TUESDAY JANUARY 27, 2015
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SEEDS ARE EMPOWERING
A STORY OF LOVE AND LOYALTY
ECHO Players’ next production is a romantic comedy called The Last Romance
Our Business Profile takes a look at Sugar Shack Seeds
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A21
IN DOWNTOWN PARKSVILLE
Fighting Phoenix
Marijuana dispensary still open, but that may change AUREN RUVINSKY & CANDACE WU writer@pqbnews.com & news@pqbnews.com
A controversial compassion club in downtown Parksville is one of the RCMP’s priorities, but operators vow to keep serving local members. While the operator says he is not distributing pot out of this location currently, the RCMP have called the Phoenix Pain Management Society, which says it helps people get medical marijuana, “completely illegal,” and Cpl. Jesse Foreman confirmed Friday “we’ll do what we have to do,” in terms of shutting it down if RCMP deem there are illegal activities going on at this downtown Parksville location. “I asked if they had no violent crime or heroine addiction or cocaine to deal with,” said the society’s managing director, Akil Pessoa, after a meeting with Oceanside RCMP last week. He said he went to see the RCMP “of my own volition” after meeting with Parksville Mayor Marc Lefebvre and he said he asked both: “Why are you bullying sick people? That’s my real question. We know that we can help them, we know the country’s going in a direction that will allow them to be helped.” Pessoa said the RCMP “told me we will be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the federal law, as well as having the full weight of the Controlled Substances Act thrown against us. So the scene we’re about to have, if (the mayor) has his way, is little old ladies with arthritic hips handcuffed and thrown into cars. I don’t want to see that in Parksville, it’s just a bad image.” Said Foreman: “If they are selling drugs out there, it’s illegal. If the police chief and mayor are in agreement, it’s a priority of the Oceanside RCMP.” See PESSOA PLEDGES, page A7
PETER MCCULLY PHOTO
DELIVERING THE HAGGIS: The traditional Haggis was carried in at the 25th Annual Robbie Burns Day celebration at Legion Branch 76 in Qualicum Beach on Saturday. Doing the honours, above from left to right, were Richard Paugh, Bruce Diack, Hellen Waller and Wilma Stevens. For more photos from the event, visit www.facebook.com/PQBNews.
ALPACA MAULED TO DEATH IN ERRINGTON
Another murderous dog attack CANDACE WU news@pqbnews.com
Another alpaca has died in Errington after being brutally torn apart and left to die. The owner suspects a dog — or pack of dogs — roaming freely in the neighbourhood. Skye Donald said she returned to her 13-acre property in Errington Thursday afternoon to find her oldest, alpha-female alpaca slaughtered.
“I saw something on the ground that was white, got my binoculars and just had a feeling,” she told The NEWS. “During the brief time we weren’t at home the dog(s) must have come in (to my property) — we saw paw prints.” Donald now has 19 alpacas — one less than last week — nine sheep and chickens on her farm. It’s the second casualty for Donald, who lost an alpaca last year in a similar
situation. “These are dogs — they don’t kill the animal before eating it,” she said. Donald said dogs killing livestock is emotional, stressful and, unfortunately, not an uncommon story in the area. And now she’s calling for change. “I’d like to see some kind of municipal discussion on this. Let’s have a community forum run by the Regional District of Nanaimo to discuss this.” See LOOKING, page A7
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