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Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, DEC. 12, 2013
www.reddeeradvocate.com
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Canada Post phasing out home delivery BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF
Contributed photo
The Altvater family from Coaldale, Ab. were travelling in their minivan on Sunday, Dec. 1, near Fernie, B.C. when their vehicle skidded off Hwy 3 and into a branch of the Elk River.
Couple key to dramatic rescue BY TAMARA HYND THE FERNIE FREE PRESS FERNIE, B.C. — A casual glance in the rearview mirror led a young Fernie couple rushing to help Richard Altvater save his family. On Dec. 1, the couple (boyfriend and girlfriend) were driving home from Kimberley on Hwy 3 in southeastern B.C. The roads were slushy with two tire tracks and a berm in the middle of the road so they were driving below the speed limit at 85 km/h. They were the only ones on the road until the girlfriend noticed a minivan travelling behind them in the rearview mirror. She glanced in her rearview mirror again in time to see the van launch off to the right of the highway and begin to lift as if it was about to flip. At 1:54 p.m. the boyfriend called Emergency Medical Services (EMS) before they had even turned their car around. They had no idea what they would find when they arrived at the accident scene. EMS had the boyfriend relay the accident location, while the couple followed the tire tracks in the snow. They found the vehicle upside down in a beaver pond eight km west of Fernie; it had broken through the ice and the engine was off. At that point it was all reaction for the couple, who did not want to be identified. They both have Occupational First Aid Level 3. The boyfriend tossed the phone at his girlfriend and he ran down the bank breaking through the ice into waist deep water. He fought his way to the van, going to the passenger side first as it was higher out of the water and seemed the best chance to enter. The girlfriend started flagging down traffic passing by on the highway. A mother and daughter stopped, so the girlfriend gave them the phone to continue relaying information to EMS. Then she made her way to the van too. The boyfriend went to the front passenger door first but it wouldn’t open. The door handle was submerged in the black and murky water. He tried the passenger sliding door and it opened all the way. The van was full of water except for a six-inch air pocket at the top.
Please see RESCUE on Page A2
WEATHER Snow. High -18. Low -19.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C4-C6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B6
Residents and businesses will see a great change to their postal service, with increased costs and the elimination of door-to-door delivery. But postal workers are also on edge after the an- RAITT DEFENDS CANADA nouncement of the elimi- POST MOVE A6 nation of 6,000 to 8,000 positions over the next five years, through attrition. Rose Johnson, Canadian Union of Postal Workers local 818 president, said the changes will mean the loss of some decent jobs. “Canada Post put out a survey not too long ago about the door-to-door service and their numbers show most people still want the door-to-door,” said Johnson. Almost half of the door-to-door delivery in Red Deer occurs in the T4N postal code, which is the downtown core and the immediate surrounding area. The vast majority of newer developments rely on community boxes, which will become the new normal under the proposed changes. Already across the country two-thirds of Canadian households receive their mail from community boxes, rural curbside mailboxes or lobby mailboxes, with the remaining one third about to lose their door-to-door delivery. Door-to-door delivery will be phased out over the next five years. In its stead, community mailboxes will be used, which Johnson said pose different problems. Litter and, in the winter months, snow removal being obstacles to community mailboxes. “It’s usually the flyers people don’t want some shove it back into the outgoing mailbox, others just throw it on the ground and leave it,” said Johnson. “Snow clearance right now is a really big problem.” Ron Rose, the Central Alberta representative of the Alberta council on aging, said the changes may be hard on seniors, especially during winter. “I see that as being a problem,” said Rose. “It might not be convenient for some seniors who can’t get out of their house at this time of year, to walk to the corner to get the mail.” Johnson added that people with disabilities who may rely on the door-to-door service may also be affected. Canada Post said the moves will save about $900 million per year. In the third quarter of this year, Canada Post reported a pre-tax loss of $109 million.
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
A mail carrier walks in Ottawa, Wednesday, Dec.11, 2013. Canada Post is saying goodbye to the doorto-door postal carrier as it looks for new ways turn around its money-losing business.
Please see MAIL on Page A2
RDC president gets pay hike five-per-cent salary increases each year upon the president meeting a set of executive limitations and accountability metrics. Ward’s 2012-13 salary had been $281,091. At its October meeting, the board extended Ward’s contract through to 2019, meaning he stands to top out on the pay scale at $351,716 as early as 2017. The board examined over 70 executive limitations in regard to Ward’s job, ranging from treatment of staff to the college’s public image and the ethicality of research. Board chair Shelley Ralston said Ward’s meeting of those requirements while having to do with fewer resources showed strong leadership that is “absolutely critical.” She cited things like the opening of the Donald School of Business and the acquisition of the City Centre Stage as an example of the college progressing despite having less money to play with.
BY MYLES FISH ADVOCATE STAFF In a year when Red Deer College had to do with $5 million less in provincial funding — a shortfall that led to 32 job cuts and program suspensions — the institution’s president is being rewarded for steering the ship through the hard times. The college’s board of governors voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to move Ward up a step on its 10-rung pay scale, making his new salary $295,146, retroactive to Joel Ward Sept. 1, 2013. The wage scale, adopted in 2011, allows for
Please see WARD on Page A3
Sign-language interpreter an imposter Deaf people questioned on Wednesday how an unidentified man managed to crash Nelson Mandela’s tribute.
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