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Glynn Brothen
UPDATE: Name released in second Kamloops prison death
KAMLOOPS - Investigators are examining the cause of an inmate death on Jan. 19 at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre. The B.C. Coroner's Service has confirmed the dead inmate as Daryl Vic Belseck, 52, and said the death is not considered suspicious. Cindy Rose, a spokesperson for B.C. Corrections, provided very little information, saying the inmate...
Name of Chase fire victim released by B.C. Coroners Service
CHASE - The B.C. Coroners Service has released the name of a woman who died in a mobile home fire in Chase. She was Sherry Leah Skjeie, 53, from Chase. Emergency services attended Skjeie's home in the Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park in the early morning hours of Jan. 16. Skjeie was found deceased after...
Team of advisors set to help those facing layoffs
KAMLOOPS – With two major layoff announcements in Kamloops within a week of each other, employment advisors are preparing for more clients. Blair Gray, the site coordinator for the Open Door Group and Work B.C. in Kamloops says the location has seen an increase in the amount of clients, but doesn’t attribute that to recent...
Environmental dialogue coming to Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – Beyond free bannock, the CommUnity Innovation Lab plans to offer the public several opportunities to hear speakers share a variety of perspectives on the environmental footprint, economics and human impact of climate change. The conference, set to take place at Thompson Rivers University from February 2 to 5 will have topics ranging from...
GOG: From the heads of babes
I occasionally have momentary weaknesses for human contact and at this moment, the subject before me was one of those sub-human forms, a chance encounter with a neighbour child from the local school. I don’t recall how it began but for me it seemed to end after about 15 seconds because he chose to speak...
Cause of mobile home fire in Chase undetermined
CHASE – Even with a team of investigators looking into the the Jan. 16 mobile home fire that left one woman dead, the community fire chief says the structure was so badly burned the cause could not be confirmed.
Officer shooting in Alberta ‘hits close to home’ for Kamloops Mounties
KAMLOOPS – The superintendent from the Kamloops RCMP detachment says it’s “business as usual” for his staff, even though it is a “somber day” for police across Canada. St. Albert RCMP Const. David Matthew Wynn died in hospital today, Jan. 21 after succumbing to a bullet wound to his head. Wynn and his auxiliary officer,...
Supporters flock to sign petition for Kamloops birder
KAMLOOPS – One Kamloops resident has taken her support online to rally behind a man who faces fines for feeding crows in his Valleyview neighbourhood. “Please support Toby Jackson as he champions our liberty to care for our fellow beings,” writes Emmy Logan on a petition website. “(He) is being persecuted by a single complainant...
RCMP: Chase woman’s death in fire not crime-related
KAMLOOPS – RCMP investigators in Chase say they don’t believe the trailer fire which claimed a woman’s life on Jan. 16 was crime-related. “We have absolutely no information that it’s criminal,” Sgt. Gary Heebner said Monday, Jan. 19. Heebner added that the Fire Commissioner out of Victoria and fire investigators from Surrey have conducted a...
Nearly 50 people laid off in Kamloops due to oil price decline
KAMLOOPS - The change in oil price has directly affected 48 people who are now out of a job in Kamloops after receiving notice from Horizon North Logistics today, Jan. 19. “I’ve had better days,” President and CEO Rod Graham said. “It’s never a happy day when you have to start Monday with this kind...
Murder trial begins for Lytton man accused of stabbing friend 73 times
KAMLOOPS – The second-degree murder charge against a Lytton man boils down to a number, according to Crown Prosecutor Frank Caputo. “This case is about 73 stab wounds,” Caputo told the jury of eight men and four women during his opening statement in Kamloops Supreme Court today, Jan. 19. Cory Peter Bird, born 1987, faces...
Facing fines for a different kind of murder
KAMLOOPS – It all started with giving a few birds some peanuts on a morning walk. Now, Toby Jackson faces $300 in fines and a possible court case. Jackson started feeding some of the neighbourhood crows after doing some research on the birds’ intelligence. Beyond the ability to use tools, Jackson says the breed of...
Transportation Minister moved to tears by letter from girl whose family died in car crash
KAMLOOPS – Transportation Minister Todd Stone says his ministry is responding to the concerns of a seven-year-old girl who made highway improvement suggestions after her family died in a car crash near Lillooet earlier this month. Stone was reminded of the latest high priority section of Highway 12 earlier this week when he received a...
Accused cop shooter hires lawyer, still awaits bail hearing
KAMLOOPS - The man accused of shooting a Kamloops RCMP officer has hired a lawyer for his bail hearing on Jan. 29. Kenneth Michael Knutson, 36, was supposed to have his bail hearing today, Jan. 15, but the matter was remanded to later this month. Since his last court date, Knutson hired Victoria-based lawyer Jordan...
TRU student teamed-up to develop smartphone app for youth with mental illness
KAMLOOPS – At the age of 18, a first year Thompson Rivers University psychology student has already achieved something to help many coping with mental illness — and it's a little different because it involves interactive game play. Sara Gillis and 13 others developed Booster Buddy – a free interactive smart-phone app designed specifically for...
Two months later, family still has no answers how son died in Kamloops prison cell
"HOW CAN YOU LET HIM COME HOME BUT NOT TELL US WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?" KAMLOOPS - It's been two months since an Ontario family found out their 20-year-old son died in his cell at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, but they still have no information about how he died. Dylan Levi Judd's embalmed remains bore...
Team Canada gold medallist to be honoured at Blazer’s game
KAMLOOPS – World junior gold medallist, Joe Hicketts will be honoured at this evening’s, Jan. 14, Blazer game. Hicketts was born and raised in Kamloops. He is currently in his third season of his WHL career and is captain of the Victoria Royals. In September, the Detroit Redwings agreed on a three-year entry level contract...
Drug trafficker hopes Youtube project will keep him out of prison
KAMLOOPS - It is now up to a Supreme Court justice to decide if a drug supplier's rehabilitative project has earned him the chance to serve his jail sentence in the community over Crown's recommended six-year federal imprisonment. Jean-Claude Auger, who pleaded guilty to his involvement in a drug trafficking ring, was in court Jan. 13 where his lawyer, Chris Thompson,...
Trial date set for teacher accused of possessing child porn
KAMLOOPS - A teacher accused of possessing child pornography will face his Kamloops Supreme Court trial in March. In November, Jerry Waselenkoff, 66, and his lawyer Glen Orris were present for a preliminary inquiry. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for the week of February 9. The trial, expected to take four days long, will begin...
Mental health rehabilitation earns drug dealer lesser sentence
KAMLOOPS - A dial-a-dope drug dealer caught in an undercover RCMP operation was handed a one-year probationary sentence on Monday, Jan. 12 for dealing cocaine. Jeremy Machmer, 27, appeared in Kamloops Supreme Court where he pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine. In September 2013, Machmer sold two rocks of the drug for fifty dollars to a...
Hopeful cross-Canada runner gains financial stride
KAMLOOPS - Since announcing his run across Canada and back, Edward "Fast Eddy" Dostaler has found some new partners to help fund his run and provide some financial security to cover the year it will take to complete his journey to raise awareness and donations for breast cancer and alzheimers research. Dostaler's sponsorships, through Body...
Lights on again after four day power outage at TRU
KAMLOOPS - After a power outage that lasted from Sunday to Thursday afternoon, most businesses on the TRU campus have resumed operations powered by an emergency generator. The Campus Activity Centre and three houses on the grounds were closed after the latest snowfall damaged a transformer, cutting the power. Students looking to buy a semester's...
Spend your Valentine’s Day with Leonard Cohen
KAMLOOPS – Your Valentine’s Day plans could get a little more poetic if you buy tickets to the B.C. Living Arts’ latest event — Love L. Cohen — a Leonard Cohen themed dinner. The Valentine’s celebration taking place at the Coast Kamloops Conference Centre at 1250 Rogers Way, is a theatrical concert featuring many of Cohen’s songs...
Challenging a fictional Disney character will bruise your ego
Push-up contests are not for the faint of heart. It can get competitive in an instant and the pressure is always highest for the person who suggested it in the first place. But those off-putting elements didn't sway one Disneyland guest when he challenged Gaston (yes, the character from The Beauty and the Beast) to...