The Citizen, 2015-02-19, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015. PAGE 19.
CHIP looks for
county grant
Officer altercation results in charges, probation
A nice start to the morning
Deb Sholdice, general manager of the Blyth Festival, left, and Ashleigh Scott, community
improvement co-ordinator for the Blyth BIA, right, were busy on Family Day Monday cooking
breakfast for over 75 diners at the Blyth Community Centre. Over $350 was raised through the
meal, some of which will be donated to the North Huron Food Share. (Denny Scott photo)
Continued from page 18
probation. Driving without
insurance, she said, carried with it a
mandatory fine of $5,000.
Duty Counsel Lynn Johnston told
Brophy that Richardson has
admitted to having an alcohol
problem and says he needs
counselling to remedy it.
Richardson then spoke to the
court, apologizing to the judge for
what he did, as well as to Leslie,
who was in the courtroom, for the
assault.
For the alcohol charge, Brophy
imposed a fine of $1,500 and a $500
fine for resisting arrest, both of
which come with a mandatory
victim fine surcharge of 30 per cent.
Richardson has one year to pay the
fine.
Brophy also imposed a 12-month
term of probation in association with
the two charges.
For the charge of driving without
insurance, Brophy exercised his
right to reduce the mandatory fine
due to “exceptional circumstances”
ordering Richardson to pay $2,000.
He gave him two years to pay that
fine.
ASSAULT
Amy Langfrey of Brussels pled
guilty to one count of assault,
agreeing to a lesser charge after
being charged with assault with a
weapon, after an altercation on Oct.
28, 2014.
Grant said that on the morning of
Oct. 28 at the home Langfrey
formerly shared with the father of
her children in Huron East an
argument between the two ensued
and soon escalated.
Police were called shortly after
9:30 a.m. that morning, Grant said,
but the man on the phone then said
he meant to call 611 and hung up. He
then called 911 again, saying he did
mean to call 911 and that an assault
had taken place.
Grant said the argument between
the couple became heated and
escalated to name-calling and the
Langfrey hit the man with a cooking
spatula seven times around his left
arm and back.
Johnston said Langfrey has no
criminal record and has had no
contact with the victim since the
incident and is in the process of
moving to Guelph.
Grant suggested a conditional
discharge and a 12-month term of
probation. Brophy agreed, imposing
the suggested penalty, along with a
mandatory victim fine surcharge of
$100. She has six months to pay the
fine.
DRUG POSSESSION
Trever Koehler of Wingham pled
guilty to three charges stemming
from a run-in with police on May 30,
2013. Koehler was charged with
possession of a controlled substance,
failing to re-attend court and failing
to comply with his bail conditions.
Federal Crown Attorney Mike
Donnelly said that while attending a
call in Wroxeter, police took notice
of Koehler, who was on roller blades
at the time. Police immediately
identified Koehler as a person of
interest. Police observed Koehler
dropping something when he saw
police, which aroused suspicion.
Police investigated and found that
Koehler had discarded a small
plastic bag which was found to
contain a half-gram of crystal meth.
Grant said that Koehler was
scheduled to attend court in
Wingham in October, but failed to
do so and a bench warrant was
issued.
Then, on May 11, 2014, police
observed a group of young people on
the street in Wingham, one of whom
the officer knew to be Koehler. The
sighting occurred after 11 p.m.,
which was far later than his bail-
imposed curfew of 9 p.m.
Grant suggested a total of 60 days
in jail for the two provincial charges,
while Donnelly suggested a fine of
$750 for the charge of drug
possession.
Again, Brophy felt custodial time
would not be in the best interest of
the public, and instead imposed an
18-month term of probation for the
two provincial charges, which also
carried with them a victim fine
surcharge of $100 each. Brophy did
agree with Donnelly’s submission of
a $750 fine related to the drug
possession.
ASSAULT
James Hasiwar of London pled
guilty to an assault after an incident
involving his wife on Dec. 30, 2014
in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh.
The couple had been married for
33 years at the time of the incident,
Grant said, and was in the process of
moving from London to Huron
County.
The incident was reported to
police when there was an argument
between the two that spilled out of
their future mobile home.
Neighbours heard tires screeching
and they then saw a car following
Hasiwar’s wife down the street.
Hasiwar then got out of the car,
Grant said, grabbed his wife by her
coat and began dragging her back to
the car, attempting to get her into the
car.
Grant said that neighbours began
verbally intervening, telling him to
stop, which he did. Grant suggested
a suspended sentence with 12
months probation, while Hasiwar’s
defense attorney John McDonnell
said he felt the incident warranted a
conditional discharge.
Hasiwar’s wife, who was in the
courtroom, then filed a victim
impact statement, saying that she felt
her husband had come a long way
since the incident and needed
counselling to “re-learn” some
things.
Grant also felt that the “brazen”
nature of the crime, being committed
in the middle of the day in public,
was an aggravating factor. Brophy
said he found Grant’s submission
interesting, as he had also heard that
the opposite – assaults hidden from
the public, behind closed doors –
also interpreted as an aggravating
factor.
Brophy granted Hasiwar a
conditional discharge with a 12-
month term of probation. The
conviction carries with it a victim
fine surcharge of $100, which
Brophy gave Hasiwar three months
to pay.
IMPAIRED DRIVING
Kevin Benninger of Wingham
pled guilty to impaired driving and
refusing to provide a sample of his
breath in relation to an incident that
took place on April 12, 2014 in
Wingham.
Grant said that Wingham Police
were at the Wingham Hospital the
night of April 12 on an unrelated
matter, when Benninger arrived at
the hospital to visit someone. Police
had cause to be in contact with
Benninger earlier that night at his
home, where he was found to be
“extremely intoxicated” and sitting
at a table full of empty beer
bottles.
It was just hours later that police
saw Benninger at the hospital.
Officers then followed Benninger to
the parking lot, where he started his
pickup truck and began driving
home.
Grant said officers observed that
Benninger’s vehicle was “all over
the road” and that at one point he
nearly struck a hydro pole.
When officers conducted a traffic
stop, they found Benninger to have
bloodshot, glassy eyes and he was
unsteady on his feet.
Benninger was then taken to the
police station where he was asked
for a sample of his breath, which he
refused.
Brophy found Benninger guilty. A
pre-sentence report has been
requested and Benninger will return
to Wingham court on March 19 to be
sentenced.
OVER 80
Frank Chartrand of Wingham pled
guilty to driving with over 80
milligrams of alcohol in 100
millilitres of blood when police
stopped his vehicle in North Huron
on Dec. 19, 2014.
Grant said that police were
conducting R.I.D.E. checks in North
Huron the night of Dec. 19 when a
vehicle being driven by Chartrand
approached officers, but then
attempted to avoid the checkpoint.
Officers observed the driver make
a three-point turn in an attempt to
avoid the checkpoint and then
conducted a traffic stop.
Upon speaking with the vehicle’s
driver, Chartrand, officers could
smell an odour of alcohol. At first,
Grant said, Chartrand said he hadn’t
been drinking, but later admitted to
consuming two beers.
He then failed the roadside breath
test and was transported to the police
station where he registered readings
of 180 and 170 milligrams of alcohol
in 100 millilitres of blood.
Chartrand said he largely agreed
with the facts, but assured Brophy
that he was not attempting to avoid
the R.I.D.E. check, but when he saw
police, he thought there had been a
traffic accident, and was attempting
to avoid it.
Chartrand addressed the court,
saying he apologized for what he
did, adding that he is “fortunate” to
have a supportive family going
forward.
Grant suggested a $1,200 fine,
which is higher than the minimum,
but due to the high readings she felt
it was appropriate, as well as a 12-
month driving prohibition.
Brophy said he was comfortable
imposing a fine of $1,000, because
with the mandatory victim fine
surcharge of 30 per cent, the total
fine would amount to $1,300. He
also imposed a 12-month driving
prohibition.
At the Feb. 4 meeting of Huron
County Council, the Coalition for
Huron Injury Prevention (CHIP)
made its case for county funding.
Group representatives Jamie
Stanley from the OPP and Laura
Armstrong from the Huron County
Health Unit said that in 2014 there
were 1,157 collisions in Huron
County, 91 of which resulted in
personal injuries with a total of 132
people injured. Ten of the collisions
were classified as fatal, resulting in
11 deaths.
Stanley told councillors that the
group continues its outreach
programs in a number of ways,
including its Leave The Phone Alone
campaign, and a number of
programs carried out in local
elementary schools.
He also outlined the services of
one of the coalition’s more enduring
services, the speeding sign, which
has by now made its way around the
county a number of times.
The sign is placed at an
intersection throughout the county
and, if a car approaches the sign at a
speed over the posted limit, it will
flash and notify the driver of the
vehicle just how fast they’re going.
Placement of the sign is
complaint-drive, Stanley said, based
on areas where multiple speeding
reports are received. The signs helps
to reduce speeding, he said, but also
to record data, which can then be
relayed back to the OPP.
The coalition also hosted two
seminars aimed at teaching safe
driving for seniors in 2014, both of
which were well attended.
The organization’s business plan
for the coming year, Stanley said, is
largely based on the speed sign,
which accounts for $7,000 of its
$20,000 budget. Other initiatives are
distracted driving education
($3,000), winter safe driving
($3,000), child pedestrian safety
($3,000), drug-impaired driving
education ($1,800), seniors’ safe
driving ($1,000), speed sign
Continued from page 14
supported the development of the
Certified Crop Advisor program
which became a key to agriculture
now and in the future by training
crop advisors in the knowledge of
the environment as well as the
agronomic effects of their
recommendations.
Earl Wagner has dedicated 50
hard-working years to the amazing
development of the Hensall District
Co-operative and is a very deserving
recipient of induction into the
Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Wagner was sponsored by the
Hensall and District Co-operative
Inc. and Sylvite.
Also inducted into the Hall of
Fame this year are Dr. Dr. Murray
Brown, Cambridge; Russell
Hume Dow, Bowmanville; the
Honourable Fletcher S. Thomas,
St. Thomas; Peter Hannam,
Guelph and Peter Martin Lindley,
Ancaster.
Inductees revealed
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 24