S TANDARD TERRACE
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VOL. 26 NO. 9
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Alleged drug dealer gets bail By MARGARET SPEIRS AFTER TWO failed attempts to get bail here, an alleged drug dealer was granted bail late last month after spending eight months in jail. David Edwardsen was let out on bail with three sureties – people promising to take responsibility for the accused – who could provide the $100,000 bail amount, one of the largest bails ever posted in northern B.C., May 30 in Vancouver Supreme Court. “So essentially a bail review functions like an appeal so you have to move up to the next level of court,” said BC Supreme Court law officer Heidi McBride about why the bail review took place in supreme court. Up until that time, Edwardsen’s case was going through provincial court here.
There could be any number of reasons for why it went to supreme court in Vancouver, such as wanting to get the bail review done as soon as possible and the justice was available there earlier than here, she said. On Sept. 19, 2012, after a 14-month investigation, police executed five search warrants on five properties in Terrace and area – Edwardsen’s residence at 604 Old Lakelse Lake Road, two other residences on that same road, one residence on King Ave. in Thornhill and a residence on Bohler Rd. Emergency Response Team officers, similar to a SWAT team, were part of the officers at Edwardsen’s place due to a concern about weapons, said Terrace RCMP inspector Dana Hart at that time. Police seized drugs, including more than 500 marijuana plants, from three differ-
ent grow-ops; 1.5 kg of cocaine; 24 tablets of ecstasy; 17 grams of hashish, 32 grams of magic mushrooms and also prescription drugs, reported police at that time. Investigators also recovered 110 long guns, including rifles and shotguns, and several handguns from two of the search sites, said police. Four other people were arrested along with Edwardsen but later released; they remained uncharged as of June 7 of this year. Two previous bail hearings were unsuccessful in getting Edwardsen out of jail late last year. A bail hearing set for Oct. 5, 2012 was postponed as Edwardsen’s lawyer at the time, Greg Cranston, said he received more than 100 pages of information from prosecutors earlier that week and wasn’t ready for a hearing. A second attempt at a bail hearing
Oct. 30 and 31 also saw bail denied. At that time, Judge Herman Seidemann III said he believed Edwardsen wouldn’t reoffend in a small community like Terrace but that he would be kept in jail to ensure the public could maintain its confidence in the administration of justice. Prosecutors have laid 17 charges against Edwardsen: four counts of trafficking, three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, one charge of production of a controlled substance, four firearms charges, two charges for possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition, one charge of possessing prohibited weapon without a licence and six charges of unauthorized possession of a firearm. Edwardsen was due back in court earlier this week.
Protests planned for final hearings By JOSH MASSEY
AMARA JANSSENS PHOTO
■ Bike Rodeo LAURA MOI of BC Ambulance Service helps five-year-old Valyn Spencer decorate her wheels during Friday’s Bike Rodeo held at George Little Park.
ANTI-PIPELINE ACTIVISTS will be on guard outside the final public hearings for the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, scheduled for June 17 in Terrace. Protesters are coming in from as far as Vancouver and Prince George to demonstrate outside the Best Western on Greig Ave. where the hearings are taking place, while inside the hotel lawyers from the province will present the B.C. government's “no” decision on the project in its current form. Among the other 34 individuals and groups presenting for or against the project include nine First Nations, NDP MP Nathan Cullen and the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. Enbridge is the first up and has two hours to present their final argument. The other presenters have an hour each, which means the hearings could last well over a week, according to National Energy Board spokesperson Kristen Higgens. Those arguing in favour of the project are looking to prove that Enbridge's environmental checks and fiscal plan make
the proposed 1,170 km twin bitumen and condensate pipeline safe and worthwhile for stakeholders along the route. The proposed pipeline would extend from the Alberta oil sands to a terminal near Kitimat on the B.C. coast with the bitumen then transported by tanker to processing facilities abroad. The proposal has been met with heavy opposition along the way, with protests and antiEnbridge campaigns staged throughout the review process, which has seen 1,200 oral statements made since it began nearly a year-and-a-half ago and the participation of 215 intervenors – people or groups who submit written material and engage in formal debate. “Only a handful have presented in favour and thousands have spoken out against it,” said Mikael Jensen, who is organizing the upcoming protests, set for the day before and the first day of the hearing. The Joint Review Panel has until Dec. 31 to present their decision to the federal government, at which point the cabinet will make the final call on whether to approve the project.
Cont’d Page A2
First time
Filling the void
Final lap
Museums association chooses Terrace for its annual meeting \COMMUNITY A9
Local waste companies take up recycling where others left off \NEWS A5
It’s nearing the end of the season for the Terrace Bluebacks swim club \SPORTS A22