Just after 9:00pm tonight, Williams Lake emergency services responded to a serious head-on collision in the 4000 block of Mackenzie Avenue.

A passerby who arrived within minutes of the collision said there was a heavily damaged pick-up in the middle of a lane on MacKenzie Avenue surrounded by vehicle parts. The driver of the truck was starting to make a phone call, while the passenger got out and ran towards the other vehicle. The second vehicle, a car, had left MacKenzie Avenue, travelled down a 40-50 foot bank and came to rest near the railroad tracks closer to Frizzi Road.

The damp pavement seemed to sizzle on the streets of Williams Lake today as classic car collectors, restoration specialists, and hot rod owners parked their smokin’ hot rides along several city blocks for hundreds of fans to enjoy during the annual Spring Round Up Show and Shine.

01/11 

   

The on-again, off-again rain on Saturday didn’t dampen race fans excitement for the first race of the season at Thunder Mountain Speedway.

Approximately 600 people attended to watch or participate in some heart-pounding action as finely tuned cars in the local Bone Stock Mini, Pro Stock, and Street Stock classes jostled for the checkered flag.

When the ASA OK Tire Sportsman cars hit the track, it was a different kind of thunder spectators were experiencing. Ground pounding, heart thumping, powerful ponies corralled under shiny hoods and hot tires. The ASA OK Tire Sportsman drivers put on a great show, completing 65 of their 100 lap main event before the race was called when the skies opened up and made the track surface too slippery to be safe.

01/10 

   

By Michael Toay

Drivers are preparing their race cars for the upcoming Lake Auto Racing Club (LARC) events that will be held at Thunder Mountain Speedway this year. Some drivers are continuing with their former programs, some are changing race classes, and others will have a completely new view on things for the 2013 season.

Williams Lake police officer and volunteer firefighter Sam Nakatsu will be making his first-ever start in the Street Stock series during the season opener at Thunder Mountain Speedway on Saturday night.

In order to ensure that vehicles are not illegally parked on boulevards, the City will focus on enforcement of the 2011 Boulevard Parking Traffic Control Bylaw, which prohibits boulevard parking in residential zones without an approved boulevard parking spot approved by the City.

Vehicles parked on City boulevards can impede safe snow removal, obstruct clear sight lines for motorists and cyclists, and can be a factor in unsightly properties. Residents are reminded that vehicles parked illegally on the boulevard could be subjected to fines and/or towed.

Sometime overnight on May 22 or early on the morning of May 23, a 1998 dark green Jeep Cherokee with a black bra on the front was stolen from the 250 block of 5th Avenue North.

On May 16th at approximately 2:30pm, the Williams Lake RCMP were dispatched to Red Shreds Bike and Board located at 95 1st Avenue South. A robbery had just occurred where the suspect had entered and discharged bear spray inside the store before taking a $300 skate board and then running off.

A couple of customers, as well as the owner of the store, were affected by the bear spray and required minor medical assistance.

The series of events commemorating the St. Joseph's Mission (Cariboo) Residential School will continue throughout the weekend.

The St. Joseph's Mission (Cariboo) Residential School operated for nearly a century on the Williams Lake First Nations lands with students drawn primarily from the 15 First Nations in the Cariboo Region.

(Photos:  Commemorative monument unveiled at the former site of the St. Joseph's Mission (Cariboo) Residential on May 16.  Photos by Jamie Tanis.)

At approximately 2:30 this afternoon, a man wearing a bandana entered Red Shred's Bike and Board Shop and sprayed bear/pepper spray and then exited the store, running through the cloud of spray himself.

A man matching the description of the suspect was located in the parking lot of Shoppers Drug Mart a very short time later, was apprehended and taken away by police.

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