A LIFE FOR
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THE BIRDS
THIS WEEK
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 X Volume 27 No. 70 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
Probe follows jumping death
Meet the Kamloops RareBirds: From left: Valerie MacKay-Greer, Allen Ciastko, Robyn and Dan Hines, Sandi Ceccon and dog Guujii. Andrea Klassen/KTW
By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
As the members of Kamloops’ new co-op home began to move into their custom-built West Battle Street property earlier this year, it became apparent there were going to be some questions the group of seven would have to answer. For one, whose couches would get to stay in the communal living room? And how do you downsize five households worth of kitchen equipment into
‘We can live in the community a lot longer by being in this kind of a supportive group environment.’ one set of cupboards? “This whole kitchen was chock-a-block,” recalls Robyn Hines from her seat on one of the three sofas in the house’s spacious openplan kitchen and living room. “We had couches stacked up, furniture lined up. Man, it was crazy. I remember
thinking, ‘Are we ever going to come to a place where we’re kind of organized?’” A little more than three months later, the furniture question has been mostly sorted out, though a basement room intended as studio space is still flush with unpacked boxes and unused chairs.
It’s as good a metaphor as any for the seven members of the co-op, which refers to itself as the Rare Birds, who admit that, despite the rewards, returning to roommate life well beyond their 20s hasn’t always been a smooth ride. The Birds got their start at the
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2011 Kamloops Film Festival, when Mary Jordan, Valerie MacKay-Greer and Allen Ciastko decided to take in a showing of the eco-documentary How to Boil a Frog, which included a look at co-operative housing in Vancouver. While the three had kicked around the idea of a housing co-op in Kamloops, the film inspired them to take the conversation more seriously and look for more interested members.
The death of a man who apparently jumped from the parkade at Royal Inland Hospital on Sunday, June 15, is being investigated by the province’s Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIOBC). The IIOBC is mandated to conduct investigations into officer-related incidents of death or serious harm in order to determine whether or not an officer may have committed an offence. “It’s not that there has been an allegation of wrongdoing,” IIOBC spokesman Owen Court said. “We’re there because the Police Act dictates we investigate.” Court said that, according to the Kamloops RCMP, shortly after 8 p.m. on Sunday, its officers were called to Royal Inland Hospital in response to a report of an 18-year-old man threatening to jump from the parkade. Court said officers were talking to the man when a physical altercation took place. The man broke free from the officers and reportedly jumped from the third level of the parkade He sustained serious injuries and was immediately hospitalized. but later died in hospital. Court said there is no timeline associated with the investigation. Nancy Serwo, interim administrator at RIH, said counselling is being provided to the family of the man and to staff who were involved in the situation. She said the hospital and the Interior Health Authority are co-operating with the IIOBC and RIH has begun its own review of the circumstances involving the man. “But, right now, our hearts go out to everyone was involved and especially the family,” she said.
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