HAPPY NEW YEAR! CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
MONDAY, DEC. 31, 2012
Pressure growing on Harper TO ADDRESS FASTING CHIEF’S DEMANDS BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — A visibly weak Chief Theresa Spence made a brief appearance on Sunday — in Day 20 of her fast —as a parade of politicians and protesters turned up the volume to demand action from the Harper government on treaty issues. Through a spokesperson, the chief
of the Attawapiskat First Nation said she was “deeply humbled” by the support she’s received from aboriginals and non-aboriginals in her appeal for a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and GovernorGeneral David Johnston. A demonstration in support of her hunger fast took place at Toronto’s Eaton Centre, where protesters crowd-
ed a section of the mall in a loud, but peaceful gathering. A smaller crowd backing Spence assembled in Calgary outside of Harper’s constituency office. The chief acknowledged the outpouring from members of the Idle No More movement, but called for other First Nations leaders to also step up. “This is a call to arms and a call to
action in the most peaceful and respective way that reflects our natural laws as Indigenous nations,” she said in the statement. “First Nations leadership need to take charge and control of the situation on behalf of the grassroots movement.
Please see TREATY on Page A5
RESOLUTIONS
And... what for 2013? BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF New Year traditions dating back to Rome and Babylon lead people to look at the world with fresh eyes and, perhaps, find some way to improve themselves during the coming year. The value and validity of the New Year’s resolution, however, varies widely from person to person. “It’s a waste of time,” says Justin Wand from Leicester, UK, who spent the Christmas season visiting friends and family in Central Alberta. Wand, 40, says he has not committed himself to a formal resolution for quite a long time, although he has made them in the past. Resolution or not, he feels he needs to be fitter and healthier — a common theme among people interviewed on Sunday for their thoughts on New Year resolutions. Angus Thomson, 45, visiting from Florida, says he tries to make a New Year resolution every year, but has had varying levels of success at keeping them. By Sunday afternoon, he hadn’t yet given much thought to his resolution for 2013, stating that he would like to get rid of one bad habit — procrastinating. Cassie Howdle of Red Deer said she has found that ideas for resolutions that seemed really great on Dec. 31 don’t necessarily hold as much appeal on Jan. 1.
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
A town of Sylvan Lake Parks employee makes his way around the lake’s skating surface, clearing the ice with a brush-mounted vehicle. The rink is expected see more activity when temperatures started to rise this week.
Year ending on a warmer note CENTRAL ALBERTANS ARE GETTING A BREAK FROM WHAT HAS BEEN AN UNSEASONABLY COLD DECEMBER Red Deer has seen since 1971, when ther- because Canyon is relatively sheltered mometers that actually go that low regis- from the winds that may blow much more tered -42.2C with a wind chill of -46C. vigorously over the fields above, says MarCoping with those temperatures becomes tel. a challenge when pipes freeze and burst, He supplies Helly Hansen outerwear to batteries play dead and stiff transmissions all staff who work outdoors to offer maxirefuse to turn. mum protection from the cold. At those temperatures, standing still or Christmas Day was no problem at all leaving your because the skin exposed ski hill was COPING WITH COLD TEMPERATURES can be danclosed for gerous if not the holiday, BECOMES A CHALLENGE WHEN PIPES deadly, say he says. people who FREEZE AND BURST, BATTERIES PLAY DEAD The only routinely time CanAND STIFF TRANSMISSIONS REFUSE work out of yon would TO TURN doors reclose due gardless and to weather sometimes conditions because of is when the the cold weather. schools have shut down their trips to the There’s no weather like cold weather — ski hills because of the cold. the colder the better, say David Martel and School trips make up about 95 per cent Michael Weinman at Canyon Ski Resort. of Canyon’s business during those days, From a business perspective, tempera- says Martel. tures between -10 and-5 are best for drawThe balance is mostly parents who want ing customers, because that’s relatively to ski with their children, he says. comfortable for outdoor activities, says There is no minimum temperature for Martel, general manager for the resort. weekends, when there are always enough He and his staff have a temperature and hardy skiers to keep the lifts running, he wind chill chart that tells them how long says. they should stay outside at one time. Wind chill is not a big issue, however, Please see COLD on Page A2
If you feel like swapping your mukluks for a pair of flip-flops when the outside temperature rises to -10C, you just might be from Red Deer — or somewhere nearby. Central Albertans are getting a break from what has been an unseasonably cold December, although no records were actually broken. Sunday’s high of -4C felt positively balmy when compared with the days of icy cold that hit through the past month, especially on Christmas Day. Environment Canada meteorologist Chris Emond calculated that, as of Thursday afternoon, the average temperature in Red Deer for December was -14.8C, a significant departure from the normal average of -11.1C. The average for the month is based on calculations of the mean temperature for each day, with the mean temperature being the midpoint between the high and the low. While -14.8 is chilly enough, that would mean that some days were much colder than that. During the past month, Christmas Day was coldest of all, with temperatures dropping to -29.6C by 11 p.m. and the wind chill making it feel like -36C. That was about as cold a Christmas as
Please see 2013 on Page A2
PLEASE
WEATHER
INDEX
A mix of sun and cloud. High -3, low -10.
Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B6
FORECAST ON A2
RECYCLE
Win your
ENTERTAINMENT
NEW YEAR’S DAY
FIFTY SHADES ALL OVER IN 2012
NO PAPER TUESDAY
E. L. James’s erotic novel Fifty Shades phenomenon certainly permeated all parts of pop culture in 2012. C5
The Advocate will not publish on Tuesday, New Year’s Day, and all offices will be closed. Normal publishing and office hours resume on Wednesday, Jan. 2.
Dream Home...
2012 Kinsmen Dream Home
.
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built by Ammonite Developments
Help the Kinsmen Help the Kids
NEW This Year!
50/50
Only Available at the home 1 for $5 / 10 for $25 / 30 for $50
Guaranteed payout of $20,000 Maximum payout of $50,000
Final Cut-Off
Can be purchased separate or with Dream Home Tickets
The license numbers were Notice brochures. mistakenly missed.
License# 340965
2 Sutherland Close in Southbrook
is at 5:00 pm, Monday, December 31, 2012 An error on the Kinsmen Dream Home
Tickets $100 each or 3 for $250 Total of 14,115 printed Tickets Available at Sproules IDA, Buy And Sell By Photo, And Servus Credit Unions all over Central Alberta
Value $770,000 2351 Sq Ft – 2 Storey Home • Comes with appliances, Window Coverings, Home Theatre
FINAL DAY F FINAL DRAW
www.reddeerkinsmen.com Toll free 1.866.559.6759| Local 403.356.3900
December 31 2012 D
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BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF