Green Party leader stopping in Jasper
As a tribute to the “more democratic time” of the whistle-stop campaign tours of the 1950s and 1960s, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is once again crossing the country by rail in an effort to gain support for her party.
May’s campaign train will be snaking its way through the mountains and into Jasper this Saturday, July 12, for a brief rally at the VIA Rail station on Connaught Drive, at 4 p.m. before continuing on her cross-country tour. May’s final destination is the Green Party’s 2014 Convention in Fredericton.
Up for interpretation?
Parks Canada is now offering interpretive programs out of the Old Fire Hall on Patricia Street.
Taxidermied goats, wolves and others are on display, along with wildlife information and an audio/video presentation. Each day Parks interpreters also offer programs like drum making and teepee building.
The municipality transferred the Old Fire Hall over to Parks Canada earlier this year, and the Planning and Development Advisory Committee recently gave the go-ahead for Parks to operate interpretive programs out of it.
The current programs are still in their preliminary stages, but interpretive activities will soon be in full swing at the hall. Programs to look forward to in the future include street theatre performances and puppet shows.
Fire danger reaches extreme
Jasper and its sister mountain parks are all in high to extreme fire danger, after a spat of hot, sunny days has left the already dry fuel in the forests even dryer.
According to Parks Canada, under the current conditions “fires will ignite easily, spread furiously, and burn intensely.” Any wildfires that pop up in Jasper, Kootenay, Banff or Yoho National Parks will be very challenging for responders to control.
This week Parks battled two small wildfire in the north of Jasper, and with a wildfire still burning in Banff, it has called in two extra fire crews and helicopters to lend a hand. An Incident Management Team is also on standby.
