STARS SHINE AT OSCARS
JONES WINS SCOTTIES
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Red Deer Advocate MONDAY, FEB. 23, 2015
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RDC concerned about potential cuts BY MARY-ANN BARR AND MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF As cuts to post-secondary education loom in the next provincial budget, there is a marked increase in the number of people wanting to attend Red Deer College, president Joel Ward says. Year over year to date, there’s been an increase of 9.8 per cent in applications, he said. With the Alberta government staring at a pos-
sible $7-billion shortfall in revenues in the upcoming year due to low oil prices, Ward said every one of the province’s 26 post-secondary education institutions is waiting to see what the impact will be. “We’re as anxious as everyone else,” he said. “There’s lots of speculation. I think it’s really clear that our premier (Jim Prentice) is looking at a threepronged approach.” Ward said this could include a combination of cuts to spending, running a deficit and increased revenues, perhaps through things like higher sin taxes and re-introducing health-care premiums. “We read the tea leaves as best we can. We know
the score. We know how the game is played, so what we do is we do scenario-based planning.” They look at what three per cent, five per cent and seven per cent cuts would mean to the college, and then they engage the college on ways to be more effective and efficient, he said. “Make no mistake, though, I think whatever happens, we’ll be serving fewer students ... simply because of our inability to deliver the kinds of services that we’re going to need, to more students.
Please see CUTS on Page A2
YEAR OF THE GOAT
RIMBEY-ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSESUNDRE
Cote wins PC nomination BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Rocky Mountain House’s Tammy Cote will be a member of Team PC in the next general election. Cote, the great niece of Alberta’s first female lieutenant governor, secured the nod as part of “Super Saturday” where party faithful selected seven more PC candidates in constituencies across the province. She will represent the Progressive Conservatives in the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituency. Cote’s great aunt is Helen Hunley, who held several cabinet positions as a PC MLA in the 1970s and was once the mayor of Rocky. She died in 2010. Cote, 52, defeated contender Terry Engen, a former Lacombe County reeve and councillor, in the two-person contest. Cote is branch manager for ATB Financial in Rocky, and has worked for the financial institution for 30 years. “I am really grateful for the constituency support,” said Cote. “It feels like I have their backing. It is an incentive to work even harder for them.” Once the election is called, Cote will take a leave of absence from the bank and she will resign if she is successful. Cote has served as the local chamber of commerce president, sat on the economic development board, and been involved in a number of volunteer organizations. “This is a new and larger way to serve people,” said Cote. “That’s the way I look at management .. it’s about serving people. This is just the next step, a bigger way to do that.” Cote and her husband Wayne, helped out on the Ty Lund campaign during the last election. She said her only motive is to do the best she can to serve and represent the constituency in Edmonton. “I am excited about the party,” said Cote. “The party is turning over a new leaf under a new leader who is very credible. I am excited to work for Premier Prentice.” So far two others are officially in the race for MLA in the riding including current Independent MLA Joe Anglin and Wildrose Party candidate Jason Nixon. Anglin quit the Wildrose Party in November after a falling out with party members. Recently Anglin “kicked the tires on the PCs” but in the end the two sides agreed that Anglin would be not be a good fit with the party.
Please see COTE on Page A2
WEATHER A mix of sun and cloud. High 6. Low -2.
FORECAST ON A2
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Photo by ASHLI BARRETT/Advocate staff
Sisters Addy and Charli Long paint the different Chinese Zodiac signs using watercolours as part MAGnificent Saturdays’ Year of the Goat workshop at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery. Families were invited to come in and take part in the Chinese New Year themed event. MAGnificent Saturdays are held at the museum every Saturday from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Jazz at the Lake taking a hiatus BUT ANOTHER OUTDOOR CONCERT IS PLANNED FOR AUGUST BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF For the first time, strains of live jazz with full orchestral accompaniment will be heard on the shores of Sylvan Lake. A musical alliance has been struck between Jazz at the Lake festival organizers and the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra for an outdoor concert by the lake on Saturday, Aug. 15. The event will involve renowned American drummer Dan Brubeck and his trio, as well as celebrated local jazz singer Cheryl Fisher and saxophonist Eric Allison performing with the RDSO. It will be one of three special events held in lieu of this year’s Sylvan Lake jazz festival. Jazz at the Lake is taking a hiatus in 2015 to give organizers a breather, said Allison, who has co-ordinated the successful annual festival with Fisher for the past 12 years. “We felt ... this was the right time to take a break, assess where we’ve been and where we go from here.” Allison expects to bring the festival back in 2016. In the meantime, the three stand-alone events are being planned to give Central Alberta jazz lovers
something to look forward to this spring and summer. The largest will be the collaborative outdoor picnic concert with the RDSO. It came about because both the jazz festival organizers and members of the RDSO were looking for an opportunity to work together. When RDSO executive director Chandra Kastern heard there would be no jazz festival this summer, she thought a joint concert could be a win-win. “It’ll be very, very neat,” she added, allowing the jazz festival to widen its audience and the RDSO to expand into Sylvan Lake, where some residents had never had a chance to hear the orchestra perform. “The more we get out into Central Alberta, the better,” said Kastern, who is also planning an outdoor RDSO concert on the Bower Ponds stage on Sunday, Aug. 16. Allison was immediately enthused about the joint concert, saying his group had long tossed around the idea of getting involved with the RDSO. The collaborative concert will give jazz tunes an orchestral treatment and “will be like nothing Sylvan Lake has ever seen before,” said Allison, who added: “It should create a huge buzz in the community.”
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West Edmonton mall named in terror video The RCMP says it’s investigating a reported video from the Al-Shabab group urging Muslims to attack shopping malls
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