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CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Taylor Borden, 13, showed off her lamb Butterball Friday during 4-H at the BCNE.
Sheep show at the 4-H baaaaaa-rns
Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca
Taylor Borden, 13, is one of 90 4-H children participating in a variety of events at the British Columbia Northern Exhibition until Sunday.
Borden raised three sheep this year.
One is for market, his name is Butter-ball and he was born Feb. 15 and two females are for show, Paisley is a yearling and Aria was born Feb. 17.
Borden had to raise the sheep herself and then before the show, she washed each one to make sure they are as clean and bright as they can be.
Borden spent time grooming, including carding (brushing), hand sheering and shaping their wool so they look as appealing as possible.
“You have to train them to head lead, so first you start off with a halter,” said Borden, who is in her fourth year of 4-H.
“After you master that, you would practice head leading them.”
Borden demonstrates by placing one
mIchose sheep because I
really like working with them. They're just really cute and fuzzy.
— Taylor Borden
hand under Butterball’s chin and the other on top of his head, just behind his ears.
“You take him around the rink like this,” said Borden. It demonstrates the handler has control of their animal.
During the sheep show, participants walk their sheep around the rink and then follow further instructions from the judge. As the sheep stands still, handlers will set up their feet so they are square and it’s good advice to always be on the opposite side of the sheep from the judge so that the sheep is fully displayed, Borden explained.
During the exhibition there are judged competitions for beef cattle, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, pigs, horses and dogs.
Borden participated with two hens and a rooster in the poultry category, as well as the sheep.
“I chose sheep because I really like working with them,” said Borden.
“They’re just really cute and fuzzy.”
Have you ever had a sheep that’s a bit rowdier than the other ones?
“That would be Paisley,” laughed Borden, who’s been around animals all her life. “It’s definitely harder to do but you can still do it.”
Borden credits her keen interest in 4-H to her grandparents, Earl and Val Jackson, who have a sheep farm with more than 100 ewes. Earl did his first sheep project at 13 years old and is still involved today in 4-H and farming at 60 years old.
The 4-H events will culminate Saturday at 6 p.m. at the exhibition with the animal and livestock auction.
LIKELY — Residents of a remote British Columbia community who have been surviving on donations of bottled water since a tailings dam failed and released mine waste into a nearby lake are no longer under a water ban, health officials announced Friday as they partially lifted restrictions on drinking, bathing and swimming.
As many as 300 people were affected by the water ban, which took effect on Monday when 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of silt were released from the tailings pond at Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley gold and copper mine, about 600 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
Dr. Trevor Corneil of Interior Health said the town of Likely which is the closest town to the mine, and points north on the Quesnel River can use their water as they normally would. However, the ban remained in effect for residents and tourists along southern parts of the river and Quesnel Lake, along with Polley Lake and Hazel-tine Creek, which are adjacent to the mine.
The water ban was partially rescinded as the provincial Environment Ministry released a second round of test results that showed water in the area was within guidelines for human consumption.
“We do feel comfortable in the context of risk for human health rescinding the order [in those areas],” said Corneil. “It meets the Canadian drinking water standards, as well as standards for potable drinking water in multiple systems.”
The Cariboo Regional District said 100 to 200 residents were still under a ban, though the precise number is difficult to count because so many tourists come and go from the area.
The second round of results were based on samples taken on Tuesday at various spots along Quesnel River.
— see POLLEY LAKE, page 4
Possible Ebola case in Brampton
The Canadian Press
BRAMPTON, Ont. — A patient at a hospital near Toronto has been isolated as a precautionary measure after showing flu-like symptoms similar to those characteristic of the Ebola virus, a public health official said Friday.
Dr. Eileen de Villa with Peel Public Health said the steps were taken because the patient at Brampton Civic Hospital recently travelled to Nigeria, which has been hit with an outbreak of the disease.
— see PATIENT, page 7
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