ONE YEAR AGO
• The City of Red Deer announced it would cut family rates to recreational centres and returned to greater user flexibility between facilities on Oct. 1 after recently introduced changes sparked a deluge of complaints. Recreation, Parks and Culture suggested lowering fees and increasing pass access to all rec centres in response to community concerns about a new pricing framework launched on Aug. 1. It saw people being charged more for attending certain facilities, based on the number of amenities there.
• Mayor Morris Flewwelling had an unexpected challenger. Hilary Penko, 35, said she was waiting for one of the city’s councillors to run for mayor. When no one stepped forward, she decided someone had to do it.
“In a city of 90,000, I think it’s kind of sad nobody’s standing up to challenge our mayor. He’s the top elected official in our city and I think he should be elected,” said Penko, who did not announce her candidacy until Monday after she filed her nomination papers at City Hall.
FIVE YEARS AGO
• Red Deer curler Chris Schille headed to Newfoundland to begin a new chapter in his life as a member of Brad Gushue’s world-class foursome. Schille replaced veteran Russ Howard, who helped the Gushue quartet strike gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy.
• The Town of Sylvan Lake moved toward creating a smoke-free bylaw similar to Red Deer’s. Reacting to a push from the Central Alberta Tobacco Reduction Coalition, the town drafted an anti-tobacco bylaw.
10 YEARS AGO
• A Red Deer mother was reunited with two of her children whom she hadn’t seen in nearly four years. Cindy Flores met her children Josie and Jordan at the Calgary airport after her estranged husband voluntarily brought them back from the Philippines. He was arrested at the airport.
• The United States terrorist attacks were having little effect on the energy sector in Central Alberta. Officials said the attacks had sent tremors through the industry, but nobody was predicting a significant slowdown.
25 YEARS AGO
• High rollers in Red Deer gambled nearly twice as much money in 1985 as they did in 1984.
Figures released by the Alberta Gaming Commission, showed city gamblers tried to beat the odds by shelling out more that $10 million for casinos, bingos, raffles and pull tickets compared to only $5.8 million in 1984.
Bingo was the biggest fundraising activity in the city as players hollered “Bingo!” more than three times as often as they did in 1984.
• Alarmed by a lack of back-up power at the Red Deer industrial Airport, Transport Canada was designing its own generator to service the control office. Paul Ouwerkerk, a project manager for Transport Canada, said he was “really surprised,” when he discovered during a visit that Red Deer had no back-up power generators at the airport. In the event of a blackout, such as the freak snowstorm of May, there would be no power to light runways, heat terminals or operate flight control and weather equipment. When the blizzard struck, the airport was without power for four days.
50 YEARS AGO
• Asgeir Asgerisson, President of Iceland, indicated on a four-hour visit to Central Alberta that he was impressed with Canada and the beauty of the parkland. He was on a three-week tour of Canada, in which he planned to visit the main Icelandic areas in each province. Accompanied by his wife, Fru Dora Thorhalldottier and several aides, the president stepped off an RCAF plane at RCAF station Penhold and was taken to a luncheon in the Officers’ Mess at the air base. Shortly after the luncheon, the president and his party went to Markerville, the strongest Icelandic community in Alberta, where he honored icelandic poet Stephan G. Stephansson.
• Official confirmation of about $4,000,000 in contracts for construction of federal department of national defence installations in the immediate Red Deer District, was receive from Harris Rogers, Member of Parliament for Red Deer. A joint contract for $1,842,314 was let to Burns and Dutton Construction Company and Poole construction for the construction of a heavy radar station 16 miles southeast of Red Deer, 2 miles east of Penhold. Work had started on this project and was expected to be finished by the fall of 962.
90 YEARS AGO
• The Provincial Public Works Department are getting busy over the approaches to the Red Deer east Bridge. They want these got under way so that their material can be got in without undue trouble and delay.
• Don’t forget Friday, September 30, at the Agricultural grounds. Encourage the children with your presence. Schools are to provide their own lunch this year. Those requiring forms to be filled in for classes 44 and 47 can get same by applying to the Secretary, M. J. Gibson. A meeting of the Executive will be held on September 24 (Saturday) at 2 p.m. In the City Hall for final arrangements.
100 YEARS AGO
• Members of the local temperance union demanded cigars not be offered to minors at public meetings in Red Deer.
• Construction of the Ladies’ College was beginning in Red Deer, with the excavation nearly complete.