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kamloopsthisweek.com kamloopsthisweek kamthisweek
WEDNESDAY
FEBRARY 19, 2020 | Volume 33 No. 15
WEATHER Sunny High 4 C Low -6 C SNOW REPORT Sun Peaks Resort Mid-mountain: 197 cm Alpine: 220 cm Harper Mountain Total snow: 239 cm
MEMORIAL CUP MEMORIES
Pick up this Friday’s edition of KTW, inside of which wll be a special edition marking the 25th anniversary of the Kamloops Blazers’ run of three national titles in four years
THE 2020 B.C. BUDGET
LOGAN’S HOT RUN
Grants for students and a new tax on sugary drinks
Sixteen-year-old Blazer has a remarkable weekend
SPORTS/A21
NEWS/A5
No word yet on why TNRD boss resigned post
Lawyer Michelle Stanford (left) and Thompson Rivers University law professor Ruby Dhand outside the Kamloops Law Courts. The pair is among a group working toward establishing a mental-health court locally. DAVE EAGLES/KTW
SUKH GILL WAS ON PAID LEAVE FOR TWO WEEKS BEFORE QUITTING ON FEB. 14 JESSICA WALLACE
STAFF REPORTER
jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
ON A MISSION FOR A MENTAL-HEALTH COURT TIM PETRUK STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
A
defence lawyer and a Thompson Rivers University law professor are hoping their idea for a mental-health court in Kamloops could eventually effect change not just in the city, but across B.C. “Oftentimes, we see people with mental-health issues and addictions, they don’t
have that support, they don’t have those resources,” Ruby Dhand, a TRU law professor and one of the driving forces behind the idea, told KTW. “There’s been so much stigma and it’s led to the criminalization of mental-health issues. I think there are a number of reasons we have to ensure there are more specialized courts like this and, specifically, more mental-health courts.” Dhand has been working with Michelle
Stanford, a city defence lawyer, in putting together a plan they hope will lead to a new court in Kamloops for accused people with mental-health and addictions issues. “We see a lot of mental-health clients being incarcerated at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre and it being a revolving door,” Stanford said. “We thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way.’”
The Mercedes-Benz Snow Days Event
See COLLABORATION, A4
The head of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District was on paid leave for two weeks before resigning last Friday. Chief administrative officer Sukh Gill handed in his resignation, but there has been no explanation for his exit. An interim CAO will be appointed and a search will be done for a permanent replacement. Gill’s resgnation came just hours after KTW began inquiring about the fact he had been on paid leave
Sukh Gill was appointed CAO of the regional district in 2011.
for the previous two weeks. The board of directors is remaining mum on the issue and is refusing to divulge why Gill was on paid leave or why he has resigned. See GILL, A6
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