Red Deer Advocate, May 01, 2013

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Red Deer 1913 3 — 2013 Create Celebrate C Commemorate orate

THE QUEST BEGINS

MICHENER RALLY About 200 people march to protest the closure of Michener Centre

NHL playoffs underway with matchups in Chicago, St. Louis and Anaheim PAGE B4

PAGE A2

CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER

BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Guilty plea in golf club fraud BY ADVOCATE STAFF A woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday in connection with a major fraud at the Red Deer Golf and Country Club. Bonnie Howell, 66, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud over $5,000 in Red Deer provincial court. Howell was the bookkeeper at the club where it’s alleged that between January 2007 and December 2011, she mismanaged money in excess of $900,000 from the golf club. An investigation was launched after a member

of the Golf and Country Club alerted police after shareholders were advised by club management of the losses. News first surfaced of problems at the golf course in early 2011, in a letter dated Jan. 6 and mailed to members with the club’s annual report. Further investigation revealed misappropriation of funds in 2009 as well, and it was alleged the incidents of fraud went back as far as 2007. In notes to the 2010 financial statements, the golf club’s annual report stated losses of $425,200 in 2010, $315,005 in 2009, $153,330 in 2008 and $23,500 in 2007, for a total of $917,035 over four years.

MOCK DISASTER, REAL TRAINING

The employee was subsequently dismissed. A legal agreement was struck, enabling the club to recover $225,000. Howell was represented by defence lawyer Brad Mulder on Tuesday. Mulder said that he and the Crown had an agreed statement of facts. Those were not read in court. Howell will be sentenced on Sept. 6. Upon hearing of Howell’s guilty plea, Don McFarlane, general manager for the Red Deer Golf and Country Club, said, “We’re pleased that things are moving forward but we don’t know really enough to comment.”

Province announces new school for Blackfalds BY MYLES FISH ADVOCATE STAFF

mand Centre. The deal also guarantees there will be no retribution for individual workers who have been involved with the strike. The end of the strike comes after a Court of Queen’s Bench justice fined the union $100,000 Monday night, a penalty that increased to $350,000 at noon Tuesday. The union had been told that fine would jump to $500,000 on Wednesday and climb by half a million dollars each day after that. The strike began last Friday when two workers voiced their concerns about safety at the new remand facility, which took in its first batch of 800 inmates earlier this month. Their colleagues set up a picket line and refused to report for work, saying the workers had been disciplined unfairly. Their anger quickly spread, with staff at other remand centres defiantly joining the movement. By Monday, they were joined by provincial sheriffs, who provide security at courthouses, and other court staff.

A new school is on its way for fast-growing Blackfalds. An elementary school for the town was one of five new school construction projects for Central and Southern Alberta announced on Tuesday by the province. The government committed in its March budget to build 50 new schools and modernize a further 70 over the next three years. A new school for Blackfalds was the ‘We already No. 1 priority for Wolf recognize Creek Public Schools in its 2013-15 capital that given the plan set out last year. Division superinten- population increase dent Larry Jacobs said in the Blackfalds school space is badly needed in the commu- area that that’s not nity. “Right now we’ve going to be a big got two portables comenough school.‘ ing in to put on the current elementary school and we recognize even with two portables on that building, we’re going to have to utilize space in new and creative ways to put the number of students in there that we have,” he explained. Details about what the school will look like and its cost will be worked out in the coming weeks and months. In its capital plan, the division identified as its priority a 300-student kindergarten to Grade 6 school — with a 500-student core capacity — with an estimated project budget of nearly $10.4 million. The core capacity of a school refers to its ultimate handling capability, based on the addition of modules to the initial structure. “We already recognize that given the population increase in the Blackfalds area that that’s not going to be a big enough school. We know right now that’s it’s going to need modulars on it probably just about the day that it opens,” said Jacobs. The new elementary school is expected to be completed in 2016. Jacobs said the government’s rationale tends to be not to build schools based on future projected populations in case growth does not pan out. Blackfalds has two schools — Iron Ridge Elementary Campus, built in 1949, and Iron Ridge Junior Campus, built in 2004. The kindergarten to Grade 4 elementary school has an enrolment of 445 students; the Grades 5 to 9 middle school has 325 students. The 2012 municipal census found there were 799 children under the age of five in Blackfalds. The town’s population has grown by about 2,000 people over the last five years. The 2012 census revealed a population of 6,767 in Blackfalds. Jacobs said with the new elementary school, the junior high could become a Grades 7 to 9 facility. The division’s capital plan also called for a $6.7-million modernization of Iron Ridge Elementary, and a campaign is on to get the community its own high school. Older students are bused to Lacombe or Red Deer at present. Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools also is looking towards a school in Blackfalds.

Please see STRIKE on Page A2

Please see SCHOOLS on Page A2

Photo by RANDY FIEDLER/Advocate staff

Red Deer Emergency Services fire-medics aided by Red Deer County volunteer firefighters treat two patients in a mock disaster at the Collicutt Centre Tuesday. Story on Page C1.

Jail guards end strike UNION ANNOUNCES DEAL TO GET WORKERS BACK BY THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON — A massive illegal strike of jail guards that was sparked by the suspension of two workers and spread to correctional facilities across Alberta came to an end Tuesday night. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees announced in a news release it had struck a deal with the provincial government to get workers back on the job by Wednesday morning. “Over the last five days, Albertans and Canadians have been made explicitly aware of the health and safety concerns of front-line correctional peace officers,” said union president Guy Smith. “These officers do a demanding job, in a challenging environment and do so proudly. These officers need to know when they are on duty that their health and safety is protected and that the concerns they raise will be addressed seriously.” Smith said the agreement specifies the government will hold an occupational health and safety review to investigate concerns that have been raised about the new $580-million Edmonton Re-

PLEASE RECYCLE

WEATHER

INDEX

Sunny. High10, low -2.

Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D5 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B8

FORECAST ON A2

ALBERTA

CANADA

CANCER SERVICES STREAMLINED

ANTI-TERROR FUNDS POORLY ACCOUNTED

The Alberta government is realigning all cancer care under one umbrella agency to improve research and frontline help for patients. A3

The federal auditor general says he’s been unable to properly track as much as $3.1 billion in funding set aside to combat terrorism. A5


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