a katelewan and Manitoba. ERRACE’S reputation J. as B.C.’s UFO capital eal is creating a new kind oh Of turism boom in the Pgion. Curious | travellers from “ACrOss Nortt America are in- quiring abou the tourism faci- lities. in cammunities across Highway 16 including Terrace, says a UFOresearcher based in Houston, B “You wold be surprised just . how many mails I get over the Zs months requesting information for.” ~ ur. areas,” ays Brian Vike, edi- tor. of Canadan Communicator, a ““Mmagazine specializing in the paranorma! and director of . HBCC-UFQ Research. -« Earlier this year, Terrace eracked th¢ top 10 in a national UFO survey, earning third place, just ahead if Houston, where Vike operates a toll- free UFO hotline so he cancollect and investigate eye-witnes reports. J. Terrac| recorded the third highest nimber of UFO sightings in the cojntry last year, bringing national and international atten- “tion to thi region, Vike says. The rjsulting publicity means the northwest is rapidly emerging as-one d the best places to see UFOs inCanada, Savy} ‘tourists know they're more tilely to see a flying saucer than th¢ elusive Kermode bear, ‘the vihie form of a black bear hati is tle city’s official symbol. 'Vikesays he’s often contacted “by UFC buffs and the just plain ~-. ¢urlous who want to know about “=the regpn’ § tourist attractions and * accomnodations. “Maly have never been up this “way,” Vike says. “So I give them the lowdown on what our commu- - nities lave.” ~ He ells them about camp sites “cin thelarea, the excellent hiking, fishinj and boating opportunities here, the beautiful scenery and > the ralge of wildlife. : “Al a matter of fact, I receive "80 m any emails, I was going to = put up. a page on my website which would give information to tourisis on what we have.” Vike says 2003 is shaping up tobe another record year for UFO sightings in the skies over Ter- trace, wher 25 sightings were re- - corded lag year, suggesting more “national md international atten- tion couldbe on its way. : _. *Rightjnow Terrace has darn near: -cauglt up to last year’s ‘otal : -count ina he- says... ‘UFO-rdated tourism is a grow- . ing marke} in the rest of the world. - Vulcan a town of 1,700 in southern Alberta that’s hame to a Teplica staship and a tourist infor- mation centre built to look like a space staton, isn’t the only place cashing iron its Sci Fi cachet. * St. Pau, Alberta was out of the gate back in 1967, when it built the worlds first UFO landing pad, ensuring that future space travel the The sky’ 's mit We're a Canadian hotspot for UFO sightings. Could that help drum up close encounters of the tourist kind? — THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL highway is located in Nevada, part of the region’s UFO-related tourism draw. At right, an object captured on video was witnessed by Houston residents. would, be safe for all intergalactic beings. “All visitors from earth or otherwise are welcome to this ter- ritory and to the Town of St. Paul,” reads an inscription beside the 12-metre-diameter concrete pad. The tiny U.S. town of Rachel, Nevada, meanwhile, has capita- lized on its proximity to the mys- UFO-related tourism is a growing market in the rest of the world. lerious Area 51, thought to be a secret U.S, military base. Rachel’s tourism industry began to take off in the late :a reliable location for. sightings, - -. drawing ever larger numbers: of “UFO tourists”. Nearby Nevada State Highway 375 was officially. renamed the “Extraterrestrial Highway” to re- flect the large number of sightings along this stretch of road. Enterprising community leaders in other countries have boarded the UFO tourism spaceship, too. Last year, a Chilean mayor took the bold move of designating the region near his town as an of- ficial UFO tourism zone because so many sightings have taken place in the Andes mountains there. That’s the kind of notoriety places like Terrace, Houston, and other Highway 16 towns could ea- sily take advantage of. While Terrace may presently lack an officially-sanctioned UFO tourism strategy, Vike is function- ing as an unofficial intergalactic ambassador, sharing the region’s latest eye-witness reports and his own pet theories with a curious world, From Houston headquarters, he keeps busy doing interviews: with newspapers, TV shows and radio talk shows all over North Ameri- ca. Canada’s Life network shot 18 hours of footage with Vike in _ Houston, Smithers and Telkwa in February... A documentary will air. :. this fall season or early i in the new year, “All of this is great for tourism,” he says, reminding northwest residents to. keep their eyes to the skies this summer. Vike has noliced a new pattern in the most recent reports: more’ eyewitnesses in the northwest are reporting objects .in the sky, in- stead of just unexplained, or od- dly-moving lights. One sighting reported by mulli- ple witnesses across a wide geo- graphic area involved gigantic tri- angles. Others have reported seeing crescent or ring-shaped objects in the sky. Vike adds a number of eyewit- nesses reported seeing a large, saucer-shaped disk travelling from Mill Bay on Vancouver Is- land to Kitimat past the Alcan Smelter and on towards Prince Rupert and Terrace. Vike, a former forestry industry worker, tries. to uncover likely ex- planations for what eyewitnesses have seen. as Hey AGS The planet Venus is sometimes mistaken for a.UFQO. Other sight- ings are later found to be aircraft,. meteors, satellites, stars or even blimps, says Vike, who once be- longed to the Royal Astronomical Society and volunteered at the planetarium in Vancouver, Vike’s got a toll-free ‘number; 1-866-262-1989, and a- website: wwws3.telus.nel/public/wilbur8/hbc ¢_ufo_research.htm Alberta town of Vulcan is a leader in space tourism TOURISTS flock to Terrace for its fsh, mountains and rare Kermodt bears. Is it bo much of a stretch to add UFQs to the list of local at- tractioni? Vulcin, a pint-sized town in southen Alberta, has already blazed t wide trail on the inter- galactic tourism highway. Its mtire ‘tourism strategy is buill abund the name's associa- tions with a race of aliens in TV's Sci-Fi cult classic, Star Trek - even though Vulcan was actually . named: fter a Roman god. Thaisands of terrestrial space travellirs flock to see the town's replick USS Enterprise space ‘ship, ¢ ¢ Vulcan Starship FX6-1995- AY ‘that presides over the entrance ve to town. “Vulean’s tourism bureau, ~ shaped like a space station, wel- *: comed 13,000 visitors last year. Mist are Visitors dropping in from jother parts of Alberta, Sas- And most come because of the town’s ‘thene., “We get a lot of Trekkies,” says Lori Gregory, information servces coordinator at the Vulcan “Toutsm and Trek Station. At the starship replica. was mpleted in 1995, Vulcan's unity and business leaders tH ly bought into the scheme, whith originated with the mem- il of VAST (the Vulcan Asso- = ¢iaton for Science and Trek). they. were inspired by the Star series, | he number of visilors to Vul- THE TOWN of Vulcan capitalizes on Its association with a race of aliens on TV’s Star Trek. This re- plica starship greets visitors who come from ail aver the world. DAVID YANCIW PHOTO / www. bigthings.ca can, population 1,700, went from a few hundred a year to more than 10,000 annually. “I think it's really given us a boost,” Gregory says. Having a spaceship that’s vis- ible from the highway “has really paid off,” she says, adding the town also sees travellers who would otherwise just ro!l on by because they find themselves heading into Vulcan to satify their curiosity. It helps that once visitors come into town, they. find. reasons to stay and explore —-.and hopefully spend money in local business es- tablishments. Visitors gladly buy Star Trek souvenirs at local gift shops and memorabilia dealers, which are careful not to sell the same items. Each summer, the town active- ly courts visitors through events like Galaxie Fest, an annual con- veniion based around the Star Trek theme featuring events, dis- plays, movie screenings, guest speakers and even dinner theatre. For Western. Canadian’ ‘Star : Trek fans, a-trip to Vulcan is - within closer reach than ‘annual Trek conventions in Toronto or Las Vegas, Gregory points out. Just two weeks ago, Vulcan earned a- special achievement award for its innovative tourism strategy from the. specialty SPACE TV channel, The theme works because everyorie in Vulcan has gotten be- hind it. “Any community that is look- ing to use tourism {o promote themselves, it>has to .be a com- | “munity.effort. io make-it work: and. “to keep it working,” Gregory SAYS: _ and he was a good one. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - A5 CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag We need more leaders like ex-MLA Jack Kempf ” Dear Sir: British Columbia lost one of its true original characters recently with the passing of Jack Kempf. He was my MLA in Burns Lake for many years, No, he was great. Not because he was extraordinarily clever, because he wasn’t. Instead, Jack Kempf was driven by an ideology ail too uncommon nowadays — fairness and common =~ sense, duty and service. If you have to put a label on this man, it would ; have to be populist, in the best sense of that word. While only the far right wing of his party ever accused him of being a “liberal”, he was more of a social democrat than many masquerading as self- described social democrats. He cared deeply about people, he just plain liked people. He was fearless, and he spoke the truth to his own collegues and party, even when it cost him dearly. During the 1980s, I, and some fellow sawmill operators, organized a group of small business forestry operators to fight for fair treatment from the Ministry He was an uncommonly decent man, and probably the most gifted grass-roots politician | ever met, even if | never voted for him. of Forests and the large multi-national forest companies. One day we were demonstrating in front of the Forest Service office in Burns Lake and Jack showed up. He'd heard about our protest and just got into his car and drove from Houston to lend his support. And support us he did. He stayed for several days and spent hours packing a picket sign along Highway 16, . . offering encouragement and advice. He knew the forest industry from the perspective of . a logger, and he cared deeply about that industry, about forest communities, and understood that what was happening to B.C,’s forest was unsustainable and _ just plain wrong. He had this very unpopular idea that the public should enjoy the benefits accrued from harvesting the public’s forest. He didn’t hate the big multi-nationals, he didn’t have: time for that. He just simply ' recognized their interests werent always compatible with the communities’ interest. lt cost him his job as forests minister. Jack didn’t care which party you belonged to. He knew I tended to support the NDP, and didn’t care. If you had an issue that needed dealing with, you were simply one of his constituents and that’s all he needed to know. He always had time for everyone, always cheerful and witty, sometimes sarcastic, but never mean, He, didn’t sit back: in,a fancy office and receive. delegations , like some potentate, but instead, he, Was constantly on the road, visiting remote. rural communities, and drinking endless cups of coffee as he-listened to ordinary folk and their concerns, And listen he did. He was one of the great | listeners, not threatened by the cut and thrust and. give.and take of spirited debate. He wasn’t afraid to change his mind, or think about something in a different way. I didn’t particularly like his politics some times, but I sure admired his style. That ability to speak his mind and stick up for. communities, even with his own party, often made him.an object of derision in the media, and with the pseudo-sophisticates. His own party was so threatened by his honesty - they tried to destroy his reputation, and he became the object lesson on the dangers of speaking out against vested interests. He was an uncommonly decent man, and probably the most gifted grass-roots politician I ever met, even if I never voted for him. He deserved better from his party, and we could use more like him now. Bruce Hill Terrace B.C, Keep first responders Dear Sir: Re: “Firefighters won't do as much as paramedic duty” (Terrace Standard, July 9, 2003) If it is true that the first responder program runs at no extra cost to the city because firefighters are paid ° the same salary regardless of the amount of off-duty calls they attend, then why is it being cut? Let's be realistic. There will be times when the caller will not know all the details of the situation to pass them on ta the dispatcher. I for one would not want that to be. one of my friends or family members who do not qualify for the first responder program because they did not know the person was going to stop breathing before the ambulance arrived. I am writing because a while back a very close relative of mine needed a ambulance. We were not sure if it was a heart attack or not but there was numbing of the hands, feet and shortness of breath. The firefighters on the first responder program did show up and their help was appreciated greatly. This took place in Thornhill and often the first responder firefighters can get there minutes before the ambulance and those minutes could save a life, Although J] have first aid, J am not a paramedic and do not-have the experience that these individuals do, so again, I will express appreciation and hope that there are no “qualifications” or “certain criteria” that needs to be met in order to get these guys oul on a call. \ Danielle Lavoie Thornhill B.C. About the Mail Bag The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our. address Is 3210 Clinton St. Terrace, B.C. V8G- 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@terracestandard.com. No aitachments, please. We need your name, - + address and phone number for verification. Our’. deadline is noon Friday or noon Thursday if Ie: a. 2 ‘long weekend. ead