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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 1999-10-20, Page 1In brief Police charge 27 young people with liquor offences at McKillop party Twenty-seven young people. all but two of them underage. were charged with liquor- related violations after a party Friday night on a farm on Concession 2-3 in .McKillop Township. After receiving a call that a party was 'getting out.of hand. Huron OPP set up a RIDE program with seven officers on the 'concessionroad and sopped vehicles i9r over three hours. ' The • charges included drinking underage. having open liquor in the car and two had their licences suspended for 12 • hours . for blowing warns on the. alcotests. Youth from 16 to 19 were charged from Seaforth. Goderich, Clinton, ' Exeter. Stratford, Hensall, ' Zurich. Bayfield, 'Dashwood, Blyth and Hay; - Tuckersmith. Colborne, McKillop, Stanley, Hullett and- Kirkton Townships. Police estimate that Tore than 500 people attended the party. "Officers were concerned over the number of youths and the possible danger these. youths faced with •the.drinking`and driving that was taking place," says Sr. Constable Don Shropshall. "The Huron OPP would like to remind alt parents to check on what their young teenagers are up to and stop them from being the next victims on• our roads." he says. Teacher receives award Pape 3 �I. Circus comes to town .. Pape Campers donate to hospital... Pog. October 20, 1999 $i (includes GST) Local weather Wsdn•sday--Scattered afternoonshowers, High 9 Thursday --Cloudy with sunny periods. Htgh 15. lav 2. Friday --Cloudy with sunny periods. High 12. low 7. Saturday --Cloudy with sunny periods and scattered showers High neat 9. law 2. From Environment Canada LeBeau found guilty Matt•Shurrie photo Ryan Kyle comforts Sarah LeBeau as she leaves the Godench court Friday where she was found guilty of 10 charges relating to a crash that killed four of her friends. Justice Granger believes Sarah LeBeau was driver in accident that killed four of her friends By Amy Zoothout Goderich Signal -Star Sarah LeBeau sat quietly before a packed courtroom on. • Friday afternoon as she was found guilty'•of 10 of the l l charges laid against her stemming from a crash that killed four of her friends. Justice Thomas Granger of London said he believed LeBeau was the driver of her 1995 Camaro that crashed off County Road 31 near Varna killing Neal Atchison. Pamela King. Brian Hill and Mark Webster on Nov. 24, 1996. Both• LeBeau and Brandon Gardner were seriously injured in the crash.. 'More than a year after the trial began in Goderich. LeBeau was found guilty of four counts -of criminal negligence' causing death. criminal negligence causing bodily harm. four •counts of impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm: While Granger found that LeBeau was driving over the legal -limit. the Crown asked that this final charge be stayed. - Criminal negligence causing death -carries 4 -maximum sentence of life in prison. • Submissions for sentencing will, begin on Dec. 13 and a 'enieneg,will be handed down some time in January Under tight -security. mere than 80 friends and family. of •LeBeau and the four victims of the crash filled the •courtroom. Plain clothed police officers also sat throughout the room. In giving_ his reasons for judgement. Granger said there were two main issues arising from the' crash - was LeBeau the driver and if so, was her operation .of the -vehicle Criminally negligent and/or was her ability -to operate the vehicle impaired by alcohol. • . With the evidence given throughout the trial. Granger said he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that LeBeau was- • the driver of her Camaro when it left County Road 31. • r See EVIDENCE/Page 2 urray dismisses Mistie sighting But new sightingemerges from the past, sparking mom to demand investigation The man told ,Murray he had seen a • .girl fitting Mistie's description at the mission four years ago and that he had reported the sighting to, the into: police obstruction of missing teen search director of the facility. • Murray said the man's sighting was 'By 'Bloke Pottarson Godench Signal -Star Staff `71i 7TiTi 1 Irid. Murray % c1 London last Friday to show photos of her daughter lo the man. She was disappointed 16 rind he Could not guarantee hay Mg seen \listic -: only that lot Itad seen girl similar to Mistie surd that recent photo. of \lrstie in national newspapers n.ontlimed hi. su belief he had seen \lie lour .ear. ago at the mission. `(arras 'said 11 is unlikely the girl seen ill September w.is \ . "1 don't know 'hatit was her." she ''111 she w,,. in London ). somebody would hear tronr her." Despite the disappointment of not hating a recent sighting. \ltirra, was. encouraged to fin(' out .shout the nian', possible former sighting of her daughter. •Anne Murray is dismissing -claims.: her daughter Mistie was seen .last month in London. "I don't heliece she's there nw. 11 she's alive. she`, hall «a around the ' world: said Murray Arumhet home .in Mitchell. Child Find recently received a report from a:an claiming. he had seen a girl.titting Mistie's description ` at the Ark Aid Street Mission on Dundas Street in London on either Sept. 21 or 22. _ • ' That report.'hliwever, ,cemA to he unfounded. When told of the reported sighting t never forwarded -to her by -police. and fits a pattern of more than 100 such sightings withheld from her by police until law ' er Brian Greenspan demanded the reports be released. Mistie;. who was 16 when she disappeared. was last reported. seen flay -31. 1995 around 4 p.m., leaving Goderich District Collegiate Institute inGoderich. . .:Steve, Murray (Anne's husband) was accused of .murdering his adoptive • daughter Mistie and dumping her body' into Lake Huron. He was acquitted after a three-week trial in May. 1997: - . Since then; officers from the Criminal Investigations Branch have' maintained their belief the body of the 'missing teenager is still in the take. They have conducted several high-tech sonar.searches of the lake bottom in the .area. -- but have yet to • find anything. Aside from the London sighting. Murray said she was also encouraged by a man from Ottawa-w•ho-saidhee saw Mistie in his store in London. at (east 10 times in June, 1995. A full-page article about the case appeared in the National, Post on Sept. 25 and prompted the Ottawa man's recent report to Child Find. Contacted by Murray. the Ottawa man, Dennis Edwards. told her he is "absolutely sure" he saw Mistie after - May 31. 1995 the date police allege she was killed. Murray said she intends to contact Perth MPP Bert Johnson to•demand the Solicitor Generalopen an investigation into police conduct surrounding the case which she says has obstructed the search for a missing teenager and "destroyed" her husband's reputation. Fewer than nine schools to close. less than last year's estimates By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Stott fewer -dray -nine- e- iot-4. will he named for closure this year. . 'But. no targeted`nurttber has yet been set for closure. said education director Longe Rachlis at • Thursday's regional accommodation review meeting in Seaforth. •'Last year we were trying to reduce all the excess. capacity but what's different this year is there'sno government closure target or deadline." he told about 50 parents from Seaforth and Mitchell -area schools who met• in Seaforth District High School's gymnasium. Rachlis said that removing all excess space (or 15 per Lome Rachlis outlines how closure process, will work at a public meeting last week. cent) of 60 schools worked nut mathematically to nine schools. hitt 12-15 schools were named for closure last year because the district contains many small rural schools. While Ministry of schools nearby where • 'Because of the recent Education calculations state students can go. change in high school that an average elementary • "We're not going to favor curriculum that compresses hoot should haus-at-least gine,.county--ovet.-anothez—...fiv:.e.ryeark into four' by . •r, t students, and an average high schools over elementary getting rid of OAC. Rachlis sc•i ondary school should schools or town schools over said. there will be "large • have .at least 909 students, country schools," he said: reductions" in the number. of Rachlis said a reasonably- • "It never feels right to• students at district high sized school in the city close your own school but, schools. • would not be reasonable in the bottom line is we're "If we want to keep the Huron and Perth Counties. keeping more buildings open larger buildings with the best ."Here the population is than we have students for," facilities in the community. spread out and busing times he said. we'll have to look at taking can. be considerable. We're Rachlis said that school Grades 7 and 8 Out of going to have to keep some closures will dislocate some elementary schools." he said. small schools open to give students for a short time but Trustee Abby Armstrong students reasonable access to pointed to the Grades 7 and 8 told parents the .board is them," he said. • students at Upper Thames aware that closing schools Rachlis said considerations Public School who were can mean destroying for closure that would be transferred from Mitchel communities and that the reasonable in the Avon Public School this fall. provincial funding formula Maitland district include "They're all settled in for school boards does not fit schools that are older, need nicely and very happy in repairs . and have other their new school," he said. See KOS, Page 2 Your community newspaper since 1860 4 t•