News - North West

NW Edmonton murder

Ed Mason — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:44:00 GMT

A man who was stabbed in north Edmonton early today has died and Homicide detectives have been called out to the city's second murder in barely twenty four hours.

The stabbing happened near 129th Avenue and 119th Street just before 4:30am Tuesday. The first police on the scene deemed the man's wounds to be imminently life threatening and they called for the responding ambulance to rush to the scene.

With a police escort, the wounded man, believed to be middle aged, was immediately transported to the Royal Alexandra Hospital Trauma Centre where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Circumstances of the stabbing haven't been revealed. Police, including CSI's and Homicide detectives, are gathering the the area of 119th Street and 129th Avenue.

There's no word of anyone in custody.

EM

Third fire in two days in Edmonton

Brent Pushkarenko — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:43:00 GMT

For the second-straight day, Edmonton Fire Rescue crews have been busy.

Crews were called to a house fire in West Edmonton early Tuesday afternoon. The blaze broke out just before 1 p.m. in a home located on 150th Street near 86th Avenue.

Upon arrival, crews discovered heat and smoke in the attic as well as a power line down in the back yard.

There was no immediate word of damage or injuries.

The Tuesday fire follows two that crews were called to in the city on Monday -- a residential fire in northwest Edmonton, and a blaze that broke out in a top-floor unit of an apartment building in Old Strathcona, from which a woman jumped to escape the flames. She suffered a broken pelvis.
(bp)

From ice cream bars to jail bars

Ed Mason — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:53:00 GMT

A city policeman and a suspected thief are both hurting after an altercation over stolen ice cream bars.

The suspect, the police officer in uniform and a clerk were in a convenience store near 109th Street and 102nd Avenue. The clerk saw the man put a bunch of ice cream sandwiches into a back pack so he said, in a voice loud enough for the policeman to hear, "don't forget to pay for them on the way out".

The suspect approached the front door, made eye contact with the policeman, and bolted without paying. The Constable gave chase and caught the man a short distance away. There was a struggle and both the crook and the policeman suffered minor injuries.

A 31-year old suspect is charged with resisting arrest and theft. (EM, ccg)

Huff won't seek re-election to EPSB

Brent Pushkarenko — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:55:00 GMT

First, she stepped down as vice-chair of the Edmonton Public School Board.

Now, Ward "C" Trustee Sue Huff says she's planning to step away from the public school board completely.

Huff's intentions not to seek re-election this fall are laid out on a blog she posted. Nowhere in the blog does she mention recently-announced school closures in the district were a factor in her decision. Last month, the school board decided to close Capilano, Eastwood, Fulton Place, McCauley, and Parkdale Schools. So, iNews880 caught up with her to find out if those closures were the reason.

"To be honest, I had made this decision -- or I was 80-90% sure of this decision -- before we ever even got into the school closure debate," said Huff, Tuesday morning. "It wasn't because of that event. It was something that I had been thinking about for awhile."

Huff says she knows of a number of worthy candidates in west Edmonton who will run to replace her on the board.

In the meantime, Huff, who is active in Edmonton's arts community, says she's looking forward to stepping away from public life. However, she's not ruling out a return to politics later. (bp, ccg)

On the Net:
SueforTrustee.BlogSpot.com: Sue not seeking re-election

EPSB.ca: Edmonton Public School Board

Crews deal with house fire in NW Edmonton

iNews880@Gmail.com — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:30:00 GMT

UPDATE: No reports of injuries, so far, in an early morning house fire in far north west Edmonton.

The call came in around 6:45am Monday. Crews arrived shortly after, at 128th Avenue and 199th Street, to see flames coming out of the roof.

The blaze was deemed under control about half an hour later. It appears the fire was contained to the attic. Three teams of firefighters are now using air tanks to battle the very smokey fire that has caused part of the roof to collapse.

Two searches of the burning structure have confirmed no injuries.

The cause of the incident is under investigation. No word, just yet, on the damage estimate. (ks, em, ccg)

Final arrangements for train crash victims

Ed Mason — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:39:00 GMT

Funeral plans have been finalized for a city man and his two young daughters who died in last week's truck / train crash.

A memorial service for John Baxter and his daughters, nine year old Julianne and seven year old Coral Sky, will be held tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at the Howard & McBride chapel at Westlawn, 163rd Street and Stony Plain Road.

Police and CN Rail continue to search for the cause of the crash that killed Baxter and his daughters at a level crossing in west Edmonton.

A trust fund has been set up for Baxter's surviving child. Donations can be made in the name of John Baxter junior at any Alberta Treasury Branch.

EM

Bear spray ends mother's day walk

Ed Mason — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:37:00 GMT

A mother's day walk by man in his fifties and his mom was ruined by some goons with bear spray last night (Sunday).

The man and his mother were strolling peacefully outside the main entrance of the Stanley Milner library downtown around 8pm when two rival groups got into a disturbance nearby. Someone fired a can of bear spray and the choking cloud drifted over the innocent bystanders. The man and his mom certainly were affected but they didn't need medical attention.

Police say the "turf" in front of the library has recently become a magnet for a couple of rival groups who cause much more trouble than good. Officers made no arrests last night but they plan more patrols around the library and will throw the book at troublemakers.

EM

Grovenor residents upset with city

iNews880@Gmail.com — Sat, 08 May 2010 13:01:00 GMT

It continues to be a bumpy ride for LRT expansion plans.

Grovenor residents are unhappy about the possibility of Stony Plain Road being widened between 142nd and 149th Streets. Christopher Spencer with the Grovenor Community League feels the city is going back on its word.

"We had discussions with them when the route was being determined and they told us quite clearly that they were not looking at widening Stony Plain Road," explains Spencer. "So how much we can trust the city to work on this issue is really unclear because they have already come to us with a pledge and decided not to honour that."

Spencer adds that at Thursday's LRT workshop the city presented three plans. Two of them involved road widening. He says there will be an emergency meeting between the transportation committee and the community league Monday night. (jrw, twd)

Bells and crossing arm working properly in truck-train crash

Amy Arts — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:29:00 GMT

There is new information involving a train versus truck collision that killed three people in West Edmonton Tuesday morning.

Canadian National Railway confirms that the bells and crossing arm in the southbound lane of Winterburn Road were working properly at the time crash.

John Baxter, 42, and his two daughters -- Julianne, 9, and Coral, 7 -- were pronounced dead on the scene.

The girls attended Winterburn Junior High and Elementary School. Grief counsellors were called to the school Wednesday morning to help students and staff cope with the tragedy.

Police are still trying to determine what caused the crash. (aa)

Wanted man captured

Ed Mason — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:30:00 GMT

Police have arrested a man they described as "armed and dangerous" after he fled at the end of a chase Wednesday night.

Officers were looking for a burglary suspect near 127th Street and 111th Avenue when the unexpected happened minutes after 8 p.m. A pickup was approaching the cruiser when the eagle eyes of a policeman met the shifty eyes of the guy in the passenger seat, and it was the man police were after. The truck fled at high speed and was chased until the driver dumped it near 122nd Street and 103rd Avenue. Both men fled on foot and avoided detection by dogs and Air One.

Early Thursday morning, officers went to an apartment near 117th Street and 104th Avenue. A 29-year old man was arrested on burglary and chase-related charges. The getaway driver may be next.

(em)