Hit the dirt
Riley Bartel of Calgary takes a tumble during the mutton bustin' event at the Millarville Rodeo on Sunday at the Millarville Race Track. The sunshine erased any memory of last Tuesday's freak snowstorm as the facilities in Millarville were in fine shape for the weekend rodeo. Complete results from the rodeo are on pages 24 and 25.
- photo by John Barlow
Charges laid in fatal accident
By
Turner Valley RCMP have charged the driver of the car involved in an accident, south of Longview, on May 16 that killed three people and injured four others.
Harry Hutchinson, 68, has been charged with driving without due care and attention. A court date has not yet been set.
At approximately 9:10 am Thursday morning, Foothills Emergency Medical Services and the Longview Fire Department responded to a multiple fatal motor vehicle accident six kilometres south of Longview on Highway 22.
Two southbound motorcycles, both pulling trailers, collided with a four-door car heading north.
Larry Stagstuen, 54, and Ros Stagstuen, 53, both of Calgary and Jerry Mills, 58, of Whitecourt were pronounced dead at the scene.
The two female occupants of the car were flown by STARS to the Foothills Hospital with serious injuries. The two male occupants of the car were sent by ambulance to Black Diamond Hospital.
The driver, Hutchinson, was in serious condition with chest injuries, while a young male occupant suffered minor injuries. The names of the other occupants have not been released. Alcohol, weather and road conditions were not a factor.
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 Local markets to open this weekend See Entertainment  Bisons' head coach announces resignation See Sports |
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Spring storm causes a power outage phenomenon
By Editor
Extreme weather conditions of snow, rain, wind and lightning caused the Town of Okotoks to be without power for about 12 hours last Wednesday.
The community was in a virtual blackout as UtiliCorp crews attempted to repair the damage caused by the spring storm which started Tuesday evening and continued into the early hours of Wednesday, May 22.
There are three feeders which supply power to Okotoks and according to Dwayne Mack, municipal relations manager of UtiliCorp Networks Canada, all three were simultaneously affected by the storm.
The adverse weather conditions resulted in a build up of ice on some of the east/west 25,000-volt feeders.
'We had a consistent source of wind coming directly from the north,' said Mack. 'When we get the right temperatures combined with ice build-up, constant wind velocity, the power line takes the form of an airplane wing.'
Mack explained that all of these conditions combined are called galloping conductors.
'When the conductor takes the form of an airplane wing it creates uplift on the conductor,' he said. 'This is an extremely rare condition.
The uplift on the conductors caused the power lines to bob up to eight feet in one direction with a violent force, snapping off some of equipment on the power poles.
The extreme conditions and spaghetti-like power lines cut power from the Town of Okotoks from about 6:10 am to 6:20 pm.
UtiliCorp crews attempted to repair the damage to the power lines, but Mack said the conditions were far too extreme.
'During the afternoon UtiliCorp was virtually handcuffed,' said Mack. 'For safety reasons and given the velocity of the actions of these conductors, we were unable to work on the lines.'
'UtiliCorp was able to inspect (the damage) and prepare for repairs on what we knew was broken.'
Mack added that he kept the town informed on the conditions on a minute-by-minute basis.
At about 3:30 pm on Wednesday, the wind changed direction and crews immediately jumped into action to restore power to the community at about 6:20 pm, said Mack.
He explained that the wind shifted slightly from the north to the northwest alleviating the galloping conductors condition.
'We had every customer service line from Red Deer south involved in restoring power and several contract crews,' he said.
On May 23, Mack said UtiliCorp crews made an extensive patrol of the area to assess any other damage.
In all about 40 power line structures in Okotoks sustained damage in the storm.
To a somewhat lesser degree many other communities in the area were also affected by power outages. The Turner Valley/Black Diamond area went without power for about three hours and High River's power tripped on and off throughout the day.
Mack explained that the power outages surrounding Okotoks were due to damage to Altalink substations.
To Mack's knowledge, the last major power outage in Okotoks was in 1986 where, due to similar conditions, the power was out for as long or longer than this year.
