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Ted COLLEY Staff Reporter
SURREY – Surrey’s wrestling community is mourning the loss of one of their own with the death of Randeep Sodhi, a two-time national champion. He competed, and later coached, through Surrey’s Hargobind Wrestling Club which he helped his uncle, Satnam Johal, establish in the late 1980s. “Unfortunately, we lost him far too early for his time,” Johal said Monday. “He drove himself to the hospital with abdominal pain. It turned out it was a pancreas infection and it just got worse. You are never prepared for something like this.” Sodhi’s accomplishments as a wrestler were many. He won a Commonwealth championship, two Canadian senior championships, was an eight time senior medallist and also won a Canadian junior championship. Sodhi, who died Friday, went on to become a popular coach at HWC, one who particularly enjoyed teaching the sport to kids. “He devoted his life to wrestling,” Johal said.
RANDEEP SODHI
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Company’s plan to replace aging track ties with creosote-soaked wood has Ocean Park man...
All railed up Ocean Park’s John Watkins says his search for facts about creosote, a wood preservative that is being used to replace 23,000 ❚PHOTO/Kevin Hill railway ties from Washington State, through White Rock and Surrey, shows the chemical poses a health risk. WHITE ROCK – Joggers Marisa BABIC and walkers won’t be able Staff Reporter to use White Rock’s pier and promenade for a time this week while Burlington Northern Santa Fe crews replace aging railway ties. BNSF regional spokesman Gus Melonas said the railway tie renewal is part of a $3-million project for track upgrades for B.C. “We apologize about any inconveniences for the public,” Melonas said, adding the closures are necessary to prevent injury. Melonas said a 48-person crew is expected to start replacing about 23,000 railways ties from Washington State, through White Rock and Surrey, to the Fraser River Bridge today. “We figure that it will take roughly four to five weeks to complete the entire project,” Melonas said. “Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 ties will be replaced each day.” Melonas said BNSF is working with the City of White Rock to notify the public about closures of the pier, promenade and adjoining parking lots. The closures are expected to last for two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, but that time-
line depended on progress made by crews on lthe line Monday. He said the job is a noisy one but noted the work will be done during daytime working hours. Crews using a specialized machine with an arm will pull out the old ties while another machine follows behind it slipping in the new ties. After all the new ties are spiked, a crane will pick up the old ones and load them onto rail cars for disposal south of the border.
GUS MELONAS/ “We haven’t found problems... Look at the telephone poles, they’re treated with the same product.”
Melonas said the refurbished track will improve railway safety for the company and the public. But an Ocean Park man said the creosotetreated ties pose a health risk to the public. John Watkins, a regular walker on the promenade, said the smell of the substance is
so strong that he’s quit his walking routine. “That’s 20 minutes of breathing these fumes,” Watkins said. Watkins said he noticed the new ties, neatly laid out in bundles all along the track, about a week ago, a sighting that sent him to the internet in search of information about creosote. Watkins said his search for facts about the wood preservative, which is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, shows that coal-tar creosote poses a danger to the environment and a health risk to humans. Melonas rejected his claims. He said creosote has been approved as an acceptable product in the industry for years. “There are no bans, there are no restrictions for its use,” Melonas said. Melonas said the company has a total of 120 million ties on its network of railway lines across North America. “We haven’t found problems,” he said, adding there has been no pressure from federal agencies nor environmental or health monitoring agencies to stop use of creosote.
see WOODEN RAILWAY page 3
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‘The people walking along the promenade for their health are getting a dose of this for five years’
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