Red Deer 1913 — 2013 Create Celebrate Commemorate
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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2013
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WESTERNER DAYS 2013
‘Quite a spectacle’ planned BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF From musicians to lumberjacks, magicians to exotic animals, a wild assortment of attractions are booked for this summer’s Westerner Days Fair and Exposition. “We’re going to deliver a celebration experience . . . and it’ll be quite a spectacle,” predicted John Harms, the Westerner Park’s CEO and general manager. One of Canada’s brightest country stars, singer Dean Brody, will perform on the Centrium stage on July 20. Funky hip hop group Down with Webster will rap for a young crowd on Friday, July 19, while comedian Brent Butt goes for chuckles on Wednesday, July 17. And best-selling 1980s pop group Glass Tiger will play its hits on Thursday, July 18. (Only Brody’s concert requires a $20 ticket, on top of fair admission and parking. The rest are free with admission.) Central Alberta’s largest summer celebration runs July 17-21 on the Westerner Park grounds, and organizers are planning for a higher attendance than ever. For the first time in Westerner Days’ history, 125 underprivileged regional families will be able to attend the fair, thanks to sponsor Conoco Phillips, who will be working with the Central Alberta Family Services Bureau to help selected parents and kids who otherwise would not be able to attend. Eligible families must live between Rocky, Ponoka, Bowden and Delburne. “It’s amazing that Conoco Phillips has launched this (We All Play initiative) to try to do something for families that are less fortunate,” said Kent Olson, board president. “This will help create memories and provide some sunshine for what otherwise might be a very cloudy day” for some kids, predicted Valdene Callin, of Family Services of Central Alberta. Last year, 102,665 people came to Westerner Days. Of those, 42 per cent were from outside the Red Deer area. This summer’s economic spin-off from the fair is estimated to be $7.3 million. Of that, some $5 million is expected to be spent by visitors and exhibitors primarily on food and hotel services, retail and vehicle-related expenses.
Please see FAIR on Page A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
After having survived brain cancer five years ago, Danny Barnes took on another challenge recently. Participating in a fundraiser at his school, Barnes raised $5,200 and had his head shaved along with 28 other students and one staff member at St. Francis of Assisi Middle School in Red Deer. Donations from the other students and faculty brought the total up to over $20,500 in this the third year of the schools head shave campaign for the Canadian Cancer Society.
City council approves first reading to rezone site for affordable housing BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF The Red Deer Native Friendship Society is one step closer to realizing its dream of having an aboriginal cultural and affordable housing centre in the city. Applause erupted in the nearly-packed council chambers when Red Deer city council gave unanimous approval to first reading to rezone land at 4615 Riverside Drive on Monday. Lisa Perkins, director of corporate transformation, told city council more than 20 sites were reviewed throughout the city since the task force was formed last November. But in the end the committee made up of city representatives and Red Deer Native Friendship Society members unanimously approved the site east of Lions Park. Perkins said the site met all the criteria including proximity and access to water and appropriate outdoor space for cultural programming such as gar-
NATIVE FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY CITY TO LOBBY AGAINST TRANSFER OF AMBULANCE DISPATCH SERVICE A2 dening and cultural events, accessible location and visibility. Since the proposed site went public last week, council has received some response supporting and opposing the site. Coun. Lynne Mulder urged the public to trust the extensive research that has been done by the task force in selecting a site. There were concerns over loss of park space, flooding, impact on Lions Campground, surrounding trails and local businesses. Council heard the park system will still be fully accessible and the recently named Asooahum Centre will be an enhancement to the Riverside area and the entire park system.
Please see CENTRE on Page A2
Vandals go on fence-cutting spree at GuZoo BY MYLES FISH ADVOCATE STAFF At an antique sale on Saturday, someone remarked to Lynn Gustafson that they hadn’t seen him in the news lately, a fact Gustafson said he was pretty happy with. A few hours later, something happened that would change that fact, and the happiness. Coyotes were on the loose and a buffalo, emu, and sheep were strange bedfellows Sunday after someone went on a fence-cutting spree at GuZoo during the night. Gustafson and his family, who own the popular, if controversial, roadside attraction near Three Hills woke Sunday to find donkeys out of their enclosures.
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Upon investigation, they found 11 cuts in various enclosures at the rural zoo, cuts that also allowed coyotes to run free and left animals big and small in the same spaces. Owners were able to corral one of the escaped coyotes soon after. Another, said Gustafson, was located nearly one kilometre from the facility “going cross country” and was shot. One large initial cut was made in a perimeter fence at the 80-acre zoo, through which the animals eventually escaped. Gustafson said the perpetrator knew to do the vandalism on the property’s south side where there are no surveillance cameras. The zoo has its enemies, and was nearly forced to close two years ago following an investigation that discovered a number of safety issues, health risks
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30% showers. High 19. Low 10.
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FORECAST ON A2
and general poor record keeping. It is once again operating with a full zoo permit after a judicial review into the decommissioning of the zoo was dropped. Gustafson said the “idiots” who vandalized the fences follow a group he says is “almost like a cult,” the Council of Concerned Albertans for Animal Welfare and Public Safety (CCAAWPS). “We don’t know who did it, but we blame it on a group because they instigate it. They put all this crap out there and then somebody figures they should be on the bandwagon. “Directly or indirectly, they (the CCAAWPS) pretty near have to accept responsibility because they’ve stirred up the problems,” said Gustafson.
Please see GUZOO on Page A2
CANADA
LOCAL
TORIES FIGHT BACK ON SENATE SCANDAL
CLUB HELPS WITH CONFIDENCE
Opposition politicians have been hammering away at the Senate expenses scandal during question period, but the government is getting in some jabs of its own. A6
The majority of youth participating in the Boys and Girls Club of Red Deer and District are feeling more confident as the result of participating in the program’s activities. C1