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Vol. 90 Issue 30 • Wednesday, July 24, 2013 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 •
PM40036531
Nakusp council and businesses ask Hydro for outage answers CLAIRE PARADIS Arrow Lakes News
The power outage on Friday, July 5 did more than interrupt refrigeration units in Nakusp, it broke the cool of many local business owners. In a recent open letter to BC Hydro, the Nakusp and District Chamber of Commerce put the question of why an outage, which had been in planning stages since May, had been scheduled for business hours in the busy tourist month of July. “It would be greatly appreciated if BC Hydro would support the community by taking business concerns into consideration when scheduling power outages in the future,” reads the letter. BC Hydro representative Mary Anne Coules told the Arrow Lakes News that Hydro is aware that planned outages are an inconvenience, but said they do take place across the province during normal business hours. The outage on July 5 took place so that a crew could install marker balls on lines and paint power poles with safety colours for the safety of helicopters flying to and from Arrow Lakes Hospital. “We do recognize that these planned outages are an inconvenience, and do our best to minimize any impacts and accommodate the
affected communities whenever possible,” Coules stated in an email. The rep’s reply to why the work couldn’t have been scheduled earlier was that the work could not be safely completed in the dark and had to be done during daylight hours. “The outage was originally scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to noon,” said Coules, who noted it was later rescheduled to take place earlier, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. “Our crews did a great job in completing this work on schedule, and power was restored four minutes ahead of schedule,” she said. Hydro crews coordinated work needing to be done in the area so that the power only went out for four hours. “The work that was done during the fourhour outage was a significant undertaking,” Coules told the Arrow Lakes News. “During the four-hour planned outage, there were two line crews working in Nakusp, five power line technicians in New Denver, and 11 power line technicians at the Monashee substation.” Although Coules stated that the procedure for notifying customers and elected officials and advertising an upcoming outage were followed, Nakusp council also decided to write a letter to Hydro requesting that communication about planned power outages be improved. Nakusp mayor Karen Hamling said she was surprised that the initial consul-
tation about the outage in May had been followed up with only an email notification on June 25 that the outage would be on July 5. When asked if Hydro had considered building redundancy in the grid so that power outages might affect fewer people in Nakusp,
New Denver and Silverton for shorter periods of time, Coules only responded that the overall reliability of Nakusp’s power is comparable to other rural regions across the province that also experience unplanned power outages.
Hot new bridge
The Nakusp Hot Spring footbridge is now open, and ready to be explored. An official opening celebration will be taking place August 17. Claire Paradis/Arrow Lakes News
RCMP files: plexiglass theft, boat stripped of motors, and lake patrol CLAIRE PARADIS Arrow Lakes News
A long list of charges for impaired car thief At 2:30 a.m. last Wednesday, officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the Fairview area. Officers immediately arrived on scene and located the stolen auto with two male occupants attempting to flee the area. The vehicle was stopped roadside and both occupants were arrested. The male driver, a 36-yearold resident of Nakusp displayed symptoms of impairment by alcohol. The male passenger, a 34-year-old Nelson resident, was well known to NPD officers. The driver was returned to the downtown headquarters where he refused to provide a breath sample
as directed. The driver is currently facing a raft of charges including theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, impaired driving, refusal to provide a breath sample, driving while disqualified and driving while prohibited. He is scheduled to appear in Nelson Court in September. The passenger faces a charge of possession of stolen property. Plexiglass pulled from Fauquier Someone has taken off with the plexiglass covering the bulletin board at the Fauquier mailboxes. On July 14 the Nakusp RCMP were advised that the items – estimated replacement cost of $400 – had been stolen. Please contact the Nakusp RCMP or Crimestoppers if you have any information regarding this incident.
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Stolen boat found stripped in Burton An abandoned boat was noticed at the Burton boat launch, and on July 17 the Nakusp RCMP received news that a red and grey 2012 Harbercraft 2025 HHT was at the launch. Stripped of two outboards and all other contents and electronics, the boat is registered to someone who is not a local resident. The boat was determined to have been stolen from a summer home in Silverton, B.C. sometime during the previous week. When police questioned neighbours in the area, they learned that the boat was seen being towed away at around 7 a.m. by a beigecoloured full-size pickup. Missing from the boat is a Yamaha 150 hp 4 stroke outboard,
a 9.9hp four-stroke outboard, electric downriggers, and the entire steering and drive assembly. If you have any information regarding this theft, please contact the Nakusp or Slocan Lake RCMP, or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222TIPS. Lake patrol finds boaters falling short On July 14, the Slocan Lake RCMP were out conducting marine enforcement patrols on Slocan Lake between Silverton and New Denver, B.C. Several pleasure crafts and personal water crafts were checked for safety equipment, operator competency card compliance, and impaired operation. Most of the vessels didn’t measure up to the required safety equipment under the Canada Shipping Act and small vessel
regulations, and several boat operators were issued warnings and directed back to shore until deficiencies were addressed. The RCMP would like to remind boaters to be prepared and safe while on the water. Operating or permitting a person to operate a non-human powered pleasure craft without personal floatation device or lifejacket of appropriate size for each person on board carries a fine of $230, with an additional $115 for each additional missing floatation device. Inflatable PFDs must be worn. Also, operating or allowing a person to operate a pleasure craft without an operator card, or failing to have competency on board vessel, comes with a fine $287.50 if stopped by the RCMP. -with files from R.A.Fehler, Corporal, Nakusp/Slocan Lake RCMP
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