The Kim Walker trial may be the most recognizable court proceeding to ever take place in Yorkton. If it's not the most famous (or infamous), then it certainly has to rank up there as one of the ones that polarizes opinions the most when considering what point a parent has exhausted all means to protect a child. I knew James Hayward only to see him at the gym when it was called First Fitness. I don't, personally, know Kim either other than to know what he looks like through pictures and to say a casual hello if he was in line at the grocery store. Without commenting on what took place on that fateful day, I can say that until put in a tough situation, I'm not sure where my own breaking point would be when it comes to protecting one of my daughters. Would I kill for it? That's an awfully tough question. The answer is 'there has to be another way'. What happens when there is no other way? I'm still not sure I can, truthfully, answer.
You can say all you want about Hayward and his character, but the fact remains that there are a lot of young men out there who do a lot worse than he did and don't pay for it with their lives.
Ultimately, the system has failed just about everybody involved. It failed Kim and his family when it came to removing his daughter from this less-than-healthy relationship. It failed James Hayward when he ended up being killed by Walker. And, I believe it's failed Walker again by focusing on punishment and not rehabilitation. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in a court room and looked at an accused who, to me, has pretty much no hope of ever being a contributing member of society. Yet, almost all the time I hear the judge take into account rehabilitation when sentencing the criminal to a term in prison. Usually, that term is filled with mercy that I can't understand. Now, we have a situation with Mr. Walker in that he has already spent some time in jail and he really is an extremely low risk to re-offend. So, other than acknowledging that he's guilty, what is there left to prove here?
The Stanley Cup Finals begin this week with the Vancouver Canucks the favorites to defeat the Boston Bruins. Canuck superstars Daniel and Henrik Sedin struggled in the Chicago and Nashville series' mainly because they drew stud defensemen like Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Shea Weber, and Ryan Suter. San Jose didn't post that kind of a physical mismatch on their back end. Boston, however, has Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, so it will be interesting to see if the Sedins can keep the momentum going from the last series. If they can't, the Bruins have a very realistic shot to hoist Lord Stanley.
If the Bruins win, they will become the fourth major sports team in Boston to win a major sports title in the last seven years (Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics). If Vancouver wins, they'll make good on winning the Stanley Cup one year after hosting the Olympics, something that both Calgary and Montreal were able to do.
Now that Winnipeg has an NHL team again, I wonder where the next troubled franchise shuffles off to. There are not an abundance of cities snooping around. As big of a story as Winnipeg is, it would be a bigger story if two or three clubs were forced to contract because there was no place to go.
Royal Ford and Yorkton Harvest Midget AAA Hockey Club are teaming up on June 16th for the Drive One 4UR Community campaign. The car dealer will have vehicles to test drive at the Gallagher Centre parking lot, while Harvest volunteers will put on a barbecue act at the registration table. For every vehicle that is test driven, Ford makes a donation to the hockey team. Come support a good cause. There is no obligation whatsoever to buy. A simple bit of feedback on what you thought of the vehicle is good enough.
Nice person mentions this week to Melissa Kowbel, Bill Chow, Tony Playter, Stephanie Wood, and Rae Carlson.
