Walk With Your Doc encourages fitness this Thursday Alberni Region, Page 3
16C 10C
Cloudy with showers Serving the Alberni Valley
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Wednesday, May 13, 2015
COURT
Sex offender convicted again Alberni’s Shaun Pater due for release later this year after being arrested with photographs of children MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
A notorious sex offender in Port Alberni was convicted of child pornography and breaching probation in provincial court on Tuesday. But Shaun Neil Pater, 35, will be released from prison before the end of the year. Pater pleaded guilty to the charges of possession of child pornography and breaking probation conditions that prohibited him from contact with children under age 16. A charge of making or distributing child pornography was stayed. Judge Ted Gouge sentenced Pater to 360 days in prison. With credit for time served, Pater will be behind bars for another 160 days. Pater sat without expression in the prisoner’s box; he stood up
PATER
when the judge asked him whether he had anything to say. “I feel bad for my family for my mistake,” Pater said. Crown prosecutor Gordon Baines
told the court that Pater was arrested in January in Port Alberni when RCMP stopped him on the road and searched the car he was driving in. Police found photos of him and two young girls as well as three images of child pornography in the vehicle’s glove compartment. The two girls, aged seven and 10, are clothed in the photos. One shows the seven-year-old sitting on Pater’s lap. Baines said the children in the photos showing naked private parts are unidentified. Pater printed the photos at the local Wal-Mart on Dec. 31. A technician in the Wal-Mart photo lab recognized Pater as a sex offender from media coverage. The employee watched Pater suspiciously as he used the photo kiosk at the large retail store. After
Pater left the lab tech and another employee checked to see the photos that were printed off and then contacted police. Their description matched the photos found in Pater’s glove compartment. When he was arrested, Pater told police, “I shouldn’t have printed them off.” The two young girls in the photos were from families in Port Alberni Pater had been visiting in the months before his arrest, in breach of his court-ordered conditions. Pater regularly brought the children candy and gifts. Pater told police the naked photos of children were sent to his phone from a man who had spent time with him in prison for child pornography crimes. Pater’s sentence included an
CITY
order to submit his DNA, and placed him – for a second time – on the national sex offender registry for life. After he is released from prison, Pater will be forbidden for five years from any contact with minors under age 16, except his own son or relatives while accompanied by his father; he is probibited from owning any computers, smartphones or data-storage electronic devices, and prohibited from accessing the Internet. He must avoid public places where children may be present. Because he lives near Weaver Park, Pater may be in the park’s vicinity, though he must avoid entering the park grounds. martin.wissmath@avtimes.net
RECREATION
$380K truck replacement opens debate City hall over future of commercial pick up service commits $13K for lacrosse upgrade
ERIC PLUMMER ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Should the city invest in another garbage truck to compete with private haulers serving businesses and institutions? It’s an issue that has pitted municipal management and city employees on either side, as elected representatives consider the effects of spending $380,000 to replace its garbage truck for commercial customers. City engineer Guy Cicon is advising against this investment, suggesting that the city back out from providing a “non-core” service that has seen customers decline in recent years. Three private companies also pick up dumpsters from businesses in Port Alberni, accounting for approximately 80 per cent of the local market. In a recent report on commercial garbage pick up Cicon noted that the service lost $51,000 last year – but saved the city from paying private companies to haul from 17 municipal facilities. “The system is cost-neutral, so we’re not losing money and we’re not gaining money relatively speaking,” he said. But in an address to city council on Monday public works employee Brian Povey argued against discontinuing the service. With the CUPE Local 118 union behind him, Povey stressed that if the city backs out of the commercial garbage collection business private haulers will jack up their fees, resulting in higher costs for businesses and the public schools that currently rely on the municipal service. He criticized Cicon’s report, who is the head of the municipal department Povey works for. See CITY, Page 3
ERIC PLUMMER ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
The city has promised a funding injection to improve Port Alberni’s outdoor box lacrosse court. During a public meeting on Monday council agreed to a request from the Alberni Valley Minor Lacrosse Association to commit $13,500 to resurface the facility’s surface. This money is set to be taken out of the municipality’s 2015 contingency fund, boosting the lacrosse association’s drive to secure $41,000 for the court’s repair. “The surface has many cracks, holes and uneven surfaces, which makes it hazardous for users,” wrote the lacrosse association’s secretary Heather Adair in a recent letter to city council. With the city’s funding commitment and another $2,500 the local group has fundraised, the lacrosse association is preparing to apply for a $25,000 grant from Farm Credit Canada to cover most of the resurfacing. Other applications are planned if this submission is not successful. The boxed-in court is currently used several times a week for lacrosse practices and ball hockey. “There is an opportunity to see this facility being used for other events such as basketball and pickleball,” wrote Adair. The court resurfacing is planned for next summer. City works employee Brian Povey is leading the push to keep commercial garbage pick up as a municipal service. He stands in front of the city’s existing dumpster truck, which is due for replacement. [ERIC PLUMMER, TIMES]
Eric.Plummer@avtimes.net
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Po ort Alberni Mariachi Gala
Fri. May 29 at 7:00pm
Featuring Mariachis: NUEVO ORDAZ (MEXICO) ORGULLO AZTECA (USA) LOS DORADOS (CANADA)
Nation & World 10
$1.25 newsstand (GST incl.)
ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 92
Alberni District Theatre 4000 Roger Street, Port Alberni
Comics 8 Classifieds 9
General: $30 Seniors/Kids: $20 Tix: (at the door, 6pm) or in advance at: www.mariachifestival.ca Info/Tix (604) 338-4064
Enter to win i T ckets to: Friday May 29th, 2015 Frida Name_________________________________ Phone_________________________________ Please drop off your ballot at the Alberni Valley Times office 4918 Napier Ave by Wednesday May 27th by 12 noon. The winner will be announced later that day.