ORANGE CRUSH IN ALBERTA
TODAY’S WEATHER
HANGING UP HER SKIS KTW talks to Kamloops Olympian Elli Terwiel, who retired this week
View from B.C. of a stunning victory
Sunny, warming up! High 20 C Low 7 C
A17
A5
KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
kamloopsthisweek.com kamloopsthisweek kamthisweek
30 CENTS AT NEWSSTANDS
|
MAY 7, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 55
Span set to close
Get ready for a detour. Beginning tomorrow at 6 a.m., the Tranquille Road overpass at the north end of Overlanders Bridge will close for up to four weeks. Public works director Jen Fretz said the closure is necessary for resurfacing and repair work. Motorists who want to reach the southernmost blocks of Tranquille Road will have to use Leigh Road, where a left-turn signal is in place and will be adjusted to deal with the increase in traffic. “It’s basically like a mini-bridge project,” Fretz said. “Remove the asphalt, repair any concrete that’s not structurally sound, put a membrane on if they need to and then put it all back together.” While the city is expecting the project to take four weeks, Fretz said the closure may be shorter if the contractor determines a new membrane isn’t needed. As has been the case since the start of the six-month Overlanders Bridge project, Fretz said motorists can continue to expect delays crossing the South Thompson River.
“It’s clearly a social determinant of health
that wealth makes you healthy. So, this notion that we should lock ourselves away and pretend that we can’t go out of our bubble because of a fear of something that’s really quite irrational . . .”
— KAMLOOPS COUN. KEN CHRISTIAN
Care home accused of coverup TIM PETRUK
STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
The family of a disabled Kamloops man is suing the retirement home in which he lives, claiming staff did nothing to stop a sexual assault at the hands of another resident then conspired to keep the incident under wraps. According to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the alleged victim has been $ 10 a resident at Kamloops Seniors Village since last spring after suffering a serious heart condition that left him incapable of caring for himself. The 75-year-old pays nearly $3,000 a month to reside at the Aberdeen facility. On April 13, the document claims, a care-home employee arranged a visit between the alleged victim and the alleged assailant, leaving the two men alone. The document claims the alleged assailant assaulted the alleged
CITY COUNCIL VENTS ON 1 NEW AFTON AIR EMISSIONS ANDREA KLASSEN
STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
As Kamloops city council debated whether to lend its support to a new air-discharge permit at the New Afton mine just west of the city, one councillor got in some venting of his own. “I fear that we are creating a society that’s afraid of our environment,” Coun. Ken Christian said during debate on Tuesday. “We talk so much about the contaminants in food we’re afraid to go to the grocery store.
“The reality is we live in a very healthy community, and part of the health of this community is the fact that companies come here, they provide jobs so that people have money,” he said. “And it’s clearly a social determinant of health that wealth makes you healthier. “So, this notion that we should lock ourselves away and pretend that we can’t go out of our bubble because of a fear about something that’s really quite irrational, makes absolutely no sense and, in fact, does a disservice to the health of
the citizens of Kamloops.” New Gold has applied to the province for a permit to discharge about nine times more air from the underground portion of its mine — 35,000 metres-cubed rather than the 4,170 permitted now — and the City of Kamloops is among those asked to weigh in on the move. In the end, city council agreed by a vote of 6-3 to support New Gold’s permit application, provided it is also supported by the Interior Health Authority.
See KAMLOOPS, A7
SAVE 1
victim by touching his penis and scratching and bruising his thighs. “The employee returned to the plaintiff’s room and observed the sexual assault and battery of the plaintiff by the defendant . . . as it was in progress,” the document claims. “The employee did not take steps to remove the defendant . . . from the plaintiff’s room.” The notice of claim states Kamloops Seniors Village (KSVH Ltd.) employees then conspired to keep silent about the incident. “The defendant, KSVH Ltd., its employees or agents, conspired to conceal the sexual assault and battery from the plaintiff’s spouse, the plaintiff’s doctor and others by prohibiting the employee who had witnessed the sexual assault and battery, and any other employee, from disclosing the incident,” the document claims. See ALLEGED, A6
99 ONE DAY ONLY! 12 SATURDAY, MAY 9TH
Fundraising in support of:
Join us From 11:00am - 3:00pm for our Annual Charity Barbeque at the Summit M&M Meat Shop Location.
Locally Owned & Operated ROB & CAROL 1203C Summit Dr. Kamloops 250-374-6825