RIVERS
BANNER October 2, 2015
ersary v i n Celebrating our 107th An
Gazette-Reporter Serving the Rivers, Rapid City and Oak River areas for 106 years
Volume 108, Issue 13
89¢ + tax
Viterra gives $250,000
By Sheila Runions Banner Staff
S
hock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) has a 30-year history in Alberta and a three-year history in Manitoba. The bright red helicopters have flown more than 30,000 missions and last year alone (August 2014-July 2015) were dispatched 3,084 times; more than 300 of those flights were in Manitoba. In Alberta the organization is three-quarters funded by the people, in Saskatchewan it’s a 50/50 split of government and people while Manitoba is primarily government funded — only four per cent is received in donations in Manitoba. Viterra is hoping to change those numbers so less money comes from taxpayers and more from individual/corporate sponsors. The company has given $250,000 to STARS’ second largest fundraiser — its annual calendar campaign. While calendars are sold as early as July, it wasn’t until Sept. 23 that Viterra made its official announcement; locally, the partnership was promoted on Thursday, Sept. 24. Forrest’s customer appreciation day was the perfect
opportunity for people to meet a STARS representative to hear first-hand information about the organization. STARS’ Face to Face campaign manager Brock Baloug is “excited about the relationship; that’s what Face to Face is all about. STARS would not exist without the people and we’re visiting all 57 Viterra locations to do public presentations and raise awareness. Well, 10 of them are public like today; the other 47 we’ll go in quietly and explain to Viterra staff what we do and how we work. “Usually you get stuff in the mail [thanking you for support] but we wanted to celebrate Viterra stepping up as our largest single supporter ever of the
calendar, so that’s why we’re doing the Face to Face. Viterra is a major print sponsor of our calendar, which has been going for 22 years. They made a quarter-million dollar investment. They have not only given us that quarter-million dollars, but also more profit comes to STARS because we’re not paying that printing expense, and Viterra is also including us in their distribution network.” According to Viterra’s website, the company “has the largest global network of marketing offices… distribution and an unrivaled marketing reach.” Baloug says STARS completes “a lot of missions outside of cities so this is a good partnership because 70 per cent of
our sales come from outside of cities. We have a team of door-to-door sales staff and volunteers or you can order your calendar online and pick it up at any of the 57 Viterra locations in the Prairies. (We will mail if we need to, but we prefer not to because that’s less profit for us.) You might not think it, but a $30 calendar supports a mission — the power of tiny goes a long way.” Viterra surveyed employees about causes important to them and STARS ranked very high so the decision makers began looking at unique ways to become involved with STARS. “Sponsoring the calendar was a great fit for us given our rural presence and our ability to
sell them through our elevator network,” says Peter Flengeris, corporate affairs. STARS now has 11 helicopters and all are equipped with night vision — they are the only air ambulances with this special feature. STARS also has a new helicopter, the AW139, which has an automatic de-icer on the propeller blades. There are six base stations (Calgary, Edmonton, Grand Prairie, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg) which operate 24-7; calendars are available until February but will only be in Viterra offices until Dec. 11. While purchasing a calendar is ultimately a donation, Canada Revenue Agency does not consider it charitable because you receive something for your money. To give to STARS and receive a tax receipt, cash only donations must be made; you may do this online (stars.ca) or through the bulk mailing received in Rivers last week.
Tracking train troubles = timely turnarounds? By Sheila Runions Banner Staff
T
rain traffic in Rivers has caused significant delays for years; both Rivers and Daly councils have lobbied in the past, and now Riverdale Municipality in present, to Canadian National Railway. In mid-July this reporter noticed one poster in Rivers which was a photocopy of Rail Safety rules. The poster resembled an ordinary letter, no colour, no graphics — nothing to make it obvious and catch your attention. Its two opening lines “Canadian Rail Operation Rules, 103 Public Crossing at Grade” were bolded but not in
large print. The rest of the page then reads, “d) Except at those public crossings indicated in special instruction, no part of a movement may be allowed to stand on any part of a public crossing at grade for a longer period than five minutes when vehicular or pedestrian traffic requires passage. Switching operations at such crossing must not obstruct vehicular or pedestrian traffic for a longer period than five minutes at a time. When emergency vehicles require passage, employees must co-operate to quickly clear the involved crossing.”
The “poster” then provided an example of what information is required by CN Police and gave contact information. It states, “IF blocked, take notes… report to CN Police and/or Rail Safety. IF you drive around the train and not report it, CN thinks there is no problem, CN thinks there is no problem, CN thinks there is no problem.” Information requested is the date, time (24-hour clock, not a.m. and p.m.), location (144.60 Rivers Sub — the crossing west of Rivers, not the one in town), car number blocking the track, when the train stopped, when it
began moving again and what time the crossing was cleared so traffic could actually move. They also ask you to do the math and tell them how many minutes the train was stopped on the tracks and for how long the crossing was blocked. You are then supposed to email information to railsafety@tc.gc.ca or call them at 613-998-2985. You can also call CN Police directly, at 1-800-617-6617. Since this public posting, this reporter has kept record of her troubles with the train there (I’ve also waited in-town as well, to reach/leave the recyc-
ling depot) and on Aug. 7 a call was made to CN Police. I was told the crew was changing and nothing could be done to speed up that process; I took back roads after a 20-minute wait without action. Later that same day (when coming back home to Rivers), I was pleasantly surprised when it was exactly five minutes from the time the arms dropped to the time the arms raised when a train was passing through. On Aug. 24, it was a 23-minute wait, and the train was stopped for who knows how long before I reached the crossing. Continued on page 2