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Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, SEPT. 10, 2013
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Stroke halts crosscountry tour
Medicinal grow-op on the move
BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by PAUL COWLEY/Advocate staff
Robert Koteles has been denied permission by the development authority to store a large shipping container on property he rents in Ponoka. He was using it for his Health Canada-approved medicinal marijuana grow-op.
STORAGE CONTAINER RUN AFOUL OF MUNICIPAL BYLAWS BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF PONOKA — Robert Koteles thought he had an ideal setup for his personal medical marijuana operation. The Health Canada-approved growop is located in a high-end 400-squarefoot storage container located in a side yard along a quiet residential street. The container was discreet, secure and airtight so there was no odour from the few dozen plants growing inside under heat lamps, he claims. However, this week Koteles will be packing up the plants he was carefully cultivating at the property he was renting and calling in a truck to remove the container to a friend’s storage yard. Koteles had to make the move after the application for his container was rejected by Ponoka’s development authority, in a decision upheld last month by the subdivision and development appeal board. Koteles says the results are a clear case of municipal regulations not keeping pace with new developments. “This is so new that nobody knows what to do,” he said, adding he was planning to move in November anyway.
He believes his planning troubles are also due to society’s lingering prejudice against marijuana, despite growing evidence of its medical benefits for some. For the 49-year-old, marijuana has been a life-changer. He has been able to drop all of the numerous medications he was taking for pain relief, shed 72 kg (160 pounds) and has never felt better. He suffers from severe arthritis pain in his upper and lower back and has been given permission to grow up to 44 marijuana plants for personal use only. The unemployed man, who once was a marital arts instructor among many other jobs, began growing his own legal marijuana in Red Deer in 2011. But an earlier effort left him with health problems caused by mould. He moved to Ponoka last fall and the insulated, temperature-controlled container, which replaced a smaller unit he had on site for seven months, seemed to be the answer. “This is the only safe and productive way I can grow this stuff,” he said, adding insurance issues prevent growing inside homes. Betty Jurykoski, a town planning and development officer, said the is-
sue for the municipality was clear: sea cans or similar containers are not suitable for residential areas. So Koteles’ application was rejected. Jurykoski also said the container was put in place without approval and only came to the town’s attention after it was in place for months. That the container was used as a medical marijuana grow op is besides the point. The development authority and the appeal board would have made the same decision if the container was used to store furniture. “We were at no point concerned with the medicinal grow because that is governed by a higher authority than us. We don’t govern that, that’s Health Canada,” said Jurykoski. “They have given him a licence to operate a medicinal grow-op. He failed to get the proper municipal approvals to have the structure there.” Jurykoski sympathizes with Koteles and his efforts to find medical relief, but planning decisions must be made on what is best for the community. Allowing one container opens the door to other residents asking for their own yard storage units.
Please see MARIJUANA on Page A2
Plans to finish a 6,400-km trek across Canada have been put on hold after Brandon Harrison suffered a brain aneurysm that caused a massive stroke. Harrison, from Calgary, and his father Michael Floyd started the cross-Canada longboard ride Long for Life in St. John’s, Nfld., on May 14. On Saturday, Day 115, they were in Red Deer when Harrison Brandon Harrison had to get off his board. “We were on our cruise, hanging out at this one location and he just sat down and called me over a couple of minutes later,” said Floyd. “He could tell, he said ‘I can’t move my arm or my leg.’ It started to progress and it got pretty bad.” An ambulance arrived quickly and Harrison was taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. “They assessed him there and shipped him off to Calgary very quickly for the emergency,” said Floyd. Floyd has been back and forth between Red Deer and Calgary ever since. Harrison has been unconscious since the incident and is in serious condition. Floyd said his son has been intubated the entire time and not breathing on his own. “It deteriorated to the point where they put him right under,” said Floyd. This wasn’t Harrison’s first stroke. He had one when he was 15 when AV malformations, purposeless blood vessels, in his brain burst.
Please see STROKE on Page A2
Bamford back to the grindstone after big night BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF Gord Bamford won’t get much chance to rest on his laurels after winning five Canadian Country Music Association Awards on the weekend. While the Lacombe-based singer was still excited about his wins on Monday, saying “it’s an awesome feeling,” Bamford admitted it will be back to the grindstone soon enough. “You’re always judged on what you’ve done recently,” he said, “so while it was a great night last night, it’s over now, and it’s back to work on putting out a great record.” The singer who won Single, Video, Album, Songwriter and Producer of the Year accolades for his last album Is It Friday Yet? has a new release, Country Junkie, coming out on Oct. 8. He also has a new single going to radio, When Your Lips are So Close, which
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is described as an up-tempo romantic song. Once his new album is released, Bamford will be off on a cross-country tour with Reba McEntire. Unfortunately, it will not stop in Alberta because the two performers already played together during Edmonton’s K-Days this summer. “We played a couple of shows with her and then she invited us on the rest of her Canadian tour. She’s a great lady and it’s a real honour,” said Bamford. While the fall and winter promise to be a whirlwind, the Central Alberta singer is enjoying the present calm, saying “I’m just planning to go home to be with my family and try to do the best I can so I can hopefully be back (at the CCMAs) next year.” Bamford’s five awards out of seven CCMA nominations at Sunday’s award ceremony in Edmonton beat the four awards he won in 2010.
Please see BAMFORD on Page A2
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Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Gord Bamford performs during the Canadian Country Music Awards in Edmonton, on Sunday.
U.S. to consider weapons proposal Syria swiftly welcomed a suggestion Monday to turn over all of its chemical weapons for destruction. Story on PAGE B12
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