Pipeline crews raise $10K for daughter of fallen firefighter

When a bus carrying pipeline workers through Kerrobert, Sask. was struck by a semi in September, volunteer firefighters were there to help.

Now the pipeline workers are helping a Rosetown volunteer firefighter who lost her father in November.

Staff at O.J. Pipelines, a company working on the Enbridge Line 3 expansion in southwestern Saskatchewan, are donating $10,000 to Cheyanne Morrison to help with her post-secondary education.

Morrison’s father Darrell was killed Nov. 21 when a passing semi struck him, while he was assisting at a crash site north of Rosetown.

“We heard about the tragedy … and we were working in the same area,” said Paul Stuckless, safety manager at O.J. Pipelines.

“We thought it would be a good idea to raise some money and give to her, maybe perhaps for her education or something else down the road.”

Employees at the pipeline company passed around an envelope, and within a week 500 of them had contributed to a total of $10,000.

That money was deposited in Rosetown to a fund set up for Morrison.

Stuckless said they felt a need to give back after volunteer first responders from Rosetown assisted O.J. Pipeline’s workers when they were involved in a crash in September.

A bus carrying 16 members of the pipeline crew collided with a semi in Kerrobert on Sept. 14, turning the bus over into a ditch and injuring 10 of the people on board.

Stuckless said there were broken arms, shoulders and internal injuries. Two of the injured haven’t returned to work, while others are on modified duties as they continue to recover.

Crews responded from all around Kerrobert, including Rosetown.

“We know they’re there when we need them, and we thought we should be there for one of them,” Stuckless said.

-With files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker.