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Lottery ticket helps to crack Greater Victoria crime spree Esquimalt man faces numerous charges of theft from vehicle Edward Hill News staff
Sharon Tiffin/News Staff
Vic High media literacy teacher Jim Pine, centre, challenged his Grade 12 students to go 24 hours without using any electronic device. The results prompted students to look beyond their digital attachments.
Digital dependance tested Vic High classmates go technology free for a day
Daniel Palmer Reporting
It’s no epiphany that holding the attention of 25 teenagers can be harrowing at the best of times. In today’s high schools, smartphones have exacerbated waning concentration, allowing students to play hooky without ever leaving the classroom. Teachers walk a fine line between alienating students through an outright ban on digital devices or accepting the inevitable confused
stares from half the class when asking for feedback. While most teachers police cellphone use to maintain some sense of control, Vic High instructor Jim Pine prefers to point his media literacy class in the direction of infamous Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan. “McLuhan said, ‘Don’t ask if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but ask what’s going on,’” Pine said. “First we shape our tools, and then they shape us.”
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PLEASE SEE: Students, Page A4
A stolen lottery ticket worth $42 has helped police unravel a regionwide theft from vehicle crime spree. Regional Crime Unit officers arrested 46-year-old Darin Hagel of Esquimalt on Feb. 21 near his home in the 600block of Grenville Ave. Police found at least 100 pieces of stolen property in his residence, mainly electronic items like cellphones, iPods, cameras and GPS units. As of last Friday, officers had connected the stolen goods to 24 separate thefts from vehicles, including 12 from Saanich, and the remainder from Sooke, West Shore, Oak Bay, Central Saanich, and Sidney. In the first half of February, auto crime in Saanich alone spiked to 86 thefts from vehicles. A break in the case came Feb. 12, when police were investigating a car break-in in the 1600-block of Ash Rd. in Saanich. The thief stole a Lotto Max ticket from the vehicle. The owner had photocopied it, as it was part of a group purchase. Armed with a serial number and the fact the ticket was a $42 winner, the B.C. Lottery Corp. determined it was cashed at a Chevron in Esquimalt. From there, police zeroed in on a suspect through video footage. Staff Sgt. Gary Schenk with the regional crime unit said the video wasn’t good enough to identify a suspect right way. Around the same time, a fingerprint from a different theft from vehicle case in Saanich produced a name from the national fingerprint database – a real life CSI moment. Officers soon realized the suspect had shown up in police surveillance of another individual under investigation in December. Between the gas station video and surveillance footage, the regional crime unit figured they had their man. PLEASE SEE: Thefts drop considerably, Page A4