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I News/3 The final resting place for pets Sports/14 Financial boost for Olympic athlete CLARINGTON'S AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER SINCE 1854 Pressrun 22,150 November 27,2002 • 38 Pages • Optional 3 Week Delivery $5/$l Newsstand durham WHAT'S ON Sunday: Admire the true colours of Christmas in this year's St. Stephen's Estates Christmas Home Decorating Contest. Residents who take part in the decorating contest, sponsored by Rose Valley Homes, will be helping Big Brothers and Sisters of Clar- ington to provide children in need with a happier holiday season. There will be a Christmas Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the model home, 223 Spruce- wood Cres. in Bowmanville on Sunday, Dec. 1 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. For a loonie, guests can purchase a personalized bow to hang on the tree with proceeds being donated to help Big Brothers and Sisters of Clar- ington. Prizes will be awarded for the three best decorated homes, the best light display, most original display and a community choice award. For more information, call Lisa McNee at Big Brothers and Sisters of Clarington at 905- 623-6646. INSIDE Wheels: Daimler Chrysler seems "not to really know what to do about the lit- 1 1 Neon economy economy car. Originally'«sold as - the Plymouth Neon and thé' Dodge Neon, the impudent little smile of the grille and the goggle-eyed headlights • combined with the upturned, upturned, stubby rump, made the Neon look like a spirited puppy all ready to play. INDEX BOWMANVILLE - Kyle Branson, a defenceman with the Bowmanville Eagles, tries a unique way to stop Port Hope's Aaron Bujdos during a 7-2 win Sunday afternoon. The win by the Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak. For more on the Eagles, see page 14. RON PIETRONIRO/ Statesman photo Sticking to your check Hart guilty of trying to kill wife Crown will seek life sentence BY STEPHEN SHAW Staff Writer WHITBY-When he hither over the head with a baseball bat, Peter Hart intended to kill his wife. "Mr. Hart is clearly very intelligent... intelligent... He is also a sexual sadist and a chronic alcoholic," said Justice Hugh McLean, who found the 53-year-old Clarington man guilty Tuesday of attempting to murder his wife in October, 2000. The Crown will seek a sentence sentence of life imprisonment for Mr. Hart, who was employed as a tax auditor by the Ministry of Finance in Oshawa. Mr. Hart admitted he clubbed Pamela Peterson (formerly (formerly Hart), 47, four times with a metal baseball bat ns.she slept in their Burketon home, then slashed her in the ear with a kitchen knife and stabbed her in the stomach. He denied intending to kill his wife, however, and said he had been drinking heavily in the hours leading up to the early morning attack. Police found a dozen computer-scanned computer-scanned photographs of his wife with typed captions composed by Mr. Hart fantasizing fantasizing about him "killing his wife in various manners, having having sexual relations with her after death and consuming parts of her body," Judge McLean said. A recipe for the "knock-out drug" chlorohydrate, downloaded downloaded from the Internet, was also found on Mr. Hart's workshop workshop bench. The judge noted details of the attack eerily mirrored two of the captions, which describe killing Ms. Peterson with a bat and stabbing her in the heart. "It is clear to this court these were not just fantasy writings," but were plans Mr. Hart intended to carry out, he said. Defence counsel Paul Greenway argued his client is a sexual sadist who took pleasure pleasure from inflicting pain, but ■had no-murderous intention. , (V , : .,But, "The .common thread (in the captions) is more than just sexual torture. It is death, necrophilia and in some cases, cannibalism," Judge McLean said. Mr. Hart said he wrote the graphic captions to vent marriage marriage frustrations. Prosecutor Sonia Diver told See GUILTY page 6 Editorial Page 4 Classified 9 Sports 14 GIVE US A CALL General 905-579-4400 Distribution 905-579-4407 Death Notices 905-683-3005 Sincerely Yours 1-800-662-8423 General FAX 905-579-2238 Newsroom FAX ..... 905-579-1809 durhamregion.com • SERVICE • PARTS • NEW & USED SALES & LEASING EXTENDED SERVICE HOURS MON., TUES., THURS., FRI. 7:30 - 6:00 WED. - 7:30 • 9:00 SAT.-9:00 -1:00 ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY •An official murk of I lie Vimlnve of Onlurlo used under I lee me. Whitby - Oshawa Honda 1110 DUNDAS. ST. E. WHITBY . I.OCAI, (905) 666-1772 honda. www.hondn1.com Bowmanville farmer grows as president of Royal Winter Fair A.J. GROEN/ Statesman photo Bowmanville farmer Don Rickard just completed his second year as president of the Royal Winter Fair. Grey Cup blackout BY JACQUIE MclNNES Staff Writer CLARINGTON - An exploding exploding transformer pulled the plug on Grey Cup parties and other activities at more than 9,000 households and businesses businesses in Clarington and Oshawa Oshawa Sunday night. About 15 minutes before the 6 p.m. kick-off of the game, a transformer at Wilson and Taunton roads in Oshawa blew, leaving customers in the dark from one to more than four hours, according to reports reports from Hydro One, Oshawa Oshawa PUC Networks and Vcridian Connections, which all had customers affected by the incident. The transformer is owned by Hydro One, with lines running running into the Oshawa PUC Networks and Vcridian service areas. "We had a full bar," when the power went out, relates Bowmanville's Mane's Chicken Chicken ,'N Ribs manager Traci 1 lane. "People who were supposed supposed to be eating left because we Couldn't cook for them but the rest stuck it out, They were good sports," she says. At Mane's, like most of Bowmanville, Bowmanville, the power was restored restored in just over an hour because because customers were Sco BLACKOUT page 5 Soil's in the blood of Don Rickard BY NATALIE MILLER Staff Writer CLARINGTON - The Bowmanville farmer carried the wide-eyed little girl in his arms and introduced her to her first cow. When they got up close, the curious Holstein gently nudged her and she giggled excitedly. It's moments like this that prove most rewarding for this year's president of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Don Rickard, 57, is back at his Bowmanville farm, harvesting harvesting corn and plowing, after spending a hectic 10 days in Toronto at the world-class event. "1 usually fall asleep in this chair," he says of a plump leather chair in the living room of the 150-year-old farmhouse. It's a home rich in history with hardwood plank floors, a field- stone IIreplace, cleverly incorporated incorporated antiques and black-and- white portraits of ancestors. Mr. Rickard and his brother Jim arc fifth-generalion farmers who own Cercsmore Farms Limited. Mr. Rickard's brother and nephew took care of the farm at llwy. 2 and Rickard Road while he was at the fair. Mr. Rickard, whose father Garnet was mayor of the town of Newcastle, has been involved in the Royal Agricultural Winter Winter Fair for many years, having spent the last two as president. "It's a fascinating event," Mr. Rickard says. The fair attracts up to 50,000 people annually and is the largest combined indoor agricultural, agricultural, horticultural, canine and equestrian exhibition in the world, according to ils Web site. "1 was a presence here, there and everywhere," Mr. Rickard says. His role at the event, which ran until Nov. 17, included included walking the fair from one end to the other to ensure all was running smoothly, helping open different shows, handing out ribbons and welcoming Lieutenant-Governor James Bartlcman. He also met domestic domestic guru Martha Stewart, who was filming a segment of lier television show at the fair. He stayed in Toronto during the duration of the event as his days often began at 8 a.m. and could stretch until I a.m. In the 1970s, he first volunteered volunteered for the fair when he was president of the feed crops division division of the Ontario Seed Growers Growers Association. He continued to offer his efforts and was asked in the late 1980s to join the board of directors and chair the agriculture committee. Mr. Rickard later served two years as vice-president, which led to his presidency. The board of directors directors provides guidance to paid staff who run the affair. 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