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Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015
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‘Today we tied’ RED DEER COLLEGE, COUNTY STRUGGLE OVER FUNDING FOR ATHLETIC CENTRE BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF Local college officials walked out of Red Deer County with one-tenth of its $5 million request towards a new Centre for Health, Wellness and Sport on Tuesday. College president Joel Ward said while he hoped for more he respected that county council had to do what it felt was best for its ratepayers. “We’re appreciative of any amount the county sees fit to give,” he said following a three-hour long public hearing at Red Deer County Centre. “Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose. Sometimes we tie. I guess today we tied,” he said. Ward said the missed funding target will not affect the project, which will be built regardless. About $50 million has already been pledged to the $88-million centre and the college will be approaching other communities, corporate donors and other funding sources as it gears up for a traditional fundraising campaign. Nearly two dozen residents, including several former county councillors and a reeve and former MLA Mary Anne Jablonski, got up to speak at a public hearing specially called to get ratepayer feedback on the large funding request from Red Deer College first made to council a month ago. College officials, apparently aware of rumbles of discontent in the county about the size of the request, came prepared with an alternative. Early on its presentation, the college suggested a $2.3 million donation would be reasonable. That was based on the City of Red Deer’s $11.5 million commitment, which works out to $115 per capita. Opinions in the crowd were sharply split, with many arguing county tax dollars shouldn’t go towards health and post-secondary projects.
Please see FUNDING on Page A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Will Welikoklad, 11, of Red Deer soars off one of the many jumps at the Red Deer BMX track Tuesday. Will along with his brother Jack, and friends Ryan Raymont and Taylor Boll had the track to themselves Tuesday and took advantage of it hitting lap after lap. Red Deer BMX Club training gets going in earnest at the beginning of May with club training sessions running Sunday and Monday and racing Tuesday and Thursday evenings. For more information on the club visit www.reddeerbmx.ca.
No link between string of sudden deaths: RCMP BY MARY-ANN BARR RED DEER ADVOCATE Rumours swirling around Red Deer on Tuesday that four sudden deaths were linked are untrue. RCMP had reported on Monday that a Red Deer man who had gone missing last week was found deceased in Lacombe County on Sunday and his death was non-suspicious. Red Deer RCMP have now confirmed there were also three sudden non-suspicious deaths in Red Deer on Monday. Two of the people who died were people under the age of 18, and the other two were adults (including the man found in Lacombe County), Red
Deer RCMP Cpl. Leanne Molzahn said on Tuesday. “I can’t comment on the details of the deaths but I can confirm they were not all suicides. “There has been a lot of interest generated but unfortunately it is a result of some rumours that have been created by someone or some people,” Molzahn. “We do want to quell those rumours because they are inaccurate. “There is nothing indicating there is any linkage,” of the deaths, she said. “At this point in time there is nothing suspicious or criminal in nature that has been noted. “It’s not to say there hasn’t been more than one sudden death in a day. We do live in a city of 100,000 people.
There are occasions where there is more than one sudden death. ... It’s not to say that it’s never happened before,” Molzahn said. “I have no idea why (the rumours) have taken the direction they have. We just see that as very unfortunate because there are families that are grieving right now and the last thing that they need to hear about is rumours such as that, which are completely inaccurate.” There were unverified reports on social media about several deaths in the community, and police fielded a lot of calls because of the rumours. RCMP don’t usually report on noncriminal deaths out of respect for the families. barr@reddeeradvocate.com
Conservatives eke out razor-thin surplus in election year BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Finance Minister Joe Oliver guided his maiden budget voyage into port Tuesday with a precious cargo of targeted pre-election measures on board — and just enough leeway to keep the federal books above water. The razor-thin $1.4-billion surplus projected this year — the first in eight years and just the third since Prime Minister Stephen Harper took office riding a $13-billion surplus in 2006 — is entirely dependent on a lengthy series of bookkeeping measures, including asset sales, reduced reserve funds and unrealized collective bargaining gains. “A promise made, a promise kept, Mr. Speaker, this budget is written in black ink,” Oliver told the House of Commons in a budget speech remarkable for its sharp partisan rhetoric. The election subtext was also written all over the 518-page budget document. Popular pocketbook measures for
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FEDERAL BUDGET LOCAL REACTION A3 WINNERS AND LOSERS A5 targeted voting blocs, a dominant emphasis on security spending and a play to patriotism are the Conservative election pennants. They’ve also left precious little room for campaign spending promises by their opponents. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called the surplus “economic sleight-ofhand” and said the budget measures will “help the wealthiest few at the expense of everyone else.” But he denied the fiscal framework would foreclose NDP initiatives. “I have been around the cabinet table, I know what it is to make those tough choices day in, day out, and I know what it is to have priorities,” said Mulcair.
Please see BUDGET on Page A3
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Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Minister of Finance Joe Oliver waves as he is given a standing ovation from his party as he arrives to deliver the federal budget in the House of Common on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Family thanks stranger who donated liver Michael and Johanne Wagner broke down in tears Tuesday as they thanked an anonymous donor of their daughter’s liver. Story on PAGE D5
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