TLH paving starts
By the end of this week paving of the 30 kilometres will begin on the Happy
Valley-Goose Bay end of the Trans Labrador Highway, according to the Department of Transportation.
The paving contract for the Happy Valley-Goose Bay side was awarded to North Links Contracting last year.
A spokesperson for the Department, said on the Labrador West end, a contract for 80 km of asphalt was awarded to Humber Valley Paving on June 2, 2009.
"Preparation work, including crushing and placing of road gravel, has already started and paving is anticipated to begin later this summer."
The spokesperson said paving of the entire 80 km in Labrador West is not expected to be finished until next summer.
"It is anticipated that approximately 40 km will be paved this year with pavement, but that is dependent on weather conditions."
Rail on fast track: All systems
go for Lac Bloom
Consolidated Thompson (CLM) is ready to roll on construction of its railway.
Greg Mercer, director of government relations and corporate affairs for Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines, explained the company received construction permits from the provincial government to build a 31-kilometre rail line from the Quebec border to the Route 500 junction between Labrador City and Wabush about a week ago.
"We are finalizing our contract with a company called Rockcliffe Construction Ltd, so they're going to be our general contractor and they're starting a hiring process immediately," he said in a telephone interview with the Aurora last week.
The railway is being constructed to haul ore concentrate from the Bloom Lake Iron Mine Project about 13 kilometres northwest of Fermont to Sept-Îles, QC and, Mercer noted, a conveyor will transport the ore from the mine site - about 800 metres away from the border - to the train.
Work has already begun on construction of the railway, Mercer noted, and though he admits the company has an aggressive timetable, Consolidated Thompson is confident Bloom Lake will be ready to produce ore by late 2009.
Medical officer concerned
with increase in cases
An outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in Labrador is causing concern at the regional health authority.
Muna ar-Rushdi, medical officer of health for Labrador-Grenfell Health, said there are 14 cases of TB - an infectious disease that can affect the lungs and other parts of the body - throughout northern and central Labrador right now.
The medical officer said Labrador-Grenfell Health has the resources to deal with the tuberculosis outbreak, but she admitted she is always concerned when the number of cases climbs.
She noted it's important for people do whatever they can to stay in good health and maintain a good immunity by getting lots of sleep, maintaining a well-rounded diet, exercising, restricting alcohol, and living healthy lifestyles.
A legendary miner: IOC loses
longest-serving employee
The oldest and longest-working employee at the Iron Ore Company (IOC) died July 22. Jean-Marie Goulet (75) was still employed at the time of his death, though he had been fighting cancer since 2005 when he was diagnosed with a lung tumor. The spring of 2005 was the first time Goulet left his job of operating a haulage truck because of illness.
Goulet went to work for IOC in 1957 when the company was operating its
Schefferville mine. The 23-year-old from Bellechasse, QC began with the company as an air track driller with a pay of $1.65 per hour.
"IOC will never have another employee again like Jean Goulet and the
Steelworkers will never have another member so energetic and positive," George Kean, president of USW Local 5795 said of the man who marked 52 years in the employ of IOC.
"I have never seen anyone in my lifetime who was that loyal towards his employer and so positive about life in general. He was definitely an exceptional man, in his community and in his workplace. I mean here in Labrador City you see people blocking off their property to keep ski-doos out, Jean Goulet would take down his fence to let ski-doos go through his property. That's the kind of fellow he was."
Ready for election: Wabush approves dates for nomination, advance poll
Wabush is following Lab. City's lead when it comes to the 2009 municipal
elections.
In a short council meeting Aug. 13, the Wabush town council approved four
motions regarding the Sept. 29 election keeping in line with its neighbours in Labrador City. Wabush councillors also appointed Sherry Lilly as the alternate returning officer if Martina Gale - the returning officer - isn't available on Election Day.
Councillor Terry Curran encouraged residents of Wabush to seriously consider running for town council explaining the more people who run, the better the chances are of having good, quality councillors around the table.
Lab. West in need of SPCA
Danielle Skinner said she doubts if there will ever be a SPCA in Lab. West again.
After volunteering for many years at the Happy Valley-Goose Bay [HV-GB]
SPCA, she said she doesn't think enough people in Lab. West are willing to put forward the effort needed to make it work.
"You need to raise a lot of money, find a piece of land or place to rent, get it set up, and then find the volunteers," she said. "And I mean I have been trying to raise money for years for [HV-GB SPCA] a shelter that already exists, and I am forever grateful for the people that have helped; but it's just not enough."
She said ever since she heard about the HV-GB branch she has been doing everything she can to raise money for it. But every year she is disappointed by the lack of support from Labrador City.
While she would like to start working towards bringing in a SPCA, she said can't do it by herself.
Time to go: Lab. City mayor leaving home after 37 years
There's new leadership on the way for the Town of Labrador City.
Graham Letto, the Lab. City mayor, officially announced he would not make another run for mayor's chair Aug. 25 after sitting around the council table for 20 years.
"I have mixed emotions," he admitted in a separate interview with the Aurora last Wednesday. "It's a big change. After 20 years on council, I still feel like I have something to offer."
Letto is leaving Labrador West in October to join his wife, daughter and two grandchildren in St. John's, but he expects the Town will be in good hands when he leaves. He expressed great confidence in Deputy Mayor Janice Barnes and explained she's a strong leader with an array of expertise and she'll serve the community well, if elected mayor.
He said it's going to be strange to sit on the sidelines for the Sept. 29 election, and while he knows he will miss Labrador City and the people in it, he knows it's time to move on.
In midst of upgrade, s
ewer backup damages 10 homes
Sewer problems that have been plaguing residents of Bristol Crescent and Matthew Avenue for years rose to a new height last Wednesday evening.
Ten homes sustained damages when sewer backed up into basements (mostly homes on Bristol). The Town of Labrador City is in the process of upgrading the sanitary sewer in area, but since the million-dollar project began about three weeks ago, this is the second backup.
A week into the construction by contractor CGI, four homes had sewer backup in the basements.
Pete Boland, superintendent of public works for the Town, got a call informing him of the latest and more substantial backup last Wednesday evening around 7 p.m. and he immediately went to the site with a crew.
The sanitary sewer upgrade, which is already about six weeks behind schedule, should only be set back by an extra few days in Boland's estimation.
"We still expect this project to be competed this fall," he said. "We have said from the get go, that it is to be done this fall."
Any residents who incurred any costs as a result of the sewer backup are advised to keep receipts.
New faces for LGH: Robertson, Milley appointed to regional health board
Labrador West has representation around the Labrador-Grenfell Health board once more.
Andrew Robertson and David Milley were appointed to the health authority's board of directors in July - Janice Barnes, Nick McGrath and Gary Furlong resigned their positions on the board last year - and Robertson said he has a myriad of issues he plans to bring to the table.
The board, Robertson added, also needs to examine the number of doctors in Labrador West, as well as the number of patients without a family doctor, to find out exactly how many more practitioners are needed for the area.
"The other issue I will address at that meeting is the need for dialysis," Robertson added. "A local committee was struck a few months ago to examine dialysis needs in the area. That is a two-fold issue."
First of all, he said there is no plan to have dialysis in the new hospital, which needs to be rectified, and in the meantime, he added the board should examine the possibility of installing a temporary dialysis unit in the current facility.
Robertson admits it may be costly and inefficient to set up a temporary unit, but a decision should be made.
Baker admits asphalt may not
be laid on TLH this year
Lab. West residents may not see any asphalt on the Trans Labrador Highway this fall.
MHA Jim Baker said the equipment required to start paving on the highway was due to be loaded on the Sir Robert Bond in Lewisporte, NL on Friday and is expected to arrive in town Sept. 22, but he admitted there is a chance paving could be delayed.
Baker explained the final prep work has been completed on 30 kilometres of the highway on the Lab. West end, which is the maximum residents can expect to be paved this year.
Projects, he noted, don't always go according to plan and the TLH is no different.
"It will be done over the next few years and we will have a first-class highway," he said. "We've been waiting a long time for this, so another few months won't make a big, big difference in that."
Saving Smokey: Lab. City advancing $25,000 grant to help ski hill
Labrador City is advancing its 2010 grant to Smokey Mountain to help the club open this winter.
In the Sept. 21 council meeting, Lab. City mayor Graham Letto explained the Town attended a meeting at the downhill ski club Sept. 16 where the Smokey Mountain Ski Club executive outlined the issues facing the hill to interested stakeholders.
Letto said representatives from Labrador City, Wabush and Fermont attended the meeting, as well as people from the various mining companies, at which time the executive asked Labrador City to advance its regular $25,000 donation to help pay for the lift upgrade.
Council, he pointed out, agreed to release the grant early, under certain conditions. The mayor explained the Smokey Mountain executive is in the process of compiling a five-year sustainability plan to show the hill can survive, and it's not hard to see the group is committed to the hill.
"I know the people on that executive will do whatever they can to make that hill work," he said. "I feel confident and think it's a good investment."
Residents receiving property
assessments this week
Property assessments in Labrador West are going up by more than 100 per cent.
Citizens will be receiving property assessments in the mail this week, and Sean Martin, executive director of the Municipal Assessment Agency, explained there will be an assessor in town from Oct. 5-9 to discuss any concerns residents have with their assessments.
Lab. City mayor Janice Barnes and Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador president Graham Letto said residents in Lab. West should expect significant increases on their assessments - between 130-150 per cent - but citizens shouldn't panic.
"They're obviously going to be surprised, but people are smart," Barnes said of people's reaction to the increased assessments. "They obviously know their houses are worth more now than they were a couple of years ago, but seeing the figure on paper might be a shock."
Letto said everyone in the province is in the same boat - assessments are going up everywhere - however, it's safe to say Lab. West is getting hit the hardest.
Making it official: Lab. West
councils take oath of office
The councillors in Labrador West have taken their oath of office and are ready to tackle town issues.
Labrador City held its first council meeting with the newly elected council Oct. 5 and Mayor Janice Barnes was the first to be sworn in. The rest of the councillors followed, and then the group decided Karen Oldford would become the municipality's deputy mayor.
In a separate meeting Oct. 6, the councillors in Wabush took their oath of office as well, and elected Dwayne Patey as their deputy mayor.
Counting Down: Temporary landfill could open before Christmas
There will be no more garbage burning in Labrador West in the New Year.
Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment, granted the regional waste management committee's request for an extension on the incinerator last week until the end of the calendar year or until the landfill is ready to be utilized, whichever comes first.
Jeff Boland, Lab. City town manager, said he's glad the towns received the extension, but it's likely the incinerator will be closed before Dec. 31. Boland
said there is still a lot to be worked out when it comes to the temporary landfill, but it is progressing much faster than anyone anticipated, and he's optimistic it will be used this winter.
"We're going to give it our absolute best effort to make sure it opens," he said. "We want the incinerator be shut down as much as anyone else."
Wabush wants changes to
town lighting and parking
The Wabush town council is cracking down on traffic concerns within the community. In the Oct. 27 council meeting, Coun. Jim Farrell revisited an issue outlined by former councillor Terry Curran about traffic conditions at the First Street intersection going into the Wabush Industrial Park.
In a meeting in September, Curran explained residents were taking unnecessary risks at the intersection and he feared there would be a serious accident in the area if the Town didn't act on it. He suggested putting up a no left turn sign and reducing the speed from 80 to 60 kilometres an hour, but in last week's meeting Coun. Farrell said he thinks a traffic light would be a better option.
Wabush mayor Ron Barron said last week's meeting was the first time the idea of a traffic light was suggested, but he isn't sure it's the best option. He expects a traffic light would be costly - Farrell disagrees - and thinks it may be easier to change the traffic flow by making First Street an entry only area and Second Street an exit.
The new council also talked about parking in last week's meeting, and Barron explained the RNC is issuing tickets to people who choose to park on the road. He said Wabush has a 'no parking on the street' policy between October and April, and citizens have to abide by the rule.
Critical request: Town pushing
for air ambulance in Labrador
The Town of Labrador City wants air ambulance service in the Big Land.
In the Nov. 3 council meeting, Coun. Debbie Samson said she recently spoke to a Lab. City resident who is determined to get air ambulance services in Labrador.
Peggy Mitchell, she said, waited 11 hours for a medivac in July when she went into early labour after a high-risk pregnancy. Her son, Owen, died 90 minutes after he was born.
Since then, Samson explained, Mitchell has talked to Jerome Kennedy, provincial Minister of Health, who has agreed to meet with her when he comes to Labrador West.
In a separate interview with the Aurora Nov. 4, Lab. City mayor Janice Barnes said she is proud council is taking a stand when it comes to medivac services. The Minister of Health and Labrador-Grenfell Health, Barnes said, will be contacted on the issue right away and she's hopes when the Minister comes to town - sometime soon - there will be some frank discussion on the issue.
"The hospital and air ambulance service will be on the top of our list," she said of the meeting with Kennedy. "We want the provision of air ambulance services in Labrador. It's health. It's important."
Tender for health care facility
Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services, unveiled design drawings of the new healthcare facility for Labrador West during his visit to the community on Nov. 27.
In a meeting at Labrador City Town Hall with community leaders, he announced that the Provincial Government will call the first tender the following day to begin construction on the new complex. The tender is being issued to initiate the construction of the building with the installation of foundations and structural steel, according to a government press release.
The minister calls this a significant step forward, expecting to award the tender in early winter and hoping for construction to start early spring. The tender for the remainder of the building is expected to be called during the fall of 2010, according to the government press release, and the building is expected to be finished and occupied by late 2013 or early 2014.
CIBC donation helps local hospital auxiliary raise money for equipment
Imperial Bank of Canada was the first bank to open up in Carol Lake in 1959. After 50 years of service to Labrador City, what is now known as the local branch of the CIBC is celebrating its golden anniversary.
To mark the event, CIBC donated $5,000 to the Captain William Jackman Memorial Hospital Auxiliary to buy equipment for the local hospital.
"The average business doesn't last in a community for 50 years unless they are doing some great things for the clients," says Dean Branton, CIBC General Manager. "It's all about great customer service," he adds. "And the people that work, here they live in the community and they work for the community."
He stressed the money has to be used for tourism objectives - it can't go into the operating pot of Gateway Labrador - and he thinks the board of directors of the facility will put the funding to good use.
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