Going bald for the cause
Larry Bartlett and his luxurious locks of hair were the butt of many jokes Wednesday.
About to go under the scissors for a good cause, the crowd called for two chairs to handle the overflow. They teased his best friend and impromptu barber, Steve Bon, that a chainsaw was needed to tame Bartlett's flowing mane, which had collected almost 40 years of growth.
But at the end of the day, Bartlett's freshly shaved scalp was no joke. Just the end result of $9,076 he raised for the Cops and Emergency Services for Cancer fundraiser at Northgate Shopping Centre.
The fundraiser is near and dear to Bartlett's heart. His dad, Frank, died of cancer about 12 years ago and his mother, Rachel McCord, has beat cancer more than once.
"If my hair, their legacy, can help people benefit, then off with it," the owner of Bartlett's Towing told a gathering at Northgate Shopping Centre's Centre Court, most of whom had came to see his mop lopped off.
About 30 officers, dispatchers, emergency services personnel, along with their family, opted for a close coif for the cause, raising more than $24,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. That didn't include another 16 people who were expected to have a date with the clippers during a similar event in Mattawa.
The fundraiser was established in June of 1994 when Edmonton police Sgt. Gary Goulet decided to take action after hearing about a five-year-old cancer patient who, while in treatment, was being teased at school about losing his hair.
To date, similar events across the country have helped raise more than $23 million.
While Bartlett is a rookie when it comes to a haircut, Amelie Deschamps is a grizzled veteran. Tuesday was the third time the OPP dispatcher ditched her pageboy cut and bared her scalp for the cause, dating back to her time as an auxiliary OPP officer.
"It's a great cause because everyone knows someone affected by cancer," she said. "Myself, I've had a lot of family members and friends who've had it.
"Besides, it's just hair. It will grow back."
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The North Bay Nugget - Ontario, CA
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Women survive nightmare
Posted By Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles
Melanie Rowley lived through her worst nightmare. The Calgary resident who was visiting family and friends
in North Bay this weekend, was sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's truck when it broke through a thin
layer of ice on Lake Nipissing Saturday afternoon. A thick layer of snow hid the nine-by-nine-metre opening
in the ice, about one kilometre from shore, across from the Memorial Drive waste-treatment plant. "We were
a few feet away from an ice shack when all of a sudden the front end of the truck broke through the ice and
started to descend into the water," Rowley, surrounded by family and friends, told The Nugget an hour after the
incident. We had no other choice. We both had to crawl out my window. We couldn't open the doors as they were
submerged. We slid out the window and crawled along the ice on our bellies to safety," Rowley said, crediting
her father for teaching her as a youngster what to do in such a situation. The driver was Rowley's brother's
business partner from Toronto. When she made it to safety, she stood up and then fell to her knees in shock.
This was my worst nightmare," Rowley said. "I always think about something like this happening every time
I'm on frozen water." There were no injuries, but the experience left both women shaken and upset. Rowley,
who was wearing a survivor floater suit, said the scope of the accident didn't hit her immediately. It took
a few seconds after arriving on safe ice and seeing the truck disappear under water to realize the magnitude
of what could have happened. "I don't know what I was thinking, but I was surprised. I thought the water was
shallow enough that part of the truck would be sticking out," she said. An avid snowmobiler, Rowley said the
sight of brown ice is never a good sign. It was then she started to familiarize herself with the window and door controls. "There was a
little voice of terror inside me, but I just kept pushing it down," she said. "I'm now thinking what would have happened if the water
froze the vehicle's electrical system and we couldn't put the windows down."
The incident didn't surprise many fishermen who said the hole has been a problem for "many years" but nobody has taken
responsibility for it. Doug Brandt was fishing in his ice shack when he saw the front end of the truck go under. "I was yelling at them to
get out of the truck and crawl left," Brandt said. "I didn't want them to go right, because they would have fallen through . . . the ice is too
thin there, as well." He said the hole, which locals know is there, should be marked well enough to warn tourists and others who are
not familiar with Lake Nipissing."Yesterday there were waves blowing in the hole," said Brandt, whose ice shack and vehicle were
about 250 metres from the open water. There's 20 inches of ice here, but that hole might have half an inch." Bartlett's Towing arrived
on scene at about 5 p.m. to remove the vehicle. City police and Ontario Provincial Police issued an advisory urging the public to use
caution around the area and on any waterways. Brent Rowley said his business partner immediately left the lake."Half of our group
has gone home and a lot aren't coming back. They're just too distraught." jhamilton-mccharles@nugget.ca Article ID# 897213
Monday, February 18, 2008
Freezing rain made for slick driving conditions across the region Sunday, OPP and North Bay Police Services advised people to stay
home if possible. "There have been a lot of accidents in the region," said OPP Sgt. Connie Young. "Most of the region is experiencing
bad weather conditions. "One truck went over the guardrail on Highway 63 between Average Joe's Eatery and Patio Bar and The Green
Store at about 5 p.m. Sunday. Two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
"It looked as though he slid along the guardrail before going over and resting on the ice," said Larry Bartlett, owner of Bartlett's Towing
which responded to the scene. Sunday, OPP closed several secondary highways including Highway 533 from Mattawa to Highway 63,
Highway 575 from Field to Verner. All have since been reopened. Local towing companies were kept busy. "We probably responded
to about six accidents (Sunday) and we still have guys in ditches on back roads that are waiting for us to get to them,"
Bartlett said. "Most accidents didn't have any injuries. A lot of people slowing down but just not enough."
Other companies including Brown's Towing, Car Care Centre and JM Towing were running ragged trying to keep up with demand.
"Depending where our drivers are and where the call is, wait time for a tow can be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour,"
said Lorraine Strood, dispatcher with Brown's. Jason MacMillan, owner of JM Towing, was so busy at 7 p.m. he wasn't taking anymore
calls. "I got about 18 hours of work ahead of me right now. I am not even taking calls because if I do, by the time I get to them the
sanders will be out and the roads will be better," he said. And for Jim Neil, owner of Car Care Centre, talking to the media wasn't an
option. "I am on the road right now trying to get someone out of the ditch so I can't talk," he said apologetically. As the less than
desirable weather continued Monday, OPP reported only minor accidents. Article ID# 906986
The North Bay Nugget - Ontario, CA
Monday, March 3, 2008
Snowmobiles fall through ice
A Port Loring couple escaped without injury when the snowmobiles they were riding broke through the ice Friday on Restoule River.
The accident occurred at about 8 p.m. Larry Bartlett, owner of Bartlett's Towing, said a crew went to the scene Saturday to assess the
situation. They returned Sunday to recover the two sleds from the bottom of the river. We used our underwater cameras to find both
of the sleds," he said. Bartlett said this has been a busy season for vehicle and snowmobile retrieval from area waterways. "It's been
crazy. We've done more recoveries this year than the last three combined," he said. "It's a bad year, because of the weather and the
many mild spells we've been having. There are many rivers that are open or have only a thin layer of ice covering them."Bartlett said
calls for sled retrievals normally don't come in until the end of March. Article ID# 926084
