According to legend, Fernie has not always been graced with the fine snow conditions we now enjoy on a regular basis. According to the legend, a baby boy was born mid winter in 1879 in a grizzly bear's cave high in the mountains. Sometime later the resident bear awoke ravenously hungry. A terrible battle occurred between the boy and the grizzly - one fighting for his life, the other for his dinner.

A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.
-Chinese proverb

An elderly man sits back against the down of his pillow and opens his eyes. The sparkle next to his bed causes him to turn. His young granddaughter sat quietly, waiting to bid her last good-byes. She smiles as he watches her. He could see that she had a question so he reached over and patted her hand. The young girl finally spoke, “Poppa, I was just wondering, why are you, you? What should I remember?”

Full Day Kindergarten at IDES by Dawn Voysey
Isabella Dicken Elementary School is now accepting registrations for their 100% funded full day Kindergarten classes, which are supported by the BC Ministry of Education and begin in September 2010. The all day Kindergarten program, which in the past was parent funded and offered as an option, will be completely paid for by the Education Ministry.

If you attended the Fernie Mountain Film Festival at the end of February, you will know that Fernie can definitely put on a show when it comes to film. No exception to this rule is the Reel Canadian Film Festival, March 26-28. The festival is a natural progression of the popular Indie Films Fernie monthly screenings which has sold out both of its winter events so far this year. The Reel Canadian Film Festival celebrates excellence within the Canadian Film-making industry and showcases emerging talent and internationally acclaimed features. The inaugural event in 2009 left the committee overwhelmed with the amazing response from the community and buzzing with anticipation at producing the 2010 festival.

Frank Lento, a remarkable Fernie citizen always working behind the scenes. We have tried in the past to feature this man and it wasn’t until this project came up that he agreed to meet – but we could only talk about the project. Throughout the conversation snippets of past projects and achievements drifted into the conversation, swiftly followed with, “Don’t publish that.” All right, to the project which will have the town buzzing and proud within minutes of viewing.

There was a time, not so very long ago, that people only had one computer and it wasn't connected to any network. This wasn't back when I was in high school and had to outrun dinosaurs to get home for lunch. This was post-Star Wars. How times have changes in just two decades.

Most people harbour imbalances in their bodies from the activities they do in daily life without even realizing it. For example you might ski every day causing the front of your legs to be stronger than the back of your legs, you may hold your baby on your right hip all the time causing your lower back to be stronger on one side, or maybe you have an old injury that you have compensated for and never retrained. Whatever your habits, chances are you have imbalances in your body that can be a ticking time bomb to injury if not addressed. Even if you have pretty good balance, training your balance can not only prevent injury but improve your overall strength as well, just ask any professional athlete.

“I managed to get up high on the steps of City Hall when the Olympic Torch was being carried through the crowd and was fortunate to have a great angle on the proceedings. I was really impressed with the large number of people that had come out to cheer on the Torch Relay - the energy in the crowd was palpable. To me this frame really embodies the community spirit of Fernie as well as that of the Olympics!”

Every band remembers their first gig. Most bands park their van in a dingy back alley, unload their instruments through the back door of a local bar, do a sound check, and nervously get through a well rehearsed set for very little money. For our first gig, we unloaded our instruments onto a chairlift and played 6,316 feet above sea level. It was at the top of Fernie Alpine Resort on the outside deck of the Lost Boys Café playing for skiers on their lunch break. There was no sound guy, a blizzard blew in halfway through our set, we played for free sandwiches, and we were stoked. I remember a friend telling me that he could hear my banjo all the way out in Cedar bowl that day. If someone told us then that less than a year later we would be playing on a giant stage at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, we probably would have laughed….or fainted.

The term diabetes is one that is used to describe a wide range of conditions revolving around the body’s ability to appropriately manage blood glucose levels. Some involve a decrease in the body’s ability to produce insulin, which decreases blood glucose levels, while others involve a body’s inability to respond appropriately to insulin when it is released. They may be autoimmune, a result of a genetic predisposition, or secondary to diet and lifestyle but though they are all quite different, the many potential complications of diabetes are all related to one thing: poorly controlled blood glucose levels. Diabetes continues to become an ever-evolving problem, as it is predicted that 1 in 4 people born today in the U.S.A. will develop diabetes in their lifetime. It may be shocking but more importantly, it should be an indication of the role we must play in protecting future generations from this disease.

Each morning of the ski season, the Ski Patrol is engaged in ongoing avalanche risk assessments. Of the multiple daily chores, one stands out for its precision, tradition, and importance: The Standard Weather Observation. Weather is a key factor in predicting avalanches as it is a constant modifier of the snow pack. Events such as wind, sun, snow, rain, freezing temperatures, and thaws influence and create layers of snow with different characteristics. How those layers strengthen or weaken over time is dependent on past, present and future weather events. Observations are made at standard times and at the same plot each day. Weather recordings have strict standards that are set by The National Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Avalanche Association. Great care is taken to be sure that all observation guidelines are followed with precision.

The world is a strange, beautiful and sometimes harmful thing. It can give you something beautiful and take it away in seconds if you don't cherish it to your hearts content. Life is granted to us and sometimes we don't know why. There are so many problems in the world; global warning, poverty, natural disaster and war. So many view points on each problem.