Loading...
The Citizen, 2004-02-05, Page 9Solo night The Brussels Skating Club senior and intermediate girls showed their talent during a solo night performance for their families at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre on Jan. 29. Back left; Emily Kerkhof, Annamieka Kerkhof, Rachel Cousins, Cassidy Peachey and Meagan Dolmage. Middle left; Eliza Dodds, Chelsey Terpstra, Jordyn Sholdice and Marlene Dale. Front left; Tori. Cardiff, Eden Rapson and Kelsey Smith. (Elyse DeBruyn photo) Ta-da During a solo dance night at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre on Jan. 29, Tori Cardiff a member of the Brussels Skating Club finishes her routine with a ta-da pose. The solo night was for parents and family to seethe accomplishments of the skaters. (Elyse DeBruyn photo) G & M Auto Parts 4M Auto Parts Plus We stock a full line of snowmobile parts & accessories See us for your snowmobiling needs! "Quality Parts plus Personal Service" Turnberry St., Brussels 887-8002 fax 887-8004 DON'T LET YOUR DREAMS GO UP IN SMOKE. *smokers'HELPLINE CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY 1 877 513-5333 THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2004. PAGE 9. 08 THE. YfROID ..n6VIROEski:T CRA/G N/CHOLSON Everywhere a sign By Craig Nicholson (©2004 by Craig Nicholson. All rights reserved.) I FROM CRANBROOK Family celebrates outdoors No, it was not winter carnival in Cranbrook on the weekend. Neil and Marie Mitchell were having a fourth birthday party for their daughter, Sarah. As the guests numbered so many, outdoor activities were the way to go. The Strome, Stevenson, and Smith children enjoyed skating and sledding at the Mitchells. On Saturday, the extended Mitchell family gathered at Neil and Marie's for another birthday party for Sarah. Other birthdays this week are Marion Smith and Emily Terpstra (Feb. 5), Linda Minielly (Feb. 8) and Laura (Mrs. Charles) Fischer (Feb. 11). On Feb. 6 Floyd and Mary Nesbitt and Lloyd and Beryl Smith are celebrating anniversaries. For those of you who have been wondering about Peter Hagedoorn's millennium twin grandchildren, grandpa said his son called recently saying that the twins were driving them crazy and asked what they should do about it. Peter advised them to sit down and talk to them because it's always good to talk to your children. .He did that with the following results. The boy told his dad that he could see no reason for him to think there was anything wrong and while the girl started to cry and wondered what she had done wrong. Sounds like a normal family. Eleanor Stevenson is home again. She was travelling with her son Fred and his wife Kaye. They flew out of Toronto to St. Martin's in the Caribbean on a 747 with 362 passengers. The temperature was 80°F when they landed. They toured the surrounding islands. Eleanor was interested in the history of the area as well as the view. When they landed back in Toronto it was -25°C. Gary Morrison greets in Cranbrook Presbyterian Church for February. Rev. Theresa McDonald- Lee spoke about Presbyterian World Service and Development on Sunday, pointing out areas in the world our donations are helping. The Cranbrook Church annual meeting will be held on Sunday, Feb. 15 at the church starting with a potluck supper at 6:30 p.m. The Cranbrook-area dart players made it out on Wednesday evening with the following results: Ernie Lewington, high men's, 125; Sharon Evans and Karen Bowles, tied with 88 for the high ladies' score. For those with cabin fever this past week six more weeks of winter will not be welcome. Try to enjoy winter sports. Trail signage can be both useful and entertaining. I don't know if some of the messages are intended to be funny or whether it's just an unfortunate choice of words or a happenstance of sign placement. But too often, the outcome is hilarious or dangerous or just nonsensical. Here's what I mean. One trail system had a profusion of signs placed at the bottom of slopes. They read: "Blind Hill". This assumes there must be some other kind of hill. If so, then where are the signs for a "Seeing-eye Hill" or a"Transparent Hill"? Similarly, what is a "Blind Corner"? One where vision impaired folks turn? Perhaps my favourite hill sign is one which inevitably is half-way up the slope. I usually spot it as the angle of the incline increases so dramatically that I'm about to slide off the back of my seat. It says: "Steep Hill" . So if we're signing the obvious, why not also have: "Turning" at each corner" or "Straight Ahead" each time you can see the trail stretching straight as a white carpet to the horizon? I came across several "STOP Ahead" signs last winter which were posted at, not prior to, a road crossing. So where was I supposed to stop, after the logging truck hit me? Or how about the occasions when I've seen a "STOP" sign on the far side of a 90 degree corner, usually posted on the last tree before I'd launch into some abyss if I blew the corner? It's a small comfort to know that an accident reconstruction expert might report after the accident that I was trying to obey the last sign I saw. In the mountains, I once spotted a sign made all the more unusual by the general absence of signs in those locales. Located at the top of the highest peak, it read: "This is How High Up is". Or how about the one that reads: "24 Hour Grooming"? I always wonder if this means 24 hours a week or a season? Maybe the trail is bumpy for me because I arrived at the 25th hour... And don't you just love the destination signs that give the place names, followed by a blank space where the distance should be, then the letters "KM"? Until informed differently, one group of European tourists thought "KM" designated the municipality! Worse, I came across one intersection that had two twenty foot poles festooned with town names — but not one of them had a directional arrow or any other indication of where each community might be! But at least I knew which towns I was lost nearby! Then there's the ubiquitous signs depicting a deer or a moose. They never say where the animal is supposed to be or for what distance, so I don't know if I'm supposed to keep an eye peeled for only a minute or the rest of the day. I wonder if those mammals even know that's where they're supposed to cross the trail? I even saw a sign that read: "Deaf Child Area". Now what does that mean? One child or many? And what am I supposed to do, send up a flare? Please give me better information! I like the sign I've spotted at several gas stations: "No Permit, No Gas". Now that's a clear message to the cheapskates who don't pay their way. They should sit empty at the pumps forever. Or how about the only sign that communicates, either by word or icon, that there's gas ahead. Then, as your needle drops to the bottom, you never see another. I guess it meant, that if you stay on this trail long enough, there will be gas eventually — if you can walk that far! Then there's the sign indicating a bump ahead. It's often found on a trail so moguiled out that if it weren't for that sign, I never would have noticed that specific bump! Instead of marking bumps, why not a sign that says: "Trail smooth for the rest of the day"! Until the next time, remember that snowmobiling is an off-road activity, so you ride OFSC trails at your own risk. For the Tour Planner and Trail Condition Reports check out www.ofsc.on.ca and look under trails. Craig Nicholson is a regular contributor to Snow Goer Canada's Snowmobiling Magazine. The Intrepid Snowmobiler also appears on radio and on Snowmobiler Television. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.