SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN S SKEENA ANGLER ROB BROWN Shipwrecked n the process of giving the mest disingenuous apology since Tricky Dick Nixon wrapped his wife Pat in a cloth coat then trotted her and his dog Checkers out in front of the cameras, Gordon Campbell claimed he didn’t think he was drunk when he slid behind the wheel of his rental car ‘and jetted off in the general direction of his luxury conda. After watching Campbell burn out of an intersection like a stock car racer, weave into the oncoming jane, catreen back into his own -lane, drive over the shoulder into a bike path, “bump back on the road then, after pulling him ‘over, watching a bleary-cyed Campbell stumble out of the SUV and offer a slurred, but lame excuse for this remarkable demonstration of offensive driving, officer Shannon Griffiths of the Maui police had little doubt that B.C.’s CEO was in a state of aggravated intoxication. Sweep away all the subterfuge and. what you are left with is the inescapable conclusion that if: premier Gordon Campbell claims he didn’t think he was drunk before he slid behind the wheel and headed out on the Honoapiilani Highway at speeds almost double the posted limit, then he — as Tricky Dick and his cronies used to say — misspoke himself. Campbell’s drunken caper, his towering _ hypocrisy and his lack of decency and integrity afterwards have lowered the bar of. political , ‘standards to the paint where even the most self- serving . ‘politician fears fo limbo for fear of winding up in limbo. -The premier’s performance abroad and his " performance afterward tells us much about the man, but his performance in the wheel house of the ship of state is now of more concern than “the way he handled his SUV. When we look at , the way Captain Campbell and his crew have handled the finances of the province, spending a large surplus like drunken sailors, then using that fiscal gaffe as an excuse to fire civil servants and cut sorely needed social services, he starts to resemble the skipper of the Exxon Valdez. I haven’t the space and this isn’t the place to deal with the deadly effects Campbell's policies are having on education and health. This is where we talk about fish, so let’s. Ignoring a large body of evidence that fish farming is disastrous to wild fish and their environment as well as all the creatures (including us) that depend on fish for their well- being, the Liberals lifted the moratorium on fish farming in this province. ; “This is a great day for the fish farming industry and for the people of B.C.!” exclaimed . Minister John VanDongen in front of industry representatives in Campbell River as he announced the lifting of the moratarium. For the tracts of ocean floor that will die ‘ thanks to the pollution from fish farms it wasn’t a great day. For the commercial fishermen who will. lose their livelihoods thanks. to the aggressive marketing of an inferior product to an unsuspecting public, the day was less than brilliant. Fish farms have been operating in Norway for ‘over thirty years now yet the threats to wild stocks posed by those farms persist and grow. Net pen escapees still represent a serious _ threat to wild salmon as vectors of disease. Scientists have warned that, since fish farms are by nature prone to disease, new, potentially devastating diseases will inevitably occur and be carried to wild salmon. A short time ago an heretofore unknown parasite thought to be related to a single celled ‘parasite known as Parvicapsula was discovered in two Norwegian farms. Its effect on wild stocks is still unknown. Sea lice have always been with us. They are now with us in abundance wherever fish farms are found. Even low infestations in farms are a grave threat to the migrant smolts of wild salmon. In Scotland it is suspected that wild salmon | runs have declined by 60 to 70 per cent as a result of lice and other problems related to fish - farming. Yet there are plans for the construction of “fish farms on the approach waters to the “Skeena, one of the last, and arguably the greatest, wild salmon fisheries in the world. Salmon are central to the tourist industry. - Tourism is the second largest industry in this province, yet the provincial Liberals ignore the threat fish farming poses to the Skeena fishery ‘Land ‘allow these proposals to proceed. “Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!” = - orders Captain Campbell, TERRACE STANDARD The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 5, 2003 - B7 PORTS 638-7283 mw Get in there ANDY HOFFMAN was one of more than 100 people who taok to the ice in the Royal Canadian Legion open bonspiei here Jan. 24-26. Two Kitwanga teams and 26 rinks from Terrace played in the event. The A event saw the Dave Dennis rink de- feat Rick Bennet, the B event went:to the Michael Dahms rink . -who ousted Maurice Bulleid, in C event action Graham Geer- ' aert beat Roy Armagost and Dale Walker. beat Scottie Mcll- 7 moyle to take the D event. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO Games draw dozens NINETY-TWO athletes from Terrace are on their way to the Northern B.C. Winter Games this week. From basketball to wrestling and curling to hockey, dozens of Terrace athletes are getting ready to show what they've got at the Feb, 6-9 event. Terrace’s own peewee rep hockey team made up of 11-12 year olds will take to the ice, And in junior boys basketball, the Skeena Junior Secondary School ‘Wildcats will represent Terrace on the hard wood. An under 16 junior curling team is also heading to the games. This year, 10 local figure skaters will also be going. It’s the largest number of figure skaters ever to go to the games from Terrace. And despite some challenges to ’ keep their club gaing, 14 dedicated wrestlers are also taking part. Tyler Branch, a senior wrestler on the team, has recruited Dave O’Brien, their former coach, to come along with them as a coach and cha- perone. Boys and girls indoor soccer teams from Terrace are also taking part. In all, 167 athletes from the Kiti- mat-Stikine region are heading to of Terrace athletes TERRACE’S peewee hockey team hits the ice this week as they bat- tle it out at the Northern B.C. Winter Games. FILE PHOTO the games along with the Terrace contingent. City of Terrace recreation pro- gram director Carol Wall says those numbers are down from previous years. “It?s down a little bit, we're thinking just because of the econo- mics with this region,” Wall said. “It fluctuates also on where it’s being held.” In large cities such as Prince George where there are more facili- ' ties and plenty of places for athletes to be billeted, more athletes tend to come. This year the games are being hosted by three different communi- ties - Vanderhoof, Fort St. James and Fraser Lake. That means some events which have taken place in the past are nat being held this year, Wall said. . This is the second time the games have been hosted by the tri-city communities — the last time was in 1987. Organizers expect 1,700 athletes from the various repions to attend. Kispiox eyes a top three finish y SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN COACH MAR STEVENS hopes his Kispiox intermedi- ate bays team‘ will crack the top three at this year’s All Native basketball tournament. They’ve been to the event for the past five years pla- cing fourth last year and fifth the year before. Stevens says its height is an advantage. “We're taller than everybody else. Most teams have one tall guy or two but we have about five tall guys over six feet.” The team will face other strong teams such as Ahou- sat, Bella Bella and Skidegate returning from last year. “But there are some good teams up the Nass, too,” adds Stevens That includes Greenville — the team Ki- spiox faces in its first game. The team has up and coming players such as Erin Wilson, a 16-year-old with pood height, a natural affinity for basketball and a desire to work hard. Five of the team’s players are in their last year of eligibility for the intermediate division. Many of the team a little bit,” other players look to them for leadership on the court. Team captain Matt Simpson is an example. “He’s kind of like the leader out there plus I have a third year player named Chad Wilson — he’s kind of stabilized the Stevens says, “He’s been on our team for a couple years but I’ve seen an improvement this year.” Stevens says there’s only one way to make the team’s ‘goal of petting to the semi-finals. “There’s no tricks — just hard work,” he says. “I think that if we work hard and play our own n game we'll do well.” Bantams tally two more wins WITH A weekend free from Skeena Valley league play or tournament action, the Terrace bantam reps took on Kitimat in a pair of exhibition games. Terrace hosted the Kitimat squad Jan. 25 on home ice and beat the vi- sitors 9-6. Ryland Macdonald picked up a hat trick, Tristan Murray scored twice and Calen Findlay, Colby Link, Nick Lindstrom and Brad To- manocy rounded out the goal scor- ing, each placing the puck between the pipes once, Bryan Hull had helped out pick- ing up six assists assisis. That game may be the last of the season for Terrace’s first year defen- ceman Kelly McColl who broke his left arm during the match: “He got hit into the boards and when he went down he put his arm out to brace himself and it just broke,” Amos said. The following day Terrace tra- veled to Kitimat to picking another win. Calen Findlay, Colby Link and Bryan Hull scored for Terrace in the 3-2 victory over their southern oppo- nents. “Eric Bevan was solid in net for Terrace in this victory,” Amos said. Sports Scope Oldtimers battle OLDTIMERS from throughout the north- west are converging on the Terrace arena for the CFNR Clas- sics oldlimers hockey — tournament over the we Valentine’s Day a weekend. . a The Classics have taken over what, in the past, was known as the Terrace Tim- bermen oldtimers tournament. The event is slated to go Feb. 14-16 and promises -to feature some exciting hockey action. Sign up IT’S THAT time. of the year when young soccer players sign up for another season of exciting competition. Registration takes place this Friday at the arena banquet room 6-9 p.m. and on Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A second chance to register your child comes next week when . registration takes place at the. aquatic centre board toom Feb. 14-15- same times. Make sure to bring proper identification for your child. Eli- gible players must ’ have been born be- tween 1985 and 1997, The soccer asso- clation is looking for qualified Provincial B level Select coaches for the 2003 season. Anyone interested in becoming a head coach, assistant coach or team manager. is asked to submit their applications before February 28. Applications. must be submitting in wri- ting to George Bujtas at 4101 Benner St, Terrace, B.C, V8G 3B1.