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A Kamloops Blazer and his historic link to the squad Page A27
THURSDAY
Thursday, February 13, 2014 X Volume 27 No. 12
THIS WEEK
Crash claims life of Jennifer Swan By Dale Bass
dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
Staff and students at Beattie School of the Arts elementary campus are coming to terms with the death of Grade 2 teacher Jennifer Swan.
Beattie teacher Jennifer Swan touched many lives, with many people posting their thoughts online at kamloopsthisweek.com. A sampling: “Such a tragic loss. Mrs. Swan was my son’s teacher two years and she was by far his favourite. She truly loved teaching and made an impact on everyone she interacted with. She was a lovely soul and was taken far too early. My heart goes out to her boys and husband at this time.” — Heather Bohay “A lovely person, a fantastic teacher and a role model for many. Her smile and kindness will be dearly missed. Heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking. A husband has been widowed and two precious children are left without a mother.” — Brenda Walsh
Thompson River Publications Partnership Ltd.
Doctor: Killer of kids poses great risk
School mourns death of beloved teacher STAFF REPORTER
The Kamloops Players want you to come see their one-act creations Page B1
Swan, 43, died in a traffic accident on Highway 1 between Chilliwack and Hope when the 2007 minivan in which she was a passenger crashed near the Peters Road interchange. The accident occurred on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 10. KamloopsThompson school district Supt. Terry Sullivan said counsellors are at the McGill Road school this week. Sullivan said Swan was involved in the creation of the fine-arts school, coming from Langley to speak to the parent group behind the initiative. A dance instructor, she was hired by the school district to join the school’s staff. “The students form K [kindergarten] to Grade 12 would all know her,” Sullivan said. “This is a terrible tragedy.” Swan was in the district’s leadershipdevelopment program and known for her dynamic approach to teaching. “We lost a piece of our future as a district,” Sullivan said. Swan is survived by her husband and two children, ages eight and 11.
A lawyer acting for the proprietor of a Kamloops marijuana compassion club raided by RCMP in November 2011 has filed a constitutional challenge against the law, arguing it prevents those prescribed medical marijuana from accessing a safe and tested drug. The constitutional challenge has been filed in provincial court in the case of Carl Anderson and Wesley Jenkins, both of whom face charges of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking after police found about three kilograms of pot on the premises. The challenge is slated to be heard in provincial court on March 3. The trials of the two men begin on Monday, Feb. 17. “Every other plant is governed by the Food and Drug Act regulations,” said lawyer Shawn Buckley.
X See DEATH A10
X See POT-LAW A10
By Dene Moore
CANADIAN PRESS
CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE BEGINS By Cam Fortems STAFF REPORTER
cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
PORT COQUITLAM — A former Merritt man who was found not criminally responsible for killing his three children poses too great a risk to be allowed into the community, a psychiatrist told a review hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The board has reserved decision following the hearing. Allan Schoenborn is applying for escorted absences from a psychiatric hospital near Vancouver, nearly six years after he killed his three kids at their home in Merritt. The crime prompted a manhunt in the woods surrounding the community and ended when Schoenborn was found by a local hunter. Dr. Marcel Hediger told a B.C. Review Board hearing that Schoenborn hasn’t suffered from delusional symptoms for three years and has not been involved in any significant violent incidents during the past year. However, Hediger added, Schoenborn has been the victim of violence while in the hospital and has had angry outbursts, including one
ALLAN SCHOENBORN: Murdered his three children in Merritt in 2008.
a few days ago when he threatened to smash in another patient’s face. Given these incidents occurred in the lowstress, highly managed environment of a psychiatric hospital, Hediger said he is concerned about what could happen if Schoenborn is allowed into the unpredictable environment of the outside world. “The main issue at this point is the risk of violence and the risk of a violent incident,’’ Hediger said. Schoenborn’s lawyer, Scott Hicks, also stressed there has been “no evidence of significant violence in a number of years.’’ Schoenborn stabbed his daughter Kaitlynne, 10, and then smothered his sons, eight-year-old Max and five-year-old Cordon, in April 2008. X See SCHOENBORN A6
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