Elena Rardon

The family of Dontay-Patrick Lucas sings and drums outside of the Port Alberni courthouse on Thursday, May 16. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)

Mother, stepfather get 15 years in prison for death of six-year-old Port Alberni boy

Both Mitchell and Rykel Frank pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2018 incident

The family of Dontay-Patrick Lucas sings and drums outside of the Port Alberni courthouse on Thursday, May 16. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)
The Port Alberni Fire Department responds as smoke pours from a building on Burde Street on March 27, 2024. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)

RCMP detonate homemade explosive device in Port Alberni building

Firearms, ammunition and homemade bombs found at Burde Street residence

The Port Alberni Fire Department responds as smoke pours from a building on Burde Street on March 27, 2024. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)
Brent Fedirchuk, right, receives the 2016 Wayne Demoskoff Volunteer of the Year award from sponsor Peter Mugleston of the Best Western Barclay Plus Hotel at the Funtastic Alberni/ Okee Dokee Slopitch tournament. (PHOTO COURTESY FUNTASTIC ALBERNI)

Defect discovered in fatal Vancouver Island helicopter crash: TSB probe

Pilot from Port Alberni killed in 2022 crash near Port McNeill, flaw found in manufacturing process

Brent Fedirchuk, right, receives the 2016 Wayne Demoskoff Volunteer of the Year award from sponsor Peter Mugleston of the Best Western Barclay Plus Hotel at the Funtastic Alberni/ Okee Dokee Slopitch tournament. (PHOTO COURTESY FUNTASTIC ALBERNI)
Daniel DelBianco gives a thumbs up from his hospital bed after a round of surgery. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

B.C. man advocates for epileptic seizure treatment not available in Canada

Daniel DelBianco diagnosed with drug-resistant epilepsy

Daniel DelBianco gives a thumbs up from his hospital bed after a round of surgery. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Sam Gentleman kiteboards at China Creek Marina just outside of Port Alberni. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

B.C. teen kiteboarder chasing the wind around the world

Exclusive scholarship puts Sam Gentleman in World Class Kiteboard Academy for Grade 12 year

Sam Gentleman kiteboards at China Creek Marina just outside of Port Alberni. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Linden Zoet, 7, and Dallas Fraser, 9, have fun at the Sproat Lake Water Sports Association on July 19, 2023. Sproat Lake has been named B.C.’s best lake in a CBC competition. (SONJA DRINKWATER / Special to the AV News)

‘Vote Sproat!’: Vancouver Island lake basking in vote declaring it best in B.C.

Sproat Lake, west of Port Alberni, edges Shuswap Lake in CBC competition

Linden Zoet, 7, and Dallas Fraser, 9, have fun at the Sproat Lake Water Sports Association on July 19, 2023. Sproat Lake has been named B.C.’s best lake in a CBC competition. (SONJA DRINKWATER / Special to the AV News)
The Cameron Bluffs wildfire along Highway 4 is currently “being held.” (PHOTO COURTESY BC MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE)

Wildfire held, but Port Alberni highway connection to stay closed at least a week

Cameron Bluffs wildfire ‘being held’ at 254 hectares but traffic won’t return until safety assured

The Cameron Bluffs wildfire along Highway 4 is currently “being held.” (PHOTO COURTESY BC MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE)
Penticton Vees captain Frank Djurasevic lifts the Fred Page Cup at the Alberni Valley Multiplex on May 17, 2023. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

BCHL: Penticton Vees are back-to-back Fred Page Cup champions

Vees completed a four-game sweep of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs

Penticton Vees captain Frank Djurasevic lifts the Fred Page Cup at the Alberni Valley Multiplex on May 17, 2023. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
Tseshaht First Nation dancers perform during the Doing it for our Ancestors announcement on Feb. 21, 2023. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)

Probe into former Alberni residential school resets the death toll at 67

Roughly 10 percent of the 100 hectares of Tseshaht territory to be surveyed has been scanned

Tseshaht First Nation dancers perform during the Doing it for our Ancestors announcement on Feb. 21, 2023. (ELENA RARDON / Alberni Valley News)
A photo of Coulson Aviation’s Boeing 737 Tanker 139, now named “Phoenix.” (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Pilots walk way after B.C. plane goes down while fighting Australian wildfires

Coulson Aviation 737 FireLiner involved in accident while responding to a fire

A photo of Coulson Aviation’s Boeing 737 Tanker 139, now named “Phoenix.” (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Courthouse in Nanaimo. (News Bulletin file)

B.C. judge says $80,000 toward home purchase was no gift of love

Port Alberni woman ordered to pay ex-boyfriend his share of house purchase

Courthouse in Nanaimo. (News Bulletin file)
School District 70-Pacific Rim’s head office is located in Port Alberni, B.C. (AV NEWS FILE PHOTO)

B.C. mother loses appeal over Indigenous smudging in school

Court rules events did not breach freedom of religion or ‘duty of state neutrality’

School District 70-Pacific Rim’s head office is located in Port Alberni, B.C. (AV NEWS FILE PHOTO)
Larry Spencer, right, has been involved in the logging industry for 45 years. He attended a rally Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 in Port Alberni backing loggers and their stance against the B.C. government’s recent two-year deferral of old-growth logging. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

New B.C. council aims to build resiliency in forestry communities

Council will include voices of forestry workers

Larry Spencer, right, has been involved in the logging industry for 45 years. He attended a rally Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 in Port Alberni backing loggers and their stance against the B.C. government’s recent two-year deferral of old-growth logging. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
The artwork on the Wolf Tower was designed by Tseshaht artist Willard Gallic Jr. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

100 years later, First Nations wolf ritual shakes off its chains on B.C. waterfront

Dawn to dusk Tseshaht celebration took place in Port Alberni to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day

The artwork on the Wolf Tower was designed by Tseshaht artist Willard Gallic Jr. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
Dontay’s father, Patrick Lucas, speaks with the media outside of the Port Alberni RCMP detachment on Monday, May 9. Lucas was accompanied by his sister and mother. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

Mother, stepfather charged in death of 6-year-old Port Alberni boy

Rykel Frank and Mitchell Frank face 1st-degree murder charges in 2018 death of Dontay-Patrick Lucas

Dontay’s father, Patrick Lucas, speaks with the media outside of the Port Alberni RCMP detachment on Monday, May 9. Lucas was accompanied by his sister and mother. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
The Hawaii Mars sits on Sproat Lake back in 2013. (SONJA DRINKWATER / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

Iconic B.C. Martin Mars waterbomber put up for sale

Coulson Aviation looks for new home for Hawaii Mars, inactive in firefighting since 2015

The Hawaii Mars sits on Sproat Lake back in 2013. (SONJA DRINKWATER / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District seeks feedback for evacuation plan

No formal evacuation route plan exists for the Alberni Valley

Port Alberni Bombers still seek elusive first franchise win

'Growing pains' to be expected with new Jr. B franchise says hockey ops manager

Former A.W. Neill School to formally receive new name Sept. 29

Racist politician's name will be replaced for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

Rain makes for wet and muddy weekend at Alberni Motorsports Park

Another off-road racing event scheduled for Oct. 2 and 3