Mental Health

Hello neighbours, I recently received some useful information from the Canadian Mental Health Association that I wanted to share regarding our isolation due to COVID-19. The attached PDF has additional information on these best practices:  

  • Gather info from trusted sources

  • Adopt personal hygiene protocols

  • Establish a routine

  • Make self-care a priority

  • Keep in contact with others

  • Reach out for mental health support

  • Acknowledge your anxiety

COVID-19 & Mental Health

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

COVID-19 update and business availability

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to provide an update on various nearby facilities and businesses that neighbourhood residence likely use. It’s not an exhaustive list, just something I threw together this afternoon.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League.

In the community

  • Malmo Community League Hall is closed until further notice.  As per the Government of Alberta: 

    "Albertans are prohibited from attending public recreation facilities and private entertainment facilities.

    This includes gyms, swimming pools, arenas, science centres, museums, art galleries, community centres, children’s play centres, casinos, racing entertainment centres and bingo halls."

  • Royal Alberta Museum and the Provincial Archives of Alberta are closed. (https://www.rexall.ca/covid-19/news)

  • All University of Alberta fitness facilities including the Saville Community Sports Centre are closed.  (http://www.savillecentre.ca/default.aspx?p=article&id=132636)  For people with memberships:

“We have put all memberships on hold as of March 15, 2020.  This means if you have a continuous membership with us, no monthly membership payments will be charged until further notice. 

Term memberships will be extended from the time period of March 15, 2020 until we reopen facilities.  We will then add the appropriate number of days to the end of your membership. “

Miscellaneous

Neighbourhood Redevelopment Update

A writeup from the information sessions held on January 28th at the Malmo Community League has been released by the City and can be seen here.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

For parents of 3-5 Year olds

Hello Neighbours,

Madison Predy, Research Coordinator at the University of Alberta Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation reached out to me asking for help contacting parents of children 3-5 years for a study on “physical activity with your preschool child to build their physical literacy”.  

Click here to see the poster.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League 

Neighbourhood Renewal

Hi neighbours,

The Malmo IRC (Infrastructure Redevelopment Committee) has been working with the City and our architectural consultant to revisit our hall redevelopment plan. We will be joining the Building Great Neighbourhoods renewal public engagement event next Tuesday, January 28th to show what our project team has been working on. Please come to share your thoughts and feedback! All information to register for the event is on the postcard you received in the mail for the neighbourhood renewal event, as well as the link below...

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/malmo-plains-neigbourhood-renewal-exploring-options-and-trade-offs-tickets-88560120705

Natalie Goulet-Sorenson

Malmo Infrastructure Redevelopment Committee

Winter items, This & That

Hello neighbours,

Here is some information you might find interesting...

City of Edmonton New Year’s Eve Celebration

Celebrate the arrival of 2020 at this fun-filled, alcohol-free, family-friendly event. Tuesday December 31st, 7:00 to 9:00 PM, Alberta Legislature grounds. For more information check out https://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/schedule_festivals_events/new-years-eve-downtown.aspx

New Year’s Day Levee at Government House

Wednesday, January 1, 2020 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Each year, the Lieutenant Governor and spouse host the popular New Year’s Day Levee at Government House (12845 102 Avenue). The levee is a tradition in Canada dating back to the 1600s, based on an older tradition in Europe that saw subjects visit the monarch to pay their respects and pledge allegiance. Today, the Levee at Government House is a chance for Albertans of all ages to meet the Queen’s representative in a relaxed social setting. Levee guests can enjoy light refreshments, tour Government House, send a postcard to Canadian troops serving overseas, and join in celebrating the start of a new year. The event is free of charge and advance booking isn’t required.

For more information check out https://www.alberta.ca/government-house-events.aspx

Kids Map of Edmonton: Winter Edition

Although the temperature may drop during winter, children’s activity levels don’t! Use the Kids Map of Edmonton: Winter to find a variety of child-friendly activities to do across the city. Everywhere you look, Edmonton has indoor and outdoor activities that will help you make the most of winter, and keep your kids active!

For more information check out https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=75b246995edf47fc99d736c697686bce

Snow Removal Help for Seniors and Persons with Low Mobility

  • Is it difficult for you to maintain your sidewalks due to age or restraints on your mobility?

  • Do the winter months make it unsafe and difficult to leave your home?

  • Seniors Home Supports Program gives seniors referrals to vetted service providers (businesses, community groups and individuals) offering these types of services. Seniors are not charged for referrals but they will pay a fee to the service provider for completing the work.

For more information check out http://www.seniorshomesupports.com

Also related to senior citizens:

The Seniors Financial Empowerment Network (SFEN) provides free financial literacy information sessions in the areas of personal finance, protection of assets, housing, legal considerations, areas of fraud or abuse, communication and self-esteem. There are seven core education modules that can be presented as stand-alone sessions or as a complete series. The modules are delivered by senior volunteers. Please contact me at President@malmoplains.com if you are interested. If we get enough interest, I'd be happy to book a session at the Malmo Community League hall.

Front Yards in Bloom: Winterscapes: Jan 12 - Feb 17, 2020

A winterscape is a way of decorating your wintry yards and landscapes using snow, ice, natural objects and lights. Winterscapes help beautify our Edmonton neighbourhoods. Get tips from some creative locals in the WinterCityEdmonton blog at https://www.wintercityedmonton.ca/whats-in-a-winterscape/. The Front Yards in Bloom: Winterscapes contest is held in January and February each year. Visit https://edmonton.ca/winterscapes/ for ideas, see past entries, and get details about this winter’s contest. Year-round landscaping often starts in the summer. Consider adding trees and shrubs, herbaceous plants, grasses, and vines. For more ideas, read our blog post https://www.wintercityedmonton.ca/spring-gardening-for-winter-beauty/ by a local landscape architect.

Finally, do you have questions about how the City of Edmonton handles snow removal?

  • How the City responds to snow on major roads and in your neighbourhood

  • Seasonal parking bans

  • Windrows

  • Where to find the community sandbox in your neighbourhood.

For more information check out https://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/on_your_streets/snow-faq.aspx

Phishing

Hello everyone,

For those of you not aware of the phrase "phishing" (pronounced fishing), it's a scam where someone tries to fool you into giving some personal information such as your SIN, birth date, or some username and password information.  Some of these scams don't ask you to simply email the information as that would be too obvious.  Instead, they take you to a web site that can look very much like the actual site for a bank or for, in the example below, Microsoft.

Below is a screen capture of a phishing example I recently received.  It came to my President@malmoplains.com email and I almost clicked on the link because we've recently moved to O365 at my work.  It was only when I noticed the details in the diagram that I realized it's a scam.  Please pay attention to stuff like this to make sure you don't get fooled.

Ken Hemmerling

President, Malmo Plains Community League

Phishing_email.jpg

AMA volunteer cleanup

This is very belated but I wanted recognize a group of volunteers from the Alberta Motor Association for helping clean up our little corner of Edmonton last July.  People like this help make our neighbourhood, and our city, the great place it is for our families.  Thanks.

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Michener Park Open House

Hello Neighbours,

I had an interesting conversation with Emily Ball from the University of Alberta who wanted me to share the following with you:

The University of Alberta will be holding a public open house that will provide information on the amendment of land use plans (Long Range Development Plan) for the South Campus - Michener Park area.

University of Alberta 
South Campus – Michener Park
Long Range Development Plan Amendment
Open House

Wednesday, November 27, 2019
5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Saville Community Sports Centre
Classroom #4
11610-65th Ave

Your participation is important and we hope to see you at the open house.  If you have any questions, please contact Emily Ball at 780-492-4345 or by email at emily.ball@ualberta.ca.  If you are unable to attend, the information presented at the open house will be posted online on November 28, 2019 until December 19, 2019 at www.uab.ca/community.

Sincerely,

Emily

City of Edmonton Security Survey

Hello Neighbours,

Councillor Walters has asked that I share a survey about security with the community. This is certainly a hot topic for Malmo and encourage everyone to complete the survey to ensure our voices are heard by the City.

The survey can be found here.

Ken

Hall Modernization

Come out Saturday October 26th or Wednesday October 30th to tell the project team what your vision of a new Malmo community hall would be!!

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Spaghetti Dinner

This year our community suffered a loss when longtime community league social coordinator Amanda P and her husband, community league webmaster Trevor, moved out of the neighbourhood. With nobody in the Social Coordinator role, it did not seem like the September Spaghetti Dinner was going to happen.

Luckily, several amazing people in the community stepped up to ensure the dinner went ahead and we had a great dinner on September 21st. 

I would like to thank the volunteers: Howaida H., Darin N., Andrew, Max, Laurie M, Julie M, Ashley W, Rita, Michelle, John, Mavis A, Dave, Colleen M, Kim N, Christine, Amy D, Tim N, Amanda T, Heather G, Collette L, Claire F, Max, Anny, Toren and Caden

Extra special thanks got to Michaelia O, Heidi N, and Jana E for being the core that started the ball rolling and ensured the tradition continued for another year. It is fantastic neighbours like you that make Malmo the great neighbourhood it is.

Thanks everyone.

Ken

Community Activities - September 2019

Hey Neighbours,

Just a quick note about a couple of activities to add to your calendar this month:

1) On Saturday September 21, we will be having the annual Malmo Community League Shaghetti Dinner from 5:00 to 8:00. As always, volunteers are needed so feel free to contact me and I’ll put you in touch with those coordinating the event.

2) On Saturday September 28th, the City of Edmonton will be hosting two sessions regarding the Malmo Neighbourhood renewal. To sign up, see This Link.

Thanks

Ken Hemmerling

Hello from the new President

Good morning neighbours,

My name is Ken Hemmerling and just a few months ago I was elected as President of the Malmo Plains Community League.  I come to the role knowing surprisingly little about the detailed operations of the league.  Previous Presidents had the community league email automatically forwarded to their personal account which turns out to be a mixed blessing for me.  On the downside, I have an inbox with over 1300 unread emails dating back to 2017.  On the upside, I have a fantastic resource of information about how the Community League is run along with the discussions about issues of concern within the community.

I come into the role aware of the ongoing issues we have with crime and vandalism, an aging community hall, and an upcoming neighbourhood renewal.  My initial work will be to meet with our City Councillor to determine exactly how much (or, more likely, how little) power the President actually holds and to build a terms of reference for various aspects of the roles and responsibilities of the volunteer positions within the Community League.  It is my hope to provide a more open and transparent view into the operations of the Community League while working on the issues that concern us all.

Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me at President@MalmoPlains.com.  I only ask for one thing:  Your patience.  As a father of two, working full-time, and being in an on-call rotation which requires occasional evening and weekend work, I do not check the Community League email every day.

Thanks.

Ken