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Bear breaking into houses

The Whistler RCMP are asking all residents - but especially residents living in Blueberry, Alta Vista and Brio - to lock their doors and not leave any food or garbage laying around.

The Whistler RCMP are asking all residents - but especially residents living in Blueberry, Alta Vista and Brio - to lock their doors and not leave any food or garbage laying around. They believe the same bear may have broken into at least two houses last week, opening unlocked doors to gain entry.

The first incident was reported on July 7 at 10 p.m. on the 2600 block of Whistler Road. Residents returned home after leaving the house for a short period of time to find a bear in their kitchen. They left immediately and called the RCMP, but the bear left soon after and was gone by the time the police arrived on the scene.

It's likely the same bear - described as large with a blue tag on one ear and a green tag on the other - broke into a home on Archibald Way on July 11 at around 11:45 a.m. Again, the resident had stepped out for a brief period, and came home to find a black bear in her kitchen. She retreated to the bathroom, opened the window and made her escape. The RCMP arrived as the bear was leaving the house and tracked it as it fled south towards the beach at Lakeside Park.

Other homes have been broken into as well.

Conservation Officers have installed a trap in the area for the bear, but residents are being warned to make an effort to remove bear attractants like food and garbage from their homes and properties, and to report any bears that are acting aggressively or getting too close to homes.

"When a bear gets into homes, to say it's a concern is an understatement," said Sergeant Shawn LeMay of the Whistler RCMP. "We run the risk of someone getting hurt or killed if they run into a conflict with a bear."

Stolen pickup truck recovered

A family from California will be getting their truck back after it was taken from the Blackcomb Benchlands area on the morning of July 6.

The vehicle was discovered in the early hours of July 9 with the assistance of Langley RCMP and RCMP Air Services after another vehicle that was part of the province's Bait Car Program was taken. The RCMP followed the stolen Bait Car and observed the pickup truck following it at a close distance, leading the police to believe that the two drivers were working together.

A 42-year-old female and 34-year-old male, both from Vancouver, are facing charges of possession of stolen property.

Sometimes hungover equals impaired, say police

Cases of impaired drivers continued to pile up over the weekend with four additional arrests - including one man who thought he slept it off.

At 2 a.m. on Saturday, July 10 the RCMP were performing a road safety checkstop at Highway 99 and Hillcrest when one of the vehicles came to the attention of officers. The female driver refused to provide a breath sample as required by law and now faces charges of impaired driving and refusal on top of a 90-day driving suspension.

A second checkstop resulted in four 24-hour driving prohibitions, three for alcohol and one for drugs.

Later that morning, at 8:30 a.m., the RCMP stopped a vehicle leaving the Marketplace area when they suspected the driver might be under the influence. After stopping the vehicle they detected signs of impairment and the driver was subsequently brought back to the detachment to provide samples. He provided samples of 0.2 and 0.19, over twice the legal limit - despite the fact that he had finished drinking several hours before.

A 56-year-old male from Alberta is now facing charges of impaired driving and driving over 0.08 per cent blood alcohol content.

"It's pretty common," said Sergeant Shawn LeMay of the Whistler RCMP. "You finish drinking at 2 a.m. and the bar closes, you leave your car parked and maybe go home or to an after party and have another drink - snooze a few hours and then get up because you have to get to work or don't want a (parking) ticket. You get a friend to drive you in. But there's no way you should be getting behind the wheel of a car."

Sgt. LeMay says the average person processes alcohol at a rate of about 0.015 per cent per hour. If you have a blood alcohol content of 0.200 per cent, it can take up to 12 hours to sober up completely, and at least six hours to be within your legal limit - which is dropping from 0.08 currently to 0.05 in the fall.

In terms of your reaction time and driving ability, the impact of being hung over is the same as drinking and driving, Sgt. LeMay says.

Sgt. LeMay would also like drivers to consider the fact that most people won't play a sport after having just one drink because it impairs their reaction time and abilities, but still believe they can drive.

If that's not enough to encourage people to change their behaviour, Sgt. LeMay is asking people to consider the financial implications. He pointed to a recent case involving a woman caught for impaired driving in Whistler on the May long weekend. She was assessed a fine of $1,000 and received a one-year driving prohibition. She was also responsible for the cost of a tow and her own legal fees. Penalties are also going up when the province's tough new impaired driving laws come into effect.

In that light, Sgt. LeMay encourages people to think of a $20 cab fare as an investment rather than an additional cost.

The two additional impaired driving charges were at 11:55 p.m. on Saturday evening, and just 25 minutes later on Sunday morning. The first was at a checkstop at Highway 99 at Nicklaus North, where a 28-year-old resident of Pemberton provided samples of 0.120 and 0.110. The next was at Hillcrest and Highway 99 involving a 32-year-old resident of Vancouver who provided readings of 0.180 per cent. Both are facing charges of impaired driving and driving over 0.08.