Red Deer 1913 — 2013 Create Celebrate Commemorate
SOX SEW UP JAYS Chicago downs Toronto 4-3 B6
Bike lane change divisive Cycling community feels let down by removal of lanes; others are pleased
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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013
RDC to slash programs, jobs COLLEGE FACING A $4.5M DEFICIT DUE TO PROVINCIAL BUDGET CUTS BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF
Red Deer College faculty, staff and students are bracing for an uncertain future. On Tuesday, RDC hosted an open budget forum to allow faculty and staff to ask questions about the pending changes that are needed to cover a $4.5 million deficit on Tuesday. Post-secondary budgets were slashed by 7.3 per cent across the board as part of this year’s provincial budget. For RDC that translates to a $4.5 million reduction from its estimated $92 million budget for 2012/2013.
Ken Heather, the president of the Faculty Association of Red Deer College, said the college confirmed what has been looming in the distance — programs will be eliminated and jobs will be lost. “They are not saying specifically where or who yet,” said Heather. “They are going to look at every program and staff. They are looking at credit and non-credit. They are looking at support services. It’s across the board. When you have to find that kind of money you have to look at everything.” There are roughly 325 parttime and full-time faculty members at the college. Heather said there’s a general feeling that most of the decisions are close
to or have already been made. Heather said there are questions why other post-secondary institutions have already announced cost-saving plans when RDC is still working through the details. Anne Marie Watson, who has worked in the library for 13 years, said she has been through the program cuts and job losses before but never this drastic. Watson said they knew the cuts were coming but it’s another thing to hear there will be job cuts and eliminated programs officially. “In one way we knew it but to hear it starkly said is unsettling,” said Watson. “But that’s the reality of the budget given by the Alberta government.”
Watson said she got the sense the college is doing its best and that its hands are tied. Questions were raised about the collaborative programs with other post-secondary institutions that would be affected if the university made changes. “We did get a pretty good reassurance that they have been in contact with the other intuitions and they seemed to say things will continue,” said Heather. “I think the budget isn’t going to change. They talked to the province. Everybody knows the shortfall is the shortfall.” Please see RDC on Page A2
CHUCKS ON ICE
CRIME STATISTICS
Offences down in most areas in the first quarter BY LAURA TESTER ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer criminals were less busy this winter than a year ago, according to City of Red Deer statistics released this week. The data recorded from January through March 31 showed nearly a 17 per cent drop in crimes against people, a slight decrease of 1.5 per cent in property crimes, and a nine per cent decrease in Criminal Code offences overall. The first-quarter stats are compared with the same period in 2012. “We are happy to see the number of offences decrease in most areas, with significant improvement in the number of persons crimes,” said city manager Craig Curtis in a news release. “We continue to work on the role of policing, perceptions of safety, crime prevention, and community involvement as it relates to the safety charter.” People can expect to see continued focus on these areas through 2013 and into 2014, he added. Mayor Morris Flewwelling called Red Deer a safe community. “But we can, and should, always explore ways to improve the overall health and safety of our city as identified in city council’s strategic direction.”
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Powered by the Jr. Generals AAA Spring Hockey team based out of Red Deer, World Pony Chuck Wagon Association drivers Cody McCurrach of Eckville, left, and Jerry Bremner of Westerose, steer their wagons around a track at the Red Deer Arena Tuesday night. The two champion drivers went head-to-head in a race during the first intermission of the evening game at the Canadian Men’s Senior AAA Allan Cup Hockey Championships, with McCurrach edging out Bremner for the win. Two games are played in the arena each day this week at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., with the championship game played Saturday afternoon.
Please see CRIME on Page A2
Motive for Boston Marathon bombings remains a mystery BOMBS CONSISTED OF EXPLOSIVES PACKED INSIDE PRESSURE COOKERS FILLED WITH SHARDS OF METAL, BALL BEARINGS AND NAILS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BOSTON — Federal agents zeroed in Tuesday on how the Boston Marathon bombing was carried out — with kitchen pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails and other lethal shrapnel — but said they still didn’t know who did it and why. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies repeatedly appealed to the public to come forward with photos, videos or anything suspicious they might have seen or heard. President Barack Obama branded the attack an act of terrorism but said
PLEASE RECYCLE
CANADIANS RETURN HOME A5 BOMBING VICTIMS REMEMBERED D5 officials don’t know “whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual.” Scores of victims of the Boston bombing remained in hospitals, many with grievous injuries, a day after the twin explosions near the marathon’s finish line killed three people, wounded more than 170 and reawakened fears of terrorism. A 9-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy were among 17 victims listed in critical condition.
WEATHER
INDEX
Sunny. High 5. Low -4.
Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6,C3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B6
FORECAST ON A2
Heightening jitters in Washington, where security already had been tightened after the bombing, a letter addressed to a Mississippi senator and poisoned with ricin or a similarly toxic substance was intercepted at a mail facility outside the capital, lawmakers said. There was no immediate indication the episode was related to the Boston attack. Officials found that the bombs in Boston consisted of explosives put in ordinary, 1.6-gallon (6-litre) pressure cookers, one with shards of metal and ball bearings, the other with nails, ac-
cording to a person close to the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was still going on. Both bombs were stuffed into black duffel bags and left on the ground, the person said. “The range of suspects and motives remains wide open,” Richard DesLauriers, FBI agent in charge in Boston, said at a news conference. He vowed to “go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime.”
ALBERTA
BUSINESS
GOLDRING CASE IN JUDGE’S HANDS
DRUG TESTING FIRMS REPORT PROGRESS CURBING ABUSE
A provincial court judge must decide who to believe — an Edmonton MP who claims police botched his arrest and smeared his character, or officers who say the snarky politician refused a roadside breath test. A6
Please see BOMBING on Page A2
Drug use remains a problem in many workplaces, but the statistics are moving in the right direction. B1