Serving the Heart of Central Alberta for 106 years
VOLUME ONE-HUNDRED SEVEN
PM40011853 R08546
NUMBER THIRTY-ONE
STETTLER, ALBERTA
July 31, 2013
PRICE — $1.09 Plus
Roan one Heck of an ambassador JOHN MACNEIL Independent editor The greatest pass in the Canadian Football League this season might come from a four-year-old Stettler boy. Roan Heck and his friends from the Calgary Stampeders are passing on a safety message in a TV commercial scheduled to air this fall. “Whatever game you play, play it safe,” Heck reiterated from his backyard last Friday, a week after he filmed the commercial at McMahon Stadium with Keon Raymond and Brandon Smith of the Stampeders. Heck was just one-anda-half years old when he lost his left leg in a lawnmower accident in June 2010. Three years later, he’s been chosen as the War Amps national safety ambassador for 2013. A visit with Roan at his family’s farm south of Stettler indicates how natural a fit he is to spread the safety message on TSN football broadcasts, beginning on Thanksgiving weekend. At home, he can be heard even before he’s seen. “Hello,” he greets a visitor while sporting a big smile and his personalized Stampeder jersey — Roan, No. 13. He runs around the house on his prosthetic leg and shows the personality that’s already made the energetic kid a winning ambassador. His parents, Neil and Jolene, and siblings Cole and Gabby witnessed Roan do likewise a week earlier during a day of filming in Calgary.
JOHN MacNEIL/Independent editor
Four-year-old Roan Heck of Stettler jumps on the trampoline in his backyard last Friday, repeating his War Amps play-safe message. “He did a great job,” Neil said. “We’re really proud of him. “He liked the experience. They did some real neat stuff that you’ll see in the commercial. It kind of shows what Roan is about and where he comes from and all that stuff.” His parents were among those people impressed with how well Roan handled almost three
hours of filming with the Stampeders in the afternoon heat, and more voiceovers taped that evening at the hotel. “It showed what he’s capable of,” Jolene said. “After we were done filming, we kind of look at Roan differently now. How he could step up and be so mature, because he’s only four years old. And how they’d have him repeat his
lines over and over again. It was so hot, and he’s wiping the sweat off his forehead., but he just kept on going.” Seemingly at home on the football field, Roan’s animated ways set the pace for the Stampeders participating in the publicservice announcement. “He was involved with it all,” Neil said. “The players were good, too. If he wasn’t quite in the mood, they’d
get him going in the mood. And lots of time, he’d get them in the mood, too. It was kind of a trade-off back and forth. “At 1 o’clock, they came out of the dressing room and right away, they were, ‘How ya doin’ little man, give me five.’ They were all over him. “Keon Raymond has four kids of his own, so he knew exactly what he was
getting into. There were no surprises for him. It’s just like another day at the office at home. “Brandon Smith was fantastic, too. There was a reason they were chosen for the commercials. They’re good characters and they do a lot for the community around (Calgary), as it is.” ‘Heck’ continued on Page A2
Mirror man goes missing in Alix area The Bashaw RCMP detachment is requesting public assistance in the search for a 66-year-old Mirror man missing since last Friday. “William (Bill) Graham left the Alix dump at noon on Friday, July 26, and hasn’t been heard from since,” Bashaw RCMP Const. Charla Ethier said Monday afternoon in a news release. “Bill is described as five-foot-six, medium build, with grey hair, and was last seen wearing a blue diamond print shirt, blue slacks and loafers.” Police said Graham uses two walking canes and can’t travel fast on foot. “Bill left the dump in his two-tone blue and grey 1991 Chevrolet extended cab pickup truck,” Const. Ethier said. “The Alberta licence plate on the vehicle is YVF 602 and the tailgate is being held on by two bungee cords.” Police say they’re concerned about Graham’s well-being and are searching for him on behalf of his family. “Should you have any information in regards to his whereabouts, please contact your local police agency,” Const. Ethier said. — Independent
JOHN MacNEIL/Independent editor
Communities in Bloom judges Steve Preston (second from left) of Brampton, Ont., and Evelyn Alemanni (middle) of Escondido, Calif., admire the downtown Stettler streetscape last Friday with town representatives Rob Spencer (left), Graham Scott, Lee Penner and Grace Fix.
Stettler shows its stuff to judges JOHN MACNEIL Independent editor For miles en route to Stettler from the Edmonton airport last week, two Communities in Bloom judges marvelled at the colourful and expansive canola fields that dot the Prairie landscape each summer. “I was busy looking at all the beautiful countryside,” said Steve Preston of Brampton, Ont. That backdrop set the tone for the international judges’ tour of Stettler last Friday in the company of representatives of the town
and the Heartland Beautification Committee. “We came in through the canola,” said a smiling Evelyn Alemanni of Elfin Forest, Calif. “My first impression of Stettler was it’s so clean. It’s very wellorganized and clean.” Such cleanliness is one of the considerations in the judging criteria, Preston said. “Wherever you go in town, it’s just spotless. Litter is not an issue with this community, which everybody should be very proud of.” Already decorated with awards in past Communities in Bloom
contests, Stettler has enhanced its case this year with the completion of a downtown streetscape project that not only includes bright and blooming planters, but also a community trademark in railwaydesigned sidewalks. “Our main downtown streetscape is probably our focal point, now that it’s reached maturity and is completed,” Lee Penner, the town’s director of parks and leisure services, said during the judges’ daylong tour on a sunny Friday. “The judges’ reaction is quite positive. You can certainly see when they perk up to the information
that’s being given to them. They’re well-studied. They know exactly what they’re looking for.” Indeed. Communities in Bloom is not an outdoor beauty pageant, so to speak. “We’re not here to peek in people’s yards and look at their flowers,” Alemanni said with a hearty laugh while touring — and photographing — the Stettler Town and Country Museum. “(It’s a misconception) because of the name. People think, ‘Well, it’s a flower contest.’ Continued on Page A9
Readers can also find the Stettler Independent at stettlerindependent.com