Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 15

The Edmonton Jotirntil. Wednesday, August 5, 1998 B3 Frontman for Stickmen jumping into mayoralty race "Today, I'm sure he'll be talking about things like taxes and Mayor Smith 's flip-flop on taxes and its effect on the business community. Mitchel Gray, campaign media officer for mayoralty candidate Mike Nickel Later this week, Tooker Gomberg is expected to declare his own candidacy for mayor. Gomberg says his chances of jumping in the race are "looking fairly good" and he'U hold a news conference Friday. "We've been spending the last month drawing up a list of supporters and we've been getting some good offers of support," said Gomberg.

Rather than condemning Nickel's candidacy or rejoicing in a possible split in the pro-business ranks, Gomberg praised it as a healthy sign of democratic activity "I think it's important to have people running who have different points of view." ness people who occasionally buy billboard space to mock politicians and organizations that aren't acting in the best interests of the city. Gray said. In the past, the St ickmen have used billboard cartoons to slam the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Edmonton as well as political figures. Two years ago, they bought billboard space near the commuting route through Vancouver's Stanley Park to tell Vancouverites about this city's low cost of living. Last year, the Stickmen paid $1,200 to erect a billboard for 28 days that attacked The Edmonton Journal for what it felt was a left-wing editorial stance.

ples. "Today. I'm sure he'll be talking about things like taxes and Mayor Smith's flip-flop on taxes and its effect on the business community." Mitchel Gray said, Smith promised tax cuts and $1 transit fares during his successful 1995 campaign, but since then he has supported tax increases. Smith has also supported city budgets in which transit fares have gone up. Nickel's candidacy shouldn't be perceived as a venture into the realm of electoral politics by the Stickmen, Gray said.

His man is independently jumping into the race as Smith's first declared Jim Farrki.l, HNAI, Sl'AKK WKITKK Edmonton Thesixtkesporson for a pro-businoss group tliat supported Rill Smith during his rim for the mayor's job in 1995 will declare today his own candidacy for the job. Mike Nickel's ad-hoc group, the Stickmen. mocked then-mayor Jan Reimerand prominent left-wing councillors like Tooker Gomberg three years ao for their supposed anti-business pol ides. Nickel's campaign media officer says the Stickmen's front man now wants to stick it to Smith because he has deserted his pro-business princi opponent and he'll have a broad platform. "He'll also be talking alxmt crime particularly youth crime and how we can address it." The Stickmen will continue to function as a loose group of 20 to 50 busi On With The Show Womam jailed ffoir 'false accyssrooou graontedl bail Teacher free while waiting for appeal "We're really happy.

It's another step to another trial and proving her innocent. Bonny Ambrose's brother Billy Shaughn Butts, The Journal Folk festival volunteer Bill Carley works on a relay tower halfway up the hill at Gallagher Park that will house speakers that pump music to the hilltop Volunteers from here and afar pitch in to build folk fest site Cheryl Stepan Journal Staff Writer Edmonton A St. Albert schoolteacher sentenced to two years less a day in jail for falsely accusing a police officer of sexual assault was released on bail Tuesday Bonny Ambrose was freed from Fort Saskatchewan jail while she waits for an appeal of her case to be heard. "I've been waiting for this day," said her brother Billy Ambrose. "We're really happy It's another step to another trial and proving her innocent." Ambrose, 37, was sent to jail June 17 after being convicted of public mischief in May She claimed Const.

Tom Bechthold, a rookie officer, assaulted her in a holding cell following her September 1996 arrest for failing to provide a roadside breath sample. After investigating Ambrose's claim and discovering it was unfounded, police and the Crown prosecutor's office decided to pursue a public mischief charge, said police spokesperson Sgt. Bryan Boulanger. In his request for an appeal, Ambrose's lawyer Dennis Edney is arguing that Court of Queen's Bench Justice Eileen Nash allowed evidence to be used in the trial which shouldn't have been admitted. He also argued she made an unbalanced charge to the jury "I've got all sorts of problems with the case," Edney said.

At the time of sentencing. Nash said Ambrose nearly succeeded in destroying the career of a young police recruit just two weeks out of training. Her testimony at her trial was significantly different from what she told police in 1996, Nash said. Officers only used force against Ambrose because she was being uncooperative and they didn't act excessively, she said. It was fortunate the investigation cleared Bechthold of any wrongdoing, she said.

Ambrose taught in St. Albert for 12 years, winning an excellence-in-teaching award in 1992. Many parents have written letters of support. At her sentencing, she continued to maintain she was assaulted. Her only comment when Nash asked if she wanted to say anything was: "I'm completely innocent of this charge." In order for Ambrose to be let out on bail, Edney had to prove that the appeal was not frivolous.

No appeal date has been set yet. Alberta Court of Appeal Justice John McClung released Ambrose on a $1,000 non-cash bail, requiring that she report regularly to a probation officer and her doctor. On Friday, a provincial court judge dismissed the original charges that led to her arrest. Police charged Ambrose for refusing to provide a breath sample after they found her slumped over the wheel of her parked car. Judge Pierre Dube dismissed that charge because he ruled police couldn't have had a reasonable suspicion Ambrose had alcohol in her body, and therefore they didn't have the right to demand a sample.

Boulanger said police were disappointed with the decision and added that there's a chance it will be appealed. Making Music WHAT: The Edmonton Folk Music Festival WHEN: Thursday through Sunday WHERE: Gallagher Park, 96th Ave. and 94th St. TICKETS: Weekend passes sold out, but individual evening performances still available. Call 429-1899 human forklift, came to help for two weeks last year and put in about 200 hours.

He had so much fun and was so thrilled with Edmonton, he's back again this year. The volunteers may not be new but there will be some additions to this year's festival, including video screens on the delay towers and the largest mainstage cover between Vancouver and Ottawa. The green-and-white-striped tarp that shelters the stage was supposed to be in use last year, but it kept ripping. It was sent back to the manufacturer and is now ready for the party Underground power is another boon to this year's festival. That means fewer worries about power outages and no more noisy generators threatening to drown out the music.

Otherwise, the same rules apply No glass or off-site liquor; the beer gardens will be open. Smokers, Snider said, should pinch 'n' pocket. "I don't want to have to pick up your niters. Throw them in the garbage." If you're planning to attend, bring water, bug spray, suntan lotion and sensible clothes. "Don't wear spike heels on the hill," Snider warned, "and white clothes will turn green or brown, depending on the weather." The weather doesn't matter, he said, but for those interested, Thursday may be a little wet, but the rest of the week should be sunny, with highs in the mid-208.

Although the festival's weekend passes are sold out, 500 tickets remain for each individual night. Check out Thursday's Journal for complete folk festival information. Lisa Hepfner Journal Staff Writer Edmonton Gallagher Park has been alive with activity all week as volunteers prepare the site for the annual Edmonton Folk Music Festival. About 1,500 volunteers will lend a hand, and some muscle, at this year's event. Alana and Tom Gushuliak-Soldan and their new friend, Craig Jarron, spent Tuesday one of the hottest days of the summer lugging huge bundles of plastic.

The makeshift sidewalk is supposed to save the grass in well-travelled areas. Volunteers have individual reasons for wanting to work before, during and after the festival. But the biggest draw, they say, is without question the free four-day pass. And the food. "Rockin' food," Tom said.

"If you feed us, we'll come." "They feed everybody, even the wasps," Jarron added, describing insect hordes that have invaded the mess hall. Production manager Don Snider said he subscribes to the Napoleonic creed that an army marches on its stomach. "You feed them right, you treat them well, and they will work until they drop," he said. "Not that you want them to do that. "If someone tells me to cut the food budget, I tell them to take a hike." The tents were all up by Tuesday afternoon.

Alana and Tom, who left their child at Grandma and Grandpa's, described the tactical manoeuvres involved in erecting festival tents. Police issue warning to senior citizens after 'survey' taker inquires about vacations "It's like Lego," Alana said. "There's hundreds of pieces and they all fit a certain way Basically, it takes at least one person who really knows what they're doing." Besides the food and free passes, the Gushuliak-Soldans like the work ethic at the festival. Nobody cares about gender. If you can't do the work you won't be whipped, and being female doesn't mean you can take it easy "If someone asks me for eight strong men," Snider said, "I say, 'What? You mean eight strong people." Snider oversees the festival site like an orchestra conductor.

Every few minutes his radio crackles with staff calling with questions. Sitting in the shade with a cloud of hungry mosquitoes, he answers them without hesitation. "I know this site like the back of my hand," said Snider, whose bushy beard and long hair make him look like a folk festival icon. This is the eighth year he has run the show. "I'm just a happy puppy because I'm with volunteers," he grinned.

Snider has many stories of dedicated volunteers, from Edmonton and beyond. One Australian, known as the She didn't give him her company's name but indicated she would enter his name in a draw for a free dinner. However, she didn't ask the man for any personal information that would be needed for such a draw. Police said they wanted to remind people not to provide personal information to any unknown person, especially on the telephone. Someone planning a break-in, for example, could use such information about when a homeowner might be away on vacation.

Journal Staff Edmonton City police are warning senior citizens to be careful with information after a man was phoned and questioned about his vacations by a woman who didn't give him a company name. Police said the woman claimed to be conducting a survey on vacations. She asked the Castle Downs resident what types of vacations he takes, when he usually takes vacations and for how long he is gone. Globehopping plane spotters touch down in Edmonton "People think it's odd, but so is something like football when you think about it. enthusiast Bob Wembley Jen Ross Journal Staff Writer Edmonton It's a bird it's a plane it's a Colombian Air Force DC-3.

A group of 29 world travellers who make a vacation out of visiting airports had their eyes on Edmonton's skies Tuesday Equipped with binoculars, high-powered cameras and telescopes, the British group of aircraft enthusiasts is on a two-week tour to visit more than 30 North American airports. "It's hard to explain aircraft spotting to non-believers," says Bob Wembley, 44. "People think it odd, but so is something like football when you think about it." Wembley says the hobby is a social pastime which can easily become an obsession. He's taken tours to airports all around Russia, the Orient, Europe and North America. Tour organizer and plane-lover Andrew Marsh has been operating the unique vacations for 21 years.

He's been to 82 countries and can't even count the number of airports he's seen. "A lot of the planes we see are the same as the planes we see every day in 100 planes at the City Centre Airport and walked around the hangar that houses the private jet for Alberta's lieutenant-governor. They were also treated to an after-hours tour of the aviation museum next door. The group was scheduled to check out the Edmonton International Airport this morning before boarding an 8: 10 a.m. flight to Yellowknife.

They say the northern stop is one of the highlights of the tour because of a company called Buffalo Airways, which operates a fleet of older aircraft and cargo planes that service the gold mines. So what do these airport connoisseurs think of Edmonton's air docks? "Compared to Heathrow, it's small," says Hume, who last saw Edmonton International on a tour three years ago. "But it's efficient. "Most Canadian airports are clean and efficient Nothing like the Bulgarian variety. Disgusting is putting it politely, and I definitely won't describe the conveniences." There are more than 900 airplane enthusiasts on Marsh's tour company mailing list.

He says most are middle-aged male bachelors. "Why bachelors?" he chuckles. "You figure it out." London," says Marsh, who also works as an air traffic controller at London's Heathrow airport. "It's just nice to see them in different colours." He says the tours also give enthusiasts a chance to visit aviation museums and see rare planes while travelling the world though he admits plane-spotting may seem like a "peculiar reason" to get away for a while. And at $5,000 for a two-week airport hop, Marsh admits the hobby can also be expensive.

But John Hume says it's just like saving up for any other vacation. The 44-year-old Londoner has been on at least a dozen tours since 1988. He keeps his camera close at hand and takes note of the aircraft registrations for every plane he sees. Hume says so far the highlight of this trip has been seeing a Ford Tri-motor. He was lucky enough to take a quick trip in the 1930s passenger transport plane while in Oshkosh, Wise, Ian Jackson, The Journal Julian Connolly, 42, Gary Mathews, 30, and John Hume, 42, are part of a group of 29 plane watchers who go on excursions to the world's airports where he also saw the Colombian Air Force plane.

Londoner Gary Matthews, 30, prefers to see military planes. He says these kind of organized tours are a great opportunity to get behind the scenes. The tour group flew into Calgary Tuesday morning and took a bus to Edmonton. They stopped at the Red Deer and Wetaskiwin airports en route, where they caught a glimpse of everything from commercial jets to the water bombers used to douse Alberta's forest fires. In Edmonton, they saw more than.