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| Thursday, August 30, 2012
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Tipsters help RCMP nab thieves in the act Aldergrove Star
Two Abbotsford men are in custody as a result of police and the Aldergrove community working together to stop crime. On August 27 just prior to 4 p.m. Langley RCMP was called to Aldergrove when two community-minded witnesses called to report a break and enter in progress. The two suspects were seen breaking into a shop in a detached shed on a property in the 2300-block of 272 Street. They were seen going back and forth from the shed to their vehicle, carrying a variety of items. The first officer who arrived saw one of the suspects fleeing on foot. This suspect was apprehended after a short foot pursuit.
The second suspect also attempted to flee but was found hiding in some bushes nearby. As the officers took the two suspects into custody, they were informed of a recently reported stolen vehicle from Abbotsford that turned out to be the vehicle used for this break and enter. Police will recommend charges for the two men, aged 41 and 42, both of Abbotsford. Inspector Stephan Drolet, Operations Support Officer for Langley RCMP said he found “it encouraging to see our community looking out for each other and instances like this, where the suspects are apprehended, the property returned and nobody hurt, demonstrate the benefits of us all working together to keep our community safe.”
Cross-border surge ‘small’ By JEFF NAGEL Black Press
HARRY HUNT PHOTO
Langley’s Brian Morton and Spitfire went up against a very strong international team and came away in the top spot, winning the $32,000 Tommy Bahama Grand Prix on Spitfire, August 24 at Thunderbird Show Park’s Summer Fort Festival. In other event news, Langley’s Andrea Strain and Lugi and Langley’s Dominique Shone and Ka Ching were among the locals competing for the $100,000 Canaccord CS12-W World Cup, August 26 at Thunderbird Show Park. American Olympian Rich Fellers on Flexible beat out 29 riders vying for that win.
Cross-border shopping by bargain-hunting Canadians got a new lift in recent months with higher duty-free limits for overnight trips introduced in June. But Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ken Opplinger said he believes the increased flow of B.C. residents heading south this summer was relatively modest. He was reacting to new Statistics Canada data showing a 7.5 per cent jump in overnight travel to the U.S. in June. “There’s been an increase since June but not nearly so much as other places,” Opplinger said. “It’s pretty small here.” Bellingham had already been experiencing heavy flows of Lower Mainland shoppers coming south for some time, he said, thanks to a combination of B.C.’s introduction of the harmonized sales tax in 2010 and the rise to parity of the Canadian dollar. “We’ve certainly had substantial increases for a little over two years since the HST first hit,” Opplinger said. “It’s certainly the highest we’ve seen since the early 1990s.” Canada Border Services Agency staff have also been “much more lax” in checking returning Canadians and enforcing duty payments, he added. Another draw continues to be the sometimes wide differential between prices retailers charge in Canada compared to stores in the U.S. Opplinger said his office is still working to defuse friction after some Bellingham
locals accused deal-crazed Canadians of being impolite or pushy and set up a Facebook page demanding the local Costco serve only Americans at certain hours. “We’re still getting emails from Canadians saying ‘Now that I know what you really think I don’t want to come and shop there anymore.’” He described it as a small number of people not comporting themselves appropriately, but added the vast majority of Bellingham residents have friends and family from Canada and clearly understand the economic benefit from B.C. visitors. On June 1, duty-free exemptions for Canadians returning home rose from $50 to $200 for a 24-hour stay and from $200 to $800 for stays of at least 48 hours. Mark Startup, president and CEO of Shelfspace, said it’s difficult to say if cross-border shopping has cost B.C. retailers more sales in recent months. Retailers here have continued to report climbing sales, he added. The overnight duty-free changes should not have affected day trippers, Startup said. He doubts most shoppers would save enough to justify an overnight stay and the time committed to qualify for the bigger limits. “You really have to wonder if the difference in the exemption alone has had an impact.” Shelf Space and other retail organizations continue to lobby the federal government to eliminate tariffs Canadian retailers pay on many imported goods so they can sell at prices closer to those offered in the U.S.
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