HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-02-23, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012.
Hallahan wants grid frozen
Bokhout’s ‘Lives Lived’ piece touches hundreds
A fitting remembrance
John Bokhout, above, perished in a house fire in Alberta
late last year and once her family life settled down, John’s
sister Jessica submitted a piece on her brother for The
Globe and Mail’s ‘Lives Lived’ section. The piece, left,
appeared in the Feb. 14 issue of the newspaper. (Photo
submitted)
Continued from page 1noticeable emotional impact withJohn’s friends and family, being a
fan of The Globe and Mail’s ‘Lives
Lived’ section, reading about the
lives of those she had never met,
Jessica said she hoped her words
would help people to see John’s life
beyond the incident’s sensational
headline.
“I hoped that it would give people
a glimpse into a 22-year-old guy’s
life and where he came from,”
Jessica said.
Jessica said that thousands of
people have read the story of the
house fire in Bonnyville, Alberta that
took his life, but the goal of her piece
was to show readers who the man
who perished in the fire was to those
who loved him.
“I wanted to put more to the story.
This is who he was,” Jessica said.“He was this little boy that grew upinto a great man. This was
completing the picture. For me, it’s
more important that people know
who he was.”
In the months since John’s tragic
death, Jessica says her family is
doing well, but things have certainly
changed, especially with how the
family members deal with one
another.
“There have been lots of lovely
things exchanged and great things
we’ve talked about,” Jessica said.
There are certain family
milestones, however, that will be
more difficult without John around,
Jessica said.
“John was really excited to be an
uncle (John and Jessica’s sister was
due to deliver her baby on Feb. 17),”
Jessica said. “It will be John’sbirthday next month. Those are justthings that will be tougher now that
John isn’t around; a sad reminder
that he’s not with us.”
Jessica says that John’s death has
resulted in a sense of urgency, a
good one, when it comes to
interactions between the family
members.
“One of the beautiful things to
come out of John’s death is that the
family is being a lot more careful
with each other,” Jessica said.
“We’re always telling each other
why we love them, because we may
not get a chance to say it again.
“You never know how much time
you’ll have with these people and
that’s one of the heartbreaking
realizations to come out of John’s
death.”
Councillors Ray Hallahan and
Bernie Bailey both want to discuss
grid movements, or raises,
throughout North Huron Township’s
staff, but found those talks would be
too late to affect the 2012 budget.
Bailey moved that council freeze
the grid that outlines earnings
throughout the township until they
could re-evaluate the process used to
determine raises.
“With the cost of living and the
way the grid works some employees
could get a four to five per cent raise
this year,” he said. “I move that we
freeze the grid.”
It was then explained to Bailey
that, instead of raises being applied
on the anniversary of an employee’s
starting time with the township, all
grid movements are put into effect
on Jan. 1, meaning that any changes
would not come into effect until
2013.
Bailey withdrew his motion and
stated he wanted to discuss the issue
and decided that freezing it would
be the best way to do that.
Hallahan agreed stating it does
need to be discussed before any
employees are in a position to make
a jump in wage that large.
By Jessica Bokhout
Right from birth, John Bokhout
was an easy guy to love. Anyone
who knew him would agree that his
passion for fun, his big beautiful
grin, his generous heart and his
incredible capacity to love made
him special.
The first four years of John’s life
were spent in the happy foster home
of Frank and Evelyn Wismer in
Toronto. Surrounded by other foster
siblings, John grew into a sociable
little boy who loved cartoons and
being with family.
In the spring of 1993, John was
adopted by Maarten Bokhout and
Helena McShane of Clinton,
Ontario. Four-year-old John brought
adventure to the lives of his four
older sisters, sharing a love for
superheroes, Star Wars and
summers spent at the family cottage
in Tobermory, Ontario. John’s
infectious giggle and vivid
imagination were the perfect
addition to his delighted new family.
Later that spring, John proudly
took on the role of older brother
when his younger brother, Colin,
joined the family. John taught Colin
how to play hockey, tease the older
girls and cheer a favourite sports
team to victory. As they grew older,
lifting weights and playing music
together in the basement became a
regular activity for the boys.
John got his driver’s licence at 17
and became a passionate but terrible
driver. He always drove the noisiest
lemons of vehicles and seemed to
put most of his paycheques into
keeping his latest ride on the road.
John’s most recent vehicle was a car
he had purchased for $50 in
Bonnyville, Alberta. It was held
together by bungee chords and
could just get into town and back for
groceries.
Unlike his older sisters, who were
desperate to live in the big city after
high school, John embraced the
country life. He worked as a chicken
catcher for three years in Blyth,
Ontario, and loved the camaraderie
that came with being part of the
catching crew.
Nevertheless, by last spring, he
was restless and wanted a change of
scenery. With his family cheering
him on, John moved to Alberta in
search of work and adventure with
two other hometown friends. He
started work with Rockwell Drilling
Services and loved the challenge of
his new job. He was so proud to call
home and share his successes at
work and his ability to transform his
life.
John died early in the morning of
Nov. 15 when his house caught fire.
He died before his planned
Christmas visit home and before his
family could see him coming into
his own as a man. He died on the
cusp of so many great things to
come.
On the day of John’s funeral, one
of his childhood friends said, “You
know, John just couldn’t get enough
of us. He loved his friends.”
Now that he’s gone, we’re
realizing we couldn’t get enough of
him either.
First appeared in the ‘Lives
Lived’ section of the Feb. 14 issue
of The Globe and Mail.
Huron County Needs Your Support
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BEING A Volunteer Crisis Responder
~ helping others while working in
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Victim Services of Huron County is a volunteer based organization that
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Requirements:
Must be 19 + years
A valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle
Ability to handle crisis situations
Can commit to 40 hrs training session (Thursday evenings
and 1 Saturday) and 2-3 12 hour shifts per month
Cell phone
Must live in Huron County
Applications are available online on our website
at www.victimservices.cc
Michelle Field
Program Coordinator
1-519-524-4108
vos@victimserviceshuron.ca
We are accepting applications for our spring training until
March 31st, 2012. Training begins April 5th, 2012 in Goderich
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Buy a new spring/summer arrival
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Mon - Sat 10 - 5.30, Sun 12 - 5.30
Open ‘til 8 pm Thurs in Kincardine & Fri in Lucknow
February
Jessica remembers her brother
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Find a job or advertise
a job on the
Jobs In Huron section of
our website at
www.northhuron.on.ca