The fight begins

Story and photos by Aaron Beswick

Adam Reardon and DJ Elliot wondered at what they'd created.

After learning on March 25 the air ambulance service based in St. Anthony is slated to be moved, they got on the phone. By the following morning the two high school students had some 400 protestors in from of the Curtis Memorial Hospital.

"I'm astounded," said Mr. Reardon. "It's a good crowd and a good sign we'll all keep fighting this."

Mr. Reardon and Mr. Elliott didn't let their age get in the way of contacting Straits and White Bay North MHA Marshall Dean, who caught a plane from St. John's to join the protest, Straits area community leaders and St. Anthony area residents whose lives had been aided by the air ambulance.

"We can't just sit around and let them do this to us," said Mr. Reardon. "We've had a plane here for nearly 60 years and now they're going to pry it from our hands. Government is making an emotional reaction to a tragic accident in Labrador where a man lost his life. What happens if there's a tragic accident on the Northern Peninsula or in Southern Labrador? Will they reverse their decision then?"

One of the speakers was Wesley Colbourne, who recounted for the crowd his motorcycle accident.

"The doctor sat by my bed after I'd been on life support for three weeks and told me if an air ambulance hadn't been on the ground, I wouldn't be here today," said Mr. Colbourne. "We know how they feel in Labrador City and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, but this is not the way for government to go about it. It's dirty politics."

Jonathan Hillier, meanwhile, told of a bicycle accident that resulted in a cracked skull and blood clot near his brain.

"If it wasn't for that air ambulance there and ready to go, I don't know if I would be alive or dead," said the teenager.

As for Adam and DJ, they plan to continue planning the fight.