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Vol. 64, Issue 46
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Cull called off after traps vandalized T R E VO R C R AW L E Y
SGT RONALD DUCHESNE, RIDEAU HALL
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston (right), Governor General of Canada, presented 40 Medals of Bravery at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, on Friday, March 6, 2015. Above, His Excellency presents the Medal of Bravery (M.B.) to Peter Richard Moody, M.B., of Kimberley. Moody was nominated for the award by his son and received it in recognition of his actions on November 25, 2012, when he and wife, Susan Bond, were attacked by a grizzly bear.
Miracles of modern technology City of Cranbrook researching pothole patching machine A R N E P E T RYS H E N
A better way to patch potholes — is there such a thing? There just might be. One items added into the City of Cranbrook’s proposed draft of the Five Year Financial Plan is $350,000 set aside for a pothole repair machine. The machine city staff are currently researching is a made-in-Canada pothole repair vehicle.
Mayor Lee Pratt asked for the funds to be set aside at the March 4 budget meeting. “I don’t know if this is the appropriate time or not, but it may need to be entered into the budget this year,” Pratt said. “There’s been a piece of equipment that’s come up that is basically newer technology for pothole repair.” Pratt said the city’s Public Works Department is looking
into it right now. “There is quite a number of benefits in this if it does what it says,” Pratt said. “It can result in quite a cost saving and much-improved pothole repair system for the city.” Pratt asked about the procedure for setting the funding aside in the case that it does look like a good idea to purchase the machine.
Charlotte Osbourne, director of Finance and Computer Services, said she preferred that council budget the funds now, instead of having to go back later to amend the financial plan bylaw. Osbourne said the funds would come out of the Recapitalization Reserve, so there would be no impact on taxes.
See CITY, Page 3
The deer cull is on hold indefinitely in Cranbrook after four p rov i n c i a l l y - ow n e d clover traps were vandalized overnight Thursday. Around 5:30am Friday morning, City contractors making their early morning rounds discovered the four traps had the netting slashed making them unusable. All of the traps were located on private property. The RCMP was immediately notified and an investigation is underway. I’m very disappointed,” said Cranbrook Mayor Lee Pratt. “I think the people responsible for it don’t know the facts around the deer cull, so it’s disappointing that they’re acting on improper information. “We’re going to halt the cull now, of course, but we’re going to go ahead and try to get permit — hopefully for two years — and we’re going to continue to work with the other communities that we’ve partnered up with, and the province, to look into the relocation idea. “Either way, we feel strongly for safety reasons, if none other, that the deer have to be gone out of town.” Pratt says the RCMP are investigating the vandalized traps and that the matter can result in criminal and civil charges. “In talking to the RCMP, we are going to pursue finding the cul-
prits and there will be probably two means of prosecution — one would be through the RCMP and whatever charges they come up with and there’s probably going to be a civil suit for damages,” Pratt said.
“We are going to pursue finding the culprits and there will be probably two means of prosecution — one would be through the RCMP and whatever charges they come up with and there’s probably going to be a civil suit for damages.” Mayor Lee Pratt
The deer cull program began on Sunday, February 22, 2015, with the setup and baiting of traps and concluded overnight Thursday, March 5, 2015, with a total of four mule deer — one adult buck and three adult does — being captured and euthanized over an approximate 11 day trapping period. All of the mule deer were processed and the meat distributed to three local organizations to be used for human consumption. This process was clearly identified in the guidelines embedded in the Wildlife Permit provided by MFLNRO.
See CULL, Page 4