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Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, AUG. 26, 2014
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Deaths shock MLA MLA MARY ANNE JABLONSKI CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE MORATORIUM ON TRANSFER OF MICHENER RESIDENTS BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF
MICHENER CENTRE
Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski is calling on her government to stop moving developmentally disabled residents out of Michener Centre after word spread last week that five former residents have died. All five died this spring and summer within two to four months of leaving Red Deer’s Michener. So far, 43 residents have been moved since the province announced in March 2013 that it would close older buildings on Michener’s north and south sides, forcing the relocation of 120 of severely developmentally disabled residents. On Sunday, Jablonski posted the following mes-
sage on the Friends of Michener Facebook page: “I am shocked with the number of deaths of my constituents since they have been moved out of Michener,” wrote Jablonski, who is on vacation. “I have asked Premier (Dave) Hancock for an immediate moratorium on the transfers of our residents and an investigation into these deaths. I am awaiting his reply and will inform you of his response.” The Facebook page also named the residents who died: ● Barry Gordon Hobbs, 64, who was moved from Michener Centre on March 20, died on July 31 in Lacombe. ● Thomas Eastman, 67, who was moved on March
13, died on July 9 in Grande Prairie. ● Merton Henry Klippert, 69, who was moved on April 24, died on July 5 in Calgary. ● Orville Culbert, 54, who was moved on March 20, died on July 15 in Lacombe. ● Freida Lafferty, 64, who was moved on April 3, died on June 4 in Yellowknife, N.W.T. Lee Kvern, whose sister has lived at Michener for 42 years, said Freida Lafferty’s death in June should have been a red flag. “They didn’t pause. They didn’t halt. They didn’t change any of the transitioning procedures. Four more deaths may have been prevented had they done something when they knew about Freida,” Kvern said on Monday.
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FIRE ENGULFS HOME NEAR RIMBEY
Photo by SCOTTY AITKEN/Freelance
A home northwest of Rimbey was gutted by fire early Monday afternoon. Rimbey Fire and Rescue members responded to the fire, but were unable to save the house. No one was reported injured in the fire. Neighbours discovered a house had been burning extensively on Hwy 611 near Range Road 43, north of Rimbey, and called Rimbey firefighters on Monday afternoon. When crews arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in flames. The fire did not spread to other buildings. Rimbey RCMP and fire and rescue were able to determine that nobody had been in the residence at the time of the fire. However, Sgt. Mark Groves said it took some time to find that out. Fire investigators were on scene late Monday looking for the cause of the fire.
Red Deer County man moves to block power line BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer County’s Kurt Kure bought 140 acres of scenic land near Dickson Dam to build a home for his wife and 11 children. Kure wasn’t pleased when he found out a 500-kilovolt power line would become his new neighbour. Earlier this month, he was contacted by consultants for AltaLink, who wanted access to his land to prepare the way for the river crossing of the new power line known as the Western Alberta Transmission Line. “We had bought this property to build a house,” he said on Monday. “AltaLink has known that from the very beginning.” The family already has 26 towers on 1,600 acres it farms in the area. On Sept. 2, Kure and his lawyer Donald Bur, an Ontario lawyer well versed in Alberta’s power line politics, will seek to have a Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench justice overturn the Alberta Surface Rights Board-issued Right of Entry Order. Kure and his legal representative will argue that the board has no jurisdiction in this case because
WEATHER Mainly sunny. High 25. Low 10.
FORECAST ON A2
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The Kure family of Red Deer County will seek to have a Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench justice overturn the Alberta Surface Rights Board-issued Right of Entry Order. they claim the line is for interprovincial and export use, which puts it out of the board’s authority. That the line being built from Genesee, near Edmonton, to Langdon, near Calgary, is not needed and is a thinly disguised attempt to build a profit-making
export line to the U.S. has been a recurring theme among those opposed to the $1.65-billion project. The impending sale of AltaLink to U.S.-based Berkshire Hathaway Energy in a $3.2-billion deal only strengthens that prospect, said Kure. The provincial government, AltaLink, the Alberta Utilities Commission and Alberta Electric System Operator, which oversees the province’s power grid, have all denied the line is meant for export. Instead, they maintain the line is needed to upgrade an outof-date power grid in a fast-growing province. Kure is among those who say the need for the line was never proven. Kurt, his father, Colin, and grandfather Elmer all signed up as intervenors when the first hearings were held on the power line almost a decade ago. Kure is hoping the judge agrees with them and rules the surface rights board overstepped its authority. He has no doubt even a positive outcome would be followed up by an appeal from the other side. Ultimately, the issue needs to be addressed at a higher level, where the intended use of the line can be determined once and for all, he said.
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Wall backs public inquiry Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says provinces and aboriginal leaders want a public inquiry into missing and murdered women even if Ottawa isn’t on board. Story on PAGE A5
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