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Kamloops
Guns, grenades and tear gas: How the Rocky Mountain Rangers keep their edge
KAMLOOPS - It’s an odd sight to see in town – 14 armed men and women standing in a line firing their unloaded rifles at a set of five matching trucks parked outside the armoury. The guns have triggered an RCMP response before but luckily not today. For the Rocky Mountain Rangers, an infantry reserve...
Doctors: Kamloops deserves same protection as Kitimat
KAMLOOPS - A local group of physicians say Kamloops has no more room for pollution and wants the province to provide more funding for air quality control in our city. Since the group formed in 2013, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment have been questioning the level of fine particulate matter already in the air...
Convicted pedophile labelled dangerous offender, handed indeterminate federal jail sentence
KAMLOOPS – With a lengthy criminal history including five sexual offenses, most of which were against children, a Kamloops Provincial Court judge labelled a convicted pedophile as a dangerous offender and gave him an indeterminate jail sentence Thursday morning. After reviewing the extensive criminal history of David Bruce Jennings, 51, Provincial Court Judge Len Marchand...
THOMPSON: City focus should be on small business
KAMLOOPS - Yes Ajax is a big issue, but small businesses should be where the city focuses resources according to the most recent candidate to announce he is running for a city council seat. Glen Thompson, 51, moved to Kamloops earlier this year. He has been a community activist for most of his life and...
Get your fill of culture this weekend
KAMLOOPS - Arts, museums, photography, theatre and music are among the 15 free activities already planned for this weekend as part of the 5th anniversary of Culture Days in Kamloops. From free admission to hands-on workshops and ukuleles to hoop dancing, there will be many activities to help everyone create, celebrate and participate in the...
Labour council lending hand to candidates
KAMLOOPS - Several candidates have received endorsement from the Kamloops and District Labour Council after making it through the first round of interviews. Barb Nederpel, the first vice president of the labour council, says after a round of ‘speed dating’ type interviews with several candidates last week they decided to offer endorsement to Peter Kerek,...
JAIL SEX TRIAL: Judge will decide if RCMP officer’s actions were criminal
KAMLOOPS – It is up to a Kamloops Supreme Court Justice to determine if a crime was committed in the early morning hours of August 18, 2010 now that submissions from both lawyers have concluded in the trial of an RCMP watch commander. Kenneth Peter Rick Brown was charged with breach of trust after he,...
Ajax could cost $40,000 per person?
KAMLOOPS - Economic impact from the proposed Ajax Mine could put the city in the red, to the tune of $6.28 billion, a report being released this week suggests. Dr. Dennis Karpiak, an internal medicine and respiratory disease specialist, and Ken Blawatt, a former university professor, looked at the ‘hidden costs’ of the mine, which...
UPDATE: Bepple wants back on council
KAMLOOPS - Former Coun. Nancy Bepple stepped down from her council seat in March due to health reasons but Wednesday morning she announced her intention to run in the upcoming election. Bepple said her health is now under control and it will not impact her ability to be serve the city. "It was a chronic...
ELECTION 2014: Innovation changes everything in this campaign
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Knocking on doors, shaking hands, advertising and putting up signs: If you ran for council anytime before the last 10 years, that’s how you got exposure. If you ran in 2011, you probably added Facebook and Twitter to your arsenal. But this year, candidates have all the tools of a major political party...
JAIL SEX TRIAL: ‘It was a very tense and uncomfortable environment:’ guard
KAMLOOPS – A former jail guard told a Kamloops Supreme Courtroom this morning his workplace was like a zoo and there was nothing he could do about separating two female prisoners having sex because there were no empty cells available. David Tompkins was one of the RCMP city cell guards working the early morning hours...
Kamloops airport numbers continue to gain altitude
KAMLOOPS - Nearly 20,000 more travellers have passed through the gates at Fulton Field compared to this time last year, keeping the Kamloops Airport on track for another record year. More than 27,400 travellers used the airport in August 2014, up nine per cent over the same month the year before and bringing the year-to-date...
What Monday will look like for back to school
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Schools across the province are set to reopen to students Monday now that the provincial government and teachers have successfully negotiated a new contract. Many districts are adopting ‘normal opening day procedures’ for Monday, Sept. 22 and here is a breakdown of what you can expect in each district. Individual schools may adopt...
Candidate pro-business, anti-Ajax
KAMLOOPS - A candidate for Kamloops city council says he can provide the fresh eyes needed to help promote innovative ideas for the city. Andrew Miller questions decisions made by the current council, from parking kiosks to the temporary tax office and the pay increase. “I believe it is the duty of each and every...
Kamloops Mounties nab suspect in two armed robberies
KAMLOOPS – A 43-year-old man is cooling his heels in police cells after he was arrested in connection with a pair of armed robberies in Kamloops on Friday afternoon. At about 1:45 p.m., the clerk at the Tranquille Market on Tranquille Road and 12 Street was held up by a man with a gun, according...
The agreement that got teachers back to school
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Teachers agreed to a new contract with the government after more than 18 months of negotiations and while not all the details have been released a picture of the deal is starting to emerge. Negotiations began in February 2013 and by the end of the school year the contract expired. Negotiations continued through...
Final weekend of summer bringing the heat
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The first day of fall is around the corner, but before it arrives, we get the chance to bask in the final weekend of summer. The autumnal equinox falls on Tuesday, Sept. 22 in our part of the world, marking the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Before that can happen...
JAIL SEX TRIAL: The one-and-a-half minute party
KAMLOOPS – One of the guards who worked during an August 2010 incident in city cells told a Kamloops Supreme courtroom Friday morning he was frustrated when he did not receive direction on how to split up two female prisoners having sex. Kevin Brumm was a relatively new guard at the Kamloops RCMP city cells,...
JAIL SEX TRIAL: Guard noticed two female prisoners were “friendly” before leaving his shift
KAMLOOPS –A prison guard told a Kamloops Supreme courtroom on Thursday morning that RCMP city cells were so full the night of a jail sex incident, two female prisoners had to share the drunk tank. “We had no other choice; all the other cells were occupied,” said David Clark, a guard with the city. Clark...
STAHN: Will being emotional pay off for Cavers?
As we head into civic elections this year, most politicians try to keep their heads down, avoid controversy and charm voters. But Coun. Donovan Cavers—never shy about voicing his opinions and feelings—seems to be taking the contrarian view. He's getting more vocal. In each of the past two council meetings, Cavers has spoken out against...
Teachers vote yes, school back in session next week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The teachers vote is in and school will be back in session next week. A total of 75 per cent of teachers cast ballots Thursday with more than 27,000 voting to accept the agreement. The number of teachers voting was up significantly from ratification votes in 2006 and 2012 and on par with...
Budget ramped up for John Tod centre
KAMLOOPS - The finishing touches are being installed as a crew hustles to complete the conversion of John Tod from a school to a community centre — and now a parking lot has been added to the 2014 to-do list. Work began on the $2.2 million conversion earlier this year but the city planned to...
Speed dating for candidate support
KAMLOOPS - If it works for dating why not for candidate endorsement? The Kamloops and District Labour Council chose to use a ‘speed dating’ style evening to interview city council candidates this week. Barb Nederpel, first vice president of the council, says they had five city council candidates and one school board trustee candidate attend...
Districts planning for back to school
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As teachers make their decision today whether to ratify a contract agreement with the province, school boards are busy making plans in the hopes that students will be back in school next week. Several districts have already reached out to parents to let them know the plan for next week and most are...