THE FUTURE OF RESTAURANT SERVICE?
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OLIVER TO TACKLE MORE LONGFORM STORIES
RED DEER DUO DEVELOP A SYSTEM TO ALLOW CUSTOMERS TO PLACE AND PAY FOR ORDERS USING A SMARTPHONE OR TABLET
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Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4, 2015
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TUESDAY NIGHT SHINNY
MEDICINE RIVER WILDLIFE CENTRE
Equipped to handle stinky situations BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF It’s a smelly job but somebody has to do it. In 2014, Medicine River Wildlife Centre staff removed 200 skunks from the City of Red Deer. Every year, the centre responds to an average of 2,640 phone calls from Red Deerians about wildlife and receives about 528 patients from the city. In total, the centre receives 8,000 calls annually from around Central Alberta and has a patient load of about 1,600 animals each year. So about one-third of the total patient load comes from the city. The centre, located near Spruce View, has been providing a range of services to the municipality for about 30 years. Executive director Carol Kelly said more help is needed because of the increased demand for service. Last year, Alberta Animal Services handed over skunk calls to the centre because it was better equipped to deal with the potentially stinky situations. In previous years, the centre and Alberta Animal Services shared the duties of trapping, euthanizing or relocating skunks with the wildlife centre.
Please see SKUNKS on Page A2
Photo by ASHLI BARRETT/Advocate staff
Logan Oddie, right, chases down Sako Vandermeer during a Tuesday evening game of shinny at the Bower Kin rinks. With temperatures dropping to -20 degrees Celsius with the windchill, few Red Deerians were making use of the city’s outdoor rinks.
Hog farm given permission to expand DESPITE ODOUR CONCERNS FROM NEARBY PROPERTY OWNERS BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF
SPRUIT FARMS
A Red Deer County hog farm has been given permission to expand despite odour concerns from neighbours. The Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) approved an application by Spruit Farms Ltd. to go from an 800-sow farrow-to-wean operation to 500 sow farrow-to-finish. Owners Edwin and Sandra Spruit also intend to extend existing barns and add a new one at their farm about five km south of Red Deer next to the C&E Trail. Almost a dozen nearby property owners sent letters to the NRCB raising concerns, including: potential odour problems, effect on property values, impact on water supplies and manure truck traffic. Several pointed out the project will double the amount of manure produced. In response to these issues, the Spruits reduced the size of a barn, proposed more manure storage to reduce truck traffic and to add another 300 acres of spreading fields to the existing 1,000 acres to reduce concentrations. Only 525 acres is required under regulations.
The Spruits proposed in their application to change ventilation systems to reduce odour and, if required, spread straw on the manure lagoon twice a year to reduce smell. Approving officer Scott Cunningham addresses neighbours’ concerns in his approval. Odours will likely increase with the expansion, he notes, adding that setbacks from nearby residences, springs and water bodies fall within the separation distances outline in the Agricultural Operation Practices Act. Spruit Farms also meets the act’s requirements for manure management and groundwater protection. Cunningham concludes that the proposed expansion will have “acceptable effects on the economy and community, and will be an appropriate use of land. …” Among conditions is that the Spruits continue to monitor water wells and to cease construction if the water table comes within one metre or less of the concrete liners of the barns. As to property values, Cunningham says the NRCB
has stated previously “the land value effects on any specific parcel of land are not relevant to the consideration of an application under AOPA by either the approval officer or the board.” Neighbours have until Feb. 20 to appeal the NRCB approval. Edwin Spruit said they have gone beyond the requirements in a number of areas to reduce the impact of their operation. For instance, they have much more land already lined up than required for manure spreading and are improving barn ventilation, among other improvements. Smell during fall manure spreading lasts only a few days and can be reduced by working manure into the ground, he said. “I understand the neighbours’ complaints and the neighbours’ issues, that’s why I’ve tried to address them as best as I could,” he said. Coincidentally, county council debated a proposal by a landowner to subdivide 19 nearby acres into nine country residential lots on Tuesday. The subdivision would be located about 800 metres from the Spruits’ farm.
Please see FARM on Page A2
Stepfather told Shachtay to call the police, not open gift BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF
MALLEY TRIAL
The stepfather of Victoria Shachtay wishes he could have convinced her not to open the Christmas present containing the explosive that killed her. Rick Bercier made the statement during testimony at the trial of Brian Malley on Tuesday. Malley is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Victoria Shachtay of Innisfail. The Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench jury trial is in its third week. On the morning of Shachtay’s murder, Nov. 25, 2011, she went to the house of stepfather Bercier. She often went there to shower as the house was wheelchair accessible. Shachtay was paralyzed in a 2004 car crash. Earlier that morning, Shachtay, 23, and her caregiver discovered a gift on their doorstep. When she told Bercier of the discovery, he warned her not to open it and to call the police. She said there was no card and no identifying features on the package. Bercier testified on Tuesday that he thought she understood not to open the package.
When asked why he told Shachtay to not open it, Bercier said he was a naturally suspicious person. “I watch too many TV shows,” he said. A little later that day, Bercier’s brother dropped off Destiny Shachtay, Victoria’s daughter, at Bercier’s house. Bercier tried to call Victoria one more time to remind her to not open the mysterious package and to call the police. But he couldn’t reach her. About five minutes later, there was a knock on Bercier’s door. The RCMP and victims services personnel were there to tell him that Shachtay had been killed in an explosion. The gift bag disguised a pipe bomb, court has been told. Three days after the bombing of one of his clients, Malley, a financial advisor, was interviewed by police, court heard. The Crown alleges the motive behind the bombing was financial and that Malley, 57, had been paying Shachtay out of his own pocket after money she gave him to invest ran out.
WEATHER Sunny. High -3. Low -15.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D6 Entertainment . . . . . . . .D7,D8 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B8
When interviewed by RCMP on Nov. 28, 2011, Malley suggested that police should look into Shachtay’s brother Derek or examine a potential drug connection, court also heard on Tuesday. Malley said he had witnessed Derek and Victoria arguing over money after she had received the large settlement from a car crash. Malley also told police that he had smelled marijuana when he met with Victoria. Malley told police that on the evening of Nov. 24, he travelled from Red Deer to Innisfail, and went to a colleague’s house to get building material packed for a trip to Edmonton the next day. Malley then went home to work on his sauna for a few hours, went to the Co-op, got a chicken dinner, watched a little TV and went to bed. His wife was away in Edmonton at the ballet. The next morning, the couple went to Edmonton on business. In hour-long audio recording presented to the jury on Tuesday, Malley detailed his financial relationship with Shachtay. The two met after the car crash that paralyzed Shachtay.
Please see MALLEY on Page A2
Saint John declares state of emergency Third storm in less than a week pummelled the port city, leaving plenty of snow to fill the streets. Story on PAGE A6
PLEASE
RECYCLE