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Kamloops, B.C., Canada X 30 cents at Newsstands
Police on hunt for grave robbers Page A15
TUESDAY
Tuesday, April 29, 2014 X Volume 27 No. 49
THIS WEEK
Kamloops RiverDogs sending pair to Dominican Republic Page A19 Thompson River Publications Limited Partnership
Businesses blitzed by burglars By Jessica Wallace STAFF REPORTER
jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
BOOGYING OVER THE BRIDGE Looking like a line of red ants en route to the kitchen pantry, thousands of runners and walkers cross Overlanders Bridge on Sunday, April 27, in the CFJC Boogie The Bridge. For more on the annual event, turn to page A20 and go online to kamloopsthisweek.com. Allen Douglas/KTW
Gas-tax rules change gives city another funding option By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
A change to the rules surrounding the $3-million in gas-tax money the city receives each year will give Kamloops council another place to look for performing-arts centre funding. Previously, municipalities could use the federal funds only for public infrastructure programs, but a new agreement has opened up the field to include arts and sports facilities, airport improvements and a host of other project types. Most of this year’s gas-tax funds are already earmarked in Kamloops for pedestrian improvements on Todd Road in Barnhartvale and for an upgrade of
Windbreak Street in Brocklehurst. The city also used gas-tax revenue to create a reserve fund that will fund cycling and pedestrian projects. Mayor Peter Milobar said it is promising the federal government has relaxed the rules around the money but, at this point, he said it’s anyone’s guess whether gastax funds will be used to fund a performing-arts centre. “That’s for the council, if and when we get to the numbers stages, to start figuring out,” he said. “It’s an option in the tool box, but it doesn’t mean it will be acted upon for that project. It may be that we may want to use those funds for other projects.” If council did choose to use gas-tax funds to build a centre, it would have the
option of setting some or all of the funds aside in a reserve designated to the project. Municipalities can also borrow against the funds. Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod said the changes will give communities more flexibility while still encouraging them to revitalize their infrastructure. The city will take the next step on the performing-arts centre later this year when it hires a consultant to fine-tune its plans, including the centre’s location and design. Once that work is complete, the city will likely hold a referendum to seek permission to borrow the funds for the project.
In the past week, in locations across Kamloops, 12 businesses have been targeted in a rash of after-hours burglaries. Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Cheryl said seven of 12 break-and-enter attempts reported to police as of Monday, April 21, were successful, some of them resulting in theft. “This is an unusually high number of break-ins to occur within the city,” Bush said. “There are similarities in most of the cases and police are putting together a strategy to address this sudden increase in activity.” The attempts were made on a variety of businesses in all areas of the city between the times of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Bush said most have been in the Sahali area and entries were attempted or gained through damaging locks and/or breaking glass. “They were all businesses that were closed,” she said. Four of the cases occurred overnight in Valleyview, Sahali, the Mount Paul industrial area and Aberdeen. The Great Canadian Oil Change, Falcon Bowling Lanes, Kamloops Tirecraft and an undisclosed business in the City View shopping centre were targeted. The break-in attempt at Falcon Lanes in Valleyview at about 2:30 a.m. was unsuccessful, but two other businesses weren’t as lucky. Kamloops Tirecraft manager Graham O’Connor said video surveillance caught two hooded men breaking into the business just before midnight after punching out the front-door lock. “One guy circled my showroom,” he told KTW. “The other guy went straight for the till.” The suspects made off with the cash register, which contained about $100, but they left thousands of dollars in merchandise untouched, O’Connor said. Security officers arrived shortly after the incident. “I was expecting a lot more when I showed up this morning,” O’Connor said. The manager of the Great Canadian Oil Change described a similar incident. “They stole a cash register,” Kris Nichols told KTW. X See POLICE A5
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