HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-04-26, Page 10•
PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018.
Delayed but delightful
The Blyth Festival Singers' `May There Always Be Sunshine' concert was postponed earlier
this month due to some contrary inclement weather in the form of an ice storm. On Sunday,
the group took to the stage alongside special guest flautist Jan Searle to perform the
postponed production. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Charges lead to house arrest
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Cody Priestap of Wingham is now
facing 90 days of house arrest and
two years of probation as a result of
a handful of incidents around
Wingham last year and early this
year.
Priestap was in Wingham court on
April 19 and pled guilty to five
charges, several of them violent. He
pled guilty to a charge of assault with
a weapon from May 21, 2017,
assault on May 23, 2017, failure to
comply with the conditions of his
probation on May 23, 2017, mischief
under $5,000 on July 10, 2017 and
break and enter and committing theft
from Jan. 28, 2018, all in Wingham.
His plea to a charge of mischief was
reduced from an accusation of arson
and damage to property.
Crown attorney Elizabeth Wilson
detailed the charges for Judge K.
Sherwood, saying that while
Priestap did not have a criminal
record, he had amassed a number of
charges in a short period of time.
Wilson said that on May 21, 2017,
Priestap and a young person who
could not be identified in court were
in front of a house shortly after 5
a.m. when they began yelling at a
man who was walking to a local
convenience store.
On his way back, Priestap and his
companion confronted the man,
making allegations of his criminal
past. Wilson described the man as
being "challenged" and said he
simply attempted to walk away and
not engage Priestap and his friend.
As he walked away, Wilson said
Priestap struck the man on the side
of the head with a pool cue, resulting
in significant swelling. The man,
however, continued to walk away
and then reported the incident.
Because it was from behind, the
victim couldn't testify to who swung
the pool cue, but the accomplice
fingered Priestap as the one who
swung the pool cue, which Priestap
admitted. However, through his
lawyer, Lynn Johnston, Priestap said
he did not strike the man from
behind and that they were facing one
another at the time.
On May 23, 2017, there was an
incident at another convenience
store in Wingham that involved
Priestap and the same young person.
The victim, who said he had had
run-ins with Priestap in the past, said
he was assaulted by the pair
completely unprovoked.
The victim said that Priestap and
his friend saw him in the parking lot
of the store and descended upon
him, yelling at him and using racial
slurs. They both then began
attacking him with punches. Wilson
said that while Priestap didn't
connect with any of his punches, the
young person did twice.
Priestap was also charged with
failing to comply with the terms of
his release two days earlier, when he
was told to be in good behaviour and
keep the peace.
In July, a Wingham Police officer
was leaving the town's station and
noticed several bags of garbage on
fire in front of a downtown store. He
began attempting to put the fire out
himself, but when he was unable to,
he called the local fire department to
put out the blaze.
Priestap and another male were
seen in the area at the time and
the police officer then began
consulting surveillance footage and
he felt it showed two young men
dressed similarly to Priestap and
his friend kneeling beside the
bags and setting them ablaze.
Johnston said that Priestap did not
admit to setting those bags on fire,
but instead admitted to setting bags
of garbage in a nearby dumpster on
fire.
Then, on Jan. 29, 2018, Wingham
Police were dispatched to the town's
library with reports of a break-in. A
library employee noticed a broken
window and that spare change from
the cash drawer in the amount of
between $10 and $20 had been
stolen.
Again, police worked with video
from the library and identified
Priestap as the perpetrator.
Priestap had pled guilty to the four
offences from 2017 at a previous
session of court. However, because
he was up to be sentenced in front of
a new judge and wanted his 2018
offence to be grouped in, the court
had to strike those pleas and Priestap
had to plead again. He pled guilty to
all five charges (including the lesser
charge of mischief under $5,000 in
place of the arson charge) while
charges of failing to comply with the
conditions of his release and
mischief were withdrawn.
Sherwood noted a number of
factors in Priestap's pre -sentence
report, saying that the young man
had grown up in difficult
circumstances with little stability.
He then ordered Priestap to serve
90 days of house arrest, followed by
a two-year term of probation.
Sherwood told the man that the
charges were very serious and that
he was lucky that the crown was
being so lenient.
He also detailed the terms of both
the house arrest and probation,
instructing Priestap that failure to
comply with any of the conditions
could very well result in jail time.
Letter to the Editor
Former reeve calls for solutions
THE EDITOR,
As former reeve and councillor for
the Township of East Wawanosh, I
feel obligated to comment on the
recent situation discussed by the
current Council of North Huron in
regards to snow removal in the
Village of Blyth.
When we amalgamated with Blyth
and Wingham, it was understood
that each former municipality
(Blyth, East Wawanosh and
Wingham) would be billed
accordingly for the work that was
being done, such as snow removal,
fixing streets, water services, etc. It
seems to me that removing snow
when it is required would be more
economical than allowing it to
accumulate.
When people have to exit their
vehicles and can't access the
sidewalk because of the snowbanks,
it becomes a safety issue.
In addition, it's my understanding
that Wingham still wishes to have its
own police force. That is fine, as
long as each municipality (i.e.
Wingham, East Wawanosh and
Blyth) pay for their own police
service and having that cost
reflected on their tax bill. That
should also be reflected for garbage
pick-up as well.
While I understand that
government is cutting back at all
times and council is required to keep
finding ways of saving money, it
seems to me that there must be better
ways of cutting costs than by
reducing snow removal.
Donald Schultz.
HE sets universal
waste bag tag price
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron East Council has
implemented a municipality -wide
universal garbage bag tag fee of
$2.50 after making changes to waste
collection services in Seaforth and
Tuckersmith.
The universal price represents a
decrease in costs for those in
Seaforth and Egmondville, who
were paying between $3.12 and
$3.25 per bag, but an increase for
those in Brussels, who had been
paying $2 per tag. The rate is in -step
with bag tags in Vanastra, which had
been $2.50 before the service
changes.
Changes were made as a result of
the closure of Brown's Sanitation,
which went out of business in early
March, leading municipal staff to
scramble in the interim and
implement changes to waste
management earlier than
anticipated. Chief Administrative
Officer Brad Knight said that with
the closure of the Mid -Huron
Landfill slated for July 1, council
had been anticipating changes to its
waste management practices then.
However, with the closure of
Brown's, the implementation date
has been moved up to May 1, with
public works staff helping to bridge
the gap in the meantime.
Waste Management and the
Bluewater Recycling Association
(BRA) will continue to combine to
provide waste and recycling
collection services throughout the
municipality.
While residents of Seaforth and
Tuckersmith had been using bag tags
before the switch -over, rural
Tuckersmith residents had not been
offered waste collection before, only
recycling collection. Knight said this
will be a new service for those
residents, should they choose to
utilize it.
The changes will also result in a
change of collection days for
Seaforth and Tuckersmith, which
had previously seen their waste
collected on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, respectively. Now,
Knight said, both will have their
waste and recycling collected on
Fridays.
The challenge now, Knight said,
will be to have the tags printed. For
the time being, existing tags will be
accepted, but when the new tags are
available, he said he hopes for a
changeover process that would see
residents hand in their old tags and
have them replaced with the new
municipal tags.
Flyers will be mailed throughout
the municipality, Knight said, and
will detail where the new tags can be
purchased throughout the
municipality. Locations where tags
can be bought are: Brussels Bulk
and Bargain, Brussels Pharmacy and
McDonald Home Hardware in the
Brussels area; Molesworth Bowling
Alley, Old 86 Farmers' Market and
The Cowboy Loft in the Grey area;
Terry's Family Restaurant in the
McKillop area; Seaforth Beckers,
GT MiniMart, Shell, UPI and Pete's
Paper Clip in Seaforth and TCC
(Kippen), Buckey Joe's General
Store and the Vanastra Recreation
and Day Care Centre in the
Tuckersmith and Vanastra
communities.
In his report to council, Knight
said that the budget implications of
the changes have yet to be
determined.
The Waste Management budgets
for both Seaforth and Tuckersmith
have seen increases of $39,000 and
$30,000 respectively as a result of
the changes, but he said a number of
unknown factors remain this year
relating to the closure of the Mid -
Huron Landfill.
"Waste management/recycling
services are area -rated between the
wards and any surplus/deficit will be
dealt with in future years," Knight
said in his report. "The budgets for
these two wards [Seaforth and
Tuckersmith] should be clearer next
year."
Council approved Knight's
recommendations and implemented
a municipality -wide bag tag system
with a price of $2.50 per bag tag for
all wards.
Let us Wash Your Drapes
Blyth Laundromat
191 Westmoreland St., Blyth
519-523-9687
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