edmonton - a living history - february 2006
it will be a nice town once they finish building it
Selected recent events in Edmonton's modern history.
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Chris Cassidy - narrowly missed his LRT train |Klondike DaysCapital Ex
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Chris Cassidy - narrowly missed his LRT train >permalink<
Quick thinking and even quicker reflexes saved an Edmonton Transit rider from likely death.
On February 8th, 2006, while standing at the edge of the platform of the Light Rail Transit Churchill Station, Chris Cassidy felt two hands on his back pushing him forward. In a split-second decision, Cassidy used the momentum of the shove to leap across the tracks and hug the east wall of the station as a northbound LRT train rushed by.
Witnesses say had Cassidy not jumped he would have met an almost-certain death. As it was, the train just clipped Cassidy's ankle as he stayed on a ledge in the two-foot gap between the wall and the train.
A review of LRT security video showed a man, an apparent total stranger, moving closer to Cassidy and timing his movements with the approaching train.
Witnesses to the incident were initially too stunned to react. The suspect calmly turned and was on an escalator before someone yelled: "grab that guy!" When the train finally stopped, Cassidy jumped over the coupler between two cars and ran up the escalator where witnesses were holding the suspect. A citizen's arrest was made and LRT security soon arrived followed by the police. Police went through the man's pockets and found a note that raised questions about the man's mental health.
Police charged Keith Reginald Fairfax, 40, with attempted murder and aggravated assault. When Fairfax appeared in provincial court he started rambling about how he was under surveillance by George Bush and Saddam Hussein.
A provincial court judge ordered Fairfax to undergo a 30-day psychiatric examination at Alberta Hospital. After an appearance in court March 9th, 2006 Fairfax was ordered held for a further 30 days. His next court appearance is set for April 7th.
The incident was the second in just over five years where a rider was pushed onto LRT tracks by a stranger. On November 5th, 2000 Lisa Albrecht, a pregnant 22-year-old woman, was pushed from the platform at University station in front of an oncoming train. Albrecht escaped serious injury by crouching and rolling between the two sets of tracks. The front of the lead car stopped about 15 centimetres short of her head.
Gordon Bernard Merrick, 38, later claimed in court he pushed Albrecht because God had told him to. A judge found him not guilty of attempted murder by reason of mental disorder. He had claimed he was acting "on the command of the god."
Cassidy says Edmonton Transit needs to do more to beef up security and would feel more comfortable if there were security officers posted at every station. An ETS spokesman said the system is in the process of beefing up security. In January, 2006 the City of Edmonton asked the Solictor General of Alberta to grant transit security officers special constable status, allowing them to carry a prohibited weapon, mostly likely pepper spray, as well as a collapsible baton. Edmonton Transit already has safety features in LRT stations, including 24-hour video cameras and emergency phones.
Klondike Days Capital Ex - part one >permalink<
On better days, they would have called this a one-two punch.
But the Groundhog Day unveiling of the new identity of Edmonton's annual summer exhibition did little to relieve the chill of a media leak that occurred a few days earlier.
Word had gotten out that Edmonton Northlands had come up with a new name and direction for the summer fair, something called Capital X. Or was it Capital EX for Generation X or Capital Y for why? Would the dress code be basic Goth black?
Those inside the loop suggested in advance that Capital EX would be "themeless," and that it would be a festival about ... a festival. Words like "minimalism" were tossed about. Even the usually quotable Mayor Stephen Mandel backed off when was asked of his opinion, leaving it up to Northlands to explain the concept.
"I'm not sure and I won't verify one way or the other that 'Capital EX' is right or wrong, whether it's accurate or not accurate, that when you'll come there that you'll see something that will be surprising to you and some way different than what everybody thinks it's going to be," the usually lucid mayor responded.
Mandel was initially disappointed the name didn't have the word Edmonton in the name, referring to his initiative to raise the city's profile.
But leave it to the verbose and veteran councillor Ron Hayter to state the obvious.
"You know what's going to happen? People are going to start comparing it to some laxative," reflected the reliably irascible Ron.
The Edmonton Agricultural Society organised the first local exhibition on the original Fort Edmonton site on October 15th, 1879. In its first year it drew 500 people. In 1962 the fair was branded Klondike Days, referring to the capital city's oft-contested connection to the Yukon Gold Rush of 1898.
Exhibition organisers long maintained that Edmonton was the supply depot and jumping off point for the late-nineteenth century fortune seekers. In 2003, the economic impact of Klondike Days was estimated to be $54 million. A complete history of the fair can be found at the Northlands site.
Interest in the Klondike Days theme had declined to the point of non-existence over the decades. During the 1960s, the majority of downtown storefronts were converted to 19th-century appearance with citizens in the tens of thousands decking themselves out in Victorian finery. For the last ten years, Klondike Days became a hollow and increasingly obscure reference.
It looks like Northlands has a tough task ahead of them to sell the Capital EX concept -- whatever it is. As operators of the Agricom, the Spectrum, Sportex and Rexall Place, it organises such major events as Farmfair and the Canadian Finals Rodeo. As owner of Edmonton's major summer festival, Northlands alone controls the fate and fame of the summer fair.
Klondike Days Capital Ex - part two >permalink<
Klondike Days is dead. Long live Edmonton's Capital EX.
With a lot of the name-unveiling thunder already stolen, Edmonton Northlands did its best to wow Edmontonians with its plans.
Trying to be more than just a generic fair and showcase, Northlands announced the construction of new venues (to be completed in 2007) that will add to the 'programming' element of the exhibition. The new name's tagline is: Where excitement is going.
A new 9,000-seat licensed music facility will host Ed Fest -- a rock music event with several band acts performing each night throughout the fair's 10 days. A separate ticket in addition to general admission will be required for the shows held in a new venue near the southeast corner of the grounds.
In addition, something called Northwest Originals will feature Western Canadian talent, art and collectibles in the Sportex (soon to be torn down). Filling the Agricom will be Global Connections, an international market featuring exhibits, shopping, food and entertainment.
An 18-month process involving focus groups determined that including 'Edmonton' in the new name was too exclusive and 'Alberta' was a little far-reaching, so Capital EX was the middle ground chosen.
The name "Klondike Days" belongs to Northlands but there are other stakeholders such the Edmonton Klondike Days Association, a separate entity from Northlands. It oversees the Klondike Tea, the Klondike Pancake Breakfasts, the Fun Tub Derby, and is also responsible for Klondike Kate. The K-Days Association is mulling over their future.
In the same position are other events held with Klondike themes, such as the Sourdough Raft Race and the King of the Klondike competition that features log burling, axe-throwing and tree chopping. Both organisations intend to stick with the Klondike theme but wonder why they were not consulted.
But the central feature of the exhibition remains: the midway. And since North American Midway Entertainment (formerly Conklin Shows) is the only midway that plays the western Canadian fair circuit, there's not much Northlands can do about the selection of rides or culinary choice (those little donuts can be counted on to still be there).
Has Klondike Kate sung her last song? Will Edmontonians come to embrace Capital EX? Whatever the name or theme, summer in the City of Champions (ooops - that's under scrutiny too) will always mean long days and long nights -- at the EXhibition, Capital or otherwise.
Related Pages
- deadmonton
The murdered and the missing in the metro area. - edmonton history and museums
The Last Link guide to local history. - final credits
Reflecting lives that have contributed to Edmonton and area culture. - it's our heritage
The Last Link guide to Lawrence Herzog's articles as published in Real Estate Weekly.