Roadblock Established Near Dore Lake

Roadblock Established Near Dore Lake

Monday, January 31, 2005 at 15:23

 

 

A roadblock has gone up near Dore Lake in an attempt by protesters there to keep logging trucks off the local highway.

 

It was in back in mid-December that trappers and community leaders of Dore lake and nearby Sled Lake first issued threats to block the road if their concerns weren’t addressed.

 

They said logging trucks were putting motorists at risk along Highway 924 because of their size and their tendency to pack snow on the road, making it slippery.

 

The demonstrators demanded a meeting with the Department of Highways over the issue, and called on forestry giant Weyerhaeuser to pull its trucks off the local highway.

 

Weyerhaeuser agreed to limit the amount of logging trucks using the highway.

 

However, the meeting with the provincial department did not happen.

 

So, this morning, over a dozen people set up barricades near the junction of Highway 916 and Highway 924 to block any truck that tries to use the road.

 

An official with the Highways Department says a field officer might be sent out there this afternoon to talk with the demonstrators and see what may be done.

 

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Weyerhaeuser says he’s not sure what else the protesters want his company to do.

 

Wayne Roznowsky says the company has already agreed to short-term and long-term concessions, including the promise to reduce the flow of traffic while capping the speed of its trucks at 70 kilometres per hour.

 

He adds the company does not want to get into a confrontation with the demonstrators, and for that reason, Weyerhaeuser officials have pulled their trucks out of the area.

 

A spokesperson for the RCMP says the Mounties are also monitoring the situation, and expect the demonstration to remain peaceful.