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Thoughtful film a triumphant return to form for Pixar
Red Deer Advocate FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015
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Lesser of two evils LACOMBE LEFT WITH NO CHOICE BUT TO RELEASE TREATED SEWAGE INTO WOLF CREEK BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF Treated sewage is trickling out of Lacombe’s nearcapacity lagoons into Wolf Creek. The problem drew a written warning in May from Environment Canada for violating the Fisheries Act by releasing a substance “deleterious to fish” that could reach a waterway. So far, there is no indication that fish have been
harmed by the small amounts released. It is quickly diluted. Environment Canada, which was told of the release as soon as it was spotted, is not talking about fines. Surprisingly, Lacombe’s sewage trickle is considered the lesser of two evils. Matthew Goudy, Lacombe’s director of operations and planning services, said stopping the flow entirely risks a much bigger calamity — a significant breach in one of the city’s treatment lagoons and a much bigger flow of toxic sewage into Wolf Creek,
which eventually joins the Battle River in Ponoka County. “If we continued to hold everything back, we would over-top the berms (separating sewage treatment and storage cells) and we would have a release of untreated sewage, possibly a major release if the berms failed,” said Goudy. “We have no choice but to slowly release at a very, very slow rate the treated end of the sewage.”
Please see SEWAGE on Page A2
Currency, demand driving up gas prices
CLASSIC DETAILING
BY MARY-ANN BARR ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Kelly Norwood adds a little hand lettering to Layton Fulton’s 1950 Chevy Coupe during the first Red Deer Cruise Night at the new location. Cruise Night has been moved to from the east parking lot of the Parkland Mall to the Crossroads Church just east of the QEII and south of the C&E Trail east of Red Deer.
Dangerous offender status upheld against Red Deer man BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF Dangerous offender status has been upheld by Alberta’s top court for a man convicted of violently beating and sexually assaulting an elderly woman on her way to the grocery store. In a ruling handed down on Thursday, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the 2012 dangerous offender ruling of Jesse Peter Toews, 31, of Red Deer. The court said the crime he was convicted for was brutal as opposed to merely despicable. In effect, Toews will be held in custody for an indefinite period of time. During his trial, Justice Monica Bast ruled Toews was a dangerous offender and should remain in prison until he no longer poses a threat. Toews appealed the dangerous offender status on the narrow point of Bast’s ruling that the offence was brutal, a provision allowing for a dangerous offender designation. Instead, the appeal argued the crime was “merely despicable.” The appeal court ruled that Bast’s ruling of Toews’ behaviour as brutal was justified. Toews was convicted in 2011 in a brutal sexual as-
WEATHER 60% showers. High 17. Low 6.
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sault of a 77-year-old woman who was on her way to the grocery store. In 2009, Toews attacked the woman from behind while she was walking along a dirt path near the grocery store. Toews quickly overpowered the smaller woman, covered her mouth with his hand and pulled down her underwear. The woman begged Toews to leave her alone, offering him money, but the attack continued. She was rendered unconscious during the vicious attack and awoke alone on the ground in an area surrounded by trees. Her face and clothing were covered in blood from a head wound, and she had cuts and a black eye. She was taken to hospital, examined and treated. Witness statements put Toews in the area at the time and his DNA was found on the victim’s underwear. In 2011, during the dangerous offender hearing, a psychological assessment concluded that Toews is a psychopath with a very high risk of violent recidivism and a moderate to high risk of sexual recidivism. mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com
It goes hand in hand with summer — gasoline prices go up and the grumbling begins. But simple supply and demand is a bit more complicated this time. Stephanie Powers, an economics instructor at the Donald School of Business at Red Deer College, provides the answer to the big question a lot of annoyed consumers are asking: Why is the price of gasoline climbing, yet the price of oil is low? There are two things driving up gas prices even though oil is low, said Powers. Powers, who has a doctorate, has degrees in finance, economics, and statistics. She teaches economics, marketing research and operations management at the college. In Red Deer, the price of gasoline has recently been moving upwards. Regular gasoline was as high at $114.9 per litre on Thursday. The price of a barrel of oil was US$60.39. Powers said every year, at the end of May and beginning of June, gas prices go up because people do more travelling in the summer. The increase in demand pushes prices up. But there’s another factor now — even though the price of oil is low because there is a Saudi-driven surplus of it, oil prices are based in American dollars. In Canada when a gas station goes to buy fuel to reload its tanks, it’s paying in U.S. dollars. And the U.S. dollar continues to go up compared to the value of the Canadian dollar. So gas stations must spend more Canadian dollars to get that same gas. The Canadian dollar was worth .82 cents U.S. on Thursday. Powers expects gasoline prices to be fairly stable over the summer, fluctuating a bit as the U.S. and Canadian currency exchange rate changes. Private gas stations only see a profit margin of about two or three per cent, she said. “That’s small, much smaller than most retail companies,” said Powers. The profit margin is a little higher, but not much, for stations tied to large companies. Gas stations are always looking at what it is going to cost to reload their tanks. When they see the Canadian dollar decline, they are concerned that the next tank of gas is going to be even more expensive than the one now, she said. If you are forecasting the future, you are not necessarily going to instantly drop the price if you think the Canadian dollar is going to strengthen — you hesitate because maybe it’s temporary. That’s why there is a lot more reaction to raise the price than there is an instant reaction to drop it as the exchange rates fluctuate, Powers said. It’s scarier to drop the price, then raise it when the profit margin is so tight, she said.
Please see GAS on Page A2
NDP plays give and take The NDP government is spending $624 million on schools, hospitals and social care, and introducing a bill to increase taxes on large businesses and the wealthy. Story on PAGE A3
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