Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 9, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba b4 Winnipeg free press wednesday August 9, 2006 City skateboarding across Canada riders pushing for cancer cure by Sean Moore f our men raising funds for cancer research Are making their Mark As the first people to try to skateboard across Canada. The men from Winnipeg Halifax and Toron to did to know a breast cancer patient before they left Halifax on May 1 to raise Money for cancer research. On monday they pushed their Lon boards ? a stretched skateboard with ten Nis Ball sized wheels ? into Winnipeg. We Don to know anybody with breast cancer at this Point but we re going to know someone eventually because the rate is so High win nip Egger Rob Lewis 25, said outside the legislative building yesterday. One in nine women in Canada is getting breast cancer and i know Way More than nine women that Are so important ? from my mom Girlfriend Sisters Best friends. These Are peo ple i would do anything so the Marine biologist and three of his friends ? Massage therapist Carlos Koppen software manager Aaron Jackson and photographer Ben Jamin Jordan ? have pushed their Lon boards Over 4,300 Kilometres wearing through about three pairs of shoes each to raise $26,000. The push for the cure goal is to raise $1 Mil lion for preventative research. The riders said they Are the first to skateboard across All of Canada although two friends of theirs left Van Couver for Halifax on Lon boards to raise aware Ness about the foursome but they hitch hiked across vast distances. I always set my goals really High and i always make them our mandate is Lewis said noting that $23,000 of the Money to create a future they have raised has without breast come Only in the past month. Cancer and the reason at first these four Youn people did to believe Guys have taken they would or could do it ? something Terry into their hands Fox had to contend to make sure that with. The riders dipped will be a reality their boards in Halifax in their lifetime Harbour much like Fox dipping his shoe in the ? Monique Levesque water. And they Hope to Pharoah of the wet their boards again Canadian breast cancer when they reach Van Couver on thanksgivi foundation ing weekend. But we certainly Don to compare our selves to Fox by any stretch of the imagination Jordan said noting the team paid tribute to Fox in Thunder Bay where a statue Marks his runs cessation. Our mandate is to create a future without breast cancer and these four Young Guys have taken into their hands to make sure that will be a reality in their lifetime Monique Levesque Pharoah of the Canadian breast cancer foun Dation said. At mondays Gold eyes game fans contributed roughly $1,200, twice the amount Toronto Blue jays fans raised a couple of weeks earlier. Just the other Day the team skated 106 kilo metres and they still had a few hours of Day Light left. Their average Speed is about 17 Kilometres per hour along the trans Canada Highway. They ride single file ? or on quite stretches three across ? while the fourth member drives Luci a Van they bought on Ebay a few Days before leaving which acts As a Home and tool shed. They take turns driving throughout a Day. Through the Rocky mountains Riding in protective gear they la reach speeds of 90 pm a. On downhill stretches they la select a stiffer Board from one of 16 kept in the bathroom of Luci. To fend off boredom they talk Ponder or dance to Funk music playing from Lucis rooftop speakers you can watch the video on their web site . You can donate on their website or the cancer foundations website . i Brief food Bank getting fresh veggies the provinces largest food Bank is taking in 4,000 pounds of fresh vegetables from area Farmers and gardeners across the province. Winnipeg Harvest says this years bumper crop will help boost the summer Long Campaign called grow a Row founded 20 years ago to encourage gardeners and Farmers to donate their surplus to the poor. This years Harvest is Gratifying for food Bank organizers because last year cold wet weather put a Damper on the donations which dropped by 50 per cent Over previous years. This years donations Are up thanks to the weather. The food Bank is still accepting donations. Drop them off at the food Bank at 1085 Winnipeg ave. The entire Winnipeg Harvest team thanks Manitoban for sharing their successful Harvest with those in our Community who Are struggling to feed themselves and their families said David Northcott executive director of Winnipeg Harvest. The food Bank provides emergency food to 39,265 people a month. Half of those Are children. Fletcher did to quite make Summit Steven Fletcher came close but did to quite make it to the top of the Burgess shale in the . Rockies on saturday. The Charleswood St. James Assiniboia my and Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan planned to be the first quadriplegics to make the climb at Yoho National Park. One of Fletcher a assistants ? dubbed Sherpa ? devel oped problems and had to turn . Sullivan is believed to be the first quadriplegic to make it to the historic shale site of some of the worlds oldest known fossils. They were seated in one wheeled vehicles called Trail rid ers a combination chair and wheelbarrow for the climb. Assistants push and pull the vehicles up the slopes. Burgess shale located near Field ., contains some of the worlds oldest fossils estimated at 540 million years. 2 Calgary residents die in crash two Calgary residents Are dead after their vehicles collided head on near Vermilion Bay Early monday morning. Opp const. Jeff Moline said the Drivers of both vehicles pan deep Mangat 34, and Ian Hunter 57, were pronounced dead on the scene. Mangat a 2002 Volvo was travelling eastbound on Highway 17 when it crashed into Hunters 2005 International around 5 15 ;