HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-08-20, Page 1Two local hockey players have just
returned from what is now being
investigated by Peel Regional Police
as a potential scam in Europe.
Matt White and Cody Subject,
both of Brussels, flew to France
earlier this month to participate in
what they were told was an
international hockey tournament
meant to showcase their skills to
professional scouts, potentially
leading to scholarships or careers in
hockey.
Police are now attempting to
collect the contracts signed by the 60
young hockey players to try and
track down the organizers of the trip.
Police will then have to determine if
the issue is a criminal or civil one.
It all began when one of the
hockey players, upon arriving in
France, e-mailed his parents in
Ontario. Apparently parents were
told the tournament was not
sanctioned by the appropriate
international hockey organizations
and the International Ice Hockey
Association (IIHA) and French Ice
Hockey Federation (FIHF) banned
their own teams from playing.
However, at the middle of the
scandal is Ontario Central Scouting,
an unsanctioned company that
organized the trip, which has yet to
make a statement in regards to this
trip.
Suspicions supposedly began in
May when Hockey Canada, the
organization which sanctions events
like this one, contacted both the
IIHA and FIHF with concerns.
However, Hockey Canada did not
know the players involved in the trip,
so were not able to notify them
directly.
While some of the players
reported back that the trip was a fun
one, it did not fulfill its stated
promise of an international hockey
tournament. Others are just calling it
a straight-up scam.
“What would any parent think?”
said Bev Subject, mother of Cody.
“It was all just a big scam, one big
disappointment.”
While it has come out that each
player paid a different amount to
attend the trip, Subject estimated the
total cost of her son’s trip at $3,500.
Donna White, Matt’s mother,
however, says she isn’t as angry as
some of the other parents involved in
Big air
Riders were grabbing some big air last week at the Walton TransCan weekend on Chris Lee’s
track. The track is one of the most unique in Canadian motocross and the last stop for the
professional circuit as well as several days of amateur events. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
In a year where many events,
especially those requiring travel,
have seen decreases, Walton Trans-
Can saw its numbers hold steady,
with over 25,000 people making
their way through the event’s gates
last week.
“I was really ready to see a 10 or
15 per cent decrease this year,”
organizer Chris Lee said. “We pulled
even with last year and even had
some more out-of-province riders
this year, which was something I
really didn’t expect.”
Last year’s event saw between
25,000 and 30,000 come through
Walton over the event’s six days.
Rather than a decrease, however,
before the actual event, pre-
registration numbers told him that
wasn’t in the cards.
Lee and his crew didn’t have to
deal with any wet weather last week.
Instead it was a hot, dry stretch,
which can sometimes spell disaster
for a motocross event, but Lee said
his crew dealt with the conditions
quickly and efficiently.
“It was definitely a challenge,”
Lee said. “That can be a motocross
event’s worst nightmare. The dirt,
especially around here, can become
dry and hard-packed in a matter of
hours.”
The crew moved quickly between
races, using new equipment in
Walton for the first time to keep the
track ready for over 40 hours of
racing throughout the event’s six
days.
“I have been to events all
throughout the United States and our
track management this year was as
good as anything I have seen,” Lee
said. “It’s definitely the best track
management we’ve ever had here.”
Lee, who was battling a bout with
the flu for the better part of the
event, said that the management of,
not only the track, but the event in
general, while he was experiencing
illness was a true testament to the
people he works with on this event.
Above all, however, Lee is a
motocross fan and he is a Huron
County resident, saying that one of
the things that impressed him most
about this year’s event was some of
the strong finishes by local riders.
In the supermini amateur class,
Mitchell Godkin of Walton finished
11th, while Cody Richmond of the
Brussels area finished just behind
Godkin in 12th.
Lucas Cooke of Auburn also
participated in the amateur youth
class portion of the event.
James Emmrich of Walton placed
23rd in the 25 and over class, while
Kennan MacDonald of Blyth
finished 37th in the school boy
amateur class.
Richmond also finished 16th in
the 80 class, for riders aged 12-16,
while Dallas Ruff-Robertson of
Belgrave finished 28th and
MacDonald finished 29th.
Alex Laliberté of Quebec won the
Gaerne Bronze Boot, narrowly
edging out Nathan Bles of Varna,
who won the Kyle Elliot Total
Devotion Award.
Dylan Kaelin of Grand Bend won
the Rick Joseph Memorial Award for
the intermediate rider most likely to
succeed.
The 2009 IMX Canada Cup East
Vs. West competition was taken by
the West team this year, for the
second time in the last four years.
For more information and full
results from last week’s event, visit
www.waltontranscan.ca
The cool spring and summer has
left farmers with crossed fingers for
this year’s corn season.
According to local crop advisor
Wayne Wheeler, corn crops are
behind by about one week from last
year, which was itself a borderline
year.
“It is going to be nip and tuck this
season for corn,” he said.
The problem of course has been
the heat, or lack thereof. “You pick
up usually 20 heat units a day,” said
Wheeler. “This weekend we
probably got more like 25, but we
are behind last year.”
Wheeler said the heat units for
this year are 1,500 compared to
1,682 from the same time last year.
“We need an amazing September
and October to pull the corn crop
through.”
And while not enough heat has
been the big factor, not enough rain
is another problem.
“We have had nuisance rains, but
not the good steady rainfalls we
need and the beans are showing
drought stress.”
Soybeans are also being plagued
by aphids, which arrived in the first
part of July. “The population has
been building over the months and a
few are at threshold levels, which is
250 per plant to spray.”
While farmers have been able to
get most of the wheat crop off,
Wheeler said the yields are below
expectation. “They are getting about
10-15 bushels less than the previous
year, which was a borderline year.”
On the plus side, however, said
Wheeler, the quality thus far has
been “reasonably good. You hate to
make a blanket statement, but
generally it’s good.”
If there’s another positive it’s the
white beans, which Wheeler said
also look promising, despite a little
white mold. “That’s fairly typical to
see and not particularly surprising
when you get some rains. But
generally they look okay.”
Wheeler said farmers should be at
white bean harvest by the middle of
September, which is traditional for
cooler years.
A hot late summer with
substantial, gentle rainfalls will
improve things, but Wheeler doesn’t
hold out a lot of hope. “To pull heat
out in September is the wrong time
of year because the day is shorter. To
try to rescue a crop at the end of the
season is not a good thing.”
“We can hope, but for some crops
it may be too late,” he said.
25,000 pass through gates
CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009
Volume 25 No. 32SPORTS- Pg. 9Brussels Squirts win A title NEWS - Pg. 19 Brussels-area artist’swork featured at GallerySPORTS- Pg. 8U-12 soccer team takes topprizePublications 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:
Summer arrives
too late for corn
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Local hockey players
among ‘scam’ victims
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 20