Piikani Nation RCMP have advised that Lillian Scout has been located and is safe.
ORIGINAL POST: Sept. 4, 2023
Piikani Nation RCMP has requested assistance from the public in locating Lillian Kathleen Scout.
The 43-year-old woman was last seen in the Brocket area on about Aug. 4, 2023, and there is concern for her well-being.
Lillian Scout is described as being 5′ 5″ and about 200 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes, and a heart tattoo on her right thumb.
If you have any information regarding Lillian’s whereabouts, please contact Piikani Nation RCMP at 403-965-2001 or your local police.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com, or by using the P3 app available through the Apple App or Google Play stores.
Fort Macleod RCMP have arrested two youths in connection with an incident of vandalism during a Pride event at the historic Empress Theatre.
Last Saturday, the Fort Macleod Pride Committee hosted a drag show at the Empress Theatre as part of the town’s annual Pride celebrations.
Just 10 minutes into the show, audience members began to notice what Denise Joel, who chairs the Empress board, called a “very unpleasant, putrid smell.”
Unbeknownst to those in attendance, a group of youths had begun pouring a noxious black liquid out of a glass container onto the floor.
“They were sitting in the back, and there was no sign that there would be any trouble. All of a sudden, we started to smell something quite unpleasant. Initially, people thought someone had set off a stink bomb,” Joel said.
“They had this container hidden in a bag, and they were leaking that substance onto the floor, beneath their seats, then they got up to leave and continued to leak that substance onto the carpet. When they reached the foyer, they smashed the entire contents of this jar onto the floor.”
Police, having been made aware of the disturbance, were quick to apprehend two suspects as they attempted to flee the scene.
Initially, police were informed that a smoke bomb had been discharged in the theatre, but investigation later revealed that fisher and marten lure oil had been used.
Due to online backlash regarding scheduled Pride events, the town had a heavy police presence during Pride festivities, making this act of vandalism a bold one.
“It didn’t happen just randomly, that’s certainly apparent,” Joel said.
“It was targeted, it was meant to happen at that specific event, and I think that’s very concerning. There is absolutely no place for this kind of act.”
The theatre announced on its social media pages that it will be closed until further notice, while the extent of damages is determined.
“A big part of the issue is that it’s a historic theatre, a lot of what’s damaged is of historic significance, so we’re just ensuring that everything can be cleaned appropriately and properly. We hope, obviously, it can all be restored quickly,” Joel said.
The same day as the Empress incident, another act of vandalism targeting a Pride event was carried out when the community flagpole and Pride flag were torn down and burned.
In the wake of the incidents, both the Empress Theatre and Fort Macleod Pride have received unwavering support from the general public through messages, donations and more.
In a statement issued by the Town of Fort Macleod, members of town council condemned what they referred to as “heinous actions.”
Both the Empress Theatre and Fort Macleod Pride have since issued statements thanking everyone who has stood by them and offered their support.
“The Empress has always been, and will always continue to be, a safe and inclusive place for all. Please remember: Love always wins,” says an online statement from the theatre.
The Empress says it will work with local RCMP, the Town of Fort Macleod and other authorities to identify the best way to move forward.
The two incidents remain under investigation by RCMP.
Lethbridge Police Service has reported that Sheena Empringham, her three-year-old son Atreyu and her boyfriend have been located and are safe.
“The trio were found south of Lethbridge by HALO Air Ambulance,” reports LPS.
Thanks are extended to all involved in the collaborative investigation.
Police advise that no further information will be released.
Original article
Police in Lethbridge are asking for the public’s help in finding a 38-year-old Stavely woman and her son.
Sheena Empringham and her three-year-old, Atreyu, were reportedly “floating down” a southern Alberta river some time Sunday with an unidentified man, believed to be her boyfriend.
A text message from Sheena’s cellphone, to a family member, said they were looking for ammolite.
Authorities, however, have been unable to validate the details or the man’s identity.
In a social media posting Tuesday, police did confirm the first of two texts came Sunday and asked to be picked up south of Lethbridge but didn’t indicate which river or the exact pickup point.
The text message also stated they’d run out of food and water.
“On Aug. 28 (Monday), the family member received another text message saying Sheena’s phone had died but she still needed a ride. She indicated she’d call the relative at 3 p.m. with more information,” the Lethbridge Police Service Facebook post went on to say.
There’s been no contact since that followup text message.
“Police believe the trio were dropped off at their starting point by a friend, but so far the friend has not been identified,” the post said.
While no river was identified, Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services’ water rescue team carried out a search Monday night along the Oldman River, where it’s thought there could be concentrated deposits of ammolite.
Monday’s search ended with no results when river levels became too low for the rescue vessel to continue.
An aerial search by a drone and efforts by RCMP to canvas nearby properties and campgrounds have also failed to produce any leads.
It’s now been deemed as a missing persons case.
Anyone who may have seen Sheena or Atreyu is asked to contact Lethbridge police at 403-328-4444 (reference file 23020508) or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
A 37-year-old man from Brooks has died following a drowning incident on the upper portion of Waterton Lakes.
Indications from the scene are the man was swimming with family Tuesday afternoon when he ran into trouble.
“Police attended and found multiple people performing CPR on an unconscious male,” says Sgt. Ryan Hodge of the Pincher Creek RCMP.
“Unfortunately, the man was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
Hodge says one of those to perform CPR was a medical doctor. Police and EMS from Pincher Creek were called out just after 4 p.m.
“From what we can tell, the person wasn’t a strong swimmer and they got into water they weren’t comfortable in. Whether it was a panic situation, we’re not sure,” he adds.
The lake, though, is known for strong undercurrents.
As temperatures climb to the upper 30s this week, many will head to nearby rivers and lakes to stay cool. RCMP recommends we practise water safety whether swimming or boating.
“Respect the water. If you’re not a strong swimmer stay in a depth of water you’re comfortable in … that you can stand up in,” suggests Hodge.
“It is also a cold lake so it can steal a lot of strength from you.”
Since August 2020, Alberta RCMP have offered online reporting for theft and vandalism. While traditional in-person or telephone reporting is still an option, online reporting is a convenient way for people to contact police and get them involved faster.
“From the standpoint of property crime, say like stolen bicycles or items out of a yard, it speeds up the process for the individual reporting it,” says Cpl. Marty Reed of the Pincher Creek detachment.
“Officers often get tied up on other matters, so it can take several hours to a day or two to even respond to the call.”
Online reporting is available 24-7, though it is offered only for items under $5,000 that have been lost or stolen. Victims of vandalism can also submit a report if the cost to repair the damage is less than $5,000. Thefts over $5,000 can be reported only by oil, telecommunications and utility companies.
The online system will only process crimes that were committed within the jurisdiction of Alberta RCMP. Additionally, crimes involving a witness or suspect cannot be reported online, along with thefts involving personal identity, firearms, licence plates or decals.
All online reports will be followed up with a phone call from a police officer within five business days.
Although online reporting is offered only for smaller theft and vandalism crimes, reports submitted to the RCMP online will be investigated the same as any other crime reported any other way. The reports also help police identify where they are needed and provide information that can guide future patrols.
To avoid duplicate files, only victims are able to report crime online. Although there isn’t a way to track a report once submitted, individuals can follow up with their report by calling 1-855-565-7555 or emailing kocr-selc-information@rcmp-grc.gc.ca and providing the reference number they received when they submitted their online report.
One day after Red Deer RCMP requested public assistance to locate Beverly Lampert and Richard Vanderbroek, police advised that the couple had been located deceased.
This followed a statement made June 30 by the Red Deer RCMP requesting public assistance locating the couple, last seen June 21.
Lampert, 63, and Vanderbroek, 82, were believed to be travelling to Cranbrook, B.C.
Concern for their well-being was raised after the couple were not heard from after an expected return date of June 25.
They were located deceased July 1 near Highway 22 in the Crowsnest Pass area north of Lundbreck. An autopsy July 4 suggested no foul play, police said, but their deaths remain under investigation.
The emergency department of Pincher Creek Health Centre will close Saturday, July 1, at 8 a.m. and reopen Monday, July 3, at 8 a.m.
The temporary closure is the result of a physician shortage to cover the department over the weekend, and regular 24-hour service will resume Monday morning.
Inpatient care will be provided by nursing staff, who will have access to physician support by phone.
In the event of a medical emergency, Alberta Health Services advises residents and visitors to the community to call 911. Pincher Creek Emergency Services will respond as usual and facilitate transfers to neighbouring sites as necessary.
Emergency services are also available at the health centres in Crowsnest Pass, Fort Macleod and Cardston, as well as at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge.
Non-emergency support is also available by calling Health Link at 811, and AHS advises that “individuals requiring non-emergency medical care are also encouraged to call their family physician.”
Unsafe speeds increase the risk of collision and serious injury for all road users.
Unfortunately, this traffic safety violation is a common habit among many drivers. Last year, there were about 70,580 speeding-related offences in Alberta RCMP jurisdiction, with officers issuing 5,220 speeding tickets in April 2021 alone.
Don’t be a speedster. Remember the following when out on the roads this spring:
—The faster you go, the longer it takes you to stop. Speeding affects your ability to come to a quick stop in the event of an unexpected traffic hazard.
—Always drive to conditions. Posted limits indicate the maximum legal speed permitted in ideal conditions (Government of Alberta, 2022). Alberta’s road and weather conditions are unpredictable; ensure you adjust your speed accordingly.
—Give yourself a few extra minutes. Allowing extra time to get to your destination helps to avoid feeling rushed in traffic.
—Be aware of speed limits in playground and construction zones. These areas often have high pedestrian traffic. You must slow down.
“According to Alberta Transportation, more than half of all fatal collisions involving unsafe speeds occur in rural areas,” says Insp. Chris Romanchych of Alberta RCMP Traffic Services.
“We want our communities to feel safe out on our province’s roadways. Speed shouldn’t be the reason a loved one doesn’t make it home.”
For more traffic safety information, follow us on Facebook (@RCMPinAlberta) and Twitter (@RCMPAlberta).
Speaking to town council March 27, Hodge assured Mayor Don Anderberg that he’d notify town hall if the detachment anticipated a staffing crunch.
“If officers don’t come in from out-of-area, the [Pincher Creek] detachment would have to fill in,” Hodge said, qualifying that it was too soon to tell.
The detachment typically aims to post two Mounties in Waterton Park at all times throughout the summer. Six Mounties were cycled through in pairs last summer, with the detachment occasionally filling in.
“There were definitely periods where we had to supplement [coverage in Waterton] with our own officers, but that was kept to a very minimum level,” Hodge told council.
It’s not hard to attract Mounties who are willing to spend a summer in the park. The challenge, Hodge explained, is freeing up Mounties from their home detachments.
“Provincewide, we’re finding that resource levels are low and it’s tough to get officers released so that they can come down and work for us.”
Mounties from Fort Vermilion and High Prairie have already expressed interest in policing Waterton this summer, according to Hodge. At the same time, the detachment commander said he was in talks with Cardston RCMP about potentially pooling resources.
In the meantime, Hodge said, the detachment was “definitely feeling an impact” in the absence of the town’s former peace officers.
Mounties are being called to respond to complaints about dogs, many of which fall outside the scope of police work.
“We’ll always respond to dog attacks, but we don’t deal with stray dogs or complaints about dogs chasing deer through town. Our officers don’t have the training or the time for that,” Hodge advised council.
“We’re in the process of filling positions for two bylaw officers,” Mayor Anderberg replied. “We don’t have anyone in place right now, but that’s in the works.”
Ranchlands Victim Services, the only 24-hour crisis unit in Alberta, is looking for volunteers who can devote time to assisting victims of crime and tragedy with their short-term needs.
In partnership with the RCMP and additional co-partners, RVS provides victims with emotional support, practical assistance and referrals to community resources for continued support.
According to Shelly-Anne Dennis, executive program manager, the organization has recently experienced increased demand for their services, requiring more volunteers to provide victims with support.
“We’re seeing more cases of domestic violence and sexual assault, which means a greater need for our services,” she says.
Volunteers typically go out to crisis calls and may provide court support, accompaniment, transportation and other means of assisting victims.
Supporting the communities of Pincher Creek, Crowsnest Pass, Fort Macleod, Claresholm and Piikani Nation, RVS emphasizes the provision of a co-ordinated, skilled and efficient response to victims of traumatic events.
“Being able to administer trauma support to victims of crime and tragedy in our community is a very crucial and beneficial service,” Dennis says.
The RCMP often rely on RVS staff and volunteers to provide support to victims and their families, while they focus on potential offenders, particularly in cases of criminal activity.
Part of the struggle to find volunteers comes with the rigorous background check that each potential volunteer or staff member of RVS has to go through to be accepted.
“You have to pass an enhanced security clearance, which is the same clearance as an RCMP officer, so it’s a very strict background check,” Dennis says
Employees and volunteers of RVS have a level of security clearance that exposes them to police files that they must keep confidential. A thorough background check is crucial in ensuring someone is suited to sign on.
These background checks are meant not only to look for criminal history, but also to look for anything that could affect work credibility or re-traumatize someone who was once a victim themself.
This could include a recent history of domestic violence, assault or financial stressors.
In time, Dennis hopes RVS can get more volunteers to maintain a full unit to service and support our communities.
“I’m pretty passionate about this job — it isn’t just a job to me. I love helping people and the work I do to help said people,” she says.
“We hope that our work decreases the amount of trauma that people have to go through and that eventually, with the proper help, they could move back into a normal lifestyle sooner.”
If you wish to become a volunteer with RVS, the advocate application is available online at ranchlandsvictimservices.com.
First responders have shut down Highway 3 near the Village of Cowley following a multiple-car pile-up. Pincher Creek Emergency Services announced the closure shortly before 11 a.m., citing the need to protect service members.
Details are sparse at this point, and Shootin’ the Breeze is awaiting comment from PCES Chief Pat Neumann as well as Pincher Creek RCMP.
PCES reported a multi-car collision on the highway at Pincher Station late Wednesday night. Shootin’ the Breeze is awaiting comment on that incident as well.
Emergency Services are recommending that motorists avoid Highway 3 between Pincher Station and Cowley.
A small crowd of people filtered through the doors of MD council chambers on April 12, chattering excitedly, filling the room with more noise than it had seen in years, to witness local resident Dave Friesen receive a certificate of appreciation for his significant contributions to society and his service to the RCMP.
Flanked by friends and family members, Dave Friesen, age 93, made his way to the front of the room and accepted the certificate from Reeve Rick Lemire, as onlookers applauded and cameras flashed. Coun. Harold Hollingshead, who first proposed the idea of the ceremony, shook his hand.
Friesen was an exceptional RCMP officer, dedicating his life to pursuing justice for victims of residential schools, at a time when many were content to ignore uncomfortable truths. He was a trailblazer, who, back in the late 1950s, started one of the first-known investigations into a residential school predator — possibly the only such RCMP investigation made prior to the 1980s.
In 1957, Friesen was transferred to Watson Lake, Yukon, where he investigated cases of sexual abuse involving a staff member at a residential school in northern British Columbia and Indigenous boys. He was relentless in his pursuit of justice, and thanks to his steadfast efforts, a dozen survivors were able to win their lawsuit against the school.
“Sixty-seven years later, these boys are vindicated. They spoke the truth and the truth came out. I appreciate what this council has accepted. Thank you very much,” said Friesen, addressing the crowd at council chambers.
Dave and Pat Friesen smile broadly on their wedding day. Photo courtesy of the Friesen family
Lower Post Indian Residential School
Friesen, a corporal, arrived in Watson Lake with his wife, Pat, newborn daughter Shannon and three-year-old daughter Trish. The newly built Lower Post Indian Residential School was located half an hour south of the community. Although it lay just across the border in northern B.C., it still fell within his jurisdiction.
It was run from 1951 to 1975 by the Catholic Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who operated 48 residential schools across the country, including the Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, where 751 unmarked graves were discovered, and the Kamloops Indian Residential School, where the probable gravesites of 200 Indigenous children were found, both last year.
At the time, Friesen was already well aware of the poverty many Indigenous Peoples faced, and he had no doubt that powerful institutions such as government and churches were seeking to erase Indigenous ways of life through cultural and religious assimilation.
Growing up in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg in the 1930s, he had many Métis friends and witnessed the ill treatment that befell them.
From 1952 to 1957, he worked in Whitehorse, and prior to that in rural Alberta near Cardston — communities where he came to believe the church had more sway and influence than the police. Friesen attributes this power imbalance to the fact that RCMP officers were often transferred frequently and were never able to spend much time in one place.
“We would spend two, three years at any detachment. The priests and the mission, they were there for 35, 40 years,” he explains.
Dave Friesen at his first RCMP post in Cardston, Alta., taken around 1950. Photo courtesy of the Friesen family
Friesen’s daughter Shannon, who grew up in remote northern communities has similar recollections.
“The church was the lord and master of the community. They were the law. They decided what did and did not happen in the community,” she says.
So great was the church’s influence, that Friesen deliberately avoided attending services because he didn’t want local Indigenous people to associate him with it.
From the outside, Lower Post looked like any other school: a modest rectangular-shaped brick building with stark white paint. But inside, children faced abuse and ill treatment.
At the time, over 100 Indigenous students attended, coming from 40 different communities across the Yukon and northern B.C. The area was home to Kaska Dena, an Athabascan-speaking ethnolinguistic First Nations group made up of five local bands.
Friesen had no way of knowing that abuse within residential schools was a Canada-wide issue at that time, but he was suspicious of one of the school’s employees, who he believed was a predator.
Ben Garand
The employee was 34-year-old Ben Garand, a lay brother who was the boys’ supervisor. As Friesen acquainted himself with the community, he caught wind of Garand’s disreputable reputation. Unsavoury rumours had led locals to nickname him “Backdoor Benny,” and, Friesen noted, he was almost always in the company of Indigenous boys, offering them rides in his Plymouth.
Friesen trailed Garand in his cruiser, monitoring all his activities, and for a while he was never able to charge him with anything. Opportunity came when he observed Garand leave the local liquor store with a few Indigenous boys in his car and head out on the highway towards his cottage in northern B.C.
Friesen followed them, planning to charge Garand for transporting alcohol across a provincial boundary. When he arrived at the cottage, he found Garand and four Indigenous boys with multiple bottles of liquor, and alcohol-related charges were laid against Garand.
In the days that followed, he interviewed the boys. Most of them were reluctant to talk, all save one, who recounted enough information for Friesen to lay a charge of indecent assault against Garand.
Friesen expanded his investigation, interviewing more than 30 students at the school. Many confirmed the rumours that Garand would often assault young boys at his cottage.
Once he had gathered enough information, he paid a visit to Father Yvon Levaque, principal of the school, to discuss the investigation. Friesen expected him to be sympathetic to his cause, but says that much to his surprise, Levaque admitted he’d known about the sexual abuse all along, but instead of reporting Garand to the police, the school had decided to fire him and keep things quiet.
“I wanted to protect the church and the school,” said Levaque, according to Mr. Friesen’s recollection.
Friesen was furious and stormed out of the school.
“That was my only interview with Father Levaque,” he says.
From that point forward, whenever Garand was released on bail, Friesen would charge him and lock him up again. By 1958, Garand had four counts of indecent assault against him.
A trial to convict Garand of sexual abuse was scheduled in Prince Rupert, B.C., for Dec. 9, 1958. The boys Friesen had found in the cabin planned to testify. Friesen and the Crown both thought there was a solid case against Garand, but the boys suddenly and inexplicably retracted their testimonies and the case was closed.
“One after the other, they went up to the stand and wouldn’t testify,” Friesen remembers.
Even more puzzling to Friesen was the fact that none of the boys’ parents would talk either. He began to suspect that Levaque or someone else at the school had threatened them to keep them quiet, but he was never able to prove it.
“A lot of people, they just turned a blind eye without a second thought,” Shannon recalls. But with her father, “it was eating him up and it bothered him for years.”
Memories follow as Friesen moves on
Friesen and his family eventually left Watson Lake and served in many different Arctic communities, including Coppermine, Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith, but he never forgot the boys and the case continued to haunt him. He maintained a mistrust of church officials whenever they interacted with local Indigenous groups.
He remembers one incident in particular, in 1964, where three Indigenous boys escaped while being transferred to the Missionary of Holman Island in the Northwest Territories. Friesen was asked to find them, but he wanted no part in it and asked the church to send them home to their families.
“I said the best thing you can do is to get a hold of the diocese in Inuvik, charter a plane and pick the boys up and send them back,” he remembers.
In the end, the boys never returned to the school.
While living in Coppermine, N.W.T. — now called Kugluktuk —he found out that the local Anglican church was bribing Indigenous children by offering them skates in exchange for attending religious services. Friesen appealed to his friends in Manitoba and his brother-in-law in Saskatchewan to help him procure hockey equipment and he built his own rink, so the Indigenous children could skate without the pressure of religious assimilation.
Dave Friesen during his posting in Yellowknife. Photo courtesy of the Friesen family
Friesen and his family had a special relationship with local Inuit people.
“We would walk into a tent and they’d feed us and they’d entertain us,” Shannon says. “They’d tell us all these spiritual stories. They’re very spiritual people and you could feel it. They have this intuition built into them.”
Shannon recalls that her father would often be gone for weeks at a time, journeying across the Arctic by dog sled to police remote communities, and that the shaman, whose name was James, always knew when he was about to return.
“He’d stand on the beach and I’d say, ‘Dad’s coming!’ He knew and within an hour you’d see dad’s dog sled,” she says.
Friesen retired in 1973 and moved to the Cowley area shortly after, putting down roots at a farm in the Porcupine Hills, which he affectionately named Dunmovin.
An opportunity for justice
He never expected to revisit Garand’s case, but in December 1995, just before Christmas, he opened the Calgary Herald, only to find out that a lawyer from Whitehorse had launched a lawsuit on behalf of 12 Indigenous men who had attended the school in their youth. The lawyer was appealing for help to locate the documents of the original investigation.
Friesen contacted the lawyer and informed him to communicate with the Watson Lake RCMP in order to find the investigation documents. The RCMP responded to the lawyer within hours, and told him they already had a substantial file on Garand.
Const. Paul Richards, who was stationed in Watson Lake, told Friesen that two people had come forward in the early 1990s, naming Garand and another man — George Maczynski, who had taught at the school prior to Friesen’s arrival — as sexual offenders.
The two men were charged and a trial was scheduled in Terrace, B.C., in December 1995. Maczynski was sentenced to 17 years in prison for 28 counts of indecent assault and gross indecency, among many charges. Garand died of illness while imprisoned at Mountain Institution Penitentiary, and never faced trial.
While news of Garand’s death provided Friesen with little satisfaction, the lawsuit went ahead. The 12 Lower Post survivors sued the government, the church, Levaque, Garand and others for the abuse they faced, and the evidence that Friesen had meticulously compiled proved instrumental in the case.
It was one of the earliest known residential school lawsuits in Canadian history and the survivors were henceforth known as the Trailblazers.
It wasn’t until last year, however, that Mr. Friesen found out why the boys had withheld their testimonies. Patrick White, a journalist for the Globe and Mail who investigated the court case, found that the boys were told that if they took the stand, their lives would be threatened.
The Lower Post Indian Residential School ceased operation in 1975, after which it became a community administration building, but it was only last year that the Kaska Nation began its journey to healing.
Harlan Schilling, deputy chief of the Daylu Dena council, oversaw the demolition of the building in a ceremony last summer. The community has plans to build a new space on the grounds — a multi-use facility where locals can enjoy Indigenous cultural activities like beading, traditional storytelling and tea with the elders, and where survivors can heal and youth can learn the history of their people.
Kaska First Nation gave the local RCMP gifts of beaded orange-and-black tags that read Dene Ts’i-Négedī Koą, meaning “Helping People Build.” It replaced Kaska’s former pejorative for the RCMP, which was “takers of children.”
This message was restated on the certificate of appreciation the MD council gave to Mr. Friesen.
“Yours was one of the first steps to take us from where we were, to where we stand today, and will not be forgotten,” it read. “We have moved from ‘takers of children’ to ‘Helping People Build,’ because of individuals such as yourself. Well done sir.”
MD of Pincher Creek councillor Harold Hollingshead, left, and Reeve Rick Lemire present a certificate of appreciation to David Friesen in council chambers on April 12, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Friesen family
Editor’s note: Dave Friesen passed away June 10, 2022, three weeks after this article was published. View obituary.
He was also posthumously awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in December 2022. Read article.
This article was first published in the May 18 issue of Shootin’ the Breeze.
Fort Macleod RCMP are looking for a Brocket man charged in connection with a highway collision that killed his young son last fall.
Ryan Scott Potts, 38, was allegedly drunk behind the wheel when his Dodge Caravan collided with a semi-trailer at the intersection of Highways 2 and 3 late Friday, Oct. 21, according to Cpl. Paul Bedard.
Potts was driving with his five and seven-year-old sons when the Dodge collided with the semi’s trailer. All three were rushed to Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge, where Bedard said the boys were treated with “serious, life-threatening injuries” and then transported to hospital in Calgary.
Tragically, the five-year-old died of his injuries, but his older brother survived and was later discharged.
Potts was too badly injured to give a breath sample at the scene of the wreck, but Bedard said a toxicology screen showed that his blood-alcohol level was around 0.238 shortly after the collision.
The legal driving limit in Alberta is 0.08.
Potts was charged in December with nine offences related to the collision. Mounties are looking to arrest Potts, current whereabouts unknown, for the following offences:
—Impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing death
—Impaired operation of motor vehicle causing bodily harm
—Impaired operation of motor vehicle
—Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death
—Dangerous operation of motor vehicle causing bodily harm
—Operation of motor vehicle while prohibited
—Criminal negligence causing death
—Criminal negligence causing bodily harm
—Driving an uninsured motor vehicle
Anyone who knows where to find Potts is asked to call Fort Macleod RCMP at 403-553-7220 or phone Crimestoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). Tips can also be sent online at www.P3Tips.com or by cell phone using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
If adopted, the Sovereignty Act will forever change how Alberta functions inside or outside of Canada.
There has been a lot of press coverage of the Sovereignty Act over the past few months. It was a major plank in Danielle Smith’s campaign to become leader of the UCP.
As we all know, Danielle won with just over 60,000 votes, in a province with more than four million citizens. With that as a mandate, she took over as premier, and has embarked on a program that will fundamentally alter the relationship of Alberta with the rest of Canada.
The premier had repeatedly asked that the Sovereignty Act not be judged until it had been tabled in the legislature. That happened last week, and there were some surprises in the package the government submitted.
Taking the premier at her word, I read the act carefully, and was surprised. I am not a lawyer, but I cannot help but think most members of the cabinet must have skipped the high school classes on how our democracy works.
The first and most important point is that you rarely get everything you want. You have to be gracious when you win, and accept it when there are outcomes you are unhappy with.
Canada and its laws are not a smorgasbord. You do not get to pick and choose the laws that you like, and ignore the ones you do not like.
If you believe a law, any law, is wrong, there are ways to express your views. The most serious is to take the law to court, and to abide by the ruling.
If we adopt a pick-and-choose approach, things start to fall apart. If the provincial government can ignore certain laws, why couldn’t a city do the same thing to provincial laws? Indeed, why would a private citizen be required to follow a law that disadvantaged them?
The situation gets even more complex when you note that Bill 1 would allow the provincial government to rule against things that have not even happened. The language in the bill allows government to act against any perceived intention by the federal government to do something.
A basic aspect of our laws is that we cannot be convicted for simply thinking about doing something illegal. Even talking about doing something is not usually a crime. In Bill 1, that assumption of innocence seems to have been forgotten.
Our system also requires that the legislature have an opportunity to debate changes to laws. Bill 1, as written, will allow cabinet to make laws and proclaim them, without any debate in the legislature. Those laws are in force for up to two years, and can then be renewed without legislature debate for a further two years.
There are news reports that the bill will now be amended to remove the lawmaking portions. This raises the question of why the bill was introduced with that language in it. Do the politicians not read their own legislation? Or was it a power grab that they hoped no one would notice?
Neither option is reassuring. In one reading, they are just incompetent. In the other, they are dictators-in-waiting.
So, we have a bill that will allow a small number of legislators to try and cancel a national law. It further allows cabinet to direct a large number of other bodies, including your local hospital, police force and the whole educational system, to also ignore federal law.
There appears to be no consideration of the degree to which at least some of those bodies must interact with the federal government, and that interaction requires the bodies to follow federal rules.
I find it disturbing that there does not appear to have been consideration of what the federal response to Bill 1 might be. There seems to be an assumption that the federal response will be either a legal challenge or nothing. However, that may be incorrect, as there are many actions that Ottawa could take that would have dramatic impacts on Alberta.
The premier has been loud in her demands that the Canadian government stay out of areas of provincial jurisdiction. Exactly what that might mean has not been spelled out, but there are some obvious areas where dramatic change might happen.
Health care is a provincial responsibility under our Constitution. Despite that, there are multiple shared-cost programs, where the provinces receive federal dollars to help deliver programs. If Ottawa stopped their cost-share, Alberta would lose several billion from the health budget.
The UCP government has vigorously promoted a provincial police force. They admit that would cost tens of millions of dollars more than the current arrangement. They also note that it would take several years to set up a completely new force. But, the current contract allows either party to cancel on two years’ notice. If Ottawa simply exercised that option, Alberta might have a very hard time replacing the RCMP by 2025.
Many students receive scholarships and similar support from federal bodies, especially at the university level. The universities and such also receive large sums from the federal government. If Ottawa decided that since education is a provincial responsibility they would stop their financial contributions, many students and institutions would be in serious trouble.
There will also be economic impacts. No large company is likely to start or expand operations where two levels of government are in a fierce battle. If there is an alternative place to invest, they will likely avoid Alberta until things are sorted out.
In short, this bill, if adopted, will forever change how Alberta functions inside or outside of Canada. If Ms. Smith really wants to make such sweeping changes, she should at least wait until after we have an election.
Alan Garbutt Resident of Cowley, Alberta
Shootin’ the Breeze welcomes submissions about local issues and activities. Personal views expressed in Mailbox articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect views of Shootin’ the Breeze management and staff.
Piikani Nation RCMP advise that Krystal Red Young Man has been located and is safe.
Original Post – Dec. 2
RCMP seek public assistance to locate missing woman
Krystal Red Young Man of Piikani Nation was last seen Nov. 20, 2022, and there is concern for her well-being.
Krystal is described as being 5’1″ and 130 pounds, with a slim build. She has brown hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion.
When last seen, Krystal was wearing black jeans, a black sweater and a black jacket, along with grey shoes.
If you have seen Krystal Red Young Man, or have information about her whereabouts, please contact Piikani RCMP at 403-965-2000.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
Three people have been charged in connection with a weekend break-in at a public works yard in the village of Cowley. A fourth suspect remains at large, according to Sgt. Ryan Hodge, commanding officer at Pincher Creek RCMP.
Mounties arrested the trio Monday on Highway 3 near Pincher Station, roughly a day after two men allegedly stole keys and hand tools from the works yard at 518 Railway Ave. in Cowley.
Two Fort Macleod men, aged 50 and 21, are charged with breaking and entering and possession of stolen property.
“There was quite a bit of property recovered,” Hodge said Tuesday.
A third suspect, a 21-year-old woman from Fort Macleod, was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.
The 50-year-old suspect was in police custody as of Tuesday morning, held on a number of outstanding charges and arrest warrants. The second man was released Tuesday, following a telephone hearing through Pincher Creek provincial court. The female suspect was also released.
Hodge said Mounties are looking for the fourth suspect, another Fort Macleod woman who is believed to have been involved in Sunday’s break-in.
Hodge praised Monday’s arrests as the result of a combined investigation by the Pincher Creek detachment, Taber RCMP and Taber Police Services, Lethbridge Police Services and Fort Macleod RCMP.
“The only way to catch (the suspects) was to co-operate. We’re always co-operating,” Hodge said.
Mounties are investigating an alleged rental fraud after a Pincher Creek homeowner found her home was listed on a rental website without permission.
The homeowner phoned police in early November, after multiple people turned up at her address, wanting to view the property. One hopeful renter reportedly put down a damage deposit through an online money transfer.
Investigators later found at least two other area homes were being advertised on the website without their owners’ permission, according to Const. Brooke Riding, investigating officer at Pincher Creek RCMP.
“We think this has been happening for months prior to that,” she told Shootin’ the Breeze.
Riding declined to name the website, explaining that police don’t believe its operators had been involved. The website has since removed all three suspicious listings, Sgt. Ryan Hodge said.
Riding declined to say if police have identified any suspects, citing the need to protect the detachment’s ongoing investigation.
Rental frauds rely on people’s willingness to send unseen landlords money online, something Riding strongly advises against.
Carefully research a rental property to make sure it’s legitimate, and always insist on viewing a rental before agreeing to send any money, she suggests.
Anyone with knowledge of the alleged fraud is encouraged to call Pincher Creek RCMP’s non-emergency line at 403-627-6010, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
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An Alberta man is dead after a fiery highway crash Monday, Nov. 21, involving a semi-trailer near the British Columbia border.
Elk Valley RCMP’s Sgt. Gregory Brad said police were called to the wreck on Highway 3, roughly 12 kilometres east of Sparwood, B.C., at around 6:30 p.m.
The deceased is a 52-year-old Coleman man whose westbound Honda Civic crossed the centre line, hitting the eastbound semi on a winding section of the two-lane highway.
Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.
“Any time a Civic goes up against a semi, it ends up in tragedy,” Brad said, adding that neither vehicle was carrying any passengers.
Mounties believe icy conditions likely contributed to the collision, having ruled out dangerous driving and alcohol and drugs.
Both vehicles had certified winter tires, Brad said.
The semi’s trailer caught fire after the crash, leaving Sparwood firefighters to battle the flames until around 10:30 p.m.
The highway was reopened in both directions when police left shortly thereafter.
The semi driver, a B.C. man, was taken to hospital in Sparwood for observation. He was soon discharged, having sustained no serious injuries.
Historic buildings play an important role in the cultural identity of a community. As buildings age and their initial uses get transferred to modern facilities, however, rising maintenance costs can bring up questions about how much maintaining cultural identity is worth.
Such was the conversation about Hillcrest’s Fire Station 4 during Crowsnest Pass council’s Oct. 18 regular meeting. Administration brought the topic forward with the recommendation that council close the firehall due to the facility not meeting current fire protection standards, specifically in equipment requirements and staffing levels.
Only two volunteers man the station. One works a mining shift schedule and the other is in their late 70s and has reduced work function. The Fire Underwriters Survey, a fire insurance statistical group, states the minimum staff level for a station to be recognized is 10 personnel.
On top of requiring considerable upkeep and operating costs, the aging hall also is unable to house a front-line fire engine. Currently, the only firefighting truck is a 2001 Ford Type 6 brush/wildland truck that is past its end of life.
Emergency services calls to Hillcrest are serviced from Station 3 in Bellevue. Closing the Hillcrest station would not affect Hillcrest’s emergency or fire protection.
Closing the hall, said CAO Patrick Thomas, would allow the municipality to utilize the building and the respective funds in a more meaningful way, but would in no way be meant as a slight against the legacy of the facility.
“First and foremost, no one wants to go and put forth that there is not an immense appreciation for the years of service that have come out of that hall,” he said.
“That is not the intent, to try and put any slight against that. This is more looking at it from a business sense. It’s essentially just running as a hall on paper and nothing more.”
Though recognizing the financial commitment to the hall did not result in any additional advantages to the municipality’s fire response, Coun. Lisa Sygutek said keeping the hall open would carry a deeper meaning than monetary value could communicate.
“Sometimes there’s things you just do because it’s the right thing to do,” she said.
“It shouldn’t have a cost price attached to it. This is a community that has nothing left in it — it has the Hillcrest Fish and Game, it’s got the Miners Club, and it’s got a facility that matters to them. It matters to them for their perceived safety.”
“Even if we don’t feel that it matters to their safety, for them, it matters for their safety,” Sygtuek continued.
“There’s right things to do and wrong things to do, in my opinion, and in this situation we are removing so many things from the community in such a short period of time, I’m just not willing to do this one.”
Coun. Vicki Kubik agreed.
“As it is, I get the financial part of it, but I also understand the connection that people have that gives them that sense of community, and a fire hall can be an important part of that,” she said.
“The general consensus when I meet with the constituents in that area is they would be really offended to have the firehall closed. They perceive it to be something that speaks to their safety.”
“I wonder if they just don’t even know that there’s nothing in that hall that would service them,” Kubik added.
“There is a lot of concern expressed about the railroad tracks and how long it would take for them to receive service if they needed it. Just on principle alone, given what the constituents in that area have told me, I can’t in good conscience vote in favour of closing the Hillcrest firehall either.”
Although still reliant on Bellevue, Coun. Doreen Glavin said, previous experience showed a station in Hillcrest could make a difference when a life was on the line.
“I know in one instance they didn’t do that [wait for help from Bellevue] and they went and helped with a heart attack patient. And whether it be medical or even a vehicle accident, I would feel better with having it closed if the personnel that live in that community can respond without having to go to the fire station first before they acted on whatever the emergency situation would be,” she said.
“I’m really concerned, we see it all the time with CP Rail, [where] that train is stuck on the tracks.”
Sentiments aside, however, the fact remained: the station did not have enough staff or the right equipment to provide an acceptable level of emergency service.
“Maybe what administration needs to do is to put it out to the public and say, ‘Hey look, these are the options: if we can’t get volunteers from this community to be members of the fire department, we are going to be forced to close this hall,’ ” said Mayor Blair Painter. “Lay it out in black and white and see if anybody steps forward.”
Apart from volunteers, the major issue was lack of equipment, said Coun. Dave Filipuzzi.
“Even if you recruited six people in the Hillcrest area — what are they going to do? There’s not going to be no equipment there,” he said. “You’re still going to have to go to either Bellevue or Blairmore.”
“I mean you’re going to a hall that’s got nothing in it. Even if you got 20 people from Hillcrest, it’s still got no value,” Filipuzzi continued.
“Other than you know what, the value that it’s got, is that ‘Hey we still got the Hillcrest firehall. Even though it’s falling down around us, we’ve got a nice rock outside and we got a nice thing outside and this looks great.’ But the value of it — think of the value of it. Does it have value to the community? No, it don’t.”
Closing Station 4, he said, would mean the municipality could repurpose it to fulfil another need. “It’s not like we’re just going to go there and plow it over,” he said.
Keeping the hall open, added Mayor Painter, would mean ignoring the facts of the issue and the logical course of action for the municipality to take as a whole.
“You’re not thinking with your head, you’re thinking with your heart. And that’s not always in the best interest of the community,” he said.
Council eventually voted not to close Station 4.
At the request of Coun. Sygutek, a recorded vote was taken. Mayor Painter and Couns. Filipuzzi and Girhiny voted in favour of closing the hall, while Couns. Sygutek, Kubik, Glavin and Ward opposed its closure.
A truck stolen from Coleman, a car and licence plate stolen from Coalhurst, and a licence plate stolen from Nanton were recovered Oct. 20 by members of the Southern Alberta District RCMP Crime Reduction Unit and Coaldale RCMP. A black generator, also believed to be stolen, and a number of jerry cans were recovered as well.
The investigation also resulted in the seizure of weapons, methamphetamine, cannabis and fentanyl.
The 29-year-old Coleman woman is charged with two counts of possession of stolen property and a 24-year-old man is charged with two counts of possession of stolen property, failing to comply with a release order, possession of a prohibited weapon and failure to comply with a prohibited-weapon order.
Both are scheduled to appear Dec. 1 in Lethbridge provincial court.
Another 24-year-old man was arrested on six outstanding warrants along with new charges of possession of stolen property and failure to comply with release order. He was remanded in custody after a judicial hearing and will appear in Lethbridge provincial court Oct. 27.
The fourth individual, a 29-year-old man from Lethbridge, is charged with two counts of possession of stolen property, two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and operation of a motor vehicle while prohibited. He was released from custody following a judicial hearing and will appear Dec. 1 in Lethbridge provincial court.
As all persons are presumed innocent until convicted in court, Shootin’ the Breeze includes names of the accused only when there is a specific need for the public to know.
The Crime Reduction Unit extends thanks to rural residents who allowed unit members to conduct surveillance from their properties.
Alberta RCMP encourage the public and business owners to report any criminal or suspicious activity. Reports tell RCMP where to look, who to look for and where to patrol in the future.
If you see a crime in progress, dial 911. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477, visiting www.P3Tips.com or by using the P3 Tips app.
