High school students change history

Grads of 2013 after the water fight

Today, the grade 12 senior students create a new tradition for the grad run for St. Patrick's Regional Secondary. Students were seen preparing for the event during D, A and B blocks in the morning filling up water balloons, water guns and putting on face paint.

Prior to the end of B block, an announcement was made that Celtic Arts Week would resume today with the dance squad performing outside on the streets. During this time, the senior students prepared for their attack by setting up pylons along 11th street to close off the roads.

While dance squad was performing, the grade 12 students got into place by standing near each of the main door entrances to the main building as well as the science wing and the gym foyer. A few seconds before dance squad finished their entire set, several grade 12 students standing behind the audience jumped up and yelled signalling the beginning of a new tradition at St. Patrick's Regional Secondary.

Immediately after the yell, all the senior students proceeded in attacking the student body drenching everyone with water initiating a school-wide water fight. Students from all grades caught in the middle of the battle were given no mercy and were drenched in water.

Shortly after the hype, the senior students gathered in front of the school and proceeded in running around the halls cheering "GRAD '13"!

This relates to Law 12 because the senior students at St. Pat's changed the tradition thats been set for many years. According to past precedence (lols), the senior grad run always consisted of the senior students yelling down the hall and shooting water at the windows while the rest of the student body was locked in their rooms peering out the windows. This year, we changed that and included the school in our final goodbyes by making them victims in our grad run :)

Woman loses $6000 in Vancouver rental scam

Sandy Irving

Police are warning renters to be cautious when looking for apartments after a woman lost $6,000 in a fake landlord scam in Vancouver. Sandy Irving found an 1,800 square foot apartment in Coal Harbour on an online classifieds site. She visited the condo four times but each time, the fake landlord claimed he was too busy to go with her. Irving and the fake landlord met at a coffee shop to sign the rental agreement and gave him $6,000 in cash for the first month's rent and deposit.

The condo was not actually for rent but for sale by the owner residing in Korea. Pictures from the real estate listing were used in the fake ad. The fake owner tricked the building concierge into letting Sandy into the suite saying the condo was being taken off the market and used for renting instead. He arranged for the concierge to give her a key.

Police warn renters to get a copy of the passport, drivers licence or other ID from potential landlords before handing over any money.

Police are currently examining surveillance videos to try to locate the scam artist.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/04/bc-rental-fraud-kijiji.html

'Deer burning' video in Dawson Creek, BC, stirs outrage

A disturbing video appears to show the burning of a deer in Dawson Creek BC. The video went viral on the social media web and the RCMP and SPCA in Dawson Creek have been flooded with complains from many citizens residing in the area. The video is narrated by a pickup driver who hit the deer, dragged it and burned it. Due to the camera resolution, it's unclear what is actually burning in the video but it shows a large flaming object attached to the truck. 

Officer Shawn Brinsky states that "it's too early in the investigation to draw any conclusions at this point,". The video's narrator has been identified on Facebook but Brinsky has not said if he has been contacted or not.

The video was posted by a man who wants the police to make an arrest. Many complained for animal cruelty. The RCMP workers are investigating the incident.

This is more of a personal blog post rather than a direct relation to Law 12. I'm pro-animal life and it's just disturbing to come across an article like this one.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/05/bc-deer-burning-dawson-creek.html

Fake farm concealed underground grow-op in Langley, BC

Underground grow-op system

Police in Langley, BC have dismantled a grow-op buried under a fake farmyard. Three men and a woman were arrested on Saturday and released pending further investigation. On top of the grow-op, the police also confiscated a loaded handgun in a bedroom.

The operation had about 430 pot plants and is believed to be linked to the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. The police said the operations is not likely connected to another underground grow-op found in Mission in May.

To power the grow-op, a nearby gas pipeline was cut and bypass was installed to direct the gas to a generator worth about $100,000.

This relates to Law 12 because it reminded me of the grow-op case I sat in to watch during our trip to the court house.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/04/bc-langley-underground-grow-op.html

Thunder Bay residents sign up to fight crime

Around 40 Thunder Bay residents started training to help stop crime in their community. The police launched their new Zone Watch program in hopes that involving citizens will support the officers patrolling the streets building trust between the community and the police. After these citizens complete 12 hours of training over four weeks, they get access to a secure website where they're able to share info with the police working in their neighbourhoods.

More than 80 people (prior to the recent 40) have already applied for the program. Volunteers range in age from 19 to 85 with a fair split between men and women.

This relates to Law 12 because it's a good way to get the community involved with enforcing law and helping maintain the safety in their neighbourhoods. It is a more effective way to get the community to respond by getting them to help rather than being completely authoritative.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2013/06/05/tby-thunder-bay-police-volunteers-zone-watch-program-training-community.html

Serious assaults drop 52% after police target downtown

Halifax Regional Police claim victory in their campaign to clean up the city's downtown core. They worked for a year (and counting) to reduce violence in the district claiming that serious assaults are down 52 per cent. The officers patrolling downtown wear bright orange traffic vests and interact with patrons in an effort to be more visible.

On average, there used to be 68 serious assaults per year. In 2012, there were 32. The foot patrols will continue in an effort to continue the downward trend in violent crimes.

This relates to Law 12 because we were just comparing crime rates last class :)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/06/05/ns-halifax-assaults-decline-night.html

Saskatoon man convicted of manslaughter

Jake Ottertail

A Saskatoon man who beat his roommate to death due to an argument is guilty of manslaughter. Jake Ottertail had been charged with second degree murder for the death of Bert Haverkort on August 7 2010. The defense lawyer states that the argument was fuelled on booze, a threat and racial insult. Haverkort had told Ottertail "to calm down, you're going native on me." while fully aware that Ottertail is aboriginal. With that remark, Jake flipped out and within minutes, Bert was dead.

Ottertail's defense lawyer requested a pre-sentence report requesting that Ottertail's aboriginal background and experiences factored into the sentencing. He returns to court July 16 for sentencing arguments.

This relates to Law 12 because currently, we're talking about factors that could affect sentencing and we also talked about things that could affect the type of offence (booze).

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/story/2013/06/05/saskatoon-manslaughter-conviction-130605.html

Teens, aged 13 and 14, arrested in Skytrain assault

Two teenagers were arrested in connection to a ma who was attacked at the New Westminster Skytrain station. The attack happened on a Saturday evening when the man witnessed a boy and three girls kicking a bike lock at the bus loop. Warning the kids, the young boy came forward with a knife and punched the man in the head stealing his briefcase before running off with the three girls. Later on, two teens, a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, were arrested in connection to the attack.

One of the police men on the case stated that the 14 year old boy already had more than 50 run-ins with the police while the 13 year old girl had more than 100.

This relates to Law 12 because of what we're currently learning in class and what we've been learning about minors and sentencing.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/05/bc-skytrain-assault-teens.html

Survivors describe grief in 'Aftermath of Murder'

A series titled "Aftermath of Murder: Survivor Stories" was produced for the BC Victims of Homicide group. In this series, it featured many people from different stories speaking about their hardships with coping.

Many of the survivors claimed that the difficult part was finding help:
"There are so few people to share our story with, and people who have had a natural death feel that they understand, but in many ways they don't."

"What I wanted more than anything else was to talk to people who can say they understand this. I didn't know anyone else who did, and that was very isolating."

Producer and host Brett Stafford described the video series as "a way of giving back.

This doesn't directly relate to Law 12 because it's more of the exploration of a person who has survived a homicide BUT, we've been talking about homicides and murders in Law 12 so.. that's the connection :)

http://www.bccatholic.ca/the-news/2753-survivors-describe-grief-in-aftermath-of-murder

To kill or not to kill has become a question

Opponents of euthanasia launched a media campaign in Quebec in advance for a May 18 March. The campaign includes a professional televised commercial showing ill patients in the hospital with a label reading: "the most vulnerable need our protection,".

"The Quebec government is working on a bill to legalize 'medical aid in dying' which really amounts to nothing else but euthanasia". The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) just released a book titled "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Urgent Questions" outlining the Catholic teaching on the issue as well as the current state of the law.

There is no separate offence called Euthanasia under the criminal code. It's classified as either first or second degree murder, while assisted suicide has a maximum of a 14-year prison penalty.

This relates to Law 12 because at the moment we're talking about Criminal Law. I've always been pro-life and every person regardless of their health deserves the right to live.

http://www.bccatholic.ca/canadian/2699-to-kill-or-not-to-kill-has-become-a-question

Vancouver police warn of criminal chargers for carrying bear spray in the city

In Vancouver, bear spray is legal to purchase and to possess when hiking up in the mountains. When walking along the busy streets of downtown Vancouver, possession of bear spray is considered illegal. The warning of bear spray possession in the city began to rise when Vancouver policemen began a search for three men who used bear spray as a decoy when stealing from Oakridge mall. Constable Brain Montague, a spokesperson with the Vancouver police says that bear spray is much stronger than pepper spray and lasts 45 minutes longer. It could be very dangerous especially for people experiencing lung problems. The three men attacked a store containing 40 people and five were treated at the scene for inhaling large amounts of the bear spray.

This relates to our Law 12 class because it talks about how you could be faced with criminal charges for possession of bear spray in the city.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Five+customers+treated+paramedics+after+robbers+bear+spray/8048471/story.html

Montreal deacon facing child porn charges

Deacon William Kokesch

Deacon William Kokesch, a Montreal permanent deacon who served the Church for 10 years is facing child pornography charges. He was released on bail on December 27th after posting a $10,000 cash bond on the condition that he cannot use computers or be around anyone under 18 without adult supervision. The father of the five grown children will go to court with him on February 27th. Investigators had done a search on the Deacon's computer and had found over 2,000 child porn images.

This relates to Law 12 because it is about Canada, our country :) I chose this article in particular because it had to do with our Church and the national community. It is not just a scandal because it as adult posting child pornography but is intensified because he is a Deacon who serves the Church which greatly damages the Church's reputation.

http://bcc.rcav.org/canadian/2308-montreal-deacon-facing-child-porn-charges

Marriage better for women's health?

Marcelo Urquia, a scientist at St. Michael's hospital in Toronto conducted a study showing that women living in common-law arrangements were twice as likely as married women to experience either violence from their partners, substance abuse or depression post-childbirth. The study also showed that single, never-married women were more than three times as likely to experience at least one of these outcomes. The scientist compiled statistics showing that with women experiencing these outcomes, only 10.6 per cent of married women reported it, and 35 per cent of single, never married women has experienced one or more of the three issues. The worst result came from women who had separated or divorced during the 12 months before giving birth reporting that 67 per cent have experienced one or more of the three outcomes. Urquia says that this is information that doctors should take into account. He explains that "when a woman goes for her first prenatal visit, it is probably important to know whether this woman is married, co-habiting or single," and "if those questions aren't asked there is probably a missed opportunity to intervene and provide support and counselling."

This relates to our Law 12 class because we've just learned about marriage and divorce.
http://bcc.rcav.org/canadian/2276-marriage-better-for-womens-health