Two horses killed in highway crash: John Beardsley believes someone was looking after him and his 10 passengers when he slammed into a group of horses on Hwy. 148 last week, killing two of them.

As he does every week day, the Bristol man, who has been giving lifts to commuters for more than 20 years while he travels to his own job, was driving his one-ton 12-passenger van home from Ottawa. He was nearing the “S” curve in Bristol when “all of a sudden there were horses on the road and I plowed through all of them,” said Beardsley.

A number of horses owned by Emile Ethier broke through a fence after becoming spooked.
Beardsley, a father of five, slammed on the brakes and held onto the steering wheel as the van spun 180 degrees and ended up on the left side of the highway with no lights, no power and a transport truck coming towards them.

But the driver of a car travelling behind the van wasn’t able to stop and drove through and was able to flag down the transport, preventing a disastrous collision.

“Everyone says, ‘oh you’re lucky,’” says Beardsley. “But luck has nothing to do with it. I truly believe the Lord was watching us.”

Parade of Lights shines bright in Shawville Friday: An estimated 1,500 hardy souls lining Shawville’s Main Street withstood a biting chill to watch the 46 floats in the second annual Shawville and District Kinsmen Christmas Parade of Lights make their way from Rectory Road to the fairgrounds.

“I’m enjoying it,” said 11-year-old Ian Guitard, early in the parade. “I’m looking forward to seeing Santa.”

With more Christmas lights than those found at a used car lot hanging from trucks, floats and horses, spectators stood for about an hour cheering the parade as Santa’s helpers passed out candies to the kids, both young and old.