First place in the Birkie
Jasper’s very own Fred Wall placed first in the 80-plus category of the Canadian Birkebeiner in Edmonton earlier this month.
The Birkebeiner, often referred to as the Birkie, is Canada’s largest classical-format cross-country ski festival.
Wall finished the 55 km race—with a pack—in six hours, 27 minutes and 10 seconds, placing him 126th out of 147 athletes who completed the race.
Strap on your skates
The Jasper Arena opened Monday, Feb. 17, after nearly a month of repairs and cleaning following a Jan. 26 fire in the Zamboni room.
The fire caused $1.126 million in insured damages, excluding the cost of repairing the Zamboni, which was reported as a write off last week, but is now—following a second appraisal—thought to be repairable.
“Right now it’s looking like it’s not a write off,” said Yvonne McNabb, director of culture and recreation, during the Feb. 18 council meeting.
Following the fire, which started in a storage cupboard around 2 a.m., a restoration team and municipal staff worked around the clock to clean and repair the smoke damage in an effort to get the town’s skaters back on the ice.
According to Peter Bridge, the arena manager, if the Zamboni is a write off, it could take up to a year to get a new one—as they’re built on order—so in the meantime one is being rented to allow Jasper’s athletes to get back to their games and practises.
New director for Tourism Jasper
Tourism Jasper has landed a new business development director.
After seven years on the open water, Bryan Attree, who formerly worked with Celebrity Cruise Lines, Azamara Cruises and Princess Cruises, is coming ashore to take the position with Jasper’s destination marketing organization.
Attree’s new post will have him leading the creation of commercial partnerships, delivering service excellence in the Jasper Visitor Information Centre and increasing visitation opportunities.
Local food AGM
Although the ground is still frozen and covered with snow, the time has come to start planning for next year’s harvest.
The Jasper Local Food Society, which runs the Connaught Drive community garden, is holding its annual general meeting tonight, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m.
The meeting will take place at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives and will include an opportunity to get a 2014 society membership. New board members will also be elected and there will be talk about the farmer’s market.
Anyone interested in local food, the community garden or the farmer’s market is invited to attend.
