A scene from last year's youth soccer tournament. Kelli Dunne photo.

By: Chuck Jensen, director of community services

The golf course opened on April 26 with temporary greens, along with the driving range, and the permanent greens will be available soon. I would encourage everyone to go play a round of golf, or even better pick up a yearly membership.

As many people know, the golf course manager this year is returning pro Burke Lauder. Burke was born and raised in Dawson Creek where he attended and graduated from high school in 1997. Burke started a golf apprenticeship at Lone Wolf golf course in Taylor in 1988, and successfully completed the CPGA playing ability test in the summer of 1999. Continue reading →

By: Matt Treit, Fire Chief

The month of April was a slower than usual month for the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department which responded to only eleven calls for assistance during that time. These included four reports of ringing fire alarms, four First Responder calls, one grass fire, one chimney fire, and one report of a gas leak.

Firefighter Dwayne Fry practices a leg lock into a ladder during a practice in April. TRFD photo.

Training in April included the topics of initial attack, forcible entry, fire extinguishers, class B foam, and First Responder training. Congratulations to deputy Diana Vandale, and firefighters Doug Beale, Ian Leach, Mike Thibodeau, Cristal Bertrand, Dustin Curry, Brandon Braam, Dwayne Fry, Russell Colbourne, Darcey Knittle, and probationary firefighters Steve Tory and Chris Dell who all achieved 100 per cent attendance at practices during that month.

Additional congratulations go to firefighter Dustin Curry who completed his NFPA 1001 training as well as his completing his written and practical apparatus operator evaluations. NFPA 1001 is the Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications. This is a very significant event as it marks the first time in ten years that a firefighter has completed this level of training while a member of the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department. Continue reading →

By: Chuck Jensen, director of community services

Our manager, Burke Lauder, is back, and the Tumbler Ridge golf course is getting closer to opening. I took a walk out on the course over the weekend and the snow is going.

It looked like an early start compared to last year, but we ended up with snow on April 13 and 14, which set us back a bit. I’m looking forward to getting out on the course and among other things renewing my golf challenge with my partner, my son, versus Councillor Rob Mackay and his son.

Last year they beat us on the third extra hole. The bet was, if they win, I have to wear a Maple Leafs jersey, and, well, we lost. Memberships to the golf course can still be purchased at the Community Centre as well as the golf course when it opens. Continue reading →

WAITING THEIR TURN: Turbine blades destined for the Quality Wind Project in Tumbler Ridge sit on flatbed rail cars in Rycroft, Alberta on Sunday (April 22). The blades – some 44 metres long, others 49 metres long – are being stored in Rycroft until they’re required for assembly. In all, there are 237 blades to be installed in the project’s 79 towers. Trucking the blades to Tumbler Ridge is expected to take place in mid-June. Jennifer Clark photo.

        DROPPING IN: Tumbler Ridge resident Yann Bourdon starts on a telemark ski descent of Mt. Murray on Sunday (April 22). The 1,780-metre tall mountain, located north of Powder King in the Pine Pass, is found within a popular area for backcountry snowmobiling, and to a lesser extent, skiing. Greg Amos photo.

Golf pro Burke Lauder is back at the Tumbler Ridge golf course. Kelli Dunne photo.

With the aquatic centre, ice arena, and curling rink closed, what’s left open at the community centre?

The aquatic centre is closed for April for cleaning and maintenance. Staff will do everything to get the facility re-opened as soon as possible – thank you for your understanding. The ice arena and curling rinks are closed for the season, and are expected to re-open in September.

How about the daycare centre, youth centre, seniors corner, the courts, meeting rooms, the Rock Pit gym, the upstairs playground, community centre programs, and of course, the Tumbler Ridge library?

All of these remain open and active at the community centre. People can get more information on the community centre facilities, including booking the courts or meeting rooms, the community centre or private programs available, by checking the District of Tumbler Ridge website, dropping in to the community centre and talking to our programmer or front office staff, or by phoning the community centre at 250-242-4246. Continue reading →

The Chetwynd Fire Department works on a controlled blaze Tuesday evening (April 10) near the local post office. They wish to inform residents that more controlled burns will be occurring over the spring. Liz Brown / Chetwynd Echo photo.

By: Greg Amos, editor

New boulders now line the bed of Gwillim River as a result of recent worked aimed at putting in a new bridge at Gwillim Lake Provincial Park, seen in this picture taken today (April 8). A 500-metre section of the river, just upstream of the lake, has been shaped and armoured with rocks prior to a new single-lane bridge being put into place. As the channel is spawning habitat for rainbow trout, it was important to ensure it was stabilized prior to putting in the new bridge. The park, closed for most of last summer due to a culvert washout that cut off the access road, remains set to open for the May long weekend. Greg Amos photo.

Austin Robertson, 11, jumped into the Easter break by taking his pogo stick to the snow-free steps of town hall on Friday morning (March 6), where his friends later joined him to try out some stunts. Greg Amos photo.

By: Bob Zimmer, Prince George – Peace River MP

As I’m sure you have heard, our Conservative government recently introduced Economic Action Plan 2012 – a positive plan to grow Canada’s economy for today and into the future.

Our economy has emerged from the global recession much better than other industrialized countries. With the help of our government’s low-tax agenda and Canada’s Economic Action Plan, since July 2009, Canada has created over 610,000 net new jobs.

In fact, independent international observers like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predict Canada will be at the head of the G-7 pack in economic growth for the years ahead. Continue reading →

If the Tumbler Ridge swimming pool was still full of water, community centre worked Chris Moir would be in up to his chest. Draining the pool is crucial to complete the painstaking work of re-grouting the spaces between each of the several thousand one square inch tiles that line the pool’s walls and floor. The pool’s heat exchanger is also being replaced, and de-scaling solution will be used to clean out the gutters around the pool’s perimeter. Greg Amos photo.

By: Chuck Jensen, director of community services

The Tumbler Ridge Aquatic Centre will be closed for much of April. Staff will be doing everything possible to re-open as soon as possible. It is important though to close to completely clean the insides of the main pool, leisure pool, and hot tub.

The drains get cleaned as do the lines and sand filters. All of this is important for human health. On top of the cleaning, the inside of the pool will have the old grouting removed and replaced with new. Maintenance staff tell me this is the first time we are having professional re-grouting in twenty years.

We are also having a heat exchanger in the Aquatic Center replaced. The heat exchanger was leaking dramatically and costing the facility a great deal of money in lost glycol. I recognize it would be nice if we did not have to close the facility, but cleaning and fixing can only take place with the facility closed. Continue reading →

Firefighter Don Ross practices an auto extrication procedure during a fire department practice last month. TRFD photo.

By: Matt Treit, Fire Chief

March was a little slower than average with the Tumbler Ridge Fire Department (TRFD) responding to only ten calls that month.

Of those ten calls, seven were First Responder calls, two were for ringing fire alarms, and one was for a motor vehicle fire. Training in the month of March included the topics of CPR, First Responders, Rope and Pulley systems, and auto-extrication.

Congratulations to deputy Diana Vandale, and firefighters Dustin Curry, Don Ross, Brandon Braam, Russell Colbourne, and Darcey Knittle who all achieved 100 per cent attendance at training sessions in the month of March. Continue reading →

By: Chuck Jensen, director of community services

The community centre and our front office staff continues to act as the information centre for activities throughout Tumbler Ridge and area.

Over the winter, community centre staff, despite such a mild winter, were busy answering questions about skidoo trails, ski trails, and other winter activities in Tumbler Ridge.

People were also interested in the bands being booked for Grizfest 2012, the Emperor’s Challenge, the dinosaur museum, the many waterfalls, the golf course, and more. The responsibility for providing information to our visitors will again be moved back to the Tumbler Ridge Visitor Information Centre as of early May. Continue reading →