Spruce Grove, Alberta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Spruce Grove | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country |  Canada |
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| Province |  Alberta |
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| Region | Edmonton Region | ||
| Census division | 11 | ||
| Incorporated | Village: 1955 | ||
| Town: 1971 | |||
| City: 1986 | |||
| Government [1] | |||
| - Mayor | Stuart Houston | ||
| - Governing body | Spruce Grove City Council | ||
| - Manager | Doug Lagore | ||
| - MP | Rona Ambrose | ||
| - MLA | Doug Horner | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 26.4 km² (10.2 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 705 m (2,313 ft) | ||
| Population (2006)[2] | |||
| - Total | 19,496 | ||
| - Density | 738.4/km² (1,912.4/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) | ||
| Postal code span | T7X | ||
| Area code(s) | +1-780 | ||
| Highways | Highway 16A Yellowhead Highway |
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| Website: City of Spruce Grove | |||
Spruce Grove is a city in the vicinity of Edmonton, Alberta. Like nearby Stony Plain it is surrounded by Parkland County.
With a population of 19,496, Spruce Grove is the 11th largest city in Alberta. The Horizon stage is a centre for performing arts here, and its Tri-Municipal Leisure Centre is a popular recreation facility. As it is fifteen minutes from Edmonton, many citizens travel there to shop. However, there are a great number of businesses on the west end that citizens commonly utilize.
The current mayor is Stuart Houston.
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[edit] Geography
Spruce Grove is located near the province's geographical centre, at 30 kilometres (19 mi) from downtown Edmonton and 14 km (9 mi)from Edmonton's city limits.[3]. It is part of the Edmonton Capital Region.
[edit] Demographics
According to the Canada 2006 Census conducted by Statistics Canada, the population of Spruce Grove is .[2] This is a 22.0% increase from the official result of the Canada 2001 Census, 15,983[4]. The city has a land area of 26.40 km² (10.2 sq mi) and a population density of 738.4/km² (1,912.4/sq mi).
[edit] Transportation
- Major thoroughfares
Two highways pass through Spruce Grove, Highway 16 and Highway 16A. Highway 16 has no traffic lights but has two exits into Spruce Grove, while Highway 16A has several traffic intersections. Travelling east of either of these highways will lead to Edmonton. Travelling west on Highway 16A will lead to Stony Plain, and going west on either highway will lead to Edson, Hinton, and eventually Jasper.[3]
- Local streets
The majority of the streets in Spruce Grove use a standard naming system. Their names share a first letter with that of its subdivision. For example, all streets start with M in Millgrove subdivision; in Woodhaven, they all start with W. Only in the original subdivision of Broxton Park and the downtown core is this naming convention not utilized.
- Railroad
CN Rail has trains running through Spruce Grove on a regular basis.[citation needed]
[edit] History
Spruce Grove was incorporated as a village in 1955, as a town in 1971, and as a city in 1986.[5]
[edit] Sports and recreation
- Amateur sports
Spruce Grove has an abundant number of youths and adults involved in Amateur Sports, that run year round. Hockey runs from September to April, soccer runs from May to October, football runs from July to November and baseball runs from March to October. The Spruce Grove Saints are a Junior A hockey team that play in the AJHL.
- Famous athletes
Spruce Grove has produced many professional and accomplished athletes. These include the following (in alphabetical order):
- Stu Barnes (NHL centre)
- Nathan Dempsey (NHL defenceman)
- Grant Fuhr (former NHL goaltender)
- Jennifer Heil (moguls skier, Olympic gold medalist)
- Steve Regier (NHL forward)
- Grant Stevenson (NHL centre)
- Recreation facilities
The TransAlta Tri Leisure Centre, opened in 2002, provides a pool, soccer fields, a gymnasium, workout gym, and ice rinks to the people of Parkland County. Spruce Grove has bike trails winding throughout the city, called the Heritage Grove Trail, where bike riders can ride for hours through lush forest.
[edit] Music, Arts and entertainment
Spruce Groove Records is the City of Spruce Grove's own independent record label that releases the music of the Canadian rock band Aderly Saves the World. It was originally formed in 1998 to produce just the records of that band. It's since released the records of other bands such as 3BoxesRed, Exit2, Knife Vs Dinnerplate, Adventure Tour Plan, and My Boy Sherman.
June Harrison, a local artist, and creator of the award winning painting The Book Worm,[6] may not be of international recognition, but has touched the hearts of all Spruce Grovians.
Horizon Stage hosts many plays and acts throughout the year, as well as a lot of community theatre. Spruce Grove also has a 7 screen theatre complex which opened in the fall of 2007.
[edit] Media
Spruce Grove receives almost all of its print, radio, and television media from Edmonton.
However, Spruce Grove has its own weekly newspaper, the Spruce Grove Examiner, delivered to all homes every Friday. This newspaper holds almost exclusively local news.[7].
[edit] Education
Spruce Grove is part of the Parkland School Division No. 70. The following schools are located in Spruce Grove[8]
- Public School District
- Greystone Centennial Middle School
- Spruce Grove Composite High School educates approximately 1,200 students from the Parkland County Area
- Brookwood Elementary School
- Broxton Park Elementary School
- Millgrove Elementary School
- Woodhaven Junior High-School
- Separate School District
- St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School
- St. Marguerite Catholic Junior High School
- St. Joseph's Catholic Elementary School
There have been approved plans for a new Separate High School to be built for Spruce Grove and it's neighboring Town Stony Plain that will change the current Format of the existing Separate schools.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ City of Spruce Grove. Elected Officials. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ^ a b Statistics Canada (Census 2006). Spruce Grove - Community Profile. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
- ^ a b The City of Spruce Grove. Location
- ^ Statistics Canada (2001). 2001 Census - Spruce Grove Community Profile
- ^ City of Spruce Grove History
- ^ The Book Worm
- ^ Spruce Grove Examiner
- ^ Schools in Spruce Grove: Greystone Centennial Middle School, Spruce Grove Composite High School
[edit] External links
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Onoway | Westlock | St. Albert | |
| Stony Plain |  |
Enoch Cree Nation Edmonton |
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 Spruce Grove  |
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| Thorsby | Devon | Beaumont |
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Subdivisions of Alberta |
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| Subdivisions | Regions · Census divisions · Counties and municipal districts · School districts · Regional Health Authorities |
| Communities | Cities · Towns · Villages · Hamlets · Indian reserves · Métis Settlements · Ghost towns |
| Cities and Special Centres | Airdrie · Brooks · Calgary · Camrose · Cold Lake · Edmonton · Fort McMurray · Fort Saskatchewan · Grande Prairie · Leduc · Lethbridge · Lloydminster (part) · Medicine Hat · Red Deer · Sherwood Park · Spruce Grove · St. Albert · Wetaskiwin |
