WEDNESDAY
ARTS
SPORTS
September 12, 2012 Vol. 27 No. 73 ••• $1.25 inc. H.S.T.
Musician Doug Cox fights United Airlines — and wins. page 16
Comox Valley infielder Taylor Green is back in baseball’s big leagues. page 36
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Maple Pool player chosen for soccer team Scott Stanfield
at Maple Pool Campground in Courtenay. The program provides an opportunity for If there’s such a thing as homeless and marginalized Cloud 10, Joan Mathias has individuals to exercise and socialize, and to engage in found it. The Courtenay resident, competition. In Kelowna, the squad a member of the Maple Pool United street soccer team, was outfitted with soccer shirts, shorts, has been selectsocks and shin ed to play on It hasn’t pads. the Canadian “We met women’s team really sunk in yet. some really at the Homeinteresting less World Cup It (Kelowna) was people,” said of soccer next just phenomenal. Mathias, notmonth in Mex- What a great ing a goalico City. keeper who O f f i c i a l s memory we just played at last from Street created. The Soccer Cana- journey was good, year’s Homeless World Cup da made the in Paris. “We selection last and it hasn’t learned a lot. It weekend at the stopped yet. was well worth Western CanaJoan Mathias the trip.” dian qualifier Maple Pool in Kelowna, where Mathias and four United played several Maple Pool teammates games in one day, including matches against Calgary, competed. “It hasn’t really sunk in Victoria and Vancouver. “It was a total test on yet,” Mathias said. “It (Kelowna) was just phenome- our bodies,” said Mathias, nal. What a great memory who scored a goal in a 3-2 we just created. The jour- loss against the Vancouver ney was good, and it hasn’t side. It was the first time Maple Pool has held a lead stopped yet.” Formed this year out of in a game. “What a great feeling the Dawn to Dawn: Action on Homelessness Soci- when you see that ball go ety street soccer program, into the net.” The local side improved Maple Pool United competed at its first tournament considerably after receivthis summer in Victoria. ing some pointers on posiThe team practises weekly ... see SOCCER ■ 2
Record Staff
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AN ATLAS COPCO rig from Wisconsin — the equivalent of General Motors in the drilling world — sits at PHOTO BY SCOTT STANFIELD Atlas Manufacturing in Merville.
Merville company ships all over Scott Stanfield Record Staff
Atlas Manufacturing custom builds equipment such as casing hammers and jacks for the drilling world — right here in the Comox Valley. At present, the Merville company is working on a job for a drilling platform in the South China Sea, a drill rig for operation in California and a jack for a Nevada company. In January, they constructed a jack that was shipped to New Zealand following an earthquake. “My understanding is a lot of their wells shifted,” operations manager Dave
Freeman said. “They use it right in the city ... We sell a fair bit into Australia.” Atlas recently completed a six-week project to build a casing jack that pulls pipe from the ground. It was designed to pull more than one million pounds, or 500 metric tonnes, but will in fact pull a heavier load. The customer from Germany hired a truck to drive the 30,000-pound jack to Chicago from where it was flown to Vienna, Austria. The jack left Merville Aug. 22 and arrived in Vienna Aug. 26. It will be used on a geothermal project. “It’s good for the Valley. We’ve had (Vancouver Island North MP) John
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Duncan out here a couple of times,” said Freeman, noting a plan to build rigs in the Valley. “It’s going to take significant investment.” Vaughn and Ken Anderson started the company in 1999. There are seven employees. Freeman partners with Ken, the company president who designed and patented the equipment. Ninety per cent of goods are exported south of the border or overseas. “These things come up brand new from the factory and then we outfit them and ship them,” Freeman said. “Right now our overseas market is really strong. The States is a little
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slow. We supply to the U.S. government as well.” This fall, the company plans to start production of the Atlas Explorer, a oneof-a-kind sampling drill rig. Potential customers are as far away as Russia. ‘’It tests the compression of the soil and then it will take a soil sample,” Freeman said. “It’s also used for looking for gold deposits.” Atlas uses local businesses such as Comox Valley Hydraulic & Industrial Supply for subcontracting. For the geothermal project, Atlas farmed out about 300 hours to a Duncan company to get the job done on time. reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com