St. Albert news

• Man dead after being hit by a van south of Wetaskiwin

  20-12-2017 23:27 via edmontonjournal.com
  A 32-year-old man is dead after being hit by a van south of Wetaskiwin.
  Wetaskiwin RCMP were called to a collision on Highway 2A south of Wetaskiwin around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.
  Police investigators said Wednesday the man had been walking along Highway 2A when he was hit by a southbound vehicle.
  The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
  Police believe the van swerved to try to avoid hitting the man and ended up in a ditch on the opposite side of the highway.
  
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• The Last Jedi takes an iconoclastic leap into a larger world

  20-12-2017 21:58 via edmontonjournal.com
  SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS AHEAD
  Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a philosophical titan that like its ski-speeders on Crait breaks necessary new ground in the ongoing adventures of the Skywalker clan, tearing at the surface to reveal the blood beneath. Very much like 1980’s Empire Strikes Back, it’s a film that scars.
  Besides being surprisingly thoughtful and packed with metaphor, Episode VIII’s action sequences are tense and terrifying, and even its humour repeatedly serves a gre
  
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• Edmonton Oilers' holiday roster freezes at 47 names after Nathan Walker reclaimed by Caps

  20-12-2017 21:52 via edmontonjournal.com
  Andrej Sekera set to return on Thursday
  So long, Nathan Walker, we hardly knew ye.
  Less than three weeks after the Edmonton Oilers claimed him off the waiver wire, the Aussie winger boomeranged back to whence he came. As reported by Eliotte Friedman, the Washington Capitals exercised their right of first refusal and reclaimed Walker this morning, 24 hours after the Oilers placed him back on waivers. 
  “Rabbit’s Busy Day”
  That makes three departures from the Oilers’ ex
  
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• New Year roars in with rock, reggae, twang and tribute bands

  20-12-2017 20:36 via edmontonjournal.com
  It’s been a bad year for venues in Edmonton, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a New Year’s Eve gig to suit your personal musical taste.
  But first up, the biggest and most obvious shindig. The city is celebrating New Year’s with a family-friendly Alberta Legislature get together at the Federal Building (9820 107 St.), Visitor Centre and Federal Plaza, where you’ll hear music from the band Rule of Nines, as well as performances by comedians and jugglers, plu
  
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• Trio of female songwriters find new life in songs working together

  20-12-2017 20:34 via edmontonjournal.com
  Some tunesmiths create material out of thin air but for the singer who calls herself Vissia, the songs on her new album are closely identified to a particular point in her personal story. That’s how she explains the title, Place Holder.
  “It’s a collection of songs that run in the same vein but it wasn’t conceived that way. I look at each song, or even when I play them, I remember the moment or the experience that I was writing about, so I think of each song like like a Po
  
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• 10 things to do in Edmonton this week: The Willows, Zappacosta, and Fr

  20-12-2017 20:31 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Willows
  Wandering down Edmonton’s beloved Candy Cane Lane is fun, but for an added bonus this year, the folks at St. Andrew’s have added some musical entertainment in the form of The Willows. The vocal jazz trio are teaming up with bassist George Koller and pianist Daniel Gregario for a charity concert celebrating the holidays. All proceeds go to the Edmonton Food Bank.
  When: Thursday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m.
  Where: St. Andrew’s United Church, 9915 148 St.
  Admission: By donation
  
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• Christmas at Bob's spectacular holiday display

  20-12-2017 20:17 via edmontonjournal.com
  Visitors check out the Christmas at Bob’s display at a home at 7421 108 Street NW in Edmonton, Alberta on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. The home features extensive Christmas decorations and holiday music to set the scene for the season.
  Visitors get their photos taken at the Christmas at Bob’s display at 7421 108 Street NW in Edmonton, Alberta on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. Photo by Ian Kucerak
  Visitors look over the Christmas at Bob’s display at 7421 108 Street NW in Edmonton, A
  
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• Paula Simons: Winning pitch needed to save old RAM from demolition

  20-12-2017 20:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  It’s not a reprieve.
  But it is, at least, a ray of hope for the old Royal Alberta Museum building.
  Back in March 2016, Alberta Infrastructure put out an RFP, a request for proposals, to tear down the magnificent modernist structure in the heart of Old Glenora, and turn it into green space.
  That news came as a shock, since the government seemed to be ploughing ahead with the notion of demolition, without any public consultation, any discussion with the Glenora community league, or any conve
  
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• Pop experimentalist Cecil Frena finds inspiration in unlikely places

  20-12-2017 18:49 via edmontonjournal.com
  As the story goes, John Lennon once claimed he received the name for The Beatles from a vision he had when he was 12 years old of a “man on a flaming pie.”
  It was only last year that Cecil Frena decided to dump the name Born Gold, a monicker he’d been performing under for the past five years, though the vision that prompted this was very different.  
  “For months I would sit on the porch and try to write,” explains Frena from Minneapolis, one of the many st
  
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• Edmonton Oilers a winning team since McDavid/Draisaitl line split up

  20-12-2017 16:46 via edmontonjournal.com
  The team has aced it with McD, Drai and RNH all leading their own lines
  The Edmonton Oilers are a winning team in the 15 games since the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl/Patrick Maroon line was split up, with 8 wins and 7 losses.
  The change came 19 games into the season, after the St. Louis Blues came into Edmonton on November 16th and stomped Edmonton, 4-1. Edmonton had regularly beat the Blues in the Oil’s successful 2016-17 campaign, but St. Louis dominated the game, getting 12 Grade A sco
  
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• Wednesday's letters: Put tobacco-style warnings on pot, booze

  20-12-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Advertising rules for marijuana are still not set. Perhaps this would be a good time to also look at the wide regulatory discrepancy between tobacco and alcohol products.
  For combined individual and societal impact, alcohol ranks as the most harmful drug in Canada. Drunk driving, fetal alcohol syndrome, violence, broken marriages, job loss, brain damage and organ failure are among the frequently occurring side effects of using the drug.
  Like cigarettes, alcohol products should have mandatory gra
  
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• Opinion: Public libraries make a smart economic investment

  20-12-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Re. “Ways to trim costs without being ‘reckless,’ ” Opinion, Dec. 12
  Re. “Public libraries are not the place to cut costs,” Opinion, Dec. 16
  Debra Smith, board chair of the Parkland Regional Library, is right on the mark. Not only are public libraries pioneers in a sharing economy, they are foundational to positioning citizens to be successful contributors to our growing digital and knowledge economies.
  Early literacy programs help ensure childr
  
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• Opinion: Albertans asked for up-front animal care costs

  20-12-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Over the past several months, our government listened to thousands of Albertans who told us they want better protection for consumers and a level playing field for businesses.
  We heard from many pet owners who told us they want more information when looking for veterinary services for their pets. Some told us that depending on the clinic, the cost for the same service can vary into the thousands, and that has a real impact on their family budget.
  They shared stories of having to make difficult a
  
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• Calgary, Drumheller and Red Deer keep wading pools. Why can't Edmonton?

  20-12-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  The future of Edmonton’s final city-run wading pool is on the line with a plan to cut water levels and redevelop the City Hall fountains.
  But dig deeper and it’s clear not every municipality is dealing with strict Alberta Health regulations the same way — a fact that could be relevant when council is presented with new options for the pool redesign early in the new year. 
  Drumheller splurged and bought a new $200,000 filtration system this year to save its iconic wading po
  
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• A quarter of Edmonton public elementary students read below grade level

  20-12-2017 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  A new school district-wide requirement for teachers to report every child’s reading level shows 27 per cent of Edmonton public elementary students were not reading at grade level in June.
  It was a number that came before the Edmonton Public school board Tuesday with caveats that digits don’t tell the whole story about complex classrooms and teachers’ efforts to keep that number low.
  “We would be the last people to make excuses — we want success for every kid. I know
  
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• No arrests relating to three bodies found in area - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 08:18 via stalbertgazette.com
  No arrests relating to three bodies found in area
  St. Albert Gazette
  No arrests have been made in relation to the three dead bodies that were found outside of St. Albert in a six-week period this fall. All of the men were residents of Edmonton and in their mid twenties. Two of the incidents have been ruled homicides ...
  
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• Shelter help in teak and crystal - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 08:06 via stalbertgazette.com
  St. Albert Gazette
  Shelter help in teak and crystal
  St. Albert Gazette
  It's a pretty great deal, and it's meant to be a pretty great boost to a women's shelter. Dave and Carol Mills are downsizing from their impressive two-storey Forest Lawn home and need to part ways with some teak furniture pieces that are impressive in ...
  
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• Local businesses named as finalists for 2018 Alberta Business Awards - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 08:06 via stalbertgazette.com
  Local businesses named as finalists for 2018 Alberta Business Awards
  St. Albert Gazette
  Businesses from St. Albert and Morinville have been selected as finalists for a handful of 2018 Alberta Business Awards of Distinction. Leading Edge Physiotherapy is up for two awards: the small business award and the women entrepreneur award. “I ...
  
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• Domestic violence cases spike - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 08:06 via stalbertgazette.com
  Domestic violence cases spike
  St. Albert Gazette
  According to the RCMP, domestic violence cases in St. Albert went up 64 per cent between 2015 and 2016. St. Albert detachment commander Insp. Pam Robinson said that while that is a large jump, it may have to do with the expanded definition that the ...
  
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• Budget crunch - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 08:03 via stalbertgazette.com
  Budget crunch
  St. Albert Gazette
  This week St. Albert city council unanimously approved a 2.4 per cent tax increase for a $154.1 million operating budget and a $29.9 million capital budget that provides few new projects. Yet the city dipped into funds usually reserved for the ...
  
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• At County Council: drug houses, libraries and chickens - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 08:03 via stalbertgazette.com
  At County Council: drug houses, libraries and chickens
  St. Albert Gazette
  Sturgeon County council wants the province to set rules for when it's safe to send people into suspected fentanyl labs. Council voted in favour of a motion last Dec. 12 to have Coun. Susan Evans present a resolution on buildings contaminated with ...
  
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• Women accused of attempted murder against child under 10

  20-12-2017 05:24 via edmontonjournal.com
  Two women facing a string of charges — including the attempted murder of a girl under the age of 10 — are scheduled to appear in Edmonton provincial court Wednesday. 
  Details of the case, including the women’s names, are covered by a publication ban to protect the identity of victims, who are children. 
  According to court records, the alleged offences took place this year between July 1 and Dec. 16 in or around Edmonton. 
  One of the women faces charges of attempt
  
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• Alberta Health makes plans, but no new funding, to battle dementia epidemic

  20-12-2017 05:19 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Alberta government’s strategy for addressing an impending epidemic of dementia was finally released Tuesday, featuring plans to better educate the public about the illness and improve the primary care system’s ability to manage patients.
  However, at least one opposition critic called the long-awaited report a huge disappointment, noting the strategy contains no new funding commitments or cost projections, no timelines for implementing the plan and no targets for how many dementia
  
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• Edmonton Public school board to pay $53,000 levy to legal fund

  20-12-2017 04:34 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton Public school trustees didn’t know they’d have to pay a legal fund levy when they voted to rejoin an association of public school boards last spring, they said Tuesday.
  With no advance notice or discussion, the board voted unanimously to pay $53,321 to the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta (PSBAA) for their required contribution to its legal action fund.
  The association is currently using that fund to pay for intervener status in a battle over Catholic schoo
  
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• Donations down as Salvation Army hosts annual Christmas dinner

  20-12-2017 04:23 via edmontonjournal.com
  The warm, buttery smell of mashed potatoes complimented by the sweet scent of gravy filled the dining hall Tuesday at the Salvation Army Addictions and Residential Centre during its annual Christmas dinner.
  This year’s holiday feast leaves a bittersweet taste with organizers and volunteers, who are struggling to reach a $600,000 fundraising goal for the annual Kettle Campaign.
  “We’re just hoping that this reminder, and that seeing the folks this money helps, might be some inspi
  
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• Edmontone Studio celebrates 10 years with Wares, Whitey and Wet Secrets

  20-12-2017 03:45 via edmontonjournal.com
  A decade and change back, Doug Organ was working as an independent recording engineer, renting space inside a well-known, now-defunct downtown studio.
  “I remember I’d brought one musician client in, and her family — like her mom and dad — came through after the studio manager had just finished smoking the biggest spliff in the world.
  “So this deeply religious family got to walk through that to get to my studio.”
  Before this, Organ had been recording
  
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• Police chief still deciding whether to stand for another term

  20-12-2017 02:58 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht says he is still deciding whether to stand for another term as he enters the last year of his contract, adding he would focus on cyber and white-collar crime if he stays on as the city’s top cop.  
  “I’m going to reflect upon it over Christmas and then make a decision at that time,” Knecht said Tuesday during a year-end interview with Postmedia. “I still enjoy the job; there’s still things I’d like to get done.&r
  
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• David Staples: Saying goodbye to Terry Cavanagh, Edmonton's ambassador to all

  20-12-2017 02:23 via edmontonjournal.com
  The most commonly told story about Terry Cavanagh is also the most telling one. It’s said that Cavanagh, Edmonton’s former mayor and a longtime city councillor, had a unique ability to ask for votes from members of various ethnic communities by doing so in their own language.
  “I know how to make that request in 20 languages,” he said in a 2009 interview. Cavanagh, 91, died Sunday night.
  The anecdote speaks of a cagey politician, and Cavanagh was surely that, but he was al
  
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• Renovations begin on future Old Strathcona comedy club

  20-12-2017 02:14 via edmontonjournal.com
  Laughter will fill the streets of Old Strathcona when its first comedy theatre, The Grindstone, opens next year.
  Renovations began this week after Byron Martin finally received the keys to the venue at 81 Avenue and 100 Street. 
  There was a high demand from artists to open up a comedy club in the area, said Martin, the artistic director. 
  The schedule for the year is already full, with 12 shows running each week and more than 30 independent producers working on the performances.&n
  
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• Heathers depicts high school trauma in challenging musical

  20-12-2017 01:12 via edmontonjournal.com
  By Jaren Voigt
  Blessed Oscar Romero High School
  Darkly compelling and strangely provocative, Heathers: The Musical was one hell of a fishing trip. Accurately portraying many of the fatalistic realities of modern high school life, Archbishop MacDonald High School’s production was evocative from start to finish.
  Heathers is the tale of misfit senior Veronica Sawyer, who offers her services as a forger to the ruthless clique “the Heathers,” in exchange for popularity, while lustin
  
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• Delivering festive cheer with Meals on Wheels

  20-12-2017 00:57 via edmontonjournal.com
  A live four-piece band played Christmas jingles and a costumed gingerbread man danced around as media personalities and local politicians hustled to prepare meals Tuesday for Meals on Wheels.
  The annual Christmas Dinner with Friends event gives major donors and others the opportunity to prepare, package and deliver nutritional cheer to the charity’s clientele, including seniors and people with mobility issues. 
  “Christmastime, being able to get a good Christmas meal, is importan
  
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• Santa's visit prompts community giving - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 00:48 via stalbertgazette.com
  St. Albert Gazette
  Santa's visit prompts community giving
  St. Albert Gazette
  You'd better not pout, just be grateful that a certain jolly old elf is once again coming to St. Albert for a special early appearance on Christmas Eve. The North Pole announced that Santa Claus would once again be on the St. Albert Trail pedway ...and more »
  
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• Council delays BLESS decision - St. Albert Gazette

  20-12-2017 00:48 via stalbertgazette.com
  St. Albert Gazette
  Council delays BLESS decision
  St. Albert Gazette
  The design, size and function of a bird-watching platform at Big Lake could change as the city looks into cheaper options to fix it. City staff estimated the platform, which was built in 1996 by the Big Lake Environment Support Society (BLESS) for $12 ...
  
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• Police hate crimes unit launches investigation into mail sent to two Edmonton synagogues

  20-12-2017 00:40 via edmontonjournal.com
  City police were investigating Tuesday after two Edmonton synagogues reported receiving hate mail during Hanukkah. 
  The hate crimes unit has taken over the investigation, said Edmonton Police Service spokeswoman Carolin Maran. 
  “We are consulting with other agencies that have received similar reports,” she added. 
  B’nai Brith Canada said at least eight synagogues in four Canadian cities — Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton and Edmonton — have received anti-S
  
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