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Charges against Stettler company reserved in court

Adrianne Shepherd

Independent reporter

Mark MacNaughton and Donald Peters and a representative for Quartz Land and Developments Ltd. were in Stettler Provincial Court on July 23, where charges in connection with violation of environmental legislation were reserved.

The three will return to court on Oct. 9, to enter a plea on two separate charges laid in early July under the Water Act.

The maximum fines for the charges are $500,000 and $1 million, if convicted of the offences.

Charges relate to activities undertaken in September and October 2007.

A provincial government statement on the issue did not give any specific details as to how the activities violated legislation, it only said “the company started or continued activity without the proper approval or authorization.”

An Alberta Environment spokesperson said they were not allowed to disclose any more detailed information regarding the charges.

Earlier, it was reported that charges related to “water bodies”.

In other court news, Greg Keller of Bashaw was fined over $2000 after being charged for driving a motor vehicle with no insurance. Keller was reported to have veering in the driving lane and was pulled over on Highway 12 on May 17, and was unable to present a valid proof of insurance.

George Bale was fined $200 after failing to report a collision. Bale was driving in Mirror, when a civilian observed Bale hit her parked minivan and continue driving. There was minor damage to both vehicles. Bale claims not to have noticed he struck the parked vehicle.

Mike Guynup was fined a total of $235 after being ticketed for fishing without a license and for catching and retaining fish under the requested size restrictions.

David Lymbery was fined $230 for driving an off highway vehicle on the highway in the town of Alix. Lymbery has until August 31 to pay his fine.

Dana Lea Soboleski pleaded guilty to one count of theft under $5000, one count of possession of a weapon and one count to uttering threats. Soboleski was requested to move out of a residence in Stettler; upon moving out she took items of value that did not belong to her. On July 16, the residents of the property upon noticing items missing tried to locate Soboleski. This led to an altercation outside of the residence, in which Soboleski and an accomplice were armed with a serrated knife and a machete and police were called. No one was injured in the altercation. Soboleski was given an 18 month suspended sentence, ordered to return the stolen items and report to a probation officer.

Jared Sutherland, 19, pleaded not guilty to a single count of theft over $5000 and guilty to taking a motor vehicle without consent of the owner. Sutherland and three others took a quad from a residence at White Sands that did not belong to them and went joy-riding. The excursion resulted in an accident and the police were called out. Sutherland was evasive at first but then cooperated with authorities. Sutherland was given nine months probation, ordered to write an apology letter and given a $250 fine.

Steven Fraser Winter, 20, Stettler, pleaded guilty to one count of blood alcohol exceeding legal limit and to one count of failing to hold a valid drivers license.

On July 14, Stettler RCMP were called to a collision with a motor vehicle a tree and a power pole. There were two males at the scene, and Winters claimed to be the driver. He appeared to be unsteady, had difficult walking and had a liquor odor on his breath. A breath sample was over three times the legal limit .250 mg. Winters was fined nearly $2000 and had his driving license suspended for a total of 14 months.

William Macpherson plead guilty to three charges under the traffic safety act and fined $230. Macpherson was ticketed after his work vehicle did not pass inspection, one bolt on the rim of one of the wheels snapped off and seven others were loose.

Donna Marie Schiffner pleaded guilty to failure to appear in court, and was fined $200.

Jesse Darren Anderson, 21 of Stettler pleaded guilty to one count of assault and one count of assault with a weapon in connection with an incident late last year. On Dec. 3, 2008, Anderson and his girlfriend were in a vehicle outside a residence in Stettler when they got into a loud argument. Residents of a nearby house came to see if they needed assistance and the RCMP was called. Words were exchanged between the accused and the residents and an altercation ensued. Anderson was given a two year suspended sentence and probation, he is required to report to his probation officer, obtain counseling if needed, abstain from alcohol and drug use and was required to submit a DNA sample to the Stettler RCMP.