Loved ones of helicopter crash victims say time doesn't heal all wounds
CBC
For Karen and Joe Delaney, time doesn't heal all wounds.
They say it feels like just yesterday that they learned their nephew, Corey Eddy, died in a helicopter crash.
The Delaneys say they remember everything about the day Corey died. Although they have learned how to live without seeing their nephew's smile or hearing his laugh, they say the crash is always at the front of their minds.
"There's a lot of ways to remember Corey. Fun loving, laughter, never a dull moment. Always a smile on his face when he entered the room... We often wonder what life would be like, if things never had to happen," said Karen. "It don't get easier. It never goes away. It's always there. Always."
"I know exactly where I was to, what I was doing, how the day unfolded," added Joe. "Right to the minutes."
Sunday marked 14 years since Cougar Flight 491 crashed while travelling offshore to oil fields off the coast of St. John's. Of the 18 crew members on board, 17 died in the March 12, 2009 tragedy.
Family members and loved ones visited the Quidi Vidi lake memorial Sunday to pay respects to those lost in the crash. The memorial also pays tribute to those who died in the Universal helicopter crash off the coast of Placentia on March 13, 1985, which killed six people.
Heather Warren and Marie Morris also say time isn't a healer.
Gregory Morris — Warren's husband and Morris's son — died in the Cougar crash. The two remember Greg as someone who had a contagious sense of humour and who was quick at making friends.
He also rowed in the St. John's Regatta, says Warren, so visiting the Quidi Vidi lake memorial in his honour sparks emotions of nostalgia.
"Everybody loved him, he was well liked," said Warren. "Even to this day, people will talk about him and how he was, and how kind and generous."
Morris says the day of the anniversary is always a difficult one. She says the family has learned how to cope with their grief, but that it's difficult to remember and reflect on what happened the day of the crash.
"When you wake up in the morning on the anniversary it's almost like, you try not to, but you think about the day that it happened and everything that went on," said Morris.
Sheldon Reid is an offshore chaplain with Eastern Chaplaincy, and currently serves on the Hibernia and Hebron platforms. He says it's important to remember and reflect on tragedies like the Cougar crash because the province can learn how to prevent similar accidents from occurring and how to ensure lives are safer on the offshore.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.