ONE YEAR AGO
• Black Press Ltd., owner of the Red Deer Advocate, announced it had acquired the Red Deer Express from Great West Newspapers, LP. The Express, which published on Wednesdays, was distributed to local homes and was also available at drop boxes. Its origins date back to 1964, with Great West Newspapers acquiring the paper in 1995.
• Staff at an addiction treatment centre near Tees were unaware how dire a 17-year-old’s medical state was for hours after he had consumed antifreeze on the premises without their knowledge, a Red Deer provincial courtroom heard. A fatality inquiry into the death of Taylor Argent of Red Deer revealed that a night attendant at the Central Alberta Recovery Centre had phoned supervisors about Argent’s unusual behaviour early the morning of Monday April 2, 2007. Hours later, he died inside the pediatric intensive care unit at Edmonton’s University of Alberta Hospital.
FIVE YEARS AGO
• The Medicine River Wildlife Centre admitted it was behind the alleged ab-duck-tion of several ducklings at Bower Ponds. Carol Kelly released the orphaned ducks into ponds in the hope they would be adopted. But the ducklings weren’t ready to set out on their own, so Kelly scooped up the birds and took them back to the wildlife centre.
• Red Deer City RCMP revealed a 12-year-old boy who told police he was stabbed by an unidentified man in Kin Canyon had made up the story. The boy was playing with friends when the stabbing occurred. Police later learned that one boy had accidentally cut his friend with his pocket knife.
10 YEARS AGO
• Despite agreeing with the concept, city councillors voted down a John Howard Society proposal for a halfway house on the west side of downtown Red Deer. Councillors said they had already heard so many objections from the public they didn’t need to move it to a public hearing. A later proposal to locate the halfway house in the former Park Hotel would be approved.
• Red Deer MP Bob Mills agreed to stick with his party led by Stockwell Day, despite longtime party member Deborah Grey’s decision to join other dissidents. Mills said he would try to build from within, but expressed disgust when Day later offered to step aside temporarily and appoint an interim leader.
25 YEARS AGO
• The United Way set its goal at $374,200 and boosted the number of agencies that would receive funding to 21. The 1986 goal was nearly $48,000 higher than the previous year’s goal of $326,825. Total requests amounted to $436,410, but were pared down by an allocation committee.
• A court ruling which upheld the right of students to be informed of their rights in a criminal investigation was not expected to cause problems for local school districts. “It’s just another step to see that the student is protected,” Ken Jesse, Red Deer Public Schools superintendent said. School district policy had been to contact a parent if a student was to be questioned regarding a possible criminal matter, he said. Incidents where school rules are broken wouldn’t require notification of legal rights, Mr. Jesse said.
50 YEARS AGO
• Brisk commercial expansion in the 43 St. — Canadian Pacific Railway district was indicated at city council. Aldermen dealt with an application from the Red Deer Bottling Company for a new site at the corner of 43 St. and 62 Ave; another application from National Grain Co. for an elevator location west of the tracks in the “vicinity of the roundhouse,” and a third application from Great West Distributors for permission to erect a service station on their property on 43 St., just west of the tracks
All applications were received favorably by council subject to zoning, building and fire regulations.
• Red Deer had a primitive-like wilderness right at its door step. It even had petrified wood among its remote treasures. The area was a short —less than a quarter mile — but deep and steep gorge running to the Red Deer River. It was situated about seven miles east of the city, just east beyond the gates to the Crystal Canyon ski hill. It was also well-known to many people of the area. As a matter of fact, the top lip of the canyon was an often-frequented picnic grounds. Rugged old trees bore the numerous scars of initials carved by people over many years. The view from this point, was one of the finest in Central Alberta. Beyond the rugged canyon stretched the emerald green Red Deer River through its deep and heavily treed canyon. Going down the west wall of the canyon was fast, if not treacherous. Coming back up, however, was an ordeal not to be attempted by the weak of heart or leg.
90 YEARS AGO
• The Liberals of Red Deer Provincial constituency convened at the Alexandra hall, Red Deer, on Tuesday afternoon and re-nominated Mr. John J. Gaetz, former member, as their candidate in the coming election without a dissenting voice. There was an excellent turnout of the leading stalwarts from the outside, principally from the villages, while the city was well represented. It was a successful and united convention; it listened to a splendid address from Premier Stewart, who motored down and who was almost entirely recovered from his recent illness, and things got off to a good start, the delegates being determined to do their full duty by the Government and Mr. Gaetz.
• The Rex Theatre are putting on some choice programmes to open out the new theatre, formerly the Lyric. The interior has been entirely repainted and brushed up, and everything is spic and span for the opening. Mr. Brewerton is a live wire. Today (Friday) and Saturday comes “The Branding Iron”; Monday and Tuesday, Ralph Connor’s “Sky Pilot,” which is running in the Allen, Edmonton, this week: Wednesday and Thursday, “The Love Special” by Wallace Reid.
100 YEARS AGO
• Members of the Methodist Church congregation in Red Deer paid $500 to buy a lot for a new house to be built by retiring Rev. C.H. Huestis.
• F.E. Good sold his blacksmith shop at Evarts to J.H. Killick and announced plans to establish a new shop in Rocky Mountain House.