Kamloops This Week Feb 3, 2015

Page 1

KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK TUESDAY

kamloopsthisweek.com kamloopsthisweek kamthisweek

30 CENTS AT NEWSSTANDS

|

FEBRUARY 3, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 15

WEATHER Sun and clouds High 4 C Low -2 C

SUN PEAKS SNOW REPORT Mid-mountain: 122 cm Alpine: 150 cm Snow phone: 250-578-7232

TASTE THE MIDDLE EAST

GALA LA A SALUTES E ES THE ARTS T TS

Ooh! Kabsa offers city a unique menu

Celebration — and awards

A4

A14

Cpl. Michaud returns to RIH

STORM WARNING

Kamloops Storm forward Brayden Dale chases the puck into the corner in weekend Kootenay International Junior Hockey League action on McArthur Island. The Storm defeated Chase 5-0 in this game on Friday, Jan. 30, and knocked off visiting Sicamous 3-1 the next night. The wins gave Kamloops an eight-point lead over Chase as the Storm remain first in the Doug Birks Division. For more on the Storm and the rest of the sports scene, turn to page A17.

TIM PETRUK STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com

An RCMP corporal critically injured in a shooting while conducting a traffic stop in December is back in Kamloops. Jean-Rene Michaud was transferred back to Royal Inland Hospital over the weekend after spending more than a month receiving care at a facility in the Lower Mainland. The 41-year-old was shot after pulling over a vehicle in Batchelor Heights in the early-morning hours of Dec. 3. Michaud underwent multiple surgeries at RIH following the shooting and was airlifted to a Vancouver-area hospital for treatment on Dec. 23 after his condition deteriorated. The shooting sparked an intense manhunt lasting more than 12 hours, eventually resulting in the arrest of Ken Knutson — a 36-year-old who is now facing a raft of charges, including CPL. JEAN-RENE MICHAUD attempted murder. A convicted killer with a lengthy criminal history, Knutson remains in custody at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre. He is due back in Kamloops provincial court on Feb. 12 for a potential bail hearing. Mounties have not provided an update on Michaud’s condition other than to say he has been transferred back to Kamloops. Last week, his wife issued a statement in which she said her husband is expected to overcome his injuries and in which she thanked the RCMP and the community for their support. The shooting has prompted an internal RCMP investigation, which is running parallel to the criminal probe of the incident. Similar internal investigations were launched after RCMP officers were shot in Moncton last summer and in Mayerthorpe, Alta., in 2005.

REPORT PROMPTS INSPECTIONS CAM FORTEMS STAFF REPORTER cam@kamloopsthisweek.com

KGHM Ajax will investigate the material beneath its historic Afton tailings dam west of Kamloops following release of the province’s Mount Polley disaster investigation. The report into the collapse of the mine’s dam and subsequent flood of millions of litres water and sediment into Quesnel Lake was released on Friday, Jan. 30, and found an unstable clay layer beneath the dam became overstressed. That instability led to the breach that flowed into the lake, the Quesnel River and, eventually, the Fraser River. The Ministry of Energy and Mines has ordered all permit holders with tailings facilities to provide details by June 30 on the geology and soils beneath their dams. “If those materials are present, the letters must also confirm whether sufficient inves-

tigations and testing were completed to properly understand the strength and location of those materials and that the dams were designed to account for those conditions,” said a statement from the province. The B.C. Liberal government will also require establishment of tailings dam review boards, something already in place at Highland Valley Copper. KGHM Ajax is responsible for the historic Afton mine tailings dam, a result of a land swap. Its facility is rated as “extreme” for impacts in the event of a failure, particularly loss of life from a downstream trailer park on the Trans-Canada Highway, as well as lower farms. In an emailed statement to KTW, an official said engineers will study the material beneath the dam and release the results in the coming months. The panel also recommended new

Buy An RV & Spin For Amazing Prizes

Valentine Sale

The Place for Everything RV

ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW

SM

mines in this province use dry-stack tailings storage, something that was in KGHM’s first mining plan for Ajax, but abandoned in favour of a conventional dam in its reworked proposal south of Aberdeen. The company declined to make a company official available yesterday (Feb. 2) for an interview on the subject, saying it wants time to review the report. At Highland Valley Copper, which also has tailings ponds rated as extreme for damage and loss of life from failure, a spokeswoman said the operation excavated material to improve dam safety years ago. The mine has a number of tailings facilities upstream of Spences Bridge and the Thompson River. The updated dam-inundation study for Afton’s tailings dam determined a wave in the event of a breach would eventually reach Kamloops Lake.

DL: #40065

1 866-964-8837 FRASERWAY.com 1300 Chief Louis Way, Kamloops, BC


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Kamloops This Week Feb 3, 2015 by KamloopsThisWeek - Issuu