Red Deer, Alberta

A red deer is a species of deer, not any old deer that happens to be red. Usually they are reddish brown.

The city website tells us:

The City of Red Deer Flag is representative of the three levels of government:

• The maple leaf denotes the Federal level
• The rose the Provincial level
• The City of Red Deer Coat of Arms the Municipal level

The design was approved by City Council on June 6, 1977.

The official dedication ceremony was held August 26, 1977.

And at the emblems page:

In 1915 The City of Red Deer offered a prize of $25 for the best design of a coat of arms. Designs were submitted from all over Canada. Mr. Alex Mitchell, of the firm Mitchell & Jewell in Red Deer, won the contest. However, his design was not adopted as the official coat of arms until many years later.

The symbols on the coat of arms include:

• The groundwork of mountains showing the setting sun represents sunny Alberta.
• The dairy cows in the foreground represent dairy farming.
• Above the cow are six milk cans to denote the shipping of dairy products.
• A Van Slyke breaking plow on the bottom left of the shield represents three distinct points: farming, a Red Deer invention and a Red Deer manufacturer.
• An open book on the bottom right of the shield represents education.
• Supporting the shield on the right and left respectively are the lion and the unicorn to represent loyalty to the Crown.
• On the shield are the scroll and motto with the words Education, Industry and Progress.
• Just over the shield the dates 1901 and 1913
showing the respective years Red Deer was incorporated, first as a town and then as a city.
• A deer's head and scroll with City of Red Deer surmount the whole shield.

Ian MacDonald, 16 March 2006

The colors of red, white and blue on the Red Deer Regional Airport flag reflect the same colors of the City of Red Deer flag.
Darrell Neuman, 24 April 2006

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The flag - towards the hoist - a mostly red diamond with the silhouette of a jet in white, the trailing area of the jet in blue.

About the airport:

The Red Deer Regional Airport was built during World War II to train Al

lied forces. The airport was a former Canadian Air Force pilot training base for NATO pilots until 1965. The Military built the training airfield at this site because of the predominantly good flying weather and the un-congested airspace. Both factors are still valid today. The Red Deer area boasts good flying weather over 95% of the year.

The City of Red Deer took over operation of the airport in 1965 and the Province extended the main runway 16/34 to 5528 feet in 1980 bringing it up to "737" standards. The ownership of the airport was taken over on September 1st, 1999 by the Red Deer Regional Airport Authority which includes the City of Red Deer, Red Deer County and the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce as stakeholders.

Source: Airport History webpage

And noted in the news section of the website (probably a temporary article and not available for long term linking):

AIRPORT NEEDS $16M

12/07/05
BY LEA SMALDON AND ERIN FAWCETT
Red Deer Express

Red Deer's airport is at risk of deteriorating to the point of being unrecoverable unless millions are spent to upgrade infrastructure generally described as in poor condition, suggests a new study.

Gibbings Consulting found that the regional airport has basic infrasturucture challenges including fundamentals such as lighting, navigational systems, runway condition and length.

A $15.9 million capital investment will be needed to prevent growth at the airport from being impeded, according to the report which was released yesterday.

"If it's not fixed, much of the present facility will not be recoverable and will have to be completely rebuilt," concluded Merv Phillips, airport business manager.

Source: Airport update page
Phil Nelson, 30 April 2006