The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE A8 ♦ THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ NOVEMBER 23,2005 durhamregion.com Retrial in Gagnon Sports robbery runs off the rails The judge told the jury that since the trial began last Monday, an issue has arisen arisen that has become a matter of contention between the Crown and Mr. Woodcock's defence team. Arguments over the issue - the jury would be excluded from the court and would essentially be in limbo until the matter is resolved - will take a substantial amount of time, Justice Min- den said. "Given the nature of the matter in question question I am satisfied it would take more than several days for both sides to do their due diligence," the judge said, "In fact it could take weeks and months." Lead Crown prosecutor Greg O'Driscoll wouldn't disclose the nature of the complications other than to say a new development in the middle of last week brought proceedings to a halt. The point of contention between the prosecution and defence is not related to any tes- Region should get out of unmandated services says local ratepayers' group Judge declares mistrial, ? ' dismissed jury BY JEFF MITCHELL Staff Writer WHITBY - The trial of a man accused of participating in one of Durham's bloodiest bloodiest and most notorious crimes came to a sudden halt Tuesday morning. Superior Court Justice Edwin Minden declared a mistrial in the matter of Ronald Ronald Woodcock, dismissing jurors after they'd heard just a few days of testimony from witnesses. "I have no reasonable alternative other than to declare a mistrial," the judge told the six men and six women, who were chosen after a week-long process that began Nov. 7. BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer NEWCASTLE - The Region of Durham Durham should only pay for what it absolutely absolutely must, in order to save taxpayers money, says a local ratepayers' group. The Newcastle-Bond Head Ratepayers Association recently passed a resolution asking that the Region get out of any services not mandated by the Province. "The Newcastle-Bond Head Ratepayers Ratepayers Association is strongly against, and does not support a double-digit tax increase, and urges Regional council to look at getting out of any 'unmandated services' to protect property taxpayers," reads the resolution, which was sent to Clarington council. "As any taxpayer, we're opposed to increases, but when it reaches double digits, alarm bells go off," said Bert Vanden Heuvel, acting president of the group. It's a good idea, said Mayor John Mutton, who, as the chairman of the Region's Finance Committee, has been warning of a huge tax increase next year, unless something drastic happens. Cutting services like homes for the aged, beyond the one required by the Province, would be a good start, he said. 'As any taxpayer, we're opposed to increases, but when it reaches double double digits, alarm bells go off,' -- Bert Vanden Heu- "I think it's absolutely essential the public realizes there are services Durham Durham Region is involved in that are not mandated and it's been my position for the last three years that we get out of them," said the mayor, pointing out the Region currently funds two more homes for the aged .than it is actually required to. "We've got core mandated services services that are eroding as a result," said Mayor Mutton. The private sector can run , homes for the s aged "just as well as Durham Region can" he said. "There are millions millions and millions of dollars pouring into the homes... for a few people. "It's time to put our thinking caps on. The public are starting a tax revolt," he said. The ratepayers' group's resolution was referred to the Region. The Comfort Zone by Glenn Trider ■ • ■■ jj j ' |n" for firephues: Sr 36" Fireplace ■ 25,000 BTU's • Unique RFN System • Thermostat Digital Remote • Powerful Blower Included • Refractory Brick Available • Rear or Top Vent • Lifetime Ceramic Burner • Trims shown are optional'extras • Cabinets are optional extras Now Only $1570 50 18,000 BTU Model Only $999 00 33" Fireplace 15,000 BTU's Fan Packages Bricks i Package Available 5pc Split Oak Log Set Upper/Lower BrassTrim • Great Fireplace for Small Rooms 'LotsofTrimsAvailable! *1 • Cabinets STrim Shown Optional Reduced at Only $899 00 2004 Fireplace & Cast Trim What A Deal'! ' .il; h • 18,000 BTU's • Remote Included • Beautiful Cast Trim Mantel k Wa£$235CD0 ' NOW $1739.35 MM BiBW 7 ; Piilsedl Si® @®l WIS (Eimtfmri 160 Baseline Rd. E. Bowmanville (905) 623-2956 Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8 - 6, Sat. 10-4 Closed Sundays webslte:www,comforlshoppo,com Email: glonn@com(orlshoppe.com Œljc Catiflbmit &tatcëmnti newsdurhamreqion.com Just one more way to get your news thanks to your friends at SljC Cmmbimt i>tntc£immi timony that's already been heard, Mr. O'Driscoll said. The declaration of a mistrial means the entire painstaking process begins anew. A court date has been set for early next year, at which time a new trial date may be set. The development development brings to a sudden end a retrial retrial for Mr. Woodcock, Woodcock, 57, accused of two counts of first-degree murder, murder, four counts of attempted murder and several robbery and theft-related charges in connection with the infamous Gagnon Sports robbery of Sept. 14, 1994. It was around 5:30 p.m. on that day that two masked men burst into the shop, then on Simcoe Street South in Oshawa, and screamed at staff and patrons to get down on the floor. When they were slow to comply a masked man armed with a .22-calibre gun started firing, wounding three men and firing at another. The gunman shot twice at Gagnon's owner Roger Pardy, a . married father of two sons, as he crouched behind a counter and whispered into a phone that the store was being robbed. Mr. Pardy, struck in the chest and head, died of his wounds. The masked men fled the store with several handguns. Earlier in the day, Pickering carpenter Kenneth Thomas, 55, went missing while running errands. His body was found near the Pickering nuclear generating station several months later; he had been shot execution-style in the head. The Gagnon Sports robbers fled the scene in Mr. Thomas's car, which was abandoned a few blocks away. After a sensational trial in 1995 Mr.: Woodcock and co-accused Roshan Nou-! rozali were found guilty and sent to prison for life. Both men appealed; Mr.. Nourozali was unsuccessful, but a new- trial was ordered for Mr. Woodcock. The slight, balding Mr. Woodcock, whose piercing gaze regularly flashed from the pages of newspapers as the remarkable trial unfolded a decade ago/ was ordered back to penitentiary in Kingston. Pie'll appear before Justice Minden in Whitby Feb. 1,2006. newsdurhamregion.com search keyword: woodcocktrial Ronald Woodcock Most children aren't shy about showing affection. Which makes them excellent spreaders of the flu. ('ll ill 11 I'll " liiiljul s| H I';i( 11 ' ! s ill' I III' Il II Allil Will 11'-! I liil'll i'll li III '/■' > muni lis ni ;iur : 111 1 ni I null risk ni II ii 11'liili'il nun |>!n -il H ms Su ma In 1 sin v wni i i lull lirn i ml I lirii Iii a 1 1 lu si ml Talk In yum dm I m I ill a ni i nr is I un I nr a I pu Id h lira 11 h nail. Call 1 ■ 8 11 Ml I '•* I I (TTS 1 Sim :t.s7-'ia'i'.i ). Oi wsii uww.health.gov.on.ea Thu flu. It's not just about you Opportunity knocks. TransCanada, a natural gas transportation company, is proposing to add one seven megawatt (MW) electric-driven centrifugal gas compressor to its existing Bowmanville Compressor Station site. The station is located in the municipality of Clarington northwest of Mitchell Corners. The station currently contains two 2.2 MW electric-driven reciprocating gas compressors. The additional compression is needed to maintain the reliability of the TransCanada pipeline system and to increase our export capacity. Construction of the facility is tentatively scheduled to commence in May 2007, with an in-service date of November 2007. We believe it is critical to keep members of the community informed of our activities and welcome your 1 ; comments and questions. Our door is open. You are invited to an open house November 30, 2005 at the Solina Community Hall, 1964 6th Concession Road, Hampton, Ontario. The open house is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. We invite you to call us with any questions you may have regarding this project. Your feedback will help us to respond effectively to the needs of the community during the planning, construction and clean-up phases of the project. TransCanada will adhere to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal regulations as required. TransCanada is regulated by the National Energy Board (NEB) and will file an application with the NEB to seek approval to proceed with this project. As part of our application to the NEB, we are undertaking an Environmental Impact Assessment to determine what potential environmental impacts there may be as a result of constructing the expansion, and to determine methods of mitigating those impacts. This information will be available to the public on the NEB website when the applications are filed. For additional information on this proposed project or how you may participate in the NEB process, please contact Janice Badgley, Aboriginal and Community Relations Liaison, TransCanada (905) 832-7333 or toll free at 1-800-827-5094 or Brad Brown, Project Manager, TransCanada (403) 920-6637 or toll free at 1-800-661-3805. TransCanada www.trnnscanada.com ^ * In business to deliver