Ke - I wasn’t serious. I struck out across the lip of the, MARGARET SPEIRS | "SKEENA ANGLER ROB BROWN ‘Helifishing 2 have to use the facilities, I said and waited for the humour of the remark to raise flicker of ap-.: preciation on the face of my client. None was forthcoming. I'll be ‘back shortly. Save my. spot I added, punctuating the remark with a grin to let him know - pool after a blank response. ' Tigate the temperate rainforest, but. the pitch of the . _junkets and they probably thought I was mad for. Narrowness of valley, the tangle, of scrub and | - rock behind us, and the need for privacy made the. crossing necessary. The pool was deceptively deep. The cold, wa- _ter pressed hard against my ribs. I leaned into it and pressed the rubber tip of my staff between the smooth, rounded rock pavement of the bottom. The bush on the far side wasn’t sparse. I hadn’t expected it to be. Sparse bush doesn’t exist along the valley bottoms of steep coastal streams that ir- valley was less severe. I looked back and saw my clients were ‘staring my way. It occurred to me that they probably hadn’t seen that kind of wading on their east coast salmon attempting the crossing. I recalled a similar experience with a coupie of Frenéii surgeons, who simply could not be persuad- ed to make a crossing of the upper Zymoetz that any self respecting west coast steelheader would RRS have made without hesitation. Ce ne’est pas possi- ble, they insisted after each of my many entreaties. I gave a wave of assurance, whereupon my east coast.charges resumed : ‘casting. A few feet on the Other side of the riparian thicket I picked up a game trail and followed it a for a short distance before hiking a few dozen'metres up through a mixed stand of old timber. The air smelled of decaying wood. Wisps of fog were crawling up the narrow valley flanks. The sun glowed behind the lifting fog like a lightbulb be- hind a muslin curtain. It struck me how fortunate I was to get paid to» be somewhere I would have cheerfully paid to be taken to and how unfortunate I was to be saddled with the task of amusing a couple who were giving me thé distinct impression they’d rather be golfing. I waded back. Man and wife had switched places. Even though he’d hooked two fish, the likelihood of either of them hooking another was decidedly on. the thin side of slim. Had there been another pool or “river and waddled onto a large rock to survey. his two nearby, my lot would have been easier. Should we return to the machine and see if the ceiling had lifted? Should I suggest we stay and risk growing dissatisfaction from my sports? I made my way to the head of the pool mulling over the situation. ‘My decision was made easy when a large brown > bear emerged from the trail on the far side of the “domain. She spotted it first. That’s a bear, she called up to us. A grizzly, I observed, not. intending to inflame the situation but doing so. Don't move, sugar, I’m coming! yelled Mr. run- . ning toward Mrs. It was a touching moment. I followed. Mean- while, the bruin stood up on his hind legs to find the . causc of all the ruckus. . As we neared the chopper at a speed a Koala bear could have overtaken, Ian looked up from a fat pocket book. He looked puzzled. I made bear motions. He nodded, climbed aboard the Ranger and soon we were buzzing over salt. water toward - Kemano in brilliant sunlight. « Flying from the naturally beautiful Brim to the unnaturally large Kemano was a dramatic contrast. We passed the old townsite, a perfect tourist village site turned to kindling by that good ol’ bottom liner, Uncle Al. From there we flew up intO“the pristine portion of the valley, passing over a grizzled bear that made the Brim bruin look like the stuffed ani- mals caries 2 award lucky. winners underneath the shadows'¢(ferris wheels. We set down on a fine pool where my sports caught nice sea-run Dolly Varden.o one after anoth- er. No salmon, he grumbled, hooked on to some- thing big, lost it, then suggested to me that the . hooks we were using must be substandard. I forced. a smile. _The char weren’t big enough, apparently. Id have been happy to fish them all day. They weren’t. We lunched then flew to a huge expanse of water on the lower river, where we saw seals. On the return trip we flew close to goats and saw whales. When we were back at the lodge the old man handed me twenty bucks. Too bad there weren’t more fish, he said | There were, I replied, but you just couldn’t catch them. In that instant I realized I was unsuited for guid- ing. By SARAH ARTIS, IT’S NOT often teachers * will let their students sun. them off the road. But not every teacher is Mr. Brewer. “He’s awesome,’ Grade 12 student Scott Lam- pert. “He actually knows how to get through to kids.” “Doug Brewer, 57, is retiring this summer after teaching auto mechanics at ' Caledonia Senior Secondary for the past 33 years. ‘In his honour, former stu- dent Darryl Bjorgaard, who ~ graduated. from Caledonia . § -moré, than 20 years. ago, | has organized Brewer Day | on: June 17. at. the Terrace Speedway. , Brewer will race “hit-to- "-pass” against students, other . teachers, and any. others who sign up. Hit-to-pass stock races . fequire drivers to hit the car in front of them before they can pass while speeding around an oval track, com- peting for the best time. : Bjorgaard is organizing ‘the event to honour Brew- er’s accomplishments over the years and to have fun. — Out of all the teachers at. Caledonia, the students liked Mr. Brewer, Bjorgaard said, . ~ even though a lot.of people failed his class. . “He’s- a really good teacher but. ‘doesn’t take any | guff. If he says something and you don’t agree, that’s too bad. He’s fair and you get the respect you earn.” Brewer is the main rea-— son the automotive. program at Caledonia evolved from _a three-car garage space to for more than 10 years. said | demics” Teacher races a a ea The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - B7 ; 638-7283 DOUG Brewer gives the thumbs up from the front seat of what he.calls: “Brewer's Coffin,” the carhe will race. at the Terrace Speedway on June. 17. The automotive teacher is retiring after 33 years at Caledonia Secondary " “School and a former student organized a special day at the track i in his honour. - SARAH ARTIS PHOTO : a work 2 area more than 10 times the size. “Tve put a lot of energy into’growing the program,’ Brewer said. In ‘the shop, - students work on a variety of vehicles such as race cars, jet skis and . snowmobiles. ~ The automotive shop is a, place kids can get'away from: “yaca-. what Brewer calls — classes where all they do is talk. 7 It’s important to the retir- ing teacher that his students get the training they deserve : | Balancing Act PROFESSIONAL trials mountain biker Ryan Leech, 27, wowed a crowd of - about 60 people outside of All Seasons Source for Sports on June 8. Leech showed wannabe trick riders how to bounce and spin on a bike’s front tire, . balance on skinny beams, and hop on your bike from the ground to almost six - feet in the air. “It’s my passion,” he said. Leech has been a sponsored rider doe in an appropriate ‘environ- ment, he said. ‘ “Everyone ~ can learn. You've got to try to make it ~ more interesting so learning is enjoyable.” Although his students call - him Mr. Brewer, the teacher ~ considers them his friends. Maybe that’s: why.-he’s |. . hot too afraid for race day.” He knows it’s all.in good fun, he said. Stock car races, especial- ly hit-to-pass, canbe rough. > To ptepare!dtivéts spend. - weeks fitting their cdiS?With - DUSTIN QUEZADA PHOTO THREE TERRACE students scored their personal bests ‘at. the B.C. provincials in Burnaby June 2 and 3. Bert Fawdrey. from Caledonia Senior Second- ary racked up five personal bests in 10 separate events. © ‘He came 8th in decathalon, 19th in 110-metre hurdles and 26th in high jump. Jessica Ames from Skee- na Junior Secondary came 4th in 400-metre sprint and 15th in long jump. Brandy Yagelniski, also Locals step it up at provincials from Skeena, came 18th in shotput and 23rd in discus. The provincials’ are an annual event -where stu-: dents compete in a variety of sports. All three athletes hope to compete again next year. protective gear such aS an, up-and-down bar and a cross ‘bar, which keep the roof and ~ sides from: crushing.» Other’ adjustments in- clude cementing the doors, removing burnables, and welding bars across the front : _.and side windows. Students are busy prepar- _Ing Brewer’s car, which cost $50, for the special day. Bjorgaard said it’s in. “mint condition,” but Brew- er refers to it as: “Brewer's s.- we “Time trials’ will''start at’ 6. i es “Dm. Races'start at 7-p.m. an Coffin.’ B= a Oran gee. “They. are out to‘get me,” yo ye ‘Mountain king title up for grabs - joined the Adventure Chal- RACERS VYING to be this year’s king of the mountain have a good chance at -. snatching the crown. _ “Pm notas fully prepared - as I was last year — with said working and_ kids,” 2005 champ Travis Carter. “[’m just .trying to get out and do something everyday. I hope to do as well as I did last year, but either way, it’s a fun weekend.” The King of the Mountain ‘foot race, which will. take place July 1 at 2 p.m., is one of the five sporting events in ~ the 2006, Terrace Standard Adventure Challenge series. The race is an 8.5- kilometre ® circle route. that travels up and down Terrace Mountain, _beginning and ending at the . arena. An average competitor “completes : the course in an - hour, more or less. - Carter’s time last year ‘was 41 minutes and 52 sec- onds. But it. wasn’t: easy, he - said. “It’s pretty challenging __ because of the down part. It can be intimidating because ‘of the whole fear of wiping out. If you fall, you can re- ally klunk yourself up.” | The.race is unique be-' cause of its rooty and rocky terrain. Most runs are on the _road, but King of the Moun- tain is on steep trails. “Tt’s like no other,” Phillips of the Skeena Valley Runners. Club. “It’s cross- country and quite a bit of hill. The biggest challenge is running uphill and keeping your concentration so you- don’t stumble.” ; Lots of people don’t think they can do it and are surprised at how well they do, he added. - _ The Skeena Valley Run- ners Club-has been organiz- ing the King of the Mountain foot race for 30 years. They said . ‘the main organizer - Geoff he said with a smile. . Brewer was born in Otta- wa.and went to school in the U.S; He moved to Terrace in August 1973.for-a teaching © job at Caledonia. | “« He became a teacher be- cause he enjoyed the trades ~ and sharing his knowledge , with others, he said. “Brewer plans to work af- f° ter retiring from the school, but plans to build houses in- - stead of engines. . ‘Brewer Day is- June 17. lenge series in 2001. _ . The same day" as_ this year’ s foot race is the Adven- . ture Challenge open water swim, which will take place ; July 1, at 8.a.m. in Lakelse -. lake at t Furlong Bay. The swimming race is a triangular course —- 1,500 . metres for adults, 750 for,’ -youth and junior, and 500 for kids. It’s a lot different than competing in a.pool, said " series organizer Sarah, Zim- merman:' . “You. have to: deal with weeds and _waves, and be . cognizant of your surround- ings. You don’t have nice , little lines to swim in.” _ And it’s cold: wetsuits are not necessary but they - are recommended.. But it’s a lot of fun, Zim- | merman added.. Registration forms ~ are available. at Ruins Board - Shop, Hot House, Azad Ad- - - ventures, All Seasons Source for Sports, McBike and the Terrace Standard. ; Cost is $20 per ¢ event be- ‘fore June 15, then $25 until - .June 28. There’ S no same- day registration. Call Zimmerman at 638- 7283 for details. | Travis Carter —_