Cowichan News Leader Pictorial, November 07, 2012

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Up Front: Cowichan adds fresh group of names to sporting wall News: Duncanites Quench their thirst in new centennial fountain

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For all the news of the Cowichan region as it happens, plus stories from around British Columbia, go to our website www.cowichannewsleader.com Your news leader since 1905

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Pistol-waver threatens woman in her yard Peter W. Rusland

News Leader Pictorial

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male who pointed a pistol at a female, working in a yard off Stamps Road Friday, is wanted by police. North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP received a call from the resident who said a male, unknown to her, parked nearby and approached her at around 8:09 p.m. while she was working on her property, Cpl. Jon Stuart says in a release. “He produced a handgun, which he pointed at her, and told her to get on the ground. “When she refused, he grabbed her shoulder in an attempt to force her down. The female resisted him and, after a dog on the property barked and growled at him, the male Ă€ed the area in a vehicle.â€? The male is described as a stocky Caucasian, approximately Âżve-feet 10 inches, who was clean shaven. He was wearing a black, curly wig, a green truckerstyle cap, a black hoodie, and a dark shirt and jeans. The suspect’s vehicle is described as a silver/ beige, late 1980’s Honda Accord-style car with popup headlights and a loud mufĂ€er, Stuart says. Witnesses or folks with information regarding the suspect or vehicle, should call the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP at (250)748-5522, or call Crimestoppers at 1-800222-TIPS (8477).

Connor Head

A black bear spent a good portion of Sunday staring down at passersby from a tree near Berkey’s Corner. Conservation ofÄcers were called to a home on Marsh Road after the bear wandered onto the property, then settled into its perch on a branch.

Treed bear tranquilized after entertaining neighbourhood for seven hours Berkey’s Corner area: Neighbourhood concerned about response time, CO says he was there half-hour after being called Peter W. Rusland

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ome Cowichan residents are wondering why conservation ofÂżcers were so slow in responding to Sunday morning’s call about a bear in a tree off Lake Cowichan Road. The placid animal turned into a bit of a neighbourhood spectacle as passersby paused to gawk and take photos during a space of about seven hours before the COs arrived to take it away. “I just wonder why it took so longâ€? said area resident Cathy Head. She and other locals visited a Marsh Road home where the shy black bear likely followed a trail of food before being spooked by dogs, then climbing a big Âżr tree in

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John Harry’s yard. He said a neighbour called conservation services Âżrst, then Harry’s wife called again at around 6 a.m. “When I called (dispatch) said they’d pass the message along. I thought it should be handled quickly because there’s lots of homes around.â€? He and his family waited for the ofÂżcers as area residents came to see the panting bruin. “It wasn’t aggressive. I didn’t feel threatened in any way,â€? Head said, guessing the bear was snifÂżng for berries and apples along the Trans-Canada Trail before wandering into the Marsh Road neighbourhood. “The guy who lived there was just sitting in a deck chair and looking at it,â€? Head said of Harry. “That was good, in case the bear came down and headed to the park,â€? she said of a small park off Marsh,

used by local kids. In a CHEK-TV News story, Harry’s neighbour Dal Sidhu calls conservation’s response time “ridiculous.â€? The delay may rest with conservation’s call centre. OfÂżcer Mark Kissinger says in an email to the News Leader Pictorial that he received the call centre report at 12:35 p.m. He called the Harry home Âżve minutes later to see if the bear was still there, then visited the site at 1 p.m. It took ofÂżcers four riĂ€e darts to tranquilize the healthy 430-pound bruin, then load the 10-year-old male into a bear-trap trailer for transport to a bush area. Bears sometimes visit the Marsh Road area, explains Kissinger, but Sunday was the Âżrst report he’d had about this bear. more on page 8

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