Fenwick MacIntosh is going back to court. Hurray! The Supreme Court of Canada yesterday gave the okay to the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service to appeal a court ruling that tossed out 17 sex abuse convictions against MacIntosh. The charges involved four young boys in the 70s in the Port Hawkesbury area. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal stayed the sex crimes convictions, ruling MacIntosh's right to a trial within a reasonable period of time had been violated. Charges were laid in 1995, but it wasn't until 2010 that the case went to trial. The delay involved efforts to bring MacIntosh back from India where he'd been working. The Crown blames him for it. The case is expected to be heard within a year.
I think we were all shocked when the Nova Scotia Appeals Court let MacIntosh walk away a free man last winter. This was a fellow afterall who'd been convicted on 17 counts of indecent assault or gross indecency involving younger boys. The Supreme Court of Canada doesn't explain why it allows appeals as it did yesterday. But it has now given the Crown the opportunity to put this man where he belongs, in prison.
Good to see a little muscle-flexing by parents upset with a decision to increase the cap size for elementary school classrooms. This fall the number of students allowed in Grades Primary through 3 will be 29 from 27 where it was this year, and 25 a year ago. A group of parents opposed to the increased classroom sizes started up a Facebook site to protest and have gathered nearly 850 names on a petition so far. Yesterday they cranked up the heat a bit and began e-mailing Education Minister Ramona Jennex en masse for 3 straight hours. Love it. I would have suggested using phones instead. We'd launch phone attacks during my stint at host of the Hotline and they were very effective at getting someone's attention.
Memo to city hall---Would someone please put up the nets at two outdoor recreational basketball courts in Fall River. School's out and there are actually youths in Fall River who would rather play a little b'ball than roam around up to no good. But at the two popular outdoor courts in the community there are no nets and while you can play with just the rims, it's really not the same. The nets have been up in past years, why not this year? The kids are waiting.
Congrats to Ellie Black. The 16 year old Citadel High student is now an Olympian. Ellie was one of five gymnasts named yesterday to Canada's Olympic team after two days of qualifications in Gatineau, Quebec. She's also the very first Nova Scotia female gymnast to make an Olympic team. Ellie celebrated by going to see the movie Brave.
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penquins have agreed to a new contract that gives the Cole Harbour native $104.4 million over the next 12 years. Some Crosby-haters will of course take exception to the deal, but considering the young man's talents on and off the ice, I can't find fault with it. Are athletes today paid too much? Probably. But it's the way it is these days. So I lament the fact I wasn't good enough to make the NHL and sit back these days and watch the entertainment provided by the likes of Crosby, Brady, Hamilton and James.
Have a great weekend. Get involved. And if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
Rick Howe
