January
Chestermerian represents Canada in Miss International Coffee competition
Chestermere resident, Alysha Ortiz was excited for the opportunity to compete in the Reina Del Café or the Miss International Coffee competition in Colombia.
Ortiz first began participating in beauty pageants in 2011, where she won Miss Teen Calgary, and 2012 where she won Miss Alberta, before taking a break.
Ortiz was inspired to begin competing again after listening to her palliative care patients talk about regretting things they never tried in their lives.
“With the patients themselves, one common thing was trying whatever it is you have to do because, at the end of the day, when you’re in a position like they are, you’re going to look back and regret it,” Ortiz said.
To compete in the Reina Del Café pageant, Ortiz was required to create a coffee recipe featuring a Canadian ingredient, that can be found in Colombia.
“Last year, Canada won the coffee tasting of the competition. This year I have to try and come up with a new ingredient that I can mix with coffee and hopefully it will also make us win,” Ortiz said.
Adding, “I want to engross myself in the culture, I’ve heard such great things about the pageant itself, and learn more about coffee.”
City invests $190,000 in local partners
The City of Chestermere invested in local partners by distributing $190,0000 in grants to social service programs.
“We are excited to continue building amazing partnerships with our local agencies who provide the essential social supports for individual families and communities that need them,” said the Manager of Community Support Services for the City of Chestermere Danielle Fermin.
The funding was awarded through the City’s Human Service Advisory Board (HSAB) and 11 applications were received, requesting a total of $428,517.60.
“Awarding these grants represents a huge investment in our community and our valued partners,” Fermin said.
The HSAB presented grant cheques of $50,000 from the United Way Funding to Camp Chestermere, Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta, and Synergy with Accredited Supports to the Community.
$140,000 of the Chestermere Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Funding was presented to the Calgary Rural Primary Care Network, Camp Chestermere, Chestermere Food Bank, Prairie Waters Elementary, and Synergy.
February
Local student receives $5,000 scholarship
Chestermerian, Navdip Gill received the $5,000 Horatio Alger Canadian Scholarship.
“I have worked really hard to maintain an academic status throughout high school,” Gill said.
The Horatio Alger Canadian Scholarship focuses on students who have overcome challenges in their life, while focusing on students who are involved in their community.
Community involvement has been a high priority for Gill since she was in elementary school, helping teachers with bulletin boards, or starting a recycling committee with her friends.
As Gill got older, she began to volunteer in community events, such as Langdon Days, Christmas markets, and the Youth Encouraging Lasting Leadership (YELL) Youth Council.
Gill planned to use the Horatio Alger Canadian Scholarship at the University of Calgary for Biomedical Science, or the University of Alberta for Physiology.
“I’m hoping to go into medicine after my undergrad. Both of these programs are Science, Technology, Engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related,” Gill said.
Adding, “Research is one of those things that makes me, me. Everybody has their thing. This is just my thing,” Gill said.
Community rallied to support Chestermere Kraft Hockeyville 2020
Chestermere hockey lovers rallied together in support of the Chestermere Regional Community Association (CRCA) for Kraft Hockeyville 2020.
“It’s so amazing to see the stands filled. It’s Friday night. It’s hockey night in Chestermere,” said CRCA General Manager Jody Nouwen.
Following the rally, the Chestermere Lakers played against Strathmore.
“To see everybody not only come out to the rally but to stay and support their local team, those kids probably felt like rock stars out there,” she said.
Adding, “The music, the lights, and the hype was to show its something extra special, and hockey is really special in Chestermere.”
Chestermere celebrates Black History and Culture
The City of Chestermere held the first annual Celebrating Black History and Culture in Chestermere event.
Throughout the evening, over 70 Chestermere residents had a potluck dinner, while enjoying a spoken word and song performance, and dance performances.
“I love the idea that people can come together. Then we’re also starting to build communication, and build love,” said the city’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategist Joanne Kinya Baker.
“It’s a utopic thing, but the more of these types of connections that we have between racialized and non-racialized people, the better it’s going to be. We’re creating solutions because, through education, people start to change,” she said.
After receiving positive feedback, Kinya Baker is hopeful the Black History and Culture Celebration will become an annual event.
“The people who came said they had an amazing time, and they would love to participate and help organize future events. There is definitely community interest,” Kinya Baker said.
March
Chestermere athlete wins silver at Alberta Winter Games
Local hockey player, Hannah Deck was proud to bring home a silver from the 2020 Alberta Winter Games.
“I think I played really well, better games than I’ve ever played. I really brought my best to this tournament, and I’m walking away happy,” Deck said.
Although playing a total of five games throughout the tournament, while still playing in her regular hockey season was challenging, being able to represent Chestermere was a great experience, while creating lasting memories with her teammates.
“My highlights on the ice were the goal scoring, the team bonding that happened on and off the ice, and the people in the crowd being really supportive,” Deck said.
City prepares COVID-19 local response
The City of Chestermere staffers received daily updates from Alberta Health Services (AHS), on COVID-19, to prepare accordingly.
In addition to following AHS updates, the city started to review community crisis plans, business continuity plan, safety plans, and emergency supplies.
“We continue to receive updates from AHS and are confident in the preparations that they, and we as a municipality, are taking to prepare for a larger outbreak in our community,” said Mayor Marshall Chalmers.
Adding, “We are in the process of preplanning for a Chestermere response to our own local situation. That includes reviewing our community crisis plans, our business continuity plan, our safety checks, and our emergency supplies.”
Chestermere declares state of local emergency
The City of Chestermere declared a state of local emergency and began to pursue additional measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We take this situation extremely seriously, and this declaration means that in partnership with you, our citizens and local businesses, we can protect our community,” said Mayor Marshall Chalmers.
“This state of local emergency gives our Emergency Management Agency the powers needed to make the decisions required to protect Chestermere,” he said.
Under the state of local emergency, businesses had to reduce occupancy to 50 per cent or less of the maximum occupancy limit, businesses were required to have hand sanitizer stations, and residents were advised to limit social gatherings in homes.
April
All non-essential businesses ordered to close
As the number of positive COVID-19 cases increased to 15, the Director of Emergency Management, Bernie Morton announced the closure of all non-essential businesses to prevent the spread.
“We are nowhere close to seeing the end of this pandemic, but we can control the spread
together as a community, we can do this,” Morton said.
Businesses that were permitted to remain in operation in Chestermere during the state of local emergency had to follow strict protocols, such as having hand sanitizing stations available to patrons when entering the premises, practice physical distancing, refuse entry to anyone displaying symptoms of illness, and sanitizing and disinfecting all keypads, payment terminals, automated teller machines, and automatic transaction machines after each use.
The Love with Humanity Association delivers food hampers to individuals self-isolating
Help on Wheels provided Calgary and area residents in self-isolation due to COVID-19 with food hampers right to their doorstep.
“People who cannot go anywhere, they need somebody’s help, and they need food. This is the time to help,” said the Founder of the Love with Humanity Association and Help on Wheels, Syed Hassan.
The food hampers were arranged by donations made by the Love with Humanity Association team and family members.
Each food hamper included flowers and a get well soon card.
“This is a time to show our love and to help people in a difficult time. People suffering from the pandemic situation, they need support,” Hassan said.
May
Chestermere began local relaunch
Chestermere began the first phase of the local relaunch strategy as businesses began to reopen.
Under stage one of Chestermere’s relaunch strategy retail businesses, hair salons, barber shops, museums, art galleries, daycares, out of school care, and day camps reopened with limited occupancy.
Cafés, restaurants, pubs, and bars were permitted to open for table service at 50 per cent capacity.
Sanitization, gathering, self-isolation, and hygiene requirements all remained in place under stage one.
“We’ve worked with many businesses and the Chestermere Chamber of Commerce over the past weeks as the reopening activities commence. It’s crucial to remember that the virus has not been eradicated, and reopening is not an innovation to throw caution to the wind, and it doesn’t mean that everything is really back to how it used to be,” said the Director of Emergency Management, Bernie Morton.
Local photographer raised over $2,000 for Chestermere Food Bank
Michelle Wilsonsupported the Chestermere Food Bank by taking Chestermerians family photos on their front porches.
“To be able to get out and see other people and talk and laugh about nothing, with no pressure, no expectations of having to talk about what’s going on, it helps make it fun,” Wilson said.
Adding, “It’s been great getting to meet so many different people in the community and the stories that they have shared with me.”
Originally, Wilson began taking photos of her family and friends on their front porches, and soon after friends of friends began to reach out to her.
“People want to remember it was a good time too, even though it’s been scary, they want to remember that they got to spend time with their family,” she added. “I hope that the photos that I give them will help them with that.”
Chestermere shows support for essential workers with nightly cheer
Chestermere residents were encouraged to cheer for essential workers from their homes for one minute.
“We did have fun, there were a lot of laughs, there were a lot of great cheers, a lot of families out on the front launch banging pots and pans and ringing bells, it was really neat,” Karen McKee said.
She added, “I want to thank the community, and to those who participated in making their noise. Thank you to our front-line workers who are keeping our world stocked, filled, serviced, and cared for while the rest of us shelter in place.”
June
Chestermere Agricultural Society purchases bucking chutes
The Chestermere Agricultural Society was excited for the opportunity to purchase six bucking chutes from Lakeland College.
“The plan is we’re going to bring some western heritage back to Chestermere and have some fun with them, and add to the fall fair,” Dan Richard said.
“It’s going to translate into a lot of fun,” he said.
The ultimate goal of purchasing the bucking chutes is to continue organizing events such as mutton busting, while adding new events to the Country Fall Fair, including bull riding.
“Bringing the chutes in is an investment in the community, it’s an investment in our Western heritage, and it will bring the community together,” Richard said.
“It’s going to give residents another event to enjoy. We can do a lot of things with this. It’s going to bring some flair to the country fair, some excitement, it should be a lot of fun,” he said.
Chestermere lifts public health orders
The Chestermere Emergency Management Agency (CHEMA) rescinded the current public health orders in response to COVID-19.
Mayor Marshall Chalmers also lifted the Chestermere State of Local Emergency.
“We are encouraged by the success of our first stage of the re-launch strategy, and the fact that the province will be ending their State of Public Health Emergency,” Chalmers said.
The Emergency Command Centre (ECC) continued to operate as an advisory resource that would assist local organizations and businesses with reopening strategies.
Chestermere celebrates Pride month with Pride Rocks
Colourful painted rocks symbolizing pride and diversity could be found around Chestermere in celebration of pride month.
“It was inspired by the fact that we had to think outside of the box this year,” Chestermere Pride Committee Member, Natasha Goddard.
“It was something that I had been thinking about doing last year after we did our pride events that the kids could do and be involved,” she said.
Chestermere Pride Committee members, local youth, and friends painted rocks, adding #Chestermerepriderocks on the ones large enough, and hid them around the community for residents to find.
“We’ve also had feedback from friends and members in the community who are finding them and adding their own, and we’ve had neighbours who have added their own onto their front yard,” Goddard said.
July
The Multicultural Youth Society of Chestermere celebrates Canada Day with fire ceremony
The Multicultural Youth Society of Chestermere and the Hindu Society of North America celebrated Canada Day with a fire ceremony.
Approximately 25 Chestermere residents who attended the Canada Day celebration, while 100 others viewed the celebration on Facebook Live.
“It’s a fire ceremony for the well-being of the city, we are asking God and goddesses to bless our city, bless our country, bless the whole world at large, and everyone living with good energy. “The fire ceremony was a huge success, and created an energized and enjoyable atmosphere,” Event Organizer Satish Lal said.
Adding, “It’s very important that we celebrate Canada Day. People in isolation, they want to see things like this, and with us being part of the mental awareness, and the mental health of people we wanted to do this ritual, so people are sitting at home, but we are still joined together.”
City implements measures to ensure beach users safety
To address issues of overcrowding on beaches, City Council issued an order to have public beaches and recreational areas near the water to be fenced, with an occupancy limit.
“In order to protect our residents and our beachgoers, really what we need is to limit the capacity at the beaches,” said the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Bernie Morton.
The order supported a limited capacity of individuals at local beaches, which supported the provincial health orders of maintaining a physical distance of two meters.
August
Rotary Club of Chestermere donates $2,000 to the Backpack Program
The Rotary Club of Chestermere’s $2,000 Backpack Program donation was used to purchase gift cards that were given to families to purchase school supplies for their children.
“The gift cards are being handed to the kids who are not receiving supplies from the schools already. Our focus is to help the kids who are not getting any help whatsoever,” said City of Chestermere Community Resource Worker Paulette Tippe.
In past years, the Rotary Club of Chestermere donated $500 to the Backpack Program, however, they were able to increase the donation amount as other initiatives were cancelled.
“The need was greater, and the donations were down, and we saw a way where we could help,” Karen McKee said.
September
Lake Ridge Rocket Derby bringing community together
The Lake Ridge Community Church rocket derby brought families together of an afternoon launching rockets into the sky.
“We value community, we value being together, we value families and kids and we just thought what a fun thing for us to do,” said Lake Ridge Community Church Pastor, Dr. Preston Pouteaux.
“It was so fun to see the kids so excited about their rockets and excited to see it happening. It was a total success, it was exactly what we wanted to do, to have a fun day that was still safe for people to enjoy and experience in our city,” said Lake Ridge Community Church Ministry Support Leader, Tara Linsley.
Chestermere Community Garden continues to flourish
Chestermere resident and avid gardener, Devonna Nagy offered her property to be used as one of the Community Garden sites nine years ago.
“It was a long time getting going. Folks came and helped plow and prepare the land. The main thing is keeping the plot clean. We’ll have it rototilled but you have to go in there and rake, you just have to get going,” Nagy said.
This year, the Community Garden had 18 gardeners who tended and cared for their own plots.
“People in the community love the garden. People look forward to coming here,” Nagy said.
“They just love it, we all love it, we have a purpose, what are you going to do? Sit here all day? You need a purpose. It’s so good for all of us,” she said.
October
Chestermere Minor Hockey encourages female athletes to continue playing hockey through All-Girls Development Day
Over 30 female athletes from four years of age to 15, practiced their hockey skills with coaches from the SDR Academy
“What we noticed as an association, is as the girls in our association get older, they either leave the association to play on all girl’s teams, or they end up quitting hockey,” said the Development Director for Chestermere Minor Hockey, Jason MacNeil.
MacNeil received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from athletes and their parents.
“There were a lot of very excited girls coming off the ice. They are usually happy coming from the rink, but it was just another level of excitement,” MacNeil said.
Ava Revoal has been playing hockey in Chestermere for four years and enjoyed the opportunity to meet new coaches, and new athletes while learning new skills.
“I always play with boys and have boy coaches, and I thought it was really cool that there were some girls who played ringette and hockey, and girl coaches,” Revoal said.
Dr. Giggles House of Pain Halloween scene collected over 400 lbs for Chestermere Food Bank
Over 400 residents attended the Dr. Giggles House of Pain Halloween scene in support of the Chestermere Food Bank.
“Everybody really loved it. Of course, there wasn’t as much opportunity for jump scares, we did scare some people. Certainly, I was scary enough to terrify all the kids,” Mike Koroll said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Koroll was unable to build the regular haunted house, however, he focused on building a Halloween scene that residents could enjoy while socially distancing and following COVID-19 guidelines.
“There was a lot of positive feedback, it was really well received, which I was happy about. I put a lot of work into it, it was important that people liked it, and saw the value in it,” Koroll said.
Chestermere musician wins YYC Music Award Single of the Year
Colton O’Reilly, and his band I Am The Mountain received the YYC Music Award for Single of the Year for “Denigrate.”
“We were all shocked at first, we couldn’t believe it. When the song started getting recognized for all the hard work that we did, that was pretty cool,” O’Reilly said.
For O’Reilly, “Denigrate” is about not putting yourself or others down.
“As artists, that can happen a lot, you’re too hard on yourself, you don’t think it’s good enough. It was that reminder to myself and others to be proud of your work and keep creating if you can,” O’Reilly said.
“Denigrate” took much longer to complete than the band had originally thought, as the final product took roughly a year from tracking, making demos, and sending it to be mixed and mastered.
“That song was our test subject. We worked really hard on it. It took a long time, but when everything was done, we sat back and listened to it, and we were really proud of it,” O’Reilly said.
November
Civic Centre complex to be built in Dawson’s Landing
City council selected Dawson’s Landing as the preferred site for a future civic centre complex.
An indoor fieldhouse, library, and city hall are projected to be built in the first phase of the civic centre complex project, followed by arenas, and aquatic area.
“Through several workshops, we developed benefits of the site, Dawson’s Landing had a lot of strengths, the biggest negative aspect was visibility and access off of Chestermere Blvd,” said Gibbs Gage Architects partner David Wittman.
“The site had a lot of strengths, it supported commercial development already happening in Chestermere, and the road networks and components are already going in,” he said.
December
City Councillor receives the 2020 Community Justice Award
City Councillor, Ritesh Narayan received the 2020 Community Justice Award given by the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General for his Leadership, and crime prevention initiatives.
“Now that I’m in a position of leadership being a councillor, I can use that position in so many ways. I’m using this position as a platform to advocate for justice, to help people understand diversity and inclusion, and also to advocate for good practices and policies in crime prevention,” Narayan said.
Narayan introduced Chestermere’s anti-bullying bylaw, he organizes free research to help organizations save money and address crime while co-founding the Canadian Association of Criminology and Legal Studies, and the not-for-profit organization designed to address discrimination and promote diversity and inclusion, Coffee & Culture.
Narayan is also part of the City of Calgary’s Public Safety Task Force on Guns and Gangs, and Chestermere’s Police Communication Link since 2017.
“It makes me want to work harder. I’ve been acknowledged for my leadership, people are watching, and I’ve set the bar for myself even higher to continue doing the good work and continue coming up with different initiatives for a safer community,” Narayan said.
Narayan plans to continue his work of introducing policies that are based on evidence to ensure crime prevention.
Chestermere family cooks Christmas dinners for local families
Cristal Kawula and her family were inspired to cook Christmas dinners for Chestermere, Strathmore and Langdon families after reading stories on social media of people unsure how they were going to feed their families on Christmas.
Kawula posted the meal initiative on Facebook for Chestermere, Strathmore, and Langdon residents, with the intention of cooking five meals one weekend, and possibly 10 more the following weekend.
“We managed to not only do the 15 we had hoped, but actually cooked 27 turkeys, fed 24 families, more than 30 seniors, as well as handed out three other meals in the form of groceries for families with severe allergies to cooking on their own,” Kawula said.
For Kawula and her family, helping others in the community was extremely important as they have always had an open-door policy, and invited people who did not have plans to join them for the holidays.
“This year, that was not possible. So, we came up with another way to share a holiday meal,” Kawula said.
Following the meal initiative, Kawula and her family received thank-you cards, text messages, and phone calls to thank them.
“We didn’t do it for the thanks, but I have to admit, they were wonderful. Especially seeing my kid’s faces when we would read them out,” Kawula said.
