REBELS COME FROM BEHIND TO BEAT HITMEN
ALL ABOUT BEAKS Birds wouldn’t be birds without them
C3
PAGE B1
Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, JAN. 15, 2015
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority
Budget approved BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer city council approved a $330.6 million operating budget that calls for a 3.77 per cent tax rate increase following seven days of number crunching and debate on Wednesday. The increase means the average $325,000 homeowner will pay $1,930.29, up $70.13 from 2014, on the municipal portion of the annual property bill. The actual tax rate will be set later this spring after it is combined with the provincial education tax rate. Mayor Tara Veer called this year’s spending plan “highly responsive to public feedback and priorities
‘WE ARE PLANNING FOR A FUTURE IN A WAY THAT IS MEASURED AND THAT CAN ALWAYS BE REVISITED WHEN IT IS NECESSARY . . .’ — MAYOR TARA VEER
around core service.” She said the budget has the most cost savings and efficiencies in the base budget in her 11 years on council. Corporate Services director Paul Goranson gave a broad overview of the cost savings and efficiencies happening across the city early in the budget talks
Women more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease
for the first time. “We often hear from the public keep the operational increases in line with the cost of living,” said Veer. “I can genuinely say our administration has endeavored to do that.” Included in this year’s budget is the introduction of a new capital savings investment plan. Council voted to put aside one per cent of the tax revenue base every year with opportunities to review it for the next three years. “We are planning for a future in a way that is measured and that can always be revisited when it is necessary in order to respond to our changing community or changing economic climate,” said Veer.
Please see BUDGET on Page A2
CUT FOR A CAUSE
BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Women represent 72 per cent of Canadians living with Alzheimer’s disease according to a new nationwide campaign launched by Alzheimer Society. Dr. David Westaway, president of Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, said it mostly comes down to the fact that women have a longer life expectancy than men. After the age of 65, the risk factor for the disease doubles every five years. “The biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is age,” said Westaway who visited the society’s new office in Red Dr. David Westaway Deer on Wednesday. “You think you’re just getting set for a nice retirement and a nasty surprise comes around the corner.” Other risks factors include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking. The Red Deer chapter of the Alzheimer Society moved into its new, larger location earlier this month, at unit 1-5550 45th St. in Cronquist Business Park, where the sign for the former tenant — Ducks Unlimited — is still up. Westaway, who is an Alzheimer researcher at the University of Alberta, stepped into the role of president in October and will be visiting each of the Alzheimer Society offices in Alberta. He said women face the double burden of representing 70 per cent of family caregivers when it comes to the disease. In Alberta, about 46,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Janice Fogerty, community relations manager with the society in Red Deer, said because women are so strongly affected by the disease, it’s important for them to be aware of it so they can become proactive. “An early diagnosis can make such a huge difference, whether it’s their own diagnosis or somebody that they care about,” Fogerty said. The Alzheimer Society is encouraging all Canadians, including women, to visit www.alzheimer.ca/ the72percent to learn about the warning signs. Common warning signs include memory loss, impaired judgment, thinking or reasoning and changes in personality and behaviour that are out of character. Westaway said Alzheimer’s is a complicated and challenging disease, but it is receiving more attention. The Alberta government is currently working on a provincial strategy. For now, there is no cure, he said. “You only go one way. The disease becomes more and more debilitating. There are no treatments to stop it.” January is Alzheimer Awareness Month. szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
WEATHER Sun and cloud. High -2. Low -8.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C7,C8 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B5
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Elida Heck, 9, of Red Deer reacts as Robyn Askew of Crop Hair Boutique in Red Deer cuts her hair. This is the third time Elida has cut her hair to donate her locks to help those who need wigs. This time however Elida also did some fundraising and will donate over $700 in backpacks and merchandise to homeless and needy people in Red Deer. The backpack will contain clothing, gift cards for food and beverages, grooming kits and soap and cold weather gear.
Driver thought he had hit animal on bridge, not pedestrian BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF The driver accused of leaving the scene after striking and killing a pedestrian in Red Deer said he thought he had hit some sort of animal, possibly a bear or a deer. Lawyers for the Crown and defence will state their cases today in the trial of Brent Robert Cameron, 26, accused of leaving the scene of an injury or fatal collision and then making up a lie to cover his tracks. Paul Gabriel Bertin, 18, died at about 2 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2012, after being struck down on the northbound lanes of Taylor Drive Bridge in Red Deer. Brent Robert Cameron is now on trial before Justice John Little in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on charges that he failed to remain at the scene to avoid prosecution and public mischief for making a false report to police about his vehicle being stolen. Court heard evidence on Tuesday that Bertin was struck twice; first by Cameron’s 2010 Subaru Outback, and then by another vehicle with a lower profile that drove over him as he lay on the road. In her testimony on Wednesday, Calgary-based medical examiner Tera Jones stated that Bertin died
from the head and neck injuries sustained in the initial collision. Scrapes on his face and chest from the second vehicle were not connected with the cause of his death, said Jones. In a video recording of his second statement to an RCMP investigator, played for the court on Wednesday, Cameron acknowledged that he was driving the Subaru when it hit something on the bridge, but denies stopping the car to find out what he had hit. “A black figure ran out in front of me. I immediately panicked, thinking I’d hit an animal.” Cameron, who had moved to Red Deer from New Brunswick about 18 months earlier, told the officer that whatever he hit had darted out in front of him. He thought it could have been a bear or a deer. He acknowledged having a passenger in the car, but said she never saw what happened. Court heard earlier that the pair had met at a downtown bar and were planning to attend an afterhours party in Riverside Meadows. In his video statement, Cameron confirmed the woman’s testimony on Tuesday that he parked the car in Riverside Meadows after the collision and then called a cab and sent her away.
Please see COURT on Page A2
‘We’re all in this together’ The aftershocks of Alberta’s collapsing economy will shake up Canadians from coast to coast, Premier Jim Prentice said. Story on PAGE A3
PLEASE
RECYCLE