Officials say free ride for squatters costs the environment
Human waste, unattended fires and toxic litter often accompanies seasonal squatters in the Boundary. It happens every year -- people who are down on their luck set up house along a river bank or in the bush to save themselves rent and utility costs while the weather is good. Their activity may seem harmless enough but it is...
Grand Forks B & B owners held responsible for human rights violation
A gay couple from Vancouver was awarded over $4500 for discrimination in a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision yesterday after being refused Grand Forks accommodations in 2009. The decision, by Tribunal member Enid Marion, found that Les and Susan Molnar, operating the Riverbend Bed and Breakfast business at the time, were...
Mayor to meet with CBSA over Canada Day comments
Grand Forks mayor Brian Taylor will be meeting with officials from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) after comments he made during his annual Canada Day speech this year. Taylor openly criticized the CBSA for being too tough on American tourists and locals, thereby making the border crossing experience a “frightening”...
Local man in custody after broad-daylight sexual assault in downtown Trail
A sexual assault in downtown Trail in the middle of the afternoon this weekend saw police identify and arrest a suspect within hours of the incident, according to RCMP Sgt. Rob Hawton. “On Sunday …at approximately 1:50 p.m., a young lady in her late teens was sitting on a bench on Cedar Avenue in Trail, when she was approached...
Hail and slush cause logging truck to sideswipe minivan
A logging truck sideswiped a minivan after losing control on the slush that covered Highway 3 around the Mud Lake area – just east of the Paulson Bridge – at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 3. “That was ugly weather,” said Trail RCMP sergeant Rob Hawthon. “(The bad weather) was not unusual but not to that extent. You’re at a pretty...
POLICE: Grand Forks woman identified as drowning victim
The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a woman whose body was found floating in Okanagan Lake near Kelowna on June 19. She is Melissa Joy Van Diemen, aged 34, originally from Grand Forks, but most recently living in Kelowna. Ms. Van Diemen was last seen swimming in Okanagan Lake behind City Park on June 13. The...
COURT BRIEFS: UPDATED - Grand Forks man charged in Midway bombing
Ian Jason Peregoodoff, 43 of Grand Forks, has been charged with two counts of arson and damage to private property and two counts of mischief after allegedly bottle bombing the Midway RCMP Detachment and police vehicle on Monday, June 18. Peregoodoff remains in police custody appeared in the Nelson provincial court on Wednesday,...
Local lawlessness on the rise...sort of
Crime in Rossland was up in 2011 from 2010 according to statistics recently released by the RCMP, but Sgt. Rob Hawton of the Trail RCMP pointed out the numbers are fairly small, so real trends are difficult to identify. "Not a whole lot stood out," Hawton said. "We don't want to say it's insignificant, but the numbers are...
Christopher James Cusack charged in Grand Forks Hotel fire
Grand Forks resident, Christopher James Cusack, 47, has been charged with two counts of arson endangering life in connection with the fires at the Grand Forks Hotel and the Winnipeg Hotel in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 7. Within two hours of the fires being reported, Grand Forks RCMP had Cusack in custody and...
POLICE BEAT: Thief caught and sent packing to Trail
A 26-year-old man from Trail was caught by Grand Forks RCMP after a rash of petty break-ins and thefts had Riverside residents feeling uneasy. Zachery Shobolm arrived in Grand Forks around Thursday, Jan. 12 according to Grand Forks RCMP. By Sunday, Jan. 15 he had allegedly commited his first crime and by Friday, Jan. 20 Grand...
