APPLE UNVEILS WATCH, NEW IPHONES
OSCAR BUZZ Actor receiving rave reviews for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking
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Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10, 2014
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Ex-RCMP officer guilty of sex charge Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Picking apples up off the ground this gentleman, who preferred not to be identified, said he does not like to see good food go to waste. ‘I’ve got a friend with horses, so I take the apples to them‚‘ he said.
Snow, killing frost in forecast BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF It has been more than 10 years since Red Deerians saw snow in September, but the signs of colder days ahead hit Alberta with a vengeance. “We shouldn’t be talking about snow this early in the fall,” said Bill McMurtry, Environment Canada meteorologist. Four cm of snow fell in Red Deer on Monday. A forecast for more snow and a killing frost tonight is sending gardeners scurrying to pick vegetables and cover or pick flowers susceptible to frost. Even the weekly Wednesday downtown Red Deer market is cancelled today because of the weather. The variable weather this time of year, said McMurtry, leads to great swings in temperature and conditions. This was on display over the past week as highs over the weekend reached
26C, followed by overnight lows around 0 C and a recorded four cm of snow Monday. The first cold weather system began late Sunday and brought the snow with it. This was quickly followed by a second system late Tuesday evening that brought with it more snow. “We could see some more snow,” said McMurtry. “It looks like most of it, the heaviest amounts, should be in the foothills and the front ranges of the mountains. Areas west of Hwy 22.” South and southwest of Red Deer saw much higher accumulations of snow. Calgary International Airport reported 12 cm of snow. “It’s not uncommon to see snows of that type in the foothills, but once you get closer to the QEII, it’s pretty early for us to get snow this time of year,” said McMurtry. The last time it snowed in September in Red Deer was in 2003, when a total of 13.6 cm fell. In 1965, 24.6 cm of snow fell in September in Red Deer, the highest recorded snowfall total for
the month. More snow could be on the way for the area as Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings for areas near Nordegg, Olds and Sundre. Snow is also in Red Deer’s forecast through part of today. McMurtry said the average for Red Deer is 0.8 days of snowfall in September. “Once we get close to both the fall and spring equinoxes, that’s when we can see some big temperature swings,” said McMurtry. “You get a really big push of warm air northward from the south. In order for that air to go south, cold air has to be displaced somewhere else and that’s what happened with the warm temperatures leading up to this event. “That allowed the cold air to come rushing in behind and we saw an incredible temperature change over a 24-hour period.”
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CRIME COMMITTED WHILE STATIONED IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE BY ADVOCATE STAFF A former member of the RCMP will be sentenced early next month for sexually exploiting a teenaged girl while he was posted in Rocky Mountain House. Ambrose Gregory Wolfe, 60, was set to stand trial in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench this week on charges laid in March 2012. The charges included sexual assault and sexual touching of a young person while he was in a position of trust or authority. Represented by Edmonton defence counsel Michael Sparks, Wolfe pleaded guilty on Monday to the sexual touching charge. The sexual assault charge was then withdrawn. Reading a statement of facts produced for the court, Crown prosecutor Maurice Collard said the offence occurred between Jan. 1, 1996s and Dec. 31, 1999, when the victim was between the ages of 15 and 18. Her identity is protected by a courtimposed ban. Wolfe and his victim were known to each other. Cpl. Sharon Franks, a media officer for the RCMP in Alberta, said Wolfe left the force in 2000. He returns to court for sentencing on Monday, Oct. 6.
Red Deer firefighters battle Iqaluit dump fire BY HARLEY RICHARDS ADVOCATE BUSINESS EDITOR Hellfire Suppression Services Inc. is known for its expertise in oilfield firefighting, but the Rocky Mountain House company has also developed a reputation for handling problem fires outside the oilpatch. In 2012 it extinguished a blaze in a mountain of scrap at Calgary Metal Recycling; early this year it doused a fire at the Westar Landfill near Medicine Hat; and now a half-dozen Hellfire employees are tackling a smouldering community dump at Iqaluit, Nunavut. “We’ve been doing more and more landfill, storage-pile-type fires,” said Ryan Stambaugh, senior well control fire specialist with Hellfire. “They’re happening more and more, so we’ve taken more of an interest in it and developed some specialized tools and different things. “We’re able to deal with stuff that people say should not be dealt with.” The Iqaluit fire has been burning since spring — too deep for fire hoses to reach, and in a pile of garbage too unstable for backhoes and other heavy equipment to safely get at. City officials had planned to let it burn out, but changed their minds after smoke forced the closure of schools and prompted health warnings. “These guys actually contacted us back in June when this was happening and asked us to see what we could
WEATHER 30% snow. High 6. Low -5.
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put together to extinguish this fire for them,” said Stambaugh, who arrived with his crew on Aug. 24. Also called in was Global Forensics Inc., a Red Deer company that specializes in hazardous materials response and emergency planning. It’s acting as site manager, overseeing logistics and safety, and ensuring proper reporting to the various levels of government. “This is the first time we’ve been utilized this way, so this is a new area for us,” said Mike Noblett, who spent 32 years with the Calgary fire department and is now Global Forensics’ explosion and fire analyst. He’s been on the scene since Aug. 27. An “overhaul process” is being used to root out and extinguish the fire, said Stambaugh. The contents of the dump are being removed section by section, with each wetted down, stirred up and restacked. “It’s kind of like putting out a giant campfire,” he said. “It definitely takes time. You cannot leave anything unturned.” “There is no easy formula on something like this,” added Noblett. “We had a pile of garbage about the size of a Canadian football field — at one end about 50 feet (15 metres) high and on the other end about 10 feet (three metres) high.” Contributed photo
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Workers hose down material as it is removed from the smouldering dump.
Ship from Franklin expedition found A Canadian search team has unlocked on of the world’s greatest exploration mysteries. Story on PAGE A5
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