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OCTOBER 8, 2015
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Testimony continues in RCMP firearms trial
T R E VO R C R AWL EY
Testimony in the case of an RCMP firearms trial continued on Wednesday, as witnesses, a paramedic and investigator took the stand. The case is being tried in Cranbrook Su-
preme Court in front of Justice Trevor Armstrong. RCMP officer Richard Drought is currently on trial for a charge of careless use or storage of a firearm stemming from a police incident in Octo-
ber 2012 in Cranbrook. Crown counsel alleges Drought fired his service pistol into an SUV which was being driven by Nickolas Bullock, who stole the vehicle near Yahk in a violent carjacking on Oct. 2,
2012. Drought began a police pursuit of the stolen SUV on Highway 3/95 near Elizabeth Lake and ended up on a rural acreage at the top of Victoria Ave. near the College of the Rockies Gold
Creek campus, where the incident occurred. A witness, who was inside his home, testified that he saw a police car stopped on the edge of a rural property near the COTR Gold Creek campus around 10 p.m.
The witness also said he saw an SUV turn and drive towards the direction of the police car, before hearing three to five loud bangs indicative of gunfire. He did not see the shooter or any muzzle flashes from the gun.
Directly after hearing the gunshots, the witness said he saw a male, who appeared to be a police officer, walk past the police car in the direction of the SUV, which by then was out of sight.
See TRIAL, Page 5
Idlewild levels concerns raised in Cranbrook council ARNE PETRYSHEN
Members of the public have been bringing up concerns around the decommissioning of the Idlewild dam and the lowering of the reservoir, given the coming winter and the effect the low water level could have on turtles and fish. Coun. Norma Blissett brought up the subject during the council inquiries portion of Monday’s city council meeting. “Are we going to maintain a certain level of water heading into the winter to prevent it from freezing right to the bottom in order to prevent fish mortality and other organisms?” Blissett asked. “Because I would think there is
a minimum level of water that needs to be maintained so that that doesn’t happen.” Eric Sharpe, director of Engineering & Development Services, said the city is trying to do that. “Some of the factors that influence that are how cold of a year we have, the other is the amount of water that comes down,” Sharpe said. “The level came up quite a bit because the upstream rancher had stopped irrigating, we weren’t sure when he was doing that so all of a sudden he shuts his pumps down and the water levels go up.”
See IDLEWILD, Page 4
Kimberley Business Expo becoming a regional affair BARRY COULTER
Help is at hand for local business, and in case you weren’t aware of how to access it, the Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and the City of Kimberley are working to bring it to your attention. The second annual Kimberley Business Expo, set for Oct. 15 at the Kimberley Conference Centre, is an initiative of the Kimberley Chamber of
Commerce and the City of Kimberley, and is getting in Kevin Wilson, Economic Development Officer for the City of Kimberley, said the idea for the expo was developed after a survey of local businesses, which found those businesses “seemed to be experiencing challenges accessing available services.
See BUSINESS, Page 5
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DOA IS DEFINITELY ROA (Rocking on Arrival): The great Joey Keithley and his legendary Punk Rock band DOA rolled into town Wednesday, bringing in midnight with a show at the Legendary Byng Roadhouse.