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The Citizen, 2011-04-28, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011. PAGE 9. COME JOIN HURON COUNTY’S PREMIER GOLF COURSE! ALL YEAR LONG WEEKDAY SPECIAL 18 + CART ~ $42.50 TAXES INCLUDED 10 & 20 Playcards Available ~ 18 & 9 holes, Walking or with Cart 2011 Memberships can be purchased anytime throughout the 2011 season 7-day — $875 single, $1515 couple 5-day, Mon. - Fri. — $725 single, $1225 couple INTERMEDIATE Ages 19-25 $430; Junior $310 all prices plus HST 519-482-7144 PAR 72 CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF COURSE ON HIGHWAY 8 BETWEEN GODERICH AND CLINTON 3 km. west of Clinton LEAGUE PLAY ~ starts May 2nd Come play in one of our leagues SENIOR MEN Monday Mornings SENIOR LADIES Tuesday Mornings 7 am - 12 noon $16 for 9 holes ~ $25 for 18 holes LADIES’ NIGHT:Wednesday $16/9 holes MEN’S NIGHT:Thursday $16/9 holes Learn to play Golf BEGINNER GROUP LESSONS~CLASSES START MAY 10th AND RUN FOR 5 WEEKS MONDAY, MAY 9 ~ 7:00 - 8:00 pm WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 ~ 7:00 - 8:00 pm THURSDAY, MAY 12 ~ 10:00 - 11:00 am Learn a game that lasts a lifetime! All lessons taught by CPGA professional Fee: $50. for 5 one hour lessons Continued from page 8 the municipality just $5,000 in trade-in value towards a new ice- cleaning machine. This sparked significant debate among the councillors who felt it would be ridiculous to pay 25 per cent of the cost of a new machine to repair a 19-year-old machine with no guarantee that it would work after those repairs. In addition, it was pointed out by Corbett, that the current Olympia in Brussels has lasted for nine years longer than its manufacturer- recommended 10-year lifespan. The problem, like many of the maintenance issues that Corbett was there to actually discuss, has been regular maintenance that has been delayed due to modest budgets. Because of tight budgets, regular repairs have often gone by the wayside. Councillor Bill Siemon asked about regular maintenance with Olympia. At a meeting earlier this year, representatives of the municipality’s recreation centres said that it is recommended that an ice-cleaning machine make a trip down to Olympia annually for a front-to-back inspection, regular maintenance to be “brought up to snuff”. Corbett said that since she has been involved with the community centre that the machine has visited Olympia “maybe once”. Corbett assured council that the machine does run, but that regular recommended maintenance hadn’t been followed due to budget constraints. Council agreed, saying that Corbett, or the community centre board, couldn’t be blamed, the lack of regular maintenance was just a side effect of tight budgets and penny-pinching. Several councillors sympathized with the position community centre staff had been put in and vowed to change it. “We’ve nickel and dimed these things to junkyard status and I have a problem with that,” said Councillor Larry McGrath. Deputy-Mayor Joe Steffler said that he felt it was time for a change in how equipment purchases at recreation centres are approached by council. He said that a new Olympia isn’t a maintenance cost and recreation centres shouldn’t be expected to pay for a machine out of their modest capital and maintenance budgets every year (the centre proposed a budget of $10,000 for capital expenditures and $13,000 for general maintenance in the 2011 budget) and that these machines should be paid for out of the municipality’s equipment reserve (which currently sits at $306,000). Several councillors backed Steffler’s sentiments, saying that an Olympia is a piece of equipment and perhaps the municipality should begin to treat it that way. No official decision has been made, but several options concerning the current Olympia and a potential new Olympia for purchase will return to council in a formal report for further consideration. Prior to a decision being made, councillors anticipated discussing the potential purchase/expense with Morris-Turnberry Council, who has historically paid a 20 per cent share of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre expenses. Olympia requires 25% of replacement cost in repairs Weapons charges, probationbreak leads to year in jail Trevor Koehler of Wingham is facing one year of jail time after being convicted of several offences in Wingham Court on April 21. Koehler had offences listed from six different dates and was convicted on six different counts. Those convictions, coupled with his prior record resulted in Judge R.G.E. Hunter handing down the 12 months of jail time. Crown Attorney Teresa Donnelly said that trouble for Koehler began on Jan. 27, 2010, when Wingham Police officers executed a warrant at Koehler’s known place of residence in Wingham, finding a dismantled 12 gauge shotgun and five rounds of ammunition. Police also found drug paraphernalia, some crystal meth and a number of knives in the home. Koehler, Donnelly said, was still bound by a weapons prohibition that Hunter had made in March of 2005. It was set to expire in just a few months. On May 22, Donnelly said, Wingham Police spotted Koehler leaving a restaurant in Wingham with a bottle of beer, which was a breach of his probation, as he was to abstain from the consumption of alcohol. In August, Wingham Police were summoned to the home of Koehler’s then-girlfriend, Donnelly said, where an argument had taken place. Police entered and Koehler had broken the home’s staircase spindle, which Koehler admitted to. On Feb. 27, 2011, Koehler was charged again for failing to comply with the conditions of his probation when he was spotted by Wingham Police walking down the street with his former girlfriend, Donnelly said. On April 19, Police said they heard an argument taking place from outside the home of Koehler’s former girlfriend. They said they heard Koehler’s voice and they also heard the woman inside yelling the name “Trevor”. Once inside, police had found that Koehler had fled out the window of the home. He was eventually apprehended by police. Hunter found Koehler guilty on all counts. Hunter ordered Koehler to submit his DNA for future considerations. Hunter sentenced Koehler to six months for the firearms violation, two months for the breach of probation charge, one month for the possession of crystal meth and three months for the remaining charges. He was also given 12 months probation and he was given 60 days to transfer his weapons. ASSAULT Mark Fellows was handed 30 days in jail and 18 months probation as the result of an assault that took place on Dec. 31, 2010. Fellows had been involved with his then-girlfriend for several years, Donnelly said, but the relationship had become “rocky” in recent years and just after Christmas, Fellows’ girlfriend had decided to end the relationship. Following the break-up on Dec. 26, Fellows’ ex-girlfriend came home to find that several of the items in her home were broken. She found several pieces of furniture, a television, a table and a fish tank smashed and a large pool of blood on the floor, Donnelly said. The woman followed the blood trail to find Fellows bleeding from his hand and foot. Upon coming face to face, Donnelly said, Fellows pushed the woman to the floor in the living room. She escaped the home, but was then followed and eventually tackled by Fellows on a neighbour’s front lawn where he proceeded to punch her in the ribs several times. Donnelly said that Fellows had been convicted for domestic violence twice before, once against the woman in question. Fellows’ defense lawyer stated that Fellows was dealing with stress and depression at the time and possible bi-polar issues. He also indicated that the Canadian Mental Health Association has become involved. The couple has two young children together, Donnelly said, and the use of drugs and alcohol by Fellows had been aggravating factors in his behaviour and for his condition. A report filed with the court also stated that due to the previous assault on the same woman that Fellows would be at a high risk to reoffend. Donnelly recommended two years of probation, which Hunter eventually reduced to 18 months. Fellows was taken to jail on April 21, where he was ordered to stay until leaving on Sunday morning. Fellows stated that he worked from Sunday to Thursday every week, so he would serve his jail term from Friday evenings to Sunday morning every week until his sentence had been fulfilled. Hunter also warned Fellows as he was escorted from the courtroom that should be reappear for further violent charges against his former girlfriend that he would be “going to jail and going for a very long time”. ASSAULT Stephen Freeman of Walton was sentenced to 18 months probation for assault on his common-law wife stemming from an incident at the couple’s home on April 5, 2011. Duty Counsel John Myers stated that the couple had been arguing over financial issues after Freeman had decided to start his own business. He said both Freeman and his wife have a history with alcohol abuse. The couple had been drinking and having dinner when the argument over the family’s financial issues escalated. Donnelly said that Freeman grabbed his wife by the back of the head and forced her to the ground with both his hands. Upon their arrival, Myers said that Freeman’s wife was not co-operative with police. Donnelly said that Freeman did have a prior conviction for assault, but that it was not a domestic assault conviction. Myers said that Freeman is currently enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous. Hunter issued Freeman a $250 fine, which he has six months to pay, and 18 months probation. He was also ordered to not have any contact with his former common law wife within 12 hours of consuming alcohol. UTTERING THREATS Armand Dugas, now of Arthur, formerly of Wingham, was convicted on charges of uttering threats and assault on July 20, 2010. Dugas was given 12 months probation and a suspended sentence. He was also told to stay 50 metres away from the assault victim and his son. The altercation took place in front of the Wingham Post Office around 11 a.m. when police were called to respond to a fight. Donnelly said Dugas had “got the better of the fight” with the victim sustaining injuries to the back of his neck that required stitches. Upon being arrested and escorted off of the property, Dugas said “there’s more where that came from and I’m going to do the same to your son”. Donnelly said that Dugas did have prior convictions. DISOBEY COURT ORDER Robert Sedman formerly of Auburn was given a conditional discharge and 12 months probation after disobeying a prior court order by having contact with a former girlfriend. Sedman was found guilty of the breach, which happened on Dec. 6, 2010, and was ordered to have no contact with the woman at her home, place of employment in Wingham or the area in which she parks her car. The one issue that was debated was his prohibition to come within 100 metres of her. Because her home is on the main street of Teeswater, simply travelling on Teeswater’s main street would mean Sedman would be in violation of the order. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen The Hard Way Students from Blyth Public School scoured their playground and stuffed garbage bags to the bursting point on Thursday, April 21 as they celebrated Earth Day by cleaning up the area closest to their education area. Students donned gloves and water-proof gear, braved the elements and left the playground a little cleaner than when they started. Earth Day actually occured on April 22, which was a holiday for students and teachers. (Denny Scott photo)