While other years had seen uncharacteristic outbreaks of whooping cough, a new illness covered by vaccination was starting to make the rounds in St. Albert in July 1986. Within the first six months of the year, the Sturgeon Health Unit had recorded 14 cases of measles, more than four times the total recorded in all of 1985. The health unit urged caution and prevention in order to control the outbreak. Local MLA Myrna Fyfe announced she would lead the charge to make seatbelts in Alberta mandatory, while a Legal farmer by the name of Walter Van De Walle announced he would contest the upcoming byelection in the riding of Pembina. All was not rosy on the labour front however, as 304 Alberta Liquor Control Board (ALCB) warehouse staff in St. Albert went on strike, prompting residents and pubs to stock up on beer in advance. When non-union drivers arrived at the warehouse, they were blocked by the picket line and jeered before finally being allowed to proceed.
The following July began with a shock. Ald. George Kuschminder was arrested by the RCMP and charged with sexual assault following an alleged incident involving a female high school student at Gibbons School, where Kuschminder was principal. He was taken away from the school by plainclothes officers and subsequently suspended from work. He did not feel, however, the charges warranted him stepping down from council. As he told the Gazette, “I have no intention to resign or take a leave of absence. I intend to carry out the duties I was elected to do.” It wasn’t the only scandal involving an individual affiliated with the city — city manager Don Corrigan revealed that a group of city staff calling themselves the “St. Albert Employees Social Club” had written letters on city hall letterhead asking local businesses for discounts and donations. Corrigan ordered the club to write another letter to all businesses renouncing all their ties to city hall.
July 1988 was notable only for tragedy. While flying a CH-136 Kiowa helicopter to a training facility in southern British Columbia, St. Albert resident and Namao-based pilot Capt. John Gregory Benedict crashed into a lake. He and one other person aboard were killed. Benedict was buried a week later with full honours.
The following July saw Stop Abuse in Families (SAIF), a group dedicated to helping victims of spousal abuse that had formed only one year previous, take up office space at Mission Ridge Shopping Plaza. Its long-term goal was to build a women’s shelter. Yet it was naked men who were still making the headlines, as police received another report of an unclothed, large, redheaded male sauntering through the woods near Albert Lacombe school. All of the children were brought in early from lunch recess, but the naked man was never found. There was something to look forward to in August, St. Albert Centre announced in several issues of the July Gazette — the great Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, on whom Paul Henderson had scored the winning goal of the 1972 Summit Series, would be visiting the mall on Aug. 1.
Canada Day in July 1990 almost started with a tragic bang. With 5,000 residents watching Lions Park, a Canadian Forces parachute team descended upon them. All of them landed but one soldier found, once his feet hit the ground, that his parachute had become tangled in a 120-volt powerline. TransAlta and the fire department rushed to the scene and safely detached him from his chute. St. Albert wasn’t just celebrating Canada Day, however — a recent census showed the population had reached 41,000, making it one of the fastest growing communities in Alberta. Local RCMP were also making the roads more difficult for drunk drivers. Any motorists deemed too drunk to operate their vehicles had the Denver Boot placed on the front tire of their cars, rendering it immoveable. The boot was removed only when the driver sobered up and paid a $50 fee.
While the St. Albert Drive-In had shut down in 1990, its unofficial end came in July 1991 when a suspect, believed to be a 14-year-old boy, set fire to the confectionary stand and the projection room at the deserted property, now owned by Christenson Developments. The city started its beautification process for downtown too, ripping up lampposts and sidewalks and replacing them with nicer lampposts and interlocking brick.
The Sturgeon River dominated headlines in July 1992 after two friends fishing near Riel Park wandered across a couple of metal barrels sitting just below the surface of the river. Further investigation revealed as many as 30 45-gallon drums buried in the riverbed. The Sturgeon Health Unit ordered the area excavated and tested. Many of the drums had already rusted away, emptying whatever they had been holding into the river. All tests came back negative for any harmful substances. Besides the barrels, investigators also discovered some farming equipment buried in the riverbed, described by one as “ancient.” Ald. Ray Gibbon announced he was ending his long career in public service and retiring, but with one caveat — due to ongoing disputes between himself and Mayor Anita Ratchinsky, Gibbon announced that if he deemed there were no “suitable candidates” running for mayor, he would run for the post, one he had already held. The Catholic Cemetery was again the sight of another vandalism spree, but this one proved to be one of the most costly in St. Albert’s history. When all was counted, some 360 headstones had been knocked over or vandalized, leading to a total of more than $100,000 in damages and angering many local families.
Peter Boer is the editor of the St. Albert Gazette.
