PORT McNEILL —Mock disaster. On the heels of a successful emergency response exercise held at Port Hardy Airport last fall, the North Island Regional Emergency Response Program and its partner agencies will hold an even larger joint exercise May 15.
The exercise will simulate a multiple-casualty incident and involve participation from the B.C. Ambulance Service and RCMP; from volunteer fire departments in Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Port Alice; from the Vancouver Island Health Authority staff and hospitals in both Port Hardy and Port McNeill; and from the Junior Canadian Rangers.
Emergency Program Coordinator Chuck Lok said the objectives of the emergency response exercise will be testing of inter-agency support and communication, logistics, triage, transport and emergency management for a large number of casualties arriving in area hospitals.
Local residents will notice substantial emergency vehicle activity during part of the day, but Highway 19 and local roads will not be closed during the exercise, Lok said.
Construction on waste transfer stations on Malcolm Island and in Woss is nearing completion and both facilities are expected to be fully operational by June 1, the Regional District of Mount Waddington Board of Directors learned at its April meeting.
In his report to the board, operations manager Patrick Donaghy said the steel structure on Malcolm Island was "all but completed" and said one of two new, 40-yard containers will be placed in the facility.
The board approved an increase in gas tax funding for the Malcolm Island transfer station construction project, from $105,000 to $130,000, and approved the purchase of the two, 40-yard waste bins previously budgeted from gas-tax revenue.
One of the new bins will be placed on Malcolm Island and the other is destined for Woss, where operations are planned to start June 1. A third, 40-yard bin will be placed in Woss as a temporary recycling depot, Donaghy said.
Coal Harbour zoning
The board approved Bylaw 818, which will allow a single-family dwelling to be erected and occupied on certain lots zoned as General Commercial.
The dwellings will be permitted only on commercial lots of at least one hectare (2.47 acres), and must be occupied by an owner(s) of a business being undertaken on the same lot.