Merritt Herald, July 28, 2015

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TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS

Duo charged in arson investigation Male and female teenagers facing arson charges, due in court August 4 Of six suspicious fires in Merritt since June, the two are charged with only one Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD

Vanessa van Rensburg/V2 Photography

LITTLE BRITCHES, BIG RESULTS Merritt’s Taylia McKeown, age 14, sprints for home on her sorrel quarterhorse mare Doxy during the senior girls barrel racing competition at the Little Britches rodeo on the July 18 weekend. McKeown placed second in the event, and first in both pole bending and breakaway roping to win the all-around cowgirl title on Sunday. The Herald’s Ian Webster has complete results.

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Bad weather brings weekend mayhem to the Coquihalla Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD

Multiple car crashes were the result of heavy rain and hail that pounded the Coquihalla Highway on Sunday (July 26). Just before 11 a.m. that day at the Inks Lake brake check south of Kamloops, two northbound vehicles were involved in a

minor collision during an intense rainstorm that caused road conditions to deteriorate quickly. As a result of the crash, trailing vehicles had to brake rapidly and three left the road down a steep embankment, Kamloops RCMP Const. Jason Epp told the Herald. “One of the vehicles rolled several times during its decent,” Epp said.

An air ambulance and paramedics responded to the scene. Six people were taken to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with non-life threatening injuries. Epp said the use of seatbelts is believed to have helped prevent more serious injuries.

RCMP have charged a pair of 19-yearolds — one male, one female — from Merritt with arson in relation to the suspicious barn fire behind the Spring Island Trailer Court last month. They were charged under section 434 of the criminal code with causing damage by fire or explosion to property and made an appearance in court on July 21. The two will appear in court again on August 4. Back on June 7, at about 2:30 a.m., the Merritt Fire Rescue Department responded to a barn fully engulfed in flames. MFRD extinguished the abandoned structure at 1500 Spring Street behind the trailer park in about an hour. No one was hurt, and no other properties were damaged by the flames. Police charged the two teens after receiving information from the public that the two had been seen at the barn at about the time of the fire. A subsequent investigation led to charges being laid. Const. Tracy Dunsmore said the two suspects are not residents of the trailer park, and are not being charged with any of the other suspicious fires that have occurred in town recently. “I can’t say that they’re not guilty because we don’t know who’s guilty, but at this time, these are the only charges that we are laying against them,” Dunsmore said. There have been five other suspicious fires in Merritt since June. Police are still investigating these other cases and ask that members of the public with any information regarding them contact RCMP at 250-378-4262 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

See ‘Multiple accidents’ Page 5

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