Observer SALMON ARM
Wednesday October 3, 2012 www.saobserver.net $1.25 HST INCLUDED PM40008236
Downed power line sparks blaze By Tracy Hughes OBSERVER STAFF
A blaze on Little Shuswap Indian Band land along Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road late Tuesday morning was sparked when a tree brought down power lines near the road. The fire was brought under control and was in the mop-up stage as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2. Larry Osachoff, forest protection technician with the Wildfire Management Branch, says the fire began at approximately 11 a.m. It was first responded to by the Tappen Sunnybrae Fire Department. They, in turn, called in the provincial Wildfire Management Branch for assistance. At 1 p.m. the fire was approximately one hectare in size and was located along Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road two kilometres from the junction with the Trans-Canada Highway. “We’ve had some really good success knocking it down with the helicopter, and I was just talking to them out in the field and it looks like they’ve got a good handle on it at this point,” said Osachoff Tuesday afternoon. The Shuswap Emergency Program reported no residents or structures were in danger from the blaze. Traffic along Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road was cut off entirely for a time, but a single lane was reopened in the late afternoon. Power was also disrupted in the area for a few hours.
JAMES MURRAY/OBSERVER
Scorched earth: Shuswap Fire Department members Scott Davies and Colin Bunston hose down the side of the hill where a downed power line started a forest fire Tuesday. A combined force of 45 firefighters from three halls, assisted by members of the Forest Service and their helicopter, brought the fire under control.
No jail for man in standoff ’Backs on Court: Lawyers, judge agree John Leblanc needs support, not prison. By Martha Wickett OBSERVER STAFF
This is a man who doesn’t need jail. He needs help. Lawyers for the defence and the Crown, as well as the judge, agreed on the same course of action for John Edmond Leblanc, the man who barricaded himself inside a Chase bank in April. Leblanc, 58, who spent five months in prison following his arrest April 26, was sentenced Thursday in Kamloops provincial court to a 12-month conditional sentence, followed by two years’ probation. He pleaded guilty to charges of uttering threats, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and theft under $5,000. “His background supported what ap-
peared to be the reasons why he did what he did,” Crown counsel Stephen Lawhead told the Observer. “It was a cry for help, the actions of someone who was desperate and trying to get some assistance.” Leblanc will be living in Kamloops under house arrest in a supervised residence and will be receiving psychiatric help. Police responded to an alarm at the bank about 4:30 p.m. on April 26. A man had walked into the bank, lit a cigarette and announced he had a bomb. He then ordered everyone to leave. He was also seen holding a knife and a handgun; the bomb and handgun turned out to be fakes. Streets in Chase surrounding the bank were cordoned off until about 11 p.m. before the man was convinced to come out.
This week Shuswap golfer Kowan O’Keefe is a rising star in college golf in North Dakota. See A17. Call goes out for brave souls to participate in Salmon Arm’s second Zombie Walk. See A20.
the block By Martha Wickett
Although initially cooperative, he then told police to shoot him. Officers complied, but with a bean-bag shot from a shotgun. During sentencing, the court heard the sad story of Leblanc’s life, details that included living with an abusive stepfather after his father abandoned the family when Leblanc was three, being sent to a reform school in New Brunswick where sexual abuse was rampant, his mother dying when she was giving birth to his halfbrother, and his sister committing suicide. Leblanc moved frequently, drifting across Canada, settling in Sorrento about two years ago. He struggled with addictions, so was put on methadone a few months prior to the bank standoff.
It’s official. The Salmon Arm SilverBacks are for sale. General manager and minority owner Troy Mick told the BC Hockey League board of governors Monday that the Junior A franchise is “100 per cent for sale.” “It means that for the last year or two years, people were thinking it was for sale, or not for sale – was Randy (Williams) going to sell? Now it’s public knowledge that he’s going to sell,” Mick told the Observer Tuesday. Mick said players were aware at the start of the season this could happen, and the sale will not affect current operations. “Definitely not, no – Randy, Terry (Williams)
See Leblanc on page A2
See Search on page A2
OBSERVER STAFF
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Sports .............. A15-A19 Arts & Events ... A20-A23 Time Out................... A24 Vol. 105, No. 40, 48 pages