Tee SN aeRO Ae PE ~ 10 Tamiasciurus hudsonicus tr, Harold ~ This cheeky, noisy and generally anti-social critter is "Harold", a red squirrel scavenger caught in our lens as he perched in a pool of syrup on my breakfast plate. Harold owned the territory where we Camped at Cottonwood Lake this summer. He guarded his domain jeal- ously against all intruders. He would chitter furiously at our tribe, and especially at our dog, Poncho, his tawny throat quivering and his back feet stamping as he voiced his anger at our trespass. Red squirrels are solitary little guys, except for a short mating period in March. They live alone, each keeping to his own territory of about an acre, and ready to fight to the death any of his kind who dares invade that piece of-bush. Most of the time they respect each other's territory, even passing the time of day from a distance, However the Tamiasciurus Hudsonicaus who owns territory close to where man lives has a full time job keep- ing intruders away from his rich diggings. ; At birth,red squirrels are pink, tiny and naked, weighing about one to one and a half ounces. They are born about 34 days after mating period, in late April or early May. Their nursery may be a woodpecker hole in a pine or cottonwood, or in a neat stick-and-moss nest in a pine or spruce. Five or six babies are born to the mother - ugly mites with scraggly tails, large heads, blunt noses and closed bulbous eyes. At seven weeks they start exploring, leaving home in late summer to stake a Claim on their acre or so of wood- lot. Red squirrels forage for food _ year-round. In warmer weather, they eat what they find. As the days get colder, they cache seeds, berries, and mushrooms in hideouts called "middens''. The middens may be under a pile of brush, a hollow log, under a rock, or even in tall grass. Some middens contain more than a bushel of seeds and nuts. When feed- ing on a hemlock, he fills his cheeks with small cones, but cuts off the larger ones and tosses them to the ground. He carries a cone to a log or rock vantage point and shreds the cone from the seeds. Enemies of the red squirrel are hawks, falcons, owls, weasels, mink, bobcat and lynx, but their most persistent maruaders are the fisher and pine marten. Cassiar forests seem filled with these curious creatures, though their presence does fluctuate in myster- ious cycles. Sometimes it's hard to find two in ten acres, and at other vines the Cassiar woods abound with -Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus.. (harold: to me!) _ son as "Santa". 778-7547, evenings or weekends. __ «», Good Hope News by George Holman The Christmas school concert opened with Mrs. by singing and acting out "In a Cabin''. Mrs. Greer's Kindergarten class also took part in other segments of the evening's program. Members were:- Doug Carlick, Denis Denis, Elaine Davidson, Alex Carlick, Willie Porter, Sharon Dennis, Ray Carlick, Kevin Johnny, and Arnie Buckley. "The Twelve Days of Christmas", sung by Mr. Passarell's grade 4 - oy) class, assisted by mémbers of the Kindergarten class. Members were: Peter Callbreath, Debbie Holman, Ruby Johnny, Teresa Marion, Teresa Johnny, Sally Johnny, Agnes Reid, Kevin Davidson, Nancy Porter, Corrine Davidson, Victor Callbreath,. Kevin Carlick, Kathy Dennis, William Johnny, Penny Carlick, Newton’ Dennis Terry Callbreath, Steven Porter, Patrick Dennis and Beal Quock. "The Night Before Christmas", a play by Mrs. Passarell's grade 1 - 3 class and assisted by the Kinder-~ gartens. The grade 1 - 3 class also acted out the story of ''Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', which was nar- rated by Carol Davidson with Vernon Isburg as "Rudolf" and Lyndon David- The=srade 123 class sang "'The~Music Man" and. . "Silent Night.'' Members were: Duane Greer, Carol Davidson, Vernon Isburg, Lyndon Davidson , Alana Greer, Henry Johnny, Sandra Call- breath, Bluebell Quock, Marlene Davidson, Carol Ann Johnny, Charlie Callbreath, Deborah Carlick and Hazel Callbreath. "The Legend of tlt Christmas Rose" a play by the grade 4 - 7 class, was narrated by Corrine Davidson, followed by the singing of ''Country Roads" and "We wish you a Merry Christmas". While waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus, George Holman showed colour slides of the students in- volved in school activities. Santa finally arrived and the evening's program ended with the scurry of little feet up to see the Old Gent. Thank you to The Children and their Teachers for such a heart- warming evening of entertainment. WHO ARE THE NEW FACES? We extend a hearty welcome to the following new members of our Community : STAN ISBURG, WIFE PEARL AND SON VERNON Stan has been appointed Road Foreman at Good Hope Lake. Stan and family hail from Fort St. John, B.€.- Stan and family enjoy outYoor activities and curling. Social News? Have you been out of town on a trip? Have you been entertaining out-of-town visitors? Are you planning any parties, cele- brations, anniversaries, memorable events? We are interested in what you are doing and would like to share your special Oc- casions with others. Phone your social news to Mrs. E. Lee, Greer's Kindergarten class singing "Jingle Bells" followed CC ee eee eas ARTHUR BUCKLEY, WIFE KAREN, SON ARNIE, AND DAUGHTER KART. Art joined the Ministry of Highways as Mechanic 2. Art hails from Salt Spring Island, B.C. where he was employed as a mechanic in a service station. Art and family enjoy snowmobiling, fishing and camping. ROGER REIMCHE, WIFE BECKI. Roger has transferred from Chetwynd, B.C. He comes to Good Hope Lake as Mechanic Foreman. He enjoys wood- working and tinkering with motor- cycles. Roger and wife like cross country motorcycling and are looking forward to snowmobiling in Cassiar Country. U.F.O. Spotted on Good Hope and — Airplane Lakes?? No, Folks...That odd-looking object out there turned out to be an ice fishing hut...owned by Al Passarell and Raulie Holman who invite the residents of Good Hope Lake’ 'to enter the Good Hope Lake Ice Fishing ‘Contest...Awards will be presented at the Spring Thaw Dance sometime in May. Born December 18, 1976... To Danka and Mike Antouski..... \ THINK ITS AKID... IN A SNOWSUIT $7,000 ROBBERY AT - CASSIAR RETAIL STORE | Employees at the Cassiar Retail Store on Con- nell Drive in Cassiar discovered a break-in which had taken place sometime during the nig of December 13-14, 1976. An inventory check proved that $6936. worth of jewelry had been taken from the store. Entrance had been gained by breaking the ~ windows i in the front doors. ; The theft i is under ee et Oh by, he F RCMP. Ce ie a ee a toe Sead Sear a Sr er} Deadly Chill George Holman PARTLY CLOTHED MAN FOUND “FROZEN TO DEATH This could be the headline in your local newspaper some frosty morning. "WHY?'' you ask, "Would anyone start taking off his clothes in sub-zero weather?" HYPOTHERMIAthe dropping of body temperature, is the factor that brings on death due to cold expo- sure. At a certain point, hallucin- ation begins. -abnormal behaviour and dreaminess. He may be seeing car lights where there are no cars for miles, be walking on a sandy beach by the ocean, or safe at home stretched out in a warm bath. At this point, he is in a bad way and if help is not immediate, he will die. If you. are going to be outdoors in cold weather for any length of time, be properly dressed. Hypo- thermia is caused by exposure to cold, aggravated by wet, wind and exhaustion, and is accompanied by the chilling of the inner core of the human body. UNDERSTAND COLD Most hypothermia cases develop in air temperatures between 30 and 50 degrees F. Most outdoorsmen simply can't believe such temperatures can be dangerous. They fatally under- estimate the danger of being wet at such temperatures. It's the cold water in your sopping wet clothes, - flushing body heat from the surface of the clothes that lowers the body ' temperature to the fatal point. The chill factor must. be considered as well as the temperature reading. A wind blowing at 20 M.P.H. when the thermometer reads 20 degrees F. creates a chill factor temperature of -10 degrees F. THINK HYPOTHERMIA If the weather is wet, wear rain- clothes that are proof against wind driven rain, and cover head, neck, body and legs. Polyurethane coated nylon is the best. Ponchos are poor protection in wind. When clothes get wet, they lose about 90 per cent of their insulating value. Cotton underwear is useless when wet; wool loses less insulating value than cotton or synthetics. Wear woolen clothing: 2-piece woolen underwear or long wool pants and sweater or shirt. Include a knit cap that can protect neck and chin. Keep your head and back of the neck covered. Twenty per cent of the body heat can be lost through the exposed head and face. Let someone know where you are going, your route and how long you expect to be outdoors. If you fail to show up in the specified time, a search party has a better chance of finding you alive. Be prepared for cold, wet weather. Don't let the cae chill of hypothermia overtake The victim may exhibit Dy. S. Electronics | 332 Bateman rtainment Centre ED THIRWELL RECEIVES SPECIAL AWARD FROM CASSIAR ASBESTOS A special award was made to Ed Thirwell, presented by Brian Pewsey acting for CAC President, Peter Steen | for the development of the Thirwell Thucker, a more effecient and effective way of keeping the mill clean, This entailed installing a vacuum cleaning system for cleaning floors in the mill to replace sweeping, thus reducing the amount of asbestos dust created by sweeping floors. Congratulations, Ed. APPOINTMENTS HIS HONOR, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council has been pleased to make the follow- ing appointment: Paul Raymond Clark, Cassiar, to be a Jus- tice of the Peace in and for the Province. The appointment of Frede Smidt-Nielsen as a Justice of the Peace and Coroner in and for the Province has been rescinded. THIS N’ THAT... from HERE N’ THERE GRA najor story this month is the announcement by the Cassiar Asbestos Corp of their plans to expand the townsite and their favorable attitude toward private businesses coming to town. This is a change of policy. The story points up a fact of life we sometimes misunderstand about “co- mpanies”, and “policy”. I think it deserves comment, for I hear so much about it in conversations. FACT: Policy is set by people - not by companies. FACT: Companies cannot talk, nor act, nor decide, nor succeed, nor fail, nor set policy. People do! I cringe a little when I hear people say, “the company did this”, or “the company did that”. It sounds like a - company is human. It’s not. It’s the people in it that . make it human. A company is a legal structure, not a human being. CONCLUSION: A ‘‘company” is as good or as bad as the people who organize, manage and operate it. Frankly, the decisions to ce paiid and to welcome private businesses into the townsite were made to favor the objectives of Cassiar management. However, I feel they will favor the people of Cassiar country much more. Congratulations, decision-makers! @Talked with trapper Arnold Campbell from Good Hope Lake about trapping prospects this year. He tells me it’s a little too early to tell, but with a profusion of rabbits, of wolverine, marten and with plenty of muskrat sign he also predicts a good spring beaver hunt. In March we’ll check iwith Arnold again. ‘@PWere pleased to start publishing a series of recol- lections by Johnny Taku Jack in this issue. Johnny is a real gentleman, and has the most remarkable memory for names, places and dates I’ve ever encountered in a man in his middle 70’s- or at any age, for that matter. Youll be reading a lot from the memory of Ishkoh - Johnny Taku Jack in the future. @Can’t let another month go by without praising the crews at the Department of Highways who keep the roads clear. It may seem like oldhat to those of you who have lived here for awhile, but compared to where we ‘come from, these men do a superb job. Haven’t had one bit of trouble commuting the 50 mile round trip to and from Cassiar. Where we come from they don’t know how to clear the streets, and seldom do. (The problem was the road crew kept misplacing his overshoes.) Street Phone 778-7428 11 @yNew Year’s Eve party at the Rec. Center was a blast and-a-half. Ate too much, as usual. (I‘m addicted to-shrimp!) I’m not too partial to sitting around in smoke, lapping up spirits, but this was a little different. At midnight we got to kiss all the girls, “Happy New Year!” That beats a hangover and a headache, any- time. Quite a crowd. Tom Penner said they expected 300 and over 500 appeared for the soiree. It felt like 500 on the dance floor. Bump! Oops! Pardon me! I’m sorry. Gedoutatheway! Whoops! @pthere’s a special notice about this elsewhere in this issue, but if you missed it, we want you to be sure and see it......IF YOU SUBSCRIBED TO THE COURIER AT THE ORIGINAL $8. PER YEAR RATE....YOU WILL RECEIVE A REFUND...OF $3.00. If you haven’t received it yet, hang on, it will be there! 778-7627, 778-7627, 778-7627, 778-7627, 778-7627, seo we want you to remember our new telephone number. If you'll call on Monday nights between 7:30 and 10:00PM, you'll find someone there to take your news items. In a month or so, we'll be manning the office every weekday night from 7:30 til 10PM. @Our new IBM Electronic Composer is in action, and is typesetting this line as I type away at it. It’s a com- plicated machine, even to explain, but if you'll look ‘closely in this issue, and in future ones, you'll see what it can do. GaWe're overjoyed with the support the businesses of the area have given us in our display advertising columns. They joined with us quickly and generaously to help us get going. They are advertising to help themselves do busi- ness. Please support them by trading with them, and mention you saw their ad in the Courier, O.K?. @The Courier offices are complete in Bunkhouse 81, and we thank Frank Buckley and the people who did the work to finish them off. Imagine! We’ve got room to turn around in, plenty of filing pasteup and artwork space, in bright, light offices. The Courier staff says, ‘Thanks, CAC!” Our daughter flew up from Seattle for New Years...a de- layed Christmas present for her Dad. Took 17 hours to _ complete the trip. I remember taking 10 less hours to go from New York to my hotel in San Francisco, But, if it was that easy to get into Cassiar country, everyone would be here, and I don’t like that idea either. HAPPY NEW YEAR from | td SY ight Vii of Cotton Lake Hwy. 37 «+See you in the Sprin EVENING AND CASUAL WEAR Sizes 8-16 18-20 on order HOURS- - ~ Mon.- Fri. 3;30PM to 8:30 PM Sat. 2;30PM to 6:30 PM Sun.12:30PM to 3:30 PM If you must come at some other time, please call 778-7329. Catalogue Shopping Cassiar Office 778-7525 @ Catalogue Shopping @ Catalogue Returns @ Payment of Accounts Hours; Mon-Fri Closed 1-2pm. daily and Sat. 9am-6pm & Sun. Shop Early in the North - It Pays pe