The Jasper Local September 15 2016 by The Jasper Local

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LOCAL + independent

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Thursday, september 15, 2016 // ISSUE 81

ASTORIA OUTFITTERS LED THIS PACK STRING OF HORSES, ALONG WITH THEIR CLIENTS, FROM DECOIGNE, IN WEST JNP ONTO THE MOOSE RIVER ROUTE IN MOUNT ROBSON PROVINCIAL PARK. THEY FINISHED NEAR MCBRIDE, B.C. IN THIS PHOTO THE GROUP IS NEAR THE TOP OF MOOSE PASS. THE EPIC TRIP TOOK 12 DAYS. // CORDELL HUDSON

Parks to burn more beetle habitat

Jasper National Park fire and vegetation Initial attack crews may elect to cut down trees in the Fiddle River complex to create more surface fuel, to speed things up. officials are ready to burn. Forecasted September weather will help crews “get into prescription,” meaning the temperatures, relative humidities, wind speeds and various fuel types will (hopefully) be in the right condition to create fire on the landscape, according to Parks Canada’s Dave Smith.

“We need a good stretch of good fall weather,” said Smith, the park’s fire and vegetation specialist. “We need things to dry out.” Once that happens, crews will be working on two main prescribed burn units: the Pyramid bench unit west of town and the Fiddle River unit near the park’s east border. The goal is to start burning before the end of October, Smith said.

“We have a very aggressive fall-winter-spring itinerary,” Smith said. Both areas will be burned with a three-fold objective: to mitigate the spread of mountain pine beetle in the park and, subsequently, crown timber stands in the province of Alberta; create more natural forest-scapes; and add another layer of protection from wildfires which could threaten the community. “Nobody’s been successful at stopping the beetles but we’re doing good work. There’s lots of places where the beetles have been slowed down.” bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 81 // thursday, september 15, 2016

editorial //

Local Vocal While web-based fundraising tools and social media gain popularity for jumpstarting well-meaning projects, two service clubs in Jasper continue to

fill the gaps in our community by raising money the old fashioned way: with boots on the ground. The Lions Club of Jasper and the Ladies Hospital Auxiliary aren’t in your regular Facebook feed. Their members aren’t posting funny memes, retweeting snarky one-liners or checking into places. They aren’t following you. What these organizations are doing—and what they have been doing for decades—is raising money to meet the needs that arise in a community of 5,000 people. And they’re doing it one calendar, one bake sale and one knitted sweater at a time. But although both of these clubs’ generosity and service are appreciated and even critical, the question has to be asked: are these clubs sustainable? Are there future club presidents, secretaries and treasurers waiting in the wings to take over when the current ones aren’t able to continue? Are there succession plans in the works? How do we get younger generations (younger than 70-yearsold, I mean) to pick up the torch?

Re: Warden Days snuffed

It is not a money thing—the event cultural resources. We all value did not cost the park more than a our contribution to help protect our These questions may seem daunting for local volunteers few dollars, although it did use Park national parks, and continue to cherish who are looking at dwindling numbers at meetings or facilities over one weekend. Many the memory of working with so many proud traditions have been eliminated, dedicated fellow wardens, past and knowing that the the yearly financial report will once and Warden Days is just one more. present. We don’t need Warden Days again fall to a small core, but I think the answer is more to cement so many great relationships simple than we often give credit. It’s a two-fold solution, The fact is, the warden service was and friendships formed over a lifetime actually, and the good news is one of the pieces is already dramatically downsized in 2008. of working in our parks. Then-Prime Minister Steven Harper being done. Firstly: do the work (that’s the part you can managed to wipe out warden tradition, It is certainly the end of an era, already check off) and secondly: tell someone about it. local expertise and the ability to but one that history will value in It doesn’t matter too much how you do the latter part, manage resources in favour of a the development of national park although the more you broadcast your successes, the bunch of bureaucrats. Many of us protection of both natural and more potential champions of your cause you’ll create. To have left Parks feeling betrayed by the cultural resources. I am proud support this theory we need only look at the evidence pinheads who now run the show. of having played a small part in the protection of our parks, as a at hand. Current Lions president Murray Ostrander, Retired wardens are tired of whining member of a truly outstanding who joined the club six years ago, said he was inspired about what was such a great lifestyle, group of park wardens past. by the good he saw the club’s members performing in and our significant contribution the community—particularly Lion Helmut Kreiner, the to national park protection and Rod Wallace, Retired National Park management of natural and Warden octogenarian overachiever whose volunteer capacity over the past 50 years has known no bounds. The Jasper Local // Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper “He’s a role model for who I am and how I want to contribute to the community,” Ostrander said.

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Likewise, the Ladies Hospital Auxiliary’s membership Editor / Publisher has been augmented by younger women who work in Bob Covey.................................................................................... bob@thejasperlocal.com the (get this!) hospital. It makes perfect sense that those Art Director inspired to join the cause would be those who witness the Nicole Gaboury.................................................................. nicole@thejasperlocal.com cause’s wonderful outcomes. Advertising + sales So start bragging, volunteer organizations! Whether it’s through social media, telling your local newspaper or by spreading word of mouth, your club’s future successes depend on people knowing all about the current ones. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

sydnee makowichuk...................................................... sydnee@thejasperlocal.com cartoonist

Deke.................................................................................................deke@thejasperlocal.com

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Local community //

thursday, september 15, 2016 // issue 81 // the jasper local// page A3 Ladies Hospital Auxiliary members Lydia Stanko, Helen scwarz, Alicer Gerber, Inge Lang, Avice Heckley and Della Senz have sold a lot of baked goods, knitting and crafts over the years to raise money for patient care in Jasper. Now the group is part of a calendar that celebrates local volunteerism and life in the Rockies. // Lydia Edwards

Compassion, dedication inspire calendar “If you rest, you rust.” While these wise words may be attributed to American actress Helen Hayes, they’re awfully fitting when spoken by Jasper’s Pat Bell— someone who never seems to do either. Bell is one of 12 Jasper women featured in the Ladies Hospital Auxiliary 2017 calendar, a tribute project to local volunteerism, life in the Rockies and compassion towards others. It’s also a celebration of amazing local ladies. After all, how many other Miss Februarys in their ninth decade are seen cross country skiing on Medicine Lake? Most importantly, the 2017 calendar is a fundraiser for the Auxiliary, which uses moneys raised to provide services and to purchase equipment for patients in acute and long term care in Jasper’s Seton Healthcare Centre. Avice Heckley, who is pictured walking on a snow-covered Pyramid Lake in December, suggests in the calendar that “The future lies before you, like a field of fallen snow. Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.” Heckley has certainly lived this philosophy in her volunteer capacities. She has been the president of the Ladies Hospital Auxiliary since 2000 and a member since the 1980s. Despite the organization’s dwindling membership over the years, she knows the simple things the group does for Jasper’s designated assisted living (DAL) residents is important. “People would say ‘why don’t you just fold?’ and I would say ‘No. Let’s keep going. The [hospital] staff really appreciate it and during our visits, the patients just light right up,’” she said. While their work often goes unheralded in

the community, Lydia Edwards, for one, took notice of the Ladies Auxiliary. She wanted to help the organization and as such, came up with the concept behind the calendar. Edwards photographed, interviewed and drew inspiration from the women featured in the project. “I felt privileged taking these special ladies out to various locations in the park,” Edwards said. The photographs were taken throughout the year in 2015. Helen Schwarz, photographed near the Maligne Lake Boat House in May, says “Your faith can move mountains and your doubt can create them.” Lynda Betkowski’s photo, captured in a stunning aspen grove in July, features the quote “The Business of Life is the Acquisition of Memories.” The Ladies Hospital Auxiliary is in a related business: improving patients’ quality of life. Recently, they’ve donated to the Portable Ultrasound Machine for the hospital; purchased a blanket-warming cabinet for DAL residents; augmented the hospital’s emergency room instruments; and supported mothers with premature babies through other equipment purchases. To raise those thousands of dollars, the sixmember core has sold baking, knitting, crafts and now, calendars. “There are times when we really do need people to provide items for us to sell,” Heckley said. “We welcome anyone with open arms.” Purchase your Ladies Hospital Auxiliary calendar at Elysion Floral and Gifts, Tekarra Colour Lab, Friends of Jasper National Park, Nutters or at the hospital. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

page B1 // the jasper local // issue 81 // thursday, september 15, 2016

Local wildlife //

Fight and flight: Jasperite has close shave with grizzly; Parks closes trail

“She came after me. There was no hesitation.” After five years of working in the bush on trail crew, With no time to six years of walking through forests lighting and turn around or fighting fires and a decade of living in Jasper and get on his bike, playing on the trails, Michaud had seen his fair Michaud jumped share of bruins. to his left, into the “I’ve had countless bear encounters of all kinds,” he bushes beside the said. “I once saw 13 grizzlies between Beaver and trail. He remembers Jacques Lakes.” the bear’s grunting and snorting as it But he’d never had an incident. He’d never been barrelled after him. charged before. “It was surprisingly Until August 27. fast,” he said. “I can On that day, Michaud was on a long, low-intensity remember her hair bike ride. He was on his cross cycle—a hybrid road/ waving in the sun, trail bike—and was cruising at a moderate pace, standing on her transitioning from the road, to the trails, and back back.” again. He was sticking mainly to the valley bottom; The vegetation he //BEAU MICHAUD, SEEN HERE IN HIS FIRE FIGHTING GEAR IN 2015, HAD A TERRIFYING ENCOUNTER WITH A no severe climbs or descents. MOTHER GRIZZLY BEAR WHILE BIKING ON TRAIL 7. PARKS CANADA HAS SINCE CLOSED THE TRAIL. // BC found himself in Michaud had been out for upwards of three hours consisted of halfwhen he figured he’d head back towards Jasper. To branches which separated them, Michaud said he get there, he decided to access Trail 7 near where the dead pines and a was pressing his bike against the top of her head small spruce tree. The scrub underneath was thick old Lake Edith road meets the Maligne Road and and snout. She was still grunting and breathing and wet from recent rains. branch onto Trail 4E—an old trail that eventually heavy. Michaud was only a few metres off the trail, but he connects to the Jasper Park Lodge area. “I was pushing with all my weight as much as I couldn’t get through the thick scrub behind him. “I was biking along, knowing full well that there could,” he said. He tried to back up but ran into more bush. As were bears on Trail 7,” he said. the bear approached, Holding his bike by its stem and seatstays, “The earbuds were out at this she actually ran past Michaud then lifted his bike over his head and point, I was just kind of putting “It was surprisingly fast, I can Michaud before turning gave the grizzly a decisive blow. That strike along.” around and trying to seemed to make her forget about the pursuit and remember her hair waving in That’s when he first saw her. come through the trees the sun, standing on her back.” that Michaud now had she wheeled back to where her cub had been. It was a grizzly, 40 metres away. “It was a good knock,” he said. “Then she backed positioned in front of She was off the trail, but just. off.” himself. Suddenly, the bear stood on her It seemed like now was his chance to get away. He “At that point I was trying to keep the trees hind legs. Michaud had seen this behaviour before. began to retreat while keeping an eye on the bear. between her and me,” he said. At this point he wasn’t too alarmed. He stood As he hopped on his bike, he could see her sniffing straddling his bike, watching her. The bear continued its pursuit, Michaud circling her cub. the patch of trees, barely keeping out of her reach. “I could see her well. As she stood up, a cub ran out “I was trying not to lose focus on her,” he said. He was now yelling ‘whoa bear!’ amongst other onto the trail,” he said. As he began to pedal, Michaud looked back once choice words. He and the bear continued their He was instantly on edge. terrifying dance, both of them circling the tree and more. To his horror, the grizzly was running To Michaud’s initial relief, the cub ran in the straight at him again. alternately coming back to the path. opposite direction of him. The mother grizzly “She had the same look and the same noises were At one point, the grizzly was on the trail and seemed to chase after it for a period. As soon as the coming from her,” he said. “She was going flat out, a Michaud was back in the bushes with his bike held cub was out of sight, however, the bear turned back leap-to-bound charge.” out in front of him. Suddenly, she tried to come towards Michaud. right through the trees at him. Michaud did his best Michaud was now also going flat out. But the bear Then, the huge bear started to run. Right at him. to use his bike as a fence, pushing it against the was gaining on him. First she was 30 feet away. Then bear when it got close. “I thought ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” he said. 10. As he pedalled as fast as possible while trying not to fall—the trails were wet and slippery—he “I couldn’t back up,” he said. She wasn’t kidding. The grizzly ran full speed kept looking back and seeing her. She pursued him towards him, covering the 40 m in no time. As the bear tried to force its way under the tree’s for what seemed like an eternity. Later, his Strava smartphone app told him the chase lasted two kilometres and that his peak speed was 42 km/hr. “I wasn’t slowing down,” he said. Finally, as he approached the Maligne Road from the trail, Michaud took one last look. The grizzly was out of sight, the chase was over. He took a few minutes to catch his breath and ponder what just happened, then called Parks Canada and told them the story. Trail 7 was closed to all users later that day. Reflecting on the incident, Michaud knows that he should have probably been carrying bear spray, although he said if he didn’t have it ready in a split second it wouldn’t have mattered in this instance. Secondly, he figures his fitness must have helped him—both during the fight, in which he used his brute strength to knock the bear with his bike frame, and during the flight, where he needed every bit of cycle stamina to outrun the grizzly. More than anything, however, it was a wake up call that things can go haywire in an instant. PEACE BE WITH YOU //DELI 2 DUBLIN CLOSED THE 2016 JASPER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL IN STYLE. DESPITE THE WEATHER, THE EVENT “Anything can happen out there,” he said. WAS A ROARING SUCCESS// EDDIE WONG, EXPLOREJASPER.COM

Beau Michaud has been around plenty of bears.

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

thursday, september 1, 2016 // issue 80 // the jasper local// page B2

Local public safety//

Young scrambler recalls harrowing accident on Pyramid Mountain Alisha Wiersma feels lucky to be alive. While descending Pyramid Mountain after reaching its summit, the 22-year-old took a frightening fall and was subsequently caught in a rockslide. “I thought I was going to die up there,” she said. On August 24, Wiersma planned to scale the 2,766 metre mountain. She was almost at the end of her second summer in Jasper. Before she went back to school, however, she wanted to do something adventurous, all by herself. “It was something on my bucket list, a solo summit,” she said. As such, Wiersma rented a mountain bike and pedalled (and pushed) her way up the 12 km fire road. When she reached the end of the road and ambled up to the summit ridge, Wiersma realized the top of the mountain was still a long way off. “I thought ‘that looks scary,’” she recalled. “I was hoping the steep part wasn’t the summit.” The steep part, in fact, led to the summit. To allay her fears of going at it alone, Wiersma asked two fellow hikers if she could join them for the rigorous scramble to the top. The two hikers were Jasperites John and Simon Wilmshurst, who were on their own final adventure of the summer— Simon was due to head back to school in Victoria the following day. “I had noticed they were pretty good hikers,” Wiersma said. “I asked ‘do you mind if we reach the summit together?’”

//RESCUE TECHNICIANS BARB SHARP AND A.L. HORTON HELPED BRING HIKER ALISHA WIERSMA DOWN TO SAFETY // SUBMITTED

rescuers were the best in the field.” Yet Wiersma was unable to stay calm for long. She was agitated about the loose rocks. When Wilmshurst told her a helicopter was on its way, she worried the rescuers would create more rockfall.

“I was scared to move, scared to start another rock slide”

The Wilmshursts obliged Wiersma’s request; they would be happy to hike together. An hour or so later, after reaching the summit and posing for obligatory victory photos, Wiersma was conscious of the time; she had to work in less than four hours. Figuring she’d let the father and son duo enjoy some time together soaking in the views, she elected to start down without them. However, instead of retreating the same way they came up, Wiersma started down slightly off course.

“I was so scared,” she said. “Every time a rock moved it caused a panic attack.”

// ALISHA WIERSMA NOT LONG BEFORE HER ACCIDENT // SUBMITTED

Eventually, Parks Canada rescuers did show up. With Simon waving from the ridge and indicating Wiersma’s position, technicians swooped overhead to assess the scene. Soon they were creating a staging area, then slinging in a rescuer from beneath the helicopter. After fitting Wiersma with a rescue harness and airlifting her to the staging area where they stabilized her, technicians put Wiersma into the helicopter and flew her to an awaiting ambulance.

After the incident, Wiersma said she was grateful to the Wilmshursts for their compassion and to the rescue technicians for their expertise. “I don’t know how to thank someone for doing something like that,” she said. “Words can’t thank someone enough.”

“I thought, ‘I don’t think this is the exact same way, but it looks less steep,’” she said.

“She was cold and shaking like a leaf,” said public safety specialist Rupert Wedgwood. “And rightly so, she had a very close call.”

However, upon beginning her descent, Wiersma lost her footing. As she fell to the ground, she slid on top of the rocks, which had suddenly come to life beneath her.

Wedgwood said wet weather all summer has created slope instability in many parts of the Rockies.

Although Wiersma said she’d want to gain more experience before she attempts another solo scramble, the following week she was on Whistlers’ Mountain—albeit with her sister. The trip was in part to check off one more adventure off her list, but also to prove to herself that she could still enjoy the alpine without fear of something going terribly wrong.

“That terrain is constantly active with rockfall,” he said. “You definitely don’t want to be there.”

“I’d recommend hiking Pyramid Mountain, but unless you’re very prepared, don’t do it by yourself,” she said.

“A rockslide took me down,” she said. “I was scared out of my mind, crying.” She eventually came to a stop. But as she took stock of her situation, Wiersma realized she had to get back up to the summit ridge. However, as she tried to stand, more rocks slid beneath her. Soon she was falling again, this time tumbling and rolling off of larger rocks. When she finally stopped, some 30 m from where she initially fell, she was face down in the debris and her leg was stuck. “I was scared to move, scared to start another rock slide,” she said. By this time, the Wilmshursts had been alerted to the scene by Wiersma’s calls for help. When they saw their new hiking friend in distress, Simon went back up to the summit to call for a rescue. John stayed close enough to Wiersma to communicate with her, but far enough away so as not to further disturb the slope. “John was amazing,” Wiersma said. “He was asking me about my family and reassuring me that the

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 81 // thursday, september 15, 2016

LOCAL FEATURE // STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB COVEY

SURVIVING & IN THE KI

The challenges of having in an X-rated w

Tessa Huibers’ first job in a restaurant was as a busser.

She remembers going into the kitchen with dirty dishes and being intimidated by the loud, rude and aggressive chatter coming from the line. The cooks—all male—were brazen and crude. They would make distasteful jokes and find any excuse to badger the wait staff. Huibers only entered their domain when absolutely necessary. “I was so shy,” she laughed. “I was terrified of the kitchen.” It’s not an uncommon story for people breaking into the industry, especially females. Kitchen culture has a undeniably chauvinistic bent and Jasper restaurants are no exception. Drug and alcohol use is prolific and the pressure to perform to the highest level means there’s no shortage of criticism—constructive or not—being bandied about. Combine that atmosphere with perennial staff shortages, inflated egos and high turnover, throw in a bunch of dangerous implements like knives and hot burners, crank up the thermostat to 35 degrees and you’ve got a recipe for workplace sadism that no sane young person— particularly young women—should reasonably ever want to be a part of.

Six years ago, not so much. Cochrane was working in Windsor, Ontario, cooking at a unionized casino-restaurant. She’d achieved her Red Seal accreditation as a chef and as a pastry chef, had cooked at several prestigious Fairmont properties, and was recruited to help open Caesars Entertainment’s first international location. However, her heart longed for Jasper, where she’d worked for one summer in 2002. When a chance meeting with another former Jasper cook tipped her off that Beckers was looking to fill an executive chef position, she jumped at the opportunity. “I love being in Jasper, I love the size of this restaurant and I have a great relationship with the owners,” she said. Still, there are challenges. Cochrane’s seen first hand the damage that too much partying can inflict on individuals—and the team. She’s had to fire her fair share of cooks that couldn’t hold it together. For the sole reason that being female takes the heat off, in terms of social pressure to imbibe, Cochrane is glad she’s the odd-woman out. “Being female, you don’t get sucked into it as much as males,” she said. “I take pride

Except that some do. Kami Cochrane is one such outlier. On September 12, the executive chef at Beckers’ Gourmet Restaurant was getting ready for another dinner hour slam in the dining room with arguably the best view in the Rockies. Not that she’s ever gazing out at the Athabasca River during service. Instead, Cochrane is calling out orders, grilling meat and assembling plates for more than 100 guests in less than four hours. Even while pulling 12 hour shifts in the thick of Jasper’s summer rush, however, Cochrane is able to reflect on how far she’s come in her cooking career.

// KAMI C WINDSOR

// TESSA HUIBERS HAD TO TAKE A YEAR OFF COOKING WHEN HER FIRST JOB RAN HER RAGGED. BUT SINCE SHE STARTED IN THE RAVEN BISTRO’S CREATIVE KITCHEN, SHE’S FOUND HER PASSION.

“If you want to do this job you have to stick through it, you’re going to have bad days, but those bad days are going to make you stronger.”

“I literally think I have my dream job right now,” she said.

knowing I come to work everyday with a clear head.”

Patricia Page can relate. The Australian expat might have an occasional glass of wine after shift, but in general the only sauce she touches is some kind of reduction or dessert topping. Page, who works both at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in pastries and at Syrahs of Jasper as a cook, learned long ago that for her, boozing and cooking at a high level don’t mix.

//PATRIC KITCHEN

feature //

& THRIVING KITCHEN:

aving two X chromosomes ted workplace She ran the gauntlet of egos, cranky chefs and sexist jokes while apprenticing in Australia (it’s worse there than here in Canada, she claims) and feels proud that she made it through. A big part of that, she said, was gaining her confidence, something that would have been compromised had she been indulging in alcohol. She said eventually—after months of getting screamed at and having improperly poached

John Riedler has afforded her. If Huibers is honest, she’ll tell you that one day she hopes to succeed her mentor and run the kitchen herself. “I can see myself taking over the Raven,” she smiles. Not so long ago, she could hardly see herself in the industry at all. Huibers first learned to love cooking in high school (“shout out to Mrs. Jones!”) and enjoyed culinary college, but her first job was for a huge hotel, and she hated it. She was one of dozens of hirelings relegated to the basement, pumping out banquet items with no room for inventiveness. The attitudes she encountered were even more off-putting: jealousy, competitiveness and overall unhappiness, which translated into bitterness, a taste she couldn’t stomach. She quit, cooled her heels for a year and then fortunately—for her and her diners—when Riedler opened the Raven in 2012, gave the industry another shot. She put her resume in and hasn’t looked back.

// KAMI COCHRANE IS THE EXECUTIVE CHEF AT BECKERS, A LONG WAY FROM CASINO COOKING IN WINDSOR. “I LITERALLY THINK I HAVE MY DREAM JOB RIGHT NOW,” SHE SAYS.

“I love the fusion of classic cooking and new ideas,” she says about her workplace.

Once a place to avoid, the professional kitchen is now Huibers’ home. Like Cochrane and Page, getting to this point in her career hasn’t been easy, but has made her who she is. When each of the women reflect on where they’ve been— whether as a cook-hating busgirl, a powerless cog in a huge union-run casino or //PATRICIA PAGE ON THE LINE AT SYRAHS OF JASPER. THE AUSSIE SAYS HER CONFIDENCE IN THE KITCHEN TOOK YEARS TO DEVELOP BUT NOW SHE CAN HOLD HER OWN WHILE UNDER PRESSURE. a rookie line cook getting berated for ruining eggs— they all feel lucky to have eggs thrown at her—she learned not only how to found their passion. be a better cook, but how to stick up for herself. “My main focus is my job,” Hubiers said. “It’s “I learned how to give it back,” she said. “And what I love to do.” now I can poach the perfect egg.” They also each feel strongly that the key to At The Raven Bistro, a server brings out getting to where they are now was through the restaurant’s piece de resistance from persistence and staying true to their selves. the brunch menu, a Huibers-designed eggs “If you want to do this job you have to stick Benedict, replete with house-made chorizo through it,” Page says. “You’re going to have sausage, Harissa-flavoured hollandaise sauce bad days, but those bad days are going to make and two expertly poached eggs, their delicate you stronger.” yolks trembling and shrouded by the thin whites. Huibers not only poached the eggs, but “You’ve got to have confidence,” Cochrane created the entire brunch menu, a step that says. “And that comes from working hard.” indicates the creative freedom that head chef Bob Covey// bob@thejasperlocal.com

page B5 // the jasper local // issue 80 // thursday, september 1, 2016

Local health//

ALPINE DRAMA //THE #GIRLSBREAKINGTRAILS GROUP WAS AT IT AGAIN, THIS TIME ON JASPER’S RENOWN SKYLINE TRAIL. HIGH WINDS FORCED AN EARLY EXIT VIA THE WATCHTOWER ROUTE, ALL PART OF THE ADVENTURE // MARNIE OATWAY

Rewiring his emotional self, rewriting the stigma of PTSD Bernie Van Tighem has his good days and bad days. Good days usually involve being outside, or putting in a hard day’s work. Hunting season in Elkford, B.C., where Van Tighem is the fire chief, is just around the corner, so he’ll look forward to getting his tags and breathing the crisp fall air. Bad days, on the other hand, involve a lot of anger, sadness and general feelings of hopelessness. Like many in the emergency services industry, Van Tighem (elder brother of Jasper’s own fire chief, Greg Van Tighem) suffers from PTSD. Unlike many of his brothers and sisters in the field, however, Van Tighem’s post traumatic stress disorder has not only been diagnosed, but the 54-year-old is actively trying to work through it. He’s done with suppressing his feelings. “You have to allow yourself to feel,” he says. “You’re going to see horrible things, it’s OK to feel like crap.”

“People don’t think it’s acceptable to ask for help, they think ‘I can handle this.’” Thirty years ago, Van Tighem wouldn’t allow himself that release. The emotions that boiled up after witnessing horrific accidents and tragedies were promptly stuffed back down. He didn’t think about the incidents he saw, let alone talk about them. Instead, when things became too overwhelming, he’d pack up and leave. Van Tighem went from fire department to fire department, uprooting from Manitoba, to Northwest Territories, to Alberta to B.C. At the time it was under the guise of moving forward in his career. Now he chalks it up to running away. “I was an escape artist,” he said. He doesn’t want to hide any longer. Unfortunately, just as he’s making progress with his illness, the B.C. government is doing their own hiding—hiding from what Van Tighem sees as their responsibility to help first responders deal with their sickness. He’s

currently embroiled in a legal battle to cover his longterm disability, an exhausting saga which only compounds his mental health challenges. But Van Tighem is a fighter. He always has been. When he first got into firefighting in his twenties, he knew he’d found his path. He was good at it. It was rewarding. What he didn’t know was that three decades on, the hard-as-nails, sendme-in mentality would take a severe toll. The feelings he pushed away surfaced in unexpected, troubling ways. His family life, his career and his health suffered.

A BURDEN TO BEAR // ELKFORD, B.C. FIRE CHIEF BERNIE VAN TIGHEM, ELDER BROTHER OF JASPER’S OWN FIRE CHIEF, SUFFERERS FROM POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND IS A VICTIM ADVOCATE FOR FELLOW SUFFERERS. PTSD NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT OPENLY BEFORE EMERGENCY SERVICES PERSONNEL CAN BEGIN TO HEAL, HE SAYS. // SUPPLIED

Now he’s trying to enact a cultural shift in the way first responders deal with their emotions. He’s trying to raise awareness that although police officers, firefighters, paramedics and military personnel may be strong, they’re also some of our most vulnerable community members. Last month, Van Tighem was in Jasper to attend the funeral service of Jasper firefighter Ruben Doyle, who lost his battle with mental illness. “People don’t think it’s acceptable to ask for help,” he said. “They think ‘I can handle this.’” That’s certainly how Van Tighem was programmed. Now he’s trying to rewire himself. As part of his

therapy, Van Tighem is reliving the emotions he suppressed so long ago. That has meant exposing himself to scenes of burnt bodies and suicide attempts (his YouTube search history isn’t for the faint of heart). That has meant revisiting past burials of fallen brothers and sisters. That has meant helping others who are suffering. In February he wrote a raw and passionate article on the subject of PTSD for FireFighting Canada Magazine. Talking about the positive feedback he received from the piece inevitably chokes him up. “I’m going to get emotional here,” he warns. Which is entirely the point. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

thursday, september 15, 2016 // issue 81 // the jasper local// page B6

Local history //

Habakkuk: Patricia Lake’s WWII Iceberg Aircraft Carrier Project Habakkuk was dreamed up by Geoffrey Pyke, an eccentric who went about in rumpled, threadbare clothes and never wore socks. He said the genesis of the project came to him as he was “resting” at a mental institution in the UK. Pyke was odd and didn’t get on well with people, yet he had a vivid imagination. Through a school acquaintance, he ended up as an “ideas man” on the military staff of Lord Louis Mountbatten, whose duties at the time included the invention of technical aids that could assist the Allied war effort. Mountbatten needed people who had unconventional ideas.

would be 27 knots. The landing deck and crew quarters would be constructed of wood and imbedded in pykrete—a mixture named for its inventor, the eccentric Pyke. The recipe called for six parts water and one part sawdust or woodchips. The sawdust dramatically slowed the melting process, which is real handy if you’re using the stuff to make a WWII aircraft carrier out of ice.

Early in 1943, Geoffrey Pyke arrived in Alberta to initiate Project //JASPER YELLOWHEAD MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES Habakkuk in a shed on Patricia Lake in Jasper National Park. On the train ride out, he often handed scraps of paper to waiters, mistaking them for money. (Some of these paper notes contained When Pyke came on classified the scene, the British information). “...be utterly amazed, for I were desperate for He was also am going to do something supplies, yet German seen wandering in your days that you U-boats were sending throughout the would not believe.” ships to the ocean train in his bare bottom on a daily feet, mumbling to basis. In March of himself. 1942, U-boats sank 120 Allied ships, over 80 of Spruce beams and other materials them in the Atlantic. were shipped to Jasper for tests. Pyke’s plan called for unsinkable aircraft carriers Some workers wondered why anyone made out of ice that could withstand being would build a two-million-tonne torpedoed or bombed. Repairs would easily be pykrete aircraft carrier 500 miles undertaken with powerful onboard refrigeration from the nearest ocean, but they //JASPER YELLOWHEAD MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES units. You simply sucked up seawater, froze it, and were being paid for what they did, presto! not what they thought. Today, there are numerous photos of the Churchill and Mountbatten called for a feasibility A prototype measuring 60 feet by 30 feet was abandoned vessel online, taken by scuba divers. study. Three Canadian universities (Alberta, made at Patricia Lake. The project managers There is also a roadside plaque near the site, and Manitoba, and Saskatchewan) participated in found they could keep it frozen with a onea submerged plaque under the waters of Patricia Project Habakkuk, a reference to a Bible quote horsepower motor. The “vessel” was considered Lake. that says, “be utterly amazed, for I am going to seaworthy, but a full-size version was never built. do something in your days that you would not Stuart Taylor // Stuart Taylor is an amateur The refrigeration on the prototype was shut believe.” historian and member of Hinton Town Council. off. The pykrete melted, and the refrigeration In Canada, the plan called for the construction of an aircraft carrier 2000 feet long, 300 feet wide, and two million tonnes in weight. Its top speed

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components that had been left onboard (along with the wooden forms used to shape the pykrete) sank to the lake bottom.

Let him know what you think of his historical features or suggest another subject for him to cover. Email: info@thejasperlocal.com