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AIH Transcript for December 31, 2020

Hosts: Helen Mann and Talia Schlanger

HELEN MANN: Hello, I’m Helen Mann. Sitting in for Carol Off.

TALIA SCHLANGER: Good evening, I’m Talia Schlanger. Sitting in for Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

Prologue

TS: Tonight:

HM: "Like a volcano." A Norwegian village was hit by a devastating landslide this week. A hotel owner there says rescue workers are still looking for survivors — and she'll put them up for as long as the search is on.

HM: From a historic hip hop auction — to a subterranean concert that gave "underground sensation" a whole new meaning, we spoke with singers, songwriters and producers who helped get the year back on track.

HM: Uncharted waters. The pandemic may be throwing cold water on many holiday traditions, but the granddaughter of the man who founded Vancouver's polar bear plunge says it's one custom that can't be sunk.

TS: As It Happens, the New Year's Eve edition. Radio that hopes 2020 is ready to make tracks.

Part One: Norway landslide, Time Square ball, Kansas train noise

Norway landslide

Guest: Anita Aasland

TS: A small village in Norway is ending 2020 with a disaster. Early Wednesday morning, Ask was hit with a landslide. Homes in the village, which is about 25 kilometres northeast of Oslo, are buried under mud. Rescuers are still searching for at least ten missing people, and at least ten more are injured. More than 900 people had to flee their homes. Anita Aasland owns the Raumergården hotel in Ask. That's where we reached her.

HM: Anita, first of all, how are you and your family holding up?

ANITA ASLAND: Right now, we are... we're well. We are at the hotel right now. And keep it going because we are hosting the rescue people.

HM: How far are you from the slide?

AA: Right now, approximately 300 metres, pretty close by, but we are on solid ground, so we feel pretty safe. But there has been new... or they found some new cracking in another field a little bit north of the centre. So we are right now, as we are speaking, there are helicopters over there and trying to rescue out 46 people from some small farms. This will be a long night.

HM: Well, it sounds quite frightening. Now, your daughter, as I understand it, had quite a scare. What happened to her?

AA: She was asleep when everything happened. And she's sleeping in the basement, so she did not actually hear helicopters or rescue people or anything. And I was located on the west coast of Norway, so with my grandchildren and my other daughter. And she was alone in the house, and we couldn't get reach of her. But then the police went into the area and broke into the house and dragged her up from the basement. [slight chuckle]

HM: Wow!

AA: Yeah. So she took the cat and her shoes and ran out.

HM: Now, I just want to clarify, where were you when the landslide started?

AA: I was with my other daughter, my oldest daughter, and my four grandsons at the west coast of Norway. It’s a town called Alesund. I was woken up by my phone calling by people who have no place to go, and their houses were gone. And they stood in their pyjamas and nothing else. And it's pretty cold out here, and a lot of snow on them. So I jumped out of bed and, of course, waking up my grandson that I had beside me. And I understand that this was a really serious situation going on. And tried to call my daughter, but nobody answered the phone. So I was pretty scared. But I drove alone the whole way down here. It took six-and-a-half-hours. But I was in contact with some of the rescue people here and knew that she was being taken care of.

HM: Right. What are your guests telling you about the landslide and what it was like when it started?

AA: They didn't understand nothing. I have…. just before we closed the hotel for the Christmas, we had some young people having a small party. And he woke up, his wife was screaming because she felt the house was shaking, and he jumped out of bed and looked out of his window, and lawn and porch were gone. And he grabbed his little seven-month-old baby and screamed to his wife that she needs to take the 22-month-old other daughter. And they went out in their pyjamas with no shoes, nothing, running and screaming, trying to wake up the other neighbours. And he said that he felt that the ground was going away from him.

HM: What does it look like around the landslide now?

AA: Dark, dark, dark, dark, big. It looks like a volcano have been there. And, you know, after the volcano is calm, there will be a big crater. So it's big, big, big. It's 350 metres wide and more than 700 metres long. So it looks like a war zone. Some of the houses slide down and remain up or it didn't break, you know, it was sliding like it looks like a dollhouse sliding down.

HM: So, the houses, some of the houses are still intact inside the crater?

AA: Yeah, two of them are still intact. So there has just now been choppers over there, and rescue people with dogs trying to search for people alive because we are still missing ten people.

HM: What do you know about those people?

AA: One of the boys... or he's a man now, he's 37 years old, he's an old friend of my oldest daughter. And he has a wife, who is pregnant, and the youngest daughter. They are missing, can't find them.

HM: And where is it known for sure that they were in the area at the time?

AA: Yes.

HM: Oh, I'm sorry.

AA: We know they were sleeping in the house.

HM: Is there any chance that there could be survivors in that landslide pit?

HM: This has been such a difficult year for everyone around the world. We're about to ring in 2021. I'm just wondering what you will be doing in the coming days to try to help.

AA: I will stay here, keep my hotel open, serve everybody breakfast at 6:00 in the morning. And we... I must say that I'm very proud of all the all the other citizens in my small community. Everybody came here with food and clothes and everything that people need. Yes, we are... it's a lot of good people with big hearts around who are willing to help. And I will stay here.

HM: Anita, thank you so much for speaking with us. I certainly hope that those rescuers find the missing people alive and well. And I wish you the best.

AA: Yes. Thank you.

TS: Anita Aasland owns Raumergården hotel. We reached her in Ask, Norway.

[Music: Vocalization]

Time Square ball

Guest: Juanita Erb

TS: The ball drop at Times Square in New York City is one of the most famous parties in the world, attended by a million people every year. But as you may have guessed, there are no crowds at Times Square tonight. The event is being streamed online, but the only people in attendance are small group of specially invited guests that organizers are calling "the Hereos of 2020." Juanita Erb is one of them. She's a clinical research nurse at NYU Lagone's Vaccine Center. We reached her just outside Times Square earlier this evening.

HM: Juanita, how are you feeling right now?

JUANITA ERB: I'm feeling really good. I'm very excited to be here tonight. I've lived in New York City, not too far from Times Square for over 20 years, and I've actually never celebrated in Times Square. So it's a great honour to be here tonight with other frontline workers and heroes that have kept the city going and to be representing NYU Langone’s Vaccine Centre.

HM: Where are you right now?

JE: We're currently being screened, so they have a pretty lengthy screening process. So, both for security and for health.

HM: OK, now, normally, we're all used to seeing these massive crowds in Times Square on New Year's Eve on our televisions. Just looking at the screening process right now, do you have any sense of how different it's going to look tonight?

JE: What I understand that there were only 37 or 40 of us selected. I haven't actually seen the actual site yet, but I do know that it has been closed off for multiple blocks, and it took us several check-in areas that are closed off. And now we're going through, you know, a second or third layer screening as well. [chuckling] So I imagine that it's going to be much emptier than what it's been previously that you've seen on television.

HM: Right. What is it like for you to be amongst this very select few chosen to watch the ball drop in person?

JE: I am actually really honoured. The work that we've been doing with my research team has been kind of gruelling, and just working day and night to get a vaccine out there. And I'm just really excited not only to be, again, celebrating with other frontline heroes, but I actually received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Christmas Eve, and scheduled to get the second dose on my birthday, so.

HM: Oh, that's exciting! What was that moment like getting that shot in the arm?

JE: It was... I was actually really thrilled about it. I received the day before a text message that my number had come up and to make a virtual appointment. And I just couldn't stop crying, like, tears of joy and happiness. You know, it was really scary going into the hospital every day to do this research. You know, granted that I was not some of the frontline workers that were actually intubating patients in the ICU, but we did have a lot of stress going in to work every day. And also, during this new research. And we weren't sure if the vaccines were going to work or not. And we're very thrilled that Pfizer, which we worked on. Moderna we did not work on. But both of them now have the EUA, and people are well on their way getting their vaccines. So very excited.

HM: You know, it's been a momentous year for all of us. For you, it's been quite a year of change, as I understand it, because you were working for a cosmetics company [JE laughs warmly] and then leapt back into health care. Can you tell us what happened?

JE: Yeah, so I had been a clinical research nurse for over a decade. And in addition to that work, you know, I identify as a queer Black woman. I've been with my partner for 11 years. Inclusion and diversity is something that's really important to me. And I've worked with a lot of brands, both private and institutions like Brooklyn Museum, on diversity and inclusion initiatives. And I was made an offer to work for Global Beauty Company to be a consultant on their diversity and inclusion events. And then the pandemic hit. And I live not too far from a hospital. And every day, we would hear the ambulances going by. And I just couldn't sit by, like, knowing my research and nursing skill set and not actually be part of the frontline and hoping to find a solution to this global pandemic.

HM: You know, so many people have been trying to get away from the risk of pandemic and then you jump right back in there.

JE: Yeah, absolutely. I did not, you know, I just couldn't... not only in my communities, those that are disproportionately impacted, but New York City, our country and really the globe really needed to find a solution for this. And I really wanted to get back into it. And I’ve never felt so happy and inspired to, you know, give my time and my efforts and my talents to working with an incredible team on finding a solution to this pandemic.

HM: For everyone, the idea of these vaccines is exciting

JE: Yes!

HM: I mean, it shows us a potential end in sight. But for someone who's working on them, I mean, what is that, the pride, the sense of inclusion of being involved in this great moment?

JE: It was... I mean, the pride is just amazing. I mean, as I mentioned, the minute that I got the text message that I was getting it, I cried tears of joy, not simply because I was getting it, but because I had partaken in it. And a lot of the things that we're doing at NYU Langone’s Vaccine Centre is community engagement to build trust in this vaccine for those who may have hesitancy or may be ambivalent about it. So it was just really a great opportunity for me to know that not only did we have this vaccine, but we've been working tirelessly with community-based organizations, faith-based organisations. And hearing that, you know, getting my vaccine and sharing it on social media and sharing it publicly, that I had changed the minds of others to actually have faith in the vaccine really made me feel really incredible and empowered.

HM: You know, many people can't wait to see the end of 2020, but ther’s kind of this thing about balancing our hope for the future with, you know, reasonable expectations. What are you most looking forward to in 2021?

JE: Well, what I'm looking most forward to in 2021 is I really hope that people can come together collectively to practise good public health and to believe in science so that we can actually overcome this pandemic and so that we can all eventually get together with our families and loved ones once again.

HM: And are you with your partner there tonight?

JE: I am. I'm with my partner of 11 years. She actually works for an international refugee organisation. She's been working from home. And she [chuckle] has an incredible support for me as I go back and forth from, you know, to work in Manhattan every day. I come home, and she's been a really great work-from-home wife [laughing].

HM: So when that ball drops at midnight, we might get to see you guys exchange a kiss in the square. [chuckle] When, normally, there'd be thousands doing it, but you'll be one of the few.

JE: Yes, yes. Yeah. I'm really, again, just so very thrilled and happy to be part of this.

HM: Yeah, it's.. it's great. It's wonderful, your story. And congratulations on making the choices that you've made this year for everyone.

JE: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

HM: Have fun tonight.

JE: Thank you. Happy New Year.

HM: Happy New Year.

TS: Juanita Erb is a clinical research nurse at NYU Lagone's Vaccine Center. We reached her at Times Square in New York City.

TS: On a normal New Year's Day at Vancouver's English Bay, you would see hundreds of barely clothed Vancouverites charge into the frigid waters of the Pacific for the annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim. That will sadly not be the case this year due to the pandemic. But organizers have cooked up a way for people to still participate. They're asking swimmers to film or photograph themselves taking a dip in cold water at home. The Polar Bear Swim was founded by Peter Pantages in 1920. Here is his granddaughter Lisa Pantages talking to CBC's Early Edition.

LISA PANTAGES:In the bathtub. If they have a creek. If they want to get a barrel out in to their driveway, whatever creative where they come up with to do it, we're happy to see them doing it and counting it as an official swim. We came up with that idea because when my grandfather, when he went on his honeymoon, it was the first time he'd actually travelled out of Vancouver after arriving here. And he insisted on travelling on a steamship, the Pacific Steamship Line. And he did that because they would allow him to dive overboard every day on his trip from San Francisco.

GREGOR CRAIGIE: Wow!

LP: If he couldn't do it because of inclement weather and the captain wouldn't allow him, he made an agreement with them to draw a bath, lower the temperature to the temperature of the ocean, witness him lying in the salted water and then writing a letter to the effect that he had tried to do a swim, but he couldn't.

GC: [both laughing] Was it just bragging rights for your granddad and everybody else who does it? Or is there something about that cold, bracing submersion that really makes you want to do it again?

LP: You know, having done it every year of my life, I can say there's just something about it that starts your new year in a kind of magical way. It's like washing off the old, bringing in the new, doing something that you're proud of. And the excitement of the crowds now is really something that's absolutely infectious. Plus, you're participating in one of the oldest traditions in Vancouver.

GC: And I understand you, you're talking... you're urging people to do the digital dip, as you say, this year, Lisa. And I understand you've tested this out already. Where did you jump in?

LP: I went in my fish pond. I may have traumatized them, but it was actually kind of fun. [both laughing]

GC: OK, you got to tell us, how big is your fish pond?

LP: Well, it's a pretty big pond. It's about twelve-by-twelve, and about three feet deep. I had to avoid the lily barrels that were in it. And I have to say, I don't know if it was because I was missing the crowd or not, but it felt colder. [laughing]

GC: Oh, wow!

GC: [chuckling] And it's only three feet deep, so you actually probably had to do a bit of work to get yourself submerged?

LP: I had to kind of go down first and then kind of do a fish dive. [laughing]

GC: Yeah, no kidding. And probably do a fairly good shower after that.

LP: Immediately! That’s the one bonus of doing this at home.

GC: Yeah.

LP: You don’t get sandy, and you're easy to the shower.

TS: That was Lisa Pantages [pan-TAY-jes] speaking with the CBC's Gregor Craigie. Her grandfather Peter Pantages founded the annual New Year's Day Vancouver Polar Bear Swim 101 years ago.

[Music: Tango music]

Kansas train noise

Guest: Robin Macy

TS: Belle Plaine is a small town in southern Kansas, beloved by residents for its quiet, idyllic lifestyle. Or at least it was — until about nine years ago, when the train tracks through town were twinned. Suddenly, life in Belle Plaine was under constant disruption from extremely loud train horns, multiple times an hour, at almost all hours of the day. But that is finally set to change. Robin Macy is a bluegrass musician and the owner of the Bartlett Arboretum right next to the tracks in Belle Plaine, which is where we reached her.

HM: Robin, it's 11:00 a.m. where you are right now. Have you already had some trains disturbing you?

ROBIN MACY: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

HM: How many?

RM: Quite a few. That's a... that's a bit of a loaded question because we can have a train every five to seven minutes, approximately ten trains an hour. But sometimes, during harvest, it's especially busy. And during the holidays, pre-holiday it's especially busy. But right now, there's a bit of a lull. We probably are having three or four trains an hour.

HM: And can you give us an idea of just how loud these trains are?

RM: The trains are so loud you cannot speak through it. You have to stop your conversation. Coaches cannot call out plays on the... on the fields that are adjacent to the tracks. We have a concert series at Bartlett Arboretum, and I no longer can hire singer/songwriters, you know, solo artists or duos. I need to have loud bands that can be heard, you know, on top of the trains. And still, they often have to stop performing as the train rolls through because they're inaudible. I mean, you cannot... you can't hear. So if you're anywhere near the train tracks, you cannot... you have to stop your conversation completely.

HM: So this affects your work. It affects your livelihood. Is it affecting people's health?

RM: It has. It’s affected people's hearing; hearing loss has ensued. The economics of the town is greatly affected. People do not want to live near the corridor where the train rolls through. So families have moved away, property values are falling. People don't want to move there. People don't want to return to the community because the train is certainly a deficit. And so, you know, what you want to happen in rural America is people have fond affection for the way they were raised there, and they want to return to their community to raise their own families in that sort of tranquil space. Belle Plaine is actually a bedroom community for Wichita. So it's a very popular option for young families. And people come back. And I feel like the trains have been a deterrent for returned community affection.

HM: UM-hmm. The problem is the horn. Why does the train... why did the operators of the train have to blast that horn so much?

RM: OK, this is a federal railroad, an FRA rule. When the train is approaching a crossing, and there are five, you know, right there in our community, there are five crossings. By law, the train must blow its horn, two longs, a short and a long, as it's approaching and then crossing the train track itself. A community can put in a quiet zone, which really is more safe. And that is something I want to underscore. A quiet zone requires that the community build non-traversable medians at those crossing that is much more safe than a loud noise. That keeps people from being stupid. And so the arms still go down. In fact, that's the prerequisite. You must have what's called an active crossing. The arms go down there. [making an alarm noise] Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. The lights are still flashing. The only thing that's different is the horn on the front of the train is not blaring as it goes through the community. So it's actually more safe. And this has all been... statistically, metrics have been created for that.

HM: Now, I understand that you've been working on this for about six years. Why has it taken so long?

RM: Well, it's taken so long because you're working with lots of stakeholders. You're working with the FRA, you're working with the train, the state, rodway, the Department of Transportation. You're working with your city, your county and your township. So you've got seven or eight different stakeholders that are all going to have opinions that you also have to get them to understand that this is for the common man. And it is... it's a.. it's a small price to pay for a great, huge benefit. It took organising a consortium of like-minded people in the community, the city council itself, the mayor. All of that takes a lot of time and then raising the money.

HM: How long until those new barricades are fully installed and those train horns actually stop in Belle Plaine?

RM: Well, first and foremost, we will be paying for it. But the Burlington Northern Santa Fe has their due diligence and they need to install eight feet of a concrete panel. So basically, when the cars roll over the train tracks, they don't fall between the rails. They say they will get to it as they can in late 2021. So we're hoping this time next year, we will be living in a peaceable kingdom for Christmas. [laughing]

HM: What are you most looking forward to?

RM: Well, I'm most looking forward to the music that happens at Bartlett Arboretum to be uninterrupted. And the tranquillity to return. And for... for the community to be joyful and celebrante. And people want to go to ball games, and people want to return to little Belle Plaine and raise their families here.

HM: Has this experience influenced or inspired any of your own music?

RM: As a matter of fact, it has. Yes, it has. And I think tonight I'm going to.. I'm going to record a song called “I'm Going To Beat That Train Around the Bend.” And I'm going to post that tonight.

HM: Excellent!

RM: It has indeed. Yeah, and I know the actual key that the train horn blows, so I know that I can segue into that key if the train happens to go through when we record it.

HM: Let us know when you post the recording and maybe we can provide a link.

RM: Helen Mann, thank you so much.

HM: All right.

RM: It’s a pleasure. A privilege.

HM: A pleasure for me, too, Robin. Thank you. Congratulations.

RM: Thank you. Happy New Year.

HM: You too. Bye-bye.

TS: Robin Macy is the owner of the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine, Kansas. That's where we reached her.

December 31, 2020 Episode Transcript

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