Former Fireman Fined For Starting Fires (Pete McIntyre)
A former volunteer firefighter from the Vernon area has been sentenced for deliberately setting fires. 21 year old Mark Sherwin pled guilty to one count of mischief after admitting to starting five fires in the Silver Star Road area in
the summers of 2003 and '04. He was a member of the Silver Star Fire Department at the time. The blazes were set in slash piles and none resulted in major damage, but forestry officials say the results could have been catastrophic, given the hot, dry conditions. Sherwin confessed to police about starting the fires after video cameras were set in the area of previous fires caught his truck on video in late July 2004, the night of another fire.Provincial court judge Mark Takahashi gave Sherwin a $1,000 fine, three years probation, and ordered him to pay $47,000 restitution to the Ministry of Forests for fire fighting costs. He also ordered Sherwin not to posses matches outside his residence, and to get counselling. Defence counsel , Al Betton claimed his client started the fires to improve the readiness of his fire department. The Crown said Sherwin was motivated by the adrenalin rush of fighting fires, and one doctor diagnosed him as a pyromaniac. Sherwin currently resides on Ontario where he attends Queen's University. RCMP Corproal Henry Proce says police are satisfied with the sentence, 'He basically got what Crown was asking for which was three years probation. He has a criminal record, the conviction is registered, and that's what we were asking for.' Betton had argued for a conditional discharge but Judge Takahashi ruled that out, saying that wasn't in the public interest, and would not show the dangerous nature of the activity.
A former volunteer firefighter from the Vernon area has been sentenced for deliberately setting fires. 21 year old Mark Sherwin pled guilty to one count of mischief after admitting to starting five fires in the Silver Star Road area in
the summers of 2003 and '04. He was a member of the Silver Star Fire Department at the time. The blazes were set in slash piles and none resulted in major damage, but forestry officials say the results could have been catastrophic, given the hot, dry conditions. Sherwin confessed to police about starting the fires after video cameras were set in the area of previous fires caught his truck on video in late July 2004, the night of another fire.Provincial court judge Mark Takahashi gave Sherwin a $1,000 fine, three years probation, and ordered him to pay $47,000 restitution to the Ministry of Forests for fire fighting costs. He also ordered Sherwin not to posses matches outside his residence, and to get counselling. Defence counsel , Al Betton claimed his client started the fires to improve the readiness of his fire department. The Crown said Sherwin was motivated by the adrenalin rush of fighting fires, and one doctor diagnosed him as a pyromaniac. Sherwin currently resides on Ontario where he attends Queen's University. RCMP Corproal Henry Proce says police are satisfied with the sentence, 'He basically got what Crown was asking for which was three years probation. He has a criminal record, the conviction is registered, and that's what we were asking for.' Betton had argued for a conditional discharge but Judge Takahashi ruled that out, saying that wasn't in the public interest, and would not show the dangerous nature of the activity. New Plan For Vernon Library (Pete McIntyre)
The Okanagan Regional Library board is supporting a new plan for a new Vernon library. Library board chair Carole Williams of Coldstream says the city is proposing a new building in the civic complex, just north of the current library, in the current parking lot. She tells KISS FM, 'The bottom floor would be for the library (30,000 square feet). We are looking at participating with the city to look for infrastructure grants. The city is spearheading this. The regional library is right there beside them and we're excited about this.' Williams says the plan is to have the new building completed by 2010. She says there's no cost estimates at this point, and adds there's still a lot of work to do before a hole can be 'dug in the ground'. Mayor Wayne Lippert says the city and Library have agreeed to preliminary design work to determine the costs and design. He says the early idea would be to have three floors, with the library on the main floor and office space and perhaps other uses in the other two floors. He says the old library building would be used for other pusposes and perhaps for cultural facilities like the art gallery and museum. Williams says the O-R-L has been puttting money away for the last six to seven years which will be used to operate the new building.
The Okanagan Regional Library board is supporting a new plan for a new Vernon library. Library board chair Carole Williams of Coldstream says the city is proposing a new building in the civic complex, just north of the current library, in the current parking lot. She tells KISS FM, 'The bottom floor would be for the library (30,000 square feet). We are looking at participating with the city to look for infrastructure grants. The city is spearheading this. The regional library is right there beside them and we're excited about this.' Williams says the plan is to have the new building completed by 2010. She says there's no cost estimates at this point, and adds there's still a lot of work to do before a hole can be 'dug in the ground'. Mayor Wayne Lippert says the city and Library have agreeed to preliminary design work to determine the costs and design. He says the early idea would be to have three floors, with the library on the main floor and office space and perhaps other uses in the other two floors. He says the old library building would be used for other pusposes and perhaps for cultural facilities like the art gallery and museum. Williams says the O-R-L has been puttting money away for the last six to seven years which will be used to operate the new building.
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