The Citizen, 2010-09-02, Page 1CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, September 2, 2010
Volume 26 No. 34ATVS- Pg. 28Huron East votes toallow ATVs on streets MICROFIT - Pg. 31Deadline approaching onmicroFIT applicationsFARMTOUR- Pg. 12International pasturespecialist comes to HuronPublications Mail Agreement No. 4005014 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
A report released last week by the
Special Investigations Unit (SIU)
detailed the chronology of one of the
bloodiest days in the area’s recent
history: the murder of (OPP)
Constable Vu Pham on County Road
12 just south of Walton.
The report was released just hours
before an official inquest into the
deaths of Ontario Provincial Police
Pham and his killer Fred Preston was
announced by Ontario’s Chief
Coroner Dr. Andrew McCallum.
McCallum’s inquest is directed at
examining the incidents surrounding
the two deaths and having a jury
make recommendations to prevent
similar deaths.
Further details, such as the date,
the location and the presiding
coroner will be released at a later
time.
A media release from the SIU
detailed the events of March 8, as
well as revealing some details that
had yet to be disclosed.
The SIU officially cleared Pham’
partner, Const. Del Mercey of any
wrongdoing. The SIU found that
Mercey was forced to shoot Preston
or risk getting killed himself.
The report states that Preston was
driving to the farm of his sister-in-
law seeking revenge, calling his
daughter on the way, who
subsequently called 911 to alert
police to the situation.
Pham and Mercey were then sent
to the home (Preston’s destination)
which was on North Line Road.
Upon arrival, the officers found the
home to be empty and then
continued to patrol the area. Pham
continued to patrol to the north,
while Mercey patrolled to the south.
At 10:12 a.m., Pham observed a
white pickup truck, which the report
says was being driven by Preston,
travelling north. Pham then called
Mercey on the radio, requesting
back-up and then signalled for
Preston to pull over to the side of the
road. Preston complied, pulling over,
with Pham pulling over 2.5 metres
behind Preston’s vehicle.
As the vehicles had come to a stop,
Mercey was approaching and as he
pulled up, he saw both men get out
of their vehicles. Preston was
carrying a hunting rifle.
Preston then walked behind his
truck, pointed his hunting rifle at
On Monday the Avon Maitland
District School Board (AMDSB)
decided to rescind a deadline placed
on building a new “super school” in
Wingham.
The board stated in a press release
on Tuesday that progress had been
made towards receiving funding
necessary to continue with building
at their preferred site: the end of
John Street, adjacent to F.E. Madill
Secondary School.
The decision doesn’t mean that the
build is a sure thing though, just that
the board won’t be changing the site
immediately. There are still several
objections the AMDSB needs to deal
with, according to board chair Jenny
Versteeg.
“We remain hopeful that we can
clear the hurdles and proceed with
this project at our preferred
location,” she said in the press
release. “The fact is, there are still
some significant challenges and the
Board will keep this at the top of its
agenda until it can be resolved.
There may come a point in the not-
too-distant future that we will have
no other option than to move to an
alternate location.”
The decision to not move
immediately must have been music
to the ears of a Wingham business
person who has pulled together more
than 400 signatures of people who
support the school being built in
Wingham.
Jim Snyder, of Snyder Concepts in
Wingham, started collecting
signatures just over two weeks ago
and, as of Friday, August 27, had
passed the 400 mark with his
petition.
“This is something I believe in for
the whole township,” Snyder said.
“Having the school here, where the
infrastructure already exists, will
save tax dollars and help grow the
township.”
Snyder stated that there had been
many people opposed to the building
of the “super school”, but not a lot
speaking up in a positive manner. He
started the petition to give those in
favour of the school a voice.
The move will benefit the whole
township according to Snyder,
providing children with the best
education possible.
“Students will be able to walk to
the athletics complex, the hospital is
right across the street, and having
the public school so close to the high
school will help high school students
get their volunteer hours in, while
allowing them to help public school
students,” he said.
Snyder commented that if the
school is built outside of Wingham,
the amount of students bused to
wherever they choose will increase
by 300, and that the decision to do
that is an economically unfeasible
one.
“I really believe that this is a
whole-township initiative. We need
to embrace it as a township and grow
as a township,” he said. “The
community of North Huron needs
to consider the advancement of
the township collectively,” he
said.
Earlier in the week, Snyder had
delivered his letter to Huron-Bruce
MPP Carol Mitchell, who,
according to an Avon Maitland
District School Board (AMDSB)
press release, was pleased to see the
support for the new school.
Mitchell stated that she would
send the petition to the Minister of
Education, Leona Dombrowsky.
“I will forward this petition... [and
ask] that she seriously consider the
request for additional funding,” she
said.
Versteeg stated that the board was
happy to receive the support and the
petition.
“As a board we are quite pleased
to hear about the tremendous
community support to have the new
school built on the site we feel is
best suited [for it],” she said.
On Thursday, August 26 shortly
before 1:30 p.m., Huron County
OPP officers were dispatched to a
farm on Cardiff Road northeast of
Brussels where a person had fallen
into a grain storage silo.
The Grey Township Fire
Department and Huron ambulance
crews also responded to the scene.
The fire department with the
assistance of local feed company
personnel and their equipment were
able to empty the silo and located the
male inside. The male did not have
vital signs upon being located.
Immediate attempts were made to
resuscitate the male but these
attempts proved unsuccessful.
The male was identified as Larry
Bray, aged 59 from the Brussels area
(See page 36 for Bray’s full
obituary).
Brussels-area man dies after
falling into grain storage silo
Closed for Labour Day
Deadline for school
rescinded by board
Walton-area shooting recounted,
officer cleared in SIU report
Field of dreams
The Huron County Plowing Match, held at Central Huron Reeve Bert Dykstra’s farm, had
numerous competitors with all manner of plows and all manner of forward momentum going
for the perfect first cut. The match serves as an opportunity for farmers to showcase their
ability with plows from across the decades, including newer, reversible plows, and older horse-
drawn plows. (Denny Scott photo)
The annual Thresher Reunion is
almost here, which means it’s
Labour Day weekend.
The offices of The Citizen will be
closed for Labour Day on Monday,
September 6. That means that
advertising and editorial copy must
be in to the Brussels office by 2 p.m.
on Friday, September 3 and 4 p.m.
that day in Blyth to be in time for
the September 9 issue of The
Citizen.
Enjoy a safe and fun-filled long
weekend.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Continued on page 40