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t was a quiet gesture, done without fanfare or an accompanying press release or likely even a lot of advance notice. But it is one of the most significant things the City of St. Albert has done in a long time. On Friday, as athletes from around the world were flying their flags at the Yp >c\ee :ffb opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, another flag began flying over St. Albert Place: a rainbow flag, signifying St. Albert’s solidarity with other Canadian municipalities in recognizing the rights of the LGBT community and condemning the abuses and discrimination that homosexuals are subjected to in Russia. It’s a rare public statement by a normally staid civic government, but a welcome one on an issue that deserves more attention than it gets. Some would rather go farther, though; there were suggestions of boycotting the Games over LGBT rights in Russia, and around the world for that matter. But, as pointed out in a brilliant blog entry by Kathy Benjamin on Cracked.com Saturday, Olympic boycotts don’t work. There has barely been an Olympic Games without a boycott. The most famous were the boycotts of the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow and the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and neither of those helped either side win the Cold War. Isn’t it better to go over to Russia and beat them at their own Games? Isn’t it better for athletes to show up, dominate the oppressors and use that gigantic stage to further their cause? As Benjamin also wrote, if the U.S. had boycotted the 1936 Games in Berlin, Germany, we would never have seen African-American sprinter Jesse Owens win four gold medals, quite literally right under Adolf Hitler’s nose. In the end, flying an LGBT pride flag over St. Albert Place for the duration of the Sochi Olympics may be more symbolic than anything — it’s not as though Vladimir Putin’s mind will be changed by that one simple act — but it is a powerful symbol nonetheless, one of tolerance, respect and Canadian values. It’s something that can make residents truly proud of the city we live in.
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hen one is in a time of crisis, who do we call for help? We call our police officers, EMS personnel and our firefighters. Speaking on behalf of the members of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2130, when we are called to action, we only know one action, and that is to respond. The emergency personnel of St. Albert Fire Services take enormous pride in serving the citizens of our community. In return, we acknowledge the appreciation and gratitude from our citizens when we respond. February is quickly becoming the month of the St. Albert firefighter. This is and has quickly become a very active month for our members as we are given
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>I<J@B @8== CfZXc )'(* gi\j`[\ek Dp :`kp the opportunity to show the citizens of St. Albert just how grateful we are, and to say thanks to being part of our community. This is our chance to give back. Whether it be serving tables or camping on a fire hall rooftop to raise money and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy in frigid temperatures, our members respond to the call of duty and give back. When we were called upon to organize the City’s Family Day Festival — which runs from noon to 4 p.m. Monday at Lacombe Lake Park — we respond to
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the call of duty and give back. This is our month to say thanks to you and give back. In doing so, we hope that you come out to one of our events and say hello. We feel that, in order for St. Albert to remain a family-oriented community, the public needs to know and trust the ones that are called upon to keep the community safe. We are a highly trained group of professionals who are exceptionally proud to serve with our skill sets in the time of need and crisis. Our community has time and time again given us the opportunity to do so, and we are so incredibly thankful to be given the chance to serve. We live here, raise our families here, and invest our time here. When things happen in our community,
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they affect us all. We will continually do our part and respond to the best of our abilities and allow the citizens of St. Albert to feel safe knowing that when crisis does happen, it is us, the members of Local 2130, who will respond and help as we always do to keep our community safe. Thank you, citizens, for your ongoing support and trust in our members. Fne\[ Xe[ fg\iXk\[ Yp
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