By Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck

The past week Columbia Valley RCMP responded to about 50 calls for service. The following is a small sample of those calls.

Wood stove cause of fire

During the morning hours of November 23, Columbia Valley RCMP attended to a small structure fire within the town of Invermere. RCMP attends these calls, along with the jurisdiction’s fire department, to determine if there is any criminality involved with the fire. However, in this case, once RCMP arrived it was quickly determined that the Invermere Fire Department was able to contain the structure fire to a very old shed on a rental property. The cause of fire was linked to a wood stove.

Crash in national park

Later in the day on November 23, Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a single vehicle motor vehicle accident on Highway 93 about 33 km east of Radium Hot Springs in Kootenay National Park. RCMP immediately responded to the report and while en-route was advised by RCMP dispatch that the driver was already at the Columbia Valley RCMP detachment to provide the details of the incident. However, RCMP continued to the accident scene to conduct an investigation and ensure no one was injured. RCMP was able to determine that the blue 2007 Kia hatchback had been travelling east on Hwy. 93 and appeared to have lost control on one of the many bends in the highway. The temperature at the time of the accident was about -1 degrees Celsius and the highway was somewhat slippery. The vehicle ended up on its side on the north side of the highway and sustained minor damage to the right rear side of the vehicle and roof.  No one was injured and the driver was not charged.

Sleepy impaired driver loses licence for 90 days

On November 25, at about 8 p.m., RCMP was on routine patrol when they checked a parked Dodge Dakota pickup on Kootenay Road No. 3 at Highway 93/95 in Windermere. The truck had no plates on it and the driver was asleep in the driver’s seat. The vehicle key was in the ignition and it was very obvious that the operator had been drinking alcohol. When the driver was confronted by police it was noted that the driver stumbled trying to exit the vehicle. The investigator could smell an odor of liquor on the breath of the driver. The investigator then demanded the driver provide samples of breath and when the driver provided the roadside breath samples, they both registered a ‘FAIL’ indicating that the driver was impaired. The vehicle was seized and the driver lost their driver’s licence for 90 days. This is a great time to remind the residents of the Columbia Valley that the RCMP will be looking for impaired drivers more than ever as holiday parties are in full swing. Please do not drink and drive; there are a lot of great options to avoid losing your licence and vehicle.

Missing dog in Spilli

On November 28, at about 6:30 p.m., Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a lost or stolen three-year-old yellow Labrador dog named, ‘Lexi’ from Spillimacheen. The dog was last seen in the back yard that morning. RCMP responded to the report and spoke with the owner who advised that she had looked everywhere for her dog. The owner believes that the dog might have been taken as the gates on the back of the property were closed and her other dog had been left in the yard. If anyone has any information about this potential theft they are asked to call the detachment.

The past week saw the following statistics:

Three abandoned 911 calls;

Six calls to false building alarms;

Three motor vehicle incidents; and

Seven traffic complaints among the other calls for service.

Giving nature

I’d also like to take this opportunity to give a big “thank you” to all those people who stopped by the Canadian Tire and provided some toys to the Columbia Valley Christmas Bureau. The response to Cram the Cruiser was overwhelming and really displayed the giving nature of the people of Columbia Valley… again, thank you.

---

Article Share

---