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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-01-17, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, January 17, 2019 Volume 35 No. 3 MAGFEST - Pg. 9 Blyth native impresses with his newest creation FESTIVAL - Pg. 10 Local artist releases Festival season images MUSIC - Pg. 2 ‘The Pigeon King’ creators record album in Holmesville Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: Bluevale double homicide yields three life sentences Provincial marketing pitched to producers EDITOR’S NOTE: Some readers may find the details of the below story disturbing. In an indicting comment to a letter stating convicted murderer, Kevin Carter of Wingham, was relying on his faith while in prison, Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said “One wonders where your faith was on March 29, 2018.” On that day, in a scene Judge Thomas referred to as “horrific beyond imagining” Carter first kidnapped his ex-girlfriend, Gail Fischer. Then he used a .22 rifle with a home-made silencer to shoot and kill Gail’s parents, Douglas, 77, and Marian, 66, in the home they all shared on C Line Road near Bluevale. Carter was arrested on scene by Huron OPP thanks to the incredible presence of mind Gail showed by twice dialing 911. She dialed once with her nose and once while one arm was briefly released from a plastic zip tie, all this while her parents were being shot by Carter. “You showed great fortitude and exceptional courage in contacting 911 like you did,” Judge Thomas told Gail in the courtroom. Carter pled guilty to two charges of first degree murder and one count of kidnapping at his sentencing hearing on Jan. 8 in Goderich. He was sentenced to three counts of life in prison to be served concurrently. Carter stood in the middle of the courtroom, head bowed, while details of that tragic day were read aloud from the agreed statement of facts document by acting Huron County Crown Attorney, Elizabeth Maguire. A prior publication ban was lifted, making the document public. Gail was also in the courtroom, surrounded by detectives, police and her family, listening to the series of events that led to that brutal day. The court was told Douglas and Marian Fischer had been married since 1975 and had five children between the two of them. Retired, Douglas suffered serious health problems and was dependent on the care provided by Marian and Gail. He needed a wheelchair or a walker to get around. He was still in bed on the morning of the murders. Gail is an early childhood educator who works in Wingham. The Fischer and Carter families had known each for many years. Carter was the master of ceremonies at Gail’s wedding, which ended in separation. Carter had worked for Wescast for 30 years, had no criminal record, and was a community volunteer. He had married twice and had four children from the two marriages. He separated from his second wife in 2011. That same year, Carter and Gail moved into an apartment in Wingham together. Gail was very close to her parents and she proposed the idea of building a home for the four of them so she could help care for her father. The Fischer family had owned a 50-acre Bluevale property for many years. In order to get a mortgage to build a new house, Douglas agreed to sell the property to Marian, Gail and Carter for $1 so they could move ahead with the plan at the property. The two couples moved into the new residence in February, 2016 with Carter and Gail living upstairs while Douglas and Marian lived on the first floor. In giving the history of the Fischer and Carter families, Maguire indicated Carter worked long hours and spent a lot of time fishing. What the Fischers did not know, was that Carter was accumulating income tax and credit card debt. He also struggled with alcohol. The relationship between Carter and Gail had its struggles which began to escalate in 2017. Carter was dealing with income tax and credit card debt amounting to over $45,000. He was being pressured to repay so he took a lien on the house. In December, a call was made to 911 by Gail. She and her mother had been cleaning up debris on the property. When Carter returned home, Douglas called Carter “lazy” and told him he should be cleaning up instead of Gail and Marian. Police arrived and mediated the situation but relationships within the house deteriorated. The couple broke up and Carter moved back to Wingham in December, 2017. In February, Carter altered his will and wrote in a letter to his ex-wife to remember that “I am not a bad person, only a person whose good choices went bad and bad choices went worse.” To pay his debts, Carter was trying to sell the house Douglas, Marian and Gail still lived in. Gail had moved all of Carter’s belongings to a shed outside the house. Police were called to supervise when Carter, upset his belongings were in the shed, picked them up on March 10, 2018. There were other disturbing events: It was reported Carter was stalking Gail and that there were threatening phone calls and demands for money. One day, the Fischer family found a box of rotten meat at the end of their laneway. It was surmised the meat came from the contents of Carter’s freezer the Fischers had put in the shed. In the middle of March, Carter Ontario beef farmers are hoping a joint marketing initiative will result in industry growth across the province, the country and the world. Tom Wilson and Richard Horne from the Beef Farmers of Ontario introduced the concept to the Huron County Beef Producers at their annual meeting on Jan. 9 at the Brussels Legion. The proposed marketing initiative is a joint venture between the Beef Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association that would study markets and aggressively market Ontario beef throughout the province, the country and internationally. The cost of the program, however, would increase the check-off (funds paid to upper-tier associations) to $5.50 per head of cattle from $4. The bulk of the new check-off, $4.50, would go to the provincial associations, while $1 will go the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Of that $1.50 increase, $1.25 will be going towards the marketing initiative itself, while the remaining quarter will stay with the Beef Farmers of Ontario for further research. Wilson, the feedlot director for the Beef Farmers of Ontario, said that the co-operative nature of the marketing plan will ensure sharp precision in terms of research and marketing and bringing people to Ontario beef. Because of provincial costs, he said, Ontario beef will cost more than its international competition, but last year’s research indicates that two-thirds of Ontarians are prepared to spend more for beef from their home province. It’s up to Ontario beef farmers, he said, to ensure that increased quality is there for the increased cost. According to research completed last year, among those willing to pay for Ontario beef, Wilson said, those particularly in favour include women, parents, consumers under the age of 35, Ontarians born outside of Canada and residents of the Greater Toronto Area. With a 33 per cent decline in the Ontario beef cow inventory in the last 10 years – from 360,500 in January, 2008 to 243,300 in January, 2018 – Wilson said that the provincial organizations are searching for a solution to increasing beef consumption throughout the province and beyond. Billed as a “bold new path” for Ontario beef, the plan would be led by Jim Clark, the executive director of the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association, and it will focus on increasing market penetration of all Ontario-branded beef products provincially, nationally and internationally. Under Clark there will be a six- member joint marketing committee comprised of three members from the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association (Rob Lipsett, Craig By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 20 By Lisa B. Pot Special to The Citizen Continued on page 15 A clash of champions The Blyth and District Community Centre played host to its annual men’s and women’s broomball tournament over the weekend, welcoming nearly 30 teams to the village to compete. While the men from Seaforth would claim the tournament’s A Division championship and the Palmerston men would win the B Division, the Palmerston women would go on to win their A Division, while Blyth would win the women’s B Division. Here, the two women’s champions clashed on Saturday afternoon, with Palmerston winning the game by a score of 2-1. (Mark Nonkes photo)