Williams Lake Tribune, September 13, 2012

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Breaking news, video, photo galleries, and more always online at www.wltribune.com

THURSDAY, September 13, 2012

Proudly serving Williams Lake and the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 1930

VOL. 82. No. 72

ICBC workers Gale awaits bail in cancer fundraiser to strike Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer The Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 378 (COPE 378) announced Tuesday that more than 1,500 members at 55 claims-related Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC) locations will take strike action on Tuesday, Sept.18, including employees at the ICBC Claim Centre in Williams Lake. Communications representative for COPE 378 Jarrah Hodge, says the office will not be closed. Three of the seven employees at the centre in Williams Lake are deemed essential and will be on the job. The strike will impact locations across the province. In a press release issued by the union, COPE 378 president David Black says the employees have been without a contract for more than two years.

Inside the Tribune NEWS Kids’ bikes stolen.

Monica Lamb-Yorski photo

The Cops for Cancer Jail and Bail held Wednesday, Sept. 12 at Spirit Square in downtown Williams Lake raised a total of $19,373. Here, Thompson Rivers University grant writer Shirley-Pat Gale hopes to make bail during her morning session in jail and passes the time behind bars by playing a harmonica. Organizer safer communities co-ordinator Dave Dickson gave the day a huge thumbs up. A total of $18,825 was raised through bail and an additional $548 from donations made at the barbecue hosted by M&M Meat Shops.

Breaking road causes safety concerns A2

SPORTS A11 Tour de Cariboo raises $40K. COMMUNITY A17 Prizes earned in gymkhana. Weather outlook: Mainly sunny today, high of 22 C. Mix of sun and cloud Friday, high of 21 C.

PM 0040785583

$1.34 inc. HST

Monica Lamb-Yorski photo

Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer The slope edge is falling away from the Soda Creek Road in several places as it winds its way above the Williams Lake River Valley. Slow signs and orange pylons alert drivers to various spots along the road that are of concern. Chris Schwarzmaier lives 13.5 km up the road from city limits and says he’s frustrated about the state of the road. “There are three or four really dangerous spots, all on the downhill side. Lots of logging trucks are going out there and the traffic of the families that live out there,” he says. There is a section where a block wall was installed along the edge of the road to help reinforce the edge and provide stabilization. However, Schwarzmaier questions the logic of the work. Instead, he suggests, it would be better to dig into the hillside and widen the road that way. “They built a wall, but in the wintertime it will disappear. It does not make sense to me.” The Ministry of Transportation

Chris Schwarzmaier points out one of around a half a dozen portions of Soda Creek Road that is falling away on the downhill slope side of the road. He lives above the 13.5 km-point west of city limits. He is concerned about safety and hopes something can be done to improve the road’s condition. and Infrastructure confirms segments of the shoulder on the road have settled over the past several years, and recent heavy rainfall has contributed to some of the shoulder failures, causing them to become over-saturated and soft, resulting in some depressions in the pavement.

Kate Trotter, speaking on behalf the ministry, says the maintenance contractor is aware of the most recent shoulder failure and will be following up to make the necessary safety repairs. “The ministry is considering longer-term repairs; the timing will depend on the availability of funds

and other district priorities,” Trotter notes. Local log hauler Kent Bernier echoes Schwarzmaier’s concerns and says it’s a matter of time before someone gets hurt. He owns four logging trucks and a couple of them are hauling along the Soda Creek Road regularly. “The road has slumped away since we had all the rain in the summer, but it was bad before and is worse now. It makes it singlelane traffic so when you’re coming through there loaded it’s rough.” If a log truck driver were to meet someone coming from the opposite direction and wanted to avoid having a head-on collision, the driver might have to pull off, Bernier warns. “If you had speed, and you were to go down in one of those holes, if it didn’t fall over going down in there, it may just flip over when it came out right into the oncoming lane.” The signage is terrible, Bernier says and adds the road is busy and needs to be fixed. “There are lots of loads of logs coming out of there right now and there will be all winter.”


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