CREATIVE SERIES College summer arts program an immersion experience B1
TRUE OLYMPIAN Phelps adds two medals to record haul B4
CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 1, 2012
Photos by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and THE CANADIAN PRESS
Christine Girard of Canada capped a stellar day for Canada in the women’s 63-kg, group A, weightlifting competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, just hours after Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benefeito nailed a bronze in the women’s synchronized 10-metre platform finals, and Antoine ValoisFortier defeated United State’s Travis Stevens in a bronze medal match during the men’s 81-kg judo competition.
Medal haul in a drama-filled day BY THE CANADIAN PRESS LONDON — Three bronze medals, a marathon, record-setting tennis match and a thrilling soccer comeback. Tuesday was a day of drama for Canada at the London Olympics. Divers Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito kicked off the bronze bonanza in the 10-metre synchronized event. About 30 minutes later, Antoine Valois-Fortier won a surprise bronze in men’s judo. Within the hour, weightlifter Christine Girard was also climbing the podium. The three medals boosted Cana-
da’s total to four — four more than the country had at this point in the 2008 Olympics. Canada sits 13th in the overall medal standings just behind Britain, which has two silver and two bronze. Canadian officials said prior to the Games that they were hoping for a top12 finish. The medals came two days after divers Emilie Heymans and Jennifer Abel gave Canada its first of the Games with a third-place finish in the women’s three-metre synchro. “Our four medals have come in three different sports,” chef de mission Mark Tewksbury said. “The broader
we can go, the more exciting it gets.” Filion, from Laval, Que., and Benfeito, from Montreal, finished with a combined score of 337.62. “We had to dive our hearts out. We were ready,” said Filion, of Laval, Que. “We said there was nothing more we could have done.” China continued to dominate the diving competition with another gold, while Mexico took silver. “They can make mistakes,” said Benfeito, who hails from Montreal, of the Chinese. “We try to say we can win the gold. But they’re amazing divers.” Valois-Fortier, a 22-year-old from Quebec City, defeated American Travis
Stevens 1-0 in the bronze-medal bout. “It feels amazing,” he said. “I’ve sacrificed so much and all of the fights today were very hard. It was tough mentally but the whole team supported me and I managed to pull myself together. I wanted it really bad, it’s what I work for every day.” It’s Canada’s first judo medal since Nicholas Gill won silver in 2000. Girard, who grew up in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., and lives in White Rock, B.C., become the first Canadian woman to ever win an Olympic medal in weightlifting.
Please see BRONZE on Page A2
Organized crime widens in city: RCMP AS MANY AS NINE DIFFERENT GROUPS CO-OPERATE OR COMPETE FOR ILLICIT TRADE IN RED DEER BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer has as many as nine organized crime groups, according to RCMP. Some battle each other locally. Some work together, like the members of two chapters of nationally identified criminal groups who police arrested about a week ago. A massive criminal investigation over many months into organized crime and drug distribution in the city has resulted in 16 people facing 24 drugrelated charges. “We know that there is no specific gang that
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claims Red Deer as their turf. That’s why we see more than one organized crime group in the community,” Red Deer City RCMP Supt. Warren Dosko said at a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the investigation. “They see it as an opportunity to expand their business and move into our community.” He said the two crime groups affected by the investigation, which police will not name, were new to Red Deer. He alleged that they were sent here by their organizations. “Organized crime in Red Deer has been growing. We know that Red Deer’s location plays a key role, being centrally located between Calgary and Edmonton.”
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Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D5 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B6
FORECAST ON A2
Charging 16 people has a “significant impact” on organized crime in the city and the ability of those charged to do business if they’re in custody or face bail conditions. He alleged organized crime is responsible for serious offences in Red Deer like the July 4 shooting between two groups in the downtown that resulted in a 29-year-old man being shot in the torso, and recently a retaliation kidnapping and beating of a 44-yearold male after a similar kidnapping of a 16-year-old male. “They are not connected to (the latest investigation), but they are absolutely organized crime.”
Please see CRIME on Page A2
ALBERTA
BUSINESS
ALL THE RISK, LITTLE OF THE REWARD
GROWTH STILL SLOWING
Based on straight math, British Columbians shouldn’t be surprised to learn they will draw far fewer economic benefits than Alberta — or even Ontario — from the Northern Gateway pipeline, says a report. A3
Canada’s economy moved back into the slow lane in May, posting a below-expectations 0.1 per cent advance that set the stage for a subpar second quarter and year. C3