Cam Reynolds, golf pro and manager at Nevada Bobs, shows golfer John Slighte a tip for proper posture on the tee box.

Top golf gifts for dad on Fathers Day 2013

With Fathers Day 2013 landing this Sunday, you might be panicking on what to get dear old dad to show your appreciation for his endless patience, wisdom and chauffeur responsibilities.

If he’s got a garage stuffed to the brim with macaroni masterpieces, power tools or BBQ accessories, maybe it’s time to help dad work on his golf swing.

Beacon News has a list of top 3 golf gifts to make sure dad is excited about his Father’s Day 2013 gift.

Golf gift idea for Fathers Day 2013: Proper clubs

Cam Reynolds, golf pro and manager at Nevada Bobs, says the most important part of golf is having clubs that fit the golfer properly.

Reynolds says without proper-sized clubs, the game will be much more difficult for beginners.

“Clubs could be too heavy and they won’t reward good shots, clubs could be too short or too long, and it just makes an already tricky game even harder,” Reynolds says.

John Slighte has been golfing for five years.

He says getting a great driver is important for beginners to invest in.

“A lot of golfers don’t make the proper investment in equipment,” Slighte said.

“That means going and spending the time on getting fitted and learning what the best stuff is. Also, buying good quality equipment that’s going to last them more than one or two seasons.”

Clubs can be bought at Sport Chek, Nevada Bob’s Golf or Bob’s Golf Town.

Golf gift idea for Father’s Day 2013: Accessories

Reynolds recommends a good set of golf balls for dad this Father’s Day, to help dad shoot his best score.

Slighte says the right equipment, especially golf balls, will help round out the game.

Sport Chek, Nevada Bob’s Golf and Bob’s Golf Town all offer a range of golf balls.

Golf gift idea for Father’s Day 2013: Lessons

Slighte says lessons are a good place to start for dad, and added it’s always a good idea to have a pro take someone through some of the core skills around the game.

Reynolds agrees, adding “Lessons are probably the best way and most efficient way to learn the great game of golf, quicker.”

The City of Calgary offers lessons at McCall Lake, Confederation Park and Shaganappi Point golf courses. The lessons are taught by professional instructors from the National Golf Academy,

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Dene Tha’ First Nation, Alberta NDP calling for more safety measures after Apache pipeline spill

The Dene Tha’ First Nation and Alberta NDP are questioning the effectiveness of safety measures after an Apache pipeline spill leaked approximately 57,000 barrels (9.5 million litres) of “produced water” in northern Alberta.

The Dene Tha’ said they are worried that the spill may contain a number of materials, including hydrocarbons, sulphurous compounds, metals, radioactive materials and chemicals.

In a release sent on Thursday, the Dene Tha’ said the spill may have contaminated the water and killed fish, birds and wildlife.

The Dene Tha’ said the spill is located less than 15 km north of a Dene Tha’ reserve and within 1.5 km of the Zama River, on an area used by band members to hunt and trap.

“Dene Tha’ is gravely concerned that the health of its members will be compromised if they exercise their Treaty 8 rights to harvest in the area,” the First Nation said.

“Dene Tha’ members may be unable to harvest in the vicinity of the spill for many years as a result of this spill.”

Dene Tha’ said its field technician visited the Apache pipeline spill site on June 6 and noted that all plants and trees affected by the spill had died, and that the contamination had saturated the muskeg in the area.

The First Nation said given the amount of dead vegetation in the area, the spill may have been occurring for a long period of time.

“Given the increasing number of spills that have occurred in its Territory recently, Dene Tha’ hopes that the Government of Alberta will require companies to implement more effective safety measures,” the Dene Tha’ said.

Apache says wildlife has not been affected

Apache said the spill was reported on June 1 when it was first detected, but did not give details on how long the pipeline has been leaking.

“There are no visible impacts on wildlife,” Marc Douglas, spokesman for Apache, told Canadian Press on Friday.

The company said the water contained salt, oil and other minerals.

Apache said there was only a trace amount of oil in the produced water, which has been removed from the ground.

The Apache pipeline spill occurred June 1 on a produced water pipeline about 20 kilometres northeast of Zama City, Alta., which is located just south of the border with the Northwest Territories.

The spill affected an area of about 42 hectares.

“Wildlife, aquatic and vegetation studies are underway by an extensive environmental remediation team and analytics are being compiled,” Apache said in a release sent on Thursday.

“Water sampling and monitoring is conducted daily and collection of the produced water is well underway.”

Apache said they don’t know why the spill happened.

“While our priority right now is remediation and restoration, we are investigating the cause and will develop a solution to prevent a similar incident,” Apache said.

Alberta government says water is not toxic

A spokesman for the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) told Beacon News the water is not toxic.

“There have been some reports referring to it as toxic waste but that’s not really accurate when you look at the definition of those terms,” Bob Curran said.

“Produced water has a high saline content, which is of concern when it gets into contact with vegetation. In this case there are trace levels of hydrocarbons, but there is predominately a high salt content.”

Curran said he could not give anymore information until tests are completed.

NDP calling for release of pipeline safety review

Alberta Premier Alison Redford, left, met with her BC counterpart Christy Clark Friday in Kelowna, BC to discuss the two provincial economies. Photo: Alberta government.

Contentious Northern Gateway project not discussed at meeting

Premiers Alison Redford and Christy Clark met in Kelowna Friday to announce they will be working together to grow their respective provinces’ economies and create jobs.

But the two did not discuss the contentious issue of the Northern Gateway pipeline.

“I think as we move forward, there’s lots of opportunity for discussion and I think if we focus on what really does unite us, which is wanting to grow our economies, that’s our best opportunity to work through some of these issues,” Redford said at the joint news conference.

“You don’t bridge the divide, you don’t find a way to resolve differences that you have unless you talk,” Clark said.

The meeting Friday was friendlier than the previous meeting between the two last fall. At that time, Clark said the Northern Gateway pipeline would not be happening until it met British Columbia’s environmental conditions. Redford suggested the B.C. premier was after more money at the expense of Alberta.

While the conditions remain in place, Clark said she was not against responsible energy development.

“We are not opposed to economic development and we are not opposed to resource development,” Clark said. “But we just didn’t see the fact base that would support us being able to support the Enbridge proposal as it stands today.

“The [conditions] haven’t changed. But I think they are conditions that resource development projects can meet and we’re proving in British Columbia that they can be met.”

The premiers said they discussed issues of common interest including skills training, immigration policies and responsible resource development. The goal is to work together on economic growth and job creation.

“As the economic powerhouses in Canada, it’s our responsibility to grow the national economy which we’re very much focused on,” Clark said. “It’s something Canada needs us to do.”

The meeting was the first between the two since Clark’s surprise election victory last month and just ahead of the annual conference of Western Premier’s in Winnipeg early next week.

Tell us what you think of the Canadian oil sands by filling out this brief survey. $2 will be donated to breast cancer research for every completed survey. 

Kinder Morgan crews were on site cleaning up the 5-12 barrel ‘leak’ Thursday. Photo: Courtesy BC CTV.

Only 5-12 barrels of oil released onto ground near Merritt, BC from Trans Mountain pipeline

Pipelines leak. Rail cars carrying crude oil derail. Tanker trucks overturn on highways. A hundred per cent guarantee against crude oil spills is impossible and British Columbians need to accept that fact.

The miracle is that the means of transporting oil don’t leak more often. When you think about the millions of barrels shipped from and around Canada each and every day, the pipeline industry’s claim of a 99.999 per cent safety record sounds pretty impressive.

Which is why it’s important for British Columbians to keep pipelines in perspective when there are leaks.

Thursday’s discovery of a small leak on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline near Merritt is not cause for hand wringing and alarm. The pipeline did not rupture (more like a weep, according to company officials) and the leak was discovered during routine maintenance.

Only 12 barrels (some reports say as little as five) of crude leaked from the Trans Mountain pipeline. That’s a very small leak. Crews were on hand quickly to clean up the soil and repair the pipeline.  The company’s system worked as designed, with minimal damage to the environment and no harm to humans.

Also this week, a pipeline in northern Alberta near the border with the Northwest Territories ruptured and spilled almost 57,000 barrels (9.5 million litres) of produced water onto ecologically sensitive muskeg. The water is very salty and will certainly kill vegetation over the 42 hectare area where it spilled.

The Alberta spill is significant and Canadians should be concerned. What was the chemical composition of the water and how much oil did it contain? If it seeped into the muskeg, which resembles a sponge, can it be effectively cleaned up? What effect will it have on local First Nations? Why did it happen and how can it be prevented from happening again?

The Trans Mountain pipeline spill is not significant. It is the cost of business in a hydrocarbon economy. And until solar power and wind energy are ready for prime time, British Columbians must accept the risk of small spills as the price they pay for driving cars, heating their houses, and in some cases, cashing a paycheque.

Not surprisingly, the eco-warriors were in full cry yesterday. ”They are proving that they can’t eliminate the threat posed by their pipeline,” Gabriel George of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation told he Surrey Leader.

Jordan Wilson of the Pipe Up Network said, ”By a stroke of luck, the spill did not enter any waterways, saturate a farmer’s field, or worse yet, a school yard.”

Luck had nothing to do with it. Kinder Morgan was “pigging” the pipeline and the tool found an irregularity. Crews were dispatched, found the leak and a short time later the line was shut down and repairs were underway.

The system worked exactly as designed.

As an aside, I examined the Trans Mountain pipeline leak records from 1961 to present for a story last year and was surprised to discover that most spills were small and happened at tank farms and pumping stations, where there are containment systems in place.

Hugh Harden, Kinder Morgan’s VP of operations and environment, health and safety, told me in an interview that the Trans Mountain pipeline is in better shape now than when the company purchased it in 2005 because of regular maintenance and upgrades.

As long as we have an economy that runs on oil – and last I looked, British Columbians burned as much gasoline in their SUVs and minivans as other Canadians – that oil will be moved from one place to another by pipelines.

West Coasters must accept small spills and not get in a swivet over five barrels here and 10 barrels there. Especially when the spill in question occurs on industrial property and is contained and quickly cleaned up.

Significant spills, like the Zama pipeline, rightly deserve their concern. And they should be demanding answers of the industry and assurances that such spills won’t happen in BC.

But crying “Wolf!” over every incident involving a pipeline will only guarantee citizens eventually tune out the issue, which would be counterproductive because public pressure is what keeps government, regulators and industry on their toes.

Tell us what you think of the Canadian oil sands by filling out this brief survey. $2 will be donated to breast cancer research for every completed survey. 

A section of the 42 hectares flooded by 59,627 barrels of produced water. Photo: Dene Tha.

Apache pipeline spill near Zama City worries First Nation

An Apache pipeline spill has leaked 59, 627 barrels (9.5 million litres) of “produced water” in northern Alberta.

The incident occurred on a water pipeline about 20 kilometres northeast of Zama City, Alta., which is located just south of the border with the Northwest Territories.

Apache Canada released a statement Wednesday that said the spill affected an area of about 42 hectares.

The company said the leak has been plugged and crews are working to contain and clean up the spill.

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development spokeswoman Nikki Booth said there is no indication that impacts to the Zama River have been experienced.

Booth said the line was shut off June 1.

When asked if she knew how long was the water was spilling into the environment, Booth said it is under the investigation of the Energy Resources Conservation Board.

“Once that investigation is complete we will release the results,” Booth said.

Spill first reported on June 1

The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) said the spill was first reported by Apache on June 1.

Apache did not release estimates of the spill’s size until Wednesday.

Greenpeace spokesperson Mike Hudema said the pipeline spill came to light only after someone reported it to a TV station last week.

Apache said waste water that is extracted during oil and gas operations contains oil, gas, non-potable water, salt and other minerals.

The company said the water released involved produced water that had been treated to remove hydrocarbons.

However, the Dene Tha First Nation suggest the produced water contains hydrocarbons, high levels of salt, sulphurous compounds, metals and naturally occurring radioactive materials, along with chemical solvents and additives used by the oil industry.

“It’s very troubling that Apache doesn’t know what chemicals are flowing through its pipes,” said Hudema.

Alberta Health Services board chairman Stephen Lockwood. Photo: handout.

Health Minister Fred Horne terminated the Alberta Health Services board of directors Wednesday morning after the board defied a ministerial directive and awarded over $3 million in bonuses to AHS executives.

Horne called the board’s move unacceptable and “out of step with the government’s priorities”.

“At a time when we’ve asked our front-line providers, including doctors, teachers and support workers to take freezes in pay, the unwillingness of the AHS board to reconsider its decision on pay-at-risk (bonuses) is completely out of step with the government’s priorities,” Horne said at a news conference in Lethbridge. “And more importantly, the priorities of Albertans.”

As the Beacon reported yesterday, Horne had directed the board to not pay out the bonuses Tuesday afternoon. After a delay, the Alberta Health Services board decided to ignore the directive and award the bonuses for 99 health executives. Chair Stephen Lockwood said the bonuses were awarded because they were agreed upon in contracts from last year.

“We really feel strongly about the sanctity of contracts,” Lockwood told media Tuesday evening. “It’s hard for me to think anyone would not want us to abide by the sanctity of our contracts.”

Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne. Photo: Handout.

But Horne said that decision has resulted in Albertans losing faith in the board.

“With that event, it was clear that this is not going to be a functional, constructive relationship that serves patients and serves staff and that’s what I care about and that’s the reason for my decision today,” he said.

“When the board refuses to respond to directives, we have a problem because at that point the question of who’s in charge of governance in the system and the stability of the system comes into question and I’m not prepared to allow that situation to continue and neither is the premier.”

Horne has appointed former nurse and health care administrator Janet Davidson as official administrator of Alberta Health Services effective immediately. The appointment will not change any of the ongoing front-line operations of Alberta Health Services, Horne said, and CEO Chris Eagle will continue in his role.

“This is not about reinventing the entire health care system, this is about correcting a situation that had become frankly intolerable for the government,” Horne said.

Dr. Chris Eagle, CEO of Alberta Health Services. Photo: Handout.

The move to fire the board comes just three months after Horne stated he and the government would not interfere in existing contracts with Alberta Health Services staff. But relations have grown sour in the time since, he added, suggesting he had to take action after learning some Alberta Health Services executives wanted to forgo their bonuses this year in light of the government’s fiscal challenges.

“They’re to be credited,” Horne said. “But the situation is simply unacceptable, it’s not OK. Once the system breaks down, we then move into a position where I became concerned yesterday that Albertans would begin to lose confidence in the system.”

Since the board of directors are paid an honorarium, no severance packages will be offered, Horne said. He has asked Davidson to look into the pay-at-risk bonuses.

Horne also pledged to consult all stakeholders including front-line staff, patients and Albertans from all communities before deciding how best to re-structure Alberta Health Services moving forward.

“When AHS was originally created, it was done very, very quickly and there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for staff to have input, to be consulted and we saw some of the impact of that over the term that I’ve been minister,” Horne said. “We’re gonna correct that this time.”

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Sam’s World by Tony Blocker

Sam’s World is a one-panel web comic featuring characters from the imagination of Calgary-based artist Tony Blocker. Tony shows life’s situations in a laid-back, wicked literal, and humorous approach. Visit Yelling Rabbit Artworks to learn more.

In comparing alcohol-related revenue and costs, researchers found an overall deficit thus suggesting a general conclusion that alcohol use is harmful to public health, safety and the economy.

By Dr. Paul Martiquet  

In many ways, Canada is a world leader in effective tobacco control and many jurisdictions are devoting resources in an effort to reduce the high toll of unhealthy eating and a lack of physical activity on morbidity and mortality.

Unfortunately, far less attention is paid to alcohol as a relevant health issue. It mostly shows up as an issue in the media when there is an alcohol-related tragedy, usually related to drinking and driving. Given alcohol’s status as the leading risk factor for ill-health, injury and disability in North America, perhaps it’s time we devoted more attention to the reduction of alcohol-related harm.

The majority of us drink alcohol in moderation

About 80% of Canadian adults consume alcohol, mostly in moderation. Still, alcohol is associated with a wide range of harms including the development of chronic diseases, acute injuries, trauma and violence.

In 2002, alcohol was responsible for 8% of all deaths under the age of 70 and 7% of all hospital days in Canada. Alcohol use also interacts with other risk factors such as tobacco use and unhealthy diets to substantially increase health risks.

Alcohol use is a burden on healthcare

The costs associated with alcohol use are high. The burden on health care and law enforcement services as well as costs associated with the loss of productivity in the home or workplace due to alcohol are very high.

In more than half of provinces, a comparison of direct revenue and costs from alcohol shows an overall deficit. It would make a lot of sense, then, to reduce the harms of alcohol and to do so with a public health approach: treating the overall problem with population-wide efforts including education, policies and laws.

Modifying the behaviour of high-risk drinkers of alcohol

Several types of alcohol policy have been shown to be effective in not only reducing population levels of damage, but also modifying the behaviour of high-risk drinkers.

A report produced by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health called “Strategies to Reduce Alcohol-Related Harms and Costs in Canada” provides a systematic evaluation of policies and programs across all Canadian provinces which have the potential to reduce the considerable health and social harms from alcohol.

Their recommendations are extensive, but their general recommendation is that governments in all sectors and non-governmental organizations that deal with alcohol issues should be encouraged to collaborate.

Changes to benefit public health and safety

They also offer specific policy recommendations including the setting of minimum prices at a level that will discourage excessive consumption and maintenance of government

Dr. Paul Martiquet.
Photo: Vancouver Coastal Health

monopolies by preventing further privatization of alcohol sales. Implementing mandatory server training and challenge and refusal programs both help control over-consumption, especially by minors.

There is much potential for achieving the public health and safety benefits from effective alcohol policies. In order to reduce alcohol-related harm in Canada, there must be concerted action in more than any one area, and an emphasis on both population-level policies and interventions which target high-risk drinkers.

Dr. Paul Martiquet is the medical health officer for Rural Vancouver Coastal Health including Powell River, the Sunshine Coast, Sea-to-Sky, Bella Bella and Bella Coola.

Tell us what you think of the Canadian oil sands by filling out this brief survey. $2 will be donated to breast cancer research for every completed survey. 

Searchers combing area for men missing in Kootenays

Search and Rescue teams are scouring the Findlay Creek after two young men were reported missing on the morning of Sunday, June 9.  Stephen Thompson of Canal Flats BC and Nicholas Hoefnagels of Carstairs AB are missing.

The two missing men were reported missing to Cranbrook/Kimberly RCMP at about 2:30 a.m., on Sunday after they hadn’t been seen since 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Search and Rescue teams met in the area at 6 a.m. on Sunday and began combing the area.  At about noon, searchers noticed an area on the Findlay Creek Forest Service Road where a vehicle had left the road.  It then went down a steep embankment and into Findlay Creek.

Search and Rescue members of the rope team found personal items that belonged to the two missing men on the river bank near the water, but did not spot the men or their vehicle.

Stephen Thompson has been identified as one of the missing men.

Search teams have since concentrated their efforts downstream from the location, however, neither the truck nor the men were found.  A helicopter also patrolled creeks in the the area that are not accessible by SAR crews.

With the spring run-off, water levels are very high and the visibility is low.  The area around the creek is steep and rocky which limits access for the SAR crews.  The RCMP dispatched a dive team to the area, but the water is flowing to quickly to safely deploy the divers.  An RCMP helicopter will continue to search the area.

Nicholas Hoefnagels missing in Kootenays.

Friends and family of Stephen Thompson and Nicholas Hoefnagels gathered at the site during the search, and RCMP Victim Services is helping them with the situation.

Findlay Creek Forest Service Road is located off of Highway 93/95 west of Canal Flats.  Canal Flats is approximately 50 Km south of Invermere.

Overconsumption of sugar, not fat, is often overlooked and must be taken into account when considering major causes of obesity.

By Dr. Paul Martiquet  

Obesity is a very serious and ongoing health issue but while we concern ourselves with the fact of obesity, we sometimes overlook the history of the problem.

A BBC report from the United Kingdom identifies the 1960s as the turning point for what has become an epidemic. Its measure is reflected in the fact that today, British people are on average nearly 19 kg (42 pounds) heavier than 50 years ago.

Corn syrup form of sugar in many foods

During two world wars and a depression, food shortages led to reduced consumption. By the 1960s that was a problem of the past and obesity began to rise. Initially this was limited to rich countries, but it had soon spread to middle-income countries as well.

The blame, according to the BBC report, is the increase in the amounts of sugar we ingest. And in particular, the amount of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This product is a very sweet by-product of waste corn, and in the 1970s, it was incredibly cheap. This led to substituting HFCS for traditional sugars as a sweetener in processed foods. In turn, this led to a massive increase in the quantities of cheaper food showing up in supermarkets. The result was bigger portions and more ‘sugar’ in more places. The sweetener found its way into pizzas, meat, bread, cakes and more. By the mid-80s, corn syrup had replaced sugar in fizzy soft drinks. And consumption kept rising. As did obesity.

Our brains don’t know we’ve eaten enough sugar

Why the concern over one type of sweetener over another? After all, what’s the difference between them?

Sucrose is the sugar we know as basic table sugar — it contains both glucose and fructose. The first of these, glucose is found in fruits in small amounts. Glucose syrup is made from corn starch. The other component, fructose, is the main sugar occurring naturally in all fruits. It also occurs in high-fructose corn syrup. Fructose is easily converted to fat in the body. It acts to suppress the action of a vital hormone called leptin which is the mechanism that tells your brain that you have had enough, that you don’t really need that second sugary drink or pastry. When the liver is overloaded with sugars, leptin simply stops working, and you have that second serving. This one of many common causes of obesity.

Too much sugar, not enough exercise is underlying cause of obesity

Dr. Paul Martiquet.
Photo: Vancouver Coastal Health

Too much sugar; the wrong kind of sugar; too many choices. All of these contribute to obesity, but the fundamental problem remains that when one consumes too many calories to balance out with exercise, the result is weight gain. Of course, eating less sugar is linked with weight loss, and eating more is linked with weight gain. A new review of published studies (New Zealand) lends support to the idea that advising people to limit the sugar in their diets may help lessen excess weight and obesity.

In the 1970s we became concerned that fat was causing heart disease other chronic health problems. The solution, of course, was to introduce low-fat products in all food categories. Of course, no one asked if it was a good idea to replace fat with sugar as was happening. Now to find something to replace all that sugar, and to help stop the serious health issues surrounding obesity.

Dr. Paul Martiquet is the medical health officer for Rural Vancouver Coastal Health including Powell River, the Sunshine Coast, Sea-to-Sky, Bella Bella and Bella Coola.

Tell us what you think of the Canadian oil sands by filling out this brief survey. $2 will be donated to breast cancer research for every completed survey.