The record, 10 août 2009, lundi 10 août 2009

THE RECORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 ' .——— ¦ i 75 cents + taxes PM#0040007682 Monday, August 10, 2009 Extrême fake Stranglehold on Series; up 3-0.Page 10 Community Living in the Land of Fire Tierra del Fuego’s not your average community center Page 7 Questioning Domestic Abuse Interactive survey could help doctors identify abuse victims Page 2 Fighting White Collar Crime Eastern Townships group coming together to combat investment fraud Page 3 He says, SHE SAYS.The ethics violations commited by the agents must be considered significant.Their conduct not only shakes the confidence that the public must have from their officers, it begins to break it" Statement released concerning THE 4 OFFICERS DISMISSED AFTER BEATING OF MAN (The Record, August7) * AL BARBER As part of its 100th Anniversay celebration, The town of Ayer’s Cliff held a contest for the best theme-decorated house in the town.This offering, depicting a roman hard at work sewing/or her family was created by Diane and Yvon Labonté, of829 Clough St.and took first prize.Second and Third prizes went to Barb and Norm Wintle, 925 Main St and Mme.F.Charron, 920 Westmount St., respectively.Congratulations to the winners and to all who took part in this delightful demonstration of civic pride.MANOIR OPEN HOUSE on August 28th Music, refreshmentSy and friends.Dont miss this event.From lpm to 4 pm.Independence and security in AN ANGLOPHONE COMMUNITY Call 819.562.0875 WWW.MANOIRSTFRANCIS.COM page 2 Monday, August 10, 2009 : - ¦¦—Tiifc— i.RECORD Waterville TG Hiring Computer Screening Helps Docs Identify Domestic Violence By Corrinna Pole Sherbrooke Family physicians may be able to identify victims of domestic violence and intervene earlier thanks to an interactive computer questionnaire, according to a new study from the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.The research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on July 21, found that the computer screening, along with risk-reports for doctors, increased their ability to detect abuse and provide better assistance to patients.The study was conducted with patients at an inner city Toronto family practice who were given a multi-risk questionnaire using a touch screen computer in the waiting room.Covering a broad range of topics, the questionnaire was designed to disguise the focus on domestic violence for the purpose of the study, and results were compared to a control group who underwent a typical interview.“In the computer-screened group, detection of domestic violence was 18%, compared to 9% for the usual care group,” said lead author Farah Amad, Assistant Professor at Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Associate Scientist, Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St.Michael’s Hospital.“The opportunity for physicians to discuss domestic violence was 35% for the computer-screened group, compared to 24% with the control group.” According to a press release from the University of Toronto, the results of the report supports earlier research by Professor Wendy Levinson, the Sir John & Lady Eaton Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine and senior author of the study.Levinson’s work used a similar computer questionnaire in an emergency department setting and found detection of intimate partner violence likewise increased.“Anonymous modes of inquiry tend to lead to higher disclosure of socially sensitive issues compared with face-to-face interaction,” said Levinson, who is also Physician In Chief at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.Further, the COURTESY FREEFOTOS COM A simple interactive questionaire could help doctors identify abuse computer method gives patients the opportunity to consider their disclosure,” “Detection of domestic violence by health care providers is never easy,” said Ahmad.“Our research suggests interactive computer screening in the waiting room can help family physicians to address the prevalent issue of partner violence, possibly at an early stage.Doctors found it useful and efficient because the risks were screened and printed for them, while patients were accepting of the technique.” LOTO QUÉBEC Draw results: 2009-08-08 f 11 22 31 13 » 32 40 49 Bonus Winners Prizes 6/6 0 $4,500,703.00 5/6+B 3 $107,159.50 $2,159.10 $71.20 $10.00 $5.00 $15,562,626 $9,000,000 5/6 123 4/6 7,064 3/6 123,832 2/6+B 97,036 I Total sales Next grand prize (approx.) 08 06 Bonus 6/6 5/6+b 5/6 4/6 3/6 11 2/6+b 9 Total sales 26 27 37 40 Prizes I $2,000,000.00 $75,000.00 $750.00 $75.00 $10.00 $5.00 $751,497.00 8923714 Draw results: 2009-08-07 f 0110 22 26 28 40 42 Egtra 0644025 Winners 7/7 0 6/7+B 2 6/7 86 5/7 4,630 4/7 98,726 3/7+b 93,674 3/7 829,455 Total Sales Next grand prize (approx.) Prizes $5,000,000.00 $70,934.10 $1,649.60 $104.10 $10.00 $10.00 Free play $12,239,724 $7,000,000 ,T'S BACK ! Up TO 90 CONTESTANTS ON TV AND ! ftafter A TOTAL OF $5.8 MILLION IN PRIZES.In the event of discrepancy! between tins list and me cm,sail winning list ot t; Ouebec,1he| latter shall prevail Sherbrooke - Waterville TG is doing the unthinkable in today’s context and will he hiring to fill 69 positions at its Waterville plant.According to Vice-president Mario Larose, the unexpected manpower shortage comes as a result of two converging oc-curances.First, the company claims its recent restructuring has placed it in a much more competitive position and has allowed for the transfer of work from other facilities to the Waterville plant.Secondly, the company has seen an unexpected increase in orders from traditional customers.Waterville TG manufactures rubber products for the automotive industry.Mike McDevitt Best to leave your long metal rods at home this week Weather TODAY: THUNDER SHOWERS.HIGH OF 26.LOW OF 15.TUESDAY: THUNDER SHOWERS.HIGH OF 21.LOW OF 16.WEDNESDAY: CLOUDY PERIODS.HIGH OF 22.LOW OF 14 THURSDAY: CLOUDY PERIODS.HIGH OF 25.LOW OF 17.Ben by Daniel Shelton New software is available for your computer.What do you want to do?( remind ^ y me later) (install ) ( ignore ) WHERE'S THE BUTTON THAT SAYS "STOP BOTHER INIO MET IE X WANT SOMETHING, I'LL ASK EOR ITT "T. Local Briefs Introducing the Zen Zone Sherbrooke - Following the recent decision by Sherbropoke municipal council to allow the free circulation of bicycles, roller blades and pedestrians on the southern leg of the path around Lac des Nations, the city has declared the area a “Zen Zone,” and is encouraging users to learn to get along together with courtesy to share this popular resource.“As you know,” says Sherbrooke mayor Jean Perrault, “after having .studied several scenarios, the town council announced (last week) iin favour of harmonious cohabitation of all users rather than a strategy of repression and regulations.We are launching a campaign of awareness and civility and mutual respect.” It will be recalled that the southern leg of the path was closed to cyclists and roller bladders during weekend daylight hours and throughout the period of the Fete du Lac des Nations following complaints from pedestrians.In a decision rendered last week, the city reversed its position and opened up the path to all users.-Mike McDevitt Roadwork Roadworks: The Mistry of transport is announcing the following road projects: Bishopton-Dudswell: rte 255, today and tomorrow between Bishopton and Dudswell - the reconstruction of the road for a distance of about 2 km, requiring the closure of the highway between Hooker road and rte 255 north.A detour along Gilbert street will be posted.Stanstead: On Tuesday and Wednesday, testing of the bridge situated on rte 143 over the river Niger in Stanstead will require the closing of one lane of two between 8 am and 5 pm.Stornoway: From tomorrow until August 31, repaving of rte 161 between Stratford and Stornoway will require the closing on one lane of two between 6 am and 8 pm.North Hatley-Hatley: On rte 108 between North Hatley and Hatley, paving work will begin Tuesday, August 11 and continue until Setember 8.During this period, one lane of two will be closed between 6:30 am and 6 pm from Monday to Friday.Cookshire-Eaton: Paving work on rte 253 between Cookshire-Eaton and East Angus will restart today and continue until August 21, requiring the closure of one ! lane of two from 6 am to 8 pm j Monday through Friday.Mike McDevitt ¦ I______________________________ • » TH E — RECORD Monday, August 10, 2009 page 3 | Fellowship at it’s Best «pin» L'.N-rr *n.2! £•2 ; .v «BS& : ' JL.F -an NT ' - , COREY BFLLAM Now in it's third year, neighbours and friends from all over gathered for Bury’s Gospel Best, an event geared towards bringing the community closer together through song and celebration.Complete with games for the kids, corn on the cob and of course, the fabled friendship bridge, this year’s Gospel Fest was a great success and with the cost of admission being one big smile and a promise to enjoy yourself, B'try's summer gathering is hard to beat.Above is the Goudreau Band, consisting of brothers Mike and Joey Goudreau, Todd Aiken and Les Duke White-Collar Crime Fighting By Corrinna Pole Sherbrooke As the story of Montreal fraudster Earl Jones, who may have bilked as many as 175 people of their hard earned savings continues to dominate the news, a victim of another fraud is doing everything in her power to unite others like her and move the government to action.Huntingville resident Janet Watson is one of 1,600 individuals who suffered a loss of investments with Mount Real Corp.which was closed down in November 2006 amid allegations of wrongdoing.“Our investment advisor was a man we knew for many years and was recommended by a friend who also knew him for many years,” Watson told The Record.“He sold $17 million promissory notes and you had to invest $50,000 minimum.He said it was a good company which would yield an investment and we believed him.” One of the allegations is that these investment notes had been issued and sold illegally by investment representatives working for iForum Securities and iFo-rum Financial Services, which operated out of the same offices and shared a president, Joseph Pettinicchio.When Watson started asking questions about what Mount Real did, she found out the company was based on magazine subscriptions out west.Her broker had told her it was providing management consultations.“They were consulting but within all these little companies that were part of this larger one,” she explained.“Their money was based on these magazine subscriptions, I would have never invested if I had of known that.” Like Jones victims, Watson also lost a great portion of her savings, inspiring her to take a position as an inspector when Mount Real was handed to a trustee.Watson represents the victims of the fraud.“I had to sell a lot of office supplies to make that $75,000 but I didn’t lose as much as some others,” said the former sales representative.“Ours is allegedly a Ponzi scheme but it’s very complicated with 120 companies all over the place.Earl Jones was just one man.” Unlike Jones, those who invested in Mount Real were investing in a company that was registered with Quebec’s financial watchdog, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) which should have prevented any unlawful activity.AMF conducts regular compliance checks and enforces standards to protect clients’ money but they somehow failed when it came to Mount Real.“Our representatives were all registered with AMF but they’ve made a lot of mistakes,” said Watson.“AMF investigated Mount Real in 2005 and found nothing wrong.” The Mount Real investors have taken action against the company by way of a class action suit managed by three law firms but they are still waiting for the suit to be approved by the Quebec courts.“We hope to at least get some king of compensation but we’ve been told it could take 8 to 10 years,” said Wilson Cont’d on Page 8 'Stopping your advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time' - Henry Ford Jo-Ann Hovey Advertising Consultant Tel.: 819*54?* 9525 Fax:819-821*3179 jhovey@sherbrookerecord.com RECORD David Anderson Photographer Portrait Studio or Location shoots Weddings and special events 450-539-0132 d a va ndsu&videotron.ca 4020 rue Filler, Waterloo, Quebec Capturing our Moments page 4 Monday, August 10, 2009 JRECORD: Ontario Man Leader of Notorious Pranksters COURTESY FREEFOTOS.COM L .By Dalson Chen (CNS) A New York-based investigative website claims that the ringleader of an online gang of malicious phone pranksters is an unemployed 25-year-old Ontario man.According to The Smoking Gun, the founder of the Internet group Pranknet - which in the past had convinced its victims to smash televisions, publicly strip off clothing and drink urine - lives with his mother in a small apartment in Windsor, Ont."This is a troubled guy," said William Bastone, editor of The Smoking Gun.Although the man's identity and home address are given in The Smoking Gun article, neither could be verified independently as of Tuesday night.For the past year, Pranknet has gained notoriety - and the attention of the FBI - for carrying out extended phone hoaxes and broadcasting the calls on the Internet as entertainment.The pranks often involve tricking people into believing their lives are at risk.Some pranks have resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage when panicked members of the public followed the callers' instructions to smash windows, pull fire alarms and evacuate buildings.In one instance, a prankster convinced a hotel customer in Pennsylvania that a gas line had ruptured and that he needed to stay in his room and break his television because the tube might spark an explosion.Until now, Pranknet's members and administrators have been anonymous.Prior to The Smoking Gun's expose, the group's leader was only known by his screen name "Dex" - taken from the serial killer character of the television show Dexter.When asked if The Smoking Gun is certain that the man named in their article is Dex, Bastone said the subject has left a trail spanning years."There's no doubt.No wiggle room," Bastone claimed."He's the guy.One hundred per cent.Vye wouldn't do a story accusing him of being the head of what is essentially a criminal organization if we didn't know he's the guy." According to Bastone, the article is the result of a thorough seven-week investigation that included traveling to Windsor and staking out Dex's current residence.Bastone said he and a Smoking Gun reporter monitored the apartment for two days, from July 20 to 21.Dex never appeared."He's a shut-in,” Bastone said.Finding Dex's exact location was a complicated undertaking.Bastone said it began with a phone conversation: Bastone asked Dex by e-mail if he would agree to an interview.Eventually, a call came from Dex via Internet telephone software Skype.Bastone said he sent more e-mails to Dex - these ones containing clickable links to stories on The Smoking Gun website.But what Dex didn't realize was that those links weren't for the public, but were only made to reveal Dex's Internet protocol address.From there, Bastone and staff spoke with former associates and landlords, referenced server logs and utilized a variety of other sources in their efforts to uncover Dex.After The Smoking Gun's article on Dex was released online on Tuesday, attempts by Canwest News Service to contact him at the given address were unsuccessful.Residents of neighboring units said they've only seen him in the flesh once or twice since he and his mother moved in late 2008.Bastone said all of Dex's targets are based in the U.S."They don't do it in Canada." Falling Behind on Debt Payments?You’re not Alone.By Michael van Lierop Some of the most obvious signs of a recession are rising unemployment, sluggish exports, slowing sales of goods and services, and a whole variety of under-performing economic indicators.Two less obvious signs are low inflation and credit delinquency.Even inflation, something most consumers feel is a bad thing (though it is not) is feeling the pain, with record low increases to the consumer price index.Nationally, the inflation rate actually dipped into the negative in June 2009 (-0.3%), from an already weak +0.1% in May.In Quebec, we still have some inflation, with a modest gain of 0.2% in June, up slightly from May’s 0.1%.With negative inflation, the risk of course of “stagflation” or a continual decline in the cost of goods and services, becomes more and more possible.From a consumption point of view, this may seem tantalizing: however, when people know prices are falling, they tend to delay purchases - which then leads to a further slow-down in production, thus affecting manufac-turing, imports/exports, and employment.In poor economic times, low inflation keeps prices under control, and it also keeps wages under control, which is good.No or negative inflation is asking for trouble.Despite low inflation, something which in theory ought to suggest your money is at least buying as much as it did before (and not less), a good many Canadians and Quebecers are suffering from a combination of a) the excesses of the credit craze we’ve seen unravel both here and especially in the US, and b) labour market and employment problems which are straining, to the maximum, family pocketbooks.Indeed, credit-monitoring company Equifax revealed this week that nationally, Canadians are becoming increasingly delinquent on their credit repayment.This is not just about credit cards, this refers to all credit accounts.In fact, 1.56% of credit accounts were delinquent in June, a 3% increase since May alone, and a 24% jump year-overyear, since June 2008.Rates of delinquency have risen fastest in Alberta and BC, likely due to the rapid loss of jobs and the high costs of living.The city with the highest rate of delinquency is Toronto, at 2.03%; the province with the highest rate is Nova Scotia, at 2.09%.These statistics reflect those accounts which are more than 90 days overdue, out of all credit accounts in a given jurisdiction.What does this all mean?Quite simply, it means many Canadians are overextended.This is not about access to credit, or about usurious credit card interest rates.Indeed, as horrible as they may seem, high interest rates on credit cards has made them as ubiquitous and accessible to as many consumers as possible, arguably a positive thing for eco- nomic stimulus.Lower rates, especially legislated rates, would simply force the credit companies to become more selective, and consequently, make credit less accessible.Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe it’s not.Regardless, a weak inflation rate and rising delinquency rates on credit indicate something significant in the economic portrait at this point in time: the challenges thrust upon average people, like you, who must deal with first-hand the shifts in Canada’s economy, the upheaval in the global economy, and quite usually, bad decisions made far beyond our control.So, in short, let’s keep a lid on gas prices, but if you see that car, MP3 player, or laptop inch up in price by 1 or 2% in the next year, be grateful for that! It might mean someone near you still has a job.Michael van Lierop is Director of Sales & Recruitment and a Financial Security Advisor at Industrial Alliance (Sherbrooke), a Quebec-based insurance and financial services firm.His team of advisors works to address the financial needs of the English-speaking community.Michael also holds a degree in Political Science from Bishop's University.To reach him with comments or suggestions for future columns, send to mic.vanlierop@agc.in alco.com 1 IT’S SUMMERTIME! NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS Summer Schedule: June 15th to August 28th Subscribers, we need your help! Summer is always a busy time at our office, with people moving, stopping their subscriptions during vacations, etc.As our staff also takes vacations during this time, it would be a big help if you could let us know of any changes at least one week in advance.This way, your requests won’t get lost in the summer rush.We thank you for your understanding and have a great summer! n j7 p|) i\ i\.LL V»-* ' 2 SETS OF FULL LEATHER love seat and chair, very comfortable and in excellent condition.Classic Mahogany, green, $650.Contemporary style, beige, $700.Call 819-566-0446.HUGO BOSS MEN’S suits and shirts, sizes 38-40 and 42-44.Worn max 5 times indoors.Beautifully maintained, look brand new.Look your best for a new job or upgrade your wardrobe in top of the line style.$150.per suit.Sutton.Call Anna 514-475-9105.THULE ROOF RACK: fits VW Jetta and Golf, 1985-1999, bars and locks.$100.Call 819-566-0446.ABRACADABRA turn your hidden treasures into ready cash.International buyer wants to purchase your antiques, paintings, china, crystal, gold, silverware, .jewellery, rare books, sports, movies, postcards, coins, stamps, records.514-501-9072.365 Landscaping SCREENED TOP SOIL, 10 wheeler, starting at $200.delivered.Call 819-562-0212.430 Personal LOVE! 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