HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-08-16, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012.
Weather still a concern
Road receives full OPP dedication treatment
A special meeting of Huron
County Council was held on Aug. 1
for the purpose of dedicating County
Road 12 to fallen police officers.
The road, known locally as
Brussels Line, was chosen as it was
the site of Blyth OPP officer Dave
Mounsey’s fatal one-vehicle
collision, as well as the shooting of
OPP officer Vu Pham in 2010.
OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis
was in Goderich for the ceremony, as
was Western Region OPP
Commander John Cain. Members of
the families of all three of the fallen
officers were also in attendance,
including Mounsey’s parents, his
partner Brenda Carey, Pham’s wife
Heather and their three children
Jordan, Tyler and Joshua. Patrick
Armstrong, founder of the Dave
Mounsey Memorial Fund was also
in attendance, as was OPP officer
Lincoln Dinning, whose son Matt
was killed in the line of duty in
Afghanistan. Retired officer Del
Mercey was also in attendance.
Mercey responded to Pham’s
incident, shooting Pham’s murderer
Fred Preston.
Huron OPP Detachment
Commander Shawn Johnson served
as the event’s master of ceremonies
and spoke highly of Huron’s three
fallen officers, Pham, Mounsey and
Bruce Crew, who died as the result
of a high-speed collision in 1983.
“This was a road these men
travelled as part of their duties,”
Johnson said to members of Huron
County Council and the full gallery
of spectators.
Johnson provided those in
attendance with a biography of all
three officers, detailing their lives on
and off of duty with the OPP.
“This is certainly something we
feel very strongly about,” said Huron
County Warden Bernie MacLellan.
MacLellan said it was Bluewater’s
Bill Dowson who first raised the
issue of honouring police officer,
firefighters and paramedics who
went above and beyond the call of
duty. The motion to accept
Dowson’s recommendation was
made shortly after Pham’s death and
council has moved to honour its
emergency services responders ever
since.
MacLellan said dedicating the
highway was a great concept
because it ensured that no one in
Huron County would ever forget the
sacrifices the officers made over the
years.
Lewis called the assembly a
sombre occasion and said he
remembered the three days the OPP
lost Crew, Mounsey and Pham,
respectively, very well in his life.
Lewis said he had only been
working with the OPP for five years
when Crew died and he remembered
well the sadness that swept throughthe police force that night.When Mounsey was critically
injured in 2006, Lewis said, he could
still remember his visit to the
hospital. He said he would never
forget the sadness he felt when
Mounsey passed away. He said that
when Pham was killed, it was one of
the saddest days of his career. He
said it takes a special kind of person
to become a police officer and that
they all know the risks they take on
when they put on an OPP uniform.
Lewis says that at the OPP
headquarters in Orillia, he often is
moved when he walks past the wall
of fallen heroes, as he remembers
the lives of the men who served and
died as OPP officers.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t
walk by that wall and I pause and
reflect,” Lewis said.
Lewis also thanked Huron County
Council for authorizing the
dedication, saying that it was an
honourable step for council to take.
MacLellan said the signs
dedicating the road would be
officially installed later this month.
They have already been installed
and can be seen along County
Road 12.
The weather is still a concern for
the farmers. The lack of rain is not
helping the crops develop as they
should. A good day of steady rain
would do a world of good. I wrote
that paragraph early in the week of
holidays and then the weekend came
and so did the rain. A good day of
steady rain, sudden downpours and
then more steady rain made for a
very damp weekend, but good news
for the farm community. Breaks of
sunshine would appear and then
more rain.
We can’t keep everyone happy,
but hopefully the rain will have
stopped over the week, so motocross
can be enjoyed by all. The campers
and riders started arriving in Blyth
on Sunday for Monday’s registration
day. They began rolling up Walton
Road to Chris Lee’s track first thing
Tuesday morning to many changes.
We hope everything is going well
and that the villages of Walton and
Brussels and the surrounding areas
are welcoming the expanded
population of motocross racers.
The summer is a whirlwind of
activities and it’s time to catch up
with other folks. Paulene Gulutzen
spent the last weekend in July in
Collingwood. It is the annual
“Elvis” competition. She stayed in
Beaver Valley with Barb Hamilton
and her husband Fred for the three
days she was away. A new “King”
was crowned this year and the title
was claimed by a newcomer to the
Elvis impersonation stage. She spent
time wandering the streets where
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McDonald
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Honouring the fallen
Months after Huron County Council decided to dedicate County Road 12 to the memory of fallen police officers, the OPP brass
was in Goderich to officially do the honours and unveil the signs that now adorn the road. OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis, OPP
Western Region Commander John Cain and OPP Huron Detachment Commander Shawn Johnson were all on hand to tell the
stories of fallen Huron County OPP officers Bruce Crew, Dave Mounsey and Vu Pham. The sign was officially presented on the
courthouse steps on Aug. 1. Pictured are members of Huron County Council, members of the OPP and family members and
friends of Crew, Mounsey and Pham. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 11