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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK TUESDAY
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JANUARY 13, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 6
Accused killer will remain in custody
GWYNNE DYER
World
TIM PETRUK
WATCH
STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
Strategy of the Paris attacks
A
fter Ahmed Merabet, a French policeman, was killed outside the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris last week, his brother Malek said: “My brother was Muslim and he was killed by two terrorists, by two false Muslims. Islam is a religion of peace and love.” It was moving, but to say all Muslims who commit cruel and violent acts in God’s name are “false Muslims” is like saying the Crusaders who devastated the Middle East 900 years ago were “false Christians.” The Crusaders were real Christians. They believed that they were doing God’s will. See CIVIL WAR, A14
CITY SEEKS TO ERASE CROWS’ FEED ANDREA KLASSEN
STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
The skies are still when Toby Jackson leaves his home for his usual Tuesday morning walk with his dog, London. But, by the time the longtime Valleyview resident has gone two blocks, it’s clear he is being followed. Behind Jackson, a handful of crows swoop lazily between sets of power lines, sometimes circling as he stops to greet a neighbourhood cat or point out a squirrel. Jack’s bird escort began as an experiment several years back. Having read articles about the
See BIRD FEEDER, A6
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E o IN t.c NL r O so P e O sR SH ak e
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Jackson’s activities have attracted the crows to private property, creating a nuisance, an allegation he disputes. “I’m not attracting birds to a property, I’m attracting birds to me,” he says. Jackson says he doesn’t want to stop feeding the birds and, indeed, didn’t stop after his first $100 ticket in November or after receiving two more tickets that followed. “To me, it’s almost like I’ve been talking to one of my neighbours and someone comes along and says, ‘You can’t talk to them any more,’” he says. “Well, how’s the neighbour going to feel?”
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intelligence of birds, and crows in particular, Jackson decided to see if the birds in his neighbourhood could be trained to recognize him. On a typical Tuesday, Jackson would pause at a few points along the route to dole out peanuts or a few of London’s dog treats to his feathery companions. The experiment was a success — Jackson’s popularity with the birds makes that clear — but it’s come at a cost. He is now facing $300 in fines under the city’s animal-control bylaw. He will have his day in court on Jan. 29. Bylaw services contends
A Kamloops man accused of murdering a woman in a North Shore apartment building last month will remain behind bars for at least the next two months. Christopher Frank Butler was charged with second-degree murder after Deanne Wheeler was killed in a Cherry Avenue apartment on Dec. 30. Butler, 41, made a brief court appearance by video from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre (KRCC) on Monday, Jan. 12, at which time lawyers put his matter over to March. Butler has a brief criminal history, most recently a conviction for assault in September. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 37 days in jail and 18 months of probation, meaning he was on probation at the time he is alleged to have killed Wheeler. In 2012, Butler pleaded guilty to assault and breach, which earned him a 33-day stay in jail. The previous year, Butler was charged with extortion in Kelowna. He later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of criminal harassment and was sentenced to a five-month jail term, followed by two years of probation and a 10-year firearms ban. Police were called to the apartment complex at 435 Cherry Ave. just after 2 p.m. on Dec. 30. Butler was arrested a short time later and has been in custody at KRCC since. Mounties have not said how Wheeler, 26, was killed, but residents of the Cherry Avenue building told KTW they believe she was stabbed to death in unit 107, where Butler is believed to have lived. Butler is due back in Kamloops provincial court on March 9.
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