KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK TUESDAY
LOCAL NEWS
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MARCH 28, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 37
WEATHER Cloudy, showers High 11 C Low 2 C
SUN PEAKS SNOW REPORT Mid-mountain: 203 cm Alpine: 236 cm Snow phone: 250-578-7232
A MUST-WIN GAME TONIGHT AT SANDMAN
MEMORIES OF RICHARD Celebration of life for author Richard Wagamese
Blazers down 2-0 to Kelowna in opening round of playoffs
A18
A23
ENLISTING WITH THE ‘A’ TEAM
Youngsters Lauren Hurley (left) and Natalie Heffernan enjoy an outing with Curious Minds Montessori during a recent visit with the “A” Team seniors recreation group at The Hamlets in Westsyde. Children put smiles on the seniors’ faces as they sang songs, ate snacks and interacted with the residents. DAVE EAGLES/KTW
Thursday forum on fentanyl at TRU Another public forum on fentanyl use will be held in Kamloops. WTF? What the Fentanyl? will be held this Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Barber Centre House of Learning at Thompson Rivers University. Dr. Mandy Manak of the Interior Chemical Dependency Office is teaming up with community partners and well as families whose lives have been changed by the fentanyl crisis to provide Kamloops-specific information on the dangers of opioid addiction. Naloxone kits will also be distributed at the forum. Naloxone is an antidote that tempo-
rarily reverses the effects of an overdose. Speakers at the forum will discuss a range of topics, including information on fentanyl and carfentanil, why they are so addictive, why they are dangerous, how prevalent they are and how they can impact even recreational users and their families. Speakers will also highlight where patients, as well as family and friends, can get help. The forum will be an open conversation that gives the public a chance to ask questions and interact with the speakers. Participants will also provide information on local resources.
Organizers say the forum is suitable for those ages 13 and older. As the number of overdose deaths in B.C. skyrocketed last year, the provincial government declared a public heath emergency. Nearly 1,000 overdose deaths were recorded provincewide in 2016 — the most ever in a calendar year — with fentanyl-laced drugs involved in many of the deaths. Statistics through the first two months of this year show the number of overdose deaths in B.C. at 219. In Kamloops, seven people died from overdoses in January and February.
Green leader can’t see Ajax approval ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver said his party will unveil a plan he believes could avoid the kind of conflict over resource development in B.C. seen around the proposed Ajax mine south of Kamloops. And, he said, restoring trust in environmental assessments and creating a more open process are key to avoiding community division of the kind Kamloops has experienced over the proposed Ajax copper and gold mine. “You have a community divided, you have a First Nation vehemently opposed,” Weaver said. “I can’t see the project going forward.” Weaver, in the city yesterday to address the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, discussed his party’s proposals to change how environmental assessments are conducted and environmental standards are enforced. “In this province, we have a problem that nothing gets done from a resource perspective and the reason nothing gets done is because we try to do things the way they were done 100 years ago,” Weaver said. “You cannot have big companies come in and market to a community, First Nations or otherwise, and say, ‘We know what’s good for you, we know what you need to do, it’ll bring jobs, yadda yadda.’” The Greens have yet to roll out the section of their platform dealing with environmental reviews, but Weaver said plans include creating an independent natural resources board, which will assume review and compliance functions now housed within provincial ministries. See WEAVER, A5
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