Wednesday, July 24, 2013
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Volume 93 - No. 30
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www.ldnews.net
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$1.30 GST inc.
BURNS LAKE
LAKES DISTRICT NEWS Burns Lake water rates down for some After receiving a legal opinion that clarified the potential conflict of interest regarding a sitting council member whose business might be affected by changes to municipal utility rates.
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Slow fire season so far in Burns Lake
Sunken tugs on Ootsa Lake rise again Highway through hell tow trucks help out Television celebrity part of local team WALTER STRONG Spoiler alert. If you’re a fan of Highway Thru Hell, the Discovery Channel documentary television series that focusses on Hope B.C.’s Jamie Davis and his high-risk Coquihalla highway recovery operation, the following will take the drama out of an upcoming episode. Four months ago, the Cheslatta-Carrier Nation (CCN) discovered that two of their tug boats, the Davis Straits and the Valerie , had been sunk at their winter mooring in Forestry Bay, beside the old Cheslatta sawmill site on Ootsa Lake.
After initial environmental cleanup, the vessels remained in place as Cheslatta and their insurance company worked out a recovery plan. Davis was recently returning from the Fort McMurray area where he has set up a branch of his business and is filming for upcoming seasons. It was perfect timing for him to pull into Burns Lake on his way back to Hope, if logistics could be ironed out quickly enough. James Rakochy, incident commander and CCN land and resource manager, was able to co-ordinate with local forestry and specialized logging contractor Quinten Beach to set up an open-water barge system to accommodate the heavy recovery equipment needed to get the tugs off lake bottom. Beach Marine Inc., Beach’s underwater logging outfit, took over the logistics for extraction in coordination with Prince Rupert’s Adams Diving
and Marine Services for underwater rigging, and local forestry contractor DWB for environmental services. Davis’ 600 hp Rotator HR 150 is the king of heavy duty extraction and recovery. Made famous in his television series, it has the mobility of a tow-truck with the lifting power of a boom-armed, swing crane. And all of this without the regulations which limit the usefulness of larger ‘crane-designated’ units. “We can take this into situations where a larger crane wouldn’t be able to go,” Davis said. The boom lift is rated for 75 tonnes at minimal extension and up to 36,000 pounds at full extension. The weight of the sunken vessels was not exactly known, but it was never a concern as local ...see ROAD WORK ▼ P3
New! The Mineral Processing Operator Certificate is coming to CNC Burns Lake!
It’s been a relatively slow fire season around the Lakes District, but according to the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch, recent hot and dry weather means that things could change.
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Community benefits from students Gaining skills is not just for employment, according to College of New Caledonia carpentry instructor, Regan Morben, it’s also about giving back to your community.
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Sept. 3 to Dec. 20, 2013 (16 weeks) Learn to use the equipment used in processing mineral-bearing ore as it is subjected to various processes to extract the minerals. Funding is available for eligible students.
CNC closed July 29 to Aug 5
Phone: 250.692.1700 • Fax: 250.692.1750 • Toll Free: 1.866.692.1943 545 Highway 16 West • PO Box 5000, Burns Lake, BC • V0J 1E0 Email: lksdist@cnc.bc.ca • Website: www.cnc.bc.ca/lakesdistrict