Pubdate: Wed, 16 Feb 2000
Source: Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2000 The Nipawin Journal
Contact:  Box 2014, Nipawin, Saskatchewan S0E 1E0
Fax: (306) 862-4566
Website: http://www.bowesnet.com/nipawin/
Author: Ernest Unrau

WEEKEND SNOWMOBILE RALLY RAISES $52,000 FOR DRUG AWARENESS

Tenth Annual Rally Has 294 Riders

The tenth annual P.E.A.C.E 100 snowmobile rally at Nipawin saw 294 riders
hit the trails to raise approximately $52,000 in support of RCMP, Elks and
Royal Purple sponsored drug education programs in Saskatchewan.

Part of the attraction for the Feb. 11-12 event was the two prize draws
with snowmobiles as first and second prize in each -- the 'participant'
draw from names entered of those who sold books of tickets for the
P.E.A.C.E. 100 and the 'donor' prize draw for those who purchased tickets.

When the snowmobile draws were made, two persons whose names were drawn
were on hand to accept their wins. Keith Nyhus of Minton was entered in the
'donor' draw and also rode in the P.E.A.C.E. 100; he was the lucky winner
of a 2000 Supersport 550 Polaris snowmobile supplied by Thomas Motors of
Nipawin.

Interestingly, it was 1997 snowmobile prize winner Ed Weimer of Balgonie
who had a hand in making Nyhus a winner. "I sold him the tickets last
night. Keith bought $50 worth of tickets and had to write out 30 tickets,"
said Weimer as he congratulated Nyhus.

This year also saw an RCMP member appear among the top prize winners as
Corporal Gerry Olson of Maple Creek came to the front to accept second
prize in the 'participant' draw -- a Polaris Mini-120 XCR snowmobile, also
supplied by Thomas Motors. John Houston of Kisbey was the snowmobile
first-prize winner in the participant draw while winner of the
mini-snowmobile in the donor draw was Chad Rumpel of Regina.

Sergeant Bill Blanshard, RCMP Drug Awareness Co-ordinator for 'F'-Division,
said that this 10th annual event is a milestone but carries with it a sober
reminder of the danger of losing focus on the purpose for the rally. This
milestone has its "sinister" side, he said, because never before in history
have the issues been so pressing that face youth today.

Blanshard said that today's youth are a paradox. They are the finest
generation ever created -- more sophisticated, more knowledgeable, and more
literate more socially aware than any previous generation. At the same time
they are the most self-destructive generation ever: they are sexually
active at much younger ages; suicide is the number one killer of
21-year-old males; suicide among 15 to 24-year-olds has quadrupled in the
last 20 years; suicide among 10 to 15-year-olds has tripled in the last 10
years; for the first time in history violence involving teenage girls is
higher than that for boys.

"That is a very short glimpse 'into the street'.

"The battle has not been lost; more are not using drugs than those that do.
The challenge is to enjoy yourself, work hard, but don't lose focus."

In addition to the snowmobile winners, other prize winners were as follows:

*Donor draw: 3rd, Lorne Davidson of North Battleford, snowmobile suit and
helmet; 4th, Glen Armstrong of Swift Current, $500 Credit Union voucher;
5th, Lorne Anderson of Melfort, 19-inch TV; 6th, Randy Donavon of
Milestone, mini-stereo; 7th, Boyd Stark of Nipawin, VCR; 8th, Lexie Pearse
of Nipawin, chain saw; 9th, Keith Hall of Mortlach, Command Start; 10th,
Nowlin McKay of La Ronge, barbecue; 11th, Barry Kidd of Zealandia, weekend
at MacSwaney's cabins.

*Participant draw: 3rd, Jackie Randall of Tisdale, snowmobile suit and
helmet; 4th, Paul Clendenning of Corunna, Ont., $500 Credit Union voucher;
5th, Marg McConnel of Paddockwood, 19-inch TV; 6th, May Chanin of La Ronge,
mini-stereo; 7th, Vance Booth of Rosetown, VCR; 8th, David Bruce of Red
Deer, Alta., chain saw; 9th, Curtis Hagley of Rouleau, quilt; 10th, Terry
Tofin of Outlook, barbecue; and 11th, Joe Calder of Plenty, G.P.S.
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