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�at’s how many teddy bears were launched onto the ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Sunday as the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen celebrated their 18th annual Teddy Bear Toss. Pavlo Padakin (above) scored the goal that sent the bears �ying in the �rst period of a 4-1 win over the Kootenay Ice. �e Edmonton Oil Kings will try to repeat the feat with their own Teddy Bear Toss Friday against those same Hitmen.

�ey came, they sawed, they conquered? St. Albert city council started hacking away at a 5.14 per cent property tax increase on Tuesday evening. See story, page 3.

One of the co-chairs of the St. Albert Kinettes’ annual Christmas hamper campaign says she’s worried they won’t have enough of some items to meet this year’s demand — including toys for kids of all ages.

Sharon Gregresh said Tuesday that, even a�er the Fill-A-Bus event Saturday, the campaign is woefully short on heartier items like peanut butter and canned meats.

“We have an overabundance [of pasta], because the grocery stores do the $5 and $10 packages with all the pasta in it,” she said. “We’re quite short on canned meats, and I think I only have 25 jars of peanut butter.”

Gregresh is also extremely worried about the amount of toys collected so far.

“We usually get at least a busload and a bit of toys, but right now, we’ve got half a bus of toys,” she said.

She chalked some of that shortage up to the fact that the Zellers store is closed in St. Albert Centre this winter as it is converted into a Target store. �e Kinettes set up right outside the mall entrance to that store and rely on foot tra�c going by for many donations.

Donations can still be dropped o� at local grocery stores, at St. Albert Centre, or even at the Enjoy Centre, where the Kinettes will soon be sorting and packing hampers.

St. Albert city councillors got down to brass tacks Tuesday a�ernoon, hacking more than 1.5 percentage points o� the proposed residential property tax increase, with possibly more to come today (�ursday).

Councillors were unable to get through all the postponed motions they had made throughout the last month of budget deliberations — meaning they’ll have to meet again to �nish them o� today — but as of the end of Tuesday’s meeting, the City of St. Albert’s “tax-o-meter” sat at 3.48 per cent, down from a projected 5.14 per cent increase at the start of the process.

Possibly the lengthiest debate of the meeting centred around a motion by Coun. Len Bracko to fund a functional alignment study for light rail transit in St. Albert in 2013 at a cost of $500,000, which eventually passed by a 5-2 vote.

“We’ve been debating this for two or three years now. It’s time

we got on with it,” Bracko said. “It’s time to do it so our residents will know what information is out there, where stations would go.”

�e $500,000 would be paid through the City’s LRT/BRT reserve. Another motion passed Tuesday increased the amount collected for that reserve from $1 to $1.50 per $100,000 of assessed value.

“It’s the strength, the allure and the functionality of LRT that truly makes transit functional,” said Coun. Wes Brodhead.

While Bracko and most of council favoured the study, Malcolm Parker and Cam MacKay voted against it.

“Just because we have [the money] in reserves doesn’t mean we have to spend it,” Parker said. I think clearly we should wait until we get the south park-and-ride in place �rst, and that is probably 10 years away.”

Savings that reduced the property tax rate Tuesday included:

�eld refurbishment program by $25,000 in 2013;

Arts and Heritage Foundation’s satellite studio on Perron Street, which cost $32,800;

business case worth $54,000;

to provide transit service on statutory holidays worth $38,500;

a needs/facility study of skate and extreme sports worth $40,000;

safety codes o�cer for St. Albert Fire Services;

Spirit of St. Albert Society from $20,000 to $10,000; and

for two additional RCMP o�cers worth $128,700.

Council also approved a savings of $340,000 total that was found by city manager Patrick Draper and his sta� among existing spending throughout various City departments. �is included cutbacks on air travel, administrative overtime, professional services budgets and printing, as well as reclassifying some non-union sta� positions.

Photo: GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader

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While St. Albert city council gave the green light to a number of design principles brought forward jointly by City of St. Albert sta� and representatives of the land development industry, they put the brakes on others that could change the way St. Albert is constructed in the future.

�e design principles are part of a larger review of city-wide engineering standards that City sta� is currently undertaking. Altogether, there were 12 principles presented to council, and nine of them were passed on Monday.

However, City sta� and industry o�cials could not agree on two others, and one calling for the introduction of service lanes — essentially back alleys — died on the table.

“I feel that this would be a major, major change that council has not at all had a discussion about. … It changes the landscape of St. Albert,” Coun. Cathy Heron said of service lanes.

Others on council wondered why some of the same ideas that came forward a couple of years ago during the debate over Smart Growth principles were coming back again as part of this process.

“Why are we doing this? Why do we have to change the landscape, the personality of

St. Albert?” Coun. Roger Lemieux said. “For years, we’ve talked about this. We have places, we have cul de sacs, we have drives, and now we’re talking about grid and back lanes again. Why does this keep on creeping in?”

City sta� responded that these issues continue to come up because they are things the development industry wants to explore.

“We have had, since the decision on Smart Growth, constant feedback from the industry — both the housing industry and the development industry — that would like to be able to utilize lanes,” said general manager of planning and engineering Curtis Cundy. “�ey feel it gives them some �exibility around the form of the development and the types of development they are able to bring forward.”

�e two principles that City sta� and industry o�cials could not agree on were a requirement for developers to install transit shelters and a recommendation to install utilities under roadways rather than under boulevards. Decisions on both of those have been postponed to Jan. 7.

With the bus shelters, City sta� felt they could be installed immediately next to high-density residential developments and possibly

allow for architectural integration.“It really provides a visual for residents

of where bus stops are going to be located,” director of engineering Tracy Allen said.

However, that would mean more upfront costs for developers, and plans can change.

“In many instances, you go into an area and design a plan with certain uses. If you put the shelters in at that time, before there’s an actual demand or need generated, you can

go back and things can change over the course of a development,” said Greg Hembro� of Reid Worldwide Corporation and chair of the St. Albert regional committee for the Urban Development Institute.

Meanwhile, when it came to utilities, City sta� wanted to maintain the status quo and continue installing them under boulevards due to tra�c concerns should any of the utilities malfunctions.

“If there was a utility failure under [certain] roadways, then you have one access point for the entire neighbourhood until you get that �xed,” Allen said.

But developers said that installing under the road is not as risky as it used to be due to advanced materials.

“�e lifecycle of the utilities using PVC pipe materials will far exceed the lifecycle of the road,” said UDI spokesperson Sue Monson of Melcor Developments.

�e nine design principles approved by city council included:

engineer, con�rming that all information previously submitted as part of the area structure plan is still up-to-date and accurate will be required with each new development agreement.

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A young local boy su�ering from a rare blood disorder had his wish come true recently.

Eight-year-old Hunter Kuzik and his family were whisked away in November to Orlando, Fla., where Hunter — who was born with diamond blackfan anemia — got a chance to swim with a dolphin and train like a Jedi knight in Star Wars.

“He was treated like a king everywhere we went,” said Hunter’s mom, Carrie. “Even the places that weren’t his Make-A-Wish [destinations] made sure he felt like a VIP all the way through.”

Hunter, Carrie and her parents returned from the trip on Nov. 20, which included trips to Sea World, to Discovery Cove — where Hunter swam with a dolphin — to Disney World and to Universal Studios. �ey stayed in a villa in nearby Kissimmee donated by an Edmonton resident.

“It was everything we could have imagined and more,” Carrie

said.As much as the experience was

great for Hunter, it was just as upli�ing for Carrie.

“It feels like a dream,” she said. “Every day we had something planned, and it was so amazing, the kindness that was shown to us from people — I even got to swim with the dolphin!”

�e idea of swimming with a dolphin was something Carrie said Hunter had never really expressed an interest in before.

“Originally his wish was just to go to Sea World. And then, while we were there at Make-A-Wish, he was like, ‘I really want to swim with dolphins,’” she said. “He loves animals and he loves dolphins, so I think being around dolphins was an experience he always wanted to do, but swimming with dolphins was a thought. But I know for a fact he doesn’t regret it.”

In fact, she said, Hunter loved every minute of it, and was especially attached to the dolphin that he got to spend about half an hour with.

“Hunter just loved her to pieces

and wanted to stay with her, because she was so sweet and gentle and beautiful and smart,” she said. “I feel very fortunate that Hunter was nominated, for one, and that Make-A-Wish allowed for this to happen for all of us.”

Diamond blackfan anemia is a condition in which the bone marrow fails to produce red blood cells. Patients o�en exhibit deformities in the face and hands, including cle� palates.

Hunter has had more than 140 blood transfusions as part of his therapy, and undergoes chelation treatments on a regular basis to remove excess iron from his system.

As the Kuziks decompress from their trip, Carrie has plenty of other irons in the �re, including keeping tabs on some bidding wars last week.

�e foundation Carrie set up, Hunter’s Fight for a Cure, held an online auction on Facebook that ended Sunday night, which raised more than $1,500 through 24 items donated by local businesses.

“�is was the �rst time we’ve done it, so we were just testing

the waters to see what kind of response we would get from people. And it’s already exceeded my expectations,” she said. “And, as we’ve been doing it, we were getting more donations coming in.”

As well, Hunter and Carrie are

leading the charge for Canadian Blood Services to get more blood donations over the holiday season, and will be hosting a blood donor clinic on Tuesday, Dec. 11, from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (10 Akins Dr.) in St. Albert.

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s I was scrolling through Facebook the other day, I

noticed an entry describing the fun a family had had while at the Snow�ake Festival on Friday evening, and they said that St. Albert was “such a great place to live.”

�e sta� and volunteers at the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village are certainly seeing that as we gear up for another Christmas season. We are so grateful for the residents of St. Albert who continue to give their time and other donations so generously in order to help their neighbours who need our assistance.

As we ramp up for our second annual Community Christmas Banquet and

our Christmas Hamper program on Dec. 20 and 21 respectively, there is simply no shortage of people who are approaching us to volunteer time, expertise, food donations and/or money to ensure our less fortunate families enjoy themselves this Christmas season.

�e partnerships that have grown over the years with the Salvation Army and St. Albert Rotary Clubs embody the giving spirit and the promotion of dignity in this community. �e St. Albert Food Bank and Community

Village will be providing the food for the Christmas hampers while the Salvation Army has a beautiful Christmas Toy Centre where the families can choose their children’s gi�s. We will be blessed with a large group of volunteers — youngsters from a local hockey team and from the St. Albert Rotary club — who will help us put together our Christmas food hampers.

�e Rotarians are also providing the funds and volunteers for our Community Christmas Banquet where newcomers to the country, city, or our organization can be welcomed by their new neighbours and everyone can enjoy a Christmas dinner together.

St. Albert truly is a great

place to live.�e New Year will see

some changes at the Food Bank and Community Village with the introduction of expanded services at the Village. Stay tuned for more information!

�ank you to everyone. And from all of us at the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village may you have a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.

acing a residential property tax increase of 5.14 per cent before budget deliberations started in

earnest last month, it would be easy for St. Albert residents to label the current city council and administration as “same old, same old.”

However, there is one motion that was passed at Tuesday’s budget meeting that indicates that the winds of change, however faint, may be blowing at St. Albert Place.

Beneath the motions about police o�cers and youth festivals and public transit and Canada Winter Games bids, there was a motion put forward by Coun. Roger Lemieux asking city manager Patrick Draper to come up with $340,000 in cost savings — not from new business cases or service reductions, but from “base business.”

It would have been easy for Draper and his sta� to throw up their hands and proclaim, “It can’t be done!” But, by all accounts, they put their noses to the grindstone and found areas where fat could be trimmed, like air travel, administrative overtime, professional services budgets and printing, as well as reclassifying some non-union sta� positions.

When dealing with a budget of around $120 million, $340,000 doesn’t seem like a whole lot; in the end, it equates to about half a percentage point on the proposed property tax increase.

But it’s the symbolism of the gesture that speaks volumes. Lemieux putting it forward shows the kind of leadership that St. Albert needs, especially when taxes are such a hot-button issue. �e persistence of Draper and his sta� shows there is a new, responsible, can-do attitude taking over at St. Albert Place. And the co-operation between Draper and Lemieux in working on this measure is exactly the kind of relationship that council should have with administration.

Both parties deserve to be commended for working hard to save taxpayers money and to prove that it’s certainly not the “same old, same old” at city hall.

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and Art Kit fromArts & Heritage Foundationand a Huge Thank You to all that entered

Natalie - Age 4 Riley - Age 6 Kaitlyn - Age 8

Despite a lengthy debate and plenty of procedural wrangling, the start time of St. Albert city council meetings will likely not change until a�er the next municipal election in October 2013.

Mayor Nolan Crouse put forward a motion Monday a�ernoon to change the start time of regular meetings from 3 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., which was subsequently changed to 2 p.m. a�er an amendment was proposed by Coun. Len Bracko.

Some councillors wanted to go even earlier, though, including Coun. Wes Brodhead, who moved another amendment to change the time to 9 a.m.

“When you move earlier in the day, you’re saying to anyone who runs [for o�ce] is to be prepared that, one day a week, you’re going to have to take a day o� from your [full-time] employment,” Brodhead said.

�at change, however, was voted down 4-3.

�en Bracko, who voted against the amendment, made a motion to

reconsider the amendment, but that failed to get the two-thirds majority needed to reopen the question.

In the end, the 2 p.m. start time was also voted down.

“I can’t see any bene�t to it. If it’s to start earlier so we can �nish earlier, that’s a question. … I don’t think starting earlier is going to make it easier for those with full-time employment,” Coun. Malcolm Parker said.

Despite being on the job for less than a calendar year, city manager Patrick Draper’s performance review will go on as scheduled.

St. Albert city council voted Monday a�ernoon to get the ball rolling on the annual performance review, which, by council policy, must be wrapped up by March 31 each year.

Coun. Len Bracko, however, proposed pushing the timeline back to the middle of 2013.

�at motion, however, was voted down 4-3, with sta� saying the timelines wouldn’t work out and councillors saying they’d rather not amend City policies.

�e Arts and Heritage Foundation of St. Albert’s dedication to preserving our city’s historic sites landed it a shiny new award on Friday.

�e Alberta government honoured the AHF at a ceremony on Friday with a Heritage Conservation Award, one of three handed out on the night, from the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation Heritage Awards for its e�orts in restoring and repairing the two grain elevators that sit next to Meadowview Drive.

“St. Albert was very forward-thinking in the late ’80s when it purchased the St. Albert grain elevators, so the vision was always to have these elevators fully restored and open to the public,” said AHF director of heritage Ann Ramsden at the ceremony. “It took a long time for the vision to become reality, and that’s when we worked together with a large team of people to actually make these buildings accessible to the public.

“For St. Albert, the award is huge, because it really does help the community understand the importance of heritage preservation.”

Other award winners on the evening included:

Anderson (Scandia);

Carleton (Blackfalds);

(�orsby);

(Edmonton);

River;

District Historical Society; and

Lacombe.�e awards are handed out every two years,

and since the program was re-introduced in 2005, 33 awards have been given out to individuals, organizations and municipalities.

Photo courtesy Alberta Government

A local entrepreneur and advisor is hoping to continue passing on his business acumen to the next generation through his appointment to a national board of directors.

Robert Fernandez received word on Friday that he had been elected to the national board of directors for Junior Achievement Canada, an organization which with he has been involved for more than a decade.

“It is a great honour, but I’d like to be humble about it and carry on working for an organization I’ve been involved with for 10 years,” Fernandez said. “It’s kind of a logical step, because you learn more and more about the organizations and it’s a good �t to do maybe some of the work we’ve done locally here on a national level.”

�ere are 15 regional Junior Achievement branches across Canada, each of which aims to “inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy,” as their mission statement reads, by helping them experience free enterprise, to understand business and economics and to develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills.

Fernandez has served on the board for

Junior Achievement Northern Alberta, and he said it shouldn’t be a huge change.

“It’s going to be, in some form, similar to board governance on a provincial level — just that we have more angles, more viewpoints on it, and di�erent challenges in di�erent provinces,” he said. “But the overall challenge of getting young people exposed to the opportunity to become their own business owners or entrepreneurs ... is a universal challenge.”

Fernandez was born and raised in Germany, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from AKAD University in Dusseldorf and graduating from the advanced management program at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in North Carolina.

He moved to Canada in 2000 to join a start-up venture, and later became president of Pace Industrial Inc., a contractor active in municipal infrastructure and in oil and gas services. Since 2008, Fernandez has been working for the Alberta government, �rst as a senior advisor for the treasury board before moving to the health and wellness department, managing the implementation of the �ve-year Alberta Health Plan. He then returned to the treasury board as the acting assistant deputy minister for the oilsands

secretariat. He now sits as the executive director of the Alberta Economic Development Authority.

Fernandez got involved in Junior Achievement when he moved from Europe.

“When we moved to Edmonton, Junior Achievement was one of the �rst organizations that actually reached out through normal networking exercises,” he said. “I found interest in it — I had never heard of Junior Achievement before, aside from their global organization.”

�e most rewarding part of his involvement in Junior Achievement, though, has been seeing the promise of the enthusiastic young people who get involved.

“Just to see some of these Grade 11, Grade 12 kids really come through with an idea” is very rewarding, he said. “We have these di�erent programs and what we do in the high school program is they get to run their own company with real product and real money, but it’s a controlled environment; they can’t really go bankrupt and falter so big so they can never get back up on their feet. But they have a real company to run with real goals. And to see some of these kids really get the buck and pick this up, and take it seriously ... and get some reward out of it, that’s rewarding.”

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St. Albert RCMP are on the lookout for a pair of hockey fans who they’d like to send to the penalty box.

On �ursday, Aug. 9, at about 4:50 p.m., two people — one male and one female — went into the St. Albert Source for Sports location at 580 St. Albert Tr. �e woman then took an Edmonton Oilers jersey signed by rookie forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and stu�ed it in her bag. �e pair then le� the store.

�e jersey is valued at $500.

�e female suspect is described as caucasian, 30 to 40 years old with sandy blonde shoulder length hair, and was wearing a white top.

�e male suspect is also caucasian and between 30 and 40 years old, with a shaved head and wearing a blue T-shirt.

Anyone with any information on this crime is asked to call the St. Albert RCMP detachment at 780-458-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Meanwhile, police are also on the lookout for a burglar who may have dome more than a quick smash-and-grab at a home in the Mission subdivision recently.

RCMP say that a vacant home on Mission Avenue was broken into sometime between Friday and Sunday, making o� with a 40-inch �at screen television and a mattress cover.

Police also believe the suspect may have taken a shower in the home before leaving.


St. Albert RCMP have a few burning questions they’d like to ask the suspect in a garage break-in about two weeks ago.

Between 8:30 and 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, someone broke into the detached garage located at 55 Balmoral Dr.

Once inside, the suspect set �re to the driver’s side headlight of one of the vehicles parked inside with a propane torch.

�e other vehicle was also damaged, although more extensively, as papers that were le� in the cab of the truck were set ablaze.

It appears that �re got out of control and spread throughout the truck cab, but was extinguished before the owner entered the garage.

Damage is estimated at $5,000. �e suspect also took a small amount of loose change from the vehicles.



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’Tis the season to be serious about cinema.

�e holidays are coming and Hollywood is gearing up for a �urry of late-year prestige pictures.

Of course, there are some titles that are pure entertainment. We need counter-programming, a�er all.

But the emphasis is still on what the studios hope are their Oscar-calibre titles.

�at remains to be seen.Meanwhile, here is our overview of what

audiences can expect in the next month (with release dates subject to change by distributors):

A�er Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, Joe Wright collaborates again with his on-screen muse, Keira Knightley. �ey tackle Tolstoy, working with Tom Stoppard on a new adaptation of the legendary 1870s Russian novel. �is is a classic romantic tragedy set against the roil of society, politics and militarism in late 19th-century Russia. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jude Law co-star.

Andrew Dominik (�e Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) re-teams with Brad Pitt, bringing out his best. Set in New Orleans, the story follows hapless thugs who raid a high-stakes poker game. A cool-handed hitman (Pitt) is obliged to clean up the mess for the mob. �e cast includes Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins and James Gandol�ni.

In Stefan Ruzowitzky’s crime thriller — which also emerges as a complicated romantic drama — Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde hit the road a�er a casino heist goes bad. When they �nd themselves in a blizzard on the way to the Canadian border, life gets even more complicated with others involved. Not everyone will survive the carnage.

Gabriele Muccino directs Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Dennis Quaid, Uma �urman and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a romantic comedy about a former soccer star (Butler) returning home to put his sorry life back

together. Trying to win favour with his estranged son, he agrees to coach the boy’s soccer team. But hottie “soccer moms” prove to be a distraction.

Quebec’s world-renowned Cirque du Soleil is back on the big screen in spectacular 3D supervised by James Cameron’s tech team. New Zealander Andrew Adamson (two Shrek and two Narnia movies) directs this visual spectacular. It is designed to showcase the troupe’s dynamic presentations while telling an original story about two lovers looking for one another in Cirque’s dreamlike world.

Peter Jackson plunges anew into J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantastical world. Having turned �e Lord of the Rings into a classic trilogy, Jackson yearns to do the same with Tolkien’s 1937 prequel, �e Hobbit, or �ere and Back Again. We meet Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as a younger Hobbit

launching into his �rst adventure outside the Shire. Bilbo is aided on the quest by Gandalf and will eventually �nd a ring — the One Ring that binds them all — that will change the course of Middle-earth history. Familiar on-screen faces include Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm and, of course, Andy Serkis as Gollum.

Mads Mikkelsen stars in this period drama set in 18th-century Denmark. Based on a true story, it chronicles the sexcapades of Queen Caroline Mathilda, who cuckolded the mad King Christian VII with the royal physician (Mikkelsen). Denmark’s Nikolaj Arcel directs this Danish-language drama.

Comic Bill Murray taps into his dramatic side, playing U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in June 1939, when he hosts the King and Queen of England. �e politics of impending war intersect with

Photos: Sun Media News Services

FDR’s messy personal life, with his wife Eleanor, his mother and his mistresses stirring up the weekend. Laura Linney co-stars with Olivia Colman and Samuel West as the British royals.

Crazy combination! Barbra Streisand rarely appears in movies. But here she is as Seth Rogen’s mom in a comedy about an inventor on a road trip with his overbearing parent while trying to sell his latest idea. �is is just her third movie role in 16 years, so let’s hope for the best because there may not be many more this legendary singer-actress is willing to tackle.

Pete Docter’s children’s comedy, an Oscar-winning animation from 2001, returns in 3D as a prelude to the forthcoming prequel, Monsters University. John Goodman and Billy Crystal voice two of the most memorable characters in Pixar history as they play monsters who harvest the screams of human children to power their own world. Already wonderful, the addition of 3D cannot hurt.

Superstar Tom Cruise plays the title character in a crime thriller about an investigator who goes beyond the obvious in a serial murder case involving a military-trained sniper. �ere are deadly secrets to expose here. Quality actors Rosamund Pike and Richard Jenkins co-star.

In a comedy that creator-director Judd Apatow is calling an un�ltered look inside American family life, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprise their support roles from Knocked Up (2007). �ey are now a husband-and-wife team approaching a

milestone meltdown at 40. John Lithgow, Megan Fox, Jason Segel, Chris O’Dowd, Albert Brooks and a gaggle of other Apatow acolytes co-star.

Widely recognized as one of the best �lms of the year, this is the latest from French master Jacques Audiard. French beauty Marion Cotillard and Belgian hunk Matthias Schoenaerts co-star in a twisted love story set among dolphins, wheelchairs and nightclubs on the Cote d’Azur. �e French-language �lm is adapted from a English-language short story by Canadian author Craig Davidson.

O�ering an unforgettable history lesson, Quentin Tarantino plumbs America’s antebellum age just two years before the Civil War. Jamie Foxx is Django, a brutalized runaway slave allied with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz, the mad Nazi from Inglourious Basterds). �eir mission of just revenge runs afoul of an autocratic plantation owner (Leonard DiCaprio). Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington co-star in key roles.

Andy Fickman’s comedy sets Billy Crystal and Bette Midler up as a mature married couple. Asked to care for their

three grandchildren, their old-school ways con�ict with those of their modern daughter (Marisa Tomei). �e chaotic results are meant to provoke laughter while real-life grandparents nod their heads knowingly.

Already touted as a sure-�re Oscar

contender, Tom Hooper’s re-imagined musical features a remarkable cast led by Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. Each singer warbles live for each take, which is radical for a major musical. Hooper wanted to make Victor Hugo’s epic tale of French romance, injustice and sacri�ce more intimate and realistic.

Photo: Sun Media News Services

Photos: Sun Media News Services

Doug Schafer didn’t get to meet Paul McCartney when he landed in Edmonton for two concerts at Rexall Place last week, but he did give the former Beatle a big hand.

Schafer has been tuning pianos for more than three decades, including the pianos at the Arden �eatre here in St. Albert and for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and was tasked with making sure the piano in McCartney’s Edmonton hotel room sounded just right.

“I considered it an honour to do the work for [McCartney],” Schafer said. “I didn’t meet him; I just worked on the piano in his hotel suite, prepped it and tuned it and got it ready for him. �at was good enough for me; just a once-in-a-lifetime experience working for probably the most highly recognized musician on the planet.”

Schafer was also on call for tunings at Rexall Place, but unfortunately didn’t get the call for that job.

�e opportunity came about when McCartney’s hotel needed to rent a piano for his suite.

“I knew of a piano that could be rented, and they wanted to deal with a small company, an individual, for security reasons. �ey didn’t want to call a big piano store and talk to a receptionist because it would have been blabbed all over the place,” Schafer said.

Schafer runs a piano servicing and rebuilding company near Spruce Grove and has been tuning pianos — mostly grand pianos — for 36 years a�er teaching himself the cra�.

“I started when I was 21 years old, and when I was 26, I was o�ered the contract at the Jubilee Auditorium, and it went from there. I did all the concerts for the Jubilee and the ESO, and when the Winspear opened, I went over there. I also take care of the Dow

Centre [in Fort Saskatchewan] and the Horizon Stage [in Spruce Grove] and the Arden �eatre and Rexall Place,” he said.

“It was just something I decided I wanted to do,” he added. “I got some reading materials, I enrolled in a correspondence course that had about 20 lessons, and I think I got to lesson nine or 10, and it became very mundane, so I never did graduate. I just absorbed whatever information I needed as to the procedures of starting on the keyboard and how to set up the �rst initial octave, which is the most important octave; you have to get it bang-on, because the rest of the piano is done in reference to that octave.”

And while Schafer will continue tuning and rebuilding, he can’t imagine a career highlight much bigger than he had last week.

“As I said to my wife, I’ve reached my pinnacle. Where do you go beyond Paul McCartney?” he said with a laugh.

Photo Supplied

It’s not whether she wins or loses, it’s how Margaret Witschl plays the game.

�e painter’s newest exhibition, Game Pieces, opens tonight (�ursday) at the Art Gallery of St. Albert, consisting of collage-like images of objects that one might not see together in the real world being forced to share canvas space with one another.

It’s a technique that was sparked when Witschl began studying surrealist arts.

“Surrealists were big on collage and juxtaposing things that didn’t seem to have any real connection in life and forcing them together to live together and creating a sense that gave people something to think about,” she said. “In a way, that is what I have done.”

Surrealist artists, she also discovered, had visual and literary games and, with a sense of geometric organization already present in her work — “For a long as I’ve been working, anything substantial I’ve done have had this element,” she said — Witschl decided to play along.

“I had the players going, if you can equate these individually applied collage elements as the players, moving them around,” she said. “I devised my own simple game. It has a board, a geometrically organized surface ... then applied the images I chose, not with a preconceived total, not with a vision of how it would look complete.”

�at leads to the repetition of some elements throughout the paintings, like a

pair of glasses or an icon of a man in various positions — the game pieces, if you will.

“Sometimes, because of a particular shape I’m working with, one of those images I’ve used before will suit the space,” Witschl said. “I could sit here for another week thinking up the right piece, the right image for that shape on the canvas, but the glasses will do the trick and I’ll use that as my game piece again.”

Many of the works are designed to create unease and anxiety in the viewer, which Witschl said is a re�ection both of herself and of the times we live in.

“I can worry about just about everything; it’s not a problem,” she said. “But I also see

anxiety a bit of the world we live in. I see it as common in my friends, my family, the people I talk to. �ey’re not all going around [all tensed up], but it is something in the nature of the times, where things are unsettled politically, economically and naturally. �ere are lots of things to be concerned about.”

All the pieces in this exhibit were created in 2012, but Witschl said that’s more of a coincidence than any sort of pressure she put on herself to create under a tight deadline.

“I had been working on a series in 2011 that was shown in two solo shows this year, one in Edmonton and one in Okotoks, and while they were away being shown, I started this

new series,” she explained. “�ey relate, they sort of follow on, but up to that point, I had been busy with that previous series.”

Along with the exhibit, though, the AGSA has produced a publication to go along with the exhibit, featuring writing by Amy Fung and prints of the works Witschl has included in the show.

“It’s de�nitely something people can take away from the exhibition and keep Margaret’s work in mind,” said AGSA exhibition curator Jenny Willson-McGrath. “As well, a lot of people have a habit of not really taking in artwork, especially at an opening, which is more of a social event. �is gives them something to take home, contemplate and maybe even come back again.”

For Witschl — who will be signing copies of the publication at the opening reception tonight (�ursday) — it’s not only a documentation of the exhibit, but also a great way to promote both the gallery and the artist.

“It is a level of professionalism, both for the gallery and the artist, to do a joint project where we have both seen advantages from our own perspective,” she said.

But she hopes the book isn’t the only thing gallery patrons take home with them.

“As much as I bring to it as the painter, I envision the viewer taking away their own thing,” Witschl said. “�e images, they can’t help but trigger responses to individual things ... the viewer’s response is one I could never predict, and is di�erent from my own.”

Game Pieces runs until Feb. 2, 2013, at the Art Gallery of St. Albert (19 Perron St.).


ST. A LBERT REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT

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

Active Listings: 9 Sold Listings: 8Average list price:$371,233

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Just to be clear, �e Amazing Race Canada is not a new documentary about the current leadership battle in the federal Liberal Party.

Rather, it’s the real deal from Bell Media: An upcoming Canadian edition of the hugely popular American reality-competition series, the 21st season of which presently is airing Sundays on CBS and CTV.

Emmy Award winner Phil Keoghan made the announcement Sunday night on CTV, in a special message to Canadians.

�e Amazing Race Canada leaps aboard a recent bandwagon that has seen the big Canadian TV networks producing Canadian versions of high-pro�le reality-competition imports. �ose imports tend to do quite well in Canadian ratings, even better in many cases than they do in the U.S., relatively speaking.

�e Bachelor Canada just concluded its �rst season on Citytv. An announcement has not

been made one way or the other about a second season.

Earlier this year Citytv also aired Canada’s Got Talent, a Canadian

version of America’s Got Talent. However, there

will not be a second season of Canada’s Got Talent.

Also coming up, from Shaw Media, is Big Brother Canada,

a Canadian version of Big Brother. It will air on Slice.

Photo: AMBER BRACKEN, Sun Media News Services

Reasons to buy organic goods seem as clear as the soil they’re planted in.

But the roots of truth become tangled when science and emotion compete.

Michael Kalmanovitch, founder of Earth’s General Store, has his reasons for supporting organic food.

“I don’t buy organics for me,” he said. “I buy organic because I don’t want my food choices to be at the detriment of some farm worker.”

A Western University and the University of Windsor study in the journal Environmental Health found women in agricultural jobs had higher instances of breast cancer.

Organic growing is only one piece of the environmental pie, which includes locally grown, in-season produce and waste reduction.

Kalmanovitch doesn’t sell meat in his store and carries only a small cooler of dairy products. And not all organics are created equal.

�e Cornucopia Institute ranks organic products, from barely meeting the minimum standard to excellent buys.

Kalmanovitch says making better choices is not an all or nothing process.

“�ere’s lots of little wins that make major changes in the world,” he said. “If we can make those choices every now and again, or more consistently integrate them into our life, we’ll have something happening. Something positive and good happening.”

Kalmanovitch said it takes 10 calories of energy to produce one calorie of food in energy-intensive conventional farming.

“Organics maybe are not the best, highest level that we can do, but it sure is a lot better than the conventional,” he said.

In September, a Stanford University review study found organic produce was no more nutritious than conventional produce. But nutrition is not the only health reason people turn to organics.

�e study also found organics had fewer antibiotic-resistant bacteria and a 30% lower risk of pesticide contamination.

“I can’t guarantee that you won’t get cancer,” he said. “I can’t guarantee that your children will be smarter in school if you eat organic. I do know that the overall toxic levels of the world will be lessened if you choose organic.”

Organic food has much stricter guidelines than conventional produce which extends not just to the growing process, but also the handling process.

Guidelines for bearing the “certi�ed organic” label are stricter in Canada than in the United States, although there are reciprocal agreements with several certifying bodies.

Organic labelling is also strict about genetic modi�cation.

GMOs aren’t making Kevin Folta, associate professor at the University of Florida, as sick as the misinformation barrage on transgenics is.

“All you have to do is type it into the Internet and you’re fed 500 pages of just outright lies,” he said. “It can be deleterious to our choices ultimately.”

People have been breeding plants for tens of thousands of years, but it’s a long and imprecise process. Genetic engineering introduces a gene that isn’t there, or suppresses a gene that is.

Folta said organics versus genetically engineered food is a false dichotomy. He said organic is a production method and transgenics is a way to make the plant.

Instead, he thinks down the road organic production strategies and transgenic variety

improvement will work hand-in-hand for low-impact agriculture.

For example, breeding in pest resistance in corn means less pesticide use, protecting biodiversity.

“When you use conventional agriculture and you go through and spray

with chemicals and insecticides and pesticides and let the plane come over and spray everything, you do a tremendous disservice to the biodiversity of insect life in those areas,” he said. “You go around poisoning birds and everything else.”

While there could be harm in genetically-engineered foods, there’s no evidence of it.

“When you look at the peer-reviewed literature of independent research there’s nothing that says this is harmful,” Folta said.

Californians defeated proposition 37, a

mandatory labelling of GMOs. Folta, who is not opposed to labelling, said it would be “intellectually inconsistent” to label a single genetic modi�cation when extreme modi�cations in traditional breeding that brings over an entire genetic neighbourhood of hundreds of genes would not be labelled.

Aversion to new technology can indirectly cause harm.

Labelling transgenic food would drive the price of produce up if consumers avoided the product. Farmers can produce food at a lower cost with genetic engineering, Folta said.

“If you put a skull and cross bones on your label and say genetically modi�ed, it’s totally in a bogus argument. Just outright misinformation,” he said. “And then you convince people it’s bad, now they’re not going to use that product.”

Increased regulatory hurdles as a result of panic over GMOs end up bene�ting international companies, while pushing out scientists like Folta and smaller GM operations. It takes �ve to 10 years for regulatory approval and creating a gene sequence in a crop can cost $5 million to $10 million to be approved.

Folta pointed to Okanagan Specialty Fruits, a biotechnology company that created an apple that doesn’t brown by suppressing a single gene. With the backlash and legal battles, Folta said the company will probably end up selling their technology to one of the biotech giants.

Folta hopes to clear up the misconception of genetic modi�cation of food being dangerous.

“People have always been opposed to new technology,” he said. People were opposed to antibiotics. �ey were opposed to immunization. �ey were and in some cases still are opposed to pasteurization, opposed to immunization. Time always shows that technology does come out to be safe and very helpful. �is is really the same case here.”

Health Canada and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation say a controversial breast cancer screening test o�ered across Canada is not safe or e�ective at detecting the disease.

�ermography, which is o�ered at private clinics for a fee, uses heat-sensitive imaging to detect the pattern of blood and chemical activity.

“�ermography is not recommended by any medical authority or leading cancer organization ... and there is no credible research study identifying thermography to be an e�ective screening tool for detecting breast cancer,” the CBCF said in a statement issued by its Ontario chapter last week.

Clinics all over the country o�er the service. A quick online search found two clinics, in B.C. and Ontario, that charge $250.

Proponents claim thermography can identify changes in breast tissue long before tumours form, and without radiation or needles.

“Breast thermography’s ability to detect a pre-cancerous state of the breast, or signs of cancer at an extremely early stage, lies in its unique capability of monitoring the temperature variations and blood vessel alterations produced by the earliest changes in tissue physiology (function),” according to the International Academy of Clinical �ermology, based in California.

But, the IACT says, “thermography does not have the ability to pinpoint the location of a tumour.” Its role is “in addition to mammography and physical examination, not in lieu of.”

Photo: IAN KUCERAK, Sun Media News Services

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ACROSS1 Granola grain5 Drink like a dog

10 Ducks and geese

14 Untainted15 Wipe away16 Mental flash17 Out of the blue19 Prod into action20 Social standing21 Pressed for time23 Pointillism unit24 Insect's antenna25 Vampire's

curfew27 Huff and puff28 Texas Hold 'em

round32 Victorian, for

one33 Heating conduit34 Fanglike tooth35 Leafstalk37 First day of the

month, in ancient 2 Bee, to Andy 31 Bowling lane 45 High spiritsRome Taylor button 46 Took a load off

38 Stressed out 3 Stay afloat 33 Army ID 47 Turkish title39 Native of Kirkuk 4 Church bell 34 Deck item 48 Minuscule 40 Anonymous ringer 36 Heathen of sorts margin

John 5 Belonging to Mr. 37 Extremist sect 49 Splashy party41 Medium's card Majors 39 Cartel leader 50 Deuce topper42 Embellish 6 Eyebrow shape 42 Biological 51 Field of study43 Toothpaste 7 Role for a groups 52 Monthly ex-

flavor "Grey's Anato- 43 Strand on an pense, for some44 Sing the blues my" extra island 55 Period's place46 Animal's pouch 8 Early online 47 Captivating forum50 Sauce for fish 9 Bicycle part53 Castle feature 10 Lenox offering54 Bag of tricks 11 Glade's target56 Castaway's 12 Become frayed

home 13 Beatles hit, 57 Threefold "____ Madonna"58 Baker's need 18 Delay, with "off"59 Back of the pack 22 Boston or Miami60 Good with a paper

hammer 24 Front of a clock61 Shipshape 25 Amtrak stop

26 Sports venueDOWN 27 Whimper

1 Composer's 29 Vengefulwork 30 ____ a high note

The Weekly Crossword by Margie E. Burke

Copyright 2012 by The Puzzle Syndicate

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P R I M E T O T A L C O BR A D O N I M A G O O W EE V E N T M E D I C A L LP E A G R E E N T A S S E L

O U R S P A L E T T ES A M O S A J E T L A GW R I S T C O N E Y U F OA I D E H O U N D S A I DP A W M A N S E B U R R O

E L I C I T B O R D E RA R S E N I C K A L EB E T I D E M O D I F I E DA V E S N E E R V I C A RC U R E D E M A A R O S EK E N T A L O N R E N E W

�e muscle that lets your eye blink is the fastest muscle in your body. It allows you to blink �ve times a second. On average, you blink 15,000 times a day. �at’s about 10 times per minute, or more than �ve million

times a year. Women blink more than men. (didyouknow.org)

• Sp

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Edited by Margie E. Burke

Copyright 2012 by The Puzzle Syndicate

Difficulty : Easy

Milestones


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St. Albert is one of the best places in Alberta to invest, according to a national real estate think tank.

�e Canadian Real Estate Investment Network recently released a new report entitled Top Alberta Investment Towns-Based on Key Economic Fundamentals, which found that St. Albert is poised to outperform other municipalities in the province over the next three to �ve years.

“If consistently low vacancies, high rents and strong property value increases located in a strategically situated city surrounded by a major job base is something you are looking for as an investor then St. Albert �ts the bill,” reads the report’s executive summary.

It goes on to say: “Once known solely as a bedroom community to Edmonton, the leadership in St. Albert has worked hard to shed this label by becoming an employment center.”

�e report also cites the construction of Ray Gibbon Drive and the northwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive as positive factors, along with the imminent designation of more industrial and commercial lands.

St. Albert is ��h in the REIN ranking, trailing Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Airdrie, but out in front of Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Okotoks, Leduc, Sylvan Lake and Lacombe.

“�e City of St. Albert has a renewed focus on economic development and we are working diligently to attract new business and investment opportunities to the city,” said City executive director of economic development Guy Boston in a press release. “�e endorsement from the Network is a positive sign that our continued focus and e�orts on some of the key indicators — such as political leadership, a progressive and helpful economic development o�ce and major transportation improvement — position us well for economic growth.”

A wave of optimism surrounding the launch of Research In Motion’s re-engineered BlackBerry line picked up momentum last week with Goldman Sachs raising its rating on the smartphone maker and setting o� a surge in its share price.

�e brokerage �rm joined a growing chorus of analysts who have warmed to the prospects of a successful introduction of the new BlackBerry 10 devices, which RIM hopes will let it claw back market share lost to Apple Inc’s iPhone and smartphones powered by Google’s Android platform. �e BB10 devices are expected to hit store shelves early next year.

�e shi� in sentiment has been swi�. A few weeks ago, most analysts believed RIM had squandered any chance it had to become a serious competitor because of repeated delays in the launch of the new smartphone.

But with a launch date now set for Jan. 30 and some positive feedback about the devices from telecom carriers and developers, some analysts now think RIM might be able turn around its fortunes.

In a note to clients, Goldman analyst Simona Jankowski said preliminary speci�cations that have emerged on the BB10 devices appear impressive.

“With these devices RIM

appears to �nally be aiming for the leading edge hardware performance that was missing from its prior generations,” Jankowski Said.

Jankowski said she believes more applications will be available for BB10 than had been expected because BlackBerry users typically download a relatively high number of paid apps, which is an enticement to app developers.

Goldman, which raised its rating on RIM shares to “buy” from “neutral,” also increased its price target to $16 from $9.

By midday �ursday, RIM’s shares had jumped up more than six per cent on the Nasdaq to $11.78, while its Toronto-listed shares rose by a similar margin to C$11.72.

RIM shares, which have plunged about 90 per cent from a 2008 high of more than $148, have risen some 75 per cent in the last two months as the company moves closer to the launch of the new devices.

RIM promises its new devices will be faster and smoother than previous smartphones, and will have a large catalog of apps that are crucial to the success of any new line of smartphones.

Earlier this month, Je�eries & Co analyst Peter Misek, who has been one of RIM’s biggest critics, raised his rating and price target on the stock.

Last week, National Bank analyst Kris �ompson raised his price target on the shares, stating that there is more money to be made in the stock ahead of the launch of the BB10 devices.

RIM chief executive �orsten Heins told Reuters earlier this month that he sees the new BB10 devices providing RIM with a framework for growth over the next decade.

To be sure, not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair warned on Wednesday that rising expectations for the BB10 in 2013 have provided false hope for investors.

“We believe the run-up in the stock miscalculates the reality of consumer demand for BB10 next year. ... �e fact is, the smartphone market has changed in the last 24 months, and RIM is not only late to the party, the party has moved to a di�erent location and RIM is showing up at the wrong house,” Blair said.

Photo: Sun Media News Services

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Wasn’t that a party!Sure was good while it lasted — and so was your career!While the o�ce holiday party o�ers the perfect chance to

let loose with fellow colleagues, these annual gatherings are legendary for derailing careers and leaving a hangover of regret and derision.

Acting like it’s a kegger will do you in. “Being that someone everyone remembers at the party can really tarnish your reputation and your brand,” according to entrepreneur Aaron McDaniel, author of �e Young Professional’s Guide to the Working World: Savvy Strategies to Get In, Get Ahead, and Rise to the Top (CareerPress).

�e Millennial generation is entering the workplace with a lack of party etiquette, he says. “Ideally, you want your peers, boss and other leaders across your company to think of the great work you do when they think of you — and not the stupid thing you did at a work event.”

Big o�ce blunders include not separating work from play, says McDaniel. When doing anything with colleagues, always employ the “boss litmus test”: before doing anything, ask yourself, “Would I be OK with my boss knowing about this?”

If in doubt, do without — that extra drink, snarky comment or overt come-on.

It’s a major mistake to assume no one is watching, stresses McDaniel. “Someone is always watching and news travels fast ... news of a scandalous action will spread like wild�re.”

And a few too many does many in. “Besides acting like an idiot, you may say something you shouldn’t, violating someone’s trust or the con�dentiality of something being worked on,” says McDaniel. “�e key is self-discipline and water. Have two glasses of water for every alcoholic drink you have.”

How about making some party points instead? Build important relationships instead of destroying

them. “People tend to have better working relationships with you when you get to know them on a personal level. Learn about what interests them and then ask questions.”

According to McDaniel, this will make them like you more and lead to a higher likelihood that they will support your ideas. “People tend to support people they like.”

Getting points isn’t just about what happens at the party, it’s also about what happens a�erwards. “Stay in touch with new contacts you make and continue to take interest in things they like. If they love a certain sports team, reach out to them when that team wins a big game. If they are all about the dance classes their kid is in, continue to take an interest in that.”

Ultimately, the contact you make in another department may be your ticket to a new and even better job at your company, he adds.

An o�ce that includes a secret lounge, recording studio and chefs preparing breakfast and lunch in a chic onsite cafe? Sounds like a dream.

Google’s new Toronto workspace is a dream come true for the 150 sta� — known as Googlers — who work there. �e o�ce even features an indoor campground, mini golf and a �tness room complete with towel service.

Want to work there? Get in line. �e company is so attractive to employees that Google hears from more than two million job seekers annually.

Happy employees are creative and productive, say Google o�cials, and employee health and environmental sustainability were at the forefront when the 43,000-square-foot Toronto o�ce was designed.

“Creativity is at the heart of innovation. And the key to creativity is constant curiosity and constant collaboration,” says Chris O’Neill, managing director of Google Canada.

Unique spaces and places encourage teams to talk and meet, or to socialize and have fun.

“Some of our best ideas happen at these unexpected moments and, when they do, there’s a wall or window to write on to capture it.”

VIP treatment is the norm. �e search engine is recognized worldwide as a top employer — Fortune magazine has called Google the best company for which to work.

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