One last concert for Dave Gaines page 3 Eggs can't elude hungry hunters page 11 Arches proposal floated page 19 EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
The Voice
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THE PAPER THAT PELHAM READS
bilko@rgcmail.com Vol.23 No.17
Wednesday, April 24 2019
Darcy Richardson, CPA, CA | Broker
DARCYRICHARDSON.CA 905.321.6292
FREE
No injuries in Fonthill armed standoff
Column Six
All good things BY ROB BELCHIOR
I
An Emergency Task Unit officer stands down following the arrest of Michael Roosma, 29, on Pelham Street in Fonthill last Saturday night.
Pelham man taken into custody, faces multiple charges
BY JOHN CHICK and DAVE BURKET
The VOICE
A 29-year-old man is in police custody following a tense, fourhour standoff Saturday night in Fonthill that forced the evacuation of several nearby homes. Police were called to 1175 Pelham Street, near the intersection of Spruceside Crescent and Bacon Lane, around 7:30 PM over a disturbance, reportedly between a father and son, according to CHCH, citing neighbour comment. There they encountered an armed man, who,
according to a Niagara Regional Police statement, discharged a firearm within the home in the direction of responding officers. The escalated situation then drew a massive police response, including the Emergency Task Unit, hostage negotiators, canine unit, and traffic enforcement. NRP Media Relations Specialist Stepha-
nie Sabourin also confirmed to the Voice that Hamilton Police attended the scene with their armoured rescue vehicle, which was ultimately not used. During the standoff, Voice monitoring of an NRP radio frequency described the barricaded man as unwilling to “leave the house alive.” A police officer who declined
JASON KEZAR PHOTO
to be named told the Voice that one concern was the potential for a deliberate natural gas explosion inside the house. The standoff led police to close all roadways into the area, and order the evacuations of nearby residents or tell them to shelter in place. Madi Moon, a Toronto resident visiting his mother’s home on Fallingbrook Drive, which runs parallel with Pelham Street, said police See STANDOFF back page
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Special to the VOICE
’VE LONG FELT THAT firefighters can be broadly lumped into two categories: those who have experienced severe trauma, and those who will. I use the word “experience” deliberately— although the firefighter is not the patient, attending and bearing witness to the suffering creates a shared experience, with very real effects. I ponder this as I look back upon 10 years of volunteer service with the Fenwick Firefighters Association. House fires, grass fires, vehicle fires, vehicle crashes, falls and cuts, broken bones and stopped hearts. I’ve helped save a few foundations, but never rescued a kitten from a tree. That last one bothers me for some reason. Truth be told, the last couple years have been notable more for my absence than for my ability to answer the call. Life has a funny way of interfering with life. Family, work, illness, recreation. All jostling for attention, all seeking priority in the queue. We’re See COLUMN SIX Page 14