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Dale Hodges, the longest-serving member within the historical past of Calgary metropolis council, died in hospice on Sunday at 82 years outdated following a prolonged sickness.
Hodges was first elected as alderman for Ward 1 in 1983, setting in movement a 30-year profession that spanned 10 consecutive phrases till well being points led to his retirement in 2013.
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Hodges’ prolonged tenure as councillor noticed the town host the 1988 Winter Olympics, full the much-anticipated northwest LRT line and increase a number of parks and recreation services.
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Recognized for his dedication to native inexperienced areas, Hodges was invited again to council chambers in 2017 in a shock transfer to rename a part of a northwest Calgary park in his honour.
Dale Hodges Park is situated in his outdated ward, adjoining to Bowmont Park, and Hodges performed a key function in reworking the land from a gravel pit right into a well-used park.
“I didn’t assume I’d final 30 years, however because it turned out, I did,” Hodges stated on the time. “My well being wasn’t precisely good … If that hadn’t occurred when it did, I may not have retired.”
The politician was additionally, for a time, embroiled in a tiff with the Hells Angels. Within the early 2000s, the then-president of the Hells Angels’ native chapter, Ken Szczerba, had plotted to explode Hodges’ residence after the councillor blocked plans for a brand new clubhouse for the motorbike gang.
Szczerba was jailed for a 12 months after a trial that noticed Hodges testify in opposition to the gang boss.
Hodges is survived by his spouse of 52 years, Yvonne, in addition to household and pals. A memorial service is ready to be introduced within the coming days.
In lieu of flowers, the household asks that donations be made to the Dale Hodges Graduate Scholarship in Political Science at have interaction.ucalgary.ca/Dale-Hodges-Graduate-Scholarship.
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