Grand Forks Gazette, May 30, 2012

Page 1

Grand Forks

Gazette

Your community voice since 1897

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012

VOL 115 NO. 22

❚ Pot topic

page 8 City council discusses marijuana issue.

❚ FORESTRY

Interfor mill fire contained

There was a fire at Interfor’s Grand Forks mill on the evening of May 22. It originated in the shavings bin and fortunately, was contained quickly. KARL YU PHOTO

Red rider

KARL YU Gazette Editor

Todd Johnson of Castlegar took first place in the men’s division for last Saturday’s Show and Shine at the Overwaitea parking lot in Grand Forks. The event was held in part to promote Motorcycle Awareness Month (May) and raise money for the Boundary Community Food Bank – $360 was raised and winners of a subsequent poker ride to Rock Creek also donated their winnings back. More pictures available on page 14 and at www.grandforksgazette.ca.

KARL YU PHOTO

❚ HEALTH CARE

IHA executives meet with residents KARL YU Gazette Editor

The long-awaited meeting between Interior Health Authority (IHA) officials and Grand Forks residents took place last Wednesday with CEO Dr. Robert Halpenny and board chair Norman Embree in attendance. Questions were submitted in advance and topics ranged from Rod Gustafson’s Broadacres Care Facility to Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing. Christine Thompson, chair of the Concerned Citizens for Community Health Care, spoke on behalf of the local group. The topic of Rod Gustafson’s Broadacres Care Facility on Carson Road has been one many are

passionate about. Gustafson, a former registered nurse, invested a lot to renovate the facility and received licence but was passed over in a request for proposals for senior care beds in April 2011. Golden Life Management was awarded the contract and is currently building Silver Kettle Village near Dick Bartlett Park. When asked by Thompson if he had the chance to tour the facility yet, Halpenny said that he had not. “It’s a private facility, it was built with private funds, there was never a commitment by Interior Health that it would be supported and the process we go through with the new beds is an open and fair process,” he said. “Unfortunately, that particular facility didn’t meet up with the standards that we required.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Given the nature of mill fires in Prince George and Burns Lake, there was concern when a fire broke out at the International Forest Products Limited (Interfor) mill last week. Grand Forks Fire Rescue responded to the fire at Grand Forks’ Interfor mill at around 5:45 p.m. on May 22 but fortunately, the fire was quickly contained. “It (was) a fire in our shavings bin,” explained Andrew Horahan, Interfor’s general manager of Kootenays on May 22. “It was contained within a steel bin. Luckily the fire department seems to have it put out.” “It appears as if it was caused by (mechanical) friction in the bin,” Horahan would later say. Grand Forks Fire Rescue Chief Dale Heriot said that when they arrived on scene, there was a fullblown fire on the east half of the bin but confirmed that the fire was contained within the shavings bin. “As we got on scene, we put the monitor from the ladder on it and some hand lines and got it cooled

down enough so we could get up top and put some water in from the lids up top,” Heriot said. “We suspect the surface layer of the sawdust was burning and as we dumped the sawdust out, we just wet it to make sure there were no embers left to light the pile on fire.” While the Prince George and Burns Lake fires were tragic, Grand Forks’ fire chief said the May 22 fire wasn’t as dangerous, although there was potential for more damage. “The danger level wasn’t as high as some other fires, mostly because it was in a metal bin that was isolated and also isolated away from the plant,” Heriot explained, adding that it was a mid-level fire and if the fire protection system in the blower pipes failed and had the blower system not been shut down, there was a chance that the fire could’ve spread to other areas of the plant. Horahan said the Grand Forks mill had been working hard to remove all accumulated sawdust, as per a recent WorkSafeBC edict. “WorkSafe inspected our facility and Grand Forks was found to be in complete compliance on the first visit,” he explained.

Catch the Spirit of the 2012 GFI! The 32nd Grand Forks International Baseball Tournament August 29th - September 3rd 12 teams. 25 games. Be there to welcome 5 new teams including the Parkland White Sox from Edmonton and the Northwest Honkers from Washington State www.grandforksbaseball.com

Second Class Registration # 0034


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