Tuesday January 6, 2015 (Vol. 40 No.. 2)
V O I C E
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W H I T E
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Mission: Reconstruction A team of medical professionals and volunteers – including two from Surrey – recently returned from Ukraine, where they helped heal those who’ve been scarred by recent conflict in the area. i see page 9
S U R R E Y
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Conditional sentence said by Crown to discourage ‘vigilantism’
No jail time advised for dog thefts Alex Browne Staff Reporter
A woman who admits to stealing dogs has told a judge she has suffered enough. Former South Surrey resident Janet Olson, 61, attended a sentencing hearing Friday at Surrey Provincial Court, which heard submissions from Crown counsel Michelle Wray and both Olson’s lawyer, Craig Sicotte, and Olson herself. Olson, now a Langley resident, has admitted to stealing two dogs and
attempting to steal a third in what she claims were acts of compassion toward mistreated animals. Wray, arguing that principles of “denunciation and deterrence” must be paramount for admitted criminal acts – to discourage “vigilantism” – is asking the court for a conditional sentence of between a year and 18 months to be served in the community. Judge Melissa Gillepsie is scheduled to render a sentence on Feb. 24.
In an agreed statement of facts, Olson has acknowledged she took two dogs, from residences in Chilliwack and Richmond in 2009 and 2010, and was in the act of stealing a bulldog in Coquitlam when arrested in November 2011. Wray told Peace Arch News during a break in proceedings that the Crown intends to stay 38 other dog-theftrelated charges against Olson at the conclusion of sentencing. The Crown introduced Olson’s own
journal of the incidents and emails between her and other members of her organization, A Better Life Dog Rescue (ABLDR), as supporting evidence. For Olson, it was a chance to defend her actions in court, after more than three years since her original arrest. In videos and photos of other cases in which severe mistreatment of dogs chained and confined outside was demonstrated – and in her own emotional, i see page 4
Janet Olson guilty pleas
Murder charge proceeds
Mother deemed fit for trial
Lance Peverley photo
Polar Bear Swim relaunches
Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
A South Surrey mother charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death last month of her eight-year-old daughter has been deemed fit to stand trial. The information regarding Lisa Deanne Batstone was shared Monday in Surrey Provincial Court, as a half-dozen supporters listened from the gallery. Lisa Batstone Batstone was accused arrested Dec. 10, after her daughter, Teagan, was found deceased in the back of a car in a cul-de-sac just south of Crescent Road. A “fitness assessment” was ordered for the 41-year-old during a Dec. 18 court appearance. Lawyer Craig Sicotte told reporters at the time that his client’s mental health was “a very serious concern” that cast doubt on whether a trial could proceed. i see page 2
Chilly reception to a new year Nick Greenizan Staff Reporter
W. Al Riede photo
An estimated 3,000 people arrived at White Rock beach for this year’s annual Jan. 1 tradition.
Hundreds of revellers rang in the new year Thursday with a chilly dip into Semiahmoo Bay, at White Rock’s 45th annual Polar Bear Swim. In total, 723 registered to take part in the event, according to organizers – and an estimated 100-200 unregistered swimmers also dove in – while thousands more watched from the shore and pier. “It was well-attended, the weather was perfect – it couldn’t have gone any better,” said Rotary District 5050 assistant governor Linda Coyle, noting the parking lots were packed and organizers even ran out of hot chocolate. Coyle attributed the boost in interest partly to the weather, and also to the fact it was a family event. “People went into the water at noon, but even at one o’clock, people were still on the beach, buying hot dogs and drinking coffee,” Coyle said. This year’s event was, for the first time, organized not by the local Lions Club – which folded due to declining membership – but instead by the five local Rotary Clubs, with further support from RCM-SAR5 Crescent Beach, YWCA, Interact, Jimmy Flynn’s and the City of White Rock.
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