Red Deer 1913 — 2013 Create Celebrate Commemorate
SPACE RACE
NHL Leafs stay alive in playoffs B1
Next Canadian to go to Space Station after Chris Hadfield will have to wait A5
CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013
Flames force evacuations WILDFIRES THREATEN RESIDENTS AT NORDEGG, LODGEPOLE BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Nordegg residents were evacuated to Rocky Mountain House as a wildfire continued to edge closer to the hamlet in west Central Alberta. Clearwater County declared a local state of emergency and issued a mandatory evacuation around 6 p.m. on Sunday. The residents had been on a one-hour evacuation alert since May 9. An estimated 150 residents were evacuated to a curling rink in Rocky Mountain House. The wildfire has burned through roughly 272 acres of land, southwest of the Nordegg townsite since last week. An Alberta Sustainable Resource Development spokesperson said crews had the fire contained, but he said officials were poised to issue an evacuation order if the blaze had broken through any one of those containment points. More than 150 firefighters, various heavy equipment, six helicopters and air tankers continue to fight the fire. The wildfire is currently burning within about two kilometres of the nearest home. Another wildfire northwest of Nordegg forced the evacuation of residents in Lodgepole to Drayton Valley, about 50 kilometres away around the same time.
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Crews at the scene of a wildfire near Nordegg, on Sunday. The wildfire has burned through roughly 272 acres of land, southwest of the Nordegg townsite since last week.
Please see FIRES on Page A2
MICHENER CENTRE
Fight to keep centre open ‘far from over’ SUPPORTERS HOPE TO STOP OR SLOW DOWN CLOSURE BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
One-handed pro-motocross racer Devin Rochon of Calgary makes his way around the Alix Xtreme Raceway track during a practice session this week.
A firm grip on success MOTOCROSS RACER EXCELS DESPITE HAVING JUST ONE HAND
— DEVIN ROCHON
BY MYLES FISH ADVOCATE STAFF Devin Rochon puts on his pants just like everybody else, if a bit slower. He speaks of his goals and passions as one might expect to. And he puts on his racing gloves just like everyone else would, if ‘everyone else’ felt the desire to hop onto a supercharged bike and race around a dirt track, flying
PLEASE RECYCLE
‘I WAS BORN THIS WAY, I DON’T REALLY KNOW ANY DIFFERENT. SO IT’S KIND OF A BLESSING IN DISGUISE, I GUESS. I NEVER REALLY HAD TO ADAPT, IT WAS ALWAYS FIRST NATURE TO ME.’ around corners at high speed and tackling jumps with abandon. The difference, though, is that when he slides on one of those gloves, there is nothing to fit into the finger holes. Because it is all he has ever known, Rochon speaks of his disability without lamentation. “I was born this way, I don’t really know any different. So it’s kind of a blessing in disguise, I
guess. I never really had to adapt, it was always first nature to me,” he says. The 23-year-old Calgarian was born into a rodeo family. The fact that he has little below the elbow on his right arm did not stop him from getting involved in the family passion, becoming a team roper and bull rider.
Please see RIDER on Page A2
WEATHER
INDEX
Sunny. High 21, low 8.
Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B6
FORECAST ON A2
The fight to keep Michener Centre open is far from over. The Society of Parents and Friends of Michener Services hope the brakes will be put on Michener Centre’s closure at the end of a May 24 meeting with Frank Oberle, the associate minister of Services for Persons with Disabilities. Bill Lough, Society president, said they hope to table a stay of action or a moratorium at the meeting with the minister. Lough said there’s so many things happening outside the world of persons with developmental disabilities (PDD) with the cuts to programs and he doesn’t think the government is prepared to take on another 125 individuals. “We want things pulled back,” said Lough. “That’s what the province of Saskatchewan did. They are taking four years.” The province announced in March that the longserving residential dwellings for people with development disabilities will close and that its 125 residents will be relocated starting in September with a goal to have the residents moved by January 2014. The province has been consulting with families in each case. Seventy-five of Michener Centre’s 125 residents will be moved to group homes, and 50 medically fragile residents will be moved to seniors care facilities. About 110 residents are already living in Michener Hill group homes. Yet in 2008, the province told residents they could remain at Michener until they died. On Saturday about 150 guardians, family members, Michener staffers and supporters attended a meeting to regroup.
Please see MICHENER on Page A2
BUSINESS
LOCAL
BIOFUEL PROJECT
CRIME PREVENTION WEEK
The federal government, an oil giant and a biofuels company are teaming up to build a $19-million plant in northern Alberta that will use carbon dioxide emissions from the oilsands to help turn algae into products such as fuel, fertilizer and livestock feed. C3
Curbing crime in your neighbourhood starts with a simple “hello.” C1