B6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 1, 2000 +

CHRISTIANA WIENS.

“SKEENA ANGLER...
ROB BROWN

When we left them last.week, our two intrepid
10-year-old anglers and their tag along dog, Tip,
were atop Sperling Hill, astride their bikes, shiver-
ing in the early hours of the morning, about to
cross Still Creek Bog en route to the Secret Lake
nestled somewhere in the distant mists.

ur bikes didn’t give off light or reflect it. At one

time or another we all tried those puny genera-

tors that rubbed up against the front tire and
penerated enough friction to power a puny head lamp,
but they never lasted long. As for reflectors ~ reflectors
needed fenders. Rough rides made fenders rattle.
Repairing a fender rattle meant fender removal. After a
pair of repairs we had no rattles and no fenders and no
reflectors.

This lack of light gave us stealth, useful for late night
raids on fruit trees or nocturnal cruises when we glided

unseen along the city streets leering at the people of the
night. What was gained in stealth was lost in safety.
Night traffic lacked competition; it was was unpre-
dictable and wild. Even sharp, young eyes strained to
navigate the inky nights. Almost silent, moving, and set
deeply in the dark, we had to be hawklike.

One early morning some grease ball — who'd been up
all night on Burnaby Mountain, steaming up the win-
dows in his yellow ‘49 Mere with his girlfriend na doubt
— careened around a comer, pinned Bruce in his head-
lights, then swerved at the last second, shattering a stop
sign and bulling through a ditch before coming to rest on
the sidewalk,

’, Bruce raced up to the shack before thé paper truck and '
the sun. Panting and gasping, he told the sfory to the rag-
tag, sleepy-eyed assembly.

I coulda been killed! he yelled, You coulda barely got
a cigarette paper between me and that Merc.

Whadja do? said Jimmy Duncan.

Gave him the finger then f took off, said Bruce defi-
antly.

Anyone killed? asked the kid who wore a band aid
across part of his glasses to cure a stray eye and whom

first or last name,

Probably, said Bruce, but I didn’t hang around to find
out.

Normaliy I was comfortable riding in the dark, but
here in the guts of Still Creek bog, under a blanket of
foul smelling fog, I could have used some light. I heard
Bruce’s tires against the road up ahead, and the rattle of
his bike chain from time to time. Those small reassur-
arices were all thal separated me from night fright.

The frog song made things worse. It was faint when
we first heard it a mile away, but here, in the midst of the
amphibious choir, the croaking was so loud it had
weight; it made peddling ponderous; it made the fog
seem thicker, harder to push through.

1 admit I was scared. Bruce was too because he was
concentrating on the road and not saying anything, and
because he'd apparently forgotten about his dog Tippy
who was far behind us by now.

I'm gonna wait for Tip, I shouted into the darkness.
There was no answer. Brice was farther ahead than I
thought. ] stopped, craving the company of Bruce's mutt
now. Without the whir of my bike, the frogs seemed
fouder. I called back for the dog. There was no response.
] imagined some slimy swamp creature reaching out
from the fen, wrapping its tentacled knuckles around
poor Tip then shithering soundlessly back to its fetid lair.
After a long siring of anxious moments I heard the rasp
of dog nails against pavement. Tip trotted up. She was
wagging her tail so vigorously her butt moved too.

Good girll I said, giving her a pat and a mb, Stay
close. I moved off at a speed that insured she could.

There is only one road. If I stay on it, T told myself, I
can’t get lost. No way. Not ever.

Even with this knowledge ~ and Tip trotting on my

flank like a body guard — I was spooked.
~ Alittle lamp is a big tight in a dark place. I took some
comfort from the solitary street lamp hanging over the:
drive that led to the rod and gun club, the place where,
many times we'd watched, fascinated, as gunners
slaughtered clay pigeons in broad daylight.

houette against the light. In minutes we reached him.

We're almost through it, he said in a cloud of vapour.
He was still breathing hard; Tip and I were breathing
harder.

Ashort time later we crossed Grandview. The lights
in the white-sided diner on the corner were on and I
thought of bacon and eggs and toast and jam. =

Is it far?

Bruce hesitated, A little farther, he said, which, Iknew
from experience, could mean a ride anywhere from 10
miles to two blocks and just about any distance in
between. Bruce hesitated again then tumed down a side
street. There were a lot of houses. I wondered how any-
one could keep a lake filled with giant fish a secret ina
place as settled as this To be continued...

The secret lake, part Il.

TERRACE STANDARD

SPORTS.

638-7283 |

Terrace wins gold at B.C.

Senior Swim Championships

FOUR TERRACE swinimers tra-
velled south to the University of
B.C. pool Feb. 5-6 to study some
of the nation's top senior swim-
mers in action.

“They got to meet national
team members as well as the top
university swimmers from U.B.C.,
Calgary and Washington State,”
said coach Mike Carlyle.

Carlyle said Jenine Barton,
Kaya Downs, Kyle Narzt and Judy
Stevenson didn’t chart as many
best times as expected, but he’s
not worried.

“They're focussed on process
right now,” he said

The event was also a rare op-
portunity for Terrace swimmers to
compete in a 50-metre pool.

One swimmer, Judy Stevenson,

. managed best ever times in three

out of four of her swims.
“Tt was really a rewarding meet

for her,” said Carlyle.

He added 17-year-old Kaya
Downs, who competed in seven
races, performed well technically
and the consistency of her swims
is steadily improving.

Jenine Barton made the finals
in the 400-metre medley, but was
later disqualified.

And Kyle Narzt, 16, finalled in
all of his races, winning gold me-
dals in the 200-metre backstroke,
100-metre freestyle (with a perso-
nal best time) and 100-metre back
stroke.

Narzt also recorded a fourth
place finish in the 400-metre free-
style as well as two sixth place fi-
nishes and an eighth in 200-metre
medley.

Narzt and Barton are expected
to place well in national age
group rankings due out at the end
of February.

we called Oswaid, not knowing whether that was his |

m@ Strike a pose

Dee Piper, Shannon MacLean and Tanya McLeod were caught at the
arena Feb. 25. The girls are just a few of the Clarence Michiel Elementary
students who learn to skate once or twice a month at the arena as part of
their physical education class, The girls are in Mr. Robinson's Grade 6 class.

BLUEBACK SWIMMERS Judy Stevenson and Jenine Barton
take a minute when they're not in the pool to snap a photo with
national team swimmer Mark Versfeld.

Women’s soccer
kicks in for playoffs

JUST ONE week away
from the end of the Ter-
race Women’s Soccer As-
sociation season and end-
of-year stats are anything
but final.

The game scores are
getting so competitive,
said Jeague spokesperson
Lianne Funk last week,
that gone are the days of
5-0 blowouts.

After 16 games of regu-
lation play,’ Artistic Hair .

~Studio ‘continues’ to: Jéad''

the way with 45 points.

Oasis Sports is still in
the chase with 38 points
and Flower Power rounds
out the top-three with 34
points.

Fourth place is also up
for grabs with only two
points separating Begin-
ners Luck (25 points) and
Blessings Children’s Wear
(23 points).

The hard-working Mol-
son team trails the league
with 19 points to date.

And, Funk says, new
faces have made their way
to the top of their team’s
point’s totals as well.

As of last week, Janet
Haw scored nine goals for
Artistic Hair Studio and
Nina Peden scored seven
goals for Blessing Child-
ren’s Wear,

Lynn Rushton and
Shauna Rysavy each
scored six goals for Begin-
ners Luck and Molson.
‘Irs Sue-Alger, of Oasis ;
Sports Club, who leads the
league with 11 points so
far.

Sheila Denomme, al-
ways a strong Flower
Power player, tails Alger
with 10 points.

The last game of regu-
lar season play runs Tues-
day, March 7 and the
women’s playoffs begin
Thursday, March 9 at 8
p.m. All games are held at
Cassie Hall Elementary on
Terrace’s southside.

Joseph rink wins
Valentines Bonspiel

MORE THAN 25 teams from Terrace, Kitimat, Prince
Rupert and Smithers turned up Feb, 11-13 for the annual
Ladies Valentine Bonspiel at the Terrace Curling Rink.
And the weekend belonged to Terrace’s Helen Joseph
tink — who won the A-event over tough competition from

three local rinks.

The Lynn Apolczer rink of Terrace placed second in
the A-event. Aina Carlson and Jackie Munson rinks fin-

ished third and fourth.

The Laurie Monture and Marie Beckley rinks of Ter-
race lead the B-event, while Kitimat’s Seppela rink
placed third. Terrace’s Lisa Bullied rink placed fourth.

The Kathy Simpson rink won the C-event over second
place McLean rink from Prince Rupert. Terrace’s Kathy
Gardiner and Barb Vousden rinks finished third and

fourth.

In the D-event, Kitimat’s Dziuba rink won top hon-
ours, while three Terrace rinks - Joan Kucharyshyn,
Sandy Horbachewsky and Judy Degerness — rounded out

the bottom three positions.

The Theresa Melanson won dubious honours of being
the first rink out of the bonspiel.

to 11 after Terrace aced at zones

As we neared the range, I saw Bruce’s wheeled sil.

TERRACE’S midget rep
hockey team didn’t earn
their spot at the AA midget
provincials in Terrace next
month by warding off
northwest rivals in a zone
championship,

But they'll be there! The
team’s loss in the regional
standings will mean a sec-
ond northwest zone hockey
team will be here to join in

the festivities come spring”

break.
In the fourth week of our
ongoing coverage of the

midget. players, we caver
the ice — from a goalie who

plays best under pressure to

a right winger who has‘al-—

ready injured his ankle this
season. Check them out!

At 17, Jesse Bone stands
5'11 and weighs 200
pounds, which is good news
for a defenceman,

The Prince Rupert born
player has already had a
concussion this season, but
it couldn’t have been too
serious as Bone stands on
record as of early February
as playing more games this
year than any other player
on the bench.

penalty box and Bone, has
scored two goals and five
assists this year.

Bone goes by the nick-
name “Boner” when on the
ice and his birthday is Jan.
13.

Craig Walsh, Terrace’s
185-pound 672 tall goalie,
no other NHL star measures
up to Martin Brodeur.

“He’s quiet and knows
how to do his job,” says
Walsh, who plays his best
under pressure.

Walsh has won seven out
of 13 games this season and

_» has played with a twisted
Only 38 minutes of those
‘games were spent in the

knee,

" Kiyokazu Godo, 17, has
already © proven’ he’s nd
lightweight with a puck:

Godo is a high-scoring

center and has scored five
goals and nine assists as of
Feb. 3 this year.

His favourite NHL play- .

er is Paul Kariya.
And last, but definitely
not least 17-year-old Bren-

_ dan Harris, who says he

can’t remember when he
started playing hockey,

Harris is 5°9 tall, weighs
180 pounds and was born in
Port McNeil.

Harris has scored one

goal and one ‘assist this
year.
- His. favourite player is
Brendan-Shanahan and his
favourite NHL team is the
Pittsburgh Penguins,

Jesse Bone Craig Walsh

Kiyokazu Gedo Brendan Harrla