‘No horses in water polo?’
Rough day for Randy Travis
Clueless fans get Olympic education
Country legend arrested naked
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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
THURSDAY, AUG. 9, 2012
BIG DAY FOR CANADA Canuck athletes earn one silver and two bronze medals on Day 12 of London Games Full Olympic coverage on Page B6
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Canada’s Adam vav Koeverden displays the silver medal he won in the men’s kayak single 1000m in Eton Dorney, near Windsor, England, at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Wednesday.
ADVOCATE SPECIAL FEATURE
How a broken heart led to a life on the streets This is the fourth in a five-part series on homelessness in Red Deer. On Friday, we examine the city’s plan to end homelessness. BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF A life of sobriety was within his reach. Virgil Frencheater had a place to sleep, shower and eat within four walls. He was on the road to recovery. Again. But something was missing. “Being sober, I was alone,” said Frencheater. The 44-year-old could not ignore his street family, who were still scraping out an existence in Red Deer. It wasn’t long before he returned to his old life. “I see all my friends and family out there,” said Frencheater. “I miss them. I came out to be with my friends because they are the only ones I know. I have been dealing with them so long. I just see them out here. I couldn’t be inside Safe Harbour House. I didn’t want to stay there like that.” Frencheater’s been on and off the streets for two decades in places like Red Deer, Edmonton and Rocky Mountain House. Just a few short years ago, he dressed in the long flowing, coloured Cree regalia as he performed the traditional Cree grass dance before school children, politicians and the general public. These days, most people take little notice of Frencheater when he walks the city’s streets in his ball cap, scruffy black T-shirt and ripped jeans. Frencheater says the death of his parents and a broken heart forced him on the streets. “It was a broken heart,” said Frencheater. “That’s what got me out there. . . . For a lot of people, it is a broken heart that takes them out to the streets.” He said living on the streets is not easy but there can be some positive experiences. Mostly it’s the time spent with the street community, who look after one another and treat each other like family. “I love my homeless family,” says Jordyn Brown, 19, who has couch surfed for five years since running away from her grandmother’s home. In those five years, Brown’s been in an abusive relationship and had a daughter she does not live with.
PLEASE RECYCLE
BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF A Red Deer man who was booked for open-heart surgery three times at University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton only to have it cancelled each time says he’s not the only heart patient in limbo. Harold Chapman, 66, said Alberta has to deal with its doctor shortage. “There’s only so many (doctors) and I’m not the only one with a bad heart,” Chapman said on Wednesday. Chapman is waiting for aortic valve replacement. A double bypass may be done at the same time. The surgery will take four to six hours. He said his cardiologist in Red Deer determined the surgery had to be done and Chapman was immediately lined up for surgery in Edmonton. His surgery was first scheduled for late July. His last cancelled surgery was last week. He was prepped for surgery when he was told to go home, he said. “It ain’t the doctors’ or nurses’ fault. It ain’t the hospital’s fault. It’s our system.” Chapman said cancellations are very stressful for him and his family. Surgery is rescheduled now for Monday. “We’ve got the weekend for emergencies to come up, and this and that, and it could be cancelled again.” Chapman said he has gone to the U of A hospital six times for tests and consultation and cancelled surgeries. It’s tough on people who live outside Edmonton who have to find a driver, pay for gasoline and a motel the night before surgery, said the senior who is on a fixed income. Chapman said he complained to the office of Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne about the surgery cancellations and the response was unsatisfactory. “They won’t look into anything because they don’t see a problem.”
‘It ain’t the doctors’ or nurses’ fault. It ain’t the hospital’s fault.
It’s our system.’
Photo by CRYSTAL RHYNO/Advocate staff
Virgil Frencheater has been on and off the streets for almost two decades. “It’s better than my real family. . . . When I stepped into Berachah Place, the first words I heard were ‘Family is for life.’ ” There’s also the front-line workers who offer smiles, services, comforts and lend an ear to listen. But the everyday challenges that the homeless face outweigh the positives: finding food, shelter, water and clothing –– the necessities of life every single day of the year. Pat Roan, 52, says those options are on the street but they are not likely all in one place. That means eating a meal at Loaves and Fishes, sleeping at People’s Place, drinking water from the Rotary Park fountain and picking bottles out of a dumpster in order to buy a pair of shoes that fit, she said.
Please see STREETS on Page A2
WEATHER
INDEX
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Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D5 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6-B8
FORECAST ON A2
Man faces repeated cancellations for open-heart surgery
Please see SURGERY on Page A2 ALBERTA
BUSINESS
ALBERTA REVIEWING EXPENSE, HIRING POLICIES
MARKET VENDORS GOING INDOORS
Alberta says it is reviewing its government expense and hiring policies after two senior health executives quit over lavish claims worth $346,000. A3
Red Deer’s outdoor public market has helped many local entrepreneurs connect with consumers. They’ll soon also have an indoor option. C5