Evening of
Decadent Desser t
G row w i t h u s
Friday, April 29, 2016
Presented by
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IN PHOTOS: CELEBRITY DANCE OFF
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BUGS FOR SUPPER?
PATS FORCE GAME 7 AFTER ROUT OF REBELS
M O N D A Y
A P R I L
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OIL MEETING IN QATAR COLLAPSES
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$1.00
2 0 1 6
www.reddeeradvocate.com
OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO
Courageous Naqibullah speaks in Lacombe BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Some of the youngest and others with the most experience combined for a memorable performance Saturday during the season finale performance of the Central Alberta Rhythmic Gymnastic Opportunity -—CARGO. Taking place at the New Life Fellowship Church in Red Deer the group made up of young children and teens with the occasional performance from parents took to the stage with a Dr. Seuss inspired performance titled “Oh The Places You’ll Go”. Earlier in the day the club held an inter-club competition with individual and group performances.
When Maryam Sahar Naqibullah sets a goal, she sets it high. The 22-year-old from Afghanistan is studying in Canada but plans to return to her home country. Then, she will run for president. After meeting the passionate Carleton Unversity student, one is left with little doubt her name will one day appear on a ballot. It could be dangerous, she admits, but she is undeterred. “I think my passion is stronger and the change that I care for is stronger than the bullets that I’m going to get for it. I’m not afraid of bullets. “I will only be afraid if I die without making any difference. If I die making a difference, I mean that will be an honour for me because I will serve my country and I will serve the world.” See NAQIBULLAH on Page A8
Spring is in full effect in Central Alberta BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF When the rough-legged hawks stuck around, Carol Kelly knew an easy winter was in store. It never fails, if the hawks stay, it’s a warm winter. Likewise, frisky skunks and motherly squirrels are a pretty good sign the early spring is here to stay. “We’ve already our first baby squirrels. That’s early,” said Kelly, executive director of the Medicine River Wildlife Centre. “I never see baby squirrels until way into May and we’ve already had them.” “Normally, we get a lot of calls about skunks getting active and breeding in March. This year, it was all January, February.” There’s lots of other evidence in the world of wildlife. Songbirds are nesting and great horned owls are having their young sooner than usual. While there’s a risk that the weather could turn ugly, Kelly’s gut instinct is to pay attention to wildlife’s gut instincts. And they seem pretty confident it’s going to stay decent. “I like to think the wildlife kind of know more than we know, that they sense things we can’t.” For moose, an unwelcome harbinger of the warm spring has been a big boost in pesky tic populations, which are annoying and can be killers in some cases. Jim Robertson, executive director of the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, has also seen nature push its schedule up a couple of weeks. “Most things are a little bit early that I’ve seen,” he said. The nest boxes are in use. The nuthatches and chickadees seem to be nesting slightly earlier than usual.” Visitors are also reporting tics and mosquitoes are making their presence known. “There are lots of little things biting at ankles and so on.” A centre volunteer, who lives in the Woodlands Hills area near Red Deer, has kept a log of when crocuses come into bloom. This year, they bloomed March 27, close to the earliest ever since her records
COMMENT A4 SPORTS B1-4
were kept. Crocuses normally don’t bloom until the end of the first week of April into mid-April. City of Red Deer parks superintendent Trevor Poth said an early spring translates into big expectations from residents eager to hit the trails and parks. “We’ve started to see a huge volume of people using the parks, and that’s excellent,”said Poth. “Where we’re challenged is that most of our sum-
Local Today
Tonight
Tuesday
Wednesday
Mainly XXXXX Sunny
A few clouds
Sunny
Sunny
CLASSIFIEDS: B6-7
See SPRING on Page A8
SATURDAY 6/49: 9, 12, 21, 37, 38, 43, bonus: 31 Western 6/49: 23, 39, 43,
ENTERTAINMENT: B9 ADVICE: B10
mer students have started yet so we’re working with two-thirds of our standard summer workforce and trying to meet the public’s expectations.” Crews have been out clearing gravel from paved trails. It is a bit of a gamble on the city’s part because if there is more snow and a freeze, the gravel-less trails could become a hazard.
LOTTERIES
RED DEER WEATHER
INDEX NEWS: A2,3,5,7,8
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Sherry Brown and her daughter Blessing look over the selection of petunias at Parkland Nurseries on Saturday afternoon. Brown is happy about the early spring and is excited to get planting flowers in her garden soon.
44,45, 48, bonus: 16
22°
2°
26°
23°
SUNDAY Pick 3: 799
FOOD: B5
Extra: 5054277
COMICS B8
Numbers are unofficial.
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