Red Deer Advocate, December 14, 2015 by Black Press Media Group

TURNOVERS COSTLY

SETTING THE STAGE

The Red Deer Rebels came bearing gifts and consequently dropped a 5-2 decision to the visiting Calgary Hitmen

Jenna Goldade has big plans for the Scott Block’s two theatre spaces.

PAGE A3

SPORTS — PAGE B1

Red Deer Advocate MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

www.reddeeradvocate.com

Your trusted local news authority BILL 6

Fill our fleet

Critics vow to keep up pressure BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF The Alberta government passed its farm-safety bill, but critics have no intention of letting up. Central Alberta Wildrose MLAs Jason Nixon and Ron Orr were invited to a rally in Ponoka on Saturday night. Next Friday at 11 a.m., Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Don MacIntyre will be attending a Bill 6 gathering just east of Sylvan Lake off Hwy 11. Some political observers have commented they have never seen the electorate so angry at its government. Angry demonstrations have led to outright threats against Premier Rachel Notley by some critics. Wildrose Leader Brian Jean added his voice on Friday to the many calling for respect and restraint. Lacombe-Ponoka Wildrose MLA Ron Orr agrees there has been some “petty vitriolic statements out there that shouldn’t have been made.” There is nothing wrong with peaceful protest — it’s a key part of democracy — but he and his party do not support any inappropriate or threatening comments. “It shouldn’t be happening,” said Orr, who was a pastor before entering politics. Now that the bill is passed, the NDP government has promised full consultation with farmers and ranchers while the fine details of regulations are ironed out, a process that could take more than a year.

Please see BILL 6 on Page A2

Photo by ASHLI BARRETT/Advocate staff

Ayla Parsons, 3, drops a couple of teddies into a bin as part of AMA’s annual Fill Our Fleet program collecting donations for the Red Deer Food Bank. Until Dec. 19, AMA will be accepting new teddy bears and money, which will be delivered to the food bank in time for Christmas.

Retailers feeling economic pinch BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF A Grinch-y economy has taken some of the sparkle out of the Christmas shopping season so far. Local retailers said there appears to be a little less spending this year, although some figure it’s about the same as last year. A woman who works at a Bower

Place Shopping Centre clothing shop said overall traffic appears to be down a bit. “I don’t think there’s as much disposable income,” she said, adding more online shopping is also a factor. “It’s definitely down. But (Friday) night, it was insane,” she said, adding the mall was packed. She predicted the parking lot would be full again by the afternoon.

“It’s still pretty good.” A salesperson at a jewelry store said the economy has had a noticeable impact. “It’s a different year,” she said. “It’s definitely slower.” But while sales might be down a little, it has not been a dramatic drop. she added.

Please see RETAIL on Page A2

Prolific Christian author humbled by her literary journey BY MARY-ANN BRR ADVOCATE STAFF

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Prolific author Janette Oke of Olds with a few of her older and more recent titles.

30% flurries. High -5. Low -17.

FORECAST ON A2

INDEX Two sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business . . . . . . B9-B10 Canada . . . . . . . . A5-A6 Classified . . . . . . B6-B7 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 Entertainment . . . . .A10 Sports . . . . . . . . . B1-B7

Please see OKE on Page A2

Bones found in woods those of missing girl Eight years after she vanished near her home in Trois-Rivieres, Cedrika Provencher has finally been found.

PLEASE RECYCLE

Story on PAGE A6

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Author Janette Oke accomplishments go beyond many writers’ dreams. She’s written about 70 books, and numerous television movies and series have been inspired by those books. Oke, now 80, wrote her first novel when she was 42. Today, according to her publisher Bethany House, based in Minnesota, 30 million copies of her books have sold in 16 different languages around the world. The author, whose Central Alberta roots run deep, began writing because she felt there was a void in Christian inspirational fiction. Oke was born in Champion in southern Alberta but at the age of three she moved with her parents, Amy and

Fred Steeves, and her siblings to the Hoadley area, about 25 km north of Rimbey. That’s where she grew up, and where the family’s homestead is, which eventully became the Steeves House Museum for many years until it closed a couple of years ago. The museum and the contents of Oke’s writing room have recently been offered to the Rimbey Historical Society. Oke, described as an Evangelical Christian, has resided in Olds for the past 15 years. She remembers always being interested in writing and was a prolific reader as a youngster. “As I grew older I found that being a person from the faith community I wasn’t finding the type of literature that I felt matched my world view.”

A2 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Dec. 14, 2015

B.C. in recovery mode after latest in series of storms

ICE-COLD ART

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

Photo by ASHLI BARRETT/Advocate staff

Sophie Knievel, 5, creates some “Ice-Cold Art” — cards and gift tags inspired by ice — during MAGnificent Saturdays at the Red Deer Museum Saturday afternoon. MAGnificent Saturdays runs again on Dec. 19 at the museum, where families can create some Christmas-themed artwork and crafts between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

STORIES FROM PAGE A1

OKE: Pioneer-era theme and female protagonists So, given her desire to write, and her Prairie background with a love for the pioneer period, she said it was a natural area for her to write about. Her books usually have a pioneer-era theme with female protagonists. The first book she wrote was Love Comes Softly. It’s the story of a pioneer couple who head west. The husband dies accidentally and the wife is left alone and pregnant. Along comes a stranger, offering to marry her, and it goes from there. It became a movie in 2003. Oke was working in a bank office in Didsbury when she began writing, which became her sole employment for many years. She has retired twice before, but now says she really is retired. The first time she came out of retirement was when she was asked to co-author with another Christian writer, Davis Bunn. She thought she was done after that but she ended up co-authoring three books with her daughter, Laurel Logan. “So now I think I am really done,” Oke said. “I was doing for a number of years three books a year and it was absolutely exhausting. Besides that, once you’re a writer, people assume you’re a speaker, so there was all of this speaking engagements and whatnot that went along with it. That I finally decided I couldn’t carry both loads.” Oke knows well the crews that do her movies, and she’s been on set in places like California and Southern Alberta. There will be filming in the new year in Langley, B.C., for a TV series based on her books. She does not receive any money for the movies. Oke said her journey has been very humbling, particularly when she has received so many letters from people who share their lives with her. “I feel like I am giving them an opening to express how they feel.” She still corresponds with some longtime letter writers. She doesn’t have a public email. “People don’t change. Circumstances do. The basic needs of humanity are always the same. It doesn’t change over the years and it doesn’t change with the location so people are able to relate in a very special way.” In the Nineties, the Steeves family decided to preserve the family farm, and make the homestead house, once the Hoadley post office residence, into a museum. The small home was restored in the era that the eight Steeves children grew up in, complete with wood stove. The museum, which opened in 1998, drew visitors

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from near and far, including those who came to see where Oke got her start. It was sustained with revenues from a tea house on the property. The contents of a basement room in the tea house where Oke wrote have also been offered to the Rimbey Historical Society. The museum was meant to share the time period with other people, Oke’s roots, and also a home base for family gatherings. Oke said that rather than let the home deteriorate, they offered it to the historical society. Cheryl Jones, administrator and curator of the Rimbey Historical Society, which runs the 10-acres PasKaPoo Park Historical Museum in town, said they have just become aware of the donation and the board will be discussing it. They will need to find funds to relocate the building, Jones said. “It would be a great addition to our historical museum.” barr@reddeeradvocate.com

BILL 6: Six pages of amendments Orr said on Friday he was planning at the rally to send the message that the legislation is a long way from being finalized and Wildrose will be holding the government’s feet to the fire to ensure the agricultural community’s voice is heard. “I’ve already had some people come to me who are trying to put together some industry groups and things like that,” he said, adding Wildrose will help any way it can. Orr offered his thanks to those who expressed their concerns at rallies, emails, phone calls or letters. That input both highlighted the key areas of concern and were successful in convincing the government to amend its legislation. MacIntyre said he’s heard that finalizing all of the required regulations could take 18 months to two years. “We are going to hammer (the government) to ensure the farming community are the people who have the input into what those (regulations) look like,” he said. When first proposed, the NDP heralded their bill as landmark legislation, he said. It was only after farmers, ranchers and Opposition members spoke out that that the government brought in six pages of amendments. “The pressure has to stay on,” he said. MacIntyre said has received between 1,000 and 2,000 emails on Bill 6 and numerous phone calls and letters to his office.

VANCOUVER — Southwestern British Columbia is recovering from the latest in a series of storms to blow through the region over the past week. Powerful winds and wet weather toppled trees and downed power lines over the weekend, cutting off power for thousands of Vancouver Island residents. About 500 people on the west coast of the Island are still without electricity while crews work to fix the outages. BC Ferries cancelled several sailings as Saturday wore on before eventually calling off all remaining sailings on its principal ferry routes between the Island and the mainland for the rest of the evening. The ferries were back in service Sunday though with some delays. A wind warning remains in effect for the Island’s west coast, along with a rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver and snowfall warnings moving up the Fraser Valley and over the Coquihalla. High winds also forced Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain to shut down its main gondola on Saturday, leaving about 400 people stranded overnight at the mountain-top resort. His office is struggling to respond to everyone. “We can’t keep up with it. They’re coming in faster than we can answer them.” Thousands of emails and letters have gone to other Central Alberta MLAs’ offices as well, he said. Adding to the anxiety in the agricultural community is the vague answers it has been getting from Workers Compensation Board officials on what is now required for each individual farm or ranch. “The whole thing was ill-conceived from the get go.”

RETAIL: ‘Surprisingly boisterous’ A saleswoman at another clothing store said it has been steady so far this season. “It hasn’t been super, super busy,” she said, adding the mall has been crowded though. Another women’s clothing retailer said sales so far were on par with last year. “Everything’s been good.” Dan Hachey, general manager of Parkland Mall, said retail is “surprisingly boisterous” considering the bad news on the economic front. “It’s probably a little under last year,” he said, adding retailers are taking it in stride. Spirits appear to be remaining high among most shoppers. Given slumping oil prices many retailers were concerned about the upcoming season, which is always hugely important to merchants. “When the economy is the way it is you always wonder how our residents are doing, but, fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be showing in people’s purchases for Christmas,” Hachey said. Solid sales numbers from retailers aren’t usually available until February, when retail analysts will be able to take stock of the season. Reg Warkentin, policy co-ordinator Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce, said they are hearing that the season should be reasonably good. While there has been no shortage of bad economic news over the last few months, Red Deer’s unemployment still sits at only 5.5 per cent, which would be an enviable number in many jurisdictions. The economy is down compared to some of the banner years of not so long ago, said Warkentin, but overall it could be much worse. For many businesses, the first quarter of next year — traditionally a slow time — may provide a clearer picture of where the retail economy stands.

Numbers are unofficial.

Weather TONIGHT

TUESDAY

HIGH -5

LOW -17

HIGH -5

HIGH -9

HIGH -15

30% chance of flurries.

Clearing.

Sunny.

Sunny. Low -20.

Sunny. Low -19.

REGIONAL OUTLOOK Calgary: today, 30% flurries. High -5. Low -11. Olds, Sundre: today, 30% flurries. High -5. Low -18. Rocky, Nordegg: today, 30% flurries. High -7. Low -19. Banff: today, 30% flurries. High -5. Low -14. Jasper: today, 30% flurries. High -4. Low

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

TONIGHT’S HIGHS/LOWS

-12. Lethbridge: today, 30% flurries. High -4. Low -11. Edmonton: today, 30% flurries. High -5. Low -16. Grande Prairie: today, a few flurries. High -10. Low -14. Fort McMurray: today, 60% flurries. High -6. Low -12.

WINDCHILL/SUNLIGHT

FORT MCMURRAY

-6/-12 GRANDE PRAIRIE

-10/-14

-5/-16 JASPER

-4/-12

RED DEER

-5/-17 BANFF

-5/-14 Windchill/frostbite risk: Low Low: Low risk Moderate: 30 minutes exposure High -5 to 10 minutes: High risk in 5 to 10 minutes High -2 to 5 minutes: High risk in 2 to 5 minutes Extreme: High risk in 2 minutes Sunset tonight: 4:22 p.m. Sunrise Tuesday: 8:38 a.m.

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RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Dec. 14, 2015 A3

Goldade has big plans for Scott Block’s theatre spaces BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF Developing a thriving theatre scene in Red Deer’s downtown is Jenna Goldade’s goal. Goldade is taking over running the Scott Block’s two theatre spaces at 4818-50th Ave. with the aim of eventually having live performances happening there every weekend. “We have the talented people here, and the resources to make it happen,” said the co-founder of Against the Wall Theatre and its Bull Skit sketch-comedy troupe. Goldade recently signed a one-year lease to run the building that Bull Skit has been renting for monthly shows. The lease can be extended to three years. Against the Wall Theatre had been looking for a permanent home, at which monthly Bull Skit shows did not have to be scheduled around other bookings. Although a potential building was located north of Superstore last summer, and an indiegogo funding campaign raised $36,000 towards the cost — “which was amazing” — Goldade noted many expensive upgrades were needed for this space. It also wasn’t as centrally located as the Scott Block. The Red Deer College theatre graduate, therefore, jumped at the leasing offer made by the owner of the historic Scott Block building, Doug Anderson. “I’m excited for this opportunity and challenge,” said Goldade, who wants to expand upon the facility’s decade-long relationship with the local arts community. The Scott Block’s former facility manager Diana Gelden feels “It’s a good time to pass the reins and see what AWT can do.” Money donated for a permanent home for Bull Skit will be held in trust. If the lease arrangement continues beyond a year, the funds will be used for improvements to the Scott Block theatre, said Goldade. If it doesn’t, fundraising will have to be restarted to find a suitable future home for Bull Skit. But she believes the agreement looks promising. Goldade will be taking all bookings for the Scott Block’s main theatre space (which holds up to 200 seats), and the 60-seat Centennial Stage, which is accessed from the back alley. She’s hired an assistant, as well as a technical director to help renters with lights, sets and audience seating (which has to be set up and taken down after a show’s run is over). This service wasn’t available before, and Goldade believes it will make the building more attractive to local theatre groups. Tree House Youth Theatre and the Red Deer Players are already regular users of the space. Goldade is also hoping to book shows by Prime Stock Theatre, Ignition Theatre, and local music acts, such as The Dirrty Show — as well as out-of-town troupes.

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Jenna Goldade of Against the Wall Theatre is excited the theatre group has now taken over the running of the Scott Block’s theatre space. “I want the Scott Block to be the place where you can see theatre every weekend.” Goldade intends to “jazz up” the building with better lighting, while retaining its affordability to non-profit groups. She said having local theatre groups operating out of one facility will be beneficial as they can share resources and support each other’s projects. “People will see that we have a really great space in Red Deer,” added Goldade, who believes the building’s owners have done a wonderful job of transforming it from a former furniture store and indoor paintball range to a theatre. “We’re happy to take it to the next step.” lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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GRANDE PRAIRIE — Police in Alberta are trying to confirm that a missing woman is safe after another woman she knew was found dead. RCMP say that Amber Dawn Diebert, 24, and Jody Michelle Topilko, 30, were both reported missing earlier this week. Diebert’s body was found in a rural area northwest of Grand Prairie on Friday and police believe she was a victim of foul play. Insp. Gibson Glavin says the women knew each other and investigators hope Topilko might be able to help them figure out what led to Diebert’s death. Glavin says investigators don’t believe there’s a risk to the public based on the evidence so far, but that they are anxious to find Topilko safe and sound. Police are looking for a black, 2015 Chevrolet 1500 pickup with Alberta licence plate L02 511 that may be connected to Topilko. “There’s concern since we don’t have her and don’t know how she is. But we don’t have any information, on the other hand, that she is the victim of foul play,” Glavin said of Topilko. “She’s missing and we’re actively looking for her.” While police said they don’t know if there is an actual link between the two investigations, they said they aren’t ruling out the possibility. Glavin said Diebert was last seen on Tuesday and was reported missing on Thursday. Topilko was reported missing on Tuesday, and was last seen shopping in Grande Prairie with a family member on Nov. 29. “They knew each other in some way and that’s the only connection we have between them right now,” Glavin said.

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COMMENT

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

We must open up to talk about suicide This week Albertans learned about say “Yes.” Your job is to connect them the devastating rise in suicide deaths to help. Don’t be worried about solving in our province. It is staggering. Alber- their problem — you can’t solve it anyta has a high rate to start with (higher way. Just listen. And connect them to than Ontario, for example). help. (See help lines listed More Albertans die by suibelow). cide each year than in fatal Is this recent increase car collisions. And that was due to the current econombefore this year’s increase. ic downturn in our provThis new trajectory is beince? While it is too early yond alarming. to determine this, and not We often talk about the possible to know without rate, the trends, the causes a detailed breakdown of … but in light of all of these the new data, one thing is big-picture concepts we certain: the time to act is must remember that these now. We need to take suiare people. These are our cide prevention seriously friends, neighbours, brothin Alberta: it is everyone’s MARA ers, fathers, daughters, colresponsibility. GRUNAU leagues. The Centre for Suicide These are people who do Prevention was privileged INSIGHT not want to die but rather, to present to the provincial people in extreme pain — Mental Health Review this so extreme that the only solution they fall. The bi-partisan committee invited can see is death. online input from all Albertans, ran When people are at the point of con- many focus groups, and hosted formal sidering suicide, they will often put presentations from 22 organizations, out ‘invitations’ or signs — they are of which we were one. We recomlooking for someone to reach out to mended Alberta implement a coordithem. Be bold! Ask directly! The worst nated, multi-pronged suicide preventhing that can happen is an awkward tion approach with dedicated leadmoment. The best thing that can hap- ership reporting directly to the Prepen is life-saving. When people consid- mier. Suicide goes beyond the scope ering suicide are asked directly, they of the Health Ministry. It cuts across

socio-economic lines, ages and ethnicities; therefore, our reach must extend past Health as well. To reduce the suicide rate, Albertans must all work together and from all angles. There are four best practices in suicide prevention which will begin to affect the rate when employed in a coordinated strategy. They are: • Open and easy access to mental health care: including province-wide crisis-line access and universally accessible psychological services; • Responsible media reporting: as we’ve seen this week — open, thoughtful, candid discussions about suicide, its prevalence, and where to get help; • Restricting access to lethal means: make it more difficult for people to access things that can kill them. We commend the City of Edmonton for beginning to erect barriers on the High Level Bridge and Calgary Transit for educating all of their train operators in suicide alertness and prevention; and • Education: everyone can learn about suicide and how to help others. This category includes research, public awareness campaigns, “gatekeeper training” (equipping people with the skills to identify and intervene with people at risk of suicide), and technical training for our clinicians.

Quebec brought their rate down significantly by employing a similar strategy. Saskatchewan has recently extended their crisis-line services throughout the province. British Columbia has just earmarked $3 million for gatekeeper training province-wide. Nunavut has a newly-appointed Minister of Suicide Prevention. Alberta needs to act now. As service providers, let’s coordinate our efforts. As Albertans, let’s start a domino effect: the more we talk about suicide, the more we will erode its stigma, the more people will feel comfortable offering help, and the more people will feel comfortable asking for help. We all have a role to play and together we can beat this silent killer. Suicide is preventable. 24-hour crisis lines in Alberta: Calgary and area: Distress Centre Calgary (403-266-4357 (HELP) help@distresscentre.com); Cold Lake and area: Dr. Margaret Savage Crisis Centre (780-5943353, 1-866-594-0533); Edmonton and area: Canadian Mental Health Association — Edmonton (780-482-4357 HELP) 1-800-232-7288); Lethbridge and area: Canadian Mental Health Association — Lethbridge (403-327-7905, 1-888-7872880) Mara Grunau is the executive director for the Centre for Suicide Prevention.

Advocate letters policy The 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.

Enough fear mongering I’ve had it. Enough is enough. Enough shortsighted, narrow-minded, bigoted letters to the editor about the impending arrival of 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada. Virtually every day lately there’s someone writing about the “invasion” of Canada by refugees. There’s hand-wringing about how refugees don’t speak our language and might not accept “Canadian culture” (whatever that is). There’s fretting about how refugees will take scarce jobs that should be available to real Canadians in these hard economic times. The authors ask “why don’t we spend that money on our own needy like the homeless in Canada instead of wasting it on refugees?” and “what about our indigenous people who don’t have clean drinking water? Let’s clean up our own house first!” (these aren’t direct quotes but my attempt to distill the essence of these sentiments). Then of course there’s the completely unfounded presumption that ISIS will load a bunch of sleeper terrorists onto our refugee evacuation flights in a masterful “Trojan horse” ploy. Well, those people asked, so here’s my answer: Because it’s a matter of life and death. Preserving human life takes priority over other problems. Subsection 3(2) of the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act sets out the objectives of that Act respecting refugees, including the following: • to recognize that the refugee program is in the first instance about saving lives • to fulfill Canada’s international legal obligations with respect to refugees • to establish fair and efficient procedures that

CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER Published at 2950 Bremner Avenue, Red Deer, Alberta, T4R 1M9 by The Red Deer Advocate Ltd. Canadian Publications Agreement #336602 Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation Mary Kemmis Publisher mkemmis@reddeeradvocate.com Josh Aldrich jaldrich@reddeeradvocate.com Managing editor

will maintain the integrity of the Canadian refugee protection system, while upholding Canada’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all human beings • to protect the health and safety of Canadians and to maintain the security of Canadian society • to promote international justice and security by denying access to Canadian territory to persons, including refugee claimants, who are security risks or serious criminals. Our refugee program is not a new left-wing escapade invented by Justin Trudeau. This system has been in place for decades. We all wish life in Canada could be better, especially for the least fortunate among us. But if you ask me whether we should spend $1.00 on the homeless here or $1.00 saving a life or sparing a family from the horrors of ISIS or the al-Assad regime, I’ll proudly say “let’s save a life.” We’ve all seen the iconic images of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body washed up on a Turkish beach. Don’t worry; his family didn’t flee Syria in an inflatable raft to steal your job. Grant Watson Red Deer

NDP caught trying to sneak Bill 6 through By my estimates, at least 700 people showed up to hear what the NDP government had to say about Bill 6 in Red Deer. Some 500 were allowed into the meeting room, while the rest of us were outside on the street.

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cate.com Classified ads: 403-309-3300 Classified email: classifieds@reddeeradvocate.com 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

To the credit of Danielle Larivee the Minister of Municipal Affairs, she came outside to address the crowd, as the NDP team were dealing with those inside. Not surprisingly, there was a half hearted apology about getting the “messaging wrong”, double speak for “it’s not our fault but yours, for not understanding our intent”. What is really required is for the NDP government to apologize for their arrogance, lack of respect for Albertan’s, and democracy. Only when faced with mounting pressure, from growing numbers of protesters, and increased media coverage; did this government finally realize they got the cart before the horse. Anyone would assume that to bring forward such a Bill, many meetings would take place prior to it being brought forward. Consultations with industry stakeholders, and farming organizations, plus outreach to ordinary family farms through town hall meetings. If this kind of ground work had been done in advance, the Bill would likely have been worded quite differently, and been more acceptable. Everyone in the agriculture industry wants a safe work environment, but to ram through flawed legislation without advance consultation is just wrong. It’s time the NDP consider killing Bill 6, taking it back to the drawing board, and bringing it back when it’s ready and been reasonably vetted. I feel as though someone has been caught red handed doing something wrong; and just doesn’t want to admit it, and make things right. Reminds me of our former government, which acted with the same level of disrespect toward the voter. Norman Wiebe Red Deer

of member newspapers. The Press Council’s address: PO Box 2576, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 8G8. Phone 403-580-4104. Email: abpress@telus. net. Website: www.albertapresscouncil.ca. Publisher’s notice The Publisher reserves the right to edit or reject any advertising copy; to omit or discontinue any advertisement. The advertiser agrees that the Publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of error in advertisements beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by that portion of the advertisement in which the error occurs. Circulation (403-314-4300) Single copy prices (Monday to Thurs-

day): $1.05 (GST included). Single copy (Friday and Saturday): $1.31 (GST included). Home delivery (GST included): • One-month subscription (six days a week, delivered, plus online access): $25 Online access only: $15 •Three-month subscription (six days a week, delivered, plus online access): $65 Online access only: $65 •Six-month subscription (six days a week, delivered, plus online access): $108 Online access only: $108 • One-year subscription (six days a week, delivered, plus online access): $165 • Online access only: $185

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CANADA

A5 Flights booked for Kurdi relatives

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS BY THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The aunt of a Syrian toddler whose lifeless body pictured on a Mediterranean beach sparked worldwide outrage over a refugee crisis says the flights have been booked to bring some of her relatives to Canada. Tima Kurdi said her brother Mohammad Kurdi, along with his wife and five children, are scheduled to arrive into Vancouver the morning of Dec. 28. Mohammad is the uncle of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old boy who died alongside his mother and older brother when their overcrowded boat flipped while crossing the treacherous waters between Turkey and Greece. Tima described informing her sister-in-law after learning Saturday morning that Citizenship and Immigration Canada had finalized the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s travel arrangements. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I phoned them and I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;They booked you Dec. 28.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; said Tima on Sunday when reached by phone at her Vancouver-area home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And first she said to the kids, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oh my God, the flight is booked Dec. 28.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; And the kids were screaming. And she was like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Really? Seriously?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; And we started crying and crying and crying. â&#x20AC;Ś There were no words after that, just crying and tears. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was the most emotional phone call,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It almost took me back to that news when I heard about my nephew (Alan).â&#x20AC;? Mohammad Kurdi has been in Germany since leaving his family in Tur-

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Newly-arrived Syrian refugees Raffi Der Kaspar, 10, and his sister Lara, 17, are greeted by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, left, Immigration Minister John McCallum, second from right, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, centre, and Herritage Minister Melanie Joly, second from right, at a welcome centre, in Montreal, on Saturday. key seven months ago to find work. He has yet to meet his youngest child, who was born in July. The family will reunite in Frankfurt before flying together to Canada. Tima is in the process of opening a hair salon in Port Coquitlam, B.C., where she said Mohammad will join her as a barber. Back in Turkey his

Old convent in Nova Scotia ready to welcome family of refugees BY THE CANADIAN PRESS ST. ANDREWS, N.S. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The old convent in rural St. Andrews, N.S., had been for sale for more than a year when the Sisters of St. Martha concluded that fate or something more powerful was telling them the big, empty home had a higher purpose. In September, within a few weeks of Pope Francis urging more parishes to take in Syrian refugees, the nuns had turned their attention to making the house available when a call came from a local group thinking the same thing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Maybe it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t meant to be sold,â&#x20AC;? says Sister Brendalee Boisvert, the orderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s congregation leader. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Maybe this was always in the mind and heart of the Holy Spirit â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that we would always have a family enjoy this home that we enjoyed for 87 years.â&#x20AC;? With the help of the religious order, volunteers with the Tri-Heart Society are now preparing for the arrival of a privately sponsored Syrian family of six who have been living in a camp in Lebanon.

OTTAWA â&#x20AC;&#x201D; An Ottawa school choirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s song billed as a welcome to Syrian refugees coming to Canada has garnered widespread attention including praise from the prime minister. The song performed by a choir at De La Salle secondary school was posted on YouTube last week under the title â&#x20AC;&#x153;Welcome to Canada Syrian Refugees.â&#x20AC;? According to the YouTube post, it was an historical song that was sung to the Prophet Muhammad when he sought refuge from Mecca to Medina. It has been viewed nearly 700,000 times since it was posted Dec. 11, including by Justin Trudeau. â&#x20AC;&#x153;WATCH: Ottawa high school students sing a traditional Arabic welcome song. Well done De La Salle,â&#x20AC;? Trudeau tweeted on Sunday. Choir director Robert Filion told Global News the song was his attempt at bringing diversity and cultural inclusion and was not originally intended for Syrian refugees â&#x20AC;&#x201D; more than 300 of whom arrived by Canadian government planes since Friday. The video post has received widespread Canadian media attention and was even picked up by a Turkish news agency.

The volunteers have been told the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 43-year-old father is an electrician and welder, and his 39-year-old wife has secretarial skills. They have three sons â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ages 16, 13 and six â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and an eight-year-old daughter. Little else is known about the family, except that they speak Arabic and the eldest son speaks some English. Tri-Heart has raised more than $30,000 for living expenses. As well, the seven-room convent has been cleaned up, stocked with supplies and is accepting donated furniture. A cozy living room with a flat-screen TV has replaced a small chapel. School supplies sit in neat piles on a small desk in an upper bedroom. And when the call went out last week for a kitchen table and chairs, a donated set showed up the next morning. While thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no question the nuns and volunteers have the best interests of the refugees at heart, the question remains: is a quiet, rural corner of eastern Nova Scotia an appropriate place to settle a family from a war zone?

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14-year-old, eldest son Chergo worked in a clothing factory to help support the family during his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absence, but he will go to school once he arrives in Canada, said Tima. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course â&#x20AC;&#x201D; this is the first thing he has to do,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not going to be working.â&#x20AC;?

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A6 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Dec. 14, 2015

Bones those of missing girl BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TROIS RIVIERES, Que. — Eight years after she vanished near her home in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, nineyear-old Cedrika Provencher has finally been found. Quebec provincial police announced Saturday night that human remains discovered in the woods outside the city were those of Cedrika, who went missing on July 31, 2007. News of the discovery prompted an outpouring of condolences on social media, including from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “My heart goes out to the family of Cedrika Provencher,” he tweeted. “May you finally be able to mourn your daughter and may she rest in peace.” Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard also expressed his sympathy for the Provencher family on Twitter. Cedrika’s disappearance spawned massive manhunts, a huge police investigation as well as the recruiting of many others to help find the freckle-faced girl whose missing person posters once graced lamp posts and store fronts across the region. Despite a large reward and several suspects being questioned over the years, no arrests have been made. Cedrika was last seen being approached by an adult to help search for a missing black and white dog on the evening of July 31. She was never

File photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Nine-year-old girl Cedrika Provencher is shown in this handout photo. Quebec provincial police confirmed late Saturday that human bones discovered Friday evening in Saint-Maurice, near Trois-Rivieres, are those of Provencher. seen again. On Sunday, a Facebook post attributed to Cedrika’s grandfather Henri Provencher thanked the public for helping the family to look for the girl.

“Despite the pain and broken heart, I want to thank from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of Cedrika’s family all the population, police, media, and numerous volunteers who helped and

participated in the search from near and far,” said the post on the Facebook page dedicated to Cedrika. “You showed great generosity and a great solidarity in the horror we’re living.” Pina Arcamone of the Missing Childrens’ network said she was both relieved and saddened for Cedrika’s family. She said it is always devastating to lose the hope of finding one’s child alive, but hopes the family will finally be able to grieve. Martin Prud’homme, the director-general of the Quebec provincial police, would not elaborate on whether or not police had any new leads, saying only the case was “progressing.” He said he spoke with the young girl’s parents Sunday morning and was at the site where the remains were discovered in the afternoon to check on the investigation. Prud’homme, who was part of the team investigating the disappearance in 2007, said the case brought back memories for him and remains “particularly close to my heart.” The remains discovered in the woods were turned over to forensics experts for analysis after they were discovered by Friday evening. On Sunday, about 50 officers were on the site where the body was discovered. They were expected to continue their search Monday morning.

CANADA Infrastructure minister says rules, standards will speed up flow of funding RCAFBRIEFS needs to speed up BY THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Canada’s new infrastructure minister says projects that are shovel-ready and meet the Liberal government’s national objectives will get some of the billions in new federal cash being made available. Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi says those big objectives are threefold: grow the economy, create jobs and make the country more sustainable. Sohi says shovel ready projects mean a municipality has done all the relevant studies, public consultation and planning — to qualify for financial help from the federal government. He accused the Harper Conservatives of announcing money for projects that weren’t ready to begin so they could reap some political capital. “We want to create a process where

I don’t go out and make announcements without even consulting with my departmental staff or getting their input or not even having an application in for that project,” Sohi said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “We will develop some processes that bring in more accountability and also more transparency.” That will include better explanations to cities about why a project proposal was rejected, and set new service standards like speeding up application processing times. “If we make a commitment to a project, and if a project has been sitting on our staff’s table for six months, that’s unacceptable,” Sohi said. The Liberals have promised to increase infrastructure spending by an average of $6 billion a year over the next 10 years, raising the federal investment to $125 billion during that time.

The extra money is supposed to be spread equally to public transit projects, green infrastructure, such as wastewater facilities, and social infrastructure like affordable housing. Sohi said the government plans to refocus its marquee infrastructure program, the New Building Canada Fund, on more cross-country projects like highways, ports, and border crossings to help speed up the flow of commercial goods and trade. Sohi didn’t say whether the new money the Liberals are promising would top up a suite of existing funding programs at Infrastructure Canada, or add a new program on top of what is already there to pay for upgrades to water and wastewater systems, social housing, seniors’ facilities, and infrastructure in aboriginal communities. “Infrastructure is a way to opportunities,” he said.

delivery of Cyclones to avoid chopper shortage OTTAWA — Canada’s air force must speed up crew training and the delivery of CH-148 Cyclone helicopters in the next two years to avoid a shortage as five decade old CH-124 Sea Kings are finally retired, says a senior defence official. A senior defence official has told The Canadian Press they are looking at ways to do both, starting next year. Concern that the Sea Kings may be phased out faster than the Cyclones have the equipment to be fully capable of replacing them has been around since the former Conservative government announced last June that the old helicopters would be slowly retired by 2018.

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WORLD

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

Fire kills 23, injures 23 others BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RUSSIA

MOSCOW — A fire swept through a Russian home for people with mental illnesses, killing 23 patients and injuring another 23, many of whom were on medication or otherwise unable to walk, the emergency services said Sunday. The remaining 24 patients were safely evacuated, including some who had to be carried out of the building, and the four medical personnel working at the home were unhurt, they said. The fire raised additional concern in Russia because it followed two similar fires in 2013 that took the lives of 75 people. After those fires, the government had promised to improve fire safety at institutions for psychiatric patients. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of this weekend’s fire, which broke out late Saturday in Alferovka, a village in the Voronezh region about 600 kilometres (350 miles) south of Moscow. The fire in the one-story brick building was extinguished shortly after 3 a.m. (0000 GMT) Sunday. The fire started in a section of the home dedicated to patients who were unable to walk, emergency services official Igor Kobzev said on Russian state television. He said 39 of the patients in the home could not walk. All of the patients at the Novokhop-

ing so many of the patients. “They carried out 18 people who were sleeping and under the effects of strong medication,” he said. Russia has a poor fire safety record with about 12,000 fire deaths reported in 2012. By comparison, the U.S., with a population roughly double Russia’s, recorded around 3,000 fire deaths in 2011. “The mass death of socially vulnerable people occurs each time for the same reason: a lack of funding, dilapidated buildings and too few personnel, especially on night duty,” said Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the federal investigative agency. “However, judging by the preservation of such conditions and the repetition of these tragedies, the proper conclusions from this analysis of the causes either are not made or are made in favour of half measures or the dispersion of budget funds, which does not solve the problem,” he said. Markin said Russian society should demand the construction of major rehabilitation centres with comprehensive safety systems. His statement listed 11 major fatal fires since 2005 in homes for the aged, disabled and mentally ill across Russia.

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a Russian home for people with mental illness in Semiluki, Voronezh region, about 600 kilometres south of Moscow, Russia. Russian emergency services say more then 20 people died when a fire swept through a home for people suffering from mental illness, and 51 were rescued. ersky Neuropsychiatric Home were men and those who died were aged between 46 and 78, according to a list released by the emergency services. Those who were evacuated were

Syrian rebels fire mortar shells into Damascus GOVERNMENT RESPONDS WITH AIRSTRIKES BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

lah announced the names of at least 11 militants it said were killed while fighting in Syria. The Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite group has sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces. It was not clear when the 11 fighters were killed, but one security official said it happened in the past 48 hours, most of them in Syria’s Qalamoun mountains near the border with Lebanon, where militants operate, including Syria’s al-Qaida branch, the Nusra Front. More than 250,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in Syria’s nearly five-year conflict, which has left the country divided and devastated. Islamic extremists, including the Islamic State group and its rival, the Nusra Front, control roughly half the country. Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani said in rare comments aired late Saturday that local truces only benefit the government. He criticized last week’s deal in the Homs neighbourhood of Waer, which saw a few hundred insurgents pull out of the district in return for a cease-fire and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

DAMASCUS, Syria — Rebels entrenched in an eastern suburb of Damascus fired volleys of mortar shells into the Syrian capital on Sunday, killing three people, including a child, and wounding 33, Syria’s state-run news agency and residents said. Government forces hit back with airstrikes that activists said killed at least 28 people. The Damascus suburb, known as Eastern Ghouta, is held by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad who often launch mortars into Damascus, his seat of power. Sunday’s barrage — more than 40 mortar shells according to one report — was particularly strong and sustained, shaking residents out of bed in the early morning as shells struck residential districts. SANA said a child was killed and three people were wounded, and said the shells caused material damage to cars and buildings. The government responded with airstrikes and missiles on suspected rebel outposts in Eastern Ghouta. WALMART CORRECTION NOTICE The Local CoordinaFlyer ending December 16th, 2015. tion Committees and the PAGE 9 – The NERF N-Strike Modulus ECS-10 will not be available Syrian Observatory for in all stores. PAGE 25 – The Men’s Fruit of the Loom Pyjama Set is priced incorHuman Rights, two opporectly at $17.97. The correct price is $25.97. sition outfits that track the war, said at least 28 We apologize for any inconvenience. people were killed in Douma and Saqba, which are part of the same sprawling suburb. The Observatory reported earlier that 40 shells hit Damascus on Putting Christ Back into YOUR Christmas Sunday. The shelling Friday, Dec. 18th, at 7:30pm & Saturday, came as the United NaDec. 19th at 2pm Singing and tions humanitarian chief, Fellowship Ǥ Stephen O’Brien, was visiting the Syrian capital Hebrews to review humanitarian 13:8 work and assess the imǲ pact on civilians of the in ǡ tensified fighting and mil ǡ itary operations. Following a meet ǳ SPEAKERS: ing with Foreign MinisKen Boyer - ǡ ǡ ter Walid al-Moallem, Martin Warner - Ƭ ǡ ǡ Ǥ O’Brien said he was purHave you ever wondered why you need to be baptized? suing efforts to have huAre you saved if you belong to a church? manitarian aid reach all What really happened in the Garden of Eden? Syrian people. Al-MoalDid you know that the Bible promises that the mystery of God lem, according to SANA, would be ϔinished in the last days? emphasized the need for 3031-30 Ave, Red Deer, AB. Collicutt Centre reconciliation and local truces to help in that re– Meetings Rooms A & B gard. No Charge, No offerings and Free Refreshments Available. Meanwhile, Hezbol-

placed in a nearby home for elderly and disabled people. Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov flew to the scene and praised the medical staff and rescuers for sav-

BRIEF Russian destroyer uses small arms fire to ward off Turkish fishing ship in Aegean Sea MOSCOW — A Russian destroyer used small arms fire on Sunday to ward off a Turkish fishing ship and prevent a collision in the Aegean Sea, the Defence Ministry said. The guided missile destroyer Smetlivy was unable to establish radio contact with the approaching Turkish seiner, which also failed to respond to visual signals and flares, the ministry said in a statement. So when the

Koroglu Balikcilik was 600 metres (660 yards) away, warning shots were fired from the destroyer and the Turkish vessel quickly changed course, passing within 540 metres (590 yards). Tensions between Moscow and Ankara have been heightened since a Turkey downed a Russian warplane along the Syrian border last month, and this could further strain relations. The Defence Ministry summoned the Turkish defence attache in Moscow over what it described as the “provocative actions” of the Turkish ship. Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov informed Turkish Rear Adm. Ahmet Gunes of “the possible harmful consequences of the reckless actions of Ankara in regard to the Russian military contingent fighting international terrorism in Syria,” the ministry said in a statement.

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HEALTH

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2014

Overdose deaths rise in U.S. BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Drug overdoses rose again last year, driven by surges in deaths from heroin and powerful prescription painkillers, according to new federal statistics. Overdose deaths in the U.S. surpassed 47,000 — up seven per cent from the previous year. Many of the deaths were due to a group of powerful opioid painkillers, long the leading cause of fatal overdoses. But the number had been stable recently while heroin deaths grew. Experts have speculated that addicts migrated from painkillers to cheaper and easier-to-get heroin. But last year, the opioid toll rose to nearly 19,000 deaths, an increase of 16 per cent. Heroin deaths continued to climb, by 28 per cent to about 10,500. The new government statistics also indicate upticks in deaths from sedatives and cocaine, but those numbers are less than the deaths from the opioids and heroin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week posted the tally, which is based on death certificates. The federal agency is analyzing the drug numbers to determine what’s behind last year’s increases, said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. But clearly, he added, the nation’s drug overdose problem “is not getting better.” Opioid pain relievers, including methadone, OxyContin and Vicodin, have been the focus of a government campaign. The CDC has urged doctors to limit their use to the most serious forms of pain, such as cancer patients

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in December 2015, drug overdoses in the U.S. rose again in 2014, driven by surges in deaths from heroin and powerful prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin. Overall, overdose deaths in the U.S. surpassed 47,000 — up 7 percent from 2013. and end-of-life care. But the vast majority of prescriptions written in the U.S. are for more common ailments like arthritis and back pain. The CDC is working on new guide-

lines for doctors for prescribing such drugs. CDC officials believe at least some of the increase in painkiller deaths last year may be due to illegally-made

fentanyl, which is a synthetic form of morphine. Fentanyl may also be contributing to the heroin numbers, in cases in which heroin is laced with fentanyl, Frieden added.

Canada’s health care wait times need improvement FRASER INSTITUTE SAYS MEDIAN WAIT TIME IS 18.3 WEEKS BY THE CANADIAN PRESS Two separate reports being released Tuesday have used different strategies to reach the same conclusion — Canada’s health care wait times leave much to be desired. The Wait Time Alliance, a group consisting of major doctor’s associations across the country, has analysed data from provincial health care ministries. The Alliance says there’s been some improvement in wait times for certain services like cardiac or radiation treatments, but many others are unacceptably high. The Fraser Institute reached its conclusion by surveying 2,382 medical specialists across the country to determine the length of time between when a patient is referred to them and when they receive treatment. That survey pegs the median wait time is 18.3 weeks, nearly the same as the number reported last year and more than double the length of wait times in 1993. Both surveys say Saskatchewan and Ontario offer the shortest wait times while patients languish longest in Atlantic Canada. Both report authors agree that measuring wait times in Canada is a challenge complicated by a lack of universal standards across the country.

Alliance chair Dr. Chris Simpson said the data collected by provincial health ministries varies widely, since different regions and even individual hospitals track different numbers according to their own criteria. No matter what figures are being presented, however, Simpson said the message is clear — the system as a whole needs to be fixed. Delays in one area, he said, have immediate repercussions across the rest of the health care sector. “We have now situations where patients flow from primary care to hospital to home care to long-term care,” he said in a telephone interview. “And every time there’s a wait for one of these components in the system, the rest of the system backs up.” Both reports suggest patients can expect an expedited timeline when seeking one of the five priority treatments flagged in the now lapsed 2004 health accord, a $41 billion funding agreement between the federal government and the provinces. The alliance said wait times for hip and knee replacements, cataract surgeries, bypass surgeries, radiation therapy and diagnostic imaging have all improved since the accord was introduced. The Fraser Institute survey found that radiation oncology and elective cardiovascular surgeries boast some of the shortest median wait times in

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the country at 4.1 weeks and 9.9 weeks respectively. Both reports also agree that health care lag times are significantly shorter in Saskatchewan than anywhere else in the country, saying the province has adopted new measures in recent years that have brought about a remarkable turnaround. Fraser Institute senior economist and report author Bacchus Barua said wait times in the province have more than halved since 2011 when median times stood at 29 weeks. The 2015 figure stands at 13.6 weeks, he said, crediting Saskatchewan’s willingness to partner with private medical providers and set up a pooled referral system that matches patients with the physician that has the shortest waiting list. Such “outside the box” thinking, he said, is common among countries such as Germany and Switzerland whose universal health care systems offer shorter turnaround times than those found in Canada. He said such systems all feature private sector partnerships and cost-sharing arrangements to keep the patient cue moving. Canada could be well-served by similar strategies, he said, adding that addressing inefficiencies in the current system would do more good than increasing health care spending. The Fraser Institute is a think tank whose stated mission is to study “gov-

ernment actions in areas that deeply affect Canadians’ quality of life.” Simpson said the federal government has an opportunity to take leadership on the issue as part of its stated pledge to negotiate a new health accord. Some of those terms would apply to Ottawa itself, since the federal government is directly responsible for the medical needs of prison inmates, veterans and First Nations Canadians. He said setting criteria to standardize the numbers tracked by the country’s 14 health care systems would go a long way to highlighting problem areas and identifying ways to fix them. “Public reporting of data, I think, is so healthy for a system that wants to improve, because when the public truly understand what kind of value they’re getting from their tax investment and what kind of service is being delivered, they will put on the political pressure that politicians will listen to,” he said. Barua took a harder line, saying data analysis can only go so far if Canada doesn’t implement policy changes as well. “Wait times are not simply going to get fixed by provinces measuring them. We’re already doing that, and it doesn’t matter which report you see, pretty much all of them are showing that wait times are too long.”

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LIFESTYLE

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

Husband not upfront about conversations with mom on the Outside Dear Wife: Whether or not your mother-in-law likes you is beside the point. Your husband should not be agreeing with her or worse, egging her on in a race to see who can insult you more. KATHY MITCHELL When faced AND MARCY SUGAR with criticism ANNIE’S MAILBOX of his wife, he should defend you. Even when you are in the wrong, he should not be badmouthing you to someone outside the marriage. It’s an emotional betrayal, and it shows disrespect. And over time, it can erode the bonds of your marriage. Tell your husband this must stop and ask him to accompany you

to a counselor. If he refuses to admit there is a problem, go without him and work on this. Dear Annie: Often when my husband and I go out with friends, we will see another couple we know along the way. Of course, we politely introduce our friends to the couple. The next thing I know, the two couples are laughing, conversing and setting up a future time to get together. Meanwhile, I’m standing there feeling like chopped liver. This has happened more times than I can count. The people we’ve run into seem to think it’s their right to take custody of our friends. If it hadn’t happened so often, I wouldn’t be so upset. Is there a way to nicely communicate to people that this isn’t OK? — Annoyed Dear Annoyed: If it’s the same people every time, we’d stop introducing our friends to them. If it is a variety of couples that poach your friends, you have two ways to deal with it: You can

A TONGUE LASHING

Elf musical returns to Broadway starring Eric Petersen

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Xing Xing, a 9-year-old male giant panda, formerly known as Fu Wa, one of the two giant pandas from China, sticks his tongue out at the Giant Panda Conservation Center at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday, Dec. 11. The two giant pandas have been on loan to Malaysia from China for 10 years since May 21, 2014 to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

HOROSCOPES Monday, Dec. 14 CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DATE: Natascha McElhone, 46; Patty Duke, 68; Vanessa Hudgens, 26 THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Today’s stars favour catching up with friends, plus following creative pursuits. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: In 2016, Saturn will help you power through challenging projects with extra patience and persistence. But youíll find there’s no substitute for hard work. ARIES (March 21-April 19): You may appear unusually calm on the outside but on the inside you’re feeling intense, full of fiery energy and ready to burst. Pace yourself Rams or you might just blow a fuse! TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Mercury is moving through your international zone, until Jan. 2. So the Christmas/New Year period is a terrific time to travel or play gracious host to guests from faraway. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Geminis often have a superficial grasp of a wide range of subjects. With Mercury moving through Capricorn, strive to focus on one topic at a time, in a thorough and disciplined way. CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’ll make headway by keeping your eyes and ears open. Stay on top of facts and leave fantasy for the movies.

Don’t be rushed into signing on the dotted line — be patient and wait. LEO (July 23Aug. 22): Don’t expect much support from family members at the moment — they have their own problems to deal with. Focus on being the fittest, healthiest and smartest Lion you can possibly be.

JOANNE MADELINE MOORE

SUN SIGNS

be flattered that others like your taste in friends and determine not to be upset by it. Friendships aren’t winnertake-all. Your friends can enjoy the company of others without it changing their friendship with you. The other tactic is to make a brief introduction and then say, “Sorry we can’t stay and chat.” Then escort the couple you are with to the car, down the street, and into the restaurant or wherever you are going. Your mistake is allowing their conversation to go on long enough for them to get to know one another and make plans, while you silently fume on the inside. 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.

NEW YORK — The Christmas musical based on Will Ferrell’s movie “Elf” has returned to New York for the holidays, led by a stage and TV veteran whose oldest child’s first Broadway show was — that’s right — “Elf.” Eric Petersen’s 5-year-old daughter, Sophia, caught the show a few winters ago and adored it. Years later, she sat mesmerized for several hours watching her dad at a rehearsal of the show. “My daughter loves theatre so much and so she’s been going to shows well before most kids go,” Petersen said. “I’m in trouble. She’s totally a show kid. It’s very apparent.” Petersen plays Buddy in the touring musical that plays The Theater at Madison Square Garden until Dec. 27. He’s joined by a cast that includes J.B. Adams as Santa and Veronica J. Kuehn as Buddy’s love interest. “I really love playing the character,” said Petersen. “I feel like I get to do so much fun stuff — physical comedy, which is my bag, and I get to do a little bit of a love story. It’s the whole package.” The musical opens in the North Pole, where Buddy learns he’s not an elf but a human. It then charts his journey in search of his father in Manhattan, perking up everyone he meets. Petersen looks nothing like Ferrell but director Sam Scalamoni said that was never a goal. “It has to be somebody who understands the comedy and the heart of the piece,” he said. “Funny is great, but if there’s not heart, then I don’t care. Eric is such a balance of both.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Mercury is in your creativity zone, which stimulates your mercurial mind and your voracious Virgo curiosity. So it’s a great time to study, take a day trip or dive into a challenging new book. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A family issue is undergoing profound change — like a snake shedding its skin. Circumstances are challenging, but remember youíre in the process of creating a firm new domestic base. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Venus is visiting Scorpio, which makes you feel even more passionate than usual, which can be daunting for those around you. Go easy on them ñ not everyone is as intense as you! SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The focus is on finances Archers, as you strive to come up with better ways to manage money. If you canít handle it yourself, then don’t hesitate to call

on the expertise of a professional. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Today will work best if you can balance being practical and productive with being creative and compassionate. As the day develops, your mind turns to issues involving financial matters. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Start the day with some relaxation, meditation or contemplation. As the day progresses, strive to control your unpredictable energy otherwise you’ll end up in hot water! PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When it comes to a group activity — or a community project — use your intuition to zero in on what is required. Then do some behind-the-scenes work to get things moving again. Joanne Madeline Moore is an internationally syndicated astrologer and columnist. Her column appears daily in the Advocate.

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Dear Annie: I am in a painful position with my mother-in-law. I was pretty sure my husband was talking poorly about me to her, so I asked him whether he had badmouthed me to his mother. He totally denied it, saying, “Absolutely not!” Well, she was visiting recently, and I walked into the room and overheard them both talking negatively about me. I innocently asked what they were discussing and my husband lied outright, saying they were discussing a purchase. My mother-in-law looked like a deer caught in headlights. After she left, I again asked my husband what they were talking about and he reiterated his previous lie. A few weeks later, I got a card in the mail from his mother saying, “If my son ain’t happy, I ain’t happy.” I placed it on my husband’s nightstand. He never said a word and acts as though he didn’t see it. The card has since disappeared. How should I address all of this with my husband and his mom? — Wife

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ENTERTAINMENT

A10

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

A magical Celtic evening With her bullet-proof harp, lilting Gaelic vocals and bubbly personality, Keri Lynn Zwicker packed plenty of Celtic magic into the RDSO’s Christmas concert Saturday night. Or the “Celtic and Christmas concert,” as Zwicker called it — referring to the non-seasonal selections that were thrown into the festive mix at the Red Deer College Arts Centre. Thirteen of Zwicker’s pieces — which ranged from a Scottish Robbie Burns tune to traditional music from Ireland, Wales and Newfoundland, and some originals — were beautifully arranged for LANA orchestra by Red Deer SymMICHELIN phony Orchestra conductor REVIEW Claude Lapalme. With his inspired arrangements, the Edmonton “harp chick’s” gorgeous playing, and lush support from RDSO musicians, how could the concert not be a complete delight? Even Christmas concert purists got their fix of carols. No fewer than eight favourites were wrapped into the opening medley played by the RDSO, including It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, O Come All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger, and Angels We Have Heard on High. Zwicker then jumped in to deliver a sprightly ver-

RED DEER SYMPHONY sion of I Saw Three Ships, in her clear, bell-like voice, while plucking at the strings of her Alberta-made, carbon-fibre Celtic harp. Since her red instrument is made of the same material used for body armour, the harpist told the audience her harp resists bullets from shotguns and handguns, “but not rifles,” getting chuckles from the crowd. Zwicker created some hauntingly beautiful sounds while performing The Huron Carol with the orchestra. If you closed your eyes, you could imagine wind blowing through snow-covered spruce trees, as soft drumming from the RDSO’s percussionist completed the perfect Canadian-ness of the scene. A specifically Albertan Christmas tune was performed by Zwicker as a duet with her husband, Nathan McCavana, on the Irish drum. The soulful God Bless Us Everyone, written by fellow Edmontonian Maria Dunn for The Christmas Carol Project, was played only with bodhran and harp — and this sparseness was affecting. The secular, Celtic part of the program included an epic version of the Newfoundland tune, O No Not I, by Stan Rogers, with crescendo-ing support from orchestra musicians. There was a beautifully arranged Irish melody, Rich and Rare, in which a viola capably filled in for one of the cello parts. Zwicker’s own Leaky Lodge jig was an audience favourite, as was her rendition of the French carol, Il Est Né.

Also memorable was the lovely and sad Lone Shanakyle, written by Irish poet Thomas Madigan after being exiled for protesting the potato famine. Zwicker’s ephemeral sounds on this tune were complemented by light accompaniment from the orchestra’s strings section. The only non-Celtic, non-Christmas melody was Milonga, an Argentinian dance, by Alfredo Rolando Oritz. Zwicker explained that Spanish-style harp playing is more “aggressive.” She plucked the strings with her fingernails, not finger pads. With the addition of oddball percussion and some pushy orchestral horns, the effect was almost Looney Tunes funny. More sobering — pun intended — was Keg of Brandy, by Robbie O’Connell. It featured a swirling melody that mirrored the song’s alcohol-saturated lyrics. On Highland Mary/Lowland Mary, Burn’s lovelorn composition was combined with a companion melody by Zwicker. The harpist, who ended her performance with the quietly powerful Welsh carol All Through the Night, thanked the orchestra and Lapalme for their “amazing” support. But she carried the concert with her winning voice, ebullient personality, and colourful harp playing. At the start of the evening, Lapalme revealed he couldn’t resist the idea of having a Celtic Christmas with Zwicker. “The whole idea is too much fun,” he said. It certainly was. In the words of Tiny Tim: “A Merry Christmas to us all! God bless us, every one!” lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

Mockingjay harpoons whaling tale on quiet weekend

Radio stations hungry for new Christmas songs BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

NEW YORK — The movie industry braced for the coming storm of The Force Awakens in a quiet weekend at the box office where The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 notched its fourth-straight week atop the box office and Ron Howard’s whaling tale In the Heart of the Sea capsized. With The Force Awakens lurking, few studios wanted to push out a new release ahead of the expected box-office behemoth. That left the final chapter of Lionsgate’s Hunger Games saga to remain No. 1 with $11.3 million according to studio estimates Sunday, bringing its domestic total to $245 million. In the Heart of the Sea, starring Chris Hemsworth, was the only major new wide release to test the pre-Star Wars waters. But hopes for the Warner Bros. film sank with an estimated $11 million despite a production budget around $100 million. “Ron Howard is an accomplished, terrific filmmaker who took this ambitious project on as a real passion, and we’re proud to have made it with him,” said Jeff Goldstein, domestic distribution head for Warner Bros. Though Goldstein acknowledged it was a disappointing start, he hopes that In the Heart of the Sea —— about the shipwreck of the Essex, which inspired Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick —— will benefit over the Christmas holiday by getting out ahead of The Force Awakens, which opens Thursday night. “There’s a cultural phenomenon around the corner,” Goldstein said. “Our hope was to get in in front of it and get some word of mouth so that when you get down to Christmas week — we leapfrog over this coming week —— that you can break through the clutter of those other new movies.” In limited release, Adam McKay’s comic rending of the economic collapse, The Big Short, opened strongly with $720,000 in eight theatres. The Paramount Pictures release came into the weekend riding good reviews and a wave of nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes, where it landed four nods including best picture, comedy, as well as nominations for stars Steve Carell and

BRIEF The Nutcracker staged Dec. 18-20 It’s time for the most Christmas-themed of all ballets — The Nutcracker — to release its timeless holiday magic. Young performers under the direction of Tania Strader, will take to the Red Deer College Arts Centre stage next weekend to dance to Tchaikovsky’s famous score.

An epic battle between mice and toy soldiers will be waged, and young Clara will travel to the Land of Sweets once again. Dazzling costumes, a spectacular set and some captivating dancing are promised as The Nutcracker is performed from Friday to Sunday, Dec. 18-20. Due to its popularity, an extra show has been added this year at 7 p.m. on Friday. The ballet will also be staged twice on Saturday, at 1:30 and 7 p.m., and at 1:30 p.m. again on Sunday. Tickets are $23.80 ($21.80 students/ seniors) from the Black Knight Ticket Centre.

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TORONTO — The sounds of the holiday season are pretty much the same from year to year: Feliz Navidad, Baby, It’s Cold Outside and White Christmas on constant rotation in supermarkets, department stores and coffee shops. New Christmas-themed pop songs do appear every year, and Thunder Bay, Ont.-native Paul Shaffer says it’s no surprise why artists keep trying to record a new modern classic. “Everybody wants one, of course, because it comes back year after year,” says Shaffer, who notes it’s not easy to write an enduring holiday song and admits he’s failed several times. “You’re talking to somebody who has written about four or five of them, including a followup to It’s Raining Men with The Weather Girls, which was called Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man This Christmas),” says Shaffer. “It didn’t click like It’s Raining Men.” Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You is perhaps the best and biggest example of a modern holidays hit — none others have come close in the roughly 20 years since it was released. For the most part, the old classics hold their ground while newer tunes come and go. “It’s scary (how) the vast majority of (new holidays) songs become disposable. They really do,” says Wendy Duff, program director at Toronto’s 98.1 CHFI, which has been playing Christmas music 24 hours a day since Nov. 15.

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Christian Bale. Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount, credited McKay for bringing a wry sense of humour to the Michael Lewis adaptation, and creating a movie both powerful and commercial. The strong response to The Big Short also vindicated Paramount’s decision —— made after early screenings of the film —— to move the film, which opens wide on Dec. 23, into awards season from its planned release in 2016. “We thought that we had something really special,” Moore said. “The last week with all the critical attention and audience reaction has certainly proved that out.” The low-key weekend allowed Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur to take third place with $10.5 million in its third week. Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed Rocky sequel Creed followed close behind with $10.1 million in its third week. Slowly expanding Oscar contenders Spotlight and Brooklyn —— both in their sixth week —— continued to crack the top 10 with $2.5 million and $2 million, respectively. But with The Force Awakens breaking advance ticket sales records, the force of Star Wars was felt a week before it even opens. “There’s no question that this weekend was affected by the anticipation of Star Wars,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office data firm Rentrak. “You have countless moviegoers poised and ready to hit the multiplex later this week. We’re on the cusp of an earth-shattering weekend at the box office.” Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. 1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2, $11.3 million. 2. In the Heart of the Sea, $11 million. 3. The Good Dinosaur, $10.5 million. 4. Creed, $10.1 million. 5. Krampus, $8 million. 6. Spectre, $4 million. 7. The Night Before, $3.9 million. 8. The Peanuts Movie, $2.7 million. 9. Spotlight, $2.5 million. 10. Brooklyn, $2 million.

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SPORTS

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

Rebels stymied by great goaltending BY GREG MEACHEM ADVOCATE SPORTS EDITOR Hitmen 5 Rebels 2 The Red Deer Rebels got ahead of themselves Sunday evening at the Centrium. The Rebels came bearing gifts nearly a full two weeks ahead of Christmas and consequently dropped a 5-2 Western Hockey League decision to the Calgary Hitmen before 5,272 fans. The Hitmen were the recipients of a handful of Red Deer turnovers and promptly turned two of them into goals, with Jakob Stukel scoring on a breakaway a mere 31 seconds into the contest and defenceman Jake Bean picking off an errant pass and connecting late in the middle frame. “Turnovers are always going to kill you and when you play good teams they magnify,” said Rebels GM/ head coach Brent Sutter. Adam Musil pulled the Reblels even with eight seconds remaining in the opening period, cashing a rebound while falling to the ice. His shot was the only one of 18 to get past Hitmen goalie Cody Porter — who was excellent while making 42 saves overall — in the first 20 minutes. Stukel notched his second of the game during a Calgary two-man advantage early in the second period, squeezing the puck by netminder Rylan Toth. Rebels forward Presten Kopeck, on the power play, took a cross-ice feed from Lane Pederson and scored on a one-timer at 17:38, but Bean restored the visitors’ lead just 11 seconds later. The Hitmen rearguard jumped on a turnover just outside the Red Deer blueline, moved into the low slot and beat Toth with a backhand shot. “Look at their first three goals,” said Sutter. “There’s a turnover in the offensive zone and they get a breakaway … and the second goal is due to a terrible line change by our penalty killers (that led to a too-many-men infraction and a two-man disadvantage).” Calgary’s third goal, the eventual winner, was a killer considering the Rebels had just drawn even. “We had just tied it up 2-2 and hoped to get some momentum. Then we make an awful play in the neutral zone on a bad pass, don’t do our jobs in our own zone all of sudden it’s 3-2 and they have momentum going into the third.” Hitmen captain and defenceman Colby Harmsworth was fingered for tripping 39 seconds

Photo by ROB WALLATOR/Freelance

Red Deer Rebels Connor Bleackley snaps a shot on net as Calgary Hitmen defenceman Keegan Kanzig tries to block the shot with hit stick during action at the Centrium on Sunday. The Rebels lost the game 5-2. into the final frame, but the Rebels failed to capitalize. Red Deer was denied a two-man advantage when Ivan Nikolishin was tripped and then assessed a highly questionable usportsmanlike infraction for diving late in the Harmsworth penalty. “We had a chance to take the momentum back on the power play, but our power play wasn’t very good,” said Sutter. Just a few minutes later, Musil took a tripping penalty and Calgary defenceman Keegan Kanzig beat Toth through a crowd with a wrist shot from the point. Toth finished with 24 saves. “They get a power play and we don’t take care of

our own zone and it ends up in our net,” said Sutter. “It was game over after that. “We got back to playing later in the period, but their goalie played very well for them. He outplayed our goalie tonight.” Stukel completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal in the final minute. “I thought he was probably the best of our players tonight and he needed to be with some of the pressure they (Rebels) sustained,” said Hitmen head coach Mark French, in reference to Porter.

Please see REBELS on Page B2

McGregor scores sensational knockout over Aldo UFC 194 BY THE CANADIAN PRESS LAS VEGAS — (The Notorious) Conor McGregor backed up his trash talk with his fists Saturday night at UFC 194, knocking out Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds to become undisputed featherweight champion. It was short and violent — the fastest finish in UFC championship history. And it ended the mystique of Aldo as the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter on the planet while making the brash Irish 145-pounder the UFC’s main man. Aldo missed with a right and McGregor floored the champion with a left, adding a pair of hammer-fists before referee John McCarthy stepped in before a stunned crowd of 16,516 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. “I knew he would overextend and I knew I would catch him,” said McGregor, who held his own post-fight news conference after the other fighters left the dais. “I respect Jose. I wish him well. But now we are onto the next chapter,” added the new champion, who had predicted a first-round finish. Aldo (25-2-0) had won his last 18 fights and not lost since November 2005. McGregor (19-2-0) has now won 15 straight dating back to November 2010. The previous fastest finishes in a UFC world title fight were Ronda Rousey’s 14-second submission of Cat Zingano in February and Andrei Ar-

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Conor McGregor knocks out Jose Aldo during a featherweight championship mixed martial arts bout at UFC 194, Saturday, in Las Vegas. lovski’s 15-second KO of Paul Buentello in 2005. Aldo entered the cage as champion while McGregor arrived as interim title-holder for a win over Chad (Money) Mendes while Aldo was out injured. McGregor, who won a US$50,000 bonus for performance of the night and likely millions more from what is expected to be one of the UFC’s biggest-ever pay-per-view takes, left with the one and only belt after a title fight

whose action could be captured in a Vine with seconds to spare. “I think we need a rematch. It wasn’t really a fight,” Aldo said through an interpreter. The UFC laid out two possible scenarios for McGregor. He could stay at featherweight and make his first title defence against Frankie (The Answer) Edgar. Or he could vacate the 145-pound championship and move up to lightweight to fight for the

155-pound title. “The options are there now … I enjoy options. Options are a good thing in the fight game,” said McGregor, who held both titles in England’s Cage Warriors promotion. But he rejected the idea of giving up one belt to fight for another. The crowd roared as McGregor — clad in green compression shorts — entered first, with “Ole Ole” chants from the stands competing with his Notorious B.I.G. entrance music. Aldo followed him to “Run This Town” by Jay-Z with Rihanna and Kanye West. The two did not touch gloves before the opening round. The end came soon after. “I had a little moment when I felt sorry for Jose,” said McGregor. FightMetric said McGregor landed five significant strikes to one for Aldo, whose lone hit was a left that connected as he toppled face-first to the canvas. In the co-main event, No. 1 contender Luke Rockhold dethroned middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Rockhold (15-2-0) beat Weidman up on the ground in the third round and did the same in the fourth, before referee Herb Dean finally stepped in at 3:12. “It was Luke’s night,” said Weidman, his face a road map of cuts and welts. Two judges had Rockhold ahead 3026 going into the fourth round while the third judge had it 29-27 for the challenger.

Please see UFC on Page B2

Canada adds Virtanen, cuts four from junior selection camp BY THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — Canada’s junior team made four cuts on Sunday — and one important addition. The Vancouver Canucks gave forward Jake Virtanen permission to join Canada’s national junior team, a little over an hour after Hockey Canada completed its first round of cuts to its selection camp roster. Forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois, Michael Dal Colle and Spencer Watson were cut from the team along with defenceman Jakob Chychrun. Virtanen is one of four players returning from last year’s gold medal-winning team, joining forwards Brayden Point and Lawson Crouse as well as defenceman Joe Hicketts. He’s the only member of Canada’s junior team with regular-season experience in the NHL. “He brings a power-forward element,” said Hicketts in the lobby of the team’s hotel in suburban Toronto. “He’s a big, strong, smooth skater who can shoot the puck well. Anytime you can get a player of that calibre back it helps the lineup.” Virtanen was in downtown Toronto playing with the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets, who he’d been assigned to on a conditioning stint, and will join Canada immediately. The team will leave for Imatra, Finland, late Monday for practices and

exhibition games before the world championship tournament begins in Helsinki on Dec. 26. The 19-year-old right-winger from New Westminster, B.C., and fellow rookie Jared McCann both made the Canucks roster on Nov. 1, passing their nine-game tryout period. He has a goal and three assists in 19 games with Vancouver and has no points in two games with Utica. “He brings size, skill and a heavy shot,” said Point. “He’s a physical player, so he brings it all for our team.” The cuts came after the second of two exhibition games between Canada and a team of all-stars from Canadian universities. Canada’s junior team now has 15 forwards, nine defencemen and three goaltenders with more cuts to come when the team is in Europe. “I think right now there’s still guys that are worthy to be in the conversation,” said head coach Dave Lowry. “The one priority is that we want to make sure that we’re getting it right.” “We have some decisions that we still think need more time and we’re prepared to do that.” Samuel Montembeault made 33 saves as Canada shut out the Canadian Interuniversity Sport team 5-0 on Sunday afternoon to conclude Canada’s junior selection camp. Montembeault was added to Canada’s roster on Tuesday after Mackenzie Blackwood was suspended by the Ontario Hockey League for eight games. The International Ice Hockey Federation honours CHL

Greg Meachem, Sports Editor, 403-314-4363 E-mail gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com

>>>>

suspensions, forcing Blackwood to miss the first two games of the international tournament. “Pretty great,” said Montembeault. “I wasn’t supposed to be here at first, so just to come here and get a shutout was perfect.” Anthony Beauvillier led Canada with a hat trick while Dubois and Travis Konecny also scored. Beauvillier’s three-game performance against the university all-stars helped earn him a trip to Finland with Canada. “An honour, obviously. Just representing my country, representing Canada,” said Beauvillier. “It’s a big tournament and it would be a dream coming true being part of that team. Just having a chance to win a gold medal, it’s awesome. “A lot of Canadian guys would like to be in my place right now. I’m very happy to be here.” Corbin Boes started in net for the CIS all-stars, stopping 18-of-22 shots in 31:41 of work. Jordon Cooke made 19 saves on 20 shots in relief. Canada lost to the CIS all-stars 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday night. In both games, head coach Dave Lowry elected to scratch some of the biggest names from Canada’s selection camp roster. Top NHL draft picks Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner along with linemate Lawson Crouse did not dress.

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B2 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Dec. 14, 2015

Brodie gets Flames another OT win CALGARY — TJ Brodie is Calgary’s latest player to step up at a big moment as the Flames continued their overtime dominance on Saturday. Brodie scored in the extra period and Johnny Gaudreau had two goals and assisted on the winner as Calgary survived a late third-period collapse to win 5-4 over the New York Rangers — the Flames’ ninth straight home victory. Calgary leads the NHL with a 7-1 record in 3-on-3 overtime. At home, the Flames are a perfect 6-0. “Great play by TJ Brodie,” said Flames coach Bob Hartley. “The boys are skating well, they’re reading the play well and they’re supporting each other very well.” The clincher came at 2:09 when Brodie held the puck on a 2-on-1 rush and put a perfect shot inside the far goal post on Antti Raanta. “We’re moving in the right direction. I think now we have to find a way to win on the road. We have to start finding ways to win in regulation,” said Brodie, who extended his career-best point streak to six games (one goal, six assists). Gaudreau has six points (three goals, three assists) in extra time to lead the NHL. The diminutive star has been lethal on home ice with 10 goals and 17 points during the win streak.

STORIES FROM PAGE B1

REBELS: Tip of the hat Porter and Stukel both came over in an October trade with the Vancouver Giants. “Certainly a tip of the hat to our player personnel department for identifying some guys who would be able to come in and immediately help us,” said French. “As a coach you don’t know much about the guys over on that side (Western Conference), but they’ve really helped our lineup.” The win gave the Hitmen sole possession of top spot in the Eastern Conference, two points up on Red Deer. “We’ve had a decent stretch on the road and were able to get home and recharge before we came in here,” said French. “I don’t think it was our cleanest or most complete effort, but in some respects you have to get some gutty wins and the right guys were probably the best players for us tonight.” Red Deer is one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings and is two up on the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who sit fourth in the conference and third in the Central Division. “What’s our record now, 1-4 against Calgary and Lethbridge, teams we are fighting with for first place in our division,” said Sutter. “If you don’t beat those teams you’re not going to finish in first place and that’s reality. “We just haven’t done enough and played well enough. Mistakes have cost us in those games and they’ve cost us in the standings.” The Rebels, who have played three fewer games than Calgary, are in Cranbrook Tuesday to face the Kootenay Ice, then close out their pre-Christmas portion of their schedule with home games versus the Ice and Hurricanes Friday and Saturday. gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com

UFC: Beatdown The fight turned in the third when Weidman tried a spinning wheel kick. Rockhold evaded the kick, grabbed Weidman and took him down for the first time in his UFC career. Rockhold then mounted Weidman and carved his face open with repeated strikes. The beatdown seemed to go on forever, with Dean allowing the round to end. Weidman’s face was a mess as he came out for the fourth. He soon found himself on the bottom again and the beating continued. “I could not believe he came out in the fourth round,” said Rockhold, who also noted he had been on antibiotics for a staph infection the last two weeks. Weidman (13-1-0) had previously beaten a Who’s Who of opponents, including former champions Anderson Silva (twice), Lyota (The Dragon) Machida and Vitor (The Phenom) Belfort. Kicking Weidman took a toll. Rockhold, a former Strikeforce champion, limped out of the cage with the title. Rockhold and Weidman, who was taken to hospital to be checked out, each collected a $50,000 bonus for fight of the night. The 29-year-old Aldo, who at five foot seven is two inches shorter than the Irishman, was ranked the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighter. McGregor, 27, was No. 12 in the pound-forpound rankings, just below Rousey.

“We weren’t happy with that last road-trip and we knew we needed to come in here on this homestand and make a statement and we did a great job,” said Gaudreau. The Flames have climbed to within two points of Arizona and Vancouver, which are second and third in the Pacific. Calgary holds a game in hand on both. For the longest time it looked like the Flames, who have an NHL-worst four regulation-time victories, were going to win it in 60 minutes. However, the Rangers scored three goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation to overcome a 4-1 deficit. Tanner Glass started the comeback with his first of the season at 5:13 — that goal coming just 16 seconds after Joe Colborne had made it 4-1. Dan Boyle pulled the Rangers within one at 15:06. With the goaltender pulled to make it 6-on-4, Mats Zuccarello tied it on a power play at 18:48. “You look at it on a positive side. That’s a couple of games in a row where we haven’t quit and battled back and made a game out of it,” said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. “At the same time, it’s very easy to pinpoint where we need to improve. Our support and our puck management got us in trouble tonight.” Mason Raymond, with his first in 15 games, also scored Calgary (13-14-2), which opens a four-game road trip on Tuesday in Nashville. Asked if he was now No. 1, McGregor said: “I believe so.” Aldo and McGregor were originally slated to meet at UFC 189 in July. And the fighters talked smack in Toronto, Rio de Janeiro, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City and Dublin, criss-crossing North America in separate private jets before heading to Europe to hype that fight. They almost came to blows in Toronto when McGregor slapped Aldo on the back while waiting to go on air during a morning visit to CTV’s “Canada AM.” White dubbed it the “war tour.” But Aldo withdrew less than two weeks before the fight due to a rib injury. McGregor fought Mendes instead, stopping him late in the second round for the interim title. The sandpaper-like McGregor, a former plumber who has yet to meet a microphone or camera he doesn’t like, had taken one verbal shot after another at Aldo, whose lack of English restricted his comebacks. But the Brazilian looked calm and businesslike in the buildup to this fight. Aldo was the only undisputed featherweight champion the UFC has ever had. He won the 145-pound crown in the WEC in November 2009 and became UFC champ a year later when the UFC bought and absorbed the WEC. The win earned McGregor a spot on the cover of the UFC’s next video game, alongside Rousey. Yoel (Soldier of God) Romero, ranked third among middleweight contenders, hung on to win a split (29-27, 28-29, 29-28) decision over No. 2 Ronaldo (Jacare) Souza of Brazil. Romero won his seventh straight while snapping Souza’s eight-fight win streak. “I am ready for everybody,” said Romero. Romero took it to Souza on the ground in the first round after dropping him with a spinning back fist. The wobbly Brazilian was unsure where to go when the round ended. Souza recovered and hurt Romero, who ran out of gas as the fight progressed, at the fence in the third before taking him down. Romero, 38, won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling for Cuba at the 2000 Olympics. Souza, 36, is a former Strikeforce title-holder and world Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion. Demian Maia, another former jiu-jitsu world champion ranked sixth among welterweight contenders, outgrappled No. 12 Gunnar (Gunni) Nelson — a black belt himself — while administering plenty of ground-andpound pain along the way to a lopsided 30-26, 30-25, 30-25 decision. Max (Blessed) Holloway, ranked fifth among featherweight contenders, beat No. 8 Jeremy (Lil’ Heathen) Stephens by a unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 2928) decision for his eighth straight win. Montreal lightweight John (The Bull) Makdessi, returning after a broken jaw in a loss to Donald (Cowboy) Cerrone, lost a split decision to Yancy Medeiros on the undercard.

CAMP: Scratches Defencemen Joe Hicketts and Haydn Fleury were also healthy scratches while Point sat out both games due to a shoulder injury. Lowry said that Point would be removing the yellow non-contact jersey for the practices in Finland and will get in to some pre-tournament exhibition games. The 2016 world junior tournament will be played from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

The Flames finish off the home-

and New York.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

New York Rangers’ Rick Nash, left, battles for the puck in front of Calgary Flames’ goalie Jonas Hiller during third period NHL action, in Calgary, on Saturday. Calgary won the game 5-4 in overtime. stand 5-0, just as the Edmonton Oilers did the night before. The two Alberta teams swept the same five opponents — Dallas, Boston, San Jose, Buffalo

J.T. Miller had the other goal for New York (18-9-4). The Rangers are 2-6-2 in their last 10.

Canada’s Adam Svensson wins Web.com Tour qualifying tourney BY THE CANADIAN PRESS Adam Svensson’s schedule is going to be a bit more organized in 2016. The Surrey, B.C. native shot a final-round 1-over 72 on Sunday to win the Web.com Tour qualifying tournament by seven shots over Americans Ian Davis and Jason Millard. The victory gives the Canadian fully-exempt status on the Web.com Tour for the 2016 season. “It’s huge being able to pick my schedule instead of booking your flight Monday night before the next event,” the 21-year-old said in a phone interview. “It’s huge knowing where you’re going to play.” Svensson had a 20-under-par 266 total over four rounds at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. It’s the second year in a row that a Canadian won the Web.com Tour qualifying tournament with Edmonton’s Brad Fritsch capturing the title in 2014. The final round featured high winds, which factored into the playing conditions. But not even the winds or pressure got to Svensson. “Obviously you have your little

JUNIOR B HOCKEY The Red Deer Vipers were 1-1 in Heritage Junior Hockey League weekend play, defeating the visiting Stettler Lightning 6-5 Saturday then falling 4-3 Sunday to the Three Hills Thrashers at the Arena. The Vipers prevailed Saturday despite giving up the the final three goals of the game. Colton Weseen scored twice for Red Deer, while Kale Lapointe, Drew Joslin, Anthony Neurauter and Brent Hoppus also connected for the winners. Dylan Houston led the Lightning with four goals. Derek Muhlbach also scored for Stettler, which got a 38-save outing from Travis Green. Mack Patchett turned aside 25 shots in the Red Deer net. Both clubs were three-for-five on the power play. Details of Sunday’s game were unavailable.

nerves on the first tee but after I settled down, I focused on my goal and my game plan throughout the day,” he said. Svensson, who earned US$25,000 for the win, attended Barry University in Florida, but left after his sophomore season to pursue golf full time. During his time at Barry, Svensson was named a Division II player of the year. He says that his win on Sunday doesn’t necessarily solidify his decision to leave school early. “I played pretty nicely up to this point this year and I think being able to finish second on the Mackenzie Tour was a nice thing, but I never had any doubts turning pro halfway through my college career,” said Svensson. Svensson won a Canadian junior title in 2012 and helped Canada to a runner-up finish at last year’s world amateur team championship in Japan. He plans on returning to Surrey on Tuesday where he will spend Christmas before returning to Florida for his birthday on Dec. 31. Heading into the new year, Svensson has high hopes and new goals. “Getting a good start on the Web and trying to win out there and secure my PGA Tour card,” he said. In other Heritage League weekend games: • The Thrashers were 5-2 winners over the visiting Cochrane Generals Friday and lost 6-5 to the host Banff Academy Bears Saturday. Rylan Plante-Crough, with two goals, Ryan Spiller, Jesse Morrison and Cody Phillips scored against Cochrane. Greg Pols made 49 saves for the Thrashers, who were outshot 51-35. On Saturday, the Thrashers outshot the Bears 41-30 but came out on the wrong side of the score while getting two goals from Patrick Fougere and singles from Spiller, Michael Lougheed and Ben Schierman. Pols made 24 saves for Three Hills. • The Lightning were hammered 122 by the host Airdrie Thunder Friday, their only goals coming off the sticks of Matt Johannson and Andrew Shirley. Green made 31 saves for Stettler, outshot 43-18.

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Canadians come home with some cash NATIONAL FINALS RODEO Although the Canadian contingent at the National Finals Rodeo didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bring home any world championship gold buckles, the crew did return from Las Vegas with some significant cash from rodeoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest event. After the final calculations were done Saturday night, steer wrestler Tanner Milan cashed in his chips in the average race, where he finished third best among the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DIANNE top 15. The Cochrane cowboy FINSTAD was 52.6 seconds over the ten RODEO rounds, and that was worth an impressive $43,154. Add to that the almost $40,000 he won in four go-rounds, and the two-time Canadian champ brings home $83,135 from his first NFR. His $159,461 total for the year meant he finished sixth in the world standings, the best of the six Canadians who made the season grand finale. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have asked my horses to work any better this week and my brother, Baillie, hazed his (butt) off this week,â&#x20AC;? Milan told reporters, as the NFR wrapped up. Bareback rider Clint Laye brings a $52,038 paycheck back to Cadogan to show for his first ten days of work in Vegas. His $142,346 season was tenth best in his event, as he finished off his NFR run with an 82 point ride for a split of fourth in the last round. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I expected a lot more from myself,â&#x20AC;? commented Laye, who turned 22 last month. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good outcome because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to work harder next year.â&#x20AC;? Not far behind Laye was Manitobaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Orin Larsen, also making his NFR debut. He collected a few bumps and bruises over the course of the body testing event, but wound up with $22,529 to show for it. Big Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pride, Zeke Thurston, managed to place in the tenth round of saddle bronc action, and that helped him secure a fifth place finish in the average, as he logged 671 points, riding nine of his ten horses. His haul from Las Vegas worked out to $45,692. In his rookie season on the pro scene, the 21-year-old earned $127,970 and finished 11th in the world. The other Larsen brother, Tyrel, won $26,653 for his NFR debut to wind up 13th on the season, with just under $98,000. The Thomas and Mack arena is a tough place to

Raiders girls finish second at Lethbridge basketball tourney

Samuel scores TKO in Calgary Red Deer boxer Brian Samuel scored a technical-knockout victory over Maged Hammo of Lethbridge Friday night to improve his professional record to 2-1. The welterweight bout, part of the Dekada Premier Fight Night card at the Genesis Centre in Calgary, was stopped 37 seconds into the third round when Samuel delivered a devastating left hook to the chin of his opponent. Also on the card, Red Deerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ryan Machan suffered a four-round, unanimous-decision loss to Matt Krayco of Calgary in a cruiserweight fight. In the main event of the evening, a 10-round CPBC cruiserweight title bout, Rob Nichols of Edmonton defeated Frank White of Plympton-Wyoming, Ont., by unanimous decision.

Cunnington wins five golds Red Deer Catalina Swim Club member Tammy Cunnington turned in a dominant performance in the U.S. Paralympic and CanAm Open swim championships at Bismarck, N.D., during the weekend. Cunnington earned five gold medals, topping the competition in the 50-metre backstroke as well as the 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke events. She also set a world record in the 50m â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fly, established new Canadian marks in the 50m â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fly and 100m free and posted a global eighth-best time in the S4 150m individual medley.

Kimzey of Okohoma made it back to back world bull riding championships, in his first two appearances at the NFR. Meantime, just in case fans in Las Vegas couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get enough rodeo with the daily Wrangler NFR dose, rival western wear firm Cinch teamed up with Boyd Gaming to host a Cinch Chute-Out event on the final weekend, featuring many of the contestants whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d finished the year just outside the top fifteen in the standings. Ponoka-raised Jake Vold was there, and the newly minted Canadian Bareback Champion made a strong statement about belonging in Las Vegas in December. He won the first two rounds of the event with matching 86.5 points scores. Then he came out in the top six round, and posted a mark of 88.5. Finally, his domination was capped off as he climbed aboard the top Canadian bareback horse of the CFR, Virgil from C5, and spurred to an impressive 94 for the $10,000 bonus. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t NFR type cash, but the $14,000 he earned will go a long ways towards his 2016 season expenses. Closer to home, there was rodeo action at the Agrim Centre in Rimbey Saturday night, during the Ultimate Cowboy qualifier. The event was designed to narrow the field for the increasingly popular challenge, where contestants have to try their hand at all the rodeo events. Organizer Scott Wyzykoski, known as the steer wrestling dentist in Red Deer, was impressed by the level of competition among those fighting for four available spots for the big New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve event in Calgary. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had two from Quebec, three Americans and even a transplanted Aussie,â&#x20AC;? noted Wyzykoski. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s different for rodeo, because the crowd gets to see the competitors more than once, so there was a lot of loud cheering.â&#x20AC;? Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new All Around Champion, Josh Harden of Big Valley, came out in a tie for first at Rimbey, by placing in every one of the five events he competed in. Splitting top honors with him was Gerald Eash of Montana, while his brother Leroy also made the top four advancing from the night. The surprise, to Wyzykoski and other rodeo fans, was Cole Goodine. The cowboy from Carbon has been to the CFR four times in bareback riding, but proved heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very handy in other events as well, especially when he turned in a winning steer wrestling run. Tickets for Ultimate Cowboy V December 31st at the Agrium Western Events Centre are available through the website www.ultimatecowboy.ca. Dianne Finstad is a local freelance writer and covers rodeo for the advocate

Hard work and skill to drive Cougars senior boys team

LOCAL BRIEFS

The Lindsay Thurber senior girls Raiders finished second in a high school basketball tournament at Lethbridge during the weekend, falling 6956 to host Catholic Central in the final. The Raiders opened the tournament with a 70-33 thumping of Archbishop Jordan of Sherwood Park, then defeated Medicine Hat McCoy 66-51. Thurber downed Lethbridge Chinook 77-69 to advance to the title game.

run barrels at the best of times, and even harder when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re using borrowed horses. Okotoks cowgirl Deb Guelly was at her 6th NFR, but was the hard luck story of the bunch, as she experimented with horsepower that would click for her in that place. She wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shut out, but her single payday of $4231 fell short of even paying the repair bill for her truck breakdown on the way down. Altogether, the half dozen Canucks brought $234,279 U.S. north of the border, along with refreshed dreams and determination for the new season ahead. The most dramatic World Championship comeback story of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NFR was in the bareback riding, when Steven Peebles of Oregon put a dent in Kaycee Feildâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive to a fifth straight word title. Just before he was scheduled to compete at the Ponoka Stampede this simmer, Peebles was badly injured at a Montana rodeo, and came with inches of actually losing his life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the back of that ambulance that day, I begged God for another chance at life, and I told him that if He gave me that chance I would represent him as best I could and go after a world title as hard as I could,â&#x20AC;? Peebles told the PRCA. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pushed me this whole time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to not let God down. I look at life completely different now, and I kept fighting for what I wanted. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredible everything worked out as well as it did.â&#x20AC;? The closest finish came in the saddle bronc riding, where even a last round win by â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wildâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Wade Sundell wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite enough to budge Jacobs Crawley from the number one spot. The Texas cowboy won the average, and edged out the popular Oklahoma rider for the world prize by a mere $3000. Another Texan, Hunter Cure, claimed his second gold buckle in the steer wrestling, after placing in six rounds and finishing second in the average. Count up another couple for the Lone Star State, as Callie duPerier raced to the top spot in barrels, managing a season where she came in as world leader and finished on top as well. The legendary Trevor Brazile had earlier earned another buckle for his collection in the steer roping, but added in his 13th All-Around title to make his count up to 23 championships, as he also broke the six million dollar mark in career earnings. Brazile very nearly had one more, but for a figure eight loop on the tail of his final calf. That opened the door for fellow Texan Caleb Smidt to win the tie down roping title, in just his second NFR. In the team roping, the buckles went to members of two different teams. Aaron Tsinigine from Arizona came away with the header honors, while Kollin VonAhn earned his second heeler world title. The impressive young Sage

BY GREG MEACHEM ADVOCATE SPORTS EDITOR The Notre Dame Cougars might be lacking in senior high boys basketball experience, but they have a host of players with a take-charge mentality. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of our players have played a year or two of JV ball and we have some Grade 12 leadership that made a world of difference for us last year,â&#x20AC;? said Notre Dame head coach Stephen Merredew, whose host squad defeated Cold Lake Assumption 67-54 in Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third-place game of the Cougar Classic senior boys tournament. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say enough about last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s zone championship team, that I was able to look up and down the bench and every guy was a leader. Our Grade 12s this year have been around this program and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to experience what we have to offer and what we expect. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re good leaders.â&#x20AC;? Just two of the Cougarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Grade 12 players were with the team last season â&#x20AC;&#x201D; guard Cody White and forward Josh Ballantyne. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cody and Josh were both key contributors for us last year, they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end of the bench guys by any stretch,â&#x20AC;? said Merredew. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were solid contributors who weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to expect a lot out of this year on and off the court.â&#x20AC;? The other seniors â&#x20AC;&#x201D; guard Don Sinlao and forwards Franz Credo, Zach Best and Griffin Moline â&#x20AC;&#x201D; have come up from the Notre Dame JV program, as have Grade 11 guards Edward Ortiz, Beko Wande, Jeb Maribojoc and Kris LeBlanc, Grade 11 forward Ryan Nielsen and Grade 10 forward Rudy Soffo. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All of these guys work really hard in practice and they demonstrated a lot of skill in JV,â&#x20AC;? said Merredew. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were a good unit together in JV last year. They put up good results and so far theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve shown that they are buying in and that they want to win.â&#x20AC;? As a result, Merredew hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t detect-

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Notre Dame Cougar Cody White is held to the outside as Bert Church Charger Rikesh Dwivedl defends during Notre Dame Cougar Classic basketball tournament action in Red Deer, Friday. ed a problem with the players transitioning to the senior game. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Admittedly itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early in the season and we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t faced a lot of tests,â&#x20AC;? he said. The visiting Camrose Kodiaks did present the Cougars with a challenge in league play last week, however. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Camrose was really good with a lot of Grade 10s who are really athletic,â&#x20AC;? said Merredew, looking back on the 6762 Notre Dame win. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Camrose brought it all game and we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect that, to be honest. Our guys got battle-tested early and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing wrong with a close game early in the season because it sets you up for later in the year.â&#x20AC;?

Merredew, in his first year as Cougars head coach after serving three seasons as an assistant, sees plenty of potential in his squad. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If they keep working hard and playing together as a team I think that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll like the results,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;˘ White paced the Cougars with 29 points in the Cougar Classic thirdplace game. Airdrie Bert Church was a 76-69 win over Edmonton J. Percy Page in the championship final. Bedford Road of Saskatoon took consolation honours with an 81-23 victory over Prairie Christian Academy of Three Hills. gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com

WELDING GLOVES

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SCOREBOARD Hockey GA 90 94 101 107 124 96

Pt 41 39 37 34 25 24

CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OTLSOL GF 35 21 12 1 1 116 32 21 11 0 0 117 31 20 11 0 0 127 33 13 17 3 0 92 31 10 18 2 1 99 33 6 25 2 0 62

GA 108 92 95 111 126 140

Pt 44 42 40 29 23 14

WESTERN CONFERENCE B.C. DIVISION GP W L OTLSOL GF GA Pt Kelowna 31 23 7 1 0 122 90 47 Victoria 32 20 10 1 1 110 73 42 Prince George 31 19 10 1 1 104 89 40 Kamloops 28 14 10 3 1 105 92 32 Vancouver 33 10 19 2 2 94 120 24

Seattle Everett Spokane Portland Tri-City

MONDAY, DEC. 14, 2015

Local Sports

WHL EASTERN CONFERENCE EAST DIVISION GP W L OTLSOL GF Brandon 32 19 10 1 2 120 Prince Albert 31 18 10 2 1 96 Moose Jaw 31 16 10 4 1 112 Regina 32 15 13 2 2 97 Saskatoon 30 11 16 3 0 87 Swift Current 31 10 17 3 1 74

Calgary Red Deer Lethbridge Edmonton Medicine Hat Kootenay

U.S. DIVISION GP W L OTLSOL GF GA Pt 30 18 10 2 0 103 87 38 29 17 10 0 2 78 62 36 31 16 12 2 1 104 104 35 30 15 15 0 0 103 96 30 31 12 18 1 0 93 118 25

Sunday’s results Saskatoon 2 Regina 1 (SO) Medicine Hat 5 Edmonton 4 Vancouver 4 Victoria 2 Calgary 5 Red Deer 2 Saturday’s results Kamloops 5 Prince Albert 2 Regina 6 Lethbridge 5 Brandon 5 Kelowna 1 Swift Current 5 Kootenay 2 Prince George 3 Portland 2 Medicine Hat 5 Edmonton 3 Victoria 6 Vancouver 1 Everett 4 Seattle 1 Tri-City 4 Spokane 3 Tuesday’s games Kamloops at Regina, 6 p.m. Kelowna at Swift Current, 6 p.m. Lethbridge at Prince Albert, 6 p.m. Medicine Hat at Edmonton, 7 p.m. Red Deer at Kootenay, 7 p.m. Prince George at Seattle, 8:05 p.m. Portland at Tri-City, 8:05 p.m. Wednesday’s games Kamloops at Brandon, 6 p.m. Kelowna at Moose Jaw, 6 p.m. Lethbridge at Saskatoon, 6:05 p.m. Victoria at Vancouver, 8 p.m. Everett at Spokane, 8:05 p.m. Friday, December 18 Kamloops at Moose Jaw, 6 p.m. Kelowna at Prince Albert, 6 p.m. Saskatoon at Regina, 6 p.m. Brandon at Swift Current, 6 p.m. Lethbridge at Edmonton, 7 p.m. Calgary at Medicine Hat, 7:30 p.m. Kootenay at Red Deer, 8 p.m. Victoria at Prince George, 8 p.m. Portland at Spokane, 8:05 p.m. Everett at Vancouver, 8:30 p.m. Tri-City at Seattle, 8:35 p.m. Saturday, December 19 Kamloops at Swift Current, 6 p.m. Brandon at Prince Albert, 6 p.m. Moose Jaw at Regina, 6 p.m. Kelowna at Saskatoon, 6:05 p.m. Medicine Hat at Calgary, 7 p.m. Kootenay at Edmonton, 7 p.m. Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m. Victoria at Prince George, 8 p.m. Vancouver at Everett, 8:05 p.m. Portland at Spokane, 8:05 p.m. Seattle at Tri-City, 8:05 p.m. Sunday’s summary Hitmen 5, Rebels 2 First Period 1. Calgary, Stukel 17 (unassisted) :31. 2. Red Deer, Musil 10 (Bobyk, Kopeck) 19:52.

Penalties — Strand RD (hooking) 6:55. Second Period 3. Calgary, Stukel 18 (Karnaukhov, Stallard) 2:29 (pp). 4. Red Deer, Kopeck 5 (Bobyk, Pederson) 17:38 (pp). 5. Calgary, Bean 13 (unassisted) 17:49. Penalties — Kopeck RD (holding) 0:48, Hagel RD (high-sticking) 1:36, Fyten CAL (interference) 9:14, Harmsworth CAL (high-sticking) 12:00, Pawlenchuk RD (slashing) 12:45, Kastelic CAL (interference) 16:02. Third Period 6. Calgary, Kanzig 4 (Bensmiller, Zipp) 5:24 (pp). 7. Calgary, Stukel 19 (Karnaukhov) 19:36 (-EN). Penalties — Harmsworth CAL (tripping) 0:39, Nikolishin RD (Embellishment) 1:56, Twarynski CAL (tripping) 1:56, Musil RD (tripping) 4:11. Shots on goal Calgary 7 12 10 — 29 Red Deer 18 16 10 — 44 Goal — Calgary: Porter (W, 12-3-1) Red Deer: Toth (L, 16-9-0). Power plays (goal-chances) — Calgary: 2-5 Red Deer: 1-4. Attendance — 5,272 at Red Deer. WHL Scoring Leaders Tyson Baillie, Kel Brayden Burke, Let Dryden Hunt, MJ Reid Gardiner, P.A. Brayden Point, MJ Mathew Barzal, Sea Ivan Nikolishin, RD Radel Fazleev, CAL Alex Forsberg, Vic Adam Brooks, Reg Devante Stephens, Spo Parker Bowles, TC Jonathon Martin, SC Egor Babenko, Let Nolan Patrick, Bra Collin Shirley, Kam Tyler Wong, Let Keegan Kolesar, Sea Matthew Phillips, Vic Noah Gregor, MJ Giorgio Estephan, Let Ethan Bear, Sea

G 18 8 20 20 18 9 18 14 11 15 10 18 22 16 9 20 21 16 18 14 12 9

A 33 39 25 23 25 34 24 28 31 26 31 21 16 22 29 17 15 20 16 20 22 25

Pts 51 47 45 43 43 43 42 42 42 41 41 39 38 38 38 37 36 36 34 34 34 34

NHL Eastern Conference Atlantic Division GP W L OL GF 31 20 8 3 100 30 16 8 6 78 28 16 9 3 91

GA 70 77 77

Pt 43 38 35

Washington NY Islanders NY Rangers

Metropolitan Division GP W L OL GF 28 20 6 2 85 31 18 8 5 89 31 18 9 4 90

GA 62 72 72

Pt 42 41 40

Ottawa New Jersey Pittsburgh Florida Tampa Bay Philadelphia Carolina Buffalo Toronto Columbus

WILD CARD GP W L OL GF 30 15 10 5 92 30 15 11 4 74 28 15 10 3 67 30 14 12 4 76 30 14 13 3 71 30 12 12 6 62 30 12 14 4 74 30 12 15 3 72 28 10 13 5 64 31 11 17 3 74

GA 90 75 67 74 68 83 92 83 76 93

Pt 35 34 33 32 31 30 28 27 25 25

Western Conference Central Division GP W L OL GF 30 22 6 2 102 31 17 10 4 85 31 17 10 4 78

GA 79 75 75

Pt 46 38 38

Los Angeles Arizona Vancouver

Pacific Division GP W L OL GF 29 19 8 2 75 30 14 14 2 81 31 11 12 8 79

GA 61 95 86

Pt 40 30 30

Minnesota Nashville Winnipeg San Jose Colorado Calgary Edmonton

WILD CARD GP W L OL GF GA 28 15 7 6 73 66 30 15 10 5 80 79 30 14 14 2 82 91 29 14 14 1 75 78 31 14 16 1 85 88 29 13 14 2 78 103 30 13 15 2 82 90

Pt 36 35 30 29 29 28 28

Montreal Detroit Boston

Dallas Chicago St. Louis

Anaheim

Sunday’s results NY Islanders 4 New Jersey 0 Colorado 3 St. Louis 1 Chicago 4 Vancouver 0 Saturday’s results Boston 3 Florida 1 Buffalo 2 Los Angeles 1 (OT) Washington 2 Tampa Bay 1 Montreal 3 Ottawa 1 NY Islanders 3 Columbus 2 (OT) St. Louis 3 Dallas 0 Colorado 3 Nashville 2 Carolina 5 Arizona 4 (OT) Calgary 5 NY Rangers 4 (OT) Minnesota 2 San Jose 0

Tuesday

Tuesday’s games Edmonton at NY Rangers, 5 p.m. Florida at NY Islanders, 5 p.m. New Jersey at Buffalo, 5 p.m. Carolina at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. San Jose at Montreal, 5:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Toronto, 5:30 p.m. Vancouver at Minnesota, 6 p.m. Calgary at Nashville, 6 p.m. St. Louis at Winnipeg, 6 p.m. Columbus at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. Colorado at Chicago, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Wednesday’s games Ottawa at Washington, 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at Boston, 6 p.m. Saturday’s summary Flames 5, Rangers 4 (OT) First Period 1. NY Rangers, Miller 5 (Stalberg, Hayes) 10:56. Penalties — Zuccarello NYR (interference) 3:54. Second Period 2. Calgary, Gaudreau 11 (unassisted) 17:41. 3. Calgary, Raymond 2 (Frolik) 17:58. Penalties — Kreider NYR (tripping) 0:30, Monahan Cgy (holding) 1:02, Lindberg NYR (interference) 4:33, Jones Cgy (hooking) 9:43, Ferland Cgy (high-sticking) 19:29. Third Period 4. Calgary, Gaudreau 12 (Jones, Monahan) 2:32. 5. Calgary, Colborne 4 (Stajan, Russell) 4:57. 6. NY Rangers, Glass 1 (Moore) 5:13. 7. NY Rangers, Boyle 2 (Kreider, Miller) 15:06. 8. NY Rangers, Zuccarello 13 (Boyle, Brassard) 18:48 (pp). Penalties — Monahan Cgy (hooking) 16:14, Granlund Cgy (high-sticking) 18:15. Overtime 9. Calgary, Brodie 3 (Russell, Gaudreau) 2:09. Penalties — None. Shots on goal NY Rangers 9 5 15 0 — 29 Calgary 9 10 6 2 — 27 Goal — NY Rangers: Raanta (LO, 4-3-1) Calgary: Hiller (W, 4-4-0). Power plays (goal-chances) — NY Rangers: 1-5 Calgary: 0-3. NHL Scoring Leaders G 19 20 15 14 13 6 12 11 5 9 17 11 10 9 9 9 9 9 15 15 10 7 7

A 26 20 25 20 20 26 19 19 25 20 11 17 18 19 19 19 19 19 12 12 17 20 20

Pts 45 40 40 34 33 32 31 30 30 29 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 27 27 27 27 27

Transactions Saturday’s Sports Transactions BASEBALL American League HOUSTON ASTROS — Traded RHPs Mark Appel, Harold Arauz, Thomas Eshelman and Vince Velasquez and LHP Brett Oberholtzer to Philadelphia for RHP Ken Giles and SS Jonathan Arauz. National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Designated RHP A.J. Schugel for assignment. ATLANTA BRAVES — Sent RHP Ryne Harper to Seattle to complete an earlier trade. NEW YORK METS — Announced the retirement of OF Michael Cuddyer. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Traded RHP David Whitehead to Pittsburgh for RHP Charlie Morton. Designated RHPs A.J. Achter and Dan Otero for assignment. FOOTBALL National Football League ATLANTA FALCONS — Placed PK Matt Bryant on injured reserve. Signed DT Joey Mbu from the practice squad. BALTIMORE RAVENS — Placed OT Eugene Monroe on injured reserve. Waived OL Kaleb Johnson. Signed QB Bryn Renner and WR Chris Matthews from the practice squad. CHICAGO BEARS — Placed WR Marquess Wilson on injured reserve. Signed S Demontre Hurst from the practice squad. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed LB Eric Martin from the practice squad and RB Trey Wil-

liams to the practice squad. NEW YORK GIANTS — Signed DE Stansly Maponga from Atlanta’s practice squad. OAKLAND RAIDERS — Placed LB Neiron Ball on injured reserve. Signed DT Leon Orr from the practice squad. ST. LOUIS RAMS — Placed S T.J. McDonald on injured reserve. Signed CB Eric Patterson from the practice squad. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS — Released WR Shane Wynn from the practice squad. Placed DT Corey Liuget and CB Brandon Flowers on injured reserve. Activated DE Darius Philon from injured reserve. Signed QB Brad Sorensen from the practice squad and CB Adrian Phillips to the practice squad. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Placed RB Carlos Hyde on injured reserve. Signed TE Brian Leonhardt from the practice squad. TENNESSEE TITANS — Placed LB Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil on injured reserve. Signed LB J.R. Tavai from the practice squad. HOCKEY National Hockey League PITTSBURGH PENGUINS — Fired coach Mike Johnston and assistant coach Gary Agnew. Named Mike Sullivan coach TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Recalled F Mike Blumden from Syracuse (AHL). American Hockey League NORFOLK ADMIRALS — Assigned F Alexis Loiseau to Norfolk (ECHL). TORONTO MARLIES — Recalled F Eric Faille from

MINOR HOCKEY The visiting Red Deer Optimist Chiefs struck for three third-period goals — including a pair by Tyler Graber — and posted a 5-1 Alberta Midget Hockey League win over the Calgary Buffaloes Saturday. Regan Doig, Josh Tarzwell and Kobe Scott also connected for the Chiefs, who got a 31-save performance from Justin Travis. Red Deer, outshot 32-29, led 2-0 after one period and 2-1 after 40 minutes. The Buffaloes took all five minor penalties assessed in the contest, while the Chiefs took the lone major and game misconduct. Red Deer improved to 14-4-2 with the win and returns to action Friday at the Arena versus the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The puck drops at 8 p.m. Minor midget AAA The Red Deer Strata Energy Chiefs posted a pair of weekend wins, nipping the North Star Chiefs 4-3 in an all-Red Deer contest Friday and dumping the host Calgary Blue 6-2 Saturday. Elijah Johanson paced Strata Energy with two goals in Saturday’s victory. Ty Herle had a goal and two assists and Rylan Burns, Keenan Smith and Angus Macleod also scored for the Chiefs, who held a 46-21 advantage in shots. On Friday, Strata Energy got a goal and two helpers from Ryan McBeath and additional markers off the sticks of Smith, Herle and Ryan McMann. Replying for North Star were Tristen Hatto, Kyle Budvarson and Hunter Leslie.

CHINOOK HOCKEY LEAGUE

Generals hammer Ft. Saskatchewan The host Bentley Generals struck for five first-period goals en route to an 11-4 drilling of the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs in Chinook Hockey League action Sunday. Scott Doucet paced the winners with three goals, while Carter Rigby and Kyle Bailey each contributed two goals and two assists. Kyle Sheen also tallied twice and Todd Fiddler and

Saturday • Minor midget AAA hockey: Calgary Blazers at Red Deer Strata Energy, 11:30 a.m., Arena. • Peewee AA hockey: Foothills at Red Deer TBS, 12:30 p.m., Kinsmen A; Okotoks Green at Olds, 1 p.m.; Okotoks Black at West Central, 7:30 p.m., Rimbey. • Major bantam hockey: Calgary Flames at Red Deer, 2 p.m., Arena. • Major bantam girls hockey: Calgary Rangers at Red Deer, 2:15 p.m., Collicutt Centre. • Bantam AA hockey: Red Deer Steel Kings at Red Deer Ramada, 2:30 p.m., Kinex; West Central at Olds, 3:30 p.m. • Junior women’s hockey: Thorsby at Central Alberta, 4:15 p.m., Penhold Regional Multiplex. • WHL: Lethbridge at Red Deer, 7 p.m., Centrium. • Chinook senior AAA hockey: Stony Plain at Bentley, 7 p.m. • AJHL: Drumheller at Olds, 7 p.m. • Heritage junior B hockey: Three Hills at Stettler, 7:30 p.m.; Blackfalds at Red Deer, 8 p.m., Arena; Airdrie at Ponoka, 8 p.m. • Midget AA hockey: Olds at Red Deer Indy Graphics, 4:45 p.m., Arena; Bow Valley at West Central, 8 p.m., Sylvan Lake.

• Senior high basketball: Sylvan Lake at Notre Dame, Innisfail at Lindsay Thurber, Wetaskiwin at Lacombe, Rocky Mountain House at Ponoka, Hunting Hills at Camrose; girls at 6 p.m., boys to follow. • WHL: Red Deer at Kootenay, 7 p.m. (The Drive). • Men’s basketball: BTown Maple Jordans vs. Silver Spurs, Sheraton Red Deer vs. The D Leaguers, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m., Lindsay Thurber.

Monday’s games Edmonton at Boston, 5 p.m. Tampa Bay at Columbus, 5 p.m. Washington at Pittsburgh, 5 p.m. Los Angeles at Ottawa, 5:30 p.m. Buffalo at Detroit, 5:30 p.m.

Patrick Kane, Chi Jamie Benn, Dal Tyler Seguin, Dal Taylor Hall, Edm Daniel Sedin, Vcr Erik Karlsson, Ott Johnny Gaudreau, Cgy Michael Cammalleri, NJ John Klingberg, Dal Henrik Sedin, Vcr Vladimir Tarasenko, StL Claude Giroux, Pha Blake Wheeler, Wpg Evgeny Kuznetsov, Wash Bobby Ryan, Ott David Krejci, Bos Patrice Bergeron, Bos Artemi Panarin, Chi Matt Duchene, Col Mike Hoffman, Ott Ryan O’Reilly, Buf Mark Stone, Ott Tomas Plekanec, Mtl

Today • Women’s basketball: Hoosier Daddy vs. Age Gap, Ball Hawks vs. Spartans, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m., Lindsay Thurber; Funk vs. Triple Threat, Big Ballers vs. Pink Panthers, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m., Central Alberta Christian; Dynamo vs. Shooting Stars, Storm vs. Rampage, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m., Lindsay Thurber Main.

Orlando (ECHL). ECHL BRAMPTON BEAST — Signed F Ben Power. COLORADO EAGLES — Released G Julien Hernandez as emergency backup. Signed G Peter Di Salvo. MANCHESTER MONARCHS — Signed F Matt Harlow. Sunday’s Sports Transactions BASKETBALL National Basketball Association MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES — Recalled F James Ennis from Iowa (NBADL). FOOTBALL National Football League BALTIMORE RAVENS — Signed DB Nick Perry to the practice squad. HOCKEY National Hockey League TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Reassigned G Kristers Gudlevskis to Syracuse (AHL). Recalled G Andrei Vasilevskiy from Syracuse. ECHL ELMIRA JACKALS — Released F Phil Bronner. RAPID CITY RUSH — Released G Cody Lindhorst as emergency backup. Southern Professional Hockey League PEORIA RIVERMAN — Acquired C Connor Toomey from Macon for F Jake Trask and F-D Nick Grasso.

Steven Arthur made 34 saves for Strata Energy, assessed six of 11 minor penalties and the lone misconduct. Justin Verveda blocked 24 shots in a losing cause. The North Chiefs also played Sunday against the host Airdrie/Cochrane Avalanche. The score and details were unavailable. Major midget girls The Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs bowed out of the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament at Wilcox, Sask., Saturday with a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton St. Francis Xtreme. Emma Thomas scored for the Chiefs, who outshot the Xtreme 35-14. Earlier in the day, Shae DeMale scored in regulation time and Maddison Toppe and Caleigh Meraw sniped shootout goals to give the Chiefs a 2-1 win over Rocky Mountain Raiders. Sutter Fund opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Weyburn, then defeated the Okanagan Hockey Academy 3-2. Abagael Thiessen scored against Weyburn and also notched a goal in the win over OHA, a game in which Brandy Steinman and Jordyn Burgar also tallied for Red Deer. On Friday, the Chiefs fell 4-0 to the host Notre Dame Hounds despite holding a 26-24 advantage in shots. Atom A Jase Bernett scored twice for the Red Deer Phone Experts White in a 6-3 win over Red Deer Sheraton Black. Also scoring for the winners were Cale Driedger, Ryan Dore, McGuire Lavigne and Carson Mazurkewich. Kohen Rea, Malia Tetreault and Michael Bruce replied for Sheraton.

•JV basketball: Notre Dame at Lindsay Thurber, Ponoka at Lacombe, Stettler at Sylvan Lake, Hunting Hills at Wetaskiwin, Rocky Mountain House at Camrose; girls at 6 p.m., boys to follow.

Thursday • Senior high basketball: Rocky Mountain House at Camrose; girls at 6 p.m,, boys to follow. • Men’s basketball: Vikings vs. Bulldog Scrap Metal, Washed up Warriors vs. Wells Furniture, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m., Lindsay Thurber.

Friday • Peewee AA hockey: Airdrie at Red Deer TBS, 6 p.m., Collicutt Centre; West Central at Red Deer Parkland, 7:15 p.m., Kinsmen B. • AJHL: Lloydminster at Olds, 7 p.m. Heritage junior B hockey: Mountainview at Stettler, 7:30 p.m. • WHL: Kootenay at Red Deer, 8 p.m., Centrium. • Midget AAA hockey: Lethbridge at Red Deer, 8 p.m., Arena.

Sunday • Minor midget AAA hockey: Calgary Canucks at Red Deer North Star, noon, Arena. • Peewee AA hockey: Red Deer Parkland at Olds, 12:15 p.m.; Foothills at Central Alberta, 2 p.m., Lacombe. • Major bantam girls hockey: Calgary Outlaws at Red Deer, 2:15 p.m., Collicutt Centre. • Bantam AA hockey: Red Deer Steel Kings at Olds, 2:45 p.m. • Heritage junior B hockey: Cochrane at Blackfalds, 3:30 p.m. • Men’s basketball: Grandview vs. Monstars, Chillibongs vs. Washed up Warriors, Johns Manville vs. Rusty Chuckers, 4:15 p.m.; NWS vs. Carstar, Lacombe All Sports Cresting vs. Henry’s Eavestroughing, Triple A Batteries vs. Alken Basin, 5:30 p.m.; all games at Lindsay Thurber. • Midget AA hockey: Red Deer Indy Graphics at Olds, 5:30 p.m.

Football National Football League AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct New England 12 2 0 .846 N.Y. Jets 8 5 0 .615 Buffalo 6 7 0 .462 Miami 5 7 0 .417 South W L T Pct Houston 6 7 0 .462 Indianapolis 6 7 0 .462 Jacksonville 5 8 0 .385 Tennessee 3 10 0 .231 North W L T Pct Cincinnati 10 3 0 .769 Pittsburgh 8 5 0 .615 Baltimore 4 9 0 .308 Cleveland 3 10 0 .231 West W L T Pct Denver 10 3 0 .769 Kansas City 8 5 0 .615 Oakland 6 7 0 .462 San Diego 3 10 0 .231 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct Washington 6 7 0 .462 Philadelphia 6 7 0 .462 N.Y. Giants 5 7 0 .417 Dallas 4 9 0 .308 South W L T Pct y-Carolina 13 0 0 1.000 Tampa Bay 6 7 0 .462 Atlanta 6 7 0 .462 New Orleans 5 8 0 .385 North

PF 402 325 316 240

PA 253 256 301 300

PF 259 275 326 253

PA 291 356 357 326

PF 354 344 278 240

PA 229 260 326 357

PF 281 331 299 250

PA 225 243 326 334

PF 281 301 307 230

PA 307 322 296 305

PF 411 288 279 323

PA 243 322 295 397

Green Bay Minnesota Chicago Detroit

W 9 8 5 4

W x-Arizona 11 Seattle 8 St. Louis 5 San Francisco 4 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division

L 4 5 8 9 West L 2 5 8 9

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .692 .615 .385 .308

PF 317 258 272 267

PA 245 255 314 336

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .846 .615 .385 .308

PF 405 340 210 188

PA 252 235 271 315

Thursday’s Game Arizona 23, Minnesota 20 Sunday’s Games St. Louis 21, Detroit 14 Kansas City 10, San Diego 3 Washington 24, Chicago 21 Philadelphia 23, Buffalo 20 Cleveland 24, San Francisco 10 New Orleans 24, Tampa Bay 17 N.Y. Jets 30, Tennessee 8 Pittsburgh 33, Cincinnati 20 Jacksonville 51, Indianapolis 16 Carolina 38, Atlanta 0 Seattle 35, Baltimore 6 Oakland 15, Denver 12 Green Bay 28, Dallas 7 New England 27, Houston 6 Monday’s Game N.Y. Giants at Miami, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 Tampa Bay at St. Louis, 6:25 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 N.Y. Jets at Dallas, 6:25 p.m.

Basketball National Basketball Association EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Cleveland 15 7 .682 — Toronto 16 9 .640 1/2 Chicago 13 8 .619 1 Charlotte 14 9 .609 1 Indiana 13 9 .591 2 Miami 13 9 .591 2 Boston 14 10 .583 2 Detroit 14 11 .560 2 Atlanta 14 11 .560 2 Orlando 12 11 .522 3 Washington 10 12 .455 5 New York 11 14 .440 5 Milwaukee 10 15 .400 6 Brooklyn 7 16 .304 8 Philadelphia 1 24 .040 15 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB Golden State 24 1 .960 — San Antonio 20 5 .800 4 Oklahoma City 16 8 .667 7 L.A. Clippers 14 10 .583 9 Dallas 13 11 .542 10 Memphis 13 12 .520 11 Houston 12 12 .500 11 Utah 10 12 .455 12 Phoenix 11 14 .440 13 Portland 10 15 .400 14 Denver 9 14 .391 14 Minnesota 9 14 .391 14 Sacramento 9 15 .375 14 New Orleans 6 17 .261 17 L.A. Lakers 3 21 .125 20 Saturday’s Games L.A. Clippers 105, Brooklyn 100 Boston 98, Charlotte 93 Detroit 118, Indiana 96 Chicago 98, New Orleans 94 Houston 126, L.A. Lakers 97 San Antonio 103, Atlanta 78 Milwaukee 108, Golden State 95 Washington 114, Dallas 111 New York 112, Portland 110 Sunday’s Games Phoenix 108, Minnesota 101 Toronto 96, Philadelphia 76 Miami 100, Memphis 97 Oklahoma City 104, Utah 98, OT Monday’s Games Toronto at Indiana, 5 p.m. Orlando at Brooklyn, 5:30 p.m.

1/2 1/2

1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2

1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2

L.A. Clippers at Detroit, 5:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Chicago, 6 p.m. Washington at Memphis, 6 p.m. Miami at Atlanta, 6 p.m. Utah at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m. Phoenix at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. Houston at Denver, 7 p.m. New Orleans at Portland, 8 p.m. Tuesday’s Games Cleveland at Boston, 5:30 p.m. Denver at Minnesota, 6 p.m. Houston at Sacramento, 8 p.m. Milwaukee at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m. NBA Leaders THROUGH DEC. 12 Scoring G Curry, GOL 25 Harden, HOU 24 Durant, OKC 17 George, IND 22 James, CLE 21 Westbrook, OKC 23 Lillard, POR 25 Griffin, LAC 24 Davis, NOR 20 Bledsoe, PHX 23 Anthony, NYK 24 DeRozan, TOR 24 Lowry, TOR 24 Wiggins, MIN 21

FG 266 200 160 191 209 207 215 229 172 182 180 174 160 154

FT PTS 148 807 234 698 99 464 142 594 114 555 151 601 111 611 111 573 111 468 107 512 123 523 165 520 128 519 118 441

AVG 32.3 29.1 27.3 27.0 26.4 26.1 24.4 23.9 23.4 22.3 21.8 21.7 21.6 21.0

1/2 FG Percentage FG 95 110 89 126 96

1/2 Jordan, LAC Whiteside, MIA Howard, HOU Parker, SAN Faried, DEN

FGA 138 176 148 224 171

PCT .688 .625 .601 .563 .561

Rebounds Drummond, DET Jordan, LAC Howard, HOU Love, CLE Davis, NOR

G 25 24 18 22 20

OFF DEF TOT 141 269 410 90 231 321 71 149 220 60 183 243 38 178 216

AVG 16.4 13.4 12.2 11.0 10.8

Assists Rondo, SAC Westbrook, OKC Wall, WAS Paul, LAC Rubio, MIN

G 24 23 22 19 16

AST 265 225 193 166 137

AVG 11.0 9.8 8.8 8.7 8.6

OLDS GRIZZLYS Don Morrison completed the Bentley scoring, with Mike Kneeland picking up a trio of helpers. Brant Middleton, Brendan Baumgartner, who added two assists, Tanner Cochrane and Brett Holmberg replied for the Chiefs. Thomas Heemskerk made 21 saves as the winning netminder, while Troy Tremblay stopped 44 shots for the visitors. The teams split four minor penalties. The Generals, who hold down top spot in the Chinook League with a 9-1-0-1 record, are in Fort Saskatchewan Friday and host the Stony Plain Eagles Saturday.

CANMORE — The Olds Grizzlys fired 43 shots at Canmore Eagles netminder Ryan Bontorin but came out on the short end of a 4-2 Alberta Junior Hockey League decision Saturday. Riley Smith and Tyr Thompson were the only Grizzlys to solve Bontorin. Brett Radford scored twice for the Eagles, who got single goals from Braden Saretsky and Kyle Pauls. Ethan Maertens-Poole made 25 saves in a losing cause. Olds trailed 3-0 after one period, then notched two unanswered second-period goals before surrendering an insurance marker in the third. The Grizzlys close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule with home games Friday and Saturday versus the Lloydminster Bobcats and Drumheller Dragons.

RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Dec. 14, 2015 B5

Raptors continue domination of Sixers BY THE CANADIAN PRESS Raptors 96 76ers 76 TORONTO — With two starters sidelined with injuries, this could well have been an ugly stretch for the Toronto Raptors. But Luis Scola is doing his part to make sure it’s not. Scola scored 14 of his 22 points in the first quarter to help the Raptors to a 96-76 victory over the lowly Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. “Starting games well is something that’s helped me a lot during my career, it’s something I did good a lot of times,” said Scola, who talked to the media while his young son — one of four children — lounged in his locker. “So I think the team might benefit from it, since I’m starting, it’s a good chance for me to do that.” The Raptors, who are without Jonas Valanciunas (broken hand) and DeMarre Carroll (knee contusion), also got 25 points and eight rebounds from DeMar DeRozan. Kyle Lowry scored 16 points, and Bismack Biyombo had a team-high nine boards for the Raptors (16-9), who ended their six-game homestand with four straight wins after opening with a pair of losses. Scola, signed by Toronto in the off-season, shot 10-for-14 from the field, and has scored in double figures in four of the last five games. “He’s one of our engines. He runs

hard. He plays hard,” said Lowry. “For a guy to be his age (35) to push and work as hard as he does, it’s motivation. “He just knows the game. He knows where he’s supposed to be. It makes the job a lot easier, makes passes easier, just understanding where he knows where the next player is going to be.” Jahlil Okafor led the Sixers (1-24) with 23 points, while Robert Covington had 15 and Isaiah Canaan finished with 10. The Raptors now have won 10 straight versus Philly, a streak that stretches back to the beginning of the 2013-14 season, the most wins over the Sixers of any team in the NBA. The Raptors led by as many as 20 points, but, in what’s becoming a bad habit, they couldn’t put the young Sixers squad away for good until the dying minutes. They led 69-58 going into the fourth quarter, but a couple of Covington three-pointers helped pull the Sixers to within six points midway through the period. “We lost them in transition,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Human nature is you think the game is over, a couple of threes and it’s a new ball game. I’ve said this… we’re not good enough to mess with the game because the game will turn around and mess with you if you do that. You have to make sure you tend to business for 48 minutes.” Fouls would cost Philly down the

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS

Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan and Philadelphia 76ers’ Richaun Holmes chase a loose ball during first half NBA action in Toronto, Sunday. stretch as a parade of Raptors to the free-throw line put Toronto back up by 12 with just over four minutes left. DeRozan muscled his way to the rim for a layup with 2:25 to play that put Toronto up by 14 and sent dozens of fans streaming to the Air Canada Centre doors for an early exit. Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ont.,

Newton keeps Panthers rolling, clinch first-round bye for playoffs BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PANTHERS 38 FALCONS 0 CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton added to his MVP resume, completing 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns, and the unbeaten Carolina Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 38-0 on Sunday to clinch a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs. Newton connected on scoring strikes of 74 and 46 yards to Ted Ginn Jr., and Jonathan Stewart ran for a touchdown as the Panthers (13-0) scored on their first three possessions. Newton also threw a 4-yard TD pass to Ed Dickson in the final seconds of the first half before leaving for good at the end of the third quarter with Carolina up 38. He finished with a career-high quarterback rating of 153.3, and the Panthers won their 17th straight regular-season game. Carolina’s defence forced four turnovers and had five sacks, while limiting struggling Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to 224 yards passing. Atlanta is 6-7 and has dropped six in a row. PATRIOTS 27, TEXANS 6 HOUSTON (AP) — Tom Brady threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and the New England Patriots snapped a two-game skid to clinch a playoff spot. Brady threw TD passes to Keshawn Martin and Rob Gronkowski in the first half to help New England build a 17-6 lead. The Patriots (11-2) didn’t move the ball as well in the second half, but the defence harassed Brian Hoyer into multiple mistakes. Jabaal Sheard had strip sacks on Hoyer twice after halftime. The Patriots recovered the second one early in the fourth, and James White made it 27-6 with a 2-yard run three plays later. Hoyer was sacked five times and left the game to be evaluated for a concussion with about 9 minutes remaining for the Texans (6-7). The quarterback already missed a game this season after getting a concussion on Nov. 16. STEELERS 33, BENGALS 20 CINCINNATI (AP) — Andy Dalton broke his right thumb while making a tackle on an interception, and the Steelers roughed up backup AJ McCarron while pulling away to a victory that left the AFC North up for grabs. The Steelers (8-5) rumbled with the Bengals during pregame war-

had nine points for Philly. Sixers forward Nerlens Noel went to hospital after the game with an eye injury, and coach Brett Brown wasn’t sure if he would fly with the team. “We’re just taking precautionary measures with us being 40,000 feet in the air,” Brown said. “It’s a corneal abrasion, and we’ll learn more.”

CURLING

Homan scores two in final end for win over Jones in Canadian Open final BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles dives over the Indianapolis Colts line for a touchdown during a game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday. Jacksonville won 51-16. mups and then led the whole way, sending Cincinnati (10-3) to its first lopsided loss of the season. William Gay returned one of McCarron’s passes 23 yards for a touchdown, and Ben Roethlisberger had another good day as Pittsburgh’s resurgent offence kept rolling. Pittsburgh has scored 30 points in five straight games, a franchise record. The game — and potentially Cincinnati’s season — turned on one interception. Stephon Truitt picked off Dalton’s shovel pass in the first quarter, and the quarterback broke his right thumb while making the tackle. RAIDERS 15, BRONCOS 12 DENVER (AP) — Khalil Mack had five sacks of Brock Osweiler, including one in the end zone for a safety, and Derek Carr bounced back from an awful first half. Carr threw two touchdown passes and the Raiders (6-7) beat the Broncos for the first time since Sept. 12, 2011, despite being held to minus-12 yards in the first half — the worst performance by a team heading into halftime in nearly a quarter-century. The Broncos (10-3) failed to hold onto a 12-0 halftime lead or several on-target throws from Osweiler, including two big drops by Demaryius Thomas, one for a touchdown and another for a late first down. Denver’s Brandon McManus, who nailed four field goals in the first half, clanked a 49-yarder that would have tied it off the left upright with 10:22 remaining.

PACKERS 28, COWBOYS 7 GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Eddie Lacy ran for 124 yards and a touchdown, while fellow running back James Starks added two scores. The Packers (9-4) have a onegame lead in the NFC North over Minnesota after their second straight victory. With 435 yards and 29 first downs, Green Bay got better production out of its inconsistent offence with coach Mike McCarthy assuming play-calling duties again. The Packers were still hampered at times by penalties and problems in short-yardage situations. But the defence and running game came up with big plays in the fourth quarter. Dallas’ touchdown came on Robert Turbin’s 7-yard run midway through the third quarter to make it 14-7. The Cowboys (4-9) suffered a setback to their chances of winning the mediocre NFC East. SEAHAWKS 35, RAVENS 6 BALTIMORE (AP) — Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes, three to Doug Baldwin, against the injury-depleted Ravens. Wilson went 23 for 32 for 292 yards. The five TD throws matched a career high — set earlier this season against Pittsburgh — and gave him 16 over his last four games. Baldwin scored on passes of 14, 22 and 16 yards. Tyler Lockett caught TD throws of 8 and 49 yards.

YORKTON, Sask. — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan scored a pair in the final end for an 8-7 victory over Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones in Sunday’s final at the Canadian Open. It was the third straight Grand Slam victory for Homan, who won the Masters and the National earlier this season. “Jones played really well,” Homan said. “They came out firing and we had a couple misses here and there and they had some really well-deserved twos and threes and we had to battle back really hard in that game.” Jones jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Homan bounced back for three in the second to take a onepoint advantage. Jones fired back in the third with three of her own before Homan added singles in each of the next three ends. Both teams traded deuces in the last two ends to round out the scoring. Homan’s lead, Lisa Weagle, had a game-high 89 per cent shooting percentage. Toronto’s John Epping defeated Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., 7-4 in the men’s final. It was the first Grand Slam title for Epping in four seasons. Epping broke the game open in the sixth by scoring three. “It feels unbelievable. It’s just so tough to win a Grand Slam,” Epping said. “All the top teams in the world and to beat three or four of them this week all in a row, it’s just so hard to do. That’s what I think makes it so rewarding at the end of the day.” The Canadian Open is the third major of the Grand Slam season.

NHL

Mike Sullivan takes over as Penguins coach after Mike Johnston’s dismissal PITTSBURGH — New Penguins coach Mike Sullivan believes his team has a chance to be great, and it’s up to him to help the players reach their potential. Sullivan ran his first practice as Pittsburgh’s coach on Sunday, a day after the team fired Mike Johnston and assistant Gary Agnew in an attempt to shake up a star-studded group that has underperformed through the first two months of the season. “I’m a firm believer that the players have to take ownership of their team,” Sullivan said. “I believe it’s their team, not mine.” Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have headlined the team’s high-profile roster the last decade. The Penguins then traded for elite winger Phil Kessel during the summer. Pittsburgh was expected to be one of the top teams in the league, but instead the Penguins are fifth in a crowded Metropolitan Division. The Penguins also have struggled offensively, ranking near the bottom of the NHL with a little more than two goals per game.

Hauck Vision & Hearing

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SERVING RED DEER AND SERVING RED AREA FOR OV OVER VER 43 YEARS Comprehensive C Co ompre re ehensive ey eye ye exams,, teests & Hearing Aids, Hearing tests Contacct le en nses and Eyeglasses. Contact lenses Direct billing to o insurance companies Complimentary Hearing Hearing Tests for Seniors

2079 50th Avenue, Red Deer Daily Features • Open 7 Days a Week • Call for reservations 403-347-1414

Parkland Mall Hearing, Eyeglasses and Contacts 403-346-5568 Optometry appointments 403-342-4343 | 1-800-813-0702

7308336L1-31

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Enjoy our newly renovated fresh look, and ask about our in store promotions

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CLASSIFICATIONS 700-920

CLASSIFICATIONS 1000-1430

CLASSIFICATIONS 1500-1940

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wegothomes

wegotwheels

CLASSIFICATIONS 3000-3390

Obituaries

CLASSIFICATIONS 4000-4310

In Memoriam

Trades

CLASSIFICATIONS 5000-5240

850

880

Misc. Help

ADULT EDUCATION AND TRAINING

WHAT’S HAPPENING 50-70

Found

JANUARY START BVT TRUCK AND TRAILER REPAIR

GED Preparation

is looking for a

Would you like to take the

Journeymen Heavy GED in your community? Duty Truck & Trailer CELL PHONE found on • Red Deer Mechanic Michener Centre Grounds. • Rocky Mtn. House to join our team in

Personals

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS 403-347-8650

TUTTY Mary Elizabeth 1945 - 2015 Mary Tutty, of Red Deer, passed away peacefully in her sleep, on December 8, 2015. She was born in Nanaimo, B.C. on December 6, 1945, formally resided in Victoria, B.C., but moved to Red Deer five years ago to be closer to her family. Mary is survived by her two children: son, Charles MacDonald, and daughter, Glesnie Tutty; 3 grandchildren: Colin Tutty, Hayden Tutty, Crystal Pell and her family, as well as many extended family and friends. Although Mom finally succumbed to her endless health struggles, she was still the strongest woman we knew. Her strength and will to live was incredible. As per Mary’s wishes, cremation has taken place and a Memorial Service will take place in the spring, at which time Mary will be interred with her grandparents on Vancouver Island. If desired, Memorial Donations in Mary’s honor may be made directly to the Canadian Liver Foundation at www.liver.ca. Condolences may be sent or viewed at www.parklandfuneralhome.com Arrangements in care of PARKLAND FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORIUM, 6287 - 67 A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer. 403.340.4040

SHOEMAKER Terrance (Terry) Gordon Mar. 11, 1959 - Dec. 14, 2005 In Loving Memory of our Son, Brother, Brother-In Law & Uncle Terry, To hear your voice, and to see your smile, To sit and talk awhile To be together in the same old way Would be our greatest wish today. Gone, but not forgotten, Dearly missed by, Your Family

COCAINE ANONYMOUS 403-396-8298 OVEREATERS Anonymous Contact Phyl @ 347-4188

wegot

jobs CLASSIFICATIONS 700-920

Clerical

720

ACCOUNTING CLERK What we Need: • A quick learner who will take ownership of all the job entails • Attention to detail and taking pride in striving towards perfection • Being self-motivated and working with little supervision after training • Highly organized an d efficient • Punctual and multitasker • Good communication skills

In Loving Memory of Rachel O’Connor-Hittel May 11, 1934 - Dec. 14, 2011 Alway in our hearts & the thought of you in our minds We’ll keep missing you As the days go by

Love you forever & always The Hittel and O’Connor Families

Over 2,000,000 hours St. John Ambulance volunteers provide Canadians with more than 2 million hours of community service each year.

What you will do: • Record accounting journals on all aspects of vehicle sales • Look after Finance Contracts in conjunction with the Finance Managers • Communication with agencies such as General Motors and Banks Experience: • 3 years or more work experience in the accounting field • Accounting Diploma or Degree • Proficient in Microsoft Excel and Word • Preference given to experience in Car Dealership software such as: CDK Global, Reynold & Reynold E-mail cover letter, resume and references to: danderson@ pikewheatonchev.ca

Farm Work

755

F/T PEN CHECKER

for general feedlot duties for large expanding feedlot in Sundre. Experience necessary. Fax resume to 403-638-3908, or call 403-638-4165, or email dthengs@hotmail.com Buying or Selling your home? Check out Homes for Sale in Classifieds

Legal

780

NOTICE birth of first child youngest son graduated from College

birth of first grandson 60th wedding anniversary

Celebrate these milestones with an Announcement in the Classified Section of the

403.309.3300

Email: classifieds@reddeeradvocate.com wegotads.ca

Announcements the informative choice! Classifieds 309-3300

Notice to JOHN THOMPSON who worked for IPSCO INC and/or EVRAZ NA from July 2004 to February 2010. Please contact Helen Brock @ 403 346-7717 or at Box 593 Red Deer, AB. T4N 5G6 before January 15, 2016.

Restaurant/ Hotel

820

CALKINS CONSULTING o/a Tim Hortons req’s. FOOD SERVICE SUPERVISORS 1-2 yrs. exp. an asset. $13.75/hr., 40 hrs./week, 4 positions, F/T and P/T. Permanent shift, weekend, day, night, and evening. Education not req’d. Start ASAP. Benefits. Apply at 6620 Orr Drive. Red Deer or call Kerry at 403-848-2356 for complete job description

EAST 40TH PUB REQ’S F/T or P/T GRILL COOK

Apply in person with resume 3811 40th Ave. LITTLE Caesars Pizza is now hiring a F/T Food Service Supervisor. $13.75/hr. 40 hrs/wk. Flexible time including weekends. Must have at least 1 - 2 yrs. food service exp. Email resume allan_barker25@yahoo.ca or apply in person @ 9, 6791 50 Ave. Red Deer. Call 403-346-1600 for info.

Red Deer for our Evening Shift, Monday- Friday, 2:30 pm-11:00 pm. To join our team, please submit your resume to hr@slt.ca

Misc. Help

880

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 Sandra at 403-314-4306

1660

Rimbey Caroline Sylvan Lake Innisfail Stettler Ponoka Lacombe

Can deliver 1-4 cords. 403-844-0227 FIREWOOD: Spruce & Pine - Split. 403-346-7178 LOGS Semi loads of pine, spruce, tamarack, poplar, birch. Price depends on location of delivery. Lil Mule Logging 403-318-4346

Household Furnishings

1720

BUNK BED, with desk & dresser built in. New cond. Pd $1300. Asking $5000. o.b.o. 780-916-0221

Gov’t of Alberta Funding may be available. 403-340-1930 www.academicexpress.ca ELLIS Bird Farm is accepting applications for a Cafe (Tea House) Operator/Contractor for the 2016 season (May - early September). Favorable terms and high profit potential. For information package contact info@ellisbirdfarm.ca

WANTED

Antiques, furniture and estates. 342-2514

Misc. for Sale

1760

100 VHS movies, $75. For All 403-885-5020 8 X 10 AREA RUG, green, beige and burgundy tones, clean, $30 obo. 403-755-2760 PICTURE framing supplies. 587-447-3641 for info PROPANE heater for inside travel home, works good $150 obo 403-314-0804 PS4 Playstation BRAND NEW. CLASSIFICATIONS 403-728-3336 403-350-0959 VINTAGE Royal Doulton 1500-1990 Beswick horse, Welsh rearing cob, $175; Merrell Ortholite shoes, air cushAntiques ioned, size 6 1/2, like new $22. 403-352-8811 & Art WATER cooler $50. COLEMAN STOVE, H. D. 403-885-5020 single burner from 1950’s, stainless steel, $100. firm Office 403-896-9246

wegot

stuff

1520

EquipmentHeavy

1630

TRAILERS for sale or rent Job site, office, well site or storage. Skidded or wheeled. Call 347-7721.

1640

Tools

SKILL SAW, Craftsman 7.25, $50. 403-314-0804

Supplies

1800

2 DRAWER metal filing cabinet $10 403-885-5020

Sporting Goods

1860

PROFORM 400S treadmill, never been out of box $800 587-447-3641

Collectors' Items

1870

1660

ARCHIE Digest Comics, 1988, 5 in total. $10. for all. 403-314-9603 BATTLESTAR Galactica AFFORDABLE cyclone raider vehicle. Homestead Firewood 1978 $25. 403-314-9603 Spruce, Pine, Aspen - Split. MADMAE ALEXANDER Avail. 7 days/wk. 403-304-6472 DOLLS, Marc Anthony & Cleopatra, 1970’s B.C. Birch, Aspen, mint cond., 2 for $75. Spruce/Pine. Delivery avail. 403-314-9603 PH. Lyle 403-783-2275

Firewood

CLASSIFIEDS Christmas & New Years Hours & Deadlines Office & Phones CLOSED Friday, December 25, 2015 Friday, January 1, 2016 Office Hours Thursday, December 24, 2015 8:30 - 2 pm Monday, December 28, 2015 8:30 - 2 pm Tuesday & Wednesday December 29 & 30 Regular Office Hours, 8:30 - 5 Thursday, December 31, 2015 8:30 - 2 pm

ADULT CARRIERS NEEDED

RED DEER ADVOCATE

For early morning delivery by 6:30 am Mon. - Sat. VANIER CLEARVIEW Call Joanne at 403- 314-4308

Publication Dates: Saturday, December 26, 2015 Monday, December 28 , 2015 Deadline is: Thursday Dec. 24, 2015 @ 12 noon Publication Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2014 Deadline is: Monday, December 28, 2015 @ 12 noon Publication Dates: Saturday, January 2, 2016 Monday, January 4, 2016 Deadline is: Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015 @ 12 noon

CARRIERS NEEDED For CENTRAL ALBERTA LIFE 1 day a week INNISFAIL PENHOLD LACOMBE SYLVAN LAKE OLDS BLACKFALDS PONOKA Call Rick at 403- 314-4303

• • • • • • •

Coming Events

7119052tfn

Call to identify. 403-343-8737

FOWLER Reta Miriam Fowler (nee Austin) died on December 9th, 2015 in her home among her family in Victoria, BC. Reta was born in Toronto, Ontario on July 20,1928 to Estelle and Robert Austin. She grew up there and attended secretarial school. She was very active in music and was a soprano in a professional young women’s chorale group. She continued to sing solos throughout most of her life. Reta and her family moved to California for a short time and returned to Toronto where she met Paul Fowler. They were married on September 10th, 1948, settled in Red Deer, Alberta, and raised four children. Working for the Alberta government for over 38 years as a medical and executive secretary, Reta excelled in her organizational skills by managing a busy life with work, home, and an active church life. Reta and her husband Paul retired from Edmonton to Victoria, BC. in 1990. Reta was predeceased by her husband Paul Fowler, both her siblings Robert Austin and Donald Austin, and her grandson, Kieran Bruce. She is survived by her four children: Leah Fowler (Wendy Donawa), Timothy (Kathy) Fowler , Peter (Jody) Fowler, and Neva (Rob) Bruce; her grandchildren: Matthew (Celeste) Fowler, Joshua (Cherise) Fowler, Jeremy Fowler, Caleb Fowler, Connor Bruce, and two great grand children, Kyla Ann Fowler, and Luke Fowler. Reta enjoyed fashion, singing, entertaining, skating, alpine skiing, and bible study groups. She has always been a regular participant in her church, but most of all, she was a consummate and generous friend to many. Friends are invited to join in a celebration of life on December 15, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at The Victoria Church of the Nazarene, 4277 Quadra Street, Victoria, BC. In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Compassionate Resource Warehouse. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com. McCall’s of Victoria, BC (1-800-870-4210)

Firewood

ACADEMIC Express FIREWOOD. Pine, Spruce,

CLASSIFICATIONS

McALLISTER Rodger Angus McAllister, ‘Angus’ of Innisfail, Alberta passed away at the Innisfail Hospital on Thursday, December 10, 2015 at the age of 81 years. Angus was born on September 1, 1934 in Innisfail. He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Phyllis, his sons Tim and wife Kim of Lethbridge and Jamie and wife Mardell of Stony Plain and four grandchildren, Zack, Amy, Reegan and Lowell. Angus had a great sense of humor and despite his later struggles with respiratory issues, could always find the energy to make friends and family laugh. He was a farmer and welder and avid designer of equipment having worked for over 20 years at Mannville in Innisfail. Angus was an avid horseman and spent many hours with friends and family riding in the west country. A memorial service will be held at the Innisfail Alliance Church on Wednesday, December 16, 2015 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Angus’ honor can be made to the Alberta Lung Association or to the Innisfail Alliance Church. HEARTLAND FUNERAL SERVICES LTD., INNISFAIL entrusted with arrangements. Phone: 403-227-0006. www.heartlandfuneralservices.com

Red Deer Advocate

announcements Obituaries

Monday, Dec. 14, 2015

CENTRAL ALBERTA LIFE Publication Date: Thursday December 24, 2015 Deadline is: Friday, December 18 @ 5 pm Publication Date: Thursday December 31, 2015 Deadline is: Thursday, December 24, 2015 12 noon CALL CLASSIFIEDS 403-309-3300 classifieds@reddeeradvocate.com

RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Dec. 14, 2015 B7

1900

Travel Packages

TRAVEL ALBERTA Alberta offers SOMETHING for everyone. Make your travel plans now.

1930

Wanted To Buy

2 OR MORE BAR STOOLS w/backs wanted 403-343-1576

AGRICULTURAL

CLASSIFICATIONS 2000-2290

2190

Grain, Feed Hay

160 SILEAGE wrapped round wheat green feed bales, very good quality. 780-877-2339 780-877-23326

wegot

rentals CLASSIFICATIONS

FOR RENT • 3000-3200 WANTED • 3250-3390

3020

Houses/ Duplexes

*KIDS STAY FOR FREE!* 3 Bdrm + Den Bungalow $1490+ View at http://goo.gl/xqGd83 403-608-1480 COUNTRY Mobile Home on own lot in country, near Bentley. $950/mo. + utils. + d.d. 403-748-2678. SYLVAN Lake, 3 fully furn. rentals, 1 w/garage, inclds. all utils, $1100 $1500. Details 403-880-0210

3030

Condos/ Townhouses

3050

4 Plexes/ 6 Plexes

3 BDRM., no pets, $1000 mo. 403-343-6609 ACROSS from park, 2 bdrm. 4-plex, 1 1/2 bath, 4 appls. Rent $925/mo. d.d. $650. Avail. now or Jan. 1. 403-304-5337

LIMITED TIME OFFER:

One free year of Telus internet & cable AND 50% off Àrst month’s rent! 1 & 2 Bedroom suites available. Renovated suites in central location. Cat friendly. leasing@rentmidwest.com 1(888) 784-9274

ADULT 2 BDRM. spacious suites 3 appls., heat/water incld., ADULT ONLY BLDG, no pets, Oriole Park. 403-986-6889 AVAIL. IMMED. large 2 bdrm. in clean quiet adult building, near downtown Co-Op, no pets, 403-348-7445

Vacation Rentals In Cabo San Lucas Mexico

2 minute walk and you are on the beautiful Medano Beach. Toll Free Canada: 1-855-214-5941. Email: rick@caboleisure.com For more information and pictures, please visit our website at www.caboleisure.com

GLENDALE reno’d 2 bdrm. apartments, avail. immed, rent $875 403-596-6000 LARGE, 1 & 2 BDRM. SUITES. 25+, adults only n/s, no pets 403-346-7111

MORRISROE MANOR 1 & 2 bdrm., Adult bldg. only, N/S, No pets. 403-596-2444

NOW RENTING 1 & 2 BDRM. APT’S. 2936 50th AVE. Red Deer Newer bldg. secure entry w/onsite manager, 3 appls., incl. heat & hot water, washer/dryer hookup, inÁoor heating, a/c., car plug ins & balconies. Call 403-343-7955

THE NORDIC

3150

Garage Space

HEATED garage, 20x26, West Park, avail. Jan. 1 $250/mo., 403-845-0203

3190

Mobile Lot

PADS $450/mo. Brand new park in Lacombe. Spec Mobiles. 3 Bdrm., 2 bath. As Low as $75,000. Down payment $4000. Call at anytime. 403-588-8820

Call Classiﬁeds 403-309-3300

classiﬁeds@reddeeradvocate.com

1100

BRIDGER CONST. LTD. We do it all! 403-302-8550

Handyman Services

1200

MULTI-SKILLED HANDYMAN For Hire Call Derek 403-848-3266

Massage Therapy

1280

FANTASY SPA

Elite Retreat, Finest in VIP Treatment. COUNTERTOP replacement. Kitchen reno’s. Wes 403-302-1648 DALE’S Home Reno’s Free estimates for all your reno needs. 403-506-4301

1160

Entertainment

DANCE DJ SERVICES 587-679-8606

Handyman Services

1200

BOOK NOW! For help on your home projects such as bathroom, main Áoor, and bsmt. renovations. Also painting and Áooring. Call James 403-341-0617

HERE TO HELP & HERE TO SERVE Call GORD ING at RE/MAX real estate central alberta 403-341-9995 gord.ing@remax.net

Houses For Sale

4020 Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Canada’s Ivanie Blondin skates during the 3,000 meter race of the Speedskating World Cup in Heerenveen, northern Netherlands, Friday.

HUGE REDUCTION!

#2, 6220 Orr Drive, $249,900, 2 bdrm., huge dbl. closet master, 2 bth., ofÀce, in-Áoor heat, updated appl., new cond., single garage, imm. poss., Margaret Comeau RE/MAX 403.391.3399

Condos/ Townhouses

Pair of Canadian long-track speedskaters reach podium

4040

Need to Downsize? Brand New Valley Crossing Condos in Blackfalds. Main Áoor is 1,119 SQ FT 2 Bdrm/2Bath. Imm. Poss. Start at $219,900. Call 403-396-1688.

wegot

wheels CLASSIFICATIONS 5000-5300

Cars

5030

You can sell your guitar for a song... or put it in CLASSIFIEDS and we’ll sell it for you!

To Advertise Your Business or Service Here

Contractors

4010

2015 DODGE Durango RT black top pkg, was $62,900 now $53,500; COLD storage garage, 2013 Chrysler 200S under 14’ x 24’, $200/mo.; heated 200 kms, was $36,300 big truck space, $775/mo. now $21,900. Call Brandon VARIETY SHOP SPACES at Northwest Motors ~ ofÀces ~ fenced yards ~ 587-679-1721 Big or small, different locations. 403-343-6615

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tres away from me. It surprised me a bit and I even had to hold back a little on the crossover to let Pavel go by in front of me to avoid coming into contact with him. “But after that I was able to get back in gear and with the help of my coach, I was able to refocus on my race. Under the circumstances I’m quite happy about ending up on the podium.” Japanese skater Misaki Oshigiri won the women’s mass start in eight minutes 22.80 seconds. Dutch skater Carien Kleibeuker was second in 8:23.23 and Blondin, from Ottawa, was third in 8:27.96. Heather Richardson-Bergsma edged American teammate Brittany Bowe to win the women’s 1,500 metres. Joey Mantia made it a U.S. double by winning the men’s 1,500 to take the overall World Cup lead. Richardson-Bergsma and Bowe have won or finished second in all four of the World Cup season’s 1,500 races and

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HEERENVEEN, Netherlands — Alex Boisvert-Lacroix won a silver medal in the men’s 500 metres at the long-track speedskating World Cup at Thialf Oval while Canadian teammate Ivanie Blondin took the bronze in the women’s mass start. Boisvert-Lacroix, from Sherbrooke, Que., was second in 34.76 seconds, just behind Russia’s Ruslan Murashov (34.67). Espen Aarnes Hvammen of Norway was third in 34.86. World record holder Pavel Kulizhnikov of Russia lost his first 500-metre race of the season when he fell in a corner after Boisvert-Lacroix put him under pressure with a fast start. “I was off like a rocket,” Boisvert-Lacroix said. “It was my best opening ever and I went into the first turn in the right way, but then I saw Pavel fall in front of me, a few me-

stand level atop the standings. Bowe sent Richardson-Bergsma into second place in Saturday’s 1,000. In a head-to-head race in the final pairing, Richardson-Bergsma won in 1:55.29 seconds, 0.15 seconds ahead of Bowe. Marrit Leenstra of the Netherlands was third and Kali Christ of Regina was 16th. Mantia won his first World Cup 1,500 of the season in 1:44.26, leaving Denis Yuskov of Russia second and Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands third. Vincent De Haitre of Cumberland, Ont., was ninth. Yu Jing of China won the women’s 500 in 37.84, just three hundredths of a second ahead of Richardson-Bergsma. Zhang Hong was third and Heather McLean of Winnipeg was 10th. Arjan Stroetinga of the Netherlands won the men’s mass start ahead of Italy’s Fabio Francolini and South Korea’s Seung-Hoon Lee. Toronto’s Jordan Belchos was seventh.

St-Gelais, Maltais and Girard lead charge as Canada wins five medals BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

SHORT-TRACK SPEEDSKATING

SHANGHAI — Marianne St-Gelais, Valerie Maltais and Samuel Girard won individual medals Sunday on a five-medal day for Canada at the ISU World Cup short-track speedskating competition. St-Gelais, from Saint-Felicien, Que., won silver in the women’s 500 metres while Maltais, from La Baie, Que., took silver in the 1,500. Girard, from Ferland-et-Boilleau, Que., won bronze in the men’s 500 and the Canadian relay teams added women’s silver and men’s bronze. St-Gelais has won seven medals in eight individual events this season. “Not only did I have a Korean and a Chinese skater to deal with behind me, but there was also Chinese skater (and gold medallist) Kexin Fan in front of me,” she said. “I was able to control my spot in second place. It’s true that I didn’t win, but being able to maintain sec-

ond position in a race where the level was so high, it’s quite satisfying.” Maltais, meanwhile, finished between South Korean skaters Suk Hee Shim and Alang Kim. “I overtook on the inside and it took me a lot of time and energy to get to first place,” Maltais said. “Once I found myself in front, I was able to stay there until the last lap. I really gave it my all but at the end, it was a really fast race and I had trouble maintaining my energy level. “But I was able to protect second place and I’m happy about that. I will cherish this silver medal. Personally, this was one of the best days — and one of the best weekends — of my career.” Maltais won gold in the 1,000 metres a day earlier. In the men’s 500, Girard finished behind China’s Dajing Wu and Dutch skater Sjinkie

BIATHLON BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOCHFILZEN, Austria — Olympic champion Russia won a men’s biathlon World Cup relay on Sunday, while Italy edged Germany in the women’s event for its maiden victory. Anton Shipulin overtook leader Emil Hegle Svendsen in the final kilometre and held off a late challenge by the Norwegian. Russia, which included Alexey Volkov, Evgeniy Garanichev and Dmitry Malyshko, missed six targets and finished the 4x7.5-kilometre competition in 1 hour, 11 minutes, 40.8 seconds. The Norwegian team of Henrik L’AbeeLund, Johannes Thingnes Boe, Tarjei Boe and

Knegt. “I skidded a little bit but I was able to control it and I came up with a big finish at the end,” Girard said. “This thirdplace result means I have a medal of every colour so far this season.” South Korea won women’s relay gold and the Netherlands took the bronze. St-Gelais and Maltais teamed with Kasandra Bradette of Saint-Felicien, Que., and Audrey Phaneuf of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., to win silver. In the men’s relay, a Chinese skater lost his footing during a turn and brought Girard down with him along the wall with 22 laps to go. The Canadian squad, which included Charles Hamelin of Sainte-Julie, Que., Patrick Duffy of Oakville, Ont., and Charle Cournoyer of Boucherville, Que., came back to take third place behind Hungary and Italy.

Svendsen had to reload seven times in total and trailed Russia by 3.1 seconds. Third-place France finished already 1:01.9 off the lead, while Austria came 1:10.9 behind in fourth despite 13 missed targets and two penalty loops. The Canadian team of Christian Gow, Nathan Smith and Scott Gow — all from Calgary — and Brendan Green of Hay River, N.W.T., were sixth. Dorothea Wierer beat Germany’s Franziska Preuss at the finish of the women’s 4x6K relay, giving Italy its maiden win in the discipline. Italy, which also included Lisa Vittozzi, Karin Oberhofer and Federica Sanfilippo, missed eight targets in total and finished in 1 hour, 5 minutes, 32.6 seconds. The Canadian team of Julia Ransom of Kelowna, B.C., Megan Tandy of Prince George, B.C., Emma Lunder and Rosanna Crawford, both from Canmore, Alta., finished 10th.

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TODAY IN HISTORY December 14 2006 — Ed Stelmach sworn in as Premier of Alberta. 1992 — Ralph Klein sworn in as Premier of Alberta, replacing Don Getty. 1990 — Canadian Wheat Board has $1 billion loss; bigger than total of all losses since founding in 1935. They were selling wheat for $40-50 a tonne less than it paid farmers. 1960 — Government sets retirement age

TUNDRA

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SUDOKU Complete the grid so that every row, every column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 through 9. SHERMAN‛S LAGOON

of Supreme Court of Canada and Superior Court judges at 75; takes effect March, 1961. 1929 — Prime Minister Mackenzie King signs an agreement transferring control of and revenue from Crown land, water, oil and other provincial natural resources to Manitoba and Alberta under the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement. Unlike other Canadian provinces, the prairie provinces did not receive control over mineral resources or Crown lands when they became provinces. The agreement was made with Saskatchewan and British Columbia the following year.

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A ‘victory for all the planet’ NATIONS PLEDGE TO SLOW GLOBAL WARMING IN HISTORIC PACT BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LE BOURGET, France — Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global pact to fight climate change on Saturday, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that don’t. The “Paris agreement” aims to keep global temperatures from rising another degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) between now and 2100, a key demand of poor countries ravaged by rising sea levels and other effects of climate change. Loud applause erupted in the conference hall after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius gaveled the agreement. Some delegates wept, others embraced. “It’s a victory for all of the planet and for future generations,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, adding that the pact will “prevent the worst most devastating consequences of climate change from ever happening.” Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira added: “Today, we’ve proven that it’s possible for every country to come together, hand in hand, to do its part to fight climate change.” In the pact, the countries pledge to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100. In practical terms, achieving that goal means the world would have to stop emitting greenhouse gases — most of which come from the burning of oil, coal and gas for energy — altogether in the next half-century, scientists said. That’s because the less we pollute, the less pollution nature absorbs. Achieving such a reduction in emissions would involve a complete transformation of how people get energy, and many activists worry that despite the pledges, countries are not ready to make such profound, costly changes. The deal now needs to be ratified by individual governments — at least 55 countries representing at least 55 per cent of global emissions — before taking effect. It is the first pact to ask all countries to join the fight against global warming, representing a sea change in U.N. talks that previously required only wealthy nations to reduce their emissions. “History will remember this day,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said. “The Paris agreement on climate change is a monumental success for the planet and its people.” Speaking from Washington, President Barack Obama said the climate agreement offers “the best

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

French President Francois Hollande, right, French Foreign Minister and president of the COP21 Laurent Fabius, center, and United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon applaud after the final conference at the COP21, the United Nations conference on climate change, in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Saturday. Governments have adopted a global agreement that for the first time asks all countries to reduce or rein in their greenhouse gas emissions. chance to save the one planet we have.” The deal commits countries to keeping the rise in global temperatures by the year 2100 compared with pre-industrial times “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and says they will “endeavour to limit” them even more, to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The world has already warmed by about 1 degree Celsius since pre-industrial times. Ben Strauss, a sea level researcher at Climate Central, said limiting warming to 1.5 degrees instead of 2 degrees could potentially cut in half the projected 280 million people whose houses will eventually be submerged by rising seas. More than 180 countries have ready presented plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions— a break-

through in itself after years of stalemate. But those pledges are not enough to achieve the goals in the accord, meaning countries will need to cut much more to meet the goal. “We’ve agreed to what we ought to be doing, but no one yet has agreed to go do it,” said Dennis Clare, a negotiator for the Federated States of Micronesia. “It’s a whole lot of pomp, given the circumstances.” The agreement sets a goal of getting global greenhouse gas emissions to start falling “as soon as possible” they have been generally rising since the industrial revolution.

Please see CLIMATE on Page B10

Oil company wants to build gravel island to produce first oil from U.S. Arctic waters BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Arctic offshore drilling by Royal Dutch Shell PLC drew protests on two continents this year, but a more modest proposal for extracting petroleum where polar bears roam has moved forward with much less attention. While Shell proposed exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea about 80 miles off Alaska’s northwest coast, a Texas oil company wants to build a gravel island as a platform for five or more extraction wells that could tap oil 6 miles from shore in the Beaufort Sea. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is deciding how to assess the environmental effect of a production plan for the Liberty Project by Hilcorp Alaska LLC, a subsidiary of Houston-based Hilcorp Energy Co. A successful well would mean the first petroleum production in federal Arctic waters. Hilcorp’s plan for a 23-acre gravel island, about the size of 17.4 football fields, has drawn mixed reviews from conservationists and outright condemnation from environmentalists who believe the oil should stay in the ground. Global warming is melting sea ice habitat beneath polar bears, walrus and ice seals, said Kristen Monsell, an attorney for the Center for Biological Development. “The impacts of an oil spill on top of that could be devastating and would be nearly impossible to clean up,” she said. Earlier this year, Shell met with protests in the U.S. and in London, England, over proposed exploration wells in Arctic waters far from deep-water ports and onshore services that could respond to an oil spill. Greenpeace activists in April boarded a Shell drill rig as it crossed the Pacific Ocean from Asia. Demonstrators in kayaks protested Shell’s use of the Port of Seattle to stage vessels. In Portland, Oregon, activists dangled from a bridge to delay a support vessel departing for Alaska. Shell drilled one Chukchi Sea exploratory well. However, on Sept. 28, citing disappointing results and an uncertain federal regulatory process, Shell announced that it was pulling out of Arctic waters “for the foreseeable future.” Meanwhile, the Liberty Project quietly moved forward and is closer to production with the blessing of drilling advocates, including the state. “With the recent announcement by Royal Dutch Shell regarding its Outer Continental Shelf development, the importance of Liberty Reservoir project has only increased,” Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said in an Oct. 14 letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Hilcorp would create the island

Liberal deficits could hit $25 billion AND STILL HONOUR THEIR ‘FISCAL ANCHOR’ BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Transocean Polar Pioneer, a semi-submersible drilling unit that Royal Dutch Shell leases from Transocean Ltd., arrives in Port Angeles, Wash. aboard a transport ship after traveling across the Pacific before its eventual Arctic destination, earlier this year. Arctic offshore drilling by Royal Dutch Shell PLC drew protests on two continents this year, but a more modest proposal for extracting petroleum where polar bears roam has moved forward with much less attention. While Shell proposed exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea, a Texas oil company wants to build a gravel island as a platform for five or more extraction wells that could tap oil 6 miles from shore in the Beaufort Sea. in Foggy Island Bay, 15 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil field in North America. Last year, Hilcorp purchased 50 per cent of Liberty assets from BP Exploration Alaska, which drilled at the site in 1997 and discovered an estimated 120 million barrels of recoverable oil. BP considered building a gravel island and also “ultra-extended reach drilling” from shore. The drilling type was deemed technically unfeasible, Hilcorp spokeswoman Lori Nelson said. Hilcorp would place conventional wells on the island, positioning them over the oil bearing rock sitting under the ocean floor. “It’s proven to be a safe and effective means for oil and gas development in the Arctic,” Nelson said by email. “Alaska has a 30-year record of safely operating offshore in the Arctic.” Endicott, the first development off the shore of Alaska’s North Slope, has operated from an artificial gravel island in state waters for almost three decades, she said. Three other fields are in production from offshore gravel islands in state waters.

For the Liberty project, trucks carrying gravel would travel by ice road to a hole cut in sea ice. The trucks would deposit 83,000 cubic yards of gravel into 19 feet of water. The work surface would be 9.3 acres surrounded by a wall, providing a barrier to ice, waves and wildlife. Standard rotary drills would extract oil. Hilcorp would move oil by a 5.6-mile undersea pipeline to shore and overland to the trans-Alaska pipeline. Hilcorp projects a peak production rate of up to 70,000 barrels of oil per day within two years of initial production. Over 15 to 20 years, the company predicts it would yield 80 to 150 million barrels of oil. Lois Epstein of The Wilderness Society said her group has concerns but has not submitted formal comments. Residents, Epstein said, worry that islands will affect the migration patterns of bowhead whales harvested by subsistence hunters. Because the oil would come from federal waters, residents would not see revenues, but would be the ones most harmed by any spill.

OTTAWA — Now that the federal Liberals have shied away from their vow to keep annual deficits under $10 billion, they’ve latched on to another fiscal target — and this one will be much easier to meet. The new government is suddenly talking about the debt-to-GDP ratio, promising repeatedly to keep it on a downward track every year until the next election. The government calculates its debtto-GDP ratio by dividing total federal debt by the overall size of the economy, as measured by nominal GDP. It represents a government’s capacity to pay back debt — and focusing on it gives politicians more spending flexibility. By targeting debt-to-GDP, the Liberals could instead be prepared to run annual deficits of up to $25 billion in the coming years and still lower the ratio — as long as the economy grows at a decent pace, economists say. “The government does have a fair bit of room if what they’re trying to do is just see the debt-to-GDP ratio go down,” said Mike Moffatt, who teaches economics at the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School. The adoption of the debt-to-GDP ratio as a “fiscal anchor” is not new. It was mentioned in the Liberal election platform as one of the ways to keep spending under control. The campaign rhetoric, however, largely focused on the $10-billion annual deficit. No longer. With uncosted election promises piling up on top of unforeseen shortfalls in the underlying fiscal plan, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has emphasized the more-reachable fiscal anchor in recent days. “We will continue to decrease (the debt-to-GDP ratio) every single year because that’s important for the fiscal health of our country,” Trudeau said Wednesday, after casting further doubt on the $10-billion annual deficit target because of economic challenges. “We always targeted modest deficits, we had hoped it would be around $10 billion — we will see if we will be able to hold at that level.”

Please see DEFICIT on Page B10

B10 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Dec. 14, 2015

Health care becoming costlier, more important Health care is becoming increasingIn 2015 the estimated average payly important and costlier as Canadians ment for public health care insurance age. ranged from $3,789 to $12,055 for six A study by BMO Wealth Institute common types of families. For the avfound that the greatest health-care erage Canadian family between 2005 concern among aging Caand 2015 the cost of public nadians is losing the abilhealth care insurance inity to live independently, creased 1.6 times faster than not having enough monthe average income, 1.3 times ey to pay for adequate as fast as the cost of shelter health care and not beand 2.7 times as fast as food. ing able to afford to reIn the BMO report 73 per main in their own homes cent said they plan to use throughout their lifetheir own savings to fund any times. future long-term care needs. At the same time, a Other options they plan to study by the Fraser Inuse include government asstitute has found that the sistance, accessing equity in average cost Canadian their homes through a reverse TALBOT families pay for public mortgage, and long-term care BOGGS health care insurance has insurance. nearly doubled in the last “Declining health as we MONEYWISE decade to $12,000 a year. age has a number of potenCanadians generaltial repercussions including a ly misunderstand the true cost of our loss of independence that often comes public health care system, partly be- from requiring restrictive or intencause they do not incur direct expens- sive care to manage health problems,” es for their use of the health care sys- says Chris Buttigieg, senior manager tem and partly because they cannot of wealth planning strategy with BMO readily determine the value of their Financial Group. “High health care contribution to public health care in- costs can add to the anxiety of having surance, the report says. to make major changes to your day-to-

Turkmenistan breaks ground on gas pipeline ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Leaders from Afghanistan, India and Pakistan have joined the president of Turkmenistan in breaking ground on a new pipeline intended to deliver natural gas from the energy-rich former Soviet republic to their three countries. Turkmenistan is believed to have

the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves, but currently exports mainly to China. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was joined at Sunday’s ceremony by the Afghan president, Indian vice-president and Pakistani prime minister. India’s Hamid Ansari said the launch of the pipeline “marks the first step toward fulfilling the vision of an economically integrated region stretching from the Bay of Bengal to the Caspian Sea.”

D I L B E R T

STORIES FROM PAGE B9

CLIMATE: Provide financial support for poor nations It says wealthy nations should continue to provide financial support for poor nations to cope with climate change and encourages other countries to pitch in on a voluntary basis. That reflects Western attempts to expand the donor base to include advanced developing countries such as China. In a victory for small island nations, the agreement includes a section highlighting the losses they expect to incur from climate-related disasters that it’s too late to adapt to. However, a footnote specifies that it “does not involve or provide any basis for any liability or compensation” — a key U.S. demand because it would let the Obama administration sign on to the deal without going through the Republican-led Senate. The adoption of the agreement was held up for nearly two hours as the United States pressed successfully to change the wording on emissions targets from saying developed countries “shall” commit to reducing emissions to they “should.” Experts said that means the deal probably won’t need U.S. congressional approval. Nicaragua said it would not support the pact. Its envoy, Paul Oquist, said the agreement does not go far enough to cut global warming and help the poor countries affected by it. Nicaragua is one of eight participating countries that haven’t submitted emissions targets, after Venezuelan envoy Claudia Salerno said her country — which had been holding out — liked the agreement and had submitted its pledge. Thousands of protesters demon-

strated across Paris, saying the accord is too weak to save the planet. People held hands beneath the Eiffel Tower and stretched a two-kilometre-long (1.2-mile-long) banner from the Arc de Triomphe to the business district La Defence. Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace said the accord is a good start but isn’t enough. “Today the human race has joined in a common cause, but it’s what happens after this conference that really matters,” he said. “This deal alone won’t dig us out the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep.” The accord does represent a breakthrough in climate negotiations. The U.N. has been working for more than two decades to persuade governments to work together to reduce the manmade emissions that scientists say are warming the planet. The previous emissions treaty, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, included only rich countries and the U.S. never signed on. The last climate summit, in Copenhagen in 2009, ended in failure when countries couldn’t agree on a binding emissions pact. The talks were initially scheduled to end Friday but ran over as Western powers, tiny Pacific island nations and everyone in between haggled over wording. The main dispute centred over how to anchor the climate targets in a binding international pact, with China and other major developing countries insisting on different rules for rich and poor nations. The agreement struck a middle ground, removing a strict firewall between rich and poor nations and saying that expectations on countries to take climate action should grow as their capabilities evolve. It does not require them to do so. Some scientists who had criticized earlier drafts as unrealistic praised the final pact for including language that essentially means the world will have to all but stop polluting with greenhouse gases by 2070 to reach the 2-degree goal, or by 2050 to reach the 1.5-degree goal.

day life to accommodate more care.” Buttigieg believes Canadians would benefit from working with a financial professional to create a financial plan that takes into account the potential for long-term care costs in the future. There are a number of reasons why it’s important to build the potential for long-term health care costs into your financial plan. These include avoiding being a burden to family members and friends, protecting your family finances, providing liquidity, especially for small business owners who may have a significant portion of their assets tied up in their businesses, funding a higher level of care, accounting for the possibility of changing family situations and obtaining greater peace of mind. The report found that the majority of Canadians would prefer to receive long-term care in their own home rather than an assisted living facility, which can put more financial and caregiving responsibilities on loved ones. Yet more than a third of Canadians have not even discussed any financial issues related to future long-term care needs with their partner or adult child. There are tax savings and credits

that can be used to help offset some of the expenses associated with longterm care. Qualifying medical expenses for eligible dependents provide a tax credit that helps to reduce overall taxes. A tax credit can be claimed by those who pay the costs to hire a person to provide care, either within their own home or in an outside care facility. People who have a severe or prolonged impairment may be eligible to claim the disability tax credit and a family caregiver tax credit is available for those taking care for a family member with impairments in physical or mental functions. “Decisions around long-term care often involve family members whether they become caregivers themselves or need to help to finance the care,” says Buttigieg. “Canadians would benefit from working with a professional to create a financial plan that takes into account the potential for long-term care costs in the future.” Talbot Boggs is a Toronto-based business communications professional who has worked with national news organizations, magazines and corporations in the finance, retail, manufacturing and other industrial sectors.

Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world StatCan: The federal agency is out with an array of data this week, including the monthly manufacturing survey for October on Tuesday, the international securities transactions for the same month on Wednesday and wholesale trade figures and the consumer price index on Friday. All the numbers help paint a picture of the state of Canada’s economy. Bank of Canada: The central bank releases its latest financial system review on Tuesday in Ottawa, followed by a news conference by governor Stephen Poloz. The review highlights key financial vulnerabilities and potential triggers that threaten the stability of Canada’s financial system. Valeant: The embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals hosts an investor day on Wednesday in Montreal. A U.S. Sen-

ate committee on aging recently held the first of a series of hearings on rising drug costs that focused on the practices of companies like Valeant Pharmaceuticals and the U.S.-based Turing Pharmaceuticals. Uber hot water: A hearing is being held in Calgary on Thursday to hear the city’s arguments for a permanent injunction against the ride-hailing service. The city of Toronto was paralyzed during rush hour last week when taxi drivers staged massive protests against Uber. BlackBerry: The struggling Canadian tech company releases its third-quarter results on Friday. BlackBerry is expected to provide details on how its smartphones are selling, including the Priv, the company’s first phone that runs the Android operating system.

That’s because when emissions fall, nature compensates by absorbing less carbon dioxide — and can even release old pollution once there’s less of it in the air, said Princeton University’s Michael Oppenheimer. Forests, oceans and soil currently absorb about half the world’s man-made carbon dioxide emissions. “It means that in the end, you have to phase out carbon dioxide,” said John Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. In addition to the cuts in emissions, the goal could be reached in part by increasing how much carbon dioxide is sucked out of the air by planting forests or with futuristic technology, Oppenheimer said, but added such technology would be expensive.

When considering the forecasts, Scott Clark — a former deputy minister of Finance — believes the Liberals will already be close to the threshold that would start ratcheting up the debt-to-GDP. “Then you’ve got a serious problem because then no one’s going to believe you,” Clark said of the danger of not living up to the goal. “Your credibility will go straight out the window because if you’re going to have an anchor … you have to live up to it. As soon as you break that, the financial markets will come down on you like a ton of bricks.” The Liberal platform, which helped carry the party to victory in October, also contained a second fiscal anchor: balancing the federal books by the fourth year of its mandate. But experts believe balancing the 2019-20 budget poses a big hurdle unless the government cuts spending or hikes taxes — or both — to overcome the weaker-than-expected economy and the pricey basket of electoral promises. Many experts like Clark argue that lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio is a more-appropriate — and achievable — commitment for a government than a balanced-budget anchor. The government projects the ratio will gradually fall each year from 31.1 per cent in 2015-16 to 25.2 per cent in 2020-21. But Don Drummond, a former senior Finance Department bureaucrat, questioned the importance of striving to drop an already-low ratio that’s much lower than it’s been in the past. “Who knows whether it even needs to be brought down?” said Drummond, who was assistant deputy minister of fiscal policy in the 1990s when the ratio was close to 70 per cent. “There’s nothing in the economic literature that drives you towards the notion of an optimal debt-to-GDP ratio…I think it’s a second choice on their part when they can’t produce the deficit target that they want. “This is kind of a defensive mechanism.”

DEFICIT: Ratio can continue to fall Plain old math dictates the ratio can continue to fall even if the public books slide into the red — at least to a point. That’s because even if the federal debt gets fatter, the ratio will edge downwards if the economy is growing faster than the debt. Still, in an economy battered by low commodity prices, the debt-to-GDP promise doesn’t exactly look like a slam dunk, either. Earlier this month, projections by the parliamentary budget office suggested the government could find itself running annual deficits up to $15 billion once the Liberals’ costed, big-ticket election promises are factored in. On top of that, the party has also made several uncosted vows. Then, this week, the Liberals conceded their new tax package will, in fact, drain more than $1 billion net from the treasury each year. At the same time, economic growth is sluggish.