Standard, Alberta

Standard
Village
Village of Standard
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Southern Alberta
Census division	5
Municipal district	Wheatland County
Government
• Mayor	Alan Larsen
• Governing body	Standard Village Council
Area  (2011)
• Total	2.34 km2 (0.90 sq mi)
Elevation	900 m (3,000 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	379
• Density	162.1/km2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
Highways	Highway 840
Waterways	Parflesh Creek
Website	Official website

Standard is a village located in the southern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is situated within the County of Wheatland, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of the city of Calgary. The Canadian Pacific Railway tracks pass south of the village. The village was originally settled by Danish immigrants. Standard's economy is based on the surrounding farming community and the energy industry, with a number of oil and gas rigs in operation in the vicinity. Chief employers include Agrium Liquid Fertilizer, which operates a manufacturing plant, and the Husky Oil Plant.

Demographics

In the 2011 Census, the Village of Standard had a population of 379 living in 145 of its 158 total dwellings, a -0.3% change from its 2006 population of 380. With a land area of 2.34 km² (0.90 sq mi), it had a population density of 162.0/km² (419.5/sq mi) in 2011.

In 2006, Standard had a population of 380 living in 154 dwellings, a 2.3% decrease from 2001. The village has a land area of 2.34 km² (0.90 sq mi) and a population density of 162.5/km² (421/sq mi).

Athletics

Standard is well known for its 1A Girls Volleyball Team the "Standard Rams" winning seven 1A Provincial Titles in a row. Standard continues to dominate in Alberta Volleyball.

The murder of Kelly Cook

Standard is known in Alberta for the tragic abduction and murder of one of its residents, 15-year-old Kelly Cook, in 1981. The Grade 10 student regularly babysat for townsfolk, and on the morning of April 22, 1981, she received a phone call from a man who identified himself as Bill Christensen. He asked her to babysit for him that evening. Although she did not know the caller, she agreed, as 'Christensen' was a common surname in the area and crime was virtually unknown in the village, with residents routinely leaving their doors unlocked. The caller arranged to pick Kelly up that evening and drive her to his residence. At 8:30 that evening, a car pulled up in front of the house where she lived with her parents and siblings. The driver did not leave his car, and Kelly walked out of her house and climbed into the automobile's front passenger seat. The car then immediately drove off. A few hours later, her anxious parents, concerned that Kelly had not called or returned home, called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A massive local search was launched but yielded almost no clues. Two months after her abduction, on June 28, her badly decomposed body was discovered in Chin Lakes, southeast of her hometown of Standard. The case caught the public's attention like few other murder cases because it was so unusual, with the killer actually picking up his victim at her house while her mother watched through the window. Despite the publicity generated by this murder case, and a $100,000 reward offered by the Village of Standard for information leading to the arrest of Kelly's killer, the case currently remains unsolved.

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of villages in Alberta

References

RCMP case report on abduction of Kelly Cook [1]

30 years after the murder of Kelly Cook [2]

External links

• Official website