This series is a first person account, told by a parent who has lived through the fear and pain that rocked Woodstock when an eight year old girl was abducted on her way home from school and subsequently murdered.  Elizabeth Maloney takes us through each step of the ordeal and starts with: A girl the same age as my daughter – is missing, she didn’t get home after school. The worry sets in. No longer can a parent feel reassured by the spotlight of safety once provided by broad daylight. Things are different now.  It can happen anytime, anywhere, and the most gut-wrenching of all; to anyone.

By Elizabeth Maloney

WOODSTOCK, ON   April 27, 2012  It started as just another day on that fateful April 8, 2009. It was so much like every other day I don’t even remember how it began. It was a Wednesday, so I would have dropped my then 8year old off at school and then headed into the office. My day would have passed along , predictably and without incident- or at least I assume so. Even if something exciting had happened that day, it was long forgotten; overshadowed by the events that transpired that night.

All we had was a picture of a cute kid who we knew nothing about other than that she was missing. It just got worse and worse.

To this day, I can’t remember how I learned of the disappearance of Tori Stafford. I know a good friend had sent me an email about the missing girl, but I can’t remember if it was before or after the news bite I heard on the radio during my drive home that night. Either way, it instantly had my attention.  I was born and raised in Woodstock and have strong ties to the community through family and friends.   No matter where you go, you always know where home is.

Now I know what you are thinking. Children are taken every day, why the anxiety over this particular child? You have to understand that this kind of thing doesn’t happen in Woodstock.  And when it does, the entire city will be talking about it; they move into a collective state of shock and then the fear begins to take over.

I called a few friends that night. Coming from a small city I knew there was a very good chance that someone close to me knew the family of the little girl. It only took a couple of calls to learn the disturbing details. A little girl, about my daughter’s age, disappeared while walking home from school that day.  She went missing earlier in the day and there was a delay in reporting it to police, although no one could explain why. And the police weren’t saying much at all.

This is when the questions began about the Amber Alert. It was a recurring theme throughout the various conversations that night. Why hadn’t the Oxford Community Police Services (OCPS) issued one? They had a missing child on their hands and it only seemed prudent to get this information out as far and as fast as they could. What was holding them back? Was there something they weren’t telling us? With no communication from police on what was happening, we, the community were left in the dark.

At the end of the day Tori was still very fresh on my mind. I tried to be positive, but let’s face it; no one takes kids off the street to feed them ice cream and tuck them into a warm bed. The grim reality is that children are snatched for sinister reasons and that pervading fear would not leave my head that night. I didn’t want to think negatively but my heart was heavy with the knowledge of what had happened to other children who were taken. The sad part is, at this point, I was actually hoping one of her parents had taken her. I thought it gave her the best chance for survival.

Before heading to bed that night I looked in on my daughter.  As I watched her sleep from the bedroom doorway, my mind flashed back to when she was 6 years old and she disappeared one morning before school.  I’ll spare you all the details but to give you an idea, the police were called and the neighbours started looking for her.  She was found safe and sound 25 minutes later.

It was hands down, the most horrible experience of my entire life. And she had only been missing for 25 horrible minutes! At this point Tori had been gone almost 10 hours. I could suddenly feel the same overwhelming tightness in my chest that I had felt for my daughter when I didn`t know where she was.  I couldn’t imagine how her parents were coping. I had the solace of knowing my daughter was safe. They had no such reassurance.

That is the point where Tori and my daughter became tied together in my mind. The two of them shared so much in common: they were the same age, from the same city and had at one point lived within walking distance of each other. These two would have easily been fast friends.

Part 1 of a multi-part series.

By Staff

The petty thieves must just love Burlington – all they have to do is walk up and down the streets and look for open car doors – and they are apparently finding dozens of them.

Last Thursday, an off-duty employee of the Halton Regional Police Service observed two young males on bicycles checking car doors in the area of Janina Boulevard and Humphreys Crescent, Burlington at 4 am in the morning.

Uniformed officers were dispatched to the area and located the youths near Brant Street and the QEW.  The officers noticed one of the males was wearing clear plastic gloves and they were brought into custody.

Further investigation revealed that the males had been checking and entering unlocked cars in multiple locations throughout the night.  Small items such as GPS units, an IPOD, cell phones, jewellery, a camera, loose change and miscellaneous items were taken from the vehicles.

At least four victims have been identified residing on Glendor Avenue, Bluefields Drive, Treeland Street and Esther Drive, yet police have recovered other property they are unable to attribute to its proper owner.

If you realized something was missing from your car – try the Halton Regional Police Service at 905-825-4777; they just might have your stuff in one of their property lockers.  And lock the car please..  When the petty thieves realize that Burlingtonians lock their cars they`ll stop looking.  Leaving your car unlocked just encourages them – and they always look for the easy pickings.

Paul Griffith-Willetts, 18 years, from Hamilton is charged with Theft Under $5000, Possession of Stolen Property and Failing to Comply with a  Probation Order.

A 16-year-old youth from Hamilton is also charged with Theft Under $5000 and Possession of Stolen Property.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  April 4, 2012  You can still see the geek in the guy as he talks about a pilot project that will help get the young rowdies off the street when Burlington`s downtown bars close at around two in the morning.  The service Scott Wallace of Burlington Taxi is developing is about as non-tech as you can get and is best described as something between a paddy wagon and an ambulance.

Scott Wallace, a software developer before he got into the taxi business – and there is a connection between the two – at least there was for Wallace, appeared before a Council committee asking the city to go along with him on a pilot project that would provide a service allowing young people who have had too much to drink to be able to drive, and perhaps not enough cash in their pocket to pay for a cab and not prepared to give the parents a call,

The 15 passenger van will serve as a cross between a paddy wagon and an ambulance and will charge $7 to get the rowdies home - safely.

The service that will run as a pilot from early May to late August will consist of two vans that can hold up to 15 passengers each.  One will make an eastern run while the other handles the western side of the city.  While the details are still being worked out,  the thinking is to have a couple of spots where young people can gather and know, that is where the van will be to drive them home.  The trip home will cost $7.

Something in the order of 300 people pour out onto the streets at 2:00 am – the challenge is to clear the area as quickly as possible which means getting them into vehicles they aren’t driving before they do any serious damage.

Getting those with too much beer in their belly`s off the streets of the downtown core has been a challenge.  Attempts to put this kind of a service in place during a previous administration at city hall didn’t get much past square one.  This Council seems quite prepared to encourage the pilot and listen to the proposal, which has the backing of the Restaurant Association and the Burlington Downtown Business Association.

Wallace is very quick to make the point that “this service is not THE solution to the problem – it is part of the solution, or at least he thinks so and he is prepared to put some time an energy into the idea.

Are there risks involved?  There certainly are.  The kids that will use this service may have been Boy Scouts or Girl

World headquarters for the 50 car + Burlington Taxi fleet. Gearing up to provide a service that will get the bar closing crowd home cheaply and safely.

Guides when they were younger but with far more beer in them than makes any sense they become noisy and tend to want to topple mail boxes and pull shrubs from front lawns – usually after trying to water the plants – if you know what I mean.

“For the most part they are decent kids – just out having their version of a good time and they have to be accommodated”, explains Wallace who lives in the downtown core and is often out for a walk late in the evening and is fully aware of how much noise this crowd creates.  He sees it as part of life in a city that has a part of town where there are bars and clubs.

Possible pick up spot for the bar closing crowd - they're open until 3 am Friday and Saturday.

The disruption created by these young people gets heard at Council committee meetings about once a month – the interesting thing is that no one mentions the one obvious and cost effective solution.  Put more police on the street walking a beat in the bar area.  There is nothing that settles a noisy, drunken youth down faster than a big beefy cop within sight.  It would take four officers walking a small area for a couple of hours to settle things.  Many people comment about the lack of adequate police service but that’s about as far as it goes.  Just talk.  Might the city of Burlington not petition the Regional Police Chief for more “feet on the street”?

Will there be bouncers in the vans ? – no says Wallace “but every vehicle has a camera that runs all the time as well as two way sound – so if there is a problem the action gets captured on video and the dispatcher knows instantly and is a button on a phone away from a call to the police.”

Burlington Taxi video footage has been used by Crown Prosecutors in the past – and, as Wallace puts it – some of these kids are not the brightest lights and they don’t realize how much technology we have going for us.

“This service isn’t going to be a money maker for us, says Wallace. “Some of my drivers would rather I didn’t put the vans out on the street – it would leave more of a passenger pool for them”.  Scott thinks the city need a service like this that gets kids out of the core quickly – in this case 15 at a time in each direction – that’s 30 kids that aren’t whooping it up on the streets.

“We are just a part of the solution” says Wallace.  “We need buses out on the street but the people at transit haven’t been able to meet this need” – bus service ends at 11:00 pm in Burlington.  Burlington Taxi feels it can meet part of the need.

Which is what Scott Wallace is really all about.  He talks about community service, social responsibility and adds “this is a great town”.  I’m doing my bit to keep it that way.

Wallace created, developed and then sold a software development company that focused on taxi dispatching and vehicle tracking.  “We’ve got GPS in every vehicle and software that allows us to log every trip and the revenue it produces which enables us to run a tight operation.”  That operation is a fleet of more than fifty cabs, most painted a bright yellow you can’t miss.

The bar crowd special - probably all cash fares but plastic is accepted.

Burlington is a little different than many cities in that it has just corporate taxi operations – there are no independent operators.  Wallace explains that a cab from Hamilton can drop off a fare but they aren’t supposed to pick up within Burlington and they don’t take calls from the city.  This corporate fleet approach gives the city tighter control over the taxi business – rates are approved by the city.

Wallace continues to go to taxi conventions and is in touch with the industry – knows where the new ideas are being tried out and what can and usually cannot work.  “People always want us to put more cabs on the street to meet those rush periods – but that doesn’t make economic sense.  While every car is not out on the road every hour – the objective is to keep every cab out for as long as possible.”

Scott Wallace is one of those people who arrived in Burlington before the age of ten and while he has been away for periods of time growing his career he has always come back and can’t understand why anyone would want to live anywhere else.

Wallace says: “We’ve done the research and we are pretty sure this will work.  We feel it’s certainly worth a pilot project.”   And we will know next week if city council sees it the same way.  Wallace got past the committee stage quite easily.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON March 27, 2012  On Saturday March 24 at 11:00 a.m., a woman was seated in her parked car getting ready to leave the YMCA lot, 500 Drury Lane, Burlington.  Just prior to the woman leaving, a man pulled up in his car, exited, and started a conversation with the woman. The man seemed to be expressing some romantic interests.  The woman declined the advances and the man got into his car and drove away without issue.

The following morning the woman discovered a note on the windshield of her car, that had been parked in a Burlington residential driveway all night. The note made reference to the encounter that had occurred the day prior. The note contained information that strongly suggested the woman was being stalked (Criminal Harassment) by the same man.

The man who approached the woman in the parking lot is being sought as a person of interest in relation to this investigation.  He is described as male, black, 30-35 years, stocky build. He is thought to be driving an older model dark blue or black VW Passat, Volvo or other similarly styled vehicle.

Earlier in the week police reported they had received a complaint about a male committing an indecent act while standing inside his residence, in front of a window and in public view.

The police arrested Anthony MATTHEWS, 51 of Burlington and charged him with Criminal Harassment, Commit an Indecent Act and Breach of Probation.  Matthew was held in custody for a bail hearing.

Anyone with information that would assist in this investigation is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 x2315, Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 275637(crimes).

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON March 22, 2012  Last December 4^th, at 1:00  am, three masked men broke into a Faversham Avenue home and stormed the bedroom of one of the residents demanding money and drugs. The victim told the suspects he didn’t have any drugs and the suspects left.  Three other residents were in the home at the time.

The suspects were described as:

White, 5’4” – 5’5,” 120 lbs, wearing all black clothing and white running shoes;

White, 6’4,” thin build, dressed in black and Black, 6’3” – 6”4,” 150 – 160 lbs

Following an extensive investigation by members of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau, three individuals have been arrested and charged in relation to the home invasion.

Investigative efforts culminated in a search warrant being executed on a London residence on January 9, 2012, the arrest of Jordaine WILSON-CAMPBELL and the recovery of two pellet guns.

The remaining accused have since been arrested, the last of which occurred March 18th.

ACCUSED

Jordaine WILSON-CAMPBELL, 21 years, of London, Facing charges of Robbery, Wear Disguise and Breach of Prohibition Order (weapons)(two counts)

Matthew ROSE, 21 years, of Burlington, Facing charges of Robbery and Wear Disguise

Nicholas ZEMBRZYCKI, 20 years, of Sudbury, Facing charges of Robbery, Wear Disguise

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON  March 19, 2012  The first red light camera in Burlington is up and running to remind drivers to stop at red lights. The camera, at Brant Street and Dundas Street, is the first of 12 red light cameras Halton Region is planning to install over the next two years to help improve road safety.

“Residents have told us that they’re very concerned about the issue of red light running in our communities,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “The fact that there’s at least one collision every week in Halton Region caused by a red light runner is not acceptable to us. We want to save lives and make our roads a safer place to be. Running red lights is not only dangerous, it’s also illegal.”

Halton Regional Police Chief Gary Crowley, Regional Chair Gary Carr and Mayor Rick Goldring stand at the intersection of Brant and Dundas with signs telling the public that red light runners will be photographed and fined. The cameras that catch you are up and behind these three fine civil servants

With almost half of Halton Region drivers surveyed stating they worry about getting into an accident when driving through an intersection and more than 60% reporting seeing a near-miss accident as a result of someone running a red light, Halton Region has installed two red light cameras – one in Burlington and one in Oakville – to help improve road safety. In 2012 and 2013, Halton will install another 10 red light cameras at strategic intersections throughout the Region.

Cameras are currently located at Dundas Street (Regional Road 5) and Brant Street (Regional Road 18) in the City of Burlington and at Trafalgar Road (Regional Road 3) and Upper Middle Road (Regional Road 38) in the Town of Oakville.

Throughout southern Ontario, red light cameras have reduced personal-injury type accidents, helping to improve the safety of intersections and enhancing quality of life. Cameras take photos of red light runners 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but only operate when a vehicle enters the intersection after the light has turned red.

The fine for running a red light is $325. Demerit points are not issued with violations detected by red light cameras.

When you run a red light a picture of your vehicle is taken and downloaded to a processing at Metro Toronto Police who do the processing for all municipalities in Ontario.  Trained officers review every picture and if it is evident that the Highway Traffic Act was breached they mail you a ticket.  Hard to beat when there is a clear photograph of the car going through the red light – so you might want to take your cheque book with you should you decide to fight the ticket.

Halton Regional Police chief Gary Crowel is gearing down and getting ready to move into retirement where he hopes he can get out and do a bit more running. As a chief of police he gets to shuffle a lot of paper and pose for pictures - the actual policing days have slowed down a bit - but they haven't stopped.

The only upside to all this is that you don’t lose demerit points for an offence that was captured by a camera..  If a police office were to issue you a ticket for running a red light you would lose three demerit points.

Of the $325 fine – $265 goes to the city of Burlington and $60 is paid into the Victim Fine Surcharge.  The cameras are on 24/7 and they work in the dark.  The cameras are standard 35mm units and cost about $100,000 annually to install and maintain – so this isn’t a cash grab on the part of the city.  This is part of a program that will hopefully convince drivers to stop for red lights or pay the price if they don’t.

For those who decide to run a red light – you’re lucky if all you get is a fine.  The cost of an accident is much higher.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON  March 8, 2012   The first red light camera in Halton Region is up and running to remind drivers to stop at red lights. This is the first of 12 red light cameras the Region is planning to install over the next two years to help improve road safety.

From left to right: Halton Chief of Police, Gary Crowell; Oakville Councillor Marc Grant; Oakville Mayor Rob Burton; Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr; and Oakville Councillors Tom Adams and Max Khan. Note that the only people smiling are the politicions. The police chief is going to have to enforce this law.

“The fact that there’s at least one collision every week in Halton Region caused by a red light runner is not acceptable to us,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “We want to save lives and make our roads a safer place to be. Running red lights is not only dangerous, it’s also illegal.”

To help improve road safety across Halton, Halton Region has worked with the Halton Regional Police Service on various road safety programs in the past addressing issues such as speeding and drinking and driving.

Red light cameras take photos of red light runners 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but only operate when a vehicle enters the intersection after the light has turned red.

Burlington is to get its Red Light camera March 19^th when there will be a photo op at Brant and Dundas.

No mention was made in the press release on how much was spent on these red light runner detectors.

By Staff

BURLINGTON, ON  March 2, 2012  On February 29th around 8:30 p.m., a fifteen-year-old female  walking west along Plains Road East from Maple Avenue to Spring Gardens Road  noticed a vehicle that seemed to be following her.  The vehicle, a van, was spotted several times travelling back and forth along Plains Road, as well as being seen parked at various commercial properties along the route. The female believed she was being followed.

As the female approached Spring Gardens Road the same van pulled into a driveway, turned around and blocked the sidewalk directly in front of the female.

The van’s tinted passenger window was lowered just a few inches and the male passenger told her to get into the vehicle.

The female replied that she was calling the police on her cell phone and the van sped away.

The passenger in the van has been described as white, with brown hair. No other descriptors are available.  The vehicle is described as a white van with tinted windows. A sticker was seen on the left side of the rear window.

Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 x2315, Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637(crimes).