With far too many holiday jingles on the radio and toys ads on TV, perhaps the best way to experience the spirit of the season is to hearken back to a simpler era.

Step back in time at the Lougheed House, which is decked out in holiday cheer and offers live music, crafts and performances until Dec. 20. Interior decorators with the Calgary Design Group collaborated with Eisenbergs’ Fine Furniture, Bracko Brothers Quality Furniture and Fair Deal Furniture/91 Designs on this year’s decor.

“There’s no better time of year to see the house,” said executive director Kirsten Evenden.”It’s a community-based effort with the Calgary Design Group coming in and developing an incredibly unique theme to decorate the house.”

The sandstone mansion, originally called Beaulieu, was built in 1891 and was the home of Senator James Alexander Lougheed, Lady Isabella Hardisty and their six children. During its heyday, it received many important guests. In 1912, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and their daughter Princess Patricia stayed at the house. In 1919, the Lougheeds entertained the Prince of Wales at a garden party. Prince Edward visited again in 1923 and 1928. Other notable visitors included Prince George; Governor General Lord and Lady Byng; Prince Erik of Denmark (1928); Lord and Lady Willingdon; and the Right Honourable Stanley Baldwin.

Lougheed House is now a national and provincial historic site and museum. It was fully restored and opened to the public in 2005 and in addition to a restaurant, it houses a museum and gift shop. The exhibit now showing is Proudly They Served: Canadian Women’s Army Corps in WWII.

A Christmas gala on Nov. 20  kicked off the festive season with turn of the century style. More than 200 guests enjoyed performances by the Calgary Opera Emerging Artist Ensemble, unique period-inspired cocktails and refreshments, and a solo performance of A Christmas Carol by Steven Methot. A silent auction raised money to support Lougheed House educational opportunities.

Some of those taking in the event were: Lougheed family matriarch Jeanne Lougheed, wife of former premier Peter Lougheed; Lougheed House Conservation Society vice chair Joe Novak; longstanding board member Ron Robertson; Richard Hillary; and tour guide volunteer Pat Hansen.

Jeanne Lougheed, right, with Judith Romanchuk, Consul of Finland, at the Lougheed House Christmas party.

Mary Lougheed, right, with Michelle Kay, marketing and communications director for Beakerhead.

L to R: Trisha Carleton, Lougheed House curator; Gary Sinclair; and Deborah Lougheed Sinclair.

Thomas and Donna Moslow.

From left: Marilyn Meek; Chris Heazell and his wife Kirsten Evenden, Lougheed House executive director; with Gerry Meek, Lougheed House Conservation Society chairman, at the Lougheed House Christmas party.

From left, Paula Callihoo, Karen Iwanski and Vanessa De Freitas, of Mynt Dance Production.

Anna Coe and Beau Lark with their 14-month-old daughter Beatrice at Lougheed House Christmas party Nov. 20, 2015. The family lives next door to the stately mansion in the Beltline.

Donna Livingstone, president and CEO of the Glenbow, at Lougheed House Christmas party.

Karen Siemens, left, and Christie Vanderloh in period dresses they created at Lougheed House Christmas party Nov. 20, 2015.

Janine Bombenon, left, with Kiran Layal at Lougheed House Christmas party Nov. 20, 2015.

The Children’s Hospital Aid Society has roots dating back to 1908 when a small but determined group of women formed an association to look after the needs of the Children’s Ward of the new General Hospital. It has evolved and even disbanded once over the years but the volunteer society (CHAS) is still going strong today.

The group fundraises to support the Alberta Children’s Hospital, whether structural, equipment or program needs. It also supports a variety of children’s groups and needs in the community. Last year, 21 groups received financial support from CHAS, including the Autism Asperger’s Friendship Society, Boys and Girls Club, Inn from the Cold and Hospice Calgary. In all, CHAS raised and distributed $423,974 in 2014.

The society raises money through a wide variety of events such as rummage sales, Easter teas, golf tournaments, fashion shows, dog and horse shows, even program sales at Stampeder games. Recently, it held its Light Up the Season holiday luncheon, at the BMO Centre on Dec. 7, raising money for the Cornerstone Youth Centre.

There were an astounding number of silent auction items, from donated artworks and jewelry, to travel getaways, wine and food-inspired goods.

More than 500 people attended the festive event.

Catching up with friends at the start of the CHAS luncheon are, from left: Susan James; CHAS member Jennifer Brookman; Judy Shaw; and Jennifer Foss, also a CHAS member.

Attending the CHAS lunch were Sharon Boyle and Shelley Graham.

At the CHAS Christmas Luncheon, from left are: Linda Woitas, Lynda Jurgens, Diane Chomik, Rita Popowich and Sydney Pieschel, event co-chair.

Susan Corkey and Laura Krill.

From left: Debbie Hunt; Kim Cohos; and Sandy Robinson.

CHAS member Marg Traboulsi and Kathy Dunham.

At the CHAS luncheon were, from left: Murlyne Fong with CHAS; Danielle Sutton with the YMCA; and MaryBeth WIlson, also with YMCA.

From left: Wanda McNeil, a CHAS member; with Terri Filipski, and Betty Stein, also a CHAS member at the Children’s Hospital Aid Society luncheon on Dec. 7 at the BMO Centre.

Anna Maier with the Children’s Hospital Aid Society and Janina Thompson.

Volunteers helping with the silent auction items at the CHAS luncheon are Jeanette King and Muriel Johnson.

More than 300 people celebrated Christmas the old-fashioned way at Heritage Park. The 7^th annual Christmas in Alberta fundraiser benefited both Rosebud Centre of the Arts and Heritage Park.

The evening included a festive holiday dinner, with performances by the Rosebud Centre of the Arts throughout the evening that was emceed by television personality Darrel Janz.

Close to $100,000 was raised during the evening, which included a silent auction.

Linda McNally and Kathy Hays at the Heritage Park Christmas fundraiser.

Bob and Carole Brawn at Heritage Park.

In a year of international uncertainty, Calgary also had its share of upheaval in 2015. From the stunning rise of one political party and the equally shocking defeat of another, politics dominated headlines throughout the year.

But it shared equal billing with the tumultuous energy sector which suffered mass layoffs amid dropping oil prices. A deadly new drug on the street also grabbed people’s attention, as did several City Hall controversies. But there were bright spots, too, such as the Flames making their first appearance in post-season play in six years. Here are 10 of the top stories of the year.

Energy fallout

Suncor Energy experienced mass layoffs in 2015.

The ever-tumbling oil price has many wondering how low it can go. It started the year at close to $60 but plummeted to $36.31 by Dec. 14, the lowest level seen since 2009.

The year-long collapse squeezed Calgary energy companies which responded by shelving projects, freezing salaries and shortening work weeks. But ultimately, many were left with only one option: layoffs.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers estimates at least 40,000 jobs have been shed in Canada’s oil and gas industry this year, with the bulk in Alberta. And there’s no sign of improvement.

“As recently as a few months ago the expectation was the layoffs would start to subside and turn around in the new year, or later in the new year, but that doesn’t appear to be happening,” said Carol Howes, vice-president of communications for Enform, an industry human resources and safety association.

Fall of the Tories/rise of NDP

Alberta PC Party leader Jim Prentice leaves after resigning his seat following the election.

It started out so promisingly for the Alberta PCs under Jim Prentice. He waltzed into Edmonton and swept out the cobwebs clinging to the Alison Redford era.

Or so it seemed.

But lingering anger over decades of Tory arrogance is hard to overcome. And the backroom deal to accept Wildrose floor crossers was hard to swallow for many longtime PC supporters. An early election call seemed to be the last straw. The Tories were decimated and the surprise winner was the NDP which appealed to an electorate demanding change.

Voters couldn’t have chosen a more different party to lead them in a new direction. But a few early stumbles, over contentious issues like the royalty review and a farm safety bill, have some calling for the NDP’s removal. Seems like the honeymoon is already over.

Flames surge

Shun Nanami celebrates the Flames playoff run in May.

The Flames, beyond all hope and common sense, beat the odds in 2015 and muscled their way into a playoff spot after a five-year drought. Even the loss of their best player, captain Mark Giordano, to a torn bicep muscle in early March couldn’t stop the momentum.

A lineup rich in enthusiastic youth set out to prove the naysayers wrong — those who had the team pegged to finish the season in 29th or 30th spot.

“Not a lot of people believe in us anymore … but we think we can win, we believe we can win, with the players in this room,” Kris Russell said after Gio went down. He was right and it was a rally that captivated the city much like it did in 2004.

This time, however, the team made it into the second round before being bounced by the Anaheim Ducks.

Terrorism starts at home

With ISIS grabbing headlines around the world for its barbaric attacks, the spotlight shone on Calgary when news emerged that police believed up to 30 Calgarians had been recruited by foreign terrorist organizations.

Five were confirmed to have gone overseas: Damian Clairmont was killed fighting with al-Qaeda-linked rebels in Syria; Salman Ashrafi is believed to be responsible for a suicide bombing in Iraq; and Colin and Gregory Gordon were reportedly killed in combat. Farah Shirdon was seen in an ISIL video vowing to “destroy” Canada and the U.S. That earned him a spot on Interpol’s most wanted list in November for six terrorism charges.

Death on the street

Fentanyl pills at Calgary Police headquarters.

It’s a crisis that has both the premier and Calgary’s mayor issuing warnings. A drug circulating on Alberta streets has cost the lives of 213 people this year — 70 of those in Calgary alone.

Fentanyl is about 100 times more toxic than morphine, heroin or oxycodone and health officials are scrambling to curb the rising number of deaths associated with it.

“Way, way, way too many people have fallen victim to this. It’s shocking,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

The province has distributed 5,000 naloxone antidote kits and police are working to restrict supply. A raid of several addresses on Dec. 10 netted 3,500 fentanyl pills, along with a quantity of other illicit drugs and cash.

Selling a stadium

Early possible plans for the CalgaryNEXT stadium and arena in Calgary’s West Village.

In what was likely years in the making but seemed out of the blue to many Calgarians, the organization behind the Flames/Stamps unveiled an ambitious $890-million sports complex proposal.

The facility, dubbed CalgaryNEXT, would house a new hockey arena for the Flames, and a combined CFL stadium and multi-sport field house on land occupied by car dealerships, the Greyhound depot and the Pumphouse Theatre. Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. president Ken King is proposing the project be financed by private money, the city, a community revitalization levy and a ticket tax, but the proposed cost doesn’t include infrastructure expenses or cleanup costs.

The 56-hectare site is contaminated with toxic creosote from a now defunct wood preserving plant. The city is examining the proposal and will have a report back by April.

Rise of gun violence

Police deal with a fatal shooting in a strip mall at 20th avenue and 52nd street S.E. on Nov. 14, 2015.

Bullets have been flying with bodies left in barbershops and back alleys. Gun violence is peaking in Calgary with more than 85 shootings reported in the first 10 months of the year. That’s a 66 per cent increase over the same period in 2014. Fourteen people have been killed with others injured and police are vowing to crackdown on gang violence, believed to be at the heart of many incidents.

Chief Roger Chaffin said the situation is not the same as a decade ago when the FOB and rival FOB Killers waged a deadly war, but there has been a surge in the availability of weapons and the willingness of criminals to use them.

Harper comes home

Mirroring their provincial counterpart’s demoralizing loss, the federal Tories were thumped at the polls in October. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals captured 189 seats to the PC’s 99. The prime minister was reduced to Stephen Harper, Calgary Heritage MP. 

In leading the country since 2006, it might have seemed inconceivable that Stephen Harper could be beat, but public sentiment began to turn in the weeks leading up to the vote. Senate scandals, a hard stance on refugees and the budget affected PC support, but some pundits saw it more as a backlash against Harper himself. He was seen as a distant individual who limited decision-making to a tight inner circle.

Planes, trains and automobiles

Ok, it’s more like paths, cycle tracks and ride-sharing, as Calgarians add new ways to which they can explore their city. The biggest transportation news of the year is a toss-up between Uber setting up shop, only to be rebuffed by the city, and the addition of dedicated cycle tracks downtown.

With everyone from angry taxi drivers to millionaire philanthropists weighing in, the city and Uber have decided to work together on a framework for the ride-sharing service. The cycle tracks expanded the bicycle pathways in the city, putting separated lanes on 8th and 9th avenues along with 5th Street and 12th Avenue. Bikes are also now allowed on Stephen Avenue’s pedestrian mall.

Cyclists and walkers were also rejoicing when the city announced the final phase of the Greenway path project in September. The last phase of the $69-million urban pathway will consist of 18 kilometres of paths and parks, and will connect to 1,000 km of already-established pathways.

Big losses

Memorial at the Alberta Legislature on the desk of Manmeet Bhullar.

Calgary lost three of its prominent citizens in 2015. Michael Green, J.C. Anderson and Manmeet Bhullar were all community leaders in their respective areas of arts and culture, business and politics.

Green, 58, the co-founder of One Yellow Rabbit and High Performance Rodeo, died in a car accident in Saskatchewan. He was fearless and continually pushed the boundaries of theatre and society.

Anderson was a self-made giant in the oil and gas industry who discovered the enormous Dunvegan natural gas field in northern Alberta. He grew his company Anderson Exploration into one of Canada’s largest, selling it in 2001 for $5.3 billion. He died in September at age 84.

Bhullar died tragically young, at 35, in a highway accident in November. The popular PC MLA for Calgary-Greenway was remembered by politicians of all stripes during a state funeral. Bhullar was the youngest MLA ever elected in Alberta and he impressed with his passion to serve, especially as minister overseeing the file of children who died in government care.

95.2%

Rise in number of Calgarians collecting Employment Insurance cheques from September 2014 to September 2015.

Suncor Energy is one of many Calgary-based oil and gas companies that experienced layoffs this year.

57,100

Fewer (non farm) payroll employees in Alberta in September compared to a year ago.

$6.1 billion

The projected deficit in next year’s budget, due to ongoing low oil prices; the deficit is the largest in Alberta’s history.

$36.6 billion

What Alberta’s debt is projected to ratchet up to by the 2017-18 fiscal year.

287

Days that Jim Prentice was on the job, between winning the PC leadership with 76 per cent of votes to his party being trounced in the May election

0

Days that Prentice worked as an MLA after losing the election

30%

Decided voters’ support for both the governing PCs and the Wildrose in March, according to a Mainstreet Technologies poll, a huge change from December 2014 when the Tories had 44 per cent to Wildrose’s 20 per cent

21

Percentage of decided voters’ support for the PCs in November, compared to 33 for the ruling NDP, 28 for Wildrose

15,826 to 241

Days the PCs ruled versus the NDP (to Dec. 31)

$59.03

Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil on Jan. 5, 2015

$34.73

Price of West Texas Intermediate oil on Dec. 18, 2015

0.6%

Expected contraction of the Alberta economy in 2015, instead of growing by 0.4 per cent — the first significant GDP drop since the global downturn in 2009.

60 million

Age of five fossilized fish found in a Calgary house under excavation, according to paleontologists. However, the backhoe operator who uncovered them is a creationist who believes they were laid down during Noah’s flood.

Bill Cozens uses the new cycle track on his morning commute on June 4, 2015.

6

Kilometres of cycle tracks in Calgary, yet a November survey found 47 per cent per cent of respondents want less money spent on them

500

Kilometres of cycle paths in Amsterdam

57

Uber drivers caught in a covert sting operation authorized by City Hall, in a bid to shut down the ride-sharing service

$100,000

Amount that philanthropist Brett Wilson will donate to the public library if city council approves Uber

67

Countries where Uber operates

$890 million

Cost of CalgaryNEXT, a proposed professional and amateur sports complex in Calgary’s West Village

213

Deaths associated with fentanyl in Alberta between Jan. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30. Of these, 74 were in Calgary.

100

The number of times fentanyl is more potent than morphine, heroin or oxycodone.

7

Number of years that Nicholas Rasberry was sentenced to, after stabbing his neighbour 37 times

120

Number of helium-filled balloons tied to a lawn chair ridden by 26-year-old Daniel Boria during Stampede. He flew to 1,524 metres over the city for 20 minutes on July 5, watching aircraft land below him.

1

Number of cowboys in the history of the Stampede to be suspended for mistreating livestock. Tie-down competitor Tuf Cooper of Texas was booted out in July after judges ruled that he whipped his horse excessively.

3

People videotaped together having sex in an outdoor public space during Stampede. After the video went viral, the woman involved started appeared at strip clubs, with posters advertising her involvement in “Trampede.”

1,000

Cosplayers turned up in full costume for the opening parade of the Calgary Comic Expo in April. There were Vikings, Warrior Princesses, Spidermans, Minion Twins, Jedi Knights, Steampunks, Harley Quinns and Jokers.

4.3%

Chance that the Calgary Flames could surprise everyone and make the playoffs come spring, as voted by 18 NHL writers.

80:1

Vegas odds that the Flames will win the Stanley Cup this season.

9

Inches difference between the Flames’ shortest player, Johnny Gaudreau at 5’9, and the tallest, Dougie Hamilton, at 6’6.

1998

Bob Hartley begins coaching in the NHL, for the Colorado Avalanche — two years after his future star player Sam Bennett is born.

Calgary Stampeder Jon Cornish retired in December.

29

Head coaches for the Calgary Stampeders since 1935. The first was Carl Cronin and the latest is Dave Dickenson, who takes the reins in 2016.

6,844

Career rushing yards for running back Jon Cornish. No. 9 played nine years with the Stampeders before announcing his retirement Dec. 2 due to concussion concerns.

850

Refugees expected to be settled in Alberta by the end of the year, with Calgary taking 502.

$632

The shortfall between the $700 the federal government will provide to house a family of four refugees  and the $1,332 average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the city.

138 km

The distance of the Rotary/Mattamy Greenway pathway project that will encircle the city when complete.

15-20

Crew members working on the Leo DiCaprio film The Revenant who were either fired or quit during the gruelling production. The movie was filmed in Drumheller, Kananaskis Country, Dead Man’s Flats, Morley and areas near Canmore between September 2014 and May 2015.

660

Approximate number of times that Stephen Hair has donned his top hat to play Ebenezer Scrooge in the beloved Theatre Calgary production in the past 22 years. That’s a lot of humbugs.

Sources: Calgary Herald files, Calgary Flames, Calgary Stampeders, Alberta Finance, City of Calgary, Nasdaq, VegasInsider.com, StatsCan

It’s a simple tribute. Five small crosses with flowers. But when Herb Grieder drives by, it helps him heal.

The roadside memorial honours five people, including Grieder’s 16-month-old nephew Zachary, killed there in 2007 when a cement truck plowed into the back of a car stopped at a traffic light. 

“For me, it helps me deal with what has happened. Sadly, we don’t make a special trip to see the memorial where Zachary was killed, but every time I travel that stretch of road I always have a mental moment to think about it.”

Family members hold a vigil in 2009, two years after five people were killed when a cement truck plowed into them. From left: Previna Jiawan-Gautreau, Herb Grieder, Tracey Grieder, Lee Morrison.

Grieder says that when he travels now he always notices highway memorials and it makes him think about the lives lost. He believes memorials make all motorists more alert to the dangers of the road.

“I think they are a deterrent and they’re very important. And not just to the families. This was such a horrific accident and it affected all of Calgary. After it happened, we had so much stuff put there by people,” said Grieder, who left a Winnie the Pooh bear as it was Zachary’s favourite toy. He went back every year on the anniversary of the crash to tie a blue balloon to the toddler’s cross.

“We thought if we can stop just one person, that’s one life saved.”

For families and friends of accident victims, roadside memorials are a desperate plea for drivers to take more care. They are a hopeful connection to the spirit of the person killed. They are an outpouring of unimaginable grief.

But for municipalities tasked with traffic safety and fielding some complaints that they are an uncomfortable distraction, memorials are an emotional powder keg. 

“We’re sensitive to these situations. We really do work with families to ensure it’s appropriate and taken care of,” said Troy McLeod, Calgary’s director of transportation. 

A city tag beside a roadside memorial in Erin Woods indicates the items can remain for one year.

Cities across North America have struggled with the issue for decades, with a resulting hodgepodge of regulations —  from outright bans to no rules at all. Until 2009, Calgary’s stance was to leave them in place unless they were a hazard or caused an obstruction. After some debate, council adopted a policy in 2009 limiting roadside memorials to one year. A tag is placed at the site with the date for removal. “The items are saved for them if they wish. We’re obviously very flexible in that,” said McLeod.

Aside from offering comfort — and that may be reason enough  — what impact do roadside shrines have?

One traffic expert who studied the issue believes they can make drivers be more careful.

Richard Tay, former Schulich School of Engineering road safety chair, co-wrote a study in 2008 on memorial policies and road safety. He found that not only do the memorials pose no risk to driver safety, they may even temporarily create a safer environment.

“The use of memorials helps grieving loved ones, and at the same time, if employed correctly, may also help . . . promote safer driving.” 

As part of the study, Tay placed mock memorials at intersections with red light cameras. In the six weeks after the memorials were placed, nearly 17 per cent fewer drivers ran red lights than in the six weeks prior. He did find, though, that long-standing memorials, and those on high-speed highways, had little impact.

Related

• Five memorials that help keep memories alive

“We found memorials to have strong short-term safety impacts and minimal long-term effect on drivers’ behaviour. . . We found that they have safety impact at intersections, along curved roads and along roads with heavy pedestrian traffic, but minimal effect along expressways. I think it has to do with drivers’ perceived likelihood of a fatal crash,” Tay said from Australia where he is now working at RMIT University.

A memorial tribute to Linda Davey was left on Bridleridge Way S.W. after the 2008 accident.

Deterrence was part of the reason Kevin Davey planted a tree and a plaque in a grassy median in Bridlewood. His wife Linda was struck and killed by an impaired driver in 2008 while out for a walk with their daughter, then 8, and their 16-year-old son who has cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair.

“I wanted a memorial because she was so important in our lives, but I also wanted it to be a bit of a warning and a reminder to people to not drink and drive.

“When I say a warning to others, I don’t mean that as aggressive. It’s more of an eye opener. If people know why the plaque is there . . . maybe they’ll (never drink and drive).”

For Linda’s friend Joanne Dorn, the memorial was as much a comfort as a message.

“In the moment, you want to hang on to the person’s memory in every way possible. I think they can be very touching and serve a great purpose.”

Dorn said people came from across the city to leave items, to pay their respects and show support for the family. “It’s kind of like a feel-good thing because they don’t know what else to do.”

Davey believes the senselessness of the accident is what affected the public so much.

“It was such a tragedy. I think the two things that struck most was firstly, my daughter, who was eight years old at the time, witnessed it all and secondly, her mom, my wife, was pushing our disabled son in his wheelchair when it happened.

“That memorial is a way to not let people forget what a wonderful human being she was, and to not let people forget that it was a tragedy that could have been averted.”

A family’s desire to honour a loved one is understandable. But what motivates complete strangers to leave flowers or balloons?

A memorial began growing for Duncan McRae on Millbank Road S.W. after the youth died in long-boarding accident in 2012.

“(An accident) is a form of random violence which we’re having to come to terms with,”said Mike Boyes, associate professor of psychology at the University of Calgary. “Even as a stranger, you’re saying, you’re acknowledging that something happened there that shouldn’t have.” 

“We need to believe the world is a just place and when something like this happens, it is not just. Someone didn’t do what they’re supposed to and someone paid the price.”

Other psychologists studying the phenomenon have found some believe the sites of untimely deaths are almost hallowed ground and the connection to the victim is strongest there.

“In the memorials, the presence of the deceased is directly connected to the place where their life was lost. The actual spot becomes sacred and is imbued with ritualized meaning by the creation of a memorial marker as a focus for grief and communication,” wrote Jennifer Clark and Majella Franzmann in their report Authority from Grief, Presence and Place in the Making of Roadside Memorials, Death Studies.

After seven years, most of the items left to honour Linda Davey are gone. A few faded fabric flowers still cling to the small tree her husband planted to replace the one broken when she was struck and dragged to that spot. But the small granite stone at the base of the tree bearing family photos is an enduring tribute.

The memorial to Linda Davey includes a small stone plaque bearing family photos.

Davey was asked to remove the plaque by the city when it adopted its one-year policy. The city relented when he argued the stone was so subtle as to be unnoticeable. He was adamant the marker remain at the site where he lost his wife of 21 years.

“This is where they ended this mortal journey and let’s commemorate that fact,” he said.

Greg Paul also supports memorials, both for the comfort they bring and as possible deterrents. Less than three weeks after his son James died in a crash in October 2011 on John Laurie Boulevard, he talked about the importance of the items being left at the site: a hockey jersey, photographs, dozens of bouquets, a cross, and even a Boston Pizza box.

“I believe the memorial erected at this intersection, and many intersections where tragedy has struck, should remain as long as possible, not only as a reminder of the sorrow felt for the loss . . . but as a reminder . . . that there are consequences to our actions. Our actions we have control over; the consequences we don’t.”

A memorial on Deerfoot Trail near Southland Drive honours a police officer killed on duty.

Deerfoot Trail at Southland Drive 

A young officer who had only been on the city force for three years, Const. Richard Sonnenberg died Oct. 8, 1993 when he was run over by a teenager driving a stolen car.

Sonnenberg, 27, died as he was struck while laying a spike belt to stop the vehicle, stolen in Acadia the night before. It was spotted 15 minutes earlier speeding dangerously near Bow Trail and 37th Street S.W.

A district sergeant pursued the car for about 90 seconds, but ended the chase after the car sped into the downtown area. It was never chased again, but various police units spotted it at different points in the southeast, ultimately and fatefully entering southbound Deerfoot Trail from Glenmore Trail.

The car never stopped but was found abandoned in Douglasdale an hour and a half later. Two youths were taken into custody after boarding a city bus later that morning.

Andrew Yazlovasky, 17, was convicted of criminal negligence causing death and received a six-year sentence.

The memorial contains a plaque, statue, wreaths and flowers, and the grass on the slope is mowed into the shape of a heart each summer.

A tanker truck passes crosses at the scene of an August 2001 accident in which six teens died.

Hwy 1A west of Cochrane 

Wooden crosses in a row remain a stark reminder that six young friends died together west of Cochrane.

Kalei Holizki, 16, Trevor McDonough, 16, Rob Brown, 16, Nathan Mossfeldt, 17, Ashley Comstock, 16, and Andrew Fisher, 17, were killed Aug. 20, 2001.

The teens, who had been celebrating in the Waiparous camping area, and were on their way back to Calgary. The car collided with a tow truck coming the other way on Highway 1A, west of Cochrane. Four of the teens died instantly and two others died later in hospital. One youth riding in the trunk, 17-year-old Jared Van Den Brink, survived while the driver of the tow truck, Ron McCabe, 51, suffered back injuries.

Investigators said fatigue was the main cause of the crash.

All the teens knew each other from St. Francis High School, though Holizki had transferred to Bishop Carroll High School.

A variety of items have been laid on the six crosses at the memorial over the years, including baseball caps, soft toys, pictures, a pink cigarette lighter, a yellowed and torn letter, plastic flowers, sunglasses, and a blue flag quoting Matthew 6:33-34 and John 3:16.

Previna Jiawan-Gautreau and Herb and Tracey Grieder write messages on balloons during a vigil two years after their relatives were killed in a horrific crash involving a cement truck.

Macleod Trail South at 194th Avenue  

Several families were tragically impacted in what was one of Calgary’s worst collisions. 

A cement truck driver drove into the back of a car stopped at a red light in 2007, killing five people.

Christopher Gautreau, 41, his daughters Alexia, 9, and Kiarra, 6, and Melaina Hovdebo, 33, and 16-month-old Zachary Morrison were killed in the crash.

Daniel Tschetter had been returning from a basement job near Nanton.  He was angry that the cold weather and delays had caused his truck’s water lines to freeze, telling his boss in a phone call before the crash it “was the worst day of my life.”

Sixteen civilian witnesses testified about the truck’s erratic and dangerous driving from the Aldersyde overpass 20 kilometres south of Calgary to the crash site just inside city limits.

Tschetter was convicted of five counts of manslaughter and given a five-and-a-half-year sentence. He was released after serving two-thirds of the sentence, as mandated by law. He is banned from driving until 2020 and prohibited from drinking alcohol. 

Tschetter maintains he wasn’t drunk when behind the wheel of his truck on that day in December 2007, even though he was seen driving erratically for more than 20 km, drank from a mickey of vodka after the crash and threw the bottle into the hopper.

The memorial has five crosses, teddy bears, flowers, a weathered Winnie the Pooh bear and candles.

Friends of Nick Paswisty gathered around a large memorial to the teen near where he was struck and killed days earlier while crossing Erin Woods Blvd. on Sept. 18, 2015. 

Driving east on Erin Woods Boulevard S.E., you can’t help but notice a riot of colour adorning a tree in the median. Look closely in the snow and you’ll see a ring of candles. A Spider-Man toy appears to oversee the assortment of stuffed animals including gorillas, a white bear and a dog. There are also bouquets, beads, a ball cap, several bandanas and many lanyards bearing the name of a northeast high school. At the bottom rests a simple wooden cross.

These are the tributes of family, classmates and friends of a teenager who was struck by a car early in the morning on Sept. 18, 2015. Nick Paswisty, 16, was struck and killed just metres from his house while crossing Erin Wood Boulevard at Erin Dale Cres. S.E. He was heading to school at Jack James High School that morning at 8:30 a.m. 

Police say speeding wasn’t factor but early morning sunlight in the driver’s eyes may have been.

In the days after the accident, the community rallied behind the family. A group of motorcycle enthusiasts took to the road a week later on a Rest Easy Ride to raise funds for the family and bring awareness to pedestrian safety. Local youth made signs asking motorists to slow down and planted them in the median and also staged a protest, calling for improvements such as speed bumps in the road or a four-way stop at the intersection.

A makeshift memorial on Highway 2 for the victims of a shooting north of Claresholm in 2012.

Hwy 1 near Claresholm 

A shocking murder-suicide left four young people dead and a woman in hospital after a shooting on the highway outside Claresholm.

Derek Jensen, 21, followed his ex-girlfriend Tabitha Stepple, 21, from Lethbridge on Dec. 15, 2011, as she and her friend Shayna Conway, 21, headed to Calgary. They were driving their friends, Tanner Craswell, 22, and Mitch Maclean, 20, — promising baseball players — to catch a flight back to Prince Edward Island.

Jensen ran the car off the road. When Conway, who was driving, got out, Jensen shot her several times. He then shot the others before turning the gun on himself.

The site bears small crosses, stuffed animals, pink plastic flowers, and various baseball-related items — even tins of chewing tobacco — in a nod to the boys’ involvement with the Lethbridge Bulls summer collegiate team and the Prairie Baseball Academy.

Despite not knowing the victims, several Claresholm residents have visited the site over the years, tending to it and leaving flowers.

Hwy 8 on the outskirts of Calgary 

A family was torn apart when a father and daughter were killed in a crash on Hwy 8 on Dec. 30, 2004. 

Jindrich Mayer, 40, was taking his four children to a Hitmen hockey game when they were involved in a head-on crash on an icy stretch of road near the west edge of Discovery Ridge. A former Czech Olympic coach who was working for Ski Jumping Canada, Mayer was killed in the accident. His eight-year-old daughter Annabelle died three days later. Three other children, aged 5, 9, and 10, were hospitalized with their injuries.

The mother, Maria Mayer, had stayed at home in Redwood Meadows that evening. 

A 52-year-old woman and 55-year-old man in the other vehicle were also injured in the crash.

Related

• Roadside memorials help families grieve but do they make drivers more careful?

 The $14.95 price tag for a bag of grapefruit stopped Sheri Paolatto in her tracks Friday at the Crossroads Market. 

“I’ve never seen it that high. It’s usually $6.99, maybe $8 but that seems like quite a jump.”

Grapefruit isn’t the only produce to soar in price as fresh fruit has increased by 12.4 per cent since December 2014, and fresh vegetables are up 14.4 per cent, according to data from Statistics Canada released Friday. Led by those surging produce prices, Alberta’s annual inflation rate rose last month by 1.5 per cent, year over year. 

The high prices are a direct result of adverse weather in the United States and the lower Canadian dollar since most produce is imported, said Jason Wiebe, president of Chongo’s Market at the Crossroads Farmers Market.

“Tomatoes trade the same as the TSX. It’s a commodity, too, and all produce is traded in U.S. dollars. In November, the retail cost of tomatoes on the vine was $1.99 a pound. Now I have to sell the same box at $3.99 pound.

 “What’s going to be really interesting going forward is what happens to local growers come summer. With the dollar, they can make one and half or two times as much exporting than selling here.”

And that may only be the beginning of higher food costs, according to ATB chief economist Todd Hirsh. 

“Going forward I think we’ll see even higher upward pressure on imported fruits and vegetables. If not for weather conditions, certainly that low Canadian dollar will affect it. Because the numbers we’re talking about today are from December and now in January we’re almost five to six per cent lower on that dollar….If people insist on eating fresh tomatoes and pineapple in January, they’ll be forced to pay for it.”

The price increases didn’t scare off Paolatto from buying her produce at Chongo’s Market. “I don’t mind paying for fresh fruits and vegetables, that’s why I come here. Being from Ontario it amazes me that fruits and vegetables come from another place. You have to pay for that.”

 But both Hirsh and Wiebe expect some change in customers’ buying habits.

“What we’re already seeing is people are finding substitutions or ways to reduce purchases without, in a dramatic way, changing our lifestyle,” said Hirsh. “When people see sticker shock, I think they’ll find alternatives.”

Wiebe has seen it firsthand. “We have a lot more root vegetables being bought. The things that are local and haven’t been impacted by the low dollar, people are making those switch decisions. They’re buying potatoes and carrots instead of guava and mango.”

On top of higher produce prices, Albertans were also paying considerably more for home and mortgage insurance (15.4 per cent rise), cigarettes (15.9 per cent),  and Internet access service (10.6 per cent) compared to a year earlier, the Stats Can report said.

That was offset by lower prices for fuel and utilities. Natural gas decreased 14.5 per cent, electricity dropped by 10.5 per cent, and gasoline was down seven percent compared to December 2014. Some Calgary service stations are now posting prices as low as 72.9 cents/litre. 

Hirsh predicts we may see decreases going forward in electronics or transportation.

“We could see some nice price wars among air carriers in the spring. In Calgary, business travel is down so they might go after tourism travel.”

But moving forward, National Bank senior economist Matthieu Arseneau predicts shoppers will continue to face higher prices for imported goods in many categories.

“Despite weak energy prices, we don’t expect Canadian consumers to get some respite because the dive in the currency should be a significant offset,” Arseneau wrote in a note to clients. 

By region, Statistics Canada found that consumer prices increased in every province last month compared to the year before, with British Columbia seeing the largest gain.

The core inflation rate, which excludes some volatile items such as gasoline, was up 1.9 per cent last month, slipping below the two per cent mark for the first time since July 2014. The core rate is followed closely by the Bank of Canada. 

Statistics Canada also released its year-end review for 2015, which showed the country’s annual average increase in inflation was 1.1 per cent. Core inflation had an annual average increase of 2.2 per cent last year, reaching its highest level in a year-end review since 2003.

Statistics Canada also released data Friday that contained promising numbers for the state of the economy: retail sales were up 1.7 per cent in November compared to the previous month.

The increase came during a month that featured Black Friday promotions and a boost in sales at new car dealerships. They both helped push the total retail sales figure up to $44.3 billion.

By comparison, retail sales only rose 0.1 per cent in October and contracted by 0.3 per cent in September.

“We’ve been looking at an economy that’s kind of been limping along through September and October,” Dawn Desjardins, deputy chief economist for RBC said before pointing to other positive economic numbers that have been released for November, such as manufacturing sales and wholesale trade.

“I think it’s very encouraging that we saw such an increase in activity.”

With files from The Canadian Press

It’s silent and it’s deadly. And it may be lurking in your house.

Radon gas is prevalent across the prairies and a Calgary scientist is trying to determine how widespread the risk is in the city.

The preliminary data is concerning.

“One in five (homes) are over the maximum acceptable limit. That’s quite high and very surprising,” said Aaron Goodarzi, an assistant professor at U of C’s Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute. He is spearheading a project to collect data to map the prevalence of the cancer-causing gas. So far, the team has tested 268 homes and aims to have 1,000 homeowners enrolled by the end of January.

Calgary’s early results are even more concerning if measured against U.S. guidelines and those issued by the World Health Organization, which are more stringent.

Health Canada sets an acceptable annual rate of 200 becquerels per cubic metre (200 Bq/m3), while the U.S. rate is 150 and the World Health Organization has proposed recommended levels of 100. The term describes how many radioactive radon particles are decaying every second in every cubic metre of air.

“In Canada, we have a higher limit on what’s acceptable,” said Goodarzi. “I guess Health Canada feels Canadians have a higher tolerance for radon gas.”

Radon potential in Canada. (Courtesy/ Radon Environmental Management Corp.)

Radon is the the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canada, accounting for about 16 per cent of cases or 1,900 deaths per year. Scientific studies have linked the risk of developing lung cancer to prolonged exposure to high levels of radon gas. A 2009-11 national study of 14,000 homes showed more than 1,500 had unacceptable levels.

Levels have reached as high as 4,000 Bq/m3 in Calgary homes, says Karin Dumais, president of Radon West, which has partnered with Goodarzi to provide test kits to homeowners and the corresponding data to the scientists. 

“The highest level we’ve seen was 4,300 in B.C. In Calgary, it was 4,000. They had poured concrete for the basement but not under the furnace so it was sucking air in from under the house. It was basically a radon distribution system.”

Radon is a naturally occurring gas produced from the radioactive decay of uranium in rocks and soil. It is colourless, odourless and tasteless. It is extremely prevalent in the Canadian prairies having been deposited by glaciers. It seeps into homes through cracks in walls, floors and foundations and through floor drains and sumps. Houses in cold climates are at particular risk since windows and doors are kept closed for over half the year and there’s often little air circulation, which creates a vacuum effect.

A unique aspect of radon is the randomness of it. Dumais said one house she tested had levels of 1,000 Bq/m3 — five times the recommended level. But a measurement 2.5 metres away was only 60.

Dumais got interested in radon when she built a net-zero energy home south of Okotoks and tested it. She was shocked to see such high results in that type of home. She passed the tester around to family and friends — all had levels higher than Canadian guidelines.

“A neighbour had 1,000, my parents were 780 and my sister was at 2,400. Her levels are equal to having 4,320 dental X-rays per year per person. Those are really dangerous levels.”

Yet the threat is relatively unknown to the public.

“It’s been known to the scientific community since the 1970s. But it really does take a local champion to raise the alarm,” said Goodarzi. “In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency has taken that step. In Canada, it’s a bit more complicated.”

Because radon is a naturally occurring element from the ground, it falls under provincial jurisdiction. Health Canada cannot mandate testing.

“British Columbia has a lower incidence rate but is way farther ahead than Alberta. Manitoba, with higher rates, is also farther ahead. They have local champions. It needs to get on the radar of the federal government.”

In Health Canada’s national testing, it found the incidence rate in Alberta was 6.6 per cent. But only 23 homes were tested in Calgary, eight in Cochrane and one each in Okotoks and Airdrie.

“That’s why Dr. Goodarzi’s research is so important,” said Dumais. “There isn’t enough data out there to say for certain how big the problem is. If he gets enough data and can bring it to Alberta Health, perhaps it can act on it. We really need to start educating people.”

When Health Canada tested in Castlegar, B.C., it determined 29 per cent of homes there have radon. But when wider testing was done, the incidence rate shot up to 59 per cent.

Dana Schmidt was one of the unlucky ones living with the deadly gas in the West Kootenay city. His previously healthy wife died of lung cancer in 2009 and he went looking for answers. Their house, in which they had lived for 15 years, had radon levels twice the recommended guideline. 

He set up the Donna Schmidt Memorial Lung Cancer Prevention Society and sent out radon test kits. Of the thousands of results received, 44 per cent were above the guidelines. One home in the city registered at 600 times the acceptable limit.

“That’s like a lifetime of smoking in five years. It’s higher than a uranium miner would ever experience,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt has a Phd in toxicology and worked in air quality control, but even he was unaware of how bad the problem is. With his society, he is hoping to spread the word and prevent more deaths related to radon exposure.

“Even if we make a 10 per cent difference, that means (people are) saved. People don’t have to go through premature death from lung cancer. When you look at the health costs and the human misery caused, it matters.”

High concentrations of pollutants and other toxins, including radon, can lead to major health risks. (Courtesy/The Holmes Group)

Some groups have lobbied for mandatory testing to be included in all Canadian real estate transactions and Health Canada considered it but abandoned the idea after concerns were raised by the Canadian Real Estate Association. Many states in the U.S. where radon is a problem, such as Montana, do have mandatory testing included in resale home deals.

New homes are also being looked at in terms of legislation. Since December 2014, the B.C. Building Code provisions for the rough-in of a subfloor depressurization system now require installation of a radon vent pipe which extends through, and terminates outside, the building. The Alberta Building Code was also updated as of Nov. 1, 2015, to include radon mitigation.

Modifying a house to lower radon levels is relatively inexpensive, generally in the range of $2,000 to $2,500. It usually involves changing the home’s negative pressure to positive by installing a pipe through the basement floor with a fan attached to draw the radon out.

Dumais said they lobbied the Canada Revenue Agency to get the modifications included as a tax credit but it wasn’t accepted.

“Our biggest message is that it’s fixable and you only know you have it if you test for it,” said Dumais. “It’s cheaper and easier to fix than asbestos but more dangerous.”

Goodarzi’s study aims to have 1,000 homes signed up for testing by Jan. 30 and finish by April. Final, anonymous, results will be ready in the fall. Anyone in the greater Calgary area, including Canmore and Okotoks, wishing to get the $45 test kit can sign up at DNAscience.ca/radon

“We’re hoping to catch as many as we can. (At the institute) we’re getting people coming in every day with lung cancer who have never smoked. It’s primarily because of radon gas.”

Lung cancer survivor Janet Whitehead tells her story in this video from Radon Environmental Management Corp.

Unless you know where to look, there’s little evidence of a once-bustling ski industry outside the Big Three at Banff. Where families clad in one-piece nylon suits once shushed down runs at Wintergreen, Turner Valley and Pigeon Mountain, hikers now benefit from the grassy slopes left in their wake. Most of the ski lifts, left abandoned and rusting for years, have been sold off and removed.

Skiing got its start in Alberta about 1911 but it really took off in the 1940s and ’50s after the war years. Ski hills sprouted up in prairie gullies and ravines across the province with volunteers clearing brush and raising funds. The facilities were basic, but they introduced an entire generation to the sport. Over time, as money and snow disappeared, so did many of the little operations. Skiers moved on to bigger elevations at Banff and Kananaskis but for some longtime Calgarians, fond memories remain of the hills where many of us learned to ski.

Pigeon Mountain (at Dead Man’s Flats on Hwy 1)

The runs still show through the trees at the old Pigeon Mountain ski hill at Dead Man’s Flats near Canmore.

It was first named “Pic de Pigeons” by Eugene Bourgeau, a French-born botanist on the 1858 Palliser Expedition. Many longtime Calgarians remember it as the hill where they learned to ski. It had two Poma lifts and the Calgary Herald Ski School, in conjunction with the Calgary Ski Club, held free ski lessons here for 500 children every weekend for about three years.

However the hill was situated on a west-facing slope of the mountain which meant continual exposure to sun and chinook winds. In fact the sunny open slopes at the top are a favoured feeding ground for bighorn sheep. The hill only operated from mid-January to mid-March with poor conditions forcing its closure in 1968. It opened again briefly in 1979 until 1983 when it closed permanently. Although time, and trees, are slowly regaining the land, you can still just make out the old ski runs when driving east on the Trans Canada Highway by Lac des Arcs.

 Pigeon Mountain had a special day on Wednesdays where mothers could leave children in a supervised nursery.

Longtime mountain ski patroller Peter Spear worked at Pigeon Mountain for two seasons before settling in at Lake Louise for 45 years. Equipment was rudimentary in those days, with injured skiers taken off the hill on old Parks Canada wooden toboggans. A brake chain attached to the bottom helped slow the sled on steep inclines. There was a first aid hut at the bottom of Pigeon Mountain but any major injury mean a trip back to Calgary in the most unusual make-do ambulance.

“It was long before there was an active EMS,” said Spear. “But there was a Rothman’s salesman who would come up to the hill on weekends. He’d put the patients in the back of the company station wagon, and off he’d go, probably offering them a cigarette on the way. It was a public service.”

Spear agrees that poor conditions were a factor in the hill’s closure but also pegged the blame on faulty snowmaking equipment.

“They had a massive electric generator to run it but it was wired backwards and it blew out. It took out the entire Bow Valley power. It was sent back and rewired but it blew again the next year. That was the true demise of Pigeon Mountain.”

Most of the ski lifts were scavenged for parts, some ending up at Canyon Ski Resort outside Red Deer. The old lodge remains although Spear recalls a forest fire threatened it at one point and it was sprayed with red fire retardant.

After the skill hill closed, a Calgary businessman leased 333 acres from the Alberta government and built Alpine Resort Haven on the lower slopes. It featured 44, two-bedroom, timeshare chalets plus a swimming pool, hot tub and tennis courts. Owner Keith Hein had briefly considered in 1998 reopening the hill as a venue if the Olympics returned in 2010. But he predicted any major Pigeon development plan will spark environmental opposition because the area has been identified as a major breeding ground for bighorn sheep.

”I’m not opposed to the Olympics in any way, but I can’t see Pigeon Mountain being a big part of it,” he said in 1998.

Today, Pigeon Mountain is the site of some popular and challenging hiking trails, and the feeding ground of the aforementioned sheep.

Wintergreen (outside Bragg Creek)

A mothballed shell of an old lift shack at the base of the former Wintergreen ski area near Bragg Creek on Jan. 21, 2016. 

Instructor Cathy Wallace gave Jay Turner and Amanda McDonald, both five, a lift at Lyon Mountain (Wintergreen) in 1985.

A small hill of about 190 metres vertical, this resort opened in 1982 as Lyon Mountain Ski Hill, named for builder Bob Lyon. It had four lifts and 11 runs of mostly easy and intermediate terrain and its close proximity to Calgary brought many families out here on weekends.

The resort eventually sold to the Skiing Louise Group and then to Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR). It evaluated the resort and decided that due to poor snow leading to a short season, aging infrastructure and a lack of reinvestment potential, it would close the hill in 2003.

RCR continues to operate the adjacent Wintergreen Golf and Country Club and over time most of the ski lifts have been removed and sold. The company has proposed a large housing development for the area with single-family homes, villas and a hotel.

There are no plans to resuscitate the ski operations.

Shaganappi (in Calgary)

Alasdair Fergusson makes tracks at Shaganappi Golf Course. The downhill slopes were just over the ridge in the valley to the north.

Bonded by a love of skiing and a desire to promote the sport, alpine enthusiasts,including former Herald manager John Southam, formed the Calgary Ski Club in 1935. It had its hand in initiating a number of ski events and facilities in Alberta, including Shaganappi and Bowness hills in Calgary. An earlier version of the club even had its hand in creating a 12-metre ski jump on the side of the Bow River escarpment in Elbow Park in 1919. 

In 1948, the CSC asked the city for permission to use slopes on the north side of the Municipal Golf Course, now known as Shaganappi.  It proposed using the golf clubhouse as a change room and even had a plan for flood lights for night skiing. Volunteers cleared brush and in January 1949 the first runs were taken. It was used by the public and also for race training.

The city renewed permission the following winter and even allowed the club to install a rope tow, according to Alasdair Fergusson, a longtime member of the Calgary Ski Club. But the city’s parks department, opposed to the plan in the first place over fears the winter use would ruin the course, denied use of the course in December 1951.

The Herald’s ski writer at the time, Nigel Dunn, berated the city in his column for its “high-handed” approach.

“And all this fiddle-faddle about harming the grass is a far different story from that which officials of the parks department told the mayor ….. And once more, just for the record, the municipal golf course is public property.”

Bowness was fraught with even more problems, including the perennial lack of snow. In discussing the future of the property, the Herald’s ski reporter Joy Van Wagner, wrote in 1957, “If I had $5 for every time I’ve written ‘the ski lesson scheduled this Saturday has been cancelled owing to insufficient snow’ I could go to Florida for a holiday.”

Operating sporadically in the 1950s, it closed by 1960. The Calgary Herald reported on it: “The CSC puts a great deal of effort into establishing a decent ski hill within the precincts of Calgary. The club was not in the end successful in its endeavour, but it was a noble effort none the same.”

Happy Valley (west side of Calgary where Valley Ridge now stands)

Five hundred novices attended the Herald Ski School at Happy Valley one day in 1966.

Way back before Calgary spilled its guts, a leisure centre opened outside the city limits in the area east of what is now Valley Ridge. The city had about 300,000 people in 1959 when businessman Ernie Lutz bought up some land with the idea of creating an all-season family park, a Disneyland of Alberta so to speak. Happy Valley opened in 1961 with playgrounds, trails, pony rides, stocked ponds, and barbecue and camping areas. It later expanded to include a 50-metre indoor swimming pool and had go-carts, trampolines, mini-golf and a Par-3 golf course.

Winter sports were included skating and tobogganning, and a ski hill was added in 1962. A poma lift serviced four runs and could shuttle 800 skiers an hour. Lights for night skiing were added and the hill also had state-of-the-art, for the time, snowmaking equipment.

A popular outing for Calgary families for several years, Happy Valley was sold in 1967 to an American group. Little money was invested in the upkeep of the park and it fell into disrepair. The owners tried to sell to the city but the council rejected it, saying it was too far away from the city. It eventually sold in 1974 to another U.S. group before a Calgarian named Bob Allen bought it for about $4 million in 1976. He ran it for a few years and added the 18-hole Valley Ridge Golf Course.

Allen sold the land to a Los Angeles group that had planned to create a Hollywood North complex but it never came to fruition. 

Fortress Mountain (formerly Snowridge, in Kananaskis Country)

An abandoned ski lift load area is shown at Fortress Mountain Resort in Kananaskis Country on Jan. 22, 2016.

This is another hill that many longtime skiers recall fondly. With loads of easy terrain, waist-deep powder in bowls and an iconic lodge with a massive circular fireplace in the centre, it was a skier’s dream. Calgary businessman David Bullock, who operated a helicopter geological exploration company with his brothers Evan and Curtis, was the major developer of Snowridge which opened in 1967. It changed hands, and names, over the years.

The resort was small at 335 metres of vertical but it was spread over three faces. It boasted one triple chair, two doubles, three t-bars and a beginners’ rope tow and had its own snowmaking equipment. It also had an on-hill hotel for those looking to seriously indulge in apres ski beverages rather than make the 130-km drive back into the city.

The abandoned day lodge at Fortress Mountain Resort is in complete disrepair.

The most memorable part of the resort was the biting wind, especially on the backside chair lift. “Everyone remembers the big wall of dirt piled there to protect against the heavy winds and getting sandblasted at the top,” said Spear, who skied there occasionally when not patrolling. “A big anemometer was once blown off the building and sometimes they had to shut the lift down.”

Fortress’s owner, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, tried unsuccessfully to get the Alberta government to allow on-hill accommodations which could have helped fund improvements and operations at the hill. But politicians were opposed to any more development in K-Country.

A decline in skiers coupled with escalating operating costs including high property taxes, insurance and energy costs resulted in the Fortress losing more than $1 million over two years. According to Neil Jackson, Fortress’s general manager, that left them “unable to generate positive cash flow to make the necessary improvements it needs to continue operations.” 

Fortress closed in April 2004.

The following September, it was sold it to Banff Rail Co., run by Zrinko Amerl. The ski hill opened for a few months in early 2006, but was ordered to stop selling season’s passes ahead of the 2006-07 ski season. Then, in October 2007 the province pulled its leases, saying Banff Rail Co. had failed to fix an unsafe bridge on the only road in and had missed several lease payments. 

Now, a new owner is making plans to reopen the resort.

Fortress Mountain Holdings got a major boost when the big-budget Hollywood film Inception, starring Leo DiCaprio, got approval to film there. The movie’s producers replaced the aforementioned bridge and improved the road. That allowed the group to begin a snowcat operation in 2011-12 — the first step in the plan to relaunch the ski resort, possibly by December 2017. A Whistler firm has been hired to oversee the development which will include a new lodge and eventual new lifts.

Turner Valley

An old Calgary streetcar was used as the lodge at Turner Valley ski hill, circa 1950s.
Courtesy, Glenbow Archives,  PA-1599-539a-4

There were a number of small, prairie hills with ski resorts in Alberta in the 1940s through ’80s that met the same fate. Lack of snow and escalating costs were a lethal combination for Darwell Ski Hill near Penhold, and others at Nanton and Turner Valley.  

Turner Valley got its start in the 1940s when some locals cut some runs on Cliff Vandergrift’s farm. A rope tow was built from some old drilling pipe donated by the Royalite Oil Company. Axles were welded on and and car wheels attached, all powered by an old engine.

The hill didn’t have much vertical feet to offer but it more than made up for it with kamikaze runs.

“Someone cut runs down these steep hills but they didn’t cut the stumps out. Skiing there was more like a survival situation,” said Spear, who first skied at Turner Valley in 1952.

One of the unique aspects of the low-budget hill was its “lodge”  — a Calgary streetcar complete with a kitchen.

One of the Turner Valley Ski Club’s directors, Ozzie LaRue, who later started Ozzie’s Sports in south Calgary, eventually took over and moved the ski operations to a different hill in 1959 and installed a Poma lift. It too fell victim to Calgary’s fickle climate, and vandals, and closed in 1964.

LaRue, along with Spear’s brother, was also heavily involved in the Calgary Ski Club’s setting up and training of ski patrols, including at Turner Valley and Norquay. 

Eden Lake Ski Resort (near Stony Plain)

Operating as a summer resort, Lake Eden was purchased by Erwin and Will Zeiter in 1966. They owned a construction company which grew into a development empire.

In addition to the lakeside cabins, the brothers chose to make the resort into a year-round destination. They began by increasing a hill, only 25 metres high naturally, to 62 metres by piling up more than 28,000 cubic metres of dirt. 

Twelve thousand trees were planted to landscape the runs but the ski resort did not survive.

The Zeiter’s company went into receivership in 1983 although the summer beach resort continued to operate for some time after.

A photography project that began with a “catastrophic” computer meltdown has become one of salvation for the artist and one of celebration for the community he’s documenting.

Ara Shimoon embarked on #Sunnyside365 on June 21, 2015, as a way to rebuild his portfolio after eight years of work was lost when his hard drive crashed. He needed motivation and decided to take one photo a day for a year — entirely within his Hillhurst-Sunnyside neighbourhood. He’s more than halfway there and has photographed everything from landscapes and portraits to construction and coffee.

“When I teach (continuing ed classes) at SAIT I tell my students to just get out there and do it. So I took my own advice and started shooting,” said Shimoon, 35, who is also a graphic artist. “Maybe (the computer crash) was something telling me to do more significant work.”

It was a personal project at first, but the more he explored his streets the more he wanted to share the stories he heard. He started a blog and posts his photos there, alongside quotes that give context to the images. Some of his images will be displayed this summer in his second home at The Roasterie and at the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association. He has a webpage (www.glorified.ca), Facebook page and Flickr site for his images and he hopes to wind it up by publishing a book of all 365 photos.

“I’m trying to figure out how to carry it forward. It’s a remarkable cathartic experience to go seek out subjects to shoot. You come out of your shell a little bit.”

Through the project Shimoon has uncovered much about his neighbourhood. He learned, for example, that the Rileys of nearby Riley Park lost their son Thomas during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. The park was once part of a 146,000-hectare parcel of land homesteaded by the family between 1888 and 1909. 

“When you scratch the surface, and not that deep, you find such interesting history. And it’s a history that connects this neighbourhood to the world. This tiny neighbourhood that has a remarkable spirit.”

Shimoon is also a part of that spirit. A study in contrasts, the big, burly man with a beard and tattoos is unfailingly polite and soft-spoken to all those he shoots. A daily fixture on the streets, he’s woven into the fabric of the community as much as its other characters.

“I think it’s really amazing for the neighbourhood that he’s doing this. He’s probably bringing the community together a bit more,” said Cam Dobranski, owner of Brasserie Kensington.

Ara Shimoon, 35, has embarked on a year-long project to take one photograph a day to document his neighbourhood of Hillhurst-Sunnyside.

#Sunnyside365 is a good example of many grassroots projects showing the vitality of the area, said Kensington BRZ executive director Annie MacInnis.

“Ara’s photographs are engaging and whimsical, like the wonderful neighbourhoods of Sunnyside and Hillhurst,” she said.

The city councillor for the area, Druh Farrell, said Shimoon “takes the timeless tradition of storytelling and adds a modern twist. (He) captures the free spirit, compassion, and quirkiness that defines Sunnyside.”

Shimoon has only lived in the area for eight or nine years but has seen tremendous change in that short time. Businesses started, businesses closed, old-timers have passed and new people have moved in. All of it adds to the “cool, bohemian vibe” that exists among the eclectic shops and restaurants. 

Shimoon has shot them all. One of his favourite shots is of a local guy who regularly walks his cat on a harness. Another favourite image is of Edward, a 31-year veteran of the postal service who’s delivered mail in the area for 27 years and knows almost everyone by name. 

While Shimoon hopes his project adds to the community spirit in Hillhurst-Sunnyside, he hopes it spreads to other neighbourhoods. 

“I would love, love it if there was a #Ramsay365 and an #Inglewood365 (and) if someone else took one full year of meaningful photographs in their community.”

With more than three-quarters of Calgary residents claiming roots in Europe, there’s certain to be real tie-ins to the Great War of 100 years ago.

Families can learn more about their First World War connections at a special Family Day event at The Military Museums. The University of Calgary Library and Archives staff will lead workshops Monday showing people how to look up ancestors’ military records and what data is needed to do so.

“One of the most common inquiries we get from folks is how to find their grand- or great-grand (parents) military records. So it’s awesome for the library to put this workshop on, especially on Family Day,” said KC Richards, communications manager at The Military Museums Foundation. “People are always interested but don’t know how to go about pursuing that.”

Events on Monday also include some rare, behind the scenes experiences. Parents and children can watch as experts explain the ongoing restoration of a 1915 German field artillery gun captured by the Canadian Expeditionary Force. 

“The restoration process of artifacts usually goes on behind closed doors but people will be able to see what’s being done to bring the gun back to its original condition.  They’ll learn how much work goes into it and why it’s important to do it,” said Richards.

Visitors will also be able to touch and hold real hardware, such as helmets, webbing and gas masks, used by soldiers in the trenches, at an artifact handling station hosted by the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Museum. 

“These are items the general public would not normally get to touch. Not unless they’ve been on a tour with an educational program.”

There will be tours throughout the day in galleries focused on Canada’s First World War, guided by the Military Museum’s historical experts. The tours end in a temporary exhibit containing items from an extensive private collection belonging to Calgary history buff Victor Taboika.

There will also be screenings of a documentary, The Front Lines, which is told through the recovered letters and war diaries of five individuals. These entries are narrated over photographs and historical footage to create a personal and human account of the war.

Admission will be two-for-one and the museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Military Museums and Foundation will be commemorating significant events of the First World War through 2018.

They say great cities are built by great men. But the visionaries responsible for much of Calgary’s formation also included great women. Strong characters — such as trick rider Flores La Due, who was every bit an equal to husband Guy Weadick — left their own mark on city history over the years. Together, their legacies live on. Here are some love affairs of Calgary’s past. By Michele Jarvie, Calgary Herald.

Colonel James F. Macleod, circa 1880
Glenbow Archives NA-684-1

Col. James Macleod and Mary Isabella Drever

Col. Macleod wore many hats after arriving in Alberta with his family in 1845. He was a militia officer, a lawyer, a NWMP officer, a judge and politician.

After being born in Scotland, he practised law in Ontario before being lured west on an expedition to quell the Red River Rebellion in Manitoba. He remained with the militia at Lower Fort Garry until the spring of 1871 and, while there, met Mary Isabella Drever, daughter of a local trader. Their plan to be married went awry when Macleod was passed over as commanding officer of the garrison and he returned to Ontario.

He came to Alberta in 1874 with the NWMP to dissuade American whisky traders and helped establish Fort Macleod. On July 22, 1876, he was appointed commissioner of the NWMP and six days later married his sweetheart in Winnipeg.

Macleod’s duties kept him away from home for long stretches but he often wrote to his wife of the troubles policing the nation. He resigned from the NWMP in 1880 and the family moved to a ranch near Pincher Creek where he focused on judicial work. They moved to Calgary in 1884 where he died that year.

The couple had one son and four daughters, including one who married wealthy rancher A.E. Cross, one of the founders of the Stampede.  

James Lougheed and Belle Hardisty

Isabella Hardisty married James Lougheed in September 1884. Glenbow Archives, NA-3232-3

This was a union of distinctly different cultures. 

Isabella (Belle) Hardisty was Metis, having been born in 1864 to Hudson’s Bay Company chief factor William Lucas Hardisty and Mary Ann Allen, who was of mixed Cree ancestry. After her father’s death, she moved to Calgary to live with her uncle Richard Hardisty, also a HBC executive and one of the richest men in the region.

James Lougheed came from humble beginnings in Cabbagetown, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Toronto. He followed his father into carpentry but a mentor encouraged him to return to school to study law. 

He moved west with his brother Sam, landing in Calgary in 1883. His legal practise thrived with the CPR becoming one of his biggest clients.

Belle and James married in 1884 and they had four sons and two daughters. They became paragons of high society, hosting parties and dignitaries like the Prince of Wales at their sandstone mansion, Beaulieu. Mrs. Lougheed took an active part in community work while her husband went on to become a senator.

James died in 1925; Belle in 1936.

Guy Weadick and Flores LaDue

Guy Weadick and Flores La Due in 1949.

Guy Weadick’s name is synonymous with the Calgary Stampede. The flashy American promoter created the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth in 1912 and it has continued to dominate summer in the city ever since. But while Weadick was the public face of the extravaganza, his wife was equally involved and had top billing of her own at the show.

Grace Maud Bensell was the only daughter of an affluent lawyer and judge in Minnesota. A tomboy who learned to ride at age four, she later joined a Wild West Show. She became a champion trick roper and rider, changing her name to Flores La Due. 

Weadick and La Due met in 1905 and were married within five weeks. 

“He absolutely adored her and she was truly his partner. He always knew how much she meant to him and that she was his mainstay,” according to Cate Cabot, Weadick’s grandniece. 

The couple’s marriage was ahead of its time, said Glenbow president Donna Livingstone, who detailed their relationship in her 1996 book The Cowboy Spirit.

“Guy treated her as an equal, a contemporary. He understood the value of what she had to say and she had a voice in that relationship,” said Livingstone.

La Due died in 1951, followed by her husband two years later.

William and Martha Reader

William Reader, Calgary parks superintendent, Glenbow Archives NA-789-125

This is a marriage that blossomed alongside the 4,000 plants lovingly tended by Calgary’s longtime parks superintendent.

The Reader Rock Garden Historic Park south of the Stampede grounds was named for William and Martha Reader, who emigrated to Canada in 1908, becoming the first tenants in a lovely arts and crafts style home on Union Cemetery land.

William first worked as landscaper when he arrived here but was hired to oversee parks from 1913 to 1942. He had a passion for plants and set about discovering what would grow best in Calgary’s unique climate. He would collect both plants and rocks from the mountains and over time, built up an amazing collection.

As a loving tribute to his wife, Reader also created a quiet area in the upper part of the garden that he called Martha’s Garden. She would read or knit there and children were forbidden.

The family lived in the garden for 30 years. Reader retired in 1942 and died in 1943, months before the couple was to move. Some say it was of a broken heart from having to leave his beloved garden. 

Princess Louise Alberta and the Marquess of Lorne

Princess Louise Alberta, painted by Sir William Blake Richmond.

The princess never actually set foot in Alberta, but its name alone reflects a grand, romantic gesture made by her husband while he visited here. The province was named Alberta in tribute to the princess by her husband (the governor general), who was taken with the majestic mountains and blue skies when he arrived here in 1881. 

The fourth daughter of Queen Victoria also lent her name to the villages of Caroline and Lake Louise.

Although born of royalty, the princess was considered unconventional for the times. A strong-willed woman, she was an early supporter of women’s rights — including her own. Her mother steered her in the direction of several royal suitors but the princess set her eyes upon a non-royal — and even more scandalous, a politician. 

When John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, otherwise known as the Marquess of Lorne, married the princess in 1871, large crowds turned out for a glimpse.

They settled into public life in England before Campbell was named governor general of Canada in 1878. They moved into Rideau Hall in Ottawa where they lived for five years. They never had children and returned to England in 1883.

The biggest choice a 10-year-old usually has to make is whether to play soccer or hockey, or join gymnastics or swimming. 

But Louise made a decision last summer that set her and her family on a new, lifelong path.

After years of feeling different, the youngster quietly told her mom she thought she was gay. After talking it out, and some research on her part, she determined she was transgender — a girl in a male body. It rattled her parents and two brothers, but also made a lot of sense.

“We always knew (she) was different. As a young child, she always played with dolls and typical girls’ toys. That’s just how it was. At birthdays and Christmas, if she wanted a Monster High doll, that’s what she got,” said the girl’s mom, Tracy, who requested that their last name not be used.

Self-assured beyond her years, Louise never felt pressure to conform, added her father, Jason, who notes that a common joke in their parent support group is they all hoped their child was gay. “Life would be so much easier for her if she was just gay. You’re not making physiological changes. You just feel for them. It’s almost like their souls are tortured.” 

To ease pressures and accommodate all students, the provincial government released wide-ranging guidelines in January, which, among other things, allow gender-diverse students to choose which school bathrooms they want to use, as well as the names, pronouns, clothing and sports teams that represent their gender identity.

The document is supposed to help Alberta’s 61 school boards revise regulations and hash out new policies by March 31 to protect the rights of LGBTQ students and teachers, support gay-straight alliances and create a safe learning environment. The guidelines aren’t binding, but a special government team will review the policies and help shape ones that fall short.

Louise’s parents haven’t read the new guidelines because they haven’t felt the need to. Her middle school and classmates readily adapted to her change of name and appearance in September.

“They totally put me at ease,” said Tracy. “I was in tears anticipating the start of school because kids can be cruel.”

“But kids are a lot more informed now, they’re not as concerned about it,” added Jason. “Some have stopped her in the hallway and said ‘Wow, you’re brave.’

“It has been such a positive experience so far. So we haven’t felt the need to go in guns blazing,” said Jason, who acknowledges that might not be the case in other schools. 

He agrees with policies that protect and support kids, but questions the guidelines around new pronouns and limiting gender-specific teams. “Why can’t there be boys’ teams and girls’ teams? If that’s who they are and they want to join, why not?”

It’s only been five months since Louise made her decision, but the change in her personality has been radical.

“She’s a different kid now, much happier, way more confident,” said Tracy, who added that Louise wants to start an anti-bullying club at the school even though she hasn’t been bullied. “We just want her to feel happy and alive.”

They know it won’t always be easy.

“We haven’t hit the hard stuff yet,” said Jason. “Puberty is not here yet, big disappointments haven’t come yet that might get her asking ‘Why am I like this, why me?’ ”

They’ve joined a parent support group “to talk through the highs and the lows.” And they share experiences with a family member’s friend, Lindsay Peace, whose son, Ace, 15, came out in 2015 at Valley Creek School. He is now in Grade 10 at Crescent Heights.

Elliot, left, Hamish, Lindsay, Ace, and Steve Peace.

“Both schools are super forward-thinking and accommodating. That sets the tone,” said Peace. “There’s not been one kid in Ace’s school who could say they’ve been negatively affected by his being there or the accommodations made.”

In fact, Ace’s circle of friends has grown and he’s a much happier kid. He even joined the wrestling team.

Peace says the provincial guidelines, and resulting policies, won’t change anything for Ace but could make a huge difference to others.

“My hope is the guidelines will ensure other kids will have the same positive experience that Ace and (Louise) have. That they keep all kids safe and successful and happy.

“I’m hoping in 20 years we’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.”

Unfortunately for some, the guidelines and public awareness comes a decade too late.

Elementary and junior high for James Demers, now 26, was less about education and more about survival. He knew at a young age that he identified as male and it didn’t go over well with his parents or his classmates. 

“I spent most of my elementary and junior high years being locked in change rooms, being physically assaulted in change rooms, harassed, and that was just from being butch appearing. I was gender non-conforming and that’s a problem for kids who are 10, 11, 12, and 13.”

Demers’ high school experience at St. Francis in Calgary was radically different. The students and teachers were very supportive as he captained the woman’s rugby team and took his female partner to graduation.

James Demer, 20, second from left, joined friends Jack Saddleback, 21, Sara Anderson, 24, Tasia Zandboer, 21 and Christine Pinkney, 23, at the Queer Prom 2010 event.

“I wore a tux and a rainbow mohawk — there was nothing subtle about it. I was completely out and it was never an issue, ever. But had I been transitioning at the time, some basic protection and safety in a washroom would have been amazing.”

As an activist in the trans community — Demers is executive director of Fairy Tales Film Festival and teaches awareness sessions to university students and public groups — he has been following the debate over the province’s guidelines. That includes the condemnation by Catholic Bishop Fred Henry, who called them “totalitarian” and based on “narrow-minded anti-Catholic ideology that must be defeated.”

But Demers said the province is on the right track.

“I feel that the guidelines are right in line. It gives schools an opportunity to meet a student’s request for gender neutral washrooms,” said Demers. “And being able to pick genders on sports teams is really interesting,” given the recent relaxation of Olympic rules allowing transgender athletes.

Demers, who began medically transitioning to male when he was 19, noted that some youth don’t have the emotional capacity to come out as transgender in school but having official policies supporting it is crucial.

“If kids are not comfortable to come out in high school, they won’t. Kids have a pretty good gauge of their safety. Having the guidelines and having the opportunity to take schools up on it for those who need it is great.”

Those protections are needed beyond just in schools. Demers said he experienced the humiliation of being hauled out of public washrooms in malls by security guards questioning his gender. 

“I used to go 12 to 18 hours without using a washroom because it’s so unsafe in public. Kids are in school to learn; they don’t need to deal with this. We’re just providing a safe space for kids.”

Some schools are already on their way. Forest Lawn High School converted two single staff washrooms into gender-neutral sites and the Calgary Board of Education is incorporating them into the design of all new schools. Bishop Carroll Senior High School has had a gender-neutral washroom for more than a year and its gay-straight alliance — The Spectrum Club — has supported transgendered students wanting to participate in clubs and finding different pronouns for themselves.

“When you start to transition young … the only thing you have sometimes moving forward is names and pronouns and basic social respect,” said Demers. “So names and pronouns are absolutely the easiest thing you can do and it requires no additional infrastructure. It’s one of the most important supportive acts you can do as a family member or teacher.”

James Demers hosts transgender awareness sessions at Mount Royal University and the U of C and helps organize a private swim three times a year.

Support is crucial for youth struggling with gender identity who are also trying to negotiate high school, rife with peer pressure, bullying and raging hormones. Demers helped establish the Miscellaneous Youth Group and Mosaic Youth Group, which run programs and social activities in which kids can feel free to be themselves without public scrutiny.

Lindsay Peace’s modified tattoo.

One of those events is a three-times-a-year trans swim. Participants must pre-register, be checked off a list and go through locked doors just to enjoy what should be a typical youth outing.

“They need all of that for their safety and security. For these people, the only time they’re in a pool is that three-times-a-year event,” said Demers.

“It’s pretty freeing. It’s phenomenal to see people who would be having a hard time day to day dealing with the world letting all that go.”

Ace’s parents have also let go of the past. His mom once sported family tattoos featuring two boys and a girl, but after Ace transitioned, his father, a tattoo artist, altered the girl’s image to that of a boy. 

Ace said that was proof of his parents’ support.

“It meant a lot because it really showed me how much trust she had in me and that she accepted me to put this permanent image on her body.”

Balzac Billy called it exactly two weeks ago.

The Prairie prognosticator declared an early spring when he crawled out of his burrow Feb. 2, but even he probably didn’t foresee golfing in Calgary by Feb. 16.

“This is the earliest for me. That’s why we’re out here; you can’t pass this up,” said Bryan Dean, as he unloaded his clubs at Fox Hollow Golf Course.

“See, global warming’s not all that bad,” joked his playing partner, Logan Anderson.

The two were part of a steady stream of golfers teeing up at the northeast course Tuesday — a full month ahead of schedule.

“It’s not the earliest we’ve seen,” acknowledged head pro Greg Griffiths. “In 2012, in the first week of February we were on temporary greens. But this is pretty good.” 

Devon Seiler gets in an early round Feb. 16, 2016, at Fox Hollow. Leah Hennel/Postmedia

The public course, which lies alongside Deerfoot Trail south of 32nd Avenue, is using temporary tees and greens, and Griffiths says it will remain open as long as the weather holds. The forecast — at least in the short term — looks promising. 

“I was out for a walk yesterday and it’s dry out there,” said Griffiths. “Those new drivers are going to go a long way for everybody.” 

The conditions are far from perfect, with rock-hard fairways and small patches of snow in low-lying gullies, but the giddy golfers don’t seem to mind.

“I’m happy, happy,” trilled one man as he raced past on his way to the first tee.

“The only negative is you need a hammer to get your tees in,” said Eric Dennis. “But you’ve got to look at the positives. You get an extra 30 yards out of your drives. Maybe 50.”

Clad in short-sleeves and shorts, Dennis was among the first to tee off Tuesday. “I’ve been calling for a few days now. I’m a bit of a creeper when it comes to golf.” 

Connor Maloney understands that perfectly. The 15-year-old just returned from Phoenix where he took in a PGA Tour tournament (the Waste Management Phoenix Open) and even got in a few rounds himself. He couldn’t wait to get out on a course once back home and was out with his friend, Kyle Bygrove, 15, and a third, Cameron McDonald, 24.

The only drawback for him was his score. “It’s horrid, absolutely horrid.”

Fox Hollow is the only course open in Calgary, although Paradise Canyon in Lethbridge has opened its driving range.

Six months after suspending all services, an LGBTQ-focused support group is ready to rebuild the organization. 

The Calgary Outlink Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity has hired Kelly Ernst, a longtime advocate with strategic development experience, as its new interim executive director. Ernst most recently was chairman of the public hearings on gay-straight alliances in Alberta schools that recommended changes to Bill 10. Prior to that he was program director at the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership. 

The centre nearly folded over the summer after its board members resigned amid allegations of “structural racism.” The resource centre suspended services in August and returned funds to donors before a new board, headed by Marc Power, stepped forward in October to save the 31-year-old group.

“We want to make sure that when it comes back, it’s a welcoming organization that everyone feels they’re part of,” Power said at the time.

The organization will hold community focus groups Feb. 26, March 7 and April 7, and do other assessments to determine its role and responsibilities.

In an interview with the Herald’s Michele Jarvie, Ernst addresses the organization’s past problems and future opportunities:

You acknowledge that “all has not been well with Outlink in the past.” What will an organizational risk assessment do?

We are interested in knowing all the opportunities and needs in the community that we should be addressing. We also want to know all of the threats to the organization that we will have to tackle to capitalize on these opportunities — we can’t ignore anything we might find. The assessment will identify very specific business processes that may have contributed to past or current risks so that we can ensure mistakes do not occur going forward. At the end of the process we will have a sound plan with a new mission that has legitimacy.

How do you see Outlink working with other city groups? What relationships need to be built/repaired?

We see working with other organizations as a critical aspect for the successful running of any organization, and Calgary Outlink is not different in this regard. Thankfully, the goodwill in the Calgary community is tremendous. Calgarians have approached us and said, “we know that LGBTQ people and especially vulnerable youth need our city’s support, and I want to help.” The outpouring to keep Calgary Outlink running and providing services has been outstanding.

I can only convey how I see these organizational relationships in our community already unfolding — they have been very good in the past, and continue to be very positive as we go forward in this next stage of Calgary Outlink’s development.

How do you see the LGBTQ community getting involved in the centre, and how crucial is that to its success?

Calgary Outlink is Calgary’s only organization run fully by LGBTQ people that brings all the community together in one spot and provides supports to vulnerable LGBTQ peoples while doing it. So, getting the LGBTQ community involved is vital to its day-to-day existence.

I am pleasantly confronted with people coming forward to lend their hand to others. We will always need new people and volunteers coming forward to make the organization function. Thankfully, this seems to be occurring far quicker in this new phase than what I could have ever imagined.

You will be seeking input privately and through public focus groups. What do you hope to achieve from that?

Any organization has to have a mission that addresses clear needs and motivates others to get behind it. Our process is intended to ensure we know the specific needs that exist in the community and require our attention. We need to know what is and is not within the scope of our organization, what we can and cannot address given our resources, and areas that we should not try to address on our own but are better provided by others.

The process is set up to ensure that anything we create has the support of the community behind it. Calgary Outlink wants to ensure that, regardless of the results of our consultations, it has strong support from all corners of our LGBTQ community and broadly from the city at large.

As LGBTQ issues are becoming more public, such as the fight for gay-straight alliances in schools and the province’s directive on gender policies, what role is there for the centre?

Calgary Outlink has a role to play in commenting on broader LGBTQ public policy issues. The debates around issues such as gay-straight alliances come down to how to live well together. We are committed to engaging in these discussions given their vital importance to the type of society we create and live within.

Although LGBTQ issues have gone forward leaps and bounds with the adoption of equal rights provincially and nationally, this does not make the experience of living as a minority problem-free. There are still all sorts of misconceptions about gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, and we need to address them. We have an important role to ensure accurate information exists in the larger society about the LGBTQ community.

For 103 years, one of the province’s few remaining wooden grain elevators has loomed over the town of Stavely.

But if a telecommunications proposal is approved, the old green structure will no longer be the tallest building in town.

Telus wants to erect a 35-metre-tall cellphone tower in the heart of main street, to rise up between the Sunshine Cafe serving Chinese and western cuisine and the quaint yellow Stavely Antiques and Confectionary.

Beth Hudson, right, spearheaded a petition with friend Anny Moller to keep a large cellphone tower from being erected on main street in Stavely.

The 505 townsfolk are divided on the issue with some welcoming better cellphone reception while many others rally against the plan, citing health concerns, aesthetics and a negative impact on property values.

“It would just be a hideous monstrosity,” said Beth Hudson, who organized a quick petition and got 135 signatures and has complained to Alberta Culture and Tourism. 

“I just feel that it is really important to retain the natural integrity of our small town streets. Otherwise the alternative is the only time you see anything sort of authentic is when you go to Heritage Park. This main street is a treasure. This is just desecration for no reason.”

Hudson noted that the town’s historic feel — wooden floors in the grocery store, clapboard facades, weathered advertisements on brick walls, and the 1910 hotel’s segregated entrances for men and women — enticed filmmakers there for the 1996 miniseries In Cold Blood based on Truman Capote’s book.

There’s plenty of nods to history in Stavely, located off Highway 2 between Nanton and Claresholm. Motorists whizzing by have likely spied the metal cowboy slumped against his horse on the welcome sign, which also boasts of hosting Canada’s first indoor rodeo in 1929. The town was named for Alexander Staveley Hill, managing director of the Oxley Ranching Company of 1882. It blossomed with an influx of settlers at the turn of the century, becoming a village in 1903 before incorporating as a town in 1912. 

The Stavely Hotel is one of the tallest buildings in the 103-year-old town.

 Telus wants to put a tower in the town to boost capacity and provide better cellphone reception and the company already owns a lot with a small building on main street.

“Our first choice is to place a smaller antenna on top of existing infrastructure in order to mitigate the need for additional infrastructure on the landscape,” said Liz Sauve, spokesperson for Telus based in Vancouver. “But in this area, there is no other existing facility that meets our needs… and no other piece of land that meets our needs to connect back with our network.”

Sauve also said the company is willing to do what it can to help the monopole fit in to the streetscape, whether it’s painting the site a certain colour so it blends in with the landscape or shrouding the lot with lattice work or bushes.

Telus is now reviewing public feedback received at a November open house and is expected to provide the town with copies within the next few weeks, said Clayton Gillespie, the town’s chief administrative officer. The town’s three-member municipal planning commission will review the proposal and rule on it. If it’s rejected, Telus can appeal to Industry Canada, said Gillespie.

The local officials are caught in the middle between helping to provide better telecommunications service for businesses and residents and placating an angry public. 

“The general feeling from the town is we’d be happy to have better cellphone coverage, whether or not it has to be located on main street, I don’t think there’s major concerns. But council wants to be accommodating and sympathetic to concerns so if we could negotiate or come to some sort of agreement with Telus to locate elsewhere would be the best-case scenario.”

Clayton Gillespie, chief administrative officer for the town of Stavely.

Gillespie said an old landfill site in the southeast corner of town blocks away is their preferred location but Telus told the town that would require a “considerable investment on their part.”

But opponents point out that cellphone towers are located several kilometres outside of Cayley and Parkland up the highway, and it should be possible in Stavely. 

“East, west, north and south of town is all open land. (They) can go anywhere else. Why our main street?” said Hudson.”These towers cost about $360,000 each. So fine, this one will cost $370,000. We’re talking about a company worth billions.”

Sauve said the cost is closer to half a million dollars and a Telus team surveyed the area to find the most appropriate piece of land with no obstructions such as hills or valleys or trees. She also said that while Telus wants to work with residents it also has an obligation to provide regional coverage for emergency calls. “More than 60 per cent of 911 calls come from cellphones…The access to 911 is critical for us. The safety issue is one we take very seriously.”

While Hudson is focused on the aesthetics of a tower on main street, another opponent is concerned about possible health effects.

“What are the long-term effects of being next to one of these things for the rest of your life,” wonders Russell Brent. “We know that cellphone technology is relatively new, being introduced in only 1990. The studies conducted on the exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cellphone towers is an ongoing process as far as long-term health effects are concerned.”

Brent, who is a Rogers mobile customer, also questions what benefit there is to improving the spotty cell coverage given there’s only 500 people in the town, with many being retired ranchers and farmers.

“They say they’re doing this for the town of Stavely. But how many people in Stavely are Telus customers and how many actually have cellphones? Telus is doing this to have better reception down the highway.

“Isn’t their slogan “the future is friendly? I guess we’ll see about that.”

Hudson, who is retired and doesn’t have a cellphone, said the issue has galvanized the community.

“There’s a lot of people here who will come out and protest. I personally said I would throw myself down in front of the trucks. The feelings here are very strong.”

A Calgary magician hopes to help make some families’ money woes disappear with a budget-conscious show.

With thousands of Calgarians experiencing layoffs, Ryan Pilling knows there’s little discretionary cash for activities and outings. So the producer of the WowFest Magic Arts Festival is waiving the regular $15 ticket for its main event and letting families decide what they can afford, with a minimum of $5.

“I’ve always wanted to make it affordable. It’s not a hoity-toity artsy attitude,” said Pilling. “As a festival producer, it’s important to get more people out. This has always been a labour of love for me and the magicians involved.”

Magician James Jordan gets the audience involved in the show at WowFest 2015. Courtesy, Magdalena Wojcicka

Pilling said he made the change to ensure attendance at the fourth annual event in the Lantern Community Church isn’t negatively affected by the economic downturn.

And he hopes families take advantage of it without taking advantage of the honour system as the festival relies solely on ticket sales for revenue without any grants or public money. 

The festival organizers also want to spread the goodwill around. Festival-goers are asked to bring non-perishable donations for the Calgary Food Bank and each show will support a community cause.

Twenty-five per cent of proceeds from the festival’s Amazing Magic Show will go to the Inglewood Music and Arts School.

The school, which also operates out of the Lantern Church, provides lessons to families who might not otherwise have the resources for professional music and arts instructors.

“I taught a magic class at that school so I saw this as a good way to partner with Lantern Church and make it beneficial to everyone.”

The Amazing Magic Show, a variety act with magic, juggling, comedy and audience interaction, runs at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on March 2 at the Lantern Church. Tickets can be reserved online at http://www.CalgaryMagicShow.com.

The Amazing Magic Show will also run March 8 at the Cardel Theatre in Quarry Park at 5:30 and 7 p.m. The Rotary Performing Arts Centre in Okotoks hosts three shows March 12: The Amazing Magic Show at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and The Vaudevillian at 5 p.m. 

Chuckwagon drivers face “a half mile of hell” each night at Stampede, so collapsing oil prices and thousands of layoffs are just one more obstacle to overcome.

“It’s not only scary for us as wagon drivers. I think everybody is nervous with our economy,” said Jason Glass of High River, who’s hoping for a big sponsorship this year. “It’s gonna be tough, but we’ve had tough years before and we’re still racing.”

Glass speaks from experience. The four-time world and 2013 Stampede champion has racing in his blood, as his father Tom, grandfather Ron and great-grandfather Tom Lauder were all multiple champions on the audaciously nicknamed track.

“Hopefully we have enough support to survive this summer until the economy turns around.”

For the past several decades, the Calgary Stampede has been riding high with corporations fighting for sponsors’ rights to chuckwagon tarps. But the situation for rodeo’s marquee event is much more uncertain this year. 

“Obviously, we’re concerned. But we’re proactive as well,” said Michael Piper, Stampede chuckwagon committee chairman. “We really think the future of this sport lies in the ability to be flexible.”

So, for the first time, the Stampede will help round up bidders interested in a partial sponsorship of a canvas belonging to one of the 36 Rangeland Derby drivers. 

“We’ve been working on a plan for probably five years to help with bidding partnerships. I don’t want to say we predicted an economic turn five years ago . . . but we’re certainly proactive in our approach,” said Piper.

The annual canvas auction, to be held March 17, is considered a barometer of the local economy’s strength. 

In the past, the competition was fierce to win the rights to top drivers such as Glass and 12-time champion Kelly Sutherland. A record $4,015,000 was bid in 2012, the Stampede‘s centennial year, with Tervita Corp. leading the way with $300,000 for Sutherland’s tarp. But since then, the bids, like the economy, have spiralled downward. Last year, the auction total was $2.7 million with a top bid of $170,000 for two-time champion Kurt Bensmiller. The lowest bid was $45,000.

Glass said it’s crucial this year that drivers have solid relationships in place before the auction.

“It’s too late to be knocking on doors. Hopefully most of the guys have done their homework and put something together. To go in there cold is very scary for everybody.”

Although prices are expected to be down, interest is up. There are already more registered bidders this year — possibly because they feel the auction will be more affordable, said Piper.

“We’re not expecting record-breaking auction sales. But we’re certainly encouraged by the diversity and interest. It’s kind of like a rebirth. It’s nice to see other companies gain access to what we do. Because once you get exposed to chuckwagon racing, it’s kind of addicting.”

High River driver Jason Glass rounds the barrels during a WPCA Pro Tour event in Strathmore last summer.

At least one major sponsor dropped out last year due to the economic downturn. Darren Bishop of MJ’s Water Hauling paid $170,000 in 2014 for Sutherland’s rig but didn’t bid in 2015 after having to reduce his workforce. 

One longtime sponsor is committed to returning this year. The Mavericks — a group of 25 businessmen — have been involved for 17 years and use the event and advertising rights to raise money for children’s charities.

“After the last oil crash, prices dropped dramatically so we bought two tarps,” said Mavericks co-founder Ken Malvin. “We’re not just anticipating that again this year — it’s a reality I think. But maybe other companies who couldn’t afford the $100,000 of the past are coming in now.”

And every dollar counts for the drivers who rely on the sponsorships to at least partially fund their season.

“In a normal year when there is money flowing, it’s very easy to spend $200,000 on what we do,” said Glass. “With the given economy, we all have to do cutbacks. Maybe it’s less employees, less horses . . . We’re no different than anybody else. We’re just trying to survive.”

Piper said the Stampede canvas auction and the $1.15 million in prize money is the biggest money-maker for all the drivers.

“There’s certainly concern among them,” said Piper. “Getting a successful bidding team together . . . is paramount to them paying for their animal care, fuel, feed, veterinary bills.”

He also noted that many of the Prairie-based chuckwagon drivers also work in the energy sector so they’ve been hit on that side as well.

This isn’t the first economic storm the Stampede has weathered. The 2008 downturn meant 12,000 fewer people through the turnstiles and a $1.2-million drop in tarp bids from the previous year.

Five tarp auction facts

• Although chuckwagon races have been run since 1923, the first canvas auction was in 1978, and has occurred every year since.

• In any given year, about one-third of successful bidders are new to the auction. 

• The tarp auction and other advertising support helps drivers offset the expense of their horses, gear and travel.

• In 2015, successful bids ranged from $45,000 to $170,000, with an average price of $77,000 for all 10 nights of races.

• The highest bid last year was made by Tsuu T’ina Nation for the tarp belonging to Kurt Bensmiller, who went on to win the Rangeland Derby.

Parents of a four-year-old boy who accidentally got on a CTrain Tuesday night without them thanked the two drivers who reunited the frantic family.

Daniel and Brittni Petke went back to the Westbrook Station Wednesday with their son Kayden to meet Calgary Transit employees Parminder Ghuman and Karey Depatie. 

Daniel, Brittni and Kayden Petke with CTrain drivers Karey Depatie (L) and Parminder Ghuman (R) on Feb. 24, 2016.

The drama unfolded Tuesday on the LRT platform when Daniel turned to help his wife who uses a walker and was struggling with groceries and the boy went ahead and boarded the train. The doors closed and the train pulled away. The panicked father screamed for help and banged on the door.

“It was right out of a movie for me: the door closed, there was nothing I could do. I was slamming on the button, my son’s looking right at me yelling ‘Daddy,’ recalled Daniel.  

“It’s heart-wrenching just watching the train pull away.”

Without thinking, Petke initially chased the train down the platform until he realized that was futile. He quickly pushed the help button on the platform. At the same time, a passenger on the train realized what was happening and also pushed a help button.

The CTrain driver, Ghuman, was alerted to the situation and took the boy into his cab and proceeded to the next station where he was put on a returning train with Depatie. All smiles, Kayden ‘helped’ her drive it back to his relieved parents.

“He got off the train with a huge smile and the first thing he said was ‘Mommy, I got to drive the train,” said Brittni.