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Edmonton News - iNews880 |
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7/30/2010
1 am
A web of day and night Check Stops will be laid out across the province over the long weekend.
August is impaired driving awareness month and RCMP Staff Sergeant Jamie Johnston with K-Division says we haven't seen significant drops, as we would hope, with impaired driving.
"We can't have a police man on every corner, everywhere," states Johnston. "But we have now entered into a strategic intelligence led program where we look at what the causal factors of our crashes are, along with when and where they're occurring. And we are honing our enforcement techniques to deal with those primary causal factors. Impaired driving being one of the big ones."
Sergeant Johnston says as the population increases, the volume of impaired driving related collisions has remained relatively stable over the years. But he says officers are aggressively trying to reverse that trend with the help of the public.
Johnston tells iNews880 you never forget having to knock on someone’s door to tell them their loved one has just been killed by a drunk driver.
"The role of the police doesn't just end with the picking up of the wrecks on a highway. We also have the horrible task of informing ...
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7/30/2010
12:40am
Four people were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, after a three vehicle crash near Big Valley on Thursday.
The RCMP believe an east bound semi trailer was traveling slowly, about to turn north into the Big Valley Landfill site, when a Dodge Durango struck the rear of the semi.
The Durango then drove into the oncoming lane and struck a west bound Jeep Cherokee head on. Only the driver of the semi trailer escaped major injuries.
Charges have not been laid. (jc, ccg)
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7/30/2010
1:30am
Country music fans are gathering at the Big Valley Jamboree near Camrose this weekend, one year after a terrible storm chased so many away.
Kevin Costner's band "Modern West" will play again this year in memory of what happened and to celebrate life. Costner says it's a blessing that more people weren't hurt, but it's a tragedy that Donna Moore was lost.
"Modern West" was on the stage when the big storm struck. (rw, ccg)
More from the iNews880/CISNFM Blog:
VIDEO: Kevin Costner and Modern West Look Back at Camrose Last Year
On the Net:
Events.MySpace.com: Kevin Costner and Modern West
BigValleyJamboree.com
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7/29/2010
10:05pm
The Alberta Liberals are accusing the provincial government of damaging the health-care system by recently laying off, then rehiring nurses.
The Liberals say documents show 450 nurses were bought out last year at a cost of $23 million. But now, they say, the province is planning to rehire about 900 nurses.
Liberal health critic Kevin Taft says it's not like there's a lot of extra nurses around. He says instead of paying $23 million to let them go, why not assign them to jobs that need to be filled.
Alberta Health says the buyout was necessary when the province posted a deficit budget.(CTV, The Canadian Press, bp, ccg)
On the Net:
AlbertaLiberal.com
Health.Alberta.ca
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7/29/2010
9pm
Envision Edmonton has provided us with a letter to Mayor Stephen Mandel, asking that next week's closure of a runway at the City Centre Airport be delayed.
Improved poll results are cause for optimism for the group that wants to keep the airport open.
It needs to collect 80,000 signatures on a petition by the middle of next month, to force a plebiscite on the future of the airport in this fall's municipal election. As of Thursday, it had about 45,000.
Envision Edmonton's Chuck Allard thinks the publicity is working and all that ''face time'' at various festivals is paying off.
"The undecided level has got off the fence and started siding with us, so it's gone from 46 to 52 percent," says Allard, "but, when you add some of the other subject matters, then it goes up to 70-74 percent and then the democracy argument is very, very high."
The letter above (Click to enlarge) touts those poll numbers, stresses the need for Medevac services and asks for time to let the petition drive run its course. The mayor's office reports that , by the end of the business day Thursday, the letter had yet to arrive. (sj, kn, ...
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7/29/2010
8:40pm
It's a sad ending to the search for an American pilot, whose plane crashed while headed to Peace River.
The military confirms the wreckage has been found southeast of Norman Wells, NWT, about 800 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. It was discovered about mid-morning, Thursday.
The pilot did not survive.
According to The Edmonton Journal, the victim is Colorado resident Terry Johnson. Johnson,. The 75-year-old was headed from Norman Wells to Peace River, when his plane disappeared from radar last Saturday.(The Edmonton Journal, bp, ccg)
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7/29/2010
7:40pm
A convicted child predator is back home in the U.S.
RCMP confirm that a former Olds resident has been deported, after serving a three-and-a-half year prison term.
William Arthur Maguire, 45, an American citizen, did time for sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching. This followed an investigation by the RCMP Internet Child Exploitation Unit. Maguire returned to Portland, Ore. this week, after his release.
A second man charged in this case -- Eugene David Maguire, 50 -- is still in prison. (bp, ccg)
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7/29/2010
6:45pm
Guy Boutilier is looking out for the interests of his staff, by remaining an independent MLA prior to joining the Wildrose Alliance.
Speaking on 630 CHED's "Rutherford Show" Thursday, he said he intends on writing the Speaker, the day before the Legislature reconvenes to say that he's joining the party.
However, until then, he's seeking information from the member services committee on funding because, as he sees it, he'll collect less with the Wildrose than he does now.
"Remember, I'm still using the research funding with the people that work in my office as an MLA for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo," Boutilier says, "They are using that funding and, by the way, I am using that funding for policy stuff, on seniors, on health-care, on education and I'm going to continue to do that."
Boutilier has sat as an independent for a year, after he was booted out of the PC caucus over a disagreement with Premier Ed Stelmach over funding for a seniors complex in Fort McMurray. (sj, bp, ccg)
On the Net:
Assembly.ab.ca: Biography for Mr. Guy Boutilier (IND)
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7/29/2010
6:30pm
UPDATE: Drivers are getting a break on auto insurance.
Following its annual review of rates, the Automobile Insurance Rate Board is directing insurers to reduce premiums on mandatory insurance by 5%. This will save drivers, on average, $30. It takes effect November 1st.
The board expects drivers to be good, so the rates are going down.
"This reduction is primarily the result of a projected decline in the number of bodily injury claims in the province this coming year," said board chair Alfred Savage in a release Thursday.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has some concerns with the decision.
"It is critical to remember that the most important goal of any auto insurance system must be to ensure consumers are well-served by a healthy and competitive marketplace," said the bureau, in a release of its own. "This means, in part, maintaining premiums that are affordable for drivers, but are also adequate enough to keep the insurance companies solvent and able to pay claims."
This is only for the mandatory part of the insurance you get. It doesn't include optional collision or comprehensive coverage. (bp, ccg)
On the Net:
AIRB.Alberta.ca/News
IBC.ca: Insurance Bureau of Canada
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7/29/2010
5:40pm
Envision Edmonton has bold plans for City Centre Airport, should its drive to keep the airport open be successful.
During an open house at the airport Thursday, the group unveiled schematics to show what it believes can be done with the
property.
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY
& TRANSPORTATION HUB (.pdf)
The cornerstone of Envision's vision, is a new terminal in the northeast corner. This would become a hub for air, rail, bus, and
private vehicle. Envision Edmonton's Ed Shlemko says the goal is to service rural northern communities.
"By having all those things centered in that one area, we'll have synergies to create an economic cluster up in that north
east corner," said Shlemko.
Click HERE to see the map for:
INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL USERS (.pdf)
However, Shlemko couldn't put a price tag on the cost of a terminal, saying the uncertainty of the airport's future is
hampering efforts to attract developers.
Envision Edmonton is trying to garner 80,000 signatures on a petition to force a plebiscite on the future of the airport this
fall. As of Thursday, 45,000 had signed.
Click
HERE to see the map for:
TRANSPORTATION HUB & REMOTE COMMUNITY LOGISTIC
& TECHNOLOGY CENTRE (.pdf)...
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