Huron Expositor, 2007-08-01, Page 4Page 4 Aug. 1, 2007 • The Huron Expositor
Opinion
Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1W0
Gripped by fear
Here in the quiet farmland of southwestern
Ontario, it's not uncommon for us to watch the
news on television and look down our noses at the
Torontos and Buffalos of the . world and wonder
aloud — what is wrong with those places?
Gun violence seems to be the order of the day and
we can't help but wonder why anyone would live
somewhere when there's a chance you'll get shot —
on purpose or even by accident.
Last weekend in Toronto .a youngster was shot
and killed after being caught in the crossfire of
gang war. For people around here, those events
seem a million miles away, not 90 minutes.
Sadly, given - the events of the last week, we can
drop the smugness.
The tiny farm community of Mount Carmel in
Huron County, near Grand Bend, has buried two of
its most loved citizens. Bill Regier, 72, and his wife,
Helene Regier, 73, were shot and killed by what
appears . to have been a random killing by a mur-
derer on the run.
Jesse Norman Imeson, 22, is now wanted in the
shooting deaths of three people, and this part of the
world is on edge.
Of course, rumours run rampant in times like
this and there are reports that farmers are taking
their guns with them when they go out on the field
on farm equipment. Baseball bats and worse are at
the bedside.
Rumours have it that farm families are locking
themselves in their, homes overnight and leaving
keys in the vehicles just in case someone very bad
comes calling. The theory being, take the car and
leave us alone.
Police admit they don't know if Imeson is still in
this area, but rumours of sightings continue to
pour in. There have been reports that he has been
spotted in Huron, Lambton and Perth counties.
Last week the hospital in Clinton locked down as
a security measure during an OPP search.
The reports of Imeson being seen stretch from
Sarnia to Stratford to Clinton to Alberta to the
United States and on Saturday the case was fea-
tured on FOX -TV's America's Most Wanted.
The idea of an unknown person breaking into a
farmhouse and killing an elderly couple is shock-
ing, and life -altering.
This was a murder unlike any other around here
in a long time and it will be a long time before
we're comfortable again. That said, the arrest of
the person responsible would be a really good start.
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We can't let fear ruin our
lives during (meson manhunt
• Fear's a strange thing.
It can save our lives or ruin
them.
As terrible as the recent
murders of Carlos Rivera and
Bill and Helene Regier were,
and my heart goes out to the
families and friends of the vic-
tims, there is no good reason
to be overcome with fear.
There is no good reason to lie awake in fear
at night or carry around firearms you might
use to accidentally shoot an innocent person.
There are plenty of -good reasons to lock
doors and be aware of our surroundings, but
those reasons have always been around.
Courage has nothing to do with it. Numbers
do. Or, at least, that's what I'd be saying if I
were in Toronto. That argument doesn't hold
very well here.
When I was a student at Humber College in
Toronto another student was murdered a cou-
ple blocks from campus. A lot of people were
justifiably freaked out, his classmates most of
all.
I wasn't. One student out of nearly 20,000
isn't a number that scares me. -
I wrote a column for the campus paper
much like this one, urging calm and saying
that I wouldn't buy a lottery ticket on the
odds involved in getting shot on or close to
campus, so why should I or anyone else walk
around in fear?
My attitude is the same now when it comes
to the Imeson manhunt, but it would be
insensitive to suggest that anyone with deep
and far. reaching roots in the area should take
a similar comfort in the odds.
grew up in a sma11, tight -knit
community with family and
friends all over the county we
lived in. I can empathize.
It's difficult to take comfort in
the odds when you've got chil-
dren, parents, uncles, aunts,
Aaron Jacklin cousins and friends spread out
in an area a man suspected of murder could
be fleeing through.
And on top of that, recent events challenge
our ideas of how the world works. These
things just don't happen around here in
Huron County, we're tempted to say.
But then reality sinks in. If two innocents
like the Regiers can turn up bound and shot
in their Hurop County homes, how safe are
we really?
Not safe at all, is what I say. Safety's an
illusion and the sooner we accept that, the
easier life becomes.
That didn't change with Jesse Imeson.
That's always been how things are.
The only kind of comfort I can offer to those
who haven't lost someone in this tragedy is
the idea that we only fear things that have
not happened.
By definition, we fear what might happen.
As long as we fear that the person responsi-
ble for these murders will cross paths with
us or someone we know, it hasn't happened.
Now that's something to take comfort in.
But the only thing I can offer to the families
and friends of Carlos Rivera and Bill and
Helene Regier is my deepest sympathy.
Yeah, fewer idiots who think
they know what this world
needs.
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