TheColumbia Valley - Columbia Valley Pioneer

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20 • The Columbia Valley Pioneer December 22, 2006 �� HARLEY-DAVIDSON �� Warmest Thoughts and Best Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday and every Happiness in the New Year. �� 1817 Cranbrook St. N., Cranbrook, BC 1-800-398-6606 www.cranbrookmotorsports.com 2007 JEEP WRANGLER Standard Features Include: 3.8 Litre V6 with 6 trans. Starting at • Fold and tumbel rear seat • Lockable in-� oor cargo storage • CD Player • 4-wheel ABS with elec. stability control • Solid front & rear axles and so much more • Legendary Jeep with new technology ALL NEW NOW IN STOCK! $ 20,025 plus freight www.cranbrookdodge.com • 1-800-663-2268 • 1725 Cranbrook St. • 426-6614 Invermere men charged with drug smuggling By Brian Geis Pioneer Staff Two Invermere men were arrested and $5.2 million in drugs were seized in a recent cross-border drug bust. According to Calgary Police, 52year-old Garry Hamilton and 51-yearold Terry Holt of Invermere were arrested, along with another B.C. man and two Calgarians, on charges of conspiracy to import marijuana to the United States and conspiracy to export cocaine into Canada. The arrests were the result of a ninemonth investigation, dubbed Project IDEA, staffed by members of Alberta’s Integrated Response to Organized Crime unit, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Invermere RCMP Detachment Staff-Sergeant Doug Pack said his department was involved only on the periphery of the case. Inspector Joan Mc- Callum, the officer in charge of Alberta’s organized crime unit, said the local RCMP performed local cooordination and surveillance on the case. Investigators targeted the organized network they allege was using small airplanes to ferry marijuana and cocaine between Montana and Calgary. Inspector McCallum said this network was not typical of the kind of organized crime that the organized crime unit usually investigates. “We work in the upper echelons of organized crime,” she said. “This wasn’t one of those Asian gangs.” Inspector McCallum said this network was organized and very effective, as it was still able to operate nine months into the investigation. She also noted that Mr. Holt, who was arrested in February and sentenced to 11 years and three months in jail, was not the key to cracking the case. The operation was under surveillance for months as investigators followed the drugs, money and players as they moved in and out of the country. “When the drugs went down to the states, we followed them to Utah,” she said. “That’s when the DEA got involved.” Vancouver resident Christopher Carew, 26, was arrested in Utah during part of the investigation. When investigators discovered that Mr. Hamilton would be flying from Vancouver to Los Angeles in November, she said, they decided to make their move. With the help of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Gary Hamilton of Invermere; Graham Owen, 48, of Calgary; and Daniel Tican, 24, of Calgary, were arrested upon arrival. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials seized about 500 kilograms of marijuana ($4.4 million street value), 30 kilograms of cocaine ($750,000 street value), 9,000 tablets of diazepam, a sedative marketed as Valium, and 210 vials of ketamine, a dissociative anaesthetic. A Smith Aerostar 601 twin-engine airplane valued at $200,000 was also seized. The investigation in ongoing, Inspector McCallum said. The investigation was limited to activities at small airports in southern Alberta, but that information was provided to the RCMP in B.C. for widening the investigation. “Our investigation is continuing,” she said. “We’re looking for a couple of more people. We got $5.4 million of their money, but we know there is more invested somewhere. There’s always someone out there who thinks he’s smarter than the last guy. Greed will overcome anything and that’s all it is - greed.” GRAB LIFE BY THE HORNS � �� It’s Better. We’ll Prove It. DL#26649
December 22, 2006 My holiday includes CHRISTmas By Jim Abbott, Member of Parliament Kootenay -Columbia Canada is a deeply religious country but those who make and shape its politics and culture not only refuse to acknowledge this but, in many cases, genuinely have no idea that it is true. So-called opinion leaders promote a “secular fundamentalist approach” that attempts to eliminate faith-based opinion from public comments, unless of course the particular opinion is judged to be politically accommodating. For example, if a church expresses profound reservations about Third World debt and the war in Iraq, it is welcomed as a pure voice of moderation and balance. However, if it refuses to accept same-sex marriage and rejects euthanasia it is told by the same people to keep quiet because of the necessity to separate church and state. While it’s important to practise separation between church and state, we must remember that this separation exists not to silence the views of religious people, but to instead protect religious followers and institutions from the oppressive powers of the state. Therefore, Canadian society must be a place where individual Canadians are free to express their most closely held personal beliefs; otherwise they are being coerced by prejudice within the arena of public comment. The last acceptable prejudice in polite North American society is a display of uneasiness toward Christians - unless they’ve eliminated Christ from their vocabulary. Currently, I have the privilege of working on an Indo-Canadian historic recognition program. With Christmas approaching, we have had casual conversations about the season. There have been many questions, from within the Sikh community, asking why some Canadians want to wish each other “happy holidays” or “season’s greetings.” I have assured them that as for me, my winter holiday season includes CHRISTmas. There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions. For more, please refer to Bill McKibben, the author of Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For a More Joyful Christmas. The Columbia Valley Pioneer • 21 Life Time Warranty on all Blinds Call The Blind Guy! Interior World (250) 342 4406 Wildside Gift Shop 5006 Frontage Rd Fairmont Hot Springs After Christmas Blow Out! December 27, 2006 Hours are 10am – 5pm Selected items Such as Christmas Décor, casual wear, gift wear And much more! Up to 50% OFF! Enter your name to win a 13” color TV With every $10.00 purchase or more! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our second homeowners! Sales: 342-2536 • 1-866-342-2536 www.lakeviewmeadows.net CopperSide ~ Luxury 2 & 3 bedroom condos
Page 1 and 2: Vol. 3/Issue 51 Your Weekly Source
Page 3 and 4: December 22, 2006 Christmas Bureau
Page 5 and 6: December 22, 2006 The Columbia Vall
Page 7 and 8: December 22, 2006 Dear Editor: LETT
Page 9 and 10: Encore WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE CO
Page 11 and 12: December 22 , 2006 Toby Th eatre
Page 13 and 14: December 22, 2006 The Columbia Vall
Page 15 and 16: December 22, 2006 My best Christmas
Page 17 and 18: December 22, 2006 Invermere man gui
Page 19: December 22, 2006 By Harold Hazelaa
Page 23 and 24: December 22, 2006 Residential and C
Page 25 and 26: December 22, 2006 Wanted: new fire
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TheColumbia Valley - Columbia Valley Pioneer

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