A4 www.kelownacapnews.com
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 Capital NewsC
NEWS ▼ PROTEST
Former Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-op worker prepares for walk to Victoria Wade Paterson STAFF REPORTER
Jeff Bryde, a former employee of the Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative, is getting ready to walk nearly 500 kilometres because he says he’s got “nothing left to lose.” Bryde first made waves in September 2011 after he wrote letters to the editors of local newspapers criticizing the co-
op’s business practices. His objection stemmed from B.C. Tree Fruit’s decision to sell Washington State apples when certain varieties weren’t available from local growers. Bryde’s protest included a five-day hunger strike. He was suspended, but returned to work in April 2012. He got into hot water again last October when he publicly claimed fruit packing bins contaminat-
ed with pigeon feces resulted in him getting sick earlier that year. Now without a job or a house, Bryde said he is making one last effort because he “believes in the truth.” “I’m going to walk with my dog—we’re walking to Victoria and I’m going to try to get the government to do an investigation into what I’ve perceived as being a cover-up in the fruit indus-
try with the contamination with the fruit packing bins,” said Bryde. Bryde has struggled to find employment since being terminated from the co-op. “I’m blacklisted as being a whistleblower and I’m paying the consequences right now.” He said he plans to begin the journey around April 2.
JEFF BRYDE says he’s walking to Victoria in a bid to get the province to investigate fruit bin contamination.
wpaterson@kelownacapnews.com
WADE PATERSON/CAPITAL NEWS
▼ RCMP
Kelowna’s top cop keeping mum Jennifer Smith STAFF REPORTER
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A weekend for two at Lake Okanagan Resort twitter.com/kelownacapnews
There’s no time for a departing message to the public he served, Kelowna’s top cop has decided. Kelowna RCMP Supt. Bill McKinnon has just four days left in his position at the helm of the Okanagan’s largest RCMP detachment and is too busy to make any final comments to the media. Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Kris Clark delivered the news in the detachment’s regu-
larly scheduled Monday briefing—the first of such media briefings in a couple of months. The past year has been a difficult one for the head of the city detachment. Earlier this month, McKinnon’s daughter was charged and convicted of trafficking drugs in a dial-a-dope operation, netting her seven months in jail. A young Kelowna RCMP constable also plead guilty to assault partway through his trial in a highly publicized
Bill McKinnon case in which the officer was filmed kicking a suspect who was down on all fours. The video was posted to YouTube and gar-
nered more than 200,000 hits. McKinnon successfully lobbied Kelowna city council for additional police officers in the past year, adding seven new uniformed officers to the ranks of his detachment after years of requests for more manpower. McKinnon served the city for nine years, working alongside his wife, RCMP Const. Cheryl McKinnon, well-known in the community, primarily due to her work as a school liaison officer.
▼ DOWNTOWN
No charges after St. Paul standoff There was no weapon in the supposed armed standoff at the Cardington Apartments on St. Paul Street, the Kelowna RCMP says. A 49-year-old man was taken into custody after barricading himself in his apartment for two hours on Sunday afternoon and threatening to
kill himself. “He has threatened suicide in the past,” said RCMP spokesperson Const. Kris Clark in a debriefing on the incident Monday morning. Clark noted the individual was already known to police and did not make any specific threats against others, though po-
lice were concerned there might be hostages in his room. Buildings on either side of the transitional housing complex were evacuated and the block closed off, prompting media attention. RCMP managed to secure the man’s cell phone number and negoti-
ated a peaceful resolution. All RCMP officers are trained in crisis negotiation and, in 95 per cent of cases, the negotiations are successful, Clark said. As the individual involved did not actually threaten anyone’s life specifically, other than his own, no charges will be laid.
▼ EASTER
Way of the Cross Walk set to go Kelowna KAIROS, the Central Okanagan Ministerial Association, and a number of Kelowna churches and agencies are once again participating in the local Good Friday Way of the Cross journey through downtown. The wlak is set to go March 29. Participants will gather in the First United Church’s sanctuary at
12:30 p.m. Following a reflection and prayer, members of the procession will carry a large wooden cross as they walk to a series of locations representing local organizations that deal with social issues in today’s society. This year’s route will include stops at several “former” locations of services such as the
Women’s Centre and Department of Immigration, noting government funding cuts that have reduced programs and services in critical areas. Downtown Urban Health will also be a stop on the route where the group will consider the impact of the announced closure of Cross Roads. This event recognizes the work of local organ-
izations in lifting up the struggles of many people in our city who carry the cross in our present time. It is a time of prayer, witness and song as the procession stops and listens to words from the agencies as well as the churches. The walk will conclude at 2 p.m., back at First United. All are welcome.