Red Deer Advocate, April 21, 2016

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Bust puts major dent in drug trade

BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

RCMP Superintendent Scott Tod, left, and Cpl. Bob Schultz of the Red Deer GIS drug section with a collection of drugs, cash, guns, from a recent bust.

Drugs, cash and weapons were seized after a four-month drug trafficking investigation in northeast Red Deer.

Four people — two brothers, a man and woman — were charged and face drug trafficking and weapons related charges.

It sends a clear message that Red Deer is not the place to do business, said RCMP Supt. Scott Tod at a presser at the downtown police station on Wednesday.

Members of the regional Priority

Crimes Task Force executed search warrants simultaneously at both sides of a duplex on Garrison Circle in Garden Heights and a house on Towers Close in Timberlands on April 13.

The bust netted more than eight kg of marijuana, 240 Oxycontin pills, 1.3 kg cocaine, .35 kg ecstasy powder and 388 ecstasy pills, almost 1.4 kg Psilocybin (magic mushrooms), one litre of hash oil, 88 grams of hash and 44 hash tablets.

Police also seized $37,800 in Canadian currency, drug paraphernalia, two shotguns and 21 cellphones.

Please see BUST on Page A7

Cannabis community protests ‘unjust’ drug laws

BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF Warm sunshine and gentle breezes put the finishing touch on Red Deer’s edition of 4-20 — when the cannabis culture comes alive in communities throughout the continent.

Small groups of supporters were gathering on Pot law the grass at City Hall Park well be- coming next fore 4:20 p.m. on spring Wednesday, the of- Page A7 ficial light-up time of an annual event that one participant described as both a celebration and a protest. “(April 20) is known in the cannabis community as 4-20 — a day of celebration and a day of protest against unjust drug laws,” said Nicole Raffa, who joined the gathering as a representative of the local cannabis community and to promote her employer, a retailer with a vested interest in marijuana laws.

“We’re all here to have a good time, hang out, share some information with people and have a peaceful protest,” said Raffa.

“It’s just insane that something that can work with so many different diseases and help so many people’s quality of life is so hard to get. It’s been clinically proven to be safer than tobacco, safer than alcohol. People often use it to get off of hard drugs. I myself can attest to that.”

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Rob Fearey, left, and Jordan S. share a “Blunt” in Red Deer City Hall Park on Wednesday. The annual 4:20 marijuana celebration has been taking place April 20 at 4:20 p.m. for years. “The next 4:20 will be the start of it,” said Fearey. It will be the first 4:20 after the government says it will decriminalize pot, said Fearey.

Please see POT on Page A7

City wants to learn from Sunnybrook bullying case: Johnston

BY MARY-ANN BARR ADVOCATE STAFF A Red Deer city councillor wants to know if the city needs better enforcement tools to resolve neighbourhood disputes sooner.

Ken Johnston began to work with a group of Sunnybrook neighbours on Scott Street late last fall after they re-

quested a meeting with him about ongoing concerns related to one of their neighbours.

That neighbour — senior Robert Charlton — was recently convicted of bullying in a Red Deer court under the city’s Community Standards bylaw and fined $500. Bullying has been in the bylaw since 2007 but it was the first time such a ticket was ever fought in court.

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The residents expressed long-standing frustration that has been felt for years over their interactions with both city bylaw and RCMP officers in trying to resolve concerns about Charlton.

One neighbour had 23 visits from enforcement agencies after complaints from Charlton but never once received a ticket. Community Peace Officers, who enforce bylaws, attended 14 com-

plaints from the senior over the past two years. One former neighbour had a restraining order against him.

Complaints Charlton made ran the gamut, from concerns about animal control to inspections and licensing to parks.

Please see BULLYING on Page A7

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NEWS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

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ROAD BUILDING

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Workers with Downer Construction build a rock road on the south side of the Red Deer River across from Great Chief Park. A temporary bridge structure has been put in place across the river so that crews can transport rocks. The work is being done to prevent further erosion of the riverbank between Great Chief Park and Heritage Ranch.

Red Deer off to deadly start in 2016

BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF

CRIME STATISTICS

Red Deer is off to its deadliest start in recent years with two homicides and two attempted murders recorded in the first quarter of 2016.

Red Deer RCMP released its crime statistics for the period between Jan. 1 to March 31 this week.

William Blaine Baker, 47, was dropped off at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre where he died on Feb. 19.

Shane Dion McPhee, 40, was later charged with second degree murder. A preliminary hearing has been set for September in Red Deer.

Less than a month later on March 16, Dawson “DJ” James Wegner Cramer, 23, was killed while he tried to prevent thieves from stealing his truck in Normandeau. Alexander Michael Talbot, 24, was charged with manslaughter on March 25 following a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest. He will be in court in May for election and plea.

No details were released on the attempted murders.

There were two homicides in Red Deer in 2015. In November Alan Beach, 31, was fatally stabbed in the

Education tax increase pegged at about 4%

BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deerians will avoid a big increase in education property tax this year unlike Calgary and Edmonton.

City manager Craig Curtis said the education tax is based on 2014 property values when Calgary and Edmonton had very large increases in property values.

As a result homeowners in Calgary, for example, are looking at a 6.1 tax increase when municipal and provincial education taxes are combined for 2016-17.

“In our case, the increase of the education portion of our taxes is going to be about 4.0 to 4.5 per cent.

That’s higher than our tax increase so it will pull our tax increase up by about .4 over the municipal portion,” Curtis said.

Earlier in the year, Red Deer city council calculated its municipal tax increase to be 2.9 per cent.

“We’re not sure whether it will work out to exactly 2.9. It could be a little lower. The details of that are going to be in a report to council on Monday. But essentially, the impact of the education is about .4.”

On Monday, council will look at options to tie the pieces of tax information together and will approve the final tax bill for each property class.

Curtis said the city has seen higher education property taxes in the past and it needs to be removed from property tax as the Alberta Urban Mu-

nicipalities Association has been saying for years.

“Ideally the property tax should reflect the cost of services related to property, and education should be at the provincial level. But I understand that means an increase in provincial taxes and a reduction in municipal taxes.”

Education property tax revenue is forecast at $2.4 billion in 2016-17, an increase of $153 million, or 6.8 per cent from 2015-16.

According to Alberta Education, every year the province calculates, based on assessment value, the amount each municipality must contribute towards the public education system.

Municipalities collect the education property tax and then send it to the province to be pooled into the Alberta School Foundation Fund. The money is then distributed to public and separate school boards on an equal per-student rate so students receive a good education no matter where they live in the province.

The education property tax helps pay for basic instruction costs including teacher salaries, textbooks, and other classroom resources.

All property owners pay the education property tax, although there are some exceptions, such as non-profit organizations and seniors’ lodge facilities.

Those who rent or lease property may also contribute indirectly through their monthly rent or lease payments. szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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Village Mall parking lot. Thomas Braconnier, 46, was murdered on Christmas Day in downtown Red Deer.

There were no recorded murders in 2014.

There were two murders in both 2012 and 2013.

The city recorded six homicides in 2011.

Questions still remain about the death of the 34-year-old man who was found dead on a trail in Bower Woods on March 22. The victim’s identity was not released.

At this point his death has not been determined suspicious. The preliminary autopsy results have not revealed a cause or manner of death. Police are waiting for the toxicology report. crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com

STETTLER COUNTY

Council to build $9.2M shop using new financing plan

BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF County of Stettler council voted Wednesday to build a controversial $9.2-million public works complex.

The plan to replace an existing 50-year-old shop had been opposed by some community members who criticized the project as too expensive in difficult economic times.

A petition was circulated — which was deemed valid — opposing a plan to borrow more than $7 million for the project. Under the Municipal Government Act, council had the option of dropping the borrowing plan or take the issue to a plebiscite.

“We chose not to take it to plebiscite because we didn’t think it would gain anything,” said county Reeve Wayne Nixon. Most of those who signed the petition were not aware of the state of the existing shop and why the county needed more space, he believes.

Please see SHOP on Page A3

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NEWS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

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Man charged in multiple deaths facing new murder charge COLEMAN — A southern Alberta man accused of killing a two-year-old girl and her father last September is facing a new charge of first-degree murder.

RCMP say Derek Saretzky is accused in the death of Hanna Meketech, whose body was found in her Coleman, Alta., home on Sept. 9, 2015.

The death of the 69-year-old woman occurred five days before the body of Terry Blanchette was found in his home in nearby Blairmore. His daughter, Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, was reported missing and police issued an Amber Alert.

The child’s body was found in a rural area two days later.

“As our investigation into the deaths of Terry Blanchette and Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette was underway, evidence surfaced which led police to consider Mr. Saretzky a suspect in this case,” said RCMP Insp. Derek Williams at a news conference in Airdrie, Alta., on Wednesday.

“This investigation was intensive and utilized the skills and expertise of several specialized sections.”

Williams said Saretzky was not initially a suspect in Meketech’s death.

He said the two did know each other but that’s not unusual for a small community.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled

Local BRIEFS Sylvan Lake man guilty of drunk driving causing death Sentencing will be held in July for a a Sylvan Lake man who has admitted to drunk driving in connection with a fatal bike crash.

Nathan Corey Scott, 26, pleaded guilty in Red Deer provincial court earlier this week to impaired driving causing death.

Scott was charged in connection with a collision between two dirt bikes in Sylvan Lake at about 6 a.m. on Aug. 30, 2014. RCMP investigators called to the collision stated afterward that they found two seriously injured men and two heavily damaged dirt bikes in a gravelled lane.

A 26-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police did not release his name.

Scott was transported to a hospital in Edmonton via STARS air ambulance to be treated for his injuries.

Police said neither man was wearing a helmet or other protective gear, nor were the bikes registered or legal for street use.

Scott is to return to court on July 18 for sentencing on a charge of impaired driving causing death.

An additional charge of causing death while driving with a blood al-

STORIES FROM PAGE A2

SHOP: Located south of Hwy 56 As a result, council opted last week

for June 20 for Saretzky in the Blanchette and Dunbar-Blanchette cases. He faces two counts of first-degree murder and one of committing an indignity to the little girl’s body.

Williams, the officer in charge of senior crime in southern Alberta, said he is limited on how much information he can give because of the hearing.

“Given that Mr. Saretzky has been charged in relation to the death of Hanna Meketech, our first priority is to protect the integrity of our investigation to date and to ensure that he receives a fair trial.”

Williams said Meketech’s family, as well as relatives of the other two victims, has been informed about the new charge.

“In regards to the family, they were quite happy that we’ve been able to resolve this investigation with a charge of first-degree murder.

“The fact that these deaths occurred in small-town settings where everybody knows their neighbours compounds the shock and makes the situation all the more challenging for those who live there.”

In a message on Facebook, Coleman resident Kevin Turner shared his view.

“Today the news is sad. I knew Hanna, and often chatted with her about her beloved animals, while she tried to teach me Danish words. I hope as the process unfolds, our valley can find some peace.” cohol limit exceeding the legal limit was withdrawn upon acceptance of the guilty plea.

An accused person cannot be convicted of both charges.

Man charged with aggravated assault on baby A Sylvan Lake man is charged with aggravated assault on a 10-month-old baby.

Police say an investigation was launched after a complaint was received in relation to a child with unexplained injuries who was taken to the hospital on March 12.

The victim of this assault is a 10-month-old baby, who is currently recovering from injuries. The baby has since been released from the hospital.

The 47-year-old man was charged on April 19 after an extensive investigation.

The accused has been released oncash bail and is scheduled for a court appearance in May in Red Deer provincial court.

No names are being released to protect the identity of the victim.

As this matter is now before the courts, no further information is being provided at this time.

File photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Victims Terry Blanchette and his daughter Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette are shown in this photo from Blanchette’s Facebook page. A man accused of killing a twoyear-old girl and her father is to make an appearance in a southern Alberta courtroom today. Derek Saretzky is charged with first-degree murder in the September deaths of Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette and her father Terry Blanchette.

Beavers.

Information will be presented on the role and impact of beavers in watersheds and how to co-exist with beavers.

Some of the latest technology for dealing with the busy critters, such as beaver deceivers, will be discussed as well other management measures. Beaver deceivers are trapezoidal-shaped fences built around culverts that make it difficult for the animals to dam them.

A big picture look at beavers will draw on the latest studies and research of beaver management and reintroduction programs.

Cows and Fish, the Mistakis Institute and other sponsors are also involved in the workshop set for May 4 at the Kevisville Community Hall from 1:30 to 7 p.m. Supper and a visit to a pond leveller are included.

To register contact Mountain View County at 403-335331, ext. 204, Red Deer County at 403-3502150 or Clearwater County at 403-845-4444.

6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Classes, lessons, and drop-in activities scheduled for this time have been cancelled.

Arena: It will be be closed from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Soccer Pavilion and Fieldhouse: It will be open with limited lighting.

Childminding Services and Preschool Programming will be open.

Facility stakeholders including Optimum Performance Centre, Eurosport, Red Deer Gymnastic Association, and Good Earth Café will also be open.

Progress updates will be announced as the day progresses.

If the work is completed sooner than expected, the facility may reopen sooner than anticipated.

Water well management workshop scheduled for May

An upcoming workshop will focus on how to get along with beavers.

Red Deer, Clearwater and Mountain View Counties are co-sponsoring the workshop called Beavers in our Landscape: Living and Managing with

A scheduled power outage is planned for the Collicutt Centre today to allow crews to do electrical work on the transformer on the north side of the facility.

The power outage will occur between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will affect the following areas: Fitness area: Free weights and running track will be accessible and scheduled classes will run as planned.

Aerobic equipment will be unavailable.

Waterpark: It will be closed from

Landowners who rely on well water can get information on how to manage the precious resource at an upcoming workshop on May 5.

Red Deer County is hosting the presentation by experts from various government departments and private well drillers for the Working Well Program.

The hands-on workshop will provide information on how to maintain and protect underground water supplies. Well siting, construction, plugging and ongoing maintenance will be discussed.

About 450,000 Albertans rely on well water and are responsible for looking after their wells.

Those who want to attend the workshop at Linn Valley Community Hall from 5:30-9:30 p.m. should pre-register so county staff can help look up the latest well report. To register call 403350-2150.

to scrap the old borrowing bylaw and consider a new financing plan.

Also still on the table at Wednesday’s meeting, was a proposal to bring the existing shop up to building code at a cost of about $2.3 million. More money would be required for washing and welding bays.

“It had so many strikes against it,” said Nixon, of the discarded renovation option. “As a council we weren’t

prepared to spend that much money on an old building.”

Instead, the county will build a new shop just south of town off Hwy 56.

The amount to be borrowed was reduced to $5.2 million with the rest of the cost drawn from reserves and from provincial Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding.

It will cost about $270,000 annually to borrow the money over 30 years at

the interest rate of just over three per cent available to the municipality.

Nixon said that repayment plan was “quite manageable” for the county.

Making the building new option more favourable is the competitive building climate, which saw tenders come in about $1 million below estimates. There may be more savings as the project goes ahead. pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com

County hosting beaver workshop

Power outage planned for Collicutt Centre

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THE ADVOCATE Thursday, April 21, 2016

Putting criminals in Alberta on ALERT JOHN STEWART OPINION

A

lberta’s unremitting growth over the last few decades has exacerbated a variety of social ails, but few are more alarming than the rise in crime.

It’s the kind of social scarring that deeply effects Albertans — and makes the provincial government’s new infusion of policing-related funding more than welcome.

Accomplished criminals, like all good businessmen, are opportunists.

They see a chance for profit and they move with urgency and clarity. And there has been plenty of opportunity in Alberta to profit from crime.

The more money an economy has, the greater the opportunities for virtually everyone, including criminals. Alberta is among the few provinces in the nation to experience growth in criminal activity in recent years.

(Never mind the contention by Edmonton’s police force, made last fall, that an already unsettling level of crime is actually worsening in current tough economic conditions.)

As criminals become more orga-

nized, aggressive, mobile and sophisticated, so too must law enforcement.

That’s the premise behind the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT). And the umbrella organization has proven itself thoroughly over the last decade. Its specialized units work to disrupt organized gangs and crack down on the most serious of criminal behaviour in our province.

At its peak, more than 300 municipal police and RCMP officers formed ALERT, but funding cuts have whittled away at that group. Provincial funding was pared by 30 per cent over the last three years of the former government, and a reserve of federal grant funds has been spent.

But the need for ALERT remains across the province, and the agency limps on.

Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat forces are all partners with the RCMP in the initiative to investigate a wide range of criminal activity, running the gamut from drugs to child exploitation.

Those communities are loathe to abandon the agency — they know its worth. So the influx of cash from the province is more than welcome.

The Alberta government’s new budget adds $2.6 million to the ALERT program this year. At the same time, the body gets some retooling to help it focus on the most serious of crimes and criminals. Off its plate will be the

work of the Safe Communities and Neighbourhoods team and surveillance unit, which will now fall under the Justice and Solicitor General budget.

The moves come after the new provincial government conducted an audit of ALERT’s managerial structure last year.

The province will supply the agency with $29.1 million in total funding this year. That’s a step in the right direction. The agency, which had a budget of $38 million as recently as 2012, has left vacant jobs open over fear of a further decrease in funding.

But money for ALERT is well and broadly spent. In its second-quarter report for 2015-16, the agency says it worked with police in 43 municipalities to root out crime. That included multiple arrests and the recovery of drugs, vehicles and an arsenal of weapons; playing a role in an international initiative to arrest a child sex abuse suspect; and arresting gang members in relation to drug trafficking.

In all, 503 charges were laid as the result of ALERT work from July 1 to Sept. 30, 2015 alone. The companion statistics for the same period are chilling: $2.5 million in proceeds of crime seized; an estimated $2.9 million in drugs (including 1,877 deadly fentanyl pills) recovered; and 50 firearms found.

Issues related to crime rarely get more than broad strokes in provincial initiatives. But at the municipal level, crime rears its ugly head regularly.

Municipal elections in Alberta typically focus on a handful of issues: taxes, services and crime rates. And policing costs account for about 10 per cent of the municipal budget for a city like Red Deer, or slightly more than $250 from every citizen each year.

Based on the criminal activity here and elsewhere, that’s not enough. It takes funding from other levels of government to strike at the heart of crime.

Red Deer didn’t join ALERT until 2012, well after the agency was launched. It was well past time, according to a local RCMP superintendent, who said at the time that Red Deer had become a focal point for organized crime. Even in crime, our location and transportation links make us a hub.

In the business of crime, where opportunity and means exist, so too does profit.

But we can’t clamp down on the dark side of our economic success without a variety of tools, and ALERT is chief among them.

Troy Media columnist John Stewart is a born and bred Albertan who doesn’t drill for oil, ranch or drive a pickup truck – although all of those things have played a role in his past.

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.

Assisted-dying bill exploited by all sides TIM HARPER OPINION

W

hen it comes to physician-assisted dying, should the beliefs of a health-care institution trump a charter right of a suffering patient?

It shouldn’t, but we may ultimately get to that point.

That is only one result of the curiously timid legislation on assisted dying introduced last week by the Liberals.

It may forever be a mystery why a government that so loudly trumpeted respect for the charter of rights, a government very early in a muscular majority mandate with political capital bulging from their pockets moved so tentatively on assisted dying.

A government that went big on refugees, purports to go big on climate change with a prime minister given to big, sweeping pronouncements instead went small in physician-assisted dying.

It created a void that is rapidly being filled by progressives who are understandably upset that the rights of those suffering grievously from mental illness, mature minors, or those who wish to provide advance directives

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have not been respected in this legislation, providing two tiers of those who are eligible to die with dignity.

It also left enough holes in the legislation for conservative opponents, in this case, many of Canada’s churches, to exploit concerns from their perspective.

They arrived on Parliament Hill on the eve of debate on Bill C-14, intent on exploiting a weakness in the legislation that gives them much room to manoeuvre on their flank.

Cardinal Thomas Collins, the Catholic archbishop of Toronto, argues that taxpayer-funded Catholic health institutions should maintain that public funding while refusing to follow the law of the land — assisting those who fit the restrictive criteria for such death.

In Collins’s view, it would appear that the religious beliefs of the institution should trump the charter rights of patients suffering intolerably with death “reasonably foreseen.”

Collins sees no conflict.

No hospital, chronic-care facility or hospice in this country is compelled to provide every medical procedure and service available in this country, he says.

He also rejects the notion that assisted dying now becomes a charter right. It is a legal right, Collins told me, but the “charter right” argument is a construct not supported by evidence, a

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notion put forward by a Commons-Senate committee that veered “wildly” in directions unpalatable to Canadians, at least in Collins’s view.

There could have been no assisted-dying legislation introduced by any government of any political stripe that would have been backed by the Catholic Church in this country.

That parliamentary committee that so alarmed the Catholic Church provided a bold, progressive view of what could have been in this legislation — which likely guaranteed much of it would be ignored, replaced by that most milquetoast of pledges to deliver a law that provides “balance” between competing views.

One should cringe when they hear about a law that claims to “balance” concerns on both sides. More often than not, it merely inflames both sides of the debate and satisfies no one.

That committee recommended that health-care practitioners’ “freedom of conscience” should be respected, but it would have compelled an objecting practitioner “at a minimum” to provide an effective referral for a patient.

It also recommended that Ottawa work with the provinces and territories to ensure all publicly funded health-care institutions provide medial assistance in dying.

Physicians in faith-based care institutions maintain their charter rights would be violated if they were forced

Alberta Press Council member The Red Deer Advocate is a sponsoring member of the Alberta Press Council, an independent body that promotes and protects the established freedoms of the press and advocates freedom of information. The Alberta Press Council upholds the public’s right to full, fair and accurate news reporting by considering complaints, within 60 days of publication, regarding the publication of news and the accuracy of facts used to support opinion. The council is comprised of public members and representatives of member newspapers.

to even refer a patient to a consenting physician.

They put forward a proposal in which an independent assessment team would deal with a patient who may be choosing assisted death. If the patient wished to go that route, the faith-based doctor would pass over all files but make no referral themselves.

It may satisfy health-care practitioners but needlessly heaps more hurdles in front of those who are dying and wish to have their pain alleviated.

Collins said faith-based institutions receive public funding because they provide much-needed services, but such nursing homes, hospitals, hospices or other facilities should never be forced by government to provide services that are contrary to their roles as “havens of hope” in this country.

Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka of Ottawa went further, when he suggested that demanding doctors terminate life or be complicit in that act would make the physician “complicit in murder.”

The legislation, of course, clearly spells out the opposite.

The church and its health-care providers may see a way out. But it puts institutions ahead of the rights of dying patients.

The blame for that rests with a government that gives the church the room to take that road.

Tim Harper is a national affairs writersyndicated by Torstar.

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Wise customers read the fine print: **, ^, *, †, ➤, «, *, §, 5 The Power of Zero Sales Event offers are limited time offers which apply to retail deliveries of selected new and unused models purchased from participating dealers on or after April 1, 2016. Offers subject to change and may be extended without notice. All pricing includes freight ($1,745) and excludes licence, insurance, registration, any dealer administration fees, other dealer charges and other applicable fees and taxes. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Dealer may sell for less. **0% purchase financing available to qualified retail customers on all 2016 Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, FIAT models except 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2016 Dodge Viper. 0% lease financing available to qualified retail customers on the following models only: 2016 Chrysler Town & Country, 2016 Jeep Renegade, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew and RT and FIAT 500X. See your dealer for complete details. ^Lease Loyalty/Conquest Pull-Ahead Bonus Cash is available to eligible customers on the retail purchase or lease of select 2016 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram or FIAT models at participating dealer and is deducted from the negotiated price after taxes. LIMITED TIME OFFER. Eligible customers are individuals who are currently leasing a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, or competitive vehicle with an eligible lease contract in their name on or before April 1, 2016. Proof of Registration and/or Lease agreement will be required. Trade-in not required. See your dealer for complete details. *Consumer Cash Discounts are offered on select 2016 vehicles and are deducted from the negotiated price before taxes. †0% purchase financing available on select new 2016 models to qualified customers on approved credit through RBC, Scotiabank and TD Auto Finance. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Example: 2016 Jeep Cherokee Sport with a Purchase Price of $27,698 with a $0 down payment, financed at 0% for 84 months equals 182 bi-weekly payments of $152 with a cost of borrowing of $0 and a total obligation of $27,698. ➤3.49% lease financing for up to 60 months available through SCI Lease Corp. to qualified customers on applicable new 2016 models at participating dealers. SCI provides all credit approval, funding and leasing services. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Examples: 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan Canada Value Package/2016 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package with a Purchase Price of $22,998/$20,998 leased at 3.49% for 60 months with a $0 security deposit and $336/$325 due at delivery (includes first payment and lien registration) equals 60 monthly payments of $276/$265 with a cost of borrowing of $2,820/$2,505 and a total obligation of $16,627/$15,934. Kilometre allowance of 18,000/year. Cost of $0.16 per excess kilometre plus applicable taxes at lease termination. See your dealer for complete details. «2.49% lease financing for up to 60 months available through SCI Lease Corp. to qualified customers on applicable new 2016 models at participating dealers. SCI provides all credit approval, funding and leasing services. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Example: 2016 Jeep Cherokee Sport with a Purchase Price of $27,698 leased at 2.49% for 60 months with a $0 security deposit and $378 due at delivery (includes first payment and lien registration) equals 60 monthly payments of $318 with a cost of borrowing of $2,411 and a total obligation of $19,117. Kilometre allowance of 18,000/year. Cost of $0.16 per excess kilometre plus applicable taxes at lease termination. See your dealer for complete details. *3.49% purchase financing for up to 96 months available on select new 2016 models to qualified customers on approved credit through RBC, Scotiabank and TD Auto Finance. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Example: 2016 Chrysler 200 LX (28A) with a Purchase Price of $23,998 (including applicable Consumer Cash Discounts) with a $0 down payment, financed at 3.49% for 96 months equals 208 bi-weekly payments of $132 with a cost of borrowing of $3,522 and a total obligation of $27,520. §Starting from prices for vehicles shown include Consumer Cash Discounts and do not include upgrades (e.g. paint). Upgrades available for additional cost. 5Sub-prime financing available on approved credit. Finance example: 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with a purchase price of $27,595 financed at 4.99% over 60 months, equals 130 bi-weekly payments of $240 for a total obligation of $31,207. Some conditions apply. Down payment is required. See your dealer for complete details. TMThe SiriusXM logo is a registered trademark of SiriusXM Satellite Radio Inc. ®Jeep is a registered trademark of FCA US LLC used under licence by FCA Canada Inc.

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NEWS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

A6

Drug more toxic than fentanyl Notley poses ‘significant threat’: police MANITOBA ELECTION

bullish on NDP future

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is the last NDP premier in Canada following the party’s defeat in Manitoba’s general election, but she says she doesn’t view it that way.

“I like to see myself as not the last one standing but in fact the first in a new wave of NDP governments,” said Notley in an interview Wednesday.

The Progressive Conservatives under Leader Brian Pallister trounced Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger’s New Democrats on Tuesday, winning a majority government.

The win ended more than 16 consecutive years of NDP majority government.

A key factor cited for the loss was Selinger’s decision to break a promise and increase the provincial sales tax.

That decision, made in 2013, led to a cabinet revolt and a brutish, divisive party leadership campaign that saw Selinger barely cling to the top job.

The NDP fell in the polls after the tax was hiked to eight per cent from seven and never recovered.

Notley congratulated Pallister on his win, saying the reasons for his victory are not complex.

“What happened in Manitoba, really, was that after 16 years of good service by the NDP, Manitobans do what Manitobans and most Canadians do, which is they change their government,” she said.

“It is what it is.”

Selinger announced he will step down as leader, and Notley said his impact will be missed, particularly at first ministers’ meetings.

“Separate and apart from partisan politics, his institutional memory and his wisdom and his diplomacy was something that was pretty great,” she said.

The echoes of Pallister’s win could be heard in Alberta’s legislature chamber in question period Wednesday.

Brian Jean, leader of the right-centre Opposition Wildrose party, told the house Pallister’s win was both a triumph and a cautionary tale.

“It’s a lesson that voters won’t tolerate governments that are less than honest about their plans for tax hikes or who hide the full impact of those tax hikes from the electorate,” said Jean.

“That’s what happened in Manitoba.

“Albertans see this happening right here with the NDP’s carbon tax that they didn’t campaign on and that we now have at a cost of a thousand dollars a year.”

Alberta’s carbon tax, introduced in last week’s budget, will hike the cost of gasoline at the pumps and home heating bills to reduce Alberta’s carbon footprint.

There will be full rebates to 60 per cent of Albertans — lower and middle-income earners — because they spend more of their income on such basics.

The government estimates the cost to families will be $508 a year by 2018, but the Wildrose counters the government has failed to consider secondary impacts should businesses and municipalities pass the carbon levy on to consumers and taxpayers.

Notley said Jean’s $1,000 estimate was wrong, and said there’s a larger principle at stake.

“This is an important issue that Albertans want to discuss,” she told the house.

“They want us to make progress on reducing emissions.”

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON — Police and health officials in Alberta are raising the alarm about a dangerous drug called W-18 that is much more toxic than fentanyl, another synthetic opioid that has been linked to hundreds of deaths in Canada.

Staff Sgt. Dave Knibbs said police in Edmonton seized about four kilograms of a white powder drug in December and tests by Health Canada confirmed it is W-18.

Knibbs said W-18 is about 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.

“Fentanyl has taken far too many lives across the province and W-18 represents an even more significant threat,” he said Wednesday.

The W-18 powder was probably imported from overseas and could have been made into millions of pills, Knibbs said. Small amounts of W-18 have previously been found in Calgary and British Columbia.

Dr. Laura Calhoun of Alberta Health Services said front-line health staff have been warned to watch for overdoses.

Calhoun said W-18 is not regulated by federal drug laws and has no clinical use.

“Our message to the public is this: no matter what drug you use, fentanyl or W-18 may be hiding in it, and they may kill you.”

Calhoun said W-18 cannot be detected by routine drug tests.

Police declined to comment on whether anyone has been arrested or charged as a result of the drug seizure.

Knibbs said it is not illegal to possess or distribute W-18 in Canada right now.

“It is an enormous concern for Health Canada and they are working diligently on it,” he said.

Health Canada officials were not available for comment.

The department’s website says it is proposing to include W-18 in the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances

File photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Fentanyl pills are shown in an undated police handout photo. Police and Alberta health officials are raising the alarm about a dangerous drug called W-18 that is much more toxic than fentanyl, another opioid that has been linked to hundreds of deaths in Canada.

Act and to food and drug regulations.

The website says W-18 is a synthetic opioid that was developed as a painkiller. It was patented in Canada and the United States in 1984.

“W-18 has never been marketed commercially and there is no known evidence demonstrating that W-18 has any actual or potential uses apart from scientific research,” reads the website.

“This included counterfeit tablets that had W-18 as the only active ingredient, but were made to appear like prescription oxycodone tablets.”

The Alberta government is calling on the federal government to take quicker action on W-18.

Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley and Health Minister Sarah Hoffman have written a letter to three Liberal cabinet ministers that encour-

ages Ottawa to speed up its considerations.

“I am always hopeful that when it comes to life-and-death situations that we are moving at breakneck speed,” Hoffman said. “We wrote the letter as soon as we heard about just how toxic W-18 is, and it is incredibly toxic.”

The letter said Alberta would like to see tougher federal restrictions on fentanyl as well as rules that would restrict access to pill presses used to make street drugs.

Calhoun said W-18 is a huge concern and people who use any synthetic opioids should also have a drug called naloxone available, which can counteract the effects of an overdose.

There were 272 fentanyl-related deaths in Alberta last year. She said W-18 is far more dangerous.

Former medical officer disagrees with official cause of toddler’s death

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS LETHBRIDGE — A medical witness for the defence says she disagrees with what killed a toddler whose parents are on trial for failing to provide the necessaries of life.

Dr. Anny Sauvageau was cross-examined by the Crown on Wednesday in the trial of David and Collet Stephan, whose nearly 19-month-old son, Ezekiel, died in March 2012 after being sick for more than two weeks.

Court has heard how his parents gave him natural remedies, including smoothies with hot peppers and horseradish because they thought he had croup and the flu.

The medical examiner has testified the boy died of bacterial meningitis but Sauvageau said the boy likely had viral meningitis and she’s never seen a child die of that form of the disease.

Sauvageau said Ezekiel died because paramedics couldn’t establish an airway quickly and he probably

NEWS IN BRIEF

Jury finds couple, brother guilty of first-degree murder of Ryan Lane CALGARY — A Calgary jury has found three people guilty of killing a man over a child custody dispute.

Sheena Cuthill, Tim Rempel and Will Rempel were all found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in

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would have been fine if the ambulance had the proper equipment.

Sauvageau, a former chief medical officer of health for Alberta, noted it is possible for viral meningitis to cause someone to stop breathing, but that could have been treated with proper intubation.

“My opinion is that his death is directly related to the paramedic interventions. If not for that, on balance of probabilities, he would have survived.”

A paramedic testified early on in the trial that the ambulance that was rushing Ezekiel to a hospital in Cardston had a bag valve mask for supplying oxygen that was too big for a small child.

He also told the jury that an endotracheal tube managed to provide the child with some oxygen, but it was only partially effective because tube was also the wrong size. He said by that time the toddler had been without oxygen for more than eight minutes.

Ryan Lane’s death.

Lane, who was 24, was last seen in February 2012 and his remains were found in a burn barrel months later about 70 kilometres northeast of Calgary.

Court heard that Cuthill and her husband, Tim Rempel, were angry that Lane wanted visitation rights with the child he fathered with Cuthill.

During the trial, Tim Rempel testified that he met with Lane to encourage him to walk away from the custody battle and that the discussion became heated.

Rempel said he and his brother,

File photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

David Stephan and his wife Collet Stephan are shown arriving at court in Lethbridge.

Will, drove away in their own vehicles and that Lane was alone and alive when they left him.

The Rempel brothers were also found guilty of kidnapping and showed no emotion as the verdict was read.

Lane’s friends and family were in court for the verdict and were relieved by the decision.

A first-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence with no parole for 25 years.

The three will be sentenced on Friday.

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NEWS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

A7

Pot law coming next spring

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS UNITED NATIONS, United Nations — Canada’s legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating marijuana will be introduced next spring, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at the United Nations.

During her impassioned speech at a special UN session on drugs, Philpott acknowledged the pot plan “challenges the status quo in many countries,” but she said the Liberal government is convinced it’s the best way to protect youth, while enhancing public safety.

Canada must do better when it comes to drug policy, she added, saying the government’s approach will be rooted in science and will address the devastating consequences of drugs and drug-related crimes.

“I am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public health to maximize education and minimize harm,” she said.

“As a doctor, who has worked both in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa, I have seen too many people suffer the devastating consequences of drugs, drug-related crime and ill-conceived drug policy. Fortunately, solutions are within our grasp.”

Philpott began her speech with an emotional recounting of a story she recently heard from a mother who lost her daughter to substance abuse.

The woman described watching her daughter die as she sought help that should have been available to save her life, Philpott said.

“She described watching her daughter slip away as she struggled to access the treatment and services that should have been available to save a beautiful, fragile life,” she said.

“Stories like this are far too commonplace. Countless lives are cut short due to overdoses of licit and illicit substances. Today, I stand before you as Canada’s minister of health to acknowledge that we must do better for our citizens.”

Philpott’s address happened to coincide with 4-20, the annual day of celebration for cannabis culture lovers, which takes on greater significance in Canada this year, with the government planning to green-light recreational

Marijuana legalization in Canada may extinguish drug cachet

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Canada’s Minister of Health Jane Philpott speaks, while addressing the United Nations special session on global drug policy, Wednesday at UN headquarters. marijuana use.

The UN General Assembly is holding a special session on global drug policy. Officials from around the world have gathered for the meeting that has been billed as the first of its kind in nearly two decades.

Other countries and cultures will pursue different approaches, Philpott noted.

“I believe that if we respect one another’s perspectives and seek common

ground we can achieve our shared objective: protecting our citizens,” she said. “Better yet, we can improve their lives.”

In 1998, the assembly adopted an action plan that emphasized the need for law enforcement and a “drug-free world.” Critics have argued the socalled war on drugs has been ineffective and has undermined public health efforts.

VANCOUVER — Stoner subculture will likely take a hit with the incoming legalization of marijuana in Canada because as the cause vanishes, so will celebration of the drug, say experts.

The declaration comes as the federal government announced a spring 2017 deadline for introducing new marijuana laws and while thousands of people gathered across Canada for the annual April 20 ‘Weed Day’ protest, also known as 4-20.

Protesting against cannabis prohibition has become a social movement with its own ideology and symbols, but that will likely change with the repeal of criminalization, said Benedikt Fischer, a senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

“Once marijuana becomes legalized, normalized, mainstream, the cause disappears,” said Fischer. “I suspect these things will kind of fizzle away.”

Lynne Belle-Isle, co-founder of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, agreed that with legalization the appeal of smoking up in rebellion could disappear. She said society could benefit as messaging is developed around using the drug more safely.

“Like alcohol, if you see your parents having a glass of wine with dinner, it’s no big deal. You learn responsible use if that’s what you’re exposed to,” she said.

“Social norms get created when you’re able to do it openly, that doesn’t happen when people have to hide.”

One of Canada’s most prominent pot protests on Wednesday was at Vancouver’s Sunset Beach. And just like past years, a festive atmosphere rose from the crowd of revellers.

Shift on tamper-resistant opioids a bitter pill for U.S.

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — A U.S. coalition led by pharmaceutical companies is accusing Health Canada of abandoning its leadership in the global fight against prescription opioid abuse by failing to

STORIES FROM PAGE A1

BUST: Limited operation Cpl. Bob Schultz credited the bust to “good old fashioned police work” and tips from the public.

Schultz said the investigation is still ongoing and at this point it looks like the operation was running solely in the city and surrounding area.

Tod said this bust has made a significant dent in the drug trade in the region.

“Red Deer council made disrupting medium and high-level crime groups is a priority for the community,” said Tod. “We have taken it seriously. We will continue to take it seriously.”

The investigation is ongoing.

Clay Crombie, 21, of Red Deer, faces six counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of prohibited weapon, careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm. Cody James Crombie, 18, of Red Deer faces six counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Both men are in custody and will appear in court on April 29.

Katherine Estelle Howe, 20, of Red Deer, faces six counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, two counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000, careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Howe has been released on bail and will appear in court on April 26.

Matthew Rose, 31, of Red Deer, faces faces six counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, two counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000, careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Rose has been remanded in custody and will appear in Red Deer provincial court on Thursday. crhyno@reddeeradvocate.com

POT: Used for medicinal purposes Raffa, 32, said she had used a variety of hard drugs during her late teens and turned to marijuana to help overcome a growing addiction. Now, she uses it every day, in various forms.

“I can honestly say that, if it wasn’t for cannabis, I might not be here,” she said.

“I think pretty well all use of cannabis is medicinal, whether you have cancer or you’re just relaxing after a

enact strict new regulations.

It’s the latest salvo in a long-running policy debate over a deadly problem.

Earlier this month the federal Health Department dropped a plan to require products containing oxycodone to have tamper-resistant properties.

Health officials concluded that insisting on tamper-resistance would not have had the intended safety effects.

The department said the measures would have eliminated certain lower-cost drugs from the market, increasing costs for patients and the health system while having little to no effect

in the fight against opioid use.

In a letter this week to Health Minister Jane Philpott, the U.S. Abuse Deterrence Coalition says Canada’s move “runs counter to the interests of public health” and is out of step with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approach.

hard, stressful day.”

Raffa said she supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s moves to legalize recreational use of pot.

“I just hope it doesn’t get over-regulated, overtaxed and what not, because doing that will just keep pushing it to the black market. I think, until it’s legal as a plant for everyone to grow freely, it’s not really legal. It’s a plant.

Come on. It’s like growing a tomato.”

Pot user Rae-Ann Ferguson, 19, said she has been attending 4-20 for the past 10 years, for no special reason other than meeting friends and having some fun.

“Everyone does on the 20th — get together with people you haven’t seen in forever and smoke a bunch of weed and don’t see them for another year.”

Ferguson said she had been at the park all day with no interference from police or security.

Theories vary on how the 4-20 tradition developed among pot users. Some have suggested that it arose from an unofficial light-up time for high-school students gathering for a smoke after class.

Others suggest that it is a nod to the variety of compounds that exist in different types of weed or that it may be the number of one of the state or federal statutes enacted to outlaw marijuana. None have been proven. bkossowan@reddeeradvocate.com

consuming and emotions are up on both sides, he said. “That’s when we lose as a community if it gets that far.”

“One of things I admired from the start about this group of people is they did not want to see undue harm or embarrassment or hurt come to Mr. Charlton.”

Johnston said he wanted to first resolve the issue in Sunnybrook and then look into the bigger picture of enforcement, intervention and prevention.

“We’ve all learned from this and certainly administration can take a page out this experience as well and I’m confident they will.”

“When we have a case like this that’s taken as long as it has, we would be remiss if we didn’t look at the legislation we have and say there’s something missing,” Johnston said.

Sarah Cockerill, the City of Red Deer’s director of Community Services, oversees both the bylaw department and RCMP. When there are issues in a neighbourhood the first thing the city does is try and have good neighbourhood discussion, she said.

“Certainly our last resort is ticketing.

“We want to have neighbourhoods

belonging together and it’s one of our social goals. … It’s important for citizens to be able to work and play in a safe and secure community and they have an obligation to contribute to that as well.

“So really we felt that the time we were taking (in Sunnybrook) was really around the intervention of bringing a community together. There was a point that we reached where we recognized that was not to be successful and we issued the ticket.

“There’s a duty to investigate every call and I’ll say it’s a lot more often than not having a uniformed officer respond to these neighbourhood disputes often curbs the behaviours.

“In the end we accomplished what we were trying to do, which is to say bullying is not appropriate in Red Deer, whether it’s to adults or to children and that we needed to address that on behalf of the neighbourhood.”

There have been co-ordinated discussions between the CPOs and RCMP, and an internal review is underway, Cockerill said. barr@reddeer advocate

BULLYING: Review underway People who testified in court said they just wanted peace and to enjoy their neighbourhood, and they were concerned about multiple city resources being tied up so much by one person.

Johnston said the city needs to learn from the Sunnybrook case and is now asking whether the city needs better enforcement abilities.

“Do we have enough measures in there from a punitive perspective. Are fines enough? What constitutes a second offence? Why would we reopen a file on a third offence if there’s enough history?

“I don’t think it’s our community police officers (CPOs). … I think we’ve got a legislative opportunity that we’re missing here,” he said.

Coincidentally, the city will be undertaking a pilot program around the issue of safe communities this summer, going into six neighbourhoods to help build up leadership in them, he said.

By the time a matter gets to enforcement it gets very expensive and time

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SPORTS

THE ADVOCATE Thursday, April 21, 2016

Flyers stave off sweep

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Flyers 2 Capitals 1 PHILADELPHIA — Michal Neuvirth skated off the Flyers’ ice to a roar he wanted to hear.

Only thunderous cheers came from the fans, not flying objects. With how Neuvirth played, he might have stopped them anyway.

Neuvirth had 31 saves in his first start of the playoff series, helping Philadelphia stave off a sweep with a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

“We talked about it, let’s have some fun and enjoy the moment. We did,” Neuvirth said.

The Capitals still lead the series 3-1 headed into Game 5 Friday night in Washington.

Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew MacDonald each scored for the Flyers in a distraction-free game following Game 3’s embarrassing end where fans pelted the ice with souvenir wristbands.

“The fans were a little bit better than last game,” Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. “It’s good to have them on our side again.”

Outstanding play in the net helped the Flyers even more. Neuvirth was sensational in the third after T.J. Oshie scored early in the period to make it 2-1.

The Capitals still have never swept a best-of-seven playoff series.

Flyers rookie coach Dave Hakstol shuffled the lineup for the win-or-else game.

He benched No. 1 goalie Steve Mason for Neuvirth and moved Brayden Schenn to the top line and demoted Jake Voracek.

Mason allowed five power-play goals, including four in a third period, in a 6-1 Game 3 loss. Mason’s Game 2 gaffe that allowed Jason Chimera’s 101-foot tip-in goal has been replayed on an endless blooper reel in Philly.

Exit Mason, enter Neuvirth.

Neuvirth, who played parts of six seasons in Washington, went 18-8-4 with a 2.27 goal against and a .924 save percentage in 32 games.

“He always was pretty clutch, so I’m sure he’s going to be fine tonight,” Voracek said.

He was clutch, indeed. His only mis-

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Philadelphia Flyers’ Colin McDonald, right, and Washington Capitals’ Matt Niskanen, center, collide as Ryan White skates past during the second period of Game 4 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, Wednesday, in Philadelphia. step came when Oshie backhanded a rebound off Matt Niskanen’s shot from the point just 2:38 into the third.

That was it for the Capitals.

“Every series is about getting the four. We need to get the four,” coach Barry Trotz said.

“The sooner you get the four, it gives you a couple opportunities to rest guys, heal guys (and get) a little mental break from the pressures of playoff hockey and a little more time to prepare.”

The Flyers seemed like a new team from the start. Neuvirth stopped all 10 shots and the punchless top line finally broke through to give the Flyers a lead.

Giroux and Wayne Simmonds —

1-2 in team points this season — were each held without a goal or assist through the first three games. They both assisted on Gostisbehere’s blast from the point for the 1-0 lead.

Gostisbehere’s goal came on the power play, snapping the Flyers’ 0 for 13 post-season skid.

Hakstol made all the right moves.

“We’re not too worried about digging out of a 3-0 hole,” he said. “We came here today to win a hockey game.”

The game was marred by a scary hit that saw Flyers centre Scott Laughton leave on a stretcher.

He was taken off the ice on a stretcher after he crashed into the boards late in the first. Washington

defenceman John Carlson tangled with Laughton behind the Capitals’ net.

Laughton stumbled and his head and neck slammed into the back boards.

He went down in a heap face-first and was immobile for several minutes.

There was no penalty on the play.

Laughton talked to medical personnel as they strapped him on the board. The Flyers said he was taken to Jefferson Hospital for precautionary reasons. The Flyers said he’ll remain there overnight and all tests were negative.

“It’s just one of those plays where we’re kind of even and he tries to stick-handle through me and take it to the net,” Carlson said. “I’m just trying to defend him.”

Orioles edge Jays in extra innings

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Orioles 4 Blue Jays 3 BALTIMORE — Josh Thole sat in front of his locker, his head lowered and cradled in his hands.

Several minutes earlier, the Toronto Blue Jays catcher let a slider get past him. Caleb Joseph took advantage of the miscue, sliding home with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-3 victory Wednesday night.

After Joseph hit a two-out double off rookie Joe Biagini (0-1), Joey Rickard got an infield hit and Manny Machado walked. With Adam Jones at the plate, the pitch got past Thole and Joseph sprinted home.

“I just missed the ball,” Thole lamented, never looking up. “I have to catch those.”

It was only the second time in franchise history that Toronto lost on a passed ball. The other such defeat came against Detroit in April 1991.

“He’s a pro he’s a great catcher back there,” teammate Michael Saunders said of Thole. “Things like that can happen to anybody.”

Mychal Givens (1-0) worked the 10th for Baltimore.

Josh Donaldson hit his sixth home run and Edwin Encarnacion had two RBIs for the Blue Jays, whose threegame winning streak ended. Toronto stranded 10 and went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

“A lot of lost opportunities,” manager John Gibbons acknowledged.

Down 3-2, the Blue Jays pulled even in the seventh. After Jones made a sen-

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Baltimore Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph, left, tags out Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryan Goins at home on a single by Josh Thole in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Baltimore, Wednesday. Baltimore won 4-3 in 10 innings. sational diving catch of a sinking liner to centre by Jose Bautista with Saunders on third base, Encarnacion delivered a two-out double.

But it all came apart in the 10th.

It was the first time since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954 that they won on a game that ended with a passed ball, according to STATS, LLC. “Scoring runs is scoring runs,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s always important to have different ways to do it.”

Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez

gave up two runs, five hits and four walks in five nerve-racking innings.

The right-hander allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in each inning but limited Toronto to a 1-for-7 performance with runners in scoring position.

“I guess I found the pitches that I need,” Jimenez said.

Toronto knuckleballer R.A. Dickey overcame a shaky start to limit Baltimore to three runs and five hits over six innings.

“He kept us in the game,” Saunders said.

“Obviously, it didn’t finish the way we would have liked. It was another game where we could have won but didn’t.”

Baltimore’s first four batters combined for three hits and a walk. The key blow was an RBI double by Machado, who has a hit in all 13 games this season.

Toronto got to 3-1 in the third when Encarnacion bounced a run-scoring single off Machado’s glove at third.

Donaldson opened the fifth with a shot to right.

In the Toronto sixth, Ryan Goins was thrown out at the plate by Rickard, who recovered nicely after making a futile dive to catch Thole’s twoout single to left.

“I’d like to catch the ball there, make it a little bit easier,” Rickard said. “But I saw the guy in front of me, knew he was going to go, and Caleb made a good tag on him.”

TRAINER’S ROOM Blue Jays: Gibbons opted against using closer Roberto Osuna (broken fingernail). The right-hander got four outs Tuesday and said he couldn’t throw a slider.

Orioles: LHP Brian Matusz (ribcage) could come off the DL on Saturday, Showalter said. RHP Kevin Gausman (shoulder) made a rehab start with Triple-A Norfolk.

UP NEXT Blue Jays: Marco Estrada (1-1, 2.77 ERA) makes his third start of the season in the series finale.

Orioles: Chris Tillman (1-1, 5.11) pitches for Baltimore, looking to improve on his 4-10 lifetime record against Toronto.

Joseph’s strong playoff experience invaluable to Raptors

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — Cory Joseph couldn’t resist some good-natured needling.

Toronto’s backup point guard was baiting 35-year-old Luis Scola, the Raptors’ oldest player, earlier this week.

“He was asking how many playoff games I have played, and I knew where he was going: he was just trying to show off that he had played more playoff games than me, being the oldest player on the team,” Scola said, through a giant-sized grin.

Joseph made 41 post-season appearances with the perennially contending San Antonio Spurs, and that number stuck out when the Raptors acquired him in the off-season.

Now, Joseph could be a dribbling, shooting billboard for the value of post-season experience. He’s been arguably the most solid player through Toronto’s two playoff games, and will be expected to bring that hustle off the bench again when the Raptors play the Pacers in Game 3 on Thursday in Indiana.

“To give an example, DeMar DeRozan had (11 playoff games) and Cory’s been in 41,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He wasn’t the key guy (in San Antonio) but he was there, participating. He’s been through the wringer a few times. It’s huge for us, Cory Joseph has been great, he’s got the high motor, he can go from 0-100 off the bench quickly and he’s one of our toughest guys. It’s a huge luxury to have a guy like that.”

Murray Crawford, Sports Reporter, 403-314-4338 E-mail mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com

Joseph has scored 34 points on 11for-14 shooting over the two games, and missed just one of his 12 free throws. He’s also doled out six assists, and grabbed four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Joking aside, Scola is as big a fan of the 24-year-old Joseph as any.

“He’s young, but he’s been in San Antonio for many years,” Scola said.

“That’s like an advanced, speedup school for playoff basketball, you know?”

“So for him it’s natural.”

Joseph’s presence takes some of the weight off starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who struggled in Game 1 but bounced back with a solid Game 2.

“It’s given me a chance to rest and play off the ball and roam a little more,” Lowry said.

>>>>

“Even now the last couple of games, me being off the ball and him using pick and roll they haven’t tagged off of me as hard and we’ve gotten in the paint. Having Cory has been unbelievable, man… he’s going to continue to get better.”

The Raptors signed Joseph to a four-year, US$30 million contract last summer. Joseph — who as a kid would pretend he was Vince Carter while battling his brother Devoe on the driveway of the family’s Pickering, Ont., home — embraced the chance to play for his hometown team. He changed his jersey to No. 6 in honour of the Drake-coined nickname for Toronto.

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SPORTS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

B2

Lightning boys set sights on provincials Wetaskiwin.

“They’re relatively new,” said Aaron Seward, boys head coach.

“That gives us a little hope that we can take them out.

“The guys set a goal to get to provincials. As a team we talked about what we want to accomplish, they said they want to go to provincials. The school has only gone once before. They want to go and ultimately they want to win.”

This year, a core group of Grade 12 students and about 35 players committed to the team. The team started preparing for the season on Feb. 15 and they’ve had 28 to 30 guys every practice, which is not the norm.

“Our core group has been playing together since Grade 10,” said Seward.

“A lot of them have played Titans rugby and 10 of them went to a school of rugby development program

HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY

BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF Hungry for a shot at provincials, the Hunting Hills Lightning boys rugby team have been practicing in gyms and on the field to get ready for the coming season.

Last season, the Lightning boys team only had about 18 players committed to the program. They fell short of a shot at provincials, losing to Notre Dame.

This season, the tiering system for high school rugby has changed, bumping Hunting Hills down to tier 2. Lindsay Thurber and Notre Dame stay in tier 1. This means, the road to provincials goes through

all winter. They’re in the pipeline for Rugby Alberta.

It’s very exciting to watch.

“Some of them were four feet tall when we started to coach them and now I have to look up at them.”

Seward said they were faced with a decision of having two teams this year, a development or junior varsity and a senior team. But then they wouldn’t have had enough substitutes. This left one large team.

Admitting it is a fringe sport, Seward said it has grown recently. Pointing to the doubling of players they have this year compared to last.

A selling feature for this year’s team was the promise of a trip to Kamloops for Kamloops Rugby Fest where they will play teams from Vancouver, Washington State and Oregon. And when they return, they will get going in the local high school rugby league.

Lightning girls look to experience for new season Wanting a shot at provincials, the Hunting Hills Lightning girls rugby team knows they will have to take on Lacombe to get there.

Head coach Justin Pilgrim said last season they won as many games as they lost, calling the group a year ago a developmental squad.

“A lot of them went on to play on rep teams, so this year we have a team that’s half developmental and half experienced,” said Pilgrim.

Their first exhibition game was against Notre Dame of Calgary, the Lightning won that game 2718. The scoring came from several different sources in that game.

“The overall progress of our team is excellent,” said Pilgrim. “Three years ago we had 12 girls, now we have 24. So that’s awesome.

“Everybody supports everybody else and that’s what you want in a team. We have some bugs to work out, but I think we’re going to be competitive and looking forward to playing Lacombe and representing Central Alberta at provincials — hopefully.”

Pilgrim said one of the teams biggest strengths is game awareness.

“Last year we had veterans who weren’t game savvy,” he said. “This year we have veterans who are game aware and capitalize on miscues by the other team. Confidence is the next biggest strength.

They have confidence in knowing what they’re doing compared to last year.”

A solid group of returning players coupled with some new players who have fit in and are learning

the game quickly.

“When you come out running instead of stumbling, it’s very exciting,” said Pilgrim.

They’ll have a chance to feel out Lacombe, their potential playoff opponent, in early May. Pilgrim called it a provincial warmup. The provincial representative playoff will by on May 20.

“People who were peaking at the sport before are now buying in,” said Pilgrim. “It’s a football school primarily, but some of the football kids are seeing rugby as a viable offseason sport for them if they want to grow in football.”

Pilgrim said some of the players to watch this year on his team are Sarah Stahl, Sarah Fraser and Paige Olmstead. mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com

NHL suspends Blackhawks’ Shaw one game for anti-gay slur

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO — As he watched the video, Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw realized exactly what he did.

“It was hard to see,” he said. “Emotions got the best of me.”

The NHL suspended Shaw for one game Wednesday for yelling an anti-gay slur from the penalty box and fined him $5,000 for an inappropriate gesture toward the officials during Chicago’s Game 4 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

Shaw will miss Game 5 in St. Louis on Thursday, and he will be required to undergo sensitivity training.

The league’s punishment came after Shaw apologized for his outburst the previous night.

Speaking quietly for a few minutes before the team left for St. Louis, Shaw said he couldn’t sleep after the game and watching video of his outburst was difficult. It was video of the incident that went viral on social media, prompting sharp criticism and punishment from the NHL.

“I’ll never use that word again, that’s for sure. …

That’s not the type of guy I am,” he said.

Shaw was sent off for interference at 17:56 of the third period, hurting Chicago’s chance for a comeback in what ended up being a 4-3 loss. He raised both gloves as he skated off, and while sitting in the box, he pounded on the glass with his stick and then yelled at someone on the ice. As video of the incident spread online, the You Can Play project swiftly tweeted that it was planning to contact the NHL. The organization issued a statement Wednesday saying it supported the punishment handed down by the league and was “saddened and offended” by Shaw’s “homophobic slurs.”

“After four years of working with You Can Play, NHL players can no longer use ignorance as an excuse for not understanding the power of their words and the effect that they have on their teammates, fans and the LGBT community,” You Can Play said, adding it plans to keep working with the NHL and Blackhawks as well as Shaw to fight homophobia in hockey.

After Tuesday’s game, Shaw was asked twice about what happened and said he didn’t remember.

A day later, he said he saw the video after he returned home and was “sincerely sorry for the insensitive remarks that I made.”

“I apologize to many people, including the gay and lesbian community, the Chicago Blackhawks organization, Blackhawks fans and anyone else I may have offended,” he said.

“I know my words were hurtful and I will learn from my mistake.”

The team said it was “extremely disappointed” by the incident and coach Joel Quenneville apologized, calling what Shaw did “unacceptable.”

Shaw scored a goal in the second period and had two assists in the loss, which left the defending Stanley Cup champions on the brink of elimination.

Shaw’s outburst once again shined a light on both the barriers gays and lesbians face in sports and the progress they have made.

The team recently highlighted its partnership with You Can Play, which lobbies for equal and respectful treatment of all athletes without regard to sexual orientation. Defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson and goaltender Scott Darling participated in a video supporting the group’s mission.

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SPORTS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

B3

NHL needs pest control for playoffs

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA — Rats! And Octopi. Even a lifeless shark.

Real or rubber, NHL arenas in the post-season have a way of turning into an overflowing Animal House on the ice once fans get their arms warmed up.

Angry you missed out on zoological fun?

No worries, maybe some of the playoff stars will brighten the mood with the glow-in-the dark wristbands that disgruntled Philadelphia Flyers fans hurled on the ice during a game this week.

The Flyers condemned the fans for soiling the end of a blowout loss that was punctuated by the public address announcer urging them to “show some class.”

Hey, at least the giveaway wasn’t sponsored by PetSmart.

But Flyers fans aren’t alone in pelting the ice with the nearest unbolted-turned-flying object.

Blame Detroit.

According to the Red Wings, the octopus first made its appearance on April 15, 1952. Two Detroit brothers threw it on the ice at Olympia Stadium, the idea being that each tentacle was symbolic of a win in the playoffs.

Back in the day, the six-team NHL required only eight wins of its playoff champion, not the current 16.

The Red Wings swept the series that year, and the octopus toss has been a staple ever since. The tradition carried to Joe Louis Arena on opening night in 1979 when several found their way on to the ice.

The Red Wings even have a 20-foot tall, 800-pound purple octopus named Al on the roof of Joe Louis Arena for their current post-season run.

The mascot was named in honour of Red Wings building manager Al Sobotka — the zamboni driver and, yes, official scooper of any smuggled octopi thrown on the ice. He’ll traditionally grab the octopi with his bare hands and twirl them around his head in the arena’s tunnel.

“I don’t know what the technical name is for stuff that comes off an octopus. I assume it’s some sort of gunk,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said during the 2008 playoffs. “When

it sticks on the ice it’s a problem, and when it gets on things — it actually in one game got on a goaltender as it was being swung.

“It’s really more about making sure that no player hits something on the ice and blows out his knee. … I have no illusions,” Bettman added.

“The octopi will fly, but they just can’t be swung because we’ve got to limit the gunk.”

The octopi will fly!

Now that’s a post-season slogan in Detroit with legs.

Neither Henrik Lundqvist, Jonathan Quick nor Corey Crawford could ever ride the kind of hot streak capable of stopping all the eclectic items tossed on the ice during an NHL game.

Here are some of the wildest.

Please, don’t call PETA. RAINING RATS: The so-called Florida Panthers “Rat Trick” started when Scott Mellanby used his stick to exterminate a live rat in the Panthers’ dressing room before an October 1995 games, then went out and scored two goals that night. By the end of the season, it was raining rats in the arena after every Panther goal and fast became part of Panthers’ lore.

The Panthers approve of the tradition and call the stories of the day on their website the “Rats Roundup.”

The Miami Herald published a rubber rats playoff etiquette guide before Florida’s playoff series with the Islanders that answered some burning questions. Some excerpts: — “When can I throw my rat? Only after the game is complete.”

— “Do I need to sneak my rats in?

No.” — “What if I get excited and throw my rat after a goal? The Panthers don’t like that.”

YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT: Maybe the San Jose Sharks should have called on Quint to help them out when one fan threw a 3-foot leopard shark with an octopus sewn into its mouth after a goal in a 2010 Western Conference semifinal game.

One of the perpetrators smuggled the shark into the game by duct taping it to his leg.

“It was done for fun, it was done to mock Detroit’s throwing the octopus on the ice mission successful,” one of the men told KGO-TV news in the San Francisco Bay Area after com-

Photos by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LEFT; A Detroit Red Wings ice girl removes several octopuses after fans tossed them on the ice in the second period of Game 4 in the playoff series between the Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning in Detroit.

ABOVE; Crews round up rats thrown A on the ice by fans after Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov scored an empty-net goal during the third period of Game 2 in the playoff series against the New York Islanders in Sunrise, Fla. pleting his far flung stunt, hiding his identity because he didn’t want to lose his Sharks season tickets. “Sure, it smelled fishy, but only the freshest shark for this occasion.”

WHERE’S THE BEEF: Ottawa super-sized its record down the stretch and used a “Hamburglar” to order up a playoff berth in 2015. With a nickname swiped from the McDonald’s mascot, rookie Andrew Hammond took the NHL by storm. Ottawa fans tossed hamburgers on the ice and the owner of six McDonald’s locations in the Ottawa Valley arranged for Hammond to

have a card that gave him free McDonald’s food for life.

Edmonton fans have hit the rib, err, bullseye on ice and tossed Alberta beef at Oilers games. Yes, Kobe isn’t the only one who connects from long range in the post-season.

TIP OF THE CAP: Oh yeah, hats!

It’s always OK to throw hats when a player nets a hat trick, a long-standing NHL tradition.

The hats are gently swept off the ice and usually added to a display case.

So much easier than calling pest control.

Petrovic pots winner as Panthers down Isles Panthers 2 Islanders 1 NEW YORK — After a tough overtime loss two nights earlier, the Florida Panthers were focused on picking up their defensive intensity in Game 4.

Former Red Deer Rebel Alex Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Panthers beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Wednesday night to even their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

Teddy Purcell also scored for Florida and Jaromir Jagr had an assist for his 200th career playoff point. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.

“What we talked about was making it real tough to score goals against us,” Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said.

“Don’t give up second chances, don’t give the (John) Tavares line second and third chances. It was about working hard and playing our game and I wanted to make sure our guys played aggressive.”

On the go-ahead goal, Petrovic got a pass from Derek MacKenzie up high near the middle, slowly skated to the right and fired a shot into the top left corner past Greiss to put the Panthers ahead 2-1 at 9:25 of the third.

“MacKenzie made a nice play to me,

found me open,” Petroshot was stopped by Grevic said. “The first guy iss. Huberdeau slid into that came at me, I waited Greiss and the puck was him out a little bit. He knocked loose and went just went by and that’s over the line. No goal was when I slid it by (Grecalled on the ice and the iss).” play was reviewed and The Panthers got the call was upheld. Galtheir first playoff road lant was upset over the win since April 17, 2012, non-goal and used his against New Jersey challenge. After a lengthy in Game 3 of the first review, the non-goal call round. was upheld again, much Game 5 of the best-ofto the delight of the home seven series is Friday crowd.

Alex Petrovic night in Sunrise, Flori“I still don’t underda, and Game 6 will be stand it,” Gallant said. “I Sunday night back in Brooklyn. don’t know what the rule is exactly, Tavares had his third goal of the se- and they tried to explain it to me. I ries for New York, and Thomas Greiss thought it was a good goal. My video finished with 27 saves. guy was telling me, ‘It looks like a good “You are not going to win many goal to me.’ … I challenged it, and obvigames when you score one goal and ously it didn’t count.” the same guys score,” Islanders coach About 90 seconds after play reJack Capuano said. “We didn’t create sumed, the Islanders’ Josh Bailey much. We got one line (Tavares, Kyle jammed a puck out of Luongo’s pads Okposo and Frans Nielsen) creating and across the line, but the officials all of our offence right now. We have to waved it off because the whistle had find a way like we did in Florida when blown. we had secondary scoring and the othThe Panthers finally got on the er night here when we had secondary scoreboard first late in the second pescoring. If not, it’s going to be tough.” riod. About a minute after the IslandThe Panthers nearly scored with ers’ Matt Martin was sent off for trip9:15 left in the second when Jonathan ping Nick Bjugstad, Greiss slid to the Huberdeau had a breakaway and his left to knock away Jagr’s tip attempt.

Stars shoot down Wild to take command of series

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Stars 3 Wild 2 ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jason Spezza scored the go-ahead goal with his skate, Ales Hemsky and Patrick Eaves each scored on a second-period power play to give Dallas’ lagging special teams a lift, and the Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Wednesday night to push their series lead to 3-1.

Antti Niemi assumed the net from Kari Lehtonen, who started the first three games, and made 28 saves for the Stars. They’ll host Game 5 in Dallas on Friday.

Jason Pominville and Charlie Coyle both gave the Wild the lead with second-period goals, but they weren’t able to sustain the momentum from a spirited comeback in Game 3 for the entire night.

The Wild finished the game with a 6-on-4 after a high-stick penalty on Antoine Roussel with goalie Devan Dubnyk pulled, but the Stars tightened up and allowed only one shot on target over the 84-second two-man advantage.

By the time the first period was half-finished, the Stars had cast aside their sluggishness from the previous contest that saw them manage only 17 shots on net. After a scoreless but fast-paced first period, the floodgates opened on both sides in the five-goal middle frame.

Pominville, playing on that thriving third line with Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter, scored his third goal of

the series by crashing the crease and knocking in Niederreiter’s fluttering rebound shot off his shin.

Then the Wild got a little sloppy, and the Stars seized the opportunity.

With Colton Sceviour screening Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, Hemsky’s slap shot evened the game with 6 seconds left on the first Dallas power play.

Coyle answered 63 seconds later with the most skilful goals of the series, fighting through a would-be hooking penalty on Stars defenceman Alex Goligoski as he nudged the puck forward, snagged it in the air and set it back down to set up a right-left deke on Niemi and backhand it in the corner.

Niederreiter took a slashing penalty a few minutes later, though, and Eaves followed with a redirection that eluded Dubnyk. Finally, with 69 seconds remaining before the second intermission, Jason Demers launched a shot that ricocheted perfectly off the front of Spezza’s left foot for a 3-2 lead.

The Stars have a dangerous power play that finished fourth in the NHL during the regular season at 22.1 per cent, but the Wild killed 12 of 13 penalties over the first three games.

After acquiring Niemi in a trade with San Jose last summer to pair him with Lehtonen, the Stars carefully rotated the 32-year-olds throughout the season, with each goalie getting exactly 25 wins. Lehtonen posted a shutout in Game 1, but he wasn’t as sharp in Game 3, making the transition a natural one for coach Lindy Ruff.

However, Jagr got the puck behind the net, skated around and fed Purcell, who fired it in as Greiss was getting back in position.

Jagr’s assist was his 122nd in the playoffs, breaking a tie with Al MacInnis and Glenn Anderson for sole possession of ninth place on the NHL list.

Penalties to Aleksander Barkov and Dmitry Kulikov gave the Islanders a 5-on-3 for 39 seconds in the final minute of the second. New York took advantage as Ryan Pulock passed to Tavares on the right side and the captain skated in and wristed a shot past Luongo to tie it with 16 seconds remaining — just after the first penalty expired.

“We didn’t have a great start and we just didn’t make it hard enough on them tonight,” Tavares said. “We had a great opportunity to get what we wanted and we didn’t do it.”

The Panthers had a 10-5 advantage on shots in a tightly played first period.

The Islanders got one shot on goal on a power play about six minutes into the game as Okposo’s shot fluttered in the air and deflected up off Luongo’s mask.

“It was a huge character win for our club,” Luongo said. “We played the type of road game we wanted to play — simple, hard-nosed, checking away, and we found a way to win. It’s a huge win for us.”

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18,890

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*All rebates to dealer including delivery allowance and Costco. Selling prices do not include tax. #16C8390 b/w payment over 84 months, 0.99%, $0 down, O.A.C. #16A5733 b/w payment over 84 months, 0.99%, $0 down, O.A.C. #16T6492A b/w payment over 84 months, 2.49%, $0 down, O.A.C. #16T0694 b/w payment over 84 months, 0.99%, $0 down, O.A.C. #16T8250 b/w payment over 96 months, 4.99%, $0 down, O.A.C. Cost of borrowing #16A5733 is $1231. Sale ends Saturday, April 23rd, 2016. Vehicles may not be exactly as shown. See dealer for full details

Or $197/Bi-Weekly Over 84 Months At 0.99%

Cost Of Borrowing - $1231

THE ADVOCATE B6

SCOREBOARD THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

Local Sports Today

Hockey Saturday

● Esso Cup: Weyburn Gold Wings bs.

Rocky Mountain Raiders, 7 p.m., Weyburn

● Rugby: Red Deer Titans at Drayton Valley Riggers, 2 p.m., Frank Maddock High School

Baseball Major League Baseball American League East Division W L Pct Baltimore 9 4 .692 Toronto 8 8 .500 Boston 7 7 .500 Tampa Bay 6 8 .429 New York 5 8 .385 Central Division W L Pct Chicago 10 5 .667 Kansas City 9 5 .643 Detroit 8 5 .615 Cleveland 6 6 .500 Minnesota 4 11 .267 West Division W L Pct GB Texas 9 6 .600 Oakland 8 7 .533 Seattle 6 8 .429 Los Angeles 6 9 .400 Houston 5 10 .333

Zimmermann, Detroit, 3-0 Hamels, Texas, 3-0 Porcello, Boston, 3-0.

GB — 2 1/2 2 1/2 3 1/2 4 GB — 1/2 1 2 1/2 6 — 1 2 1/2 3 4

Tuesday’s Games Milwaukee 6, Minnesota 5 Cleveland 3, Seattle 2 Oakland 3, N.Y. Yankees 2, 11 innings Toronto 4, Baltimore 3 Tampa Bay 3, Boston 0, 10 innings Kansas City 8, Detroit 6 Texas 7, Houston 5 Chicago White Sox 5, L.A. Angels 0 Wednesday’s Games Chicago White Sox 2, L.A. Angels 1 Seattle 2, Cleveland 1 Oakland 5, N.Y. Yankees 2 Baltimore 4, Toronto 3, 10 innings Boston 7, Tampa Bay 3 Detroit 3, Kansas City 2 Texas 2, Houston 1 Milwaukee 10, Minnesota 5 Thursday’s Games Seattle (Karns 1-1) at Cleveland (Co.Anderson 0-1), 10:10 A.m.

Tampa Bay (Odorizzi 0-1) at Boston (Price 2-0), 11:35 A.m.

Minnesota (Nolasco 0-0) at Milwaukee (Jungmann 0-2), 11:40 A.m.

L.A. Angels (Weaver 1-0) at Chicago White Sox (Danks 0-2), 12:10 p.m.

Oakland (R.Hill 1-2) at N.Y. Yankees (Severino 0-2), 5:05 p.m.

Toronto (Estrada 1-1) at Baltimore (Tillman 1-1), 5:05 p.m.

Detroit (Pelfrey 0-2) at Kansas City (Volquez 2-0), 5:15 p.m.

Houston (Keuchel 2-1) at Texas (Griffin 1-0), 6:05 p.m.

Friday’s Games Minnesota at Washington, 5:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, 5:05 p.m.

Oakland at Toronto, 5:07 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 5:10 p.m.

Boston at Houston, 6:10 p.m.

Texas at Chicago White Sox, 6:10 p.m.

Baltimore at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Seattle at L.A. Angels, 8:05 p.m.

AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS G AB R H Pct. Machado Bal 13 54 13 22 .407 Trumbo Bal 13 51 11 19 .373 Andrus Tex 13 44 7 16 .364 Kinsler Det 13 59 13 21 .356 Castellanos Det 12 46 7 16 .348 JMartinez Det 13 49 8 17 .347 White Hou 15 50 5 17 .340 Mauer Min 15 53 5 18 .340 TShaw Bos 14 45 6 15 .333 Rickard Bal 13 55 5 18 .327 Home Runs Donaldson, Toronto, 6 Altuve, Houston, 5 Cano, Seattle, 5 CDavis, Baltimore, 5 Machado, Baltimore, 5 Saltalamacchia, Detroit, 5 Trumbo, Baltimore, 5 White, Houston, 5.

Runs Batted In Donaldson, Toronto, 14 Saltalamacchia, Detroit, 14 Fielder, Texas, 13 Odour, Texas, 13 Ortiz, Boston, 13 Kinsler, Detroit, 12 White, Houston, 12.

Pitching Sale, Chicago, 4-0 Stroman, Toronto, 3-0 ERamirez, Tampa Bay, 3-0 Latos, Chicago, 3-0

Washington New York Philadelphia Miami Atlanta Chicago Cincinnati St. Louis Pittsburgh Milwaukee Los Angeles Colorado Arizona San Francisco San Diego

National League East Division W L Pct 11 3 .786 7 7 .500 7 9 .438 4 9 .308 4 10 .286 Central Division W L Pct 11 4 .733 8 7 .533 8 7 .533 7 7 .500 7 8 .467 West Division W L Pct 9 6 .600 8 7 .533 7 8 .467 7 8 .467 5 9 .357

GB — 4 5 6 1/2 7 GB — 3 3 3 1/2 4 GB — 1 2 2 3 1/2

Tuesday’s Games Milwaukee 6, Minnesota 5 N.Y. Mets 11, Philadelphia 1 Cincinnati 4, Colorado 3 Atlanta 8, L.A. Dodgers 1 Washington 7, Miami 0 Chicago Cubs 2, St. Louis 1 San Diego 5, Pittsburgh 4 Arizona 3, San Francisco 0 Wednesday’s Games Cincinnati 6, Colorado 5 St. Louis 5, Chicago Cubs 3 Philadelphia 5, N.Y. Mets 4, 11 innings L.A. Dodgers 5, Atlanta 3, 10 innings Washington 3, Miami 1 Milwaukee 10, Minnesota 5 Pittsburgh at San Diego, late Arizona at San Francisco, late Thursday’s Games L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 2-0) at Atlanta (Wisler 0-1), 10:10 a.m.

Washington (Scherzer 2-0) at Miami (Koehler 0-2), 11:10 a.m.

Minnesota (Nolasco 0-0) at Milwaukee (Jungmann 0-2), 11:40 a.m.

Arizona (S.Miller 0-1) at San Francisco (Cueto 3-0), 1:45 p.m.

Chicago Cubs (Arrieta 3-0) at Cincinnati (Finnegan 1-0), 5:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh (Cole 0-2) at San Diego (Shields 0-2), 7:10 p.m.

Friday’s Games Minnesota at Washington, 5:05 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati, 5:10 p.m.

N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, 5:35 p.m.

Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 6:10 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers at Colorado, 6:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 7:40 p.m.

Miami at San Francisco, 8:15 p.m.

St. Louis at San Diego, 8:40 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS G AB R H Pct. DMurphy Was 14 49 7 21 .429 Fowler ChC 15 51 11 20 .392 Yelich Mia 13 43 7 16 .372 CGonzalez Col 15 60 12 22 .367 Pagan SF 15 54 14 19 .352 Phillips Cin 13 49 9 17 .347 Jaso Pit 13 52 6 18 .346 Molina StL 15 55 6 19 .345 Braun Mil 14 50 9 17 .340 Segura Ari 14 59 9 20 .339 Home Runs Story, Colorado, 8 Harper, Washington, 7 Arenado, Colorado, 6 NWalker, New York, 6 Cespedes, New York, 5 8 tied at 4.

Runs Batted In Harper, Washington, 21 Arenado, Colorado, 16 Bruce, Cincinnati, 15 Story, Colorado, 14 Carter, Milwaukee, 13 Cespedes, New York, 13 Rizzo, Chicago, 13.

Pitching Lackey, Chicago, 3-0 CMartinez, St. Louis, 3-0 Strasburg, Washington, 3-0 Cueto, San Francisco, 3-0 Arrieta, Chicago, 3-0 Nelson, Milwaukee, 3-1 Ohlendorf, Cincinnati, 3-2.

Basketball 2016 NBA Playoffs First Round Conference Quarter-finals (Best-of-7) EASTERN CONFERENCE Cleveland (1) vs. Detroit (8) (Cleveland leads series 2-0) Wednesday’s result Cleveland 107 Detroit 90 Sunday’s result Cleveland 106 Detroit 101 Friday’s game Cleveland at Detroit, 5 p.m.

Sunday’s game Cleveland at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Apr. 26 x-Detroit at Cleveland, TBA Toronto (2) vs. Indiana (7) (Series tied 1-1) Monday’s result Toronto 98 Indiana 87 Saturday’s result Indiana 100 Toronto 90 Thursday’s game Toronto at Indiana, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday’s game Toronto at Indiana, 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Apr. 26 Indiana at Toronto, TBA Friday, Apr. 29 x-Toronto at Indiana, TBA Sunday, May 1 x-Indiana at Toronto, TBA Miami (3) vs. Charlotte (6) (Miami leads series 1-0) Wednesday’s result Miami 115 Charlotte 103 Sunday’s result Miami 123 Charlotte 91 Saturday’s game Miami at Charlotte, 3:30 p.m.

Monday, Apr. 25 Miami at Charlotte, TBA Atlanta (4) vs. Boston (5) (Atlanta leads series 2-0) Tuesday’s result Atlanta 89 Boston 72 Saturday’s result Atlanta 102 Boston 101 Friday’s game Atlanta at Boston, 6 p.m.

Sunday’s game Atlanta at Boston, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Apr. 26 x-Boston at Atlanta, TBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Golden State (1) vs. Houston (8) (Golden State leads series 2-0) Monday’s result Golden State 115 Houston 106 Saturday’s result Golden State 104 Houston 78 Thursday’s game Golden State at Houston, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday’s game Golden State at Houston, 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Apr. 27 x-Houston at Golden State, TBA San Antonio (2) vs. Memphis (7) (San Antonio leads series 2-0) Tuesday’s result San Antonio 94 Memphis 68 Sunday’s result San Antonio 106 Memphis 74 Friday’s game San Antonio at Memphis, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday’s game San Antonio at Memphis, 11 a.m.

Tuesday, Apr. 26 x-Memphis at San Antonio, TBA Oklahoma City (3) vs. Dallas (6) (Series tied 1-1) Monday’s result Dallas 85 Oklahoma City 84 Saturday’s result Oklahoma City 108 Dallas 70 Thursday’s game Oklahoma City at Dallas, 5 p.m.

Saturday’s game Oklahoma City at Dallas, 6 p.m.

Monday, Apr. 25 Dallas at Oklahoma City, TBA L.A. Clippers (4) vs. Portland (5) (L.A. Clippers lead series 1-0) Wednesday’s result Portland at L.A. Clippers, late Sunday’s result L.A. Clippers 115 Portland 95 Saturday’s game L.A. Clippers at Portland, 8:30 p.m.

Monday, Apr. 25 L.A. Clippers at Portland, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Apr. 27 x-Portland at L.A. Clippers, TBA x — played only if necessary.

Transactions Wednesday’s Sports Transactions BASEBALL American League BOSTON RED SOX — Placed RHP Joe Kelly on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Noe Ramirez from Pawtucket (IL). Selected the contract of RHP William Cuevas from Pawtucket. Optioned INF Marco Hernandez to Pawtucket. Designated LHP Edwin Escobar for assignment.

CLEVELAND INDIANS — Activated OF Lonnie Chisenhall from the 15-day DL. Optioned OF Collin Cowgill to Columbus (IL).

National League ATLANTA BRAVES — Optioned RHP Williams Perez to Gwinnett (IL). Recalled RHP Casey Kelly from Gwinnett.

CINCINNATI REDS — Optioned RHP Robert Stephenson to Louisville (IL). Selected the contract of RHP Drew Hayes from Louisville. Designated RHP Keyvius Sampson for assignment.

COLORADO ROCKIES — Acquired 1B Cody Decker from Kansas City for cash and assigned him to Albuquerque (PCL).

SAN DIEGO PADRES — Placed INF Cory Spangenberg on the 15-day DL. Selected the contract of INF Jemile Weeks from El Paso (PCL). Transferred LHP Buddy Baumann from the 15- to the 60-day DL. American Association FARGO-MOORHEAD REDHAWKS — Released INF Elmer Reyes.

SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS — Released RHP Jacob Newberry.

Can-Am League QUEBEC CAPITALES — Signed RHP Deryk Hooker.

ROCKLAND BOULDERS — Traded INF Steve Nyisztor to Sussex for cash and a player to be named.

BASKETBALL National Basketball Association MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES — Named Tom

Thibodeau as coach and president of basketball operations and Scott Layden general manager.

FOOTBALL National Football League ATLANTA FALCONS — Re-signed G Chris Chester.

CAROLINA PANTHERS — Rescinded their non-exclusive franchise tag offer to CB Josh Norman, making him an unrestricted free agent.

CLEVELAND BROWNS — Traded its 2016 firstround draft pick (No. 2) and a 2017 fourth-round draft pick to Philadelphia for the Eagles’ 2016 first- (No. 8), third- (No. 77) and fourth-round (No. 100) picks, plus a 2017 first-round and a 2018 fourth-round pick.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed OTs Kevin Graf and Mitchell Van Dyk. NEW YORK JETS — Signed OT Luke Marquardt.

HOCKEY National Hockey League NHL — Suspended Chicago F Andrew Shaw one game for making use of a homophobic slur during and April 19 game against St. Louis Blues and fined him $5,000 for directing an inappropriate gesture at the on-ice officials.

DETROIT RED WINGS — Recalled D Xavier Ouellet from Grand Rapids (AHL).

NEW YORK RANGERS — Recalled F Chris Brown, F Nicklas Jensen, F Jayson Megna, F Daniel Paille, D Mat Bodie, D Ryan Graves and D Chris Summers from Hartford (AHL).

VANCOUVER CANUCKS — Signed G Thatcher Demko to a three-year entry-level contract.

American Hockey League BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS — Signed F Anthony Greco to an amateur tryout contract.

MOTORSPORTS NASCAR — Suspended Ty Dillon’s Xfinity Series crew chief Nick Harrison through April 27 and fined him $10,000 for not using a proper spoiler assembly and extension in the April 16 Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300.

Justin Kirkland Alex Forsberg Rourke Chartier Tomas Soustal Connor Hobbs Keanu Yamamoto Luke Philp Michael Spacek Lane Zablocki Evan Polei Kale Clague Gage Quinney Ethan Bear Noah Gregor Austin Wagner Colby Williams Collin Shirley Matthew Phillips Matt Fonteyne Macoy Erkamps Ivan Provorov Brandon Hagel

WHL 2016 Playoffs Second Round DIVISION FINALS (Best-of-7) EASTERN CONFERENCE East Division Brandon (1) vs. Moose Jaw (3) (Brandon wins series 4-1) Central Division Red Deer (2) vs. Regina (WC1) (Red Deer wins series 4-3) Tuesday’s result Red Deer 2 Regina 1 WESTERN CONFERENCE B.C. Division Victoria (1) vs. Kelowna (2) (Kelowna wins series 4-3) Tuesday’s result Kelowna 3 Victoria 2 (OT)

8 5 5 5 4 3 3 2 7 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 5 5 3 2 2 1

3 6 6 6 6 7 7 8 2 4 5 6 6 6 6 7 3 3 5 6 6 7

11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8

NHL Playoffs FIRST ROUND (Best-of-7)

U.S. Division Seattle (1) vs. Everett (2) (Seattle wins series 4-1)

EASTERN CONFERENCE N.Y. Islanders 2, Florida 2 Thursday, April 14: N.Y. Islanders 5, Florida 4 Friday, April 15: Florida 3, N.Y. Islanders 1 Sunday, April 17: N.Y. Islanders 4, Florida 3, OT Wednesday, April 20: Florida 2, N.Y. Islanders 1 Friday, April 22: N.Y. Islanders at Florida, 6 p.m.

Sunday, April 24: Florida at N.Y. Islanders, TBA

Third Round CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-7) EASTERN CONFERENCE Brandon (E1) vs. Red Deer (C2) Friday’s game Red Deer at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday’s game Red Deer at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Apr. 26 Brandon at Red Deer, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Apr. 27 Brandon at Red Deer, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr. 29 x-Red Deer at Brandon, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 1 x-Brandon at Red Deer, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, May 3 x-Red Deer at Brandon, 7 p.m.

Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 1 Wednesday, April 13: Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 2 Friday, April 15: Tampa Bay 5, Detroit 2 Sunday, April 17: Detroit 2, Tampa Bay 0 Tuesday, April 19: Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 2 Thursday, April 21: Detroit at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.

Sunday, April 24: Tampa Bay at Detroit, TBA Washington 3, Philadelphia 1 Thursday, April 14: Washington 2, Philadelphia 0 Saturday, April 16: Washington 4, Philadelphia 1 Monday, April 18: Washington 6, Philadelphia 1 Wednesday, April 20: Philadelphia 2, Washington 1 Friday, April 22: Philadelphia at Washington, 5 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE Seattle (U1) vs. Kelowna (B2) Friday’s game Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday’s game Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday, Apr. 26 Kelowna at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, Apr. 27 Kelowna at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Apr. 29 x-Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, May 1 x-Kelowna at Seattle, 5:05 p.m.

Tuesday, May 3 x-Seattle at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m. x — played only if necessary.

WHL Playoff Scoring Leaders Adam Brooks REG 7 Jack Walker VIC 8 Dryden Hunt MJ 7 John Quenneville BDN 7 Cole Sanford REG 7 Brayden Point MJ 6 Reid Duke BDN 6 Sam Steel REG 6 Jayden Halbgewachs MJ 9 Tanner Jeannot MJ 6 Brett Howden MJ 4 Tim McGauley BDN 6 Nolan Patrick BDN 5 Adam Helewka RD 8 Tyler Soy VIC 7 Jake DeBrusk RD 5 Mathew Barzal SEA 2 Jayce Hawryluk BDN 2

KEL VIC KEL KEL REG SPO RD RD REG RD BDN KAM SEA MJ REG REG KAM VIC EVT BDN BDN RD

Pittsburgh 2, N.Y. Rangers 1 Wednesday, April 13: Pittsburgh 5, N.Y. Rangers 2 Saturday, April 16: N.Y. Rangers 4, Pittsburgh 2 Tuesday, April 19: Pittsburgh 3, N.Y. Rangers 1 Thursday, April 21: Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, 5 p.m.

Saturday, April 23: N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, TBA

16 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 6 9 11 7 8 4 5 7 10 10

23 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 13 13 12 12 12 12 12

WESTERN CONFERENCE Dallas 3, Minnesota 1 Thursday, April 14: Dallas 4, Minnesota 0 Saturday, April 16: Dallas 2, Minnesota 1 Monday, April 18: Minnesota 5, Dallas 3 Wednesday, April 20: Dallas 3, Minnesota 2 Friday, April 22: Minnesota at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 24: Dallas at Minnesota, TBA St. Louis 3, Chicago 1 Wednesday, April 13: St. Louis 1, Chicago 0, OT Friday, April 15: Chicago 3, St. Louis 2 Sunday, April 17: St. Louis 3, Chicago 2 Tuesday, April 19: St. Louis 4, Chicago 3 Thursday, April 21: Chicago at St. Louis, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 23: St. Louis at Chicago, TBA Nashville 2, Anaheim 1 Friday, April 15: Nashville 3, Anaheim 2 Sunday, April 17: Nashville 3, Anaheim 2 Tuesday, April 19: Anaheim 3, Nashville 0 Thursday, April 21: Anaheim at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 23: Nashville at Anaheim, TBA Monday, April 25: Anaheim at Nashville, TBA

San Jose 2, Los Angeles 1 Thursday, April 14: San Jose 4, Los Angeles 3 Saturday, April 16: San Jose 2, Los Angeles 1 Monday, April 18: Los Angeles 2, San Jose 1, OT Wednesday, April 20: Los Angeles at San Jose, late Friday, April 22: San Jose at Los Angeles, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 24: Los Angeles at San Jose, TBA Wednesday’s summaries Stars 3, Wild 2 First Period No Scoring.

Penalties — Goligoski Dal (hooking) 4:17 Haula Minn, Demers Dal (unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:02.

Second Period 1. Minnesota, Pominville 3 (Niederreiter, Haula) 5:01.

2. Dallas, Hemsky 1 (Demers, Russell) 9:11 (pp).

3. Minnesota, Coyle 1 (Zucker) 10:14.

4. Dallas, Eaves 2 (Russell, Spezza) 13:24 (pp).

5. Dallas, Spezza 2 (Demers, Benn) 18:51.

Penalties — Dumba Minn (delay of game) 7:17 Niederreiter Minn (slashing) 12:28 Benn Dal (holding) 16:37.

Third Period No Scoring.

Penalties — Roussel Dal (double high-sticking) 18:36.

Shots on goal Dallas 10 10 2 — 22 Minnesota 9 7 14 — 30 Goal — Dallas: Niemi (W, 1-0-0). Minnesota: Dubnyk (L, 1-3-0).

Power plays (goals-chances) — Dallas: 2-2 Minnesota: 0-3.

Panthers 2, Islanders 1 First Period No Scoring.

Penalties — Cizikas NYI (tripping) 2:04 Huberdeau Fla (tripping) 6:06.

Second Period 1. Florida, Purcell 2 (Jagr, Ekblad) 15:18 (pp).

2. NY Islanders, Tavares 3 (Pulock, Nelson) 19:44 (pp).

Penalties — Martin NYI (tripping) 14:03 Barkov Fla (slashing) 17:43 Kulikov Fla (tripping) 19:04.

Third Period 3. Florida, Petrovic 1 (MacKenzie, Wilson) 9:25.

Penalties — Nelson NYI (slashing) 4:26 de Haan NYI (hooking) 12:20 Huberdeau Fla (hooking) 16:27.

Shots on goal Florida 10 11 8 — 29 New York 5 12 10 — 27 Goal — Florida: Luongo (W, 2-2-0). NY Islanders: Greiss (L, 2-2-0).

Power plays (goals-chances) — Florida: 1-4 NY Islanders: 1-4.

Flyers 2, Capitals 1 First Period 1. Philadelphia, Gostisbehere 1 (Giroux, Simmonds) 5:51 (pp).

Penalties — Chorney Wash (interference) 5:03.

Second Period 2. Philadelphia, MacDonald 1 (Simmonds, Schenn) 3:51.

Penalties — Gagner Pha (interference) 14:31 Backstrom Wash (holding) 17:48 Voracek Pha (holding) 18:16.

Third Period 3. Washington, Oshie 1 (Niskanen, Alzner) 2:38.

Penalties — None.

Shots on goal Washington 10 9 13 — 32 Philadelphia 12 9 4 — 25 Goal — Washington: Holtby (L, 3-1-0). Philadelphia: Neuvirth (W, 1-0-0).

Power plays (goals-chances) — Washington: 0-2 Philadelphia: 1-2.

Eagles acquire No. 2 overall draft pick from Browns in big trade NFL

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA — Desperate for a franchise quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles can get their man. Soon.

The Cleveland Browns will wait for their guy.

The Eagles acquired the No. 2 overall pick in next week’s draft from Cleveland in exchange for five picks on Wednesday. The Browns are getting Philadelphia’s first-round pick this year (No. 8), a third-round pick (No. 77) and fourth-rounder (No. 100), plus a first-rounder in 2017 and a second-rounder in 2018.

Cleveland also sends a fourth-round pick in 2017 to the Eagles.

“It’s a tough price to pay,” said Howie Roseman, Philadelphia’s executive vice-president of football operations.

“We’re very sure we’re going to get the player we want. We’ve spent a ton of time investigating these guys and looked at the quarterback market going forward, and this is a rare opportunity we’re in.”

The trade allows Philadelphia to select one of the top quarterback prospects, Carson Wentz of North Dakota State or Jared Goff of California at No. 2. The Los Angeles Rams already acquired the top overall pick from Tennessee for a slew of picks and have indicated they will take a quarterback.

It is the fourth time the top two selections in the draft have been dealt.

“These guys are pretty even,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said of Wentz and Goff. “From all the physical tools, both of them are extremely gifted. Good arm strength, good mobility. Obviously, Carson is a little bigger, maybe a little better athlete right now. There’s not much separating those two.”

The Eagles signed Sam Bradford to a $35 million, two-year contract in March. Roseman said he’ll be the starter. They also signed backup Chase Daniel to a $21 million, three-year deal. But Roseman couldn’t resist an opportunity to move up after acquiring the No. 8 pick from Miami for cornerback Byron Maxwell, linebacker Kiko Alonso and the 13th overall pick.

“We’re going to invest in quarterbacks,” Roseman said. “The key to being championship calibre over a long period of time is quarterbacks.”

STORY FROM PAGE B1

RAPTORS: Play hard The Toronto rapper has a line about Joseph in his diss track “Charged Up.” “We gon’ make sure you get your bread, and you know the ropes,” Drake raps, “I get a ring and I bring it home like I’m Cory Joe.” When Joseph won an NBA title with the Spurs in 2014, he took the Larry O’Brien Trophy up the CN Tower.

But if he’s living the dream in this nailbiting series, you’d never know it. Joseph is as unflappable as they come. He’s repeated the mantra numerous times: can’t get too high, can’t get too low.

“I don’t worry about (the pressure of the playoffs), I really don’t,” Joseph said through his lopsided smile.

“I don’t worry about doing well, or doing

The last time the Eagles drafted a quarterback in the first round was 1999 when Andy Reid took Donovan McNabb at No. 2. McNabb led Philadelphia to five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl appearance.

The Browns were in position to finally land a quarterback after more than a decade of futility and failure. Cleveland has had 24 starting quarterbacks since 1999, when it chose Tim Couch ahead of McNabb. But the club’s new front office wasn’t enthralled with Goff or Wentz and decided to get more picks to help first-year coach Hue Jackson build a winner.

Cleveland may still be able to get a quarterback — possibly Memphis’ Paxton Lynch — in the draft, but it won’t be one of the top two guys. After the Rams leaped from No. 15 to No. 1, the Browns were no longer going to have their choice of Goff or Wentz.

The Browns recently signed Robert Griffin III, making it easier to trade the second pick.

Griffin signed a two-year, $15 million contract and was viewed as a “bridge” QB until the team develops a young player.

The Browns’ new front office led by Sashi Brown has placed heavy emphasis on analytics in preparing for this year’s draft and putting together Cleveland’s roster. With so many needs, the Browns chose to accumulate as many picks as possible to fill holes on both sides of the ball.

“These picks will play a major role in building our team for long-term sustained success,” Brown said.

“We want to assemble a young nucleus of talented players and this trade positions us really well. There is a good depth of talent in the first round and we felt we could make a larger impact to our roster by adding more draft picks and that’s why we made the decision to trade down.”

Cleveland now has 12 selections in this year’s draft, including six of the top 100 picks.

The Eagles host the Browns in the season opener on Sept. 11.

Previous years in which the top two picks were traded, according to STATS: ● 1967, when New Orleans sent the top spot to the Baltimore Colts, who took Bubba Smith, and the Giants sent the second pick to Minnesota, which grabbed Clint Jones. ● 1975, when Atlanta got the No. 1 selection from the Colts and took Steve Bartkowski, while Dallas acquired No. 2 from the Giants to take Randy White. ● 1997, when the Rams got the top spot from the Jets to draft Orlando Pace, and the Saints sent the No. 2 selection to the Raiders, who picked Darrell Russell. bad. If the opportunity’s given, I’m going to go out and play hard. Simple. Like I said, we’re not going to war, we’re not in the army. It’s basketball. You go out, you play hard, and you can be satisfied with yourself.”

The Raptors departed for Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon with the series tied at one game apiece. The message has been about maintaining their intensity, and fighting the urge to relax after their Game 2 victory.

“No relief, we still have to win three more… we gave up home court advantage,” Lowry said.

“It wasn’t relief. We didn’t do our job. We did our job in Game 2, not Game 1. We have to go in there and be focused and execute on every single play.”

The good news for the Raptors is they play well on the road, going 24-17 in the regular-season. The Pacers were 26-15 at their Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The arena will be a sea of gold, as the Pacers are giving out gold T-shirts to fans. As of Wednesday evening there were still tickets to be had, for as little as US$16. Top-end tickets still available were going for $234.

THE ADVOCATE B7

NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

Ecuador hikes taxes after deadly quake

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS QUITO, Ecuador — President Rafael Correa announced Wednesday night that he is raising sales taxes and will charge a one-time levy on millionaires to rebuild cities devastated by Ecuador’s worst earthquake in decades.

In a televised address, Correa said damages from the 7.8-magnitude quake will likely run into the billions of dollars, adding to already heavy economic hardships in this OPEC nation triggered by the collapse in world oil prices.

The task of rebuilding shouldn’t fall only to communities along the coast in the quake’s path but will require sacrifices from all segments of Ecuadorean society according to their ability to contribute, Correa said.

“I know we’re at the most-difficult stage right now but it’s just the beginning,” he said.

Using authority granted by the state of emergency he declared after Saturday night’s quake, Correa said sales taxes would increase to 14 per cent from 12 per cent for the coming year.

People with more than $1 million in assets will be charged a one-time tax of 0.9 per cent on their wealth, while workers earning over $1,000 a month will be forced to contribute a day’s wages and those earning $5,000 a month the equivalent of five days’ pay.

Taxes on companies will also go up, and Correa said he will look to sell certain state assets that he didn’t specify. He is also drawing on $600 million in emergency credits from the World Bank and other multilateral lenders.

The tax hikes come as the scale of devastation continues to sink in. A helicopter flyover of the damage zone Wednesday showed entire city blocks in ruins as if they had been bombed.

Late Wednesday, the government raised the death toll to 570. Officials listed 163 people as missing while the number of those made homeless climbed over 23,500. The final death toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Women comb through a post-earthquake debris field to salvage recyclable materials, in Manta, Ecuador, Wednesday.

Ecuadoreans began burying loved ones felled by the country’s deadliest earthquake in decades, while hopes faded that more survivors will be found. past decade.

Even as authorities turn to restoring electricity and clearing debris, the earth continued to move. A magnitude-6.1 aftershock before dawn Wednesday set babies crying and sent nervous residents pouring into the streets. Local seismologists had recorded more than 550 aftershocks, some felt 105 miles (170 kilometres) away in the capital of Quito.

Rescuers who have arrived from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and other nations said they would keep searching for survivors, but cautioned that time was running out and the likelihood of finding more people alive grew small-

UN hears major differences on global approach to drug use Jamaica defended its decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana. Iran said it seized 620 tons of different types of drugs last year and is helping protect the world from “the evils of addiction.” Cuba opposed the legalization of drugs or declaring them harmless.

The first U.N. General Assembly special session to address global drug policy in nearly 20 years heard major differences on the approach to drug use on its second day on Wednesday.

On the liberalization side, Canada’s Health Minister Jane Philpott announced that the government will introduce legislation to legalize marijuana next spring. She said Canada will ensure that marijuana is kept out children’s hands, and will address the devastating consequences of drugs and drug-related crimes.

Jamaica’s Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith told delegates that the government amended the Dangerous Drugs Act last year to give tickets for possession of less than two ounces of cannabis instead of making it a felony offence, and to legalize the sacramental use of marijuana by Rastafarians.

It also established provisions for the medical, scientific and therapeutic uses of the plant, she said.

Smith said Jamaica is finalizing a five-year national drug plan including programs to reduce demand for drugs, provide for early intervention and treatment of drug users, and promote rehabilitation and social reintegration.

Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug

WE ARE CELEBRATING

World BRIEFS

Control Policy, stressed that “law enforcement efforts should focus on criminal organizations — not on people with substance use disorders who need treatment and recovery support services.”

He called for drug policies in every country to address the needs of underserved groups including women and children, indigenous people, prisoners, and lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people.

On the tough enforcement side, Indonesia’s Ambassador Rachmat Budiman said “a zero-tolerance approach” is needed to suppress and eliminate the scourge of drugs.

He said drug trafficking rings are using new “psychoactive substances” and the Internet to penetrate all levels of society, including the young generation, and pose “a serious threat which requires extraordinary efforts.”

Like Indonesia, Iran imposes the death penalty on drug traffickers.

Iran’s Justice Minister Abdulreza Rahmani Fazli told the high-level meeting that the Islamic Republic has spent billions of dollars in its campaign against armed drug traffickers.

He said Iran is ready to host an international conference on countering drugs and drug-related crimes along the Balkan route, one of the two main heroin trafficking corridors linking opium-producing Afghanistan to the huge markets of Russia and Western Europe.

It usually goes through Pakistan to Iran, Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria across southeastern Europe to the Western European market, and has an annual market value of some $28 billion, according to the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime known as UNODC.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

er with the passage of every hour.

Among the survivors, the situation was growing increasingly tense. While humanitarian aid has been pouring in from around the world, distribution is slow. In Manta on Wednesday, people waited for hours under the tropical sun for water and food supplies. Soldiers kept control with fenced barricades.

“They looted the store. I’m taking out what little remains,” Jose Encalada said as he cleaned up his paint store in Pedernales, one of the hardest-hit towns.

Making it harder for Ecuador to get back on its feet is an adverse economic

Colombia’s capital investigates simultaneous explosions BOGOTA — Police are on maximum alert in Colombia’s capital after two homemade bombs exploded almost simultaneously in different parts of the city Wednesday night, shattering windows and rattling residents but causing no injuries.

The first explosion took place in a wealthy district of northern Bogota around 9 p.m. outside the office of a health care insurer. Shortly after that, another blast occurred closer to downtown in an area of office buildings.

Mayor Enrique Penalosa said there were no injuries and nobody claimed responsibility.

He said it appeared the two blasts were targeting a health care company whose affiliate was recently liquidated.

The same company was the target of a previous attack in December.

“It’s always easy to put some homemade bombs in an act of terrorism but that doesn’t mean that the city in any way isn’t under control,” said Penalosa after visiting one of the blast scenes.

Penalosa also denied rumours on social media saying a third explosion had taken place. He said police were investigating and urged residents to remain calm.

David Cameron hails queen on her 90th birthday LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Queen Elizabeth II “a rock for our nation” as the monarch celebrates her 90th birthday.

The queen is spending the day at

environment for oil producers.

Unlike the deadly earthquake that ravaged Chile in 2010, when commodity prices were at a high and most of South America was booming, Ecuador must rebuild with prices of oil, the lifeblood of its economy, near a decade low. Manufacturing is also suffering because the economy is dollarized, depriving companies in Ecuador of the same jolt the rest of South America has experienced from devalued currencies. Even before the quake, Ecuador was bracing for a bout of austerity, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the economy would shrink 4.5 per cent this year.

Windsor Castle, near London, with her family.

Cameron said Thursday that Britain’s longest-reigning monarch “has lived through some extraordinary times,” from World War II to the moon landing, the end of the Cold War and advent of peace in Northern Ireland.

He said that “Her Majesty has been steadfast — a rock of strength for our nation, for our Commonwealth and on many occasions for the whole world.”

Buckingham Palace issued three portraits by photographer Annie Leibovitz to mark the day.

One shows the queen surrounded by seven young grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including 11-month-old Princess Charlotte, whom she holds in her arms.

Another shows the queen walking in the grounds of Windsor Castle with four of her beloved dogs — corgis Willow and Holly and dorgis Vulcan and Candy.

Ethiopia: Troops surround area 125 children are being held ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The Ethiopian government says it has identified and surrounded the area where an armed group is suspected of holding 125 children hostage.

Gatluak Tut, the president of the Gambella Regional State, told state-affiliated radio Wednesday that Ethiopian troops had crossed into South Sudan and surrounded Jior and Kok, where the children are allegedly being held by Murle tribesmen.

The Ethiopian government says at least 208 people died when the Murle allegedly attacked villages in Ethiopia on Friday and stole more than 2,000 cattle. Ethiopia says it has killed at least 60 of the attackers.

Ethiopia began two days of mourning on Wednesday to honour victims of the attack. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in a national address that Ethiopia is in consultation with South Sudan to take joint military measures against the attackers.

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NEWS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

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Up to 500 feared dead in shipwreck DISASTER HAPPENED IN MEDITERRANEAN LAST WEEK

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

n this photo taken on Sunday, migrants ask for help from a dinghy boat as they are approached by the SOS Mediterranee’s ship Aquarius, background, off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. The European Union’s border agency says the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Italy more than doubled last month. Frontex said in a statement on Monday that almost 9,600 migrants attempted the crossing, one of the most perilous sea voyages for people seeking sanctuary or jobs in Europe. of Mission Daniel Esdras called the accounts “heartbreaking” and said the organization was awaiting investigations by authorities “to better understand what actually happened and find hopefully evidence against criminal smugglers.”

No national authorities in the area have reported any bodies washing ashore. Greek authorities said a cargo ship picked up 41 people on Saturday from a wooden boat that was without steering about 95 nautical miles south of the Greek mainland. The Greek authorities did not describe them as survivors or say anything about any boat sinking.

The survivors were then taken to Kalamata, Greece, where IOM and UNHCR staffers interviewed them. UNHCR said the survivors were 23 Somalis, 11 Ethiopians, six Egyptians and a Sudanese.

Barbara Molinario, a Rome-based spokeswoman for UNHCR, said details remained unclear and said its staffers didn’t want to press the survivors too hard “as they are still very tried by

Syria’s warring parties spar over collapsing cease-fire

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIRUT — The head of Syria’s government delegation at the Geneva talks lashed out on Wednesday at the country’s Western- and Saudi-backed opposition, calling them “politically immature” and saying their walkout from the negotiations removes a “major obstacle” to finding a political solution to the conflict.

The remarks by Bashar Ja’afari, who is also Syria’s U.N. ambassador, echoed earlier barbs by a Turkey-based opposition leader who accused President Bashar Assad’s forces of effectively having “buried” the cease-fire in Syria.

The verbal sparring came as activists reported that ambulances and buses entered four besieged communities in Syria to evacuate around 500 sick residents.

At the United Nations, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the U.N. chief, told reporters plans were underway to evacuate the 500 who are in “urgent need of life-saving medical attention.” He did not give details on the timing or where the people would be taken.

“The sad thing is, we should not have to negotiate medical evacuations,” Dujarric added.

International aid organizations have pleaded for the evacuation of dozens of residents with urgent medical needs from these communities, which have been besieged by government forces and rebels.

The deal is also part of the now-teetering cease-fire agreement in place since Feb. 27, which greatly reduced violence in the first weeks but has all but collapsed now amid fierce fighting in Syria’s north in the past week.

On Tuesday, at least 44 people, mostly civilians were killed in government airstrikes on opposition-held areas in northern Idlib province. The day before, the opposition declared that the government’s violations of the ceasefire were unacceptable.

Anas al-Abda, the leader of the Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition, said there will be no quick return by the opposition to the talks in Geneva if the current situation continues.

“The regime buried the truce yesterday,” Al-Abda said, speaking at a press conference in Turkey. He was referring to the strikes in Idlib.

He also claimed that there have been more than 2,100 violations of the truce by government forces in the past 53 days. “There will be no quick return to negotiations if the current situation continues,” al-Abda said.

The SNC is part of the Higher Ne-

gotiations Committee, the Syrian opposition coalition negotiating in Geneva. Al-Abda’s comments come after HNC chief Riad Hijab said Tuesday there can be no solution in Syria with Assad remaining in power and called for international monitors to observe a cease-fire in Syria.

Hijab vowed to fight “even with stones” to depose Assad, shifting sharply to a tone of conflict over conciliation.

In Geneva, Ja’afari said on Wednesday that members of the opposition were “extremists” and “mercenaries.”

He ridiculed Hijab’s comments, referring to him as “sulking” child, and denounced the opposition’s walkout as “politically immature.”

He reiterated that his government’s position is that any political solution for Syria would include a broad-based unity government, an amended constitution and parliamentary elections.

“Any group that thinks otherwise is living an illusion, is undermining the Geneva talks, is wasting their time and ours,” Ja’afari said.

The HNC does not want Assad to have any role in a future Syria. U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura said he will take stock of where the talks stand on Friday.

The calculated gamble by the opposition to jeopardize what diplomats have called the best chance in years to bring a diplomatic end to Syria’s fiveyear war reflects its growing frustration over unproductive peace talks and hundreds of government cease-fire violations in recent weeks.

The opposition coalition accuses the government of preparing an assault on the city of Aleppo, ignoring its demands for the release of thousands of detainees, and rejecting or avoiding requests for U.N.-led humanitarian aid shipments in recent weeks.

It says those are signs of bad faith by Assad’s side and accuses Damascus of stalling for time in the Geneva talks.

On Wednesday, activists posted pictures of buses driving into the town of Madaya, which fell under siege to government and allied Lebanese Hezbollah forces last year. Images of starving residents and children in the town and other places have fuelled calls for ending sieges, warning that they threaten to kill critically ill or injured people. According to activists and a media report on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, about 500 residents were to be evacuated Wednesday. Madaya, northeast of Damascus, and Zabadani, near the border with Lebanon, have been besieged by government forces and allied militia for months. Fouaa and Kfarya villages in the northern province of Idlib have been blockaded by rebels for over a year.

their experience.”

The statements offered the most official comment yet following repeated news reports about the incident in recent days.

Somalia’s president, prime minister and parliamentary speaker issued a joint statement Monday concerning an unconfirmed report about the incident. Reports of the drownings circulated among families and on social media, but they hadn’t been confirmed by coast guard authorities in Italy, Greece, Libya or Egypt.

According to IOM’s Missing Migrants project, the death toll is the largest from a sinking on the central Mediterranean since another south of Lampedusa in April last year, in which 772 people died.

Its largest recorded toll was an October 2013 incident in the same area, when about 800 people died. Several other accidents since then took 400 to 500 lives, its statistics show.

This year, IOM has tallied nearly 800 migrant deaths on the central Mediterranean route and cites reports of

another 377 on the eastern route between Turkey and Greece. Five died on the western route between Morocco and Spain this year, the group said.

More than 1 million migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean last year — mostly refugees from war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria fleeing to Greece and the European Union, via Turkey.

However, the longer Libya-Italy route has traditionally seen more deaths.

Facing internal divisions, the EU has struggled to cope with the influx, and UNHCR on Wednesday reiterated its longstanding call for more “regular pathways” to Europe, such as with resettlement and humanitarian admission programs, family reunification, private sponsorship and student and work visas.

Rights groups have repeatedly slammed a new Turkey-EU deal to curtail the flood of refugees into Europe, raising questions about the safety of Syrian refugees on both sides of the Turkish border.

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GENEVA — As many as 500 people are feared dead after a shipwreck last week in the Mediterranean Sea, two international groups said Wednesday, describing survivors’ accounts of panicked passengers who desperately tried to stay afloat by jumping between vessels.

The disaster happened in waters between Italy and Libya, based on accounts from 41 survivors who were rescued Saturday by a merchant ship, according to the U.N refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration.

The tragedy ranks among the deadliest in recent years on the often-treacherous sea voyage along the central Mediterranean by refugees and migrants from Africa, the Middle East and beyond who have travelled in droves hoping to reach relatively peaceful and wealthy Europe.

While accounts provided by IOM and UNHCR varied slightly, both organizations said up to 200 people left the coastal town of Tobruk last week headed for a larger vessel already carrying hundreds of people in the Mediterranean.

IOM said the 200 people had left on several small boats, while UNHCR said 100 to 200 people left in a single 30-meter boat. The discrepancy in the accounts could not be immediately explained.

UNHCR said the larger boat was already facing “terribly overcrowded conditions” before the newcomers arrived.

“Once transferred to the larger vessel — now with an estimated 500 on board — it began taking on water,” IOM said, citing survivors’ accounts.

“The vessel started to sink and panicking passengers tried to jump into the smaller boats they had arrived in.”

“The survivors told IOM that most of those aboard the larger vessel tragically died,” the agency said in a statement.

It quoted an Ethiopian survivor it identified only as Mohamed as saying: “I saw my wife and my 2-month old child died at sea, together with my brother-in-law. … The boat was going down … down. … All the people died in a matter of minutes.”

The survivors “drifted at sea for a few days, without food, without anything,” Mohamed said, adding that he thought “I was going to die.” He said the travellers had intended to go to Italy, not Greece.

In its statement, IOM Athens Chief

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LIFE

THE ADVOCATE Thursday, April 21, 2016

Hell hath no fury like Arya Stark

SMILES THRU LINDSEY

Concert to benefit youth with mental illness

BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

This image released by HBO shows Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in a scene from, ‘Game of Thrones,’ premiering its sixth season on Sunday.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Arya Stark was no coddled child.

Born with a fiercely independent spirit, she spent her teens on “Game of Thrones” braving hardship, loneliness and combat. Physically small but handy with a sword, Arya’s creed seemed to be “You go, girl!”

Her latest challenge, imposed at the end of last season: She was struck blind as punishment for going rogue with a personal hit list. She still has bloody scores to settle. How will she cope now?

Among the legions of characters on Game of Thrones, Arya has remained one of its most popular throughout the first five seasons of this epic fantasy set in the make-believe continent of Westeros.

Now, as the sixth season nears (Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern time on HBO), “GOT” devotees are ravenous for any advance intel on the show and its stars — who include Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau,

Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Aiden Gillen and Sophie Turner as well as Maisie Williams, now 19, who, since she was 12, has invested Arya with her feisty charm.

So far, no beans have been spilled by any “GOT” insiders — though producers revealed months ago that this season, the plot will veer away from the George R.R. Martin books on which the show is based. And rest assured, if you bother to press Williams on how Arya is dealing with sightlessness, she will say, in the nicest way possible, don’t waste MY time or YOURS. Arya was the British-born Williams’ first acting job, landed after an open casting call — a splashy way to enter the profession.

“I didn’t know much about television or HBO,” she says. “The reason it was so exciting was not because I thought, ‘Oh, this could be a really big TV show.’ It was more like, ‘Oh, look! Maisie got cast in SOMETHING!”’ Of course, no one knew back then what a global phenomenon Game of

sic from the Joe Semple Swingtet and performances from vintage chorus girl troupes, featuring Miss Behavin’ and The Sugar Sweets.

The cost is $50 for the full day, or $20 only for the evening dance and performances. (Both Friday and Saturday night dances start with beginner dance lessons at 8:30 p.m.)

For more information, please call 1-403-835-1284, or check out the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook. com/letsswingreddeer.

Let’s Swing Red Deer to mark Jazz Appreciation month Swing dancers from across Alberta will be jitterbugging and Lindy-hopping in Red Deer on Friday and Saturday.

Jazzy performances, lessons and live-music dances are being planned

by Let’s Swing Red Deer to mark Jazz Appreciation month.

On Friday, the band Read Fenton and his Hep Cats will perform swing music at Dance Traxx Studio, 4716-60th St. in Red Deer. Tickets to the 9 p.m. dance are $10 at the door.

On Saturday, an Alberta Inspiration Weekend Workshop will be held with dance classes offered during the day.

It’s expected to attract dancers from across the province. That evening, a 9 p.m. dance will be held with live mu-

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Watoto Children’s Choir to perform in region The African orphans who make up the Watoto Children’s Choir will share their joyous, devotional music with Red Deer and Innisfail residents this weekend.

Their Oh What Love concert is at 6 p.m. Saturday in Innisfail at the Parkland Community Church, 4200 49th Ave., and on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Red Deer at the Family of Faith Church, 5833-53rd Ave. Both shows performed by the 18-member choir, ranging in age from 6 to 11, are expressions of gratitude for God’s love.

“After losing my parents I felt alone, with no one to love me,” said six-year-old choir member Jackie Nakku of Uganda. “Now I know that God is my father. He loves and cares for me.

MOTION PICTURE ARTS THIRD YEAR FILM SCREENING

THINGS HAPPENING TOMORROW

The Motion Picture Arts third year program will be screening their films on Friday and Saturday at the Welikoklan Event Centre at 7 p.m.

Films are not rated and their is a language and violence warning. It always makes for an unpredictable night as the students present a variety of class projects and completed films.

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Thrones would be. Williams says that hit home for her at the kickoff for season 3.

“We had our first proper premiere in L.A., and that was the first time I saw lots of fans in one place, and lots of paparazzi and cameras,” she says.

“I never believed that kind of thing actually happened, and there I was, standing in the middle of it all. That was the first time I thought, ‘Wow, my life is changing.”’

Since the beginning, she and Arya — each growing and learning — have followed somewhat parallel tracks in their development.

“I was just like Arya when I was little,” she recalls.

“I was no daughter of a lord like Arya, but I definitely preferred playing with my brothers more than with my sister. I used to watch my sister straightening and combing her hair and thought, ‘Oooh, that looks like so much effort!”’

Red Deer singers will be raising their voices on Saturday to help those who often suffer in silence — youths suffering from mental illness.

A free fundraising concert for the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation will be held from 1-4 p.m. at the Hub on Ross Street.

Folk, soft rock and pop music will be performed by Rob McIver, Ross Stafford, Don Swift, Mark Bretherton and Pianist Christy. The latter is a talented Grade 11 student who tickle the ivories of the Ross Street piano.

The local artists are raising money, through donations, for a charitable foundation set up in memory of Lindsey Kathleen More. The Red Deer native took her own life at the age of 22 last September.

More had been a competitive junior curler, who won a bronze medal for Alberta at the Juvenile Optimist Nationals competition. She’s remembered as always being willing to help those who struggled, or to lend her ear to anyone who needed to talk about a problem.

Yet she kept her own struggles with depression to herself.

Family members say More “lost her battle with an illness that we are all trying to comprehend.”

To keep her caring legacy alive, the charitable foundation was set up three months ago, under the Red Deer and District Community Foundation as a self-directed endowment fund. It is to be used to help youth suffering from mental illness.

More than $80,000 has already been raised through generous community donations.

Founders hope to raise more money from pay-what-you-can jewelry sales at The Hub during Saturday’s benefit concert. A re-purposed jewelry sale (from donated items) will include costume jewelry sold for a minimum donation of $1, and donated sterling silver and gem-stone items starting from $10.

Purses, scarves and other silent auction items and prizes will also be offered.

Jewelry sales benefitting the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation will continue even after Saturday’s concert.

See WILLIAMS on Page C2 Please see CONCERT on Page C2 As I travel (with) the choir, I am going to show people that God loves them too.”

Watoto founder Gary Skinner said the choir comes out of an “emerging modern Africa” that’s starting to explore its identity. “Through their unique personalities, the children now communicate and share the sense of belonging they found in God their father.”

Admission to the concerts is free, but donations will be accepted to support the Watoto Child Care Ministries, Watoto Children’s Villages, Baby Watoto (a program to give infants a better start in life), a Living Hope program to help marginalized women, and a sustainability program to start income-generating projects and raise future business leaders.

Punch Drunk Cabaret holding record-release party Favourite Central Alberta band, Punch Drunk Cabaret, is holding a record-release party Saturday night at Fratters Speakeasy in Red Deer.

The “steampunk swing” band had last been at Fratters on New Year’s Eve filming a prohibition-themed music video for the song Elixxxer. “Bandmeister” Randy Bailer had promised Red Deer a return engagement in the first half of 2016 — and this is it.

The trio of musicians live in three

IGLOOS FOR INSULIN AT PARKLAND MALL April is Jazz Appreciation Month and Let’s Swing Red Deer is celebrating with a weekend of live music and social dancing. They are also hosting their first live band, Read and His Happy Hepcats to their Friday Night Swing Dance at the dance Traxx Studio (4716 60th street). There will be lesson to start the night at 8:30 p.m. with dancing going from 9:15 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are $15.

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different Alberta centres: Wetaskiwin is home for gravel-throated singer/ guitarist Bailer, Spruce Grove for bassist Terry Grant, and Hanna for drummer Sean Watt. Together, they create “a potent cocktail of rockabilly, outlaw country and steampunk swing, delivered with the raw energy of AC/ DC.” This means they get dance floors hopping.

The new Electrik Steam Show album includes contributions from some Juno and Grammy award-wining producers and engineers. Bailer invites fans to come hear the latest of the band’s unique meld of new and old sounds.

There’s a $15 cover for the 9 p.m. show.

Magik Spells to perform at Bo’s Bar and Grill Vancouver’s indie-rock/dance band Magik Spells will perform with a couple of Alberta groups Friday night at Bo’s Bar and Grill in Red Deer.

The four-member B.C. band will share the stage with Red Deer’s Roses & Smoke — a folk/jazz/roots duo of local performers Kaylee Rose and Paeton Cameron — as well as Edmonton’s “erotic rock” quartet Whale & The Wolf.

There’s a $10 cover. Doors open at 7 p.m.

FORTUNATE ONES PLAY FRATTERS Juno nominated folk-pop duo Fortunate Ones will be making a stop at Fratters Speakeasy in Red Deer on Friday. The show starts at 9 p.m. with a $10 cover.

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

ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, April 21, 2016

C2

British comedian blazed trail for other female comics

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo by HELEN SLOAN/HBO

Clockwise from top left: Liam Cunningham, Michael McElhatton, Iwan Rheon, Diana Rigg and Eugene Simon in ‘Game of Thrones.’

Valar morgulis ALL CHARACTERS MUST DIE ON ‘GAME OF THRONES’ — HERE ARE OUR PREDICTIONS FOR SEASON 6

BY STEPHANIE MERRY ADVOCATE NEWS SERVICES The moment Ned Stark was publicly executed during season one of “Game of Thrones,” the HBO show became an anomaly. Wait, viewers thought, wasn’t he the main character? Despite the sprawling ensemble cast, it definitely seemed that way. He was certainly the most noble. Then, just like that, he was gone.

The seasons since haven’t been much kinder. Every time a likable character emerges, viewers start biting their nails. It’s only a matter of time before a lethal shadow baby comes along or a crew of supposed allies starts pulling out knives.

Of course, it’s not just the good guys dying. There was Joffrey’s purple-faced poisoning and Myranda’s spill off a Winterfell rampart. Game of Thrones doesn’t discriminate when it comes to death. The only thing certain is no one is safe.

So who’s going to get it this season? That’s anyone’s guess. (And now that the TV show has caught up to the source material in George R.R. Martin’s books, it really is a guess.) But we have some ideas, in order of most likely to least. ● Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) The clock is ticking for the honorable, lovelorn Jorah. After all, he was infected with greyscale last season when he and Tyrion came under a zombie-like attack while sailing past Old Valyria. For now, he’s keeping his condition under wraps, so hopefully he’ll be able to save his beloved Daenerys from the Dothraki before he becomes a full-blown stone man. ● Ramsay Bolton. Probably Roose, too. (Michael McElhatton and Iwan Rheon) The good news is that the show’s most sadistic characters don’t last too long. The aforementioned Joffrey and Myranda, plus the incestuous rapist Craster, Janos Slynt, Meryn Trant and all kinds of other beasts have met a totally timely end. In other words, it’s high time for someone to take out the Boltons.

The bad news is that new, awful characters always sprout up in their place. Whatever — it will still be fulfilling to see this father-son duo kick the bucket, especially Ramsay, whose favorite pastimes include rape, torture and flaying people alive. ● Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) Every season, Game of Thrones

breaks hearts by killing off a supremely lovable and curiously upstanding character. Arya’s sword-fighting instructor, Syrio, had the honor in season one and last year, Barristan Selmy had to go.

This year, we’re betting on Davos, much to our own dismay. There are other possibilities — Brienne of Tarth or Samwell Tarly — but Davos has reached a level of charming that’s always a death sentence on the show.

Plus, you can see from the season six trailer that he’s put himself in a rather precarious position, taking on a bunch of Night’s Watch men at Castle Black.

We can only hope that he manages to kill Alliser Thorne before taking his last breath. ● Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) See above. ● Lancel Lannister (Eugene Simon) This is another potential death hinted at in the trailer for season six. The tattooed Faith Militant loon appears to be readying himself to take on the undead version of Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane. Oberyn Martell proved that no one should do battle with the Mountain when he was alive, and Maester Qyburn’s restoration probably hasn’t made the monster any less dangerous. ● Rickon Stark (Art Parkinson) According to the rules of Game of Thrones, a Stark has to die nearly every season (or, in the case of season two, a fake Stark). Since he hasn’t done much, well, ever, Rickon would be the most likely contender this time around. ● Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) The show also has a tendency to send wise, old truth-tellers to their graves: Maester Aemon Targaryen, Jeor Mormont, good-hearted Maester Lewin. Well, we’re running out of wizened sages, which means it’s either going to be Olenna Tyrell, or the Threeeyed Raven (played this season by Max von Sydow) will die just after teaching Bran everything he needs to know. ● Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) Another Game of Thrones rule: Either a character sitting on the Iron Throne or someone vying for it will die. Since it’s hard to imagine Daenerys leaving us just yet, we’re betting on Tommen. Sure, it seems like a long shot, but just imagine the drama: Who would even be next in line to take his place? There’s only one way to find out.

LONDON — Victoria Wood, a British comedian who found humour in everyday life and blazed a trail for other female comics, has died. She was 62.

Wood died Wednesday at her London home “after a short but brave battle with cancer,” said her publicist, Neil Reading.

Born in Greater Manchester in 1953, VICTORIA WOOD Wood got her first break in 1974 winning the TV talent contest New Faces. As a woman from northwest England she was an outsider in the world of British comedy, but became a well-known standup, and got her own TV show in the 1980s with Victoria Wood as Seen on TV. One recurring element was “Acorn Antiques,” a spoof soap opera complete with wobbly sets and even wobblier acting that many consider a comic classic.

A versatile talent, Wood performed solo and in ensembles, played comic songs on the piano and wrote scripts

STORIES FROM PAGE C1

WILLIAMS: Chatty, candid More fashion-forward than her sackcloth-clad alter ego, Williams during a recent interview is her own version of the woman-child Arya is becoming.

She is five-foot-one, chatty and candid (except for “GOT” spoilers), and, though richly punctuating what she says with giggles, she speaks thoughtfully about her future beyond Game of Thrones, whenever that may be.

“Just because I’ve had a very good opportunity and my foot is in the door doesn’t mean my career is going to last forever,” she says. “I have to fight for it. I have to prove that I can stay in this industry.”

But the role of Arya, and the opportunity it has given Williams to grow with it, may very well help carry her across that gulch that leaves so many child actors behind, helping her transition into future adult roles.

“We are both very different girls now than the ones we were when we first met each other,” Williams notes.

In the meantime, her current offscreen role includes keeping all those “GOT” secrets.

For instance: Even after seeing Jon Snow’s apparent death on last season’s finale, “GOT” fans have been dying to know whether Jon (Arya’s beloved older brother, portrayed by Kit Harington) is really finished — or if that scene might have been a bit of narrative sleight-of-hand.

“When we do press, everyone asks about it,” Williams says, “but we don’t answer. It’s like, ‘Oooohh, do you think I’m gonna slip up and tell?’

“People feel like they want to know what’s going to happen, but they don’t really want to know. They wouldn’t want it spoiled for them,” she insists.

UNDER THE BIG TOP

for the stage and television.

Her sharply observed comedy found humour in everyday British life — especially northern English life, with its strong strain of downbeat humour.

Several commentators compared her to playwright Alan Bennett, another chronicler of class, self-consciousness and social awkwardness.

Mark Gatiss, co-creator of TV series Sherlock and member of comedy troupe the League of Gentlemen, tweeted that Wood “had a kindly yet savage eye for the ordinariness and the grotesquerie of life.”

Wood wrote sketch shows and oneoff dramas for TV while continuing to perform live, often to sold-out crowds.

She created and starred in the late1990s sitcom Dinnerladies, set in a factory canteen. It featured an exceptional, mostly female, cast including Julie Walters, Celia Imrie and Maxine Peake.

“She made it OK to be a woman and be funny in the U.K.,” said former BBC chairman Michael Grade. “She blazed the trail.”

Many female entertainers hailed Wood as an inspiration.

Writer Caitlin Moran tweeted: “Seeing Victoria Wood on TV — working class, bookish, silly, clever, doing stand-up, singing, acting — made me think ‘Girls can do this.”’

Absolutely Fabulous creator Jennifer Saunders said “she was truly an inspiration and had so much left to give and we won’t see it.”

“So it doesn’t feel like I’m keeping a deep, dark secret. It feels like, ‘Just wait! It’s going to be so much better with you sitting down and watching it, than with me ruining it for you by explaining it now.”’

That leads her into a childhood recollection that unfolds like a wait-for-it parable for restless fans.

“My mom told me about this hole in the floorboard of her house when she was a girl,” says Williams, “and she was able to watch what her parents wrapped for Christmas. Every year she would sit and watch. And then, every year, she was like, ‘This isn’t fun!’ And so she covered the hole and stopped looking. She realized, ‘I would rather have the surprise.’

“Game of Thrones, says Williams, “is exactly the same thing.”

CONCERT: Come out and help The jewelry will be sold weekly on Fridays during the noon-3 p.m. Little Local Markets at The Hub. Volunteers wanting to donate jewelry, or to help clean, sort, and re-purpose it, can come to The Hub from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, said the Hub’s community development co-ordinator Twyla Joy Lapointe.

She noted every bead will be saved for later reuse.

Lapointe is happy to support a worthwhile cause in memory of a young person who made a difference to her community. The loss borne by More’s family “is very much at the forefront of our minds and our hearts,” she said.

Since some medical experts estimate one out of four people have some form of mental illness, she added, “there are a lot of marginalized folks out there. I really hope people will come out and help with this.” lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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“I was reading some stuff and it sounded like I had died,” he said. “It’s NEW YORK — Kelly Ripa was absent from her daytime talk show not a eulogy, people.”

The former football Wednesday, the day after it was announced that costar’s exit has also revived host Michael Strahan was rumours that ABC is conleaving to join Good Mornsidering expanding the twoing America full-time. hour Good Morning America, The show’s spokeswoman, Barbara Warren, said which is first in the ratings that Ripa had a day off. Ribut is losing viewers. The pa worked the day before. competing Today show on Ripa’s representative, NBC airs for four hours.

Lauren Auslander, did not immediately return mesLater in Wednesday’s sages about Ripa’s whereshow, Strahan made a point abouts or state of mind. of thanking Ripa, who welActress Ana Gasteyer re- MICHAEL STRAHAN comed him to the show in placed her for the day.

Strahan, who mentioned 2012 and taught him much his upcoming departure to about TV. the studio audience at Live with Kelly “Kelly, I thank you, I love you and and Michael, noted that he’d be a neighbour — Good Morning America airs di- everyone else here at Live,” Strahan rectly before Live in most parts of the said.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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TECHNOLOGY THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

Going where no craft has gone before STEPHEN HAWKING JOINS FUTURISTIC BID TO EXPLORE OUTER SPACE

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — With famed physicist Stephen Hawking at his side, an Internet investor announced Tuesday that he’s spending $100 million on a futuristic plan to explore far outside our solar system.

Yuri Milner said the eventual goal is sending hundreds or thousands of tiny spacecraft, each weighing far less than an ounce, to the Alpha Centauri star system. That’s more than 2,000 times as far as any spacecraft has gone so far.

Propelled by energy from a powerful array of Earth-based lasers, the spacecraft would fly at about one-fifth the speed of light. They could reach Alpha Centauri in 20 years, where they could make observations and send the results back to Earth.

They might discover a planet or planets there — experts think there may be some, but there’s no proven sighting yet — and possibly even find signs of life there or elsewhere, said Milner and a panel of experts at the announcement. The three stars that make up Alpha Centauri are the closest stars to our star — the sun.

“We commit to the next great leap into the cosmos,” Hawking said, “because we are human and our nature is to fly.”

Hawking has joined Milner and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on the board of the project, called Breakthrough Starshot, which includes a team of scientists. Milner said his $100 million will go to establish the feasibility of the project, and that a launch itself would require far more money.

Hawking is also part of a project Milner announced last summer to use earthbound telescopes to seek intelligent life in outer space.

For the Starshot project, the tiny spacecraft would be boosted into space by a conventional rocket, and then set free individually. They would capture the energy from the earthbound laser array with sails a few yards wide.

Milner said recent advances in electronic miniaturization, laser technology and fabrication of extremely thin and light materials have made such a mission realistic to consider.

“We can do more than gaze at the stars,” Milner said. “We can actually reach them.”

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Internet investor and science philanthropist Yuri Milner, and a panel of scientists including renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking, second from left, Princeton physicist Freeman Dyson, science author Ann Druyan, center, Harvard physicist Avi Loeb, third from right, NASA astronaut Dr. Mae C. Jemison, second from right, and former NASA director Pete Worden, far right, announce the new Breakthrough Initiative focusing on space exploration and the search for life in the universe, during a press conference, April 12, at One World Observatory in New York. The $100 million project is aimed at establishing the feasibility of sending a swarm of tiny spacecraft, each weighing far less than an ounce, to the Alpha Centauri star system.

Avi Loeb, chair of Harvard’s astronomy department and member of the Starshot project’s management and advisory committee, told reporters that scientists have scrutinized the technical obstacles and “we don’t see any showstoppers…. We think we can overcome all these challenges.”

Hawking, of Cambridge University, said the plan fits in with what he said makes humans unique, which is transcending limits.

“With light beams, light sails and the lightest spacecraft ever built, we can launch a mission to

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NEW YORK — Visa says its improving its smart chip-embedded cards, which have been the source of grumbling from businesses and customers forced to wait for transactions to go through.

The company said Tuesday that Quick Chip for EMV will let customers dip and remove cards, usually in two seconds or less, without waiting for purchases to be finalized.

Though the wait can be just seconds, in today’s economy of swipes and scans, the cards have been a nuisance for high traffic retailers, for example, a coffee shop during the morning rush.

The cards are more secure than those with magnetic strips because the chip assigns a unique code to each transaction. That means that if a crook acquired that code, it couldn’t be used to make another purchase. Chip cards are much harder, if not impossible, to duplicate. That makes them more secure than magnetic cards, which are easily copied.

Roughly half of all global credit card fraud occurs in the U.S. even though the country makes up only about a quarter of all credit card transactions, according to a report by Barclays last year.

Visa Inc. said that more than 265 million of its credit and debit chip cards have been issued to date.

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After a little more than a decade of gaming excellence, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 got its official death notice Wednesday.

Microsoft announced in a company blog post that it will stop manufacturing the Xbox 360. The gaming console will no longer be available after stores around the world sell out their current stock -- and availability in any one region will depend on how much stock a particular area has left.

The Xbox 360 was first introduced in 2005. While for multiplayer gaming and parties, as well as any the 360 had a somewhat rocky debut due to early apps they’ve purchased. Support servers will also technical problems that presented many gamers remain online, and the company’s support team will with the dreaded “red ring of death” errors, Micro- continue to service Xbox 360 consoles. soft has sold at least 84 million units of the console As for games, players will still be able to access as of June 2014. (After that, perhaps because of the their purchased Xbox 360 games. New games will onXbox One’s 2013 debut, it stopped reporting Xbox ly be sold as supplies last in stores. The same is true 360 sales.) for accessories -- so if you need a new controller for Its rival, the PlayStation 3, has an official sales your 360, now might be the time buy it. count of 83.8 million units, though the game industry Finally, many 360 games can also live on with the sales website VGChartz puts the PS3 slightly ahead Xbox One, as Microsoft expands the newest console’s of the Xbox 360 in lifetime sales. backwards compatibility with older titles. So while With this announcement, Microsoft seems to be the box itself may be going away, its legacy will live shifting its focus more fully onto the Xbox One, on -- and continue to generate money for Microsoft in which, as Yahoo Tech reported, could be getting an the process. update as early as this year.

Still, for gamers it is the end of an era.

Nearly all tech gadgets are replaced after a time, of course, and Microsoft was very clear about why it was time for the Xbox 360 to fade away.

“Xbox 360 means a lot to everyone in Microsoft.

And while we’ve had an amazing run, the realities Row By Row 2016 ʹͳǨ of manufacturing a product over a decade old are Facebook Ǩ starting to creep up on us,” wrote Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, in a post.

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MEAT DRAWS

Alpha Centauri within a generation,” Hawking said.

The project was announced on the 55th anniversary of the flight of Russian Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. Milner was named after him.

Lisa Kaltenegger, an astronomy professor at Cornell University, who is not involved in the project, said in an email, “I think it is inspiring on this date to plan our next journey to the stars.”

Online: Project website: http://breakthroughinitiatives.org/Initiative/3

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OUTDOORS THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

Too early for morel season BOB SCAMMELL OUTDOORS The trouble with the end of a soft winter or the early start of a hard spring is that outdoors people get into their outdoors pursuits before the objects of those pursuits are quite ready.

Readers have already been out and about after morel mushrooms and, because they have been skunked, are asking me how to find, and see them.

It is just too early, too dry and too cold at night for morels. No matter how high the daytime temperatures, it has been freezing every night. To inspire their emergence, morels need night time air temperatures from five to ten degrees C. and a soil temperature of around 12 degrees C. In my early spring fishing I always kept an eye out for morels, and stuck my water thermometer (a Taylor air conditioning thermometer) into the ground as often as into the water.

Some readers ask the kind of questions you never ask a pot – hunting mycologist and expect an answer: like precise directions to favorite morel patches. I know families of morel hunters where the top hot spots of each member are his or her deep secret to keep.

There is good reason for the secrecy; because top mushroom foragers know that, just as in commercial real estate, the secret to success is “location, location, location.” In other words, particularly with morels, you are not hunting individual specimens so much as places where many specimens reliably pop up when conditions are right, year after year.

This hard truth was emphasized to me two years ago when my favorite and most reliable public land morel patch was dozed down to mineral soil by fracking well drillers. This patch, no more than four by four meters of sapling aspens, gave me hundreds of the black morels (Morchella elata) over 25 years.

The 50 acre clearing for the well and its hotel complex for workers also destroyed an ecosystem of mature, mossy - butted aspens, with frequent moss - covered dead - fallen decaying aspen trunks that was also prime for morel foraging. In Alberta you have to keep aspens in mind, very young, and very old, when you are scouting for morel locations.

A recent warm spring rain and/or the blossoming of the wild clematis should have you on high alert in morel country. It all came together for me and my old friend Jim McLennan forty years ago when we were fishing a sparse salmon fly hatch on a central Alberta trout stream during a steady, warm, spring rain.

We forded to a big patch of sapling aspens festooned with wild clematis

Photos by BOB SCAMMELL/freelance

ABOVE: A true, edible and delicious morel on the left; the poisonous false morel, right.

RIGHT: The tan morel, Morchella esculenta. and suddenly saw one … two … morels everywhere, black elatas and blonde Morchella esculenta both. We had to hike back to the Stump Ranch cabin, unload, and head back to that prime location with more bags. That morel mother lode lasted until the land owner decided to add cattle to the mix – always death to morels, in my experience.

Investigate disturbed ground for morel locations, especially recent forest fire sites. My only great bonanza in that category was the Lost Creek fire south of Blairmore in. 2003. A year later you didn’t even have to go on your own: demented fire fungi foragers were giving away five gallon buckets of morels in the Pincher Creek post office lobby.

There are other less abundant, but excellent disturbed ground morel locations. For a couple of seasons the outside furrow in my recently plowed – up hayfield produced multi morels, as did the sharp edge of the first road through the forest and into the Stump Ranch.

Longer lasting, almost perennial morel locations are the occasional old side channels of rivers and streams where the soil is disturbed during floods and somehow always seems to

be damp enough for the specifications of the morels.

This season, were I able, I’d be taking a hard look at the borrow pits beside county side roads that were cleared, mulched and chipped a year ago. The combination of the disturbance and the decaying wood mulch could produce morels.

Come to think of it, I may go anyway, just so long as I have a retriever. I still have a good morel eye, even road hunting from a moving vehicle; the problem is directing the retriever to what I think Isaw.

Seeing morels is hard, particularly at first, early in the season. When you

finally see one in your chosen location, there should be more, so sit down and “study to be quiet” and scope the nearby ground; sometimes you swear they just pop out of the ground before your previously unseeing eyes.

When the foraging is finished, carefully examine your harvest to make sure you haven’t picked any poisonous false morels, (Gyromitra esculenta) that appear about the same time and in some of the same locations as the real morels.

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

Flowers can serve more than one purpose People think flowers as bright colorful objects that are revered for their beauty. This may be true for some flowers but not all flowers are decorative. Flowers with their various parts are designed for a purpose. The petals, if there are any, are colorful to attract insects. The pistil is the female organ where seeds are developed. There is usually only one pistil per plant. The stamen, the male part of the plant, consist of a filament, long stem and an anther or ball on top. The anther produces pollen that must reach the top of the pistil for seeds to develop. When seeds start to develop pollination has occurred.

Flowers are either complete, they have both stamen and pistils or incomplete they either contain stamen or a pistil but not both.

Some complete flowers, such as tomatoes will self-pollinate when jiggled but others need a different completely different plant to provide the pollen.

An example of this is having to have two apple or grape trees in the area for the plant to develop a heavy crop of fruit.

Cross pollination supplies different genetic material making each generation of plants stronger as opposed to plants that self-pollinate where genetic imperfections become can become more prevalent.

LINDA TOMLINSON GARDENING Plant pollination is as simple as taking the pollen that is on the stamen and placing it on the pistil of the flower. In nature pollination occurs by wind or insects.

Examples of wind pollination are grains and spruce trees. Plants need to be placed close enough together to allow the wind to move the pollen from one flower to another. This is why corn should be planted in blocks of at least six rows as opposed to one long row.

It is also important to keep different varieties of plants that have the ability to cross-pollenate but produce undesirable traits apart. It would not be a pleasant surprise to find that the garden corn cob contained Peaches and Cream as well as animal grade kernels.

Mention pollination and people think of the European Honey Bee. They have been a strong pollinator that produce a popular by product, honey, but they are not the only pollinators. As their name implies, they are not native to the area.

Ontario green houses have been us-

ing Bumble Bees for pollination with great success. They have smaller nests, no by-product but so far the insects have not shown a sign of developing diseases. Regulations make it impossible to bring in bumble bees from other areas protecting the native species from the threat of imported diseases.

Other smaller bees can also be seen pollinating flowers. They include but are not are not limited to: orchard bees and leaf cutting bees.

Moths and butterflies are more pollinating insects. They are naturally attracted to large plantings of flowers as they prefer to walk between blossoms as opposed to flying.

Other less liked, but equally as good pollinators include wasps, flies, and beetles. It is time to think twice about having an insect free garden.

Hummingbirds will also pollinate plants as they drink the nectar In Alberta were the gardening season is short, there are times when it is best to pollinate flowers as opposed to wait for the insects to complete the

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A slight nudge or shake will cause tomatoes to self-pollinate. These plants rarely set seed if the temperatures drop much below 55˚F. Best results are achieved by shaking the plants between 10 am and 2 pm.

Melons and squash flowers are incomplete. First flowers to appear are male flowers standing high above the foliage. They usually stand high above the foliage. Female flowers, are close to the stem with a miniature fruit behind the flower and usually appear a week to ten days after the first male flower.

Taking time to transfer pollen from the male to the female flowers will speed up fruit production.

Pollination need not be left to chance. Look at the different flowers and assist in pollination where possible to get a larger crop.

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

She can be reached at your_garden@hotmail.com

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SCIENCE THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

Migratory changes bring rays to Canada’s Pacific DAVID SUZUKI SCIENCE MATTERS

Gary Krause was mystified by an unusual fish he caught in his trawl net off B.C.’s Pacific north coast in October. It was a Pacific electric ray, named for a pair of organs behind its head that can knock a human adult down with a powerful shock.

Trawl fishery records show 88 of these rays in B.C. waters since 1996. Although an electric ray was first recorded off Vancouver Island’s west coast in 1928, nearly a quarter of the more recent sightings came from 2015 alone.

Fishermen like Krause, who worked an astounding 4,000 days at sea over the past 35 years, are often the first to observe the beginnings of fundamental ecosystem shifts. In 2008, he also identified the first ever brown booby, a tropical seabird, in Canada’s Pacific waters.

Why are creatures like electric rays, which prefer warmer southern California or Baja waters, turning up with greater frequency further north?

Unlike land temperatures, which constantly fluctuate, ocean temperatures are usually stable, with virtually no daily changes, little seasonal differentiation and only minor shifts over decades. Most marine animals prefer a narrow temperature range and move only in response to changes.

Short-term oceanographic events, such as El Niño and the Pacific “blob” — an enormous area of unusually warm water in the North Pacific — demonstrate

that while oceans may be relatively stable, they aren’t immune to temperature shifts. These phenomena explain the appearance of unexpected species off B.C.’s coast over the past winter, including a Guadalupe fur seal, green sea turtle and Risso’s dolphins.

Higher water temperatures are also changing the relative concentrations of microscopic, occasionally toxic algae.

While these marine oddities don’t necessarily indicate a full-scale ecosystem shift, they may be signs of what to expect as the planet warms. Shorter-term phenomena correspond with longer-term oceanographic changes around the world. These changes promise to fundamentally alter the cast of characters in marine ecosystems before we’ve had the opportunity to adequately study them.

Climate change is pushing more species of fish closer — and faster — to the cooler North and South poles than similar climate-provoked wildlife movements on land. Fish are moving an average of 277 kilometres every decade and phytoplankton are speeding along at 470 kilometres. Land-based wildlife are inching along at an average of six kilometers a decade.

These shifts are bringing together species that have never had contact before, introducing new predators that could result in regional extinctions.

In addition to moving, phytoplankton, which produce half the world’s oxygen and support most ocean life, have been declining dramatically over the past century, an average of one per cent a year.

Sea levels are also rising quickly because of climate change.

Over the past two decades, global levels have risen more than twice as fast as in the 20th century. As water warms up, it expands. Thermal expansion in warmer ocean waters has been the greatest contribu-

tor to global sea level rise over the past century — although rapid melting of glaciers, polar ice caps, and Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets is also a factor.

Higher ocean temperatures also stress coral reefs, which then release algae, causing the corals to bleach and often die. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef just experienced its worst bleaching ever, with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority reporting that half the coral in the northern parts of the reef were dead, according to a Guardian article.

Along with environmental impacts, warming oceans will create economic insecurities for industries such as fisheries.

One study predicted a nearly 50 per cent decline in B.C. First Nations’ catches for culturally and commercially important fish by 2050.

We can help marine life by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to keep global average temperature increases below the 1.5 C goal set out in the December Paris Agreement.

Well-monitored fisheries, like those in British Columbia, will become essential data-collection points for understanding shifting marine environments. Although it’s difficult to reverse temperature and other oceanographic changes that climate change has already set in motion, we may be able to lessen the impact through habitat protection, strong fisheries management and robust scientific monitoring.

The Pacific electric ray is just one of many marine canaries warning us of changing ecosystems. We’d be wise to listen to these signals.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation senior research scientist Scott Wallace.

Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org.

Dinosaurs were declining long before asteroid hit

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Sri Lankan man takes a bath from a roadside tap to cool himself off from the rising temperature in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Earth’s record heat streak has hit a record 11 months. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday, that March’s average global temperature of 54.9 degrees was not only the hottest March, but continues a record streak that started last May.

Earth’s hot streak continues for a record 11 months

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Earth’s record monthly heat streak has hit 11 months in a row — a record in itself.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday that March’s average global temperature of 54.9 degrees (12.7 degrees) was not only the hottest March, but continues a record streak that started last May. According to NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden, the 11 heat records in a row smashes a streak of 10 set in 1944. Climate scientists say this is a result of El Nino, along with relentless, man-made global warming.

Blunden and Michael Mann at the University of Pennsylvania worry that people will be desensitized to the drumbeat of broken records and will not realize the real effect they have on weather — for example, massive changes in what is supposed to be winter in the Arctic. Greenland had a record early start for its ice sheet melting. The Arctic had its smallest winter maximum for sea ice and it was the second smallest March snow cover for the Northern Hemisphere.

“It’s becoming monotonous in a way,” said Jason Furtado, a meteorology professor at the University of Oklahoma. “It’s absolutely disturbing … We’re losing critical elements of our climate system.”

March was 2.2 degrees (1.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th-century average. That’s a record amount above average for any month, breaking the mark set only the month before. Africa and the Indian Ocean were especially warm, Blunden said.

The first three months of the year were 2.07 de-

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

grees warmer than normal (1.15 degrees Celsius) and half a degree (0.28 degrees Celsius) warmer than the previous record start, set last year.

Beyond NOAA, NASA, the Japanese weather agency and satellite tracking measurements have reported that March was a record hot month. Blunden said there’s a good chance April will mark a solid year of records. Eventually, she said, the record setting streak will come to an end as the El Nino dissipates.

El Nino, a warming of parts of the Pacific which changes weather worldwide, tends to push global temperatures up. La Nina, its cooling flip side, is forecast for later this year.

For NOAA, this is the 37th time monthly heat records have been broken since the year 2000, but it has been more than 99 years since the last time a global cold record has been set.

NOAA records go back to 1880.

NEW YORK — Dinosaurs were in decline long before an asteroid strike polished them off about 66 million years ago, a study says.

It’s the latest contribution to a long-running debate: Did the asteroid reverse the fortune of a thriving group of animals? Or were dinosaurs already struggling, and the disruptive effects of the asteroid pushed them over the edge to extinction? Or were the dinosaurs headed for oblivion anyway?

While some have argued that dinosaurs began petering out some 5 million or 10 million years before their final doom, the new paper suggests it started happening much earlier, maybe 50 million years before the asteroid catastrophe.

In terms of species, “they were going extinct faster than they could replace themselves,” said paleontologist Manabu Sakamoto of the University of Reading in England.

He led a team of British scientists who analyzed three large dinosaur family trees, looking for evidence of when extinctions began to outnumber the appearances of new species.

They found that starting to happen about 50 million years before the asteroid for most groups of dinosaurs. Two other groups showed increases rather than declines if their results are included, the overall time for the start of dinosaur decline shrinks to 24 million years before the final demise.

Declining groups include two-legged carnivores like T. rex and the immense, long-necked, fourlegged plant eaters known as sauropods. In contrast, another familiar dinosaur, triceratops, belonged to a group that was on the rise.

The results appear in a paper released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Sakamoto said it’s not clear what caused the long-term declines.

The results support the idea that the asteroid strike pushed a struggling group into extinction, rather than the idea that dinosaurs were doomed anyway, he said.

He also noted that one group in decline still lives on in its descendants, today’s birds.

The killer asteroid is thought to have struck the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, creating widespread wildfires and lingering smoke that blocked sunlight, and changing climate.

Mark Norell, chair of the paleontology division at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, called Sakamoto’s analysis “the best you can do” given the lack of available fossils from that time.

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THE ADVOCATE C6

ADVICE THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

Stubborn mother needs a doctor Dear Annie: Eight years ago, I moved in with my parents to help care for them. My dad passed away shortly after. My mother has some minor health issues but can get around. Annie, as the years have passed, it has become a miserable existence. There are no visitors to our house. I’m sure the reason is Mom’s chronic complaints.

According to her, there is nothing good in her life.

My only sibling lives several hours away. Other than regular phone calls and an occasional visit, there is no help. For the past few weeks, my mother has had a major health problem and she refuses to go to the doctor. I told her this has gone on long enough, and she needs to see the physician. I thought some “tough love” would convince her. Instead, she yelled at me and cursed me several times. That was terribly hurtful.

Although I think Mom is showing

KATHY MITCHELL AND MARCY SUGAR ANNIE’S MAILBOX

some small signs of mild dementia, she has it pretty much together. Even so, I cannot fix her health issues if she refuses to see her doctor. I am stressed beyond belief and at the end of my rope. I have tried counseling, and although it helped with the frustration, it doesn’t solve the ongoing problem. Can you offer me some advice? — Stressed Daughter Dear Daughter: The “mild dementia” may be the reason Mom is so stubborn and belligerent toward you. Is your mother eligible to see a visiting nurse? Check out vnaa.org to find out how to get a trained professional to

come to your home and examine your mother. If the nurse says that Mom needs to see a physician, she may be more likely to listen, and it’s possible that the nurse can contact Mom’s doctor directly. Then, please check out the Family Caregiver Alliance (caregiver. org). The site offers support and information for caregivers, and can help you find respite care for yourself.

Dear Annie: Your advice to “A Daily Reader,” who didn’t like his smile, was wrong. The importance of a smile, especially a toothy one, is an American obsession. In Europe and elsewhere, the product of this emphasis is seen as insincere.

For many of us, our natural smile does not include showing teeth. Ever notice the huge smilers who show too much teeth and gums? It always looks a little odd to me. But if that is their natural smile, wouldn’t you expect that there are others on the opposite end of

the spectrum?

No one’s smile needs to be “fixed.”

— Aucun Afficher de Dents (No Teeth on Display) Dear Aucun: We don’t care whether people smile or not. We care whether they are so embarrassed by their teeth that they avoid social contact. If that is the case, there are steps to take to remedy the situation so the person feels more comfortable. Being able to smile naturally can make a big difference in your life. We aren’t changing our advice, but “merci beaucoup” for writing.

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.

YOUNG BULL MOOSE

Indian capital starts restricting cars to clear air NEW DELHI — The New Delhi government on Friday began a second round of a two-week car restriction to reduce air pollution that has made the Indian capital the world’s most polluted city. The city’s top elected official Arvind Kejriwal said private cars will be allowed on the streets on alternate days from Friday until April 30 based on even or odd license plate numbers.

Friday was a holiday in India and traffic was a trickle compared to the usual gridlock that swamps the roads in the capital every day. Schools, colleges and government offices were shut.

Residents said the impact of the traffic limitations would be evident only on Monday when people return to work.

Similar restrictions in January had led to a significant reduction in pollution levels after more than one-third of the city’s 3 million private cars went off the roads. Many vehicles, especially trucks, run on highly polluting diesel.

The air quality worsens during the winter months, when the combination of ash from crop waste burned in nearby farming areas, construction dust and the still wintry air all contribute to make it difficult to breathe.

Photo by RICK TALLAS/freelance

Just starting to develop his antlers, this young bull moose was having a drink near Mckenzie Trail.

HELP YOU GET READY F S U OR LET

JOANNE MADELINE MOORE HOROSCOPES

Joanne Madeline Moore is an internationally syndicated astrologer and columnist. Her column appears daily in the Advocate.

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Thursday, April 21 CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DATE: Queen Elizabeth II, 90; Iggy Pop, 69; Andie McDowell, 58 THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Full Moon is the time to congratulate yourself on projects you’ve completed over the last month.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: The next 12 months promises an exciting time, as many long-term ideas and projects finally come to fruition. Expect dramatic developments in your love life as well.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Extravagant Rams — have you been over-spending? The Full Moon brings money matters to a head, as you realize you have to be much more disciplined and stretch your dollar a lot further.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Communication may be strained today, as a loved one reacts to your overly possessive side. Single Bulls — if you are too full-on too fast, then you’ll just scare potential suitors away.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t let work responsibilities or home duties overwhelm you today Twins. The Full Moon — in intense Scorpio — is just amplifying current problems, so try to keep a sense of perspective.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You won’t feel like indulging in much Full Moon frivolity, as the stars increase tension in close relationships. Communicating with a child, teenager or friend could be especially problematic.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Watch out for domestic dramas, as the Full Moon shines an unforgiving spotlight on family fiascoes. When it comes to your job, Mercury encourages you to work smarter rather than harder.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be extra sensitive to the needs of loved ones today Virgo, as the Full Moon shortens tempers and increases sulky moods. And be extra careful — and diplomatic — when posting comments on social media.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): With the Full Moon in your money zone, you’re keen to spend but make sure your finances are solid before you commit to a major purchase. Otherwise there’ll be problems further down the track.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The Full Moon’s in Scorpio, so your intense and stubborn side is magnified. You’re focused on solo projects, but give-and-take is required if you want to reach a successful outcome.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Strive to get the balance right between pressing work commitments and daily chores, and spending some soothing solo time on your own.

Relaxation and rejuvenation are a must at the moment.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You function best when others behave in predictable, sensible ways. Which is hardly ever — and certainly not on a Full Moon! If you can’t beat them, then let your hair down and join them.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): With the Full Moon highlighting your career zone, you’re pumped up for professional success. With hard work and a creative approach, you can transform your future direction in positive ways.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Are you longing for a heavenly holiday? It may look unlikely at the moment but, if you save your pennies and are persistent, then it will happen later in the year. So aim to be a patient Pisces.

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Politics killed CPR merger: CEO

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS Canadian Pacific Railway’s proposed merger with Norfolk Southern was killed by political influence and a system that stacked the deck against a Canadian company, chief executive Hunter Harrison said Wednesday.

“Is it more difficult for us? Yes, as a Canadian company,” he said in an interview ahead of the railway’s annual meeting in Toronto.

“Can we overcome it? Yes. It’s just a little harder.”

Last week, CP gave up its merger attempt after the U.S. Justice and Defense departments raised concerns about the proposed takeover.

“When we get to the point where the U.S. Army is weighing in on the merger, then it’s like the deck is stacked against us,” said Harrison.

He said he knew CP’s unsolicited takeover proposal to create North America’s largest rail network was in trouble when many congressmen wrote letters to the railway regulator expressing concerns about the merger. Still, he said the railway sector needs consolidation that can address bottlenecks at a major transit point in Chicago.

“Every dog has its day and we’ll have our opportunity,” he said.

Harrison made the comments as the Calgary-based railway said it remains on track to double earnings by 2018 or 2019 after chugging past a weak economy in the first quarter to report higher profits.

CP (TSX:CP) raised its dividend by 43 per cent.

It will now pay a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share, up from 35 cents.

For its first quarter, the company said it earned $540 million or $3.51 per diluted share, up from a profit of $320 million or $1.92 per diluted share a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, profit was $384 million or $2.50 per diluted share, up from $375 million or $2.26 per diluted share.

Revenue slipped to $1.59 billion from $1.67 billion in the first three months of 2015. Lower volumes of crude, U.S. grain and coal partly accounted for the decline.

CP also reported that its operating ratio, which tracks operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, improved to 58.9 per cent compared with 63.2

FILE photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Grain cars on a Canadian Pacific (formerly Canadian Pacific Railway or CPR) freight train travelling eastbound along the Bow River near Lake Louise in Banff National Park per cent a year ago.

“It really bodes well for the future in that when we see the economy strengthen a little bit … it’s certainly going to put us in a position to have some really record results that you have not seen before,” Harrison said during a conference call with analysts.

In addition to the increased dividend, the railway said it may buy back up to 6.91 million of its shares or roughly five per cent of its public float under its normal course issuer bid.

Activists press Dion on Canadian company operating Honduran gold mine

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — A Canadian human rights delegation urged Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion’s office Wednesday to come to the aid of Honduran villagers they say are being exploited by a Canadian mining company.

The group —including First Nations women leaders, the organization MiningWatch Canada, lawyers and activists — visited Honduras this past week and want to draw attention to the plight of villagers in Azacualpa.

The group says in a brief presented to Dion’s office that the operations of Toronto-based Aura Minerals are affecting the health of villagers by exposing them to cyanide leaching and from its open pit gold mine.

They also say the company wants to move both the villagers and their community graveyard. They’re also calling on the Canadian embassy to stop supporting the company’s activities in Honduras.

A request to the company for comment went unanswered Wednesday.

The rights group says it is troubling that the Canadian government has deepened economic relations with Honduras, including signing a free trade agreement, following the country’s 2009 military coup.

“We would like Canada to make a little bit more noise,” said Catherine Morris, the research director for Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, a delegation member.

Dion’s spokesman Joe Pickerill said in an emailed statement that the government is committed to

“WE WOULD LIKE CANADA TO MAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE NOISE.” — CATHERINE MORRIS, THE RESEARCH DIRECTOR FOR LAWYERS RIGHTS WATCH CANADA demonstrating leadership on corporate social responsibility.

“Canadians expect our businesses operating abroad to respect human rights, labour rights, all applicable laws, and to conduct their activities in a socially and environmentally responsible manner,” he said.

In 2014, the previous Conservative government announced the creation of a revamped, corporate social responsibility counsellor that would screen foreign community complaints about mining operations and companies.

Companies that refused to co-operate with the counsellor would lose government support.

The new counsellor does not have the power to compel mining companies to co-operate, but some non-governmental organizations saw it as a positive step after more than a decade of advocating for tougher scrutiny of Canadian overseas mining operations.

Liberal MP John McKay recently called for stricter oversight of Canadian mining companies because they periodically face accusations that they are violating local laws and human rights, despite overall improvements in the industry.

NEW MACS

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

This photo provided by McDonald’s shows, from left to right: McDonald’s Mac Jr., Big Mac and Grand Mac. McDonald’s is testing bigger and smaller versions of its Big Mac as the world’s biggest hamburger chain pushes to revive its business. The company says it’s testing the Grand Mac and Mac Jr. in the Central Ohio and the Dallas areas, and will see how they do before deciding on a national rollout.

S&P / TSX 13,911.29 +44.01

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TSX:V 654.26 +4.85

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NASDAQ 4,948.13 +7.80

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DOW JONES 18,096.27 +42.67

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Harrison said he is optimistic that in addition to help from automotive and forest products, the railway will see improved volumes of coal, potash and grain in the second half of the year.

CP said it also expects to cut 1,300 to 1,400 jobs this year by attrition, up from 1,000 forecast in January.

“The bottom line is if somebody wants to work they can work,” said Harrison, noting that 6,000 to 7,000 positions have been cut in the past four years.

Creativity and innovation in the food business DIANNE FINSTAD FROM THE FIELD Most of my work in agriculture is with those who produce the food. But it’s always good to see the other end of the equation – those who put the ‘finishing touches’ on the food to get it to the consumer.

I had the chance to experience the food end of agriculture in my latest ‘field’ adventure, which took me to the SIAL Food Show in Montreal. Described as the ‘largest food innovation tradeshow in North America’, it’s where retailers, distributors, importers, and food service people come to meet with food processors. It’s truly a global affair with booths from Algeria to Turkey, promoting foods from kiwi to chestnut-fed pork (did I mention lots of chocolate in many forms also?). It was very evident how creative and competitive the food business really is. And when it comes to trade, the world is a smaller place than you’d think, enabling our tastes to become truly cosmopolitan.

We had an interesting visit with a 90-year-old Quebec maple syrup cooperative. Their philosophy is to ‘sell who we are’ before selling the product, building relationships with customers, whether distributor or directly to consumers at some retail stores. They also took their co-op model out to neighboring cranberry growers and honey producers, and they signed on, which enables the company now to be very innovative with products; like maple honey, sweet and sour cranberries with maple, or syrup in a smartsak, instead of a bottle. But they’ve also gone the distance with their quality and people approach to get certified as a ‘fair trade’ company, with a new ‘domestic fair trade’ classification.

One of the most fun interviews was with a young business woman who was the sales and marketing director, as well as the self-described ‘Flour geek’ for the family’s flour mill. Sophie Beauchemin grew up in small town Quebec, and the last place she expected to wind up was in her family’s flour business. But eventually she was lured away from the movie industry by the magical art of bread-making, and now says there isn’t a day she wakes up when she isn’t excited to get out and ‘crush some grain’! The family has helped grow the organic wheat industry in Quebec to satisfy the demand for its products. They also do things like bring the bakers out to the field at harvest time, to help them understand that what happens there can impact the bread they’re making with the flour.

From wheat to camelina – we interviewed another family operation that was looking for an alternative rotational crop and decided to try camelina on their Quebec farm.

They’ve now involved family members in the various aspects of processing the crop into a healthy, new oil product they debuted at the show, where it earned an Innovation award.

See FIELD on Page D2

NYMEX CRUDE $44.18US +1.71

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BUSINESS

Thursday, April 21, 2016

MARKETS COMPANIES

D2

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. . . . . . . . . . . 110.03 ATCO Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . 39.61 BCE Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.58 BlackBerry . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.15 Bombardier . . . . . . . . . . . 1.740 Brookfield . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.32 Cdn. National Railway . . 81.76 Cdn. Pacific Railway. . . 188.57 Cdn. Utilities . . . . . . . . . . 35.64 Capital Power Corp . . . . 18.03 Cervus Equipment Corp 12.21 Dow Chemical . . . . . . . . 51.94 Enbridge Inc. . . . . . . . . . 53.53 Finning Intl. Inc. . . . . . . . 21.82 Fortis Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.43 General Motors Co. . . . . 32.19 Parkland Fuel Corp. . . . . 25.30 Sirius XM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.59 SNC Lavalin Group. . . . . 47.84 Stantec Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 33.78 Telus Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . 40.02 Transalta Corp.. . . . . . . . . 6.33 Transcanada. . . . . . . . . . 51.72 Consumer Canadian Tire . . . . . . . . 138.89 Gamehost . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.30 Leon’s Furniture . . . . . . . 14.94

MARKETS CLOSE TORONTO — Oil prices rallied to a five-month high Wednesday, pushing the Canadian dollar to its best finish since July as investors were encouraged by the latest data on U.S. crude oil inventories.

The loonie edged closer to the 80-cent US mark, adding 0.06 of a U.S. cent to close at 79.05 cents US. The last time it ended the day higher was on July 3, 2015, when it hit 79.62 cents US. The June contract for North American benchmark crude climbed $1.71 to US$44.18 a barrel, a level not seen in five months after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories rose slightly less than expected last week.

The agency says commercial crude inventories increased by 2.1 million barrels last week, less than what analysts had been expected.

Signs that the global oil glut may be lessening helped support oil prices even as oil workers in Kuwait returned to the job after a three-day strike to protest cuts to pay and benefits. The work stoppage had temporarily suspended production in that country.

Michael Greenberg, a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investments, said oil markets will remain volatile until the price of crude stabilize, adding that crude needs to be around US$50 a barrel to make it profitable for many producers.

Meanwhile, North American stock markets also racked up gains, with the S&P/TSX composite index adding 44.01 points to 13,911.29, helped by energy, metals and consumer staples stocks.

The Dow Jones indus-

Loblaw Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . 70.58 Maple Leaf Foods. . . . . . 26.83 Rona Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.78 Wal-Mart . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69.21 WestJet Airlines . . . . . . . 22.23 Mining Barrick Gold . . . . . . . . . . 20.06 Cameco Corp. . . . . . . . . 16.16 First Quantum Minerals . . 8.89 Goldcorp Inc. . . . . . . . . . 21.57 Hudbay Minerals. . . . . . . . 5.48 Kinross Gold Corp. . . . . . . 5.71 Labrador. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.25 Potash Corp.. . . . . . . . . . 22.73 Sherritt Intl. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.910 Teck Resources . . . . . . . 13.95 Energy Arc Resources . . . . . . . . 19.60 Badger Daylighting Ltd. . 22.91 Baker Hughes. . . . . . . . . 47.00 Bonavista . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.84 Bonterra Energy . . . . . . . 25.09 Cdn. Nat. Res. . . . . . . . . 38.11 Canyon Services Group. . 4.60 Cenovus Energy Inc. . . . 18.56 CWC Well Services . . . 0.1700 Encana Corp. . . . . . . . . . . 9.10

trial average gained 42.67 points to 18,096.27, while the broader S&P 500 was barely changed, up 1.6 points at 2,102.40 and the Nasdaq added 7.8 points to 4,948.13.

This positive sentiment pulsing through equity markets is a sigh of relief from the doom-and-gloom at the start of the year, Greenberg said.

“It’s a continuation of the fact that the world didn’t end,” he said.

“That was kind of the narrative at the start of the year, with talk about China imploding, talk of a U.S. recession, that the Fed will hike rates four times a year and it’s going to be a mistake and the U.S. dollar was strong, putting pressure on emerging markets.

A lot of that has unwound a bit, at least for now. We’re seeing markets catch up now.”

Investors will turn their attention Thursday to the latest policy meeting of the European Central Bank even though few expect the bank to announce further stimulus measures for the 19-country eurozone.

Elsewhere in commodities, June natural gas was unchanged at US$2.18 per mmBtu, while May copper added a penny to US$2.24 a pound. June gold was flat, up 10 cents to US$1,254.40 a troy ounce.

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

Stocks: S&P/TSX Composite Index — 13,911.29, up 44.01 points Dow — 18,096.27, up 42.67 points S&P 500 — 2,102.40, up 1.60 points Nasdaq — 4,948.13, up 7.80 points Currencies: Cdn — 79.05 cents US,

Essential Energy. . . . . . . 0.670 Exxon Mobil . . . . . . . . . . 86.80 Halliburton Co. . . . . . . . . 40.34 High Arctic . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.89 Husky Energy . . . . . . . . . 17.63 Imperial Oil . . . . . . . . . . . 41.13 Pengrowth Energy . . . . . 1.730 Penn West Energy . . . . . 1.380 Precision Drilling Corp . . . 5.99 Suncor Energy . . . . . . . . 36.53 Trican Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.710 Trinidad Energy . . . . . . . . 2.30 Vermilion Energy . . . . . . 39.11 Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.2000 Financials Bank of Montreal . . . . . . 82.00 Bank of N.S. . . . . . . . . . . 65.23 CIBC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.71 Cdn. Western . . . . . . . . . 28.90 Great West Life. . . . . . . . 36.08 IGM Financial . . . . . . . . . 39.75 Intact Financial Corp. . . . 91.49 Manulife Corp. . . . . . . . . 19.13 National Bank . . . . . . . . . 45.56 Rifco Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.190 Royal Bank . . . . . . . . . . . 78.72 Sun Life Fin. Inc.. . . . . . . 42.99 TD Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.40

up 0.06 of a cent Pound — C$1.8130, down 0.97 of a cent Euro — C$1.4284, down 1.02 cents Euro — US$1.1292, down 0.71 of a cent Oil futures: US$44.18 per barrel, up $1.71 (June contract) Gold futures: US$1,254.40 per oz., up 10 cents (June contract) Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman: $22.726 oz., up 16.8 cents $730.64 kg., up $5.40 ICE FUTURES CANADA WINNIPEG — ICE Futures Canada closing prices: Canola: May ‘16 $5.30 higher $489.90 July ‘16 $5.30 higher $493.30 Nov. ‘16 $1.00 higher $489.40 Jan. ‘17 $0.60 higher $494.40 March ‘17 $0.70 higher $495.40 May ‘17 $0.30 higher $494.70 July ‘17 $0.30 higher $494.70 Nov. ‘17 $0.30 higher $486.20 Jan. ‘18 $0.30 higher $486.20 March ‘18 $0.30 higher $486.20 May ‘18 $0.30 higher $486.20.

Barley (Western): May ‘16 unchanged $172.00 July ‘16 unchanged $174.00 Oct. ‘16 unchanged $174.00 Dec. ‘16 unchanged $174.00 March ‘17 unchanged $174.00 May ‘17 unchanged $174.00 July ‘17 unchanged $174.00 Oct. ‘17 unchanged $174.00 Dec. ‘17 unchanged $174.00 March ‘18 unchanged $174.00 May ‘18 unchanged $174.00.

Wednesday’s estimated volume of trade: 1,091,580 tonnes of canola 0 tonnes of barley (Western Barley).

Total: 1,091,580.

STORY FROM PAGE D1

FIELD: SUCCESSION Family business succession challenges aren’t only navigated at the farm level.

We talked with a Quebec spice and sauce food company working the fourth generation of the family in by helping them set up a separate company focused on products like single-serve ready-to-eat soups, which complemented the parent company and used its ingredients.

The one young brother was still writing university exams, but was already well versed in the family trade and excited about the future with the new venture.

And it always amazes me how you can travel so far… and still run into neighbors.

Who should I see in the hotel lobby but John and Janneke Schalkwyk of Sylvan Star Cheese?! Cheese is a much featured product at the show, and they were in Montreal to pick up another honor for their famous gouda. At the Canadian Cheese awards held at the same time, Sylvan Star won Best Alberta Cheese with its Natural Smoked Gouda Medium – so congratulations to the Schalkwyk family for another accolade!

I really enjoyed meeting people who are as passionate and dedicated about taking quality food to the consumer as the farmers who grow it. It’s good to learn about another aspect of the process that takes food from the field to the plate.

Watch for videos of these interviews

in the future on the Farm Credit Canada website, in their Knowledge Centre.

On a sad note, the recent Alberta budget cuts wiped out 26 agriculture councils and agencies.

That included the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, which was managed

by Gordon Cove, of Red Deer.

He’d been with ALMA since it was created in 2008, and had worked hard to make it a relevant, exciting agency that supported the development of some great businesses and research.

Just check the ALMA website to see the wide variety of projects. The ALMA board brought together the diverse interests in the livestock industry, which don’t always sit down together, and included folks with great knowledge and experience from the food world. It had an impact, and I hope the government won’t neglect encouraging such innovation.

Now I’m back to a more traditional workplace for me.

I’m thrilled to be announcing the dairy show in Calgary, which this year is a national event, as part of Holstein Canada’s 2016 convention. Alberta organizers have worked hard for more than a year to make sure the big event, which includes tours and the national meeting, truly showcases the prairie dairy world’s finest genetics and a good dose of Alberta hospitality.

Dianne Finstad is a veteran broadcaster and reporter who has covered agricultural news in Central Alberta for more than 30 years. From the Field appears monthly in the Advocate.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

University of British Columbia engineering Professor Mina Hoorfar, who helped develop a breathalyzer to detect THC levels among motorists suspected of cannabis-impaired driving, works on a prototype of the device

Race to develop marijuana breathalyzers before Canada legalizes drug

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER — Companies developing breathalyzers to detect marijuana’s main psychoactive ingredient in suspected cannabis-impaired drivers appear to be entering a crowded field as Canada prepares to legalize pot.

Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at a special United Nations session on drugs that legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating pot will be introduced next spring.

A University of British Columbia engineering professor is the latest to create a breathalyzer she says can detect THC levels in the breath of someone who has smoked pot.

Mina Hoorfar said Wednesday that the hand-held device, about the size of two fingers together, can help police detect the chemical in a driver’s breath within seconds, unlike blood analysis or spit tests, which are not immediate.

She said the “microfluidic breath analyzer” costs about $15 to manufacture and is blue-tooth enabled so people can monitor their own THC levels with a cellphone.

“The sniffer,” as she also called it, is superior to competing breathalyzers because it is highly sensitive to pot’s major high-inducing component, Hoorfar said.

False positives are a problem with other devices “because any other odour can interfere with THC. With ours we separate all kinds of molecules. There won’t be any false positive with ours.”

Hoorfar and her colleague, PhD student Mohammad Paknahad, are in the process of applying to a university ethics board for a clinical trial.

Hoorfar said the device can detect THC on someone’s breath for about 12 hours but she and Paknahad are trying to push that up to 24 hours with their prototype.

Canadians suspected of driving while impaired by marijuana or other drugs face the same penalties as those who get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.

The Criminal Code says a driver’s blood sample may be taken under the

BRIEF StatsCan says wholesale sales fall 2.2 per cent in February OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says wholesale sales fell 2.2 per cent to $55.8 billion in February.

The federal agency says sales fell in five of the seven subsectors it measures, accounting for 66 per cent of

direction of a qualified medical practitioner and that anyone who refuses or fails to comply with a demand to provide a sample commits an offence.

Kal Malhi, president of Vancouver-based Cannabix Technologies, said his company has raised millions of dollars to bring its marijuana breathalyzer to market.

He said the legalization of marijuana in Canada means police must have the right tools to get impaired drivers off the road for everyone’s safety.

“Law enforcement has been hungry for it,” said Malhi, who was a Mountie in the Vancouver area from 2000 to 2009. “Society needs something like this, just like it needed the alcohol breathalyzer.”

Malhi said Cannabix is leading competitors in North America and is working with the University of Florida to conduct clinical trials before aiming to get it approved in the United States and Canada.

The company conducted 100 tests using six medicinal marijuana patients in Vancouver last year, he said, with 80 per cent accuracy before switching to another technology to get better results.

“We were the first to take on the technology and understand that THC can be detected in breath,” he said.

“We know intimately what’s involved, how to detect it, how quickly THC evaporates from your system and the need to capture that quickly after an offence or a roadside offence.

“We have been flooded over the last 12 months by different states and different law enforcement agencies asking us to pilot-project our device.”

At least three other devices have been developed in the United States in the quest to perfect a marijuana breath test — at Washington State University, by Lifelock Technologies of Colorado and Hound Labs of Oakland, Calif.

Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Colorado have legalized recreational and medicinal use of marijuana while residents of 19 other states can take pot for medical purposes only. In Washington, the maximum THC level allowed for drivers is five nanograms per millilitre of blood.

total wholesale sales. In volume terms, wholesale sales declined 1.9 per cent.

Statistics Canada says the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector posted the biggest drop in dollar terms for the month. The sector fell 4.8 per cent to $11.0 billion, more than offsetting its 4.1 per cent gain in January.

The motor vehicle and parts subsector fell 3.5 per cent to $10.4 billion, the lowest level in three months.

Sales fell in nine provinces led

by Ontario, which fell 1.2 per cent to $28.6 billion, and Saskatchewan, which dropped 12.8 per cent to $2.1 billion, its lowest level since August 2014.

Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province with higher sales in February as it gained 1.7 per cent to $349 million.

RED DEER ADVOCATE Thursday, April 21, 2016 D3

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

TODAY’S CROSSWORD PUZZLE

HI & LOIS

PEANUTS

BLONDIE

HAGAR

BETTY

PICKLES

GARFIELD

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TODAY IN HISTORY

TUNDRA

SUDOKU Complete the grid so that every row, every column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 through 9.

6+(50$1·6 /$*221

Solution

403-309-3300 classifieds@reddeeradvocate.com Office/Phone Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Mon - Fri Fax: 403-341-4772

CLASSIFIEDS

2950 Bremner Ave. Red Deer, AB T4R 1M9 Circulation 403-314-4300 DEADLINE IS 5 P.M. FOR NEXT DAY’S PAPER

wegotjobs

CLASSIFICATIONS 700-920 CLASSIFICATIONS 3000-3390

Obituaries

wegotstuff

wegotservices

wegotrentals

wegotads.ca

CLASSIFICATIONS 1000-1430

CLASSIFICATIONS 1500-1940

wegothomes

wegotwheels

CLASSIFICATIONS 4000-4310

Births

Dental

CLASSIFICATIONS 5000-5240

740

Restaurant/ Hotel

820

JJAM Management (1987) Ltd., o/a Tim Horton’s Requires to work at these WHAT’S HAPPENING Red Deer, AB locations: 5111 22 St. CLASSIFICATIONS 37444 HWY 2 S 50-70 REG. DENTAL Hygienist 37543 HWY 2N Must be flexible with hours.

700 3020 22 St. Apply to Healthy Smiles Food Service Supervisor Coming Fax resumes attn: Req’d permanent shift Corinne or Chrissy Events weekend day and evening (403) 347-2133 or email: both full and part time. healthysmiles4life@ 10 Vacancies, $13.75 /hr. + TURKEY SUPPER hotmail.com medical, dental, life and viSPECIAL sion benefits. Start ASAP. HUBIES “1955” diner in Job description Westpark. Apr. 24, www.timhortons.com 3 - 7 pm. 403-340-3795 Oilfield Experience 1 yr. to less than 2 yrs.

Keyera is currently seeking Apply in person or fax Found a Gas Plant Operator at resume to: 403-314-1303 our Gilby Gas Plant.

The Gas Plant is located LADIES ring with unique Sales & 60 km northwest of Red colored stone found April Deer. The successful Distributors 12 in back alley in old candidate will perform Anders. Call to identify, intermediate to 403-343-9271 WIRELESS World senior level operating Solutions at 107-4747 assignments on plant 67 ST, RED DEER, AB, equipment. Please visit requires a F/T, Perm. www.keyera.com for Personals Assistant Manager-Retail further information. with min. 1-2 yrs of related sales exp., ASAP. Duties: ALCOHOLICS Plan, direct and evaluate ANONYMOUS 403-347-8650 the operations, Manage COCAINE ANONYMOUS staff and assign duties, 403-396-8298 Resolve customer complaints etc. Wages SERVICE RIG $26.50/Hr. Email Bearspaw Petroleum Ltd Resume - retailjobs@ is seeking a mywirelessworld.ca FLOORHAND AND DERRICK HAND

52

Welcome Wagon

has a special package just for you & your little one!

For more information, Call Lori, 403-348-5556

Card Of Thanks

AUTHENAC NIELSEN Denise Anita Nielsen (nee Carmen Mary Goertzen) of Parkland May 19, 1947 - Apr. 15, 2016 Words cannot express Beach, Alberta, formerly of Carmen Mary Authenac of our thanks to all involved Blackfalds, Alberta, passed Red Deer passed away with in the care of our husband, away suddenly at her home her husband and her sister- dad and papa. Much gratitude on Saturday, April 16, 2016 in-law at her side. Carmen is to Dr. McCall, Dr. Thain, at the age of 54 years. lovingly remembered by her Dr. Pugsley, Dr. K. Jim, and family, husband, Lawrence of Denise will be lovingly Dr. Brodie. To the wonderful remembered and forever in 22 years; daughter, Nicole nurses on Unit 32 for their granddaughter, our hearts. She was a loving (Brad); loving care and support. You wife and mother, whose Hayden; sisters, Marguerite all helped us get through this Yvonne; three commitment to family and and difficult time. As well, thanks others was never-ending. grandchildren, Taylor, Karissa to our neighbors and friends She made us all better and Parker; one stepson, for the food, flowers, cards people. Denise will be dearly Glen; as well as Brianne and and donations, and those Ritchie.

A Memorial Mass will missed by her beloved who attended the memorial. husband, Grant; and three be held at Sacred Heart Thank you also, Ashley and cherished children: her two Catholic Church, 5508 - 48A Quinn, at Parkland sons, Steven (Holly) Nielsen Avenue, Red Deer, AB on Funeral Home. of Blackfalds; and Ryan Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at Nielsen of Red Deer; and her 11: am. In lieu of flowers, The Duchcherer Family daughter, Justina Nielsen of donations may be made in Carmen’s memory to Red Parkland Beach; as well as a special bundle that is soon- Deer Hospice Society, 99 Funeral Directors to-arrive. She will also be Arnot Avenue, Red Deer, AB, & Services lovingly remembered and T4R 3S6 or to S.T.A.R.S., sadly missed by one brother, Box 570, 1441 Aviation Park Blair (Lyn) Goertzen of Red Road NE, Calgary, AB, Deer; two sisters, Cindy T2E 8M7. Messages of (Paul) Corney of Vancouver, condolence may be left for B.C.; and Della (Kelly) the family at www.myalternatives.ca.

Graham of Red Deer; and her father-in-law, Erik Nielsen of St. Albert; in addition to numerous nieces, nephews, and many other close friends and family.

Denise was predeceased by her parents, John and Shirley Goertzen; her mother-in-law, Anna Nielsen; and her sisterin-law, Lilli McKinnon. A In Memoriam Public Memorial Service in DIANA JOY DEDUL Celebration of Denise’s Life Nov. 29, 1953 - Apr. 21, 2014 will be held at the Rimbey Along the road of Suffering United Church, Rimbey, You found a little Lane Alberta on Tuesday, April 26, That took you up to Heaven 2016 at 1:00 p.m. with the and ended all your Pain.

Reverend Deborah Laing You may be out of Sight, officiating. Cremation took Over 2,000,000 and we may be far Apart place at the Central Alberta hours But you are always Crematorium, Red Deer. If on our Minds friends desire, memorial St. John Ambulance and forever in our Hearts. tributes in Denise’s Memory volunteers provide Remembered with love and may be made directly to Red Canadians with more sadly missed.

Deer Special Olympics, Suite than 2 million hours Mom (Mary), Sons (Shawn 109, 4730 Ross Street, Red and Dennis), grandsons of community service Deer, Alberta T4N 1X2.

(Joshua, Rorke, Terrence Condolences to the Nielsen each year. and Colton) Family may also be expressed by e-mail to: special_reflections@teluspla net.net.

Service and Cremation Arrangements for the Late Denise Anita Nielsen (nee Goertzen) entrusted to the care of OBERHAMMER FUNERAL CHAPELS LTD. 1-403-843-4445

800

56

830

60

wegot

jobs

CLASSIFICATIONS 700-920

Caregivers/ Aides

710

EXPERIENCED Caregiver needed for a Diabetic Mother, $18/hr. Mon. Friday). Please apply to robert_seeliger@ hotmail.com

Restaurant/ Hotel

Locally based, home every night! Qualified applicants

must have all necessary valid tickets for the position being applied for.

Bearspaw offers a very competitive salary and benefits package along with a steady work schedule.

Please submit resumes: Attn: Human Resources Email: payroll@ bearspawpet.com Fax: (403) 252-9719 or Mail to: Suite 5309, 333-96 Ave. NE Calgary, AB T3K 0S3

820

Now Hiring

GASOLINE ALLEY LOCATION FULL TIME

SUPERVISORS • Very Competitive Wages • Advancement Opportunities • Medical Benefits • Paid training • Paid Breaks

Apply in person or send resume to: Email:kfcjobsrd@yahoo.ca or Fax: (403) 341-3820

Celebrate Your Marriage

with a Classified Announcement - 309-3300 Remember to share the news with your friends & family!

7554137D13-26

Trades

Operator 2 Position Plant operations/ Sanitation Rahr Malting Canada Ltd, a leading manufacturer of Brewer’s Malt, is now accepting applications for 1 full time Operator 2 position in the area of operations and sanitation. The ideal candidate should have experience in sanitation/operations, shift work and have excellent communication skills to interface with the operations, maintenance and management team.

This position will report to the Operator 1.

Application Closing Date: April 22, 2016.

Applicants must apply in writing to: Human Resources Department Applicants should include a resume and apply in writing to:

Rahr Malting Canada Ltd. Attn: Human Resources Box 113, Alix, Alberta T0C 0B0 FAX: (403) 747-2660 NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

Truckers/ Drivers

TO ADVERTISE YOUR SALE HERE — CALL 309-3300

Fairview - Upper

Remember their special celebrations

First steps, first words, first birthday.

CELEBRATIONS everyday

Love, Mom & Dad

in the Classifieds 309-3300 Email classifieds@reddeeradvocate.com

44 FERN ROAD, Thurs. and Fri., April 21 and 22, 4 pm - 8 pm, and Sat., April 23, 10 am - 5 pm.

Antiques, tools, misc.

Classifieds...costs so little Saves you so much!

Grandview HUGE MULTI-FAMILY 3528 44 A AVE. Apr. 21 ,22 ,& 23 Thurs 2-9, Fri. 9-8, Sat. 9-1 Lots of quality furniture, books, misc.

Kentwood Estates 144 KELLOWAY CRES. Complete Household Goes Apr. 16 to April 23 9 am - 9 pm Everything Must Go! Massive Party Lights, home, women & children’s decor.

West Lake GOING out of business Garage sale April 23 12pm-3pm. Everything must go! All brand new items. 20 Weddell Cres

860

CENTRAL AB based trucking company requires

CONTRACT DRIVERS in AB. Super B exp. req’d.

Home the odd night. Weekends off. 403-586-4558

Employment Training

A baby’s Smile can warm your heart...

850

900

SAFETY

TRAINING CENTRE OILFIELD TICKETS

Industries #1 Choice!

“Low Cost” Quality Training

403.341.4544

24 Hours Toll Free 1.888.533.4544

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)

CELEBRATIONS HAPPEN EVERY DAY IN CLASSIFIEDS

278950A5

ARE YOU EXPECTING A BABY SOON?

Happy 1st Birthday!

Gracie

D4

Red Deer Advocate

announcements

Obituaries

Thursday, April 21, 2016

TO ORDER HOME DELIVERY OF THE ADVOCATE CALL OUR CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 403-314-4300 ADULT or YOUTH CARRIERS NEEDED For delivery of Flyers, Wednesday and Friday ONLY 2 DAYS A WEEK CLEARVIEW RIDGE CLEARVIEW TIMBERSTONE LANCASTER VANIER WOODLEA/ WASKASOO DEER PARK GRANDVIEW EASTVIEW MICHENER MOUNTVIEW ROSEDALE GARDEN HEIGHTS MORRISROE Call Prodie at 403-314-4301

ADULT or YOUTH CARRIERS NEEDED For delivery of Flyers, Wednesday and Friday ONLY 2 DAYS A WEEK ANDERS BOWER HIGHLAND GREEN INGLEWOOD JOHNSTONE KENTWOOD RIVERSIDE MEADOWS PINES SUNNYBROOK SOUTHBROOKE WEST LAKE WEST PARK Call Tammy at 403-314-4306

CARRIERS NEEDED For CENTRAL ALBERTA LIFE 1 day a week INNISFAIL PENHOLD LACOMBE SYLVAN LAKE OLDS BLACKFALDS PONOKA STETTLER Call Sandra at 403- 314-4303

7119052tfn

TO PLACE AN AD

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

BUSINESS WestJet responds to proposed class-action lawsuit from former flight attendant

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER — WestJet is rejecting allegations made by a former flight attendant that it fails to provide a harassment-free workplace for its female employees, saying it would not put its reputation at stake by inadequately dealing with complaints.

The Calgary-based airline’s response to a civil claim, filed this week in British Columbia Supreme Court, argues against granting class-action status to a lawsuit launched earlier this month by Mandalena Lewis.

“WestJet denies allowing harassment to exist in its workplace,” the court document says. “There are clear financial and reputational incentives for WestJet to provide a harassment-free workplace to all employees.”

This is the second lawsuit Lewis has filed against WestJet. Earlier this year she filed a civil claim alleging WestJet failed to take proper action after she reported being sexually assaulted by a pilot while on a stopover in Hawaii.

She has said she began the proposed class action when multiple women approached her with similar complaints after she filed her initial lawsuit.

Behaviours mentioned in the latest notice of claim include sexist jokes, obscene comments, unwelcome physical contact and “midnight knocking,” which Lewis defines as a request or demand for latenight sexual favours by pilots while on a stopover.

The claim accused the company of protecting “harassers,” often pilots, who are considered more economically valuable employees.

Lewis has said she is unsure how many people could be involved if the lawsuit receives class-action certification. Flight attendants make up about a quarter of the more than 11,000 workers WestJet employs.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

In its response to the latest legal action, the airline argues against class-action approval because it says the circumstances for any given potential plaintiff aren’t universal enough to consider them as a group.

WestJet denies allegations that the way it investigates reports of harassment discourages victims from coming forward with complaints and attempts to silences them when they do.

“In fact, the opposite is true,” the airline says, rejecting the claim that its approach leads to the under-reporting of harassment.

“WestJet’s (confidential) investigation process encourages WestJetters to report inappropriate behaviour by allowing them to do so in confidence.”

The airline says privacy laws prevent it from disclosing the particulars of an investigation.

WestJet also took aim at Lewis’s eight-year work record, highlighting the circumstances that led to her firing in January.

“From the beginning of her employment, Lewis had consistently poor attendance,” it says, describing the eight instances she was formally disciplined.

The company says it ended Lewis’s contract after she sent a manager an email containing a profanity demanding her employment file, which the company was late in providing.

wegot

stuff CLASSIFICATIONS 1500-1990

1590

Clothing

NURSES’ uniforms, pants & tops. med. to X large size. $5 each. (approx. 30) good shape.

403-347-2526 Celebrate your life with a Classified ANNOUNCEMENT

1630

EquipmentHeavy

TRAILERS for sale or rent Job site, ofÀce, well site or storage. Skidded or wheeled. Call 347-7721.

1640

Tools

METRIC Socket, plus tool box. $100.

403-343-6044

Firewood

1660

B.C. Birch, Aspen, Spruce/Pine. Delivery avail.

PH. Lyle 403-783-2275

Household Appliances

1710

MICROWAVE, Kenmore over the counter, black, clean, works perfectly. $100. 403 309-3475

Household Furnishings

1720

DINING TABLE, Rectangular, glass top 42x72, with 2 beige faux stone pedestals, used in show home, $200. obo 403-346-6317, 597-2508 GENUINE LA-Z-BOY rocker recliner, beige, $80.

403-877-0825

WANTED Antiques, furniture and estates. 342-2514

Misc. for Sale

1760

10’ x 12’ GAZEBO, material covered, good cond., $120. 403-782-5206

Misc. for Sale

Ontario government to invoke closure on cap-and-trade bill

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Transport Canada says it has identified a “serious safety issue” involving the power steering systems on more than 295,000 vehicles sold

by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

A statement issued Wednesday by federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau says the department has received more than 100 consumer complaints involving the failure of a power steering return hose.

Following an investigation, Transport Canada said the loss of power steering assist, along with the potential for a vehicle fire, was a serious safety issue and it notified the manufacturer.

Affected models are the 2009-2016 Dodge Journey, the 2011-2013 Chrysler 200, the 2007-2010 Chrysler Sebring and the 2007-2013 Dodge Avenger. Most complaints involve the Dodge Journey and involve more than 187,000 vehicles. But because the other models — a total of more than 108,000 vehicles — have the

1760

AIR CONDITION, DANBY (new in box) 8000 BTU, with remote, 3 spd. fan. $200. 403-358-5568 CAMPING dishes, Set $35; Air Conditioner, $100.

Tire - Step, $23.

403-343-6044 CONSTRUCTION heater, 220 power required, $50. ~ SOLD ~ COPPER clad aluminum #2, booster cables $40.

403-343-6044 Classifieds...costs so little Saves you so much!

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.

ELECTRIC heater, $15.

403-885-5020 SOFA & chair, very clean. $25. 2 matching table lamps, $5 for set, water cooler, $15. Sony 32” TV with stand, works well FREE. 403-346-6303

Misc. for Sale

1760

UNIQUE black metal bathroom mirror, towel bar, towel ring, and 2 hangers look like “gazelles”. All for $65. 403 309-3475 Looking for a new pet?

Check out Classifieds to find the purrfect pet.

Sporting Goods

1860

INVERSION Table, $200.

403-343-6044 Start your career!

See Help Wanted

RED DEER GUN SHOW April 30, 10 am - 5 pm May 1, 10 am - 3 pm Westerner Agri Centre West Admission $ 5

Travel Packages

1900

TRAVEL ALBERTA Alberta offers SOMETHING for everyone.

Make your travel plans now.

Tired of Standing?

Find something to sit on in Classifieds

wegot

rentals CLASSIFICATIONS

BOOK NOW! INDIVIDUAL & BUSINESS CONCRETE???

For help on your home Accounting, 30 yrs. of exp.

We’ll do it all...Free est. projects such as bathroom, with oilÀeld service Call E.J. Construction main Áoor, and bsmt. companies, other small Jim 403-358-8197 renovations. Also painting businesses and individuals and Áooring.

RW Smith, 346-9351 DALE’S Home Reno’s Free estimates for all your Call James 403-341-0617 reno needs. 403-506-4301

Acupuncture

1020

Traditional Chinese Acupuncture & Therapeutic Massage ~ Acute or chronic pain, stress, surgery problems. 4606 - 48 Ave., Red Deer. Walk-ins.

Call or txt 403-350-8883

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1100

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same technical issues, Transport Canada said it included them in the preliminary determination in the interest of safety. In a posting on its website, Transport Canada said FCA had found that power steering return hoses could fail on certain vehicles when operated in extremely cold climates, causing a hydraulic fluid leak “in close proximity to the exhaust system” and loss of power steering assist.

“FCA maintains that a failure of a power steering return hose on the subject vehicles does not represent a safety risk,” the posting says.

Transport Canada said that of the 107 consumer complaints it received about the problem, it is aware of two cases where drivers allegedly lost control and three others where smoke was observed.

“To date, Transport Canada is not aware of any major injuries or fatalities related to a failure of the described components,” it added.

FCA spokesman Eric Mayne confirmed in an email that the company had received the notification and was preparing its response.

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rick Brown, who surprised his party at its annual convention last month by announcing he supports a price on carbon emissions, stressed Wednesday that it should be revenue neutral.

But the Liberals, he said, hope to generate $1.9 billion in 2017 alone by auctioning off emission allowances to industries.

“This should not be a justification for another Liberal slush fund,” he said.

“They’re being dishonest and taking advantage of people’s goodwill towards the environment.”

It’s the Liberals’ fault that the bill has been moving slowly through the committee process, added Brown.

“They drafted the bill. They shouldn’t need any amendments,” he said. “They’re developing a plan on the fly.”

Murray fired back that Brown’s actions undermine his claim of supporting a price on carbon, and said a revenue neutral plan would mean no financial help for people who want to buy electric cars or retrofit their homes.

“They clearly don’t understand what carbon pricing is because they haven’t been able to articulate any substance to their position except revenue neutrality,” he said.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath urged the Tories to support the cap-and-trade bill.

“I would hope that people would take seriously the need to deal with the carbon footprint that we have and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.

Under cap and trade, industries are given specific pollution limits, but can sell their emission allowances to other companies if they come in below their annual limit, or buy credits if they exceed it.

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TORONTO — Environment Minister Glen Murray warns Ontario industries could be hurt by the Progressive Conservatives’ efforts to delay legislation that would create a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The government decided to invoke closure to wrap up committee hearings by May 2 on the bill designed to combat climate change, “the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced,” said Murray.

The Tories asked for 20-minute breaks twice an hour and used other tactics to slow the committee’s work to a crawl, but the government needs the bill passed this spring so it can start selling carbon credits to companies in January.

“They’re pretending to support a carbon price, and have all the rhetoric there, because they know politically it’s unacceptable not to be supporting a price on carbon,” said Murray. “They take every opportunity not to debate the bill.”

Companies need to know what their carbon emission allowances will be as soon as possible so they can prepare for the start of cap and trade next year, said Murray.

“They’re speaking to their head offices about major capital investments in their energy systems to eliminate greenhouse gases, and they need to know what the rules are for applying for funding and support,” he said.

Lawyers recommended about 50 “technical” amendments to the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, dealing “with French language translation and which verb stands up best in court in case of legal challenges,” added Murray.

“The Tories are debating each of those, which is ridiculous,” he said. “That’s very unusual behaviour.”

However, Progressive Conservative Leader Pat-

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NEWS

Thursday, April. 21 2016

D6

You are not as old as you look STUDIES DELVE INTO HOW THE BODY AGES AND HOW TO SLOW AGING DAVID BROWN ADVOCATE NEWS SERVICES Look at Alexander Gardner’s last photographic portrait of the 55-yearold Abraham Lincoln. Or Dorothea Lange’s photograph of the “Migrant Mother,” age 32, taken in the depths of the Great Depression. Or pretty much any picture of Keith Richards from the past 25 years.

It’s hard not to think, “Wow, they really look old for their age.”

The idea that time wears on the body in a predictable way - and that for some people the process is accelerated or slowed - seems obvious. But is it true?

Do we have a bodily timekeeper?

Where might it reside? Can we tell whether it’s in sync with the calendar?

These questions are central to the mystery of aging, our one-way ride on the arrow of time. They’re also important to understanding chronic diseases - the heart attack, stroke, cancer and dementia that grow more likely the older we get. The newest strategy to prevent disease, in fact, is to find ways to slow aging.

“There is such a thing as ‘biological age,’ and it is distinct from chronological age,” said Steve Horvath, a professor of human genetics at UCLA. “There is a huge debate about how to measure it. But everybody would agree ‘biological age’ should be a better predictor of how long you live than chronological age.”

Brian K. Kennedy, who heads the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, in Marin County, Calif., goes a step further.

“I’m a firm believer that there is a ‘biological age,’ that it is different for different people, and that it can be manipulated,” he said. “At least it can be manipulated in animals, and I think we will be able to manipulate it in humans, too.”

The idea that biological age is measurable and predictive only recently moved out of the mouse lab into human epidemiology.

Photo by ADVOCATE NEWS SERVICES A study published last year looked at roughly 1,000 New Zealanders who The idea that time wears on the body in a predictable way - and that for some people the process is accelerated or slowed have been followed by researchers - seems obvious. But is it true? Do we have a bodily timekeeper? Where might it reside? Can we tell whether it’s in sync since their birth in the city of Dunedin with the calendar? These questions are central to the mystery of aging, our one-way ride on the arrow of time. in 1972 and 1973.

The group is periodically given tests at risk for early heart disease and de- the intake of food, but not to the point of organs (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, mentia - have older-than-expected of malnutrition. immune system, etc.) whose function epigenetic ages. On the other hand, slowly begins to decline starting about For a while it looked like the anCaloric restriction invokes myriad people who live to be 100 have epigenage 30. The results are used to calcu- swer was: “Telomeres.” etic ages that are nine years younger, physiological responses. It makes orlate “biological age.”

Telomeres are tails of extra DNA on average, than their actual age. In- ganisms more resistant to stress and (The researchers employed a for- on the end of our chromosomes. The toxins, more sensitive to glucose and mula developed from a sample of end of the tail gets docked each time terestingly, their children also have insulin, and in mice it helps prevent 9,400 Americans aged 30 to 75. Biolog- a cell divides because the duplicat- younger-than-expected epigenetic agheart attack, diabetes, stroke, demenes, which suggests they’re aging more ical age describes how a person’s mea- ing machinery can’t copy the last few tia and Parkinson’s disease. Simply sured physiological profile compares DNA “letters” at a chromosome’s ends. slowly, too. (Research suggests that to that of the average person of the Some cells have an enzyme that re- about 25 percent of longevity is deter- limiting components of the diet (such as protein), or even specific amino acsame age in the population.) stores telomeres, but in many cells the mined by genes.)

DNA methylation appears to be ids, lengthens life in some organisms.

In the Dunedin study, biological age telomeres shorten over time until the Many interventions now or soon to was calculated for each person when cell loses the ability to divide. It then a true biological clock, turned on at the group was 26, 32 and 38 years old. becomes senescent. Not only may it birth and not stopping until death. be in human trials seek to mimic those Because the calculation was done re- function poorly, it may also secrete Whether it’s the engine of aging is an- effects. And caloric restriction itself is being tried. peatedly over a dozen years, the re- substances that pollute the neighbor- other question.

Researchers last year reported on a “In my opinion, there is a fundasearchers were also able to estimate a hood, causing inflammation that leads two-year study in which 218 non-obese mental aging process the true root “pace of aging” for each person. to disease.

The results were startling. Even The notion that telomere wear was cause of aging,” Horvath said. “We people ages 21 to 51 were randomly though all subjects had a chrono- the engine of aging had many adher- are currently designing a large hu- assigned either to eat as they wanted logical age of 38, their biological ag- ents - until research revealed the story man study that will test to what extent or to reduce their caloric intake by epigenetic changes underlie this pro- 25 percent. People in the caloric-rees ranged from 28 to 61. There was a was much more complicated. striction group cut their calories by 12 similarly wide range in the pace of It is true that short telomeres are cess.”

Whatever the answer, it’s clear that percent over the two years (more the aging. A few people showed virtually associated with a higher risk for heart no aging over 12 years, a few showed disease, diabetes, some cancers and aging slowly, avoiding disease and liv- first year than the second), and lost 10 three years of biological aging per year poor immune function. Life stress also ing a long time are intertwined phe- percent of their weight. Metabolic rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, insulin relived, and the rest fell in between. appears to shorten telomeres, which nomena.

For example, centenarians not only sistance and a marker of inflammation Cognitive and physical function may partly explain high disease prevtracked biological age. alence in the poor. (See accompanying have retarded biological ages, they’re all moved in healthful directions. But also more likely to carry specific gene the study was too small and short to People with higher biological age article.) did less well on tests of balance, fine However, people with a rare mu- variations (called single nucleotide measure longevity or incidence of dismotor skill, grip strength and abstract tation that keeps telomeres long are polymorphisms, or SNPs) that protect ease. Its purpose was mostly to show reasoning. more, not less, sus- against disease. A study published last that such experiments are feasible and The blood vessels ceptible to some can- year found five regions in the human safe.

The list of anti-aging compounds in their retinas - a cers, such as melano- genome where such SNPs reside.

In one region, certain SNPs lowered - verified in yeast, nematodes, flies, view into the blood ma. The reason may vessels in the brain be that their cells di- the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, high fish and mammals - now moving into - looked older. When vide more times, in- cholesterol and pancreatic cancer. In human trials is growing.

An immunosuppressive drug called a panel of college stucreasing the chance a second, the SNPs protected against dents estimated the of malignant muta- heart disease and diabetes. In a third, rapamycin down-regulates an enzyme age of these Dunedtion in ones that are they made lung cancer, pancreatic called mTOR; the drug extends the life in individuals based especially vulnera- cancer, heart disease and rheumatoid of rats by 30 percent. A widely used diabetes drug, metformin, which extends on a photograph, ble, such as cells in arthritis less likely.

In the end, a person who avoids fa- life in mice, will soon be tested in those with advanced the skin. Furtherbiological age were more, many mam- tal diseases is likely to grow old and non-diabetic elderly people. Researchjudged older. The mals (including mice have a body that seems younger than ers want to learn whether it prevents conclusion was that and rats) have short it is, even at age 100. It’s hard to know or delays ailments such as cancer, stroke and dementia. Resveratrol, a people who were “bilives and die with what causes what. compound in grapes and blueberries, ologically old” for long telomeres; the and some other natural substances are their age showed it latter don’t assure being studied for their epigenetic efin many ways - with longevity. fects on chromosomes. weaker muscles, “There’s been 20 — DANIEL W. BELSKY years of research, The fact that we don’t yet know the slower thinking, narEPIDEMIOLOGIST AT DUKE UNIVERSITY WHO WAS and the field has fundamental drivers of aging may be rower arteries and LEAD AUTHOR OF THE STUDY IN THE PROCEEDINGS OF irrelevant. That’s because we already a careworn appearTHE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. learned that teloance. m e r e s h o r t e n i n g know enough about how aging happens So when might any of this be coming “Our data suggest plays a role in aging. in organs, cells and molecules to tinto your doctor’s office? that aging is a systemic process - that But it is not the fundamental cause of ker with it.

For a cell to remain youthful, it has “We try not to share information you see an accumulating loss of in- aging,” Horvath, the genetics profestegrity across many systems of human sor, said. “We can debate how import- to maintain the ability to detect and with patients that is not of use to repair DNA damage, keep up its ener- them,” said Belsky, the lead author of physiology,” said Daniel W. Belsky, ant it is.” an epidemiologist at Duke University A newer and more informative gy production, dispose of its garbage, the New Zealand study. Measurements who was lead author of the study in the measure is known as the epigenetic send out the right chemical messages, of biological age aren’t valid enough Proceedings of the National Academy clock. It keeps track of age-related stay attached to other cells and do lots “for them to be clinically useful.”

Will there be a time when they’re of Sciences. changes in molecules, called methyl of other things.

In recent decades, scientists have part of the medical exam? “AbsoluteAlthough few people in the Dune- groups, that attach to the outside of din group had an age-related chronic our strands of DNA, like barnacles identified genes, enzymes, metabolic ly.”

Kennedy, of the Buck Institute, feels disease, research suggests that the bi- on a rope dangling off a dock. “DNA pathways and signaling molecules that ologically old among them will soon methylation” plays a part in regulat- control those activities. Stimulating or similarly about drugs to slow aging.

He foresees a time when patients start getting sick. ing genes; its exact role is still being blocking them, with the goal of lengthening life, especially healthy life, can meet with a physician at age 50 for an A study last year found that people worked out. assessment that includes blood and in their 70s whose biological age is five A person’s methylation pattern is now begin.

Nearly all the experiments so far gene tests, personal and family history, years greater than their chronological partly inherited and can be altered by age have a 20 percent higher risk of lifestyle and environmental exposures. have been in laboratory organisms and talk about diet, habits and behavdying over six years than people whose DNA damage, telomere shortening and ranging from yeast to monkeys. The ex- ior. It may result in a prescription.

“Some drugs will work in some peobiological and chronological ages are cell senescence also change methyla- periments often require drastic steps the same. A study of Danish twins in tion patterns. But the biggest driver is (such as knocking out genes, killing ple,” he said. “They will certainly work cells with antibodies, sewing animals better if people are choosing healthy their 80s found that when a pair has the passage of time. different biological ages, the “older” The most accurate epigenetic clock together) that are impossible in hu- lifestyles.”

One pill won’t do it all, and there is one was twice as likely to die over the looks at 353 methylation sites out man beings. The hope is to find behavensuing eight years as the “younger” of millions on our chromosomes. Of iors or drugs that accomplish the same no Fountain of Youth. But there may be a Leaky Faucet of Youth, and ways one. those, 193 gain methylation with age thing as those experiments have. to keep it dripping.

Biological age appears to be real and 160 lose it. The clock considers The easiest way to extend life in Brown is a physician and a longtime and able to predict the future, at least both gains and losses. to some extent. But what is driving it?

People with HIV infection or Down many organisms couldn’t be more low- writer on medical and health issues for syndrome - conditions that put them tech. It’s controlled starvation: limiting The Washington Post.

Cell division

‘OUR DATA SUGGESTS THAT AGING IS A SYSTEMIC PROCESS - THAT YOU SEE AN ACCUMULATING LOSS OF INTEGRITY ACROSS MANY SYSTEMS OF HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY.’

Repairing DNA damage

Your biological age