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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2005-09-21, Page 1IN P S Y T Clinical Systems DR. ROBERT SHEPHERD Practice in Psychology 194 Townsend St. Clinton Phone & Fax 519.482.1799 Visit www.inpsyt.com for more information hi brief Benefit dinner will aid Ryan family after motorcycle accident John Ryan, of Egmondville, is still in a coma in a London hospital after a collision two weeks ago between his motorcycle and a van on a 'highway near Thunder Bay. . Coming home from his brother's cabin in Kenora, John was alone on an annual trip he usually took with his wife Susie, who stayed home this year to look after the couple's Main Street business and to drive her school bus run. "I told him to go and have a good time. I guess it was a good thing I didn't go this year," she said Monday. She returned home Friday when John was transported from Thunder Bay to London. The crash occurred on Sept. 2 on Highway 17 when a Chrysler Intrepid pulled out of a restaurant and gas bar. John was' taken to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with serious head injuries in critical condition. The driver and two passengers in the van were uninjured. While he suffered a broken rib and broken collar bone, John has remained in a coma since the accident. "It's just It day by day thing and we're hoping he'll wake up soon," said Susie. The Seaforth Bakery is holding a roast beef dinner tonight (Wednesday) to raise money for the Ryans. "We started talking last week about what we could do to help and we all decided to hold the dinner. It's tough enough running a business on Main Street - not being here makes it even tougher," said .Seaforth Bakery owner Chris Behnke. Behnke said she's asking whoever comes for the dinner to pay as much as they can afford to donate so that everyone can participate. With seating for between 50 and 70 at the bakery, she's also offering take-out dinners and has had most of the food donated by suppliers. "Everyone's pitching in to help. I've had people phoning to ask if they can come and help with serving and doing the dishes," she said. Behnke said she's hoping to raise at least $2,000. "When you get sick, the only thin that stops coming in is the paycheque. All the bills keep coming," she said. inside... Pilot project displays art at medical centre... page 3 Gospel quartet performs in Egmondville ..page 10 w` - Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005 $1.25 includes GST Terry Fox Run raises $4,458, $1,000 more than last year By Jeff Heuchert and Susan Hundertmark Expositor Staff With a total of $4,458 raised at this year's Terry Fox Run in Seaforth, close to $1,000 more was raised than last year, says organizer Marty Bedard. "It's been great, awesome," he says of this year's participation by 76 people, close to 20 more than last year. Bedard says the higher rate of participation is probably a result of the increased promotion of the event's 25th anniversary. Top money raisers this year in Seaforth include the Van Steelandt family, which raised $1,260 and Ken Cardno, who raised $635. Gilbert and Ricki Vansteelandt participated for their 19th year this year. They began in 1987 after Ricki was diagnosed with breast cancer and have raised more than $1,000 every year since. "We have our regular sponsors. They call us now. We start two weeks before the run, get last year's sponsor sheet and check them off," says Gilbert. "Some of them are very generous," adds Ricki. Ken Cardno has raised money, while running, or biking the event, for the past 20 years. He says Terry Fox showed courage and determination when he set out across the country, and now the run has become his most important fundraising event. "It's my flagship fundraiser," says Cardno. -- Each year; Cardno is able to collect around $500. Last year alone, he raised $700. He says this wouldn't be possible without the support of those in the community. "My accomplishments are nothing compared to what they (sponsors) do," he says. Thanking him for his contributions, Cardno receives a letter from the Terry Fox Foundation each year, signed by Terry's mother, Betty. Cardno mails out around 30 to 40 letters each year, about one month before the event, asking for a donation. They range anywhere between $10 and $100. Susan Hundertmark photo He, says people are quite generous. It s the thought behind the donations that makes the difference." Like most people today, Cardno has been affected by cancer. On the go for Terry Fox Shannen Murray, 11, leads the way on her bike as her sister Jordan, 9, and her mom Faye follow behind during the Terry Fox Run on Sunday in Seaforth. See PARTICIPATION, Page 5 Fascination with murder in family history leads to book of last public hanging in Canada By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor A vivid memory from John Melady's childhood is of sitting on the back porch at the Seaforth home of his father's friend, listening in horror as his dad and friend recounted the tale of a grisly murder in the local Melady family history. "I was seven or eight and I still remember being really frightened," says the Egmondville author. Fascination with that story led to Melady's most recent book. Double Trap, The Last Public Hanging in Canada, the tale of Nicholas Melady, who in 1869, was hanged in Goderich for the murder of his father and his pregnant stepmother in a farmhouse a few miles southeast of Seaforth. Melady says the story has been a "skeleton in the family closet". for several generations and most of his family has avoided speaking about it. 'The shadow of the gallows has hung over my family for over a century. But, we rarely mention the matter, not just . because it is somewhat embarrassing, but because we have never really known the whole story," he says in the, book. John Melady holds his latest book Double Trap while standing in front of the Van Egmond House, whose jail held his infamous ancestor Nicholas, the last person to be hanged publicly at the Goderich jail. "That just made' me even more curious, of course," he says during a recent interview. Double Trap follows the life of Nicholas Melady Sr. - halfbrother of the author's great grandfather. an Irish immigrant, who despite impoverished beginnings in Ireland, became a wealthy landowner in the Huron Tract. Nicholas Sr., or Old Melady as he became known, was "a hot-tempered bully who simply could not get along with people" and had a continuing history of run-ins with the law. His son, Nicholas Jr., had an explosive relationship with his father who continued to offer his son land for working on the family farm but kept reneging on his promises. When Old Melady remarried at 63 after his first wife's death and the new bride became pregnant, his children worried about losing their inheritance. After a night of drinking. Nicholas Jr., his brother-in- law and the brother of another brother-in-law ended up at Old Melady's house, intending to steal the gold they believed was stashed there. When Old Melady and his pregnant wife are found the next day in a pool of blood, shot and hacked by an axe, the three concocted an alibi. Two got away with murder but Nicholas Jr. was hanged. Researching the incident at the public archives in'Ottawa, Osgoode Halt in Toronto, the University of Western Ontario archives and the newspapers in Stratford. Seaforth and Goderich, Melady says his best find was the original bench notes of the judge 'at Nicholas Jr.'s trial. "They reminded me of the See DOUBLE, Page 2