KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK TUESDAY
kamloopsthisweek.com kamloopsthisweek kamthisweek
30 CENTS AT NEWSSTANDS
|
APRIL 14, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 45
THEY LIKE THE ARTSCENTRE PLAN
TODAY’S WEATHER
Sun and clouds High 12 C Low -1 C
Area businesses say it will revitalize the neighbourhood
2141 IS SET TO STEAM AHEAD IN JUNE Heritage train has been off tracks since 2013
A3
A4
LUMBER JACK AND JILL
Lumberjack Darren Dean (left) and Thompson Rivers University business student Rochelle Delaronde team up to compete in a cross-cut saw competition as fellow lumberjack Stirling Hart calls out encouragement to the novice teammate. The Logger Sports Show end-of-classes event on Friday outside the Old Main Building showcased loggers from the West Coast Lumberjack Show.
Mitch Harlock succumbed to cancer on Sunday. He was 14.
In Kamloops and beyond, Mitch is remembered
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
DALE BASS
STAFF REPORTER
dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
If there’s another Nerf-gun war in Westsyde in the future, it will happen without Mitch Harlock. The Westsyde teen died on Sunday, April 12, after a four-year battle with cancer. Along the way, the Harlock family has shared their story with their family, friends, neighbours and an ever-growing extended family kept updated by the Mitchell’s Marathon Facebook page. On it, mom Gina documented her son’s ups and downs. See MITCH’S STORY, A2
WESTSYDE POOL MAY CLOSE FOR A YEAR Kamloops council will be asked today to close Westsyde Pool from June of this year until September of 2016 so the aging facility’s roof can be replaced. The projected cost to remove and replace the roof over the indoor pool is between $1.3 million and $2.1 million, depending if heating, ventilating and airconditioning upgrades are included in the project. A leak in January forced temporary closure of the pool, which resulted in a $30,000 repair job. The pool closes each year in July and August, when outdoor pools in McDonald Park and Brocklehurst open. According to a report from parks, recreation and cultural-services director Byron McCorkell, only the pool would be affected by the closure.
The rest of the building, including the fitness centre, change rooms, lobby, hot tub, sauna and steam rooms, would likely remain open. Following the January leak, RDH Building Engineering was brought in to examine what a permanent fix would entail. McCorkell said the investigation uncovered the failure of the vapour-barrier system (a caulked plywood-sheet system), that was installed when the building was constructed in the early 1970s. The warm, moist air impacted the main structural glue-laminated beams, the twoby-six ceiling joists, the metal support system and the ceiling materials to the point that they no longer function as intended and create a potential risk for occupants in the pool area. While the recommendation is to close
the pool for more than a year while the roof is fixed, council has been presented with a list of alternatives/options: • Close the pool area permanently; • Remove the roof and explore outdoorpool option and cost savings; • Consult with the public on an upgrade of the building as part of a planned roofreplacement project to identify potential new programs, services or revenue opportunities. If city council decides to go with the recommendation to fix the roof and close the pool until September of 2016, swimming lessons and aquatic programs will need to be moved to the Canada Games Pool at the Tournament Capital Centre. The city would save $170,000 during the closure based on operating costs of $300,000 and revenue of $130,000.
ORDER ONLINE DOMINOS.CA
CAM FORTEMS
STAFF REPORTER
cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
A 44-year-old father convicted in a second trial of beating his girlfriend to death with a hammer and hiding and later dumping her body has been given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 13 years, two years less than after his first trial. Robert Balbar was convicted in December in the beating death of Heather Hamill. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Arnold-Bailey’s ruling yesterday means Balbar will potentially serve two years less time in jail than was given after his first trial. After his first conviction in 2009, the sentencing judge ruled Balbar not be eligible for parole for 15 years. Balbar has been in jail for more than seven years, making him eligible for parole in 2021. “Mr. Balbar was aware of how vulnerable she was,” ArnoldBailey said. See BALBAR, A7
13
LARGE PIZZA $ ANY TOPPINGS
Balbar gets life sentence
99 + TAX
ORDER CODE: 4586
*SINGLE TOPPING PORTIONS ONLY
LIMITED TIME OFFER
VALLEYVIEW 250 374-3080 STREET, 1967 E. TRANS. CAN. HWY • NORTH KAMLOOPS 554-3030 724 SYDNEY AVE 3571 3 1 -VOGHT MERRITT, BC | 250 250-315-0123