B4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 2, 2003 SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN oaks "ROB BROWN Taimen 12 J oan looked up at its domed ribs. Light streamed into the fish’s mouth. She'd been swallowed. Soon she'd be sucked into its digestive tract, Dis- solved in the gastric juices of some piscine be- hemoth — what an absurd end. She struggled. She grabbed the sheets, mashed her face into the pillow and held on. Pillaw? Sheets? She looked up at the fish's maw. Toone, the crown, foono. She heard the subdued voice of Tugsiin, the Mongolian, toono the apex of the ger, the Mongolian felt tent. Joan was dizzy, numb. The shape and dimen- sions of her sleep filled her head. She recalled the voice of Zhunai, the smooth, articulate Gan- dan monk: "Far north, thousands of miles past the great lake, a river flows into the sea that is ice for all but a few months of each year. The river be- comes three rivers before it reaches the sea, Two of the rivers reunite and find the sea together, the third disappears in a great tidal estuary.” She remembered how those words came back to her with intense precision again and again, during the course of her troubled sleep; she re- membered haw she had tried, unsuccessfully, to force them from her mind with unrelated recol- lections and trivial recitations. The panic turned to anxiety, to unrest and then to repose, as by degrees, she came to the realization that she was lying comfortably inside a Mongolian ger. She rolled over. Confirmation. Billy was there, breathing heavily. * She rose slowly, tossed her long hair back like palomino, caught it, tied it into a ponytail, and engaged her surroundings. The shower was “ex- suite” Tom York had told her. She found it. She showered. The water was cold at first. It stung. By the time it was warm she felt fully awake, alert. There had been a frost overnight. The morning air was sharp. Joan stopped to watch the sun- light spill over the mountains and give form to the wide valley below. The high plateaus lit up, followed by the wide prairie meadows below them. The river and the narrow band of lush ve- getation on either side of it were just taking shape when the cold air forced Joan inside. Billy was up, “Lewis will be back tonight,” he said. She was expecting a “good morning” with some kind of endearment. “He’s far down river — 140 miles or so — at the outer camp.” He climbed out his sleeping bag and ran his fingers through his hair: “Tugsiin is taking us fishing today,” he said, The laconic Mongolian waited patiently, a be- mused look on his face, a5 Billy, Joan and York assembled their gear, When his three sports were aboard, Tugsiin roared off over the steppe. The fields seemed endless and in the absence of fences or anything resembling a road, unnavig- able. Yet Tugsiin confidently sped over them at frightening speeds. Just when Joan was becoming inured to the bone-jarring ride, the Mongolian hit the brakes, leapt from the jeep, ran to the rear, and grabbed a rifle out of the back. He whistled. The heads of prairie dogs popped up like mushroams. Tug- siin hit one of the rodents with his first shot, waited whistled again, and shot another. He raced over, pulled a cloth sack from one of the oversized pockets on his jacket, stuffed the dogs in it, sprinted back, then put away the sack and the rifle. As he passed by her, Tugsiin looked Joan right in the eye for a moment, then looked away like an embarrassed schoolboy. It was the first time he'd looked directly at her, It was a fleeting look of pride, she was sure. Tugsiin hopped in jeep. In moments they were off. “The Mongols must eat them,” said York, IT'S NOT often an elementary school retires an athlete’s num- ber, but Sarah Monture had such a lasting impact on the students and staff at Clarence Michiel School they’ve done just that. The 11-year-old died in a car accident while vacationing with her grandparents in Kelowna last year. Her love for sports was ob- vious. An avid basketball player, Monture also played ringette, vol- leyball and soccer. On June 25 a banner with her name and her number — 13 - on it was unveiled as students and fa- milies gathered at the REM Lee Theatre for Clarence Michiel’s year end awards ceremony. Vice principal Grant Holkestad says retiring Sarah's number and hanging a banner at centre court will be a fitting tribute to a little girl who contributed so much to her school. “She was very involved with the athletic program and she had many, many firends,” says the school’s vice principal Grant Holkestad. “I’ve had kids in my class this year that really, really miss her.” The school also named the Grade 6 citizenship award after Sarah this year, The recipient of the award this year is Kayla Mc- Coll who says she’s proud to be the first person to get the award. “I'm happy and excited be- cause I know Sarah's family real- TERRACE STANDARD A fitting tr ly well and it’s an hon- our to have this award,” says McColl. “She Wwoais happy all the time, she al- ways Sarah Monture smiled,” McColl was nominated for the award by her teacher Terri Ca- meron. “I always noticed that Kayla was always repectful to all the kids in the class,” says Cameron. “It’s also appropriate because Kayla’s so athletic as well,” Sarah's mom Laurie Monture has also ordered a set of 15 team uniforms for the schcol to be used for games. They'll sport a small sun at the back with Sarah’s num- ber 13 on them. “She played everything that was offered in Grade 6 and that was somehting they always com- 638-7283 plained about having to share (the uniforms) with the boys,” says Monture. “! think it’s really im- portant to everyone that knew her that she’s not forgotten.” KAYLA McColl is the first recipient of ihe Sarah Monture Grade 6 citizenship award at Clarence Michiel school. She's next to the banner the school will hang in the gym in Sarah’s memory. She passed away last summer. SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN PHOTO. Local martial artists bring home medals THIRD-DEGREE black belt David Burk and 15, of his student at Terrace’s Northern Tae- Kwon-Do Academy spent May [5 in Kelowna during the Western Canadian Championships. Top-ranking martial artists at the event, in- point shy of gold. who overtook Burk in the match. In his final bout of sparring, he faced world- renowned 4th degree black belt Dana Johnson Genaille, Tory. Taphouse, Derek Tinsley, Cody Skog, David" Farkvam,: Ashleah’ Bartel” and. Trina West-Fohnson who all received gold me- dals. Silver medal winners included Bartel, Tap- cluding Burk, performed demonstrations for the group of more than 250 competitors. “They performed group patterns and did board breaking techniques such as a flying “To have come that close is a personal victory for me.” house, Genaille, Andrew Martel, Stephen Martel, Evan Farkyam, Christina Farkvam, Jennings Theun and instriictor David Burk. Bronze medal winners included Robby side kick over five people and turning kicks from a run off a wall,” tion. Burk came home with a silver medal, one explains Burk. Students were tickled to have TaeKwon-Do grand master and original pioneer of the sport Kong Young II in attendance as well. Terrace athletes showed they’ve got what it takes to perform well up against stiff competi- ment.” western championships. ‘ HE'S THE MAN: Steve Pereira kept the pedal to the floor during the media stock car race at the Terrace speedway June 22. He managed to outrace his live competitors to take the checkered flag. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO Rainy race conditions “To have come that close is a personal vic- tory for me,” said Burk. “I was very nervous when J saw Mr. Johnson entered the tourna- Burk only recently received his third-degree belt and had just over a month to train for Other big winners at the event include Reid Wellington, Stephen Martel, Evan Farkvam, Christina Farkvam, and Trina West-Johnsan. Oscar Farkvam placed fourth in both spar- ring and patterns, For several students this was their first major competition and Burk is very pleased with the results. Terrace will host the North Western Cham- pionships for the first time this October. Scrubby pines and small, brilliantly coloured hardwood trees appeared in the long grasses. Taller trees came into view. Tugsiin found a lumpy road through them. Green, orange, red, then wide blue swath — Tugsiin stopped the jeep at the side of the river. There was long glide before them. Joan stret- ched as York and Billy suited up. Tugsiin pulled a telescoping spinning rod from the Jeep. He at- tached a treble hook the size of an eagle’s claw to the thick, black monofilament. He dug a prairie dog from the bag, sank the hooks into it, Blood spurted; Joan started. York and Billy stopped assembling to watch. Tugsiin wrapped some wire around the dog and cast far out into the river, It landed with an awk- ward splash and began to swing around in the current. : Ta be continued... spurs super spillls WET CONDITIONS at the Terrace Speedway saw cars spinning out, crashing and flying off the slippery oval track June 22. The most recent race weekend pave spectators a treat as speedway regulars raced in shootouts, heats and mains followed by a media race and the first ever hit-to-pass race. After watching sea- soned racers slip. sliding ali over the track due to the rain, six local media ‘ members were a bit ner- vous going into their six lap race. Tn the end it was Steve Pereira, TV operations manager at NT'V, who took the checkered flag beating out racers from area radio stations and newspapers, “I didn’t have a secret - just go fast,” Pereira said. “The conditions sucked and you couldn't sec out the window very well so just go fast.” And he’ll de- fend his title any time. “If they do it again — I'm there,” he says. “And hopefully I can use Dan Dollemore's car again.” Dollemore’s car number 329 is a standard — a fea- ture Pereira says helped him on his way to the win. Stock car racing fans also got a chance to check out the year’s first hit-to- pass race featuring cars that were a little worse for wear including a pink sta- tion wagon called Pinky and the Brain. Unlike ‘most races where crashes are avoided at all costs — drivers were required to hit the vehicle in front of them before making a pass, Dave Reinhardt came out on top in the first race and Darryl Bjorgaard nailed top spot in the sec- ond — and soggy — race of the day. Sports Scope Road race nears THE 17th Annual Skeena River Challenge Century Ride is setto go ahead August 10. The road biking race starts in Prince Rupert at 9 a.m. and finishes in Terrace. Registration forms are available in Terrace at All Sea- sons Source for Sports or can be requested by e-mail by contacting Nipper Kettle nipperk@telus.net. Early registration is recommended and guarantees par- ticipants a T-shirt, post-race grub and a shot at some draw prizes, For details call Nipper at (250) 845-7148. Another Terrace soccer team qualifies for cup A THIRD Terrace-based select soccer team has quali- fied to move on to the Nike Provincial Challenge Cup. The Terrace Under-14 boys team travelled to Smithers June 21-22 taking on Quesnel, Smithers and Prince George in the final battle for a shot at provincials. The Terrace crew won all three games earning the tight to travel te Campbell River for the boys provincial cup playoffs, They join Terrace’s Under-15 team who qualifted the weekend before. And the only girls team to advance to provincial play is the Under-12 girls who will take on the province’s best in Maple Ridge. Ladies take to the green for weekend open LADIES FROM around the northwest are brushing up on their swing as the Skeena Valley Golf and Country Club hosts its annual Ladies Open this weekend. The tournament starts Saturday, July 5 at 9 a.m. Golfers play 18 holes each day. Golf Club officials says there is still time to sign up for the tournament ~ anyone interested can register up until this Friday. For more information call the Skeena Valley Golf and Country Club at 635-2542,