A2 RED DEER ADVOCATE Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013
Politician cyberbullied
K-9 UNIT ON PATROL
TOPLESS IMAGE FROM TV SHOW POSTED ONLINE BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
An RCMP K-9 unit searches a neighbourhood in north Red Deer Friday afternoon. Several RCMP members and at least two dog teams were combing the Mustang Acres mobile home park after an incident earlier in the day. Police had not released any information by press time.
Cold case ID provides closure for sister BY THE CANADIAN PRESS KAMLOOPS, B.C. — For 38 years, Judy Samson endured heartbreak, frustration and uncertainty around the disappearance of her brother. She never stopped looking, even when she was on vacation in Hawaii and went to the police department to see if Sandy had returned to the state. RCMP in Kamloops, B.C., broke the news to her last week that the body of 22-year-old Alexander “Sandy” Gammie had been found in Vancouver in 1975 — the same year he went missing. Samson had reported him missing in Kamloops, but the link wasn’t made until decades later when a Vancouver police officer assigned to historical files made a possible connection. A special unit within the B.C. Coroners Office took over the case and, with Gammie’s dental records, a match was made. “I kind of hoped we’d find him alive,” Samson said, adding she was shocked when RCMP informed her of the link. Sandy, as the family called him, was an avid bridge player and had travelled to Mexico and several American states, including Hawaii, Samson said. He was really her half-brother and was born more
LOCAL
BRIEFS Drunk driver continues with day parole A Lacombe woman sent to prison for the death of two Red Deer teenagers will continue with day parole for the next six months. Earlier this month the Parole Board of Canada decided April Gail Beauclair, 31, could continue day parole, which was set to expire on Dec. 12. Beauclair is serving a 3.5-year sentence after driving her car in the early hours of March 31, 2012, 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 pleaded guilty to two counts of impaired driving causing death and was granted day
LOTTERIES
FRIDAY Lotto Max: 6, 16, 24, 32, 36, 45, 47, Bonus 25
than a decade after her and her older brother. His mother had passed away a few years before Gammie disappeared and he lived alone at the opposite end of the street from Samson. She reported him missing to the RCMP in May 1975, and while there wasn’t much interest from police, she was tenacious. She later hired two private investigators, and when she and her brother went on separate vacations to Hawaii, they stopped in to the Honolulu Police Department to see if they had any interaction with Gammie. “It was not fun, I can tell you, over the years,” she said. “It happens over a long time, you don’t think that much about it, but you look back and you think, ’Gee, I’ve wasted all that time doing this work and trying to figure out.”’ “I even went to a psychic to see if he could help me. That didn’t help me, but I was willing to try anything when he first disappeared.” Samson, now 71, said she had no idea that police departments didn’t communicate with one another about missing people, and if it weren’t for the coroner’s Identification and Disaster Response Unit, she still may never have known what happened. parole in June and was allowed to move into an Edmonton halfway house. Last month she was denied full parole. Special conditions imposed on Beauclair for day parole include abstaining from alcohol and nonprescription drugs, staying out of premises where alcoholic beverages are the primary commodities, taking part in counselling and psychiatric treatment, taking medication as prescribed, and having no contact with the victims of her offence. Her driver’s licence was suspended for five years following her release from prison. Beauclair is eligible for statutory release on Feb. 10, 2015. Her sentence expires on April 10, 2015.
Five people charged in drug bust Five individuals have been charged after Red Deer RCMP executed two recent search warrants. Police say “significant” amounts of crack cocaine, powder cocaine and methampetamine were found as a result of the warrants, which took place at a residence on Reichley Street as well as an apartment unit on Ironstrone Drive. A substantial amount of cash, which RCMP allege was directly related to the sale of illegal drugs, was
Western Max: 1, 5, 27, 30, 36, 38, 42, Bonus 10 Extra: 6037062
HALIFAX — A member of the Nova Scotia legislature says she was cyberbullied by a group of people over the past two weeks after someone posted a topless photo of her online. Lenore Zann said Friday the photo was taken from an episode in the cable TV series The L Word, in which she played a small part in a prison shower scene in 2008. When the photo was tweeted to her on Nov. 29, she asked the sender to remove the image, which she said included a message that said, “What happened to the old Lenore?” But the sender refused, and the online conversation soon included others who retweeted the image and hurled insults at her, Zann said. “I never signed on for having that image used for another purpose,” she said. “I signed a contract . . . for my image only to be used in The L Word show. It’s not just the image of the picture that was disturbing. It was the way that these people . . . suddenly targeted me. It increased in velocity and intent. It was constant and it was harassing.” The NDP politician from the Truro area said she later complained to the sender’s parents, the local school board, Truro police and Nova Scotia’s new cyberbullying investigation unit, known as CyberScan. Truro police Chief David McNeil said an investigation last week determined the case was not a criminal matter. “Since then, our file has been concluded,” he said. A spokesman for Nova Scotia’s Justice Department said the CyberScan unit does not discuss details of individual cases, but Zann said she was told the five-member unit is still looking into the matter. The unit was set up earlier this year when Nova Scotia introduced the Cyber-safety Act, which the province describes as the first law in Canada aimed at protecting the victims of cyberbullying and making those responsible accountable under the law. The act defines cyberbullying as any electronic communication “that is intended or ought reasonably be expected to cause fear, intimidation, humiliation, distress or other damage or harm to another person’s health, emotional well-being, self-esteem or reputation.” The CBC reported that Nic Scissons, a 17-yearold high school student from Truro, said he sent the tweet, thought it was nothing more than a joke and the issue was blown out of proportion. However, Zann insisted that subsequent tweets from Scissons and others were filled with nasty taunts and vulgar insults. “It was becoming more and more like a pack mentality,” she said. “They were attacking me.” Zann said the image was eventually deleted. also discovered. The five individuals have been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking in cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking in methamphetamine, and proceeds of crime over $5,000. They will appear in Red Deer provincial court on Monday.
Red Deer man who fell asleep at the wheel jailed for fatal collision A Red Deer man who fell asleep at the wheel and caused a fatal accident on Hwy 63 has been sentenced to two years in prison. Gordon Lepore, 56, will also be prohibited from driving for 30 months following his release. He was sentenced in Edmonton on Friday. Lepore was convicted by Edmonton Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas in July of dangerous driving causing death for the collision that killed Maria Amor Aquino, 28, of Fort McMurray. During Lepore’s trial, several witnesses testified that they saw his northbound company truck drifting back and forth across Hwy 63 a number of times before the fatal head-on collision on May 3, 2011. Aquino was on her way to Calgary when she was killed.
Pick 3: 947 Numbers are unofficial.
WEATHER LOCAL TODAY
TONIGHT
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
HIGH -3
LOW 1
HIGH 3
HIGH -3
HIGH -1
30% chance of flurries.
30% chance of flurries.
A mix of sun and cloud.
Sunny. Low -14.
Cloudy. Low -13.
REGIONAL OUTLOOK
Olds, Sundre: today, sun and cloud. High 3. Low -4. Rocky, Nordegg: today, chance of flurries. High 0. Low -3. Banff: today, chance of flurries. High 1. Low -2. Jasper: today, flurries. High 2. Low 1.
2014 Chevrolet Crew Cab 1500 1 LT 4WD 4.3L
TONIGHT’S HIGHS/LOWS
Lethbridge: today, mainly cloudy. High 6. Low 2. FORT MCMURRAY
Edmonton: today, chance of freezing rain or snow. High -1. Low -1. Grande Prairie: today, freezing rain or snow. High 0. Low -1. Fort McMurray: today, snow. High -2. Low -17.
WINDCHILL/SUNLIGHT
-2/-17
Silverado Special Edition Package
GRANDE PRAIRIE
0/-1
EDMONTON
-1/-1 JASPER
2/1
RED DEER
1/-3
44,850
0 down
OR lease from $ 255 bi-weekly
BANFF
1/-2 Windchill/frostbite risk: Low Low: Low risk Moderate: 30 minutes exposure High -5 to 10 minutes: High risk in 5 to 10 minutes High -2 to 5 minutes: High risk in 2 to 5 minutes Extreme: High risk in 2 minutes Sunset tonight: 4:22 p.m. Sunrise Sunday: 8:39 a.m.
Was $48,875 $ Now
$1,500 Lease Cash
CALGARY
4/1
LETHBRIDGE
6/2
3110 GAETZ AVE., RED DEER
LOCAL 403-347-3301 TOLL FREE 1-800-661-0995
www.pikewheaton.com *O.A.C., 48 months/0.50%
47567L9-14
Calgary: today, clearing. High 4. Low 1.
ANY TRUCK, ANY BRAND $ gets you 1,000 off the New Silverado