B4 - The Terrace Stondard, Wednesday, March 20, 2002 TERRACE /SKEENA ANGLER _ ROB BROWN Trout Travels 2 Ik enny was happy to exit the freeway -at Yarrow. The ald cream-coloured Chevrolet wasn’t exactly fast at the best of times. With the aging camper in the box, the poor truck laboured to reach 50 miles an hour; at 55 its metal muscles groaned; at 60 — a speed only attainable with the assis- tance of wind or hills or both — the vehicle began to shudder and moan dangerously. What he'd read about the rivers and lakes in and around the lower mainland in a few old books and magazines made Kenny want to hurry. He'd tried, but just outside of Aldergrove, he'd yielded to the will of the truck and setiled into life in the stow lane. As vehicles of all kinds burned by him like space ships on urgent missions to distant galax- ies, Kenny had slipped a Pink Flayd tape into the portable tape player secured to the metal dashboard with duct tape. After punching play, he'd lit up a duMaurier then leaned back, in a cloud of smoke, day- dreaming smoky dreams of the Fraser Valley ri- vers of yesteryear, dreams inspired by the prose of a few dead outdoor writers whose fervour still lived on in the yellowed pages of the deceased magazines and used books Kenny had unearthed after archaeological searches. David Gilmour’s meandering improvisations had lost their originality when Kenny left the Yarrow off ramp. He rolled down the window. The cab swiftly filled with the edour of manure. The Chev purred its approval. of the rleW, slows er pace. The roads were ditched on both Sides,. They were smooth. The ditches were fringed with long grasses that twitched in his wake. Dis- tant houses, old and tall, stood proudly at the ends and in the middles of long fields. In the distance Mount Slesse soared skyward like a jagged tooth, Kenny knew Slesse from the‘ 7. story told to him by his dad. when they were huddled around a campfire at Cultus Lake. “A jet crashed into the mountain,” his dad had said. “It was bound for the Orient. A Japanese busi- hessman was on it. He was carrying a million dollars in his briefcase.” “Did anyone look for it?” “Many tried. Nobody succeeded. Some died trying,” his father had said solemnly. ' Kenny spotted a deli, He pulled over to the curb on Yarrow Central and climbed out of the truck. A gaggle of beaded and bangled farm kids were lying in the shade of a sprawling willow, trying awfuily hard to be hippies. At the sight of Kenny, with his tinted glasses, Afro, bell-bot- loms and flowery vest, the kids all fooked up. One affected the universal vee sign of Peace and Lave.“Hey man,” he shouted. Kenny signed back reflexively then stepped through the door. A small bell tinkled. The floor creaked as Kenny crossed it. The place brimmed with the smell of fresh baking, cold meat, and coffee. A cooler hummed in the corner. A long counter with a dazzling white top and a sloping glass front lay between the larger of the two front windows and the back wall. In it were rows of meats, cheeses, buns, and fruit, so neatly manicured and perfectly displayed that, at first, Kenny thought they must have been cast in plastic, Two tables and four chairs were set out near the eastern wall, on them sat two clean ash- trays, Every sill and shelf was lined with vinyi and either curtained or draped. There wasn't a hint of dirt or disorder anywhere. Kenny’s mom's kitchen was neat, but compared to this tidy lit- le shop it was a shambles. “A moment.” A voice came from somewhere behind the curtain leading to the back of the store. The words were more sung than said. The German accent put the accent on the last syll- able. It was a few moments before a woman ap- peared from behind the curtain. She was matronly. Her grey hair was pulled back in bun, Her eyes were a pale blue, Her apron, a darker blue, was tied over a print dress. She was wiping her hands with a tea towel. When she saw Kenny she appeared momentari- ly startled, Then her eyes narrowed disapprov- ingly in the way Kenny's grandmother's had when she'd caught her young grandson doing something strictly forbidden. “Tl have a pound of that bratwurst and a dozen slices of that cheese.” “Ze Emmenthal?" Kenny nodded, eager to be through with this particular transaction, The old Oma wrapped the meat and cheese in wax paper. Kenny paid her and said goodbye. “Ja, goodbye,” said the ald woman. Kenny climbed back in the truck and drove to- ward Vedder Crossitig. To be continued... Se Cal’s girls jump up in provincial standings THE CALEDONIA girls basketball team had one goal going into the AAA High School basketball Championships in Vancou- ver Mar. 6-9 — they wanted to improve on their perfor- mance last year. And they did just that, Last year the team didn’t win a single game at the tournament and they ended up at the bottom of the pack. But this year the girls beat out Cranbraok’s Mount Baker in a very tight game coming out on top 48-47 which means the Terrace squad left the tournament in 15th spot of 16 teams, It's just one position higher than last year but considering the intensity of play at the provincial level the girls and their coach Bill Gook are very pleased. The ‘game against Mount Baker literally came down to the buzzer. “Allison Smith scored with no time remaining to give us the victory,” says Gook. “The buzzer went as the ball was in the air. It went in the hoop and it was game over.” Caledonia met Cran- brook last year in the Cont’d Pg. B10 638-7283 Sports Scope Calling all boxers THE HAZELTON Boxing club is chailenging boxers in Terrace to get into shape and put on the gloves as it pears up far its first big event May 11 in Hazelton. The sanctioned bout features Hazelton headliner Aaron Luff. Luff, 18, picked up boxing eight months ago and is already showing great promise. Luff took part is a special fight at the Golden Gloves in Prince George Mar. 9-10. He easily won the decision 6-0 after three rounds. Dikaidis says Luff is a good role model for other inexperienced fighters looking to get into the sport. “For the people who aren’t sure I'd like them to be challenged and get out there and do it,” Dikaidis says. “We're all novices when we start out.” He adds there’s a wealth of talent among Terrace boxers and he’s encouraging them to join the club. He says female boxers make up half his club mem- bership right now and he’s hoping more girls will get ~ involved as well. The.club is sanctioned by the: ‘Cana-,.; - dian Amateur Boxing Association and can enter fighters into competitive bouts across the country, For more information about joining the Hazelton Boxing Club call Vince Dikaidis at 250 842-4133, Hoop season wraps up SKEENA’S Grade 8 girls basketball season finished last month with zone playdowns in Prince Rupert. The team’s season was marked by a lack of play days and tournaments because of teachers’ job action. But the girls gave it their all in what games they were able to play, says community coach Kevin Earl. “The team as a whole were determined to press on, kept practising and remained hopeful,” Earl says. The zones saw the Wildcats take on Houston Christian in their first game of the tournament. They easily won this won 64-24. Forwards Tanya McLeod and Pricilla Demedeiros led the way with strong per- formances by captain Sam Jeffery, Sonia Hunial, Yash Gill and Dee Piper. Piper was chosen as one of the tournament’s all stars.” The Wildcats’ second game didn’t turn out as well with the girls unable to recover from a damaging first quarter. They lost this one 42-17. Their last outing of the day saw another big win for Skeena over Bulkley Valley Christian schoot 52-16. Ashley Poole set the pace with 18 points followed by Tanya McLeod with 11 points. Earl says there was a lot of interest in junior girls basketball this season with 35 girls coming to tryouts. RON MACKENZIE and Stacey Blake are blazing down the slopes this week as they compete in the K2 Provincial Alpine Championships Mar. 21-24, About 120 teen skiars are expected for the races. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO. Alpine race here sets the stage for battle of the best By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN BLASTING down a ski hill at top speed ‘while weaving through gates is a skill that takes a lot of practise and concentra- tion. But for two local Grade 9 students it’s second nature. Stacey Blake, 14, and Ron Macken- zie, 14, are two Shames Mountain ski team members who'll be racing against the province's top alpine skiers in this week’s K2 Alpine Provincial Champion- ships. This is the first time Shames Mountain has hosted the prestigious event set to go Mar. 21-24. The top 18 qualifiers go to the Whistler Cup, an international ski race which could well feature future Olympic athletes. The skiers race in three different events - slalom, giant slalom and super G, Slalom features gates placed quite close together and means racers have to execute several tight turns one after the other. Super G is the fastest event, with gates placed further apatt. This is Mackenzie's first year as a competitive skier, he only joined the downhill team last year. But he’s already picked up two silver and two bronze me- dals in zone competition this season. Stacey Blake is sitting pretty at top spot in our zone, and she’ll have to ski at her peak in order to make it to the Whist- ler Cup. Despite the importance of the race both alpine skiers are cool as cucumbers when it comes to the pressure of competi- tion, They say they just focus on the task at hand and hope for the best. Blake is especially looking forward to the challenge of the slalom races, “{ do best in G.S. but I like slalom better,” Blake said. “Slalom’s harder and ‘ more technical.” Also blasting through the gates for top times in the race are Terrace skiers Brit- tanny Greenwood, Ryan Monsees, Mea- gan Orser and Britnee Thomson. Monsees picked up a silver and bronze medal at the Purden Giant Sialom races in Prince George Feb. 1-2. Meet tests the mettle Of Terrace tumblers TERRACE Gymnasts were recognized for some out- standing achievements at this year’s Prince George Invitational Meet. The annual meet is a big one for the local ath- letes as they prepare for the upcoming B.C. Cham- pionships. Kayla McColl received accolades for best choreo- graphy in her floor routine at the event. The little gymnast cart wheeled her way to a gold medal finish in the level 1 Tyro division. Teammate Jeany God- dard picked up solid marks in that category as well with a a silver medal fin- ish for her uneven bars TERRACE'S Level" Argo gymnasts took all three podium spots at the Prince. George Invitation gymnastics meet. Brittany Anderson (left to right} won the bronze, Kayla Brinkac got the gold and Ashley Pelletier won the silver medal, medal finish overall. Ashley Pelletier _ founded out the podium - with her bronze medal overall finish and was also given the most dynamic beam award and best chor- eography award for her floor routine. Jordan Felhauer also competed in the level 1 ' Argo division and came in sixth overall. And the club’s male athletes also put in a solid performance. Competing at the cadet - level the boys receive only q individual medal standings . in each event with no overall ranking. Blake Moldenhauer picked up two gold me- performance. dals, two silver and two Nicole Pelletier was competing in the level 2 under 11 division and ‘picked up a bronze medal for her floor routine. Erika Dykes was given a gold medal for her over- all performance at the - meet placing first in each event except the vault, where she received’a fifth place mention. Despite lower marks in that event she was chosen as the meet’s most dyna- mic athlete on the vault for her division. Jessica Ames placed fifth overall in the same category. The- club's two oldest gymnasts are competing at the level 4-division where campetition is becoming much more stiff. Marla Schulmeister fin- ished fifth overall with Siobhan Sloan McMullen coming in right behind her in sixth place. This was Sloan McMul- len’s first time competing in level 4, The leyel 1 Argo divi- sion saw Terrace tumblers take the top three spots at the meet. Kayla Brinkac was re- cognized for having the most dynamic uneven bars routine and also picked up a gold medal for her over- all position. Next up was Brittany Anderson with a silver bronze. Justin Schritt re- ceived two gold, three sil- ver and one bronze. The meet hosted 106 athletes from the north. Ni- cole Pelletier, Erika Dykes, Jessica Ames, Siobhan Sloan McMullen ° and Marla Schulmeister are all preparing for the . B.C. provincials Apr. 14.