Residential break-ins reported in Parkvale
Bold thieves broke into a number of residences in Red Deer’s Parkvale neighbourhood during daylight hours on Monday.
City RCMP said the break-ins all occurred within close proximity to each other.
The residences are located in these areas:
• 4600 block of 46th Street;
• 4500 block of 47th Street;
• 4600 block of 47th Street.
Some common items taken include money, jewelry, laptop computers, iPods and MP3 players.
Police are looking to speak with anyone who may have seen any suspicious persons or activity such as persons loitering, peering in windows and checking doors, and vehicles not usually seen in the area left idling for extended periods of time.
Anyone with information regarding these crimes is asked to contact the Red Deer City RCMP at 403-343-5575.
If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.8477or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com. If the information leads to an arrest, tipsters are eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.
Town of Olds joins network dedicated to sustainability
The Town of Olds has joined a network of communities devoted to planning a sustainable future.
Olds was the first Alberta community to follow through on guidelines from the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association to undertake integrated sustainable planning.
The town has become one of about three dozen communities in the Sustainable Cities PLUS Network, a Vancouver-based group that also has members from the U.S. and other countries and promotes sustainable planning. The network is also committed to sharing its experience with other communities.
“Our community recognizes the importance of embracing all dimensions of sustainability in making community economic development decisions,” says Stirling McLeod, chairman of the Olds Institute for Community and Regional Development in a news release.
Last year, Olds became Alberta’s first Fair Trade Community, an initiative the promotes buying goods that provide a fair price for developing nations.
Crime generally down in the city, but not assault numbers
Calls for police service fell last week but some crimes, including assaults, increased, according to city RCMP statistics.
Total calls for service dropped 11 per cent to 640 in the week ending on Sunday, Cpl. Kathe DeHeer said.
Assaults increased eight to 30 last week while robberies remained steady at four — the same as last week.
Several other crime categories declined, including domestic assaults, which totalled 21 last week from 32 the previous week.
Thefts fell one to 40 while drug investigations dipped to 10 from 16 the previous week.
Other statistics:
• Nine motor vehicle thefts;
• Seventeen residential and business break-ins;
• One hundred and one bylaw infractions;
• Nine frauds;
• Thirty-eight mischief reports;
• Twenty-nine suspicious persons, vehicles or activities;
• One hundred and four victim services assistance calls.
Suspected copper thief denied bail, again
A man charged with stealing more than $10,000 worth of copper wire in Lacombe has been denied bail, again.
Barry Zwicker, 48, of Edmonton was denied bail in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench following a bail review on Tuesday.
Zwicker returns to provincial court on Friday to possibly set a date for a preliminary hearing.
He is charged with break-and-enter, theft and possession of stolen property valued at more than $5,000.
He was denied bail in December by a provincial court judge.
Zwicker was charged when police stopped a vehicle with two men in it on Nov. 18 at about 2:30 a.m. on Hwy 12 near Lacombe.
The officer noticed a minivan leaving an industrial area in southeast Lacombe with the vehicle’s back end low to the ground.
The officer checked the van and its two occupants and discovered about $10,000 in copper wire inside the vehicle.
An investigation revealed copper wire had been stolen from two business sites.
Zwicker also has a trial set for April on a separate break-in charge.
Robert Bourque, 40, of Campbell River, B.C., was sentenced to seven months in jail after pleading guilty to two break-ins and possessing a small amount of marijuana in provincial court in late November.
Bourque had been charged with break-and-enter, theft, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and possession of a controlled substance.
Bourque also pleaded guilty to possession of 20 grams of marijuana and was fined $250.
Motor vehicle collisions up slightly from the previous week
Speeding tickets decreased substantially for the week ending on Saturday, Red Deer city RCMP traffic unit statistics indicate.
Police ticketed eight drivers for speeding compared with 112 the previous week.
The tickets don’t include photo radar.
Motor vehicle crashes increased seven to 72 last week while hit-and-run reports were 31, a drop of one from the previous week.
Other traffic statistics:
• Fourteen impaired driving citations;
• Two, 24-hour suspensions;
• Two liquor tickets;
• Forty-two non-moving violations, including equipment violations and suspended drivers;
• Nine no-insurance tickets;
• Eighteen red light and stop sign tickets;
• Five seatbelt tickets;
• Thirty-eight bylaw and Environmental Protection Act tickets.
Musicians, singers and dancers to raise money for Haitian relief
A larger Red Deer For Haiti Benefit is being planned to help the poor, disaster-stricken country.
Local musicians Ian Stewart and the Swanjacks, singer Kym Simon and the band St. James’ Gate will join a host of others on Thursday, Feb. 4, for a fundraising evening at Festival Hall at the Memorial Centre.
The goal is raising money for the Canadian Red Cross’s effort to help the people of Haiti cope with the effects of a devastating earthquake.
The Red Deer Legion Pipe Band, the Alan James Project, the Red Deer Irish Dancers, and the Red Deer College Choir will also be entertaining crowds after doors open at 7 p.m. There will be a cash bar and a silent auction.
“Red Deer is a generous community. I am pleased to lend support to (the) benefit. . . . If each of us does our part, as a community we can make a huge contribution to Haiti relief efforts,” said Mayor Morris Flewwelling.
Tickets for the fundraiser are $20 from the Royal LePage Network Realty, 3608 50th Ave., Red Deer.
To donate, sponsor the event, or to challenge others, call 403-341-6824.
A previously announced Haiti benefit, planned by high school bands including Freedom in Pieces, Our Side and Shift, will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Deer Park Alliance Church. Admission is $5 at the door.
Someone is stealing charity cash cans from businesses in Central Alberta
A food store business owner is warning businesses that permit charity cash cans on store counters to be on the alert for a thief.
Rick Knebel, who owns Family Foods stores in Blackfalds and Penhold, said both of his stores have been hit by a man described as in his late 20s or early 30s.
The culprit enters the store and says he received a call the previous day that his lost cellphone has been found and is in another part of the store.
When the counter staff employee leaves, the thief grabs cash cans off the counters and flees in a vehicle.
Knebel said cans for such charities as the Red Deer Food Bank, Red Deer SPCA and Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) have been pilfered.
Knebel said several other stores in Red Deer and Central Alberta have also been hit by the thief.
The thefts have been ongoing for a couple of weeks, he added.
“I just hope someone sees or knows who the thief is and contacts the police,” Knebel said.
He also said the thefts may not seem like much but the money in the cans is important to the charities because of all the work they do and the people and animals they assist.
Anyone with information about the culprit can phone Red Deer Rural RCMP at 403-343-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Bashaw history book’s publication date pushed back
An overwhelming outpouring of stories from Bashaw-area residents has led to a the publication delay of a Bashaw history book.
A two-volume edition of the Bashaw & District History Book was supposed to be completed this winter by the Bashaw Historical Society.
But volunteers are still working to proofread and edit the more than 1,300 stories that area residents have submitted for inclusion in the book. This far surpasses the 500 history-based stories the society was expecting to get.
“It’s looking more and more like it will be the end of summer before we have this history book in hand. Please bear with us; it will be worth it, we assure you,” say the book’s compilers, who urge those interested to watch for further updates.
Meanwhile, more volunteers are needed to help with society fundraising events, including a casino, and to help with homecoming celebrations. Those interested should call Pam at 780-372-2031, or Leanne at 403-784-3437.
Meeting to address possible closure of school located in Mirror
Wolf Creek Public Schools will hold a meeting in early February to talk about the closure of Mirror School.
The school division initially looked at closing the school in 2005, but people in Mirror wanted to have a few years to turn the situation around.
“They tried very hard, but there has been no shift in the demographics. There have been no new subdivisions built. There have been no new (large) businesses (open),” said Larry Jacobs, the superintendent of the Wolf Creek Public Schools.
The kindergarten to Grade 8 school has 46 students, but four of them are kindergarten and so they only go to the school half-time.
“It’s hard to subsidize it,” Jacobs said. “The fiscal reality next year could be very tough for school boards around the province. So we’re going through that phase right now deciding how we can meet all of our fiscal needs. So we don’t have the funding left anymore to support schools if they don’t have the demographics to support themselves.”
The meeting to discuss the closure of Mirror School is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the school.
The Wolf Creek School Division voted in October to look at the closure of the school because of dropping student numbers and will vote on whether to move forward with closing it in March. Leading up to that, information is being collected by the superintendent as part of a report for the school board. Jacobs said during the meeting people will be able to look at the financial impact of closing the school and there will be information on the cost of operating the school, information on busing and attendance.
Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling was born in Mirror and his mother still lives there. The two schools he attended as a child no longer exist there, but as a former teacher he recognizes the importance of a school to a community.
Flewwelling said since the earliest times of settlement the first thing that people did was build a house and then a school that served not only as a place to educate children, but also as a community gathering place.
However, he said there has been a lot of urbanization so that small towns find it difficult to keep their schools.
Man accused in stolen property case reserves his plea on three charges
A Delburne man charged in the recovery of $250,000 worth of stolen property reserved his plea on three charges Tuesday.
Jason Paul Penney, 36, returns to provincial court Feb. 17 to enter a plea on three charges of possession of stolen property valued at more than $5,000 each.
Penney wasn’t in court so a warrant to be held by the court until Feb. 17 was issued by Judge Gordon Deck.
The warrant will be released if the accused doesn’t show up next month.
Earl Bruyea, 29, of Red Deer returns to Red Deer provincial court on Feb. 2 on 13 charges including three counts of break and enter, four counts of possession of stolen property valued at more than $5,000 and five counts of possession of stolen property valued at less than $5,000.
Three men were charged on Dec. 1 when Red Deer City RCMP recovered $250,000 in stolen property — including numerous vehicles — after search warrants were executed in Central Alberta.
Const. Sabrina Grunow of city RCMP said Tuesday police are still sorting out who the stolen property belongs to before laying charges and setting a court date against the third accused.
The search warrants were executed on a campsite at Burntstick Lake, and residences in Delburne and Red Deer.
Police recovered property reported stolen from Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, Delburne, Red Deer and the Red Deer rural area.
The recovered stolen property includes two Ford F-350 pickup trucks, six ATVs, a Jeep, TJ, Mallord Holiday Trailer, 16-foot car hauler trailer and several televisions, including a 52-inch Sony television.