VEHICLE INSPECTION BLITZ — Trucks, cars hauled off road CURSES FLEW, traffic slowed, and unsafe vehicles were hauled off the road last week, By the end of the five- day inspection blitz; some 228 vehicles were deemed defec-’ tive, with: some of them condemned and the .- ‘rest, awaiting expensive repairs. : ~ It was the. biggest campaign of its s type a here in four years, ~ RCMP officers from the northwest and as: far: Le -away as Prince George and Quesnel joined motor: vehicle inspectors, Conservation officers and dan- gerous goods’ inspectors for the event. - Even radio licence inspectors and forest s ser- vice timber cruisers were present. , They checked 5, 436 vehicles, both private and commercial, = * Out of the 228 found defective, 81 required repairs before they were allowed to move, and it of them were towed, ; More than half of: the defective vehicles « were commercial trucks, 54 of which required i imme- diate repairs. * Roughly five per cent lof the private and com- mercial vehicles checked ¥ were defective. “There was just over 95 per. cent com- * pliance,” said. Cpl. James Pollock, “Which is, excellent, ‘T-want to commend everybody on. show * awe bet: well their vehicles are maintained.” Enforcement officers: laid “340 charges" ‘in total, about 83 of which were for major defects. Faults included major frame cracks, failed steering, brakes and suspension. Logging trucks that were found to be over weight. were offloaded on the. spot — at the “expense of the contractor. ; A number of trucks. did not have their log books i in order.» Several failed to conduct pre-tripn mechanical ; inspections. “There was just over 95 per cent compliance. Which is excellent. I want to com- mend everybody on how well their vehicles are maintained.” Some had no insurance. And six were charged for illegally hauling dangerous goods - . dynamite in one case. woe Northwest, Loggers Association. vice-presi:, boy s dt Rick Sallenback said: he “did't ‘think: the - MASS INSPECTIONS of private and commercial vehicles were carried out here last week. Above, a man watches as his car, deemed unsafe, Is towed away. At left, a trucker watches as’a motor vehicle inspector writes up a list of defects, The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 15, 1995 - AS eens oe eee eee | News In Brief Reformers eye hopefuls PROVINCIAL REFORMERS have two men, both from Terrace, interested in running for the party in the Skeena riding in the next election. Constituency president Ron Town said last week a nominating committee is checking out personal and finan- cial information submitted by the two as required by the Reform party. Included in the process is a criminal records check. A Kitimat resident has also taken out papers but, as of last week, hadn’t returned them, said Town. Potential candidates have until Nov. 24, one week prior to the constituency association’s nomination meeting, to file their papers, “Tt takes at least a week for the com- mittee to do the checks,’’ said Town, More than 400 members are eligible to vote at the Dec, 1 nomination meeting. Members who joined after a 30-day clock began ticking down to the nomination date aren’t al- lowed to vote. Town did say that all members are now being polled by the party four times a year so it can get a better idea on de- veloping Reform policy. Postal outlet abandoned — “CANADA POST has cancelled for now plans to add an- “+. other outlet in the area. Canada Post officiat Lutz Budde said it has tried without . Success to find a business in Thornhill that would start up a. “commercial outlet in that area. members. = “T don’t think so,” he said. “If they. have eve- ' rything up to date, they can be out of there’ in about 30 seconds.” He. said he’ 8 convinced most truckers are careful and safe, © *But there are some just bad actors sneaking - around out there,” he said. “And I can’t think of any other way these guys can catch them.” One Hazelton area logging truck driver didn’t take his failed vehicle inspection easily, Pollock said the truck was condemned at the weigh scales and ordered to undergo full inspec- tion in town, where it again failed to pass the test: - The driver jumped, back in his truck and-ran. Pollock said RCMP were forced to set up a road- block to catch them man. Pollock said charges are © pending against the ; truck. driver, ‘And a 73-year-old Terrace man could only watch and shake his head as inspectors peeled the - licence plate off his ancient Mazda and towed the car away. Inspectors predicted i it would be condemned, ' A disconnected left front brake, exhaust system hanging by wires, and failed suspension were just. “the start ofa long list of defects they’d identified. _ Asked what he would do for transportation, oid’ . » ‘We're staying as we are. I’m not prepared to do any- thing right now but if somebody docs come up with the right place, we’d definitely look at.it,”’ he said. ’ The area lost one of its two commercial outlets earlier this. year, That leaves just the main Canada Post office downtown and the commercial outlet at the Terrace Co-op. Photo radar a bit behind . PLANS TO introduce photo radar units are a bit behind. schedule, says one of the RCMP officers workiig on the provincial government project. Sgt. Alex Campbell says the delays aren’t major and won't affect the overall plan to buy 30 of the units, The. . units take photos of vehicle licence plates after being trig- gered when those vehicles exceed the speedlimit. Campbell said two of.the units are to be based in Prince. George and used throughout the north, Potential locations _ are being sought and they will be evaluated to determine if . it is worthwhile to position a unit there regularly. © Bank helps UNBC THE ROYAL BANK Is establishing a $150, 000 endow: ment to help buy books and other material for the Univer. 7 sity of Northern British Columbia’s library. : “The endowment will ensure that the collection stays current and can meet the needs of all of our users — stu- dents, faculty and the general public — in the future,”” sald university jibrarian Pat Appavoo, . - ‘The Royal Bank’s contribution is the largest to date. ~: Other contributions have come from the B.C. Professional ; . Foresters Association and the Provincial Chapter of the | : ¢ Imperial Order. of. Daughters, .of “tie Empire.’ Neatly’ $220, 000 has been raised to ‘date for ifbrary purchases. ees ‘Are you wondering where you can - find one of a kind Christmas gifts? Weil look no further, and | joint us jor a fun filled weekend.