Bd - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 17, 2003

 “SKEENA.ANGLER |
ROB BROWN

Raging Cow

ike Haworth made a circuil over
Herman's pool, tilting the Jet
Ranger to starboard so that Jim
Culp might get better look at the

river, Ducks, startled by the thump

of the rotors and the shadow of the machine,
raced out from under it leaving vapour trails as
‘their wake.

Thanks to its dark water and its darker bottom,!
the Lakelse River coho count was always a dif-
ficult enterprise, The light had to be right too.

Jim wanted a clear sunny day, and had char-

tered the helicopter for late in the morning hop-

ing for optimal visibility, but the sunlight was

diffused by almospheric haze and its angle

“wasn’t right.

Fisheries and Oceans had contracted Jim to
count salmon from the air so that they could’
have some idea if they'd met their escapement
itargets on the Terrace area rivers where count-,
ing this way was practical, He’d counted Copper}
River chinook early that fall and he’d count:
steelhead there later in the year, when the tiveri
was low and clear. Of the rivers Jim had enum-)
erated, the Lakesle was by far the most difficult.

“Let’s make another pass,” he suggested.

Mike made some delicate moves and the he-
licopter banked again, Jim strained through his
Polaroid glasses and tallied every crimson coho
he spotted with a click of his counter.

Terry Munday was glad to have a day off -
elated in fact. It had been too long since he’d
fished the Lakelse, he'd been thinking about it
off and.on for days now.

hds Every time he passed; the-washouts on the
Kitimat River on his way to -work at the alumi-,
num smelter, he started thinking trout then, in- ¢
evitably, of trout fishing on his favourite river,
the Lakelse.

There were no trucks or cars in the parking
lot. This was surprise — a nice surprise, it being
steelhead season and all.

Solitude, he thought. Wonderful.

He had just pul together his three-weight
trout rod when he heard the helicopter traveling
across the lake, ,

He was almost to the-river when he heard it
circling Herman’s Poel.

He siepped out of the trail and saw the Jet
Ranger hover then shoot downstream like a
giant dragonfly. He wondered whal its crew was
doing.

A cow moose had made her way up the val-
ley the day before, at a leisurely, nervous pace,
champing alder along the way. She'd bedded
down at dusk, taking cover in the alder thicket
that grows alongside Herman’s Creek.

In the morning she made her way down the
creek, almost to the river, when she heard roar
more strange and frightening than the howl of
wolves or the roar of a grizzly bear.

She froze, Every muscle tightened as the
roaring beast came closer, right overhead,
moved back, then came closer again.

She saw it. It was smaller than her. It stood in
the river.

The roar of the chopper had not yet drained
from the valley as Terry started to fish. Before
his first cast was out he heard branches breaking
behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and
saw legs and hooves.

Moose!

He ran into the river and dove headlong. The
moose’s hooves plunged like sledgehammers
into the water beside him.

Mv back, Terry thoughl, the thing's gonna
break my back or crush mv skull!

He tried grabbed the bottom the way a slip-
ping climber about to fall to his death might
grab for a hold. He looked and felt for a large
rock. The sound of moose hooves splashing in
the water beside him was deafening.

The idea that he might pull himself under
and thereby escape the hooves raced feverishly
through his thoughts.

The splashing was farther away.

It stopped,

Terry lifted his head and gasped air. He was
floating over the tail out of Herman's, over the
Rock Garden. His knees bumped ‘the larger
rocks. He put his hands down. He kneeled. He

; stood. He shook. He looked upstream. The cow
moose was some 200 metres above him. She
was standing in the water to her knees.

His rod was still'in his hand ~ still intact. It
shook. Terry had a trout. He reeled it in and
shook it free.

He waded the river quickly, He walked brisk-
ly up the trail. He looked back a few times.
Two fishermen were on their way down lo the
river,

“Any luck?” one of them asked

hooters

between

“Some,” said Terry. cee oe

| TERRACE STANDARD — STANDARD

wu SPORTS ax

638-7283.

Terrace hoopsters sought
after by university squad

By SARAH A.
ZIMMERMAN
UNIVERSITY scouts are
keeping their eyes on ath-
letes coming out of Ter-
race’s baskelball program.

Two former Caledonia
Kermodes are on the Uni-
versity of Northern B.C.
men’s basketball team this
year and head couch Zane
Robison says he’s hoping
that trend will continue,

“Terrace is very reli-
able at producing high
quality athletes in basket-
ball,” Robison says. —

“I know the communily
is very supportive of it -
that’s really nice to see
and that’s why they are so
successful in producing
these athletes,”

Christian Desierto, 21,
and Doug Burnip, 19, are
both graduates of all levels
of basketball in Terrace.

‘Each of the players
began their basketball car-
eers on the hardwood with
the Terrace Youth Basket-
ball Association.

Also known as mini-
ball, the program is inten-
ded for young elementary
age students to get their
feet wet on the court.

It caters to boys and
girls and has grown over
the past decade to include
players up to 14 years old
and is so popular some
kids have to go on a wait-
ing list if they don't sign
up:early ‘enough.

“Majiy mini-ball players |

go on to play at the junior
high and high school le-
vels.

Overseen for years by
Caiedonia’s head coach
for boys basketball, Cam
MacKay, the program not
only emphasizes teaching
young players important
hoops skills, but its an out-
let for older players to give
back to the community.
High school! players volun-
teer their time to coach or
referee games.

“] loved playing for
Cam,” says Burnip, a for-

3

CHRISTIAN Desierto and Doug Burnip are suiting up with the UNBC Timberwolves this season, The
squad’s coach likes what he sees in players from here. PHOTO COURTESY UNEC

ward for the Timberwolves.

“It was a@ great exper-
lence.”

Going on to play at the
university level has always
been a goal of Desierto’s,
who is a guard on the
UNBC squad.

This is his second year

here have just been awe-
some — we had a great
team last season and we’re
on our way this year.”
Burnip, who's in his
rookie year playing on the
squad says the transition to
playing at the university
level has been smooth, but

Robison. “He’s a big body
that can smack some guys
around — he sets some
nasty screens for us.”

The Timberwolves con-
sistently draw some of the
largest fan bases in west-
ern Canada to their games.
It's not unusual for more

“He’s a big body that:can smack some guys around = He )

sets some nasty screens for us.”

playing for the Timber-
wolves and with the depar-
ture of some key players
this season, he’s seen
quite a bit of court time so
far.

He’s been in the start-
ing lineup for half the
games this season and is
one of the team’s top min-
ute-getters.

“This year I’ve had the
chance to prove what I can
do,” he says.

“The last two years

the program is much more
intensive than high school.

“| find at the university
level there’s a lot more
physical aspects to it = the
speed of the game is a lit-
tle bit quicker,” Burnip
says, adding the team
practices five times a
week including cardio
work-outs and weight rain-
ing.

“Doug plays a a very
important role in terms of
chemistry,” says coach

Are you tough enough
to take the plunge?

By SARAH A.
ZIMMERMAN
BO YOU HAVE what it
takes to really ring in the
new year with a splash?

The Kinsmen Club of
Terrace dares you to take
the plunge new year's day
at the 13th annual Kermo-
dei Bear Swim.

The annual event has
become a tradition for do-
zens of people LOOKING
to start the year off with a
clean slate,

“It's a cleansing, if you
want, and there is no bet-
ter cleansing than that,”
says Bruce Martindale, a
Kinsmen club member and
chair of this year’s event.

He's also a veteran
when it comes to starting
the new year off with a
plunge into the icy waters

of Lakelse Lake ~ he’s hit -

the frigid water eight
limes.

“I's just the challenge
and the, ‘| dare ya,’ and to
get over the fear,” Martin-
dale says.

“Tt a tradition.”

The swim usually draws
35-50. brave
people willing to. collect
pledges — all the moncy
taised gets put back into
community projects in the
Terrace area — and launch
into the frosty lake.

>. “The only shock is cold
waler,”. Martindale says,
“And if you stand outside

for a little while before
you jump in, the water's
actually warm.”

The popular event
draws nearly 300 specta-
tors every year and organi-
zers are hoping to sce an
even bigger crowd Jan: 1.

The family event in-
cludes, hot dogs, hat cho-
colate and there’s no
shortage of entertainment.

Swimmers take turns
jumping into the water
—many:of whom arrive in
oulrageous costumes.

In previous years jum-
pers have dressed as
everything from cavemen
to space aliens,

Year's babies.

One year an enterpris- .

ing duo dressed up as the
Titanic before jumping in.

Prizes are given out for
best costume and best
group costume.

This year the Kinsmen
are trying something new.
They've invited the Ter-
race Blueback swim club
to take part while making

‘ita fund raising event for

them too.
“They have the ability

“lo raise as much pledge

money: as they can, they'll
have a blast and-we'll give
them 50 per cent back,”
Martindale says.

The swim is also the
first. official event. of the
Year of the Kermodei -

drag,
queens and diapered New'

the theme Terrace city
council has given 2004,

The Kermodei Bear
swim is a perfect way to
kick off the year and orga-
nizers are hoping it will
draw atlention to the push
to get the Kermode named
as the symbol of the 2010
Olympics,

The swim gets under
way at the Kinsmen Kid-
dies Kamp at First Avenue
Lakelse Lake at | p,m.
Jan. 1.

“Anyone who has ever
jumped before or has ever
thought of j jumping — this,
is the year to do it.”

than 1,000 fans to pack the
stands at home games.

That means there’s a lot
of young people looking up
to the players and regular
media coverage in area
newspapers and on televi-
sion.

It's something the play-
ers try to use to their ad-
vantage,

“[ think it’s more moti-
vation than anything - no-
body wants to hear about
bad teams,” says Desierto.

“That just makes you want
to play that much harder,
knowing that we’re in the
spotlight.”

The Timberwolves are
sitting one spot out of a
playoff berth, and are
picking up some heavy
hitters in the second se-
mester as more students
become eligible to play.

iThat includes -six-foot-
six-inch tall,. 220-pound:
Port Alberni recruit An-
drew Sturgeon.

And coach Robison
says he’s already eyeing
up another Caledonia grad
to join the squad next year
and he’s keeping close
tabs on a couple Grade 12
students on the Kermode
squad this season,

“We're happy to have
kids from students,” he
says. “We're hoping that
we can keep that continu-
ing — where Terrace play-
ers want to play in Prince

“George.”

” THIS GUY was brave enough. Are you? FILE PHOTO

H Winning streak

THE TERRACE Pee Wee reps are proving to be a big threat on the ice
this year. The squad has a seven win, one loss record in the Skeena‘Val- :
ley rep hockey league so far this year. They won two home games in a
row against Smithers Dec, 12-13, defeating the Storm 3-0 and 9-3,