Alberta
Celebrating Veterans Week 2020 at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

In honour of Veterans Week 2020 and the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame would like to highlight some of our Honoured Members who served in the armed forces, and those who stepped up to fill the roles left behind by our men in uniform.
We have set up several of our panels from a past exhibit “Victory on the Field” in our lobby, which more closely looks at sports’ response to the wars, as well as the rise of women’s sports due to men being called overseas to fight.
This mini-exhibition is available to view free of charge for all visitors and reflects on the impact of the two world wars.
The November “Artifact of the Month” has ties to wartime sports as well. This wool sweater belonged to Helen (Northup) Alexander c. 1939 of the famous Edmonton Commercial Graduates Basketball team, who were World Champions from 1937 -1940. They were forced to disband in 1940 when the Edmonton Arena was taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force, leaving the Grads with nowhere to play.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram as from November 5-12 we will showcase six different Honoured Members who were connected to the Second World War.
From soldiers fighting on the front lines, women who embraced sports for entertainment left vacant by the war efforts, to citizens displaced due to their heritage, each of them gave something of themselves as a result of the war.
The board and staff of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum are proud of all our brave men and women who fight and have fought for our freedom and safety both at home and abroad.
Lest we Forget.
Alberta
Former world champion Kevin Koe earns third straight win at Tim Hortons Brier event
CALGARY —
Kevin Koe remains unbeaten at the Tim Hortons Brier.
Koe’s Wild Card 2 rink defeated Eddie MacKenzie of Prince Edward Island 12-5 on Sunday to improve to 3-0 at the Canadian men’s curling championship.
MacKenzie’s squad dropped to 0-2.
Koe, a four-tine Canadian champion and twice a world gold medallist from Calgary, took control of the match early, scoring three in the second for a 4-0 lead.
Koe’s rink added four more in the fourth end to go up 8-1 before adding three in the sixth for an 11-3 advantage.
Koe rounded out the scoring with one in the eighth, after which the two teams shook hands.
Koe’s takes on Team Canada’s Brad Gushue (2-0) in the evening draw.
In other early action, Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone (2-1) downed Newfoundland & Labrador’s Greg Smith (0-3) 6-3; Quebec’s Michael Fournier (2-1) defeated Nunavut’s Peter Mackey (0-2) 15-1; and Ontario’s John Epping (2-1) got past Nova Scotia’s Scott McDonald (1-2) 12-7.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2021.
The Canadian Press
Alberta
‘It kind of clicks:’ Text4Hope program helps with depression, anxiety during pandemic

EDMONTON — Kiara Robillard says she was in a really bad place.
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, after she was struck by a truck and her spine broke in two places, she moved home to Alberta from California.
“That put a real damper on my life for quite awhile,” says the 25-year-old, who’s unemployed and living in Edmonton.
“I was depressed, anxious, losing touch with reality, and I was desperate for help.”
A few months ago, she says her doctor recommended she subscribe to an Alberta Health Service text-messaging program designed to provide mental-health support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s called Text4Hope.
Participants receive one text message every morning for three months. After that, they can subscribe for a further six months.
Robillard selects a message of hope on her cellphone. “This one’s my favourite: ‘We often think that motivation leads to behaviour. The opposite is also true. Engaging in activities can increase your motivation.’
“I struggle with motivation so just seeing it written out in plain English … it kind of clicks.”
Vincent Agyapong, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, founded the program.
“Text4Hope is a program that allows individuals to subscribe to receive daily supportive text messages to help people deal with stress, anxiety and depression during the COVID pandemic,” he says.
“When people are feeling stressed, anxious and depressed, they become preoccupied with doom and gloom.
“Once you are in this mental state you receive this positive message of hope, which momentarily disrupts your negative pattern of thinking.”
Agyapong says the messages are crafted by psychologists, therapists and psychiatrists.
Another example of a message sent to subscribers: “When bad things happen that we can’t control, we often focus on the things we can’t change. Focus on what you can control; what can you do to help yourself (or someone else) today?”
The idea for Text4Hope came from a similar texting service Agyapong created after a wildfire tore through Fort McMurray, Alta., in 2016. Text4Mood, which was also promoted by Alberta Health Services, sent similar messages of hope to that community’s residents.
Over six weeks with Text4Hope, Agyapong says users reported a 10 per cent reduction in depressive thoughts in comparison to those who didn’t get messages.
“When people switch from being preoccupied with the doom and gloom to thinking more of the positive contents of the messages, which changes their thinking pattern, (it) results in reduced stress, anxiety and depression,” he says.
More than 52,000 people have subscribed to the program since it started nearly a year ago. It is planning to continue for at least two years.
Agyapong says he has also set up a program that will send similar text messages in Arabic for newcomers, starting in April.
Last month, he started a text service for first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and he launched one in British Columbia for residents in Indigenous communities who have had multiple traumas. “They had wildfires, then they have flooding and now they have the pandemic,” says Agyapong.
Robillard says she is getting therapy and on medication, but Text4Hope comes in handy on days when she feels down.
“It’s something that’s like a good addition to whatever regimen you have for taking care of your mental health,” she says.
“It’s there to help me … having a different voice, a different stream of consciousness around me helps.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2021.
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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
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