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MAY 26, 2014
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Vol. 63, Issue 99
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Semi hits pole, knocks out power to half of Cranbrook
Students get a taste of the trades
A traffic accident on Victoria Ave. on May 22 caused an outage that affected 2,000 properties and closed the busy arterial road S A L LY M AC D O N A L D Townsman Staff
College of the Rockies, in partnership with School District 5 and WorkSafe BC hosted the four-day the four-day Project Heavy-Duty program last week, giving students some hands-on experience. Pictured here are students do an exercise in filling sandbags. Arne Petryshen photo ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
A group of Mount Baker students had a chance to get hands-on experience and training working with big machinery last week. The 24 students put their names forward for the fourday Project Heavy-Duty pro-
gram, which included two days of certification and safety training and two days of working with the actual machinery. It’s put on by the College of the Rockies, in partnership with School District 5 and WorkSafe BC, and took place on Thursday and Friday, May 22 and 23, at the city’s public works yard
on Cobham Avenue. Kaley Mitchell, who is in grade 12 at Mount Baker, said the program has broadened her outlook on what’s available in the trades. She said it’s definitely made her think more seriously about going into the trades as a career. “It’s been very education-
al,” Mitchell said. “It’s changed what I might do.” Hugh Moore, recruiting officer from the College of the Rockies, said the event is designed to help students experience first-hand what a career in trades would be like.
See PROJECT, Page 3
About 2,000 Cranbrook properties were hit by a power outage on Thursday evening, May 22, after a semi hit a power pole on Victoria Avenue. According to RCMP, just before 5 p.m. on Thursday, a semi collided with a BC Hydro pole outside Canadian Tire on Victoria Avenue in Cranbrook. The driver was not injured and the semi didn’t sustain any damage, but the repair costs to the power pole and lines are estimated to be more than $20,000, said Cpl. Barry Graham of the Cranbrook RCMP. That particular power pole feeds the underground service to the Tamarack Centre and the surrounding area, said Diane Tam-
men, community relations manager for BC Hydro. “Although the pole that was struck was not broken, it was leaning and had to be straightened and secured,” she said. Not only the mall but also Western Financial Place – which was gearing up to host a Charley Pride concert – and East Kootenay Regional Hospital lost power in the outage, which impacted 2,032 BC Hydro customers in the area north of 2nd Street South, east of College Way, north of Victoria Avenue and north of Cranbrook Street. Victoria Avenue was closed to traffic and a detour set up while the pole was repaired.
See SEMI, Page 4
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290 Wallinger Avenue, Kimberley ❘ 250-427-2221 ❘ www.caldwellagencies.com
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