Red Deer 1913 — 2013 Create Celebrate Commemorate
RED DEER
ADVOCATE WEEKEND EDITION
Negotiation continue Symphony strike/locked delayed to try to resolve dispute
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SATURDAY, JAN. 26, 2013
WHY WE NEED A SALES TAX
FATHERS OF INVENTION
Petroleum peaks and valleys too volatile, says Joe McLaughlin
Tour the homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford
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DANGEROUS
TRACK Central Albertans too often make risky choices along rail lines
Photos by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
‘It was a scary thing to happen, because this kid was
narrowly missed.’ BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF Ten years ago, a Blackfalds elementary school student came close to being struck by a train. The child was not hit, but concerns were raised in the community. A decade later, that section of train tracks remains unfenced and the concerns remain. A stretch of tracks running through Blackfalds separates residential neighbourhoods from a school. Because of a long walk — about eight blocks from a residential area to the controlled intersection and then back to the school on the other side of the tracks — people have a tendency to cross the tracks wherever they want. Jason Spatt, father of a school-aged child, recently sent an email to Canadian Pacific Railways, Blackfalds Mayor Melodie Stol and the principal of Iron Ridge School raising the concern. CP spokesman Kevin Hrysak said they have been working on a few rail-related issues in Blackfalds. Stol said the issue was a part of the most recent council meeting, on Tuesday. She said town administration will be meeting with CP in February and the focus will be on rail safety education. “In 2011, we had requested some education services for Blackfalds,” said Stol. “A lot of new people have come to Blackfalds over the years, we have tremendous growth. The big push for us is to make sure CPR is providing either education at the school level or information in our welcome packages for new residents.” After the incident in 2003, Laura Tisdale,
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FORECAST ON A2
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ALBERTA
SPORTS
BUDGET WILL BE TRANSFORMATIONAL
WHEAT KINGS CROWN REBELS
With Alberta’s bottom line being gutted by falling oil revenue, the March 7 budget will embody a ‘once in a generation’ transformation in how the province builds and sustains its spending, Premier Alison Redford said. A4
The Red Deer Rebels’ struggles against socalled lesser teams continued Friday at the Centrium as they lost to the Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1 in overtime. B4
January 18-27, 2013
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a teacher at Iron Ridge Elementary, helped her class write letters to Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski expressing their concerns about that section of tracks. “The administration had just put an announcement over the intercom several mornings in a row, reminding the kids to cross safely,” said Tisdale. “It was a scary thing to happen, because this kid was narrowly missed.” Those letters led to Jablonski speaking in the legislature about the section of train tracks that is frequented by school-aged children. The incident was worked into a few lesson plans at the school. Tisdale said they managed to work it in to social class, through the letters to the MLA, and in math. “A lot of these kids do cross, it’s a long distance between where the lights are on the one road, down by the ball diamonds, to where the lights are by the arena that intersects with Broadway (Avenue),” said Tisdale. “It’s a long distance so they will sneak across.” Now, 10 years later, she still warns her students about the dangers of crossing the tracks away from the controlled intersection. Dan Di Tota, the national director of Operation Lifesaver, a train safety awareness and education organization, said a lot of people don’t understand the danger of crossing tracks wherever they please. As well as trespassing on private property, it could have deadly consequences. Although not every train is the same, Di Tota said a train with about 8,000 tonnes of freight would take up to two km to come to a complete stop in an emergency situation.