Calgary Daily Digest — Jan 12, 2026

School staff save Edmonton student’s life

• Grade 4 student Chloe Aranha returned to St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary Junior High after more than two months. On Oct. 3, 2025, she collapsed during morning recess; staff, including athletic lead Eric Motut, performed emergency care that stabilized her. Chloe missed classes during the teachers’ strike and lengthy recovery but is now back in class.

New non-profit feeds Edmonton’s homeless

• Sonder Bridge, launched spring 2025 by Sam Huculak and formalized as a non-profit in fall 2025, distributes care packages and hot meals once or twice monthly. The group partners with local businesses to scale outreach on cold nights and aims to expand volunteer-led meal runs.

Bearspaw feeder main review; Calgary water use spikes as testing set to begin

• Independent 86-page panel led by former ATCO exec Siegfried Kiefer found 20 years of systemic issues (deferred maintenance, inspection gaps, fragmented governance) after the June 2024 Bearspaw feeder main rupture. Councillors raised concerns about the report. Meanwhile, Calgary water use climbed to 505 million litres on Sunday (above the 485 million litre sustainable target); city urges savings of 25–30 litres per person/day as testing on the feeder main begins.

PetroChina’s roadblocks to buying South Bow pipeline stake

• PetroChina Canada seeks full ownership of the Grand Rapids Pipeline (460 km from northeastern Alberta oilsands to Edmonton). A 30‑day option dispute and requirement for two government authorizations have complicated the transaction, per an Alberta Court of King’s Bench decision.

Sports headlines: Redblacks QB pick; Canadian ice master makes Olympic history

• Ottawa HC/GM Ryan Dinwiddie named Dru Brown the starting QB; Brown completed 71.5% of passes in 2025 for 2,389 yards (14 TDs, 10 INTs) but was 2–7 as starter. Ice technician Mark Messer built the first temporary indoor Olympic speedskating rink for Milan‑Cortina 2026, applying expertise from Calgary’s Olympic Oval.

Alberta health and public-safety notes

• Alberta NDP warns of an ER capacity “crisis,” calling on Premier Danielle Smith to strengthen staffing and frontline resources. In a separate incident, an Alberta driver stopped in B.C. was clocked at 160 km/h in a 100 km/h zone and told RCMP he sped to avoid an elk; he faces a ticket, tow costs and higher insurance.