SUSPECT IN COURT
CANADIENS SWEEP LIGHTNING
Man accused in Calgary’s worse mass murder to undergo 30-day psychiatric assessment
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Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2014
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Heavy rainfall expected
Man jailed for role in kidnapping, extortion BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN
BY ADVOCATE STAFF
ADVOCATE STAFF With heavy rain and some snow expected, Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Red Deer, Innisfail, Ponoka and Stettler. Environment Canada ‘DUE TO meteoroloTHE FACT gist Bill McMurtry said a THAT WE big weather STILL HAVE system was expected to SNOW move across IN SOME south Central and Central LOCATIONS Alberta on . . . IT IS A Tuesday night QUESTION through today. He said the OF HOW majority of the THAT WILL rain will fall late Tuesday REACT evening and ONCE through to this afternoon. THE RAIN McMurtry FALLS.’ said some of these areas — BILL MCMURTRY may be updatMETEOROLOGIST ed to a heavy rainfall warning, with the area is expected to receive 50 mm of rain or more in less than 24 hours. He said the concern is how the rain will affect the ground, which isn’t fully thawed yet. Red Deer is expected to get between 30 and 40 mm of rainfall. Areas to the northwest of Red Deer, including Gull Lake and Rimbey, could receive more than 60 mm of rain and could reach 75 mm. “That is a significant amount of rain for this time of year,” said McMurtry, “due to the fact that we still have snow in some locations and more importantly the ground is still frozen in most locations. It is a question of how that will react once the rain falls.” McMurtry said as the system pulls out, Red Deer could see some wet snow first thing Thursday morning. Some areas may be particularly sensitive to flooding due to already high water levels from the spring melt. Over the mountain parks and the Nordegg region, precipitation will begin as rain but will likely change to snow by morning. The public is advised to monitor future forecasts and warnings as warnings may be required or extended. Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings from Environment Canada at www.weatheroffice. gc.ca.
One of four local men accused in a kidnapping and extortion scheme has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for the part he played. Scheduled for trial in 2015, Gregory James Roberts was brought before Justice Monica Bast in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on Tuesday after a plea
negotiation between his lawyer and the Crown. Roberts, 27, was arrested on March 13, 2013, by Red Deer and Sylvan Lake RCMP investigating reports that a man had been kidnapped and his girlfriend’s truck taken from him about a week earlier over an unpaid debt. Reading a statement of facts created by himself and defence counsel Patty MacNaughton, Crown prosecutor Wayne Silliker said victim Cody Friesen was driving his girlfriend’s pickup
truck in Red Deer on the afternoon of March 4, 2013, when he was invited to meet with two other men at a fast-food restaurant downtown. Another man arrived shortly after, followed by Roberts, and Friesen was challenged to pay back a debt of $10,000. Silliker said Friesen had offered the money to have his father assaulted, and then tried to back out of the deal.
Please see CRIME on Page A2
Safety code violations shutter track
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Garry Rehbein of Blacks Welding in Lacombe works on building a set of safety stairs that will be mounted on the north end of the grandstand building at Alberta Downs Race Track south west of Lacombe.
ALBERTA DOWNS RACING TO BRING FACILITIES UP TO CODE BEFORE RACING SEASON STARTS BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF The horses at the Alberta Downs Racetrack may be off to a late start. The Lacombe racetrack will not open on May 3 unless a laundry list of safety code violations are brought up to standard. Fred Millar, Lacombe Regional Fire Services co-ordinator, said owner Bob Allen was given a letter explaining that he would not be allowed to operate until he fixed the problems with the facility in March.
The letter followed a safety code inspection prompted by complaints in September that the facility was not safe. “He is working with us,” said Millar. “I don’t know when it will be fixed. I don’t know if he has done enough that Municipal Affairs will let him open.” Millar said Alberta Municipal Affairs is handling the file because of the issues with the building. Millar said there is not a deadline for the work to be completed but there was end date for responding to the letter, which Allen has done. Allen said it is all hands on deck for the repairs, including drywalling,
fixing hand railings, improving lighting and installing a fire alarm system. Millar said there is no deadline for the work to be completed but there was end date for responding to the letter, which he has done. Allen was also told to put in a fire escape in front of the grandstand. “I’ve been working feverishly to fix everything,” said Allen. “I’ve done everything they have asked . . . I am happy that I have done that because my place is better now. It’s a nice place and it’s going to be nicer.”
Please see RACETRACK on Page A2
Province launches online organ donor registry BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Facing a 40 per cent reduction in organ and tissue donors over the last decade, the province is making it easier for Albertans to sign up to become donors with a new online registry. The Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Registry at MyHealth.Alberta.ca allows Albertans to give their consent to donate organs and/or tissues when they die. People just need to fill in their name, gender, birth date and Al-
WEATHER Rain. High 5. Low 3.
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berta Personal Health Number, what organs and tissues they want to donate and decide how those can be used. They can either mail or fax a copy of their signed, dated and witnessed donation consent form to Alberta Health. “Sadly, over the last few years we’ve actually seen the rate of organ and tissue donation in Alberta decline to a point that it’s caused a number of people concern, most importantly those of our fellow citizens waiting for an organ or tissue transplant,” Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne said on Tuesday. Fewer than 40 people provincewide
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will be donors this year, based on current trends, he said. “With more than 500 or our fellow Albertans waiting for the gift of a lifesaving organ, the importance of that choice has never been more clear.” Those on waiting lists include 23 patients waiting for a heart transplant, 67 patients who need a single or double lung transplant, 106 waiting for a liver transplant and 309 who require a kidney. “Even more are waiting for corneas, skin, heart valves and other tissues to vastly improve their quality of life, and
in many cases save their lives,” Horne said. One organ and tissue donor can save up to eight lives and improve the lives of up to 75 other people. “We know that online registries contribute to increased donation rates in provinces that have them. We are very confident our province will have the same experience. In Ontario, they currently have 18 donors per million people. B.C. has 15.”
Please see DONATION on Page A2
A little fire prevention goes a long way Recent fires in Central Alberta have Red Deer Emergency Services reminding residents about fire prevention. Story on PAGE C1
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