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August 6, 2015
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Two Sections, 32 pages
100milefreepress.net
Crime Rate jumps locally Carole Rooney Free Press
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Crimes in the South Cariboo are on the rise, heard the South Cariboo Joint committee when RCMP Staff Sgt. Blake Ward presented a quarterly summery at its July 13 meeting. “I think one of the biggest things everybody should be aware of is that the crime rate has been increasing ... specifically property crime,” said Ward. He explained the detachment is working with the North District analyst seeking connections and leads toward finding some answers. “We have been able to put names to some of these offences ... unfortunately there are still some outstanding.” Overall stats show property crime is up 4.52 per cent across the whole North District, he noted. “That’s really alarming for us; that’s a big increase.” Ward said the largest peak in the crime rate is for break-and-enters at both businesses and residences. “We have had a major jump in the past six or seven months ... to go from four break-ins that occurred at businesses [in the previous time period] to 13 is a huge, huge hit. “Fortunately enough, we do have some people that have been charged for some of those break-ins, but for some of the others we don’t.” One of the challenges RCMP face is that many of these crimes happen at night, so suspect identification is difficult with only the barest witness reports, such as “a dark-coloured vehicle,” he noted. Ward added access to closed-circuit video monitors has helped in some cases, but across the board, too few businesses have them in regular use. “They either don’t have them turned on, or they don’t have anybody trained to take the data off the equipment, or else they aren’t even working or they are using dummy cameras, and as a result, our investigation office often comes to a standstill.” Police can take fingerprints and evidence from the scene of the crime, but video and witness information is often key to locating suspects, he explained. The detachment commander said the investigation into a recent spree of business break-ins benefited from “very high quality” video imaging from one location, but the others had malfunctioning video equipment. “It seems to be a low priority for area businesses.” The importance of accurate suspect identifications and quality video images is a message RCMP are trying to push out, Ward said, adding trail cams can also be successfully used at residences. Vandalism has also taken a sizable jump, he noted. Continued on A4
Ken Alexander photo
Legion president Bob Wangensteen locked the doors at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #260 at 933 Alder Ave. in 100 Mile House for the final time on July 31. While the doors have been closed, the branch executive will continue to provide services for veterans and sponsor the local cadets.
Legion doors locked
Ken Alexander Free Press
The building, which has housed the local Legion on Alder Avenue in 100 Mile House for 50 years, had its doors locked for the last time by Legion president Bob Wangensteen. On Aug. 1, Wangensteen said The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #260-100 Mile House will carry on in one form or another. He added they will continue providing services to area veterans. “We’re not losing the Legion. The building is just shut down due to our financial situation.” In a front page story in the July 16 edition of the 100 Mile House Free Press, Wangensteen explained the Legion was out of money and just couldn’t pay its
bills, so it would be better to put a lock on the doors instead of accruing another month of bills. “Everything is so old; you can’t get parts for anything; and no one remembers how it was done. Every time something breaks and it’s a major part, and it costs around $3,000 to $10,000 to fix it.” At that time, Wangensteen said he was waiting to hear back from the Legion BC/Yukon Command (LBCYC) about sending someone to 100 Mile House to look over the financial statements to see if there was something that could be done to rescue the local Legion. However, he added there had been communication problems. Wangensteen said they received a visit from a LBCYC financial officer a few days after the article hit the streets.
“He went through our financial statements and said we were doing what we had to do by closing the doors. He added the building was just wore out.” He said it was the right move and then asked if anybody had any ideas, the Legion president said, adding the officer explained the building is closed, but said we’re not going to lose the Legion. Noting he felt the Legion building is a “white elephant,” Wangensteen said he told the financial officer he thought the executive had to get rid of it. He suggested tearing the building down and then constructing a new one that goes the length of the property and put about six or eight housing units in the back for veterans and seniors, and then have a small Legion up front. Continued on A5