oer ieee pha peg, ars er ati MPS BASS EEE UE err ESR work one “assault. > Powerline What may have seemed like a little innocent target practice at the time has turned into a night- mare for a Stewart man. Last November, 20-year-old Dennis Olyniyk pled guilty to wilful damage. The judge handed down a two-year suspended sentence, placed him on probation for two years, ordered him to perform 100. hours: community service work,- and told” him: to ‘pay $34,000 in restitution to B.C. . Hydro for the damage he caused. The incident of . vandalism occurred cast of Stewart on July 25,1990, when Olynyk used a ' 22 calibre rifle to shoot out $20 insulators holding up high volt- age hydro-clectric transmission lines. As a result, the trans- mission lines fell to the ground, knocked out power in Stewart for several hours and caused a forest fire. B.C. Hydro field production manager Nick Stevens says it ‘cost about $14,000 to put the fire out, $4,000 for helicopters, $1,500 for contracting extra 10 _ Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 29, 1992 ; | ; m potshots | cost shooter $34,000 vehicles, $3,400 for materials which included a new power pole, and around $12,000 in as wages and overtime: for a B.C. Hydro repair crew. Not included in the restitution . order, he says, was a day-and-a- half worth of fuel to operate the # diesel generating plant at Stewart while the repairs were [ie made. Olynyk’s arrest and conviction | . is a good example of the effec- | tiveness of offering rewards to find vandals, says a B.C. Hydro official, B.C. Hydro paid out $2,500 in reward money for Olynyk’s name and RCMP were able to match .22 calibre casings found at the scene with Olynyk’s rifle. B.C. Hydro’s reward program recognizes people who provide information "leading to positive identification of persons wilfully damaging insulators, power lines and equipment". Incidents may be reported to the nearest B.C. Hydro office or RCMP detach- ment. 7 The following convictions took place in Terrace adult "Monday, January 6 Kelly Brenton Lund was sen- tenced to six months in jail and placed on probation for two years for assaulting a police officer. co Frederick Abou was fined $700 ‘and given an 18-month driver's licence suspension for driving with’ a blood alcohol content over the legal limit. Thomas Michael Schulmeister _ was sentenced to 14 days in jail and given a one-year driver's licence suspension for driving with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit. Wednesday, January 8 Jean-Paul Normand Lavallee. | ‘was sentenced to six months in jaii for breaking and entering -and committing an indictable offense. ‘Thursday, January 9 Ariene Maxime Moore was ~ “gentericed to 14 days in jail and _ placed on probation for one year ‘for assaulting a police officer. Oscar Dennis was given sus- | pended jail sentences and placed ‘on probation for one’ yeat for “ each of two counts of assault. Keith ‘David Sandhals - was "given two-year suspended jail - seniences and ordered to perform - 28 hours of commuriity service ich of elght counts of criminal court on the dates indicated according to information _ provided by the court registry. _ Rodney Darrell Kerr was fined $250 for theft and $250 for committing mischief in relation to property. Marvin Grant Quock was fined $250 for obstructing a police officer. . Friday, January 10 Marvin Herbert Russell was fined $300 for assault. Kelvin Arthur Wood was fined $450 and given a one-year driver’s licence suspension for driving with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit. © Claude Jean Lebel was fined $500 and given a_ one-year driver’s licence suspension for impaired driving. Charles Leonard Richard Powers was fined $200 and placed on probation for six months for assault causing bod- ily harm. ; Elizabeth Louise Stokes was fined $400 and given a one-year driver’s licence suspension for driving with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit. Tuesday, January 14 Tracy Lee Teschner was fined $400 and given a one-year driver’s licence suspension for driving with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit. Gerald Jacques Chapdelaine was fined $300 for assault. A latticework of metal was being covered up bys Lucky Dollar Bingo Palace by Riverside Park a few due to the popularity of bingo in the Terrace area, heet metal workers at the site of the new days ago, The new structure is required but the work didn't go ahead until a bizarre series of zoning changes took place. — Ambitious upgrade in Hydro’s Terrace plans TERRACE = Rotted poles, cracked insulators and old wires are accidents waiting to happen. from B.C. Hydro’s point of view, and the utility is planning extensive work in the Terrace area for 1992 to replace aging equipment and structures before they become hazards. "We know where these things are," says: Roy Staveley, Terrace area manager for Hydro. "Many ‘poles are due for replacement, right-of-way maintenance is due in many areas. We've got a big budget this summer, and it should improve service consider- ably.” Hydro announced this month that one part of the program — replacing 50 poles and 26 spans of high-voltage power line in Terrace and Kitimat — is already under way and should be finished by mid-March. The Terrace work is taking place on Walsh and Loen avenues, Kalum Lake Drive and along Highway 16. Staveley said it is most economical for crews to replace all the components — poles, line and insulators — in each loca- tion rather than one item at a time, and it also minimizes power disruptions for customers. At the same time, he added, elements in the electrical dis- tribution system can be improved to allow for future expansions in capacity. Other items being slotted for replace- ment include cut-outs and trans- formers. _ Right-of-way maintenance Is also in the works, a process that mainly involves tree trimming and brush removal. Staveley said the volume of power outages during December in the area surprised and worried the utility, and he believes that taking out potential interference from ¢n- croaching vegetation will improve service. The mainten- ance is done in four-year cycles, he said, and is now due. The process in this area requires about 18 months. ; Most of the power interrup- ES CI ADS TET RTE a8 SPAR Bt tions were caused by trees and branches cotlapsing under heavy, wet snow and falling on power lines. , _ Another concern for Hydro is copper conductor power lines, which Staveley says are an old design. The remaining copper lines in ‘the Terrace-Kitimat system are coming to the end of their-useful life: and - due ‘for aluminum Staveley with lines. . replacement conductor explains that copper becomes brittle as it ages and becomes vulnerable to breakage under strains like snow and ice loading or high winds. The aluminum lines, he said, are lighter and more flexible. . Another concern over which Hydro has less control is what. Staveley terms “danger trees". They are trees on private prop- erty that have grown too close to power lines and could at some point damage the lincs and either interrupt the power supply to individual houses. or larger areas, or even pose a danger to people. Under some circumstances, Staveley said, a tree in contact with a power line could become energized without knocking out power. When that happens, anyone coming in contact.with the tree could bé shocked or even electrocuted, He urges property owners and residents to be aware of tree growth in the vicinity of power lines and take appropriate steps. to make sure they stay clear of the lines. In summarizing the work ahead, Staveley remarked, "When you add it all up, we’re going to be left with a good system after this is finished." Odd weather sets stage for big power failure A strange set of weather condi- tions uncovered an elusive prob- lem Jan. 8 that was cause for a brief power outage affecting 1,500 electrical customers in south Terrace. The temperature hovered around zero, and in the after- noon something between snow and frozen rain covered the community in a sheet of ice. And for a lone electrical insula- tor mounted on a hydro pole at the intersection of Graham Ave. and Pear St., it proved too much. According to B.C. Hydro area managet Roy Staveley, the ice caused a short in the insulator and at about 4:45 p.m. an clec- trical arc between the power linc and the wooden pole set the pole on fire. Firefighters and a hydro crew were able to put the fire cen) rete Pir EET! out, but not before it burned a hole half way through the pole. The fire didn’t cause the power outage, but the pole had to be replaced, causing a brief inter- ruption in service. Staveley says larger customers ‘like Skeena Cellulose and Mills Memorial Hospital were advised directly and private consumers were notified through a radio advertisement. At 8:05 p.m. the power was turned off, the dam- aged pole and defective insulator were replaced, and at 8:28 p.m. service was restored. Staveley says the cracked ingu- lator may have been the cause of - other receut power outages in the south Terrace area, but explains it is a very difficult kind of problem to detect... Until it sets a pole on fire. perenne A So CON OR CoS TCR ATeatremgpesnapsrte a en ie oa 1