FURIOUS 7 LEADS THE WAY AGAIN
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FLAMES CATCH FIRE AGAINST CANUCKS
Red Deer Advocate MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015
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Eye in the sky RED DEER BUSINESS LOOKS TO CAPITALIZE ON COMMERCIAL USES FOR DRONES BY HARLEY RICHARDS ADVOCATE BUSINESS EDITOR With six propellers and weighing a hefty 18 pounds (eight kg), it’s immediately evident that the drone rising from the field on Red Deer’s northeastern outskirts isn’t your typical hobby shop offering. A GPS sensor sits atop the unit, a 24-megapixel camera is attached to a three-axis gimbal below, and three men oversee its operation: Shaun McLaren serving as pilot, Trevor Praud controlling the camera and Jeff Giesbrecht acting as spotter. The three men are partners in Alberta Aerial Imaging and Mapping, a Red Deer business that’s seeking to capitalize on the commercial applications of drones — or as they prefer to call them, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “It’s definitely picking up and it’s going to get big in the near future,” said Praud of the demand for UAV services. Obvious uses include photos and video of subjects like farmyards, homes and even wedding parties. Mount an infrared camera on a UAV, and it provides a way to scout farm
crops for evidence of disease; switch to a thermal imaging camera, and it can help firefighters detect hot spots in the aftermath of a blaze, or assist search and rescue personnel in locating missing people. McLaren, who’s worked in environmental drilling for the past decade, is excited about the potential for 3D mapping to facilitate spill assessments. Inspections of infrastructure like power lines and bridges could also be conducted with UAVs, he said. Praud, who is an IT specialist, listed flood management, municipal planning, disaster response and insurance surveying as other applications. Giesbrecht, who also operates Red Deer’s Tri-West Security, thinks a UAV with thermal imaging capabilities could be a useful tool for the security industry. “It would be a huge bonus for a security guard to know what’s out there in the dark, especially with construction sites,” he said. It was this potential that led Giesbrecht to McLaren and Praud. Soon after, he decided to invest in their fledgling business.
Please see UAV on Page A2
Merkules delivers songs of gratitude, recovery RAPPER GOES IN DIFFERENT DIRECTION ON NEW ALBUM BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF Rapper Merkules’s harrowing history is written in the scars on his face. Two sharp lines — one extending from the left side of his mouth, and another just missing his right eye and continuing across his nose — have inspired his new album Scars. The upcoming release will be weighted with gritty songs about violence and recovery, as well as more melody-driven tunes of gratitude, and should take Red Deer resident’s career in a new direction. “Maybe some youths will hear it and think twice about who they’re hanging out with, and what they’re doing with their lives,” said the 22-year-old who is originally from Surrey, B.C. So far, Merkules is best known for coining the slogan “Bacon over Bitches” and the music video of his song L.A.S.H., about the glories of marijuana, which made him recognizable in places like Germany, Spain, Greece and Bulgaria. The headliner of a hip-hop show on Friday, April 24, at Wild Bill’s Sports Bar has also been pigeon-holed as a “jolly, big fat rapper” when actually, he spent the last years of adolescence as a self-described mess. Until recently, Merkules said he was pushing 350 pounds and had to psyche himself up to leave the house or get up on stage. “I had the worst social anxiety ... I was basically a hermit. I put on 100 pounds eating and drinking, and trying to forget what happened.”
Please see MERKULES on Page A2
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Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
From Left to Right, Shaun McLaren, pilots a UAV while Trevor Praud operates the camera while Jeff Giesbreht watches a camera monitor as the Alberta Aerial Imaging and Mapping partners launch their UAV in Red Deer recently.
Davidson hopes Esso Cup will help to grow the game BY JOSH ALDRICH ADVOCATE STAFF Two years ago Melody Davidson charged the Red Deer Minor Hockey Association with going after hosting rights for the Esso Cup. On Sunday afternoon the puck dropped on the midget AAA girls hockey national championship. For the t w o - t i m e CHIEFS OPEN ESSO CUP O l y m p i c WITH WIN B1 gold medal women’s hockey coach, it was more than just being opportunistic for the region she grew up in to host another national championship. “There are so many options out there and sometimes I don’t think we know what’s out there when we grow up in smaller centres,” said the Oyen native. “I think this is great for Central Alberta and those who play the game to help grow the game and make it better and let them know that there are options.” The tournament pits the host Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs against the five regional champions from across Canada — Edmonton Thunder (Pacific), Saskatoon Stars (Saskatchewan), Central Plains Capitals (Manitoba), Sudbury Lady Wolves (Ontario), Moncton Rockets (Atlantic). Davidson, who is now the women’s high performance general manger for Hockey Canada, says several players playing this week have already been invited to the U-18 women’s training camp, including Chiefs defencemen Mairead Bast and Abagael Thiessen. But Davidson will be far from the only scout at the tournament with a number of college recruiters from across the continent coming in. Chiefs head coach Tom Bast says he has done his best to keep his girls focused on the task at hand. “I haven’t mentioned anything to them about (scouts),” he said. “I think they know there are going to be lots of people but that’s not front and centre right now, front and centre is playing a real solid team game. It’s a marathon,
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Cassidy Hollman of the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs fires a shot past Emma Rae Murphy of the Moncton Rockets Sunday night in Esso Cup action. not a sprint.” The Chiefs will have enough distractions with tournament organizers expecting record crowds. According to host chairman and RDMHA president Todd Thiessen, they have set a new standard for tournament passes sold with more than 220 purchased — the previous two years sold 189 in Burnaby, B.C., and 175 last year in Hamilton, Ont. — and then sold out for single day passes for Sunday. Organizers were also expecting a large walk-up crowd for the Chiefs’ opener against Moncton. There is the potential that the crowd will grow further, especially if the Chiefs can get off to a quick start at the tournament. “That’s going to be something new
for them that they are going to have to experience,” said Bast prior to Sunday’s game. “A building full of people cheering them on, the girls have never had that, I’m excited to see what kind of reaction I’m going to get from the girls. “It’s wonderful that Red Deer is supporting this as well as they are. Everyone thinks that ladies hockey is ladies hockey, but it’s competitive, it’s fun to watch and there’s lots of wild things that do go on.” One way the Chiefs are trying to avoid distractions is by staying in a hotel as a team, despite playing in their hometown.
Please see CUP on Page A2
Statues to honour John McCrae A century after penning “In Flanders Fields, McCrae will be honoured with statues in Ottawa and Guelph, Ontario. Story on PAGE A5
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