Lethbridge Herald, The (Newspaper) - February 10, 1998, Lethbridge, Alberta SERVING THE SOUTH S IN C 9 0 7 LIVING Rabbit tales see page A10 February is Heart PteaseGBveGenoousJy Tuesday February Lethbridge Alberta online 8 Southern Alberta's Marketplace see pages 700 plus GST Home delivery weekly By RIC SWIHART Herald Skiers had their scary brush with a brown winter at first but Mother Nature came through in southern Alberta Now irrigators are watching the western line looking for mountains and hoping traditional snow months of March and April pile the white stuff to the proverbial hip pocket of a tall hiker The 1998 irrigating season is in the bag according to the managers for two major tion districts which rely heavily on mountain of 98 little more than dusting for water supplies But another dry growing season compounded by another snow season next winter will have the worry beads Brown of Lethbridge manager of the acre St Mary River Irrigation District that stretches from south of Lethbridge to near Hat said the main concern area includes the Waterton and St Mary River Dams both drawn down since fall to accommodate con- struction of a new spillway in the St Mary ture But even the low water levels aren't a real Judge backs some parts of appeal Decision latest action involving farmers in grain export case By LEONA FLIM Herald A Calgary judge has granted some portions of an appeal and denied others and reduced fine amounts in the case of 14 Canadian farmers who exported grain to Montana from the Coutts border crossing almost two years ago As Madame Justice Kenny's ment relates the farmers on April exported grain without required documentation from the Canadian Wheat Board AS a result their vehicles were seized by customs officers the following day However the farmers didn't turn over their keys to the customs officers and removed their vehicles without mission They were charged for failing to place their seized cles in the custody of a customs officer and each fined Kenny upheld this charge but reduced the fine to In addition four of the farmers were convicted of failing to provide written notice to Canada Customs of their intention to export grain prior to its export and of failing to provide a licence to export grain contrary to the toms Act specifically sections three and five of ing of Exported Goods Each of these farmers received an additional fine on these counts Kenny dismissed charges in relation to section five but upheld them in relation to section three with sentences reduced to The farmers are from various Alberta and Saskatchewan locations including Vulcan Noel Hazen Hyslip and bridge Robert Charles Justice Kenny found the farmers right to a fair trial was in no way breached She said the trial judge was correct in convicting the farmers of violating section three of the Reporting of Exported Goods Regulations but not of section five as those regulations do not contain any actual requirement to produce one's licence to export Saskatchewan lawyer Audrey Brent is representing the farmers Monday she hadn't received word of Justice ruling but offered comment after reviewing the con- She hadn't read the complete ruling document 5 I guess I'm disappointed that it wasn't a complete tory she said I see we won one set of charges as well as our appeal against the sentencing was certainly ful Brent had hoped her appeal would be fully allowed and had asked for fines to be canceled entirely City council tells VLT action in your hands By CRAIG ALBRECHT Herald If the residents of Lethbridge want to vote on the fate of video lottery terminals in their community they'll have to force the issue themselves City council turned down a plea Monday from McCormick a respected political science professor that it hold a plebiscite to see if the community wants the con- VLTs removed Should 10 per cent of the population sign a petition ing for such a public vote however council members said they'd abide by that decision See COONCH RELATED STORY worry said Brown Even with mountain snow pack at 75 per cent of normal there will be enough to raise the levels in both reservoirs The ace in that water supply formula is the abundant supplies in five reservoirs east of the St Mary Milk River Ridge Chin arid Murray reservoirs We will catch all the water we can in the spring so water won't go over the spillway at St said Brown Rick Ross of Lethbridge general manager for the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District said his farmers are relying on the Oldman River voir to carry them through 1998 We are confident in the ability of the Oldman Reservoir to take us through any anticipated water shortages for total available water in said Ross Ross said the prolonged drought conditions across most of southern Alberta have already prompted farmers to make requests for water delivery through the tion system ACCIDENT AFTERMATH Victim walked away from crash Police still on lookout for suspect white van By DELON SHURTZ Lethbridge Herald Lethbridge police continue searching for a phantom vehicle being blamed for a single-vehicle accident last week And they're amazed a Lethbridge woman was able to walk away from the incident which destroyed her car She's Sgt Jeff Cove said Monday It's just not her time Richardson was ted to Lethbridge Regional Hospital emergency last Friday after her car was virtually totalled following an incident on Highway 3 near the Oldman River bridge She was released the same day Richardson was on Highway 3 about p.m when she swerved to avoid a while van which had braked heavily in front of her Richardson lost control of her 1987 Dodge Aries which then mounted a cement median and struck a light standard Although police have a description of the van they refer to it as a phantom vehicle because there wasn't any contact between the two vehicles Stt SEARCH Pair charged with man's murder get another date with court Two men charged with the murder of a Pincher Creek man have yet another adjournment Darcey Leon Buffalo 18 and Joseph Leon Little Plume 22 are expected to appear in Lethbridge provincial court next Monday for election and fixation The two suspects had been granted a one-week adjournment Feb 2 to arrange for legal counsel When they appeared separately in court Monday they were given another brief re- As they left the courtroom they waved and smiled to people sitting in the courtroom Surprise costs hit city halFs computers By CRAIG ALBRECHT Herald Technology keeps changing and as Lethbridge city council is learning so does the price tag Council approved Monday an additional in the area of computer technology That will go towards computer upgrades as well as guarding against the Millennium came as a surprise to council Unfortunately as Aid Shaun Ward pointed out council finds itself in a position not unlike Noah when he got word of the impending flood We've got to build the ark We've got no he said About of that money will go towards completion of a er upgrade to the payroll system Both men wearing blue issue coveralls will remain in custody The two Pincher Creek men have been charged in connection with the death of Albert Schultz His body was found early last Wednesday by a passerby walking near the Pincher Creek Museum An autopsy revealed Schultz died from blunt force trauma Schultz murder is the third in Pincher Creek within two months RCMP Sgt Peter Sopow and garten teacher Lorraine McNab were found last December in a horse trailer on property south of town Inside vour LETHBRIDGE HERALD Agriculture Business Careers City Classified Comics Deaths B5 B8 A3 810 Living Opinion Sports Theatres TV Tonight Weather AB A2 A9 SEARCH Page A3
