So, why did he do it?

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

Warning: graphic details of the Rivera and Regier murders follow. Discretion is advised.

If there is any reason people feel uneasy about the Jesse Imeson trial, I suggest it is this: we still have no explanation for why Jesse Imeson decided to kill Carlos Rivera, and Bill and Helene Regier.
At least Imeson has an explanation for the former, claiming that Rivera was sexually assaulting him by performing fellatio as he slept. That’s certainly possible; no one has the right to touch you without your permission, let alone perform oral sex on you. Imeson claims he woke up to see Rivera performing said act, and strangled Rivera to death with his belt. He told Lindsay Glavin that another guy did it, and that he watched as Rivera’s “eyes went white and blood bubbles came from his nose.” Later, he told a Quebec police officer, “the gay guy, if I had to do it again, I would do it.”
With regards to the murders of Bill and Helene Regier, his lawyer relayed an apology at his Oct. 27 trial, telling the Regier family that he didn’t intend to kill Bill and Helene. His alleged lack of intent in the Regier case, and crime of passion argument in the Rivera case seem to have saved him from facing first degree instead of second-degree murder charges.
But this is where I get confused. Why did the crown believe anything Imeson said? He has already proven himself to be a liar and a con artist. In fact, everything he says is suspect, especially his insulting and ridiculous apology.
No one witnessed the murders except Imeson, so I suppose we have to take into consideration his testimony. Fine, believe the method, but doubt the rationale. I will never believe that Imeson did not intend to kill any of his victims, especially the Regiers, whose hands he had tied so they would be helpless. Bill was tied to the posts and rafters holding up the house, and Helene was securely bound on the floor. Neither of them was going anywhere, and Imeson would have had many hours to flee.
So why do it? Why pull the trigger, not once, but many times until they were more than dead? It’s disgusting to think of Imeson’s rationale for the act, and the fact that they were in a harmless state tells me that he had intent. Apparently, he had plenty of time to think about it. And if this is the way he approached a murder he “didn’t intend” to do, how did he approach Carlos Rivera? We will never know.
There is some consolation in the fact that Jesse Imeson is locked up for the next 25 years. It’s the most our justice system can do. So why does he seem pleased? I can’t help feeling that he believes he’s still in control, and that he’s going to be remembered. On the latter point, at least, he’s right.
However, unlike the heroic demon he seems to hope we will recall, I’ll just remember him as a bottom-rung loser who tried to bring others down.
The Rivera and Regier families won’t forget him either. Fortunately, they won’t have to look at his face for another 25 years, and then, as Carol Denomy says, they “will remain vigilant to ensure in 25 years that Jesse Imeson remains behind bars.”
We should all do the same.

Will Imeson get plea deal?

(Note: originally published October 9, 2008. Jesse Imeson plead guilty to second-degree murder, and received three concurrent life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years.)

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

There’s a dangerous game being played in Goderich, at the court where Jesse Imeson faces first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Bill and Helene Regier of Mount Carmel. The London Free Press’ John Miner reported Monday that Imeson’s lawyer Don Crawford suggests Imeson may plead guilty to a lesser charge than first-degree murder in relation to the death of the Regiers and Carlos Rivera. We’ll see what happens October 27.
If Imeson is indeed guilty, I struggle with the concept that he may receive a lesser punishment than he deserves, considering the horror of the crime. If the court accepts a plea that will see Imeson go to prison and be eligible for parole in as few as 10 years, is that better than taking the risk that he could be found not guilty at trial? It’s not surprising that a first-degree murder conviction (the law lumps multiple convictions into one concurrent sentence) is unappealing to Imeson and his lawyer; such a conviction carries a mandatory 25 year sentence before parole can be considered. The question is, will the Crown and the judge believe that’s punishment enough?
It’s an emotional issue. Ultimately, if convicted, Imeson will have to pay for his crimes. I’m reminded of the testimonials given in this newspaper last summer, when I questioned the role of forgiveness in this circumstance.
“In my heart, I am sure that both Bill and Helene would forgive him,” said Marion Sullivan, “because until you forgive you will continue to bleed.”
“This is something that’s going to take a long, long time,” Father Ray Lawhead added. “Forgiveness doesn’t mean you excuse what happened. It doesn’t. He’s responsible for his actions.”
Some day, these murders may be forgiven; they will never be forgotten. Personally, I hope the system ensures that “some day” is far enough in the future that forgiveness is possible.

Letter to the Editor - Horticultural Society

To the Editor,
After our successful ‘Home and Garden’ tour on July 5, the Horticultural Society asked our members for suggestions on spending some of the money to improve areas around the Bend. Sharon Solden asked that we consider doing something with the very neglected front at the public school. The executive decided that because the school/library is used by so many residents, it was a good idea and we, some of the students and a parent, Joe Hotson (he roto-tilled the area for us) completed the work.
Paul and Anita from Westland Greenhouses donated beautiful fall mum plants and everything was completed in time for ‘Meet the Teacher’ night on Thursday.
In the spring we are going to plant pink and purple coloured plants so the gardens will be ready for the ‘Community in Bloom’ judges to have a look at next year. Pink and purple are the colours they are suggesting for next year and we are going to talk to as many people as we can reach in the area to plant their gardens in pink and purple. 
Please mark your calendar for June 27 next year. That is the date for our next ‘Home and Garden’ tour.
Bob Putherbough
Grand Bend Horticultural Society

Letter to the Editor - ALS

To the Editor,
Every year for six years our family has participated in The Walk to D’feet ALS, as my grandfather died from ALS in October 4th, 1985. This year my daughters, aged four and six, wanted to raise money and brainstormed for ideas.
First my daughter Abby wanted to sell live turkeys to people but we explained why that could not happen. Instead, they held a charity barbecue at Hayter’s Turkey Products and raised $450, and with other donations they raised over $850 this year. Abby and Emma wrote letters to No Frills and Sobeys for donations, which the support they received was amazing and we thank them so much for their support as well as Hayter’s for donating all of the turkey burgers and turkey hot dogs.
Emma is in one in the huge t-shirt,  Abby is in the pink,  then there is me (in brown) and my mom Jean Mclean (Nana) it was the 4 of us just after we all finished the walk. 
Jenn Maguire
Grand Bend

Election issues

Advice from Mom
By Rita Lessard

Since we are preparing to go to the polls for another election, I suppose my column this week should reflect on the matter. Like most people I’m not too sure who I want to vote for, but I will vote and hopefully my choice will be a wise one. I suppose you can view politics like a dating game – those you date and those you marry. The question is, do you want to date or just fool around for a while?
Sometimes marriage and politics can be similar; at the start of either you make promises like loving, honouring, and sometimes obeying. But as time goes by, these promises are hard to keep and eventually some of us get disillusioned and want to change partners and try to go with someone else with a better plan. I know all politicians have to make all these promises in order to get votes, but the time has to come eventually when they have to keep at least some of these promises and quit fooling around.
Taxes are a big issue with any election; like death, there is no escape from either one, but at least death doesn’t get any worse.
October tips

Singing my praises for vinegar again. Everyone seems to know if your dog gets too close to a skunk and gets sprayed you should use tomato juice liberally to get the smell out. Well, you can use vinegar as well, and get the smell out just as effectively. It especially is better if your pooch is white because if you tomato juice the poor dog will be either red or pink. I’m sure this would embarrass Brutus immensely. Vinegar is cheaper, too.

Do you have a fear of flying? My friend Margaret told me she got this tip from a pilot. Once you’re seated on the plane, cross your ankles and place your hands on the armrest with the palms of your hands upright. This relaxes you and your fears apparently will subside.

Tips for tastier burgers: replace bread crumbs with potato chips (any kind you desire). Quite yummy!

Running for office

Or, how to get into real trouble

Keeping the Peace
By Tom Lessard

Many years ago, there was an upcoming municipal election looming. I resided in Huron Park where there was probably the largest number of voters in Stephen Township. I was pretty well known as a helper, a doer and a goer in the community, therefore, I was approached to run as a candidate. My backers said no one else in Huron Park would runagainst me. Ha ha. When it came time to declare our intentions to run, three Park residents submitted their names. Well, you can guess the outcome; none of us got in.
The next time I was asked to run in an election was with the UAW. I was at the time an employee at one of the union plants. The UAW committee was dominated by mainly women. We were not very pleased with the situation and felt that there was enough dominance at home. Since we couldn’t do anything about the homefront, we thought there was a chance to change things at the union level. Guess what? I won. Whoop dee doo.
There was only one small problem. I had no idea how to do any of the objectives of a president. I tried but to no avail and had to resign and send the job back to the ladies. I began to take courses with the UAW to learn what unions are intended to do for the workers.
One course I took at Port Elgin (which is the UAW school) was a women’s course; there were two males and 128 women. Boy, did I learn a lot.
I was later involved in some intense negotiations, which at times were scary. One set was held in Stratford. The deadline was set for Sunday at midnight. All day at a motel, with the company reps in one room and four or five of us in another, an arbitrator moved back and forth between the rooms bringing offers or rejections for the two teams. The men back at the plants had barrels, signs, picket duties and wood for burning all set to go.
At about 11:30, word came down that the company people wanted to see us in their negotiating room. Up we went. They were all smiles and we were told they had accepted all of our demands. Then the party began.
In the 40 years that I have lived in Stephen Township, I have never been approached by a federal or provincial candidate to give them my vote. I have had correspondence with parliament members and did go with a delegation to see Carol Mitchell in Goderich about funding for our sewers, which were being shoved down our throats.
We finally got some help but not by politicians but by the super efforts of one of our residents. She went and talked to the provincial finance minister and somehow got us $1-million, which worked out to about $3,500 per household. As I resident, I thank you for that.

In the London Free Press two weeks ago, how to reach your federal party:
Conservatives – www.conservative.ca
Liberals – www.conservative.ca
Who are they backing?
Since Rita and I always use our right to vote, we are going to do so a little differently this time. We don’t know any of the candidates, but we do have favourite colours. Mine is red and hers is green. Now our ballots are not a secret.

Down the drain

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but – like it or not – Grand Bend area residents will soon be tying into a municipal sewage system. Many people aren’t aware of the impending costs that are associated with the process, but with figures in the tens of thousands of dollars, they need to start planning now. Perhaps you’re one of them.
Crediton faced this crisis two years ago, and the fallout still has residents talking. Just recently, they faced a deadline to pay cash (about $10,000 per lot plus hookup costs) or face mandatory financing at more than five per cent for 20 years; many thought the day would not come, and missed an opportunity to reduce their costs by finding private financing on their own.
While you can’t stop the provincially mandated process that is well on its way, if you live in the area affected by the proposed sewage system (Grand Bend, St. Joseph, and Dashwood), you can start saving your pennies and talking to your bank. The cost isn’t set yet, but you can bet (based on other communities’ experiences) it will be in the five-figure range for most. Do you have that kind of money underneath your mattress? Didn’t think so.
The situation is worst for the residents of Dashwood, who will have to pipe their waste into Grand Bend, and it’s quite a distance. The cost to do so will be between 20 and 30 per cent of their home values for many.
Home values will increase accordingly, residents are told. Tell that to homeowners in Crediton, where home values haven’t changed much and the home sales market is flooded. Don’t be surprised if you see the same situation in Dashwood some day soon.

Reader: Focus on federal issues

Remember what each level of government does

To the Editor,
With a federal election campaign now underway, it is an ideal time to draw attention to what each of our three levels of government is supposed to be responsible for, so candidates and leaders will not discuss with voters those things that are not federal areas of jurisdiction.
Health care is not a federal responsibility, and it would be grossly misleading for Canada’s federal politicians to campaign around the nation promising all sorts of money for, and improvements to, each province’s health care system. With the dozen recent deaths linked directly to the listeriosis crisis, the federal government ought to be focusing its Health Canada resources on areas it is responsible for, such as improving the inspection of Canada’s meat industry in the interests of public safety.
Medical wait-times are something the provincial governments must tackle. Federal parties should only be promising the transfer of taxes collected on behalf of the provinces, with no strings attached, and nothing more. Provincial health ministers must be given the room to maneouvre they require in order to ensure the availability of adequate levels of health care services for their residents.
Inner city safe needle injection sites, highway and other infrastructure projects, industrial and labour policies, energy, educational scholarships: These are all provincial jurisdictions. The federal parties have a bad habit of stepping on the toes of the provinces - especially at election time - in order to grab the attention of voters.
There is no shortage of purely federal issues to discuss: the war in Afghanistan, international trade agreements, the federal debt and taxation levels, the Canadian dollar and its impact on Canada’s - and in particular Ontario’s - economy, criminal justice, the successor to the Kyoto Accord and Canada’s poor environmental record, global warming and sovereignty issues in the Arctic.
So Mr. Harper, Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton, and Ms. May, let us please confine ourselves to federal political issues. There is plenty of meat on that bone for you all to chew on.
Brad Harness
Leader, Reform Party of Ontario

When Harper touts his leadership, be afraid

Alternative View
By Gloria Martin

In the Sept. 10 Strip, Casey Lessard made comment that he feared a majority government in the federal election, and that, although he couldn’t quite put your finger on it, he “just doesn’t trust him (Prime Minister Stephen Harper).” I have to admit that I resonate with that fear, but I think with good reason.
First off is the fact that we are facing an early election despite Harper’s own pronouncements to the contrary; he says one thing and does another. Second, we have a prime minister who does not respect the will of Parliament by disregarding a majority vote in the house: the vote taken on allowing Iraq war resisters to stay in Canada. Having refused to participate in an illegal war not sanctioned by the United Nations, a war which has committed serious human rights violations, left countless untold dead, with lives and communities utterly destroyed, Harper continues to deport these courageous resisters back to the United States to face prison sentences. This is in spite of the fact that a majority vote was taken in the House of Commons to let them stay. Make no mistake: Canada would be fighting in this Iraq war if the Conservatives had their way.
Perhaps this is why Harper is so insistent on supporting another very unpopular war in Afghanistan. Canadians have heard the pleadings of voices like Afghan’s former MP Malalai Joya urging us to stop supporting her government, one of the most corrupt and criminal governments in the world – a gang of druglords and warlords, many of them wanted for human rights violations. She has told us that 60% of the Afghan people consider this government to be the worst in two decades. She reminds us that it’s a proven fact that no nation can liberate another. Liberation must be achieved by the people themselves – others can only provide support. The majority of Canadians want to support the troops by bringing them home, but Harper is determined to keep them there and watch as many of them return home in body bags. I was proud to call myself Canadian because we were a peacekeeping country concerned for human rights and people in crisis. Now we are involved in a war and supporting a criminal government. Would Harper follow the US in a war against Iran? His actions thus far suggest he well might. He seems more intent on impressing the Republican government than the Canadian people. We need to read the writing on the wall before it happens.
Last but not least is Harper’s reneging of the Kyoto Accord. Faced with the biggest crisis of all time he would rather point a finger at China than take full responsibility for our significant part in the global environmental crisis. Our very life on this planet depends on us taking urgent measures now. Now is the time for strong leadership on this matter because we don’t have until 2050! So am I nervous about the outcome of this election? Very! And with good reason.
For more information please go to www.youtube.com and watch Malalai Joya on Democracy Now! 19June07; Malalai Joya on ABC program on Afghanistan; War Resisters Supporter Catches Up With Stephen Harper; Canada’s Parliament votes to let U.S. War Resisters stay.
Gloria Martin is a Parkhill resident.

Falling for you

Advice from Mom
By Rita Lessard

The word fall has so many meanings. As the season turns, we can look forward to the changing of colours and the cooler weather. In its other form, the term is not as pretty as the season. My little friend Garrett Steffler had a fall last Thursday and the doctor glued the cut together. It’s amazing what they can do today to lessen the occurrence of scars. My guys were not so lucky as every one of them has at least one scar.
This falling business must be hereditary. My mother, for instance, was a fallen woman; no, that’s not right – I should say she fell a lot. That’s better.
My mother used to wear high-heeled shoes and a long fur coat, and I do believe that was her major downfall. I think her troubles started when she was about two years old and she fell down a flight of stairs and broke her nose; I think she tripped over her diaper that time.
It’s not exactly hereditary that my husband Tom has fallen and broken his nose several times, but our son Tommy had a broken nose and two black eyes when he got hit by a swing at the age of two. Falling backward, he also got a crack on the back of his head as he landed on a rock. Talk about bad luck!
Having children is the greatest thing, but this is one project that doesn’t come with a manual of instructions. It’s relatively simple when they are small babies; if all goes well, you just feed them, water them, and then you can put them down to rest. Once they get on their feet, however, you are presented with a whole new ball game; that’s when the fun begins in earnest.
I realize that young mothers are anxious for their children to grow up; be patient and enjoy them when they are small and having small troubles, because the bigger they get, the bigger the trouble.
So take heart Ashley (Garrett’s mom): your son will be fine and hopefully not have too many falls. You can take heart in the fact that Tommy’s fall didn’t do too much damage: he graduated at the top of his class in Grade 8, and while accepting awards at graduation, didn’t fall off the stage once.
(Editor’s note: Mom, you forgot to mention the scar on my forehead, a result of Bill pushing me into the dining room cabinet at age 3. I can still remember the bloody drive to South Huron Hospital and Dr. Gans stitching me up. Ah, the memories!)

Next Page »