“It’s mainly old peeople here and it’s nott like theey’ree go oing g to o be arround here in a bit. They neeed to create jobs for th heir gra andkiids and d theeirr gra andkids after that, and this mine will open up abou ut 500 jobs for thee nex xt 20 yearss.” ” — JAMES S ARKO, TRU HEAVY-M MECHANICS S ST TUD DENT T
TUESDAY
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 76 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
Senior gets six-month driving ban By Tim Petruk STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
Emotions ran high in a Kamloops courtroom on Monday, Sept. 16, as an 86-year-old man was sentenced after pleading guilty to a charge stemming from a crash last year that left a young pedestrian with life-altering injuries. Merle Michels pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and was handed a $1,500 fine and a six-month driving prohibition. On Sept. 9, 2012, 19-year-old Chloe Demers-Ardiles was in a crosswalk at Fortune Drive and Leigh Road in North Kamloops when she was struck by Michels’ 1991 Pontiac Firefly. Witnesses told police Michels ran a red light. Demers-Ardiles was thrown 30 feet after being struck and was in a coma for two weeks following the incident. “There were no skid marks or any other evidence of evasive action,” said Crown prosecutor Steve Lawhead, reporting
the findings of an RCMP traffic-reconstruction investigator. “The officer was able to establish the speed of Mr. Michels’ vehicle being between 49 and 56 km/h.” The speed limit on that stretch of Fortune Drive is 60 km/h. Court heard Michels, who had not been prohibited from driving while his case was moving through the courts, has been driving on a daily basis since the crash. Lawhead said Demers-Ardiles will live with the consequences of her injuries for the rest of her life. “She will never be able to live on her own,” he said. “She’ll need assisted living for the rest of her life.” Demers-Ardiles’ father, Christian, tearfully read a victim-impact statement written by his daughter. “I’ve had to learn to breathe again and walk again and eat again,” the statement read. “And, at the same time, I’m trying to make sense of my life the way it is now. X See CIVIL SUIT A5
Thompson Rivers University first-year heavy-mechanics students Gerrad Tuttle (left), James Arko and Gavin McGraw sit atop a Hummer vehicle displaying their pro-Ajax position during the anti-Ajax protest at the Campus Activity Centre on Thursday, Sept. 12. Dave Eagles/KTW
Protest numbers match those at Ajax meetings By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
In about 60 minutes, a rally opposing the proposed Ajax copper and gold mine attracted as many people as did 16 hours of community meetings organized by the project’s proponent. As KGHM Ajax kicked off its final community-information session just after noon at Thompson Rivers University on Thursday, Sept, 12, about 200 people were massing outside the Campus Activity Centre, hoisting signs that read “stop Ajax mine,” “no Ajax” or, in the case of former provincial NDP candidate Kathy Kendall, “clean water is a human right.” The protest also attracted a group of trades students from the university, several of whom rolled up to the rally in a Hummer with an “I Support Ajax” bumper sticker affixed to the window. “I support Ajax!” several of them shouted, as Kamloops Moms for Clean Air head Gina Morris was wrapping up a speech on her concerns about the mine’s effects on the city’s air quality. “Good for you,” Morris responded, before continuing.
James Arko, a first-year heavy-mechanics student, said his class of 17 had decided to share their views after hearing about the protest. “I don’t really like it,” Arko said of the protest while perched on the Hummer’s roof. “It’s mainly old people here and it’s not like they’re going to be around here in a bit. They need to create jobs for their grandkids and their grandkids after that, and this mine will open up about 500 jobs for the next 20 years.” Inside the Campus Activity Centre, about 50 people were preparing for four hours of talks by experts conducting studies for KGHM as part of its application for environmental review. Company spokeswoman Robin Bartlett said turnout was similar all week, with a high of about 60 people for the first of the information sessions on Monday, Sept. 9. Bartlett said the turnout overall was lower than KGHM had expected. “We would like to see more people here, but we’ve been happy with the ones that have been able to get here and listen,” she said. Like previous Ajax open houses, the sessions didn’t answer definitive questions about the mine’s impact on the community. Some scientists who spoke at the open
houses told media they were still establishing baseline data for the Kamloops area and had yet to begin examining Ajax’s effect on residents and the environment. Bartlett said that may have contributed to the small turnout. “I think people were hoping to get results but, obviously, we can’t give them,” she said. “Though the ones that have come I think have been able to get a bit of new information.” Despite the low numbers, Bartlett said the company still plans to hold more information sessions in the future. “We want to be transparent and we want to give people the opportunity to learn about the project,” she said. KGHM wants to develop the mine on land immediately south of Aberdeen. Located partially within City of Kamloops boundaries and two kilometres from a pair of Aberdeen elementary schools, the operation would stretch west to the Coquihalla Highway and is part of the old Afton Mine site. If approved, the mine is expected to produce 2.5-billion pounds of copper and 2.7-million ounces of gold over its 23-year life span, according to a May 2010 feasibility study.
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