Wednesday Aug. 20, 2014 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST Included
Children set fire to classroom By Tracy Hughes OBSeRVeR STAFF
Three children, ages 10, eight and six, have been identified by the Salmon Arm RcMP as the ones responsible for setting a fire in a classroom of South Broadview school on Sunday. At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 17, crews from Salmon Arm Fire department’s Hall 2 were dispatched to the school. The 911 caller advised fire dispatch that a window had been broken at the school and she could see fire inside, which prompted the fire department to enhance their response to include firefighters from Hall 3 and rescue apparatus. “upon arrival our I.c. (incident commander) confirmed smoke and fire showing on a west side classroom and that bystanders were attempting to extinguish the fire,” said Salmon Arm Fire chief Brad Shirley. “It was also brought to (the incident commander’s) attention of a possible suspect in the setting of this fire and RcMP were subsequently requested to attend the scene.” RcMP report a windows had been broken and burning material had been thrown inside. Staff Sgt. Kevin Keane of the Salmon Arm RcMP reports that police investigation quickly identified the three children believed to be responSee Charges on page A2
pHoTo CouRTesy salmon aRm FiRe DepaRTmenT
scene: A firefighter surveys some of the
damage done to a classroom at South Broadview Elementary School.
James muRRay/OBSeRVeR
With open arms: Mavis Staples mesmerizes the audience during her Friday evening performance at the Roots and Blues Festival. Check out an interview with her on page A22.
Festival charms crowds Roots and Blues: Saturday’s weather dampened attendance. By Barb Brouwer OBSeRVeR STAFF
Roots and Blues Festival artistic director Peter north had a grin to match the sea of smiling faces on the other side of the fence Sunday. catching a quiet moment behind the Main Stage late in the afternoon, north was happily relieved. “It is a really good feeling to have my first festival and understand the makeup of the event,” he said of his introduction to the three-day musical love fest. “All the photos, articles, anecdotal comments – it can’t paint the true picture until you’ve lived it.” north said the feedback he heard many times throughout the festival was that people wanted to be at three stages at once.
This week A chlorine leak forces a temporary closure of Salmon Arm’s swimming pool. See A4. Sockeyes swimmers bring home provincial medals. See results on page A18.
“By and large, everywhere I walked, crowds were attentive and very enthusiastic,” he said, noting several artists had sold all of their cds. “I think if you get that reaction from the merchandise tent, that’s a serious voice.” While there were no so-called major headliners to attract festivalgoers this year, those who showed up discovered extraordinary talent on all the stages. “Bill Kirchen is a prime example of someone who came to town and nobody knew him, and he’s leaving with a ton of fans,” north said of the talented guitarist who had a major hit with Hot Rod lincoln and blew the crowd away with his tribute to other guitar greats. north also commented on the way local artists such as Jesse Mast, Herald nix and Steel Skull Hammer fit
in seamlessly and made Salmon Arm proud. “The artists have been so gracious; if somebody wanted to add another person and invite them to a workshop, they ended up on the stage too,” he said, noting he had put the workshops together based on prior discussion with the artists and was thrilled to see they had added more musical flavour on their own. “I’m blown away by the volunteers; it’s their festival,” says north, offering the highest of praise to the sound crews. “I guess we’re all stewards of this thing – not like corporate rock festivals. We have to take everyone into consideration and make sure we have something musically for everybody.” See Tyson on page A2
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Sports................A18-A21 Arts & Events ... A22-A24 Time Out................... A25 Vol. 107, No. 34, 48 pages