use up all their energy just in hibernation. We’ll go back to the den to see if we can find some clues,” he said.

In the near future, Stenhouse and his colleagues won’t have to rely on such sleuthing to find out if a cub was delivered but failed to survive. New sensory instruments are being fitted on bears which already wear research collars (there are approximately 10 such bears in JNP). The devices record minute movements, such as those consistent with the birthing process. This will be the first time these types of data are gathered in the wild. The sensors have shown to corraborate video footage of captive

bears’ slight movements while birthing and nursing.

Stenhouse predicts they’ll be valuable to his larger project: comparing bears in areas disturbed by heavy industry and those in a protected seting.

Moreover, the sensors may also help tell scientists what bears are feeding on, without researchers being present. Bursts of speed observed by the monitors would be consistent with swift movements necessary to take down an ungulate, scientists hypothesize.

They’ll compare these fast-paced pursuits against, for example, the slow-gorge of a buffalo berry buffet.

Berries are a fall menu item, however; right now bears in Jasper are dining on golf course salads and leafy dandelions à la grassy ditch. The next course, if they’re lucky, will be elk calf with aroma of campfire, then in the summer it’s up to the high country for wildflower-garnished filet of marmot.

The challenges for bears, of course, come in the way of humans. Conflicts arise when people feed animals, don’t dispose of their garbage properly, spill grain from train cars and drive at high speeds.

“We spend a lot of time chasing bears out of areas where the potential risk for human conflict is high,” says Mark Bradley, a wildlife specialist with JNP. For that reason, at this time of year, officials advise the same thing parents do when approaching cranky teenagers who’ve recently woken up and are looking to stuff their face: just stay out of their way. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

TUNNEL VISION // THIS GRIZZLY BEAR WAS CAPTURED AND COLLARED NEAR THE GOLF COURSE RECENTLY. RESEARCHERS ARE FITTING BEARS WITH DEVICES WHICH RECORD MINUTE MOVEMENTS; THE DATA GATHERED WILL GIVE THEM INFORMATION ON BIRTHING PATTERNS WHILE FEMALES HIBERNATE. // PARKS CANADA // MARK BRADLEY

BEARS IN JASPER NATIONAL PARK HAVE EMERGED FROM HIBERNATION APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS AHEAD OF THEIR TYPICAL SCHEDULE. JASPER PHOTOGRAPHER MIKE GERE HAD HIS LENS TRAINED ON THIS BRUIN ON THE LAST DAY OF THE SKI SEASON. ACCORDING TO SOME FIRST NATIONS CULTURES, BEARS REPRESENT A WELCOMING AND A GOODBYE GESTURE. (THANKS TO JASPERITE CHAD LAZZARI FOR THAT SPIRITUAL NUGGET). // MIKE GERE

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sunday, may 1, 2016 // issue 72 // the jasper local// page B2

// Local art

Art curator inspired by young talent

“Amazing!”

You know you’ve created something special when one of Jasper’s most experienced art promoters is singing your praises.

Marianne Garrah wasn’t the only one impressed with the Madame Vanessa Martin’ s art students’ exhibition on April 19, however; friends and family members of the artists—Grade 1 and 2 French Immersion students—were equally delighted by the curation. Members of the public wandered through the makeshift gallery at the Jasper Legion, astonished at the quality of work, and the variety of artistic mediums, created by local seven to nine-year-olds.

“I can’t believe the detail,” Kristy McBain said as she viewed a wall of geometric fish figures painted in water colours.

Parents and siblings of the artists weren’t as surprised. Cheryl Grant, whose daughter Lily was among 14 students who took part in the art class two hours per week from November to March, said Madame Vanessa has been creating magic since day one.

“It’s the most incredible thing. [Our children] have been in art camps before. This takes it to a whole new level.”

Her husband, Tony Mastrianni, agreed.

“You’d go into the classroom after two hours and you couldn’t get them out,” he said.

VANESSA MARTIN STARTED AN ART CLASS FOR GRADE 1 AND 2 STUDENTS AFTER WITNESSING THEIR CREATIVE POTENTIAL AS A TEACHER’S AIDE. SHE CURATED AN APRIL 19 ART EXHIBITION TO SHOWCASE THE CHILDREN’S TALENTS. // BOB COVEY

a teacher’s aide, she couldn’t remain indifferent to so much potential.

Martin, who studied fine art in Paris, said after working alongside the students as

“This is a celebration of the children’s energy and creativity,” she said.

“They inspire me.” bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Locals soar as sun shines on 800 Jasper Half Marathon runners

HOME STRETCH // JASPERITE AND CURRENT CHAMP OF TOTEM’S SPRING RUN OFF (TAKES PLACE SUNDAY, MAY 8), JEAN-YVES DOUCET, RAN A SPEEDY 1HR 20 MINUTES:19 SECONDS, OR 3:49 PER KILOMETRE. HE EARNED SECOND PLACE OVERALL. // JO NADEAU

JUST STROLLING ALONG // JASPER TOP MODEL HEF DORIAN RAN A RIDICULOUS 1:35:16 WHILE PUSHING HIS BOTTLE-CHUGGING DAUGHTER, CAMYRN, GOOD ENOUGH FOR 18TH OUT OF MORE THAN 300 HALF MARATHONERS AND FIFTH IN HIS DIVISION. // JO NADEAU

Thursday May 5th

H The Raven Flew H

Over Robson

Three Ranges Brewing Company’s Jasper release party featuring

TRBC BEER & Valemount’s own

CRESCENT SPUR opening for

ATHABASCA BARNBURNER Jasper Legion

Doors open at 7pm • $5 cover TRBC beers now available in 6 packs at:

Liquor Lodge Jasper • Park Liquor & Beverage Co Jasper Liquor Store & Wine Cellar • Wild Orchid Liquor Co (Hinton) deVine Wines & Spirits (Edmonton) Sacrifice Red on tap at Jasper Legion!

HIGH SCHOOLER BROOKE MEINTS WAS ONE OF ONLY THREE RUNNERS IN HER DIVISION. SHE SOOO GOT ON THE PODIUM. IN PINK, GILLIAN THOMPSON, OF GIRLS BREAKING TRAILS FAME, SOARED HER WAY TO FOURTH IN HER DIVISION AND 14TH FASTEST FEMALE. // JO NADEAU

TEAM EFFORT // LODGIE, JHL B-FINAL CHAMPION AND ELEGANT BEARD-GROWER, TANNER MCBURNEY, WAS AMONG SEVERAL JPLBASED PARTICIPANTS WHO SMILE, MAKE EYE CONTACT AND USE AN APPROPRIATE GREETING EVEN WHEN RUNNING. // JO NADEAU

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page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 72 // Sunday, may 1, 2016

LOCAL FEATURE // STORY BY BOB COVEY

SAFETY SPECIALIST

CAREER TOUCHES DO

As Jasper National Park interviews candidates to rep safety specialist, the man who’s occupied the position to The Jasper Local about finally putting down the p

Steve Blake wasn’t born in the backcountry. he didn’t grow up skiing, nor was he wearing climbing shoes in the womb. At 21-years-old, he was as awestruck as any other Ontarian when he first laid eyes on the Rockies.

Yet after that initial introduction to the mountains, Blake quickly found his footing, spending summer nights at the crag and learning to ski while working trail crew at Lake Louise.

“You get centred over your skis pretty quickly carrying 100-foot rolls of slat fence,” he said.

Six years later, when Blake applied to be a park warden for a six-month stint in Jasper, it was his volunteer patrol work that gave him an edge. After he was recommended for technical alpine training despite not having put in his time in the trenches (campgrounds), Blake showed his mentors they made the right choice when, with darkness threatening, he commanded a smooth lead up the north face of Mt. Edith Cavell.

Blake was making the most out of his opportunities, which, in the rescue business, are often fraught with tragedy. When a public safety position opened up, it was occasionally because a friend and teammate had been struck down. Indeed, during the formative years of Blake’s career, the warden service suffered heavy losses.

“I count myself pretty lucky,” Blake reflected. “I know I did things that were risky, by all means.”

As Parks Canada and the wider Rockies communities were grappling with the idea that highly-skilled technicians could be vulnerable to accidents in the mountains, Blake continued with his development program, eventually earning his full mountain guide’s certification from the ACMG. In the meantime, he performed his public safety functions for Parks Canada, often taking part in routine overdue hiker searches but occasionally leading highstakes, dramatic rescues, such as the helicopter-sling evacuation from the top of Mount Robson which earned he and pilot Dale Brady a Governor General’s medal of bravery.

FORMER MANAGER OF VISITOR SAFETY FOR PARKS CANADA, STEVE BLAKE, HAS BEEN BREAKING TRAIL—LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL—HIS ENTIRE CAREER. // PHOTOS SUPPLIED

“That was a situation where I felt I had a said.

Still, it was a precarious rescue at the top was razor thin. To deal with the stress of he learned to detach himself from the em task at hand. He considered his ability t however, that tactic caught up with him. children. His approach to work didn’t al

“It was tough. You work at a high level o works for kids,” he said.

And so, just as he committed to being a committed to rounding out his home life

“The typical l bring to present away when you situations. Yo people a little

children are following in the footsteps o way.” Jordan, 26, is studying environme 1985 major). Quin, meanwhile, is a 22-ye

BLAKE WAS ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE CANADIAN AVALANCHE ASSOCIATION FOR FIVE YEARS AND HELPED OVERSEE THE INTRODUCTION OF IMPORTANT PUBLIC SAFETY TOOLS. //

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sunday, may 1, 2016 // issue 72 // the jasper local// page B2

// FEATURE

T’S LOFTY

OWN SAFELY

place the field unit’s top public n for the past 16 years talked pager.

a clear vision of how it should go,” he

a two-year stint on ski patrol (which is where Angie started in Jasper before becoming a nurse).

p of the world. The margin of error f search and rescue work, Blake said motions which could have affected the to disengage an attribute. Eventually, . By 1994 Blake had a wife and two ways translate to family life.

Blake donned the brown Stetson straddling two different eras of the warden service. Holding onto the traditions of the past were the old boys—the wrasslers, the cowboys and the trad climbers—while rising through the ranks were the new recruits—the scientists, the administrators and the sport climbers, many of whom were female. Technology, too, was constantly disrupting the industry as its leaders worked to improve safety protocols and procedures. Blake remembers his first helicopter sling rescue underneath a 206 Jet Ranger—a less powerful machine than the aircraft typically employed for rescues at high altitude today. Free falling off the face of Mount Andromeda to gain adequate air speed was exciting, Blake recalls, but he’ll take the herculean lift power of a Bell Long Ranger—Parks Canada’s go-to rescue bird—any day.

of intensity…that’s not an approach that

more versatile warden, Blake e skills. Today, Blake is proud that his

“The pilot said ‘I didn’t have the onions to get you up,’” Blake recalled with a laugh. “I was thinking ‘This is super cool.’”

layers people t themselves go u get into those ou tend to see e more purely.”

Slinging climbers from mountain tops, hauling river runners from canyons, hoisting skiers from crevasses…of course not every rescue Blake performed during his two-decade career involved high drama, but suffice to say the visitor safety job had no shortage of adrenaline. What outsiders might forget about the public safety business, however, is the by-product of those intense moments: camaraderie.

“The typical layers people bring to present themselves go away when you get into those situations,” he said. “You tend to see people a little more purely.”

As the rescue season in Jasper gets underway, Blake knows that the buzz of a helicopter will always cause him to look skyward. He’ll likely wonder where his colleagues are going and how much drama they’ll encounter.

What he won’t wonder about, as he considers the candidates to replace him, is whether or not the public is in good hands.

of he and his wife, “but in their own ental sciences and geography (Steve’s ear-old heavy duty mechanic who did

“We did a lot of good [during my career], he said. “How well we got through those situations as a team is a testament to our organization.”

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

BLAKE HAS SHARED HIS EXPERTISE IN CREVASSE RESCUE TECHNIQUES WITH PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISIONS IN CANADA’S HIGH ARCTIC. //

BLAKE ESTIMATES HE’S FLOWN APPROXIMATELY 200 HELICOPTER-SLING FLIGHTS AS PART OF HIS RESCUE SERVICE DUTIES WITH PARKS CANADA. //

STEVE BLAKE MET HIS FUTURE WIFE ANGIE IN LAKE LOUISE. THEY WERE SKI PATROLLERS TOGETHER LONG BEFORE THEIR ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP BLOOMED. // SUPPLIED

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page B5 // the jasper local // issue 72 // sunday, may 1, 2016

Local Mental Health awareness //

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sunday, may 1, 2016 // issue 72 // the jasper local// page B6

Local traditions //

KATIE COSGREY THAT’S A WRAP // MARMOT BASIN PUT 2015/16 IN THE BOOKS ON A SOGGY SUNDAY APRIL 24. IF YOU HAD TO WEAR SOMETHING (AND NOT EVERYONE DID), RETRO OUTFITS WERE THE ORDER OF THE DAY. AT TOP, SNOWBOARDER JACUB SEBELA PLAYS IN THE POOL. AT RIGHT, SKI-CYCLIST MARC VIEN WENT ZEROEMISSIONS FOR THE FINAL COMMUTE OF THE SEASON // BOB COVEY

JFMF Battle Royale: a stepping stone to rock Playing on stage at the Jasper Folk Music Festival last year, musician Gui Benoit was living out a dream.

Small Town Regular earned their way into the September lineup by wowing the judges at the Jasper Legion.

For Benoit, winning the Battle Royale was one thing; playing on stage was another. “It was an awesome experience, something I’d never get tired of reliving,” he said.

“I felt like I was on a cloud,” he said.

Benoit, one part of the duo The Mighty Water, won his spot months before at the JFMF’s Battle Royale, a battle of the bandsstyle competition that pits musicians of all stripes against one another for the chance to play at the Jasper Folk Music Festival. He and Edmonton-based

PLAYING THE JASPER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL WAS GUI BENOIT’S REWARD FOR WINNING THE JFMF’S BATTLE ROYALE. THIS YEAR’S BATTLE TAKES PLACE MAY 7 AT THE JASPER LEGION. // SUPPLIED

Career and Service Directory

On May 7, the Battle is back. Musicians will once again have their chance to impress the crowds, and the judges, at the Jasper Legion. At stake are two opening acts on the Friday and Saturday nights, respectively, of JFMF 2016.

Speaking from experience, Small Town Regular’s Devin Brent says hanging it all out for the chance to play is as much a battle of the nerves, as against fellow bands.

“We were pretty nervous before the show because we are from Edmonton and knew absolutely no one,” he said.

Obviously he and his band shook it off; they managed to rock their way into a Saturday opening act.

“Playing to the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and a beautiful festival ground made it a great show…the crowd was really receptive,” Brent said.

This year’s Battle Royale takes place Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m. Advanced tickets can be purchased at Cocos or Ransom for $8. Tickets are $10 at the door on the night of the event. For more information visit: www.jasperfolkmusicfestival.ca Emilie St. Pierre // info@thejasperlocal.com