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Red Deer Advocate FRIDAY, OCT. 31, 2014
Your trusted local news authority
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Snow clearing redefined SNOW ZONE SYSTEM ALLOWS CITY TO BETTER COMMUNICATE PLOWING WITH RESIDENTS BY ADVOCATE STAFF City of Red Deer unveiled a new snow plowing program on Thursday that will see streets cleared sooner, faster and more often. A new coloured route system has been adopted to
streamline snow clearing and make it easier to let residents know when they can expect the plows. New triggers for mobilizing plows, graders and sanders, and targets for getting the job done should also improve service. An interactive website has been set up so property owners can get live plowing updates. To bankroll the plan, city council approved $1.9
million in capital spending this year to add two more plow trucks, two graders, a skid steer, a truck/trailer combo, a snowblower and a loader. An $855,000 increase in operational spending was also approved for this year, and again next year.
Please see SNOW on Page A2
Pilot error blamed for fatal plane crash near Buffalo Lake
HALLOWEEN TOIL
BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Toiling over a bubbling vat of witches’ brew can be hard work as Aubrie Parkins, Damian Johnson and Jamaal Ndungutse found out Thursday. The three joined their West Park Elementary School Pre-Kindergarten classmates for a glow-in-the-dark Halloween party in their classroom. With Halloween lining up with the weekend, police are warning that some tricks will result in hefty fines. Please see related story on page C1.
A plane crash near Buffalo Lake that killed two B.C. brothers in 2011 was likely the result of pilot error, a fatality inquest was told. Dean Sorken, 44, and his brother Lee Sorken, 39, died of “multiple blunt injuries” when their singleengine plane crashed on June 3 in a farmer’s field on the north shore of Buffalo Lake. According to the report from a fatality inquiry held in Stettler last August, Dean Sorken was piloting the plane through poor weather conditions that he had insufficient training and experience to deal with. The Abbotsford resident was advised several times of heavy cloud cover over Alberta before starting the flight. Yet he proceeded to pick up his brother Lee in Vernon, B.C., before heading to a family wedding in Killam, east of Camrose. After reviewing the weather data at the time of the flight, experienced pilot Gordon Welsby told the hearing he “could not fathom why (Dean Sorken) thought he could fly in the prevailing weather conditions. ... The decision to fly was a bad one and should not have been undertaken.” The B.C. pilot had clocked only 500 hours of flight time, which in Welsby’s opinion was low experience.
Please see CRASH on Page A2
Red Deer recognized for efforts to eliminate homelessness BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Red Deer has been recognized by top Canadian researchers for being on the right track to end homelessness. The State of Homelessness in Canada 2014, released on Wednesday, highlighted only two communities — Red Deer and Medicine Hat — for their efforts to eliminate homelessness. In Red Deer, four community organizations — Central Alberta’s Safe Harbour Society for Health and Housing, Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter, Central Alberta Women’s Outreach Society and the Canadian Mental Health Association — work together as part of the Red Deer Housing Team using the Housing First strategy for the difficult to house. They look at getting people into housing to give them some stability and support before dealing with issues, like mental health disorders, that make them vulnerable to homelessness.
WEATHER Cloudy. High 12. Low 1.
FORECAST ON A2
‘ONE ORGANIZATION CAN’T BE AN EXPERT IN ADDICTIONS, MENTAL HEALTH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, HOUSING — BUT OUR TEAM IS.’ — STACEY CARMICHAEL SAFE HARBOUR
Stacey Carmichael, director of programs with Safe Harbour, said the organizations bring their strengths together at the table. “I think if we worked independently, or in our only little silos, we would lose a lot of that expertise. One organization can’t be an expert in addictions, mental health, domestic violence, housing — but our team is.” Working as a team also holds members to task, she said. “We’re accountable to our funders, to each other, to the community, to our clients, lots of different eyes on the ball so to speak.”
The team is funded by the provincial and federal governments and supported by the City of Red Deer. Each agency also contributes some fundraising dollars. Carmichael said working as a team is more efficient, eliminates duplication and is cost effective when it comes to administration. And the team is open to finding new ways better help the homeless, she said. “We’re not adverse to changing things up a bit if it’s proven it’s going to work more effectively. The collaboration itself, that’s non-negotiable. It will always be there.” According to The State of Homelessness in Canada report, 235,000 Canadian experience homelessness in a year — 5,000 are unsheltered, 180,000 stay in emergency shelters and 50,000 are provisionally accommodated. A key focus in the report is the creation of more affordable housing.
Please see HOMELESSNESS on Page A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6-A8 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D4-D7 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C7 Entertainment . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B7
‘Decoding Desire,’ part of ‘The Nature of Things,’ airs Thursday on CBC Television
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