The Advocate
March 13, 2013
www.pictouadvocate.com
Community
3
court ­briefs
♦
Judge talks turkey to man
who admits to stealing meat
PICTOU – A New Glasgow
man will be spending the next
three months on house arrest for
a turkey craving.
Anthony Joseph Shea, 52, was
charged January 12, 2013 with
theft from the West Side Sobeys
in New Glasgow after he placed a
package of turkey slices under his
jacket.
Shea proceeded to the checkout where he purchased other
items, but did not pay for the
turkey worth $6.08.
He has a lengthy prior record.
After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to three months of house
arrest followed by nine months of
probation and a $50 victim surcharge with six months to pay.
Hunter Arsenault, with his
father Chris, and a well
stamped passport belonging
to the intrepid youngster, who
finances his world travels
through his recycling efforts.
(Cameron photo)
This picture's worth $300
PICTOU – Stealing a camera
resulted in a hefty fine for the
accused.
Joseph Gerard LeBlanc, 41,
Central Caribou, was charged
between July 1 and August 31
with possession of a stolen camera in Pictou.
Pictou County District RCMP
responded to a report on October
19 that a Nikon Coolpix camera
was taken two to three months
earlier. The owner of the camera
saw it for sale on someone’s
Facebook page and called police.
The owner confronted LeBlanc
when the camera went missing as
they were residing in the same
unsecured building, however, he
claimed he did not take it.
Police attended the residence
where the camera was for sale
and the woman told the police
she had purchased it for $60 from
LeBlanc.
He was sentenced to six
months of probation and fined
$300 with six months to pay.
Accused men fail to appear,
automatic pleas entered
PICTOU – A Westville man
has had one too many adjournments in the Crown’s eyes and
an automatic not guilty plea was
entered on his behalf.
Michael Alexander Kenny,
48, was charged June 23-27, 2011
in MacLellans Brook with theft
of scrap metal, October 30, 2012
with possession of hydromorphone, November 22, 2012 in
Stellarton with defrauding
Central Supplies of less than
$5,000 and June 11, 2012 with
failing to appear in Pictou
Provincial Court.
Kenny did not appear in court
and his lawyer claimed he was
attempting to be admitted to the
detox centre in Pictou.
This was his 15th appearance
since December 12, 2011. The
Crown refused another delay
and an automatic not guilty plea
was entered.
Kenny will return for trial
July 4.
In an unrelated incident, an
automatic not guilty plea was
also entered for another Westville
man who failed to appear twice
in regards to a charge of allowing his dog to run at large.
Paul Derrick Johnstone, 31,
was charged February 13 in
Westville and failed to appear in
court twice.
An automatic not guilty plea
was entered and Johnstone will
return to court May 10 for trial.
April plea expected on charge
of sex assault, confinement
PICTOU – A Pictou Landing
man needs more time for a lawyer before entering pleas to two
charges.
Maurice Julien Denny, 19,
was charged December 17 in
Pictou Landing with sexual
assault and unlawful confinement.
These are indictable charges
and a publication ban has been
enforced to protect the victim.
Denny will return to court
April 15 to enter a plea.
July trial on theft charge
PICTOU – A MacLellans
Mountain man will be going to
trial on a charge of theft.
Robin Harold Hartling, 38,
was charged June 20 in Pictou
Landing with theft of $200. He
was charged again October 1
with failing to appear in court.
Hartling pleaded guilty to
failing to appear and not guilty
to theft.
He will return to court July 30
for trial and sentencing.
Recycling superhero
travels the globe, thanks to good deeds
By Aaron Cameron
[email protected]
H
unter Arsenault is a real
life superhero.
The young Thorburn resident,
who will turn six in April, has
been recycling for the past two
years. Avidly.
Enterprising, though shy,
Hunter is hard pressed to comment on his obsession, although
his father Chris explains. “He
didn’t like the garbage. He
threw something out the window in the car once and we said
‘no, that’s bad. You don’t throw
garbage out the window'.”
Later when walking with his
parents Hunter would see trash
in the ditch along the road and
shake his tiny fist in disgust. He
set about cleaning out the ditches and roadside woods he came
across. “He won’t leave any bottle unturned,” Chris says.
“He’s got almost everyone
(saving bottles and cans) for
him now,” mother Karen adds.
“Even down at the gas station
they set some aside for him.
Everyone knows.”
“If we go camping he’s up
first thing in the morning at six
o’clock and he’s around the
PICTOU – A Westville man
entered guilty pleas in provincial
court to possession of drugs.
Preston Stuart MacKay, 59,
was charged November 5 in
Westville with possession of bath
salts and hyrdomorphone.
He entered guilty pleas and a
pre-sentencing report was
ordered.
MacKay will return to court
May 16 for sentencing.
Getting their bowling skills sharpened for Bowl for Kids Sake,
Step up to Strike out Bullying, from left are: Little Brother Tony;
Laurel Goodwin, Heather Bowling Centre; Little Sister Zoey; honorary chairman Mayor Barrie MacMillan and Executive Director
of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pictou County, Margie Grant-Walsh.
Planning of the largest fundraiser of the local organization is
underway and teams are being recruited. Call 752-6260 or visit
www.bowlforkidssake.ca for more information.
only rule,” his mother Karen
explains. “He has to pay for the
flight.”
At the age of 4, Hunter was
able to pay his way to Italy as he
wanted to see the Leaning
Tower of Pisa. He then detoured
to Germany to see the Rhine
and check out some old castles
he saw in a picture book. Last
summer, at the age of 5, he
opted for the more conventional
Disney World and waited in a
very long line to meet Mickey
Mouse.
“He sees a picture of things
in his books and then he’ll ask
where it is,” Chris says. “And he
says, ‘Can I see it?’ and that’s it,
he picks where we go.”
This summer, Hunter has his
eyes on France “to go to the top
of the Eiffel Tower and have a
picnic under it,” he says nonchalantly while colouring in an
angry bird book.
Next summer is already
planned: Belgium (chocolate)
and Sweden (islands). Though
each bustling and booming
tourism hotspots in their own
way, Hunter’s father does seem
mildly baffled by the latest pair
of destination choices.
“Where he gets this I don’t
know,” Chris comments. “People
talk and he asks questions. If he
catches something like ‘Oh, that’s
where the best chocolate comes
from,' that’s it. That’s what he
has his sights on.”
His passport can prove it.
In addition to collecting cans
and bottles to bankroll his jet-set
ways, Hunter also saves can pull
tabs and donates them to a local
charity which takes in the tabs in
order to buy wheelchairs for children. He donates his tabs to
another boy who happens to have
the same last name. Although he
and his parents don’t have a
count on the silver tabs it has
been in the thousands and they
have filled many freezer bags.
The red, plastic Budweiser tabs
go in their own freezer bag. That’s
not a government rule, but it is a
Hunter rule.
Hunter caught the attention
of the folks at Clean Across
Nova Scotia when he attempted
to apply for the Adopt-AHighway program, however he
was politely declined due to his
being 13 years under the
required age. Nonetheless,
Hunter will no doubt serve as
an inspiration next month during the Clean Across Nova
Scotia campaign which runs
April 19-20.
... The race is on
Local friends among those auditioning
for spot on The Amazing Race Canada
By Debbi Harvie
Guilty pleas on drug possession
whole campsite and picks up all
the beer bottles that people leave
around,” Chris says.
“On one weekend we went to
the drag track and the whole
weekend he went around collecting. He was digging around
the grass; he found stubbies, you
name it. (While there) he just
kept eyeing a lady drinking a can
of beer. When she finally dropped
it, it didn’t even hit the ground
before he had it. The back of my
truck was just loaded with bottles and cans.
“He’s thorough and he’s
small,” Chris says, explaining
Hunter’s style. “He’ll get off the
ditch and into the woods. He’s
relentless.”
Hunter even once found a full
unopened can of Budweiser.
Along the way, Hunter found
out that the bottles and cans he
was picking up were worth
money. One haul pulled in $198
and in the past year he has
taken in and saved $1,200 from
his recycling efforts.
While most five-going-onsix-year-olds would be content
to spend that kind of money on
candy, Hunter instead spends
his money on airfare to far off
exciting places like Disney
World or… Belgium. “That’s the
[email protected]
Brandon Rhyno and Chris
Arsenault are looking to get their
motors running and head out on
the highway this summer as part
of the very first The Amazing
Race Canada.
The Amazing Race is a US
reality television competition
show that has aired since 2001.
Teams compete against each
other on global adventures, completing tasks to come out as winners. The Amazing Race is now
coming to Canada, as Big Brother
has, and locals want in on the
opportunity.
Rhyno, a mechanic, and
Arsenault, an offshore pipefitter,
have known each other for 10
years as neighbours and best
friends.
They live in Thorburn and
when they heard about the
Amazing Race Canada they
thought, why not.
“Chris’s wife actually mentioned it to us and we joked
around about it for a while but
then one day we decided, why
not?,” explains Rhyno.
He saw the show only once,
but that certainly didn’t deter
him from making a video with
Arsenault to be considered for
the show.
“I thought it would be easy
making a three-minute video,”
he says. “But it was a lot more
work than I thought.”
Originally they wanted to
centre the video around their
shared love – motorcycles, but
that didn’t really work out for
them being winter and all, so
they went on to show a day in
the life of Rhyno and Arsenault.
“We tried to tell as much as
we could, but at first it ended up
as a five-minute video of us just
talking. But that’s not what they
wanted, so we worked at it
again.”
The video begins with Rhyno,
20, waking up Arsenault, 40, at
noon with a phone call. Hilarity
ensues as they discuss things like
their fears and Arsenault is
chased out of a barn by a miniature horse and they discuss
Arsenault’s squeaky wallet. They
show Rhyno’s volunteer firefighting, their shared love of
exercise and even their ‘gorilla’
camping.
“Gorilla camping is where
you literally just set up camp
anywhere,” explains Rhyno.
“We once slept in a cow field.”
The video took about two
weeks to finish, thanks to help
from friend Brian Cameron, and
it was launched to YouTube,
Facebook and Twitter in the
early morning hours of February
27.
“The due date for submissions was February 28,” explains
Rhyno. “We got it in with about
four hours to spare. The goal
was to get the video out there for
the community to see so they
would know what we were
Chris Arsenault, left, and Brandon Rhyno are awaiting word to see
if their video earned them a spot in The Amazing Race Canada.
doing.”
Contestants for the Amazing
Race Canada are chosen by the
show’s executives, and Rhyno is
unsure as to when the choices
will be made, although the show
is to take place this summer.
“I don’t know a whole lot
about it, other than that it’s in
Canada,” he laughs. “We are
hoping they choose one team
from every province.”
Rhyno believes he and
Arsenault would make a good
team because they do everything
together.
“We are best friends at times
and at times he is like a father,”
explains Rhyno. “There’s 20
years between us and we come
from very different backgrounds,
but we have done long trips
together on our motorcycles and
gone camping, so this would just
be another adventure for us to
get to do.”
The only glitch Rhyno sees
would be the aforementioned
cheapness of Arsenault.
“That could definitely lead to
some bickering and fighting, but
nothing really seems to bother us.”
They are also both physically
fit, says Rhyno, which adds to
(Submitted photo)
their advantage and “Chris is
really smart. He knows a lot of
odd knowledge and is good with
finding his way around.”
Within two days of the video
being posted, it had more than
1,000 views and was shared by
hundreds of friends.
Rhyno says if they make it in
the race, he is most excited about
being with Arsenault and having
fun. “The prize doesn’t matter,
it’s just a full month of us together
doing challenges. I would also be
excited to see all of Canada.”
Their video can be viewed on
the Amazing Race Canada’s
Facebook page and on YouTube
under ‘Amazing Race Canada
Audition Video Two Pictou
County Guys’.
“We are hoping people will
like the video and comment on it
so it gets more exposure on the
Amazing Race Canada Facebook
page,” says Rhyno. “We’re not
trying to prove anything, our
video says it all. That’s just us. I
think if we made it on the show
we would have a shot.”
Marin MacLeod of Scotsburn
and friend Bronwyn Corrigan
are also vying for a spot on the
Amazing Race Canada.