St. Albert Leader - Dec. 13, 2012 by St. Albert Leader

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

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Ugly sweaters and hot cocoa with lots of whipped cream — that’s how Arcadia Café and Bar owner Darren McGeown gets into the Christmas spirit. Or at least that’s how he did when he agreed to help us out in a little holiday photo shoot. Other St. Albertans share their Christmas traditions and memories on page 10.

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With the announcement Tuesday of the cancellation of regular season games through Dec. 30, that’s at least how many games will be lost to the National Hockey League lockout, including the Winter Classic and the All-Star Game. Talks were expected to resume Wednesday with the help of a mediator.

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

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The City of St. Albert’s economic development department is getting a new home, just in time for the holidays. Economic development general manager Guy Boston confirmed Tuesday that the City has secured a 10-year lease with Werhun Management Inc. on the old CIBC building at 29 Sir Winston Churchill Ave., and that his department, along with a couple of other departments, will be moving there sometime in early 2013. “From an economic development perspective, this [positions] us very prominently,” Boston said. “Once we get our name on the building there and people see it as a business centre, we’re close to the seat of government, and we’re downtown. We’ve helped contribute to the redevelopment of downtown in a small way by taking a dated building and having it updated to modern-day architectural standards.” Also moving into the 5,400-square-foot building will be the business licensing department, the office of community sustainability (formerly the office of the environment) and strategic initiatives and government relations, effectively making it a

“business centre” for the City. The building also has 40 parking spaces available for staff and visitors. The $150,000 cost of relocating was approved by city council in July as part of a fourphase office space plan. Boston said the move should help alleviate the space crunch the City is currently feeling at St. Albert Place and other facilities. “I think the most important thing is that we get all the economic development staff in the same spot, because I’m not working with them right now,” he said. Currently, Boston works out of St. Albert Place, while the rest of the department’s staff shares space with the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce at 71 St. Albert Trail. “That’s one of the biggest advantages I see, to get that degree of collaboration, which we sorely need,” he added. The St. Albert Trail building also acts as the City’s de facto tourist information booth, with brochures and publications provided in the front foyer. Boston said he would like to see those services continue to be offered, but exactly how will have to be worked out with the Chamber. “We haven’t come to any kind of a deal on that yet,” he said. “That will have to worked out over the next few weeks.”

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They may have been bad parkers, but they were great giftgivers. The City of St. Albert’s annual Toys for Tickets campaign — in which motorists can pay for parking tickets with a new, unwrapped toy — hauled in 95 toys worth $2,375, the City announced Wednesday. “The Toys for Tickets campaign gives people a chance to spread some Christmas spirit, and while they may grumble about the ticket, they know the toy they give

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will put a huge smile on a child’s face,” said senior municipal enforcement officer Garnet Melnyk in a press release. This was the City’s fourth year running the Toys for Tickets program. Any ticket handed out between Nov. 15 and 30 could be paid with a toy worth at least $25, which was donated to St. Albert Transit’s annual Fill-A-Bus event and St. Albert Kinettes’ annual Christmas hamper campaign. A total of 93 tickets were handed out over that period. One person paid their ticket and gave a toy, while another gave a toy without getting a ticket.

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The ongoing negotiations between the City of St. Albert and the Arts and Heritage Foundation over a new partnership agreement have claimed their first casualties. The AHF board of trustees announced Thursday afternoon that executive director Paul Moulton would be resigning his post effective Dec. 31, and Moulton said in an interview the following day that the decision stemmed directly from the negotiations. “It’s been in my mind for some time that we were having fundamental challenges with the new agreement with the City,” he said. “What spurred the decision was the motion that they made after their in camera session Monday night. ... That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” St. Albert city council unanimously approved a motion at their Dec. 3 meeting stating their support for city manager Patrick Draper approving a draft agreement from Nov. 15 — based on management oversight, accountability, financial reporting, collaboration, transparency, open communications and no duplication of services — and giving Draper until Jan. 14, 2013, to get the AHF to sign off on it. Moulton’s major concern with that draft

agreement is a change to the funding model for the AHF, although he couldn’t go into too much detail about it as none of the proposals thus far have been made public. “There is a principle behind that that I honestly don’t believe is right,” he said. “Every other level of government in this country — and to a fair degree, every other municipality I’m aware of — understands the way you operate arts organization funding is to provide operating grants and make those organizations accountable for what they do with that money. That’s what we call in Canada the arm’s-length funding model. It works for the Canada Council [for the Arts], it works for the Alberta Federation for the Arts, it works for the Edmonton Arts Council. “The proposal is to change that. ... You either trust an outside agency to do its work, or if you don’t, don’t fund them.” It was also confirmed Tuesday that board member Sam Azer had resigned, citing the negotiations with the City as the main reason why. Draper declined the Leader’s request for an interview on the matter, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on another organization’s employment matters. However, Coun. Wes Brodhead, council’s representative on the AHF board, said he was sorry to see Moulton go.

“He was a talented, creative, visionary leader of the Arts and Heritage Foundation,” he said. “He’ll be missed, to be sure.” He added that he didn’t feel the negotiations were as divisive as Moulton made them out to be. “I have not heard them to be that way. ... There’s clearly some differences in how the City is expecting the relationship to unfold in the future, as in the past, and that’s maybe where Paul is saying, ‘I can’t see myself continuing to work if that’s the relationship,’ and that’s a choice he has to make,” Brodhead said. The AHF board of trustees said in a statement: “The organization has accomplished a lot under Paul’s leadership over the last four years, including growth in programming, events and exhibitions at Art Gallery of St. Albert, the Musée Héritage Museum and St. Albert Heritage Sites, the restoration of the Little White School and St. Albert Grain Elevator Park and much more. The Board of Trustees wishes to extend their sincerest thanks to Paul for his enthusiasm, dedication and professional commitment and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.” Despite the recent acrimony, Moulton said he remains “fiercely proud” of the work the foundation had done under his watch, especially the restoration of the St.

Albert grain elevators and the work being done on the Little White School, but also of other organizational matters the public wouldn’t GXlc necessarily see. Dflckfe “I think the people are extraordinary — the staff I\j`^e\[ and the board. I think the things we’ve achieved have been remarkably good,” Moulton said. “I wouldn’t say it leaves a bad taste, but there’s a degree of disappointment.” Brodhead wasn’t sure whether or not Moulton’s resignation would affect the ability of both sides to get a deal done. “I’m hopeful that, irrespective of individual choices, the City and Arts and Heritage as an organization can find a way to come to an agreement and work to further the arts community and heritage community in the city of St. Albert for another five years,” he said. “They’ve done great work in the past, and I’m confident they’ll do great work in the future.” With his wife starting a half-sabbatical soon, Moulton plans to head south and relax for a couple of months once his time at the AHF is up. “I’ll look for the next big adventure and challenge when I get back,” he said.

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Officials at St. Albert Place are still reeling after the firing of a wellrespected and passionate senior member of the cultural services department. Nancy Abrahamson, who served as the City of St. Albert’s cultural services manager and the director of the annual International Children’s Festival, was fired last week, Mayor Nolan Crouse said. “Thursday afternoon, the city manager came into my office late in the day and said that they had some issues they were looking at relative to Nancy. It was brief; he really only took a minute,” Crouse recalled. “Then, Saturday morning, [general manager of community and protective services] Chris Jardine came into my office and said they had made the decision ... to let Nancy go.” The mayor then sent a brief email to the rest of city council to apprise

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them of the situation. Crouse said he was surprised when the news crossed his desk. “I didn’t see any signals; there was nothing I saw that was leading to this,” he said. He added that councillors do not have the authority to pull a City employee’s personnel file. “We’re not privy to the personnel files or personnel issues anywhere below the city manager,” he said. Organization of the Children’s Festival is a year-round enterprise, so Abrahamson’s dismissal is likely to affect this year’s edition, but Crouse is confident it will go on. “To Nancy’s credit, she built such a strong organization; it was wide and deep. There are going to be concerns, because Nancy was a lot of that support network,” Crouse said. “But also because it was so big and strong, it’ll proceed. You don’t lose all 700 volunteers because Nancy’s gone. ... It’ll be a challenging year, but the machine’s big enough that it’s going to be able to take it.”

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When the dust had settled and the last vote was cast in the City of St. Albert’s 2013 municipal budget deliberations, the proposed property tax increase had decreased nearly two percentage points compared to when the process started nearly three months ago. At the end of the meeting on Thursday, Dec. 6, when the last of the budget motions were voted on, the City’s “tax-o-meter” sat at 3.27 per cent, down from 5.14 per cent when the numbers were first presented to council in September. Council dealt with the bulk of the motions at a meeting the previous Tuesday, knocking the tax increase down to 3.48 per cent that afternoon, and did some further trimming on Thursday. One of the issues that caused the most debate on Thursday was funding for the St. Albert Public Library. Library representatives had come before council earlier

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in the process asking for an increase of about $166,000, but Mayor Nolan Crouse put forward a motion to limit that to about $95,000, or three per cent. However, Coun. Cam MacKay — who serves as council’s representative on the library board — proposed a compromise that would essentially decrease the library’s request by $31,400 by charging more for common area costs. “If you want to go higher :Xd than [$31,400], DXZBXp the board is :`kp ZfleZ`ccfi going to have to face some more difficult decisions that perhaps could impact employees or books, and those are the two areas that are not easy decisions to make,” MacKay said, also noting that a new membership fee structure coming into effect in January would also see library revenues decrease by

about $30,000. Councillors also voted down business cases for a Capital Region Board planner and an emergency communications officer. Coun. Cathy Heron said that, even though she voted to postpone the position to 2014, she had concerns that having a staff member dedicated to CRB matters at the regional meetings would mean losing experts in the area around the :Xk_p table. ?\ife “My biggest :`kp ZfleZ`ccfi problem is that I want the area-specific people at the subcommittees,” she said. “... I think we can manage one more year, but in 2014, we need to look at it seriously again.” Meanwhile, a project to install QR codes on public art pieces and historic sites to allow quick access to detailed information was left in

the budget at a cost of $25,000, as was a natural areas assessment at a cost of $121,000. “One of the characteristics of St. Albert that our citizens want us as a council to continue to protect and uphold are the green spaces and natural areas included in the city,” said Coun. Wes Brodhead. “This is work that is going to assist us in maintaining and ensuring that development proceeds in a reasonable N\j fashion relative 9if[_\X[ to our natural :`kp ZfleZ`ccfi areas.” Also added in on Thursday was a corporate analyst staff position, which was meant to be a blend of two other analyst positions — one in the economic development department and one in the corporate and strategic services division — that had been removed from the budget earlier

on. “This proposal is trying to take a portion of what each of the positions would have done, so we would need some time to write a proper position description with roles and responsibilities,” city manager Patrick Draper explained. “But we definitely do need analytical capability in our staffing complement.” One issue that was not dealt with Thursday was a late motion by Coun. Len Bracko to spend $3,000 to convert up to three of the city’s least-used tennis courts into pickleball courts. Pickleball is a game similar to tennis, played on a smaller court — the size of a doubles badminton court — with a wiffle ball and a hard paddle. Councillors felt that, since it was a small amount of money, it could be dealt with later in the winter, before the final tax rate is set early next year. Formal approval of the 2013 municipal budget is expected to take place at city council’s regular meeting on Monday, Dec. 17.

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Students and teachers at one local elementary school are celebrating a “healthy” grant from several partners. On Thursday, Dec. 6, officials from the Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund — a joint initiative between Alberta Health and Wellness, the University of Alberta’s Centre for Health Promotion Studies and the Coalition for Healthy School Communities — presented Bertha Kennedy Catholic Community School with a grant for $5,000 for their Healthy BobKats Project. “It was a very elaborate application form that took hours to put together, so we’ve got a team of stafff here that was working on it, so when we got the grant, we were really pleased,” said Dolores Andressan, the Grade 2 teacher who leads the Healthy BobKats program. “There were only seven schools in all of Alberta who received the maximum grant of $5,000, and our school was one of the seven schools in the entire province to receive the full grant, so we’re very proud of that,” added Bertha Kennedy principal Scott Johnston. The Healthy BobKats Project is an effort by students and teachers to increase awareness of the importance of fitness and nutrition that started last January with projects that cost little or no money.

“Last year, we had somebody come out and do Zumba with us, and we had some nutritious snacks and things like that,” Andressan said. Another idea that came to fruition was the Playground Pals program, where Grade 5 students taught games and other activities to younger students during recesses and lunch hours. Now, with the Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund money in their back pocket, Andressan is excited about the possibilities for expansion. “We’ll be able to do some other things that require a little more money,” she said. One of those projects is to paint hopscotch courses and other games on a patch of concrete outside the school. “They’ve really made them much more interesting now,” Andressan said. “There’s even a map of Canada.” Another project is to purchase daily physical activity (DPA) bins from a company called Ever Active Schools, which can be used to store toys or balls for kids to use. Andressan would also like to bring back Zumba instructors during gym classes, and also perhaps after school to get parents, staff and kids in after-school care involved too. “We can do a little bit with food, but mostly it is for things that will last. After the program is over, they still want us to have it at the school,” she said.

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f you want something done right, it is often said, then do it yourself. And that is true, but only to a certain point. When you’re big enough and have many other responsibilities that require your time and attention, it’s often better to delegate, to let others lend a hand and make Yp >c\ee :ffb sure all the matters receive the time and attention they deserve. The City of St. Albert is at that point. The corporation has to worry about taxes and swimming pools and snow removal, so over the years, it has taken the management of arts and heritage sites off its plate, delegating it to the Arts and Heritage Foundation. But now, it seems that the City wants to take on arts and heritage duties again, or at least micromanage the AHF to the point of distraction. What other explanation could there be for moving away from an arm’slength funding model in the latest proposed partnership agreement between the two? It’s an issue that has the AHF spitting mad, and has already resulted in the resignation of its executive director and one trustee. Granted, just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s automatically the best way to do it. And there are arts councils at the federal, provincial and municipal funded using the arm’s-length model. But the new approach does show a lack of trust on the part of the City and on the part of city council. It seems they don’t trust the AHF to handle its own financial affairs, and want to keep their hand in the foundation’s pockets to make sure it spends its money wisely. If they’re going to pull the AHF this much closer, it might have made more sense and been more transparent to simply vote to abolish the foundation and bring arts and heritage back in-house when they had the chance to do it back in August. The City seems to feel something’s not being done right, so it has started the process of doing it itself again. But the awards and accolades the AHF has won over the years suggest it has been done right all along. Which brings to mind another old saw the City may do well to heed: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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t has been almost two weeks since the annual Snowflake Festival, hosted by the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, officially “kicked off” the festive season. Mayor Nolan Crouse, councillors, MLAs, Chamber executives and, of course, Santa led the traditional countdown to turning on the Christmas tree lights outside the St. Albert Community Hall. To celebrate this event, Perron Street was closed off from St. Anne Street to Sir Winston Churchill Avenue so those coming downtown could walk the streets enjoying the various activities, whether it was going from merchant to merchant to view their wares, checking out the Art Gallery, taking the young ones inside the Community Hall to tell

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hour after the tree lights had been turned on, snowflakes began to fall, which, with the not-too-cold temperatures, created a mystical atmosphere with all the Christmas lights and ornaments just right for a vibrant walkable downtown getting ready for the holiday season. As my wife and I walked around the streets, taking all of this in before we ended our evening with a great dinner at one of the new downtown restaurants, it suddenly painted a picture for us how serene this felt and that things could be different if the community expressed a desire for stores to stay open a few hours past 6 p.m. two or three nights a week, for special events or entertainment to attract people to the Perron District and, yes, to consider closing the

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street so people can interact socially and find an escape from the daily demands of interacting through our world of information technology. Now, for this to happen, businesses have to become creative, residents have to support the activities, and the City has a role to encourage recreation and cultural events. As recent studies have reported, the downtown area is the “heart and soul” of a community and with the proper mix of stores, attractions, entertainment and gathering places, the downtown becomes a “busy” place to be after 6 p.m. As our city continues to grow and provide the quality of life enjoyed by St. Albertans we need to think how our downtown can add another dimension that “cultivates life.” Fne\[ Xe[ fg\iXk\[ Yp

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Q A Q Nickname? A Reenie for those who have known me a REALLY long time, Dorinkitza to my family.

Q Favourite pets or animals? A Dog-Lisa (a cock-a-poo), Cat-Rocky (our Ragdoll

GETTING TO KNOW Doreen Slessor

Q Favourite thing about St. Albert? A The city services with the small town atmosphere.

Q You would describe your sense of style as ... ? A “Modern Mom” with a splash of “Hipster”

Q Great moment you had through your organization? A Being supported to get my CFRE (Certiﬁed Fundraising

Q What’s your goal for your organization over the next 12 months?

Executive).

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Q What’s the one problem your organization deals with Q Vacation this year... you’re heading to? most often? A Falcon Lake, MB. We’ve gone for a few years now. Great A Of course, Family Violence. But how complex it can place to swim, ﬁsh, golf, horseback ride, there is something for everyone.

Q The weekend in St. Albert, what are you doing? A Winter: coordinating who’s taking which kid where and

when to what activity (I have 4 children!) Summer: my husband and I try to golf as much as we can

Q Favourite place to eat in St. Albert? A With kids: Hawali for lunch buffet

be when you include root causes, and how it connects to bullying, homelessness, poverty, addictions and the justice system. We usually collaborate with multiple agencies on each case.

A To meet the increased demand for services without jeopardizing our ﬁnancial sustainability. Q Any advice you can give St. Albert residents, regarding your organization’s area of focus?

A Family violence knows no boundaries and affects all

incomes, gender, race, and ages. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid to seek help. There are many people who have been there.

Q What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? A If you ever have a choice, always take the high road. Q What’s the best way you’ve found to keep a balance between your charitable work and your family life?

Without kids: Tractor Nachos at Original Joes!

Q Your singing out loud in your car, what are you

singing?

A Some upbeat 80’s pop tune that makes my kids roll their eyes Q Best thing about your job? A Knowing that every day I have made a difference in my

community.

Q Favourite movie? A “A Christmas Story” all he wants is a Red Ryder

A I have worked for Non-proﬁts my whole career and my family don’t know anything different. They have always been involved in my work as volunteers, and because of this they have a strong sense of philanthropy and community service. I have had the luxury of being able to bring them to work. My youngest, Maggie, is well known in the Community as she has attended MANY meetings with me since she was a baby. Q If we’re heading on a coffee run, you’re having ... ? A Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Q How messy is your desk/workspace? A Not messy at all. I like a place for everything.

bb gun!

Q Favourite hobbies? A Golf, gardening, water colour painting

Q What video game or phone app are you addicted to?

Q What sets your organization apart from others? A We are unique in that ALL of our services are FREE.

sliding scale, or fee for service.

Company Logo

A Angry birds. No

I play until I get three stars on EVERY level. I also love Twitter.

We Can Help

Individual Counselling, Group Support, Violence Prevention Education, Family Support, Elder Abuse Support All our Services are FREE

For more information or to make a donation 780.460.2195 stopabuse.ca

402 - 22 Sir Winston Churchill Avenue, St. Albert T8N 1B4 If you are interested in marketing yourself and your business in the St. Albert Leader Q&A - Call 780-460-1035 for next available date

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Our Christmas tradition involves purchasing Christmas tree ornaments to commemorate meaningful events for our family. Whether it’s a trip, a graduation or a new addition to the family, we have an ornament to mark the occasion. The growing collection of ornaments makes for a fun day decorating the tree as we look back upon all of our past adventures.

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My wife Jackie is from Poland and I am French Canadian. Christmas Eve is very special to us as our cultures throughout the past centuries are very similar. Christmas Eve is time of waiting for the rising of the first star in the sky as a signal to begin the festivities that surround the coming of the Christ Child. Food, of course, is primary and that consists of modest servings of “weak” soup, lots of different fish tasters and, of course, “tourtières” (meat pies). My father used to be the official taster of this very old French favourite dish. He would have small servings from all of my sisters, aunts and neighbours. The winner was given a personalized “tap dance” in their honour, followed by homemade potato wine (Yuck!). My parents never bought Christmas gifts but rather made everything from scratch and the material, either wool or wood had to be found in our home. (I sure had warm feet back then!)

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Every year since our first son was one, we’ve gone to Crankpots on Whyte Avenue to paint pottery Christmas ornaments. Our sons are 5, 6 and 8 … so there have been some crazy afternoons inside the pottery studio over the years. But, every year it gets a little less chaotic! It’s a nice way to remember each Christmas as we pull out the ornaments and look back on penguins, snowmen, candy canes etc that they’ve painted.

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A Christmas tradition the Chow family has goes back to when we were kids. Most families open gifts on Christmas morning, but my little sister could never wait ’til Christmas morning, so we opened gifts at midnight. We’d be up for a couple hours opening gifts and playing with toys. One of our few Christmas albums (to go along with our John Denver Christmas) was Christmas with the Chipmunks, so we’d have that playing on the ol’ LP record player, with Alvin pounding out their “Christmas Song”. But we’d have to get to bed soon after so we’d then we’d set out cookies and milk for Santa. And I’m happy to report, we still keep this tradition as adults. We head over to Mom and Dad’s Christmas Eve, wait ’til midnight and open gifts as a family! My sister still can’t wait!

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Growing up, my parents allowed us to open one present on Christmas Eve, just to keep us quiet until Christmas Day. It was a special gift from a family friend. When my children were little, we would attend “Pajama Service” at our church on Christmas Eve. Every year, we struggled to find clean pajamas for the kids to wear to church. So my mother carried on the one gift tradition and would buy the grandchildren pajamas to be opened on Christmas Eve. Problem solved! My children are much older now but they still look forward to opening up their Christmas Eve pajamas!

Every winter, my two kids and I build a backyard luge run. This year, like most years, it doesn’t get built until I have some time off around Christmas. This is a labour-intensive project, just using shovels, sheets of plywood and water. We pile snow in front of and onto the back deck and add water to give it strength. We build a solid ice run with walls on both sides, designed for those plastic saucer sleds. Usually, the run heads straight down toward the garage before turning and sending the rider right to the bottom of the yard. Some years, we’ve had it go through the back gate and onto the back parking pad. As it is solid ice, helmets are mandatory and, in the early years, adult supervision was also a must. During the Vancouver Olympics, we invited neighbourhood kids over and had the Bailey Backyard Olympics (we added events like shinny at the neighbourhood rink). It just isn’t Christmas at the Bailey house without the sound of sleds on ice out the back door, with accompanying shrieks of terror and/or joy!

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Every year, Santa leaves those Hallmark ornaments in our stockings. He’s done it since the kids’ “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments. Now the kids are 12 and 15. We have everything from Blues Clues, Barbie and South Park characters to Batman, Arnold Palmer and Eric Lindros hanging from our tree. There’s even a Yellow Submarine and Harley Davidson hanging. Daughter Kate calls it our wacky tree. Four ornament per year for 15 years and the tree is pretty crammed with them.

We make it simple

My family has a butterfly brooch that gets passed from one to another. It started when my mother wanted to give away one of her brooches but we all turned up our nose at it, so she wrapped it up inside a box of chocolates and gave it as a Christmas gift. The brooch has been re-gifted every year since. It is always disguised so that the receiver doesn’t know they are getting it. It is mandatory that the receiver wear it at all family functions. My brother wore it to his son’s wedding this past summer. My mother is no longer with us but the tradition lives on.

As our family grew, and our grandchildren became “many”, we spent Christmas Eve together, then everybody slept over at our house, on hide-a-beds, couches, beds, etc. We watched Christmas movies, played games, and munched on hors d’oeuvres. On Christmas morning, everybody awoke and came upstairs to the wonder of the tree and the stockings and all the gifts from Santa’s visit during the night. It was a wonderful experience for us all to see the faces of the little ones as they discovered their gifts. Since those years, our family continued to grow, and we finally outgrew the sleepover. Now we all gather early Christmas morning from our individual homes, to continue to treasure the wonder of Christmas morning as a family.

The New

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Wise customers read the fine print: •, *, �, ≤, ‡, § The Holiday Event offers are limited time offers which apply to retail deliveries of selected new and unused models purchased from participating dealers on or after December 1, 2012. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Offers subject to change and may be extended without notice. See participating dealers for complete details and conditions. •$20,898 Purchase Price applies to 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Canada Value Package (29E+CL9) only and includes $8,100 Consumer Cash Discount. $20,698 Purchase Price applies to 2012 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package (22F+CLE) only and includes $2,000 Consumer Cash Discount. Pricing includes freight ($1,500-$1,595) and excludes licence, insurance, registration, any dealer administration fees and other applicable fees and applicable taxes. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Dealer may sell for less. See participating dealers for complete details. *Consumer Cash Discounts are offered on select new 2013 vehicles and are deducted from the negotiated price before taxes. Amounts vary by vehicle. See your dealer for complete details. �Holiday Bonus Cash up to $1,000 is available on most new 2012/2013 models, excluding the following: Chrysler 200 LX, Dodge Caliber, Dart, Grand Caravan CVP, Journey CVP/SE, Avenger, Viper, Jeep Compass Sport 4x2 & 4x4, Patriot Sport 4x2 & 4x4, Wrangler 2 Dr Sport, Grand Cherokee SRT8, Ram 1500 Reg Cab & ST & SXT Trucks, Ram Cab & Chassis, Ram Cargo Van, FIAT 500 Abarth and 2012 FIAT 500 Pop models. Bonus Cash will be deducted from the negotiated price after taxes. See your dealer for complete details. ≤4.99% lease financing available through WS Leasing Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Westminster Credit Union) (“WS”) to qualified retail customers on new 2012/2013 Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT models at participating dealers in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Territories. Example: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with a Purchase Price of $35,298 including $1,000 Holiday Bonus Cash and $2,500 Lease Delivery Credit. Purchase Price includes freight ($1,595) and excludes licence, insurance, registration, dealer charges and taxes. Lease offer is based on a 60 month term at 4.99% APR and 130 bi-weekly payments of $208. Down payment of $0 and applicable taxes, $475 WS registration fee and first bi-weekly payment are due at lease inception. Total lease obligation is $27,021. Taxes, licence, registration, insurance, dealer charges and excess wear and tear not included. 22,000 kilometer allowance: charge of $.18 per excess kilometer. Some conditions apply. Security deposit may be required. See your dealer for complete details. ‡4.49% purchase financing for up to 96 months available on the new 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Canada Value Package models to qualified customers on approved credit through Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, TD Auto Finance and Ally Credit Canada. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Dealer may sell for less. See your dealer for complete details. Examples: 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Canada Value Package/2013 Dodge Journey Canada Value Package with a Purchase Price of $20,898/$20,698 (including applicable Consumer Cash Discounts) financed at 4.49% over 96 months with $0 down payment equals 208 bi-weekly payments of $120/$119 with a cost of borrowing of $3,995/$3,957 and a total obligation of $24,893/$24,655. Pricing includes freight ($1,500-$1,595) and excludes licence, insurance, registration, any dealer administration fees and other applicable fees and taxes. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Dealer may sell for less. §2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew shown. Price including applicable Consumer Cash Discount: $27,395. 2013 Dodge Journey Crew shown. Price including applicable Consumer Cash Discount: $27,595. Pricing includes freight ($1,500-$1,595) and excludes licence, insurance, registration, any dealer administration fees and other applicable fees and applicable taxes. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Dealer may sell for less. �Based on Ward’s 2012 Small Van Segmentation. Excludes other Chrysler Group LLC designed and/or manufactured vehicles. ≠Based on R. L. Polk Canada Inc. January to October 2011 Canadian Total New Vehicle Registration data for Chrysler Crossover Segments. ^Based on 2013 Ward’s Middle Cross Utility segmentation. ¤Based on 2013 EnerGuide Fuel Consumption Guide ratings published by Natural Resources Canada. Transport Canada test methods used. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on powertrain, driving habits and other factors. 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan – Hwy: 7.9 L/100 km (36 MPG) and City: 12.2 L/100 km (23 MPG). 2013 Dodge Journey SE 2.4 L 4-speed automatic – Hwy: 7.5 L/100 km (38 MPG) and City: 10.8 L/100 km (26 MPG). TMThe SiriusXM logo is a registered trademark of SiriusXM Satellite Radio Inc. ®Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC.

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A lot of snipping, colouring and hard work have earned a St. Albert resident a pair of prestigious national awards. Alann Sluser lives in St. Albert, having moved to the city in Grade 11, and is the head hairstylist and co-owner of KoKo The Salon, located at 13163 156 St. NW in Edmonton, along with her husband Roshan Arul. In late November, Sluser brought home two honours — Canadian Colourist of the Year and Texture Stylist of the Year — from the 2013 Contessa Awards, handed out by Salon Magazine. “I knew I had a chance, because I made the finals, but once you get to that calibre, you just cross your fingers and ... hope and pray that [the judges] love it,” Sluser said. “When they called my name, my hands went over my face; I just couldn’t believe. It was the most exciting [thing], I couldn’t believe it.” Sluser has been styling hair now for 13 years, and took cosmetology courses at Bellerose Composite High School. “I was always into hair; I loved doing hair and makeup. All my Barbies were demolished,” she said with a laugh. After several years at Ricci Hair Co. in St. Albert, Sluser and Arul decided to strike out on their own and opened KoKo The Salon in April 2012. “We felt there was a little bit of an experience that was lacking when people would come to a salon,” Sluser said. “We really wanted to incorporate an experience and a premium service for guests. And we’ve had amazing feedback.” Still, going out on their own was a bit daunting, but they’re not regretting it at all. “When you take a leap of faith and become an entrepreneur, it’s always very scary,” Sluser said. “I feel very blessed with the clientele that I have and the connections I’ve made in the industry. It definitely made that decision a little bit easier.” And the awards haven’t hurt business, either. “Especially in St. Albert, people love to

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Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

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Wishing you happy holidays and a wonderful New Year!

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Hon. Stephen Khan, MLA

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“It puts Edmonton on the map. There are people here that love to look nice and love to look beautiful. And we are fashion forward. ... We may not have the best scenery at times, but people love their fashion, no matter where you live,” she said. As far as competitions go, Sluser said she already has colours and concepts for her next submission planned out in her head, but she is also keeping an eye on the salon’s future, including bringing on more stylists to join what she said is already “an amazing team.” “You have to be the type of person who doesn’t settle to mediocrity for me. We just don’t let anything walk out the door; it has to be your best work,” she said. “We want to be the place where everyone wants to come and get their hair done, to feel special and to feel beautiful,” she added.

St. Albert RCMP are reminding motorists to watch out for pedestrians after an incident this week in the city’s northwest. Just before 8 a.m. Monday, a 13-year-old girl was crossing Hogan Road near Delwood Road in a marked crosswalk when a silver 2006 Honda Odyssey minivan heading south on Hogan Road failed to stop and hit the girl. The van then veered across the intersection and hit a northbound Audi that had stopped to let the girl cross. The 13-year-old girl was transported to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton and later released to her family with what are believed to be minor injuries. The driver of the Audi was not injured. The driver of the Honda minivan, a 36-year-old female, was not injured in the collision, nor were either of the two passengers she had in the vehicle at the time. She was, however, issued a ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, which carries a fine of $575. RCMP are reminding drivers to be vigilant and look out for pedestrians in all parts of the city, especially during peak traffic hours.

St. Albert Constituency 780-459-9113 MPSSCS4505296MPSE

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Members of the Royal Canadian Artillery Band are trading in their berets for Santa Claus hats as they get set for a free Christmas concert this week. Friday night at the Myer Horowitz Theatre on the University of Alberta campus (8900 114 St. NW, Edmonton), the RCA Band presents an evening of traditional and contemporary holiday music titled A Christmas Wish. Admission is free, and Capt. Patrice Arsenault, commanding officer and director of music for the RCA Band, said it’s a great chance to showcase just what the band can do. “That’s part of our mandate, to reach out to the community, to get the army known,” Arsenault said. “We thought that, by making it free admission, it might be more attractive for people who have never been to an RCA Band concert before.” Warrant Officer Brayden Wise lives in St. Albert, and plays the bass guitar and the standup bass in the RCA Band, as well as taking a turn this year singing parts of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. “With a free concert like this one, I can invite all my neighbours out,” Wise said with a laugh. “They see me going to work every day dressed [in uniform], but they don’t really have a good comprehension of what I do. So for them, it’s a fantastic opportunity to come out and see some great music and see what we do in uniform.”

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:Xgk% GXki`Z\ 8ij\eXlck Yfkkfd Zfe[lZkj k_\ IfpXc :XeX[`Xe 8ik`cc\ip 9Xe[ k_ifl^_ X d\[c\p f] :_i`jkdXj ZcXjj`Zj [liè^ X i\_\XijXc Xk :=9 <[dfekfe fe Kl\j[Xp ]fi k_\ì lgZfdè^ ]i\\ ZfeZ\ik fe =i`[Xp \m\eè^% “It’s fantastic for us. A lot of folks really enjoy Christmas music, and the members of the band are no exception,” he added. “It’s a great way for us, as military musicians, to bring music to the people.” While most of the songs played will be the familiar Christmas standards, the RCA Band is putting their own spin on them by seeking out different arrangements — and, in some cases, having arrangements done especially for them.

“[Capt. Arsenault] has gone out and sought out different arrangements and new ideas that bring different spins to Christmas favourites,” Wise said. “We’ve also got a great multimedia department in the band, so we’ve got a slideshow presentation and we’re adding an audio-visual aspect to the whole show.” Arsenault added that several of the band’s smaller ensembles will be present, including their pipes and drums, a Celtic ensemble and Master Blaster, their pop/

contemporary/country group. “We look for special arrangements, some that are custom-made for us and fit the type of ensemble we are,” he said. “... It’s Christmas music that’s well-known in general, but the way it sounds is particular to the RCA band.” The RCA Band is comprised of regular force members whose primary focus is the band. They are selected by audition and have to join the Canadian Forces full-time to join the band. They

The band was recently joined by the Canadian Forces Pipes and Drums for a show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre to raise money for Soldier On, a charity that provides resources and opportunities for serving and retired Canadian Forces personnel who have suffered chronic illnesses or major injuries in the line of duty. While this show focuses on Christmas music and won’t have the same pipes and drums contingent, Arsenault said there are plenty of chances for the band to stretch its legs musically. “There will be more singing than the last concert, and more of the full band, the concert band, for medleys of Christmas music,” he said. “There’s something for everybody — including a singalong.” A Christmas Wish takes place at the Myer Horowitz Theatre on the University of Alberta campus on Friday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, with rush seating. For more information on the band, visit www.rcaband.ca.

Michael’s @ The Inn

WEDNESDAY STEAK SANDWICH SPECIAL Main Office: Suite 60 - 210 McLeod Ave Spruce Grove, AB T7X 2K5 Tel: (780) 962-6606 Fax: (780) 962-1568 Satellite Office: (by appt) #10 - 516 St. Albert Road St. Albert, AB Tel: (780) 458-1393 correspondence to the main office please

11:00AM – 2:00PM Steak Sandwich with Fries & Garlic Toast, with choice of Soup or Salad served with dessert. 4:00PM – 9:00PM Steak Sandwich with Garlic Toast, with choice of Fries, Baked Potato or Rice, $ choice of Soup or Salad served with dessert.

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A Message from the 2012 Chamber Chair

Darel Baker St.Albert and District Chamber of Commerce: Our Values…A Filter to Judge How We Act Our Vision is: Our community has a thriving business environment. When your St Albert and District Chamber of Commerce developed the current Strategic Plan, we identified six values that we felt were important to guide our actions. From time to time, an organization has to make a tough decision or need to explain a position to others who may not understand. Our values help us to be consistent in the approach that we take and guide us to decisions that are strong and that we can feel positive about. Here are our values and a short supporting note: Integrity

We act ethically with honesty and transparency

Creativity

We explore better ways

Passion

We are enthusiastic about what we are considering

Collaboration

We use an approach that is open and inclusive

Professionalism We value courtesy, respect and dignity in the conduct of our affairs Advocacy

We champion the cause of others to the greater benefit of all

In all of the activities that we undertake - advocacy to improve the opportunities for business to flourish, activities that support the community, functions designed to showcase local entrepreneurs, tackling issues at all levels of government, our Board and committee activities and all actions taken by staff -- our values are what ensure that we do the right things while we are doing things right. As always...the Chamber would welcome any ideas that will help our community create a thriving business environment!

Darel Baker MPSSCS4493166MPSE

Join Us! Chamber Gala Mardi Gras Magic!

Saturday, January 26th, 2013 Tickets are $140 per person, $1020 for a table of 8, plus GST. RSVP by calling the Chamber at (780) 458-2833

St. Albert Christmas Market *Every Saturday, 10am to 3pm *December Now to 22nd *City Hall Lobby, Free Parking

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going to be excellent.” There will be another bit of St. Albert flavour during the New Year’s festivities, as the show opens with local singers The Campus Thieves are getting set to steal the Jessy Mossop and Stephen Lecky at 10 p.m. In between, spotlight once again, this time at one of the biggest annual featured acts include Get Recked, Jasmine Singh and Hey celebrations in the Capital Region. Romeo. The band — which features St. Albert’s Ryan McGale With one album’s worth of original material under their as lead singer and on the keyboards — will ring in 2013 belts, the band is building a setlist that also mixes in a on stage as they headline New Year’s Eve festivities in few cover songs, and they’re keeping in mind that it’s a downtown Edmonton’s Churchill Square. celebration. “We’re all excited for the gig, obviously,” said bass player “We’ve changed up the set a bit to make it more upbeat Spencer Huddleston. “It’ll be televised, so for a New Year’s gig,” McGale said. “We hopefully we’ll get a lot of exposure from put some covers in there and some new it and it’ll be a good time.” songs that we haven’t played before. We In fact, they say it’s probably one of the want to keep people warm, dancing and biggest shows they’ve had since the band stuff.” formed back in 2010. To that end, the band started preparing “It’s our biggest one this year,” McGale for the show about a month ago. said. Prior to this, the band’s highest profile IpXe DZ>Xc\ The band — which also features show came during Rock’n August 2012, :Xdglj K_`\m\j guitarists Codie Fetter and Caleb when they capped off the week of classic Steinwandt and drummer Mac cars in St. Albert with a performance at Huddleston — was recommended to Events Edmonton, Servus Credit Union Place, opening for Harlequin and which puts on the New Year’s Eve party, through Brenda Doug and the Slugs. Rains at Dynasty Records Canada, whom they met last year “We got to play in front of a different audience, and after a Battle of the Bands competition. it was really good exposure. It was our first arena gig,” They weren’t initially given the coveted headlining spot, Spencer said. but eventually organizers decided they were the ones to But, as much fun as that was and as much fun as the New have on stage just before the big countdown. Year’s gig promises to be, the band is working hard on new “At first they were going to hire somebody else to come material, aiming to have a new EP out sometime next year. in and have a paid headliner, but then they ended up “We’re always songwriting; we haven’t really stopped deciding to have us bring in the new year,” Mac said. “It’s songwriting since our beginning,” McGale said.

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There’s an “F” word that causes Ian McKellen to take truly Shakespeareancalibre umbrage. That word is “franchise.” “It’s not a franchise! They’re films! This isn’t X-Men,” he shouted to a surprised questioner at the press conference launching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first part of Peter Jackson’s trilogy based on the first Middle Earth novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. The burst of stentorian outrage actually drew laughs from fellow cast members Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Andrew Serkis. But later, in a private interview with Sun Media, the man who is once again playing the wizard Gandalf the Grey, admitted he was only half-joking. “I hate that word, franchise,” the youthful 73-year-old says, elegantly relaxed in a black velvet jacket and grey patterned silk shirt. “That’s not how we look on it. Of course, film is a business. It’s show business, and if films don’t make money, there won’t be any more, and we reach out to as wide an audience as possible for that reason. “But to think of Lord of the Rings or Tolkien as ‘a franchise’ is offensive to me. Everybody involved honours Tolkien and Tolkien’s intention, and he did not write a franchise.”

At best, he’ll call it “a series.” But by the time director Peter Jackson is done, Tolkien’s Middle Earth debut tale, about a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) and his adventures with a Gollom (Serkis), a ring, a dragon named Smaug and various battleready dwarves (led by Armitage) will have been padded with plot points and apocrypha from the appendices Tolkien added to his later Lord of the Rings trilogy (the two adventures took place 60 years apart in Middle Earth time). McKellen is equally quick to defend Jackson’s decision to expand The Hobbit, first to two movies and then three. “Anyone who thinks Peter Jackson would fall for market forces rather than artistic purposes doesn’t know the guy and doesn’t know his body of work,” he says. That said, though he defends the highermindedness of this particular source material, McKellen says, “I think there are limitations in Tolkien’s view of the world. Where is sex? Where are women? But in other aspects he is absolutely bang up to date. He takes old people very seriously and gives them a full weight and due. Young people he’s very keen on. “And I think the message that has resonated with everyone that has read the books or seen the films is that yes, the world is organized by people who are extremely

powerful, but they are entirely dependent on the little guy. And it took someone who’d been through two World Wars to accept that, that it’s not people we build statues to that change the world, it’s the foot-soldiers who measure up to the moment.” (All of this is not to denigrate McKellen’s other claim to fame — the role of the conflicted villain Magneto in the X-Men series, to which he will apparently be returning in the spring. The openly gay actor has always appreciated the “outsider” metaphor of the shunned, super-powered mutants, saying that director Bryan Singer first described it to him as “a movie about gay rights.”) Apart from the expanded narrative and character development that evolved from what was once a thin children’s book, McKellen says he was also appreciative of a chance to play his favourite of “the two Gandalfs.” Fans of the Lord of the Rings trilogy will recall that Gandalf the Grey is “resurrected” at one point, becoming the transcendant Gandalf the White, who assists in Frodo’s quest to destroy the Ring. “Gandalf the White in the second of the two Lord of the Rings movies is on a mission to save the world and so he’s cut his beard down to size, and gone white in the process and he doesn’t have any jokes. No time for

Photo: Sun Media News Services

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them. “But with Bilbo, it’s different because he’s on an adventure. He’s with Gandalf the Grey, who he can have a smoke with and a drink with and tick him off, maybe. But they learn to like each other’s company and trust each other on a humane level. “There’s a bit more range for the actor in Gandalf the Grey, so I selfishly enjoy doing him.”

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reversed and he’d filmed The Hobbit first, he’d probably have indeed made a children’s Jle D\[`X E\nj J\im`Z\j movie. Instead, he looked toward expanding If, as George Bernard Shaw said, “youth is The Hobbit to match the tone set by the Rings wasted on the young,” it follows that children’s trilogy. books might be wasted on children. “Once you start to develop the scenes, you Peter Jackson says as much when he end up with more character development and answers the question of how to turn light conflict. reading like J.R.R. Tolkien’s children’s book “Plus, we got to develop the Appendices The Hobbit into a threethat were in The Return of movie trilogy akin to his the King, 100-odd pages Lord of the Rings. (The first of material that Tolkien movie, The Hobbit: An developed that takes place Unexpected Journey, clocks around the time of The in at nearly three hours). Hobbit. So Tolkien himself G\k\i AXZbjfe “It’s a pretty misleading created material to tie (The ?fYY`k [`i\Zkfi book,” Jackson says of Hobbit) into Lord of the what has been the gateway Rings, which he wrote 17 drug to Middle Earth years after.” for generations, the tale of the hobbit Bilbo The resulting plot enhancements allowed Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his adventures Jackson to bring back the likes of Christopher with a band of dwarves, the wizard Gandalf Lee as the White Wizard Saruman, Cate (Ian McKellen), a dragon named Smaug and a Blanchett as Galadriel and even Elijah Wood creature named Gollum (Andy Serkis) who’s as Frodo. lost his “precious” ring. Jackson shepherded the project as a “It’s written in a very breathless pace, and producer for the last several years, but always pretty major events in the story are covered in insisted he was done with directing Middle two or three pages — like a children’s bedtime Earth tales, following 2003’s The Return Of The story,” Jackson says. King, which won the Oscar for Best Picture. He admits that, if his assignments had been “I guess I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it,

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after principal filming). The endgame, Jackson says, is a lengthy Middle Earth tale that stretches over six movies (and 65 years in Hobbit time). “I’m very much aware once these three movies are done, we’re looking at a six-movie set, and that’s how they’ll exist from that point on.”

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because I thought I’d be competing against myself,” the New Zealand native says. “And I thought it would be interesting to have another director involved. And Guillermo del Toro was involved for a while” (del Toro retains a scriptwriting credit, along with Philippa Boyens, Jackson’s career writing partner). The lengthy process of finding nine-figure funding for a project that quickly expanded to two films and then three eventually wore del Toro down. “Even after Guillermo left, it was still five or six months before we had a green light. “And during that period, I just thought, ‘I am actually enjoying this a lot more than I thought.’ And I’d also come to realize that there’s a lot of charm and humour in The Hobbit that Lord Of The Rings didn’t have. And it would be a completely different story with a different tone.” The project also gave tech geek Jackson an opportunity to perform myriad “science experiments,” including the infamous 48-frame-per-second filming that, he says, makes 3D seem more natural, and a cuttingedge portable motion-capture suit that allowed Andy Serkis to portray Gollum in real time opposite his fellow actors. (Previously, he’d film scenes alone, sometimes months

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When Roger Lockwood first heard his son had been hit in the eye while playing street hockey, he thought his boy might have been struck with a stick or ball. Little did he know 11-year-old Ethan had been pierced by a branch that penetrated six inches into the boy’s brain. On Nov. 5, 2011, he was paralysed. “You can’t even explain the feelings. It was just unknown whether he would still be around,” Roger said. Ethan has come a long way since the trauma, in large part due to the Oilers Interactive Learning Centre at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, which had a grand opening on Dec. 5. The centre combines technology and play through robots and touch-screen video games created at NAIT.

Quentin Ranson, rehabilitation technology leader at the Glenrose said when kids play, they work hard. While playing the games, they build motor skills, thinking skills and social skills. “We all know that, whether they’re involved in building a Lego project and constructing the Death Star, they’re thinking about it, they’re planning, they’re organizing, they’re challenging themselves, they’re playing hard, they’re working hard,” Ranson said. The video games are customizable to the players needs — whether it’s adjusting the difficulty starting from a low level or picking a side of the body that needs more work. Games on the Wii and Kinect accelerated too fast for some of the patients. Ethan, like many 11-year-old boys, loves to play video games and at the Oil Centre. His favourite is a game called

Smash Up Derby. “You’re this car and then you try and smash all these other cars,” he explained. Last Christmas, the family spent the morning with Ethan in hospital, who was hooked up to IV antibiotics. Now he’s lacing up his skates and hoping to ski one day. “He’s a very motivated kid, he’s just needed encouragement,” Roger said. “We hope he makes a full recovery.” The centre was funded by the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation to the tune of $75,000. The centre has the same sliding doors as the Oilers’ locker room. The centre has four flat-screen TVs, a tilting table top so children with mobility issues can play, a system that uses motion sensors to allow a child to interact, a robotics table, a harness system, and specialized controllers.

JLE D<;@8 E<NJ J<IM@:<J Æ Women have long been known to live longer than men, but when it comes to hitting the century mark the difference is stark: just two out of 10 Americans who live to 100 or longer are male. Of the 53,364 Americans age 100 and older, more than 80 percent are women, a U.S. Census Bureau report released on Monday showed. The agency’s findings, based on data collected from its 2010 census, also found those who make it past 100 are also more likely to be white city-dwellers in the Northeast and Midwest. “Due to sex differences in mortality over the lifespan, the proportion of females in the population increases with age. This is especially true in the oldest ages, where the percentage female increases sharply,” Census researchers wrote. “For every 100 centenarian females, there were only 20.7 centenarian males,” they added. While reaching 100 years of age may not attract as much fanfare as it did a few decades ago, the public still marvels at those who reach “super centenarian” status. Guinness World Records, which certifies the oldest living person, said the title was held by Besse Cooper, an American woman who died last week at age 116 in a Georgia nursing home soon after having her hair done. Guinness announced on its website that the new person to certified to be the oldest anywhere on the globe is 115-yearold Dina Manfredini, an immigrant from Pievepelago, Italy, who has lived in Des Moines, Iowa, since 1920. She is just 15 days older than Japan’s Jiroemon Kimura, Guinness World Records said.

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LACOMBE PARK

$329,200

$323,357

WOODLANDS 150 DAYS

Active Listings: 5

Sold Listings: 6

Active Listings: 24

Sold Listings: 22

Active Listings: 5

Sold Listings: 6

Average list price:

Average sale price:

Average list price:

Average sale price:

Average list price:

Average sale price:

Low $305,000 / High $369,000

Low $280,000 / High $334,000 Avg. days on market: 45

Low $329,900 / High $1,290,000

Low $312,000 / High $732,000 Avg. days on market: 61

Low $379,900 / High $495,000

Low $330,000 / High $480,000 Avg. days on market: 36

$342,680

$313,416

$647,945

$435,531

$460,900

ADVERTISE ON THE ST. ALBERT REAL ESTATE PAGE A great way to market your real estate listings in over 20,000 copies of the St. Albert Leader.

$406,816

ONLY $35.00!

Call us today for details. 780-460-1035 or email: homes@stalbertleader.com MPSSCS4505277MPSE

*The above area market averages represent the trailing 3-month averages, except where otherwise indicated, of single-family homes only as of the Friday prior to publication week. Data is provided by CRAIG PILGRIM of RE/MAX Real Estate (St. Albert), member of the Real Estate Association of Edmonton. Data does not include condos, townhomes or apartments, and does not differentiate between styles of homes. All efforts are made to ensure data is accurate for information purposes, but please consult a licensed real estate agent for additional market information.

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Visit our website StAlbertLeader.com and click the Survey link on the front page. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to get to know our readers better and gain some feedback on the Leader. This will greatly assist your 100% locally owned St. Albert Leader in our future growth. Survey closes Dec.14th MPSSCS4499065MPSE

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Photo: IAN KUCERAK, Sun Media News Services

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Hello Leader Reader!! LAST CHANCE!

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The Weekly Crossword

WIN A $5000

GIFT CERTIFICATE TO ST. ALBERT CENTRE! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be making a random draw of the completed surveys for

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Seasons Greetings F From the th th Trustees T t & St Staff ff off St. Albert Public Schools

Our schools and our district office will be closed from noon on December 21 until January 7 for the Christmas break.

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Tempura Battered Fish and Chips, with your choice of 10.95 Soup or Salad, served with dessert

& Scallops Linguini in white wine sauce, garlic toast 12.95 Mussels with your choice of Soup or Salad served with dessert

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Sturgeon Valley Athletic Club is looking to really set itself apart in the local health and fitness landscape with some big changes announced this week. The fitness facility, located in Campbell Business Park, told members at a special event Wednesday evening that it is getting ready to make some major changes to their operation, most notably with Leading Edge Physiotherapy moving out and a medical spa moving in. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Differentiation in the marketplace is one of our key goals,â&#x20AC;? said club manager Christine Rawlins, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and also to provide that high-calibre of dedicated medical spa in St. Albert.â&#x20AC;? True Balance medical spa, a company based out of Sherwood Park, will take over Leading Edgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s space in the club, offering medical aesthetic services like bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, Botox, skin resurfacing and laser hair removal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From True Balanceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re very excited to be able to embrace a venture like this, because fitness has always been something they saw as an excellent fit for their business model,â&#x20AC;? Rawlins said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It allows them to move forward in a direction they had been planning to anyway.â&#x20AC;?

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

N`k_ Zfdg\k`k`fe iXdgè^ lg è k_\ cfZXc Ă&#x201D;ke\jj dXib\kgcXZ\# Jkli^\fe MXcc\p 8k_c\k`Z :clY `j dXbè^ dXafi Z_Xe^\j kf Zfekèl\ kf j\k `kj\c] XgXik% Rawlins added that keeping things within the Capital Region and bringing in a local partner was very important to the club. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We always want to align ourselves with the best brands and the best practitioners,â&#x20AC;? she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and also a business that shares the same philosophies as we do.â&#x20AC;? SVAC is also implementing a number of other features and programs. Their Perkville electronic reward and loyalty program is already up and running, and they plan to introduce an introductory 30-day membership rate, a new â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mix It Upâ&#x20AC;? class format and a new

â&#x20AC;&#x153;MyZoneâ&#x20AC;? activity tracking system in the near future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are a lot of bare bones facilities out there, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fine and good; it serves a certain component of the marketplace,â&#x20AC;? Rawlins said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But we feel our customers are more sophisticated with their tastes and choices, so we want to provide them with a wide palate of choices.â&#x20AC;? Meanwhile, Leading Edge has found new digs further north in Campbell Park, as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be moving into a new space double their current size off Carleton Drive being built by SAS Sports and Entertainment Group, the driving force behind the

St. Albert Sports City concept slated for the northwest corner of St. Albert. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re over-the-moon pumped,â&#x20AC;? said Leading Edge co-owner Heidi Fedoruk. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth and an opportunity to bring in some technologies and treatments that will keep us on the leading edge. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always looking at ways we can improve the care we give.â&#x20AC;? Fedoruk added that the new space will allow Leading Edge to bring in a new piece equipment that will be the first of its kind in a private physiotherapy clinic in Canada, although she wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t divulge any more detail than that. SVAC is facing a number of challenges within the health and fitness sector, most notably the location of a Goodlife Fitness location slated for a new commercial development along St. Albert Trail, just north of Riverside Honda. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re aware that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re coming, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be grossly remiss to think it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to impact our business in some way,â&#x20AC;? Rawlins said. But, she said, the club has faced similar challenges in the past and survived, and sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s confident theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll meet this one head-on as well. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re independent and locally owned and operated, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re adaptable in that regard. ... Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping these changes will position us better prior to their launch,â&#x20AC;? she said.

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A St. Albert-based construction company has been bought up in a deal worth approximately $12.8 million. It was announced Sunday that a deal had been reached to sell Nason Contracting Group Ltd., based in St. Albertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Campbell Business Park, to Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bird Construction Ltd. The acquisition is expected to be completed by Jan. 15. Nason has made a name for itself over the past 40 years as a builder of water

and wastewater facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenues over the past four full fiscal years averaged $37 million. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bird and Nason are a great fit. Nasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expertise is in mechanical, electrical and instrumentation work while Bird is a leader in general contracting and civil work. Combining this expertise, we will be able to execute more complex work as well

as assignments for industrial clients where our expertise is well suited to the demands of their projects,â&#x20AC;? said Darrell Stang, president of Nason, in a press release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Joining with Bird will not only expand our opportunities as a company, but it will provide tremendous opportunities for our employees to grow and take on new and challenging assignments within the Bird organization.â&#x20AC;? Ă&#x2021; >C<EE :FFB

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Pierre Hebert MPSSCS4496576MPSE

780-459-7786 www.bermontrealty.com

ďż˝Office Spaces ďż˝Administrative Services ďż˝Business Education ďż˝Coaching & Mentoring

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Guy Hebert MPSSCS4496565MPSE

780.460.1000

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Does hiring come to a halt as the holidays approach? Is the holiday season a good time to find a new job? Office parties, professional get-togethers, and year-end meetings abound during the holiday season. While it may be tempting to put your search on hold, that could put you at a disadvantage. When organizations have a need, they hire regardless of the time of year. As companies complete their financial planning for 2013 they’re under pressure to fill certain openings or risk losing budgets. Hiring managers with new goals are eager to find productive workers and competition for candidates is keen. Because many hiring managers don’t travel much during the holidays, they may have time to meet with job seekers. Several organizations interview in December for positions starting in the new year. The fact that many potential candidates don’t job hunt during the holidays is another advantage. Those who plan to leave often wait until the new year so they can receive year-end bonuses. Others take vacations. Some successful candidates begin new jobs between Christmas and New Year. Starting work during the holidays can be a bonus. The work pace is usually slower, and new employees have time to settle in. Seasoned employees have time to answer questions. The interview process may take longer than normal as interviewers take a few days off. That can work to your advantage. You’ll have time to prepare, and have a foot in the door in the new year. Some tips for you holiday job search: t Be prepared. Know yourself and job target. Specify your preferred job title and industry, your special skills and accomplishments, and what you can offer the company (value added). Match your qualifications to employers’ needs. Know key industry words to describe your skills. t Investigate jobs and prospective employers. Consider small and medium-sized companies. Be resourceful. Check the classifieds, online job boards, local newspapers, business and trade publications, and company websites. Use Google and other search engines to learn about organizations and identify

decision makers of desired companies. t Use social media. Build an online professional profile on LinkedIn and Twitter to expand your network. Employers research potential candidates: ensure information about your professional accomplishments and background is current. Keep personal life private on Facebook. t Consider industry-related Twitter chats to communicate with the right people. Share information by re-tweeting and forwarding links and articles. Contemplate sharing work on high traffic sites like YouTube. t Prepare an elevator speech. This mini-speech introduces you, describes your experience, accomplishments and skills, demonstrates your value added, and indicates what you like about the organization. Give speeches over the phone, in person, at professional or other gatherings. t Call hiring managers. Before phoning, investigate the organization and hiring manager. Ask for two minutes. Give your speech conversationally demonstrating how you can help resolve employer challenges like saving money and managing people. Be friendly and genuine. t Create a separate resumé for each job target. Also, design a business card that highlights areas of expertise and directs recipients to your resumé in an accessible format, such as the URL for a web page. t Volunteer. You’ll meet new people, learn about job opportunities, and gain experience and a sense of well-being. t Take a survival job. Temporary work can stretch finances and may lead to a permanent position. Employers often need temporary workers as they try to complete annual goals with regular employees wanting vacation time. t Maintain a flexible schedule. Allocate time for job search and relaxation or holiday celebrations. Be available and adaptable. A prospective employer may unexpectedly call. If you’re accessible, you have an advantage. t Follow up. Contact hiring managers within two weeks of sending correspondence. A brief phone call reasserting your interest and strong qualifications for the position is effective. t Persist. You may get your Christmas wish. Dr. Carole Kanchier is a registered psychologist, coach, speaker, and author of Dare to Change Your Job and Your Life. Reach her at carole@daretochange.com or visit www. daretochange.com.

ADULT CARRIERS NEEDED • Flexible hours to ﬁt your day and only one day per week! • Add to your RRSP’s • Take a Cruise • Christmas Cash, Etc. The St Albert Leader is currently looking for adult carriers for door to door newspaper deliveries within your community. Invest only a few hours of your time Thursday afternoon/ evenings and earn an average of $300/mo., directly deposited every two weeks. Reliable transportation is required.

Please Pl se call 780-4600-10 1035 35 or email il del elivery@stalbertle lead ader.c .com om MPSSCS4505317MPSE

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) is seeking a qualified individual for the following position:

Looking for a New Career? The St. Albert Investors Group Office is Growing Its Team of 29 Financial Advisors

FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIANS/ OPERATIONAL SERVICES

Salary Range: $1,709.40 to $2,175.00 bi-weekly Comp # 12-197 Closing Date: Open Until Filled

Career Information Evening 7 o’clock pm, January 15 , 2013 Suite 100, 7 St. Anne St., St. Albert To Register email: robert.maurier@investorsgroup.com or call Rob 780-459-3343 ext 230 or visit InvestorsGroupStAlbert.com th

REQUIRES EQUIPMENT OPERATORS

This is a full-time opportunity to establish a varaible-income and self employed business in association with Investors Group.

to load structural steel on trailers. Heated-cab telehandlers (zoom booms), great pay and full benefits. Located in Morinville, AB.

The AGLC is responsible for regulating gaming and liquor activities across the province. Our work environment offers challenging opportunities, career growth, and supports work-life balance. For more information on this and other available positions please visit our website aglc.ca. 50 Corriveau Avenue St. Albert, AB T8N 3T5 fax: 780.447.8918 email: hr@aglc.ca

Fax resume to: 780-939-2181 or Email: careers@garweld.com

Investors Group Financial Services Inc. MPSSCS4496593MPSE

Locally Owned & Operated

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To apply, visit our website: MPSSCS4499057MPSE

aglc.ca

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15 minutes north of West Edmonton Mall on 170st.