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Brooks, Alberta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Brooks | |
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| Area | 17.46 km² |
| Population | 12,498 (2006) |
| Population density | 665 /km² |
| Location | |
| Altitude | 760 m |
| Incorporation | 1910 (village) 1911 (town) 2005 (city) |
| Province | Alberta |
| Census division | 2 |
| MP | Monte Solberg (Cons - Medicine Hat) |
| MLA | Lyle Oberg (PC - Strathmore-Brooks) |
| Mayor | Don Weisbeck |
| Governing body | Brooks City Council |
| Time zone | MST: UTC-7 |
| Postal code | T1R |
| Area code | +1-403 |
| http://www.brooks.ca/ | |
Brooks is a city in Alberta, Canada. It became a city on September 1, 2005 and is located 168 km east of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway and 10km east of Highway 36/Veterans Memorial Highway.
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Originally, the area of Brooks was used as a buffalo hunting ground for the Blackfoot and Crow natives. After Treaty 7 was signed in 1887, homesteaders moved into the area to begin dry land farming. The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railroad saw more settlers move to the area of Brooks. By 1904, Canada Post was interested in putting a post office in the settlement, however the area was still unnamed. By a Canada Post sponsored contest, the new area was named after Noel Edgell Brooks, a Canadian Pacific Railway Divisional Engineer from Calgary.
The Village of Brooks was incorporated in 1910, and became a town a year later.
To encourage immigration and growth into the region in the early part of the century, the Canadian Pacific Railway began the construction of major irrigation works. These works included the two mile long Brooks Aqueduct, constructed over 2½ years and completed in 1915. The aqueduct is featured on the city crest. In 1935, the C.P.R. transferred control of these works to local farmers and the Eastern Irrigation District was formed. Irrigation has allowed Brooks to become a service center for livestock, grain and vegetable producing industries.
In more recent years Brooks has experienced growth due to the oil and gas industry. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Brooks’ population grow from 5,000 to around 8,000. The oil and gas industry, and those activities that provide services to oil and gas exploration are still a large driving force in the continued growth of Brooks. The town’s population in 1996 for the first time exceeded 10,000, due in large part to expansion at Lakeside IBP meat packing plant, making Brooks the largest town in Alberta.
During the spring of 2005, the town went behind the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL. For the first time in franchise history, they advanced to the playoffs. They had an exciting series with the Calgary Canucks, but fell short to the Camrose Kodiaks.Since then the Brooks Bandits have become a competitive threat in the Alberta Junior Hockey League
In the fall of 2005, the city became the scene of a tense and sometimes violent job dispute (including an RCMP officer and other employees being attacked and/or injured) between workers at Lakeside Packers and Tyson Foods. Tensions had been mounting for years, with workers at the plant, many of whom were Sudanese refugees, alledging unfair and often inhumane business practices. The dispute culminated in a strike, which saw employees and at least one union official physically injured. The strike, which lasted several weeks, garnered national attention before being resolved[1].
On September 1, 2005, with an estimated population of 13,000, Brooks was incorporated as the City of Brooks, "Alberta's Centennial City™"[2]. The trademark was established at this time to commemorate the event and to celebrate Alberta's Centennial year.
In 2007 the Alberta and Canada Governments through CAMRIF announced that they will each contribute three million dollars for a new Multi-purpose arena in Brooks. This is a step to replace the current 45 year old Centennial Arena, which is out dated and in need or repairs. [3]
In early February the City announced that the new hockey arena would be located in the County of Newell on land donated by the Eastern Irrigation District and not within Brooks City limits. The city currently is $4.0 million short of the required $13.5 million price tag on the arena.
In March 2007 the City of Brooks election kicked off when Carol Secondiak was interviewed by the Brooks Bulletin on March 20 and said she was running for mayor. Pat Walsh also announced in the Bulletin that he would not seek re-election in 2007 citing a lack of co-operation on city council.
Mayor Don Weisbeck announced that he would wait and judge the qualifications of mayoral candidates before announcing his intentions. It is rumored that a pool of high profile, community-minded candidates will announce their intentions to run for election to city council in the coming weeks.
The City of Brooks is one of fastest growing communities in Alberta with a multi-cultural flavor unique to other municipalities in Alberta boasting a growing population of about 13,000. Brooks is steadily growing with residential and commercial development and is proud to announce the completion of a new Aquatic Center that is a state of the art facility, a wide range of restaurants, grocery and retail outlets plus educational facilities including the Medicine Hat College, two high schools, 3 junior high schools, 4 elementary schools and a francophone school. Brooks has a strong community spirit where people work together to continuously enhance the quality of life. One prime example is Communities in Bloom where the City of Brooks has won 4 times in a row. Residents volunteered their time and together with employees from the City of Brooks this program has been very successful.
In March 2007, Mayor Don Weisbeck announced that he would wait until he has judged mayoral candidates before announcing his intentions for the 2007 election.
On March 20 in the Brooks Bulletin, Carol Secondiak announced her intention to run for mayor in 2007. Councillor Pat Walsh has announced he will not seek re-election in 2007.
According to the 2001 census[4]:
- Population: 11,604
- Land area: 17.46 km²
- 1996 to 2001 population change (%): 15.0
- Median family income: $56,421
- Average value of private dwelling: $125,741
- ^ News Coverage of Brooks strike on.CTV and CBC
- ^ City of Brooks. Brooks City History. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
- ^ Western Economic Diversification Canada (February 2007). 6 million investment in new Arena for Brooks. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
- ^ Brooks Community Profile - Statistics Canada. 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: 2005-11-30. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE
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