UNIFYING FORCE
HERO, SAVIOUR
Casey Kasem’s show was a weekly reminder of what Americans had in common
Mexico keeper Ochoa holds Brazil to 0-0 draw
PAGE C6
B4
Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2014
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority
Gateway a go OTTAWA CONDITIONALLY APPROVES PIPELINE; OPPONENTS VOW TO BURY IT BY DENE MOORE
ENBRIDGE PLOTS NEXT MOVE B1
THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER — It took mere minutes for foes of the Northern Gateway pipeline to vow that the pipeline will never be built, despite the go-ahead from the federal government on Tuesday. So with a major milestone on the path to the British Columbia coast behind it, the path ahead for the controversial project was no more certain with
final government approval than it had been during months of protests. “This project, and the federal process to approve it, violated our rights and our laws. We are uniting to defend our lands and waters of our respective territories,” said a statement from a coalition of B.C. aboriginal groups. “We will defend our territories whatever the costs may be.”
The statement was signed by 28 individual bands and the three main aboriginal organizations in the province: the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, the First Nations Summit and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. They promised court action, and more. “Under no circumstances will this threat be allowed in our territory,” said Tso’dih Peter Erickson, a hereditary chief from the Nak’azdli band near Fort St. James.
Please see PIPELINE on Page A2
ANGRY BIRD
ARENS TRIAL
Guilty JUDGE CONVICTS DRUNK DRIVER OF ALL CHARGES IN FATAL CANADA DAY 2010 COLLISION BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF After almost four years, the family of a young teen killed in a crash in Red Deer on Canada Day 2010 has some semblance of closure. Rodney Ross Arens, 36, was convicted of all charges on Tuesday in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench. Arens, a building contractor, has lived in Rimbey, Red Deer and Sylvan Lake. Jeffrey Chanminaraj, 13, was killed and his brother Jamie, now 22, was injured in the July 1 crash involving a truck driven by Arens and car at the intersection of Kerry Wood and Taylor Drives. Justice Kirk Sisson found Arens guilty of impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and breaching release conditions. Arens sat with a blank stare on his face as Sisson read his decision. Arens was in the prisoner’s box to hear the verdict. Throughout the trial, he was allowed to sit beside defence counsel but on Tuesday, he sat in the prisoner’s box, flanked by Alberta sheriffs. Jeffrey’s older sister, Stephanie, 24, said she was relieved to see the trial come to a conclusion. “It’s been so long,” she said. “I’m glad to have closure, I’m glad it’s over for everyone. It’s been a long, drawn-out process, for everyone. “The memories are fresh, what I remember is fresh. Sometimes you don’t want to remember them.” Jamie said it was time to move on together as a family. “We miss our brother, our dad really misses him,” Jamie said. In the seconds after the crash that killed Jefferey, witnesses testified that Arens said of his truck: “Well I guess I’m not driving that away,” and that he said: “I need a cigarette.” Arens was arrested by Red Deer RCMP Const. Jean-Francois Tremblay at the scene. Before Tremblay read Arens his charter rights, Tremblay was informed that Jeffrey had died as a result of the crash. Arens was re-arrested for impaired driving causing death. Sisson thoroughly went through the testimony of numerous witnesses at the scene, acknowledging that there were differences in some people’s testimony with regard to the observations of Arens’ impairment. He said some civilian witnesses and RCMP members who were still new to the job had different observations, ranging from no signs of alcohol impairment to slurred speech and stumbling. However, the testimony of seasoned officers, including Cpl. Cindee Scarrott, and video evidence at the RCMP detachment following Arens’ arrest indicated he was impaired.
Please see ARENS on Page A2
WEATHER 30% showers. High 18. Low 11.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B8
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Acting like a defensive parent, this Canada goose was having a bit of a hissing fit as it was photographed Tuesday. The not-so-little goslings are keeping busy eating, growing and beginning to loose their baby feathers at McKenzie Trail Recreation Area in Red Deer.
Rain threatens Southern Alberta MEDICINE HAT COULD SEE REPEAT OF 2013 FLOOD BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
FLOOD WATCH ISSUED FOR LITTLE RED DEER RIVER A2
CALGARY — There are concerns Medicine Hat could see flooding similar to what happened a year ago as heavy rains continue to soak areas to the west of the southern Alberta city. Alberta Environment’s Evan Friesenhan stresses that prediction is a worst-case scenario and will only happen if the Oldman and Bow rivers to the west peak at the same time where they meet the South Saskatchewan River. And he added that scenario is still three days away, so a lot can change. The city says it has opened its Emergency Operations Centre and has begun sandbagging using intelligence it gained last year. About 1,000 Medicine Hat homes were hit by high water in the flood of 2013 that ravaged southern Alberta and 10,000 people were forced to head for higher ground. Forecasters are calling for as much as 200 millimetres of rain in the southwest corner of the province by Thursday morning. To the west of Medicine Hat, officials in Lethbridge County declared a local state of emergency Tuesday citing extremely high water levels on the Oldman River. The county says Oldman River valley residents should prepared for an evacuation order sometime on Wednesday, depending on river levels. There’s potential to reach levels seen in 1995,
when heavy rains pushed rivers over their banks from Pincher Creek to Medicine Hat and more than 3,000 people had to flee their homes, the county says. Farmers are being advised to move their livestock and people are being told to stay away from riverbanks. The city of Lethbridge, which is also on the Oldman river, said on its website that it has not declared a state of emergency, but was monitoring the situation. Friesenhan said most of Lethbridge is on high ground and, while parkland may flood, homes should be OK. In total, 100,000 people had to flee their flooded homes in southern Alberta in June 2013. Communities hit the hardest — including Canmore, Calgary and High River — are further to the north of area currently experiencing high water and are expected to be fine. In 2013, more than 300 millimetres of rain fell in some places over a 2 ½-day period. “We’re looking at a peak flow of 5,300 cubic metres per second through Medicine Hat on the South Saskatchewan River, which is very similar to last year,” Friesenhan said. “Obviously that’s the worst-case scenario and assumes that the flow coming out of the Oldman and the flow coming out of the Bow will merge together at the same time.”
Reprisal killings fill morgues in Iraq Signs emerged Tuesday of a reprisal sectarian slaughter of Sunnis by Shiite militias in Iraq. Story on PAGE A6
PLEASE
RECYCLE