You just never know... (en francais)

Campaign Stories #4

Official Office opening went really well last night, so that's all the initial big activities out of the way. Signs are progressing nicely, although we seem to be having quite a few repairs to do every day. I think some people are not quite used to seeing so many blue signs in Windsor-Tecumseh. Oh well - I can fix 'em as fast as anyone can knock 'em down.

Windsor Star called today to ask when our office opening was. I guess they missed the press release, media advisory and email. Oh well - we don't expect much from our local paper. We'll win in spite of them.

Even though it's still early in the campaign, I think I've got the winner for best (worst?) campaign experience.

I was working in the office late Mon. evening/early Tues. morning finishing up some computer work and getting things ready for the Official opening. I had gone into the back room around 1:30am to wash up. When I came out, someone was walking in the front door. The office has an outer lobby and an inner door. As the person came in the inner door, and I got closer, I could see he was covered in blood. He said "I've been stabbed 4 times!" . He was obviously bleeding quite profusely. I grabbed a chair and had him sit down. I quickly checked him over. He had a visible cut on his face running from his ear to his chin, another one on the back of the head and his wrist seemed to be the worst. I ran into the back and grabbed a bunch of napkins from the kitchen and placed them over the wrist wound. I had him apply pressure and elevate. Next up - 911, ambulance, then police. I continued helping the man, trying to keep him calm and seated. By this point, he was a little agitated and wanted to leave. The first police unit arrived approximately 5 minutes later, followed by two more units and an ambulance. A second ambulance also arrived along with a Medical Supervisor. They worked on the gentleman for approximately 20 minutes before transporting him to the hospital. After that it was police statements and then the real fun part. Cleaning up! We had our office opening later on that day and the front part of the office looked like some kind of accident scene. The ambulance attendants did a great job cleaning up everything, but there was still a very large amount of blood all over. Took about an hour and a half and 3 moppings to get everything squared away.

Note to self - lock office doors when working late at night. Article on the incident from the Windsor Star below. I was actually quite suprised to find out the guy who stumbled into the office was the instigator and not the victim. A quick note for the Windsor Star - although the suspect certainly "fled" the scene, considering how drunk he was and the river of blood leaking from him - "running" he certainly wasn't. I do like the "employee" part though. Maybe now I can apply for a raise - how about 2 to 3 XL Tim's a day - woohoo!

Man in police custody after drunken knife fight
Windsor Star
Published: Wednesday, December 07, 2005

A 41-year-old Windsor man is in police custody following an early morning altercation that sent him and another man to a hospital for treatment of stab wounds.

Police said the incident began in an apartment in the 2600 block of Meadowbrook Lane.

The resident, a 46-year-old male, was drinking with his 45-year-old girlfriend and two other men Monday night.

The resident and the woman eventually retired to the bedroom. The two other men remained in the living room.

Just after 1 a.m., one of the men who had previously been drinking with the couple entered the bedroom and attacked the resident with a knife.

Staff Sgt. Ed McNorton said the weapon was a butter knife apparently from the apartment's kitchen.

While the victim struggled with the suspect, the female retrieved a knife from her purse and stabbed the suspect in defence of her boyfriend.

The other man who had also been drinking with the group intervened and pulled the suspect away from the victim and the woman.

The suspect fled the scene on foot, running to a nearby business. Employees at the business called for an ambulance, which took the man to Windsor Regional Hospital's Metropolitan campus.

The victim, who remained at the apartment until police arrived, was also taken to Met, where he was treated and released for non-life threatening cuts to his right hand, upper chest, left shoulder and the base of his neck.

The suspect was treated for cuts that required 18 stitches on his face, 15 stitches on his wrist, and a couple more on his chest. He was arrested by detectives after he was released from the hospital.

McNorton said all the parties involved know each other. "Alcohol definitely played a huge factor in this incident," he said.

The suspect appeared in court Tuesday and faces a charge of aggravated assault.