Headlines: Jan. 9, 2025

Jan. 9, 2025 · The Pulse
By Kevin Holowack

The Alberta Teachers' Association is opposing the province's new literacy and numeracy assessments for kindergarten students. The association says many teachers haven't been trained to interpret the results of the assessments, which it says contain material that students haven't learned yet. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the screening tools are grounded in research from the University of Alberta and can "accurately identify 95% of students who will later develop reading difficulties."
A judicial review application by Scott Carter, a former Edmonton Police Service officer, revealed new details about a 2021 case in which he was accused of attacking a stranger downtown. According to the decision, which upheld his suspension without pay, Carter allegedly assaulted an Indigenous man who he mistook for someone touching his wife's vehicle. He also assaulted two police officers. Carter was fined $1,200 for assaulting the officers, but other charges were dropped because the victim died in 2023. Carter has since retired from the police service.
Coun. Andrew Knack told CTV News about possible solutions to alleviate construction-related frustrations in west Edmonton, such as fully closing sections of road to accommodate work on the Valley Line West LRT or allowing construction 24 hours a day. Marigold Infrastructure Partners, which is building the LRT, wants to tailor its approach to be "less disruptive to the communities" in 2025, said construction manager Jonathan Cox.
CBC's This is Edmonton podcast hosted a discussion with investigative reporter Taylor Lambert about preventing frostbite amputations. In 2024, Edmonton had its worst-ever year for frostbite amputations, with 110 recorded.
The 61st annual Quikcard Edmonton Minor Hockey Week tournament kicked off on Jan. 8 with a game between the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Saskatoon Blades. The 10-day tournament will host nearly 10,000 players from 600 teams, representing U9 to U18.
The Edmonton Oilers have become the "hottest" team in the NHL since November, keeping a 14-3-1 record over the past 18 games and rising to second place in the Pacific division. The team's 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 7 was "as close to a perfect game as can be played in January," wrote Sportsnet's Mark Spector.