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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1998-08-19, Page 1Vol. 14 No. 32 Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998 (700 50 GST) 750 The North Huron itizen Thieves steal computers Community . , Young actress stages emergency debut See page 11 Sports Brussels Bulls look forward to new hockey season See page 6 Entertainment No hard work in `Jobs' to find laughter See page 18 Thundering success Some of the 900 riders taking part in the seventh annual TransCan National Motocross Championships in Walton on the weekend thunder away from the starting gate. More than 10,000 spectators attended the racing on the farm of Chris and Judy Lee near the village, enjoying the hot, dry weather. Top racers from across Canada as well as Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and New York took part in four days of racing.— Photo by Allison Lawlor 10,000 crowd Walton for Motocross meet Sometime during The night of Aug, 12-13 thieves took more than $10,000 worth of equipment in a break-in at Huron Tractor's Blyth location. At 8 a.m., Aug. 13 an employee discovered the building had been broken into. A ventilation grate had been pried open to gain entry. Once inside thieves took computer equipment, a chainsaw and a weed eater, $10,000 worth of equipment in all. Everything was loaded into a company van and driven away. The van was later recovered a short dis- tance away behind a building in Blyth but the equipment was miss- ing. The missing computer equipment includes: IBM pll p300 computer, Daewoo 17 inch monitor, Lexmark optia laser printer and Epson 400 colour printer. With sunny skies, dry conditions, more than 10,000 spectators and approximately 900 racers, the sev- enth annual Snapple TransCan National Motocross Champi- onships in Walton were a great suc- cess this past weekend. The four-day event was the cul- mination of success organizers had hoped for, said co-promoter Jan Stallybrass of the Canadian Motor- sport. Racing Club. The combined 125/250 Pro Series champion was crowned as Marco Dube of Quebec took top honours. The Walton event was the final of seven races in the pro national rounds. Amateur and pro racers came from across Canada as well as from Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and New York. Spectators were camping on the farm of Chris and Judy Lee throughout the weekend to be close for all the races, Stallybrass said. The campers covered about 50 acres of the Lee farm. This event is the largest and most prestigious of outdoor national races in Canada, she said. Blyth carver wins $10,000 prize in Louisiana Prize-winning carving Jason Lucio shows his sister Laura his carving of a cattle egret before taking the carving to the Gulf-South Championship Wildfowl Festival in New Orleans recently. The carving won first prize and a $10,000 (U.S.) award for the Blyth artist. By Allison Lawlor Citizen staff A deep love of nature, a block of tupelo wood, 12 weeks of hard work and artistic talent all com- bined to produce a champion wooden bird. Jason Lucio, of Blyth came out a winner at the 24th annual Gulf- South Championship Wildfowl Festival held earlier this month in New Orleans. Lucio won first prize for his lifesize, waterfowl carving and $10,000 U.S. in prize money. But in order to receive the prize he had to give up ownership of the carving. The American company, Phillips Petroleum now owns Lucio's cattle egret carving. The piece will stay on display fort year at the Nature Centre in New Orleans before being moved to Phillips head office in Oklahoma. The cattle egret is a member of the waterfowl family. The bird received its name because it fol- lows cattle and other grazing-type animals. Common in the U.S. egrets are just starting to make their way into Canada. Lucio became interested in the bird after travel- ling in the southern states where he spent time watching it. Before Lucio can think of carv- ing he finds as many books, pic- tures and videos he can on the bird. He pours over the books for hours studying the waterfowl before drawing some sketches of what he wants the carving to look like. The drawings are an integral part of the process. Without clear, accu- rate drawings you can't carve said Lucio. While Lucio has never taken a formal art class his drawings are finely detailed and proportioned, good enough to impress any art teacher. After the drawings are perfected Lucio takes a block of tupelo wood and pencils in the three-dimensions of the bird on the wood. He started using tupelo wood, a swamp grow- ing tree because it is lighter and holds detail better. The piece of wood Lucio used to carve his win- ning egret cost him $50 U.S. To make the carving, he used a combination of a knife, a chisel and a power tool. Using only three tools for the bird Lucio spent painstaking hours carving out the feathers on the bird to make them look real. When Lucio was finished carving the piece he painted it with acrylic paint. He mixes his own paints in order to get the right colours. Lucio's love of nature developed over the years he spent at his grandfather's house in Hullet Township near the wildlife area. There he spent time fishing, bird watching and appreciating the out- doors. He started carving as a hobby when he was 13 after his father, a painter and sculpture suggested he try it. Three years later Jason won the 1987 World Championship Wildlife Carving Competition in Ocean City, Maryland. Wildfowl carving is a love shared by the Lucios. A strong supporter of her family, Jason's mother Lynn is the only member of the family who doesn't carve. His father Larry and sister Laura both carve. Laura has a world champion award from 1996 for a shorebird she carved. The close-knit family from Mount Brydges, moved to Blyth this spring. They are in the process of setting up a studio, gallery and school where carvers from across North America will come to learn from a family who not only loves what they do but are masters at it.