Arrow Lakes News, March 12, 2014

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Since 1923

Arrow Lakes News Vol. 91 Issue 11 • Wednesday, March 12, 2014 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 •

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NSS Ski & snowboard Team in Whistler

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Rod & Gun Club Awards

PM40036531

The snowy days of winter ... the rainy days of spring

It was a wet week in Nakusp, with a big dump of snow that started last Sunday and kept going until Tuesday. Then it turned to rain, leading to a wet mess, like the big pool of water that made scuba gear a necessity to get into the Japanese Garden. Alex Cooper/Arrow Lakes News

Sinixt protesters arrested after re-starting logging blockade Sinixt Nation protesters Marilyn James and Dennis Zarelli arrested after resuming blockade of Perry Ridge forest road, where Nakusp’s Galena Contractors had won a court injunction in order to continue road building and logging work in the area Greg Nesteroff Black Press

Two members of the Sinixt Nation spent several hours in jail after being arrested last Tuesday morning for blocking a Slocan Valley logging road were released from jail. Marilyn James, who has been an appointed spokeswoman for the Sinixt in the area, and Dennis Zarelli, lately the communications liaison, were taken into custody around 8:30 a.m. on Mar. 4 on the Perry Ridge forest ser-

vice road, less than a day after BC Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan continued an injunction sought by Galena Contracting of Nakusp, which has a contract with BC Timber Sales to extend the road by eight kilometers. James and Zarelli were released from jail Tuesday between 6 and 7 p.m. that night after signing undertakings not to return to the site, according to RCMP Sgt. Darryl Little. They will return to court March 17 for a contempt hearing. McEwan initially remanded them in custody when they

appeared in court shortly before 6 p.m., where about two dozen supporters packed the room. McEwan appeared via video link and James and Zarelli appeared side-by-side in the prisoner's dock. Neither they nor Crown counsel were represented by lawyers. The hearing began with Christopher Wiebe, lawyer for Galena, relating by phone the circumstances of the arrests. He said owner Ray Hascarl went to the site that morning and was attaching the court order to a gate when he was approached by a group that

included James and Zarelli, who would not permit crews to move forward. Hascarl retreated and returned with Nakusp RCMP members, who arrested the pair. Wiebe said he was not aware of the exact charges they face. McEwan first addressed Zarelli, who said he preferred to be called Dennis, but the judge demurred and said the hearing's purpose was to determine whether they would be released before another hearing to decide if they should be found in contempt of court. McEwan said he would release them if they signed an undertaking not to return to the site. "I have cultural responsibilities," Zarelli began before the judge cut him off. "Stop it. You'll talk yourself into

RECRUITMENT

staying in jail. Will you sign an undertaking?" "Is this man-to-man?" Zarelli asked. "I request that you put this before a court of record. I request leave of the court to respond to the claim properly." McEwan asked again if he would agree to stay away from the logging road. "No. I ask you to recuse yourself from the matter," Zarelli said. McEwan refused. "One more chance: are you prepared to sign an undertaking?" When Zarelli didn't answer directly, McEwan remanded him for two weeks, although the two continued to argue afterward. When McEwan put the same

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