Pipeline staff helped by firefighters pay it forward

O.J. Pipelines field workers and staff collected $10,000 to donate to the daughter of a fallen Rosetown volunteer firefighter, in part to thank local first responders for coming to the aid of the company ’s employees involved in a collision earlier this year near Kerrobert.

Corporate safety manager Paul Stuckless said they tried to keep the donation “low key” and deposited the money into an account in Rosetown created to help Darrell Morrison’s daughter with her post-secondary education.

Morrison, 46, was killed in the line of duty while responding to a collision between two semi trucks on Nov. 21. The Rosetown and Biggar Fire Departments and Rosetown RCMP had responded to the scene on Highway 4. A passing semi struck Morrison and he died.

O.J. Pipelines has workers and staff at a site based in Kindersley, where they passed around collection envelopes.

“We just thought it would be a good time to repay the favours that the local emergency services crews did for us when our bus accident happened,” he said. “We drew on emergency services from all the local communities, Kerrobert, Kindersley, Biggar, Rosetown.”

On Sept. 14, a bus carrying O.J. Pipelines workers collided with a semi at the intersection of Highway 51/21 and Highway 31. Six people were taken to hospitals in Saskatoon, Kerrobert and Unity.

Since then, four of the injured workers have returned to work on modified duties; two have not returned to work.

This Christmas season gesture isn’t the first of this kind for the company’s workers. Employees at O.J. Pipelines collect money when one of their colleagues requires assistance, Stuckless said.

He said the workers weren’t seeking publicity when they made the donation. “Somebody let the cat out of the bag,” he said. “It’s all good.”