Frisch not guilty
Courtenay Coun. David Frisch was found not guilty of assault, in relation to an alleged offence on Jan. 7. On Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Courtenay Court House, he pleaded guilty to a lesser offence of fear of injury/damage to property.
Judge David Patterson ordered Frisch to pay a $500 peace bond (810 recognizance), which requires a person to agree to specific conditions.
Coldest Night lives up to its name
The Comox Valley Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) community walk took place Feb. 25, and the hundreds who showed up were undeterred by the frigid conditions.
The Comox Valley event supports the Comox Valley Transition Society (CVTS) and Dawn to Dawn Action on Homelessness Society. A total of 557 walkers registered for the event this year, and participants had all month to complete a walk of any distance. Close to half of the registered walkers showed up for the community event on Feb. 25.
鈥淚t was a great turn-out - I was so very, very pleased,鈥� said CVTS executive director, Heather Ney. 鈥淭hat kind of weather can scare some (people) from coming out.
鈥淥nce again, the Comox Valley came out in a big way to support the event. We are No. 7 in the country, out of 182 communities, and third in British Columbia. So once again, the community has just been amazing.鈥�
The local event raised a total of $194,214.54.
RCMP found not responsible for death of man
The Comox Valley RCMP have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the April 23, 2022 death of a man in their custody.
The decision was rendered by Ronald J. MacDonald, chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office.
According to the original IIO report obtained by Black Press, the Comox Valley RCMP were called to a residence on the 3300 block of Kentwood Road, at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, April 23, and arrested a man for trespassing. He was taken to the detachment and placed in a cell. At approximately 1:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the man was found to be in medical distress. Assistance was provided until Emergency Health Services attended and transported the man to the hospital. The man died Sunday, April 24.
In the decision, it was deemed that RCMP followed all protocols throughout the night, with in-person checks of the detainee every 15 minutes, as well as continual closed-circuit television surveillance, which showed the detainee 鈥渁wake and moving throughout the morning hours.鈥� At 12:50 p.m., the man stumbled and fell into an upright seated position in the corner of the cell, where he continued to move around. His last movement, according to video evidence, was at 1:05 p.m.
Ferry crew rescues woman
A woman was rescued on the evening of Feb. 28 in the waters south of Courtenay by the crew of the Baynes Sound Connector ferry, which serves the route between Denman Island and Vancouver Island. According to Astrid Chang, manager of corporate communications for BC Ferries, the ferry crew was asked by the Coast Guard around 6:40 p.m. to respond to a vessel in distress near Fanny Bay. The ferry stayed in dock at Buckley Bay while two crew members launched the rescue boat. Reports indicate a woman was hanging onto a dinghy in the water for about half an hour.
SPORTS
Darcy Sharpe on top of the world
Mount Washington product Darcy Sharpe was in the finest of forms at the men鈥檚 World Cup slopestyle snowboard event in Calgary on Sunday, Feb. 12. The 27-year-old from Comox earned his first career World Cup victory in slopestyle with a top score of 88.85 points.
Sharpe won a big air World Cup eight years ago, but this is his first World Cup gold in slopestyle. He was the 2020 Winter X Games winner in the discipline in Aspen, Colo. 鈥淚 won a big air in 2015 and it鈥檚 been a long time since then,鈥� Sharpe said. 鈥淭o come back and win a slopestyle, the event I really care about and admire more, it feels really good to get that done.鈥�
Pool reopens after extended closure
The Comox Valley Sports Centre Pool reopened Monday, Feb. 13. The facility had been closed since September as a significant leak was detected during the annual maintenance shutdown.
