Sherwood Park, Alberta
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- For other uses, see Sherwood Park (disambiguation).
Sherwood Park is a hamlet located east of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in the Specialized Municipality of Strathcona County, named in honor of Lord Strathcona. Sherwood Park was first established in 1954/55 on Smeltzer farmland, east of Edmonton. With a population in 2005 of 55,063, Sherwood Park has enough people to be Alberta's seventh largest city and, although Sherwood Park technically retains the status of a hamlet, the Government of Alberta recognizes the Sherwood Park Urban Service area as equivalent to a city[1]. Its population as of the 2001 census was 47,645 and its land area is 70.98 km² (27.4 sq mi). Along with St. Albert, Sherwood Park is one of Edmonton's two principal suburbs. It is largely a bedroom community, with the bulk of its workers commuting to Edmonton each workday.
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[edit] Governance
Until recently, as a hamlet, Sherwood Park had a reeve, but because the elected representative governs all of Strathcona County, which is a municipality and not a hamlet, the governor is now considered a mayor. Iris Evans was the last reeve of Sherwood Park, and the current mayor is Cathy Olesen.
[edit] Economy
Sherwood Park has a strong economy with over $9.0 billion worth of major projects completed, announced, or under construction. A roadway known as Refinery Row lies west of Sherwood Park and includes some of the largest industrial facilities in Western Canada, including Esso's Strathcona Refinery. The hamlet also boasts very low crime rates, including a near zero violent crime rate.
[edit] Media
Sherwood Park's newspapers are the Sherwood Park News, (one of its former editors, Kenneth Whyte, has emerged as a powerful figure in Canadian publishing), and Strathcona County This Week. Other newspapers commonly read in Sherwood Park are The Edmonton Sun and The Edmonton Journal.
[edit] Education
Sherwood Park's two school boards are Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) and Elk Island Catholic Schools.
The two public high schools found in Sherwood Park are Bev Facey Community High School, and Salisbury Composite High School. The Catholic high school is Archbishop Jordan High School, while the other Elk Island Public School is Strathcona Christian Academy.
Sherwood Park is also home to Canada's first charter school, New Horizons Charter School, a public school that offers a gifted education program for students from kindergarten to grade 9.
[edit] Sports
The most significant local sports team is a hockey squad, the Sherwood Park Crusaders. The Crusaders play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League[2]. Sherwood Park is also a significant football community.
[edit] Famous people
- Jim Ennis- former NHL player
- Cam Ward- NHL goaltender
- Ken Hitchcock- NHL coach/scout who coached the highly successful Sherwood Park Midget AAA entry in the (now) Alberta Midget Hockey League early in its existence
- Andrew Ference- NHL defenceman
[edit] Trivia
A point on Range Road 231 between Township Road 522 and Wye Road is the highest recorded point between Edmonton and Winnipeg, Manitoba, at an elevation of 765 meters above sea level.
According to Guinness, Sherwood Park is the largest hamlet in the world.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Census divisions | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 |
|---|---|
| Cities | Airdrie - Brooks - Calgary - Camrose - Cold Lake - Edmonton - Fort Saskatchewan - Grande Prairie - Leduc - Lethbridge - Lloydminster - Medicine Hat - Red Deer - Spruce Grove - St. Albert - Wetaskiwin |
| Communities | Counties and Municipal Districts of Alberta - Towns of Alberta - Villages of Alberta - Hamlets of Alberta - Indian Reserves in Alberta - Métis in Alberta |
