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Hometown athlete and Australian are RDC Athletes of the Week

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From Red Deer College Communications

Red Deer College Athletics is proud to announce our Boston Pizza Athletes of the Week.

1. Alexandria Greenshields – Queens Volleyball Hometown – Red Deer, AB
Open Studies (1st year)

Alexandria Greenshields had a tremendous weekend on the court, helping the RDC Queens (14-8) defeat the SAIT Trojans (13-7) in a pair of matches to move even with the Ambrose University Lions (14-8) for second spot in the south. In Friday’s five set victory at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre (25-22, 24-26, 27-25, 20-25 and 17-15), the five-foot-ten middle blocker totaled eight kills, two digs, two stuff blocks, one assist and one ace, accounting for 11 of the Queens’ points. Then on Saturday in Calgary, the first-year Open Studies student accumulated eight kills, five digs, four stuff blocks and one ace in another five set win (25-20, 16-25, 22-25, 25-20 and 15-13), contributing 13 more points for RDC.

Ali has been an integral part of the Queens’ strong play. Since November 2, the Red Deer College Queens have been one of the hottest teams in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women’s Volleyball, going 13-3 in their past 16 matches.

2. Regan Fathers – Kings Volleyball
Hometown – East Fremantle, Western Australia Kinesiology General (5th year)

This past weekend, Regan Fathers was a force for the Kings Volleyball team (16-6). The six-foot-six outside hitter had 23 kills, five digs and three service aces while hitting for 48.6 per cent efficiency in Friday’s three set sweep over the SAIT Trojans (25-20, 25-19 and 25-21). The fifth-year’s contribution of 26 points helped him earn the Kings Player-of-the-Game award. Despite dropping a close five set decision on Saturday (20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 18-25 and 17-19), the talented student- athlete from East Fremantle, Western Australia, accumulated impressive numbers once again. Regan’s 21 kills led the Kings in Calgary, while adding three digs and two blocks.

The Kinesiology General student leads the league with 369 total kills and 5.13 kills per set. Regan will be a key player as the Kings prepare for the ACAC Championship from February 21-23 and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Volleyball National Championship from March 7-9 at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, when the RDC Kings will be playing for their historic 14th national title.

This Week in RDC Athletics

This week, the RDC Basketball teams will play the Olds College Broncos in a home-and-home series, which will include the President’s Challenge during half-time of both Kings games. The Hockey Queens will face-off against the MacEwan University Griffins in a pair of games and the Kings will challenge the SAIT Trojans twice. Both volleyball teams will travel to Lethbridge and play the Kodiaks in two matches. This weekend will also feature the final RDC regular season home games, except for the rescheduled Kings Hockey game at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 22 at NexSource Centre in Sylvan Lake.

Here is a summary of what is happening this week in RDC Athletics.

Queens Basketball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Olds College

The Red Deer College Queens will play the Broncos in Olds. Sandra Garcia-Bernal continues to be one of top rebounders in the league. The second-year from Valencia, Spain sits third in ACAC Women’s Basketball, averaging 10.2 boards per game.

The five-foot-five guard’s tremendous effort and anticipation have helped guide the Queens to the top of the league in rebounding (47.6 per game).

Queens Basketball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 6:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The RDC Queens will tip-off against the Broncos on their home court.

Kings Basketball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 8:00 p.m. | Olds College

On the road, the fourth place Kings (8-8) will hit the hardwood against the Olds College Broncos (5-10), and it will be the first night of the President’s Challenge. Every game is significant as the RDC Kings look to lock down a playoff position in the south, and the Kings have been playing excellent lately with the postseason on their minds.

The Kings and Lethbridge College Kodiaks (8-9) are even with 16 points in the south standings, but the Kings have a game in hand, as both squads battle for a playoff spot.

After the home-and-home series against Olds College (5-10), the RDC Kings will play the Ambrose University Lions (12-6) once in Calgary and the Briercrest College Clippers (2-15) in two road games.

The Kodiaks will wrap up the regular season against the Briercrest College Clippers (2-15) twice and the Olds College Broncos (5-10) in a pair of games.

Red Deer’s Spencer Klassen continues to be a driving force for the Kings, leading the league with 25.7 points per game.

Kings Basketball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 8:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Red Deer College Kings will host the Olds College Broncos.

At half-time, the second night of the President’s Challenge will take place in conjunction with Olds College.  RDC President & CEO, Joel Ward, will compete against Stuart Cullum, President of Olds College, in a game of 21. The losing president from both evenings will have to the wear the other team’s jersey for a full day on Monday, February 11.  If Ward and Cullum split the games of the 21, the point differential will determine the winner.

Queens Hockey | Friday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The third place RDC Queens (8-8-4-0) will entertain the MacEwan University Griffins (13-4-2-0). MacEwan University sits in second spot in the standings with 28 points, six points behind NAIT (16- 2-2-0). The Red Deer College Queens have 20 points after 20 games and lead the fourth-place Olds College Broncos (6-11-1-0) by seven points.

Queens Hockey | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 6:00 p.m. | MacEwan University

The RDC Queens will face-off against the Griffins in Edmonton.

Kings Hockey | Friday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. | SAIT

The Red Deer College Kings (13-5-1-1) will tangle with the SAIT Trojans (14-5-0-0) in Calgary. Both teams share second place with 28 points, although the Trojans have a game in hand. It continues to be a battle at the top of the standings. The NAIT Ooks (16-6-0-0) lead ACAC Men’s Hockey with 32 points, but have also played two more games than the Kings. The MacEwan University Griffins (13-5-1-0) sit in fourth with 27 points. The University of Alberta Augustana Vikings (12-7-1-0) are next with 25 points.

The RDC Kings are the most disciplined team in the league, taking the fewest penalty minutes as a group. Although, even when a skater down the Kings can score, recording five shorthanded markers.

SAIT’s Dean Allison leads ACAC Men’s Hockey with 30 points, but RDC’s Chase Thudium is close behind with 27.

As part of a beer tasting event, participants are encouraged to make a donation with proceeds going to the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre (CASASC). Olds Brewery and Troubled Monk will be sponsoring the event.

Kings Hockey | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Kings will face the Trojans at home.

Queens Volleyball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The second place Red Deer College Queens (14-8) will take on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (3-17). The RDC team has really progressed, going 8-2 over the past 10 matches.

Libero Kaylee Domoney has recorded a total of 364 digs, which is the most in the league.

Queens Volleyball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 1:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

In an afternoon rematch, the Volleyball Queens will challenge the Kodiaks.

Kings Volleyball | Friday, Feb. 8 | 8:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The second place Red Deer College Kings (16-6) will face the undefeated Kodiaks (20-0) in Lethbridge. In the first weekend of the season, the Lethbridge College Kodiaks picked up a pair of tight five set decisions over the RDC Kings, but the Kings did not have all of their players in action.

The Kings are ranked eighth and the Kodiaks are second in the CCAA.

The RDC Kings have a postseason spot locked up already in the south but want to continue fine- tuning their game leading up to the ACAC Championship and CCAA National Championship.

Kings Volleyball | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 3:00 p.m. | Lethbridge College

The Kings and Kodiaks will hit the court in the afternoon.

For more information on RDC Athletics, the student-athletes, scores, and game recaps of conference games, please visit: rdcathletics.ca

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Elon Musk funds conservative actress Gina Carano’s wrongful termination lawsuit against Disney

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From LifeSiteNews

By Doug Mainwaring

‘As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit,’ said X’s head of business operations.

Actress Gina Carano is suing Disney-owned Lucasfilm for wrongful termination from Star WarsThe Mandalorian, and Elon Musk is paying her legal bills  

Carano was fired in 2021 after she posted to social media, including X (formerly Twitter), conservative opinions on hot-button issues such as gender pronouns usage, Black Lives Matter, election fraud, the COVID-19 lockdowns, and mask mandates.  

Disney “bullied Ms. Carano, trying to force her to conform to their views about cultural and political issues, and when that bullying failed, they fired her,” explained Gene Schaerr, Carano’s attorney, in a statement.  

The suit explains that at one point, Disney/Lucasfilm demanded that Carano “participate in a Zoom call with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, going so far as to say that her willingness to endure such harassment and humiliation was a ‘litmus test’ for her.”  

Following her termination by the entertainment giant, Carano’s agent, United Artists, and her entertainment attorney, dropped her as a client. 

Elon Musk is making good on his promise 

Elon Musk has followed through on the promise he made last fall to fund the legal bills of people treated unfairly by employers over their posts on X/Twitter.      

“As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination,” said Joe Benarroch, X’s head of business operations.  

Carano announced her lawsuit on X on Tuesday: 

After my 20 years of building a career from scratch, and during the regime of former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Lucasfilm made this statement on Twitter, terminating me from The Mandalorian: “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm & there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural & religious identities are abhorrent & unacceptable.”    

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” explained the MMA fighter turned actress. “The truth is I was being hunted down from everything I posted to every post I liked because I was not in line with the acceptable narrative of the time. My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt right wing extremist. It was a bullying smear campaign aimed at silencing, destroying & making an example out of me.”      

“Artists do not sign away our rights as American citizens when we enter into employment,” she added.  

The 59-page civil suit, which was filed in California federal court, begins with a clever, iconic Star Wars-style introduction:  

A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire, and that those who dared to question or failed to fully comply would not be tolerated. And so it was with Carano. After two highly acclaimed seasons on The Mandalorian as Rebel ranger Cara Dune, Carano was terminated from her role as swiftly as her character’s peaceful home planet of Alderaan had been destroyed by the Death Star in an earlier Star Wars film. And all this because she dared voice her own opinions, on social media platforms and elsewhere, and stood up to the online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.

Defendants’ wrath over their employees’ social media posts also differed depending on sex. Even though “the Force is female,” Defendants chose to target a woman while looking the other way when it came to men. While Carano was fired, Defendants took no action against male actors who took equally or more vigorous and controversial positions on social media.

But the rule of law still reigns over the Defendants’ empire. And Carano has returned to demand that they be held accountable for their bullying, discriminatory, and retaliatory actions—actions that inflicted not only substantial emotional harm, but millions of dollars in lost income.

The lawsuit cites many examples of appalling social media posts by other Disney/Lucasfilm personalities that went unaddressed and unpunished:  

In several social media posts, original Star Wars star Mark Hamill made comparisons of Americans who support President Trump with Nazis while also asserting that Trump is the KKK’s candidate. 

Co-star Pedro Pascal, who played the role of the Mandalorian, often expressed positive views on the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ+ rights, and protests for abortion rights. He also compared Trump to Hitler.  During Pride Month, 2020, he posted two Disney-owned Muppet characters, Bert and Ernie, drawn as activists waving a transgender and LGBTQ+ pride flag and promoting “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund the Police.”  

Co-star Pedro Pascal’s June 27, 2020 social media post. Schaerr-Jaffe LLP court filing on behalf of Gina Carano

Disney even rehired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn in 2019 after terminating him in 2018 for horrific social media posts years earlier such as “I like when little boys touch me in my silly place,” and “The Expendables was so manly I ****d the ***t out of the little pussy boy next to me! The boys ARE back in town!”  

Yet Disney failed to offer to reinstate Carano, and turned a blind eye to Hamill’s and Pascal’s offensive posts.  

“I would love to pick up where I left off & continue my journey of creating & participating in story-telling, which is my utmost passion & everything I worked so hard for,” said Carano on Tuesday.  “It has been difficult to move forward with the lies & labels stuck on me, backed & encouraged by the most powerful entertainment company in the world.”  

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Hunting Hills High School presents Ranked The Musical

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Students at Hunting Hills High School are excited to bring a relatable musical to local audiences next month.

Ranked, The Musical runs March 13-16 at the Memorial Centre in Red Deer. The show is rated PG.

“We looked at a number of different shows and we knew we wanted to do something contemporary,” said Piper Rempel, Director. “The show is extremely relatable in that it talks about struggles that teens go through with their parents, school, expectations with friends, anxiety, learning how to balance life and fitting in.”

Because the show is not as well known as past productions, Piper said students had to dive in head first, and as rehearsals have evolved, they have lived up to that challenge.

“We have really talented kids. Our poster design, our technical design – it’s all things the kids have to come up with,” she said. “Our pit band is playing parts that have never been played before. It’s all really incredible to see.”

About 70 students between the cast, tech and pit band have been rehearsing since last fall.

“When we introduced the production to them, they were surprised because it wasn’t a big name,” said Taryn Martinek, Choreographer. “We told them there were lots of reasons that we picked the production, and as soon as we started rehearsing they got it and they have never looked back.”

Both Piper and Taryn encourage the community to come out and support the students as they bring this new story to Red Deer.

“People can expect for songs to get stuck in their heads – it’s great music you have never heard before,” said Piper.

Taryn added the production was a risk, but it has been extremely rewarding to see it unfold. “We want to get the community out and take the risk with us,” she said.

For tickets or for more information, click here.

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