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Is Your Vehicle Ready for Severe Winter Weather in Fort MacMurray?

Fort MacMurray, severe winter weather
Fort MacMurray, severe winter weather

Fort MacMurray may receive severe winter weather at any time during the winter months, and you never know when this weather will occur or where you will be when conditions start to get bad. Sometimes severe winter storms can appear with little or no warning, and you could be caught in your vehicle if this happens if you do not have emergency supplies and survival items available to you. The first thing that needs to be done is a full check up and winterizing of the vehicle itself. The last thing you want is to have car problems in the middle of a blizzard or to break down when severe winter weather is in the area. In some situations this could be a fatal mistake if help can not reach you fairly quickly.

Severe winter weather in Fort MacMurray can be planned for, and this means putting necessary supplies in your vehicle before the winter season starts. A shovel will come in handy if you need to dig out of a snow bank or drift. Keep a bag of salt, sand, or even kitty litter in your vehicle, these materials will help you gain more traction if you are stuck. Sprinkle the material on the snow around your tires and this will help you get out of the rut or indentation that you are in. Extra clothing and footwear is a must, because if you get wet and the temperature is low then hypothermia can set in quickly if you do not have a change of clothes and shoes so that you are dry again. Water and foods which are high in energy should also be stored in the vehicle to help you survive.

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Winter Weather Tips for Stranded Drivers In and Near Fort MacMurray

Stranded drivers, winter weather, Fort MacMurray
Stranded drivers, winter weather, Fort MacMurray

Winter weather in the Fort MacMurray area can be severe or even life threatening at times, and stranded drivers who are not prepared for these conditions could find themselves in serious trouble. There are some tips that can help in this type of situation, and supplies that could be a lifeline if you have them in your car or truck. If you are one of the stranded drivers due to winter weather in and around Fort MacMurray the first tip is to always stay with your vehicle. If rescue comes and you have wandered off you could freeze to death in a remote area. Pull to the side of the road if possible, and hand a distress flag or cloth from the window of your vehicle. Start your vehicle and let it run for 10 minutes each hour, and then shut it off to conserve fuel and make what you have last longer.

Stranded drivers in the remote area near Fort MacMurray who are experiencing winter weather conditions need to be concerned with staying warm inside the vehicle. Take maps, newspapers, magazine pages, and other materials and use them for insulation. Block any cracks and crevices where bitter wind can get in, and these can also be placed under your clothing next to your skin to help you stay warm. If there are homes or other structures and buildings nearby and the winter weather conditions are not severe you could try to walk to them, but if visibility is very low or there are no buildings nearby your best bet is to stay with the vehicle until help arrives. Keep a set of supplies in your car or truck to ensure you have what you need if you become one of the stranded motorists due to winter weather in Fort MacMurray.

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Winter Driving Tips for Fort MacMurray Residents

Fort MacMurray, winter driving tips
Fort MacMurray, winter driving tips

 

Winter driving tips for Fort MacMurray residents can help you stay safe while on the road, and ensure that you arrive at your destination without any accidents. These tips include:

  • Fort MacMurray residents need to understand that winter driving conditions can become slick or dangerous in a very short period of time. Always drive cautiously in any type of inclement weather conditions, leaving enough time to safely stop and paying close attention to road conditions.
  • Always keep emergency supplies in your vehicle just in case. If something happens these supplies could save your life if you are in a remote location or the weather conditions are severe.
  • One of the emergency supplies to keep on hand in the vehicle is sand. If you go off the road or you need to gain more traction when stuck on ice then sand may be very helpful. You should also keep extra clothing, blankets, and a store of food in the vehicle during the winter months as well.
  • Fort MacMurray residents should pay close attention to any weather advisories or winter warnings before going out.
  • Always have your vehicle checked and winterized before the cold, snow, and ice arrive. This will help you ensure that your vehicle is in good operating condition so that you do not break down in the middle of a blizzard.
  • Never leave home without a cell phone if possible, but do not rely solely on this factor. There may be areas where cell reception is limited or nonexistent.
  • Always dress for the weather before going out and traveling. The vehicle may be warm but consider what would happen if you had to walk a few miles in the weather.

 

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Fort MacMurray Students Inspired by Classroom Champions

Fort MacMurray students, Classroom Champions
Fort MacMurray students, Classroom Champions

 

Classroom Champions is back for Fort MacMurray students once more. This program proved to be very inspirational last year and it will be available for another two Wood Buffalo classes again this year. Fort MacMurray students partner with athletes who have been in the Olympics or Paralympics, so that the athletes can provide inspiration to the students. Both sides have been inspired in the past, and some of the mentor athletes receive inspiration from the students instead of it being a one way partnership. Students connect with the athletes through videos and Google Hangouts. There are monthly lessons that cover friendship, playing fair, and even how to live a healthy lifestyle. These lessons are arranged by the teachers, who guide the students through them.

According to Steve Mesler, the President and CEO of Classroom Champions, the program will be the exact same as it was last year. Mesler stated “We measure goal setting perseverance skills, we measure digital literacy, we measure personal skills and engagement in skills, and we measure it from teacher feedback, teacher surveys and students surveys. We compare those to national averages and to a control group.” Fort MacMurray students learn valuable skills, the athletes get the opportunity to mentor students, and both sides find themselves inspired as a result of the partnership. The classrooms which will participate this year include teacher Samantha Livingstone, who teaches at the Fort MacMurray Islamic School, and Mary Elizabeth Moran, who teaches at the Ecole St. Paul School and who is a returning teacher to the program this year.

 

 

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Fort MacMurray Coalition Addresses Highway Safety

Fort MacMurray, highway safety
Fort MacMurray, highway safety

 

Fort MacMurray residents experienced the real consequences of vehicle accidents with the help of a new campaign to promote highway safety. The Coalition for a Safer 63 ad 881 started a new campaign to help make residents aware of collisions and to remind them to drive safely on the local highways. The coalition placed wrecked cars at various locations around Fort MacMurray so that people could see what happens during collisions. The vehicles were placed outside of Father Patrick Mercredi High School, Tim Hortons, and even Canadian Tire. The goal was to raise awareness for The Pledge campaign started by the coalition. According to the executive director of the coalition Debbie Hammond “We placed a vehicle from a Highway 63 fatality at three busy sites around the city in a symbolic effort once again to raise awareness of the pledge and our goal to get more people thinking about their driving habits and whether they make safe choices behind the wheel.”

The highway safety campaign is a grassroots campaign targeted to the Fort MacMurray community. Hammond continued by saying “When you look at it, (we want people) to start to think about what happens when we’re on the highway driving high speeds and come to a sudden stop because we hit something. That vehicle is not going to save us. It’s not a safety net. That’s what happens in the real world when there are serious collisions.” Debbie continued “With this campaign, because it’s a community, grassroots campaign, we are targeting the community at large. Folks in Fort McMurray at any given time have to get on Highway 63 because they’ve got to get to the larger cities. We can all make a difference on the highway. At the end of the day, if we all take that pledge and we all pledge to be safer drivers, we could all work together towards that.”

 

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Wood Buffalo RCMP Arrest Man Involved in Human Trafficking

Wood Buffalo RCMP, human trafficking
Wood Buffalo RCMP, human trafficking

 

On September 7 the Wood Buffalo RCMP arrested a man who has been involve din human trafficking in the past, and this is not the first contact that local police have had with Raphael Patrick Duchard. When police stopped a man for speeding along Highway 63 the vehicle was a rental, and the male presented Wood Buffalo RCMP with a drivers license from Quebec. The vehicle had the smell of marijuana in the interior so a Police Service Dog was called out. Trace amounts of the drug were found in the vehicle so police placed the license on a 24 hour suspension. The male driver left after being told he could pick up his license the next day. When the license was not redeemed from the Wood Buffalo RCMP after 7 days it caused suspicion.

After becoming suspicious the Wood Buffalo RCMP did some further investigation and it was determined that the license which had been provided was a fake, and the male was actually Raphael Patrick Duchard of Quebec. Duchard is wanted on a number of outstanding warrants from the Ontario police. These warrants include sexually assaulting a 17 year old, assaulting a female, benefiting from human trafficking, human trafficking, and even living on the avails of prostitution. According to Wood Buffalo RCMP Cpl. George Cameron“We don’t have anything indicating he has been active on that side of things here in Fort McMurray. It sounds like he just got here.”