Glynn Brothen
Proposed legislation will strip presumption of innocence: Defence lawyer
KAMLOOPS – New legislation proposed by the B.C. Liberals this week throws out the presumption of innocence and instead presumes people accused of impaired driving are guilty until they prove otherwise, says a Vancouver defence lawyer specializing in impaired driving. Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act strengthen the government’s controversial Immediate Roadside Prohibition, which avoids...
More layoffs announced for labour workers in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – One of Kamloops’ main labour employers is facing another round of cuts after a drop in oil prices has directly led to a decline in business for the energy sector industry. On Monday, March 23, officials at Horizon North Logistics announced 46 temporary layoffs and four permanent layoffs for Kamloops employees. The 50...
TRU says online privacy possibly compromised
KAMLOOPS – The private information of students and alumni at the local university could have been compromised sometime within the last three years because of a software bug that affected the institution’s online portal. Students who used the online myTRU portal to access personal documents, including tuition payment options, received an email from Thompson Rivers...
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...
Suspect sought after attempted truck theft in Salmon Arm
SALMON ARM – Police are still searching for a suspect after a man caught someone attempting to steal his pickup truck early this morning in Salmon Arm. The owner of a residence on 8 Avenue awoke to the sound of his pickup truck being started at 3 a.m., Monday, March 23. When he ran outside...
Salmon Arm RCMP seize drugs, make two arrests
SALMON ARM – Two people were arrested and several illegal drugs, along with cash, were seized from an apartment on Shuswap Street in Salmon Arm on Saturday, March 21. After executing a search warrant, Mounties seized marijuana, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and hashish from the apartment. Two males, one 22 and the other 17, were arrested...
Driver ticketed for causing highway crash
KAMLOOPS - A woman who turned left into oncoming traffic and caused a crash on the Yellowhead Highway Thursday afternoon has been ticketed. Cpl. Cheryl Bush, a spokesperson for the Kamloops RCMP, says the 42-year-old woman was ticketed for driving without due care after causing the crash at the intersection of Highway 5 and Paul...
Court delays put brakes on drunk driving case
CLEARWATER – A judge acquitted a woman of her impaired driving charges after her lawyer argued the case violated her charter right to be tried within a reasonable amount of time —a problem in the small town of Clearwater where court time is unpredictable. Last week, Provincial Court Judge Len Marchand said delays due to...
Kamloops Doctor hopes medical marijuana may bring relief for PTSD
KAMLOOPS – There are few studies in the world that have examined the medical capabilities of cannabis, but one Kamloops doctor is hoping to change the trend by studying the drug’s effect on patients suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Ian Mitchell, an emergency room doctor and physician-on-site for the local ReaLeaf Wellness Centre regularly...
This little piggy dug up the neighbour’s yard, this one went on the highway, this piggy’s owner went all the way to court
KAMLOOPS – If pigs could fly, a 77-year-old farmer and his neighbours probably wouldn't be in the predicament that landed them in Kamloops Provincial Court this month. Pig farmer Paul Peter Sabyan received numerous complaints from neighbours about his livestock breaking its barrier and destroying land adjacent to his Louis Creek property, south of Barriere. ...
Federal prison sentence despite drug dealer’s public relations move
KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops judge said she recognized the efforts a convicted cocaine trafficker made to teach young people about the dangers of the industry he was caught up in, but still gave him a four-year federal prison sentence in Kamloops Supreme Court Wednesday morning. Last May, Jean-Claude Auger, 39, pleaded guilty to his involvement...
Bullets, condoms and refuse – see what’s dumped in our protected grasslands
KAMLOOPS – Watching several trucks drive by Batchelor Heights into the province's protected grasslands and not knowing the driver's purpose for visiting makes Park Ranger Amanda Weber-Roy nervous as she prepares for a day of work in the Lac du Bois Grasslands Saturday. She looks for signs of recreational users — an ATV, a mountain...
BROTHEN: Not in our backyards, not in our city’s backyard
The next time you go for a casual walk in the grasslands behind Batchelor Heights, watch where you step, or your next trip will be to get a tetanus shot – there are nails everywhere. And it’s not just nails leftover from people burning pallets for bonfires; there are busted appliances, bullets, condoms, syringes, construction...
Stuck hiker coached off of trail by emergency crews
KAMLOOPS - An overzealous hiker was coached off a trail by firefighters and RCMP members after he got stuck on a trail near the cliffs overlooking Brock Estates off Ord Road this afternoon. "It wasn't that steep. He kinda just froze on the side of the hill," Capt. Brian Lannon with Kamloops Fire Rescue said....
WASELENKOFF TRIAL: Father and son describe finding child pornography
KAMLOOPS – When Frans Van Der Woning and his son Ray were renovating Frans' McGill Road condominum one Saturday in 2012, they cut a hole in the ceiling and thought they found hidden treasure. They reached between the floor joists shared with the unit above — belonging to retired special education teacher Jerry Waselenkoff —...