A Nicola Valley man accused of setting fire to several Merritt-area churches in early 2019, including the historic Murray Church, has pleaded guilty. RCMP Sergeant Josh Roda says August Caprian got a two-year conditional sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of arson and one count of break and enter with intent. Built in 1876, the Murray Church was the oldest building in the Nicola Valley when it burned down January 2019, while two other churches were also damaged. The Murray Church was being rebuilt after a fundraising campaign.

Thirty-four Australian firefighting personnel are set to arrive in B-C today, joining hundreds from Mexico, Quebec, Alberta, Parks Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces as they help battle some 250 wildfires burning across the province.The B-C government says the group from Australia will include one nine-person incident management team, various specialized leadership roles and technical specialists who will be deployed under the direction of the B-C Wildfire Service.It says out-of-province personnel are working under strict COVID-19 protocols.More than 35-hundred people in total are involved i

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 267 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 149,109 cases in the province:July 23-24: 94 new casesJuly 24-25: 79 new casesJuly 25-26: 94 new casesThere are currently 695 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 146,636 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 43 individuals are in hospital and 17 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the last 72 hours, one new death (Northern Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 1,768. Since December

Two mink have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, on a farm under quarantine after it had mink test positive in May 2021.Five additional mink samples from the same farm have initially tested positive at the B.C. Animal Health Lab, with final results pending from The National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg.The two positive mink were identified through a co-ordinated wildlife surveillance project led by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, in co-operation with the One Health Working Group. One of t

On July 25th the New Westminster Police Department received a report of vandalism to the Saint Peter’s Roman Catholic Church located at the corner of 4th Street and Royal Avenue. The front of the church was targeted with orange graffiti."We’re working to find the people responsible for this and hold them accountable," stated Sergeant Kumar. "We’re asking anyone who witnessed this vandalism or knows who may have been responsible for it to contact the New Westminster Police Department."Officers documented the vandalism and canvassed the immediate area for CCTV footage to identify the peopl

The 68-square kilometre, out-of-control Nk-Mip wildfire sparked between Oliver and Osoyoos continues to move eastward in the south Okanagan. The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary issued evacuation orders to more than 120 properties last week and added Mount Baldy ski resort and areas including Conkle Lake Provincial Park to the list yesterday, while the fire causes another challenge. Shaw Communications says the wildfire is preventing its technicians from accessing and repairing equipment, meaning internet, wifi, phone and TV services have been cut for some customers in Grand Forks, Chri

Langley RCMP is looking for witnesses to a Hit & Run collision that happened last night (July 25th) at approximately 6:45 p.m. in the 9100 block of 200th Street. The two vehicles involved were a white Land Rover and a Harley Davidson motorcycle. It is believed both vehicles were northbound and the Land Rover made a U-turn in front of the motorcycle. The Land Rover did not remain at the scene. The motorcycle operator, a 38-year-old male from Maple Ridge, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators are asking that motorists in the area review their dash camera fo

The Surrey Police Board would like to address recent public statements related to pausing or stopping the police transition and the development of the Surrey Police Service. The provincial government approved the Surrey Police Service (SPS) transition pla n in February 2020. Subsequently the Province created the Surrey Police Board, who legally established the Service under the Police Act . As such, the Surrey Police Service now exists under the authority of the provincial government, not local government. The claim by some parties that a Mayor and Council could unilaterally pause or stop the

As city council prepares to vote today on nearly $18 million to extend 84th Avenue through Bear Creek Park, Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis says Surrey voters shouldn’t be surprised by Doug McCallum’s "my-way-or-the-highway" approach. "You only have to go back to his original term in office in the 90s to see how little interest he had in consulting the people of Surrey," said Annis. "His bad habits then are his bad habits now, and we’re paying the price as residents and taxpayers. For Doug McCallum, Surrey taxpayers are simply ATM machines. Just look at your tax bill and you’ll see