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ONE IMPAIRED MISTAKE
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Kevin Brooks made the wrong decision to drink and drive 16 years ago. Now he shares his story hoping that others will make a better choice.
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Kevin Brooks has delivered more than 1,000 presentations across Canada and the U.S., sharing his story of drinking and driving.
ANDREW PALAMARCHUK apalamarchuk@insidetoronto.com Every morning Kevin Brooks wakes up, there’s a wheelchair beside him that reminds him of his “nightmare”: killing his friend in a drunk driving crash. It began as a typical warm Saturday in June 2000. Brooks, then 21, was hanging out with his high school sweetheart and watched her ride in a horse show. He then went to
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Provincial byelection date set for Sept.1 Scarborough-Rouge River candidates on campaign trail MIKE ADLER madler@insidetoronto.com
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his youngest sister’s ballet recital. After the event, Brooks attended a house party where he thought he’d have a few beers and then call it a night. But that never happened. “I ran into some old school hockey friends I’d grown up with, and one thing led to another, and we were down to have a wild night,” Brooks said. And they hopped from one party to another. At one point during the night, Brooks
returned home to get more beer. The British Columbia resident wasn’t yet “blackout drunk” and stopped in front of his car thinking something bad could happen. “We all have that voice inside that warns us at times,” Brooks said. “That was one moment where I was still consciously aware of what was going on and had that opportunity to make the better choice and chose not to.” Brushing off the warning, Brooks con>>>a mistake, page 8
Scarborough-Rouge River voters will choose on Sept. 1 between a local councillor, their public school trustee and the party that has held onto the provincial riding since it was created. On the morning of Aug. 3, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a byelection for the riding, but Ontario’s major parties have been campaigning there for nearly two months. Liberals have kept Scarborough-Rouge River in their fold provincially since 1999, and Bas Balkissoon defeated all opponents there since he was first elected in 2005. On March 22, however, the veteran MPP resigned without explanation, though weeks later he said he wanted to spend more time with family. In a nomination battle in early June, Liberals chose Piragal Thiru, a first-time candidate who describes himself as a community organizer and transit expert. He’s up against two men who >>>CaNDiDates, page 3
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