St. Albert Leader - April 5, 2012 by St. Albert Leader

Artwork courtesy Sturgess Architecture/David Murray Architect

When is it time for new Orthotics? IS IT TIME FOR A NEW PAIR? ARE YOUR FEET GETTING SORE EVEN THOUGH YOU WEAR YOUR ORTHOTICS? NOT SURE IF YOU EVEN NEED THEM? If your orthotics are more than 2 years old, they may not be doing what they originally intended. In fact, they may be doing you more harm than good.

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Please call 780-458-2669 to arrange your check-up today.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

LIQUOR STORE St. Albert’s Original Cold Beer Store

• Cold Beer • Wine • Spirits OPEN 10 AM DAILY Monday is Senior’s Day

HOLIDAY HOURS

Good Friday: OPEN until 1AM • Saturday: OPEN until 1AM Easter Sunday: OPEN until 10pm • Easter Monday: OPEN until 12AM

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780.459.5551

Thursday, April 5, 2012

City census gets going

Lead the

INDEX News . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinion . . . . . . . . 8 Entertainment . . . . . 16 Lifestyle . . . . . . . . 19 Health . . . . . . . 20 Business . . . . . . 22 stalbertjobs.com . . . 23

COVER

An expanded Art Gallery of St. Albert lights up the corner of Perron Street and St. Anne Street in this architect’s rendering. The Arts and Heritage Foundation is asking the City for an extra $2.35 million to fund the project. See story, page 3.

FUN WITH NUMBERS

$17.6 billion

That’s how much oil company BP could be facing in civil fines under the United States’ Clean Water Act as a result of the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP, however, claims the U.S. government is withholding evidence showing the spill was smaller than federal officials claim, which would reduce the fine.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY APRIL 5, 1958

Ripple Rock, near Campbell River, B.C., was blown up in the world’s largest non-nuclear explosion to date. Ripple Rock was a twin-peaked mountain whose south peak was less than three metres beneath the surface of the water of the Seymour Narrows, between Vancouver Island and Quadra Island, at low tide. The blast used 1,375 tons of explosives, was scheduled for April, when there were few salmon in the area, and was one of CBC Television’s first live broadcasts.

GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

Artwork Supplied

An architect’s rendering of an expanded Art Gallery of St. Albert.

Gallery eyes expansion GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

The idea to make the Art Gallery of St. Albert universally accessible has quickly morphed into something much bigger, Arts and Heritage Foundation officials told St. Albert city council Monday afternoon. AHF executive director Paul Moulton and architect Jeremy Sturgess presented plans for a $4.6-million expansion of the gallery to councillors Monday, asking for the project to be forwarded to the 2013 civic budget process. AHF executive director Paul Moulton knows there will be critics of the proposal who won’t want to see it go ahead, but he believes it’s a financially prudent project that will serve as a cornerstone of the downtown core. “What we’re really now showing them is a $4.6-million project that could start in 2013, be finished in 2014, be funded by three levels of government and the community corporate sector without changing any of their current plans except to look out into 2014 to say, ‘We know with more certainty what this needs; are we able to put 2014 money [toward it]?’” Moulton said at a meeting with the St. Albert Leader prior to Monday’s meeting. Moulton added that the move would trim the AHF’s yearly operating grant from the City by $74,000 a year by bringing their satellite studio, currently in Peron Courtyard, and administrative offices under one roof, rather than leasing space. Ultimately, council voted 6-1 to defer the matter to Standing Committee on Finance capital budget discussions scheduled for May. “I’m OK with this moving forward,” Mayor Nolan Crouse

said. “I love the vision of it. I just need to make sure we have it presented in context.” Coun. Wes Brodhead cast the only vote against deferral, saying the first steps of downtown revitalization needed to be taken sooner rather than later. “If we put it off to the capital budget discussion, then I think we do this particular project a disservice,” he said. Some councillors, though, had objections to the entire project, which they will rehash in May.

“That’s about the understatement of the century.” Cam MacKay City councillor “[The agenda report says] ‘well beyond the initial scope’ — yeah, that’s about the understatement of the century,” Coun. Cam MacKay said. “We were asking for a wheelchair accessible gallery, and now we’ve got a $5-million project in front of us.” The plans call for the gallery to be expanded to the east, shifting the main entrance from Perron Street to St. Anne Street. The land for the expansion is currently all owned by the City of St. Albert. The AHF hopes to secure approximately $1.2 million from the provincial and federal governments, and to fundraise $516,900 for the project, leaving $2.9 million to be funded by the City. About $533,000 is already included in the City’s 10-year capital plan for the project, leaving $2.35 million that council would have to find a source for. Despite the expanded space, though, Moulton doesn’t foresee an increase in gallery staff. Shifting the entrance to St. Anne

Street will bring life to that street, said architect David Murray. “There’s more empty space than filled space on St. Anne, and we’re bringing it close to the street,” Murray said. “We’re going to meet the downtown objective of having more vitality on the streets. The building is designed to have activities exposed to the streets, so when you walk by, you’ll actually see into the workshops.” But there are other ways that the architects envision a renovated gallery helping in the revitalization of the downtown core. “It’s about bringing these buildings into where St. Albert is now, as opposed to where it was 50 years ago, and bringing the gallery into something that is grown up to the size St. Albert is now,” Sturgess said. “... This initiative is about strengthening downtown as the heart of the city.” As for programming offered by the gallery, AGSA director Frances Gagnon sees a wide range of possibilities with the expansion. “With the additional space, we might have the opportunity for more art, more diverse contemporary art, more exhibitions and more opportunities to bring regional artists together and send out travelling exhibitions,” she said. “The more synergy, the more unexpected, wonderful things that can happen.” The gallery could also start to generate more revenue, Gagnon added, through more facility rentals. While Monday’s agenda report says the expanded gallery would “serve the needs of St. Albert for the next 10-15 years,” Moulton said the expansion lays the groundwork for future additions if necessary. “I think it’s going to comfortably take us forward, and the land is able to handle expansion to the east or south, or even up,” he said.

The City of St. Albert wants you to stand up — or rather, sit down in front of your computer — and be counted. Starting Monday, the City kicked off a municipal census, and it is encouraging residents to fill out the questionnaire online. “With our online option, participation is easy and convenient,” said chief census official Chris Belke in a press release. “In 2010, 40 per cent of households participated online, and this time we hope that over half of households will respond online. We have a safe and secure system, and the more people who use it, the more cost effective our census becomes.” For those without an Internet connection or who are not computer savvy, enumerators will begin visiting homes on Monday, May 7. The census questionnaire may be completed online anytime between now and April 27, although Belke hoped that residents would participate as early as possible. “We encourage early participation as census date is April 2, which means we are asking residents to respond to the questions as things were on that date in their household,” he explained. “Participation by all households is critical to ensure the data accurately reflects the city’s demographics. This data is vitally important to City planning, from infrastructure to programs and services, and to ensure we obtain the maximum grants from over levels of government.” The City has mailed out letters to all households containing a unique access code, which can be entered at www.stalbert.ca/census. For more information on the census, contact the City by email at census@st-albert.net or by phone (780-459-1500) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

SPRING ROAD CLEANING BEGINS the City of St. albert has started the annual spring-cleaning of roads and boulevards. Daytime Operations Residential Street cleaning will commence the week of april 16, 2012. Signs will be placed at the entrance to your neighbourhoods to advise you of this activity. The Public Works Department appreciates you removing your car from the street when they are in your neighbourhood, so that a thorough job can be done cleaning your street. All residential areas are scheduled to be completed by the week of May 7, weather permitting. Night Time Operations Arterial boulevard cleaning and street sweeping will start the week of april 10, 2012. All arterial roads are scheduled to be

completed by the week of may 7, weather permitting.

2012 Residential Street Sweeping Schedule

Night-time sweeping over the last two seasons has proven to be very successful on arterials, so we’ll be sweeping during the night this season as well. Night-time sweeping allows crews to operate more safely and efficiently when cleaning boulevards. Night-time sweeping operations encounter less traffic volume and are therefore safer and less disruptive to traffic flow. Night-time operations also allows crews to complete sweeping much earlier than daytime operations.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Night-time crews will be working between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Please note there may be some noise disruptions for those residents backing onto arterial roadways for a short period of time. Residents’ patience and understanding is greatly appreciated.

Akinsdale Kingswood Forest Lawn Northridge Oakmont Erin Ridge Lacombe Estates Lacombe Park Ironwood Deer Ridge Sturgeon Woodlands Parkwood/Pineview Braeside Heritage Lakes Grandin Mission

CONFIDENTIAL DRUG TIP LINE 780-460-DRUG (3784) Keep St. Albert safe – provide tips about drug dealers operating in our community.

For more information: Call Public Works 780-459-1557 or www.stalbert.ca/public-works.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS BYLaWS 7/2012 & 8/2012 | mondaY, aPRiL 16, 2012 – 5 P.m. | CounCiL ChamBeRS, St. aLBeRt PLaCe Public Hearings have been scheduled for Bylaws 7/2012 and 8/2012. 1.

A name change of the Northwest Urban Village Centre (NWUVC) Area Structure Plan to Ville Giroux Area Structure Plan is proposed. Bylaw 7/2012 is a bylaw to adopt the Ville Giroux Area Structure Plan and repeal the existing Northwest Urban Village Centre Area Structure Plan Bylaw 22/2010 for those lands, as shown on the attached sketch, and legally described as: municipal address 71 City Annex West 13 Genstar Annex

Legally described as: STALBER;;16 922 2031;1B

and portions of 10 Genstar Annex NE-6-54-25-4 Bylaw 8/2012, being Amendment 86 to Land Use Bylaw 9/2005 is an addition to Section 8.20 Low Density Residential (R1) Land Use District, Subsection (8) Lot Width Distribution as follows:

A copy of this notice has been provided to the assessed property owner and property owners within a 100m radius of all lands as previously described. Details of the proposals may be obtained by phoning the Planning Department at 780-459-1642. A copy of the proposed Bylaws may be examined between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays at the Legislative Services Department (3rd Floor) in St. Albert Place, St. Albert. Speaking to City Council If you wish to speak to City Council, please phone Legislative Services (780-459-1500) before 12:00 noon on Monday, April 16, 2012. You may also be heard by City Council by responding when the Chair of the Hearings calls upon any person present to speak in favour of or in opposition to the proposed bylaws. Written Submissions

If you prefer to write to City Council, send your written comments to the Legislative Officer, City of St. Albert, (d): “Lands governed by the Ville Giroux Area Structure Plan Bylaw 7/2012 Single-detached lots within the Ville 5 St. Anne Street, St. Albert, Alberta, T8N 3Z9, or email hearings@st-albert.net before 12:00 noon, Tuesday, April 10, Giroux Area Structure Plan are exempt from meeting 2012. All written submissions received before the deadline the requirement of specific percentages for lot width distribution as described in (8)(c)(i). All single-detached will be available for public viewing at the Public Hearings and at the Legislative Services Office. lots are required to meet all other aspects of the Land Use Bylaw including locating single-detached lots less Freedom of information and Protection than 11.5m on through streets only. In addition, within of Privacy act the Ville Giroux residential area, no more than 35% of If you submit comments on these bylaws, either orally or in the residential land area can be for single-detached writing, the information you provide may be recorded in the residential units.” minutes of the Public Hearings, or otherwise made public, MPSSCS4146287MPSE

subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. DATES OF PUBLIC NOTICE: March 29 and April 5, 2012 – St. Albert Leader; March 31 and April 7, 2012 - St. Albert Gazette

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Mayor to fight to keep Steel in St. Albert GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

The mayor of St. Albert is getting set to drop the gloves to keep the city’s junior A hockey team. Mayor Nolan Crouse will make a presentation tomorrow to a committee of Alberta Junior Hockey League governors to keep the St. Albert Steel playing in Servus Credit Union Place after Steel owner Greg Parks filed a formal request with the league last week to relocate the franchise to Whitecourt for the 2012-2013 season. “I’m presenting our current agreement to the league, our current financial agreement to the league, the legal document we have together with the Steel and the City — which is a private document,” the mayor said. “I’m going to present the offer we made to the Steel, and I’m going to ask them for support for the Steel to stay in St. Albert.” Both Parks and a delegation from the City of St. Albert will make their case to the committee Friday in Edmonton. But AJHL president Craig T. Cripps said a decision may not be forthcoming right away. “The chairman of the board and myself, as president, will be in Edmonton that day,

monitoring the proceedings, and from those proceedings, the committee struck will take that information and make a decision, and then they will convey that decision to the board,” he said. Parks’s request to relocate was not, however, accompanied by a request to transfer ownership, meaning Parks would still be at the helm after the move. If he were to sell the franchise under the current agreement between the two sides — which expires on Aug. 31 — the City of St. Albert would have the first right of refusal. Crouse was informed of the relocation request by the AJHL on Wednesday, March 28. He participated in a conference call with league officials on Friday. A meeting between City officials and Steel officials was scheduled for Tuesday, March 27, but Crouse said the hockey club abruptly bailed.

“They sent me a text saying they did not plan to attend that meeting,” the mayor said. “We had the meeting without the Steel, and we proceeded to talk about what was happening. We haven’t received any word from the Steel on this; we’ve only received word from the league.” Although Crouse wouldn’t go into specifics on the deal the City offered the team, he was confident it was good enough to make the club viable at Servus Place. “We provided a good offer, and we will make that public in due course, what we offered,” he said. “But for now, I have to trust that the league governors are going to look at our offer and determine if it is a poor offer or a good offer.” He added that the club has paid all its outstanding debts to the City, including the costs of dressing room renovations at Servus Place.

Although the Steel moved to St. Albert from Fort Saskatchewan just five seasons ago, Cripps said that he was more worried about the health of the franchise than about stability or optics. “I have 16 members that I am charged with taking care of. If any of our members don’t feel that they have what it takes to operate in the centre they’re currently in, as a group, we have to respect that. But, at the same time, we have to respect the community that we’re in,” he said, noting that this is one of the longest stretches the AJHL has had without a franchise relocating in its history. If St. Albert loses the Steel, Crouse figures it will take time to heal wounds before the city gets another chance to host a junior hockey team. “It would be quite a while. You’d have to turn over a lot of people, because people have memories,” he said. “You’d have to turn over a lot of people, either in the league or team ownership, before people start to forget about what happened.” Whitecourt is about 175 kilometres northwest of St. Albert. Calls to Parks seeking comment were not returned as of the Leader’s deadline.

youth gym nights every thursday April 5th - May 31st

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

RunWild race needs volunteers GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

As they gear up for the second go-round, organizers of the RunWild Marathon in St. Albert are not running short on participants, but may be in one other crucial area. Event director Anita Cassidy said that the race — which will wind through the streets and trails of St. Albert on Sunday, May 6 — could use about 100 more volunteers to help out along the course. “We need about 300, so we probably need about 100 more,” she said. “We’re at about 200, but with five different races going on, we need a lot of support, a lot of course marshals, water station volunteers, people on site directing traffic.” The RunWild event includes a full marathon (42.2 miles), a half marathon (21.1 miles), a 10-kilometre race, a five-kilometre race and the WildOnes Kids’ Marafun, where school children throughout the city complete their marathon one kilometre at a time starting this month and run the last 1.2 kilometres on race day. Other volunteer opportunities include lead cyclist, sweep cyclist, start line crew, gear check-in, food tent, sign crew and clean-up crew. “Last year, the community supported us so much. We had lots of volunteers, and we had way more participants than we anticipated. Sponsors came out of the woodwork. We had such good support from the community and surrounding community, and we know that they’ll come out again,” Cassidy said. As for the race itself, there are already 1,000 runners registered, and Cassidy is confident they will meet their goal of having 2,000 athletes on the starting line come race day. “We know that runners like to see how the training goes, see how the winter was. But it was a pretty mild winter, so I’m sure people will be racing to sign up now,” she said. “Last year, the weekend before the race, we had 450 people sign up in four days before the race. So we’re expecting that huge influx coming soon, especially with the weather being so nice.” The marathon will raise money for two charities: the Zebra Child Protection Centre and the St. Albert Senior Citizens’ Club. Cassidy said that the Zebra centre does important work throughout the Capital Region. “Their area isn’t just Edmonton; it’s St. Albert and the surrounding communities,” Cassidy said. “All of us partners at Leading Edge [Physiotherapy] are big supporters of children’s charities.” The Senior Citizens’ Club is a new beneficiary from the event. “We just found that the St. Albert Senior Citizens’ Club was in need and could benefit from an influx of donation money,” Cassidy said. Organizers hope to raise $100,000 total, which will be split evenly between the two charities. For more information on volunteering, sponsoring or participating in the RunWild event, visit www.runwild.ca.

Council ratifies artists lease

GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

The visual arts are about to move into a new home in St. Albert. At their regular meeting Monday afternoon, St. Albert city council voted unanimously to ratify a five-year lease agreement with the Visual Arts Studio Association of St. Albert (VASA) for the use of the Hemingway Centre on Sir Winston Churchill Avenue, beginning on June 1. “This has turned out to be a very nice grassroots proposal from members of the community to enhance our city,” Coun. Cam MacKay said. “I’m quite impressed with the way it has evolved, how it came to council first. ... The facility’s perfectly suited for it.” “Arts and culture activities are what bring a community to life, and it creates enjoyment, not only for the artists in this particular case, but also for all the other residents in our community,” Coun. Wes Brodhead added. There was also a sense of relief among councillors that the building — which used to house the local RCMP detachment — finally had a purpose. “This brings to closure, in many ways, [12] years of a building that had uncertainty. ... We’ve removed a lot of uncertainty tonight for a lot of people and that building,” Mayor Nolan Crouse said at the conclusion of the vote. Between the RCMP moving out in 2000 and today, the building has been used for office space and storage for not-for-profit groups on an asneeded basis. VASA has requested a total of 5,292 square feet in the building, which equals 64 per cent of the total

VASA spokesperson Pat Wagensveld area. As such, they will be responsible for said the group intends to pay their bill 64 per cent of the building’s operating costs per year, which would equal $23,744. through the rental of studio space to The remaining 36 per cent, or $13,356, will artists, and the time and environment were right for their vision to thrive. be covered by the City. “VASA has a strong, knowledgeable The operating budget will be reviewed board of directors each year and VASA’s committing to portion adjusted fulfilling the vision of accordingly, although an artist-run centre in increases will be capped St. Albert,” she said. at three per cent. “Our current stable of The City will resident artists offer not make capital Wes Brodhead considerable variety investments in the City councillor of methodologies building in 2012, in the visual arts. although VASA may VASA has consistently offered multiple look at paying for improvements to some outreach programs for individual arts of the washrooms on their own. The City awareness and instruction, professional will provide regular maintenance as with development, public presentation and any other City-owned building. The City will continue to use the jail cell mentorship, to name a few. ... The [new] area of the building, along with a portion centre will encourage the public to participate and experiment in all aspects in the northeast corner, for storage, as of fine art appreciation, expression and comparable storage space would be much discussion. Aspiring art students will more expensive. find a gathering place to work with VASA has proposed that 42 per cent experienced, accomplished artists.” of the space they are leasing be dedicated VASA officials also indicated that, with to studio space for artists, with the the opening of the Hemingway Centre remainder dedicated to community outreach programming like exhibits or art space, their studios on Perron Street and in Grandin Park Plaza would close. education.

“Arts and culture ... are what bring a community to life.”

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

OPINION

iStAlbert

Attack ideas, not people

Here’s what people are saying about #StAlbert on Twitter:

@rsffalcons Fine arts showcase at @theardentheatre this April 17th showcasing the music dance students from @rsffalcons. Come check it out! #stalbert

hen Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason wrote a letter last weekend to his fellow provincial party leaders on Saturday asking them all to play nice in the ongoing election campaign, it seemed a little naïve and more than a little desperate for attention. by Glenn Cook But then came Sunday and the tweet heard ’round the province, and we all found out just how valid Mason’s fears were. It was on Sunday that a member of Premier Alison Redford’s staff questioned on Twitter the sincerity of the Wildrose Party’s measures to help families given that leader Danielle Smith didn’t have children of her own. Turns out, though, that Smith and her husband have tried to have children and visited fertility clinics, but have thus far had no luck starting a family. Open mouth, insert foot. The Progressive Conservative staffer at the helm of the offending Twitter account supposedly resigned within days, but had she not, rest assured she would have been forced out. Mudslinging has been an unfortunate part of politics for decades now, but this latest incident crossed a line that, as responsible adults, one would think need not be pointed out. Premier Ed Stelmach warned of an escalation in such dirty tactics as he stepped down in early 2011, saying that “U.S.-style wedge politics is coming into Canada, and it comes at our peril.” Let’s hope that this incident serves as a cautionary tale throughout the rest of this campaign, a signpost reminding politicians that personal attacks are a road best not travelled. Indeed, it’s much better to stick to a mantra of “Attack ideas, not people.” A difference of opinion is no reason to start drawing conclusions about one’s character or one’s mother or the state of one’s parents’ marriage at the time of their birth. As Mason put it in his letter Saturday, this election should be about “vigorous, but fair debate.” We expect good behaviour from ourselves and our peers; it’s time to hold our leaders up to that standard as well.

@STA_Business Old electronics collecting dust? Bring those old computers, phones etc. to “Electronics Drop” @ #StAlbert Centre from 10am–2 pm, April 21

EDITORIAL

@DarrenChernuka Lingnan Express finally open in #StAlbert! Check it out...Amy’s the best! @thequondynasty

@mommybyday Moving to #stalbert in a month - what is there local to do with a 3yo starting in the fall?

Compiled by Swift Media Group swiftmedia.ca • @Swift_Media

Steel sale rumours weren’t whole story

o, I guess, technically, I had it right. It was about two weeks ago when Twitter started humming with rumours that the St. Albert Steel had been or were about to be sold to a group of investors in Whitecourt and move there in time for the 2012-2013 season. After hearing this, I did my journalistic duty and checked out the rumours. I went straight to the source, to Steel owner Greg Parks, who told me those rumours were “absolutely false.” “[The club is] not for sale,” he told me. So that’s what I reported — that the team was not for sale. And technically I was right. But I guess that wasn’t the whole story. While the team may not have been on the block, the moving half of the

Glenn

COOK Leader Editor My City rumour turned out to be true. Parks filed a relocation request with the Alberta Junior Hockey League last week, seeking to move to Whitecourt while still owning the team. The more I think about it, though, the more the whole situation stinks — and not just for St. Albert hockey fans, who may be losing a second junior A team in the span of a decade. It stinks because it’s within the realm of possibility that Parks could move the team first, then sell it once the deal with the City of St. Albert expires on Aug. 31, thus not triggering the right of first refusal that the

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Editor: Glenn Cook

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City has in that deal. Parks’s record on the ice has not been consistent, but he is developing quite the record in his moving the team from one city to the next. Of course, with the woeful attendance numbers the Steel have seen over the past couple of years, it’s hard to say just how many “fans” would be affected. for whatever reason, the Steel just have not been able to establish the same kind of emotional connection that their predecessors, the Saints, did. And they haven’t been able to market themselves as a viable option for limited entertainment dollars over the likes of the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Oil Kings. Still, much as a City-owned hockey team would go over like a lead balloon with certain groups, it might be better than

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nothing, and there might be a lot of synergies with existing staff at Servus Place. It could also perhaps only be a stopgap solution if a committed owner, or group of owners, is willing to step up and take the reins. If the Steel skip town, it might be some time before the AJHL is willing to take another chance on St. Albert. We might have a sparkling facility in Servus Credit Union Place, if the old axiom of “once bitten, twice shy” is true, the AJHL might be a whole lot more shy after being bitten twice by ownership groups in St. Albert. As Mayor Nolan Crouse told me this week, it could take some time before the wounds are healed and all sides are ready to give it another try. But, if it ever happens, then we should all be thankful for another chance to get it right. Owned and operated by

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Federal budget a good compromise: MP GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

If the hallmark of a good compromise is nobody walking away from the table completely happy, then, in the eyes of Edmonton-St. Albert Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber, the 2012 federal budget is a good compromise. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered the budget on Thursday, March 29, in the House of Commons, and while it still runs a $21.1-billion deficit, spending cuts total $5.2 billion and there are no new taxes or tax increases contained within it. On one side, pundits are saying the cuts are too deep; on the other, they say the cuts aren’t deep enough. For Rathgeber, that means the government must be on the right track. “The budget attempts to strike a compromise between disparate voices, first of all, in our caucus, and in greater society, where there are voices who believe that this — being the first budget

for a [Conservative] majority government and not having to face an electorate for three-plus years — was an opportunity to really reshape the size and focus of government. ... There doesn’t seem to be any real outpouring of protest on either side, so I suspect, on balance, it’s a real compromise,” he said.

“There are no sacred cows, and everybody has to pitch in.” Brent Rathgeber Edmonton-St. Albert MP After a few years of stimulus spending to get Canada out of recession, Rathgeber said it was important for the Conservative majority not to err too far on the side of austerity with things turning around. But of equal importance was the guarantee of no new taxes. “We see taxes generally as job killers, whether it’s income taxes

or corporate taxes,” he said. “The less money you’re taxed, the more money you have to spend, and the more money you have to spend, that creates jobs for the people that sell and produce the items you’re consuming,” he said. “I think it was important, in order to grow the economy, that we kept our pledge not to raise any taxes.” One department that will see the biggest chunk of the cuts is the Department of National Defence, which will have $1.1 billion trimmed from its budget this year. “A lot of that is purely mathematical, though,” Rathgeber said. “The military budget was boosted so much because of the Afghan mission, which of course has been wound down. There’s only a few hundred members of the military left in Afghanistan now who are on a training mission. Quite frankly, I’d be shocked if there were any layoffs or reductions in either military personnel or reservists. But when you are no longer involved in an active combat mission — which was very expensive — you

obviously are going to see less spending.” Meanwhile, the CBC will also lose about 10 per cent of its budget. Rathgeber has had his skirmishes with CBC brass over the past year or so, but those have been more about its lack of accountability, and he’s not taking any pleasure in the budget cuts. “Many people love [the CBC] and many people really hate it. But there are no sacred cows, and everybody has to pitch in,” he said. “I think 10 per cent over three years is certainly not big ask to the CBC.” Possibly the biggest attentiongrabber thus far has been the government’s announcement that pennies will no longer be minted, although they will not be taken out of circulation and will be accepted by retailers indefinitely. Though the move may only save the federal government $11 million a year — a drop in the bucket of a $276-billion budget — Rathgeber said the principle was more important.

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Thursday, April 5, 2012 Report to the Community City Council provides direction to Administration through a variety of forward-looking policies and governance. Council’s strategy, comprising the mission statement, values, vision, goals and priorities, is the predominant governance direction for Administration. City Council updated the goals and priorities for their term at their annual strategic planning session in January 2012.

COUNCIL PRIORITIES March 31, 2012

GOAL | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Build and diversify St. Albert’s economy in partnership with the community and key stakeholders. Economic Development • Develop, communicate and implement a 20 point economic development action plan. Review and finalize a detailed economic development plan that will promote significant and faster growth in the commercial and light industrial sectors. • Enhance economic development opportunities along St. Albert Trail by developing a vision for, and improving the attractiveness and functionality of, the city’s main commercial corridor. • Further revitalize the city’s downtown area by exploring opportunities with developers and examining options to improve parking and the Farmers’ Market Park and Ride. • Examine opportunities to create a more attractive commercial and industrial investment environment by reducing risk to developers and considering incentives. • Promote the city and attract businesses, investment, residents and visitors by developing a community marketing plan. Tourism • Continue to promote current and future tourist attractions and events. • Strengthen St. Albert’s economy and regional leadership by considering a bid for the 2019 Canada Winter Games in 2013. Land Use and Infrastructure • Improve commuting and St. Albert’s transportation connection within the capital region by: ○ Securing funding and completing the South Park and Ride in 2013-14. ○ Completing Ray Gibbon Drive Phase 3 in 2012. • Explore future options to enhance commuting and St. Albert’s transportation connection within the capital region by building support for an extension of Ray Gibbon Drive to Highway 2. • Ensure sufficient amounts of land in a variety of lot sizes in the appropriate location are available for non-residential growth.

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GOAL | COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Strengthen St. Albert’s social fabric and enhance the safety and health of St. Albert’s families. Build Our Community • To meet the growing needs of our community, plan for a community gathering place that will provide a venue for residents to gather and access social programming. • Proactively address the changing demographics of St. Albert through the development of a Social Master Plan. • Continue to enhance neighbourhood development by supporting the efforts of the Spirit of St. Albert Society. • Recognize and support the legacy of the 2012 Winter Special Olympics by funding legacy projects that provide a lasting commemoration of the Games, additional athlete programming, and a community inclusiveness program. Safety and Health • Promote long-term safety in the community by completing the Long-Term Department Plan for Policing Services and identifying the policing model, levels of service and resources. • Support the attraction of additional physicians and complementary medical services to St. Albert by facilitating the establishment of another medical office facility. Arts, Culture and Heritage • Establish the long-term direction for St. Albert’s culture, arts and heritage by reviewing and approving the Culture Master Plan. • Improve arts, culture and heritage facilities within the city by examining options for use of the Hemingway Centre by community groups. Community Services, Amenities and Infrastructure • Support the development of a range of affordable housing options appropriate for the community by completing current initiatives and developing a longer-term plan and funding options that consider: ○ entry level housing for families ○ affordable seniors’ housing ○ the future of the rent subsidy program ○ the existing basement suite program

• Establish the long-term direction for St. Albert’s recreational services, programs and amenities by reviewing and approving the Recreational Master Plan. • Complete implementation of two dog parks and determine the location of a third. • Review infill guidelines to ensure they allow for integration with existing neighbourhoods for multifamily and single family development. • Consider options for accessible transportation to Edmonton by completing a needs and cost assessment of the Handi-bus service.

GOAL | ENVIRONMENT Preserve and promote the enjoyment and responsible development of natural areas. Environmental Stewardship • Following approval of the Sturgeon River Report, create a vision for the Sturgeon River Valley that addresses environmental health and economic development, along with a supporting action plan. • Develop a stewardship plan for Grey Nuns White Spruce Park. • Obtain certification for an environmental management system that adheres to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14001 standards) for Public Works. • Develop a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Action Plan for the community and the City corporation, to reduce non-renewable energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Clean-up, Stabilization, Monitoring and Reporting • Assess mitigation strategies for the old public works yard. Continue to clean up and stabilize the Sturgeon River by completing two river outfalls in 2012. • Continue remediation work in Riel Park (Phases 3 and 4) including environmental remediation work on the soccer and rugby fields. Promote Environmentally Sustainable Practices • Develop a policy to ensure water and energy efficiency in new developments including the toilet rebate program. • Implement a waste plan for civic buildings. • Conduct a review of the waste management program to ensure it meets service requirements and program goals, seeking continuous improvement.

GOAL | GOVERNANCE Improve efficiency, plan strategically, enhance accountability and build effective partnerships and relationships to ensure the right choices for St. Albert in both the immediate and longer term. Planning and Reporting • Enhance strategic focus by refining the vision for the city and outlining a series of supporting strategies. Enhance evidencebased decision making through the development of a corporate level scorecard and municipal analytics.

Governance Capacity and Policy Direction • Fulfill Council responsibilities and workloads by exploring opportunities to efficiently and effectively manage workload. • Ensure the most effective and efficient model of governance is in place for St. Albert through the review of policies. • Review and modernize selected bylaws. Partnerships and Relationships • Advocate for and actively engage in dialogue with other orders of government regarding areas of high priority to St. Albert. • Continue to build positive and productive working arrangements with community groups and other external organizations. Fiscal Responsibility • Enhance the City’s fiscal responsibility by reviewing the City’s taxation policy and its utility fiscal model. • Develop Outside Agency Budget Guiding Principles for community groups receiving city funding. • Practice fiscal restraint and report on the benefits and costs of continuous improvements that are made to the City’s governance and operations.

HIGHLIGHTS The following is an update on the status and accomplishments towards the 2011 goals and priorities of Council.

GOAL | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Increased businesses, visitors and investment are achieved to strengthen and diversify St. Albert’s economy. Business Attraction and Development • Council and administration met with a range of business owners, land owners and developers to discuss opportunities for commercial and light industrial development in St. Albert. • An implementation plan for the Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan was circulated to stakeholders for input. Tourism Development • The City promoted a wide range of tourist attractions and events such as: Canada Day, the International Children’s Festival, Rock’N August, the World Financial Group Continental Cup, TedX St. Albert and the St. Albert Annual Flower and Produce Show. The St. Albert Dining Guide and a new Visitors Guide were published and distributed. • The official opening of the Founders’ Walk was in July. This is a re-creation and expansion of the 1998 Founders’ Promenade, which acknowledged the contributions of some of St. Albert’s early settlers. Restoration of both historic grain elevators was completed and the official opening was held in September.

Thursday, April 5, 2012 Promoting St. Albert • A range of activities took place to ensure that the “Botanical Arts City” brand takes root throughout the community, including a marketing workshop and various beautification initiatives. To further the brand, Council adopted official city flora: the American Elm, the Scots Pine, the Highbush Cranberry and the Petunia.

GOAL | LAND-USE PLANNING Necessary decisions are made to support progress of undeveloped and infill areas. Non-Residential Undeveloped Land 800 700

620

600 (ha)

500

Other • St. Albert was named the best place to raise a family in Canada in the May 2011 issue of Today’s Parent magazine.

GOAL | SOCIAL Plans and initiatives are delivered to strengthen St. Albert’s social fabric Strengthening our Community • Significant work was done to bring the Culture Master Plan and the Recreation Master Plan to their final stages; and work started on the development of the Social Master Plan for St. Albert. • A number of neighbourhood clean-up projects took place, including the Neighbourhood Cleanliness Program, Partners in Parks, Spruce Up St. Albert and Clean Up the Sturgeon.

337

400

Housing • A number of projects were continued, initi200 2010 2011 2010 May 2012 ated or funded in support of developing (Possible) affordable housing in St. Albert, including the Habitat for Humanity development, • In June, Council received the Future Industhe Basement Suite Grant Program and trial Land Requirements Study, which the Rental Assistance Program. The City was prepared with significant stakeholder also provided funding support to the St. input to identify the city’s future industrial Albert Housing Society and the developland requirements. A Future Study Area ment of Big Lake Pointe, an affordable Report was then completed to identify up family rental housing complex. to 300 hectares for potential locations of GOAL | INFRASTRUCTURE industrial land for consideration by CounAppropriate infrastructure investments are made cil in December. Council requested further to meet the community’s need for mobility, recrestakeholder consultation before they ation, collaboration and beautification. deliberate the locations in April 2012. • References to Smart Growth were reComplete Ray Gibbon Drive moved from the Municipal Development • The City is borrowing $15.89 million Plan (MDP), policies and definitions. MDP to begin construction of Ray Gibbon amendments were approved related to Drive Stage 3 in 2012, which will see its the proposed development of Triple 5, extension from Giroux Road to Villeneuve Avenir and SAS lands. Road. The Province has provided funds in • Amendments were made to land use line with their commitment to this project bylaws to allow for more commercial deand Council remains confident that the velopment at 151 Riel Drive and Campbell Province will fulfil their remaining financial Business Park North. commitment in a reasonable timeframe. 300

283

261

GOAL | SAFETY AND HEALTH Initiatives are implemented to augment safety and health for St. Albertans. Safety

• Knowing your neighbour and being active in the community to strengthen community safety and unity are the reasons behind the City’s support for the 68 block parties, neighbourhood group activities, and the St. Albert Parish Heritage Garden and the Gate Avenue Garden. • Crime prevention through awareness is the rationale behind the web-based Community Crime Map, which allows residents to see incidents for various crime categories by neighbourhood, street or for the city since 2005. See www.stalbert.ca/ crime-map. Health • The Mayor’s Task Force on Physician Attraction completed a community survey which confirmed the need for additional physicians. The Task Force has been exploring medical office building opportunities including zoning changes that were made to allow for medical facilities in Campbell Park.

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Riel Area Enhancements • The Phase 2 of the Riel Park remediation was completed, including the BMX building and track, and the development of a public washroom. Phases 3 and 4 of the former land fill remediation will proceed in 2012, with construction starting in the fall. The soccer and rugby fields will be closed for about two years during remediation. Enhance Public Transportation • Municipal capital funding for the South Park and Ride was approved while Council continued to advocate for provincial funding of the necessary land and construction. Council also considered the longer-term future of LRT in St. Albert, and approved working with Edmonton to initiate a functional alignment study, land acquisition from the Province for the LRT station/South Park and Ride, and fare integration. Community Amenities • The attractiveness of the St. Albert Trail was enhanced by replacing crumbling medians, median landscaping and approval of new entrance signage.

• Council established dog parks at Lacombe Connecting our Community and Lake and Levasseur. The Memorial Bench the Region Program was re-introduced to enhance • A number of enhancements were made park areas. to the City’s public communication and consultation processes, including the Civic Infrastructure introduction of a Council Column, Town • Council requested Administration to Hall meetings, social media, rebranding explore uses for the Hemingway Centre. of the City’s website, and web streaming Council postponed planning for work on of Council meetings. Fire Hall #1 into the future, and business plan preparation continued for the Community Support Centre. • Council awaited a decision from Sturgeon County on the City’s request to acquire land.

GOAL | ENVIRONMENT Initiatives are supported and implemented to ensure preservation and enjoyment of natural areas. Natural Areas • The boardwalk for the Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park was completed. Council continues to advocate for an interpretive centre and a pedestrian bridge from the Enjoy Centre to the Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park. • The White Spruce Forest was designated as a municipal historic resource and renamed the Grey Nuns White Spruce Park. Environmental Plans • The automated solid waste and organics program was implemented in June. Disposal options at the recycling yard were expanded and a Household Hazardous Waste program was introduced in September. • Tree planting to naturalize areas took place in three areas—Riel Pond, Willoughby Park and Lacombe Park.

GOAL | GOVERNANCE Policies, practices and agreements are evaluated to reduce residential tax burden and improve operational efficiency and accountability. Council Operations • A Council Remuneration Committee evaluated the need for a full time Council, Council compensation and other related matters, with the report provided to Council in early 2012. • Council approved a Continuous Improvement Policy which sets the framework for continuous improvement reviews of municipally funded operations. • Council provided direction on the restructuring and the reorganization of City Administration. Maintaining Fiscal Focus • Council approved the 2012-2014 Corporate Business Plan and Budget which proposes a 2.8 per cent increase in property taxes in 2012. • A number of fiscal policies were reviewed by Council, including Financial Reserves Policy amendments and Council decided to continue the City’s Senior Homeowners Property Tax Assistance Grant Program. • Agreements were renegotiated with a number of external organizations including the St. Albert Nordic Ski Club, the BLESS Summer Nature Centre, the St. Albert Community Gardens and the St. Albert Tennis Club.

GOAL | 150TH ANNIVERSARY St. Albertans celebrate their history, arts and culture during a year-long 150TH Anniversary.

• Over 500 people volunteered to hold a wide range of exceptional events and activities celebrating St. Albert’s 150TH anniversary over the course of the year, such as the community picnic, the Canadian Western Bank Rendezvous 2011 Gala, the Snow Festival, the Battle of the Bands, Soapbox Derby, and the play, “The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon.“ • Council approved funding for the Spirit of St. Albert, a community-based, notfor-profit organization that will carry out a number of legacy activities

PHONE AND ONLINE

Feedback can be provided to members of Administration by phone at 780-459-1500 or through the City’s website at www.stalbert.ca, and directly to City Council members:

Mayor Nolan Crouse phone 780-459-1606 email mayor@st-albert.net Councillor Len Bracko 780-458-6478 email len@bracko.ca phone

Councillor Wes Brodhead 780-915-9622 email wbrodhead@st-albert.net phone

Councillor Cathy Heron 780-288-6791 email cheron@st-albert.net phone

Councillor Roger Lemieux 780-460-7223 email jrcl@shaw.ca phone

Councillor Cam MacKay 780-721-8679 email mackaycam@shaw.ca phone

Councillor Malcolm Parker 780-915-1328 email mjparker@telus.net phone

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Ecuador sabbatical a real ‘eye-opener’

language they had to learn. “We were like, ‘What’s he saying?’” Noah St. Albert Leader said. Noah Wilson hops up onto the couch in With all four kids in French immersion the living room of his family’s Kingswood classes in St. Albert, though, they picked up home, the photo book made by his mother Spanish pretty quickly. in his hands, eager to share. “It helps a lot,” Nick said. “French is very It’s been a few months since Noah, 9, mom relevant to Spanish. But knowing another Kendra, dad Nick and his three siblings language and feeling comfortable, you can — Ethan, 7; Abby, 11; and Kaden, 14 — pick it up. Abby did really well.” returned to St. Albert from their six-month But there were culture shocks, though, adventure in the South American country of like a traditional meal documented in Ecuador, but it’s clear as Noah goes through Noah’s book where one of the main dishes his book, pointing out people and places, served was guinea pig. that the memories are still fresh in his mind. “It was like chewy chicken,” Noah said. “People ask, ‘What was the highlight of “Rice was with everything,” he added. your trip?’ The kids are asked that all the “Once I went and ordered burgers, but I time, and almost every time, they give a didn’t get fries; I got rice. I was pretty sick Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader of rice. By the end, my mom was ordering different answer,” Nick said. “Which kind of Kendra Wilson, and her son Noah, 9, look over photo books and diaries from their six-month says it all — every day was unique.” brown rice, but they don’t have brown rice.” stay in Ecuador. They set up their base in the city of Cuenca, but travelled all over the country. But, on this day, Noah picked some furry As the pages turn, soon the kids are and feathered friends as his favourite. decked out in red and green Christmas about when we would, and we would expose the photos in Noah’s hands, and the two go “I liked the animals,” he said. “My hats, as they celebrated Christmas in South seamlessly together. them to travel, because Kendra and I both favourite animals are penguins and America in a very different way than they The book begins when the Wilsons arrive travelled a lot, and had seen the benefit and monkeys, and I got to see both.” would at home. in Ecuador’s capital city of Quito, which value of that,” he said. The story of the Wilsons’ amazing “[It’s celebrated] without the But, with Kaden about become a teenager, is surrounded by volcanoes, some of them adventure begins before the book does, as commercialism,” Nick said. “Gifts would active. they realized hadn’t done much of that yet, Nick and Kendra had always intended to be handmade crafts or little stuff. You get But that, Nick noted, didn’t seem to so plans were set in motion. make sure their kids had a knowledge of the together with family for Christmas dinner, bother the locals. “We realized we’d be all talk and no walk world. for sure, but none of this people travelling “I asked [one], ‘Isn’t it kind of imposing unless we actually do it,” Nick said. “Before we had kids even, we thought across America to get together and all the that there are all these volcanoes around?’ Soon, though, the story catches up with gifts. There’s just no economy to support And he said, ‘Nothing has happened that.” since 2006,’” he said. “That was a good Later on, the family made a trip to the perspective-setter for the rest of the trip. Galapagos Islands, with numerous species Their perspective of risks like that was of birds and reptiles that are rarely found completely different.” elsewhere in the world. Soon, though, it moves on to the city of “There were blue-footed boobies and Cuenca, which the Wilsons would call home penguins and turtles for the next six months. — they were really big,” “Not that by any means Noah said. is it commercialized or The last few weeks of Western, but there was the Wilsons’ trip were a little more commerce spent hosteling and going, and maybe a bit www.alwaysplumbing.ca backpacking up the more security,” said Nick, 14 Years in Service. We Want to Be Your Plumber! Kendra Wilson coast of Ecuador, which who went and scouted out Physiotherapist included some time going the city prior to moving through the Amazon there. rainforest. While in Cuenca, there Ultimately, though, they had to come was no shortage of activities — the family home, and while Nick and Kendra wanted lived very close to a BMX track, much to their kids to come away with valuable Noah’s delight, and they traded in their lessons learned, they came away with a few Canadian hockey loyalties temporarily for themselves. the local soccer team. “You don’t realize the pace you’re living,” They also did some volunteer work at Kendra said. “I think it was a real eyea local school, where Nick taught math, Kendra helped in the kindergarten class, and opener to me coming home. ... When I came back, it was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I’m getting the family helped build fences and paint. [the kids] registered in everything, getting “Noah just joined in and did math [with them to school, this and that — and I hadn’t the students],” Kendra said. done that for six months.” Kendra, a physiotherapist by trade, also “You do have a chance to change your volunteered with Operation Esperanza, Special Financing through Receive up to a pace, sharpen your saw and come back a medical and dental aid program in the SNAP Financial with the * $1,075 Rebate OR purchase of a qualifying with a different outlook on everything to country. 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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Lifestyle Expo set to bloom GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

Despite the blasts of winter St. Albert received this week, spring is right around the corner, and that means the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce’s Lifestyle Expo and Sale is as well. To be held April 20 to 22 at Servus Credit Union Place, the expo will feature many favourite returning features from years past, including the popular St. Albert Idol competition, where singers from three different age categories (six to 11, 12 to 17, 18 to 30) square off for bragging rights and a recording package from Visionary College. As past chair of the Chamber and chair of this year’s Lifestyle Expo committee, Charlene Zoltenko gets to sit on the judging panel for the Idol competition, but swears she’s not a mean judge like you might see on TV. “Oh no,” she said with a laugh. “I just wish I could sing. Maybe in my next lifetime.” Also back for this year is the Pure Horticulture Botanical Arts Experience, which is something of a trade show within a trade show focusing on gardening and landscaping. Other returning favourites include a pet fashion show, the baby crawl races,

a petting zoo, inflatable bouncers for the kids and the Future Shop 3D gaming centre. “There’s something for all ages,” she said. “The girls have managed to put together a really good show with a little bit of everything for everyone.” One new addition this year, though, is the Artful Entrance Door Design competition, which will be set up in the Pure Horticulture Botanical Arts Experience and allows small businesses or notfor-profit groups to decorate a door and the public to vote on their favourite. Zoltenko said that booth sales are right about where the Chamber expects them to be at this point. “There are 20 or 30 left, which is about normal for this time of year,” she said. She added that the benefits of having a booth are twofold for businesses. “It’s not only getting new clientele, but touching base with your existing clientele,” she said. “A lot of times, we spend time with clients we haven’t seen for a long time, touching base. And then, it’s just people in the community finding out about you. Every year, I walk through and go, ‘We have that in St. Albert?’” For more information on the 2012 St. Albert Lifestyle Expo and Sale, check out www.stalbertchamber.com.

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After three years of travelling to Idaho for it, the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce is bringing a major regional conference a little closer to home. St. Albert will play host to the Northwest Chamber Leaders Conference in both 2013 and 2014, bringing together business community leaders from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and several northwest American states, including Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon. “We’re really excited,” St. Albert Chamber of Commerce chair Darel Baker said. “We were representing St. Albert at [this year’s] conference, and we put in the bid, but we’re really bringing it back to St. Albert and the greater Edmonton area. It’s a great chance to showcase the whole area.” The conference was held in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, from 2010 to 2012, and Baker said they set the bar pretty high. “The speaker quality has been excellent. It’s been a really good, solid conference that we hope to build on and take to the next level. ... We’ll be able to rise to the occasion,” said Baker, who attended this year’s conference from March 10 to 12. The conference has been held in Canada before, and Baker said the same city hosting

for multiple years is pretty much the norm. “We anticipate having great representation from Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, and the initial reaction from those out of the U.S. was that they were quite excited to see the conference come to us. They were interested in what we’re all about,” he said. At the conference, Baker said there’s a wide range of breakout sessions and seminars to appeal to participants. “There’s a mix of sessions that are really designed to improve the health of the chamber as an organization, the chamber activities. And then there are speakers coming in from more of a general interest perspective on economic issues or economic policy that might be of interest to the entire group,” he said. With delegates from both sides of the 49th parallel, Baker said it’s a great chance to see both the similarities and the differences between doing business in Canada as opposed to the United States. “They do things a little differently with their chambers in the United States versus Canada; they’re just set up a little different and have different impacts,” he said. “But when you start sharing ideas back and forth, it’s pretty easy to relate to the issues of business, business growth, development, retaining business and working closely and collaboratively with different levels of government.”

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Mikkelson hungry for Worlds gold medal GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

Photo: Sun Media News Services

St. Albert’s Meghan Mikkelson (12) hugs teammates Meghan Agosta and Marie-Philip Poulin. during the gold medal game at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Brent Rathgeber, Q.C. Member of Parliament Edmonton - St. Albert

In the spirit of friendship, I wish you a blessed and joyful Easter.

Even though this year’s tournament will mark her fourth world championship, pulling on the Maple Leaf jersey never gets old for Meaghan Mikkelson. “Every camp you come to with the national team, it’s always an honour to be here,” the St. Albert defenseman said. “But being my fourth world championship, having been to three before and having three silver medals from those — to be honest, I’m sick of winning silver. This one, there’s a bit of an extra push with those three silver medals sitting there to win the gold.” Mikkelson was one of 23 players selected to don the Maple Leaf for Team Canada at the 2012 IIHF World Women’s Championship, which starts Saturday in Burlington, Vt. Canada will be looking to return to gold after taking silver behind the United States in 2011 in Switzerland. The Canadians kick off the tournament’s preliminary round against their long-time rivals from south of the 49th parallel on Saturday evening, and a return match in the medal round is not out of the question. It’s never difficult to get psyched up for a showdown with the U.S., Mikkelson said. “Every single game we play against them, those are the games we look forward to,” she said. “They’re the toughest, most competitive ... If we bring our best game, at the end of the day, nobody can beat us.” For this tournament, though, there is some new blood alongside Mikkelson on the Canadian blueline, with Lauriane Rougeau and Laura Fortino cracking the national team lineup for the first time. “Being their first world championships, they seem to have that extra little bit of jump,” Mikkelson said. “It’s good to have those players coming in. They’re young, they’re fast, and they’re skilled. They push us older girls and remind us on a daily basis you can never become too comfortable.” Along with Mikkelson, other defensive holdovers from the team that won gold at the

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2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver include Catherine Ward and Tessa Bonhomme. This is also the first year for new national team head coach Dan Church, who has served as the head coach at York University for the past eight seasons. Mikkelson said, though, the adjustments she has had to make are minor. “I know Dan; I’ve had him as a coach before. He’s very good at communicating with the players, building relationships with the players, and he finds that pretty important. That makes it easier for us no matter what we’re doing,” she said. When not with the national team this year, Mikkelson has been lacing up her skates for Team Alberta in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, where she had two goals and nine assists in 15 regular season games. “Being a part of a professionally run women’s league, that was what different about this year and what was exciting — feeling like I was part of something special, part of progressing professional women’s hockey,” she said. Team Alberta finished with a 5-10-0 record, missing the Clarkson Cup playoffs. With three of the six teams in the CWHL based in Ontario, one in Boston and one in Montreal, Alberta played fewer games than other teams, but Mikkelson said they didn’t feel like they were missing out. “We had less regular season games than the teams out east, but we filled those with exhibition games against midget AAA minor boys teams,” she said. “I think, at the end of the season, we played as many games as the teams out east. “The only challenge we had was the fact that half the players were in Edmonton and half the players were in Calgary, so we had split practices. So I don’t know if our systems were necessarily as strong as the other teams who practiced together on a weekly basis, but those were the cards we were dealt for the year, and we made the best of that situation.” Canada’s opening game against the U.S. gets going at 7 p.m. Saturday. All of Canada’s games will be broadcast on TSN.

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This is not intended to solicit properties currently for sale.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Ray Gibbon Dr. walkway to come back at budget GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

St. Albert city council took another step toward fixing the problems with the walkway under Ray Gibbon Drive along the Sturgeon River on Monday. At their regular meeting, council voted unanimously to have administration bring forth in the 2013 civic budget process a business case for the best option to maintain access to the Big Lake Environmental Support Society platform on Big Lake year-round. Those options include: an aqua-dam consisting of large tubes acting as a barrier; floating all-terrain matting; an L-shaped aqua fence that acts as a levee; and a temporary ramp. The cost of the options ranged from $30,000 to $60,000. BLESS president Pat Collins said his group felt the all-terrain matting would be the best possible option, but urged council to act sooner rather than later.

“The cost of proper pedestrian access is miniscule compared to the costs of potential liability as people cross Ray Gibbon Drive when the walkway is flooded,” he said. “... I would not like to leave it to the vagaries of the 2013 budget process, where it may take second place to something else.” There were worries among council that this would set a precedent and similar measures would have to be taken at other bridges in the city, but general manager of planning and engineering Guy Boston said this would not be the case. “This particular pathway is unique to all the other situations in the city, if you will, because there is a way to get around the other ones,” he said. “This one, the only way to get around is to cross over Ray Gibbon Drive.” Boston added that, with the mild, dry winter this year, there is less than a 20 per cent chance the walkway will flood this year.

TOBACCO BYLAWS Also on Monday, council approved two bylaw changes aimed at making it tougher for drug paraphernalia shops to do business in the city. Changes to the business license bylaw spell out a range of “restricted products,” from grinders to digital weigh scales to detoxifying products, and would not allow a business to sell more than three such products in their store. An amendment to the tobacco bylaw adds devices meant to facilitate smoking activity to the definition of “tobacco products.” Coun. Cathy Heron, who blocked unanimous consent for third reading of the amendments two weeks ago, again expressed concern that the new bylaws would be too restrictive, and that a big box store might fail on the list of restricted products. Manager of policing services Aaron Giesbrecht said, though, that there may be options stores and the City can look at.

Library to hold election forum

With the current provincial election campaign already almost half over, the St. Albert Public Library is giving voters another chance to hear from candidates. The library will host a forum with candidates from both the St. Albert riding and the Spruce Grove-St. Albert riding on Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m. in Forsyth Hall. As of Thursday, all St. Albert candidates

had confirmed their attendance except Progressive Conservative Stephen Khan, but he was attempting to rework his schedule. Spruce Grove-St. Albert hopefuls had just been contacted and none had confirmed as of press deadline. The forum will feature prepared statements from each of the candidates, as well as questions from the public. — GLENN COOK

Doug

Horner

Alberta is facing another major economic boom. We need to prepare now, more than ever, for this opportunity. Albertans not only expect first rate schools, hospitals, and infrastructure, but we also need to invest in our province so that we can accommodate tens of thousands of new Albertans each year. Our own constituency needs a new urgent care centre in Spruce Grove and we must expand the Sturgeon Hospital. As a province we need to work collaboratively with the federal government to achieve immigration outcomes that make sense for Albertans.

I have served this constituency since 2001. In that time I have learned a lot about the needs of my fellow community members and worked hard to deliver results. I would be honoured to represent you again and to help lead our province to Alberta’s bright future.

albertapc.ab.ca

Doug

Horner horner.votepc.ca

ST. ALBERT VICTIM SERVICES

Vote April 23

is looking for volunteer Board Members who share our desire to help others in a time of crisis By providing information, referrals and support the St. Albert Victim Services Unit, a not for profit organization, reduces trauma to those affected by crime and tragedy.

For voting locations call our campaign office 780-962-6634 Doug.HornerCampaign@votepc.ca

Board members provide direction to Victim Services and ensure the sustainability of the program. In your role, you would be a liaison between the RCMP and the community, participate in public relations events and fundraising activities. Everyone is encouraged to be involved; persons with knowledge in marketing, fundraising or have a legal background would be a valuable asset to our Board. Time Commitment: 4 to 5 hours per month, Board meetings the 3rd Thursday of each month. A current RCMP Criminal Record Check is required.

Campaign offices 101B, 70 McLeod Ave Spruce Grove T7X 3C7 50, 161 Liberton Drive, St. Albert

“Be the change you want to see in the world” Mahatma Gandhi For more information, or to pick up a volunteer application form, please contact or visit our office at: St. Albert Victim Services 96 Bellerose Drive St. Albert, AB • (780) 458-4353 MPSSCS4146346MPSE

Applications are also available online at www.stalbertvictimservices.ca

Authorized by the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, 9823 – 103 St. NW, Edmonton, AB T5K 0X5. 780 423-1624 MPSSCS4136200MPSE

Thursday, April 5, 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

Reliving the Rendezvous: Book looks back at 150th GLENN COOK St. Albert Leader

There’s a good reason why you won’t find any numbers on the pages of the Rendezvous 2011 commemorative photo book. “This is not a city report; this is a photo album!” exclaimed editor Carol Watamaniuk during the book’s official launch. The book, filled with photography from the various events held throughout 2011 to celebrate St. Albert’s 150th anniversary, along with poems penned by local writer Andy Michaelson, was launched on Tuesday in the foyer of St. Albert Place. And Watamaniuk was thrilled to finally have a hard copy in her hands. “I’m beyond excited,” she said. “It was a long and big undertaking, but it was worth it. ... I love working with creative people, so this was a perfect Carol project.” She added that the book is a great way to cap off a great year of celebrations. “It’s a nice way to end it, and it’s a nice way for me to get ready to go with my hubby to Arizona for five weeks,” she said. “It’s a nice way to end it, and a nice way for people to sit and reminisce.” Committee chair Margaret

Plain said there ought to be something for every person in the book, no matter what role they played during the festivities. “The content of the book reflects the spirit of the people who planned, implemented, volunteered, sponsored and attended” the 150th anniversary celebrations, she said. “In fact, it reflects you.”

“It was a long and big undertaking, but it was worth it.” Carol Watamaniuk 150th anniversary committee St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse recounted the history of the 150th anniversary celebrations, from the first ideas being planted at a city council meeting four years ago to fruition. “What was important was to make sure the social fabric of the community continued to grow deeper,” he said. “As we continued to grow into a large city, we heard and continue to hear — time and time again that it’s important to maintain the small-town feel as best we can.” Watamaniuk — a former city councillor who also served as vice-chair of the 150th

anniversary committee — and the rest of the jury sifted through thousands of photographs submitted by St. Albert residents to come up with the final product, and she was grateful to each and every one of the photographers. “[They] realized the importance of recording this time in history and contributed to this book; the jury was blown away,” she said. Watamaniuk also thanked graphic designer Shane Lassey, who she admitted was given a tough task. “It got pretty hairy as we reviewed and edited and added and deleted ... and not because Shane made a mistake. It was because Carol kept changing her mind,” she said. While the jury tried to get photos from as many events as possible into the book, Watamaniuk admitted there were some events that were better represented. “There are a lot of pictures of the soapbox derby — they were just so darn cute,” she said with a laugh. In the process of putting the book together, Watamaniuk said it was wonderful to relive the year of festivities through the photos. “But you also thought about all the work that went into every event,” she said with a laugh. As nice as it was to look back,

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

Carol Watamaniuk, editor of the Rendezvous 2011 commemorative photo book, stands next to the book at its unveiling Tuesday at St. Albert Place. Watamaniuk said it’s even more exciting to look forward as the Spirit of St. Albert Society takes up the torch and carries on many of the projects and events started during the Rendezvous 2011 celebrations. “How appropriate that the new organization, one [born out of] the 150th anniversary celebrations, be called the Spirit of St. Albert,” she said. “That is what we have captured in this book.” The committee still has to submit a final report to city council, and a statue it commissioned honouring St. Albert volunteers is still to be

unveiled. The committee expects to have a surplus once things are wrapped up, which will go to starting up the Spirit of St. Albert Society, as well as supporting public art programs and initiatives. While most of the books printed will go to 150th anniversary volunteers, committee members and dignitaries, a limited number are on sale at the Community Services office in St. Albert Place for $15 each. “If they want them, they had better get them fast,” Watamaniuk said.

St. Albert native gets the X on CGT

Photo courtesy vibe-tribe.ca

St. Albert native Marissa Puff was a semifinalist on Canada’s Got Talent.

A native of St. Albert couldn’t impress the judges or the rest of Canada enough to earn a spot in the finals of a television talent competition this week. Fire poi artist Marissa Puff — the daughter of Barry Bailey, who runs Bailey Event Management in St. Albert and was a member of the city’s 150th anniversary committee — was eliminated from Citytv’s Canada’s Got Talent on Tuesday evening after not garnering enough votes to make it out of her group of seven semifinalists and into the finals.

Puff first wowed judges Stephan Moccio, Martin Short and Measha Brueggergosman at the Calgary auditions, but her live performance on Monday left them a little underwhelmed. “You’re clearly at the top of your field in this art form,” Brueggergosman said. “I just don’t think it necessarily has the steam to go all the way to the end.” “There was just no wow factor that would take you to the end. That’s what was missing for me,” Moccio added.

Brueggergosman also joked that Short had been so infatuated with Puff leading up to the semifinals that she had referred to her as “Mrs. Short.” But even Short wasn’t impressed. “I just thought I should go off and play some keno or something,” he said. “I don’t think it really worked for me.” Vancouver dance crew Freshh and Montreal opera singer Julie Lafontaine progressed to the finals from this week’s shows. — GLENN COOK

Thursday, April 5, 2012

O Lever as 70 ed %

Photo: ERROL McGIHON, Sun Media News Services

Singer-songwriter Feist performs during the Juno Awards ceremony Sunday in Ottawa.

Junos live up to April Fools date

DARRYL STERDAN Sun Media News Services

Well, at least they picked the right date. The 41st Juno Awards ceremony — held in Ottawa on Sunday, April 1 — should have been Canadian music’s biggest night. So why did it feel like a giant April Fool’s joke? From the presence of 81-year-old hambone host William “I wanna rock!” Shatner (and the absence of some major nominees) to the bizarre comedy bits and inexplicable award choices, this year’s event easily ranks as one of the weirdest Juno nights in recent memory. How weird? Well, how about this: Michael Bublé won Album of the Year for a freakin’ holiday disc. That’s right; the crooner’s Christmas record beat Drake’s acclaimed sophomore CD Take Care. So much for artistic standards. Oh, and just to make the whole thing odder, the prize was presented by two guys from Anvil and Jully Black. Also crazy: Globally exploding DJ Deadmau5 was defeated in the Dance Recording category — his first loss after four consecutive wins — by Martin Solveig and Dragonette’s “Hello.” Even perennial favourites Nickelback — who opened the show with a typically pyromaniacal performance of “This Means War” on the high-tech open-platform stage — went home empty-handed despite four noms. You have to hand it to the Junos: They know how to alienate the talent. No wonder so many major nominees and winners were MIA. Bublé was performing in Brazil. Justin Bieber apparently preferred getting slimed at the Kids’ Choice Awards to getting his second Fans’ Choice prize. The Sheepdogs are touring Australia with John Fogerty (Bublé, Biebs and Sheepdogs sent thank-you videos). Drake was apparently in Europe. Did they all know something we didn’t? Either way, not the ingredients for the most exciting evening. Though Shatner’s typically kooky spokenword medley of Can-Rock classics like

“Born to Be Wild,” “Summer of ‘69,” “Takin’ Care of Business,” “Tom Sawyer” and “Raise a Little Hell” — not to mention his bizarre tales of getting loaded on absinthe and heading off to Thailand with the GovernorGeneral — did liven up the affair. In any case, all those no-shows left Leslie Feist the belle of the ball. And fair enough. The singer-songwriter — who also performed a spindly, thumpy version of “The Bad in Each Other” during the broadcast — was one of the top winners, taking Artist of the Year honours away from Bublé, Drake, Deadmau5 and City and Colour. It was her 11th career Juno and third this year; her fourth disc Metals won Adult Alternative Album and Music DVD accolades at Saturday’s non-televised (and equally unpredictable) gala. “I just need a second,” said Feist, clad in a fetching form-fitting red number. “I’m in shock ... I guess all I can really do is try to express some genuine gratitude. I can’t believe I’m standing here.” Saskatoon’s Sheepdogs were 2012’s other top dogs. The shaggy rockers — who were catapulted to prominence after appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone last year — snared the Single of the Year prize for “I Don’t Know” after winning New Group honours on Saturday, along with the Rock Album prize for their disc Learn & Burn. Not bad for the first three nominations of their career. Vancouver folk-rocker Dan Mangan also had his hands full, winning the New Artist prize to go with the Alternative Album Juno he earned Saturday. “There’s a certain amount of chatter around the Best New Artist going to artists (for) their second and maybe third album,” the 28-year-old singer-songwriter said. “I choose to look at it like this: It doesn’t matter ... It takes time to do anything that’s worthwhile.” City and Colour singer-guitarist Dallas Green was named Songwriter of the Year over Mangan, Feist, Ron Sexmith (dubbed “Sexy Ron” by Shatner) and Jim Cuddy. WED. WE D. GAZ OCT 12, 19, 26/ 6/11 11 – 3x 3x18 182 18 2 {p {pro roce ro cess ce ss}} ss MPSSCS4136158MPSE

Thursday, April 5, 2012

LIFESTYLE

Price of fame not too steep for collectors JOANNE RICHARD Sun Media News Services

If we can’t be celebrities for 15 minutes or 15 seconds, we can always own a piece of them. We are a nation of celebrity worshippers and star wannabes, craving a transformative connection to their fame, fortune and lifestyles. Owning celebrity memorabilia “makes fans feel closer to them, connected to them, especially if it’s something they’ve touched,” says Brian Eick, a leading celebrity memorabilia dealer in San Francisco who once sold Frank Sinatra’s toupee for $10,000. A rare framed display of all 44 U.S. presidents’ signatures went for $100,000 on his antiquitiesca.com site. Celebrity memorabilia sales have reached unprecedented heights, and fanning the flames of fame is death. Worth more dead than alive, anything Michael Jackson is priceless. Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry, gowns and art collection recently netted a record-smashing $157 million. Whitney Houston memorabilia is in demand. Since Houston’s death, Eick has sold numerous signed items, including an autographed microphone. In the days after her death, fans bought nearly 900,000 digital tracks of her songs. Her prized possessions will go under the hammer at Julien’s Auction in Beverly Hills on Saturday, including a black velvet dress she wore in the 1992 movie The Bodyguard.

And a life-size portrait of Elvis Presley by artist Andy Warhol is expected to fetch up to US$50 million at a May 9 auction at Sotheby’s. From rare photos and autographed personal items to jewels, clothing and furnishings, fans can’t get enough. Even in a struggling economy, “sales of celebrity memorabilia continue to be very strong,” says Eick. The weirdest celebrity item he’s heard of being sold is John Lennon’s tooth for $16,000.

“A dull ... life can be transformed by star dust.” Dr. Stuart Fischoff Pop culture expert Memorabilia sales, including sports items, have increased approximately 300 per cent in the past decade for West Coast Authentic in Kelowna, B.C., says owner Jason Bobbitt. People want to feel close to their idol/celebrity, says Bobbitt. Collectors associate with the piece or it evokes a pleasant memory. “Plus the investment potential is large.” According to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, a celebrity’s essence is in the objects they’ve touched. “Owning a piece of celebrity memorabilia is like owning a piece of the Shroud of Turin, which is like owning a piece of a myth…,” says Dr. Stuart Fischoff,

a pop culture guru. Celebrities tap into the public’s primal fantasies and basic emotions, says Fischoff, “perhaps allowing them to believe anything is possible. A dull, unnoticed life can be transformed by star dust” — or at least by an autograph. Bobbitt sold a Marilyn Monroe dress worn in Japan for $200,000. His westcoastauthentic.com site features a Michael Jackson custom-painted autographed guitar for $60,000 and a Tiger Woods autographed game-used shirt for $50,000. The most popular items are autographed photos and documents that can be framed and displayed, says Bobbitt. Hot autographs include Michael Jackson, U.S. presidents, astronauts, deceased Hall of Famers, and any new sports rookies or upcoming stars. In a quest to explain the mysterious allure of celebrity possessions, Yale social scientists describe a “celebrity contagion” phenomenon — “our belief that the items physically embody remnants of their former owners,” absorbing their qualities. According to Fischoff, “fans have always wanted pieces of celebrity. They tore at their clothes, fought like bridesmaids catching a bouquet thrown by a bride, climbed over others’ backs to get a sweaty towel thrown by a Michael Buble or Mick Jagger, or reached out to grasp the hand of the Pope as he walked past them. “It’s all magical thinking, superstition, bragging rights, sacred memories about once,

Photo Supplied

Collectors will always love Whitney Houston memorabilia, demand for which has skyrocketed since the singer’s death in February. Antiquitiesca.com is selling the autograph seen above for $2,500. just once, touching greatness,” Fischoff says. Ownership can imply an actual connection with the star, adds Fischoff, who blogs at psychologytoday.com/blog/themedia-zone. “The possessor can read the awe or envy in the face of others — even if no one else can. What price satisfaction?” What price a little transformative magic?

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

HEALTH

Vaccines no child’s play MARILYN LINTON Sun Media News Services

Except for our annual flu shot, most of us think vaccines are just for kids. British actress and former Bond girl Jane Seymour was no different — until she got sick and discovered her illness could have been prevented with a simple vaccine. The actress, known most recently for her TV role on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, has since campaigned widely to raise awareness of adult vaccines, including during a trip last year to Canada. It’s obvious public health has made great strides in reducing common illnesses that in the past killed many children — everything from measles to polio. But as Vancouver’s public health and preventive medicine specialist Dr. Bonnie Henry points out, there is no strong public health program for adult immunization. “Sometimes they get neglected,” she says. Not only do adults need booster shots, but they also need to know their own personal immunization history — something most of us assume is our doctor’s responsibility alone. “We tend to be quite complacent,” says Henry. “It’s really important to know that immunization is not just for children.” But that’s what many North Americans do think — despite the fact that more than 40,000 adults die each year of vaccinepreventable diseases. The fact many adults don’t realize the benefits of vaccination do not end in childhood is what prompted the American Academy of Microbiology to convene an expert panel on the subject and publish a report entitled Adult Vaccines — a Grown Up Thing to Do. Adults need to be vaccinated because the immunity we received from the vaccines we got as children can wane over time, says Henry. “A booster for tetanus and diphtheria, given as Td, should be taken every 10 years. And adults should also have a single dose of pertussis vaccine.”

Photo: Sun Media News Services

Aside from an annual flu shot or overseas travel, most adults think vaccinations are a thing of the past. Not so, say medical experts. Tetanus is all around us, she explains. “It’s a bacterium that lives in the soil and can produce a very severe illness. Luckily most of us have been immunized, but that immunity wanes over time.” In British Columbia in 2007, three people died from their tetanus infection and all started out with minor cuts to the skin. Adults over 65 and those with conditions that increase their chances of complications should receive one dose of pneumococcal vaccine. That vaccine, Henry explains, protects against a bacteria known as Streptococcus pneumoniae. People die from this severe form of pneumonia every year — it’s what struck Jane Seymour a few years back. All adult vaccines are recommended by Canada’s National Advisory Council for Immunization (NACI), a board on which Henry sits. NACI also recommends a shingles vaccine

for people over the age of 60. “It doesn’t prevent all cases, but it diminishes the severity of the disease and reduces the probability that you’d develop the accompanying nerve pain,” says Henry. (The shingles vaccine, however, is not covered by most health programs; it’s cost, a whopping $250.) Some physicians also recommend that adults receive vaccines against Hepatitis A and B, especially those who travel outside North America. As for whose job it is to remember what vaccine you had and when, Henry says everyone should keep their own record (find one at www.immunize.ca) and talk to their doctors about getting up to date. “All adult vaccines are effective and safe,” she adds. “In flu shots, for instance, having a serious adverse reaction is rare compared to the probability of getting sick.”

Caffeine may actually be slowing you down SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES – That cup of joe you think is giving you energy might just be slowing you down. University of British Columbia researcher Jay Hosking separated a group of 20 rats into two groups — workers and slackers. The workers, he found, always chose the hard trials, while the slackers took it easy. He found caffeine caused both groups of rats to slack off from a task. Meanwhile amphetamines, known as speed, caused normally lazy rats to work harder at a task, but the worker rats actually slowed down. “Workers chose (high reward) trials significantly more than their slacker counterparts, and these choice preferences also influenced the effects of amphetamine and caffeine: Workers slacked off in response to both of these stimulants, whereas slackers worked harder under amphetamine,” Hosking wrote. In the study, published Wednesday in the journal

Neuropsychopharmacology, Hosking tested rats using five food dispensers, one of which had a sugar pellet. The rats would see a flash of light — either for a second or a fifth of a second — when they succeeded in getting the sugar. In the trial where the light was a fifth of a second, rats had to work harder for the treat, but were rewarded with two sugar pellets. The rats could choose if they would perform a difficult task or an easy one to get to the sugar. The rats were then given caffeine and amphetamines and the results were monitored. “Every day, millions of people use stimulants to wake up, stay alert and increase their productivity — from truckers driving all night to students cramming for exams,” Hosking said in a release. “These findings suggest that some stimulants may actually have an opposite effect for people who naturally favour the difficult tasks of life that come with greater rewards.”

Sitting may shorten lifespan SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES – People who spent a lot of time sitting at a desk or in front of a television were more likely to die than those who were only sedentary a few hours a day, according to an Australian study that looked at death rates during a three-year period. Researchers, whose results appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the link between too much time sitting and shortened lives stuck even when they accounted for how much moderate or vigorous exercise people got, as well as their weight and other measures of health. That suggests that shifting some time from sitting to light physical activity, such as slow walking or active chores, might have important long-term benefits, they added.

“When we give people messages about how much physical activity they should be doing, we also need to talk to them about reducing the amount of hours they spend sitting each day,” said Hidde van der Ploeg, the new study’s lead author from the University of Sydney. Of more than 200,000 adults age 45 and older, van der Ploeg and her colleagues found that people who reported sitting for at least 11 hours a day were 40 per cent more likely to die during the study than those who sat less than four hours daily. That doesn’t, however, prove that sitting itself cuts people’s lives short, she noted, adding that there could be other unmeasured differences between people who spend a lot or a little time sitting each day.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Quick Look

Thursday, April 5, 2012

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BUSINESS

Breach hits credit cards

SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES – The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a major cyber intrusion at an Atlantabased payment processor that could expose millions of MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover cardholders to fraudulent charges. Processor Global Payments Inc said on Friday it had found “unauthorized access” into its system early in March and notified law enforcement and financial institutions. Payment network operators MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover Financial Services confirmed they were affected, along with banks and other franchises that issue cards bearing their logos. A spokesman for the Secret Service said the agency is leading investigations into the case but declined to give any details. Though Global Payments is far from a household name, middlemen such as the company are prized targets for hackers because of the vast amount of sensitive financial information they handle. The company’s stock fell more than nine per cent on the news before trading was halted. It discussed the breach in a phone call for investors on Monday. It was not immediately clear how Global Payments was penetrated or how many accounts were exposed. Consumers who detect fraud usually can be reimbursed. That leaves merchants on the hook financially, though they could file claims against Global Payments. Analysts said MasterCard and Visa are unlikely to face costs from the breach, but MasterCard shares fell 1.8 per cent to close at $420.54 and Visa shares dropped 0.8 per cent to $118. The security breach is just the latest in a long string of incidents that have put the personal information of millions of credit and debit cardholders at risk. Individual banks and processors said they had not yet determined the full extent of the breach, but the blog Krebs on Security, which first reported the breach, said it was “massive” and could affect more than 10 million cardholders. Some industry experts suggested the figure might be much lower, perhaps on the order of tens of thousands. Bernstein Research analyst Rod Bourgeois noted that Global Payments is a relatively small player in the transactions services industry, servicing 800,000 merchants with a 3.5 per cent market share. By contrast, the largest competitor, First Data, services millions of merchants, with 22.6 per cent of the market.

DOLLAR

Up 0.43¢

100.89¢ US S&P/TSX

Down 188.43

12,323.61

NASDAQ

The big three-oh Photo: glenn cook, St. Albert leader

Mark Stoneleigh, manager of the Alberta Treasury Branch in Tudor Glen Market, speaks during the branch’s 30th anniversary celebration Friday morning. Today, the branch serves about 6,000 customers and contributes $50 million to the local economy a year.

Balsillie resigns from RIM board of directors SUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES – The former co-CEO of Research in Motion Jim Balsillie has resigned from the company’s board, the BlackBerry maker said last week. The move comes as the smartphone giant reportedly moved to unload several highlevel staff following disappointing quarterly results, stung by slipping smartphone shipments and limited deliveries of its poor-selling PlayBook tablet. The company reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share, as it booked writedowns on its BlackBerry 7 phones and goodwill. On an adjusted basis, net income dropped to $418 million, or 80 cents a share, on revenue of $4.19 billion in new CEO Thorsten Heins’ first quarter as chief

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780-459-7786 www.bermontrealty.com

Guy Hebert

executive. A year ago it earned $934 million, or $1.78, on revenue of $5.56 billion. Analysts, on average, had expected RIM to earn 81 cents a share on revenue of $4.54 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company shipped 11.1 million BlackBerrys and more than 500,000 PlayBooks in the three months to March 3. “As I complete my retirement from RIM, I’m grateful for this remarkable experience and for the opportunity to have worked with outstanding professionals who helped turn a Canadian idea into a global success,” said Balsillie in a statement. RIM said it is searching for a single chief operating officer to run the company.

Down 6.78

3,113.57 DOW

Up 1.82

13,199.55 GOLD

Down 24.40

$1,647.00 US OIL

Down 1.10

$104.05 US Figures as of closing Tuesday, compared to one week prior. For information purposes only.

WHERE ARE THEY?!? Call Matt today to talk about GPS Fleet tracking solutions MPSSCS4136381MPSE

20 Muir Drive 780-459-8444 www.globalcell.ca

Thursday, April 5, 2012

STALBERTJOBS.COM Time to face facts — you’re not that busy

TIM RYAN

Sun Media News Services

“I wish there were more hours in the day.” It’s a favourite expression of ours in North America. We use it regularly to let people know how busy we are — or to convince ourselves of it. The reality is that we’re not busy — most of us, anyway. It’s used as a convenient excuse so we don’t need to think about all the things we could be doing: Pursuing a hobby, writing that book we’ve always dreamed about writing, learning a new language. The list could go on. If only I had the time, I could do it all. Hint: If you have the time to tell people how busy you are, via social

media or otherwise, you’re not that busy. Instead, consider the idea that there are actually plenty of hours in the day to get everything done. With a different mindset, you’ve opened up the possibility that you can complete more than the usual work day. Try the following to do more with what you have: • GET UP AN HOUR EARLIER: This is probably the easiest way to get more done. Get up earlier and you’re already ahead of the game. • STOP STARING AT YOUR SCREEN: There’s nothing worse than catching yourself aimlessly

surfing the web; before you know it you’ve just burned an hour — or 1/24th of your day.

• SET YOURSELF A LOFTIER GOAL THAN JUST GOING TO WORK: Your goal every day shouldn’t be to just wake up and go to work. What else are you going to do? Try adding a class in the evening or polishing off a book or kick-starting that business plan you’ve been thinking about. After all, you’ve got the time. Tim Ryan is the founder of Vestiigo.com, a career destination for young professionals. Contact info@vestiigo.com

ST. ALBERT, EDMONTON, SHERWOOD PARK We are seeking personable, team oriented individuals to join us:

SERVICE ADVISOR AUTO DETAILER ASSISTANT MANAGERS No experience necessary, we train! Drivers Licence is an asset Full time positions, open 8am – 5pm Submit your resume to jobs@bubbles.ca MPSSCS4136245MPSE

OPPORTUNITY AWAITS YOU.

ADULT CARRIERS

www.seniorhomecarebyangels.ca

is currently recruiting

WEEKLY DELIVERIES

Mature Caring staff

The St. Albert Leader is currently looking for adult carriers to deliver newspapers and ﬂyers packs door to door once a week. Deliveries are ﬂexible on Thursdays prior to 9pm.

for St.Albert and Edmonton You have your own vehicle, current, clean criminal record check and cell phone. Casual positions 4-24 hours. You enjoy spending time with Seniors and the disabled.

Are you looking for a unique opportunity to grow your career in a place where people care? Our employees take pride in providing more than 60,000 residents with highquality programs and services. A wide array of opportunities are available to suit your passion and experience. You can cultivate your career in a place where staff not only care about the work they do but also the people they work alongside.

We have the following employment opportunities available:

Earn over $400 per month only working a ﬂexible 4-5 hours, every Thursday delivering the St.Albert Leader to various routes though-out St. Albert.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

If you are interested please email: operations@edmontonexaminer.com or call 780.468.0384

HCA’s companions, caregivers, light housekeepers are welcome to email resumes to; seniorhomecareangels@telus.net Phone 780-487-4256 or fax 780-443-2324 MPSSCS4135426MPSE

MPSSCS4136306MPSE

Become our newest Team Member

THE GLENDALE GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

is seeking people to fill positions in the course maintainence and kitchen departments.

Send resumes to: dasher@theglendale.com or fax: 780 447 3248

Business is good…so why not work for us! Are you friendly and energetic? Are you enthusiastic about providing great Customer Service? Do you have a passion for food? Are you available to work during the day, evenings or weekends? Do you have a can do attitude? If the answer is yes then you’re the one we want! We offer: Training, Flexible hours, Competitive wages, Great work environment, Employee discount on food.

Interested applicants should bring their resume to either store location.

2 Hebert Rd. MPSSCS4135431MPSE

MPSSCS4136270MPSE

General Manager, Economic Development Automotive Technician Community Project Coordinator Concession Attendants Corporate GIS Analyst Customer Service Representatives 1 and 2 Database Support Analyst Digital Media Developer Divisional Controller Fitness Instructors Municipal Enforcement Officer (Community Peace Officer 1) Night Shift Caretakers Pilates Instructors Professional Programming Presenter Recreation Leader 1 Senior Long Range Planner Starbucks Baristas & Shift Supervisors Temporary Administrative Support – Revenue Services Utility Project Coordinator

For information on these and other current opportunities available at the City of St. Albert please visit our website at www.stalbert.ca/ employment or drop by our Human Resources department. Human Resources The City of St. Albert 216, 7 St. Anne Street St. Albert, Alberta T8N 2X4 Fax: (780) 459-1729 Online applications: www.stalbert.ca/employment We wish to express our appreciation to all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position but only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. MPSSCS4135423MPSE

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Peace-of-Mind Maintenance Service

Our Valued Customers $ 95 39 FREE

LUBE, OIL & FILTER Upto 5 Lt. House Oil & Mopar Oil

(Reg. Price $89.95)

Service includes: • Up to 5 litres of 5W20 or 5w30 Mopar Oil • Mopar Oil Filter • Rotation of 4 tires • Peace-of-Mind Inspection of cooling system, all fluid levels, electronic battery test, front and rear brake systems, exhaust system and suspension system • Written report on findings • Manufacturer’s check Additional charges may be applied for diesel, V10s, HEMI, V8’s, fluid disposal. Environmental handling charges may apply.

Excludes import vehicles. Expires April 30/12 *Some exceptions may apply* No Cash Value

PEACE OF MIND INSPECTION $49.95 VALUE Expires May 31/12 No Cash Value

10% OFF

Expires April 30/12. Cannot use in conjunction with any other discounts/coupons.

COOLING SYSTEM SERVICES Drain & Fill Coolant Up to 12 L. Antifreeze

8995

Expires May 31,12

A/C PERFORMANCE CHECK Includes Check Operation Check Freon Level Check Outlet Temperature

Expires May 31,12

ALL PARTS & SERVICE PURCHASES

TIRES STARTING AT

CALL FOR APPOINTMENT Present Coupon at time write up

AT YOUR SERVICE...

The New

St. S St t A Albert Dodge

St. Albert Dodge Valet ServiceDrop Off and Pick Up Service

As of March 28th, we are going to be proud to introduce Valet Service (drop 0ff and pick up) here at St. Albert Dodge. Introductory price for the program is $69.95 per visit.

St. Albert Dodge will...

This service is provided for our Dodge Chrysler Jeep customers who require the following services:

2. Pick up your vehicle and leave you a courtesy vehicle for the day. If it is deemed that the repairs or service is required to keep your vehicle overnight, the customer will be entitled to keep our vehicle until everything is completed.

• Schedule Maintenance • Warranty Repairs • Brake Replacement • Suspension or Drivetrain Repairs • Alignments

Pick up & Delivery We Deliver Anywhere in Alberta!

Serving Alberta for over 30 Years! Local & Long Distance

1•877•570•8784 MPSSCS4135404MPSE

Monday to Friday From 8:30am to 3:00pm

The New

3. Courtesy exterior wash performed on the vehicle.

1. Come to your work or home. (Edmonton, St. Albert, Northwest & North East)

Valet Service must be scheduled in advance

4. Return your vehicle when completed

stalbertdodge.com

Pick up and drop off must be done at the same location

We make it simple

St. Albert Dodge Disclaimer: Prices do not include taxes and fees if applicable. Vehicle images may not be exactly as shown. Please see dealer for details.

Call 780.458.8600

book your service today! Open Mon - Thurs 8:30-9:00, Fri & Sat 8:30-6:00, Sun 11:00-4:00

184 St.Albert Trail

15 minutes north of West Edmonton Mall on 170st.