Floods in Okanagan
Tax Police Endurance

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GUARDIANS OF THE LAW STOOD TEST OF REAL EMERGENCY

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Excessive rainfall caused serious floods

in the Penticton area this year, and the . |
general disruption of community life made
| much extra work for the B. C. Police in the
Okanagan. All ranks worked with a will, |
and that their work was appreciated is
evident from this extract from the ‘’Pentic-
ton Herald.”

SHOULD I vacate my home tonight? Is
there any danger of the dams bursting?
Can I come into Penticton from Oliver?
Can I take my car to the hospital by Eck-
hardt Avenue?

— Night and day the reassuring voices of
members of the local B. C. Police detach-
ment gave authentic information in answer
to questions like these during the flood.

With cool determination, and downright
hard work, these guardians of the law
wrote probably one of the most efficient
chapters in the worst disaster that had ever
struck Penticton.

Throughout the entire emergency period
there was always a constable in the office
answering the phone and writing down the
incessant number of complaints to be in-
vestigated.

As each policeman finished a job he either
reported to the office or phoned for further
instructions.

Apart from the drowning tragedy on the
Green Mountain Road, and a few cars
being stuck, there were no automobile mis-
haps during the flood. This shows clearly
the effectiveness of the patrol of streets and
highways carried out by the police.

Every complaint was investigated, mess-
ages were carried for the telegraph and tele-
phone companies, the police travelled over
200 miles looking for councillors and public
works men who were scattered throughout
the flooded areas, in fact the police were
“jacks of all trades.”

Sgt. D. Halcrow, N.C.O. in charge of
the entire district from Peachland to the
border and west to Princeton, in addition
to being general overseer of this large area,
was out practically all night patrolling
streets and helping those in distress. While
chatting with a reporter, Sgt. Halcrow paid
tribute to the work of the constables. “They
worked without thought of relief,” he re-
marked.

Cpl. W. J. McKay, who co-ordinated the
activity of constables in the various bran-
ches, was on duty all day Monday, May 25,
Monday night, and Tuesday afternoon until
4 o'clock. After three hours’ sleep, he
worked until 3.30 Wednesday morning,
then was back at the office five and a half
hours later.

It was his responsibility to “keep things
moving.” But he took his turn answering
the phone and kept patrolling to see which
roads were open to the hospital, C. P. R.
station, and leading out of town.

“T don’t know how many calls we in-
vestigated,” he laughed. “We were too
busy to keep a record of them.”

Const. Clarence Pughe, of the motor
vehicle branch, started Monday night with
the corporal on patrol duty. After mid-
night he continued working on general
messages out of the office, pulling cars out
of holes, and making several trips to the

Six Indians were in this car when it hit the washout on Shingle Creek Road.
All were drowned.

SUMMER EDITION

Comfortable Rooms

Indian reserve after the drownings had been
reported.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday Const. Pughe left for
Princeton to keep a drivers’ test schedule.
He worked 36 hours without sleep.

Const. W. “Bill” McCulloch, of the
highway patrol, whose duties were much
the same as the others, worked from Mon-
day morning until Wednesday at 3 a.m.
without stopping. In the early hours of
Tuesday morning he got his car stuck en
route to the Indian reserve.

Const. McCulloch, himself, got into bad
holes several times to pull cars out. “If I'd
fallen in once more I would have had to
wear my tux,” he remarked on Saturday.

Municipal Constables Tom Quigley, H.
Cartmell and Norman Wells were “right
along with the rest of us through the whole
thing,” Cpl. McKay said. These men, who
police the municipality, put in long hours
answering the incessant phone calls.

“Everybody was trying to get everybody
else through this phone,” said the corporal.
“We were simply flooded with calls.

“The biggest worry was that people
wanted to know about the dams. We were
concerned about people leaving their homes
Tuesday night. The big danger was to

have them rushing about in the dark,” said
Cpl. McKay.

“They didn’t know where the holes in
the streets were. Had they driven into the
holes and upset their cars, then there would
have been a real tragedy.”

Simon Ronacher

Manufacturer of
Ties, Rough and Dressed
Lumber - White Spruce - Fir

Phone 35K, Invermere, B.C.

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ATHALMER, B.C.

Coronation Hotel

Mr. and Mrs. S. Ronacher, Proprietors

LICENSED PARLOUR

Reasonable Rates

Excellent Meals

A HOME FOR THE LOGGER

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ATHALMER, B.C.

Page Sixty-nine

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