The Community
Press Your LOCAL Paper! Yo
Volume 113, Issue 31
It’s Over
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
$1 Including GST
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ‘PRESS
KILLAM RECREATION PHOTO
Killam Memorial Arena, Hardisty Gibson Energy Centre, and Sedgewick Wild Rose Co-op Rec. Centre announced their ice will be going out last week.
Provincial announcement offers little hope for return to hockey Leslie Cholowsky Editor Local minor hockey associations and arena operators were looking to the Province last week for some relief on when restrictions on hockey would be eased. That announcement came at the end of last week, and was the last straw for arena operators within the Flagstaff Community. Flagstaff Recreation announced late Friday, Jan. 29, that “the very hard decision has been made to remove our ice for this season.” That call came on the heels of a decision by Sedgewick, on Tuesday, Jan 26, to remove the ice
Alberta Paramedic Association lobbying for changes to core-flex shift model for rural EMS - P10 Killam RCMP report a rash of vehicle thefts and break ins - P16
at the Sedgewick Wild Rose Co-op Rec. Centre. Sedgewick Rec. Board Chair Greg Sparrow said, “It was a financial decision for us. We were hoping to do whatever we could to keep it going, but were just unable to do that.” Sparrow says the arena operations started the 2020-21 season behind, after a shutdown due to roof concerns in 20192020, then an early end to hockey this spring. “Then this year we have hardly used the ice at all. It’s costing us in the range of $15,000 per month to keep the ice plant running and the arena ready to go.” He says that if Hockey Alberta decided to extend
the season to make up for lost time, that cost would rise even further. “We want to be able to open up next season. We’re looking forward to a fresh start in September.” Hardisty followed suit on Sunday, Jan. 31, with an announcement that the ice making plant at Gibson Energy Centre would shut down for the rest of the season. Daysland Arena Board Chair Kevin Davis says no decision has been made on whether or not to keep the ice in there. Davis says that even after organized hockey was shut down, that facility was able to keep fairly busy with private rentals to individual families,
with interest coming from both in and outside the community. He says they will meet towards the end of this week to discuss the issue further. Forestburg Arena Board will hold a meeting this week to discuss the future of their ice. The East Central Senior Hockey League cancelled the remainder of their season in an announcement Jan. 10, which includes the Forestburg Flyers, Sedgewick Sabres, and Hughenden Jets. Battle River Knights Minor Hockey President Eilish Morrison said that their organization has sent out partial refunds to players and families, but as of last week, still had hopes of restrictions lift-
ing on practice and play going forward. “We were holding out hope the whole time as Hockey Alberta was in talks with us. “Obviously that got changed a lot. So since it was delayed so much we were able to give half back for now.” Northern Alberta Interlock League suspended all play after the November lockdown by the province, and has not updated their website since that time. Hockey Alberta announced late Tuesday that it has concluded regular league play for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, in conjunction with the leagues that oversee tiered, AAA, and AA hockey.
AND MUCH MORE!
of some restrictions, including in-person dining in local restaurants, cafes, and pubs. Indoor and outdoor children’s sports and performances will also be allowed, on a school-related basis only. Indoor personal fitness will be allowed on a one-on-one basis, by appointment only. No sports games, competitions, team practice, league play or group exercise of any kind will be allowed under Step 1. Indoor social gathering will also still be banned. Dr. Deena Hinshaw,
Chief Medical Officer for the province, explained more fully on Monday, Feb. 1, that even if hospitalization numbers decrease rapidly, the timing of the steps won’t. Hinshaw explained that COVID-19 statistics have leading indicators, which are daily case numbers and positivity rate, and lagging indicators, hospitalizations, and ICU use. She explained Monday that while the lagging indicators are being used to determine each step of easing restrictions, it’s important to maintain a
three-week period between steps, to allow for analysis of the leading indicators as a result of each step forward. The next benchmark will be when hospitalizations go down to 450, which would then potentially ease some existing restrictions on retail stores, and open up community halls, hotels, banquet halls, and conference centres, with a further easing related to Step 1. Steps 3 and 4 will come at 300 and 140 hospitalizations respectively, and will see, in Step 3, finally
allowing indoor social gatherings with restrictions, and will include easing restrictions on places of worship, adult team sports, museums, art galleries, zoos, and interpretive centres, movie theatres, casinos, libraries, and easing restrictions for activities and centres opened up under Step 1 and 2. Step 4 will see play centres reopen, allow performance activities, outdoor sporting evens, wedding ceremonies and receptions, funeral receptions, amusement parks,
indoor concerts and sporting events, festivals, day and overnight camps, and will life the workfrom-home measures, as well as further easing of restrictions in earlier steps. As previously indicated, steps will be taken three weeks apart to assess case impacts, with the lowest-risk activities in each sector considered for change first. The Province is now tracking 57 cases of the new COVID variants; in particular the variants See RESTRICTIONS P7
Thin ice warnings issued after multiple accidents on the weekend - P10 Family Day 2021 looking a lot different - P16 Visitor to Flagstaff Regional Airport receives special treatment from local aviators - P8 New provincial funding for rodeos and performing arts - P13
Alberta announces easing of COVID-19 restrictions
Leslie Cholowsky Editor
The Province has announced a new four-step approach to easing the current pandemic restrictions for Albertans, starting on Monday, Feb. 8. Step 1 is defined by the Province having no more than 600 people in hospital for COVID-19 and declining. Since we’ve reached that benchmark, barring unforeseen circumstances, the first step should be implemented as planned. This will mean easing