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THE BULLETIN PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 83, Issue 22 | www.dailybulletin.ca
Fatal shooting on Castlegar highway
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Independent Investigations to look into police-involved shooting CHRIS STEDILE Castlegar News
Last Thursday night, at approximately 8 p.m., several members of the Castlegar RCMP and West Kootenay Traffic Services acted on a complaint regarding an impaired driver in the Castlegar area. The police did eventually locate the alleged impaired driver, however, matters soon turned sour and the RCMP officer ultimately fired his service pistol at the suspect. Exact details are limited as of now, but officers have confirmed the driver was transported to hospital for treatment however did not survive his injuries. No one else was injured. The B.C. Coroners Service said they were hoping to have more information for release by late Friday afternoon, but it was more likely that the information will come out on Monday. At press time no further information was available. Additionally, they confirmed that the deceased is not a youth. The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. has taken over the investigation and is accompanied by a forensic specialist. The site has been prepared for their arrival.
Cranbrook man arrested after high risk incidents on Highway 3 Hit and run, speeds of up to 160 km/hour lead to arrest TOWNSMAN STAFF
On January 30, 2015, at approximately 5:15 pm, members of Elk Valley and Cranbrook RCMP responded to a series of complaints on Highway 3 involving a black Honda Accord including one of a hit and run. The driver of the Honda collided with a 2002 Toyota Camry in the Galloway area, and
fled the scene westbound at a high rate of speed. Cranbrook RCMP received numerous other complaints including speeds up to 160 km/hr and swerving into the oncoming traffic lane. RCMP members were able to conduct a high risk arrest of the suspect without injury to suspect or officers See Page 5
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Four Selkirk students will be heading out on the experience of a lifetime from February 7th until the end of the school year as exchange students under the STS Scholarship program. Grade 12 students Bryn Oakley and Annie Bird will head to Sweden and Italy while grade 11 students Noah Ko and Tyra Joe will head to the Netherlands and France. All four students are excited to meet their homestay families, make new friends, and learn a new culture and language. In return, their families will host four student incoming students for second semester. Selkirk is excited to welcome those students and will be excited to hear about Bryn, Annie, Noah, and Tyra’s experience abroad.
Mt. Polley panel delivers findings Design flaw led to collapse of dam C A R O LYN G R A N T Bulletin Editor
The independent panel investigating the Mount Polley tailings storage facility failure returned its findings Friday, January 30. According to the Panel’s report: “The Panel concluded that the dominant contribution to the failure resides in the design. The design did not take into account the complexity of the sub-glacial and pre-glacial geological environment associated with the perimeter embankment foundation. As a result, foundation
investigations and associated site characterization failed to identify a continuous GLU layer in the vicinity of the breach and to recognize that it was susceptible to undrained failure when subject to the stresses associated with the embankment.” The panel determined that the strength and location of a layer of clay underneath the dam was not taken into account in its original design. As a result, this layer became overstressed, causing the portion of the dam on top of that layer to collapse. The report also indicated that the failure was triggered by construction of the downstream rockfill zone at a steep slope. The Panel concluded that had the downstream
slope been flattened failure would have been avoided. The slope was in the process of being flattened to meet its ultimate design criteria at the time of the accident. Minister of Energy Bill Bennett said the government will act immediately on key recommendations in the report and launch a code review to consider the other recommendations. Immediate actions include the Chief Inspector of Mines requiring all operating mines with TSF dams to provide a letter by June 30, 2015, to confirm whether foundation materials similar to those at Mount Polley exist below any of their dams. This would not apply to closed facilities such as the Sullivan Mine tailings
in Kimberley, which recently passed a government-ordered inspection. You can see the entire inspection reports at www.gov.bc under Mineral Exploration and Mining, Dam Safety Inspections 2014. All operating mines will also be required to establish independent tailings dam review boards. “I am relieved to know the cause of the failure at Mount Polley and want to thank the panel for their important work. Now we can devote all of our energy to taking a leadership role in Canada and internationally to learn from this and ensure it never happens again.,” Bennett said. See REPORT, page 4