CACHE CREEK DRIVER KILLED - BC LEADS IN DRUG OFFENSES

A Cache Creek man was killed early Thursday morning when his truck was
struck by another on Hwy 1, three km north of the Alexander Bridge, between
Yale and Spuzzum.

The man, who's name has not yet been released, was travelling northbound in
a loaded Bobell's truck when he struck a southbound lumber truck in his lane.

RCMP say both drivers were deceased at the scene. The names have not yet
been relased, but the driver of the lumber truck was a Falkland man.

Police say the highway was closed for several hours while crews put out the
fire caused by the collision and cleared the trucks and their loads off the
road.

According to Statistics Canada, BC had the highest rate of drug-related
offences in the country in 2002, at 544 per 100,000 people.

This was almost double the national rate of 295 and is at least the 25th
straight year where rates of drug offences in BC have exceeded the national
average.

Vancouver ranked second only to Thunder Bay (571) for drug offense rates
with 468, and Victoria was third with 439. These numbers indicate that
offences are a larger problem in rural areas since the BC rate is higher
overall.