Loose dogs are killing deer, says conservation official

Loose dogs are chasing and killing deer in the heavy spring snow, says a Department of Natural Resources representative.

Eric Sullivan, a biologist with the department, has been monitoring deer kills in the area.

He said it is instinctive for a loose dog to chase after a wild animal.

"People think it's never their dogs."

And although it is a problem year-round, he said changing snow conditions are making the problem worse.

"This time of year it's especially critical."

Sullivan said deer are at their lowest energy reserves at this time of year and any extra stress can lower their chances of survival, even if the dogs don't catch them.

Dogs can run along on top of the snow while deer fall through and can't get away, he said.

"Often they're killed."

Sullivan said it is a problem all over the province, but there are places where it is worse.

"We do have hot spots that come back every year."

People need to be educated, he said, but he is not sure what it is going to take for people to get the message.

"This is a problem."

Sullivan said there were probably 15-20 deer killed in the last week.

"Those are just the ones we've been finding."

People report incidents when they see them and that means they don't find the ones that happen back in the woods, he said.

"A lot of it's happening around communities."

Sullivan said in the past, the Department of Natural Resources has run radio ads, posted information on their website and they now include information in their hunting and trapping summary booklet to try and educate the public.

People know it is a problem, he said.

"It's just some people choose to ignore it."

Michael Cain, the regional conservation manager for Miramichi district, said there are consequences for owners who let their dogs run free.

Wildlife enforcement officers don't have to prove a dog is actively pursuing a wild animal for them to fine the dog's owner, he said.

"Any time a dog is allowed to go unsupervised there is the potential to be charged under the Fish and Wildlife Act."

Cain said they approach everyone with an unchained dog but don't enforce the law as much in the summer.

"We try to use common sense."

The fines range from $100 to $300 and conservation officers have the authority to destroy dogs, he said.

Cain said a dog would have to be actively in pursuit of wildlife for an officer to shoot a dog and very few incidents come to that, he said.

"That's used as a method of last resort."

Conservation officers always prefer to follow an animal home, charge the owners and, if possible, turn the dog over to the local dog catcher, he said.

Cain said they can't do that if the dog is dead.

"It's not the preferred option."

“I feel good,” says 107-year-old Rogersville resident

Flora Thibodeau has lived to see two world wars, 16 Prime Ministers and, as of March 20, 107 birthdays.

Birthday cards and flower bouquets lined the window ledge and floor in her living room where she celebrated her birthday in much the same way she has for the past few years.

Thibodeau, who can slip between speaking French and English, said she had a lot of visitors on that day. Although she usually goes out for supper on her birthday, this year she was stuck at home because of a snow storm, which was the only change in her birthday plans.

"It's always the same thing," said the Rogerville resident.

The village marked her birthday with a congratulatory message on a sign next to the main road and the old-age club sent her a member card, she said.

Angela Bastarache is Thibodeau's home care aid who has worked with her for about a year and a half.

She is the first aid worker Thibodeau has had.

Bastarache said most of the work she does is just cooking and cleaning.

"I don't have to help her much."

She stays with Thibodeau for a few hours a day, five days a week, with someone else there for four hours on the weekend, she said.

Bastarache said it wasn't what she exepcted when she started because it is like being with someone who is younger.

"It's unbelievable because she's not laid up or anything."

And it's as if the two have known each other for a long time, she said.

"It's just like as if she was my grandmother."

Thibodeau said she has seen a lot of changes throughout her life like when she was younger there was no electricity, no phone and everything had to be done by hand.

"We had nothing to work in the house."

Born in Rogersville, Thibodeau said she has lived there most of her life.

As a young woman, she spent six months in Fredericton where she went to school to become certified to teach up to grade eight, she said.

But the religious schools she went to as a girl didn't teach in English and she had to go to an English school in Newcastle for a year before she could go to Fredericton.

"Here it's all French," she said in French.

Thibodeau said she taught in a one-room schoolhouse with about 30 students who learned basic subjects like reading and arithmetic.

She liked it at the time but wouldn't want to teach now, she said.

"It's much different from our time."

When she was married, Thibodeau spent four years in Dalhousie where her husband worked at a mill.

Her husband was an only child and the couple moved back to Rogersville when his mother died so he could take care of his father.

Thibodeau's husband died in 1941 when her youngest child was one and the oldest was 12.

The family took things one day at a time and although they were never rich they never went hungry because she worked hard to get by, she said.

"We made due with what we had."

Thibodeau had seven children. All but one of whom are still alive. She also has 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and three great-great-granchildren, but none of them live in the area.

"I have nobody in Rogersville," she said in French.

Up until a couple of years ago, Thibodeau still played the piano and although she would love to still be able to, because of her hands it is one thing she has had to give as she has aged.

"It's old hands."

Even though she is in good health, she said she doesn't leave the house much and watches a lot of TV to pass the time.

"I get a lot of visitors," she said in French.

Thibodeau said she never did anything special to stay healthy and thanks God for her continued health.

"I think I did everything everybody else does."

Thibodeau, who has lived in her current house for 30 years, said she has no plans to move.

"I'm going to die here."

The centenarian said we see things change every day but people can't change their lives.

"We have to go with it."

Bastarache said Thibodeau hasn't changed much in the time she has worked with her.

"She's about the same to me."

But Thibodeau said things can change fast in people's lives.

"It's not us who decides."

Meeting reveals differences re: forestry

Jim Irving spoke at a stakeholders meeting Saturday at the Rodd Miramichi on the state of the forestry industry in New Brunswick.

Irving said the industry is in trouble because stumpage fees and electricity costs in New Brunswick are among the highest in the country.

"If we're going to compete in a global economy, these are issues we're going to have to address."

Irving was speaking as a member of a panel that included Fraser Papers CEO Peter Gordon and Flakeboard CEO Kelly Shotbolt.

The meeting also featured several presenters, including the minister of natural resources and a representative of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

Irving said New Brunswick has to compete in a global market and to do that, rates don't have to be the lowest — they just have to be even.

"I think that's the message."

Gordon said power rates in Quebec are 50 per cent lower than in New Brunswick and that difference has to be passed on in an industry that relies on competitive prices.

"It just doesn't work."

The group's report showed Prince Edward Island was the only province with electricity rates for the pulp and paper industry higher than in New Brunswick.

Irving said forestry companies need to work with government because the high rates are driving people out of business.

"Ultimately, you go because you can't stand the heat."

But New Brunswick businesses create the most jobs and they want to stay in the province, he added.

"We have to have the heart for it."

Irving said there is the ability in this province to keep things moving forward and the government will do the right thing when it gets all the facts.

"Now is the time to move."

The jobs lost to mill closures throughout the province are being replaced, but they are not being replaced by high paying jobs like the ones in the forestry industry, he said.

Irving said the loss of a mill affects municipal budgets too, because mills pay a high percentage of the property taxes collected in some areas.

"That's real dollars."

The panel presented Price Waterhouse Cooper reports that indicate New Brunswick spruce fir stumpage rates are 30 per cent higher than those in Quebec and 50 per cent higher than in Ontario; and that $17 million more was paid for trees cut on Crown Land in New Brunswick than in Quebec, and $20 million more than in Ontario.

Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault said royalty rates need to reflect the markets as they go up and down.

"That's what we're trying to do."

As for the electricity costs, a high-energy-use rebate of $16 million over two years was announced last summer, he said, but added it is hard to convince other cabinet ministers money needs to be budgeted for the forestry industry.

"You're limited in dollars — and the demands are unlimited."

We have to get message out: Miramichi forestry workers

"Tell your MLA you need their help."

This was the message delivered to woodlot owners and silviculture workers at a meeting Monday in Newcastle.

And that's just what many of the about 70 people in attendance did when they left the Northumberland Woodlot Owners Association headquarters, got in their cars and drove to their local constituency offices.

About 30 people gathered outside Public Safety Minister John Foran's office in Newscastle while they discussed strategy. Many others at the meeting returned to their home ridings to see their own MLAs.

Northumberland Woodlot Owners Association executive director Kevin Forgrave told the crowd if everyone went to their MLA's office it would really make a difference.

"They're gonna want to resolve that, because it takes up their time."

But, he cautioned, do it in a way that will add credibility to the cause.

"We do it peacefully."

Before the group filed up the ramp to fill Foran's small office, Northumberland Forest Products Marketing Board president Jean-Guy Comeau repeated that message.

Foran wasn't in the office, so Comeau asked his representative to pass their concerns along to the minister.

"They want the minister to work on their behalf."

With the message delivered, the woodlot owners and silviculture workers filed back down the concrete ramp.

As they gathered in the parking lot, Foran arrived.

He agreed to a meeting at the woodlot owners association building, but asked that the media not be permitted to sit in.

After the meeting, Foran said he would be happy to attend a public meeting where the media is present, but he was told this particular meeting would be private.

"That's what I wanted to attend was a private meeting."

Foran said he will attend a public meeting the association has scheduled for April 14 at its office.

Meanwhile, Foran said, he told the group he understands its concerns about cuts to silviculture, but pointed out the budget has already been put forward and will be voted on this Friday.

"I can't see any changes in the future."

Comeau said he appreciated the minister's help and added they need MLAs to work on their behalf to show the impact of the cuts, because their success depends on it.

The biggest problem for those in the forestry industry is losing what they already have, he said.

Comeau said people who work in silviculture are trained professionals and they can't sit at home and wait a year to see if things turn around.

"If we lose them this year, they could be lost forever."

Silviculture worker Maureen Whalen visited her MLA in Blackville after the meeting.

She said 2008 might be her last year working in the industry — if she can get work at all this year.

Whalen explained her husband works out west and usually comes home in the summer, but this year he might not do that. Instead, after about 10 years working in the forestry industry, she might join him out west.

"If need be."

Whalen said the workers know where they stand.

"Our jobs don't mean a whole lot to the government."

Comeau said the Miramichi region can't afford to lose the money earned from forestry jobs that goes into the community.

"That money is spent every week."

There is an aging workforce in the industry, he said, and parents won't tell their kids to get into it because of the uncertainty.

"That's a sad thing to do."

Comeau said he will be at the legislature April 2 to address his board's concerns alongside other marketing boards and woodlot owners.

"There will not be an MLA who is not be aware of the consequences and damages," he said, adding all they want is the same program as before, with the same amount of dollars.

"Not 50-50."

New biathlon club set up in Miramichi

A new Miramichi biathlon club hopes to start training soon, says one of the club's organizers.

Herman Koops, a local cross-country skier, is one of the organizers of New Brunswick's newest biathlon club.

Koops said biathlon training usually peaks in the winter, but this year the new club will wait until the the snow melts to start training.

"It's really an all-season sport."

Biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting.

Competitors ski around a track and stop to shoot at target ranges set up around the course.

One of the attractions to biathlon is that the age of athletes can cover a wide range because kids can start as early as eight-years-old, he said.

"You peak late in this sport."

Koops said a demonstration last month drew over 50 people interested in learning more about the sport.

The plan calls for the club to use air rifles first, then to move to .22-calibre rifles later on if there is enough interest, he said.

"It's probably been brewing for almost two seasons."

Koops said cross-country skiers and cadets are the people who are the most interested in a biathlon club.

"I guess looking for the challenge of something different."

The Miramichi club will have help from former biathlete Ray Kokkonen, who lives in the area and who is one of the executives of Biathlon New Brunswick, he said.

"He's an amazing resource."

And Koops said people with shooting experience who are looking to try something different can get involved to help train members of the club.

Kokkonen said there are exceptional skiers and some shooters involved in the local cross-country ski club who can help with training once the biathlon club starts.

"My training aspect will be quite rudimentary."

He said he will help the club with basic training and some of the technical aspects of the sport, but emphasized he is not a coach.

"I just wanted to set up the package and watch it go."

Kokkonen said Biathlon New Brunswick will loan the club five air rifles.

"This is a good way to develop."

The club will hold an information session April 19 from 9-12a.m. at the Atlantic Superstore community room in the Miramichi Mall.

Participants have to pre-register and can do so by contacting Herman Koops at 622-6863. The deadline for registration is April 5.

Karate students have colourful night in Chatham earning their belt grades

The two combatants bowed to each other before their fists and feet sprang to life in front of a crowd of friends, family and other students.

A group of instructors sat at a table near one end of the gym as they graded the students on their form and looked to see if they landed any blows.

It was all part of the Moo Yan Kune Chi karate club's belt grading that took place April 1 in the Saint Andrews Elementary School gym in Chatham.

New karate students begin with a white belt and receive different colours as their skills progress, until they reach the black belt. From there they move in degrees, up to 10th degree black belt.

Louis Morris, one of the instructors, has studied karate for 32 years and reached the 10th degree about five years ago.

As the students waited to find out if they passed, Morris told them they did very well.

"I'm very proud of you."

Even so, some of them struggled and not everyone passed.

After the 16 students who did pass were presented with their belts, Morris had all of the students line up and addressed the group.

There was a time when he struggled too because of his nerves, he said, but it is something the students have to overcome.

"It's entirely up to you guys."

Danny Sonier watched the testing from the sides as, one-by-one, the students went through the grading ritual.

Sonier has been involved in karate off-and-on for five years and is two steps away from a black belt.

It will probably be two or three years before he reaches that level, he said.

"Whenever master sensei says you're ready to go."

Sonier said he likes karate because of the social aspect of it and because it frees his mind.

"I always want to learn," he said.

Yvon Cormier was there for his third class and said karate gives him a great cardiovascular workout.

Cormier said he used to be in the military, owns a gym and has lifted weights for years but karate was a big change for him. "It's a whole different ball game," he explained.

At the end of the night, as the instructors packed up their equipment, Morris said he teaches karate as a way to help communities.

"It's to help the kids."

Life of Fighting Fisherman to air on CBC

A documentary about the life of Yvon Durelle will air on CBC television during the hockey playoffs, says the former boxer's widow.

Therese Durelle was married to Yvon for 55 years and moved from Baie Ste.-Anne to Moncton after his death from a stroke in January 2007.

The documentary will not be just about her husband's career as a boxer, she said.

"It's going to be on his life."

Therese Durelle said a television crew began to shoot footage about a month ago for the series, called Grave Concerns.

The show focuses on people suffering from illnesses who have passed away, she said.

"This year they chose Yvon."

Even though her husband suffered from Parkinson's disease and was not very well for the last few years of his life, his death last year was unexpected, she said, adding he was sick, but not that sick.

"It's hard to know Yvon is not with me any more."

Durelle said she plans to give away the items she still has from a museum the couple had in their home, but she doesn't want to give the collection to someone who will just keep it at home.

"I would like to give it to somebody who will show it, so people can see it."

Colin Thornton, who filmed the TV episode, said the show focuses on famous Atlantic Canadians.

The boxer was chosen along with songwriter Gene MacLellan and writer Jack Kerouac from a list of 12 people, he said.

Everybody understands Durelle's boxing career, Thornton said, but the producers wanted to look at things people might not know about him, like his life as a father, his big heart and his importance to Acadians.

Outside the ring, Durelle was a big softy but inside it, he was tough as nails, he said.

"The contrast I find staggering."

Thornton said every member of Durelle's family in New Brunswick participated in the making of the episode. They were very open and have every right to be proud of Durelle, he said.

"He's a hero."

The Durelle episode of Grave Concerns will air April 29 on CBC television.