SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME 67 - ISSUE
NO. 50 • S U M M E R L A N D, B.C. • T H U R S D AY,
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
DECEMBER
11,
2014
•
20
WHAT’S INSIDE:
Junior hockey
Damaged meters
The municipality will spend around $40,000 to replace electrical meters which were damaged following a recent power surge.
A Summerland school board trustee has been selected as the board chair.
Page 7
Basketball season
The Summerland Secondary School senior boys Rockets basketball team have started their season.
Page 14
Fantasy novel
A Summerland author has released the second book in a fantasy series for young adult readers.
Page 18
YOUR SMILE If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
$1.15
INCLUDING
GST
by John Arendt
Page 15
Board chair
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Council votes to withdraw controversial ALR application
The Summerland Steam had a strong performance on the ice with three consecutive wins in Junior B action.
Page 6
Land swap over PA G E S
Facing charges
Mark Brett Black Press
Officers of the BC Sheriff Services lead Gregory Stanley Nield, 30, of Summerland to a waiting vehicle at the back of the Penticton provincial courthouse Dec. 9 after he was remanded by a judge for a 30-day psychiatric assessment. Nield is facing two charges in connection with the alleged assault of a Penticton psychiatrist Dec. 5 at Penticton Regional Hospital.
Doctor ‘lucky to be alive’ after attack Summerland man charged with assault by Joe Fries Black Press A local psychiatrist is “lucky to be alive” after he was allegedly attacked Friday afternoon while interviewing a patient at Penticton Regional Hospital. Summerland man Gregory Stanley Nield, 30, has since been charged with assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault. He made his first appearance at the Penticton courthouse on Tuesday where the court ordered a 30-day psychiatric assessment to be completed at the Forensic Psychiatric Institute in Port Coquitlam. Nield looked at family and friends at the back of the courtroom for most of his brief appearance. Through his lawyer he apologized for his appearance stating, “he normally doesn’t look like that.”
Nield had been featured several times for his achievements in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Penticton RCMP said in a press release that officers were called to the hospital because a patient “had attacked a doctor and was continuing to cause problems,” and Nield was later arrested without incident. Police said the victim suffered a broken jaw and other facial injuries as a result of the attack. Court documents identify the victim as Dr. Rajeev Sheoran, whose Linkedin profile describes him as a self-employed consultant psychiatrist. Interior Health CEO Robert Halpenny said Sheoran was conducting a one-onone interview with Nield in the PRH psychiatric unit when there was a “violent altercation,” and Sheoran was “seriously injured” and taken to Kelowna General
Hospital for treatment. Gayle Duteil, president of the B.C. Nurses’ Union, painted a more grim picture. “We won’t go into specific details, but the doctor is lucky to be alive,” she told a separate news conference Monday. Duteil said the incident “highlights the dangerous lack of security in B.C.’s psychiatric and forensic facilities.” She called on Interior Health to provide personal alarms to medical staff at PRH and post dedicated security guards in the psychiatric unit. Halpenny said staff and patient safety is a priority, and a full investigation is already underway in conjunction with the RCMP and WorkSafeBC. He said Nield did not appear to present an exceptional threat. Nield is scheduled to appear via video in Penticton court on Jan. 7.
The proposed land swap is over. On Monday evening, municipal council voted to withdraw the application to adjust the Agricultural Land Reserve boundaries in Summerland. The plan had called for the removal of 80.34 hectares near the core of the community, while 91.7 hectares in the Prairie Valley area would be added to the land reserve. Earlier this year, the application had been sent to the Agricultural Land Commission, but the commission had not made a decision. Council passed three separate motions on the land reserve exclusion. The land exclusion and inclusion were handled separately. Janet The third resolution was to Peake hold a workshop early in 2015 to discuss other options for the Official Community Plan – Urban Growth Strategy. Coun. Erin Carlson was absent for the first of the resolutions since her family owns land in the affected area. Coun. Janet Peake was the only member of council who voted against the motions to withdraw the land reserve application. “We should leave the applications to be considered by the ALC and get their input into our planning choices,” she said. “Council is still the decision maker into how or if we make use of the ALC recommendations.” Coun. Toni Boot said council has time to determine a suitable growth plan for the community. “We still have all kinds of time to consider what to do,” she said. Coun. Doug Holmes said the land exchange application was the result of a faulty decision-making process. He said the present council needs to “rewind back to the point where the process went wrong.” Over the past year, the controversial land exchange had been met with considerable resistance from the community. A petition by the Stop the Swap group garnered more than 3,000 signatures, including more than 1,500 from Summerlanders. During 2013, the municipality held numerous meetings, workshops and open houses to gather input for a new growth plan. See GROWTH Page 7