CULTIVATING CANADA’S NEXT CURLERS Six-year-old Lonayah Crabtree and nine-year-old Liam Betker were among 100-plus kids who took the ice for the weekend’s Jam Can curling bonspiel at the Kamloops Curling Cub. The event attracted enough children to create 26 teams, with competitors coming from as far as McBride. Tournament winner was the rink of Mitchell Kopytko (skip), Treysen Goddard (third), Colorado Marr (second) and Jorja Kopytko (lead). The ice initiative to introduce youth to Canada’s popular pastime was aided by Cooper’s, The Grocery People, The Fun Factor, the City of Kamloops and the Kamloops Curling Club. For information on getting on the ice when fall leagues begin, go online to kamloopscurlingclub. ca. Melissa Welsh photos/KTW
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KGHM increases stake, Cavers issues challenge By Dale Bass STAFF REPORTER dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
Donovan Cavers could never take a swing at fellow city councillor Arjun Singh. “It would be like hitting a teddy bear,” Cavers said of the first name floated by him for a possible celebrity boxing match in the city. Noting he’s never hit anyone — “I’m a peaceful person” — Cavers said he was intrigued when the idea of a celebrity match to help a local charity was suggested by Chad Moats, a candidate in the November civic election, an organizer of the anti-HST effort and the man behind last year’s failed recall campaign against Kamloops-Thompson Liberal MLA Terry Lake. “He suggested Arjun,” Cavers said of Moats, “but I don’t think I could even hit Arjun. So, I suggested Jim Whittaker. He’d probably like to kick my ass.” Whittaker is the project manager for the proposed Ajax mine south of Kamloops.
In a January column, Cavers took a virtual swing at Whittaker, telling him to drive carefully on the Coquihalla Highway — but, ideally, to not bother coming back to Kamloops. Cavers has been vocal in his disagreement with the potential open-pit copper-and-gold mine that could be built just south of Aberdeen. Moats said he was inspired to promote the potential bout again — he tried to get one going during the last municipal election, in which he was also running for council — because of the success of the recent match between Liberal MP Justin Trudeau and Conservative Sen. Patrick Brazeau. That event, in which the older Trudeau trounced Brazeau, raised $250,000 for charity. When told Cavers had expressed a bit of reluctance because he’s “a peaceful person,” Moats replied people need to realize boxing is a sport. He’s offered to help train
Cavers, noting the Kamloops Boxing Club, of which he is a member, would help put on the event, adding some minor bouts before the main attraction. Whittaker was busy in meetings in Vancouver on Monday and did not return a phone call from KTW. Meanwhile, Polish mining giant KGHM has, as expected, increased its stake in Ajax. KGHM has held a 51 per cent stake in the project and decided on Monday, April 3, to increase ownership to 80 per cent via a $30-million payment to Abacus Mining and Exploration — a Vancouverbased geological firm. The public-comment period on the mine proposal ended last week. Under the Environmental Assessment Act, the proponent is required to address each comment. The Environmental Assessment Office will then determine the adequacy of the proponent’s responses, and an applicationinformation-requirement document will be prepared.
Will Jim Whittaker (left), project manager for the proposed Ajax mine, accept the challenge from Kamloops Coun. Donovan Cavers (right) to meet in the ring as part of a charity boxing match?
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