Red Deer Advocate, August 27, 2015

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READY TO TAKE FALL TV THE REINS SEASON Rylan Toth is confident that he can carry the bulk of the PREVIEW/C3 Rebels’ goaltending duties PAGE B1

Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, AUG. 27, 2015

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ECONOMY

Blaze does at least $1M in damage BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF

Firefighters worked Tuesday night and early Wednesday to contain a strip mall fire in Riverside Drive Industrial area where part of the building’s roof collapsed. At about 10 p.m., Red Deer Emergency Services personnel responded to the fire at Sadona Cabinets, at 4630 61st St., located in bay five and the back half of bay six in the six-bay strip mall. During the fire, the roof collapsed over those two bays, making it unsafe for firefighters to enter. The fire was contained by about 6:30 a.m. Tim Kivell, fire prevention officer, said firefighters were successful in limiting damage at the strip mall and were still on site on Wednesday morning to continue to put out hot spots. “Sadona Cabinets is a woodworking shop. They make cabinets and do some finishing on the cabinets as well. But we haven’t been able to get inside to look at any of the equipment,” Kivell said on Wednesday morning. A data management company occupies the front section of bay six. The structural stability of the fire-damaged areas were being assessed on Wednesday morning

That sinking feeling

and investigators expected to get inside by the afternoon. “We’re estimating damages in excess of $1 million.” T w o firefighters were taken to hospital for assessm e n t a n d were released. N o other injuries were reported. Kivell said bays four, five and six are offlimits to the public as the investigation continues and 61st Street was closed Wednesday morning. Bay four is the only bay not occupied by a business. “The other half of the building, it’s business as usual,” Kivell said. szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

REVENUES COULD BE DOWN MORE THAN PREDICTED: PREMIER BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

City of Red Deer firefighter Tom Patrick hauls a hose after crews finished with a Riverside Industrial fire Wednesday morning. Red Deer Emergency Services were on scene throughout the night after a fire broke out Tuesday at 4630 - 61 St.

City stacks up well against competitors in home building survey BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF A study on home building red tape shows Red Deer is competitive with other communities, says the city’s planning department. Of the communities surveyed by the Fraser Institute, the number of months it typically takes to get a project approved at city hall ranged from 6.1 months in Strathmore up to 15.1 months in Rocky View County. Red Deer falls in the middle at 7.3 months. This city fares the best of all communities in the amount of time it takes to have rezoning approved at 0.8 months — less than a month. Rocky View County was tops at 14.7 months. Tara Lodewyk, director of planning services, said she’s pleased how the city stacks up in the study, which was released earlier in the week. “Overall, we’re still very competitive,” said Lodewyk, referencing the 7.3-month timeline. It is unclear exactly how that number was determined, considering approval times vary so much depending on the type of development and the nature of the land involved, she said. “If it’s a single-family (housing) per-

WEATHER 60% showers. High 26. Low 9.

FORECAST ON A2

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Costain Hagen of High Peak Framing of Red Deer works on a single family home on Carrington Drive in the Clearview Ridge subdivision in Red Deer on Wednesday. mit, it’s not seven months, it’s a matter of weeks. But if it’s a complex urban development, it could be more than seven months.” Lodewyk said the city routinely re-

INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6,A7 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B5

views its planning processes and various charges, and it understands that time is money to builders.

Please see CONSTRUCTION on Page A2

CALGARY — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says continued oil-price volatility could be affecting the province’s bottom line even more than the former Tory government predicted. The NDP premier isn’t sharing much about what might be in the 201516 budget when it comes down in October. But she does says keeping on top of oil prices remains a priority. The price per barrel hovered around US$60 when Notley’s New Democrats were elected in May, but has since fallen to below US$40 a barrel. The budget introduced but never passed by the Progressive Conservatives under Jim Prentice last March predicted a record $5-billion deficit for the current fiscal year. Notley wouldn’t say after a byelection rally on Tuesday night what Albertans will still see in the budget. “Our revenues have gone down perhaps more than what the original Prentice budget projected,” explained Notley. “At the same time, we need to ... preserve those important public services for those Alberta families.” Notley was at a rally for CalgaryFoothills candidate Bob Hawkesworth and said her government is focused on figuring out the final numbers. “Those kinds of details will be coming out in the days and the months to come as we get together and introduce the budget,” she said. “I’m not going to announce the budget today, because we’re going to announce the budget at the end of October.” Notley suggested the government remains responsible for carving itself out of any mess volatile crude prices create. “We would not be doing our job if we did not look at where we could do that, while at the same time preserving and protecting frontline services,” she said. “We’re seeing tremendous volatility with the price of oil, so what we’re going to do is keep an eye on that and look at what the projects are, look at where our opportunities for savings are, and ... try to find the right balance.” Finance Minister Joe Ceci has been touring the province to gather input for his budget. He has warned that challenges lie ahead as this will be the first full fiscal year with oil at drastically reduced prices. Final numbers for last year showed the NDP took over Alberta’s finances with more than $1 billion in surplus cash — almost double than what the Conservatives had said. The extra revenue came from diverse sources, including more tax money and higherthan-expected investment income. Ceci’s budget will have to tackle the reality of low oil prices while reflecting savings promises and priorities from the NDP campaign. The Notley government has already announced $624 million in new spending to cover larger class sizes and more money for health care and social programs.

TV crew killed live on-air A TV reporter and cameraman were shot to death during a live television interview Wednesday by a gunman who recorded himself carrying out the killings. Story on PAGE B7

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