Accused will be tried by judge alone
A Red Deer man charged with using a sawed-off shotgun to collect a small debt has elected a Court of Queen’s Bench trial with judge alone.
A preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for the accused to go to trial will be held on Aug. 28 in Red Deer provincial court.
Devin Funk, 23, is charged with extortion using a firearm, unlawful use of a firearm, pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, possessing a loaded prohibited firearm, possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing a firearm, careless use of a firearm, careless storage of a firearm, and failing to comply with a previous undertaking to the court.
He was charged following a gun incident in Inglewood on May 10.
Police said they received a complaint at about 2:40 p.m. that a male went to a residence on Irwin Crescent and waved a firearm during an altercation with the residents.
Funk remains in custody.
Trial rescheduled for accused emu killer
A trial for a Central Alberta man charged with assaulting a woman, killing an emu and injuring a cow and a dog has been rescheduled to May 3.
The trial was originally scheduled for July 3 in Red Deer provincial court.
Robert Hartley, 50, of the Delburne area, faces nine charges, including uttering threats of bodily harm, intimidation of a witness, two counts of injuring animals and one count of killing an animal.
Hartley is charged with assaulting his former common-law wife in October 2007.
He is also alleged to have tied a dog to the back of a quad and dragged it. There are also allegations that he beat one of his cattle over the head with a board and stabbed it with a pitchfork.
Cycling tour expected to visit Red Deer on Saturday
A coalition of organizations is bringing its cross-Canada cycling tour to Red Deer on Saturday to raise awareness about climate change and sustainable transportation.
KYOTOplus is collecting signatures on its petition on climate change and sustainable transportation that they intend to drop off on Parliament Hill by riders in mid-September.
The coalition, which includes OXFAM and the Sierra Club, will cycle through Red Deer during the day and have scheduled evening talks at 7 p.m. at Red Deer Public Library.
Jeh Custer, of the Sierra Club of Canada, will speak on Energy and Climate Justice in Canada; and Lisa Faye, from OXFAM Canada, who will speak on Is Climate Change a Women’s Issue?
The cyclists, many who have ridden from as far away as B.C. and the Yukon, will be on hand to share their stories.
For more information visit www.pedalfortheplanet.ca or contact nikita@volunteer.oxfam.ca
Yard cleanup likely to be expensive for owner
Huge costs are piling up against a Red Deer property that city crews cleaned out late in June.
The inspections and licensing department had been attempting for months to have property owner Dell Price remove a growing stockpile of goods and old vehicles from a residential yard at 5328-44th Avenue and an adjacent parcel owned by the city.
Although a fence was built around the site, Price failed to comply with the city’s requests, which prompted what officials believe to be the biggest yard cleanup in Red Deer’s history.
The various departments concerned have not yet begun to tally the total cost of the cleanup, which took three and a half days to complete and involved a number of city departments and contractors, inspections and licensing manager Paul Meyette said on Wednesday.
Public works alone invested 262.5 hours of labour and hauled out 45 truck loads of goods stockpiled at the site, said Steve Wright, roads superintendent.
Also attending the cleanup were dog catchers, bylaw enforcement officers, RCMP, environmental services and surveyors. Key Towing was contracted to haul away and store vehicles and trailers.
Excluding the vehicles, salvageable goods are being stored at the city landfill station, where they will be held for a period of time to give Price an opportunity to recover them if he wishes.
Price has not responded to repeated requests for an interview with the Advocate.
