SHE DRIVES AND DELIVERS

By Myra Ross

Reprinted with the permission of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

She’s the exception in an as-yet-still-male-dominated trade.

Whether it’s a school bus, a loader, tractor trailer, a bob cat, a dump truck, a snow plow, or a flusher truck, Cheryl Graham knows how to operate it.

As a Level 1 Equipment Operator in Underground Services, she holds a Class 1 License, so she’s authorized to drive any combination of truck on the road, a skill she relies on as one of the municipal employees responsible for ensuring potable water is delivered throughout the region’s distribution systems.

A lifelong Ontario resident, Cheryl flew from Ontario to Wood Buffalo in early 2008 and after passing her equipment operation evaluation, she became a permanent employee in June of that year.

“I’ve never worked indoors,” says Cheryl.  “I always wanted to be outside.  I have a farming background with horses and beef cattle and, after my parents died, there was nothing holding me in Ontario, so when I heard about Wood Buffalo and the oil sands, I applied to the municipality as an equipment operator at the end of 2007.

“This is my fifth winter in Wood Buffalo,” Cheryl continues.

“I plowed streets for four years before transferring to Underground Services.”

At Underground Services, which is based at the Water Treatment Plant, Cheryl enjoys a wider variety of equipment to operate during a work day, including a Steam Truck, which produces a high pressure and heated stream of water that is used to clear water pipes; there’s also the Flusher Truck, which provides a bigger hose with special attachments designed for clearing sewer pipes; and there is also the E-duct Truck, which is used to empty septic tanks.

Back in Ontario, Cheryl started as a school bus driver.

“I was getting $250 a month for driving school bus and then I discovered that milk truck drivers were paying out more in deductions that I was making a month…”

So, like the first female milk truck driver before her, Cheryl spent 20 years picking up bulk milk from dairy farms as a licensed Bulk Tank Milk Grader.

On holidays, Cheryl often returns to her acreage in eastern Ontario.

Being outdoors and an expert in getting from point A to point B is an over-riding theme in Cheryl’s life, from her livelihood to her recreational pursuits.

She also travels to a farm off 22X west of Spruce Meadows whenever she can in order to enjoy one of her favourite hobbies:  horses.

“I have a registered Paint that I board with a friend that I know from Ontario,” she says, adding that in the past she was very involved in many aspects of horsemanship.