BREAKING GROUND | Kindale Developmental Association holds ceremony at site of new location [A11]
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Sunday, May 20, 2012
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Woman of the year honoured CARA BRADY Morning Star Staff
LISA VANDERVELDE/MORNING STAR
Vernon fire crews douse a structure fire at Sanderson Service in the 4600 block of 31st Street Friday afternoon. Smoke from the fire could be seen from numerous areas in Vernon.
Blaze guts repair shop ROGER KNOX Morning Star Staff
One of the last pieces of business Dave Sanderson had to do Friday afternoon at Sanderson Service, his north Vernon auto repair shop, was change a fuel pump. Instead, Sanderson and his office assistant ended up fleeing his shop in the 4600 block of 31st Street – Sanderson with his pants on fire – after a blaze broke out at 4:18 p.m. Sanderson was in a bay
pulling the tank down off a 1996 Ford Contour and was trying to pull a vapour line off the tank. “It was an older car so the line was quite stubborn,” said Sanderson, whose been at the 31st Street location for seven years. “I didn’t know how much fuel was in the tank. When I popped the line off the gas just came pouring out.” Sanderson ran for a bucket but he couldn’t catch all of the gas as it just kept flowing out.
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He said he heard something on the other side of the building as the gas hit the cement and pooled. Something on the other side of the building ignited the fire. “There was nothing going in the other bay (where an electrical company’s van, repaired earlier Friday, was waiting to be removed) as the job was finished,” said Sanderson. “But there’s equipment on the other side. It’s hard to say what ignit-
ed the fire.” Sanderson, who had been standing in gas, had his pants catch fire as he was running to alert the office assistant, and both got out of the building. Sanderson did suffer burns to his legs. The building also housed a U-Haul rental office, which was heavily damaged by the fire. Sanderson believed his building was fully insured. Smoke from the fire could be seen throughout Vernon.
Mary Williamson is being recognized as Woman of the Year 2012 for a lifetime of caring for others as a nurse, a friend and community volunteer. “I’ve been a nurse for more than 50 years and my passion for nursing has never changed. I’m honoured to be selected for this award,” she told the audience at the Vernon Women in Business Woman of the Year Gala Thursday at the Best Western Plus Vernon Lodge. “I was shocked that I was even nominated with four other very worthy people,” she said in an interview Friday morning. “I was stunned when they announced my name. I thought, ‘They’re talking about me.’ It is a great honour. We all do what we do because Vernon is our community and what we do to help is what makes it what it is.” Williamson wanted to be a nurse since she was a child and she remembers her training at Royal Columbian Hospital where there was a strict dress code, black shoes and stockings and blue dress for the first two years, then the change to all white, worn with a navy cape lined with red. She worked at Hospital for Crippled Children, then moved to work at Shuswap General Hospital in Salmon Arm and later Sunshine Lodge in Vernon. She started Mary’s Manor, the first non-government-funded intermediate care facility in B.C. which was run to government standards. She now works with We Care Home Health Services. She was awarded an excellence of service plaque by the College of Registered Nurses in 2010. She is also a volunteer with Funtastic, Vernon Winter Carnival and the B.C. Winter Games as well as with Guiding and Scouting. She has three children and enjoys watching her nine grandchildren in their sporting activities. One of Williamson’s letters of support read, “She is one of the kindest, most knowledgeable people I know,” while another said, “You can always trust Mary with everything you need.” The other nominees were Tamara Cinnamon, Teresa Durning, Dauna Kennedy Grant and Lorna Robb. The former Woman of the Year award recipients present were introduced, wearing peacock feather fascinators made by Val Buchanan. The peacock is a symbol of the integrity and beauty of these women and the more than 100 nominees over the years. Some of the former award recipients were represented by family members or friends.
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