Scott Schmidt
For the Sun Times
It wasn’t very many years ago when skateboarders had to fight for their right just to exist as if their sport was somehow harmful to society.
Eventually, that zero tolerance turned around and cities began to realize skaters weren’t going away, so most major centres — including Lethbridge in 1999 — erected skate parks of some nature.
But even as avenues such as the X-Games were becoming legitimate opportunities for young athletes everywhere, skateboarding still wasn’t getting much attention as a real sport. And so, while hockey arenas, soccer pitches and all types of other sporting facilities were often receiving maintenance and attention, skate parks were sometimes built as a way to keep skaters out of the way, without taking much of what the skaters wanted into consideration.
And as for Lethbridge, regardless of the initial motives behind the northside skate park, the city now has a skate park that skateboarders won’t use. The good news for local skaters, however, is a recent presentation to city council by the Lethbridge Skateboarding Association in request for two new facilities was quite well received.
“City council passed a resolution directing administration to meet with our organization in terms of exploring potential locations for the parks, costs associated with the parks and also funding sources associated with the parks,” says Wade Galloway of the LSA.
Essentially that means the city has agreed to proceed with discussions in preparation for construction, should funding for such parks become available. What they also clearly stated, however, was that said money was not currently at their disposal.
Still, the feeling from the LSA is the presentation was a success and any step toward adequate facilities is a positive one. If the administration wants to discuss locations, the LSA already has its ideal choices ready.
On the westside, which has the highest population of any area in the city and no skateboarding facility, the association would like to see something built at Nicholas Sheran Park. On the east side of the river, the LSA hopes something can happen in a centralized location such as Galt Gardens or Henderson Lake parks.
“The problem with the existing park is really two-fold,” says Galloway. “One is location; if you drive by on any of the adjoining streets, you can’t see into the skateboard park and from inside the park, on a 360-degree view, you can’t really see into any of the surrounding neighbourhoods.
“It makes a terrific location for kids to party at but not a very good place to have a skateboard park. Families don’t feel safe there, young kids don’t feel safe there, because there are bonfires, graffiti and all those other issues associated with it.”
The other big issue for the LSA — and the 500 people who signed their petition in an eight-day period before their presentation — is the design of the park.
For starters, it’s aging much faster than expected, making it less safe in the eyes of the LSA, but more important to them than that even is the makeup of the park itself. The current skate park was designed by an engineering company and not by skaters, so it’s simply not suitable for what skateboarders are looking for. For Galloway, it would be like designing a golf course without the input of golfers.
“Just because you can plant sod, move trees and make bunkers doesn’t mean you’re a golf-course designer.”
For their presentation to council, the LSA acquired estimates from a few top skate park designers, which gave price quotes between about $40-$45 per square foot. So each park — if built between 15,000-20,000 square feet, as laid out in the LSA’s presentation — would cost between $1.2 and $1.8 million.
While those costs aren’t exactly chump change, the LSA noted in its presentation the fact the existing park ranked lowest in the city in a review of recreational facilities, while the sport continuously grows. The LSA also reminded council if there isn’t a decent skate park for the countless skaters, then the city itself becomes the park, and nobody wants that.
But even though they will take to the streets if left with no other choice, it doesn’t mean skateboarders are outlaws any more. Sure there are still hoards of teenagers getting into the sport, but the whole group of outcasts who fought for the sport 15-25 years ago, are now grownups.
And they still skate.
“The perception has absolutely changed,” says Galloway. “It’s a generational thing. There are still people in their 30s and 40s competitively skating. If you watch the X-Games, there are still old guys out there and these old guys are now having children of their own.
“It’s widespread. It’s grown from just a fringe activity, when it was underground and outcast. Now it’s mainstream.”
And the LSA would like facilities to reflect that.

Scott Schmidt
For the Sun Times
Seeing as how it already has the billing as the biggest party in southern Alberta and as top economic draw of the year for the same area, Lethbridge’s Whoop-Up Days Family Festival could have easily gotten by with the same efforts as any other year.
But just because they already feel like they have the best event around, doesn’t mean organizers thought it couldn’t get even better.
On top of everything the fans of Whoop-Up Days have grown to expect and love, 2010 will include no fewer than 21 new activities added to the festivities. From the moment of the Aug. 24 parade to kickstart the week, which wraps up Saturday, Aug. 28, this year’s Whoop-Up Days is almost shockingly packed with things to do.
“The three major new events are raising the grandstand Tuesday and Saturday night for new performances, the first being Colin James on the Tuesday and then Saturday night for Monster Truck Mania,” says Doug Kryzanowski, manager of marketing and events at Exhibition Park. “We have never really used the grandstand for any outside concert or outdoor activity except for the rodeo during Whoop-Up Days, so this is quite new for us.
“And then the third one is — last year we had Walking With Lions — this year inside the South Pavilion we have the Live Shark Adventure.”
The Live Shark Adventure is an educational show, with real live sharks in two 7,000-gallon tanks, as well as shark jaws and teeth on display to help teach the public about the ocean’s most-feared predators. There will even be a diver swimming with them from time to time to give people a look at a close encounter.
Several new musical groups have been brought this year as well, though some of them don’t usually get associated with the word “new.” April Wine heads a list of new bands that includes The Dusty Root Band, The Original Caste, Tatum Williams and more.
Other first-time entertainment acts will include Giant Reptiles of the World, the Best Buy Family Fun Zone, kids’ entertainer Bobby Boogaloo and Go Dog Go K9 Sports. The Monster Truck Mania will close out the week’s festivities.
There are plenty of returning acts worth noting also, as local singer/songwriter Trevor Panczak is back along with Rough Stock, The Chevelles and DNR. And the annual rodeo is scheduled to run Thursday and Friday evening starting at 7 p.m., with the final competitions running Saturday at 2 p.m.
“It’s important to note we’ve made sure the major concert acts are earlier in the day, as usually we would go at 9 p.m.,” says Kryzanowski. “This year we’ve switched it and gone earlier so a wider demographic can see the concerts and still be home by nine o’clock.”
Of course, those not concerned about turning in early in any way whatsoever don’t need to worry because the Whoop-Up Days fun doesn’t quit when the concerts do. The midway rides continue until midnight or 1 a.m., depending on the night.
And Moonlight Madness is back on the Thursday, which offers a $30 gate pass and midway pass beginning at 5 p.m. Advance Super Ticket passes for any other time during the week are $35, while they are $52 at the gate.
Loonie/Toonie Children’s rides returns Tuesday to Friday from 1-3 p.m.
General admission to the gate is $12 or $10 in advance, which includes everything on the grounds except the midway, food and beverage. Gate passes for children under 10 are free and gates open daily at 1 p.m.
All advance tickets can be purchased at any Lethbridge or Picture Butte Gas King or ATB Financials in Lethbridge, Brooks, Cardston, Vulcan and Pincher Creek.
Further information on all the activities can be found at www.exhibitionpark.ca or by calling 403-328-4491.

While the population of the city’s westside has been continuously growing for years, not all the necessary services have proportionately followed, so certain needs can’t be met without a cross-coulee trek.
However, on Aug. 30, one major westside need will be not only met but most likely exceeded, as the Crossings branch of the Lethbridge Public Library will finally open its doors after four years of waiting.
The original opening date was Aug. 23. However, shipping delays of some necessary items led the opening to be postponed until Aug. 30.
The Crossings branch is situated on the same complex as the new Chinook High School but is not there to service the students, as they will have their own school library.
“The (Lethbridge Public Library) did a needs assessment in 2005 and one of the things to come out of that was we needed a library on the westside,” says Elisabeth Hegerat, the library’s co-ordinator of branch services. “A city our size would have had a branch library already except we’re a little bit unusual in that we had our bookmobile.
“That decision just happened to be at the time the (city) determined they needed a new  high school. So we didn’t set out to do it this way but we think it’s going to be a great partnership, though we’re not the school library.”
The details of the Crossings branch were thought of from a total public’s perspective only, as every age group has been considered. From a lounge area, with video game stations to a large kids section to spacious conference rooms, they seem to have thought of everything.
Of course, most people walk into a fully stocked library and don’t imagine it before all the books and audio and visual recordings got there. But someone had to decide just what to bring in — and several someones had to get it all out of boxes and onto shelves, in order.
A crew of workers called “pages” takes three to four-hour shifts getting the shelves stocked and ready. While the books may come pre-labelled, they aren’t necessarily shipped in order, so the pages must first locate its home before they can stock the individual book.
All that work certainly ensures perfect order to the layout when they first welcome the public, but Hegerat says a little disorder down the road isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“We know they won’t stay perfectly in order and that’s actually a good thing, as far as we’re concerned,” she says. “We want (the books) moving and we want them used, that’s what we’re here for.”
Just don’t tell the pages.
Besides, there are some pretty high-tech ways to keep things in semi-order at a library these days, all of which are quite an upgrade to the little envelope holding the borrower’s list on the cue card many will remember from childhood. Each book has a hand-planted RFID — radio frequency identification — tag that keeps tabs on it.
The RFID has all the standard information a library would need but it also knows exactly where that book belongs, so a librarian can run a scanner along the shelves and know exactly what is missing or out of place, without ever touching a book.
The extra technology takes some of the monotony out of the job and, Hegerat says, can prevent stress-related injury, which can be common in their line of work.
The entire building has also been LEED certified, which stands for leadership and excellence in environmental design. There are different levels of LEED, but Crossings branch has been certified LEED Silver, which stems from all sorts of criteria, from where the building site is to its access of public transit to the quantity of walking paths to environmentally friendly heating and waste systems.
On Aug. 30, when Crossings branch first opens its doors, some refreshments will be available for those coming to check things out but the big day the new library is planning for happens a short time later. On Sept. 17, the entire complex will host its grand opening celebration, where city dignitaries will speak and an official ribbon cutting will take place.
“I am optimistic there will also be cake,” laughs Hegerat. “You gotta have cake to bring people in.”

Following the death of a Medicine Hat toddler, few parents are raising concerns, a day-home co-ordinator says

Scott Schmidt
For the Sun Times
When 18-month-old Mercedes Pepper died of blunt-force head trauma while in the care of a day-home operator July 20, concerns arose regarding how these child-care facilities are operated.
As with any system relying on one organization monitoring another — day homes report to agencies, which report to the province — blame was dished out to multiple sources and public inquiries began from the top down.
Erin Jackman, 24, who operated the day home for two years, has been charged in the death of the toddler who was five months shy of her second birthday. Jackman made her first court appearance in connection with the death of Mercedes, who was airlifted to Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary with a head injury. The toddler died two days later. Jackman has been charged with manslaughter and failure to provide the necessities of life.
Children and Youth Services Minister Yvonne Fritz has launched an investigation of the day home, and has pledged to make the results public.
The case has not stopped concerned parents from raising questions about their child’s safety.