NANAIMO REGION
Woman refuses to take the bait in phone scam When Joy Livingstone was told she had won a new car and $40 million, she new it was too good to be true. A3
NANAIMO REGION
T-men in finals
Business owner looks to big tiny home sales
Nanaimo Senior B Timbermen en host Ladner Pioneers tonightt in Game 1 of lacrosse finals
Patrick Whelan says the tiny custom-made abodes include kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms. A3
Sports, B2
The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Wednesday, July 29, 2015
» Police
COLLIERY DAMS
Drivers try wide variety of tricks to fool RCMP officers
Advisory group now has expanded authority DARRELL BELLAART DAILY NEWS
In B.C., someone caught using a cellphone while driving can face a $167 fine and demerit points if they are texting. [AARON HINKS/DAILY NEWS]
Scofflaws resort to putting phones in drink cups ROBERT BARRON DAILY NEWS
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Nanaimo RCMP officer recently pulled over a motorcycle travelling north on the Nanaimo Parkway at approximately 110 kilometres per hour. But what makes this traffic stop different from most others was the man driving the bike was observed switching the music in his phone and had no hands on his steering column as he was speeding along. It’s just one of the many instances of distracted driving that officers of the Nanaimo RCMP are observing and ticketing on a daily basis, according to spokesman Const. Gary O’Brien. O’Brien said one “trick” people use to try to get away with using their cellphones or other electronic devices while driving is to buy a super-sized drink and, when the beverage is finished, place their phones in the big empty cup to hide it from police and others
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Sunny High 25, Low 16 Details A2
“The statistics clearly show that people are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident when texting while driving.” Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP
when they are using it while driving. Then there’s the lady who was captured on video in May driving along the Nanaimo Parkway while curling her hair at the same time. The video, which clearly shows the woman completely engrossed in her curling while driving at highway speeds, went viral. As well, while the investigation is still underway, O’Brien said police suspect that a woman who was involved in a recent accident that closed the Nanaimo Parkway for eight hours may have been texting at the time.
“The statistics clearly show that people are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident when texting while driving,” he said. The province is currently considering following Ontario and Alberta in raising fines for distracted driving, which includes the use of cellphones, and O’Brien said that it would be a good idea. In B.C., someone caught using a cellphone or other electronic device while driving now faces a $167 fine, and demerit points are added for those who are caught texting. O’Brien said fines for other forms of distracted driving, including driving without due care and attention, can currently fetch fines of $350 or higher for those caught. But B.C. has the second-lowest distracted-driving fines in the country and the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police has called for stiffer fines as a deterrent. O’Brien said that while distracted drivers cover all age groups,
those who insist on using their cell phones and/or texting while driving are usually younger people. He said that hitting that age group with stiffer financial penalties for distracted driving would likely have a bigger effect than on older age groups. “Big fines certainly hurt young people more and the impact on them is immediate,” O’Brien said. “The Report Impaired Drivers program and the hefty fines for drunk driving have been effective in changing people’s behaviour, and we’re hoping for the same results with increasing the fines for all forms of distracted driving.” Robert.Barron @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4234 » We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to letters@nanaimodailynews.com. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
Military commander in sex assault allegations
Sisters insist on rights to bicycle while topless
Lt.-Col. Mason Stalker of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and breach of trust. » Nation & World, A7
Juno-nominated musician and women’s rights advocate said the incident happened as she and her two sisters were biking down a street in Kitchener. » Nation & World, A8
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Nanaimo city council has widened the authority of an advisory body to oversee modifications to the Colliery dams, raising concerns about project delays with Mayor Bill McKay and senior city staff. Council voted to give the eight-person Colliery Dam select committee authority over design of a spillway-labyrinth system and environmental, cultural and related considerations including “any other matter the committee deems necessary” to review the project. “I’m very concerned,” said McKay. “I would hope it doesn’t supersede (last week’s) motion, that said we would go ahead with the work.” A staff report recommended the committee review final landscaping. Expanding its scope was supported by councillors Gord Fuller, Jerry Hong, Bill Yoachim, Bill Bestwick and Jim Kipp. McKay and Coun. Wendy Pratt voted against. Diane Brennan and Ian Thorpe were not present. “We’ve got to be digging roughly (by) Sept. 1 and I can’t see how in five weeks this committee will do everything,” McKay said. A week ago council avoided violating a provincial order by choosing the spillway option, sidestepping legal or other action against the city for failure to protect the public from floods from the century-old dams. “It’s difficult and frustrating for everybody as the process moves forward to try to get the auxiliary spillway built and meet the timeline,” said Toby Seward, city acting general manager of protective services. Makeup of the new committee can’t be decided before the Aug. 10 council meeting at the earliest, and then the select committee may want more studies taken, he said. Jeff Solomon, Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society leader called it “a step in the right direction about establishing a process that would be productive.” Darrell.Bellaart @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235
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