Playing loud music on the Thanksgiving weekend earned a Stettler woman a $100 fine and a scolding from a provincial court judge.
Sarah Valentino appeared in Stettler provincial court on Thursday, Jan. 8, to plead guilty to a single charge of violating the municipal noise bylaw.
Judge David J. Plosz heard that the RCMP responded to a noise complaint received at 12:53 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 13, during the Thanksgiving long weekend.
Upon attending the scene, officers found loud music playing from Valentino’s home and issued her a ticket, the court heard.
“It was a holiday and I was by myself,” Valentino told the judge during her appearance. “I got carried away.”
Judge Plosz admonished her briefly for the lapse in judgment, reminding her, “People have to go to work in the morning.”
The judge sentenced Valentino to the $100 fine and gave her until Jan. 22 to pay it.
The noise bylaw allows for a fine between $50 and $500 for a first offence, and a fine between $300 and $1,000 for subsequent offences.
More info needed on Fas Gas collision
Judge Plosz also ordered a review in the case of a man charged of leaving the scene of an accident, on the grounds that more information was needed.
Thomas J. Rowland, who appeared in court on Jan. 8, was charged after an Oct. 19 incident in which he reportedly backed into a support beam next to one of the pumps at the Stettler Fas Gas station.
The court heard from an RCMP report that Rowland got out of his vehicle to see what had happened, remarking to a bystander, “I think I hit the gas pump,” and then drove away without reporting the incident.
“The only reason I didn’t report it is I didn’t think I did any damage,” Rowland told the judge, adding, “There was minimal damage to my truck.”
The court also heard that there was no indication of any damage to the support beam struck by Rowland’s truck.
Rowland was charged under the Traffic Safety Act and was prepared to enter a plea, but the judge declined this, saying he needed more information to determine whether or not there were grounds to lay charges.
“It just seems rather odd,” said Judge Plosz. “It may be that this thing might not proceed from what little I know of it.”
He also ordered the crown to provide a disclosure package to Rowland, who is scheduled to reappear in court on Feb. 12.