See B Section for Fire Prevention Week and Port Hardy Fire Rescue Open House CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Publications Mail Agreement No. 391275
47th Year No. 41 THURS., OCTOBER 11, 2012
GAZETTE NORTH ISLAND
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All hands on deck A trio of Coast Guard vessels guide the U.S.-based trawler Rondys to the government dock in Port Hardy last Wednesday after the ship lost steering en route from Dutch Harbor, Ak., to the Lower 48. In all, four Coast Guard boats were involved in assisting the Rondys. The Joint Rescue Coordination J.R. Rardon Centre said repairs were completed in Port Hardy and the ship resumed its trip.
McNeill bows out of Hornsby hunt J.R. Rardon Gazette editor PORT McNEILL—The Town essentially removed itself from consideration — or at least deferred its chances — as the final display location for the historic Hornsby Steam Crawler Tractor, which was recently returned to the North Island from Surrey following a protracted legal battle. During deliberations in
its regular meeting Oct. 1, council declined to join the Regional District of Mount Waddington Heritage Registry, a precondition for hosting the RD’s historical artifacts. Joining the registry would cost the Town $2,500 per year, a cost councillors were not willing to accept at this time. “We’ve got the steam donkey here, and we’ve
got the burl,” coun. Shirley Ackland said. “We have heritage here we need to preserve. Before I would be willing to vote to put money into a regional plan, we need to look after the equipment we have here.” When the North Island Heritage Society last month invited proposals to house the Hornsby, which is in temporary storage at the Lemare Lake Logging yard
south of Port McNeill, the Town expressed a tentative interest. A volunteer group in Coal Harbour has taken the first steps toward what it hopes will be a new museum with the Hornsby as its centrepiece. Coun. Gaby Wickstrom, who was provided the RD’s information just two days earlier, informed council of the heritage bylaw require-
ment, kicking off a discussion that quickly made clear Port McNeill would not be a front-runner for the 100-year-old machine. “My personal feeling is we have enough on our plate without encouraging us to get into a situation where there’s even more expenditures to lay out,” Mayor Gerry Furney said. “The Hornsby was retrieved by the people of Coal
Harbour, and I have felt if Coal Harbour is interested in making a project of it, it would be a great attraction for them.” Wickstrom reminded council that the question was not one of hosting the century-old Hornsby, the only one of its kind
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