MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- If the average person is upset losing $20, one can only imagine how upset large companies shipping across Canada feel about losing almost nine billion dollars to cargo theft a year.

Canada’s insurance agencies are saying cargo thieves are becoming more aggressive, violent and frighteningly organized. Unfortunately, this means truckers are being subjected to an increased number of hijackings and sustaining injuries during these incidents.

The bad news doesn’t stop there -- it is estimated that for each theft reported, there are four that aren’t. Police believe money from the cargo thefts are used for drug and weapons trafficking, along with funding gang activities. The police investigate what they can but because of limited resources, there is a low success rate of prosecution for these criminals.

The Private Motor Truck Council has some ideas on how to combat this growing problem. With the assistance of insurance companies and the RCMP, they have compiled a security checklist for fleet operators. The checklist is available for free download at www.pmtc.ca.

The checklist is recommended for use by fleets that are looking to institute a security protocol or are looking to add to existing security practices. The checklist is divided in seven sections, designed to address different physical and personnel related practices found in most trucking operations.

To provide additional feedback on the checklist or to offer suggestions to add to the list, e-mail them at info@pmtc.ca, call them at 905-827-0587.

Source: Today's Trucking

CALGARY-Class I railroad carrier CN (Canada National Railway Company) said today it will be constructing a new $100 million CN Calgary Logistics Park. The facility will be located northeast of Calgary in Conrich, which is part of Rocky View County and is expected to open up in 2013.

Company officials said the 680-acre park will include a state-of-the-art intermodal terminal, with room for shippers to co-locate with CN and custom-build their facility in place. They added that the Logistics Park will be designed to include a multi-commodity transload and warehousing facility, an automotive compound, and a liquidbulk transload and distribution facility.

Other notable offerings of the new park include:
-the potential for a total warehousing footprint of more than two million square feet for shippers distributing goods across Western Canada that is sourced from various North America regions; and
-the fastest rail freight transit time between Eastern Canada and Western Canada, which will be advantageous for shippers managing inventory during Peak Season.

"We have been in discussions with various customers who have inquired about building or relocating distribution centers near the Calgary region," said Kelli Svendsen, senior manager, Government and Public Affairs at CN, in an interview. "The Conrich region provides an excellent location to accommodate their needs and allows us to grow along side of them."

CN's existing rail yard in Calgary was built more than 30 years ago, said Svendsen, and while it has served CN very well over the years, she explained it cannot be expanded.

Shipper benefits: The new facility also provides access to the most competitive land value in Western Canada, as well as container storage yards and chassis storage available, and, heavy container handling, direct road access-which, Svendsen explained, is nearly unrestricted highway travel, door-to-door service through CNTL, the CN's trucking business, and direct rail connections to CN's network, with access to markets in Edmonton, Vancouver, United States, and Mexico.

"CN's rail network reaches 75 percent of the U.S. population...and we have the fastest, most reliable inter-modal service in the rail industry," said Svendsen.

CN President and CEO Claude Mongeau said in a statement that this facility is part of CN's program to grow a network of logistics parks that provide seamless and efficient transportation and distribution capabilities for customers, linking their facilities across North America.

 CN officials said the Calgary Logistics Park project is subject to regulatory approval, which includes a thorough environmental assessment and public consultation.

Source: Logistics Management

Here are ways to cut Olympic hassles and costs, plus places to party and watch events even if you don't have tickets for the Feb. 12-28 Games.

Getting there:

Driving could be painful as there will be congestion at the U.S.-Canada border; very tight restrictions on driving and parking in Vancouver; limited daytime access to the highway to Whistler; and no parking around any of the Olympic venues (and restricted resident-only parking on nearby streets).

To go car-free, Amtrak (www.amtrak.com) has two daily round-trip trains from Seattle to Vancouver. As of last Wednesday, tickets were available on most trains during the Olympics. Fares vary; $114 round-trip is typical for the period.

For a day trip, an early-morning train to Vancouver and evening train or bus back will give you five to six hours in the city. Or, if you're energetic and can stay up all night, the city's clubs and bars will be hopping and Grouse Mountain, just north of the city, even has 24-hour skiing during the Games. You'll avoid the $500-plus per night that Vancouver hotels are charging for an Olympics stay -- yes, rooms are still available at some hotels -- and you can sleep on the train or bus home the next morning.

Both Greyhound (www.greyhound.com) and Quick Shuttle (www.quickcoach.com) offer frequent daily buses between Seattle and Vancouver, and special lanes at the border help speed buses through. A Greyhound round trip starts around $40 with advance purchase.

Or Alaska Airlines and Air Canada have frequent Seattle-Vancouver flights.

Border and ID:

While Canadian entry requirements are less stringent, U.S. citizens need a passport or other approved ID (such as Washington's enhanced driver's license) to return across the U.S.-Canada border; see www.getyouhome.gov.

If you're driving, get border information, both northbound and southbound, at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/border/. U.S. customs officials don't expect delays to exceed 90 minutes at peak times since some inspection lanes have been added at major crossings.

Signs near the border show delays at the Peace Arch crossing at Interstate 5 and the "truck crossing" on Pacific Highway about a half-mile east (open to all vehicles, despite the name), helping you choose the quickest one. Travelers also can cross farther east at Lynden (Aldergrove on the B.C. side).

 

 

Two Calgarians have been killed in a headon highway crash 25 kilometres east of Revelstoke early this morning. A 29-year-old Calgary semi-truck driver and his 39-year-old passenger were eastbound when their rig crossed the centre line, colliding with a westbound semi this morning at 2 a.m., Revelstoke RCMP say.Photograph by: Courtesy Revelstoke RCMP,

CALGARY - The deaths of two Calgarians in a head-on crash Wednesday near Revelstoke, B.C., has renewed calls to improve the deadly stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The two men died when their eastbound semi crossed the centre line and crashed into another transport truck at about 2 a.m., say Revelstoke RCMP.

Both the driver, 29, and his 39-year-old passenger died in the crash, which left two kilometres of debris strewn along the highway. Their names were not released.

A third truck was caught in the debris field and crashed. The drivers of the other two trucks were not injured.

Cpl. Rod Wiebe said witnesses reported the Calgary truck was being driven erratically just moments before the crash. It's too early to know the exact cause of the collision, or whether speed, alcohol or weather conditions played a role, he said.

Revelstoke Mayor David Raven said crashes on the highway are becoming too commonplace.

"The community has a rescue society that ends up picking people off the highway. It's a cost to the community and it's very devastating to us to have to clean up after this carnage," said Raven.

The road is challenging and "truck traffic exacerbates that challenge," he said.

"I wouldn't want to comment on semi drivers as a group, but some are better than others," said Raven.

"Some are very professional and some are learning."

Mohamed Malik, who drives the stretch of highway daily, said it can be difficult, especially in winter.

"When it snows, it makes it very bad. The weather makes for terrible driving. That road is very slippery," said Malik while fuelling up at the Road King truck stop Wednesday.

He would like to see the section of the Trans-Canada between Golden and Revelstoke twinned to four lanes. When a vehicle suddenly brakes, drivers have few options, he said.

"You don't have anywhere to go. You can go in the ditch or you can hit the other truck," said the driver of 22 years.

Raven said he will continue lobbying for the twinning of the highway from the Alberta border to Kamloops, B.C.

"It's a mountain road, it's deep and it's two lanes. It's built to a standard that was designed in 1961 when it was opened. Speed is a big factor. People just do not drive in accordance to the conditions and in the winter it changes very quickly," said Raven.

There are now no plans to upgrade the area where the crash happened.

Cost and environmental issues make twinning difficult, Raven said. The price tag for the entire project would be in the "several billions," he said.

British Columbia Ministry of Transportation spokesman Dave Crebo said the highway is being twinned at areas where there are high collision rates, high traffic volume and bridges that need replacement.

He cited the billion-dollar improvements at the Kicking Horse Canyon as well as twinning between Kamloops and Salmon Arm -- both because of their poorer safety records.

The area where the crash happened does not have a significantly high crash history, he said.

"What we're hearing is it was nothing with the road, it was a very aggressive driver," said Crebo of Wednesday's collision.

He said the roads in that area are on challenging terrain and upgrades would be expensive. "Progress is being made. The focus is on the sections that are in the greatest need."

Mayne Root, executive director of the Alberta Motor Transport Association, said the organization supports twin highways.

"We do encourage the twinning of highways. It does result in a lot less head-on and side-swipe type crashes," said Root. "It just makes sense to be as safe as it possibly can be."

Source: The Vancouver Sun

The Day and Ross Transportation Group is acquiring a Saskatoon trucking company, a move that helps the Hartland-based firm expand its base in western Canada.

Day and Ross, a wholly-owned division of McCain Foods Ltd., announced it is taking over G. Edwards Enterprises Ltd.

John Doucet, the president and CEO of Day and Ross, said the purchase will help improve the company's many trucking and transportation divisions, particularly in western Canada.

"We gain a modern terminal in Saskatoon which opens up new lanes in western Canada," he said in a release.

Edwards Transport was launched in 1977. Today the company mainly delivers produce, meat and other fresh and frozen foods.

Doucet said the purchase will see Jeff Edwards join the management team at Day and Ross.

"As an owner and key decision maker at Edwards, Jeff's knowledge and enthusiasm for the business will be a significant asset as we work to leverage the full potential of this new opportunity," Doucet said.

According to Doucet, Day and Ross plans to integrate the Edwards terminal into its Fastrax division.

Fastrax is one of Day and Ross's many divisions. Established over 50 years ago, the Day and Ross umbrella also covers Sameday Worldwide and Sable Warehousing. Now one of the largest transportation companies in Canada, Day and Ross provides many trucking and transportation services in Canada - and to and from the United States and Mexico.

Jean Marc Picard, executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association, said he doesn't see the purchase as part of a larger trend of smaller trucking firms being gobbled up by larger competitors.

"I don't think we can read that much into it. Day and Ross is obviously across Canada, so they're just growing their business," he said Wednesday from Moncton.

"I don't think it's a trend."

Source: Business Journal

TORONTO -- Trucking 'ain’t easy, and sometimes it can feel like a pretty thankless job.

But somehow, through all the long hauls, there are outstanding individuals in the trucking industry who make the time to balance work and community. The chance to thank them has arrived with the 2010 highwaySTAR of the Year.

The award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize, is open to company drivers and owner-operators in Canada. The driver should personify professionalism both in his contributions to his community and his actions on the road. Not only is this individual responsible for fuel efficiency and safe practices on the road, but he’s also mindful of his image as a trucker and involved in his community.

This award gives anyone a chance to recognize the effort of a trucker who literally “goes the distance” in every aspect of his life, even when he doesn’t have to.

Along with the cash prize, the winner will receive travel and accommodations for two to Toronto for Truck World 2010, an Espar Heater System, a road-ready laptop from OBAC and a special-edition leather highwaySTAR jacket. Winners will be honoured during the Truck World event on Saturday, April 17, 2010 at the International Centre in Toronto.

Submission forms must be received by March 1st, 2010. You can submit by fax at (416) 614-8861, online at www.highwaystar.ca/staroftheyear, or by mail: highwaySTAR of the Year, 451 Attwell Drive, Toronto, ON, M9W 5C4.

Source: Today's Trucking

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 4 percent in November 2009 from the year’s high in October. Both imports and exports carried by truck were down 5.7 percent from the month before.

WASHINGTON — Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico was 2.9 percent lower in November 2009 than in November 2008, dropping to $58.9 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 4 percent in November 2009 from the year’s high in October. Both imports and exports carried by truck were down 5.7 percent from the month before.

Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors, BTS noted. 

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline.  About 88 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in November was up 5 percent compared to November 2004, and up 28.5 percent compared to November 1999, a period of 10 years. Imports in November were up 25.1 percent compared to November 1999, while exports were up 32.7 percent. 

U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $35.0 billion in November, down 7.2 percent compared to November 2008. The value of imports carried by truck was 6.1 percent lower in November 2009 compared to November 2008, while the value of exports carried by truck was 1.8 percent lower during this period.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in November with $4.3 billion.

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $23.9 billion in November, up 4.4 percent compared to November 2008. The value of imports carried by truck was 11.5 percent higher in November 2009 than November 2008 while the value of exports carried by truck was 1.7 percent higher.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in November with $8.2 billion.

The TransBorder Freight Data are a unique subset of official U.S. foreign trade statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau. November TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of Jan. 14. BTS will release December TransBorder numbers on March 2.

Source: The Trucker

TORONTO, Ont. -- Ontario trucking companies are increasingly optimistic about their prospects going forward, according to the latest Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) Business e-Pulse Survey.

 The most recent edition shows the fourth consecutive quarter of improving optimism among the 75 fleets that responded.

 Fifty-two per cent of carriers said they were optmistic about the overall prospects of the next three months, which marks the first time the majority voiced optimism since the OTA began its survey in the third quarter of 2008. In the first quarter of 2009, for instance, only 17% of carriers were optimistic about the impending quarter.

 But while carriers are increasingly optimistic, many (37%) remain uncertain.

 “The survey results give credence to the view that the worst is over for the economy, but things remain fragile. There is still concern for the US economy, in particular southbound shipments, which also reflects upon the outlook for Ontario’s export-based economy as well,” surmised OTA president, David Bradley.

 The OTA survey indicated the recession ended in the second half of 2009. Eighty-two per cent of respondents feel the Canadian economy has bottomed out, 69% think things can only get better in Ontario and 59% feel the US economy is on the mend.

 Fewer carriers reported declines in freight volumes over the past three months in intra-Ontario, interprovincial, southbound US and northbound US lanes. Volume improvements were more pronounced within Canada than across the border, the survey found. Thirty-four per cent of carriers suffered freight volume losses of 20% or more over the past year and 23% said they suffered a 10-19% decline in freight.

 Freight rates continued to be a source of concern, according to the latest survey, but less than 11% of respondents reported that rates were continuing to fall while 35% felt that way a year ago. Most respondents said rates are remaining at current levels but some firms reported modest prospects for firming rates over the next six months.

 Seventy-two per cent of carriers said they are collecting a reasonable fuel surcharge and 69% said they’re charging accessorial fees to most or all of their customers.

 It seems some shippers are still slow in paying their bills, but the percentage of carriers reporting that shippers are taking longer to pay has fallen below 40% for the first time in the survey’s history.

 Most carrier said they do not intend to increase the size of their driver pools, but they also conceded the worst of the layoffs are behind us. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said their net number of drivers will remain unchanged over the next three months, while 27% said they’d be hiring and only 5% said they’d be shrinking their driver force.

 As far as equipment is concerned, most fleets seem ready to stand pat. Sixty-four per cent said they will not change the net number of tractors or trailers in their fleet, while 26% say they’ll add tractors and 29% say they’ll be buying trailers. Those are improvements over previous surveys. Only 10% of fleets plan to reduce their number of tractors and 7% will shrink their trailer capacity.

Source: Truck News

Truck drivers who use CB radios to communicate are able to continue to use those radios for at least another three years, despite the new distracted driving legislation.

The legislation, which came into effect in October, bans talki

ng, texting or using an MP3 player or GPS unit while driving. As of Monday, violators face $155 tickets.

Stephen Conners, a dispatcher with Glenn Windrem Trucking on Whittington Dr. in Lindsay, said the legislation allows professional truck drivers use of CB sets.

After about three years, he said, those sets will be replaced by hands-free CB sets.

Police are advising amateur CB and ham radio users to adhere to the new driver distraction legislation, saying a microphone is no different than a cellphone. The Ministry of Transportation says if those radios are being used to assist in an emergency situation, users are covered under three-year exemption until January 1, 2013.

City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service Acting Staff Sgt. Kirk Robertson told QMI Agency that in non-emergency situations "they should be pulling over to the side of the road."

He said there is a three-year phase out on the use of handheld two-way radios for police, fire, emergency medical services, the public service and commercial vehicles, such as transport trucks -- to allow for the development of hands-free solutions -- but that does not extend to amateur radio users who are simply communicating.

Ernie Roylance, treasurer of the Victoria Haliburton Amateur Radio Association, said that was his understanding as well.

"It's the same as a cellphone. A microphone is a hand-held device," he said.

He said ham radio and CB operators will also have to wait until hands-free solutions are developed for their older radios.

"This is not going to be a walk in the park," Gary Doer told an economic think tank in the U.S. capital on Wednesday.

"It's going to be a challenge, and we should be recognizing that and not sugarcoating the challenges for all of us."

But Doer, the keynote speaker at a climate change conference at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said he continues to have high hopes that the goal can and will be achieved by both countries.

"I've always been an optimist, and I'm more optimistic today, with Copenhagen, than I was two months ago without it," he said.

Doer's remarks focused on spelling out for an American audience Canada's goals and accomplishments on climate change. But he faced tough questions from the floor about Alberta's oilsands, in particular, one of the targets of California's recently adopted low-carbon fuel regulation.

The province of Alberta and the federal government are together investing $3 billion to reduce emissions from the oilsands, Doer said.

"That's in recognition that we have to either look at ways before the oilsands are developed or after to reduce emissions from that energy source," he said.

"The oilsands have to be part of the solution."

But the ambassador added that stateside regulations like the one implemented in California raise questions about how to deal with the oilsands from a trade perspective in the weeks and months to come.

"In terms of border measures, it's going to be interesting because should there be border measures against a country with the same target over the same period of time as the United States?" Doer asked.

Results published by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers in November 2009 remained virtually unchanged since October.

Overall freight costs decreased by only 0.1% in November compared The Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) recently reached a milestone: 20 years of certifying courses at entry-level truck driver training schools across the United States and Canada.

“I have to believe that the things we did and the current methods of truck driver training schools as a result of the standards we put together have led to improved, safer drivers out there, and this began with the PTDI,” said Ed Kynaston, who served as the organization’s first president when the Professional Truck Driver Institute of America was incorporated in 1986.

At that time, Kynaston said, “In some states you didn’t even have to prove you could drive a truck; you could apply for a driver’s license by mail.”

Much has changed since then. Despite the lack of a federal ruling regulating industry standards for entry-level drivers, many in the industry have turned to PTDI. Robert McClanahan, director at Central Tech Transportation & Safety Education, who has served on the PTDI board since 1996, said, “In my 14 years of involvement, I have seen PTDI improve by continuing to review and revise standards, keeping up with training and technology changes that have come up over the years, and making sure we are right there as an industry with standards.”

McClanahan said 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of PTDI course certification for Central Tech.

Based in Drumright OK, Central Tech received PTDI course recertification in December, as did the Center for Employment Education, Anchorage AK; and SAGE Technical Services, Billings MT. In addition, the fourth Baker College in Romeo MI received initial course certification.

The PTDI board recently completed the first comprehensive review of the Entry-Level Skill, Curriculum and Certification standards.with October. Base rates, which exclude the impact of fuel surcharges assessed by carriers, fell 1.5% while average fuel surcharges increased by 7.4% from the month before, negating the benefit of the base rate reduction.

“After many months of steady decline, it appears that we are entering a period of stabilizing freight costs,” said Doug Payne, president of Nulogx. “Going forward, we anticipate that further cost reductions for shippers will come from improved productivity, as opposed to the market forces that have been at work over the last 18 months.”

The CGFI is sponsored by Nulogx, a transportation management systems provider, and is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements. It was developed with the assistance of Dr Alan Saipe. The most recent results are available at www.cgfi.ca.

Source: BULK TRANSPORTER

The warning period is over and fines have begun for distracted drivers in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.

Police began handing out fines starting Monday, Feb. 1, for those caught using hand-held communications devices while behind the wheel. Fines are $155 in Ontario and $167 in B.C. Those caught texting in B.C. while on graduated licensing could receive three penalty points.

“The distracted driving law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or e-mail using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices,” Ontario Ministry of Transportation officials stated. The ban also applies to laptop computers and DVD players.

Pressing one button to answer a call is permitted, while hands-free technology and the use of communications for emergency purposes are exempt.

According to Ontario’s posted regulations, some commercial applications are exempt from the law until Jan. 1, 2013. Commercial exemptions apply to drivers engaged in work duties using two-way radio communications in the following: courier delivery vehicles, tow trucks, roadside assistance, taxicabs, limousines, street cars and road-building machines.

The B.C. law allows the use of two-way radios for commercial purposes.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI-I went to see Jonatha again today. She is the 2-year-old girl who was plucked from the rubble of her home six days after the devastating earthquake and brought to a make-shift medical clinic near the airport. It’s very likely her parents are dead.

I found her sitting on a mattress eating macaroni and cheese and singing to herself under a tree while volunteers looked over her.

Despite the trauma she has been through, she is safe and happy. That’s the good news.

The bad news is there are another 50 Haitian orphans arriving at the clinic’s jerry-rigged gates every day, desperate for food. And there is a line 30 women deep, most holding babies sick with fever, diarrhea and rashes from living on the street. They are hungry too.

“This is literally all we can give you,” says John Bopp, handing a fistful of powdered formula and the clinic’s third-from-last baby bottle to 38-year-old Jojette Joseph. Her son is three — well past drinking formula. But she is desperate and takes it. Her husband broke his back in the quake, and she has four children to feed.

The once-barren clinic is now flush with supplies, most of which were flown in last weekend by Air Canada, after COO Duncan Dee heard on television the gut-wrenching screams of victims undergoing operations here without anesthetic. As a result, there’s a line of donated tents that serve as hospital rooms for the trauma patients, stockpiles of antibiotics and bandages. The problem is, two weeks after the earthquake, few trauma patients are arriving to hospitals anymore. In there place are mothers with dehydrated and feverish children.

“We are inundated with surgery supplies. It’s the basics we don’t have,” says Bopp, a fourth-year university student from Massachusetts who dropped his political science courses to fly here to help. “We don’t have Baby Tylenol, but we have 2,000 disposable insulin syringes. What are we going to do with that? We don’t have insulin and if we did, there isn’t refrigeration.”

The bags of rice, purified water and medical help are being delivered across the city. Just not enough. It’s a question of quantity. About 1 million people lost their homes in the quake and many are living in crowded camps around town or on the streets now. Only 283,000 have been fed, according to the UN.>>>>>>>>.....................

WOODSTOCK - As RCMP Sgt. Mark Gallagher at last finished his long journey back to his family and his New Brunswick home yesterday, 16 days after he was killed in the Haitian earthquake while on a UN policing mission, it was perhaps Woodstock Mayor Arthur Slipp who captured the day best.

Hundreds of police officers from across Canada and the United States salute the hearse carrying Sgt. Mark Gallagher yesterday in Woodstock.

RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

Hundreds of peace officers from across Canada and the United States line both sides of Connell Park Road in Woodstock as they wait for the hearse carring Sgt. Mark Gallagher.

RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

The casket of Sgt. Mark Gallagher sits at the front of St. Gertrude's Church in Woodstock yesterday surrounded by the RCMP pallbearers that carried Mark into the church.

RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

The body of Sgt. Mark Gallagher is carried into St. Gertrude's Church in Woodstock yesterday.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Lisa Gallagher returns to her seat after speaking at St. Gertrude’s Roman Catholic Church in Woodstock yesterday.

RON WARD/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

A book of condolence sits on a table at Woodstock High School yesterday during a reception following the funeral service.

"Until you actually witness the march of all those uniformed officers, you have no appreciation for how emotional that is," Slipp said. "It was a sobering yet an uplifting experience at the same time."

Accompanying the hearse bearing Gallagher down Woodstock's Main Street to St. Gertrude's Roman Catholic Church were 18 pipers, nine drummers, and an estimated 700 peace officers from two nations.

The different law enforcement agencies represented were too numerous to properly count, but among them were RCMP members literally from every province. Also spotted were police officers from Edmonton, Toronto, Hamilton, London, and the Ontario Provincial Police, as well as a number of officers from the Sureté du Quebec, the Maine State Police, various Maine sheriff's departments, U.S. Customs, U.S. Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary sent two officers, and even the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, a force of 134 uniformed police officers and 30 civilians that patrols northern First Nations across two-thirds of the land mass of Ontario, freed up two of its members to attend. One of them, Staff Sgt. Jamie Mageau, said he knew the fallen officer from his own days as a Mountie, which either said something about the fraternity of policing or Mark Gallagher or both.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.....................

IdleAire, Inc. announced on Thursday, Jan. 28, that it will cease operations on Friday after failing to find a buyer for the company.

Wray Williams, director of sales and marketing for IdleAire, confirmed the news for Land Line on Thursday.

According to a statement, released late Thursday, by IdleAire, the Knoxville, TN-based company is owned by six investment management companies who were working together on a sale of the company.

The statement detailed that more than 150,000 professional drivers and more than 1,000 fleets were “actively using IdleAire services,” which included “providing filtered heating and air conditioning, electrical outlets and a range of communications and entertainment options.”

“The company had made great strides toward profitability in the midst of a very challenging operating environment,” the owners said in a statement. “We believe IdleAire had strong growth potential and was well positioned to capitalize on the recovering economy. We are very disappointed that the company is forced to cease operations at this juncture.”

More than 315 employees will be laid off as a result of IdleAire’s closure. However, employees were notified in November 2009 that layoffs could occur. At the time of the closure, IdleAire had 131 locations in 34 states.