Fontana says tax freeze a foregone conclusion

Joe Fontana’s long-promised, oft-doubted and hotly anticipated 2011 property tax freeze is, as of Wednesday night, all but assured for Londoners.
In a six-hour session, city councillors achieved two goals with surprisingly little acrimony, re-allocating some available cash and cutting other expenses to endorse a freeze for Forest City taxpayers this year.

60 year old faces over 100 sex charges.

ST. CATHARINES - A man facing more than 100 sexual assault charges involving boys in Sarnia could have other complainants who haven’t come forward, police say.
Douglas Harold Patrick, 63, of no fixed address in St. Catharines, was arrested by Niagara Regional Police Tuesday after an eight-month investigation by Sarnia police involving historic sex assaults.
He’s lived in St. Catharines for the past 10 years, but had lived in Sarnia.
Patrick appeared in court in Sarnia Wednesday was held in custody for a Feb. 23 video appearance.
He was charged with 111 historic sex-related offences involving 18 separate victims from 1983 to 1990.
The boys were nine to 15 years old at the time of the alleged offences.
Sarnia Det. Const. Heather Patterson said police believe Patrick targeted boys in his south-end neighbourhood.
He was seen as the “friendly neighbourhood guy” who kept children’s dirt bikes on his lawn for boys to play with, though he didn’t have children of that age.
Boys who visited his house, often with other boys, would allegedly be supplied with alcohol and cigarettes.
A man came forward last year to report being sexually assaulted as a child and told police he believed other children were present and assaulted too.
“It was a domino effect,” Patterson said. “Everyone we spoke with provided a couple more names.”
Although charges were laid in relation to 18 boys, now in their mid-30s and 40s, Patterson said police have spoken with other possible victims in Sarnia who don’t want to come forward.
Patrick, originally from St. Catharines, moved to Sarnia in 1975 for work. He was a dump truck driver and worked for a pest control service there.
In 1992, he was convicted of sexual exploitation involving a 15-year-old boy and was sentenced to six months in jail and two years probation.
About 10 years ago, he moved back to St. Catharines, where police said he has worked driving a delivery truck and has lived at friends’ houses.
Both Sarnia and Niagara Region police said it’s possible there are victims in Niagara.
“We believe there may be people in the community who may have information that could be of assistance to our agency or the Sarnia police service,” said Niagara Det. Sgt. Paul Bevan, of the sexual assault unit.
Charges laid by Sarnia police included sexual assault, gross indecency, sexual exploitation, buggery, invitation to sexual touching, sexual interference, uttering threats to cause death and assault with a weapon.

London Woman filed suit again Greyhound in bus beheading.

A London woman, who was a passenger on a Greyhound bus when a fellow passenger was beheaded, has filed a lawsuit against Greyhound bus line, the Canadian government, and the RCMP.
Kayli Shaw is also suing Vince Li who killed Winnipegger Tim McLean Jr.
Two passengers who were on a Greyhound bus when Vince Li killed Winnipegger Tim McLean Jr. have filed a civil lawsuit against the bus company, the RCMP, the federal government and Li himself.
Shaw, and another passenger Debra Tucker filed statements of claim in Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench on Wednesday.
Both are seeking general damages in the amount of $1 million, "nervous shock damages" of $1 million and $1 million in special damages.
Li, a schizophrenic, has been housed at the Selkirk Mental Health facility since March 2009 after being found not criminally responsible for the brutal killing and beheading of McLean aboard a Greyhound bus west of Portage la Prairie in July 2008.
The plaintiffs, both Ontario residents, fault RCMP for failing to remove Li from the bus for over five hours, a period during which he mutilated McLean's body and displayed his "acts of deprivation" to passengers waiting outside the bus.
The claimants are targeting Greyhound Canada for what they say was the company's failure to provide safe passage by ensuring adequate security and emergency response training and for failing to appropriately budget for passenger screening devices.
Li is named in the suit for committing the acts that led to the alleged psychological trauma and for failing to seek or continue with psychological treatment or counselling.
The federal government is named in the suit for failing in its duty to regulate safety on a form of ground transportation.
Both passengers say they have not been able to participate in their regular employment, recreational and social activities since the incident. They say they've been permanently disabled by the trauma and will continue to suffer loss of income in the future.
Statements of defence have not been filed. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Compulsive flasher exposes himself to teen girls.

incidents can escalate. “He just calls out, gets their attention — then after, runs away,” London police Const. Dennis Rivest said.
They have received a report every week, the report: a man fitting the same description has exposed himself to female students from Sir Wilfrid Laurier secondary school on south London:

• Jan. 27 at 3:05 p.m., to two students walking on a pathway on Downing Cres.
• Feb. 10 at 8:10 a.m., to a female student walking along a pathway at Downing Cres.
• Feb. 10, between 2:30 and 3 p.m., to a student on a walking path on Millbank Dr.

Rivest said police wouldn’t usually put out a public warning until they received two or three reports of incidents in a row.“After two or three, you say, ‘Wait a second, maybe this is the same person.’”
The suspect is described as a white male, about 6’ tall, with a slim build.

Irish gang forces man to eat his own ear.

A gang attacked a man in Ireland early Monday and forced him to eat part of his own ear, police say.
The man, 21, is recovering in hospital.
The attack occurred in Newbridge. Police said the gang dragged the man down a lane and beat him with a hammer and a metal bar.
The suspects cut off part of the man's ear and forced him to eat it, police said.
He also suffered injuries to his head, jaw and leg.
No arrests have been made.