Crucial vaccine push, campground protest, Tribute to The Games
New millionaire
John Alan Perkins of Summerstown has won $1 million in the June 18 LOTTO MAX lottery.
A 66-year-old grandfather, Mr. Perkins said he was out running errands with his wife when he discovered his big win. “My wife was at Walmart when I went for my second vaccine and I decided to check my ticket while on the way to pick her up. I used the Ticket Checker and when I saw all the zeroes, I couldn’t believe my eyes!”
When he found his wife in the store, his eyes were filled with tears and she immediately thought something was wrong. “She thought I had bad news about our daughter who was due to have her baby any moment. When I told her we won the lottery she didn’t believe it and started crying tears of joy.”
Mr. Perkins had just purchased a new car, and the day he discovered his win he went back to the dealership to make an upgrade.
“I plan to share this win with our children. It was also nice to make the trip to Toronto to get my prize with my wife. She was treated to a day at the salon while I came here to collect my cheque,” he remarked.
RRCA splits with Conservators
“Due to the Cooper Marsh Conservators’ (CMC) recent change in focus, the Raisin Region Conservation Authority (RRCA) Board of Directors has decided to terminate its relationship with the volunteer group. This RRCA did not make this decision lightly and deeply regrets that it cannot continue to work with CMC.”
The statement was issued after the Conservators protested against the RRCA's decision to not object to a proposal to set up a campground near Cooper Marsh.
"Any future plans for a campground are still subject to review and approvals. The RRCA will continue to review and provide input on any future development proposals on land adjacent to the wetland," the conservation authority says.
“For context, CMC has assisted the RRCA with fundraising, educational and recreational activities at the Cooper Marsh Conservation Area and Visitors Centre since 1997. The RRCA sincerely appreciates the CMC’s numerous contributions over the years that have greatly enhanced Cooper Marsh,” says the authority.
“Over the last several months, CMC has been involved in political activities which are inconsistent with the RRCA’s statutory mandate. In general, no conservation authority in Ontario may, directly or indirectly, engage in political activities regarding development projects. The RRCA’s role in development projects that fall within its jurisdiction is circumscribed by the Conservation Authorities Act. Any departure from this clearly defined statutory role exposes the RRCA to legal jeopardy and negatively impacts its ability to deliver programs and services that further the conservation, restoration, development, and management of natural resources in watersheds in Ontario,” the RRCA statement continues.
“Starting in late 2020, the RRCA and the CMC have worked behind the scenes to try and save their important relationship. The RRCA has gone to great lengths to explain to CMC that it cannot be affiliated with a group focused on political opposition to local development projects. Unfortunately, CMC’s focus has remained political in nature. This focus has made continued collaboration impossible. With great regret, as of July 16, 2021, the RRCA has elected to terminate its relationship with the CMC. The RRCA is no longer affiliated with the group in any capacity.”
“Since the 1980s, the RRCA has owned and protected the land now known as Cooper Marsh Conservation Area. The RRCA will continue to conserve, manage, and enhance the treasured local natural heritage and maintain the trail system for the community to explore.”
The group has planned a 1 p.m. July 19 protest at the South Glengarry Township office.
More coverage in the July 21 edition of The News.
Relief as step 3 begins; on high frequency line
Step 3 July 16
The Ontario government will move the province into Step Three of the Roadmap to Reopen at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 16, 2021.
Face coverings in indoor public settings and physical distancing requirements remain in place throughout Step Three. This is in alignment with the advice on personal public health measures issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada, while also accounting for Ontario specific information and requirements. Face coverings will also be required in some outdoor public settings as well.
Step Three of the Roadmap focuses on the resumption of additional indoor services with larger numbers of people and restrictions in place. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 100 people with limited exceptions;
- Indoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 25 people;
- Indoor religious services, rites or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted with physical distancing;
- Indoor dining permitted with no limits on the number of patrons per table with physical distancing and other restrictions still in effect;
- Indoor sports and recreational fitness facilities to open subject to a maximum 50 per cent capacity of the indoor space. Capacity for indoor spectators is 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity or 1,000 people, whichever is less. Capacity for outdoor spectators is 75 per cent of the usual seating capacity or 15,000 people, whichever is less;
- Indoor meeting and event spaces permitted to operate with physical distancing and other restrictions still in effect and capacity limited to not exceed 50 per cent capacity or 1,000 people, (whichever is less);
- Essential and non-essential retail with with capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
- Personal care services, including services requiring the removal of a face covering, with capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres;
- Museums, galleries, historic sites, aquariums, zoos, landmarks, botanical gardens, science centres, casinos/bingo halls, amusement parks, fairs and rural exhibitions, festivals, with capacity limited to not exceed 50 per cent capacity indoors and 75 per cent capacity outdoors;
- Concert venues, cinemas, and theatres permitted to operate at:
- up to 50 per cent capacity indoors or a maximum limit of 1,000 people for seated events (whichever is less)
- up to 75 per cent capacity outdoors or a maximum limit of 5,000 people for unseated events (whichever is less); and up to 75 per cent capacity outdoors or a maximum of 15,000 people for events with fixed seating (whichever is less).
- Real estate open houses with capacity limited to the number of people that can maintain a physical distance of two metres; and
- Indoor food or drink establishments where dance facilities are provided, including nightclubs and restobars, permitted up to 25 per cent capacity or up to a maximum limit of 250 people (whichever is less).
First degree murder conviction
First-degree murder conviction
Brandon Smeltzer, who admitted to killing Émilie Maheu of Green Valley in 2018 has been convicted of first-degree murder.
The man who admitted to killing Émilie Maheu of Green Valley in 2018 has been convicted of first-degree murder. Brandon Smeltzer, 27, originally from Bayside, Nova Scotia, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 26-year old woman, the mother of a daughter who was 22 months old at the time of her death. In her verdict handed down Monday, Ontario Superior Court Judge Laurie Lacelle concluded that Smeltzer had planned to kill his former partner, whose body was found October 13, 2018, two days after she had been reported missing. He will be sentenced August 5. Smeltzer had admitted to killing Ms. Maheu and dumping her body in a farm field in South Glengarry. “I did the crime, I will do the time,” he blurted out when he made his court appearance in 2018. But later, during a lengthy trial, his defence lawyer sought a second-degree murder charge, arguing that his client acted spontaneously. The first-degree murder conviction means that Smeltzer will not be able to apply for parole for a minimum of 25 years. If he had been convicted of second-degree murder, he would have been eligible to seek parole several years earlier. Ms. Maheu, who had a daughter with the accused, had been reported missing October 11 at 8:30 p.m., about seven hours after she left the Alexandria chiropractic clinic where she worked. Her lifeless body was found on Concession 3 east of Lancaster at 11:30 a.m. October 13. During earlier court appearances, Smeltzer had said that he was suffering from cancer, a claim that proved to be false. In 2015, Smeltzer had pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman in Bayside. He received a conditional discharge and was placed on probation for a year. Smeltzer and Ms. Maheu met while they both worked at Mills Heavy Hauling near Halifax. She had returned to this area to start a new life with her daughter in 2018. The murder rocked the area. At the same time, the crime brought the community together in grief and raised awareness of domestic violence. Shortly after her murder, about 200 people, many of whom did not know the victim, attended a candlelight vigil in memory of Émilie Maheu.
COVID cases drop
Haircuts possible June 30
You will be able to get a professional haircut again in Ontario as of midnight June 30. The province is moving to Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopen at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, two days earlier than originally anticipated. Step Two focuses on the resumption of more outdoor activities and limited indoor services with small numbers of people where face coverings are worn, with other restrictions in place. This includes, but is not limited to: Outdoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 25 people; Indoor social gatherings and organized public events with up to 5 people; Essential and other select retail permitted at 50 per cent capacity; Non-essential retail permitted at 25 per cent capacity; Personal care services where face coverings can be worn at all times, and at 25 per cent capacity and other restrictions; Outdoor dining with up to 6 people per table, with exceptions for larger households and other restrictions; Indoor religious services, rites, or ceremonies, including wedding services and funeral services permitted at up to 25 per cent capacity of the particular room; Outdoor fitness classes limited to the number of people who can maintain 3 metres of physical distance; Outdoor sports without contact or modified to avoid contact, with no specified limit on number of people or teams participating, with restrictions; Overnight camps for children operating in a manner consistent with the safety guidelines produced by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health; Outdoor sport facilities with spectators permitted at 25 per cent capacity; Outdoor concert venues, theatres and cinemas, with spectators permitted at 25 per cent capacity; Outdoor horse racing and motor speedways, with spectators permitted at 25 per cent capacity; Outdoor fairs, rural exhibitions, festivals, permitted at 25 per cent capacity and with other restrictions. Step 1, which began June 11, was to remain in effect for 21 days.
House arrest for fraud
Clement named to Senate
Cornwall Mayor Bernadette Clement has resigned after being named to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“This is an incredible honour, which feels both thrilling and wistful,” states Clement. “It’s a tremendous opportunity, which I cannot wait to start. However, I am very sad to resign from my role as the Mayor of Cornwall. It’s quite remarkable that you can feel such opposing emotions intensely and at the same time.”
She has served as mayor since 2018. She was the first woman to be elected as Mayor of Cornwall in its 237-year history and the first Black woman to serve as a mayor in Ontario. Prior to this, she served three terms as city councillor. Her mother, who passed away in 2021, grew up in Manitoba as a francophone and her father, who is a few months shy of 100 years young, grew up in Trinidad. Born in Montreal, she later attended the University of Ottawa. In 1991, after being called to the Bar of Ontario, Clement moved to Cornwall to start her legal career as a legal aid lawyer at the Clinique juridique Roy McMurtry Legal Clinic. She continues to practice law there, focused on representing injured workers and has been an ardent advocate for those less privileged in society.
Bernadette Clement will be the seventh Black person appointed to the Senate of Canada since the first, Senator Anne Cools was appointed in 1984, and the fourth Black woman.
Huge fire, shock and disbelief, solar eclipse
Prevost charged with child luring, sexual assault
SDG Warden and South Glengarry Mayor Frank Prevost has been charged with child luring following an online undercover police operation.
The 53-year-old has also been charged with sexual assault.
The charges were laid following an investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Child Sexual Exploitation Unit (CSEU), Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP, Grenville OPP along with OPP Digital Forensics investigators.
Mr. Prevost faces three charges of luring a child.
As a result of a separate investigation involving an adult victim, the accused has also been charged with one count of sexual assault.
The accused was held for a video bail hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall.
The United Counties and South Glengarry issued the following statement: "No comment will be made at this time as this is a legal matter before the courts. SDG and Township councils will be reviewing the matter shortly to determine appropriate next steps.”
Online predators
Parents are being advised to warn their children about online predators after a Terrebonne man was arrested Tuesday for preying on a minor. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Child Sexual Exploitation Unit (CSEU), Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP, along with OPP Digital Forensics investigators arrested 55-year old Thomas Tammler after an online undercover operation. He was charged with luring a child and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18 years. The OPP has seen an increase in online offences by people intent on the sexual exploitation of children. As a result, members of OPP CSEU are actively conducting proactive online luring investigations to aggressively target these offenders. Parents are reminded to take a proactive approach to help protect their children from online sexual exploitation by speaking with their children regarding Internet safety. Parents and anyone interested in protecting children can find resources to assist them at www.cybertip.ca
