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Overtime answers not coming from city EDITORIAL 6

Thursday, October 11, 2018 | Your community newspaper since 1916

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Speed Candi-dating All city council and mayoral candidates got to chat with potential voters on Wednesday evening during the Speed Candi-dating event that was held at the Bob Harkins branch of the Prince George Public Library.

Drunk driver faces big bill Pipeline explosion prompts gas shortage for crashing truck into arena Citizen staff/Citizen news service In the wake of Tuesday’s natural gas pipeline explosion north of Prince George, Canfor has closed two of its nearby pulp and sawmill facilities while natural gas customers in many parts of B.C., as well as Washington state and Oregon, are being asked to conserve energy. Northwood Pulp Mill was on the doorstep of the explosion, but, said company spokesperson Michelle Ward, “Northwood did not sustain any structural damage.” “Both our Northwood and Prince George Pulp and Sawmill have been shut down due to the gas supply being turned off,” said Ward. “Our Intercontinental Pulp Mill is continuing to operate with the use of alternate fuels.” Ward added that the employees of Northwood and Prince George Pulp and Sawmill were, despite the shutdown, “continuing to work. They are performing maintenance or other activities.” The blast shut down the Enbridge natural gas pipeline about 15 kilometres northeast of Prince George. There were no reports of injuries. Up to 700,000 natural gas customers in northern B.C., the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island could be directly affected by a potential natural gas shortage, a spokesman for Fortis BC said in Vancouver on Wednesday. Washington state’s Puget Sound Energy urged its 750,000 natural gas customers to lower their thermostats and limit hot water use. Terry Teegee, Assembly of First Nations

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regional chief, said he’s still shaken by what he witnessed outside his home on the Lhedli T’enneh First Nation reserve near the site of the explosion. He said the blast sounded like a huge rumbling train or low-flying jet passing over his roof. Teegee said he saw a 60-metre fireball in the near distance and the impact showered him with dirt. “When we were outside, I could feel the debris fall in my hair,” he said. “It was the ground or whatever that exploded. You could hear it start dropping. I thought it might have been hail, but it wasn’t. It was dirt. It was in my hair.” Teegee, whose home is about one kilometre from the site, said he and most members of the community of about 100 people spent the night in hotels or with friends. Enbridge spokesman Michael Barnes said in a statement Wednesday the explosion is the result of a rupture on a 91-centimetre section of the pipeline, causing natural gas being transported to be ignited. “We can advise the fire on the pipeline has been extinguished, the line has been isolated and fully depressurized, Barnes said. ”As a precaution, an adjacent natural gas pipeline owned and operated by Enbridge has also been depressurized.“ He said Enbridge recognizes the impact the explosion could have on customers, but the company can’t speculate when the gas will start flowing again. Teegee said area Indigenous leaders met Wednesday with Enbridge officials but left the meeting with unanswered questions about pipeline infrastructure. — see ‘THIS IS A UNIQUE, page 3

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Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

A man who crashed his truck into the side of Rolling Mix Concrete Arena while driving drunk could find himself paying near $40,000 for the damage he caused. Crown prosecution is seeking an order for $38,983.11 in restitution from Wyatt Stralak, 23, for the Aug. 31, 2017 incident. Prosecution is also seeking 30 days in jail and a one-year driving prohibition, the court heard during a sentencing hearing Wednesday. Stralak was arrested shortly after RCMP responded to a call at about 1 a.m. He was found on Dominion Street about 100 metres away, unsteady on his feet and bleeding from a cut to his head. When he saw police, he raised his hands but denied he was involved in an accident and then sat down in the middle of the road while an ambulance was called to the scene. Police traced a trail of blood back to the truck where it was found that only the driver’s side airbag had deployed. While accompanying Stralak in the ambulance to the hospital, an officer noticed red marks along his left shoulder consistent with the colour of the vehicle. The tread on his shoes matched the tracks police found going away from the truck, the court was also told. Police determined he had been heading northeast along Patricia Boulevard when he failed to negotiate the slight left turn. He hopped over two curbs, ran over a yield sign and along the lawn before crashing through the arena’s southwest

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brick wall. He later told police he had been driving a truck owned by his brother-in-law’s best friend and had taken it without permission. Stralak’s hometown was Kamloops at the time but he now lives in Quebec City. Roughly three hours after his arrest, Stralak blew .200 and .180 on the breathalyzer. From that and taking into account his height and weight, police extrapolated that his blood alcohol level was in the range of .228 to .255 at the time of the crash. Stralak eventually pleaded guilty to driving with a blood-alcohol limit over .08 under the Criminal Code and driving while prohibited under the Motor Vehicle Act. If the full amount prosecution is seeking for restitution is approved, the city will get $10,000 to cover the deductible and the insurer will get the remaining $28,983.11. Stralak has no criminal record, but the severity of the damage combined with the high blood-alcohol reading warrants time in custody, prosecutor Siobhan Greenfield argued. By October 2017, the city had placed some heavy-duty artwork on the lawn Stralak had driven across. Made out of carved granite and twisted steel, it depicts three balloons on a string, fallen back to the ground after floating during a celebration to symbolize the end of the Canada Winter Games and the city’s 100th anniversary. The project budget was $48,000. The sentencing hearing continues Friday at the Prince George courthouse.

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