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Vol. 70, Issue 83
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Festival For The FredHeads
The great Fred Penner, legendary children’s entertainer, was greeted with joy and enthusiasm by FredHeads of all generations at his performance at the 31st annual Children’s Festival Saturday at Mount Baker Field. See more images of the Children’s Festival on Page 2. Barry Coulter photo
B.C. wolf kill to continue TOM FLE TCHER Black Press
Endangered caribou herds in the Kootenays and South Peace region have continued to decline as the B.C. government assesses the second year of its wolf removal project. Nine wolves were killed by hunting and trapping in the South Selkirk Mountains this winter, while wolves
Long-time RDEK CAO Crane retires
took two caribou out of a herd that was down to 18 animals at last count. Forests ministry staff will try to shoot 24 wolves from helicopters before the snow melts in the South Selkirks. Six of the remaining caribou have been fitted with radio collars to track them.
TRE VOR CR AWLEY
See WOLF, Page 4
Crash damages pole, driver flees TRE VOR CR AWLEY
Multiple charges under the Motor Vehicle Act were laid against a Cranbrook man, who fled the scene of an accident after hitting a BC Hydro pole out near Wycliffe on May 5. RCMP investigated
the accident scene at the intersection of Wycliffe Park Rd and Perry Creek Rd after receiving a report that a red car had struck the pole, with two occupants fleeing on foot.
See CRASH, Page 4
Cranbrook native Payton Lee is coming home to finish off his Western Hockey League career. The Kootenay Ice acquired the 19-year-old goaltender from the Edmonton Oil Kings Monday afternoon, shipping off a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. A veteran of 169 regular season games, Lee began his career with the Vancouver Giants before being traded to the Oil Kings in a mid-season transaction during the 2015-16 campaign. For more on the homecoming of Payton Lee, see Sports (Page 13).
It’s the end of an era at the RDEK as a long-time employee is transitioning to retirement after leading the organization for the last dozen years. Lee-Ann Crane, who started up in the front office back in 1979, rose through the RDEK ranks to take the top administrator role in 1998, managing staff and providing counsel to elected board directors ever since. Friday’s regular board of directors meeting was the final time she had to take a seat at the table and oversee the directors debate the regional issues. Following the meeting, everyone around the table took time to acknowledge Crane’s influence on the board and say some thanks for her service. Crane herself also had the chance to address the board, noting that she was has always been grateful to work in the background of the organization for 37 years. Fun, challenging exciting, unexpected, fulfilling, building partnerships and volunteerism were just a few words she used to describe her time with the RDEK. “I’m overwhelmed right now,” Crane said, following the presentations of flowers, the gift of a feather painted by a Ktunaxa artist from the Tobacco Plains band and the unveiling of a plaque in her honour.
See LEANNE CRANE, Page 3