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VOL. 25 NO. 31
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Man sentenced for assaulting police officer A PROVINCIAL court judge has closed off one portion of a complex relationship between a local man and the RCMP by giving him a conditional discharge. Judge Christine Birnie found Shane Parker, 24, guilty of assaulting a police officer in August 2010, but if he meets a series of conditions over the next 12 months, he won’t have a criminal record. Parker was also charged with resisting arrest but Birnie found that it was difficult to distinguish where the assault left off and resisting began. The altercation between Parker and the RCMP took place outside of the Spirit Bar in downtown Terrace on Aug. 7, 2010. The court heard that Parker saw police officers beside or on top of a person and that it was Parker’s intent to intervene and make sure that the person was all right. But the court also heard that Constable Issac Couture told Parker to stay back at least four times and at least once said ‘stop police’. Parker said he didn’t have to leave and slapped Couture’s arm, at which point he was taken to the ground and handcuffed and put into a police vehicle, the court heard. “He agreed he saw himself as policing the police,” said Birnie of Parker’s actions in passing sentence on Parker Oct. 29. Testimony heard by Birnie, however, showed how an earlier altercation between Parker and the Terrace RCMP also shaped the Aug. 7, 2010 events. On June 19, 2010, just two months earli-
er, Terrace RCMP reported that a man began fighting police officers who were attempting to arrest a woman for public intoxication outside the Spirit Bar. The man, Parker, was handcuffed, and taken to the RCMP detachment and was released with charges pending. During his detainment, court heard, Parker had been punched, pepper sprayed, had a hood place over his head which prevents people from spitting on others, and tied to a chair. The court heard that Parker, at one point, thought he was going to be killed in suffering a split lip, scrapes to his back, arm and face and a mild concussion. Birnie said she did believe that Parker’s recollections of the June 19, 2010 events would contribute to him thinking the same would happen to him during the Aug. 7 altercation with RCMP officers. “I do accept on June 19 he received injuries,” said Birnie. She also said Parker genuinely, but mistakenly, believed he was going to be beaten again and so resisted arrest. Although Terrace RCMP released Parker in June 2010 with every intention of having him charged, charges were never approved. The events of June 19 have resulted in Parker filing a civil suit against a number of Terrace RCMP officers and in the filing of complaints about officer conduct with the police complaints commission. For more on Shane Parker’s involvement with the RCMP, see Page 5.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Lauren Benn PHOTO
■■ Pool revamp coming Terrace Lifeguards Desiree Christ, Adrienne Vanderberg, Beth Smith and Brandon Williams show off the pool’s current slide. Behind them is the Terrace Aquatic Centre’s west wall, which is up for replacement or repair in the coming year, the extent of which will be determined during budget talks.
City splashes into budget season The City of Terrace dove into preliminary budget talks last week with staff proposing a $1.8 million pool renovation plan. The pool plan and other large city projects were discussed at the first in a series of 2013 city budget meetings Nov. 9 where city staff presented to council and regional district representatives. The city would need to increase its tax revenue by 2.5 per cent should next year’s current budget proposal be accepted as it is.
It includes services and utility costs held at status quo, an accelerated roads program, community forums, land purchases and a major pool renovation, which includes a water slide. Tax revenues increased by $405,202 compared to last year, an amount that also accounts for inflationary costs calculated at 2.8 per cent. New tax revenues added into the mix this year are minimal at $50,000, said the city’s finance director Ron Bowles
last week, adding revenues from the newlyrunning Skeena Sawmills will be generated within the next few years. The city has also been trying to increase revenues by pursuing industrial interests in the Skeena Industrial Lands located just south of the airport, although a most recent attempt fell through when Yaorun Wood pulled back on a lease agreement before the ink was dry with the city. And while the City of Terrace waits for
its revenue base to grow, Bowles said it’s holding the line on services for now. “The budget you’re being presented with today is the exact same services as 2012, no increase, no decrease,” said Bowles. The city does want to increase public participation by broadcasting its meetings, hosting a public budget review session at the Sportsplex, and by increasing community outreach.
Cont’d Page A2
A Family Focus
Military history
Two in the bag
The newest Terrace Little Theatre production zooms in on family \COMMUNITY A17
Federal officials come to town to check out local military sites \NEWS A14
Terrace’s midget B boys hockey team travels to Burns Lake \SPORTS A26