Red Deer 1913 — 2013 Create Celebrate Commemorate
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Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, NOV. 26, 2013
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City rolls out ‘no frills’ capital budget MAYOR SAYS PLAN IS MEASURED, BALANCED AND AFFORDABLE BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF City administration has introduced a “no frills” $104-million capital budget that Red Deer city council will debate today. City manager Craig Curtis said this year’s budget is different from the 2013 budget as the city shifts from a centennial budget focusing on amenities, quality of life and community service facilities to infrastructure needed for growth. Curtis said there are not a lot of frills in the budget, indicating that 90 per cent of it is related to development services. Mayor Tara Veer said in many ways it is a maintenance budget that looks at what the city has and laying the foundation for community vision for the future. “It does it in a way that is measured, balanced and affordable for the citizens of our community,” said Veer. Council will consider both current and multi-year capital projects and re-
Photo by MASTER CPL. FRIEDA VANPUTTEN/Canadian Forces
Capt. Samantha Wall, an electrical and mechanical engineering officer, plays the bagpipes for the Remembrance Day ceremony at Camp Phoenix in Kabul.
Springbrook soldier gets taste of life in Afghanistan BY RENÉE FRANCOEUR ADVOCATE STAFF A Springbrook woman on a training mission in Afghanistan says working with the local women is one of the most enjoyable and interesting parts of her job overseas. Capt. Samantha Wall, an electrical and mechanical engineering officer, arrived in Kabul in late June as part of the NATO team training the Afghan National Security Forces. “I work as a advisor with the ANP (Afghan National Police) and there are actually three women, ANP officers, on
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site that I get to work with — the others rarely get to interact with the Afghan women,” Wall said. “It’s been interesting to see how reserved they are when there are men in the room and then when it’s just us girls, they can be quite chatty. ... We share stories, talk about each others lives.” The ANP is about 750 strong and only three of those are women, Wall said. Wall, who just turned 25, was deployed with the 950 member contingent of Canadian troops in Operation ATTENTION, Canada’s part in the NATO training mission in Afghanistan.
view the city’s 10-year capital plan. The 88 projects in the capital budget range from a variety of small-ticket items like an off-leash downtown dog park for $34,000 to higher-cost items like a roundabout at 30th Avenue and 67th Street for $17 million. A notice of motion asking for the Central Alberta Aquatics Centre to be inked into the capital plan came before council on Nov. 18. But city administration has not recommended the item in either the capital budget or plan. Generally items are moved into the capital budget with identified funding sources. Council will consider one-time funding of $150,000 to assess the facilities in the city and to determine the aquatic needs of the community. Curtis outlined the rationale for not including a pool project. They include its estimated $90-million price tag, the impact on taxes and debt, declining revenue from the province, the potential to use Michener Centre pool and the question of whether the centre would trump other needed facilities in the community. Curtis said he applauds and supports the vision that council adopted for the Aquatics Centre either at the Recreation Centre or the Michener Centre.
Please see BUDGET on Page A2
Full parole denied chronic drunk driver BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF Full parole has been denied a habitual drunk driver who is serving a 3.5-year sentence for killing two Red Deer teenagers. April Gail Beauclair, 31, of Lacombe, was arrested and charged in the early hours of March 31, 2012, after driving her car at highway speed into the back of a vehicle that was being pushed along Hwy 11A by three young men from Red Deer. Colton Keeler, 19, died at the scene. Tyson Vanderzwaag died in hospital six days later, two days after his 18th birthday. The car’s driver, who had been pushing from the side of the car, suffered serious injuries. Beauclair was sentenced in Red Deer provincial court on Oct. 11, 2012, after pleading guilty to two counts of impaired driving causing death. She
was later granted day parole, effective June 11 of this year. In a hearing before the Parole Board of Canada on Monday, Beauclair admitted that she had become an alcoholic at an early age and driven drunk more than 50 times before the morning of the deadly crash. She said her fiancé, who was living with her in her parents’ home, was often away working and was unaware that she had been drinking and driving, or that she was regularly using marijuana as well. She told members of the parole board that she had asked him not to attend the hearing out of consideration for the surviving victims. Colton Keeler’s father, Darren Keeler, said in his statement to the board that throughout the ordeal he had never once heard Beauclair say she was sorry for what she had done.
Please see PAROLE on Page A2
Please see WALL on Page A2
INDEX Two sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . A7,A8 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .B8-B10 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B11 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . .A12 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5-B7
Conservatives fend off strong Liberal showing Conservative candidate Larry Maguire won the federal byelection in a closely watched Manitoba riding on Monday. Story on PAGE A6
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