L-359 members donate to family of slain teen

Workers, mining contractor raise $5,100

WHEN NEWS THAT 15-year-old Loren Leslie was found slain in central British Columbia, near the town of Vanderhoof, last November, Boilermakers working at the nearby Endako Mine expansion project decided to do something for the girl’s family.

Local 359 (Vancouver) members Kerry Hughes and Chris Frazer spearheaded a collection at the work site, assisted by fellow members Leon McCrea and Gerald Bergstrom.

Contributions from Boilermakers and from members of six other unions of the BC building trades working on the project generated $2,600. Lockerbie & Hole Eastern, the contractor for the molybdenum mine expansion, agreed to match up to $2,500. On Dec. 11, the four Boilermakers behind the fund-raising effort delivered a $5,100 check to Loren Leslie’s grandmother, who happened to live just across the highway from the construction camp. A letter of condolence from the unions and the contractor was also presented.

A 20-year-old Fort St. James man has been charged with the girl’s murder.

L-359 is a shop and construction lodge chartered in 1946.