Have you heard of the haunted house on Telkwa High Road?

Lorraine Doiron's View from the Porch.

Out for a walk and I found a dozen bright yellow pansies in the middle of a forested, bushy area. A burst of sunshine against dark green.

Rumour: there is a haunted house on the Telkwa High Road. Does anyone have stories on this?

Someone built trails around the fish hatchery. They are double wide allowing you to walk side by side with your walking partner instead of single file.

Found at the Dome: a small Maglite flashlight, black. Still works, has several initials on it, someone’s treasure. Call me to connect with the finder at 250-847-4797.

Every weekend through August, Hudson Bay Mountain offers its Mountaintop Barbecues and Pie in the Sky, at the Panorama Lodge from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Explore the mountain in a whole new light: green. Also offered: Unlimited Summer Sky with chairlift rides to the top for hikers and bikers.

The North West Animal Shelter Society garage sale is on Saturday, Aug. 6 at the warehouse in the lane behind Sears (3455 Fulton Ave). Two days to drop off donated items: Thursday, Aug. 4 and Friday, Aug. 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Space is limited, they are asking for items in reasonably good condition. Always an awesome event, not to be missed.

Smithers Library is hosting a writing contest: “Zombies in the Valley” for ages 12 to 18. In 600 words, include in your story the words:  toothache, limousine, mountain, office, rotten. Submit by Aug. 15. More Information: check out the library website. Note the teen movie nights, totally scary movies.

The BV Backpackers lead Sunday hikes, provide friendship and guidance over popular trail systems. Meet at the Safeway Parking Lot before setting off to explore. There is a tremendous amount of work maintaining trails, Rosamund Pojar, with the BV Naturalists, has scheduled a work bee Saturday, Aug. 13. Have questions or want to help? E-mail rpojar@gmail. Many hands make light work.

The Smithers Motocross Association now have a track on Donaldson Road. A schedule of sanctioned and exhibition races on their website: http://smxa.ca

The Cost of Poverty in BC report now available at www.policyalternatives.ca. For the first time in B.C.  actual numbers have been put to the cost of not dealing with poverty. Linked to poor health, lower literacy, poor school performance, more crime and greater stress. Governments frequently claim that they can’t afford to take action on poverty. This study shows that it’s more costly to allow poverty to continue. The lack of action costs B.C. $8–$9 billion annually with higher public health care costs, increased policing and crime costs, lost productivity, foregone economic activity.

Lorraine Doiron writes the weekly View from the Porch.

Smithers Interior News