"May I take your order, Sir?"

     I'd have to say this panoramic photo of storefront displays on Victoria Street is definitely out of order from a guy's perspective.
     Generally, it's the skirt that first catches our attention; then, all the lesser bits; which in turn, usually leads to the wedding gown. 
— EAG

Kamloops kid tosses a no-no

Brendan Coulter pitched a no-hitter for the bantam AAA Kamloops RiverDogs on April 13 walking three batters and striking out nine. 

A sign of the times?

TRU WolfPack dunk shot

     Third-year TRU business student and WolfPack basketball player, Vince Watson takes the plunge after a well-placed ball sends him plunging into the icy waters of the dunk tank during the Celebrate U — Campus Carnivale on Friday outside the Campus Activity Centre.

Riversong Guitars, HD VIDEO — with designer Mike Miltimore and player Matt Stanley

Tony Clement (right), Treasury Board president and Conservative MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka in Ontario, jams with Mike Miltimore of Lee’s Music. Clement was in Kamloops last August and dropped in to sample Miltimore’s new Riversong guitar line.

"Some have praised the guitar as one of the best changes to guitar production in years and others have requested an instrument to play and review, something he's working on now." 

     Producing two guitars a month is manageable.

Bumping that number up to 100 or more in the same time period is another world completely‚ one in which Mike MIltimore is now residing.
     Miltimore's new Riversong guitar line http://riversongguitars.com/ has been greeted with such interest since he introduced it he's found it necessary to take the production line out of the basement of Lee's Music and into a larger building.
     The move has started into 450 Lorne St., the former location of Menzies Printing, and the goal is to be up and running in full production by September. 
     In the meantime, orders will be filled out of the Battle Street building that also houses Lee's Music http://www.leesmusic.net/.
Miltimore said he's also hiring staff, expecting to finally have about nine people working in production.
     The company's Tradition guitar series will also be moved to the Lorne Street site.
     "It's been crazy," Miltimore said. "How do you go from two a month to 100 a month and keep the quality and consistency there?"
     Helping are two Business Development Bank of Canada consultants, one a specialist in financial and strategic aspects and the other in manufacturing.
     The guitar design has been praised by experts for its innovative construction, which involves a neck that runs through the guitar body, attaching at the base and adjustable with an Allen key. In doing so, he's made the guitar easier and quicker to set up.
     Since showing the line at the National Association of Music Merchants conference in Anaheim in January,     
     Miltimore said, he's had requests from many guitar- and music-related publications to do stories on the line.
     Some have praised the guitar as one of the best changes to guitar production in years and others have requested an instrument to play and review, something he's working on now.

By Dale Bass
KTW STAFF REPORTER

dale@kamloopsthisweek.com

View online at Kamloops This Week community newspaper
http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/business/201966421.html

Video by Dave Eagles

KTW STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

dave_eagles@kamloopsthisweek.com

The birth of the clap

An oldie, but goodie. One of my favourite caught moments of all time.
-- EAG

PHOTO GALLERY: Easter Sunday at Kamloops Alliance Church

Photographs, by Dave Eagles

Gary Webber is a . . . "NICE ROAD TRUCKER"

     This week I got the chance to tell the story of local trucker Gary Webber, appearing in our Thursday, March 28 edition of Kamloops This Week.   Check out his story below.  — EAG

The Happy Christian

Gary Webber is a trucker who wears his faith on his grille

by Dave Eagles — KTW reporter

     Ice Road Truckers are burly, bearded, profane men driving 18-wheelers who welcome storms as breaks from boredom.

     Gary Webber has similar attributes — save the swearing and storm-seeking soul.

     The large, luminous cross on his truck is the first sign the 40-year trucker is not your stereotypical Ice Road Trucker of History Channel lore.

     He’s more Nice Road Trucker.

     The 61-year-old drives a white Freightliner Classic based out of Savona. He works for Panwest Distributors.

Three times a week, up to 14 hours a day, Webber delivers veneer — and the gospel — from Lillooet to Savona.

     It was 40 years ago while working for Imperial Oil out of Vancouver that Webber was preparing paperwork before heading out on a trip when he noticed a fellow walk through the door, an owner/operator named John Klassen.

     Klassen invited Webber to join Transfer For Christ, a not-for profit organization for truckers with a desire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ while on the road. Webber signed up, beginning a life-long association with the gospel-minded group.

     “It really sparked me because, being a Christian, I thought, ‘Wow! This was what I want to do — to serve Christ on the road,” Webber said.

     “I became ‘The Happy Christian,’” Webber said.

Taking  solace in solitude

"Somebody will see the cross on my truck and say, 'Hey, is that really there for a reason?' You bet" 

     So, the Nice Road Trucker became The Happy Christian on CB radios across the land, back when a different kind of camaraderie, a more cohesive camaraderie, existed among the men and women on the lonely roads of North America.

     During his career, Webber would be away from his family for days, perhaps weeks, at a time.

     It was then, he said, that God would bring him to different men at their wit’s end, men who didn’t know what to do.

Their family was on the verge of breaking up and their lives were a mess.

     “I’d be able to share the gospel with them and bring some peace to their life through Christ,” Webber said.

     It’s what has kept him in trucking through the years.

He never did like being away from home, so trucking became a ministry for him — a calling handed down by God.

     “In the wee hours of the morning, when you’re stuck trucking through a storm, somebody will see the cross on my truck and say, ‘Hey, is that really there for a reason?’ Webber said.

     “Then I’ll say, ‘You bet. That’s the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“That’s the Light of the World. The only hope we have in this world is through Christ.”

     Webber has shared his faith with other truckers in as many ways as there have been destinations on his manifest.

     In truck stops, he often finds someone who will open up and share their life story with him.

     It offers him a chance to listen and give an account of his own life and how his faith in Christ has helped him — especially on the road.

     While the gospel remains constant, the trucking part of his mission has changed dramatically since he began four decades ago.

     “The demand is incredible,” Webber said.

     “It’s a different kind of market now.

     “There’s no warehousing much any more.

     “Everything is loaded onto the truck and delivered the next day.”

That, he said, translates to greater pressure as drivers are pushed to the limit to get their delivery done.

     “Even if it’s extreme weather, you have to be at your destination,” Webber said. “It’s a tough business, as it was years ago, but, not as tough as it is now.”

Webber credits Christ after escaping close call

"The only thing that held me was the landing legs." 

     And, sometimes, Mother Nature can be as tough as the business of hauling goods.

     “One time, I came out of Fort Nelson and I was climbing this real steep hill, Trutch Mountain it’s called, and I spin out,” Webber recounted.

     “I didn’t have time to put a set of chains on and the truck all of a sudden took off backwards down this icy, steep road and jackknifed across the road, going down into the ditch.

     “The only thing that held me was the landing legs of the trailer to keep me from going 1,000 feet over the bank — and that’s usually after you’ve shared your faith with someone.

     “It’s been one close call after another, lots of times.”

     While Christ remains his lifeline, his support system is Joanne, his wife of 41 years.

     She raised the couple’s two daughters while he was on the road and they now have six grandchildren.

Webber taught his wife to drive and, for a three-year stint, they crossed Canada in a brand new Freightliner rig.

     “Every week we’d come home, I’d sell the truck and she’d quit,” Webber said.

     “And, then, we’d turn around and head back out again to Toronto.”

Friends would quip: “You taught your wife to drive and you’re still married?” But, Webber said, Joanne was solid behind the wheel.

     “She was an amazing driver — really good, in fact, running lots of winter storms across Canada,” he said.

     As his time behind the coasting cross shows, Webber’s life purpose is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to be there for men and women who are hurting.

     Before parting with his trucker pals, Webber routinely offers a blessing over them:

     “May the good Lord ride with you and watch over you and bring you home safely to your family.”

Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance ...

    If you happened to see the moon last night over Kamloops, you'd  have seen it framed magnificently by clouds. It wasn't an October night, but it was definitely worthy of a jig, or waltz.

— EAG

Premier hopes voters will bet on the underdog

KAMLOOPS — Premier Christy Clark stopped in Kamloops on Thursday, March 21, to release an 18-month progress report on the government's job plan, which Clark said is meeting targets ahead of schedule. Clark said she doesn't think the election should be viewed as a horse race, but admits she'll head into the election campaign at a disadvantage. 'I don't want to sugarcoat it, I know I'm the underdog,' she said. 'But, I'm OK with that because I'm a fighter. And I really believe in what we're doing here in British Columbia.'

Say 'hello' to Friday, vaudeville-style

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday — say 'hello' to Friday.  

(These Kamloops vaudeville gals bring to life traditions of our past)  — EAG

Conservatives offer liberal dose of Canadian spirit

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops-Thompson Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod (second from left) joins the Honourable John Baird, Conservative Minister of Foreign Affairs, to hoist the Canadian flag at the ANAVETS Unit #290 on Thursday night, March 14, in Kamloops as RMCP Const. Carla Peters looks on. Earlier, Baird presented the ample-sized flag to ANAVETS president Gordon Marsh; McLeod handed over a plaque recognizing the significant occasion.

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, CAN.

It was one of  those days when it was easy to shoot photos that would make for great puzzle pictures.   — EAG

PEACOCK PETE

     Peacock Pete struts his stuff. The colourful character is one of the popular outdoor attractions at Little Farmers Petting Zoo in Westsyde Centennial Park.

TRY A TRADE @ TRU

     Logan Lake Grade 7 student Christian Holmstrup (right) learns to weld a piece of aluminum with the help of Thompson Rivers University Level C welder Jessica Austin on Friday (March 8) during Try-A-Trade sponsored by the TRU School of Trades and Technology. 

     It is an opportunity for area youth to practice some of the "hands-on" skills used on a daily basis by automotive technicians, cabinet makers, carpenters, electricians and welders. 

     These events, for students from Grades 6 to 9, are held in conjunction with The Cariboo Regional Skills and Cariboo Junior Skills Competitions at TRU.

Family Day Frenzy

"By all accounts, a very successful B.C. Family Day weekend in Vancouver. Nephew Nathan 'the nosher' Harvey is in fine form."

Cat's in the cradle

"It's time once again for the bi-weekly photo shoot
featuring our awesome eight-month-old Siberian kitten, Ava."
"Meow!" — EAG

Beating winter's blues

Louis Ritchie finds the perfect practice space to let loose on his drum set on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 6) in an empty parking lot at McArthur Island. The Thompson Rivers University batchelor of science student was practicing his drum solo technique for an upcoming gig during TRU International Days which wraps up on Friday afternoon at various sites throughout the campus. Ritchie says, it's a good release from the grind of his studies.

Afternoon sun on hoar frosted trees, Mowich Lake, B.C.

The camera loves me . . . "my best side."

Thanks to TRU photographer Bart Cummins for capturing my best side. 

Playing in the light — Practising with LightRoom4

Ava Jorrah Siberian Forest Cat

"I just can't help myself, taking more photos again. This cat is just so darn good looking"— EAG