ONE YEAR AGO
• The Red Deer Riggers were on a roll. The Riggers captured their second consecutive Alberta senior AAA baseball championship with a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the Fort Saskatchewan Athletics Sunday afternoon. It was the 15th provincial title in the Riggers’ 30-year history, which saw them win the national crown in 1997.
• The provincial government made the right choice to close two older nursing homes, Seniors and Community Supports Minister Mary Anne Jablonski said after touring a continuing care facility in Red Deer. Jablonski, Red Deer North MLA, and Red Deer South MLA Cal Dallas toured Michener Hill Village with officials from Alberta Health Services and Extendicare Canada, the private operators of the 280-bed residence.
FIVE YEARS AGO
• Red Deer South MLA Victor Doerksen resigned from the provincial cabinet to announce his candidacy for the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party leadership. Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling summed up the thoughts of many Central Albertans when he described the resignation as “a bolt out of the blue.”
• RCMP were releasing few details about an incident in Oriole Park in which a Taser was used to subdue a man smashing vehicles with a pitchfork. The suspect was rushed away in an ambulance, apparently unconscious, after paramedics were seen performing CPR on him on a lawn.
10 YEARS AGO
• The public reacted with sympathy and money to the story of Sheba, a sick Rottweiler found tied in a remote area of the Red Deer park system, apparently left to die. Alberta Animal Services owner George Potter said he was overwhelmed with more than 100 calls, and donations swelled to more than $3,000.
• The City of Red Deer was losing $2,000 a day as the Collicutt Centre pool remained closed because of a high bacteria count. It had been open for less than two months, but closed for most of August because the new salt water chlorination system was not able to keep up with the number of daily users.
25 YEARS AGO
• The city took over operation of the Red Deer Industrial airport. City council unanimously agreed to take over management duties at the airport in lieu of hiring a full-time manager at the site. A city employee was based at the airport to act as manager for two months to determine the feasibility of hiring another full-time manager.
• Red Deer had not escaped the economic turmoil that was gripping the rest of Alberta. According to government statistics and experts, the glut in the oil patch had forced a growing number of area residents to pack their bags.
And those who stayed here appeared to find it more difficult to make ends meet. “Twice as many people are moving out of Red Deer than coming in. They’re going down East where all the jobs are,” said Gordon Thomson, manager of A.A. Associated Van Lines.
50 YEARS AGO
• One of the best parades, including major efforts in Edmonton and Calgary, passed before thousands of Central Alberta visitors in Red Deer. Graced by a brilliant Alberta sun under perfect conditions, the 75-minute procession was without a doubt the finest downtown show ever seen in Red Deer.
There was not a hitch in the precision arrangements under Parade Marshal R.J. Smith, Band-Chairman A.T. Woodrow and members of their hard-working committees. Four roaring Harvards from RCAF Station Penhold buzzed Gaetz Ave at 10 a.m. to mark the start of the parade and for the next hour and more the thousands of people along every inch of the route were treated to a thrilling spectacle. What made the parade outstanding in comparison to other years was the amazing extent of participation shown by Alberta communities such as Stettler with three entries, Wetaskiwin, Olds, Lacombe, Castor, Bentley, Trochu, Edmonton, Calgary, Innisfail and many other smaller communities. Rousing band music, the heart of any parade came from no less that 10 aggregations with a total of nearly 300 bandsmen and majorettes. Another highlight of the procession was the heavy entry of light horses. Starting with Agricultural Society President Terence Oldford, his wife and three boys, there were about 200 fine horses in the parade.
90 YEARS AGO
• Red Deer and Ponoka met in a League fixture and though the night was cold and threatening rain, a goodly crowd of fans turned out and witnessed the best game seen on the local diamond this season.
Rohwer and Peterson were the opposing moundsmen, and both were going in fine form. The latter was a little more generous with his passes than his opponent, but struck out eleven men and allowed only four hits, while the Red Deer team were able to gather five off Rohwer’s delivery.
• Officers and men of the 78th Battery Canadian Field Artillery, Red Deer, to the number of twenty-eighty, under command of Major R. C. Lister, M. C., M. M., Lieut. Howe, returned Sunday after a couple of days gun-firing at Sarcee Camp, Calgary. Actual firing with 8-pounders was the feature of the camp. On Friday, 60 rounds were fired, and on Saturday 90 rounds. Part of this time the firing was with open sights with a tank as a moving target.
100 YEARS AGO
• A long siege of wet weather had cleared off without damaging local crops seriously. However, the rain was expected to delay harvest.
• The congregation of St. Luke’s Anglican Church decided to build a new parish hall.