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SKIP Jim Cotter took his Kelowna/Vernon rink to the final of the Rogers Masters of Curling Grand Slam event last weekend.
COMPLETION of the first major infrastructure project by the District of West Kelowna, bringing sewer service to 1,500 homes, gave local federal, provincial and municipal politicians reason to celebrate.
FITNESS columnist Bobbi Kittle offers insights on how to deal with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
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▼ ELLIS ST.
Heavy truck traffic to be diverted
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TUESDAY November 20, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ ASHLEE HYATT TRIAL
Painful journey ends for victim’s family “(The defence) was a gong show. They made Ashlee sound like a bully—she was never a bully—and her friends, who are good people, were attacked. It was hard.”
Kathy Michaels STAFF REPORTER
—Charrie Hyatt, Ashlee Hyatt’s mother
Kathy Michaels
STAFF REPORTER
As the leaves turn colour and float down onto Ellis Street next fall, they may escape the indignity of being ground into the pavement by a cavalcade of semi-trucks. On Monday, city council supported a staff report that called for an end to heavy truck traffic along Ellis Street, the heart of Kelowna’s cultural district. The street is currently open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 400 trucks rumble down it per day, much to the chagrin of business owners and residents in the area, who have been writing letters and organizing petitions expressing their displeasure about the practice for years. Now city staff is onboard with the heavy truck ban, pointing out that it’s at odds with the downtown plan. Gordon Drive, they say, is already a truck route, and there’s no reason it can’t carry a heavier load of traffic in the future.
CHARRIE HYATT, the mother of Ashlee Hyatt, speaks to the media outside the Kelowna Courthouse on Sunday
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after the jury returned with a guilty verdict for manslaughter for the death of her daughter. The teenage accused had been on trial facing a second degree murder charge.
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KATHY MICHAELS/CAPITAL NEWS
For the last two years, Charrie Hyatt sought peace in the aftermath of a violent episode that unhinged her life. Then on Monday, the feeling that seemed forever beyond her grasp finally came along. “It should be sunny today—I woke up happy, which was weird,” she said, making note of the gloomy weather. “Ashlee is at peace, we have closure and the court nightmare is over.” On Sunday afternoon, a jury of 12 decided the teen who was accused of killing her 16-year-old daughter Ashlee, June 2, 2010, was guilty of manslaughter. It took just over two days for the verdict to be rendered, and that final stretch was more difficult than expected. “When you’re waiting for that decision, and trying to stay calm, it’s hard,” she said. “I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I was so nervous. I’ve fought for justice for two and a half years …and I believed so hard.” It was ultimately up to “12 strangers” to accept what she saw as truth, but the trial offered so many twists and turns that there were moments that even she found herself unsettled. Crown counsel Murray Kaay had laid out a straightforward case that came down to one teen deciding to use a knife to end a teenage drama. That decision left Ashlee with a five-centimetredeep wound to her neck, and ultimately dying of massive blood loss. DNA evidence on the knife and the killer’s clothes, as well as witness testimony that placed the teen with the weapon left only one answer, Kaay said. The defence, however, suggested an alternate scenario that relied on a chronology of moments leading up to the stabbing, character smash-ups, as well as the details of teenage love triangles —all of which were trivial when compared to what came next. In the final days of the trial, they offered up who they believed to be another viable option for the role of killer; Ashlee’s longtime friend. “(The defence) was a gong show,” said Charrie. “They made Ashlee sound like a bully—she was never a bully—and her friends, who are good people, were attacked. It was hard.” The negative way her daughter and friends were portrayed in the courtroom was almost enough to shake her faith in a system that ultimately sided with her. “It’s weighted to the defence,” she said. “The ac-
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