Community Shocked

Legion president outraged by attack on
veteran, calls on comrades to support Matthews


By ROLLAND CHATER

I cannot comprehend how anyone could even think about hurting a frail man of 84 years of age but that’s what happened Sunday night when Herbert Matthews was attacked while he waited at the Deer Island ferry landing at L’Etete.
Matthews was a veteran from the Second World War and served with distinction in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1942 until the war ended in 1945. He served in one of the most hostile and austere regions of the war, the North Atlantic and in the English Channel.
He wears with pride the 1939 – 1945 Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Maple Leaf and the North Atlantic Star and stands tall every Remembrance Day remembering all those who died in battle and buried at sea, and the horrors that no young person should ever be subjected to. And now at the age of 84, and close to his dooryard back home, a brutal attack occurred.
Yes this man of honour was a veteran of this great country. He served with pride so that we back at home could live in peace and walk the streets of our hometowns without fear.
I wonder if this brutal act would have the same outcome if it had been a younger veteran, say from the Afghanistan war. But then again, a coward would not attack unless the prey was frail and could not defend himself.
I pray to the good Lord to give the justice system the sense to hand down an appropriate punishment, however saying that, I fully understand under the Canadian Law, that may not be possible, pity.
I call upon all veterans and seniors across this region to show support for one of our own, follow the justice system as it deals with this case, and may I suggest that if this case goes to trial we all should show up in uniform, wearing our medals, in support of our comrade. Let’s not allow our veteran to go through this alone.

Rolland Chater is president of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 40, St George.

Geo-caught

Geocachers bring out heavy artillery

Photos courtesy of Amanda Campbell

ST. STEPHEN – There was no malicious intent behind or danger connected to the placement of a suspicious package at the Visitor Information Centre in downtown St. Stephen on Sunday that resulted in several downtown streets being cordoned off while the RCMP awaited the arrival of the force’s Explosive Disposal Unit based in Fredericton.
The package was placed at the tourist bureau in the town square as part of a Global Positioning System (GPS) exercise called “geocaching” where participating individuals match coordinates and locations and log results on the internet, said RCMP Sgt. Gary Cameron, J Division’s public relations officer.
“They (the local RCMP) have located the person who put it there and there was no malicious intent,” said Cameron.
He confirmed that pedestrian and vehicle traffic was rerouted for about an hour as a precaution until the package was examined and deemed not to be a threat.
Cpl. Bob MacKnight of the St. Stephen Municipal RCMP detachment said the police received word of a suspicious person and activity in the vicinity of the Visitor Information Centre. Police responded and located a small, unidentified container, about the size of a deck of cards placed on the back of a large sign.
Cpl. MacKnight said a similar incident occurred last week in Ontario where a bridge was blocked by police and an unidentified package blown up. That package also turned out to be related to a geocaching treasure hunt.
Geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunt, is popular worldwide and there are many caches to discover in Charlotte County.
The basic idea behind the treasurer hunts is to locate containers hidden outdoors called geocaches, using GPS coordinates, and then share the hunt experiences online.
A quick survey of the internet, obtained by entering a local postal code, showed results for hunts at the Rollingdam Covered Bridge, Digdeguash Covered Bridge, Cranberry Lake and Maxwell Crossing.
Cpl. MacKnight said he suggests people who want to engage in this activity should clearly mark the packages they place, identifying the contents, if any, to avoid any further similar incidents.

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