| Vol. 4 No. 4 December 2002 |
Bell
Island Community Policing Newsletter Royal Canadian Mounted Police |
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COURT NEWS by Cst. Scott Stephenson -A 60 year-old Bryant's Cove man formerly from Bell Island was sentenced to 3 years in Federal Institution after being found guilty in Supreme Court. The man was charged with sex related incidents involving young boys which took place on Bell Island back in the late 70's early 80's. -A fine of $50.00 and 6 months probation was handed down to a 34 year-old Bell Island man in Provincial Court. He plead guilty to assault stemming from a June 2002 incident. -2 incidents involving a 21 year-old Bell Island man resulted in a series of charges. The man was charged with 2 counts of assault, wilful damage, uttering threats and possession of a controlled substance. He will appear in court on December 18th for sentencing. -A 43 year-old Bell Island man plead guilty to having a controlled substance in his possession. The incident occurred outside a local club in July. He was given a $150.00 fine. -Police charged a 37 year-old man with cultivating marihuana after executing a search warrant at a residence on Armoury Rd. in July. The matter has been set for trial in April 2003. -A stiff sentence was handed down to a 32 year-old former Bell Island man after he plead guilty in Provincial Court in November. He had been charged with spousal assault in connection with an October incident. He was fined $600.00, given 2 years probation and prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition for a period of 1 year. -A 32 year-old Bell Island man will be sentenced in Provincial Court in January after he plead guilty to assault. The incident took place at a local club in July. -Charges of assault were laid against a 38 year-old man in connection
with an incident at a local club in September. The man will appear in
court in December. -Police charged a 47 year-old Bell Island man with impaired driving after he was stopped in August. The man will appear in court in December. -Charges of impaired driving were also laid against a 41 year-old Bell Island man in connection with an August 18th incident. The man will appear in court in December. -A 16 year-old Bell Island youth charged in connection with a series of incidents has been sentenced to a year at the Whitbourne Youth Facility. The youth was charged in connection with damage done at Operation Sunshine, 2 attempted break and enters at a local convenience store, breaking into a local apartment building, uttering threats and willful damage. The youth was on probation at the time of these incidents. Police also charged an 18 year-old male in connection to these incidents. He was also charged with 2 counts of assaulting a police officer. He will be appearing in court in December CHRISTMAS PROJECT This year members of the Bell Island Detachment decided to do something different than that of years past. Working in partnership with the Clift Masonic Lodge, it was decided that we would raise funds by selling tickets on a Christmas hamper. The proceeds from the ticket sales would then be used to provide Christmas presents and Christmas dinner with all the trimmings to one family here on Bell Island. Through Health and Community Services department a family was identified and the project got off the ground. The business sector of the community was canvassed for donations for the Christmas hamper and as usual overwhelming support and donations were received from the local merchants. To this date donations are still being received. Also, ticket sales for the hamper are coming along quite well for the draw on the December 19, 2002. Hope you have your ticket! Members of the Bell Island R.C.M.P. would like to thank those who helped make this Christmas project an anticipated success and appreciate your continued support. If you would like to buy a ticket on this worthwhile project see any member of the detachment, or stop by the detachment. Merry Christmas! POOR MAN'S SUPPER Anyone wishing to purchase tickets can contact any Lodge Member or
Frank Skanes at 488-3477 or Don Bennett at 488-2516. NEW FACE Steve is originally from Victoria (Carbonear) and his wife Angie is originally from St. Phillips. They are both very happy to be back living close to home after spending some time away. WABANA TOWN COUNCIL NEWS Over the last number of years the activity at our arena has decreased and this year it is at an all time low. All groups and organizations have tried to run their programs with less people involved. Our community has seen many businesses and companies close. The bank closure was one of the worst that could happen to our island. Do you want to see our arena closed? I guess there is a very simple answer to this question. The answer is ‘NO'. Ask yourself today - what can I do to keep the arena operating and there for the benefit of all the children and adults to enjoy? Support is the answer to keep the arena open. You have to encourage and support all activities at the arena, encourage anyone who wishes to get involved in Minor Hockey, Figure Skating Program and make a special effort to attend the Junior Hockey Games held at the arena. Go for a family skate and take your children to general skating. The schools should have a skating program for all grades at our arena. There are many more activities that can take place at the arena for example skating parties, and birthdays etc. The electricity bill at the arena during the winter season costs in excess of $5000.00 each month. The town council cannot financially handle the costs involved to run the arena. Without increased activity and more revenue generated at our arena, council will be forced to consider a shorter season next year. Try to imagine "NO ARENA" on Bell Island. This is something that no one wants to think about. You can help! An Arena Fund-raising Committee maybe! Or suggestions!! YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED!!!!! SNOW CLEARING Residents are advised that you are not permitted to park your vehicle on streets during the winter season. Any vehicle parked on streets that interfere with snow clearing operations will be towed away at the owner's expense. CHRISTMAS GARBAGE COLLECTION The Town Council of Wabana wishes to extend to all its residents and their families a very happy and peaceful Christmas. May the New Year of 2003 be a prosperous and rewarding year for you all. BIKES SANTA CLAUS PARADE Click here for pictures of the parade. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES FROM THE BELL ISLAND KIWANIS
CLUB. TOUCHING STORY You'll have a hard time keeping yourself together if you read this at work. Take time to appreciate what you have now. When I saw all the people there, I started to complain to myself: 'It
is going to take forever here and I still have so many other places to Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section, and there I started to
curse the prices, wondering if kids really play with such expensive toys. Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: 'Granny, are
you sure I don't have enough money?' Finally, I started to walk towards him and asked who he wanted to give
this doll 'It is the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.' I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after
all, and not to worry. But he replied to me His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy will also go to see God very soon, so I thought that she could bring the doll with her to give it to my sister'. My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I
told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I asked him to wait until I come
back from the Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me: 'I also want mommy to take this photo with her so that she will not forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she didn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister'. Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and took a few dollars and said to the
boy. 'Ok' he said. 'I hope that I have enough.' I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money' Then he A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my
shopping cart. Was this the family of the little boy I asked myself? Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her
hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.
I left the place crying, feeling that my life had been changed forever. PLEASE DON'T DRINK & DRIVE BELL ISLAND FOOD BANK Our deepest sympathy goes out to Tom Spracklin and his family on the loss of his wife Barbara in August. Tom and his wife were great supporters of this food bank. Once again Bell Island Day was a success. We would like to thank all our volunteers and those who made donations to our cause. Due to the weather being cold and the dunk tank not being in operation our profits were slightly down. However, we would like to thank our brave young lad (Johnny Gear) for giving it his best shot. Once again we want to stress that our office hours for clients are the MONDAY or FRIDAY nearest check day. Due to food delivery on Tuesdays client day has been changed to Mondays. On August 30th AT&T (Crystal Baker) had their annual golf tournament with the proceeds going to the food bank. There were nine teams playing and we would like to thank them for their support. We would also like to thank everyone who took part including our volunteers and the staff of THE WILLOWS. Thank you Crystal for taking time out of your busy schedule to organize this event. GREAT JOB! A very special THANK YOU to those who has supported us in any way
during the past year businesses, personal donations and volunteers helped
to make this food bank a success. On November 6th registration for the Salvation Army Christmas hampers will take place at St. Michael's parish hall (which has been donated to us) from 9 am to 3 pm only. Please make a special effort to make it on this day. There will be absolutely no registration taking place at the food bank before or after. Thanking you in advance. Tickets on our annual "Christmas Draw" will go on sale on Monday October 7. Tickets are 50 cents each or 3/$1.00. Draw date will take place at the WBGC on December 20, 2002. Prizes are as follows: 1st prize - turkey hamper with toys 2nd prize - turkey hamper 3rd prize - Christmas basket Thank You for Supporting Our Food Bank. POLICE DOG VISIT On Friday November 29th the students at St. Augustine's School had the pleasure of having Cpl. Cy Gorman and his Police Dog "Ben" of the RCMP Police Dog Service visit and do a presentation. The students watched a video on what "Ben" had to do to become a police dog, and they also got to meet "Ben". According to Cpl. Gorman "Ben" enjoyed his day at school. I
know the students and staff enjoyed the visit. DARE PROGRAM Once again the Grade 5 students at Immaculate Conception School are participating in the DARE curriculum which is being taught by DARE Officers Cst. Scott Stephenson and Cst. Danny Bennett. The benefits this program has to kids are endless. This year DARE has been very fortunate to receive funding from various businesses, community groups and individuals. Without this financial support it would be very difficult to deliver DARE to the kids. We would like to thank the following for their support of this very
worthwhile community program. THANK YOU The following businesses are kind enough to allow the newsletter to be
displayed for pick-up.
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CLOSING If you have any comments, concerns or questions about the newsletter,
please contact us at the detachment at 116 Memorial Street, P.O. Box 1179,
Bell Island, Nfld. & Lab., A0A 4H0, or at the following:
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