BARBER DEFIES GRAVITY TO WIN GOLD
GO NUTS WITH TIKI DRINKS/D5
PAGE B1
Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, AUG. 25, 2015
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority AIR QUALITY
Residents urged to take care as smoke rolls in
âA travesty of justiceâ
BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF The forest fire smoke that blanketed the Red Deer region on Monday is expected to have a choke-hold on Central Alberta for most of the week. Poor air quality advisories for the area âWEâRE were issued by AlberRECOMMENDING ta Health Services, as well as Environment TO EVERYBODY after gusts of THAT THEY REDUCE Canada, smoke started blowing THEIR EXPOSURE â northward from WashState. BUT PARTICULARLY ington Area residents are THOSE WHO ARE being warned that problems can AT HIGHER RISK.â health result from the deteriorating air quality. â DR. DEENA HINSHAW MEDICAL OFFICER It was already rated a âhigh riskâ on the health index on Monday night. Central Albertans may experience temporary eye and throat irritation and shortness of breath from prolonged exposure to smoky air, said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, medical officer of health for Albertaâs Central Zone, stretching from south of Edmonton to Drumheller. âWeâre recommending to everybody that they reduce their exposure â but particularly those who are at higher risk,â she added. The worst affects could be felt by those who are very young, very old, or who have pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular illnesses, such as angina, heart conditions, asthma or emphysema. Everyone is cautioned to stay indoors as much as possible if air quality remains poor. To reduce smoke in indoor environments: â Windows and doors should be shut, thermostats turned down and furnace fans set to a minimum setting (donât extinguish pilot lights). â Fresh-air intakes on air-conditioners should be closed and filters cleaned. â Residents should avoid running fans or ventilations systems that bring outdoors air inside. â Floor air registers and fireplace dampers should be closed, and wood burning fireplaces and wood stoves should not be used. â Car fans should be run on the recirculated air mode. Alberta Health Services is also advising Central Albertans to reduce outdoor physical activities to keep from breathing in smoky air. Anyone with concerns about health symptoms can call Health Link 811 to speak to a registered nurse. The air quality advisories will stay in effect until further notice.
File photo by MURRAY CRAWFORD/Advocate Staff
Amy Sorensen and Harry Midgley pose with photos of Trystan Sorensen, their son and brother, respectively. Trystan was killed on May 20, 2014, while he was longboarding east of Penhold on Hwy 592.
MOTHER OF HIT-AND-RUN VICTIM DEMANDING MORE SEVERE PENALTIES BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF Hoping to have something good come out of her sonâs death, a Red Deer mother is trying to change how hit-and-run collisions are prosecuted. Amy Sorensen has been circulating a petition seeking defined mandatory penalties for all hitand-run collisions and more severe penalties for hit-and-runs resulting in major injury or death. Her son, Trystan Sorensen, 18, was killed on
May 20, 2014, while he was longboarding east of Penhold on Hwy 592. Jessica Lyn Masyk, 26, pleaded guilty to the three charges against her â failing to stop at a collision, public mischief by filing a false police report and driving while disqualified â last Wednesday in Red Deer provincial court. She will be sentenced in November. âThis whole thing has been a travesty of justice,â said Sorensen. âItâs a game, you plead not guilty to get a lesser sentence and then you change your plea to guilty to get a lesser sentence. Itâs almost as though the justice system is geared toward the accused, protecting them and getting them off and not holding them accountable.â
Please see SORENSEN on Page A2
Please see AIR QUALITY on Page A2
Harris, Hart claim NDP nominations BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Paul Harris looks on as Dianne Macaulay gives a speech at the NDP nomination meeting in Red Deer Monday.
WEATHER Smoke. High 26. Low 10.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B5,B6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B4
New Democratic Party members went with political experience in choosing two Red Deer riding candidates on Monday night. Two-term city Coun. Paul Harris and longtime NDP party member and veteran of four previous provincial campaigns Doug Hart got the nod. The vote count was not released. Perhaps as a sign of the partyâs rising fortunes locally, it was a standing room-only crowd at the Red Deer Public Libraryâs Snell Auditorium. Red Deer-Mountainview candidate Harris defeated Red Deer Public School Board trustee Dianne Macaulay. Harris has taken an unpaid leave of absence from council until the federal election. Harris said after the vote count he has a good feeling about the partyâs prospects, dismissing the areaâs long-time Conservative voting history. âI donât believe this is a Conservative stronghold. Certainly, provincial politics in the last election
showed that. So, Iâm quite confident that weâre going to get the vote out and weâre going to send a different candidate to Ottawa.â Harris believes voters are looking for a party that will listen to them after years of Conservative rule. âI donât think Albertans have been heard for a number of years. I think we have been taken for granted. I think that is going to have a strong resonance (with voters).â The Conservativesâ poor environmental record also doesnât sit well with many people, especially in the agricultural community. Harris will face off against incumbent Conservative Earl Dreeshen, Mason Sisson for the Green Party and James Walper for the Libertarian in the riding that covers the north part of Red Deer. A Liberal candidate has not yet been chosen. Doug Hart, who has been an NDP supporter for 40 years, senses a high level of dissatisfaction with the government of Stephen Harper among voters.
Please see NDP on Page A2
City adjusts speed limits Drivers should prepare for future speed limit changes on a few Red Deer roads in the coming month. Story on PAGE C1
PLEASE
RECYCLE