HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-11-03, Page 17Ex -Brussels man pleads guilty
In Wingham court on Thursday,
Oct. 20, Abraham Harms of RR7,
Listowel, formerly of Brussels, pled
guilty to two charges stemming from
an incident in Brussels on May 24.
Judge G.J. Brophy found Harms
guilty of one charge of mischief
under $5,000 and one charge of the
unauthorized possession of a
firearm.
Provincial Crown Attorney Mike
Murdoch told the court that Harms
and his wife lived together with their
two children in Brussels when on
May 24 the couple was having an
argument. Harms admitted to having
been drinking that night, saying he
had consumed four beers.
Murdoch said that it was Harms
who initially called the police to
report the domestic disturbance.
However, as the argument escalated.
He said that Harms' wife tried to call
her father on his cell phone and,
thinking that wouldn't help matters,
Harms took his wife's phone and
smashed it in the kitchen.
When police arrived and searched
the house, they found Harms to be in
possession of a 12 -gauge shotgun,
stored in a room near the kitchen.
Murdoch said that Harms did not
have a licence for the gun and that it
was also stored improperly.
Harms said that while it is true that
the gun was unlicenced, the room
where the gun was stored was
locked, so he felt it was stored
safely.
Brophy placed Harms on
probation for six months as
punishment for the mischief charge,
a term that carries with it a $100
victim fine surcharge. He also
Letters to the Editor
Zinn explains stance
on municipal mailers
THE EDITOR,
Regarding the Morris-Turnberry
council report and an article in the
"Other Views" section in The Citizen
the week of Oct. 27, it was reported
councillor Sharen Zinn wanted all
correspondence sent out to the
taxpayers of Morris-Turnberry put
on letterhead and in envelopes so
that no one missed the
correspondence.
I would like to clarify the intent of
my request at the Oct. 18 council
meeting. I was requesting that any
correspondence regarding changes
to a taxpayer's properties would be
sent in official mailings. It was NOT
my intention for all mailing to
all taxpayers be done in
this manner.
I am a big believer in every adult
being responsible for themselves,
but I also do not like anyone to miss
information that can have a large
impact on their properties.
Thank you to The Citizen
newspaper for bringing this to my
attention and allowing me to make
my intention clear.
Sincerely,
Sharen Zinn,
Morris-Turnberry Councillor.
Writer seeks to prevent
legal definition changes
THE EDITOR,
An Open Letter to all
Parents/Grandparents
Our Ontario Liberal government is
once more trying to push through
their agenda with a minimum of
notice and public input. This time
they are trying to pass Bill 28, which
is the Children's Law Reform Act,
the Vital Statistics Act and other acts
respecting parentage. In this
legislation, they plan to remove the
words "mother" and "father" and
substitute them with words like
"birth parent" or "person."
This is supposedly being done to
modernize the definition of families
and bring equality to everyone. I
quote from a letter I wrote to my
MPP. "I fully believe that in a free
society, we each should respect one
another, whether we agree with them
or not. In my opinion, this is just one
more example of a very vocal
minority trying to run roughshod
over the majority who do not share
their views. This minority, though it
claims to be promoting equality for
all, is actually making it very
difficult and even impossible at
times for the majority to express and
live out their views"
If you want to protect the
definition of "mother" and "father",
I urge you to contact your MPP and
ask him or her to do all in their
power to stop the passage of this act.
Thank you.
Sheila Dawson,
Wingham, ON.
Failure to comply leads
to community service
Continued from page 16
out, whether it be in person at
Blom's home or over the phone.
Judge G.J. Brophy agreed with
Cowan, saying there was no mens
rea for the assault and found him not
guilty, which then in turn eliminated
the charge for failure to comply with
the terms of his probation.
However, on the charges of failing
to comply with recognizance,
Brophy said that while it was true
that Klaas initiated the interactions,
MacTavish had a duty to stop them
as soon as possible, knowing he had
a legal obligation to do so, and
didn't.
He cited the evidence that the
couple would have long discussions
in Blom's living room or on the
phone as evidence that he engaged
with Klaas when he knew he
shouldn't have, regardless of who
initiated contact.
While Murdoch had withdrawn
the first charge of failing to comply
with recognizance, Brophy found
MacTavish guilty on the subsequent
three charges from Aug. 24, 25 and
26.
Brophy gave MacTavish a
suspended sentence for the three
convictions and a 12 -month term of
probation. He also ordered him to
complete 20 hours of community
service and to pay a fine of $13 ($10
fine and $3 victim fine surcharge)
one each of the three convictions.
imposed a fine of $1,300 for the
weapons charge ($1,000 fine and
$300 victim fine surcharge), as well
as a five-year weapons prohibition.
MISCHIEF UNDER $5,000
Mason Payne of Wingham pled
guilty to one charge of mischief
under $5,000 after an incident on
July 16.
Murdoch said that Payne damaged
a number of trees and shrubs that
had just been planted at Sacred
Heart Roman Catholic Church in
Wingham.
He said police were called to the
church in the early morning hours of
July 16 when it was found a number
of trees and shrubs had been
removed from their places. Murdoch
said police soon zeroed in on Payne
who was forthcoming with
information and co-operative when
questioned by police.
Payne said he had been drinking
the night before and left a party
angry and "disrespected" which led
him to take his anger out on the
church's newly -planted greenery.
Brophy granted Payne a
conditional discharge and placed
him on probation for 12 months. He
also ordered him to complete 20
Continued on page 23
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016. PAGE 17.
Trick or Treat!
The Gusso family from Blyth was out trick or treating on
Monday evening this week to celebrate Halloween. Shown
are Peter, daughter Georgia sporting her best witch
costume and wife Sarah stopping on Hamilton Street
during their quest for candy. (Denny Scott photo)
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