BCTV KOOTENAYS LOCAL NEWS HEADLINE ARCHIVES PAGE 2
LIVE, LOCAL AND LATE BREAKING NEWS
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Aug 2004 to Jan 2005
UPDATED Aug 30, 2005
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Snowboarder buried in Kootenay avalanche
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays Jan 14, 2005--
NAKUSP, B.C. - A 33-year-old Revelstoke man has died after being hit by an avalanche while snowboarding in the Nakusp area.
He was with a group of 8-10 boarders and snowmobilers about 80 kilometres south of Revelstoke on Thursday when the slide occurred.
The RCMP says a heli-skiing helicopter which was in the area at the time was quick to respond with a guide and two doctors.
The unidentified man was flown to to hospital in Revelstoke, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The RCMP and the coroner are now investigating the accident.
Earlier this week, an avalanche warning was issued for the Kootenays following a major snowstorm in the area.
New avalanche warning system about to be unveiled
Jan, 14 2005
VANCOUVER (CKNW/AM980)-- Twelve people were killed in B.C. avalanches last year, and the Canadian Avalanche Centre wants to prevent any more deaths.
That's why it's about to unveil a new warning system that will be comprised of four 'condition alerts' on possible avalanche danger.
The alerts will indicate whether conditions are 'good,' 'poor,' 'variable,' or 'serious.'
The launch of the new system coincides with the start of 'Avalanche Awareness days.
Chopper Crash Investigation Continues
EK RADIO Jan 12---Transportation Safety Board investigators continue to try to figure out the cause of a Dec 29th helicopter crash near Canal Flats. The wreckage of the chopper is at a TSB facility in the lower mainland and technicians are studying the aircraft's motor, transmission, and main rotor to try to determine if a mechanical malfunction caused the crash. TSB Regional Manager, Bill Yearwood, says the fire from the impact destroyed or damaged some of the helicopter's main components and that's making the investigator's job difficult. The Robson R44 was registered in the U.S. and Yearwood says American authorities along with the aircraft's manufacturer and the company that built the engine are helping with the investigation. Burton Goodman, the chopper's pilot from Boulder Colorado, died in the crash.
Missing Skier at Whitewater Walked outTV/BCTV Kootenays
UPDATE 12PM Jan 12 - - -The RCMP and Nelson search and rescue were informed of a missing Nelson resident at the Whitewater Ski area late Tuesday evening and plans were to search for the man at day break Wednesday morning when they were informed that the man had returned home. He had been skiing the Whitewater traverse and had stopped on a cornice which gave way. The man estimates that he slid approximately 1000 feet vertical down the backside of Ymir Mountain. He then had to climb back up the mountain and traverse 1 1/2 km before he was able to ski out. He arrived home at 4am this morning. The Nelson man is bruised and sore from sliding down the mountain but otherwise ok.
6:30 AM Jan 12, 2005---Nelson Search and Rescue and RCMP were gearing up to head to Nelson's Whitewater Ski area this morning to begin searching for a skier who was reported missing late last night (Jan 11) when a report came in that he had been found. Early reports are that the skier walked out on his own at around 4:00 am Wednesday morning in a heavy snow storm, but this report can not be confirmed at this time. The skier is said to be in good condition and is resting at home.
Attacker challenges psychiatric assessment
NELSON, B.C. -Jan 11 2005- A judge has postponed sentencing a Nelson man who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after setting fire to his girlfriend last summer.
Steven Robin Ricketts, 33, is accused of dousing his girlfriend with gasoline and lighting her on fire while the couple was on a camping trip in the Kootenays last August.
Tammy Desjardins sustained second-degree burns to 35 per cent of her body.
- FROM aug. 12, 2004: Woman burned, boyfriend charged
In November, Ricketts plead guilty to charges of aggravated assault for the alleged incident, and was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday.
The judge had ordered a psychiatric assessment before sentencing the former Vancouver man.
But Ricketts is now disputing the findings of that court-ordered assessment. And his lawyer, Ken Wylie, is trying arrange a second assessment.
Wylie has said his client would likely receive a "very significant" sentence for the crime.
Nelson man's death ruled an accident
NELSON, B.C.- Jan 11 2005 - A coroner's inquiry into the death of a Nelson man at the Trail hospital last year says it was an accident, and has not made any recommendations.
Edward Charles Morritt, 75, died from internal bleeding before doctors could operate – more than seven hours after he was first admitted to hospital.
Morritt was working on a greenhouse in his yard last March when he fell, rupturing his spleen.
He went to the Nelson hospital which has ultrasound diagnostic equipment – but it was after hours and no technician was on call to run it.
So doctors called to transfer him to the regional hospital in Trail. But there was no bed available there, so Morritt had to wait an hour to leave Nelson.
It took another hour-and-a half to arrive in Trail. And then another two hours to see a surgeon. Morritt died from internal bleeding before he could be operated on.
At the time, Morritt's family – and the political opposition – blamed his death on the delays in care, caused by changes in hospital system. The B.C. Liberal government had recently closed down hospital services in Nelson.
But now, regional coroner Jeff Dolan has painted a different picture of what happened.
It turns out Morritt was taking a blood-thinning medication that would make any internal bleeding difficult to treat, even if he had been seen quickly.
Dolan also notes that Morritt wasn't physically able to call an ambulance until three hours after his fall.
The coroner says no recommendations he could make would help prevent a similar death in the future.
The Interior Health Authority's Carol Markowsky says that means the health-care system wasn't to blame. "We don't believe there were errors in transferring Mr. Morritt to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital."
But Morritt's family says the coroner's inquiry leaves too many questions unanswered.
Morritt's granddaughter, Sue Heaton, says she isn't interested in assigning blame. She wants provincial government to re-instate some of the services it cut from Nelson's hospital two years ago.
"Ultrasound diagnostic capability needs to be there 24/7. There is no technician after 5 p.m. in that hospital," she says.
NDP leader Carol James is calling for a full public inquiry into Morritt's death. James says the coroner didn't go far enough in asking how government cuts have affected patient care.
What will happen if a tsunami hits our coast Experts say the giant waves could destroy towns, submerge forests, rip up beaches and deposit millions of tonnes of sand far inland - The Ground Shakes, and Then Hell Breaks Loose
January 10, 2005
One day, the ocean floor 100 kilometres west of Vancouver Island will rupture at a point where two of the moving plates that make up the earth's crust have been stuck since 1700.
The energy will be released all at once, the ocean floor will heave and the earth will shake for several minutes.
A tsunami will begin to spread in all directions. Then:
- Residents on the outer coast of Vancouver Island will head for high ground when the shaking stops. There is no time for evacuation warnings.
- In the quake, the island coast falls by an average of one metre, making structures more vulnerable to big waves.
- The tsunami reaches shore in 20 minutes or less.
- The sea may draw back for a few minutes, exposing ocean floor that is normally covered. Then a towering wave will thunder into the shore, only a few metres high in some places, as high as 10 to 15 metres (33 to 50 feet) in others, as it reaches shallow waters.
- Anyone on the beach or on low rocky outcrops when the waves hit is swept into the ocean.
- Beachfront homes and resorts near Tofino are swamped. Flimsier buildings are smashed.
- Hot Springs Cove, north of Tofino, is largely destroyed.
- Zeballos, a small village at sea level in a narrowing valley, suffers severe damage as residents huddle on the mountain slopes.
- At Gold River, Tahsis and Port Alice, some docks and wharves are lifted above sea level, others are permanently submerged.
- The Pacific Rim Highway is swamped where it runs close to the beach.
- The waves undermine shore lines and river banks, toppling millions of trees.
- The tsunami begins to lose energy as it rounds Vancouver Island, especially at the south end. In the northeast, the waves are still up to seven metres high when they crash into Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Alert Bay.
- In the south, Esquimalt and Victoria see waves as high as two to three metres, and Vancouver less than a metre high.
INCREDIBLE tsunami photos
Nelson city worker dies in accident
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS Jan 3 ----A single motor vehicle accident has left one City of Nelson employee dead and another in Trail Hospital with serious injuries. The two employees were in the back of a truck shoveling sand onto a road when the truck began to slide. The truck went over a bank and flipped over, killing 53 year old Angelo Masterbuono and injuring his brother Rocco Masterbuono. Rocco is expected to make a full recovery. The driver of the truck was not injured. Both men are well known residence of Nelson and are senior employees with the city of Nelson.
Railway accident claims a life
Jan 3--Revelstoke RCMP, the B.C. Coroners Service and CP Rail Police Service are investigating the death of a 37 year old CP Rail maintenance worker that occurred 10 kilometres east of Revelstoke at approximately 10:20 a.m. Wednesday.
The preliminary police investigation has revealed that the victim, who was part of a snow removal crew, was observed jumping off the snow removal machinery onto the adjacent track line and into the path of an oncoming eastbound freight train.
Early indications are that the victim did not see the oncoming train when he left his equipment. The main CP line was shut down for approximately five hours while investigators reviewed the incident scene. Weather conditions were determined not to be a factor in the incident.
The name of the victim has not been released pending notification of next of kin. The investigation is continuing.
Cleanup continues after Kootenay derail
UPDATED: Jan 1-Dec 31-CASTLEGAR/CKNW(AM980)--Some CP Rail and Teck Cominco staff will spend their New Year's weekend attending to a multi-car train derailment between Trail and Castlegar in the west kootenay.
According to Castlegar RCMP Constable Teresa Oelke (ol-key) who inspected the scene after the accident yesterday, ten of the cars which tipped contained sulphuric acid residue, which is not rated as hazardous .People and property are not in danger because the train left the tracks in an area that is out-of-the-way.
2 of the 3 train's engines and 2 cars of coal also derailed.
SKIERS SAFE
NELSON, B.C. -Dec 31- An Edmonton man and two other backcountry skiers reported missing Wednesday are safe after a helicopter rescue yesterday. Edmontonian Dave Jefferies along with Christopher White and Scott Meyers were found after a second day of searching that was launched after they failed to return as planned.
"The search was hampered by foggy weather and it was tough to safely fly," said search manager Darcey Lutz.
The trio was located from a helicopter carrying RCMP dog master Terry Barter and two Ministry of Highways staff.
The aerial effort was a lucky break. Fog and freezing rain had kept the helicopter from flying at higher elevations, but the three skiers were below the troublesome weather and their tracks were easy to spot.
Meyers said it was the same weather that got him and his two touring mates into trouble.
"It was completely fogged in on the tour up," Meyers said. "We dug a little cave to wait out the fog."
When the skiers decided to try and get out of the area, they mistakenly headed in the wrong direction in the low cloud.
Meyers is an experienced backcountry skier who's lived in Nelson for four years.
Jefferies, visiting from Edmonton, is an avid outdoorsman as well. White has been avidly touring this season, having moved to the Nelson area from Alberta earlier this year.
Well prepared for the backcountry and realizing they were in for a long night, the trio gathered wood from the burnt-out forest and built a fire, using it for warmth and to melt snow for drinking water.
"We had a pretty good fire all night," said Meyers. "We weren't cold. We were never worried."
Helicopter crash site investigated
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays-Dec 30-CRANBROOK, B.C. -- What are believed to be the remains of the pilot of a crashed helicopter were removed from the scene Wednesday, and crash investigators were arriving in an effort to figure out what happened.
The helicopter crashed Tuesday about 25 kilometres west of Canal Flats in the east Kootenay mountains.
The pilot of the R-44 chopper registered in Boulder, Colo., was alone in the aircraft.
Invermere RCMP Corp. Dale Morgan said police received a call at 2 p.m. Tuesday from some snowmobilers in the area who heard a crash.
"They heard it go down," he said, adding the helicopter crashed in steep terrain.
"There was a fire on the side of the hill and everyone headed for that."
Morgan said the man's identity has not yet been positively determined, however, investigators have interviewed a woman believed to be his wife.
"She just said he loved to fly and look at the mountains," Morgan said.
A 10 person crew from Kimberley Search and Rescue was among the first groups on the scene.
"It came down in dense forest in steep terrain," said Jeff Wright, search manager for the team.
Tsunami Heroes
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays-Dec 30-Nelson BC Canada---Two B.C. men are being hailed as heroes for risking their lives to save a Thai boatman north of Phuket.
Tyler Leinwebber of Kelowna and Troy Pyett of Nelson were in Ao Nang near where Leinwebber operates a dive shop when disaster struck Sunday.
Leinwebber's mother in Kelowna says the two men saw a man flailing in the water, grabbed a kayak and paddled out into the waves to rescue him.
Their kayak was smashed but all managed to survive by clinging to a pier.
Helicopter Crash in the Kootenays
TMTV/BCTV Kootenays--Dec 29--RCMP, the Transportation Safety Board, and the BC Coroners Service are investigating a helicopter crash near Canal Flats Tuesday afternoon.
Columbia Valley RCMP say the chopper was en route from Cranbrook to Revelstoke when it crashed in the mountains Northwest of Canal Flats near the Purcell Wilderness area. The pilot was the lone occupant and the remains have been recovered.
No name has been released, but the helicopter was registered out of Boulder Colorado.
BCTV ON GLOBAL
NEWSHOUR FINAL MONDAY DEC 20
Disabled artists websites hit by hacker
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS--DEC 20-NELSON, B.C. - A hacker has cut into Christmas sales for a group of disabled artists in the Kootenays – taking down their websites during the holiday shopping season.
The artists are part of a government program that helps disabled people create web-based stores to sell local art.
But someone hacked those websites last week, making them unusable during one of the busiest times for holiday shopping.
The Virtual Mall Canada website has links to more than two dozen online stores.
But last weekend, half of the websites were taken down by a hacker and replaced with a note saying, "We got you. Ha, ha,ha."
Kay Ryan, who helps run the training program for entrepreneurs with disabilities, says the hacker wiped out a lot of hard work.
"Everybody was really disappointed because they worked so hard to get ready for the Christmas season,"she says.
"You know they were shocked. This is their first year on the internet, and they're saying, 'What's going on, what's happening?'"
Ryan says the problem was traced back to hackers in Russia, who took down 7,500 sites that same day.
Ryan says it took four days to get the websites up and running again. And now she worries it's too late for many Christmas shoppers to buy on-line. (from CBC)
BCTV ON GLOBAL
TOP STORY SUNDAY DEC 19
Snowboarders found after cold night on mountain
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS--DEC 18-19 & 20--ROSSLAND, B.C. -
-- Three US snowboarders are lucky to be alive after spending an icy cold night on a B.C. ski mountain.
Trail RCMP say the 37 year old father from Colville Washington and his two sons age 10 and 13 were found unharmed today (Dec 19) after a lengthy search in an out-of-bounds ski area of Rossland's Red Mountain.
The three boarders from Washington State were reported missing yesterday by family members.
JERRY BELLA OF ROSSLAND SEARCH AND RESCUE SAYS A SNOWMOBILE TEAM LOCATED THEM SUNDAY MORNING.
"We found them pretty well exactly where we thought we would. They went off the back of the mountain in the Esling Creek drainage, and our snowmobile teams picked them down up in the Sheep Creek area."
BELLA SAYS THEY'RE TIRED BUT OTHERWISE IN GOOD SHAPE.
"They're healthy but extremely fatigued. They've been out for approximately 24 hours, and of that probably 18 or 19 fighting their way down a very extreme area."RCMP say all three are doing fine despite spending the night in freezing temperatures.
DETAILED STORY BELOW
Dad, kids survive all-nighter
Lost trio wandered through night without food, water
DEC 20--A father and his two pre-teen sons who set off on an out-of-bounds snowboard adventure were rescued yesterday after 20 hours lost in treacherous backcountry near Rossland.
"Where they ended up going is probably one of the worst possible places to go," said Rossland search manager Jerry Bella.
"The kids really looked hypothermic. They did a lot better than expected."
Roland Graham, 37, and his sons Justin, 12, and Gavin, 10, of Colville, Wash., made the less-than-an-hour drive Saturday to snowboard at Red Mountain.
Graham's wife Shelley called the ski hill at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday when they failed to return.
The three were found uninjured in an area of steep cliffs near Big Sheep's Creek basin, just after 11 a.m. yesterday.
A humbled Graham said last night he had studied topographic maps and was intent on taking his boys out-of-bounds to Grey Mountain.
But only a few hours in, he got turned around and instead led his sons up Record Peak, then Old Glory Mountain, a 20-hour trek in all.
The Grey Mountain hike, which is recommended only for advanced skiers or snowboarders with full avalanche equipment, normally takes about 45 minutes.
"The first big mistake I made was heading off when it was foggy," Graham said. "I didn't get my visual bearing confirmed and, given the fog, I should have just called it off. It was a poor decision."
Graham and his sons quickly became lost and wandered aimlessly into the night after the sun set at about 4:15 p.m.
They attempted to build a shelter. When that failed, they simply walked for 15 minutes or so then paused and sat on their snowboards.
"The boys were just phenomenal, but emotionally they were nervous as we went into Saturday night realizing it was going to be an all-night ordeal," Graham said.
He promised to donate money to the search-and-rescue groups.
"No one even showed a hint of frustration towards me," he said. "It was just amazing."
Rescuers said the rescue cost between $3,000 and $4,000. Graham, an electronics consultant who said he's "not very experienced in the backcountry," will not be charged for it.
Graham had packed no food or safety gear, not even water bottles.
"He just didn't think," Bella said.
"People who aren't prepared are kidding themselves.
"He was just amazed that we went to all the trouble to find him. He had his tail between his legs."
Graham's distraught wife drove up from Colville and rescue organizer Munro Pickering went with her to meet her family at a farmer's house where rescuers took them for hot showers and food.
"It was very emotional," Pickering said. "They were very thankful and quite sheepish. [Graham] realized he made a mistake and he's taking the blame for it."
About 44 search-and-rescue members from the Rossland, Castlegar and Beaver Valley teams joined in the search.
Trail RCMP Cpl. Al Brown said the trio's misadventure was the result of failing to follow common sense.
"They were out of bounds, and that's a no-no and they know that," Brown said.
"Every search that we've done in the five years I've been here has been people strictly going out of bounds. It's rugged, it's heavy bush, and it's an isolated area. That's not an area you can go out of bounds and not get lost."
SNOW CAUSES PROBLEMS
BCTV NEWS ON GLOBAL
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS DEC 8-Nelson BC-Snow is causing some problems for area motorists, telephone and power companies in the West Kootenays---
Christmas Present Casualty
an accident on the corner of Highway 3 and 3b in Meadows resulted in the loss of a load of christmas presents...The semi slipped off the road and rolled several times down a hill--- losing his haul of Canada Post packages...The driver escaped uninjured but it took a day and a half to clear the load before the truck could be towed...
Marijuana grow-ops are turning to small town BC
TMTV/CTV/CHBC/BCTV Grandforks BC, ---RCMP say operators of marijuana grow-ops are turning to small town BC because of aggressive police enforcement in urban centres. Police have uncovered a network of grow-ops in Grand Forks, likely linked to organized crime. Three people from Vancouver are facing charges after raids on eight homes in the Grand Fork where more than 5,000 plants and growing equipment was seized with a combined value of more than $5 million. More arrests and charges are anticipated. In October, police in Seymour Arm on Shuswap Lake seized 20,000 plants and arrested 16 people.
Tammy Speaks Out
BCTV NEWS on
Tuesday Nov 9, 6PM, 11PM.
TMTV News/BCTV Kootenays for Global TV----Nov 9---Nelson BC, Steven Ricketts recently pleaded guilty to burning his girlfriend (Tammy Levesque) in a gasoline attack which happened this summer in the Kootenays, but Leveque says "the system has let her and her boyfriend down". Several attempts to have Ricketts see a Mental Health Specialist before he poured gasoline on her and set her on fire, failed.
Police raid homes and businesses in Nelson
TMTV/BCTV KOOTENAYS --Nov 5--NELSON -- Police have raided more than 40 businesses and residences in B-C and Ontario in the hunt for records of organized crime proceeds.
R-C-M-P say more than 160 officers were involved in the searches, which began on Tuesday.
Drugs, firearms and currency were seized as investigators looked for accounting documentation to support charges.
About 120 officers took part in raids in B-C.
Warrants were executed in the Lower Mainland and B-C Interior, including a nightclub and several residences in the Kootenay city of Nelson.Documents making up more than 200 banker's boxes will be examined by forensic accountants.
No charges or arrests have yet been made.
Boyfriend pleads guilty to burning girlfriend
TMTV News/BCTV Kootenays for Global TV
Ricketts girlfriend, Tammy Levesque, suffered burns to over 35 per cent of her body and has had several skin grafts since the incident.
Levesque, 29, was camping near Nelson on the B.C. Day weekend when her ex-boyfriend poured gasoline on her and set her on fire.
Levesque has two young children, who police say watched the woman screaming on fire.
Leveseque suffered third-degree burns to her lower back and second-degree burns to her upper back, arm and throat.
Police charged Levesque's boyfriend, Steven Ricketts, with assault causing bodily harm. He will be sentenced in January.
Reports say Levesque was in court to support Ricketts whom she still wants a relationship with.
B.C. man, 93, earns high school diploma
TMTV NEWS FOR GLOBAL TV BCTV NEWSHOUR Airing Monday Oct 18, 6PM, 2004
CRESCENT VALLEY - Oct 18- At 91, Joe (Red) Irving decided to hit the books and complete his high school diploma. Two years later, he has earned not only an 84-per-cent average in all of his subjects, but 100 per cent in three of them.
B.C. man, 93, earns high school diploma
CRESCENT VALLEY -Oct 18 At 91, Joe (Red) Irving decided to hit the books and complete his high school diploma. Two years later, he has earned not only an 84-per-cent average in all of his subjects, but 100 per cent in three of them.
"I think I'm satisfied," says Irving of his marks, noting that many people get averages of only 60 or 70.
Irving admits that many people his age would never consider furthering their education; usually they're just trying to maintain good health.
But he wanted to increase his knowledge.
"You're never too old to learn. Never," says the 93-year-old, who lives in Crescent Valley, midway between Nelson and Castlegar. "You can learn every day of the week and every month of the year if you wish to."
Two years ago, Irving enrolled in an international correspondence school to work toward his diploma, some 78 years after he completed his Grade 9 education.
In 1926 he left East Trail School, where he was one of the first students, when his family moved from Trail to Tarrys, a tiny village between Castlegar and Nelson.
At the time, there was no high school in the area other than in Nelson or Trail.
"That's why I didn't get to go to high school," he says. "I could have gone on the train but then I would've had to stay in town and that would've cost a lot of money. Money was non-existent in those days. They talk about the Roaring Twenties, but that was for a very few."
Every day for the last two years, Irving has placed his nose in textbooks for about two hours to study courses in math, geometry, Canadian history, world history, world science and biology. Once a week, he submitted his homework by mail. He says there are advantages to having left his education for so long, because of all the new knowledge that has emerged in that time. "Take the biology course: When I was going to high school, even doctors had no inclination of all that information.
"You're getting more knowledge today than you would've by graduating 40 or 50 years ago."
While Irving has no inclination to go on to post-secondary schooling, he says receiving his high school diploma has been extremely satisfying.
"After all, it represents a couple years of work instead of wasting my time. I could have been reading the Esquire magazine or the Playboy," he laughs.
"But if you look at my bookcases, there isn't anything like that in them."
Irving's wife Sylvia says she was taken aback when her husband informed her he would be a pupil at 91 years of age.
"I was quite surprised really because it's after all of these years," she says. "I know lots of people go and get their high school [diploma] just to get themselves a better job. I didn't know why he wanted to but I was happy for him that he did it and I'm proud now that he did."
Now, Irving is writing his memoirs, titled Red Iron Over the Canyon, recounting the years he spent as foreman on some of the biggest ironwork projects in the country. He is one of the last surviving ironworkers who built the Lions Gate Bridge.
Irving doesn't know if his educational feat will inspire others. "Some people may get the idea but it's all on your own ingenuity. You have to have the drive yourself."
Sylvia threw a graduation party for her husband on Saturday.
"Where's the Bed Cavalcade & Rally
TMTV NEWS FOR GLOBAL TV BCTV NEWSHOUR Airing Saturday Oct 16, 2004
BCTVKOOTENAYS.COM ---"SOS is driving a 'ICU Bed' (with dummy) on a trailer through Nelson to Castlegar to Trail to bring attention to the fact that there are not enough 'Beds' (i.e. staffing) to handle the number of patients for the West Kootenay and the province. We have the support of Castlegar Heath Watch and Greater Trail Health Watch.
Scam alert
TMTV NEWS for BCTV NEWSHOUR on Global- Airing Friday Oct 15th on the Newshour.Fruitvale BC- - Simply because she aimed to sell her home on-line, a B.C. woman became the target of a rip-off scheme that originates in Africa. You'll see how she narrowly escaped from losing $25,000,
Kootenays ski resort clears one hurdle Province gives environmental green light
CREDIT: TMTV NEWS NELSON BC The proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort has faced much local protest in the Nelson area, but cleared an environmental hurdle Thursday.
TMTV NEWS for BCTV Newshour - -Oct 14 - AIRING OCT 14 BCTV NEWS ON GLOBAL
VICTORIA - A controversial $450-million ski resort in the Kootenays has been given environmental approval by the provincial government.
The Jumbo Glacier Resort in the Purcell Mountains west of Invermere would be a year-round ski and recreation facility.
Sustainable Resources Minister George Abbott says the environmental approval is only one step in a longer road to developing the resort.
He says developers now have to obtain municipal permits and put together a master development plan.
The original development plan covered an area about one-third the size of Whistler's ski resort.
However, the developer reduced the footprint by 60 per cent to cut the impact on the more than 150 grizzly bears in the area.
JUMBO WHITEWASH
BC Environmental Assessment Office Condemns
Jumbo Glacier to Massive Ski Development
TMTV For BCTV NEWSHOUR - -Oct 14 - AIRING OCT 14 BCTV NEWS ON GLOBALKOOTENAYS - The BC government's Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has approved the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort. The proposal, by Glacier Resorts, Ltd., would plunk a 6,250-bed ski resort in Jumbo Valley, a remote area in the Kootenays.
"A massive environmental impact assessment has terminated in a decision that is scien-tifically incompetent," says Anne Sherrod, Chair of the Valhalla Wilderness Society. "The EAO has simply gone down the list of potential impacts and used a giant bottle of good environmental housekeeping rhetoric to sanitize them all," says Sherrod. "The re-sult is a miraculous town that will appear in the wilderness, host 737,000 visitors a year, and have no serious environmental impacts, not even on grizzly bears. It's like saying they're going to walk on water. Most people on the street know that can't happen."
The decision is based upon 15 amendments and 195 changes to the original plan. Re-portedly, this has brought about a 60% reduction in the "footprint" of the project. "Re-ducing the size of the initial project means nothing," says Sherrod. "Once they are built, ski resorts grow explosively. This will bring gargantuan profits to a very few investors who are already very wealthy. If they have this kind of power now, they will be unstop-pable once they have made their investments. The growth pressure will bulldoze every consideration for the environment and the interests of the public."
According to the government, the project with amendments poses only a "low risk" to the grizzly bear population of the Central Purcell Mountains. "That's a shocking misrepresentation," says biologist Wayne McCrory, a former member of the BC government's Grizzly Bear Scientific Panel. "A number of scientific assessments have said the project would be a death trap to the Purcell Wilderness grizzlies. Some scientists believe it will jeopardize grizzly bear populations all over the region, including the government's own Grizzly Bear Scientific Panel."
The Science Panel has warned that efforts to mitigate the impacts of this kind of devel-opment on grizzly bears have never been successful. The development company claims it will use a number of mitigation techniques, including'strategic harvest of merchantable timber' and logging new ski runs. "Clearcutting to increase the berry crop for bears will not offset the impacts of huge numbers of people," says McCrory. "Studies show that Lake Louise in Banff National Park is the most deadly area for grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains. One of the factors is abundant berry bushes that draw bears to the vicinity where they come into conflict with humans. With all the expensive scientific input that went into the environmental impact assessment (EIA), I'm just shocked at the scientifically incompetent nonsense coming out of it."
The permit for the project has not yet been signed. The government says the project now requires rezoning by the East Kootenay Regional District. "The provincial government has placed this incompetent assessment before the Regional District, which has no power or expertise to question it. It has no mandate to protect the environment, or to listen to anybody other than the citizens of the East Kootenays. West Kootenay people will be profoundly affected, but they no longer have a voice."
EAO says public consultation has been adequate. "This is the worst joke of all," says Sherrod. "There have been at least 10,000 public submissions to the EIA process, and 90% of them are against the development. The EAO solicited people's input and just ig-nored it. Worse, the government has now shifted the responsibility for the final decision to yet another level of government, requiring yet more input from people. The Valhalla Wilderness Society urges people not to give up. Every citizen against this project should contact the East and West Kootenay Regional Districts right away and state their opin-ion."
Interior ski resort plan clears major hurdle
AIRING OCT 14 BCTV NEWS ON GLOBAL VICTORIA Oct 14 - The B.C. government has approved an environmental assessment certificate for the controversial Jumbo Glacier Resort west of Invermere.
The proposed resort has been in the works for 15 years, and has been under government consideration for the past nine.
Sustainable Resource Management Minister George Abbott says the decision is just one more stage in the process.
Abbott says the cabinet is not endorsing the project, but simply accepting the findings of the Environmental Assessment Office – that the project can be built in a way in a way that addresses all the environmental concerns.
"The government is saying we have looked at all the technical issues raised in this process and we have concurred with the recommendation of the Environmental Assessment Office."
"I'm quite ecstatic that we've reached this point and we've been able to provide the science which gives comfort to the government," says Glacier Resorts vice president Grant Costello
But the $450-million resort still requires approval from the Land and Water B.C. which reviews applications for Crown land tenure.
Then the developers must get the rezoning approved by the Regional District of East Kootenay.
Many local politicians are already on record opposing the Jumbo Glacier project. But Costello says he's confident he can work with them, and get them on side.
The developer is proposing a resort unique in North America – glacier skiing you can drive to. It would have a base area of 104 hectares, and provide a total of 6,250 bed units for guests and staff.
But critics of the project say it would threaten the waterways and environment of the East Kootenays. And many people in the Kootenays say they are disappointed with the government's decision.
Meredith Hampstead of the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society says the province should have rejected the project, because it threatens the Columbia River watershed and would disrupt local grizzly bear populations.
And she accuses the provincial government of passing the buck on the controversy to the local regional district.
The society's Katarina Hartwig says it's clear the government is worried about the political fallout only months before an election, calling it a "passive endorsement."
And Hartwig says she takes some comfort from the fact that the final decision is up to locallly-elected politicians, who have said the oppose the project.
Controversy brews over B.C. sasquatch statue
Oct 13, 2004
TMTV NEWS FOR GLOBAL TV & CTV--CRESTON BC --While the people of Nelson, B.C. were busy arguing with U.S. veterans about proposals for a statue honouring American draft dodgers last month, 50 kilometres down Kootenay Lake, the town of Creston was having a similar battle.
There, the statue at issue is a three-metre bronze of a sasquatch carrying a case of beer. A case of made-in-B.C. Kokanee beer, to be precise.
A sasquatch is a mysterious, large ape-like creature reputed to roam the woods of North America. The legend is comparable to that of the Loch Ness monster or the abominable snowman.
"The town looked at it as an economic development,'' Mayor Joe Snopek said on Monday, adding it was decided the town could not proceed because, with a beer in its hand, the statue would be considered a business subsidy. Under the province's Municipal Act, that wouldn't be allowed, the mayor said.
Last month, nearby Nelson came under fire after plans were floated to erect a monument honouring American draft dodgers. The idea was axed by the city's mayor after the 2.4-million-strong Veterans of Foreign Wars appealed to U.S. President George Bush to get the statue quashed.
"It created some controversy,'' Snopek said of the sasquatch plans, adding the Nelson debate "took the pressure off the sasquatch for a while.''
The town council had been ready to foot half the bill for the $40,000 bronze by Karl Lansing but after the ensuing uproar, a private contractor has agreed to foot the town's half, with the Columbia Brewing Co. picking up the rest.
The decision to go that route came after 500 people in the town of 5,000 signed a petition opposing the expense.
Snopek said the council was looking at the statue as a tourist attraction like the giant Easter egg in Vegreville, Alta., or the humongous hockey stick in Duncan, B.C.
"One of the local guys who works in the grocery store wanted the world's largest shopping cart,'' Snopek said.
"It got side-tracked,'' Snopek said. "(Some claimed) a sasquatch carrying a case of beer (would) turn all the kids into alcoholics.''
Creston resident Laurel Ewashen did not see the sense in spending $20,000 on bronze, beer-toting sasquatch.
"My priority would be a pool or a library,'' she said.
Now, said Snopek, 50 small statues will also be cast and sold for $3,000 each. The proceeds of those sales will be donated to the town by the brewery.
"One of the petitions asked for the councillors to buy one each at $3,000 to show faith in this project, '' Snopek said.
The tales of the statue, however, have created some tension between Creston and Harrison Hot Springs in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, which also lays claim to being home of the creature.
"If you find the sasquatch up there, send him home to Harrison Hot Springs,'' Mayor John Allen told a Creston contingent at a recent Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting.
Mom, twin daughters found dead in garage
TMTV NEWS FOR CTV - Oct 7- -ROSSLAND, B.C. -- Friends and neighbours in this tightly knit community are at a loss to explain why, in the dark hours between Monday and Tuesday, a 30-year-old single mother threaded a vacuum-cleaner hose from the exhaust pipe of her car into the passenger compartment, then joined her four-year-old twin daughters inside. Local RCMP will await the results of an autopsy, but said Jennifer Ann MacNeil and her daughters, Savannah and Seraphina, died Tuesday from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.
When Jennifer's father arrived shortly after 10 o'clock on Tuesday morning, mother and daughters were lifeless in the small double garage next to the tidy, renovated home.
Yesterday, as word spread through this small mountain town in the B.C. Interior's West Kootenay region, a few neighbours came by the house, leaving flowers and a white stuffed teddy bear on the front porch.
An older woman who arrived at the house with flowers was near tears as she spoke of the family. She said she was an old friend of Jennifer's parents, Art and Marianne MacNeil, who are well known in the community.
Neighbour Maxine Kibler said Jennifer's father was very supportive and was frequently at the home. She said the father frequently looked after the children while Jennifer worked as a front-desk clerk at the Uplander Hotel a few blocks from her home.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Nick Romanchuk said a suicide note was found at the scene, but the contents would not be released.
B.C. mom, twins dead in double murder-suicide
TMTV FOR CTV - Oct 6- -ROSSLAND, B.C. CTV.ca News Staff
A mother and her two children are dead after an apparent double murder-suicide in the British Columbia town of Rossland.
It appears the 30-year-old mother and her four-year-old twin girls rigged her vehicle to send the exhaust into its interior Tuesday, then got inside with her daughters.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Nick Romanchuk says the trio died were pronounced dead at the scene and likely died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
They were identified as Jennifer Ann MacNeil, 30, and twin daughters Savannah and Seraphina.
The B.C. Coroner's Service is investigating, and an autopsy was being arranged to confirm the cause of death.
B.C. offers statement of regret for internment of Doukhobor children
TMTV FOR CBC TV - Oct 5- VICTORIA (CP) -- The B.C. government offered a statement of regret Monday for taking Doukhobor children from their parents and interning them in the 1950s, but didn't apologize.
The omission of an apology by the Liberal government upset a delegation of Doukhobor internment camp survivors who met with Attorney General Geoff Plant following his statement in the legislature.
Plant said there were legal and political reasons for not issuing an apology. The issue of legal liability still surrounds the issue and the ultimate decision to intern children was made more than 50 years ago by a government embroiled in an issue involving political turmoil and conflicting values, he said. "It's not as simple as connecting an apology to litigation," said Plant following a closed-door meeting with 11 Doukhobor survivors of the former internment camp.
B.C. group scraps draft-dodger statue
TMTV NEWS for CBC TV, GLOBAL TV, CTV ----NELSON, B.C. Oct 4 - Faced with widespread opposition, a British Columbia group has backed off its plan for a monument to honour Vietnam draft dodgers.
Instead, the Our Way Home committee is now planning a different statue in honour of "peace and refuge."
Spokesperson Isaac Romano says the original idea was very divisive, garnering an angry response from many Americans, including veterans groups.
He's optimistic the new proposal will receive more support.
"Even that early monument was just a rough, rough draft. So what we eventually come out with is maybe very, very different. It may be totally different.
"And as I mentioned, we're looking at broadening it to include it being a peace and refuge monument for all groups that have come to Canada and sought assistance," he says.
Last week, Nelson city council rejected the draft-dodger proposal because it didn't have widespread support.
Romano says communities outside Nelson, which he declines to identify, have expressed interest in providing a location for the peace monument.
His group is also planning a reunion weekend for war resisters in July 2006.
Meanwhile, a veterans group is planning its own event in Nelson for the same weekend in July 2006, in competition with the draft-dodgers reunion.
The group, Vietnam Veterans in Canada, says it is a "warrior society" and is opposed to the event honouring draft dodgers.
Pirates hope Bay's big rookie year not overlooked amid another lost season
TMTV NEWS for Global TV BCTV Newshour Sports ----PITTSBURGH (AP) - Barry Bonds didn't win it. Neither did Roberto Clemente. Since the National League Rookie of the Year award was first handed out 57 years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates have never had a winner.
Jason Bay of Trail, B.C., is one of the few pleasant surprises during another mostly miserable Pirates season. He hopes to change that despite a year that couldn't have started much worse.
When the Pirates broke from spring training in early April, Bay stayed behind in Bradenton, Fla., his surgically repaired right shoulder still not healed. The left-fielder didn't play his first game until May 7, then needed frequent days off after returning to rest his shoulder.
Once he started playing regularly, even the Pirates had no idea what they would be getting.
His statistics - .291 average, 26 homers, 82 RBIs in only 399 at-bats entering the final weekend of the season - are far better than the Pirates envisioned. He wasn't considered the key player in the trade in which they acquired left-hander Oliver Perez from the Padres for outfielder Brian Giles 13 months ago, yet Bay's offensive year far surpasses that of any rookie in either league.
"He's blown every other rookie out of the water," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said.
Bay's RBIs are the most for a Pirates rookie in 64 years, or since Maurice Van Robays had 116 in 1940. Bay's defensive play also has been well above average, with only two errors all season.
Bay was considered a streak hitter while playing in three other minor league systems before joining the Pirates, and will end this season with only about 500 career at-bats. Yet he is doing numerous things that would excite any team, not just one enduring its 12th consecutive losing season.
Consider this: Bay already has two eight-RBI games, a statistic matched only by the Cubs' Nomar Garciaparra.
Consider this: Twice chosen as the NL rookie of the month, he hasn't had a month yet in which his numbers fluctuated greatly from the previous month.
Consider this: He has more homers than any NL rookie since Albert Pujols hit 37 for St. Louis in 2001.
His consistency and production are rare for a rookie, and are among the reasons why the Pirates are lobbying hard for Bay.
They began sending out e-mails with Bay updates - called, appropriately enough, Baywatch - as the end-of-season deadline for the Baseball Writers Association of America rookie of the year balloting approached.
Bay's prime opposition is, coincidentally, his former minor league roommate: San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene, who may be the NL's best defensive shortstop since Ozzie Smith.
Greene's numbers - .273, 15 homers, 65 RBIs - don't compare to Bay's but, unlike Bay, Greene played for a team that was in post-season contention.
And while Bay was injured and out when the season started and thus doesn't have a full season's worth of numbers, Greene missed the final two weeks with a fractured finger.
San Diego's good season might be Bay's biggest obstacle toward winning an award that sometimes goes to the most valuable rookie rather than the best rookie.
"It would be an unbelievable accomplishment," said Bay, whose hometown is better known for turning out hockey players than major leaguers. "But I'm not taking anything for granted. I haven't really worried about the awards, I've just tried to have a good season."
That doesn't mean Bay wouldn't like to win, especially after being with four organizations (Expos, Mets, Padres, Pirates) before becoming a major league regular at age 25.
"Sometimes my wife will see something about it on the Internet and I'll just say, 'I don't want to see it,"' said Bay, who turned 26 last week. "I just want to have a good year."
While others are pushing Greene for the award, McClendon will be very disappointed if Bay doesn't win. So will sister Lauren Bay, a pitcher for Canada's Olympic softball team.
"I don't see any way Jason can't win the award and it would be a shame if he doesn't," McClendon said.
Wreckage of glider found near Grey Creek
TMTV NEWS FOR GLOBAL TV- -Sept 27- Creston BC - -On the afternoon of Sunday, September 26, 2004, Creston RCMP received a report from Civilian Air Search and Rescue volunteers that they had observed the wreckage of a white glider in a mountainous area about 4 miles east of Gray Creek. On the morning of September 27, 2004, members of 442 Squadron, Civilian Air Search and Rescue and the Creston RCMP attended the scene and located wreckage of a white Schempp Hirth Ventus Powered Glider bearing registration C-FRJR. This glider and its operator, Dr. Ulrich Joseph (Rick) RYLL, had been reported missing on October 6, 2003, after departing from the Creston Airport. Last fall there was an extensive search for the glider involving resources from 442 Squadron Search and Rescue from Comox, Civilian Air Search and Rescue volunteers, Ground Search and Rescue and the RCMP.
The craft sustained extensive damage in the crash and the cause of the crash is unknown at this time. Police do not believe that Dr. RYLL survived the crash.
Nelson backs away from controversy over U.S. draft dodgers
Broadcast News TMTV News for Fox ---NELSON, B.C. -- The city of Nelson has issued an apology over a controversy involving plans for a monument to American draft dodgers.
The bronze memorial, to be unveiled in two years by a peace group, will be dedicated to Americans who resisted the Vietnam War and fled to Canada.
Many settled in the Nelson area in the west Kootenays.
But the plan for the monument has triggered a flood of angry responses from people in the U.S.
In a statement released Thursday, Nelson city council says it has not been asked to support, fund, or provide a location for the bronze sculpture.
The city says it regrets any misunderstanding that may have occurred, and any opinions expressed on the issue were those of individual councillors.
The Fox News cable channel ran an item Monday about plans for the two-day festival that sparked the controversy.
Jackman re-signed by Blues
TMTV NEWS Sept 14--The St.Louis Blues re-signed defenceman Barret Jackman on Monday.
Contract terms were not disclosed.
Jackman, 23, missed the majority of last season because of a dislocated left shoulder that required surgery, posting one goal and two assists fof three points with 41 penalty minutes in 15 games.
The native of Trail, B.C., has four goals and 22 points with 231 penalty minutes in 98 NHL games since being drafted 17th overall by St. Louis in 1999.
Jackman was awarded the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2002-03.
Driving school gives Shoreacres students a lift
Sept 11 ---A CASTLEGAR COMMERCIAL DRIVING SCHOOL GAVE SHOREACRES AND GLADE KIDS A LIFT ON FRIDAY.
ANDY ROBERTS OF MOUNTAIN TRANSPORT INSTITUTE SAYS THEY HAD A BUS THAT WASN'T BEING USED.
"We're very safety conscious, and we're pretty concerned about having all those kids walk along the side of the highway in the morning with all the traffic going up and down. We had a bus available, so we went and loaded up all the kids and took them to school."
BECAUSE OF A BOUNDARY ISSUE, STUDENTS CAN'T TAKE THE BUS TO SCHOOLS IN THE KOOTENAY LAKE DISTRICT.
ROBERTS SAYS HE'S HOPING HIS MOVE PUTS SOME PRESSURE ON THE TWO BOARDS.
BOTH MEET IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
STUDENTS WALKING, NO SCHOOL BUS
TMTV FOR GLOBAL TV BCTV NEWSHOUR WITH NO SCHOOL BUS AVAILABLE, A GROUP OF 42 STUDENTS FROM SHOREACRES WALKED 45-MINUTES TO GET TO SCHOOL THIS MORNING.
SHOREACRES PARENT BARRY STOOCHNOFF SAYS, WITH SCHOOL DISTRICT'S EIGHT, AND TWENTY REFUSING TO WORK ON AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION, THE KIDS ARE BEING FORCED TO MAKE THE TREK.
"well the school is located five kilometres away from the shore acres area and we have a...got a hold of an escort from a flagging company so that they safety should not be an issue."
A BUSSING ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN SCHOOL DISTRICT EIGHT, AND TWENTY HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.
BOTH SCHOOL BOARDS SAY, THE MATTER CANNOT BE RESOLVED UNTIL TRUSTEES MEET NEXT WEEK.
VIOLENCE AT FOREST PROTEST SITE
TMTV News August 27, 2004The Valhalla Wilderness Society calls upon the RCMP to investigate an
incident in which a logger violently attacked a protester at Glacier
Creek on the mainline Duncan Lake Road approximately 50 km north of
Kaslo in southeastern BC. The protesters were stopping vehicles to
provide information on the logging of ancient forest and mountain
caribou habitat in the globally unique Inland Temperate Rainforest.
According to the protesters, the logging truck driver nearly ran over
one of them, jumped out of the truck, grabbed him by the throat and
slugged him, then went after others with a steel bar and smashed a
bicycle.
"We hope that our RCMP are fully engaged in investigating this crime
and will press charges against the assailant. In incidents like this
on the coast, the RCMP have turned a blind eye to violence against
protesters," says Anne Sherrod, Chairperson of the Valhalla
Wilderness Society. "We hope this won't happen here. These people
are protesting peacefully and they are trying to call attention to
the fact that this logging is destroying key habitat for the
endangered mountain caribou."
Some people believe that violence against protesters by loggers is
okay because the log-gers are understandably frustrated and the
protesters are being a nuisance. "Just think about how frustrated
you'd be if you knew this logging company is cutting down habitat
that will help send the caribou into extinction. Meanwhile the
provincial and federal governments spend thousands of tax dollars to
keep environmentalists at the planning tables discussing how to save
the caribou," says Craig Pettitt, VWS field representative.
"At one time," says Sherrod, "50 years ago, police in the southern US
were turning a blind eye to violence against Black people protesting
for equal rights. Many southerners thought the police were justified
because the Blacks were disrupting business as usual and causing a
disturbance, but the world was appalled. The BC government and the
RCMP should know that that's how they look when environmental
protesters are violently attacked and the police do nothing.
The international community is watching these issues. Europeans are
becoming aware of British Columbia's Inland Temperate Rainforest with
its ancient giant cedars. These old trees are a rare biological
legacy of world significance. BC is simply cutting them down, going
after the last vestiges of huge trees between 500 and 1,000 years old
or older.
"We may be sure that if a protester had attacked a piece of logging
equipment back in the bush, the RCMP would attend the site of the
crime and do everything possible to bring the culprit to court," says
Sherrod. "Protesters in these logging conflicts are simply owners of
public resources who are not being treated equally in the management
of those resources. A world heritage is being destroyed. There
should be no prejudice against one side or the other by the police or
government. This has previously been the case with the RCMP in this
area, and we hope they will uphold this standard. But we are deeply
concerned by what has happened in similar situations on the coast."
B.C. fugitive caught after 11-year search
Globe and Mail NELSON BC- By MARK HUME
Saturday, September 4, - Marvin Singleton was leading a quiet life as a college instructor and part-time librarian in Kansas when U.S. marshals knocked on his door this week and brought the Canadian's 11-year flight from justice to an end.Mr. Singleton had been in hiding since 1993, when he fled charges that he had misappropriated more than $800,000 from clients when he was working as a lawyer in Nelson, B.C.
But before he could be brought to court to face civil lawsuits for fraud and negligence, and 21 charges under the Income Tax Act for failure to file returns on his two companies, Mr. Singleton vanished.
RCMP Corporal Luc Quenneville, who at the time ran Nelson's "one man commercial crime desk," said he searched for Mr. Singleton but lost his trail.
"Our information was he'd gone to Mexico," Cpl. Quenneville said yesterday from Creston, where he is now posted.
"We searched long and hard, but couldn't find him."
Every year, Mr. Singleton's unsolved file popped up in the RCMP database and Cpl. Quenneville made routine inquiries. But Mr. Singleton, who is now 71, was nowhere to be found.
Cpl. Quenneville got a break in the case, however, when a contact suggested Mr. Singleton might be associated with a post office box in Wichita, Kan.
"After all those years, we found him," said Cpl. Quenneville. "It's a nice feeling."
This week, Deputy U.S. Marshal Logan Kline visited the basement suite where Mr. Singleton was living.
"He was watching television," Deputy Kline said yesterday. "I verified his identity, then arrested him. He was pretty surprised."
He said Mr. Singleton was living modestly and had an older model car.
"Nothing about him suggested he was living a high life," he said.
Kelly Sneddon, marketing and communications director for Butler Community College, said Mr. Singleton had been an adjunct English lecturer for the past four years.
"He was scheduled to teach two courses this fall," she said. "Of course we were surprised by his arrest."
Butler Community College has 8,000 students and 400 adjunct instructors.
Ms. Sneddon was surprised to hear that Mr. Singleton had been a lawyer in Canada. "We didn't know anything about that," she said.
In Wichita, he also worked nights as a part-time librarian at Rose Hill High School.
Janie Barnard, the library director, said "he was a good worker," and she was surprised to hear he was a fugitive from Canada.
Monika Stockton, who lived upstairs from Mr. Singleton and rented a basement suite to him, said he was "a close family friend," but she knew nothing about his troubles with the law.
She found it hard to believe he'd done anything wrong.
"I really don't believe it's of any significance," she said of the allegations against him in Canada.
Don Skogstad, a Nelson lawyer who first discovered the loss of funds among Mr. Singleton's clients, said he faces serious charges in Canada. "It's theft, fraud or breach of trust," he said.
Mr. Skogstad said the Law Society repaid more than $800,000 that went missing from several estates Mr. Singleton handled.
He wasn't surprised to hear Mr. Singleton had been working as a college instructor, saying that before he went into law in the 1980s, Mr. Singleton, who had degrees from Yale, Duke and California universities, and had taught English at Notre Dame University in Nelson.
"I give full credit to the police officer who tracked him down after all these years," said Mr. Skogstad. "The Nelson Police started it, and then it was handed to the RCMP. It was a case that needed to be brought to justice."
Mr. Singleton is scheduled for an extradition hearing in Kansas on Thursday.
SEE MORE NEWS ON FUGITIVE BELOW
Weather system brings high wind, heavy rains & hail
TMTV NEWS NELSON, B.C. - Sept 2 A wind storm swept over parts of B.C.'s southern interior this Wednesday.
Jim Steel of Environment Canada says the Kamloops area was hit by wind gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour, along with thunder showers.
He says a number of trees and hydro lines were downed during the 45-minute storm. Some homes also suffered damage to shingles and siding.
The unstable weather across B.C. is being caused by what's known as an "upper low," which results in bands of cloud, rain and intermittent sunshine.
The system dumped heavy rains, hail and thunder showers in many parts of the Kootenays on Wednesday.
Several down-drafts of extreme wind, rain & hail -- were also reported in the Kootenay lake area.
Forecasters say boating can be treacherous in such conditions, and are warning small craft to be careful as more high winds are could be expected Thursday.
Winlaw residents rally for water
TMTV NEWS For GLOBAL TV/BCTV NEWSHOUR Sept 1, ---OVER 100 PEOPLE IN THE WINLAW AREA PROTESTED TODAY.
THEY'RE WORRIED THE PROVINCE IS SELLING OFF CROWN TIMBER WITHOUT CONCERN FOR THEIR WATER QUALITY.
RICARDO HUBBS SAYS THE GOVERNMENT IS PROMOTING LARGE SCALE LOGGING WITHOUT PROPER ANALYSIS.
"When we're looking at a whole ecosystem, we can't go in and remove cutblocks of over 200 acres without looking at how it impacts the greater whole."
THE PROTEST WAS ON THE ENTRANCE TO PEDRO CREEK ROAD, JUST SOUTH OF WINLAW BC.
MEANWHILE, A BLOCKADE CONTINUES NORTH OF WINLAW IN THE SLOCAN VALLEY.
B-C TIMBER SALES SAYS IT WILL TALK TO A GROUP OF WINLAW RESIDENTS WHO HAVE SET UP THE LOGGING BLOCKADE
SHANE BOWDEN SAYS THEY HOPE TO FIND A SOLUTION THROUGH DIALOGUE INSTEAD OF THE COURTS.
"Certainly that would be our preferred option, to work with people in the interest of coming to some resolve, where their concerns are satisfied and our business can proceed as planned."
BOWDEN SAYS THEY'RE STILL GETTING A HANDLE ON WHO EXACTLY IS PROTESTING AND WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR.
BUT THEY ARE CONFIDENT BEETLE-INFESTED TIMBER CAN BE LOGGED WITHOUT HURTING THE WATERSHED.
VALHALLA WILDERNESS SOCIETY WITHDRAWS IN DISGUST FROM
TALK-AND-LOG CARIBOU ACTION GROUP
TMTV NEWS --- Sept 7, 2004 West Kootenays, B.C. - The Valhalla Wilderness Society (VWS) is withdrawing from a federal species at risk recovery program because of current logging in the Westfall River Valley. Cooper Creek Cedar Ltd. started clearcut logging in critical mountain caribou habitat of the Westfall River in mid-August. The Westfall is located approximately 150 km north of Kaslo in the upper Duncan River drainage.
Under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), the federal government set up several Recovery Implementation Groups in the Kootenays specifically for the caribou. "The Recovery Groups began nearly two years ago and I've attended every meeting," says Craig Pettitt, a director of VWS. "So far these tables have done nothing to protect caribou. They are just keeping the environmental groups talking while the logging companies log the caribou into extinction. This makes the federal Species at Risk Act nothing but a sham."
The Interior Wet Belt is the only place in the world that has this unusual subspecies of caribou. Over a period of five years, the herds' total population plunged from 2,450 to 1,900, while the Central Selkirk herd which ranges into the Westfall River valley has plummeted from 235 animals in 1996 to 70 animals in 2004. "The chief cause," says Pettitt, "is clearcut logging of their habitat."
Mountain caribou live in the mountains and descend to the valley bottoms in fall for protection from early winter storms, before ascending back to higher elevations in the late winter. They require low-elevation forest where greater than 60% of the area is old-growth and slopes are gentle. These areas provide tree lichens, a critical caribou food that is found only on old trees. Unfortunately, these are the very forests that have been targetted by the logging industry over the last 40 years.
Computerized mapping and analysis commissioned by VWS have shown that throughout the range of the mountain caribou, only 13% of the remaining old-growth forest is at low elevations. Only 2.3% of the total forest is low-elevation old-growth. Since 1960 BC has logged 594,000 hectares of land within the boundaries of identified caribou areas. Cooper Creek's current logging is part of a plan to remove 120,000 cubic meters or 4,000 truckloads of logs from 17 clearcuts in the valley. Virtually all of this logging is in old-growth forest.
"Despite a few clearcuts in the early '90s, the Westfall River valley is one of a few areas in this district with sufficient old-growth to meet the minimum old growth guidelines of the Forest Practices Code, and support a herd of mountain caribou," says Pettitt. "It was identified as core habitat in the Kootenay Boundary Higher Level Plan. But now, the Higher Level Plan is being amended to remove the identification of such areas. This is a deliberate policy of cold-bloodedly sending a unique species into extinction."
In Alberta, Weyerhaeuser has willingly postponed logging 82,000 hectares of caribou habitat for five years to cooperate with the Species at Risk initiatives. But efforts to get the North Kootenay Recovery Implementation Group to implement moratoriums have failed. "We tried to talk about moratoriums on forest development plans at the table," says Pettitt, "but we were informed that this was beyond the table's mandate. As a result, logging in critical caribou habitat is continuing while we talk."
"The taxpayers of the nation are funding these federal Recovery Groups that are totally hamstrung by vested interests," say Anne Sherrod, Chairperson of VWS. "Without logging moratoriums and ultimate protection of habitat, there is no real intent to protect caribou. VWS has determined that it would just be helping to promote a fraudulent hoax if we continued to sit at the table as if the caribou were actually receiving some benefits from it. On September 29, VWS will attend the regularly scheduled meeting of the North Kootenay Recovery Group and explain the reasons for our withdrawal."
Blockade announced to protect the Kootenay's Ancient Inland Rainforest and Endangered Caribou
TMTV NEWS for GLOBAL TV SEPT 6, 2004 - - -The BLOCKADE, effective Monday September 6, is located 3 ½ hours north of Nelson in the Westfall River Valley, a critical Caribou habitat area and home to stands of 1000 year old redcedar that rival coastal cedars in size. This is the first blockade in B.C. to insist upon the protection of Mountain Caribou and ancient forest in B.C.'s Inland Temperate Rainforest.
Effective Monday, no logging trucks or falling crews will be allowed past the Hall Creek bridge at km 70 of the Duncan River Mainline road. The road blockade will remain in place until all falling crews, machinery, and logging equipment is removed. Salvage logging crews at nearby Giegerich Creek will be permitted to pass through the blockade.
In the rush to get the ancient Westfall River forest clearcut, Mid-Boundary Contracting of Midway, BC, has been logging nearly around the clock, in anticipation of a recommendation to protect the Valley. Scientists and other citizens associated with the Mountain Caribou Recovery Team are imminently expected to recommend that the Westfall River Valley be reserved for Caribou. So the rush is on to log as much of the valley as they can before they are formally asked to stop.
Mountain Caribou, a critically endangered species, whose extinction is forecast to occur this century, are currently undergoing a freefall population crash due to over-logging of their ancient old growth habitat. Caribou using the Westfall River Valley are associated with the Central Selkirk Caribou herd which, of the 13 herds remaining, has undergone the most severe population crash: losing 55% of its population since 1992, and currently numbering about 150 animals. Scientists predict the extinction of the Central Selkirk Caribou herd in 20 years. Mid-Boundary Contracting, of Midway BC, is the principal logging operator in the Westfall, and Timberland Consultants Ltd is assisting. Cooper Creek Cedar Ltd is the principal Licensee in the area but apparently sub- contracted out the logging operation.
Some of the logs are being hauled to Midway BC, some 300 km distant from the Westfall. Tom Prior, a participant in the "Westfall Information Centre," which has been advising local travelers of the situation, said last week that "the logging company must have got their hands on these ancient endangered species trees for a firesale price - how else could they afford to haul the logs all the way to Midway - it's the longest log haul distance I have ever heard of."
A consortium of environmental groups and scientists plans to release a new protection plan for the Inland Rainforest region, which extends in a narrow belt along the Columbia Mountains from Prince George to the US border in the coming months.
BACK TO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS, DRIVERS
TMTV NEWS Victoria BC Sept 6, 2004 The provincial government and police are urging motorists to exercise extra caution in school zones as summer holidays come to an end for children across the province, Solicitor General Rich Coleman said today. "School starts on Tuesday, September 7, and police will be paying special attention to ensure drivers respect school zone speed limits," Coleman said. "After their holidays, kids often forget road safety rules. Drivers need to be particularly careful at this time of year whenever they drive near a school." When school is in session, a 30-km/h school zone speed limit is in effect during the posted times, and vehicles must stop for school buses when their lights are flashing. The Insurance Corporation of BC and Autoplan Brokers will be encouraging school zone safety through the "Kids are There, Drive with Care" publicity campaign, and community initiatives including: * The yellow ribbon campaign, which uses bright ribbons to remind motorists to slow down in school zones. * The Way to Go! program, which helps children find a safe route to school. * The school zone lawn sign campaign, which sets up signs in school zones encouraging drivers to slow down.
STUDENTS WALKING, NO SCHOOL BUS
TMTV FOR GLOBAL TV BCTV NEWSHOUR WITH NO SCHOOL BUS AVAILABLE, A GROUP OF 42 STUDENTS FROM SHOREACRES WALKED 45-MINUTES TO GET TO SCHOOL THIS MORNING.
SHOREACRES PARENT BARRY STOOCHNOFF SAYS, WITH SCHOOL DISTRICT'S EIGHT, AND TWENTY REFUSING TO WORK ON AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION, THE KIDS ARE BEING FORCED TO MAKE THE TREK.
"well the school is located five kilometres away from the shore acres area and we have a...got a hold of an escort from a flagging company so that they safety should not be an issue."
A BUSSING ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN SCHOOL DISTRICT EIGHT, AND TWENTY HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.
BOTH SCHOOL BOARDS SAY, THE MATTER CANNOT BE RESOLVED UNTIL TRUSTEES MEET NEXT WEEK.
Man in custody after Argenta hostage taking
TMTV NEWS KASLO BC - - - A 40-YEAR-OLD MAN HAS TURNED HIMSELF INTO POLICE FOLLOWING A HOSTAGE TAKING IN ARGENTA FRIDAY EVENING.
R-C-M-P SAY FRIDAY NIGHT A MAN ENTERED A NEIGHBOUR'S HOUSE WITH A SHOTGUN AND FIRED INTO THE CEILING.
HE TOLD A MAN AND HIS TWO CHILDREN TO LEAVE BUT MADE A WOMAN STAY BEHIND.
POLICE SAY HE THREATENED HER, AND FIRED ANOTHER SHOT, BUT EVENTUALLY LEFT WITHOUT HURTING HER.
AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM SEARCHED THE HOME AND THE SURROUNDING AREA AT DAY LIGHT SATURDAY MORNING BUT COULDN'T FIND HIM.
ON MONDAY MORNING, JOHN WESLEY MAGWOOD SHOWED UP AT THE KASLO R-C-M-P DETACHMENT.
HE'S FACING CHARGES OF HOSTAGE TAKING, UTTERING THREATS, AND DANGEROUS USE OF A FIREARM.
HE'LL MAKE A COURT APPEARANCE TODAY.
Friend starts trust fund for burned single mom
TMTV News - - -Broadcast News - - - Global TV, KELOWNA, B.C. - Aug 22, A good friend of a woman who suffered burns to over 35 per cent of her body in a gasoline attack in the Kootenays has set up a trust fund.
Carol Freeman says things are pretty tough for her friend, Tammy Levesque, as she awaits skin grafts.
Levesque, 29, was camping near Nelson on the B.C. Day weekend when her ex-boyfriend allegedly poured gasoline on her and set her on fire.
Levesque has two young children, who police say watched the woman screaming on fire.
Freeman says it's hard for her friend trying to pay bills and make rent, and she'd like to ease some of the stress off her.
She says the single mom should solely concentrate on her emotional healing.
Leveseque suffered third-degree burns to her lower back and second-degree burns to her upper back, arm and throat.
Police have charged Levesque's boyfriend, Steven Ricketts, with assault causing bodily harm.
Donations for the trust fund can be mailed to Box 2243, Station R, Kelowna, V1X 4K6.
WOMAN ATTACKED BY BEAR
TMTV News for CTV News Castlegar BC--- Aug 21, A Castlegar BC woman was sent to hospital earlier this week after she sustained injuries from a bear attack in south Castlegar. The woman received minor injuries and was released. She thanks her two dogs for saving her life. When the bear attacked, her two dogs fought the bear and it ran off. Conservation officers have posted signs in the area telling people to stay away. It is believed that the woman got in between the bear and her cubs.
Landslide shuts Hwy. 3 from Princeton to Keremeos
A major mudslide has shut down a stretch of highway near Princeton.
Global TV Landslide shuts Hwy. 3 from Princeton to Keremeos
The damage is still being assessed Wednesday following a major mudslide along Highway 3 near Princeton, B.C.
Tonnes of mud and debris came down onto the roadway about 35 kilometres outside Princeton at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, brought down from the hills by a torrential downpour and hailstorm.
About 15 motorists including an ambulance were stranded by the series of slides, but there have been no reports of injury.
The roadbed remains highly unstable in many places, and huge cracks have developed that could give way at any moment.
Geotechnical experts are assessing the area Wednesday while crews begin the slow process of cleaning up the debris and reopening the highway.
The highway is closed between Princeton and Keremeos, and motorists are being detoured via the Coquihalla Highway at Princeton and Highway 97 in Osoyoos.
Kelowna RCMP Cst. Heather MacDonald says there is no word on how soon the highway will be reopened.
HIGHWAY 3A RE-OPENS AFTER MUDSLIDE AT KUSKANOOK
TMTV NEWS NELSON BC- The Ministry of Transportation has re-opened Highway 3A at Kuskanook Creek after a mudslide occurred in the area early Saturday morning.
There is single-lane alternating traffic at that location, and delays can be expected. Ministry crews have been working from dawn until dusk to clear the debris, which stretched 60 metres along Highway 3A at Kuskanook Creek and was five metres deep in some areas.
Approximately 20 dump trucks, two excavators, a loader and other equipment and personnel worked to clear the mud and debris. Two mudslides occurred early Saturday morning along Highway 3A, about 30 kilometres north of Creston. The first occurred at Jansen Creek, and the second occurred at Kuskanook Creek approximately three kilometres south of Jansen Creek.
The highway was closed at both locations. The Jansen Creek slide remains in the late stages of clean-up, and Highway 3A is open to single-lane alternating traffic at Jansen Creek. The ministry has set up traffic control on Highway 3A near Kuskanook Creek, as well as on Highway 3A at Jansen Creek to direct traffic. Motorists are advised to expect delays at both locations.
For up-to-date road information, please check the Ministry of Transportation road reports website at http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/bchighways/roadreports/roadreports.htm.
Provincial Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic Reaches the West Kootenay
TMTV NEWS FOR CTV NEWS- - -Aug 27 - -British Columbia's mountain pine beetle epidemic has now reached the West Kootenay. Over the last three years mountain pine beetle populations have increased to epidemic levels, with the number of beetles more than doubling every year. Most pine stands in the West Kootenay show evidence of beetle infestation, and in some cases entire stands are dead from pine beetle. These dead areas appear as solid red patches on the mountainside.
Why we have a problem:
Mild winters and hot summers, combined with substantial tracts of susceptible mature lodgepole pine have provided ideal conditions for bark beetle populations to increase. Without prolonged cold weather, beetle numbers will likely continue to increase in south eastern BC, killing more trees.
The current situation:
Recent Ministry of Forest surveys show that approximately 10,955 hectares (15 times the size of Nelson) of mature pine forest in the Kootenay Lake Forest District, and 50,955 ha (27 times the size of Nelson) in the Arrow Boundary Forest District are now heavily infested with mountain pine beetle. Much of the infestation has occurred throughout the Arrow Boundary district including the Slocan Valley and the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, and is expected to spread.
Generally, affected trees lose most of their economic value within two years. Standing dead trees also increase the risk of fuel loading and wildfire, and associated risks of hydrophobic soils connected with sudden, heavy runoff during rainy periods.
What’s being done:
Because the infestation has reached epidemic levels, options for controlling the beetle's spread are limited. However, infested, dead, and dying pine trees are now being harvested in an attempt to capture some of the economic value of the wood, and to reduce the risk of wildfire in these stands. The challenge is to expedite salvage harvest of these stands, and all necessary public review, and planning while the dead trees still hold some market value. Terrain stability, water quality, wildlife, and visual quality are key elements in forest development planning. All regulations and environmental legislation continue to apply and are enforced throughout and following salvage harvest of dead stands.
In some areas where beetle infestation is just beginning, attempts to control insect spread include single tree treatments such as falling and burning to remove infested trees.
For more information on the mountain pine beetle, refer to the following websites:
Financial help for slide victims
TMTV NEWS for Global TV & CBC TV CRESTON, B.C. - There will be financial relief for some of the residents hit by mudslides near Creston in southeastern B.C. over the weekend.
Permanent residents are eligible for disaster financial assistance, says Bob Bugslag – the director of the Provincial Emergency Program.
Two slides, 30 kilometres north of Creston, destroyed at least three homes, a garage and several cars on Saturday.
The wall of mud also closed Highway 3A along Kootenay Lake – but no one was hurt.
Emergency crews rescued as many as nine people whose vehicles were stuck on Highway 3-A between the two slides, which were three kilometres apart.
The largest of the slides was up to four metres deep in places and up to 90 metres wide.
It's not known when the highway will reopen. Some officials have said it could take days to clear the larger of the two slides.
Drivers have been asked to use the Kootenay Pass as an alternate route.
People from the area say it's been raining heavily for the past few days. Authorities believe a forest fire last summer left the mountain slope bare and vulnerable to mudslides.
Highway Still Closed After Mud Slide
Nelson BC (TMTV for Global TV BCTV NewsHour & CBC TV Newsworld)--Highway crews have partially re-opened Highway 3-A, after two massive mudslides came crashing down near Creston over the weekend.
Ministry of Transportation crews have cleared a path through the so-called Jansen Creek slide.
This was the smaller of the two slides which covered the highway, severely dammaging two homes and a heritage site, along with trapping cars and people between them.
Cam Macmurchy with the Transportation Ministry says they're not sure when the larger, Kuskanook Creek slide will be cleared.
He says there's a lot of debris covering a long stretch of the highway, and in the surrounding area.
He says they have crews working there, but the highway is closed indefinately.
No one was hurt, but it's still too unsafe for the property owners to go in an assess if anything in their homes can be salvaged.
Pair of mudslides bury highway north of Creston
Aug 7 & 8
The landslide is about 30 kilometres north of Creston on Highway 3A.
TMTV NEWS For GLOBAL TV BCTV NEWSHOUR and CBC TV Newsworld --- A pair of mudslides has swept away at least one house and buried a stretch of highway north of Creston, officials say.
The slides came down around 12:30 am Saturday morning. The area is on Highway 3A, about 30 kilometres north of Creston near Kuskanook.
RCMP say 4 homes were damaged and at least one was swept away. Fortunately no one was home at the time.Cam MacMurchie with the Ministry of Transportation says at least 4 metres of mud are covering the highway in some parts. The affected area is about 100 metres long.
Several vehicles were trapped in the slide but police managed to rescue the occupants.
Ministry crews have started to clear away the smaller of the 2 slides. The hillside near the larger slide is too unstable right now for crews to enter the area.
Mudslides hit near Kuskanook
TMTV NEWS ----MUDSLIDES HAVE CLOSED HIGHWAY 3-A NEAR KUSKANOOK.
THEY CAME DOWN ABOUT 11:30 FRIDAY NIGHT.
THE BIGGER SLIDE EXTENDS ACROSS THE HIGHWAY AND APPROXIMATELY 50 METERS INTO KOOTENAY LAKE.
THE OTHER IS ONE KILOMETER NORTH AT JENSEN CREEK.
TWO HOMES WERE HIT, BUT THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE ISN'T KNOWN.
FOUR CARS WERE ALSO TRAPPED BETWEEN THE TWO SLIDES, AND THE OCCUPANTS HAD TO BE RESCUED BY BOAT.
REGIONAL DIRECTOR VERNA MAYERS-MCKENZIE SAYS THOSE AFFECTED HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO CRESTON.
"I give a great deal of credit to Alanna Romano and her group who have housed the people in Creston, and have been working since 1 a.m."
MAYERS-MCKENZIE SAYS THE MINISTRY OF HIGHWAYS IS DOING A GEOTECHNICAL STUDY BEFORE STARTING CLEAN-UP.
"They're a little concerned about the stablity of the area, so they need to have that checked."
THE KOOTENAY LAKE FERRY WILL BE ON STAND-BY ALL NIGHT FOR PEOPLE NEEDING TO GET THROUGH.
Woman burned, boyfriend charged
TMTV NEWS FOR CBC TV & GLOBAL TV - A woman from the Nelson area is recovering in hospital from a terrifying ordeal that saw her badly burned during a recent camping trip.
She was camping at Fletcher Falls south of Kaslo on Kootenay Lake with her two young children and a man on Monday.
Police allege that the two adults got into an argument, and the man then poured gas on Tammy Levesque and set her on fire – the whole scene witnessed by her children aged three and five.
Levesque managed to get help at a nearby house. She was eventually flown to Vancouver, suffering from second-degree burns over 35 per cent of her body.
"We later located the boyfriend, who is subsequently being charged with assault causing bodily harm, and he's been released on an undertaking," says Kaslo RCMP Corp. Wayne Harrison.
The fact that the accused is not in custody infuriates the victim's father.
"When she comes out, I'd be a little worried that he might come back and try to talk his way back in again because she's pretty soft," says Maurice Desjardins.
Steven Robin Ricketts will appear in Provincial Court later this month.
Tammy Levesque remains in intensive care, under heavy security, at an undisclosed hospital in the Vancouver area.
Family recovering hierlooms after mudslide destroys their home