Red Deer Advocate, March 10, 2016

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GO BIG OR GO HOME

‘My religion is sport’ RED DEER MAN REFUSES TO REMOVE CAP FOR DRIVER’S LICENCE PHOTO

BY MARY-ANN BARR ADVOCATE STAFF It’s almost impossible to separate Ken Egilsson from his Edmonton Oilers ball cap.

From the minute he gets out of the shower each morning, the Red Deer man puts the cap on, and wears it every day, all day long — unless he’s going to a funeral.

So when he went to renew his driver’s licence last week, Egilsson took more exception than usual when asked to remove his hat for the required photo. Egils- KEN EGILSSON son, 33, refused.

“I find it discriminatory that you’re allowed to wear, for any religious beliefs, you’re allowed to wear a head covering. And for the general public, we’re not allowed to cover our hair.

There should be no difference.”

“I just don’t see what the difference is of somebody wearing a ball cap or somebody wearing a turban or some sort of a head dress for religious matters. My religion is sport,” said Egilsson, who owns a local company that services the oil industry.

“We live in a free country. If other people are allowed to freely express their religion or whatever they believe in, and that includes head dressings, then that’s fine. They should be allowed to cover their hair in the picture.

“On the same token, it shouldn’t matter that I’m religious or not. That has no bearing on the fact that if they’re allowed to cover their head in a photo, I should be allowed to cover my hair for a photo. … It should be fair on both sides,” Egilsson said.

He argues that the ball cap does not conceal his face, and if he were to be stopped by police, he’s more recognizable with the ball cap on because he always wears it.

Please see HAT on Page A5

COMMENT A4 SPORTS B1-B4

Anti-discrimination activist to talk about landmark document for fighting racism

BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Everyone should have the right to participate freely and equally in political, social, economic and cultural life, says Danika Billie Rose Littlechild.

The anti-racism and anti-discrimination activist is one of the keynote speakers for the inaugural CommUnity — the Power of One event which commemorates the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Red Deer on March 19.

Littlechild will touch on challenges and achievements

COMMUNITY — THE POWER OF ONE

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of the 2001 Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the landmark document for fighting racism, intolerance and discrimination.

“We know there has been some progress made since 2001 internationally but it still continues to occur on a daily basis around the world,” said Littlechild. “We only have to look at examples all over the world and here in our backyard of issues around prejudice. Now we are in this digital age, there is a new vehicle for racism and prejudice to proliferate.”

Littlechild said there is a clear need to put into practice what was agreed to in Durban. She said the international day is a reminder to move forward collectively to ensure there is a commitment to take action.

Please see RACISM on Page A5

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Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Josh Baskin, played by Brendan Kearney, and Susan, played by Tracy Evans, play out a scene from the Hunting Hills High School production of ‘BIG the Musical.’ The show, based on the Tom Hanks movie of the same name, will run at the Memorial Centre March 11-19. The production features 70 students in the cast and 30 students working on the production of the show. Tickets for the show are available at the school, on the school’s website and at the door.

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Thursday, March 10, 2016

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Donny Woodcox of Downer Contracting walks along a pile of boulders that have been moved into the Red Deer River at Great Chief Park. A temporary bridge is being installed to facilitate work to prevent further erosion of the riverbank across from Great Chief Park and the Red Deer Golf and Country Club. During the construction pedestrians will have access to the trails in the area.

City crews stabilizing river bank

BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF

At this point in time the city has not received any grant funding for this project.

Between 150 mm to 650 mm of slope along the riverbank in the Riverview Park residential area disappears into the river annually, according to a 2012 geotechnical report. The city annexed the community in 2009 and inherited the eroding riverbank.

A couple years ago the city had purchased and demolished two homes that were at immediate risk of sinking into the river. The project involves placing rip-rap (large rock) along the eroded bank to increase stability and to protect against further erosion. The rip-rap is currently stock-piled in a parking lot in Great Chief Park.

This week crews will construct a river crossing from Little Chief Park to access the south bank of the

A city neighbourhood is getting a life preserver.

Crews have started a project to stabilize the south bank of the Red Deer River between Heritage Ranch and Riverview Park.

Council approved roughly $8 million for the project in the 2015 and 2016 capital budgets.

But the project costs are coming in lower than expected, said Elaine Vincent, Director of Development Services.

“We are only anticipating to spend $5 (million) resulting in approximately a $3 million surplus,” she said.

Sylvan Lake multiplex closing for three months for ice plant installation

BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

The installation of structural steel is well underway on the new NexSource Centre in Sylvan Lake. The Sylvan Lake Multiplex is closed while construction continues on the project. the NexSource Centre. Briefly reopened, the pool was closed again when more problems were spotted and will now reopen.

No sooner was the pool reopened than further inspection turned up other issues, this time with the roof structure. After being open less than a day the pool was closed again on June 2.

Gaudet said progress has been made and it is expected to open later this year on schedule.

“We’re anticipating the fall of 2016.”

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Central Albertans urged to lobby for urgent-care centre

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Albertans have until Friday to let the province know what they want to see in the upcoming provincial budget and Sylvan Lake-area residents are being encouraged to spell it out — urgent-care centre.

People can list their budget priorities in a short online budget survey at — www.alberta.ca/budget-consultations. cfm — until 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Sylvan Lake Mayor Sean McIntyre urged Central Albertans to speak up before it’s too late.

“The No. 1 priority for Sylvan Lake is urgent care. We see this is an opportunity to reiterate that message to the government. We’re hoping the government heeds that mes- SEAN MCINTYRE sage and includes it in their upcoming budget,” McIntyre said on Wednesday.

Sylvan Lake and area have been diligently pursuing an urgent-care centre since 2011.

Please see CARE on Page A3

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BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF

Sylvan Lake’s multiplex will close April 1 to allow for construction on the NexSource Centre.

The facility is expected to be closed for three months to allow work crews to install a new ice plant and have ice ready for the summer hockey and skating season, which begins July 10.

For many years, Sylvan Lake has been the site of popular hockey camps and those will go ahead, said town communications officer Joanne Gaudet.

Closing the multiplex and its arena will leave Sylvan Lake Minor Lacrosse without a home this summer. Town staff are trying to line up another venue for the teams, she said.

Despite the closure, H.J. Cody High School students will be allowed to host their graduation ceremony at the multiplex on June 3.

Closing the recreational facility was necessary to keep to the tight construction schedule for the $33.5-million NexSource Centre, which is to be ready

by February 2017.

The facility includes a five-sheet curling rink, arena, three-lane running track, seniors centre, children’s play and youth activity centres, meeting rooms and a multi-purpose civic space.

It will also tie into the town’s Aquatic Centre, which has been closed since last spring when corrosion in support columns was detected.

The damage was spotted during engineering inspections done as part of the preliminary work on

Local Today

Red Deer River where the erosion protection work is required.

The work will continue until mid-May 2016.

During this time the west parking lot at Great Chief Park and the parking lot near the boat launch in Little Chief Park will be closed.

Parking is still available in Great Chief Park.

Flaggers will be on Fountain Drive directing single-lane alternating traffic as Fountain Drive and people accessing amenities off Fountain Drive are asked to allow for an extra couple of minutes as there will be short delays.

Council moved the project up two years in the capital plan in 2015. crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com

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Thursday, March 10, 2016

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SPRING MUSIC FESTIVAL

Stettler petition puts spending plan on hold

BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF

STORIES FROM PAGE A1

CARE: Ongoing issue in community The area serves a population of over 22,000 and includes Sylvan Lake, Eckville, Bentley, Benalto, Lacombe County, Red Deer County and summer villages Birchcliff, Half Moon Bay, Jarvis Bay, Norglenwold, and Sunbreaker Cove.

As many as 750,000 people visit the area annually.

An urgent-care centre would treat non-life threatening injuries seven days a week, with access to a lab and X-ray.

“It’s an ongoing issue we face in our community where we need care for our

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

An indie-surf-rock group composed of RDC alumni Corey Gomez, right, on bass, his brother Craig on drums and Jonah Falk on guitar and vocals, played the foyer at the Red Deer College Arts Centre Wednesday. They were joined on stage by a number of other performers for the Spring Music Festival which also featured tables set up by a variety of societies operating at the college.

Sundre man charged with extortion over sex tape

Local BRIEFS RCMP hunting for suspects who broke into Bower Place Red Deer RCMP are looking for two men who stole five bags of merchandise from Bower Place before the mall opened on Monday.

Police say the break and enter occurred around 8:45 a.m.

Two men entered the mall through the east entrance and proceeded to Journey Shoes, where they were able to raise the metal security gate.

They loaded a number of backpacks with merchandise including watches, sunglasses, hats, shoes and sweaters.

The suspects left by the same east entrance and were seen driving away in a white Chevrolet Silverado truck.

The truck had a lift kit and a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon decal on it. The licence plate, which was written down by witnesses was not a match to the truck.

The suspects were described as being between 1.68 metres (five-foot-five) and 1.73 metres (five-foot-eight) tall.

Both wore black jackets or hoodies.

One had white gothic lettering on the back of his jacket and the other had facial hair.

If you have any information about this break and enter, contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575.

residents that is above the level that a doctor’s office can provide, particularly after regular business hours when most of our non-emergent cases are being treated with emergent cases in the Red Deer emergency room.”

Seeking treatment at the emergency room in Red Deer not only contributes to higher health-care costs, but it also creates longer wait times for care, he said.

Donations collected through community fundraising efforts have raised $115,000 for medical equipment.

“We don’t need a giant capital investment. We’ve got leasing options.

We’ve got repurposing of existing facilities as an option. Essentially what we need is the funding for operations of that facility and the approval and support of both Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services,” McIntyre said.

The centre got the green light last spring from the Progressive Conservative government before they lost the provincial election.

Police have charged a Sundre man with extortion after he tried to get money from an ex-lover by threatening to release their sex tapes.

Sundre RCMP say they received a report that a man was trying to extort money from a woman in Ontario. Police learned the two parties had previously been involved in an intimate relationship. During the relationship the male had surreptitiously recorded them having intimate relations.

Police say after the relationship ended, the man demanded money in exchange for privacy of the videos.

Sundre RCMP executed a search at the suspect’s home and arrested him on Wednesday.

A 56-year-old Sundre man is charged with extortion, distributing intimate images without consent, criminal harassment, voyeurism, two counts of unsafe storage of firearms and two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm His first court appearance is on March 21.

Female, 17, killed in collision in Lacombe Country A 17-year-old is dead following a two-vehicle collision in Lacombe County on Monday.

Blackfalds RCMP responded to a two-vehicle fatal collision on Hwy 815 between Hwy 597 and Lake Sergeant Road 2016 at 4:13 p.m.

Police say a passenger vehicle was travelling southbound on Hwy 815 and collided head on with a northbound semi truck with an unloaded trailer.

He said since then the NDP government has been mum on the proposed project.

The provincial budget will be an-

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The 17-year-old female driver, and sole occupant of the car, was declared deceased on scene.

The 57-year-old male driver of the semi truck was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries and has been released.

Traffic was diverted for a period of time while the Collision Analyst conducted an investigation.

The name of the deceased will not be released. The investigation into the collision is ongoing.

Man wanted for assault, theft Red Deer RCMP are searching for a suspect who assaulted a vehicle owner in Oriole Park before stealing the car.

Police said on March 1 at about 5 p.m., the car owner returned to his idling vehicle on Ottawa Street to find a man in the driver’s seat and a woman in the passenger seat.

Police said while attempting to stop the thieves, the vehicle owner “ex- SKETCH OF SUSPECT changed blows” with the male thief before the suspects drove away in the stolen car.

They were last seen heading eastbound on Taylor Drive. The car has not yet been recovered.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. nounced on April 14. szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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A petition by County of Stettler residents has put council plans to borrow $7.6 million for a shop facility on hold.

Local business owner Brad Mappin is behind the petition, which was signed by about 1,100 people — more than double the number needed for a valid petition under the Municipal Government Act. Mappin said he has never really got involved in politics before, “but this (petition) is something I thought needed to be done.

“It’s a lot of money that they’re wanting to spend, and a lot of people didn’t feel like they were being heard.”

Council received the petition on Wednesday and it was declared sufficient. A decision on how to proceed was deferred to the March 22 meeting.

Under the Municipal Government Act, council can decide not to proceed with its borrowing bylaw or put the issue to a referendum, which must take place within the next 90 days.

The shop facility has been a hot issue for weeks in the county. On March 2, county council posted an open letter on its website. Its goal it says is to “communicate some facts regarding the new shop facility and dispel misinformation being circulated that the council plans to double or triple taxes to pay for the proposed shop facility.”

The cost of the new 43,200-squarefoot facility is estimated at $9.6 million, $7 million for the building and the rest to develop the land. Council proposed pulling $2 million out of reserves and borrowing $7.6 million, which would cost $400,000 a year over a 30-year term.

One option being considered was to cover all or part of the cost by introducing a special tax levy. The maximum additional charge on farmland/ residential tax bills would range from around $35 to $70 per year depending on assessments. The minimum would be zero if council chose not to pass the cost on to tax bills.

The county defended the shop facility plan, arguing it would cost less to borrow for a new shop than retrofit the existing building.

“Repair costs could have the same effect on your tax bill only we would be sinking money into 47-year-old building that has air quality problems, electrical issues, space constraints, structural concerns and questionable insulation quality,” says the county.

Safety concerns forced the closure of public works offices in 2014 and they are now housed in trailers.

The cost of immediate repairs and an assessment of the shop starts at $1.2 million, and will cost more once renovations begin because the building must then be brought up to code.

As well, Alberta’s economic downturn means the county could save up to 35 per cent on building costs because of the competitive bidding climate, says the letter.

“We are in a unique situation, where construction now could add much-needed jobs and activity to our local economy.”

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COMMENT

THE ADVOCATE Thursday, March 10, 2016

Buying charity not giving it GREG NEIMAN OPINION

W

e’re all busy at this time of year, getting our papers together for our annual tax returns.

Did you locate all your charitable receipts?

If you’re an average Canadian, you gave about $450 to charities last year.

That’s from StatsCan, which looks at real numbers.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals does a study every two years, looking at trends and attitudes regarding charities, via the Ipsos polling group. Their latest report contains a significant fudge factor, probably representative of what Canadians would tell a pollster versus what they’re telling Revenue Canada.

Their report, titled What Canadian Donors Want, tells us the average annual donation is $924. Hmmm. Seems one thing Canadian donors want is more credit than they’re entitled to.

But let’s ignore that anomaly for now. More at issue for the fundraisers are the factors that bring people to be charitable.

That topic obviously interests the fundraisers, but it also impacts government policy and our whole Western

capitalist culture. Because as it turns out, charity isn’t everything we think it is.

Last fall, Canadian sociologist Linsey McGoey published a critique of modern big-money philanthropy titled No Such Thing as a Free Gift. Her book focusses on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and reveals some parallels found by the fundraising association, into what motivates people to give to charity.

The main parallel I found between the book and the report is that donors want results from their giving.

Measurable results. Whether we are billionaires or 90-per-centers with chequebook in hand, we all want to know that our gift is accomplishing something.

Nothing wrong with that, right?

Well, McGoey says there can be. Saying there’s no such thing as a free gift, means we expect something back from our donations.

For individuals, supporting a religious institution is the top reason we donate money. Curing diseases is next on the list, supporting children and youth are next, with food sufficiency and environmental causes coming after that. The big foundations are quite secular, so those other motivations are bumped up the list.

Big — we’re talking huge — money changes a lot of things, but it doesn’t change basic human nature. Speaking of philanthropy, we want to help others, but the more our donations help

us, the more likely we are to give.

Here’s one example McGoey points to: charitable funding of charter schools. In the 1980s Bill Gates declared public high schools to be ‘obsolete.’ So he put $2 billion into new schools for 800,000 pupils, in a whole new program of learning.

The result? Students from these schools graduated not much better than average, with no statistical advantage in entering college. So Gates admitted he was wrong — and pulled his funding.

But in many neighbourhoods, the new charter schools had drained and killed local public high schools. When they closed, thousands of students suddenly found they had no local school to go to. Graduation rates plummeted, as did college entry rates.

In short, Gates tried to play God with the education system. There was too much emphasis on results, and when he didn’t get the results he wanted, he walked away. And he wasn’t in it to stay, in the same way taxpayers are in the education game with funding for public schools.

Locally, I was a board member of a non-profit that helped people with severe disabilities. There’s not a lot of room for improvement for this group — we weren’t going to help them get jobs or anything like that. But they still need supports.

Unable to get hard statistical numbers from us — results — a local funding agency stopped funding us. Their

contributors want success stories, not hold-the-line stories. But what if success means just living with your disability?

McGoey mentions in detail how large industrial foundations fund projects that enable people to buy their products — often insisting recipients buy only their products. That ain’t charity.

Wanting to create a society where every social agency has to prove numerically how they improve the lot of the people they serve — that ain’t charity, either.

Governments like to fund non-profits with tax dollars to provide community supports. It can be about half the cost having government employees do it.

But funders can be onerous bean-counters. Reporting and transparency costs can be more than a funding grant is worth.

But while we expect non-profits to report how much ink they use in their printers, we still allow giant foundations to act as they please. The Gates Foundation is larger than the United Nations World Health Organization, for instance, and really only answers to two people: Bill and Melinda Gates.

It’s their money, and they can spend it how they want.

But if you want some kind of payback for your generosity, is it really charity?

Follow Greg Neiman’s blog at Readersadvocate.blogspot.ca

Advocate letters policy

T

he Advocate welcomes letters on public issues from readers. Letters must be signed with the writer’s first and last name, plus address and phone number.

Pen names may not be used. Letters will be published with the writer’s name. Addresses and phone numbers won’t be published.

Letters should be brief and deal with a single topic; try to keep them under 300 words.

The Advocate will not interfere with the free expression of opinion on public issues submitted by readers, but reserves the right to refuse publication and to edit all letters for public interest, length, clarity, legality, personal abuse or good taste.

The Advocate will not publish statements that indicate unlawful discrimination or intent to discriminate against a person or class of persons, or are likely to expose people to hatred or contempt because of race, colour, religious beliefs, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, source of income, marital status, family status or sexual orientation.

Due to the volume of letters we receive, some submissions may not be published.

Mail submissions or drop them off to Letters to the Editor, Red Deer Advocate, 2950 Bremner Ave., T4R 1M9; or e-mail to editorial@reddeeradvocate.com.

Trudeau must capitalize on U.S. attention TIM HARPER OPINION

J

ustin Trudeau is about to be the man of the moment in Washington.

But official Washington’s attention span is notoriously fickle and the prime minister’s challenge will be to parlay the South Lawn pomp and the red carpet into enduring Canadian influence after Barack Obama leaves the White House.

So the Trudeau team has turned this into a threeday festival of dinners, parties and after-parties with wait lists for all.

“Washington only rarely pays attention to Canada so once you get your moment in the sun, why not maximize it?” says Maryscott Greenwood, of the Canadian American Business Council.

The Canada-U.S. dynamic is largely shaped by the personal comfort level between president and prime minister.

A look back at bilateral relations since the last state dinner, when Bill Clinton hosted Jean Chrétien, reveals that dynamic is often absent and the oftheard pabulum about enduring, neighbourly, warm relations can be a mirage.

Here’s a brief history — let’s start in 2000.

That year, as a 28-year-old Justin Trudeau burst onto the national scene with the eulogy at his father’s funeral, Al Gore and George W. Bush were locked in a historically tight presidential race and fallout from a Canadian faux pas was still churning.

Raymond Chrétien, the Canadian ambassador to Washington, had touched the third rail of bilateral relations, signalling that Canada preferred the elec-

tion of Gore over Bush.

When Bush won, he broke convention and made his first visit to Mexico. Then came Sept. 11, 2001.

Prominent U.S. politicians, loudly and wrongly, proclaimed the attackers arrived from Canada, Bush’s envoy to Ottawa suggested a continental security perimeter, the border thickened overnight and Bush snubbed Canada by ignoring this country’s help to Americans stranded in the wake of the attacks.

Things worsened when Jean Chrétien’s communications director was overheard calling Bush a “moron” in his search for a “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq. A Liberal MP, Carolyn Parrish, upped the ante by calling the Bush administration “bastards,” then stomping on a Bush doll on the CBC. Bush cancelled a trip to Canada, then, when he finally arrived in his second term, Canadians gave him a single-finger salute along his motorcade route.

Bush thanked those who waved “with all five fingers,” then promptly sandbagged prime minister Paul Martin by publicly calling on Canada to support a missile shield after Martin received assurances that wouldn’t be raised on his turf.

Bush had better relations with Stephen Harper but betrayed the depth of their relationship in a 2006 meeting, calling him “Steve” — no one else ever had. Then a press conference ended in cringeworthy fashion as reporters sang Happy Birthday to the U.S. president and three of their colleagues were ushered to the stage as Harper looked on awkwardly.

Harper stood with a frozen smile as Canadians heaped adoration on the newly elected Obama in front of the Centre Block, but that relationship ultimately foundered with Harper calling Obama’s approval of the Keystone XL pipeline a “no-brainer” and Obama’s Ottawa envoy, Bruce Heyman, was placed in deep Conservative chill.

Now, everyone wants a piece of the Canadian prime minister.

The Canada-U.S. relationship is built on a series

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of small agreements, and so it is that three U.S. senators used the Trudeau visit to call for a levelling of the playing field on duty-free cross-border purchases to help small American businesses, and the New Hampshire Congressional complained lack of Canadian restrictions on opioids — including oxycodone — meant drugs flowing across the border.

A good Obama-Trudeau relationship means these issues may end up on the desk of the relevant Canadian ministers.

There will be movement on customs pre-clearance and entry-exit tracking and the environment-methane and vehicle emissions, bringing greener technologies to the North — measures Obama can take through executive orders.

But both men know there is a larger legacy available to Obama and Thursday’s state dinner is a precursor to a so-called “Three Amigos” summit to be held this year in Canada for the first time in nine years.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto would be anxious to burnish his environmental credentials by signing on to such an accord.

“A continental agreement is one thing, a hemispheric agreement is a greater legacy,” says Carlo Dade, a trade and investment specialist with the Canada West Foundation.

The Mexican relationship is the next rock to be moved by Trudeau. It was Harper, tired of questions on Keystone on one side and Mexican anger with visa requirements on the other, who cancelled the last three Amigos summit.

Trudeau has pledged to end the visa requirements for Mexico and has already discussed common environmental policy with Pena Nieto.

This will be the next step in this hemispheric relationship after Thursday’s red carpet is rolled up.

Tim Harper is a national affairs writer syndicated by Torstar.

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NEWS

Thursday, March 10, 2016

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Canada BRIEFS Alberta to introduce law to crack down on payday loans interest rates EDMONTON — Alberta’s NDP government says it plans to introduce a bill to crack down on payday loan companies.

An Act to End Predatory Lending would protect vulnerable people from paying exploitative interest rates on payday loans and spiralling into poverty, Service Alberta Minister Stephanie McLean said Wednesday.

“Albertans, more than ever, are needing to ensure that their finances are well managed and that means they can put food on their tables and pay for the roofs over their heads,” she said.

“They are looking to us to provide some consumer protection for them, and payday loans unfortunately put many Albertans into a cycle of debt they can’t get out of.”

Details of the bill, which is to be introduced in the coming weeks, were not released.

A regulation that Alberta brought in to govern the industry in 2009 expires the end of June.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON — The first day of the Alberta legislature’s spring sitting saw confusion, broken rules, a do-over and the government house leader forcing his way through a barred door to enter the chamber.

“I pushed my way in because my understanding was our members were being denied the right to vote,” Brian Mason told media on Wednesday before he formally apologized to the Speaker and the sergeant at arms.

“I take responsibility for that.”

Nathan Cooper, house leader for the Opposition Wildrose, said his caucus lost a vote it may otherwise have won.

“It certainly was a gong show. We’ll never know if it was a vote that we won or lost,” he said.

“What happened today, in my opinion, is the government didn’t show up for work.”

Naturopath worker says mom of sick boy asked for something for meningitis LETHBRIDGE — An employee at a southern Alberta naturopathic clinic says the mother of a gravely ill toddler asked for an immune system boost because she feared her son had viral meningitis.

Lexie Vataman, who fills holistic prescriptions at the Lethbridge Naturopathic Medical Clinic, told a

STORIES FROM PAGE A1

HAT: Feels like he looks better with it on than off Egilsson, who has been researching the matter the past week, noted that a few members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have fought for and been allowed to wear colanders on their heads for their driver’s licence photos. The handful of instances have occurred in one U.S. state and Australia.

A B.C. man tried it last year but was unsuccessful.

Some view the church as somewhat quirky.

“They wear colanders on their head, and that’s fine. … We live in a free society,” a totally serious Egilsson said.

“There’s no ban on ball caps. Like the Canadian government hasn’t said everybody in the country is not allowed to wear ball caps. So if ball caps are accepted in our society, then I should be able to get my photo taken with my ball cap on,” Egilsson said.

“I feel that I look better with my hat on than with my hat off. I feel that I look probably 10 times better with a hat on, then a hat off.”

Egilsson wondered what happens when women change the colour of their hair. “Shouldn’t they have to go in and get their driver’s licence picture retaken?”

It was right after Egilsson had finished paying for his licence renewal and turned over his old driver’s licence on March 3 that he was told a new photo was required.

When he refused to remove his hat, he said he was told they could not process the renewal. In the end, he asked for and received his old licence back and returned the temporary one he had been issued. He has a receipt for the payment he made to renew the licence.

“I’ve just renewed my licence for five years so whether or not I’ve got a card that says it’s a valid date or not, the fact is, in the computer system, I’ve renewed my licence,” Egilsson said.

John Archer, a spokesman for Service Alberta, provided this written response on Wednesday.

jury Wednesday that she received a call from Collet Stephan in March 2012.

“She needed something to build up her baby’s immune system,” said Vataman.” She said, ‘my baby might have a form of meningitis and we think it might be viral and not bacterial.”’

Vataman said she asked if Stephan had taken her son to a medical doctor. She said Collet replied that a friend who was a nurse was keeping an eye on him and he didn’t have a fever.

Stephan, 35 and her husband, David Stephan, 32, have pleaded not guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life to 19-month-old Ezekiel, who died in March 2012.

Midwifery rally held at legislature, calls for more funding made EDMONTON — A rally has been staged at the Alberta legislature in support of midwives.

About 200 men, women and children gathered Wednesday afternoon to call for more funding for the service.

Dana Weatherhead of the Association for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth says the existing funding is not enough to provide services for the 1,800 women who are currently waitlisted.

Morgan Reid, who was able to have a natural “It’s important that holder of a driver’s licence or identification card can be easily recognized through his or her photo and signature on the card. These are essential parts of the security of the province’s driver’s licences and identification cards.

“Head coverings may be allowed to be worn in the photo for religious and medical reasons, only if they are worn daily for these purposes.

“Head coverings worn for fashion, work, or even safety reasons need to be removed for a brief moment while a driver’s licence or identification card photo is taken.” barr@reddeeradvocate.com

RACISM: CMARD a broad initiative

water birth at a centre in Edmonton, says she applied for a midwive the day she found out she was pregnant because she was worried about not being able to get one.

Three injured as semi truck crosses busy highway near Calgary, hits building AIRDRIE — Three men were taken to hospital after a semi truck came flying off a nearby highway and crashed into a business along an industrial corridor in Airdrie, Alta.

The frightening accident happened over the lunch hour on Wednesday along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway.

RCMP Const. Jason Curtis says the semi was headed southbound when it suddenly crossed a median and the highway’s northbound lanes, through a fence and across an on-ramp before it hit the building.

Miraculously, the semi managed not to hit any vehicles as it crossed the three northbound lanes of the busy highway and the on-ramp.

The driver of the truck, a man believed to be in his 50s, was briefly trapped and had to be extricated from the vehicle before being taken to Calgary hospital in stable, non-life threatening condition. or work space,” said Littlechild.

The event runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel (6500 67th Street) in Red Deer.

A panel discussion will be led by former Red Deer mayor Morris Flewwelling. Darren Lund, a social justice activist and former Red Deer teacher will also speak. Lund formed an award-winning student activism program and has been acknowledged for his work in social justice and education.

The United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is held on March 21.

For more information or to register online go to www.immigrant-centre.ca/community. The event is limited to 250 participants. crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com

The Cree lawyer from Ermineskin Cree Nation in Maskwacis works with Indigenous Peoples in Alberta and on the international front. She is the vice-president of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the first Indigenous woman to serve in this role.

Littlechild said she is excited to speak in Red Deer because the city became a member of the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination (CMARD) in 2013.

Littlechild is part of the working group that put together the suite of documents that established CMARD, that initiative calls on municipalities to sign a declaration to tackle racism and discrimination.

“The arena is wide open in terms of what Red Deer could choose to do or might choose to do to further combat racism and discrimination even under the CMARD initiative,” said Littlechild. “It’s really sort of a broad initiative that tries to be accommodating and inclusive as opposed to prescriptive telling municipalities what they should do to accomplish these goals. I am really excited about it.”

Regular community members are invited to attend the event to hear some stories, ideas and approaches that may help them in the course of their daily lives, said Littlechild.

“That can only have a positive ripple effect whether it is in their family or within their neighbourhood

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Alberta legislature opens with confusion and a revote

Saskatchewan men Charles Neil-Curley, left, and Jeremy Roy walk together as they arrive in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday. Neil-Curley and Roy both, homeless, were apparently given a oneway bus ticket by the government of Saskatchewan.

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SPORTS

THE ADVOCATE Thursday, March 10, 2016

Flames fight off Predators

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS Flames 3 Predators 2 (OT) CALGARY — Johnny Gaudreau was born in New Jersey, but Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome feels like home.

Gaudreau scored goals 10 seconds apart in the first period, then set up Mikael Backlund’s overtime winner to lead the Flames to a 3-2 win on Wednesday night over the red-hot Nashville Predators.

“I just love playing in front of our fans,” said Gaudreau, who snapped a rare four-game pointless drought. “Whether we lose or win, they’re proud of us. So for me, the best gift to give back to them in a losing season is work my hardest each night and show them some creativity and excitement.”

The winning goal came on a perfectly executed two-on-one with Gaudreau patiently hanging onto the puck then setting up Backlund at the side of the net.

“There aren’t too many guys like him in this league. He’s definitely up there with Patrick Kane,” said Backlund.

“He’s having a dominant year, but those two guys are so quick in tight with the stick, too. It’s impressive to watch.”

The three-point night gives the sophomore left winger a career-high 66 points. Forty-eight (23 goals, 25 assists) have come at the Saddledome where he leads the league in home scoring, two points up on Kane.

“It’s always tougher on the road. That’s why we call this home-ice advantage. You get the last change and you can put him against certain defencemen or certain centres,” said Flames coach Bob Hartley.

Calgary (28-34-5) improves to 1-0-1 on a six-game homestand that continues Friday night against Arizona.

Anthony Bitetto, with his first career goal, and Mike Fisher scored for Nashville (34-21-13), which is 2-0-1 with two games remaining on a five-game road trip.

The Predators, who are 1-12 in overtime, extended their franchise record point streak to 14 games (9-05). They’ve also gone nearly two months since their last regulation loss on the road, going 11-0-3 over that stretch.

“You wish every game was perfect but it’s not,” said Predators coach Peter Laviolette.

“The big thing is they found a way to turn it around in the third period. For me that speaks volumes to the guys in the room and their commitment to get a win.”

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Nashville Predators’ Mike Fisher, left, knocks Calgary Flames goalie Joni Ortio to the ice during first-period action in Calgary, Wednesday.

Calgary led 2-0 after 40 minutes, but Bitetto broke Joni Ortio’s shutout at 7:44 of the third period. Then with goaltender Carter Hutton on the bench for an extra skater, Fisher banged in a shot from a scramble tying the game with 1:18 remaining.

“The first two periods we didn’t look very good. I thought they outplayed us. In the third we got a little bit of life,” said Fisher.

Gaudreau’s opening goal at 9:34 was not initially called a goal. Looking like his shot hit the goal post, play continued for a couple minutes with Calgary continuing to pour on the pressure when play was

halted and the referees got confirmation the shot hit the back bar instead.

Off the ensuing face off and with the building still buzzing, Gaudreau darted down the wing and fired a shot through the pads of Hutton.

Ortio had 24 stops to improve to 2-6-3. Playing well of late, Ortio has given up two goals or fewer in six of his last seven starts.

Hutton had 31 saves to fall to 7-2-3.

The Flames lost defenceman TJ Brodie and centre Sam Bennett to upper-body injuries in the second period. They are both day-to-day.

Ontario makes the Brier a family Kings in familiar affair with pair of father-son duos territory at nationals

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — It was a family affair at the Tim Hortons Brier on Wednesday.

Ontario alternate Joey Hart made his national men’s curling championship debut in a 9-4 win over Prince Edward Island’s Adam Casey. The TD Place crowd let out a big cheer when Hart left the bench area to join his father, Richard Hart, and teammates Glenn and Scott Howard on the ice.

“There’s nothing like it,” a grinning Joey Hart said after the game. “To play in a Brier is one thing, to get to play with your Dad is pretty cool.”

It was the first time that Hart had curled with his father in a competitive setting. With the game well in hand, the 18-year-old opened the eighth and final end by delivering a smooth throw that caught a touch of the button.

Joey said his dad weighed in with some advice before he stepped into the hack. “‘Don’t hog it.’ And then afterwards he said when I was sweeping, ‘Don’t burn it,”’ Joey said, referring to a pair of violations he managed to avoid.

“That’s all you’ve got to do.

Then just smile pretty for the photos.”

Second Adam Spencer, who is filling in for vice-skip Wayne Middaugh while he recovers from a broken leg, took a break so Hart could make his debut.

It was the first time in Brier history that two father-son duos were in the same on-ice lineup, a Curling Canada spokesman said.

“That was the fastest my heart was racing the whole (week) was filling that form out to get Joey in the game and then watching him throw those first two rocks,” Middaugh said. “That’s fantastic and to me, that’s the type of thing that Brier memories are made of.

“And for Rich, that’s the treat of a lifetime.”

Scott Howard served as the team alternate when his father last won the Brier in 2012. Scott represented Ontario at last year’s playdowns with skip Mark Kean before joining his Dad’s team this season as lead.

Joey Hart, meanwhile, usually plays for the University of Guelph out of the Guelph Curling Club.

He has played the occasional men’s league game with his father but nothing quite like this.

“That was simply awesome,” Glenn said. “Obviously to have a chance to play with my son is sur-

BY DANNY RODE SPECIAL TO THE ADVOCATE

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Team Canada third John Morris follows as second Carter Rycroft (right) and lead Nolan Thiessen (left) sweep his rock during round robin competition against Team Newfoundland and Labrador at the Brier curling championship, Wednesday, in Ottawa. real and then to bring out Joey to play with Rich — the father-son act — it was pretty special. Really, really, really cool.”

Howard recalled the magical feeling when he first stepped out on Brier ice in 1986 in Waterloo, Ont. “I can remember standing out there, a 23-year-old and thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is the biggest dream of my life just to get to a Brier,”’ he said. “The feeling is incredible. I felt like that when Joey stepped on the ice today. He’ll never forget that. And believe me, he’s going to be coming to many more on his own merit.”

Richard Hart was also thrilled that Joey’s mother, brother and sister arrived at the arena in time to watch a little family curling history.

“I never really thought our curling careers would ever cross,” he said. “But they did here this week and it’s freakin’ amazing.”

The Ontario team’s playoff chances took a hit later in the day when Howard dropped a 6-4 decision to Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs. Howard fell to 4-5 and will need to win his last two

round-robin games and hope it’s enough to get into a possible tiebreaker game.

Jacobs, the lone unbeaten skip at 8-0, walloped Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories 9-2 in the evening to lock up a playoff spot.

Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador beat Canada’s Pat Simmons 7-3 in the morning before topping Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard 7-6. Simmons split his games while Alberta’s Kevin Koe and Manitoba’s Mike McEwen won two games apiece to improve their playoff chances.

After 13 draws, Gushue was alone in second place at 7-1. McEwen was third at 6-2 and Koe was fourth at 6-3.

Simmons was fifth at 5-4 while Howard and Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock shared sixth place at 4-5.

The top four teams at the end of round-robin play Friday morning will make the Page playoffs.

The medal games are set for Sunday.

The Brier winner will represent Canada at the world men’s curling championship in Basel, Switzerland.

Greg Meachem, Sports Editor, 403-314-4363 E-mail gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com

>>>>

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — Over the years the RDC Kings have faced the Atlantic champion in the opening round of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association men’s volleyball championship more than any other team.

In most cases the Kings are ranked No. 1 with the Atlantic champion coming in eighth. Such is the case this season with the Kings facing the St. Thomas Tommies of Fredericton, N.B. in their opening match today at 2 p.m. at Douglas College.

There were times over the years when it was a matter of just showing up to come away with a victory. Kings head coach Aaron Schulha doesn’t see it that way.

“They’re small physically, where we should have any advantage,” he said. “But they’re scrappy and the last couple of years they’ve played well. Two years ago they took Mohawk to five sets in the quarter-finals and last year they defeated Niagara.

They have some guys returning from last year, although they did lose a couple of their top players. I see them similar to Briercrest or Olds where they’re small but we have to play well. In the grand scheme of things we match up well.”

Schulha knows it will be up to the Kings, and how they play, how far they go.

“We know what’s here and what the country has to offer and who should be at the top,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter to us who we play it’s up to us to play our best. In all likelihood we won’t be at our best in all three matches, but it’s a matter of closing the gap between when we’re good and when we’re not quite there.

“It’s a matter of making sure our lulls are not significant and making sure we focus on what we’re doing.”

The Kings practiced Tuesday at Simon Fraser University and spent an hour on the floor at Douglas Wednesday.

“We were loose Tuesday, the way the guys have been all season,” he said. “Today we were a bit tight early, so we had a team discussion and got them back loose. That’s the way we play our best and we got better as the practice went on.”

The Kings will be at full strength with left side Matt Lofgren back from a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the ACAC championships.

“Matt will be able to contribute more, so we have more depth and more options,” said Schulha. “It’s nice to have a full oat where we can mix up the lineup if need be.”

The fact the Kings play the early game today changes their preparation a bit, but it also has a positive side.

“It’s a slightly different feel in that we have a pregame breakfast and then nothing until after the game,” said Schulha. “It’s a different way to look at it, but on the other side we get a break after and can scout. The other teams have to battle after we’re finished.”

The winner of the RDC-St. Thomas match faces the winner between the Camosun Chargers of Victoria and the Mohawk Mountaineers of Hamilton at 6 p.m. Friday. On the other side, the second-ranked Fanshaw Falcons of London, Ont., clash with the Keyano Huskies at 6 p.m. today while the Limoilou Titans of Quebec City meet the host Douglas Royals at 8 p.m.

The final goes Saturday at 6 p.m.

SEE MORE ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM

SPORTS

Thursday, March 10, 2016

B2

Analytics growing traction in hockey STATISTICS PROFESSOR SAYS NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE YET BUT WILL GET BETTER WITH TECHNOLOGY limit going forward. Analytics data will be used in player personnel decisions, trades, evaluating coaches, matchups, CANTON, N.Y. — Michael Schuck- line combinations and in pro and amaers doesn’t consider himself a die-hard teur scouting.

Schuckers, who combined with St. hockey fan, yet all he seems to think about in his spare time is that frozen Lawrence women’s hockey coach Chris rubber disk and what happens to it in Wells to create Statistical Sports Consulting, won second prize three years every moment of every NHL game.

That’s to be expected for someone ago at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics in the vanguard of hockey analyt- Conference with his Total Hockey Ratics. Schuckers, a statistics professor ing (THoR). It was a joint project with at St. Lawrence University, has been Jim Curro, a student writing his senior crunching hockey numbers in his of- thesis.

THoR is a two-way player rating fice for more than a decade.

“Ten years ago, a lot of academ- that accounts for every on-ice action ics would dabble with the stuff but event for every player. The score of the wouldn’t do it a lot because it was not game and where players’ shifts start alreally rewarded in academia,” said so are accounted for. Each event is asSchuckers, whose first paper was a sessed a value according to the chance chart on the NFL draft that placed a that it leads to a goal. THoR also uses a value on each player picked as a guide statistical model to determine the valfor possible trades. “At that time, it ue of each player’s contribution to the overall outcomes that occur while they was a very, very small are on the ice. community of folks Each play from who were doing it. the NHL’s Real Now, probably half Time Scoring System the teams in the NHL (RTSS) is evaluated have somebody on for its likelihood to staff doing this.” lead to a goal in the Hockey is followensuing 20 seconds. ing the lead of baseRatings account for ball and basketball, a player’s impact afthe forerunners in ter adjusting for the the expansion of adquality of teammates, vanced statistics in quality of compesports. Just over a tition, zone starts, year ago, the NHL score effects, et cetbegan offering enera. The metric is hanced statistics on Wins Above Replaceits website, NHL. ment (WAR) relative com. to position.

For front offices To be certain, this and fans alike, the is not yet rocket scisimple stuff (goals ence. RTSS is known for and against, powto be skewed with iner-play goals, assists, consistencies in the saves, et cetera) simrecording of events ply isn’t enough. from rink to rink, “There’s more and though THoR acmore data becoming counts for this in its available, and it’s calculations. being accepted more “There are plenty and more in the inof things that aren’t dustry,” said Brian there,” Schuckers Macdonald, director said. “They’re not of hockey analytics recording passes. for the Florida PanThey’re not recordthers. “It’s becoming ing, necessarily, more acceptable to where the puck is at use data to make a any given moment. decision. It’s someBut hits, shots, they thing that we would do try to get that like to be a priority right.” in our organization, Analytics also has -Brian Macdonald, both on the hockey shown that the valside and the business director of hockey analytics ue of winning faceside.” is not what was Corsi and Fenfor the Florida Panthers offs expected, and that wick, formulas to figamong the most valuure out time of posable players are two-way forwards. session in hockey, paved the way in “There’s a great phrase — one of hockey analytics. They’re very similar and flawed because they treat all the hardest things to do is to count events as equal — a hit in the neutral the things that don’t happen,” Schuckzone, a blocked shot, a scoring chance ers said. “In hockey, how do we sort on a breakaway, from the blue line or of quantify how somebody prevents goals? That’s hard. But two-way playfrom in front of the net, and so on.

More complex analytics have fol- ers like Patrice Bergeron (of the Boslowed, and the sky seems to be the ton Bruins), it’s very clear that when

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

“

There’s more and more data becoming available, and it’s being accepted more and more in the industry.

It’s becoming acceptable to use data to make a decision. It’s something that we would like to be a priority in our organization, both on the hockey side and the business side.”

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this 2009 photo, Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby, left, helps Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma drink champagne from the Stanley Cup after the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup finals, in Detroit. Michael Schuckers, a statistics professor at St. Lawrence University, said it’s also difficult to gauge the impact of a coach, unless there’s something like a team that’s relatively static and the only change made is the coach. “When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, you can look at how the Penguins were under (current Montreal Canadiens coach Michel) Thierren (27-255) and under (Dan) Bylsma (18-3-4),” Schuckers said. “It’s a clear break in terms of the team playing much better under Bylsma.” they’re on the ice they’re having a huge impact on the play at both ends.”

Schuckers said it’s also difficult to gauge the impact of a coach unless there’s something concrete to consider, such as a team that’s relatively static and the only change made is the coach. History suggests a change sometimes can have a dramatic impact — witness the 1971 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens, who replaced Claude Ruel (11-8-4) with Al MacNeil (31-15-9), or the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

“When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, you can look at how the Penguins were under (current Montreal Canadiens coach Michel) Thierren (2725-5) and under (Dan) Bylsma (18-3-4),” Schuckers said. “It’s a clear break in terms of the team playing much better under Bylsma.”

Despite the evolution of equipment that has enabled goalies to become seemingly impregnable between the pipes, the impact they have also is not as great as expected — at least on paper.

“Analytically, the consensus would be that goalies are not as valuable, that the difference between your (reigning league MVP) Carey Price (of the Canadiens) and an average NHL goalie is only about two or three wins a year,” Schuckers said. “The hard part is that goalies are very hard to predict.

We don’t know enough about the shots that are taken. We do not have whether

the goalie is screened and we do not have the speed of the puck.”

That’s about to change. Technology will open doors to more complex analytics that better measure performance.

At a January hockey analytics symposium at Carleton University in Ottawa that was co-organized by Schuckers and Shirley Mills of Carleton, there was discussion of computer chips being inserted in skates and more cameras recording games. That would make it easier for data keepers to know when players go over the boards, and who’s on the ice and who’s not.

“We already have this technology,” Schuckers said. “The NBA already has cameras that record the location of all the players on the court x, y and z locations 25 times a second. They also know where the ball is, and it’s not moving as quickly (as a puck).”

Schuckers thinks two computer chips per player is probably going to happen in the NHL because it will give some directional information, not just location.

“How long before that happens depends on the league and how fast they want to implement it,” he said. “We’re probably not recording enough things.

I look with a little bit of jealousy on what they’re doing in basketball in terms of their ability to, for example, accurately record shot locations or where players are on the court. We’re really just at the tip of the iceberg.”

Spieth looking to dial back the expectations

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Jordan Spieth feels his game is in about the same spot as last year going into the Valspar Championship, which turned out to be the start of big run that carried him all the way to a green jacket.

The difference is that eight-shot victory to start the year in Hawaii, and the expectations that came along with it. Spieth knew he was going to be a target this year. He is No. 1 in the world, the Masters and U.S. Open champion who made a bold pursuit of the Grand Slam. And then he blew away the winners-only field at Kapalua in his first start of 2016, and winning felt easy.

Maybe too easy.

“You want to set high-end, border-

NHL

Maple Leafs to host Red Wings in outdoor game for first Centennial Classic TORONTO — The first-ever NHL Centennial Classic is coming to Toronto.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Detroit Red Wings at an outdoor game at BMO Field in Toronto on Jan. 1, 2017.

The NHL will celebrate 100 years in 2017 and will conduct year-long ceremonies and special events in celebration. The year 2017 also marks the 100th for the Maple Leafs.

“This meeting of the Red Wings and Maple Leafs offers an ideal launch for a fantastic 2017 — the year in which the National Hockey League will celebrate its Centennial, Toronto will commemorate 100 years of NHL play and Canada will observe the 150th anniver-

line unrealistic expectations for yourself because if you get anywhere close to it you’re going to be there,” Spieth said Wednesday. “But there’s a balance that I needed to find. It’s been a learning experience this year.”

A year ago, Spieth had three top 10s, a missed cut at Torrey Pines and a tie for 17th at Doral, a course that doesn’t seem to suit him or anyone else who doesn’t hammer tee shots 300 yards in the air.

Throw out the eight-shot win at Kapalua this year, and Spieth has a pair of top 10s, a missed cut and another tie for 17th at Doral.

Spieth is the defending champion at the Valspar Championship, which gets lost among the Florida Swing on the PGA Tour but still manages to attract a strong field because of the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook. Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed, Danny Willett and Branden Grace give the tournament five of the top 12 in the world.

Spieth finished with three tough sary of Confederation,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

The Leafs and Red Wings met in the NHL’s Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Toronto won 3-2 in a shootout that day amid falling snow and frigid conditions.

The home of the Toronto FC soccer club, BMO Field has been undergoing renovations as it prepares to add the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts to its environs for the start of the 2016 season.

“The Toronto Maple Leafs are thrilled to host the 2017 NHL Centennial Classic and what will be a signature moment in our club’s 100th anniversary celebrations next season to share with all Leafs fans,” Maple Leafs President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan said.

“BMO Field has been undergoing an impressive two-year long transformation and will make a wonderful site for this historic matchup with the Red Wings. We look forward to working with the NHL to help create what will be an important and memorable occasion for the game of hockey.”

par saves last year to get into a threeman playoff, and he beat Reed and Sean O’Hair with a 30-foot birdie on the third extra hole. He followed with runner-up finishes in San Antonio and Houston, and then he went wireto-wire at the Masters and tied Tiger Woods’ record score.

Repeating is never easy at any tour-

nament, let alone a stretch of four of them.

“I’ve actually been off to a better start in 2016 than I was in 2015,” Spieth said. “I feel like I’m in a better place. … Really need to get my putter going. Hasn’t really slicked yet. Feels fine. Haven’t quite gone in yet. But they will.”

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SPORTS Happ leads Jays over Rays

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — J.A. Happ looked sharp in his second outing and Ryan Goins had two hits and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Tampa Rays 5-1 Wednesday.

All-Star Chris Archer had a rough start for the Rays, allowing two first-inning runs on wild pitches. Goins singled off the Tampa Bay ace in the first and had a two-run single off Ryan Webb in the fourth to boost his batting average to .357 with six RBIs this spring.

Happ allowed one run and four hits in 2 2-3 innings.

Archer retired his first batter before yielding two singles and a walk that loaded the bases.

Goins scored on the first wild pitch of the inning, and Toronto added another run when another pitch got away from Archer after he walked Junior Lake to re-load the bases.

“I think the biggest thing was whenever I got a few guys on base, I was trying to do a little bit too much,” said Archer, who threw 32 pitches in the first inning. “It’s nice to have challenges in spring training present themselves,” Archer added, “because that way when you get to the season it’s not unfamiliar.”

Curt Casali drove in Tampa Bay’s run with a second-inning single.

Blue Jays: Happ pitched two scoreless innings in his spring training debut against Baltimore.

He’s allowed one run and six hits in 4 2-3 innings and has a 1.93 ERA. “It was one of those days where mistakes were hit for base hits,” Happ said. “I also felt like I executed a lot of pitches.”

Manager John Gibbons likes what he’s seen.

“I thought he threw the ball well, better than I’ve seen him in the past this early,” Gibbons said. “That’s a good sign.”

Rays: Archer allowed two runs, three hits and two walks in 2 1-3 innings. He struck out three during the 50-pitch outing.

“It was a good work day,” the right-hander, a first-time All-Star in 2015, said.

“My stuff was pretty close to mid-season form,” Archer added, “I think my fastball command was just a tick off in that first inning.”

Blue Jays: Right-hander Marco Estrada has been slowed by a sore back but is improving and possibly could make his exhibition debut late next week.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

B3

Broncos hurting, Panthers healing in early free agency

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Brock Osweiler left Denver.

Doug Martin remained in Tampa.

Alex Mack left Cleveland and DeMarco Murray was traded to Tennessee. Mike Tolbert remained in Carolina.

In a flurry of shuffling and staying put, NFL free agency began Wednesday.

And the Super Bowl winner lost its second quarterback in less than a week, while the loser of the big game held on to two key performers.

With Peyton Manning retired, his supposed successor Brock Osweiler headed to Houston. Broncos defensive end Malik Jackson went to Jacksonville, and linebacker Danny Trevathan is now in Chicago. Denver clearly has been weakened.

At least Super Bowl MVP Von Miller has been franchise tagged and won’t be going anywhere.

“We’ve stayed true to our philosophy of building a team of players who want to be Denver Broncos and want to be here. That’s been a successful approach for us,” general manager John Elway said.

Osweiler appeared in eight games with seven starts last season for the Broncos. He started the last seven games of the regular season, but was benched in favour of Manning for the playoffs.

But the 6-foot-7, 240-pound quarterback showed enough in that short stint after spending his first three pro seasons on the bench behind Manning that the Texans went all-in.

“It was very difficult,” Osweiler said about leaving Denver. “I’d be lying to you if I said anything else. I had a tremendous four seasons there in Denver and those

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, left, is congratulated by quarterback Brock Osweiler following their win over the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game in Denver. Osweiler is heading to Houston after signing a free agent contract Wednesday. are four years that I’ll always hold close to my heart. But bottom line coming to Houston was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

Carolina, which fell 24-10 to Denver in the Super Bowl, meanwhile retained All-Pro fullback Mike Tolbert and re-signed defensive end Charles Johnson to a lower salary Wednesday.

All-Pro running back Martin resigned with the Buccaneers for five years. Center Mack chose Atlanta over Cleveland in other major moves.

Murray, the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year with Dallas, spent a fruitless season in Philadelphia and was traded Wednesday to the Titans. The teams swapped fourth-rounders, but the Eagles cleared Murray’s hefty

contract from the books.

Johnson, cut last week, received a one-year contract worth $3 million to return to the NFC champions, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. He said Johnson turned down an offer in excess of $6 million from another team.

The top player at his position on the market, Martin will get more than $35 million, with $15 million guaranteed, from the Buccaneers. Martin, 27, has had two outstanding seasons with the Buccaneers and two injury-filled years. In 2015, he rushed for 1,402 yards, second in the NFL, and six touchdowns. His 4.87-yard average was the highest in team history.

Indianapolis released veteran receiver Andre Johnson.

Canada’s female sports leaders setting the pace TORONTO — Michele O’Keefe has climbed to heights few women in international sport have reached, as the president and CEO of Canada Basketball.

Yet when she was coaching a club basketball team in Burlington, Ont., a couple of years ago, referees approaching her bench would make a beeline for her assistant coach, a man.

Tuesday marked International Women’s Day, and Canadian women in sport can celebrate a time unlike any other.

Tricia Smith, a four-time Olympian in rowing, is the new CEO and president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, taking over an organization whose reputation was left in tatters amid sexual harassment allegations levelled at former president Marcel Aubut.

Carla Qualtrough, a two-time Paralympic medallist in swimming, is Canada’s new sport minister.

Anne Merklinger is the CEO of Own the Podium.

Karen O’Neill is the CEO of the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

The gender landscape in sports in Canada, however, continues to mimic O’Keefe’s experience — there’s still work to do, but it’s headed in the right direction.

“I think women in sport has come such a long way, we have women as great examples, inspiring other women,” said Chantal Petitclerc, Canada’s chef de mission for the Rio Paralympics. “But when you look at numbers, we’re still so far behind in women coaches for example, and women as high performance directors, so we still have a lot to do. But it’s going in the right direction, so that’s good.”

The bad news, according to a report released Monday called “Women in Sport: Fuelling a Lifetime of Participation, The Status of Female Sport Participation in Canada,” is that girls drop out of sports when they reach adolescence at alarming rates.

The study found that 59 per cent of girls between three and 17-years-old participate in sport, but as they enter adolescence, their rate drops by 22 per cent, and by almost 26 per cent in school sport.

Since the early 1990s, the rate of sport participation among females over 15 has steadily decreased to record lows.

“Six times more girls than boys will quit sport,” said Petitclerc, who was among the publication’s advisory group. “To me this was a big number. Why is it six times more girls than boys? Clearly it can’t be genetics, so it’s got to be that we don’t provide them with what they need to nurture their passion for sport. And I think that’s key, we need to analyze why is it that girls want to do sport, why is it that they stop?”

It’s not for a shortage of role models. Just as Canada’s women’s soccer team captured the country’s imagination in their bronze-medal run four years ago in London, Canada’s female athletes will compete in the spotlight this summer at the Rio Olympics.

“Building off the World Cup soccer and Pan Ams, and women’s basketball, we’ve had some great success with our women’s teams,” said Karin Lofstrom, the executive director of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS).

“We saw them and we know their names now, people are asking ‘When are they playing next? When can we see them again?’ They’re getting a following, so success helps to have people wanting to watch.”

Lofstrom also pointed to Canada’s women’s basketball coaching staff. At the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament last summer, Lisa Thomaidis coached Canada to gold and an Olympic berth. She was the only female head coach in the tournament.

Qualtrough believes Canada is setting the pace.

“I could easily come up with 10 strong female leaders/role models — maybe even 20 — and I’m not sure that could happen elsewhere in the world,” she said. “When you look around as a young athlete, or as an athlete transitioning out of sport and looking to give back, it’s really exciting for today’s generation of young women to have all these role models around them on a daily basis, whether they’re involved with

the Olympic team or their national sport organization, or at the Coaching Association… wherever you look now there is strong leadership that is female.”

O’Keefe, who played basketball at Bishop’s University, said she is one of the small handful of female leaders in basketball globally.

“It’s challenging in that it’s always a roomful of guys,” she said. “It’s neat right now (in Canada),” she added, “because there’s more and more (women), so you’re able to have conversations with like-minded people.”

The number of women in coaching roles, according to the report, has gradually increased over time, but their rate of involvement has historically been less than one-third that of males.

According to the report, published with the support of CAAWS and Canada’s dairy farmers, in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), 68 per cent of the head coaches of women’s team are male, and 82 per cent of the head coaches of mixed teams, such as swimming or track and field, are male.

“Coaching is probably the area that could use the most improving in sport,” Qualtrough said. “And sport at the international level. Certainly the world of international federations and the IOC and the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) for the most part is very male-dominated. I think that’s the next frontier for Canadian leaders or female leaders.”

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SCOREBOARD THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016

Hockey

Local Sports WHL

EASTERN CONFERENCE EAST DIVISION GP W LOTLSOL GF x-Brandon 67 43 18 4 2 291 x-Prince Albert 67 36 23 7 1 210 x-Moose Jaw 67 34 25 7 1 235 x-Regina 67 32 27 3 5 223 Saskatoon 67 25 38 4 0 207 Swift Current 67 23 36 5 3 177

x-Lethbridge x-Red Deer x-Calgary Edmonton Medicine Hat Kootenay

CENTRAL DIVISION GP W LOTLSOL 67 44 21 1 1 67 42 22 1 2 66 37 25 2 2 66 28 31 6 1 67 27 35 3 2 67 10 51 6 0

GF 283 240 219 188 203 139

WESTERN CONFERENCE B.C. DIVISION GP W LOTLSOL GF x-Victoria 67 45 16 3 3 256 x-Kelowna 65 44 18 3 0 234 Prince George 67 36 27 3 1 232 Kamloops 67 33 25 5 4 233 Vancouver 68 23 37 5 3 192

GA 191 207 221 238 292 232

Pt 92 80 76 72 54 54

GA 200 191 204 213 266 300

Pt 90 87 78 63 59 26

GA 154 194 206 211 251

Pt 96 91 76 75 54

U.S. DIVISION GP W LOTLSOL GF GA Pt x-Seattle 66 40 23 3 0 211 177 83 x-Everett 66 37 22 4 3 173 154 81 Portland 66 33 29 4 0 211 206 70 Spokane 65 30 26 5 4 202 220 69 Tri-City 67 31 33 2 1 218 238 65 x — clinched playoff berth Note: winning team is credited with two points and a victory in the W column a team losing in overtime or shootout receives one point which is registered in the respective OTL or SOL column.

Wednesday’s results Medicine Hat 4 Prince Albert 3 Regina 5 Swift Current 2 Kamloops at Spokane Prince George at Kelowna Tuesday’s results Calgary 5 Saskatoon 2 Everett 3 Portland 2 Kamloops 6 Tri-City 2 Lethbridge 7 Kootenay 2 Red Deer 6 Prince Albert 2 Thursday’s games No Games Scheduled.

Friday’s games Prince Albert at Swift Current, 6 p.m.

Moose Jaw at Regina, 6 p.m.

Brandon at Saskatoon, 6:05 p.m.

Calgary at Edmonton, 7 p.m.

Red Deer at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.

Kootenay at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m.

Prince George at Victoria, 8:05 p.m.

Tri-City at Spokane, 8:05 p.m.

Kamloops at Kelowna, 8:05 p.m.

Portland at Vancouver, 8:30 p.m.

Everett at Seattle, 8:35 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Calgary 3 Nashville 2 (OT) Vancouver 3 Arizona 2 (OT) Colorado 3 Anaheim 0 Washington at Los Angeles, late

Swift Current at Prince Albert, 6 p.m.

Regina at Moose Jaw, 6 p.m.

Saskatoon at Brandon, 6:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Kootenay, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Kamloops, 8 p.m.

Seattle at Portland, 8 p.m.

Kelowna at Spokane, 8:05 p.m.

Everett at Tri-City, 8:05 p.m.

Tuesday’s results Columbus 5 Detroit 3 Carolina 4 Ottawa 3 (SO) NY Rangers 4 Buffalo 2 Boston 1 Tampa Bay 0 (OT) Montreal 4 Dallas 3 (OT) NY Islanders 2 Pittsburgh 1 Nashville 4 Winnipeg 2 San Jose 3 Edmonton 0

Sunday’s games Prince George at Victoria, 1 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Calgary, 4 p.m.

Everett at Portland, 6 p.m.

Edmonton at Lethbridge, 6 p.m.

Kelowna at Tri-City, 6:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay Boston Florida

NHL Eastern Conference Atlantic Division GP W L OL GF 67 39 23 5 185 68 38 23 7 208 66 36 21 9 181

GA Pts 160 83 184 83 161 81

Washington NY Rangers NY Islanders

Metropolitan Division GP W L OL GF 66 49 13 4 214 67 39 22 6 192 65 37 20 8 189

GA Pts 151 102 173 84 163 82

Pittsburgh Detroit Philadelphia Carolina Ottawa New Jersey Montreal Columbus Buffalo Toronto

GP 66 66 65 67 68 67 67 67 68 66

WILD CARD W L OL 34 24 8 32 23 11 31 23 11 30 26 11 31 29 8 31 29 7 31 30 6 28 31 8 27 32 9 22 33 11

GA Pts 168 76 177 75 174 73 181 71 212 70 170 69 188 68 208 64 185 63 197 55

Chicago Dallas St. Louis

Western Conference Central Division GP W L OL GF 68 41 21 6 193 68 40 20 8 218 68 39 20 9 173

GA Pts 163 88 196 88 166 87

Anaheim Los Angeles San Jose

Pacific Division GP W L OL 66 37 20 9 65 39 22 4 66 37 23 6

GF 165 175 198

GA Pts 154 83 149 82 174 80

Nashville Colorado Minnesota Vancouver Arizona Calgary Winnipeg Edmonton

GP 68 69 67 65 66 67 66 69

WILD CARD W L OL 34 21 13 35 30 4 31 26 10 25 28 12 28 32 6 28 34 5 27 34 5 26 36 7

GF 187 186 177 157 175 181 171 167

GA Pts 173 81 195 74 169 72 188 62 207 62 209 61 198 59 204 59

GF 180 167 167 165 196 148 183 178 162 159

Wednesday’s results Toronto 4 NY Islanders 3 (SO) St. Louis 3 Chicago 2 (SO)

Thursday, March 10 Carolina at Boston, 5 p.m.

Ottawa at Florida, 5:30 p.m.

Winnipeg at Detroit, 5:30 p.m.

Buffalo at Montreal, 5:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Minnesota, 6 p.m.

New Jersey at San Jose, 8:30 p.m.

Friday, March 11 Pittsburgh at Columbus, 5 p.m.

Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, 5:30 p.m.

Anaheim at St. Louis, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Dallas, 6:30 p.m.

Arizona at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 12 Carolina at Buffalo, 11 a.m.

NY Islanders at Boston, 11 a.m.

NY Rangers at Detroit, noon Colorado at Winnipeg, 5 p.m.

Philadelphia at Florida, 5 p.m.

Toronto at Ottawa, 5 p.m.

Minnesota at Montreal, 5 p.m.

St. Louis at Dallas, 7 p.m.

Nashville at Vancouver, 8 p.m.

Arizona at Edmonton, 8 p.m.

Washington at San Jose, 8:30 p.m.

New Jersey at Los Angeles, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s summary Flames 3, Predators 2 (OT) First Period 1. Calgary, Gaudreau 25 (Giordano, Monahan) 9:34.

2. Calgary, Gaudreau 26 (Monahan, Hamilton) 9:44.

Penalties — Backlund Cgy (interference) 13:30 Fisher Nash (goaltender interference) 14:39.

Second Period No Scoring.

Penalties — Calgary bench (too many men, served

by Ferland) 2:53 Forsberg Nash (roughing) 12:06 Bouma Cgy (holding) 17:47 Ellis Nash (stick holding) 17:47 Neal Nash (hooking) 19:51.

Third Period 3. Nashville, Bitetto 1 (Fisher, Arvidsson) 7:44.

4. Nashville, Fisher 10 (Arvidsson, Neal) 18:42.

Penalties — None.

Overtime 5. Calgary, Backlund 14 (Gaudreau, Giordano) 1:12.

Penalties — None.

Shots on goal Nashville 9 4 13 0 — 26 Calgary 14 10 9 1 — 34 Goal — Nashville: Hutton (L, 7-2-3). Calgary: Ortio (W, 2-6-3).

Power plays (goals-chances) — Nashville: 0-2 Calgary: 0-3.

Baseball Major League Baseball Spring Training AMERICAN LEAGUE W L Pct Toronto 7 1 .875 Texas 6 1 .857 Houston 6 2 .750 Chicago 4 2 .667 Boston 5 3 .625 Detroit 6 4 .600 Oakland 4 3 .571 Minnesota 4 4 .500 Seattle 4 4 .500 Cleveland 3 4 .429 Kansas City 4 6 .400 Los Angeles 3 5 .375 Tampa Bay 3 5 .375 New York 2 5 .286 Baltimore 0 9 .000 NATIONAL LEAGUE W L Pct Los Angeles 4 1 .800 Washington 6 2 .750 Philadelphia 7 3 .700 Arizona 5 3 .625 Colorado 5 3 .625 Milwaukee 4 3 .571 St. Louis 4 3 .571 Cincinnati 4 4 .500 New York 3 3 .500 San Francisco 4 5 .444 Miami 3 4 .429 Atlanta 2 6 .250 Pittsburgh 2 6 .250 San Diego 2 6 .250 Chicago 1 7 .125 NOTE: Split-squad games count in the standings

games against non-major league teams do not.

Tuesday’s Games Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 2 St. Louis 5, Minnesota (ss) 3 Boston 5, Baltimore 1 Detroit 6, Tampa Bay 5 Miami 1, N.Y. Yankees 0 Atlanta 5, N.Y. Mets 4 Washington 4, Houston 2 Toronto 9, Minnesota (ss) 3 Texas 10, Oakland 3 Cleveland 4, Seattle 3 L.A. Dodgers 7, Chicago Cubs 3 Chicago White Sox 10, Milwaukee 6 Kansas City 3, Colorado 2 San Diego 8, Arizona (ss) 8, tie L.A. Angels 5, Arizona (ss) 3 San Francisco 16, Cincinnati 7 Wednesday’s Games Houston 9, Atlanta 5 Detroit 11, Washington 5 Philadelphia (ss) 4, Minnesota 2 Philadelphia (ss) 8, Baltimore 4 Boston 6, Pittsburgh 2 Miami 5, St. Louis 3 Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 1 N.Y. Mets 4, N.Y. Yankees 4, tie, 10 innings Colorado 8, San Francisco 6 Oakland 12, Chicago White Sox 3 Cleveland 5, Chicago Cubs 3 Texas 11, Cincinnati 5 Kansas City (ss) 7, Milwaukee 5 L.A. Angels 13, L.A. Dodgers 13, tie Seattle 7, Kansas City (ss) 5 Arizona 8, San Diego 4

Thursday’s Games Atlanta vs. Miami, 11:05 a.m.

Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay, 11:05 a.m.

Detroit vs. Philadelphia, 11:05 a.m.

Minnesota vs. Boston, 11:05 a.m.

Houston vs. Washington, 11:05 a.m.

Toronto vs. N.Y. Yankees (ss), 11:05 a.m.

N.Y. Yankees (ss) vs. Baltimore, 11:05 a.m.

St. Louis vs. N.Y. Mets, 11:10 a.m.

L.A. Dodgers vs. Oakland, 1:05 p.m.

San Diego vs. Cleveland, 1:05 p.m.

Kansas City vs. Chicago White Sox (ss), 1:05 p.m.

San Francisco vs. Milwaukee, 1:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (ss) vs. Texas, 1:05 p.m.

Cincinnati vs. Colorado, 1:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs vs. Seattle, 1:10 p.m.

Arizona vs. L.A. Angels, 1:10 p.m.

Friday’s Games Miami vs. Minnesota, 11:05 a.m.

Detroit vs. Houston, 11:05 a.m.

Philadelphia vs. Atlanta (ss), 11:05 a.m.

N.Y. Mets vs. Washington, 11:05 a.m.

Baltimore vs. N.Y. Yankees, 11:05 a.m.

Atlanta (ss) vs. St. Louis, 11:05 a.m.

Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh, 11:05 a.m.

Boston vs. Toronto, 11:07 a.m.

Seattle vs. San Francisco, 1:05 p.m.

Texas vs. Milwaukee, 1:05 p.m.

L.A. Angels vs. L.A. Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.

Oakland vs. Cincinnati (ss), 1:05 p.m.

Cincinnati (ss) vs. Chicago Cubs, 1:05 p.m.

Arizona vs. Kansas City, 1:05 p.m.

Cleveland vs. Colorado, 1:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox vs. San Diego, 1:10 p.m.

Today

Saturday

● Senior high basketball: 4A Central zone finals — Girls: Hunting Hills Lightning at Lindsay Thurber Raiders, 6 p.m.; Boys: Notre Dame Cougars at Lindsay Thurber Raiders, 7:45 p.m. ● College women’s hockey: NAIT Ooks at RDC Queens, third game of best-of-five ACAC final, 7 p.m., Arena. ● College men’s basketball: RDC Kings at Canadian championship at New Westminster, B.C.

● College women’s hockey: NAIT Ooks at RDC Queens, fifth game of best-of-five ACAC final, if necessary, 2:30 p.m., Arena ● Major midget girls hockey: Spruce Grove Saints at Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs, 4:45 p.m., Collicutt Centre. ● College men’s basketball: RDC Kings at Canadian championship at New Westminster, B.C. ● WHL: Lethbridge Hurricanes at Red Deer Rebels, 7 p.m., Centrium. ● College men’s hockey: NAIT Ooks at RDC Kings, second game of best-of-three ACAC semi-final. 7 p.m., Penhold Arena ● Chinook Hockey League: Bentley Generals at Stony Plain Eagles, first game of best of seven Chinook Hockey League final, 7:30 p.m., Stony Plain Centennial Arena.

Friday ● WHL: Red Deer Rebels at Lethbridge Hurricanes, 7 p.m. (The Drive). ● College men’s basketball: RDC Kings at Canadian championship at New Westminster, B.C. ● College men’s hockey: RDC Kings at NAIT Ooks, first game of best-of-three ACAC semi-final, NAIT Arena, Edmonton ● Chinook Hockey League: Stony Plain Eagles at Bentley Generals, first game of best of seven Chinook Hockey League final, 8 p.m., Lacombe arena.

Curling 2016 Tim Hortons Brier OTTAWA — Standings Wednesday following Draw 13 at the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, to be held through Sunday in TD Place at Lansdowne Park: ROUND ROBIN Team (Skip) Northern Ontario (Jacobs) Newfoundland (Gushue) Manitoba (McEwen) Alberta (K.Koe) Canada (Simmons) Saskatchewan (Laycock) Ontario (Howard) New Brunswick (Kennedy) Quebec (JM Menard) British Columbia (Cotter) P.E.I. (Casey) Northwest Territories (J.Koe)

W 8 7 6 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 1 1

L 0 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 6 7 7

Wednesday’s results Draw 11 Alberta 7 B.C. 2 Newfoundland & Labrador 7 Canada 3 Ontario 9 P.E.I. 4 Saskatchewan 5 Northwest Territories 4 (extra end) Draw 12 Alberta 9 Quebec 4 Canada 6 New Brunswick 4 Manitoba 6 Saskatchewan 5 Northern Ontario 6 Ontario 4 Draw 13 Manitoba 8 B.C. 3 New Brunswick 7 P.E.I. 4 Newfoundland & Labrador 7 Quebec 6 Northern Ontario 9 Northwest Territories 2 Tuesday’s results Eighth Draw Manitoba 5 Northwest Territories 4 (extra end) Newfoundland & Labrador 7 New Brunswick 4 Northern Ontario 6 P.E.I. 2 Quebec 6 B.C. 5 Ninth Draw Canada 8 B.C. 4 Newfoundland & Labrador 4 Alberta 3

National Basketball Association EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Toronto 42 20 .677 — Boston 39 26 .600 4 1/2 New York 27 39 .409 17 Brooklyn 18 46 .281 25 Philadelphia 8 56 .125 35

Miami Atlanta Charlotte Washington Orlando

Southeast Division W L Pct 37 27 .578 36 28 .563 35 28 .556 30 33 .476 27 36 .429

GB — 1 1 1/2 6 1/2 9 1/2

Central Division W L Pct 44 18 .710 34 30 .531 32 30 .516 33 31 .516 27 38 .415

GB — 11 12 12 18 1/2

WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB x-San Antonio 54 10 .844 — Memphis 38 26 .594 16 Dallas 33 32 .508 21 1/2 Houston 32 32 .500 22 New Orleans 24 39 .381 29 1/2 Northwest Division W L Pct Oklahoma City 44 20 .688 Portland 34 31 .523 Utah 29 34 .460 Denver 26 38 .406 Minnesota 20 45 .308

GB — 10 1/2 14 1/2 18 24 1/2

Pacific Division

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Norway’s Sundby wins Ski Tour Canada’s skiathlon, Harvey 7th CANMORE — Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby won the Ski Tour Canada’s 30-kilometre skiathlon Wednesday at the Canmore Nordic Centre, while Canada’s Alex Harvey was seventh and regained an overall ranking of fourth on the tour.

The skiathlon was the sixth of eight races in the Ski Tour Canada which concludes the 2015-16 World Cup season. The men switched from classic to skate skis midway through Wednesday’s race.

Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov

was second just 2.8 seconds back of Sundby to retain the overall leader’s bib. Matti Heikkinen of Finland placed third. Harvey finished 7.8 seconds back of Sundby in seventh. The 27-year-old from Saint-Ferreol-Les-Neiges, Que., had slipped from fourth overall to fifth when he was eliminated in the quarter-final of Tuesday’s sprint. Harvey won a silver medal and was fourth in a pair of Quebec City races last week.

“It was a tough day especially in the skate,” Harvey said. “We were pushing hard from beginning and that’s how I wanted it. I think I’m too far back for the top-three, but they can always have a really bad day. My focus will be on staying in the top-five in the

Canadian women improve to 6-0 at world junior curling championships TAARNBY, Denmark — Canada’s women’s team remained undefeated while the men scored a pair of big victories Wednesday at the world junior curling championships.

Led by skip Mary Fay of Chester, N.S., Canada’s women stole one in the 10th end to complete a 5-3 win over the United States. That moved Canada to 6-0, top of the women’s standings along with South Korea. The two leaders will face off in Thursday’s early draw.

Canada’s match with the U.S. came down to the last stone, and Fay escaped with the win when American skip Cory Christensen just missed on her final shot.

“That was an intense game for sure and they made a lot of great shots,” Fay said. “It’s good

final two stages.”

Norway’s Petter Northaug Jr. placed 11th on Wednesday and remained second in the overall rankings, 47.3 seconds back of Ustiugov. Not only did Sundby jump from fourth to third, but put considerable time distance on Harvey, who is 1:47 behind him.

Norway’s Emil Iversen dropped from third to fifth finishing 17th Wednesday. Ivan Babikov of Canmore placed 10th in the skiathlon.

“Everything just came together today. The skis and the body were both really good.

I’m super happy,” said Babikov. “I know this course like the back of my hand. I train here every day in the winter and summer so I’m super happy with the effort.”

to have those games and have that kind of intense experience.

It’s great to be at the top and to pull off a win like that, it’s great for your confidence — it makes you feel that you can be there at the end of the week.”

Meanwhile, the Canadian men improved to 4-2 and moved into third place with two lopsided wins.

Matt Dunsotne’s Winnipeg rink set the tone four points in the first end en route to a 12-2 rout of South Korea in Wednesday’s morning draw.

Later, Canada hammered Denmark 9-1 in a match capped by a decisive four-point sixth end.

Northwest Territories 8 Ontario 5 Saskatchewan 8 P.E.I. 5 Draw 10 Manitoba 6 Canada 4 New Brunswick 7 Saskatchewan 6 Northern Ontario 8 Alberta 3 Quebec 9 Ontario 5 Thursday’s games Draw 14, 7:30 a.m.

Ontario vs. Saskatchewan, Canada vs. Alberta, B.C. vs. Newfoundland & Labrador, P.E.I. vs. Northwest Territories.

Draw 15, 12:30 p.m.

P.E.I. vs. Newfoundland & Labrador, B.C. vs. Northwest Territories, Northern Ontario vs. Manitoba, New Brunswick vs. Quebec.

Draw 16, 5:30 p.m.

Manitoba vs. Quebec, Northern Ontario vs. New Brunswick, Canada vs. Ontario, Saskatchewan vs.

Alberta.

Friday’s games Draw 17, 7:30 a.m.

B.C. vs. New Brunswick, Manitoba vs. P.E.I., Quebec vs. Northwest Territories, Northern Ontario vs.

Newfoundland & Labrador.

PLAYOFFS Friday’s games Tiebreakers (if necessary), TBA Page Playoffs One vs. Two, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday’s games Page Playoffs Three vs. Four, 12:30 p.m.

Semifinal One-Two Winner vs. Three-Four Loser, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday’s games Third Place Semifinal Loser vs. Three-Four Loser, 12:30 p.m.

Championship One-Two Winner vs. Semifinal Winner, 5:30 p.m.

Basketball

Cleveland Indiana Chicago Detroit Milwaukee

Alex Harvey (R) of Canada and Maurice Magnificat (3-R) of France in action during the Men’s 15 km Classic + 15 km free Skiathlon race during the Cross Country Skiing World Cup in Canmore, Wednesday.

Sunday ● Major midget girls hockey: Spruce Grove Saints at Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs, 2:15 p.m., Collicutt Centre. ● College men’s hockey: RDC Kings at NAIT Ooks, first game of best-of-three ACAC semi-final, 6:30 p.m. NAIT Arena, Edmonton

W x-Golden State 56 L.A. Clippers 41 Sacramento 25 Phoenix 17 L.A. Lakers 14 x-clinched playoff spot

L 6 22 37 47 51

Pct .903 .651 .403 .266 .215

GB — 15 1/2 31 40 43 1/2

Tuesday’s Games Toronto 104, Brooklyn 99 San Antonio 116, Minnesota 91 Atlanta 91, Utah 84 Denver 110, New York 94 Portland 116, Washington 109, OT L.A. Lakers 107, Orlando 98 Wednesday’s Games Boston 116, Memphis 96 Houston 118, Philadelphia 104 Charlotte 122, New Orleans 113 Milwaukee 114, Miami 108 Detroit 102, Dallas 96 New York 128, Phoenix 97 Oklahoma City 120, L.A. Clippers 108 Cleveland at Sacramento, late Utah at Golden State, late Thursday’s Games Atlanta at Toronto, 5:30 p.m.

Chicago at San Antonio, 6 p.m.

Phoenix at Denver, 7 p.m.

Cleveland at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m.

Friday’s Games Brooklyn at Philadelphia, 5 p.m.

Detroit at Charlotte, 5 p.m.

Houston at Boston, 5:30 p.m.

Miami at Chicago, 6 p.m.

New Orleans at Memphis, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m.

Washington at Utah, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Sacramento, 8 p.m.

Portland at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.

New York at L.A. Clippers, 8:30 p.m.

Transactions Wednesday’s Sports Transactions HOCKEY National Hockey League League — Suspended Arizona D Jarred Tinordi 20 games for violating terms of the NHL’s performance-enhancing substances program. Fined New Jersey F Tuomo Ruutu $5,000 for slew-footing Pittsburgh F Matt Cullen during a March 6 game.

DALLAS — Recalled D Stephen Johns from Texas (AHL).

NEW JERSEY — Agreed to terms with F Nick Lappin on a two-year, entry-level contract.

N.Y. RANGERS — Assigned D Brady Skjei and G Magnus Hellberg to Hartford (AHL).

BASKETBALL National Basketball Association SAN ANTONIO — Waived F Rasual Butler. Signed G Kevin Martin.

WASHINGTON — Waived G Gary Neal. Signed G Marcus Thornton.

FOOTBALL National Football League League — Announced Kansas City will forfeit its 2016 third-round draft pick and its 2017 sixth-round draft pick and pay a fine of $250,000 for a violation of the Anti-Tampering Policy relating to improper contact during the 2015 “Negotiating Period” with prospective unrestricted free agent player Jeremy Maclin (Philadelphia). Fined Kansas City coach Andy Reid $75,000 and general manager John Dorsey $25,000 for their part in the tampering.

ATLANTA — Agreed to terms with C Alex Mack on a five-year contract. Released NT Paul Soliai.

BALTIMORE — Agreed to terms with TE Benjamin Watson on a two-year contract.

CAROLINA — Re-signed DE Charles Johnson to a one-year contract and FB Mike Tolbert to a two-year contract.

CHICAGO — Agreed to terms with LB Danny Trev-

athan on a four-year contract and OT Bobby Massie on a three-year contract. Re-signed CB Tracy Porter to a three-year contract and RB Jacquizz Rodgers and OT Nick Becton to one-year contracts.

DALLAS — Agreed to terms with LB Rolando McClain on a one-year contract.

DETROIT — Re-signed DT Haloti Ngata.

INDIANAPOLIS — QB Matt Hasselbeck announced his retirement. Released WR Andre Johnson.

KANSAS CITY — Signed LB Jonathan Massaquoi.

Agreed to terms with OL Mitchell Schwartz on a five-year contract.

MIAMI — Signed DE Mario Williams to a two-year contract. Removed the transition tag on DE Olivier Vernon, making him a free agent. Released CB Brent Grimes.

MINNESOTA — Re-signed DT Kendrick Ellis and OT Mike Harris.

NEW ENGLAND — Signed LB Ramon Humber.

Released LB Dane Fletcher.

NEW ORLEANS — Signed TE Coby Fleener to a five-year contract.

N.Y. GIANTS — Re-signed DE Jason Pierre-Paul to a one-year contract. Agreed to terms with DE Olivier Vernon, CB Janoris Jenkins and DT Damon Harrison on five-year contracts.

N.Y. JETS — Released TE Jeff Cumberland.

OAKLAND — Agreed to terms with LB Bruce Irvin on a four-year contract.

PHILADELPHIA — Traded CB Byron Maxwell, LB Kiko Alonso and their 2016 first-round (No. 13) draft pick to Miami for their 2016 first-round (No. 8) draft pick. Traded RB DeMarco Murray and a 2016 fourth-round draft pick to Tennessee for a 2016 fourth-round draft pick. Agreed to terms with OL Brandon Brooks on a five-year contract and QB Chase Daniel and S Rodney McLeod.

PITTSBURGH — Agreed to terms with G Ramon Foster on a three-year contract.

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B5

BUSINESS

THE ADVOCATE Thursday, March 10, 2016

BOC HOLDS KEY INTEREST RATE

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada is sticking with its key interest rate as it awaits billions in economy-boosting measures expected in the upcoming federal budget.

The central bank kept its trend-setting interest rate locked at 0.5 per cent in its scheduled announcement Wednesday.

The bank’s decision comes as the federal government insists its March 22 budget will include big-ticket spending to help the economy. The Liberals argue the injection, including cash for infrastructure, will contribute to economic growth and create jobs.

The Bank of Canada specifically acknowledged those federal investments, saying it would evaluate the impact of fiscal stimulus measures in its April monetary policy report.

Heading into the announcement, there was little expectation of a change to the bank’s overnight rate target. Economists, however, were looking for fresh information as to how it views the state of the economy.

Experts like CIBC’s chief economist noted that the bank appeared to have a goal of saying as little as possible.

“Not only did it leave interest rates unchanged, but it essentially brushed

away both any good news and bad news that it’s seen since its January statement,” Avery Shenfeld said.

“Essentially, it’s a decision to wait and see what the federal budget looks like.”

The bank underlined Wednesday that while stubborn- STEPHEN POLOZ ly low oil prices continue to hurt the economy, inflation appears on track and that 2015 closed out with better-than-expected growth.

It also noted how oil and some commodity prices had rebounded in recent weeks, nudging up the weakened Canadian dollar. Canada-wide employment has held up despite job losses in resources industries and non-energy exports are strengthening, particularly in sectors that benefit from the lower dollar, the bank added.

Financial market volatility, meanwhile, appears to be “abating” and economic growth in the United States has continued to progress as expected,

the bank said.

“The global economy is progressing largely as the bank anticipated in its January monetary policy report,” the statement said.

But the Bank of Canada also said financial vulnerabilities have crept higher and the commodity-price slump has left overall business investment “very weak.”

The Bank of Canada stood pat on its key rate in January after lowering the benchmark twice in 2015.

In explaining the January decision, governor Stephen Poloz said senior bank officials entered pre-announcement deliberations with a bias toward making another cut to the already-low interest rate of 0.5 per cent.

Poloz said despite the weak outlook, the eventual decision to hold firm came after they considered an important factor: the federal government’s promise to pump billions into infrastructure projects.

The Liberal government recently acknowledged next year’s deficit could climb beyond $20 billion amid numerous downgraded economic forecasts — and some observers believe it could reach as high as $30 billion.

Shenfeld estimates the Liberal stimulus package could boost Canada’s real gross domestic product by as much as one per cent, though he only

expects the economy to really see the benefits in late 2016 and early 2017.

The government has faced flak from political opponents who warn the spending measures will add billions to Canada’s public debt.

In January, the central bank downgraded its 2016 growth projection to 1.4 per cent from its fall forecast of two per cent. At the time, it also predicted the economy to eventually bounce back and expand by 2.4 per cent in 2017.

The anticipated government spending has led many analysts to predict the Bank of Canada will refrain from moving its key interest rate any time soon.

“We still believe that the future course of monetary policy will to a large extent hinge on what the federal government will deliver on the fiscal front,” the National Bank of Canada’s Paul-Andre Pinsonnault wrote in a research note to clients.

“But listening to Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau, it seems that fiscal policy will take the baton allowing the bank to stay on the sidelines.”

The Bank of Canada’s next scheduled rate announcement is April 13, when it will also release its quarterly monetary policy report.

Fossil fuels ‘probably dead’ CP RAIL CEO COMMENTS ON ENERGY SOURCES

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL — People need to get their heads around the idea that fossil fuels are “probably dead,” the CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway said Wednesday.

“I’m not maybe as green as I should be but I happen to think the climate is changing (and) they’re not going to fool me anymore,” Hunter Harrison told a J.P. Morgan transportation conference in New York.

The veteran rail executive said the transition to alternative fuels will be long, but new investments in traditional energy sources will dry up because of environmental hurdles.

The country’s second-largest railway has seen shipments of crude drop due to declining demand brought on by the dramatic fall in oil prices. Thermal coal shipments have also waned.

Harrison said the rail industry will have to adjust to a shift to alternative energy sources, just as it did in the 1990s when the U.S. Clean Air Act wiped away 29 per cent of the business at Illinois Central Railway that he ran at the time.

“I think that it’s a challenge going forward, but rails have historically dealt with those changes really well through the years and continued to survive and make it,” he said.

Company spokesman Jeremy Berry said later that Harrison was referring to the “overwhelming trend” towards sustainable energy and the need for all segments of the economy to acknowledge the ever-changing energy landscape.

Greenpeace welcomed Harrison’s view, saying it marks a reversal from the 1990s when railroads denied global warming because they relied so much on coal.

“I think he’s just recognizing the new realities and looking to go where the puck is going rather than where it has been,” said Keith Stewart, the environmental group’s head of climate and energy campaign.

“And our political leaders would do well to recognize that renewable energy is the way of the future and we need to be looking at how we can prepare for a world that is going beyond fossil fuels.”

Under the new Liberal government, Canada was among countries late last year that helped push for a goal of limiting global warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The Calgary-based railway (TSX:CP) also said it filed a resolution with U.S. securities regulators that it plans to introduce to Norfolk Southern shareholders at its next annual meeting as part of its effort to acquire the Virginia-based railway. The motion calls for shareholders to request Norfolk’s board to engage in discussions with CP Rail that wouldn’t preclude discussions with other parties.

“This is kind of our last effort, the last thing we know to do and we hope it will work,” Harrison said. “And if not, we are going to go back in and run our railroad.”

S&P / TSX 13,392.90 +81.85

▲

TSX:V 569.62 -0.93

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Jake Pelissero stacks eggs into cartons while working with his father Roger on the family egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., on Monday. Some 17,000 hens and one rooster at Roger Pelissero’s egg farm in West Lincoln live in cages that may be the envy of most other hens in Canada. The cages, which are about 1.5 metres wide and 3.7 metres long, contain about 60 hens per colony and are outfitted with perches, a scratch pad and two partitioned nesting areas for laying eggs in private.

RATTLING THE CAGES CANADIAN EGG FARMERS RESIST PUSH TO CAGE-FREE HOUSING

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS WEST LINCOLN, Ont. — Some 17,000 hens and one rooster at Roger Pelissero’s egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., live in cages that may be the envy of most other hens in Canada.

The cages, which are about 1.5 metres wide and 3.7 metres long, contain about 60 hens per colony and are outfitted with perches, a scratch pad and two partitioned nesting areas for laying eggs in private.

But as major restaurant chains increasingly promise to dish out eggs solely from hens not confined to cages, they shun enriched caging — a compromise that Pelissero and other Canadian egg farmers hope that hens, farmers and consumers can live with.

“No one housing system is perfect,” said Pelissero. “They all have positives and negatives.”

Pelissero’s hens once lived in battery cages, a type of housing that only offers each bird the living space of about a standard piece of paper. In 2013, he upgraded to enriched cages, which allow hens to exhibit more natural behaviours, like dust bathing.

About 90 per cent of hens in Canada currently live in battery cages, according to the Egg Farmers of Canada, an organization representing more than 1,000 of the country’s egg farms. The remainder are in enriched cages, indoor free-run systems or free range, with the ability to go outside.

Pelissero considered shifting to a cage-free alternative but decided against it due to health concerns for his birds and workers, mostly family.

Cage-free housing can mean more

▼

NASDAQ 4,674.38 +25.56

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dust and ammonia in the barn because hens aren’t completely separated from their litter, said Peter Clarke, chairman of the Egg Farmers of Canada.

Dust is “a major concern” for farmers, Pelissero said. “I have my son working in the barn. My wife working in the barn.”

When a person excessively inhales dust, it can lead to diseases like socalled bird fancier’s lung, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

People working in free-run setups can suffer short-term respiratory problems, found a 2015 study by the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply.

Both enriched and free-run systems can expose people to high ammonia levels, but not enough to significantly impact health, according to the study. Hens are not immune to the health effects of these workplace hazards either, said Clarke.

Despite high dust and ammonia levels, the study found, hens monitored in free-run systems showed no signs of eye, nasal opening or breathing problems.

Still, birds in free-run systems died more frequently, pecked at other hens more aggressively and their keel bones showed more damage than their battery cage counterparts.

The hens living in free-run systems were also more likely to die of cannibalism. Pelissero also had to take operating costs into account. His new cages cost a bit more to operate than the previous battery cages. However, food and labour costs in free-run barns are even higher, according to the study.

For these reasons, the Egg Farm-

DOW JONES 17,00.36 +36.26

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NYMEX CRUDE $38.29US +1.79

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ers of Canada suggests consumers shouldn’t be so quick to want to scrap these larger cages as farmers intend to include these in their future plans.

The organization is moving toward eliminating battery cages over the next 20 years, giving farmers the option to shift to enriched housing or a cage-free alternative.

Clarke already knows he’ll retrofit his barns from battery to enriched cages. That means neither Clarke nor Pelissero will be able to supply eggs to some of the big fast-food chains, like McDonald’s and Tim Hortons, that have promised to eliminate all caged hen eggs from their supply chains in the future.

Animal rights’ groups continue to lobby for more restaurants, like A&W, to make this shift. They don’t buy into enriched housing as a better caging alternative, saying the housing still poses cruel conditions to animals. Pelissero said he believes companies are making decisions based on peer pressure from animal welfare activists.

Still, he’s not concerned about running out of customers, as Canadian consumers are egg farmers’ No. 1 clients and the grocery stores they shop at still offer a range of choice, including certified organic eggs (which are always free-range) and those from enriched housing.

But if public opinion joins the changing corporate tide, Canada’s egg farmers may have to reconsider their stance. Clarke would consider transitioning to cage-free housing if demand outstripped supply, but that decision would come with concerns for the welfare of his hens and himself.

NYMEX NGAS $1.77US +0.02

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CANADIAN DOLLAR ¢75.47US +0.93

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BUSINESS

Thursday, March 10, 2016

MARKETS COMPANIES

B6

D I L B E R T

OF LOCAL INTEREST

Wednesday’s stock prices supplied by RBC Dominion Securities of Red Deer. For information call 341-8883.

Diversified and Industrials Agrium Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 116.92 ATCO Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . 38.51 BCE Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.41 BlackBerry . . . . . . . . . . . 10.91 Bombardier . . . . . . . . . . . 1.150 Brookfield . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.73 Cdn. National Railway . . 79.98 Cdn. Pacific Railway. . . 170.92 Cdn. Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 35.27 Capital Power Corp . . . . 18.57 Cervus Equipment Corp 12.54 Dow Chemical . . . . . . . . 49.06 Enbridge Inc. . . . . . . . . . 50.59 Finning Intl. Inc. . . . . . . . 19.39 Fortis Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.12 General Motors Co. . . . . 30.54 Parkland Fuel Corp. . . . . 21.99 Sirius XM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.67 SNC Lavalin Group. . . . . 48.08 Stantec Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 29.86 Telus Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . 40.36 Transalta Corp.. . . . . . . . . 6.09 Transcanada. . . . . . . . . . 49.20 Consumer Canadian Tire . . . . . . . . 136.13 Gamehost . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.23 Leon’s Furniture . . . . . . . 14.67 Loblaw Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . 70.82

MARKETS CLOSE TORONTO — The loonie soared nearly a full cent and the Toronto stock market headed higher Wednesday, buoyed by rising energy and metal stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 81.85 points or 0.61 per cent to close at 13,392.90.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 36.26 points at 17,000.36, while the Nasdaq composite index jumped 25.56 to 4,674.38.

The S&P 500 composite index advanced 10 points to 1,989.26, nearly tripling where it was seven years ago, when it bottomed out on March 9, 2009, at 676.53.

Since then, stocks have been steadily gaining as central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, resorted to measures such as lowering interest rates on bonds and other safer assets to encourage investors to take on more risk. The current bull market is the third-longest of 11 since the Second World War. Colum McKinley, Canadian equities manager at CIBC Global Asset Management, said sentiment at the time was at its worst but today’s markets show that investor confidence has returned.

“I remember those days.

It was an incredibly deep, dark time for investors,” he said. “There was a lot of commentary out there about the world going into a global depression. Fear was at its highest.”

McKinley said the low point had shown investors that central banks were willing to do “everything and anything” they need to do to help the global economy — a notion he said still holds true.

Maple Leaf Foods. . . . . . 26.51 Rona Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.66 Wal-Mart . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67.53 WestJet Airlines . . . . . . . 18.80 Mining Barrick Gold . . . . . . . . . . 18.14 Cameco Corp. . . . . . . . . 15.73 First Quantum Minerals . . 6.26 Goldcorp Inc. . . . . . . . . . 20.86 Hudbay Minerals. . . . . . . . 5.19 Kinross Gold Corp. . . . . . . 3.80 Labrador. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.78 Potash Corp.. . . . . . . . . . 25.11 Sherritt Intl. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.940 Teck Resources . . . . . . . 10.12 Energy Arc Resources . . . . . . . . 18.92 Badger Daylighting Ltd. . 27.70 Baker Hughes. . . . . . . . . 44.31 Bonavista . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.86 Bonterra Energy . . . . . . . 20.50 Cdn. Nat. Res. . . . . . . . . 34.86 Cdn. Oil Sands Ltd. . . . . . 9.65 Canyon Services Group. . 3.98 Cenovus Energy Inc. . . . 16.88 CWC Well Services . . . 0.1900 Encana Corp. . . . . . . . . . . 7.22 Essential Energy. . . . . . . 0.670

Stocks and other risky assets have benefited in the meantime, and present day market volatility is still an incredible buying opportunity, just as it was in 2009, he added.

“Investors who can take a long-term perspective and kind of look through the volatility, so to speak — they tend to be the best and do the best,” he said.

“Investors who emotionally react to the fear that they’re seeing in the headlines on a daily basis, that those types of decisions can be quite punitive over the long term.”

The Canadian dollar gained nearly a cent in value, up 0.93 of a U.S. cent at 75.47 cents US. The advance followed the Bank of Canada’s announcement that it is holding its key interest rate at 0.5 per cent.

The dollar’s climb was also supported by the April crude contract, which gained $1.79 at US$38.29 per barrel, as investors continued to await a decision later this month by OPEC countries whether to limit production.

April natural gas was up four cents at US$1.75 per mmBtu, while May copper contracts rose a penny to US$2.23 a pound. The April gold contract lost $5.50 to US$1,257.40 an ounce.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Highlights at the close Wednesday at world financial market trading.

Stocks: S&P/TSX Composite Index — 13,392.90, up 81.85 points Dow — 17,000.36, up 36.26 points S&P 500 — 1,989.26, up 10 points Nasdaq — 4,674.38, up

Exxon Mobil . . . . . . . . . . 82.40 Halliburton Co. . . . . . . . . 34.69 High Arctic . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.20 Husky Energy . . . . . . . . . 16.28 Imperial Oil . . . . . . . . . . . 44.13 Pengrowth Energy . . . . . 1.330 Penn West Energy . . . . . 1.580 Precision Drilling Corp . . . 5.74 Suncor Energy . . . . . . . . 34.51 Trican Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.550 Trinidad Energy . . . . . . . . 1.84 Vermilion Energy . . . . . . 39.70 Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.1600 Financials Bank of Montreal . . . . . . 77.53 Bank of N.S. . . . . . . . . . . 61.81 CIBC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95.65 Cdn. Western . . . . . . . . . 23.61 Great West Life. . . . . . . . 35.08 IGM Financial . . . . . . . . . 36.27 Intact Financial Corp. . . . 88.01 Manulife Corp. . . . . . . . . 18.34 National Bank . . . . . . . . . 41.10 Rifco Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.400 Royal Bank . . . . . . . . . . . 73.21 Sun Life Fin. Inc.. . . . . . . 41.00 TD Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.88

25.56 points Currencies: Cdn — 75.47 cents US, up 0.93 of a cent Pound — C$1.8842, down 2.24 cents Euro — C$1.4582, down 1.82 cents Euro — US$1.1005, unchanged Oil futures: US$38.29 per barrel, up $1.79 (April contract) Gold futures: US$1,257.40 per oz., down $5.50 (April contract) Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman: $21.491 oz., up 3.2 cents $690.94 kg., up $1.03 ICE FUTURES CANADA WINNIPEG — ICE Futures Canada closing prices: Canola: March ‘16 $3.10 lower $452.70 May ‘16 $3.10 lower $454.70 July ‘16 $3.10 lower $459.20 Nov. ‘16 $4.00 lower $465.50 Jan. ‘17 $4.50 lower $469.80 March ‘17 $4.50 lower $472.30 May ‘17 $4.50 lower $471.60 July ‘17 $4.50 lower $471.10 Nov. ‘17 $4.50 lower $464.70 Jan. ‘18 $4.50 lower $464.70 March ‘18 $4.50 lower $464.70.

Barley (Western): March ‘16 unchanged $174.00 May ‘16 unchanged $176.00 July ‘16 unchanged $176.00 Oct. ‘16 unchanged $176.00 Dec. ‘16 unchanged $176.00 March ‘17 unchanged $176.00 May ‘17 unchanged $176.00 July ‘17 unchanged $176.00 Oct. ‘17 unchanged $176.00 Dec. ‘17 unchanged $176.00 March ‘18 unchanged $176.00.

Wednesday’s estimated volume of trade: 268,100 tonnes of canola 0 tonnes of barley (Western Barley). Total: 268,100.

Esso deal to help expand Couche-Tard’s presence CONVENIENCE STORE WILL ALSO EXPAND RELATIONSHIP WITH TIM HORTONS

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL — Alimentation Couche-Tard will earn a bigger slice of fuel sales in Canada’s two largest markets after striking a $1.69 billion deal with Imperial Oil to buy 279 Esso retail stations.

The Quebec-based company said 229 of the stations are located in Ontario, mainly in the Greater Toronto Area as well as London and Ottawa.

Another 50 stores will be added in Montreal and the city’s South Shore.

The acquisition means Canada’s largest convenience store operator will see its fuel market share increase to about 20 per cent in each jurisdiction, putting it in range of rivals Petro-Canada, Shell and Ultramar, CEO Brian Hannasch said Wednesday.

“We think we’ve acquired some of the best assets not just in Canada but in all of North America,” Hannasch said in a conference call a day after the deal was announced.

He said the company has been looking for more than a decade to expand its presence in Ontario.

Once the deal closes, the province will account for about one-third of its Canadian network of 2,100 locations.

The additional outlets will raise Couche-Tard’s (TSX:ATD.B) profile as it prepares to convert its Canadian network outside Quebec to the Circle K brand used in the United States from Mac’s over the next 18 months.

The sites will continue to sell Esso gas. Each site sells on average

FUEL 8.5 million litres of fuel per year and more than $1 million in non-fuel sales, excluding Tim Hortons and car washes.

The deal expands Couche-Tard’s relationship with Tim Hortons by adding 229 full-service or smaller kiosks to less than 20 in operation in Couche-Tard stores across Canada.

At locations without a Tim Hortons, Couche-Tard will add its private-label branded coffee, among other new food and drinks, to increase sales to levels at its own network.

The transaction is expected to close in about six months, subject to approval from the Competition Bureau.

The deal is part of a $2.8-billion agreement by Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO), majority owned by U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil Corp., to sell its remaining 497 Esso retail stations in Canada to four other fuel distributors: 7-Eleven Canada Inc., Harnois Groupe petrolier, Wilson Fuel Co. Ltd. and Parkland Fuel Corp.

Hannasch said the deal does not prevent his company from pursuing other acquisition targets, such as CST Brands, which recently said it was conducting a strategic review that could include selling its 1,900 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

“We think we can probably do a deal of that size but first we’d have to understand whether we are interested or not,” he said.

FILE photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill. Carr says he shares a “common objective” with those who want to see the Energy East pipeline completed between Alberta and New Brunswick.

Liberals share Energy East pipeline ‘common objective’: Carr

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Jim Carr, the Liberal government’s point man on energy resources, says he shares a “common objective” with those who want to see the Energy East pipeline completed between Alberta and New Brunswick.

The natural resources minister faced a barrage of questions in the Senate on Wednesday about TransCanada’s controversial, $15.7-billion proposed oil pipeline.

Former Liberal senators were among those pushing Carr to approve the project, with several making the case that an energy-rich country like Canada should not be importing oil.

Sen. James Cowan, the former Liberal leader in the Senate, noted that Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion recently took questions in the Senate where he was harshly critical of the human rights record of Saudi Arabia.

“If your government so deplores the human rights record of Saudi Arabia, from whom we import so much oil, why not move more quickly on the evaluation of the Energy East pipeline?” asked Cowan.

Carr responded that major resource projects require the confidence of Canadians.

“I think that’s one of the reasons we have not been able to get major approvals and major construction of pipelines to tidewater, because it hasn’t carried that public confidence that we seek to obtain,” said the minister.

“That’s our goal. That’s the process that we’re implementing now. So I think we have a common objective.”

Sen. Percy Mockler, a former New Brunswick solicitor general appointed

by Stephen Harper, demanded to know whether the government will “green light” Energy East.

“I think many New Brunswickers

know that major projects such as this one will have to go through a regulatory process that carries the confidence of the Canadian people in order for it to become a reality and that we have introduced a series of measures that we are optimistic will get us to that point,” Carr replied.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made combating climate change a central pillar of his new government. Many environmental groups say no new oil pipelines can be approved if the Liberals are serious about their environmental goals, particularly meeting the ambitious global targets Canada helped champion in December at the Paris climate conference.

But the government continues to send mixed messages, maintaining that expanded international market access for Canadian oil and gas is not at odds with the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Last week in Vancouver, Trudeau and 13 provincial and territorial leaders signed a climate declaration that included a little-noticed provision on natural resource markets.

The Vancouver communique stated that the first ministers “agreed on the importance and urgency of moving Canada’s resources to market in responsible, timely, predictable and sustainable ways that Canadians trust ….”

The more detailed, eight-page Vancouver Declaration recognized “the economic importance of Canada’s energy and resource sectors and their sustainable development as Canada transitions to a low-carbon economy.”

It also specifically commits to “delivering energy to people and global markets.”

The clause was raised in the Senate, where Carr called it an important element in the Vancouver declaration, “because it indicates there’s urgency and indicates there’s a common objective to get resources to market expeditiously and sustainably.”

Crescent Point boss says company ‘supportive’ of Wall government in Saskatchewan

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS CALGARY — A day after Saskatchewan’s election campaign kicked off, the boss of one of the province’s major oil producers said he’s happy with the incumbent government.

On a conference call to discuss Crescent Point Energy’s quarterly results on Wednesday, an analyst asked CEO Scott Saxberg if he had any thoughts on the campaign.

Initially, Saxberg chuckled and said, “Not really.” But after a pause, he said, “We’re pretty supportive of the government there.”

“They’ve done a great job for that province and hopefully they’ll continue to do so into the future.”

Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall met with the province’s lieutenant-governor on Tuesday to ask that the legislature be dissolved, setting off a 27-day campaign that ends at the ballot box on April 4.

The downturn in commodity prices has been a drag on the province’s finances. The government recently tabled a budget update with a $427-million deficit.

Wall has been an outspoken — and

at times feisty — player on the national stage when it comes to pipeline politics and climate policy.

Last month, he warned a national carbon tax could “kneecap” an already struggling Canadian economy. In January, after a coalition of Montreal-area mayors came out against the $15.7-billion Energy East Pipeline from Alberta to Atlantic Canada, Wall tweeted: “I trust Montreal-area mayors will politely return their share of $10B in equalization supported by West.”

Earlier Wednesday, Calgary-based Crescent Point, which has a large footprint in Saskatchewan, announced it’s slashing its monthly dividend by 70 per cent as it works to weather the downturn in oil and gas prices.

The monthly dividend will drop to three cents per share from 10 cents, starting with the April 15 payment to shareholders. At that level, and with $950 million in capital spending planned, the company expects to live within this year’s cash flow with the benchmark oil price averaging at least US$35 per barrel. During the last three months of 2015, Crescent Point had a loss of $382.4 million, including a $589.4-million writedown of its assets due to the drop in energy prices.

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LIFE

THE ADVOCATE Thursday, March 10, 2016

FISHING SEASON LOOMS BOB SCAMMELL OUTDOORS After the non – winter we have endured so far, coupled with early signs of spring, the sap has started rising prematurely – boiling, actually – in many Alberta anglers.

“Endured?” Sorry, but non-winters make me uncomfortable because I believe that if we don’t get winter when we should, we’ll get it when we shouldn’t, and that April really is the cruelest month.

But we digress. By email, telephone, and in person, I am hearing from unprecedented numbers of anglers who want to know what to expect of the 2016 fishing season, and also from anglers who have already been fishing in places where the season is already legally open. The following story is typical of the latter.

“It hit + 19 here yesterday, so I got the uncontrollable urge to go fishing.”

This gent justified a 500+ km. round trip by picking up a hoodie he forgot at a local’s house on his last trip in October.

By 3 p.m. he was casting to and hitting the Crowsnest River whenever the howling hurricane allowed, and later tried Lees Lake which was open, but roiled.

He was royally skunked, but his itch was scratched: “It was a good light workout for the casting arm and was warm enough so my hands didn’t get cold with wool gloves on.”

Several readers complain that they can get no answers to their inquiries about the emergency trout lake aeration program and wonder whether the stocked trout ponds and lakes will winterkill.

It is never a mistake to ask someone who is out there a lot, such as my younger (slightly) old friend, Don Andersen of Rocky Mountain House who claims to have fished on more than 120 days last year.

“Looks damn bad for the trout lakes out here, “ Andersen says.

“The new aeration system devised by the ACA is not doing the job and all the other lakes with the exception of Peppers, Fish and Goldeye have been ‘perched.’ The perch situation is now over 40 years old and still the government has done nothing.

They do have a policy and after reading it all I can suggest it is a damn good thing they don’t run the fire dept.

They wouldn’t show up till the house was cinders in the basement.

Damn, but I’m happy I’m (confidential) and not 27. I wouldn’t want to play with the mess left by our anglers and government.”

For years now I have persistently been given the names of two prominent west central Albertans who claim to know who is ruining the stocked trout ponds and lakes by illegally stocking them with perch, but will not, for some reason, even make an anonymous call to Report a Poacher. Maybe they’d feel better taking the bait bucket biologist ice fishing and kicking him in the ice hole right down of those faulty aerator holes.

Photo by BOB SCAMMELL/freelance

Don Andersen launching on one of his many annual fishing forays.

The aerator problem was caused by someone without enough real work to do discovering an obscure section of the Criminal Code making it a serious offence if someone is killed or injured in a hole you have made in the ice and remembering and worrying that Alberta’s aerators make a big, obvious holes i n the ice.

Old – timer lawyers tell me CC section 263 comes from the days when major ice – cutting operations were conducted on rivers and lakes that were also heavily travelled in winter.

There have also been farm and ranch kids drowned in holes cut by dad and kept open in the ice of a river, lake, or stock pond to water the cattle.

But I can’t find any cases where the “owner” of a fatal or injurious ice hole has been either charged or convicted under sec. 263.

Dr. Darryl Smith, Fish Committee Chairman for the Alberta Fish and Game Association, was in Ottawa recently for fisheries meetings and reports on “discussing the aerator issue directly with MPs who attended one of the meeting sessions.

They were surprised that such action (shutting down the aerators) was taken in Alberta as such systems continued to operate in their provinces.

They were aware of the concern related to the criminal code as they had just come from a standing committee meeting where it was discussed.” Only in Alberta; that Alberta advantage, yet again (!)

So, unless we get some good snows soon, or are favoured with good spring and summer rains, the coming fishing season will be short and sour, whether or not the trout - stocked lakes and

ponds have winter – killed.

Some ironic salvation might be found in Cow Lake.

Years ago I recall good hunting for spring bears feeding on big winter-killed rainbow trout along its shore. Cow had been “perched” around 1990, so pike, instead of rainbows, were restocked in an attempt to control the perch overbreeding and stunting.

Something worked, because ice fisherman have been reporting catching “jumbo” perch in Cow and promising to bring me some big fillets. Bring ‘em on, and the rest of you stock up on the good stuff: bobbers, maggots, and leeches.

Bob Scammell is an award-winning columnist who lives in Red Deer. He can be reached at bscam@telusplanet.net.

Seeds: The choice is yours Thinking of purchasing seeds either for bedding out plants or the garden?

It can be confusing with the different labels: GMO, hybridized, F1, F2, heirloom and organic.

GMO seeds are Genetically Modified Organisms. The parent plants have had their DNA modified. Specific genes from one plant are inserted into another plant in hope of improving the offspring. At present time GMO seeds are available for large scale growers not through seed packages. The Monsanto web site states “that the seeds are not available for the home gardener.” This does not stop different seed companies advertising that they are selling non-GMO seeds.

Hybridized seed involves plants that are chosen for specific characteristics and cross pollinated. Seeds from these plants grow to produce a mass of plants that have similar characteristics; height, growth habits and disease resistant. Seed saved from hybridized plants will not have the same characteristics as the parent plants.

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LINDA TOMLINSON GARDENING F1 hybrids are derived when the plants are selected and bred back into the same selection until all the seeds produce uniform plants. With desired characteristics At this point plants they are then crossed with another plant that has gone through the same process resulting in uniform plants that display the characteristics that the scientists were striving for. It can take up to 10 generations of plants before it reaches the stage to be cross pollinated. When F1 seeds are planted they produce a uniform crop that is ready to harvest at one time.

F1 hybrid seed costs more as it is labour intensive to produce the seed as the plants have to be hand pollinated to insure they have the correct DNA. F2 hybrids are F1 plants breed back

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CANNES LIONS REEL —WORLD’S BEST COMMERCIALS

THINGS HAPPENING TOMORROW

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The Globe and Mail invites you to the annual screening of the World’s Best Commercials from the 2015 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Friday and Saturday at 3 and 7 p.m. at the Welikoklad Event Centre. Celebrate Canadian achievement and enjoy some of the most entertaining, inspirational, and humorous commercials from around the world. Tickets are $10.

to each other. The seed tends to be less uniform than F1 but the procedure is less labour intensive and less expensive to purchase than F1 plants.

Open pollinated seed is pollinated by insects or the wind and rain. Plants grown from this seed will be varied in size, disease resistance along with flower and fruit production. Seed that is collected from the home garden is openly pollinated. Hardier plants survive and thrive. Strains that are weaker will slowly fade away.

Not all people agree on the exact definition of Heirloom seed but they do agree that the seed must never been part of the intense hybridization programs that started in the 1950’s.

Heirloom seed is all openly pollinated as a result the genetics will change over time depending what other plants are in the vicinity. Plants that perform poorly are weeded out either by nature or by the seed savers as the seed from the best plants are saved for the next years planting.

The varieties of heirloom plants

AFTER HYMN! AT CROSSROADS CHURCH The Central Alberta Pregnancy Care Centre presents the 2nd annual dramatic musical production of After HYMN! Written by Andrew Kooman Directed by Annette Bradley & Laura Geelen Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. at Crossroads Church. For your free tickets ($15 value) call 403-343-1611 or pick up at 53rd Street Music or Kennedy’s Parable. Donations are accepted.

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available are staggering but not all varieties of seed are readily available.

Many of the seeds come in limited numbers. Heirloom seeds are readily available through different seed houses as well as through exchanges.

Seeds from heirloom varieties can be saved with the knowledge that the seeds will produce plants similar to the parent plants.

Organic seed was produced on land that is certified as organic. The parent seed was organic. It was grown without the aid of chemical fertilizers or herbicides. Only approved natural fertilizers and pesticides can be used. Once the seed is harvested it is not treated with a fungicide. Organic seeds must be packaged by equipment and stored in an area that only deals with organic seed.

There are many choices when it comes to seeds. The choice is yours.

Linda Tomlinson is a horticulturalist that lives near Rocky Mountain House.

She can be reached at your_garden@hotmail.com

RED DEER MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY DAY CAMP: ART ATTACK Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery Day Camps run on select school PD days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Our camps are developed for children aged 6-12 and provide kids with an opportunity to make new friends, learn something new, and have fun.

Each camp includes games, crafts, a movie and more. Cost is $25/day for museum members and $30/day for non-members.

FIND OUT WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING IN OUR EVENT CALENDAR AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM/CALENDAR.

THE ADVOCATE C2

ENTERTAINMENT THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016

Second Wachowski sibling comes out as transgender

Photo by EPA

A well-wisher scribbles a message of thanks to the late Beatles producer George Martin on the wall outside the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, Britain, on Wednesday. George Martin, a British music producer best known for his work with The Beatles during the 1960s, has died aged 90. Martin influenced The Beatles’ sound after taking them on when he heard their demo tape in 1962. He is credited with 30 No. 1 singles for The Beatles and other artists.

Martin produced some of the most influential albums of modern times

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON — George Martin, the Beatles’ urbane producer who quietly guided the band’s swift, historic transformation from rowdy club act to musical and cultural revolutionaries, has died, his management said Wednesday. He was 90.

Too modest to claim the title of the fifth Beatle, the tall, elegant Londoner produced some of the most popular and influential albums of modern times — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Abbey Road — elevating rock LPs to art forms — “concepts.”

Martin won six Grammys and was inducted in 1999 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Three years earlier, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Former Beatle Paul McCartney said Martin had been “a true gentleman and like a second father to me.”

“If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George,” McCartney said. “From the day that he gave the

Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.”

B e a t l e s drummer Ringo Starr tweeted earlier: “God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family love Ringo and Barbara. George will be missed.”

Martin both GEORGE MARTIN witnessed and enabled the extraordinary metamorphosis of the Beatles and of the 1960s. From a raw first album in 1962 that took just a day to make, to the months-long production of Sgt. Pepper, the Beatles advanced rapidly as songwriters and sonic explorers. They composed dozens of classics, from She

Loves You to Hey Jude, and turned the studio into a wonderland of tape loops, multi-tracking, unpredictable tempos, unfathomable segues and kaleidoscopic montages.

Never again would rock music be defined by two-minute love songs or guitar-bass-drums arrangements. Lyrically and musically, anything became possible.

“Once we got beyond the bubblegum stage, the early recordings, and they wanted to do something more adventurous, they were saying, ‘What can you give us?”’ Martin told The Associated Press in 2002. “And I said, ‘I can give you anything you like.”’

Besides the Beatles, Martin worked with Jeff Beck, Elton John, Celine Dion and on several solo albums by McCartney. In the 1960s, Martin produced hits by Cilla Black, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. And for 37 straight weeks in 1963 a Martin recording topped the British charts.

Page explores the significance of being an artist

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — Steven Page just marked his seventh year apart from the Barenaked Ladies. The passage of time hasn’t brought him any closer to his former bandmates.

He “almost never” speaks with Barenaked Ladies co-founder Ed Robertson, or the group’s other members, and hasn’t looked back since leaving the band in February 2009.

“I have nothing but respect for those guys,” Page says, “but we don’t chit-chat or anything.”

The singer-songwriter’s latest solo album, Heal Thyself Pt. 1: Instinct, arrives on Friday as the first instalment of a two-part pop opus that ruminates on the significance of being an artist.

Page says he struggled with finding direction after leaving the band that produced inescapable Canadian hits like One Week and If I Had $1,000,000.

“The hardest thing for me was I self-identified as a Barenaked Lady,” he says.

“I started the group with Ed and that’s who I was for most of my adult life. I look at it now and think I’m kind of proud of myself to kind of have some kind of identity beyond that.”

Page says Heal Thyself considers the

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Steven Page is shown in a handout photo. Page just marked his seventh year apart from the Barenaked Ladies. The passage of time hasn’t brought him any closer to his former bandmates. evolution of artistry and the persistent need to qualify life as a musician as a “real job,” when much of it comes down to “thinking, daydreaming and watching movies” to find inspiration.

The second album subtitled “Discipline,” exploring the journey from a different perspective, will arrive within the next year, he says.

Searching for a creative truth was one of Page’s priorities as his brotherhood with the Barenaked Ladies began to fray in 2008.

Around the same time, Page was embroiled in drug possession charges after police found cocaine at a Fayetteville, N.Y., apartment. A deal was-

reached with Page, his then-girlfriend and her roommate who also faced charges, but it was clear his priorities were on a divergent path from his bandmates, who were wrapping up publicity for a children’s album.

Page says he suggested the Barenaked Ladies regroup with a tour that would’ve marked their 20th anniversary, but the band disagreed.

“They wanted to go headlong into a brand new album. I just ended up being through hell and back and was not ready to do it yet,” he recalls.

LOS ANGELES — Four years after Matrix filmmaker Lana Wachowski revealed she was transgender, her sibling and filmmaking partner, formerly known as Andy Wachowski, has also come out as transgender, and her name is Lilly, according to a statement posted Tuesday on the websites of the Windy City Times and advocacy group GLAAD. In her statement, the Chicagoborn director — known for the richly constructed worlds of the Matrix series, V for Vendetta and Cloud Atlas — said she had already come out to family, friends and colleagues.

Lilly Wachowski, 48, has been married to Alicia Blasingame since 1991 and thanked her for her love and support.

“Everyone is cool with it,” Wachowski wrote. “Yes, thanks to my fabulous sister they’ve done it before, but also because they’re fantastic people.”

Scotiabank Photography Award reveals short list TORONTO — Just two days after winning a $25,000 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, Suzy Lake of Toronto is up for another prestigious prize.

Lake is one of three finalists for this year’s $50,000 Scotiabank Photography Award.

The other finalists are Pascal Grandmaison of Montreal and Jayce Salloum of Vancouver.

Founded in 2010, the honour is billed as Canada’s largest peer-nominated, peer-reviewed photography award.

It honours a mid- to later-career artist.

The winner will be announced May 3.

Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos dies at age 71 SAO PAULO — Acclaimed Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos has died at age 71.

The eight-time Grammy Awardwinner worked over the decades with well-known musicians such as Milton Nascimento.

Vasconcelos died of lung cancer on Wednesday in the northeastern city of Recife where he was born.

He was a master of the single-string percussion instrument known in Portuguese as the berimbao.

The American jazz magazine DownBeat named Vasconcelos percussionist of the year every year from 1983 to 1991.

He started learning music with his musicianfather and by the time he was 12 he was playing a drum kit, performing at bars with local groups.

Dos Equis says ‘adios’ to ‘Most Interesting Man’ pitchman NEW YORK — Dos Equis is dumping the grey-haired spokesman known as the “Most Interesting Man in the World” for another actor.

The Mexican beer brand said Wednesday that the Most Interesting Man commercials will continue later this year without Jonathan Goldsmith, the 77-year-old actor who has appeared in Dos Equis ads since 2007.

In Goldsmith’s last commercial , he is shipped off in a rocket on a one-way trip to Mars. He utters the beer brand’s slogan — “Stay thirsty, my friends” — as the rocket takes off.

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THE ADVOCATE C3

TECHNOLOGY THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016

Samsung S7’s camera now rivals the iPhone

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — It’s difficult to justify paying for a high-priced, top-end smartphone these days — unless, that is, you want to take good pictures.

In this Age of Instagram, a great camera is one of the few reasons to pay $650 or more for the latest smartphone, instead of $200 or $300 for a budget phone that does texting, Facebook and Web surfing just as well.

Samsung’s phone cameras have shown tremendous improvement in just a few years. The new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge phones take much better pictures than last year’s S6 models. In fact, they’re now basically neck and neck with Apple’s iPhones, meaning that you no longer have to compromise on picture quality if you prefer Android.

I took more than 2,000 still shots and a few videos using 10 smartphones from Samsung, Apple, LG, Huawei and Motorola. To make the comparison clearer, I focused on indoor and night settings, such as museums, bars and New York’s Central Park at night. Even budget phones can take great shots in good light, but only great phones take good shots in poor light.

BETTER LIGHTING, BETTER FOCUS I was impressed with the S7’s ability to capture Central Park’s unlighted Bethesda Fountain at night.

Shots from most other phones appear pitch black, save for a faint outline of the fountain’s statue and some distant light from building windows.

The S7 was also more likely to get the focus right on its own, without having to choose a focus area first by touching the phone screen. Even with touching, focusing sometimes takes a second or two on other cameras. I don’t get that lag with the S7, meaning fewer missed action shots.

The lens and image sensors on the S7 aren’t large enough to match the capabilities of full-bodied SLR cameras, but the phones borrow some of the focus and light-capturing technologies found on more sophisticated shooters. These technologies combined result in brighter, sharper images in low light.

UPGRADING THE S6 The S7 also has a wider-angle lens than last year’s S6 models, one that now matches iPhone hardware.

It captures more of what’s in front of you. Among other things, people don’t have to squeeze together as tightly for group shots.

Samsung also corrected some design deficiencies in earlier models. The S7’s camera lens no longer protrudes awkwardly, as it did on the S6. Its screen turns into a flash for low-light selfies, just like the latest iPhones. (That means my selfies now look awful because of their subject and not the low light.)

The S7 also takes photos in a standard 4-by-3 rectangle, not the wider 16-by-9 frame of the S6. While overall megapixel count is lower on the S7, that’s entirely a consequence of the narrower width, which yields a photo like an S6 shot with its far edges chopped off.

A FEW QUIBBLES Many indoor shots come out yellowish, possibly

Photos by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Samsung Galaxy S7, left, and S7 Edge are displayed during the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2016 event on the eve of the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain. The new phones take better pictures than last year’s S6 models. They are neck and neck with Apple’s iPhones, such that you no longer have to compromise on picture quality if you prefer Android.

This photo combo shows unretouched images of a cheeseburger taken in a dimly lit restaurant, in New York, with both the Apple iPhone 6S, left, and Samsung Galaxy S7. Samsung’s phone cameras have shown significant improvements over the past few years, now allowing users to capture usable images in low light. In this example, the Galaxy S7 registered a warmer image with better detail, compared to the image taken with the Apple iPhone 6S.

reflecting the yellowish nature of indoor lighting. On the S7, books look as though they’ve yellowed from being out in the sun too long. Egg whites on a burger don’t look so white (though bacon comes out brighter, with more detail). Faces are more orange than usual.

Odd colours can make pictures look better, but they often don’t seem natural.

COMPARISONS Of all of the phones I tested, the S7 and iPhone 6S produced the most consistent low-light photos. The S7 shots typically had better focus, while the iPhone pictures looked more natural, with colours typically mirroring how you see things.

China looks to ramp up Internet growth, and its controls

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING — China’s government has highlighted big data, encryption technology and “core technologies” such as semiconductors as the key elements of its push to grow into a tech powerhouse, according to a new five-year plan released Saturday that envisages the Internet as a major source of growth as well as a potential risk.

Even as it highlighted the need to improve Internet infrastructure to rural areas and unlock the digital economy’s potential, Chinese economic planners called for a more secure and better managed Web, with enhanced Internet control systems, Internet security laws and real-name registration policies.

Chinese officials including Internet czar Lu Wei have played down concerns over what critics have described as China’s expanding Web censorship, saying that it is the Chinese government’s sovereign prerogative and a necessary measure to maintain domestic order.

China’s development plan calls for a better cybersecurity approval system and more “precise” Web management to “clean up illegal and bad information.”

The plan also calls for a multilateral, democratic, transparent and international governance system and active participation in international Internet governance efforts. Premier Li Keqiang highlighted

the promise of the Internet, saying Saturday that various traditional sectors, ranging from manufacturing to government to health care, need to connect to the Web and raise their efficiency as part of an overarching national strategy called “Internet Plus.”

He vowed to raise research and technology spending to account for 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product in the five years through 2020, which he said would mark a “remarkable achievement.”

The five-year plan calls for all families in large cities to have access to 100 megabyte-per-second Internet service and broadband coverage reaching 98 per cent of the population in incorporated villages.

At the same time, Chinese leaders, wary of over-relying on foreign technology, will seek to boost China’s homegrown industry and cut down on imports — a strategy that has drawn complaints from trade partners like the United States.

Similar to previous years, when Chinese leaders highlighted industries such as e-commerce as a growth focus, the new draft of China’s development plan specifically elevated big data and cloud computing, relatively new and promising fields that Chinese industry experts view as not yet cornered

by U.S. companies that dominate other parts of the technology market.

The plan also calls for China to catch up on “core” technologies such as semiconductors and basic computer parts and software, as well as encryption technology.

The S7 has also cloned Apple’s Live Photos feature, in which the camera captures short video clips as it’s taking still photos. The feature is on by default on the iPhone, but you need to turn it on with the S7.

Unlike the iPhone version, Samsung’s Motion Photo has no sound.

The latest Apple and Samsung phones are comparable in many other ways. (I took a first look at the S7 a few weeks ago: http://apne.ws/21hAP8X .) One impressive non-camera feature is the S7’s fast-charging capability.

With the included charger, I get a full charge in just 80 minutes, and that’s enough for nine hours of Hulu video streaming on the S7, 10 hours on the S7 Edge.

The camera, though, is where these phones really stand out from the pack.

Video shows Google self-driving car hit bus

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — Newly released video shows the moment a Google self-driving car learned the hard way not to tussle with a public bus.

The collision happened on Valentine’s Day, when a Google vehicle struck the side of a public bus in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View. Footage recorded by cameras on the bus shows a Lexus SUV, which Google has outfitted with sensors and cameras that let it drive itself, edging into the path of the bus that was rolling by at about 15 mph.

It was the first time in several years of testing on public roads that a Google self-driving car prototype caused a crash. Google has blamed other drivers for past collisions during testing, but, in a first, accepted at least partial responsibility for this crash.

Though it was a low-speed collision, the impact crumpled the Lexus’ front left side, flattened the tire and tore off the radar Google installed to help the SUV perceive its surroundings.

The Lexus had to be towed. Neither the Google employee in the driver’s seat — who must be there under California law to take the wheel in an emergency — nor the 16 people on the bus were injured.

The transit agency has concluded based on the footage that the bus driver was not responsible, spokeswoman Stacey Hendler Ross said.

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SCIENCE THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016

Change is in the air DAVID SUZUKI SCIENCE MATTERS

When Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in June 1914, no one thought, “Uh-oh, World War I is starting…” We only recognize the significance of events in the context of history. I recently had a day like any other except it made me wonder if we’re on the verge of historical change.

On March 2, 2016, I woke to CBC’s Early Edition and heard program host Rick Cluff interviewing Canada’s Minster of the Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna. She was explaining her infant government’s intention to meet the emissions targets set in Paris in December. That was followed by an interview with Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff, talking about his organization embracing the need to address climate change with a proposal to create a million “climate jobs” over the next five years. It all struck me as amazing after a decade when little attention was

paid to climate change at the federal level.

I hopped out of bed with excitement. Walking to the bus stop, I was hailed by my neighbour, the eminent architect Bing Thom, who invited me to squeeze into his Mini Minor. As we drove downtown, he was anxious to talk about the energy future and how it related to his job designing places to live and work. “We have to be bold, because climate change is so urgent,” he repeated several times.

As he let me off at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel, I wondered if I was still asleep and dreaming. I then noticed a number of identical bicycles at the hotel entrance. When I asked a manager whether they’re for rent, he replied, “They’re for our hotel customers on a first-come, first-served basis.” I asked whether they were used much.

“All the time. People love them,” he answered. He then asked if I had seen the rooftop garden. “We have five beehives up there that produce 500 pounds of honey a year,” he boasted.

I was at the hotel to join Yussuff for a news conference about the CLC’s plan, called “One Million Climate Jobs: A Challenge for Canada.”

As Yussuff and I chatted before the

event, I asked how he had come to take climate change so seriously. “I have a seven-year-old daughter, and my greatest concern is the world we are leaving her,” he said, “Climate change is going to have a profound effect on her life.”

I responded that, as a grandfather, I shared his concern.

We agreed that the problem for politicians is that they think in terms of election cycles, which demand that whatever they do will pay off before they return to the polls.

At the news conference, I thanked and congratulated the CLC for the forward-thinking idea that the challenge of climate change presents an opportunity.

British Columbians, I said, are at the frontlines of climate change.

We’ve seen billions of dollars of pine trees destroyed by mountain pine beetles that are no longer suppressed by cold winters, massive fires that have caused enormous economic loss, a drought in the heart of the coastal rainforest, shellfish killed by ocean acidification and changes in growing seasons.

By embracing scientific information about the warming planet and committing to avoid a catastrophic tempera-

ture increase this century, we create a huge opportunity that groups like the CLC propose we exploit.

The reporters wanted to know what specific proposals we had to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I pointed out the important hurdle was to commit to reduce emissions, because until we start, we won’t know what opportunities will arise. I reminded them that in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy said the U.S. would get American astronauts safely to the moon and back in a decade, no one knew how they were going to do it.

Amazingly, not only did they achieve the goal before the decade was over, there were hundreds of totally unanticipated spinoffs, including laptops, cellphones, GPS, ear thermometers and space blankets. I am absolutely certain the same will happen when we commit to avoiding chaotic climate change.

This day wasn’t much different than the day before or the next one, but it made me feel that a revolution is already underway.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation.

Researchers take inverted approach to studying space

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER — Canadian researchers are taking an upside-down approach to better understand the impact of long-term space flight on the human body.

Teams at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and the University of Ottawa will monitor 20 test subjects slated to spend two months completely bedridden and lying head below feet at a slightly inverted, six-degree angle.

The researchers will head to a specialized research facility in France to gather information from the inverted test subjects, whose positions are intended to imitate the conditions experienced by astronauts in zero gravity.

Bernard Jasmin, a University of Ottawa medical researcher, wants to learn more about how muscles respond to long periods of little to no

LONG-TERM SPACE FLIGHT STUDY activity, for example without having to fight against gravity.

Both projects are expected to help scientists better prepare astronauts for spending extended periods of time in outer space, which might occur during a protracted mission to Mars or a fly-by asteroid, but they will also have applications back on Earth.

Those applications might include developing a workout routine or dietary regimen for bedridden patients or the elderly.

The research will also look at how space travel simulates a sped-up-butreversible aging process.

“The interesting thing for us is that muscle atrophy is a general problem that you encounter in many, many different situations,” Jasmin said.

“So the work can have a major im-

pact for other areas, other than just space research.”

The 20 test subjects will be completely immobilized, meaning all activity will take place in their beds, from eating, showering, sleeping and going to the washroom.

That’s important, Jasmin said, because “the smallest activity with weight bearing could throw off all of the results.”

Prof. Andrew Blaber of Simon Fraser is zeroing in on the link between the cardiovascular system and the system in charge of controlling the body’s posture.

“We can (also) repeat a study,” Blaber said, describing one of the project’s principal strengths.

“If an astronaut goes up twice, we can look at them twice and watch

them recover twice.”

The research money funding the operation is part of $1.7 million from the Canadian Space Agency.

Included in that backing is an experiment looking at the similar psychological repercussions experienced from space travel and the time spent during a winter season at a remote Antarctic research station.

Agency spokesman Perry Johnson-Green said a particular risk is the possibility of astronauts fainting or breaking a bone after spending unprecedented amounts of time off Earth.

“There’s still a question of safety,” he said. “(But) we’re increasingly seeing parallels between the research we do and the research parallels on Earth.”

The study is scheduled to begin in September.

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Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Vicky Kaspi, the director of the McGill University Space Institute, poses for a photo in Montreal

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS Fast radio bursts have been a cosmic mystery ever since astronomers first detected the extragalactic pulses about a decade ago. They’re flashes of radio waves lasting less than a thousandth of a second coming from far outside the galaxy. Nobody knows what they are and where they come from, but new research done partly at Montreal’s McGill University solves a piece of the puzzle with the suggestion the phenomenon can repeat.

“It’s one of the very rare-in-science ‘Eureka!’ moments,” said Vicky Kaspi, director of the McGill Space Institute.

She said McGill PhD student Paul Scholz made the discovery last November during what was expected to be a routine data analysis project.

While sifting through data gathered from a radio telescope in Puerto Rico, Scholz saw one of the collected signals was particularly bright, as well as being consistent with another burst previously recorded from the same part of the sky.

“I got quite excited when I saw that and knew that it was a big step forward — a big deal — right away,” he said.

As his colleagues gathered around his computer, Scholz found nine more repetitions, all from the same source.

Kaspi says the discovery is an important step toward discovering exactly what the bursts are and where they come from, with some big implications for humankind’s understanding of the

universe. Astronomers know the bursts are quite common (occurring possibly thousands of times per day), travel vast cosmological distances and have a very powerful source. But because they seemed to be one-time events, Kaspi said they were commonly believed to have been created by “cataclysmic events,” such as exploding or colliding stars. However, such an event couldn’t cause repeated bursts like the ones Scholz saw, she added. Now, Kaspi and her fellow astronomers are excitedly considering new possibilities, such as the waves coming from a magnetar — a highly magnetized neutron star.

The astrophysicist says there are some competing theories, including a study recently published in Nature magazine that seems to contradict their findings. It’s also possible the pulses can be created by multiple kinds of sources, she said.

Since the bursts travel long distances between galaxies, figuring out what they are could teach researchers about how the universe evolved.

“It will help us understand how galaxies formed, what’s in the vicinity of galaxies and what’s in the material between them,” she said. “We could learn a lot about the universe from these events… but we have a lot of work left to do.”

Both Kaspi and Scholz hope a high-powered telescope called CHIME that is being built in Canada will be able to detect many more of the bursts and eventually lead scientists down the path to solving the mystery.

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SCIENCE

Thursday, March 10, 2016

C5

Zoo to improve aging elephant’s conditions

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TOKYO — An elephant whose living conditions came under scrutiny after a Canadian woman’s blog post will remain at a zoo in Tokyo, but the 69-year-old animal’s keepers said Monday they will work to make her pen more livable.

An animal welfare expert recommended simple additions to Hanako’s pen including infrared heaters and new toys instead of moving her to a sanctuary.

“The zoo has done a lot of good,” said Carol Buckley, who was invited to the zoo by the “Help Hanako” campaign that sought to improve the elephant’s situation or move it to a Thai sanctuary.

Hanako was among the healthiest elephants, for her age, she has ever seen, she added. Their usual lifespan is about 70 years.

Ulara Nakagawa of Vancouver drew international attention to the elephant’s living conditions at Inokashira Park Zoo through her blog and by getting more than 400,000 signatures in an online petition. Nearly 950 people donated more than US$29,000 to assess the famous elephant’s health and living conditions.

The 35-year-old woman took on the project after an online supporter started the petition, inspired by the blog post Nakagawa wrote last fall decrying Hanako’s “concrete prison.”

The zoo has said moving Hanako would be too stressful. A gift from Thailand in 1949, Hanako, or “flower child,” has lived in a zoo since she was two.

Buckley said Hanako is happy and loves her zookeepers. Instead of moving her, Buckley recommends infrared heaters and rubber mats to make her small concrete pen more livable. She suggested playing music and adding more toys, such as frozen fruit inside a tire.

Tires and a tube are Hanako’s favourite toys now.

Buckley, an American who founded an animal sanctuary and has worked

FILE Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A zoo attendant touches Hanako the elephant at Inokashira Park Zoo on the outskirts of Tokyo. The zoo said it will work on improving the living conditions for the 69-year-old elephant after an animal welfare expert recommended against moving her. American Carol Buckley was invited to the zoo by the “Help Hanako” campaign that sought to improve the elephant’s situation or move her to a Thai sanctuary. with other captive elephants, said renovating or enlarging Hanako’s pen would require noisy construction that might stress the animal. And introducing other elephants and even foliage could bewilder Hanako.

Zoo Curator Hidemasa Hori, who met with Buckley during her visit, said the zoo will work on making the “environmental enrichment” changes, although some bureaucratic procedures would be required. The city of Tokyo

runs the zoo.

Nakagawa says funds can be raised to help make changes for Hanako.

It was unclear whether those who were behind the petition drive to move Hanako out of the zoo would be convinced by Buckley’s findings.

Buckley noted animal activists need to be educated, regardless of their good intentions.

“You think she should be put on a plane or a boat and go to Thailand?

What are you thinking?” she said.

Buckley noted Hanako was clearly bored and needs more toys as well as more time with the zookeepers.

“When her keepers let her in the barn, she just lit up. Her eyes got big, and her body relaxed, and she came in and her ears were flapping,” she said.

“She came right over to the bars where they were and solicited their petting the entire time and didn’t stop talking.”

Total eclipse darkens swath of Indonesia

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PALEMBANG, Indonesia — People gazed at the sky in wonder and cheered while others knelt in prayer as a total eclipse of the sun unfolded over Indonesia on Wednesday.

The rare astronomical phenomenon was witnessed along a narrow path that stretched across 12 provinces encompassing three time zones and about 40 million people. In other parts of the Indonesian archipelago and Asia, a partial eclipse was visible.

Thousands of eclipse-chasers came from abroad and the government, which has been the promoting the event for more than a year, forecast a substantial tourism boost. Some tour groups chartered ships to view the eclipse, which began in the Indi-

an Ocean, at sea. Thousands of men, women and children gathered in Sigi Biromaru, a hilltop town of Central Sulawesi province, shouted and clapped as the sun transformed into a dark orb for more than two minutes. Hundreds of others prayed at nearby mosques.

“The sun totally disappeared. How amazing this sunny morning suddenly changed to dark,” said Junaz Amir, a Sigi resident who witnessed the eclipse with his family using special glasses that protect the eyes.

Most eclipses are partial but when the moon is close enough to the Earth, the sun is completely eclipsed by the moon’s shadow and only a faint ring of rays known as the corona is visible.

The previous total solar eclipse was in March last year and was best viewed on Norway’s Svalbard islands near the North Pole.

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A total solar eclipse is seen in Ternate, Maluku Islands, Indonesia, Wednesday.

A total solar eclipse plunged parts of the Indonesian archipelago into eerie daytime darkness.

The truth about adjusted data

Oh, were that it was so. It would be so much easier to deal with a couple of rogue governmental agencies, than with Mother Nature gone berserk. But life is never that simple.

However, there is the nagging detail about temperatures that were changed on a routine basis.

If you look through the scientific papers on climate change, you’ll see references to “raw” data and “adjusted” data.

Obviously, the raw data were those numbers that were read directly off of a thermometer, and the adjusted data were those numbers which got adjusted (either up or down).

The process is called homogenization, and there is a very good explanation of it on Wikipedia, under the heading “homogenization (climate).”

Why should temperature readings be adjusted?

Partly because of changing technology used to gather the data, partly because data calculations methods change, and partly because the locations of the weather stations change.

An example of changing technology relates to how we get temperature readings from the ocean (where the vast majority of the global warming ends up).

In the years before WWII, canvas buckets were thrown over the sides of ships to get water samples to measure.

But the moist canvas sides would contribute to evaporation, thus cooling the water a bit.

In later years, ships would suck up water samples through their intake ports, but this would heat the water before its temperature got measured.

Therefore, in order to figure out accurate trends over the last century or so,

EVAN BEDFORD ENERGY AND ECOLOGY

the bucket numbers had to be increased by a certain amount, and the intake port numbers had to be reduced by a certain amount.

In both cases, the adjustment amounts would have been determined by going out in the ocean, and comparing bucket results and intake port results alongside something known to be much more accurate (these days, scientists use automated buoys with satellite linkages to get ocean temperatures).

An example of problems arising from weather station locations is that stations in urban areas tend to record higher temperatures than the surrounding rural areas.

And not only that, but the urban areas have changed much more than the rural areas have in the last 100 years.

When Red Deer was still a village, its temperature readings wouldn’t have differed much from the surrounding farms.

But now that it’s full of heat absorbing concrete and asphalt, the difference is huge.

Thus, the data coming from citybased weather stations aren’t representative of the wider area, and thus have to be either adjusted downwards or thrown out entirely (at least for purposes of climate analysis).

But what got MacLeod angry was the fact that a lot of numbers from stations in both Paraguay and Iceland got adjusted upwards, not downwards.

Was it as a result of a conspiracy?

Probably not, since when a person looks at the numbers from all of the other countries in the world, things tend to even out.

A graphical analysis of all of the “adjusted” numbers going back two full centuries can be seen in a arti-

cle commissioned by the Annenberg Foundation (a non-profit, non-partisan think-tank) called “Nothing False About Temperature Data” (easily searched on-line).

It clearly shows that there were about as many downward adjusted temperatures as upwards adjusted temperatures.

If you want more information on the matter, there is an excellent four-minute video on youtube, made

by Kevin Cowtan (search for his name and “Paraguay”) that’s appropriate for anyone with a high-school education.

Perhaps the most important message to come out of this, is that the total sum of adjustments only makes a 3 per cent difference in the amount of global warming over the last 50 years.

Would any self-respecting group of scientists involved in a vast conspiracy bother to risk their careers for such a paltry goal?

Probably not.

That would be like a group of robbers stopping a Brinks armoured truck, ignoring the gold bullion in the back, and ordering the drivers to empty their pockets of any spare change.

Sometimes, therefore, we have to just ignore the wild stories, and grudgingly accept that the simplest explanation is the real one.

Evan Bedford is a local environmentalist. Direct comments, questions and suggestions to wyddfa23@telus.net. Visit the Energy and Ecology website at www. evanbedford.com.

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“Without their cherry picking actual recorded temperatures and then adding 2 degrees to them, it would be next to impossible to have global warming.”

Letter writer Charles MacLeod (Jan. 25), referring to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Global Historical Climatology Network.

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D1 THE ADVOCATE Thursday, March 10, 2016

A moment of firsts TRUDEAU EMBARKS ON HERALDED U.S. VISIT

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds his son Hadrian as he and his wife, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau; son Xavier, right and daughter, Ella-Grace, back, step off the plane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday.

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS WASHINGTON — Justin Trudeau’s first prime ministerial visit to the United States got underway Wednesday as he stepped off the airplane with his wife and children to begin a trip unique in the recent history of Canada-U.S. relations.

Anticipated announcements on bilateral issues like climate change, next-generation border security and the Arctic are merely one tranche of the story of the three-day trip.

It’s also a snapshot in time. The highlight will be the first state dinner for a Canadian in 19 years at a moment where two sympatico progressive leaders hold office and the Canadian one also happens to be unusually wellknown here.

The visit has prompted a rare degree of American media attention. A more gushing example was in the tabloid Politico headline, Justin Fever Hits Washington, followed by a story where a senior White House official admitted having a bit of a crush on the young leader from the north.

It also comes so late in Barack Obama’s tenure that one official couldn’t say whether or not this state dinner — the 11th of his presidency — might be his final one.

White House officials offered a tour of the East Room where the dinner will be held it’s the same room where Trudeau’s father was serenaded by Robert Goulet at the after-party during his first state dinner in 1969. The meal will be sprinkled with Canadiana — including a duck-poutine canape and Canadian whisky drizzled over lamb.

Denison Offut said there’s also fertile ground for co-operation on substantive files.

“The leaders are progressive, forward-looking, and have very similar common values and agendas,” said Offut, director for North American affairs.

“Having met … last December there was a natural synergy there. Especially with the followup at the Paris environmental talks.”

Sources say there’ll be multiple announcements after the leaders meet Thursday.

One could revolutionize the way Canadians and Americans enter each other’s country by allowing pre-border customs screening — in train stations, bus stations, on ships and off highways the same way it already occurs in several Canadian airports, with the goal being smoother travel through choke points.

The climate agreements will include components on the Arctic and commitments to reduce methane-gas emissions, and help developing countries cope with the effects with environmental change. Some third-party groups consulted on the trip also expect announcements on clean technology.

The prime minister landed at Andrews Air Force Base and emerged alongside his wife Sophie GregoireTrudeau and their three children — Xavier, Ella-Grace and Hadrien. They stood for the national anthem and departed for a reception near the White House.

Thursday is the main meeting with President Barack Obama in the morn-

Foreign policy adviser writes of ‘waning’ U.S. influence

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A program sits on a place setting during a press preview ahead of the state dinner for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Wednesday, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.

State dinner features the best of spring, with a dash of Canadian whisky WASHINGTON — The best of America’s spring produce, with a little help from some Canadian whisky, will feature heavily on the menu for the state dinner Thursday night to mark Justin Trudeau’s first prime ministerial visit to the U.S. The first course at the White House will see the Trudeaus and the Obamas dine on Alaskan halibut “casseroles” with cepes, delicate angel hair asparagus, chanterelles, baby onions, and lardon and herbed butter followed by roasted apricot galette with Appalachian cheese, heirloom lettuces and pine nut crisps.

The menu says the state dinner features ingredients from the Pacific Northwest to the Atlantic coast.

“With a mindfulness to the coming of spring, White House executive chef Cris Comerford and executive pastry chef Susie Morrison will present dishes highlighting elements of the season and the best of America’s farms and seas,” says the menu. “One of our canapes is actually a duck poutine,” said Comerford as he described Hudson River duck shaved on fries with gravy and cheese.

“So it’s kind of like a take on a wonderful national dish of Canada. It’s a play on ing, followed by meetings with senior members of Congress and the state dinner in the evening.

He’ll conclude the three-day trip Friday when he lays a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, takes part in a question-and-answer session with university students and speaks to a think-tank audience.

Prime ministerial visits rarely raise a ripple in the U.S. capital but the arrival of this refugee-hugging, self-declared feminist subject of fawning profiles and a Vogue magazine spread is an exception to the rule.

Witness the Politico item, which features an anonymous senior Obama

that dish.”

The vegetables for the first course come from a farm in Ohio and the herbed butter is sourced from Michelle Obama’s White House kitchen garden.

The first course also features a first.

“This will be served in individual tureens from the Obama State China service this occasion is the first time these tureens have been used.”

The cheese from the second course comes from Galax, Va. “With sweet and salty, and soft and crunchy, all in one dish, the salad has a wonderful juxtaposition of flavours and textures,” says the menu.

The main course consists of a herb-crusted lamb from Colorado, Yukon Gold potato dauphinoise and lightly sauteed spring vegetables.

“As a finishing touch, the dish is drizzled with Yukon Jack Canadian Whisky,” reads the menu.

Dessert continues the spring theme as the chefs plan to serve a maple pecan cake with cocoa nib wafer and butterscotch swirl ice cream. The pecans in the cake are Texan and the maple syrup comes from New England.

There will also be a handmade sugar sculpture called “A View from the Mountain Top.” The menu says it is “inspired by the splendour of the Rocky Mountains, which extend from New Mexico to Canada.” official declaring Trudeau her “new political crush,” saying, “Seriously, with his looks, heart, and mind, he’s dreamy.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, also noted the novelty of Americans paying attention to a Canadian politician.

“For a long time Canadians were a bit obsessed with President Obama,” she told a forum hosted by Politico late Tuesday. “This is just deserts.”

But there are limits to U.S. fascination. While some Canadian news networks ran live footage of Trudeau’s plane on the tarmac, none of the U.S. networks did.

OTTAWA — The decline of the U.S. is a theme that has filled books and scholarly articles, fuelled punditry and even spawned billionaire Donald Trump’s now-familiar mantra to “make America great again.”

But with President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to clink champagne flutes this week, one addition to that oeuvre from a recently released collection of scholarly writing might land with a bit of a clunk.

It’s co-edited by Trudeau’s foreign policy adviser, Roland Paris. And in an introductory essay co-written by Paris, “the waning of U.S. leadership” in the world is presented as one of eight major global shifts currently underway.

Paris was a respected academic at the University of Ottawa with a voluminous body of writing on his resume before he became Trudeau’s foreign policy adviser in November.

One of his larger contributions, which he co-edited with University of British Columbia professor Taylor Owen, was released last month.

Titled The World Won’t Wait: Why Canada Needs to Rethink Its International Policies, it contains 11 academic analyses covering a range of international issues, including global commerce, the environment and security.

The third sentence of the book’s introduction, written by Paris and Owen, declares: “No longer can the United States be relied upon either to drive Canadian economic growth or to single-handedly underwrite the global trading system and international security.”

They go on to outline “eight global shifts” in the world that are particularly relevant.

No. 3 is the decline in influence of the U.S. on global events, which the authors attribute in part to the rise of “non-state actors, in part owing to the advent of ‘disruptive’ digital technologies,” and the “rapid diffusion of economic power,” which includes the rise of India and China.

The decline is also due to a shifting mood in the American public, influenced by “economic pressures at home and the legacy of two unpopular and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” they write.

NEWS

Thursday, March 10, 2016

D2

‘Nobody can beat us’ TRUMP URGES REPUBLICANS TO UNITE BEHIND HIS CAMPAIGN

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Donald Trump called for Republicans on Wednesday to rally behind his presidential candidacy after he cruised to primary victories in three more states, declaring that he could not be defeated in the November general election as the standard-bearer of a united party.

On the Democrat side, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders handed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a surprise loss in the industrial state of Michigan, increasing the likelihood that the contest for the party’s nomination could stretch into early summer.

Clinton, however, crushed Sanders in the southern state of Mississippi, continuing to win a large margin among black voters.

Speaking to MSNBC on Wednesday, Trump said: “If the Republican party unites behind us, nobody can beat us.”

But Trump evaded questions about how he would carry out his campaign promises, especially his boast that he would build a wall along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration and make Mexico pay for it.

He did concede that he is not doing as well with women voters because of the stinging language of his campaign.

“I can see women not necessarily liking the tone (of his campaign), but I had to be very harsh to win,” he said of his brutal counterattacks on party elites and fellow candidates, particularly Florida Sen. March Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Trump has won and 15 of 24 Republican nominating contests so far, but he still must do better to win the nomination. His lead over Cruz grew by only 15 delegates Tuesday. That’s because all four states awarded dele-

File photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, right, speaks at a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga. France’s decision to personally endorse GOP front-runner Donald Trump has roiled a sport his family built from the ground up, threatening to undo a decade of work to broaden the its appeal among minorities and risking a break with the corporate sponsors that are its financial lifeblood. gates proportionally, so even the second-place finisher got some.

Cruz captured the Idaho primary in the west of the country. Rubio, the favourite of the party establishment, failed to pick up any delegates Tuesday. He needs to win home state Flor-

Detention order for slaying suspect sent to wrong place

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Immigration authorities last year sought to detain a Mexican national charged with killing five men in Kansas and Missouri this week, but they sent the detention order to the wrong Kansas authorities.

Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino, 40, was deported in April 2004 because he was in the country illegally, but he re-entered at some unknown point in time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an PABLO SERRANO email.

VITORINO Serrano-Vitorino, who has been living in Kansas City, Kansas, was fingerprinted at the Overland Park Municipal Court last Sept. 14 after being cited for several traffic violations, which triggered an ICE order to have him detained. However, ICE said it erroneously sent the detention order to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office instead of the Overland Park Municipal Court, which allowed Serrano-Vitorino to walk free.

Court administrator Robin Barnard said Serrano-Vitorino showed up at the court the next month to pay a $146 fine.

ICE didn’t respond to requests for comment about whether, if the order had been sent correctly, Serrano-Vitorino likely would have been deport-

World BRIEFS U.S. captured top IS chemical arms engineer BAGHDAD — U.S. special forces captured the head of the Islamic State group’s unit trying to develop chemical

ed or still detained.

Authorities allege that he shot and killed a neighbour and three other men Monday night before fleeing, prompting a manhunt. Serrano-Vitorino was charged Wednesday with gunning down another man Tuesday morning at the man’s rural home near the central Missouri community of New Florence. He was captured early Wednesday morning a few miles from the last shooting and is jailed in Montgomery County, Missouri, on $2 million bond stemming from the Kansas charges.

When he was captured, Serrano-Vitorino had an assault-style rifle with him, said John Ham, a regional spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He said he didn’t know if the gun was used in the attacks, and that agents were trying to determine how he acquired the weapon.

“If he was in the country illegally, and that certainly appears to be the case, it would have been illegal for him to have a firearm under federal law,” Ham said.

Authorities haven’t discussed a possible motive for the killings. They identified the Kansas victims as Serrano-Vitorino’s neighbour, 41-year-old Michael Capps, and three other men who were at Capps’ home at the time of the attack: local brothers — Austin Harter, 29, and Clint Harter, 27 — and 36-year-old Jeremy Waters, of Miami County, Kansas. Before dying, one of the four managed to call police.

The slain Missouri man was 49-yearold Randy Nordman. His property was about 5 miles from where a truck was found abandoned along Interstate 70 that Serrano-Vitorino was believed to have been driving. weapons in a raid last month in northern Iraq, Iraqi and U.S. officials told The Associated Press, the first known major success of Washington’s more aggressive policy of pursuing IS militants on the ground.

The Obama administration launched the new strategy in December, deploying a commando force to Iraq that it said would be dedicated to capturing and killing IS leaders in clandestine operations, as well as generating intelligence leading to more raids.

U.S. officials said last week that the expeditionary team had captured an Islamic State leader but had refused to identify him, saying only that he had been held for two or three weeks and

check your

ida next week, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich needs to win his home state Tuesday to stay in the race.

As Trump called for Republican unity, party resistance to his campaign continued. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the

race, planned to meet with Rubio on Wednesday and has scheduled meetings with Cruz and Kasich on Thursday, but not with Trump, Kristy Campbell, Bush’s former campaign spokeswoman, told The Associated Press. She did not give details of the meetings.

TIBETANS PROTEST CHINESE RULE

Photo by EPA

An Tibetan girl takes part during a protest against Chinese rule in Tibet on the eve of the Tibetan National Uprising Day, in Bangalore, India, on Wednesday. Tibetans from all over the world commemorate the day of Tibetan National Uprising, as they offer tribute to victims of the Chinese ruling in Tibet, whom they see as martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for the freedom in Tibet.

Girl dies after being raped, set on fire

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW DELHI — A 15-year-old Indian girl who was raped and set on fire this week died Wednesday in the New Delhi hospital where she was being treated for severe burns, police said.

Police have arrested a 20-year-old man and charged him with raping and burning the girl Monday in a village outside New Delhi, one of several recently reported cases of rapes of womwas being questioned.

Iran fires two missiles marked with ‘Israel must be wiped out’ DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran test-launched two ballistic missiles Wednesday emblazoned with the phrase “Israel must be wiped out” in Hebrew, Iranian media reported, in a show of power by the Shiite nation as U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden’s visited Jerusalem.

The new missile firings were the latest in a series of tests in recent days,

en or children in India.

Following the attack, the girl was taken to the hospital with burns over 95 per cent of her body. She succumbed early Wednesday, said Uttar Pradesh state police constable Yadram Singh.

The girl’s family said the man had been stalking her for several months.

Her father had filed a police complaint and police issued a warning to him last year. aimed at demonstrating that Iran will push ahead with its ballistic program after scaling backing its nuclear program under the deal reached last year with the U.S. and other world powers.

Israel, long an opponent of Iran, offered no comment on the test, though Biden issued a strong warning over any possible violation of the nuclear deal.

“A nuclear-armed Iran is an absolutely unacceptable threat to Israel, to the region and the United States. And I want to reiterate which I know people still doubt here. If in fact they break the deal, we will act,” he said.

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announcements Obituaries

Obituaries

BECK Gordon Gordon was born in Vulcan, Alberta on July 22 1923, the son of Chester and Ethel Beck. He died on March 2nd, 2016 at the Red Deer Regional Hospital. Dad grew up on his parents’ farm in the Pine Lake district, enjoying a happy childhood surrounded by his parents, three brothers and two sisters. He attended school at Pine Lake and loved to hunt and trap. He married his sweetheart, Isabelle in 1949 and together they enjoyed raising their four children. Dad built a thriving resort, Beck’s Cabins and also farmed.

The community of Pine Lake was an integral part of Gordon’s life. He was President of the Pine Lake Chamber of Commerce for 10 years, was instrumental in the building of the Pine Lake Hub as President and was an active member of The 40+ Club.

Hunting, enjoying nature, and building were some of his favourite pastimes. Gordon is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Isabelle, his son Lyle and his daughters Nancy (Derek) Nelson, and Laurel (Stan) Phillips. Also treasuring his memory are five grandchildren: Craig and Mark Phillips, and Ben, Sam and Emma Beck. He also enjoyed his great-grandson, William. He was predeceased by brothers Glen, Earl and Ronald, his daughter BettyLou and grandson Max. Gordon will be fondly remembered by his siblings, Lavonne (Larry) Thomas and Ruby (Lorne) Olmstead. He was a great uncle to his many nieces and nephews.

Gordon was a kind and generous man, known to be quite the jokester and was loved and respected by all.

He enjoyed his relationships with friends, neighbours and his Beck’s Cabins customers who became family over the years. The family would like to thank all the staff at the Red Deer Regional Hospital for their kind and compassionate care. A Memorial Gathering will be held at the Pine Lake Hub Community Centre, Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to charities of choice.

Obituaries

PENNER Mary (nee Eidse) It is with great sadness that the family of Mary Penner announces her passing on March 4, at the Red Deer Regional Hospital. Mary was born April 30, 1924 in the R. M. of Morris, Manitoba. May was married to the love of her life Jacob Penner July 22, 1950, they had nine beautiful children. Mary was predeceased by Jacob in 2011, her oldest son Wayne in 1994, and her youngest son Dale in 1991. Mary is survived by her children (Susan), Gordon (Nancy), Bob, Wesley (Laurel), Rick (Mary), Carol (Ken), Sharon (Casey), Rena (John). She is also survived by 20 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. The family would like to say a special thank you to Dr. Kauchali and Unit 31 for their care and support during her stay at the hospital. Mary was an avid gardener with a green thumb, a short walk through a conservatory, a pinch, a wet napkin, and shortly thereafter she would have a new plant growing in her house. Another talent was cooking, although she could only cook for a dozen or more, all without a measuring cup, but rather a bit of this and more of that.

Mary was always putting away money for a rainy day, or an emergency, but it seemed there were rainier days and more emergency’s than there were savings.

Mary continuously assured her children everything was going to work out...and of course she prayed and it worked out. Mary’s favorite song was “Jesus Loves Me” and he did. Mary’s life was her family, her greatest strength was her unwavering faith and immeasurable kindness for anyone who was fortunate enough to have known her. Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, March 12, at the Nazarene Church in (West Park) at 1 pm, 3920 57 Ave. Red Deer, AB. “It is said if you look up into the sky and see the brightest light shining, that is an Angel carrying a Star”.

Arrangements are entrusted to Eventide.

WIBERG, Colin Jay Junior Born: July 29, 1989 - Died: March 1, 2016 It is with profound sadness and a deep sense of loss that we announce the sudden and tragic death of Colin Jay Wiberg Junior on Tuesday March 1st, 2016.

A very painful hole now exists in the hearts and lives of Colin’s family and many, many friends.

No one feels this loss more deeply than Janiece, Colin’s grandmother. Together they shared the closest and most cherished relationship in Colin’s life.

Those people lucky enough to know Colin found him to be both kind and caring, a gentle giant of a man.

The memories we have of Colin are a testament to the incredible depth and breadth of his character.

In this time of loss remember the great moments that Colin shared with all the people that he loved.

A memorial gathering is taking place to celebrate Colin and his much too brief 26 years in our lives.

The tribute will take place Saturday March 12th, 2016, at the Lacombe Memorial Centre located in downtown Lacombe at 5214 - 50th Avenue.

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Coffee Mixer & Social 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm, Memorial and Tribute 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm, Open Mike Testimonial to Colin enjoying Coffee and Sharing Memories.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations be made to the Red Deer S.P.C.A. in Colin’s name.

A Facebook group page has been set up called “Rest in Peace Colin Wiberg” to share memories, and upload photos and videos.

WATTENBARGER Calvin 1970 - 2016 Mr. Calvin Louis Wattenbarger, passed away after a courageously fought battle with Melanoma, on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at the age of 45 years. Calvin was born on April 23, 1970 to Louis and Marilyn Wattenbarger at Smithers, British Columbia. He married the love of his life, Jennifer, on July 16, 2005 and they raised their extended family in the home they purchased together. Working as a team, they made many renovations to make their house a home.

Calvin’s life would have seemed short to many, but those who were touched by him understood that, the quality of existence far exceeded the quantity of time. Calvin had an infectious smile, wonderful sense of humor, and strong work ethic. These were just a few of the traits that will be remembered forever. Calvin enjoyed his Sunday morning ritual of cooking breakfast for his family while music or a football game could be heard playing in the background.

Calvin’s dream was to renovate the kitchen, the one place he spent so much time entertaining family and friends. Many remember his fabulous Eggs Benedict and his Lasagna. His famous chocolate cake was desired by many and whenever a birthday came around, Calvin would deliver it to either the classroom, or the workplace.

He loved spending time with family and friends. Calvin had a special gift for making everyone feel welcome. His final days were spent surrounded by family and friends, whom Calvin had lovingly touched in some way throughout his short, yet memorable life. Calvin is survived by his loving wife, Jennifer; two sons, Tristan and Conner; two daughters, Julia and Tianna; mother, Marilyn; brothers, Todd (Liza, Brett and Taylor), Philip (Elizabeth, Marisa, Tamara and Evelyn) and Dean (Zara, Ashley, Luke and Amy); sister, Thirza (Cassandra and Katrina); as well as numerous relatives and friends.

Calvin was predeceased by his father, Louis in 2015. A Celebration of Calvin’s Life will be held at the Living Stones Church, 2020 - 40 Avenue, Red Deer, Alberta on Friday, March 11, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. If desired, Memorial Donations in Calvin’s honor may be made directly to The Wattenbarger Family Fund at the Canadian Western Bank at 4822 - 51 Avenue, Red Deer, Alberta, T4N 4H3.

Condolences may be sent or viewed at www.parklandfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements in care of PARKLAND FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORIUM, 6287 - 67 A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer.

403.340.4040.

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Obituaries

SHYIAK Murray Emil 1935 - 2016 Murray Emil Shyiak passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Thursday, March 3, 2016 at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary.

Murray (Bumpa) was truly a good man - kind, caring and loved by all who knew him.

He loved his family wholeheartedly - His true love and wife of 60 years, Ella; his two daughters, Cindy (Jim) Passamare and Dana Clayton; four granddaughters, Jenna (Ryan) Paggett, Jory (Rod) Warr, Brittany (Wade) Gray and Kallie Clayton; and one great-granddaughter Myla Warr. He also leaves his sister Louise (Keith) Bergen, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and wonderful friends.

Murray enjoyed many of life’s great joys - He loved spending time with his family, gardening and being in the outdoors - camping and hunting in the fall with his dear friends. Murray had a strong faith and knew that he would see us all again - a hope that sustained him in recent months. He found great comfort in Isaiah 41:10.

The family wishes to express a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Tilley of Red Deer Regional Hospital; Dr. Kidd, the CVICU team and nurses at Foothills Hospital for their compassionate care, as well as to his dear neighbors and friends for all their encouragement, thoughts and prayers. A celebration of his life will follow at a later date in Red Deer.

Condolences may be forwarded to the family by v i s i t i n g www.eventidefuneralchapels.com Arrangements entrusted to EVENTIDE FUNERAL CHAPEL 4820 - 45 Street, Red Deer.

Phone (403) 347-2222

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Obituaries

BARLOW, Thomas Gordon (Tom) 1934-2016 Tom Barlow passed away at the Red Deer Hospice on March 6, 2016 at the age of 81. Tom was born September 8, 1934 in Edmonton, Alberta, moving a few years later with his family to Calgary where he attended school and helped his father with the family house construction business.

He used the skills he was taught throughout his life to pursue his passion for woodworking by renovating and building desks, grandfather clocks, boats and campers. In 1952, Tom began working at Alberta Government Telephones in the Switching Department, transferring to Edmonton to the Staff Group in 1965. He was transferred to Red Deer in 1973 where he was the manager of the Switching Dept., later becoming manager of both the Engineering and Construction Depts. in Red Deer. Tom retired in 1987 after 35 years.

It was at AGT that he met his soul mate, Ann, and they were married in 1977. In 1991 he began a new career with the City of Red Deer as a cell attendant at the Red Deer City cells for the RCMP, retiring again in 2006. Tom was predeceased by his parents, Evelyn and Thomas Barlow; brother, John L. Barlow; and by his sisters-inlaw and brothers-in-law. He is survived by Ann, his wife of 39 years; nieces, Dianne Briers of Red Deer and Jan Barlow of Edmonton; nephews, Leslie Barlow of Vancouver and Lowell Barlow; as well as several other nieces and nephews.

At Tom’s request there will be a private graveside service after cremation. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made directly to the Red Deer Hospice Society, 99 Arnot Avenue, Red Deer, AB T4R 3S6 (403-309-4344) or to the Lung Association of Alberta & NWT, P.O. Box 4500 Station South, Edmonton, AB T6E 1K6 (1-888-566-5864). The family wishes to express their thanks to Dr. Charles Metcalf and to the staff at the Red Deer Hospice. Condolences may be forwarded to the family by visiting www.reddeerfuneralhome.com Arrangements entrusted to RED DEER FUNERAL HOME 6150 - 67 Street, Red Deer.

Phone (403) 347-3319.

In Memoriam

Greg Appleton June 8, 1965 - Mar. 10, 2014 Forever in our hearts.

Love Mom & Dad

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BLACK leather jacket found on Hwy 54

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ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS 403-347-8650 COCAINE ANONYMOUS 403-396-8298 Dr. FRANCOIS BOTHA has moved his practice to the Rimbey Medical Clinic, as of February 1, 2016 and is accepting new patients.

Call 403-843-2256 to book an appointment.

Caregivers/ Aides

TRUCKERS

710

Busy road construction company looking for Class 1, Class 3, and winch truck drivers. Work is throughout Alberta. Must have at least 3 yr’s exp. Fax resume to 403-309-0489

Nanny needed for 2 children in Red Deer.FT, $11.50/hr,44 hrs/wk,split shifts,days & nights rotation. HS grad, 1-2 years exp. in child care, will train if needed.apply at frh1951@outlook.com

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NANNY req’d, email yettepasion@yahoo.ca

ADULT EDUCATION AND TRAINING

720

Clerical

Spring Start

755

TO ORDER FEEDLOT in Central Alberta seeking F/T HOME employee for feed truck operator and machinery DELIVERY OF maintenance. Send resume to fax: THE 403-638-3908 or e-mail to: dthengs@hotmail.com ADVOCATE Classifieds...costs so little CALL OUR Saves you so much!

CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT Janitorial 403-314-4300

770

LOOKING for responsible shut-down cleaners for trailers for the Dow Prentiss Plant, about 20 min. outside of Red Deer. Two people needed for day shifts, and two people needed for night shifts.

Wage $17 per hr/day, and $18 per hr./night, weekends incl. Fax resume with 3 ref. to 403-885-7006

ADULT or YOUTH CARRIERS NEEDED

For delivery of Flyers, Wednesday and Friday ONLY 2 DAYS A WEEK CLEARVIEW RIDGE Trades CLEARVIEW TIMBERSTONE LANCASTER VANIER WOODLEA/ WASKASOO DEER PARK OPERATORS GRANDVIEW Busy road construction EASTVIEW company looking for operators. Work is MICHENER throughout Alberta. Must MOUNTVIEW have a Class 5 license.

Fax resume to ROSEDALE 403-309-0489 GARDEN HEIGHTS MORRISROE

850

Call Prodie at 403-314-4301 SURVERYORS Busy road construction company looking for SURVEROS. Work is throughout Alberta. Must have a Class 5 license.

Fax resume to 403-309-0489

BOX of TOYS including wooden train, Fischer Price Helicopter and more $25. 403-314-9603

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1660

B.C. Birch, Aspen, Spruce/Pine. Delivery avail.

PH. Lyle 403-783-2275

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R H2S Alive (ENFORM) R First Aid/CPR R Confined Space R WHMIS & TDG R Ground Disturbance R (ENFORM) D&C B.O.P. R D&C (LEL) #204, 7819 - 50 Ave. (across from Totem) (across from Rona North)

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Misc. for Sale

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BRAND new C2C zinc plated, 6-3/4” x 9-3/8” turn buckles, hook and eye, 50 avail., $2 each.

Call 403-728-3485

HIDE-A-BED, $100; Baldwin piano organ, $100; and recumbent exercise bike, $50. 403-346-9274

Sporting Goods

1860

3020

ACROSS from park, 2 bdrm. 4-plex, 1 1/2 bath, 4 appls. Rent $925/mo. d.d. $650. Avail. now or Apr. 1. 403-304-5337

ADULT 2 BDRM. spacious suites 3 appls., heat/water incld., ADULT ONLY BLDG, no pets, Oriole Park. 403-986-6889

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AVAIL. IMMED. large 2 bdrm. in clean quiet adult building, near downtown Co-Op, no pets, 403-348-7445

4 BDRM. house on Kingston Drive, $1400/mo.

Ron @ 403-304-2255

3030

Condos/ Townhouses

NORMANDEAU 3 bdrm. townhouse, 4 appl., fenced yard, rent $1275., S.D. $900; incld’s all utils. avail. Now or Apr. 1.

403-304-5337 6 locations in Red Deer, well-maintained townhouses, lrg, 3 bdrm, 11/2 bath, 4 + 5 appls.

Westpark, Kentwood, Highland Green, Riverside Meadows. Rent starting at $1100. For more info, phone 403-304-7576 or 403-347-7545

2 bdrm. 4-Plex, 4 appls.

Rent $925. incl. sewer, water and garbage. D.D. $650. Avail.now or Apr. 1.

403-304-5337

GLENDALE 2 Bdrm. 4-plex, 4 appls., $925. incl. sewer, water & garbage. D.D. $650, Avail. now or Apr. 1 403-304-5337

ORIOLE PARK 3 bdrm., 1-1/2 bath, $975. rent, s.d. $650, incl water sewer and garbage. Avail.

Apr. 1st. 403-304-5337 Start your career!

See Help Wanted

4310

Out Of Red Deer

OPEN HOUSE, 3 bdrm., 2.5 bath. 1697 sq. ft. Sat., Mar. 12, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

16 Rosewood Rise, Sylvan Lake. Appraised @ $495,000.

Travel Packages

1900

TRAVEL ALBERTA Alberta offers SOMETHING for everyone.

Make your travel plans now.

Wanted To Buy

LARGE scooter for elderly gentleman. 403-343-8594

1010

Accounting

INDIVIDUAL & BUSINESS Accounting, 30 yrs. of exp. with oilfield service companies, other small businesses and individuals RW Smith, 346-9351

1100

1150

DANCE DJ SERVICES 587-679-8606

Handyman Services

1180 1200

BOOK NOW! For help on your home projects such as bathroom, main floor, and bsmt. renovations. Also painting and flooring.

Call James 403-341-0617

yourname@reddeeradvocate.com

7471736C10

Send resume to Wendy Moore: wmoore@reddeeradvocate.com

www.reddeeradvocate.com

MAIN floor in Grandview, all utils. incl. shared kitchen & laundry. $695.

403-318-5416

D - HANDYMAN Painting, Reno’s Repairs & Junk Removal Call Derek 403-848-3266

4160

Lots For Sale

SERGE’S HOMES Lots Available in Lacombe, Blackfalds, Springbrook Custom build your dream home on your lot or ours.

For more info. call Office - 403-343-6360 Bob - 403-505-8050

wegot

wheels CLASSIFICATIONS 5000-5300

5040

SUV's

2004 LEXUS RX330, 155,000 mi., exc. cond. $7500. ~SOLD~

5050

Trucks

1997 FORD F-150 in exc. cond. 403-352-6995

5070

Vans Buses

Massage Therapy

3190

Mobile Lot

wegot

homes CLASSIFICATIONS 4000-4190

Realtors & Services

4010

Elite Retreat, Finest in VIP Treatment.

10 - 2am Private back entry

403-341-4445

Misc.

1290

Moving & Storage

1300

MOVING? Boxes? Appls. removal. 403-986-1315

Painters/ Decorators

1310

JG PAINTING, 25 yrs. exp.

Free Est. 403-872-8888 TOO MUCH STUFF? Let Classifieds help you sell it.

Plumbing & Heating

1330

JOURNEYMAN PLUMBER Exc. @ Reno’s, Plumb Pro Geary 403-588-2619 Something for Everyone Everyday in Classifieds

Seniors’ Services

1372

HELPING HANDS Home Supports for Seniors.

Cooking, cleaning, companionship. At home or facility. 403-346-7777

Yard Care

1430

SPRING LAWN CLEANUP Call Ken 403-304-0678

Motorcycles

5080

2007 YAMAHA 30,003 km V-star 1100, Silverado new tires, exc. cond. $5500. 403-318-4725

Motorhomes

5100

$17,950 28’ C Class Corsair XL, island bed, generator power plant, full load, Call Harold 403-350-6800

Tires, Parts Acces.

5180

TIRE, Brand new Firestone Wilderness ATP265/75/16 Balanced, 6 hole tire on rim. $50. 403-358-5568

CONSIDERING A CAREER CHANGE?

1280

FANTASY SPA

2009 Grand Caravan, exc. cond, extra set winter tires, DVD, topper, security bar, $12,500. 403-505-5789

TWO fully furn. rooms, all util. incl., Deer Park, AND Rosedale, 403-877-1294

PADS $450/mo.

Brand new park in Lacombe.

Spec Mobiles. 3 Bdrm., 2 bath. As Low as $75,000.

Down payment $4000. Call at anytime. 403-588-8820

Services BRIDGER CONST. LTD. We do it all! 403-302-8550 COUNTERTOP replacement. 5* JUNK REMOVAL Property clean up 505-4777 Kitchen reno’s.

Wes 403-302-1648 Looking for a place DALE’S Home Reno’s to live?

Free estimates for all your Take a tour through the reno needs. 403-506-4301 CLASSIFIEDS

1160

2950 Bremner Avenue, Red Deer, AB T4R 1M9

TO ADVERTISE YOUR PROPERTY HERE!

3090

Rooms For Rent

classifieds@reddeeradvocate.com

Entertainment

Advertising Consultant

309-3300

Call Classifieds 403-309-3300

COSBY ELECTRIC LTD. All Electrical Services.

403-597-3288

Your Name Here

CALL CLASSIFIEDS

To Advertise Your Business or Service Here

CLASSIFICATIONS

830

MORRISROE MANOR

OLDER MOBILE home, 4 appls., clean, brand new flooring, drapery, immed. possession. $18,500.

403-304-4748

1 & 2 bdrm. adult building, N/S. No pets.

403-596-2444

CLASSIFICATIONS 1000-1430

Electrical

AGRICULTURAL

LARGE, 1 & 2 BDRM. SUITES. 25+, adults only n/s, no pets 403-346-7111

4090

Manufactured Homes

THE NORDIC

services

Contractors

1930

LARGE bsmt. suite, shared kitchen & laundry facilities, Michener area. $725. 403-358-2955

NEW Glendale reno’d 1 & 2 bdrm. apartments, rent $750, last month of lease free, immed. occupancy.

403-596-6000

wegot

DOUBLETRACK bike rack, asking $150.

403-505-0819

CITY VIEW APTS. Clean, quiet, newly reno’d adult building. Rent $900 S.D. $700. Avail. immed.

Near hospital. No pets.

403-318-3679

1 & 2 bdrm., Adult bldg. only, N/S, No pets. 403-596-2444

Tour These Fine Homes

CADDY Ease” golf pull cart with optional/removable seat. Sturdy/solid. Mint condition. $35 (firm).

Call (403) 342-7908.

GOLF travel bags w/wheels, soft cover $40, hard cover $60, exc. cond.

403-346-0093

3060

Suites

2 BDRM. N/S, no pets. $800. rent/d.d.

403-346-1458

1760 Directory

BLOW OUT SALE, die cast models, cars, trucks, and motorcycles, biker gifts, replica guns, tin signs, framed pictures, clocks, fairies, and dragons.

Two stores to serve you better, Man Cave and Gold Eagle, entrance 2, Parkland Mall.

WESTPARK 2 bdrm. 4-plex, 4 appls.

Rent $925/mo. d.d. $650.

Avail. Apr. 1 403-304-5337

3 BDRM., no pets, $1000 mo. 403-343-6609

Houses/ Duplexes

NEED FLOORING DONE? Don’t pay the shops more.

Over 20 yrs. exp.

Call Jon 403-848-0393

7119052tfn

3050

SYLVAN LAKE, 3 bdrm.

4-plex, 4 appl., no pets, n/s, $975/mo. inclds. utils.

403-350-4230

1 BDRM. N/S, no pets. $700 rent/d.d.

403-346-1458

Flooring

For CENTRAL ALBERTA LIFE 1 day a week INNISFAIL PENHOLD LACOMBE SYLVAN LAKE OLDS BLACKFALDS PONOKA STETTLER

4 Plexes/ 6 Plexes

Open House

Call Joanne at 403- 314-4308

CARRIERS NEEDED

SOUTHWOOD PARK 3110-47TH Avenue, 2 & 3 bdrm. townhouses, generously sized, 1 1/2 baths, fenced yards, full bsmts. 403-347-7473, Sorry no pets. www.greatapartments.ca

3050

4 Plexes/ 6 Plexes

FOR RENT • 3000-3200 WANTED • 3250-3390

2000-2290

Sales & Distributors

3030

1 & 2 Bdrm. W/D in suite, AC, elevator, 2 parking stalls, south hill. N/S, no pets. Starting at $1250.

403-350-0989

50 PEACOCK feathers, some white, for home decor or fly fishing hooks $1/ea, 6 large Currier & Ives cookie cans $ .50/ea. o.b.o. 403-346-2231

CALL CLASSIFIEDS 403-309-3300 classifieds@reddeeradvocate.com

For early morning delivery by 6:30 am Mon. - Sat. SPRINGBROOK VANIER

Call Sandra at 403- 314-4303

rentals

WICKER TUB CHAIR, w/cushion, $50; fabric lounge chair, Ideal for living or bedroom. $75.

403-347-8697

ELECTRIC heater, $15.

403-885-5020 Something for Everyone Everyday in Classifieds

stuff

wegot

Condos/ Townhouses

Antiques, furniture and estates. 342-2514

wegot

BRASS bell with leather strap. Has the word “ Canadian” in raised lettering on two sides. $40 (firm).

Call (403) 342-7908.

WIZZARD of OZ dolls, complete set of 6. $200. 403-314-9603

1720

WANTED

Busy road construction company looking for Labourers AND flag persons. Work is throughout Alberta. Must have a Class 5 license. Fax resume to 403-309-0489

TIMOTHY & Brome square bales, great for horses, approx. 55-60 lbs. put up dry, stored in shed $8/bale Sylvan area. 403-887-2798

SEIBEL PROPERTY

TABLE lamp, green ball base, cream shade. $10.

403-314-9603

LABOURERS & FLAG PERSONS

Employment Training

1710

FRIGIDAIRE fridge in exc. shape, $195.

403-346-9274

Household Furnishings

For delivery of Flyers, Wednesday Coming Events and Friday ONLY 2 DAYS A WEEK ANDERS BOWER HIGHLAND GREEN INGLEWOOD CLASSIFIEDS JOHNSTONE EASTER KENTWOOD Hours & Deadlines RIVERSIDE Office & Phones CLOSED MEADOWS Friday, March 25, 2016 PINES SUNNYBROOK RED DEER ADVOCATE SOUTHBROOKE Publication dates: WEST LAKE Friday, March 24, Saturday, March 25 WEST PARK & Monday, March 28 Call Tammy at DEADLINE: 403-314-4306 Thursday, March 23, 2016 @ 12 Noon

ADULT CARRIERS NEEDED

1630

TRAILERS for sale or rent Job site, office, well site or storage. Skidded or wheeled. Call 347-7721.

2190

Grain, Feed Hay

1580

Morning, afternoon , evening classes in Red Deer and Central Alberta

Antiques & Art

ADULT or YOUTH CARRIERS NEEDED

Children's Items

GED Preparation

FRIENDLY receptionist, good with details, as well as working knowledge of Wolfe EMR. Must be avail. some weekends. Fax resume 403-314-5307

Farm Work

880

Misc.

Help

278950A5

50-70

1520

Vintage (circa 1950’s) HUDSON’S BAY fur shrug/wrap. Red fox fur.

Mint condition. $60 (firm).

Call (403) 342-7908.

CLASSIFICATIONS

CLASSIFICATIONS

Antiques & Art

Find the right fit.

HERE TO HELP & HERE TO SERVE Call GORD ING at RE/MAX real estate central alberta 403-341-9995

Condos/ Townhouses

4040

NEED to Downsize?

Brand New Valley Crossing Condos in Blackfalds.

Main floor is 1,119 SQ FT 2 Bdrm/2Bath. Imm. Poss.

Start at $219,900.

Call 403-396-1688.

Public Notices

Daily the Advocate publishes advertisements from companies, corporations and associations from across Canada seeking personnel for long term placements.

CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER

6010 LEGAL NOTICE

TO: SCOTT DAVID HORN Once of 5226 Norfolk Avenue, Coronation, Alberta TOC 1 CO TAKE NOTICE that an action has been commenced against you by Vision Credit Union Ltd. in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Judicial District of WETASKIWIN, Action Number 1512000241, wherein the Plaintiff is seeking inter alia Foreclosure and Judgment for the amount found owing with respect to the Mortgage referred to in the Statement of Claim filed herein.

You may obtain a copy of the Statement of Claim and Order for Substitutional Service from the Plaintiff’s lawyer.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that unless you cause to be filed and served a Demand of Notice or a Statement of Defence in the said action within 30 days after publication of this notice, the Plaintiff may, without further notice to you, note you in default and thereafter no further notice of the proceedings will be given to you and the Plaintiff may then proceed against you as it may be entitled to according to the practice and procedure of the Court.

DATED the 21 51 day of January, 2016.

FARNHAM WEST STOLEE KAMBEITZ LLP Barristers and Solicitors 5016 - 52”d St., Camrose, Alberta T4V 1 V7 ATTN: Martin West (780) 679-0444 File: 37,061 MW2 Solicitors for the Plaintiff Vision Credit Union Ltd.

7500227C10

860

Truckers/ Drivers

Earn Extra Money

¯ ROUTES AVAILABLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Red Deer Ponoka

Sylvan Lake Lacombe

call: 403-314-4394 or email:

carriers@reddeeradvocate.com

7119078TFN

For that new computer, a dream vacation or a new car

THE ADVOCATE D6

ADVICE THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016

Looking for help for self-medicating sister Dear Annie: My sister lives with my father. She is supposed to be helping him, but she has a problem with depression and self-medicates with marijuana and alcohol.

Do you have any recommendations as to how to handle her? She is so difficult to work with, and will not admit that she needs help. — Concerned Siblings Dear Siblings: We’re not sure what you are looking to do. Is the drinking and pot use excessive?

Does your sister neglect or abuse your father? Have you spoken to your father? Has he voiced any complaints?

Are you willing to take Dad into your home to better care for him? Can you afford to hire occasional help for Dad? It’s unlikely that you will convince your sister to treat her depression by talking to a doctor or a therapist. You have tried discussing it, to no avail.

Unless you are willing to remove Dad from the home, you have little influence on her forms of relaxation.

If she is abusive or neglectful, report the situation to Adult Protective

JOANNE MADELINE MOORE HOROSCOPES Thursday March 10, 2016 CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Sharon Stone, 57; Olivia Wilde, 31; Carrie Underwood, 32 THOUGHT OF THE DAY: When the Moon is in Aries, it’s time to explore the big wide world outside your door.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Born on the zodiac’s Day of the Soul Searchers, you are sensitive and intuitive. 2016 is the year to be more sociable and diplomatic — and less withdrawn from the world.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): With the Moon charging through your sign, you’ve got energy to burn. Just make sure you channel your high spirits into appropriate productive pursuits, otherwise you’ll just be a rambunctious Ram! TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The Moon is in fiery Aries, so many people will be rushing around today. But it’s time for Bulls to slow down and direct energy inwards. Relax, meditate, contemplate — whatever calms you down.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A friendship or professional relationship could be problematic today, and you may be accused of trying to rush a situation. Slow down Twins, and try to see the big picture and take a long-term view.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Tread extra carefully today Crabs because you’ll feel emotionally excitable and easily irritated. Meditation or exercise will help calm you down so you are in a more settled and productive mood.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Moon is in fellow fire sign Aries, which brings out your adventurous side. So it’s the perfect day for

KATHY MITCHELL AND MARCY SUGAR ANNIE’S MAILBOX

Services.

And whenever possible, please take over so that your sister can get a break.

Being the primary caregiver is a tough job, no matter what shape you’re in, and it may be more stressful for your sister than you realize.

Dear Annie: I have read with interest the many letters from both men and women of a certain age who are dealing with sexual and intimacy issues.

Then I read the letter from “Three Sexy Broads in Vermont.”

First, I applaud them and count myself in the same league — over 70 and still sexy.

To the rest, I ask, “Didn’t you need to go through a learning process to find mutual satisfaction in sex when you Cats to enrol in a course, discover some exciting new information, or go somewhere different.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Hey Virgo are you making the most of Jupiter being in your sign? It only happens every 12 years so get out there and explore, experiment and be enthusiastic about the opportunities that are around you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Are you being diplomatic or just plain indecisive? Don’t waste precious time pussyfooting around. If you are clear and proactive in your dealings with others, positive things will happen.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your creativity is on fire today as ideas percolate, opportunities appear or a fabulous financial offer comes your way. If you’re looking for employment, then get cracking and seize the day!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You’re ready for adventure, as the Moon moves through active Aries. But if you don’t get out of the house or office, you’ll drive everyone crazy. So sport, travel and vigorous physical exercise are all favoured.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Conscientious Capricorn — don’t play it too safe and sound. Loved ones or work colleagues are looking to you to come up with some bold new ideas. So aim to be as proactive as possible.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You’ve got forthright opinions and are in the mood to speak your mind. Saying the first thing that comes into your head could get a fiery response though, so be prepared with a feisty comeback!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Avoid making silly snap decisions about money, as you’re inclined to buy things for purely emotional reasons. Is something weighing on your mind? Don’t procrastinate Pisces - be direct and speak out.

Joanne Madeline Moore is an internationally syndicated columnist. Her column appears daily in the Advocate.

How the emoji’s rise is influencing language, law in a virtual world

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — If emojis could express their meteoric rise into the lexicon of virtual language, it might start with a surprised face, followed by thumbs up, and a trophy.

After years of ridicule in popular culture, the famous international registry of smiley faces, animals and numerous other objects is finally getting some respect.

“In many ways, communicating informally with each other on the Internet, with just words, is like trying to talk in a monotone with your hands behind your back,” says Gretchen McCulloch, a Montreal-based linguist who has studied the rise of emojis and how people use them to enhance communication.

“Words are important but they don’t convey the whole message. Sometimes they can undermine your message.”

Created in the late 1990s by Japanese mobile phone carriers as a marketing hook, emojis never really landed on the radar of North Americans until Apple’s iPhone and Android smartphones incorporated the cartoon characters in 2010.

While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when emoji usage caught fire, last year marked a clear zeitgeist moment.

The prestigious Oxford Dictionaries chose the “face with tears of joy” emoji as word of the year, leading to an uproar in some linguistic circles.

How, they asked, could an image of a cartoon face supplant a new word in the English language? Oxford justified the decision by saying it saw usage of the word emoji “increase hugely” in 2015, led by the crying face.

It was an undeniable sign that emojis had reached a higher level of status after years of being widely dismissed as a quirky smartphone feature used mostly by teenagers.

Today, there’s no one way to use emojis. McCulloch says that while most people use them to punctuate sentences — like typing an angry face rather than an exclamation point — some younger users replace full sentences with a string of emojis to convey a thought, especially on social media platforms like Twitter and Snapchat that have character limits per post.

Tastemakers like record producer DJ Khaled have also developed their own emoji slang. Khaled paired the word “major” with the cartoon key emoji as an abbreviation to declare a “major key to success.” The combination was quickly picked up by pluggedin teenagers, who use it to leave a stamp of approval on eye-catching Instagram photos or inspiring quotes on Facebook.

“There’s no school for emoji use … people learn as they (use them) and learn from observation,” says Rhonda McEwen, assistant professor of new media at the University of Toronto.

“We’re figuring it out as we go.”

Other celebrities and brands have hopped on the emoji bandwagon, including Kim Kardashian who launched her own “Kimoji” app with cartoon renderings of herself. Tim Hortons also released its own batch of “Eh-mojis” that included the company’s coffee cup, a moose and maple leaf.

Using strings of cartoon images to communicate can leave messages open to interpretation, which has posed a major challenge under the law.

A New York grand jury was recently asked to decide whether the combination of an emoji police officer and an emoji gun was considered a threat to police.

And a 12-year-old in Fairfax, Va., faced charges last December for what police say was an Instagram post that featured the word “killing” followed by emojis of a gun, knife and bomb, and the message “meet me in the library Tuesday.”

Canadian courts haven’t been faced with decoding the contextual meaning of an emoji message yet, but it’s likely only a matter of time.

For now, there seems to be no stopping the growing influence of emojis, though McCulloch cautions against overemphasizing how popular they’ve become in general text communication. Some of her research will be presented on Saturday at a media panel held by the South By Southwest music, film and interactive festival in Austin, Texas. McCulloch compiled a study in conjunction with predictive typing app Swiftkey, which found that only 4.6 per cent of all overall text communication sessions analyzed included any emoji.

were younger?” The answer is yes, and now our bodies and our sexual needs are different. We need to learn new ways.

Annie, you publish all these letters, but never a source of information.

There must be some resources out there to learn about geriatric sex.

Please do us all a favor, and post some sources of advice. — Fourth Sexy Broad Dear Fourth: You must have been absent from school on the day we said that AARP offers some wonderful information and help.

Go to lifereimagined.aarp.org and click on “Relationships” in the menu.

You also can find information through the Mayo Clinic, and at your local library or bookstore.

And if you Google “senior sex,” there are all kinds of websites that offer tips and advice that you can peruse as you see fit.

Here’s the last word.

Dear Annie: A lot of us would love to have great sex after menopause.

The problem is not how our bodies look, but how things function.

For thousands of women, sex is just too painful.

Some, like me, have had breast cancer and gone through chemo and hormone treatment. There is no drug or cream available that will both alleviate our painful symptoms and is safe for us to take.

I’m glad these “Three Sexy Broads in Vermont” are having the time of their lives in the bedroom.

Just don’t expect this to be the case for all of us, and they shouldn’t make us feel guilty for not enjoying a better sex life. I am thankful to have a loyal husband who understands the changes I’ve gone through and loves me anyway. I would do the same for him. — Grateful to Be Alive Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailbox@ creators.com, or write to: Annie’s Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. You can also find Annie on Facebook at Facebook.com/AskAnnies.

COW AND CALF

Photo by Rick Tallas/freelance

These two were busy munching on willow trees and enjoying the Sun

by Mckenzie Trails.

Central Alberta Regional Science Fair 2015/2016 Central Alberta Regional Science Fair would like to acknowledge and thank the following sponsors who made our 2015 Science Fair a success. These organizations assisted the volunteer committee in many ways including: a) Financial contributions to defray the costs of hosting the fair and registration fees for the top projects to represent Central Alberta at the Canada Wide Science Fair (CWSF). b) Volunteers to assist in judging and logistics. c) Red Deer College Tuition Scholarship - for the top Grade 12 project meeting the required standards d) Prizes for special awards and participation in selected categories.

We gratefully thank our sponsors for 2015: Alberta Education AltaGas Anonymous Donors APEGA Bower Place Shopping Centre - venue to host the fair Canadian Natural Resources Limited Chinook’s Edge School Division #73 Clearview Public Schools (Stettler) Discovery Wildlife Centre- Innisfail Ellis Bird Farm Ember Resources Exxon Mobil Genome Alberta Starbucks Imperial Oil - Volunteer Involvement Program Johns Manville

Kerry Wood Nature Centre Lions Club- Innisfail and Olds Office of the Mayor of Red Deer Psychologists’ Association of Red Deer Red Deer Advocate- Promotions Red Deer River Naturalists’ Society Red Deer Rotary Club Red Deer Rotary Club - Centennial Branch Red Deer Public School District #104 Red Deer College Servus Credit Union Telus Spark- Calgary Science Centre

Team Central Alberta for 2015- representing our region at the Canada Wide Science Fair in Fredericton, NB.

For more information and a contact email address, see our website at http://www.centralalbertasciencefair.ca and our Facebook page Photos are posted there of student projects from previous years.

We welcome the participation of new schools or individuals and there is information available for download on the website.

In 2015, the CWSF was held in Fredericton, NB, from May 9-16. In 2016 it will be held in Montreal, QC, 2017 will see the CWSF hosted in Regina.

Come join us at this year’s fair at Bower Place on March 11/12, 2016, and if you would be interested in assisting us as a volunteer or as a sponsor in any way, we welcome your involvement!

Proud Community Supporter