‘Pain stimulation’ used to wake up intoxicated motorist

A 53-year-old Quebec man pleaded guilty to failing a breathalyzer after driving on a walkway and wedging his vehicle between trees and a fence.

Denis Giroux was sentenced Monday to seven days in jail.

When police arrived on the scene on Aug. 4 in Stanhope, Giroux was found passed out at the wheel with his head hanging forward and a pint bottle of booze in his right hand.

Police resorted to “pain stimulation’’ to wake the man up, court heard Monday.

Police needed to carry and drag the inebriated Giroux out of the woods.

He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he did not respond to demands to provide a blood alcohol reading.

Giroux still registered over the legal limit when a reading was finally obtained six hours after he arrived at the hospital.

He told the court all he remembers of the incident is falling off a picnic table and later waking up in hospital. After more than two years, Ray Campbell has finally resolved the fate of his historic log home at 15 Hillsborough St. in Charlottetown. He has sold it for what he told The Guardian is market value. The City of Charlottetown says the new owner plans to restore the home.

After more than two years of debate, a historic log home in Charlottetown has been sold to an owner who promises to restore it.

That word came Monday at the regular public monthly meeting of city council.

Council had just voted against allowing log home owner Ray Campbell from having the home at 15 Hillsborough St. delisted as a heritage resource, which would have allowed him to continue dismantling the home.

“The resolution tonight was to reject the delisting of the heritage property so that was unanimous but after the planning board meeting last week it came to my attention or I learned that the property had been, indeed, sold and that the purchase and sale agreement had been signed,’’ said Coun. Greg Rivard, chairman of the city’s planning and committees.

Rivard reiterated the new owner plans to restore the home.

“It’s very encouraging that someone is willing to step up to save a heritage resource.’’

The home is thought to date back well into the 1800s and is considered one of the oldest log homes in Charlottetown.

Campbell had originally purchased the property with the intention of turning it into a café but later began to discover that parts of the cabin were deteriorating.

He wanted to dismantle the entire structure and reassemble it at his property in York.

When he began taking it apart the city stepped in with a court heritage board

order, ordering him to stop immediately or face fines.

The matter was eventually settled out of court.

“It is good to have it behind me,’’ Campbell told The Guardian on Tuesday, noting that he had two interested buyers in the end. “After two-and-a-half years, yes, I am satisfied.’’

Earlier this year, Campbell told this newspaper that he was asking $150,000 for the property. Campbell wouldn’t say what he got for the house in the end, other than to say he received “market value’’.

Rivard said Monday’s council vote against delisting the home means the new home owner now cannot turn around and request council delist the property for at least a year.

Rivard added that this was never a Campbell-versus-the-city issue.

“I think it was always about process from the start. Once we started the process, really to get to where we are today, council finally had a chance to vote on the application. Until this point, we didn’t. I think there were a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions along the way, but it’s a good news story, I believe, for everyone involved. It’s one hopefully we can put to rest.’’