St. Albert Leader Dec 19, 2013

Artwork: FRED CURATOLO and gLEnn COOk, St. Albert Leader

Photos by AndrewMacLeod- Gecko Photography

St. Albert Leader

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Leadthe

COVER

INDEXNews . . . . . . . . . 3Council Notes . . . . . 7Opinion . . . . . . . . 8Interactive . . . . . . 9Entertainment . . . . . 18Home Feature . . . . 23Health . . . . . . . 24Lifestyle . . . . . . . .27Fun & Games . . . . . 28Business . . . . . . 30

BY THE NUMBERS

That’s how many words Clark Griswold (played by

Chevy Chase) uses to describe his boss in the famous monologue from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Some of the choice ones (that we can print) include: cheap, no-good, snake-licking, dog-kissing, inbred and bug-eyed.

The Christmas lights are up — all 25,000 of them — the moose mugs are filled with egg nog and Frank Shirley has come over from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people. It’s the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny Kaye! How are people in St. Albert celebrating? See page 15 to find out!

Budget passes with some trepidationGLENN COOKSt. Albert Leader

After three weeks of deliberation, city council officially rubber-stamped the City of St. Albert’s 2014 budget Monday, but not without some trepidation over the revenues included.

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the municipal and utility operating and capital budgets Monday, with the municipal operating budget resulting in a residential property tax increase of 1.87 per cent.

“We each had a shot at it. We might not like bits and pieces of it — there are areas I don’t like — but we had opportunities to put forward motions if we didn’t like something. ... It’s a big package,

it’s a lot of work, and going forward, we’ve got some work to do,” Mayor Nolan Crouse said, also praising the City staff who worked long hours to put budget documents together.

However, despite their votes in favour, some councillors had concerns that the amount of revenue the City was collecting was not being accurately reflected in the tax rate.

“I’m going to vote in favour, but with great trepidation, because I really feel this revenue should

be accurately disclosed and municipal property taxes should have gone down as a result,” Coun. Sheena Hughes said. “Because this is my first time out, I’m going to trust that, when the

taxes come in in January, we’re going to make the correct changes to reflect this.”

City administration is anticipating growth taxation assessment of 2.75 per cent

next year, which equates to an additional $2.1 million in revenue.

When administration first brought forward the budget, that money was earmarked

to fund about $1.8 million in growth business cases. That total was whittled back to about $1.66 million over the course of deliberations.

Council will decide what to do with the remainder of the growth assessment revenue in February during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance when a new policy is debated. One option could be to apply that money toward general revenue and use it to lower the property tax increase.

“I’m proud of what council has achieved over the last month and a half,” said Coun. Cathy Heron, “and I’m looking forward to some further discussions in the coming months on how to deal with the revenue side of this operating budget.”

“I’m going to vote in favour, but with great trepidation.”

Sheena HughesCity councillor

Secret Santa

Photo: JESSE KUSHNERYK, St. Albert Leader

Tanner Felske, a volunteer with the St. Albert Kinettes’ annual Christmas hamper campaign for the past five years, sorts and bags donated toys at the Enjoy Centre on Saturday to be delivered to families in need. The Kinettes wrapped up their deliveries on Monday, sending hampers out to more than 230 less fortunate families.

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Soldiers home for the holidaysTREVOR ROBBSun Media News Services

Up until Friday, Master Warrant Officer Don Cormier had never heard his three-year-old daughter speak.

For the past six months, Cormier has been working as a senior supply technician for the Canadian Armed Forces task force in Afghanistan.

Admittedly, missing out on the growth of his daughter has been a tough experience.

“I think that’s one of the biggest challenges for a soldier. We train our whole career and we’re very confident in what we do, but it’s hard to prepare for being away from your loved ones for so long,” said Cormier, who also has a seven-year-old son.

“Reuniting with my family is a thing I’ve been looking forward to for the past six months — I’m glad to hear what my daughter has to say to me.”

The story is similar for Lt. Andre Bouchard, who missed out on his son’s birth while serving overseas.

His wife, Miranda Bouchard, waited patiently for her husband’s arrival at the Lecture Training Facility at the Edmonton Garrison on Friday evening.

“We’re very much looking forward to him coming home — I can’t even put it into words,” said Bouchard. “My husband was there for his daughter’s birth but he missed out on his son’s, and I just can’t wait to finally be able to hand him his son — it’s going to be amazing.”

The pair are part of a group of 35 soldiers who touched down Friday at the tarmac at the Shell AeroCentre at the Edmonton International Airport.

The returning soldiers were part of Task Force 2-13 in support of Operation ATTENTION, Canada’s role in the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, which delivers support to the national security forces of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army, the Afghan Air Forces, and the Afghan National Police.

The redeployment saw a total of 107 soldiers return home, making stops in Trenton and Winnipeg before landing in Edmonton.

All Canadian soldiers will return from Afghanistan in March 2014.

Photos: CODIE McLACHLAN, Sun Media News ServicesAbove: Master Warrant Officer Don Cormier hugs his son Nathan, 7, after arriving at the Lecture Training Facility at CFB Edmonton Friday. Left: Master Cpl. Frieda Van Putten plays with her Bernese Mountain Dog, Lacy. Below: A family shares a moment with a returning soldier.


GLENN COOKSt. Albert Leader

The woman at the helm of a local non-profit society that helps people with development disabilities was honoured this week for the work she does.

On Friday, Marie Renaud, executive director of the LoSeCa Foundation in St. Albert, was named to The Wanderer’s Top 100 Women in Business, an honour she said was “fabulous.”

“I was looking through the list, and wow, there are some amazing women,” she said. “I’m honoured to be in that group.”

The Wanderer bills itself as “Edmonton’s premier daily online magazine,” and started publishing in July 2012. This is its first Top 100 Women in Business feature.

“There are some incredible women. Some of them I had never heard of, but just looking at their bios — holy cow, we have some incredibly talented and smart women,” Renaud said.

She added that she found out

about the honour a few months ago and had to keep it quiet, but when she first heard she was included in the list, she said she was “humbled” and a little surprised she was included in a list that had to do with business.

“In the daily grind of what you do, particularly in community services or human services, you don’t realize that actually you are running a business. It’s a non-profit business, but it really is a business,” Renaud said. “You’re responsible for a lot of employees; you’re responsible for the money you’re entrusted with to provide support. It’s really nice to be honoured in that community.”

YARD CARESpeaking of business, LoSeCa is

also celebrating the success of a new venture this winter.

The society recently started up Four Seasons Yard Care, a business employing five of their clients that is taking advantage of St. Albert’s weather so far this winter by offering snow removal services

across the city, and they hope to transition into landscaping in the summer.

“We’ve been talking about (the fact that) a really good way to go is to look at opening our own businesses and let them take over and manage it with our assistance,” Renaud said, pointing that the society also runs their I’m Unique Thrift Store and a daycare centre called Little LoSeCa, both of which also provide employment opportunities for clients.

“So we looked at need, which was the first part of it. And we knew this was a good place for snow removal.”

And the response so far has taken off, with 26 contracts and

counting under their belts.“We are so lucky to be in

St. Albert. This community blows

my mind,” Renaud said.

But those who have

hired the company aren’t the only

ones benefitting, Renaud said — the workers are gaining confidence and a sense of purpose.

“They’re their own bosses — they really like to think about the time when they can hire someone. ‘Do I get to boss them around?’” she laughed. “Eventually, when things gets rolling, we want them to have a larger percentage ... to have more equipment. Our dream is to have a fleet of Bobcats.”

AHF sets the record straight on museum expansion debateGLENN COOKSt. Albert Leader

The Arts and Heritage Foundation of St. Albert isn’t letting plans for an expansion of the Musée Heritage Museum go down without a fight.

During municipal budget deliberations on Tuesday, Dec. 10, city councillors voted to unfund a planned $2.5-million expansion of the museum in St. Albert Place, with many saying that the project wasn’t on residents’ radars, that the current museum was sufficient, and that it didn’t attract enough visitors to warrant an expansion.

However, AHF board of trustees vice-chair Tom Thackeray came before council on Monday before the budget was formally approved to let council know he felt some of the figures used to make the decision to unfund the project weren’t accurate.

Thackeray pointed out that the museum’s 4,531 square feet of exhibition and archive space paled in comparison to other mid-sized cities in Alberta, who have between 17,000 and 42,000 square feet of space.

“Even our neighbour to the north, Morinville, their museum is 5,738 square feet,” he said.

The expansion wouldn’t add much more

exhibition space, Thackeray added, but give the gift shop more space, which could increase revenues, and would move staff out of work areas that were never intended to be offices, allowing more space to expand the museum’s collection.

“(The current office areas have) no windows, poor ventilation, uninsulated concrete walls and cramped conditions being shared with exhibition preparation, program prep space, artifact cataloguing and archival processing,” Thackeray said.

As well, Thackeray contested some of the attendance statistics brought forward, saying that the general attendance figure of about 10,000 visitors for 2012 — or only

four per hour — that was thrown around during the debate didn’t take into account an additional 8,730 school children and community members that visit the museum each year for programs.

“Visitor numbers so far for 2013 are approaching 21,000,” he said.

Mayor Nolan Crouse also inquired about when council would see the AHF’s 10-year capital plan, which was a requirement in the new partnership agreement the two sides signed in early 2013.

Both Thackeray and city manager Patrick Draper were confident that plan would be before council in the first quarter of 2014.

LoSeCa director makes cut

Leader file photoLoSeCa Foundation executive director Marie Renaud was named to online magazine The Wanderer’s Top 100 Women in Business this week.


Ministerial associationseeks non-profit statusGLENN COOKSt. Albert Leader

A group of local churches is hoping to strengthen its place in the community by formally organizing into a non-profit society.

The St. Albert Christian Ministerial Association is a group of 10 to 12 churches in the city that was formed some three or four years ago, and has been involved in organizing events like the Easter sunrise service at St. Albert Place, the Community Carol Sing each Christmas season at the Arden Theatre and the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.

Now, says association chair Rev. David Wulkan of Christ Community Church, they want to make the shift to being a full-fledged non-profit society mainly to increase their transparency.

“We wanted to create more accountability with the handling of money,” Wulkan said. “We

raise money through the Prayer Breakfast and the Carol Sing, money and donations for the (St. Albert) Food Bank, generally. And instead of finding someone to do it through their church, we thought, to keep it above board and within a system with bylaws and officers, we could have that accountability built in.”

Some of that money raised is put toward the Bridge Fund, which the ministerial association set up in conjunction with the City of St. Albert’s Family and Community Support Services department and is administered by the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village.

The Bridge Fund helps people with immediate needs that aren’t necessarily covered under other programs offered by the City or the Food Bank.

Another benefit of the move to a non-profit society, Wulkan added, is that it gave the ministers involved in the

association an opportunity to re-evaluate and clarify their purpose and their goals as a group.

“We want to be about specific events, specific issues. So that’s what we’ll talk about, and we’ll decide if this is something we should all get on board with together, or this is something that we’ll send somebody to be representative for,” he said.

The association already has representatives on the City’s Strategy and Mobilization Committee and Temporary Residential Services Committee.

While the application for non-profit status is well underway, it was hard for Wulkan to say exactly where he hoped the group would go in the future.

“I think what we’re hoping for is that we find deeper connections in the community — not just us as clergy, but also connecting our congregations,” he said.

Happy Hole-idaysFour-year-old Akari McLeod decorates a flower pot Saturday afternoon at the Enjoy Centre as a part of their Holidays with the Holes celebration.

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COUNCIL NOTES• DECEMBER 16, 2013 •

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Community Events Grant Funding

Council voted Monday to allocate funds to the St. Albert Family Resource Centre, Stop

Abuse in Families (SAIF), St. Albert Community Village,

St. Albert 50+ Club and the St. Albert Community Information and Volunteer

Centre (CIVC).

Council voted Monday to give $5,000 to the

organizers of the 2014 Canadian Stick Curling

Championships, to be held in St. Albert .

The motion addresses the core values outlined in the Social Master Plan,

Cultivating a Community for All.

“This is always my favourite part of the budget because I know every dime that goes to every one of these groups

will be well spent.”

— Cam MacKay

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“The real measure of a community is the way that it treats its most vulnerable and I think this allocation reflects well on the community because I think what we’re saying is that there is a commitment here that people have the resources they need to be successful.”

— Tim Osborne

“They did not get the application in on time so we as a Council asked Administration to just evaluate if they were eligible. It’s a little outside

the due process but I think it’s

appropriate since it is a national event.”

— Cathy Heron

The 2014 Canadian Stick Curling Championships

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This is “My City.” As a pastor at The Salvation Army Church and

Community Centre in St. Albert, I have been here now for over two years, and I love St. Albert.

I have seen and experienced the immense generosity of the people in St. Albert through volunteerism and donations. The giving to social programs and helping others is a true testimony to the hearts of those who live here, especially during Christmas.

Unfortunately, there are still those in our community who need a little help. The need is growing as St. Albert is growing. The reality of our world today is that there are trials that come our way and we all need help in some form or fashion. It’s good to

know that there are people we can go to and rely on for help and hope.

Christmas can be a tough time for some. The loss of a loved one or the feelings of being alone can be a reality for some of us. There is a mingling of emotions that come with this very busy time, with joys and stresses all tied together.

I find that many, however, find joy in giving. Many who give will never see the expressions on the faces of those who they have helped, but they should know that they are so thankful. With

your support, The Salvation Army has been able to provide all who are in need with the opportunity to have hope. I have seen the faces of those who you have helped and believe me it is a wonderful sight.

I believe that God loves us just like that. He gave us the amazing gift of Jesus Christ. He loves to see the faces of those who accept that wonderful gift of salvation. Christ is what Christmas is all about. All we have to do is accept it. He is the joy that fills our hearts, which turns to love for others. I hope that everyone will know that kind of joy and love that comes from God alone. We get a small taste of it when we give to others.

We are invited to remember the Jesus this

Christmas. The perfect gift is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” That’s a very comforting thought. I see people with such generous hearts and know that this is a city where we can find both hope and dignity for all. I am truly thankful that so many people have made this Christmas special for everyone.

May God bless you and Merry Christmas St. Albert!

Giving to others a small taste of God’s love

Staying in the spirit

Talk about a Christmas miracle — even politicians seem to be getting into the holiday spirit this year, judging by

the number of apologies issued over the past week.

But perhaps the biggest apology of all came from federal Industry Minister James Moore for his remarks last week on child poverty. “Is it my job to feed my neighbour’s child?” he quipped to a Vancouver radio station. “I don’t think so.”

After initially arguing that his comments were taken out of context, Moore apparently got an injection of holiday spirit and fessed up on Monday, apologizing for what he called an “insensitive” remark.

“Insensitive” is an understatement, though, no matter whether Moore was referring to himself personally or to his role in government. As has been stated many times and in many ways over the years, the true measure of society is in how it treats its weakest members.

The government has a responsibility to look after the needy and the most vulnerable, especially when they are young and have a chance to break the cycle of poverty. And Moore could surely spare a portion of his cushy cabinet salary to make Christmas a little brighter for some of his constituents. The look on the faces of those he might help should be all the repayment he needs.

Of course, this is a sentiment that must extend beyond the Christmas season and much farther than Moore. The holidays are an especially hard time to endure when people have little or nothing to celebrate, but it’s not the only hard time. People still turn to food banks and to charities during the dog days of summer, but unfortunately that’s when shelves tend to go empty and funds run dry.

If we all gave a little more, if we kept the spirit of giving in our hearts well after the Christmas ornaments have been stored away for another year, then not only would we feel better ourselves, but the future would be much brighter for those less fortunate.

Because, if we don’t help them, no one else will.

EDITORIALby Glenn Cook

OPINION

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It’s a Wonderful Life .............22%Miracle on 34th Street ......... 10%Home Alone ............................7%Elf ..........................................7%A Christmas Story ..................7%Christmas Vacation ..............22%How Grinch Stole Christmas ... 15%Other .................................... 10%

Vote in this week’s pollat StAlbertLeader.com:

How much are you planning to spend this Boxing Day?

I’m cleaning during a very important race - so I was told lol #stalbert

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» Comment on stories at StAlbertLeader.com » Follow @stalbertleader and use #stalbert » Use hashtag #stalbert

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It seems St. Albert is playing a starring role in a holiday ad for a technology giant that is garnering a lot of buzz on social media.

Apple posted their 90-second Christmas video, entitled “Misunderstood,” to YouTube on Monday, already gathered more than 1.3 million views by Wednesday morning. The ad features a teenaged boy who seemingly can’t put down his iPhone during a trip to his grandparents’ house, only to surprise his family on Christmas morning with a special gift he was putting

together all along.But some sharp-eyed sleuths on Twitter

noticed that at least one shot in the ad featured St. Albert. During the opening shot, in which the teenager’s family pulls out of their driveway to head to grandma and grandpa’s place, a St. Albert Transit bus stop sign is clearly visible.

One eagle-eyed viewer, going by the Twitter handle @iBRYca, was even able to narrow down the filming location to a stretch of Erin Ridge Road by comparing it to an image from Google Earth.

The rest of the ad, it is believed, was shot on Ada Boulevard in Edmonton, near the North Saskatchewan River valley.

St. Albert stars in new Apple holiday ad

Screenshots: YouTube.comThe opening shot of Apple’s new holiday ad, titled “Misunderstood,” was identified as a St. Albert street by some eagle-eyed observers on Twitter after it debuted on YouTube Monday.


Salvation Army gives dignity this ChristmasGLENN COOKSt. Albert Leader

The St. Albert Salvation Army is helping less fortunate families put a little something extra under their Christmas trees this year.

On Monday, the local church opened its Christmas Toy Centre at its facility on Liberton Drive, allowing parents to pick out Christmas presents for their kids from a huge selection of board games, stuffed animals, sports equipment, books and other toys.

“We wanted to allow people who are in times of need not feel like they’re a charity case,” said Lt. Peter Kim, pastor of the St. Albert Salvation Army, “but rather feel like they’re still buying something for their kids. They just don’t have to pay for it.”

Kim said that the idea came from his time with the Salvation Army in Winnipeg.

“It wasn’t about giving someone something in a bag that they haven’t chosen in a bag for their children,” he said. “To add a sense of dignity, and knowing that their daughter likes My Little Pony versus Barbie, is a huge thing during Christmas.”

When people come in looking for help, the Salvation Army has a standardized screening process to ensure they are truly in need. Then, they speak with Shirley Gould, the local community services co-

ordinator, to schedule a time to come in and browse through the available toys with one of their volunteers, who have also been screened.

“It gives a sense of respect. We want to respect people’s privacy as well, so we carefully screen all our volunteers,” Kim said.

So far, they have 96 families lined up to come into the Toy Centre, many of whom have been referred by other community agencies, like the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village.

“Whenever someone comes in for a food hamper, (the Food Bank) refers them to us. And if someone comes in for toys, we refer

them to Suzan (Krecsy) at the Food Bank,” Kim said, noting that the two groups are also teaming up for the Food Bank’s annual Christmas dinner, taking place tonight (Thursday), with the Salvation Army and local Rotary clubs providing toys for Santa Claus to hand out to kids.

A lot of those families have teenaged kids, though, and Kim said it’s a “real struggle” to gather up items that are appropriate for that age.

“We have one box for all of our toys, and that’s at Wal-Mart,” he said. “We have a great relationship with Wal-Mart.”

Any toys left over at the end of the year, will be stored away to give the Salvation Army a head start on the next Christmas season.

The Toy Centre will remain open until Saturday.

Meanwhile, as of Friday, the local Salvation Army kettle campaign was about halfway to its goal of $300,000 this year, and Kim said the biggest challenge has been finding volunteers to man the kettles.

They did get a big boost late Friday, though, as $11,000 was collected at the two Scotiabank branches in St. Albert, with the branches matching donations up to $5,000.

The kettles will remain out in local stores until Christmas Eve. You can also text HOPE2011 to 45678 to make a $5 donation.

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert LeaderToys for kids 0-2 years old are seen piled up at the St. Albert Salvation Army’s Toy Centre, which will remain open until Saturday and gives parents a chance to pick out their own gifts.

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Xmas Cup hits street for 25th yearALLISON SALZSun Media News Services

The sound of hockey sticks on the pavement, Tim Hortons coffee on the sidelines and Joey Moss singing the national anthem.

It doesn’t get much more Canadian than that.

Just over a dozen players strapped on their gloves, pads and, of course, toques Saturday for the 25th annual Xmas Cup.

The annual ball hockey tourney aims to raise cash for Winnifred Stewart’s Empties to Winn program as well as the Joey Moss foundation.

The day began early, with players trading their hockey sticks for shovels to clear off two “arenas” in the parking lots of Ottewell Elementary School.

And of course, what’s a hockey game without the national anthem, sung by one of Edmonton’s hockey heroes, Joey Moss.

The Winnifred Stewart Association oversees “Joey’s Home,” an assisted-living residence for individuals with developmental disabilities.

It’s a long-standing tradition in the south-side neighbourhood that has turned into both a fundraising venture and a chance to catch up with old friends.

Laurel Warwa came all the way from Calgary to watch her brother and the rest of

the boys battle it out to hoist the Xmas Cup trophy.

Her brother, Kevin Sterza, started the tourney over two decades ago; the boys used to play right in front of their house.

Warwa’s mom used to cook up a bunch of chili and hot chocolate, she said, so coming back for the milestone year of the tournament was a way to celebrate her and support the cause.

“I drove from Calgary. I wasn’t going to miss the 25th annual. I did it more to be here in the name of my mom. My plan was to make chili, but it didn’t work out,” she said.

“They have so much fun. They’re like a bunch of grownup kids. They’re fun to watch.”

Moss’s younger brother Steve, his legal guardian, wore a vintage Oilers windbreaker jacket as he battled it out in one of the more fierce three-on-three matches.

Trying to catch his breath, Moss said they couldn’t have asked for a better day to raise funds for such a good cause.

“The weather co-operated with us which is fantastic,” he said.

“It’s great to have 25 committed guys, Joe Moss here to sing the national anthem, to have these guys give the proceeds to the Winnifred Stewart’s Empties To Winn program, it’s pretty special.”

Photo: TOM BRAID, Sun Media News ServicesMichael “The Bulin Wall” Jugovics dives for the ball during Xmas Cup action in the parking lot of Ottewell Elementary School in Edmonton Saturday.

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When she was three, my oldest daughter drew a picture of her Granny. I transferred it onto an apron and machine embroidered it. My Mum wore that apron until it was in tatters. My Mum has passed but I found the apron in her drawer. It’s now back with me.

Everyone celebrates the holidays a little differently. So we asked some prominent members of the St. Albert

community to share with us how they celebrate ...Tell us about a dish you or someone in your

family only makes at Christmas, but you look forward to all year long.

LYNN CAROLEI, Sublime Swim and Sunwear

My Mum used to make the BEST Christmas pudding. It was epic, took all day to

make and was SO worth it.

DAR SCHWANBECK, NABI executive director

Steamed carrot pudding with lots of raisins and rum sauce! Only 22 calories per serving!

When I was young (around five years old) my grandmother’s neighbour came to the house dressed as Santa Claus. He gave every child a kitchen utensil. I received a pie serving utensil. I still own said utensil.

GILLES PREFONTAINE, city councillor

Being in a church Christmas pageant (age 7) and having to sing all three

parts of “We Three Kings” because the other two kings got stage fright!

BRENT RATHGEBER, Member of Parliament

A Cabbage Patch doll — it had to be a bald baby! We were posted in Chatham, N.B., and that was the ONLY gift our youngest daughter asked Santa for. The look on her face was worth all the phone calls, searching through stores, etc., to get it.

What’s the best Christmas gift you ever gave?

SUZAN KRECSY, St. Albert Food Bank & Community Village

WES BRODHEAD, city councillor

An engagement ring — 33 years later, it still looks good on her hand!

LYNN CAROLEI, Sublime Swim and Sunwear What are some of your New Year’s traditions?

NOLAN CROUSE, mayor

Totally, it has always been about hockey of

some sort on New Year’s Day — shinny, coaching, playing, watching ... you

name it.

Shaking coins in our hands at midnight to bring prosperity in the New Year.DOREEN SLESSOR, SAIF Society

What’s your earliest memory of Christmas?

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ENTERTAINMENT


Just in time for his birthday, a majestic mural of Jesus Christ is one step closer to becoming a reality.

St. Albert artists Lewis Lavoie, Paul Lavoie and Phil Alain are the creative forces behind Mural Mosaic, and have created artworks for clients all over North America. But now, one of the pieces dearest to their hearts entitled King of Kings is closer to completion after a campaign on crowdfunding site Kickstarter raised more than $21,000 in 60 days — $6,000 more than their initial goal.

“One thing about Kickstarter is that you really put yourself out there and you don’t know what’s going to materialize from it. You could have a lot of egg on your face if you fail,” Alain said. “But to succeed and go past (our goal) is a really exciting thing for us.”

Mural Mosaics use a number of smaller paintings to create one large image. Some of the team’s other

works have been featured at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, at Spruce Meadows in Calgary and at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que.

But those works have been commissioned, while King of Kings has — up until now — been a labour of love.

“(This money) gives Lewis the time; we really needed some time for Lewis to spend in the studio. It’s like getting a grant, where you can now spend time in the studio rather than have to focus about other projects all the time to keep yourself alive. It gives him some flexibility to really pour himself into the mural,” said Alain, who added that they hope to have the King of Kings mural completed by Easter.

The Mural Mosaic team offered a number of perks to backers of their campaign, ranging from an advent calendar and a bookmark for a pledge of $10 to full mural reproduction kits for pledges of $4,000 — one of which was actually snapped up.

“That was an exciting one,” Alain said. “You expect to sell a lot more of the smaller things. I think we sold 12 of Lewis’s originals, which was at the $500 level. We expected a few, but to have that many was a really exciting thing — to know people are interested in the original art, which is a testament to Lewis’s art.”

The next step for the team is to get the perks for the backers together and shipped out, while still balancing requests that keep coming in for commissioned murals.

“It’s a lot of painting now,” Alain said. “There’s a lot of painting to be done in a short period of time.”

But, he added, Kickstarter is something they hope to use again in the future.

“We’re going to wait and see how it all finishes off, but to succeed like that, it’s exciting to see how it can work,” Alain said. “We definitely had a positive experience.”

For more on Mural Mosaic and their other works, check out www.muralmosaic.com.

Mural Mosaic gets Kickstart

Merry Christmas andmy SincereThanks foryour Support this Year!

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Local coach adds voice to book

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A local life coach is hoping her contribution to a new self-help book will inspire people to overcome their fears, just like she did.

Kristy-Lea Tritz of St. Albert is one of 30 authors featured in Living Without Limitations: 30 Mentors to Rock Your World, a new book packed with knowledge and advice to help readers live their lives to the fullest.

It took a big leap on Tritz’s own part to put pen to paper and write her chapter in the book, but she said it was all worth it.

“It took me pushing through all my fear to even be able to write for the book, so it feels like a huge accomplishment,” Tritz said. “It feels like one of those things you dream of your entire life. I’ve dreamed of this since I was three. Now it’s actually happening, and I’m 33 now. So it’s never too late for your dreams to come true.”

And she hopes others will be inspired to start pushing through their own fears after reading her chapter in the book.

“I hope people will begin to live their lives outside of fear and find what their passions are in life, and live those,” Tritz said.

Other authors featured in the book include Stacey Cargnelutti, Krista Von Willer, Michael Hanle and Hanna Hashim.

“I feel honoured,” she said. “There are people from pretty much every walk of the coaching life, and the book takes you through each one of those coaches, and they teach you about one specific topic. Some are teaching you about business; others are teaching about

personal stuff.”The book was compiled by Anita

Sechesky.Before becoming a life coach,

Tritz had tried out a number of different occupations, including an early childhood education, a massage therapist, a nail technician, an aesthetician and an aromatherapist.

But she said it was her own personal journey of overcoming fear that brought her into the life

coaching field.“I always wanted to help people, so I

thought, ‘Maybe I’ll be a counsellor,’ through my whole life. But then I came across life coaching and was like, ‘That’s it! That’s the missing key,’” she said.

While she can now call herself a published author, Tritz isn’t sitting back. She is starting up an Internet radio program in 2014,

as well as working on her first children’s book, another anthology contribution, and products for parents and teachers who work with children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

For more information on Living Without Limitations: 30 Mentors to Rock Your World, visit www.livingwithoutlimitations-30mentorstorockyourworld.com. You can also visit Tritz’s website at www.kristyleatritz.com.

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Wishing you aMerry Christmas anda Happy New Year!



A newly formed collective of local musicians is hoping to put a little rhythm under the Christmas tree this year.

The Rhythm Group is made up of five local musicians who kept running into each other at open mic nights in the city. On Friday, they’re taking over the Cornerstone Hall (6 Taché St.) with special guest Paul Woida for their Holiday Kickoff concert.

Guitarist and group member Mathew Potter said it should be a great night full of music and merriment, during which those who attend will have a chance to see some of what the St. Albert music scene has to offer.

“To me, it’s amazing to see there’s so much local St. Albert talent that just needs a little bit of help getting recognized,” he said.

The Rhythm Group also includes singer-songwriter Ella Coyes and acoustic blues/rock band Southern Streets: Conor McIntyre, Sean

Peacock and Stephen Badry.“We just decided to pool

all our talents together and create an entity — the Rhythm Group — to help promote other artists and bring recognition to local artists that don’t have it,” Potter said. “... We definitely represent a wide range of music.”

But they’re always looking to add more musicians to their fold.

“That’s the whole point of it. As we grow, we want to be able to promote more people and do more with it,” Potter said.

Aside from concerts like the one coming up on Friday, Potter said the group plans to host open mic nights in the city in the future.

“Our goal is to put on a show like this one every couple of months, just to support an artist,” he said.

The Rhythm Group Holiday Kickoff featuring Paul Woida takes place on Friday at 7 p.m. at Cornerstone Hall. Tickers are $10 each and are available through Eventbrite.

Musicians ready to kick off the holidays

Hark! The herald angels singChristmas music was front and centre at a couple of events in St. Albert over the weekend. Above: Nancy Unsworth leads the audience during the St. Albert Christian Ministerial Association’s annual carol sing at the Arden Theatre on Sunday afternoon. Below: The Mission Hill Brass Band gets into the swing of things Sunday evening at the St. Albert United Church.

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Get your Home Ready for Holiday GuestsHosting family members for the holidays is a great

way to spend quality time with loved ones during aspecial time of year. When families gather for the�� host to distant relatives. Accepting such hostingduties is an act that comes with many responsibilities,including readying the home for overnight guests. Thefollowing are a fewways hosts can prepare their homesfor holiday guests.� Take inventory

of linens. Overnightguests mean you willneed extra bed linens,blankets and pillows.Take inventory now,and inspect each setof sheets to make surethey are still usable. Ifsheets are ragged or theblankets have thinned,purchase new linensso your guests feel as ifthey’re at home. If yourlinen closet is fullystocked with qualitylinens, clean them inthe days leading up to your guests’ arrival.� Buy some night lights. You might be familiar

enough with your home’s layout in the dark, but yourguests likely won’t have that same sense of familiarity.Purchase a few night lights for the hallways andrestrooms so guests can easily get around should theyneed to get up in the middle of the night.� Childproof your home if necessary. Kids can be

curious, so holiday hosts without children of theirown should childproof their homes before any guestsarrive with kids in tow. Move hazardous materialsto high shelves that kids can’t reach, and make sureany prescription medications are also out of reach ofyoungsters. If your home has any steep staircases,consider purchasing some child gates or asking your

guests to bring their own gates to reduce the risk ofyoung kids falling down your stairs.� Stock up on toiletries and other essentials

before guests arrive. Stock up on toilet paper, tissues,toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion in thedays leading up to the holidays. In addition, considerbuying kitchen items like paper towels, napkins, plasticcutlery, and paper plates. Paper plates may come in

especially handy,saving you thetrouble of havingto load up thedishwasher aftermeals in whichpaper plates andplastic cutlery�� Give your

common areas athorough cleaning.Any commonareas of the home,including the foyer,living room, diningroom, kitchen, andrestrooms, should

be given a thorough cleaning prior to your guests’arrival. Clean any bedrooms where guests will bestaying as well. You don’t need to devote as much time�� make sure these rooms are presentable as well.� Clean out the closets. If your hall closets are

largely used for storing miscellaneous items, cleanthem out for the coming days to make room for yourguests’ coats, jackets, scarves, hats, and shoes. Movingthese items, be it to the garage, a backyard shed or thebasement, can be temporary, but you will need yourclosets to serve a more traditional purpose while yourguests are in town for the holidays.Then relax, Enjoy your friends and family and have

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Sending wishes warm and brightyour way at this joyous time of year


HEALTH

Grains of hope for cancer patientsBILL KAUFMANNSun Media News Services

Researchers in Calgary are planting seeds of hope in breast cancer patients.

Doreen Thomson, 58, was reminded of that when the radioactive titanium grains implanted in her left breast set off alarms at the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this month.

“I’d forgot to put on my shield to prevent that,” Thomson said.

It was a minor inconvenience for Thompson, who was the first patient in Calgary to receive the tiny bits

of radioactive metal to ward off any tumorous returns and mop up cancerous remnants.

“I had 22 needles but it beats having the regular radiation of six weeks, five days a week,” she said, adding the procedure followed a successful lumpectomy.

She’s one of 20 patients in a $252,000 study funded by the Alberta Cancer

Foundation. The study is based on the success of the approach to treat prostate cancer.

Inserting the radioactive bits — which are slightly smaller than a grain of rice — ensures more targeted treatment

while avoiding side-effects, Dr. Siraj Husain said.

“With radiation outside the breast, we create a lot of skin reaction ... this allows us to shape the radiation dose,” Husain said.

“It’s a minor surgical procedure and the advantage of that is they can go back to life very quickly and think of themselves as cured.”

Vital chest organs like the lungs and heart are spared the effects of more indiscriminate radiation therapy, he said.

The brachytherapy involves inserting 50 to 80 of the grains and moving them into place around the former tumour site.

It appears to work for women with smaller tumours, Husain said.

“This allows us to shape the

radiation dose.”Dr. Sinaj Husain

Cancer researcher

Photo: LYLE APSINALL, Sun Media News ServicesLook closely — radiation oncologist Dr. Siraj Husain holds a model of a radioactive grain, the key part of breast brachytherapy, at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary on Friday.

DALE CARRUTHERSSun Media News Services

Pregnant women itching to light up should put away the smokes and hit the gym to help kick their dangerous habit, according to new research from Western University.

The study shows as little as 20 minutes of low-to-moderate exercise is enough to ward off nicotine cravings and reduce withdrawal symptoms for pregnant women.

Previous research has shown exercise reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms, but this is the first time the results have been replicated with pregnant women, said lead researcher Harry Prapavessis, director of Western’s exercise and health psychology laboratory.

Statistics show 19 per cent of Canadian women between 20 and 24 still smoke during pregnancy, which can lead to lower birth weight, behavioural problems among offspring and even prenatal death.

The study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, examined the effects of 20 minutes of exercise on nicotine craving and withdrawal symptoms among inactive pregnant smokers.

Researchers looked at 30 women from Canada and England who were in their second trimester and smoked around 10 cigarettes a day.

Participants reported a 30 per cent reduction in tobacco cravings, though the craving did return after 30 minutes in some cases. The women also reported less restlessness, irritability, tension and depression during the study.

Exercise helps women put

away cigarettes

Indoor ChristmasFarmers’ Market

For more information contact Debbie at 780.458.2833or visit www.stalbertfarmersmarket.com

Fresh � Local � Fun

The last St. Albert IndoorChristmas Market of the season

takes place this Saturday,December 21st. Located in theCity Hall lobby from 10am - 3pm,the market features one-stop

shopping for baking, crafts, giftsand all your other Christmas

needs. Parking is free.

The Enjoy Centre - 101 Riel Drive, St. AlbertTickets: $125 Table of 8: $950

Chamber GalaAn Evening Under the Stars!

February 1, 2014It’s a tropical night to remember, with the sights andsounds of the Caribbean to wash away your winter blues!

��

��

�� 780-458-2833 or [email protected]


Active Listings: 29 Sold Listings: 24Average list price:$622,328

Low $409,900/ High $929,900

ERIN RIDGE

Average sale price:$507,570

Low $382,500/ High $770,000Avg. days on market: 49


Low $409,900 / High $1,095,000

NORTH RIDGE


Low $345,000 / High $630,000Avg. days on market: 53

OAKMONT

Active Listings: 9Average list price:$806,066

Low $389,000 / High $1,395,000

Sold Listings: 8Average sale price:$728,002

Low $385,000 / High $1,935,018Avg. days on market: 52


Low $669,000 / High $669,000

Sold Listings: 8

STURGEON HEIGHTS




Low $437,500 / High $649,900

PINEVIEW*120 Days Back



WOODLANDS


Low $359,900 / High $468,900



S T. A LBERT REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT

*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.*Did you know source: City of St. Albert website, St. Albert 2012 Census

Active Listings: 4 Sold Listings: 12Average list price:

$625,700Low $292,900 / High $1,149,000

BRAESIDE


Low $282,000/ High $535,000Avg. days on market: 67


Low $389,000 / High $689,000

HERITAGE LAKES




Low $324,900 / High $529,500

MISSION



LACOMBE PARK


Low $334,900 / High $1,198,800




Low $478,800 / High $2,499,000

KINGSWOOD*120 Days Back


Low $478,000 / High $2,500,000Avg. days on market: 93

GRANDIN


Low $309,900 / High $459,900




Low $327,500/ High $485,900

DEER RIDGE




Low $299,900 / High $395,000

AKINSDALE



Active Listings: 1 Sold Listings: 10Average list price:

$345,000Low $345,000 / High $345,000

FOREST LAWN*180 Days Back



780.995.0555 (direct)780.458.8300

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Each Office Individually Owned And OperatedREALTOR ®

Did you know theSt. Albert Leader madeover 600 s’mores at the2013 Snowflake Festival.

Did you know?


Rise in prescription drug abuse among youth cause for concernSUN MEDIA NEWS SERVICES – The rise of prescription drug abuse among Canada’s youth is cause for concern, according to a new report from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

The 2013 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) of more than 10,000 students found that one in eight reported taking a prescription opioid pain medication recreationally in the past year. About one in 10 said they’d used stimulant drugs, and about 10 per cent used over-the-counter cough syrup to get high, CAMH said.

While drinking is at an all-time low among

kids in Grades 7 to 12, about four per cent of those surveyed admitted to drinking and driving (getting behind the wheel within an hour of consuming two or more drinks). Even more alarming to the researchers was the continued practice of smoking pot and driving, which roughly 10 per cent said they have done.

“The public health messages around the dangers of drinking and driving seem to have had an impact on our youth but the same can’t be said for cannabis use, which is worrisome,” principal investigator Dr. Robert Mann said. Photo: Sun Media News Services

“Bless This Mess”A clean house all

wrapped up for you!

Serving St. Albert for 11 years Bonded, Insured, WCB

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HOUSE CLEANING GIFT CERTIFICATESinfo: 780.222.0102

One Day Acting Workshop

“from Couch to Stage” Series 1January 11 10am-5pm Kinsmen Hall

Instructor:MicheleFreilig

Register online atwww.stalberttheatre.com

This workshop has been made possible by Theatre Alberta, The Foundation for the Arts & Christie Lites Sales


NATALIE MANZOCCOSun Media News Services

Sometimes it’s just too tempting to resist: You’ve just received a well-intentioned gift that’s not quite for you, but you know your aunt would just love it. Or maybe you’re heading out the door without a gift to a party, and your eyes fall on that bottle or that serving tray you just unwrapped ...

The re-gift, despite the feelings of shame or sheepishness associated with passing on an unwanted gift, has become a holiday institution. It’s a convenient strategy, and a surprisingly effective one: The original giver is none the wiser, you get rid of something you don’t want, and the new recipient is thrilled by their new gift.

But is it polite? The Emily Post Institute,

which has been doling out advice on etiquette for five generations, says passing on gifts isn’t ideal — it’s “a symptom of the surplus of ‘stuff’ many people find themselves with, and their desire to be practical,” their experts write on their website.

However, acknowledging that people will do it anyway, the institute suggests three rules of re-gifting: Make sure that the new recipient might actually like it; that the gift is in brand-new condition; and that the original giver didn’t take great care to choose it or buy it for you.

These gifts have broad appeal, and might be the easiest to pass on. Just make sure you didn’t give the same gift back to the original person — in all the holiday hustle and bustle, you just might forget.

WINE: Alcohol preferences can be particular, but if you’re not sure of your giftee’s tastes, wine may be the safest bet — even if they’re not big on vino, they may

appreciate having it on hand the next time

they entertain. Try to find out if they’re fans of red or white, if you can. (Penfolds 2010 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, South Australia, at most liquor stores).

The re-gifting guide

CANDLES: Light, fresh scents are the least likely to offend, or go

seasonal with pine or cinnamon scents. Remember: If they have a

sensitivity to fragrances, this isn’t the gift for them. Set aside soy ones for the vegans and green-loving folk in your life. (Boxed scented candle, $14.99, Homesense, homesense.ca).

BATH PRODUCTS AND PERFUME: Plenty of soap sets, fancy shower gels and perfumes are in circulation this time of year. Just remember: Once you take the cellophane off that perfume box, it’s no longer regift-eligible. Stop by your local fragrance counter to figure out whether or not you like the scent, or read reviews on sites like fragrantica.com. (Philosophy The Cookie Exchange gift set, $33, Shoppers Drug Mart, shoppersdrugmart.ca).

MORERE-GIFTING

TIPS:

DO: Thank the original

gift-giver warmly and genuinely. “That’s so nice

of you” is a classic standby.

DON’T: Give within the same circles.

If you got an office Secret Santa present you’re not so hot on, put it

aside for family, your child’s teacher — anyone who won’t

find out where it came from.

LIFESTYLE

HOUSEWARES: Who can say no to a handsome wooden serving board? Cheese knives, salad bowls and other decorative kitchen items work particularly well as host gifts. For an extra-classy touch, throw in a nice bottle of wine with that corkscrew or a bag of beans with that coffee grinder. (Gold cheese knives, $24.50, Indigo, chapters.indigo.ca)

DO: Check carefully for regifting clues. Make sure there isn’t a

card hiding inside the box — or, worse, an inscription

on the first page of a book.

DON’T: Try to re-gift the ungiftable. If you absolutely can’t stand that hideous sweater, don’t try to foist it off on some

other poor soul.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY22

Regular Sunday service

23

Modified weekday service

24


25

No service

26

No service

27


28

Regular Saturday service

29

Regular Sunday service

30


31

Modified weekdayservice plus FREE NewYear’s Eve service after6 p.m.

1

No service

2

Regular service resumes

HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS

Monday to Friday | 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.December 24 and December 31 | 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.December 25, 26 and January 1 | Office closed

Visit www.ridestat.ca for complete schedules

8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

ST. ALBERT TRANSIT 2013 HOLIDAY SCHEDULE


Week of 12/16/13 - 12/22/13

ACROSS1 Etcher's need5 Metal-shaping

tool10 Kind of carpet14 Wintry coating15 Orderly

formation16 Campaign event17 Military melody18 Writer's

pseudonym20 Pi Beta Phi, for

one22 Sandpaper

grade23 Put on cloud

nine24 Barbershop

singer25 Prayer beads27 Awning, e.g.31 Hopping mad32 Nasty, as a

remark 2 Ta-ta, in 28 Right of entry 44 Supporter of the33 Reading room Tuscany 29 Free of frost arts34 Send packing 3 Concert 30 Parking lot sign 45 Bee Gees hit 35 Newspaper type organizer 32 Brown, perhaps "____ Talkin'"36 Leave out 4 Like ghost 35 Contest for hot 46 Parched37 Floral garland towns rods 47 Toot one's own38 Fly off the 5 Soundness of 36 Hopefulness horn

handle mind 38 Shore bird 48 Speeder's 39 Cumin, for one 6 Penned 39 File menu penalty40 Stretch out 7 Fighting force command 49 Hollywood 42 Rip to shreds 8 Wander idly 41 Suitable for headliner43 Strongly 9 Supermodels, marriage 50 Ripped

suggest e.g. 42 Walmart 52 Line on a receipt44 Shipboard crane 10 1984 Tom Hanks competitor45 Talk on and on film48 It's nearest the 11 Happy or rush

bow follower51 Irksome 12 Money for the53 Division word poor54 Serum container 13 Jane Lynch TV 55 Rapids transit? series56 Surgery 19 Outlaw chasers

souvenir 21 Hard to come by57 Barely beat 24 Cut, as an 58 Go all out athlete59 Only 25 Part of NRA

26 Large bay DOWN window

1 Carney and 27 Shoot from Rubinstein hiding

The Weekly Crossword

Answer to Last Week's Crossword

by Margie E. Burke

Copyright 2013 by The Puzzle Syndicate

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33

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S A I L S T O R E L U S HT U B A L O N E R O N T OA R I D Y U C C A O D O RB A S E D S E E K N O W N

N O E L P R E YN O R O N E S T E P D A YA B O A R D P O S T D A T ES E A R U S U R P A T O MA S S E S S O R I M M U N EL E T K E Y N O T E M E N

L I R A C E L LS E R U M B A T T A U N TA G E S T E X A S S P U RF I A T W A I V E S O L OE S P Y O N S E T O N L Y

Super-fast maglev trains ride on a cushion of air that’s just 1/3 of an inch thick, using the repelling forces of

magnets. (discovery.com)

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FUN & GAMES

Week of 9/16/13 - 9/22/13

Edited by Margie E. Burke

Answer to Last Week's Sudoku

HOW TO SOLVE:

Copyright 2013 by The Puzzle Syndicate

Difficulty : Easy

MilestonesThis week in history and

celebrity birthdays

DID YOUKNOW?

DEC. 19, 1998The United States House of

Representatives approves two articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, charging him with lying under oath and

obstructing justice.

DEC. 20, 1957While spending the holidays at

Graceland, rock ’n’ roll star Elvis Presley receives his draft notice

from the U.S. Army.

DEC. 22, 1808Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is given its world premiere in

Vienna, Austria.

DEC. 23, 1964Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder — real name Edward Louis Severson

— is born in Evanston, Ill.

DEC. 24, 1923U.S. President Calvin Coolidge lights the first-ever national

Christmas tree on the grounds of the White House.

DEC. 25, 1914On Christmas Day, German and

Allied troops cease their fighting in the First World War to sing

carols, exchange gifts and even play friendly games of soccer. ANSWERS: 1. Home Depot logo removed from boards; 2. Stanchions changed from blue to red;

3. Shoulder logo removed; 4. Nameplate removed; 5. Sleeve stripes changed to orange.

Photo: IAN KUCERAK, Sun Media News ServicesSaskatoon Blades centre Cameron Hebig (9) falls into Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Tristan Jarry at Rexall Place on Sunday.

DEC. 21, 1948 Actor Samuel L. Jackson — who is best

known for his roles in films

like Pulp Fiction, The

Avengers and Snakes on

a Plane — is born in Washington, D.C.

Running out of time & ideas?Why not personalize a seat at the Arden Theatre! Your message,engraved on a silver plaque, will celebrate the special people inyour life and help support the Arden Theatre.

Why not personalize a seat at the Arden Theatre! Your message,engraved on a silver plaque, will celebrate the special people in

Information: [email protected] visit ardentheatre.com (Get Involved tab)

Best Grandparents Ever!-The Smith Family

Cultural Services

Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013 29IN

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Answers online atstalbertleader.com

© 2013 FROGLE COMICS

© 2013 FROGLE COMICS

Kids KrosswordCHRISTMAS MOVIES

Compiled by Leader staff

DOWN1) Played by Jim Carrey

2) Elf star Will 3) ____ on 34th Street

5) Love, ____ 6) Christmas action classic

7) Jingle All the Way’s Schwarzenegger 8) ____ Saves Christmas

12) The Santa ____ 13) Christmas with the ____ 15) The ____ Christmas Carol

ACROSS4) A Christmas Story main character

7) Home ____ 9) The ____ Before Christmas

10) It’s A ____ Life 11) Trading ____

14) Bad Santa star Billy Bob 16) Christmas Vacation family

17) The Polar ____

780-990-6266 Direct780-460-8558

LORENELECAVALIERwww.realtyexecutivesmasters.ca

780-459-7786www.bermontrealty.com

Call us today for all your St. AlbertReal Estate Needs

Pierre Hebert Guy Hebert


DAVE LAZZARINOSun Media News Services

Edmonton’s newly proposed airport outlet mall will help to fill a retail gap, says a University of Alberta expert.

“Edmonton is a fast-growing, relatively affluent, relatively young city and that means that we’re a good place for retail,” said Dr. Kyle Murray, director of the University of Alberta’s School of Retailing.

The Outlet Collection at EIA — the 85-store outlet mall planned for 2016 on land near the Edmonton International Airport — will draw crowds because Edmonton is already under-retailed, he said, and with expected growth trends to continue, the new mall should fair well without drawing business away from existing retailers.

“It’s always hard to say until they’re built and you see what traffic patterns are like, but South Edmonton Common right now is an incredibly busy shopping environment by almost all of the measures you normally look at,” explained Murray.

“A lot of the stores in that development are doing the most sales per square foot than they do as a chain in Canada. And West Edmonton Mall is sort of the same.”

He said the new outlet will probably attract business from smaller regions south of the city and possibly bring more traffic to the city from the north.

“It makes it much easier as you’re flying through Edmonton to maybe stay over one night and do a bunch of Christmas shopping on your way back to a more remote community that maybe doesn’t have much in the way of retail at all,” he said.

The potential doesn’t come without risk, however. Whether bricks and mortar is the way to go in the future remains to be seen.

“I don’t think real estate companies are giving enough credit to the threat of online shopping,” said Murray.

During the late 1990s, when worries escalated about the impact of Internet shopping on bricks and mortar stores, Murray said the impact was less than expected. But that only gave retailers and builders

false confidence in physical stores.“When you build something like

this, it’s a long-term development. We’re talking 30-40 years would be the normal horizon for something like that,” he said. “When you talk to retailers now, they’re actually getting very nervous about the huge amounts of market share that are moving online in some categories.”

Some comfort may be found in population increases, though. Murray said if the population manages to double, the market could still handle more stores than exist today, meaning the outlet mall might not be the last of its kind to make Edmonton home.

BUSINESSDOLLAR

Down 0.0394.27 US

S&P/TSX

Down 143.8513,180.16

NASDAQ

Down 36.814,023.68

DOW

Down 97.8715,875.26

GOLD

Down 27.10$1,231.70 US

OIL

Down 1.24$97.30 USFigures as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, compared to one week prior.

For information purposes only.

Area’s first Bitcoin exchange opens

New airport mall will fill retail gap, says U of A prof

Photo: Sun Media News Services


As the popularity of bitcoins continues to grow, an Edmonton-area store is looking to help consumers get started with the digital currency.

Aaron McDermand is the owner of Aaron Buys Gold in Sherwood Park, and has set up the Capital Region’s first bitcoin exchange, where bitcoin holders can buy and sell the digital currency — which can be stored in digital wallets on mobile devices or hard drives — in person rather than over the Internet.

“Previously in Edmonton, bitcoins were really hard to get. You’d have to go meet a guy in a coffee shop; he would have them and you would give him the cash. It was sort of a shady way to do it,” McDermand said.

“Now they can come into a store, pay cash or pay debit, and we help them set everything up.”

Bitcoins have been gaining in popularity since they were created in 2009 because the currency — which acts like an online equivalent of cash — allows people to pay for goods without involving payment processors like credit

card companies or banks, and they allow buyers to remain anonymous.

“A lot of guys are buying them as speculation, of course, hoping that they’re going to go up. There’s a lot of people that have been made millionaires by bitcoins,” McDermand said.

“As a payment system, there are a lot of advantages,” he added. “The payments are really quick; they’re almost instant.”

McDermand’s business has an added bonus, though, as he will trade bitcoins for gold, silver or platinum bullion.

“We found that a lot of our clients that bought gold and silver started talking to us about bitcoins, wondering if we knew how they could get them,” he said. “That’s how we ended up getting into bitcoins. … They like to hold their wealth outside the banks.”

McDermand also helps customers set

up digital wallets to store bitcoins and walks them through the basics of using and trading the currency.

There are currently more than 12 million bitcoins in circulation. The value of a single bitcoin topped $1,200 US in late November, but as of last week, had slipped back to about $875 US.

While bitcoins have mainly been used online up until now, more and more brick-and-mortar business are starting to accept them for payment, including Café Remedy in Edmonton. Also, a dentist in Vancouver recently announced he would accept Bitcoins as payment, as did the University of Nicosia on the island of Cyprus.

The digital nature of the currency can also be a drawback, though, as in the case of a British man who threw out his hard drive earlier this year, only later remembering that it stored his digital wallet, which contains almost $7.5 million worth of bitcoins.

Aaron Buys Gold is located at 947 Ordze Rd. in Sherwood Park and is open six days a week. Check out their website, which contains bitcoin instructional videos, at www.aaronbuysgold.com.

Photo: Sun Media News Services

• Assembly Line Operators - Pro-Western Plastics Ltd.• Talk a Walk... and Get Paid! - St. Albert Leader

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Shopping getting you down this Christmas?DAR SCHWANBECKSpecial to the Leader

If you’re like a lot of Albertans you’ve probably found yourself in the Christmas stampede to local shopping malls.

That’s no surprise — according to one report in the December 2013 edition of Alberta Venture, retailers achieve 20 per cent of their sales in December. In 2012 in Alberta, that represented about $14 billion of shopping, or about $3,500 for every man, women and child.

This madness — as I would call it — got me to thinking about a couple of books that I read in 2013: Enough by John Naish and The Wealthy Barber Returns by David Chilton. These two authors both make a similar argument that, when faced with an immediately accessible temptation, our emotionally dominated (reptilian) brains will win out over common sense and our best laid plans. “I want it and I want it now,” will be the course of action.

It seems that we humans have been hard-wired to deal with immediate needs, opportunities and threats, such as running away from sabre-toothed tigers. While I haven’t seen any big cats lately, unfortunately this same response mechanism now applies to that latest high-tech gadget or some cool new jeans — if the emotional excitement is high enough, we will find a way to buy it, despite our best intentions to spend less.

In short, many of us seem to be addicted to shopping. Maybe this is why consumer saving is low and

debt has just reached all- time highs in Canada.

OK, so what do we need to do to get our spending under control?

To get a professional opinion on this matter, I spoke to Wendy Jebb-Waples of WJW Counselling in St. Albert. According to Wendy, spontaneous urges to purchase and consume often compete with the practical necessity of that product. When this happens, it could be considered impulse buying, a phenomenon that is becoming very prevalent in our society. The problem

with impulse buying is that it is an immediate gratification that does not recognize the consequences.

Impulse buying is often related to anxiety, unhappiness and a disregard for the consequences of our spending; therefore, controlling our impulse shopping can actually improve your psychological well-being.

This time of year poses additional problems for those impulse buyers due to the marketing styles that are present; numerous sales, television advertising demonstrating how happy you could be if you owned a particular product, all this heightens the urgency for the impulse buyer.

In order to curb this shopping impulse, it’s best to understand what impulsive shopping is and how you may be affected.

Impulse buyers are often more social, status conscious and image

concerned. They will buy what they believe will help them look good in the eyes of others. Another type of impulse buyer may be one who has difficulty controlling their emotions making it more difficult for them to resist urges to spend. A third type of impulse buyer is one who visualizes themselves as being happy if they had a particular item; this is the shopper who says they shop for fun.

So if you are a comfort shopper and get a sudden urge to buy something, you may be buying as a way to experience pleasure which is likely an impulse purchase.

To curb this habit, plan your Christmas purchases around how much you want to spend and what you will buy each person. A list is mandatory before you head out. Once at the stores when you find yourself picking up an item ask yourself, did I plan to buy this? If not, put it back; and avoid

temptation by only visiting the stores on your list.

Overall, be aware of what type of shopper you are, if you look around the house and see an array of items you don’t use or find yourself with anxiety from over spending, you may be an impulse shopper.

Wendy Jebb-Waples is a counsellor in private

practice with WJW Counselling, a NABI business, and an Instructor

in the Social Work Faculty at MacEwan University.

Dar Schwanbeck is the Managing Director at NABI and a Certified

Management Consultant.

Dar SchwanbeckNABI

Wendy Jebb-WaplesCounsellor

Youth jobs get boost

CATHERINE GRIWKOWSKYSun Media News Services

The Action for Healthy Communities had an extra reason to celebrate at its year-end party.

Edmonton-Centre MP Laurie Hawn announced $324,000 for the organization’s youth employment program Youth Skills, Youth Jobs on Saturday.

“What’s really important is the organizations out in the communities who are on the people’s side,” Hawn said. “Government can only announce programs and write cheques.”

The money will be used for the eighth intake for the employment program, with 10 people between the ages of 18 and 28.

Facilitator Kristi Campbell said one individual has been working on public speaking. At the beginning, she couldn’t speak in front of the group of 12. Now she presents in front of the class and is working towards a goal of being employed as an administrative assistant.

“We’ve been working with her one-on-one and challenging her to stand up and present whenever she has the chance to,” she said.

Others come to the program with no idea of what they want to do with their life, and the program narrows down a career focus.

Keren Schoenberger, program co-ordinator, said the four-month program teaches youth and new Canadians life skills, money management, and career planning. At the end of classroom work, participants are paired with employers for a six-week work experience.

“Our success rate has been about 90 per cent,” Schoenberger said.

Graduates of the program have looked towards social work, administrative assisting and the trades. Others prepare to go back to school.

Some have more stable housing. Graduates either go back to school or find full-time employment.

The federal government put forward $70 million in the next three years for the Career Focus program and for 5,000 paid internships for post-secondary graduates.

The Youth Employment Strategy includes Skills Link, Career Focus and Canada Summer Jobs programs.

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2014 Ram 1500 Crew CabLaramie Longhorn (EcoDiesel).Late availability.§

the first everback-to-back winner

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Documents

St. Albert Leader Dec 19, 2013