by Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 08/97) - Dairy farmer Neil Myers says he has few regrets about spending a night in jail.

"If that's part of the process I have to go through to make the dairy work, I'll be glad to do it," said Myers, 24 hours after being released on $2,000 bail.

Myers was arrested last Wednesday night on a warrant issued by a judge when he did not show up for court Sept. 9 to face charges of obstructing a health officer. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Myers said he did not show in court because he understood a court clerk would contact him to confirm his court date.

Myers said police arrested him at 6:30 p.m., while he sold milk from the back of his truck.

"They recognized me because they've never had a milkman in jail before. So they put me down in the quietest corridor they had. But it's pretty noisy in there."

Apart from the noise, he had only two minor complaints about the evening in jail.

"The cot was hard, and I need a pillow because with all the driving I do my back goes out a little bit.

Myers said he would be sending a letter to Justice Minister Kelvin Ng suggesting alternative ways of responding to a warrant.

"If a warrant is issued for the arrest of a man who is very much a local guy and in the news and available, why doesn't the clerk of the court call any one of a number of places and leave a message that I had missed a court date and telling me to come in?" asked Myers.

"Why do they wait to pick me up at night, when a judge is not available to release me?"

He said a phone call would have saved him the ordeal of spending a night in jail and saved taxpayers and police expense and time.

Myers was held because of the kind of bench warrant issued for failing to appear, said RCMP staff sergeant Dave Grundy. In order to release Myers, a judge or justice of the peace had to sign or "endorse" the warrant.

"If the judge or justice of the peace doesn't endorse it, we have no alternative but to take him before a justice of the peace or territorial court judge."

Myers was picked up when he was, because that's when the police got to his warrant, one of hundreds they execute each day, said Grundy.