A5
A2
MAN WHOSE SON DIED TESTIFIES AT TRIAL
INSECT HOTEL AIMS TO BOOST POLLINATOR POPULATION
B1
A9
B5
NDP SCRAP JOB PLAN
‘OUTLANDER’ ACTRESS DISSECTS THE SHOW’S SECOND SEASON PREMIERE
T U E S D A Y
A P R I L
1 2
SPECIAL TEAMS THE KEY IN GAME 3
$1.00
2 0 1 6
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One down, four to go OPERATING ROOM REOPENS AFTER FLOOD AT RED DEER REGIONAL HOSPITAL CENTRE
NOT COOL
VANDALS TRASH POPULAR COFFEE HANG OUT ON ROSS STREET
BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF
BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF
One of five flooded operating rooms at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre reopened for surgeries on Monday morning. Five out of the nine operating rooms at Red Deer hospital closed March 1 after water poured down from a construction site on the second floor and into operating rooms below. “We had originally hoped to have three of those five online today, or this week, and the other two up by the end of next week,” said Kerry Bales, chief zone officer for Alberta Health Services Central Zone. But continuing construction, doorway access and the movement of patients would create hallway traffic problems, he said. “From a safety perspective, we thought it would be better to finish all of that work and open up all the other ORs by next week. “The work is primarily complete. We’ve got no reason to believe that we won’t be commissioning them as we expect to by the end of next week.” All five of the flooded theatres had to be stripped down to the foundation and studs and rebuilt. Urgent surgeries, like emergencies, obstetrical cases, urgent orthopedics and cancer cases continued to be done at the Red Deer hospital during re-construction. Elective and other surgeries were deferred. As of Monday, 285 surgeries have been cancelled and deferred since March 1. Please see SURGERY on Page A8
Mulcair defeat comes as no surprise to local NDP candidates BY MARY-ANN BARR ADVOCATE STAFF Neither of the two local federal NDP candidates who ran in last fall’s federal election are surprised that Tom Mulcair didn’t get the support he needed to carry on as leader. Paul Harris attended the national convention along with Leap 1,800 other delegates, which Manifesto was held in Edmonton on the ‘thoughtless’: weekend. Harris, a Red Deer city councillor, ran in the Red Notley Deer-Mountain View riding for the NDP last October. After 52 per cent of the delegates voted for a leadership review, Mulcair said he would resign. The leadership convention won’t be held for two years. “I think that Tom Mulcair provided really valuable opposition when we had a government that was closed to collaboration and really needed someone to hold their feet to the fire. But now we have a government that has more of an open door policy and they have looked at a number of our policies and some of them they’ve even adopted,” Harris said.
It is not a great start to the season for a popular coffee hang out on Ross Street. Vandals trashed Cool Beans Bus sometime early Sunday morning. The bus had only opened its doors on 4740 50 Street on Wednesday. “We just spent the last few weeks getting ready,” said owner-operator Kevin Traptow. “It’s like your house. You spend all your energy here. All your kids spend their time working here so when someone breaks in it’s obviously discouraging.” Traptow said he considers himself lucky because there are so many people that have been robbed or their houses broken into and it has only happened to them a few times. Last August the bus was broken into twice in one week. But this was much worse, said Traptow. The bus doors were smashed in and every drawer and fridge was emptied on the floor. Food and equipment were tossed around with no regard. The windows on the Volkswagen were broken and the shed that sits on the property was rummaged through. “It was pretty disastrous,” said Traptow. “They tried to pry open the doors. They broke the front doors off and then they went through everything … Initially I thought they were looking for money, which we don’t keep in there. There was so much damage. It was so much aggression. You can tell just the way they ripped the doors off. He had cut himself so there was blood everywhere.” Traptow said he received a call Sunday morning from a friend who had noticed the damage. He said they are still trying to figure out what is missing. They had to buy new supplies and were able to fix the doors. Traptow, his wife and friends cleaned up the mess on Sunday. A new security system with cameras was installed on Sunday. He said this latest form of vandalism will not deter them from keeping the bus downtown. “I still feel this is where we want to be,” said Traptow. “The few bad apples do not come close to outweighing the awesome people that support us.” One person set up a Go Fund Me campaign to raise $5,000 to help the business out. Traptow said the support has been overwhelming. He said he is extremely appreciative of all the support that he has received from the community. “It would be nice if they caught him so he does not do this to some other small business,” said Traptow. If you have any information about this crime, contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com.
Contributed photos
The bus doors were smashed in and every drawer and fridge was emptied on the floor. Food and equipment were tossed around with no regard. The windows on the Volkswagen were broken and the shed that sits on the property was rummaged through.
Please see NDP on Page A8
RED DEER WEATHER
INDEX NEWS A2-A3, A5-A8 COMMENT A4
LOTTERIES
Local Today
Tonight
Wednesday
Thursday
MONDAY
30% Showers
30% Showers
Cloudy
Sunny
EXTRA: 6929232
BUSINESS A9-A10
PICK 3: 094
SPORTS B1-B4
Numbers are unofficial.
ENTERTAINMENT B5, B9 COMICS B8 ADVICE B10
17°
0°
12°
13°
PLEASE
RECYCLE