107th Year - Week20 PM 40007014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Contractor takes on West Fraser
RECYCLING EXPLAINED Smithers about to begin curbside recycling.
NEWS/A14&15
ZONE CHAMPS Gryphon soccer girls qualify for provincials.
SPORTS/A21
CARNIVAL FUN The carnival comes to Hazelton.
THREE RIVERS/B6
INSIDE LETTERS A7&8 SPORTS A17 COMMUNITY A22 OUR TOWN A24 THREE RIVERS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B4
www.interior-news.com
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CAR FIRE A 39-year-old New Hazelton man set a vehicle on fire on Highway 16 between Smithers and Terrace Sunday afternoon after wielding an axe at oncoming traffic. Caitlin Clow photo
By Ryan Jensen Houston/Interior News
A Burns Lake contractor is taking on West Fraser Forest Products in a dispute over ownership of a rail line near the Houston Forest Products mill. Tahtsa Timber owner Klaus Posselt said he was fed up with being bullied by the forestry company over issues such as logging rates, changing terms of contracts and a general lack of communication. On March 13, he took matters into his own hands and positioned an excavator over a rail line on his property located just off Highway 16 in Houston. West Fraser does not have an easement to the rail line and has no rights to it. Because of this, HFP has been unable to ship their product out by rail. The action was the culmination of years of frustration of dealing with West Fraser, Posselt said. When it was announced last year that HFP was shutting down, Posselt said he heard the information secondhand. “When they shut down the mill, we heard it on the street,” he said. “We’ve been a significant contractor for them for the last 18 years. Then we couldn’t get an answer from them on how it’s going to impact us and that dragged on for two months.” On Friday, Posselt received a Notice of Motion to say West Fraser is seeking a special injunction allowing them access to the rail line. He has until today to respond. “They need to address the issues and give us some definitive answers,” Posselt said. See RAIL on A2
Hazelton man sets car on fire By Caitlin Clow Kitwanga/Interior News
Traffic came to an abrupt stop on Highway 16 just west of Cedarvale on Sunday, after a man set his vehicle on fire and was swinging an axe at passing cars. New Hazelton RCMP detachment commander Sgt. Jeff Pelley said police received reports of the man on the highway early in the afternoon. Pelley said he isn’t sure if the Hazelton man hit any vehicles. When officers arrived at the scene the man fled to a driveway of a local
residence where, after a short negotiation, he surrendered to police without incident. Bystanders explained that although the situation was unclear they saw a man in a white shirt running in and out of the treeline beside the highway. One witness said the 39-year-old man had been talking with RCMP and said he would only speak to one specific officer. More than 100 vehicles were lined up behind the RCMP blockade for more than an hour as they were told it could be another two to five-hour wait. Earlier on Sunday
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afternoon, The Interior News reporter Nolan Kelly received an unusual phone call from a Kitwanga man. He told Kelly that he had phoned the police to surrender, but only to RCMP officer Bradshaw. The man said he was acting under “full civil disobedience,” and was in a “state of pervasion.” He claimed he had been “persecuted by the state.” The caller said the “state had prevented him from wearing a kilt.” The Interior News phoned local authorities to find out more information, but was told that no one by the name
he had provided Kelly with had called in. There is no reported connection between the two incidents. New Hazelton RCMP are recommending the 39 year old be charged with possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, assault with a weapon, intimidation by blocking a highway, arson and mischief. Police are asking anyone who may have any information regarding this incident, or may have cell phone video footage, to please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477 or the New Hazelton RCMP at 250-842-5244.
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