Almost three years after a sawdust-fueled explosion destroyed a Prince George lumber mill, a replacement facility will start operations on Wednesday. For the 110 workers returning to the Lakeland Mills site with well-paid, full-time jobs, it is a moment to celebrate.
But the price of the new mill, with its state-of-the-art safety features, is that many members of the original crew will never return. Two men were killed in the blast and a number of those who were injured say they are having to fight for compensation and rehabilitation. Some of the workers are too emotionally and physically injured to return to the mill. And, there are 50 fewer jobs because the new mill is more efficient, capable of producing 200 million board feet of stud lumber each year on just two shifts per day.
The reopening is particularly difficult for Ronda Roche, whose husband died along with co-worker Alan Little when the mill exploded April 23, 2012. This coming Christmas will be her third without her husband, Glenn.
Earlier this year, the mill’s owners cut Ms. Roche and her son off of medical insurance, saying their obligation to the family ended two years after her husband’s death. She missed the notice when she moved, and now faces a bill to repay the past seven months of benefits.
From The Globe And Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bittersweet-reopening-at-site-of-bc-sawdust-mill-explosion/article21899657/