Columbia Valley Pioneer - May 9, 2008

Sandy McIlwain off to Beijing

By Alex Cooper

Pioneer Staff

For Invermere resident Sandy McIlwain, the opportunity to spend seven weeks in Beijing promoting British Columbia is one he could not pass up.

“It’s one of those things that only comes up once,” he said. “The chance to spend seven weeks in Beijing and be promoting B.C., it just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Mr. McIlwain will be arriving in Beijing on June 11th as part of the second group of 54 B.C. public service workers working as hosts at the B.C.-Canada Pavilion, which is located in central Beijing near Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

While there, he will provide information on B.C. and Canadian geography, culture, arts, tourism, and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

He was one of 600 applicants, and said he was chosen because of his great knowledge of Canada.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to tell the world about where we live and what we do here,” he said.

He added that he’s looking forward to experiencing Chinese culture and visiting the tourist sites.

Mr. McIlwain is married to Roberta and has two children—Sam, 14 and Montanna, 11.

“My kids were very supportive and very excited at thought of me going over there,” he said.

He moved to Invermere more than ten years ago when an opportunity opened up at the Ministry of Children and Family Development, where he works as a supervisor.

“My wife had spent time here and really liked the area,” he said. “I’m really happy to be here and it’s a great place to bring up kids.”

He added that he will try to promote the Columbia Valley whenever he can while he’s in Beijing.

Meanwhile, a former valley resident is already in Beijing as part of the first group of public service employees working at the pavilion.

Iris Fodchuk Dube was born and raised in Invermere and graduated from David Th ompson Secondary School.

She spent 13 years working for the B.C. Forest Service and now works as an office manager for the Crown Council in Cranbrook.

She arrived in Beijing last month and so far has seen The Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Olympic Gardens. She was on hand for a visit by VIPs from the Canadian embassy on Sunday and the opening of the pavilion to the public.

Over 5,000 people are expected to visit the pavilion every day.

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A Day in Court

By Alex Cooper

Pioneer Staff

The following people were found guilty in Adult Criminal Court in Invermere on Tuesday, May 6th. Presiding was Judge Ron Webb.

• Ross V. Colins pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol. He was sentenced to three months in jail, 18 months on probation, and had his license suspended for three years.

The crown prosecutor told the court that on February 10th, 2007 at approximately 10:10 a.m. police received a complaint from a citizen of a white pick-up driving erratically.

Police found the vehicle in a parking lot and told both occupants to stop driving. The officer saw three cans of beer on the passenger side of the vehicle.

Thirty minutes later, the vehicle left the lot with Mr. Colins driving, and the officer arrested him. The prosecutor said Mr. Colins had been drinking all night and had a six-pack the morning of his arrest. He was too intoxicated to give a breath sample.

Mr. Colins told the court he did not recall the incident and accepted the circumstances.

The crown told the court Mr. Colins had six prior convictions, dating back to 1984. His last one was in 2001, in Golden.

Mr. Strahl, defending, said his client was divorced in 1993 and was estranged from his wife and two children because of his alcohol problems.

He came to Invermere in 2003 and now works full-time.

Mr. Strahl said his client began drinking at the age of 16 and that alcoholism had been a problem his whole adult life. He added that since a friend died in October 2007 from alcohol, his client has not been drinking.

Mr. Strahl said his client suffers from osteoarthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He said Mr. Colins suffers from depression and has been seeing

a counsellor for that for the past 3.5 years.

Mr. Strahl said that if Mr. Colins went to jail he would risk losing his employment and his residence.

Judge Webb said repeat offenders should expect extended jail sentences and the crown’s proposed sentence was woefully inadequate.

“It is a matter of good fortune nothing worse has happened,” he said.

The judge denied his request for ten days to pack up his belongings at his home before going to jail.

• Natalie M. Bennett, 22, from Fort McMurray, pleaded guilty to driving without reasonable consideration. She was fined $500, with a victim surcharge of $75.

The court heard that on March 22, 2007 at about 5:20 p.m. Ms. Bennett was spotted driving a green Chevrolet Monte Carlo south on highway 93 near Edgewater.

Crown witness Alan Richard Smith, a former police officer, said he saw the vehicle swerve several times, at one point almost going into the ditch, before the vehicle came to a stop beside the road, about two kilometres south of Edgewater.

Mr. Smith said he notified RCMP and Constable Rob Weaver was dispatched to the scene. He told the court he stopped Ms. Bennett on the highway and placed her under investigation.

Ms. Bennett said she was sorry and she had learned a valuable lesson from the incident.