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RCMP REPORT P. 3 OPINION P. 4
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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Texting kills Sam Redding Omineca Express In 2013, there were four proven fatalities as a result of distracted driving in the North District which begins after 100 Mile House. Corporal Justin Thiessen, interim detachment commander for Vanderhoof, wants to let everyone know the dangers of driving while texting or playing with any electronic device. “We’re working with traffic services to educate the public and we can expect to see more of a presence on this issue,” said Cpl. Thiessen. There is a fine of $167 for the offense of distracted driving. The wording of law is such that if someone has their cellphone in their hand and it isn’t even on, they will still get a ticket. The legal alternative to texting and driving is some form of a one-touch system. This means any vehicle system or Bluetooth technology that only takes one touch to activate is perfectly legal. Unless you are currently with a Learners or a Novice class license in which case you are not allowed to use even hands-free devices. This doesn’t mean that using the speakerphone option is allowed, a Bluetooth headset is needed or else the phone must be securely attached to either yourself or your car via straps or clips. In an ICBC report on driver distraction and cellphone use they state that about 25 per cent of all fatal crashes in B.C. from 2008 to 2012 were related to distracted driving. Adding up to 91 deaths per year.
Ellie Ouellette (in white) of the Fort St. James Novice Stars goes for the puck against a Vanderhoof player on Feb. 2. It was the second-to-last game of the two-day novice minor hockey tournament in the Fort Forum arena. Vanderhoof won the game 7-4 with Fort’s Diego Johnson coming back with two goals late in the third period. Teams came from Burns Lake, Houston, Fraser Lake and Vanderhoof to play. Ruth Lloyd/Caledonia Courier
Brooks official candidate for Conservatives Sam Redding Omineca Express So how does Dan Brooks feel about becoming an official leadership candidate for the B.C. Conservatives? “Refreshing,” he said. “I’m excited about this I have a chance here to make a real difference especially for northern rural communities which have been greatly neglected in the past and so
having a leadership candidate that comes from Vanderhoof, what an opportunity.” Brooks’ paid his $20,000 leadership fee and finished all the paperwork by February 3. His platform is centered around three basic things: advocating for rural B.C. and addressing their needs; financial management of the province, including tax reform; and grass roots
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democracy or decentralization of power in the province. Flat income tax is one of the solutions that Brooks is looking at for the better financial management of B.C. “I really believe that we need to introduce a greater deal of fairness in our tax system,” said Brooks. “Flat tax is one way to do that. I’m not suggesting I have the exact number and I think
we need to look at the need in B.C. and have the one that works for best for British Columbians.” Brooks admits there are risks to changing a tax regime but still advocates it after a period of study to find out what would work. “I think one of the biggest problems we have in our current political is the centralization of power in the hands of the premiers office.
The premier makes all the decisions and its hard to escape the perception if not the actual reality that the premier controls every aspect of government and the buck stops there… our MLAs become beholden to the premier on everything, so many people are appointed to positions without any sort of electoral or review process.” “You’ve got to allow your MLAs to speak on
behalf of the constituents and that’s what real grassroots democracy does.” “One of the things I think the B.C. Conservatives can do that the B.C. Liberals can’t is to stand up on behalf of rural British Columbia.” Brooks stated that in the last 15 years B.C. has seen a tremendous decline in rural populations, 58,000 people out of rural B.C.
“If our population was not supplemented by immigrants we would be losing them to Alberta, we lost 10,000 people last year to Alberta and a lot of those people are coming from rural areas. And it’s actually hurting our economy.” Brooks said that while he is proud of Vancouver, more focus needs to be taken out of the city and into the country.
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