Mother Nature throws a curve

At around 2 p.m. on April 21, Alan Bloom, a peace officer for the Town of High Prairie, called in the municipality’s front-end loader. It helped get this commercial transport unstuck on the dangerous goods route by the railway track.

Mac Olsen
South Peace News

Following the snowstorm that engulfed the Prairies, on April 22 and for days after, the community of High Prairie engaged in the task of digging out. Brian Martinson, manager of roads and facilities for the Town of High Prairie, says eight Public Works staff put in 12-hour days during the cleanup. The first priorities were the emergency service facilities such as the fire hall and hospital, emergency routes and the streets running north and south. Then the avenues and cul-de-sacs were cleared. “I want to thank the residents for putting up with us,” says Martinson. “We know we blocked some driveways, but we will get to them as fast as we can.” The snow dumpsite by the Youth Assessment Centre is at capacity, so the area north of the Mormon Church (which is located by the provincial building) is being used as the site for the excess snow. Martinson says this will be sufficient for the downtown area, and snow piled in other areas will be left to melt. He adds the municipal catch basins are open, so the risk of flooding is very slim. The Town of High Prairie budgets $180,000 annually for snow removal, says treasurer Mike Rudkin. The municipality spent $71,000 of the budget as of March 31. However, as of April 23, another $25,000 had been spent for this latest snowfall and there were still three days or more of work to do. During their meeting April 23, Councillor Dave Vanderwell commended the Department of Public Works for the job they have done. Some commercial transports struggled with the snowstorm. At around 2 p.m. April 21, Alan Bloom, a peace officer for the Town of High Prairie, came across a B-train tanker truck stuck on the dangerous goods route by the railroad track. Bloom called in the municipality’s front-end loader. It took several tries, but the truck was pulled back onto the road and resumed its journey. The following day, Bloom had to deal with complaints about illegal parking by snow banks on the streets. He issued tickets to those drivers who were blocking access to emergency vehicles. The RCMP reports an accident occurred on Highway 749 south of High Prairie, at 12:55 p.m. April 21. Snow and poor visibility caused a pick-up to rear end a tanker truck. There were no injuries, but the pickup suffered extensive damage. Carmichael’s Towing retrieved the pick-up April 22, but the company had few other calls during the three days prior, says Leon Carmichael. High Prairie Towing could not be reached for comment. Homeowners like Arnie Johansson depended on private contractors for snow removal. Rick Quartly used his son’s Bobcat machine to clear Johansson’s yard, which was filled with a couple of feet of snow. Like many people, Quartly wants to see an end to the winter. “Just hurry up and melt!” says Quartly. Johansson says this is the largest snowfall he has seen in recent memory. The snowstorm did not affect the homeless, according to Sally Hamelin, the executive director of the High Prairie Native Friendship Centre. After the centre closed at noon April 21 because a snow pile blocked the entrance, she went around the community to ensure no homeless people were wandering the streets. She did not find any. The schools did not close during the snowstorm, but the buses were not in service on April 22. Ken Riegel, the superintendent of High Prairie School Division No. 48, says there was less than full attendance. However, students who attended had the opportunity to catch up on their work, read a library book and so on.

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