HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-08-02, Page 1The CitizenVolume 23 No. 31 Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Inside this week
Pg. 8
Pg. 10
Pg. 11
Pg. 12
Pg. 23
Soccer season
winds down
Local takes home
people’s choice
Exchange students
in Londesborough
Remembering
Homecoming 2007
New exhibit opens
at Blyth Gallery
This weekend hundreds of Ontario
firefighters are in Blyth for the 106th
Fire Fighters Association of Ontario
convention.
This is the third time the
convention has been held in Blyth. It
was here in 2001 and 2004
previously. Blyth fire chief Paul
Josling said there will be 400-500
firefighters and their families at the
campgrounds from Aug. 3-6.
“With camping facilities second to
none and a first-class training centre
next door, a fire convention could
not ask for anything more,” said
FFAO president John Scheeringa.
The festivities, which are open to
the public beginning on Friday at
7:30 p.m. with the pumper pull. “A
rope is tied to the front of a pumper
and teams have to pull the pumper
100 feet by hand,” explained Josling.
Teams pay $20 to register with the
funds going to Blyth Fire
Department.
There is karaoke at 9 p.m. to wind
up the evening.
On Saturday the Legion is cooking
breakfast beginning at 7 a.m.
A trade show runs throughout the
day. Firefighters games begin at 2:30
with the winner of the Miss Ontario
Fire Fighter crowned at 4 p.m.
That evening there is a community
campfire. The place will be
discovered, by “following the
flame”.
Sunday begins with another
Legion breakfast, followed by the
parade to Memorial Hall. The games
and competitions begin at 3 p.m.
Monday at 10 a.m. there is an
apparatus parade and the awards and
presentations will be done at 3 p.m.
to wrap up another successful
convention.
The 2008 convention is in
Tottenham.
Firefighters
converge
in Blyth
this week
There was no doubt about it,
Brussels Homecoming 2007 was a
huge success.
Co-chair Gary Pipe said, “The
weekend went well. I believe every
event was well attended. There were
certainly more people around
throughout the weekend than we had
anticipated.”
Though there were some clouds
looming in the early part of the
weekend, sunny skies prevailed to
help the attendance as well.
A small crowd was on hand for the
Friday night opening ceremonies.
But as the Jamestown and Ritchie
Rockets players took the field the
stands gradually started to fill and
continued to do so throughout the
Tigers’ fastball tournment.
By mid-evening the beer tent and
bleachers were packed.
The cooks at the Brussels United
Church were kept busy as hungry
diners turned out for breakfast and
downtown was busy in the early
morning with people looking for
bargains at the car boot sale.
The car show committee was quite
pleased with the turnout. Close to
150 cars were registered.
“We’re very pleased with the
numbers,” said committee member
Paul Machan.
The people’s choice award went
to: Ed Becker, best truck; Terry
Pattison, best rod; Brussels’ own
Glenn Bridge, best antique car and
Keith and Peg Cameron, best muscle
car.
More than 60 children turned out
to compete in the soap box derby,
easily keeping the action going for
the full two hours the event had been
scheduled.
Jacquie Gowing was also pleased
with the attendance and with the
number of competitors for team
penning.
“It’s been good,” she said early
Sunday. “We ran quite late into last
night as it was. I’m not sure we
could have had any more teams.”
Both sides of Turnberry Street
were lined for blocks as people came
out to watch the noon parade on
Saturday. It was just over an hour in
length and featured everything from
bands to antique cars, floats and, of
course, Don McNeil’s car. Several
former and the current Brussels Fall
Fair Ambassadors rode along the
route as did Citizen of the Year Doug
McArter.
The beef barbecue on Saturday
had a crowd of approximately 900
people, while the firefighters’
breakfast on Sunday morning fed
almost 800 in a few short hours.
The church service on Sunday was
led by the Rev. Dr. William
Steadman.
A mass choir, comprised of voices
from the area churches participated
in the service, which was followed
by the dedication of the memorial
gardens.
The bath tub races were finished
quickly but provided a lot of
entertainment.
The Lions Club sold 2000 ducks
for their race. The lucky winners of
$1,000 were Kim and Ken Higgins.
Second prize went to Mathew
Cardiff while Murray Lowe’s duck
was third.
St. John’s Anglican Church
barbecue had roughly 600 people out
to enjoy the home-cooked meal.
The final game of the fastball
tournament got underway at 7:30
p.m. Sunday. Playing for the A final
were Monkton and Mitchell with the
latter taking the championship.
A shirt-tail parade down main
street, followed by some spectacular
fireworks behind the arena closed
out an entertaining evening.
“With every organization looking
after its own event I believe we
pulled off the best Homecoming
ever,” said Pipe.
“For entertainment value I think
we hit this one right on the
nose.”
The 2006 silver GMC Sierra,
believed to be in the possession of
murder suspect Jesse Imeson, was
located Monday night in the Renfrew
area, between Pembroke and Ottawa.
The pick-up belonged to Helene
and William Regier of Mount Carmel
who were shot to death last week.
Imeson, a person of interest in the
murders, as well as that of Carlos
Rivera, a Windsor bartender, is
believed to have stolen the vehicle.
The truck has been seized and is
awaiting examination by the forensic
OPP unit. Police, emergency response
teams and K-9 units are all in the
process of conducting an extensive
search of the Renfrew area and
beyond.
Imeson is still at large and the hunt
for him has expanded significantly.
Before the location of the truck in
eastern Ontario, Imeson’s profile and
details of the case have been featured
on the America’s Most Wanted
website, and the case has engaged the
services of nation-wide police forces
as well as Interpol.
Huron County OPP have
announced a dedicated TIPS hotline
for the Imeson case, at 1-877-584-
8477. People with information are
asked to please call. The line is toll-
free and will be staffed full-time until
further notice.
Police have described Imeson as a
“talker” with charisma who should
stand out in a rural community,
simply because of his visible tattoos.
He is to be considered armed and
dangerous and is probably on the hunt
for simple things like food, water and
gasoline.
Imeson is 22-years-old, 6’1”, 200
lbs with brown shaved hair and brown
eyes. Imeson has distinctive tattoos on
both forearms and on his neck.
Several detailed pictures of Imeson
are available on America’s Most
Wanted’s website at amw.com.
Officers could be spotted
throughout Huron County at any time
over this timeline. Const. Jeff
Walraven said that any tip received by
the OPP was thoroughly investigated,
regardless of location.
Funeral services were held for the
Regiers on Monday in Mount Carmel.
Over 500 people were in attendance.
Autopsies, which were conducted at
London Health Sciences Centre,
determined that the couple were shot
to death.
Earlier this week, police dismissed
the involvement of a 1995 green Ford
Taurus, which was named a vehicle of
interest earlier. The vehicle, which
went missing from Stephen Twp.
around the same time as the Regiers’
murder, was stolen during a break and
enter on July 22.
The car was eventually found in the
Zurich area.
Floating down
With a little ingenuity and no short supply of imagination, competitors created some unique
watercraft for the bathtub race at Brussels Homecoming on Sunday afternoon. With perfect
weather, the walkway at the dam and the shores were crowded with spectators as about 20
teams set off and 19 returned. One pair had some flaws to work out, sinking shortly after taking
off. These guys fared much better and took a rest after finishing second. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
One heck of a Homecoming
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
Police
find
murdered
couple’s
truck