BLUE MOON RISING
DILL PESTO
CENTRAL ALBERTA DUO SET FOR HOMECOMING SHOW
A DELICIOUS, DIVERSE DISH
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Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
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Education cuts blasted
CHIEFS BLANK THUNDER
BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Class sizes will grow when per-pupil funding falls come September, say 19 Alberta school jurisdictions who joined together to sound the alarm on Monday. The growing jurisdictions from around the province predict short and long-term consequences for students as a result of the Prentice government’s 2015-16 budget, which provided no money for enrolment growth — about 12,000 students, according to provincial projections. On Monday in a press release, Education Minister Gordon Dirks said the Progressive Conservative government’s expectation is for school boards to make full use of their combined reserves of $460 million if need be. But educators say when budget was announced they were told they weren’t allowed to reduce teaching staff or use reserve funding. “For the government to all of a sudden come down with an edict that says thou shalt do this as far your management goes, I think it really is a slap in the face to our local autonomy and locally elected officials,” said Bev Manning, board chair of Red Deer Public Schools.
Please see CUTS on Page A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Red Deer Chief Ashley Richard takes a shot on goal as left, Cayle Dillon and centre Kennedy Becks of the Edmonton Thunder defend during second period Esso Cup action at the Arena in Red Deer Monday. The Chiefs won the game 2-0. See related story on Page B1.
Pet food, garbage can attract urban coyotes RED DEERIANS UNLIKELY TO COME IN CONTACT WITH THE ANIMAL BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF People who want to keep coyotes away from their yards and their small pets should contain their garbage and pet food. While urban coyotes prey on small critters considered pests, like mice, hare and gophers, they can also be attracted to residential neighbourhoods. “They are a fairly broad generalist. They will key in on people’s garbage that’s left out and not stored appropriately, pet food left on the back deck. These are the kinds of things we try to educate against doing,” said Ken Lehman, parks ecological and planning specialist with the City of Red Deer. He said allowing fruit from trees to fall and collect on the ground can also bring coyotes around. A new study from the University of Alberta recommends people keep easily accessible human food out of reach to prevent urban coyote conflicts. Human food isn’t a healthy diet for the animals, either. Lehman said that when the line between coyotes and humans becomes blurred, it increases the possibility of conflict, including with small pets. But by and large, Red Deerians will rarely come into contact with coyotes because they avoid humans, he said. “We’ve never had a coyote that’s attacked a person (in Red Deer). It is true there has probably been a few cats that have gone missing and small dogs are at risk of falling prey to them just as they are to a horned owl. It’s just a matter of keeping control of our pets to protect the wildlife and to protect pets.” Lehman said coyotes are actually a sign of a healthy, diverse urban ecosystem. “They are an important piece of the puzzle, just like crows and ravens are, just like magpies are. They are nature’s cleanup crew and they play an important role.” For those who are fearful of coyotes, studies show that removing established pairs only opens up the opportunity for younger animals to move in and allow the coyote population to increase, Lehman said. He didn’t know how many coyotes call Red Deer home since they usually stick to wooded areas. Carol Kelly, executive director of Medicine River Wildlife Centre, said only about half a dozen coyotes from Red Deer have been brought to her wildlife hospital over the past 30 years. She said some people are quick to call coyotes a
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Coyote pups that were found in Central Alberta last year and taken to Medicine River Wildlife Centre. problem, but the animals are regular city dwellers. “They tend to be rather solitary animals,” Kelly said. Last year, coyote pups found in Central Alberta were taken to the wildlife centre. They were later reintroduced to the wild and successfully adopted by another coyote family. Scott Kallweit, fish and wildlife officer with Environment and Sustainable Resource Development for the Red Deer area, said Calgary and Edmonton would have more coyote sightings because they have more extensive river valleys compared to Red Deer. He said there are more complaints about moose in Red Deer than coyotes. “I can’t remember the last (coyote) complaint I had and I’ve been here since August,” Kallweit said. “They are around but they tend to stay out of trouble for the most part. They keep to themselves.” Conflicts generally involve pets and coyotes, and they happen more often on acreages rather than in city, he said. For more information on coyotes, visit www.esrd. alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wild-species/mammals/wilddogs/coyotes.aspx szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
Green Cart pilot begins net week BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Soiled paper, meat and fish bones, pet droppings, food and yard waste, and other organics will be picked up curbside in Red Deer starting next week. The city’s Green Cart pilot officially kicked off with a demonstration of a truck picking up a green cart at the curb outside the Civic Yards on Monday. As part of the pilot, 2,000 households will have their organics waste picked up along with the weekly garbage collection. The $350,000 organics waste pilot is the latest initiative in the city’s efforts to reduce its per capital disposal waste to 500 kg from 800 kg per year by 2023. Organics make up about 40 per cent of household waste. When composted, the waste can be turned into mulch or used as nutrients in soil rather than end up in the landfill. The organics in the pilot will be reused on local farmland. It will help to keep weeds down, retain moisture and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Janet Whitesell, City of Red Deer Waste Management superintendent, said meeting the waste reduction target is doable when combined with other city waste diversion programs. “It is a stretch goal and we will take a lot of work to get to it, but it is realistic,” said Whitesell. In 2011, nearly 75,000 tonnes of waste from Red Deer was disposed at the Red Deer Waste Management Facility. That translates to 812 kg per capita. By comparison, the Canadian average is 777 kg per capita, and the Alberta average is 1,122 kg per capita, according to city stats. Green carts could be rolled out to every home in Red Deer in 2017, if the pilot is given the green light. The success of the program will be determined by the amount of waste diverted from the landfill, customer satisfaction and the contractor’s ability to handle the waste. Whitesell said the pilot will also help officials determine the cost of running a city-wide program. “It’s difficult to estimate what the total costs will be,” she said. “The pilot will help us iron out some of those things. Collection contracts will have expire by that time so we will need a new contract. ... We have a lot of focus in the Waste Management Master Plan around efficiencies.” Mayor Tara Veer said environmental sustainability is very import to the city, council and residents. The city is staggering in new programs outlined in the 2013-adopted Waste Management Master Plan over 10 years.
Please see GREEN on Page A3
Balanced budget to set federal campaign running Joe Oliver showed off a pair of Tory blue New Balance sneakers for his new budget photo-op, a symbolic choice. Story on PAGE A5
PLEASE
RECYCLE