UP TO
%OFF
60
Scratch & Save
an additional
5-100 % OFF
your furniture purchase!*
*See store for details. Cannot be combin ed with any other offers. Hot Buys & previous purchases excluded. Maximu m Scratch & Save discount is $4000. Offer valid June 25th - July 8th, 2019.
NEW LOCATION!
Serving the Cowichan Valley
www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Nanaimo 4950 Uplands Drive 250-756-41 14 Courtenay 2937 Kilpatrick Ave 250-871-60 74 Victoria 3501 Saanich Road 250-382-52 69
Camper catches fire in Cobble Hill BY ROBERT BARRON
The Mill Bay fire department responded to a call about a camper on fire along the Trans Canada Highway during the afternoon of June 22. Firefighter Steve Melanson said the camper was travelling near Hutchinson Road when the male driver, the vehicle’s only occupant, noticed the smell of smoke. Melanson said the man pulled into the U-turn area by Hutchinson Road and quickly exited the camper. He said the vehicle was soon fully engulfed in flames, which began spreading to the dry grass and brush in the area, and it took 10 firefighters and two fire engines an hour to extinguish the fire. “The fire is under investigation,” Melanson said.
The camper was soon engulfed in flames. (ERIC NASH PHOTO)
Duncan eyes tougher laws for drug houses BY ROBERT BARRON
The City of Duncan is looking to crack down on properties connected to the illegal drug trade. Council gave the first three reading to the new controlled substances property bylaw at its meeting on June 17 that is intended to regulate and impose stringent requirements in regards to the remediation of properties that have been damaged through
the production, trade or storage of controlled substances. In a staff report, Paige MacWilliam, Duncan’s director of corporate services, said that the city has had to deal with several properties in recent years that have been used for the manufacture, storage or trade of controlled substances. “In particular, the increased prevalence of fentanyl and other illicit drugs has become an issue,” MacWil-
liam said. “Bringing in (the bylaw) as an additional tool for addressing these problem properties is supported by the Duncan/North Cowichan RCMP.” Staff Sergeant Kurtis Bosnell, the plain clothes commander at the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment who attended the meeting, said he has seen various drafts of the bylaw and, if implemented, it would be one of the most up-to-date bylaws
dealing with the issue in the region. He said local police have struggled with issues around houses that were used for illegal drug purposes for years. “One of our concerns is that, under current bylaws, once we leave a house in the city that has been used for drugs, a lot of the original people who were there tend to come back and the problem starts again,” he said. “We’re also finding that the prop-
erties are often cleaned and swept for new occupants after we bust a house for drugs, but a lot of time nothing is being done to deal with the history of the drugs in the house. Children crawl around and put stuff in their mouths all the time and that can include needles and other drug items that may have been left. This bylaw gives bylaw officers a lot more tools in their toolboxes to deal with these types of issues.” Continued on A8