St. Albert Leader - Oct. 27, 2011 by St. Albert Leader

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Lead the

Night of the living dead

INDEX News . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinion . . . . . . . . 8 Technology . . . . . 14 Food . . . . . . . . 17 Health . . . . . . . 18 Entertainment . . . . 20 stalbertjobs.com . . . 23

Photo: glenn cook, St. Albert leader

Some of the 40 creatures of the night who turned out for the third annual St. Albert Zombie Walk get into the Halloween spirit a bit early on Friday night as they prepare to shamble and shuffle their way from the Perron Street clock tower through downtown St. Albert to the Grandin Theatres.

COVER

St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse stands on one of the offramps leading to the city from the northwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive, which is due to open Nov. 1. Crouse hopes the road will bring prosperity. See story, page 5.

FUN WITH NUMBERS

2,018 That’s how many people dressed as skeletons it took to set a new world record on Saturday, Oct. 8. The record was set by group of students at Swansea University in Wales called the Jokers’ Masquerade.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY OCT. 27, 1995

Three days before the 1995 Quebec referendum, Prime Minister Jean Chretien addresses more than 40,000 people, urging them to vote against separating, at Place du Canada in the largest political rally in Canadian history.

Council in scrum over irrigation GLENN COOK Leader Staff

St. Albert city council found themselves in the middle of quite the scrum on Monday. At their regular meeting Monday, councillors were faced with a tough decision regarding the installation of a new irrigation system for the St. Albert Rugby Football Club and the St. Albert Soccer Association grounds after they are torn up next summer to complete capping and grading work as part of the Riel Recreation Park landfill remediation project. City of St. Albert staff recommended to council to go with an above-ground sprinkler system that fit within the $540,000 budget and ranked highest on a set of criteria set out by the rugby club, the soccer association and the city during a meeting in July. Representatives from the rugby

tendering process or went with club, however, disagreed with the an option other than the highest staff recommendation, instead evaluated using the criteria set favouring an underground out in their request for proposals system that, while finishing third process, which did not account in the evaluation and costing for safety or rate environmental more initially, would reduce considerations highly. water and fertilizer usage. “Provided you have a compliant “The [Riel Park] area submission within budget, you’ve environmentally is of great obligated [the City] to enter into concern and we feel the system a contract,” that can said City of St. alleviate these Albert solicitor concerns the Gene Klenke. greatest is the “To go out one that should and retender a be considered,” project would said SARFC Wes Brodhead be to negate past president City councillor that process and Gareth Jones. attract liability. The club also argued that the underground In that situation, what we would system would also be safer, as the be looking at is the possibility of a staff-recommended system would lost profits claim.” In the end, council narrowly use two-inch sprinkler heads that could cause problems if cleats got sided with administration, voting to award the contract for caught in them. the above-ground system and But the city was worried about assuming what they believed was its own liability if it reopened the

“It’s a matter of ethics — the ethics of the city.”

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a smaller risk of someone getting injured on the field. “When we put the criteria together, everyone was at the table. And now, to me, it’s a matter of ethics — the ethics of the city,” Coun. Wes Brodhead said. “We put out a tender and the companies responded in good faith, and they expect us to evaluate their responses based on the criteria we published.” Councillors Roger Lemieux, Len Bracko and Cam MacKay cast votes for the underground system. “At some point, you have to balance the risks; every decision you make has a risk one way or the other,” MacKay said. “We’ve got some risk in going ahead with [the underground system], but we have other risks in not going ahead, namely safety to children in our community and previous commitments to Environment Canada. So I’m going to be choosing the lesser of the risks.”

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Chemical company cleans up at biz awards Small Business Awards of Distinction. The big winner of the night was the Quantum Group of Companies, which develops fire retardant coatings for residential and industrial uses out of Riel Business Park. “It’s a huge honour; I didn’t expect to win,” said

GLENN COOK Leader Staff

St. Albert’s small businesses were once again in the spotlight last week. The St. Albert Chamber of Commerce wrapped up their annual Small Business Week festivities on Thursday, Oct. 20, with the

Quantum president Tony LaGrange. “Obviously we were hoping to win, but when I came and saw all these dynamic businesses, all the things they’re doing and people that have been in the community for a long time, I said, ‘Ah, we’re not going to win. But we’ll put on a smiley face and

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have fun.’ But when they announced our name, I couldn’t believe it.” Charlene Zoltenko, the chamber’s volunteer chair for 2011, said it was great to see a company that not a lot of St. Albertans know about get some recognition. “We have such a huge treasure of businesses that a lot of time don’t get recognized,” she said. “Quantum is one that does business internationally, but I’m sure no one has any idea they’re here.” LaGrange agreed, saying it was nice to be recognized. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said, noting that Quantum first started in St. Albert in 1995 with

a lab in his basement, but eventually moved into Edmonton when they couldn’t find a suitable industrial site in the city. “It’s definitely worth it,” he added. Other winners on the night included: • Home-Based Business Award of Distinction: Penzen Ltd. • Business to Business Award of Distinction: Mission Computers • Youth Work Experience/ Apprenticeship Award of Distinction: Courtney Alcock, Booster Juice • Marketing Award of Distinction: Cranky’s Bike Shop • Young Entrepreneur

Award of Distinction: Ashleigh Auvigne, Second Cup Inglewood Towne Square • Outstanding Customer Service Award of Distinction: Access Plumbing and Heating “It’s a real honour and privilege to be recognized,” said Connie Clark of Mission Computers. “There’s many great businesses out here, and I’m just one of many. I wouldn’t be a success without everybody else’s successes.” As well, the Chair’s Award of Distinction was given to the Sturgeon Valley Athletic Club and the Pillar of Business Award went to the St. Albert Gazette.

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St. Albert Chamber of Commerce chair Charlene Zoltenko (right) presents the Business to Business Award of Distinction to Connie Clark of Mission Computers on Thursday, Oct. 20.

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Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse takes a look as construction crews put the finishing touches on the northwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive as it gets set to open on Nov. 1.

Path to prosperity

GLENN COOK Leader Staff

When the northwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive opens at the beginning of November, the obvious benefit to St. Albertans will be in transportation, with car trips to the west or even the south ends of Edmonton becoming much simpler and faster. But, appealing as that prospect is, local officials and business owners are really licking their chops over the idea of folks making the trip in the other direction to work and spend their hard-earned dollars in St. Albert, giving a boost to the local economy. Mayor Nolan Crouse said that the kind of access the ring road will provide is essential to the long-term economic development that city council has made a priority. “It makes the region a lot smaller. You’ve got the ability to basically live anywhere in the region and work anywhere. That’s kind of the game-changer,” the mayor said. Meanwhile, Jim Hole, whose family owns the new Enjoy Centre on Riel Drive, has been waiting for the newest section of the ring road to open up, patiently dealing with the traffic detours and headaches that have come in the months leading up to it. “It has caused a considerable amount of confusion for a lot of people who are coming from Edmonton to St. Albert,” he said. However, once the ribbon is cut and the road finally opens, he hopes to reap the benefits. “We pull a lot of people in from the south of [Edmonton], so it’s going to make it a lot easier for them to get to our place now with the Henday opening and more clear signage on how to get to St. Albert,” Hole said. “It’s going to be great when it’s finally said and done.”

On the other side of town, Servus Credit Union Place facility manager Diane Enger said the recreation centre already sees a good number of people come in from Edmonton, but can only see that figure rising with the opening of the Henday. “We know that 25 per cent of the people that use our facility on a daily basis, on a drop-in day basis, come from Edmonton,” she said, “so, with the opening of the Henday, we see an opportunity to expand on our day use.” Trent Bancarz, a spokesperson for Alberta Transportation, said that the northwest leg of the road is still on schedule for a Nov. 1 opening and on budget, mainly thanks to the public-private partnership under which it was built. “If there were any kind of cost overruns, that’s the contractor’s problem and not ours,” he said. “That’s one of the advantages of a P3, that we get a fixed cost and we get a fixed delivery date.” That P3 agreement also means that, unlike other portions of the Henday, it will be “completely free flow from day one,” Bancarz said, avoiding headaches like those seen with interchanges at Stony Plain Road or Yellowhead Trail. While some wrinkles, like the road’s proximity to Akinsdale residences, have been ironed out during the process, there are still some issues St. Albert has an interest in that need to be resolved, like the unpaved offramps at 137 Avenue. “We’ll be raising that one with the province,” Crouse said. Hole also has concerns with 137 Avenue, although his focus is on seeing its connection with LeClair Way completed as soon as possible. “The quicker that happens, the better, because that’ll really make it easy for people to get from the north and east side of Edmonton right through to St. Albert,” he said.

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

TEDx looking up for next year In fact, he said, a lot of interest has already been expressed. “It’ll be huge,” he said. “We provided a notification service for members of the community who wanted to attend, and From carrots to doodling to sportswriting, St. Albert’s I received feedback from 30 or 40 of them through that first-ever TEDx event spread plenty of worthwhile ideas, and service that it was awesome what we’re doing, but it’s just organizers hope it will go even further next year. unfortunate it’s on a weekday.” The event, independently organized under the banner Aside from the turnout, Prefontaine was also very pleased of TED — a non-profit society devoted to “Ideas Worth with the calibre of speakers at TEDxStAlbert, especially for Spreading” that has hosted conferences in cities across North their first go-round. America and the world — saw about 80 “Why TEDx events are so successful is attendees spend Wednesday, Oct. 19, at because there is a community of followers the Arden Theatre to listen to live speakers for TED talks, for TEDx events, so right and videos talking about a range of topics, off the bat we received a lot of interest from Jim Hole of the Enjoy Centre to from people who would be interested in Edmonton Sun sportswriter Terry Jones. speaking, or someone who knew someone TEDxStAlbert co-chair Gilles who would be interesting in speaking,” Gilles Prefontaine Prefontaine said that, given it was the he said. “The list came together fairly TEDxStAlbert co-chair first time out and the event was held on quickly.” a Wednesday, he was extremely pleased Prefontaine said he has been a fan of with the turnout. TED for years, having been introduced to the talks through “We knew that our numbers would be a little smaller, but a business client in Palo Alto, Calif. However, he had never that was OK simply because, our first year, we were only seriously thought about bringing the concept to St. Albert allowed up to 100 delegates anyway,” said Prefontaine, who until last year, when he was approached by co-chair Rob also serves as chair of the St. Albert Economic Development LeLacheur after LeLacheur attended a TEDx event in Advisory Committee. “Being close to 80 people for that day Edmonton. was a great turnout.” “He said, ‘It’s awesome; we should do something like this But he hopes it will be bigger and better next year, as the in St. Albert.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s great.’ He said, ‘Will cap on delegates should grow to about 200, and the Arden you help me with it?’ and I said, ‘Sure.’ And he said, ‘Good, Theatre is already booked for a Saturday in September. because I already put your name on the application.’”

GLENN COOK Leader Staff

“Close to 80 people for that day was a great turnout.”

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

Jim Hole of the Enjoy Centre speaks to the crowd at TEDxStAlbert on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Arden Theatre.

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* Open houses subject to change without notice.

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No answers in Pineview fire, death GLENN COOK Leader Staff

St. Albert RCMP say the death of a man in the Pineview subdivision is still a mystery. St. Albert Fire Services members were called out to a home at 61 Pineridge Cres. at around 12:15 p.m. Saturday due to reports of a fire. While the blaze was extinguished quickly, they found the body of a man inside. Cpl. Laurel Kading of the St. Albert RCMP detachment said Monday that the cause of both the fire and the death were still unknown. “We’re waiting for the autopsy to happen, so that will be the purview of the medical examiner to let us know that,” Kading said. She added that there was no evidence thus far pointing to arson or anything suspicious about the fire or the death. “At this point in time,

Photo: CODIE McLACHLAN, Sun Media News Services

Police tape ropes off a home at 61 Pineridge Cres., where fire crews found a man’s body Saturday afternoon. could not give an estimate we’re not considering on the damage. it suspicious unless the “My understanding is autopsy reveals differently,” that the fire department she said. The deceased man lived was able to get the fire out very quickly, so damage in the home with his wife, is not as extensive as one who was not present at the might think,” she said. time of the fire. Kading added that the Thanks to the quick medical examiner’s office actions of St. Albert firefighters, the house is still has not yet set a schedule for performing the autopsy. standing, although Kading

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

RCMP detachment won’t be returning to Hemingway Centre GLENN COOK Leader Staff

The St. Albert RCMP detachment still needs more space, but it won’t be moving back into its old digs anytime soon. On Monday evening, St. Albert city council voted to postpone the restoration of the old RCMP building — now known as the Hemingway Centre — on Sir Winston Churchill Avenue until a decision is made

on the building’s future use. The detachment has already outgrown its new building on Bellerose Drive, but general manager of community and protective services Chris Jardine told council that the Hemingway Centre doesn’t have enough space to alleviate the space crunch. “For our 10-year window, we need 10,000 square feet on space for our policing needs, and the Hemingway facility only provides us 6,000 to 6,500,” he said. “We would be

squeezing in there in a dramatic fashion. Literally from the day we moved in there, we’d be looking for a new space.” The Hemingway Centre is now home to artist studios, as well as non-profit groups like the 2012 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games organizing committee and Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad. Jardine said there are hazardous materials in the building like lead paint and some asbestos, but as long as those are not

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disturbed, there is no danger. However, if the City decides to renovate the building to drastically change its usage, those materials will have to be dealt with. The cost of renovating the interior was estimated at $2 million. As for the RCMP, council also directed administration to move forward in the process of purchasing property to use as policing space, although the exact location was kept confidential.

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

OPINION

iStAlbert

A rock and a hard place

Here’s what people are saying about St. Albert on Twitter:

@tim_osborne @RJLolly The first issue of @stalbertleader looks great. Kudos to everyone involved! #stalbert

ity council truly found itself between a rock and a hard place on Monday night. In trying to make a decision on an irrigation system for the St. Albert Rugby Football Club and the St. Albert Soccer Association grounds, City of St. by Glenn Cook Albert staff were recommending above-ground sprinklers, while the rugby club argued for an underground system. The rock, as it were, was the possibility of people getting injured by catching their cleats in the two-inch sprinkler heads of the above-ground system. The hard place, though, was the possibility of getting sued by contractors since the above-ground system was ranked highest on the criteria the parties had initially set out in the request for proposals. Councillors narrowly voted in favour of going with the above-ground option. Some were willing to chance a lawsuit from the contractors in the name of safety, while others voted to respect the process. And really, the choice to respect the process was the right one. If the goal is to not get sued — and let’s face it, that’s the goal in many everyday activities — then the above-ground system was the only choice. There was an outside chance someone would get hurt due to the sprinkler heads and sue, but if council went the other way and reopened the tender or went with a bidder further down the evaluation list, finding legal papers on the doorstep would almost be a certainty. Still, there are lessons to be learned from this exercise, and we can only hope council and City staff take those to heart. Criteria for projects such as this need to completely thought out, articulated to bidders and articulated to stakeholders to make sure this type of scenario doesn’t happen again. And that includes everything from cost to environmental impact. That way, everyone goes home happy.

@stalbertmayor @RunWildMarathon The funds you raised is a remarkable achievement given first time event; keep up the good work #stalbert #marathon

EDITORIAL

@ArtsandHeritage Last week to enjoy ARTificial at Art Gallery of #StAlbert, ftg artwork by Bernhardt, Christiansen, Kolijn & Rule artgalleryofstalbert.com

Compiled by Swift Media Group swiftmedia.ca • @Swift_Media

Sometimes you have to be the ‘lone nut’

ometimes the community needs you to be the lone nut; but at other times, you are called to lead by following. I had the pleasure last Wednesday at TEDxStAlbert to share one of my favourite TED Talks featuring Derek Sivers entitled “How to Start a Movement.” It is a short, threeminute talk on leadership and has over 1.1 million views on TED.com. In 1997, I learned something profound about myself that I hadn’t understood prior. I perceive things differently than other people. I have always had a gift for looking ahead. I see much more than the task in front of me and I am able to bring together all the little

Gilles

PREFONTAINE SAEDAC Chair My City pieces to help form the big picture. Understanding this, I became more and more willing to put myself out there. To share new ideas with people. To try something new. To fail. And to continue failing until I learned to succeed. Over the past decade, I have been recognized as the “lone nut” on more than one occasion. And though learning the willingness to put oneself out there is an important lesson in leadership, it is not the one I want to share today.

Publisher: Rob LeLacheur rob@stalbertleader.com

Editor: Glenn Cook

glenn@stalbertleader.com

Sales Manager: Blake Bradburn blake@stalbertleader.com

The lesson from this video is something that I learned at a young age. It came, thankfully, not via a TED Talk, television or from a book but via the strongest role model I’ve had throughout my life: my dad. He showed me through actions that we demonstrate a much greater form of leadership in embracing new ideas and supporting others who are trying to better our community. Sivers says in his talk: “The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.” As residents of our beautiful City of St. Albert, each and every one of us is called to service — to support a couple of lone nuts. There are many in our community who are working

Delivery concerns? Email us at delivery@stalbertleader.com All claims of errors in advertisements must be received in writing by the publisher within 5 days after the first publication. Liability for errors or failure to publish is limited to the amount paid for the space occupied. The opinions expressed within publication are not necessarily those of the St. Albert Leader or RJ Lolly Media. Material published may not be copied or reproduced with the express written consent of the publisher.

on making it better place for everyone. At times, we will fail. Others will find success. I salute all of those leaders: teachers, entrepreneurs, coaches, politicians, professionals, youth, moms and dads who have stepped off the sidelines to support those who seek to make this community something of which we can all be proud.

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

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...for the family that desires a beautifuly designed 2 storey located on a quiet street in Morinville. This home offers an opn floor plan with an oak kitchen PRiCE REDUCED and huge island, a breakfast nook area and great room. Up there is a lg bonus rm and three bdrms. Large master bdrm with a walk-in closet, a beautiful ensuite with a seperate corner soaker tub and a shower. Bsmt is fully fin with a family rm, 4pc jacuzzi & exttra bdrm. Enjoy the oak hardwood, ceramic tile & neutral colour carpet. Oversized 23’x23’ att’d garage. Landscaped, fenced & firepit. Priced at $367,900.

10421 – 97 STREET, MORINVILLE

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This is it: the retirement home you have been dreaming of. Extremely low maintenance yard. Boasts a 2007 - 1187 sq.ft. bungalow. Privacy master bedroom on main. 3 bedrooms in fully finished basement. This beautifully finished home has many extras: a sunroom, built-in fireplace, finished attached garage w/220 power just to name a few. 2 blocks from the golf course and 5 minutes to Morinville and 15 minutes to St. Albert - $374,900.

james hamblInG

www.landandproperty4sale.com

$365,000

$649,900

15 DUROcheR STReeT

25 eDinBURgh RD

• Fully Finished Deer Ridge Two Story • 3+1 Bedrooms • 2 1/2 Baths • Fireplace • Fully Finished Basement double attached garage

• Unbelievable Price in Allin Ridge • 3200 sqft of Developed living space • 5 Bedrooms Bungalow • 4 Full Baths • .59 acres • RV Parking Indoor & Outdoor • Large Open Rooms • Basement has a full nanny suite

call patrIcK tImms

• Brand new custom built 2073 sq.ft. 2 storey • Three bdrms loaded with extras • Hardwood flooring, granite, ceramic tile, maple cabinets • Open concept main floor with spacious kitchen and great room • Garden doors open to deck overlooking the lake • Main floor laundry rm and den • Large master with spacious ensuite & walk-in closet • Upstairs bonus room and 4 pc bathroom • Asking $459,900

Wayne Bruce.ca 780-660-1140

visit propertyfusion on or go to our website to view photos and get more info on our other great listings! Some of which include: • 17720 91 ST $314,900 4 Level Split • West Gentry Acreage with House $424,900 • 9712 104 AV , Morinville $399,900 New Bungalow • 6616 132 AV Renovated Bungalow $299,900 • 10406 94 ST , Morinville Bilevel $359,900 • 8 HELEN PL Fully Finished Bungalow with Triple $449,900 • 1003 -10130 114 ST Stunning downtown condo $365,000 • 160 Acres of Land Near Wabumum North of Hwy 16 $272,500

Lynne Pipella

sharon Gregresh & Kim bedry

780.702.9999

Sharon Gregresh

James Hambling

Keith Stewart

Margot Paull

Les Paull

Thane Hills

Stan Jackson

Joan Jansen

Renee Kobes

Lorene Lecavalier

James Mabey

Louise Mabey

Shawn Meron

Sorin Oancia

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Storage warriors do battle in St. Albert GLENN COOK Leader Staff

It was a chilly Friday morning in St. Albert’s Campbell Business Park, but that didn’t stop the crowd from coming out to look for a hot deal. Perhaps inspired by the hit A&E TV show Storage Wars, about 40 people turned out Friday to St. Albert Self Storage on Carnegie Drive hoping to strike it rich by buying storage units lock, stock and barrel. When people renting units default on their payments, the contents are put up for auction. In the past, St. Albert Self Storage had sent the items in the locker to auction individually, but gave the whole unit approach a go for the first time Friday. “It’s a new thing, and we get people calling and asking every day,” said Tri Nguyen,

manager at St. Albert Self Storage, with a laugh. “It triggered our mind that this could be something we want to try out.” Bidders are given five minutes to look inside the locker. They cannot enter the unit, nor can they touch anything. Once time is up, the bidding begins. “It’s a lot simpler for everybody,” said Ron Knutson with Yellowhead Auctions, which conducted the sale. “There’s less travelling, less expense for hauling. ... It’s a lot more cost-effective for everybody.” In addition to their bid, winning bidders must also pay a 15 per cent buyers’ fee, five per cent GST and a $100 deposit that is refunded if the unit is cleaned out within 48 hours. Unlike the TV show — which debuted in December 2010 and soon became

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

Auctioneer Roy Hoetmer looks for bids Friday at St. Albert Self Storage in Campbell Business Park. A&E’s highest-rated show ever — there was no “Yuuup!” There was no “wow factor,” no young gun, no eccentric antique collector. But that’s not to say the auction was without characters. The first of four units on

The St. Albert Chamber of Commerce congratulates the winners for this year’s Awards of Distinction Evening:

Small Business Award of Distinction -- Quantum Group of Companies Pillar of Business Award -- St. Albert Gazette Distinction Sturgeon Valley Athletic Club Chair’s Award of - Service Award Outstanding Customer of Distinction -- Access Plumbing & Heating Ltd Award of Distinction -- Second Cup, Terrace Young Entrepreneur Inglewood of Distinction -- Cranky’s Bike Shop Marketing Award of Distinction -- Courtney Alcock and Booster Juice Youth Work Experience/Apprenticeship Award Business to Business Award of Distinction -- Mission Computers Home Based Business Award of Distinction -- Penzen Limited

The St. Albert Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce our Board of Directors for 2012: Executive Committee: Past Chair Charlene Zoltenko, State Farm Insurance Leadership Chair Darel Baker, Keldar Solutions Swim and Sunwear 1st Vice Chair Lynn Carolei, Sublime Quantz Law Group 2nd Vice Chair Paul Quantz, Ken Macrae Treasurer Ken Macrae, Chartered Accountant Secretary

Directors: Bob Fisher, Candy Bouquet Promotions Donna Radke, Sunshine Resonance Resources & Marketing Gilles Prefontaine, Human Manfred Offers, Offers Insurance Barry Bailey, Bailey Event Management Julian Romanko, Investors Group Paulette Godin-Donovan, Scotiabank Margaret Mrazek, Lawyer Mark Stoneleigh, ATB Financial Brian Bachynski, St. Albert Gazette Marina Michaelades, Prairie & Baker Bistro The Mortgage Group Alberta Margaret Geall, TMG 71 St. Albert Road | St. Albert, AB T8N 6L5 Phone: 780-458-2833 | Fax: 780-458-6515 e-mail: chamber@stalbertchamber.com

this day — and probably the best, filled with stereo equipment, hockey sticks, mattresses and a sofa — was won by a gentleman in a vest and a cowboy hat. A few metres away stood Larry Yakiwczuk, decked out in an orange jumpsuit. “High visibility,” he said with a chuckle. “Auctioneers miss a lot of bids a lot of the time, so you’ve got to be visible.” Strolling past a unit tucked away in a corner of the facility

that’s filled with free weights and a microwave, Yakiwczuk said he looks for clues to what may be buried underneath. “You’ve got exercise equipment. There’s a hard hat, so it’s probably a construction worker, so there’s probably some tools buried underneath there,” he said. “You never know what you’ll find.” Yakiwczuk and his partner, Jonathan Stachyruk, run a consignment and thrift store in Edmonton called Crap 2 Cash. They’re no strangers to the auction business, although fairly new to storage auctions. The prospect of finding a bargain is what drew him out in the first place — although, thanks to Storage Wars, many more now have the same idea. “People who know what they’re doing are always going to be able to make [money],” Yakiwczuk said. “You get the newbies who come out and spend a fortune on crap. They show up once and they’re gone because they can’t afford it anymore.” Stachyruk counts some antique swords as his best find in a storage unit, while other tales bounced around about

finding cold hard cash. “But most of the time, you find crap,” Stachyruk said. Still, storage auctions have become more and more popular over the past few months, something that is not lost on the auctioneers. “You’re getting all ages — young, old, in between,” Knutson said. “That show has spurred the whole auction business, not just the storage.” Nguyen was happy to see such a large crowd come out for the trial run, and he hopes to keep that going in the future. “This was amazing,” he said. “We’re very happy with the crowd that showed up.” At St. Albert Self Storage, the four units are sold for anywhere from $45 — a unit containing only some dusty patio furniture and a vacuum cleaner — to $350. But, while he went home empty-handed from this auction, Yakiwczuk said he wasn’t discouraged. “They have no idea what they’re in for to move it or anything like that, or don’t realize how much trouble it is to sell it, so we’ll just consign it for them,” he said.

Council postpones LRT decision GLENN COOK Leader Staff

While plans to bring light rail transit (LRT) to St. Albert’s doorstep weren’t derailed Monday evening, the process of running tracks through the city didn’t leave the station. City council discussed at length Monday evening the strategic direction the City of St. Albert should take when it comes to LRT service in the city. And while co-operation with the City of Edmonton on studies to bring trains to St. Albert’s border, on passenger transfers and on building a south park-andride station were approved, councillors voted to postpone applying for provincial money to get the ball rolling on studies to extend the LRT line through the city until January. Some councillors were adamant that the studies on running the trains in St. Albert were needed now if anything meaningful were to happen in the future. “The province needs to know what the future will be; why wouldn’t we want to give that information to them?” said Coun. Len

Bracko, who has long been a proponent of LRT in St. Albert. Bracko also contended that, by 2041, the City of St. Albert could save money by running an LRT system as opposed to the projected bus needs over that time, and that the City could take on the necessary debt over that period due to Servus Credit Union Place and Ray Gibbon Drive being almost paid off by 2025. Some councillors, though, felt that the decision to commit to running LRT through the city — likely along St. Albert Trail — was too big to make on such short notice. “This is uncharted territory to have LRT to a population this small, period. ... I think this takes a little more time to research,” Coun. Cam MacKay said. Still, Coun. Cathy Heron said that the three motions that were approved — especially one to financially support a functional alignment study by the City of Edmonton to a maximum of $122,750 — sent a strong message to Edmonton and the rest of the region that St. Albert is serious about LRT.

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Games ready to rock GLENN COOK Leader Staff

Warming young hearts Photo: glenn cook, St. Albert leader

Apex Casino staff (L-R) Sana Cameron, Shannon Pompu, Charlene Sebastianelli, Janis Major and Diane Waine sort through a few of the donations they’ve collected for the Salvation Army’s Coats for Kids and Families program. This is the seventh year the casino has collected new and used coats for the program.

With their deadline for volunteer registration only a day away, the 2012 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games are still looking for a few good people. Games manager Mike Edwards said Monday that the deadline for volunteers is Friday, and they haven’t quite met their goal of 700. “When I checked our registration [Monday] morning, we were at 528, so we’re still short by about 170,” he said. “But our registration deadline is this Friday, so we’re hoping those people who are leaving it until the last minute are popping it in their calendar and tossing their names in.” Edwards added that there are a few areas where they are in need of specific skills. “We could use professionally trained medical staff — nurses, RNs, EMTs, those kind of specially trained groups,” he said. “The challenge is for scheduling in those areas. It’s hard for them to know what their schedule’s going to be months down the road, or even weeks down the road,” he added. The games will be held in St. Albert from Feb. 28 to March 3, 2012, with nearly 1,000 coaches and athletes descending on the city to compete in sports like snowshoeing, floor hockey, figure skating, speed skating, crosscountry skiing and curling. It’s also a chance for these athletes to qualify for the 2013 Special Olympics

Canada Winter Games, which will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. “The one good thing about the athletes is, whether it’s at this level, the community level or just out at practice, they have such a great attitude and positive outlook,” Edwards said. “They really do embody what it means to have true competitive spirit.” As the games get closer, though, there is still one major fundraiser to go. The Rockin’ Celebrity FunSpiel will take place on Friday, Jan. 14, at the St. Albert Curling Club, where teams of three will have a chance to complete their rink with a world curling champion, an Olympic gold medallist or a local celebrity, based on the amount of money they raise for the games. “We have tapped into the national professional curling community, and they have jumped on board with a number of individuals stepping forward to help support this event,” Edwards said. Some of the celebrities already confirmed include curlers Randy Ferbey, Marc Kennedy, Scott Pfeifer and Blake MacDonald, as well as CTV meteorologist Josh Classen. There’s also a “mystery celebrity” who Edwards wouldn’t spill the beans on. “I could tell you it’s not a curler, but this person is an Olympic gold medallist,” he said. Teams must raise a minimum of $3,000 each to participate, and the event is limited to the first 24 teams to register. For more information on the games, visit www.stalbert2012.ca or call 780-458-4564.

LoSeCa aims high with auction CITY OF ST ALBERT 5X80

GLENN COOK Leader Staff

The LoSeCa Foundation is hoping to hit new heights with the 10th edition of their largest annual fundraiser. LoSeCa is hosting their 10th annual Live and Silent

Auction on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Italian Cultural Centre (14230 133 Ave., Edmonton). LoSeCa financial coordinator Bernie Wenger said they are hoping to hit $20,000 this year, with money going to support their day programs for adults with

developmental disabilites, as well as administrative costs. This year, they’ve lined up a Jasper vacation, a signed hockey jersey and plenty of Edmonton Oilers tickets to bid on. Tickets for the auction are $55 each and are available at 780-460-1400 ext. 221.

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

SERVUS PLACE 10X160 PAGE 13

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

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Phones become high-tech babysitters JOANNE RICHARD Sun Media News Services

Many a harried parent has handed their iPhone to their toddler to save face and deflect an earpiercing meltdown in the produce aisle. “In a pinch, it’s a great babysitter,” says Mariah Sutton, mother of a two-year-old. “A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do!” Savvy software developers aim to assuage parental guilt and shame by offering educational toddler apps for iPads and smartphones that are highly interactive, colourful and fun, and tiny tots are embracing portable digital technology like a favourite blanket. According to BlogHer/ Parenting, 25 per cent of toddlers will have used a smartphone by age two. By preschool age, 33 per cent will have used a laptop or digital camera. The Firstwords apps for toddlers, for example, have just reached the one million download mark. Created by Learningtouch.com, these kid-tested and parent-approved games give parents even more reason to hand over their phones. “An increasing number of parents rely on iPhones and iPads to keep their children

entertained and engaged during difficult times — on long car rides, while waiting at restaurants, etc.,” says Andrew Shalit, co-founder of Learningtouch.com. “While app time shouldn’t be used as a crutch or as a substitute for human interaction, many parents feel that it’s better than television and videos, which aren’t interactive.” There’s ongoing debate about screen use among young children as the promises and the perils continue to be studied. But according to Dr. Pamela Rutledge, worries about social technologies destroying our kids’ social skills or isolating them from civic engagement are not supported in recent research. Articles warning parents about the ills of technology and social media are playing into the fear of change rather than the rational evaluation of the tools’ potential, says Rutledge, of Media Psychology Research Centre in Nevada. Digital technologies are not going away — “they are indeed changing how kids do things. They are allowing them to have more individual agency and control, constant accurate feedback of their performance, and social validation from collaboration,” she says. “All of these things are

shown in the psych literature to promote selfefficacy, resilience, and intrinsic motivation.” Rutledge says that success for the next generation will come from the ability to access, and synthesize information to make judgments, solve problems, and create solutions. Dr. Paul Donahue advises clicking cautiously. Don’t ask ‘what’s the next latest and greatest app for my kids?’ he says, but instead explore “what are the pluses and minuses of turning a sizable portion of our kids’ developmental experience over to digital learning and play devices?” Donahue, the author of the book Parenting Without Fear: Letting Go of Worry and Focusing on What Really Matters, says “we have very little research on the matter, although early returns on attention and executive function issues in high tech kids are cause for concern — especially with toddlers, but we have enough clues to be wary about how technology will affect the way our children think and play and relate to each other.” Meanwhile, Rutledge says the digital explosion means kids know how to do things that parents don’t know. “Parents have to be strong, while admitting to not knowing it all.”

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Jobs takes on rival Gates in new biography SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES - Steve Jobs called long-time rival and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates “unimaginative” and not really a product person, according to a biography of the deceased Apple Inc. chief executive. “Bill is basically unimaginative and has never invented anything, which is why I think he’s more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology,” Jobs told author Walter Isaacson. “He just shamelessly ripped off other people’s ideas.” “He’d be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger,” Jobs added. The biography “Steve Jobs” by Isaacson hits bookstores on Monday, but was released earlier than expected on Apple’s iBooks and Amazon. com’s Kindle late Sunday. Gates, for his part, was slightly envious of Jobs’s mesmerizing effect on people but found the technology icon “weirdly flawed as a human being.” But Gates, despite his differences with Jobs, enjoyed his frequent visits to Apple’s office in Cupertino, especially when he got to watch Jobs’s interaction with his employees, according to the biography. “Steve was in his ultimate pied piper mode, proclaiming how the Mac will change the world and overworking people like mad with incredible tensions and complex personal relationships,” Gates said. Isaacson’s biography reveals that Jobs refused potentially life-saving cancer surgery for nine months, was bullied in school, tried various quirky diets as a teenager, and exhibited early strange behavior such as

Photo: Sun Media News Services

Eric Calderon, an Apple fan who said he owns most of the company’s products, browses through the biography of Steve Jobs, sold at a bookstore in Quezon City, Philippines, on Monday. staring at others without blinking. The book paints an unprecedented, noholds-barred portrait of a man who famously guarded his privacy fiercely but whose death ignited a global outpouring of grief and tribute. Isaacson, in an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS on Sunday, provided more insight on Jobs’s personality and character traits. While Jobs revolutionized multiple industries with his cutting-edge products, he was not the world’s best manager, Isaacson said. Jobs changed the course of personal computing during two stints at Apple and then brought a revolution to the mobile

market, but the inspiring genius is known for his hard edges that have often times alienated colleagues and early investors with his myway-or-the-highway dictums. “He’s not warm and fuzzy,” Isaacson said in the interview. “He was not the world’s greatest manager. In fact, he could have been one of the world’s worst managers.” “He could be very, very mean to people at times,” he added. Jobs loved to argue but not everyone around him shared that passion, which drove some of his top people away. While his style had yielded breakthrough products, it didn’t make for “great management style,” Isaacson said. In one of the more than 40 interviews that

Jobs gave the biographer, the technology icon said he felt totally comfortable being brutally honest. “That’s the ante for being in the room. So we’re brutally honest with each other and all of them can tell me they think I’m full of s---, and I can tell anyone I think they’re full of s---,” Jobs said. “And we’ve had some rip-roaring arguments where we’re yelling at each other.” Jobs, who has revolutionized the world of personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet, digital publishing and retail stores, would have liked to conquer television as well, Isaacson said. “He had a few other visions. He would love to make an easy-to-use television set,” said Isaacson, speaking of Jobs’s last two-and-ahalf years of life. “But he started focusing on his family again as well. And it was a painful brutal struggle. And he would talk often to me about the pain.” Jobs, in his final meeting with Isaacson in mid-August, still held out hope that there might be one new drug that could save him. He also wanted to believe in God and an afterlife. “Ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about (God) more. And I find myself believing a bit more. Maybe it’s because I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear,” Isaacson quoted Jobs as saying. “Then he paused for a second and he said ‘Yeah, but sometimes I think it’s just like an on-off switch. Click and you’re gone,’” Isaacson said of Jobs. “He paused again, and he said: ‘And that’s why I don’t like putting on-off switches on Apple devices.’”

Techno tea: Traditional cold day brews get modern remake STEVE TILLEY Sun Media News Services

October is a funny month in Canada. On any given morning you’ll see people huddled up in scarves, toques and light winter jackets walking to work alongside folks in T-shirts and cargo shorts. Face it: autumn is here, and living in denial is not going to forestall Old Man Winter’s approach. We had a good run, us and summer. Now it’s time to part ways. One of the very few upsides of chillier weather is there’s nothing quite like curling up with a hot mug of tea when it’s grey, cold and miserable outside. Once upon a time, people made tea by putting little bags with strings hanging off them into cups or pots of hot

water. Nowadays, we have a plethora of tea-making gadgetry to choose from to help concoct that perfect cuppa. Here are three gizmos worth checking out. David’s Tea Thermometer and Timer ($12.50; www.davidstea. com): This spindly thermometer sold by beloved Canadian teamonger David’s clips to the edge of your cup and lets you know both the ideal temperature and steeping times for a variety of teas. (You didn’t know different types of tea should be prepared at different temperatures? You probably don’t know a fish fork from an oyster fork either, do you? Barbarian.) Simply select the type of tea you’re brewing, and the thermometer will beep when

it’s properly prepared. The only catch is you’re on your own for bringing the water to the correct temperature. The method I found worked best was to just boil the water, pour it in the cup and wait for it to cool to the recommended temperature before you add your loose tea infuser. It’s labour-intensive, but if you’re a tea purist, it’s worth it. Breville Tea Maker ($299.99; www.breville. com): If sticking a thermometer in your cup and waiting for a beep to tell you when your tea is brewed sounds like too much

trouble, and you happen to have large wads of money crying out to be spent, the high-tech Breville Tea Maker is definitely your cup of — well, you know. Select the type of tea you’re making (black, white, green, oolong and so on) and how strong you want it, add the loose tea to the device’s removable stainless steel tea basket, and you’re done. This sleek beastie heats the water to the correct temperature for the type of tea you’re making, and then lowers the basket along a magnetic track into the water for just the right amount of steeping time. The result is a perfect cup

of tea with minimal human intervention. Of course, for $300, it had better be. Teaopia Tea Master ($20 for 16-oz capacity, $30 for 32 oz; www.teaopia.ca): Teaopia’s popular tea gadget is decidedly low-tech — egads, there aren’t even any electronics in it! — but it does produce a quick and easy cuppa, assuming you feel confident in your ability to judge the correct water temperature and steeping time. Simply add loose tea to the BPA-free plastic mug, pour hot water over top of it and wait. After an appropriate steeping time, set the Tea Master down on top of your cup — pressure on the bottom of the device’s inner ring opens a tiny valve, and the perfectly filtered tea is dispensed.

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

FOOD

Finding beer bliss JORDAN ST. JOHN Sun Media News Services

If you’re at home, and no one’s watching, you might drink beer out of the bottle or can. If you’re feeling a little fancy, you might go so far as to pull out a pint glass and pour your beer so that you can actually see what you’re drinking. This is a good instinct, because it’s key to appreciating the beverage. You might have even have a snifter kicking around at the back of the cupboard for heavier, higher alcohol beers that benefit from warming up. In Belgium, they take their glassware seriously. Since many of the breweries have been around for a long time, they’ve had the opportunity to think about how they want their beer to be enjoyed. They might be influenced by the nature of the brewery. I’ve definitely seen goblets designed for Trappist beers produced by monasteries that I have to assume were inspired by those used during communion ceremonies. In most cases, the glasses will be of a specific size with the mouth of the glass designed to enhance the aroma of the beer being served out of it. This is serious business. In some cases, bars will refuse to serve a beer if they don’t have the correct glassware on hand. They don’t want your experience to be compromised. In an attempt to export this particular kind of attention to detail to the rest of the world, Stella Artois holds an annual competition amongst bartenders to ensure that their beer is being served properly. The Canadian finals of the competition were held last week, with the worldwide competition taking place in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. The contest, the 11th annual occasion, is arranged in bracketed head-to-head pour-offs between the competitors. It’s essentially March Madness for bartenders as they strive to attain the title of Stella Artois World Draught Master. All of this activity centres around Stella Artois’s trademark chalice, which is designed to display the beer in its best possible light, while showcasing the flavours and aroma inherent in the lager. In addition to the use of the chalice, there’s a nine-step pouring ritual involved that showcases an inordinate amount of respect for the product. It also ensures the consistency of each glass of beer poured, involving great pains taken to make sure the glass is clean and that the beer has the proper amount of head. Plus, it looks pretty cool.

Photo: CRAIG GLOVER, Sun Media News Services

Photo: Sun Media News Services

In some places, the glass that beer goes in is as important as the brew itself.

The steps involved in the process have been given fairly dramatic, romantic sounding names, but they all make sense if what you’re after is a consistent pint. There’s THE PURIFICATION, in which the glass is rinsed with cold water, not only to remove any dust it may have accumulated while sitting behind the bar, but to make sure that it’s the same temperature as the beer. Then there’s THE SACRIFICE, which involves pouring off some of beer in the tap line to ensure that all of the beer that ends up in the glass is fresh. That’s clearly a very good idea. The rest of the steps have similarly grandiose titles, which make them sound as though they could easily be found in a deck of tarot cards or in a lineup of Academy Award nominees for Best Picture: THE BEHEADING. THE JUDGEMENT. THE CLEANSING. If you’re like me, you’re most interested in the final step: THE BESTOWAL, the one that involves being served the beer. While it would be easy to see the process as overelaborate if you’re in a hurry, it has to be said that any series of steps that are in place to make sure that you get the best beer possible have to be respected. Finally, since the bartender has gone to all that work, I’d like to add one more step to the process: it’s important to remember THE TIPPING.

This cauliflower tabbouleh is just one of the many uses for the versatile vegetable, which has come a long way from simply being steamed and smothered with cheese.

Cauliflower’s come a long way JILL WILCOX Sun Media News Services

Cauliflower has come a long way from being simply steamed and doused with a cheese sauce. Now, you are just as likely to see this member of the cabbage family as a delicious puree on a plate and topped with something grilled. It’s also excellent as a rustic “mash,” in a soup or as a key ingredient in a vegetable casserole. This week I’m featuring a cauliflower tabbouleh. It’s a dish I enjoyed in Montreal this summer. The fine pieces of cauliflower were combined with finely diced red pepper, zucchini and chives and served warm as an accompaniment to a perfect piece of grilled fish. This dish is good warm but can also be served cold. Cauliflower are in great abundance now and if you are lucky you might even spot the purple and orange varieties at some farmer’s markets. CauliflOwer TabbOuleh 1 medium head of cauliflower

2 tbsp. (25 ml) extra virgin olive oil 1 small onion, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 sweet red pepper cut into ¼ inch dice (about 1/2 cup) 1/2 small zucchini cut into ¼ inch dice (about 1/2 cup) salt and pepper 2 tbsp. (25 ml) chopped chives • Remove the green leafy stem of the cauliflower and discard. Cut the cauliflower in half. Using a box grater, grate the cauliflower florets using the largest holes of the grater. You should have 4 cups (one litre). Reserve any stems for later use in a soup. • In a medium skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium heat. • Cook the onion until soft and light golden. Turn the heat to mediumhigh and add the garlic, cauliflower, red pepper and zucchini. Stir fry for 2 minutes or until just tender-crisp. Some cumin seeds (about 1 tsp.) can be added at this point if desired. • Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with additional oil if desired. Serves 6.

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

HEALTH

Don’t be afraid of Halloween treats LINDA WHITE Sun Media News Services

They arrive home from trick-or-treating and dump their candy-laden bags on the kitchen table. You cringe at the sight of all that junk food and wonder if you should have a plan to manage their candy consumption. While Halloween shouldn’t be a free-for-all, don’t blow it out of proportion, some dietitians warn. “Remember that moderation is key,” says Sue Mah of Nutrition Solutions Inc. in Toronto. “Halloween is a celebration of sorts, so it’s OK to go a bit overboard on the treats for a day. In my house, I hide the treats bag after a few days. Out of sight, out of mind!” The registered dietitian reminds her kids — ages 10 and eight — about the importance of balanced meals. “The treat is the add-on at the end of the meal, after they have eaten foods from each of the four food groups,” she says. Loreen Wales, a registered dietitian with Revive Wellness in Edmonton, doesn’t limit

the candy intake of her six- and eightyear-olds on Halloween. “By the fifth day, the excitement of eating as much candy as they want as usually worn off,” she says. “Most kids realize they don’t feel good after stuffing themselves with junk food.” Like many parents, Wales ends up getting rid of the candy that still hasn’t been consumed weeks after the costumes have been forgotten. She also advocates the importance of teaching your children about the importance of healthy eating. She typically lets her kids enjoy a treat every day and doesn’t mind when they indulge their sweet tooth at birthday parties and other celebrations. “Don’t preach to them about diet,” says Wales. “The best way they learn is by the example you set for them.” Like many nutritionists, she believes that kids who regularly enjoy treats don’t obsess over them and learn about moderation early in life. It’s a belief supported by a 2011 study published in the Food & Nutrition Research journal. It found children and teens who eat candy and chocolates on a regular basis were less likely to be

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overweight or obese. “We need to teach our kids about setting their own boundaries and empower them to make their own choices,” says Wales. She sifts through their Halloween haul, discarding items they don’t like, along with gummy candies. “They go straight to the garbage because of the yellow and blue food dyes, which have been linked to hyperactivity, something many people blame on sugar.” She also removes any sports drinks her kids may have collected. “They’re not a good option because they also have food dyes. These are sports drinks with electrolytes to help you replenish your muscles after a strenuous workout. Children do not need that.” Chocolate bars are acceptable “because when I read the ingredients, I can understand where they come from,” says Wales. Chips are also acceptable in moderation. Worried about your own ability to keep your sweet tooth in check? “If you can stop yourself at one chocolate bar, you’re OK, but because they’re small, many people will eat three or four and all of a sudden, they’re eating at least the equivalent of a regular chocolate bar,” says Wales. “If they’re your trigger, don’t buy them to give out for Halloween.” Especially if you have younger children,

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Dietitian Sue Mah says that moderation is key when dealing with Halloween candy. consider giving out such non-food treats as Halloween stickers, crayons, pencils, tattoos and friendship bracelets. “When my kids were young, I created an easy Halloween word search and we handed those out to the kids at school for the class parties,” Mah says.

Reducing Halloween’s fear factor

LINDA WHITE Sun Media News Services

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It’s a night countless youngsters look forward to, but for many little ones, Halloween is a confusing ritual that makes them uncomfortable or downright terrified. Scary monsters knock at their door demanding treats, while makeshift graveyards and creepy music transform their once-familiar neighbourhood. Parents need to help create an experience that’s fun and should never push their children beyond their comfort levels, advise experts. Sara Dimerman, a Thornhill, Ont. psychologist and author of parenting books, compares trick-or-treating to roller

coasters. “Parents sometimes think their child needs to overcome their fear of a roller coaster but it’s not something that needs to happen — it’s not the same as a fear of going to the dentist, for example. That’s something they need to get used to because it affects their health.” If your child wants to go trick-or-treating, allow him or her to take the lead. “If they’re not comfortable going to a scary house, go to the door with them,” says Dimerman. “Allow your child to trust their instinctive sense of what feels good or bad. Don’t force or even encourage them if they’re not comfortable. Let them it’s OK and move on to the next house.”

There’s no magic age that will determine when your child will be ready to handle the frightening aspects of Halloween, such as haunted houses, scary movies or creepy costumes. “It’s often not about their age or development stage but about their personality and comfort level,” Dimerman says. “It’s the same thing with scary movies. Some people enjoy feeling scared but others have no inclination for that. With young children, if they don’t know what they’re up against, they don’t know what to anticipate and it can be traumatic if you expose them to such things too soon. It’s important to give them some choice.”

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Pot-smoking teens at higher risk for psychosis MARILYN LINTON Sun Media News Services

With names like Panama red, stink, and bhang, it’s not just new words that today’s parents may need to learn when talking to their kids about marijuana. It’s also about what’s in today’s pot. For while many adults remember (some more fondly than others) the highs of their own youth, today’s marijuana is not what it used to be. Not only are we learning that what our kids are smoking may be particularly potent, but doctors are also warning that marijuana can trigger psychosis in vulnerable young people. Marijuana today is stronger than 20 years ago, notes Dr. James Kennedy, director of the neuroscience research department at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). In the 1960s, marijuana had an active component of THC of four to five per cent. Currently, THC is about 12 per

cent and in some samples found in British Columbia, the level is as high as 20 per cent. Modern growing techniques have resulted in potent strains with higher THC, the main psycho-active or mindaltering substance of marijuana, hash and hash oil (all derived from the Cannabis sativa plant.)

“A teen’s brain has not finished developing yet.” Dr. James Kennedy Neuroscience researcher The link between marijuana use and mental illness may not be well enough appreciated by parents and teachers, says Dr. Kennedy. “The research I’ve done is on the use of marijuana and schizophrenia. (That research) and research done by other groups over the past ten years is progressively showing that the use of marijuana in the

teen years increases the severity of and lowers the age of onset of schizophrenia.” Vulnerable teens who smoke up regularly (several times a week) may be at risk for what’s known as a psychotic break: “The young person will start to have trouble with social relationships, become more isolated due to paranoia, suspiciousness and strange ideas,” explains Dr. Kennedy. They may think they have special communications coming to them through channels such as the TV, they may exhibit increased religiosity, and they may hear voices, some of which may command them to act out. If no help is sought, the psychotic symptoms get worse and worse. Marijuana does not cause schizophrenia per se, but it brings it on earlier and more severe in those who are susceptible. The trouble is, there’s no way of telling who is susceptible or not. In Dr. Kennedy’s view, teens between the ages of 12 and 20

Photo: Sun Media News Services

Teens who smoke marijuana may be at a higher risk of developing symptoms of psychosis, according to researchers in Toronto. could be at risk. While the average age of onset of schizophrenia is 18, psychotic episodes can start as young as 14. “The key factor here is that a teen’s brain has not finished developing yet. The front of the brain is the last to mature and that’s where marijuana seems to have its greatest disruptive effect.” That’s also the part of the brain where the COMT gene is most

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active. COMT (the enzyme it produces) is part of the dopamine system, and marijuana disturbs the balance of dopamine in the brain, he adds. One New Zealand analysis of a longitudinal study of 1,037 people showed that cannabis users by age 15 were four times as likely to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia at age 26 than controls.

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

ENTERTAINMENT

Crooner opens up JANE STEVENSON Sun Media News Services

Photo Supplied

Folk band Back Porch Swing, whose members hail from St. Albert, are just one of the many diverse acts that will take part in the 18th annual Unity in Diversity concert.

Diversity in spotlight GLENN COOK Leader Staff

They say it takes all kinds to make a world, and the St. Albert Baha’i community is ready to once again prove that through music. The local Baha’i community is gearing up for its 18th annual Unity in Diversity concert, which hits the stage at the Arden Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 5, and features musicians representing just about every part of the musical spectrum. “‘Maximum unity grows out of maximum diversity,’” said organizer Renie Zeitz, quoting Canadian artist Otto Donald Rogers. “I thought that was really beautiful and really summed it up. Diversity in an orchestra or on a beach or with fish, birds or a flower garden, it’s all more beautiful when there’s contrast. If everything is the same — if everybody thought the same and dressed the same and talked the same — it would be a pretty boring world.” This year, the concert will feature Back Porch Swing, a folk and bluegrass group whose members hail mainly from St. Albert, as well as African group Ajde and Aymara Nuca Llacta, who are from Ecuador. Zeitz said that the Unity in Diversity concert has built up enough of a reputation over the years that they can attract a high calibre of musicians to

their stages. “We’ve had some groups phone and ask us if they can be on the program,” she said, “but we can’t always accommodate them. Every year, it gets a little bit bigger and better, hopefully.” Part of that appeal, she admitted, is playing on the Arden stage, which may be a step up from small community halls that they’re used to. “A lot of people really like the idea of performing on the Arden Theatre stage, because there are a lot of accomplished musicians from all over that come here,” she said. Of the acts, Zeitz said she’s most looking forward to seeing Ajde on the Arden stage. “We lived in South Africa, so I love the African dancing and drumming,” she said. “But I like it all, actually. I’ve never seen Back Porch Swing, so I’m looking forward to that as well. It’ll all be wonderful, I’m sure.” This being the 18th annual concert, Zeitz said it has come a long, long way. “We started in the community hall on Perron Street; it was very small at first, just a few musicians and we gathered and had a few refreshments,” she said. “We’ve been going to the Arden for quite a few years now.” Tickets for the Unity in Diversity concert are $10 each plus service charges and are available through Ticketmaster or by calling the Arden Theatre box office at 780-459-1542.

At 36 years old, Vancouver crooner Michael Buble seems a bit young to be releasing a book. But Buble’s new coffee table book Onstage Offstage, in stores Tuesday, is hardly a memoir. Rather, it’s twothirds pictures, one-third prose about his life — the latter of which has already been well documented in endless press coverage. Still, he hesitated to do it. “I guess I didn’t understand why people would want pictures of me,” said Buble, relaxing in a Toronto hotel room. “The way (my manager Bruce Allen) talked me into it was he said, ‘Listen, kid, you always complain that people don’t who you really are ... Why don’t you go do this thing, do the photos, and you can tell you fans a little bit about what you’re thinking. Who Michael Buble is. The good, the bad.’” To that end, Onstage Offstage finds Buble acknowledging his arrogance and rudeness as a young kid working on his dad’s fishing boat and his quick temper, the latter highlighted during an altercation with an angry man in Vancouver who accused him of stealing the song “Home” and who Buble punched in the nose and chased into a bookstore. “Let me own up to this stuff,” he said. “How am I going to get better if I don’t own up to this stuff?” Not that the temper has gone anywhere. “The temper’s still there — absolutely,” he said, admitting he had even had a verbal run-in with an eyeball-rolling Irish lawyer in his Toronto hotel bar the

Photo: ALEX UROSOVIC, Sun Media News Services

Canadian crooner Michael Buble shows off who he really is in his new coffee table book, Onstage Offstage. previous night. “I was just insecure. I just lashed out. I just got hot really quick. My family’s the same way. It’s not the most eloquent quote, but (my grandfather) would say to me constantly, ‘If there’s sunshine, I don’t mind kissing someone’s ass. But if they poop on my face, they’re dead.’ And that’s the same as me.” Buble said his insecurity has gone away, but not because of his success. “The work that I put into myself had something to do with it,” he said. “This is going to sound so dorky but I think there are so many years of my life where I didn’t know if I feel if I deserved to be loved. I knew I was warm and funny but there were other parts of me where I was reckless and I was controlling.” Noticeably absent from the book is any direct discussion of Buble’s relationship with British actress Emily Blunt, with whom he split up in 2008

after three years together. She’s since married actor John Krasinski (The Office). “One of the worst things that ever happened to me was our breakup and one of the best things that happened to me. Because I wouldn’t have changed a thing if I hadn’t had my heart broken,” he said. One thing Buble is happy to discuss is his new holiday CD coming out on Monday, simply titled Christmas. It features Canadian country music star Shania Twain on the duet “White Christmas” among the tracks. They recorded the song via Skype with Buble in Napa, Twain in Switzerland and Canadian producer David Foster in L.A. “It was a happy day; I love recording with her,” said Buble. “This entire record was the most important of probably of my life. Because I was hugely affected by Bing Crosby’s White Christmas record. It introduced me to jazz music.”

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Madonna’s brother homeless in Michigan

Worth a thousand words

Photo: glenn cook, St. Albert leader

St. Albert Painters Guild member Gail Seemann works on her latest creation during a live demonstration at the guild’s annual show and sale Saturday afternoon in the lobby of St. Albert Place.

multibazillionaire, and I’m SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES homeless on the street? Never Madonna’s older brother is say never. This could happen to homeless, living under a bridge anybody.” in remote northern Ciccone said he Michigan. eats evening meals at Anthony Ciccone, Traverse City churches, 55, told the Michigan and his only source of Messenger newspaper income is scrounging that he lost his job more bottles and cans to than a year ago at his return for their deposit father Silvio’s winery value, and odd jobs. near Traverse City, a Madonna Ciccone, 53, resort community of Madonna was born and raised in 14,000 on upper Lake Singer/ southern Michigan, the Michigan, about 215 Actress third of six children to kilometres south of an Italian immigrant father and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. a mother of French-Canadian Ciccone says he has been descent. living on the street ever since. Madonna left the Detroit area “My family turned their for New York City in 1977, at age back on me, basically, when 19, to seek fame and fortune. By I was having a hard time,” 1983, she had found it. Forbes Ciccone told the Messenger. magazine this year estimated “You think I haven’t answered Madonna’s earnings from 2007 this kind of question a bazillion to 2010 alone to be $280 million. times — why my sister is a

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Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Reid gets reality check as X Factor goes live LINDSEY WARD Sun Media News Services

And we’re live. Starting Tuesday night on Fox and CTV, The X Factor began factoring in America’s votes after the Top 17 singers and groups determined by the judges got a taste of nonprerecorded primetime. It was newbie judge L.A. Reid’s first time in the live spotlight as well — mind you, he’s probably not as nervous as the performers. “I just hope that it comes out of my category, whoever wins,” Reid says on a press call. The Grammy-winning record exec best known for co-founding LaFace Records and signing the likes of Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Kanye West, Usher and Canada’s own Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber, had a lot to say on the call about his reality TV experiences thus far — including The X Factor’s mediocre ratings (it fetches half the viewers American Idol does), a popular contestant with a rough past and, of course, working with Simon Cowell. The highlights: On the show’s lower-than-anticipated ratings: “Well, the fact of the matter is that we have a very successful show, and we have an average of over 12 million viewers ... so it’s a very successful show, and whether we hit 20 or not — you know, I’d like to hit 30. I mean, I’d like to sweep it, but that’s not really what is important to me. That’s a statement that Simon put out there and I think it was an aspirational statement, and I hope that we can at some point get there, but I’m not disappointed that we’re not there.” On Simon getting to pick five contestants instead of four: “I don’t know if it means that we will end up cutting two in the first episode. I’m not exactly sure. This is for me sort of my first time at bat, my first barbecue, so I’m learning it as I go, but I was very

Photo: Sun Media News Services

L.A. Reid may be a first-time reality television judge on Fox’s X Factor, but he says his years of experience in the music business means he may not be as nervous as some of the contestants. happy though that Simon did go back and rethink Melanie from Miami. I thought she was really fantastic in the auditions. So, however it works out, I think so far it’s working out for the better.” On Simon’s taste in contestants: “I won’t trash talk his decisions, but I have a very different taste than Simon, so I may have made some very different choices, but Simon is incredible and the most experienced guy at doing what we’re doing here with The X Factor and with talent competition on television. So, I’m actually here to learn and watch and see exactly what Simon does, but my taste is different, so the answer is yes; I would have made some different choices.” On his own four guys: “I think that my guys are very unique. I think, as an example, Astro being a 15-year-old rapper who entered the competition doing original material, as far as I know, now I could be wrong, but I think that’s a very unique approach and it may be a first. Phillip Lomax — for a guy to be 22 years old, and to have been so influenced by an era of Frank Sinatra

and others, I find that pretty fascinating. Marcus Canty is just a great singer. And, Chris Rene, who is arguably the most popular contestant in the competition, is just really special and also entered the competition with original material and has this style that’s somewhere between singing and rapping.” On Chris Rene’s drug-addled past: “Chris gave us his word that he would stay straight. I’m going to take him at his word. When I see him, he looks amazing, and every time I see him he looks even improved from the time before, so whatever he is doing in his own time, it looks like it’s working and I have faith in Chris. I think that he’s going to really emerge as an amazing star and also, a man that we can be proud of who does have the strength to overcome his illness, and the disease he calls ‘addiction.’” Speaking of contestants who face challenges ... On Nicole Scherzinger’s decision to put Dexter through to the finals: “I like Dexter a lot, and I respect Nicole’s decision to put Dexter through. Dexter is clearly an artist, a performer,

and in this case, a contestant who’s gone through some very, very tough times in his life, right? I don’t think it was so much a focus on spectacle. I think it was more believing in someone and giving someone an opportunity to rebound, and to really get their life on track, because he’s clearly talented and yes, he’s a showman, but I don’t think it was a decision based on spectacle. I think it was based on opening a door and giving someone an opportunity to straighten up.” On 14-year-old Drew Ryniewicz’s chances of a showdown with Justin Bieber: “I have not spoken to Justin about Drew at all. I think she’s amazing. I think she’s really a contender here, a really competitive talent and Justin is a good sport and he takes it all in the right spirit. He doesn’t take it seriously when somebody says that they want to be better than him or beat him at what he does. He’s a good sport and he’s got a level head. He takes it all in fun.” On the chances of X Factor contestants actually succeeding after the show: “Every time we sign a talent in the traditional world, it’s a roll of the dice. And if there were a crystal ball, then this would be a very simple job, but the fact is, it’s trial and error and it will continue to be trial and error. And yes, we will make every effort to turn some of these contestants into global stars, but no differently than our traditional world of records. It’s going to be a crap shoot and we’ll see how it comes out. I’m hopeful. I do see talent that I think has the ability to go the distance, but it’s going to ultimately be up to the public, as it always is.” On how hard it was to whittle singers down at the judge’s house: “It was tough, it was tough. What would have been simple is if I could have had five. If I was Simon and I could have five, it would have been a little more, a little simpler. But, I’m not Simon, and I can only have four and that’s what made it tough because there were actually five that I really liked.”

Affleck, Damon to reunite on film set SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES - Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are set to reunite on the big screen in a new drama about former fugitive crime boss Whitey Bulger. Damon will portray Bulger, who was captured by the FBI in June after spending 16 years at large. Affleck will direct the film and both Bostonians will co-

produce. The movie will also feature Affleck’s younger brother Casey, who starred in Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen alongside Damon. Casey Affleck also starred in his brother’s acclaimed Gone Baby Gone. Both Afflecks and Damon

starred in 1997’s Good Will Hunting — Affleck and Damon’s break-out hit as screenwriters and actors. The untitled new film will focus on Bulger’s troubled youth and his rise to become one of the most powerful criminals in American history, according to Deadline. com.

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

STALBERTJOBS.COM

Women missing out on mentoring: survey SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES - Many women in the United States are missing the benefits of mentoring, which could be useful in a tough job market, according to new research. Although unemployment figures are hovering around nine per cent, about one in five working women questioned in a survey by the business networking website LinkedIn said they did not have a mentor. And 82 per cent of the same group agreed that mentoring is important for their career. “Nobody is re-inventing the wheel,” said Nicole Williams, of LinkedIn. “We all need to be led in life and specifically with our careers. Mentoring is informational and

A woman waits in line at a job fair in New York on Monday. said they never found relational.” someone appropriate to be a The survey, which mentor and 67 per cent the included 759 women across same group had not been the United States, also asked to be a mentor. showed that 52 per cent of “People have to women without mentors

Photo: Sun Media News Services

understand that mentoring is a reciprocal relationship,” Williams explained. “It is about give and take. If you need something from someone who is busy, you

can find ways to relieve them from some burden.” She added that the key to asking someone to be a mentor is to define the relationship so there will be

no false expectations. “Undefined expectation can cause things to fall apart,” she said. “It is important to have a conversation on what the boundaries of the relationship will be.” Williams said mentoring does not need to be a lifelong relationship and that it can also play a sporadic role in one’s life. Guidance and recommendations were the main goals women hoped for from mentors, according to the survey. “We all need cheerleaders and objective perspectives,” Williams said. “We need people to make that process less isolated and intimidating, especially in this economy where it can get lonely.”

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