What's making news in British Columbia

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PRISON DRONE DRUG DROP THWARTED

Prison officials say they foiled an attempt to smuggle contraband into the Matsqui Institution in the Fraser Valley using a drone.

Assistant warden Gordon Tanner says the drone dropped a package containing more than $26,000 worth of drugs and cigarettes behind the walls of the medium-security prison just before Christmas.

A news release issued Friday says alert staff members spotted the drone hovering late on the night of Dec. 23 and seized the package when it was dropped.

The Correctional Service of Canada says in the release that it is heightening measures to prevent contraband from entering its institutions.

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MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING OFFICER APPEARS

The 65-year-old Alberta man charged in the fatal shooting of an Abbotsford police officer made a brief court appearance on Friday.

Oscar Arfmann is to return to court Feb. 26 in Chilliwack to set a date for a trial.

Arfmann was charged with first-degree murder after Const. John Davidson was killed while responding to reports of shots being fired in Abbotsford on Nov. 6.

Arfmann has not yet entered a plea.

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MCDONALD’S PULLS ADS MOCKING MUSEUMS

Complaints from museums, including Exploration Place in Prince George, have prompted McDonald’s Canada to pull a national radio ad.

The ad featured a museum guide telling visitors that there were dinosaurs and then there weren’t, and said people could pay $5 for a museum visit or spend the money on its new McPick Meal deal.

Exploration Place CEO Tracy Calogheros says she feels the ad belittles the museum, which has a dinosaur exhibit, as well as suggests a burger is more valuable than a learning experience.

The chain says the ad was meant as a humorous way of promoting its new meal and it has apologized for any offence.

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FIRE BURNS NEAR ART GALLERY

Firefighters had to work quickly to save a heritage building near the Burnaby Art Galley.

The blaze broke out early Friday in the old building in the northeast corner of Deer Lake Park.

Crews had to cut away part of the roof to reach the fire, but assistant fire chief Barry Mawhinney says the structure has been preserved.

No one was hurt and none of the art gallery’s collections or exhibitions was threatened.

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2017 HOME SALES STRONG

Homes sales across the province last year couldn’t beat the record set in 2016, but the B.C. Real Estate Association says sales were still very strong and remained above 100,000 for the third year in a row.

A news release from the association says nearly 104,000 single homes, townhomes and condos were sold last year in the province, down 7.5 per cent from the year before at 112,000.

The average price actually edged upward nearly three per cent to almost $710,000 as a lack of properties for sale continued to give sellers the upper hand.

Association chief economist Cameron Muir says B.C.’s strong economy, employment opportunities and rising wages all supported healthy home sales last year.

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ELDERLY MAN DIES AFTER DECEMBER ASSAULT

An 86-year-old man who was assaulted in downtown Vancouver last month has died of his injuries.

Vancouver police say the victim died in hospital after sustaining a head injury during an altercation with a 57-year-old man on the morning of Dec. 20.

Sgt. Jason Robillard calls it an isolated and tragic incident.

A suspect has been identified but has not been charged.

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THE CANADIAN PRESS, Vancouver