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AUGUST 9, 2013
Coun. Gerry Warner on the old brick building | Page 5
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Vol. 61, Issue 154
Cranbrook cop charged over shooting Cst. Richard Drought will appear in court on Sept. 16 facing charges of recklessly discharging a firearm over the Oct. 2, 2012, incident in Cranbrook TOWNSMAN STAFF
A Cranbrook RCMP officer has been charged over the October 2 shooting of a Port Coquitlam man in Cranbrook. Cst. Richard Drought faces charges of intentionally discharging a firearm into a motor vehicle, knowing that another person was in the motor vehicle, and of
intentionally discharging a firearm while being reckless as to the life or safety of another person. The charges are an indictable offence and, if found guilty, Cst. Drought would face a minimum five-year sentence. According to the statement released by the B.C. Criminal Justice
Branch on Thursday, August 8, the charges were laid by a senior prosecutor who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work in the Kootenays. The man injured in the incident was Nickolas Bullock. According to RCMP statements at the time, a police officer was stationed at the southwest end of Cranbrook conducting a road block when he saw
a suspect vehicle. The officer tried to pull over the vehicle; when the driver did not stop, the officer gave chase. That chase ended in a rural Cranbrook driveway. In the moments that followed, the officer allegedly discharged his firearm.
See FIRST , Page 3
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WILDFIRE PROTECTION
Forest thinning plan gains support SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
As Canadian municipalities struggle to deal with wildfire risk from surrounding forests, a B.C. fire ecologist has come up with a series of policies that could solve the problem. Robert Gray spoke to the Regional District of East Kootenay board of directors on Thursday, August 1, seeking support for a policy paper
set to be published in an industry magazine later this year, at the behest of the provincial government. The policies boil down to a simple concept: municipalities should be able to decide how wide an area around each community should be kept as a fire buffer. Then, Crown land inside that buffer should be under the control of the local government.
See CRANBROOK , Page 4
TREVOR CRAWLEY PHOTO
Jonah Slaney gets some high-profile signatures from Rob and Scott Niedermayer during an autograph session at Western Financial Place in Cranbrook on Thursday. The 10-year-old and his family travelled from Innisfail, Alberta, to participate in his first camp at the Rob and Scott Niedermayer Hockey School, which has been running all week.