ELEGANT AND EASY
BRUNCH
Columnist Madhu Badoni shares some tips with you about preparing her favourite meal — PAGE D6
CFL PREVIEW — PAGE B3
Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority
Council taps reserves APPROVES $1.36M REQUEST FROM PUBLIC WORKS TO BUY OUTSTANDING EQUIPMENT BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF A weak Canadian dollar and inflationary pressures has forced the city to dip into reserves to cover a projected shortfall in its fleet budgets. Council approved a request of $1.36 million from the Public Works department to purchase the outstanding equipment for 2014 and the project-
ed budget differential in 2015 on Monday. The city typically purchases its fleet units out of the United States. Public Works manager Greg Sikora said the low dollar means the city has less buying power to purchase its equipment for its fleet in 2015. He did not have the specific details for the required units available at the meeting. Council voted to adjust the
replacement budget to $7.2 million, up $1 million, and growth budget to $2.37 million, up $324,000. The one-time adjustment does not affect the tax base because the request was made mid-year. The money will be drawn from the equipment replacement and growth reserve. It currently has a balance of $21 million. Elaine Vincent, director of Development Services Divi-
MIGHTY LEAP
sion, told council that the reserve is sustainable and will meet any demands in the 10-year planning cycle. Sikora said deferring the purchases would pose risks such as paying more for equipment down the road and potentially interrupting service levels. For example, the community would be affected if the city’s ice surfacer broke down and there was no replacement,
he said. There’s also the risk of using equipment that is past its useful life. For example, a basic truck has an eight-year life cycle and a bus has an 18-year life cycle. Units are replaced when they near the end of its cycle. It generally costs more to fix an old piece of equipment than it is to buy new.
Please see COUNCIL on Page A2
VICTORIA SHACHTAY MURDER
Malley denied bail pending his appeal BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Juan Bustos takes off, leaping 5 foot 10 inches during the broad jump event at the Legion Track in Red Deer on Monday. Bustos and classmates from the Destiny Christian School in Red Deer enjoyed a fine afternoon taking part in a school track and field fun day.
The Innisfail man convicted of first-degree murder in the bombing death of a quadriplegic single mother will have to wait in jail while his appeal is heard by the courts. Brian Andrew Malley, 58, was denied bail pending his appeal on Monday by the Alberta Court of Appeal. He was convicted of firstdegree murder on Feb. 24 and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Victoria Shachtay, 23, was killed on Nov. 25, 2011, when she opened a package left on her doorstep. The package looked like an early Christmas present, but disguised a bomb that detonated when she opened it, killing her. Malley’s appeal is due back in the Calgary Court of Appeal on Sept. 15. It was launch on March 6. In the interim, he had sought to be released on bail. Several reasons for denying bail were given, including the graveness of the offence. The court said that short of treason in wartime or multiple killings, it could not be much worse. Another reason given was the weak grounds for appeal. “The appeal is not entirely frivolous, though some parts of it argued before me are, so far as I can tell,” reads the deci-
Brian Malley sion from Justice Jean Cote. At another point, the decision calls the Crown’s case strong. Cote adds that the danger of Malley jumping bail or misconducting himself while on bail are moderate but not strong. Cote cited an instance during the trial where testimony indicated Malley had asked a friend to plant evidence for him while he was held at the Red Deer Remand Centre. Among the reasons cited to Cote by defence counsel Bob Aloneissi for the appeal are a poor police investigation and that some members of the jury may have been biased against Malley’s wife.
Please see MALLEY on Page A2
Siblings testify about extreme abuse suffered at hands of mother BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF A former Bentley-area woman ruled her household with an iron fist, say her four children, who testified in court to extreme physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The woman, now 63, faces charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault and assault. The charges are in relation to what the
WEATHER 30% showers. High 22. Low 9.
FORECAST ON A2
Crown says was a long series of abuses during the 1980s and 1990s. The accused’s identity and the identity of her children are protected by a court-ordered publication ban. A trial in Red Deer provincial court scheduled for three days started on Monday before Judge James Glass. All four of her children, now adults between the ages of 33 and 40, took the stand on Monday, each detailing abuse they had suffered.
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B5,B6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B6
The youngest son, 36, recalled specifically 10 to 15 instances of his mother sexually assaulting him while he was between the ages of 12 and 15. She would enter his room, climb under the comforter but above the sheet, rub his genitals with her hand, grind her hips on his body while straddling him, and lick and nibble on his ears. All the while, she told him that she loved him and that he was special. The now-36-year-old said he came forward to police after
finding out that his friend’s children had been sexually abused by their grandfather. RCMP investigators collected statements from the other three siblings. Each detailed stories of beatings and assaults with spatulas, sticks, knives and even pitchforks. The oldest daughter, 38, said growing up they faced two types of attacks: disciplinary or beatings. Discipline typically involved a child going to the bathroom, where their mother
told them to grab onto the sink and she would strike them with a wooden spoon or spatula. These instances were often directly related to an offence and the children were told why they were being struck. However, the beatings seemed random to the children and all testified to living in fear of the next time their mother would get angry for a reason they did not know.
Please see ABUSE on Page A2
Make or break time for area crops Persistently dry conditions continue to leave Central Alberta crops at risk, despite the most recent showers. Story on PAGE B5
PLEASE
RECYCLE