Burnaby NOW • Wednesday, January 18, 2012 • A03
4 Development costs rise 9 New strides on ice
11 Preventing violence
City firefighter makes final cut in TV battle Christina Myers staff reporter
Is Canada’s best handyman right here in Burnaby? He could be – but we’ll have to wait a few weeks to find out. Burnaby firefighter Todd Wynes, 43, is one of the 12 finalists battling it out on Canada’s Handyman Challenge, a new show on HGTV that premiered last Tuesday. Wynes’ lips are sealed about what will happen in the upcoming episodes and how he fares against the competitors from across the country. But one thing is certain: his skills must be impressive to have gotten him past hundreds of hopefuls from across the country into a final group of only a dozen competitors. “I think they had maybe 700 people apply for the Vancouver (tryouts),” said Wynes, noting that additional tryouts took place in eastern and central Canada. It all began when the wife of a co-worker spotted the tryout information and immediately suggested that Wynes, known among his fellow firefighters for his handyman skills, should check it out. The first step was a short application explaining why he should be considered, which wife Kerri Gilmour helped with. The application proved persuasive, and
he made it to the next round: going before the judges with a hand-built project to prove his skills. “You had to make something out of a four-by-eight (foot) sheet of plywood. I made that at home, and then brought it in,” he recalls. “I finally went in (to the judging room). I was the last one to go in, and I had waited hours and hours, and then you stand there in front of (the judges) Mike Holmes, Bryan Baeumler, and Scott McGillivray, and they take a look at it and tell you if they like it, what they think of it.” “Yeah, you’re pretty nervous,” he adds with a laugh. But, his skill showed in the custom toolbox that he had designed and constructed. “They told me they loved it, right off the bat, and (asked) could I make two more of them.” The first episode follows him and fellow West Coast hopefuls as they pass through the next challenge: building a functioning garden gate in just two hours and working on a complicated crown moulding project. Just four were chosen, and Wynes was among them. “Yeah, that was pretty exciting,” he said. As to how he’ll do in upcoming episodes, Wynes is mum but will say that, so far, everything has been a lot of fun. Handyman Page 4
Larry Wright//burnaby now
Competitor: Burnaby firefighter Todd Wynes is putting his handyman skills to the test in a reality show on HGTV, airing this season.
Snow: Get your angel wings by helping out a neighbour in need continued from page 1
clear, and make sure not to shovel snow into the road, as this interferes with drainage. ◆ Keep storm drains and fire hydrants clear of snow, to reduce the risk of flooding and make sure fire hydrants are accessible. ◆ Businesses are expected to remove any accumulated snow from sidewalks bordering their property by 10 a.m. on any day the business is open or the area is occupied by the public. Residents are reminded not to use warm or hot water to clear ice or snow. The city advises that people keep a shovel and a bag of salt handy in the winter, pile snow on their property when shovelling, keep an emergency kit for their homes and cars, keep children off snow piles or roadside snow banks, check on neighbours in need of assistance, and take transit during bad weather whenLarry Wright/burnaby now ever possible. The city’s priority is to keep main routes and emerSnow fun: Nigel Hummelman, 10, gets good air on a hill in gency response routes clear, bus routes and collector Cariboo Park. streets, streets near seniors’ and long-term care facili6
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ties, roads with slopes with only one outlet, and then roads near elementary schools. The city also prioritizes sidewalk cleaning, focusing on bus stops and wheelchair ramps first, then sidewalks near city facilities, and then pedestrian overpasses. For more tips, and for information on the Snow Angel program, go to www.burnaby.ca/Page767. aspx. To volunteer, or to be paired with a snow angel, contact the community representative in your area. Nick Salvatore (nick.salvatore@sd41.bc.ca) and Cynthia Gingras (Cynthia.gingras@sd41.bc.ca) are the contacts at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School. For the North Burnaby Pathfinders, email Stevans4@ shaw.ca. In Central Burnaby, contact the Kingsway Imperial Neighbourhood Association by email at info@ KINABurnaby.ca, or phone 604-786-2452. In South Burnaby, contact the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House by email at vol@sbnh.ca, or phone 604-431-0400.
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