Death

Trevor Lee Shine Pierce was an avid outdoor enthusiast and snowmobiler. (Photo submitted)

Deadly snowmobile accident inspires Williams Lake widow to call for better ramp safety

Shanelle Pierce said her husband was fatally injured loading his snowmobile

Trevor Lee Shine Pierce was an avid outdoor enthusiast and snowmobiler. (Photo submitted)
FILE - Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly talks about his work on the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall during an interview in his New York office Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004. Viñoly, whose New York-based firm was responsible for major commercial and cultural buildings in nearly a dozen countries, died on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at a hospital in Manhattan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Noted architect Rafael Viñoly dies at 78 in New York

Viñoly known for famous structures such as the Tokyo International Forum, Cleveland Museum of Art

FILE - Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly talks about his work on the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall during an interview in his New York office Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004. Viñoly, whose New York-based firm was responsible for major commercial and cultural buildings in nearly a dozen countries, died on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at a hospital in Manhattan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
FILE - Judy Heumann, center, is applauded during her swearing-in as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Service by Judge Gail Bereola, left, in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, June 29, 1993. Standing at left is Berkeley Mayor Loni Hancock with sign language interpreter Joseph Quinn, and Julie Weissman, right, in attendance with a large audience. Heumann, a renowned disability rights activist who helped secure legislation protecting the rights of disabled people, has died at age 75. The news of her passing on Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Washington, was shared on her website and social media accounts. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan, File)

Judy Heumann, disability rights activist, dies at age 75

Heumann contracted polio at age 2 and lost her ability to walk. She devoted her life to advocacy.

FILE - Judy Heumann, center, is applauded during her swearing-in as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Service by Judge Gail Bereola, left, in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, June 29, 1993. Standing at left is Berkeley Mayor Loni Hancock with sign language interpreter Joseph Quinn, and Julie Weissman, right, in attendance with a large audience. Heumann, a renowned disability rights activist who helped secure legislation protecting the rights of disabled people, has died at age 75. The news of her passing on Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Washington, was shared on her website and social media accounts. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan, File)
Actor Gordon Pinsent poses for a portrait in his Toronto home on Tuesday February 27, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent, who starred in ‘Away From Her,’ has died at 92

The Newfoundland native discovered acting around age 17 and went on to win an Oscar

Actor Gordon Pinsent poses for a portrait in his Toronto home on Tuesday February 27, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
One driver died Tuesday (Feb. 21) following a crash between a flat-bed truck and semi-trailer on Highway 99 in Richmond. (Shane MacKichan/Special to Black Press Media)

Driver killed in crash along Highway 99 in Richmond

Southbound lanes closed while police, coroner investigate

One driver died Tuesday (Feb. 21) following a crash between a flat-bed truck and semi-trailer on Highway 99 in Richmond. (Shane MacKichan/Special to Black Press Media)
A photo posted by Avalanche Canada shows Potato Peak, 40 kilometres south of Tatla Lake in central south British Columbia, where two skiers died in an avalanche on Saturday, Feb 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Avalanche Canada
A photo posted by Avalanche Canada shows Potato Peak, 40 kilometres south of Tatla Lake in central south British Columbia, where two skiers died in an avalanche on Saturday, Feb 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Avalanche Canada
Former North Vancouver councillor Bob Fearnley and his daughter Gayle were killed in a house fire Feb. 9, 2022. From left to right: Bob, Paolo, Gayle, Via and Bob Fearnley Sr. (Submitted photo)

Former North Vancouver councillor, daughter killed in house fire

Bob Fearnley remembered as doting family man and pillar of community

  • Feb 16, 2023
Former North Vancouver councillor Bob Fearnley and his daughter Gayle were killed in a house fire Feb. 9, 2022. From left to right: Bob, Paolo, Gayle, Via and Bob Fearnley Sr. (Submitted photo)
Turkish rescue workers stand by a collapsed building in Adiyaman, southern Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. Rescuers in Turkey miraculously continued to pull earthquake survivors out of the rubble on Saturday. The unlikely rescues, coming over four days after Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake brought down thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria, offered fleeting moments of joy amid a catastrophe that has killed nearly 24,000 people, injured at least 80,000 others and left millions homeless.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey detains building contractors as quake deaths pass 33K

About 130 people accused of poor construction methods

Turkish rescue workers stand by a collapsed building in Adiyaman, southern Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. Rescuers in Turkey miraculously continued to pull earthquake survivors out of the rubble on Saturday. The unlikely rescues, coming over four days after Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake brought down thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria, offered fleeting moments of joy amid a catastrophe that has killed nearly 24,000 people, injured at least 80,000 others and left millions homeless.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
A photo provided by Avalanche Canada shows the area near Tatla Lake, B.C. where two skiers were killed in an avalanche Feb. 11. (Avalanche Canada)

2 backcountry skiers killed in avalanche in B.C.’s Chilcotin

Both were fully buried near Tatla Lake on Saturday, says Avalanche Canada

A photo provided by Avalanche Canada shows the area near Tatla Lake, B.C. where two skiers were killed in an avalanche Feb. 11. (Avalanche Canada)
A view of the exterior of the emergency department at the Arrow Lakes Hospital. (Black Press Media file photo)

Concerns raised after man dies on B.C. hospital doorstep

Nakusp man’s family drove him to the hospital after an ambulance took too long to arrive

  • Feb 13, 2023
A view of the exterior of the emergency department at the Arrow Lakes Hospital. (Black Press Media file photo)
Charlie Cragg and Troy Pearson lost their lives in the sinking of the tug boat Ingenika on Feb. 11, 2021. Wainwright Marine Service Ltd. and James Geoffery Bates have been jointly charged with eight counts in the Prince Rupert Court on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: supplied)

Death on B.C.’s coast: A stormy night, a missing tugboat

Troy Pearson and Charlie Cragg died in a winter 2021 storm on the water

  • Feb 13, 2023
Charlie Cragg and Troy Pearson lost their lives in the sinking of the tug boat Ingenika on Feb. 11, 2021. Wainwright Marine Service Ltd. and James Geoffery Bates have been jointly charged with eight counts in the Prince Rupert Court on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: supplied)
FILE - People pass by large letters spelling out UBC at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Nov. 22, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Police watchdog investigating November death of UBC student

2 calls were made to 911 before officers responded

FILE - People pass by large letters spelling out UBC at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Nov. 22, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Makhan “Mak” Parhar speaks at an anti-mask rally outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Parhar died on Nov. 4, 2021 from a fatal combination of illicit drugs, according to the BC Coroners’ Service. (Flat Earth Focker/YouTube.com screenshot)

B.C. COVID-denier Mak Parhar died from toxic drugs, not virus: coroner

Parhar was infected with virus when he died, but it wasn’t what killed him

Makhan “Mak” Parhar speaks at an anti-mask rally outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Parhar died on Nov. 4, 2021 from a fatal combination of illicit drugs, according to the BC Coroners’ Service. (Flat Earth Focker/YouTube.com screenshot)
Ben Baker died of an accidental overdose on Jan. 23, 2023. The family is fundraising for two memorial benches to make a monetary donation in Ben’s name to The Last Door in New Westminster. (Ben Baker’s Legacy/GoFundMe)

Benches in West Kelowna, Lower Mainland help keep man’s legacy alive

All additional donations will be donated to the treatment facility Ben stayed at

  • Feb 2, 2023
Ben Baker died of an accidental overdose on Jan. 23, 2023. The family is fundraising for two memorial benches to make a monetary donation in Ben’s name to The Last Door in New Westminster. (Ben Baker’s Legacy/GoFundMe)
Moms Stop the Harm advocates and supporters march from Centennial Square to the Ministry of Health building in Victoria on April 14, 2022, the sixth anniversary of B.C. declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Chief coroner prescribes ‘urgency’ as B.C. records 2,272 toxic drug deaths in 2022

Experts call for holistic action, call response so far a failure

Moms Stop the Harm advocates and supporters march from Centennial Square to the Ministry of Health building in Victoria on April 14, 2022, the sixth anniversary of B.C. declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Actress and teacher Viola Leger receives the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Theatre shakes hands with Governor General David Johnston during a ceremony of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, May 31, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

Actress and former senator Viola Léger, best known as La Sagouine, dies at 92

Léger was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1989

Actress and teacher Viola Leger receives the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Theatre shakes hands with Governor General David Johnston during a ceremony of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, May 31, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
This photo provided by the Nichols family shows Tyre Nichols, who had a passion for photography and was described by friends as joyful and lovable. Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023, when he was pulled over by police and fatally beaten. Five Memphis police officers have since been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. (Courtesy of the Nichols family via AP)

Tyre Nichols case revives calls for change in police culture

U.S. police have killed roughly 3 people per day consistently since 2020, experts say

This photo provided by the Nichols family shows Tyre Nichols, who had a passion for photography and was described by friends as joyful and lovable. Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023, when he was pulled over by police and fatally beaten. Five Memphis police officers have since been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. (Courtesy of the Nichols family via AP)
A photo from Avalanche Canada shows the snowpack conditions near Valemount, B.C. on Jan. 21, when two snowmobilers were caught in an avalanche. One of them died. (Avalanche Canada/Twitter)

1 snowmobiler dead in avalanche near Valemount, B.C.

Second snowmobiler managed to get away Saturday

A photo from Avalanche Canada shows the snowpack conditions near Valemount, B.C. on Jan. 21, when two snowmobilers were caught in an avalanche. One of them died. (Avalanche Canada/Twitter)
Former Vancouver Canucks’ enforcer Gino Odjick gets up out of a wheelchair and waves to hundreds of fans that gathered to support him outside Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., on June 29, 2014. Odjick announced on the NHL hockey team’s website that he was diagnosed with AL (Primary) Amyloidosis, a condition that causes abnormal protein to be produced leading to the hardening of the heart. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canucks’ fan favourite, Gino Odjick, dies at 52

Odjick was diagnosed with Amyloidosis, an organ-attacking disease, in 2014

Former Vancouver Canucks’ enforcer Gino Odjick gets up out of a wheelchair and waves to hundreds of fans that gathered to support him outside Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., on June 29, 2014. Odjick announced on the NHL hockey team’s website that he was diagnosed with AL (Primary) Amyloidosis, a condition that causes abnormal protein to be produced leading to the hardening of the heart. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel (left to right), son Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, wife and mother Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel and daughter Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel are shown in a handout photo. Jagdish Baldevbhai, was found dead along with his wife and children on Jan. 19, 2022, near a border crossing between Manitoba and the United States.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Amritbhai Vakil
Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel (left to right), son Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, wife and mother Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel and daughter Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel are shown in a handout photo. Jagdish Baldevbhai, was found dead along with his wife and children on Jan. 19, 2022, near a border crossing between Manitoba and the United States.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Amritbhai Vakil