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Kamloops
JAIL SEX TRIAL UPDATE: Officers react to what happened in the cell that night
GRAPHIC CONTENT ADVISORY KAMLOOPS – Video evidence in the jail sex trial concluded Wednesday allowing a Kamloops Supreme Court Justice to see exactly what police officers saw that night in Kamloops city cells—and how officers reacted to it. Cpl. Kenneth Peter "Rick" Brown, an RCMP watch commander, is accused of breaching trust in August of...
Cavers shoots the messenger before council takes away his gun
KAMLOOPS - Mayor and councillors may disagree with the lack of additional public input being provided for the proposed Ajax Mine but refused to endorse one councillor's personal attack over the issue. In a recent letter to council, Scott Bailey with the Environmental Assessment Office, agreed to host a public information session on the environmental...
Hot dogs being sent to provincial meetings
KAMLOOPS - Should bylaw officers be given authority to break into vehicles when animals are locked in during hot, or cold, weather? Councillors from across the province will discuss the merits of giving this authority at a meeting later this month thanks to Kamloops council. The idea gained momentum last month when council, supported by...
Police respond to man with imitation gun near a school in Dufferin
KAMLOOPS - Kamloops officers investigated reports of a man holding a long gun near a school in Dufferin Wednesday morning. Teachers on the picket lines witnessed the man with the alleged gun at about 7:40 a.m.. After police responded it was determined the gun was made out of plastic. The man was taken into custody....
JAIL SEX TRIAL UPDATE: Court examines video evidence
KAMLOOPS – A now-retired RCMP corporal took the stand in Kamloops Supreme Court Tuesday afternoon to describe one of his last investigations—of his friends and co-workers accused of breaching trust as a police officer. Several officers chose to watch two drunk female prisoners have sex rather than intervene in the early morning hours of August...
UPDATE: Broken valve leaks slurry at New Gold
KAMLOOPS - Management at the New Gold mine west of Kamloops are looking at how they can prevent a similar type of leak from happening in the future after 16-20 cubic metres of slurry leaked into a secondary dry ditch on site last night. Environment and Social Responsibility Manager Scott Davidson says the small leak...
Renewed call for information in decade old homicide case
KAMLOOPS - The body of Shana Labatte was discovered in the Mission Flats area in 2004 and RCMP are again asking for help from the public in solving the decade old case. Labatte’s body was discovered near a walking trail March 23, 2004 and RCMP were quick to say the 31-year-old had been murdered. At...
Rothenburger in the running again
KAMLOOPS - His time as a school board trustee, city mayor and member of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board was not enough for Mel Rothenburger. This morning he announced his intention to run for the Rivers and the Peaks region of the district in the upcoming election. Rothenburger, who served as mayor from 1999-2005, says...
Affordable housing project finally breaks ground
KAMLOOPS - Construction of an affordable housing complex project in downtown Kamloops is finally underway more than a year after land preparations first began. The building sits alongside the Kamloops United Church at 429 St. Paul St. and will house 56 units, 41 of which will fall under the affordable housing banner. Construction is set...
Fassbender: ‘It’s driving me crazy’
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Education Minister kicked off a press conference Monday afternoon with not one, but two movie references (Groundhog Day and Back to the Future if you were wondering), following them with a counter proposal to the teachers’ union second request to enter binding arbitration. Since talks broke down just before school was set to...
Drone project set to take off
KAMLOOPS - A professor at Thompson Rivers University is hoping a pilot program, mostly aimed at tracking cattle, will soon take off. “This is fabulous technology,” John Church, the Cattle Research Chair at the university says. “The concept of using drone technology for precision farming… to my knowledge, there’s not a lot of people using...
Paving project will smooth out 42 km of Kamloops area roads
KAMLOOPS - The ministry is set to begin digging into a $7.8 million, 42-kilometre Kamloops area road paving plan Wednesday. Dawson Construction of Kamloops was contracted to start working Sept. 10 on the Hwy 1 corridor from Vicars Road to Grand Boulevard. During the first phase they'll also tackle improvements to the westbound truck climbing...
Pitbelly for mayor campaign lacks transparency
KAMLOOPS - Mr. Open Pitbelly is the latest to announce candidacy for the November elections, but while Pitbelly is open about three of the key pillars to his election campaign, he admits much of his campaign lacks transparency. “They’re very secret, I will come (forward) with these events through the weeks,” Pitbelly said at a...
UPDATE: General strike in support of teachers put on hold
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Plans to call for a general strike beginning Wednesday have been put on hold while B.C. residents wait for the results of a teachers' union vote on suspending the strike and whether the government will agree to binding arbitration. A group of concerned citizens originally planned a three-day general strike to begin Wednesday...
Teachers’ union continues push for binding arbitration
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Even after the B.C. government said no to binding arbitration this weekend, the teachers’ union won't give up hope. The union feels arbitration could end the strike and get its members a fair settlement. “Binding arbitration is a fair, practical and pragmatic approach,” B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker said Monday morning at...
Can an actor ‘make it’ in Kamloops?
KAMLOOPS – When Dennis Cound of Kamloops decided to take acting more seriously, he secured an agent and he’s been auditioning for roles ever since. But many of them are in larger city centres like his most recent role in Supernatural, filmed in Vancouver. It has us wondering: Can you “make it” in show biz...
Talking North Shore community safety
KAMLOOPS - Concerned about safety on the North Shore? The local business improvement association is hosting a session on Tuesday dealing with community safety, everything from graffiti to crime prevention. “Community safety is an issue for everyone and we are relaunching our Community Safety Committee by having this public dialogue with business and community members,”...
No school, no extra-curricular activities
KAMLOOPS - With teachers on strike it is more than classroom eduction suffering, many extra-curricular activities, likes Girl Guides, preschool and sports, are being left out in the cold. School District 73 Supt. Karl de Bruijn says pretty much all program rentals are on hold right now. “We have no way of cleaning or locking...
Accused’s bail release reversed after judge’s error
KAMLOOPS – On Friday afternoon, a man previously released on bail was put back behind bars before his trial due to a provincial court judge’s error. Jeremy Allen, 34, faces domestic violence related charges both in Kamloops and Kelowna courts. On July 24, Judge Len Marchand released him on bail for both files. As the...
Details on Ajax environmental plan process coming soon
KAMLOOPS - If you have questions about the environmental application process for the proposed Ajax mine, you might get answers as early as this October. Scott Bailey of the Environmental Assessment Office finally agreed to an earlier meeting after initially declining a May letter from Kamloops city council. He had said the office would meet to discuss...
Judge rules man’s dangerous driving killed two passengers
KAMLOOPS – It’s been four years since a vehicle accident took the lifes of Brittany Plotnikoff, 20, and Ken Craigdallie, 38, and today a judge’s ruling has determined it was dangerous driving which caused their deaths. Wayne Fedan, born 1961, was originally charged with two counts of impaired driving causing death, two counts of causing...
Fassbender not a fan of binding arbitration
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The education minister was not willing to say no to a proposal put forward by the teachers’ union this morning, but he did go as far as saying he is not a fan of binding arbitration. During a press conference this afternoon, Peter Fassbender said binding arbitration takes away the responsibility of the...
Five Kamloopsians you probably didn’t know were making it in show biz
KAMLOOPS - Getting a small spot in Hollywood takes a lot of work, but these former Kamloops residents are proof it can be done. By now, you know of some of the movies filmed here, now check out these five former Kamloops residents who went to Hollywood. David Leader who was born in Kamloops became...
Mr. Open Pitbelly plans to make Ajax Mine proposal a Kamloops election issue
KAMLOOPS - The proposed Ajax Mine will definitely be an issue in the upcoming Kamloops municipal election campaign because Mr. Open Pitbelly has thrown her hat into the ring. Artist and master gardner Elaine Sedgmen will officially announce her intention to run for the mayor's chair on Monday. Sedgman will be running as the costumed character...