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DE K A M L O O P S
KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK 1988
2013
THURSDAY
Thursday, May 2, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 35
Kamloops, B.C., Canada X 30 cents at Newsstands
THIS WEEK
Brendan Coulter’s no-hitter Page A19 Thompson River Publications Partnership Ltd.
Victim in arson attack was a cook at Sk’elep school By Dale Bass STAFF REPORTER dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
On Earth Day last month, the kids at Sk’elep School of Excellence were treated to a lunch of pizza, juice, water, cookies and fruit from the Tk’emlups Indian Band. So, Cheryl William, cook at the school, spent the day making lasagnas for lunch the next day. It was that kind of dedication — along with her “million-dollar smile” — that will fuel the memories of the staff and students at the school now mourning her death. William, 44, was removed from life support at Royal Inland Hospital on Monday, April 29. She had been taken there in serious condition on April 25 after her unconscious body was pulled from a burning house at 927 St. Paul St. Three other people in the three-suite house in downtown Kamloops escaped from the fire unharmed. School principal Garry Gottfriedson said William’s smile was what most everyone who met her spoke of when they met her. “She was an awesome woman, hardworking. In the last five years she missed one day of work,” he said. “She was very dedicated and will be missed for sure.” David Peter Gordon, 32, was arrested shortly after the fire started and has been charged with arson. He is scheduled to be in provincial court on Monday, May 6, for a bail hearing. CHERYL WILLIAM: The serious-crimes unit is investigatDied on April 29, four ing and is now treating the matter as days after St. Paul Street a homicide and will be meeting with home was set ablaze. Crown counsel on possible additional charges. An autopsy has yet to be scheduled. Firefighters and Mounties were called to the downtown Kamloops house at 2 a.m. on Thursday, April 25. On the day of the fire, Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Cheryl Bush said Gordon was a resident of the building, which has been divided into three suites. One is occupied by the landlord. Bush said Gordon and William were not associated, although it is likely they had met. Three people were in the building at the time of the blaze and two were able to escape. Damage was limited to the rear suite in the house. Although part of the roof showed some scorching, it remained intact. Police said the fire was contained in the unit, although two other units in the older building had smoke and water damage.
What’s Better Than 1 Butler?
2 Butlers!
HISTORIC HAUL FOR KAMLOOPS MOUNTIES Kamloops RCMP seized approximately a kilogram of methamphetamine, $5,000 in cash and various weapons as a result of a traffic stop on the Coquihalla Highway and a subsequent search of a North Shore home. It represented the largest-ever meth bust in Kamloops. The 63-year-old male driver was arrested at the scene. Turn to page A14 for the story and go online to kamloopsthisweek.com to watch video of the RCMP media briefing on the seizure. Dave Eagles/KTW
Bepple wants councillor pay review By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
After a decade of cost-ofliving increases, a Kamloops city councillor thinks it might be time for city leaders to look at giving themselves a more substantial raise. Coun. Nancy Bepple put forward a notice of motion this week, asking for a report on the paycheques of mayors and councils in comparable communities in B.C.
Bepple believes the job of being a councillor has expanded since council last looked at its pay rate in 2001. “We’re doing more in terms of community consultation, we’re more involved with external committees as well and there’s also city committees,” she said, pointing to the city’s budget process, which now takes 16 hours instead of two hours because of expanded community meetings. “The role of the council-
NANCY BEPPLE: Claims part-time job costs her up to $30K a year.
lors, the work has increased over the last number of
years,” Bepple said. In 2011, a committee recommended salaries for elected officials should rise by 30 per cent, which would have put the mayor’s salary at $75,000, up from $57,432. Councillors, then earning $16,779, would have made $22,500. Feeling that was too much of a jump, council instead opted to hitch its pay rate to the Vancouver Consumer Price Index. X See ONE-THIRD A16
Grand Opening May 2!
Full details on page A20