TUESDAY DECEMBER 8, 2015
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A FAST-FOOD -FREE QB
FLYIN’ PHIL A HIT ON FACEBOOK
Leaders debate the bylaws and town’s competitiveness
Local celebrity has hundreds of members on a page that features many photos
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PARKSVILLE-QB CONNECTION
Seized in Saanich Oceanside RCMP arrest led to $100K of stolen goods CANDACE WU news@pqbnews.com
Oceanside RCMP played a key role in the recovery of more than $100,000 of stolen goods — including firearms, generators and jewelery — by the Saanich Police Department from a residence along the Patricia Bay Highway. “To put it bluntly, it’s huge,” said Saanich Police Department Sgt. Steve Eassie about the recovery. “We haven’t had anything that comes close to this.” Eassie told The NEWS $100,000 is a conservative estimate, noting the stolen goods include at least one $6,000 ring and many family heirlooms. He said the stolen goods have been linked to incidents in the Greater Victoria area and as far north as Parksville on Vancouver Island, as well as Nelson and the Lower Mainland. A total of 90 charges, 45 each, have been approved by Crown counsel against a 45-year-old male and 26-year-old female, both Saanich residents. The charges include 17 counts each for possession of stolen property under $5,000 and 19 counts each for dealing with an identity document without excuse. The 45-year-old male has been remanded in custody. In October, Oceanside RCMP arrested two men who allegedly broke into the Qualicum Beach Inn. Upon searching a vehicle associated with the two men, local Mounties uncovered a handgun, a shotgun and one kilogram of crystal methamphetamine. According to a news release issued by Saanich Police Department, the Saanich Police Street Crime Unit, with the assistance from the crime analyst, identified a female of interest that appeared to be in a relationship with one of the suspects arrested in Qualicum Beach. See INVESTIGATORS, page A5
CANDACE WU PHOTO
SANTA AT MILNER: Sisters Tia, left, and Grace Gilbert tell Santa and Mrs. Claus what they want for Christmas on Friday evening at the annual Milner Christmas Magic light show, where hundreds of families came to walk the trails twinkling with Christmas lights. The event continues Dec. 11-13 and 16-20. Check out more photos on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PQBNews.
OFFICIAL OPENING OF QUALICUM PARK VILLAGE
A new home and new hope
AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
The first residents moved in early this year, but partners and residents gathered Friday to celebrate the official opening of affordable housing in Qualicum Beach. Qualicum Park Village replaced the previous Kiwanis housing on the site beside the curling club and now provides 34 town homes for families and seniors. RECEIVE
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“Being able to have affordable housing has allowed me to be able to stand back on my own two feet again,” resident Debbie Wesnedge told the couple dozen gathered Friday. Wesnedge left a “bad situation” in Vancouver and moved back to her hometown with her four-year-old son a year ago but found, “It was very difficult to find housing that our family could fit comfortably in and afford on a single family income.”
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“I’ve always supported myself since I was 15, both my parents passed away at a young age,” she said of her struggles arriving back in town with “nothing but my car and my son, that was it.” Staying in a resort cabin over the winter, knowing she’d have to move out in June, she attended an open house at the new development where she and her son quickly fell for it.
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of Christmas Merchandise
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