T8N Oct/Nov 2019

OCT/NOV 2019 I t8nmagazine.com

Comfort from the Cold Recipes to beat that winter chill

Warning Signs

The lowdown on kids’ mental health and drug abuse

Missing in Action The search for five fallen soldiers

Superstar Treatment

Jarome Iginla joins the local athletic elite

T8N October/ November 2019  1

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Contents

T8N MAGAZINE

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 8 October/November 2019 PUBLISHER

EDITOR

Rob Lightfoot

Gene Kosowan

ART DIRECTION

Brenda Lakeman, Correna Saunders DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Correna Saunders PHOTOGRAPHY

Brenda Lakeman CONTRIBUTORS

Rudy Howell, Paula E. Kirman, Markwell Lyon, Shima Zonneveld OFFICE MANAGER

Janice Lightfoot CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES Image page 6 & 8 © James Thew/Adobe Stock Image page 9 © partyvector/Adobe Stock Image page 18 © robu_s/Adobe Stock Image page 32 © Olena Bloshchynska/Adobe Stock

ISSN 2368-707X (PRINT) ISSN 2368-7088 (ONLINE)

Conversations 6

Altered States

The dual effects of substance abuse and compromised mental health on teens. Here’s what parents need to know.

Arts & Culture 11

THEN & NOW

From Stable to Station

Chronicling the evolution of St. Albert’s Fire & Rescue Services.

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THE 8s

Lending a hand

The joys of volunteering plus some irresistible opportunities.

23

FOOD & GATHERINGS Spoon Some Up

Thaw out from the cold with these hearty soups and stews.

Spotlight 30

MEET YOU THERE Forgotten no more

How researchers diligently recovered the names of five long-lost soldiers.

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18

Saddle Up

Horses help the disabled get a leg up on life, while having fun.

City 16

Living

32

A Handful of Heroes

Jarome Iginla joins an exclusive club of commemorated local athletes.

For editorial inquiries or information, contact T8N magazine at info@t8nmagazine.com. Have something to say? Letters, suggestions or ideas can be sent to letters@t8nmagazine.com.

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION Rob Lightfoot rob@t8nmagazine.com 780 940 6212 or visit t8nmagazine.com T8N magazine is published 10-12 times a year by T8N Publishing Inc. Copyright ©2019 T8N Publishing Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.

Content marked by the Sponsored Content icon was produced in partnership between content producers and T8N magazine.

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T8N PUBLISHING INC PUBLISHER & PRESIDENT

Rob Lightfoot: rob@t8nmagazine.com

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I FROM THE PUBLISHER I WHILE PUTTING TOGETHER the content for this

edition of T8N, I couldn’t help noticing a theme running through the material. Sometimes, it’s by accident and such was the case here, but it’s an observation worth noting.

Rob Lightfoot

Much of what’s written in these pages has to do with the idea of helping one another, such as our volunteer story in The 8s (Page 18), where we highlight a number of charities and worthy causes that could use a few hands. Our story on the Little Bits program highlighted that notion while covering this unique not-for-profit endeavour to provide comfort for the disabled (Page 11).

Then we focused our gratitude towards five First World War soldiers whose identities and efforts to preserve our freedom were undocumented until recently (Page 16).

That theme continued while chronicling the history of this city’s fire and rescue service and its men and women who put their lives on the line to keep us safe. (Page 20).

Our feature on kids’ mental health and drug use (Page 6) is also thematic, especially with the opioid crisis hitting our country. With alarming statistics that concern the state of young people’s health, we hope that concerned parents benefit from awareness of the issue and do what they can to help their children.

Rounding off our content is a look at the Jarome Iginla dedication event in August (Page 30) and a menu of soups and stews recipes (Page 23) to help endure the coming winter. With the cold weather approaching, we could all use a little warmth these days, especially from the heart. Keep that in mind as you enjoy this read.

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On the Cover Intrepid shutter-clicker Brenda Lakeman captures a truly seasonal image of yet another use for marshmallows. They’re a delicacy that you can make at home and part of our recipe lineup in this edition’s Food & Gatherings section.

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I CONVERSATIONS I

Altered

States Facts concerning children prone to drug abuse and mental illness BY: MARKWELL LYON

IN SOME WAYS, alcohol and drugs

are a normal part of growing up.

More than a few of us have fond memories of parties and hanging out with friends, away from the prying eyes of parents, where certain substances may or may not have been present . But th i ngs have changed since then. The drugs are more potent, cannabis is legal and the opioid crisis has complicated things, both in the minds of parents and adolescents.

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ADDITIONAL HELP In the event that further counselling or treatment is necessary, Alberta Health Services provide a number of services in Edmonton and the surrounding region geared toward children and families dealing with addiction and mental health issues. Walk-in clinics are located at Northgate Centre and at the southside Rutherford Health Centre, while the Stollery Children’s Hospital offers crisis services for addiction and mental health.

AHS also offers mobile addictions services for adolescents in the Edmonton area.

The following phone numbers may also be helpful: Health Link: 811 Addiction Helpline: 1-866-332-2322 Mental Health Helpline: 1-877-303-2642

Linking mental health and substance use Like adults, kids use drugs and alcohol for a range of reasons. Many experiment out of curiosity or a desire to feel more social and to fit in with their peers.

Normal teen behaviour, in other words.

Others turn to drugs and alcohol as they struggle with the difficult emotions that come with growing up. At least in the short term, these substances can give some relief from the symptoms of anxiety, depression or trauma.

Whatever the immediate reasons, a young person’s likelihood of consuming substances is often rooted in mental health — and vice versa. According to Dr. Doris Payer, of the Canadian Centre on Substance use and Addiction, the two issues tend to go hand-in-hand. “A lot of the same brain areas underlie both mental health and addiction,” she says.

This is backed up by statistics from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which show that nearly 70 percent of youth (ages 10 to 24) hospitalized for substance use between 2017 and 2018 were also treated for a mental health condition.

The reason is that young, developing brains are very “plastic,” making them quick and adaptable, but also more vulnerable to substance dependency.

Drugs and alcohol affect the same areas of the brain involved with disorders like ADHD, anxiety and depression. This means young people can get more pleasure or alleviation from substances, but they also experience more negative emotions when deprived of those substances.

The highs are higher, in other words, but the lows are much lower.

In particular, Dr. Payer points to the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain believed to be responsible for executive control. “That’s the part of the brain that keeps the reward areas and emotional areas in check,” she says, noting it can still be developing well into a person’s 20s.

“If it’s not fully developed yet, that’s where a lot of behaviour can come from.”

In short, it’s sort of a chicken-or-egg conundrum. On the one hand, mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety, and externalizing behaviour, like impulsiveness, can cause young people to experiment and potentially

develop substance abuse problems.

“But it also works the other way around,” says Dr. Payer. “If you develop a substance use disorder, it can affect your mood later on. It may bring changes to your life that are depressing or anxiety-inducing.”

Experimentation Research in Canada has shown that youth consume a wide range of illicit substances, as do adults. However, alcohol and cannabis are the runaway favourites, according to the 2017 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS). Sponsored by Health Canada, the survey is carried out every other year and measures substance use across different age groups. Among those aged 15 to 19, nearly 57 percent had consumed alcohol in the past year, while 19.4 percent had used cannabis. And while the ongoing opioid crisis continues to grab headlines, only 4.1 percent of youths reported using drugs other than cannabis — namely cocaine, methamphetamines, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and heroin — in the past year.

T8N October/ November 2019 9

As a province, Alberta is more or less in step with the rest of the country. The most recent Alberta Youth Experience Survey (TAYES) in 2008 found that 49.1 percent Alberta students in Grades 7 to 12 had used alcohol in the past year, while 16.3 percent had used cannabis. The use of street drugs was similar to the national average, with the most popular drugs being hallucinogens (four percent) and MDMA (3.7 percent). One interesting finding from this survey was that student perception of alcohol and drug use among their peers was much higher than the actual usage. Perceived usage of cannabis and crystal meth were both several times higher than the actual rates that students reported—likely a result of drugs being such a common topic in the media and pop culture.

Potential Dangers Of course, these stats don’t tell the whole story.

Using a substance once or twice in the past year is hardly the same as addiction. “There is a spectrum of use, even among youth,” Dr. Payer says.

“There are kids who are just experimenting, or who aren’t using at all, and then it goes all the 10 T8Nmagazine.com

way up to regular or problematic use. Youth can fall anywhere along that spectrum.”

So how concerned should parents be?

Many kids who experiment with drugs and alcohol grow up without any problems. Yet the progression from dabbling to dependency can happen faster in kids than in adults, especially if there’s a concurrent mental condition — which research shows there often is. The likelihood of a child developing a substance use disorder depends on a complex interplay of risk and resiliency factors. Genetics has a lot to do with it, but childhood experiences, good or bad, can increase or lower the vulnerability.

However, even without full-blown dependence, kids face a number of significant risks when using various substances. These risks exist for adults, too, but are exacerbated when a young brain is still developing. Alcohol can cause risky behaviour and poor decision-making, which in turn leads to higher rates of teen pregnancy and STIs. Cannabis use also carries significant risks. Besides harming a young person’s ability to think, learn and remember, its use can also

lead to psychological problems: anxiety, mood swings and, in the long run, even psychosis. And these risks only increase the younger that kids start using these substances and the longer that they continue doing so.

Alcohol and cannabis also cause considerable physical harm to Canadian adolescents. The leading cause of death for youths in Canada remains alcoholrelated traffic accidents, and cannabis causes more hospitalizations than any other substance in the country. In fact, CIHI reports that in 2017-2018, one out of every 20 hospital stays for Canadians aged 10 to 24 were caused by substance use.

What to Look for Naturally, parents will watch their kids for warning signs that they’re using drugs or alcohol or perhaps even developing a problem. Dr. Payer and other experts recommend some caution here. It’s easy to mistake behaviour and overreact when there isn’t actually a problem.

to a downloadable CCSA guide called “Talking Pot with Youth: A Cannabis Communication Guide for Youth Allies.”

Yes, it deals specifically with cannabis, which as we’ve seen is one of the substances most commonly used by kids. But the lessons can be applied to the wider issue of youth substance use.

Some key takeaways for parents include

checking your own biases and creating a safe space where a productive discussion can happen. “It’s not just that the kid needs to change their behaviour, but the family plays a really big role in prevention and treatment as well,” Dr. Payer says.

Within St. Albert, AHS Addiction and Mental Health Services for youth can be reached at (780) 460-4971. t8n

“This is a tricky one,” Dr. Payer admits.

“A lot of the signs you can find in the literature sound like normal teenage behaviour. Is this just a teenager being a teenager, or is this a problem?”

Rather than making something out of certain behaviours, what is more telling is the overall pattern of behaviour. Kids can go through a range of emotions from day to day (as can adults). Withdrawal or other negative behaviours may not mean anything at all on their own, and in fact are common for teenagers as they deal with the challenges of growing up. But withdrawal grouped with other changes in appearance, behaviour or attitude may indeed indicate a bigger issue.

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“If the youth develops health issues, if they start to neglect functions they’re responsible for, like performing well at school, or going to a job or regular life responsibilities, then it could be an issue.”

Where to Turn If parents determine there is an issue or just want to talk to their kids about drugs and alcohol, Dr. Payer recommends honest and non-judgmental conversations rather than confrontation. She points

11 Bellerose Drive I St. Albert 780-328-4500

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T8N October/ November 2019 11

4 YEARS IN A ROW

Caruana Interiors and Contracting Quality workmanship and a dedication to make your renovation project unique

D

eciding to renovate can be a difficult choice, especially when the job is big and costly. Many homeowners are understandably wary of committing to a contractor, knowing how hard it can be to find one who will follow through on commitments. Caruana Interiors and Contracting knows this and works hard to give its customers peace of mind. Based in St. Albert and serving the greater Edmonton region, Caruana offers home renovation solutions that homeowners can trust, through a dedication to quality, trust and cleanliness.

Owner Neville Ward helped launch Caruana in 2007, after a decade in the hospitality industry. Years of building and managing coffeeshops convinced him that his true calling lay in renovating.

“I realized that I like being involved in the renovation and construction process more than managing up to 80 employees,” he says. “And that kind of transitioned into wanting to do it full-time.”

Every House Is Unique

That mix of commitment, know-how and care serves Caruana well. What makes renovating interesting for Neville — and a little tricky, too — is that every house is unique. Even within the same subdivision, two houses with similar floor plans might actually be very different, once you start taking things apart. All the different plumbers, electricians, framers and other tradespeople who work on a house have their

own ways of doing things, and the sum of their decisions makes every house and every reno job unique.

a bathroom or kitchen renovation at the same time.”

Fortunately, it’s a challenge that Caruana is ready for. “We have to be prepared for every eventuality,” Neville says of his approach. “We go in and we try to do everything methodically, so we can decipher how things were built. Every single job might have similar components, but each job is 100 percent different.”

Not only does Caruana deliver with quality work, the company is also dedicated to doing so safely and cleanly.

During renovations, the company strives to keep damage to a minimum. Caruana has also been awarded a Certificate of Recognition (COR) by the Alberta government for meeting provincial standards in health and safety. COR certification requires regular internal and external audits, demonstrating Caruana’s ongoing commitment to safety — not only for workers, but for the homeowner as well.

Dedication from Start to Finish Regardless of differences, Caruana begins each job the same way: with a home visit for insight into the homeowner’s plans and the house itself. As Neville explains, it’s an opportunity to gauge a home’s possibilities. “Can we do what they want? Can we take out those walls, can we move the kitchen around, can we change that bathtub to a shower, or vice versa?” It’s an excellent opportunity for the homeowner, as well, to shape their vision for their home under the guidance of experts.

While bathrooms and kitchens remain popular renovation targets, Caruana also provides what Neville calls a home or main floor “refresh,” where the focus is on more than a single room.

Sometimes knocking out a wall here or replacing an entrance there is just what a home needs to feel new again. “It just gives a home a nice new feeling,” Neville says. “It may or may not include

Safety, Cleanliness and Trust

“The quality workmanship is there, so we know the wiring is safe, the plumbing is safe, and the structural stuff is safe,” Neville says. “We want to ensure that people’s houses are safe when we leave them.”

780.935.5831 f caruanainteriors.ca 9, 8 Riel Drive, St. Albert, AB Licensed & Insured for your protection Alberta Prepaid Contractor License 320821 Serving St. Albert & Edmonton since 2007

This sponsored content was produced in partnership between Caruana Interiors & Contracting and T8N magazine.

I ARTS & CULTURE I

Saddle

UP

Little Bits offers big benefits for disabled riders

BY: PAULA E. KIRMAN; PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDA LAKEMAN

IMAGINE HAVING A few rehabilitation partners with

hooves. In this case, there’s a palomino named Ali Cat, an appaloosa mare dubbed Angel, a quarter horse that answers to Big and a chestnut gelding called Caffi – also known as Caffi Latte. No horsing around here, as these equines are recognized as bona fide therapy quadrupeds at the Little Bits Therapeutic Riding Association.

T8N October/ November 2019 13

Located at the Whitemud Equine Learning Centre Association just off Fox Drive in Edmonton, Little Bits gives people with disabilities the chance to take part in recreational riding programs. And while riding a horse through the natural beauty of the city’s river valley can be a rush in itself to most of us, Little Bits strives to help disabled patrons saddle up to develop their independence, physical well-being, ability, confidence, and riding techniques. The not-for-profit organization doesn’t take the element of fun out of the equation, either. Far more relevant are the positive changes that participants, parents and staffers discover among those taking part in the program.

“Shy riders have developed a sense of themselves and are better able to express themselves to family and friends. Many parents comment on the increase in muscle tone, trunk control and strength when speaking of their children,” says Linda Rault, the riding program administrator with Little Bits. “Children on the autism spectrum are encouraged to use words and touch the horse and all riders are expected to use socially appropriate behaviors when riding.”

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"For a person with a disability, [riding] provides a sense of normalcy and the opportunity to take a risk,” says Rault. “It can be highly motivating, gives confidence, and independence. The benefits can be physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual individually and collectively.”

T8N October/ November 2019 15

The idea for Little Bits came about in 1972 via the minds of Willa Lundy and Myrtle Leadlay, after Lundy visited London, England where her daughter was working with a therapeutic riding program.

Lundy became enthusiastic about launching a similar program in Edmonton. Once back from England, Lundy, Leadlay, and a few other like-minded individuals started working out those possibilities with the Edmonton Parks and Recreation Department. In 1975, they received a grant from the provincial government to fund the training and certification of riding instructors, the purchase of safety equipment, and the rental of lesson horses and a riding facility.

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Little Bits, which also subsidizes half the rider costs through fundraising, has grown from 36 original riders in 1975 to the current 165. Thanks to the new climate-controlled facility, programming can now take place in the winter. All of the organization’s instructors are certified by its governing body, the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association.

For their part, the therapy horses are also well-trained with a few of them possessing some extraordinary skills. There’s Dancer, who helps keep fidgety riders calm, and Gemini, who adapts to riders who have trouble mounting a horse the traditional way. Because of the groundwork and the general allure of horseback riding, the program is so successful that some placements may take more than two years. t8n

Little Bits Correspondence: (780) 476-1233, info@littlebits.ca, littlebits.ca T8N October/ November 2019  17

I MEET YOU THERE I

Forgotten

No More

The search for five soldiers missing from war records BY: RUDY HOWELL

DURING THE FIRST World War, a

total of 10 men from St. Albert fell in the trenches, towns, fields, and forests of France and Belgium, where they have ever since been honoured at memorials and cemeteries across each country. Yet, for a century, five of those men’s ultimate sacrifices were somehow forgotten by their own hometown.

For nearly a decade, the names of Privates Moise Beausoleil, Wilfred Chevigny, Hector Duroche, Daniel Flynn, and William Laurence were all absent from the St. Albert Cenotaph on St. Anne Street. That’s where on Nov. 11, the annual Remembrance Day Ceremony is held, honouring the brave men and women who have served our country.

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This mystery went unnoticed for years until 2012, when the Musée Héritage Museum began preparation for an exhibit that it would host two years later to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of what was then called The Great War. The exhibit, called Joining Up: Our Men and Women in the First World War, would include an honour wall of plaques providing information about every known soldier from St. Albert who had served in the war.

“I started looking at this in 2012 thinking ‘Okay, let’s try and figure out who our soldiers were,’” says museum curator Joanne White.

Soon, the museum’s education programmer, Roy Toomey, was on board too, helping White conduct research for the exhibit.

This initially consisted of the two

to verify enlistment and whether that person had a legitimate connection to St. Albert.

Remembrance Day 2019 Monday, November 11th, 10:30 a.m.-noon St. Albert Cenotaph, North of St. Albert Place on St. Anne Street

“It was a decision about what those connections were and were they strong enough to say ‘This is a St. Albert resident,’” explains White.

Once the pair had determined which soldiers qualified as St. Albert residents, their final step was to insert each name into the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database to determine which St. Albert soldiers had indeed fallen in the war. Toomey and White had compiled a list of 10 fallen soldiers from St. Albert, five of whom were already on the local cenotaph – Privates Albert Goodman, Daniel and John Kennedy, and Clarence and Harry Maloney – and another five whose names were nowhere to be found.

“As we went through and kept finding more research, we were finding that this guy and this guy never came home,” says Toomey.

scouring through St. Albert’s main history book, The Black Robe’s Vision: A History of St. Albert and District, archived editions of The Edmonton Bulletin, Le courrier de l’ouest, and L’Union – three Edmonton newspapers – diaries, journals, and the cenotaph itself in order to find any information on local soldiers who had fought in that war.

The pair finalized a list of 80 men and one woman – a nursing sister named Margaret Kenned – from St. Albert who had enlisted in the First World War. The next phase involved entering each name into the First World War section of the Library and Archives Canada database in order to see which soldiers would appear. Once a soldier was found, the pair would check for a scanned version of his attestation papers

In 2015, the pair submitted a finalized folder to local legionnaires containing the names of 62 men and one woman from St. Albert – including those of the five fallen soldiers missing from the cenotaph – who had served in the First World War. And on September 11, 2016, a public ceremony was held at the cenotaph recognizing the names of all 10 fallen heroes.

There’s no solid answer regarding how those five soldiers wound up missing from the records, just a lot of speculation. One theory that White and Toomey are most confident in, is simply, time. Individual names of fallen soldiers were not added to the St. Albert Cenotaph until 2009, nearly a century after the end of the war. It’s also likely that the families of the confirmed war dead may have moved away over the years and weren’t available to verify

the five that weren’t documented.

“A lot of information would have been lost in that time period. Soldiers parents would have passed on, and family would have moved away,” explains White.

To further complicate things, the cenotaph itself has been updated and relocated multiple times since its creation. With limited records, both the museum and the legion assume that the original cenotaph was erected sometime after the end of the Second World War, most likely coinciding with the founding of the Royal Canadian Legion St. Albert Branch in 1957. It was a cement cross approximately four feet high, located on the front lawn of the St. Albert Community Hall.

In the mid-1960s, a new cenotaph was constructed on the corner of Sir Winston Churchill Avenue and Green Grove Drive.

However, due to noise from passing traffic, especially during each November’s moment of silence, the legion decided to once more relocate the cenotaph to its present location on St. Anne Street. This site was consecrated in the summer of 1987, with representatives present from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, as well as dignitaries from the Royal Canadian Legion.

Today the cenotaph stands proudly on this same site, where it plays an important role in our community not only on Remembrance Day, but year round, by creating a greater overall understanding of St. Albert’s history and the heroism of its residents, regular men and women who acted bravely when called to duty.

“I consider these men to be real heroes and I think it’s important that we don’t forget the sacrifices that two generations made in the name of Canada,” says Toomey. t8n T8N October/ November 2019 19

I THE EIGHTS I

LENDING

A HAND

With the season of giving almost upon us, consider volunteering as the ultimate gesture BY: RUDY HOWELL

WITH SCHOOL, WORK, and family, or in

some cases all three, it can be hard to find time for things that aren’t essential to your daily routine. And when the stars align, and you find yourself with a free Saturday afternoon, the last thing you probably want to do is spend it for example, volunteering. We’ve all been there, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But, for the sake of argument, let us try and convince you that volunteering, believe it or not, can be worth your while.

We hope you will find an opportunity of interest in this list of eight volunteering jobs available this year in St. Albert.

1. Alberta Health Services Home Care Friendly Visitor Volunteers are matched for social companionship with clients of the Alberta Health Services Home Care program who are living in their own homes.

Volunteers choose their client based on interests, availability, and location and are asked to give approximately one hour a week of volunteer 20 T8Nmagazine.com 20 T8Nmagazine.com

time. Applicants are required to do an interview, provide references and undergo a criminal record check and vulnerable sector search.

2. Art Gallery of St. Albert Special Events Volunteer Assisting at public exhibition opening receptions, the Special Event Volunteer meets the public as they enter the gallery, records visitor numbers, and distributes general exhibition and gallery information to those entering and leaving the building. Other duties include assisting with the preparation of refreshments, supervising other areas of the gallery such as the Art Rental and Sales Gallery, and assisting with the take down and cleanup of the event. The gallery staff is especially looking for candidates who are energetic, enthusiastic, friendly and comfortable initiating contact with the public.

3. Canadian National Institute for the Blind Vision Mate Vision Mate volunteers provide one-on-one companionship and general support to a person who is blind or partially sighted. Approved

activities may include going on walks, helping with errands such as shopping and organizing, recreational activities, and friendly visiting. The time commitment for this volunteer opportunity is approximately two hours every week for a minimum of six months. Part of the screening process is an interview, a list of references and a criminal record check.

4. Clean Up Activities Volunteer Venture out into your local schoolyard, park, or greenspace to pick up litter and help spruce up St. Albert.

To apply, complete the online form found on the city’s website to participate in schoolyard, natural area, or neighbourhood cleanups.

5. Emergency Reception Centre Volunteer Assist with operations of the ERC with one of the following possible functions: meet & greet, registration and referral, meal distribution, scribe, runner, or other assistants.

Volunteers need to have excellent interpersonal communication skills when working individually or as part of a group and be outgoing and enthusiastic. You’ll need to prove that you’re not only reliable and professional but also submit to a criminal record check.

6. Khan Communication Services CHATTER Program Volunteer CHATTER is a group-therapy program for kids and teens with autism spectrum disorder and other speech-language delays. High school and university volunteers are invited to help program participants build their communication, language, and social skills. While CHATTER is looking for students, applicants must be enrolled in Grade 9 or higher.

7. Mission Ridge Stables Therapeutic Riding Assistant Volunteers will help with getting horses ready, miniature horse agility, crafts, and leading and side-walking during lessons. Volunteers may also have an opportunity to work with the horses after lessons. While no experience is necessary, you must be at least 14 to apply.

8. St. Albert Seniors Association Transportation Driver Help seniors get to their medical appointments and benefit their health and wellness. As the program comes at no cost to riders, you're helping those with limited financial resources get the medical services they need to stay healthy, as well as providing companionship to and from these appointments. Interested people must be at least 21 years old with their own personal vehicles, have a Class 5 driver’s license as well as updated insurance and registration. The tasks will require someone with at least five years of driving experience and at least a three-year clean driving record period. Prospects must agree to do an interview and agree to a criminal record check and a vulnerable sector search. t8n

11725 170 St NW I 780.451.1269 T8N October/ November 2019 21

I THEN & NOW I

St. Albert Fire Brigade, 1912 Musée Heritage Museum

From Stable to

Station

Exploring the 150-year legacy of St. Albert Fire and Rescue Services BY: RUDY HOWELL

ST. ALBERT HAS been a constantly growing community

for over 150 years, and with it has grown its municipal services, such as fire and rescue. Established in the infancy of the 20th century as a volunteer brigade, St. Albert Fire and Rescue Services has since turned itself into a fully functional city department, helping transform St. Albert from a small town into one of Canada’s safest and most livable cities.

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1910s-1940s While founded in 1861, St. Albert did not establish its first fire brigade until 1910. The St. Albert Volunteer Fire Brigade initially consisted of roughly a dozen volunteers and a paid chief.

With just two horse-drawn fire engines, the brigade operated out of a livery stable located half a block away from the St. Albert Hotel on the corner of Perron and St. Anne Street – the site where the Bruin Inn would eventually stand. In February 1912, The Edmonton Journal reported that the brigade had asked St. Albert’s town council for compensation in the amount of “a dollar a man per month, plus $25 a month for the chief.” Since the entire brigade at this time consisted solely of volunteers, routine fire drills were completed north of the town by extinguishing burning piles of wood in order to keep the men prepared for when a real blaze was to occur.

During this time, the brigade relied quite heavily on Edmonton Fire and Rescue Services, who had both more men, and more engines to combat fires. In September 1929, a conference was held in St. Albert for visiting Edmonton Fire Chief A. Dutton, who recommended changes regarding the town’s water supply in order to ensure that a reliable and convenient reserve was at all times available. Unfortunately, this suggestion made little difference as a string of high-profile fires including the St. Albert Covent fire of 1931, the Gillespie Grain fire of 1938, and the Hogan Residence fire of 1944 were all unable to be extinguished due to a lack of both water and manpower.

1950s-1970s In 1959, the brigade appointed its very first full-time fire chief, Fred Tetarenko.

A year later, the brigade received its first honour, the Certificate of Merit from the National Fire Protection Association for outstanding activities in the field of fire prevention in 1959. These outstanding activities included a first aid and fire

prevention course taught to St. Albert Scouts and the observance of “Fire Prevention Week,” where the brigade would inspect homes and businesses for fire hazards.

In 1962, more good fortune came to the brigade in the form of $100,000 in city funding for the construction of Fire

Station No. 1, which to this day still operates from 18 Sir Winston Churchill Avenue. But, cause for celebration soon diminished as it was reported by The Edmonton Journal that Tetarenko was deeply concerned with the state of his brigade. Out of 22 volunteer firefighters, 17 worked outside of St. Albert, making T8N October/ November 2019 23

them unavailable to fight a fire during the day should one occur. And with a population of 8,000 in 1963, St. Albert was too small to afford a full-time fire department, and too large to continue depending entirely on a volunteer force.

A decade passed before a 1974 report was delivered to St. Albert’s town council by the provincial fire commissioner’s office which concluded that the community was in dire need of a force of 40 full-time firemen, new fire trucks, and, eventually, a large new central headquarters. This report stunned council members who would in turn pass a bylaw forming St. Albert’s first full-time fire department in 1975. Yet, controversy arose again in 1977 when $65,000 in funding was used to create the city’s first five-man ambulance division within the fire department even though it currently consisted of a mere 11 full-time firefighters, a fraction of the suggested 40 intended to serve a community of 24,000.

1980s-2000s In 1980, the St. Albert Fire Department, along with firefighters from Edmonton and Morinville, fought and won a 24 T8Nmagazine.com

battle against one of St. Albert’s most expensive fires to date. Thought to be started by a cigarette left smoldering in a garbage bag, the St. Albert Inn fire caused roughly $3 million in damage and sent some 50 guests fleeing into the frigid February night air wearing nothing but their night clothes. It was the first time that a significant number of lives in St. Albert had been threatened by a single fire. This realization led to the construction of Fire Station No. 2 at 100 Boudreau Road which officially opened its doors in 1982.

By the 1990s, things were heating up for St. Albert Fire and Rescue Services. The city now had two fully functioning fire stations, a combined total of 56 firefighters and emergency medical technicians, and the lowest fire rate in the province. The only thing the city now lacked was a 9-1-1 service. But that changed in 1995 when the city, after three long years of discussions with Alberta Government Telephones (AGT), was finally connected to the emergency response service.

In 2009, the city’s third fire station opened at 100 Giroux Road as the new St. Albert Fire and Rescue Services

headquarters. A great deal of attention was paid to the sustainable design and construction of the building, making it the first fire hall in Alberta, and the second in all of Canada to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification from the Canada Green Building Council.

2010-Today Today, St. Albert Fire and Rescue Services employs a total of 112 firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and non-operational administrative staff dedicated to serving and protecting the 66,000 people who reside within the city.

Moving forward, the burning question facing the city is what should be done about Fire Station No. 1? Since its construction more than 50 years ago, the building has been renovated three times, most recently in 2011. The city’s current plan is to relocate the hall to 20 Gate Avenue once St. Albert Transit moves to the new Campbell Road Park and Ride which is expected to be completed by September 2020. t8n

I FOOD & GATHERINGS I

Sp oon Som

U

e

RECIPES & STYLING BY SHIMA ZONNEVELD; PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDA LAKEMAN

p

Soups and stews to warm a late fall appetite

ONE LAST CAMPFIRE before the snow

starts to fly! Enjoy the cool autumn air while snacking on some warm and cozy food. Sip on a delicious squash soup with a popcorn topper while grilling up delicious sandwich combinations on homemade oatmeal bread. Round out the evening with a delicious twist on a classic s’more.

T8N October/ November 2019 25 T8N October/November

Thai Butternut Squash Soup ¼ c. olive oil

½ tsp. Thai 7 spice

¼ c. shallots, chopped fine

½ tsp. ground coriander (Dry toast the whole coriander seed in a saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, then grind up in a mortar and pestle.)

⅛ c. grated ginger (Remember to peel and freeze fresh ginger; this small step makes it a snap to work with in any recipe!)

2 bay leaves ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes ½ tsp. yellow curry powder

2½ c. chicken stock (store-bought is fine) 1 tbsp. best brown sugar 1 400ml can of coconut milk Edible Garnishes

2 lbs. peeled and cubed butternut squash

Popcorn

1 tsp. kosher salt

Chopped fresh cilantro

Quinoa crunch (recipe below)

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook for 2 -3 minutes, remembering to stir, until the shallots are soft and translucent. Add the ginger, bay leaves, crushed red pepper flakes, curry powder, Thai spice, and ground coriander. Stir together until fragrant.

Add the chicken stock, stir together the stock and the spices mixture. Then add the cubed squash and the salt. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes until the squash can be easily pierced with a knife.

Remove the bay leaves and using either an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add the coconut milk and sugar and stir to combine. *Freeze this soup before adding in the milk and sugar. Simply defrost the soup puree, warm and add in the last 2 ingredients!

This Thai-inspired soup is a delicious fall meal.

Serve with either popcorn or crunchy quinoa for both a flavour and texture treat!

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Quinoa Crunch ½ c. cooked quinoa

½ tbsp. olive oil

In a shallow saucepan or frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cooked quinoa and stir for 5-8 minutes until it is dry and crunchy in the pan.

Not only is this delicious in the butternut squash soup but would be great served over any salad as a crunchy topper!

T8N October/ November 2019 27

Your imagination will be the limiting factor when it comes to deciding what delicious combinations work in these grilled sandwiches.

Grilled Sandwiches Option#1: Tastes of Summer

Option#2: Calabrese

Option #3: Pesto

Option #4: Salami Slam

Fresh arugula

Fresh basil

Fresh pesto

Sliced peach or nectarine

Sliced bocconcini cheese

Sliced pears

Sliced salami (Italian wine works great)

Sliced burrata cheese

Sliced tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Salt and pepper

Sprinkle of toasted pine nuts (Also a delicious pizza topping)

Sliced medium gouda cheese A handful of arugula Salt and pepper

Butter one side of the 2 pieces of bread. Pop one piece into the campfire sandwich press. Load up chosen ingredients, top with second slice of bread. Close the sandwich press and nestle it into the fire. Grill time 10-12 minutes, don’t be shy, pop open the sandwich press and check for toastedness!

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Oatmeal Loaf This thick, hearty loaf tastes great alongside a bowl of soup or as the building blocks to tasty grilled sandwiches.

2 tbsp. active dry yeast

⅓ c. room temperature butter

½ c. warm water

1 tsp. kosher salt

1¼ c. boiling water

4-4½ c. bread flour

1 c. old fashioned oats + 2 tbsp.

1 egg beaten and set aside

½ c. fancy molasses

1 tbsp. hemp hearts

Spray 2 9”x5” pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, set aside.

Combine the 1 cup of oats with the boiling water and set aside.

The oats will absorb the water and soften. While the oats are softening, in the bowl of a stand mixer (dough hook on) combine the yeast with the warm water and the molasses.

In a large bowl, stir together the salt and the bread flour. Once the yeast has activated, pour in the oat/water combination. Turn the stand mixer on low and slowly pour in the flour/salt mixture. Add in the butter and continue to mix. Continue to mix the dough for 8-10 minutes on medium until the dough forms a ball and easily pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and form it into 2 balls of dough. In two lightly oiled bowls, separate the dough balls and cover each bowl with a damp dish towel or a piece of Saran wrap. Place the bowls in a warm area and let the dough rise for approximately an hour (The dough should double in size).

Punch down the dough and place the dough back in the bowl, cover again and let it rise for the second time, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Form each dough ball into a log and pop into the already prepared loaf pan. Brush the top of each loaf with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the 2 tbsp. of oats and the 1 tbsp. of hemp hearts. Divide evenly amongst the 2 dough logs.

Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes until it is a deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on with a knife.

Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan and finish cooling on a cooling rack.

Slice right away to enjoy or pop the loaf in the freezer for another day.

T8N October/ November 2019 29

Homemade Marshmallows 3 packages of unflavoured gelatin 1¾ sugar

¼ c. Lyle’s Golden Syrup ½ tsp. kosher salt 1½ tbsp. pure vanilla extract

Icing sugar for dusting and coating the cut marshmallows Candy thermometer

½ c. corn syrup

Using a flavourless oil, generously coat an 8-inch x12-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the gelatin with ½ cup of cold water. Give it a quick stir and then let this mixture stand while the syrup gets put together.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, golden syrup and salt. Heat this mixture over medium heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Raise the temperature to high and cook until the sugar syrup reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat.

Start the stand mixer on low and slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup (be careful) adding it to the gelatin and water. Increase the speed on the stand mixer and whip until the mixture becomes very thick and marshmallowy! This takes approximately 15 minutes. Slowly add in the vanilla extract and whip until mixed throughout.

Pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan. Use a spatula (dipped in warm water) to scrape the bowl clean. Re-dip the spatula in warm water and then spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Generously sift icing sugar to cover the top of the marshmallow.

Let the marshmallows dry out overnight on the counter, uncovered.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a large cutting board. Dust the sticky top of the marshmallow slab with icing sugar. Using a sharp knife cut the marshmallow into bite sized cubes and roll each cube in icing sugar.

Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

These marshmallows roast fast and melt beautifully. Perfect inside a s’more, floating on top of a mug of hot chocolate or simply popped into your mouth for an anytime pick me up!

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Oats and peanut butter elevate the flavour of this Graham cookie when combined with a homemade marshmallow and milk chocolate!

Peanut Butter Graham Crackers ⅓ c. room temperature butter

1½ c. flour

½ c. quick cooking oats

½ c. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ c. Lyle’s Golden Syrup

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 egg

⅔ c. smooth peanut butter With a stand mixer or hand beaters cream together the butter, sugar, golden syrup and the peanut butter.

Add the egg and mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, oats and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir or mix to combine.

Shape into a rectangular prism (Normally this would be a rolled log, but in keeping with the square shape of a Graham wafer, rectangular prism it is!) and wrap in either parchment paper or waxed paper. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Slice dough into ¼ inch-thick cookies. Place on the baking sheet, leaving approximately 1 inch in between each cookie.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, until a light golden brown.

Cool completely, these cookies can be immediately frozen or sandwiched around a melty marshmallow and some chocolate, s’mores anyone? t8n T8N October/ November 2019 31

I SPOTLIGHT I

Image Credit: Jarome Iginla, City of St Albert

A Handful of

HEROES BACK IN AUGUST, it wasn’t hard for those

who showed up at Akinsdale Arena to guess what was going through the mind of hockey great Jarome Iginla. The former Calgary Flames forward was at a ceremony to have his name replace the Akinsdale moniker on the exterior of a forum that used to showcase his impressive on-ice potential.

“It’s not something I ever truly imagined,” said Iginla, a six-time National Hockey League all-star who amassed 1,300 points when he retired in 2018. “I was very nervous for today because it’s very hard to relay the words for what this means for my family and I. It all 32 T8Nmagazine.com

Jarome Iginla joins an elite contingent of athletes honoured by the city BY: GENE KOSOWAN

comes back to here, St. Albert. And upon receiving this honour, I was able to reflect on growing up here and how truly fortunate I was.”

For sure, such an event is a humbling experience.

At 42 and married to his childhood sweetheart Kara, whom he met in his native St. Albert, it was obvious how much this city means to Iginla. It’s a sentiment that defies geography, considering Iginla now lives with his family that includes three children in Massachusetts.

But the ceremony was also a bit of an anomaly, given that St. Albert is notoriously mad about hockey.

Commemorations of the city’s coveted stars on ice are rather scant, with most of the streets and landmarks recognizing original settlers, politicians, entrepreneurs

POSSIBLE HONOURABLE MENTIONS? Among other St. Albert athletes that could be considered for civic honours down the road, the NHL has a rink full of candidates from Joe Benoit — the first local to play in the league (with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1940s) — to current Oilers defenseman Matthew Benning. But there are a number of others outside professional hockey worth a look.

Here are a few of them. and a lot of priests. When it comes to sports dedications, you can still count them all on one hand.

There’s former Edmonton Oilers centre and Hall Of Fame recipient Mark Messier, one of the game’s most dynamic players, who has both an arena and street renamed in his honour. The legend, who originally turned heads while an on-ice dynamo with the St. Albert Saints now has his moniker on what used to be St. Albert Trail as well as one of the Campbell Twin Arenas in Servus Place.

The name of fellow Saints alumnus Troy Murray graces the other Campbell Twin Arena as well as a crescent in Mission Park, in recognition of his status as a major point-getter with the Chicago Blackhawks. He was also with the Colorado Avalanche during the team’s inaugural year in the NHL after its relocation from Quebec City. That season, the Avs won the Stanley Cup in 1996.

We also can’t forget Eddie “The Jet” Joyal, who as a kid, played hockey on the frozen surface of the Sturgeon River back when St. Albert was still a small town. The legend who was a formidable centre in the NHL with Toronto, Detroit, Los Angeles and Philadelphia can now add Joyal Way as testament to his career.

Beyond professional hockey, there’s only one other athlete who enjoys the status of a paved passage named after him. That would be curling legend and 1961 world champion Hec “The Friendly Giant” Gervais, the impetus for Gervais Way. Unlike his decorated sporting peers, Iginla doesn’t have his name engraved on a street sign, at least not yet. Still, having an arena originally branded to honour former school board chair Lawrence Akins certainly carries a great deal of historic cache, although Iginla still felt modest about the change in titles.

“Akinsdale was one of my favourite arenas to play in,” added Iginla during the festivities. “I never dreamed it would be changed to — and it’s kind of hard to say, still — the Jarome Iginla Arena. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”

And with no shortage of St. Albert sporting upstarts hankering to make their marks on the world stage, athletic dedications might be signs of things to come. t8n

Marc Kennedy This championship curler won three Brier titles, two world championships as well as Olympic gold in 2010 in Vancouver as a member of Kevin Martin’s team.

Garry Lefebvre This popular punter and wide receiver in the Canadian Football League, who helped Edmonton win the Grey Cup in 1975, was a St. Albert resident after retiring from the game. He died in 2016 at the age of 71.

Ailsa MacDonald One of Canada’s most successful endurance runners has not only won national titles in 50K and 100K events including Ironman Canada in 2018, she’s also a holder of six course records in Canada and the U.S. Erin McLeod As the starting goaltender with Canada’s international soccer team, she helped them get past the round robin stages of three World Cups and was critical in the team earning a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.

Meaghan Mikkelson Playing defense for Canada’s national hockey team, she’s helped her squad win two Olympic gold medals plus a silver, along with a 2012 world championship.

T8N T8NOctober/ October/November November2019 2019 33 33

I DOWN TIME I

Calculation GRAB YOUR GUESSING goggles for this

edition’s contest that puts your observation and estimation skills to the test.

It’s a simple task, really. Just take a good look at the jar on this page and figure out how many candies are inside. Then go to t8nmagazine.com and submit your answer.

The closest guess will win the jar of candy and an additional prize. If there are more than one correct guesses, the prize will be awarded to a lucky winner among those with the exact answer.

To enter, you must submit your name, age, email address, phone number and agree to join our Summer in the City e-newsletter.

Sweets for the sweet… and for those with spot-on submissions!

Count ! to Win

34 T8Nmagazine.com

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