Good Samaritans brave B.C. snowstorm to help health workers, cyclists get to work
As snow fell heavy across large swaths of southern Vancouver Island Tuesday morning, a hidden army of helpers were quietly working to ensure others could get to work on time.
Starting at 5 a.m. Nick Poulopoulos and a crew of 4x4 enthusiasts took to side streets, highways and snow-encrusted parking lots to get health-care workers to hospitals and care centres.
The legion of drivers use a Facebook page to coordinate rides for a variety of health-care professionals during major weather events.
Early Tuesday, Luc Gagnon, who works at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital, was thankful he knew about the social media group as he saw the snow piling high.
"I was stressed. I wasn’t sure how I was getting to work," Gagnon told CTV News. "I didn’t want to let my coworkers hang, but I needed to figure out a way. Luckily I saw the Facebook post and I got saved."
By noon, Poulopoulos with had traversed dozens of treacherous side roads and even taken a trip up the Malahat highway to get nurses and other health-care workers to their shifts on time.
"I don’t even care if it puts me out a few bucks of gas here or there," said Poulopoulos. "It’s just the appreciation you get from people. It’s hard to explain."
In an official press release from Island Health, CEO Kathy MacNeill singled out the 4x4 club Tuesday morning.
"We couldn’t take care of our patients and clients without you," she wrote.
BICYCLE-MOUNTED PLOW
As the December storm began to intensify Monday night, a Saanich, B.C., bicycle builder was about to test a new design of his own creation.
Philip Marciniak threw his leg over his latest creation and pointed his wheels towards the snow-covered Galloping Goose trail.
For several years, the Saanich electric bike builder has toyed with designs for a bike-mounted plow, and finally he says his latest incarnation is really clearing a path.
“I was compelled to get out and do some plowing," Marciniak said. "I know folks walking and cycling are often left to put up with some pretty bad conditions."
Several social media posts showing the large e-bike plow clearing snow on Saanich bike paths and sidewalks have picked up hundreds of views since Monday evening.
Marciniak says his latest split-shovel design is much easier to handle than his older designs. His e-cargo bike is equipped with two large show shovels in front of the front tire.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump's Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults
Donald Trump took the stage Sunday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden to deliver his campaign's closing argument with the election nine days away after several of his allies used crude and racist insults toward U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and other critics of the former president.
B.C. election results: Mail-in ballots heavily favour NDP, only absentee ballots left to count
The majority of mail-in ballots tallied this weekend for the final count in B.C.’s nail-bitingly close 2024 provincial election went to the NDP, increasing the party’s chances of clinching a third term.
Here's when you need to change your clock back
Millions of Canadians will notice their clocks turn back by one hour on Nov. 3, marking the end of daylight saving time this year.
New polls show Sask. NDP leading over Sask. Party ahead of election day
A pair of new pre-election polls indicate that the Saskatchewan NDP has a slight lead ahead of election day.
17-year-old charged for driving 188 km/h on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
A 17-year-old Ottawa driver was caught speeding nearly 90 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417.
Hollywood star Victor Garber gets emotional after surprise meeting with his former teacher in London, Ont.
Victor Garber got teary-eyed when he walked into a brunch in his honour Sunday in London, Ont.
Another bumpy week ahead as Trudeau faces deadlines from Liberal MPs, Bloc
Another week, another raft of imminent challenges to Justin Trudeau's leadership of both the country and the Liberal Party.
He lost a finger and survived a kidnapping. Then, this climber took on a 9,000-foot 'death-trap'
With jaw-dropping big wall ascents and a life packed with adrenaline and adventure, climber Tommy Caldwell has had a career worthy of – and captured by – a feature film.
How to make sure your used clothes go to the right place – and not to organized crime
Giving away used clothes for a second life feels like an act of charity – and it often is. But it’s become more complicated. A W5 investigation has discovered allegations that organized crime players are muscling in on charities to access their donation bins.