Powder King to Hire Displaced Workers

Thursday, July 09, 2009 10:01 AM

Mackenzie, B.C. - Up to two dozen displaced forestry workers could soon find temporary work at Powder King Mountain Resort in the Pine Pass.

Powder King owner Jim Salisbury says the resort has received approximately $800, 000 through the B.C. Job Opportunities Program. Salisbury says the work will involve clearing about 25 years worth of brush and overgrowth from the ski and snowboard runs. He says that could mean an earlier start to the season for boarders and skiers .

"Our expectation is to possibly move that up as early as the middle to the beginning of November. It depends on Mother Nature because it can vary quite a bit, but we hope to bump up the opening by at least a few weeks every season."

Salisbury says he'll try to hire people directly and indirectly affected by the slowdown in forestry. He is working on job ads and hopes to have people on the ground clearing brush by the end of next week.

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Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 10:01 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: He spoke on July 9 2009 11:41 AM

That is thinking outside the box, doesnt matter, it gets people working

Posted by: detoe43 on July 9 2009 4:12 PM

Good on ya Jim!! Not only getting folks back to work but an earlier opening for PK.
Can't ask for much more....OK 2' of fresh in July? ;)

Posted by: gus on July 9 2009 11:49 PM

I am not quite understanding this.

1. Powder King will receive $800,000 from the tax payers to help a business dependant on a sport for the elite to open earlier. So, the elite and the business will be gaining from taxpayers in general

2. The people who will be put to work to do primarily brushing will be workers who sound like they have been working in the mills. They would not likely have the skills to do brushing work and would be prone to injuries from brush saws and chainsaws used for that type of work. Thus they will first have to be trained.

3. Those people in the silviculture industry, who are trained for this kind of work, will then be displaced because it sounds like they will not be categorized as displaced workers, until they do not get those jobs that they would otherwise get. By that time it is too late, and they will become �displaced workers themselves�

This sounds like a game of musical chairs where the silviculture workers may get the chair pulled away from them and they are the ones out of the game.

Posted by: bowzone_mikey on July 11 2009 10:18 AM

Gus ... Displaced forestry workers encompasses more that just sawmill workers, where do teh mills get there logs from?

So as far as I am concerned ... your points 2 and 3 are moot

as for your first point ...the B.C. Job Opportunities Program is a program that allows business owners to apply for funds to hire people ...usually on a term basis ...if you have your own business you to can apply for it ... the program has been around since dirt was clean... as for Skiing/snowboarding only being for the "elite" ...Please report to PGRH emergency room as you need to have a surgery to remove your head from an oriface. I can see where you can think its only for the "elite" Lift tickets can be expensive ...so i can see a point there if that is where you are going ... when i go to PK I take the bus ... 70 bucks round trip with a Lift ticket ...not bad for a days of fun ...but lemme tel you I am far from an Elite .....