The record, 11 décembre 2003, jeudi 11 décembre 2003

THE «SH** 70 CENTS RECORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Waterloo post office safe for How.See Page 2 WWW.SHERBROOKERECORD.COM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1 1, 2003 St-Jean drug sweep nets schoolyard dope dealers By Maunce Crossfield Police in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu were out in full force Wednesday, tracking down and arresting more than 30 people they say were dealing drugs in two high schools.Operation Schoolyard was the result of an investigation that began in earnest in August.St-Jean police spokesman Pierre Chouinard said the information gathering process began towards the end of the last school year, and continued over the summer.“It was specifically drug traffickers that we were after today,” Chouinard said.Each of those arrested is suspected of dealing drugs, primarily marijuana.In all, some 80 St-Jean police officers took part in the operation, which saw police arresting teenagers who were students at two schools belonging to the Commission Scolaire des Haute-Rivières.“It is strictly students, nobody from any position at the school or the school board was involved,” he said.Of the 33 arrest warrants, 29 were for students under the age of 18.Three were 18-years of age and a fourth adult was 20-years-old.“Out of the four adults, three were still in school, or were in school when the investigation started," Chouinard said.“When we talk about adults we’re talking about legalities here." Unable to accommodate 33 arrested suspects, police rented space at the former military college to question the students.Later in the day they were individually escorted to the police station for booking, and then off to the courthouse to be arraigned before a judge.Chouinard said all of the suspects were to be released and returned home, on the condition that they not venture anywhere within 200 metres of a school, and have no contact with the schools or their students.Automatically suspended, he said in the coming weeks they could be reintegrated into the classroom, with conditions to ensure they don’t reoffend.Police are not saying if the students were obtaining pot from organized crime groups.Chouinard did say that an indoor greenhouse busted in September was one source of supply.Chouinard said marijuana use has gone up in schools with the introduction of proposed legislation to decriminalize marijuana.“A lot of students are taking it for granted that it’s legal, and the sellers are abusing this attitude right now,” he said.“Right now this law is dead, but people are not reacting to it now as they should be.” Chouinard said the situation is similar in other secondary schools across Quebec, both public and private.The investigation is continuing, and more arrests are possible in the coming days.The Gift of Literacy MAURICE CROSSFIELD Serge Iwode works with the Yamaska Literacy Council to help fellow inmates at the Cowansville penitentiary develop literacy skills.Please see story Page 7.Mar.»*!i Unions continue protests ¦IM In one of the largest gatherings since union protests have started, more than 1,000 protesters demonstrated outside the offices of Premier Jean Charest on Wednesday.Day of action planned for today By Tom Peacock Over 200 people showed up for a rally hosted by the Fédération des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) at the Julien Ducharme Centre in Fleurimont on Tuesday night.Many of those in attendance had been marching and protesting all day long against Premier Jean Charest’s plan to reengineer the province.At noon yesterday, over 1,000 members of the Centrale des syndicats Please see unions Page 5 page 2 Thursday, December 1 1, 2003 ^RECORD: Waterloo post office renovation plans put on hold *» v.O DAVID ANDERSON mm "* • > »0Sm | CAttADA m ' :7B ?vww lechifctvM>vlinie-r.c4fn BMSHÉÉÜÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ I S'!’'' ' /SPOHTS * J • Phénix • Spyder • Rossignol • Columbia ^ • The North Face • Karbon • Head • Atomic • Lange Nordica • Giro • Carrera • Oakley • Smith • Burton • Kanuk Sherbrooke 822-3077 Granby 450-372-9066 facing Carrefour de l’Estrie 1Ô2 Denison St.East SKI TUNE- Until Dec.21st, 2003 w/this coupon SKIS or SNOWBOARDS .THE INSIDE RECORD Sports Conroy out two to four weeks .see Page 14 Jamie Zachary, Correspondents’ Editor Newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com Thursday, December 1 1, 2003 page 13 ?Cougars men’s basketball to drop to AA circuit By Mike Hickey Special to the Record Eastern Township basketball suffered a huge blow this week after Champlain College athletic director Sylvain Laflamme confirmed the school will reclassify its men’s basketball program from CEGEP AAA to AA.Laflamme met with the team earlier this month to inform players of the school’s decision, and to offer assistance to any player who wished to transfer next year.The Cougars have fielded AAA basketball teams since the inception of its intercollegiate program in the mid-1970s.Yet it has been on life support for years, and its demotion has been rumoured ever since the women joined the AA circuit a decade ago.This year, head coach Don Caldwell was told his club would be relegated to AA status within two years.Yet over the past week, national basketball chat lines have been flooded with stories and comments on the Cougars’ situation.The public awareness of Champlain’s plight was heightened last week in Montreal when Caldwell was honoured prior to a Vanier Col-lege-Champlain game.The Cougars men’s basketball program has advanced to the Canadian College Athletic Association national championships twice.Under the guidance of Caldwell, the team’s head coach for most of that period, the Cougars have fielded competitive teams in the toughest college league in the country.But the complexion of the team has changed over the years.Local anglophones from ETIAC schools have not played as prominent roles on the team.Instead, like the AAA football and hockey teams, the basketball squad has come to reflect a new demographic: Francophone student-athletes who wanted to earn their CEGEP diplomas in English while continuing their basketball careers, and Ontario high school players who were coming to Lennoxville to play basketball, upgrade their academic standing and hopefully obtain a scholarship to a Division I school in the United States.The first group, francophones, reflect the reality of the Lennoxville campus where more than 50 per cent of the students list French as their first language.The out-of-province athletes, mean- RECORD FILL: PHOTO m i mwm .I#'1-’1 jSVÂel Don Caldwell's men's basketball team will be reclassified from CEGEP AAA to AA.while, may have helped keep the football and basketball teams competi- tive, but it also caused its own set of problems.Rarely do such athletes complete their DEC.Another problem was highlighted again this season.Cougars’ talented point guard Kingsley Costain left Champlain after receiving a full scholarship to Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.With Kingsley in the line-up, the Cougars were a bona-fide playoff team.Without him, they are on the bubble and will have to overachieve to beat out Montmorency and Ste-Foy for a playoff spot.Ironically, the move to AA may allow some ETIAC graduates to continue playing CEGEP basketball.Quality players who desire to play at the AAA level will likely find a new school, while the AA program will attract players better suited for the AA-calibre circuit.The one loser in this situation is Caldwell, who gave the Champlain program his heart and soul, and wanted to keep it going.While he craved one more run at a CEGEP and national title, he always put his players’ well-being before winning, and was the architect of many success stories on and off the court.tHSMO A 4-point game.tonight at the Sports Palace The Verdun Dragons vs Sherbrooke Saint-François Roch Isabel and Trevor Jobe are back in town Action.roughness.intensity-all assured Participate to the Thibault Pontiac Buick GMC contest: A 4-point game.tonight at 6 p.m.Come and meet the Mol son EX! ^$5.00 * Roch Isabel is back $500 to win tonight With Eric Doucet, Mathieu Benoit, Dominic at the Bar Le Saint.__ _ Chiasson, Trevor Jobe, David St-Pierre.Se*U