The Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-02-13, Page 1nst�ble John/or
Hills acquitted
Charges of dangerous use
of a firearm and careless
driving against Constable
John 'Hills were dismissed
this week by Provincial court
Judge Warren Ehgoetz.
In his summation of the
trial p.roceedings Judge
Ehgoetz said he was com-
pletely satisfied that the
firearm discharged by
donstable Hills on the night of
'October 27 to attempt to stop
a fleeing youth was done so in
a Manner that did not en-
danger the youth or anyone
else.
Censtable Hills fired a
yarning shot attempting ' to
stop fleeing Wayne Jones
after Jones poured a „soft
drink on a traffic ticket Hills
was preparing t� issue.
Constable Hills then got in a
police cruise; and drove off
after Jones in a manner
described, 15y a crowd of
teenagers to be careless.
Judge Ehgoetz told the
court he was also completely
satisfied that Constable'Hills
did not drive in an unsafe'
manner when he left the
scene of the shooting in the
cruiser
In summarizing the six day
trial the Crown Attorney,
defence counsel and the
Judge agreed that the
gr,oat-rukniber
of ' the witnesses-- was
questionable.
Stratford Crown Doug Page
told the cOurt thathe was left
to ..wonder about the •-in-
telligence .of some of the
witnesses called by ,himself.
He said that under the cir-
cumstances the Charge had to
be laid and the case
prosecuted but that sit was not
his. job to press for
prosecution. He said he felt he
was require_d , to establish,
guilt and that the Credibility
of •his witnesses did not do
that. He recornMended to the
, Judge that no conviction .be
pressed. •
Mr. Page stated that one
witness, Herb VanAmer-
v - •
(offered ` testimony
• that, if believed, iri'dicated
•,guilt. He commended the
defence witnesses " Ron
Sowerby and Steve Allen and
said that their testignon was
'credible erio,ugh to indicate
innocence.
Defence counsel Chester,
Misener submitted that the
atestimony of the Crown
w-ttnesses was obviously
biased to make a scene of
mob violence appear
peaceful. He said a group of
about '25 to 60 people
assaulting, humiliating and '
threatening, police officers
-engaged in their duty corn-
-prised a complete breakdown
of law and order. and created
a mob scene in his estimation.
'Mr. Misener said that the
group had gathered at what
dan be termed the heart of
Goderich, The Square, to see
what h,..14ery could be raised.
He said that the pouring of the'
pop that triggered the
,shooting .was deliberate
assault and a deliberate
attempt to end'What the
police offiCers were 'at the
scene to do.
The mob'had left Constable
Fortner, Constable - Hills'
partner that night, 'frozen
with fear and, rendered
completely ineffective ac-
cording to Mr. Misener. He
added pat Constable Fortner
was afraid of taking proper
action for fear of being Made
a complete fool of by the ,
crowd. He said under these
conditions it was not only the
-right, -but :_the -duty • ,of.
stable' Hi11sto fife the -016f tb'
remove the danger to the two
officers„ quiet the crowd,
command attention and at-
tempt to stop ,the fleeing
youth.
Judge Ehgoetz told the
court he had ,based his
decision on the w,eight of all
the •witne'sses' testimonies.
He said it was clearly obvious
• to him that the majority of
them nad lied to the court at
some point. and that they had
a complete disrespect for the
law, the courts and the police.
The judge added that it was
clear that Constable ..Fortner
' ,was rendered ineffective and
helpless by the. group. He
• added that Fortner was
afraid to show any force to
quiet the situation and that in
his 'estimation the crowd was
getting out of control. • .
' Constable Hills still faces a
c-harge of disreputable
conduct under the Police Act.
r
0 ,
04.polAN cammmo ' .
.'144 C 4totNA
14 , ,o4,
Nwsp.„. colot:‘‘
Jr
128 YEAR -7.
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THURSDAY 'FEBRUARY 13, 1975
SINGLE COPY 25c
Attelt• Idonce-popt
Alexandra Marine and General Hospital administrator Tim
Elliott, left, took time from his duties on Friday to give
Ontario Health Minister Frank Miller a guided tour of the
Alexandra Marine safe
hospital. Nursing director Charity McDonald accompanied
the tour explaining hospital procedure and equipment to the
minister. (staftphoto) ,
Minister ferrets
Alexandra ,Marine and, not designed to formulate
_General Hospital is under no government policy 'but, to
threat of. disbandment by the stimulate a reaction„ from
provincial government. Thi S ' health units 'in order to glean
assurance was given' to the knowledge of their needs arid
"4-,
residents • of ,Goderich and, -wishes. ' r,
area by the Ontario Minister ., •He acknowledged that the
•of Health Frank Miller. . Plan. worked. HP' said that
, Mr. Miller told a gathering over 500 briefs, including 9ne
of about 50 taxpayers and • • from Huron County, had been
',,prOfessional 'health Workers submitted to the cabinet
. that, the! Goderich hospital, opposing the contents of the
and all- other rural. area Mustard paper.. He 'added,
- - .
hospitals, were in no danger that no suggestions on what
:of being closed by the ,' Was needed were offered
government.
h.kuj!v,eyer, „only matters that
•
The minister spoke to the , Were opposed.
group as part of a whirlwind The geography of the plan
.
tour of Huron County on' outlined in .' the • 1Vlustard
Frida He said he came to Report waS not agreeable to
confined the fire to that area. the area to ',.ferret out' Mr,. Miller. ,He said that he
The Goderich detachment realized that Huron's fear of
g
was also called for assistance - feelins" on health needs. He assured the gathering at losing contact with their
as firemen kept watch on the * the Assessment office that he- health council was real and
area late into the. eVeningo ° understood - their fears and added that 'he was not .yet"
hosing •.debris and guarding. concerns- tecalling. 4 period_ . sure what other county Huron
against a gas explosicin. when he himself was in the Would be linked with, if any":
Se,veral 'adjacent , homes same position. He said he had Huron County Health Board
J
Were without hydro, water , served on a Board of Health Chairman Ed Oddleikon
and telephone service for a and at tlfht time he also, pressed Mr. Miller to eon,'
few hours after the' blaze. rejected any directives! from sider cstftblishing a pilot
Service waS promptly . Toronto. ,, ,.
• project in Huron tO establish
,...... ,
..
restored. . . ' The minister .denied the a health council hera
e nd to
Mr. Ptothers who started rumour ,resulting from the 6 increase cost sharing ,with the
the operation in 1940 has , contra versi al M us ta rd. province. Mr, Oddleifson
operated the garage for .35 Report- that Huron County explained that Huron was
years.. He stated that he will • Would be ' linked with Jour well organized in this regard
probably retire now. other counties- to form one and was already "orritS way" '
The .building and. its con- —district health couneil. He to being an Odepondent
tents were insured. i exPlained that the report was council.
.. .
Three departments
called to blaze
Sparks froma welding
torch were believed to be the
cause of a fire that destroyed
Scotts Fuels in Dungannon
'Sunday afternoon.
The -building owned by Ross •
• Scott and operated by Robert
Stothers was leveled causing
an 'estimated $7,500 damage
to the contents of the building.'
There was no estimate on the,
damagP'to the building. A van
and an acetelyne ' welding
outfit were saved.
The fire. broke out shortly
after noon and Lucknow and
Blyth • firefighters answered
the call and although -there
was little they could -do to
save the ,building but they •
,
The exciteme t mbunts as Several GOCI-students prepare
to leave for Quebec Citirand -the Quebec Wir,iter Carnival. A large on the horizon:
- total of 44 students made the trip this yearanft one can tell
from the looks on these anxtous faces that„geod times loom
4-••
4 • p
out feelings
Concerned groups and we should be ready•to pay the
taxpayer§ attendipg a public , piper but, if, it was" the
meeting last ' week O'ffered 1)6:Wince, ""tliey should pay,"
town council several claimed Mr. Edward. ,
suggestions and alternatives • Fd Sq•uton • Jr., ' who
uewho,
hao th,
e,
Or the planned Highway .21 • dpeasycerri". eqd hsiintiosneelfd a
tax -
widening project.
The meeting called by widened road was designedfo
council was poorlyAttended
service. He asked it the
• ,by the public but Managed to project was to handle traffic
get a response from from the ,.---Psychiatiic
organizations affected by the
Hospital, iheplaza, Industrial •
highway change. Park oriourists?
The Huron County Board of ,Mr. Scruton added that if
Education and the Huron,..
the plan was to funnel traffic
Perth Separate School Bard -
through town that it may be
e
we're represented along with wiser to reroute vehicles
about a dozen taxPayers in before they came into the
nit
the open foruype meeting. , busy area of town.
• Dorothy -Wallace, acting on Reeve Stan Profit told the
beh.alfof the Huron Board of gathering that this was as
Education, warned • council good a time as, any to go on
members that making the record regarding the project. '
road a four lane highw-ay with He said he personally'
no stoplights was an in- believed it was a 'good
thing'.vitation to more traffic thin. He added that Mr.
4
ata greater- rate.of cru ton. . 411§.w.O.e.d„ . his,
speed. She suggested that question- with the question..
cOuncil at least make the • The "'"wiadned• 'road was •
street one Way either way so designed to handle traffic
that children having to cross - corning from all those places..
it from school woula only
have to ,worry about traffic
coming from one direction.
She added thatthe new plan
:created curves for drivers to
speed around and- said that
that is "exactly what they are
Town engineer, Burns Ross
offered a suggestion on behalf
Of Miss M. Howell. He said
her proposal was that all
traffic proceeding west on
Britannia be forced to turn
• north on Victoria and all
going to do". •,• • traffic , going east on;„.
• Separate school board Britannia be forced to turn
• 'spokesman Vince: Young engineer
hneoenr BsaayidfildtheRoascdh.eTmhe
'Wallaceilace adding that h'ee
agreed in• principle with Mrs.
consideredt
', the 4,000 ears tst:taraffv ce lul isni gn
sing
r oaunt de
• limitedothose
using the road in a 24 hour south and in effect. made
period "really nothing".
Britannia a Connecting link
"I don't know why we are • for Highway 21 rather than a
spending all the mortey,"' he, throti-gh street.
state.
Mr. Jim Britnell, Huron
d
My. Young then proPosed County Engineer, warned the
that Victoria Street be eon; group of the iinplications of-
tinued south through the
restricting traffic. He said
school yard arbe curved
that, limitations of 'traffic'
id
gradually t� the • present:, • flow, such as one way,streets,
roadway. .
encouraged people to take.
•
"Why doesn't council' short •cuts that resulted in
consider -going straight up by excessive use of residential
Argyle Marine, the grass s
streets. He said Motorists
only on the school yard to be i
wishing to by-pass the corner
cut, and then buya.few homes may travel along Gibbons
a
and loop the road over to join , Street, for exmple, Causing
Bayfield Road," " fie another unwanted situation.
sugested. '
Councillor Leroy Harrison
Huron County Board of g
objected to any - theory to
Education member Cayley
redirect -tpaffic across the
Hill suggested that a stoplight southern portion of town to
'
be constructed at theby-pass Goderichand link
, corner '
a
of Bayfield and Britannia to Highwy 21 to 8 and continue
regulate traffic flow. He told around* to rejoin Highway 21
i. -
theroup,his concern, was, for
north of GoderHe
- 'ch -
the safety claimed there was already
of the school .
children and that a light may enough traffic on Huron Road
'slow traffic down to permit arid that the old adage of
safer crossing oflhe road. He Goderich to "give the
added that he personally
problem to someone else"
t
was unacceptable to him,
' ss was he
• Mr. Harrison added that he
had lived on Huron Road for
28 years and, had opposed the
widening of that highway but
He said he was
can now • see the advantage. convined
e
over who started the project •
going in the first plate.. He Goderich needed a four lane
said the responsible party -highway on ,the .Bayfield
should be forced to pay the Road,
costs of the widening. w
"If the town initiated this
'Mr. Miller assured, the ,„.Jhe. Mustard Report is ,a
,health board chairman that long, ! long way from
he realized there was a cost becoming government
share discrepancy in Huron. policy," said Mr.'Miller.
He _said 'that, a -legal He cited heart Stifgety_ as
•restriction forced • the an example of impracticality.
eduction 'because a district A small rural hospital would .
health unit received 75 per- not have enougludemand for a
cent aid from the province highly trained staff and ex -
while a county unit got 'only. • pensive equipment to per -
half. He said that corn- form heart surgery but, a
bining a municipality and a largeM
.y unit would. He said
rural area in one unit an this was 'the reason for
incentive to VOA 'together centralizing advanced staff
was created that the province and equipment. But, he ad -
'supported. ded, it would be folly to have,
"There is a price that goes two heart'teams working in
with the' right flo autonomy," hospitals two blocks apart.
,advised Mr. Miller. 'Thus the suggestion to cen-
He added that the ..,only tralize health units.
other county in Western
-Don't look for wholesale
Ontai receiving 50 percent changes on the health scene,"
suppo t from the province warned the minister,
was E •uce. He conceded that He added that if the
'there lag consideration being ' changes suggested in health
giN,en 9 the grants but that no councils were made by the
guara itee Of reeeiVingqR"ern" people they would be ac.',
could le offered. . 144100114cepted but if they were made
Ken 1 Dunn, chairman of by m they would be
the ,Alexandra Marine rejected.
Hospi al Board, 'questioned. The thegry of centralizing
n -
the Anister on allocation of specialists in large urban
funds for thetpconstruction of areas -is already in practice thought an underpa
the emergency ward at the according to Mr.. Mfler. H.e "way out" of the safety
, hospital. Mr, Dunn hazardfor the pupils. 'said that said however that the idea of •
n
the: sifuation' 'was critical in herding large • groups of ,Tax*yer Clayt Edward
.
1970 -and added that there is people to one centre is questioned theneed of the
c
no way to describe it now. complgtely wrong. four lanes and was oncern.ed
'Mr. Miller said that•he had , "Confidence in 'a physician
secured the money necessary is very important, perhaps
for expansion and ,that he more than skill," .he said.
intended to fight to hold on to A "The right to see the doctor of
it. He added that he, tries to your choice should be
guarantee , funds to See a preserved."
project through rather than
have it started and held up for
lack of money. I -le said that he
wouldnot let it be started if he
wasn't confid,ent it could be
pcoemriopd.leted in the normal time
Dan Murphy said that the
minister must -be aware of the
opposition in this area of
being swallowed bp by a large
population. He pointed out
that objections from Huron on
the Mustard Report indicated
that ,,taxpayerS around
Goderich were .concerned
that the Report vvould 'dolust
thait.
Thelninister told the heaifh
officiats that he realized the
present system was too costly
in some areas where
hospitals are"close together.
He, said that .tiospitals- ,with
the .same equIpM,ent and
progranis within a 50 mile
radius. are impractical. He
added that the present,
system cannot be,allqwed to
grow unchecked but said he
was mostly concerned with
two hospitals in the same
WI •
•
14,
t1:1'
(continued
on page 14) .
Suncoast plans subdivision
Bert Alexander .,•ef Sun -
coast .Estafes Ltd. presented.
rough , draft on a sub,
„di tsion to planning' board
thursday night that would
provide 200 single "family
units as- well as town houses
and apartment develOp-
rnents.
The proposed subdivision
would be located on a 65
acre parcel 'of land south of
Suncoast Drive to the, outer
limits of the town find from
Bayfield ROaccyyest to Lake
Huron beside the toWn
sewage treatment plant. ,
The Suncoast Estates plan
also features • a five -acre
ublic paYk south of the
Submit it. to' the Ministry of
Housing. However he will
first have to re -submit the
plan to planning board for
approval fallowing tlie
planning board's guidelines.
Building inspector Roy
Breckenridge said the'plan
must be redrawn. to meet the
board's approval, which
included more parkland to
§eryice the area, but the
plan' did ,meet with favorable
0
domments. .1
• Mr„,> Mexander told the
boar tr that Suncoast Estates
had made plans for the
entire 65 aere plot t9 cut. the
servicing costs, „
Mr, Alexander is hopeful
''that • the plans could be
sewage treatment plant ,-,as
approved by early August so
well as two additiOnal
, that Construction could begin
soalleT , parkS, Mr.'
in the early fall. The con -
Alexander made the initial , structiO Will take place over
presentation to the planning 'several., years with the units
board to seek reco'rn- "' being completOd on 'a supply
'
mendations befOre ,he ,could and demand basis.
•
prOVision of the plan
calls for lot Control at the
eastern end near Bayfield
Road for the construction of
townhouses and medium to
high density • apartment
complexes. .
Town Parks Board
chairman and planning
board member Elsa Haydon
was hopeful that the park
space provided fota in the
plan would compensate for a
deficiency of parkland that
serves the existing corn;
munity. , -
Mr. Alexander was con-
fident that the parkland area
near' the treatment area
could be enlarod acccirding
to plarinirt board 'Wishes.
Planning- oard•; members
planned. to visit • he area
around the sewage treat-
inent, plant to examine the
larid' and determine whch-
'areas could Emommodate
the necessary parkland:
7`.
• ..
•
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