LOCAL NEWS: NEW FUNDING FOR SCHOOL BUSES ▼ A8
Times
Thursday, November 29, 2012 ▼ Volume 47 No. 48 ▼ www.clearwatertimes.com ▼ $1.40 Includes HST
THE
NORTH THOMPSON
MINOR HOCKEY: Atoms and Novices battle on the ice. See pagesA13 inside
Second Place General Excellence B.C. and Yukon <2,000 circulation 2012 Blue Ribbon Runner-up Best All Round Newspaper All of Canada <1,250 circulation 2012
Ministry to test roundabout design for oversized loads Keith McNeill
Learning local forest issues (L-r) Bridges II contractor Chris Ortner and Jim Burck, director of community economic development with the Ministry of Jobs, Training and Skills Training, get input from longtime local sawmill owner Joe Wadlegger on ways to help the smallscale forest industry in the Valley. Ortner and Burck toured from McBride to Barriere last week to kickstart the Bridges II process. For more about the program, see the story on page A3 inside. Photo by Keith McNeill
Upper Clearwater Hall gets funds for upgrades Submitted Thompson-Nicola Regional District has approved the expenditure of up to $10,000 from the Federal Gas Tax Community Works Fund to go towards energy-efficient upgrades at the Upper Clearwater Community Hall in Clearwater. With the funding, the Upper Clearwater Farmers’ Institute, which owns and operates the facility, will upgrade the hall’s
ceiling insulation. This comes on top of other recent “green” initiatives that have resulted in a significant reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from the facility. “The money is going to great use as it will make the community hall more energy efficient, as well as more functional;’ said Tim Pennell, Electoral Area A (Wells Gray Country) director. The Upper Clearwater Farmers’ Institute is a non-
government organization (NGO). Under an amendment to the Gas Tax Agreement, buildings and infrastructure owned by NGOs can be eligible for funding so long as the NGO abides by the terms and conditions of the agreement. To date, the TNRD has approved $2.69 million for 66 projects under the Federal Gas Tax Fund, which provides funding in support of municipal infrastructure upgrades that contributes
Representatives of the BC Trucking Association met with people from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in Langley on Nov. 20 to talk about the roundabout proposed for Highway 5 in Clearwater. “I wasn't at the meeting but I can give you an update,” said Louise Yako, BCTA president and CEO. According to Yako, the main outcome of the meeting was there will be more simulated and realworld testing to ensure heavy haul loads would be able to negotiate the roundabout without difficulty. Highway 5 is an important route for oversized and overweight loads heading to and from the Alberta border, she noted. Possibly the additional testing will result in more room being created on one side of the roundabout to accommodate the bigger loads, no matter which direction they are heading in. Such loads only travel during the early morning
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hours and other traffic would have to be stopped at the roundabout in any case, Yako said. The BCTA official said it the ministry and the municipality appear to have decided the roundabout will go ahead, but they appear to be willing to change the plans to accommodate truckers. She said that, generally speaking, the ministry is good about consulting the association regarding highway changes that might affect that trucking industry. “We found about the roundabout in a roundabout way in this case, which was not usual,” she said. Yako noted that the design is not yet complete and the contract has not been let, which means there is still time to make modifications. The ministry is apparently planning a public meeting in Clearwater in the near future but Yako did not think BCTA would be involved. “The issues at the public meeting would likely be different from those of the trucking association,” she said.
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