Clock Ticking In Tower - City Staff finish time piece

Betty Selin 105.7 SUNFM 2/23/2012

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Ron Gibson and Craig Dobbins

As of 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, City of Vernon Building Services Staff put the final touches on the new clock located in the tower at the corner of 31st Street and 32nd Avenue. The clock replaces one that hadn't been working for a number of years. The new clock is a replica of the 1912 Post Office clock whose historical internal mechanisms were discovered at Historic O'Keefe Ranch last fall and now sit in the Greater Vernon Museum. The dials from that clock, along with an electronic mechanism were installed in the tower in 1971. City Spokesperson, Courtenay Pitcher says the building maintenance staff used innovation and ingenuity to get the original dials down from the tower. Each dial was made of cast iron with leaded glass inserts and weighed 250 pounds. Ian Currie, Manager of Building Services for the City of Vernon says, "We wanted to make sure the historical pieces were preserved." The new clock has an electronic system connected to a satellite controller. It will always be on time and if there is a power failure, the clock will auto reset.  He says this clock should last 25 years.