Lana Michelin talks with the Barenaked Ladies in today’s FRIDAY FORWARD
THE THREEFOLD SECRET TO TASTY BRUSSELS SPROUTS
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Red Deer Advocate FRIDAY, OCT. 23, 2015
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Deportation awaits killer BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF After a decade in prison, a 33-year-old man will have to choose between staying in a Canadian jail or applying for his parole and likely being deported to Somalia. Bashir “Donovan” Gaashaan, 33, was sentenced
to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 10 years on Thursday in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench. He pleaded guilty to second degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains on Monday. Jenna Cartwright, 21, was killed on March 30, 2011. Her body was dumped in a treed area east of Olds, about six metres from a rural road. Justice Read said when the body was found more than a month
later, it had been scavenged by wild animals. Gaashaan, a Somalian refugee who came to Canada in 1993, faces potential deportation back to Somalia upon his release from jail. “You may deprived of your ability to remain in Canada,” said Justice Donna Read. “That’s terrible, but that’s what happens.”
Please see MURDER on Page A2
A SON PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS FATHER
RED DEER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
District seeks input on boundary changes BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Major proposed boundary and programming changes will affect several schools when the Inglewood school opens in September 2017. The Red Deer Public Schools’ new elementary ‘WE REALLY DO school will be built in an area where there are alHOPE TO COME UP ready five schools. WITH A SCENARIO As a result, the district has gone back to the THAT IS THE BEST drawing board to develFOR EVERYBODY op a strategy for boundaries and programming CONCERNED. WE ABthat will meet the needs SOLUTELY HAVE NO of the students. “It does present some PREFERENCES FOR challenges but we feel ANY SCENARIOS. that we can come up with a scenario that imWHAT WE WANT IS pacts people the least,” TO HEAR FROM THE said Della Ruston, Associate Superintendent COMMUNITY AND of System Improvement. WE WANT TO GO “There are positives to a new school, but there FROM THERE.’ are also challenges.” Four proposed and — DELLA RUSTON complicated scenarios ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SYSTEM that involve mostly the Mountview, Grandview and Fairview schools are on the table. The district is actively seeking public input on the proposals. “We really do hope to come up with a scenario that is the best for everybody concerned,” said Ruston. “We absolutely have no preferences for any scenarios. What we want is to hear from the community and we want to go from there.” On Saturday, the second phase of the online engagement portion of the public engagement will wrap up. So far there has been hundreds of responses online and at the various open houses. Ruston said the district is really flexible and they want to do what works best for the community. The district and a committee with parents have been working on developing the scenarios since last winter. A recommendation will go to the board in November/December and there will be more opportunities for public input.
WEATHER Sun and cloud. High 10. Low 0.
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INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Business . . . . . . . .C3-C4 Canada . . . . . . . . A6-A7 Classified . . . . . . D1-D2 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . INSERT Sports . . . . . . . . . B1-B8
Poor exchange rate prompts county to slash equipment purchases BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF
LACOMBE COUNTY
Canada’s limping dollar has convinced Lacombe County to dramatically cut its equipment purchases. The county had planned to spend about $5.5 million ($3.8 million minus trade-ins) on new equipment, including five graders, for next year. That budget was trimmed to $681,000. Counting trade-in values on used equipment, the county expects to spend around $534,000. Phil Lodermeier, county operations manager, said the poor exchange rate has driven up equipment costs by about 30 per cent over the past year. Most heavy equipment comes from U.S. manufacturers. “We just don’t think we’re going to get value for money there,” Lodermeier said. On top of that, the poor Alberta economy is driv-
ing down resale prices for the county’s used equipment. It is hoped the Canadian dollar will recover next year, improving the economics for big purchasing. Even a 10 per cent improvement in the exchange rate with the U.S. dollar would be helpful, he said. Lodermeier said there is risk to delaying equipment purchases. A year from now, most of the graders’ warranties will have expired and their resale value will drop further. However, the graders are in good shape and county staff decided after careful number crunching that waiting out the economy for a year was the best option. Council unanimously approved the new equipment purchasing plans.
Thanksgiving is not just for turkey Forget the turkey or tofurky. For some Central Alberta runners, it is all about racing on Thanksgiving weekend.
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Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Cpl. Nathan Cirillo’s sisters Nicole (right) and Natasha (centre) look on as Cirillo’s son, Marcus, places a wreath at a memorial plaque during a ceremony marking the one year anniversary of the attack on Parliament Hill, Thursday at the National War Memorial 2015. See story on page A6.