Home at last
The first Fall Fair in 1910 was opened by Martin Burrell, MP,
with 1001 entries. The early fairs were held in the old skating
rink located where What About Bob’s is now situated.
Swine and poultry clubs exhibited at the fair with competitions
in livestock categories. In the early years fruit growing was
big in the valley, so competitions with the growers were common.
The fair disappeared after about 1933 during the depression and
by 1954 work had begun to resurrect the fair. Wilbur Bannert and
his truck, along with other voluteers, cut and brought lodgepole
pine poles from the North Fork down to Firemen’s Park, what is
now Industrial Park. Later the Fall Fair moved to the Arena in
West Grand Forks, but since there was no accomodation for the
animals, the livestock competitions that were big at the old Fire-men’s
Park were eliminated. The fair moved to Broad-acres Farms in 1995
and has been there since.
Parade of ’97 – Photo courtesy of Fall Fair Society
An item that has been on the agenda for quite some time now was
to find a permanent home for the Grand Forks Fall Fair. A place
they can call their own.
In a letter to the Grand Forks and District Fall Fair Society,
dated June 23, 1999, the City
of Grand Forks wrote:
Dear Sirs: At their Regular Meeting on Monday, June 21, 1999,
Council for the City of Grand Forks designated property in the
west end of Grand Forks, commonly referred to as Parcel Z, Plan
28940, as “Commnity Use”.
I wish to further advise that Council has approved this site for
the use of the Grand Forks Fall Fair Society and other stakeholders.
The property is currently included within the A.L.R., however
is due to be released as soon as the City and the Agricultural
Land Commission make the appropriate arrangements.
Council at their June 21st meeting also resolved to facilitate
a public meeting to determine stakeholders and to identifiy an
action plan for the development of a future community use facility.
The City will certainly appreciate your participation and input
at this meeting, the detail of which will be advertised shortly.
I am hopeful that this is good news to the Society who have been
patiently working with the City to secure a site for the Fall
Fair.
The watermelon eating contest of ’96 – Photo courtesy of Fall Fair Society
In order to find out a little bit more about this new home,
the OpenMinder contacted Rob Letkemann, president of the Grand
Forks and District Fall Fair Society, to ask him about the site
aquisition and this year’s Fall Fair.
OM: How long have you been involved in the Fall Fair
Society?
Rob Letkemann: This will be my 5th year, I believe.
OM: I understand the Fall Fair is about to acquire a new
location?
Rob: Yes, at the city council meeting of June 21st, council
suggested that we go through the Agricultural Land Commission
to get permission to have Parcel Z removed from the A.L.R. for
Fall Fair purposes and other community use. There are 21 acres
altogether.
OM: Will the Fair be held at the new location this year?
Rob: No, it will be held at Broadacres again. There are
still too many things to be taken care of for the new site to
be used.
OM: How many days is the Fall Fair this year?
Rob: This year it will be a one-day affair, with some things
happening on Friday night as well. There will be a barbeque and
a jam session happening.
OM: Do you have a date set for it?
Rob: September 11th.
OM: Even though the Fair itself takes only one day, I guess
there is a lot of time involved in the actual preparation and
planning?
Rob: Oh yes, we start planning around March.
OM: How many people are involved in the Fall Fair?
We have about 24 board members right now plus numerous volunteers
around the Fall Fair time. I think we probably have over 100 people.
Display of “96- Photo courtesy of Fall Fair Society
OM: Does the Fall Fair have different themes each year?
Rob: Yes, we do. Of course, it is based around agriculture,
but this year has been designated as the “year of the older
person” by the government, so this year we’d like to recognize
the older people, especially those that have put so much work
into the fairs over the past 89 years. We would not have a Fair
if it wasn’t for many of the older people.
OM: I understand that there are organizations that rate
fairs. Is our Fall Fair being rated?
Rob: Yes, we are a member of the B.C. Fairs Association
and there is a “judge” that goes around to various fairs
and all fairs are given so many points for their educational contents,
the displays, they are also catagorized by how many people are
attending. We have been lacking in some areas, education being
one of them, participation from the animal section another. Over
the years, Grand Forks has declined from an agricultural area
leaning more towards forestry. With farmers decreasing the size
of their herds, even getting rid of cattle, it’s harder to encourage
people to bring those animals to the fair.
OM: There is a rumour that there will be no parade happening
this year?
Rob: That is correct, there will be no parade this year,
unless somebody from the community would take the initiative to
organize it. The firemen have been organizing it in the past,
and they are discouraged by the lack of participation of the community.
OM: Is anyone else joining you on this land parcel?
Rob: That will be determined in the next public meeting.
The 4 H are definitely involved, the Grand Forks Shooters. We’ve
had interest from the Barnstormers, a model airplane club, also
there is a youth group that would like to get involved.
OM: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Rob: One thing I would like to say is that I really admire
those who have gone before us in trying to obtain a permanent
home for the Fall Fair, not just that but for keeping the fair
alive! What I would like to also stress is that this new land
issue is not strictly a Fall Fair thing. Even though the Fall
Fair was instrumental in aquiring this piece of land from the
City, it is for community purposes.
Ask the Man
Question to Mayor Brian Taylor: With talk of expansion
of the City and the natural population growth that is happening
in Grand Forks, does it make sense to look into our own police
force?
Answer from Brian Taylor: Yes, I think that Grand Forks
having its own police force makes a lot of sense. There are pro’s
and con’s, but it seems to me that even though it is not up to
city council to interpret the criminal code, the city could place
expectations as to how the day-to-day policing work is done. For
example, the city could ask for more patrols in certain high incident
areas at specific times of the day or ask that patrols take place
on foot or on a bicycle. A city police force can be asked to enforce
bylaws that are made by the city, or to participate in policing
public events. It would be a major decision for the city, and
cost considerations would have to play a part in any policing
plan.
I think the part I find most attractive is that a Grand Forks
Police Force could be made up of individuals that truly become
part of your community. The community policing model is one where
the officers remain long-term in the job, would know people by
name, and would respond in the context of that knowledge.
We have in the past few years had the fortune of having some fine
RCMP stationed in our community, however, the time has arrived
for Grand Forks to consider all its policing options.
Canada Day at Gyro Park!
Even the sporadic cloud bursts didn’t stop those hardy souls intent
on celebrating Canada Day, Grand Forks style. With a multicultural
microcosm of Canada here in Grand Forks Mayor Taylor’s opening
speech set the tone for the last Canada Day Celebration of the
Millenium.
Is it true…
…that one dog year equals seven human years?
Not exactly. Several improved formulas have been suggested. Here’s
one of them:
First dog year = 21 human years
each later dog year = 4 human years
So, if you have a 7 year old dog, it’s 21 + (6×4) = 45 in human
years. In the prime of life, in other words. A 10 year old dog
is 57 in human years, and a 15 year old dog 105.
$5 Million
for Smart Communities
by John Greaves
Call for Letters of Intent
Announced on June 5, 1999, the Smart Communities Demonstration
Projects initiative is a nation-wide competition designed to select
one “world-class” Smart Communities Demonstration Project
in each province, one in the North and one in an Aboriginal community.
Selected projects will receive financial support of up to $5 million
over three years to support their Smart Communities vision. They
will also gain valuable experience and knowledge by networking
with other selected Demonstration Projects as well as national
and international recognition for their accomplishments.
Some of the benefits would be:
Money: up to 5 million dollars over 3 years for our project.
We would gain experience and knowledge by networking with the
other project communities. We would achieve international recognition
as part of Canada’s Smart Communities. It would help to build
partnerships with businesses, governments and international organizations
And of course it would give economic benefits and an improved
quality of life for members of the community.
What do we need to do to apply? What are the requirements?
1. We need to be a single municipality or a regional municipality
or group of geographically close municipalities that are already
using information and communication technologies in new and innovative
ways.
2. We need to identify a community-based, not-for-profit
Corporation that can be our sponsoring organization.
3. We need to submit a letter of intent clearly outlining
our vision of the future and our current use of, and strategy
for using, information and communication technologies to achieve
our vision. There is an outline for this letter and we just need
to fill in the blanks. This letter is due the beginning of August.
4. To be selected we must demonstrate that we are or we
can enhance the community by providing smart services. Smart services
enhance the community by enabling it to meet business and personal
challenges through the use of information and communication technologies.
Smart services are informative, innovative, interactive and international
in scope.
5. We must have smart infrastructure in place. The majority
of our citizens must have access to it. We should have a technology
plan in place.
6. We must have a successful track record of establishing
and sustaining public/private partnerships.
7. We must have a qualified and experienced project leader
to launch and deliver the project. (We really need someone to
fill this spot, any volunteers?) There are lots of people out
in the community willing to help, but we need that leader.
There is a comprehensive outline for the letter of intent as well
as lots of further information downloadable from http://smartcommunities.ic.gc.ca
This project is too important to let it get away. Our community
could easily meet the qualifications of participation all we need
to do is go for it.
Boundary Area visitors or residents be sure to visit http://www.sunshinecable.com/~jgreaves
Join the
discussion.
Nutrition
Mythology
by Sam Okamoto
North American women are encouraged to increase their calcium
intake in order to prevent osteoporosis. But in China, where the
average daily calcium intake is half what it is in North America,
there is little evidence that this disease is a problem. I would
like to know why.
According to the study’s principal American investigator, T. Colin
Campbell, China is a living laboratory for studying dietary patterns,
unparalleled anywhere else in the world. From 1983 to 1988, American
and Chinese researchers collected information from 6,500 Chinese
adults in representative countries, including areas with unusually
high and unusually low mortality rates. Dietary practices and
lifestyle characteristics were recorded and completed with factors
contributing to cancers, heart and metabolic diseases, and a variety
of infectious diseases. Hundreds of food samples were collected
and analyzed; surveyors obtained blood samples and lifestyle information
from participants.
Campbell is a Cornell University nutritional biochemist who contributed
to the National Academy of Science 1983 landmark report, “Diet,
nutrition and cancer.”
He believes the Chinese diet holds a key to unraveling many of
the contradictory and confusing notions held today about how diet
and nutrition affect our health.
He also says, “What we’re finding out is going to upset a
lot of the nutrition mythology of the West.” The study, a
joint effort involving Cornell, the Chinese Academies of Preventive
Medicine and Medical Science, and Oxford University in England,
could challenge our beliefs about protein, calcium, weight control,
cholesterol levels, dietary fiber and vitamin requirements. It
also provides evidence on how Western dietary influences affect
Chinese disease patterns. “As people move to a more Western
diet, high in animal products and therefore high in protein and
fat, their risk for all the disease of affluence increases,”
he says.
Campbell speculates that the key may be protein. “There’s
very good evidence that the greater the protein intake, the greater
the excretion of calcium,” he says. Americans consume, on
average, about 50% more protein daily than the Chinese.
In addition, about three-quarters of our calcium comes from dairy
products although low fat dairy products are increasingly available,
many North Americans still consume high fat dairy products such
as whole milk and cheddar cheese. Even low fat dairy products
are high in protein. For the Chinese, the lion’s share of calcium
most likely comes from green leafy vegetables and whole grain
cereals.
Although the effects of high-protein diets are difficult to separate
from those of high-fat diets, various experimental animal studies
suggest that protein might promote tumor growth as well as osteoporosis.
At the Cornell experiment, for example, rats were exposed to aflatoxin,
a carcinogen found in moldy corn and peanuts. One week later,
after the aflatoxin cleared from their tissues, the rats were
put on either high or low meat protein diets. The high protein
diet group showed more early signs of liver cancer than the low
protein group. When the high fat protein diets were switched to
a low animal protein diet, then the liver cancer symptoms stopped.
Campbell says, “Apart from known effects of saturated fats,
we now know from animal and human studies that animal protein
increases serum cholesterol.” About three-quarters of the
protein intake for North Americans come from animals, while less
than one-tenth of Chinese protein is from animal sources.
Good news, bad news
A doctor approaches his patient who’s lying in a hospital bed
and tells him, “I have some good news and some bad news.”
“All right,” says the patient. “What’s the bad
news?”
“I’m afraid we’ve amputated the wrong leg.”
“My God! That’s terrible! What’s the good news?”
“Well,” says the doctor cheerfully, “your other
leg is getting better.”
Diatomaceous
Earth
Diatomaceous Earth (also known as fossil shell
flour) is composed of the fossilized remains of freshwater diatoms.
Diatoms are microscopic single-celled organisms found in all bodies
of water. There they absorb silica and other minerals from the
water to make protective shells for themselves. When they die,
their bodies are deposited on the lake floors where their shells
eventually become fossils.
When Diatomaceous Earth is viewed under an electron microscope,
the unique structure of the diatom’s shell becomes apparent. The
shell can be in a variety of different shapes and are decorated
with grooves and pits that provide a large surface area for the
absorption of moisture and toxins.
It is a natural form of pest control as well as internal
parasite control for animals. When an animal consumes rations
treated with DE, internal parasites are affected in the same way
as caterpillars and other soft-bodied creatures – their outer
skin is lacerated, prompting a loss of body fluids which is fatal.
Some even remains in the manure, where it inhibits the growth
of fly larvae. The non- toxic form of silica enhances the absorbtion
of calcium required for strong bones and healthy connective tissue.
Do not feed it to livestock unless it is labelled as Food Chemical
Codex grade that designates it as a quality food-grade product.
Some forms of Diatomaceous Earth contain impurities and are not
safe for animal consumption.
Diatomaceous Earth is a supplement and should not replace a proper
mineral supplementation program. For more information contact
your local supplier of animal mineral mixes and supplements.
Is it true elephants never forget?
Maybe. An experiment was done many years ago by a professor in
Germany. He taught an elephant to choose between two wooden boxes,
one marked with a square, the other with a circle. The box with
the square had food in it, the other one didn’t.
It took the elephant 330 tries before it figured out that “square”
meant “food”. Once it got the idea, though, things went
a lot quicker. Soon the professor could put any two markings on
the boxes. The elephant would experiment a few times, figure out
which sign meant “food”, then pick the right box from
then on. Big deal, you say? The professor came back a year later
and tested the elephant again using the old markings – circles,
squares, and so on. Amazingly enough, the elephant still remembered
which markings were the signs for food. That’s why elephants are
so popular in the circus. It may take them a while to learn the
act, but once they’ve got it, they’ve got it for good.