Podunk Below the Masthead (Friday, May 7, 2010)

It's not Who Who, but where where for Hoot the owl, comparing two airport ferries leaves Rupert to ponder the costs of the local operation and rollin' up the rim and hittin' the road with a new Rav4, some of the items of note from the Friday news cycle.  

Daily News, front page, headline story
RUPERT WILDLIFE SHELTER GIVES A "HOOT" TO MANITOBA -- The travels of an owl which had been cared for by the Prince Rupert Wildlife Shelter takes a flight path to Manitoba as permanent sanctuary was finally secured for the bird.

A comparison of the airport ferries is provided in Friday's paper with the cost of running the Prince Rupert version costing out about three times as expensive to run as the northern system in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The Official Quality of Life Community plan is going to embrace environmentally friendly or green practices, but at an additional requirement of cash injections to meet the commitments. Friday's edition of the paper examines some of the challenges ahead and the reaction of some on council to the more costly enhancements.

The Sports section features a look at the training and preparation for the upcoming Panhandle Games which take place in the city next weekend with events at the CHSS field scheduled for all day Saturday.

 (Daily News Archive Items for Friday, May 7, 2010)

 Rupert wildlife shelter gives a “HOOT” to Manitoba
Airport ferries — Canada versus the U.S. The quandary with the OCP
A photo-op like no other — PRSS at Pattullo
Serving up a roast the old-fashioned way — Gary Coons, that is

The Northern View
Prince Rupert Roll Up the Rim winner claims 2010 RAV4 -- A Prince Rupert resident claims here RAV 4 after her succsessful roll up of the Rim at Tim's (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Charges of Arson laid -- A Terrace resident faces charges of arson as police make an arrest in the recent Epicurean Apartments fire (see article here) Sahar Nassimdoost provided a report for TV 7 (view here)

CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
No new items were posted to the Daybreak website on Friday.

Daybreak North is only posting selected items on their website now. The most recently posted items can be found on the archive page for Daybreak North click here 


Daily News, front page headline story
Rupert wildlife shelter gives a “HOOT” to Manitoba
North Coast bird is given sanctuary after two years of care from the Golinias 
By Monica Lamb-Yorski 
Staff Writer
Friday, May 7, 2010 

Prince Rupert may be a tad less wise now that HOOT the owl has left town. The two-year old Barred Owl is off to a Wildlife and Ecosystem Protection Program in Winnipeg after spending the last couple of years at the Prince Rupert Wildlife Shelter.

 “We answered an email from Manitoba Conservation asking if we had a non-releasable Barred Owl,” Nancy Golinia, who along with her husband Gunther run the shelter in Prince Rupert.

Thursday morning the couple delivered the owl in a small cage because it was flying out on Hawkair.

At the airport in Vancouver, helicopter pilot Norman Snihur will transport the owl to WestJet, for the leg to Winnipeg.

HOOT was found two years ago east of Terrace, with injured toes that required surgery. (If you look closely you can see the owl’s feet are without claws, meaning it could never survive in the wild.)

The Golinias believe HOOT is a female, but will know more once researches run some tests in Manitoba.

When asked how she felt about saying “goodbye”, Nancy admitted she can’t help but become close with every creature that comes their way. “It’s crazy. It doesn’t’ matter what comes in, I get attached to it.

Two years ago, when the owl arrived at the shelter, it still had some of its baby feathers intact.

 “It was very lonely,” recalled Gunther. “We have one more left at the shelter, but it’s releasable. I think we’ve kept it for company.”

Soon after the owl arrived at the shelter, eight-year-old Catherine Belgardt learned of its presence and visited with some frozen mice for food that she purchased at a local pet shop.

“She named the owl HOOT when it was really little,” recalled Nancy. Belgardt visited the owl regularly.

A wildlife shelter in Nova Scotia has also answered the Barred Owl call and will be sending one to Manitoba as well, said Dr. James Duncan at the Conservation Centre in Manitoba. 

“We look after a few owls here,” Duncan added. Nancy thinks it’s great that HOOT will have some company.

The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is thought to have made its first appearance in British Columbia in the early 1940’s. By 1966, it had appeared on the south coast, and three years later was reported on Vancouver Island. The species is remarkable for its adaptability and mobility.

Barred Owls will accept a variety of habitats, but prefer mixed woodlands with water nearby.

They nest happily in urban parks and woodlots, and can be quite approachable.

This species is now probably most commonly reported in southern British Columbia.