FLAMES WIN, OILERS FALL SHORT AGAINST WILD
THE AMERICANS AS DARK, ABSORBING AS EVER PAGE C5
PAGE B4
Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28, 2015
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Bomb re-assembled BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF
MALLEY MURDER TRIAL
A re-creation of the bomb that police believe killed a disabled single mother ignited large fireballs and the blast shockwave tore through plywood in test detonations shown to a jury. Victoria Shachtay died on Nov. 25, 2011, after opening a Christmas gift bag disguising a bomb. Brian Malley, 57, of Innisfail is charged with firstdegree murder and is on trial in Red Deer Court of
Queen’s Bench. In their investigation into the death of Shachtay in Innisfail, the RCMP explosive disposal unit created three pipe bombs similar to the one that killed the 23-year-old woman, hoping to find how much gunpowder was used in the deadly blast. Cpl. Greg Baird, a member of the bomb unit, testified on Tuesday in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench
Power line crews blamed for spread of clubroot
about his role in the investigation. On scene, he sifted through the debris of the explosion that killed Shachtay, in hopes to find left over bomb fragments. Baird said they were able to re-assemble the bomb from fragments found on scene. They determined it to be a six-inch long, two-inch wide steel pipe with threading at either end, called a nipple. A five-mm-wide hole was drilled into the pipe, where the detonator was put in to ignite the gunpowder.
Please see MALLEY on Page A2
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT
BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF A group of Central Alberta landowners fear power line construction crews are spreading clubroot in their fields. About 20 owners of farmland from Benalto to the Dickson Dam area met last fall to discuss their concerns. Innisfail-area property owner Kurt Kure said about half a dozen farmers have found clubroot and they believe it is linked to the large amount of construction traffic created by the project to build a 500-kilvolt power line through from Edmonton to Calgary. Some also fear that helicopters used in the massive project may be blowing clubroot spores from one field to another. Kure said a second meeting is being organized in coming weeks and the plan is to take their concerns to the province’s Alberta Surface Rights Board. The power line project is creating a large amount of traffic onto area farm fields. Kure, whose family owns two quarter sections in the Dickson Dam area, said there were about 100 different vehicles coming and going from their property last fall. While contractors are supposed to clean equipment before travelling from one field to another, Kure doubts it is effective. “In the end, it’s not enough.” Contractors test for clubroot infestations. But testing rarely proves effective in catching the problem, he believes. AltaLink spokesman Peter Brodsky said they have “very specific protocols” for their employees and contractors to guard against the spread of any noxious weeds. “What we do is we expect all our employees and contractors to not only manually look around their vehicle for any possible infestation, but we keep washing stations at different areas along the worksite,” he said. Those allow crews to clean vehicles and other equipment before moving to another property. “All contractors and all employees are expected to abide by those protocols.” Brodsky said he is not aware of any reports that noxious weeds, including clubroot, have been spread by power line crews. “If that was brought to our attention, we would certainly investigate that.”
WEATHER Mainly sunny. High -1. Low -10.
FORECAST ON A2
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Book on history of eugenics in Alberta a cautionary tale: author BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF A new book on the history of eugenics in Alberta takes aim at Michener Centre. A Special Hell: Institutional Life in Alberta’s Eugenic Years, was 15 years in the making for its author, University of Lethbridge professor Claudia Malacrida. Malacrida looks at the Alberta Sexual Sterilization Act, in place from 1928 to 1972. It led to the involuntarily sterilization of 2,800 people with developmental disabilities or mental disorders, many of
whom were institutionalized at Michener Centre. Malacrida, who is also chair of the university’s Sociology Department, said her 320-page book is a cautionary tale. “I regularly encounter young people who have come through Alberta’s public education system who have no idea this happened in their neighbourhood — none. And I think that’s shameful. I believe in the Santayana-kind-of-dictum — those who don’t know about history are doomed to repeat it,” Malacrida said on Monday.
Please see EUGENICS on Page A2
Storm shutters Maritimes Tuesday’s blizzard cancelled flights and closed schools, government offices and universities as it moved north. Story on PAGE A5
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Please see CLUBROOT on Page A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Red Deer Rebel Meyer Nell rips a shot past Kelowna Rocket Riley Stadel during first period action at the Centrium on Tuesday. The Rebels lost 4-3 in a shootout. See related story on page B4.