Red Deer 1913 — 2013 Create Celebrate Commemorate
PENS BEAT SENS
JOLIE’S COURAGEOUS BATTLE
NHL playoffs B4
Reveals double mastectomy C7
CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013
ARMED STANDOFF ENDS PEACEFULLY
Taking the bite out of mosquitoes RED DEER LAUNCHES BIOLOGICAL CONTROL; MOST OTHER AREA COMMUNITIES SIMPLY ASK CITIZENS TO COVER UP Photo by SUSAN ZIELINKSI/Advocate staff
Several people were taken into custody following an armed robbery in the Pines and a standoff with police at a Highland Green residence on Tuesday morning. The alleged armed robbery with a firearm occurred outside an apartment building on Parke Avenue at around 2 a.m. See full story on Page A2.
B.C. Liberals defy polls, win majority BY THE CANADIAN PRESS The B.C. Liberals will form a majority government, a stunning result that has defied months of polling which had the party as many as 18 percentage points behind the NDP before the campaign started. Premier Christy Clark’s Liberals were earlier projected to remain in power, re-electing incumbents and even stealing a few from the NDP in areas they were never expected to win. At NDP headquarters, exhausted campaign workers who had been floating through leader Adrian Dix’s stump speeches for a month bouyed by certainty of a win, collapsed in tears. The election also brought in Canada’s first Green party member to be elected to a provincial legislature. Climate scientist Andrew Weaver defeated Liberal cabinet minister Ida Chong in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, near Victoria. The Liberals jumped into the lead in early returns
Liberal Leader Christy Clark
NDP Leader Adrian Dix
and never fell behind the Opposition New Democrats. Their victories included both Kamloops-area ridings that have long been considered bellwethers in provincial elections for a century. Longtime Liberals were privately as shocked as pundits and, likely, pollsters. But publicly, those close to the campaign said they knew it all along. Former Tory cabinet minister Stockwell Day said the election results show what the campaign team was seeing on the ground around the province. “We were seeing wherever the premier went, people felt confidence,” he said.
Please see ELECTION on Page A2
Central Albertans face mail delays BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF Central Albertans could face delays in mail delivery as the result of Canada Post changes, says the union representing postal workers. Canada Post has decided to centralize mail sorting as a result of declining usage. The post office plans to change its mail processing strategy by sending all mail to larger municipalities such as Edmonton or Calgary. Gord Fischer, Canadian Union of Postal Workers national director, said this move could mean serious delays in mail delivery and could reduce employment in smaller communities, like those in Central Alberta. But Canada Post spokesman John Caines said the decision to change operations is a reaction to the changing nature of the business, specifically that so many fewer letters are being sent. “There are a billion fewer letters than there
PLEASE RECYCLE
was in 2006,” said Caines. “And 30 per cent of that decline was in 2012. We have to look at better ways to make our system viable.” What Canada Post has done is called de-twinning. Typically, a Canada Post mail drop area has two boxes, one for local mail and the other for out of town mail. Caines said only 10 to 20 per cent of all mail processed is local. “These trucks are going in and out of these communities every day anyway,” said Caines. “We can take that mail, all of it instead of just some of it, into the larger centres where we have the capacity as well as high-speed sorting machines.” That mail can be sorted at about 35,000 pieces per hour and Caines said the truck returns the next day on its regular route back into the community. He said there should be no impact on how long it takes for a letter to be delivered, even in rural areas.
Please see MAIL on Page A2
WEATHER
INDEX
Clearing. High 19, low 6.
Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D6 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C7 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B7
FORECAST ON A2
BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF Spring, so far, has been virtually mosquito-free. But with some rain in the forecast, Red Deer City workers are hoping their biological mosquito control program will pay off in reducing larvae and keeping the adult bloodsuckers in check. “It’s always weather dependent. All it takes is a little rain and heat” to create a mosquito plague, said Dave Matthews, parks planning and technical services supervisor for the City of Red Deer. Parks staff had a later than usual start to their annual effort to spread the microbial pesticide Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis isrealensis) in ditches, wetlands and other spots where mosquito larvae hatch, as ponds were ice-covered well into April. Otherwise, everything — including larval numbers — looks pretty typical, said Matthews. He can’t predict what kind of mosquito season lies ahead, but believes that unless we have an unseasonably wet summer, Red Deer should see a significant reduction in the mosquito population, thanks to the environmentally friendly control program that’s been used in the city for the last 20 years. Bti is a bacterial formula that specifically targets the pesky insects’ larvae, leaving other aquatic organisms and wildlife unaffected. Lacombe and most other Central Albertan communities do not use this or any other form of mosquito control. Considering the number of large water bodies surrounding Lacombe, a program would be cost-prohibitive and likely ineffective, said the city’s communications co-ordinator Daven Kumar. Instead, the City of Lacombe has launched a public awareness campaign encouraging residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites and the potentially deadly West Nile virus. Central Albertans are being told to cover up whenever possible with long sleeves and pants in light colours and to use an effective mosquito repellent with DEET. Traps around Red Deer have caught a very low number of mosquitoes that can carry the virus, which is contracted from birds the mosquitoes feeds on before passing it to humans. “For hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes, there were only one or two of the kind of species that can carry it,” said Matthews. But despite this low risk, he added area residents shouldn’t take the West Nile virus for granted because of the potential severity of the illness. The affects can range from no symptoms to causing disability and death. Matthews said the more aggressive biting mosquitoes are now known to breed primarily in larger water bodies. This takes some burden from homeowners, who were once told to prevent standing water in birdbaths and rain barrels. These are no longer thought to contribute significantly to the problem. lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
‘All it takes is a little rain and heat to create a mosquito plague.’
ALBERTA
CANADA
ADDICTS SUPPLY HALF OF GAMING REVENUE
ALBERTA MLAS WORK THROUGH NIGHT
A new study suggests nearly half of Alberta’s gambling revenue comes from gambling addicts and researchers say that’s “problematic.” A3
Alberta politicians pulled an all-nighter in the house early Tuesday morning, with opposition members saying Premier Alison Redford’s government is running for the exits. A6