A2 RED DEER ADVOCATE Friday, Feb. 21, 2014
BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A SKATE
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Ukrainian community to hold peaceful gathering in support of protesters Red Deer’s Ukrainian community will host a peaceful protest in support of protesters in their home country at the steps of City Hall on Sunday. Organizer Alexander Ivanenko said everyone is encouraged to come out and support the protesters in Ukraine. Ivanenko will be recording messages of support to send to Ukraine. There will be prayers and a moment of silence for those who have died in the violent clashes. The protest will get underway around noon. For information, text Ivanenko at 403-597-8267.
Trudeau casts himself as purveyor of hope, economic growth
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
With her music piped in through her earphones, Ann Baker makes her way around the speed skating oval at the Golden Circle on Thursday. Under brilliant blue skies, Baker was sharing the rink with just one other skater while the City Parks Dept. resurfaced the rink. This weekend the Foothills Speed Skating Marathon Association will be holding its annual race at the oval after ice on Sylvan Lake was found to be unsafe for equipment to drive on the lake. The marathon and mini festival will get underway around 10 a.m. Saturday with the five-km race followed by the 10-km race at 11 a.m. and the 25-km race at 1 p.m. Organizers are encouraging anybody and everybody to come out and give it a try, even on hockey skates.
RDC: Benefit to taxpayers In its detailed cost analysis, the report makes a strong case for that value. For every $1 that students invest in their higher learning, they can expect to receive $4.10 in higher future income, says the study. For the province, all that productivity amounts to nearly $812 million in added income over the course of students’ working lives. Ward said the benefits to students isn’t measured only in the size of their paycheques. A more comfortable living also has a direct impact on their future health and happiness. From a taxpayer perspective, the college also provides big benefits. About $62 million in taxes was invested in the college in 2011-12. That’s less than half the $132.6 million in tax revenue expected to be generated by students and businesses over time. That boils down to $2.20 in tax benefits for every $1 invested. The number crunching also comes in handy when the college is out in the community seeking corporate support. By providing a strong workforce, the college’s graduates add value to local businesses and support their innovation efforts. “We tell our corporate donors and sponsors you benefit in many, many ways,” Ward said. “We continually try to create a story or a narrative that demonstrates in a factual way, not in an anecdotal way, the value of this institution to our community, Central Alberta and even beyond.” Ward said it’s not the first time studies like this have been done, but the results consistently prove to be eye-openers to many in the business community. The research also shows areas of improvement.
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At Red Deer College, Ward would like to see more degree options and courses for students. Alberta has a poor track record as far as postsecondary participation goes. Selling the value of an education is one way to combat that. Another is to ensure students can find the courses they need and reflect their interests. The study also looked at the economic impact of Bow Valley College of Calgary, Grande Prairie Regional College, Lethbridge College, Medicine Hat College, NorQuest College in Edmonton, Northern Lakes College in Slave Lake, and Olds College. The report said that Olds College contributes $143.6 million to the local economy. It said that Olds College spent some $43 million on wages and other operational expenditures that year, while the approximately 158 students from outside the area who attended the college contributed nearly $900,000 more. A much bigger financial impact related to the higher earnings and increased productivity of Olds College graduates working in the region. EMSI placed this figure at $99.7 million. pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
VIRUS: Biosecurity more important than ever The first case in North America was discovered on an Iowa farm in May of last year. As of Thursday morning, the virus had entered 3,528 farms in the U.S., 21 in Ontario, one in Prince Edward Island and one in Manitoba. Waldner said the impact would be disastrous if the virus were to make it past the defences he and industry partners have put up across the province. He estimates that his farm would lose 450 piglets a week for a period of five weeks in the time it would
Numbers are unofficial.
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REGIONAL OUTLOOK Calgary: today, mainly cloudy. High -8. Low -18. Olds, Sundre: today, sun and cloud. High -9. Low -22. Rocky, Nordegg: today, mainly cloudy. High -11. Low -22. Banff: today, 60% flurries. High -7. Low -18. Jasper: today, 60% flurries. High -7. Low
TONIGHT’S HIGHS/LOWS
-15. Lethbridge: today, 30% flurries. High -3. Low -15. Edmonton: today, snow. High -11. Low -18. Grande Prairie: today, 60% flurries. High -15. Low -20. Fort McMurray: today, 60% light snow. High -16. Low -25.
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take for him to contain the outbreak. It would take many more months for his operation to recover from the loss. The Hartland barn is especially vulnerable because it is still new and has not yet been paid off, said Waldner. Along with that, he has barely enough help to do the regular chores, never mind the extra work and expense involved in making sure that potential contaminants are kept off the farm and out of the barn. The Canadian Food inspection Agency has connected the Ontario infections with an Ontario feed supplier, Grand Valley Fortifiers. The company purchased infected protein products from suppliers in the United States, said Red Deer veterinarian Egan Brockhoff, who presented the update on Thursday, hosted by Alberta Pork. The company voluntarily recalled all products as soon as test results were known, said Brockhoff. He warned hog producers to avoid animal protein products as a part of their biosecurity protocol and outlined other procedures necessary to prevent contaminants from entering their barns. “Without question, the biosecurity standard that we have in Alberta is higher than any place in the world. That doesn’t mean we don’t have leaks and holes. Biosecurity is a ongoing, daily thing. We do a great job in this province, but there’s no such thing as perfect and we should all be striving to do everything we can to protect our herds.” While PED does not affect humans, it is highly infectious in pigs, said Brockhoff. A quantity of virus equal in size to the tip of his little finger would be enough to wipe out every pig in Canada, he said. The virus is transferred by animals ingesting infected products, such as feed that has been contaminated by minute amounts of animal manure. Mother pigs pass it on to their unborn piglets. Newborn piglets die of starvation and dehydration after the disease strips away the nutrient gathering villi inside their intestines. bkossowan@reddeeradvocate.com
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STORIES FROM A1
MONTREAL — Justin Trudeau cast himself Thursday as a purveyor of hope and economic growth as he opened his first national Liberal convention since being crowned leader last April. He positioned himself in contrast to what he termed “the politics of division,” which he maintained is practised by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Parti Quebecois Premier Pauline Marois. “My friends, I have no interest in joining Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair in a competition to see who can make Canadians angrier,” he told some 3,000 delegates. “We are here to hope. We are here to work hard. We are here to build. We are here to put together the team and the plan to make this country better.” That said, Trudeau was not above taking shots at his rivals, particularly Harper whom he indirectly blamed for the popularity of the PQ’s controversial charter of Quebec values, which bans public servants from wearing prominent religious symbols. Under Harper, Trudeau said incomes of middle class Canadians have stagnated, household debt has skyrocketed and the gap between rich and poor has widened. And that, he said, has created an environment in which intolerance thrives. “People are susceptible to fearful, divisive messages when they’re worried, worried about their jobs, their debts, their retirement, their kids’ futures,” he said. “In a growing and fair economy, the PQ’s divisive plan would not only be unrealistic, it would be unthinkable.”