LOCAL
C1 Christmas Bureau demand up
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 7, 2015
DONORS HELP LOCAL AGENCY SERVE A GROWING NEED The Red Deer Christmas Bureau helped a longer list of clients in 2014. A total of 917 hampers went out to families and individual residents of the city, compared to the 854 in 2013. While bureau volunteers received slightly more applications from needy families this holiday season, there were significantly more individual cli-
ents in need of assistance. Fortunately, public donations were generous and volunteers say the bureau was able to meet local need. (The bureau operates separately from the Red Deer Food Bank, but confers with the Salvation Army and Central Alberta Women’s Outreach to avoid duplication of services.)
Some 966 Red Deer children also received gifts from the Christmas Bureau — up from 946 last year. Toy donations kept coming in, but toy depot director Linda Waschuk said it was hard to keep up with the need for presents for teenagers and older children. Anyone interested in purchasing gifts for this age group next
year should consider donating remotecontrolled cars, MP3 players, makeup or makeup brushes, blow dryers, hair straighteners and other hair products. The Red Deer Christmas Bureau was able to put some late-arriving gifts aside to get a head-start on next year’s campaign, and appreciates the community’s generosity.
SYLVAN LAKE
County accepts annexation report BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacist Todd Law holds a unit used to test patients for influenza. Shoppers Drug Mart customers can now be tested in-store for both influenza A and B.
Do you have the flu? This test will tell you BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Shoppers Drug Mart is piloting a new flu screening test in Alberta that will tell people if they have caught the virus. “This is the first time in Canada that pharmacies will be able to provide that service,” said Calgary Shoppers Drug Mart owner and pharmacist Amani Chehade on Tuesday. Since Jan. 3, all Shoppers Drug Marts in the province should be able to do the on-the-spot test for customers, including the three stores in Red Deer. The test, which costs customers $25, requires a nose swab. It takes 10 minutes for results. Chehade, a spokesperson for Shoppers Drug Marts in Alberta, said the cost of the test is not covered by conventional health-care plans or by the province. She said Alberta was chosen to pilot the program because it was the first province to give pharmacists powers to prescribe medicine. If people test positive, they can also access antiviral drugs, if that is the appropriate treatment for the customer, from the pharmacist during the same visit. Antivirals are often necessary for people who are at higher risk of complications from the flu, she said. So far, two people have requested the test at her drug store in Aspen Landing in Calgary. She said one of her customers, a grandmother who tested positive for the flu, wanted the results to better protect her grandson and others, including children who attend her grandson’s daycare centre.
“By doing the test, it will help by preventing it from spreading. It will help (customers) make the right decisions for their illness.” Chehade said flu and cold symptoms can overlap so people can be unsure about how best to treat their illness. Testing offered at Shoppers can determine whether people have the flu early in their illness because they carry more of the virus when symptoms start, she said. The test has been used in Japan and the United States. Shoppers is waiting to see how it helps customers before deciding whether to roll out testing to other provinces, Chehade said. Timothy Wilson, spokesperson for Alberta Health, said Shoppers will be sharing their results, but the province will continue to use its own lab services to confirm the number of cases of influenza in Alberta. The Shoppers program is only a pilot, he said. Testing at hospitals determines the strain of the flu a person has so its “more robust” testing than what Shoppers is doing, he said. He said for now Alberta Health is reserving judgment on the benefit of Shoppers’ program and whether it could be funded in the future. “We need to see how the pilot goes before determining if there is any benefit, so we can’t discuss possible funding for this test. We do fund the public vaccination campaign because the flu shot is still your best protection against the flu,” Wilson said. “The way to reduce flu is through immunization, careful hand washing, cough etiquette, staying away from large public gatherings if not feeling well.” szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
Rimbey couple celebrating New Year’s baby for second time
STETTLER INCIDENT
Shooting victim paralyzed: court
BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Jen and Dillon Kroetch of Rimbey now have two New Year’s babies in the family. The couple welcomed Olivia Marie Kroetch on Monday at 3:27 p.m. In 2013, her brother Zachary was born on Jan. 1. “Apparently we know how to make New Year’s babies,” said Jen Kroetch, 22, by phone from Rimbey on Tuesday as Olivia gurgled in the background. Kroetch said her cousin was born 16 years ago on Jan. 5, the same day as Olivia, and was also Rimbey’s New Year’s baby. Olivia is the couple’s third child and second daughter. Their daughter Rachel is four years old. Olivia weighed 3.23 kg (seven pounds, two ounces) when she was born at Rimbey Hospital and Care Centre. Olivia’s due date was Dec. 29 and Kroetch was induced on Monday. The mother said their newborn made them wait but it was worth it. Kroetch was in full labour for about five hours so it was nice and quick, she said. Kroetch is a stay-at-home mom and her husband Dillon, 25, is an equipment operator who does oilfield construction.
Red Deer County council has put the wheels in motion to allow Sylvan Lake to annex 1,675 acres. Unanimous approval was given on Tuesday for the annexation report, a detailed document that identifies the target land, outlines reasons for the acquisition, and sets out financial arrangements. Most of the land involved is located on the western boundary of the town and to the northeast across from Jarvis Bay. Sylvan Lake wants the land to accommodate future growth. Industrial land is in short supply and highway commercial development options are limited. If approved, the annexation will leave the town with an estimated 30-year supply of industrial land and provide an inventory of potential commercial property that could be developed over the next 10 to 15 years, says the annexation report. A long strip of land on the west edge of Sylvan Lake is earmarked for future residential growth. Annexation must be approved by the province’s Municipal Government Board through a process that allows for a hearing if municipalities or landowners are opposed. Twenty-eight property owners fall within the annexation areas. Under the agreement between the two municipalities, property owners will continue to be taxed at county rates for 10 years following annexation or when the property is rezoned, subdivided or developed — whichever comes first. The annexation lands generate about $122,000 in taxes for the county. To lessen that financial hit, taxes will be shared using a five-year formula that would see the county’s share drop by 20 per cent a year. Some details remain to be worked out. For instance, the county is seeking clarification that a minor development, such as a new deck, would not trigger the switch of a property from county to town tax rates. County manager Curtis Herzberg told council that a substantial change to the property would be necessary — not a minor alternation like a deck — to trigger the tax change. Mayor Jim Wood said it is hard to predict how quickly development of newly annexed lands will happen and questioned why the 10-year time line was chosen for the switch to town tax rates. “I just don’t want to see our local farming community get into a tight spot on their taxes,” said Wood. Herzberg said the 10-year period is the “historical norm” for those types of provisions. Also, existing developments and legal land uses will be accepted by Sylvan Lake without being required to meet the town’s planning regulations. pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
Photo submitted
Olivia Marie Kroetch was born to Jen and Dillon Kroetch of Rimbey on Jan. 1. Two years ago, the family welcomed son Zachary on the same day. Kroetch was home from the hospital on Tuesday around noon. She said her family was “getting used to the new normal.” szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
The victim of a shooting incident in Stettler last week remains in treatment at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. David Nelson Byrt, 37, has been named in Red Deer provincial court as the Stettler man injured on the afternoon of Dec. 31 following a traffic incident in the northwest area of the town. Darren James Bauer, 33, is charged with attempted murder by Stettler RCMP, who allege in information filed with the Crown that he fired a .45-calibre pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun at Byrt during the incident. Arrested in Calgary, Bauer made his first court appearance in Red Deer on Monday and remains in custody pending his next hearing, set for Friday. A woman arrested with him, Kathleen Sherry Cooper, 25, is also being held in remand pending a court appearance on Friday. Byrt was scheduled to make a court appearance in Red Deer on Tuesday to address a number of traffic and criminal charges laid in October. They include two counts of driving an uninsured vehicle, driving while unauthorized, possessing illegal drugs, possessing stolen property and breaching release conditions. Acting as Byrt’s agent in court on Tuesday, duty counsel Murray Shack asked that the injured man’s election and plea be reserved until mid-February. It is likely that Byrt will still be in treatment at that time, said Shack. Without giving specific details about the extent of Byrt’s injuries, Shack said he is paralyzed.
Carolyn Martindale, City Editor, 403-314-4326 Fax 403-341-6560 E-mail editorial@reddeeradvocate.com
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