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? B4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 28, 1998

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DAVE TAYLOR

-SKEENA’ANGLER. ROB BROWN

! é j ®

Fish ‘n’ cow chips

ntil it was eclipsed by the in-

creasingly Byzantine events grow-

ing out of the alleged peccadilloes

of Bill ‘‘Bubba’’ Clinton, the beef industry's beef with talk show host Oprah Win- frey was ithe high wire act in the unrelenting and fleetingly fickle Media Circus. You would be forgiven for thinking the feisty obduracy of that Middle Eastern madman Saddam would rate at least a quick romp around the centre ring. After all, resistance to U.N. weapons inspection by folks who have secretly manufactured thou- sands of gallons of anthrax, when a six pack of the stuff could cripple a city the size the New York, could be seen as reason for concern; J mean, if they allows our emissaries a glimpse of their Anthrax stares, perhaps we should consid- ef, What do they not want us to see?

Similarly, a news buff might’ve expected the jerks and starts in crippled economies of Asia to take top media spot in the last few weeks. With rapid globalization following on the heels of NAFTA and the welding of Europe nation stales under the EEC, economic disasters can no longer be contained. A small economic ripple in Korea is a Tsunami when it reaches here. Big news indeed, but not so big as Oprah’s menu.

Then there were the icy storms on the castern seaboard of this continent. Truc, they received

plenty of play at home, but not much in the ig cans or vite eal News, which is surpris

yt eg

afta let waiming: at heard an - eminent meteorologist in a radio interview speak to the dangers of global warming. Ac- cording to this scientist, the potential] effects are so prave, the necessity of action so important for our survival, the issue should be a front page headline in every major daily every day.

The Oprah suit is full of lessons. Informed by an animal rights activist that the cattle industry grinds up dead cows and feeds them to other cows thereby creating a potential for mad cow disease, Oprah pledges to swear off burgers causing a multimillion dollar drop in the sales of bleeding meat the very next day. TV is even more powerful than we thought, Though an im- portant issue was dealt with in this instance, shows like Oprah Winfrey’s (and, there are legions of them commanding the lion’s share of TV time) generally deal with trivial blatherskite, proving millions of people spend a lot of time absorbed by Stupor Bowls and sitcoms, which deflects their attention and.energy from urgent matters screaming for thought and action.

The Amarillo cattlemen were able to bring a $12 million suit against Oprah because a sub- stantial number of states have passed laws prohibiting the defamation of food. Agribiz has

- mow a tool to stifle free speech in a significant portion of the U.S., ‘and what happens there in regards to food may soon spread to other states and may soon spread to Canada. ,

The good thing about the battle between thie cowpokes and Oprah is it will focus attention on | the beef industry, perhaps the most destructive force on the land and people ‘of North America. To appreciate the effect of.cattle ranching, con- sider what it has done to the great prairies. Un like the native bison who crop vegetation like moose do, cattle. have forn up grassland, shredded riparian vegetation and wrecked streams in the process. Cattle ranching has led to the fencing off of huge tracts of land. Huge amounts of pesticides and drugs arc necessary to oil the giant beef machine. And, there are the medical costs from the overcousumption of red meat. Heart,disease is still the number one killer in our putative great society after all.

The introduction of éattle to this continen| is perhaps the most specfacular example of the havoc the introduction of an exotic species can wreck, We'd do well to consider cow history when we think of Atlantic salmon, the cows of the aquatic world. Fish farming has‘become a mega business. So much so that the state of Florida, which processes Atlantic salmon raised

‘in Chile and flown to Miami, now has a bigger salmon industry than B.C. does. Penned up like cattle, farmed salmon are also given drugs to prevent disease and hormones to encourage growth, Like catile, farm fish are hard on in- digenes, Since their introduction to this coast they have been escaping and insinuating them- selves into niches formerly occupied by wild pacific salmonids. The catastrophic effect of disease spread by commercially-reared fish is now well known since agrifish vectors almost wiped out the wild Atlantic salmon stocks in some of Norway’s most famous salmon rivers.

We don’t need beef and we don’t need farmed salmon. The world would be a healthier place

without them. Eschew both,

«0 7 Smoley/says i's a challenge to coach a teat

TERRACE STANDARD

~SPORTS.

Women’s hockey takes off

Players have their sights set on gold

ITHE CANADIAN women’s hockey team isn’t the only one with a shot at ' gold this year.

The local women’s team, the Kermodei Classics, are determined to take top spot at the Northern BC Winter Games coming up in Dawson Creek.

The Classics have been improving all year, and if they can keep up their intensity and hone their killer instinct, these women have a chance at gold.

Coach Rick Smoley says his team has jelled quite nicely in the two years he’s been coaching them. The Classics have fin-

“These women are as competitive, if not more, than men. Sex makes ab- solutely no difference when you’re on the ice’? —coach Rick Smoley

ished second twice at tournaments this sea- son, and they recently beat out Kitimat fora berth at the Games.

The team is a highly-diverse bunch, rang- ing in age from 15 to 45. Some have minor jhockey experience but most are relatively ‘new to the sport. Some are figure skaters or former ringette players — many are mothers.

But for the 16 dedicated players whe make regular road trips to other com- munities, they all have one thing in com- mon — the desire to win.

“These women are as competitive, if not more, than men,’ coach Smoley says. “Sex makes absolutely no difference when you’re on the ice.”’

With ‘such ° ‘different levels of experience- ‘a ( abilities: Butthe says the biggest obstacle to im- provement has been a lack of ice-time. “We only get one hour a week,’’ he says. “Ice time is a very precious item in Terrace.”’ Lindsay Smith knows all about the shortage of ice time, she grew up with Terrace Minor Hock- ey. And, even though she’s just 16-years-ald, she’s the most experienced player on the team —— with a wicked wrist-shot. Smith actually credits much of her scoring

THIRSTY BUSINESS: Hard work in prac- . tices will hopefully pay « oft for ihe Classics,

AUDRA JOHNSON

638-7283

GAMES BOUND: Terrace’s women's hockey team, the Kermodei Classics have earned themselves a berth representing the northwest at the 1998 Northern BO Winter Games coming up Feb, 6 in Dawson Creek. They hoping to bring home a gold medal.

prowess to her sister, Lisa, who also plays with the Classics.

‘*She’s always setting me up,’’ Smith says of her sister. ‘Without her I wouldn’t score nearly as much.”

Smith says she’s excited about the rise of women’s hockey in North America. She'll be glued to ihe set when Canada’s women play in the Olympics for the first time -—~ although she’s unsure if she could compete at that level. --

dont knew iP IL: ae that far;’” the 11-year

mare

‘ Pye always played all kinds of sports. But hockey’s my favourite. I’il stick it out until my legs can’t take it anymore’? —Lynn Cloutier

hockey veteran says. ‘‘But I’d love to play at university.”

Lisa Smith, 22, doesn’t have the minor hockey experience of her sister, but she’s been playing women’s hockey for six years, In that time, she’s developed a real ice sense that gives her an edge.

“T push myself quite a bit,” she says. “If I play poorly, then I’m really not very happy even if we win the game,”’

That kind of determination pays off in the form of plenty of assists to her little sister — who can pul the puck in the net.

“I can see the ice well, but Lindsay's a better shooter,’’ Lisa says.

Like Lindsay, Lisa grew up with hockey in her family and in her blood.

‘As long as ] cam remember I’ve always watched Saturday night hockey with my fa- ther,”” she says. “I love it. I just wish they'd show more women’s hockey on TV.”’

Lynn Cloutier is also an avid hockey fan, béth

players on the team. She’s been with the Clas- sics for four years and shows no signs of slow- ing down.

“I’ve always played all kinds of sports,’’ she says. “‘But hockey’s my favourite. I'll stick it out until my legs can’t lake it anymore.”

Cloutier also remembers gathering around the TV with her family to watch hockey games. Originally from Quebec, she was a huge

»sCanadiens fan. When she.moved to B.C., she

switched loyalties to the Canicks but that

“loyalty” s on shaky ground these days.

“Vancouver's making me mad so I’m back with Montreal,’’ she says.

There’s no mistaking Cloutier’s loyalty to her team, however. She rarely misses a practice, and she’s always stoked for road-trips. Cloutier admits that the competition in Dawson Creek will be stiff, but she thinks her team has what it takes.

**We are going to try so hard,”” she says. “We al] want it really bad.”’

LINDSAY SMITH, one of the Kermodei.,

Classic's star players Starts arush ina

on and off the ice."At 43, she’s one of the older - practice game last week, '

} Top. breed. honours go to local Morgan -

dreamed about owning a

stallion since she was six- -

years-old.

Now’ her Morgan stallion.

partner of eight years has been named to three provin- cial and Canadian titles.

The titles are awarded by the Canadian Morgan Horse Association. It’s purpose, like those of other horse or- ganizations, is to champion the good qualities of a par- ticular breed, in this case Morgans.

"for “the stallion’s jumping ability, says: Johnson. She

entered him in five shows

last summer in Terrace and -

Smithers in ordertto qualify for the titles.

Johnson usually rides western (the saddles are larger and have a horn), but soon discovered Pony loved to jump. So she followed her horse’s lead, switching to the smaller, flatter English saddit, which allow a rider to stay in contact with her horse when she

“He got bored with the low stuff. He just says,

‘T don’t want to this; it’s boring.

33?

—Audra Johnson on Wild at Heart

Wild at Heart, or Pony, as Johnson calls him at home, was named the BC/Yukon Zone Champion for in hand stalllon in ‘97; the BC/Yukon Zone Champion for English general purpose in ‘97 and the National Reserve Champion for English general purpose.

Most of those awards are

jumps,

Last summer was the first that Johnson started to jump higuer fences with Pony. She’s now jumping him in shows with 3’9" fences, and taining him over 4'2" fences al home.

“He got bored with the low stuff,’? says Johnson. “He just says, ‘I don’t want

WILD AT HEART; That's Audra Johnson with her Morgan, who she calls Pony. Johnson and her horse won a number of Provincial and Canadian titles for her breed this past year. Johnson says she plans to continue competing and hopes to jump at some bigger shows this season.

to this; it’s boring.

As for Johnson, she enjoys the challenge of jumping as well, In particular, a der has to make sure her horse

is In balance as it goes around the jump course, tak- ing turns at fast speeds, then heading for a jump. Encouraged by last sum-

mer’s success, Johnson is looking to bigger shows this summer, and hopes to travel

to Prince George to com-:

pete.

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