ONE YEAR AGO
• Two new waterslides, almost twice as much space, a new library, improved gymnasium, several multipurpose rooms and a dance studio greeted visitors to the G.H. Dawe Community Centre. The $29.9-million revitalization project, at 56 Holt Street in Red Deer, opened for the first time to residents, with two lucky families being the first to try the new waterslides.
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving had a message for boozing drivers: you are being watched. The national organization launched an Alberta-wide Report Impaired Drivers (RID) — Call 911 program in Red Deer. The goal was to encourage motorists or anyone else to report suspected drunk drivers by dialling 911 and calling in a location, the vehicle’s travel direction, licence number and a description if possible.
FIVE YEAS AGO
• The James River Bridge continued to raise hackles north of Sundre. A vital link for local residents and farmers, the bridge was left high and dry when the river changed course after heavy flooding the previous year. Clearwater County council still had no firm answers, despite trying to reach a solution through a provincial disaster program and Alberta Infrastructure.
• Darren Kuz, parliamentary assistant to Red Deer MP Bob Mills, left the post to become the executive director of Tourism Red Deer. Kuz had spent more than a decade connecting Central Albertans to the right level of government as part of Mills’ team.
10 YEARS AGO
• Organizers of the Red Deer Main Street Project announced they would be receiving $225,000 over three years to restore facades of historic downtown buildings. About 15 buildings were expected to be returned to their original appearance.
• Only a few months following the death of their longtime director Keith Mann, the Red Deer Royals returned from a European tour with their first-ever international gold level performance at the World Showband Competition in Potsdam, Germany. In a second competition between the top 12 gold-rated bands, the Royals finished eighth.
25 YEARS AGO
• Requests to the Red Deer Food Bank were double what they were the previous summer, director Howard Maki said.
“The demand just hasn’t dropped off at all, Mr. Maki said. Our food stocks are dwindling pretty quickly.”
Current supplies would last until the end of August, Mr. Maki said. There was a one week waiting list for food hampers. Mr. Maki couldn’t explain the demand, although he said possible factors include more unemployed people coming into the area and the increased awareness of the service due to the Advocate’s June drive for food bank donations.
• More “artsy” films would play in Red Deer with the opening of two new screens at Park Plaza Theatre a company official said.
The total of seven screens would mean a wider variety of movies could be brought in, including those with limited audiences said Susan Wiggins. Red Deer audiences would have a better chance of seeing such movies as Room With a View and Trip to Bountiful, she said.
The $800,00 expansion added a 191-seat and a 127-seat theatre to the Park Plaza, bringing its capacity to 1,800 seats.
50 YEARS AGO
• Canada’s largest gas processing plant was officially opened 35 airline miles northwest of Red Deer with the prediction that the enormous volumes of by-products it recovered from raw gas would play an important part in the development of more secondary industries in western Canada.
• One of the largest and finest displays of farm machinery ever spread out before the Central Alberta public was featured at the 71st annual Red Deer Exhibition during its three-day stand. Exhibition manager D.W. Robertson said that this year’s “Machinery Row” at the fair would be presented by nine local farm implement dealers who arranged to display more than $500,000 worth of the world’s most modern agricultural equipment for a wide variety of purposes.
90 YEARS AGO
• The Benalto Fair on Tuesday and Wednesday was the best the enterprising directors of the Benalto Agricultural Society have yet had.
They were favoured with beautiful weather, and a large crowd the second day, the circle of autos showing the extent to which this method of travel is helping attendance at the fairs.
The hall for inside exhibits had a stand with higher shelves this year for the ladies work which displayed it to better advantage.
• A deep gloom was cast over Saunders on Saturday evening when news came of the sudden death of George Bradley, forest ranger.
Late that afternoon “Dutch” Bernard arrived at the Ranger Station with a collapsible canvas boat which Mr. Bradley was anxious to see in operation as the Forestry branch have some.
They crossed the Saskatchewan river opposite the ranger station safely and spent an hour or more on the other side examining a new ford and the best way to change the trail to lead to it. They also looked over some coal outcrops to which “Dutch” is interested.
In choosing the return crossing they thought the water looked perfectly safe and were halfway across when the boat upset so suddenly none could explain how it happened.
“Dutch” came up beneath the boat and when he had freed himself saw Mr. Bradley some distance away swimming for the shore.
Bernard was then caught in an undercurrent, carried some distance downstream, and finally managed to land safely. He watched the river for a little while for signs of either boat or man.
As there were none he believed Mr. Bradley to be safe and went to the ranger station to enquire. On finding that he had not returned, “Dutch” hurried back to search the river bank and to call out men from the mine to help find him. In a short time dozens were patrolling, but so far no traces have been found.
100 YEARS AGO
• Edward Michener came down on the head of mayor J.B. Welliver for allowing the CNR every concession in its quest to run a railroad through downtown Red Deer. The railway was to run on the west side of Parkvale and take up part of the Central School grounds, and would require the closing of Mann (now 49th) Street as a thoroughfare.