About 200 people attended a vigil in memory of murder victim Emilie Maheu in Alexandria Wednesday night.

"Do not let her death define her life," urged Natalie St-Denis, one of the organizers of the ceremony.

While mourning the loss of the young mother, speakers also implored the crowd to remember the many other victims of domestic violence.

Every six days in Canada, a woman is killed by a partner or former partner, noted Dr. Suzanne Filion, who helped stage the moving gathering at the Grotto.

Nobody was injured when a heat detector set off an alarm prompting the evacuation of seniors from the MacDonald Residence on Bertha Street in Vankleek Hill at 8 a.m. October 24.

All residents immediately evacuated the building and were escorted to the Vankleek Hill Community Centre on Mill Street.

A community response was set up to answer the needs of the affected residents. The Social Services and Victim Services of Prescott-Russell attended the Community Centre providing assistance and support to the residents.

The occupants were able to return to the residence at approximately 9:30 a.m., reports the Hawkesbury detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), which responded to the incident along with Prescott-Russell Paramedic Service and the Champlain Fire Department.

Here's this week's front page.

Councillor (3)

North Stormont Township: Councillor (3)

Alton Blair 846
Adrian Bugelli 837
Carrie Curry 365
Steve Densham 889
Randy Douglas (i) 858
Roxane Villeneuve 1352

North Glengarry

Deputy Mayor

Brian Caddell 1421
Robert (Bob) Proulx 426
Carma Williams 1599

Councillor at Large

Jacques Massie (i) 1434
Louise Quenneville 1004
Kevin van den Oetelaar 1022

Lochiel

Andrew Neil McCormick 304
Brenda Noble 357
Raymond Quesnel 294

Alexandria

Michel Depratto (i) 911
Naval Kumar Gupta 178

Referendum on ward elimination

No 1734
Yes 1231

A candlelight vigil will be held in memory of Émilie Maheu October 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Grotto in Alexandria.

“Your presence is what's most important,” says Dr. Suzanne Filion, who is organizing the event with Natalie St-Denis.

While LED lights will be provided, participants are welcome to bring food for a gathering at the legion following the vigil.

Relatives of the murder victim are expected to attend.

“People are still in shock. They are upset and frustrated,” says Dr. Filion, noting that the gathering is meant to help people show their support for the family.
Since Brandon Smeltzer, of Bayside, Nova Scotia, was charged with the murder of the 26-year-old Green Valley woman, people from that community have contacted Dr. Filion.

“Two communities are hurting,” observes Dr. Filion.

The vigil is a collective effort, she stresses. “There are so many community partners coming together,” the psychologist says. Businesses and individuals are helping out.

“One woman e-mailed and said she had already made 48 muffins. I was almost in tears!”

For more information, call Natalie St-Denis (613-677-8890) or Dr. Filion (613-330-1091.)

It was a solid night for the Alexandria Glens and Char-Lan Rebels, as both secured CCHL2 victories. Check out this post for the details.

A GoFundMe page has been launched for the 22-month-old daughter of murder victim Emilie Maheu.

Access the donation page here. 

"I did the crime, I'll do the time," declared the man accused of killing Emilie Maheu when he appeared in Cornwall court Friday.

Brandon Smeltzer was charged with first-degree murder after the body of the 26-year-old Green Valley woman was found in a field near Lancaster October 13.

The 25-year-old man from Bayside, Nova Scotia later stated that he would "be with Emilie soon.”

He was put on suicide watch.

Area deer hunters are being asked to help the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to submit samples from deer harvested in Eastern Ontario near the Québec border.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was recently confirmed in a captive red deer in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Québec, just across the interprovincial boundary from Hawkesbury.

This fatal, untreatable disease of the central nervous system affects members of the deer family, including white-tailed deer, elk, moose, and caribou.

There's no evidence the disease is in Ontario, but it's important to be vigilant, stressed the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Visit www.ontario.ca/cwd for more information on the testing program.

CWD symptoms include loss of body weight and body condition, abnormal behaviour, such as indifference to human activity, tremors, stumbling, lack of coordination or paralysis.

If you see a wild animal showing signs of CWD, report it to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at 1-866-673-4781 or Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Natural Resources Information and Support Centre at 1-800-667-1940.

A 25-year-old man from Nova Scotia has been charged with the murder of Emilie Maheu, the 26-year-old Green Valley woman whose body was found last Saturday in a field east of Lancaster.

Brandon Smeltzer, of Bayside, Nova Scotia was located in New Brunswick and charged with first-degree murder.

The accused will be transported back to Ontario where he is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall.

The community has been shocked by the death of the mother of a 22-month-old girl.

She was last seen leaving work at approximately 1 p.m. October 11 and was reported missing from a residence on County Road 34 in South Glengarry at approximately 8:30 p.m. October 11.   

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The body of a 26-year-old South Glengarry woman who was reported missing October 11 was found today (October 13).

The case is now being treated as a homicide.

The body of Emilie Maheu, who was last seen leaving work October 11 at 1 p.m. in Alexandria, was found in South Glengarry at 11:30 a.m. A post-mortem examination will be conducted later this week at Ottawa General Hospital. Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to contact Detective Constable Lise Durocher at 1-888-310-1122 or if you wish to remain anonymous you may call the Seaway Valley Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

A 17-year-old Glengarry District High School student died when the car he was driving collided with a tractor-trailer on Highway 401 near Morrisburg Wednesday.

Joshua Seguin was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident which occurred at 9:37 a.m.

He was driving eastbound in the westbound lane of the 401 when his passenger vehicle collided with the truck, reports the Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry Ontario Provincial Police detachment.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

We will have more in the Oct. 17 edition of The Glengarry News.