Guilty of manslaughter !

That was the sentence handed down today (Friday) in Supreme Court in Williams Lake for 26-year old Waylon Darian Harry.

He originally went on trial for second degree murder.

Madame Justice Marguerite Church reserved her decision following a trial that lasted almost three weeks back in January.

Harry is due back in court on May 27th to fix a date for sentencing.

Williams Lake RCMP were called out to the community of Esk'etemc, about 50 kilometres southwest of the city, in December of 2021 for a report of a suspicious death.

Upon arrival, police discovered the body of 19-year old Kendra Samson.

A suspect was arrested at the scene.

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The Quesnel Community Foundation held its annual awards night on Wednesday (April 24) in the Billy Barker Casino showroom.

President Bob Salmons says it was a very successful night.

"We were pleased to be able to fund 24 different organizations within the Quesnel area and it went very well.  Everybody was very appreciative and we handed out just over 108 thousand dollars in grants."

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Efforts are underway to bring the Witness Blanket to Quesnel.

Amy Robertson, Cultural Instructor at the Native Friendship Centre, says the first step was to gauge community support for the project.

"I've put the letter of support out there to see if we want this in our community, and what I've gotten back is yes we do.  So now my job is to get back to the representative for the Witness Blanket and say here we go, what's our next step."

Robertson says the Witness Blanket is basically a series of artifacts that have been brought together.

"They call it a witness blanket because it kind of looks like a patchwork quilt and it is made of artifacts that come from actual residential schools right across Canada.  There was a team that traveled to all of the residential school sites in Canada and they picked up at least one relic from each, some standing and some not standing."

Robertson says each artifact tells a bit of a story.

She says they put them into shadow boxes and pieced them together into a wall hanging that is phenomenal.

Robertson says the original is in a museum in Manitoba and they have two replicas, one for the west coast and one for the east coast and they travel around from community to community as an educational tool for truth and reconciliation.

She says it will mean a lot to survivors of residential schools, and she hopes people that didn't go can learn from the exhibit.

"I think to our survivors it will bring a sense of wow, we're actually being heard.  Our story is being told and the truth is coming out.  To the people that haven't attended residential school I am hoping it will bring awareness, and will help people to understand some of the travesties and horrific things that happened to some of the survivors.

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Quesnel RCMP are seeking the public's help in locating a missing woman.

35-year old Haley Reimer was reported missing on April 18th.

Haley was last believed to be seen in early April but here family hasn't heard from her in many months.

She is described as a Caucasian female who is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, around 135 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Quesnel RCMP (250) 992-9211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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By all accounts the Lhtako Quesnel BC Winter Games in February were a success.

A report to that effect was presented to Quesnel City Council on Tuesday (Apr 23) night.

Amy Reid, the Manager of Economic Development & Tourism, noted that there up to 3,000 people in Quesnel for the Games.

Leading up to the event, there were a number of improvements to local facilities.

"Including Troll Ski Resort, Hallis Lake with their permanent biathlon range and other trail improvements, the Quesnel Gymnastics Club, the Curling Club, the Arts and Rec Centre, Trolls Freestyle Club which was a new club established with support from Freestyle BC, and the Nechako Karate Club and Kororo Judo Club, they both received mats."

Reid also reported that the community could also benefit financially.

"The Winter Games Society anticipates there will be a legacy fund as the result of generous cash and in kind donations which will stay in the community.  In total, there were about 263 thousand in kind donations and over 270 thousand in cash donations."

Reid noted that the actual amount of a legacy fund has not been tallied yes, but will be soon.

She also talked about a survey that visitors completed.

"55 percent of visitors who came to Quesnel indicated that they were visiting for the first time, 68.6 percent indicated that Quesnel was better than they expected or they were pleasantly surprised by the community, and 39.2 percent said they would definitely visit again, and 44.3 percent said they would consider another visit in the summer or with more snow in the winter."

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The Independent Investigations Officer of B.C. (IIO) has cleared police officers in Quesnel of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with an incident that left a suspect with a broken arm.

The IIO says RCMP were attempting to stop a pickup truck driven by a man who was a prohibited driver.

It says they attempted to stop the vehicle at around 5:20 p.m. back on March 10th, 2023 but it fled the scene.

Officers did not pursue as the suspect was seen driving dangerously, including driving on the wrong side of the road and speeding through a school zone.

The IIO says the pickup was eventually seen turning into a Y-shaped cul-de-sac with only two exits.

The report indicates that police then approached in both directions and the suspect then attempted to leave.

One of the police vehicles then "rammed" the pickup on the driver's side causing it to spin into the snow bank.

[caption id="attachment_96777" align="alignright" width="300"] (Drawing of the man pinned between the two vehicles-photo provided by IIO)[/caption]

A second officer, driving behind the first officer, then approached the vehicle and despite attempting to stop, it slid in the snow into the right side of the pickup.

The IIO says the suspect's arm was then pinned against his pickup and the first police cruiser.

The IIO says the suspect told them that the first impact came as a surprise and caused him to be thrown out of the pickup and onto the ground.

It says he then reached up with his right hand to pull himself up when there was a second impact. and his arm was pinched between the door and the truck body.

In terms of legal issues, the IIO noted that the actions of the first officer, had the potential to be viewed both as dangerous driving and assault with a weapon (the police vehicle).

It determined however, that the officer's actions were justified as there was no pedestrian or other vehicle traffic, and therefore no obvious danger to the general public, and that the suspect driver was enclosed in a pickup and not in a small car or on a motorcycle.

As for the second police officer that appeared to cause the injury, the IIO determined that the contact was not intentional and called it "an unfortunate accident."

The IIO says their investigation was based on statements from the suspect, a paramedic and two witness police officers, as well as from police dispatch, audio recordings of police radio transmissions, data downloads from the police vehicles, and from a collision reconstructionist.

The two officers involved, who were not compelled to submit notes, reports and data, chose not to.

This did not impact the IIO's investigation, but it says it did limit what charges could be laid against the suspect.

Police forward several driving-related offences to the crown for approval but also charges related to firearms and narcotics, based on items found in a search of the pickup.

The IIO says on August 16, 2023 Crown counsel wrote to RCMP advising that it would not be able to proceed with any of the firearm or drug charges because both 'subject officers' had refused to provide any evidence regarding the incident.

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Quesnel City Council unanimously gave the first three readings to the five year financial  plan and the tax rate bylaw at Tuesday night's meeting.

Kari Bolton, the Director of Finance, broke down what that meant to the average homeowner and to business owners.

"The average resident in Quesnel, valued at $354,656, will see an increase of $63.45 in the municipal tax portion of their property tax invoice, or $17.89 per 100,000 of assessment.  A commercial business will see an increase of $84.62 per 100 thousand of assessment."

The total tax collected this year went up by 5.5 percent.

The assessment of the average property in Quesnel went up by 2.6 percent this year.

That means that any properties with an assessment that went up by more than that will see a higher property tax increase, while any residential properties with an assessment increase lower than that will see a lower property tax increase.

The post Tax rate now set in Quesnel appeared first on My Cariboo Now.

A Smoky Skies Bulletin was issued for the Quesnel area at around 10-30 this (Tuesday) morning.

It was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in collaboration with Northern Health.

The Ministry says the area is expected to be impacted by wildfire smoke over the next 24 to 48 hours.

People with pre-existing health conditions, respiratory infections such as COVID-19, older adults, pregnant women and infants, children, and sensitive individuals are likely to experience health effects from smoke exposure.

During smoky conditions
Follow your common sense
• Stop or reduce your activity level if breathing becomes uncomfortable or you feel unwell.
• Stay cool and drink plenty of fluids.
• If you have asthma or other chronic illness, carry any rescue (fast-acting) medications
with you at all times and activate your personal care plan that has been designed with
your family physician.
• Make sure that children and others who cannot care for themselves follow the same.

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One of two people charged in connection with an armed robbery investigation in Quesnel has pleaded guilty to two lesser charges.

31-year old Deserae Hiebert pled guilty to one count each of disguising your face with intent to commit an offence and theft of a motor vehicle.

She was given a conditional sentence of 23 months and 4 days.

Three other charges, robbery, use of an imitation firearm while committing an indictable offence, and flight from police were stayed.

36-year old Travis Paul is also charged in connection with this case.

He is scheduled to go to trial beginning on August 27th.

Quesnel RCMP responded to a report of an armed robbery in the parking lot of the 7-11 store on Maple Drive just off of Highway 97 at 2:46 a.m. back on July 27, 2023.

Police say two youths reported that a male and a female approached them, presented a firearm, and demanded their wallet and keys.

Police say the youths complied and the suspects fled the scene in their vehicle.

RCMP say the Cariboo-Chilcotin Crime Reduction Unit located the victim's stolen vehicle the next day in Williams Lake.

Police say two suspects were located and arrested, and that a replica handgun was seized during a subsequent search.

The post Co-accused in armed robbery in Quesnel pleads guilty to lesser charges appeared first on My Cariboo Now.

Planning will begin soon on a new Quesnel and Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

The current plan was published in 2018 and will be completed by the end of this year.

Through the plan, the city says it has managed 485 hectares of fuel management activities on Crown land and assisted thousands of homeowners to FireSmart their properties.

It says FireSmart is important because approximately 60 percent of the land within the plan's area is privately owned.

Partners in the plan include the Ministry of Forests, the Cariboo Regional District, Nazko First Nation, Lhtako Dene First Nation, BC Wildfire Service, BC Parks, West Fraser Mills, BC Timber Sales, Rec Sites and Trails BC, along with other tenure holders.

The city calls it an "all hands on deck" approach.

Currently, there are fuel management activities taking place at Dragon Bluff in the Wonderland Trail System, as well as in an area below Pinnacles Park, called Baker Creek.

A new plan will be published in 2025.

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The accused in a shooting incident in the Roe Lake area has been sentenced in Supreme Court in Williams Lake.

48-year old Scott Bradley was sentenced to four years in jail after he was found guilty of the intentional discharge of a firearm while being reckless as to the safety of another person.

He was originally charged with discharging a firearm with intent to wound or disfigure which would have carried a heavier sentence.

Bradley was also found guilty of possession of a firearm contrary to an order and was sentenced to 6 months in jail which will run concurrently with the four years.

He is also prohibited from possessing a firearm for 20 years.

Bradley was arrested after 100 Mile House RCMP were called out to a rural area along Highway 24 in May of 2019 and discovered a male with a gunshot wound to his hip.

The post South Cariboo man sentenced to jail time for shooting incident appeared first on My Cariboo Now.

BC's Ministry of Environment has determined that there is no immediate risk to public safety stemming from an effluent spill at the West Pine MDF (medium-density fibreboard) plant in Quesnel.

Two and a half million litres of effluent spilled onto a gravel pit on Monday (April 15) afternoon at around 4:30 when a valve was compromised causing a leak.

The Ministry says Northern Health, and the First Nations Health Authority were notified, and thus far, they have not raised any concerns regarding public impacts, particularly related to drinking water.

The Ministry confirms that a company has been contracted to remediate the site and remove the effluent, and that is has directed West Fraser to sample and characterize the effluent for toxicity and to retain a qualified professional to assess long-term environmental impacts, including those possibly effecting the Fraser River.

West Fraser spokesperson Joyce Wagenaar says "the effluent is within BC's water quality safety levels, based on initial evaluation.

The Ministry says the effluent in question is a byproduct of the wood product manufacturing process at the mill and is not intended for environmental discharge.

Typically, West Fraser transports such effluent from this facility to another via a pipeline for proper processing and discharge.

The Ministry says the effluent, primarily comprised of water, may contain traces of resins, glues, ammonia, and wood particulates.

While there is a possibility of trace amounts of Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate or formaldehyde, West Fraser has indicated that formaldehyde is no longer utilized in operations at this facility.

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Quesnel's Board of Education has endorsed a small capital budget worth $1,743,700.

The money will go towards four projects in total.

The largest, worth almost 1.5 million, is for an exterior wall system upgrade at Bouchie Lake Elementary School.

$170,000 will go towards electrical upgrades at Parkland Elementary, 55 grand will be spent on kitchen equipment and an upgrade at Correlieu Secondary, and the remaining $28,700 is for kitchen equipment at Ecole Red Bluff Lhtako, Riverview, and Voyageur Elementary Schools.

The post Quesnel School Trustees approve more than 1.7 million dollars in capital spending appeared first on My Cariboo Now.

The Lhtako Dene Nation Band Council has passed a resolution prohibiting Quesnel Mayor Ron Paull from entering Nation lands, unless he is specifically invited.

It also says that the Nation will not work with Mayor Paull.

The resolution does say that Lhtako will work with other members of Quesnel City Council and the management team.

The motion also states that "Mayor Ron Paull of the City of Quesnel has condoned the distribution of the book Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools), and has attempted to distribute the book to others."

The resolution says that the book implies, among others, that cultural genocide did NOT happen at residential schools.

It also states that the Mayor has not apologized to the Nation for his actions.

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The 10 Mile Lake Volunteer Fire Department responded to a grass fire this (Thursday) afternoon.

10 Mile Fire Chief Seth Shelley says a call came in at around 12-20 p.m. to Quesnel-Hixon Road.

[caption id="attachment_96652" align="alignright" width="300"] (photo by Karen Powell-qvfd)[/caption]

He says the fire was about .7 hectares in size, and it was a true team effort to get it out.

"There was two exposures.  There was a shop that was close to the house, so our group (10 Mile) focused on the exposures and then Barlow Creek focused on the containment of the grass fire.  It was very beneficial because if it would have been just us alone it would have been very difficult to contain the whole scene."

Shelley says the Quesnel Fire Department also helped out by providing a water tender, they also called in BC Forestry, and even the neighbours helped out with shovels and buckets.

"I just want to reiterate that it's a good example of why our volunteer fire departments are so important and to have three halls within 10 minutes all heading there to help out, it's a huge asset to the community."

In the end no structures were damaged and there were no injuries.

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– Files from Ryley McCormack, My East Kootenay Now

Residential property owners in B.C. will only be able to operate short-term rentals on their primary residence, along with several other changes coming into effect next month.

This comes as the B.C. government takes steps to reign in the market and free up homes for people who want to live in them.

“We are in a housing crisis that requires strong action to deliver more housing for the people who live and work in our communities,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing.

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Trustee remuneration was on the agenda at last (Tuesday) night's monthly meeting.

Board Chair Lisa Boudreau talks about where they landed.

"We came to the decision that we were going to an increase of 4.25 percent.  This is just to match our partner groups.  As we know the cost of living is increasing rapidly.  We thought this was fair and continuing along the times."

Both CUPE and teachers received the same wage increase.

The increase bumps up the annual pay for the Chair by almost 721 dollars a year to $17,679.76.

The Vice-Chair will get a 665 dollar raise, and the other Trustees will see their pay go up by about 609 dollars annually.

Boudreau noted that they will also see their computer connectivity reimbursement go up from 660 dollars.

"We also increased our tech connectivity reimbursement to 12 hundred dollars a year, so it works out that every Trustee will get 100 dollars a month.  We use our own technology when we do meetings from home, and I think if we're comparing how much our own internet bills, our phone bills, they're going up."

Boudreau says Trustee pay in Quesnel is in line with other communities its size.

The post Trustees on Quesnel’s Board of Education are getting a raise appeared first on My Cariboo Now.

The conversion of a commercial building into a new 17-unit apartment building on Doherty Drive in West Quesnel is back on track.

Concerns were raised by Council and by residents following a public hearing in relation to the proponent's request for a parking variance to allow for just 3 parking spaces.

An updated plan was then presented at the last meeting (April 2) that included a covenant on a property across the street for an additional 8 stalls.

Tanya Turner, the Director of Development Services, noted that this property was for lower income earners, which meant that not everyone would have a vehicle.

"We had some conversations with other providers of low income facilities in the community and they stated that about 50 percent for low income is kind of a good number for the number of units that require parking, and about 30 percent when it comes to seniors."

Turner felt that the numbers that the proponent was now providing would fall into that formula and Council agreed in unanimously approving the project.

The post Quesnel City Council gives green light to new 17-unit apartment building appeared first on My Cariboo Now.

A date for sentencing has been set for a Williams Lake man who pled guilty to a charge of manslaughter.

36-year old Kurtis Billy is due back in Supreme Court in Vancouver on May 2nd.

Billy was originally charged with second degree murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

He was arrested in connection with an incident in January of 2022.

Williams Lake RCMP were called to the Crestwood Apartments on Carson Drive for a disturbance, and upon arrival they discovered the body of a deceased adult male.

The post Williams man to be sentenced for manslaughter appeared first on My Cariboo Now.

“We have never seen a government that has spent so much and done so little for Canadians.”

That’s from Cariboo-Prince George and Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies Conservative MP’s Todd Doherty and Bob Zimmer as it pertains to the 2024 federal budget.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the deficit is projected to go to $39.8 billion for fiscal 2024-25.

Doherty told Vista Radio it was good to see 500 million dollars earmarked for a new youth mental health fund, however, he remains skeptical the Liberals will follow through.

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