Derailment near Hinton just one of three

One Canadian National employee was hospitalized following a train derailment north of Hinton last week and the incident was followed by two subsequent derailments elsewhere in Alberta.

Eleven cars loaded with coal collided with a stationary train on the main line between Hinton and Grande Cache shortly after noon on Jan. 18, according to CN spokesman Warren Chandler. Three crew members were involved in the crash but just one was injured.

That employee was taken by helicopter to hospital, treated and released later in the evening, Chandler said. Chandler would not say if the injured crew member worked out of Jasper, citing the company’s privacy policy.

That derailment was followed by another on Jan. 20, when 18 cars left the tracks near Hay Lakes, Alta., southeast of Edmonton. There were no injuries reported in that incident.

Then, on Jan. 21, a third CN train derailed, this time while travelling over a bridge near the community of Fabyan, Alta., which is located about 10 kilometres northwest of Wainwright.

A total of 31 cars left the tracks in that incident, according to the company, and 17 fell off the bridge to the valley floor below.

CN and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are investigating all three derailments.

Man killed in Hinton crash

One man was killed in a single-vehicle crash in Hinton on Jan. 17, according to police.

Hinton RCMP report that the collision happened at about 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of Eaton Road and Highway 16.

The man was the lone occupant in the vehicle. He was taken to hospital in Hinton but died of his injuries.

Police do not believe the crash was criminal in nature and have said that, at the request of the dead man’s family, his name will not be released publicly. 

High school design approved in principle

Trustees with the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD) have approved, in principle, the floor plan for the new high school in Jasper but the plan was not available to the Fitzhugh in time for publication in this issue.

The design was posted to the GYPSD website after press time and can be found by visiting www.gypsd.ca and clicking on the “Jasper High School Build” link in the left-hand column of the main page.

The drawings are also to be made available at a public meeting scheduled for Jan. 30 in the multipurpose hall at the Jasper Activity Centre. The meeting is set to run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m and representatives from GYPSD and Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord will be in attendance.

Some slight modifications are expected to the design but the overall layout is not expected to change drastically, according to the school division.

Construction of the combined facility, which will house both Jasper Junior/Senior High School and École Desrochers, is set to begin later this year.

The new school is scheduled to open in September 2014.

Open call for Jasper’s Got Talent

Auditions are open – both online and in person – for the upcoming Jasper’s Got Talent event but you only have until Feb. 1 to show off your performance skills.

That’s the deadline for audition videos via YouTube – just send a link to jgtalent12@gmail.com.

Or, you could always do it the old fashioned way: in person.

“If they want the personal audition, they can contact me,” said organizer Ann Thomas, encouraging prospective performers to call her at 852-4321.

The big show is set for 7 p.m. on Feb. 16 at the Jasper Activity Centre. Thomas said to expect a wide range of acts – from comedy to drama to music to dance.

“It’s all ages, all talents,” she said.