The Citizen, 2010-03-11, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 11, 2010
Volume 26 No. 10MEDICINE- Pg. 13New doctor settles inWingham BOOKS - Pg. 23 Happy Baker moves closeto bestseller listSPORTS- Pg. 8Local fans cheer as JustinPeters earns first starPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 PAP Registration No. 09244 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Wingham OPP officer shot dead near Walton
Shots rang out between Walton
and Winthrop at approximately
10:30 a.m. on Monday, March 8,
leaving an Ontario Provincial Police
officer killed in action, and one
suspect in an unkown condition.
OPP Commisioner Julian Fantino
reported that 37-year-old Constable
Vu Pham of Wingham pulled a
white pick-up truck over on North
Line. The approximately 70-year-
old suspect exited his vehicle, toting
a rifle, according to eyewitness
reports.
“He took the initiative to intercept
an individual and that individual is
the person who shot him,”
Commissioner Fantino said. “He
was just doing his job.”
Pham was incapacitated by a
critical hit, according to Fantino,
and other officers arrived at the
scene to try and subdue the suspect.
What ensued was, according to
Faith Weber, an eyewitness from
Brussels who was travelling on
North Line, a close range gunfight,
with approximately 20 shots fired.
After the suspect was shot,
officers were able to apprehend the
him.
The investigation resulted in
North Line, as well as a two
kilometre area radiating from the
scene, being closed off to public
traffic.
The weapons fire began close to
85352 North Line, according to
Special Investigation Unit
spokeswoman Monica Hudon, with
the police officer and suspect facing
each other from opposite sides of the
road in a ditch.
Both Pham, who has 15 years
experience with the OPP, and the
suspect were taken to Victoria
Hospital in London, Pham by air
ambulance, and the suspect by
ground.
Pham died due to his injuries at a
London’s Health Sciences building,
according to Fantino, and was, in his
words, in grave condition from the
moment he was brought in.
Fantino said the prayers and
thoughts of Ontario’s policing
community are with Pham’s wife,
Heather, and his three children, 12-
year-old Tyler, 10-year-old Jordan,
and 7-year-old Joshua.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss
of this brave young officer who was
commited to protecting the citizens
of Ontario,” Fantino said in a press
conference late on Monday, March
8.
Pham’s children are students at
Turnberry Public School, and play
hockey in Wingham.
Pham was born in Saigon,
Vietnam.
Charges are pending against the
suspect. The slaying of a police
officer, even by accident, is
considered first degree murder, has a
mandatory sentence of life in prison
with no parole for 25 years.
104 OPP officers have been killed
in action in the police service’s 100-
year history. Twenty-four of those
officers were shot.
Shots fired
North Line was closed off near Walton on Monday as shots were fired between OPP officers
and a suspect who had gunned down Constable Vu Pham earlier. The firefight resulted in
Officer Pham dying due to his injuries at Victoria Hospital in London, and the suspect being
taken to hospital in London. Shown is Provincial Constable L. Dalrymple directing traffic.Denny
Scott photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
OPP Const. Vu Pham
Shot and killed while on duty
When Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh (ACW) council recieved
North Huron’s (NH) proposed new
fire budget, they were surprised to
say the least.
“Price was really a concern,”
Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said.
“Prices jumped from $6,000 to
$7,000 in previous years to $21,000
this year.”
It later came to light that the
increase was really an inclusion of
costs that ACW had been paying all
along.
NH wanted to have local
townships that make use of
equipment pay for the eventual
replacement of that equipment
through their yearly coverage
agreement, instead of paying lump
sums later on.
“That’s a problem for us,” Van
Diepenbeek said. “It used to be we
would help buy equipment, and then
own a portion of that equipment, but
under this plan, NH would own the
equipment they bought with the
additional funds we’re paying
yearly.”
No decision has been made in
ACW, as they are currently looking
at the idea of reducing the area that
North Huron’s fire division would
need to cover by having Lucknow
cover much of ACW.
“We of course want the best
reaction time possible, but the cost is
prohibitive,” he said.
“With Lucknow, the reaction
times would be comparable,” Van
Diepenbeek said. “And the cost
would be less to ratepayers.”
ACW would receive a buyout,
according to Van Diepenbeek, for
equipment they had helped pay for
before, but the return wouldn’t cover
the first year’s payment.
Van Diepenbeek says that the
decision is a slow one because of
council meeting times. ACW
council meets the day after North
Huron, and then not again for two
weeks.
“We make a decision, get it to
them, and they may not have it ready
for our next meeting,” he said.
“We’re looking at two-to-four weeks
before a response can be found.”
Aside from the Lucknow option,
Van Diepenbeek said that ACW is
also looking at other alternative
means of fire coverage.
NH council is providing interim
coverage until a decision is made.
Bert Dykstra, Reeve of Central
Huron echoes the concerns of ACW,
but says his council is pushing the
decision forward due to its
importance.
“We have a few different options
in front of us as far as coverage
goes,” he said. “And ownership of
the vehicles is a contentious issue of
course.”
Central Huron is currently
covering up to Blyth Road, a move
that was accepted by the fire
marshall to ensure coverage during
the interim.
Morris-Turnberry signed their
contract with NH.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Costs may make Central
Huron, ACW change fire areas
Several members of the Huron
East/North Perth Accommodation
Review Committee (ARC) made
their final recommendation scenarios
at the March 3 meeting at Elma
Township Public School.
The majority report, comprised of
recommendations from
representatives from Listowel
Central, Listowel Eastdale, Elma
Township and Wallace Public
Schools was adopted as the ARC’s
official recommendation, as it
received a majority of the votes from
ARC members.
The minority report, however,
comprised by representatives of
Brussels and Grey Central Public
Schools, will also be featured as part
of the entire report that will be
presented to Avon Maitland District
School Board trustees.
Superintendent of education Mike
Ash said the majority report, the
minority report and the staff
recommendation will all be
presented to the trustees with equal
weighting given to all three reports.
THE MAJORITY REPORT
The majority report called for the
consolidation of Grey Central and
Brussels Public Schools in some
manner that would maintain one
school in Huron East. Presenters said
the benefits of the proposal are that
students are staying in their
community, which is something the
group said was very important to the
future of education in the area.
For the other four schools involved
ARC approves two options
Beginning Sunday, March 14
you’ll have more hours of light in
the evening as Daylight Savings
Time commences for 2010.
To make sure you’ll be at the same
time as everyone else, take a
moment to set you clocks forward
one hour before going to bed March
13.
Daylight Savings
time begins
Sunday
Continued on page 21
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen