Sports highlights The games
that made headlines in 2014.
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Family establishes charity in wake of sawmill shooting
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New Mayor Bill McKay said one of his first priorities is to come to a decision on the popular Harewood park. The City of Nanaimo also purchased land in Linley Valley to create a 71-hectare greenspace in the city’s north end. The purchase was a surprise, as council had repeatedly rejected the possibility of buying the land from developers. The new city council will be tasked with planning and marketing the new parkland, which some say could be a major tourist draw for the community.
ednesday, April 30, 2014 etched a tragic note into Nanaimo’s history when the city awakened to news of a shooting at the Western Forest Products mill at 31 Port Way. Gunfire rang out shortly before 7 a.m., but the enormity of the tragedy unfolded in the hours following as first responders cleared the scene and RCMP forensic units and investigators collected evidence and interviewed mill employees – many of whom texted loved ones from within the lockeddown mill to say they were safe. Four employees had been shot and rushed to hospital. Michael John Lunn, 61, and Fred James McEachern, 53, died of their injuries. Tony Sudar and Earl Kelly survived. Kevin Douglas Addison, 47, of Nanaimo, a former mill employee, was arrested at the scene shortly after 7 a.m. He was later charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. Family, friends and strangers of the victims came out in sympathy, hung red T-shirts on a fence and placed flowers and candles near the mill’s entrance. The event’s effect on the entire community is why it was chosen as one of the News Bulletin’s top stories of 2014. The mill stayed closed for nearly a week as police continued their investigation and Western Forest Products reviewed workplace security measures. The families of the victims and the accused wait for the justice system to do its work. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 10-13 when Crown counsel introduces the case it will present against Addison. “There’s really nothing we can do. We just go one day at a time, one hour at a time some days. At least we’re moving forward and we know the justice system takes a long time and we’ll get through this all together,” Marlene Lunn, Michael’s widow, said in an interview in September. Lunn loved red T-shirts. His family established the non-profit Red Shirt Foundation in May to raise money for research and education to prevent workplace violence. To learn more or donate, please visit the foundation’s website at www.redshirtfoundation.com.
– Melissa Fryer
– Chris Bush
TOP HEADLINES of 2014 Stories and ongoing issues affected daily lives of majority of city’s residents Choosing the top stories for the previous year has the News Bulletin’s newsroom discussing how each event affected residents of Nanaimo. We primarily look for stories that not only grabbed attention, but also those which affected the day-to-day lives of readers from all aspects of the community. The stories we chose – the shooting at Western Forest Products; teachers’ strike; municipal election; hotel development; and south-end school closures – had the potential to affect a wide range of Nanaimo residents. These are also stories which
carry over into the new year and our stories take a look at what 2015 means for these ongoing issues. News about two major parks in Nanaimo almost made our list and were of such significance we felt the need to highlight them in some way. The decision on what to do with the century-old dams at Colliery Dam Park is one issue that will hopefully be resolved in 2015. The issue has been dragging on for the past two years as city council and staff remain at odds with community members on how to remediate the structures.