features

of which is already underway
during our visit.
" We don't see any problems
with Stephenville as long as our
traffic stays steady," Pat comments
on his return. " Transport
Canada has spent about seven
million dollars here in the last
five years and the ma ster plan
foresees a new combined services
building in the near future .
The work going on at the moment
is related to the navigation
system. The new localizer improves
the a irport's usability by
making landings possible in
marginal conditions . The ceiling
can be as low as 300 feet. In actual
fact, the usage of this airport
on a year -round basis is 98.9 per
cent. which is the highest in
Spillway
Canada . Stephenville is close to
us, but St. John's is much lower.
I can't remember a single day
since I cam e here in H172when an
aircraft couldn 't get in. It gets
cold here in the winter a nd ther e
may be more snow, but we don't
have icing problem s. You ca n't
use salt becau se of metal corrosion,
so the runwa ys are kept
clear of ice with urea and we use
about 40 tons in a normal yea r,
never more than 50 tons. We
order it from the ma inland in the
spring for fall delivery."
The day before we arrived, Pat
was involved in an Emergency
Planning exer cise tha t included
a mock air crash. The plannin g
and supervision involved is part
of his job, which often takes on
aspects more associated with
Local improvements cost money
I
mmedia tely to the west of the
power house at Deer Lake
flows a small brook called the
Spillway. It acts as the western
boundary to the town of Deer
Lake and also lends its name to
a community ofapproximately 75
houses nestled in the bend of the
river. We met with Marilyn
Young, head of Spillway 's Local
Service Committee.
"I'm not hard to find, but I'm
hard to find at home," says the
32-year-old mother of two.
"I've lived here on and offsince
1971 , I'm a Hutchcroft from.
Stephenville. But my husband
Terry's family was the first one
here . Terry's grandmother Delia
Young, she 'll be 90 this January.
I couldn 't tell you how this place
started, but I know that after the
Youngs came the O'Neils , and
they were in logging.
"We have about 15 senior
citizens and a whole lot of young
families. I'd say about hall the
houses here went up in the last 10
years."
The houses in Spillway spread
up the hillside away from the
brook and its flood plane lbat
New Community Hall, Spillway
DECKS AWASH - 43
tho se of a mayor or town
manager.
" We' re completely selfcontained
," explains Pat. "We
have our own water and sewage
systems and our own power
backup. We're responsible for the
access road and running an airport
rea lly is like running a small
town. All the power comes from
the grid through one building and
we supply everywhere from
there . Fire is a constant worry
for me with my fire-training
background. There is one waterbombe
r crew sta tioned here and
new accom modations are to be
pro vided for them like thosein St.
John's and Gander. Our crew has
seen a lot of action in the last few
yea rs."
and only one small store , but
Deer Lake is close enough that
Spillway's inhabitants have most
of the advantages of a larger
town without the costs. The only
tax levied is a $10 service fee used
mostly for garbage collection.
"As a Local Service District we
can't charge a poll tax, issue
drilling permits, or control dogs.
But we can improve the local
community. We've supplied
stree t lighting, we keep up the
roads , and we've built a communit
y haH."
The 28ft. by 56ft . hall was built
under a $70 ,000 grant this summer
and gave badly needed work
to 10 men, eight of them from