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Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Issue 45
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Two-day blizzard hammers Estevan By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
The latest winter storm to batter the Estevan area brought the city to a virtual standstill for more than 48 hours. The system began in the early morning hours of March 6, with a light layer of freezing rain coating the city’s roads. The rain eventually turned to snow, and by the afternoon, heavy winds were whipping the snow around the city. When the snow let up in the evening, more than 20 centimetres had fallen on the Energy City. But the winds didn’t let up, and the wind gusts exceeded 100 kilometres per hour on March 7, creating near-zero visibility for much of the day. “It was likely one of the highest and longest blizzards that I’ve ever seen in my 30 years here,” said Norm Mack, the roads and drainage manager for the City of Estevan’s public works division. Mack said they wrapped up snow clearing efforts from the blizzard on March 11 at noon. The Priority 1 and 2 roads were finished by March 10, and then they shifted their attention to the residential roads.
Josh Biggs helped clear snow from a residence on Wellock Road on March 8, one day after a blizzard hammered Estevan with powerful winds and more than 20 centimetres of snow. Photo by Brian Zinchuk They had to make roads in the Dominion Heights, Pleasantdale and Royal Heights areas a priority, because those were the areas that were hit the hardest. “There was just so much snow there,” said Mack. “During the storm there were people unable to get out of their homes.” The Estevan Police Service posted a photo on
their Twitter feed of a fivefoot snow drift on Gibbs Road. “At the beginning of the storm, we thought we would get away with not having to do Priority 3 residential roads, but as the big winds came on the last day, it became obvious we would have to do Priority 3s,” said Mack. Mack said city crews
and contractors worked through the storm to keep the roads passable. They weren’t sure whether they should have been working at times on March 7, because of the near-zero visibility, but they wanted to keep arterial roads and access to St. Joseph’s Hospital open. “It was questionable if we could even see to work,” said Mack. “There were
times when the equipment had to stop just until visibility would come back to us.” Snow removal efforts started as early as 2 a.m. on March 7 and 8. “It’s hard to go to sleep knowing that some roads are plugged around the hospital and with major arteries,” said Mack. Crews dropped down to 12-hour days on March
9 and 10. “Our way of thinking is the first 48 hours, we’re going to be really aggressive on these storms, and try to get … the roads open ASAP,” said Mack. “I think that seems to work, and that’s what people like, when they’re going to work in the morning, the roads are open and they’re not getting stuck.” Contractors had to be called in to help remove the snow because Mack said the city crews couldn’t do it by themselves. The EPS urged motorists to stay off the roads during the storm. They reported a number of accidents on March 6, but none of them resulted in injuries. Officers helped a number of motorists who were stuck in the snow, and reported they were dealing with abandoned vehicles as late as March 11. Blowing snow on March 12 forced the city to grade and windrow some of the arterial roads and they were finished on March 13. Mack doesn’t have an estimate for how much it will cost to clear the snow from latest storm, but he expects it will eat up a significant portion of the city’s snow removal budget.
HIGHWAYS⇢A2
Ruzicka released on bail Above-average runoff is still expected locally tions that include: enrolment in the electronic monitoring program; no contact with the complainants; no contact with anyone under the age of 16 without an adult approved by a probation officer; to not work or volunteer in a role that would place him in a position of trust or authority over children; to not attend locations frequented by children under 16; to not possess pornography; to not possess a computer or mobile device that can access the Internet and to not possess alcohol or drugs. Crown prosecutor Greg Piper stated that the Crown was opposed to Ruzicka’s release, due to a number of factors relating to evidence and allegations against Ruzicka.
By Sam Macdonald
smacdonald@estevanmercury.ca
Troy Ruzicka was granted a conditional release at a bail hearing, on March 9, at the Estevan Provincial Court. As per the conditions of his release, Ruzicka will stay at a residence outside of Estevan and will be under a 24-hour curfew until his next appearance in court. The bail amount put in place for Ruzicka’s release was $2,000, non cash. This amount of money, while not necessary to be paid upfront, is the amount Ruzicka is liable for if he violates conditions of his release. In addition to his curfew, Ruzicka is expected to abide by a number of condi-
Further details on those matters are unavailable at this time, due to a publication ban imposed by the court. The matter was adjourned, and Ruzicka will appear again before the court on April 10. Ruzicka, a former member of the teaching staff of Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS), faces a dozen sex-related charges for crimes he allegedly committed against three female teenage students, including five counts of child luring, three counts of sexual exploitation, and one count each of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, transmission of child pornography and accessing child pornography.
The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) continues to call for above-normal runoff in the Estevan area, according to the Spring Runoff Forecast released on Thursday. The majority of the province is looking at near normal spring runoff, with the exception of the Estevan area and areas west of Hudson Bay, where the runoff is expected to be above normal, and in the far southeast corner of the province, where well above normal runoff is expected. Snowfall that was well above normal and above-average fall moisture conditions are factors in the forecast, the WSA said in a news release. “The heaviest snowpack is located below Rafferty and Alameda reservoirs and near the Manitoba border,” the WSA stated. “This is also an area that was wetter than normal at freeze-up in 2016. Unless conditions are favourable leading up to and during the spring
melt, well above normal flows are expected.” The recent snowstorm in southeast Saskatchewan will add slightly to these areas but is not expected to have a major impact. While out-of-channel flows are expected, significant flood damages are not expected unless conditions significantly change leading up to, and/ or during, the spring melt. Boundary Dam Reservoir was at 559.14 metres, as of the morning of March 13. Full supply level at Boundary Dam is 560.83 metres. Rafferty Dam was at 549.08 metres as of March 13, compared to a full supply level of 550.50 metres. Alameda Dam was at 559.95 metres as of March 13. Water was released from Alameda for several weeks earlier in the winter. The releases culminating at five cubic metres per second, but they were halted in early March.
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