JAYS ACQUIRE CY YOUNG WINNER PRICE PAGE B2
BEHINDTHE HIP-HOP BEATS D1
Red Deer Advocate FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority
OUT OF THE BUNKER
All aboard the vote train SOME CANDIDATES MORE PREPARED THAN OTHERS AHEAD OF ELECTION CALL The train wants to go apparently. Some Central Alberta federal election candidates are already on it, some have their tickets in hand, but some haven’t quite got to the wicket yet. This would be the train to Canada’s 42nd federal election, tracked so far for Oct. 19. When precisely the election call will come is Stephen Harper’s secret, although there are reports he will do so on Sunday — in the middle of the long weekend. If the Oct. 19 date is the day, it would mean an 11-week campaign that would be one of the lengthiest campaigns in MARY-ANN recent history. BARR The known Central Alberta federal election candidates and those who are seeking party nominations in newly defined ridings so far include: Red Deer-Lacombe: Con- HARPER PLAYING servative Blaine Calkins (cur- THE LONG GAME A4 rently MP for Wetaskiwin PARTIES PREPARE riding); Jeff Rock — Liber- FOR LENGTHY als. The NDP have not set a CAMPAIGN A5 nomination date yet, and so far Doug Hart and Katherine Swampy have declared they are seeking the nomination. Red Deer-Mountain View: Conservative Earl Dreeshen (currently MP for Red Deer riding); James Walper — Libertarian. The NDP have not set a nomination date yet, but Evan Bedford and Dianne Macaulay so far are seeking the nomination. Battle River-Crowfoot: Conservative Kevin Sorenson (currently MP for Crowfoot); Gary Kelly — Green. Yellowhead: Jim Eglinski — Conservative MP (the riding has the same name but also has new boundaries); Cory Lystang — Libertarian; Ryan Maguhn — Liberal.
BARRSIDE
Please see ELECTION on Page A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
David Schultz hits a shot out of the greenside bunker on the 18th hole on the final day of competition in the Alberta Golf Senior Men’s Championships at the Red Deer Golf and Country Club on Thursday. Schultz was able to make par on this, the last hole of the tournament even after having fired his tee shot into a fairway bunker. Schultz finished the tournament at three over par. Please see related story on page B1.
Teen held in custody for role in violent robbery BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF A convenience store clerk, blinded after being sprayed with bear spray, had a saw held against his throat as a teen demanded cash. The teen was sentenced to nine months in custody followed by 12 months of probation. Judge Bert Skinner handed down the sentence Thursday in Red Deer youth court. The then 17-year-old, pleaded guilty on June 11 to counts of robbery, disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence, possession of a prohibited weapon and two counts of breaching a youth court order. He can’t be named because of provisions in the Canada Youth Justice Act. Crown Prosecutor Carolyn Ayre read in the facts of the case. On April 27, the youth and Erin Bull, 18, entered the Express 24 Food Mart on Erickson Drive at 4:30
a.m. with their faces masked by bandanas. Bull was armed with a saw and the youth was armed with a saw and some bear spray. Bull hit the clerk with the saw, while the youth sprayed the clerk with bear spray. The two demanded cash. The clerk said he couldn’t open the till because he was blinded by the bear spray. At this point the youth held his saw to the clerk’s throat and threatened to harm the clerk. A second employee was in the back while this was occurring and contacted the police. The clerk was able to get one of the two cash drawers open and was attempting to open the other one when Red Deer RCMP arrived. The two people were arrested and charged. Bull pleaded guilty to his role on June 17 in Red Deer provincial court and is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 26.
Please see ROBBERY on Page A2
Abortion pill approval panned, praised BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
An open drawer of a telemedicine terminal in Des Moines, Iowa, from which Planned Parenthood of the Heartland clinic doctors can remotely prescribe the abortion-inducing drug RU-486, is shown on Sept. 22, 2010. A quarter century after women in France were first given access to it, the abortion drug known as RU-486 is finally going to be available in Canada.
WEATHER Sunny. High 29. Low 11.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B6-B7 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5-A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . C4-C5 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Entertainment . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B5
Conservative cabinet ministers shied away Thursday from questions about Health Canada’s decision to approve the abortion drug known as RU-486. Justice Minister Peter MacKay declined to comment on the decision during a stop in Calgary to make an unrelated announcement. “Oh gosh. I think that would best be directed to (Health) Minister (Rona) Ambrose,” he said. “It is an issue of course for women, families, Canadians everywhere, but I think your question would best be directed to Health Canada. “Personal opinions are best kept personal.” Health Canada confirmed late Wednesday that it has approved the drug for use here, a decision that comes 2 ½ years after the manufacturer’s application was submitted. Women will need to obtain a prescription from a doctor to purchase the pill. Defence Minister Jason Kenney and Michelle Rempel, minister of state for western economic diversification, were also in Calgary on Thursday and declined to comment. Ambrose told reporters in St. Albert, Alta., that
the decision did not rest with her. “It’s out of my hands and the decision is final,” she said. “Any of those details you would have to speak to the officials at Health Canada and the scientists that actually manage the regulatory approval process. I’m not involved in it.” Ambrose cancelled two events scheduled for Thursday afternoon and Friday in Edmonton and area. No reason was given. A Conservative MP from Saskatchewan strongly condemned the government for approving the drug. “It is a dangerous combination of drugs that destroys a woman’s tissues in the womb in order to kill her preborn child,” David Anderson, the member for Cypress Hills-Grasslands, said in a release. “I am extremely disappointed that Health Canada would see this as acceptable to Canadians.” Anderson declined an interview request. The RU-486 drug has been available since 1988 in France. It was approved for use in the U.S. in 2000. Prof. Ashley Waddington, a family planning expert at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., praised Health Canada’s decision to approve the abortion pill.
Please see APPROVAL on Page A2
Debris offers clue to fate of Flight 370 A sea-crusted wing part washed up on an island may be the first trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 since it vanished. Story on PAGE A7
PLEASE
RECYCLE