Three St. Albert elite athletes went off to Pyeongchang with high hopes of bringing home Olympic gold medals. Women's hockey player Meaghan Mikkelson came home with a silver medal after team Canada suffered a devastating 3-2 loss to the U.S . following a shootout to settle a tie game. Despite their best efforts, curlers Marc Kennedy and Scott Pfeifer lost out in the bronze medal round 7-5 to Switzerland.
For Kennedy and Mikkelson, who had earned Olympic gold medals in their sports in previous Olympics, not achieving gold again was a certain disappointment. When you have trained hard for four years in pursuit of gold, it can seem as though even a silver medal is a consolation prize. Losing out on medals can seem like defeat. But that is not the case. These three athletes are at the pinnacle of sporting achievement to have qualified for the Olympics in the first place. To get to the Olympics they had to be the best in the country and among the best in the world. Finishing second and fourth in the world is an incredible achievement.
Mikkelson, Kennedy and Pfeifer have done St. Albert and Canada proud to perform for us on the world stage. These three St. Albert athletes remain an inspiration to us all. Although their A game came up a little shorter than they expected, they will inspire a new generation of athletes with their experience and their effort.
To achieve great things one has to dare to dream big. This St. Albert trio has taught us that.
Important first step
St. Albert City Council has made another step towards protecting the river valley. This step comes on the heels of the controversial Braeside condo development where a land swap of parkland was nixed but the development went ahead. At the time several city councillors noted that there was no comprehensive plan for the Sturgeon River valley.On Monday city council approved a motion by Coun. Sheena Hughes that directs city administration to research what other municipalities, particularly Edmonton, have in place to protect their river valleys.
The city already has multiple policies governing the river valley including the Environmental Master Plan, the natural area conservation and management plan, the urban forest management plan and multiple other Red Willow Park plans.
The research report, however, is intended to come back to council to suggest any further action that might be necessary to protect the Sturgeon River valley. Hughes said it is important for developers who are interested in developing the river valley to have a clear understanding of the rules before they start planning projects in that area.
Hughes said that while council will soon be working on the Municipal Development Plan (MDP), it will not specifically lay out directives that protect the river valley.
While there are existing policies, this report might help create a more comprehensive plan that can make this simpler for developers and those who are concerned about protecting the river valley.
