February is drawing to an end, but there’s still no relief from the winter for Windsor-Essex — with yet another extreme cold warning for the city and region issued Thursday.

Environment Canada’s weather office put the warning in effect as of 10:30 a.m.

Thanks to a frigid arctic airmass, a period of very cold wind chills is expected for our area.

Air temperatures will drop to a low of -22 C (-8 F) between Thursday night and Friday morning. Combined with light to moderate gusts, the wind chill values could sink to the range of -30 C (-22 F) and -35 C (-31 F).

The teeth-rattling wind chills are expected to continue until Saturday, when sunny skies should bring the temperature up a bit.

However, respite from the extreme cold doesn’t mean respite from the white stuff. There’s a 70 per cent chance of snowfall on Sunday — the first day of March — and at least a 30 per cent chance of flurries continuing until this time next week.

Normal temperatures for our region this time of year? 3 C (37 F) highs and -5 C (23 F) lows.

The Libro Credit Union has donated about $30,000 worth of fresh meat and eggs to 33 food banks.

Libro Credit Union logo. (Courtesy of Libro)

Some of the food banks benefiting from more than 10,000 pounds of meat and eggs are in Windsor, Amherstburg, Essex, Belle River, Kingsville, Leamington and Tilbury. About 4,500 pounds of meat and 1,400 pounds of eggs went to Windsor-Essex food banks Thursday with the rest headed to Huron-Perth food banks.

“We went to them and said what do people really need? I think the feedback we received was that really has made people’s day. That’s not something they have access to on a regular basis,” said Liz Arkinstall, Libro Credit Union’s manager of community engagement. “We know meat has gotten quite expensive.”

The program dates back to 2007 and over the years the credit union has donated almost 550,000 pounds of meat, produce, milk and eggs to food banks.

The credit union plans to launch a new program in April to offer grants to organizations that focus on economic development, teaching money smarts, and youth development and leadership, she said.

Libro Credit Union has 27 locations in southwestern Ontario.

Amherstburg, where infighting on council and battles with residents have been legend in recent years, is now the focus of a four-year study of how a municipal government gains the trust of its citizens.

University of Windsor associate Prof. Suzanne McMurphy began her project with the newly elected Amherstburg council in January.

She plans to attend every council meeting for the next four years and ask members of the public in attendance to answer a series of questions aimed at assessing their expectations, opinions and observations.

Asked why she chose to study Amherstburg, McMurphy said it’s a strong community that’s very engaged in its municipal politics, as is evident in the numerous blogs and websites that developed during the last council’s tenure.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to watch when a new council moves through some of the issues that Amherstburg’s been struggling with … and sort of re-establishes or reconnects with the community,” she said. “It’s a new administration, a new council. I thought that this was a perfect opportunity to see the development of trust in a community.”

McMurphy, a Philadelphia native who now resides in Amherstburg, is delving into the dynamics of a town that has a history of mistrust between residents, councillors and town administrators. Mayor Aldo DiCarlo, who was elected in October, has pledged to turn the page on that chapter of Amherstburg’s past by leading a more transparent municipal government.

McMurphy says she believes trust will develop.

“There have been a lot of negative things that have happened, but really I’m looking at how things get better and how we strengthen that relationship between the council and the community,” she said. “I’m really not making a judgment whether they’re going to do well or not. It’s really about watching the phenomenon of trust establish itself and evolve.”

Or maybe not.

Suzanne McMurphy is pictured in Amherstburg council chambers Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015. (JULIE KOTSIS/The Windsor Star)

“There’s a possibility that it won’t,” she said. “I suspect that some forms of trust will evolve.”

Mayor DiCarlo said he thought the town was a “perfect project” and that it was an honour to be chosen.

“I think it will be really interesting to see what comes out of it,” DiCarlo said.

“Everything to me is a learning tool whether it’s feedback from a resident or real high-level feedback like this where we’re being recorded and we get to see everything … good or bad … I can take that back and maybe make adjustments to try and make the process a little better.”

McMurphy said she’s looking at only what the public sees and she will not be interviewing anyone in administration. She will eventually talk to the councillors about their experiences and their definition of trust and “how they see things evolving.”

McMurphy, an associate professor in the faculty of arts, humanities and social science, has spent years researching trust and distrust and trustworthiness, but says she’s mostly studied health-care systems and organizations.

She said the theory is that establishing trust requires going through three phases, beginning with whether or not residents see council members as competent. Next McMurphy will find out if councillors are viewed as transparent and reliable. The last phase is to determine if council and the community share the same values.

“I’m going to be looking for whether the council and the community move through those three phases of trust and what that looks like and what are the factors that seem to affect if that kind of trust is being developed,” McMurphy said.

Her work will include twice-a-year, community-wide surveys. The final document she produces will be “a policy analysis of the kinds of things that emerge from the council,” she said

McMurphy said there have been few studies of how much citizens trust their municipal representatives. She anticipates her work will generate discussion in scholarly literature.

A welcome sign for the Town of Amherstburg is shown in this 2013 file photo. (Dan Janisse / The Windsor Star)

Currently, she’s funding the project herself but hopes to apply for grants in the near future and wants to bring in doctoral students to help with the research.

“I literally woke up in the middle of the night and thought this is a perfect opportunity to study this so I didn’t actually have time to seek funding,” McMurphy said.

She has agreed to give a presentation to council every year on what she has observed and the results of the surveys as part of the agreement she reached with the town. Her recordings of council meetings will be placed on the town’s website as her “thanks” for allowing her to do the study, she said.

McMurphy also expects to make a public presentation, probably in two years.

jkotsis@windsorstar.com

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As a retired science teacher who for 32 years taught evolution at Leamington District Secondary School, Bill Chaplin said he was stunned to learn that his local MPP doesn’t believe it.

“As our representative at Queen’s Park … he has surprised me greatly,” Chaplin said Thursday as Progressive Conservative Rick Nicholls (Chatham-Kent-Essex) continued to be ridiculed by Liberal government MPPs in the Ontario legislature, after stating on Wednesday: “Myself, I don’t believe in evolution.”

Bill Chaplin thought remarks made by Ontario PC Party MPP Rick Nicholls about not believing in evolution was a joke Thursday Feb. 26, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Chaplin, a former town councillor in Leamington, said he initially assumed that Nicholls was joking.

“In this day and age, anyone who doesn’t believe in evolution probably believes the earth is flat,” he said.

Nicholls was not available for an interview with The Star on Thursday, and it was party leader Jim Wilson who lashed out at the Liberals, who were waiving copies of a National Geographic’s War on Science issue in the legislature, joking that the PCs had made the cover.

“It’s pretty low,” Wilson said of the Liberal mocking. “What we saw in Mr. Nicholls’ case was an expression of his personal religious view, it’s held by other people in Canada and around the world.”

Wilson said he doesn’t agree with Nicholls and it’s not party policy, but he said the Liberals were being hypocrites for mocking him on the same day politicians were celebrating the accomplishments of the province’s human rights commission. “Shame on them.”

Nicholls is a former motivational speaker whose company, Nicholls Training Group, says that Nicholls “builds business by building people.” He was elected first in 2011 after the retirement of longtime Liberal MPP Pat Hoy. The riding includes the Leamington area.

Leamington Mayor John Paterson during town council on January 21, 2013 at Leamington Municipal Building. (Windsor Star files)

Leamington Mayor John Paterson said Thursday that the massive wave of criticism being directed at Nicholls over his comment is a deflection tactic by the Liberals as they attempt to weather a flurry of scandals. “And this is just totally insignificant,” he said.

Nicholls was just stating a personal opinion, and even his own party distanced itself from him, said Paterson. “What Rick’s opinion is on how life began or was created, it’s no bother to me.”

But Dan Gelinas, the NDP candidate who came second to Nicholls in the 2014 election, said Nicholls has lost his credibility and he questions his ability to represent the people of Chatham-Kent-Essex. He said he isn’t surprised by Nicholls’ position on evolution.

“If you see him he’s usually walking around with a Bible in his hand, he’s very open about his beliefs,” he said.

“But this is 2015, it’s not the 1800,” he said, referring to the debates that raged after the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origins of Species.

Evolution is a fact, it’s come out every single time as the explanation of how things have progressed on earth, said Andrew Hubberstey, an associate professor and acting department head of biology at the University of Windsor. He said he was disappointed to hear that a local elected official doesn’t believe in evolution.

“It’s not a theory anymore, it’s just not,” said Hubberstey. “If you don’t believe it, show me an experiment that disproves it.”

Over the last 10 or 20 years, the evidence supporting evolution has been overwhelming, as DNA is sequenced and scientists are able to compare the DNA codes of humans with other animals. “And we can see exactly what changes have happened in the code to have organisms evolve from ancestral organisms,” said Hubberstey.

“I call it the golden age of evolution, what we’re in right now, because we’ve understood evolution at a level, at a depth, that we would never have been able to, even 10 years ago.”

He said he’s perplexed that some people still don’t believe it. Recently, Pope Francis stated that evolutionary theory doesn’t contradict biblical teachings.

“If the Pope believes in evolution, then I don’t understand why anyone would use religion as a way of negating the fact of evolution and how all organisms evolved on the planet.”

bcross@windsorstar.com

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Amherstburg taxpayers face a nearly double-digit rate hike if they hope to maintain services and address “significant capital needs over the next five years,” the town’s budget proposal suggests.

Councillors and the public got their first look Thursday night at the 2015 budget, which proposes a 9.26 per cent overall municipal tax increase which includes two recommended capital levies of three per cent.

CAO John Miceli said the basic municipal tax rate increase of 3.07 per cent would work out to be an additional $47.19 on the tax bill for an average home assessed at $174,000.

But administration’s recommended levies – a three per cent capital replacement levy and a three per cent reserve levy would add an additional $47.45 each to that average tax bill, bringing the total increase to $142.09 per average home. Each three per cent levy would raise $572,663 for the year.

Miceli said the budget “provided a plan and a direction to move the town of Amherstburg forward … in a fiscally responsible manner.

“The time is right for us to close the chapter of the past and write the story of the future for the town of Amherstburg,” he said.

Treasurer Justin Rousseau said the levies are needed to address the town’s infrastructure funding gap and begin moving toward a pay-as-you-go system for future capital projects by building cash reserves.

The suggested five-year capital budget plan includes consolidating three public works sites into one and closing fire stations in the former Anderdon and Malden areas of Amherstburg.

“At nine per cent, I think that would put the town in a really good position moving forward,” Mayor Aldo DiCarlo said. “All municipalities have infrastructure costs … you can pay for them today or you can pay for them tomorrow.

“What Amherstburg needs to do is … think long term and start putting money aside … which in the long run is going to be less costly for the residents.”

The town’s operating budget is more than $22 million. The finance department presented two scenarios to council: A five per cent or a 10 per cent cut to operating costs. Both plans would require cuts to services, professional support, jobs and town maintenance, the report said.

Suggested cuts include the elimination a proposed financial analyst and an economic/policy analyst, no financial support for the Santa Claus parade, closure of the Lions Pool, elimination of school crossing guards and reductions in drain work and stone for roads.

Additionally, at the 10 per cent proposal, the cuts go deeper and include elimination of the part-time bylaw officer, reduction in operating hours at the Libro Complex, a reduction in yard waste pickup, cutting out a proposed legal services position and a list of reductions in the area of public works.

Three public information meetings are scheduled — March 7, 10 a.m. to noon, at St. Peter’s ACHS College school; March 12, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Libro Complex; and March 28, noon to 2 p.m., at the Knights of Columbus hall in McGregor.

Council is scheduled to begin deliberating the budget on April 2 at 6 p.m. at the town hall.

jkotsis@windsorstar.com

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The Windsor Star’s award-winning photographers covered the city and county Friday. Check out the gallery.

Canadian Coast Guard Griffon is shown near the Arthur M. Anderson freighter in the St. Clair River near Windsor, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. The ice breaker was escorting the freighter from Windsor to Sarnia. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

The Canadian Coast Guard Griffon cruises up the Detroit River on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Canadian Coast Guard Griffon crew member Dave Smith from Kingsville, ON, checks status of the Arthur M. Anderson freighter stuck in the ice in the St. Clair River near Windsor, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. The Samuel Risley, (L) also helped breaking a path for the freighter. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Canadian Coast Guard Capt. Ron Gallant maneuvers the Griffon during ice breaking duties near the mouth of the St. Clair River near Windsor, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Canadian Coast Guard third officer Karyna Lortie, (L) and Capt. Ron Gallant look out the bridge of the Griffon during ice breaking duties near the mouth of the St. Clair River near Windsor, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

The Arthur M. Anderson freighter is shown from the deck of the Canadian Coast Guard Griffon on Feb. 26, 2015 as it prepares to leave Windsor, ON. en route to Sarnia. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

The Arthur M. Anderson freighter slowly ploughs through ice in the St. Clair River broken by the Canadian Coast Guard Griffon on Feb. 26, 2015. The Griffon’s flag is shown waving in the frigid wind. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Canadian Coast Guard second officer Jonathan Poirier looks over a map in the bridge of the Griffon during ice breaking duties on Lake St. Clair River on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

A crew member of the Canadian Coast Guard Griffon swings off the vessel while docking at the Lambton Station on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Oiler Tiffany Talbot is shown in the engine room of the Canadian Coast Guard Griffon during ice breaking duties near the mouth of the St. Clair River near Windsor, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Canadian Coast Guard senior engineer Shawn Cook is shown during ice breaking duties on Feb. 26, 2015 near Port Lambton, ON. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

The Arthur M. Anderson freighter ploughs through ice in the Lake St. Clair broken by the Canadian Coast Guard Griffon on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Ice is shown near the mouth of the St. Clair River near Windsor, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Canadian Coast Guard Quarter Master Paul Duguay maneuvers the Griffon during ice breaking duties on Lake St. Clair near Windsor, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Canadian Coast Guard Capt. Ron Gallant maneuvers the Griffon during ice breaking duties in the St. Clair River near Port Lambton, ON. on Feb. 26, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

The Canadian Coast Guard Griffon pulls away from the Dieppe Park in Windsor, ON. on on Feb. 26, 2015 at 6:30 a.m. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Tom Byrne explains where snowmobilers trespass on his crop field, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. This week snowmobilers allegedly tried to run down a flock of wild turkeys. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Tom Byrne picks up a pair of feathers from a flock of wild turkeys on his crop field, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. This week snowmobilers allegedly tried to run down a flock of wild turkeys. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Tom Byrne explains where snowmobilers trespass on his crop field, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. This week snowmobilers allegedly tried to run down a flock of wild turkeys. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Tracks left by snowmobiles on Tom Byrne’s property. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Feathers from wild turkeys rest in the snow on Tom Byrne’s crop field, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. This week snowmobilers allegedly tried to run down a flock of wild turkeys. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

From left, brothers Tim Bondy, 58, and Roger Bondy, 64, and Jim Bondy, 60 are pictured at the Blood Donor Clinic Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. The brothers have donated a combined 356 units of blood. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Diane Craig, Ford Canada CEO, speaks to educators attending a professional development day at Villanova high school in Windsor on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

Diane Craig, Ford Canada CEO, speaks to educators attending a professional development day at Villanova high school in Windsor on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

Diane Craig, Ford Canada CEO, speaks to educators attending a professional development day at Villanova high school in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

Diane Craig, Ford Canada CEO, speaks to educators attending a professional development day at Villanova high school in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

Diane Craig, Ford Canada CEO, speaks to educators attending a professional development day at Villanova high school in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

Mark Kaveckas, left, and Bryce Marcussen, right, of the Mohawk Mountaineers attempt to block a tip from Niagara College’s Aaron Vanderlugt during OCAA volleyball championships at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Mohawk Mountaineers Adam Schiedel spikes the ball into a wall of blockers from the Niagara College Knights during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Niagara College Knights Logan Varga tries to block a shot from the Mohawk Mountaineers Eric Danecke during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Mohawk Mountaineers Cory Hansen receives a serve from the Niagara College Knights during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Niagara College Knights Steve Stone spikes the ball over the Mohawk Mountaineers Charlie Hancock during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Niagara College Knights Cole Jordan spikes the ball over the Mohawk Mountaineers Mark Kaveckas during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Niagara College Knights Aaron Vanderlugt spikes the ball over the Mohawk Mountaineers Bryce Marcussen during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Niagara College Knights Aaron Vanderlugt spikes the ball over the Mohawk Mountaineers Bryce Marcussen during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Niagara College Knights Cole Jordan tips the ball over the Mohawk Mountaineers as teammate Bailey Cochrane looks on during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Niagara College Knights Nathan Snippe spikes the ball over the Mohawk Mountaineers Adam Schiedel during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The Mohawk Mountaineers Bryce Marcussen tips a shot while taking on the Niagara College Knights during OUAA volleyball action at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor on Friday, February 27, 2015. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

Lakeshore firefighters, Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics and OPP at the scene of a fatal accident involving a tractor shunting rail cars at Elmstead Road and CP tracks Friday Feb. 27, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Lakeshore firefighters use a tarp to cover the immediate area as Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics and OPP investigate a fatal accident involving a tractor shunting rail cars at Elmstead Road and CP tracks Friday Feb. 27, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Emergency crews on the scene of a collision between a tractor and a train in Lakeshore. (Nick Brancaccio/The Windsor Star)

Emergency personnel work at the scene of an accident involving a tractor and a rail car where a person was pronounced dead at the scene, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

OPP investigate at the scene of an accident involving a tractor and a rail car where a person was pronounced dead at the scene, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Emergency personnel work at the scene of an accident involving a tractor and a rail car where a person was pronounced dead at the scene, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Emergency personnel work at the scene of an accident involving a tractor and a rail car where a person was pronounced dead at the scene, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Emergency personnel work at the scene of an accident involving a tractor and a rail car where a person was pronounced dead at the scene, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Oakley Sub Assembly van parked outside main doors at 417 Advance Blvd. Friday February 27, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Oakley Sub Assembly at 417 Advance Blvd. Friday February 27, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Vocalist Jean Meilleur and bassist Mitch Tyler of Jeans ‘n Classics perform with other band members and Windsor Symphony Orchestra during Dark Side of the Moon: The Music of Pink Floyd at Capitol Theatre Friday February 27, 2015. The event with conductor Peter Wiebe was sold out. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Guitarist David Dunlop of Jeans ‘n Classics performs with Windsor Symphony Orchestra during Dark Side of the Moon: The Music of Pink Floyd at Capitol Theatre Friday February 27, 2015. The event with conductor Peter Wiebe was sold out. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Guitarist David Dunlop, front, vocalist Jean Meilleur and bassist Mitch Tyler of Jeans ‘n Classics perform with Windsor Symphony Orchestra during Dark Side of the Moon: The Music of Pink Floyd at Capitol Theatre Friday February 27, 2015. The event with conductor Peter Wiebe was sold out. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Guitarist David Dunlop, left, vocalist Jean Meilleur and bassist Mitch Tyler of Jeans ‘n Classics perform with Windsor Symphony Orchestra during Dark Side of the Moon: The Music of Pink Floyd at Capitol Theatre Friday February 27, 2015. The event with conductor Peter Wiebe was sold out. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

One person was killed Friday afternoon in a rural workplace accident involving a tractor and several stationary railcars.

Emergency crews were on scene in the 400 block of Elmstead Road in Lakeshore at what neighbours describe as an oil recycling facility, where workers convert cooking oil into fuel.

Ken Knapp, the owner of Ken Knapp Ford in Essex, confirmed the dead man is his nephew Shane Knapp.

“It’s just a tragedy,” said Knapp from Fort Myers, Fla. Knapp said his son called to tell him about the death.

Shane is the son of Knapp’s brother Bill, and said the two ran a company together collecting and refining cooking and other oils.

“All I know is they did well at it,” said Knapp.

Knapp said he didn’t know the circumstances of how Shane died.

“He was a hard working fellow,” said Knapp, who said Shane had a toddler-aged son. “He was just a very witty, smart kid, although he’s not a kid.”

Ontario Provincial Police would not confirm details about how the accident occurred, but residents who spoke to workers say a young man was somehow pinned between the tractor and a row of tanker cars that were stretched along a shunting track next to the refinery.

Emergency personnel work at the scene of an accident involving a tractor and a railcar where a person was pronounced dead at the scene, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

The Knapps were using the tractor to move the railcars when the son jumped off the tractor and became pinned, one resident explained.

“They were moving the trains back, so they could either empty one or fill one,” said Gary Mazzali, who lives across the road from the work site. “When the tractor stopped, he jumped down. When he jumped down, the tractor jerked and he got pinned.”

Mazzali heard the details from a worker who left the site shortly after the arrival of emergency responders, including the OPP, Lakeshore Fire Service and Essex County Emergency Services.

All Mazzali could do was watch. Standing on Elmstead with another neighbour, he could see emergency crews working around the red tractor that still sat closely to a line of the black tanker cars.

Lakeshore firefighters, Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics and OPP at the scene of a fatal accident involving a tractor shunting railcars at Elmstead Road and CP tracks Friday Feb. 27, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

The cars were stretched along a shunting track that runs parallel to CP track. The investigation by OPP and CP police went into the evening, but no further details are expected to be released until possibly Saturday morning.

Residents in the area say the business, which doesn’t have an official name other than a corporate number, has been there for at least 12 years. Some of them know the Knapps well and expressed their sympathies as they looked on from their homes.

“It’s absolutely tragic,” said Beverley Lesperance. “They’re a hard working family, just really good people.”

The Bondy brothers are true blood brothers.

Between the trio who grew up in River Canard, they’ve donated blood 356 times.

“You can donate about six times a year so you can see the dedication from these three brothers which is truly amazing,” Canadian Blood Services territory manager Maureen Mcfarlane said Friday from the Windsor blood donor clinic.

Roger Bondy, 64, donated blood for the 100^th time in December. He was the first to donate in high school in 1968 but his competitive younger brothers are ahead of him with 60-year-old Jim Bondy at 116 units and Tim, 58, at 140 units.

Macfarlane said she’s never heard of three brothers each reaching the 100^th unit mark. So Canadian Blood Services and the Bondy brothers decided to tell their story Friday to encourage others to make donating blood a family tradition.

“Blood bonds families together. You can also save lives together,” Mcfarlane said.

From left, brothers Tim Bondy, 58, and Roger Bondy, 64, and Jim Bondy, 60 are pictured at the Blood Donor Clinic Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. The brothers have donated a combined 356 units of blood. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

For Jim Bondy, rolling up his sleeve for the Canadian Blood Services got serious in 1978 when his wife needed an emergency cesarean for their son. She needed six units of blood and he decided then to give back and then some.

Roger Bondy of Essex said it helped that when he worked at the Chrysler plant and Jim at the Ford plant, employees were allowed to get off work early to donate blood. Roger also remembers in the late 1960s or early 1970s getting a shot of whiskey instead of juice afterwards. “I was very consistent then,” he joked.

Tim Bondy, who works in LaSalle’s water department, said it’s a good feeling to know you’re helping someone else. Sometimes Tim and Jim, because they both live in LaSalle, go to a blood donor clinic together.

To understand their achievement of more than 35o units of blood, consider that as enough blood to save seven people involved in a serious car accident, Macfarlane said. Or it would be enough to help more than 70 people having heart surgery.

“It’s amazing how many units are needed and every unit represents one donor,” she said. “You can see that we need a lot of units.”

The Canadian Blood Services encourages families to donate blood together or for couples to make it a date night. “You can come out and save lives and cookies and juice are on us.”

Roger’s wife Jean said her husband inspired her to start giving blood. “It’s the best charity really to give to. It doesn’t cost anything.”

It was too soon for Roger to roll up a sleeve next to her Friday but the Bondy brothers will be back.

“We all have different reasons for giving blood and we hope to carry it on until they cart us out of here,” Roger said.

People are eligible to donate blood every 56 days. To book an appointment visit blood.ca or call 1-888-236-6283.

shill@windsorstar.com

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The Emancipation Day Committee President’s Gala was held at the Layalina Hall on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015.

From left to right, George and Estella White attend the Emancipation Day Committee President’s Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Layalina Hall. All proceeds go towards the Emancipation Day celebration in August. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

From left to right, saxaphone player for The 519 Band Doug Williamson and Evelyn Walker attend the Emancipation Day Committee President’s Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Layalina Hall. All proceeds go towards the Emancipation Day celebration in August. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Emancipation Day committee members from left to right, president Paul Handsor, Randy Charles, Kathy Jackson and vice president Bradley Wade Jones attend the President’s Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Layalina Hall. All proceeds go towards the Emancipation Day celebration in August. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

From left to right, Elzy Banks, Elise Harding-Davis and Allison St. Martin attend the Emancipation Day Committee President’s Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Layalina Hall. All proceeds go towards the Emancipation Day celebration in August. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Emancipation Day committee members from left to right, George Rivait, Jerry “Sketch” Crosby, Bill Taylor and Rita Higgins attend the President’s Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Layalina Hall. All proceeds go towards the Emancipation Day celebration in August. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

From left to right, Fire Prevention Officer Carey Chase and Joanne Dupuis attend the Emancipation Day Committee President’s Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Layalina Hall. All proceeds go towards the Emancipation Day celebration in August. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Members of The 519 Band from left to right, drummer Stephen Johnson, bassist Rob Balint and guitarist Kevin Blok attend the Emancipation Day Committee President’s Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at Layalina Hall. All proceeds go towards the Emancipation Day celebration in August. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

The Give Your Heart to Autism Gala was held at the Caboto Club on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015.

Sponsors from WFCU from left to right, Keith Andrews, Susan Andrews, Janis Komsa and Marty Komsa attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Committee members from left to right, Angela and Louie DeMarco attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Committee members from left to right, Izzy Faraci, Violet Faraci, Tony Oliverio and Lori Oliverio attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

From left to right, Lisa Kruba, Chris Kruba and sponsors Michele Toldo and Tony Toldo attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Gala committee members from left to right, John Miceli, Rita Miceli, Bill Spadafora, Fran Spadafora and Julie Bondy attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Sponsors from Local 200 from left to right, Patricia Cassady, Dan Cassady, Pamela Strong and Peter Gelinas attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Sponsors from Local 444 from left to right, Dino Chiodo, Deborah Chiodo, Becky Lovric and Mike Lovric attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Attendees from Amhersburg Fire from left to right, firefighter Vanessa Amlin and Fire Chief Randy Sinasac attend the Give Your Heart to Autism Gala Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at the Giovanni Caboto Club. The event is hosted by Autism Ontario Windsor/Essex chapter. (RICK DAWES/The Windsor Star)

Essex County OPP are trying to find the driver who struck a pedestrian last month in Tecumseh.

Police said the woman stopped and spoke to the victim, but left when he said he was OK. It happened Feb. 20 around 7:10 p.m. at the intersection of St. Gregory’s Road and Manning Road.

The driver was a woman with red hair in her late 50s to early 60s. She was driving a possibly grey Ford Escape. It had a broken driver’s side mirror.

Investigators want to talk to her about what happened.

Anyone with information about the driver can call Const. Matt Hesketh at 519-735-3796.

A Kingsville man who pleaded guilty to possessing hundreds of child pornography images was sentenced to 14 months in prison Monday afternoon.

The 328 images and 34 videos found on Robert Denza’s computer in March 2011 were quite “vile and despicable,” Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said.

Denza, 46, does not believe he’s attracted to children and blamed his behaviour – at least in part – on his significant alcohol addiction, according to a pre-sentence report prepared for the judge. The Crown disagreed, saying not all alcoholics turn to child porn when they drink.

“I appreciate the fact you do not believe you are attracted to young persons and you’re really unsure as to why you may be in possession of this (type of pornography),” Thomas said in his sentencing. “While you may not be able to understand why you acquired those (images). . .it’s because people like you choose to acquire them that it creates a market for those who would create them and who would abuse, very directly, young people and make them the focus of those pictures.”

When police arrested Denza four years ago, they confiscated eight computers from the basement of his home, discovering images of children as young as five engaged in sexual acts, bestiality and bondage. In November 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of making child pornography available.

Investigators found their way to Denza after investigating a website that is used to share photographs and videos, and found that he uploaded six images that were circulating on one particular date. Those images turned out to be just a sampling of his collection, which Thomas described as “not an insignificant amount of child pornography.”

Denza was also given three years probation and is banned from being in the presence of any child under the age of 16 unless it’s with an approved adult. He must adhere to a host of conditions that includes not being able to use devices or Internet services that allow him to store digital files, unless those devices or services are for work.

His lawyer, Andrew Bradie, asked for a 12-month sentence, saying Denza is seeking help for alcohol addiction, has a new job and is now in a new, healthy romantic relationship. The Crown was asking for an 18-month sentence.

Thomas considered several factors when coming up with a sentence that is just four months longer than the minimum allowable jail term. No factor was more significant than Denza’s lack of a previous criminal record and his guilty plea, Thomas explained.

dspalding@windsorstar.com

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The Windsor Star’s award-winning photographers covered the city and county Monday. Check out the gallery.

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, Monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, Monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, Monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, Monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, Monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, Monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Fire and Rescue battle two house fires on the 800 block of Assumption Street, Monday morning, March 2, 2015. The two house are adjacent to each other. There were no injuries reported. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

Riverfront walkers Diane Tower (L) and Christine Salter (R) enjoy a relatively mild day on March 2, 2015, after getting through the worst February weather in Windsor’s history. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Pedestrians Diane Tower (L) and Christine Salter (R) enjoy the sun in downtown Windsor on March 2, 2015. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

A man takes a break from running in shorts and a tank top on Windsor’s riverfront on March 2, 2015. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Maureen Jarvis, the kitchen manager at 10 Friends Diner, is pictured Monday, March 2, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

From left, June Bisetto, waitress, Ron Dunn, cook and co-manager, and Yaroslav Kior, waiter, are pictured at 10 Friends Diner, Monday, March 2, 2015. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

The Honourable Mr. Justice Kirk W. Munroe smiles while facing the audience during his official Swearing-in ceremony as Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor Monday, March 2, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

The Honourable Mr. Justice Kirk W. Munroe is congratulated by Justice Bruce Thomas after receiving judges robes during his official Swearing-in ceremony as Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor Monday, March 2, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Glen Cook and Elise Harding-Davis are photographed in an area they believe contains the remains of a black cemetery in the Elmstead area of Lakeshore on Monday, March 3, 2015. They are hoping to somehow mark the are to preserve it. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

A heavily armed Windsor police officer is shown on Campbell Avenue in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, March 2, 2015 where a man was arrested. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Heavily armed Windsor Police officers arrest a man on Campbell Avenue in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, March 2, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Heavily armed Windsor police officers are shown on Campbell Avenue in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, March 2, 2015 where a man was arrested. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Heavily armed Windsor police officers are shown on Campbell Avenue in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, March 2, 2015 where a man was arrested. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Heavily armed Windsor police officers arrest a man on Campbell Avenue in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, March 2, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Property on Matchette Road in Windsor, Ont. near the Ambassador Golf course is being prepared for new housing. Workers are shown on Monday, March 2, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

Property on Matchette Road in Windsor, Ont. near the Ambassador Golf course is being prepared for new housing. Workers are shown on Monday, March 2, 2015. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

March For Jesus Celebration Event members Melinda Wilson, left, and Shirley Walsh hold their event flag which will not fly at City Hall following council’s decision Monday, March 2, 2015. March For Jesus Celebration Event is planned for August 22, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Larry Horwitz applauded City Council’s decision to allow year-round outdoor patios for local establishments at City Hall Monday, March 2, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

City councillor Hilary Payne answers questions about Sandra Pupatello, CEO WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation, following City Council meeting Monday, March 2, 2015. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Figuring a counselling session in Windsor costs people driving from the county’s southeast corner three hours of their day — an hour drive in, an hour session and an hour drive back — Problem Gambling Services has set up a satellite program in Leamington.

“It’s easier for us to send one person out there to deal with people, than to have all of them come to Windsor,” says Pat Perrin, a problem gambling counsellor from Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. Since November, Perrin has spent Fridays at Leamington District Memorial Hospital helping people with gambling problems. He also counsels the families of problem gamblers.

For many, money is tight, so the extra gasoline and time off work required for the drive to Windsor discourages them from getting help, said Perrin.

Problem gambling can wreck families financially, socially and emotionally, according to Problem Gambling Services, which tries to provide people with strategies to turn their lives around.

“We’re hoping to improve the availability of our service to those people who are in need,” Perrin said.

The service — usually once-a-week sessions that can run for up to a year — is free to problem gamblers and their families and can be accessed by calling the Windsor office at 519-254-2112. Candidates will be asked if they prefer the Leamington location. The service can also put candidates in a more intense 21-day residential program in Windsor, and outpatient counselling that provides the same intensity as the residential program from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but allows you to go home at night.

Perrin has been visiting various agencies, organizations and schools in the southeastern section of the county, letting people know the service is now available in Leamington. So far, he has five clients, “which is not bad for a short period of time.”

Once more people know about it, he said, the numbers will increase. If the Leamington service proves successful, Perrin is hopeful that office hours can also eventually be provided in other county towns.

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A trail that runs all the way from the outskirts of Windsor to Chatham could be reality within two years, said a director with the Essex Region Conservation Authority on Monday.

ERCA hopes to finalize arrangements with the County of Essex and Town of Leamington so the Chrysler Greenway trail can be extended this year to Leamington, said Kevin Money, director of conservation services for ERCA.

It would be a key step under the ongoing development of the Trans Canada Trail association which is seeking to create a network across the country, he said.

“Our part is not a huge part,” Money said. “We are looking to take the trail where it currently exists and extend it a couple of kilometres.”

The trail currently ends at Road 34 in Kingsville and, under the plan, would stretch to Road 31 in Leamington.

The county and ERCA jointly are attempting to budget $45,000 for the extension which would be matched by the Trans Canada association with another $45,000.

Meanwhile, Chatham-Kent has been working on extensions of a trail that would lead into Leamington and Money hopes everything will be in place for a full connection within two years.

“It’s our goal to work this year and next to get it accomplished,” he said. “But a lot of it is subject to funding.

“We are quite excited that everything seems to be falling into place so that we will have a fully connected Trans Canada Trail from Windsor into Chatham.”

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Did you catch yourself complaining about Windsor-Essex weather in February? Well, consider your whining absolutely justified: It wasn’t just bad — it was the worst February weather in the region’s recorded history.

Environment Canada‘s senior climatologist David Phillips confirmed that Windsor-Essex has just experienced our coldest February ever, as well as our second snowiest February ever.

“No question about it,” Phillips said on Monday. “This was the new gold standard of weather misery for Windsor.”

Cyclist Steven Kessel bundles up against the extreme cold in downtown Windsor on Feb. 12, 2015. (Jason Kryk / The Windsor Star)

Data from the monitoring station at Windsor’s airport puts our average temperature over the past month at a record-smashing -11 C. That’s almost nine degrees Celsius colder than our normal February average of -2.6 C.

The previous coldest February average for Windsor-Essex was -9.1 C, set in 1978.

“I think people should pat themselves on the back,” Phillips said.

“Think about all of those boring stories that we heard from our grandparents: ‘Well, I remember going to school when it was really cold.’ No, no, no — now we’ve got a story that tops all those, and it was in 2015.”

Indeed, Phillips said February 2015 could be in the running for the absolute coldest month that Windsor-Essex has ever seen. The only other month in Windsor airport’s data with as low an average temperature was January 1977.

This past month had eight brutal days where the temperature plummeted below -20 C. At the month’s coldest moment — on Feb. 16 — the low was -26.7 C.

Bob Scott uses his snow blower in the 1900 block of Pillette Road in Windsor on Feb. 1, 2015. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Total snow for Windsor in February was a whopping 71 centimetres — more than double our average February snowfall of 31 centimetres.

The only other February where Windsor saw more snow was in 2011, when we received 89.6 centimetres.

The reason for all this terrible weather? Phillips said central Canada was subject to a large high-pressure ridge that stopped any warm Pacific air from progressing east.

“British Columbia and Alberta were downright balmy,” Phillips said. “It was a blocking situation. It prevented any warmth from coming here (to Ontario).”

That meant there was nothing to counteract the cold weather flowing from the uppermost reaches of Canada — the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

“It wasn’t the Polar Vortex so much as it was an Arctic Pipeline,” Phillips said. “It just came pouring down, filling every nook and cranny with bitterly cold air.”

A man takes a break from running in shorts and a tank top on Windsor’s riverfront on March 2, 2015. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Phillips said he’s grateful he didn’t have to observe this Arctic Pipeline in person: He spent all of February in Florida. “Boy, did I ever pick the best time to be somewhere else,” he gloated.

As for what March holds for Ontario, Phillips said we should be able to look forward to what he calls “maple syrup weather” — a few digits above zero Celcius during the day, a few digits below during the night.

“That’s the kind of thing where the sap begins to flow in the day, freezes at night, then thaws the next morning,” Phillips said. “A little bit of up and down, back and forth. A little bit of snow.

“It looks like conditions are still going to be cooler than normal, but much more seasonable. Much more what you’d expect for this time of year.”

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Pedestrians Diane Tower (L) and Christine Salter (R) enjoy the sun in downtown Windsor on March 2, 2015. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Family and friends of Shane Knapp are still stunned by his sudden death in a tractor accident on Feb. 27 — but through the tears emerge loving memories of a man who kept everybody grinning.

“What people remember about him most is how funny and witty he was,” wife Darcie Renaud said Monday.

“That was Shane. He made me laugh, every single day. A lot.”

Shane Knapp skateboards in formal wear. (Family photo / The Windsor Star)

Knapp, 39, was fatally pinned between a tractor and a train car last week while working with his father in their grease recycling business.

Knapp and Renaud have a three-year-old son, Henry, and Renaud is expecting their second child, Hazel, in April.

Renaud still thinks about the first time she met her husband-to-be — when he was the wild front man of a teenage punk band called The Implants.

“I just thought he was the best-looking guy I’d ever seen in my entire life. And I was 15 years old,” Renaud recalled. “I made it my mission to get him. He was a bad boy skateboarder, singing in a band.”

Their youthful romance blossomed despite the differences in their interests: Knapp was into skateboarding and abrasive underground music, while Renaud preferred to volunteer for the Liberal Party.

More crazy bands came and went — with names like God in a Headlock and The Best — but through them all, Knapp continued to proudly work with his father in the family business.

“There was never a plan to leave,” Renaud said. “The thought of moving from here never crossed his mind. I just knew Shane was never leaving this area.”

Shane Knapp and his 3-year-old son Henry. (Family photo / The Windsor Star)

Darcie said that over the course of the 22 years she’s known Shane, he’s been not only her boyfriend and her husband, but her best friend in life.

“All our moments were pretty happy, to be honest with you. And I’m not just saying that. We were really happy,” Darcie said. “More now than ever. Some people grow apart, but we grew together.”

Shane’s perpetually wise-cracking personality was “magnetic,” Darcie said. Friends could count on him to greet them with a wide smile, a glint in his eyes, and a wicked joke.

As he grew older, Shane’s interests gravitated from music to motorcycles: He owned several vintage models, and built one himself.

But he still kept a skateboarding ramp on his parents’ property for when he had the urge to “shred.”

Shane Knapp and one of his vintage motorcycles. (Family photo / The Windsor Star)

Darcie said that in recent years, with the birth of his son, Shane had become particularly devoted to his loved ones. “His whole life revolved around Henry. He would talk about how we’re a family now. He was so excited about Hazel.”

Shane Knapp, his son Henry, and his wife Darcie Renaud. (Family photo / The Windsor Star)

Shane’s father was with him when he died. Darcie said that Bill Knapp and Shane’s mother Margaret are devastated. “This is the kind of thing that just isn’t supposed to happen.”

Shane Knapp is survived by his wife, his son, his coming daughter, his parents, his sister and brother-in-law, his niece and nephew, and many more.

Arrangements have been made with Families First, 3260 Dougall Ave., 519-969-5841.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m.

The funeral service takes place 11 a.m. Thursday with cremation to follow.

The Knapp family would appreciate any donations to a trust fund for Shane’s children (cheques made payable to Darcie Renaud) or to the Canadian Red Cross.

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Shane Knapp and his wife Darcie. (Family photo / The Windsor Star)

A freezing rain warning is in effect for Windsor and Essex County.

“A low pressure system developing over the American Plains will track towards southern Ontario today, bringing a wintery mix of precipitation to the region. Snow accompanied by some ice pellets is expected to develop early this morning over extreme Southwestern Ontario and reach the Golden Horseshoe near midday,” said Environment Canada in a bulletin.

“It is forecast to transition to freezing rain near midday in the southwest and this afternoon in the Hamilton and Niagara corridor. The freezing rain will persist for a few hours before tapering to some light rain or drizzle as temperatures nudge above the freezing mark early this evening.”

The remains of the house at 11 Marlborough St. W. in Leamington on Mar. 3, 2015. (Image via Leamington Fire Services)

A two-storey home in a Leamington neighbourhood has been left unsalvageable after a blaze on Monday morning.

Fire Chief Chuck Parsons described the house as a “total loss.”

One resident suffered minor injuries in the incident.

Leamington Fire Services estimate the damage at $140,000. The cause of the blaze is believed to be careless cooking.

Firefighters were called to 11 Marlborough St. W. around 8 a.m. They arrived to find the house already burning.

OPP closed Marlborough from Erie Street South to Fox Street while Leamington Fire Services battled the blaze.

The aerial towers of two fire trucks were deployed in the efforts to extinguish the flames.

The fire was put out around 10:30 a.m.

Smoke and flames pour from the house at 11 Marlborough St. West in Leamington on the morning of Mar. 3, 2015. (Image via Ashley Crawford)

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