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What will release bring? SUN MEDIA Convicted eco-saboteur Wiebo Ludwig is getting out of jail and going home on Nov. 14 - a prospect that is sending shivers of anxiety through the community around his ranch. Hopefully Ludwig won't commit any more violent acts, said Brian Peterson of West County Concerned Citizens, a group representing residents near Ludwig's Trickle Creek ranch at Hythe. "It's hard to live beside someone who condones violence and not be concerned. There is the fear he will do it again," Peterson said. Ludwig is serving 28 months in the minimum-security Grande Cache prison for five explosive-possession and mischief convictions. He gets out on statutory release Nov. 14. Statutory release allows offenders to serve the last third of their sentence in the community. Ludwig is eager to get out of jail, said son-in-law Trevor Schilthuis. It is widely speculated that Ludwig will have to spend the rest of his sentence on his ranch. "This is great news for the Ludwigs," family friend Richard Boonstra said from the ranch Wednesday, adding there will be a celebration to welcome Ludwig home. Boonstra wouldn't speculate on if Ludwig's return would cause any new problems with neighbours. Local RCMP wouldn't say whether they have any contingency plans to keep the peace once Ludwig is released from jail. Residents, meanwhile, remain deeply unhappy that nobody has been charged with the 1999 fatal shooting of local teen Karman Willis, Peterson said. Willis, 16, was shot June 20, 1999 while joyriding with other teens on Ludwig's farm. "We hope (Ludwig) has learned his lesson in jail ... and will help find the shooter," Peterson said. But Ludwig won't help to solve the crime, said a member of the Willis family who asked not to be named. Suncor Energy Inc. - which owned a site that was bombed - has security measures in place against further attacks, said spokesman Jenniffer Berger-Gee. "We hope he adheres to the law and doesn't attend our properties," Berger-Gee said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2001 Daily Herald-Tribune |