Year in review

Another year has come and gone. Before closing the book on 2018, let’s look back on some of the things that took place over the last 12 months.  

Whitecourt was in a cold snap to kick off 2018 with temperatures hovering around -23 and a windchill around -30. It was cold enough that personnel at Eastlink Park decided to bump their New Year’s Eve celebrations by 24 hours but, oddly, not cold enough to keep members of Whitecourt Taekwondo from jumping barefoot into the snow for their long-standing tradition of working out together on the first day of the year. Consider it Whitecourt’s version of the polar bear plunge!

In early 2018, we brought you the story of Linkin Tupper who, at only seven years old, was an aspiring mayor. After reading about his story, Mayor Chichak invited her young fan to spend time at the town office with her and even presented him with a kid-sized hoodie with the Whitecourt logo on it made just for him.  

The Whitecourt Fire Department started several FireSmart projects last year with one of the biggest being the clean up around the new École St. Joseph School. The bush area was heavily cluttered with downed trees and overgrowth and presented a big hazard should a fire start in that area. Another active fire season showcased the importance of being a FireSmart community. The project removed 30 per cent of the fuel from the forest and only affected two per cent of the trees. Some of the most watched videos posted to the Whitecourt Press Facebook page have involved the fire department. Search “FireSmart video” on our page to check them out.

Another highly watched video on our page was from the April flooding that took over a big portion of Woodlands County. An ice jam caused a back up of water along Flats Road which required the evacuation of area residents. Water also hurt the Carlan Services Community Centre following a flood on January 1 after the building’s fire suppression system was damaged in the extreme cold. Building tenants received varying degrees of damage with the Whitecourt Food Bank and Whitecourt Gymnastics Club receiving some of the most.

Rotary Park received another boost in 2018. The Whitecourt Rotary Club presented $100,000 for future projects including new soccer fields, multi-use pads, expanded parking, and an Eco playground just to name a few. Many of the community’s biggest events took place at the park last year including the annual Boys & Girls Club of Whitecourt & District Annual Easter Egg Hunt. Roughly 5,000 eggs were painstakingly put together for hundreds of children to collect.

Party in the Park is always a big hit for the community and 2018’s performers were once again top notch. Saturday’s headliner, the Hunter Brothers, raved about the festival and called the entire production first rate.

The devastating Humboldt Broncos bus crash brought everyone and everything to a halt as hearts around the world collectively broke. One of the 10 players killed, Stephen Wack, held a Whitecourt connection as he had been a Wolverine. Even though he was only in Whitecourt for a short time, his infectious smile and personality left a lasting mark on all who knew him. On Monday, April 9, 2018, a candlelight vigil was held at the Scott Safety Centre to honour all the victims and their families.

The Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation held the Alexis Hockey Cup last year and brought in aboriginal players from as far away as the Yukon. Chief Tony Alexis said as the tournament grows, they will be able to do more to support their youth. “Activities for young people is important for us,” he said. Over the course of the 2018 summer months, Town of Whitecourt employees cleaned up the cemetery by removing items that took away from the aesthetics of the area. The focus was on removing plants that had overgrown and were damaging plots. They also focused on broken or displaced decorations and fixing up older tombstones that were broken.

In June, the first Military Tattoo to be held in Alberta since 1998 took place in Whitecourt. Put on by the Whitecourt Woodlands Hawks Foundation and hosted by the Whitecourt Air Cadets 721 Hawks, the event brought in 16 squadrons and numerous performance groups from around the province.

Dialogue was opened between the town and CN during a late June council meeting. The train remains a contentious issue in Whitecourt as blocked roadways in peak hours continue to wreak havoc. Just 11 days ahead of the meeting a train had blocked the main corridor for 40 minutes prompting public outcry. “Forty minutes during rush hour when people are trying to get to work isn’t acceptable,” said Mayor Chichak.

The long wait was attributed to a malfunction in the equipment and CN reiterated that an occurrence like that was not common, but it still brought up worries for what would happen if an incident happened across the tracks and emergency services couldn’t get through. The conversation ended with both parties agreeing to work on having better communication especially in terms of emergencies and long waits.

Norquest College, along with Whitecourt, Woodlands County, five safety companies, Living Waters School Division, and Alberta Education, launched a new firefighting program locally. The program will allow grade 12 students to train throughout their final year of school and graduate as bonified firefighters ready to work. Industrial Firefighting 1081 and Firefighting 1001 are being offered with more programs in the works.

New vintage-style lights have been put up in the downtown thanks to the efforts of the Vitalization Committee. A new sidewalk will come sometime in the future to match the circular wrought iron theme. After receiving the final costs of the 2018 Residential Spring Cleanup Campaign, council decided to try and cut down on costs while also limiting what enters the landfill by adding in a “Take it or Leave it” project. A week or two before the cleanup, residents will be able to put items on their front lawns for other residents to take for free rather than just throwing them away.

The final Canadian Blood Services donor clinic in Whitecourt for 2018 was a big success with 11 more blood donations coming in over the original goal. Organizers said Whitecourt clinics always see a great turnout. The Whitecourt & District Public Library added to its fantastic programming line-up for children and adults by starting a homeschool group. The very well-attended program has grown each week. The Adult Art Therapy classes have also been very popular including rock mandalas and soapstone carving. Thanks to mild weather, Whitecourt Chamber of Commerce organizers watched gleefully as thousands of residents filled the town sidewalks to watch the Santa Claus Parade with one of the biggest crowds yet.

From big changes in the agreements between Whitecourt and Woodlands County, to refuting the MacLean’s article that placed Whitecourt as the eighth most dangerous place across Canada by using the wrong population data to Cannabis being legalized, 2018 ended with some fireworks. With temperatures looking miles apart from how the year started there is no doubt that the year will end just as it started, with a bang at Eastlink Park. Happy New Year!