2015 Report on SE Alberta

2015 REPORT ON

southeast alberta our communities • our region • our people

1356 - Trans Canada Way SE • Medicine Hat 403.526.2611 2

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Town Profiles

13-19

Guest Columnists ❚ Jim Prentice - Premier of Alberta

12

Innovation and ingenuity thriving in Southeast Alberta ......................................................................

❚ Richard Oster - Reeve, Cypress County Strategic planning driving force for future growth and development .......................................

❚ Ted Clugston - Mayor, Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is seeing new activity, new growth and new energy.............................................

❚ Dr. Denise Henning - Medicine Hat College College is an economic engine..................................................................................................................

❚ Frank Oberle - Minister of Energy Key to the province is Albertans themselves .......................................................................................

❚ Martin Shields - Mayor, Brooks Building on past successes to enhance future innovation ..............................................................

Honour Rolls

6-7

Four Generations of Farming

8-9

Behind the moments of movie making

48 58 70 94

107-114

Ranches disappearing, but demand for beef rising

From crop to port to plate

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11-12 20

Cadets offering youth an opportunity to excel

50, 52

Education receives a renovation

52-53

Legacy of Dominion Glass Company gleans on

54-55

MHC - Celebrating 50 years of higher education

57-60 61-62

Road to the Event Centre bumpy

22-23

After four decades, Canada is a home away from home for BATUS

From dream to reality the building of the Regional Event Centre

24-25

The Mayor of the people, Milt Reinhardt's mark remains on the city landscape

26-27

63, 65

10 years of city infrastructure Future seeds planted in technology

28-28

Mayor of ambition and generosity - the great Harry Veiner

68-69

Reforms creating a Band-Aid solution with temporary foreign workers

30-31

In with the new…but still holding to great moments of hockey at The Arena

32-33

Soaring through opportunity in the international scene Making a difference one T-shirt at a time Fighting the health-care crisis fuels one doctor's passion

34 36-37 37

70-72

Garth Vallely - a mayor who led the charge

73-74

Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce - 115th Anniversary

76-79

Managing Editor Kerri Sandford

From a place of hope - Tru-co survives near bankruptcy to find success and a way to give back

80-81

Graphic Design Alison Peltier

Community health increasing with one doctor at a time

82-85 88, 90

Photography Emma Bennett Charles Lefebvre Tim Kalinowski Esplanade Archives

38-39

Achieving enlightenment in Youngstown

A championship year, Medicine Hat Mavericks

40-41

Understanding the quality of life

92-93

Pumping life into the heart of the city

42-43

A harvest to end hunger

94-95

Sowing the seeds of knowledge

96-97

Transportation infrastructure key to a healthy economy

44 48-49

Medicine Hat Office 3257 Dunmore Road S.E. Medicine Hat, AB T1B 3R2

The man who changed Medicine Hat - The legacy of Ted Grimm

Floor by floor hospital expansion continues

Expansion breeds attention at the Family Leisure Centre

2015

“The stuff that dreams are made of" Home video store continues bringing family tradition to life

Group Publisher Michael J. Hertz

100-101 our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

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disappearing, but demand for beef rising

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hen people hear the word Alberta, a specific vision comes to mind: Ranching.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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Ranching is a part of the province’s lifeblood and heritage. The image of the rancher watching over a grazing herd of cattle has been ingrained in our minds for years.

However, while ranching will likely still be around, the amount of ranchers is starting to dwindle.

According to Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, the number of ranchers across the province declined 25.3 per cent between 2005 and 2011, with a 25.6 per cent decline in cattle producers. The number of cattle in Alberta peaked in 2005 with 2,187,000 head found on 28,718 farms and ranches. A year later, the number had dropped to 2,032,018 on 25,479 ranches, and by 2011, the number sat at 1,558,700 on 18,944 ranches.

The local region has also felt the effects. In 2006, Cypress County had 56,421 head but in 2011, the number had declined to 55,331. The number of ranchers has also dropped from 515 to 410. The County of 40 Mile has also seen a significant drop, from 23,147 head and 247 ranchers in 2006, to 19,754 and 188 ranchers in 2011.

Interestingly, despite the lower numbers of cattle in the province, the average herd size has increased to 82, up from 68 in 2001.

Ranching has been in Dale Weiss’s family since 1891, and Weiss himself has been farming the Arrowhead Ranch near Dunmore for 40 years.

He presently has about 200 head on the land and is hoping to eventually expand.

He says he has seen the number of ranchers begin to fall in the region.

“The little guys are getting out, they’re getting old, and they don’t want to hassle with cows, and they’re at a good price right now, so they’re getting out,” he said.

Lyle Taylor with Medicine Hat Feeding Company also believes the age of farmers have likely effected the numbers. In a 2011 Statistics Canada report, the average farm operator was 54 years old, up from 52 in 2006.

“I think the ranching population is getting older, and as a consequence, their places are paid for, and then they don’t need to work as hard, and instead of running 300 cows, I can run 200 cows and not need to sweat it as much,” he said.

Taylor also added there is not a lot of young people left in the ranching industry, which is another reason for the lower numbers. He says this partially began with the BSE crisis in 2003.

“Dad and the young person couldn’t make a living on the place, so they had to go find a job,” he said. “Now they have and they’re not going back. One of the reasons they’re not going back is because you used to buy land for $100 per acre and now it’s thousands and thousands of dollars per acre ... it’s more expensive to retire

When it comes to the

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Bob Olson, former Cypress County reeve, also says he has noticed a decline in the number of ranchers in the region. Many older ranchers are selling their land to neighbours, something Olson himself did when he and his family sold their ranch near Jenner.

“I’m just about 60 and it’s just a trend which is happening,” he said. “The young people who are coming into this industry are few and far between, it’s so difficult for them to make it.

There’s no 7-11 down the street, the school is not there. When I was a kid, there were 60 or 70 kids in the school, and now there is around 20 kids. It’s a trend that’s carrying on and doesn’t seem to be changing.”

Despite issues for the industry in regard to the number of ranchers, the world-wide demand for Canadian beef has been returning to earlier peaks. However, with fewer ranches and cattle producers, it’s hard to meet the demand.

“There’s a big demand for protein around the world,” said Chuck MacLean, president of Canada Beef Inc., an industry group which represents exporters, feedlots and others in the supply chain. “Depending on what market you’re in, whether you’re in an Asian market or a North American market, or Latin America, there’s a demand for the product, but, first of all, we couldn’t begin to service it.

“I’ve been in China and Japan. The big cities like Beijing and Shanghai have a 20-million population. They have more population in one city than we have in an entire country, and they could probably consume everything we produce. Everybody wants to go there but only if it’s worth more there than anywhere else. If you’re a rancher, I’d say you’re in really good shape but if you are a feedlot operator or in the middle ... the margins are pretty tight going in and you need big amounts of money now to fill a feed lot.”

Taylor says the smaller number of cattle and the steady price of feed has kept the prices at a high level.

MacLean said initially he was concerned producers would end up pricing themselves out of business at the consumer level, but it seemed the consumer is paying the higher prices.

However, with the downturn in oil having an impact on economy, it will be hard to know if the money will continue to be there, or if the market will begin to cool off.

“I don’t know if we’ll hold in 2015,” said Taylor. “I think we could see a slight decrease again.”

“I think it will probably level off, it might come down a bit,” said Weiss. “I don’t think they’ll continue to rise much but I think they’ll stay fairly strong.” ■

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today, so he can’t really turn the place over to the kids, because he needs more to live.”

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Four Generations of Farming CHARLES LEFEBVRE

A

lberta is a land of agriculture.

The economy initially was, and continues to be, built on farming.

Throughout the province families are continuing to wake up every morning spending countless hours in the fields, raising cattle and other animals and bringing it all to market.

In the region, a number of families have been farming for a century, such as the Bingeman family of Oyen, the Booker family of Empress, the Coultis family of Duchess and the Haas family of Hilda.

The Haas family has been farming a mixed farm of cattle and grain in the Hilda area since 1912, and run of the farm has spanned four generations. The farm was started by John Stockberger, and was passed on to his daughter Tilly (who was born on the farm in 1912 and was 102 years old when the interview was

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

conducted in January), and her husband Adam Haas.

of reasons he has continued to run the farm.

Adam’s son Floyd Haas, born in 1939, took over the farm and has since passed it on to his oldest son Brad in 1983. The family was recognized in 2013 by the Alberta Government with a Century Farm award, with Floyd and his wife Marian, who now call Medicine Hat home, accepting.

“I feel comfortable, I enjoy being out in the country and I like being my own boss and the independence,” he said.

Growing up on the farm brings back a number of memories for the family. Brad says he can remember the introduction of colour television, and the fact they didn’t have running water when he was a kid. Once a week, he and his two brothers would bathe in a tub of water in the garage on the farm.

Floyd says one of his earliest memories growing up on the farm was walking to school a mile each way until it closed when he turned 15.

“Back in that time there were a lot of rural schools,” he said. “There was one every few miles away. There was a population at that time in Hilda, where people lived on almost every corner.”

Brad, who says he hasn’t travelled too far from home, says there are a number

Floyd noted that farming practices have changed tremendously over the years.

“We’re not tilling the soil anymore, that’s probably the biggest and best change,” he said. “Also, at the time, everything had to be black, now you want the stubble, you want everything standing ... a lot of people have gone to headers and leave the stubble tall to catch the snow, so the wind can’t get to the soil. Things have changed a lot for the better.”

While he was more of a hands-on farmer when he first started, Brad said today his role is largely managerial.

“I farm fairly large,” he said. “I’ve got a couple of really good employees and it’s more just looking after paperwork and guiding guys along, and marketing grain.

It’s way different from when it was when I started out.”

Floyd says the number of family farms has dropped in the region over the years.

“We were standing at a cemetery with

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someone who lived in Hilda, and she said that one time, she counted from the cemetery and counted 300 farms in the area,” he said. “That day, she counted 30, and that was 20 years ago.”

Floyd estimates there are probably “13 or 14” family farms in the Hilda area today, with large corporations taking over a lot of the farming today. In his opinion, there are several reasons why this has happened.

small areas. It’s sad to see. Why would young people want to live in an area with no social life?

“School is another one. They’re far and few between. Our kids, when they went to school they left at 6:55 a.m. to arrive at Medicine Hat High School by 8:30 a.m. and they came home by 5 p.m.”

We still hang on to the land and we passed it on to our son, and hopefully, he will pass it on to his family.

“Cost I think is one reason, and we can’t keep our young people on the farms,” he said. “Hilda at one time had three garages, a hotel, two grocery stores, we had shows every Saturday night. Now, we don’t have that. There’s no social life left in these

Despite the disappearing number of family farms, Floyd believes it is still important for the family farm

to continue thriving.

“We still hang on to the land and we passed it on to our son, and hopefully, he will pass it on to his family,” he said.

Brad says he is hoping to pass on the farm to his son, though his has not decided if he wants to take over the farm. ■

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Floyd and Marian Haas of Medicine Hat (centre) were among 13 local farmers and ranchers recognized for farming the same land for 100 years at a ceremony July 27, 2013. Also pictured are Medicine Hat Stampede president Norm Smith (left) and Alberta Finance Minister Doug Horner.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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From crop to port to plate TIM KALINOWSKI

T

here is no more important market supply chain to the well-being of a nation than its food economy. So when part of the system breaks down, or bottlenecks, the effects resonate far and wide. Case in point: The grain handling crisis of 2014.

“In reality, the only time food looks easy is when it is on my plate,” says Barrie Woods, GM of the Parrish & Heimbecker terminal in Medicine Hat. “No one sees the work behind it and what’s all involved in it. In the end grain will go in the path of least resistance. As an elevator we are a link in the chain from production to end user. The path of least resistance is how we grow our crop and get it to the customer’s plate in the least possible restrictive manner.”

To do this efficiently and well takes constant negotiation between all the stakeholders, says Woods. The grain has to have a buyer.

Most of the time that buyer has specific protein or grading requirements.

Parrish & Heimbecker needs to procure and collect this grain at spec from farmers near its terminals and elevators. They then need to ship it to the end user, whether that’s a domestic processing plant or an overseas buyer, who will transform it into a consumer product.

“I would say increasingly both ends of the fork are moving a lot closer together,” says Woods. “A lot of our polices and farmers’ thinking and marketing strategies are geared more toward what the end user

is looking for in their spec requirements.

Ultimately the producer is taking all the risk in what he grows, but he is turning more and more to a grain elevator all the time for advice on what the next customer is going to require from us up the value chain.”

Once the necessary grain is accumulated the Medicine Hat Parrish & Heimbecker terminal waits for a call from Canadian Pacific Railway.

“Realistically we have to export 80 per cent of the grain we grow in western Canada and trucks just can’t do it,” explains Woods.

“So we have to rely on the rail primarily.

At this level of the value chain we take direction from the results of negotiation with the rail and our logistics people.

That is part of the chain from an elevator standpoint we really have no control over.”

Mark Hemmes is president of Quorum Corporation. Quorum monitors the grain transport industry in Canada on behalf of the federal and provincial governments.

Hemmes says the main problem with the dicey relationship between the grain handling industry and the railroads is the grain companies’ absolute dependence on the CN and CP rail “duopoly” in Canada.

“It is the single biggest limiting factor to commercial growth in the agriculture sector,” states Hemmes. “You have 30,000 farmers out on the Canadian prairies who are funneling grain into 386 elevators. And those 386 elevators are essentially trying to stuff it down two pipes. That’s what the railways do. When you look at it, of all of those 386 elevators, there are only four right

Parrish and Heimbecker GM Barry Woods and employee Tina Barrett perform quality control at the Medicine Hat grain elevator.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY PARRISH & HEIMBECKER

continued on page 12

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

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From crop to port to plate continued from page 11 now who are served by both railways.

So the rest of them are on one railway or the other.”

Hemmes says there has always been a natural conflict of interest between grain companies which want increased rail capacity to ship more grain and railways which seek to limit their operations to decrease costs.

Jim Prentice

“From the perspective of the railways their profitability is largely determined on how efficient they can be. They are always striving for 100 per cent asset utilization. It doesn’t necessarily mean you put too much capacity in there because if you put too much capacity in then you have reduced asset utilization.

Railways are always looking to fix the amount of locomotives and the amount of staff and the number of cars supplied at something less than what they think the market could demand.”

Premier of Alberta

Innovation and ingenuity thriving in Southeast Alberta With more sunny days than anywhere else in the country, Medicine Hat’s ability to look on the bright side should come as no surprise.

Base Suffield, the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems and the Village of Foremost all having a role in that success.

A sense of optimism has always served the city – and surrounding communities – well.

And despite the recent drop in the price of oil and the financial challenges that have resulted, people in the southeast corner of our province are continuing to demonstrate the hard work, resiliency and can-do attitude Albertans are known for.

The region is also attracting investment in alternative and renewable energy with a number of projects either completed or in the works. Solar power projects have, of course, been a good fit for the area, while a new wind farm near the village of Seven Persons is in the planning phase.

Southeast Alberta has long enjoyed prosperity through agriculture. Blue skies and plentiful sunshine have ensured success with a variety of field and specialty crops.

Oil and gas production and tourism have also been boons for the local economy.

In recent years, the region has demonstrated leadership in a number of industry sectors – competitive areas like innovative manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy. By embracing new ideas, southeast Alberta has been able to strengthen and diversify its economy. And this means the region will be positioned to make the most of the opportunities before it.

Across southeast Alberta, there are examples of innovation and ingenuity everywhere. Companies like Meggitt Training Systems-Canada in Medicine Hat are global players in the production of unmanned vehicles to support military training. In fact, southeast Alberta is a growing hub for unmanned vehicle development with Meggitt, Canadian Forces

The railways also need faster turn around times to be efficient, and therefore tend to favour the fastest corridors in their operations with larger elevators receiving most of the car allocations.

“If you are a small bulk shipper or a short line those guys are hurting,” says Hemmes. “Railways were almost forced last year (thanks to Bill C-52) into a position to find their most efficient corridors and focus on them. They are trying to move as much volume in those corridors as quickly as they can so they can hit their tonnage targets. That kind of excludes the U.S., eastern Canada or small bulk shippers.”

Investments such as these are not just generating energy – they foster employment and a great quality of life for area residents. Unemployment in the region is among the lowest in the province while Medicine Hat’s median family income of nearly $85,000 in 2012 has afforded residents a high standard of living. Major capital projects are also planned, including the hospital pital redevelopment and new arena in n Medicine Hat.

Last year farmers became all too familiar with the term demurrage.

Dozens of ships waited for over a month at major

Combine this with good schools, health care and recreational facilities, and southeast Alberta truly is a great place to live, work and play.

In the months ahead, the Alberta government will work hard to weather the financial challenges our province faces, and protect a high quality of life for all Albertans.

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ports like Prince Rupert, Vancouver and Thunder Bay for their grain to arrive resulting in millions of dollars in demurrage penalties. It was like nothing Mark MacKenzie, operations manager at the Alliance Grain Terminal at the Port of Vancouver, had ever seen before in his 35 years of working the port grain terminals.

“There was a lot of money spent on demurrage last year out of Vancouver,” confirms MacKenzie. “I don’t think we have ever had a year like that. Usually for us here our owners do the marketing of the grain. So they make the sales to the ship and from there they have a window that the vessel is going to arrive. The window can be up to 30 days. We are always looking at it five to six weeks out and preparing a list of grain we need to bring into the terminal.

Our logistics manager here is looking at that and having our ownership allocate the cars to arrive here in time for that vessel.”

In a normal year the grain moves quite seamlessly from port to the ships coming in.

“We deal with the ships’ in-port agents from here: Times to get the ships in, where they are anchored, etc. We don’t actually deal with the captain of the ship ever,” says MacKenzie. “Some vessels that come might have to wait three or four days, depending on where our line-up is. For us we do about 200,000 or 300,000 tonnes of peas which are mostly going to India. We do a lot of canola and wheat to Japan. We also do quite a lot of wheat down into South America.”

MacKenzie says even after four decades in the business he is still amazed by the industriousness of western Canadian farmers. He is also continually amazed by the com complexity of getting grain from farm to por port and then out into the wider world.

“Sometimes when I fly to “Som Winnipeg and head back to Win the head office out there you th ffly over the farmland—it’s aamazing how much there is. The size of the whole operation getting it from the farm to the country terminals out to the coast into the ships and off to the ddestination, unloaded and made into whatever products m they the are going to turn it into in the end. e It is a big operation. It’s pretty awe-inspiring when you think about it.” ■

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our communities â?š our region â?š our people

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town profiles Medicine Hat ◗ Population (2012): 61,180 ◗ Households (2012): 26,812 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2012): 38.6 ◗ Major Industries: Oil and Gas ◗ Largest Employer: Medicine Hat Regional Hospital ◗ Mayor: Ted Clugston ◗ Incorporated: 1906 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Saamis Tepee, Ewart Duggan House, Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre, Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Heritage District.

Schuler Redcliff ◗ Population (2011): 5,588 ◗ Households (2011): 2,083 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 35 ◗ Major Industries: Oil and Gas ◗ Largest Employer: Red Hat Co-op ◗ Mayor: Ernie Reimer ◗ Incorporate: 1912 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: The Redcliff Museum, Golf Course

Cypress County ◗ Population (2011): 7,214 ◗ Households (2011): 3,289 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 39.2 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Tourism ◗ Largest Employer: CFB-DRDC Suffield ◗ Reeve: Richard Oster ◗ Incorporated: 1985 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Elkwater-Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

◗ Population (2011): 63 ◗ Households (2011): 33 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 57.5 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: Prairie Rose School Division ◗ Unincorporated

Ralston ◗ Population (2011): 409 ◗ Households (2011): 118 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 35 ◗ Major Industries: Civil Service ◗ Largest Employer: CFB-DRDC Suffield ◗ Unincorporated

Walsh ◗ Population (2011): 58 ◗ Households (2011): 27 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 50.5 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Unincorporated

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888 75• 03/ 31 /15

◗ Population * ◗ Households: Unavailable ◗ Median Age of Pop.: Unavailable ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: Prairie Rose School Division ◗ Unincorporated *Data provided by Cypress County. No data found in 2011 Census

Suffield ◗ Population (2011): 264 ◗ Households (2011): 113 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 46.2 ◗ Major Industries: Civil Service ◗ Largest Employer: CFB-DRDC Suffield ◗ Unincorporated

Seven Persons

Elkwater ◗ Population (2011): 50 ◗ Households (2011): 29 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 58.9 ◗ Major Industries: Tourism ◗ Largest Employer: Government of Alberta ◗ Unincorporated

Prairie P rairrie Rose School Division No. 8

Celebrating 20 Years of "Everyone Learning Together" “Forward to the Future” Prairie Rose is proud to be educating students today with the job skills needed for tomorrow.

Find out more at

www.prrd.ab.ca

41189751•03/31/15

◗ Population (2011): 231 ◗ Households (2011): 92 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 38.5 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: Prairie Rose School Division ◗ Unincorporated

You can also stay informed by following us on Twitter @PrairieRoseSD8 our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

15

town profiles Forty Mile County No. 8 ◗ Population (2011): 3,336 ◗ Households (2011): 819 ◗ Median Age of Pop.(2011): 31.8 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: County of Forty Mile ◗ Reeve: Bryne Lengyel ◗ Incorporated: 1958 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Etzikom Windmill Museum, Red Rock Coulee Natural Area, Forty Mile Park

Bow Island Manyberries ◗ Population (2013 est.): 30-40* ◗ Households (2013 est.): 15-20* ◗ Median Age of Pop. Unavailable ◗ Major Industries: Oil and Gas, Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: City of Medicine Hat ◗ Unincorporated *2011 Census data not found. Data provided by Manyberries Ag Society

◗ Population (2011): 2,025 ◗ Households (2011): 641 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 33.7 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture, Manufactoring ◗ Largest Employer: ◗ Mayor: Gordon Reynolds ◗ Incorporated: 1912 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Spitz Sunflower Seeds, Pinto McBean statue, Blues at the Bow

Foremost ◗ Population (2011): 526 ◗ Households (2011): 218 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 43.8 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: County of Forty Mile ◗ Mayor: Kenneth Kultgen ◗ Incorporated: 1950 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Forty Mile Park, Etzikom Windmill Museum, Red Rock Coulee Natural Area

We will connect you with potential customers, future colleagues and key industry leaders in the County of Forty Mile to put you miles ahead!

email: info@edalliance.ca 16

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

41226224•03/31/15

Newell County No. 4 ◗ Population (2011): 6,786 ◗ Households (2011): 2,366 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 37 ◗ Major Industries: Oil and Gas ◗ Largest Employer: JBS Lakeside Beef-processing Plant ◗ Reeve: Molly Douglass ◗ Incorporated: 1953 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Lake Newell

City of Brooks ◗ Population (2011): 13,676 ◗ Households (2011): 5,037 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 33.8 ◗ Major Industries: Oil and Gas ◗ Largest Employer: Grasslands School Division ◗ Mayor: Martin Shields ◗ Incorporated: 2005 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Brooks Aqueduct, Brooks and District Museum, Golf Course

Duchess ◗ Population (2011): 992 ◗ Households (2011): 360 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 31.8 ◗ Major Industries: Construction ◗ Largest Employer: Alberta Prairie Meats ◗ Mayor: Bruce Snape ◗ Incorporated: 1921 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Dinosaur Provincial Park

Special Areas (No.2, No.3, No.4) Bassano ◗ Population (2011): 1,282 ◗ Households (2011): 542 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 44.8 ◗ Major Industries: Manufacturing ◗ Largest Employer: Global Thermoelectric Ltd. ◗ Mayor: Tom Rose ◗ Incorporated: 1911 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Crawling Valley Reservoir, Bassano Dam

◗ Population (2011): 4,499 ◗ Households(2011): 1,558 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 39.7 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: ATCO Sheerness Generating Station ◗ Chairman: Jay J. Slemp ◗ Incorporated: 1938 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Blood Indian Park, Canadian Badlands

Rosemary 3381 Gershaw Drive SW, Medicine Hat AB T1B 3N2 403-526-2707 www.mhfc.ca We carry a complete line of: dog & cat food, animal feeds & supplements, animal health products, livestock equipment, horse tack, western jewellery and home decor items.

Stop by the store and say hello!

We look forward to getting to know you.

Store Hours: Open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

41156710•03/31/15

◗ Population (2011): 342 ◗ Households (2011): 132 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 37.4 ◗ Major Industries: Retail ◗ Largest Employer: Spragg’s Meat Shop ◗ Mayor: Don Gibb ◗ Incorporated: 1951 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Burst of Colour Run

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

17

town profiles Empress Population (2011): 188 Households (2011): 69 Median Age of Pop. (2011): 45 Major Industries: Agriculture Largest Employer: Village of Empress Mayor: Chad Van Dam Incorporated: 1917 Major Tourist Attractions: Artisans of Empress Open House

Cereal Hanna Population (2011): 2,673 Households (2011): 1,208 Median Age of Pop. (2011): 44.8 Major Industries: Agriculture Largest Employer: ATCO Electric Mayor: Chris Warwick Incorporated: 1912 Major Tourist Attractions: Prairie Oasis Park, Hanna Pioneer Village and Museum

◗ Population (2011): 134 ◗ Households (2011): 79 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 53.7 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: Christenson Trucking ◗ Mayor: Tami Olds ◗ Incorporated: 1910 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Cereal Prairie Pioneer Museum

Youngstown

Oyen Population (2011): 973 Households (2011): 383 Median Age of Pop.(2011): 47.7 Major Industries: Agriculture, Oil and Gas Largest Employer: Hospital Mayor: Doug Jones Incorporated: 1913 Major Tourist Attractions: Crossroads Centre, Oyen Museum, Centennial Clock, Outdoor Shirley McClellan Leisure Centre

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

◗ Population (2011): 178 ◗ Households (2011): 82 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 47.4 ◗ Major Industries: Agriculture ◗ Largest Employer: K & M Gas Plus ◗ Mayor: Robert Blagen ◗ Incorporated: 1922 ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Blood Indian Park

MD of Acadia Valley No. 34

Strategic planning driving force for future growth and development Cypress County is made up of nine hamlets ranging in size from 40 people in Hilda, to over 1,000 people in Dunmore, with a total of 7,200 residents.

Outside of the hamlets, many of these residents enjoy country living in acreages within 25 kilometres of Medicine Hat. In addition to that, add 5,000 square miles of farm and ranch land with graveled, oiled and paved roads, a reason CAO Kevin Miner and his staff of 60 employees keep very busy.

The county is a major contributor to the revised Economic Development newly revis of Southeast Alberta in which Alliance o we have hav partnered with Bow Island, Redcliff Redc and The County of 40 Mile to be b proactive in helping our communities prosper. The EDA co promotes the region to attract p new business, which helps sustain economic growth. New or expanded business brings employment opportunities along with new residents to the area.

The Me d since th icine Hat Oilm e e Associa early 70’s and n’s Associatio n has b tio strives ee o charitie n is very bus y in the n today’s oil a n a recognize s and o d nd gas th c o e m r organ of the m munity econom organization iz donatin onth ex ations. y. T firsthan cept during th Our meetings g time and m he Oilmen’s onie d what e summ are held we hav every fi s to small e been er. Come join rs a o b u out ove MEDICI r Oilme t Thursday r the la NE HAT st 40 ye n’s and see O a P.O. Bo rs!!!! x 1021, ILMEN’S ASSO or visit Medicin us at: www.m e Hat, AB T1 CIATION edicine A 7H1 hatoilm ens.com

1/15

◗ Population (2011): 8,029 ◗ Households (2011): 3,182 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 40.4 ◗ Major Industries: Tourism ◗ Largest Employer: Drumheller Institution and Annex ◗ Mayor: Terry Yemen ◗ Incorporated: 1998 (MD of Badlands No. 7) ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Royal Tyrrell Museum, Atlas Coal Mine, Last Chance Saloon

Reeve, Cypress County

84•03/3

Drumheller

Richard Oster

411888

◗ Population (2011): 495 ◗ Households (2011): 151 ◗ Median Age of Pop. (2011): 40.9 ◗ Major Industries: Oil and Gas ◗ Largest Employer: I.W. Kuhn Environmental Ltd. ◗ Reeve: Peter Rafa ◗ Unincorporated ◗ Major Tourist Attractions: Prairie Elevator Tea House and Museum, MD Recreation Dam

Our O goal of being a good neighbour also means that we will ne be contributing $700,000 to the Regional Event Centre. We know that Regi

our ratepayers will be enjoying this new complex and we want to be part of it.

A project that will be completed late this summer is a regional water line to the hamlets of Irvine and Walsh. This $15 million project will see potable water pumped from Medicine Hat to Dunmore, then on to reservoirs in Irvine and Walsh.

A water co-op serving about 400 rural residents will be designed and constructed within the next couple of years.

Thirty years after incorporating in 1985, the council elected in 2013 is very focused on strategic planning for the future.

While agriculture is still the primary business activity in the county, there is an increasing demand for better services.

Residential growth in the 35 clusters of acreages (country residential subdivisions) plus industry, tourism and recreational desires, are making long range road development and recreation facility plans a must.

Optimism with a solid tax base means Cypress County will continue to progress and evolve to meet the demands of a more urbanized population.

Cypress County, what a great place to live and work in.

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

19

“I think what we wanted was to be really smart and creative about what we did,” said Olson.

Most of the videos were made for launch events for the Olympics, but Olson said the videos were well received and ending up playing at venues during the Olympic Games.

She was “immensely proud” of what her and her team accomplished.

“We definitely felt the weight of the country on our shoulders and I think everybody that was part of that team felt that responsibility and wanted to do the country proud.”

The work she is most proud of was a behind-the-scenes documentary for the entire VANOC workforce, including the volunteers involved with working at the Games. The initial video was supposed to be a 20-minute short, but the team finished with a 90-minute documentary entitled “Behind the Moments.”

Olson has still kept her passion for movies. Among her favourite filmmakers are the late Anthony Minghella (“I felt that his stories were incredibly beautiful and epic and transported you to another place.”), Jane Campion (“A beautiful storyteller and director.”), Baz Luhrmann (“He must have Technicolor dreams through his brain!”) and Steven Soderbergh (“I love his work, it’s slick, it’s cool and entertaining.”).

She has made primarily short films beginning in film school, and has entered a competition and film festival in England called Straight 8.

“When you enter the festival, they send you a single spool of Super 8 film, and you have to shoot your film in sequence on the spool of film,” she said. “They develop it, and the first time you see it is at one of their screenings. Even you as the filmmaker haven’t seen the outcome of what you have filmed.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Former Hatter Carla Olson has turned her life-long love of movies into a fulfilling career. Olson has developed visual media for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and is working on a short film this year entitled "Bona Fide."

“It’s nerve-wracking but the things that people end up creating are amazing, because you have one chance to get it.”

Olson has done three films for the Straight 8 competition and says since taking part she now sees ideas for the films in her everyday life.

Most recently, she began production on her short film an advertising company. Her early advertising work included “Bona Fide,” a film in which she used crowdfunding website Kickstarter to raise the $57,000 production budget for the commercials for the BC Lottery Corporation. arla Olson’s life-long love of film. movies has taken her from She now freelances with her organization Tuesday Medicine Hat to the Vancouver Film Company, whose recent work includes producing “Looking for funding for films is a lot of work on its own, Olympics, and film festivals and it can become its own full-time job in a way,” she said. advertisements for Shaw Communications. around the world.

“Looking at other more traditional ways of funding the “It's great because it's the same as film, they're just like mini Olson, who moved to Medicine films, 30-second versions,” she said. “The thing I love about films, which in Canada is often the grant system, is a long process, and you are one of many putting your idea into the Hat in 1986 at age 11 and still it is the team aspect to it. It takes so many fields of expertise mix to be considered, and only a handful may get funding calls the city home, originally to make any sort of motion picture happen.” for their projects. had aspirations of being a teacher and writer. She decided Olson works primarily on the agency side, hiring the “With crowdfunding, you’re reaching out to people production company and directors to help create the to combine her two loves of you know, people who love film, to people that think storytelling and visual imagery and enrolled at Simon Fraser finished product.

Kickstarter or Indiegogo or other crowdfunding ventures University, graduating with a bachelor of fine arts degree in During her time in Vancouver working in advertising, Olson are interesting and they want to help out of the goodness of film in 1998. their heart. For me, it felt like a way to get me where I want headed up video production for the Vancouver Organizing to go quicker.”

Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter “I guess I was just drawn to movies and pop culture,” said Games (VANOC), working for the agency which helped with Olson from her home in Vancouver. “I was really obsessed “Bona Fide” concerns the end of a relationship for two the bid for the Olympics. Among Olson’s work during the with music videos when they first started.” lovers who come together for one last night. The three-day Olympics included the video which played in Prague when production was scheduled to start in March, and Olson After graduation, Olson worked in radio, producing a the Olympics were officially awarded to Vancouver. Olson is hoping to enter the completed film in festivals across morning talk show for an AM radio station in Vancouver produced video content which told the story of Vancouver Canada, including the Toronto International Film Festival. ■ and through that, transitioned to a junior producer role for 2010, from the torch relay to how the medals were made.

CHARLES LEFEBVRE

C 20

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Medicine Hat’s Authorized Apple Dealer

41189831•03/31/15

Celebrating 30 years of serving Medicine Hat and Area.

Thank You! Memory Lane is an Apple authorized reseller for Mac and iPad products.

We are the largest independent Apple partner in the region, with an Authorized Service Centre for Apple Mac and iOS products.

Apple Authorized service centre for iPhone’s and iPad’s.

Warranty and non-warranty using original Apple parts only.

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COMPUTERS our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

21

It started out as a simple enough idea when in 2003 then-mayor Garth Vallely threw out the thought Medicine Hat may need a new, modern event centre.

The last 12 years have proven getting something actually built isn't simple at all.

The following is a year-by-year timeline of events taken from the News archives leading up to the building of the Regional Event Centre.

• In January, then-mayor Vallely announces his intention to see a new event centre built during an address to the Chamber of Commerce.

• Vallely estimates the cost of the proposed at $30 million with operating costs at around $1 million a year.

2004

event centre timeline

• After winning the 2004 election, Vallely reiterates his commitment.

Road to the

• A feasibility study is launched and an Ad Hoc Arena Feasibility Committee is formed and chaired by Ald. Graham Kelly.

• City recreation pegs a conservative estimate for the beginning of construction at three to five years.

2005

• The feasibility report is released in December identifying 14 possible sites. Costs are estimated to be between $39 million and $55 million depending on the size.

• A second feasibility study is commissioned and a new Arena Steering Committee is formed with Kelly once again at the helm.

• The cost is pegged at closer to $60 million for the facility with 6,000 seats, expandable to 8,000.

2006

• The second feasibility report is released and reveals concern on the part of Tigers ownership regarding the project.

• In April, aldermen vote to defer the arena issue to the next council that would eventually see Mayor Norm Boucher elected in October.

• A new committee is formed in June to look at ways to fund the new event centre, the Regional Major Event Centre Committee (RMECC) with Bill Yuill as its chair. The city also forms its own Event Centre Committee with Ald. Jamie White as chair.

Event Centre bumpy, but opening day should shine on the city's newest jewel COLLIN GALLANT

• The cost estimate is pegged at $85 to $98 million for a 7,000-seat building.

• In January, Box Springs Business Park announces its proposal, offering land to the city for $1.

ARTIST RENDERING OF EVENT CENTRE INTERIOR

2007

F

rom a first mention in a 2004 New Year’s address to an expected inaugural puck-drop in the fall of 2015, the road to opening the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre has been long and arduous.

Construction of the 6,129-seat rink facility will take in total about two years — about one-quarter the time it took to debate and approve financing, size, location and even determine the need for a such a facility.

The city plans to take possession of the $61.4-million building, part of a total $74-million project, in August.

A construction tour in February showed finishing touches, drywall and paint going on some parts of the facility.

“It’s better than I thought it was going to be,” said Mayor Ted Clugston, who once joked he’d voted

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

‘yes’ five times on the project over the years as an alderman.

“I was a little worried to be honest, because it took 10 years and we kept lowering what we were willing to pay. There were bids and more bids, and changes in scope, and I thought we might have cheaped out, because, frankly, we got a fairly good deal.”

The Arena opened in 1970 after the old Arena Gardens burned to the ground in the spring of 1969.

But the building with short benches, few concessions and an end-zone press box wasn’t holding up.

It was long on memories but short on amenities, dressing room space and headroom in the lower corridors.

It also lacked seats.

The losing Tigers teams of the late 1990s had unleashed a new, fast-paced, high-scoring style in the 2000s. They won league titles in 2004 and 2007, and

• The first council meeting of the year hears three sites are being considered for the new event centre: Box Springs, Family Leisure Centre and Stampede and Exhibition grounds.

• The city announces its $10 million provincial grant application, estimates the cost at $90 million for a building with a maximum event capacity of 8,000.

• RMECC is given the additional task of recommending a location along with finding funds. It also applies for $30 million from the federal Building Canada Fund.

2008

• RMECC identifies five locations as possible sites: Box Springs, privately-owned land in Cypress County, Family Leisure Centre, Lansdowne Equity’s site and the Exhibition and Stampede grounds.

• RMECC narrows the five candidate sites down to two - Box Springs and Lansdowne - and recommends the Lansdowne site in May. • In July, head-to-head pitches are made at council by Box Springs and Lansdowne without any clear indication as to the city's involvement in the project.

suddenly the 4,006-seat capacity was eaten up by 3,500 to 3,800 season ticket holders.

In 2004, then-mayor Garth Vallely launched the idea in a State of the City address, saying that a new rink to seat 6,500 to 8,000 spectators and costing $30 million would be a second crown jewel for Medicine Hat. The first such jewel was the Esplanade, then recently completed for a total of $42 million — the city’s share coming to $27 million, or about the original budget projection of the arts centre.

The threat of similar cost overruns stained the arena approval process for years to come, according to one alderman close to the project.

“Council was a little gun-shy,” said Jamie White, a former alderman who sat on steering committees and is now heading up a $10-million private fundraising campaign. “There was a lot of skepticism in the community about another large project ... There was apprehension against getting too carried away.”

However, committees got to work, studies were commissioned and estimates rose. The infamous “wrong button” vote in 2010 saw a $95-million proposal approved 5-4, then defeated 5-4, after Ald. John Hamill appealed to council that his vote had been misregistered.

Proponents of that deal said that seemingly high cost included a $20-million contingency fund — needed in Alberta’s volatile construction market.

The final contract, approved by council in June 2013, was for $61.4 million for construction, and $74.5 million in total, including seats, scoreboard and other fittings.

As a design-build project, the builder assumes responsibilities for overruns — cost certainty that made the project palatable, according to Graham Kelly.

The retired long-time alderman guided the project as head of the Public Services Committee for the final three years and said that despite the issue, wasn’t as complicated as it has been made out.

“We started with the assumption that we had to replace The Arena,” said Kelly shortly after the final go-ahead vote.

“Once that was agreed, it was a matter of developing consensus.”

• BSBG pitches a $107 million project while Lansdowne representatives are reserved about giving numbers without knowing the level of the city’s involvement.

Soon monthly updates to all of council were taking place, and two years later council voted 8-1 in favour.

• Lansdowne gives a rough figure of $75 to $80 million for the project based on a similar project it completed.

As for location, the argument never really went away.

• The city site selection committee recommends Box Springs.

• In August, Box Springs is picked as the new location of the event centre.

An early feasibility study recommended Maple Avenue, about two blocks from The Arena, as the best location, and in tune with downtown revitalization.

• City staff presents council a review which estimates the cost at $108 million with annual operating costs of $4.1 million.

During the same meeting, questions regarding whether the Tigers are prepared to be the event centre's major tenant are also raised by aldermen.

However, council rejected the idea after public outcry that such a spot would inherit parking and traffic problems of the current rink.

In 2008 another committee of high-profile residents favoured a private-public partnership with Lansdowne Equity Ventures to build on the southern edge of Medicine Hat.

• The recession begins to effect the local economy, White, Regional Event Centre Committee (RECC) chair, says council can't decide on what the city will spend on a new arena until they hear back on federal and provincial grants but he expresses optimism for federal funding.

Council rejected it however, in favour of a standing offer of 20 acres in the Box Springs Business Park, though hammering out the details of such a swap took more than four years.

Negotiations broke off in 2012 with council citing an impasse with the park’s owners.

The Lansdowne bid was resubmitted, the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede drew up a new proposal. Several aldermen gave a late push for a redevelopment of the North Flats, including changes to Athletic Park.

However, council restarted talks with the Box Springs group resulted in a deal in the autumn, and by the following summer, a design and construction deal was before council.

As far as financing is concerned, $62.24 million comes from reserve funding — mostly from the Community Capital Reserve that’s filled up by excessive gas and landsale profits.

An early contribution of $2.6 million from the Alberta government covered the cost of studies.

The $10 million is being sought in a fundraising campaign, with any shortfall covered by a per ticket charge of about $2 or less. ■

• RECC releases the capacity figures; 7,136 for hockey games, 8,000 for concerts. It is also announced completed design plans and cost estimate are expected within five months.

2009

• Medicine Hat MP LaVar Payne announces $200,000 of the federal Building Canada Fund will go to the city, but for parks and not the Regional Event Centre (REC). But he states once the plans are completed, it will help determine the fed's involvement in the REC. • By July, the first design is presented to aldermen and it's announced the facility will be run by a private operator.

• Later that month, the provincial government slammed the door on the possibility to access the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grant.

• The Phase 4 Feasibility Study is released in October stating the cost estimate to be just under $90 million plus a $4 million contingency fund.

• Ald. Jeremy Thompson takes the chair of RECC with the group recommending funding that would include getting $3 million in government grants, $30 million for the city's Community Capital Reserve and take a $62 million internal loan. A vote on the funding model is scheduled for January 2010.

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

23

• The first council meeting of the year leads to the "wrong button scandal" when Ald. John Hamill accidentally votes yay when he meant to vote nay as council rejects the RECC funding proposal after a re-vote.

• By the end of February, Mayor Boucher begins openly criticizing MP Payne over the lack of federal stimulus money that could go towards the REC.

2010

• After a two-month hiatus, RECC meets again to take another crack at looking at a funding model.

• In February, the city applies for the third time for federal funding under the Building Canada plan with MP Payne expressing optimism for the request. The city also announces it has secured $10 million in funding from the provincial government contingent on securing federal funds.

Ald. Robert Dumanowski, Ald. Les Pearson, Mayor Norm Boucher, Ald. John Hamill, and Ald. Ted Clugston take part in the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre Sod Turning in September 2013.

• The REC also is featured in the federal election campaign as Mayor Boucher takes a leave to run against the sitting MP, using the lack of funds for the facility as a hammer issue.

Medicine Hat city councillors and local media take a tour of the Regional Event Centre.

• Payne wins reelection in May stating one of his first orders of business will be to check on the city's Building Canada application.

• The funding model proposed by RECC doesn't go through.

• That model would have seen $51.5 million from the city's Community Capital Reserve Fund combined with monies from grants, fundraising and loans to make up the difference of the $94.5 million project.

2011

• Ald. Kelly offers takes control of the project from RECC and puts it under the Public Services Committee he chairs. He states a facility could be built for $35 million.

From dream to

- WHL commissioner Ron Robinson states the Arena lags behind every stadium in the league.

• Medicine Hat businessman Bill Yuill offers to kick in the final $1 million if the Chamber kickstarts a $10 million fundraising campaign.

• The Chamber rejects the offer.

the building of the Regional

• Kelly says that he's been informed no Building Canada Fund money will be available for the REC. •Payne says $10 million the Building Canada money has been set aside for other city recreation projects. City money budgeted for those projects now goes towards the REC.

TIM KALINOWSKI

R

eal estate development is always viewed through the lens of the future. Sometimes it takes decades to realize a return on investment. And sometimes it happens all at once.

• In February, Ald. Les Pearson proclaims, "if there is any question about where the event centre would be built, that question is closed." Aldermen vote unanimously to begin the process of receiving bids to design and build the REC at Box Springs.

• In August, aldermen vote to strike down Box Springs as the site of REC. • Proposals from the Exhibition Stampede Board, an aldermen-backed idea to redevelop Athletic Park along with a pitch from Landsdowne were reviewed by the city as well.

• By December, council voting unanimously to build at Box Springs by ratifying a land deal with BSBG. • In the same month, Kelly announced the city will give design firms a $61.4 million cost ceiling to build a 6,500-seat arena. That puts the total project budget including land and servicing at around $70 million.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

2012

In 2006, Box Springs Business Park was not much more than a bare patch of prairie with a tumbleweed or two blowing through from time to time. Now it is perhaps the single most important 500 acres of land within Medicine Hat’s city limits.

High bets have been laid on the future growth of the business park. With the scheduled completion of the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre this summer, both the business park’s investors and the city’s government have a lot riding on the deal.

“There are several reasons why the City decided to put the Event Centre in Box Springs,” says John Hashem, one of the partners in Box Springs Business Park. “One of them was because we donated the land, which was a real advantage to the city. We didn’t do that for absolutely nothing.

We did it because we expected it would create more development in our area and make it an area where businesses and industry want to come in.”

Although initially successful in attracting businesses like Princess Auto and Costco to the business park on its own merits, Hashem’s partner group knew a high a profile public structure like the Event Centre going in will up the ante on future growth.

“Most of the businesses that are located here now were coming in with or without the Event Centre,” says Hashem. “The Event Centre is a real bonus for them. But now the interest we are getting from companies thinking of coming to the business park is partly because of the Event Centre. It’s a factor, for sure.”

The phone is starting to ring. The game is afoot.

Hashem knows Box Springs has a long ways yet to go before all the dreams are realized. But today, with the Event Centre looming on the horizon, Hashem allows himself to dream. When he looks

2013 Construction crews work on the Regional Event Centre

• Council taps PCL Construction to build the REC. The building’s capacity for hockey is set at 6,129, including corporate boxes, and 7,055 for concerts. Price Tag: $74.9 million.

• On September 20, the ground is broken for the REC project at Box Springs with doors scheduled to open in mid-August 2015.

• Cypress Country announces a $700,000 contribution to the city’s $10 million REC community fundraising goal.

2014

• In September, the REC fundraising committee headed by former alderman Jamie White officially kicks off with the goal of raising $10 million.

• Redcliff votes to contribute $10,000 a year for the next decade towards that goal.

• City officials estimate that if not enough money is raised, a $2.15 per-ticket charge would make up the difference over 30 years.

2015

Councillors and media take a tour of the construction site of the Regional Event Centre in August 2014. The building will open in time for the 2015/2016 hockey season.

The regional event centre timeline were compiled from News articles by reporters Tim Campbell, Karen Karbashewski, Nicole Riva, James Neely, Sean Rooney, Darren Steinke, Angus Henderson, Scott Schmidt, Tenille Tellman, Collin Gallant, Amanda Stephenson and Alex McCuaig.

Construction continues on the Regional Event Centre

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Clugston anticipates the Event Centre will be a major attraction in Medicine Hat for many decades to come. He points to an old photograph of Medicine Hat’s Southview Mall which opened with an equal amount of anticipation and criticism in 1980 on what was then a bare patch of prairie on the city’s outskirts. Today it is the centre of a thriving ng commercial, retail and residential district.

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Over at Medicine Hat City Clugston sits in a comfortable arm chair in his office in front of a small coffee table centred with a yellow daffodil bouquet.

It’s been a long day for the mayor. He has been doing phone interview after phone interview on the

“It is all on target to open. And it’s all bought and paid for. It’s impressive. It’s three times the size of the current Arena. Another reason I am happy is there is private sector construction going up all around it; which is what we said it was going to do. Of course that was only a prediction, but it has come true.”

TR

“We are excited. We are seeing lots of activity. Is it going the way we want it to go? Yes. Are we getting from the Event Centre what we hoped to get? Yes. And the promise of the future is bright. In 2006 we rolled the dice and now it is starting to pay off. We are not concerned that it will pay off now. We are only concerned about when.”

Clugston feels the 10-year fight to get the Event Centre built in Box Springs has been absolutely worth it.

SPEC

out on the sparse prairie outside his office window Hashem doesn’t see grass and wild rose bushes: He sees new malls, sports bars, restaurants, car dealerships, hotels and retail outlets. He sees paved streets and parking lots. A growing commercial tax base for the city. He sees new jobs coming in and the promise of major sporting events and big entertainment acts stopping by. All thanks to the Event Centre.

“I always call it our crown jewel,” says Clugston.

“It is the largest capital project in the history of the city dollar-wise. It’s right on the highway; so rather than people going to Calgary for a concert hopefullyy surrounding communities will be coming here for concerts and events. It helps our city grow-up a bit.””

41218 9

Event Centre

city’s homelessness fight, with the other demands of his office soaking up his sparse free time. But one mention of the economic possibilities of the Event Centre and Clugston sits back in his chair with a smile.

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• In February, it’s revealed the Tigers and REC facility operator have yet to come to an agreement on lease terms.

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“These things take time, but there is a lot of room for development out there in Box Springs,” says Clugston.

“Over time the growth will be there. This is Alberta.

I would bet construction out there could be going on for 30 years. They have a lot of land and the Event Centre is just phase one.”■

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

25

10 COLLIN GALLANT

years of city infrastructure

T

he Regional Event Centre is the largest single construction project in Medicine Hat’s history.

Yet, its $74 million price tag accounts for less than one quarter of the city’s municipal capital budget over five years.

Grade 5 students Chynna Verhulst and Cait MacMillan work on a math project in the Esplanade museum during a class trip with River Heights Elementary School.

Compared to sewer, road and water projects, the outlay for the arena would only cover one-sixteenth of the city’s 30year infrastructure renewal program.

Paul Heywood, former director of theatre operations at The Esplanade, shows off the guitar signed by acts who have played at The Esplanade to be auction off at the Corona auction to benefit the Medicine Hat News Santa Claus Fund.

Including other projects and the utility division, $750 million, or three-quarters of one billion dollars, has or will be spent in five years We’re ending 2016.

That’s enough for 10 Event Centres.

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profits as well as a precursor to possible industrial expansion.

City spending also includes sewer catch basins, park development, road repairs, computers, heating and cooling equipment in civic buildings, and the city’s vehicle fleet.

And much of that needs to be maintained or rebuilt.

In mid-2014, the City outlined the need to spend close to $1 billion over 30 years to restore its basic municipal infrastructure, such as roads and storm sewers.

in the middle of the largest capital construction program in the city’s history.

“We’re in the middle of the largest capital construction —Mayor Ted program in the city’s history,” Mayor Ted Clugston said at the end of 2014. “We've had a very large community capital fund and we've converted that cash into construction.”

Public sector spending is big business in Medicine Hat. Combined with provincial government projects at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, schools and bridgework, the total outlay is over $1 billion over five years.

That’s not just high-profile projects, like the 6,100-seat spectator arena in the Box Springs Business Park, Family Leisure Centre expansion, plus police and fire stations.

Just over the horizon, a new seniors’ centre and partnership to build a pool at the South Ridge YMCA could both cost upwards of $15 million. Not included is a city application to build a $50-million north-end powerplant as route to export

In the 2015 budget a one per cent tax increase is earmarked to speed up repairs on the basis that spending sooner means cost savings later on.

The City of Medicine Hat completed $192 Clugston million worth of capital purchasing related to municipal operations, including construction, from 2012 to 2014, according to the Corporate Services division.

Another $104 million is carrying forward from those budget years, and in the next two years $101 million. About one-third of that cost will be covered by grants from other governments.

Ratepayer supported projects including sewer and water projects, known as Environmental Utilities, appearing in 2012-2016 budgets total $145 million.

Maintenance and upgrades for utility distribution networks in gas and power distribution amount to a combined $72.8 million.

Despite cutbacks in the gas production capital budget, tens of millions of dollars will be spent each year to maintain the network and shut-in costly low-production gas wells.

Roads Parkview Drive - In June 2012, council added $4 million to budget for Parkview Drive. The artery would be built to four lanes immediately rather than two.

improvements was first announced in the 2012 and is set to be completed in early 2016. The City’s share of a three-way funding scheme with the province and Ottawa is $16 million.

South Boundary Road — Upgraded years ahead of schedule in 2010 key projects in the immediate future centre around the west end of the city and other arteries.

Event Centre — Set to open in the late summer of 2015, the $75 million arena is the culmination of 11 years of debate and planning. It will seat 6,100 for hockey and about 7,000 for concerts. All but $10 million is paid for out of the city’s construction reserve, built up by energy and business unit profits.

Buildings

Floods

Fire halls — Fire Station No. 3, built at a cost of $3 million at the airport, opened in early 2005. To improve fire response times on the other edges of the city, two remaining stations will relocate by 2018. Station No. 2 will move to a new $5.3-million building on Trans-Canada Way in 2016.

Berms — A seven-kilometre berm system for Medicine Hat’s program that could eventually reach $35 million. The province contributed an initial $15-million towards the projects, including sewer drain upgrades, and the city has applied for further relief.

Southridge Drive — Widening the southend artery and new trails paths in 2012 cost $11.7 million Southridge Drive.

Police Station expansion — A $20-million three-storey expansion of the station opened in the fall of 2014.

Family Leisure Centre — A $36-million expansion, including a new fieldhouse, large gymnasium and football field

Construction of the expansion of Medicine Hat Regional Hospital continues.

Bridges — Crossings along the Ross and Seven Persons creeks were both rebuilt with provincial funds following floods since 2010. As well, City engineers are hoping to further reconfigure bridges in the Kipling Street corridor as flood resiliency and berming dollars become available from the province. ■

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Ivan Long, vice president of operations at Auto-Star stands in one of the server rooms at the Medicine Hat office.

Kurtis Peters and Andrew Taylor work on the Hammerhead USV-T at Meggitt Training Systems.

Walter Garrison, manager of innovation and scholarship, stands next to a 3D printer at Medicine Hat College.

Future seeds planted in

technology TIM KALINOWSKI

W

ith the recent downturn in the Alberta economy, and with a lot of question marks hanging over the oil and gas sector in particular, there is a broader movement under foot seeking to push for the development of new niches of economic activity which are not as dependent on resource extraction or commodity markets to be successful.

Medicine Hat may be ideally placed to supply just that in the years ahead as it becomes a budding technology cluster. Already dozens of technology and software companies call Medicine Hat home; some with global market shares. They are not as high profile as your Methanexes, Canadian Fertilizers or Cancarbs, but play a prominent role in the Medicine Hat economy nonetheless.

One of the longest standing companies in that regard is Auto~Star Compusystems Inc. Founded in 1982, Auto~Star began as a small technology start-up which has since evolved into a North American powerhouse in Point of Sale software for retail pharmacy companies.

Ivan Long, vice-president of operations for Auto~Star, says despite Medicine Hat’s

28

long-standing reputation as "The Gas City” he has always seen Medicine Hat as a technology hub.

“We have always considered Medicine Hat a strong technology city,” says Long.

“We’ve got great technical companies and really great technical people. Sometimes our clients will say where are you guys from? They assume we’re from Toronto or Calgary or Vancouver. We tell them Medicine Hat and they are bit surprised initially. It has actually served us really well being here. We find a great quality of life, a good business climate, and we’ve had success getting good, skilled people here.”

Although Medicine Hat’s technology sector is smaller than other sectors of the local economy, Long sees the potential and hopes to see more local technology start-ups setting up in the city in the years ahead.

“In terms of sheer size, it’s not the size of gas and oil and manufacturing and some of the other industries we’ve got,” explains Long. “But it is important, and it has been for a number of years. There is a sizable technology presence in Medicine Hat and it continues to grow. And many of the technology companies here are continuing to do well even if some of the other sectors are slowing down a bit.”

It is this positive outlook Sean Blewett,

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Vincent Malley works as business development manager for Meggitt Training Systems.

General Manager of Community Futures EntreCorp, shares wholeheartedly with Long. When EntreCorp took the initiative to develop its Regional Innovation Network, it was the vision of a mutually supportive and integrated technology sector in southeast Alberta that motivated its stakeholders.

“We were working with Auto~Star and Medicine Hat College and they noticed there was a need for local support of technology companies; in particular software development companies,” says Blewett. “They had a number of people coming to them asking for support.

It started out small with a software incubator housed at Auto-Star. We took it one step further and about six years ago we developed a strategy where we invited all the stakeholders in at the time.”

Blewett says the Regional Innovation Network has only grown stronger as more companies and stakeholders come on board.

“My personal belief is we need to start changing our viewpoints about what we are as a regional economy. I think we need to start thinking more about what is the next industry that is going to be in this community. I think we have to definitely look at technology, innovation and design as one step to go in that

direction.”

Blewett says there is also another factor which cannot be underestimated when it comes to having locally-based technology and software companies.

They bring new money into the southeast Alberta economy.

“With these companies their clients are North American, and in a lot of cases are international. So the dollars coming into our economy are new dollars which are increasing the pie as a whole.”

That is certainly true of Don and Brone Doonan’s software company Accessible Accessories Ltd. Accessible Accessories provides software and support packages across Canada to car dealerships to help them list and create more opportunities for auto accessory sales. It’s not sexy or dramatic, but Accessible Accessories has a proven track record in helping car dealerships increase their profitability significantly in an era of declining margins.

“From our perspective,” says Don, “we are bringing in money from outside of town and spending it here. From the city’s perspective that is something absolutely needed. If your money in town is just going around and around in a circle that’s wonderful. But the cream is the company that brings the money in from out of town and pays their employees

There is also a lesson to be learned about changing to meet the times. After spending 32 years in traditional auto sales, Don banked on his knowledge and his ideas and took a risk to jump into the new technology economy. With the help of Community Futures EntreCorp, he and wife Brone laid down the framework for what has now become an extremely successful enterprise 10 years later. Their company currently employs half a dozen full time workers in Medicine Hat and is finding its profits going up year after year.

“We’re not warehousing,” explains Brone.

“We’re not shipping anything. We don’t even pay for the stamp on an invoice.

We email all our invoices. There’s no marketing. It’s such a niche market and you are business-to-business. The dealers are our client, and that’s who we cater to.”

But Brone and Don will both tell you the biggest key to their success, without a doubt, is the high quality of life, the good wages and positive work atmosphere their employees enjoy in Medicine Hat. It’s a sentiment shared by most local technology companies, and it is a huge factor in choosing to base their businesses here.

Meggitt Training Systems Canada (MTSC) is a defense technology company which operates in nearly a dozen countries worldwide. Selling unmanned vehicle training systems for military use in air, on land and at sea, MTSC has long called Medicine Hat home.

“I am very proud to work at a global company in the city of Medicine Hat,” says Vincent Malley, business development manager at MTSC. “We are very proud of our team and the products we build here. I think we have been successful in obtaining and retaining high quality staff and individuals to work at our business.

There is a wide variety of people who want to live in Medicine Hat. Medicine Hat has a thriving industry and, over the last few years, has been diversifying out of oil and gas and finding other markets to become leaders in.”

Much of MTSC’s business in Medicine Hat centres around testing unmanned vehicles with military applications at DRDC-CFB Suffield, and working closely with the Canadian military to develop further training systems for export worldwide.

Malley says Medicine Hat is ideally suited to their company’s needs in that respect.

“The unmanned vehicle cluster has kind of established itself in southeast Alberta through the natural topography of the area, especially with the long days in

summer time and the big areas there are for testing here. It’s a natural fit for unmanned vehicle companies to land here. The Regional Innovation Network has also been successful in rounding up the local technology sector and creating networking events and establishing a forum where people can share ideas and build a stronger tech sector in the future.”

Malley also credits Medicine Hat College for the role it plays in providing a resource pool of students to draw potential employees from. And further praises the college’s 2013 acquisition of a state-ofthe-art thermal plastic 3D printer which represents a significant resource for companies such as MTSC thinking of moving into the area.

It’s that kind of praise from local industry, says Walter Garrison, manager innovation and scholarship at Medicine Hat College, which reinforces the thinking behind bringing such technological innovations to the city in the first place.

“If you are an inventor or you are a company that has a product that you want to physically prototype and test, this is where this technology can really shine.

We have technology that enables you to realize an object quickly; far more quickly then with traditional manufacturing methods.”

Garrison sees the college’s industrialgrade 3D printer as an example of a technology which is on the cusp of a broader transition in society toward a more localized innovation economy. And Medicine Hat, says Garrison, has the potential to get there first.

“As we get the word out, companies and other people interested in this technology across the province are really impressed with what we are doing here,” says Garrison. “It’s challenging to be on the cusp like this. We’re not perfect, but we learn every day. Our clients force us to become better and we make them better.”

Innovation is the key to success in the growth and development of a business, a community or a region. Just as the brick work, clay and traditional manufacturing economy of this area eventually gave way to oil and gas development, so too must southeast Alberta begin to think about new horizons and plan for the economy of the future. Companies like Meggitt, Auto~Star and Accessible Accessories are leading the charge in that respect.

With the support of local government, the Regional Innovation Network and Medicine Hat College, there has never been a better time to sow the seeds of that future in Medicine Hat. ■

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Reforms creating a Band-Aid solution with temporary foreign workers ALEX MCCUAIG

A

lberta’s exceptions to the federal Temporary Foreign Workers program may have offered some reprieve to some but for others, the situation with reforms to the program continues to be felt.

“We are losing pretty much all of our foreign workers this year,” said Brent Fraser, human resource manager at Red Hat Co-op.

“Last year, when we had 60 foreign workers, we ran with 10 to 20 vacancies that we couldn’t fill, we couldn’t even get applications from the local workforce.

So when we lose our foreign workers, we’re looking for 70 to 80 people and we couldn’t fill 10 jobs last year.”

41188986•03/31/15

Changes to the TFW program enacted in 2014 will see those coming to the end of

their current work term unable to renew their permits starting this year.

That is, except for those who have not had their application processed, filed prior to July 1, 2014, under the provincial nominee program — an exemption announced in February.

That extension is for one year.

Previous reforms to the program will also limit a company from employing more than 20 per cent of their workforce with low-skill TFWs in 2015 and then 10 per cent in 2016.

A Lethbridge-based immigration consultant said while the new bridging work permits for temporary foreign workers is a good start, more should be done to settle these workers in Canada.

"It has the potential to help over 1,000 people," said Cassandra Conacher, Mosaic Canadian Immigration Consulting

owner, of the program which will allow eligible TFWs remain in the country while their residency applications are being processed.

"But they are just making this announcement now and there were 201 people whose work permits expired in January. What about the 117 in February."

Information regarding the bridge work permits for TFWs wasn't formally released but came by way of a leaked letter to Alberta MPs from then federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney.

Provincial officials have confirmed the bridge program came into effect on Feb. 1 but eligible candidates have yet to be notified of their acceptance.

"It just seems like the bureaucracy made something that should have been happening months ago taken until now to come about," said Conacher.

"That is unfortunate."

She added that she is stumped by why only those who applied to the provincial nominee program prior to July 1, 2014 are eligible, with 329 having applied between that date and December.

"This is a Band-Aid, it's not a permanent fix," said Conacher.

"It is not going to address the thousands and thousands of applications in the Alberta government's pool."

She added that while the push to allow for more TFWs to remain in Alberta has softened in recent months due to dropping oil prices, the province continues to have a low unemployment rate.

Marijana Agicic, senior manager at Saamis Immigration, said while her agency isn’t directly involved in the TFW program, they are hearing more from

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Agicic said, however, the future of Canada will likely depend on how immigration is dealt with in this country.

“The government sees the potential — these people have already been here in Canada for a number of years, they are established in the community and they have gained enough language and other employable skills,” said Agicic.

“Why wouldn’t we open another avenue for them to explore staying here?”

She highlighted the federal government’s new Express Entry program as one of those potential avenues.

That program launched in January opens the door for TFWs and their employers to apply for permanent residency for suitable candidates for the program.

“Seeing one door close and another

open gives me hope that is what is going to happen. It would be a shame to miss the boat completely because some of these people have been here four or five years,” said Agicic.

She reiterated that despite the current downturn in the Alberta economy, this province is still forecasting a labour shortage of tens of thousands of people over the next two decades and the current population growth in Canada is largely due to immigration.

“Our workforce — almost half — is between 45 and 65 years old. We have an extremely old workforce,” said Agicic, later adding, “if there is not enough of a population of people who will be working and contributing taxes, pretty soon we’ll be charged for every service that we need.”

More than 100,000 TFWs have subscribed to the TFW program annually over the past several years, with Alberta routinely ranking as the top employer of foreign workers. ■

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In with the new

...but still holding to great moments of hockey at The Arena RYAN MCCRACKEN

T

he world of junior hockey has seen considerable changes since the inception of the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1970, and as Canada’s national pastime has evolved, so too has the franchise.

Tigers senior director of marketing and public relations Dave Andjelic has been a member of the organization since 1992, and in those years he’s seen the team take on new approaches to the game, both from a hockey operations and business standpoint.

“There wasn't nearly as much promotional selling back then as what there is today. Basically when I started we sold rink boards and programs, it was basically a one-man show back then,” said Andjelic. “Now we're full-on marketing. We've got a great staff that has done a terrific job here over the last 10 or 12 years. As the hockey industry has grown, so has our team and our staff, as well as downstairs, with the hockey club. We went from a head coach, an assistant coach and trainer, where now we've added all this support staff in and around the players as well.”

At the end of the playoffs, the Tigers will say their final farewell to the building known to Hatters as simply The Arena.

While the history held in the halls of the old board will never be forgotten, there’s plenty to be excited for when the Tigers take the ice at their new home, the Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre.

32

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

“It's going to be new, modern,” said Andjelic. “They're going to see things in that rink comparable to going to any of the bigger arenas in Canada, to going up to see the Flames or Oilers.”

Some of those new features include the Centre Ice restaurant and lounge, increased concession stands and washrooms, but perhaps the biggest new feature fans can look forward to at the Event Centre is the video scoreboard.

“It will finally be nice to have a video score clock where we can do all of our replays,” he said. “It'll be a good part of our marketing, too.”

Andjelic added the new barn, featuring 195,000 square feet of space, will make for a much greater ease of access for fans, as well as increased seating and accommodation for disabled patrons.

“Overall I think it will be a lot easier to move around the building itself ... There's plenty and plenty of space in that new building for the fans to move around,” he said. “There will be an elevator to help folks get from one level to the next, and our store is going to be that much bigger.”

While moving to the Event Centre is an exciting prospect, it will surely be hard to part ways with The Arena. As one of the Western Hockey League's longeststanding active buildings, The Arena has seen 45 seasons of Tigers hockey and five successful WHL championship runs.

But it seems the most vivid memory for fans and players alike is the infamous 2007 fog final, which saw the Tigers take

a thrilling Game 7 — 3-2 in double overtime — in the midst of rising levels of fog on the ice on a warm May evening in Medicine Hat to earn the Ed Chynoweth Cup, “I just remember Brennan Bosch falling down at our blue line, getting up and skating with the puck, just crossing their line and shooting on net. That was the game winner, the series winner. It was a great feeling,” said Tigers assistant coach Jerrid Sauer, a member of the 2007 championship-winning Tabbies roster. “It was a real special game.

Everything was on the line. They were a really good team and we already battled so hard through the rest of the series. Getting to overtime, and to kind of top it all off all the fog started rolling into the rink. I think we stopped the game at least three or four times if my memory serves me correct. We had to get on the ice and skate in circles to try and raise the fog. There were some points in time where I'm pretty sure the goalies couldn't even see the puck.”

for the Tigers and a great opportunity to go in there and start creating some new history in the new rink, but we'll never forget about the teams that played there and all the history that's here. We'll just try to move that and continue it on in the new rink.”

While there's lots of excitement for the future, there's still history to be made in The Arena. As the Tigers push for their sixth WHL title as a fitting farewell to the fond old barn, Andjelic hinted that it's sure to be a special outro to a building that's seen so much success.

“You're just going to have to wait and see,” he said with a smile. “We've got some things planned, and right now we're keeping that pretty close to the vest. But we do have something planned coming up here shortly”■

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“It's definitely one of the most historic rinks so far or still remaining,” added Sauer. “It's going to be a nice new look

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“We're looking at that as well, what do we want to take with us. Some of those things are very, very important not only to the team but the fans as well,” said Andjelic.

“We're going to take a hard look at making the transition of that history to see exactly where we can put it up. There will definitely be some display space in the new arena for that.”

9673

Given the rich history, which has seen a slew of Tigers make the jump to the National Hockey League in the organization’s 45 years, moving between buildings without sacrificing those memories is a priority for the franchise.

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

33

Soaring through opportunity in the international scene TIM KALINOWSKI

L

“We just signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a group in China that will send up to 20 students a year here to Medicine Hat. We want to have a first-class operation. If that means we start off smaller and work our way up that’s what we’re going to do. In that way we are not just taking students just to make a buck. We want them to have success and establish a good reputation for this program overseas.”

es Little has long been synonymous with pilot training in southeast Alberta. He started Bar XH Air Inc. transport and aviation academy 50 years ago, graduating hundreds of new pilots in the decades that followed. After “retiring” and selling Bar XH, Les and wife Terri Super began Super T Terri and Les went to China under the auspices of Air Transport Association of Canada trade missions three Aviation in 2008. times last year to begin laying the ground work for their At any given time Super T has about 15 students enrolled international expansion. They will return once more this in its flight school. It’s a successful business which satisfies year to ink the final agreement and get the ball rolling. their own personal bliss and allows Terri and Les to fly on an almost daily basis. One wouldn’t think they would hope Right away Les and Terri realized if their efforts were going to be successful their incoming students would need to for more. But even greater than their desire to fly, what have access to a quality ESL program to take in conjunction drives Terri and Les is their desire to build. with their pilot training. Les and Terri decided to approach In the last seven years, Super T has massively renovated its Medicine Hat College to see if a partnership was possible in office facility, bought a state-of-the-art flight simulator and that respect. They found MHC more than willing. built a whole new compound at the Medicine Hat Regional Airport. In 2015, Super T is planning to embark on the most “The college has an excellent ESL program; and if you have international students they will come here and get enrolled ambitious expansion to date by entering the international in that program,” says Terri. “So we won’t start training market. until the college says they are at a level where they can Over the next few years China is expected to open its air handle it language-wise. There’s a huge advantage there, space in a massive way to private sector air flight. This will and the schools in China are looking for that grounding in allow private companies and personal jets to operate for the English. And then there is the opportunity to be involved first time in what has previously been a very exclusive, statewith the college where they can offer students diplomas controlled air zone. The opening of the skies in China will and degrees. A lot of international students want that whole usher in the need for an estimated 20,000 new commercial package.” aviators in that nation in the next five years, and perhaps as “We really want to offer these students more than just the many as 200,000 aviators in total over the next 20 years. aviation,” explains Les. “Aviation is big thing, and they could According to Les it is the unlimited potential in these large do nothing else and make a career out of that. But, in our numbers that has him and Terri so excited. opinion, to be really successful in the industry if they have “The whole idea for us is riding the trend up and being more than just the flying then that’s what really opens the there first,” says Les. “It really is still quite exciting to have a door.” project like this to go out and work on and foster along.”

Stephen Finnagan, dean of business and enterprise at MHC, “We are trying to get into a growth mode,” agrees Terri. says the college is also excited about the long term potential

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Terri Super and Bowen Lee, who are both charter pilots and flying instructors, sit in a flight simulator at Super T Aviation.

of Super T’s efforts to bring more international students to Medicine Hat for flight training. According to Finnagan, it’s a partnership which is worth exploring in greater depth in the years ahead.

“This came forward from industry and we are pursuing it,” says Finnagan. “There are opportunities that need to be looked at both domestically and internationally. If those opportunities prove themselves to be substantial, then we would give consideration as to whether or not we link any non-credit or credit training at MHC in the form of perhaps a diploma program in aviation management. We are really at the beginning stages of all of this.”

Finnagan credits Super T for its ambition, its broad scope of vision and its willingness to move forward on the vast and uncharted potential of such an international expansion.

“There is that substantial opportunity that cannot be ignored that they have in the international scene. The opportunity is really exciting. I also see this initiative as a first step toward building more training capacity in the region overall. If we can help it evolve to add some vitally important economic development into the region, we should at least be seeing what the possibilities are.”

After so many decades of running a successful business in the Medicine Hat area, Les and Terri have learned the importance of being willing to strike while the iron is hot. A business cannot remain stagnant, says Les. It must embrace change and always be one step ahead to control the pace of that change.

“I think you just always have to be looking for the next opportunity in your scope. You keep an ear to the ground and be open to any ideas that puts a new spin on it, a new twist, that makes it more enticing for people to get in. That’s what you have to be doing all the time. If you sit here and wait for the phone to ring pretty soon the phone isn’t going to ring anymore. You’ve got to do something to get out and entice people.” ■

1. Fold paper in half length-wise

2. Fold in corners

3. Bend corners into centre

4. Fold in half

5. Fold down wings and fly!

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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

35

sign that identifies it as a Hero Shirt is a logo on the inside of the back collar.

“We all have that one fantastic T-shirt or two in the drawer that ends up at the top of the drawer all the time because we love to wear it,” said Anderson. “We wanted Hero Shirt to be that shirt for us.”

Local resident Jace Anderson, pictured in 2014, has founded Hero Shirt, the first ever child rescue t-shirt company.

Anderson says he has sold the shirts across Canada, from the islands of British Columbia to Nova Scotia, and even as far as Laguna Beach, Calif.

Those interested in Hero Shirt sign up for a subscription of four T-shirts, which are delivered roughly every three months. The subscription cost is $140, which works out to roughly $35/shirt. From the $35, $10 from the shirt is donated to front-line rescue efforts. The remaining amount goes toward paying the costs of making the shirt, paying postage and business expenses, including a plane ticket to Nepal.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Anderson says he has sold more than 250 shirts since Hero Shirt began, including both individual sales and subscriptions.

one T-shirt at a time CHARLES LEFEBVRE

money for a good cause, such as child rescue.

B

uy a T-shirt. Save the world.

In 2013, Jace Anderson founded Hero Shirt, described as the first-ever child rescue T-shirt company. Gross proceeds from the first sales period went to helping organizations aimed at ending sex trafficking worldwide.

Anderson says the idea for Hero Shirt began following a social media conference in Calgary, with him and friends discussing the possibility of repurposing a consumer product to make a positive impact and generate

“Child rescue was important to all of us in the conversation in the context of what we were exploring,” he said. “I suppose part of that would be, myself, as the father of a couple of young boys, but what we wanted to do was find another way for our friends and contacts and the greater population in North America to support or invest in child rescue by repurposing their purchase of something as simple as a T-shirt.”

The shirts are made in North America out of 100 per cent organic cotton. There is no silk-screened logo to help ensure more money can be donated for the cause. The only

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The first organization Anderson chose to help out was Maiti Nepal, which was formed in Kathmandu in 1993 to help rescue girls and women in the region from trafficking, domestic violence, child prostitution and child labour.

The centre provides rehabilitation for women, and also provides care for patients who have contracted HIV/ AIDS. The organization’s founder, Anuradha Koirala, was recognized in 2010 with the CNN Hero of the Year Award and the organization has rescued and rehabilitated more than 12,000 women and girls.

Anderson said he began researching organizations in the field of Child Rescue and Maiti Nepal was the one name that kept coming up.

“We hadn’t decided we were going to support work in Nepal, that wasn’t the plan, but when we started to dive in to what Maiti Nepal does and what they’re able to accomplish with the volunteer base and the revenue they

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SUBMITTED PHOTO JACE ANDERSON A pair of workers from Maiti Nepal work at a border crossing in Kathmandu.

Workers board vehicles at crossings to interview vehicle passengers and determine if children in vehicles are in danger of being exploited.

have, it’s life-altering and it’s absolutely astounding.”

Anderson added Maiti Nepal puts out an annual report defining their goals and accomplishments through the year, and also lists groups which have funded Maiti. Among the groups who donated was Rotary International, an organization Anderson is a member of.

“That organization doesn’t give money to philanthropic efforts without vetting them and without the confidence,” he said. “With all of that, we agreed they would be the recipient of our first cheque.”

Anderson said he reached out to the organization by email and built a rapport before travelling to Kathmandu. In April 2014, he boarded a plane armed with a cheque for $2,500 and an eagerness to experience Maiti Nepal with his own eyes. He says the first thing that struck him about Maiti Nepal was the care and respect they had for the women and children in their care. Before he was able to enter the compound, a member of the organization’s board of directors had to verify his identity and he was told all cameras had to be put away out of respect for the women on site.

“It meant a lot to me that’s the level of heart they display on a regular basis.”

Anderson says during the trip he met with directors from the organization, including a brief meeting with Koirala. He toured the facility and observed the work the organization does at border crossings in the region. Workers from Maiti Nepal examine buses and vehicles and interview groups and families travelling with children. These interviews can help identify people being transported against their will.

“It’s likely fear that is keeping them in check, and these folks are extremely and exceptionally well-trained to identify that, and dive further into the conversation,” he said.

Anderson says at the 10 border crossings Maiti Nepal operates in the country, they intercept an average of one child a day.

“To know that the group we had a chance to get involved with and connect with last year intercepted some 3,500 children, the funds that we managed raise are important." ■

Fighting the health-care crisis fuels one doctor's passion GILLIAN SLADE

E

mergency departments are the barometer of what ails the health-care system and if you listen to a patient’s circumstances, a picture can emerge that cries out for a solution.

Dr. Paul Parks is an emergency room physician at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital.

It’s often a cry that Dr. Paul Parks, Medicine Hat’s emergency physician and official spokesperson for emergency medicine for the Alberta Medical Association, can’t ignore because he is passionate about seeing the health-care system do better.

the emergency department because there were no beds in acute care.

Instead of fighting fires Parks wants a long-term vision with the appropriate planning to meet the expected need.

That’s in part related to the number of seniors waiting for placement in a care facility. The beds in hospital cost 10 times or more than a bed in a care facility.

“People should demand better,” said Parks. “We are already operating at high efficiency in a system that is grossly over capacity.”

“If we had accountability to build in the right area we wouldn’t be wasting money and taxpayers dollars by caring for people in the wrong place,” said Parks.

Parks gives an example: A woman brings her elderly mother to the emergency department with an acute infection that requires antibiotics.

It needs a long term vision and forecasting for years in advance so that planning and construction of facilities takes place before the spaces are required.

Medicines at the assisted living facility where she lives “That long-term planning is the frustration. That prospective has all prescriptions dispensed in Calgary and there is a planning is out of our hands. We entrust our resources to three-day delay. politicians,” said Parks. “It is a political decision. Inadequate planning has major ramifications downstream in the health“Any medication I prescribe, that facility will not be able to give her for three days,” said Parks. “And then care system.” the catch-22. If I give them a prescription to get filled, We have to have transparent benchmarks and data - as the facility will not dispense them.” simple as a report card, said Parks.

The daughter had to care for her mother in her own home for three days so she could start the medication immediately.

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“These benchmarks are internationally accepted and we know are meaningful to the patients and families as they go through the system,” said Parks. “We have to demand that “Certain facilities have certain restrictions,” said Parks they publish the true data that tells us how we are doing and then explain what the plan is to make it better.” noting the patient could get considerably more ill in those three days. “Some things are centralized just to Without that data we are in a system that is giving out make money and a profit and it doesn’t make sense. On money and hopes it’s working. the other side it is about what resources the facility has Parks suggests there are strategies to address issues in to make it work.” the early stage, without a long waiting list, to avoid costly If there was no family to provide care for three days medical treatment later. That would require thinking ahead the problem is compounded. Parks can’t admit the rather than putting out fires as issues occur. senior into an acute care facility that is already Perhaps it is also time for physicians to recommend overflowing just to deliver medications that treatment rather than the patient demanding what they think anybody can take themselves at home. is best, says Parks. That would save money on tests that are If the patient and family have robust support and not strictly necessary. are financially wealthy, there are lots of options.

What scares him is that prosperous Albertans will start to “Those people will often fair well regardless of how demand and receive private health care. Contrary to popular well the system is working,” said Parks. “In Emerge opinion that will not free up the system for those who can’t we see that marginalized population. The system pay, said Parks. It is more likely to attract the best staff and does not work well for marginalized people a lot of the what will remain for those needing the public system will time.” become sub-standard.

In January, the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital was at “It will actually exacerbate the situation,” said Parks who 110 per cent capacity and patients were being held in considers his passion a “professional duty and role.” ■

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

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hospi t al Floor expansion floor continues by

GILLIAN SLADE

T

he Medicine Hat Regional Hospital expansion, budgeted to cost $267 million and be ready for occupation in the summer of 2016, will not include additional acute care beds but will create space in the old building for extra beds if required, says Alberta Health Services.

“The intent of the expansion and renovation was to build ambulatory care space and specialized service space and consolidate it all in that one new wing,” said Sean Chilton, senior vice president AHS South Zone.

“The redevelopment provides improved access to specialized care, outpatients, surgical services, emergency, maternal services and some building upgrades.”

A total of 54 beds in the old wing, currently used for ambulatory care and outpatient programs, will be freed up.

“That will allow us, as demographic needs are identified in the future, to increase capacity in the old part of the building,” said Chilton.

The scale of the new wing is now apparent. Construction has progressed

Construction continues on the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital expansion.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

to the point of being able to identify the tall pillars framing what will be the new main entrance.

Vehicle access from the road is framed by six established trees that create a natural arch. Drivers will be able to do a loop, drop people off at the entrance and exit again.

Large brown brick cladding will finish the facade to the right of the entrance and a glass finish on the other side.

Some landscaping around the new wing will begin this spring.

Left of the main entrance on the main floor will be the sterilization unit complete with two dedicated elevators — one for moving sterilized equipment and the other for equipment requiring sterilization.

Installation of equipment that uses hot steam for sterilizing is complex and the process is expected to begin in early fall, said Larry Raymond, director of health facilities with Alberta Infrastructure.

“The surgical suites are the most complicated and then the sterilization unit,” said Raymond. “It takes six to eight months to get the sterilization unit up and running.”

On the main floor will also be the renal program and dialysis unit with increased

Level two will house the cancer centre and increase capacity from 12 to 20.

The outpatient clinics, also on this level, go from 23 spaces to 36 and day medicine will increase from 12 to 19 spaces.

The hospital’s laboratory and respiratory outpatient services are also on level two.

On the third level will be the neonatal intensive care unit, increasing the number of spaces from eight to 11. The labour and delivery ward will go from four spaces to six.

Surgical procedures such as endoscopy, ophthalmology, cystoscopy and minor surgery will also be on level three with increased capacity from three spaces to six.

Level four will be dedicated to day surgery, a recovery room and six operating theatres compared to the current four.

Levels five and six will house the mechanical and electrical equipment for the building.

Work on the heliport on the roof has begun, said Raymond, who confirmed it will meet Transport Canada’s requirements for both STARS and HALO helicopters.

There is also a separate elevator for access to the heliport.

Originally the entire new wing was expected to be complete in the winter of 2015/16. A new target date of summer 2016 does not mean things have gone slower than expected, said Raymond.

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“When dates are given at the beginning nobody even knows what we are building,” he explained.

Once various departments have relocated to the new wing the additional space in the old building will become available to expand the current emergency department.

That work is scheduled to start in 2017 and add 12 treatment spaces for a total of 36 and go from 1,142 square metres to 2,009.

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How long that renovation will take has not been established.

Initially the expansion had been budgeted to cost $220 million. The additional $45 million has come from Alberta Infrastructure, which diverted savings from other projects that had come in under budget, said Raymond. ■

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A championship year9 RYAN MCCRACKEN

It’s the ultimate achievement in sports.

Winning the title. Earning the ring.

F

or former professional baseball player and Medicine Hat Mavericks owner and general manager Greg Morrison, watching the gloves fly when the Mavs stormed the diamond as champions on Aug. 16, 2014 was hard to believe.

“It was one of those things where it almost felt dreamlike, which is ironic. I know we're not doing amazing things, and there are more important things in life, but it was really the feeling of six years of blood, sweat and tears, and a lot of sacrifices coming together at one point over that day,” said Morrison, who spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations for 12 years before retiring in 2006 and becoming owner of the Mavericks in 2009.

“It had been a very unique feeling, because I'd never had that feeling since I've owned the team. As a player I've won a couple of rings and a couple championships, but not as an owner.”

The Mavericks got their shiny championship rings in December. Complete with a Mavericks logo, “WMBL Champions” and a maple leaf, the ring stands for all that the Mavericks organization has achieved.

“It’s a symbol,” said Morrison. “That's really what it is for us, and for me personally it's something that no matter what happens with the team or the league — hopefully it's the first of more than one — I'll know that I'll have that championship.”

The Mavericks have made the playoffs every year under Morrison but it wasn’t until last summer that the Mavs earned the title of champions. It was a long road to the top but the message of Medicine Hat’s rise to success has resonated. Since hoisting the WMBL grail, the Mavericks have attracted more attention than ever.

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“The feeling and the response, we've been contacted by the most players and coaches ever. It's hard to measure specifically ... but I don't know what it would cost to get the kind of exposure and reach that we had by winning the championship,” said Morrison. “We had Canadians from as far east as you can get, we've got Canadians from as far west as you can get and we've got American guys contacting us. We've had pretty good growth yearly but it's different. I kind of get it now, that goal and what it can do.”

The growing trend of success has also brought a rising number of new fans to Athletic Park, on top of the team’s “300 diehard season ticket holders” and regular supporters.

“We're getting a lot of folks that we see once or twice, and then we see them again the next year … That's what is exciting for me, we've been winning over a lot of fans over the past three or four years,” said Morrison. “I played in the Florida State league where you'd think there would be more fans, because there are more pro ball

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Greg Morrison, owner of the Medicine Hat Mavericks, displays his 2014 WMBL Championship ring.

“There's a real good crop of guys coming through that are graduating Legion for 2016, so I'm hopeful we're going to have six or seven guys, which would be the most ever,” he said. “I'd love nothing more in the next 15 years if 24 guys on the Medicine Hat Mavericks were from Medicine Hat.”

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“The fact that they're championship players bodes well that we can hopefully have a good run at it … I'd love to have a repeat this year, and our players are coming back for those reasons,” said Morrison. “If you look at setting a league record for wins the year before, then getting the championship, if we could go to the championship and win it again I think that would really secure what we are and what the organization has been for the last five years.” ■

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“To win a championship with that many games and only using seven (pitchers) was pretty impressive, and d Shorsher had a lot to do with that,” said Morrison. “He really wants guys to be good people and he cares ...

We're lucky that we can get a guy like that who can pick up for two-and-a-half months and come to a league like The Mavericks could likely see another local face join the this when he could easily be coaching professionally with ranks as early as this summer, as Legion infielder Nolan his background.”

Rattai is poised to make the jump to WMBL ball.

The growing tradition of success is also paving the way “We're pretty pumped about him,” said Morrison. “He's for a potential WMBL record for returnees, as they young enough that he could play another year of Legion, Mavericks could see up to 12 championship players come but we feel he's ready to take the step up and will back to Athletic Park for the 2015 season.

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The Mavericks have the entire coaching staff returning to the dugout this season, which includes head coach Adam Shorsher, who Morrison says “turned the team around” with his down to earth and d inspirational approach to coaching.

•03/3

Morrison added he hopes to see baseball in Medicine Hat continue to thrive from the minor league level all the way up to the WMBL, and he expects the number of local products on the Mavericks to keep rising.

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probably be our everyday third baseman or second baseman.”

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players and everything else, but we're out-drawing a lot of those minor pro leagues.”

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TIM KALINOWSKI

W

hat is a city?

A city aspires to be more than what it is. A city dreams itself into existence and whispers its way down back alleys and along busy streets. A city has a soul of its own—a character built up over generations founded on the desires and hopes of its citizens. And the heart of the city, the place which reflects its truest self, is its downtown core.

“Downtowns don’t disappear,” says Les Schwabe, chair of the Medicine Hat City Centre Development Agency. “They might get lost for a little while but I think we are well on our way to seeing downtown Medicine Hat turning the corner.”

Over the last five years of frenetic activity the City of Medicine Hat, the CCDA and numerous private stakeholders have been fighting to reinvigourate Medicine Hat’s downtown. They have made strides, they have had successes, and they have run up against a few brick walls, but Wayne Smith, CCDA executive director, says new hubs have finally begun to emerge to enhance the vibrancy of Medicine Hat’s downtown life.

development means attracting more professionals and more residents. In short, greater density. It also means answering a fundamental question: What is Medicine Hat? What do we want our city to be?

“Most other places when they are redoing their downtowns over the years have had to go answer that question right up front,” says Schwabe. “Is it a place we want people to come to? Is it part of our tourism destination aspect? If we are going to show off Medicine Hat, what are we showing off here?”

“The whole dynamic of what a downtown is has changed,” agrees Smith. “The real question is how you draw people into the downtown in a way that will benefit everybody? Downtown is the place to be in a city. People want to go downtown.”

Keith Crush, business development officer for the City of Medicine Hat, says, ultimately, the city’s downtown will be what the people who live and work there decide to make of it. And that will be directly reflected in how much time, effort, capital and energy downtown dwellers and business owners are willing to invest in that vision.

“We have a real good momentum going here on property and people moving into the downtown core,” confirms Smith. “We have a great coffee/culture clique going on down here right now.

That is primarily during the day but they are starting to go a little further into the evening. We have six great coffee shops in the downtown core. We have good restaurants and bars. We have the Esplanade.”

“There are very brave souls out there, and very brave entrepreneurs, who are prepared to take personal risk and invest their time, their money and their patience to see an evolution in the downtown and make something happen,” says Crush.

“Physically and through development permits being filed we see the changes that are happening. These are tangible and we can observe them, but there is also the anecdotal side as we see people in the community talking about what’s happening in the downtown.”

Both Smith and Schwabe feel more such hubs are needed, but true downtown

The government’s job, says Crush, is to empower its citizens’ aspirations. To

“Reflecting on how we came to implement the downtown redevelopment plans,” explains Crush. “The plan was a vision created in 2009, and there was a fair amount of public engagement.

We had a public consultant, and really there had been some pent up desire by both the community and the political leadership to do something about the downtown.”

Crush is blown away by the results.

“We have excitement around events like the Folk Fest, the Art Walk or JazzFest.

We have people coming downtown because they want to be there. It has become an interesting and neat place to be, and people like the vibe and the feel that’s beginning to emerge.”

Mayor Ted Clugston also takes pride in how far the downtown has come in the past few years. And says there will be more good things to come in the year ahead with new businesses opening up, with several important renovations finally being completed, and with work

set to start on sewer and electrical infrastructure of the 400 and 500 blocks of Second Street this summer.

“For the first time in a long while downtown is cool again,” says Clugston.

“Downtown is still your heart of your city. For 40 years every single council and every single person running for council has been saying I am going to fix the downtown, but it just got worse and worse. This council said we were going to fix the downtown and we meant it.”

SALESPERSON OF THE YEAR 2014

Clugston says he still has high hopes for riverfront redevelopment and new residential construction going forward in the years ahead. These things should provide the last pieces of the puzzle for a complete downtown renaissance.

However, he feels city government has taken its own contribution nearly as far as it can with $1 of public money spent for every $10 of private capital to get things this far. It will be up to the private sector and Medicine Hat’s residents to bring the rest of the dream to life.

Congratulations!

“You are seeing the fruits of a massive public investment in the city both by the province and our municipal government.

That is going to dry up because we need the private sector now. We have built the fundamentals, and it is money well spent.

There is a whole group of Hatters out there who love this city and want to see it be the best it can be.”

A city dreams itself to life and whispers its way down back alleys, through public parks, across bridges and up asphalt streets. The city’s dream is the dream which lies in heart of its residents. It is their aspirations which mould the future. In downtown Medicine Hat those aspirations have finally begun to be realized. ■

4118 41188984•03/31/15

this end, the City of Medicine Hat has sponsored a very successful downtown incentive program which has helped old buildings get face-lifts and infrastructure upgrades. By helping owners cover the costs of such things as putting in modern pipes and electrical systems, and by helping off-set the costs of things like environmental assessments or structural engineering consultation, the incentive program has brought nearly $20 million in private investment into the downtown core over the last few years. In conjunction with the incentive program, the City has also made a massive capital investment to upgrade the aged sewer, water and electrical infrastructure in key areas in desperate need of rehabilitation.

LEO FREY

www.rodeoford.ca • 403.529.2777 our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

43

Expansion breeds attention at the Family Leisure Centre RYAN MCCRACKEN

T

he Family Leisure Centre has been an important part of Medicine Hat’s local sports scene since opening in 1999, and by June 2016 it will be attracting a whole new range of attention with a two-tiered expansion aimed at accommodating a wealth of the city’s user groups.

The expansion began in 2013 with the introduction of a natural turf field at the Methanex Bowl, which allowed for the Medicine Hat College to host the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association women’s soccer national championships in November 2014. The Methanex Bowl expansion will be completed this spring with the addition of more bleachers for spectators and a new press box. “(Natural turf) is more safe than turf, especially in the winter months and fall months when it starts to freeze outside. You can play on it virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week and you don’t ever have to let it rest,” said Grant MacKay, project lead for the Family Leisure Centre expansion. “Through that we’ve been able to not only accommodate football, which was always played up there, but now soccer and rugby have a place to call home as well.”

“The potential for things like being able to host a meet, or just training a sort of level compared to what we’re dealing with in terms of our competition. We’re definitely behind in terms erms of a facility and we’ve done well to make due, but it would uld be nice to be on sort of a level playing field with everybody ody else,” said Freeman, adding the Bulldogs currently train out of the South Ridge YMCA and Notre Dame Academy. “In the last eight years we’ve worked out of school hallways andd gymnasiums. We’ve been out of three or four different places just to put four days of work in.”

The building currently hosts the South East Athletic Club’s four Tigers AAA hockey teams at its Olympicsized hockey rink, and SEAC president Aaron Burghardt says the having the Family Leisure Centre to call home

MacKay added the expansion will also create for expanded capacity amongst different user groups at a number of Medicine Hat’s sporting facilities, such as the Cypress Centre Field House, which primarily hosts soccer while juggling field time with tennis and baseball.

“Baseball and tennis would both love to get their hands on more field time but they can’t because soccer is consuming a great deal of the usable space,” said MacKay. “By creating a different facility that maybe soccer can make more use of, there may be some capacity injected into the old field house at the Stampede grounds to now allow some of those other users to get a bit more access to field time that they couldn’t before.” ■

Alan AJ’s Joy’s Me m L loans oan Cup orial Fu nd b out o vario ard is a Society , op us cha free of ch types of ritable s erating a s o arge to th medical ciety tha If yo equip ose i t u ne n ne ment ed it ed. , a

“It helps us to centralize all three programs that we facilitate. It’s helped us to build a more united culture between each team so we can just focus on athletes getting to know the athletes on the other teams. s.

Coaches are able to interact with each other and share knowledge and help each other out. We’re also able to centralize our equipment storage,” said Burghardt. “It’s trying to create one united program instead of three different ones, that’s the big thing ... You get a little bit of pride in that building 5

3/31/1

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

One of those user groups is the Bulldogs Track and Field Club, which hopes to make regular use of the indoor track facility.

Bulldogs president Sean Freeman says having a central base at the Family Leisure Centre would help the organization gain some competitive momentum in Alberta.

“This is as close to the WHL as they’ll get. The way they treat us here … These guys treat us top notch here, it’s a great staff and a great facility,” added SEAC Midget 15 Tigers head coach Mike Welford. “The staff here, and of course the facility, it’s second to none. What they do here for us you don’t get anywhere else.”

873•0

44

“We’re still soliciting input on the fit out of the sport spaces.

The actual design and the construction of the building is now underway. We know what we’re building, but exactly how we’re going to fit it out — so the exact turf type and the exact track material — are all being discussed and vetted right now,” said MacKay. “We did get some feedback ... the city has committed throughout this entire project to solicit feedback and we’ve been very fortunate to get good participation from many of the user groups and we’re using that information to help us make better choices that are more conducive to their long-term use.”

for them. It’s a little bit of a home for the year.”

41188

Phase Two of the expansion focuses specifically on the Family Leisure Centre building and proposes a number of changes to be fully implemented by June 2016. The building, which currently holds an aquatic centre and an Olympic-sized hockey rink, will grow to include a number of new amenities such as expanded spectator seating in the competitive swimming pool, and a double gymnasium for basketball, volleyball, badminton and pickle ball. An indoor track facility will sit above the gymnasium and will include a 200-metre track and roughly 15,000 square feet of fitness space. The expansion also includes

a field house, which will host a twin-boarded multi-purpose field for sports like soccer, tennis, lacrosse and bocce ball.

nd an u we’ve go 403se it. t it, 5 you c

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THE MEDICINE HAT CITY CENTER DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Roof final nally not least Roo oof Top oof Top Round Rou ound o d Up Up and a ally al lly ly but b t no n ott lleas eas astt Midnight Madness relevant information Mid idnig night h Mad ht M nes ss all the he rre lev nt informat levant in atio ion can be found on our new and vibrant web site http://downtownmedicinehat.com which is always being updated with information regarding what is available, when and where.

The big event to watch for this year in the Downtown core is the CHALK ART FESTIVAL in August The CCDA have secured the services of the famous American chalk artist Lori Escalera, who will be coming in August to not only participate but oversee the whole event. It promises to be a fantastic week end but one that will not be forgotten for a long time. All relevant information will be posted to the CCDA website.

And of course the Monarch Theatre continues to grow, is always available for events and private functions. It continuing to show all the latest blockbusters in a relaxing spacious atmosphere. All the listings and planned

Monarch also ev nt events eve nts fo ffor or tthe he h e Mon onarch o arc ch ccan an al a als so ob be e ffound ound oun d on on Monarch site http://themonarch.net the e Mo Monar na ch web si nar sit te htt http:/ p://th /t emo onar na ch.net along with the contact information for you to book your own events.

Our professional and friendly business owners will welcome you with open arms and go the extra mile to make your shopping, dining and business experience something you will remember in downtown Medicine Hat. So lets have a great summer, parking you say! lots all around within a short and healthy walk which enables you to enjoy all that downtown has to offer.

My name is Wayne Smith, I am the Executive Director of the CCDA I am only a phone call (403-529-5997) or an e-mail (wsmith.ccda@ shaw.ca) away. It will be my pleasure to answer any questions you may have about enjoying or indeed being a part of our ever growing downtown core in Medicine Hat. Enjoy the summer

Mar. 28 ....................EASTER EGG HUNT Jul. 18 ..........................CHILI COOK OFF Jul. 21 ................ ROOF TOP ROUND UP Aug. 14 - 16 ........CHALK ART FESTIVAL For up-to-date movie listings.

Aug. 28 - 29 ...DOWNTOWN CAR SHOW please visit our website Nov. 20 .................MIDNIGHT MADNESS www.themonarch.net Isn't it about time you discovered... www.downtownmedicinehat.com

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Wayne Smith Executive Director City Centre Development Agency wsmith.ccda@shaw.ca

The Th he ma mandate manda ndate nda te off the CC te CCDA DA is to o en encour enc encourage our ou u age ag t the futur future fu ture e b business usines usi nesss deve d development evelop opmen nt o off the e downtown, to promote the downtown as a destination shopping and service area, and to help facilitate the sustainability of new and existing business in the downtown area.

The spirit and determination of the CCDA remains strong, and continues to grow, promote and focus efforts on the downtown business community.

Over the course of the last 12 months the dedicated CCDA Board of Directors have worked hard at getting a full compliment of members and restructuring the board into well organized pro active committee’s in the following area’s, Governance, Development, Promotions and the Monarch Theatre. Along with the standing Executive and Finance committee’s the CCDA is moving along rapidly to achieve our goals.

As always our annual events will be happening The Easter Egg Hunt, The Chilli Cook-off , The

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47

Transportation infrastructure key to a Ted Clugston

Mayor, Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat is seeing new activity, new growth and new energy Our downtown is vibrant, made increasingly lively by new businesses, events and celebrations. Revitalization efforts continue to pay off, spawning re-development, increased foot traffic and a brighter, more attractive city core.

City council will continue to invest in our downtown in 2015, including utility upgrades to the 400 and 500 blocks of Second Street S.E. and a revamped Downtown Development Incentive Program.

The City continues its ambitious capital development program. The Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre will open in late summer and offer a modern and comfortable environment for spectators to enjoy WHL hockey, multitude of concerts, family shows and touring acts. The expansion at the Family Leisure Centre is progressing, and when complete will feature a new fieldhouse, gymnasium, indoor track and fitness area. Council also remains committed to a new seniors centre.

Airport terminal renovation and expansion is expected to be complete in June. The City will continue to lobby for air service expansion, and work with stakeholders to demonstrate the business case to interested air carriers.

Construction of permanent flood mitigation measures in Harlow and Lions Park will proceed this summer. Our duty

48

as council members is to provide services to first ensure life safety, and second provide home and property protection. We will not waver from this course. Combined, our permanent and temporary mitigation measures will ensure we never again experience the level of damage caused by the 2013 flood.

Our beautiful and expansive river valley has untapped potential for recreational opportunities and tourism, both of which are economic drivers and contribute to improved quality of life for residents. The public shared their ideas with us in 2014 on how we might make better use of the river valley – expect to see progress on those ideas this year.

In January we launched the Medicine Hat Story and the new community brand. We need to tell our story in a compelling way that attracts new visitors, new business/investment and new residents. Defining a community brand will help us do so.

I invite all Medicine Hat residents to be ambassadors for our community.

We have so much to be proud of, and so much to be grateful for. We are a warm, vibrant, feel-good city with the attitude and natural backdrop to match.

We truly are warm at heart and in life.

Let’s tell the world!

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

healthy economy TIM KALINOWSKI

T

he Palliser Economic Partnership’s landmark, independent transportation study entitled “Freight Transportation System of Southeast Alberta, Assessment and Plans for Growth” in 2014 made a detailed examination of how goods and products are moved through the region by local companies.

The report looked at the strengths and weaknesses of infrastructure that already exists in southeast Alberta to facilitate this movement, while at the same time making concrete suggestions on areas to improve upon for the future.

Walter Valentini, PEP executive director, says the efficient transport of goods and products is a fundamental principle of a healthy economy and certainly worth looking at in greater detail.

“Once you build something, you have to get it somewhere,” says Valentini.

“So everything I touched upon in my mandate here came back to transportation. It was a re-occurring theme. I thought we should look into it and see how we stack up with other places. So how competitive are you as a region? How attractive are you to companies thinking of setting up in the area?”

While, overall, the report suggested there was sufficient infrastructure through highways, trucking and rail in southeast Alberta for local companies to transport their products and facilitate their future growth, the report did find that there were three main areas where opportunities exist to improve local infrastructure: Improvement on the

Walter Valentini, executive director of the Palliser Economic Partnership.

Canadian side of the Port of Wild Horse, greater centralization of transloading facilities and infrastructure in the region and examining further possibilities for intermodal rail transport.

The Port of Wild Horse has been a long-standing issue in southeast Alberta. Local businesses would like to see a massive upgrade in the port and surrounding highways to facilitate more industrial and commercial traffic moving through. Valentini acknowledges the federal government’s ultimate jurisdiction over the port but feels local governments and businesses have a role to play in the discussion.

“We haven’t lost sight of that,” says Valentini. “It’s a federal government decision but we also have to be vigilant in trying to influence decision makers and policy decisions. The border is an important conduit. It just doesn’t help us here in the region, it helps everybody.

There is an opportunity for both Canadian and American companies to take advantage of points north of us if that border was a bit more functional for staging, distribution and warehousing for over-dimensional products.”

Intermodal transport of goods was another area looked at by the transportation study. Currently many goods produced by local manufacturing companies have to be loaded onto shipping containers and hauled to Calgary by truck to be placed on the rail. The study examined the question of whether some of that intermodal loading could be done in southeast Alberta, saving local companies money and time. Valentini says while the possibilities are intriguing, CP Rail would have to be convinced the idea has merits.

“You really have to have a lot of volume to make it work,” explains Valentini.

“But are there other ways to be able to address this? It’s not just about loading a box. You need a box and a rail chassis and those things are in short supply or already heavily allocated in the rail system now. Currently it has to go to the intermodal port in Calgary to get the containers onto a chassis. The right alignment of things needed to make that possible needs to go on. It’s not the way things seem to be going in the rail industry.”

The most exciting possibility coming out of the report for local governments and industry partners seems to be on the transloading end of things. Transloading refers to the capability of a sector such as agriculture or oil and gas to load product directly onto train cars.

modal transloading facility somewhere in the region. Companies in various commodity sectors could ship product to the multi-modal site and have commodity-specific infrastructure and their own storage facilities in place on site. The idea is so intriguing that PEP has now commissioned a second independent study to examine feasibility and possible locations for such a facility in southeast Alberta.

“That’s the riddle our friends the consultants are looking into,” confirms Valentini. “What they are asking is, is there common infrastructure that all of these companies would probably not have to invest in and be able to take advantage of if it was co-located in a facility area? There could be more savings if there was a central facility these companies could use. You could get a 100-car train in and these companies could bring their loads there.

Savings would come on the operational side of things. The bigger the haul and the quicker out of the cars the more money you are going to save.”

Valentini says the transportation study has been illuminating on various levels for all stakeholders within PEP. “The report card came back saying things are fine; there is nothing terribly wrong. But there are some opportunities we should be aware of and should be looking at so you are taking advantage of synergies and the like. It’s been an eye-opener for us and the board and it is leading us into future work. It has also been instructive. I think we are responding to local concerns and trying to find a way to solve a puzzle.” ■

Grain elevators serve this capacity in the local agriculture industry but many local industries have built similar infrastructure adapted to their own product needs. Up until now each company has essentially re-invented the wheel by buildingg up its own infrastructure and working out independent deals with the railway companies too have their products picked up. The transportation study pointed out that railways are increasingly 517 moving away Medicin 3rd Street SE eH Ph. (40 from this model 3) 526- at, AB T1A 0756 F 0H2 of transport in x. (403 For more ) 504-4 favour of greater informati 064 on v http://w bulk movement ww.miy isit our website: wasin.ab from a centralized .ca location.

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Cadets offering youth an opportunity to excel CHARLES LEFEBVRE

K

aylin Bradley says his experiences with the 2313 South Alberta Light Horse (Kiwanis) Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps made him want to continue being involved with the program after he aged out.

“When I was a cadet, I spent three summers out in B.C. and I spent another three summers out in Whitehorse, and it was just such an amazing experience doing things most kids don’t normally do,” said Bradley, a member of the program from 2000 to 2006. “I had the opportunity to go to these places most wouldn’t go to, and spend time in the mountains going

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Flight Sargeant Rhyley Parish leads a parade of the No. 15 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.

Clinton Lawrence (left), gives a rope throwing demonstration for Sea Cadets Rebecca Crooks, Caleb Faladreau, Kylie Virostek and Hanna Davies during a recent meeting of the organization.

Capt. Kaylin Bradley, the deputy commanding officer for the 2313 South Alberta Light Horse (Kiwanis) Royal Canadian Army Corps

rock climbing and canoeing or biking or doing all of these awesome things and meeting wonderful people. I wanted to be able to help share that experience with other young people.”

and it was a different set of friends, because you had your friends from school,” he said.

“I summarize it by saying that we try and make better Canadians,” said Kelly Rasmussen, commanding officer for the Sea Cadets. “We do citizenship and leadership, we volunteer in the community. We’re not out to make little sailors and soldiers out of any of them, it’s a kids program ... it’s supposed to be fun.”

Binnie says the cadets are continually trying to build their numbers and get more youth interested in the program.

Rosanne Binnie, commanding officer for the air cadets, has been involved for 16 years, getting involved after her daughter Bradley rejoined in 2009 and currently serves as the deputy commanding officer joined the program, and saw the need for the program to have uniformed officers to of the program, one of three currently operating in the city out of the Patterson help run it.

Armory on Cuyler Road.

“I liked what the program was offering to my daughter, and I really believed in the In addition to the Army cadets, who’ve been around in their current incarnation program for teenagers,” she said for 67 years, the city has two other cadet In the 2014-15 training session, the air corps for youth aged 12-18 currently cadets have 32 members. The army cadets operating: The No. 15 Royal Canadian Air have 47 members, while the sea cadets Cadet Squadron, which has been around have 20. Both Rasmussen and Bradley say for 74 years and the 145 Royal Canadian membership tends to go in cycles.

Sea Cadet Corps, which has been running “For a couple of years, you have 30 kids, for 51 years. which is a great number, and then things Each cadet group has a number of slow down a bit and it swings back and activities available for members, including forth,” said Rasmussen. marksmanship, sailing, flying and drill “We like to sit around 50 members; 50 is team, but the Cadets program also has a good number, it’s more manageable” specific and stated goals nationally said Bradley, who notes the largest number related to leadership and citizenship, as he has seen was roughly 150 members in well as an appreciation of the Canadian 2000.

Armed Forces.

“We’ve been expanding what we offer at the squadron level, to offer more varied activities, so we can get more youth interested in the program,” she said.

While the air and army cadets have been running strong in the community, the Sea Rasmussen has been involved with cadets Cadets were in danger of going under two for 26 years, and said he joined at first years ago. The organization had found because it was something unique and itself with a lack of volunteers, leaving the cool that not everybody else was doing. officer cadre unable to provide effective continued on page 52 “There were summer camp opportunities

41189899•03/31/15

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

51

Cadets offering youth an opportunity to excel continued from page 50

leadership, and the group was set to disband.

Once the information of the disbandment hit the media, volunteers began coming out from the community, allowing the group to reverse its decision.

Although the group is still around, Rasmussen says they’re still paying for the news that it had group closed.

“This year, on Remembrance Day, I saw someone and they said ‘I thought you closed,’” he said. “It’s still relatively recent memory.

People don’t remember than you’ve existed for nearly 50 years but they remember when you close.”

Rasmussen is hoping to continue raising awareness of the sea cadets in the city, and believes strong word-of-mouth can help bring the program back.

“It’s the best way for us to grow, is to run a good program, activity-based and have good results,” he said. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”

The commanding officers all say different elements of the program make them proud.

For Binnie, as a commanding officer, she says she is most proud of seeing how the cadets grow through the program.

“We will give you the training but it’s up to you to grab hold of it and make something of it,” she said. “When you start to see individual cadets achieving at a local and provincial and national level, you know they’ve gotten your message and they’re buying into it.”

Education receives a renovation PEGGY REVELL

MONSIGNOR MCCOY

There have been celebrations over the past year with the opening of new schools in southeastern Alberta — but these are just the start. Here is an overview of the large capital projects getting underway across the region in the realm of education.

Announced in spring 2015, the province has allocated $9.2 million in funding for the modernization of Medicine Hat’s only Catholic Highschool. The division is looking to raise an additional $251,000 at minimum to cover parts of the modernization that aren’t covered through provincial funding, such as a larger phys-ed space that includes converting the girls’ gym into a fitness area and ancillary space. As the project moves forward, there is an itemized list of additional projects that can be added depending on what funds are available. Tenders for construction are expected to be sent out this spring, with an estimated completion date of mid-September 2016.

mccoymodernization.ca

MEDICINE HAT HIGH SCHOOL Long hoped for, the modernization of Medicine Hat High School was announced in spring 2015. The total budget for the modernization sits at $37.2 million. Of that, the province is contributing $33.6 million, SD 76 will contribute another $3.6 million, and is looking to fundraise at least $1.7 million. The funds from the school division, and monies raised will go toward enhancing the fitness areas — including an indoor running track — upgrades to the performing arts centre, and site improvements like parking that aren’t covered by provincial funding. As fundraising benchmarks are completed, components will be added to the overall project. Changes to the site include creating a learning commons, a redesign of classroom space and having part of the school’s northside demolished.

Bradley also says seeing the growth of the cadets is something which makes him proud

“With the leadership model and the citizenship model, we give them outlets and opportunities to excel in positive ways,” said Rasmussen. “It’s also not economically-based ... cadets is very much merit-based. A kid can n do well on their effort, not on how w much extra coaching they can get.. A cadet can really excel based on what they ey put into it, which is awesome.” ■

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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CORE i o n non t a i c o and Ass charity

The current timeline has Hat High construction beginning in April 2015 and completed by March 2017.

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“You remember them coming in att 12 years old and shaking in their boots and d really nervous ... and to reflect on that when they’re 18 years old and in chargee of the cadets, and they’re making decisions and taking charge, those are some of the proudest moments for me,” he said.

The relocation of the local charter school to the northside of Medicine Hat High School was announced alongside funding for modernizations of Hat High and Monsignor McCoy High School last spring. Currently CAPE is located in the former St. Louis School in the Flats. The Hat High modernization will be completed first, renovations will begin at the new CAPE site in a separate northside building, including the location, a newer building, lots of sunlight, large hallways, a larger gym, a courtyard with greenery, ample parking and drop-off and pickup spaces for parents.

Since planning is preliminary, there is no exact budget set as of yet — but Hatters can expect there to be fundraising efforts, as items like playgrounds aren't funded through Alberta Infrastructure.

The province originally announced in spring 2014 that Schuler School would be modernized — but this was revised shortly after with plans for a brand new school, in part due to the old’s school’s age, basement, water table and safety.

The current school just exceeds 2,000 square feet and can hold a capacity of 187 students. This year's enrolment is at 63. The new school is expected to be built for a capacity of 125 students.

Provincial funding for the new school is approximately $5.5 million — but this has been augmented by a community that has come together to so far raise more than $1 million toward going above and beyond what the province will fund. This includes an increase to the gymnasium size, kitchen size and building a space the community can use for events.

Prairie Rose School Division expects tenders to go out this spring, with construction starting in the summer and the project completed by September 2016. Once completed, the old school will be torn down.

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SENATOR GERSHAW The multi-stage renovations at Senator Gershaw are now drawing to a close. With $10.5 million from the government, the project began almost three years ago, starting off with renovations first to Bow Island Elementary and upgrades to Senator Gershaw, and shuffling students depending on where construction was taking place. Among many things — and thanks to fundraising from the community — upgrades include converting an existing gymnasium into a fine arts performance centre, and building a new gym.

The current design plans involve replacing the existing gymnasium space with a fine arts performance centre instead. Building a new gymnasium is expected to cost $300,000.

Construction is now almost complete — with students moved into the new classrooms and out of the west wing soon, with plans for demolition of this west wing starting June 1.

NEW SD 76 SCHOOL IN RANCHLANDS Announced in the fall of 2014 by the province, a new Ranchlands school will be for 300 students initially, with the possibility of expanding to 600. Timeline and financing details weren't included in the original announcement, although since then the board has received some funding for site preparation and to begin school design.

NEW CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN SOUTHLANDS Announced in the fall of 2014, the new elementary Catholic school will be built south of Holy Family Parish, between 13th Avenue and Southlands Drive, and have a capacity of 250. It would be the first school built in more than 10 years for Medicine Hat Catholic School Division, the last being Notre Dame Academy. The new school will hopefully alleviate the high numbers enrolled at St. Patrick’s School in South Ridge. Although announced, the school division has yet to receive any further funding to move the project along.

EAGLE BUTTE HIGH SCHOOL MODERNIZATION The modernization of the high school in Dunmore was announced in the fall alongside new schools in Ranchlands and Southlands.

Money isn’t yet in hand from Alberta Infrastructure for the project ct to go ahead but $100,000 was received for predesign work.

So far this includes a value management session to brainstorm how w the building will be altered and fixed. Early plans include the addition of an industrial art shop, while administration is also looking at what needs to be done with the building’s roofing, outside walls and with any structural problems that might exist. As well, the site has possible drainage issues so PRSD needs to look into hiring a geotechnical company to look at building berms and drainage ditches. Everything at this point is preliminary — and could easily change once more funding comes from the province to hire an architect and move forward with the design.

EASTBROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Brooks) Announced in the fall of 2014, the project includes a renovation and an addition. This addition will then be home to students in the Francophone school division, currently located at Griffin Park Elementary.

HOLY FAMILY ACADEMY (Brooks) Also in line for modernization is Holy Family Academy, which will see the demolition and replacement of a section of the school built in 1944, as well as interior upgrades.

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

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looking back

Legacy of Dominion Glass Company gleans on I am proud to say that I live in Southeast Alberta which is an energy and agriculture leader for our province. We have the ability, both economically and socially to remain steadfast to take advantages of the opportunities as they present themselves. As a result of this we have been blessed with priority programs and continued infrastructure investments.

54

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t the turn of the 20th century Redcliff contained three brick-making companies, an ornamental iron works, a cigar factory, a brewery and a rolling mill.

Companies were drawn to Redcliff for its cheap natural gas and by offers of free land from its town fathers.

Dominion Glass Company was no exception. Requiring massive quantities of natural gas to burn in the glass making process, Dominion Glass Company considered both Redcliff and Medicine Hat to set up operations in. It was the added incentive of free land that saw Redcliff win out in the end.

Blake Pedersen, MLA Medicine Hat Constituency

Medicine Hat is a great place to live with its quality of life, low cost of living, unlimited cultural and recreational resources. Also, it is Canada’s Sunniest City, and we embrace the new tourism slogan introduced by the City of Medicine Hat on January 13, 2015 “A Sunshine State of Mind”.

TIM KALINOWSKI

Office: 537 4 Street SE Medicine Hat, AB T1A 0K7 Telephone: 403 527 5622 Fax: 403 527 5112 Email: medicine.hat@assembly.ab.ca

The factory produced beverage containers for beer, spirits, soda pop, milk and juice. It also made food containers for jams and various other preserve jars and sealers, as well as prescription bottles and other types of smaller glass containers to meet a

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

41188834•03/31/15

I am honored to represent the constituents of Medicine Hat and will endeavor to address whatever concerns you may have.

Construction on the Redcliff Glass Factory began in 1912 and glassware began to roll off the line a year later. It continued to operate for the next 75 years until its final closure in 1989. At its height nearly 700 people worked at the Redcliff Glass Factory.

specific need in society. It provided well paying jobs for the men and women who came to work there.

Barb Roberts began working at Dominion Glass Company as a student in 1956. She became a full-time employee in 1958 and stayed with the company for the next 31 years.

“You had to work as a team,” remembers Roberts. “Each department conveyed from the previous shift to the next to make the production better.

Everybody was loyal to the company and we had pride in ourselves and in our job.

It was a very hot place to work in the summer and when I started there it was very cold in the winter. Over the years they improved everything and made it a lot better for us. It was hard work but I come from a farm and was used to that.”

Roberts started work at $1.04 1/2 an hour , a good sum in 1956. She started out working on the line in the packing plant. Bottles and containers would be produced at an accelerated rate and would often still be hot when they reached Roberts and the other packers who would have to keep up and keep a sharp eye out for defects, removing flawed glassware from the line before it got shipped off to awaiting companies.

“When I first started there they had the uniforms but if you didn’t want to wear them you didn’t have to,” recalls Roberts.

“They were like a mechanic’s overhauls.

You’d come in and punch the clock and then you’d go to our locker room to get our hats and gloves. When we went out into the packing room we had to put the gloves on because some of the ware was hot. And then you went out to the packing room and packed whatever came down. We’d be on either side of the conveyor packing and you’d try to do your share. We’d work in shifts. We’d go all day and all night.”

The job could be monotonous at times so Roberts says she and other employees would always be playing jokes on each other to break up the routine and keep everybody on their toes. Roberts still laughs when she recalls telling new employees to go find a “box-stretcher” and watching them wander aimlessly around the factory asking for something that didn’t exist. Other ladies would put sand or glue in people’s gloves when they went on break. Roberts says it was a great family atmosphere and a great place to work.

“Those three years after the factory closed — that to me was almost a death.

I was in mourning. I miss the people and I still miss the job. It was a wonderful place for people to be together and

working. When it closed it was the end of an era in Redcliff.”

She proudly shows off the museum’s selection of bottles, jars and other glass containers sporting the sideways Redcliff Museum volunteer curator Diamond D on the bottom which Vi Rieger’s husband Jim worked at designates they were made right here Dominion Glass for 32 years. She also in Redcliff. Among the more traditional worked at the factory herself for three bottles there are a few wonderful years in the 1970s. This gives her a novelties made by Dominion glass special interest workers over the in preserving years from handthe memory of shaped ashtrays It was a this important to manually blown era in local wonderful place glass canes, to history. swans made from for people to be “We were very beer bottles. together and industrial in The swans, in Redcliff once,” working. When it particular, were says Rieger. “It highly prized closed it was the makes me sad among Dominion end of an era in to think about employees in their that era gone day.

Redcliff. here in town.

“If you kept up I think about and you had a lot it every time of good ware the operators up the line I drive by the old factory. When I go up would get good bonuses and they’d there it takes me back to those days at send you glass swans as a reward,” says Dominion Glass, but also a different time Rieger. “They would send them through in Redcliff history. Life was slower and the lehr and the girls on the other end easier and freer. You could make a really got them as a thank-you.” nice life here if you worked at Dominion Glass.”

Rieger says Dominion Glass was also important for the high paying jobs it provided for women.

“It paid very well, especially for women,” confirms Rieger. “There was a lot of single women who worked there and single moms because that was the only place they could get a decent wage. It was hard work and if you didn’t mind the fast work it was a good place to work.”

In the end, says Rieger, the demise of the Dominion Glass Factory in Redcliff was probably inevitable but that didn’t make it hurt any less for long-time employees.

“When Consumers Glass came in from the States and bought everybody out, I’m sure they bought us just to shut us all down because Canadian glass was competing with American glass at that time. Times were changing with more companies using plastic and aluminum containers. It would have happened anyway because I don’t think there is even a glass plant operating in the States today. If you buy a canning jar now it comes from China. We just wish we could have had a bit more time.” ■

Aerial view of Dominion Glass Early 1950's or late 1940's

Building of Dominion Glass, 1913

Barb Roberts worked at Dominion Glass for 31 years and helped co-author the history book "Looking Through Glass" about the glass factory in 1999.

Vi Rieger, curator of the Redcliff Museum, is an expert on the history of Dominion Glass.

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

55

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

41205140•03/31/15

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MHC.AB.CA 57

Celebrating

Dr. Denise Henning

50 years

Medicine Hat College

College is an economic engine Ever wonder who benefits when a dollar is spent by taxpayers or students at Medicine Hat College? I’m happy to say that a new study proves we all do. In fact, education happens to be one of the best investments individuals or governments can make.

Looking at this another way, for every $1 of public money spent at MHC, taxpayers receive a cumulative return of $2.40 over the course of students’ working lives in the form of higher tax receipts and public sector savings.

This isn’t just words.

Businesses benefit too. The enhanced skills of well-trained college students help increase the productivity of the businesses that hire them. And the majority of our grads support the province over the course of their careers. Looking at Medicine Hat College specifically, almost 90 per cent of our graduates remain in Alberta to build their careers and families.

A comprehensive economic impact study commissioned by Medicine Hat College and eight other Alberta colleges revealed that attending college pays huge dividends for students who complete post-secondary education, reduces costs for taxpayers, and boosts revenue for businesses who hire college graduates.

Let’s begin with students. They can be assured that their investment in education pays off handsomely. The study shows that students not only recover the cost of the original investment but also receive an additional $2.50 in benefits over and above every $1 in costs. If you consider this as if you were making a personal investment, students earn an annual internal return of 18.5 per cent.

How much do grads contribute?

The study says that the accumulated contribution of former students currently employed in the provincial workforce amounted to $3.1 billion in added income in the single year of the study. That’s a lot no matter how you look at the numbers.

There’s local benefit too. The college has a positive impact on the regional economy While these individual students benefit from to the tune of almost $170 million each their time and tuition invested with MHC, year. That’s the total impact generated by taxpayers do too.

MHC’s payroll, which is over $30 million The stats show that students with advanced annually, the college’s other expenditures, as well as student spending. education are more likely to develop good health habits, commit fewer crimes, and The bottom line is equally impressive: For depend less on income assistance. This is a every dollar that provincial taxpayers spent great deal for the taxpayer; college grads on MHC, society as a whole in Alberta earn more and therefore pay more taxes, will receive a cumulative value of $14.30 but at the same time require less public in benefits. assistance.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

of higher education PEGGY REVELL

F

rom just 97 full time students to 2,3000 students earning credits.

It’s been a busy 50 years for Medicine Hat College.

“We were clearly among the earliest community colleges in the province,” said VP Academic Len Vandervaart on the origin of MHC, with the push to build the college coming from the local school divisions alongside a general push from across Canada for community colleges to be established.

“Lots of the colleges were junior colleges,” said MHC librarian Keith Walker. “So people could stay in the smaller areas.”

“Which is still the large focus of what we do now,” added Chuck Payne, Interim Vice-President for Advancement & Community Relations

The first programs offered at MHC included university transfer programs for agriculture, arts, commerce, education, household economics, law, nursing, pharmacy, physical education, pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, preveterinary medicine, science.

“I’m sure there was a push from the business community too,” added Walker, noting there was also the baby boomer generation finishing up high school.

MHC started out not at its current site, but in the north wing of Medicine Hat High School, said Valarie Westers, who handles archives at MHC. Offices were in a house across the street.

During its first year in 1965, there were 97 full-time students and 11 part-time students.

The first courses taught at the college were university transfers — areas like home economics, nursing, pharmacy, pre-med and law— with the idea that students would attend at MHC, and then transfer on to a university, she explained.

Then in 1967, the first full programs were introduced — college prep, office technology and business administration.

But while the college was in a high school, students didn’t want it to feel like one.

“The students felt it was very important to have a college library versus a high school one,” said Walker and as a fundraiser, students sent letters to Hollywood stars asking them for neckties which were then auctioned off — the biggest name who responded was apparently Peter Sellers.

MHC

Milestones 1960 - Local School Board suggests establishing a Junior College with the City of Medicine Hat.

1964 - Medicine Hat Junior College is established by order in council, Dr. N.O. Matthews is appointed dean.

1965 - Medicine Hat Junior College opens its doors.

1967 - City of Medicine Hat grants the college 107 acres in the Marlborough subdivision.

1969 - Conservatory of Music and Dance is established.

1971 - Official opening of the college by the Honourable J.W. Grant MacEwan.

MHC moved into its own space and current site in 1971 — then on the outskirts of the city, but now wedged between the growing boundary.

3,100,000 hours of human labour were put in to building this site by128 construction workers, technicians and managers, said Westers.

Changes were still coming — 1973 was when MHC first started offering English as a Second Language courses, while 1979 was when its Brooks campus opened up.

Expansion didn’t always come without controversy though — the residences were built in 1981, and Westers explained that at the time there were information pickets by support staff, upset that there was money for buildings and expansion but not for staff.

In 1982, the City and the College joined together to open up the Cultural Centre.

Changes in technology meant a switch away from the rooms full of typerwriters to computers for doing word processing and spreadsheets, said Vandervaart — and by the late '90s, there was also the opportunity for online learning programs.

New wings were added to the college to accommodate more students and programs of studies.

Walker has said in the last decade there’s also been an emphasis on making the college feel more brighter and welcoming.

“It’s a place to bring people ... with the lights, trees, trails,” he said, adding that the college has also helped Medicine Hat become “more cosmopolitan” thanks to its international student population.

“Even our library, we offering open access to anyone who comes into the community,” said Westers.

“We’re a large economic influence, we employ a lot of people.” reflected Payne. “I think we’re at more of a diverse operation than we were.”

This diversity includes a growth in training for the trades, more diplomas, certificates, continuing education, and other career tracks, said VanderVaart.

“The bringing of degrees here was a big turning point,” he said, with students now able to earn degrees in areas like education and business thanks to partnerships with various universities.

“Between applied diplomas and full degrees that really brought the level of credentials up for MHC.”

For the 2013-14 year, 55 per cent of MHC students were from the Medicine Hat region. 25 per cent of international students at MHC come from Japan, 23.5 per cent from India, 19.7 per cent from South Korea, and 16.2 from China — alongside dozens of other countries.

In honour of his mother Sima, former Medicine Hat Mayor Harry Veiner, donated 26 hectares of land east of Brooks for MHC to build a permanent campus there. At the time, the land was appraised at $1.1 million.

Continuing education in 1971 included programs such as homemaking ($25 per course), basic welding ($50), and basic bartending ($30). Community members could also audit a course for $25.

1973 - English as a Second Language program is offered.

1979 - Ministerial authorization is given to establish a campus at Brooks.

1981 - First A.U.P.E./MHC collective agreement signed.

1982 - Ladies basketball team wins the bronze in the national championships.

1982 - Official opening of Student Housing by the Honourable Jim Horsman.

1983- Official opening of the Cultural Centre.

1987 - H Building opened.

1989 - First College-wide Graduation Ceremony.

1989 -College wins the Canadian National Curling Championships.

1991 - First international chapter of the student honours society, Phi Theta Kappa, established.

1991 -Child Development Centre established on campus with the cooperation of the City of Medicine Hat. 1991 -Dignitaries officially open the new Brooks Campus.

MHC’s motto, adopted in 1971 "scientia mentem sustinet," which means “science and knowledge sustain the mind.”

1993 - The Medicine Hat Girls' Choir wins the provincial championships.

1993 - Distance Learning program now offered.

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MHC Milestones continued 1995 - Summer College becomes temporary shelter for 2,000 people evacuated from their homes because of flood warnings.

1996 - For the first time MHC is on the Internet with a website and college information.

1997 - Smoking is banned in all publicly-funded areas of the college, 1997 - A provincial grant totaling $2.5 million, in addition to $600,000 from the college, is used to replace the aging 'N' building.

1998 - Snowstorm in March closes the college down for the day, the first time it has ever closed due to a storm. Classes resume the next day at noon.

1998 -Groundbreaking for a $3.2-million expansion

by Advanced Education Minister Clint Dunford.

1999 - New Health Studies building officially opens.

2005 - Grand opening of the three-storey building and Rededication of the Vera Bracken Library, and Centennial Hall.

2009 - Official opening of Encana Power Engineering Technology Centre.

2011 - Official opening of the F-Wing.

2012 - September- MHC receives largest donation in history of $2.2 million from the Rodgers family.

2014 - Grand opening of the visual communications building.

2014 - MHC hosts grand opening for the Sunrise Rotary Trail.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Marketing goes to the students PEGGY REVELL

Who wouldn’t want 22 people brainstorming to solve a business problem? And what business student wouldn’t love to hear the advertisement they created singing across the radio.

MHC’s coat of arms was designed by the Community Art Club.

When MHC’s new building opened in 1971, there were 460 students registered as full-time studies.

“It’s the ‘it takes a village,’” said Darren Howes, chair of were recruited, Sookocheff explained, and students were Medicine Hat College’s business department, about the hired to do the market research, develop and execute specific marketing projects for the businesses. symbiotic relationship that has developed between the college and business community in recent years.

Findings from the work term were presented at a provincial conference to stakeholders, Sookocheff said — but while “I think our message is for businesses to connect with us. The more businesses we work with ... the better it is there was interest, they weren’t able to secure funding for it to continue at any large scale. for students, the workforce, the better for everyone.”

One of the many projects has marketing students in one class put together an integrated marketing and communications plan for a local business or organization, said Howes. Past clients have included local businesses such as the Cypress School of Skating, Combing Attractions and this term’s will be the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education Students, Howes explained, meet with the clients, find out their goals, challenges, and previous marketing efforts.

There is no exact format for developing the plan — sometimes students break up into competitive groups, other times they work all together, said Howes.

And from time to time, there’s funding for students to work with, he said.

Business can take the report, and choose to use what they feel is useful.

“Hopefully it helps the business, but it definitely helps the students,” he said, noting that in many ways the business owner’s passion transfers onto the students, who become enthusiastic about the project.

“That being said, we are going to continue with the small business work term again this summer,” he said, this time on a smaller scale, and hopefully working with new start-up companies. “(Students) had such a great amount of energy and knowledge base ... it was really a benefit to us as a small business,” said Greg Pahl, with Medicine Hat Meat Traders, who participated with the summer pilot project — and hopes projects like it can continue into the future.

Since working with the students, Pahl said they’ve continued to use the ideas that students brought forth — and it also gave them ideas in areas that they weren’t as familiar with, such as social media.

Being a small business, Pahl said they’re “pretty limited” as far as the resources that can be put towards marketing, and different marketing ideas.”

“So this really gave us an opportunity to use some of their expertise, some of the energy the students have towards our business that normally we wouldn’t be able to get.”

Participating in the work term and similar projects has been helpful, said MHC student Nikayla MacNaughton.

“The majority of small independent businesses in the region lack, or they are not doing full business planning, financial planning, or marketing planning,” said MHC’s Entrepreneur Development Centre manager Jon Sookocheff, about the findings of a Palliser region survey.

“So that’s a place where the local small business community could use some help.”

“For us we’re preparing to go out into the workforce,” she said. “It confirms my passion for marketing and what I wanted to do with my career,”

And that’s where a summer pilot project at MHC came in.

And these are just a few ways the college and business work together — locals also volunteer in to do mock interviews, and participate in the Enactus program.

Six small business owners with marketing projects

“We’re lucky to have a business community who is so open to working with us.”■

Even thought this is her last term, she has already landed a job working with Clarion Hotel, marketing for their newly renovated Art & Wine Bistro.

“Because of this job experience, it kind of launched me into that job. It’s really cool and exciting.”

For Howes, one of the best parts of the experience is seeing the transformation of students, from when they start school to graduation “It’s just amazing, and the confidence you see in communication, knowledge, business lingo and more,” he said.

After four decades, Canada is a home away from home for BATUS

TIM KALINOWSKI

F

or the past 43 years CFB Suffield has been the site of an ongoing cultural exchange and relationship between the UK and Western Canada thanks to the British Army Training Unit Suffield.

Known affectionately as BATUS, the unit sees 7,000 British soldiers pass through southeast Alberta every year, many of whom end up returning to Medicine Hat to live once they retire from the army.

Maj. Robert Page, Tactics and Operations officer for BATUS, says CFB Suffield provides an invaluable training ground for British soldiers.

“CFB Suffield is critical to what we do here,” says Page. “We couldn’t operate without them. Our Canadian hosts effectively support and enable us to train here in Canada. The training area is very important. It’s one of the largest that we have access to in the British Army. Our largest training in the UK is Salisbury Plain, and that would roughly be about a third the size of what we have here.”

fact that it is overseas and the western way of life is a different way of life. I think the scenery is fundamentally different. You get a definite feeling for space here that you just don’t get in the UK. And population-wise the UK is incredibly crowded compared to here. It’s very attractive and there are opportunities here for soldiers thinking of getting out of the military.”

Hockey is also a huge part of the cultural exchange.

“Every department here is about 30 people strong and we’re lucky to have our own ice rink down in the village (of Ralston) and that kind of becomes our hub,” says Page. “Every department has to have a team. There are six teams and because there are only 30 people in every department you can kind of understand that while you may not want to play hockey, pretty short and sharp you are being recruited into it. I think our Canadian friends are very understanding of our level of hockey skill. It’s just another way of getting out of the office, playing some pretty hard sport and building up our relationship with our Canadian friends.”

Page says coming to southeast Alberta is also a much coveted cultural exchange opportunity for the officers and soldiers posted here.

Western culture is also a huge attraction for the soldiers coming through.

“For the soldiers there is a novelty factor in the

“The Ralston Rodeo which takes place in the summer, I experienced that on my first day in Canada,”

remembers Page with a laugh. “I was swiftly roped onto the commander’s team to wrestle a calf. It’s a massive part of the culture here and shows respect for our neighbours, the ranchers that are around the edge of our training area. There’s also a couple of mandatory trips to Lammle’s downtown in Medicine Hat or the Alberta Boot Company in Calgary before heading back to the UK. On a personal note, my children get to ride horses here, and it’s a different style of riding on a different saddle and everything else. It’s all these different experiences that are great to offer the family after we work hard to deliver the training.”

Page says BATUS continues to be an effective training forum for the British Army, and he hopes the relationship with CFB Suffield will continue long into the future.

“We know it works. Last year there was a big question about whether we should continue to train here. We looked at other options and it was decided that BATUS and Canada is a really good fit for us. To endure a BATUS exercise is a significant thing. It’s a 30-day deployment onto the prairie where you live off your vehicles. There’s no break anywhere in that.

For our soldiers that is a real challenge. Most of the continued on page 62

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

61

looking back Canada home away from home for BATUS continued from page 61

exercises they conduct in the UK are probably no longer than 10 days. I think as long as we maintain the relationships correctly, and everyone is thumbs up, then we’ll continue to train here.”

Lt. Col. Sean Hackett has been the base commander at CFB Suffield for the past two years.

The most important part of his job is to ensure the BATUS summer training exercises go smoothly from a Canadian operational perspective.

“It’s a vibrant and interesting mission to provide such great support to the British Army Training Unit Suffield. We are the largest range and training area in the Commonwealth and it brings with it a whole series of challenges. You never really know what you are in for until you arrive, and I think it’s a testament to our training that we can adjust to these conditions so quickly and readily. Our mandate is to support BATUS and let them focus on their training so they can get on with it.

Hackett says while there are definitely a few cultural differences to get used to, such differences are minor compared to the long-standing tradition of military co-operation in war which unites Canada and the UK.

Robert Page of S02 Tac/Ops oversees live fire training for BATUS at CFB Suffield.

“Our core military mandate is as military leadership and officers; those are ties that bind,” says Hackett.

“I think we find ways to share that esprit de corps, whether it be combined social activities or whether it be Canadians in support at the mess.”

Hackett is proud of CFB Suffield’s role in supporting BATUS and the legacy of military co-operation and cultural exchange represented by the decades of BATUS training in southeast Alberta.

“It’s a 40-year legacy here. The interesting thing we do here is we get to perpetuate that coalition arrangement; that history of co-operation between Britain and Canada, and those relationships, right here at home.” ■

S-Sgt. Collin Crawford of 29 BATUS FLIGHT British Army Air Corps poses in front of six Gazelle AH-1 helicopters permanently based at CFB Suffield.

Carpenters and tradesman with 26 Field Squadron of the 32nd Engineers construct the structures which will stand in for village houses during BATUS exercises over the summer.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

The Mayor of the people Milt Reinhardt's mark remains on the city landscape

M

ilt Reinhardt loved people, loved business and loved politics all with equal fervour.

Always attracted to the politics of personality, the grand stage of political theatre, Reinhardt could be as smooth as silk when he was trying to convince you of his point of view, or rub like sandpaper if you opposed him.

Reinhardt was born in Medicine Hat in 1933 and grew up on a farm near Leader, Sask. In his youth he studied drama at

Ryerson PolyTechnical Institute in Toronto with the hopes of becoming a radio personality.

When he returned to Medicine Hat he came to work as a salesman at his uncle’s Quality Home Appliances and Furniture store. Reinhardt would eventually buy out the store and open up several more successful businesses in the city over the course of his entrepreneurial career, including Mr. Ice Cream, Pipe & Paper, the Southview Mohawk Gas Station and Reinhardt's Family Restaurant.

Despite his success in business, Reinhardt always longed for the political stage. He ran in his first election at age 26 as an NDP continued on page 65

IS CELEBRATING OUR 21ST ANNIVERSARY!

Mayor Milt Reinhardt, pictured here on his motorbike May 1979, was the first mayor in Medicine Hat to ride a motorbike.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

The Mayor of the People continued from page 63 candidate before later becoming an ardent Liberal Party supporter.

As a politician Reinhardt gained a reputation as a man who stuck to his guns and fiercely defended the causes and people he championed. A skillful salesman, he was successful at winning over voters even when they disagreed with his policy positions. He loved personal politics — often meeting people on the street with a handshake, a consoling word and a smile.

“Milt Reinhardt had a winning personality and was a good salesman, most agree, despite backing a perennial losing cause and hard sell in Medicine Hat, namely, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Liberal Party,” Medicine Hat News reporter Collin Gallant wrote of Reinhardt on May 24, 2014.

Reinhardt was first elected to city council in 1968. On council he worked closely with legendary mayor Harry Veiner. Veiner became one of two long-serving mayors, which would bookend Reinhardt’s own brief career in public office; the other being Ted Grimm. Grimm won his first term in office in 1974-1977. He went on to serve as mayor for a second period from 19802001. Reinhardt beat Grimm in 1977 to become mayor, and ran against him twice more in subsequent elections after Grimm reclaimed the mayor’s seat in 1980.

“He took down the man who couldn’t be beaten: Ted Grimm,” said Reinhardt’s son Lyndon in a recent interview. “It was a point of pride with him and definitely one of the highlights he carried with him all his years.”

Reinhardt’s three years in the mayor’s seat were marked by huge divisions within the city itself as many different visions for the future found their advocates on an often dead-locked city council. Reinhardt’s uncompromising pro-business, pro-growth and pro-development stance was opposed by many who liked Medicine Hat just the way it was.

“A city must not grow in only one direction,” Reinhardt said on Oct. 18, 1977 a few days before being elected mayor.

“Council must in no way attempt to control the structure of business.”

Reinhardt particularly pushed for more development in the south end of the city around what would eventually become the Medicine Hat Mall, believing that’s the direction where the city’s future growth lay.

“Dad was very business oriented, which is funny because of his socialist view point,” Reinhardt’s younger son Mark recently told the Medicine Hat News. “Getting the mall built and building the Medicine Hat

Lodge was his doing. Ross Glen was just coming on. There was a lot of business development around his time in office. He wanted to run the campaign ‘Medicine Hat Open for Business.’”

Reinhardt may have backed a number of losing causes over the course of his political life but in his vision for the growth of the city he was largely proven correct. Reinhardt always found this fact extremely gratifying.

Milt Reinhardt shakes hands with Justin Trudeau at Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club in 2013.

“He was tickled pink about it,” confirmed son Lyndon. “He saw the growth and he saw the development in the south side, which still to this day is growing. He was very much happy with the direction the city was going with regard to the growth.

Everything in life is about risk, and sometimes it’s a calculated risk. Sometimes you get lucky too. It did him well. That growth was spawned because of those few decisions he made.”

In 1978, a year after taking office, Reinhardt confessed he was not expecting to face such heated opposition to his agenda when he came into power.

“I was unaware of how much politics goes on,” he said in a interview with reporter Sheila Pratt. “When I sat on council 10 years ago, the then Mayor Harry Veiner was almost unchallenged on council. I don’t want developers running this city either, but I do feel business is what makes a community grow. When we acquire more businesses it’s good for all citizens. I see too many people going to Lethbridge and Calgary to shop now.”

Reinhardt left behind his wife Maryann and his three children Patricia, Lyndon and Mark. He was pre-deceased by his first wife Ivy. Despite his short time in the mayor’s seat, Reinhardt left his mark on the city he loved. ■

Mark Reinhardt says his father, former Mayor Milt Reinhardt, lived and breathed politics. Milt's strong opinions could make him your greatest friend if he agreed with you and your harshest critic if he didn't.

After getting out of politics Reinhardt became a long-time restaurant manager and good will ambassador at the Medicine Hat Lodge. According to Reinhardt’s son Lyndon, his working at the Lodge wasn’t about the money.

“He’d say: ‘Hey, Lyn I’m going to retire.

I’m going to hang it up.’ I heard it at 65, and then I heard it at 70. I heard it at 75.

And then I heard it at 80. Amazingly, it wasn’t about the work. It wasn’t about the money. It wasn’t about the job. It was about the contact with the people. That was what it was all about with Dad.” After Reinhardt’s death on May 21, 2014 long-time friend and former Medicine Hat MLA David Carter said he, like many, would remember Reinhardt for the strength of his convictions, his warm personality and personal touch.

“There was a good, solid depth to Milt that I don’t think people appreciated,” said Carter. “He had the gift of looking people straight in the eye, which is not so common these days, especially with politicians."

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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

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Every year our society looks to the community for people that want to change the world by telling their stories. What our society offers is the means to help tell these stories.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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It is called Inter-Act because it explores inter-relationships among people and promotes inter-action between players and audiences in the process of seeking solutions to life’s challenges.

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www.medicinehatjazzfest.com 41188874•03/31/15

The Medicine Hat Rotary Music Festival celebrating our

60th Anniversary in 2015

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The Rotary Club of Medicine Hat hosts this two-week festival in March each year, which allows amateur students of classical music to compete for not only local awards and recognition, but also provides an opportunity for young musicians and singers to advance to both Provincial and National levels. Our festival includes vocal, piano, brass/woodwind, guitar, string instruments, musical theatre, speech, choral, school choral and choral speech, junior orchestra, and a band workshop.

This festival has been the major community project for the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat since 1956, and continues to be successful through the support of business/service clubs and private sponsorship and both Rotary and community volunteers.

Contact Information: Medicine Hat Rotary Music Festival P.O. BOX 2498 Medicine Hat, AB T1A 7H1

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Winter Folk Music Festival Tongue T Tong To on ng guee o on n th the he Po Post osstt olk m olk ol mu ussiic ffe est s ivval al iss a ffolk music festival LLike Li ike kee n o othe ot o the her! her! r!! no other!! … A full and varied week of music events igniting a passion for live folk music. The folk music club has become a significant and successful part of Medicine Hat's arts community. All events are run entirely by volunteers and use local resources for promotions and technical production.

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To Promote and Enhance Live Music as a Part of our Community and our Heritage The Medicine Hat & District Live Music Club strives to provide and create experience for local talent, we offer a place for communication, education and experience for people wishing to share music.

Open Jam Sessions are held on Monday evenings at the Legion downstairs in the Bonaventure Room.

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Our members share achievement, commitment, dedication and camaraderie.

The Live Music Club offers Scholarships to promote and encourage the musical talents of Medicine Hat and District youth.

For more information contact Bill desBarres at 403-526-1070 our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

67

looking back

Mayor of ambition and generosity The great Harry Veiner

Salesperson of theYear Ken Wuitchik

‘14

Congratulations Ken on another outstanding year.

Ken would like to say thank you to all his loyal clientele and all the best to them and their families in 2014. Ken has been employed at Big M for 22 years.

Mayor Harry Veiner rides horseback outside Medicine Hat Regional Hospital ca. 1960.

TIM KALINOWSKI

T

www.bigmford.ca 1312 Transcanada Way 403-527-4406

68

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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here has never been a more singular individual in southeast Alberta than Harry Veiner.

The long-time Medicine Hat mayor was an agnostic, Jewish cowboy. A self-made man who owned numerous businesses and properties. A gifted athlete driven by a relentless desire to compete and prove himself. A man of ambition and

ability with an innately generous heart.

A man who always had the good of the common man foremost in mind with a common touch to match. When Harry Veiner spoke with his deep, slow, hypnotic voice, people at all levels of government listened. He also had a gift for generating publicity that was the envy of any politician in the world.

Born in 1903 in the Dysart area of Saskatchewan, Veiner was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. As a kid he displayed a relentless drive which he channelled into sports. He was a gifted

runner, breaking long distance records in Saskatchewan. He was also a talented soccer player who was chosen to play for the English national team on its tour of Western Canada. He played an exhibition match with the team and ended up scoring the winning goal. He even played a season with the Regina Roughriders as the team’s safety.

didn’t try to make profit on it. I did it to help people. My door was always open.

Politics, the way it is going, it’s not what I would call real politics to run in there to run the government for the good of the government. There is one thing you have to do is help out the people; help out the poor.”

“It’s human nature,” Veiner told Taylor.

“I don't say it’s competitive. Life is a funny thing. You want to get in there.

You think you can do more ... Because I was in the paper, I would get all kinds of challenges wherever I went. I would take all the challenges I thought would create friendship. I didn’t think I could win everything.”

“I used to fight a lot,” admitted Veiner. “I was against the fellow that was a Nazi.

And if he was a Nazi I bloody well let him have it. I was a good street fighter.

I got in a lot of fights. There was a lot of anti-Semitic feelings when Hitler came in. There were some crazy fools.”

Veiner was also driven by a profound sense of public obligation and duty. He despised people who went into politics for reasons of personal ambition.

“Politics was just as rotten when I came into it,” Veiner said in the same interview. “I didn’t run for money. I

Although personally ambivalent to his family’s faith, Veiner never lost sight of who he was or where he came from.

In 1998 Wendall Wilks wrote a letter to the editor of the Medicine Hat News where he recalled a chance encounter with a recently retired Harry Veiner at a sidewalk cafe in Paris in the late 1970s.

Veiner was on his way to his annual

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Despite his Jewish heritage, Veiner also won the regard of most of the German prisoners he worked with. Although, he admitted later on to making a personal example of anyone he met with overtly Nazi leanings throughout the 1930s.

674•03

He gained international fame for some of these exploits. But as Veiner told interviewer Don Taylor in 1987, it was not merely about generating headlines — there was a spiritual aspect to these challenges for himself as well.

“Harry showed me some weather Borrow beaten, dog-eared, fr videos ee digital , music personal papers and a u d iobo Instantl y availa that to this day your lib oks with No Hold rary ca s - No Able rd ds haunt me,” said Wilks. “The one document I recall most vividly was an inked original letter signed by Canada’s External Affairs Minister C.D. Howe, written in 1938. It was a response shortg rass.c letter to Canadian Jews a/hoop la who wanted to create a Jewish settlement for persecuted German and other European Jews in the large uninhabited areas that are now described as the Suffield range.”

41189

This sense of public duty was deeply ingrained in Veiner. During the Great War he lied about his age and signed up for the Canadian “In one day he Army, but was won a marathon, never deployed competed in a 100overseas. When and 200-metre the Second dash, played two World War rolled games of football around, Veiner and went to a once again dance and made enlisted and was it to work on time commissioned the next day.” as a lieutenant in It was also the charge of food beginning of and provisions Veiner’s long for the German fascination with Prisoners of accepting physical War brought challenges which to southern he carried with Alberta. He him later in life. ran victualling Some of the and supply for challenges he 8,000-10,000 undertook became prisoners in both Medicine Hat and legendary. He competed in a six-hour Lethbridge, and for thousands of others sugar cane cutting competition while in smaller encampments throughout on a federal government-sponsored the area. By the end of the war, Veiner good-will mission to Cuba in the 1950s. was a Lieutenant Colonel and widely He fought a former Canadian boxing recognized for his competence, strong champion in Vancouver. He raced a horse management skills and fundamental on foot in a 100-yard dash in Brooks. He honesty. He was largely successful in wrestled an alligator in Florida. Whatever getting rid of graft and waste in the the challenge, he usually won. military supply chain at the camps.

As one biographer later said of young Harry Veiner:

pilgrimage to Israel to give out gifts and plant a tree in memory of Holocaust victims.

Veiner carried his public profile gained in the war, and his many years of credibility built up as a successful rancher and business owner, into the Medicine Hat mayoral seat in 1952. He served from 1952-1964 and then get roped back into the role from 1968-1974.

During his tenure he would be the driving force behind attracting international attention to Medicine Hat and bringing in large manufacturing companies like Goodyear, Western Cooperative Fertilizers and Cancarb to the city. He donated every dime of his salary he received as mayor to go alongside the thousands of dollars he already spent of his own private earnings annually to fund charities and answer personal appeals from individuals in need.

When asked in 1983 on “Harry Veiner Day” about how he managed to be so successful as mayor, Veiner answered profoundly.

“You must understand human nature and you must love human nature. You must love all kinds of people, no matter what religion or colour they are. You must be tough with the bad people and take people for what they are.”

Harry Veiner passed away in 1991 at the age of 87. He was predeceased by his first wife Fanny. He left behind his second wife Renee and his daughters Natalie and Shirley. He also left behind a legacy of leadership, personal charisma and generosity in southeast Alberta which few, if any, have ever matched. ■

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

69

looking back

The man who changed Medicine Hat

Frank Oberle Minister of Energy

The legacy of Ted Grimm

Key to the province is Albertans themselves

TIM KALINOWSKI

the leadership that made us the first jurisdiction in North America to regulate industrial greenhouse gas emissions, and among the first to put a price on carbon. We will ensure that Alberta industry remains competitive, and we While Alberta is fortunate to have resources will meet the challenge of demonstrating like oil and gas, our stature as a leading real environmental leadership through energy producer and an economic force is meaningful action. based on the hard work and ingenuity of Despite any challenges it may face, our Albertans — like Hatters and others who energy sector is tough, resilient and call southeastern Alberta home. innovative. That is why it has grown These are traits that attract newcomers, steadily over the past century into the drive investment, and elevate our quality of world-leading industry it is today. life in every corner of the province. They are Our government will work hard to support what keep communities like Medicine Hat, this industry and maintain a positive and our province, growing. climate that encourages investment in And the Alberta government is focused Alberta’s natural resources and its people. on ensuring our natural resources continue We are training more apprentices, helping to reap economic and social benefits for under-represented Albertans find work, Albertans and for Canadians from coast to and are continuing to work closely coast. with First Nations and Metis We are committed to maximizing the communities to build economic value of these resources by getting them to partnerships founded on new markets overseas and supporting the sound environmental production of higher value energy products principles and responsible here in Alberta. development.

Over the past century, Alberta’s natural resources have played a major role in our province’s economic success — and in the prosperity of Canadians across our great country.

Alberta has some of the most stringent regulations and innovative monitoring programs to ensure our air, land, and water remain protected. But we must build on

Alberta continues to be the best place in Canada to work, invest, and raise a family. We are truly blessed with a wealth of resources, but the real key to our prosperity is Albertans themselves — who create the conditions for their own success.

A great manager of day-to-day affairs, a steady presence at the helm during times of crisis and a telegenic public personality, Grimm was the right man at the right time for Medicine Hat. During Grimm’s record-breaking 24 years as mayor, Medicine Hat transitioned from a small, rural community of 27,000 to a modern,

Ladies it’s a

“There was a book I used to like called “The Man Who Changed the World,” former city manager and long-time colleague Larry Godin once said. “The book of Ted Grimm is maybe the “Man Who Changed Medicine Hat.” Ted Grimm was born in 1936 to a devout Roman Catholic family on a farm near Fox Valley, Sask. From early on his parents encouraged his interest in politics and world affairs.

“I was born in the shadow of the Depression. So the influence of the Depression stayed with me and our people. So part of the fiscal approach I took as a mayor was part of that culture a bit,” confirmed Grimm in a 2014 interview with the Historical Society of Medicine Hat and District.

An avid reader, Grimm dreamed of one day becoming a teacher. He briefly attended college in Regina after graduating high school but was forced to drop out due to a lack of resources.

Ages Grimm then went to work d n at the highways department vels, a le l 6 il 1 k s ll a Players of in Saskatchewan before diate Up to Interme Beginner moving to Medicine Hat in 1956 to work at the Northwest on n o ti a Nitro Chemicals plant. It was rm info For more Grimm’s experience at Northwest Nitro Chemicals that kickstarted his Sam Griffin political career.

Please call 1

!

K KIC

•03/31/15 41006047

As we continue to develop our resources, we must also continue to improve how we protect the environment. As the Premier has often said, if Alberta is in the energy business, we must also be in the environment business.

T

ed Grimm took to the Medicine Hat mayor’s chair like he was born to it.

bustling metropolis of more than 60,000. It took skill, it took foresight and it took decisiveness to carry it off.

Qualities Ted Grimm had in spades.

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(403)528-4

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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Grimm went on to become a well-known labour movement organizer in Medicine Hat before eventually returning to school to finish his teaching certification.

After graduating, Grimm came back to Medicine Hat in 1964 and taught at St. Mary’s School. In 1968 he won his first civic election as alderman.

He was just 32 years old.

Grimm decided to run for mayor in 1974 after Harry Veiner stepped down. The young, well-spoken, forward-thinking and telegenic Grimm charmed Medicine Hat voters and won the election handily.

He immediately set a non-partisan and moderate tone in city politics, declaring his intention to represent all Hatters regardless of their political stripe.

“It really doesn’t matter to me in the slightest,” he joked during his acceptance speech, “whether our sewers are painted pink, blue or whatever.”

I have never really measured the success of a city by the numbers you have. You have to measure it by the quality of life you left behind.

Legendary mayor Harry Veiner was also re-elected that same year after a four-year hiatus from municipal politics.

Grimm later confessed, while personally respecting Veiner, that he and his predecessor were opposite in style when it came to city management.

“Harry Veiner did not believe in planning,” said Grimm. “He did not believe in a developing direction or anything. I knew we had to start planning because a boom was coming.

And we had no short-term, no medium, no long-term vision or anything. It was a disaster.”

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Grimm also didn’t waste any time in getting down business, bringing in an ambitious urban development plan laying out the future growth of the city. He admitted later he probably scared voters in his first term with the scope of the plans he presented and the price tag attached to them. The voters rebuked him in 1977, voting him out after only three years in the mayor’s seat.

“As the mayor you don’t make things happen physically but when you are able to say what’s to happen, and have council onside and can show the sensible plan to back it, they will back it and the community will back it,” explained Grimm. “I had a 20-year vision in here (in my mind).”

In 1980, Grimm was convinced to run for the mayor’s office again after three divisive years of gridlock on city council under his successor Mayor Milt continued on page 72

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union, and of course it was an American controlled company,” said Grimm. “I had enough prairie radicalism in me to be involved in the trade union movement because I could see some things that were going on. It wasn’t that the people at the plant were underpaid, but the paternalistic attitude of being instructed, or at least getting out your hankie when somebody sneezed in Terre Haute, Indiana, that just didn’t fly for me.”

71

Kelly was particularly impressed with Grimm’s response to the National Energy Program after he returned to the mayor’s chair in the early 1980s.

The legacy of Ted Grimm continued from page 71

“Some of us believed he should be screaming to the rooftops and refusing to pay, but that wasn’t Ted. He wasn’t involved in histrionics, he wasn’t going to play politics with a very serious issue facing the people of Medicine Hat. He took the proper channels through in terms of legal challenges and won.”

Grimm would go on to navigate Medicine Hat through various booms and busts throughout his next 21 years in office, all the while continuing to build up the city. Grimm built a new city hall, encouraged extensive residential and industrial development, built the Family Leisure Centre and laid out the river valley park system. During his time in office Medicine Hat’s population more than doubled and Grimm’s steady management style kept the city on sound fiscal ground throughout.

Reinhardt. The much-hated National Energy Program was being brought in by the Trudeau government in Ottawa and Medicine Hat was facing tough fiscal times. Voters turned to the man with a plan: Ted Grimm.

“Steady as she goes would describe Ted

Grimm,” long-time alderman and friend Graham Kelly recently told the Medicine Hat News. “Today, as often is the case, we have panic politics in Alberta. Ted guided the city through a couple of recessions and a couple of minor dips. We just kept steadily going knowing we’ll get through this with good management.”

“One of the fascinating things I learned in leadership, particularly, was once you set out the idea it’s amazing how the administration and the council commit to going to achieve it,” said Grimm. “I have never really measured (the success of) a city by the numbers you have. You have

to measure it by the quality of life you left behind.”

Former alderman Ken Sauer said what made Grimm such an effective manager was his ability to listen intently to others and never lose sight of the fundamentals.

“Sometimes people have their ear to the ground,” said Sauer. “He always knew the answers before he asked the questions. He knew what was going on in the city in such a way you knew you couldn’t have someone spin something by. That’s a good way to be a leader because you are not blindsided, nor are you buffaloed by somebody.”

Grimm stepped down as mayor in 2001.

With the exception of one brief foray back into city politics in 2007, when he once again ran for mayor and lost to Norm Boucher, Grimm has kept his word and stayed away from the public spotlight, refusing to try to influence his successors.

“I’m a citizen,” Grimm told The Medicine Hat News in 2005. “I haven’t given up my rights, but there’s an appropriate time for someone who has retired to sort of shut up and revert to cranky citizen.”

Grimm still lives quietly in Medicine Hat with wife Ruth. ■

Celebrating 79 years of serving the CommunitY’ CommunitY’S Greatest Needs!

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The Kinsmen Club of Medicine Hat is proud to have donated almost $2,000,000 in the last 10 years to our community.

Legacy Projects Include: Kin Coulee; Kinplex I & II, Kinsmen Aquatic Center – Medicine Hat Leisure Centre; Kinsmen Children’s Library; Southridge Recreation and Wellness Centre; and Kinsmen Skate Park.

Annual Sponsorships Include: Free Family Swimming in Medicine Hat & Redcliff ; Free Public Skating in Medicine Hat & Redcliff ; St. Louis School Milk Program; plus sponsorship of numerous local organizations and children’s causes and sports.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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41188774•03/31/15

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Celebrating 5 years of serving Medicine Hat & Area

Garth Vallely a mayor who led the charge

olunteer D committe e of citiz Medicine ens from Hat and District p resents:

CIE SO

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For more info voluntteee rmation on the e v r please call 403.5 ent or to email can 27.9242 a d a m h@telus. w net .c

continued on page 74

411899 904•03/31 /1 15 5

“I lived and worked in Medicine Hat three times in my lifetime. Once when I just graduated high school in Edmonton way back in 1956. I was a millwright’s helper when they built that first Western Fertilizer plant out there. And then I worked for a local developer in Medicine Hat for part of one year in the late

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"I remember traveling around and picking up shell casings in my back yard from the night fighter planes during the

Vallely lived and worked in Medicine Hat for brief periods over the years before deciding to finally settle down in the city in 1984.

Vallely fell in love with the city, but felt it could be even better than it was.

“I always wanted to know how I could He volunteered for community service make Medicine Hat better,” said Vallely. organizations like the y y should have a chance “Everybody mmunity Community to make a good liv living, have ndation, Foundation, f a home and a family ed Way, United succ and be successful in I S D T RICT AN D CA ation Salvation HAT comm the community no NA E DA IN A non-pro my Army IC matter where fit v

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The son of a millwright, Garth Vallely was born in 1939 in Kettering, England.

His earliest memories were of the Second World War.

“I was married when I was 19 to my wife Maryanne. That’s the best thing that ever happened to me was marrying her; and that’s a fact.”

Support Centre, Medicine Hat Community Housing Society and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, just to name a few.

Vallely often found himself thrust into a leadership role.

AY

“I came in with an idea I wanted to serve,” Vallely recently told the Medicine Hat News. “I had been so involved in the community with so many organizations that I began to get the feeling there was a reason why this was happening to you. So where can you do things that can influence and help all segments of society in our city? By running for office I felt it would lend some stature to what I worked toward in my other community work. That’s all that was in it for me.”

In 1953, Vallely’s father opted to take a position with the CIL plant in Edmonton and moved his family to Canada. When his parents divorced in 1956, Vallely went to work as a millwright’s helper. A few years later he met the love his life and married.

1970s. And then I got into the restaurant business with Boston Pizza franchising.

First one was in Brooks and then Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.”

M

Garth Vallely always believed there was more to life than just getting by. People deserved to lead good lives. Abundant lives. Lives free from want or suffering.

A great communicator, an attentive listener and a consensus builder by nature, Vallely spent years working in the trenches as a local community organizer helping take on some of the most serious social issues of his day before ever designing to get involved in politics.

raids,” Vallely told the Medicine Hat News. “I also remember British and American planes flying back to England and you see through the fuselage and notice that they were coming in on just two or three engines. I remember all of that very vividly and I get a little choked up."

TH E

TIM KALINOWSKI

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om

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

73

Garth Vallely a mayor that led the charge continued from page 73 Maybe that’s pie-in-the-sky. Here’s Garth again going off on one of his crusades again.

But I believe it.”

first youth shelter. Vallely quickly won over even his harshest critics and brought new energy into local politics.

Vallely ran for the mayor’s seat in 2001. Despite never holding public office before, Vallely won his first election with a comfortable majority.

He promised three things coming in: To make Medicine Hat better, to listen to the people and to stay on for only two terms.

“I think he may be the strong leader we need,” said one self-confessed, jaded voter named J.C. Cruikshank in a letter to the editor in the Medicine Hat News on Dec.1, 2001. “I said I voted for Mr. Vallely once. I just might do it twice. Thanks for hearing me out Garth.”

“Quite frankly I wish more politicians would think that way,” said Vallely. “I believe in the concept where you have a period of time you are effective and you are getting your points across. And, after that, that’s it. I said it publicly before the election that I would only seek the mayor’s chair twice, and I stuck to that. Of course, if I said I didn’t miss some of the things that go on when you are in the mayor’s chair I’d be lying to ya.”

If you want to change things to make it easier for people to live, people in positions of power have to lead the charge on it.

As Mayor Vallely immediately began to set a different tone. He opened city council meetings up to the public in a way they had never been before. He held a weekly radio call in show to hear the concerns of people first hand. He instituted the annual Mayor’s New Year Levee. He pushed to begin construction on the long awaited Esplanade despite sometimes heated political opposition. He helped open Medicine Hat’s first homeless shelter, first hospice and

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In his second term in office starting in 2004, Vallely never slowed his progressive agenda despite experiencing some serious health problems. He led the charge to overhaul the city’s energy division to make it more sustainable as a business model. He helped celebrate the city’s centennial, dedicated BATUS Park, brought in the Giant Chess Set outside the library.

He helped get Medalta recognized as National Historic Site. He got the ball rolling on building the new Event Centre. And he did all this while continuing to effectively tackle social issues like poverty and homelessness.

“If you want to change things to make it easier for people to live, people in positions of power have to lead the charge on it,” said Vallely.

Vallely kept his word and stepped down from public office in 2007 after two eventful terms. He was at the height of his personal popularity, with many publications at the time referring to him as “the people’s mayor.”

Even out of office Vallely remains a passionate social crusader. When recently asked about his legacy, Vallely said it was still a work in progress.

“I have a lot of optimism for the future, but the one thing that still bothers me is we need to look at rent controls. Because at $10.22 an hour, whatever the minimum wage is, it’s tough to make a living. There is way more people in this city that are disadvantaged, and not for a physical ailment—they just can’t make enough money to live—than meets the eye. A lot of people are living on peanuts; they are going from hand to mouth virtually every day. And it is getting tougher and tougher.” ■

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Mayor Garth Vallely, 2007

your news. all day. your way. growing. changing. evolving

3257 Dunmore Road S.E. | 403.527.1101

www.medicinehatnews.com

The mission of the association is to assist in the integration, adjustment and resettlement of immigrants and refugees in the community of Medicine Hat, providing a support system that fosters Individual needs in an environment of equality and dignity.

Saamis Immigration has been serving New Canadians in Medicine Hat since 1988.

Visit: ww.saamisimmigration.ca Stop by: 659 3rd Street SE Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 0H4

SETTLEMENT WORKERS IN SCHOOLS (S.W.I.S) is a program which helps new Canadians navigate an unfamiliar school system.

Understanding school policy and procedure, School registration and orientation, transportation scheduling, communicating with educators, and accessing school and community resources are a few ways the SWIS program help to elevate stress newcomers feel.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS PROGRAM is a volunteer based program in which newcomers to Canada are matched with Canadian volunteers, who help them to learn about Canadian values and traditions, practice speaking English and learn about community resources and how to use them.

Many Newcomers to Canada come from countries where the climate, economy, political and social conditions are very different from those of Canada It takes time and support to learn a new way of life. Help of a volunteer can make a big difference.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Our services depend on community involvement and volunteers. We are always on the lookout for Language interpreters who are fluent in English and at least one other language; Tutors; Classroom and special events helpers or volunteers interested in serving on our Board.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please call 403-504-1188 or stop by our office at 659 3 ST. SE

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

41189705•03/31/15

A few of our services include: SETTLEMENT SERVICES When immigrants first arrive in Medicine Hat they are met by the association staff member and a volunteer interpreter if needed.

The Association assists new arrivals in the following areas: Reception: Greeting and provision of food and lodging.

Settlement & Orientation: Housing, shopping, banking, utilities, health care, etc. Supportive Counseling & Referral: Community contact and access to other services; ongoing individual support Employment Services: Pre-employment & career counseling, information and referrals, volunteer job placement.

Public Awareness & Community Education: Community development.

REFUGEES RECEPTION HOUSE was opened at the beginning of 2003 to provide temporary accommodation to newly arrived refugees in Medicine Hat. The house can accommodate up to 16 people at a time.

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSES are offered on a full-time and part-time basis. These classes are held onsite and are free of charge. Subsidies for child care are available for the full-time program.

Admittance into the program requires clients to complete a Canadian Language Benchmarks Assessment (CLBA) to determine what level of English they are at.

75

Chamber of Commerce 115 Medicine Hat & District

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TTIM TI IM KA KKALINOWSKI ALI L NO NOWS W KKII ince in nce c 1 1900, 90 9 00, 0, tthe hee M Medicine ed diccin ine H Ha Hat aatt aand an d Di D District ist st rict rriictt C Chamber hamb ha mb err o off Commerce C Co omm m mer erce c h has ass b been eeen a sst staunch t aau unc nch advocate aad dvoca vo ca vo c ate te ffor orr llocal o ocal oc a b al business u ines us in nesss aand an nd aan n iinvaluable nvaallua nv uabl b e re rresource eso our urce urce ce ffor orr companies looking to have success in their commercial endeavours in the city. Starting out as two separate organizations under the monikers of the Board of Trade and the Industrial Bureau, it was the impassioned vision of its early members that brought the two together officially as the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce in 1920.

“It must be truly representative of all sections of the city and of all interests in the city,” said one rousing Medicine Hat News editorial on Oct. 28,1920. “The News believes that there is a splendid opportunity to stir up this city as it has never been stirred up before; to awaken it to its big opportunities and to develop

a vigorous v ig vi go oro r u uss civic ciivvvic ic spirit ic sp piiri r it that t hatt will th w wililill carry c a rry ca carr rrrr y us us onward onwa on wa rd r to to greater g eaate gr ter and an nd better beett t ter er things. t hi hing in ng gs.. This T his his hi Chamber Cham Ch ambe am b r off Commerce Com m me merc erce rcce campaign, ccaamp amp mp pai aaiign gn, we we believe, beeliievve,, is is a vital v ita vi ital taal thing thin th in ing ng to to the th hee life liffe off the t he he city city t and and nd its its t s neighbors. nei e gh ghbo hbo b orss. It It offers offffer e s splendid sp plend leen nd did d possibilities force poss po osssib ibililliitt ie ies for ffo or or the tth he creation ccrreeaati t on on of of a ffo orc orc rcee that tth haatt will w ili l bring b in br ng out ou ut the tth he best beestt there b th heerree is is here heere re and develop a bigger and better Medicine Hat!” It’s a vision current members still share, says Chamber of Commerce president and local business owner Khrista Vogt.

“I think that if the people from 115 years ago would come to a networking event in Medicine Hat today they would go, ‘this is what it’s about,’” says Vogt. “Or if they come to one of our meetings at City Hall they would go, ‘this is what it’s about.’ Both of those things I think they would recognize. There is just some real comfort in knowing an organization has been around that long and been doing a great job advocating on behalf of business.

It’s just a real great organization to stand

behind behi be hind hi d and and nd be b e a part pa rt of.” of.f.”

Vogt Vogt Vo Vog g t says s ays ays while ay wh hililee the t he fundamentals th f und fu ndam nd ameen nta nta t als tals ls are a ree the th he same, saame me, strong stt ro ong ng advocacy adv dvoc o c ac acy for ffo or local lo cal lo c al ca businesses busi bu usi s ness neessses es and es and d a strong, sttrron ron o g g,, mutual mut ut ua ual network netw ne t work ork or of of support sup u po p ort rtt to to advance ad adva dvanc vaanc nce interests in nte tereesstt s of of its itss members, meem m mb b eerr s the t he he Medicine Med e dic dic i in ne Hat Haat Chamber H Ch ham amb mbe b er of of Commerce exists as a vital force because it has always been willing to adapt to meet the challenges of every era.

“The Chamber is representative of what is happening in Medicine Hat. I think there is a generational change going on in the city and there is some gender changes happening with more women in leadership roles. I think it’s great; what’s happening in town and some of the shifts we are seeing are very positive. We are all in this together and we want to keep our money here by shopping local. The bottom line is we all want the same thing. We want Medicine Hat to be a great place to live, to do business and we want it to stay great for future generations.”

Congratulations on 115 Years!

Lisa Lisa Li s a Kowalchuk, Kowal owaallch ow lch chuk uk, executive uk, exec ex xeeccut uttiv ive director iv ive d rect di rree cctttor orr of o of the th he Medicine Mee d M diici cin cin nee Hat Hatt Chamber Cha hamb mb err of of Commerce, Comm Comm Co m meerrce, c e, ce says ssaayyss this tthi his h hi is often offte o ten means mee an m ans ns embracing embrac em brac br acin ing different diff di iff fffer ffe fer eren ren ent ent models mo m od deelss of of growth grrow g ow tth h and and nd different dif iffe ffe f re rentt kinds k in nd dss off businesses in b i i the t h Chamber Ch b than t h in i previous generations. It’s no longer solely about brick and mortar, primary retail outlets; although those kinds of businesses are still at the core of the Chamber’s mandate. It’s about helping advance the interests of members in an increasingly online world and helping them meet their needs with employee benefit programs and other resources.

“Medicine Hat has been a hub for small business and nourishes the entrepreneurial spirit,” says Kowalchuk. “Where Medicine Hat’s roots were in large industrial businesses that flourished because of the abundant natural gas resource, it has become a mainstay for small businesses to grow. There is greater focus and awareness

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76

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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Thomson-Schindle-Green Insurance & Financial Services Ltd.

on what can be done to bring business and investment to Medicine Hat and there has been an increase in collaborative efforts.

In the last few years people are also starting to recognize that Medicine Hat is great to do business — lower overhead, great employees and more balance.

Technology has also made it possible to be able to have a central office in Medicine Hat and do business outside of our region as well. There is more of a focus on quality of life and people are coming to Medicine Hat and staying in Medicine Hat.” Kowalchuk is proud of the continued vitality of the Chamber as it enters its 115th year in Medicine Hat. With 750 members, many of whom have been recognized as leaders in their field in the

province, Kowalchuk says the future is looking bright.

“The Chamber’s greatest achievements have been both in its policy activities and events. In the last five years alone we have passed 68 policies on a local level. This includes 22 municipal policies, 27 provincial policies and eight federal policies. We have been successful in the last four years in completing eight municipal policies and five provincial policies, with another 11 taken off our policy books. We have experienced much success locally on issues such as red tape reduction, the land use bylaw, offsite levies and development and infrastructure fees. Our events have seen exponential growth with our business awards tripling

in the last four years to a sold out crowd of 600 in 2014. We are pleased to have well over 100 nominees each year in the last couple of years and have grown our business awards from the two awards it started with in 2000 to the 15 awards that we awarded in 2014. From this event, our Chamber has also been able to nominate our businesses onto the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction — having had 12 finalists in 10 award categories in 2014 and 13 finalists in 2015, representing a third of the finalists in each of the past two years.”

The Medicine Hat News was one of the founding members of the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce when it came into being in its current form in 1920, but the paper also has a 110 year history with the Chamber going back to the Board of Trade era in the city. Publisher Mike Hertz says the News has never wavered in its commitment to Chamber of Commerce ideals throughout the past 12 decades.

“I think the Chamber is one of the most important organizations to a community to keep the community tied together and be progressive in a positive sort of way,” says Hertz. “We’ve always been a big booster of local and local industry so we fit well with the Chamber of

Commerce, and that’s why we have been a member for this many years. We believe in what the Chamber of Commerce does in the community. We’re also in the business of running a newspaper which means we have access to a large part of the community and the Chamber of Commerce has access to a lot of business community members so it’s a good, solid partnership for us to have.”

Founded in 1898, Wright’s Jewelry Ltd. is now in its fifth generation of Wright family ownership in Medicine Hat. It also joined the Chamber of Commerce 110 years ago. Current owner Todd Wright says what he respects about the Chamber of Commerce is what everyone in the community respects: Its longevity and its ability to make adjustments to respond to the needs of its times.

“In our case and the Chamber’s case it’s about weathering the storms,” says Wright. “This business is cyclical and it takes a lot of work and a bit of luck. It’s about adapting to the market which has changed rapidly over the past decades.

There is definitely a successful track record (at the Chamber) and they do well.”

1998 President’s Luncheon

Congratulations on your 115th Anniversary 1701 Broadway Ave NE Redcliff, AB

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Chamber of Commerce 115 Medicine Hat & District

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MEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 10 YEARS

20 YEARS

30 YEARS

Bren-Cor Investments Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Cactus Communications City Centre Development Agency City Signs & Canvas Shop 2005 Inc Coast Hotel Crescent Heights IDA Pharmacy Elkwater Lake Lodge & Resort Elmer & Harold’s Auto Body Hidden Valley Ski Area Logos Incorporated Rodeo Ford Sales Ltd Ronco Oilfield Hauling Ltd Shooting Star Events Inc Smith Group - Business and Estate Planning St. John Ambulance Super 8 Motel Trico Lighting Products Ltd

AMEC Environmental & Infrastructure Golden Acre Garden Sentre Nutter’s Buld & Natural Foods Ltd ParkCity Toyota

(2003-2004)

(1993-1994)

Capital Strategies Insurance & Financial Inc Classic Construction Construction Supply Ltd Excel Physical Therapy First Assembly of God Fox Safety Houston Pizza Optiks International The Zucchini Blossom Market & Café Ltd Timko Home Improvements Wilde Possibilities Ltd

OLDER

(1983-1984)

40 YEARS (1973-1974) Focus Corporations

Pattison Funeral Home (09/01/1937 - 76 Years) Bank of Montreal - Commercial (09/01/1924 - 89 Years) Gainsboro Studio (09/01/1924 - 89 Years) TD Canada Trust (09/01/1924 - 89 Years) ADM Agri Industries (09/01/1921 - 92 Years) Royal Bank (Main) (09/01/1921 - 92 Years) Medicine Hat News (09/01/1903 - 110 Years) Wright’s Jewelry Ltd. (09/01/1903 - 110 Years)

Custom Catering by

35

Congratulations to the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce on 115th Anniversary!

Congratulations Chamber of Commerce from Amron Homes on 115 YEARS of Exceptional Service!

8-1500 S. Highway Drive, rive,, Red Redcliff, dcliff,, AB

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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List of Past Chairs 1900-2015 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930

E. J. Fewings E. J. Fewings E. J. Fewings T. Tweed D. Milne W. Cousins F. L. Crawford C. S. Pringle C. S. Pringle H. Stewart H. L. Tweed H. L. Tweed D. Milne L. Y. Birnie L. N. Laidlaw R. P. Stewart W. Rutherford H. L. Tweed H. L. Tweed E. L. Chudleigh E. L. Chudleigh E. L. Chudleigh E. L. Chudleigh A. F. Andrews F. W. Gershaw F. W. Gershaw N. M. Waldo N. M. Waldo R. C. Black C. Pratt W. A. Church

1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961

H. N. Davis A. P. Burns C. J. F. Beny G. A. Hoover R. G. Butchart G. M. Blackstock F. W. Gershaw R. S. Boyd J. Mitchell D. W. Hays J. H. Yuill J. Galbraith A. Atkins R. H. A. Lacey R. H. A. Lacey R. C. Tennant T. A. Burwash T. R. Osborne T. R. Osborne J. H. Boylan D. S. Hawthorne H. R. Hutchings R. C. Gardner R. E. Keating W. D. Lutes R. J. Buss J. C. Miller J. C. Miller R. S. Mcbride F. C. Mcguinness W. J. Sellhorn

1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

G. H. Sissons W. H. Hayne J. H. Cocks J. M. Pritchard A. H. Wiggins O. F. Weiss T. Dutton R. Reidy R. E. Ashburner T. A. Sissons J. D. Horsman O. Kope R. D. Skidmore C. A. Taylor L. H. Baisley R. Lehr J. Warsimaga D. Weiss

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Dr. J. Edwards G. Adams E. Eaton W. J. Morrison W. Bauman D. Wilkins J. Welling R. G. Lehr C. Sissons M. Melham L. Martin R. Smythe R. Derbyshire A. Mcleod T. Brekko B. Schank B. Miskuski L. Smythe

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

H. English D. Franko K. Smith D. Fisher R. Pillman J. Close K. Fetherstonhaugh C. Stolz K. Taylor J. Mutschler J. Penner J. Melhoff D. Stroh M. J. Bauman M. J. Bauman J. Melhoff C. Hellman K. Vogt

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From a place of hope Tru-co survives near bankruptcy to find success and a way to give back GILLIAN SLADE

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Tony Isaac, president, was in the process of building a home for his family when the 2008 downturn in the economy resulted in multiple orders being cancelled.

He kept as many employees as he could by having them help to build his house.

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Meanwhile he personally battled depression. It looked as though there was no way to save this Bow Island business.

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403-528-2226 80

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Tony Isaac, president of Tru-co, in the workshop where trailers for the oil and gas industry are manufactured.

Soon after moving into the new house in 2010 their young baby awoke early alerting Isaac to a strange smell.

Downstairs, the whole house was on fire — something had gone wrong with the woodstove.

Isaac and his family got out with just the pyjamas they were wearing and saved one rocking chair.

They moved into his parents home and the business continued to struggle.

“In August 2011 the bank gave me one week to prove that Tru-co could make a profit,” said Isaac. “There was no hope. It was over.”

One afternoon Isaac went to the burnt ruin that had been their family home and just sobbed.

Isaac, born in Peace Country, moved to Bow Island in 1998 to do custom farm work. In 2003 he saw a need for flat deck and cargo trailers. Without any special training he understood what someone wanted and had the ingenuity to figure out how to build, supply and deliver.

In May 2006 Tru-Co transitioned to building structures required in the oil and gas industry, supplying trailers for on-site offices and full living quarters.

Our main focus is diversification into other sectors, commercial, industrial and even residential.

He made a promise that afternoon that if anything of the company survived bankruptcy he would run it for the greater good. He then prepared mentally to drive a gravel truck to provide for his family.

“A trailer customer asked for something bigger than a skidshack or camp-shack,” said Isaac. “We started building one and got all certified and kept on going.”

By the end of the first year the Department of National Defence ordered trailers for a 150-man camp. Tru-co supplied 24 buildings.

“We ramped up to 30 staff to do that,” said Isaac. “It was a year of extremes and learning on the job.”

The company was employing 140 people until the beginning of this year when 60 were laid off.

When he awoke the next morning his depression had lifted. When his accountant said he’d put together a report that he felt was good enough to show to the bank, Isaac was skeptical but it proved to be enough for the bank to give Tru-co another three months grace.

While some have already found other work Isaac says the company will offer jobs to those people first when in a position to hire again. Employees are usually hired by word of mouth and recommendation.

“By then we were on our feet again,” said Isaac. “We went from leaking money to making more money than we ever dreamed.”

The trailers/skid-shacks have an industry life span of about 10 years. The recent downturn in the economy has the oil and gas industry stretching that to 12 years now to reduce costs. That has affected expected orders.

It brought about a profound change in his life — one of gratitude and thanksgiving.

“I believe in divine intervention,” said Isaac. “I have a Grade 9 education. I have no education or experience in this sector. I’m sharing God’s love through my vulnerability, inspiring confidence in others.”

“Our main focus is diversification into other sectors, commercial, industrial and even residential,” said Isaac.

The company’s own design team is working on, TruEco, an energy efficient and “green” modular home design that will be highly insulated and soundproof.

Tony Isaac, president of Tru-co, shows the swing out barbecue that are part of the trailers for living quarters.

Inside a trailer showing a compact suite for living quarters.

Isaac is talking with native bands to supply housing that will be durable and has bid on a large provincial contract to supply classrooms.

He believes in helping staff and creating a ripple effect that can change the workplace, their home, family, school and community.

In the last two-and-a-half years the company has given $327,000 to charity, benefiting 166 local families. Where the money will go is decided by the employees.

On Isaac’s desk there are motivational and management strategy books.

“We are not here to get in the hamster wheel. We all have what it takes inside us,” said Isaac.

“I have found meaning and fulfillment,” said Isaac.

“I want to be a source of inspiration to others, to employees and team members — a positive influence.”

If an employee is unhappy Isaac believes he can choose to respond to that person in fear or love.

In the yard, trailer after trailer is waiting for delivery. Step inside and you feel as though you’re in a show home.

There are even swing-out barbecues just outside the front door.

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“I apply the love filter and make decisions out of love,” he explains.

81

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#101, 928 Allowance Avenue SE Medicine Hat, AB T1A 3G7 Facebook United Way SEAB Twitter United Way SEAB 82

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

41188804•03/31/15

• Donate online at utdway.ca, or by mail with a Cheque made out to the United Way of SE Alberta.

• Call the office at 403-526-5544 and donate by credit card. Scan the QR code on our website and donate via mobile phone.

• Give to the United Way, entrusted to local charities each year, or donate a designated gift on behalf of another registered charity.

• Start a Workplace Campaign – Join 80 other workplaces that contribute to the United Way, around the city, and have fun doing it! A workplace campaign is great way to enhance moral and support your community. Contact our Workplace Employee Campaign Coordinator and set yours up today.

• Volunteer – Every year the United Way has a number of volunteer opportunities and is always looking for generous people to donate a little time.

D

octor recruitment and retention is a key component in every community in Alberta.

The process of recruiting physicians originally was the duty of regional health boards, such as the Palliser Health Authority in Medicine Hat. When the regional health boards were merged into Alberta Health Services in 2008, AHS began working with communities in regions to help recruit doctors to all areas.

“Physician recruitment nt requires multiple stakeholders and good od partnerships to be successful,” said Dr. Vanessa Maclean, south zone medical director for AHS. “It requires three things: It requires local physicians working to help recruit physicians, it requires the communities working to help recruit physicians and d it

When it comes to the South Zone, Maclean doesn’t shy away from praising the success seen in 2014, calling it an amazing year. continued on page 84

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Dr. Roisin Dempsey, a family doctor at the Newell Clinic Photo courtesy Brooks Bulletin

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June 2015

5

November 2015

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

83

Here is a closer look at several communities and the recruitment programs.

Community health increasing continued from page 82

For example, in Medicine Hat a total of 33 physicians were recruited to Medicine Hat, with 19 commencing practice in 2014 and a further 14 to arrive this year.

Thirteen of those physicians are family practitioners.

In Brooks, there are currently 22 doctors, with both Maclean and Brooks Mayor Martin Shields saying they’re no longer actively recruiting doctors,

Brooks

In Oyen, a new family doctor is expected to arrive in the spring. Redcliff recently added a family doctor, and recruitment is ongoing in Bow Island.

Brooks Mayor Martin Shields said when they were recruiting doctors, it was not necessarily a number they were looking at, but filling a couple of holes in their care.

“We had a shortage of female doctors and a shortage of doctors who could do obstetrics,” Shields said in a phone interview. “There was an issue in the community where for about 18 months, we were not, other than emergencies, delivering babies routinely. Routine obstetrics was moved to Medicine Hat, Lethbridge or Calgary.”

“I would say the difference, from the perspective of where we were five years ago and now, the coordination of those three areas,” said Maclean.

“We are much better coordinated, we’re better at working together and being really focused at trying to be more proactive. We’ve been digging ourselves out of significant holes and crises over the last four years.”

Shields, along with councillors from both the city and the County of Newell, began meeting with doctors in the community to begin the recruiting process.

“One of the things doctors do well is recruit themselves, through their connections, their friends, their colleagues and where they’ve been, they do a good job of getting people to the community to take a look,” he said.

Maclean says AHS is also keeping in contact with communities to ensure the needs for physicians are continuing to be met.

Dr. Roisin Dempsey, a family doctor at the Newell Clinic, was one of the most recent doctors do be recruited to Brooks, arriving in May 2014. Originally from Ireland, Dempsey practiced as a medical student in Brooks in 2005 and decided to come back when she was qualified.

“The community is fantastic, welcoming, hard working and genuine,” she wrote in an e-mail. “It is very multicultural here, which makes it easier to be an immigrant to Brooks.”

Shields said the committee worked to put together information about the community to send prior to the doctors’ arrival and determine the needs which needed to be met when the doctor arrived.

Shields says the doctors have been responded positively to the community, and the committee keeps in contact with the doctors to ensure they want to stay in the community.

Dempsey, who is now taking a position in Calgary in June once her husband moves to the region, said the community was very helpful for a person moving to Canada for the first time.

With a total of 22 doctors in the region, Shields says the town and AHS are not actively recruiting doctors at the moment.

Oyen According to AHS, the goal for Oyen was to have three family practitioners in the region for the Oyen Medical Clinic, and the town has reached its goal.

Dr. Petra Muller has been practicing as a doctor since 2008 and Dr. Roxy Conde has committed to a three year contract. Dr. Akin Osakuade is expected to be arriving this year from the United Kingdom, and has committed to a three-year contract.

“As with any rural place, it’s always kind of a struggle to get your full physician quota,” said Christie Dick, with the Special Area, M.D. of Acadia (SAMDA) Dick says SAMDA, AHS and members of the community all are key parts to helping recruit doctors to the region. They created a website (http://www.physiciancareersinoyen.com) to assist in marketing the region to doctors, and work to ensure the doctors feel welcome in the community.

“We’ve gone to great lengths to thank them and involve them in things,” said Dick. “From everything we hear, they’re really happy.”

email: info@edalliance.ca 84

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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Maclean says Bow Island will be a focus for physician recruitment in 2015. She says by 2016, the town will need two new physicians. At present, two doctors have been in town for more than 30 years and one is leaving at the end of March. AHS is hoping to secure the first one by the middle of the year.

Mayor Gordon Reynolds, in an e-mail to the Medicine Hat News in February, says recruiting is ongoing at present through AHS and the two remaining doctors.

Redcliff The town of Redcliff recently filled a position which had been vacant since 2011.

Dr. Helgaard van der Merwe, who has been practicing in Medicine Hat since Aug. 2013, agreed in March to open a practice in Redcliff and become a practicing doctor in the town.

“I'm very excited, I've planned this for quite a while,” said van der Merwe on Mar 6, the day of his official announcement. “I had some sleepless nights while planning, so today is a big opportunity and big day for me signing this agreement.

“I've been working hard and looking forward to this. I'm very glad it's now official.”

The doctor said he chose to set up his practice in Redcliff after reviewing his patient panel and realizing a large number of his patients had been driving from the town to his practice at HealthWORX in Medicine Hat for treatment and appointments.

Redcliff created the Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee in 2014 to address the doctor issue in the town. Town mayor Ernie Reimer says he believes van der Merwe will make a positive addition to the community when his practice officially opens April 1.

“We're quite happy with all the input that (the committee) gave us with recruiting the doctor,” he said.

4118 8828 •03/3 1/15

The town of Redcliff and van der Merwe will continue recruiting for more doctors to arrive in the town. Maclean says AHS is looking to add two doctors to the town.

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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

87

Achieving enlightenment in Youngstown

CHARLES LEFEBVRE

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oungstown, Alta. has a population of approximately 178 people (based on the most recent census) and is located about twoand-a-half hours north of Medicine Hat. The town has a K-12 school, a curling rink and is located near an abundance of hunting and fishing. It’s no wonder the village bills itself as a “Sportsman’s Paradise.”

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Yes, Youngstown is home to a Vipassana Meditation centre, almost 10 kilometres outside the town limits, with the Alberta Vipassana Foundation taking possession last August. The foundation has been hosting Vipassana courses since 1996, officially becoming incorporated in 2001.

Laura Law, a volunteer with the centre, says there was previously five Vipassana courses held in different areas of the province during a year, including at a home outside Calgary and a camp near Sylvan Lake. She said the centre was looking for a more permanent home, and ended up discovering the current

facility in Youngstown, which used to be a school and a senior centre.

“When you have nine people that are very different and all come to one place and it feels unanimous that this place is going to be perfect, we had to make an offer,” she said.

“Once we saw it, we saw all of these perks. It was really lush for a prairie property and quite pretty.”

Norman Faulkner has been involved with Vipassana meditation for 20 years, and is now one of the teachers at the facility.

He said the building in Youngstown was a perfect location.

“It's fairly central, equal difference roughly from the cities in Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Calgary and Red Deer,” he said. “It's not that much different to drive there from anywhere in the prairies.”

Vipassana, which means seeing deeply, is one of the oldest forms of meditation from India, and has its roots in Buddhism. Vipassana has been around for more than 2,500 years and aims to provide insight into a person’s sense of reality through awareness of breathing, thoughts, feelings and action.

The modern version of the meditation has been popularized by S.N. Goenka, who began teaching in 1969. Goenka’s version is secular is nature, and is open to people of all faiths. continued on page 90

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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

89

Achieving enlightenment in Youngstown continued from page 88

Those interested in learning Vipassana do so with a 10-day course at the centre. During that time students follow a code of discipline, which advocates abstinence from killing, stealing, sexual activity, lying and consuming intoxicants. During the 10-day course students wake up at 4 a.m., and spend the day learning techniques and meditating for approximately 11 hours.

There are breaks through the day for further instruction, meals and consultation times with the instructor.

Students are expected to stay silent (with the exception of prescribed question times with the instructor) for the duration of the course.

“I went back and did more because I just found I noticed a difference in a lot of things in my life,” he said. “I noticed a difference in how I was able to handle things. It just got better.”

After purchasing the property, the foundation began renovations in time for its first 10-day course, which ran from Dec. 24-Jan. 4, and attracted 55 students. Faulkner ran the course.

I noticed a difference in how I was able to handle things. It just got better.

Law did her first course nine years ago, and continues sitting once a year.

“It just made sense to sit with yourself for 10 days,” she said. “You make the whole world spend a lifetime with you, and to give yourself 10 days to sit with yourself, it makes sense to give yourself that time. I really enjoy working with the community.”

Faulkner got involved in Vipassana through his wife, who had been meditating for several years.

“Although there was a few technical glitches, which we were expecting, it went from a students perspective, really well,” he said. “It was a pretty strong course.”

The centre's next course in April is fully subscribed (Law and Faulkner say the number of students is capped at 60 students, largely due to space and comfort).

The centre is entirely volunteer run.

There is no cost to take the course and once completed, students can leave a donation if they wish, to ensure other people can take a course.

Faulkner says this is due to the belief of Goenka when he began practising.

“He felt the Dhamma (the way to liberation in Buddhism) was too precious a gift to try and charge people p p for,” , he said.

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2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

91

Not at all Satisfied 2%

Understanding the quality of

Somewhat Dissatisfied 9%

Neutral

Satisfied 39%

life I

Neutral 9%

Somewhat Satisfied 27% Very Satisfied 11%

“The Quality of Life report research began with the feeling we needed it as a means to increase understanding of our community,� said Lynn Pye-Matheson, executive director of Grasslands FCSS. “We wanted to do it in such a way that it was reflective of gathering information from the public, business and social sectors.�

41156712•03/31/15

That information gathering aspect saw the report authors collect surveys from Brooks and across the smaller Newell County communities and gathering spots like the Patricia Hotel, Scandia Museum and Rolling Hills Golf Club.

The more than 1,000 surveys returned gave the report’s authors a starting point to reflect where the community was, said Pye-Matheson, and issues people thought were important.

The report also looked at the demographics of the community, languages spoken in the area with a large immigrant population and the

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

Very Satisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied Not at all satisfied

Not Satisfied 3%

t was a report four years in the making with the daunting task of looking at all aspects of the quality of life for citizens of Brooks and the surrounding County of Newell.

In late October 2014, Grasslands Regional Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) presented its hefty 124 page report, not including dozens of more pages contained in its supplemental sub-reports on the standard of life in the region.

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Not Satisfied

Somewhat satisfied

ALEX MCCUAIG

92

Satisfied

satisfaction of citizens with the services provided and if their needs were being met. “What’s reflected in the report is what the residents told us,� said PyeMatheson.

One the challenges faced by the community and identified by the report is not so much the ability to get specialized healthcare services but getting transportation to them.

While the region is served primarily by the Brooks Health Centre, lesser so by the Bassano Hospital, most specialized services are only offered in places like Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Calgary that are between 100 and 150 kilometres away. And like many other rural communities, the report identified issues with attracting and retaining doctors as a continuing challenge.

But when it comes to overall personal well-being in the community, the report also found area residents are satisfied with what the community has to offer with a nearly 79 per cent positive response, according to the report.

Pye-Matheson said the report represents, “a desire to develop a better understanding of our community that would be useful information for across the sectors.�

And also a starting point for people interested in the area to find out more.

Both the main and community snapshot reports can be found by visiting livenewell.com. â–

Newell Region

Brooks

County of Newell

Bassano

Duchess

Rosemary

Tilley

Importance

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Satisfaction

5

6

5

3

9

5

2

Personal Wellbeing

Importance

2

3

2

3

3

3

2

Satisfaction

1

1

1

2

7

1

1

Education System

Importance

3

2

3

2

2

2

3

Satisfaction

2

2

4

1

8

7

3

Physical Environment

Importance

4

4

5

5

5

6

6

Satisfaction

3

3

2

5

5

2

4

Sense of Community

Importance

5

6

4

6

4

4

4

Satisfaction

4

4

3

6

6

4

6

Economic & Employment

Importance

6

5

6

4

6

7

5

Satisfaction

7

7

6

9

4

6

9

Political Rights & General

Importance

7

7

7

7

7

5

8

Satisfaction

8

8

7

7

3

3

5

Social Programs/Social Conditions

Importance

8

8

8

8

8

8

7

Satisfaction

6

5

8

4

2

8

7

Importance

9

9

9

9

9

9

Satisfaction

9

9

9

8

1

9

9 8

Health

Government

Impact of Social Conditions on Households 10.98%

Poverty

My Personal Promise.

21.21%

Crime

I’m committed to my customers and my community.

12.88%

Discrimination Addiction

Mike Corbin STORE MANAGER

16.29%

MEDICINE HAT 514 South Railway Street 403.527.8969 fountaintire.com

41189901•03/31/15

26.89%

Language Barriers

27.65%

Access to Transportation

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

41156715•03/31/15

39.02%

Housing Costs

40

Our Constituency Offices: Medicine Hat #112 - 1310 Kingsway Ave SE Medicine Hat, AB T1A 2Y4 Phone: 403-528-4698 Fax:403-528-4365 Email: lavar.payne.c2@parl.gc.ca

Taber

Ottawa Office

5324 - 48th Avenue

110-Justice Building House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6 Phone: 613-992-4516 Fax: 613-992-6181

(Community Futures Office)

Taber, AB (1st Wed of each month)

LaVar Payne, Member of Parliament Medicine Hat Constituency

10 a.m.-noon & 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

Phone: 403-416-2400 1-800-565-4694 E-mail: lavar.payne.c1@parl.gc.ca

P.O. Box 2078 568 Sutherland Dr. E Brooks, AB T1R 1C7 403-362-5073 www.brooksanddistrictmuseum.org

Brooks Box 640, #2-403-2nd Ave W. Brooks, AB T1R 1B6 Phone: 1-800-565-4694 /403-362-7677 Fax:403-362-7055 Email: lavar.payne.c1@parl.gc.ca

Email: lavar.payne@parl.gc.ca

41156713•03/31/15

What’s reflected in the report is what the residents told us

WE OFFER FULL MECHANICAL SERVICE.

The Brooks & District Museum offers an Accredited Information Centre as well as operates the Kiwanis Campground for the benefit of Tourists visiting our Community. our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

93

A harvest to

Martin Shields Brooks Mayor

Building on past success to enhance future innovations 2014 was a year of success for the City of Brooks. It marked the first full year as a City Council; one where relationships with our municipal neighbours were strengthened, and new projects initiated.

regional neighbours will soon benefit from a leading leisure centre.

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

It’s been a journey that has taken a Rosemary farmer from his southern Alberta home to the subsistence grain fields of Ethiopia, along with hitting a few peaks and valleys along the way.

Fred Preston said he got involved with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank after his wife’s choir group suggested they get involved in a charity.

But it was far from smooth sailing for the endeavour after the initial crop the

group of volunteers planted last year was wiped out by a hail storm.

The faith-based Canadian Foodgrains Bank was formed in 1983 with the goal of alleviating hunger.

The premise of the group is to utilize volunteers and resources in Canada to grow crops and sell them domestically with funds then going toward sponsoring initiatives in other countries.

Preston was part of the Alberta

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94

ALEX MCCUAIG

411888

Other notable projects include: the paving of our pathway system, playground upgrades, and major road rehabilitations.

2015 will see an increase in the number As we begin a new year, I look forward to continuing these relationships, and working of paved pathways in the city, a venture towards long term and sustainable growth in that will promote outdoor recreational opportunities for all residents. Further, the region. a new outdoor fitness area will be It was through these relationships, and the added into the Duke of Sutherland unwavering commitment of the community, Park. Recently, Council approved a that the new Brooks Regional Ball Park pilot project that will see students in was completed. This facility stands as a grades 7, 8, and 9 throughout the region testament of how cooperation, diligence receive a complimentary pass to the and hard work can build a community. It Leisure Centre. The Youth Activation is successes like this that will serve as a Pass Program focuses on improving the foundation for 2015 and years to come. accessibility of recreation to our youth, in Together, Council has identified 11 strategic hopes of fostering a lifelong commitment to physical activity and wellbeing. By focus areas to guide the development of providing unique opportunities and the city. Through one of these initiatives, facilities, our Council is dedicated to capital projects, Council has committed ensuring all citizens can thrive. $18.5 million for the major renovations and additions to our existing Lakeside Leisure In 2015, Council will also continue the Centre. This endeavour will see a large necessary infrastructure upgrades to field house added to the facility which Cassils Road. Focusing on these and will accommodate numerous sports and many other projects, Council and staff community events. A second addition will are committed to preserving Brooks as a house the public library, providing nearly healthy, vibrant and sustainable city. triple the space for programs and reading As always, Council will continue to meet space. With construction set to begin this new challenges and find innovative ways spring, and a project end date scheduled to enhance our community, ensuring an for next fall, the City of Brooks and our exceptional quality of life for our citizens.

end hunger

delegation that visited Ethiopia and toured some of those initiatives in February.

“So there is accountability both ways.”

That group was made up of 14 farmers from Vancouver Island to New Brunswick who witnessed first-hand exactly what they were working toward.

“We don’t send food anymore,” Preston said.

“They figured out it was slow and expensive and it disrupted local markets.”

He also highlighted the Foodgrains Bank is a charity committed to sending all money raised to communities outside the country.

“Canadian Foodgrains Bank does not do projects, it partners with groups who are already in these other countries who are doing projects,” said Preston.

In Ethiopia, those projects involve assisting farmers plying their trade in the arid highlands region of the country.

“Soil erosion is an issue,” said Preston of one of the difficulties faced by those farmers.

“Large gullies can be formed during rainy season from soil eroding so part of the project was to rebuild those gullies and put in check dams to capture the soil as it’s moving. They’ve been able to fill those gullies and start farming them again.”

Preston said the primary crops are wheat and maize. But while those crops aren’t unfamiliar to Alberta farmers, the way those fields are tended hasn’t been seen in this part of the country for many years.

Canadian Foodgrains Bank does not do projects, it partners with groups who are already in these other countries who are doing projects “We did see harvesting with oxen,” said Preston, adding separating wheat from chaff continues to be done manually.

“Not a lot of headway in the harvesting department. But, the average farm size is around one acre so it’s doable.”

But the Rosemary volunteers faced their own challenges.

After planting their crop in the spring of 2014, a summer hail storm wiped out the field.

While some Foodgrains Bank crops don’t carry insurance, Preston said during initial planning of the Rosemary project, that group decided to get coverage for the farm.

“When we got hailed out, we got 100 per cent coverage,” said Preston.

The Rosemary group may have missed out on some of the celebrations that would have accompanied the harvest of the crop but Preston said they will be back at it this year. ■

Come spend time in Oyen this summer for old fashioned fun and hospitality...

2015 Upcoming Events:

Things to do in Oyen:

Farmers’ Market (Every Friday) Starting June 12th until September 18th, 2015

Shirley McClellan Aquatic Facility Open June to August For Pool Schedule visit: www.townofoyen.com

Crossroads Museum Open July & August 2015 Mon-Fri: 9:00 am - 12 Noon & 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Weekends by Appointment Oyen Lions Club Show and Shine July 11, 2015 17th Annual Oyen White Lightening Dodge Professional Cowboy Crunch Bull-A-Rama July 22, 2015

RCMP Centennial Park Features 40 sites with 30 amp power and water $25.00 per night, Sorry No Reservations Oyen & District Golf and Country Club Open Daily 8:00 am until 2:00 am Visitors Always Welcome

41156717•03/31/15

For more information check out our website at www.townofoyen.com

OYEN IS HOME OF THE BADLANDS BADGERS - COME OUT AND SEE SOME GREAT BALL AT THE RCMP CENTENNIAL PARK IN OYEN, AB! our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

95

Sowing the seeds of knowledge CHARLES LEFEBVRE

N

ichole Neubauer says agriculture has been a part of her life as long as she can remember.

One of her earliest memories as a little girl on her family's farm was playing with her two friends on a big stack of broken down straw.

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“One thing that was really vivid was gathering the straw in an ice cream pail and pretending we were making spaghetti and serving our guests...

I guess a combination of a lot of creativity and imagination and a lot fewer distractions allowed for all that creativity to flow.”

Neubauer has always lived on a farm.

When she married her husband Mark in 1996, they settled on a farm just outside the city limits. Besides raising cattle and other livestock, the duo are raising their two children, son Logan, 11, and daughter Evie, nine, who are becoming an integral part of the family farm. Both children are involved in 4H, learning how to raise a steer for

It isn't just her own children Neubauer has been gifting the experiences of farming to. For 10 years, Neubauer Farms has been hosting a school program called Growing Minds.

The goal of the program is to give children, primarily from the city, an appreciation for agriculture and let them experience daily life on a farm.

“It's at the root of what we do," she said. "We really want children, who may be more disconnected from agriculture, to come out and have some hands-on, authentic experiences, and draw some connections to where their food comes from.”

During the Growing Minds sessions in the spring, students learn about seeding, the life cycle of an animal and about planting crops.

In the fall, a big hit for the farm has been their pumpkin patch tour, along with a connect with focus on the harvest.

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41188849•03/31/15

“From Concept to Completion - Building Solutions Based on Experience”

“I knew all along that was what I wanted with my life,” she said. “I wanted to be in agriculture and have children one day that I could gift those same wonderful experiences I had growing up.”

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

41226222•03/31/15

Kindergarten student Canyon Baxter collects eggs, with the help of Nichole Neubauer, during a class trip with Medicine Hat Christian School to Neubauer Farms.

projects, and Evie has taken on selling the eggs from the chickens on the farm and cleaning out the coop.

Through a community-supported agriculture program, the farm is able to have a community

Gemma picks pumpkins during a class trip with Medicine Hat Christian School to Neubauer Farms

garden, giving children a chance to pick vegetables from what Neubauer calls the 'Sharing and Learning Garden.'

Neubauer says during the most recent school year, 1,059 students took part in Growing Minds. In an effort to expand the program and the number of students able to visit the farm, facilitator Tanya Ellis was brought on.

“In the past, we have seen between 1,200 and 1,500 kids a year and looking forward, we’d like to reach 2,000 to 2,300,” she said. “Based on the waiting lists that we’ve had in the past from teachers, we think there is enough interest to support those kinds of numbers in our community.”

In 2014, Neubauer Farms entered into a partnership with Agriculture For Life, a non-profit out of Calgary. The organization, which helps promote agriculture awareness, gave Neubauer Farms a grant to help pay the $7 per student cost for schools to tour the farm for the fall session. Neubauer says the farm is working with the organization to potentially waive the fees for schools during the next sessions.

life, understanding death, because it happens on a farm, and the value of a hard work ethic, not looking at the clock to see what time it is, you have a job to do and you have to get it done.”

Nichole Neubauer has been helping educate school children in the region about the agriculture lifestyle for 10 years with the Growing Minds program.

She adds, “For a lot of us who are from rural cultures, agriculture is our culture. Our communities and cities were built on the backs of farmers who were working hard decades or a century ago providing food. Today, there are so many fascinating things happening with regards to science and technology that farmers apply everyday to maximize productivity, to become as conscientious of environmental protection and that info needs to be shared in an accurate light.”

Nichole Neubauer says her goal with the Growing Minds program is to instill an appreciation for agriculture in children.

More information about the Growing Minds program can be found online at neubauerfarms.ca.

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At the end of the day, it is agriculture that continues to influence Neubauer.

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“Agriculture has really made me who I am, it’s the fundamental pieces of my being,” she said.

“I think that growing up on a farm exposes you to so many realities of life and so many life lessons that you learn at an early age. Celebrating

Kindergarten students Andrew and Asher use team work to lift a heavy pumpkin during a class trip with Medicine Hat Christian School to Neubauer Farms

97

CANADIAN BADLANDS CLAIMS TO FAME • The Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller is the world’s largest museum devoted to paleontology.

• Famous Canadian female singer, k.d. Lang, is from Consort.

• Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, a sacred First Nations site, has Canada’s largest collection of pictographs and native carvings.

• The world’s largest town mascot is Drumheller’s T-Rex. It weighs 145,000 pounds, stands 86 feet tall and is 151 feet long.

• Cacti grow in the Canadian Badlands.

• Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks is a World • Medicine Hat’s Historic Clay District, a national UNESCO Heritage Site for its extensive dinosaur historic site, is Canada's pottery capital. fossil fields.

Medalta was the first western Canadian • Medicine Hat is one of, if not THE sunniest place company to ship finished goods to eastern Canada. in Canada.

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• The world’s tallest tepee is in Medicine Hat. It is • The Badlands Guardian, a badlands formation a tribute to Canada’s First Nations people and that looks like a First Nations person wearing was originally built for the 1988 Calgary Winter a head dress and an iPod, is one of the world's most popular Google Earth finds. The formation Olympics. is found just east of Medicine Hat. • Popular Canadian actor, Paul Gross, is from the Canadian Badlands.

• Nickelback, one of Canada’s biggest rock-n-roll bands, is from Hanna.

• Lanny McDonald, the former Toronto Maple • The Eastern Irrigation District is Canada’s largest Leaf captain and Calgary Flames hockey star, private landowner. It is larger than the province started playing organized hockey in Hanna. He later played for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the of Prince Edward Island.

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Western Hockey League. Trevor Linden, another big NHL hockey star, was born in Medicine Hat and once played for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

• Raymond is also Canada’s “sugar capital” for its beets.

• The Atlas Coal Mine, a national historic site near East Coulee, south of Drumheller, is home to Canada’s last wooden tipple.

• The Rosebud Theatre in the hamlet of Rosebud (pop.100) is western Canada’s largest rural theatre. It attracts 40,000 visitors every year.

• Four famous Alberta rivers flow through the Canadian Badlands: the Bow, the Red Deer, the Milk River, and the South Saskatchewan.

• Etzikom (pop. 37) is home to Canada's only windmill museum.

• The most bridges in the shortest distance in Canada, and maybe the world, are between Drumheller and Wayne (home of the famous Rosedeer Hotel). There are 11 bridges in 6.4 kilometres or 4 miles.

• The Bassano Dam is the largest earth-filled irrigation dam in the world.

• The Badlands region is a world exporter of beef, alfalfa, canola, wheat and sunflower seeds.

• Horsethief Canyon near Drumheller is where horse thieves hid stolen horses. The boxed canyon is open on only one side. The Canadian Badlands is also home to Horseshoe Canyon.

• Raymond is home to the original “Stampede” which began as a cattle drive down Main Street.

Local cowboy Ray Knight helped Calgary start its famous stampede.

• The Milk River is the only Canadian river to drain into the Mississippi River system. It was named by famous US explorers Lewis and Clarke for its peculiar milky appearance.

• Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is the only one of its kind in Canada. It sits on the highest point of land between the Canadian Rockies and eastern Canada. Sitting Bull and 6,000 Sioux followers fled to this region following the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

• Long hours of sunlight, inexpensive natural gas and proximity to the TransCanada Highway have made Redcliff, AB, the "Greenhouse Capital of the Prairies.” Eighteen million English cucumbers as well as beefsteak tomatoes, tomatoes on a vine and sweet red and yellow peppers are grown at Redcliff and shipped to grocery stores across western Canada and as far south as Los Angeles.

CONGRATULATES

ANDREW COOMBES

SPERSON E L SA f Y !

Drew Barnes, MLA C Y P R E S S - M E D I C I N E H AT C O N S T I T U E N C Y

Here to listen and act on your behalf.

Medicine Hat Office #5 1299 Trans Canada Way SE Medicine Hat, AB Open: Mon-Thur: 9:00 am-4:30 pm Fri: 9:00 am-1:00 pm

Bow Island Office #6 604 Centre Street Bow Island, AB Open every 2nd & 4th Wednesday 9:00 am-1:00 pm

Redcliff Location Redcliff Public Library Open every 3rd Wednesday 9:30 am-12:00 pm

Foremost Location 119 Main Street Foremost, AB Open every 2nd Wednesday 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Call Today to set up an Appointment with Drew at any of our 4 Locations Phone: 403.528.2191 • Toll Free: 1.866.339.2191 E-Mail: cypress.medicinehat@assembly.ab.ca 41189687•03/31/15

Jackson Dodge would like to thank Andrew on an outstanding 2014 and continued success and the best of luck in 2015. Andrew would like to thank all of his loyal customers, friends and family for making this achievement possible. Jackson Dodge invites you to come in and visit Andrew today!

41188996•03/31/15

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

99

“The stuff that dreams are made of.”

Home video store continues bringing family tradition to life CHARLES LEFEBVRE

F

or many, it was a weekly tradition.

The family would head down to the local video store and browse through the racks of movies.

They would linger on a few titles, examining the backs of the cases, reading the synopsis and the blurbs from critics. They would

then pick a couple movies to take home for the evening to watch and return the next day.

Video rental stores enjoyed record popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s, but began to decline in the mid to later part of the last decade. The largest chains, such as Blockbuster and Movie Gallery, have closed their doors for good, and there are very few independent video stores around due to the emergence of

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However, several remain, with one store in Brooks being one of the last places people in southern Alberta are able to rent movies.

Michael Macdonald is the fifth owner of Movie Experts, and has owned it the longest amount of time, taking over the store in June 2000. Macdonald says when he opened, it was the same time as VHQ Entertainment, a larger store, had opened in Brooks.

“We were on kind of the verge, it was one of the struggling stores and we kind of turned it into one of the top-10 video retailers in all of Canada,” he said.

Macdonald, an actor by trade, has been involved in the video industry since 1989.

“Proudly Serving our Community since 1990”

100

streaming services such as Netflix and other video-on-demand (VOD) services.

“The only thing that could offer me shift work and do something I was passionate about was the video industry,” he said. “I got my first job when I was 15 at the video store in Brentwood Bay, B.C., and I’ve been in the industry one way or another. I’ve worked for them, I’ve managed them, I’ve run them, I’ve worked for distributors, I’ve set them up across Canada, I’ve been in just about every aspect of the video industry. The natural thing was, I’ve made so much money over the years for other people who I worked for, I thought the next logical progression is to own my store.”

Macdonald says when he took over Movie Experts, the store was simply just a place to rent movies, with “a few chocolate bars and bags of chips” for sale. While video rental is still a focus of the business (the catalogue is “easily over 10,000”), he says one of the reasons Movie Experts is still around is because they’ve branched out from being strictly a video store to an entertainment destination.

“If you’re just a straight up video store, you’re probably not around,” he said. “We do CDs, we do special limited edition prints, we do all sorts of memorabilia, movie action figures ... if it is entertainment related and I can justify it, we can sell it.

“We’ve delved into it, we do very well with the vinyl. We just keep adding and adding and if it doesn’t work, we take it out, but if it does work, we build upon it.”

He says one of the other reasons video stores continue to survive is due to the collections they provide, although he knows there will be an end eventually.

“When it’s gone, there’s really nothing yet that can replace it,” he said. “You have Netflix and Netflix in Canada is three studios’ back catalogue, nothing newer than six months, and that’s just three studios out of a possible nine

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Michael Macdonald is the owner of Movie Experts in Brooks, one of the movie rental stores in southern Alberta.

studios. VOD any given week is about 10-12 titles, so there’s a lot of product out there that’s not getting seen, so when the video store goes, it won’t be seen.

Macdonald says he still sees the need for a video store in the region, and notes the closing of the two largest chains sent the wrong message.

“When they died, it sent out the message that video stores were dead, which was not true,” he said. “I think what hurt the video industry the most was the thought that Blockbuster not being around meant video stores were dead, which was not true. That news probably closed more video stores”

If you’re just a straight up video store, you’re probably not around.

“I’ve always said for the last 10 years or so, when everyone can afford the same technology and when your TV is basically a supercomputer and you can run a streaming service where you have access, you can type into your computer, for example “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” ... and it’s there instantly and you pay a monthly fee for it, that will effectively end any kind of demand for a video store.”

Despite the changing tides of the industry, Macdonald says as long as there is a demand for renting movies, Movie Experts will remain open. ■

Seven generations in the making, the 2015 Golf has arrived.

And while it bears the hallmark shape of its predecessors, advancements in German engineering and technology have created a car like you’ve never seen before. In fact, considering it comes equipped with standard features like Bluetooth, SiriusXM satellite radio, and a state of the art infotainment system with touchscreen, it’s safe to say, the story of the Golf just get even more legendary. * Available Bi-Xenon headlights with AFS * Automatic Post-Collision Braking System * Panorama tilt and slide power Sunroof * Variable cargo load floor * 17” Geneva alloy wheels * Next Generation Infotainment System * Power adjustable and heated mirrors

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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

101

Meet our Medicine Hat News and Prairie Post

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Sales Professionals James MacLaren

Marion McRoberts

Linda Gove

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Medicine Hat News Outside Sales Medi

Real Estate Advertising Specialist

Medicine Hat News Outside Sales

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403.528.5659

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mmcroberts@medicinehatnews.com

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Melanie Robinson

Chris Tunke

Jason Rinke

Medicine Hat News Outside Sales

National Advertising Representative

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102

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

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Jamie Fode

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index of advertisers Adam’s Jewellery Appraisals & Design 46

Bev Horbay

64

County of Newell

92

Jackson Dodge

99

Advance Design & Construction

96

Big M Ford Lincoln

68

Cypress Battery

81

JazzFest 2015

66

AJ’s Loan Cupboard

44

Blake Pedersen

54

Cypress View Foundation

Kidsport Medicine Hat & Redcliff

33

Alberta Blue Cross

7

Broadway Dental

88

Desk ‘N File

41

Landscape Depot

31

Alberta Blue Cross

79

Brooks & District Museum

93

Drew Barnes

99

LaVar Payne

93

Alive After 5

82

Brooks Corn Maze

91

Eastern Irrigation District

91

Leon’s Furniture

All Saints Anglican Church

85

Buffet Medicine Hat

56

EDA

84

Little Buddha’s Garage

77

Amron Construction

78

Cactus Communications

78

EDA

89

Live Music Club

67

Angela Kolody

64

Canada Day Society

73

EDA

96

Mad Hatter Coffee Roastery

47

Animal Medical Centre

90

CCDA

45

EDA

104

Mark’s Marine

40

Art’s Excavating

81

City of Medicine Hat

51

Enid Luk

64

AutoStar

76

Co-op

Eric Springman

64

Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce

86

Benefis Health System

87

47

64

31

Evangelos Music

Benesch & Benesch

Community Food Connections Association

Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education

30

CORE Association

52

Medicine Hat Co-op Agro Centre

71

Medicine Hat College

57

3

6

Fix Auto

41188773•03/31/15

A Brilliant Choice

Available exclusively at.....

104

Fountain Tire

89

Fountain Tire

93

Gaslight Dental

46

Girl Guides of Canada

53

Glyn Yuhas

98

Goodyear

8

Health Products Centre

46

Hiebert Cabinets

77

Holiday RV

63

Hranco Industries

49

Inland Concrete

76

InterAct Theatre Society

66

A Place

MEMBER WORLD'S LARGEST BUYING GROUP • INDEPENDENT JEWELLERS ORGANIZATION

M A S T E R

IJO

J E W E L E R S TM

Since 1967 “For the diamond as special as you.”

Medicine Hat Mall 403-526-6784 www.richardsonsjewellery.com

83

Medicine Hat Concert Band

66

Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede 39 Medicine Hat Feeding Co.

17

Medicine Hat Kinsmen Club

72

Medicine Hat Kiwanis Club

39

Medicine Hat Little League

41

Medicine Hat Mall Medicine Hat Oilmen’s Association

27-875

Housin g low to for seniors moder w ate inc ith Visit o o www.c ur website me. y

pressv

iew.org

15•03

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

65

Medicine Hat Community Housing

You

411888

104

Medicine Hat College

Feel At Indepe ndent, Home Lodge, Suppo a rtive Li ving nd

403-5

/31/15

2

5

4 19

Medicine Hat Public Library

12

Player’s Bench

46

Saamis Immigration

75

The Medicine Shoppe

Medicine Hat Refrigeration

77

Prairie Rose School Division No. 8

15

Sagebrush Studio

97

The Patio Cafe

78

Medicine Hat Retirement Villa

94

Premium Sausage

100

Santa Claus Fund

105

The Patio Cafe

47

Ladies Soccer

70

Ralph’s Texas Bar & Steakhouse

56

Sewline Upholstery

81

The Scoreboard

37

RBC Dominion Securities

79

Shortgrass Library

69

56

Medicine Hat Soccer Association

21

Sonic Body & Paint

36

67

Redcliff Home Hardware

89

Tongue on the Post Music Festival

Memory Lane Computers Midwest Surveys

81

Redcliff Autobody

89

Southern Alberta Prop & Marine

26

Town of Oyen

95

Miywasin Centre

49

Richardson’s Jewellery

104

Southland Volkswagen

42

Trendsetter Homes

91

Moritz Masonry

105

River Dental

27

Southland Volkswagen

101

Trevor Moore Magic & Comedy

66

46

Rodeo Ford

43

Southview Denture Clinic

80

116

Rodeo Ford

10

Spectrum Committee

25

Rosenau Transport

86

Stone Furs

47

United Way

82

Roset by Reid

79

Stringam Denecky

35

Wayne Schlenker

64

Windmill Garden Centre & Butterfly House

50

NewRock Developments Outlaw Collision

72

Park City Toyota

115

Perkins

56

Rotary Music Festival

67

Sun Country Nissan

29

Phase II

47

Ruth Warnell

64

Taco Time

56

MASONRY & TILE SUPPLY

41189684•03/31/15

Share the Warmth

MORITZ 527-3673

TSG Insurance & Financial Services Ltd. 76

Spirit of Giving

La fabricca Porcelain Tile – by Primco

The spaces we create become part of who we are.

The places we occupy shape how we live, work, and feel.

Let your surroundings reflect and inspire functionality, individuality and enduring beauty - from the ground up.

Visit our showroom for a wide variety and selection of colors and styles.

TSG Insurance & Financial Services Ltd. 74

1006 South Railway Street S.E., Medicine Hat www.moritzmasonry.com

Thank you all the individuals, businesses, service clubs & community groups who s supported us in 2014 and w look forward to your we ccontinued o support in 2015

Share the Joy

Share the Season

403-528-9900

41189679•03/31/15

My Scrubs

9

www.mhsantafund.com our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

105

eport 2015 gives us a comprehensive look at the vast area of SE Alberta and what we, as a community have to offer. We are very proud of this product and would like to thank a number of organizations for their support and partnerships in producing this annual edition:

R

❚ City of Medicine Hat ❚ City of Brooks ❚ Medicine Hat Mall ❚ Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce ❚ County Of Newell ❚ Entre-Corp ❚ Palliser Economic Partnership ❚ Medicine Hat College ❚ Economic Development Alliance of SE Alberta ❚ CCDA (City Centre Development Agency of Medicine Hat) ❚ Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education (Entrepreneurship and Regional Development Branch) We feel, with the help of these partners, this year’s edition is the best ever.

With solid planning, exceptional teamwork and phenomenal presentation we have definitely produced another winner.

I am also exceptionally impressed with the dedication and professionalism of all our staff in coming together as a team to make this achievement possible once again. This is a very large project and from the time we launched it late last year, everyone has stayed focused on the goal and we can honestly say we are presenting a product the community will enjoy reading and one that will be used extensively by businesses and different levels of government to comprehend the true spirit of SE Alberta. We have found over the years that through the cooperation of our partners this publication has reached all corners of the globe including places such as China to the West and Europe to the East.

This year’s edition is focused on individuals that have made this part of the province great and have advanced our importance to Alberta over the years. There are many jewels in this area in the form of people and places that we know have portrayed the true spirit of our community. The individuals we have interviewed and featured here have added to the prosperity of our province.

We, here at the Medicine Hat News are very proud to be a part of SE Alberta and hope Report 2015 enjoys some time in your home and your place of business.

Mike Hertz Senior Vice President & Group Publisher

106

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

At Home with you Since 1885 3257 Dunmore Rd SE

403.527.1101

Honoured to Serve The Community

www.cooksouthland.com

403.527.2474

403.527.6455

1 30 Y E A R S

1 16 Y E A R S

Rediscover your local library with FREE memberships in 2015 for all Medicine Hat residents. Download eBooks, eMagazines, eAudiobooks, music, movies and TV shows from home.

Visit mhpl.info to learn more.

100 YEARS

Since 1954 Concrete Solutions for commercial, residential, agriculture and do-ityourself applications.

Ph: 403.527.1303 Fax: 403.529.1715 Cell: 403.952.0561 rschimpf@lehighcement.com www.inlandcanada.com

61 YEARS

901-13 Street SW

1 05 Y E A R S

Locally Owned and Directed

621 Spencer St SE Medicine Hat, AB

403.526.3545

88 YEARS

• Porcelian Floor & Wall Tile • Gas & Wood Stoves & Fire Places • Cultured Stone & Brick 1006 South Railway St SE, Medicine Hat

1300 Redcliff Dr. SW

403.527.3673

58 YEARS

58 YEARS

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

107

Farmland Supply Centre Inc.

GLASS LTD.

1288 Brier Park Rd. NW

403.527.3331

56 YEARS

1020 Kingsway Ave SE

403.527.7322

www.medicinehatymca.ca

Over 50 years of proud service in Medicine Hat!

915 South Railway Street, Medicine Hat, AB T1A 2W3

1639 9 Ave SW

403.527.2440

“Building healthy Communities”

403.527.5657

www.bertsvacuum.ca

55 YEARS

53 YEARS

50 YEARS

#954 - 19th St. SW Medicine Hat

403.528.9809 44 YEARS

• COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL • MAINTENANCE • SECURITY SYSTEMS/CAMERA SYSTEMS • FIRE ALARM INSTALLATIONS & INSPECTIONS • CERTIFIED NETWORK CABLING

42 YEARS

666 17 St. SW

403.526.2835 www.mhr1974.ca

40 YEARS

403 526 0740 INDUSTRIAL BACKHOES LTD. 1686 - 32nd St SE

403.529.6665 FAX: 403.526.2056

BUS:

EMAIL: contactus@industrialbackhoe.com

39 YEARS

108

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

KRAUSE OPTICAL

IN THE CO-OP MALL • CO-OP MEMBER DISCOUNT

LAB ON PREMISES • Vision Tests on-site • Emergency Repairs & Replacements • All optical prescriptions Filled • Duplication of

present prescription • Family Budget Plan • Children’s Packages • Certified Independent Opticians • Free adjustments

#103-3030 13TH Ave SE, Medicine Hat See the Difference At Krause Optical!

403.529.6671

39 YEARS

Since 1977

Thank you for your support throughout the years and by helping support local businesses.

403.527.2130 939 Kingsway Ave Medicine Hat T1A 2X8

38 YEARS

Steakhouse Pizza & lounge All you can eat Pizza Bar with soup & salad bar Lunch 11-2 Supper 5-8 Extensive internet & selection of beers and wines .

403-526-0740 1731 Dunmore Rd SE Medicine Hat, T1A 1Z8

38 YEARS 403.526.0740

TED’S Using modern technology to meet and exceed your expectations We make Class rings & graduation jewellery

910 Allowance Ave SE

AUTOBODY 665 South Railway St. S.E.

403.526.0467

403.526.3110

38 YEARS

37 YEARS

304 - 578 - 3rd St SE Medicine Hat, AB

403.527.5526 35 YEARS

DDi si sccoovveer.r. MMaannaaggee. . SSt tr re e aamml li innee..

Point of Sale and Retail Management Software Proudly operating in Medicine Hat and serving Grocery, Pharmacy and Health & Natural Product retailers across North America.

Ivan Becker

Making a difference . . . one person, one family at a time for 35 years.

Crisis line: 403.529.1091 Admin line: 403.527.8223

www.mhwss.ca

35 YEARS

Check Out Our Garden Center 64 Carry Dr SE

403.502.0503 ibecker@memlane.com

4 - 1023 Allowance Ave SE

403.529.9248 Community Realty

35 Y E A R S

37 YEARS

MAE’S Trucking (1981) LTD.

Ltd. Fax: 403.529.1492 www.carecabs.ca

• Excavation & Reclamation Services • Road/Lease Maintenance & Snow Removal • General Hauling Ph: 403.868.3743 Cell: 403.502.4500

232 - Maple Avenue SE Medicine Hat, AB

403.529.2211

34 YEARS

33 Y E A R S

HAT NEWS AND TOBACCO

• CIGARS • LOTTO

• ADULT NOVELTY • FOOD

403.526.8198

403.529.2900

(403) 529-5595 | 636 11th Avenue SW

www.peaveymart.com

#101, 73 - 7TH ST SE • MEDICINE HAT, AB

33 YEARS

32 YEARS

30 YEARS

Connect with us:

www.auto-star.com

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

109

CONTEMPORA CONSTRUCTION INC. Built by Design…

Designed to Last!

Cypress Hills Provincial Park Elkwater, AB

1614 32nd St SW Medicine Hat, AB

403-526-2244

403.527.9345

Fax: 403-526-1074 2111 – 9th Avenue SW, Medicine Hat, AB T1A 8M9

621 - 16TH ST SW

403.521.1961

30 YEARS

29 YEARS

28 YEARS

www.hydraco.com

• Ski & snowboard rentals • Cafeteria & lounge • Ski & snowboard lesson packages • Group rates • 7 runs • 2 beginner flats • Ski/snowboard park

403.893.3961 Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce Guest Service Award 2013

27 YEARS www.skihiddenvalley.net www.skihid ddenvalley.net

Frank Devine

1900 South Highway Dr. SE #2

403.548.3536

Celebrating elebrating 25 Years Serving Southern Alberta & Sask!

674 - 16TH ST SW 403.526.3377

Always accepting applications from good people!

www.sewline.ca info@sewline.ca

27 YEARS

25 YEARS

If you want a realtor to tell you what he thinks and not what he thinks you want to hear, call me.

403.548.5379 Community Realty

25 YEARS

Deluxe Meats ea ood Ltd. L & Seafood

There’s No Bull About Service • Mobile Butcher • Seafood/Meats • Spices & Marinade for • Custom C.W. the do-it-yourselfer • Sausage/Supplies

403.527.8634 C 525 Washington Ave SE

23 YEARS

110

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

1081 30th St SW Medicine Hat, AB

403.526.3294

23 YEARS

ProComm is your technology company of choice for Business Phone Systems, Security, Mobility, Data & Audio

403.527.5555 627 Kingswayy Ave SE • Medicine Hat,, AB

22 YEARS

MEDICINE HAT REMEDIAL MASSAGE Michelle Drescher - Schaerer F.L.C.S.P. (Phys) Member of L.C.S.P. and R.M.T.A. Registered Massage Therapist 25+ years experience

21 YEARS of Reliable

WALK-IN CLINIC SERVICES Carry Drive Clinic

116 Carry Drive SE, Medicine Hat, AB

86D 8th St NW

Monday-Friday: 9AM-12PM • 1PM-5PM Monday-Thursday: 6PM-8PM Saturday, Sunday & Holidays: 11AM-2PM Carry Drive Walk-in Clinic hours updated daily online at www.medicinehatwalkin.com

403.526.0093

JAWS ‘N’ PAWS DOG & CAT GROOMING

Diamond Cut Lawn Services Ltd. • Sprinklers Blowouts • Weed Control (Fully Trained Government Licensed Applicators)

• Tree Spraying for Insect Control

“Big Or Small, We Groom Them All”

(Fully Trained Government Licensed Applicators)

• Snow Removal • Fertilizing • Lawn Cutting and Trimming

Pet Food & Supplies for Dogs

WE WILL CUSTOMIZE A PROGRAM TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS.

A-1039 Kingsway Ave SE Medicine Hat, AB

403.502.8926

403.527.1100

403-527-8779

22 YEARS

21 YEARS

21 YEARS

20 YEARS

medhatrmt@gmail.com

Hours Subject to Available Staff

FREE ESTIMATES

59 East 3rd Avenue Dunmore, AB

1835 Dunmore RD SE

717 5 st SW Medicine Hat

403.527.2606

403.528.3440

19 YEARS

19 YEARS

403.527.4888 “Formerly P-3” Dr. Bob Herman Dr. Leah Turner Dr. Megan Herman

18 YEARS

www.logosembroidery.com

• Residential &

J&L

SHUTTLE SERVICE Locally owned & family operated • All Pick-ups and Drop-offs in Medicine Hat and Lethbridge at Your Location • Advance Reservations Required • Charters Available

2201 13th Ave SE Medicine Hat

872 25th St SW

• Licensed with Alberta Transportation Department & fully insured • Medicine Hat to Calgary 7 Days a Week, twice a day • Medicine Hat to Lethbridge 7 Days a Week once a day

403.527.1577

403.526.8534

403-528-8851 or Toll Free 877-217-5577

18 YEARS

17 YEARS

16 YEARS

Commercial storage • Boxes & packing supplies

www.jandlshuttle.com

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

111

YOUR WORLD ROCK

BUFFET MEDICINE HAT Medicine Hat’s Largest Buffet Selection!

Your Regional Farm publication

We also carry quartz

WE DON’T USE MSG IN OUR COOKING

prairiepost.com

403.526.4821

403.528.3399

info@mtmgranite.ca 49 Brier Estates Way NW

17 YEARS

COMPUTER CENTRAL 928 Allowance Ave SE, Medicine Hat, AB

403.526.5053

15 YEARS

Congratulations on your accomplishments to all the businesses featured in the

2015 Honour Rolls

2015

112

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

111 - 3215 Dunmore Rd SE

16 Y E A R S

16 YEARS

www.mtmgranite.ca w ww.mtm

RON SIMON Exceptional Service you Deserve AWARD WINNING REALTOR

Custom Made Kitchen Cabinets and Tops

Thanks to all of our past, present & future customers!

RON SIMON 403.502.9000

403.527.4255

www.ronsimon.ca

15 YEARS

15 YEARS

I don’t just list your home, I sell it. Thinking Real Estate? Call

Fax: 403-548-6307 76 Brier Estates Way NW Medicine Hat, AB Community Realty

PAINTING LTD.

Pam Kiebel

Your professional & personalized Painting Service

Workmanship, Integrity, Quality

13 YEARS 403.504.7859 403.504.7 7859

14 YEARS

PK Bookkeeping

Diamond Cut •Residential & Commercial •New Construction •Repaints •Spray Applications •Fully Insured • Free Estimates

403.548.6221

838B 16th St SW Medicine Hat, AB

403.526.6027

13 YEARS

“For all your bookkeeping Needs”

2152 Hughes Cres NE Medicine Hat, AB

403.504.0263 403.528.0005

13 YEARS

pkbookkeeping2@hotmail.com

advanced business technologies

#2-677 South Railway St SE Medicine Hat, AB

#2 - 12 Sierra Dr SW

www.zedteeel.ca

403.529.2385

tricubemedia.com

403.952.9323

11 YEARS

10 YEARS

10 YEARS

9.5 YEARS

Website & Graphic Design

403.380.7585

1447 Brier Estates Cres. NW Medicine Hat, AB

RAM

Dr. Kerrie Schwandt #4 - 568 S. Railway SE Medicine Hat, AB

403.526.2285

9 YEARS

Exteriors www.ramexteriors.ca

The Best in Custom Blinds & Window Coverings!

403.548.6965

CALL FOR YOUR FREE IN-HOME CONSULTATION 403-580-3203 OR VISIT OUR SHOWROOM!

9 YEARS

8 YEARS 646 South Railway way Street SE • www.budgetblinds.ca

LaVar Payne CONSULTING With 30 years in the wedding industry and extensive experience in floral, decor and planning I’ll make your event Just as you Dreamed It

Member of Parliament for Medicine Hat Dana Bruins

403.866.7944

Pat Bachmeier

dana@bruins.ca

403.458.2788

Randy Laughlin

reflectionswc@hotmail.com Reflections Wedding Consulting

8 YEARS Your Wedding Planner

403.528.0329

112-1310 Kingsway Ave SE

Ph: 403.487.5040

Ph: 403.528.4698 Fax: 403.528.4365

Fax: 403.487.5041

blindguy@telus.net

lavar.payne@parl.gc.ca

7 YEARS

6.5 YEARS

Box 869, REDCLIFF 7-900 Highway Ave, REDCLIFF

6 YEARS

our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

113

P:403.528.4356 F:403.528.4367

Experience the Unexpected Beautifying Medicine Hat, one home at a time.

9 5th St. SE •Medicine Hat

403.487.2922

403.527.8883

www.t-a-detailing.ca

Now offering lube valet! $20, we pick up, service and return your car 3215 Dunmore Rd. SE Medicine Hat • T1B 2H2

5 YEARS

4 YEARS

3.5 YEARS

www.anniemcguire.ca

SUNKEN, UNEVEN CONCRETE? We can raise and level your driveway, sidewalk, patio, RV pad, etc.

Call us for a free estimate.

403-527-LIFT(5438)

3 YEARS liftconcrete.ca

114

2015 REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA

753 15 street SW, Bay 1 Medicine Hat, AB

Prairie Sprinter Shuttle Service 2 vans 7 days a week LEAVING MEDICINE HAT 7:30AM & 11AM CALGARY PICK-UPS Between 1 & 2pm Between 4 And 5:30pm

403.487.1312

3 YEARS

prairiesprinterinc.ca

To all the businesses featured in the 2015 Honour Rolls

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2015

Congratulations to our Employees And Thank You to our Customers.

You’ve made ParkCity Toyota Alberta’s most awarded Dealership for Customer Satisfaction for Toyota Sales and Service EVER! Jay Chesley President Park City Toyota

2014

Gayle Gagley

Kelly Smith

Cindy Chapman

Gary Denton

Kerri Gagley

Stephanie Laverdiere

Erin Bailey

Romanda Stock

Kimberly Hulbert

Ron Chisholm

Carmen Baker

Jessica Mather

Carissa Page

Jordan Zilinski

Grant Haukeness

Marlene Smith

Jason Crabtree

Jeff Miller

Blaine Van Leeuwen

Robert Finley

Roz Thompson

David Coleman

Josh Adams

Kim Scherger

ParkCity Toyota is once again Toyota Canada’s top dealer for customer satisfaction in sales and service.

No dealer in Alberta has won as many customer satisfaction awards as ParkCity!

1400 Strachan RD SE • 403-526-6228 www.parkcitytoyota.ca • www.toyota.ca our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people

41189947•03/31/15

Thank you Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan!

115

41189900•03/31/15