Highway accident
An accident involving three vehicles in the early morning of Tuesday, January 3, near Wilde Road on Highway 101, caused Powell River RCMP to partially shut down the highway for four hours.
At about 6 am a 2008 Ford Ranger travelling south crossed the centre line of the highway and struck a 2004 Ford F-350 and a 1990 Suzuki Sidekick, both travelling north. After being hit, the F-350 lost control and flipped over; it and the Sidekick ended up in the ditch. The Sidekick caught on fire which spread to the F-350, according to Jim Brown, Northside Volunteer Fire Department chief. A member of the department happened to be driving on the highway at the time of the accident and stopped to help people out of the vehicles and extinguish the fire.
The drivers of the Ranger and Sidekick were taken to Powell River General Hospital for further examination. The driver of the Ranger was released but the male driver of the Sidekick was flown to Vancouver General Hospital for further examination of a head and arm injury.
The 56-year-old female driver of the Ranger blew in the “warn” range, between .05 and .08 blood-alcohol content, on an alcohol screening device. Police issued the woman with a three-day driving prohibition. Further charges are being looked at and police will not release the driver’s name until charges are laid.
Agreement elusive
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union Local 76 in Powell River voted to accept an early collective agreement with Catalyst Paper Corporation, but ratification of the agreement rests with one holdout local.
Four of the five locals that had to accept the agreement voted in favour of it, while Crofton’s local rejected the agreement. All five, plus the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC) Local 2 in Crofton, need to accept the agreement in order for it to pass. PPWC has yet to vote on the agreement.
Local 76 president Mike Verdiel said he could not discuss the details of the agreement while it remains on the table. If the Crofton local once again rejects the agreement it will be off the table and negotiations will have to begin again.
The Crofton local will be re-voting on the agreement on Monday, January 9. Verdiel speculated they are having a re-vote because union officials feel a lack of information, and perhaps some misinformation, caused the first agreement to be rejected.
“So now they will have had more time to think about it, look at the deal in more detail and make a more informed decision,” said Verdiel, “but I can’t say how it’s going to go.”
The agreement is coming early at the request of Catalyst, which is in the midst of restructuring its finances as it struggles to pay off interest on debt or face default. Powell River voted on Wednesday, December 28.
Run
Johnathan Richardson, originally from Powell River, has completed his run to raise money for cancer research in the name of his friend Rebecca Pauls, who is fighting cervical cancer for the second time.
Richardson and two friends, one in Australia and one in Sweden, each committed to run a total of 333 kilometres, with the goal of raising $333 in pledges for a total of 1,000 kilometres and $1,000.
The four friends met at University of the Fraser Valley. At the time, Pauls had already battled one round of cervical cancer. By September 2010 Pauls’ cancer had returned.
As of December 30, 2011, Richardson reported he had run 333.7 kilometres and broken his fundraising goal by raising $468. The money raised by each friend is going toward cancer research in their home country. The money Richardson has raised is going to the Canadian Cancer Society.
