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No charges for officers accused after rough 2014 arrest BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com Greg Laychak/TIMES
Robert Lucas (right) takes his second rescued cat, Baby, from a firefighter early Monday morning after evacuating his apartment.
Coming together after tragedy Online group rallies community with food, clothing even offers of housing after Mary Street arson BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
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Acts of Random Kindness Shared. of the Mary Street apartment building “There is so much crappy stuff were still on the sidewalks and lawns said about Chilliwack, you know, so watching firefighters put out hot this way it’s everyspots, Keeley and her body looking our SPARKS group were in for each other the “Every random full force. way it should be At 7:31 a.m., Keeact of kindness ley posted a message instead of turni n g y o u r b a c k ,” means something on the SPARKS site: she told the Times “There has been a to somebody.” Monday. devastating fire on “Every random Mary and Spadina - Laura Keeley a c t of kindness and everyone who means something lived there now has to somebody.” nothing, I have asked those affected to let us know what the will be in need of. [F]or now we know Tsunami of donations Just a couple hours after the fire start{ See SPARKS, page A4 } ed Monday, as many of the residents
{ See ARREST, page A3 }
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he early morning fire tore through a three-storey apartment building downtown Chilliwack full of seniors and mostly low-income renters. Panic ensued as brave firefighters tackled the blaze, rescued pets and ensured no one was inside. One firefighter suffered a minor injury and no civilians were injured. A disaster for all who live in the Mary Street building, but one that could have been much worse. The fire, which was intentionally set, according to fire officials and the RCMP, struck at around 4 a.m.
As Chilliwack Fire Department crews from five halls battled the blaze, local resident Laura Keeley sprung into action. Keeley isn’t a first responder or an emergency services worker or even a representative of a local charitable organization. She’s a woman who, for the past six months, has helped grow a positive, giving movement in the face of what she saw as overwhelming negativity. Keeley along with Serene Mumford, Sue Knudsen and Nicole Benko created a Facebook group called SPARKS in December 2014 (not to be confused with the Girl Guide Sparks). SPARKS stands for Special People
Photo courtesy Dark Works
Officials say this Mary Street apartment fire was targeted.
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man who was drinking, left the scene of a motor vehicle accident, then lied to police and spit blood at a Mountie in Chilliwack has had his excessive force complaint dismissed by the body that investigates the police. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) said Monday there was no substantial likelihood of conviction of two police officers accused of violently hitting a man after a crash on Vedder Mountain Road on Feb. 16, 2014. Two men and a woman who had been drinking were driving on Vedder Mountain Road when the female driver swerved into a pickup truck and caused a serious headon collision, according to the IIO statement issued June 15. The complainant said he was in the back seat, wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and his knees and face struck the seat in front of him. The driver of the pickup said the complainant in the IIO investigation was bleeding from his face, and the man wanted to fight. The three individuals including the complainant fled the scene of the crash and began walking up Sweltzer Creek Road on the Soowahlie Reserve towards Cultus Lake. Several officers attended and attempted to find the trio. One officer came across the complainant who he said was bleeding from the nose. The officer was lied to about
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