2006-11-03

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humbervalley.com

Norris Arm clinic closingPhysicians no longer want to work excessivehours; medical association says provincemust recruit twice as many doctors

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“Springdale must be an empty place right now.”

— Rhonda Hurdle, an Alberta recruiter.

VOL. 4 ISSUE 44 — ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR — FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3-9, 2006 — WWW.THEINDEPENDENT.CA — $1.50 HOME DELIVERY (HST included); $2.00 RETAIL (HST included)

Life Story . . . 10Paper Trail . . 11Style . . . . . . . 21Shift . . . . . . . . 25Sports . . . . . . 29

IN CAMERA 8-9The Independent’sfinal guest photospread: Ned Pratt

LIFE 17Sara Tilley and herFresh Fish (award)

SPORTS 29Spend the winter gearing up for angling season

The lineup outside the Capital Hotel Oct. 30. As many as 9,000 showed up, looking for work in Alberta. Paul Daly/The Independent

‘We certainly love fishermen’Newfoundlanders recruit their own for Alberta oil boom

Rhonda Hurdle used to wish she could comehome to Newfoundland, but a recent visitchanged her mind. Hurdle, 33, a recruit-

ment officer with Precision Well Servicing inLloydminster, Alta., was born and raised inHarbour Grace. She says she used to have a prob-lem recruiting workers from Newfoundland.

“I used to feel terrible about it, because I wantedto go home too, and I didn’t want to take anybodyfrom the province,” Hurdle tells The Independentfrom her Alberta home. “But I was home this sum-mer, and now I feel fantastic about it.”

She says the gratitude of Newfoundlanders she

gets work for has changed the way she sees her job.“When I was home this summer I gave out a lot

of business cards,” says Hurdle. “I got this one par-ticular candidate from Carbonear. He was out ofthe fishery a couple of years. He threw all his stuffin a car and drove up here . . . him and a buddy.

“He’s working now out of Grand Prairie, and tosee and hear how grateful he and his wife are,”says Hurdle. “Now they have money to pay theirbills, $23.90 an hour starting off. So they are veryhappy.”

She enjoys watching people get work — forsome, it’s the first work they have had in a while.“When you see them come in and they are so excit-ed when they hear the wages.”

Seeing starsIndependent columnist Sean Pantingmakes his picks for the annual MusicNLawards, given out Nov. 5

Arural health clinic is slated to shut itsdoors to patients in Norris Arm byyear’s end, when the two doctors who

work there scale back their workload.The facility is one of several clinics to close

its doors in central Newfoundland in recentyears, due to physician retirement.

The two doctors who operate the part-time,privately owned clinic in Norris Arm say theyplan to retire completely within the next fouryears. The closure of the clinic is their firststep.

Dr. K.T. Jim, a general practitioner for 30years, says he and his partner are both nearingthe age of 60 and want to cut down theamount of hours they work.

“Both Dr. (Lionel) Kelland and I are gettingold, therefore we thought we would at leastslow down our practice and this would be theobvious place since we have our own practiceclinic in Grand Falls itself,” he says.

“We’ve essentially been coming here forthe last 26 years, both he and I, for two half-days a week each, but because we’re startingto slow down we want to eliminate our prac-tice here.”

Dr. Lydia Hatcher, chair of the physicianresource planning committee and past presi-dent of the Newfoundland and LabradorMedical Association is in the process ofassessing the number of physicians necessaryto cover off regional medical healthcare needsin the province.

Hatcher says the doctors of her generationwho are nearing retirement were expected towork 60-80 hour work weeks plus be on callfor emergencies and home visits. She says it’sharder to recruit new doctors to work in ruralareas because they are no longer willing todevote as many hours to their practice, for fearof burnout.

“Statistics show that it takes approximatelytwo new physicians to replace one of these,what we call full-service physicians, whoworked these very long hours doing all sortsof outreach and extra things and that is simplya lifestyle issue.”

Hatcher says the lack of young replacementphysicians is both a provincial and nationalproblem. In Newfoundland and Labrador inparticular, the aging population requiresincreased medical care and services — but,Hatcher says, new doctors want to move tolarger centres where they have a betterlifestyle and do not have to work excessivehours.

She says it’s something the provincial gov-ernment must recognize is impacting ruralhealthcare.

“Our rural areas are suffering because ofthis and our government has to be very, veryaware of the fact it will take more humanresources to fill the positions in some of theseareas in order for people to have the lifestylethey want and to provide the kind of medicalcare the older physicians were doing becausethey were willing to have that busier

STEPHENVILLEBy Sean PantingFor The Independent

This weekend marks MusicNL’s annualgeneral meeting, conference and show-cases. Members of the province’s

music industry association are in Stephenvillefrom all over to meet and greet, see and beseen, discuss strategies for building a strongerhomegrown music biz and even pass out someawards on Saturday afternoon and Sundaynight.

I guess I should expose my bias right off thetop and confess I’ve been a member of theassociation since its formation in 1992. I havealways believed we need an organization likeMusicNL, if only because it helps foster thesense that there is indeed a music industry inthis province — that if you want to listen to agood song, or go and see a killer band, you’renot stuck with whatever the folks in London,New York or Toronto feel like sending yourway.

Whether it’s just the way we’re wired as apeople or there’s some other deeper psycho-social reason I’m not qualified to get into,Newfoundland and Labrador has never devel-oped a star culture. We don’t mind showingup at the airport and making a fuss if you’verepresented the province well nationally orinternationally, but once you’re back homethe adulation quickly cools down.

That’s why handing out awards is so impor-tant.

Perception is a big part of the game, andbeing handed an award by your peers is a signthat what you’re doing is good and that peopleare paying attention. You get some namerecognition. You get your mug in the paperand on TV. And that is exactly the kind ofthing that can affect sales, concert attendanceand, ultimately, suc-cess in the realworld.

Especially ifyou’re good at yourjob and you makeworthwhile music.

So in the interestof creating somenew householdnames and at therisk of having mycar egged by dis-gruntled runners-up, I thought I’dstick my neck outand pick a few ofthe winners.

Of the nominees for Male Artist of theYear — Mark Bragg, Ron Hynes, AndrewLeDrew, Kevin Collins and Bill Brennan — Ithink it’s got to be Ron Hynes. All the b’ysdeserve a major pat on the back for whatthey’ve achieved this year, but Ron is a fanfavourite, a national treasure, and he’s stuck itout longer and under tougher circumstancesthan just about anyone else I can think of.

I’m calling for a second Ron Hynes victoryin the Song of the Year category for Dry, par-tially because it’s a great song, and partiallybecause it has Ron’s name attached to it.

Hynes has turned up in the folk/roots cate-gory as well, and a win there isn’t out of thequestion, but I’m leaning more toward thePunters for their fourth album, Songs for a

MANDYCOOK

BUSINESS 13Cooke’sAquaculturethinks big

IVANMORGAN

See “I would be,” page 4Related stories pages 4, 12

See “Doctor in your backyard,” page 10See “ A bit of a sweep,” page 11

Ron Hynes Paul Daly photo

GALLERY 18Will Gillunveilsnew work

2 • INDEPENDENTNEWS NOVEMBER 3, 2006

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The Notice of Assessment for property taxcame in the mail a month ago, causingno small dismay among people I talk to.

In St. John’s, real estate prices have skyrocket-ed, driven up by news of the “oil boom,” thearrival of retired mainlanders with deep pock-ets, and other factors. In certain areas, a housethat might have sold for $20,000 in, say, the1970s, now goes on the market for $200,000.This has played into the hands of City Hall,always eager to find new sources of funding tocover such expenditures as the yearly deficiton money-sucking Mile One or the cost of put-ting artificial turf on the George V Soccer fieldin place of real grass, which as everyoneknows doesn’t grow in this lat-itude.

The average increase in taxassessments in St. John’s is, Iunderstand, over 20 per cent;some have risen 50 per centand even higher. Propertyowners have the right to appealthe assessment, but the processis tormenting and unlikely tosucceed. There is also a filingfee of $60 to keep prospectiveappellants at bay.

One sentence in the fineprint on the Notice of Assess-ment caught my eye: “PLEASETAKE NOTICE that theinability of any person to paythe taxes, rates or fees ... shallnot be a ground for appealingan assessment to the Assess-ment Review Court.”

It’s no good to appear beforethe court and say you can’tafford to pay because you had to bury yourgrandmother. The fact that you can’t pay theassessed tax is no defense — you still have topay it. You might have to put your daughter onthe street or sell your spoons. But you must getthe money.

How many things are there in life that youmust pay for even though you are unable to?

Property tax is virtually an uncontrollableexpense. You live in a house one year and —wham — the very next year, as a result of mys-terious forces operating in the community, youhave to come up with $300 more. We can con-trol transportation costs by cutting back unnec-essary travel or selling the Chevy Nova. We canchange eating habits to control food costs, wearold sweaters and drawers to control clothingcosts. We can reduce the house temperature,change to a woodstove, or insulate the roof, tocontrol the cost of fuel and electricity. Butproperty tax is outside our influence.

It’s not like other taxes. Income tax is deter-mined by what we earn. Many people pay no

income tax at all. But no matter what a houseowner earns he has to pay property tax (unlesshe’s on social assistance, in which case the taxis paid for him). The GST also operates differ-ently. We can control how much GST we payby changing buying habits. Not so with proper-ty tax. It’s beyond our reach — unless we gothrough the torturous appeal process, and even

then, supposing we win anappeal, which is doubtful, thetax wouldn’t be reduced bymuch.

I was curious to learn whathappens to a citizen who sim-ply can’t afford to pay the taxand who isn’t on social assis-tance. Here’s some news:someone who lives in his ownhome can’t be evicted andforced to see his house sold topay tax arrears. But when hedies, the debt passes to the nextproperty owner.

When a house is sold, taxarrears are collected from theproceeds. City hall may let youpay taxes by installments, andeven arrange a collateral mort-gage on your property to get itsmoney. There is ultimately noescape.

I wonder how many homeswill be colder in 2007 as a result of increasedproperty taxes, how many people will beforced, against their deepest wishes, to go tofood banks or social services for help.

To quote Newfoundland prime minister E.P.Morris in 1909, “We are on the eve of animportant industrial awakening,” and there is agood time coming. Meantime, we are crucifiedby taxes, and the first duty of politicians is tobear this in mind before inflicting moregrandiose schemes upon us. If property valueskeep climbing sharply, the province will haveto step in. Maybe it should do so now. Allmunicipalities in Newfoundland are creaturesof, and subject to, the legislature, and I think acase can be made for the province to limit, bystatute, property tax hikes on individual house-holders. A two per cent annual limit on suchincreases sounds about right.

Patrick O’Flaherty is the author of LostCountry: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland,1843-1933.

There is no escape PATRICKO’FLAHERTYA Skeptic’s Diary

I wonder how manyhomes will be colder

in 2007 as a result of increased property

taxes, how many people will be forced,against their deepest

wishes, to go to food banks or social

services for help.

By Ivan MorganThe Independent

Newfoundland and Labradorianscut more firewood than peoplein any other province. While

that puts pressure on the forestry busi-ness, imminent industry changes aredesigned to ensure traditional domesticcutting practices actually continue.

According to Jim Taylor, generalmanager of the Western NewfoundlandModel Forest, domestic cutting is oneof the unique things about this province.

“If you take all the rest of the domes-tic cutting in Canada, it would not comenear equalling what we cut here in thisprovince. We cut a huge amount ofdomestic firewood to stay warm,”Taylor tells The Independent.

“We are certainly unique in NorthAmerica … we are pretty much aloneon this part of the globe. You go outsideof St. John’s and just about every sec-ond person burns wood.”

But as the forestry industry grows,and more and more commercial pres-

sure is put on theresource, domestic wood-cutters are going to haveto learn to evolve withthe times.

Bill Clarke, districtmanager with theDepartment of NaturalResources’ forestry divi-sion, is responsible forthe Avalon region, whichhas the largest populationand the smallest forestreserves. He says sustain-ability and good forest management arekey to ensuring a steady supply. He, too,says the industry has changed.

In 1982, an unsustainable 200,000cubic metres of firewood was cut on theAvalon. Since then, there has been agradual decline, to below 30,000 annu-ally. Several years ago, the rate began toclimb again, related, says Clarke, to therising price of alternate fuels used forheating.

Last year, 30,000 cubic metres offirewood were cut on the Avalon. With

provincial silviculture programs, Clarkesays, that’s a sustainable rate.

Domestic cutting has never receivedthe attention other provincial forestryindustries have, and that means officialstatistics are hard to come by. Most areestimates based on the number or per-mits sold.

“It is a difficult thing to track. Peoplecome and get a permit and they go andcut it, but there is no requirement toreport back as with commercial opera-tions,” says Barry Garland, also with

the forestry division. “Itis difficult to get a goodhandle on.”

That may change soon.As the industry developsnew products and mar-kets for forest resources,there is a need to lookmore closely at what iscut where and what it isused for.

There is some competi-tion, for instance, as thedemand for firewood

comes up against industry demand forpulpwood or saw logs, as well as thepressure from the tourist industry andenvironmental movement to leave theforest standing as part of the naturalecosystem.

The province is hoping to get domes-tic cutters to harvest stands not econom-ically useful to industry.

“There is so much softwood andhardwood that is not suitable for high-value product. Ideally we would want todirect people to that unused portion, or

to stands and residues that are not suit-able for anything else,” says Garland.

People need not worry about notbeing able to cut their own wood. Hesays the goal is to have reserves that arebetter managed as opposed to morecommercialized — not to cut peopleoff, just have the resource better direct-ed. That has already started and hasbeen ongoing for the last 20 years.

Taylor says the domestic cutting per-mit, and commercially produced fire-wood, is still a good deal.

“It really is a pretty good buy, if youstop to see what the rest of Canada hasto pay for it,” says Taylor.

“In the rest of Canada you might geta person buying a cord for $200 to$300, which is probably a third to halfof a cord we would get, and they woulduse it only around Christmas time forthe ambiance.

“The way we tend to look at it is as avalue. And it is a value some peopletend to hold quite dearly.”

[email protected]

A weekly collection of Newfoundlandia

If it wasn’t bad enough that 9,000 folks had toline up in the freezin’ cold outside the CapitalHotel in Town this week for a shot at a life inAlberta, a crowd of them faced parking ticketswhen they were done. According to the trafficdepartment of the City of St. John’s, 33 parkingtickets were issued in the area of the hotel onKenmount Road on March 30, the day of the jobfair. The tickets — issued mostly for parking onthe sidewalk — result in a $50 fine. How’s thatfor a proper sendoff? At the same time, the tick-ets work out to $1,650 in revenue/blood moneyfor the city. No wonder St. John’s is doing sowell …

AMBULANCE CHASERWhile on the subject of the Alberta job fair —

the lineup was a sight to behold, four and fivepeople deep in some places. A number of peopleworked the line, including journalists (a tag-teamfrom The Independent), two girls promotinganother job fair slated for this weekend, a goodnumber of gawkers who were driving by and hadto stop (nothing like a good lineup or fire to drawa crowd), and a St. John’s real-estate agent (whoshall not be named), handing out his businesscard. The agent was looking to sell the homes ofthe Newfoundlanders who would be moving. I’dput him in the same category of an ambulancechaser. In this case, a U-Haul chaser …

BEST COSTUME Best Halloween costume this year goes to

filmmaker and social activist Gerry Rogers, whowas spotted in St. John’s on byelection nightwith pitcher plant flowers growing out of a sodon her head. It isn’t known whether Gerry her-

self will be included in any provincial govern-ment promotional material …

PEOPLE MOVERSIt’s not every day a Newfoundlander makes

it to the pages of People, but the Oct. 16 edi-tion of one of North America’s most popularmagazines included a snippet on Lisa Moore’sbook Alligator (it was the People edition withEXCLUSIVE PHOTOS! Of Anna Nicole’sSurprising Ceremony on the cover). The write-

up, found in the Book Club picks column, hadthis to say: “For readers who savor indeliblecharacters: From the widowed mom of anecoterrorist to an alligator wrestler namedLoyola, Moore conjures up a host of odd-balls.”

CLOSING THE BARN DOORThis particular Scrunchin falls under the cate-

gory, “Closing the barn door after the horse haslined up for hours for a chance to get the hell outof there,” or that’s the way it was put to me. Twodays after the phenomenon that was the Albertajob fair, Labour Minister Paul Shelleyannounced an open house to be held this pastThursday at the Career Information ResourceCentre in Town.

Here’s the government line: “The CIRC offersa full range of services designed to help individ-uals explore their career and employmentoptions, access professional career counseling,participate in a facilitated job search, access rel-evant labour market information and use othertools to help them make an informed choice inpursuing meaningful and long-term employ-ment.” Maybe the centre should have set up abooth outside the Capital Hotel. And given outpitcher-plant hats for prizes …

PAINThis race isn’t for the faint of heart (or foot).

The Athletics Northeast Running Club will holda 20-km race Nov. 12 from Cape Spear to the topof Signal Hill. If the “trial run” goes well theclub will have an official race next June. “Thegroup intends to discover just how difficult it isin advance,” read the press release announcingthe run. I could save them the trouble … in thewords of Mr. T, “I pity the fool.”

BEWARE THE WOODSThe Ottawa Citizen carried an interesting

piece this week, Wilderness weighs heavy on ourpsyche, about how the wilds of Canada haveplayed a role in shaping myths. Wrote ChrisLackner, “From coast to coast, Canada’s land-scape harbours many monsters: Celtic fairieshaunt the woodlands of Newfoundland, the ser-pent Ogopogo lurks in the depths of BritishColumbia’s Lake Okanagan, and everythingfrom the sasquatch to ghostly cannibals roambetween.” That should keep the blueberry pick-ers out of the woods next year…

TONGUE IN CHEEKThe Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas carried

a feature on George Street last month, coveringthe standard topics such as Screech-ins, fried codtongues and scrunchins.

The waiter refreshed my tea as I asked him,“This cod tongues, is that what I think it is?”

“Oh, I’m afraid it is,” he said in a liltingaccent. “And very good, too. Try some?”

Before I could ask what a “scrunchin” was —I shuddered to think of the possibilities — he wasoff to the kitchen to (in my mind) prepare some-thing for me to eat that may be tasting me as well.

My favourite line from the piece: “Once youspend all day getting there, you find a place res-olutely independent and unforgettably unique.The former colony of a half-dozen rulingnations, Newfoundland differs from the rest ofits home country in its weather, terrain, clothing,food (obviously), language, industry and cus-toms. Just like Texas!”

Did you know that St. John’s is twice as farfrom Fort Worth as Honolulu? See, Scrunchinsaren’t so bad after all …

[email protected]

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 3

Warming up to new realitiesDomestic firewood industry changing

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Fire wood facts:A cord of wood: approximately one pickup loadAmount of wood a 1982 permit allowed: 12 cordsAmount of wood a 2006 permit allows: 3-5 cordsNumber of permits for Avalon issued in 1982: 12,000Number of permits for Avalon issued in 2005: 3,500Number of permits for province in 2005: 23,000Per cent more efficient dry or seasoned wood is over green: 15-30Cubic metres of wood cut on the Avalon peninsula in 1982: 200,000Cubic metres of wood cut on the Avalon peninsula in 2005: 30,000

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‘I’ll do anything’Thousands line up for job fair; most willing to pack up and move west tomorrowBy Ivan MorganThe Independent

Craig Gosse stands in line in thecold outside the Capital Hotel onKenmount Road in St. John’s

with his 18-year-old son Cameron. He’snot alone. Thousands of Newfound-landers — men, women, children, oldand young — stand patiently for hoursin the cold for a chance to meet withAlbertan oil company representatives atNewcap Radio’s Alberta at Work JobFair. The line stretched out the door,around the hotel and way down into theback parking area.

Gosse is there for his son.“I just got back (from Alberta) five

days ago. I am trying to get my son on,and a few of my buddies. I’ve beenworking on the Long Lake Project (anorthern Alberta oil sands operation) foreight months,” Gosse tells TheIndependent.

“They’re taking apprentices for train-ing, and you’re looking at anywherebetween $26 to $28 dollars an hour.Why would you go to school here andbe in debt for $25,000 when you can getpaid while you learn in Alberta?”

He wants his son to try that out.Inside, where it is warm, representa-

tives from six Alberta companies —Concord, Nabors, ATCO, Teco,Syncrude, and Stuart Olsen — deal withthe throngs of people crowded aroundtheir booths. Wayne Totsi stands in frontof his. He works for ATCO Electric,Alberta’s privatized power utility. He’soverwhelmed.

He says his company cannot findenough people to set up power lines.

“We have people working overtimeand working long hours because wedon’t have the people to do all thework,” he says.

His company is looking into recruit-ing Newfoundlanders. They havealready recruited workers from thePhilippines.

“We actually hired nine of them, andthey are now getting adjusted to the cul-ture, and the cold,” he says. The adjust-ment isn’t so difficult for New-foundlanders.

People have come from all over theisland to stand in line: Burin, RandomIsland, King’s Point, Cobb’s Arm.Whole families came together. Elderlypeople came with their adult children,young couples with their little children.Some, when asked where they werefrom, qualified their residence: “MountPearl, but originally from Roddickton.”

As journalists work the line, callscame from the crowd.

“Danny Williams should be here him-self,” shouts one.

A woman grabs a journalist’s arm,asking softly “Are they looking forcleaners, love?”

“This is how desperate people are inrural Newfoundland,” shouts another.

Rance Abbott and Joe Marsh standtogether, easily an hour from gettinginside. Abbot is from Bonavista, Marchfrom Random Island. They drove to St.John’s in the hope of getting work.March says if he gets a job in Alberta, hewon’t be back.

“What am I going to come back herefor? I came home six years ago fromOntario. Thought I could make it — but$7 or $8 an hour’s not gonna do it,” hesays. “And I worked all last night too, ina seniors home.”

Someone makes another joke aboutDanny Williams — he is mentioned a lot— but the laughs are few and farbetween. Most people just stare ahead,or at the ground, waiting patiently. Somepeople are afraid to give their names, infear their current employer might findout they were here.

Godfrey Butler, of St. John’s, says “Idon’t mind the long line-up if it paysoff.” The people around him mutter inagreement.

A well-dressed young man sticks outlike a sore thumb in the sea of ballcaps,jeans and bomber jackets. He doesn’twant to give his name. He says he willtake any work he can get, but prefersrestaurant work.

One feels guilty for having a job.Joanne Taylor, Hughie Taylor, and

Mike Billard drove from Burin to standin the cold. They say they all chipped infor gas money for the long drive.

“The premier ought to see all thesmart young people here today. He’s notdoing a very good job is he? Do you seeall the young people in the line-up heretoday?” says Joanne. “Tell Danny wewould have liked him to be here with us,will you? Please put that in your paper.”

Inside the hotel the line winds throughthe lobby and down the corridor to alarge room. The girl behind the checkoutdesk is getting testy with the people

waiting in line in front of her.“Could you please not block access to

the counter,” she scolds. People shuffleapologetically out of her way. No onemakes eye contact. The line moves for-ward.

Inside the large room, cheerful look-ing people in company shirts talk tocrowds gathered around each display.

Dennis Lewandowski, with Syncrude,says he’s amazed by the turnout. Hiscolleague Keith Hill is “flabbergasted.”

“Some people are coming in and say-ing ‘I’ll do anything,’” says Lewan-dowski. “There’s so many who will doanything, or who are multi-skilled, butreally don’t have a skilled background.We are very specific in what we arelooking for.”

Robert Woodford, a young fishermanfrom Cobbs Arm, wanders from boothto booth. He is looking to go to Alberta.

He says with a fiancé at home he’s notlikely to move, but he is “fed up with thefishery,” and looking for a new line ofwork. He doesn’t care what — just notfishing.

Outside, Placement Group representa-tive Krista George and her colleaguesare busy working the line, passing outflyers. They are looking for all mannerof workers, skilled or unskilled.

“As long as they are willing to relo-cate,” she says. Based in Calgary, she isoriginally from Mount Pearl.

Close to the front door, Neil Doylewatches his wife, Carol, fuss over theirtwin five-and-a-half-year-old boys.

He says he’d “take anything and leavetonight.”

“There’s nothing for us here,” saysCarol Doyle.

[email protected]

Krista George, 27, is originally from MountPearl. She works with the Placement Group inCalgary. Unlike Hurdle, who recruits for onecompany, George’s employer represents manydifferent companies looking for employees.

She’s back in Newfoundland only briefly,organizing a job fair for her company, which hasoffices all across Canada, but not inNewfoundland.

George says moving away to get work doesn’thave to be a permanent thing. She tells herrecruits that moving away to get experiencemakes them more marketable.

“I was at the (Avalon) Mall the other day andmet a lady who has a masters degree. She wentto school for eight to 10 years to obtain her mas-ters, and she was actually serving me in a cloth-ing store,” says George. “I spoke with her andshe said ‘I can’t get a job because I don’t havethe experience.’”

George says going to Alberta for that experi-ence makes sense.

“The job we offer might be a stepping stonefor someone to build their experience, becauseobviously with the labour shortage in Albertayou have opportunities to move up,” saysGeorge. “The turnover in Alberta is so great — itis a good opportunity for someone inNewfoundland without that experience.”

While George says some of the companies sherepresents will pay their recruits to relocate,Hurdle says her potential employees have to getto Alberta on their own. Once there, however,she tries her best to help them get work.

“The thing is with boys coming up, usuallythey’re broke. And they have to have their steel-toed boots, they have to have their gloves …they have to have a few dollars just to start,” saysHurdle. She says her company will usually putthem up and give them a food allowance untiltheir first cheque.

She says most of their clients come from west-ern Newfoundland. “Springdale must be anempty place right now,” she says.

Hurdle says the work she offers is tough, andnot for everyone.

“We certainly love farmers and we certainlylove fishermen. We know they have the workethic. We know that they are used to long hours.It is long hours and it is hard work,” she says.

“Some guys come up and work the winter(often in -30C) and go back to the fishery in thespring,” says Hurdle. “They’ll be calling uscome September or October and they’re comingback, and we love them coming back.”

George says many of her recruits will eventu-ally return to the province. She says she might

even return herself — but not yet.“It’s home,” she says. “But right now if I was

to come back here I would take a dramatic paycut … when the time comes to raise a family, Iwould love to come back here. As would all myfriends.”

She says there are four people in her officefrom Newfoundland, and she has friends inCalgary from here, and they all feel the sameway. She doesn’t see her job as taking people outof the province forever.

“We don’t want to steal them forever,” shesays. “The Newfoundland economy is growingright now and it is going to continue to grow.

“We’ll all be back.”Hurdle says she is happy where she is —

happy with her new life. “My husband has got an amazing job with

Husky, and I am working with Precision, whichis an amazing company,” she says. “And my sis-ter is up here with her husband, and they aredoing very well for themselves. There is nobodyleft back home. None of my friends are home.”

Hurdle doesn’t have a Newfoundland accent.“Yeah,” she laughs, “I guess they made me get

rid of it when I became a recruiter.”

[email protected]

From page 1

‘I would love to come back’

Paul Daly/The Independent



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Parzival’s preeningIf forced to choose between a one-tune scholar and a grease-ball politician, Ray Guy chooses the latter

Idon’t know what would happen if some aca-demic suggested the population of Manitoba orof PEI be chopped in half.

But some of us do recall the ruckshuns herewhen Dr. Parzival Copes, formerly MemorialUniversity’s head of economics, made the samemodest proposal regarding our own dear isle.

Shit flew. Copes, who recently receivedCanada’s top gong, still blinks like an owl in a light-ening storm about his Newfoundland experience.Surely, all he did was cast his pearls before swine.

In 1972, Copes delivered a report on the future ofthe fishery and economy of Newfoundland. Hisconclusion was chastely simple. Half the population,250,000, would just have to skeedaddle.

Seems some simple. Reduce Newfoundlanders byhalf. The best place for 50 per cent ofNewfoundlanders, according to Copes, was else-where.

He was as scanty on his ideas as to what 250,000of us would actually do “elsewhere” as he was self-sanctified in his conclusion that half of us had tojump ship and start rowing.

Copes, with the sharp eye and beak of a vulture,ripped into the notion of “conventional wisdom,”professed astonishment that his dictum struck anyknots at all and then skittered off to BritishColumbia with all the smug satisfaction of a six-month-old with a full diaper … all my own work.

Lo, after many a long year, Copes reaps a head-line in the local press again.

Well, he got the Order of Canada. He onceworked in Newfoundland. Stirred up a little fusswhile he was here, didn’t he?

We now have his own word on it: how right Iwas. How great I am. How wrong they were.

He must have been greatly encouraged and feltrather redeemed when, last year, MemorialUniversity of Newfoundland gave him an hon-ourary degree ... when only these few decades agohe scarpered with sharp sticks to his bum.

In 1994, Copes was given a prize for “controver-sy” from Simon Fraser University. He rather rolledaround in the catnip of the fuss he had created inNewfoundland. There is no slacking in the arro-gance we once knew and loved: “From my position,I now have the satisfaction,” he says, “of seeing myresearch vindicated and my credibility restored …and of being amused by the hyperbole with whichnational magazines now identify me as a brilliantprognosticator.

“Of course, I take no pleasure in being provenright at the expense of the fishers of Newfoundland,who are the prime victims of the collective relianceon a conventional wisdom that has long outlived itsusefulness.”

He then proceeds, in typical Copesian fashion, tosay that while the great economists of the nation allagreed with him they were quite content to let himbear the Newfoundland cross alone.

Oh, Parzi, what a piece of work you were and are!

Today, with Newfoundland’s population drop-ping and thousands lined up around the block forsomething, anything, out west I wouldn’t venture aguess as to Copes’ current hat size.

It wasn’t his face. It wasn’t his name. It wasn’taltogether his manner.

But if I had to choose between someone whoregarded human beings as little more than pins on amap and some oily politicians willing to ruin thefishery on behalf of their own sorry skins … Iwould have no hesitation in choosing the grease-ball politician.

Beware the specialist, the single-focus expert, theone-tune scholar.

How will dear Parzival preen himself if and when,by hook or by crook,there really are only250,000 left in New-foundland?

Any fool can sneerat “conventional wis-dom” and play the self-appointed role of badboy by, let us say,declaring that half thepopulation of Canadamust scatter to the U.S.Who can make somedust fly by doing so

and sit smug in his imp-ish ways?

Today, Newfoundland is bleeding population.The Williams administration won’t touch the sub-ject with a 10-foot Parzival. The stink still lingersfrom “resettlement” which some might say had tobe done even at the cost of gutting a generation.

Back in the time, Smallwood put Colonel Alstonon the job. The late George Story always claimedthey arrived here as a pair, Alston and Bolston. Butthe Colonel’s last job before he stuck into the goodwork in Newfoundland was in “resettling” the thou-sands of European refugees after the Second WorldWar.

Strictly a “pins in the map” man was Alston aswas Copes, who turned up on his heels. You can seehow we were all a little gun-shy in the early 1970safter Alston lined up his moving barges and Copesreported that, wait!, moving them from the islandswas only child’s play — moving half them off theisland of Newfoundland is the more sophisticatedthing to do.

Today, when what used to be called “movingfever” is again in the air over Newfoundland, we’ddo worse than remember the theories and times ofboth Alston and Copes and learn something.

Let us not, as Copes scornfully proposes, give upon conventional wisdom altogether.

We’ve been done over by “experts” and need notcall in others to bomb us until the wreckagebounces.

Experts? I make no comparison but the U.S. of A.grabbed the Nazi rocket scientist, Werner vonBraun. He gave the U.S. some really great rocketsbut not much “conventional wisdom” to go alongwith them.

There was a ditty: “I make zem go up. Whoknows vere zey come down? Zat is not my con-cern,” says Werner von Braun.

Ray Guy’s column returns Dec. 1.

RAY GUYA Poke In The Eye

By Stephanie PorterThe Independent

Two weeks ago, The Independent pub-lished the story of three social work stu-dents who wanted a glimpse into the

world of the homeless. For 24 hours, Lesley Bishop, Charlotte

Courage and Mark Griffin lived on the streets ofdowntown St. John’s. Even though their exper-iment was short, and proper safety precautionswere taken, the three were surprised at howdemoralized they became — they were ignoredby passers by, turned away from or kicked outof places. It was nearly impossible to find infor-mation about food banks, soup kitchens or shel-ters. The cold October night they spent on parkbenches was more conducive to anxiety andeavesdropping on drug deals than sleep.

Since then, the trio has received more mediaattention — and plenty of feedback.

Not content to let their experience fade,they’re planning a public forum for Nov. 7.

“We’re going to give our presentation andthen, after that, we’ll have discussion groups,”says Griffin. “We’re not going to have all theanswers, we know that, and we’re hoping thatpeople will bring us the information they haveand we’ll all talk.”

During their 24 hours on the streets, the threewere refused food at one food bank (for nothaving their MCP cards), and weren’t able tofind out about a daily soup kitchen until after itclosed. Officials at RNC headquarters and thehospital were of no help.

Although the students are disappointed theyhaven’t heard from those organizations yet, allhave specifically been invited to the upcomingmeeting. If they don’t turn up, the trio saysthey’ll try to arrange a separate meeting withthem.

“It’s not a chance to place blame,” saysCourage. “But we really are looking for ideasand we really think everyone has a voice.Homelessness affects such a broad section ofthe population.

“We’re just three students who think, wethink we’re really on to something, but we needa lot of help and partnership.”

“Awareness is key,” adds Bishop. “BeforeSeptember (when she began a work placementat Choices for Youth), I never could imagine thewide scope of the problem … and it’s not any-

one’s fault but they don’t realize it.”One of the key things the students would like

to see is an information card, listing phonenumbers for shelters, food banks, help lines andother services, in the hands of anyone who mayneed it — bar staff, store owners, hospital work-ers, police officers, and so on. That way, atleast, those who ask for help may be pointed inthe right direction.

“The homeless still don’t have access toinformation,” says Griffin. “That’s somethingthat’s more easily solved.”

On individual levels, the students say they’veall received response from their work.

“A lot of people were kind of like, ‘You did-n’t spend all night on a bench, did you?’ — yes,we did,” says Courage. “Family and parents arereally proud of what we did, that we’ve takeninitiative, and say that more people need to stepoutside the box they’re in … if you feel passion-ately about something, you need to step up anddo something about it.”

Bishop says a family friend, after hearingabout the project, bought sandwiches for someyouth she saw on the street.

“On that level, I’ve received a goodresponse,” says Bishop. “People who didn’trealize that there was homelessness like that …but giving someone a toonie, or a sandwich, it’sgood on an individual level, but we’re hopingfor something on a larger level.”

Griffin laughs. He says he’s been recognized,now, thanks to the media coverage. He recentlystopped by a supermarket to buy a sandwich.“And the guy behind me was, like ‘So, you’renot hungry now, are you, b’y?’”

Although they took the project on to fulfill arequirement for the fourth year social work pro-gram, the students have gone beyond theircourse outline — and what they would be grad-ed on.

“It’s something we really feel passionateabout,” says Courage. “We can’t let it go. Thereare way too many people going to be out on thestreets tonight or going to be on the streets thisweek … we owe it to them, that our experiencenot just be our experience. That we share it.”

The public presentation and forum is sched-uled for Nov. 7, at the Choices for Youth build-ing on Carter’s Hill Place, St. John’s, 9:30-11a.m. Space is limited, so anyone wishing toattend the forum is asked to RSVP [email protected].

‘We owe it to them’Social work students can’t let project go; planning homelessness forum for next week

By Mandy CookThe Independent

NAPE president Carol Furlong saysNewfoundland and Labrador will have arough winter given so many seasoned

snow plow operators have moved to Alberta andwon’t be returning.

A spokesman for the Transportation Departmentsays government has a full fleet of operators andthere is no cause for concern.

“When the layoffs started, some of the workerswent away to Alberta,” Furlong says. “Some ofthem we’re hearing now are not returning. We’realso hearing that because the ones who did comeback this year came back with stories of the wagepackages that there are, others have been enticed togo to Alberta and they’re taking a leave ofabsence.”

The Williams administration introduced a pilotproject in the summer of 2005 which saw the clo-sure of 13 highway depots. The province’s high-way equipment operators were laid off for thesummer months, despite the need for summermaintenance work. Furlong says the operators arenot just winter workers.

“We’ve had rains and flooding,” she says. “Wethink a lot of that flooding could have been pre-vented had the people been available to do thework on the roads to do the proper maintenance onthe highways.

“That’s the kind of work they do in the summer.They ensure the shoulders of the roads are clearedup, they fill in the culverts, they use the equipmentto dig holes for signage. You need to have skilledworkers to manipulate those big machines.”

Dave Salter, communications director for theTransportation Department, says the province isready for winter road clearing.

“We have all of our operators in place,” saysSalter.

Furlong also says the lack of maintenance workon the roads during the summer will lead to deteri-orating road conditions from winter wear.

“It’s not just for the snow, this is all year themaintenance on the roads need to be carried out,otherwise we’re going to find a couple of yearsdown the road where the roads once again aregoing to be in such a deplorable state no one isgoing to be able to drive on them.”

Furlong says the workers do not feel there is anyincentive to return to a job only to be laid off in thesummer months. She says they are part of a “veryloyal” workforce and feel they have been let downby their employer.

“These are the people who were always ready ata moment’s notice to jump into these big machinesand go out on the roads whenever needed … theclosure of these depots has been more devastatingthan I anticipated. Pardon the pun, but they’re driv-ing the snow plow operators out of the province.”

[email protected]

Experienced snowplow operators move to Alberta; NAPE president worries about roads this winter

Parzival Copes

Mark Griffin, Charlotte Courage, Lesley Bishop in Harbourside Park. Paul Daly/The Independent


Happy Make-Work DayMonday past was Make-Work

Day in Newfoundland andLabrador.

You probably missed it, overshad-owed by the bigger headline of theweek — Alberta job fair chips last fewlichen from Rock. The office crowd atthe Capital Hotel on Kenmount Roadare probably still kicking themselvesfor not charging a cover fee. The job-less horde (about the population ofGander) wouldn’t have been able tocram into Mile One. The ragtag assem-bly reminded me of New Orleans andthe crowd that fled to the Superdomeafter Hurricane Katrina last fall.Nothing like a national catastrophe (inour case, the fall of the fisheries), com-bined with an Alberta gold rush, todraw the suffering to the surface.

Make-Work Day falls in line with theofficial announcement each fall of thetotal amount earmarked by the provin-cial government to help people qualifyfor employment insurance — $12.4million in 2006. That’s half of the $25million initially set aside last year,although only about $10.5 million wasactually spent. Government overesti-mated the amount of help that would beneeded as a result of the devastation inHarbour Breton and Fortune, as well asthe fiasco in the 2005 crab fishery (bet-

ter too much make-work than notenough).

The years 2003 and 2004 were rela-tively tame in terms of make-workspending — $4.25 million apiece.

“Employment will be providedthrough funding community projectsthat strive to provide an enduring bene-fit to communities,” acting MunicipalAffairs Minister John Ottenheimer saidto rather light fanfare (most hands wereoff trying to book passage to Alberta).The thing about enduring benefits isthere has to be someone around toappreciate them.

“As minister responsible for employ-ment support programs, my departmentrecognizes the challenge faced by fishplant workers throughout Newfound-land and Labrador.”

The Danny Williams governmentmay recognize the challenges plantworkers face, but, like the administra-tions before it, this government doesn’tappear to have a sweet clue what to doabout them. (At one point, former pre-

mier Clyde Wells announced an end tomake-work — premature jubilation.)

The wage rates on most make-workprojects hover around $6.75 an hour —which should do absolutely nothing tostem the out-migration tide (it mayprobably push it along).

By rights, Make-Work Day should bedeclared a provincial holiday likeLabour Day, only a cheaper, artificialversion. On that special day we couldall, each and every one of us, write athank-you to Danny on a good-sizedrock and cart it to the nearest communi-ty wharf project for proper planting. Wecould write messages on more rocksand throw them in Ottawa’s direction,in gratitude for Confederation’s manyblessings (EI being chief among them).

All isn’t well in Dannyland (which, ifthe premier was to ask me, would havebeen the perfect wording for the newmarketing brand — Dannyland, plus aclenched fist shaking westward).

The collapse of the outports hasnever been more obvious; likewise,government’s complete inability to doanything about it.

But then there’s not much govern-ment can do besides create the rightenvironment for private enterprise tomake a go of it. Therein lies the rub —the right environment hasn’t been cre-

ated. Nothing has been done to bringabout the return of fish stocks. Thedebate rages over whether anything caneven be done (I’m a believer). Morethan one reader has asked TheIndependent why it bothers to continuewriting fish stories. Partly because theindustry problems are never solved,partly because we’re tied to the sea.Simple.

Canada’s social programs may be theenvy of the world, but they have inad-vertently rotted our work ethic to thecore. Our way of life stopped being reala generation or two ago. Rural New-

foundland needs a new blueprint forsurvival — and politicians with theballs to present it and follow it through.

This place is in desperate new of anew breed of entrepreneurs with thetenacity and attitude to make ruralNewfoundland and Labrador work.

Besides creating the conditions forthe fish to someday return, why can’twe do a better job of marketing the fewfish we have? Wild fish from the NorthAtlantic are the highest quality productin the world — you’d think the high-end markets of the Eastern Seaboardwould pay a fortune to have a bit offresh fish flown in from a family fishbusiness in New Harbour or Arnold’sCove or Port aux Choix or Bonavista.

There may not be much product left,but that should boost the price. Directflights between New York or Boston orLondon once or twice a week would bejust the ticket.

Government can’t solve our prob-lems — only the people can. Thebyelection loss in Signal Hill-QuidiVidi was a message to the provincialTories — don’t get too cocky orcomfortable in your ConfederationBuilding castle. All is not perfect in theKingdom of Dannyland. Not as long asMake-Work Day is celebrated.

[email protected]

Hollywood is free enterprise runby a communist on acid. Itexists to make money but is

regulated by a bloated bureaucracy oftrickle down ass kicking and the soundsof people sucking up. Any half-decententrepreneur in the world would firethe lot of them.

That being said, what a blast it is tobe an extra in an honest to goodnessbig-budget Hollywood movie. TheOutlander is a sci-fi alien Viking horroraction flick being shot in Halifax with alocation in Lark Harbour in the Bay ofIslands near Corner Brook. When Iheard the casting call for large hairywhite men I knew it was made for me.

I arrived in Corner Brook (the pretti-est mill town on the planet, for whatthat’s worth) at 9 p.m. and found out Iwas expected to be on the bus to LarkHarbour at 2 a.m. for an early call. I didthe smart thing and drank a bottle ofwine on an empty stomach and slept forabout two hours. In my wildest dreamsI could not have imagined the lack ofcoffee I encountered when the busarrived at the church the movie peoplehad contracted in Lark Harbour.

God is definitely asleep to have letthe heathen into his basement withoutcoffee or refreshments of any kind. Ihad to steal a coffee from a make-uplady, guzzle the sugary swill and gooutside to vomit in the wet grass.

Tired and disgusted I was stuffedinto a sleeveless Viking Warrior cos-tume and placed in a frozen bog facingbrutal onshore winds and rain while thestar of this piece, James Caviezel,learned how to use a bow and arrow.His only task, a task that was costingabout $100,000 an hour, was to shoot aflaming arrow out to sea. It took allday. No one seemed in charge. When Irealized I wasn’t cold anymore, Inoticed my spear on the ground and myhand still welded into spear-grippingposition. I was hypothermic and enter-ing giddiness, my body like vulcanizedrubber.

Yet I couldn’t leave. This was themovies, the living expression of ourculture, our dreams and our memories.

How could I walk away from that? Iwasn’t going to bail on all the otherpeople standing around me either. Webonded then, having been in the warstogether, united by our mistreatmentand proud of our stupidity like young-sters taking foolish risks. I stood in thatbog staring out to sea, swearing Iwould not return … only to find myselfback at 4 a.m. the next day, laughingeasily with people I suddenly knew.

I met the best people in the extrabusiness, most of them simply wantingto be heroes to their families, cuddlingup on the couch for Dad’s three sec-onds of fame. I was picked along withanother extra to be one of the warriorsthat pulled the ropes on the gangplankof the Viking warship. When the direc-tor liked the take of my friend’s faceand gave him the chance at some realface time in the movie, I high fived myfriend with all the joy that will be in theroom when he is watching it with hisfamily. When people get together sim-ply for an experience their whole mindsare open and the experience is ampli-fied by sharing it with others. We alsocame together in the realization that agood elementary school teacher couldmanage the movie chaos better thanany of the people in charge.

It’s easy for me to be glib, as I haveno real stake in the project. It is not mylife or career. Maybe I don’t understandthe pressure a person feels as they pissaway millions of dollars. I could standin the bog and enjoy the spectacle,

never worrying about being discov-ered.

But what started as a healthy con-tempt for all of them eased into agrudging respect. After all, every insti-tution has its politics and the alternateposturing and brown-nosing of themovie business is not much differentthan that of a bank, except the peoplewho are actually interesting.

An extra is in the best position toenjoy the making of a movie. On thesecond day I stood with my new fastfriends on a hill overlooking the entireharbour as the action unfolded. No jokewas left untold, no words held back bythe restraints of normal life. We wereVikings, our King was dead and wewere sure the best tribute to him was tolaugh until we ourselves perished fromexhaustion. Helicopter cams whirredoverhead. Cranes whipped camerasalong side the flaming ship. It wasApocalypse Now with half the napalmand no one particularly caring howcrazy the Colonel was.

The atmosphere was open and free. Itmade me feel young. They do not putugly women in movies, although thatrule does not apply to men, yours trulya fine example. There were beautifulwomen everywhere (some I thinkfound me charming). I love my partnermore than she will ever believe for thedignity, joy and laughter she brings intomy life but it doesn’t hurt to know oneother beautiful woman in the worldmight have me.

Then the horror of the thought over-whelmed me and my family lifeflashed before my eyes. I internalizedhow much I love my life and familyand how lucky I was to be laughingmyself hoarse in such good company.

I had a holiday that skirted thefringes of bohemia — a little smoke, alittle booze and a lot of laughs. I suckedin all that crazy energy and let it outravenous for family life and happy withevery decision I ever made.

Not a bad week.

Doug Bird, The Independent’s car-toonist, lives in Holyrood.

When we were Vikings

RYAN CLEARYFightingNewfoundlander

YOURVOICEA job for ex-patsDear editor,

Just a note that may be of someworth in our ongoing battle with thefederal government, and also toeducate central Canadians on pastand present issues that could have ahuge impact on our province’s finan-cial viability.

The Rick Mercer Report of Oct. 24highlighted a few of the issues thatNewfoundland and Labrador is tryingto achieve with no success — due tothe federal government’s non-inter-est.

A couple of examples: fallow-field legislation, as well as theprovince’s inability to get an equitystake in the oil industry, whichAlberta already enjoys!

The point of this note is that televi-sion programs of this nature have avast audience from coast to coast …what better way than to use thismedia network to get our messageout!

I would think other well-knownex-pats Newfoundlanders would be

eager to get behind the cause andconvey to the folks up-along thestruggle and frustration that we facehere on the Rock.

A few names that come to mind:Rex Murphy, Mary Walsh, CathyJones, Gordon Pinsent, Seamus O’Regan. I’m sure I have missed many.I would like to think that if enoughhigh-profile folks get involved that itwould make a significant impact.Large numbers of Newfoundlandersand Labradorians live across thiscountry, and we all know an electionis not far away.

We have to change the tunnelvision of the Margaret Wentes andJeffery Simpsons, who spew thevenom of Upper Canada. We certain-ly can’t count on the federal govern-ment. I intentionally didn’t mentionpoliticians. They have been a part ofthe problem — it’s unlikely that theycould/will be part of the solution.

Bill Surette,Harbour Grace

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Zachary Turnerdied of gender biasDear editor,

I am somewhat bemused at all thehead scratching regarding the murderof Zachary Turner and the fact that noone has spoke the simple truth abouthow it occurred. Zachary Turner wasthe most tragic and innocent victim todate of the gender bias that pervadesthe Newfoundland and Labrador jus-tice system. Shirley Turner was grant-ed bail and custody of Zachary due tothis bias.

It is highly unlikely that a mancharged with murdering his femalespouse in the U.S. and who fled toNewfoundland would be granted bailwhile awaiting an extradition hearing.

He certainly wouldn’t have beengranted sole, unsupervised custody ofa young child — regardless of his lackof criminal history or high level ofeducation.

All violence is wrong and each caseshould be dealt with in an equitablemanner regardless of the sex of theoffender and the victim. Until suchtime as the police, Crown attorneys,victim services and even some judgesare willing to look beyond their com-fortable politically correct stereotypementality that caused this problem,no solution will be found.

Glenn Stockley,St. John’s

Whitbourne boys wait for justiceDear editor,

I cannot understand how PremierDanny Williams can say he stands upfor all of us when he and his govern-ment are still ignoring the victims ofthe old Whitbourne boys home. Wehave been waiting now for justice forover 30 years, and it seems like we aregoing to have to wait even longerbefore anything is resolved and we

can get on with our lives. Please, Mr. Williams, I beg of you

on behalf of the other victims, couldyou please give this important matteryour attention and let us pick up thepieces of what is left of our lives.Thank you.

Tony Edwards,Mount Pearl

But what started as a

healthy contempt for all of

them eased into a

grudging respect.

DOUG BIRDGuest Column

All isn’t well in Dannyland (which,

if the premier was to ask me, would have

been the perfect wording for the new marketing brand — Dannyland, plus a clenched fist shaking westward).


YOURVOICE

Dear editor,I just wanted to send a quick thanks

for the great job Mandy Cook didwith my story in the Oct. 13 edition(‘I can’t escape it’, Music has alwaysbeen part of Karla Pilgrim’s life —from her earliest days in a bassinetteunder the piano at church, to her cur-rent job as a gigging musician. Nextstop: Nashville.) The story was greatto come home to. Just so you know, Iwon’t be the next Nashville star, but Imade some great contacts and con-

nections while I was there and will begoing back in the summer to followup on some things. Also, I loved thepicture with the article, so if youwouldn’t mind passing that along thatwould be awesome!

I am working on getting a websiteup and getting my debut album donefor a summer release so keep you’reeyes and ears open for that.

Thanks again for your support.Karla Pilgrim, St. John’s

Iam old enough and lucky enough toclearly remember my great-grand-father. He was very old when I was

very young, but the connection is there.He was born in 1878 and it is now 2006— that is quite a generational span.

He was a beloved St. John’s doctor, aretired Lieutenant Colonel in theBritish Army, and a front line doctor inthe First World War who invented thegas mask. He was, as we would saytoday, the alpha male of his time, andstill a serious dude in his 80s.

I remember him, and I got to knowhim through reading his letters andother writing. We don’t have a lot incommon. He was class bound (upper),had an almost fascist disdain for poli-tics, was a true believer in raw capital-ism, and yet was, paradoxically, gener-ous to a fault with his patients.

There is one trait we share — we areboth passionate Newfoundlanders.

The defining event of his and his sib-ling’s lives was the First World War. Itwas devastating. It was said his sister— my great aunt, who I also remember— never married, in memory of her

suitors who were killed in the War. Nofamily in Newfoundland wasuntouched.

It was said Newfoundland’s politicaland economic troubles were brought onby the death of so many young men.The “flower of a generation” was cutdown, so they weren’t here to save usfrom Commission of Government, orperhaps even Confederation. Or per-haps they would have embraced both.We will never know.

I was raised to believe we paid a ter-rible price for their loss. It is somethingmy ancestors wanted me to understandand remember. It was important tothem, and they wanted it to be impor-tant to me. It is, if you will, an impor-tant inter-generational message.

Which brings me to our own, lesstroubled times. Mercifully, the flower

of our youth isn’t being slaughtered.Certainly we have brave men andwomen in Afghanistan, and the loss ofeven one is inconceivable, but it is notcomparable to the “war to end allwars.”

Our young arewhole, and healthy,and leaving. They areleaving to go else-where for opportuni-ties this province can-not offer them.

What will be thefuture effect of theirloss? With so much talk about out-migration, and with the Williams gov-ernment launching consultations allover the place, is anyone asking thequestion: what will be the long-termeffect of so many leaving?

Perhaps it is time for the university tolaunch a multi-disciplinary study. Withan election in a year, and the politicalrhetoric factories gearing up, maybe weneed a reality check. I think we needreal numbers from an independentsource, not dubious government statis-

tics. How many have we lost? Are thebest and the brightest going? How dowe define the term “best and bright-est”? Are we losing our leaders? Ourentrepreneurs? Our doctors, nurses, and

teachers? What aboutthose of us who stay?Do we have desirablecharacteristics too, orare we only the onestoo old, to stubborn,or with no initiative?Or is it the otherway? Are the onlypeople left going to

be oil company employees, bureaucratsand people on social assistance? Whatdoes this massive out-migration meanin the long term? What will be the cost?Or is there no impact? Perhaps this isall much ado about nothing.

So much work is being done to lookat our forest, fishery, and mining indus-tries. But the trees are cut, the fishcaught and the ore dug for someoneelse, not us. Couldn’t we have a look atsomething that really affects every last(and here’s a bitter quote) mother’s son

(and daughter) of us?Could our economists, sociologists,

political scientists, and historians givethis some attention? Could a frame-work of study be hammered out? Couldsome money be found? The universitywould ensure no political interferencetainted the outcome.

There is even work for the philoso-phy department. Is this love of place acurse? Is the need to look around andsay, “this is my home” nothing morethan the romantic nonsense some say itis? Should economics be the sole guideof our lives?

Politicians will be bawling for thenext year about issues that affect us. Itwould be nice to get some hard data toguide us through the storm. Who’sleaving, how many of them are there,and what does their loss mean for thefools like myself, who would neverconsider leaving.

Will my great-grandchildren study inhistory class about the generation cutdown in Europe, and the one thatbloomed in Alberta?

[email protected]

Cutting down another generationIVAN MORGANRant & Reason

NDP TAKE IT‘The story wasgreat to come home to’

Dear editor,Something about the job fare held earlier this

week in St. John’s rubs me the wrong way. Why is ourgovernment not banning this sort of recruitment fromoutside entities looking for our work force? If peoplewant to leave on their own free will without any exter-nal influence, that’s fair. Never in our history has ourprovince been in such a crisis regarding out-migra-tion. If ever we needed our government to put a planin place to stop such a mass exodus of our people thetime is now. If things were different, and the peopledrain was not such a huge issue, well then in that case,there is nothing wrong with outside recruiters becauseof the healthy balance of people coming and going.

So Danny, step up to the plate and say no to theseleaches seducing our most valuable resource (no pre-mier it’s not the precious oil I speak of — it’s our peo-ple). If you are serious about out-migration take thisstep and say no to outside job fairs.

Roger Linehan,St. John’s

How abouta ban, Dan?

Credit where credit isn’t dueDear editor,

The announcement of the influx ofdollars and hopefully the full-time jobspromised last week by CookeAquaculture in Belleoram is great newsfor the coast of bays. The DannyWilliams government could not holdback the enthusiasm and excitement ofthe day, with every member jumping tothe media to celebrate and take creditfor the jobs and financial benefits thataccompany the announcement for ruralNewfoundland.

The PC government played little orno part in bringing Cooke to Belleoram,the island and the benefits of the islanditself brought to Cooke. Cooke did notcome to Belleoram because of theinvestment of the provincial govern-ment (remember Stephenville, theinvestment of $150 million did not getthe paper mill to remain open). The PC

government is starved to take credit forsomething, anything positive that hap-pens outside the overpass and is first toclaim bragging rights. Whether it is abroken down ferry, a closed fish plantor a paper mill, the PC government isnowhere to be seen. I say to TomRideout, who stated the jobs were noton Water Street but in ruralNewfoundland, this was due mainlybecause freshly hatched salmon wouldnot survive in St. John’s harbour, it hasnothing to do with his government pro-moting rural Newfoundland, althoughthey like to take credit.

I say to the members of the House ofAssembly: get back to governing theprovince instead of spending timecheerleading the premier or playing thepart of a puppet — all the residents ofthe province do not wear blinkers.

Boyd Legge, Mount Pearl

Dear editor,If the pitcher plant is ubiquitous, why

haven’t I seen a photograph in TheIndependent? Is government vindictivetoward a medium that digs up a few fin-gers with rusty rings? I cannot believethe crowd on the hill would use my

taxes to attempt to silent a strong dem-ocratic voice. I don’t mind a few bucksbeing shared among all media to pro-mote the new logo, even though it does-n’t grow on rocks as government litera-ture states.

What has become of fair and open

government? Do they want golden bellson their toes? I’m waiting for guilty par-ties to be brought to justice. What’s hap-pening with the political spending scan-dal investigation over all these months?Are the politicians waiting for time todim public memories, so rings won’t

shine too brightly by election time nextOctober?

This province needs investigativejournalism. Those who make laws, peo-ple receiving the second highest politi-cal salaries in the country, ministers whorefuse to increase the country’s lowest

minimum wage, can be assured that thevoice of democracy will be alive andwell long after their political ashes arescattered by the shifting winds.

Jim Combden,Badger’s Quay

‘This province needs investigative journalism’

NDP leader Lorraine Michael (left) is congratulated by Progressive Conservative candidate Jerome Kennedy and Premier Danny Williams afterher Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi byelection win Wednesday night. Michael received 1,968 votes to Kennedy’s 1,595, a difference of 373 votes. JackHarris (second from left), who passed the NDP leadership position on to Michael after 16 years, was on hand for the celebrations. Voter turnoutfor the byelection was pegged at 43 per cent.


Dear editor,This most recent fisheries consulta-

tion process being touted by Premier -Danny Williams is, in my opinion, noth-ing but more political chicanery. If therewas serious intent on the part of the gov-ernment to do something meaningfulabout the terrible state of the fisheriesand associated demise of rural

Newfoundland, the focus would be:first, on demanding compensation fromthe feds for the destruction caused bytheir mindless mismanagement andabuse of the resource; second, on therestructuring of DFO (that useless andself-serving bureaucratic regime head-

quartered on the Rideau); third, onincreased funding for scientific researchso essential for any rebuilding of thestocks; and fourth, on ending the uncon-trolled pillaging by foreign fishing fleetsoperating both inside and outside oureconomic zone.

It seems that in all those areas the sta-tus quo is fine. It is only as it relates tothe relatively helpless fisher folk thatdrastic changes have to be made in orderto further accommodate the failure oftheir political leaders to properly man-age and protect the resource.

Lloyd Rees,Conception Bay South

Time for governmentto get serious

There is even workfor the philosophydepartment. Is this

love of place a curse?

Ned Pratt says he has noproblem switching gearsbetween assignments. Hecould be on an industrial site,shooting a musician at work,putting together a corporatereport, standing on the bar-

rens of the Avalon Peninsula, or shooting a decaying fish inhis freezer: each picture is high-end, well considered, andhas a bit of himself in it. For the final installment of TheIndependent’s series of guest-photo portfolios, Pratt hasselected examples of his sumptuous, striking work.

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTNEWS • 98 • INDEPENDENTNEWS NOVEMBER 3, 2006

INCAMERA

By Stephanie PorterThe Independent

Ned Pratt says it was the “speedof photography” that initiallydrew him into his current

career.He later came to appreciate the free-

dom the medium gave him to create,document events, explore emotions,and spend time with objects of beauty— though not always in the tradition-al sense of the word.

Photography wasn’t the first careerPratt tried on. He has an undergraddegree in art history from Acadia, andstudied a year of architecture at theUniversity of British Columbia. Hewent on to the Nova Scotia College ofArt and Design, where he originallyintended to study painting.

But the required photography

course there caught him off guard. Heenjoyed the process and the results hegot — and hasn’t turned back.

He laughs as he thinks back. “Ioften wonder if, maybe now would bea good time to go back to architectureschool,” he says. “Because I’ve livedin buildings now, I have a sense ofwhat a building should do, what ahouse should be … then I was soyoung, maybe I could have designed adorm room, that was about it.

“But it’s too slow a process for me.I like things to be quick. One of thereasons I pursued photography insteadof painting … the speed of photogra-phy was something I really enjoyed.

“I do daydream about paintingsometimes, but I don’t ever do it. I feellike I’ve made the right decisions. Ilike what I do.”

After graduating in 1990, Pratt

started his career with the SundayExpress as a photojournalist — wherespeed is certainly a virtue. When thepaper folded in 1991, Pratt set up hisown business, which is still goingstrong.

Pratt’s studio on Brine Street indowntown St. John’s looks a bit like ayellow barn from the outside. Inside,the high ceilings, white walls and rawwood surround a flexible, airy, andunpretentious workspace.

The darkroom, virtually unused fortwo years, is slowly being taken overby files of printed work, and equip-ment new and old. Pratt has come toembrace digital technology almostcompletely — the one exception beinghis breathtaking and vast landscapephotographs, which are still taken onfilm.

“It sort of rejuvenated my interest in

photography,” he says. “The newtechnology got me interested in exper-imenting once again … as soon as Irealized the plusses of it, I couldn’twait to get face and eyes into it.”

VERSATILE These days, Pratt travels frequentlyacross the country on commercial,industrial and corporate jobs. He stilldoes portraits, publicity shots, foodphotography and shoots artwork.

“I’ve been working away, trying tokeep the business as versatile as I can,because it has to be,” he says.

Whether shooting film or digital,Pratt says he’s always preferred towork with medium or large-formatcameras (meaning, in film terms, theactual size of the negative is larger) —providing great detail, clarity andalways high-end work.

And that’s not all. “I’m always try-ing to keep up with my own work andtrying to subsidize that end of things,”he says.

Pratt, the art photographer, is repre-sented by Christina Parker Gallery inSt. John’s. He’s had a number of soloand group exhibitions over the years,and he’s working on a couple of bod-ies of work that may evolve intofuture shows. (“Although that doesn’talways matter to me,” he says.“Sometimes just doing it is enough,and if the pictures end up in a box, I’mjust as happy.”)

One, a series of photos of a salmon,was inspired by a dream.

“When I was a kid, my father (artistChristopher Pratt) and I had the samedream: that you would be out fishingfor salmon, and the salmon wouldcome in, and instead of being this

wonderful, strong, silver thing, itwould be this dead, decaying mass,”he says. “It was an incredibly disap-pointing dream. And I always havethis nightmare in times of stress.”

Pratt decided to photograph asalmon — starting off fresh and com-plete — over and over, taking it out ofthe freezer for a photo session everyfour months.

“The thing that’s sort of interesting,as this thing starts to deteriorate, it’sstill beautiful. It’s not silver or pristineany more, but … there’s all these greattextures and colours and it still photo-graphs beautifully even though it’srepulsive. So it’s a lovely thing.

“It’s about beauty in places youdon’t necessarily look for it. It’s sortof nice when you’re a photographerbecause … you don’t feel there’s lotsof people looking at it, thinking it’s

beautiful. You’re on your own, it’syour own idea.

“Maybe you’re spending time withless-than-beautiful things, but you’restill enjoying it.”

The fish looks a little worse forwear — and due for another round ofportraits just before Christmas.

Pratt’s other new body of work is aseries of nudes. He says his firstattempts at shooting nude models wasstiff — he wasn’t able to relax, andcouldn’t help his models relax.Realizing this, he changed tactics.

SCULPTURAL“Instead of trying to soften it up, I’d

try to stiffen her up,” he says. A make-up artist painted the model completelywhite, stone-like, and Pratt pho-tographed her against a black back-ground.

“We wanted to make it as sculpturalas possible,” he says. To give the illu-sion of missing limbs, they paintedarms and legs black, so they faded intothe background. The result is stark,transfixing, and gorgeous.

“It wound up for me being a way forme to deal with (shooting nudes),” hesays. “It looks visceral but also verybeautiful — but not easily beautiful.”

When he has time, Pratt still enjoysdriving around the Avalon Peninsula,shooting the landscape. His pieces aregenerally large, favouring barrens orwide expanses of fields or water.Again, the shapes are stark, andengaging.

“I always look for the subtle thingsthat break that line of the horizon,” hesays. “I look for things that have a lotof room around them, a lot of airaround them, like the landscape does

itself. That’s what always catches myeye.

“I like putting things in the middle.I’d like to have a show just called Stuffin the middle, just simple shapes witha lot of air … I think of it as cleancomposition. Not clean as in sparse, orsterile, but clean in the sense youdon’t feel tempted to look outside theframe for more information. It’s self-contained.”

For publication in The Independent,Pratt chose primarily portrait work —but the examples run the gamut, fromhis first published newspaper photo(the three mischievous children) to apublicity shot of fiddler DannetteEddy to corporate work. Two piecesfrom his statue shoot are also includ-ed.

Getting ready to zip off to NewBrunswick on another assignment,

Pratt seems to take it all in stride,treating each shot with as much careand importance as the last — whetherit’s of a lawyer, a telephone pole, acelebrity, or a dead fish.

“It’s all your own work,” he says.“No matter what you photograph,you’re responsible for the end prod-uct. Your own work, it just dependshow collaborative it is. In a commer-cial shoot, you collaborate with artdirectors and clients — you put yourspin on things but give them what theyneed.

“When you’re working on yourown things, your responsibility is toyourself. It’s not hard, it’s kind ofinteresting. The trick is, when you’redone working, make sure you have theenergy to keep working for yourself.”

[email protected]

‘Face and eyes into it’


LIFESTORY

By Pam Pardy GhentFor The Independent

VERNER ALLEN MORGAN1919-2006

Verner Morgan was many things: father, husband,grandfather, uncle, brother, friend. He also served inthe Second World War and deserves to be honoured

for the contributions and the sacrifices he made at that time— and all through his 86 years.

Spencer Morgan has warm memories of his father who, byall accounts, was kind, loving, and incredibly gentle. He sayshis father was “excellent in every way you can mention orimagine.”

His father had one mood. “His way was a patient way,” hesays.

Morgan’s wife of 63 years, Marion (nee Tilley) mourns herhusband’s absence and proudly displays their memories onevery wall in her home.

“He was a perfect husband, a perfect father, he was alwaysaround. Being out in the garden made him the happiest, andthe proudest,” she says, admiring the fall colours that envel-op her pretty home.

“All that beauty just isn’t the same without him around toshare it with. I go out on the deck and remember the times wespent out there. But like his favourite passage in the Bible, toeverything there is a season, and as sad as I am, time has stillpassed.”

Morgan didn’t speak much about his time in the war. “Ourgrandkids were the ones who were curious, and they wouldcome and ask questions from time to time,” Marion says.

She says she got a shock one day when one of them askedwhat he thought of the Germans at the time of the war.

“He paused and said, ‘I suppose they were only doing whatthey had to do, they were told to do it, so they did it.’ Thatwas Verner’s way, not to blame, but I was shocked he felt thatway, to hear it put that way made sense,” she says.

While many who enlisted were unemployed, Morgan, at21, left a job with United Towns Electric Company, where heearned $12 a week, to serve in the Royal Navy.

He was sent to Skaghness, England for six week of train-ing. During his first night there, he experienced his first airraid. He was sent on a torpedo course in Gangees, England,before joining the crew on the HMS King George V.

The ship sailed to Reykjavik, Iceland where Americanconvoys carried their supplies. The King George V took thesupplies on to Russia. Morgan served as a shell gunner ongun No. 3, in the front of the ship. His job was to put the shellinto the gun.

One evening in May 1941, while at Scapa Flow, the crewwatched the HMS Hood and the HMS Prince of Wales,accompanied by some escorting vessels, set sail. Morgan’sship left port later that evening. The next morning he heardrumblings the Hood had been sunk and all on board wentdown. The captain confirmed the rumours, and told them thatthe Prince of Wales had been put out of commission.

The King George V would now be engaging the Germanbattleship, The Bismarck, before the day was done.

While Morgan didn’t see much from his position behindthe gun, as The Bismarck sank all hands were called on deckto watch and experience their place in history. He recounted

the tale to wide-eyed grandchildren, describing how TheBismarck was upside down with only one-quarter of the bowabove the water when he saw her. They were not assigned topick up the survivors — that task was for smaller ships.

He spent 22 months on the ship that sank The Bismarck.While his boat was being refitted, he went to PortsmouthBarracks where he trained for the Dieppe raid. He alsoserved for a short time on the submarine P-31 Seawolf.

Morgan was later sent to Halifax, where he worked at thedepot driving the trucks that supplied the ships he oncesailed on. The last year of the war he was transferred to FleetAir Arm Base in Seaborn, N.S. In November, 1945, hereturned home, his tour of duty over.

He returned to Upper Gullies, and to the wife he had mar-ried while on an eight-day leave. He was welcomed back atthe United Towns Electric Company (now NewfoundlandPower) where he worked as supervisor of the line departmentuntil his retirement in 1983.

“The 20 years of his retirement we spent out here,” Marionsays of her deck. “Every day we sat together and read theBible side by side.”

He was her good friend, her life partner, and he valued hisfamily as much as they valued him. “He used to say he wason the road a lifetime — gone for the war, gone on the roadfor work — so he just valued being home and being out inthe yard at the flowers and at the vegetables.”

She proudly displays a pantry full of things they grew andcanned together in his last year.

“We just did everything together,” she says as she watchesthe leaves fall and sorts through their many photographs,their lifetime of memories.

Bags of apples from the tree in the garden lie on the backporch, waiting to be turned into something wonderful. “It’sthat time of year again,” she says.

There is, it seems, a season for everything.

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‘The road of a lifetime’Verner Morgan of Upper Gullies witnessed the sinking of The Bismark

Verner Morgan in his Navy days

lifestyle,” she says.Dr. Ed Hunt, medical consultant

for the Department of Health, sayshe is unaware of any shortage ofdoctors in central Newfoundland.He says Central Health has donean “exceptional job” recruitingNewfoundland-trained doctors tothe area and the Norris Arm clinicclosure is a loss of convenience —not care — to the residents of thatcommunity.

“These are private physicianswho made their own personal deci-

sions to set up clinics in thosecommunities,” he says.

“If a private physician goesthere, as a government official wewould not have any control overthat, nor any control over why theywould not continue to go there.

“It’s nice to have a doctor inyour backyard but whether or notyou actually need one 15 minutesdrive away, the community and theregion would have to speak tothat.”

[email protected]

From page 1

‘Doctor in your backyard’

Newfoundland and Labrador statistics for 2005-2006, as of March 31, 2006

Number of practicing physicians: 971Number of general practitioners: 471Number of fee-for-service GPs: 338Number of salaried GPs: 133Average physician age: 46 (287 physicians under the age of 40;137 over the age of 60)


AROUND THE BAYThe New Industries – Eckhart Knitting Mills atBrigus employs 100 people. Adlers an Englishchocolate firm which transferred its wholeplant from England is putting out a good prod-uct with 100 employees. Koch shoes inHarbour Grace are turning out four hundredpairs a day. Fifty per cent of its goods are soldoutside the province. It employs 150 persons.

— The Stephenville News, Oct.12, 1957

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “This country has already spoken in no uncer-tain way as to whether solicitors of large corpo-rations, which may have dealings with the gov-ernment, shall become its prime minister. In1900, when Mr. Movine then solicitor for theReid Newfoundland Company, made a bid forthe premiership, he was whipped to a frazzle.”– Hon. J.S. Currie

— The St. John’s Daily Star, Oct. 23, 1919

AROUND THE WORLD The Postmaster has received letters asking thewhereabouts of Moses de Brabant and WilliamBrown. The latter is a cooper, formerly ofNewfoundland, and if he wishes not to beresponsible for a mother’s broken heart he willwrite to his mother, Mrs. Catherine Brown, careof Mrs. D. Morrissey, 109 New Gower Street,St. John’s, Newfoundland. The letter to thePostmaster tells a pitiful story of the way he lefther.

— The Times, St. John’s, Nov.4, 1891

EDITORIAL STANDIf there is any one thing more disagreeable thananother in the social circle, really loathsome inany kind of society, it is to hear a poverty strick-en aristocrat, too lazy to work and ashamed tobeg, talk of what he once was, of his richuncles, aunts and cousins, of the splendour ofhis father’s mansion and his mother’s ‘firstsociety.’He had far better date his origin from a hogsty,and then the public, now bored to death withstories of his ancient eminence, would give himcredit for some energy in getting up in theworld.

— The Carbonear Sentinel, Oct. 29, 1840

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor – I, along with a large number ofother residents of Happy Valley, am getting per-turbed over the large number of four-leggedmonsters known as “dogs” that are constantlyroaming the streets of the Valley. Not too many people like to walk to a nearbystore or a friend’s house with a shotgun underone arm and a stick under the other for protec-tion. Some people have to tie their dog whilethe so-called “big wheels” (as they think) canlet theirs run loose. These dogs are going to bite someone yet, orelse be the cause of an accident because if youare scared of them you could run almost any-where. If any dog crosses my path from this outand I have a stick handy you can say BonVoyage to your dog!!! Yours truly, (Miss) R.C.Thomey

— The Northern Reporter, Oct. 21, 1967

YEARS PAST We regret to observe that the present Executivehas adopted the most notorious of the acts of itspredecessor, namely, dispatching Soldiers onthe eve of an Election to the scene of the con-test to overawe the friends of the popular candi-date, and to bias the votes in favour of theExecutive nominee. Can we be living under theaegis of the British Constitution, when suchillegal and unconstitutional acts as this are per-petrated upon the people with impunity?

— The Patriot, Nov.7, 1868

AY

Renseignements / Information1 (800) 267-7362 www.senate-senat.ca/fopo.asp

Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

Comité sénatorial permanent des pêches et des océans

Àvous la parole !

Le Comité sénatorial des pêches étudie la gestion des pêches au-delà de la limite de 200 milles et sur les défis qu’affronte l’industrie. Il tiendra des audiences publiques à St. John’s le jeudi 9 novembre 2006.

Les audiences auront lieu au salon Garrison/Signal au Fairmont Newfoundland, 115, Cavendish Square, St. John’s, dès 8 h.

À compter de 16 h 30, le public est invité à partager sa vision des pêches avec le comité sous forme de courtes présentations (environ 4 minutes). L’inscription se fera sur place la journée même.

Le public est invité à assister aux rencontres qui se tiendront à l’hôtel :The Fairmont Newfoundland115, Cavendish Square, St. John’s

You have the floor!

The Senate Fisheries Committee is studying fisheries management beyond 200 miles and the challenges the industry faces. It will be in St. John’s for public hearings on Thursday, November 9, 2006.

Hearings will be held in the Garrison/Signal Room of the Fairmont Newfoundland, 115 Cavendish Square, starting at 8:00 a.m.

As of 4:30 p.m., members of the public are invited to share their views on the fisheries with the Committee by making short statements (approximately 4 minutes). There will be same-day on-site registration.

The public is invitedto attend these meetings at:Fairmont Newfoundland115 Cavendish Square, St. John’s

The Daily Star, OCt. 26, 1926

Sunday Morning.Joy Norman, Sherry Ryan, Jacinda Beals,

Colleen Power and Cherie Pyne are nominated forFemale Artist of the Year. This one is tougher tocall, but I’ll say it’s Sherry Ryan this time. JoyNorman is coming up fast, though.

Call it pro-Townie bias if you will, but I’mgoing to make a bold prediction and give HeyRosetta! a bit of a sweep in the New Artist/Group,Pop/Rock Group and Album of the Year. The year2005 was one of big shows, recording and touringfor this band formed in 2004. It’s great stuff if youhaven’t heard it, and the buzz is hitting otherCanadian cities.

Great Big Sea only appear twice on the ballot —Entertainer of the Year and Group of the Year —and they’ll probably win both. The only band thatcould ever give GBS a run for their money is themighty Buddy Whasisname and the Other Fellers,and they’ve declined their nominations this year— a generous move GBS and the Fables have alsoemployed from time to time in the interests of giv-ing lesser-known performers a crack at the spot-light.

This year MusicNL has done the right thing byadding a Side Musician Award to honour all thebrave men and women whose job it is to playbeside and behind the artist at centre stage and

make them look and sound good without drawingattention to themselves in the process.

It’s not easy, but if you had to pick somebodywho makes it seem that way, you need look no fur-ther than Sandy Morris. An honourable mentionhere should go to Pat Boyle, who appears to haveplayed with everybody Sandy missed.

Finally there’s my own selfish reason for show-ing up. I, too, am nominated for an award:Alternative Artist of the Year. I’m not picking awinner here, but I am going to attend the gala incase my name gets called so I can run up to thepodium and prattle on for about a minute-and-a-half too long about how great it is to win an award,any award (which it is), how much fun I had mak-ing the album (which is true) and how much Iappreciate everyone’s efforts (which sounds true,but is in fact the understatement of the century).

As with all the awards, the competition for alter-native artist is stiff — Mark Bragg, Trailer Camp,LizBand and Madman Orchestra — so I don’tthink I’ll knock myself out rehearsing my tri-umphant speech. During much of the drive out Iworked on my “classy disappointment” face. Youknow the one: it’s the face Martin Scorsese wearsto the Oscars every year.

Next week I’ll take a look at what went down atthe MusicNL conference, what was achieved, whowon what and whether I was right or wrong.

The big winners? Clockwise from top: Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett and Sean McCann of Great Big Sea; Sherry Ryan; TimBaker of Hey! Rosetta. Paul Daly photos/The Independent

‘A bit of a sweep’From page 1


VOICEFROMAWAY

By Anshuman IddamsettyFor The Independent

For a Newfoundlander in the 1960s,working abroad meant more than a fewshort months out west — it was a deci-

sion that tore young men from their roots,where moving a province away was akin tobeing stranded, alone, in the loneliest corner ofthe Earth.

With the advent of cell phones and theInternet, travel today is much different —home is always just a click away.

Bob Peddle of Port Rexton remembers mov-ing to Ontario in 1968, and an entirely differ-ent image: a faded snapshot where scores ofdisplaced Newfoundlanders from all over theisland came together to share in their isolationand misery.

“We would meet at The Conroy, a localwatering hole. And right in the middle of thetable would be this mighty jug of ale. Thequestion would then be — who heard fromhome?” says Peddle.

This was the ritual that helped him andmany other Newfoundlanders in Toronto dealwith their isolation. “I was 19 at the timeattending university … whatever was going onat home, we couldn’t be part of.”

Located north of Toronto in Downsview, thepub saw hundreds of Newfoundlanders gatherand, over drinks, trade stories and letters —any scrap of information about the island.

“Even though it was, say, 1,000 miles, it wasthe same as going to theend of the world. We wereso disconnected fromhome, and so lonely —some of us had a roughtime,” recalls Peddle.

“Many of them, youngmen too … they were notthere because they wantedto settle, they were forcedto make a living.”

The isolation wasemphasized by the totallack of local news coverage onNewfoundland. “Around the pub we’d findout some of the big news items, of fishermenbeing lost for example … we became aware ofthese things not from the national news pick-ing it up — not at all — but often through theletters.

“These letters back and forth provided boththe good news and the bad news. It might nothave been bad family news, but provincial.

Particularly those things related to the sea —those weren’t far from our hearts.”

Letters became the lifeblood for the peoplewho gathered every Saturday, as there were lit-tle to no alternatives to reach loved ones backhome.

“You have to put yourself back in 1968.Long-distance calls were very expensive andvery rare. Few of us would even have themoney to make these calls,” Peddle says. “If

there was a phone call itwas regarding a death ina family.”

Peddle was one of thelucky few who wouldhave fairly current newsby exchanging letterswith his family backhome.

“One of the littlepromises I made to myparents,” says Peddle.“They in turn would

send me a letter once a week, so almost invari-ably I would have something from home closeby.”

Peddle discovered The Conroy throughcousins and high-school friends who were alsoin Downsview, working at the factories.

“There were thousands of Newfs literally inDownsview, of all ages too. It wouldn’t beuncommon to see 100 at the pub, which was afairly large dance club/bar by today’s stan-

dards.”According to Peddle, the Downsview area

in the 1960s was the place whereNewfoundlanders lived, the ancestor to theBrampton of today. For a decade it was their“little Newfoundland.”

“We gravitated towards one another … andthe common meeting ground was the localwatering hole.”

This was a necessity in one way, as Ontariofour decades ago was not a very invitingprovince for an isolated Newfoundlander.“The Newfie jokes were rampant,” saysPeddle. “They cut deeply.

“There wasn’t even a rivalry … a jealousyperhaps, from the locals about us — we wereprepared to take on jobs that locals in Ontariowouldn’t touch.”

When Christmas break arrived, Peddle washard pressed to leave Hodge’s Cove and returnto his studies.

“I did come from an isolated community,but there was social warmth present that waslost in a city as big as Toronto.”

The picture of 100 men, huddled over theirbeer, hanging on to any shred of news fromhome will never leave Peddle.

“We were all full grown albeit young men,”he says. “Bawling in our beer mugs … it’s animage that will go to the grave with me.”

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

A place to meetFor a Newfoundlander in Ontario in the 1960s, solace came Saturday afternoons, when dozens of homesick gathered at a local watering hole

“We were all full grownalbeit young men. Bawlingin our beer mugs … It’s an

image that will go to thegrave with me.”

Bob Peddle

Downtown Toronto Reuters

Idon’t write columns. I have been involvedwith newspapers most of my adult life, buton Monday, Oct. 30, for the very first time,

I found myself in the position of being over-whelmed by what I saw.

A reporter and I were assigned to cover theAlberta Job Fair, taking place at the CapitalHotel in St. John’s. I wasn’t prepared for thethousands of faces in the lineup that stretchedaround the building.

I felt as though my rose-coloured glasses ofNewfoundland were ripped off, and I cameface to face with the rural reality. TheIndependent has done stories on out-migra-tion, but never before have I been so impacted.I was reminded of images of refugees liningup outside foreign embassies, people lookingfor a way out. How could I capture this imagein a single frame?

The reporter and I made our way inside. Therecruiters, too, seemed flabbergasted by theturnout. I started talking with a fellow fromone of the oil companies. Curious, I askedwhat sort of worker they were targeting. Hisresponse was: “Individuals with trades, highlytrained and skilled.” For the right people, theywere prepared to pay up to $60,000 movingexpenses.

The assistant manager took me upstairs inthe building to get an image, and I tried to cap-ture what I saw from a couple of viewpoints. Idid what I could and reconnected with thereporter and we headed outside.

A woman reached out and tugged on myjacket. “Are they looking for cleaners, m’love?”

I looked at her and said, “I don’t knowma’am.”

I did know — the recruiter inside had saidthey were only interested in highly skilled

workers, but I took the coward’s way out.Every Newfoundland and Labrador politi-

cian should see what I saw — federal, provin-cial, past, present, no matter the politicalstripe. The entire scene shook me to my core.This is Canada. When I moved here in 1998from Ireland, Canada was voted Best countryin which to live. An older gentleman standingto the side of the hotel looked gobsmacked.“Doesn’t it remind you of pictures of theDepression?” he asked me.

I’m not from Newfoundland. I married aNewfoundlander and we lived in Alberta for afew years. We didn’t like it. While there, aninteresting column appeared in the CalgaryHerald about Newfoundland andNewfoundlanders.

The writer, who had just returned from avisit to the province, said if you ever lose yoursense of humanity, you should visitNewfoundland. “If you look for a hand, theywill give you an army.”

Reports say 9,000 people were in the lineuplast Monday. How much of an army doesAlberta need?

Paul Daly is the photo editor at TheIndependent.

‘This is Canada’

Job fair in St. John’s.Paul Daly/The Independent

By Ivan MorganThe Independent

Cooke’s Aquaculture’s moveto Newfoundland’s southcoast will make the New

Brunswick-based company morecompetitive in the global farmedsalmon industry, say industry ana-lysts.

With no suitable sites left inNew Brunswick, and oppositionto aquaculture an obstacle in NovaScotia, experts say the move waslogical.

Canada produces eight per centof the total world production of1.3 million tonnes of farmedsalmon. Almost a quarter of allfarmed salmon in the world comesfrom four major farms — allEuropean. Each of them has farmsin at least five different countries,including Scotland and Chile.

“It has really become a globalindustry,” says Neil Ridler, aqua-

culture expert and professor ofeconomics at the University ofNew Brunswick.

“(There is) always a danger ofbeing crushed by the globalgiants. That is why they (Cooke’s)are always looking for a competi-tive advantage, and one of them is

presumably economies of scale —they are getting bigger. They willbe able to lower some of theirfixed costs.”

Growing was a problem forCooke’s in New Brunswick —they simply ran out of space.

“New Brunswick is boxed in

because they have run out ofshoreline, and Nova Scotia hasresource conflicts,” says GordonGislason, aquaculture industryanalyst and author of a recent fed-eral government report on theCanadian farmed salmon industry.“Newfoundland seems to have a

huge potential. Cooke’s is goinginto Newfoundland because thereis substantial growth potentialthere, and there isn’t in their ownbackyard.”

Nova Scotia, while geographi-cally closer to markets in centralCanada and the north easternUnited States, has resisted salmonfarming.

“I heard that a lot of the primeaquaculture site potential is thesame as lobsters in southwestNova Scotia. There would be hugeissues,” says Gislason.

The fishing industry wasn’t theonly obstacle in Nova Scotia, saysRidler. “There is a lot of opposi-tion to all aquaculture because Ithink the (people who own) cot-tages don’t want what they per-ceive to be ugly sites outside theircottages.”

Gislason says there are other

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

Your last wordMy brother Frank expresses a

rather interesting view of ourtime on earth. He believes —

congenital anomalies and accidentsaside — every human heart has a cer-tain number of “beats till failure” invis-ibly stamped on it.

Our “number is up,” as it were, whenwe’ve used all of them. He says we canextend our life by consciously slowingdown the pace by which we use thebeats. This is achieved, he says,through a regular regime of exerciseand by being sensible in what we eat,how much we drink and whether or notwe smoke.

Those of us who fail to take thesekinds of cautions use beats faster. Theoutcome is obvious. This professionalengineer is evidently a frustratedphilosopher, and quite a profound one.

This view — or any we hold— con-firms we definitely understand our timehere is limited. Yet, the human condi-tion gives us permission to postponeplanning for financial and other events,which will be necessary when we runout of beats.

When I run out and proceed (hope-fully) to glory, I’ll go knowing myplans have been set out to achieve twogoals. Firstly, everything I’ve workedfor will have been distributed as I want.Secondly, I know I’ll be lying in perma-nent repose on Blackmarsh Road —

Purity Factories close by to ensure thesweet aroma of Jam-Jams wafts aboveme for all eternity and that I’ll still hearbrass music from time to time.

I take estate planning quite seriouslyand I regularly review my will. I lookaround at the things my wife and I haveamassed and I examine my insuranceholdings, RSPs, bank balances and soforth. My last review was in May.

Even though you may think you’vegot very little, you still need a will. Youalso need two powers of attorney, onefor your property, and one for your careas you age or decline physically andmentally. My primary concern, givenmy role, is the papers dealing with yourassets and finances and what will hap-pen to these.

Thinking about this kind of thing isoff-putting at the very least, and quite

uncomfortable for almost everyone.But believe it or not, these future direc-tions are not all about you — after all,you’re dead. They’re about the peoplewho survive you. Without a will youmay be setting the stage for family

upheaval, for bickering, suspicion, hurtfeelings and, in some cases, outrightbrawls. We’ve all heard horror storiesabout families who completely rupture

following the passing of a loved one.Without a will, you’re inviting the

government in to deal with your estate.How matters are handled will be dictat-ed by legislation. Outcomes you mightprefer as a demonstration of love andaffection for any number of individuals,or for community causes important toyou, never see the light of day. And youcan’t influence anything anymore.

Adding to the emotional discomfortis a perceived practical consideration— cost. This fear has always fascinatedme. All necessary legal documents,including your will, can be had for aslittle as several hundred dollars. Thatsaid, if your assets are extensive or yourchildren young, causing the necessityof trusts and guardianships, then the

See “Permission,” page 15

INDEPENDENTBUSINESSFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 13

Seeing to all the mattersrelating to your estate issomething you and your

partner should do together.

Stepping up to the global plateAnalysts say Cooke’s Aquaculture needs to grow to stay competitive; Newfoundland may be only place to expand

AL ANTLEYourFinances

ADVANTAGE1. Proximity to US market • high transportation cost advantage on perishable products• farm site to customer within 48-72 hours possible

2. Quality of product • greater shelf life • water quality • food safety

3. Familiarity with U.S. • direct neighbours • similar language, culture

DISADVANTAGE1. Cumbersome, inefficient regulations• lack of federal/provincial harmonization • prevent access to new sites, economies of scale • First Nations consultation onerous — no federal rules

2. Lack of effective communications• health benefits of seafood • counteract ENGO falsehoods • market Canadian quality • garner political & community support

3. Higher input costs

Key Advantages & Disadvantages of Canadian Farmed Salmon Industry

Federal government study

See “You have to,” page 14


14 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS NOVEMBER 3, 2006

BUSINESSCLASSIFIED

Dear editor,From time to time we see references

parroted by a media person as being“gospel” because the point being madecame from a politician. When that politi-cian is Premier Danny Williams peopletend to sit up and take notice.

In the Oct. 27 edition of The Telegram,writer Tara Brautigam of The CanadianPress reports that the premier said thatNewfoundland is considering construc-tion of a second fibre-optic link to NovaScotia that would prevent 911 servicesfrom shutting down as they did lastweek.

It is unfortunate that the advice beinggiven to the premier on this matter isincorrect. There have been two fibre-optic cables connecting Newfoundlandand Labrador to the national telecommu-nications network for 10 years. The pres-ence of this second cable did not preventthe 911 system from failing on Oct. 20.Neither would a third cable provide anyincreased protection for the 911 system.The Gulf fibre cables have nothing to dowith providing protection for the 911system.

Two Aliant fibre-optic cables alreadyexist across the Gulf and carry hugeamounts of telecommunication voice anddata traffic (including the Internet). They

are diverse both physically and electri-cally and telecommunications traffic iscarried simultaneously over both cables.Likewise across the island there are twophysically and electrically diverse fibre-optic cable routes that simultaneouslycarry the traffic. These cable systems aresupported and maintained by a veryexperienced and dedicated team of engi-neers, technicians, construction andrepair personnel.

The article referenced above and state-ments since Oct. 20 by various municipaland provincial politicians, including thepremier, are leading the public to believethat another fibre-optic cable across theGulf will save us. A third fibre-opticcable is not required for service diversityor protection purposes nor is it requiredto provide additional capacity to meet theneeds of the province.

The article referenced above goes onto report that the provincial governmentis considering investing in an $82 millionproposal by Rogers Communications,MTS Allstream, and Persona Inc. to buildthis new cable system. If investment bythe provincial government triggers thebuilding of a third cable, the revenuegenerated will only go to serve the inter-ests of the companies and their share-holders who will own and control the

cable. The general interests of the peopleof the province will be secondary.

The two Aliant cables that exist todaywere totally financed by NewtelCommunication (now part of Aliant).There was no financial support by theprovincial government — neither offerednor requested. Aliant is obligated to pro-vide universal access to basic local andlong-distance telecommunications serv-ices in the province. The companieswishing to tap into the public purse tohelp finance their infrastructure invest-ments operate totally in the competitiveenvironment and carry no such obliga-tion to serve and provide access to basicservices.

The telecommunications failure onOct. 20, 2006 should not be used by theprovincial government as a rationale inattempting to convince the public that weshould make an investment in unrequiredinfrastucture.

If the business proponents of the thirdfibre-optics cable wish to have the capa-bility, which this cable will give them, ofcompeting in the long haul telecommu-nications marketplace, then I say, letthem build the cable themselves — withtheir own money.

R.F. Davis, P.Eng.,St. John’s

advantages to salmon farming in thisprovince.

“The regulatory regime might bemore friendly in Newfoundland andLabrador than in Nova Scotia,” he says.“My understanding is that there aren’t alot of the user conflicts there. There isnothing there to displace. In that sense itis less contentious. That would make theregulatory regime less complex, andthere would be fewer resource con-flicts.”

Cooke’s $120-million investment intheir south coast venture proves they are

serious about competing with the otherglobal producers for the valuableAmerican market, which is 500,000-plus tonnes a year.

“I do know that they bought out awhole bunch of existing players in NewBrunswick,” says Gislason. “It’s notclear where the money came from.”

Both experts say lowering the unitcost of the finished product — wholefresh farmed salmon — is the key tosuccess, and expanding production isthe way to do that.

Other benefits of farming salmon inNewfoundland include water tempera-ture, isolation (from disease), pristine

water quality and available labour.The benefits are obvious. “The farmed salmon industry is not

concentrated in urban environments,”says Gislason. “So you grow them in theregion and you have to process them inthe region as well. It is an opportunityfor people in coastal fishing communi-ties to find a job and stay where they areas opposed to move somewhere else.

“There is a huge potential out thereand I think the market is there. FarmedAtlantic salmon is a good product,there’s lots of good vibes about omega-3 and good health benefits.”

[email protected]

Another fibre-optic cable across the Gulf won’t ‘save us’CUSTOMER BEWARE

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (Eastern Newfoundland) unveiled their new adcampaign Oct. 30. On hand for the launch were (l-r) Chris Janes, senior market analyst withCMHC, Rhonda Neary, CEO of the local builders’ association, and Ed Power, author of TheBackgrounder on the Undergrounders. The marketing campaign, scheduled to begin Nov.2, is intended to promote safe practices in the hiring of contractors — and the dangers ofhiring underground workers. Paul Daly/The Independent

YOURVOICE

‘You have to process them in the region’From page 13

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTBUSINESS • 15

cost will increase. But I ask you, arethere any better reasons to spend thismoney than the fact that you’ve gottons of loot, lots of booty and youngchildren?

Most of us have a lawyer or canarrange access to one. So call and askfor a quote. Then do some comparativeshopping by checking other law firms.The outcome will pleasantly surpriseyou.

When seeing your lawyer, you’ll findthe process isn’t morbid at all, unlessyou choose to make it so. She or he willhave all kinds of knowledge, will pro-vide great council and without you everconsciously directing them so to do,will possibly become the most out-standing advocate for you and the peo-ple you love.

They will encourage, clarify andeven warn you about almost every fearand question you have. They may eventell a joke or two. The process won’ttake a long time and may involve sev-eral trips to your lawyer’s office, againdepending upon the complexities.

Your lawyer will direct you to namesomeone to administer your wishes.Make sure this is someone you trust.This individual is known as the execu-tor, or executrix for those of us whoname a woman but who are still think-ing back in the last century. It’s vital heor she be provided with all the detailsof your wishes. It’s equally vital theyknow you’ve actually named them …would you want to find out you’ve beennamed for a job like this without yourconsent?

Seeing to all the matters relating toyour estate is something you and yourpartner should do together. While it ispossible that you’ll both exit the worldat the same time, the chances areremote. So talk things out and seek thevalues, fears and opinions of the otheras you formulate your own decisions.

What’s really great about this wholeprocess is that you get to have the lastword, literally. And nobody can talkback, even if they want to.

And thanks Frank — I love the“beats” analogy.

Al Antle is executive director ofCredit and Debt Solutions, a St.John’s-based charitable family serviceagency. His column returns Nov. 17.

From page 13

Permission to postponeplanning

Editor’s note: the following letterwas forwarded to members of St.John’s city council.

Iappeal to you to carefully con-sider your decision regardingthe proposal for a 50 per cent

increase in the annual bailout ofMile One Center.

Lisa Neville appeared on theNTV news recently and repeatedlyreferred to the Mile One operationas a “business” and suggested thatwe, as taxpayers, should be delight-ed to “invest” in this operationbecause of the spin-off benefits ofthe stadium and convention center. Iprefer to choose my own invest-ments — I don’t expect our electedrepresentatives to use our taxes toinvest in any business, that’s notwhat a city council is elected to do.And I strongly object to seeing mytax dollars used to subsidize theshortcomings of a local “business”that is already in the hole to the tuneof $7.5 million. The George Streetbar owners can also lay claim todrawing tourism dollars and spin-off benefits to the City of St. John’sbut for the past year bar ownershave been grumbling about reducedincomes due to the smoking ban andthe reduction in VLT machines.Would council ever entertain thenotion of subsidizing the GeorgeStreet bar owners to the tune of$500,000 a year? I think not.

I also have great concern that sev-eral of the members of the board of

directors of this “business” are alsositting council members or high-ranking city officials who willdecide on this request for additionalfunding. I’m not suggesting there isany collusion but this hardly givesthe appearance of being a transpar-ent and arms-length decision-mak-ing process.

If Mile One and the conventioncenter are such great generators ofmoney, why aren’t the hotel andrestaurant operators kicking in thisadditional $500,000? In fact, whyaren’t they providing the $1-millionsubsidy that already has to bepumped into this operation?

Stadiums don’t make money. Thatwas a given even before ground wasbroken on the Mile One site. IfSkydome can’t survive in the heartof the richest city in the country, it isunfathomable that anyone wouldhave thought that Mile One could beprofitable here. Lisa Neville sug-gested that a large reason for the$7.5-million debt already incurredon the operation of this stadium wasdirectly related to the hockey fran-chise. But the hockey franchise wasthe reason Mile One was originallyconstructed. Drawing conventionsand concerts to the city was viewedas a spin-off benefit of having alarger hockey arena with higherseating capacity. In fact, the citydidn’t even want to see the adjoin-ing convention center built butagreed to the construction of theconvention center in order to obtain

the $15-million funding contribu-tion of the provincial government.

So why is the Maple Leafs fran-chise being blamed for the massivedebt? Was it incompetence then, oris it incompetence now? The city’sfinancial “experts” analyzed theMaple Leafs deal and thought thatbuilding a $45-million stadium andconvention center was a good idea.Are these the same “experts” whonow claim that Mile One is doing sowell we should be ecstatic that theMile One board is asking for a 50per cent increase in the city’s annu-al subsidy? How many more timeswill the management come back tothe trough? This is still a new build-ing. Who will provide the funds toreplace the roof, or the coolingplant, or other sections of the stadi-um infrastructure as it ages?

I think enough is enough. Ifmanagement feels they have donesuch a great job in reducing theoperating costs of the stadium, thenthey don’t need more money fromus.

Paul Malone,St. John’s

Editor’s note: the following letter waswritten to Liberal leader Gerry Reid,with a copy forwarded to TheIndependent.

Earlier this year Premier DannyWilliams publicly invited me (in aradio show on which he was inter-viewed and I participated) to hisoffice. In mid-June, I met withPremier Williams and his executiveassistant, Stephen Dinn, for about 30minutes. In our meeting the premierasked me what I would like to do. I toldhim my objective is to demonstratethat — rather than his plan to exportLabrador hydropower to Quebec,Ontario and the U.S. — we should linkLabrador hydropower development withrural Newfoundland’s urgent need fornew long-term jobs, a new Gulf of St.Lawrence North Shore Trans-CanadaHighway, a Strait of Belle Isle fixed link,and Quebec’s illegal but official claimto a very large area of Labrador thatthis province brought to Canada in 1949.

I also said my professional experiencetells me that based on Newfoundlandand Labrador Hydro’s record over thepast 32 years, lower Churchillhydropower developer is not the rightrole for Hydro. I suggested thatLabrador hydropower could be devel-oped more successfully by an investorgroup with global financing capa-bilities.

Hydro should be a provincial regula-tor — not a developer. I also told thepremier that I was prepared to act as aconsultant to the province on the abovesubjects for a fee of $1 per year. The pre-mier has not contacted me about myoffer since our meeting.

On Oct. 3rd, following your kindinvitation, I also met with you andyour Liberal caucus to discuss thesame subjects that I had discussedwith Premier Williams. As you know, Irepeated to your caucus what I said toour premier. In summary, that my pro-fessional experience clearly tells methat at this time in the life of thisCanadian province, it is essential to ourfuture that our relatively small popula-tion of only 500,000 people withresponsibility for immense naturalresources should be as united as possi-ble. In particular, we are too small innumbers to be divided, either physicallyor politically, in resolving problemsarising from the location of politicallypowerful Quebec between our Labradorhydropower and other energy markets.

Moreover, Quebec is now openlyclaiming in its official governmentmaps a huge area of Labrador that New-foundland brought into Canada in 1949.This Quebec claim is a clear challengeto the agreement between Canada andthe then-Dominion of Newfoundland.To end Quebec’s illegal claim and alsocreate new long-term jobs in thisprovince to end our high out-migration,all Newfoundlanders and Labradoreansmust unite in spirit and as far as possi-ble politically. There should be no high-er priority than our need for unity in theface of such threats to our very exis-tence.

My reason for sending you this letteris that they may be useful to you to ini-tiate discussion on the above issues incoming House of Assembly sessions.

Tom Kierans,St. John’s

A united stand against QuebecNo more money for Mile OneYOURVOICE

Molson Coors Ltd. says most of itsgrowth over the summer came from itsCoors Light brand, while MolsonCanadian continued to struggle.

The company reported sharply high-er profits last week, despite stagnantgrowth in sales volume, as higher U.S.sales, lower costs and strategic price-cutting helped support key brands.

Profit jumped 25.5 per cent to $135.8million (U.S.), or $1.56 a share,exceeding analysts' estimates by a widemargin. Volume was flat at 11.2 millionbarrels but sales in dollars increased 3.3per cent to $1.58 billion.

— Torstar wire service

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StJ_Independ_11.5x21.5_SEC.indd 1 10/19/06 10:56:41 AM

16 • INDEPENDENTBUSINESS NOVEMBER 3, 2006

INDEPENDENTLIFE

I may be smelly and I may be old, Rough in my pebbles, reedy in my pools, But where my fish float by I bless their swimming And I like the people to bathe in me, especially women.

— Stevie Smith, “The River God”

The first time I met Sara Tilley she waswearing a grey felt fish over her head,its tail trailing down over a vintage

’50s party dress. Striped arm warmers to herelbows, black lipstick. A solemn little face inwhich the eyes were doing most of the work.She reminded me of Bob Dylan’s song: “Sara,Sara/So easy to look at, so hard to define.”Well, intriguing to look at, for sure.

That was a few weeks ago, at the Writers’Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador’sannual banquet, which had a Halloweentheme. Tilley was one of three writers up forthe Fresh Fish Award, sponsored byNewfoundland author Brian O’Dea, whoseautobiographical book, High: Confessions ofa Pot Smuggler, was published by RandomHouse last spring. The new award is forNewfoundland and Labrador authors writingin any genre who haven’t been published in

book-length form, and O’Dea has committedto it for the next 10 years.

Today Tilley and I are in Hava Java, andI’m wondering if the tape recorder is going tobe able to pick her voice out of the din of peo-ple making a joyful noise unto the dark roastcoffee gods; it’s a Sunday afternoon of torren-tial rain, and the mood inside is in inverse pro-portion to the weather’s. But we do a test andher small voice turns out to be strong, whichshouldn’t surprise me because I’ve readSnowflake-Young, the novel that won her theinaugural Fresh Fish Award. And the 2004Percy Janes First Novel Award.

At the Writers’ Alliance banquet, O’Dea,former drug smuggler and ex-con turned filmand television producer, hugged Tilley the fishgirl and presented her with a $4,000 cheque.Tilley also received a bronze plaque made by

local artist Jim Maunder in the style of hissculpture called Man Nailed to a Fish, and$1,000 for professional editing services.

O’Dea explained that in prison parlance afish is a new inmate, which inspired the title ofthe award. He also said he was shocked tolearn that his award was one of the largest interms of money for a Canadian literary awardof its kind; it didn’t seem like much to him,even though it was all he could afford. Whereare the patrons of the arts, he wanted to know.Why is so there so little money available towriters? (Perhaps there should be a prize forwhoever figures that one out. The Gutted FishAward, maybe.)

Sara is explaining her Halloween costumeto me. Besides its obvious reference to theaward, “I always wanted to be a Goth,” shesays, “but I never had the guts to go whole

hog.” Goth fish seems pretty whole hog to me.Her costume’s other advantage, she tells me,was that being in disguise made her feel lessself-conscious at the award ceremony.

Like many writers, Tilley is an introvert,happiest in the company of her own charactersand those of other writers — Gabriel GarciaMarquez, for instance — and at home withCraig Francis Power, her boyfriend, also awriter, and a visual artist. She says she used tothink she wanted to be a paleontologist,because she could work outdoors and therewouldn’t be a lot of other people around.

Tilley’s family moved to Nain when shewas five, spending two years there beforemoving to Sanikiluaq in what was then theNorthwest Territories. Tilley lived in Sani-kiluaq until she was 12.

“It’s a totally different universe up there,”she says. “It’s like landing on the moon. It’scompletely flat and white, and the windsnever stop. When I was homesick, I would goout by myself on the barrens and look at themoss and the rocks, the little stuff, that mini-world, because it reminded me of Newfound-land.”

She and her brother were the only two non-Inuit children in Sanikiluaq for several years,which Tilley says was an interesting but some-times difficult experience. “As a white person,

INDEPENDENTLIFEFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 17

Stories tall and short, from near and farThe third annual storytelling festival is underway with music and yarns, workshops and sessions

By Heidi WicksFor The Independent

The most memorableNewfoundland stories,from Pigeon Inlet yarns

to Joel Hynes’ Down to the Dirt,are the ones that leap off thepage, injecting local audiodirectly into your eardrum.Reading these stories, the down-home dialect and saucy attitudemakes your head pound and

your lips grin.The third annual St. John’s

Storytelling Festival, sponsoredby the Newfoundland andLabrador Folk Arts Council, cel-ebrates the essence of local tales— tall, short, musical or spokenword.

Thanks to artists like KellyRussell, who continues hisfather’s tradition through songand speech, the window intoanother time will remain open

for a while yet. For the firsttime, Russell will be leadingworkshops in this year’s festi-val.

Citing the Pigeon Inlet talesas his earliest influence, Russellcontinues his longtime affairwith traditional tales, and lovesgiving them a makeover forcontemporary society. He oftencompares the art of good story-telling to folk music perform-ance.

“In a sense, when you’replaying folk music, you have theaid of instrumentation, melody,lyrics — which of course is alsopresent in storytelling — andmusicality, which makes it easi-er to engage your audience,” hesays.

“But with folk singing andstorytelling, it’s important tomake them accessible to a con-temporary audience.”

Holding an audience’s atten-

tion is no simple feat. Story-tellers have to be wildly imagi-native when telling their tales,shooting for a perfect balance ofcaptivation and curiosity withintheir listeners. According toRussell, storytelling is a form ofentertainment, first and fore-most.

But it’s also a compelling his-tory lesson, providing a vehicle

See “Precious,” page 18

Fresh faceSara Tilley, winner of the inaugural Fresh Fish Award,

talks about writing, clowning and life above the tree-line

Available in September. To preorder your copy, contact

Boulder Publications at 895-6483

A stunning collection of photography from the portfolio of The Independent’s own Paul Daly.

Sara Tilley Photo by Paul Daly/Digital illustration by John Andrews/The Independent

See “A collaboration,” page 20

SUSAN RENDELLScreed and Coke

A few nights ago, I was up toGrampa Walcott’s house cuf-fin’ the yarn with Grampawhile Grandma sat by knit-tin’ socks. Grampa turned onthe radio and we listened fora spell. ’Twas about a fellowtryin’ to murder another fel-low ‘cause the second fellowhad run off with the otherone’s wife…

— “Crime Wave in PigeonInlet,” Ted Russell

Will Gill likes to use power tools in hiswork as a painter, but don’t accuse himof being an alpha male.

“Some people say it’s a macho thing, guys wantto work with power tools, it’s not like that at all,it’s just another tool that I use that makes things awhole lot easier,” he says. “I could take foreverand do it with a hand chisel.”

Gill says power tools are necessary to achievethe effect he wanted for his upcoming show of newworks at the Leyton Gallery, running Nov. 4-26.Gill, whose work regularly shows provincially andnationally, won the inaugural EVA (recognizingExcellence in Visual Arts in the province) LargeYear Award last June.

Primarily a sculptor, Gill wanted to transfer thethree-dimensional qualities he is accustomed tointo the two-dimensional plane. He says it is a sen-sibility that requires him to get “physical andaggressive” with the construction plywood he usesto paint on.

“That’s why I work into the wood — I workwith tools to change the surface. To keep the tex-ture, keep the small amount of form, even if it’s avery low relief, still keep that three-dimensionalelement, within the flat plane.

“You can’t really do that with canvas or paper —wood you can sand it down, you can cut into itwith a router, you can saw it, you can burn it, it’sjust really resilient and builds back up and comesback to life so it’s going back and forth, takingaway and giving back,” he says.

In Coloured Lights, Spotlight, Gill has stretchedseveral strings of patio lanterns across the top ofthe picture, festively bobbing against irregularlyoverlapping stage curtains. Floor boards are light-ly suggested, angling stage right. The washed out

browns, blues and greens dominate the colourscheme, save for one baby pink bulb nudging itshospital-green neighbour. Many of the lanternshave been roughly dug out of the plywood, height-ening the sense the lights are gently jostling about.

“For me that idea of lights hanging up or patiolanterns have always conjured up images of realhappiness and celebration, but it’s also really soli-tary, it’s related to partying for a lot of people, butfor me it’s always been sitting there watchingthem,” he says.

“It’s kind of the lantern thing on a stage and thatquiet before the curtains come up, so there’s kindof like these curtains in a theatre on a stage floor.It’s something about drama but at the same time,

there’s action and no action. “I’m interested in a lot of contrast in my work

and trying to get this dichotomy between differentextremes, opposites and trying to make that bal-ance in a way. So that for me is a very quiet reflec-tive piece.”

Gill has included one sculptural installment inthe show, a bronzed pair of a man’s simple workboots which will stand under a cloud mounted onthe wall — something he says came about aftersome thought about a man who recently wentmissing on the ferry crossing to Port aux Basques— but he is showing mostly wall work in the show.

The paintings share a pale, washed-out colourpalette, save for some sporadic black, which Gill

says he first took note of painted on homes in andaround the island.

“These really strange artificial teal greens, thatbathroom green, it’s such a strange colour that youdon’t really see in nature too much but peopleenjoy painting their houses,” he says. “You can goto an outport and you’ll see five or six differenthouses painted in slightly different tones … Otherthan that, I really like using candy colours becauseof their almost commercial artificiality, like every-thing has a commercial basis to it and luring you inwith candy colours. It’s another way of working …to create an artificial image — because that’s whatart is, artificial.”

[email protected]

18 • INDEPENDENTLIFE NOVEMBER 3, 2006

GALLERYPROFILE

for education. If a storyteller has theright level of charisma, they have thepower to entrance their audience, trans-porting them into a traditional fishingvillage full of sleveen fairies and tou-ton-eating lads and lassies.

And the stories are reaching outbeyond the confines of the province.Russell gives the example of Jack FiveOh, a play written by Andy Jones andPhilip Dinn bringing authentic New-foundland folk tales and storytellingtraditions to the stage.

The play was produced by theSheila’s Brush theatre company, whobrought it to international children’sfestivals in Canmore, Calgary, Van-couver and Ottawa in 2003, and toOttawa’s National Arts Centre in May2004.

Jack makes a reappearance, of sorts,Nov. 4 at the Masonic Temple in St.John’s, where Chris Brookes, AndyJones, and others will lead Jack beNimble, Jack be Quick, an evening witha Newfoundland folktale hero.

This year’s festival also features suchlocal raconteurs as Dale Jarvis, FergusO’Byrne and Anita Best, as well asinternational artists like Scottish-Canadian storyteller Norma Cameron,Ireland’s Anne Farrell, and Quebec’sJudith Poirier.

While most participating storytellerswork as entertainers and performingartists, they accentuate the value of ani-mated speaking to every type of career.This year’s workshop titles includeIncorporating visualization in your sto-rytelling, and Externalizing the spirit ofstorytelling. The sessions are designedto help speakers lull their listeners intoan almost hypnotic state.

From Newfoundland and Labrador’searliest settlers to the currently thrivingarts industry and perpetually competi-tive commercial development of thecutthroat world of enterprise, story-telling can benefit everyone.

Storytelling preserves the precioustraditions of this province, and enrichesthe lives of contemporary citizens.

Kelly returns to the links he drawsbetween song and story.

“When we have kitchen partiestoday, we use all sorts of instrumentsthat wouldn’t have been around backthen, but we hold on to the essence of atraditional kitchen party,” he says. “Thesame has to be done when telling astory.”The St. John’s Storytelling Festival con-tinues until Nov. 5. The full schedule of events is available atwww.nlfolk.com.

[email protected]

WILL GILLVisual Artist

Precious traditionsFrom page 17

In 1980, Patrick Chamusso was living his ver-sion of the American Dream in South Africa.Since arriving from Mozambique when he

was 15 years old, he had worked for the SecundaOil Refinery and rose through the ranks tobecome a foreman with the company. He had hisown car and a nice house. A solid provider to hisbeautiful wife and children, he was the picture ofthe perfect family man. He even coached the localsoccer team.

In 1980, South Africa still operated under itspolicy of apartheid as it had for more than threedecades. While drawing international criticismand sanctions, for Patrick Chamusso, it meantnothing. His focus was on his work and his fami-ly, and the consideration of anything politicalcould jeopardize either one. He kept his headdown, did his work as best he could, and wenthome with a paycheque. What else could beexpected of him?

One evening, there was an explosion and fire atthe Secunda refinery, in an area that threw suspi-cion upon Patrick. Coincidentally, he had beenoff work that day, calling in sick to avoid troublewith management, when he was really on theroad with the soccer team. Unfortunately, troublefound him.

A senior member of South Africa’s anti-terror-ism squad, Nic Vos, took his job as seriously asone could. He too had a wife and children, andwhile he accepted that white domination couldnot go on forever in South Africa, he was commit-ted to ensuring the protection of his family. Hismethods, however, were no less violent than thoseattributed to the terrorist element he vowed tofight.

With respect to the incident at the Secundarefinery, Vos zeroed in on Chamusso as an inte-gral participant in the sabotage. He had the manarrested, and interrogated in a not very subtlemanner. For days, Chamusso was tortured, and itwasn’t until he confessed to the crime, in order toprotect his family, that Vos was convinced of hisinnocence. Without as much as an apology,Chamusso was released, but the man who hadkept his head down for his entire adult life foundhimself forced to take a position. It was time tolook up, to take a stand.

Catch a Fire recounts the true story of howmild-mannered Patrick Chamusso was wronglyarrested and eventually became the kind of man hewas accused of being. It isn’t a revenge picture,nor an insightful, revealing account of apartheid asit existed 25 years ago. It’s a cautionary tale.

Chamusso’s story is perhaps one of many fromthat time and place, yet in many respects, it couldmirror that of any number of individuals, any-where, where power is abused, and justice andfairness do not prevail. Although a tragic story inmany respects, his life, actions, and values servedto guide him away from further tragedy later on.

Derek Luke, who first appeared on the scenewith a starring role in Antoine Fisher a few yearsago, is captivating in the role of PatrickChamusso, giving us a man who is completelyendearing as the benevolent family guy, and lateras the driven revolutionary. Likewise, TimRobbins provides us with another fine examplethat Oscar-winners in the category of supportingactor are rarely undeserving of the accolade.While his Vos appears to be a simple constructionof cruelty and purpose, Robbins adds a few layersof complexity to the character that make him moreof a believable, real life villain than somethingconjured up for the movies.

Director Phillip Noyce, who made a name forhimself directing Harrison Ford in a couple ofTom Clancy adaptations, has since attracted atten-tion from a different angle following Rabbit-ProofFence and The Quiet American. He’s in his ele-ment here, juggling incendiary politics, exoticlocations, and the people affected by them. Whilethe pace moves slightly slower than the thriller thefilm is marketed to be, it’s brisker than many biog-raphical dramas that are vying for Oscar gold thistime of year.

Noyce manages to keep his eye on the lessonsof the story, and heads towards it without toomuch digression. As a result, viewers anticipatingone kind of film are sure to find this one wanting.With a little more action and suspense, it couldhave been a topnotch thriller. With more charac-ter development, or exploration of the big politi-cal picture, it could have been a more substantialdrama.

Catch a Fire is done very well in nearly everyrespect. Sometimes subtle, other times a little tooblunt, it does recognize, however, that the audi-ence isn’t made up of dummies, and sticks to thebusiness of telling a worthwhile story in an engag-ing manner.

It’s the kind of motion picture that plays well onthe big screen, and exemplifies the kind of solidfilm-making we should expect every time we go tothe movies.

Tim Conway operates Capitol Video in Rawlin’sCross, St. John’s. His column returns Nov. 17.

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTLIFE • 19

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POET’SCORNERNovember prepares

By Bertille Tobin

September started clearing houseBy tinting leaves like flowers;October briskly set to workAnd pulled them off in showers;November came, much more austere,And said there must not beAny signs of softness leftFor winter’s hordes to see.

So any ragged tapestry That yet on trees was found,Or clinging tight to copse or hedgeWas brusquely whisked to ground.The busy wind was set to workTo see that all was done,And as it snatched off trembling leavesIt whirled them round for fun.

The few remaining birds were snubbed,In such a frigid wayThat only solemn caw of crowsNow sounds throughout the day —Or hardy gull, which seasons’ changeHas never power to daunt,With graceful swoop draws near the wave Where herring sequins taunt.

And when the landscape all aroundWas looking bleakly neat,The cleansing rain in torrents cameTo make the work complete.It even washed the fields so hard,They’re green again in places,As friction, semblance, brings — of youth’s Fresh bloom — to aged faces

This poem was an honourable mention for the1946 O’Leary Newfoundland Poetry Award.

Derek Luke and Tim Robbins star in Catch a Fire.

you don’t get to be in the minority veryoften.”

It shaped her imagination, she tellsme, and also ended up making her feel“outside, a lot of the time.” (Which iswhere most writers are to some extent,by temperament or choice, or sometimesbecause something or someone cracksthem in half, and one of those halves isthe watcher forever after.)

Tilley, who turns 28 next month, wasborn in St. John’s and lived in BrigusSouth before her family left for Nain.She started to write at the age of three,she says, right after she learned to read.(I quickly repair my flabbered gast, andwait for her to continue.) “My mothermade a word jar for me. She put wordsin the jar and I would take a couple outand write a story, and I have those booksstill.”

So both nature and nurture eventuallymade Tilley the author of Snowflake-Young, a powerful novel that movesbetween St. John’s and Sanikiluaq,between the landscape of the protago-nist’s childhood and that of her adult

self. (As the song says, it’s partly truthand partly fiction — no, it’s all truth,like every good book, even when there’sno truth there at all in the mundanesense.)

“I had an interesting … visceral edu-cation,” says Tilley, who’s a vegetarian,as she describes life in Sanikiluaq. Atleast one Saturday outing ended withTilley and her brother standing beside “awalrus carcass, and its intestines.”

A room in the school had a tile floorthat sloped down to a drain. The olderboys brought in freshly killed seals,skinned them and handed the meataround, to be eaten raw by the other stu-dents. Her voice is neutral, slightly off-hand, as she tells me this; no details.They’re all there in the book though. “Iput the meat into my mouth before I canthink about it too much. It’s warm and itfills up my whole mouth so I feel like I’msuffocating. There’s thick blood goingdown my throat and it tastes like pen-nies.” (Teresa Norman, Snowflake-Young’s heroine.)

I too had a visceral education by thetime I finished Snowflake-Young, butlike Tilley, there are no regrets. “I don’t

think I would have traded it in,” shesays. “It was such a unique way to growup.”

After finishing high school in St.John’s, Tilley completed a Bachelor ofFine Arts degree in acting at YorkUniversity. That’s where she becameinterested in a form of clowning devel-oped by Richard Pochinko, mask-basedtheatre with roots in Native Americanshamanism.

Eventually, Tilley formed her owntheatre company called She Said Yes!Tilley has written and performed threesolo shows for various theatre compa-nies; her own company’s latest produc-tion was local playwright RobertChafe’s Butler’s Marsh, staged at nightin Pippy Park last summer.

Performing is difficult for someoneas shy and sensitive as Tilley. But theterror is worth it: her brand of theatre,she says, is “full of panic and vulnera-bility … it’s really spontaneous and it’sreally hard and it’s wonderful; I use itin my writing now.” A voice teacher atYork helped Tilley realize she had had“a fist in my throat since I was a child”from the trauma of switching cultures.“It was such a complicated time,” shesays. “I shut it away, I couldn’t look at it.”

Snowflake-Young helped her “open upthat fist.” When I ask her how shewrites, what her process is, she says, “Iwrite around images, sensory memories,the taste, the feel of something and outof that comes a scene. I don’t plan thecharacters or the plot.”

Tilley began Snowflake-Young in2001, but didn’t work full time on ituntil 2003, when she had Lisa Moore asa mentor at the Banff Centre for theArts.

Although the publication future ofSnowflake-Young hasn’t been settledyet, Tilley is already at work on anothernovel. In a house that’s been in her fam-ily for several generations, she recentlydiscovered “a stack of correspondencefrom the 1880s on to the 1940s … a lotof it was from my great-great grandfa-ther, Duke, who spent 14 years in Alaskaduring the gold rush.” It will be, Tilleysays, “a collaboration between me andmy family tree.”

As Tilley’s theatric inspiration Rich-ard Pochinko once said, “Clowning isabout the freedom that comes from astate of total, unconditional acceptanceof our most authentic selves, warts andall. It offers us respite from our selfdoubts and fears, and opens the door tojoy.” The same could be said aboutTilley’s writing, and so can this: like asnowflake, it is exquisite and unique.

Susan Rendell is a freelance writer andeditor living in downtown St. John’s.Her collection of short stories, In theChambers of the Sea, was published byKillick Press in 2003.

[email protected]

20 • INDEPENDENTLIFE NOVEMBER 3, 2006

During this semester at the newlyre-branded Memorial Univer-sity, Canadian poet Don McKay

is serving as writer-in-residence.McKay, the author of 11 books of poet-ry and two essay collections, is a deco-rated veteran of the national literaryscene. He has twice won the GovernorGeneral’s Award for poetry and beenshortlisted as many times for the GriffinPoetry Prize. Camber, a volume ofselected poems, was published in 2004,to much acclaim. Strike/Slip is McKay’slatest collection.

The book begins with characteristicagility: “astounded, astonied, astunned,”he riffs on the poem’s title (Astonished),“stopped short / and turned towardstone, the moment / filling with its slow/ stratified time.” This rhythmic dexteri-ty combined with a frenetic knack forbouncing from association to associa-

tion makes McKay’s writing instantlyrecognizable. “Take death rattle,” hewrites in Song for the Song of theChipping Sparrow, “take / automaticrifle fire, take t-t-t-t- Tommy Moss / dayafter day in grade two failing / to finishhis name.”

McKay has always been a poet of theelements, though largely of the air. His

poems concerning various species ofbirds are, to my mind, among the bestwritten on the subject — by which Imean they most capture the essentialspirit of their target. And though muchof Strike/Slip deals with various mattersgeological, the voice that channels themis the same. Despite its (literally) densersubject matter, the language hereremains light as a hummingbird and flitsabout with something of that same reck-less joy.

According to an author’s note at theend of the collection, the geologicalterm from which Strike/Slip takes itstitle is a type of “high-angle fault alongwhich rocks on one side move horizon-tally in relation to rocks on the otherside with a shearing motion.” A similartension and friction underlies the poemsthemselves, surfacing in the form of aquestion implied at points throughout: Islanguage adequate to describe the actu-al? “Does the forest simply go on mak-ing moss,” McKay wonders in Waitingfor Shay, “and rot and whispering trans-lations of translations, rain / into leafinto berry into bear.”

Varves, states McKay’s propositionmost explicitly of all: “Language itselfhas long since backed out of the roomon tiptoe.” And while arguments on thefailure of art to adequately reflect reali-

ty have been around at least as far backas Plato, it seems McKay brings it uphere to make plain the insignificance ofthe human when it is placed beside themonumental stature of the naturalworld—how the earth, on a geologictime schedule, has outlasted its variousspecies of fauna.

There is some truly enviable writinghere. A logging train labouring under itsload of wood in Waiting for Shay isdescribed as:

Four-fifths animal, eats wood andwater, breathes,

whistles, relieves itself of pressurewith a sigh,

and harnesses the power of thesneeze to haul

its mass of gears and rods andbig avuncular belly up the ridge…

In Pond, a poem emphasizing thedistinction between its namesake andthe infinitely clearer pool, McKay con-siders Narcissus, the mythical characterwho fell in love with his own reflec-tion:

…would the course of self-loverun so smooth with that exquisite facerendered in bruin undertone,shaken, and floated in the murk

between the deep sky and the ooze?

Despite its overall success, there is asubstratum of rhetoric in this collectionthat feels quite out of place in McKay’swork. An abandoned cable found in thewoods is “the snarl / that … yarded /megatons of timber and erased / theforest that once was.” In Ken, a for-warder or some other piece of loggingmachinery is “like us, heartsick, hor-ror- / stricken Doctor Frankensteins— /quite deaf” to “the song of motherrock.” The speaker in Après Chainsaw,standing near “stumps oozing resin,”thinks of executions, “the man on theplatform.”

It’s a bit heavy-handed. McKay hasalways managed to convey his sense ofwonder and reverence in the presence ofnature without having to resort topreachy politics. His greatest strength isnot in moralizing but in conjuring theearth, air, birds and trees, and, by meansof pure language, connecting us tonature on a spiritual level. The bulk ofthis collection does just that and justifiesMcKay’s place at the forefront ofCanadian poetry. Strike/Slip is a neces-sary pleasure.

Mark Callanan lives in St. John’s. Hiscolumn returns Nov. 17.

Like a rock?New collection by Don McKay, writer-in-residence at Memorial, solidifies his position at the forefront of Canadian poetry

MARKCALLANANOn the shelf

Strike/Slip, By Don McKayMcClelland & Stewart, 2006, 78 pages

‘A collaboration between me and my family tree’From page 17

EVENTSNOVEMBER 3• The Woman In Black, adaptedby Stephen Mallatratt from thenovel by Susan Hill, starringAiden Flynn and SteveO’Connell, LSPU Hall, St.John’s, 8 p.m. Until Nov. 4.• Third annual St. John’sStorytelling Festival continues,with performances (for kids andadults) and workshops runninguntil Nov. 5. Visit www.nlfolk.comfor a complete schedule.• Deadpan Alley presents C.L.U.E.(Colorful Liars Uproariously

Exposed), a whodunnit packed withmurder, mayhem, music and mys-tery, 8 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre,Duckworth Street, St. John’s.• Andrew LeDrew and MikeHanrahan, Whalen’s Gate, CornerBrook, 10 p.m. Also Nov. 4.

NOVEMBER 4• The Nordic Beat, with theHuman Soundtrack and TrailerCamp, The Backlot, Corner Brook.

NOVEMBER 5• Winter In the Cove exhibition

opening, featuring paintings,pottery, photographs and hookedrugs by more than 20 artists.Opening reception, 1-4 p.m.,Five Island Art Gallery, 7 CoveRd., Tors Cove, 334-3645.• MusicNL awards and gala, Steph-enville Arts and Culture Centre.

NOVEMBER 6• Roger Hodgson (formerly ofSupertramp) at the Molson Club,Mile One Stadium, 8 p.m. • Women in Science andEngineering annual general

meeting, Marine Institute, RoomC1214, 7 p.m. Guest speaker isCharlene Johnson, MHA.

NOVEMBER 8• c2c Theatre presents TheStendhal Syndrome: Full Fron-tal Nudity and Prelude & Lieb-stod by Terrence McNally.Featuring Petrina Bromley, NeilButler, Phil Churchill, SandyGow, Chuck Herriott and direct-ed by Brad Hodder. LSPU Hall,St. John’s, 8 p.m. Continues untilNov. 12.

Dennis Minty’s photos will be part of the Winter in the Cove exhibition at FiveIsland Art Gallery, Tors Cove, starting Nov. 5.

Paradise by the fridge door lightIt’s late. The lights are off in the rest

of the house and I am wide awakeand sitting in the office typing

away like a furious madman. The houseit as quiet as a tomb and the only soundis the droning of the compressor in thefridge. My wife is blissfully asleep andI have the munchies.

The bedtime snack is sometimes anecessary evil. Hunger pains during thelate evening culminate into cramps orworse — they keep you awake, whichin this sleep-deprived world is a fateworse than death. The ritual of the bedsnack is as traditional as the cup ofSleepytime tea before bed. It must hap-pen or else the night is a wreck.

There are a lot of foods that are sleepinducing and others that are not. It real-ly is a chemistry course, but I will nav-igate you through as best I can.

There is a lot of history with the late-night snack. The most popular one isthe Dagwood sandwich, named afterthe cartoon character of the 1930s inthe Blondie comic strip. DagwoodBumstead is his name and he made

night-time degustation a living artform. He made sandwiches — mile-high Dagwoods. The notion of aDagwood is to cram anything that willfit between two pieces of bread, to beconsumed by the eerie glow of the openfridge door.

Too cold for my liking.Warm milk is another option. The

science of warm milk is brilliant.Tryptophan — the sleepy drug — isalso the reason why all you want to doafter a big turkey dinner is sleep. Milkand turkey contain tryptophan, a chem-ical cousin of seratonin, the warm,fuzzy and sleep-inducing chemicalyour body naturally makes. Your body

naturally wants to go to sleep. As well, science has shown warm

food, which slightly raises your bloodtemperature, is enough to make youfeel sleepy, which is why warm milkhas been mother’s little helper to getkids to sleep for generations.

I don’t like warm milk — so scratchthat one too.

Other sleep-inducing foods includeeggs, meats, tofu, cheese, beans andrice. Some complex carbohydrate foodslike bread can be either good for sleep-ing or bad, depending on the compo-nents.

Scientists recommend a good bal-ance of carbohydrates and proteins for

a good night’s sleep — so Dagwoodwasn’t too far off after all.

Foods to avoid are foods high insugar or empty calories. So that late-night trip to the drive-through for someheavy fast food is more likely to keepyou awake than it is to put you to sleep,so it is not recommended.

Sometimes history is the best teacher.Some stories, which seem unbeliev-

able, are in fact very true. Like the oneabout the fried peanut butter andbanana sandwich that the King, ElvisPresley, was said to be a fan of.

Legend has it that during his

See “Elvis-style,” page 22

Trinity blacksmiths are fashioning functional and beautiful home accessories that are built to lastBy Mandy CookThe Independent

For anyone with a decorative penchant for all thingsmedieval, you’re in luck. As part of the TrinityHistorical Society, the Green Family Forge is a fully

operational forge making wrought iron coat hooks, candle-holders, candelabras, fireplace poker sets, plant hangers andmore.

The forge dates back to 1895, as does the hand-operatedbellows that coaxes the fire to life each morning. It is in thislarge, drafty heritage site local blacksmiths hammer outhousehold items. They use intense coal-fired heat on a stur-dy anvil, just as their predecessors did while craftingschooner anchors in the 18th century. Today, it is a uniqueshopping stop to stock your house with solid, elementalhardware.

Wade Ivany, Green Family forge blacksmith for the pastsix years, never dreamed he’d make a living by molding ironrods into useful shapes. He thought it was a “dying art” andrecalls watching a local blacksmith — who “fired up” untilthe spry age of 70 — hard at work in the forge when he wasa young boy.

“Cyril Hiscock, he was always a blacksmith here in Trinityand he still fires up actually, he’s 87, he’s still got his ownforge,” says Ivany. “He’s fit as a fiddle. My dad hung out athis blacksmithing shop a fair bit and I always hung out withsome of his sons.

Wrought beauty

INDEPENDENTSTYLEFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 21

“I remember the hot metal and the sparks flying, he’dbe beating out grapnels (anchors) and stuff for the localfishermen, that was one of the major things he did. A five-claw grapnel. I can see Cyril beating those out now.”

Ivany says the forge is so busy making the smaller itemssuch as letter openers and coat hooks there is little timeleft over to create new designs. The forge is producing anew coat rack, however, which is fashioned after fish tails.Ivany says new designs tend to come to him in dreams, orhe might pick up on an idea or two while watching periodfilms such as Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.

“Some of the sconces and candleholders in the back-ground were pretty cool — but you miss a lot of the moviethat way,” he laughs.

One of the more popular big ticket pieces is the seven-candle hanging candelabra. Ivany says they are verylabour-intensive, and take about two-and-a-half days tomake. He estimates that most of the 10 pieces he’s madeover the last couple of years have sold locally – one ananniversary gift a local man bought for his son in St.John’s — as they are hard for tourists to pack and ship outof the province.

All the wrought iron creations can be purchased direct-ly at the forge during the six-month tourist season, onlineat the Trinity Historical Society website, and at the DevonHouse craft shop in St. John’s.

Meanwhile, Ivany says he’s a happy man to have theopportunity to play with the iron, work in his own com-munity, and make what he says is “a good honest living.”It’s a job he never thought he would inherit from CyrilHiscock.

“We thought with the modern age he was probably thelast of them.”

[email protected]

Cod Jigger coat hook, $25 Paul Daly/The Independent

with

NICHOLASGARDNEROff the Eating Path

22 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE NOVEMBER 3, 2006

DRINK TASTE

“wilderness years,” Elvis would con-sume many of these before going tobed. Here it is in all its glory: a peanutbutter and banana sandwich, Elvis-style.

• 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter • 2 slices bread• 1 small ripe banana,

mashed with a fork • 2 tablespoons butter

Spread peanut butter evenly on oneslice of bread, then spread mashedbanana on other slice. Put sandwichtogether.

Heat butter in frying pan over moder-ate heat until foam subsides, then frysandwich, turning over once, until gold-en brown, about two minutes total.

Eat immediately.

It fills all the criteria perfectly: carbo-hydrates, protein and plenty of trypto-phan.

While it seems like a good choiceany time of the day, I am not so sure itis perfect for bedtime. It is a bit labourintensive and requires cooking andcleaning up afterwards, which in mymind is a no-no.

I like the stealthy approach to thebed snack. Simple food and no cleanup.

So the next time you look in thefridge for a late night snack, think ofthe proper ingredients for a goodnight’s sleep.

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

By Nicholas GardnerFor The Independent

Ifeel like a kid at Christ-mas. I have a bag full ofwines, not even released

to the general public. I am onthe inside for the first time. Ihave the opportunity to tastesome of the wines selected forthe upcoming NLC WineFest, at the Delta Hotel in St.John’s, Nov. 16-18.

For those of you who havepurchased tickets to the NLCwine show — are you in for atreat. For wine connoisseursor those who want to seewhat’s new to the wine mar-ket in the city, it’s a goodchance to wrap your lipsaround some spectacularwines — and pick up somegreat bargains as well.

Take the Long Neck caber-net sauvignon for example.South Africa is developing astrong international reputa-tion for high quality productwithout high prices. This is anew release from the CapeTown region. Situated on thecoast, the terroir lends itselfto strong growing conditionsof hot sun combined with thecooling breeze from theocean. It makes for a goodmixture. This dark plum orpurple coloured wine is fullof deep, rich and ripe fruit.The nose sends hints of ace-tone; however it soon mel-lows out. A fruity palate offlavours descends on thetongue. A moderate long fin-ish seals the deal with ripecherries and plum overtones.This is one wine that will bewell liked at the show.

Raimat Abadia 2003 is sureto be another favourite. ThisSpanish wine is a mature tast-ing blend of cabernet sauvi-gnon, merlot and tempranillograpes.

The tempranillo is the best

Prepping for Wine Festknown of the Spanish grapesof the Rioja region. Whatcomes out is smooth andcreamy wine. The mouth feelis velvety smooth. Notes ofpepper and tobacco arenoticeable without beingoverbearing, and it ends witha long, elegant finish.Raimont will be one of thehits of the show. I am surethat this wine, if cellared, willonly get better with age.

On the white wine side ofthings we have the PlacidoPinot Grigio. When slightlychilled it retains a floral nose,a true mark of pinot gris. As apure pinot wine it is a goodexample.

Exotic fruits, citrus androse petals are present. It hasa delicate body, slightly spicyand sweet, but not sickly.This light coloured winewould be perfect with a lightsalad and citrus vinaigrette,or even just simple heat-kissed whitefish. I can see itworking its way onto manydinner tables when this showis over.

Rounding out the whitewines on hand is the FishHoek sauvignon blanc,another choice wine fromSouth Africa. While I doenjoy sauvignon blancs fromall over the world I wasslightly underwhelmed bythis example. I found itsyrupy and sweet — perhapsthat is the selling point — butnot to me. This wine was a bitdull as the muted flavourpalate of traditional apple andflorals didn’t make me dancefor joy in the least.

It just proves you can’t winthem all. But there are manyother choices to be had at theupcoming wine show —these are but a few to lookfor. Taste, and enjoy.

[email protected]

Jennifer Bain Torstar wire service

There are still freshly grown tomatoes to behad, even in this end of the country. Trythese tasty recipes for a different spin on

the healthy red fruit.

ELAINA’S TOMATO JAMElaina Asselin pairs this flavour-packed,

savoury jam with everything from breakfastsausages and burgers to roast meats. It works wellon cheese plates, too.

• 1 tsp coriander seeds• 1/2 tsp cardamom pods• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar• 1/4 cup each: balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar• 4 large tomatoes, peeled, diced (about 2 lb/900 g)• 1 onion, diced• 1/3 cup peeled, minced ginger

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast corian-der and cardamom until they start to smoke, about5 to 7 minutes. In coffee grinder or using mortarand pestle, grind coriander and cardamom intofine powder (make sure no slivers of podsremain). Stir in pepper.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, com-bine sugar and vinegars. Stir until sugar dis-solves. Add tomatoes, onion and ginger. Simmer,stirring occasionally and reducing heat if neces-sary, 2 hours (cooking time will vary dependingon water content of your tomatoes) or until jamthickens to desired consistency. Stir in coriandermixture.

Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in

sealed container up to 1 month or freeze in small-er containers up to 6 months.

Makes about 3 cups.

TOMATO SALAD WITH CUMIN & SMOKED PAPRIKA

From Spain, this tomato salad makes inspireduse of cumin and Spanish smoked paprika (nowwidely available from gourmet shops). Outside oftomato season, try hothouse Campari tomatoes(but adjust the quantity). The recipe is from The150 Best American Recipes: Indispensable Dishesfrom Legendary Chefs and Undiscovered Cooks(2006, $39.95) by Fran McCullough, MollyStevens and Rick Bayless.

• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled• 1 tsp kosher salt• 5 large tomatoes (about 2-1/2 lb/1-1/4 kg)• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar• Pinch freshly ground pepper• 1/2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika• 1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Using mortar and pestle, mash garlic with saltinto paste.

Peel one tomato; chop. Add to mortar. Pounduntil well blended. Add vinegar, pepper, paprikaand 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Pound until smooth. Addoil. Whisk into vinaigrette. (Makes about 1 cup.)

Cut remaining four tomatoes crosswise into1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange on serving platter insingle layer, overlapping as little as possible.

Pour vinaigrette over tomatoes. Sprinkle withremaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin.

Makes 4 to 6 side servings.

Tastytomatoes

Elvis-style sandwichFrom page 21

While I have holidays on mymind and Christmas is stillmonths away, I want to talk

about my personal favorite: Halloween. This unfortunate process called grow-

ing up has become a bit of a pain whenit comes to Halloween. I’ve reached theage where if I went trick or treating I’dget a few suspicious glances and ahandful of glares. Enough of thosewould deter just about anybody.

During my last real outing I dressedup as Slash from Guns ‘n’ Roses. As alast minute costume decision I thoughtit was an OK idea. I had the aged leatherjacket, the curly locks (all natural) andthe finishing touch — the top hat. Theonly part of the ensemble missing was acigarette hanging from my lip. I wasn’twilling to get that involved in a charac-ter.

Now I’ve been branded the adult, theone waiting on the doorbell. I’m on theother side now and there’s no going

back. I’ll be damned though if I sayanything like, “Oh, what a cute cos-tume” just yet. While I hand out treats Ican reflect on how Halloween, likemost childhood experiences, has itsshare of awkward moments.

I wish I could entirely blame New-foundland weather for all the times mymother forced me to wear winter coatsunder my costume. Her motherly in-stincts were sometimes off and the tem-perature didn’t plummet below freezingso not only did I look bloated, but I’d besweating buckets as well. The worstyear was when I was an angel. I lookedmore like Mr. Stay Puft from Ghost-busters — big, white and poofy. I would

rather have dealt with the cold. I still wish I could experience coming

home and dumping out my hard-earnedloot. After all that work, all a kid wantsto do is dig in. The torture of waiting forit to be carefully inspected seems unfair.It’s one of the first lessons you get fromyour parents that strangers can’t betrusted. A lot can hide behind smilingeyes and generous hands.

Once the feast commenced and theparents took their pick of the stash bymeans of bartering and trade, the tradi-tion of a scary movie marathon wouldbegin. The odd thing is, it’s not theghosts, werewolves, or any creepy crea-tures that get me jumping. Movies aboutpeople, especially true stories of the crueland twisted, will give me chills down myspine. I can always tell myself the mon-sters aren’t real, yet the truth of thepotential for evil that exists in the darkercorners of the human heart can’t bedenied.

It’s not something I want to see andI’ll gladly cower behind a pillow. Giveme a decent zombie flick over that anyday. The last good fright I got was whenthe phones and Internet went down.After my little paranoid rant about tech-nology taking revenge, I was almostprepared to board up the windows andbreak out the baseball bats and shot-guns. Lucky for me that wasn’t neces-sary — I’m sure my aim sucks.

The temptation to become someoneelse for a night is very appealing. Withdeadlines and stress I’d love to pretendto be a superhero or an important figurefrom the past. Maybe even somethingoff-the-wall like a water cooler or adeck of cards. Ideas keep filling myhead and I run off to find materials tomake a costume then I pass the frontdoor and remember my place.

This year there are no piles of candyspread over my floor. The only sweets Igot were the leftovers from my house,

which somehow doesn’t feel the sameas trick or treating for it.

Like the grass is always greener, thecandy always appears better on theother side. Mardi Gras is still a yearaway and I’m hardly looking forward toit. It would seem this holiday has lostsome of its enticement. I’m not givingup yet though, because it’s given me somany years of fun — not to mentionheadaches and toothaches.

Maybe I’ll even shrug off the nastylooks and ditch my post at the door tovisit a few houses next year. I believeage has no limits, except the boundarieswe put on ourselves. Live as old as youfeel. Young and foolish is how I’m feel-ing so it will be a night of horror, laugh-ter and stomachaches for me.

And if you’re wondering what I’mmost afraid of … I’ll never tell. Leia Feltham is a first-year student atMemorial University. Her columnreturns Nov. 17.

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTSTYLE • 23

Never too old for fright night

DETAILS

By Pam Pardy GhentFor The Independent

Todd Sharpe, 25, wanted to be a cop ora hairstylist while growing up in UpperIsland Cove. He settled on stylist —

though he says he would look as good in auniform as he does in his colourist apron.While it didn’t enter his mind at the time, hesays he’s become the stereotypical male styl-ist in one way at least — Sharpe is gay.

“I had more of a passion for this,” he saysof his flair for hair, recalling early childhoodmemories of braiding his sister’s long hair athis mother’s side. Sharpe says his family andfriends supported his decision from the start.

“It didn’t and doesn’t enter my mind, thatgay thing, not at all,” he says. “Maybe once ina blue moon people make comments, but I’ma professional and I just take it as a personali-ty difference so when a client gets curious Itry and be honest and still do my job.”

People, he says, are respectful — at least tohis face. Sharpe doesn’t see himself as flam-boyant, and because his sexuality is not anissue for him, it hasn’t become one for others.

“No one has given me a hard time aboutbeing gay and I have just as many men andwomen clients,” he says. He does admit somemen who sit in his chair seem nervous at first.“This is a busy industry. If they want their hairdone now, they might have to have it done by

the gay guy, but generally people are just real-ly great.

“Ten years ago maybe there would beissues, but not in this city at this time … ThatI’m gay is an old topic. The stereotyping ofwho does what — manly men do this job andfeminine men do that — is not there so muchanymore.”

There was a time, Sharpe jokes, “when wewere the good dressers … But now, that’sanother stereotype out the window andstraight men dress as good as us, or sometimesbetter.”

Sharpe says there were four men in his classwhile he studied to be a hair stylist — and,yes, “all of us were gay. But I have workedwith straight male stylists, they are out there.”

Cory Stuckless, 35, has a wife and kids andis living happily in Mount Pearl. He wasstudying engineering when he realized hewanted to become a stylist.

“I got involved as a model for a hair showand I found what the stylists did was so cre-ative that I just knew it was for me,” he says.

The road wasn’t easy. “Back in Grand Falls(where he’s from), it’s unheard of for a straightguy to do hair,” he laughs. His family andfriends thought he was “crazy” — but nowthey’re all satisfied clients. “My father won’tlet anyone else touch his hair now,” he adds.

“You automatically get tagged,” he says.“I’m a good dresser, I’m flirty, I’m not a bad

looking guy and what is your typical gay manlike anyway? I guess that would be theimpression someone might get.”

Most new clients who sit in his chair won’task directly, but Stuckless knows the pattern.“They ask in a roundabout way — what didyou do this weekend? Or they inquire aboutpictures you have up and that kind of thing.

“I’m a tough guy with a deep voice. I am aguy’s guy — only with flair — and I have atwist, I can make you look absolutely utterlybeautiful. How many men can do that?”

Stuckless understands the hesitation somemen have going to a male stylist.

“How many other professions get to touchyou the way a stylist does?” he asks. “Peoplehave to put their stereotyping aside, and menare just as fashion-conscious these days aswomen, so they just have to get over it, andfor the most part they have.”

Stuckless says, in general, social barriersare coming down and sexuality has little to dowith the profession anymore.

“The other men stylists here are all straight... now that’s not the norm, it just is rightnow,” he says. “But when we get a compli-ment from a gay guy, why wouldn’t that meanas much as one coming from a woman?

“My clients don’t care, as long as they lookfantastic when they leave my chair, and trustme, they all do.”

[email protected]

The old stereotypeIf you’re a guy and a hairstylist, chances are, people are going to make certain assumptions

LEIAFELTHAMFalling face first

Todd Sharpe Paul Daly/The Independent

24 • INDEPENDENTSTYLE NOVEMBER 3, 2006

By David Graham Torstar wire service

Frances Massey, the owner ofDavenport Tailors and Dress-makers, one of Toronto’s

busiest alteration companies, hassome words of caution for men shop-ping for an affordable suit.

“It’s all in the shoulders,” she says.“It is the most important part of thesuit. It’s the foundation. If it doesn’tfit in the shoulder, it makes our jobthat much more difficult. It can bedone but it’s a big job. A good tailorcan perform miracles. But it’s best to

start with as good a fit as possible.”She says most men can tell immedi-

ately if the shoulders of a suit are bal-anced. “You can tell by the way itfeels and the way it hangs,” she says.

And it’s preferable to buy a suitthat’s a little too big rather than toosmall.

“Inexpensive suits often don’t comewith a lot of extra fabric. They can bea little skimpy with off-the-rack suitsso letting it out is a challenge,” saysMassey. “It’s always easier to take itin than let it out. The length of a jack-et can be shortened.”

Taking the sleeves in is one of the

most frequent requests at DavenportTailors. Massey has a tip if the sleevesare too long: “Check to make sure thebuttonholes on the surgeon’s sleevesare not cut through the fabric. Again,it can be fixed but it’s just that muchmore work.”

Massey says it’s impossible to esti-mate the cost of alterations withouthaving the suit in front of her. But forexample, shortening the sleeves(including vent and lining) costsabout $45. And nipping in the waist ofa suit jacket is complicated and usual-ly comes in at around $55.

Fit is the real challenge, she asserts.

Style is subjective, though three-piecesuits are making a return. Fabric, aswell, is a chump’s game. “If the mate-rial appeals to your eye and your handthen you should go with it. You canask where the fabric came from andwhere the suit was made. It could befrom Spain or China but even thatdoesn’t tell you a lot.”

Mostly Massey wants to emphasizethat if you’ve got the money, there’snothing like a designer Italian suitfrom a pricey Bloor Street haberdash-er. But if money’s tight, consider anoff-the-rack number and factor in afew extra dollars for alterations.

We’re all overCHEAP SUITS

High-def TV more than a pretty picture

By Andrew ChungTorstar wire service

Those poor cathode-ray tube TVs,all lonely in the dark, dusty cor-ners of the electronics depart-

ment. They’re kind of awkward lookingQuasimodos, what with those humps jut-ting out their backs.

The staff ignore them. Not many wantthem any more. So they’re peddledcheap.

All the action is in the “sexy” depart-ment housing the flats. Flat-screen, high-definition digital TVs. They’re sleek,they look great and sound amazing.

But there’s one gigantic problem:whereas buying a good ol’ tube TV waspretty straightforward (Colour? Check.Remote? Check), buying a flat-screenHDTV can be daunting, filled with scaryabbreviations and little reliable help atthe store.

That’s what I found a few months agowhen I bought a Toshiba TheaterwideHDTV, only to take it back toFutureshop after a few days of bewilder-ment and grief.

Most of the channels I watched lookedterrible. What was I doing wrong? Turnsout nothing. I simply hadn’t done myhomework. I wasn’t asking the rightquestions.

For example, this is something theywon’t tell you in the store: rememberthat the hi-def digital content broadcaston cable, satellite or over the air is stilllimited.

Depending on the TV you buy andyour personal expectations, regular, oranalog, TV could actually look worse onyour new HDTV than on your old set. Somake sure you can return the TV if youdon’t like it.

Here are a few other tips to increaseyour chances of buying the right one foryou:

• Don’t be afraid to make the salesper-son work.

When you go to a big store, theyundoubtedly will be playing DVDs toensure the best picture on the displaymodels. Ask if they can show you regu-lar cable or satellite channels.

If that’s impossible, ensure the sameDVD is playing on all the TVs that youwant to compare. Ask to place those TVsside by side for the best comparison.

• If you don’t have cable or satelliteand want to catch hi-def digital signalsover the air, your TV must have an inte-grated ATSC tuner to receive HDTVprograms (most don’t) or you must buyone.

• HDTV is all about resolution; its pic-ture is much more detailed.

You should look for the abbreviations1080i or 760p, or even 1080p for the bestpicture for films and sports.

• The jury is still out on plasma versusliquid-crystal display (LCD). Many sug-gest LCD is longer lasting and not sub-ject to a station identity logo “burning”into the screen. But the biggest flat-screens are still available only in plasma.

• For easy connection of video gameconsoles or video cameras, look foraudio-video (or S-video) inputs and out-puts on the front or side of the TV.

Despite all the hype, there’s still nourgency to buy an HDTV set.

Analog signals are scheduled to end inthe United States in 2009.

But there is no date yet for Canada,and it’s a given that analog will bearound here longer than that.

If you can afford it, buy an HDTVwidescreen. Chances are you’ll be happywith it. But if not, don’t fret about givingthose dusty Quasimodos at the back ofthe store a second look.

What’s new in the automotive industryNOVEMBER 3-9, 2006

FEATURED VEHICLE

Card-carrying member of the Kiss ArmyIreally like what kids are driving

these days, those hopped upmachines called “Tuners.” They’re

customized, individualized, rollingpieces of art, oozing past thesoccer moms and workingdads, always on their waytowards someone coolerthan thou.

They run on lowered sus-pension, “slammed to theground” as it were, withwide, oversized wheelssporting tires so thin it lookslike they’re painted on.

Then there’s the big wingon the back and tinted win-dows. Slow, booming musicyou can feel in your chest asit rolls by, like there’s a partypassing you with the curtains drawn.

Tuners have hot little motors with allkinds of bolt-on goodies — probablyeven a chip to override the stock com-puter so she can dance with the best.And they sound good too, with the fat“can” peeking out back, singing athroaty, mellow note. It wouldn’t be

complete without the wild paint andgraphics … nothing is.

The whole package takes a lot ofwork. Work to build it and work to pay

it off; that means kids areoccupied and take pride intheir possessions. That buildscharacter. It stimulates theeconomy too.

Businesses grow andaccommodate consumerdemand, whether it be for cus-tom rims or massive car stere-os. If the kids want it they’llsell it to them and install it too.It’s all good.

I like what the kids drive, Ilike the whole idea, but it’s notfor me. You see, the loweredsuspension on thin rubber

amounts to a pretty stiff ride, and themusic, and the wings, and the paint ...it’s all a bit too conspicuous. Besides,you look foolish, although don’t take itpersonally. I was a teenager in the ’70s— the last great age of rolling foolish-ness.

It was a time of muscle cars, when

Chargers, Camaros and Mustangs ruledthe roads and we customized thosesuperb cars as no car ought to be cus-tomized.

Forgive us for jacking them up in theback and reducing their handling. Big,fat slicks always look good on a car —besides you had to have something forthose awesome big V-8s to smoke. Theair was scented with burnt rubber as welistened to Smoke on the Water on the8-track.

We put “shag” carpet in everything(especially vans); that’s why it’s called“shag” carpet.

Some of us were victims of the CB-radio craze, made popular by movieslike Smokey and the Bandit.

A huge CB whip antenna was theicing on the cake for many a DodgeDart, with gold, adhesive letters acrossthe trunk spelling out the cryptic “Hi,I’m XM-66-4444.” Those would be thecall letters for communicating with theowner of said Dart. I know, it wasawful, but cell phones weren’t inventedthen. Neither was FM radio or cableTV. What else was there to do but cus-

tomize your car and smoke the tires offit?

We were foolish long before youwere — card-carrying members of theKiss Army.

Now we’re the largest, most power-ful group of consumers ever targeted —the Boomers. To catch our fancy,Dodge came back with the Charger,

‘cept it’s running on oversize wheels,not-too-thin tires and it’s a four-doorwith room for the family.

It’s a smart package, cool enough fora kid but built for a dad.

Mark Wood of Portugal Cove-St.Philips still has 8-track tapes.

MARKWOOD

WOODY’SWHEELS

2006 NISSAN 350Z ROADSTERThis hot little number boasts 300 HP and 260 lb-ft of torque proving that really good things come in small packages. The seamless 7000 rpm shift and 4-valve heads’ free-breathing abilities make driving the 350Z anemotional experience. Model shown starts at $53,698 and is available at O’Neill Motors, Topsail Rd. Above: Pier 17, St. John’s waterfront. Paul Daly/The Independent

26 • INDEPENDENTSHIFT NOVEMBER 3, 2006

Lessons learnedKART RACING SUCCESS REQUIRES TALENT, LUCK - AND A LOT OF MONEY

So near and yet so far. Marco DiLeo, 19, one-half of the kart rac-ing Di Leo brothers of

Markham, Ont. - Daniel, 24, being theother - went into last Sunday’s finalraces in the Skip Barber U.S. NationalRacing Series holding a slim, four-point lead in the championship.

Four points ahead of a thunderingthrong of similarly young, ambitiousand lightning quick formula car racers,all intent on turning heads and provingpoints going into the finaltwo rounds of the 14-racechampionship in which theyall drove identical machines.

Four points which, if theyheld up, would mean notonly a championship trophy(and the bragging rights) buta cheque for $100,000 thatwould go a long way towardraising the budget needed tocontinue climbing U.S. autoracing’s professional ladder.

Four points that mightlead to a ride in the StarMazda series, for instance,which was the path to stardom chosenby Brian Herta, Marco Andretti andA.J. Allmendinger, among others

Four points ahead after 12 races. But two days and two races later, at

Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, thosefour points ahead became two pointsbehind. Marco Di Leo just missedwinning that championship and themoney that went with it. A youngAmerican, Jonathan Goring, tookhome the spoils while Di Leo came ina disappointing second.

It was a tough title to lose. After fin-ishing third in the first race of theweekend (Oct. 28), all Di Leo had todo to claim first place was finish aheadof Goring in the final race on Sunday -

oh, and have at least one car betweenthem.

It very nearly happened. If a young racer named Peter

Husser, another American, hadn’t spunout on the last corner of the last lapwhen Di Leo passed him, he wouldhave finished between the Canadianand Goring and Di Leo would havebeen champ.

But Husser did spin - and Goringgot past him to finish in fifth place,

one spot behind Di Leo,which gave him 647 pointsto Di Leo’s 645.

Bummer.“It was a tough weekend,”

Marco Di Leo said. “We alldrive Skip Barber cars in thatseries and a lot of us hadtrouble in the Saturday racewith engines overheating.But I finished third in thatrace and that was OK.

“Sunday, I had such agood race. The whole objec-tive was to keep him(Goring) behind me, which I

did. And everything worked out per-fectly when I passed (Husser) at thelast corner.

“It paid off for about a second. Thenhe spun out and my heart sank becausethat meant Goring was through (pastHusser).”

Marco Di Leo did not sound dis-couraged. But he is now in exactly thesame bind as his older brother Daniel:a driver with a tonne of talent and apromising future and the only thingholding him back from fame and gloryis moolah, or the lack thereof.

As any number of young and talent-ed Canadian racing drivers might saywelcome to the club.

Daniel Di Leo, for instance, was

North American karting championfour times. He also went the SkipBarber route, finishing third in his firstyear in the National series (Allmen-dinger was second).

He then moved on to the BarberDodge Pro series in 2002 and wasrookie-of-the year in his first season,in which he finished fourth in thechampionship. The next year he wassecond in the title chase.

In 2004, he was offered a ride in theStar Mazda series and continued toimpress people by finishing second inthe championship and winning rookie-of-the-year.

But then, things sort of came to agrinding halt.

“With bigger and better series comebigger and better budgets,” saidDaniel, in an interview. “I wanted togo into Formula Atlantic last year(2005), but a season in those cars costs$750,000 and I just couldn’t raise thatamount of money.

“I got to do one race in Atlantics lastyear, at Road America in Wisconsin,and I finished third and that got theattention of some of the owners. I wasclose to a deal with Forsythe Racing’sAtlantic team for this year but I gotoutbid at the last minute.

“It’s killing me to be on the side-lines. But I have some irons in the fire- I expect to race next February in the24 Hours of Daytona and that couldlead to a ride in the Grand Am series -but there’s nothing really definite.”

Marco, meantime, has his eye on theStar Mazda series but - as it is with hisbrother and so many others - it comesdown to money.

“A full season is going to cost about$400,000,” he said. “I’m in a big holebut there are some subsidized ridesaround in auto racing — that’s whereif a team can sign up somebody who‘sable to bring a full budget, then theycan afford to run a second car for notquite as much money.

“I’ve been talking to a few teamslike that. I got $20,000 from SkipBarber for finishing second, so I thinkI could probably go racing next yearwith a good team for $100,000. I justhave to come up with the other$80,000.”

On any weekend in summer, whenyou go to a family kartway, or a roadcourse like Mosport or a race track likeAvondale Speedway in Newfoundlandand Labrador, you’ll see a lot ofdreams racing around.

Thousands of kids (and not-so-young kids) start out determined to bethe next Michael Schumacher orDanica Patrick or Tony Stewart. Theproblem, when you get right down toit, is that there are fewer than 200 driv-er jobs, in total, in the upper echelonsof big-league auto racing.

Which means that most of thosethousands of ambitious and talentedpeople don’t make it.

Although they remain determined toget to the top, the Di Leo brothers arevery fortunate in that they do havesomething to fall back on - a businessthat will keep them close to the sportthey adore.

Many years ago, father Frank decid-ed that it would be a good experiencefor his then nine-year-old son Danielto take up go-kart racing. They went toGoodwood Kartways in Stouffville,Ont., and, first time out, Daniel wonhis race.

“My mom, Rita, wasn’t too happyabout the racing,” said Daniel. “But Icame home with a big trophy that wasjust about up to my waist and that wonher over. She’s been very supportive ofmy brother’s and my racing activitiesever since.”

The Di Leos continued to practiceand race at Goodwood while theyracked up their championships. Tenyears or so ago, Frank Di Leo pur-chased the Goodwood business. Heleased it out until last year, but then lethis two sons take it over.

“I’m still dreaming,” said Daniel,“but we have the business now andI’m learning that. I still want to go rac-ing, but life goes on.”

Marco, five years younger, is stillbullish on his open wheel racingfuture. But he’s in his third year ofstudying business at the University ofOntario in Oshawa — just in case.

— Torstar Syndication Services

NORRISMCDONALD

TRACKTALK

Bahraini Ali Aryan, 32, the first Arab to hold Top-Fuel Dragster licence, makes his first test runlast week at the Bahrain International Circuit, 25 km south of Manama.

Hamad Mohammed/Reuters

TESTING, TESTING

It’s here in our

community. Please

make a difference

by volunteering.

lives here.

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

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTSHIFT • 27

Looking for a live dealLORRAINE SOMMERFELD DOESN’T TRUST EBAY— SHE’S LOOKING TO BUY IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

James Bond back with Aston Martin

James Bond, the legendary Britishsecret agent, will drive an AstonMartin in the next 007 film, CasinoRoyale, being released later thismonth. Daniel Craig plays JamesBond in the film.

In the true tradition of Bond, fulldetails of the car are being kept topsecret, but the company did confirmthat it would be a new model calledthe Aston Martin DBS.

Chairman and chief executive offi-cer Dr. Ulrich Bez said: “It is great

that Bond will drive an Aston Martinagain and we have built him some-thing special to enable him to do hisjob in style.”

The association with the marquebegan in 1964 with the filmGoldfinger when the DB5 was fittedwith “optional extras” such as ejectorseats and rockets. The last Bond film,Die Another Day, tragically the finalouting with Pierce Brosnan as Bond,featured Aston Martin’s flagshipmodel, the Vanquish.

Pierce Brosnan with the Aston Martin he drove as James Bond in 2002’s Die Another Day.Reuters

Ford Motor Company’s dealersdelivered 215,985 vehicles to U.S.customers in October, up 8 per centcompared with a year ago. It is thesecond monthly sales increase for thecompany, which posted a 5 per centincrease in September.

October car sales were up 22 percent as sales for the company’s newmid-size cars (Ford Fusion, MercuryMilan and Lincoln MKZ) were morethan double a year ago. The FordFocus and the outgoing Ford Taurusalso posted sharply higher sales.

Truck sales were up 1 per cent, led

by gains for the new 2007 Expeditionand Navigator, which now are on salein dealerships.

Expedition sales were 8,553 (up 41per cent), and Navigator sales were2,066 (up 44 per cent).

Ford’s F-Series pickup also was up3 per cent, and the Ford Econolinefull-size van was up 31 per cent.

October sales for the Ford Escape(9,603) lifted the vehicle’s lifetimesales to more than one million. TheEscape has been the best-selling smallutility vehicle in the United Statessince it was introduced in 2000.

Ford’s US numbers up

At an event gathering a group ofCanada's leading automotivejournalists last week, Jaguar

Canada recently presented theAutomotive Journalist Association ofCanada (AJAC) Automotive Journalistof the Year Award to MetroNewspapers’ journalist Nadine Filion.

This coveted award was inauguratedin 1984 by past Jaguar Canada presi-dent, John Mackie, who was on hand topresent the award, to “reward excel-lence in automotive journalism.”

A variety of submissions are consid-ered for this award including featurestory, car review, general editorial opin-ion, with personal style and mastery ofthe subject taken into account for allapplications of media — print, televi-sion, radio and Internet.

Filion is a second-time winner of thisprestigious award. The panel of threejudges with extensive journalism andliterary backgrounds was impressedwith the way in which Filion brokethrough the clutter of automotivereviews to bring her audience interest-ing stories to read.

FRESH AND FLOWING“In a genre dominated by stories that

all start to sound the same after a while,Nadine's stories were consistently freshand flowed easily, never dragging interms of pace or of content,” said MarcLalonde, journalist with the West IslandChronicle in Montreal and one of thejudges on the panel.

“This year’s winner showed an abili-ty to make automotive articles interest-ing to all readers — not just those whoopen the automotive section first.”

First runner-up, Robert Bosetelaar, awriter for the Ottawa Citizen, was saidby the judges to have a “consistentlyclean, conversational writing style andproduced well-balanced car reviewsthat neither salivate nor skewer eachtest vehicle.”

Second runner-up was awarded to JilMcIntosh of the Toronto Star for pro-viding “exceptionally interestingbehind-the-scenes information ofwhich the public likely would not beaware.”

McIntosh’s articles “were especiallyinformative and evidenced excellentinvestigative reporting.”

www.ford.ca

Jaguar’s journalist of the year

Marc, 15, has just purchased a bike. It’s not new - no,he has an almost new bike I bought him last springthat apparently isn’t good enough. The days of kids

just riding around are over. Now they have to pretend they’rein the circus, jumping off steps and climbing mountains, all ontheir bikes.

He announced that he was going to go on EBay to find agreat used bike that had all the miracle parts he required.Every time he starts listing all the specialty parts he needs ona bike, I read one of my columns aloud to him. Stops himevery time. He had been showing me new bikes that costabout $3,000. After I came to, I chased him around determinedto slap some sense into him.

I do not like EBay. I do not trust EBay. It is a deep-seatedmistrust of blindly purchasing something I can’t see. Myfather bred into me a lifelong fear of being stuck with a pig ina poke. I have no clue what a poke is, though I do know whata pig is and I don’t think I would want one, with or without thepoke. And I sure wouldn’t want to end up with a pig when Ibelieved I was purchasing a bicycle.

I caught Marc e-mailing people in Vancouver, enquiringabout mailing costs for a bike. I told him to stop. (“They saythey’re a 16-year-old boy, but that means nothing!”) I caughtanother bid he was putting in. As I read the fine print, I askedif he was aware that he was bidding on a box of parts. Hegulped. I yanked the EBay account.

I announced that he may only buy a bike here in town, froma place where we can go and see it first. I told him I want tomeet parents. As he prepared to die of embarrassment, Ireminded him that while he indeed knew more than I did aboutbikes, I knew more about absolutely everything else in life.My kid was not going to purchase a hot bike from some littlecriminal in training.

In the middle of all this, I received a press release. There’sa new website here in Canada that allows you to do just whatI was begging Marc to do. It came to me with regard to sell-ing cars, but they have pretty much every category of mer-chandise that you can imagine.

It’s called LiveDeal.ca, and in conjunction with TorstarDigital it’s a site that serves as a marketplace that can be aslarge or as small as you like. You can punch in an area codeand shop right in your town. If you’re selling something, youcan post it for free. It allows you to comparison shop betweenprivate sellers and car dealerships, and to check availability ofitems across Canada.

I know people love EBay. I know a guy who bought a caron EBay. A whole car. Craziness, I tell you. I’ve only concen-trated on the horror stories I’ve heard — people mailing boxesof rocks - because when I have a point to make, I am highlyselective about my facts.

Marc found his dream bike. He saved for months, and wepicked it up on the weekend. For $1,100 (no, that’s not a typo),he has a bike that to my mother-eye looks like every other bikein the garage, and it didn’t even come with a pig. He can nowapparently climb Mount Everest on this bike. He also has abadly sprained ankle, and I told him he’s not allowed to ride ityet. He hasn’t looked this sad since I took away the EBayaccount.

From now on, we’ll be going to theLiveDeal site to source things. I’ve caughtmyself looking up things I don’t evenwant, just to test it. I paused over the freeitems. I’m not sure why someone wouldhave a female mannequin, let alone be giving it away, but it’smore interesting than the free manure.

LiveDeal was too late to help Marc in his quest for a bike,but we’re due for a new car in the very near future. It’ll behelpful. It’ll also be helpful if Jackson, 12, doesn’t find outthey also have pets. — Torstar Syndication Services

LORRAINESOMMERFELD

POWERSHIFT

28 • INDEPENDENTFUN NOVEMBER 3, 2006

WEEKLYDIVERSIONSACROSS1 Takes a curving course5 Part of a blind9 Anesthetized13 Prov. half covered byforest17 Untrue story18 ___-fairy19 Crossing the Atlantic20 Citrus hybrid21 Hlinka of hockey22 Bring up23 Peddle24 Liona with the guitar25 Talked with hands28 Not: prefix30 Within31 ___ and void32 Unit of loudness36 Like AudreyHepburn39 Clarity of thought orexpression40 The ___ Diaries(Carol Shields)43 At least a little44 Sports nut45 Heavily engagedwith46 Adjoin47 Japanese waist wrap48 The ref drops it49 Boy Scouts founder:___-Powell50 Ballet step51 GG’s residence:Rideau ___52 Baseball stat.53 ___ cent

54 Decline56 Snake that squeezes57 Region of oldestAcadian settlement inN.S.60 Soften (flax)61 Symbol of slyness62 Symbols of similarity63 Choose (to)65 Hairlike structure ona cell68 Black Sea fish nowin L. Erie: Round ___69 Supply with weapons70 Meat spread71 Bearded flower72 Afternoon do’s73 ___ Lanka74 Singled out75 Canadian city with1832 cholera epidemic77 Faster79 More irate80 Start of a day?81 Mob member85 Summer time inPeggy’s Cove86 Try to transmit a sys-tem of thought89 Author Vonnegut92 Healthy94 Hungarian sheepdog95 Heron’s kin96 Fix firmly97 Foil relative98 State (Fr.)99 Mailed100 Move with the wind101 Communists, once

102 Staffs103 Three (Span.)

DOWN1 Inuit hooded shirtworn under parka2 Yukon’s official bird3 Category4 Able to feel and per-ceive5 Native communitynear Calgary6 Stead7 Vanishing sea of cen-tral Asia8 Unrestrained exerciseof power9 Orange variety10 Drew on11 Cape Breton coalminers’ choir: ___ of theDeeps12 N.S. town withAlexander Graham BellMuseum13 Company controlledby a parent company14 Gone by15 Wily16 Child26 Not being used27 Word of disapproval29 “___ Farce Canada!”32 N.S.’s official dog:___ tolling retriever33 Wrap tightly34 Suffix with lay35 Leader of UpperCanada Rebellion

(1837): William ___Mackenzie37 Type of roof38 Indigo plant39 Plural of locus40 It runs in spring41 Slope ascender42 English river44 Ukrainian mayor ofWinnipeg, 1957-7747 Hop-drying kiln48 Authorized agent49 Asks for alms51 Paint-chip offerings53 English baby car-riage55 Thwarted56 Moves like a boxer:___ and weaves57 Eagle’s nest58 Rich soil59 French river paintedby Monet61 Stable new-born62 Skin64 Dry flax65 Fine cotton66 Decrease?67 Kind of cod68 One of four on thefloor70 Writer of mockingimitations72 It’s for baby to biteon73 P.E.I.’s officialflower: lady’s ___74 No (Ger.)76 Free

77 To and ___78 Characteristics80 Liberates82 River through Rome

83 Online magazine84 They’re found inscores86 Entered a plea

87 Prefix: self88 Delighted89 Secret police, once90 Mod or glob ending

91 Flee93 Silverback, e.g.

ARIES (MAR. 21 TO APR. 19) Temper your direct approachwith a little more diplomacy.Not everyone appreciates theAries’ penchant for telling it likeit is. A gentler method earnstrust.

TAURUS (APR. 20 TO MAY 20) A former associate wants toreward your creative skills with a tempting job offer. But are you sure you want to accept the conditions that come withit?

GEMINI (MAY 21 TO JUNE 20) A relationship you’d like to culti-vate presents some challengesthat you’re not sure you can han-dle. Don’t make any decisionsuntil you feel more confidentabout the situation.

CANCER (JUNE 21 TO JULY 22) Your need for attention can createon-the-job tensions with co-work-ers who feel you don’t like toshare the credit. Show them thatyou can be a generous colleague.

LEO (JULY 23 TO AUG. 22) Going to the mall is like rolling incatnip for you fine Felines. Buttemper your urge to splurge untilyou’ve resolved those lingeringfinancial problems.

VIRGO (AUG. 23 TO SEPT. 22) Even a human dynamo like your-self needs time out to restorethose depleted energy reserves.Do something spontaneous andwonderful.

LIBRA(SEPT. 23 TO OCT. 22)Some fraying friendships might

be beyond repair. Accept it, andgo on to build other relationships.Expect good news about a newproject.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 TO NOV. 21)Accept the fact that you reallyneed more training if you plan tocompete for new opportunities inyour workplace — and then goout and get it!

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22 TO DEC. 21) A new work situation could con-flict with your penchant for doingthings your way. A sensible com-promise resolves matters.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 TO JAN. 19) The Capricorn Goat is both cau-tious and capricious. So set yourconservative self aside for awhile and indulge in some newadventures.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20 TO FEBR. 18) Your ability to keep an openmind about people helps you dealwith an unexpected situation thatsuddenly erupts in your personallife.

PISCES (FEB. 19 TO MAR. 20) It’s a good time to patch up neg-lected friendships. Make thoseoverdue calls and start planningreunions with some wonderfulpeople.

BORN THIS WEEKYou’re the model for what afriend should be: You’re loyaland devoted and can be dependedon to be fair and open-minded.

(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 30

SOLUTION ON PAGE 30

INDEPENDENTSPORTSFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3-9, 2006 — PAGE 29

Late in the school year severalyears back, my son came hometotally excited.

“Dad, tomorrow we’re going to thepark for Fun Day.”

Unaware of such an event, I askedwhat exactly it entailed. He told methere would be events, like a sack raceand a three-legged race.

“Oh, Sports Day,” I remember say-ing, recalling the days of my youth andone of the great traditions of the educa-tion system. “You’ll enjoy that.Everybody participates in races, andthe top three finishers get ribbons.”

“Oh no, Dad,” he assured me. “Myteacher says everybody gets a ribbon.There are no winners or losers, shesaid. Everybody is equal.”

Now, I knew he was young, but Ihad to sit him down immediately.

“Listen,” I said. “Every race has a

winner and losers. Everybody is notequal. You’re going to be able to dosome things better than other kids.Other kids are going to be able to dosome things better than you. Somekids are faster. Some are slower. Someare taller. Everybody has his or herown talents.

“You go back and tell Miss that Isaid she’s wrong: everybody is notequal, and the quicker she starts teach-ing that message to her students, thebetter off you all will be.”

I don’t know that he ever followedup on our conversation, but my words

have been proven true ever since.The boy plays baseball in the sum-

mer and hockey and basketball in thewinter. (He’s also tried and enjoyeddiving, gymnastics, skateboarding,street hockey, golf and swimming.) Ateach sport, especially at the minorlevel, some kids are way ahead of theothers. There are also others who havetrouble grasping the game. (That’s alsotrue in adulthood.)

It’s called life. And I figured the quicker the kid

understands that, the quicker he canlearn to handle things like disappoint-ment, which — if he continues to playsports — will definitely come.

Not everybody was born to be anathlete. Young athletes come in allshapes and sizes. Some have naturalathletic ability, while others need todevelop their skill.

And some become better at theirchosen sport later in life. We all knowlittle hockey or soccer phenoms at 11who are average at best at 18.

Now comes word from a Universityof Saskatchewan researcher that kidswho are born late in the year are more

likely to be weeded out of minor hock-ey.

According to a recent Toronto Stararticle, Lauren Sherar, a PhD studentin kinesiology, studied 619 boys aged14 and 15 who participated in theSaskatchewan provincial team selec-tion camps in 2003. Obviously, thereare size and strength discrepancies inchildren at that age. But what Sherarfound out was that of the 40 boysselected for the teams, 31 had birth-days in the first half of the year.

(This study was done on hockeyplayers, but past experience tells methis rule applies equally at all minorsports where age defines the categoryin which you compete.)

“All coaches would agree they wantto pick the best team,” Sherar wasquoted in the Star, “but they also need

We’ve got some growing to doAre kids born late in the year missing out on athletic opportunities?

See “Exceptions to the rule,” page 30

hope For every

questionthere is ananswer.

We’re here.

Hope through education, supportand solutions.

1.800.321.1433 www.arthritis.ca

DON POWERPower Point

Daylight saving time ended Oct. 29and the sun set at 4:48 p.m., for aday that was only 10 hours and

eight minutes long. Monday was three min-utes and eight seconds shorter. From nowon, each successive day will get a littleshorter until we reach Dec. 21, the shortestday of the year.

The long lazy days of summer are behindus for another year, and all angling seasonsare closed. No more evenings by the pond,casting a fly to rising trout while the sunslowly sinks in the western sky. What’s anangler to do, with all the cold and darknessahead? Tie flies, of course.

Long dark winter evenings are opportunefor tying flies and dreaming about nextyear’s fishing. My dedicated tying seasonbegins with the end of daylight savingstime. I tie the occasional small batch ofemergency flies throughout the fishing sea-son, but when darkness comes early, thetying gets serious.

This year I’m trying to be more organ-ized. I’ve blocked my tying time accordingto fish species: sea-run browns, salmon,brook trout, and so on. Maybe this hobby ofmine is getting just a tad too serious. Mytwo salmon fishing buddies continue topraise my “brown bombers” but shy awayfrom fly tying their own.

This leaves me with about 60 bombers totie at about 20 minutes each, about 20 hoursof tying altogether. Bombers are the leastenjoyable to tie, so I’ll tackle them first. Iusually tie flies about two hours per nightand get in about four nights per week so thebombers will take me about three weeks —give or take a few days for visitors,

Christmas shopping and writing deadlines. I suppose my hobby sounds like work or

a burden to many, but on the contrary, Ienjoy tying flies almost as much as castingthem. It keeps me attuned to my sport whilethe snow blows and keeps me distancedfrom those stupid TV reality shows.

I have a small room downstairs dedicatedto the outdoors. Here I can practice mycraft, surrounded by my fishing gear, rifles,books, magazines and fly rods. I make asmuch mess as I like without dire domesticconsequences. It’s the only room Goldiedoesn’t clean and arrange.

It’s my 10x10 escape from work andreality. I put on some music or VOCM’sOpen Line and it’s the next best thing tofishing. Tying sessions end with a voicefrom above: “Are you staying down thereall night or what?” Winter would be just toolong without flies to tie. If I didn’t fish I’dprobably put together model airplanes,build furniture, or play blues guitar —

something to get me through the snow. So if you like to fish and also find winter

nights boring, consider tying your ownflies.

There’s something extra rewarding aboutfooling a trout or salmon with fur, featherand steel brought together tastefully byyour own hands. I hope my fishing buddiesare reading this. With Christmas around thecorner, maybe Santa could help out withsome gear to get started.

Kits are great but often contain a bunchof stuff you don’t need while missing someessential materials for the flies you use themost. If you know a seasoned fly tyer, takeadvantage and ask for advice on what youreally need. Pick out no more than 10 sim-ple flies and have your tyer friend list thematerials (fur and feather) you need.

Stick to simple patterns like the Hare’sEar or Brown Hackle for trout and the Blue

A hobby for cold, dark nightsIf it wasn’t for fly tying, writes Paul Smith, winter would just be too long

PAUL SMITHThe Rock Outdoors

See “Vice, bobbin and scissors,” page 30

Some kids are faster. Some are slower.Some are taller.

Everybody has his or her own talents.

John Morrissey salmon fishes on the Exploits River. Paul Daly/The Independent

30 • INDEPENDENTSPORTS NOVEMBER 3, 2006

Solutions for crossword on page 28 Solutions for sudoku on page 28

to consider how best to foster future talent. Byselecting only the biggest kids, they are possiblyignoring the smaller, more talented kid who issmall because they are late maturing or have abirthday late in the selection year.”

And while Sherar’s research — which will bepublished this month in the Journal of SportsSciences — was done at the 14-15 age bracket, itapplies equally at eight or nine, 10 or 12. Atthose younger ages, a couple of months — nevermind years — can have a big impact on thechild’s development.

A January boy may be stronger or more devel-oped than a boy born 11 months later, inDecember of the same year. Yet they’re compet-ing for the same spot.

Naturally, in those instances, the coach isgoing to select the stronger kid. The problemthen becomes finding a spot for the smaller late-bloomers.

If they continually get passed over for all-starteams, then they’re going to gravitate away fromthat sport, and into something they can succeedat. Although hockey is changing for the bettertoday, size is still one of the first characteristics

looked at by coaches and scouts.But while that rule applies generally, there are

always exceptions.For every Terry Ryan (Jan. 14), Harold

Druken (Jan. 26) or John Slaney (Feb. 7), thereis a Daniel Cleary, whose Dec. 18 birthday obvi-ously didn’t impact his hockey development.

Ted Purcell, now at the University of Maine,was one of those late bloomers. A Septemberbaby, Purcell is now, at 21, a sturdy six-foot-two,175 pounds. Yet five years ago, he was consid-ered a small player.

Coaches picking teams are selecting kids forthe here and now. They don’t care that Purcellgrew about five inches after midget hockey. It’sa now generation: we want immediate results.Kids who take longer to mature are often pushedaside by ones who mature early.

That doesn’t mean the early kids will be betterathletes as adults. It just means they’ll be givena lot more opportunity to prove and establishthemselves early.

Which often leaves the late bloomers lookingon from the sidelines.

Sadly, that too, is life.

[email protected]

Exceptions to the ruleFrom page 29

Charm for salmon. Simple patterns will teach youthe basics without too much frustration. Leaveclassic salmon patterns and extended body troutflies until you gain experience and confidence.

“A carpenter is only as good as his or hertools,” and “you got to have the right gear.” Theseare wise words and are so true in fishing and flytying. The basic tying tools are the vice, bobbinand scissors. Buy the best vice you can afford. Adecent one will cost about $50, but it is the foun-dation of fly tying and a poor quality vice willcause nothing but aggravation. Its function is tohold the hook securely while you attach materi-als; simple but critical. Learning fly tying can bedifficult enough without the hook constantly slip-ping.

The bobbin holds the thread you use to tiematerials to the hook. They sell for somewherebetween $5 and $10 and most types function ade-quately. Models with ceramic tubes are bestbecause they are less prone to cutting the thread

when you apply pressure. Snapping the threadwith a fly half tied spoils the fun.

Fly tyers are very fussy over their scissors andfor good reason. Quality scissors are expensiveand easy to ruin by using them for householdstuff like wrapping Christmas presents and open-ing milk cans. Sharp scissors are essential tocleanly cut fur and feather. A decent pair can behad for $20. For $100 you can get a decent startin fly tying with tools that won’t need replacingand enough material to tie 10 or so of yourfavourite patterns.

A final word of advice: don’t tie flies on thekitchen table. Goldie got very upset one morningwhen she found a caribou hair in her cornflakes.Better get a room, or at least a corner, of yourvery own.

Paul Smith is a freelance writer living inSpaniard’s Bay, enjoying all outdoorsNewfoundland and Labrador has to offer.

[email protected]

From page 29

Vice, bobbin and scissors

A recreational pursuitColin Higgs conducting ‘visionary but realistic’ public consultations to guide provincial sports department

By Don PowerFor The Independent

Colin Higgs is a man of integrity. So whenthe provincial government handpickedthe former director of Memorial

University’s School of Human Kinetics andRecreation to conduct public consultations for anew recreation and sport study — one thatwould potentially guide the Department ofTourism, Culture and Recreation’s sport policiesfor the next decade or more — Higgs knew thepublic would roll its collective eyes at thethought of “another study.”

That’s why he wanted two conditions attachedto the project before he agreed to proceed. Herequested and received a meeting with MinisterTom Hedderson to lay them out.

“One is that these were genuine and legitimatepublic consultations, not where we ask what youwant and then go ahead and do what we wantanyway,” Higgs says. “To me, from my own per-sonal integrity, it was really important that thesewere genuine public consultations.

“The second one was that if there was a goodplan, there would be more funding made avail-able for sport and recreation. Quite correctly, theminister said while he couldn’t make any suchpromise, that was certainly his intention — to goto cabinet and try to improve sport and recre-ation in the province.”

After an initial brainstorming session with “allthe key players,” Higgs designed a questionnairefor the meetings. These events, he notes, are notdesigned to rehash old problems or mistakes;they’re to project a path for the future.

Higgs held the first of these meetings lastweek in Grand Falls-Windsor.

“I put together a one-page document on whatpeople thought was going well and governmentshould continue to do,” he says, “what thingswere not going well and they wanted govern-ment to stop doing, and what things were notbeing done that they wanted government to startdoing.

“In each case, it’s about whatdo we need to do, how do wemove forward. Being a little bitvisionary but still having bothfeet on the ground about whatis possible.

“If all 400 recreation com-missions in the province want apool, a rink and a multi-pur-pose indoor facility, then Idon’t think that’s going to bereal possible. The idea is to berealistic.”

From Hedderson’s stand-point, the series of meetings(full schedule above) will guidehis department’s mandate — aswell as its spending — over thecourse of the next decade. Thecultural side of the departmentdid the same format, and it’s ablueprint that worked.

“It’s very important because it gives us thedirection and the vision that we need in order tomove forward in recreation. There are manydemands out there and many changes over thelast number of years that are pointing differentdirections.”

Higgs points out that the term “public consul-tations” is a bit of a misnomer, since the meet-ings are invitation only, sent to recreation and

sport stakeholders who have a direct vestedinterest.

However, while the meetings are for selectindividuals, the end result will be better recre-ation for the entire population of the province.

Over the past 20 years, whenever a provincialgovernment has been short on funds (which is tosay every budget), sport and recreation often hadits funding cut. Higgs’ goal for this new strategy,which he plans to have in the minister’s hands byDec. 31, is to increase funding.

This new document, he stresses, will showgovernment not only that more money is needed,but also exactly where it should go.

“What my hope is, and I believe this to be truein presenting a well thought out and realisticplan, we can actually get more money from gov-

ernment for recreation andsport,” Higgs sasys.

“Obviously I’m not in anyposition to say that will happen.I’m simply saying that’s theagenda I have in mind. If wecan get the right kind of realis-tic but aggressive plan, then itwill be much easier for govern-ment to invest funds into it,rather than just putting moneyin the pot without any plan.

“It’s always more appealingto put your money behind awell thought out plan thanbehind a group of people whowant to do good things buthaven’t given you a plan as tohow they’re going to do it.”

Hedderson is optimistic theprogram will be successful.

“It’s not an easy task but Ibelieve that Dr. Higgs and his

committee are capable of putting on my platewhat I need to go forward to my government andto represent the people of Newfoundland andLabrador,” Hedderson said during the recentSport Newfoundland and Labrador meeting.

“This is to put our vision on paper so we can-not only be guided by it, but all of us can partneron it, and know where we’re going.”

[email protected]

Labrador City/Wabush: Nov. 7Happy Valley/Goose Bay: Nov. 8Corner Brook: Nov. 15Clarenville: TBABay Roberts, or CBN: Nov. 22St. John’s: Nov. 23

A videoconference for areas of province not covered may

be held Nov. 28.

THE FULL SCHEDULE OF MEETINGSFOR THE RECREATION AND SPORTSTRATEGY SESSIONS:All dates subject to change

“It’s always moreappealing to put yourmoney behind a wellthought out plan than

behind a group of people who want to do good things buthaven’t given you a

plan as to how they’regoing to do it.”

Colin Higgs

Paul Smith photo

NOVEMBER 3, 2006 INDEPENDENTCLASSIFIED • 31

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No points, butPeca key to winVeteran proves his worth to the Leafs

By Damien CoxTorstar wire service

Mike Peca took no offence,although he cautioned againsthasty predictions.

It had been suggested to the MapleLeaf centre, you see, that a 50-goal sea-son might not be in the offing.

“Well, there’s a lot of games left, youknow,” he said, employing his favouritedeadpan delivery.

With 69 games to go, Peca has thusfar held his fire admirably, denting thetwine just once.

To some, that would be cause forcomplaint. The veteran pivot, after all,earns $2.5 million (U.S.), and value isoften equated with points in the NHLdespite the fact games are won and lostby plays for which points aren’t award-ed.

Still, in these daysof the salary cap,when every dollarspent means a dollarnot spent elsewhere,the question is worthposing: can a player,a centre for that mat-ter, be seen to beworth such an expen-diture if he is on pacefor fewer than 10goals?

“I feel I can dothings other playerscan’t do on defenceand with penaltykilling,” Peca said.“Well, in football youcan have playersmake a lot of money playing on thedefensive side of the ball.

“There are roles we all play. I’veaccepted how I can best help this teamwin a championship.”

Last week, in a very solid 4-2 victoryover an explosive Atlanta team that hadlost just once in regulation coming in,Peca was a dominant factor, arguablythe best Leaf on the ice along withdefenceman Hal Gill.

Peca didn’t score or pick up an assist,but he had three hits, two takeaways,two blocked shots and spent four min-utes and 15 seconds killing penalties ona night when doing that job well madeall the difference.

When the Thrashers were still in thegame late in the second period and hada 5-on-3 power play, Peca defused theadvantage almost single-handedly bywinning battles for the puck twice andclearing the zone.

It was the perfect night to illustratethat, yes, even in the new NHL it mayindeed be possible for a $2.5 million-a-year centre who averages about 18 min-

utes a night to score in single digits yetbe well worth the money he’s beingpaid.

“In those critical areas of the game,when it’s on the line, he’s outstanding,”said Leaf coach Paul Maurice.

Peca has quickly fit into the Leafgroup and established himself as aleader, something he said he found dif-ficult to do last year in Edmonton.

“I’m being myself,” he said, sitting inskates in a big comfy chair salivating inanticipation of a chicken dinner thatwas awaiting his attention.

“I’m saying what I feel, speaking upsometimes, and the guys here seem toappreciate that. I just feel more at easeasserting myself here than I did inEdmonton.”

Part of that is likely due to the factthe Leafs brought him to Toronto with

the understandingthat he would fillthe role of defen-sive stopper, whilelast year with theOilers he had to allbut nag head coachCraig MacTavish toplay against theopposition’s topplayers.

At 32, Peca nolonger wants tochange the world orwin the RocketRichard trophy, yethe has clearly beena progressive ele-ment in the alteredLeaf dressing roomatmosphere that

only a year ago seemed oppressive andsuspicious.

When near-hysteria locally greetedthe two one-sided losses to Ottawa lastweek, it was, according to Maurice, thecalming leadership of the Leaf squad,including Peca, captain Mats Sundin,winger Darcy Tucker, defencemanTomas Kaberle and rearguard BryanMcCabe, that righted the ship.

Wins over Montreal and Atlanta overthe past three days were, quite obvious-ly, positive results for the Leaf coach-ing staff.

But doing one via the dreadedshootout and the other through a strongdefensive showing made the wins thatmuch more encouraging.

Peca, interestingly, wasn’t asked toparticipate in the Oct. 28 shootoutagainst the Habs even though a fellowone-goal man, Alex Steen, was invitedto give it a whirl.

He’s the anti-Jason Allison, the self-less, go-to defensive conscience for ateam that hasn’t had one in a long, longtime.

At 32, Peca no longerwants to change the

world or win the Rocket Richard trophy,

yet he has clearly been a progressive

element in the alteredLeaf dressing room

atmosphere.

INDEPENDENTCLASSIFIEDFRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 - 9, 2006 — PAGE 32

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Photos by Paul Daly/The Independent

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2006-11-03

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