BOMB Squad eyes trails

Upgrading Millennium Park trails is on this years BOMB (Bloody Old Mens Brigade) Squad plan, but the group is in need of liability insurance coverage.

Representatives were at the City of Powell River committee of the whole meeting March 20, with a proposal to upgrade the trails. Once a year the team meets to choose up to 20 projects for the coming years labour.

The proposed work would concentrate on Willingdon Beach trail, UNAMIT trail, McFall Creek trail, the cut connector, kingfisher trail, triple by-pass trail and McGuffie Creek trail extension. The squad also plans to re-establish a lost trail along McGuffie Creek that previously existed until about 2000. The new trail construction will provide a link to Powell River General Hospital complex and the existing trails beyond.

Its generally recognized that the trails are lacking a bit of attention for ease of use and for safety reasons, Mayor Dave Formosa said. The timeline is a bit of a concern. I guess what we can commit to is to make it a priority because we know that the seasonal influx is just around the corner.

Tony Matthews was the BOMB Squad founder and a long-time member of the community. In 1986 Matthews decided to build a trail from Haywire Bay to Mowat Bay, touching a few of his favourite fishing spots along the way. When the route was finished, it ran from Mowat Bay past Lost Lake and Inland Lake before winding back to Mowat Bay. When it came time to build bridges over creeks and waterways, Matthews enlisted the help of friends Roy Hurt, Roger Taylor and Jim Koleszar. Taylor and Koleszar were carpenters in the mill for 40 years. Hurt was an electrician.

In 1988 we finished the bridge and we met up with another four people who were also building trails, Taylor said. We discovered our goals were similar and joined forces.

Originally working under the auspices of what was the ministry of forests, the squad was covered under the ministrys liability insurance. When the forestry service branched out and developed a recreation department it didnt have the funds or the bodies to do what it needed to do. The BOMB Squad was a team of 22 men, Taylor explained. We needed a liability clause but were unable to obtain one. Our need to associate with an organization to get liability coverage matched the ministrys need for bodies. Forestry took us under wing and supplied us with what we needed and supported us with a liability clause.

Taylor said the squad was able to cut down the odd tree if absolutely needed in order to construct the trails. Everything we built in the forest came from the forest itself.

He pointed out that at one time there was a rumour that the trails built by the squad were unauthorized. The fact is, whenever we built a new trail we turned it over to forestry under section 54 of the Forestry Practices Act. We maintained the trails by virtue of the agreement we had with them.

Formosa said the trails and bridges the bomb squad has built over the years are noted worldwide. Weve never had this opportunity to extend our sincere appreciation to the crew.

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BOMB Squad eyes trails