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TUESDAY APRIL 3, 2012
Proudly serving Williams Lake and the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 1930
VOL. 82. No. 27
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Pot plants seized in Big Lake On March 29 members of the Williams Lake RCMP, North District Integrated Marihuana Enforcement Task Force, and the North District General Investigation Section conducted a search warrant on a rural property in Big Lake, northeast of Williams Lake. When RCMP members attended the residence on West Big Lake Road, they located a marijuana grow operation and seized approximately 366 marijuana plants and equipment used for the cultivation of marijuana. “There were no suspects located at the West Big Lake property and therefore the investigation is ongoing as police try to locate the individuals who were tending to the marijuana grow operation,” says Const. Lesley Smith, North District media relations officer.
Inside the Tribune NEWS A3 New Prosperity details discussed. SPORTS Indoor Rodeo weeks away. COMMUNITY CCPL book drive begins.
A9 A12
Weather outlook: Rain and clouds today, high of 8 C. Sunny Wednesday, high of 10.
Dan Hicks photo
Emergency crews attend the scene of a mini-van crash Saturday morning on Highway 20, west of Williams Lake. It resulted in a death, a severe injury, and a five-hour highway closure. Eight people were in the van when it flipped and went into a ditch.
Crash claims life west of city Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer One woman is dead and a man is in critical condition following a single motor vehicle accident Saturday morning on Highway 20 about 10 to 12 kilometres west of Williams Lake. Around 9:45 a.m., the Williams Lake RCMP and North District Traffic Services responded to a
report that a B.C.-registered, burgundy Pontiac mini van, containing eight passengers, went off the road while travelling on a straight stretch and flipped end over end into a ditch. The van was travelling toward Williams Lake when it crashed about five kilometres east of the Sheep Creek Bridge. At the time of the incident, the roads were believed to be bare and
dry, and visibility 100 per cent at the time of the crash. The deceased woman was a passenger, as was the critically injured male, the RCMP confirm. BC Ambulance Services attended the scene and transported all of the passengers by air and ground to hospital. RCMP say the driver is suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol and is being
investigated accordingly. RCMP says his injuries are not believed to be life threatening. Const. Sam Nakatsu of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Traffic Services says no charges have been laid yet. “The investigation is still ongoing, and at this time, the RCMP are not releasing the names of the occupants or where they were from, only that they were heading into Williams Lake,” Nakatsu says.
Budget looks to streamline process Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer MP Dick Harris says the thing that caught his attention in the federal budget is the intention to streamline the environmental review process. “We’ll be able to get decisions much, much faster through a targeted streamlined program that will be as comprehensive as the others, but done in a much different way with the resources put into
the areas that will make it move along quicker. There will be set time lines for decisions,” he explains. The streamlining, he adds, will be a “huge boon” for those who have natural resource development projects that need to go through the environmental and socio-economic review process hoops before they can get an approval. “This is going to speed that process up. No more waiting years and years to find out if you’re proj-
ect is going to go or not,” Harris says. Harris estimates there are presently $500 billion in projects, mostly in Western Canada and in B.C. waiting for approval. “We have to find out much sooner than later if the projects are going to go ahead or not.” He is confident the changes won’t undermine the process, but what they will undermine is the needless delays and complexity of administrative problems he says exist now in the process.
Bob Simpson, Independent MLA for Cariboo North, has no aversion to rationalizing the environmental process, because he says it’s important to figure out how to provide a one-window assessment approach — he says having two different approaches to environmental assessments is an impediment to attracting investment to B.C. See MLAs Page A3