INSIDE: Wet and wild weather leaves Chilliwack a soggy mess Pg. 4 T U E S D A Y
January 18, 2011
11 N E W S ,
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E N T E R T A I N M E N T chilliwacktimes.com
Binners not real sinners
Nine yrs. for deadly invasion Old rules mean they only have three years left
Concern is for identity theft
BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwacktimes.com
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icole Amanda Birch, 27, and Robert Hugo Grattan, 25, were sentenced to nine years in jail Friday for their roles in a deadly 2007 Harrison Hot Springs home invasion. But because they will be credited for double time served under old sentencing rules, each will serve two years, nine months in jail. In November, the pair pleaded guilty to manslaughter, aggravated assault and robbery charges in the middle of their trial for first-degree murder and after it had become apparent that neither was directly involved in the shooting of Daniel Robert Lee, 34. A B.C. Supreme Court jury in New Westminster heard during the trial that Birch and a man not yet charged in the case entered a home on Echo Avenue in Harrison Hot Springs on Nov. 23, 2007. Birch carried a Taser-like device while the man wielded a sawed-off shotgun. The intruders were looking for drugs, money and Lee. During the home invasion, Birch bound the victims with packing tape, and Tasered them. The victims also had hydrogen peroxide poured on them, were hit with a gun, and robbed. When one man attempted to escape, he was shot twice but survived. Lee arrived at the house during the home invasion and was shot near the front door. He died. Crown counsel asked for a sentence of 10 to 12 years in jail, before time served was counted. See INVASION, Page 10
Bruins split road trip in the Pig
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
T Melissa DePape photo
Kaylie Bisschop smiles for the camera. The Chilliwack two-year-old, born without a lower pulmonary artery, was one of the first youngsters photographed by The Tiny Light Foundation.
Shining a Tiny Light BY CORNELIA NAYLOR cnaylor@chilliwacktimes.com
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hen local photographer Melissa DePape tries to describe what it’s like to have a child with a disability, she relies on a story first told by Sesame Street writer Emily Perl Kingsley, whose child was also born with Down syndrome: It’s like going to Holland. Yo u’v e g o t a f a b u l o u s t r i p planned to Italy. You’ve got the guidebooks, the reservations. Maybe you’ve learned a little Italian, but when your plane lands, you find yourself in Holland. “There’s nothing wrong with Holland,” said DePape, “but you’ve planned for Italy.”
Free professional photography provided to families with kids with a life-altering diagnosis And one of the first things families often lose in the whirlwind of adjusting to the new landscape, she said, is photo opportunities. DePape hopes to change all that with The Tiny Light Foundation, an organization that offers free professional photography sessions to families with children who have had a life-altering diagnosis. A Cardiff, Alta. native who has lived in Chilliwack for 10 years, DePape first learned that her own trip into motherhood probably wasn’t going to turn out as planned when she
was 18 weeks pregnant with her first daughter, Nevaeh, and tests revealed signs Down syndrome. Amidst the emotional upheaval of the diagnosis, however, and the health complications that later threatened her new baby’s life, DePape—a self-taught photographer since high school—kept her camera snapping. Looking back, she’s glad she did even though some of the images she captured aren’t pretty, like the See TINY LIGHT, Page 6
he City of Chilliwack has received an increasing number of complaints about scavengers going through recycling bins on collection day. And while most “binning” or scavenging is done by those looking for beverage containers with deposits, the real concern is identity theft. “We have problems in all areas of the city—Promontory, Fairfield Island, Yarrow,” Mayor Sharon Gaetz told the Times. “Some have become so bold they interrupt the services of Emterra and ask them to wait. It’s becoming a bigger and bigger issue.” Last week the city ran an advertisement regarding recycling and discouraging scavengers. In it, the city says that taking containers from recycling is a bylaw offence but that binners need to be caught in the act. Recyclables placed at the curb are the homeowner’s property until picked up by the city’s contractor and the city suggests anyone who witnesses someone going through their recycling should call the RCMP’s non-emergency line. However, Cpl. Lea-Anne Dunlop suggested that while identity theft is a concern of police, binners looking for cans and bottles will not be an RCMP priority. “I would say the ID theft would be our only main concern as far as policing goes,” she told the Times. See BINNERS, Page 6
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