AIRDRIE VIOLENT OFFENDER WON'T QUIT POT-SMOKING IN JAIL

Describing drugs as a way of coping with life behind bars, a violent
offender told a parole board he won't quit smoking marijuana until
he's freed from prison.

The National Parole Board denied early release for Wade Gunoff, who
has tested positive for drugs at least f ive times since being
imprisoned in April 2008 for his role in a beating that left a
61-yearold Airdrie man permanently disabled.

"Throughout the hearing, you were very self-centred and presented as
feeling sorry for yourself," the board wrote in a ruling issued last
week.

" You complained about t he many t hings you had lost since the
offence and that you were 'rotting away' in the institution. You made
very little reference during the hearing with regard to the impact
your offence had on the victim, and generally only when prompted by
the board."

Gunoff, 27, is serving a threeyear sentence for aggravated assault in
connection the beating of Ken Valgardson following a booze and
drug-fuelled Airdrie house party in October 2006.

Gunoff and four or f ive other men believed Valgardson had smashed a
friend's windshield.

They lured him to a nearby parking lot, where they began to beat him
and delivered several blows to his head.

"The last kick, delivered by you, caused an audible 'crack,' after
which all perpetrators fled," the parole board said.

Valgardson spent a year in hospital with brain injuries, a fractured
skull and several facial fractures.

Now 64, Valgardson lives in a care home, needs constant supervision
and has lost shortterm memory.

His niece, Sherry Warrington, acknowledged Valgardson "didn't make
great decisions in his life," but added nothing her uncle may have
done warranted the savage beating and its cruel aftermath.

While pleased Gunoff won't be paroled, Warrington said she never
believed his punishment suited the crime.

"The sentence itself was pretty light considering my uncle was robbed
of his life," she said.

Gunoff is scheduled to be freed from Drumheller Institution on
statutory release next April.