The pages of the August Gazettes during the 1990s reflected a growing community with diverse needs and interests.
By 1998, the census showed the city had a population of 49,243 and, throughout the decade, Gazette photos and stories showed youth involvement in baseball tournaments, Alberta Summer Games events, kayaking regattas, football, swim meets, BMX championships, rugby matches and, of course, soccer. Whether the youth were rewarded with victories or crying over their losses, photos showed their parents there too, huddled in sleeping bags sometimes, but always on the sidelines.
The appearance of St. Albert's downtown district changed throughout the decade as more art appeared in public places. In 1993, city council wrangled with the idea of how much control it should have over murals on downtown buildings. Council voted 4-3 to remove a proposal to regulate murals and sculptures on private property.
In August 1992, city council agreed that Profiles Public Art Gallery would remain in St. Albert Place until the end of the year, when it would be moved to Grandin Park Plaza. The gallery remained in the mall for the rest of the decade.
Troubled youth
With a certain seasonal regularity, throughout the decade of the 1990s, August Gazettes addressed the issue of vandalism. But youthful high jinks took on a new worrisome form, as froshing incidents became a constant worry.
"Ritual goes too far," read an Aug. 29, 1990, issue about hazing and froshing. By August 1994, RCMP were asking local merchants to be on the alert for teenagers buying mass quantities of eggs. One constable said, "It's pretty obvious they're not going to scramble them." A year later, another policeman said that thrown eggs could be "dangerous" if they hit someone in the eye and property owners wrote letters to the Gazette because they were "fed up." In 1996, the RCMP frowned on "the fall froshing frenzy." A 1999 story with the headline "Anti-froshing campaign in gear at schools" outlined how school staff members were approaching the problem.
Linked with stories about froshing incidents were ones about youths running rampant. In August 1992, families were faced with $55,000 in repairs after gravestones were knocked over and damaged in St. Albert Cemetery.
Given the perpetual stories about vandalism and problems with bored youths, an August 1997 story about a number of Woodlands residents who went to city council to protest the construction of a skateboard park was somewhat ironic. Woodlands area residents argued that noise from a nearby water park was already "unbearable." Nonetheless, council approved the construction of the skateboard park on Aug. 9, 1997.
Environmental concerns
The environment was of ongoing interest throughout the summers of the '90s, whether it was issues of garbage collection, recycling or the ever-present concern over Big Lake and the Western Bypass Road.
In August 1990, a "Compost plan was trashed" by city council because of fears that household waste would take up to three months to compost, even if a "cement mixer" churned the stuff first.
Dutch elm disease educational programs began in 1996 after three of the virus-carrying beetles were discovered that August in St. Albert.
Business and progress
Throughout the decade, Gazette stories showed community growth and changes to the business community. In August 1990, the St. Albert Drive-in closed. It faced dwindling profits because of the video rental industry. That same year, an article outlined the need for seniors' housing, stating that the "45-bed Chateau Mission Court facility was not adequate."
August 1991 marked the opening of the new Protestant School Board office on Sir Winston Churchill Avenue.
The old Ducky Dome arena was torn down in August 1992. The arena was scheduled to go to Tijuana, Mexico, as part of a Habitat for Humanity International project. Sadly, the province shut down the removal site on Aug. 12, 1992 because of unsafe working conditions.
In August 1993, there was a sod-turning event for Gold Dust Casino.
In August 1994, St. Albert Catholic Schools announced its upcoming amalgamation with Legal and Morinville to become the new Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board. Regionalization was a result of a provincial push to reduce the number of school districts. It was anticipated that several jobs would be lost because of duplication of staff.
That same August, the St. Albert Protestant School District sought public input about the vacant Akinsdale school lot. Forty Akinsdale residents threatened to seek an injunction to prevent the sale of the property for multiple-housing development.
Two national corporation changes had an impact in St. Albert. Wendy's bought Tim Hortons on Aug. 12, 1995 and, in that same issue of the Gazette, it was announced that Color Your World and St. Clair's Paint stores merged in an effort to provide competition against the big box stores.
On Aug. 26, 1995, Village Tree Mall was sold after being in receivership for nearly a decade. At the same time, a five-year contract with Cineplex Theatres was closed along with promises that the theatre would remain in the mall.
On Aug. 27, 1996, a Western Bypass Road study advisory group hosted its "final" open house at St. Albert Place.
St. Albert buses became wheelchair accessible in August 1995 and, for the first time that year, city residents got 911 service.
In 1998, members of the Save Our Bruin Committee, who were trying to preserve St. Albert's iconic watering hole, the Bruin Inn, were told that the cost of saving the structure would exceed $1 million.
Sturgeon Hospital
An Aug. 5, 1990, article described a "cash crisis" at the Sturgeon Hospital because of a $175,000 shortfall after the province failed to pay 31 per cent of the nurses' salary increase.
In August 1994, the new Capital Health Authority held hearings to which the public was invited. Mayor Anita Ratchinsky took a non-voting position on the Capital Health Authority Board to represent St. Albert's interests.
Provincial cutbacks in 1995 and the loss of 30 acute beds at the Sturgeon Hospital had an impact on the Sturgeon Health Unit, which was $100,000 over budget for its home care funding. The hospital became a community health centre.
A doctor shortage hit St. Albert in 1999 and newcomers had a tough time getting a family physician.
Finally, in the real-estate sector, advertisements in the Gazette's August 1990 HomeStyle listed a Forest Lawn bungalow at $102,500 with a five-year mortgage rate of 14.25 per cent. In August 1996, an Akinsdale bungalow was listed at $139,500 and the interest rate for a five-year closed mortgage was 7.8 per cent.
By 1999, a Forest Lawn bungalow was listed at $126,900.
The City of St. Albert was moving into the new millennium with a strong sense of optimism that could be seen in the advertising pages of the Gazette, which showed huge numbers of houses being listed and sold every week for higher and higher prices. Real estate was hot and the Aug. 28, 1999, paper listed 40 open houses and seven full pages of housing ads.
