HOT GLASS
IDENTIFIED body parts found in Ontario from missing single mother
Glass blowing at Red Deer College B1
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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 22, 2012
Algae bloom prompts warning Photos by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Pine Lake residents Candice Desrochers and her daughter Gianna walk along the public dock at the Taunton Hills day use area near the Leisure Campgrounds site Tuesday. Alberta Health Services public health inspectors posted advisories around the lake Tuesday warning of a blue-green algae bloom in the lake. BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF News of an algae bloom at Pine Lake is getting a lukewarm response from people who live around its shores. Alberta Health Services issued an advisory on Tuesday warning people that blue-green algae had been found in the lake with resulting potential for exposure to toxins in the water. The advisory states that people, pets and livestock should not drink or enter the water and people should limit their consumption of fish from the lake, which is located about 40 km southeast of Red Deer. Boiling water does not eliminate the toxins produced by the algae, says the advisory. Dr. Feoma Achebe, one of three medical officers of health in the Central Alberta Zone, said Pine Lake is among the Alberta water bodies routinely tested for blue-green algae during the summer. Tests revealed some algae last week, but it wasn’t until this week that the levels were high enough to warrant the advisory, she said. Achebe was unable to say whether anyone had become ill or experienced other physical problems, since conditions associated with algae poisoning are not on the list of disease that physicians are required to report. Consuming or coming into contact with contaminated water can cause a variety of physical affects, including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, sore throat, swollen eyes and swollen lips. People familiar with the lake don’t think the cur-
rent algae bloom is anything out of the ordinary. “It’s been like that for five years,” says area resident Ole Johansen, who refuses to go into the water regardless of warnings and advisories from Alberta Health Services. Boats docked at Whispering Pines are consistently coated in green slime from the water and there are fewer skiers on the lake every year, said Johansen. Members of the Pine Lake Restoration Society have done what they can, said Johansen. He believes the health of the lake should fall squarely on the shoulders of Alberta Fish and Wildlife, the department responsible for managing the lake’s populations of pike, perch and walleye. Fish and Wildlife and the various conservation groups that maintain sites at Pine Lake need to analyze the water and then set out a program to clean it up, said Johansen. Ed Lawrence, president of the Pine Lake Restoration Society, said conditions on the lake can change from hour to hour, depending on the weather. Like any other shallow lake in Central Alberta, Pine Lake experiences algae blooms in stagnant areas when the weather is hot and sunny. The blooms go hand in glove with fish kills, such as the losses reported last summer, he said. Unlike many of the other lakes, including Gull and Sylvan, Pine Lake has a very large drainage area, which contributes to large volumes of nutrients flowing into the lake, said Lawrence. The same warm, sunny conditions that produce the bloom also drive fish deeper into the water, where there is less oxygen, he said. The pike, perch and pickerel that live in Pine Lake cannot survive in
the warm water at the surface any better than in the oxygen-deprived depths, so there will be fish kills when it’s hot and sunny at the surface, he said.
Please see ALGAE on Page A2
Sundre woman charged after dog attack ‘PIT BULL-TYPE’ DOGS ALLEGEDLY MAULED VISITOR TO SUNDRE HOME BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF Criminal charges have been laid against a Sundre woman over allegations that her dogs severely mauled a visitor in her home. Staff Sgt. Shawn Lemay, media relations officer for the RCMP in Alberta, said that police were called to a home in Sundre Mobile Estates after someone called 911 for help at 2 a.m. on Saturday. RCMP responding to the scene were informed that two dogs, described to them as “pit bull types,” had mauled a 26-year-old Calgary woman. Police found an unconscious woman barricaded in a room, suffering critical injuries to her arms and face. Emergency responders were unsure at the time if she was still alive, said LeMay in a news release issued on Monday. Police and an emergency medical crew removed the woman from the home and took her to Sundre hospital to be treated for life-threatening injuries. She was then transferred via STARS air ambulance to Calgary, where she is in stable condition.
PLEASE RECYCLE
Two dogs had been shut into another bedroom and were described as agitated and trying to get out, said LeMay. An animal control officer and a veterinarian were called in to deal with the dogs, he said. One dog was successfully sedated. However, the other managed to escape and charged police officers and emergency responders inside the residence. Lemay confirmed on Monday that the charging dog was shot dead by one of the police officers at the scene. The officer had no choice, he said. “Under the circumstances, especially when you consider the traumatic scene that the officers came across and seeing a woman that had just been mauled, when the dog lunged at the police officers, a decision had to be made in order to protect the officers and the public.” Such a decision is always difficult for police officers, who share the general public’s love and appreciation for domestic animals, said LeMay. While RCMP members are confident that the right decision was made, an internal review will take place to determine if the proper procedures were followed, he said. LeMay also provided the following comment from
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30% chance of showers.
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Sgt. Ryan Hodge, head of the Sundre RCMP detachment: “While doing our very best in advancing this investigation, we are also very cognizant of how this incident has impacted the victim, her family, and emergency workers attending the scene. Even for a seasoned professional, this was a very traumatic scene.” The surviving dog has been placed in quarantine. Dog owner Rita Phillip, 57, was not found at the scene and police had not been able to locate her by mid-afternoon on Monday. There were other people in the house at the time of the attack, but LeMay was not able to say how many or who they were. A warrant for Phillip’s arrest has been issued on a charge of aggravated assault. While the victim has not been named, police confirm that she was known to the accused. The investigation remains underway and police are asking for information from anyone who knows where Phillip can be found. Call the Sundre RCMP at 403-638-3675 or, to remain anonymous, submit information online to www. tipsubmit.com or call Crime Stoppers, 1-800-222-8477. bkossowan@reddeeradvocate.com
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LURED STATESIDE
The Toronto Blue Jays were on the losing end of their game against Detroit which included the 10th straight loss of the season for starting pitcher Ricky Romero. Romero walked eight and had no strikeouts in just over five innings of work. B4
Overnight trips to the U.S. set record since increased duty-free exemptions took effect. Overnight trips rode 7.5 per cent compared to May, the highest level since 1972. C3