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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-07-27, Page 22 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, July 27, 2016 Lake Huron Steel Horse Riders warn bikers of dangerous Concession 6 turn Darryl Coote Reporter An innocuous -looking S-bend turn in Concession 6, just east of Highway 21, has downed at least four experi- enced motorcyclists in the past four years, resulting in serious injuries. The road is often empty and would seem ideal for a nice summer cruise through farm country. However, a click east from Highway 21 there's a short bridge fol- lowed by an S-bend that on its final left turn banks right and can easily destabilize even an experienced rider. Mike Smiley, owner of Smi- ley & Company Custom Motorcycles, which is on Con- cession 6 just up from the S-bend, said it sneaks up on you, catches you by surprise. "Visualize yourself coming off of Highway 21. You come down over the crest, over the bridge, that first corner at the bottom there, you swing around nice and easy, you come up the grade and once you come off the grade it's right in that spot there," he said from the road pointing at the section of asphalt in ques- tion. "You see how the road tilts down. Most of the guys we've had hurt have hit this culvert, that pole, that ditch Darryl Coote/Reporte Lake Huron Steel Horse Riders president Brenda Brown drives toward the S-bend turn on Concession 6 that has caused four experienced riders to crash in the last four years. between the two poles and one a little bit farther back" He pointed at the covered stream, the hydro pole, the ditch and the road. When a rider comes over the hill on the turn, he said, the bike's suspension lifts and when it starts to come down, the road banks right and pushes the bike off the road. Brenda Brown, president of local motorcycle club Lake Huron Steel Horse Rid- ers, said two of the motorcy- clists who crashed here are lucky to be alive. "We have two guys who shouldn't have made it. And two other guys who were banged up;" she said. To prevent other accidents from occurring, the Steel Riders have invested in two large road signs that read "motorcyclists use extreme caution" to go on either side of the S-bend. "If it prevents one, it is going to be worth it," Smiley said, who is also one of 40 patched members of the Steel Riders. The Township of Huron - Kinloss is behind this idea, he said, and will cover half of Patched members of the Lake Huron Steel Horse Riders, from left, Steve Small, Brenda Brown and Mike Smiley are hoping to make the roads safer for local motorcycle enthusiasts through adopting the section of Concession 6 that has downed four of the clubs riders in as many years as well as put up signs to advertise the road's dangerous S-bend turn. the $200 for the signs. The other half will be paid for evenly by the Steel Riders and Smiley's shop. It's not costly, he said, and it's not a grand initiative but his club felt they should do something. "Anything, anything has got to be better than noth- ing," he said, adding the S-bend catches riders by sur- prise, "it just sneaks up and bites you. It's momentary. You look the wrong way or you don't have the perfect line and it's enough just to move you over, hit the gravel and then down you go." The road wasn't used much by the Steel Riders until a couple years ago when Smiley moved his shop out there. Now they use it frequently as he is the club's mechanic. Partially for this reason, the club has decided to adopt this section of Conces- sion 6, which is one of a cou- ple moves they are under- taking to show that they are part of the community. Brown added that the com- munity has been rather stand- offish towards them. She said Bruce Power announces new president and CEO Scott Dunn Owen Sound Sun Times Mike Rencheck will be the new president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power effective Aug. 15, the company's board of direc- tors announced July 18, 2016. Bruce Power said in an announcement he is a "sea- soned executive in the inter- national nuclear industry, bringing to the role extensive experience in nuclear opera- tions, major capital projects and tireless advocacy" for nuclear power's safety and reliability. Bruce Power operates the largest nuclear facility in the world and it provides roughly 30 per cent of Ontar- io's electricity. It employs 4,200 people. Rencheck will take the helm of the company with a new agreement with Ontario in hand to refurbish six of eight nuclear reactors, which should keep the Tiverton site operating until the 2060s. The Ministry of Energy said in a statement when the deal was announced in December that Bruce Power would invest about $13 bil- lion of its own money and agrees to take full risk of cost overruns on refurbishments of the six reactors. Rencheck replaces Dun- can Hawthorne who was Bruce Power's first president and CEO since the company formed in 2001, and who in March became CEO of Hori- zon Nuclear Power Ltd., while committing to remain in advisory role with Bruce Power for a couple of years. Bruce Power spokesman John Peevers said Rencheck would be unavailable for comment until his first week on the job. There's a video interview with Rencheck posted on Bruce Power's website, in which he says he helped with refurbishment of nuclear plants with Ameri- can Electric Power earlier in his career and then he alluded to the job Bruce Power faces ahead. "Complacency, we have to be on guard for that. Each and every step of the way, there is a lot of money that's being invested, people are investing a lot of their careers in this," he said. "So each and every step of the way we have to do it well, we have to do it right, we have to be safe, we have to be on time, on budget." Rencheck's Linkedin site says that since January, he has operated Rencheck Con- sulting LLC. Among his capabilities he lists is "expert in large projects/mega-pro- jects delivery' Rencheck was deputy chief operating officer of French state-controlled AREVA Group from June 2014 to January 2016, where he oversaw its global opera- tions in charge of the perfor- mance of major projects, AREVA's website says. These included nuclear and renew- able projects. Prior to that he was appointed the president and chief executive officer of AREVA Inc. in North America. He was credited in his three years based in AREVAs Lynchburg, VA offices while heading its North American operations, with successfully leading "the turnaround of AREVA NP Inc., improving performance, achieving profitability, and establish- ing sustainable growth," the AREVA's website says. AREVA currently provides "outage, engineering, mainte- nance and staffing services to Bruce Power," Peevers said. It has an office in Kincardine. "They've been a very active vendor of ours," added James Scongack, vice-president of corporate affairs. Bruce Power's news release cited Rencheck's range of leadership positions including chief nuclear officer at American Electric Power and senior vice-presi- dent engineering, project and field Services for AEP's 38,000 MWs of generation assets. "Throughout my career, I have worked closely with many in Canada's nuclear industry and Bruce Power now with eight units in opera- tion. As the new president and CEO, I look forward to build- ing on this success and work- ing with the strong team of employees to continue to deliver Bruce Power's role in Ontario's Long Term Energy Plan," Rencheck said in the release. "I also look forward to building on the reputation Bruce Power has built as an organization that is commit- ted to its number one value of 'Safety First,' while also playing a positive role in the commu- nities where it operates and delivering safe, low-cost, clean and reliable electricity to Ontario families and businesses." In 2014, Rencheck was rec- ognized by the National Safety Council for his leadership demonstrating a personal commitment to worker safety and health as part of "CEO's who get it." He has helped Habitat for Humanity and the United Way. He is a profes- sional engineer and has a master's degree in manage- ment and computer it is because of the stigma that surrounds the black leather and the loud bikes. Smiley said they hope these signs and the adoption of the highway will encour- age local residents to see them for who they are -- motorcyclists who care about their community. "We're part of the commu- nity,"" he said. "I mean, we're business owners, we're moms, we're pops, we're coaches, we want them to see that we're willing to put some- thing into the community to make it safer," Smiley said. information systems from Robert Morris University, an electrical engineering degree from Ohio Northern Univer- sity, and a senior reactor oper- ator certification. "While I know Mike knows our area from his work over many years with AREVA, a company with a strong local presence, I would like to wel- come him to the region on behalf of the County of Bruce, Huron -Kinloss Mayor Mitch Twolan, who is also warden of Bruce County, is quoted as say- ing in the Bruce Power news release. "We are honoured to have attracted an international nuclear leader to our commu- nity to support this industry which is a major economic driver not just in Bruce County but throughout the province," he said. "Bruce Power is an internationally - recognized organization with strong community roots and it's great to see we have attracted an individual from the global nuclear industry who also has a track record of valuing community."