Critch desperately wants to get clean.

An admitted crack and crystal meth addict for most of his life, Richard Anthony Dick, who everyone calls ‘Critch’, has been in and out of treatment facilities many times over the years. But as he heads to a long-term stint at the Pathway to Freedom recovery house in Surrey, he’s determined that this time the future will unfold differently. Dick envisions eventually living by his parents on the Tseshaht reserve.

A walk in the forest, or even a gander around your house, could yield a basket load of medicinal plants if one knows what to look for. That is what Darlene Leonew shared with a group of local elders wanting to learn about medicinal plants at the Port Alberni Friendship Center.

Surrounded by mason jars of dried leaves, roots, flowers and other concoctions, Leonew invited the elders to learn about each plant and what it is used for at a PAFC event held Oct. 21 at their Wellness Centre on 4th Avenue. 

In effort to increase transparency in policing and improve accountability, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s federal police force, will soon be equipped with body-worn cameras.

Frontline general duty officers that work in the communities of: Ucluelet, Ahousaht, Tofino, Mission, Prince George, Cranbrook and Kamloops will be amongst the first to start recording evidence from the first-person perspective or point of view (POV), according to B.C. RCMP, or “E” Division, senior media relations officerStaff Sgt. Kris Clark.

It been 22 years since Lisa Marie Young went missing after a night out with friends – a longer period than the young woman had been living when she was last seen. 

Lisa Young went missing June 30, 2002, following a night out with friends. 

Though family and friends have over the decades continued searching and working to keep Lisa in the public eye, they’ve accepted that sad fact that she is no longer living. They are now looking for information that will allow them to bring her home to her family.

The West Coast’s first major storm of the season became fatal over the weekend when the Sarita River overtook sections of the Bamfield Road, claiming the lives of two Bamfield residents.

The deceased have been identified as Ken Duncan and Bob Baden, victims of a rapidly rising Sarita River that had completely submerged the road in feet of water by the early afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 19. Duncan worked as a property manager for the Huu-ay-aht Group of Businesses, while Baden owned and ran a lumber store in Bamfield for many years. 

The Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council’s (NTC) Disability Access Committee is hosting its annual Health-Ability Fair on Oct. 23 and 24 at the Alberni Athletic Hall.

‘Living in Balance’ is the theme for the 2024 event, which features two days of presentations and free offerings geared to improve mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and cultural wellbeing of Nuu-chah-nulth members.

He had life that he loved living, and he had a proud name. His family wanted to be the first to share it publicly at a press conference held Oct. 17, as they demanded justice for a life taken too soon. 

Patrick Charleson IV, also known as He-man, was only 24 years old when he was shot to death in the Ditidaht community of Nitinaht on Sept. 28. Court records show that Derian Tate, 24, has been charged with first degree murder in the death of Patrick Charleson IV. According to the family, the two men likely didn’t know one another personally.

It’s never been a better time for job seekers looking for work in the Alberni Valley, according to Bill Brown, the manager of employer services at Port Alberni’s WorkBC Centre.

On the Alberni Valley Employment Centre website, Brown says they are posting about twice the number of jobs than they were pre-pandemic: an average of 563 a month this year compared to 228 a month in 2019. These numbers include Port Alberni and west coast communities in Clayoquot Sound.