2006-08-13

Three provincial cabinet minis-ters spent $18,500 on helicop-ter travel this spring.

Ministers took flights to assessflood damage in northeasternNewfoundland, view ATV damage onthe southern Avalon, and to attend ayouth career fair in Harbour Breton,according to information recentlyreleased to The Independent under theAccess to Information Act.

The spending comes since the gov-ernment extended its contract withUniversal Helicopters last winter toprovide on-call service around theisland.

Travel to view flood damageaccounted for more than half of the

spending, at $10,772. On April 25,two helicopters flew four hoursaround the Baie Verte Peninsula,stopping in Fleur de Lys, Pacquet, LaScie, Nipper’s Harbour, Middle Arm,King’s Point, Little Bay andBeachside.

Human Resources Minister PaulShelley and his executive assistantrode in one helicopter with two offi-cials from Emergency PreparednessCanada and Fire and Emergencyservices.

Municipal Affairs Minister JackByrne rode in the other helicopterwith his executive assistant, directorof communications, and the fire com-missioner.

Roughly 80 per cent of the travel toview flood damage could be paid bythe federal government under a disas-

By Ivan MorganThe Independent

Dave Fitzpatrick of BayRoberts was almost killed bya sniper’s bullet while serving

as a peacekeeper in Bosnia in 1993.The retired master sniper coolly

explains in expert technical terms whythe enemy missed.

“It was perfect elevation — if hewould have added another half minutefor wind. He was roughly 600 metersaway and, as his bullet was approach-ing me, 100 meters away from me, (it)had to pass between two buildings and

come out into the open.”He moves his hand as if delicately

adjusting a scope.“On that particular day the wind

was gusting, so when the bullet camebetween the two buildings and into theopen, the wind caught the bullet andforced it off just one-quarter inch offthe left side of my ear.

“I’m so glad that he didn’t knowwhat he was doing that day.”

Since Fitzpatrick’s return, only fourpeople have shaken his hand andthanked him for what he did as apeacekeeper in Bosnia. He wants thepublic to know what he and his col-

leagues did — the dangers they facedand the toll they’ve taken.

Fitzpatrick, who retired four yearsago with the rank of master corporal,suffers from post-traumatic stress syn-drome. He is matter-of-fact about hiscondition.

“I would literally go behind closeddoors and have a good cry for myself.And I didn’t know why, nor could Ifigure out why,” he says. “My bodyphysically, mentally and emotionallywas breaking down, and very quick-ly.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“My disability is not a challenge, it’s another door that’s open to me.”

— Teenager Brad Evoy reflects on his stay at Lion Max Simms Memorial Camp. See pages 8-9.

VOL. 4 ISSUE 32 — ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, AUGUST 13-19, 2006 — WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA — $1.50 HOME DELIVERY (HST included); $2.00 RETAIL (HST included)

Sky highCabinet ministers spent almost $20,000 for four helicopter trips this spring

One shot, one killRetired sniper Dave Fitzpatrick says Canadians don’t understandthe sacrifices their troops make

Life Story . . . . . . . 10Gallery . . . . . . . . . 14Food and wine 17-18Business. . . . . . . . 21Shift . . . . . . . . . 23-26

THE INDEPENDENT LAUNCHES FRESH NEW STYLE SECTION 17

Convicted child sex offenderliving in St. Philip’sParents notified by social worker have questions, concerns

Some parents in St. Philip’s havebeen contacted by child protectionservices and told their children

have been in contact with a registeredchild sex offender living in their neigh-bourhood.

A concerned parent, who asked not tobe named to protect the identity of herchild, says she was contacted Aug. 7 bya social worker informing her that herchild had been at the house of a convict-ed child sex offender.

“The whole conversation just threwme. I didn’t expect to get that call. So Icalled her (the social worker) back thenext day once I had time to mull over theinformation.”

The concerned parent also wonderswhy she wasn’t contacted earlier about a

registered child sex offender with multi-ple offences living in the community.She says she should have the right tomake up her own mind about the dangerto her children.

“The thing is, you make judgementson what this person did. Not that any ofit is benign, but is it something that wasviolent, or non-violent, or is it some-thing that you really have to worry aboutthe kids for?”

The Royal Newfoundland Constab-ulary has stated they are aware of the sexoffender, but they aren’t releasing hisname to the public. Constable PaulDavis says at any time there are peopleliving all over the province who havebeen convicted of sex offences, some-times involving children, but not all ofthem are of interest to police.

Davis says there is a process for mak-ing communities aware of the presence

IVANMORGAN

LIFE 13Susan Rendellchats with TV and film actorSebastian Spence

LIFE 15Miami Vice disappoints: TimConway’s summer movie reviews

NADYABELL

See “Workers walk,” page 2

See “One hour,” page 2

See “I was scared,” page 2

Dave Fitzpatrick of Bay Roberts. Paul Daly/The Independent

2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS AUGUST 13, 2006

of such an offender in their midst, but itwas not used in this case.

The St. Philip’s parent also wants toknow how child protection services knewher child had visited the offender’s house.

Cathie Barker Pinsent, acting directorof child services, says officials cannotrelease that type of information.

“We don’t know that anything has hap-pened, we are not assuming that anythinghas happened and we have no knowledgethat anything has happened,” Pinsent tellsThe Independent. “In essence when we goto a parent and give them this informationwe have to weigh (the consequences):Can we give this information? Obviouslywe have determined that we could. Wehave to be careful because these otherindividuals have rights too.”

Pinsent says her workers have to walk afine line. “What we have to do is give theparents enough information so they can pro-tect their child. And the situation where wecontact parents is when we know that theperson who has had the offence history hashad access to the child.”

The concerned parent says a schoolproject completed in the spring of thisyear has some area parents worried.According to her, a woman who lives inthe same house as the registered offender,

and whose children (who also live in thathouse) attend the local elementary school,sent home a form to every child in Grade6 — 68 children.

Each child was asked to complete theform, and include a baby picture, currentpicture, and details about themselves,including their name, favourite sayings,favourite pets, friends, and activities. Theforms were posted on the walls of the gymas part of the Grade 6 “school-leaving”ceremony. She says the activity was sanc-tioned by the school.

The concern is that all these forms wenthome to the house where the offenderlives. In light of the information given toher by child protection, the parent won-ders if the parents of all Grade 6 childrenshould be notified.

“There was no phone numbers oraddresses … but this is a small communi-ty and it is not hard to figure out wherepeople live,” she says.

Pinsent says there is no evidence anyone of those children came in contact withthe offender.

“It isn’t easy,” she says. “All I can sayto you is that in any matter involving chil-dren, child youth and family services willexercise whatever means it legally can toprotect the children, and I feel we havedone what we can at this point in the mat-ter, with the information we have.”

ter management agreement.The most recent flight, on May 31,

took Department of Environment andConservation Minister ClydeJackman over the Cape Shore to viewdamage caused by ATV traffic. Hewas accompanied by the deputy min-ister Brenda Caul and two other offi-cials whose names were withheld. Thetwo-hour flight cost $2,530.

Shelly spent $5,265 on a flight toHarbour Breton, where he attendedthe Coast of Bays Career Fair hosted

at Kings Academy on May 2. MHAOliver Langdon and Rob Feaver, themanager of youth services, accompa-nied the minister on the return trip.

Harbour Breton Community YouthNetwork hosted the fair that involved

students from eight schools and 22communities

Universal Helicopter’s contractwith the provincial government wasextended for one year this March bythe Department of Works, Servicesand Transportation.

The “as needed” contract requireshelicopters to be on call in different

areas of the province for the exclusiveuse of the government. One hour offlying time costs $971, plus fuel andoil charges.

Helicopter fuel costs roughly $370for one hour.

One hour of flying time: $971From page 1

Fitzpatrick praises Veterans Affairs fortheir assistance in arranging treatment.He also credits his wife, who he met inthe 1998 ice storm, with turning his lifearound.

The St. John’s native says he knew byage 12 he wanted to serve his country.With a military background — ninemembers of his father’s family servedbefore him — he dreamed of being apeacekeeper. In 1984, at the age of 20,Fitzpatrick enlisted in the Canadianarmy.

His decision to become a sniper fol-lowed from his training in biathlon — awinter sport combining cross-countryskiing with sharp shooting.

“Snipers are not made, they’re born,”Fitzpatrick says. “It’s something thatcomes to you naturally.”

He was part of a sniping team of fourmaster snipers. He compares the work toprofessional golfing. “It’s kind of likelooking at Tiger Woods lining up for along drive, and both him and his caddyare off to one side and they are talkingabout calculations — wind, distance,instinct … and a little bit of luck. Andwith that, comes the ‘one shot — onekill.’

Fitzpatrick served for 18 years, but hissharpest memories are of his mission toBosnia in 1992-93. There are things hewon’t talk about, but his roles as soldierand peacekeeper aren’t among them. Hespeaks about his service with the clear-eyed seriousness of a man trained to dodifficult, dangerous and unpleasantwork.

Fitzpatrick says he was told by “high-er ups” not to speak about certain thingsthat happened in Bosnia. “We weretasked to do some things, and we carriedout those tasks,” is as specific as he willget.

He describes that tour as “hellish.”Arriving in August 1992, the peacekeep-ers immediately went behind enemylines.

“You literally slept every night withone eye open and one eye closed,” hesays.

He and his colleagues delivered foodby convoy to the desperate civilians ofSarajevo, trapped by violence.

“We went to Bosnia with a big picturethat we were going to go over there andliterally try and draw a line between sev-eral warring factions and keep the peace— and keep the bullets from flying.

“Once we were in there we couldclearly see we were just another battlegroup holding its own ground, and deliv-ering food to the people who really need-ed it.”

He says the Canadian military’s role in Afghanistan is a different type of

mission. “They are not fulfilling a peacekeep-

ing role as such, because no one hascome to a ceasefire agreement over there— we are simply in the middle of a war.”

He worries about what this means forCanadian soldiers. “We are going to startlosing many more lives because they arestarting to, I think, develop a hatred forCanadians as they do for Americans.”

Fitzpatrick uses his experience inBosnia to shed some light on what thetroops in Afghanistan face.

“I was scared for my life. But everyday I picked up my rifle and I carriedon,” he says. “We did what we had todo.”

When asked what advice he mightgive a young Newfoundland reservist onthe way to Afghanistan, Fitzpatrickdoesn’t mince words. “That’s quite a triphe’s going on.”

He says most young people headinginto combat “have absolutely no ideawhat they are getting themselves into.”He knows because, he says, he was oneof them. “I don’t think anything can pre-pare you psychologically for going towar. You can only train so much for war.

“You don’t know, when you are (to)come home on a plane, whether you aregoing to be sitting up in first class or ifyou are going to be in a box down in thebottom of the plane.”

Fitzpatrick says a lot of the men andwomen returning from Afghanistan aregoing to go through what he has gonethrough.

He advises loved ones to let returningsoldiers have their space. They are goingto have flashbacks, they are going tohave “survivor guilt,” they are going tohave questions, and they will need help.

Fitzpatrick tells a story he says definesthe Canadian army’s reputation aspeacekeepers. During one food delivery,Fitzpatrick and his group were confront-ed by members of the Bosnian army,who often stopped convoys at gunpoint,demanding food. The Canadiansrefused.

Fitzpatrick says the Canadian majornegotiated for three hours, meeting theBosnians’ threat of force with his own.Everyone’s weapons were pointed ateach other. “It was just a matter of oneperson pulling the trigger and it wouldhave been a huge bloodbath,” he says.

The major kept his cool, theCanadians stood their ground, theBosnian army stood down and the peo-ple of Sarajevo got their food.

“Kudos to the major,” Fitzpatrick sayswith a smile.

But most Canadians, he says, don’tunderstand the sacrifices their troopsmake on these missions. As he says ofhis return from duty, “There was noparade.”

‘I was scared for my life’From page 1

From page 1

Workers walk fine line

Shelly spent $5,265 on aflight to Harbour Breton,where he attended the

Coast of Bays Career Fair.

AUGUST 13, 2006 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3

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By Pam Pardy GhentFor The Independent

Elizabeth Avery, 83, was the firstpublic health nurse in ConceptionBay South. When she started her

career in 1945, she was one of 15 suchnurses. Today there are 150 in theprovince.

“It was a big island to cover,” she says.“You were expected to do everything …some people even expected you to blowtheir noses.”

Public health nursing has changed a lotover the years in Newfoundland. LillianBarry, a nurse on the Burin Peninsula for26 years, agrees with Avery.

“At one time you had to be everythingto everyone,” she says. Today, with betterrural access to health care, public healthnurses do more education and health pro-motion than hands on patient care.

They hold lifestyle clinics to educatethe public. There are school health andchild health clinics focusing on immu-nization. Nurses lead healthy beginningsprograms for newborns and babies,health-check programs for preschoolers,and they offer prenatal and breast-feedingsupport to those in their community.

Barry travels 2,000 kilometres a monthservicing her area, from South East Bightin Placentia Bay to English Harbour Eastin Fortune Bay.

“A lot has changed in this role, but thetravel and the reality of the rural geogra-phy and the Newfoundland weather hasremained a challenge for us,” she says.“Whatever we face, our patients also face,so we do the best we can.”

Barry says out-migration has hurtpatients in rural, remote areas. “Keepingthe elderly self-reliant when their spousesand family support live and work awaycan be difficult,” she says. “Every com-munity out here has unique needs, butevery one of them lacks qualityresources.”

Outports have no public libraries, nofamily resource centers, and are often faraway from primary health care delivery.

These challenges sound familiar toAvery, who retired in 1981. She dideverything from washing the dead toassisting in surgical procedures — some-times performed in less-than-ideal cir-cumstances.

“The first time I assisted Dr. Walsh inpulling teeth was something,” she says.Walsh sat the man down at a kitchen table— and just did it. “Well, I was expectingblood to go everywhere that day and fig-ured I’d be in jail by that night!”

But that situation turned out OK.Others didn’t.

One night Avery was called to attend toa schoolteacher who had arrived that dayand was feeling ill.

“I was gone all night,” she says. “WhenI came home Ray (her husband) was giv-ing the kids breakfast and said, ‘What, didhe die?’ and I said, ‘Yes he did.’

“(Ray) almost passed out. He had beenkidding … but I wasn’t, and the kids weresupposed to start school that day and herethe poor teacher was dead and gone.”

Regina Pardy paved the way for Barry.In 1968, then 22, she moved to the BurinPeninsula and became the first publichealth nurse in the region.

“There was one doctor servicing 10communities and all we had to travel onwere dirt roads and tiny fishing boats,”she says.

“These people had never been educat-ed about health care before … I foundthat the sickest people were the most dis-advantaged and improvising became mybiggest challenge.”

Visiting the sick and tending towounds in homes that didn’t have anyrunning water was frustrating.

“I was talking about the importance ofbrushing to this group of kids once,” sherecalls. “I could tell from their faces thatmost had never owned a toothbrush.” Shechanged the topic, focusing instead onthe importance of eating well and rinsingwith water after every meal.

“It was a ‘when in Rome …’ deal outhere, and I had to help them the best Icould.”

Avery also had to make due. The lackof needles was a problem when she hadto deliver mass polio vaccinations in thelate ’40s.

“I would put my needles in the oven tobe sterilized,” she says. “And I placed apotato in with them. I figured when thepotato was ready, so were my needles.”

She had to reuse her needles, andboiled them when she was rushed.

“I didn’t boil them with a potato,” shesays, laughing. “Them I boiled alone.”

There were pressures, but the publichealth nurses took them in stride.

One evening a knock on Pardy’s doorbrought a woman who had arrived byboat, in labour with twins. Pardy’s hus-band drove while she tended to herpatient.

“She didn’t deliver until we got her toBurin, but she lost one twin. You neverforget that.”

Travel was a challenge then as it istoday. “I still run into people and the chil-dren of those who changed tires for meover the years I traveled the BurinPeninsula on those rough, dirt roads,” shelaughs. “All the truckers knew me andmy car.”

Pardy’s parents were worried about her

traveling a road “with no livyers” shesays, and their concern caused her torethink her decision to raise her childrenin a remote area.

“I stayed for three years, but … I hadsmall babies I was dragging back andforth over those roads,” she says. “I did-n’t see a future for my own children, so Ileft my neighbours and my friends andmoved back to C.B.S. to be close to myfamily.”

Pardy and her husband have sinceretired to the Burin Peninsula, where shebegan her nursing career so many yearsbefore. She no longer nurses, but stillhelps those who call on her. Childrenwho take spills, the elderly out of surgery,a teenager with questions.

“Not as a nurse,” she says. “Just as afriend and good neighbour.”

SCRUNCHINSA weekly collection of Newfoundlandia

An article published this week in theNational Review Online talks about theheat wave that has gripped most ofCanada and how that invariably leads tothe media going mental with talk of glob-al warming. The media onNewfoundland’s east coast don’t have thatproblem, what with this summer’s mon-soons.

In the article, James S. Robbins talksabout how global warming could lead tovast areas of the country becoming “com-fortably habitable.” He questions thepremise of global-warming alarmists,namely that this is a problem rather thanan opportunity.

“When deserts start blooming, bliz-zards stop hitting and you are enjoying thesurfing at your beach house in upperNewfoundland, you won’t care whatcaused global warming, you’ll just thankgoodness it happened.”

Watch for the mad rush for beachfrontproperty. Never mind that — watch forthe next outport singing sensation … TheBeach B’ys.

WEATHER PATTERNSClimate change is old news in

Newfoundland and Labrador. Theprovince did a report last year entitled

Climate Change Action Plan. Among thereport’s predictions: rising sea level andincreased wave energy at the coast is like-ly to intensify erosion and destruction ofcoastal structures; sea ice is expected tobecome thinner and less extensive (seethis year’s iceberg crop), which couldhave positive impacts on marine trans-portation and the oil and gas industry.

The increase in climate change mayresult in more extreme weather events,such as hurricanes. Flooding is sure torise. According to the report, flood dam-age over the last 15 years has exceeded$40 million.

Get this: changes to ocean temperatureand currents may influence the distribu-tion and migration patterns — not tomention individual growth — of impor-tant fish species such as cod. Whichexplains a lot …

COD BITESA 1996 report prepared for the federal

Industry Department, The History ofNorthern Cod, included a chapter calledThe Great Destruction.

The following were given as examplesof the significance of the fishery inNewfoundland: if a calamity such as thecod moratorium befell Ontario’s manu-facturing industries, some 800,000 peo-ple would lose their jobs. In New-

foundland, almost 16 per cent of the totalworkforce depended on the fishery, inOntario, 2.6 per cent of the total work-force works in the auto industry; in 1988,fish harvesting and processing employedabout 48,000 people, generating a totalincome (including UI) of about $700 mil-lion.

That money is surely missed. Thereport warned that if no compensatorymeasures are taken, “large and small fish-ery dependent communities face econom-ic and social collapse.” That probablydoesn’t come as a surprise to towns likeHarbour Breton …

WORLD’S ENDNewfoundland may have not much fish

left, but it’s still a beautiful place to live.At least according to the Boston Globe,which published a story on Labrador thisweek.

“Battle Island, Newfoundland —Standing on a hilltop on an island offsouthern Labrador, all I can see are milesof deep-blue ocean and icebergs driftingby a cluster of small islands whose fishingvillages are abandoned now. A humpbackwhale surfaces nearby, and tomtits andospreys soar overhead. I am reminded ofthe local saying I heard en route:‘Labrador: it isn’t the end of the world,but you can see it from here.’

HART BREAKINGThe Aug. 14 edition of Maclean’s mag-

azine included a fascinating feature on thewinding road that led to the laying of twofirst-degree murder charges againstNelson Hart in the 2002 drowning deathsof his twin daughters, Krista and Karen, atGander Lake. Interviewed at HerMajesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s, Hartinsisted he played no role in the drown-ings and is the victim of a bizarre plot toimprison him. Hart is described as a “hardcase,” who suffered from epilepsy all hislife. Hart’s fits “prevented him from beingnormal,” said his mother Pearl. “Theyused to tease him and tell him how ugly hewas — because he was,” she toldMaclean’s. Hart left school at the age of12, when he had already spent three yearsin Grade 5. The article details the elabo-rate sting operation — known as Mr. Big

— the RCMP organized to get Hart toconfess.

HARVEY’S ROADYou may have read in Scrunchins a few

weeks ago about how Ken Harvey hadbeen nominated for Italy’s Libro del Mareaward for the best book published in Italythat deals with the sea. Well, Harvey wonthe award, which came with a $7,200 cashprize. The TownThat Forgot How toBreathe has beenbeen sold in over13 countries andtranslated intoFrench, German,Russian, Dutch,and, lucky forHarvey, Italian.

INTERNET CRIMEFinally this week, Paul Perrier, the man

recently charged with mischief for mim-icking Danny Williams’ e-mail addressand sending out nasty and wild accusa-tions about the premier, pled guilty inMay 1999 to one count of criminal harass-ment. Perrier issued public notices on theInternet and around Town that his ex-girl-friend was HIV-positive and had unpro-tected sex without disclosing the fact.

[email protected]

Doing it allPublic health nurses reflect on how their roles have changed in the past 50 years

Elizabeth Avery Paul Daly/The Independent


Not just drug dispensersPharmacists must become more involved in patient careBy Stephanie PorterThe Independent

Dr. Stephanie Young is out to save her pro-fession. That may sound dramatic, butYoung says the world and work of phar-

macists has got to move forward, or “we’ll beextinct.”

Young is a practicing pharmacist and a facultymember in Memorial’s school of pharmacy. She’salso at the helm of both a pilot project and aresearch study investigating ways to betterinvolve today’s pharmacists — and their exten-sive knowledge of drugs and medications — inthe overall health care of patients.

The problem, says Young, is pharmacists areoften seen as simply drug dispensers — technicalwork that could be replaced by machines or lessqualified people.

“Pharmacists haven’t been as engaged as theyneed to be,” she says. “They only get paid if theydispense a product. That’s how revenue is gener-ated and salaries are paid.

“Our goal is to have pharmacists be paid forwhat we call cognitive services, to be paid for theskills and the knowledge and their experience. Soessentially, how I look at this project, I look attaking the selling of the medication out of it.”

For the pilot project, Young, in conjunctionwith the school of pharmacy, is developing an“expanded pharmacist role” within a family prac-tice.

Participating doctors refer suitable patients toYoung — generally patients who have been or arecurrently taking a number of medications — for

consultation.“Then I do a full assessment, usually in their

homes,” says Young. “I get them to pull every-thing (their medications) out, show me what theyhave, what they’re doing with them, how theytake them, how often. I find out information aboutallergies and adverse reactions …

“I’m looking at the medications — are theyworking? Are they having any side effects? Dothey understand how to take it?”

Young is given access to the patient’s medicalfiles to help in her assessments.

So far, she’s seen more than 45 patients. Shesays she hasn’t come across any cases that havetruly surprised her — but she has offered informa-tion, education, and made changes in manypatients’ drug regimes.

Young says people often have expired medica-tions or they’re taking incorrect amounts.Sometimes they’ve decided not to take them at all— or to adjust the dose. And some patients aretaking drugs they might not need to be taking.

“I might recommend a medication needs to beadded. Or to use a different type. It’s basicallyusing all the knowledge and skills we teach ourstudents and separating it from the dispensingrole.

“And hopefully at the end, this is a beneficialthing to do.”

Young’s research study is just getting started.With the help of $185,000 from Health Canada’sBest Practices Contribution Program, and another$15,000 from the office of the vice-president ofresearch at Memorial, the two-year project is edg-ing forward.

During the study, Young and her research teamplan to engage about 50 community pharmacistsaround the province in in-depth patient consulta-tions and follow-up. Each participating pharma-cist will use this team approach — alreadyemployed in the hospital setting — to work close-ly with family physicians and certain patients. Itmay mean home visits or consultations withinclinics.

“This is the model we’re teaching our stu-dents,” she says. “It’s comprehensive, looking ateverything that’s going on with a patient, asopposed to just filling a prescription.

“No other health care professional will ask thesort of questions (pharmacists can), not that in-depth. Some medications should be changes,added, or removed. The system isn’t always therefor the patient to go back to the doctor and reeval-uate …”

The study will focus on diabetes patients inNewfoundland and Labrador.

“If we can show an advantage to this process… we can take it to the government and otherthird-party payers and say, there’s a group of pro-fessionals here that can help you achieve betteroutcomes with your patients.

“Then we can start to look at being reimbursedfor cognitive functions.”

Young admits that’s a big change to make —though she says it’s already happening “in pock-ets” elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.

“It’s taken a while for us to get a critical massof people interested in putting this together … inmoving the profession forward, in trying tochange the way things are out there.”

Dr. Stephanie Young Paul Daly/The Independent


There may be lobbyists working inNewfoundland and Labrador who don’tknow they are breaking the law.

Dean Doyle, deputy registrar of lobbyists,says there are probably still a few people in theprovince who have yet to register their activi-ties as lobbyists — but, he adds, they needn’tworry.

“Any and all who are hearing about this forthe first time should contact the registry tolearn about the legislation, what is consideredlobbying and what is not considered lobbyingunder the legislation, and ascertain whetherthey have to be registered,” Doyle tells TheIndependent.

To date, 58 separate records have been filed,listing 111 people who are now registered aslobbyists with the province.

A lobbyist is defined as any person who ispaid to influence the decisions of public officeholders. That can include contacting publicoffice holders, or using mass communications— such as newspapers or open line shows — toexhort members of the general public to con-

tact public office holders. Under the Lobbyist Registration Act, an ini-

tiative of the Williams administration that cameinto effect Oct. 11, 2005, the names, addresses,and activities of all lobbyists must be listed andthen posted on an open government website.

The act divides lobbyists into two groups:consultant and in-house.

Consultant lobbyists are paid by a businessor organization to influence public office hold-ers. They must register if they make even onephone call or have any contact with a politicianor bureaucrat. For instance, highly placedConservative party member Tim Powers is reg-istered as a paid consultant for ProvincialAerospace, lobbying for contracts on theirbehalf.

In-house lobbyists are employees who, aspart of their job description, lobby public offi-cials. If an employee or group spends morethan 20 per cent of their time (given as 12working days in a three-month period) lobby-ing, they need to register. Bell Aliant RegionalCommunications has several records filed witha total of 33 employees registered as in-houselobbyists.

While fines under the lobbyist act can be as

high as $25,000 for a first offence — thatincludes not registered — and $100,000 forsubsequent offences, Doyle and Lynn AnnMontgomery, the commissioner of lobbyists,both say people who are not registered need notworry — yet. They simply need to get signedup.

The commissioner has the power to investi-gate complaints, but says her current focus ison public awareness. With the legislation near-ing its first birthday, Montgomery says anyonewho has doubts about whether they should beregistered — or has been lax in doing so —should contact the registrar or her office.

While the act was passed to add transparen-cy to the lobbying process, the commissionercan grant a request from a lobbyist to have theiractivities remain secret, if making his or heractivities public could “prejudice his or herabilities to do business.”

“I decide if (the request) makes sense or is hejust trying to avoid disclosing information,”says Montgomery, adding that situation has yetto arise.

All lobbyists currently registered with theprovince can be reviewed at lobbyists.eser-vices.gov.nl.ca.

File or be finedNot all paid lobbyists registered

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By Ryan ClearyThe Independent

The association representingConstabulary officers hopes to bridgethe salary gap with the RCMP in upcom-

ing contract talks with the province.A first-class constable (meaning an officer

with three years experience) with the RoyalNewfoundland Constabulary makes $52,000 ayear — about $20,000 less than a Mountie withthe same level of experience.

“Salary is the main issue,” says Tim Buckle,president of the RNC Association, which repre-sents the force’s roughly 300 non-commis-sioned officers.

“Teachers in the province are paid the samethroughout the province,nurses are paid the same,general service workersare paid the same, butthere are two policingorganizations in theprovince, and because ofwage freezes and roll-backs, especiallythroughout the 1990s, agreater disparity devel-oped between the twopolicing agencies.”

Buckle wants to seethat disparity addressedin contract talks betweenthe Constabulary associ-ation and provincialgovernment, expected totake place this fall. Thetwo-year police contractexpired June 30, 2004and Buckle says the only talks that have takenplace since then have been informal.

“We’re anticipating initiating some discus-sions in the fall with government to see whereit goes.”

The Constabulary isn’t the only group ofgovernment workers with an expired contract.Negotiations between government and theunion representing the province’s 5,000 nursesbroke off in early July when the DannyWilliams administration laid its final offer onthe table.

The three-year deal includes a 0 per cent payincrease in the first year (retroactive to July 1,2005), another three per cent effective this July,and a final three per cent in July 2007.

Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan has saidmoney is a factor, meaning nurses have beenoffered the same package as other unions,including teachers.

But pattern bargaining wasn’t on for nurses,and it’s apparently not on for the Constabulary.

“We don’t see that as an acceptable solution,”Buckle says.

“In fact, we’re pleased in the past months tohear the premier himself say that groups had tomake their individual argument and should betreated as individual groups with individualneeds.”

Contacted by The Independent, a spokes-woman for the Finance Department says theminister won’t comment on RNC contract talkswhile negotiations are continuing.

Again, formal talks have taken place in thetwo years since the contract expired.

“Essentially, negotiations are always ongoinguntil an agreement is signed,” the spokes-woman says.

Buckle points out the RCMP doesn’t negoti-ate their salaries. Rather, the national force’spay package is decided by a pay council that

averages out the topthree to five policesalaries across the coun-try.

The only hope for theConstabulary in terms ofgetting more money is toget the province to breakaway from pattern bar-gaining.

Government apparent-ly did that for doctors.

The Newfoundlandand Labrador MedicalAssociation, represent-ing the province’s physi-cians, signed a memo-randum of understandingwith government thispast February.

The four-year dealgives doctors a pay

increase similar to the package given to othergovernment workers. At the same time, theglobal cap on the doctors’ fee-for-service budg-et was eliminated. Other improvements to theiragreement will see the physician services budg-et increase by $18 million in the final year ofthe deal.

Besides higher salary, RCMP officers haveother perks Constabulary officers don’t have.

Under the Workplace Health, Safety andCompensation Act, members of the RCMPreceive 100 per cent of net earnings when theysuffer a workplace injury, while an RNC mem-ber receives 80 per cent of net earnings.

In a recent submission to the workers’ compreview panel, the Constabulary argued the dis-crepancy should be eliminated.

“The fact that members of both policingagencies serve on various joint forces teams,working together in the same offices and vehi-cles, highlights this imbalance.”

Constabulary officers respond to an averageof 60,000 calls for service a year.

Police parityConstabulary officers want same payas RCMP in upcoming contract talks

“The fact that membersof both policing

agencies serve on various joint forces

teams, working togetherin the same offices and

vehicles, highlightsthis imbalance.”

Tim Buckle

SHIPPINGNEWS

Rural violence prevention services scarceBy Nadya BellThe Independent

Tracy Duffy says she hopes committeesstruck by the province this week willlobby for more violence prevention

resources in rural areas to help prevent crimeslike the murder-suicide in Hermitage Aug. 3.

Otherwise, Duffy says, those groups are still along way from preventing family violence inrural Newfoundland and Labrador.

“In the different rural areas, if you can’taccess the shelter, pretty much the police areyour best bet to access help,” says Duffy, co-ordinator of the St. John’s-based Sexual AssaultCrisis and Prevention Centre. The centre is apartner in the province’s violence preventioninitiative launched this year.

“It’s not that police are doing it wrong —they’re doing a great job, but they also needmore resources. They can’t do it all, and theycan’t deal with violence as well as the otherthings.”

On Aug. 10, police said Goldie Loveless, 34was shot and killed outside her family home byher common-law husband, Shawn Skinner, 38.

The closest transition house or shelter whereLoveless and her two children could have stayedwas in Gander, a three-hour drive away fromtheir home.

Shelters provide a safe haven for people whomust leave their home to escape a violent situa-tion, including space for children.

“Several regions have got shelters, unfortu-nately the region in which this occurred does not… They would send people to Marystown or tothe Gander shelter,” says Duffy.

“The resources are there, but it’s not nearlyenough.”

Newfoundland has eight shelters, and mosthave 24-hour support phone lines for women incrisis. Some shelters have women’s centres,which offer outreach programs for the commu-nity.

Joan Burke, minister responsible for the status

of women, has said she will set up four addition-al committees this week around the province tohelp prevent violence.

“I think it’s a great mechanism for communi-ty and government to connect on violence pre-vention,” says Duffy. “These committees I seeas a vital part.”

Through the committees, people speak to oth-ers involved in different areas of violence pre-vention on a regular basis.

New provincial legislation against family vio-lence came into effect on July 1, but Duffy saysmore counseling and shelter services should beprovided in rural areas. Currently, there aremore services available for children than foradults who are suffering.

“I think where we still struggle is changingpublic attitudes. When it comes to family vio-lence and sexual violence against women …there are still so many people who don’t want totalk about it, who don’t want to be involved inthe fight against it because it’s such a huge stig-ma,” she says.

“I would say break the silence around it, that’swhat we need to do.”

Keeping on eye on the comings and going ofships in St. John’s harbour. Information provid-ed by the Coast Guard Traffic Centre.

SATURDAYVessels Arrived: Atlantic Eagle, Canada, fromTerra Nova; Rem Angler, Norway, fromNorway; Maersk Nascopie, Canada, fromHibernia.Vessels Departed: Maersk Chignecto, Canada,to Terra Nova; Riverton, Canada, to FortuneField; Hudson, Canada, to sea; Maersk Detector,Canada, to sea; Cicero, Canada, to Halifax.

SUNDAYVessels Arrived: Oceanex Avalon, Canada, fromMontreal.Vessels Departed: Maersk Challenger, Canada,to White Rose; Oceanex Avalon, Canada, toMontreal.

MONDAYVessels Arrived: George R. Pearkes, Canada,from sea; ASL Sanderling, Canada, fromHalifax; Discovery, Luxemburg, from TerraNova; Maersk Chancellor, Canada, from WhiteRose.Vessels Departed: Maersk Nascopie, Canada, toHibernia.

TUESDAYNo vessels to report.

WEDNESDAYVessels Arrived: Maersk Norseman, Canada,from Hibernia; Diamond Star, Canada, fromPort Cartier; Burin Sea, Canada, from TerraNova; Atlantic Osprey, Canada, from TerraNova.Vessels Departed: Maersk Chancellor, Canada,to White Rose; George R Pearkes, Canada, tosea; Wilfred Templeman, Canada, to sea.

THURSDAYVessels Arrived: Jean Charcot, England, fromsea.Vessels Departed: Maersk Challenger, Canada,to Terra Nova; Diamond Star, Canada, to Comeby Chance.

FRIDAYVessels Arrived: Riverton, Canada, from JeanneD’Arc Basin; Cabot, Canada, from Montreal.Vessels Departed: Burin Sea, Canada, to TerraNova; Riverton, Canada, to sea; Sir WilfredGrenfell, Canada, to sea.

“I think where we still struggle is changing public attitudes.

When it comes to family violenceand sexual violence againstwomen … there are still so

many people who don’t want to talk about it, who

don’t want to be involved in the fight against it because it’s such a huge stigma.”

Tracy Duffy

Tim Buckle Paul Daly/The Independent


We are dead to the premier“As a rule, we have in the past

been very open with andavailable to your paper.

However, I must advise you that thepremier will not be available to TheIndependent in future.”

— e-mail forwarded to me on Aug.10 by Elizabeth Matthews, director ofcommunications, office of the premier.

SUBSEQUENT E-MAILS …“Does that mean me — or all

Independent reporters?”“The paper.”“Will you, yourself (Elizabeth

Matthews), be responding to mye–mails if I have a question for the pre-mier’s office? Does the boycott go foryou as well?”

Matthews: “Ryan: it extends to thepremier’s office.”

“Me, (Craig) Westcott, probably RayGuy — who else is on the list? Tell methere’s at least one mainlander? Thosejournalists can be negative, more nega-tive than us, don’t you think? (It’s OK— I don’t expect an answer.) Must be atleast one oil company? Maybe a pre-mier or two? No way to handle themedia …”

End of correspondence. Forever.

•••

So there you have it. It’s hard to get inthe premier’s headspace when he won’tgive the paper the time of day. The pre-mier’s office wouldn’t have anything todo with reporter Craig Westcott whenhe worked for the paper (Elizabeth con-tacted me personally to make thatclear), which still worked out fine,because Danny would speak to me oranother reporter … good-cop, bad-coproutine.

Now he won’t speak to any of us —The Independent has been blacklisted.We are dead to the premier. His officecancelled its five copies a week of TheIndependent. If that wasn’t bad enough,the papers were complimentary. Dannyturned away free stuff. I initially uppedthe comps to 10, but then cancelledthem altogether. If the premier and hisstaff want to get on like that then they’llhave to buy their copies.

This all started when I contacted thepremier’s office to ask whether Dannycared to explain his position re: MaxRuelokke. (Actually, it started a few

weeks ago with the story on Danny’scharitable donations — a line of ques-tioning he took as a personal attack, butI’ve been down that long and windingroad.)

I can’t understand the Ruelokkestandoff.

The Supreme Court of Newfound-land ruled earlier this week against theprovince, ordering that Ruelokke behired as head of the Canada-Newfound-land and Labrador Offshore PetroleumBoard. Justice Raymond Halleydescribed the province’s delay inRuelokke’s selection as “reprehensi-ble.”

Danny wanted Andy — or at the veryleast Danny wanted Andy to rule withRuelokke. The court wouldn’t go withthat either. The judge also said Danny’sfight for the mayor was “doomed tofailure” because Wells doesn’t have thecredentials.

Andy says otherwise — and he has apoint. The petroleum board/oil industrywouldn’t know what hit them if Wellsgot the job. No offence to Ruelokke, butI’d rather have Andy as my New-foundland and Labrador point man onthe offshore oil court — for no otherreason than he’s a hell raiser, and hellmust be raised to change the status quoin the high-stakes oil industry.

But Danny doesn’t appear to have alegal leg to stand on. So what’s his strat-egy? Is he prepared to walk away fromthe Atlantic Accord and tell Ottawa tostick it? Will he go that far to get hisway? He can only warn of “dire conse-quences” for so long before someonecalls his bluff.

What’s the reason for the delay inresponding to the Supreme Court deci-sion? In the absence of an answer thepremier looks like he’s sulking, whichwould be rather childish of our fearlessleader. (I’d tell him that if I was alive tohim.)

The Globe’s Jeffrey Simpson pickedon our Danny a few days ago, question-ing whether he may have overplayed hishand with the oil companies thatplanned to develop the Hebron field.

“What Newfoundland needs is asteady offshore industry, with someprojects in various states of exploration,development and production,” Simpsonwrote.

“That kind of industry doesn’t existwithout Hebron. Although Newfound-land’s oil represents only 0.4 per cent ofworld production, it’s worth 16 per centof the province’s economic output,twice as much as the fishery. It putsabout $1.3-billion into government cof-fers. That sums represents about 40 per

cent of all government revenues gener-ated in Newfoundland.”

On the one hand, the premier hasearned our support. He won the fightover the Accord and, with it, the peo-ple’s faith to champion another battle.On the other hand, Danny’s every movemust be questioned — days of blindfaith ended with Smallwood, andPeckford, and Wells, and Tobin …

Look around Newfoundland andLabrador today. The roads are in des-perate shape, the outports are crumblinginto the sea, the cod fishery is dead, theprovincial treasury is a few interestpoints away from tapping out. The sunmay be shinning today, but it never lasts— a lesson we never, ever learn.

The political system as we haveknown it hasn’t worked for us. It’sworked for the politicians, who makemore here than in Alberta, but it hasn’tworked for Joe Blow of Bunyan’s Covewho packed up yesterday and moved toBanff.

It’s all well and good that Williams isa fighter, but after a while the come-out-swinging routine gets old. In the case ofOttawa, our politicians are always mix-ing it up because the federal govern-ment has it coming. It does not have itcoming in the case of Max Rulokke.

[email protected]

The 2006 caplin season was abust, but it wasn’t supposed to be.

There were two key positives leadingup to this year’s fishery: caplin wereplentiful and large, and the market wasone of the best in years.

As the caplin approached the island’sshores to spawn, conditions lookedgood for a successful and lucrativefishery. The market was good becausethe Norwegian fishery remains closedfor at least another year and Icelandiccaplin are always small in size, whichare less attractive to the Japanese mar-ket. The Japanese were committed topaying higher prices — possibly thehighest in years — for our largercaplin.

Market dictates when best to prose-cute the caplin fishery. Buyers preferfemale caplin when the row is about 90per cent mature — meaning fishermenhave to be allowed to catch caplin atthe right time, when the fish are at theright stage of development.

Thanks to the mangers of the stock— the federal Department of Fisheriesand Oceans — that did not happen thisyear. All that was caught and processedwas small caplin.

As a result, Japanese buyers and oth-ers estimate the fishing industry lost$40-million US. This is the third con-secutive year the provincial economyhas experienced a loss in its lucrativecaplin fishery because we couldn’t sat-isfy Japanese markets. I blame the losson DFO mismanagement, as well as theFish, Food and Allied Workers’ union,which runs federal Fisheries.

Japanese buyers have indicated theywill not return to Newfoundland andLabrador if they can get their caplin inNorway when that fishery re-opens.

Given the downturn in other fishspecies — both in price and catch rates— there was never a time when theindustry needed the money as desper-ately as it did this year. This was theyear the caplin fishery was supposed tosave the industry.

That likely won’t happen.The criteria for opening a caplin fish-

ery has gone from a simple opening onJune 1st until the total allowable catch(TAC) is taken, to a mishmash of open-ing dates from point to cape, head tocove, to sometimes entire bays for aperiod of 10-12 hours. This system haspitted fisherman against fisherman,

fisherman against processor, one sideof a bay against another, etc. Add morerules and regulations … the more themicromanagement, the worse and thepoorer the industry becomes. My opin-ion is that the industry — both process-ing and harvesting sectors — is on theverge of financial collapse as a result ofgovernment mismanagement.

I started fishing when I was 12 yearsold; owned a fishing enterprise for 15years; graduated from MUN with abachelor of arts and education degree;taught school; worked three years as aDFO fishery officer; and have ownedmy own plant for the past 30 years.

I have spent time in all markets that Ihave exported to, including Japan,China and Europe. My company hashad the same Japanese buyer for 30years and I am friends with mostJapanese buyers.

DFO has downloaded responsibilityfor the management of fish stocks tothe FFAW. The department did this fortwo reasons: bureaucrats don’t have toworry about making mistakes or mak-ing any enemies in managing theresource; and politicians can keep theunion on side for the next federal elec-tion, which is not far off.

SCREWED UPTo start this year’s caplin fishery,

prime caplin fishing time was lost inPlacentia Bay, St. Mary’s Bay and theSouthern Shore. The situation wasbrought to DFO’s attention when ithappened and it was suggested thatConception and Trinity bays be openedimmediately. But the opening times forthose fisheries were also screwed up.Pleas made to DFO — including oneby the largest Japanese buyer on theisland — were ignored. “Why is yourgovernment so stupid?” the Japanesebuyer asked. The fishermen I talked tosaid the same thing. They watched theirseason — and the money that couldsustain them — slip by.

To add insult to injury, after thisyear’s fishery was lost DFO reopenedsome of the bays to take black males (acondition where the male turns black

on the sides at the end of the spawningseason), a fish that’s not overly attrac-tive to the market.

At the same time, frustrated fisher-men who are trying to make ends meetbegan to threaten fish processors toeither buy black males or face reper-cussions in the crab fishery.

This made buyers do things theyshouldn’t do — namely, put substan-dard product on the market, which onlyhurts future markets.

Another blatant example of completeand utter stupidity was the way DFOkept track of catch levels. The depart-ment and the FFAW instituted a newweight system whereby fish weightwas estimated by measuring the con-tainers — without taking into accountwater inside the containers.

This system is surely not legal andcannot be used for trade according tothe weight and measures act.

And what about our provincialDepartment of Fisheries andAquaculture? Not a word from eitherthe premier or his Fisheries minister onthis year’s huge losses.

On the other hand, everyday in themedia I hear about the nonsense of theFPI Act, Harbour Breton, Fortune, etc.,etc. — societal and economic chaospartly due to the complete micro-man-agement of the fishery.

Now, just in case the readers of thisarticle think I am a sore loser, or some-one with a political axe to grind — notso. There is nothing trivial or frivolousabout my financial losses. Most peopleI know in the industry suffer in silencefrom useless provincial fishery lawsand manipulation by the provincialgovernment — mostly for politicalgain. This kind of mistreatment hasgone on for years and with every gov-erning party since the Brian Peckfordera.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s fish-ing industry, like all businesses, hashad its ups and downs. We have lostour cod stocks through mismanage-ment, and are now about to lose ourlucrative crab stock to the same fate.The fishery, which is riddled with poli-tics from the federal to provincial lev-els, needs a swift kick.

Fonce Best is the owner/operator ofPort Enterprises Ltd., a groundfishplant in Southern Harbour.

http://prateboxinnfld.blogspot.com

Fishery needs ‘a swift kick’

RYAN CLEARYFightingNewfoundlander

YOURVOICE

‘Hard on the subject, soft on the person’

Dear editor,There is an old saying, “a welcome

guest knocks before he enters, notafter he leaves.”

In his Aug. 5 guest column, Danny:Napoleon or just the complex, BillKelly appears to have a penchant forverbally mauling his subjects.

Using the article as an example, isthis fair and/or valid journalism?

In my opinion Kelly’s 18-column

inch article was nothing more than anoutpouring of vitriolic verbosity.

Kelly certainly has a talent forstringing words together and if onlyhe could or would incorporate the oldadage, “hard on the subject, soft onthe person,” Kelly’s work wouldmake for good reading.

Ursula Dowler,Cartyville

All material in The Independent is copyrighted and the property of The Independent or the writers and photographers who produced the material. Any use or reproduction of this material without permission is

prohibited under the Canadian Copyright Act. • © 2006 The Independent • Canada Post Agreement # 40871083

AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

P.O. Box 5891, Stn.C, St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, A1C 5X4Ph: 709-726-4639 • Fax: 709-726-8499

www.theindependent.ca • [email protected]

The Independent is published by Independent News Ltd. in St. John’s. It is

an independent newspaper covering the news, issues and current affairs that affect the people of Newfoundland & Labrador.

PUBLISHER Brian DobbinEDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan ClearyMANAGING EDITOR Stephanie PorterPICTURE EDITOR Paul DalyPRODUCTION MANAGER John Andrews

The Independent welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words in length or less and include full name, mailing address and daytime contact numbers. Letters may be edited for length, content and legal considerations. Send your letters

in care of The Independent, P.O. Box 5891, Station C, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5X4 or e-mail us at [email protected]

[email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected]

FONCE BESTGuestColumn

‘Hurtful’ cartoonDear editor,

As a subscriber, I had to write tosay I was disgusted to see the cartoon on the food fishery in theAug. 6 edition. It was in bad taste,poorly timed, and totally insensitive.

It must have been particularly hurt-ful to the family and friends of thefather and son who tragically diedduring this year’s food fishery.

Mike Warren,St. John’s

Editor’s note: Doug Bird, TheIndependent’s cartoonist, preparedthe following response …

The above letter, and many others,expressed outrage at last week’s edi-torial cartoon. The cartoon was con-ceived before those unfortunate mendrowned and I have no knowledgeof exactly what happened to them. Ido know that many unprepared andunskilled people head out on to thewater every year for the food/recre-ational fishery. I hoped the cartoonwould wake people up to the blithedisregard for human life that occursduring this fishery. Only people who

have gone through a similar loss cancome close to understanding what thefamily of the men who were lost aregoing through. I’m sure this cartoon— again, not about those men in par-ticular — is the least of their worries.It often happens that good people areoutraged on behalf of others they feelhave been wronged. The irony is weseem to advocate more strongly forthe dead than the living. If the familyof those men feels wronged by thiscartoon I am sincerely sorry. To allothers, please direct your rage in thedirection of positive change and letthe families in any tragic situationspeak for themselves.

AG should investigate HydroDear editor,

With reference to the most recentapplication by Newfoundland andLabrador Hydro for a rate increase, Iam reminded of how the provincialgovernment has used this corporationas a cash cow over the years. Indeedwhen the last budget was handeddown, the minister of Finance“bragged” that due to oil revenues thegovernment did not need to go toHydro, with cap in hand, to balancethe budget this year. One would onlyassume that as a result of this thereshould be surplus funds somewhere.

Everyone in this province should

know well the price of oil has risenand is being used for all manner ofexcuse to gain extra profits.

Just recently the Public UtilitiesBoard authorized a 5 per centincrease. Apparently this went overso easily they are trying to rubberstamp another grab. It is about timeauditor general John Noseworthy hada serious look at this Crown corpora-tion.

As a former supervisor with Hydro,I know very well the blatant waste thathas taken place over the years.

Austin F. Winsor,Springdale


YOURVOICE

Dear editor,A journalism prof once told a

class of which I was a member to“never, ever, ever surrender yourcredibility. It’s the only thing youhave that counts for anything in thislife.”

That’s why I find Sue Kelland-Dyer so offensive. Not the individ-ual — I barely know her, but theinterloper masquerading as a mem-ber of the fourth estate.

She’s currently doing some workat The Independent, but don’t expecther to be around very long beforesome politician or other vestedinterest rents or leases her for awhile.

That’s been her history. She firstcame to be known to the publicthrough VOCM Open Line. It soonbecame apparent she had come tolove the sound of her voice and shebecame a fixture on the airwaves.For a time, she won considerablepraise for championing a successfulflight to prevent the Clyde Wells’administration from privatizingNewfoundland Hydro.

But the wiley Ms. Kelland-Dyersuccumbed to her personal ambitionand ulterior motives by turning upas some sort of flak with the PCopposition, then under leaderLoyola Sullivan.

After her time with the Tories, sheturned up on the payroll of one AlChislett, one of the co-founders ofthe Voisey’s Bay nickel deposit.

Chislett, all of a sudden, had timeon his hands and a lot of money tospend so he decided to bankroll hisown political party and paid Ms.

Kelland-Dyer to front it.Vowing she was in it for the long

term, she actually led a small handof compatriots into a general elec-tion. She ran herself in whateverthey call the new Bell Island districtand had a respectable showing. Thatelection night, as the results pawedin, one of the TV commentators waseffusive in his praise of Ms.Kelland-Dyer, suggesting she hadmade a good start and looked for-ward to her building it into a force tobe reckoned with.

The next morning, Ms. Kelland-Dyer glibly announced she was quit-ting, flooring admirers and detrac-tors alike. She spent the next fewyears on the airwaves, losing noopportunity to criticize Brian Tobinand the governing Liberals.

However, when Roger Grimesreplaced Tobin in a bitter strugglewith the long departed, sulky andvindictive John Efford, Ms.Kelland-Dyer’s attitude anddemeanor towards the Liberals did a180.

Within a couple of weeks, shebecame an advisor to the newlyminted Premier Grimes and sheswallowed her tongue.

Curiosity got the better of me andI called an old friend close to thepremier’s office and asked him whatwas going on.

His reply, wryly and succinctly,“Bill, better to have a stinky oldcamel inside the tent pissing outthan outside the tent pissing in.”

Indeed!Bill Kelly,St. John’s

Iwas getting overwhelmed with allthe festivals that have been pop-ping up over the last decade or so.

It seems like you can’t cross the streetdowntown this summer without stum-bling over a festival. It began to get onmy nerves, but I came to terms with it— I used one invented celebration tocome to terms with all the other cele-brations.

Festivus is the once fictional holi-day invented by the writers ofSeinfeld. The character FrankCostanza claims to have come up withit while “raining blows” upon the headof another man he fought with over atoy in a department store during theChristmas rush. There had to be,thought Frank as he beat the mansenseless, another way.

So he invented a celebration, Festi-vus, which begins with “the airing ofgrievances.” To quote Frank: “I’ve gota lot of problems with you people, andnow you’re going to hear aboutthem!” So here goes.

Success breeds imitation, and when

some of the older festivals began toenjoy some success — the Newfound-land and Labrador Folk Festivalcomes to mind — newer ones werestarted. Soon everyone and their dogwere organizing festivals. Some aregrowing, some are dying on the vine,some flopped — but every year thereseems to be a few more.

Most of the festivals now operatingwere started in my lifetime. I remem-ber the first Peace-A-Chord. I thoughtit was a great excuse to hang out andsmoke dope in Bannerman Park inbroad daylight. We’d all listen to few tunes, chill with our friends, andpublicly show our dislike of war …terrific.

Then, when I got older and hadkids, the festival was a chance to take

the kids out and get them some freshair while enjoying a few bands, all atthe same time. Now the kids are run-ning the thing and I can’t be botheredto go. Ah, the circle of life.

The St. John’s summer calendar isblocked with festivals, and everyregion of the province has one. Theycan be broadly broken into two types.In St. John’s are the theme festivals,which are based on a specific medi-um: music (folk, jazz or classical),street performers, theatre, or film.

Outside St. John’s are the region-based festivals, which are more touristcentred, their genesis probably in thelocal chamber of commerce’s desire toscare up a few tourist bucks in thesummer. There are exceptions: RisingTide’s Summer in the Bight in Trinitybeing the best example, but mostregions now offer an almost obligato-ry regional summer festival.

When I was a boy there was theRegatta, and every parish had a turkeytea — that was about it. I don’t knowwhat people did with all their spare

time and money — I suspect they did-n’t have much. Now many peoplehave more spare time and money, andno end of fascinating things to occupytheir summer nights.

Festivus, as the joke goes, is for therest of us. That’s kind of the way I seeall these festivals: I am not a musician,or a street performer, or a filmmaker,and although I appreciate all those artforms, I can’t face a whole weekendof one thing — whether it’s folkmusic, or independent films, or peoplejuggling flaming chainsaws. I knowthere are lots who can and good forthem, but what about “the rest of us?”

For the rest of us I have someadvice. Avoid the temptation to get“festivalled out.” It would be easy tosurrender to general St. John’s cranki-ness and cynicism. Yes, so many festi-vals crammed together are kind ofsilly. And yes, like eating a pound ofchocolate, too much of anything goodisn’t. But our winters are long anddreary, and it is great to have nicethings to do on a summer evening.

Pick and choose — there are somefine performances happening aroundtown. There are going to be somegood parties. Maybe get out of townand check out one of the festivalsaround the province. Now is a goodtime for a road trip. What the hell.

Maybe you’ll get lucky and pick theright place on the right night. In mycase it was the Rose and Thistle onWater Street Aug. 5. A performer —Amelia Curran — and her small bandof superb musicians, held us all spell-bound with their talent and their quiet,confident brilliance. I will never for-get the image of a waitress standing, acase of empties in her arms, lost in themusic.

Not every festival is a blast, notevery event life affirming. But theyare out there, and I suspect, thanks tothe yaffle we have at the moment,there are probably more suchmoments. And if you don’t go, youwon’t experience them.

[email protected]

Avoiding festival burnoutIVAN MORGANRant & Reason

RUELOKKE’S ROADDyer warning

Dear editor,“A huge disappointment” is what I

call the photographs I took on Sundaymorning, Aug. 6, on a leisurely walkin Bowring Park in St. John’s. Someindividuals spent quite a bit of timeand effort early Sunday morningdefacing the park environment.Luckily the diligent workers at thepark cleaned up the damage beforemost of the general public came tovisit. Only the early walkers see mostof this needless damage and destruc-tion. The reason this is happening iscertainly beyond my comprehension,but liquor and lack of respect mayhave some involvement.

There were tire tracks all over thepark grass. Picnic tables and garbagecans were broken and thrown in thewater.

Quite often while walking on theSouth Brook Trail there is a lot of bro-ken glass, usually beer bottles, whichresult in injuries to animals walking inthe area as evidenced by the trails ofblood.

There is strong evidence of largefires being set in a clearing on onesection of the South Brook Trail.What will happen to the park — or,for that matter, surrounding neigh-bourhoods — if these fires get out ofcontrol? Maybe this area of the parkcould be patrolled at night.

Bowring Park is extraordinarilybeautiful and used by thousands ofpeople on a yearly basis. To see suchwidespread vandalism is dishearten-ing and I feel more efforts should bemade to minimize future damage.

Jim Costello,St. John’s

‘Beyond my comprehension’

Dear editor,I am so frustrated I could scream! I

cannot believe what’s happening todeaf education in this province. If thegovernment wants to save $3.5 milliona year, why don’t they just close downthe Newfoundland School for the Deafquickly and end the torture?

Education Minister Joan Burke saidthe education of deaf children in theprovince would not be adversely effect-ed by the loss of 28 support personnelpositions because there would only be12 students living in residence. What?She also said the current trend in thedepartment is to have the children edu-cated in their local school districts neartheir home (inclusion) and to have themfitted with cochlear implants. Wellthat’s it then … this technology must bethe “cure” for deafness, the panacea foreducating children with a hearing losssevere enough to deter them from learn-ing language aurally.

Well hell, I guess all that researchbeing done in the U.S., Sweden,Australia, Great Britain and other coun-tries means very little to the well-informed advocates of inclusion.Inclusion is the great politically correctmethod of education today. Take allspecial needs students and place themin the classroom with all the supportstaff that was identified through theirindividual student support plan (ISSP)and “include” them with regular stu-dents. That’s best for all. The “normal”students will learn about the problems

faced by the special needs students, theclassroom teacher will modify the cur-riculum to meet the strengths andweaknesses of the Pathways 2, 3, or 4students and everything will be hunkydory.

Where to begin? Perhaps with mypersonal definition of inclusion asindiscriminate integration. Specialneeds are not integrated, students are.Disabilities are not integrated, peopleare. Every student, each person is anindividual. Where Jane Jones mayexcel using a cochlear implant in a reg-ular classroom, her twin, John, mightbecome withdrawn, sullen or paranoidin that situation. However, both mayhave equal academic potential. Janewill probably reach her potential, butJohn may not and thus be labeled a fail-ure. All in the name of “inclusion.”

When the current government statedthat the Pathways system of educationand the ISSP process was going to bereviewed, I thought there might behope that this madness would end.Obviously it hasn’t. The reason thereare so few students at the school for thedeaf is because of Pathways and ISSPs.To get a student enrolled in the schoolfor the deaf practically takes an edictfrom God. Even when the ISSP teamrecommends that a student go to theschool, the recommendation is turneddown by the director of student supportservices.

John Reade,St. John’s

On deaf ears

Editor’s note: the following letter waswritten to federal Fisheries MinisterLoyola Hearn, with a copy forwarded toThe Independent.

Dear Mr. Hearn,The disappointment is all the greater

since so many of us had such highexpectations when you were appointedminister of Fisheries. It seemed incon-ceivable then that you would so quicklyconform to the Ottawa mentality, even, itseems, beyond the point to which yourpredecessors were so conditioned.

If it is true that you have stated pub-licly that foreign nations have a “historicright” to fish on our continental shelf,while our own people are not onlydenied access, but as a consequencehave had their way of life destroyed andare driven to the four winds, you havegone beyond the point where you canany longer claim to represent our bestinterests. I would go further and say thatif in fact this is what you really believe,you have abrogated your right to callyourself a Newfoundlander. Maybe youneed to take a trip to Iceland for arefresher course in national pride.

Lloyd C. Rees, Conception Bay South

Hearn needsrefreshercourse innational pride

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland ruled Aug. 7 that an independent panel’s decision last year to hire Max Ruelokke (above) as head of theCanada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board should stand. The province has opposed Ruelokke’s appointment as theboard’s chair and CEO, preferring to divide the duties between Ruelokke and St. John’s Mayor Andy Wells. As of The Independent’s pressdeadline, the province had yet to comment on the court’s ruling. Paul Daly/The Independent


On the first night of the annualBreaking Barriers YouthConference, Lion Max

Simms camp — with the moon highover the Exploits River and brownrabbits hopping across the gravelroad — looks, at first glance, like anyother spacious and well-groomedfully serviced camp.

Then three teenaged girls in powerwheelchairs come out the front doorof the main building, chat for aminute, and drive smoothly fromsidewalk to driveway to grass as theyjoin a gathering around the bonfire.Here, there are no bumps or curbs todeal with, no ditches or sudden stops.Walkways wrap around the building,through the playground, to the bas-ketball court, down to the water.

Inside, the hallways are as wide asrooms, and doors are wider than anywheelchair — with space to spare.

The facility opened in 1981, thefirst truly accessible camp in theprovince. It was built, and is stillmaintained, by the Lions family ofNewfoundland. It’s named in memo-ry of long-serving Lion Max E.

Simms — Newfoundland’s first dis-trict governor for the organization —who was handicapped.

Its use is not limited to those withphysical disabilities, but it is beauti-fully inclusive.

For one week a year, the camp ishome to the Breaking Barriers con-ference. This year, 44 youth aged 14to 19 gathered there, Aug. 6-10.

It’s immediately obvious confer-

ence participants are delighted to bearound their peers. Some are moreactive than others, more outgoing,mischievous, talkative, fun loving,intellectual or shy — just as in anygroup of teenagers.

“They’re teens getting together todiscuss issues that are important tothem,” says Jennifer Douglas, anoccupational therapist with theJaneway Child Health and Rehabili-tation Centre, and one of the confer-ence leaders.

“For some of these teens, they’rethe only kid in their school with a dis-ability. This is an opportunity forthem to come, be part of a peer groupwhere they’re cool, and accepted.”

“That’s the big difference,” addsco-leader and fellow occupationaltherapist Tanya Kenny. “A lot of theactivities we’ve planned, these kidswouldn’t be comfortable doing infront of a group of able-bodied(teens) … they wouldn’t be comfort-able getting up in front of their class,or speaking out. But because they’reamongst their peers, here …”

Max Simms Idol, held the Monday

Breaking barriers

INCAMERA

During the annual BreakingBarriers Youth Conference, physi-cally disabled teens from acrossNewfoundland and Labrador meetfor four days and nights at LionMax Simms Memorial Camp nearBishops Falls. While there, theylearn, discuss, reconnect and take part in all sorts of youthactivities — sports, crafts, kar-aoke, dance, gossip. Managingeditor Stephanie Porter spent two days at the confer-ence, helping the teens develop a camp newsletter (andlearning a few things herself). Photo editor Paul Dalyjoined the group for some of the events.

For some of these teens,they’re the only kid in their

school with a disability. This is an opportunity

for them to come, be part of a peer group where

they’re cool, and accepted.

Jennifer Douglas


night of the conference, is a perfectexample. Everyone gathers in thecamp gymnasium to watch as indi-viduals, pairs, and groups of teensget up to sing favourite songs tobackground CD music. One girlsings without music; one fellowplays guitar and belts out a JohnnyCash song. All are rewarded withloud cheers and hoots.

There are other scheduled activi-ties like swimming, wheelchair bas-ketball, tie-dying, an outdoor cook-up and — the highlight — a banquetand dance.

The mornings are generallyreserved for educational sessions oncareer options, social skills, fitnessand advocacy.

There are also social workersavailable for one-on-one sessions orchats, and an organized — thoughnot mandatory — time to rememberand pay tribute to friends who havepassed away.

“It’s an opportunity for them tolearn about things that are availableto them, whether it’s careers orlifestyle or education,” says Doug-las.

“It’s not a lot about self-care,because we do quite a bit for themso they can get out and have fun, butit is independence from their par-ents.”

And as Kenny points out, thismight be the only week of the yearthe teens are away from their folks.

Camp participants come from all

over. There are eight “rehab staff”(most from the Janeway) there, andabout the same number of personal-care attendants to help meet thephysical needs of the teens. Nursingstaff are also on hand to administermedications.

“Because this is a conference,there is a certain level of cognitiveability that the teen has to have, inorder to be able to participate ingroup discussions about topics rele-vant to teenagers with physical dis-abilities,” says Douglas of require-ments for participation.

“The point is, the teens learn fromeach other. And if you have a groupof teens who can’t share stories andgroup discussions, then they’re notlearning from their peers.”

The conference — which has anannual budget of about $30,000(Easter Seals is a major sponsor) —does not provide for one-on-onecare. Participants who require thatlevel of attention generally travelwith a personal care assistant.

According to all reports, the teenslook forward to their week at MaxSimms all year. Most articulate theirreasons well: improved self-confi-dence, self-esteem, learning, friend-ship and above all, fun.

“It’s an opportunity for them to dothings where they’re not going to bejudged,” says Douglas. “Really,when they come here, their peersdon’t see that they’re in a wheelchair.The disabilities kind of disappear.”

Some of the conference participants wrote short reflections aboutthe Breaking Barrier Youth Conference. Selected excerpts:

“It’s that time of the year again … a day of immense and unfor-gettable fun at Max Simms camp located about five kilometres offthe Bay d’Espoir highway, somewhere in the woods.

What truly makes it such an unforgettable experience is that weare around people like ourselves … I am around true friends whounderstand and know what it is to live with a disability. The secondthing I feel what makes Max Simms such a great place is that it isthe perfect world for disabled people because there are no obsta-cles. No physical as well as societal ones.

The third and final thing about Max Simms is that our disabilitiesare turned into abilities and that’s what I feel means everything.”

Justin Mercer, 17, Upper Island Cove(“I am a delegate of Max Simms for two years, as well as

numerous other conferences and exchange programs, withdreams of becoming a pilot or architect.”)

“Challenge, what is a true challenge? Well, to me a true chal-lenge is skiing down the Rocky Mountains in Alberta (like I did in2000) or getting in a debate with one of my political friends … Tome, my Cerebral Palsy is not a challenge, it’s an opportunity.

I know some of you must be wondering: how can you say that?Don’t you have some kind of troubles caused by your CP? And yes,I have had trouble, like my fairly painful yet necessary surgery twoyears ago, but this is how I see it: without my disability, I would nothave many of the great experiences in my life … like skiing with thedisabled skiing program in Corner Brook (and going to Banff), ormeeting many of my political friends or anyone at Max Simms (Ishudder at the thought).

My disability is not a challenge, it’s another door that’s open tome!”

Brad Evoy, Corner Brook

“Max Simms is a very exhilarating experience. It has brought thechance to strengthen my self-confidence and self-esteem and to

work towards seeing myself as a normal, everyday teen — but withsome obstacles.

It’s also the chance to reconnect with some friends I haven’tseen in a while and to teach them it’s not the disability that makesthe person — it’s the attitude that helps in everything you do.”

Carrie-Ann Bugden, 16, Bay Roberts

Memories of Max SimmsSunday was a very long bus ride because

I couldn’t wait to get to camp With friends by my side, I feel like a champMax Simms Idol is my best partI love to sing, it comes from the heart.I get dressed up and go to the dance,Hoping to have a night of romance …Some of the food here is great,It’s nice and hot … unless you’re late.The next year at camp will be my lastMy time spent here goes too fast.

— Nikki Lake, 18

“Max Simms to me is having a disability and trying to overcomeit by seeing other people that are in a wheelchair too, and friendsto help me feel confident about myself.”

— Samantha Tipple, 16, Bay Roberts

“When I was first introduced to this amazing place called MaxSimms, it was one of the biggest eye openers of my life. I was quiteshy and not quite sure of myself or where it was I belonged. Thoughit didn’t take long to find my niche, with the aid of many amazingpeople …

Max Simms is a place where teens with disabilities can come tojust feel like a kid again, make new friends and truly experiencewhat the camp life is like. We have lost some of our friends, thoughthe memories will live on! We all have obstacles and hurdles to overcome, some larger than others, though they all make us stronger.”

— Katie Cashin, 18, Corner Brook


A guardian of historyDevoted to archiving and preservation, Bobbie Robertson retired as secretary of the Newfoundland Historical Society at age 95

LIFESTORY

BOBBIE ROBERTSON 1892-1992


It’s ironic little is known about oneof the most important people in thehistory of the preservation of this

province’s archival treasures. But thatwas the sort of person BobbieRobertson was: straightforward, indus-trious and selfless.

For the last 20 years of her workinglife, Robertson, as secretary of theNewfoundland Historical Society, col-lected, catalogued and preserved asmuch archival material as possible.

It is not an exaggeration to say weowe a huge debt to Robertson. A lot ofwhat we know about ourselves, whatwe know of our history, and what wewill learn in the future about our histo-ry, is possible because of her work.Robertson saw the value in documentsothers would have burned, and workedto catalogue and preserve them.

Born Bella Pirie in Birkhill, Scotlandin 1892, Robertson was given the nick-name Bobbie as a young girl. She mar-ried a man named Robertson, and withtheir infant daughter in tow, came toNewfoundland in 1923, when she was31.

Her husband took the job of managerof the Crosbie Hotel, then located onthe corner of Duckworth and PrescottStreets in downtown St. John’s. As thefamily of the manager, they lived in thehotel.

Author and historian Paul O’Neill, anold friend, says she once told him herhusband brought another companionfrom Scotland: whiskey. It eventuallyspelled the end of her husband’s careerat the Crosbie, and the end of the mar-riage.

In 1935, he lost his job and bookedpassage back to Scotland, never toreturn. Robertson, in a move bold for awoman of her time, decided to stay.

With a daughter to support, she hadto find employment, and soon did,working for the Commission ofGovernment’s land settlement andexperimental farming program. In 1942she was appointed private secretary toR. P. Power, the first Canadian TradeCommissioner to Newfoundland. Sheworked there for 25 years, retiring in1967, at the age of 75.

A remarkable woman, she was all themore remarkable for the age in whichshe lived — a time when society wasnot necessarily supportive of singlemothers or women with forceful per-sonalities. Robertson flourished, devel-oping a wide circle of friends and a rep-utation as a highly competent employeeand delightful companion.

She was aware of the obstacles sheovercame. She had a photograph sheenjoyed showing people, of all theCanadian Trade Commissioners andtheir employees — over 60 people —posing for a group photograph inOttawa. She would proudly point out

she was the only woman in the photo.After her retirement, she applied for

and was given the job of the first full-time secretary of the NewfoundlandHistorical Society, which she held for20 years. It is for her work with thesociety that she is primarily remem-bered today.

And all through all those decades,she lived in the same room in theCrosbie Hotel.

A tiny woman, she enjoyed robustgood health her whole life. Anne Hart,another well-known author, and the for-mer head of the Centre for Newfound-land Studies, recalls Robertson’scharm, energy, and wit.

Hart remembers Robertson oncecomplained about what a nuisance foodwas. She knew she needed it — butresented the time it took to prepare andeat. Most of Robertson’s meals wereprepared on a hotplate in her hotelroom, and, as O’Neill says, were usual-ly “whatever could be prepared quicklyon a one-burner hotplate.”

Hart also recalls her annoyance withholidays, such as Christmas Day, thatkept her away from work.

When the Crosbie Hotel (by thenrenamed the Welcome Hotel) was torndown, she chose a small apartment overthe former Fountain Spray conveniencestore on Military Road (now Needs), as

it was across the street from her officein the basement of the ColonialBuilding. She was well into her 80s.O’Neill says the tiny apartmentalarmed her, as she suddenly had “somuch space.”

Robertson saw the importance ofinformation in a time when data waslow-tech, mouldy, heavy, cumbersome,and viewed as worthless junk by many.She went about her important work qui-etly, with diligence and grace.

On any given day, one was as likelyto find the premier of the day, a justiceof the Supreme Court, or an over-worked penniless graduate student toil-ing on a thesis in her small office. Shetreated everyone the same, and wasadmired by all.

With her gentle, lilting Scottishaccent, she guided many exactly to thesource, archive or record they werelooking for — always with encourage-ment, patience and good humour.

In 1984 she was awarded an hon-orary Doctor of Laws from MemorialUniversity. She retired in 1987, at 95.Old age eventually slowed her down,and she moved to a senior’s home inGoulds.

In 1992, on the occasion of her 100thbirthday, Memorial University threwher a birthday party, which she attend-ed. She died four months later.

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Iknow this column is going to beall over the place, but I have anexcuse. I’m jet-lagged and trying

to write with a mind still reelingfrom all I’ve seen and done over thepast 10 days.

It had been 14 years since I’d beento Toronto, and I woke up one morn-ing in July I decided it was time for avacation. Well, it was more like I wasthat desperate to get away that if Iwasn’t flying out of here I was goingto launch a raft from St. John’s har-bour — next stop Europe.

This was my first time flying alone,and I couldn’t stop the twinges ofnervousness in my stomach and the“what if” scenarios entering mythoughts. To try and relax a bit I heldonto the hope of meeting the perfect,unbelievably fascinating stranger whowould just happen to sit next to me onthe plane.

Of course nothing as romantic-comedy glamorous as that happened,but I did run into anold friend who hap-pened to be on thesame flight. That littlestroke of luck mademy journey a lot easi-er.

My aunt met mewhen we landed,which saved me thetorture of trying tofind my way aroundthe Toronto airport — I would ratherhave tackled a corn maze the size of afootball field. During the ride towhere I was staying, I realized theway my four-year-old mind remem-bered Toronto was a bit distorted. Theimage in my head was something likean endless highway flanked by sky-scrapers as far as the eye could see.What I saw wasn’t all cold brick andsteel, but much warmer, greener andmore inviting. It wasn’t the completeopposite of home after all.

Once the initial shock wore off, andI stopped looking around wide-eyedand open-mouthed at everything, Istarted to sink into the uncomfortablerole of tourist.

First of all, I felt horribly out ofplace. My skin colour was close tothat of Casper’s while everyone elsewas walking around sporting tans thatwould put David Hasselhoff toshame. I went up there foolishlydetermined to wear only long pantsbecause of my hatred for shorts, buteven that wasn’t an option in a citywhere pants would make me stand outeven more than pasty legs.

During my stay I had the pleasureof experiencing a heat wave. Thereare no words for what 48 degrees withhumidity feels like. It’s like the veryair in your lungs feels like boilingsteam and showering is pointlessbecause there’s already a river ofsweat soaking you from head to toe.Air conditioning is more valuablethan gold and diamonds combined.

The heat took a while to get used toand I never thought I’d be missing

Newfoundland weather, but I wouldhave loved a good rainy, foggy day.

The weather wasn’t the only thing Ihad to adjust to. One of the things Ilove about Newfoundland is if youneed a quiet place to go to think —like a deserted street for a late nightwalk — you can find it.

But everywhere I went in Toronto,there were people. Millions of them,always in constant motion, like thecity is an anthill that needs to bemaintained and the ants will work dayand night to keep it going.

I missed the laid back vibe of St.John’s, the calm flow. Up there itseemed like everyone was racingaround me and I was still at the start-

ing line trying to getgoing. I managed tomake my way aroundthe track eventuallythough, but at my ownpace and I’m surethere was a few funnylooks thrown my way.

I even felt painfullyaware that I was a vis-itor and not a residentwhen I was grocery

shopping. I got to the checkout and,when I went to pay, the cashier askedme if I wanted to buy bags. All I couldthink was: “You want me to dowhat?”

I just nodded, because it seemedlike the right thing to do, and paid fivecents for each of my bags. I think thegirl realized this was the first time Ihad ever heard of this because she hada little smile on her face when I nod-ded dumbly. I still think I should havejust carried my groceries, but if I didthat I might as well have worn a signreading, “I have no idea how this cityworks.”

Most people I encountered wereunderstanding about my confusionand gave me directions or politepointers when I needed them. Therewere a few who were standoffishenough I thought their coldness couldfreeze over hell (or Toronto, the twoare interchangeable in terms of cli-mate … just kidding), but generally Imet friendly people that made a last-ing impression.

I think the trip was just what I need-ed. It was exciting to be lost in a newplace, to learn and explore. Part of mefeels like the dream is better than thereality and I crave to get away again.Then the phone rings and I’m remind-ed that there are reasons, amazing andloving ones, that will keep megrounded here for at least a littlewhile longer. It’s good to be home.

Leia Feltham graduated fromGonzaga High School in June. Hercolumn returns Aug. 27.

Scattered Past will return next week

Home and awayLEIAFELTHAMFalling Face First

What I saw wasn’tall cold brick andsteel, but muchwarmer, greener

and more inviting.

AUGUST 13, 2006 INDEPENDENTWORLD • 11

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By Nadya BellThe Independent

Bill Roche is the most fun finan-cial advisor you’ll ever meet.Good thing — because his

clients are kids. And his advice for kids? Go with

mutual funds.Originally from Pleasantville, Roche

lived in Newfoundland for 30 yearsbefore he and his family moved toBritish Columbia in 1994.

“We just decided to essentially goexploring, so we sold everything anddecided to experiment — try life in anew area, and haven’t looked backsince,” he says.

“It’s great, but we love coming homeof course, to visit our roots and see fam-ily.”

Roche was a financial advisor withManulife Canada when a game hemade up to teach his son Evan aboutfinances inspired him to seek out newclientele.

“He had so much fun playing it, onFathers’ Day he came to me and gaveme a card, and the card said ‘I love mydad because he plays the spending andsaving game with me,’” Roche says.

“I was just blown away. I rememberthinking, ‘Wow, if I can impact a threeyear old, this is really cool.’”

With his child-friendly game as a

starting point, Roche started a companycalled PowerPlay Strategies to promotehis model for teaching children aboutmoney management.

“It’s really important to allow kids tobe the decision makers, and to allowthem to experience managing their ownmoney — even if it’s a just a nominalamount,” he says.

As another way to reach children,Roche published a children’s bookabout aliens. It’s also covertly aboutmoney management.

In Kip and Zara’s Money Adventure,two aliens go camping on the PlanetZorlu, but one of them plans wisely andthe other wastes his money on hisfavourite treat, Moon Crunch.

Zara — the money-wise alien withblue hair — teaches Kip about how sheputs her money in three different pouch-es labeled spending, giving and grow-ing. Zara invests some of her money ina star fruit company.

Roche encourages parents to allowchildren to manage their own money,and even to take them to financial plan-ners. Children are not allowed to invest,but he recommends parents openaccounts in trust for their children.

He took Evan to a financial plannerwhen he was six, and explained the con-cept of mutual funds to him.

“We talked about it and picked outsomething that was right for him,”

Roche says. “He really had the owner-ship of it.

“My advice to parents is that theyalways find an advisor who is going torespect kids as individuals and is happyto have them as clients.”

At the end of the alien book there areseveral pages of activities, including anallowance contract for children to sign.Roach says dealing on adult financialterms shouldn’t be scary for children.

“It gives them that comfort level sothey don’t have to feel intimidated whenthey are young adults — they alreadyhave that experience and that aware-ness.”

Teaching children about having aportion of money to give away is impor-tant to Roche, and he says parents oftentell him they appreciate it.

“The giving component really allowschildren to experience the joy of giving,and an awareness that they can helpother people with their money.”

Besides promoting his new book,Roche speaks publicly and does semi-nars for teachers and banks to help themteach children about money.

Kip and Zara’s Money Adventure isavailable at Granny Bates andBennington Gate book stores.

Do you know a Newfoundlander orLabradorian living away? Please e-mail [email protected].

Pint-sized mutual fundsB.C.-based Bill Roche teaches youngsters to manage their money

Bill Roche Paul Daly/The Independent

OTTAWABy Tonda Maccharles Torstar wire service

Ottawa’s reaction to the Londonarrests is knee-jerk and ineffec-tive at addressing the larger avi-

ation security concerns, says a Liberalwho has spent the last two years warn-ing that Canada’s airports are vulnera-ble to a terrorist attack.

Senator Colin Kenny, who chairs theSenate committee on national securityand defence, dismisses tighter hand-luggage screening measures as insuffi-cient, saying with so many other con-cerns ignored, “you have to wonder, arethey just doing it for PR?”

Passengers at Canadian airports wereordered to ditch all liquids and gelsfrom hand luggage last week and facedtougher screening. At Pearson therewere long line-ups but ScottArmstrong, spokesperson for theGreater Toronto Airports Authority,says “everybody was very patient, veryunderstanding and very accommodat-ing.”

Government officials call theirresponse “swift,” in keeping with theactions of allied countries, and in keep-ing with the risk level. The threat, theysaid, was not directed at Canadian-bound flights.

Transport Canada authorities saythey took immediate action once theywere informed before midnightWednesday of the unfolding terrorarrests in Britain.

Government sources say theCanadian Security and IntelligenceService was aware of the operation asearly as Saturday. CSIS spokespersonBarbara Campion says “it’s a separateinvestigation from anything that’sgoing on here.”

Transport Minister LawrenceCannon, on his first day of a family hol-iday in Charlottetown, was alerted byphone at about 2:30 a.m. and flew toOttawa Aug. 10 to co-ordinate efforts.

The Canadian Air Transport SecurityAuthority ordered airport operators tomatch British and American securitymeasures for flights bound for Britainand the U.S.

The tighter on-board luggage restric-tions were later extended to all domes-tic flights.

But unlike flights originating inBritain where only essentials — wal-lets, passports, identification docu-ments — were allowed to be carried on,domestic airline passengers in Canada

were permitted to take hand luggage onboard.

Cannon warned tighter restrictionson electronic gadgets, such as laptopsand iPods, may be brought in after thesituation is “reassessed.”

The ban on liquids and gels in handluggage is in effect for at least 72 hours,although Public Safety MinisterStockwell Day said the measures are inplace “until further notice.”

Still, Kenny says, banning certainsubstances doesn’t touch on what arethe airports’ main weaknesses — thelack of screening of those who workwith aircraft.

“We see a huge inconsistency and wesee a tremendous focus on the upperhalf of the plane, where the passengersare,” the senator says. “We don’t seethe same diligence applied to the lowerpart of the plane where the groomers,the baggage handlers, the caterers, therefuellers are working.

“Security isn’t really good at Pearsonbecause nobody is checking the folkswho can actually leave something onthe plane. If your objective is to leavethree litres of the liquid explosive, Ican’t think of an easier way of doing itthan having it arrive along with the restof the food, or having a groomer comeand place it beside a seat or in the con-tainer above a seat, so someone couldset it off.”

Kenny’s committee issued a scathingreport in 2004 saying it was matter ofluck, not security measures, thatCanada has avoided a terrorist attack.

It noted that Canada still doesn’tboost the scrutiny of checked bags, asurprising lapse considering the coun-try’s most infamous terrorist attack —the 1985 Air-India explosion, killing329 people on board — was caused bya suitcase bomb.

Kenny says most of the concernsexpressed in the Senate committee’s315-page report have been largelyignored by the previous Liberal govern-ment and now by the Conservatives.

“Both (governments) get Fs. That’sthe grade, they get Fs.

“We’ve talked to groomers who saythey have no idea what a bomb lookslike, they’ve had no training how tofind a bomb.”

The government says it has takenvarious measures since Sept. 11, 2001,including random screening of airportemployees, fortifying cockpit doorsand deploying sky marshals. It has alsostarted using a biometric-based identitycard for airport employees.

Canada’s airports vulnerable: Senator

By Steve Rennie Torstar wire service

Unauthorized combat videos ofCanadian soldiers inAfghanistan surfacing online

may be endangering the safety of thetroops, says an opposition MP.

Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjhsays, “it is quite likely that they couldpose a danger,” if they disclose opera-tional tactics.

He’s referring to a growing numberof videos popping up on YouTube.com,a website that allows users to postvideo clips online.

Entering the search terms“Afghanistan,” “Canadian Forces” and“Taliban” yields several videos of whatare alleged to be Canadian troops inAfghanistan in a firefight with theTaliban. Some of the videos, posted bya user identified as Capit, identify thesoldiers as “Alpha Company, 2ndPlatoon, ‘Red Devils’ from Edmonton,Canada.”

Those videos are credited to “ScottKesterson.” A link to Kesterson’smyspace.com website reveals that heappears to be a freelance photojournal-ist from Oregon embedded with theU.S. Army in Afghanistan. It’s uncer-tain if Kesterson posted the videos onYouTube.com.

Searching for related videos onCapit’s YouTube page turns up thou-sands of related videos, many showingcombat footage of Canadian soldiers.

Dosanjh says the Canadian Forcesshould investigate the source of the

videos to ensure the troops’ safety.“In these kinds of situations, if

there’s any possibility, even theremotest possibility or likelihood, thatour troops may be endangered —they’re already in a very difficult situa-tion — we should be very vigilantabout protecting their safety,” he says.

A Department of National Defencespokesman says it’s the Forces’ under-standing that Kesterson, who is notCanadian, was one of several journal-ists embedded in Afghanistan with amulti-national brigade that was author-ized to shoot video footage of theCanadian troops.

However, Lieut. Adam Thomsonsays there’s not much the Forces can doto stop unauthorized videos from pop-ping up on websites. “We really can’tcontrol it once it’s out there,” Thomsonsays. “Once it’s put on the Internet, it’sgoing to be widely circulated. It’s pret-ty difficult to pull it off a website if it’salready out there in the public domain.”

Thompson says some of the footageis similar to that on Combat Camera,the government’s official military videowebsite. He says the CanadianExpeditionary Force Command, whichis responsible for Canadian Forcesoperations outside Canada, mustapprove all Combat Camera footage.

Dosanjh says it’s the government’sobligation to ensure the troops aren’texposed to undue risk.

“I can’t really criticize the soldiersdoing this kind of thing. They them-selves ought to know if it could be dan-gerous for them,” he says.

Combat clips raise alarm

A passenger empties her water bottle at a security checkpoint in Boston. Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

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There’s a woman in Little Rock,Arkansas, who has devoted anentire page of her website to

Sebastian Spence. His eyes, his hair; hisbrand of cigarettes. His pets. “A pit bullnamed Cappo,” it says. But when I askthe St. John’s actor if he has a pet, helooks at me somewhat apologetically. “Ihad a goldfish for three years once.”

The story of the relationship betweenIris the goldfish and her owner doesn’thave a happy ending. But by the timeSpence finishes describing Iris’sdemise, I’m laughing so hard I’m chok-ing on my cigarette. Not Spence; he canlaugh and spin a yarn and walk alongGower Street and smoke and punctuateit all so perfectly you feel it’s a shamethere isn’t a camera rolling along besidehim.

There usually is: Spence, 37, hasrarely been out of work as an actor —stage, film and TV — since he was achild. The son of local actress and play-wright Janis Spence, his mother regu-larly wrote him into her productions.“She’s responsible (for my careerchoice), entirely,” Spence says.

In the early ’90s, he moved to BritishColumbia to try his luck in film, andhasn’t looked back since. Well, that’snot strictly true. Spence pulls a face.

“When I first went to B.C., I musthave gone to 300 auditions, and nothingwas happening for me — all I remem-ber is doors being slammed in my face,people being rude. I called Mom, I said‘I’m coming home, I don’t like it here, Idon’t like acting — I don’t likeactors.’” But his mother told him topersevere. “Persevere,” he repeats, andhe smiles and reaches over and toucheshis mother’s arm.

The summer afternoon is doing herageing debutante thing, all pout andcold shoulder, when I walk into theFairmont hotel to meet with Spence, hismother, and his sister Sarah Spence.Shortly afterwards we’re in the middleof what seems to be a kitchen party attheir table in the bar — yak yak yak,laugh laugh laugh. Coffee by the tankload.

We’re in the throes of some decided-ly non-linear linguistic lunacy when thewaitress suddenly appears, drawn bythe steady click-click of the camera.Arms akimbo, head tilted to one side,she looks at Spence and says, in anamused yet defiant tone, “Are you sup-posed to be somebody famous orwhat?” Everyone laughs, Spence loud-est and longest. And then he says “No!”Quite firmly.

If Spence isn’t famous, he’s at leastvery well known in an industry in whichthousands of talented, good-lookingyoung actors don’t get to to dip their toes— much less land a part on Dawson’sCreek for five episodes. I watched twoepisodes of Dawson’s Creek back toback once, and felt a distinct need forinsulin afterwards. “Katie Holmes,” Isay, crossing my fingers under the table.“Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise — dothey deserve each other or what?”

“She’s really sweet,” Spence says, hisvoice sinking to a reverent register.(Damn!) “She was as nice as pie. And atthat point it (the show) must have beenon for six seasons. They wanted to getout of there, they were like, ‘We want toget back to Los Angeles, we’re sick ofNorth Carolina — please (referring toSpence’s character), kill me on theshow!’

“And I was quite happy to be downthere,” Spence continues. “I was like,‘God, I’m on this, this …’”

“I’m somebody important?” drawlshis mother, in a voice of false disdainand genuine pride.

“No, girl,” Spence says, soundingdeflated. And then he catches her eyeand they both throw their heads backand nearly laugh the roof off the bar.

Dawson’s Creek is only a ripple inSpence’s career: there’s 46 listings onhis spot in the Internet Movie Database(imdb.com) — roles in the X-Files,Dark Angel, Battlestar Galactica, TheBoys of St. Vincent, Andromeda,

Crossing, Drive, She Said, Category 7:The End of the World — the list, as theysay, goes on. As does the list of familiarnames Spence can call co-stars: KatieHolmes, Charles Bronson, RichardDean Anderson, David Duchovny,Gillian Anderson, Beau Bridges, RobertWagner, Ione Skye, Swoosie Kurtz,Randy Quaid …

Spence is probably best known forhis starring role in Francis FordCoppola’s science-fiction series FirstWave. From 1998 to 2001, for 66episodes, he played alien-hunter CadeFoster in the Emmy-nominated,

Gemini-winning series, which is in syn-dication and still has a serious fan basein several countries.

Fervent postings on the web as recentas last Tuesday beg for Cade’s return, orat least the release of First Wave onDVD. I tell Spence I heard that Coppolahimself picked him for the part. Hesmiles and says, “Yeah, I heard hemight have had something to do withit.” A smile without a soupçon of smug.

Spence’s recent roles include twofilms featuring a gay detective, playedby Chad Allen, formerly Dr. Quinn’s(Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) oldest

son, Matthew. (The second, newlyreleased detective movie just got goodreviews in The New York Times andVariety — the Times mentions Spence— and he doesn’t know a thing about ituntil I tell him.)

Spence, who plays Allen’s significantother in the films, says the gay role wasdifficult at first. Eventually, he says, heand Allen became friends, which madethe intimate scenes a little easier. (“Ah,c’mere, Allen, honey — give us a hug!”Spence mimes this, grinning.)

INDEPENDENTLIFESUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, AUGUST 13-19, 2006 — PAGE 13

Peace-a-conundrum The 21st annual Peace-A-Chord will go ahead this week — organizers just aren’t sure where


Sitting on the living room floorof her Gower Street apartment,it’s not hard for Kaya Payne to

get worked up about Peace-A-Chord.“Peace-A-Chord is beautiful,” she

says. “But really, for a lot of youngpeople it is an introduction to issuesthey’ll be hearing about in the news.”

The festival of music, love andsocial justice is going into its 21st year

in St. John’s, but just days before theevent gets going, those involved arestill not sure where it will be held. Adeteriorating relationship with CityHall coupled with high security costsmay drive the festival indoors for thesecond year.

Payne chairs the Peace-A-Chordboard of directors for the festival. DanGalway and Jen Bruce are organizingthe events.

“Peace-A-Chord is intended to be afree public event celebrating arts and

learning about social justice in a verypublic way,” she says. “It is very muchagainst the spirit of Peace-A-Chord towall it up somewhere, hiding it away,not out celebrating public space.

“This is why we make it a free fes-tival. It’s not about paying rent.”

Payne says an important part of thefestival is for it to be open and visibleto the public to encourage youngerpeople to stay, listen and get involvedin the arts community. She says forher and many of her friends, organiz-

ing the festival is an empoweringevent.

“Unfortunately this youth festival isperceived differently from other festi-vals in the city,” she says.

RESIDENT COMPLAINTSFor close to two decades, the Peace-

A-Chord was held in BannermanPark. The festival ran into problems in2002 when residents complainedabout noise and fighting. City councilrequired extensive security and fenc-

ing the following year, which cost$12,000 for one afternoon.

“Peace-A-Chord is undergoing rad-ical change at the moment,” Paynesays. “We can’t continue doing whatwe’ve been doing for years. It’s notsustainable.”

In 2005, the festival was heldindoors, in the LSPU hall, but organiz-ers had hoped to return the festival tothe open air this year. Because of the

See “Festival changing,” page 14

Spence accountSusan Rendell meets up with Newfoundland actor Sebastian Spence, and the rest of the family talent

SUSAN RENDELLScreed and coke

Janis and Sebastian Spence Paul Daly/The Independent

See “I dream,” page 15

“I must have gone to 300 auditions, and nothingwas happening for me —all I remember is doorsbeing slammed in my

face, people being rude.”

Sebastian Spence

14 • INDEPENDENTLIFE AUGUST 13, 2006

GALLERYPROFILE

Susan Parsons’ pit bull Mattie isnursing a young tabby cat namedHarry. With another dog in her

arms, a pint-sized black Chihuahua,Parsons explains that her day job — anIT analyst with Revenue Canada —isn’t so different for her from her art-work.

“I find if you’re doing programming,it’s the same kind of switch as whenyou’re painting. You want to shuteverything out and you paint, or youprogram, it’s right-brained,” she says.

Parsons’ seascapes are full of lightand white chop on the waves, with richblue hues. An oil painting of Quidi Vidigut hangs in her living room, a wisp offog around the cliff and the springsnow melting to show scrub on thehills.

Parsons says she’s been an art stu-dent all her life. She’s constantly tryingnew media and taking art classes —from jewelry design and sculpture towatercolours. She is proud of herdeveloping style, and is always sur-prised when people say they recognizeher art.

Another seascape painted when shewas 18 is remarkably similar in style toher more recent works.

Monet and the impressionists are asource of joy and inspiration forParsons. A large painting of a lily pondshows their influence with her person-al twist: concentric circles from adropped stone ripple the water, and acurious school of koi swim into thepainting.

“I love impressionism,” she says,“but I find that I can be too picky. I’mtrying to be looser … I love thecolours. You can feel the painting, youcan feel the sun and the fog. It’s somoody.”

A small bowl of fruit in a woodenframe sits on the mantle piece. It’s herfirst painting, completed at age 12,which she keeps as an inspiration.

She recently rearranged her housefor her largest project yet: painting amermaid for the Easter SealsMermaids in the City project. Her mer-maid, Shalaya, goddess of the deep, isin front of the convention centre onNew Gower Street.

In the four days she had to completethe mermaid, Parsons says she wantedthe top half to be very human, and thebottom very fishy. “It’s a little bit like atrout, the tail is,” she says.

On land, Bowring Park is included inher new series of pastel works. Thetrees overhanging the path dapple thelight, giving the impressionistic air thatParson’s loves. Another pastel workThe Same But Different, shows two

women sitting back to back, the lightcolours and blue cloth similar in styleto Edgar Degas.

Parsons’ two daughters, Erin andMegan, follow her interest in art. Theirwork hangs in the house as well.

Employed by Revenue Canada for26 years, Parsons says she’s starting tofeel her recreational interest in art isbecoming serious. She hopes by herretirement she’ll be more establishedand better able to devote herself to herpainting.

Parsons’ paintings — including aseries of oriental poppies — are exhib-ited in the Five Islands Art Gallery inTors Cove.

— Nadya Bell

SUSAN PARSONSVisual Artist

The Gallery is a regular feature in The Independent. For information, or to submit proposals, please call (709) 726-4639, or e-mail [email protected]

Festival changinghigh cost of fencing Bannerman Park,Payne says they applied to hold the festivalin the smaller Harbourside Park, Aug. 14-20.

On Aug. 8, the city’s special events com-mittee decided that venue was not suitable.

Payne is frustrated with the city’s deci-sion, but still hopeful they may work out alow-cost, outdoor solution.

The alternate location for the festival’smusical events is the Masonic Temple.

In the days leading up to the concerts, thePeace-A-Chord committee will offer work-shops in yoga, belly dancing, silk screening,

improvisation, acting, and sustainable liv-ing (entitled Surviving the ZombieApocalypse). An art space will be set up at

the Masonic Temple.A lineup of bands have agreed to play at

the festival — outside or in — including theKremlin, Funky Dory, .roundelay, DelfHohmann, Skull Face and others.

The CD from last year’s concerts,Something You Haven’t Heard, with unre-leased tracks from Cara Lee Coleman, DogMeat BBQ and Cheri Pyne will also beavailable.

Payne personally has a long history withthe Peace-A-Chord, being the daughter ofmusician Jim Payne.

“My parents have a photo of my dadplaying in the 1985 festival — and me sit-ting in my mother’s lap.”

IsolationBy David Benson

We build this islandaround the wash of the Great Bays,scorning overland travel,preferring perhaps the security of boats.The bays become nations,the rockbound places — City States.

Isolated?

Our grandfathers travelled more than we do.Persian rugs and Greek urnsadorned front rooms of houseswhere women scanned the seawith German telescopes for their return;rough men and hard,with delicate print dresses foldedover forearms thick from work in salted coldand porcelain headed dollstucked beneath tarpaulin coats.

Yet there are those today who waxwarmly about “our culture,”who have been as far a Toronto,who are scared to death of boats,who call those people isolated.

They rowed across Fortune Bay in five hours or so.Now we go by car and it takes us ten.

What do we know of the back street politics of Naples or Lisbon,or the price of tea in China?

From And We Were Sailors, published by Killick Press,2002.

From page 13

“My parents have a photo of my dad playing in the 1985 festival — and me

sitting in my mother’s lap.”

Kaya Payne

POET’SCORNER

It’s here in our

community. Please

make a difference

by volunteering.

lives here.

1-800-268-7582 www.mssociety.ca

Amajor undercover drug investi-gation by the FBI has gone hor-ribly awry, and it looks like the

only answer is corruption from within.Uncertain of the leak’s origin, FBIAgent Fujima approaches the Miamipolice force for assistance, and the pro-posed solution involves detectivesSonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs.Deputized by the Bureau, they are to godeeply undercover to expose a big-timedrug smuggling operation.

Gone are the pastels of two decadesago, as this Miami Vice is dark, gritty,and oh so very 21st century. Absent aswell are abundant scenes of cool cars,reptilian pets, hints of levity, and anykind of rapport between our two heroes.

Writer/director Michael Mann hasfocused a lot of his attention on replac-ing every element that was described as“slick” in the TV series with “raw” and“edgy.”

The result is an erratic motion picturethat offers moments of brilliance offsetby lulls that seem interminable, and plotdetails that make next to no sense.Fortunately, the main thrust of the story— the perils of undercover work — isclearly illuminated through the relation-ship Crockett establishes with one ofthe key players in the drug ring, whileTubbs’ involvement jeopardizes thesafety of someone close to him.

There’s a much better movie hidingwithin the over two hours this film runs,and a fearless, experienced editor couldprobably find it. We can applaud theeffort to give us something completelydifferent in this Miami Vice, but a dashor two of what made the show so popu-lar in the first place couldn’t have hurt.

Armistead Maupin, best known forthe mini-series Tales of the City, basedon his novel, co-writes this screenplaybased on another of his works. TheNight Listener relates how a late-nightradio personality develops a long dis-tance friendship with one of his mostdevoted fans.

The relationship is initiated after pop-ular radio storyteller Gabriel Noone isasked to read a manuscript written by ateenager, recounting the abuse he suf-fered earlier in his life. Young PeteLogand is subsequently put in touchwith Noone, who is both impressedwith the boy’s writing skill, andshocked by the child’s ordeal.

Noone is feeling vulnerable, and a lit-tle depressed, since his most recentlong-term relationship is on the rocks,so the youngster’s support and encour-agement comes just when the radio per-sonality is most in need of a friend.

As time goes on, however, Noonebegins to wonder if he isn’t participat-ing in something a little more unusual,and sets out to meet Logand in person,a journey that offers a number of unex-pected perils.

At the core of the film is an explo-ration of how stories affect our lives,and the grey area between what reallyhappens and how we choose to remem-ber events. Presented here in the wrap-ping of a thriller, the concept seemsunderdeveloped, and so are the thrills.

The tale engages our interest, butnever develops the energy it needs tosustain our concern for the main charac-ter and his plight. Despite runningalmost 10 minutes shorter than its orig-inal running length at the SundanceFilm Festival, for what we get out of it,it still seems too long.

For the past number of summers, asmall film has come out of nowhere andbecome a big surprise hit. Unless some-thing unusual happens, The Descent isthis year’s equivalent, minus the bigbox-office numbers.

With six weeks or so left to the sea-son, however, there is time to remedythat situation, especially if word ofmouth still counts for something at thecinema.

Six women set out to explore a cavesystem in the Appalachian Mountains.An adventurous lot, they annually par-ticipate in some rigorous outdoor activ-ity, but this year is especially signifi-cant. Their white-water rafting expedi-tion the previous year had ended in atragic accident, and this is their firstreunion since.

Writer/director Neil Marshall does anexcellent job in presenting a convincingrecreation of the dangerous, claustro-phobic environment of undergroundcaves. Despite a number of cheap,“boo” starts early in the film, we settledown to a thrilling, precarious journeythrough narrow tunnels and magnificentlarger hollows beneath the Earth’s sur-face.

It’s not enough these folks eventuallyfind themselves in a strange place with-out a map, Marshall complicates thingseven more by adding monsters to themix. The result is plenty of thrills,chills, action and excitement, with gen-erous doses of, believe it or not, honestto goodness suspense.

Unfortunately, the price we have topay for all of these goodies is enduringan uncomfortable amount of gore andbrutality, perhaps a bonus to some fansof this kind of picture. Whatever thecase, like 28 Days Later from a coupleof years ago, The Descent offers satisfy-ing entertainment, and is refreshing inits straightforward, no nonsense man-ner.

Tim Conway operates Capital Video inRawlin’s Cross, St. John’s. His columnreturns Aug. 27.

AUGUST 13, 2006 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 15

Searching for summer suspenseMiami Vice and Night Listener not what they should be; small British film gory but memorable

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Spence says he’s just finished a moviein which he played Justine Bateman’sromantic interest; even if you’restraight, he says, you’re frequentlycalled upon to fake passion with some-one you don’t feel passionate about —and vice versa. That’s why it’s calledacting.

Doesn’t the camera pick it up, the lackof chemistry? I ask. There are ways tofool the camera, he tells me, all blue-eyed innocence. (If I were a camera, Ithink to myself, I bet I’d get taken in ifthis guy kissed a table lamp.)

Does he get homesick? “All the time.That’s the truth. I dream about cominghome. In my own mind, I feel like I’mprepping to come home.” He returns tothe province as often as he can — “Ilove coming home in the summerbecause you can actually see the town.”He and Sarah are leaving the next dayfor Random Island, for a stay at hisfather’s former home. Spence’s father,Michael Cook, also a playwright, died in1994, but nevertheless gets his share ofSpence stories as the afternoon slip-slides along.

While her brother and mother are hav-ing their pictures taken in the hotel’satrium, Sarah and I fall into conversa-tion. Sarah is a textile artist who special-izes in footwear; she’s shy, she says.While she is describing her recent workfor Ontario’s Stratford Festival, I almostmiss her footnote reference to Lord ofthe Rings.

“Wait a minute,” I say. “Back up. Youmade the footwear for Lord of theRings?” She looks at me as if I’veaccused her of drowning kittens. “Therewas a group of us,” she says, quickly. It

wasn’t all her fault, then.When Spence filius and mater get

back from their photo session, I ask himwhat his plans are. He tells me he andhis mother are working on a script; heknows enough producers now, he says,to believe he has a shot at getting theirscript read. No mean feat; he mentionsthat a friend of his in the business some-times gets 100 scripts a day delivered tohis door.

We drink up and pay up. (He pays andI forget to thank him — actually, it does-n’t occur to me that I walked out of thehotel without paying or even thinkingabout paying until I’m almost home.Some slick, that Spence boy. And gener-ous.) And then we go out the door of thehotel in a gaggle, into the peevishweather, heading east against a windthat would prefer we went west.

Iris the goldfish has just flipped herlast flop as Spence and I catch up to hismother and sister, who are standing infront of the house on Gower whereSarah is staying. “It was lovely to meetyou,” he says, and gives me a hug and akiss on the cheek — brief shelter fromthe irritable air. Then he turns away,calling: “Sarah, are you warm enough?”

As I walk on down Gower by myself,getting progressively colder under apeepshow sun, I think of Spence’s storyabout overhearing someone call hismother a nasty name one night when hewas 12, and a member of the audienceof a play she was acting in. “I felt myselftremble all over,” he said, “and sudden-ly I was standing up and shouting, ‘Youcan’t say that about my mother!’”

And then I remember reading some-where that the part of Cade Foster wasreworked shortly after Spence took therole. They recognized his depth of feel-

ing, his compassion, the writer of thearticle said, and decided to give it to hischaracter.

Luckily, there seems to be lots leftover.

Susan Rendell is a freelance writerand editor living in downtown St.John’s. Her collection of short stories,In the Chambers of the Sea, was pub-lished by Killick Press in 2003.

[email protected]

‘I dream about coming home’From page 13

Miami ViceStarring Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, and Gong Li132 min. 1/2 (out of four)

The Night ListenerStarring Robin Williams and Toni Collette82 min. 1/2 (out of four)

The DescentStarring Shauna MacDonald and NatalieJackson Mendoza99 min. (out of four)

A still from the movie The Descent

TIM CONWAYFilm Score


Not a book to betossed lightly aside

Human beings have been read-ing deeper meaning into thenatural world for quite some

time now, connecting irregular phe-nomena to their belief in higher powerin their desire for a sense of over-whelming order. God being such ascarce figure in this day and age, thereare those who seek out tangible signsof His (or Her) existence in the worldaround them. Kim Kielley, authorizedRex Goudie biographer and associateeditor of The Express, is one suchseeker.

In her early 30s, Kielley decided toput a certain theory to the test. She hadrecently read a book recommended byher sister, was on the outs with herGod since the premature death of hermother years before and was lookingfor a helping hand. The author of theunnamed volume, “a realist and a psy-chic” put forth the idea that one couldrequest a specific sign from God orfrom a deceased loved one that wouldthen be delivered.

So Kielley requested such a sign andreceived it on three separate occasions.The first two times she was presented,

upon request, with a butterfly. Thethird time, testing the limits (if not thepatience) of her Higher Power, sheasked “for the impossible … a purplebutterfly.” And lo, God brought forthnot one but a “cloud” of purple butter-flies to reassure her in her time ofneed.

So begins Angels and Miracles, acollection of anecdotal narrativesKielley has amassed from various cor-respondents, combined with examplesfrom her personal experiences, eachselected as evidence of the existenceof God, miracles and angels. There arestories about people surviving the tidalwave of 1929, a tale of a man wholived through a bad car wreck, grainyphotos of purported holy visions remi-niscent of ghost photography, andother spiritual sundries.

Some stories are more convincingthan others. Or, I should say, somesound more like the stuff of miracles.There is, for instance, somethingpleasingly biblical about Kielley’sstory of the disappearance and returnof the codfish to Hant’s Harbour in1868 and likewise the stories ofstrangers appearing to lead the lost tosafety.

In other places, Kielley reachesmuch too far in her search for meaningand design. In The Phone Bill, Kielley,worried about paying off long distancecharges, finds $80 on the street — andwhile this may have been a fortunateturn of events, it’s not exactly waterinto wine, now is it?

Similarly, in The Glass Stopper,Myra Bennett’s daughter Grace simply

finds the stopper to a crystal bottle herfamous mother had lost years previ-ous.

The point at which my faith in ahigher power failed me was just afterI’d read about The Miraculous Findingof the Cellphone in the Car Where itHad Been Hiding Under a Map, whichKielley insipidly entitles A Miracle isStill a Miracle Regardless of its Size. Agust of wind, you see, had lifted themap corner to reveal the missingphone: “If I hadn’t been standing in theopen doorway on the passenger’s sideat that moment, the map wouldn’t havelifted from the breeze and I wouldhave turned around and gone back toSt. Mark’s school, to retrieve myphone.” God grant you no greater loss.

Factual errors, tense shifts, needlessrepetitions, jarring changes in perspec-tive, and awkward sentences abound.Kielley’s Cold War finished up in 1947while the rest of the world had to suf-fer the arms race and proxy wars forthe next four decades. Writing on thefish miracle of Hant’s Harbour,Kielley puts it thus: “Hunger wouldgladly replace plentiful times while

fishermen and their families ran updebts that undoubtedly would turn badwith no payments in the near future.”Much of the book is similarly garbled.

The real miracle is that Angels andMiracles (presumably) made itthrough some manner of editorialprocess without any sign of improve-ment — unless, of course, this pub-lished version does represent animprovement on the original manu-

script. But miracles like this are a dimea dozen and I happen to have one ofmy own I’d like to confess: having ear-lier launched Kielley’s book across theroom, half in despair and half in con-tempt, I eventually picked it up againand (here it comes) finished reading it.Praise be.

Mark Callanan’s column returnsAug. 27.

Angels and MiraclesBy Kim KielleyFlanker Press, 2005

MARKCALLANANOn the shelf

Some stories are more convincing than

others. Or, I should say, some sound more

like the stuff of miracles.

INDEPENDENTSTYLESUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, AUGUST 13-20, 2006 — PAGE 17

By Mandy CookFor the Independent

Are you a Croc-a-holic? If not, you may verywell soon be. From kayak to sidewalk, thesepaddling/orthopedic perforated foam shoes

are making a splash on feet everywhere. The decid-edly silly-looking but ubiquitous shoes can bebought in every colour of the rainbow and are wornby little kiddies, nurses, teens — and by Nan andPop. A fluorescent orange pair was recently sightedon a male engineering student.

If they’re so ugly, why is the cult Croc takingover? The answer on the street is resounding.

“They’re comfortable,” says Annette Manning,who bought a pair for both herself and her eight-year-old son, Joseph. Echoing his mother’s senti-ment, Joseph also points out the practicality of acanoeing shoe becoming everyday Newfoundlandfootwear.

“When I go swimming they’re good in the pondswhere it’s rocky,” he says.

Crocs started to catch on in 2003, as they pouredout of their home factory in Boulder, Colorado. Thisyear they’ve officially moved from outdoor sports-wear to streetwear in this province.

Retailing at about $35 a pair, the breathable, light-weight shoe is a steal for anyone getting wet in thesummer sun, and, as a huge bonus, Crocs are madeof a bacteria resistant material. Thus, no nasty feetstink.

But it is the soft, supportive feature that is drivingsales sky high with outdoors-y types and people whowork on their feet for long stretches.

“They feel like you’re walking on a cloud,”says Matthew Murphy, floor manager at TheOutfitters shop on Water Street. “They don’tfeel like normal shoes.”

Murphy says the Croc craze started withthe paddling community, who request-ed the store carry them. As an all-around water shoe, they work greatin and out of the pond becausethey are non-slip and do notabsorb water. Then peoplewho have heel or foot prob-lems started to come look-ing for Crocs. Next in linewere the health profes-sionals and chefs. Thedecision to buy a pair isseemingly easy — colourselection from the vast vari-ety of hues is not.

“Probably one of the funni-est things is watching a customertry to pick out a colour,” saysMurphy. “I had a doctor who came inand asked for a double XL in hot pinkand the reasoning he gave was that heworked in the children’s ward and he want-ed to cheer up the kids. But his girlfriendthought they looked ridiculous so he had to buy ablack pair as well to wear around her.”

Manning has no problem with the look of herCrocs. She is even designing little decorative plugsto decorate her family’s shoes. She says they’re “fun,funky and active.” Joseph thinks so, too.

“They’re awesome,” he says with a smile.

Cooking is about feeding physi-cally — and sometimes emo-tionally. In summer, cooking is

an extension of how you feel: hot, tired,cranky, or as is always my case, excited— as long as it goes on the grill.

Anything that goes on my super-tur-bocharged, high-performance, built-from-scratch grill has to be special.

We recently planned a menu thatcould be prepared entirely on the newgrill. My wife dove into the fray tomake the first course — crisped goatcheese on field greens with balsamicdrizzle. The drizzle was a basic vinai-grette of simple Tuscan olive oil, forthat peppery snap, and balsamic vine-gar.

We seared the cheese by cutting itinto discs half-an-inch thick, and pansearing them like scallops until goldenon the outside and meltingly tender onthe inside.

I have been experimenting with vari-ous crusts for herbed goat cheese.

I found that a crushed, black peppercracker works best, both for browningand for keeping the goat cheese togeth-

er when heating in a hot pan. As well,the crust has an earthy black pepperheat, which balances the sharpness ofthe cheese.

The heated discs are placed on thetop of the greens and the vinaigrettedrizzled on top. Greens should alwaysbe seasoned with salt and pepper tobring out the flavours. Served with agrassy and crisp Pinot Gris, this is agreat start to a meal — balanced andsummery.

The next course was grilled ribeyesteak with béarnaise, haricots verts andgrilled vegetable medley.

For those of you who have not hadthe pleasure of béarnaise with a goodsteak, this is a classical food pairing.When I travel to France I love orderingsteak frites as it is usually served with abéarnaise sauce.

Béarnaise is a classical Mother Sauce— one I had not prepared since my lasttour in a professional kitchen. The tech-nique and ratios were amazingly closeto my memory: egg yolks, half a cup ofbutter (diced and at room temperature),and a reduction of white wine vinegar,shallots and tarragon. The techniqueinvolves using a double boiler — aglass bowl over a pot of barely simmer-ing water.

Here’s how you make it:In small saucepan, simmer 1/3 cup

white wine vinegar, half a shallot,minced, and one tablespoon fresh tar-ragon until reduced to about a table-spoon.

Remove from the heat, strain out thesolids and set the liquid aside. Thesolids can be discarded.

In the double boiler whisk two beat-en yolks, salt and pepper and a tea-spoon of fresh squeezed lemon juiceover low heat, until thickened to theconsistency of heavy cream. Whilebeating constantly, add the butter, onepiece at a time until all has been incor-porated.

Fold in the reduction and keep itwarm until you are ready to serve. Thissauce can hold while in the bowl for20-30 minutes over the water bath, justoccasionally stir it to keep it loose.

If it becomes too thick, a teaspoon ofhot water will thin it out, but be carefulnot to add any more than that as theemulsion might break. Just before serv-ing, add a pinch of fresh tarragon tobring all the flavours together and rein-troduce that heady anise flavour of thetarragon.

For the rest of the plate, we steamedthe beans lightly until there was stillsome bite and seasoned them with salt

and pepper. The steak, mushrooms andcapsicum peppers were grilled to per-fection.

I paired the main course with a winepurchase that I found using the “Zenmethod” of wine selection. Basically Iwas bored while in the store so I fol-lowed another bloke around and pickedup whatever he got — it seemed rea-sonable at the time.

The McWilliams Cabernet Sauvign-on 2004 from South Eastern Australiawas a winner — not heavy on the fruitsyet robust enough to withstand the richbutter sauce. It was a fortuitous choiceand one I will make again.

The final course was a small bowl ofcappuccino gelato and coffee. To capoff the meal I enjoyed a digestif ofhomemade whole vanilla bean vodka.

This is a menu we will have again. Itwas a gourmet meal easy enough tomake on a hot day. Long live the daysof wines and grills.

Nicholas is a freelance writer and erst-while chef now living in St. John’s.

[email protected]

NICHOLASGARDNEROff the Eating Path

Days of wines and grills

Croc walkOF THE

Anything that goes on my super-turbocharged,

high-performance, built from scratch grill

has to be special.

Paul Daly/The Independent

18 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE AUGUST 13, 2006

“Show me what’s popular,” Iask the liquor store employ-ee. A pretty girl with a small

nose stud takes me on a whirlwind tourof the store. We search the shelves as sheleads me to all the stops I have beenbefore — Australian Cabernet andShiraz, Canadian wines from the mega-producers, and Italian Sangiovese. Un-fortunately, I’m in the mood for some-thing my friends don’t know about yet.

“I don’t drink wine, myself,” shesays. “But I will get you someone whodoes.”

Several minutes later, a wine bottle isthrust into my hand. “Here you go,” shesays. “If you don’t like this, the bald guyover there will buy you anything youwould like.”

That sounds like a challenge to me.A manager had suggested the wine —

the same person who still remembers thebottles of whiskey that my dad and Ipurchased a while back. Those werebrought into town on a flight fromLabrador … but that’s another story.

At the moment, I’ve had a 1999Chateau Souverain, a Sonoma

County Cabernet Sauvignonthrust upon me.

I walk over and intro-duce myself. “So, what’sthe deal with this? Andwhy are you going tosuch lengths to standbehind it?”

“It’s a wine thatshouldn’t be here and it

is fantastic.”

Sure, I’ve heard this line before froma sales rep. They always think they havethe best product in the world. The man-ager went on to say the wine was notsupposed to make it to Newfoundland— and it wouldn’t have, had it not beenfor the regional wine buyer who justplain asked for it to come in.

The real question: is it worthy of thechallenge?

My first impression is that it’s a brash,over-the-top, bull-headed red. The open-ing nose of acetone and dark, rich fruitsshould have made me balk, but I pushon. Then there was the taste — tightlytannic and astringent with lots of heavyoak. I’m simply disappointed. This isnot what I enjoy in a red wine.

However, something makes me thinkit deserves a second chance. To be fair, Idecant it to let it breathe properly and tosee what happens.

A wine that started tight and tannicwith a lot of breathing turned into a richfruit wine, with hints of strawberries andleather with tobacco overtones lingeringfrom the oak aging. It became smoothand very palatable with a mild to moder-ate finish. Now, it lives up to the hype.

Had I stopped drinking this wine afterthe first pour, this would not have been ahappy ending. Instead, the ChateauSouverain Cabernet Sauvignon was wellworth the price of $34.56. It needs timeto breathe — lots of time — but it’s wellworth the wait.

[email protected]

Nicholas Gardner takes on a Sonoma challenge

Leg liftThat ’80s staple, the legging, is back. Stylist Derick Chetty explains why — and how to avoid looking like you’re in a time warp

By Derick ChettyTorstar wire service

Leggings have leaped back intothe spotlight. Popular throughthe late ’80s and early ’90s, leg-

gings were knocked off the fashionpedestal by the boot-cut pant. Butskin-tight, bone-hugging tights arestriding into fall as one of the season’sbiggest trends. Even Madonna, themother of re-invention herself, hascome full circle and can be seen slink-ing around the stage in fishnet leg-gings during this summer’s concerttours.

The lean-legged look has alsocropped up in a surprising number offall runway shows from Missoni inMilan to Yves Saint Laurent in Paris toDerek Lam in New York, proving thegarment has some serious traction.

Footless tights have already gath-ered a following in Canada as leggytypes can be seen layering up on litheleggings even on hot, humid summerdays.

“If I had a million of them, I couldhave sold them all,” says NaglaHamdy, manager of the luxury hosieryboutique, Wolford. Hamdy says thestore has sold out of its entire stock of

leggings three times this summer. At Legs Beautiful, a hosiery retailer

with nine stores in the Toronto area,there has been a steady rise in sales forcropped cotton tights, says the compa-ny’s hosiery buyer Ronda Kerekes.

“It’s the comfort factor,” she says.“They are easy to pull on with an elas-ticized waist, it doesn’t constrict youand it moves with your body.”

Kerekes also credits their popularityto the crossover yoga factor. She’snoticed over the past year, women arebuying them to wear in yoga class andalso when they leave the studio.

Susie Sheffman, fashion director atFashion magazine, sees it as a fantas-tic affordable way for women of allbody types to update their wardrobe.

“Women are discovering — whatev-er their body type is — they can wearit,” she says. “It’s not often you get atrend that all women can wear — aslong as you wear it with the rightthing.”

Aha. What is the right thing? Here’sa guide to getting a leg up on thistrend.

THEY ARE NOT PANTS“We are not wearing them like we

did in the ’80s with a big Cotton Ginny

T-shirt with shoulder pads.” saysSheffman. “Now it’s about layering.”

Wear it with mini skirts, dresses orgo for fashion’s new silhouette andpair with oversize long sweaters orcardigans with boxy cropped jackets.In other words, pump up the volumeon top.

THE COLOUR“The top selling colours are black,

black and black,” says Kerekes.“Then chocolate and charcoal,” she

adds. “These basic colours are goodfor the bottoms because then you canput all kinds of colours on top.”

Leave the neon brights, prints, pat-terns and lace to the kids. You’ll find iteasier to work a pair of black opaqueleggings into your wardrobe. And savethe heavier ribbed variety for the cold-er months.

THE SHOEAnchor it with a chunky ankle boot

if you are wearing a voluminoussweater on top to accentuate that atten-uated look. Or cap it off with a delicateballet flat for a gamine look. Eitherway, make sure there is a gap of skinshowing between your legging hemand your shoe.

You’ve got dinner wrapped up

SMOKED SALMON, AVOCADO & EGG WRAPS

Adapted from Sandwich, an appealinglittle cookbook by Yisrael Aharoni.You’ll be happy to have leftover avoca-do mixture for future dipping andspreading.

• 2 ripe avocados• 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil• 1/4 cup lemon juice• 1 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped• 1 tsp sea salt• Freshly ground pepper to taste• 2 flour tortillas (10-inch diameter)• 1/4 lb (120 g) thinly sliced smoked

salmon

• 2 hard-cooked eggs, each cut in 6wedges

• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, looselypacked

• 2 green onions, trimmed

In medium bowl, mash avocado fleshwith fork. Add onion, oil, lemon juice,jalapeño, salt and pepper. Blend withfork. (Makes about 2-1/4 cups; you willhave leftovers.)

Lay tortillas on work surface. Smeareach with 1/3 to 1/2 cup avocado mix-ture, to taste. Layer on smoked salmon,egg and cilantro.

Lay 1 green onion across centre ofeach. Roll up.

Makes 2

By Susan SampsonTorstar wire service

Sandwiches have grown up in the last decade. They are no longer relegatedto lunch and teatime, and they don’t have to be boring. These wraps, forexample, make an easy dinner for two.

TASTE

DRINK

Paul Daly/The Independent

AUGUST 13, 2006 INDEPENDENTSTYLE • 19

To little miss letter writer …Faced with an unwelcome morning visit, Pam Pardy Ghentlashes out at small-town troublemakers

To the women of Harbour Mille and all of itspicturesque surrounding communities:please be advised that I do not want your

husbands.They may be lovely, charming men you think are

quite desirable. I do not. I am also sorry to disap-point so many of you who delight in the deliciouschatter when I say I also do not want, need or desireyour ex-husbands. If you didn’t want them, chancesare I will have little use for them as well.

Nor do I want your sons, uncles, grandfathers,fathers, cousins, or any other male creature you maybe associated with. Nor, as rumour has it from timeto time in a slow gossip week, do I want you, or anyother woman in the near (or far) vicinity.

What is all this nonsense about? Well, it’s aboutbeing different in outport Newfoundland and howpainful it can be — if you allow it to.

This week I opened the door of my saltbox andfaced a heartbreaking reality. I am, it seems, nottotally accepted in this place I call home.

It was early enough in the morning that I stillwore my comfy (read: non-sexy) jammies. Therebefore me was an angry wife and her sheepishspouse. The pretty wife held a letter, hand-addressed on the outside in childish scrawls, badlytyped and, of course, cowardly unsigned. The noteinformed the woman her husband was doing“naughty” things with me.

I barely knew the poor man standing so silent inmy kitchen. This was the first time he had ever beenin my home. I had never met this woman before.They live two communities away from my own.

This man is an acquaintance of an acquaintance ifwe stretched for a connection. I have served him atthe store. He buys pop and chips. Maybe he boughta sub and chatted with me as he warmed it. Theclosest to being romantic was one hot afternoon —with many others in attendance — we watched awater-balloon fight at the nearby fire hall projectwhere he works.

This horrid letter had other ugly accusationsabout me and my character. Yes, I know. Those whodo know me know it couldn’t be true. It still hurts.

Thank goodness this wife wasn’t the sort tobelieve the rubbish. She did the honourable thingand informed me instead of stewing about it, orworse, clobbering me with her baywoman “fistis.”

Last week’s Independent had a story about ColinWindsor, the 30-year-old originally from my home-town who allegedly murdered 17-year-old AshtonMoen in Brooks, Alta.

Windsor was also different. I can’t imagine howthis teen was treated in this community of samenessand conformity. A boy who wore eye makeup andnail polish would never fit in here. Not one personfrom this town has said Windsor will be found inno-cent. They all say: “We knew it!”

I may not know everything about psychology, butI can’t help but wonder how being smothered in

such an environment could affect a child who isanything other than a cookie cutter of his peers.

I am not comparing my independent ways withthe antics of an alleged murderer, I’m just sayingthe way we treat people can cause them to becomeeven more different.

What is so different about me — besides theobvious fact that I am drop-dead adorable? I knowthis because my father told me — and I do own amirror, however dusty it may be.

I moved back here after many years in Ontariowhere I worked for a living. I have never been ahousewife. I also don’t have any desire to hang myclothes in colour co-ordinated rows on my line. Ihave a dryer. It takes the wrinkles out because Idon’t iron. Anything.

I can, and do, cook, despite rumours I never have.I do eat quite often at my mother’s. That is true. Shecooks wonderful meals daily for my father, and Ienjoy the company.

I am much too busy to carry on the way manythink I do. I am in school full-time doing distanceeducation from Memorial. I write to earn a few dol-lars. I own and operate a store.

I have a son who I am quite active with, as I amwith all of his friends. I have bonfires and wienerroasts as often as I can for any child who wishes toparticipate.

I do have a good male friend here. Did somethingjuicy ever happen between us? Is it still going on?Why would I ruin a good rumour on you folks? Thetruth is boring compared to the stories I hear.

Not everyone who lives in this outport or oneslike it are like this uninformed letter writer. Mostare wonderful, kind, thoughtful and smart people. Ihave many friends in this place that I adore. Theway of life here is the envy of most I know.

I am the first to admit that I am not your typical“bay woman,” but then, do we really need to havesuch a thing?

Instead of ganging up on those who live among uswho are basically good, yet different, how about weunite and ban those with small ideas of what being aperson and belonging to a community are all about?

To this community in general: I adore it here, andthank you for helping me love it so much. To littlemiss letter writer, I hope you are proud of yourself.

I hope this piece about you winds face up in birdcages and under puppy bottoms around this fineprovince. I will be burning your silly letter today.Then, I will forget about it, and you, and go on withmy life.

I suggest you do the same.

PAMPARDY GHENT

Seven-day talk

Body Shop founder unveils campaign against violenceSome would say she sold out. But

retail rebel Anita Roddick, whothis year sold her chain of beau-

ty-product stores, The Body Shop, tothe multinational L’Oréal for $1.2 bil-lon (U.S.), is still going strong.

At 63, she’s fighting for the causesthat have always motivated her.

“The hidden victims of domestic vio-lence are the children,” says Roddick,currently launching an in-store BodyShop campaign against domestic vio-

lence.The chain will be donating proceeds

from sales of a $4.50 bar of soap to theCanadian Women’s Foundation, whichworks to prevent violence in the homeand supports shelters for women andchildren leaving abusive situations.

Roddick, who in 2003 was made aDame in her native Britain, is still a fig-urehead for the company, which has2,050 stores in more than 40 countries.She travels the world sourcing ingredi-

ents, speaking to staff and contributingcreative ideas.

She says she’s confident L’Oréal willmaintain the brand’s social conscious-ness. Ever the activist, she sees the linkwith L’Oréal as a way to spread herapproach to business far and wide.

“My relationship with L’Oréal isvery intimate,” says Roddick, a petitebrunette who opened her first store in1976, a young mother of two seeking ameans of supporting her family.

She used the Quaker approach tobusiness as social enterprise as hermodel. She said she hopes to instill theidea of community trading in L’Oréal— sourcing ingredients from disadvan-taged communities around the world,and paying a fair price to people whomight otherwise not have an income.

She will continue to campaignthrough her websites anitaroddick.comand takeitpersonally.org

— Torstar wire service

“The hidden victims of domestic violence

are the children.”

Anita Roddick

DETAILS

Fun, colourful and very versatile,Hurdy Gurdy and Wood Ya? neck-laces are made in Newfoundland and

Labrador by young women entrepreneurs. Hurdy Gurdy pendants, made by Nancy

Jacobsen in Corner Brook, are double-sided.Using her background in stained glass,Jacobsen cuts, grinds and polishes two pieces ofglass — one clear, the other coloured. A piece ofJapanese paper or vintage material is insertedbetween the two. A strip of tin is soldered aroundthe edges.

Jacobsen, a teacher and artist, has been making thenecklaces as “a fun side project” for 18 months or so,and reports brisk sales. (The City of Corner Brook pre-sented Governor General Michaëlle Jean with one lastmonth during her official visit.)

Pendants can also be custom-made with any materialfor mementos or gifts, Jacobsen says — already, she’smade some for a group of bridesmaids.

Wood Ya? necklaces are also proudly one-of-kind,designed and put together by Jaclyn Gruchy. She says the

wooden beads of all shapes, sizes andcolours are “found on the streets of Torontoand Edmonton when away on buying tripsfor the store.”

Gruchy is co-owner of Twisted SistersBoutik on Water Street with her sister,Tennille Ashley. Now into its fourth year ofoperation, Twisted Sisters has become knownfor its commitment to independent Canadianclothing designers.

As for her necklaces, Gruchy’s goal is to keepthem fresh, fun, and “the sweet deal (is) no twoare exactly the same, and they’re all handmaderight here in Newfoundland.” Wood Ya? is sold in

her store and at Pro Girl in Halifax. In varyinglengths, sizes and chunkiness, they range in price

from $10-$70.Hurdy Gurdy necklaces retail for $35-$40 and are

sold at The Next Step in Corner Brook and TwistedSisters.

E-mail Jacobsen at [email protected];Gruchy at [email protected].

— Stephanie Porter

Wood Ya? wooden bead necklaces by St. John’s resident JaclynGruchy and Hurdy Gurdy (inside) reversible necklace by Nancy

Jacobsen in Corner Brook. Paul Daly/The Independent

Fun and versatile


WEEKLYDIVERSIONSACROSS1 Japanese syllabicscript5 Bill8 Competent12 Baseball stat.15 Make into law17 Cask serving18 Root vegetable19 Paraphernalia20 Go into21 Of the Milky Way,e.g.23 Wise to24 Rotten26 Ride27 Expatriate author ofPlainsong: Nancy ___29 Cunning30 Young dog32 Long36 Narrow valleys37 City in SW Siberia39 These (Fr.)40 Covers41 Remove hair44 Canadian poetryprize46 October 1970 situa-tion47 Where Jeanne d’Arcdied49 City hit by Canada’sworst tornado (1912)53 “My wild, Irish ___”54 Author of TheMuseum Called Canada55 Not: prefix56 One kept in the bag?

57 Small island58 Egg white60 Waiting for ___(Beckett)62 Equal: prefix63 Here to Hortense64 Attention65 Skater Browning66 Con game67 Environmentalist,originator of the bluebox program69 Fading out71 Resume data73 Specified food75 Esteems77 Town or city79 Pistol80 Kind of tide81 Japanese gateway82 Death notices, inbrief85 Building extension86 Math subj.89 Capital of Dominica91 Sask.’s flower: west-ern ___ lily93 “Funniest Woman inthe World” (b. 1894):Bea ___95 Related96 Fur-traders’ food ofdried meat, fat, andberries101 Born yesterday, soto speak102 Like new103 Judge104 French vineyard

105 Taunts106 Notice107 Fairytale bad guy108 Que. neighbour109 Killer: suffix

DOWN1 Hangs onto2 Cancel3 Smartly dressed4 Maple tree genus5 Chasing game6 Park of “Air Farce”7 Fasten (naut.)8 Alphabet start9 Wager10 Floral neckwear11 Engrave with acid12 Leased13 Majorettes’ sticks14 Takes care of press-ing matters16 Capital of Libya19 Canadian who creat-ed Java22 Era25 Sound and radioartist Chantal ___28 Most revolting31 Vancouver time33 Land unit34 Rider’s restraint35 Bad cheque letters38 Author Sakamoto(The Electrical Field)41 Beethoven symphony42 It stands among sta-mens43 Expert ending?

44 A Vanderhaeghe45 Cold (Span.)46 Lauzon of “AirFarce”48 Canoer’s blade50 Frozen drips51 Some French vowels52 Tiny particles of matter54 Needlefish55 Pesticide58 Strait betweenVancouver Island andB.C. mainland59 ___ mine60 Arm61 Morse Robb inventedan electric one65 Josh66 Conrad Black’s title68 Port of Brittany69 Colourless70 Asian Bigfoot71 Little72 He dubbed Canada“Our Lady of theSnows”74 Conceit76 River of Wales77 He takes wagers78 Bear-like81 Mine cars83 Pod or dent starter84 Fresco painted on dryplaster86 Felon’s fish story87 Survived88 Six layers of a song90 Gala coiffure

92 Drat alternative94 Non-clerical97 Brain test, briefly

98 Sea (Fr.)99 Mrs. (Fr.)100 Almond

ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APR. 19)You sometimes go to extremes toprove a point. But this time, youwon’t have to. Supporters areready, falling over themselves, tohelp you make your case.

TAURUS (APR. 20 TO MAY 20) Venus might be your ruling planet,but Mars is in the picture as well.So don’t be surprised if yourromantic relationships are a bitrocky at this time. But they’ll soonsmooth over.

GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) Geminis might rush into romanceand risk being wrong about some-one rather than be left with no one.But this is one time when it’swiser to be wary of where yourheart takes you.

CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22)

With all (or most) of those peskyproblems behind you, take timefor your family and friends. Travelaspects are favored, with long-dis-tance journeys high on the list.

LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) You might have started to questionthe wisdom of being open withsomeone you hoped you couldtrust. But be assured you won’t bedisappointed. You’ll soon heargood news.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) You have a reputation for honestyand integrity, and that will helpturn around a situation that wasnot only disappointing but alsoquite unfair. Good luck.

LIBRA(SEPT. 23 TO OCT. 22) A happy event creates a closer tiewith a family member whoseemed hopelessly estranged.

Positive aspects also dominate inimportant career matters.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21)Your ruling planet, Pluto, helpsyou adjust to change. So, stop put-ting off that long-delayed move,and make it with the assurancethat you’re doing the right thing.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21)You have a wonderful capacity tolearn quickly and well. This willhelp you when you are faced withan opportunity to move on to anew path in life.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19)Good news: You suddenly findthat you’re not facing that newchallenge alone. You now havesomeone at your side, ready tooffer whatever support you mightneed.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEB. 18) Your versatility — which is justone of those aspects of yourselfthat make you so special — helpsyou adapt to the challenges of anew and exciting opportunity.

PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20)Your sensitive nature picks up onthe needs of others. But whatabout your desires? You need totake more time to assess whatyour goals are and, if necessary,redirect them.

BORN THIS WEEK: You give your trust openly andeasily. People find you easy to bewith and enjoy your wit, yourgood sense, and your capacity tolove and be loved.

(c) 2006 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

WEEKLYSTARS

Fill in the grid so that each row of nine squares, each col-umn of nine and each section of nine (three squares bythree) contains the numbers 1 through 9 in any order.There is only one solution to each puzzle. Solutions, tipsand computer program available at www.sudoko.com

SOLUTION ON PAGE 27

Oops! Last week’s crossword clues did not match the grid orsolutions that ran with them. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Solution for this week’s puzzle is on page 27

BIZARRO

Research into the root causes of heart disease and stroke willhelp millions live longer, healthier lives. As a leading funderof heart and stroke research in Canada, we need your help.Call 1-888-HSF-INFO or visit www.heartandstroke.ca

Stop a heart attack before it starts.Your support is vital.

Take on the money grabbersMoney grabbers: things and

places where cash disappearswith little to show and no way

of knowing how much was spent. Tounderstand this phenomenon a little,put yourself in this purely fictional fel-low’s mind. Hear his private thoughtsduring a typical day:

“Kenmount Road congestion hasimproved so much since they openedthe Outer Ring. Tim Hortons outletsalong the way are not so crowdedeither, five minutes in and out, ‘A dou-ble-double decaf please.’

“The terrified cat in the back seat ishow old, nine or 10? I’m dropping himat the vets for a check-up and I’ll pickhim up tonight. I really like this route,I can pop into the bank along the waytoo; our bank is at the mall, but it’sunder $2 to use this ATM. What’s $2?

“It will be a great weekend. The fore-cast is good so the lawn is being fertil-ized today, but the grass can’t be cutuntil Monday. I’ll pay young Chris-topher to do it; I’m too busy until nextweekend and by then it’ll be up to myknees. Chris is a great kid, $15 to cut thegrass in summer, $20 to shovel in win-ter. Boy, you can’t buy good neighbours.

“I hope I can find a minute when Iget to work. I need to book a haircutfor tomorrow. It’ll need to be an earlyone; tee off is 9:45. Hopefully the wifecan pick up the dry cleaning when

she’s out in the afternoon. I won’t havetime; I think it’s tomorrow that the kidsare having photos taken. The LionsClub has a hotdog sale tomorrow after-noon too; I must try to remember mymembership dues.

“This company is growing by leapsand bounds, I hope they expand theparking lot. Three out of four days I’mfilling a meter, and parking close tothese maple trees means two trips tothe car wash every week.

“I’ve got to avoid David today, hewants to increase the weekly ticketpool to $10. I don’t like his idea butI’m lousy at saying no. He offered mea smoke seven months ago and alreadyI’m up to two packs a week. He’s sopersuasive. Just the same, me and theyoung fellow are having a blast withthe modeling kits he sells.

“I’ve got to think about how me andthe wife will celebrate 16 years togeth-er. Sixteen is such an odd number.Maybe a dinner downtown, and thenwhatever’s on at the LSPU. But again,she’d probably be just as happy withbingo, a good book or bowling.”

“Holy crow, break time already. I’vegot 15 minutes to get to the pharmacy.What will it be? Pop, bag of chips, twopull tickets and toothpaste. Hang on,that magazine looks like it’s got infor-mation on the Israeli strikes inLebanon. My young one could use thatfor her history assignment.

“Check out the magnets with pic-tures of old fishermen in oilskins. Theguy on the end looks like the wife’suncle Harvey. $2.99; small price to payfor a laugh. No cold diet Pepsi, maybethere’s some upstairs in the vending

machine. It’ll cost twice as much butit’ll be cold. I’ll get this tie clip too,grandmother’s party on Sunday is adress up affair.

“Maybe we could order from one ofthose basket stores to avoid shoppingfor a gift. They even carry cards.

“No lunch today. This project is dueMonday. Maybe David can grab me asandwich and water at Subway. I’llhave to drop off the film tomorrow. Anew golf shirt will have to wait too. Ihave tickets for the old timers’ gametonight. I’m not missing that. It’s beena long time since I’ve seen LannyMacDonald skate. The boys saythey’re selling 1980’s Calgary Jerseys.Got to have one.

“Afternoon break. Oh no! Can’t find

See “Can you,” page 22

INDEPENDENTBUSINESSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, AUGUST 13-19, 2006 — PAGE 21

AL ANTLEYourFinances

Food and boozeNLC profits this quarter ‘ahead of plan’; liquor storesleaving old locations to set up beside supermarkets


Five liquor stores around theisland will move next tosupermarkets, as the

Newfoundland and LabradorLiquor Corporation sets into around of re-organization.

“It’s good for both of us,” saysNLC president and CEO SteveWinter. “Supermarkets bring inmore people with more frequen-cy than virtually any other typeof store, and the more people gointo that store, the more opportu-nity they have to come into ours.

“Obviously we bring people ona regular basis who likely willneed groceries. It’s a good com-bination for both sides.”

A new location is scheduled to

open Aug. 18 in the Sobey’sbuilding on Kelsey Drive. Thenearby Kenmount Road storewill have reduced hours and beturned into an agency and licens-ing outlet, transferring servicesfrom the O’Leary avenue loca-tion.

“Really what we have done isconsolidate three smaller opera-tions into one bigger one, whichwill have considerable efficiencyfrom our perspective, saysWinter.

“We’re recognizing that thereis considerable growth in resi-dential and commercial in thatdirection in St. John’s. The pro-posal put to us by Sobeys was toogood to turn down, basically.”

The liquor store leases directlyfrom the supermarket in joined

locations. Winter says their rentfrom grocery stores has been lessthan the cost of a stand-aloneoperation in just about every cir-cumstance.

Sales growth at liquor storesreflects population increases inSt. John’s and surrounding areas.

The new liquor store next toDominion on Blackmarsh Roadin the centre of St. John’s saw thesingle largest growth in sales thisspring compared to last year:$777,000. Second was the east-end Stavanger Drive outlet,which grew by $229,000 thisquarter.

The Elizabeth Avenue liquorstore still outsells every store inthe province, making over $2

Branch Customer sales Customer sales GrowthApril 1 – June 30, 2006 April 1 - June 30, 2005

Elizabeth Ave $2,434,272 $2,360,121 $74,151Murray Premises $431,549 $494,228 -$62,679Kenmount Road $636,925 $665,156 -$28,231Harbour Grace $330,051 $257,749 $72,302Churchill Square $427,737 $464,991 -$37,254Mt.Pearl

(Commonwealth) $762,996 $761,213 $1,782Placentia $263,191 $252,505 $10,686Topsail Road $1,273,603 $1,350,743 -$77,139Bay Roberts $693,863 $644,287 $49,576Stavanger Drive $1,611,110 $1,381,554 $229,556Pearlgate Plaza $1,434,421 $1,269,189 $165,232Blackmarsh Road $1,437,131 $660,113 $777,018Agency Store $0 $34 -$34Avalon Mall $514,414 $463,774 $50,640Village Mall $0 $300,614 -$300,614Gander $781,685 $725,976 $55,709Grand Falls $735,466 $704,311 $31,155Clarenville $455,968 $412,160 $43,807Marystown $527,144 $561,530 -$34,386Corner Brook Plaza $412,055 $394,478 $17,577Port Aux Basques $274,752 $246,761 $27,992Stephenville $621,026 $597,891 $23,135Labrador City $312,401 $294,197 $18,204Corner Brook

Millbrook $1,001,026 $960,263 $40,763Happy Valley $768,189 $637,202 $130,987

$18,140,975 $16,861,038 $1,279,936Source: Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation

See “Well ahead,” page 22

Dominion on Blackmarsh Road, St. John’s. Paul Daly/The Independent

22 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS AUGUST 13, 2006

By Tyler HamiltonTorstar wire service

Aresearcher at UniversitéLaval in Quebec isolatesthe enzyme in our bodies

that extracts carbon dioxide fromthe blood as we breathe. A com-pany is formed to explore thecommercial opportunities.Eventually, it manages to clonethe enzyme, setting the stage formass production.

A highly innovative carbon-capture technology is born, righthere in Canada.

At a time when society isacutely aware of climate changeand the greenhouse gasesbelieved to be causing it, you’dthink Quebec City-based CO2Solution Inc. would have a muchhigher profile.

Here we’ve got a home-grownventure that knows how to snatchcarbon dioxide out of the emis-sions of coal plants and industrialchimneys, some of the biggestcontributors to global warming.

A special enzyme-packed liq-uid literally showers down asmokestack and absorbs the car-bon dioxide on the way down. Asmall pilot project at an incinera-tor in Quebec has proven that thetechnology and approach works.

What CO2 Solution needs nowis the funding and partners neces-sary to take it to the next step,which would involve a large-scale demonstration project witha major carbon dioxide emitter —a natural gas generator, a cementplant, an aluminium maker, who-ever. It doesn’t matter which one.It just has to be large.

But in a country that has noroad map for tackling climatechange, with a government thathas no apparent interest in carbontrading schemes or carbon caps, acompany like CO2 Solution hasminimal value to the private sec-tor — today, that is.

Energy efficiency technologieshelp companies save money.

Renewable energy technologiescan become a source of income orsavings, or at the very least a toolfor marketing. Capturing carbondioxide for the sake of capturingit? That’s an expense that comeswith few rewards, saving theplanet aside.

“It’s a tough market,” saysRick Whittaker, vice-president ofinvestment at Sustainable De-velopment Technology Canada,which contributed $1 million in2002 toward a small project head-ed by CO2 Solution and involv-ing the aluminium industry.

“Whenever you have emissioncontrols, it’s a cost to business.The market was hot for this kindof stuff when Kyoto was a biggerconcern. The question now is ifthere’s a market demand, andthat’s going to be driven by regu-lation.”

Lack of market demand mayexplain why the company, citingunfavourable market conditions,decided to cancel a $3 million to$7 million public offering inMarch.

CO2 Solution’s new chiefexecutive, Jacques Raymond, aformer GE Canada executivebrought in just after the publicoffering was cancelled, is focused

almost exclusively these days onraising money.

“We’re looking at our totalapproach to the business to seehow we could find the ways andmeans to satisfy this new focuson the investors,” he says. “Toobtain short-term growth and getsome revenues, we need to lookat other business opportunitieswhile we do our R&D and scaleup our technology.”

It’s the rough equivalent of tak-ing on a part-time job to pay yourway through university after allthe grants and loans have run out.

INDUSTRIALAPPLICATIONS

So what are these businessopportunities? The companycould sell the gas it captures toplayers in the carbonated bever-age sector, or a number of othersectors where carbon dioxide isused for a variety of industrialapplications.

It could also be turned intosodium bicarbonate — simplebaking soda — or processed intocalcium carbonate (limestone),which is used by the paper indus-try. Sodium carbonate, used formaking bricks, glass and somechemicals, and magnesium car-

bonate, essentially chalk, can alsobe produced and both open up anumber of other markets.

CO2 Solution’s survivalrequires a carbon market toemerge, one that offers financialincentives to those companiesthat either reduce their carbonoutput or can figure out a way ofcapturing and sequestering thecarbon they produce.

And this won’t happen, at leastnot in Canada, until some majorcarbon-capture projects areannounced that give new tech-nologies a chance to perform.

Europe, no surprise, is ahead ofthe game. The European Union-funded CASTOR project began alarge carbon-capture trial inMarch at the Elsam coal-firedpower station in Denmark. It’sbeing touted as a world’s first.

About 30 industrial, researchand university partners havecome together from 11 Europeancountries to investigate how toreduce the carbon dioxide thatwould come from such large-scale plants. Their mission is todevelop a working model forreducing carbon dioxide emis-sions from EU power and indus-trial plants by 30 per cent.

“That’s the type of project thatwould make sense in Canada ifthe Canadian government movedin that direction,” says Raymond.

As the oil sands grow, green-house gas emissions from theregion rise proportionately. Thisis becoming a major embarrass-ment for Canada internationallyas we try to take the moral highground on climate change.

The jury may still be out.Perhaps when the Harper govern-ment releases its made-in-Canadaenvironmental plan this fall it willshow the kind of leadership that’snecessary on this issue. It’s astretch, but it’s possible.

“Politics are driving this,” saysWhittaker. “And that politicalconcern may be coming back thisfall.”

As globe warms, Ottawa sleepsCarbon dioxide-snatching technology exists — private sector showing little interest

my list. I remember; it’s a bottle ofwine, milk and cat food. But what else?Oh well, I’ll phone the wife. She andher sister have gone bargain hunting toBay Roberts and Carbonear. I’ll callher cell. ‘Yes, dear, it’s wine, milk, catfood and … Oh yes light bulbs, thenew energy efficient ones.’

“On the way home, stop at the mall,get movie tickets for our daughter, shedoesn’t like to stand in line. Her bud-dies will pay her and I’ll collect afterthe movie. And pick up a video gamefor our son. We should buy some ofthese, they’re so darned expensive torent.

“He wants the new dance mix DVD too, but I’m not going inside themusic store. The wife will see to ittomorrow. And we need a copy of The Independent. That’s a great little

newspaper.“Ah, my own driveway. Home at

last. It’s been a long week. Here comesChristopher, Mr. Dependable; he’s sell-ing chocolates for his soccer team. Yesmy son, I’ll take two.”

This fellow has been thinking prettynormal things throughout the day.Mostly, though, he’s been thinkingabout “money grabbers.”

Can you identify the 46 things thisguy found himself “taken by?” Tryestimating his costs and how theymight be reduced. Do you think likethis guy? Can you change the way youthink? Can you change your habits?

Doing so will save about 40 per centof what you spend on money grabbers.

Next time: financial goal setting

Al Antle is executive director of CreditCounselling Service of Newfoundlandand Labrador Inc.

Can you changeyour habits?From page 21

million in sales from April 1 to June 30.In the Conception Bay area, two liquor stores are mov-

ing to locations connected to Price Choppers grocerystores. Harbour Grace’s liquor store will move over thehill into Carbonear’s Trinity Conception Square mall atthe end of August. The liquor store in Bay Roberts hasmoved out of its building already, and reopened in a loca-tion attached to Price Choppers.

The Bay Roberts liquor store does twice as much busi-ness as Harbour Grace. Sales at both increased modestlythis quarter.

Clarenville’s liquor store will move to a building onManitoba Drive with Sobeys at the end of August. Thelocation in Corner Brook’s Mill Brook Mall will move thisfall into the old Humber Gardens property whereColeman’s will be putting in a new supermarket.

Winter says a lot of the moves are happening becausebuilding leases have expired.

“We have had offers put before us that have very goodbusiness opportunities, so we have made some moves, andwe have closed some other stores,” he says.

Winter is pleased first quarter results are well up fromlast year. The growth occurred despite the closures of theVillage Mall store and agency outlets.

“Our first quarter income was ahead of plan,” he says.“Sales are well ahead of last year.”

‘Well ahead of last year’

Prime Minister Stephen Harper Shaun Best/Reuters

From page 21

AUGUST 13, 2006 INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 23

What’s new in the automotive industryAUGUST 13-19, 2006

Around town or around the bay. The Honda Ridgeline is car enough for your family of four and truck enough for your four wheeler. Available at City Honda, Kenmount Road. Paul Daly/The Independent

It was the best of times, it was the worst oftimes. It was an age of reason, it was anage of foolishness. Dave and Murph lived

in downtown St. John’s and owned identicalcars. Dave drove his to work everyday whileMurph drove his to golf tournaments. Theyformed a pact so that when one car died theother person would claim it for parts and theylived their separate lives in separate apart-ments, occasionally colliding during recre-ational hockey games. Dave was a nine-to-five working guy, checked the oil in his carand watched the tire pressure. Murph was anine p.m.-to-five a.m. working guy wholived the rock-star life of a chef. He knewthere was oil in the car somewhere and waspleasantly surprised that his car even started.Dave dutifully shoveled his car out all win-ter, keeping it moving so it wouldn’t freeze todeath. After one particularly nasty snow-storm Murph neglected to shovel out his carand it stayed buried on the side of GowerStreet. It groaned under the crushing weightof the snow, the battery lost interest, and allmoving parts fused together in conspiracy. Atire symbolically gave up its last breath and

Murph’s car ... died. And he conced-ed.

Dave called me up, not to performan autopsy on Murph’s machine, butas someone with the necessary skillsand shiny surgical tools to pick thebones.

“One car died so the other willlive,” he explained. The first avail-able time happened to be EasterSunday so I picked up Dave earlyand we parked my truck behindMurph’s car. It was a beautifulsunny day and the street was eerilyvoid of inhabitants, not a soul on theroad. It occurred to us that everyone might behunting Easter eggs at home and we set towork. Dave started unclipping tail-light lens-es that he hoped he wouldn’t need, while Ipried at the motor, hauling out plug wires and

stuff. We rolled down the windows,opened the doors and checkedinside the car. Under the circum-stances, you realize there isn’t muchyou can salvage from inside a carexcept the underutilized ice scraper.Besides, who really needs a spareashtray?

By and by the street stirred to life,youngsters started playing outsideand traffic returned to normal. A carpulled up next to us.

“Ye scrapping that car?” the driv-er asked.

“No b’y,” said Dave. “Yes b’y,” says I. “You sellin’ ‘er?” he asked.“No b’y,” said Dave.“Yes b’y,” says I.He offered $25 and I told him to come back

with a tow truck fast before she was gone.Dave thought it was hilarious — scrap thecar and sell it in one day. We plucked a fewmore parts off and got tired of waiting forbuddy to come back so we left. We still hadto unload a truckload of parts at Dave’shouse.

Meanwhile, back at Murph’s the guy cameback around noon with a tow truck andhooked on to the scrapped car. He couldn’tfind us so he started pounding on Murph’sdoor. Murph awoke to a startling sight: therewas his car picked clean, not a headlight, taillight, wiper or hubcap left on it, hoisted upon a tow truck and a guy handing money tohim. “Here’s your $25,” he said, and wenton, dragging the car away. Murph knew bet-ter than to ask questions — he got money, hisdead car was gone and with any luck at allmaybe it was Dave who took the parts. Hewent back inside for a cup of coffee, proba-bly surprised that the kettle still worked.

Mark Wood of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’shasn’t scrapped a car in St. John’s since theDave/Murph episode.

Tale of two cars

MARKWOOD

WOODY’SWHEELS

FEATURED VEHICLE

“ONE CAR DIED SO THE OTHER WILL LIVE.”

The fact I can technically call myself an “auto colum-nist” has summoned into question the meaning ofthe word “technically.”

After a blistering shot out of the blocks back in Februarywhen I admitted that auto shows pretty much bored me todeath, there has been some debate as to the justwhat form Power Shift would take.

Like an aimless drive on a perfect day with afull tank of gas, I won’t know until we get there.Perhaps we should do a tally.

Number of test drives: 0Number of references to engine displacement: 0Number of discussions about changes in this

year’s Mustang over last year’s: 0Scintillating insider information about

NASCAR: 0Thoughts on my dad’s cars, cats in cars, driving

music, drive-in movies, making out in cars, run-ning over frogs, traffic woes, driving quizzes,dangerous motorcycles, cute mechanics, andstreet racing cretins — about a billion.

“Why?” you ask. “Why is she doing this?” Easy. All thatother stuff is covered quite nicely elsewhere. Bigger brainsthan mine can recite, chapter and verse, the specificationsfrom year to year on every imaginable vehicle ever made.

Whole websites and publications are devoted to the autoracing industry, and any dealership can give you beautifulglossy catalogues on any new car you’re interested in.There is no shortage of people eager to display their accu-mulated knowledge of any vehicle you can name, tell youwhat kind of oil to use, and when to replace your tires.

I know more about cars than I probably let on. But I’mnot sure that a display of traditional auto knowledge servesyou all that well in this particular forum. We live in a carculture, and I’m at a loss to understand why most auto sec-tions of newspapers, and all car magazines, decide to omit

those people that only buy and drive them. You know, themajority.

Everyone who knows me has often heard me preachabout the necessity for great beds. I intone with the wisdomof Solomon, to people with the patience of Job, that we

spend a third of our life in bed and should dedi-cate more than a casual thought to the impor-tance of this.

It’s a similar thing with cars. For most of us,we spend more time in our cars than we realize.Even if we go through car ownership-free peri-ods in our lives, we still rent vehicles or moochrides. But we tend to overlook or downplay thesignificance of vehicles if we don’t feel com-pelled to have our head jammed under the hood.

The car plays a defining role in every stage ofour development. From sitting squashed in theback of the family truckster, to the first tremu-lous time you steer it on your own, to the firsttime you see your name on the ownership — carsdefine North American society perhaps like no

other. Babies are born in cars, and people are buried in cars,and cars mark every milestone in between.

I gladly let my father explain the difference between10W30 and 20W15 not because I had a lusting interest inmotor oil, but because it was how my father spent timewith me. I gladly washed the car every weekend as a 15-year-old so I had an excuse to wear a bathing suit in thedriveway and hope 16-year-old boys would drive by. Igladly drove my parents to doctors’ appointments in theirlater years not because I had nothing better to do, but tothank them for taking me roller-skating all those times.

My 14-year-old Marc hasn’t stopped laughing since Istarted writing Power Shift. But he’s come to understandthat somewhere between my gentle musings and his tech-nological wunderknowledge is a common ground that weall traipse across.

A lot of men are most comfortable expressing their lovefor a dog or a car, perhaps knowing that their affection isunlikely to be rebuffed. With very few exceptions, everyfather I know expresses his love for his son by asking whatkind of gas mileage he’s getting.

And they say women are hard to understand.

www.lorraineonline.ca

24 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT AUGUST 13, 2006

LORRAINESOMMERFELD

POWERSHIFT

Writing for the driversLORRIANE SOMMERFELD DEFENDS HER COLUMN OF ‘GENTLE MUSINGS’

Breathe through a strawfor 60 seconds.That’s what breathing is like with cystic fibrosis.

No wonder so many people with CF stop breathing

in their early 30s.

Please help us.

1-800-378-CCFF • www.cysticfibrosis.ca

Dear Jacques: If your Formula One career is really over — as

it appears to be, seeing as you’ve been replaced onthe BMW-Sauber team by young Robert Kubica— then you should start making plans to bid adieugracefully and move on.

There’s nothing worse than a dismissed, embit-tered, racecar driver crawling off intothe woodwork with his tail between hislegs, blaming people. I know you’veposted a statement on your website, butit would be much better if you called apress conference and thanked BMWMotorsport Director Mario Thiessenand the team for giving you the oppor-tunity to continue in F1 after you’dbeen out a year. Perhaps you shouldoffer to help them out again if they everfind themselves in a bind.

And then you should announce thata) you are going to investigate forminga team to race in the Champ Car WorldSeries, or b) that you are going to createa Canadian super team of drivers and sponsors towin the 24 Hours of Le Mans for this country, orc) that you are going to use your fame and connec-tions do something positive — if not for motor-sport, then for society as a whole.

If you do something like that, you will showyourself to be a class act. If not, you will havemissed a golden opportunity.

Now, I know you’re not really a Canadian anymore. We like to think you are, but you’re not. Youdon’t live here or pay taxes here or vote here. Ifyou come back at all, it’s for a race or a charityevent or a visit with family. You’ve lived inSwitzerland for a number of years and your newwife is expecting and, well, you’re settling down.And I know you have a CD out and fancy yourselfa singer and I say good luck with all of that.

But I would suggest you not turn your backcompletely on the sport that made you and yourfamily what you are today — Canadian icons. Andit’s always a good idea to think about givingsomething back to the very thing that made you sofamous and successful.

Of course, you could still find yourself back inan F1 car. Stranger things have happened, but itlooks unlikely. But in every cloud, there’s a silverlining and you should go looking for yours.

Not NASCAR. Good grief, you mused severalweeks ago about possibly following Juan PabloMontoya over there. Your agent said much thesame thing last weekend, Please! Montoya’s dealis an aberration. I guarantee you that NASCARteam owners are not the least bit interested inolder F1 drivers; 20-year-old American short-track racers are more their style.

But the Champ Car World Series? Now, thatwould be a perfect fit. Not as a driver (been there,

done that), but as an owner.Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe have

done an incredible job, to this point, of keepingthat ship afloat. And the future is looking reallygood. A new spec car will be used by all teamsnext year and new and exciting venues are comingon line: Las Vegas will be in the mix, for sure, and

maybe even Phoenix. And don’t countout Montreal just yet.

Even better news is that more teamswill be moving into the big league: atleast one Formula Atlantic entry hasannounced plans to move up next yearand your old friend Paul Stoddart, whorescued Minardi from the F1 scrap heap,has indicated interest in a Champ Carfranchise.

Your manager, mentor and friend,Craig Pollock, dipped his toe in theChamp Car waters a couple of years agowhen he teamed up with Kalkhoven andJimmy Vasser to form PKV Racing.Although he’s no longer connected with

that outfit, Pollock — who also owned the BARF1 team for a number of years (remember that!)— knows his way around the Champ Car pad-dock.

You would think with your connections thatsponsorship would not be a problem. And if yournew team should sign thrilling young Canadiandrivers like Atlantic standout James Hinchcliffe ofOakville and Formula BMW prodigy RobertWickens of Etobicoke, I’d be surprised if corpo-rate Canada didn’t just line up to get on board.

And Jacques: you and your band could playconcerts at all the races, It’d be a win-win!

If, on the other hand, you want to continue driv-ing for a few more years, sports cars in Europewould probably be your best option. Which bringsme to this.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world’s mostfamous sports car race. Although severalCanadians have been winners there — John Duff(overall, partnered by a Brit), Ron Fellows, ScottMaxwell, John Graham and Greg Wilkins (classchampions) — there has never been an overallwinning entry composed entirely of Canadiandrivers.

So how about a supernova team made up ofyou, Fellows and either Maxwell or Paul Tracy(maybe even both), managed by Graham and IndyLights king Brian Stewart and sponsored byPetro-Canada and Tim Hortons?

Put a team like that together and every eye inCanada would be aimed at Le Mans that weekend,I betcha.

OK, I’ll get serious. What I’m trying to say isthat what happened to you this week does not haveto be the end of the Villeneuve auto racing world.It’s undoubtedly very disappointing. And for a

driver who was once world champion, it’s down-right insulting to be shunted aside in this manner.

But it’s always best to try to turn a negative intoa positive. It’s better to go out with your head heldhigh. And, as a guy once said, the best revenge isto do better.

So Jacques, go forth and conquer. Champ Car,Le Mans — the sky’s the limit.

Show ’em they can’t keep a good man down. Sincerely,

Norris McDonald Distributed by Torstar Syndication Services

AUGUST 13, 2006 INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 25

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TRACKTALK

An open letter to Jacques Villeneuve

BMW Sauber Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve of Canada has a drink at the side of the track as he waits to startthe Canadian F1 Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. REUTERS/Paul Chiasson/Pool

26 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT AUGUST 13, 2006

www.honda.ca

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1. BEGINNERS MOTO 1No. 2 Donald Squires No. 23 Kyle Walsh No. 3 Tristan Power No. 25 Nathan Dowden

2. INTERMEDIATE MOTO 1No. 15 Andrew BurtonNo. 1 Billy Joe Jackman No. 24 G. Tony MurphyNo. 24 R. Andrew Morrissey

3. ATV MOTO 1No. 11 Herbie Lewis No. 19 Jimmy Gushue No. 5 Sammy Butler

4. BEGINNERS MOTO 2No. 2 Donald Squires No. 3 Tristan PowerNo. 23 Kyle Walsh No. 25 Nathan Dowden

5. INTERMEDIATE MOTO 2No. 15 Andrew BurtonNo. 22 Kevin DowdenNo. 1 Billy Joe Jackman No. 24 G. Tony MurphyNo. 24 R. Andrew Morrissey

6. ATV MOTO 2 No. 11 Herbie Lewis No. 19 Jimmy Gushue No. 5 Sammy Butler

7. MOTOCROSS OPENNo. 15 Andrew BurtonNo. 22 Kevin DowdenNo. 1 Billy Joe Jackman No. 24 Tony MurphyNo. 4 John RobinsonNo. 2 Donald Squires

8. ATV OPEN No. 11 Herbie LewisNo. 5 Sammy ButlerJimmy Gushue

At the Avondale SpeedwayMOTOCROSS AND ATV RACE RESULTS FOR AUG. 6, 2006

www.AvondaleSpeedway.com

Toyota reported a 39 per cent jumpin profit in its fiscal first quarter,with strong vehicle sales around

the world keeping the company on apace to possibly overtake GeneralMotors as the world’s No. 1 automakerin coming years.

Toyota’s reputation for fuel-efficientcars is proving a boon at a time whendrivers are balking at soaring gas prices,

analysts said. Toyota Motor Corp., theworld’s second biggest automaker, isamong a clutch of Japanese vehiclecompanies reporting robust results late-ly in contrast to U.S. automakers.

“Everything is going well for Toyota,especially in North American sales,”says Koji Endo, auto analyst at CreditSuisse First Boston Securities in Tokyo.

Endo says in addition to robust sales

of Toyota’s smaller models, such as theCorolla, the company’s light trucks andLexus luxury models — which tend toproduce healthier profit margins pervehicle — have also been doing well,boosted by the perception that they’remore fuel efficient than rival offerings.

Toyota’s profit in April-June totalled371.5 billion yen ($3.65 billionCanadian), up from 266.9 billion yen in

the same period the previous year, as aweaker yen also helped earnings, adding100 billion yen to operating profit.

Quarterly sales surged 13 per cent to5.6 trillion yen from 4.98 trillion yen ayear earlier, according to the manufac-turer, based in Toyota city in centralJapan.

Some analysts believe Toyota willovertake GM as the world’s No. 1

automaker in a few years if the currentpace continues.

In July, Toyota for the first time beatFord Motor Co. in U.S. vehicle marketshare, outselling Ford to be No. 2 afterGM, although Ford’s year-to-date salesare still ahead of Toyota.

GM continues to outsell Toyota, sell-ing 2.4 million vehicles globally in thelatest quarter. — Torstar wire service

Toyota gives GM race for first

Jimmie Johnson smokes his tires as he celebrates after winning the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, Indiana August 6. REUTERS/Frank Polich

SMOKIN’ VICTORY

Wok with Paul

AUGUST 13, 2006 INDEPENDENTSPORTS • 27

Solutions for crossword on page 20

Solutions for sudoku on page 20

1.866.686.8100humbervalley.com

“You have to see it to believe it.”“The accommodations are magnificent.”

“Canada’s best kept secret.”

than required for meat. The upper rack works best for me. This summer I had a little expert help on the grill. My

daughter Megan is attending the Culinary Institute ofCanada in Charlottetown, PEI, and she was home for a two-week break. The days she cooked full bore in the kitchen,there were heaps of pots and pans. The food was fantastic,but chefs apparently don’t wash dishes.

I steered her towards the grill and she expanded my hori-zons. We had company coming for supper and I wanted toshow off my grilled vegetables. There wasn’t enough roomon my top rack to grill veggies for seven healthy appetites.We went shopping, and picked up a wok-shaped devicewith holes all over it. I suppose you could call it a grillingwok.

We filled it with sliced peppers (all colours), zucchini,onion, and snow peas. The peas were an experimental proj-ect, hatched while browsing in the produce department(I’ve discovered chefs also like browsing in supermarkets).Megan threw in a measure of olive oil and tossed it allaround before placing our new technology on the top rack.

I was somewhat apprehensive about grilling in a wok, butwho am I to argue? Megan tossed the veggie mix four orfive times while we tended our steaks. Sure enough, thevegetables cooked to perfection, with the peppers just a tadcrispy, the way I like them.

So far no salt, pepper or spice was added, another breakfrom my tradition. Megan dumped the wok contents into alarge serving bowl and added some zesty Italian saladdressing. She tossed the veggie mix for a final time andtopped it off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It was adelicious medley of colour and taste.

Give vegetable grilling a try. You might be missing outon delicious summer side dishes and washing too manypots and pans. Experiment and have fun.

Paul Smith is a freelance writer living in Spaniard’s Bay,enjoying all the outdoors Newfoundland and Labrador hasto offer.

[email protected]

From page 28

INDEPENDENTSPORTSSUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, AUGUST 13-19, 2006 — PAGE 28

Idislike washing dishes even in thedepths of winter, but on a hot sum-mer’s day … let’s just say I’d

almost prefer to break my favouritefishing rod. And we own a dishwasher— I figure I should never be assigneddish detail.

Although I’ve done a little cookingand washed a few dishes, I am notremotely close to holding decision-making power in the kitchen. That’sGoldie’s domain and she has pro-claimed pots and pans don’t belong inthe dishwasher. The issue has beenreviewed and debated enthusiastically,but the law stands. My two daughtersand I simply have to live within itsbounds. We sometimes sin just a littlewhen Goldie is away.

I just got back from two weeks of

tenting and fishing in Labrador, andalthough our camp was well outfitted,we didn’t have a dishwasher. This timeof summer the heat and humidity areabove my optimum comfort level. I’vebeen fishing for quite a stretch andthere’s work around the house I’vebeen procrastinating, window paintingand flower bed construction — that sortof thing. Goldie reminds me about it.She works each day until 6 p.m. so inaddition to manual labour in theunbearable heat, I’m quite often on the

hook for supper. I have no desire towash pots and pans.

Eternal gratitude and praise to thebenevolent and supreme being for theoutdoor gas grill. I’ve learned to cook acomplete meal with every utensil dish-washer-legal. Steak searing on the bar-becue, while veggies cook inside hasalways been a summer tradition. I fond-ly recall warm summer evenings, outon the deck tending to the T-bones, sip-ping a rum and Coke, and Goldiepreparing the side dishes in the kitchen.In those days she didn’t work till 6 p.m.and she probably washed the pots andpans — most of the time.

The children have grown and thefamily dynamic has changed, and I’vediscovered grilled vegetables.

I began grilling veggies about three

years ago, after watching a cookingshow on cable. For my first attempt, Isliced sweet potato and zucchini, coat-ed them with olive oil, and placed themon the top rack of my barbecue. I addedpepper and salt to taste. As the vegeta-bles cooked, I tended to the traditionalsizzling protein. And I still managed abeverage, multitasking efficiently.

My new barbecue side dish was a hitand I entered a whole new grillingdimension. Next time, I added peppersto my repertoire; red and green are dis-tinctively tangy while orange and yel-low are oh so sweet. I was really on tosomething. Unless you like peppersquite crispy, put them on before otherveggies, as they take longer to soften.Onions also require just a little longergrilling. Grilled Spanish onions are my

favourite. Add some baked potatoesand the pots and pans can stay clean inthe cupboard.

You may discover your sliced veg-gies occasionally fall through your bar-becue rack. There’s a cheap and con-venient fix for this. Finely meshedracks that fit right in your barbecue areavailable at most department stores.Generally, sliced vegetables will cookon the top rack of a barbecue in just alittle more time than it takes meat togrill on the lower and hotter rack, so putthe vegetables on first. I usually turnthem over just once, adding a little salt,pepper and spice in the process. If yougrill veggies on the bottom rack, keepthe barbecue on a lower heat setting

Veggie grillingOr, how to avoid washing pots and pans in the summer

See “Wok with Paul,” page 27

PAUL SMITHThe Rock Outdoors

Jane Crosbie (top) is a student at Memorial’s school of nursing and a member of A donkey, some ice and a nine iron, one of 16 teams in the Coors Light Mile Zero Ultimate frisbee league. On Aug. 11, the team met The MaskedAvengers on Hatcher Field. For standings or other information about the Mile Zero league — or the Newfoundland and Labrador Ultimate Association — visit www.milezeroultimate.com. Paul Daly/The Independent

THE ULTIMATE

2006-08-13

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