Red Deer Advocate, October 17, 2013

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The Anaheim Ducks scored their fifth straight victory Thursday, beating the Calgary Flames 3-2

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Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, OCT. 17, 2013

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Assisted living facility slated for northeast BY HARLEY RICHARDS ADVOCATE BUSINESS EDITOR Northeast Red Deer should soon have a five-storey assisted living facility. On Wednesday, the city’s municipal planning commission unanimously approved plans for the 134-suite building at 6791 65th Ave. It will be designed for a range of needs, with apartment-style

independent living on the fourth and fifth floors, and assisted-living accommodations on the ground level. “It’s an aging-in-place community,” said Doug Mills of Points West Living of Edmonton. Points West Living operates a number of supportive living facilities in Alberta, including one in Stettler. It’s developing the Red Deer project jointly with property owner L-7 Inc., as Points West Living Red Deer Inc.

Contributed illustration

An artist’s rendering of the assisted living facility planned for north of 67th Street on Taylor Drive. Plans call for a hair salon, multipurpose room, dining room, commercial kitchen, day care and adult day program on the main floor, with dining areas, kitchens and lounge areas on the second and third floors. There will be 102 parking stalls, and landscaping well in excess of the minimum requirements under the city’s land use bylaw.

A MEAL FIT FOR A KING

Toby Lampard, president of L-7, said construction could start this winter and will take about 18 months to complete. Cost of the project is expected to be between $25 million and $27 million, said Mills.

Please see FACILITY on Page A2

THRONE SPEECH

Tories lay out priorities BALANCED-BUDGET LAW, EU TRADE DEAL TOUTED BY BRUCE CHEADLE THE CANADIAN PRESS

the basement of Loaves and Fishes. She said most of the immediate neighbours have been notified of the plan, which includes more Safe Harbour staff using office space at People’s Place to increase staff presence at the site. Haggarty-Roberts said the province considers the increase in beds to be a temporary measure for the winter. But Safe Harbour believes the demand for beds will be so strong that a case could be made to maintain all 35 beds. Social agencies in the community, including the City of Red Deer, are looking at other shelter options if the demand for beds is exceeded this winter at People’s Place and Safe Harbour’s Mats overnight shelter, located at 5246 53rd Ave. “Certainly we will be part of the conversation, but it’s not just a Safe Harbour issue,” Haggarty-Roberts said.

OTTAWA — Mandatory balancedbudget legislation, interprovincial booze runs, public sector bashing and lifetime prison terms are among a grab bag of populist Conservative promises in a mid-mandate policy makeover. The Tory-blue booty was included in a lengthy speech from the throne Wednesday by Gov. Gen. David Johnson that spent almost as much time congratulating the Harper government on past achievements as laying out future priorities. As such, the document marked both the belated return of Parliament and the unofficial start to a federal election campaign that is still two years away. “Tell the prime minister you’ve got his back — and help us seize Canada’s moment,” the Conservative party operations director, Fred Delorey, urged party followers in a mass email shortly after the late-afternoon speech concluded in the Senate chamber. Watching Stephen Harper’s back appears to be a catchphrase as beleaguered Conservatives return to the parliamentary fray. Harper is beset by ongoing Senate expense scandals and polls that consistently show his party tied or trailing the rejuvenated Liberals, and near neck-and-neck with the official Opposition New Democrats. The throne speech made several unalloyed pitches for consumer affections, with promises to “unbundle” cable TV packages, reduce smart phone roaming charges, permit the transport of beer and spirits between provinces and even stop companies from charging for providing paper bills. It’s the Conservative response to a broad appeal for those ill-defined “middle class” voters both Liberals and New Democrats covet.

Please see HOUSING on Page A2

Please see SPEECH on Page A2

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Quintin Temple, representing a king, and Eric Salls, dressed as a peasant, enjoy a medieval feast at Glendale Science and Technology School on Wednesday. As part of their Grade 8 Social Studies class, the students and staff enjoyed a meal dressed as their favorite medieval characters. Now the students will transition into studying the Renaissance.

People’s Place buys bunk beds to boost housing BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Twelve additional spaces at People’s Place emergency shelter will open on Nov. 1 to increase housing for the Red Deer’s homeless this winter. “That’s as best a measure we can implement right now. We believe there is still going to be folks who won’t be able to be accommodated,” said Tricia Haggarty-Roberts, assistant executive director with Safe Harbour, on Wednesday. She said people are regularly turned away at People’s Place because its 23 beds are full. The same is true for the Mats overnight shelter where there are 20 mats for adults under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In late September, Central Alberta’s Safe Harbour Society for Health and Housing announced it could not operate Winter Inn, its cold-weather overnight shelter program, as it did

WEATHER Sun and cloud. High 9. Low -2.

FORECAST ON A2

not get its usual funding from the city’s Community Housing Advisory Board to run the program. In past years, Winter Inn has typically operated from November to April with about $110,000 in provincial funding that is allocated by the advisory board. Last season, 326 different people used Winter Inn, located on the main floor of Loaves and Fishes, at 6002 54th Ave., in partnership with Safe Harbour. Haggarty-Roberts said the Community Housing Advisory Board has allowed Safe Harbour to keep $22,000 in surplus funds and the province has given Safe Harbour permission to use that money to buy bunk beds to replace and increase the number of beds at People’s Place from 23 to 35. Adding more than 12 beds would require more staff and there are no new dollars for staff, she said. “The bunk beds should be arriving sometime late next week.” Safe Harbour runs People’s Place in

INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6-B8

Congress passes bill to avoid default Congress passed legislation late Wednesday to avoid a national default and end the partial government shutdown. Story on PAGE A6

PLEASE

RECYCLE


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