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A look back at 2013:

The year's most notable moments

In many ways 2013 was one for the record books. Whistler's planning went into high gear with information coming out of RMOW staff reports, such as the Economic Partnership Initiative report, which will lay the groundwork for growth and development for years to come. We also saw record-breaking visitor numbers, with the summer of 2013 smashing all the previous numbers recorded. As the resort headed toward winter the story on everyone's lips was the $18 million upgrades to the Harmony and Crystal regions of Whistler Blackcomb.

The resort also faced challenges too — and as we head into 2014 the weather might just be one of them.

As Pique looks back at some of the issues, people and events of 2013, it is also a time to remember those we lost in the last twelve months.

Happy New Year from everyone at Pique.

RMOW and its Partners

By Alison Taylor

Whistler council knows how to cap off a year in style.

Twelve months ago, in the last meeting of 2012, Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden and Vancouver developer/philanthropist Michael Audain signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding, paving the way for his multi-million dollar art museum.

It was the cherry of the top of a jam-packed first year in office defined by action.

Council was set to deliver its last meeting of 2013 with similar panache to underscore the work accomplished this past year, their second of a three-year term: Another official signing; Another document weighted with potential portent; Another feather in its cap.

This time it was a letter of understanding with Emily Carr University of Art + Design for a summer satellite program on Alta Lake.

And while it didn't pan out as planned with an official signing — Emily Carr's dean of continuing studies was forced off the highway with car troubles on her way to Whistler — the intent and the significance of the agreement did not go unnoticed.

Though admittedly it's just a two-week summer program, council is laying the groundwork for the future.

It was the cherry on the top of jam-packed second year defined most significantly by planning.

Planning — The Reports

Four weighty reports landed on the council table this year providing a blueprint for future decisions. Case in point — the Emily Carr University partnership. The Learning and Education Task Force report recommended Whistler pursue small education opportunities with proven schools.

To show these reports and their recommendations won't just gather dust on the shelves, Whistler has been actively pursing opportunities like Emily Carr.

The names of these reports are worth repeating; if all goes as planned, council will be referring to them often in the year to come. They are:

  • the Economic Partnership Initiative (EPI) report
  • the Learning and Education Task Force report
  • the Community Cultural Plan report
  • the Recreation and Leisure Master Plan report

As she reviewed council's accomplishments from her mayor's chair in the last meeting of the year, Wilhelm-Morden talked about the significance of some of the observations in those reports.

The EPI report included research showing Whistler has an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.3 billion, generating $1.1 million per day in taxes. Whistler is responsible for 22.5 per cent of tourism export revenues in the province. "Those are new monies into the province generated by tourists coming to visit Whistler on an annual basis," says the mayor.

Or to put it another way — the GDP in Whistler is actually equivalent to the combined agriculture and fisheries sectors in this province.

"That's all new information that came out of the EPI report," says the mayor.

Information Whistler always suspected but now it can arm itself in making future decisions with the most impact to the resort's economic engine, in lobbying the provincial government, in understanding its power beyond its borders.

While the EPI had concrete recommendations too, it's the power of the information about what makes Whistler tick that's its real strength going forward.

Whistler International Campus

Information and recommendations from the Learning and Education Task Force report also helped form the basis of council's decision to turn down a rezoning application that would have paved the way for the Whistler International Campus.

Even without that report, however, council likely would have rejected the rezoning.

In a December council meeting, the mayor said: "This is not a proposal to build a university. This is a proposal to build a large commercial development."

Whether in support, or critical, of council's decision the point remains that it finally made the decision — one of the most important of its term, one that put an end to the endless speculation of a standalone university and the future of the Zen Lands.

It could have been contentious, fractious, and divisive.

Instead, true to course, council's decision was straightforward, and unanimous. Arguments were set out and delivered by each member of council.

Perhaps, even more interestingly than the decision itself is the fact that there has been relatively little backlash, at least in the public realm.

The Official Community Plan - OCP

As four fresh plans landed on council's desk, another plan was whisked right off it, and right into the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Council passed the OCP bylaws in early May, after getting provincial approval of the plan.

It was the culmination of two years work and extensive community consultation. It was a significant accomplishment to adopt the bylaws. But even as it gave its approval council knew Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations weren't happy with the document, their concerns specifically focused around the language in the OCP reinforcing Whistler's cap on the development.

At the time Chief Lucinda Phillips of the Lil'wat Nation said: "The OCP does not provide Lil'wat with any opportunity to participate in the future economic growth of the resort.

"We have been blocked out of Whistler's development for the past 40 years, our capacity and the legal landscape have evolved, but the RMOW, with the province's blessing is essentially saying we are too late to participate."

As soon as the bylaws were passed, the Nations filed a petition in court against Whistler and the province.

The first hearings went before a judge in November; three more days are scheduled in court in January.

"An obvious goal in 2014 will be to conclude that litigation," says the mayor.

Excalibur Gondola case in court

As lawyers continue to argue Whistler's case in court for the OCP, Wihelm-Morden was in court in 2013, arguing on behalf of her clients involved in Whistler Blackcomb's 2008 Excalibur Gondola collapse.

The mayor took on the cases, and one the municipality's key partners, before winning the Nov. 2011 election.

The trial for one of the 11 people Wilhelm-Morden was representing went before Justice Allen Betton in April. The case was against Doppelmayr CTEC Ltd., Intrawest ULC, Intrawest Mountain Resorts Ltd., Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises Limited Partnership and Whistler Mountain Resort Limited Partnership.

It focused on a Dec. 16, 2008 event on Blackcomb Mountain when Tower 4 snapped due to ice build-up. No cabins came off the gondola line, but several people were injured when the cabins lurched toward the ground.

In the end, Justine Betton awarded British snowboarder Amy Sefton $38,100.

Wilhelm-Morden represented 11 people. Several have settled out of court. Those details are confidential.

Wage deals

The municipality also sewed up wage negotiations with its unionized and non-unionized staff, in 2013.

Non-unionized workers, which make up the vast majority of the hall staff, got a 6.75 per cent raise over four years, based on patterns from the Lower Mainland. The agreement addressed the 2012-2015 time periods.The deal was announced in August. Municipal CAO Mike Furey said at the time: "Our discussions with staff have also resulted in some trade-offs, for example we have eliminated the payout of any banked sick leave for employees leaving the organization, something that will result in future savings for the organization."

A few months later the mayor announced a deal with CUPE 2010 – the local Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 27 wastewater and utility workers at the hall.

The agreement see a similar 6.75 per cent wage increase over four years.

Negotiations are ongoing with the unionized firefighters, whose agreement expired in Dec. 2011.

"Another obvious goal for 2014," says Wilhelm-Morden of the firefighters' negotiation.

Financial health at RMOW

It happened so long ago that it's has become almost a footnote in the list of council achievements but don't underestimate the work and commitment it took to deliver another year of no tax increases to local taxpayers in 2013.

It's the second year in a row where council has held the line on taxes.

And that wasn't all this year.

There was a surplus too.

That means service levels were ramped up, including the library being open once again on Sunday's with an extra $60,000.

Transit hours were also ramped up later in the year with 2,000 new service hours added to the winter service.

But there have been added costs elsewhere. Program fees for non-residents were upped in August for things like swimming lessons, and skating and fitness programs at Meadow Park.

"It was not an easy decision to make, but the fact of the matter is that municipal taxpayers pay more than 50 per cent of the costs of Meadow Park Sports Centre, and it's a lot of money — $2.1 million subsidized by taxpayers every year. And we know that 10 per cent of users are from surrounding communities."

The municipality has also continued to release quarterly financial reports providing snapshots of the financial health of the hall.

FE&A

The $3-million municipal Festivals, Events and Animation FE&A program is playing an increasingly important role in positioning Whistler as the place where something is always happening.

Money was poured into original programming, and animation and there was a $922,000 budget to "augment" existing third-party events such as Tough Mudder, Ironman and Cornucopia this year. Third-party proposals amounted to almost $1.8 million in requests for augmentation funding — a sign of just how much interest there is in putting on events and festivals in Whistler.

The money flows to the municipality from the province in the form of Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) funds — about $7 million in total in 2013 — with a goal to growing tourism in B.C. The FE&A strategy is based partly on research "used to inform strategic decisions that will position the resort for strong economic growth in the future."

Part of that research includes Economic Impact Assessments, which measure the impacts of events in Whistler and beyond.

The RMOW paid for eight Economic Impact Assessments in 2013.

Three have been released to date — WinterPRIDE, Tough Mudder and Ironman. Five have yet to be completed.

Whistler Blackcomb

It needs no preamble. Last year at Whistler Blackcomb was all about the $18 million Crystal/Harmony upgrades and expansion.

The Crystal Ridge Express, a new chairlift in the Crystal zone, opens up that terrain. The Harmony 6 Express chairlift on Whistler takes more people into the alpine faster than ever.

The investment also included $3 million in new snowmaking equipment.

"I think this investment is going to exceed people's expectations for many years to come," said WB president and COO Dave Brownlie on the Crystal's opening day.

In December, WB also announced its fourth quarter financials and posted a four per cent increase in revenue compared to the same three-month period in 2012, ending Sept. 30. The increase was attributed to a rise in visitation numbers and average spend per visit over the summer months — a perfect segue to a nod to Whistler's best summer on record.

Tourism Whistler

Tourism Whistler's room-night numbers for the summer of 2013 broke summer records, making this the busiest summer on record.

June saw a 15 per cent increase, July a seven per cent increase, August was up three per cent.

The busiest weekend was the first weekend in August — the B.C. Day long weekend, the Wanderlust yoga festival, and unbelievable weather. Whistler was at 97 per cent occupancy.

The second busiest weekend was the second weekend of Crankworx in August at 96 per cent. The third biggest weekend was Labour Day, at 95 per cent.

In early September, Tourism Whistler's president and CEO Barrett Fisher said: "Increased travel demand, recovering group business and increased marketing efforts to encourage early summer bookings have resulted in strong results for the resort.

"A robust calendar of festivals and events throughout the summer — including the addition of Ironman Canada — coupled with strong weather also had a positive impact on our results."

Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies (WSL)

In October, Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies Society released its latest financial report, ending March 31, 2013 and the news was better than in past years.

The last financial year shows the organization running at almost $6.8 million in costs.

The three Olympic venues — Whistler Olympic Park, Whistler Sliding Centre and the Whistler Athletes' Centre — brought in roughly $3.15 million.

That leaves a funding gap of $3.6 million.

The Games Operating Trust brings in roughly $2.7 million annually. The shortfall to date has been coming from the province in what's called a "transition grant."

Roughly $9 million has been received from the province; most recently $2.7 million was guaranteed over three years until March 2015.

"Ideally we're love to get to a point where we're self-sufficient," said president and CEO Roger Soane, upon the release of the financial statements. "Capital replacement is always going to be a challenge for the organization. As our infrastructure ages we will be challenged."

The wrap

And so, 2013 sees the end of another busy year, not just for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, but for its partners too.

There have been numerous resort accolades for Whistler: Google Canada's eTown award for communities that harness the power of the Internet to attract new customers and the usual string of top rankings from industry insiders putting Whistler Blackcomb No. 1. And the Resort Municipality of Whistler too had the dubious distinction of being recognized with the Code of Silence award by the Canadian Association of Journalists.

Last year was the first of the permanent ice rink, which saw 16,000 skaters gliding for free outdoors in the heart of the village. There was the first hugely successful Ironman, the first annual event in a five-year deal, generating $8.4 million in local economic activity, $17.3 million in B.C.

The Audain Art Museum zoning approvals were fast-tracked through the red tape of the hall and construction has begun on that $30-million-plus facility.

In all, the stage has been set for a busy year to come to cap off council's term.

How will it end its last meeting of 2014?

We can't wait to find out.

The year in Policing

By Brandon Barrett

Whistler is not a town known for its crime.

Even so, there are the types of offences, both minor and major, you become accustomed to hearing about if you live here long enough: the public drunkenness in the village, the rowdy bar fights, an abundance of rental frauds, and typically a few major drug busts in the Pemberton area.

This year was no different in that regard; rental scams were an almost weekly occurrence, busy village weekends brought with them the usual drunken behaviour, and the summer saw a string of major drug busts targeting outdoor marijuana grow ops.

But 2013 was unique in many respects as well: the typically unruly May long weekend saw an unprecedented level of damage to public property, a number of fatal accidents on Highway 99 led to public outcry and a Pemberton teen charged with attempted murder after a heinous weapon attack sent shockwaves through the Sea to Sky.

So with that, we present to you the year's most notable moments in policing, highlighting some of the incidents that sparked outrage, rang alarm bells or were just plain funny.

Numerous incidents involved masturbating man

Police received what would be the first of several complaints of a man seen masturbating on the Valley Trail in early January, and attempted to determine if it could be connected to similar incidents from 2012.

On Jan. 6 a woman said she noticed the man standing in the shadows near Lorimer Road and Balsam Way, and after walking by he made a comment to her when she noticed him engaging in the lewd behavior.

On Jan. 11, police received another report of a man seen masturbating along a pathway on Blackcomb Way near the Benchlands. Officers responded immediately and found footprints in the vicinity and samples of physical evidence they believed the suspect deposited on an ice patch.

Only two days later, police attended a Marketplace retail shop after an employee witnessed a man masturbating in the store window. The witness met with a sketch artist and a composite photo of the suspect was released in February.

The suspect is said to be a white male in his mid to late 30's, approximately six feet tall and between 160 and 180 pounds. He was described as being clean-shaven, wearing a dark toque and black zip-up jacket at the time of the Marketplace incident.

Another Whistler resident reported lewd behaviour when he observed a man masturbating near his Northlands Boulevard home in the middle of the night on March 10.

The complainant was sitting on his deck when he said he observed the suspect with his pants around his ankles masturbating. After being noticed, the suspect reportedly pulled up his pants and walked away.

Whistler police have yet to locate a suspect, and said at the time that it's unclear whether the incidents were related, but that officers were exploring the possibility.

Credit card scams span from Whistler to Las Vegas

A string of credit card scams in Whistler eventually resulted in thousands of stolen funds reportedly withdrawn from a hotel in Las Vegas.

Whistler RCMP received three reports of prepaid credit card information accessed in the span of a week in late January.

Two incidents came to light on Jan. 30 when an Australian visitor reported his credit card balance of $1,000 had been withdrawn at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. He had used his card at a handful of Whistler locations and claimed to have never been to Las Vegas. Later that day, another victim of fraud came forward to report that $650 had been withdrawn from the same hotel after they used their card at several ATMs in the Whistler area.

A related incident was reported on Feb. 4 after another prepaid card hold said that $7,500 had been accessed from his account and withdrawn in Las Vegas.

The frauds continued into February, when RCMP heard about three more incidents of card skimming, including one in which $10,000 was stolen from an American visitor's account in the Whistler area.

In the first five weeks of the year, Whistler police received 24 reports of fraud, which included credit card skimming and rental scams. This was a major increase from the same period in 2012, when 11 reports were made.

Police find human remains after trailer fire

Human remains were found on an isolated stretch of the Callaghan Forest Service Road March 18 after a trailer was destroyed by fire.

Police said it appeared the individual had been living in the fifth-wheel trailer for some time when it went up in flames. RCMP indicated at the time that they had an idea of the identity of the deceased individual.

The cause of fire was not determined at the time.

Pemberton man charge with sexual assault after Meadow Park incident

A Pemberton man was charged in connection with a sexual touching incident at Meadow Park Sports Centre in April.

Pembertonian Ryan Jonathan Mills, 27, who was previously known to local police, was charged with sexual assault and sexual interference in relation to an incident April 8 when he followed a young girl into the facility's showers.

The victim, who was said to be under 12 and not a Whistler resident, was surprised by the man and told him to leave the change rooms. Mills then reportedly pulled away a towel and touched the girl, who responded by pushing the man away and asking him again to leave. The girl told her father, who reported the incident to Meadow Park staff. RCMP attended soon after.

Undercover drug operation nets several arrests

Several area residents were charged in early Spring after an undercover drug operation launched in late 2011 by Whistler RCMP.

Several Mount Currie and Whistler residents faced multiple drug trafficking charges, announced in April, after an undercover RCMP drug operation.

Whistler resident Matthew Aleksich was targeted by police in the sting, and sold an undercover officer an ounce of cocaine. On Oct. 21, he was convicted and sentenced to 13 months in jail for possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Father and daughter killed by fallen boulder

A father and daughter were tragically killed during a camping trip May 12 when a large rock fell on their tent during the night.

North Vancouver's Trevor Norman, 49, and his 10-year-old daughter Zarah were on a weekend camping trip on Blackcomb Mountain and set their tent at the base of a 20-metre rock face the night of May 11 above an area known as the Windlip. At some point during the night, it appeared as though a boulder dislodged from the rock face and landed on their tent. The father had all the necessary equipment and had set up camp in what is regarded to be a safe area.

The next day family reported the father and daughter missing after they failed to check in as planned.

Search and rescue crews from Whistler, Pemberton and Squamish took to the air and ground to try and locate the father and daughter after they were reported missing. Their bodies were discovered by rescuers the morning of May 13.

May long weekend mayhem

Hooliganism, mischief and vandalism were just some of the words used by Whistler officials to describe the unruly behaviour witnessed over the busy May long weekend in the resort this year.

Despite an enhanced RCMP presence on the ground, more than 50 tickets were issued for bad behaviour and 17 incidents of public property damage reported, sparking outrage from the community over one of the worst Victoria Day weekends on record.

The level of property damage, costing thousands of dollars to resort businesses, was unprecedented, said Whistler RCMP, and led to Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden forming a task force to address the issue.

The popular weekend for regional visitors typically sees a certain amount of bad behaviour, including an incident in 2008 when three men were stabbed by a group of assailants.

In October, the RMOW announced a $290,000 investment in Festivals, Events and Animation funds to develop a festival for the weekend aimed in part at curbing some of the unruly behaviour. The event is meant to kickstart Whistler's summer season, and the organizers of the resort's largest mountain bike festival, Crankworx, were handpicked to produce it.

More than a dozen men involved in nightclub dust-up

Approximately 20 men were involved in a melee outside a Whistler nightclub on June 9, resulting in assault charges for a Quebec resident.

Foot patrol officers were directed to the fight and observed around 20 males involved in several scuffles with bar staff and each other.

A 32-year-old man was arrested on assault charges after reportedly kicking another man in the head, ribs and back while he was pinned on the ground resulting in minor injuries.

Several involved were arrested for their role in the fight and later released without charge.

Summer marked by several major drug busts

Tens of thousands of marijuana plants were destroyed by Whistler and Pemberton law enforcement during a summer that saw several major grow operations busted.

The first arrest on June 29 concluded a lengthy investigation by Whistler and Pemberton RCMP, who collaborated with Stl'atl'imx Tribal Police to make the bust.

A search warrant was executed at a residence in Mount Currie where officers found approximately 180 grams of cocaine, 350 grams of marijuana, $6,000 in cash, a rifle, machete and a concealed knife. The drugs had an estimated street value of $14,000.

Tammie Delores Jenkins and Lawrence Alvin Pascal were charged with trafficking cocaine, marijuana and for careless use of a firearm.

A week later, tribal police made a second significant bust in Mount Currie after a search warrant was executed, turning up 380 grams of marijuana, $1,500 in cash and three rifles.

A group of two males and two females were arrested on drug trafficking charges. This bust was unrelated to the earlier one from June.

The crackdown on illegal marijuana spread to Whistler in August, when a local man was arrested for running a grow operation from the basement of his Valley Drive home.

A 45-year-old man was arrested for producing a controlled substance after police found 157 mature plants and 170 clones.

Officers said the basement was configured with grow lights, fans and humidifiers, and noted it was very rare to find an operation of this magnitude in Whistler.

During RCMP's annual aerial sweep for outdoor marijuana grow-ops, police found 25 sites with more than 11,900 plants between Aug. 23 and Sept. 6.

Several of the outdoor sites were located on Crown land with between 50 and 1,000 plants each. At one of the larger sites, officers discovered living quarters and enough equipment and food to support a crew of up to eight people. No one was found at the site and RCMP said it appeared as if the harvesting, which would have yielded in several hundred pounds of dried marijuana, had just begun.

No arrests were made.

An additional 650 marijuana plants were uncovered and destroyed in Pemberton on Sept. 25 at two separate sites along an isolated area up from the Green River Forest Service Road.

Officers hiked into the secluded area, and no suspects were located.

Bait program leads to interception of truck filled with stolen bikes

Whistler RCMP arrested two men towing a trailer full of stolen bikes along the Sea to Sky Highway Aug. 16 thanks to a corridor-wide bike bait program launched the month before.

Officers received notice that one of their planted bikes had been stolen and were able to track the vehicle travelling southbound along Highway 99 using GPS tracking software.

The suspects, who were previously known to Whistler RCMP, were a 45-year-old Vancouver man and a 47-year-old Surrey male.

Between July 20 and Sept. 10, Whistler police received 31 reports of stolen bikes, compared to 53 reports during the same period in 2012 before the bait program was introduced.

Richmond man dies in motorcycle crash

A 71-year-old Richmond man died after he lost control of his motorcycle on the Callaghan Valley Road July 13, about two kilometres from Whistler Olympic Park.

The Ducati motorcycle was travelling towards Highway 99 when it went off the road to the right, according to police. RCMP indicated that it appeared the driver hit a patch of gravel before being launched into a telephone pole.

The driver was a part of a group of motorcyclists, and RCMP said speed was likely a factor.

Slow Food Cycle rollover kills Whistler man

Pemberton's annual food-tasting event, Slow Food Cycle, was marred by tragedy this year when a truck rollover resulted in the death of a Whistler man, Aug. 18.

The driver lost control of the vehicle and left the pavement, narrowly avoiding a group of cyclists participating in the event. The truck rolled several times before coming to rest in a field, killing the driver, 29-year-old Matt Ouellette, at the scene. Two females and one male occupant of the vehicle were airlifted to Vancouver hospital with serious injuries. The fifth occupant, a 23-year-old Whistler man, was treated at the resort's medical centre for minor injuries.

The investigation into the accident continues.

Slow Food Cycle organizers announced in November that they had turned the event over to Tourism Pemberton, acknowledging that a more comprehensive traffic plan was needed to keep motorists and cyclists safe.

Two logging truck accidents in less than a month

In the span of a few weeks in October, Whistler was rocked by two logging truck accidents, one of them fatal that led to outcry from both residents and municipal officials.

The first crash happened on Oct. 2 in the Cheakamus Canyon. No one was seriously injured.

The second incident on Oct. 19 resulted in a fatality after a southbound truck tipped and lots its load, striking 65-year-old motorcyclist Hugh Craig Roberts, of West Vancouver.

The quick succession of accidents led to questions of the safety of lumber hauling in the region, and Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden taking to social media to voice her concern.

"It's absolutely unacceptable that a logging tuck should lose its load in the middle of our town, or anywhere for that matter," she wrote.

United Steelworkers director Steve Hunt joined the chorus shortly after the second crash, calling for a multi-stakeholder review of the entire forest industry, which sees 1.5 million log loads move through the province every year.

The investigation into the fatal accident is ongoing.

Pemberton teen arrested after alleged hammer attack

In one of the most brutal crimes Pemberton has ever seen, a 16-year-old male was arrested on attempted murder charges Nov. 9 after allegedly attacking another teen with a knife, hammer and baseball bat.

The alleged victim, also 16, fled a Balsam Street residence covered in blood after being attacked by the suspect, to the horror of neighbours in the area who assisted the injured teen. The victim was taken to the Pemberton Health Centre before being transferred to a Lower Mainland hospital with serious injuries. The teen will require plastic surgery, according to the victim's father, and was released from medical care days after the alleged attack.

Police recommended attempted murder charges for the accused in part because a tarp and a large hole was found dug in his backyard upon investigation.

The two teens have known each other for some time, according to police, and the accused is thought to have lured the victim to his home under the guise of wanting to purchase his camera and other items.

The victim's father, speaking anonymously to protect his son's identity, told Pique the accused was upset that his ex-girlfriend was in love with the victim. RCMP confirmed that is one of several possible motives explored.

The accused was released from custody in December with a number of conditions ahead of his trial date in the new year. Among the conditions, the teen must stay at his father's residence in Squamish, is prohibited from contacting the victim or witnesses or from leaving his house unless accompanied by his father and must report regularly to this youth worker.

Fatal Highway 99 crash kills two UBC students

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation is looking into safety concerns along a stretch of the Sea to Sky Highway after an accident killed two university students on Nov. 23.

Olivia Sonja Robertson and Valentine Leborgne, both 19-year-old University of British Columbia students, were heading to Whistler with two friends when their SUV crossed the centre line five kilometres north of Lions Bay and slammed into an oncoming pickup truck. Both women died at the scene, while two others were taken to hospital for their injuries. The driver of the truck sustained minor injuries, and no charges were laid against him.

The latest fatal crash on Highway 99 led to Whistler officials and business leaders calling for safety upgrades along the busy stretch of road. Questions were also raised over the fatal accident's investigation, which resulted in a section of the highway being shut down for over 10 hours.

West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy has discussed the possible installation of centreline barriers with RCMP and provincial transportation officials in places where the highway is undivided.

The lighter side of the blotter:

A 'Wardrobe malfunction' lead to an incident on the Village Stroll that should draw sympathy from Janet Jackson.

While on foot patrol March 3, police were informed of a man on Main Street exposing himself to pedestrians. Officers said the man was egged on by a group of women who asked him to "moon" them, when a mishap led to the man exposing more than he bargained for.

The man was given a $100 bylaw ticket.

Drunk man not a fan of sprinklers

A 21-year-old Whistler man evidently has something against fire safety, after he was caught dismantling the sprinkler system of a police cell he was lodged in — on two separate occasions.

Officers arrested the man in April after he was found urinating on a memorial cenotaph located next to the Whistler RCMP detachment. It was eventually discovered he was on conditions not to consume alcohol stemming from an incident in May 2012 when he was arrested for public intoxication. Another charge was laid against the man at that time after he tampered with the sprinkler system in his police cell and broke it.

Following his second arrest nearly a year later, the man again tried to dismantle the sprinkler system in his cell and broke it once more.

Police charged the man and sought restitution for the damaged sprinkler.

Intoxicated man gets in consensual fight, forgets, and reports assault next day

A man involved in a consensual fight outside a Whistler nightclub on May 12 woke up with a broken jaw and couldn't recall what had occurred the night before, so naturally, he reported an assault to police.

Officers had attended the scene the night piror and determined the incident was a consensual fight involving three individuals.

The injured man admitted to police he had consumed alcohol the night before and lost consciousness, but apparently not his conscience.

Clerk thwarts thief thinking armed robbery was a prank

A liquor store clerk who thought a friend was playing a prank on him unwittingly thwarted an armed robbery in April.

A man brandishing two knives and sporting a green scarf with eyeholes cut out attempted to rob the private liquor store on April 29, telling the clerk "This is an armed robbery," according to RCMP. Thinking it was a lame attempt at humour, the clerk removed the makeshift mask only to discover the man was not his friend. A brief struggle ensued, with the clerk putting the suspect in a headlock and forcibly removing him from the store. The suspect was seen running toward Blackcomb Way.

Officers attended soon after and attempted to track the suspect with a police dog, to no avail. Nothing was stolen from the store and no one was harmed.

Homeless man seen with his pants down

Police chose not to lay charges against a homeless man who was seen pleasuring himself outside a Whistler restaurant Aug. 13, thinking he was enjoying some privacy.

Upon investigating police determined it was not the man's intention to expose himself based on his embarrassed reaction and apparent attempts to conceal himself behind a tree.

RCMP was confident the incident was not linked to similar instances over the past year when a suspect was seen masturbating in front of witnesses.

Pemberton man seen with his pants on

Pemberton RCMP came up empty handed in their search for a suspect who was seen sporting transparent plastic pants on two separate occasions.

On Aug. 31, police received a report of a male who was seen walking away from a Pemberton restaurant wearing a red t-shirt and see-through plastic pants. The man, much to the dismay of onlookers, was allegedly going "commando," or without underwear.

Police were notified of a similar incident on Sept. 1, when a man believed to be the same from the day before was observed with the same transparent pants walking along Oak Street.

Squamish: 2013 in review

By John French

Squamish's year of news started with a wet and cold, but successful, eagle count. The 27th annual count revealed 804 eagles tallied by more than 50 dedicated raptor counters.

The result was better than the counts held in the previous three years.

"I get reports from all kinds of people and they tell me there's more and more eagles in all the little tributaries," said Thor Froslev, the host of the count. "There's more and more salmon in the littler tributaries, so they seem to be more spread out but, of course, we are short on salmon."

Froslev has been saying for years that fish farms on the B.C. coast pose a threat to wild salmon. He wants the farms removed.

While the winter salmon runs last season underwhelmed Froslev, the pink salmon run in the summer turned heads.

Brigid Payne, an assistant area chief with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, reported in September that commercial fishermen caught 282,411 pink salmon at the top of Howe Sound between Aug. 22 and 24. The commercial fishery was the first of its kind in decades.

"People were quite pleasantly surprised with the amount of fish that they were able to harvest," said Payne.

The fishery was allowed due to the strong pink salmon migration into the rivers and streams in the Squamish area this season and in previous years.

Gary Golaiy's numbers came up on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Squamish resident won the Lotto 6/49 draw worth $3.3 million that day. He said at the time he had no immediate plans for the massive infusion of cash in his life.

Squamish Council announced its top priority for the year: Transforming the community's downtown area. A strategic 20-year action plan kicked off. Which includes finalizing a neighbourhood plan for the area, creating a public art policy, installing more public art, upgrading one block of Cleveland Avenue, upgrading the entrance to the downtown, create cycling routes and implementing tax and development incentives for developers who build in the downtown core.

Coast Mountain Academy announced in early February that it would begin its operations as an independent school for students between Grades 8 and 10 at Quest University. The school eventually opened its doors in September with classes offered for students between Grade 7 and Grade 10. The growth plan calls for the addition of Grade 11 in September and Grade 12 at the start of the school year in 2015.

Through the year Burnco Rock Products Ltd. studied McNab Creek as part of its effort to launch a gravel extraction operation on the west side of Howe Sound.

Opponents of the proposal launched a petition against the idea in February. Lions Bay mayor Brenda Broughton opposes the project along with members of the Future of Howe Sound Society. Burnco proposes to mine 30 hectares of a 320-hectare piece of privately owned land. Over the course of between 15 and 20 years the company plans to move out a barge filled with gravel every other day if provincial and federal regulators approve the project.

One of the project concerns is the impact it will have on Squamish's recovering herring stocks. The herring spawn early in the year was reported as one of the strongest in recent memory. Dr. Jeff Marliave, the Vancouver Aquarium vice president of marine sciences, said herring prefer cool conditions, and colder water the last few years has helped herring numbers.

We learned in March that Pacific Energy Corp. planned to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at the former Woodfibre pulp mill site just north of McNab Creek. Future of Howe Sound Society members expressed concerns, while Squamish Mayor Rob Kirkham called it early days for the proposal. As part of Kirkham's research on LNG he visited China in November with Premier Christy Clark to visit a LNG plant there.

On Dec. 16 the provincial government announced the Woodfibre proposal was granted an Energy Export license by the National Energy Board. The federal approval is just one of a series of approvals required before construction can begin.

Kirkham and the rest of the Squamish council members had to make tough fiscal decisions in creating the 2013 spending plan for Squamish. At the end of the district's budget process the council members passed a plan that hit residents and businesses with tax increases.

"Ten per cent is not something to get excited about," said Kirkham of the tax increase imposed on the community.

The tax increase was needed to cover rising policing costs and the community's infrastructure deficit.

While Squamish council wrestled with its budget the school trustees set their annual financial plan at $46.6 million to run the public schools between Blackwater Creek and Squamish.

The Garibaldi at Squamish proposal came back into the news when the project proponents revealed the results of a water study. Consultants concluded there's enough water in the Cheakamus River aquifer to supply the resort operation on Brohm Ridge. Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden met with the environment minister Mary Pollack during the Union of BC Municipalities convention to express Whistler's opposition to the proposed resort. Wolfgang Richter, the primary driving force behind the Garibaldi at Squamish vision, called Whistler's opposition a backhanded compliment.

The Sea to Sky Gondola project made news a number of times through 2013. By July construction was well underway. The work through the year included the construction of buildings at the base and at the upper terminus, trails were built and the Doppelmayr lift system was purchased.

"They're floor to ceiling glass so the views are certainly beautiful," said Jayson Faulkner, the general manager of the project, of the gondola cars that are expected to start taking tourists 853 metres above Howe Sound starting in May.

Big projects were a theme throughout the year. Another big development proposal that we heard about a number of times was the Taicheng proposal to build a community at the south end of Britannia. Details of the company's plans trickled out through a number of meetings and news releases. The Chinese developer behind the project wants to build up to 4,000 housing units. The Squamish Lillooet Regional District is working with the proponents to finalize what the community will look like and the size of the development.

When word of a medical-marijuana grow operation planned for a large warehouse space in the Squamish Business park emerged businessman Ron Drewry expressed his concerns. Squamish council proactively passed bylaw amendments in June restricting marijuana grow operations to areas of the community zoned for light industry.

The District of Squamish announced in October it is partnering with Matthews Southwest Developments and Bethel Lands Corp. to develop the Squamish oceanfront lands once occupied by a chemical plant.

"It's very exciting... I think this is a really key and pivotal moment for our community," said Mayor Kirkham in announcing the partnership.

The vision for the land includes a park, residential developments and commercials buildings.

Parents of students throughout the corridor were asked to give the school district feedback on how to handle spring break scheduling for the next three years. Using the feedback from an online survey of parents, students, teachers and other stakeholders the board of trustees opted to stick with the status quo. Spring break for the next three years will be two weeks long. The decision of the trustees passed without any complaints.

The Year  in Pemberton

By Cathryn Atkinson

Hello Pemberton, it's the future calling.

To review what happened in the village and to the village in 2013 is to pay attention to the groundwork being laid for the coming years and how residents, business and political representatives want to shape those years.

Politics

Mayor Jordan Sturdy's election as the provincial MLA for the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky constituency in May 2013 was the start of a long goodbye to his municipal role.

Also named parliamentary secretary for transportation, Sturdy is staying in his mayoral position until the municipal elections set for November 2014; he said he was doing this in part to see through a number of key projects for the village, some of which are outlined in this review, and in part because of the high expense of running a by-election for the community.

Sturdy did take a month-long hiatus from the mayor's seat in July in order to carry out his new role in Victoria, with his council colleagues stepping in in his absence.

At the time, Councillor Mike Richman told Pique: "If he was to step down that triggers a whole set of events that leads to a by-election and my fear is that with the amount of stuff we have on the table right now... all of that grinds to a halt."

Because Sturdy is moving on after almost a decade, the 2014 election will see a significant change in leadership in the community.

At the federal level, Pemberton was welcomed back to the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky riding currently held by Conservative MP John Weston. Powell River was removed to balance out voter numbers, joining a neighbouring riding. This came after the unpopular suggestion of placing Whistler with Pemberton and Area C of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District in a new riding represented by Mark Strahl, the village's MP in the riding of Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon.

"Clearly, people wanted it (Pemberton to rejoin his riding)," said Weston. "What I saw was that many different people were associated with our area, and wanted to be in the riding and I think that's a tribute to the place and the people here. It's really a spectacular riding and it's not a big surprise that whether you were with Powell River or Pemberton you wanted to remain with it."

The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for B.C. recommended the change following a long review; Pemberton had been moved to Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon a decade before.

Community building

The Village of Pemberton (VOP) purchased the 8.6-hectare property known as the Den Duyf Lands for $10 and it was removed from the Agricultural Land Registry in August. The purchase provides the VOP with the land it needs to further Pemberton's ambitions for recreational facilities. The site is adjacent to the Sunstone Ridge housing development site, the Friendship Trail and the location of the future Hill Academy School (see below).

A memorandum of understanding was signed on Oct. 1 between the Village of Pemberton and The Hill Academy, for bringing the private Ontario sports school to the valley. The school would be built next to the recreational centre, which would be used by the school.

The aim is to have Hill Academy Pacific operating for the 2015-2016 school year.

Sturdy called the signing "a game changer."

A referendum on the construction of a field house as the first part of the recreational facility is expected to take place in 2014.

And right at the end of 2013, the Pemberton Community Barn plan got a huge boost when the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation announced a funding commitment of $240,000, which will allow construction of the barn to begin in the spring of 2014.

It will be home to the Pemberton Farmers' Market and a community-meeting place.

People

Pembertonians were active this year, making themselves heard about various causes and proposals.

In May, most of the around 150 Pemberton residents at an open house at Signal Hill Community School gave a resounding "no!" to plans by the VOP to look into the development of an independent community power project on Pemberton Creek.

As well, 72 Pemberton residents sent communications or signed petitions against the concept, with 60 more from Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Area C and two from outside the region.

The council shelved the plan in June, suspending a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) for the project.

Chief administrative officer Daniel Sailland told a VOP Committee of the Whole meeting on June 18:

"Throughout this process there has been a tremendous amount of community dialogue... We definitely struck a nerve in the community."

In the spring, 300 residents completed a Recreation Facilities Questionnaire on what they would like see in terms of recreational buildings build in Pemberton. The purpose of the questionnaire was to develop a strategy and priorities for building recreational facilities in the future.

Leisure swimming was by far the most popular option for an indoor facility, followed by skating facilities.

One of the attractions in developing their own "home-grown" recreation buildings would be minimizing the need to go elsewhere for sports and exercise opportunities.

The fall saw discussion on the impact of the Ironman Canada race on the town. The Aug. 25 event cause access problems to town and lead to councillors and businesses expressing concerns about lost trade.

"I talked to 13 businesses and shops that were closed and seven businesses that were open, and the consensus was that they were at least two-thirds down in business," councillor Alan Leblanc said.

"The closed businesses and the wages lost I estimated it was around $80,000. The two Pemberton golf courses were down $25,000 each, for a total of $50,000."

A community survey, however, stated that around 80 per cent of Pemberton businesses supported the return of the race in 2014.

Local tragedies

Two tragedies in Pemberton took place over the summer.

In the first, four people and a dog died on June 29 when a locally owned glider collided with a Cessna over Nairn Falls Provincial Park, leading to debris showering the campground in the park; fortunately, no one on the ground was injured. Rudy Rozsypalek, owner and operator of the Pemberton Soaring Centre, was killed along with his passenger, a young tourist from India. The others killed were flying from 100 Mile House.

In the second incident, a 29-year-old Whistler man died and four people were taken to hospital with serious injuries when the truck he was driving rolled over on the Pemberton Meadows Road on the morning of Aug. 11, while the annual Slow Food Cycle Sunday was going on and the road was packed with cyclists.

"It's amazing that no one else was hurt," said Sgt. Rob Knapton of Whistler RCMP at the time. "The slow food cycle is a large event for the community with a huge number of families and kids taking part. There was significant potential for a cyclist to be hurt."

Festivals and trails

The Pemberton Festival! It seems impossible to write those three words without an exclamation mark.

The Pemberton Festival (!) will return in 2014, announced New Orleans-based HUKA Entertainment in September, bringing the show back to life after six years.

Due to take place from July 18 to 20, the headliners, and other acts for the weekend, will be announced early in the new year. Early ticket releases have sold out quickly.

The Slow Food Cycle Sunday is also set to return in 2014, with Tourism Pemberton taking over the running of the event. Organizers were concerned that the continued popularity and growth required a year's hiatus in order to make plans to accommodate the numbers. But with Tourism stepping up the festival will go ahead this year.

The five-kilometre-long Mount Currie trail, built to take hikers up the face of the region's iconic mountain, had a "soft opening" in October.

Meanwhile, the Friendship Trail and the connecting bridge over the Lillooet River, which will run along the valley floor linking Pemberton with SLRD Area C and Mt. Currie, will be designed by Scouten & Associates Engineering. Preliminary designs will come back to council for discussion in early 2014.

Pemberton saw a busy 2013 and 2014 looks much the same as local government heads toward a local election in November as well.



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