Johhny Canuck returns
Dutch and Costa Rica escape with narrow wins at World Cup
crowdfunding campaign started to bring back iconcic comic book hero
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Red Deer Advocate MONDAY, JUNE 30, 2014
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Strikes central ENVIRONMENT CANADA SAYS RED DEER RECEIVES MOST CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES THAN ANYWHERE IN PROVINCE BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer is apparently Alberta’s lightning rod — lucky us. According to Environment Canada, Red Deer received the most cloud to ground lightning strikes per square kilometre per year between 1999 and 2008 out of 12 Alberta cities. Red Deer topped the list at .79 lightning strikes, followed by Airdrie at .77, Edmonton at .73 and Calgary at .68. During those 10 years, Red Deer had 464 cloud to ground strikes, Airdrie had 196, Edmonton saw 3,142 and Calgary had 4,292. “Edmonton and Calgary get a lot more lightning strikes, but when you look at cloud to ground flashes per kilometre, Red Deer ranks the highest in the province as far as cities are concerned,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Bill McMurtry. “Red Deer is right in the hub. That’s the epicentre of severe weather in Alberta. When we combine things like tornadoes, hail, heavy rain occurrences, the Red Deer region experiences more than any other region of the province. That is really the centre of summer severe weather.” Other cities in the lightning
study were St. Albert, Lloydminster, High Level, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Slave Lake, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. Study results can be found at — http://www.ec.gc.ca/ foudre-lightning/default. asp?lang=En&n=4871AAE6-1 — and includes cities in every province and territory. “If we compare (Red Deer) to southern Ontario which gets the most, the number is relatively small. If you look at a place like Windsor, which gets more lightning than anywhere else, they get 2.83 flashes per square kilometre per year — over three times more than Red Deer.” McMurtry said the southern prairies come in second, followed by the foothills of the Canadian Rockies when it comes to lightning strikes. A lot of the lightning in the foothills has to do with the formation of thunderstorms and the affects can be felt along the foothills in areas like Nordegg, Rocky Mountain House and Sundre, he said. “The fact that most of our winds, for the big percentage of the year in the upper level, are from the west, when those storms develop in the Canadian Rockies they move eastward so areas immediately east of the foothills tend to see the highest amount.”
Southern Ontario can get lightning anytime of year, while most of it occurs on the prairies and foothills in the late spring and summer. He said Florida wins the title for the most lighting in North America, which has a lot to do with the availability of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. “(Alberta) is dry, but another key ingredient is instability in the air mass. The mountains play an incredible role by creating these parcels of dry air that get forced into the mid portions of the atmosphere and that helps to increase the instability of the air mass which is one of the reasons we see a lot of thunderstorm activity in the foothills or on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains.” In Canada, an average of 10 people die each year and about 150 are injured by lightning. “Of those 10 deaths, 60 to 80 per cent would occur from ground current or side flashes, not a direct lightning strike,” McMurtry said. Ground current happens when lightning strikes the ground and disperses laterally. Side flashes are when lightning strikes an object then arcs off that object.
Please see LIGHTNING on Page A2
Retailers Making a difference abroad not happy TWO LACOMBE RESIDENTS PITCH IN ON TRIP TO UKRAINE with city’s e-cig rules BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF
BYLAW TREATS VAPING, SMOKING AS THE SAME THING BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF A local electronic cigarette seller expects some of his customers will not be too happy that vaping is being painted with the same brush as smoking in Red Deer. Last week, the city released a reminder that using e-cigarettes in public spaces is banned under its Smoke Free Bylaw. The city is applying the Smoke Free Bylaw because there is no federal or provincial regulation in place. The city intends to advocate for more regulation. E-cigarettes are a tobacco-free alternative to smoking. Users inhale the vapours produced by the batterypowered devices that heat up fluidfilled cartridges. The practise is called “vaping.” Ryan Williams, manager of the Vapor Hub shop, said people who are switching over to vaping from regular smoking are doing it to be healthier and to save money.
Please see E-CIGS on Page A2
WEATHER Showers High: 20, Low: 10
FORECAST ON A2
Central Albertans on a Medical Mercy Canada trip in May to Ukraine were welcomed with open arms. Dr. Leighton Nischuk and Warren Kreway, both of Lacombe, were among five Canadians who went to Ukraine for a month after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March and while Ukrainians were preparing to elect a new president. “It was probably my best trip to the Ukraine. I think the people really appreciate that we came. They didn’t think we were going to come. It said there are people that care and so we got a lot of hugs, a lot of good food,” said Dr. Leighton Nischuk, a director with Medical Mercy Canada. Nischuk said he got the impression that Ukrainians were feeling alone and that the world was on Russia’s side. He said people on the western side of the country want Ukraine to be its own independent country. “A lot of people knew the Russian language and spoke the Russian language, but they don’t want anything to do with Russia.” And even though things looked bad, optimism prevailed, he said. It was Nischuk’s fifth trip to Ukraine since 2009 to visit villages in four the country’s western provinces to check on small restoration projects underway at facilities like health clinics, schools, and geriatric centres. Nischuk said they never felt that they were in danger, but did find out later that four Russians were arrested near one of the villages not long after the Canadians visited. “They had a whole bunch of rifles
INDEX Two sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . A8,A9 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .B8-B10 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B11 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . .A11 Sports. . . . . . . . . .B1-B7,B10
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Dr. Leighton Nischuk and Warren Kreway visited a medical clinic that has a new front door after Medical Mercy stepped in to help. with them.” Before the May 25 election, he received an e-mail from the Canadian government to limit their travel on election day and stay away from polling stations. A week before the election, all major cities had road blocks made of concrete barriers, tires or sandbags guarded by police who were checking vehicles. He said as the election drew near, Ukrainians grew more worried. “The churches were full every evening, people getting together to pray.” On May 25, the humanitarian group did travel to a nearby village where they were invited by the local mayor to visit the polling station, so they went. “People were sitting there talking, visiting, smiling. It seemed really quite relaxed. Outside, children were playing soccer. There wasn’t any sort of fear at all. And when they heard we
were Canadians, they were happy to see us and they wanted a picture with us,” Nischuk said. Kreway, who made his first trip to Ukraine, said Ukrainians in rural areas were feeling isolated and kind of lost. “They have Russian television and the Russian television is not allowing them to see what is going on,” Kreway said. “It was very reassuring to them that we came all the way from Canada to help even in this mess that they’re in. It reassured the people that the world does care. We are paying attention. The world has eyes on them.” One of the reason’s why Kreway, 65, wanted to be part of Medical Mercy efforts in Ukraine was to connect to his heritage. Kreway met three distant cousins while in the country.
Please see UKRAINE on Page A2
Parade caps gay and lesbian festivities Toronto’s festival is a testament to Canada’s openness as this year’s festival and was designated a World Pride event. Story on PAGE A5
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