Published in the May 15th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

Boys family needs help

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

Maddox Flynn was born just a few days before Christmas two years ago with lymphatic cystic hydroma, a severe and rare malformation on the left side of his face.

After trying several injection treatments to the two-year-old’s face without success, doctors told Maddox’s parents Nicole Champagne and Mike Flynn that there was nothing they could do for their son.

But the family never lost hope.

“When you’re told that nothing can be done, don’t stop believing,” Flynn said at the family’s west-end home Friday.

The family has found a surgeon in New York City who specializes in facial malformations and birth defects, who could clear the malformation and help restore symmetry back to Maddox’s face.

The biggest problem — the cost.

At bare minimum, the two-part operation would cost the family nearly $50,000. That’s excluding travel expenses, post-surgery procedures and if Maddox had to stay extra nights in the hospital, which could cost up to $10,000 per night.

The family had been seeking financial aid from the government, but due to the short time frame they’d been given — the American surgeon wants to operate on Maddox on May 21 — Champagne and Flynn decided to turn to the community for support.

If they don’t get enough money in time, the surgery would have to be postponed to the end of the year, which means both Maddox’s self-esteem, as well as his malformation, could worsen.

“He’s starting to notice people looking at him differently, kids running away from him,” Flynn said.

“If this isn’t treated soon, he could start feeling emotional scarring.”

But since reaching out to the community, the family has been overwhelmed with support from strangers across the province and across the country.

“I got a call from a stranger from Ontario and he started crying because he said he would go into debt to give Maddox some kind of life,” Champagne said, on the verge of tears herself.

“It just means the world to me and I know that it will give him a good life and he deserves it, he’s so beautiful.”

“We just want him to get better,” Champagne smiled as she watched her bubbly little son run around their home.

Although Maddox isn’t expected to be able to see out of his left eye once the surgery is completed, he will be able to fully open and close his eyelids and should be able to speak properly.

The family has set up a trust fund for donations to help pay for Maddox’s surgery. E-mail maddoxflynntrustfund@hotmail.com.

Dr. Milton Walen, the surgeon operating on Maddox in New York, could not be reached for comment.

Published in the May 14th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

Wildfires spark E-town air alert

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

Edmontonians may not be breathing easy, as smoke from a wildfire wafts over the city.

Alberta Health Services has issued an air-quality warning for Edmonton and surrounding areas, such as Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan.

“Get inside, stay inside and hopefully the wind will change,” said Dr. Marcia Johnson, acting medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services.

People with respiratory problems, heart or lung conditions, smokers or children who are active outdoors are advised to stay indoors and keep windows shut, but the warning extends to those in good health as well.

“Even in normal people you can feel an irritated throat, you can start to cough, you can just feel very uncomfortable under smoky conditions,” said Johnson.

An air-quality advisory was already issued for Redwater and surrounding areas Thursday night. Giant plumes of smoke have been billowing off the wildfire near the tiny town of Opal, about 60 km north of Edmonton in Thorhild County. The blaze has been raging out of control since Wednesday afternoon.

One home and surrounding buildings have already been consumed by the fire, but so far there have been no injuries, as residents remain on alert.

State of emergency

The province’s wildfire fighting force has dispatched 60 firefighters, four helicopters and numerous water bombers to the area that is under a state of emergency.

An additional three helicopters, three dozers and 100 crew members joined the fight Friday to contain the fire.

With the winds shifting Friday, a spokeswoman for the County of Thorhild hoped crews would be able to gain control of the fire that has grown to about 2,200 hectares.

“It is in our favour,” said Candace Revega, with the County of Thorhild.

A number of concerned Edmontonians spotting smoke in their communities have also been calling 911.

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services says citizens should be aware that the main source of the billowing smoke is from the wildfire burning outside the city.

“We want citizens to always know that 911 is the best number to call if they think there is an emergency, but smoke related to those calls were because of fires happening outside the city,” said a spokesman with Fire Rescue Services.

Thorhild County issued a fire ban Thursday, while a full fire ban was declared for all areas of Strathcona County Friday morning. A fire advisory has also been issued for Sturgeon County.

The air-quality advisory is in effect until the wildfire has been contained, but warm, dry weather and shifting winds forecast over the next few days are expected to make containing the wildfire difficult.

– With files from Candice Ward

Published in the May 13th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

Champs rally for a cause

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

Drew Calvert’s hockey equipment has gone untouched for nearly eight months.

The former goaltender who had been playing hockey since the age of five and had graduated from the hockey program at Vimy Ridge Academy in 2008, is now in a wheelchair after being run over and dragged by a vehicle in July.

Will never walk again

Calvert barely survived, with injuries to his shoulders, ribs, spine, pelvis and lungs. Paralyzed from the waist down, he will never be able to walk again.

Calvert spent two months at the University of Alberta Hospital, followed by about six months at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, only finally being able to come home this past March, after his parents finished installing a wheelchair-accessible elevator and bathroom into their southeast Edmonton home.

“It feels great to be home,” he said Wednesday.

Calvert’s family had to pay over $40,000 to install the special elevator and bathroom.

“We needed those two things to make the house accessible enough for him to get out of the hospital,” said Calvert’s mother Trudy. “It’s been a long and drawn-out process.”

But more money needs to be spent on getting him a specially-modified vehicle, which could cost up to $50,000 on top of the cost of the vehicle itself.

That’s where the Edmonton Oilers, Eskimos, and other local sports celebrities come in.

The hockey program’s Carnival of Champions fundraiser, taking place Sunday, is meant to bring in funds to help Calvert and his family.

The Oilers’ Zack Stortini and Jason Strudwick, the Eskimo’s Aaron Fiacconi and Kyle Koch, other Oilers and Eskimos alumni, Eskimos cheerleaders and Rush dancers, Oil Kings players, Olympic Women’s hockey goaltender Shannon Szabados and others will be at the fundraiser over the weekend.

“At first I was thinking, ‘Why do I deserve this? It’s a lot.’ But then I started realizing, ‘I didn’t deserve this,’ ” Calvert said, motioning to his legs, while sitting in his wheelchair.

The fundraiser also includes food, a mobile video game theatre, a dunk tank and various games and challenges for kids. A silent auction will also be taking place, where items such as signed hockey gear from Wayne Gretzky and other Oilers will be auctioned off.

Money raised at the Carnival of Champions will go towards buying Calvert the specialized vehicle, as well as paying for his post-secondary education.

The 19-year-old had originally hoped to enter the instrumentation program at NAIT, but must now change his career path.

“I’m looking at maybe producing music,” he said, adding he listened to a lot of music while at the hospital. “I love music, it saved me.”

Grateful

Despite the difficulties of performing simple, everyday tasks, Calvert’s parents are happy the situation wasn’t worse.

“As bad as we all feel, it could have been so much worse and we’re so grateful,” Trudy said.

The Carnival of Champions fundraiser runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, at Vimy Ridge Academy’s Donnan School campus, 7803 87 St.

Admission is $5 and free for kids age three and under.

Published in the May 13th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

Grits would reward voters with tax credit

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

The Alberta Liberals have announced a 12-step reform plan to become the most accountable government in the province’s history.

Rewarding citizens who vote with a $50 tax credit, creating an independent group to set MLA salaries, and banning all corporate and union party donations are three of the twelve initiatives the official opposition is promising.

“There’s ample evidence that our current political leaders have become much too comfortable in power,” Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann told reporters Wednesday.

“There’s a better way. I believe Albertans want leadership they can trust and only then will they decide to participate fully in our political culture — that’s why I intend to build the nation’s most accountable and transparent government.”

Swann says Albertans who take time to vote deserve the tax incentive, but Scott Hennig with the Canadian Federation of Taxpayers, says the credit wouldn’t amount to very much for citizens in the end.

“It would count as a provincial tax credit so it’s calculated at the lowest rate,” Hennig said. “You can claim $50, but only keep 10 per cent of that, so you’ll get $5 back.

“It’s a terrible move. It’s a goofy, weird way to encourage people to vote.”

However, Hennig praised most of the other steps in the Clean Government Initiative plan.

He commended points like having MLAs make all of their expenses available to the public online, protecting citizens who want to speak out and expose government but are too afraid, and making Officers of the Legislative Assembly like the auditor general and the ethics commissioner more independent from the government.

The last step in the reform package would be to set fixed election dates so the ruling administration is not able call an election whenever it feels it has the best chance of being re-elected. Fixed election dates were proposed after the 2008 election, but were rejected by Premier Ed Stelmach.

Only 41% of people voted in the last Alberta provincial election.

Published on The Edmonton Sun website only. News

Fringe Theatre’s 2010-11 season kicks off

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

The Fringe Theatre’s 2010-2011 show season has officially been unveiled and features six new shows all strung together with a common theme: music.

The shows, three of which are part of the adult Adventures in Fringe Theatre series and three that are part of the Adventures in Family Theatre, dabble in exciting plots involving Mozart, fairytales, circus, and even Newfoundland and all have music components to them.

“From our festival to main stage, all (our shows) are blockbusters, all of them have something to offer everybody from family all the way up to couples or if you’re just going by yourself, come see some fantastic theatre,” said Fringe Theatre program director Thomas Scott. “We’re the event in town, you know you’re going to enjoy it — it’s money well spent.”

New for the very first time this year, the Edmonton Opera is collaborating with the Fringe Theatre to put on an opera-inspired family show, The Barber of Barrhead, which runs Feb. 17-26, 2011.

At the launch for the new season Tuesday, a musical scene was performed from the classic children’s fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk, which will run Dec. 3-12.

The season kicks off in October with a mystery-thriller show called Any Night, about a woman who suffers from nightmares and sleepwalking.

In January, Mozart: Ze Komplete Hystery runs, which is a comedic tale about the life and death of musical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

In March, audiences get a taste of An Evening with Uncle Val, the story of a retired, 70-year-old fisherman living in St. Johns, Nfld.

And rounding out the season in April is Les Parfaits Inconnus, a high-energy, aerobatic circus-act show involving bicycles, barrels, ladders and more.

All shows take place at the Transalta Arts Barns, 10330 84 Ave. Tickets can be bought from the Fringe Theatre Box Office or online at http://www.fringetheatre.ca.

This year’s Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival runs August 12 – 22.

Published in the May 12th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

Marking your territory

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

“It’s like DNA for your property.”

It’s called Operation Hands Off and it’s a property-tracking-identification program meant to stop theft from home construction sites across Edmonton by creating fear and uncertainty in the minds of criminals.

Officials hope that if thieves don’t know which products are marked and traceable, they won’t steal anything at all.

State-of-the-art MicroDotDNA tracking technology and invisible trace markings are put on anything from small screws to lumber, large appliances and other tools and building supplies lying around construction sites that are often the target of theft.

To a thief, the marked product looks exactly the same as a product that hasn’t been marked, when it actually contains grain-sized dots with an imprint of unique serial numbers. Some products may also contain a forensic spray only visible with special light and lasers.

If the marked item is stolen, police, builders and vendors supplying materials to construction sites can trace the item through an online, international database.

“If you decide you want to come after property in these sites, your risk of getting caught is very high,” said Operation Hands Off president Pat Cowman, whose company is based out of Leduc.

With bright, red and white signs set up in most of the city’s new home construction zones that read “hands off” and “property in this area marked by police identification,” the Canadian Home Builders’ Association says they’ve seen a marked decline in theft from these areas since the technology was put in place several months ago.

“It has made a difference,” said Sharon Young, president of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. “We’ve seen a significant reduction (in thefts).”

Young said prior to investing in the microdot technology, theft from construction sites was “a big problem.”

Cowman says property loss has already been reduced by up to 80% because of the identification and tracking program.

“It’s very effective and it provides the identification that police ultimately require to prosecute somebody or to return property,” he said.

Eleven large contractors in Edmonton are currently using Operation Hands Off tracking in their construction sites, while the MicroDotDNA technology is also being used in other different projects across the country.

“The system was just recently used for the Olympics (and) it had phenomenal success of theft-reduction,” said Cowman.

And there is an option for personal, home-tracking. Homeowners can order marking kits for items like bicycles, laptops, or even iPods. The kits range from $15 up to $200. Microdots are also being used to identify and track vehicles.

Police say any product, be it construction material or personal items, should always be marked in some way.

“It’s just good crime prevention,” said Const. Steve Sharpe with the Edmonton Police Service. “In any manner, if you can document your valuables, it makes it more recoverable for the EPS to bring that property back to you.”

Microdots were originally created by the U.S. military in the 1940s for espionage missions and has since grown into a commercial product.

Published in the May 11th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

City will get 62 homes for needy

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

Built it when costs are down — and more can come.

That is the rationale behind the province’s new investment of $6.4 million into the development of 62 affordable rental homes for low- to moderate-income Edmontonians.

The three buildings — which will be located in the McCauley, Parkdale and Prince Charles areas — are part of the government’s goal to build 11,000 affordable housing units by 2012 and will be built during a time when construction costs are down.

“This absolutely is planning for the future,” said Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Jonathan Denis.

“The next boom that we have may be sooner to us than we actually think and it’s important to us that when we have construction costs that are low and construction costs that are reasonable, that we take advantage and we seize the day now.”

The McCauley area’s Hotel Grand Apartments will accommodate 18 bachelor and studio suites.

The Parkdale Apartment Building will feature 40 one and two bedroom suites while Closing the Circle — the Prince Charles neighbourhood Native Counselling Services of Alberta project — will have four, three bedroom units.

The three complexes are expected to house about 160 tenants in total and be ready by next spring.

The Hotel Grand Apartments at 10768 98 St. will cost no more than $550 per month. The historic building is being gutted and re-done to suit a younger, downtown-working demographic.

“We have done affordable units in the area and there is a tremendous demand for them for young people who work downtown and can’t afford a car,” said Gene Dub, president of Five Oaks Inc., the company in charge of the apartment unit.

Parkdale Apartments, which will be built near the Stadium, will have rent geared to tenant-income, estimated to be around $350 per month.

Alberta’s Budget 2010 includes more than $234 million going towards building affordable housing units.

In the first two years of the province’s affordable housing initiative, 6,000 units have already been built, with about 2,500 more currently in progress.

“I’ve met some of the families that we’re helping and to some people who say we can’t afford to do these programs, I challenge them to meet one of these families and the conclusion would be that we can’t afford not to,” Denis said.

Published in the May 11th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

Military to practise search and rescue in Grande Prairie

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

The skies and fields of Grande Prairie will be abuzz starting Friday as Winnipeg’s 435 Squadron moves in for a five-day search and rescue exercise mission.

About 100 Winnipeg-based military people will be conducting the large-scale search and rescue exercise at the Grande Prairie Regional Airport and mountain areas around the British Columbia-Alberta border from May 14-18.

Residents of Grande Prairie, located northwest of Edmonton, will see action from both the air as well as ground level.

“They’ll notice,” said Capt. Jeff Noel, Wing Public Affairs Officer. “It’s not just the 435 Squadron — we’re going to be having personnel and aircrafts from (other) squadrons coming in as well.”

Members of the Civil Aeronautical Search and Rescue Association (CASARA), personnel and aircraft from the 39th Rescue Squadron with the United States Air Force Reserve from Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, and a Transport Squadron from Yellowknife will also be invading the northwestern Albertan city to participate in the exercise.

“It’s a practise for people we’ve appointed as search master and their staff, to gain experience on how to co-ordinate search and rescues,” Noel said. “We’ll also be conducting low-level flight missions.”

Search masters co-ordinate entire search and rescue operations. They are in charge of coming up with how and where to send their aircrafts and deciding where the search should be conducted.

“The search and rescue exercises are to maintain our proficiency,” Noel said. “A major search would be initiated, let’s say, if there was a missing aircraft or a missing person.”

The five-day training mission includes two phases. The first phase is the actual search and rescue scenario which will provide training for the 435 Squadron Search Masters, while the second phase includes parachuting, assessing casualties and a simulated transfer of casualties to the hospital. American para-rescue jumpers as well as local police, fire, and ambulance departments will be involved in the second phase.

Every squadron across Canada conducts yearly search and rescue training exercises in their area of operation.

Last year, 435 Squadron’s exercise took place in Lethbridge.

“We pick areas towards the West to give our crews the opportunity to conduct training in a mountain environment, which we don’t have in Winnipeg,” Noel said.

435 Squadron is part of the Trenton base and conducts search and rescue from northwest Ontario to the Alberta/B.C. border and from the American border to the North Pole.

I only worked Thursday and Friday (May 6 and 7) last week, but here’s a roundup of some articles that came out of those two days! (Some stories were not updated on the website so I’ve just linked to my own blog post with the full story):

• May 7 2010. Public gets peek at arena News, Page 4.
• May 7 2010. ‘Deadly’ e-mail. News, Page 7.
• May 8 2010. Unsung heroes recognized. News, Page 4.
• May 8 2010. Ed on an oilsands mission. News, Page 5.
• May 8 2010. Chief pleased cop tried to make amends for racist e-mail. News, Page 10.

Published in the May 8th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News

Chief pleased cop tried to make amends for racist e-mail

LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun

Edmonton police Chief Mike Boyd says he’s happy that the officer responsible for the racist e-mail that circulated within the Edmonton Police Service in 2002 at least made an effort to apologize.

“I was pleased with the officer involved,” Boyd told reporters Friday.

“That he wanted to come forward to the (aboriginal) community, he wanted to make it right and he did meet and convey his apologies to them.”

Attempted to hide e-mail

A ruling by the Law Enforcement Review Board Thursday, said the Edmonton Police Service tried to hide the fact that the racist e-mail existed.

The e-mail in question was written and distributed by Const. Scott Carter in 2002, entitled “Ten Principals of Downtown Policing” and contained racial remarks toward aboriginal people.

Carter wrote that “an ‘aboriginal’ is really just an Indian” and calls the police van used to pick up drunks, “the Mobile Native Friendship Centre.” He also suggested police reports include words like “tranny,” “whore” and “a– f—ed.”

Found guilty

Carter was found guilty of insubordination and discreditable conduct under the Police Act.

While Boyd said the situation occurred before he joined the EPS, he did express his opposition towards the content of the e-mail and said something like that would not happen again.

“We’ve taken a lot of steps in the last four years that I’ve been chief,” Boyd said. “We’ve changed policies … we’ve made it really clear that using e-mail for purposes like that is totally improper, totally against policy, and that’s behind us now.”

On Thursday, the Solicitor General and Public Security office launched an online survey asking Albertans for their opinion on how to better handle police discipline and how to handle complaints about police conduct, service and policy.

The deadline for submissions is June 4.

— With files from Candice Ward