Posts with the Durham Regional Police tag

Barris Beat

Bad judgment must be called out

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
Playing on a tree on the other side of the fence was so inviting, but, it turned out, against the rules.

It happened when I was about nine. The public-school playground got a little boring, so a bunch of us found a maple tree just across the back fence of the schoolyard to climb, sit in and hang from. Word got around to the principal, Mr. Palmer Kilpatrick. If for no other reason than fear of liability, he announced that the tree was off limits.

That didn’t stop us. Next day, we headed back over the fence and scrambled back up the tree. Suddenly, it got quiet. All my fellow tree-climbers disappeared. I was alone. I looked down and there was Mr. Kilpatrick standing at the foot of the tree.

“Ted, come down,” he said sternly. “You know you’re not supposed to be up there.”

“Yes sir,” and I came down. Everybody else who’d climbed the tree with me that day had taken off. And I could have too. But something inside me said, “Fess up and face the consequences.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Integrity and meaning at the Cosmos newspaper

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
The Uxbridge Cosmos weekly newspaper began publication in September 2005.

At first, I was angry. I read the mayor’s statement on the public service page of the Cosmos (Sept. 17, 2020): He said, and this is a direct quote from Uxbridge Mayor Dave Barton:

“A local paper without it’s (sic) integrity is meaningless.”

I was furious. Then, when I simmered down, I felt disappointed … disappointed that this community’s chief elected administrator would consider the newspaper of record in this township, the Uxbridge Cosmos, without integrity or meaning. (more…)

Barris Beat

Trial by judge

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Harry Anderson as Judge Harry T. Stone on "Night Court." WMUR TV
Harry Anderson as Judge Harry T. Stone on “Night Court.” WMUR TV

I haven’t been in front of one very often, but as I recall the last time I faced a judge, it was about 10 years ago. I had received a speeding ticket from a Durham Regional Police officer. I was then informed by mail to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in the Whitby, Ont. That’s where I would enter my plea and face a judge in a courtroom. Of course, there was no jury. No trial either, since I pleaded guilty. Then, the judge looked at me.

“Would the accused please stand?” he asked. (more…)

Barris Beat

A verdict falls short

Written by Ted Barris on . 2 Comments
My Corolla sitting in a wrecking yard the afternoon of Dec. 30 last year. Almost a year after being t-boned in a Whitby intersection my case came to an Ontario courtroom.
My Corolla sitting in a wrecking yard the afternoon of Dec. 30, 2009. Almost a year after being t-boned in a Whitby intersection, my case came to an Ontario courtroom on Dec. 17, 2010.

It happened one day last summer. I think I had just finished mowing the lawn, when a police cruiser motored up the driveway. A couple of Durham Regional Police officers stepped out. My wife and I exchanged a surprised glance.

“Are you Ted Barris?” one of the officers asked.

“Yes…” I answered a little nervously.

“I have a summons here for you,” he continued, “in connection with an automobile collision last year.”

(more…)