No Matter What You Step In

M

Public Invitation to the Public Produce Garden, MacKinnon Park

Hi everyone,

This Thursday, May 23, anytime between 3-7pm we'll be busy like bees and humming happy planting tunes down at the Public Produce Garden. It would be great to see you there!

On the list so far is:

- PLANTING POTATOES (in preparation for our second annual 'Potato Pickin' Party' this September!)

- FILLING AND SEEDING OUR NEW RAISED BEDS (very cool conversion of old fridges and freezers to insulated raised beds - come and check 'em out - and help us make them look pretty to keep the City happy :)!)

- CREATING A SQUASH & PUMPKIN MOUND (we've got rolls of old sod to use as a base, and will go from there to create a 'ready for Halloween' piece of the garden)

- MOW THE VERY HAPPY GRASS (with our snazzy new push 'reel' mower)

AND WHATEVER ELSE COMES UP WHILE WE'RE ALL THERE TOGETHER. (please bring any extra seeds or transplants you have at home that you'd like to see growing at the Garden)

Things are looking great, thanks to lots of great collaboration so far. 

It'll be fun to be together at the same time with many of you Thursday!

See you there,

Shannon

(250)427-7981

MacKinnon Park is adjacent to the creek, 18th Ave. North (between 6th and 8th Street North), one block over between Hot Shots and Save On

The Cranbrook Spring Farmer's Market is back this Saturday May 25th, 2013

Spring Market 2012

Spring is in the air, and at the Market!

The Cranbrook Farmer’s Market Society is pleased to kick off their 5^th year of operation with a Spring Market on Saturday, May 25^th from 10 am until 3 pm at the Cranbrook Curling Club.   The Spring Market proved popular last year for those eager to get fresh locally grown greens , along with baked goods, honey, body products,  items for the home and garden, and so much more…

Market patrons can expect over 50 local area vendors – many of their favourites from the Summer Markets offering a wide array of locally made, baked and grown products -everything from borscht and hot sauce to handmade soaps,  Jewellery and handcrafted wooden toys and household items.  Many vendors will be inside the Arena, with hot food vendors and a few others welcoming market patrons outside the north entrance to the building. 

For those who have ever considered vending at the market, but may not be sure of how to start, the Cranbrook Farmer’s Market will also be offering an ‘Interested in vending at the market session’ on site at the Spring Market from 1 – 2 pm. 

To find out more about the Spring or Summer Markets, see www.cranbrookfarmersmarket.com  and  ‘like us on facebook’ for the latest updates. 

Launching Cranbrook's Urban Artsy Deer Project

Cranbrook and District Arts Council launched their Urban Artsy Deer Project at their 40th Anniversary Gala Concert on Friday May 17th.  They invite businesses, individuals, families and groups to drop by the CDAC office, 135 10th Avenue South to register and purchase a deer for the fun summer long competition.  The quest for deer hidden within Cranbrook businesses will begin July 1st.  All other deer will be herded into Rotary Park for Art in the Park Day August 24th.  There, they will be judged and prizes awarded.

This is a great opportunity to get the creative juices flowing both for business owners to advertise their business and for everyone to just to have fun and to be proud of our deer.

Does  $35

Bucks $40

Business Deer must be registered by June 20th in order for the Quest Tally Sheets to be made up.

Click to enlarge

Proceeds to the Cranbrook and District Arts Council Building Fund.

A May Long Weekend Ride

Joseph, Emmy and I headed out at just after 10AM this morning for an absolutely fabulous ride from our house to the St. Mary's Bridge on the Rails to Trails.  The air temperature was perfect, and the scenery was grand. Lots of people were out cycling, walking and roller blading.  We stopped at the bridge for 15 minutes to enjoy the river, and reminisce about our many canoe trips on the St. Mary's River, checking out a couple of eddy points to Emmy.

On the way back I spotted a beautiful blue clematis growing on the shoulder of the pathway. 

A little further along, I spotted a little morel mushroom.  Had to record the little treasures left along the path by Ma Nature.

Home by noon for some fresh, made in the morning, Creston creamy asparagus soup, and Joseph's whole grain cinnamon buns accompanied by some fair trade organic french roast coffee in the sun on our deck.  Mmmm, mmm, doesn't get much better than this.

Happy May Long Weekend Everyone!

Sharon Cross

Arts Council Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

Cranbrook and District Arts Council celebrated its 40th Anniversary on Friday May 17th with a Gala Variety Show in the Ktunaxa Gym.  A very varied program including just some of our many talented local performing and visual artists was emceed by Jim Cameron. For more photos go to : https://www.facebook.com/CranbrookArtsCouncil?ref=hl

Work from the College of the Rockies Fine Arts Courses

Helen Duckworth Arts Council Administrator and husband Mark 

Lorraine Butler chats with Mayor Stetski

Councillor Cross was prepared with a china plate as part of the 'Clean Bin' Challenge' 

Leather Britches

Scott Buxton

Buttercups and Larkspur

May Blossom Fest

This is the weekend of Creston's Annual Blossom Festival but we have our own less celebrated blossom festival going on all around us.  Crabapples, Horse Chestnuts, Forsythia, Caraganas, Apple Trees and Spireas are all in full bloom. 

The MayDay Tree in full glory, is surrounding many homes with its sweet scent.

Michael's Musings

Robert Fife Brings Duffy Scandal to the Office of the Prime Minister

by Michael J Morris

When I saw the tweet that once again Robert Fife had proven why he is simply the best, it immediately captured my attention.

Kevin Newman, the host of CTV's Question Period was retweeting a comment by Rosa Hwang, senior broadcast producer with CTV National News. "Once again Robert Fife proves why he's simply the best."

"What had Fife done now?", I wondered, and soon learned that the Ottawa Bureau Chief of CTV News had broken the story that Nigel Wright, the chief of staff to Stephen Harper, the prime minister, had written a personal cheque to Mike Duffy, the senator appointed by Harper,  for $90,172 to pay back expenses to which the senator was not entitled. 

The Duffy scandal was now placed squarely in the office of the prime minister by Bob Fife, who was in Grade Nine when I arrived  to teach at Chapleau High School in 1969, and once he learned I had been a daily newspaper reporter, he never stopped asking me questions throughout his high school years. And when he was attending the University of Toronto, he challenged me on every issue when he came home on vacation or to spend the summers.

In the interests of full disclosure, Bob's father, the late Clyde Fife was one of my father's best friends, and my grandmother and his grandmother were also great friends.

Careful readers will note that I have referred to him in the above paragraphs as Robert, when referring to the quote about him, then Fife, then Bob. That's the way it's been for 44 years now. I call him by one and all depending on the situation -- I just did a rough calculation. How time flies, and how proud I am that from the very beginning of his career as a reporter, Robert 'Bob' Fife has been among the best of his generation.

In November 2008, Deborah Howell, the ombudsperson at the Washington Post wrote that "good reporters are the heart of news gathering. If it's news, they have to know it. Without them, the prublic wouldn't have the news and information essential to running a democracy -- or our lives. Whether the story is local, national or foreign, it has to be gathered on the ground by a reporter." 

That sums Bob up as he simply did his job and revealed another twist in the continuing saga of Duffy, the senator appointed to represent Prince Edward Island but really lives in Ottawa. 

Just recently Bob won the Canadian Association of Journalists Award for his work on uncovering the XL Foods scandal in 2012. In the 1980s when he was still a "young" reporter, Maclean's magazine called him the best investigative reporter in Canada for his coverage of the Ocean Ranger disaster.

He has written two books, A Capital Scandal with John Warren, about the Brian Mulroney years as prime minister and the other Kim Campbell: The Making of a Politician.

Ms Powell added in answering the question about what makes a good reporter, "Endless curiosity and a deep need to know what is happening. Then, the ability to hear a small clue and follow it."

Once Bob broke the Duffy-Wright story, social media has been swamped with tweets, the pundits have been pontificating, talking heads have been talking, and speculating and doing their usual, not really adding much new to the story.

Meanwhile, as I started to work on this column, Bob posted on Twitter and Facebook that Duffy has now resigned from the Conservative caucus, and will sit as an independent senator but he has not resigned from the Senate. So far, Wright and Harper have provided no acceptable explanation. More to come!

Bob is one of those reporters who certainly fits the comment by former Washington Post Post executive editor Ben Bradlee who thought that a reporter's most important quality is energy: "They've got to love what they're doing; they've got to be serious about turning over rocks, opening doors. The story drives you. It's part of your soul."

Mr. Bradlee should know. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reported to him as they covered the Watergate scandal in the United States.

Ironically perhaps, the last chat I had with Bob was at the 90th anniversary reunion of Chapleau High School in 2012 where we were participants in an ecumenical service. It fell to me to read from the Old Testament, (perhaps because of my age) from the book of Ecclesiates, the part about, "For every thing there is a season".

Being a product of the 1960s, I listened to Turn Turn Turn (to Every thing there is a season) made popular by the folk rock band The Byrds, with music written by Pete Seeger in 1959.

For sure it is a season for something in Canadian politics and Robert 'Bob' Fife, "simply the best" is part of it from Bruce Hutchison's far side of the street. How's that for mixing metaphors in one sentence!

After I mentioned Bruce Hutchison in an earlier column, I received the following email from Jim Cameron:

"I am enjoying reading your articles in the Guardian. I noticed you referred to well-known journalist Bruce Hutchison as ‘from Ontario’ which is, of course, correct. On the other hand, and forgive me if you already know this, his father John “Hutch” Hutchison was an early pioneer in the city of Cranbrook. He was a local real estate, insurance man, a theatre operator, a newspaperman and very active in school affairs including taking a major role in the creation of our first public school as a member of the School Board Trustees. He moved away for a few years, during which time Bruce was born, and then returned to Cranbrook where Bruce spent many of his formative years. Thus, we can, at least in some small part, claim that Bruce Hutchison is a “Cranbrook Boy.”"

Thanks Jim. Bruce Hutchison, the "Cranbrook boy" was also simply the best too. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Full disclosure: I am not now and never have been a member of the Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society; however, I did conduct a workshop for its members for which I was paid.

What's Happening...............

Friday May 17th

Cranbrook and District Arts Council 40th Anniversary Variety Show
featuring: Leather Britches, Days of Grace and many other varied acts
Ktunaxa Gym
7:00pm
Tickets Lotus Books or Cranbrook and District Arts Council office at 135 10th Av. South
$10 Adults $8 Students Seniors
Children under 12 free
Birthday cake

Key City Theatre
Corb Lund
7:30

Saturday May 18th

East Kootenay Outdoor Club Hike
Sheep Mountain with Fern Sweeting
250-489-3213

Key City Theatre
Ben Heppner
7:30pm

Senior's Social Dance
Cranbrook Senior' Hall
to the music of
Tucker's Troubadours and Brian Wright
250-489-2720


Sunday May 19th
Paul Brandt
Cranbrook Alliance Church
tickets at The Nails Christian Bookstore or online at www.uniteproductions.com

Tuesday May 21st

Rocky Mountain Naturalists
Go birding
Elizabeth Lake Visitor Centre
Meet 7:00am
250-489-1601