Amphibex for the West?

Saturday, February 23, 2008 05:26 AM

Prince George, B.C. - The Mayor of Prince George says it may not be out of the question to press for the purchase of an amphibex that would be stationed in the west.

Members of the Alberta Emergency Management Team have been in Prince George to look at how this City has dealt with the ice jam and flooding issues. Alberta already has a an amphibex but the model is smaller than the one Prince George brought in from New Brunswick. Kinsley says any suggestion of purchasing such a machine would be a shared expense, and not just with Alberta.

"I wouldn't discount that, I think that is the kind of discussion we might have, it might even include Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Anything's possible in this, I think everyone's in a bit of new territory here."

For Kinsley, its the sharing of information that is important at this time and Prince George's 66 day emergency will be a case study " Everyone has had ice jams before but they have been 3, 4 and 5 day incidents not the 66 day incidents. The only thing we can be certain of is that rivers are uncertain, their behaviour is uncertain. I think a partnership is big, and its the kind of discussion we will be having with our Solictior General John Les."

He understands there are still limiting factors for the amphibex, one being the need to have a place for the ice to go if a channel is cleared, and the safety of the operators, but the amphibex is worth considering "I think our government, Provincial government, is willing to look at all things. There's an old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

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Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2008 05:26 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: bohemian on February 23 2008 7:14 AM

It's not just the machine, it's the skill and experience to operate it, too.

Posted by: Scottish Lady on February 23 2008 7:29 AM

Should we tell the idiot, I mean mayor, Manitoba already has one!!!

Posted by: owl on February 23 2008 7:39 AM

I recall reading that Manitoba has had one for some time and that they wanted to buy a second one but the government did not provide their part of the shared funding with the cities involved. So, maybe they are speaking about the second one and new and improved version.

Seeing the problem they had with the fast flowing river and ice breaking off and putting the platform in danger of the consequences of that �ice floe� hitting the amphibex they may want to try one where the propulsion is on the same end as the hoe. It would likely require two operators.

Posted by: Bridge on February 23 2008 10:19 AM

Maybe it will sink on arrival during the Mares photo op. With the Mare onboard.

Now lets get to the serious stuff. What will the bids come in at for the Cameron Street bridge? There has to be someone out there that would like to win a prize for the right estimate. You would probably be given a try at Frank Blues's job or we could all support you for the Mares job come November.

Well here it goes my guess is between 18 and 20 million. If I win I will give my prize to the next contestant. I dont like fame. The cup is half full.

Cheers

Posted by: The_grandinquisitor on February 23 2008 1:00 PM

There is no point in doing a joint venture purchase of a machine. Who gets to use it if several rivers are jammed up at varying spots in different provinces at the same time?
Let PG buy its own and train the heavy machine operators in its use. If PG can spare the machine to another town or province, then the city can rent it out and get some of the money its spent back.

Posted by: thereasonableman on February 23 2008 1:43 PM

I think firstly, that it's a great idea to have a machine like this available to the city. They can hash out how they want to do it, but cost sharing is an excellent plan. We only needed it for 10 days way into the problem. If we had one available earlier on, we likely would have only needed it for a few days at a time, maybe a few times.

There is too much low lying area in that vicinity to look at the costs of diking it all. In this case, management of the problem is the solution to it.

BRIDGE, you missed free-for-all friday by one sleep. Topic-changer !
;-)

Posted by: camoose on February 23 2008 7:38 PM

That sure was a good idea that Colin had to bring the Ampibex to Prince George. May you always be remembered for your decisive action on this matter. NOT.

Posted by: kitkat on February 24 2008 6:51 PM

The city should purchase an amphibex, the pulpmills and Rio Tinto. We could use the pulpmills to keep the water warm all winter and Rio Tinto to control water levels so the Nechako never floods. Then maybe a weather machine to prevent snowpack levels from reaching 200% of normal, not to mention a week of -30 early in the winter.
Seriously - dredge the confluence of the rivers!

Posted by: DPJ on February 24 2008 9:52 PM

Should name the amphibex "Heidi"