The Unique Sports of the Arctic Winter Games

The Arctic Winter Games are really a very, very, unique event. Unfortunately I think a lot of people who haven't been involved with these games before just don't have a good concept of just how different they really are.

Of course there are all the traditional winter sports that you might expect like Hockey, Curling and Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding, there's also the indoor sports like Basketball, Volleyball, and Table Tennis. Of course those are all exciting but it's the traditional Arctic, Dene and other northern events that are unlike anything in any other games.

So with that in mind I've been doing a little snooping on youtube and I've found clips from some of the sports that make these games different from anything you've seen before.

First up is the Two Foot High Kick where the competitor has to jump up and kick a small stuffed "seal" hanging down from a string. They have to touch the seal with both feet at the same time and maintain their balance when they land. I think the winning kick at the Yellowknife games was at about 8 foot, 4 inches!:



I'll post more clips as I find them.

A Look Back - "The Last Frontier, At Least In Canada"

Clete Roberts is back in Grande Prairie. In this clip he speaks with a local farmer about the richness of the farmland in the area. Mentioned in the video is Herman Trelle from the Wembley area who was known as the "Wheat King of the World". Herman is also mentioned in this TIME Magazine article from the December, 1927.



Maybe now you'll think of Mr. Trelle whenever you listen to The Hip.

By the way, is "potentiality" a word? ... yes, it appears it is. We may have to start putting that one back in to use!

Responding to a Concern About Snow Removal

I received a note on Facebook yesterday, my friend wanted to bring to my attention a discussion that was going on in a group called "Better Snow Removal for Grande Prairie".

I didn't jump into the conversation on the group but I did choose to contact one of the people directly. After getting some more details from her about what area of the city she lived in I sent along this response. I think it might answer questions other people in the city might be asking so I thought I'd share it here:

Thanks for the info!

I'll pass on the concern about the slippery intersection to see if we can get a little extra ice control there.

Just so you know when we talk about bus routes we're talking about the streets that city transit buses go on. We make these streets our second highest priority.

The first priority after a snow fall are the "Major Arterial" roads like 100 St, 84 Ave, 68 Ave, Resources Rd, Hwy 40 - Wapiti Road, etc. These are obviously the streets that have to carry the most traffic in the city.

After all the streets that fall in to the group above are done we move on to Priority 2 streets. This is where the city Transit Bus Routes are and also includes "Major Collector" Roadways that may or may not be part of a bus route; Crystal Lake Drive, Mission Heights Drive, Poplar Drive, Royal Oaks Drive, etc.

The idea is that if we can get the #1 & #2 streets cleaned quickly the majority of traffic can move pretty well through the city and important for emergency services like the police, fire and ambulances can get where they need to go.

After all that has been taken care of we move on to the residential roads as our #3 priority. This would include your street. Here, the City provides dedicated Snow and Ice Control on local roads & lanes in residential areas. Weekday mornings in North side Neighbourhoods (North of 100 Ave) and weekday afternoons in Southside Neighbourhoods (South of 100 Ave.)

Over all, our budget for snow removal is just over $4 million dollars per year ($4.035m in '09 to be exact and slightly more in '10). If we don't spend all the money in one year we put it in the bank and save it to help out in years where there is excessive snow and the budgeted amount won't cover the added costs.

You can find more information about what neighbourhoods the city crews are working on each day here:

http://www.cityofgp.com/citygov/dept/trans/worknotices/default.htm

(Check out the "Getting to Your Street" part)

Also, I had a chance to read the post on the group wall and you said "I would really like to see snow removal be paid for out of the City's pcket, not mine..."

It's important to remember that property taxes, like the ones you pay on your home, are how the city gets the majority of it's budget and it pays for much more than the bus you see in front of your house and the garbage collection.

Whenever council chooses to improve a service or build something new it will be reflected in your taxes. We try to be as efficient as we can when we spend your dollars but every police officer we add, or extra snow removal crew
we put on duty, or new recreation program we offer has to be paid for.

Our challenge is trying to balance having affordable taxes with providing the services that people want in our community. It's not always easy.

If you have any other thoughts or questions feel free to give me a call (780-814-0518, my cell) or send me a note here on Facebook.

Games Will Leave a Legacy of Service in GP

One of the legacies that the 2010 Arctic Winter Games host society hopes to leave the city with is an increased sense of community and better customer service. How would hosting something like the games do that for Grande Prairie? The answer is through training for it's volunteers.

In a pretty unique program the host society is working to provide free customer service training to all games volunteers. Check out the information below:

Training by the Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association is provided free of charge toall volunteers of the 2010 Arctic Winter Games. The ‘Super STAR Service’ program provides customer service training to help improve the quality of service provided by staff & volunteers from the inside-out. All Games volunteers are required to attend one of these sessions.

Pre-registration is not necessary, just drop by the session that best fits your schedule. All sessions are being held in the Rotary Community Room at the Montrose Cultural Centre in Grande Prairie:

Saturday, January 16 – 9:00am - 12:00pm & 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Sunday, January 17 – 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Wednesday, January 20 – 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Saturday, January 23 – 9:00am - 12:00pm

Wednesday, January 27 – 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Saturday, January 30 – 9:00am - 12:00pm & 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Sunday, January 31 – 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Monday, February 1 – 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Wednesday, February 3 – 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Friday, February 5 – 1:00pm - 4:00pm & 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Saturday, February 6 – 9:00am - 12:00pm & 1:30pm – 4:30pm

Sunday, February 7 – 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Monday, February 8 – 9:00am - 12:00pm

Tuesday, February 9 – 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Wednesday, February 10 – 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Saturday, February 13 – 9:00am - 5:00pm

Sunday, February 14 – 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Wednesday, February 17 – 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Saturday, February 20 – 9:00am - 12:00pm & 1:00pm-4:00pm

Don’t miss your chance to be trained in ‘Super STAR Service’ – complete your registration at the Games’ FINAL Volunteer Rally.

That’s right – time is running out! Visit the Games Crew this Saturday (January 23rd) from 10:00am-3:00pm at Montrose Cultural Centre to:

- Register as a Volunteer
- Complete Your Security Clearance Form
- Get Your Accreditation Photo
- Choose Jobs and Shifts

There are LESS THAN 50 days until Grande Prairie hosts the circumpolar north - RISE UP! Volunteer today.

How's that for making it easy? There are a load of times available so the training should be able to fit in to anyone's schedule!

A Look Back - Good Times In the Pub

Even a hard working World Reporter like Clete Roberts likes to kick back and relax now and then - just like the rest of us. Check out what happens when he sits down for a cold one in the Grande Prairie of the 50s.



Seems like a pretty good rule.

A Look Back - Visitors from the East

In this instalment of World Report Celte Roberts conducts a coffee shop interview with another visitor to Grande Prairie. This "Jaunty Alouette" from Montreal seems to have a pretty good opinion of Grande Prairie but Celte finds out that he might need to fork out a bit more than he expected when he offered to buy the coffee!



Interesting that even back in the 50s there were people coming out to see just "what's going on here". I love the comment "...because the Easterners don't know the Westerners very well."

GGS Committee Agenda for January 13th, 2010

It's going to be a loooooong meeting!

General Government Services Agenda January 13, 2010

1. Delegation
1.1. Grande Prairie Public Library, re: 2010 Budget and Update

2.Branding Exercise Recommendations (attached)
D. Olinger, Marketing Communications Manager

3.Grande Prairie Airport 2010 Business Plan (attached)
K. Anderson, Corporate Services Director

4. Aquatera Utilities Inc. Request for City Waiver of Dividends (attached)
B. Manz, Manager, Aquatera Utilities Inc.

5. Bylaw C-1139F, To Amend the Aquatera Utilities Inc. Schedule “G” of the Utility Bylaw (attached)
Council Referral Dec 14/09

6. Public Members on Committee Resignation Procedure (attached)
Environment CommitteeReferral Jan 4/10

7. Honorariums for Council Committee Public Members (attached)
L. Ramirez, Municipal Intern

8. Community Futures Annual Report (to be distributed)
B. Glavin, Economic Development Specialist

9. 2009 Tax Sale (attached)
K. Stephenson, Property Tax Coordinator

10. Review of Financial Indicator Graphs from Municipal Affairs (attached)
D. Sauve, Senior Financial Analyst

11. Grande Spirit Foundation Request for Land (attached)
A. Cerny, Deputy Legislative Services Manager

12. Grande Prairie Airport Commission Articles of Association (attached)
A. Cerny, Deputy Legislative Services Manager

13. Strategic Priorities Chart (attached)
J. Ferguson, Legislative Services Manager

14. General Government Services Outstanding Items List (attached)
K. Anderson, Corporate Services Director

15. “In Camera” (land matter)

16. Correspondence

16.1. Grande Prairie Public Library, re: 2010 Operating Budget (attached)

16.2. Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, re: Key Initiatives Meeting (attached)

16.3. Northwest Corridor Development Corporation, re: Submissions to the Federally Appointed Rail Freight Service Review Panel (attached)

16.4. Alberta Municipal Affairs, re: 2010 Budget Update (attached)

16.5. Premier of Alberta, re: Electric Statutes Amendment Act, 2009, Formerly Bill 50 (attached)

16.6. Fletcher Mudryk & Co., re: 2009 Audit Plan (attached)

16.7. Legislative Assembly Alberta, Standing Committee on Community Services, re: Bill 202 Municipal Auditor General (attached)

17. Other Business