Red Deer Advocate, May 19, 2015

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CANNES FILM FESTIVAL: WHAT WE’VE LEARNED SO FAR

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BOLTS STRIKE BACK AT RANGERS

Farrell’s sci-fi flick, a large sculpture for charity and more

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Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2015

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Marathon picking up speed WOODY’S MARATHON SEES MORE THAN 1,500 RUNNERS, NEW RECORDS BY JOSH ALDRICH ADVOCATE STAFF The Woody’s Marathon continues to prove it’s the little RV that could. With its 17th edition on Sunday in the books, the marathon continues to establish its place as one SEE MORE COVERAGE of the mustrun events ON PAGES B1 AND C1 on the Alberta road race calendar. This year they surpassed their goal of 1,500 runners while an estimated 4,500-5,500 people watched either at Lindsay Thurber Composite High School or along the 42.2-kilometre course. “This course is made for runners,” said race director Jason Hazlett. “To us, this will be the best race course in Alberta. It may not be the biggest race, because how do you compete against Edmonton? How do you compete against Calgary for the numbers? But when we’ve got people coming from Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie and Cold Lake and Medicine Hat and Lethbridge coming up to do our race because of our scenic trails, that tells us that Red Deer has done something right and created an incredible environment for runners.” Camrose’s Brendan Lunty became the first man to win the marathon five years in a row, surpassing Jack Cook’s mark of four straight, while the women’s race was won by newcomer Rhonda Loo from Lake Newell Resort near Brooks. Meanwhile, Red Deer’s Dusty

Photo by ASHLI BARRETT/Advocate staff

Full and half-marathon runners take off from the start line early Sunday morning for the 17th annual Woody’s RV Marathon. Spiller set a record in the half marathon, with a winning time of 1:12:31.95, while Jen Moroz from Vancouver was the fastest woman in the 21.1 kilometre race with a time of 1:22:42.65. Beyond medals, local artists Brian McArthur and Dawn Detarando of Voyageur Art & Tile fabricated cham-

pionship beer steins for each podium finish while they also made tiles painted with a scene from River Bend Golf Course section of the race for each of the age group winners. There were several new wrinkles added to this year’s even, including a kid’s race, a marathon relay, a tent

city on the Lindsay Thurber site and a Woody’s Egger sandwich that was provided by Red Deer Co-op and the Food Bank that went to each of the runners. It all added to the atmosphere of the race.

Please see MARATHON on Page A2

County raises concerns about city’s environmental reserve LACOMBE BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF The City of Lacombe should require bigger buffers around water bodies to ensure they are not affected by future development, says Lacombe County. The county was asked for its input on a new City of Lacombe Municipal Development (MDP) Plan, the overall development guide for a community. After review, the county has raised concerns that the city isn’t taking enough land for environmental reserve, which ensures it is not developed. The county wants to see the 15-metre reserve called for in the MDP doubled to 30 metres, a standard met in county planning documents. Dale Freitag, county manager of planning services, said the county believes it’s important to maintain consistency among municipalities and that 30 metres offers better protection. “The water course doesn’t know the difference between Lacombe County and the City of Lacombe,” said Freitag. In some cases, a 15-metre setback may provide enough protection to lakes, rivers and streams — but maybe not in all. “It’s best to err on the side of caution when you’re dealing with water bodies,” he said. “It’s much cheaper to take (setback) land now than down the road if you’re wrong.” City planner Jennifer Kirchner said that the Municipal Government Act requires that a six-metre environmental reserve be set aside, and the city will add at least another nine metres of reserve to create a minimum 15-metre

WEATHER Sunny. High 16. Low 2.

FORECAST ON A2

‘IT’S BEST TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION WHEN YOU’RE DEALING WITH WATER BODIES — DALE FREITAG COUNTY MANAGE OF PLANNING SERVICES

buffer zone. “The 15 metres will serve to not only protect these environmental features but allow for the public to be able to enjoy these sites,” said Kirchner. What the city is proposing is in line with the provincial government’s policies, she added. “The city believes that this policy will ensure environmental areas are protected and accessible to the community and will support diverse development to occur in Lacombe.” The city also pointed out in a written reply to the county that requiring a 30-metre reserve might leave the municipality unable to take enough municipal reserve land, which is typically used for recreation. Regulations are tighter for environmental reserves, which must be kept in their natural state and can be used for parks. City of Lacombe is holding a public hearing in council chambers on May 25 on its MDP. The county has raised similar concerns about ensuring 30-metre setbacks in a Sylvan Lake MDP. An appeal was launched and it is close to being resolved with the help of a mediator. Some county councillors have suggested it might be time for all Sylvan Lake communities to get together to work out a consistent set of development guidelines, including setbacks from the water’s edge. pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com

INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . .D1,D2 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B8

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Little Bobtail Lake fire, 50 kilometres southwest of Prince George, B.C., is shown on Sunday. A large forest fire in northern B.C. is growing as firefighters struggle to contain the out-of-control blaze that has forced dozens of people from their homes.

Firefighters battle raging B.C. wildfire BY THE CANADIAN PRESS PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — An unexpected spike in wind has spoiled the prospect of better firefighting conditions in British Columbia’s Central Interior, where crews are struggling to make headway against the first major blaze of this year’s fire season. B.C.’s Fire Management Branch welcomed Monday’s forecast of cooler temperatures and lighter winds in the fight against the Little Bobtail Lake fire, about 70 kilometres southwest of Prince George.But favourable wind conditions had waned by the afternoon, prompting the blaze to grow to 250 square kilometres — a jump from Sunday’s estimated size of 240 square kilometres.

“It’s a complex fire,” said Peter Goode of the Fire Management Branch on Monday, speaking by phone from the crew’s base camp about two dozen kilometres south of the flames. “It’s unpredictable because of the wind.” Goode listed several other factors that have contributed to the fire’s complexity: different types of wood, a mixture of harvested and unharvested areas, swamps and the intermittent presence of snow. Fire crews managed to contain 20 per cent of the blaze by Saturday, but that number had fallen to 15 per cent by Monday after strong winds fanned the flames, causing the fire to spread.

Please see FIRE on Page A2

9 dead after biker gang shootout About 170 members of motorcycle gangs were charged after a shootout in Waco Texas left nine dead and 18 wounded Story on PAGE A7

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