Unique situation | Battleford target removed due to objections, pole damage
SaskPower will no longer allow a firearm target to remain attached to one of its power poles near Battleford, Sask., following an ongoing dispute between two neighbours.
However, the Saskatchewan crown corporation will continue to allow the practice of hanging targets on power poles if approved beforehand on a case-by-case basis.
Tyler Hopson, media relations leader at the utility company, said in an email that he’s not sure how many more practice targets are on SaskPower poles in the province.
“I’m not aware of any other similar cases, although, with 151,000 kilometres of power line in the province, I wouldn’t rule it out,” he wrote after refusing requests for a phone interview.
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“That being said, this is a unique situation and is the only one we’ve dealt with in recent memory.”
He said each situation is dealt with on a case-by-case basis to address specific concerns and reach satisfactory outcomes for all parties.
Paula Kohl, supervisor of strategic communication at SaskPower, wrote in an email that the disputed target near Battleford must be removed because of damage to the pole and objections raised by others in the area.
“Wherever possible, we endeavour to accommodate customer requests, so long as our equipment is not placed at risk and third parties are not negatively affected.”
The target was mounted on a bracket and placed out to one side of the pole, so the pole would not be damaged, but damage has since been reported.
In a recent letter to The Western Producer, Eric Owen described how his neighbour, Edward Ilnicki, installed a firearm target on a pole located on what Owen said is his 10 acre parcel of land, 200 metres from Ilnicki’s house.
Owen included a photograph that shows a wooden pole with a target attached to it. In the background is a school bus and a truck on what Owen said is a secondary grid road.
“If he shoots straight north from his property, he won’t hit anything, but where he is now is right exactly in line with that grid road. The bus travels it twice a day during the week,” he said in an interview.
“North Battleford Sask Power has OKed this as long as they (targets) are on an arm, even though splinters and holes riddle the poles,” he wrote in his letter to the editor.
Owen said he attempted to pay SaskPower $2,400 to have two poles relocated, but his cheque was re-turned.
“I feel frustration because I thought for sure by going to SaskPower to get the poles moved, I thought they would be able to assist me,” he said.
“And then giving him actually permission to do this, to put targets on power poles — that just flabbergasts me why they would do that.”
Jeff Mamer, SaskPower business manager in North Battleford, said field personal determined after a site check that the targets were of no risk to the pole.
Mamer said his office attempted to move the poles but were unable to secure land rights.
Allowing a firearm target on a power pole is odd but not against the law, said staff sgt. Howard Nodwell of the Battlefords RCMP detachment.
“That’s really got nothing to do with us, if SaskPower has no issue with that and is not damaging the pole, we don’t have any problem,” he said.
His detachment has investigated and found no wrongdoing.
“The officers that went out there had a look at it and it’s certainly not something that there’s any evidence that’s posing a hazard to the public,” he said.
“That’s one of the things that I asked the investigators, ‘is this something that’s going to cause a danger to passersby or occupied dwellings,’ and no it’s not.”
However, he said that because of the recent complaints, he plans to advise Ilnicki to consult with the chief firearms officer in Regina to confirm there is no further concern and that it is safe.
Ilnicki could not be reached for comment as of press time.
Owen said he is attempting to arrange a meeting with higher management at SaskPower to override the North Battleford office’s decision not to move the poles.
