Employee suspended from work after helping couple out of fire

An Oliver man who stopped to help an elderly couple out of their burning home was given a two-week suspension from work, after his actions caused him to be late for his shift.

Forty-two year old Robert Engen has worked for Weyerhaeuser Canada, in OK Falls, for 20 years. Though he doesn’t want to give any details surrounding his suspension – Engen intends to follow grievance protocol and doesn’t want to discuss the issue with media – he is willing to talk about his involvement with the fire.

On Sunday, May 7, he was heading home at about 4:30 a.m., from night shift at the plant, when he saw suspicious-looking smoke.

"I thought it was someone burning trees or something," Engen said. "But then I saw the big, billowing smoke. I thought I would check it out."

He pulled into the Nazaroffs’ driveway, north of Oliver on Highway 97, and could see the house was on fire. He said the Nazaroffs were up, and in the process of getting out when he went to their door.

"When I got in there, I could hear the crackling," he said, adding the fire was in the attic. "The whole roof was billowing smoke."

Engen made three trips into the home, to help get the couple out. First, he grabbed some family photographs.

"When I went in the second time, I started yelling, ‘Get out!’" On his second trip, Engen took out some more possessions, and the third trip was to get the keys to try to move a motorhome that was standing in the driveway. The Nazaroffs’ son and the fire department arrived, and by that time the flames were shooting out of the roof.

"The flames were 20 to 30 feet in the air," he said. "It was just huge. I was stunned at how fast the whole roof went up."

The fire department was on scene for several hours to make sure the fire was out. The roof was destroyed, and there is a lot of smoke damage, but the house – and contents – were insured and can likely be salvaged, said Oliver fire chief Dave Janzen.

The Nazaroffs were taken to hospital for observation.

Engen, on the other hand, went home to try to get some sleep. He had to go back to work for Sunday at 3:45 p.m.

"I was wide awake. I tried to go to sleep but I couldn’t," he said. His mind continued to replay the events, and he couldn’t settle. He said he finally did fall asleep – but not until 1 p.m. Then, he slept through his alarm clock, and was late for work.

Though Engen will not comment publicly about his suspension, he did confirm that it is for two weeks. He said he called in to Weyerhaeuser, where he is a saw operator, and told them he would be about half an hour late, but when he arrived they told him he was being suspended without pay for poor job performance.

Lawrence Pillon, Weyerhaeuser’s director of government and public affairs, refused to comment, saying they cannot discuss anything about information in an employee’s file, for privacy reasons.

"(But) it is not our policy to suspend somebody for two weeks because he or she is late for work, so there must be other issues," Pillon said.

Oliver man pleads guilty to charges; may face deportation upon release

One of the men arrested in the drug raid of three Oliver homes in March has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.

Oliver’s Jorawar Ganger pleaded guilty in Penticton Provincial Court last Tuesday, May 9, to eight charges, including four counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, and two weapons-related offences.

In the early hours of Wed., March 22, the Penticton drug task force joined local RCMP in the culmination of a two-month operation. Approximately 25 members were involved with the bust, which targeted three houses – one on 384^th Street, also known as Sportsmen’s Bowl, one on 76^th Street, and one south of Oliver near Road 20. Approximately $35,000 in cash, 12 ounces of cocaine, marijuana, opium, and stolen property was recovered, and six people are facing charges.

According to an article in the Penticton Herald, it was disclosed in court Tuesday that undercover RCMP officers were acting on a variety of tips, first meeting Ganger in February to buy drugs. Purchases were made over the next few weeks, including one-ounce packets of cocaine that sold for $1,200 each. In March, they paid $6,000 for five ounces of cocaine – and executed the search warrant the next day.

The Herald reported Crown counsel Tyrone Duerr told court police officers discovered packets of cocaine sitting on the kitchen counter, with more stashed in a kitchen drawer. Rolls of cash were stuffed into jeans and coat pockets throughout the home. About one pound of cocaine was found, alone with 51 grams of opium. There were several weapons, including a loaded .38-calibre snub-nosed revolver and a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun.

In a joint submission, Duerr and defence lawyer Mike Smith suggested a 30-month sentence would be appropriate. Smith noted Ganger, who immigrated from India in 1983, could face a deportation hearing upon his release.

Others arrested in the bust are still facing charges.

Championship squad re-uniting for basketball game

It was 20 years ago this month that the Southern Okanagan Secondary School Hornets senior boys basketball team, led by the precision passing of Carlton Haak (remarkably, only in grade 10 at the time) and the strong inside play and scoring of towering centre Spencer McKay, claimed the provincial "Single A" basketball championship. In a memorable final game before a raucous home crowd, which almost lifted the roof off the SOSS gymnasium, the Hornets defeated their arch-rivals from Pitt Meadows 65-55 to earn the title of provincial champion.

Next Friday, May 26, virtually everyone associated with that championship squad of 20 years ago will be back for a game against the 2006 edition of the Hornets. Tip-off time is 7 p.m. in the SOSS gymnasium, and everyone interested in basketball and a bit of nostalgia is invited to be on hand.

Virtually all the players, managers, and coaches associated with the ’86 Hornets have been contacted and have confirmed their attendance for next Friday’s game. They include Bruno Verdinho, Richard Fournier, Shawn Fehr, Chris Jones, Spencer McKay, Blaine Hovanes, Jazret (Rob) Mraze, Robert Doerfler, Carlton Haak, Michelle Surovy, Theresa Ziebart, and coaches John Doughty and Ron Lee.

One face will be notably missing, however. The recent death of Paul Goncalves, a forward on the ’86 squad, has added a poignant note to the plans for the reunion game.

"When we all heard of Paul’s sudden passing, we thought of whether to proceed with the game or cancel it," said coach Lee. But everyone on the team now wanted to play more than ever in Paul’s memory. I think Paul would have wanted it that way."

"It’s been a lot of fun tracking down the crew, from California to northern British Columbia to Belgium, and all points in between. I know they are really looking forward to this get-together."

Big Brother?

The campaign against rural garbage pick-up being conducted by Bill Guenther must be losing steam. Evidence of this is in the escalating language being used to describe the regional district and its program.

"Monstrous implications," "enslaved by the system," "Orwellian," and finally "Big Brother gaining control of our freedoms and our lives" suggest that our citizens are being dragged off by the garbage police to undisclosed locations.

There are many situations in the world that can be truthfully described with such language but a garbage program approved by referendum doesn’t qualify.