PETS FRIENDS FOR LIFE
see page 13
SPORTS
Hawks look to prove why they’re #1 High school football clubs tackle new year
2010
1985
T UESDAY , S EPTEMBER 14, 2010
28 Pages
Page A26
YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER AND ENTERTAINMENT abbotsfordtimes.com
HOMELESS &
RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS
– KING5NEWS.COM/TIMES
Peter James Wilson pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of five-yearold Clare Shelswell of Abbotsford.
Wilson pleads guilty Abbotsford childkiller faces at least 22-year sentence RAFE ARNOTT RArnott@abbotsfordtimes.com
A
bbotsford child-killer Peter James Wilson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in a Washington State courtroom Monday morning for slashing the throat of his five-yearold stepdaughter, Clare Shelswell. Wilson, 29, was brought before the judge shackled, wearing a standard prison issue orange jumpsuit minus the bulletproof vest he wore at his previous hearing. He appeared calm and lucid, Mason County prosecutor Gary Burleson said. “He was quiet, he responded to the court and he understood the proceedings and communicated with his attorney,” Burleson said. “He plead as charged. There was no plea bargain, no agreements of any kind.” see GUILTY, page A4
– RAFE ARNOTT/TIMES
A jogger moves around Roy Roberts’ belongings on McDougall Avenue in Abbotsford on Monday. Local housing advocates say the city lacks appropriate housing options for homeless individuals and those at risk who have complex mental health issues. Roberts was evicted from this house on Friday. CHRISTINA TOTH CToth@abbotsfordtimes.com
He fell through the cracks . . . and onto a city sidewalk
neighbour, says a city report. He continued to oy Colin Roberts is on the road again. collect goods, some of which he repairs, and It’s a place he knows too well. they piled up inside and outside the house. He was the fellow who was moved out Neighbours complained about the mess and from his home under the Peardonville Road about the people visiting the house, which overpass in Abbotsford was deemed a nuisance house in March 2009. His posby the police since 2005. sessions were spilling out “Our continuum of services is Roberts has mental health from his hideaway into problems and some physinot geared to take care of the cal challenges, said Maureen public view, and city officials feared for his safety, Roys of Abbotsford.” Accleton, a worker at the they said at the time. nearby Abbotsford Addictions Roberts continued to live Services who has befriended rough while local homeless – Ron Van Wyk him. She often chats with him outreach workers looked over coffee, and keeps an eye for a suitable place for him. on him. They found a spot at 33780 McDougall Ave., Accleton says Roberts is a good person, one Abbotsford, and Roberts has been living there who delivers food to people on his bicycle for about a year. who can’t make it the food bank, she said. But the house was a derelict, with no elec“He just can’t deal with bureaucracy,” she tricity or heat. Roberts used a propane heater said on Friday, as he was being evicted. and extension cords to get power from a In January, the city ordered the owner of the
R
house, a developer known only as numbered company 0754306 BC Ltd., to clean up the place. The house, like the adjacent homes, are destined to become condos one day. City staff delayed the deadline as they were advised that social agencies were helping Roberts to clean the yard and repair the house. But in May, the city declared the house was unfit for occupation, “a visual blight,” and ordered the owner to tear down the house. So on Friday morning, Roberts was evicted from the little blue house, his belongings piled up on sidewalk by bailiffs. With no obvious plan on where he would stay, Roberts camped there all weekend in the rain, hoping to protect his things. “The reason things here are the way they are is because the landlord did nothing. To me, it’s criminal,” said a frustrated Roberts on Friday. see HOMELESS, page A4
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