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M Monday, d M May 25 25, 2015
MARINE
HMCS Yellowknife visits Alberni Vessel, with 43 crew, will patrol the Pacific coast up to Alaska until mid-June, says Lt-Cmdr. MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Patrolling the waters of the Pacific includes meeting people in coastal communities, said the commanding officer of the HMCS Yellowknife. The navy vessel was welcomed into Port Alberni Friday. The Port Alberni Maritime Heritage Society, Port Alberni Port Authority, with the local fire department and the Sea Cadets, welcomed the navy vessel to shore in the Alberni Inlet. The ship stopped in Port to visit for the weekend, offering tours for the public. The HMCS Yellowknife started its current deployment in Esquimalt on Tuesday, and will patrol the coast up to Alaska for the next few weeks until mid-June, said Lt.-Cmdr. Alex Barlow, commanding officer. “We’re doing just a maritime security patrol,” said Barlow. “We’re going to go from the very south of B.C. through the Juan de Fuca Strait.” The crew hopes to reach the municipality of Stewart in northwestern B.C. before returning to base in Esquimalt. It’s important to engage maritime communities while on deployment, Barlow said. The HMCS Yellowknife will visit
about five or six communities during the next few weeks. Some visits are only overnight. “Some of the smaller places we can’t get alongside but we’ll go to anchor off the communities, maybe go ashore for a couple of hours,” said Barlow. “Some of them we just sort of drive by and wave hello before we leave again. “Obviously you’re watching for anything suspicious [on the water] but really it’s the presence of the navy,” he said. The HMCS Yellowknife, built in Canada, was commissioned in the early 1990s and should be in service for another five to 10 years, said Barlow. The Yellowknife has a crew of 43, from ordinary seamen to ranking officers. Port Alberni’s Maritime Heritage Society has been working to bring a navy vessel back for a few years, said Pamela Day, the society treasurer. Negotiating with the navy and the Port Authority to bring the ship here was “an incredible pile of work,” she said. “I think it’s important that people in the city know that we have a navy,” Day said. Port Alberni’s Sea Cadets and Navy League were given tours of the HMCS Yellowknife. Martin.Wissmath@avtimes.net
Navy crew members hoist the Canadian flag onboard the HMCS Yellowknife after docking in Port Alberni by the Maritime Discovery Centre in the Harbour Quay on Friday. [MARTIN WISSMATH, TIMES]
COURTS
Impersonator will serve federal time Robert Bennett Peters sentenced in Port Alberni provincial court for two years National TV program films in Alberni Valley
MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
The man who impersonated a First Nations chief and scammed Port Alberni residents out of hundreds of dollars has been sentenced to two years in jail. Robert Bennett Peters was sentenced in Port Alberni provincial court on Wednesday for two counts of fraud under $5,000. Peters pleaded guilty to the charges. He will serve his jail time in a federal prison. One of the charges was for defrauding the Royal Bank for $680. The bank wired money for him to pick up at a branch in
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Nanaimo. Another fraud charge was for scamming a Port Alberni resident for $300. The resident brought $300 to Peters at the Nanaimo airport. The fraudster said it would help him cover transportation costs. RCMP have been investigating the case for months. Peters called and impersonated Tseshaht Chief Hugh Braker, making up a story that he needed money to help a friend’s sick and dying child. Other residents were phoned but did some fact-checking and were not victimized, said RCMP Const. Scott MacLeod. Peters has a lengthy history
of similar crimes, with dozens of previous fraud charges — impersonating a high-ranking official — spanning 30 years, said Crown prosecutor Gordon Baines. In a previous case, Peters impersonated Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Chief Shawn Atleo. Braker said he knows about Peters and his criminal history. He noted his reaction to the sentencing on his Facebook page. “This will be his third or fourth time in prison for impersonation/fraud/scam type of charges,” Braker wrote. He said there is a history of crime in the Port Alberni area
of scammers impersonating First Nations officials. Baines said Peters actually requested the lengthier prison time. “He admits that he is a heroin addict and that this is what’s fuelling his fraudulent activities,” Baines said. Any sentence of two years or longer is a federal sentence and will be served in a federal penitentiary. Peters was sent to one of the federal institutions in the Lower Mainland where they’ll determine where he’ll ultimately serve his sentence, said Baines. Martin.Wissmath@avtimes.net
Jury will hear closing arguments this week in B.C. terror trial THE CANADIAN PRESS
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VANCOUVER — Crown and defence lawyers were expected to make their closing arguments this week to the jury hearing the case of two people accused of plotting to set off homemade bombs on the lawn of the B.C.
legislature. John Nuttall and Amanda Korody were charged after an elaborate, months-long RCMP sting operation — they face three terrorism-related charges: conspiring to commit murder, possessing explosives on behalf of a terrorist group and conspiring
to place explosives on behalf of a terrorist group. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce entered a not guilty plea earlier this month on a fourth charge — knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity — citing unspecified legal reasons. The two accused have pleaded
not guilty to all charges. The jury has watched and listened to reams of video footage and extensive audio recordings collected over months by police investigators with the help of several undercover officers who posed as terrorist liaisons and befriended the accused.
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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)
Alberni Album 10
$1.25 newsstand (GST incl.)
ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 98
Alberni District Theatre 4000 Roger Street, Port Alberni
Classifieds 9 Community 5
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.