EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Hockey pros hit the links for annual shootout Page 6
Summer camp gives kids a kick at soccer Page 15
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 PM40008236
Vol. 55 No. 29 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Project aims to revitalize rural B.C.
United front: Mountain pine beetle coalitions focus on rural recovery. By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
What began as a response to the deleterious impact of the mountain pine beetle has become a voice for economic and social prosperity for rural British Columbia. Since 2007, the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition (SIBAC), along with similar coalitions representing the Omenica and Cariboo-Chilcotin regions, has been working to mitigate the impact of the mountain pine beetle throughout the Interior. Collectively, these organizations have been working to address the plight of rural B.C. in the aftermath of the beetle epidemic which, along with market forces, have had a decimating impact on once-thriving, forestry-dependent communities. The Rural BC Project is their child, a strategy designed to help return prosperity to the I think what we’ve “Heartland.” learned in all of In a presentation to Siour work, is that it camous council, SIBAC doesn’t matter where chair Rhona Martin, the you are in rural B.C., rural Sicamous-Malakwe’re all suffering the wa Area E director with same dire fate. the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, spoke Rhona Martin to some of the catalysts SIBAC chair behind the Rural BC Project, as well as some of the desired outcomes. “I think what we’ve learned, in all of our work, is that it doesn’t matter where you are in rural B.C., we’re all suffering the same dire fate,” said Martin. “We’re all losing our people, we’re all losing our young people especially, we’re all losing our services, and what we’re trying to encourage government to do is reinvest in rural B.C.” One of the things the coalitions would like to see is a provincial strategy that would provide a rural focus among the province’s ministries, so that See Economic on page 3
Safe on second: Madison Dewitt of the Okanagan Angels emerges from a cloud of dust, safe on second in play against the Abbotsford Outlaws Saturday during three-day U12B Squirt Girls Provincial Softball Championships. The host Angels placed fourth in the round robin, with a 4-win, 0-loss record, but lost their playoff game to the Surrey Storm, coming in fifth place. Top spot went to the Langley Extreme, followed by the Surrey Storm, the North Vancouver Stars and the Richmond Islanders. Photo by Lachlan Labere
Motorcycle riders seriously injured in collision By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
Two Edmonton residents sustained serious injuries Sunday morning after the motorcycle they were riding collided with a pickup truck. The collision occurred on July 14 at 10:12 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 97A and Paradise Avenue. Sicamous RCMP Sgt. Dave Dubnyk says the motorcycle, ridden by Edmonton residents, ages 59 and 60, was travelling north along the highway when a pickup truck driven by a Sicamous
resident pulled out of the intersection and into the bike’s path. In an attempt to avoid the truck, the riders had laid down on the ground, but ended up crashing into the truck. Dubnyk reported Monday that the Edmonton residents were airlifted to hospital in Kelowna for treatment of serious injuries that, at that point, were not believed to be life threatening. The RCMP traffic services reconstruction team was called in to assist with the investigation which, as of Monday, was ongoing.
“At this point, no charges have been laid,” said Dubnyk.
Suspect nabbed
A multiple-jurisdiction police investigation involving a stolen vehicle has ended in Sicamous where a suspect is now in custody and facing several charges. Dubnyk says that on the morning of June 27, the detachment was advised that a vehicle stolen from Enderby believed to be heading to Sicamous. Soon after, Sicamous officers located the vehicle and, with the
assistance of the Integrated Road Safety Unit, an attempt was made to pull it over, but was unsuccessful. Dubnyk says the stolen vehicle was later located, abandoned in the community, and another vehicle was reported stolen. Subsequent investigation by Sicamous, Golden, Invermere and Cranbrook RCMP officers resulted in a suspect being identified and charged – 39-yearold Robert St. Louis, whose last known address is St. Mary’s, Ont. Dubnyk says St.
Louis is facing charges of automobile theft, possession of stolen property, flight from police, dangerous driving and driving while prohibited. “In addition to this, St. Louis is also charged with three additional counts of automobile theft, failure to stop for police, dangerous driving, driving while prohibited and theft under $5,000,” says Dubnyk. “These additional charges are the result of offences committed in Radium Hot Springs, Wasa, Kimberley and Cranbrook.”