John Hollett, a 50-ish man who is disabled and living with his girlfriend, says he doesn’t sleep well most nights because of his physical pain. He told The Outport News Tuesday he was up having a cigarette while sitting near his living room window facing the main road from his residence on Cemetery Hill in Summerside near dawn Monday, when he noticed someone seeming intent to enter his neighbour’s sport utility vehicle in their shared driveway. Hollett says he went out to challenge those attentions. It was about 5 a.m., he said.
Hollett said the man ran away. Hollett jumped into his own truck and followed a suspect seeming intent on extricating himself from the location.
The observed culprit was later met by a young woman and Hollett said he followed them slowly in his vehicle for a mile or so until he says he saw them exit the north shore highway via Anderson’s Lane in Irishtown. He waited there in his truck until an RCMP patrol dispatched to the site arrived and proceeded to begin their search. The police reported having the two in custody by 6:40 a.m., Hollett says.
He said he has yet to hear from the arresting officers regarding how they are handling the incident.
No report of charges had been forthcoming from authorities inside the first 48 hours.
It was through social media, on his Facebook page, that Hollett quickly made no secret that he doesn’t appreciate people encroaching on other people’s property.
Telling his tale, he went as far as to name the individuals he encountered during time he observed their movements.
Hollett said that although he endures physical disablements in his life, he is confident of his fighting spirit and didn’t fear for his safety through the duration of the incident.
So, more than a few backcountry cabin owners seeking to avail relaxation at the May long weekend were left shaking their heads in wonder that the wilds of the north Humber lands are surely that and more as the new camping season begins. Though not what most appreciate.
Wild in the country
It seems that the significance of last January’s big rainfall flooding and heavy snow melt which swamped the region is being more painfully felt these days in the Goose Arm-Deer Lake area. Roads are said blocked coming and going.
The backcountry is said to be buckled under the weight of tree-swept cliffs borne during the mid-winter milieu. Small brooks and bigger riverbanks spilled their contents throughout the incredible Humber region of western Newfoundland, washing out wood roads and bridgeworks alike. All visible now...
Judy Wells, chair of the Goose Arm and Area Cabin Association, assured its 100-plus members at its recent spring meeting that efforts are underway by other user groups, with leadership shown by the Newfoundland and Labrador Snowmobile Federation, in the area to help secure funding to ensure that passages may be restored. Local users of four-wheeling all-terrain vehicles claim their mode of transport offers enable easier passage in some of the camping areas.
War memorial progress
Marsha Park, communications leader with the upstart McIvers activities and events committee (formerly McIvers homecoming committee 2017), is soliciting resident involvement in defining a proper location for a community war memorial the town offers to erect in the near future.
The new committee reports having been “working together with a group of students at Templeton Academy to design a war memorial that will be constructed in McIvers within the next year or so,” the committee notes.
“We have narrowed down a couple of potential locations.”
Early offerings for the monument include the grounds of the Epiphany Anglican Church; another, overlooking Bay of Islands at the current location of the McIvers Island tern colony viewing site, adjacent the community playgrounds.
Feedback from the members of the community, as well as suggestions for alternative locations, are being welcomed by the town office.
Dave White welcomes your Bay of Islands news and events information at 660-5712, or email at: [email protected].
