tolko
City still looking at adding New Afton Mine to Kamloops tax roll
KAMLOOPS - Plans to include the New Afton mine within Kamloops city limits are still in the discussion phase but the city is also looking at other options. Mayor Peter Milobar met recently with Minister of Mines Bill Bennett and Minister of Community Peter Fassbender at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention. “He’s committed to...
Tolko’s mountain of ash plagues Spallumcheen residents
SPALLUMCHEEN - Palisades Mobile Home Park resident Beverly Anderson first experienced what she calls a “soot storm” shortly after she moved in last year. “My first mistake was we went out and left all the windows open. When I came back in it was like a dust storm all over my floor, and my cupboards,”...
Lavington pellet plant opposers push politicians to stall project
COLDSTREAM - Now that the Ministry of Environment has granted a permit to the operators of a proposed wood pellet plant in Lavington, opponents of the project are increasing pressure on local politicians to stall construction. Representatives of Lavington Is For Everyone (LIFE) will go before Coldstream council tonight, Jan. 12, to ask the municipality...
Coroner identifies two women killed in Highway 6 car crash
LUMBY – The B.C. Coroners Service has identified two women who died in a two-car crash on Highway 6 in the North Okanagan near Lumby December 6. They were Diedre Naomi-Ann Hughes, 57, from Vernon and her daughter Emma Maria Danielle Froh, 22, from Lumby. RCMP say the crash, between a Pontiac Sunfire and a...
Inquest into death of Lumby mill worker ends with recommendations to prevent future tragedies
VERNON - The jury in a B.C. Coroners inquest into the death of a teen employee at Tolko’s Lavington mill made seven recommendations in the hopes of preventing future tragedies. Bradley Haslam, 18, died after getting entangled in a conveyer belt at the mill in June 2013. The grade 12 Charles Bloom Secondary student had...
Machinery running on graveyard shift the night teen worker died was an anomaly
VERNON - A Tolko employee knew two days in advance machines would be running during the ordinarily quiet graveyard clean-up shift to accommodate extra production, a coroner’s inquiry into the death of a Lumby teen heard Thursday. Bradley Haslam, 18, became entangled in a conveyer belt at Tolko’s Lavington mill in June 2013 and died....
Inquest hears of chaos at mill after Lumby teen found caught in conveyor belt
VERNON - A coroner’s inquest into the death of a Lumby teen began Monday with tearful testimony from the mill worker’s mother, who described him as kind, determined and full of life. Bradley Haslam, 18, died June 15 after getting caught in a conveyer belt at Tolko’s planer mill in Lavington. The Charles Bloom Secondary...
Buddy system now in place at Tolko mill after death of teen, inquiry hears
VERNON - Changes have been made at Tolko’s Lavington mill since the death of a teenage worker, a coroner’s inquest heard Tuesday. Roger Marshall was the supervisor the night Bradley Haslam, 18, became entangled in a conveyer belt and died. Bradley, whose family asked that he be referred to by his first name during the...
Ministry of Environment won’t research proposed Lavington pellet plant
VERNON - The only public consultation and technical information the Ministry of Environment will review as part of its approval process for a pellet plant in Lavington will come from the proponent of the project itself. According to the Ministry, it conducts no further research or discussion with stakeholders in cases such as this, but...
Vernon school board won’t support Lavington pellet plant
VERNON - A proposed pellet plant in Lavington doesn’t have the support of the Vernon school district. In a letter to the Ministry of Environment, board chair Bill Turanski said the board received conflicting information about the project. “The board’s primary concern must, in every case, be the health and welfare of the students and...
Vernon school board to hear community concerns over controversial pellet plant
VERNON - Parents will be given an opportunity to voice their concerns to the Vernon School District regarding a proposed pellet plant. The district called another meeting on Pinnacle Renewable Energy and Tolko’s plans to build a pellet plant near Lavington Elementary at a special board meeting Wednesday night. Residents asked the board to hold...
Proposed Lavington pellet plant moves forward
COLDSTREAM - A controversial pellet plant has overcome a significant hurdle. Pinnacle Renewable Energy and Tolko Industries have the go ahead to rezone the land intended for the plant though it wasn’t an easy, or unanimous decision for Coldstream council. Third reading of the rezoning bylaw scraped through deliberations with four councillors voting in favour...
New dates for inquest into Lumby teen’s death
VERNON – The inquest into the death of a Lumby teen in an industrial accident at the Lavington planer mill over a year ago will be held this fall. The B.C. Coroners Service had originally planned to hold the inquest into Bradley Haslam’s death this past spring, but new information forced the coroners service to...
Cause of Tolko mill fire likely accidental
KELOWNA – A fire that started at Tolko mill Monday evening was likely set accidentally by transients camping in the area. The fire was contained to a pile of sawdust and bark mulch between the mill and Manhattan St., an area Kelowna Fire Capt. Tim Light says is frequented by transients. “We found some home-made...