9/4/2010RCMP in the News
A Mountie in the Okanagan is still on police payroll despite being convicted of assault causing bodily harm.
He'll keep getting paid until he stands trial for a second, unrelated incident.
Corporal Andre Turcotte was convicted earlier this year for a road-rage incident three years ago in Summerland that left another man with a concussion.
Turcotte's also set to stand trial next week on charges of assault and unlawful confinement for an incident in August 2007, while he was on duty.
Turcotte is on paid leave, and RCMP Corporal Annie Linteau says they won't change his status until his legal dealings are over.
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9/4/2010False Alarm at Island 22
A mistaken eyewitness sent search and rescue racing to Island 22 in Chilliwack yesterday.
Someone called 911 to report a plane crashing near the Fraser River.
Search and Rescue showed up to find a float plane had landed safely, and intentionally, on the water.
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9/4/2010Hurricane Earl heads for the Maritimes
Hurricane Earl is on a collision course with the Maritimes today.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre is categorizing the storm as a Category 1 hurricane.
Earl is expected to hit Nova Scotia later today.
Power outages are being blamed on the storm and winds are expected to gust at up to 130 kilometres an hour.
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9/3/2010Jenn Bigham Wants Chilliwack to Board the Bus for her Chilliwack Public Transit Week
Chilliwack's Transit Activist is pushing for a transit week in town.
Jenn Bigham wants people to take the bus and only the bus next week.
She says she wants to make more people aware of how inadequate the system is so more people speak up about it.
Bigham's been crusading for a better bus system in Chilliwack since earlier this year.
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9/3/2010Environment Minister Says Cougar Had to Die
Chilliwack Hope's MLA says killing a cougar in Ryder Lake was necessary because of its aggressive behaviour.
Barry Penner was there when conservation officers shot and killed a cougar yesterday morning.
The cougar had killed 11 sheep, an entire flock, the day before.
Penner says with school starting up, children in the area will be on the street waiting for the school bus, and he says the cougar was too much of a threat.
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9/3/2010Sparkes Corn Barn Shuts 80% of Stands Because of Weather
It'll be warm again today but last week's cooldown is affecting some of Chilliwack's finest.
The owner of Sparkes Corn barn says they've shut 8 out of 10 of their corn stands.
Ian Sparkes says the corn isn't ripening as quickly as usual because of cooler August temperatures.
He says they hope to have 4 stands running after next week, and until the end of the month.
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9/3/2010Agassiz Inmate Takes Thesaurus Battle to the Top and Wins
An inmate in an Agassiz prison will soon be able to find a different word for victory.
Ken MacKay asked to buy a $23 thesaurus, but officials at the Mountain Institution told him he couldn't because then he would have too many personal items in his cell.
MacKay appealed the case all the way to Federal Court, arguing a thesaurus is exempt from the limit because it's a textbook.
But corrections officials argued the reference book isn't educational.
The judge ruled it was unreasonable for the prison to decide a thesaurus isn't a textbook.
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9/3/2010Mountie Chopper Helps with Stolen Vehicle Arrests in Chilliwack
Mounties took to the air yesterday and broke up two vehicle thefts, one of which was in Chilliwack.
Just before 2:00 morning, Mounties spotted a stolen Ford F350 on Highway One near Langley.
The Helicopter was called in and tracked it eastbound all the way to Chilliwack.
The pick up was dumped near number 4 road.
The two people inside then jumped into a Jeep that was apparently waiting for them.
Chilliwack RCMP and Abbotsford Police set up a road block near the Lickman exit.
A 32 year old man and 22 year old woman were arrested.
Stolen vehicle and erratic driving charges are recommended.
The two were also wanted for outstanding warrants
The second bust started in Surrey and ended in Vancouver.
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9/3/2010New Cultural Center Needs Volunteers
They're looking for a few good men and women.
Theresia Reid, booking manager at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre says they have around 40 volunteers but they want a base in the hundreds.
Reid says they're looking for people who'll work backstage and front-of-house during shows.
Reid says they're looking for people of all ages with a wide range of experience.
And she says a side benefit is volunteers often get to see the shows for free.
Visit the Cultural Centre box office, call or email to sign up.
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9/2/2010HST Documents Unveiled, Hansen Got Pre-Election Tax Briefing
The BC government is doing more damage control after the release of new documents about the harmonized sales tax.
The documents show bureaucrats prepared briefing notes on the tax for Finance Minister Colin Hansen well before last year's election campaign.
Hansen says his staff were simply doing their job by researching tax policy and weren't taking any political direction from the Liberals, who have denied they considered the tax before the election.
NDP Leader Carol James says she doesn't believe Hansen's claims that the HST wasn't on his radar until after the election.
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9/2/2010ICBC Rate Reduction Approved
Drivers all over BC will be enjoying a rare reprieve from ICBC in November.
Basic auto insurance will be down 2.4% from November 1st.
ICBC spokesperson Adam Grossman says it's all down to safe drivers in the province.
Grossman says the BC Utilities Commission approved ICBC's first rate cut in over a decade on Tuesday.
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9/2/2010Dog Walkers Asked to Stray from Island 22 This Weekend
Doug Wilson is discouraging walkers and dog walkers from heading to Island 22 in Chilliwack this weekend.
The Fraser Valley Regional District's Parks Manager says parking will be almost nonexistent over Labour Day long.
He says an equestrian event and the sockeye fishery are happening at the same time for the first time in 8 years and that means parking will be tough to find.
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9/2/2010Chilliwack Mounties Looking for Purse Snatcher
RCMP are asking for the public's help to find a purse snatcher.
A 33-year-old woman was walking along Young Road between 2nd and 3rd Avenue at 9:30 this morning.
A man came up behind her, grabbed her purse and took off.
He is described as white, between 20 to 30 years old and around 5'9'' to 5'11''.
The woman was not hurt.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police or Crimestoppers.
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9/1/2010Safety Upgrades On Way for Vedder Canal Bridge
The Vedder Canal Bridge has some upgrades coming its way.
Chilliwack MLA John Les says he and Barry Penner are behind the newly-announced improvements.
Les says they pushed for them after a Chilliwack truck driver was killed there two weeks ago.
The concrete barriers will be extended and more reflectors will go up on the roadside and guardrails. There will also be more signage and a second rumble strip.
The improvements were announced yesterday.
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8/31/2010Charges Announced in Langley Accident in 2008
The families of the men who were killed or injured during an industrial accident at a mushroom farm near Vancouver two years ago say new criminal charges aren't enough.
Prosecutors have announced 29 charges against two companies and four individuals related to an incident in Langley in September of 2008 in which toxic fumes killed three workers and left two others with serious brain injuries.
Tracey Phan, whose father Michael Phan is still in a coma, notes the charges carry a maximum sentence of just six months.
The New Democrats and labour advocates have called for a public inquiry into the safety of agricultural workers in B-C.
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8/31/2010Union of BC Indian Chiefs Calling for Pickton Public Inquiry
The Union of BC Indian Chiefs has joined the list of people calling for a full public inquiry into the Robert Pickton Case.
Chehalis Chief and UBCIC Vice President Willie Charlie says it's needed for the families, and the victims.
He says the families need closure so they can get on with their lives, and their loved ones need to move on to the Spirit World in a good way.
Charlie says so much went wrong for what is the worst serial killer case in Canadian history
The Union has sent a letter to BC Minister for Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation George Abbott
49 women went missing from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
Robert Pickton was convicted in the deaths for six of them.
Yesterday Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson repeated his call for a full public inquiry.
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