SHUTTING IT DOWN: Scott Skaalrud, a Pacific Northern Gas employee, cold crimps a gas line on ’ Kalum Road this summer to stop a gas leak caused by careless excavators, (FILE PIC) Phone problem still a mystery B.C. TEL isn’t sure why phone lines here went dead for part of Monday, Nov. 23. The computer-conirolled switch that controls calls in this region became overloaded with calls from 10:50 a.m. to 12:09 p.m. that day, said company spokesman Ed Clark. That led the computer to put the switch into a ‘‘slow dial tone mode’’ — which means you pick up the phone and it can take several seconds to geta dial tone. Unfortunately, Clark said, most people aren’t used to that situation and respond by hanging up and picking up a number of times. That doesn’t get a dial tone quicker, but further increases the load on the switch. “Don’t hang up,”’ he advises. ‘“Wait a few extra seconds and you should get a dial tone.” Affected was service in Terrace, Kitimat, the Bulkley Valley, Port Edward and New Aiyansh, he said. He said B.C, Tel has been unable to trace the problem to any of the usual sources of overloads: radio station prize prema heavy. snow storms,” Or. other extreme weather. Le Sol st a rey Keenleyside Insurance 11th Annual Gift Wrapping ' help those who really need it. — ~~ «sill loceted i in the Co-op Mall” 4617 Greig Avenue, Terrace 635-5232 7 Please help us to | ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 13 Ring In New Years at the Legion Cocktails 7pm Dinner 8 pm Dancing 9pm Dance to the Mothballs!..\\, Tickets $25.00 ea. Available at the Legion aps Door Prizes! Midnight Snacks! & FREE Rides Home! | y) Members and bonafide guests welcome. Must be at least 19 of age to attend. ears Diggers faulted for gas breaks CARELESS EXCAVATORS caused three major separate breaks in natural gas lines within a month here last sum- mer, according lo Workers’ Compensation Board reports. WCB regional manager Rick Hynes sald things Fe) wrong when excavators fail to do two things. One is not calling a toll-free number for a free line location check prior ta digging and the second is failing to mark Jines once they are located. Hynes explained that once lines are drawn, on the ground locating gas lines, the procedure is to dig one or two feet and then locate by hand the lines for proper identification. “The majority of all contractors have caused leaks be- cause they have failed to sufficiently identify the gas lines location,’’ Hynes said. He explained that pipelines aren’t always straight — often they jig and jag so contractors should always be looking for that, ‘Everything can be properly marked, but if contractors don’t pay attention then there are problems,’’ he said. “They should be doing enough hand location checks to sufficiently locate that line.’’ WCB investigation reports show that in the case of an August line break in the alley way behind the Best West- em Terrace Inn, a leak on Kalum Street and a leak on Sparks Street, contractors Rossco Ventures Ltd., Wayne Watson Construction Ltd. and Spring Creek Agaregates had failed to locate by hand the gas installations. Hynes said the number of gas leaks last summer wasn’t out of the ordinary. What was different about them is that they were large, causing evacuations and the dispatching of the fire department and RCMP officers. He said there are normally more mishaps in a summer but because less homes have been built due to the econom- ic slowdown, there have been fewer residential breaks. Ron Vanderlec, a Pacific Northern Gas official, also said the number of leaks were down last summer because con- tractors were making the free line location phone call. To help reduce the amount of breaks next summer, WCB, Pacific Northern Gas and cily representatives will hold meetings with contractors who do excavation work. Hynes said the sessions will identify the hazards in- volved in digging. “A lot of workers don’t realize the risks,”’ he said. “A lot of people are jumping down in the ditch [after bursting a pipe] and crimping the end back [to stop the gas flow}’’. He explained that there is a risk in doing this because the static charges could cause a spark, Vanderlee said results of the WCB investigation into the pas leaks found the contractors responsible for the spills. They owe PNG for the lost gas and the labour involved in fixing the leak. The Party Begins Saturday, December 5 9am-1 1pm ~ The Lodge is having an Open House *liva Music-Triple Bypass (3pm) *Movie relaase *Traditional Ski Burning (a sacrifice for the snow gods} *Great Munchies & Beverage Specials Karin’s oni Kafé presents: “The Sunday Brunch” ‘Baked Maple Ham mw Baked Beans Potato Pancakes French Toast Seafood Chowder Apple Cobbler w Sour Cream Sauce Mocha Coffee & Respherry Tea Only “10” V2 order Od Opening Day Thurs Dec, 10 Free with Food Bank Donation LUNG ASSOCIATION 731-LUNG or 7-800-665-LUNG + BRITISH COLUMBIA ~ When as : -can't. breathe, nothing else _matters® 4 Western's new /“UNI-MOUNT’snow: plow mount permits the removal of "from the vehicle when it’s not being used for plowing. CALL US TODAY 635-6334 Ir EMTOMOVIVE 0 IMDUSTRAS SUPPEY 4641 Keith Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1K4 AUTO RANTS & SERVICE CENTRE Make Your Christmas Shopping Easy At The Skeena Valley Golf Club Pro Shop! 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