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It was outdoor fun as children participated in some games during the first day of the annual
Brussels churches’ Kids Corner, held at the Mennonite Fellowship. In an original variation on
Duck, Duck, Goose, Brittany Struthers joins the ‘it’ line after being tagged by Guinevere
MacLeod.The sessions continued through this week, each afternoon with the wrap up on
Friday. A total of 68 children were on hand for the first day. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
A former Wescast Industries
employee is facing fraud charges
after allegedly embezzling over
$400,000 in company funds in the
span of over five years.
Yvonne deBruyn-Bramhill, 32, of
Mount Forest has been charged with
one count of fraud of over $5,000.
This is a charge that could be
multiplied to reflect the amount
allegedly taken, says Cpl. Darren
Morgan of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police’s (RCMP) London
detachment, adding that the charges
have not yet been set in stone.
“That sentence would be just for
one offense of fraud over $5,000.
Obviously she’s accused of doing
this for a long period of time and I
think they are only charging her with
the one count, but depending on how
the Crown Attorney wants to
proceed, there could be numerous
counts,” he said. “Obviously. We’re
talking about over $400,000.”
Morgan said that deBruyn-
Bramhill was reportedly diverting
company money into personal
accounts, including bank accounts,
Canada Savings Bond accounts and
RRSP accounts.
A court date has been set for
deBruyn-Bramhill, who is not
currently in custody, says Morgan.
She is set to appear on Sept. 17 in
Wingham.
While the charges were laid by the
RCMP, the investigation began with
Wingham Police Services.
“This was initially reported to us
and we started the investigation,”
says Wingham Police Chief Tim
Poole.
“We started the investigation, but
when we got up to around half a
million dollars, I decided that it
would take some accounting
resources that we just don’t have.”
Poole says the investigation began
around December of last year.
“Years ago I used to work with the
RCMP commercial crime unit and I
know that was their function and that
they handle major amounts, either by
businesses or against businesses,”
Poole said. “So I contacted them and
they said they would be willing to
take it over.”
Poole says that Wingham Police
Services handled the first half of the
investigation and that the RCMP
took the last half, eventually
pressing the charges against
deBruyn-Bramhill.
The alleged fraud had been going
on for the complete duration of
deBruyn-Bramhill’s time with
Wescast, Morgan says, which was
from 2003 to 2008.
Local’s photo wins
at Hensall show
Blyth-area’s Carol McDonnell
took home one of the top prizes of
this year’s Hensall Art Show with a
picture she took on a recent trip to
Tunisia.
The picture is of a souq (market)
in the capital city of Tunis and
features a colourful mosaic of
displayed items as well as people
making their way through the
market.
McDonnell, who has been
featured in three Hensall Art Shows,
took home the top prize in the
Photography/Digital Art category
with the image.
“The Hensall Art Show is quite a
good show. It’s a juried show, so
your art only gets in if it’s of a
certain calibre,” she said. “The show
is only open to the public for a week,
but it typically has very good sales.”
McDonnell’s picture was sold
through the show.
The trip to Tunisia, which
McDonnell took with her husband,
Jerry, in February, was the basis for
this and several other works
including some paintings. The pair
travelled for 2000 kilometres,
making their way from the
Mediterranean down to the Sahara
Desert.
The pair has travelled all over the
world since retiring. McDonnell
says that their favourite city is Paris,
France. They have visited Portugal,
Italy, Ireland and North Africa.
Over the course of the trip they
encountered Roman ruins as well as
markets, camels and many other
sights to behold. McDonnell said the
Summer’s here and the time is right, for the staff at The Citizen to take a
break.
The Brussels office will be closing for holidays at 2 p.m. Monday, July 27,
while the Blyth office will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 29. It will be back
to business as usual, Monday, Aug. 10.
As there will be no issue of The Citizen the first week in August, anyone
wanting to advertise an event for that time, may want to do so in the July 30
paper.
Woman charged with fraud
A drive from London to
Wingham, being called the Ride For
Heroes is nearing confirmation,
looking to take place on Aug. 22 to
benefit a scholarship in the name of
fallen Wingham soldier Matt
Dinning.
Dinning, son of OPP officer
Lincoln Dinning and his wife
Laurie, was killed while serving in
Afghanistan in 2006.
The drive, which will feature
mostly motorcycles, but some cars
as well, is meant to raise funds for a
scholarship in Dinning’s name at his
former high school, F.E. Madill
Secondary School.
The event’s organizer, Scott
Aldridge of London, a former
military police officer, says the
event will feature military police as
well as civilian, military and
emergency services personnel
making the trip from London to
Wingham’s Richard W. LeVan
Airport. At the airport, displays will
honour Canadian military heroes.
At the airport, a barbecue lunch
and dinner will be held in addition
to a performance by musician Dale
Goodie, who wrote Died With Pride,
a song honouring fallen military
personnel.
While Aldridge is organizing the
event, the idea to honour Dinning in
such a manner came from Wingham
Police Services chief Tim Poole
who was disappointed in the
absence of military police at last
year’s Remembrance Day ceremony
in Wingham.
Poole made the initial contact, a
former military police officer
himself, calling other military police
officers, quickly making plans to
honour Dinning as well as others
with an event.
Members of the public are invited
to take part in the ride by meeting at
the Canadian Forces Area Support
Unit at the Elizabeth Street Gates to
register, which will cost $30.
Drivers and riders will receive a
memento to mark the occasion as
well as a tax receipt for $25.
The ride will leave London just
after 10 a.m.
The goal, says Aldridge, is to raise
$5,000 for the scholarship fund. And
if it’s successful, he says, it could
become an annual event.
For more information visit
http://1mppla.ca/html/Dinning_Rid
e/Dinning_ride.htm
Staff takes a holiday
CitizenTh
e
$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, July 23, 2009
Volume 25 No. 29REVIEW- Pg. 19Stratford’s Macbethfizzles ACHIEVEMENT - Pg. 20 Local students make CHSSOntario Scholar listTHEATRE- Pg. 18Designer puts Festival stageon icePublications 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:
Ride to honour
local fallen hero
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 7