THURSDAYJANUARY 8, 2015
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CAR THEFT IN WHISKEY CREEK
Grinches steal gifts
Single mom has car stolen on Christmas morning CANDACE WU news@pqbnews.com
A 30-year-old single mother’s vehicle was stolen Christmas morning in Whiskey Creek. It was full of presents, many for her 10-yearold son. “It definitely ruined Christmas,” Shanna Acton told The NEWS on Tuesday morning. Acton said she returned home from a Christmas Eve get-together around 1:30 a.m. the next morning, Dec. 25. She admits she left her 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier door unlocked, but didn’t think somebody would steal it. “It was a big heart breaker,” she said, noting hundreds of dollars worth of gifts were taken with the vehicle. “It (my car) was nothing spectacular but I’m a single mom and my car was jacked on Christmas morning,” she said. “I mean, it was Christmas morning, who does that?” Acton works at the Whiskey Creek Co-Op, where her car was parked. She said she’s able to walk to work and back, but still needs a vehicle to get groceries and drive her son to sports practice. “I totally thought I knew my neighbours,” she said. According to Regional District of Nanaimo officials, Whiskey Creek has a population of approximately 260 residents. Oceanside RCMP confirmed a vehicle was stolen from the back lot of the Whiskey Creek Co-op store in the early hours of Christmas morning. Cpl. Jesse Foreman said there was no glass left at the scene, implying the culprit didn’t break into the vehicle to steal it. See FORENSICS TEAM, page A3
CANDACE WU PHOTO
A house fire on Dec. 31 claimed the life of one Nanoose Bay man after flames fully engulfed the residence.
TRAGEDY JUST BEFORE NEW YEAR
Nanoose man dies in house fire CANDACE WU news@pqbnews.com
A Nanoose Bay man is dead after a house fire on Pilot Way reduced the residence to a pile of ash and rubble. Oceanside RCMP Cpl. Jesse Foreman said police were called to the 1400 block of Pilot Way at approximately 8 a.m. on Dec. 31. “The house was fully engulfed and
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a man in his late 50s was found dead inside the residence,” said Foreman, adding the victim is believed to be the sole occupant of the home. He said police were called to the scene by neighbours. Foreman said there were no other injuries as a result of the fire. The source of the fire remains unknown, but Foreman said it is not sus-
picious. Nanoose Bay Volunteer Fire Department fire chief Doug Penny said 18 members responded to the incident, but were not able to save the occupant. The investigation has been handed over to the B.C. Coroner’s Service and a name was not released as of Wednesday morning.
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