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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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30 CENTS AT NEWSSTANDS
|
MAY 25, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 62
TODAY’S WEATHER
A QUARTER CENTURY ON LITTLE SHUSWAP
TRYING TO HELP MONICA
Quaaout Lodge is celebrating a big milestone
Rodeo fixture battling MS
Mainly cloudy High 21 C, Low 10 C
A17
A13
‘Shocking’ vandalism on the rise Douglas Lake B.C. SUPREME COURT
Crooks are stealing bronze and copper plaques from downtown properties
access trial moves to ranch
ANDREA KLASSEN
STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
M
cOAcH ✹ D&G ✹ BEBE
CAM FORTEMS STAFF REPORTER cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
iour, I would recommend they call the police,” he said. Putnam said each plaque will cost between $300 and $1,200 to replace, but it’s likely the city will use a different material which is less attractive to thieves.
Clad in a Douglas Lake Ranch-branded belt, white dress shirt and white cowboy hat, the manager of Canada’s largest privately held ranch stooped over to unlock a gate. “There’s a series of three locks,” Joe Gardner explained to the 10 people waiting to pass the gate that otherwise bars access to Minnie and Stoney lakes. Among those waiting was B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves. Rather than the usual robes used inside the courtroom, Groves was wearing jeans, a loosely buttoned dress shirt, hiking boots and aviator shades. The B.C. Supreme Court judge was joined by lawyers, members of the fish and game club and ranch employees for the day-long event. There are dozens or even hundreds of gates at Canada’s largest private ranch. But this gate — stopping the public from accessing two lakes sporting trophy sized rainbow trout — is at the heart of a lawsuit pitting Douglas Lake Cattle Co. against Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club. The case was argued for several weeks in B.C. Supreme Court earlier this year.
See THIEVES, A7
See ARGUMENTS, A6
DAVE EAGLES/KTW Several metal memorial and commemorative plaques have been stolen from downtown Kamloops in recent weeks.
ing it for the metal.” Putnam said more staff are being deployed in parks in the evenings and early mornings for the season, which will mean better monitoring of the plaques that remain. The city is also asking members of the public to call Kamloops RCMP or
Crimestoppers if they see suspicious behaviour in the parks. “Most city parks are actually closed to the public after 11 p.m. and before 5 a.m. so just a reminder to everyone that if you see someone in a park during those times, and it looks like suspicious behav-
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emorials to loved ones, Kamloops’ war dead and the city’s history have become the latest hot targets for thieves in the Tournament Capital. For more than two months, metal plaques — typically bronze or copper — have been disappearing from parks and properties downtown, said parks and civic facilities manager Jeff Putnam. “I’m losing count now, we’re up to over 20,” he said. The thefts include small pieces of metal on commemorative benches, the original 1940s plaque on the Memorial Arena and plaques on the Overlanders statue in front of City Hall and at the Riverside Cenotaph. “It’s shocking,” Putnam said. “It’s indiscriminate, it’s complete disregard for the heritage value or anything like that. To me it looks like organized crime and they’re steal-