'Human cock fighting' gets mom, son arrested in Brantford

A Brantford teen's wish for an after-school activity has led to the boy and his mother facing charges for staging illegal backyard fights that were refereed by the mother. They also get my "Banjo Boy Award" this year for sure ignorance. Sure beats the hell out of the idiot who tried to rob a GO bus last year. (Check out my Annual list of notable posts from last year)

Cue the banjo music now, police said students at Brantford Collegiate Institute paid 25 cents to watch matches in the backyard of the Brantford home over the past two months. They said 70 to 100 people were present on one occasion and the students wore no protective headgear. The woman, 36, and her son, 16, are charged with prizefighting. Police can't release the woman's name because it would identify her son who is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which by design helps morons like this.

Both mother and son admit to the fighting but deny there was any money involved. No money? The fee went to buying pizza and water. The woman, who is a practical nurse, I hope had common sense to keep some bandages on hand.

Whether money was involved or not it doesn't matter this was human cock fighting at it's worst. I'm just glad there where no serious injuries or death. The kicker, the woman, who is a mixed martial arts trainer and has professional boxers in her family, says the idea came out of her son's desire for after-school activity.

Her son couldn't play high school football this year because it conflicted with his duties as a native youth manning posts at native-occupied sites in Brantford. Altered scheduling at BCI because of construction means her son gets out of school midday with little to do until bedtime. Don't worry her explanation gets dumber!

She said the 16-year-old and her 15-year-old son put their heads together and came up with the fight match idea(!?)

She said she laid out clear guidelines. Fights had to be consensual. Kids were required to wear proper MMA gloves and were teamed according to body weight and skill. According to her, the fights happened on Friday afternoons for roughly one month from mid-October to mid-November. Yet, a girl told the police she refused to fight when she learned the fight with another girl would be bare knuckles and include weapons like brass knuckles.

She said she spoke with the high school resource officer posted at the school three days before the last match and he assured her the match was OK because it was on private property and an adult was present. I doubt this conversation occurred like she says, no officer would okay this.

The officer acted as soon as he spoke to students who said they were charged the fee to watch. Not to mention, some neibours report kids throwing up on their property after the fights and using the area as a bathroom.

More to come from this story,
Kenaz

Connie Smith signs off for the last time

Hamilton is currently in a state of upheaval -- Mohawk College, McMaster Children's Hospital, Joseph Brant Hospital and the City of Hamilton are all searching for candidates to fill top positions -- and recent changes to CHCH contribute to my feeling the city is losing it's identity.

The station on November 14th made proposals to Dan McLean and Connie Smith, who co-host the station's noon news, that could lead the pair to leave the station they both have called home since the 1970s.

The actions follow job cuts and program cancellations two days earlier to help parent company Canwest Global Communications deal with cost pressures. Canwest announced it will chop 560 jobs to save $61 million. It lost $21.5 million in the first nine months of its business year on $2.4 billion revenue.

The company said 210 jobs will be cut through restructuring of news operations at its E! stations, which includes Hamilton. The station will chop 14 jobs, cancel four TV programs, reduce its noon news to 30 minutes and close its Halton news bureau.

McLean, 61, has been at the station since 1971 and hosted two talk shows before becoming a news anchor in 1980. Smith, 54, has been at the station since 1976. Her station bio says she was the first woman weather person at CHCH and was the first woman anchor of the weekday news. She launched the first noon news show in 1988 with the late Tom Cherington.

Veteran anchor Connie Smith signed off for the last time Friday. The popular co-anchor, 54, delivered a from-the-heart goodbye to colleagues and viewers. Smith even made a surprise appearance on the viewing couch in the film review segment with Alex Reynolds.

In her farewell, Smith thanked CHCH for “taking a chance” putting a woman behind the weekday news desk. Then, she spoke directly to viewers: “I am so indebted to you, for the way you have followed my career ... literally watching me grow up on this television station, your unwavering support over the years. Thank you for allowing me into your hearts, into your homes, for sharing your stories.”

Dan McLean can't comment about his future at the station. For Hamiltonian's this turn of events leaves the same choking in the throat and sick feeling in the gut as those who had when Gretzky left Edmonton. Dan and Connie where our daily slice of piece of mind even when they had bad news to tell us. Everything will be all right once again, but it will take along time for someone to fill the big shoes of these two living legends.

Good luck, love ya.
Kendall

Some early Christmas warm and fuzzies

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A volunteer ringing the bell at a Salvation Army kettle in south-central Pennsylvania got an unusual donation: a diamond ring. The ring was handed to August Memmi, who volunteered for the Salvation Army in Harrisburg during his lunch hour Tuesday.

The young man told Memmi that he'd bought the ring for his mother using money he'd earned mowing lawns, but she died this year and he wanted to put it to good use.

The ring's value was unclear Tuesday; the Salvation Army planned to have it appraised.

There is hope for the human spirit.

Later,
Kenaz

Remembrance Day for the soldiers in Afghanistan

It’ll be the pictures — 97 of them, engraved in sombre black stone on the small square in the Canadian section of Kandahar Airfield that will get many soldiers stationed in Afghanistan when they gather at the square Tuesday to mark Remembrance Day. Unfortunately Rememberance Day is not a Canadian holiday as it should. The day to remember the sacrifices of all men and women who did their part in all theatres of war have been lost on many of our politicians and some Canadians who don't get it. This is a small tribute to them. Canadian soldiers to receive medals for heroism in Afghan combat The five members of a combat team who fought their way out of an ambush in Afghanistan are among 11 soldiers to receive heroism medals from Governor General Michaëlle Jean. Members of that team have been awarded two Stars of Military Valour — the country's second-highest award for gallantry under fire — and three Medals of Military Valour for a single action last spring. The incident occurred on June 4, when a joint Canadian-Afghan patrol ran into a three-sided Taliban ambush in Zhari district, west of Kandahar. Capt. Jonathan Snyder rallied the troops to return fire, Cpl. James Ball led a team to find a way out of the ambush, while Capt. Robert Peel, Cpl. Steven Bancarz and Cpl. Cary Baker stood their ground to cover the unit's retreat. Ball and Snyder were awarded Stars of Military Valour, while Peel, Bancarz and Baker received Medals of Military Valour. Snyder died in a freak accident a few days after the ambush, falling into an open well during a night patrol on June 7. Other soldiers receiving Medals of Military Valour are Maj. Joseph Abboud, Cpl. Alexandre Dion, Master Cpl. Christopher Harding and Warrant Officer Tod Hopkin. Cpl. Bryce Keller has also been awarded the medal posthumously. He died in combat in Afghanistan on Aug. 3 2006. U.S. awards medals to Canadian soldiers Thirty Canadian soldiers received Bronze Star medals from the United States for bravery and meritorious service in Afghanistan. Pte. Richard Green, Pte. Nathan Smith, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Sgt. Marc Leger were killed in April 2002 when a U.S. jet dropped a bomb on them during training exercises. The American pilots say they believed they were under attack. Twenty-six other soldiers from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group also received the medals, which are presented to troops who face enemy fire. Peace, Kenaz

Remembrering Norm Marshall

Remembering Norm Marshall as the consummate professional and Hamilton legend. The Hamilton broadcasting icon died at his Burlington home November 5,2008. He was 89.

Marshall began his career with CKTB in St. Catharines as a teenager singing on air before moving to CHML in Hamilton in 1940. It was at CHML that he became a part of the Hamilton sports scene, broadcasting the play-by-play for Tiger Cats games. In November 1952, Marshall and Larry O'Brien were the commentators for the first televised Grey Cup game.

After stints in Montreal, Detroit and Buffalo, Marshall returned to Hamilton to continue the Ticat broadcasts. He also moved from behind the mic to in front of the camera as an anchor and sports commentator. He would remain at CHCH for over thirty years.

Rest in Peace,
Kenaz