Volume 46 Issue 5| June 2019
Aspen News
Making the neighborhood you want to live in!
Upcoming Community Events
  • Community Garage Sale - Saturday June 8th
  • Kick it to the Curb Sunday - Sunday June 9th
  • AGCL Garbage Bin Sunday - Sunday June 9th
  • Summer Kick Off Party - Thursday June 20
Community Garage Sales
garage_sale_home.jpg
When: Saturday June 8th
Where: Your home!

On Saturday June 8th, feel free to join the community in participating in your own garage sale. Holding garage sales on one date within the community helps to attract attention and improves sales. Each community member is responsible for planning and holding their own garage sale, on their own property. AGCL will help advertise garage sales this weekend by posting signs signaling garage sales within the community.
Kick it to the Curb

When: morning of Sunday June 9th
Where: end of your driveway/property

Have any leftover garage sale goods that you just want to get rid of for free? Place any unwanted items at the end of your driveway or yard, signalling to others that these items are free for the taking.

AGCL Garbage Bin Event
When: Sunday June 9th
Time: 12-3pm
Where: AGCL Hall parking lot

Have any household refuse that you need to get rid of? Feel free to bring it to our community sponsored big bin event. This is intended for items that are too large for you to place out on garage collection day such as yard waste, furniture, metal, wood. Hazardous items are not accepted. You MUST present a current AGCL membership.

Please note this bin goes DIRECTLY to the garbage dump, so not all items are accepted, as we do not sort any material for recycling.

Items that are NOT accepted are : Paints and paint related products, any hazardous waste, electrical items, small or large household appliances. If the item can be recycled, it will not be accepted at AGCLs big bin event.

* This event is NOT the Big Bin Event, which is a City of Edmonton run event. It is a AGCL community supported event.
Summer Kick Off Party
When: Thursday June 20th
Time: 5pm
Where: AGCL Hall

Food & drink tickets for sale at the event, Be sure to bring cash.

Don’t cook dinner! Our annual summer festival this year will be June 20 at the Community Hall starting at 6 pm. This is always a fun event, so please come out and join us in welcoming back the warm weather! We will have:

  • Bouncy castles
  • Meat Street Pies food truck
  • Party Bus courtesy of Greentree Landscaping
  • Beer Gardens
  • Bubble Sports
  • and more!
Community Programs
summer-toys.jpg
COMMUNITY SWIM
Continues at Confederation Pool (11204 43 Ave). Saturday and Sundays from 4-5:30 pm. You MUST bring your current AGCL membership card.

Please note that the last date of community swim at Confederation Pool will be Saturday, June 1st, as the pool will be undergoing extensive maintenance over June/July/August 2019. We anticipate that community swim times will be available again for September 2019.

The City of Edmonton has announced that all outdoor pools will be open with free admission again this summer!

HOME ALONE PROGRAM
We completed another successful session on May 4th - thanks to all who attended. Apprehensive at first about their scheduled Saturday activity, the kids admitted that the class was “pretty good”! We’ll take that review! :) Stay tuned for another session in the Fall!

CHILDREN'S SUMMER PROGRAM
City of Edmonton - Arts Galore! August 12-16th, 9am-4pm Ages 8-12 yrs. To register call 311 or check out additional info at: movelearnplay.edmonton.ca

GREEN SHACK IS BACK JULY 2nd
Come to Westbrook Park (12015 39A Ave) starting July 2nd through to
August 22. Green Shack will run Monday through Friday, 2:30pm - 6pm. Targeting kids 6-12yrs, but all children accompanied by an adult are welcome.

SPRAY PARK
The community Spray Park is operational from 0900 - 900pm every day.

For our 55+ neighbours
PETROLIA SENIORS GROUP (55+) Invites YOU to come to ENJOY: LUNCH and a PROGRAM ($18 except December). Every Third Tuesday, 11:45 a.m. (sharp) to 2:00 p.m. at Greenfield Community Hall (3803 – 114th Street NW).
  • June 18 – Wild Prairie Edible Plants, Billie Milholland, Author
  • September 17th – Dr. Melanie Moore – Historian. Trials, Tribulations & Triumphs of a One-Room School Teacher in Early Edmonton”
  • October 15 - Brad Ward, Auctioneer. Antiques Road Show comes to Petrolia seniors!

To CONFIRM your attendance or for more information, call: Nick  780-435-1045  or  Betty 780-434-0711

An additional “outing” is offered each month for your enjoyment. For more information call Joyce – 780-435-6388
As always, keep up to date with other seniors activities in Southwest Edmonton by following SWESA
Presidents Report
We have had a very busy few months in Aspen with our events and planning for the summer season. Below is a quick recap of where things are at right now in the hood. I hope to see you all at the upcoming events and as always if you would like to get involved with the league please send us an email and we will find a way to bring you onboard!

I need to say a warm welcome to our newest board members. Darryl Tapper who will be taking the reigns as treasurer, Jessie Trufyn who is heading up our party scene and Vandna Agrawal our new VP keeping me in line.

Spring Fling:

A special thank you to the Blue Quill Tap House for hosting our spring fling! This was a fundraiser for the building expansion and it was a huge success due to the many silent auction items we received. The karaoke and Christopher Gowen our magician were fantastic and the bar did a great job with food and drinks all night. The venue holds 75 people and with that we raised $3000!!! I’m looking forward to our next party already!

Building update:

The transformer funding is in place and the big move is scheduled for the first couple weeks in July once the playschool is out. It will be going from its current location to the east side of the building close to the parking lot as planned to code by Epcor. This is the first step in setting ourselves up for a successful building expansion. A big thanks to our MLA Richard Feehan and his team helping us with provincial grant funding for the project!

The paperwork continues for the building committee as they go along the city process for the expansion. We will soon have drawings up on our FB and website so everyone can follow the progress along. At all of our events the full drawings will be posted for feedback. We still have a long road ahead, but our building committee is very dedicated. We are so lucky to have talented people who are willing to volunteer their expertise!

Crime:

I attended a fantastic meeting Councillor Walters set up with the Ward 10 presidents, Police Chief Dale McFee, Southwest Superintendent Tom Pallas, and Sergeant Terence Mak. The intent of the meeting was to talk about crime in Ward 10 as the presidents have felt there has been an increase in petty crime. The problem is it doesn’t feel very petty when it happens to you. Now to take action and what we can do together:

The good news is we still have a very low crime rate comparatively. We can still be proactive and here is what I suggest as a starting point.

Aspen Gardens 5 Step plan for a safer neighborhood

#1 We have an outstanding program that Susan Field and Irene Megls run called Knowsy Neighbours. No other neighborhood has this extensive of a program up and running and we need to capitalize on this asset. Please make sure they have your email knowsyneighbours@shaw.ca or you will not receive up to date crime info.

#2 I’m guilty of this myself, but we need to report EVERY crime …even if it was our error leaving the car unlocked. If there are no calls reported in the cops assume that everything is ok. The chief stated he wants to work with communities from the ground up because we know where all the activity is. If you have a lot of drug activity or other shady business in a spot by you please let us know at secretary@aspengardens.ca and we will pass it along to our local EPS team.

#3 Target Harding. I will arrange to have someone from EPS at our next AGM to speak in detail to us about this, but for now empty our vehicles, lock all the car, house and garage doors. Take your garage remotes out of your cars and don’t run your vehicles unattended.

#4 Make sure you join the Aspen Gardens Facebook page and the Aspen email list. By doing this we can give the most up to date info and receive your updates including posting pictures of missing animals. You will also receive emails from us on upcoming events to get to know more of your community members. Our printed newsletter is approximately 4 times a year. Electronic copy monthly.  Don’t miss out on the local info!

#5 Make an effort this summer season while you are out gardening to meet your neighbours on either side of you, across the street and across your back alley. These people are literally your eyes and ears when you are not home. Exchange cell numbers (or home numbers) if you are comfortable with that so you can shoot each other a quick text if need be.  

What we have done as a league the last few years ourselves to protect your community building and park space:

-changed all the lights in the parking lot and building to energy efficient and brighter LED’s
- installed a gate at the league parking lot that is randomly locked to deter drug deals
-installed video cameras off of the building towards the parking lot and rink
- we give $100 to anyone hosting a community block party this summer. We want everyone to connect!

We hope that with your help doing these 5 things we can create the best network possible!

Have a safe and healthy summer
Cheers, Kim Ruff

From the City of Edmonton
The City of Edmonton's Park Bench provides an overview of city events and information.
Community Membership
Community Membership is available for purchase online and has it's benefits, including discounts at:

  • 15% on multi-admission passes to City of Edmonton recreation centres
  • 20% on annual passes to City of Edmonton recreation centres 
  •  discounts at the following local retailers:
  • 5% at Petrolia Liquor Store
  • 10% at Square One Coffee
  • 10% at Blue Sky Dogs
  • 10% at Stone & Wheel Pizza
  • 10% at Roma Pizza & Donair
  • 10% at Anava Esthetics Studio
  • No GST at Westbrook Drycleaners
  • Good Stock Restuarant & Catering
Fundraising & Thank you
We have officially started our fundraising
bank account with the goal of $50,000 by
summer 2021
After our Spring Fling donations and
personal donations from the Ward and
Tungland family we now have just over
$5000 in our account!
We are currently asking for donations for
the “Aspen Tree” that will be installed in
the front hallway of the building. It will be
an art piece with individual family,
company or first names on leaves at your
request. The leaves range in price from:
$250
$500
$1000
Once we know how many of each
donation we get we will either do different
color leaves or size of leaf.

*We can not issue tax receipts as we are a not for profit but not a charity.

We will be giving quarterly updates on how the fundraising is going with family shout outs to all that participate. A small sample of what it will look like will be available at every event we host. The fund will go to covering costs that the grants do not cover. Anything that can be taken out of the building including chairs, furniture, tv, kitchen wares, meeting tables etc are not covered in the grant.

The money we have raised would not have been possible without the silent auction donors we had. If I have missed any my apologies and please let me know so I can correct it. If you can help me with the fundraising efforts, I would be very grateful. Please give me a shout at kim@studio9photographics.com

Many thanks to:
Aspen Dental, Petrolia Liquor, YEG Art Studio, Square One, Doterra Essentail Oils, Yoga Central,  Anava Esthetics, Resolve Physio and Wellness, Joel Ruff , Monica Geweth Jock, Patti Hartnagel, Tim and Shirley Nerdahl, Simply Orthodontics , Blue Anchor Tap House, Our very own Circle K, Matt and Ashley No Frills, Roma Pizza and Donair, Derrick Golf and Winter Club, Evolution Golf, Dragonseed Interiors, Orange Avocado Jewelry, Jan Archbold, Bluesky dogs, Trailblazers Health food Store, Irene Milton, Evoolution, Happiness is You Photography, Kathleen Woods, Sheri and Andrew Lukawesky, Kanga inflatable rentals, Easy Rider, Allyson Szafranski, Child Development Dayhomes, North Wind Art, Studio9 Photographics, Stone and Wheel Pizza, Councillor Walters Office , Lisa Labbe, RED Engineering.

Our silent Auction would not have happened without the generosity of local business and individuals here in Aspen!!

Community Bulletin Board

BLUE SKY DOGS PROFESSIONAL DOG WALKING AND PET CARE:
Dog walking, Pet Sitting, and Pet Visits. Licensed, Insured and Bonded. Visit blueskydogs.ca, email tim@blueskydogs.ca or call 780-903-8016. 10% discount for AGCL members!

WESTBROOK TUTORING SERVICES:
Certified Teacher with 25 years experience is interviewing new families for the Fall 2018 school year. Students of all ages and abilities welcome. I tailor my approach to the unique learning styles of each child. Committed to developing longstanding rapport with families in the community. References available, call Nicole @ 780-218-1319.

MUSIC LESSONS:
Piano lessons in your own home, beginners a specialty. Evening, afternoon, daytime spots avail. Richard Van oosterom, B.Mus, [M. Mus (courses)] piano, theory, harmony, RCM, and university exam preparation. 780-437-2391 (home), 780-292-3489 (cell), rjvano@primus.ca or  www.mauranuimusic

MASSAGE THERAPIST:
Gabriella Rozsa B.A., R.M.T. is accepting patients weekday mornings and weekends. Professional home based business; 20 years clinical experience, licensed RMTA. Call 780-757-3848 or email grozsa@shaw.ca

JIM’S HOME MAINTENANCE SERVICE:
Experience with plumbing, painting, install and repair of toilets, faucet, drywall, cleaning roofs, gutters, grout and silicone bathtubs. $30/hr, 20% off AGCL members. Jimxu4808@gmail.com

TOOL MAN TIM (TMT), NEW HANDY MAN in the HOOD:
Light yard and home maintenance, rototilling, small projects, long time recently retired (early) AG resident, building a small local client base. Give Tim a call to see if he can help you. 780-940-6800, Bigtracker@shaw.ca

HANDMADE CROCHET NECK COWLS, WRIST BANDS, & NECK WARMERS:
100% Alberta grown ALPACA wool. Eco-friendly, non-allergenic, soft & soothing. Great for gifts! Contact: mmerrikka@gmail.com

ANDROMEDA INSPIRATION
2.5 inch wide crocheted wrist bands, with removable Angel Bear finger puppet. Also in Andromeda cowls and skinny wrist band party favours. Makes great You and Me gifts/ friendship gifts. Made with Merino wool, silk noil, mohair, firestar Art Yarn. Puppet in cotton and merino. Please email Monica at mmerrikka@gmail.com

 DOTERRA ESSENTIAL OILS
DOTERRA Essential Oils Made Easy, for Your Home and Family. Free 15-30 minute household consultation. Integrate the magic if the plants to detoxify your entire home. Lisa Hamm: 780-695-4443, lisamichellehamm@gmail.com

HAPPINESS IS YOU PHOTOGRAPHY
Family, maternal, newborn and personal branding photography sessions offered. Please contact Tara Needham at 780-916-3294 or email happinessisyouphotography@gmail.com. Visit my website at happinessisyouphotography.com

MASSAGE THERAPY
Need a relaxation or therapeutic massage?Come visit Karin Lefsrud, Aspen resident, inside Yoga Central in Landsdowne strip mall. All massages are fully insured and there is direct billing as well as $25 off your first massage. Email  pineconewellness@gmail.com  to book.
Aspen Gardens Community League | www.aspengardens.ca