a cee mmr The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 21, 1995 - C1 INSIDE = SPORTS MENUC2. MALCOLM BAXTER 638-7283. - Built to be a winner GOING INTO the recent Natural for Sports __ROBBROWN Word from on high E THANK the Ellsworth Camper for the directions. Before we pull oul curiosity geis the better of me, “How’d you get that wound?’ J ask.He holds his hand to the deep purple bruise under his right eye. “Jack Ajil,’’ he says, I wince at the thought of getting smacked in the face by the hard shiny handle of one of those contraptions, “‘Doctor told me he does about five a year”. He shook his head, We shook ours then rolled over the ruts to the highway and then the logging road. Visions of logging trucks are rolling through Webb’s mind. The jack handle victim had told us he thought there would be none, but didn’t sound confident. We climb slowly, creep around curves, roll down the windows, listen for the roar of a big diese]. Navigating one of the sharper bends, we startle a large black bear. He gallops along, then off the road, stops at the base of a tree, looks at us then up the tree and at the truck again. We leave him, pass the Brown Bear Lake Road, then a small lake before a log- ging truck appears ahead of us. Fortunately we meet him on one of the few straight stretches of road, one with a convenient pull out. When the truck is past we resume at a snail’s pace. The road forks. Webb is all for going up. I favour the downward, northerly route. Neither of us have good reasons for favouring either way until I spot a worn kilometre sign a short distance down my chosen path. This is enough to sway the argument in my favour. Down we go past another pretty lake, dimpled with rises, which we agree is a good omen. Everything is fine until the road forks again. Both forks have signage this time, We're flummoxed, “We went ~ down last time,” Doug says. “Now we should go up.’’ This is bush logic, irresistible and per- suasive, [don’t even argue, Up we go. ; Lakes are everywhere. So are clearcuts, big dirty ones, the kind the premier said would have no place in B.C.’s forest future. Yet these cut- blocks are new, Nothing looks worse than a giant, sprawling newly-stripped piece of forest. When onc of these wastelands is next to a shim- mering lake the poor impression is intensified. This is Orenda land where the tenures belong to the forest company named for an Iroquois god. I tell Webb this, trying to impress him with my knowledge. ‘God of what?’’ he asks. I tell him I don’t know, then wonder if the Iroquois had a god of greed. There have been more intersections. I’ve been lost in these logging labyrinths before. I’m map- ping our route when we pass a muddy Sub- urban, far from the suburbs, Unfortunately, there is nobody around. ‘‘One more kilometre on this road then we'll turn back,’’ says Webb, We stop aad get out at the top of a hill in order to scan the distances for a hint of river, As we do a yellow helicopter buzzes over our heads like a giant bee. More lakes, no river, we turn back. The suburbanites are returning, Webb ac- celerates to 50 kmh, and we pull alongside, “‘Kwinageese River, you know where it is?’ This is me asking a guy wearing a large hat with the front of the wide brim pulled down sharply so that it almost touches the tip of his nose. A pony tail, a drooping moustache, a feather in the hat, he looks like a refugee from the seventies, “*Kwinageese,’’ he says in a tone that lets me know he docsn’t know. ‘‘Use the radio,” orders the driver. ‘‘Mike’ll know.” “Chopper pilot He flies all over this country, He knows everything,” says the man with the hat reaching into his raincoat and pulling out a radio. “Ask him if there’s a God,’’ I say. He smiles, he’s all right, quite cool, As he talks into the radio I notice he has an orange brown nicotine stain extending from his wrist to the tip of his index finger. The chopper pilot speaks as if he has phlegm, says he is in a valley. When he is out of it he calls back. ‘Two guys looking for the Kwinageese River,'’ Nicotine Finger informs him. ‘‘Oh, the tourists,” he says, showing that he is not omniscient after all. ‘Tell them to go back to Mile Zero on Kwinageese Main, turn left then keep right. Make no left turus,’’ he says like God spcaking to Charlton Heston just before Chuck makes the Red Sea crossing with the fugitive Jews, Then, abruptly, he’s over and out. We thank the subuibanites a Jot. ‘“You tree planters?’* is my question. Nicotine Finger looks slightly offended. ‘‘No, timber cruisers,”” The driver is fiddling under the hood. Webb, ever the Good Samaritan, asks if everything is all right. ‘‘It just needs to be topped up with oil - from time to time,’? Nicotine Finger tells us, then he says, ‘“Thanks for asking.’” Life bodybuilding competition held in Abbotsford, Emie Milhomens figured it was going to be close, *‘T knew I was in there but it could have gone either way,” said the 19- year-old Terracite. But when the judges’ verdict came down, it had all gone his way. Milhomens was named winner of the Short Class (Sft. 9in. and under) and also took home the Best Poser trophy. He also finished second overall among the 17 competitors, most of whom were from Vancouver. How much does it take to stay in winning shape? It might surprise some to find Milhomens does it on an average 4-6 hours a week in the gym. Although he may return to defend his tiles next year, he has no plans at this Slage to enter other competitions. At left, Milhomens poses with the trophies he earned, Mashers Terminated in annual celebrity slugfest TSN WASN’T there and the provincials dailies failed to in- clude it on their pages the fol- lowing day. That was their mistake, It just meant they’d missed out on one of the premier sporting events on the calendar, Ter- race’s annual Celebrity Soft- et 4 ae ball game. The result was never in doubt as the Terminators built a commanding early lead over the Mashers and nursed it to a 16-9 final. But despite the one-sided na- ture of the game, there was no Shortage of entertainment for | | whirlwinds in his wake. i city engineering direcior Stew i through the gaps. . 7 walking | award had to go to Renita | Nays of Skeena Broadcasters "| potential force at second base, the spectators. There was city councillor Gordon Hull, hinting he knew the game by religiously ignor- ing the first pitch no matter how good it was, And [ater proving it by hitting an inside the park homer. Regional district economic development officer Andy Webber intimidating all by wearing real cleats, then using them to circle the bases at a speed which set up small Putting the young bucks on both sides to shame, there was Christensen effortlessly snag- .|. ging flies in right and laying: {. down precision base hits’ { And councillor David Hull away with the masochism award by sliding into second wearing shorts, But the play-of-the-day who showed a fine under- standing of what the event was all about, A grounder having set up a her station, she issued the full- decibel command to the Scope. SVT count down is on PARTICIPATION: _ that’s the theme organizer Ray Wamer wants people to adopt for this year’s Skeena Valley Triathlon. For the second time in four years, SVT will also host the BC championships. But Warner emphasizes local people shouldn’t be in- timidated because the provincials will essentially be a separate competition. And you can be a part of SVT VII without having to perform all three legs of the swim-run-ride events. Participants can spread the load by entering as a team of three. And if you want to follow that route but don’t have teammates lined up, just call Warmer at 635-4478 and he’ll find you some. He’s even got a few bikes available for teams that lack that equipment. Entry forms for the Sun- day, July 30 event are now available at Sport World, All Seasons Sports, the Aquatic Centre and Recrea- tion office in the arena building, Skeena giris selected THREE SKEENA basket- ballers will be looking for gold this summer. Kathleen Gook, Kim Haugland and Ruby Primar have been selected to play on the northwest’s Under- 15 Girls team vying for the title at this year’s B.C. Sum- mer Games. It will be Gook’s second trip to the Games represent- |, ing a zone that covers an area = stretching = from Vanderhoof to Masset, The Games take place July 27-30 in Penticton, Fore on four GOLFERS taking to the Skeena Valley course today © will enjoy the distinction of . being the first to use the ; new #4 hole, an Rebuilt last year with the help of donated equipment and the TLC of the grounds crew, the emerald green is guarded left and right by bunkers to catch the wayward, And like the rest of the course, it is in excellent shape. , The club also reports a jump in green fee revenue as golfers new and experi- ejnced have been out taking advantage of the spectacular spring weather. No-ski days for Smithers SMITHERS’ ski hill will operate only five days a week next season, The Smithers Ski copora- tion board voted June 5 to close the hill on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Noting the hill barely broke even on those days, board president Walter Hromatka said, ‘‘It doesn’t Guided by the words of the sky pilot we find ourselves beside a beautiful looking body of water a sign tells us is Bonney Lake, Fish are rising everywhere. We have to stop, (Next week: busted bridges and drowned Soresis) YER Ou A there! Above, Terminator left fielder Jeff : “Don’t throw i Nagel gets gunned down at first once again. However, See After al hie heed | persistence paid off in the final Inning when he laced event and being nailed by an | one down the third base line and beat out the throw to, over: zealous teammate ain’ts{, move his game batting average off the 000 mark, “fun, © } really. make sense from a business point of view to be open seven days a week.’?