by Deron Johnston
On March 31, a ‘not-so-serious’ crime wave swept across North Grenville, with many of the perpetrators accused of these crimes brought before the judge at the Kangaroo Court at the Kemptville Youth Centre. This past Friday was KYC’s Fifth Annual Jail ‘n Bail fundraiser, which takes various volunteer members of the community who were charged with some very creative and original crimes (like “being too sassy” or “for being too ‘Furrific”), and allows these accused to go out and fundraise money in order to convince a judge to release them from the KYC jail after being tried in their Kangaroo Courtroom.
Many other volunteers get involved in roles such as judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, bailiffs and witnesses. Among the accused were Ken Gehrel, of the Christian Reformed Church, and both Daren Givoque and Dermid O’Farrell of O’Farrell Financial. Some of the courtroom volunteers were local lawyer Tom Byrne, and rabblerouser John Barclay, as judges, as well as Tracy McDonald (CSE Consulting) and Rebecca Shams (Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit), who worked as both prosecution and defense.
Ken was charged with the heinous crime of doing donuts in a parking lot in his new truck. There seemed to be some confusion about the charge, especially over the make of the truck and the exact location where the crime took place. This confusion on the part of prosecutor Tracy McDonald probably contributed greatly to Ken’s eventual release by Judge Byrne after his brief stay in the KYC jail and his traditional bread and water. When asked, afterwards, by a good looking, intelligent reporter about his repeated transgressions year after year, Ken was quick to blame the excessive number of rules that rural residents have been forced to endure over the last few years.
Great fun was had by everyone who attended, and KYC would like to thank all of the sponsors, criminals, volunteers and youth who helped contribute to such a successful event. KYC was able to raise over $9,000, thanks to the community’s generosity. They also wanted to remind people about their annual KYC Breakfast happening in May. Keep your eyes and ears open for more details coming soon.
