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JANUARY 17, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 7
SD73 in need of more space for students DALE BASS STAFF REPORTER dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
DAVE EAGLES/KTW Heavily armed officers entered Heavy Metal Gym on Briar Avenue on the North Shore on Friday. As of KTW press deadline, no charges had been laid.
Gym owned by gang founder raided CAM FORTEMS STAFF REPORTER cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
Heavily armed Kamloops Mounties raided a North Shore gym on Friday morning — a gym owned and operated by a cofounder of the Red Scorpions gang. In a press conference Friday afternoon, a RCMP spokeswoman said the operation at the Heavy Metal Gym occurred following a traffic stop in the morning, where one person was arrested for possessing and trafficking of illegal drugs. Cpl. Jody Neuls told reporters police brought in the heavily armed emergency
response team for public safety. Those members used explosive distraction devices during a late morning raid on the gym at 145 Briar Ave. No shots were fired. Police remained at the scene on Friday under authority of a search warrant. RCMP also raided a Sahali home, but declined to provide an address. Neuls said the emergency response team was not used at the home. According to City of Kamloops business-licence registry, the proprietor of Heavy Metal Gym is Konaam Shirzad. He is also listed as the owner of the
company in the provincial registry. Neuls said in addition to the arrest, two people were detained as of early Friday afternoon, while another three were questioned and released. Shirzad, along with Quang Vinh Thang (Michael) Le and Matthew Johnston were among co-founders of the Red Scorpions gang last decade. The Red Scorpions were later led by the notorious Bacon brothers of Abbotsford, one of whom is dead and two of whom are in prison.
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School District 73 may need about 25 more portables — at a cost of about $3.5 million — in the next five years. Art McDonald, director of facilities and transportation, said enrolment projections for the coming year have not been done yet, noting kindergarten enrolment has just begun. However, he said if growth continues and with no indication of capital-works funding from the province coming to the district, the only way to accommodate more students in the short term would be in portables. Trustees discussed last night a report that includes provincial government spending by school district from the 2002 to 2015 school years. That compilation shows Kamloops ranked 73rd of the 93 districts, a reality that does not sit with board chair Meghan Wade. She said the board is “very understanding” of the need for seismic upgrades to schools on the Coast, “That’s a given, but not all of the projects have been for that,” Wade said. Noting money has been given to other districts in the Interior, Wade said she will be talking with Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone and with people in the Ministry of Education about SD73’s needs. Wade said one reason the district may not be getting attention from the government is because of the strong financial position the board is in and the work it has done to keep aging buildings in good repair.
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