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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-8-3, Page 2Page 2 Trines -Advocate, August 3, 1994 J-ptJ 'l -[F NE 'V TS wrap up Spontanous combustion blamed for barn 'fireball' RANNOCH - A barn went up in flames "like a fireball" near St. Marys on July 21, reports the St. Marys Journal -Argus. The barn on the farm of Luke and Joanne DeBrabandere was destroyed by a fire attributed to spontaneous combustion of new hay bales in storage. Up to 20 percent moisture is considered safe for small square bales of hay, but moisture above 25 per- cent faces increasing risk of bac- terial and fungus growth raising temperatures up to 130-140 de- grees fahrenheit, and then caus- ing a chemical reaction to raise temperatures to burning point. St. Marys fire chief Dennis Brownlee said his department has a device for measuring the temperature inside hay bales, should a farmer believe there is cause for concern. Gas bar robbers jailed two years GODERICH - Two of three men charged in connection with a robbery at a Wingham gas sta- tion in January were sentenced to jail in Goderich court last week reports the Signal -Star. Michael Campbell, 23, and William Sanderson, 22, both from the Lucknow area, pleaded guilty to robbery, and firearms charges. In the robbery, which netted the thibves $700, gas station owner Robert Crumb was beaten with a baseball bat after he handed money over from the register. Crumb was left with distorted vision in one eye after the incident. The pair were sentenced to jail for two years Tess a day, and banned from owning explosives, ammunition, or firearms for life. A third person charged in the robbery will have a preliminary hearing on November 14. 23,000 descend on Goderich to see Tall Shis GODERICH - Twenty-three thousand people arrived in Goderich last weekend to see the Tall Ships, a group of five sail- ing ships touring the Great Lakes this summer. Organizers of the Goderich event reported to the Signal -Star that all bills were certainly paid, and nothing would have to come from local taxes to support the event. The entire event was or- ganized in just 36 days. Hanover youth killed by cougar, ti ers - A cougar and two Siberian tigers were destroyed after a 16 -year old Hanover youth was killed by the big cats at Walk-a-Bott Creek farm near Gorrie, reports the Wingham Advance -Times. The declawed cats were only some of the exotic animals at the farm, and had been raised Prem kittens. Killed was Graydon Edwards, a nephew of owner Larry Bott, and who had helped his uncle feed the animals at the farm for the past two summers. An autopsy was help to help determine the cause of death. Dashwood man acquitted of trying to deceive pollee EXETER - A Dashwood man was acquitted of a charge of public mischief in Exeter court last Tuesday when the judge agreed testimony was inconclusive. Frank Leishman of Dashwood appeared in court for a three hour trial to determine whether he had deceived po- lice by report- ing the theft of $23,000 worth of exotic birds last November. Leishman had reported the birds stolen to the OPP after returning home from a weekend in Michigan. The Crown called seven people to the stand and attempt- ed to establish that Leishman had asked a third party to no- tify the person to feed the birds on the Sunday morning the birds were found missing; that the theft of large cockatoos and other wild birds would be a noisy and possibly danger- ous operation; that neighbours had heard or seen nothing unusual that weekend; no footprints were found in the frost -covered ground that Sunday at the scene of the al- leged theft; and that Leishman had declined to make an in- surance claim after being warned of the adjustor's suspi- cions. The Crown, however, did allow it was unable to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge R.G.E. Hunter agreed that while the prosecution had "some evidence", the case was not conclusive enough to prove the birds had not been stolen at some time between Friday and Saturday evening and acquitted Leishman of the charge. 30 days in jail Lloyd Masnica of Crediton pleaded guilty to one charge of assault and was sentenced to 30 days in jail for an April 3 incident. The Crown told the court that Masnica had been intoxi- cated when he confronted two people leaving a Crediton restaurant that afternoon. He kicked at the victim twice, striking him above the right eye. The victim required stitches for the injury. The defense allowed that Masnica did not have any recol- lection of the events. Assault and mischief Stanley Partridge of Exeter pleaded guilty to a charge of assault on Richard Todd at a Main Street apartment on Feb- ruary 20, and one count of mischief. The court heard that Partridge had punched in a glass screen door at an apartment residence. When confronted by Todd a fight broke out, resulting in both parties ending up at the hospital for treatment. The defense suggested that the incident was "a back and forth altercation" with the victims being participants in the fight. It was also noted Partridge has paid $l79 restitution to the apartment's landlord for the broken door. Hunter reviewed Partridge's record, noted four prior alco- hol-related assault convictions, and sentenced him to 30 days in jail, to be served on weekends to allow him to con- tinue working. He also fined him $500 for the mischief charge, and placed him on probation for 18 months. Bodily harm Brian Sutherland of Huron Park pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing bodily harm against his common- law wife on May 28. The court heard that after becoming angry with the vic- tim, he took her to a township bridge where he struggled with her, tore a patch of hair from her head, and resulted in her face hitting the ground. The defense did not dispute the evidence, but noted Su- therland had little recollection of the events. had been con- fronting medical and family problems at the time, has since sought counselling and is "truly remorseful". Judge Hunter agreed to the defense's request that a 30 - day jail term be served on weekends. Sutherland was also placed on probation for 12 months, ordered to seek counsel- ling, and was banned from owning firearms for 10 years. Disturbance Two brothers entered guilty pleas to charges of causing a disturbance in Hensall on May 14. The court was told Christopher and Douglas Ducharme, both of RR2 Zurich, were seen by an OPP patrol carrying a case of beer while drinking on a Hensall street at about 2:12 am. with another male party. While one agreed to dump his beer, onp ran off, and the other refused to cooper- ate. Some yelling and swearing ensued. The court heard the Ducharmes submitted a letter of apol- ogy to the police two days later. Judge Hunter fined both $100 each, or face five days in jail. Alcohol over 80mg Lori Jolley of London pleaded guilty in court to a charge of driving with a blood alcohol count (BAC) over 80mg per 100mI of blood. The court was told her car entered a ditch after being pur- sued by police on County Road 2 south of Dashwood. Al- though unhurt, she later registered BACs of 185 and I 92mg in a breathalyzer test. Jolley was given 30 days to pay a $750 fine, and her li- cense was suspended. A charge of careless driving was withdrawn. Impaired driving James Smith of Huron Park pleaded guilty to a charge of impaired driving on April 30. The court heard his car was stopped by police after seen swerving on Sideroad 20-21 in Stephen Township at 12:12 a.m. Breath samples indicated BACs of 269 and 258mg. "What were you celebrating?" ked judge Hunter. "Getting a new job," replied ith. Taking into account a sous conviction for impaired driving, Hunter fined Smith $1,200 or 60 days in jail, giv- ing him 90 days to pay the fine, and suspending his license. Impaired driving Michael Dobbs of Exeter pleaded guilty to a charge of impaired driving on June 8. His car was stopped for speed- ing at 11:35 p.m. on Thames Rd. E. in Exeter. Breath sam- ples indicated BACs of 148 and 134mg. Dobbs was given six months to pay the $750 fine, and had his license suspended. BAC over 80 Deborah Gould of Exeter pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol count over 80mg per 100m1 of blood. The court was told Gould's vehicle was stopped on Ed-, ward St. in Exeter on May 5. After failing a roadside Alert test, a breathalyzer later showed BACs of 203 and 192. Gould was given six months to pay the $750 fine, and her license was suspended. A charge for driving while under suspension was withdrawn. Single car accident Blake Robinson of Blanshard Township pleaded guilty to driving with a BAC over 80. Police were called to an acci- dent on Highway 23 on May 12 in Usborne Township. Robinson's car was found in the ditch, and police said the driver showed signs of impairment. Two blood alcohol counts of 170 were recorded after his treatment at South Huron Hospital. The judge fined Robinson $750 with three months to pay and his license was suspended. A charge of impaired driv- ing was dropped. NSF cheques Matthew Lockhart of Exeter pleaded guilty to four charg- es of false pretenses in court after having written cheques without sufficient funds last October and November. Judge Hunter noted the $104.35 total value of the cheques, written for food or money, and -required Lockhart to make restitution within six months and placed him on 18 months probation. False pretenses Bonita Zawalski of Exeter also pleaded guilty to false pretenses over a $46 cheque written to an Exeter clothing store in March. The judge allowed she had no prior record, had already made restitution, and agreed to suspend the sentence. Trial date to be set At Exeter provincial court on August 23, a trial date is expected to be set for Donald Charles of Manitoba, charged with sexual assault with a weapon. The charge results from the sexual assault of a 23 -year old French hitch -hiker on July 17 in Stephen Township. Grand Bend waterfront study looks to the future sr Continued from front page. boat docking spaces to be built. The first thing Broadley said Wednesday when he opened the meeting was that those numbers may not be attainable. Local resident Barry Richman said that he believed nobody in Grand Bend would be against im- proving the waterfront, but said this study may be putting the can be- fore the horse. "Nobody has told me of a mar- keting study," said Richman. "We haven't proven anyone is going to use it." Naylor assured him that as part of the study, a marketing analysis would be done. The study is in the preliminary stages and, according to deputy - mayor Cam Ivey, the upgrading may not even become a reality. "There's been no decision made that this is going ahead," said Ivey. However, the village's 20 -year forecast, a look into a crystal ball, shows as many as 300 yachts could dock in Grand Bend and there could be both Coast Guard Rescue Units and OPP Marine Units. In the past there have been stud- ies done on the waterfront and the harbour and Naylor said those will be used to determine the area's fu- ture. "We've been selected to design a waterfront plan. There are studies that have been done in the past," said Naylor. Naylor is a landscape architect and her company has done nearly 60 such studies. She said that coast- al engineers and environmental spe- cialists will all be involved in the study. Challenge your parking ticket without court Exer will be part of a trial plan to reduce costly court appearances EXETER - A new way of resolving disputes over parking tickets is being tested in Ontario this summer, and Exeter is one of 44 com- munities chosen for the trial. Beginning August 15, anyone who receives a parking ticket in Ex- eter will have a fourth option open to them. As before, they can ei- ther pay the fine, request a court appearance to fight the ticket, or plead "guilty with an explanation". The new option will be to re- quest a "first attendance" so they can talk to a prosecutor about the ticket, fine, and circumstances. Where warranted, the prosecutor can recommend to a Justice of the Peace that the charge be reduced or withdrawh. The Ministry of the Attorney -General is estimating that up to 50 percent of parking ticket disputes can be resolved in this manner without going to a costly trial. In Metro Torogto, that could remit in up to 100,000 fewer parking ticket trials a year. In Exeter, however, the outcome is not expected to be as dramatic. The OPP detachment is having new parking tickets made up to ac- commodate the fourth "first attendance" option, but it was ac- knowledged the police write relatively few tickets in a year, and even fewer arc contested. The new procedure for handling parking tickets is part of a new ministry program to find ways of casing the backlog on courts. First Attendance Facilities will he tested in 10 areas in Ontario to address traffic violations. As in the parking ticket program, people charged with minor traffic offenses will be allowed to discuss their "not guilty" pleas with a prosecutor, with the aim of resolving it without going to trial. Exeter is not one of the areas selected for a First At- tendance facility. The government is also updating the way it collects fines resulting from convictions. Starting in August, all fines can he paid by VISA or Master Card, and by the fall, people will be able to pay fines by credit card over the phone, seven days a week. Grand Bend's waterfront and har- bour currently have se% eral prob- lems including have to dredge the river mouth on a regular basis and the difficulty in maneuvering ve- hicles and trailers at the launch ramp. "One of the things we're going to look 'at is how the harbour operates now," said Naylor. At the meeting, she handed out a questionnaire which asked the pub- lic to indicate what they thought were the most important issues, these included expanded moorings for powerboats, sailboats and com- mercial fishing to improved pe- destrian access to the harbour and even a pedestrian bridge across the river. . "There's a variety of options that need to be explored. All the im- provements need to serve the boat- ers and the residences. It should en- courage tourism," said Naylor. Another public meeting will be held on August 29 and at that time Naylor said specific drawings, will be on display. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • O441...1'ols Maze Qua 2eald: • The Deals Have Just Gotten • • •B�ff�r •• This is an OFF SITE SALES EXTRAVAGANZA at the former MOFFAT & POWELL LOCATION Highway 83W EXETER • • All 1/2 Price Merchanidse • • • • • III i1 Ili 1)1 ' \\ \Il►\.. 11 1 S„ \\ 1 1).. 1111 RS. ,\ \ 1. In 1.\I. • I'.\I.1 ISI 111 \.\I.. (l I'.\I mac eans ®ei= Rants /Maori _ ! .sem........,.. ut Thrift Rd. W Mthe td * M a►ew Yard CLEARANCE CENTRE 2354100 HOURS: Mon. • hoc • wrd., Thurs., Flt, 104 • 5.t.105. I Maar Weei ❑y • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •