RCMP: Weekly beat
By Erin Perkins
Stolen guns, seasonal check stops and slick roads made a busy start to the holiday season for Grand Forks RCMP. Stolen guns and a suspicious person A break and enter and a suspicous incident left police looking for answers on Nov. 24. The first was a break and enter at 12:12 p.m. into a storage locker located off of a rental basement suite on 82nd Ave. A starter pistol and a BB gun along with a “quantity of ammunition” was stolen, said Grand Forks RCMP Staff Sergeant Jim Harrision. RCMP have no suspects at this time. The second was at 5:19 p.m. when police attended a report of trespass by night in a backyard on 80th Ave. The resident heard something in the backyard and confronted the suspect but the man ran away, said Harrison. “He may have been looking for a place to break in,” said Harrison. Check Stop takes three off the road Harrison was “not surprised” by the two roadside prohibitions and a 24 hour suspension given out during the two seasonal CounterAttack check stops implemented by RCMP this past weekend. “This time of year people are hitting the seasonal parties and not planning how to get home and this is what results,” he said. The first check stop resulted in one 90 day and one 30 day roadside prohibition with both vehicles being towed and impounded. The second check stop resulted in a 24 hour suspension and a towed vehicle for driving under the influence of drugs. Harrison said to expect more check stops throughout town and on the highway over this holiday season. Slick roads prove damaging Grand Forks RCMP attended two single motor vehicle accidents over the past week as a result of black ice. “During the early stages of winter with the first ice and snow we see a disproportionate number of accidents while people adjust to the new driving conditions,” said Harrison. “Later in the season the numbers diminish. Slow down and keep in mind you might not be used to driving in these conditions.” The first was on Nov. 23 at 9:44 p.m. when the 48-year-old female driver of a red van hit black ice and lost control of her vehicle on Hwy. 3 between Son Ranch Road and Phoenix Road. There was extensive damage to the front end of the vehicle but no one was injured. The second accident was on Nov. 24 at 6:58 p.m. at the intersection of Boundary Drive and Donaldson Drive when a 2008 Dodge pick-up truck hit black ice and struck and damaged a power pole. No one was injured but the front end of the truck was severely damaged, said Harrison. Stunt driving results in warning On Nov. 21 at 1:12 p.m. RCMP recieved a complaint that two vehicles were driving “doughnuts” around the parking lot at the Grand Forks Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ Community Centre (USCC). “Two individuals were located and warned accordingly,” said Harrison. The two males, in their early 20s, could have faced a much greater consequence. Since the province inacted a section of the Motor Vehicle Act last year, police can fine or even impound a car for stunt driving, said Harrison. There was also some mischief reported on Nov. 26 at 3:26 pm. at the Grand Forks Christian Centre on 4th Street where the stucco on the corner of the building was damaged either by accident or wilfully with a vehicle. If anyone has information about the open cases mentioned above, please contact the Grand Forks RCMP at 250-442-8288. Storage tent fire damages nearby building The Grand Forks Fire Department spent three hours dosing a storage tent and partial structure fire on 3rd Street, Nov. 29. The fire department was called out at 3:45 a.m. to put out a fire engulfing a handmade car-sized storage shelter. Before they could put the fire out, the shelter and all its contents were lost and a neighbouring vacant house was damaged, said Deputy Fire Chief Dale Heriot. The contents of the shed are unknown. Heriot estimates the building damage — which includes charred roof joists and siding on the northeast corner of the building — at about $5,000. No one was injured. The investigation is finished but the cause of the fire is yet unknown. Arson is not suspected.
Heriot said when storing things be organized and don’t just throw flammable objects likely oily rags into a bucket because some petroleum products can cause a reaction. Never leave a heater unattended.
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