HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-01-26, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012.Brussels sledge hockey playersSteve McCutcheon and DougMcArter got to experience their
sport at the highest level recently.
McCutcheon and McArter, who
play sledge hockey for the K-W
Sidewinders, along with their
teammates got a chance to play
against Team Russia in Guelph on
Monday night.
The Russian sledge hockey team
is on a tour of Southern Ontario to
play various club teams as part of
their tune-up for the paralympic
games. The players could not speak
English and had to speak
through a translater, but the
universal language of hockey spoke
volumes.
The game remained scoreless after
one period but the Russians broke
through not far into the second on an
odd man rush. The Sidewinders did
not have many chances and the
Russians led 4-0 after two
periods.
The strong play of the Russians
continued in the third and the game
ended with a score of 8-0 in favour
of Russia.
The Sidewinders considered the
game successful as the other teams
that have faced the Russians ended
in double digits in favour of Team
Russia.
The Russian coaching staff
commented how the Sidewinders
were their toughest test so far. Team
Russia is staying in London this
week to participate in the London
Blizzard Invitational Sledge Hockey
Tournament at the Western Fair
Sports Plex this weekend. Teams
from all over North America will be
attending as well as teams from
Southern Ontario.
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Sledge hockey at its finest
Local sledge hockey players Steve McCutcheon and Doug McArter of Brussels of the K-W Sidewinders were among a lucky
few who got to take on Russia’s sledge hockey team that was touring Ontario as part of a warm-up for the Paralympics. (photo
submitted)
Local man to serve six months
William Thyssen of Brussels will
be spending nearly six months in jail
after driving while impaired and
without a valid driver’s licence last
April.
Thyssen received a sentence of
five months in jail from Judge
R.G.E. Hunter in Wingham court on
Jan. 19 after pleading guilty to
charges of Impaired Driving,
Driving while Disqualified and
Driving with no Insurance.
Crown Attorney Chris Uwagboe
said a Huron OPP officer noticed a
1996 Chevrolet Blazer pull into a
laneway on Morris Line on April 7,
2011, shortly after 9 p.m. The officer
turned around to see the vehicle
waiting to exit the laneway once
again, having simply turned around
in the laneway, Uwagboe said.
As the vehicle travelled east on
Morris Line toward Brussels, the
officer followed, eventually
activating his vehicle’s emergency
lights in an attempt to pull the
vehicle over, after clocking the
Blazer as travelling at a rate of 136
kilometres per hour in a 90
kilometre-per-hour zone.
Uwagboe said the vehicle did not
stop until it reached Brussels and
pulled into what turned out to be
Thyssen’s driveway.
In the driveway the officer
engaged the driver, Thyssen, in a
conversation, asking him why he
didn’t pull his vehicle over when the
police cruiser’s emergency lights
were activated.
Uwagboe said the officer could
detect a strong odour of alcohol
coming from the driver and he
observed the driver stumble out of
the car when asked to exit the
vehicle. The officer also noticed that
Thyssen’s eyes were “glassy and
bloodshot” and his speech was
slurred.
Further tests were later performed
confirming that Thyssen had 121
milligrams of alcohol in 100
millilitres of blood at 10:54 p.m. and
112 milligrams of alcohol in 100
millilitres of blood at 11:16 p.m.
Thyssen had been found guilty of
driving with over 80 milligrams of
alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood on
Jan. 20, 2011 by Hunter in Wingham
court. He received a $1,500 fine and
was handed a 12-month driving
prohibition for the Oct. 23, 2010
incident. It was this driving
prohibition Thyssen was still under
when he was stopped by police in
April.
Thyssen also has a previous
conviction for driving with over 80
milligrams of alcohol in 100
millilitres of blood from 1999 that
was read into evidence during his
court appearance in January, 2011.
Thyssen was sentenced to five
months in jail for the Impaired
Driving and Driving while
Disqualified charges, while
receiving a $150 fine for driving
without insurance. He was given 10
months to pay the fine.
In addition to the jail time and the
fine, Thyssen was also given a three-
year driving prohibition.
Thyssen had failed to pay $1,340
of his $1,500 fine issued by Hunter
on Jan. 20, 2011. As a result, Hunter
ordered Thyssen to spend an
additional 16 days in jail, giving
Thyssen a grand total of five months
and 16 days in jail.
FAILURE TO APPEAR
Thomas Moores of Kitchener,
formerly of Atwood, pled guilty to
two charges of Failure to Appear,
receiving a total fine of $300, $150
for each count.
Moores was to supposed to appear
in Wingham on June 16 and July 11,
2011. He did not appear for either
appearance.
Hunter gave Moores six months to
pay the fine and a charge of
Mischief under $5,000 was
withdrawn.
OVER 80
Devin Duncan of Mildmay was
found guilty of driving with over 80
milligrams of alcohol in 100
millilitres of blood after a lengthy
trial process.
Duncan pled not guilty on Nov. 17
to the charge, stemming from an
incident on April 10, 2011. The
issue, however, was not resolved on
Nov. 17, nor was it resolved at
Wingham’s next court date on
Dec. 8.
On Nov. 17, Duncan’s lawyer
Brian Starkman appeared to cross
examine the witnesses, who were
OPP Constables Russell Nesbitt and
Jonathon Hardie, the officers that
stopped Duncan and Const. Michael
Dowling, the officer who
administered the sobriety test back
at the OPP detachment.
On Nov. 17 Hardie testified that
the Belmore Maple Syrup Festival
was happening that night and there
was a dance ongoing at the Belmore
Community Centre with over 2,000
people attending.
Hardie said he and Nesbitt were
patrolling the area and conducting
sobriety tests until 2:44 a.m. when a
traffic complaint was filed
indicating that a red Dodge Caravan
was being driven in the area by
someone who had potentially
consumed too much alcohol.
Hardie said he and Nesbitt began
to patrol the area the vehicle was
said to be travelling and at
approximately 3:07 a.m. a vehicle
passed the officers travelling east,
while the officers were travelling
west.
Hardie said the officers observed
that it was a pick-up truck, but
turned around and activated their
emergency lights to pull the vehicle
over.
Hardie said the driver of the pick-
up truck failed to stop immediately
for the police, but that he didn’t
speed up to indicate a pursuit either.
While searching for the reported
Caravan, Hardie said he and Nesbitt
were essentially operating a “rolling
R.I.D.E.” program because a second
vehicle was not available, which is
required to set up a proper R.I.D.E.
checkpoint.
Hardie said he detected an odour
of alcohol coming from the vehicle,
which contained three males, one of
them being Duncan behind the
wheel of the truck.
Hardie said he observed Duncan’s
eyes to be glassy and bloodshot and
that he also observed three partial
Continued on page 22
Local sledge hockey players take on Team Russia