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At approximately 10:30pm on April 13, the Williams Lake RCMP received a request to assist the fire department with a fire in an apartment at 655 Borland Street, the Parkview Apartments.

Police attended immediately and upon attendance observed a 3rd floor apartment filled with smoke. Police were able to clear the building and account for the tenants while firefighters tended the fire.

Della Durrell, who has lived in the building for about 9 months said she was on the second floor when she heard the smoke detector beeping. She went up to the third floor and saw smoke coming from under the apartment door. Once the door was opened, she said she could see a couch smouldering inside the apartment. Della returned to the second floor to get a fire extinguisher, gave that to another tenant who used it on the couch while she went to the first floor to get a second extinguisher. The apartment was unoccupied at the time of the fire and there were no injuries reported.

Williams Lake RCMP responded to 65 calls for service over the weekend.

On April 13 at 4:45pm, police responded to Save On Foods for a report of a male who was in breach of his release conditions from court. Police spoke with security personnel at the grocery store who informed the officer that they observed a male inside the store walking around, looking at magazines and other items before leaving out the front doors without purchasing any items. The male is currently on conditions that do not allow him inside any business in Williams Lake without a pre-approved supervisor to accompany him. No theft had occurred. The male was later located and informed that he was being arrested for breach, at which time he fled from police. A brief foot pursuit ensued before the male was taken into custody. He is currently being held for court.

The Williams Lake Fire Department helped some residents get a small out-of-control grass fire under control on Woodland Drive this afternoon, at the same time as the 150 Mile House Volunteer Fire Department did the same thing in their area.

Reminder to Cariboo residents, effective at noon on Monday, April 15, open burning will be prohibited across the entire Cariboo Fire Centre to help prevent person-caused wildfires and to protect the public.

(Media release.)

In response to community feedback over a proposed City place brand, Williams Lake City Council will undertake public consultation to allow more opportunity for residents to provide feedback.

Council recognizes and appreciates the full gallery of residents who attended the April 9 Council meeting, as well as a large volume of feedback from a diverse group of residents.

Communities throughout British Columbia can take advantage of a new suite of online tools and resources to help them strengthen and diversify their local economies.

If you support economic activity for your community - a local government or First Nation - the Business Attraction Toolkit can help attract potential new businesses and investors from across Canada and around the world.

"We are committed to helping British Columbia communities reach their full potential," said Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour. "That's why we're providing additional resources both online and in person so communities can capitalize on their assets and create jobs to support B.C. families."

The Williams Lake RCMP are seeking the public's assistance in identifying two males involved in a bear spraying incident nearly two weeks ago.

On March 31, at 1:15 am, the Williams Lake RCMP received a complaint of an assault that occurred in the school yard of Marie Sharpe Elementary. A group of 6 people were sprayed with bear spray by two male suspects.

Deanna Phillips and Karen Springle were among the first to arrive at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, with opposition signs in hand.

The two had created the ‘Boycott “Republic” of Williams Lake’ page after Karen read about the placebrand slogan on the Williams Lake News and Events Facebook page.

“All the comments I was reading were from people my age who have lived here for a long time – not necessarily the demographics the campaign was looking for,” said Karen. “So, I contacted Deanna about it, who is in the target market they were looking for.”

The City of Williams Lake will prepare separate bylaws to allow for the keeping of hens and honeybees in City limits, and hold public consultations on the proposals.

Over the last few years City staff and Council have been asked numerous times about the topics of back yard chickens and beekeeping in residential areas of Williams Lake. Letters have been received from the Central Beekeeping Association and petitions regarding chickens and the most recent request for regulating Honey Bees from Clinton Shane Ekdahl, Founder of “Day of the Honey Bee”, as well as the Food Policy Council.

As a response to these interests staff have researched what other municipalities have done with similar requests and interests.

Two new revenue-sharing agreements will enable two Williams Lake-area First Nations to benefit from the expansion of the Mt. Polley mine.

Economic and Community Development Agreements (ECDA) will facilitate the Williams Lake Indian Band and Xatśūll First Nation (Soda Creek Indian Band) to receive a share of mineral tax revenues collected by the Province enabled by the expansion of the Mt. Polley mine, located east of Williams Lake.

“These agreements underscore our government’s commitment to helping First Nations meaningfully participate in, and benefit from, resource activity happening within their traditional territory," says Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation  Minister Ida Chong. "It will help the Williams Lake Indian Band and Xatśūll First Nation build a better future for their own communities, while also supporting a mine expansion that will provide huge benefits to Williams Lake and the surrounding area.”

United Steelworkers members at Imperial Metals – Mount Polley Mine have voted overwhelming to allow their bargaining committee to call for strike action if necessary, as the union works to secure a new collective agreement.

The strike voted was conducted from April 9 to 10, and the results were 96.3% of members voting in favor.