Man who found RCMP spy cam wants compensation

Posted on 22. Nov, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

Last week it came out the RCMP had placed a motion-triggered camera outside a Kootenay man’s home. Now he wants compensation from the police, reports Cassandra Chin for the Nelson Star.

Dion Nordick was living in Grand Forks when he found the camera, the same kind as those used by hunters to track game in the wild.

RCMP surveillance cameras found with crime-scene photos

Posted on 16. Nov, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

A former Grand Forks resident seized two RCMP surveillance cameras aimed at his home and found photos from police crime scenes, including a body, reports the CBC.

Missing man headed to Nelson

Posted on 14. Nov, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks, Nelson

The RCMP are asking for the public’s help to find a man hitchhiking from Vancouver to Nelson, last seen in the Grand Forks area, reports the Grand Forks Gazette.

Randy James Neilson was last seen in Grand Forks on Saturday, Oct. 1, possibly on the side of the highway a week later. He’s believed to be headed for Nelson.

Interfor plans upgrades to Grand Forks, Castlegar mills

Posted on 03. Nov, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Castlegar, Grand Forks

Interfor announced $21 million in upgrades to their mills in Grand Forks and Castlegar.

The news, made in their quarterly release, says they’ll add a new log line in Grand Forks ($19 million) and an automated lumber grading system in Castlegar ($5 million).

Hospital records not up to standards in Rooney case

Posted on 27. Oct, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

An independent report into the care Owen Rooney received at Grand Forks’ hospital says records of the missing man’s stay weren’t up to standards, reports Karl Yu for the Grand Forks Gazette.

Rooney had been assaulted outside of Grand Forks and went to the hospital for care. The Patient Care Quality Review Board looked into the care Rooney received and had some criticism for what they found.

Bear sightings up as winter approaches

Posted on 20. Oct, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

Residents in the Grand Forks area are seeing bears more often and police ask the public to be careful with their garbage, reports Cassandra Chin for the Grand Forks Gazette.

Chin interviewed one man who chased a bear off his front yard one day and the next night his wife saw two more. He’s worried about the children in his neighbourhood.

17 bears shot near Christina Lake

Posted on 21. Sep, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

Conservation officers shot 17 black bears around Christina Lake this year, three times the usual tally, and conservation officers expect most were the bears fed by a local man, reports the CBC.

Last year Allen Piche made international headlines when police discovered dozens of black bears around his property. They were investigating a marijuana grow op around the area when the bears were discovered and the bears were dubbed “pot bears.”

Midway mill saved

Posted on 30. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

A last-minute loan from a local credit union saved the Midway at risk of failing before it could even re-open its doors, reports Karl Yu for the Grand Forks Gazette.

The mill was closed four years ago and a local organization came up with a plan to get the mill and its 50 jobs operating once more. A one million dollar debt due this month, nearly ended that dream however. Organizers hoped to raise the money through investors but they couldn’t pull it off.

Struggling Midway mill accepts first logs

Posted on 24. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

The wood is rolling into a Midway mill fighting to stay afloat, reports Pat Kelly of the Boundary Creek Times, but whether the efforts to raise one million dollars to keep the project going is uncertain.

Earlier this month it came out the community-driven effort to revive the mill could fail if organizers can’t raise the money to pay back a loan.

Police still looking for Owen Rooney

Posted on 16. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

One year ago on August 14, 2010, Australian native Owen Kiernan Rooney disappeared and was never heard from again. His family has devoted their time, energy and life savings in trying to locate Owen or determine where he may have headed. He was last seen at the Grand Forks Hospital on that day he mysteriously vanished.