The Community
Press HAPPY LABOUR DAY
Volume 115, Issue 9
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
$1 Including GST
Flagstaff Fresh Market offers fun experience for makers and visitors
LESLIE CHOLOWSKY PHOTO
The Flagstaff Fresh Market held in Sedgewick last Thursday, Aug. 25, could definitely be heard before it was seen, thanks to the incredibly talented Brasstactics who entertained the shoppers and vendors alike. Definitely not a static performance in a designated spot, these talented individuals walked the length of Main Street to engage the crowd. Above: Matt Laird on the Sousaphone, Blair Wilkie on percussion, Nicholas Froman on Trombone, Zach Semanuik on Trumpet, Peter Filice on Trombone, and Johnny McCormack on Saxophone. See more Fresh Market photos P23.
Hardisty families with students attending Irma School won’t shoulder entire bussing expense this year Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Hardisty parents whose children attend Irma School since the Battle River School Division shut down the Allan Johnstone School for the 2020-21 school year have been privately funding their own transportation for the past two years. Through fundraising and donations, as well as fees, families covered the costs, which were close to $50,000 every year. This spring, however, the families, through the former Allan Johnstone School Council, now just the Hardisty Parents
Group, declared that funding private transportation was not a sustainable solution. The parent group has appealed to the Battle River School Division and Buffalo Trails Public Schools Division as well as the Ministry of Education constantly over the past two years, hoping for some public funding for the private bus, or a compromise between divisions. Brittany MacMillan, one of the committee members as well as an affected parent says, “MidJuly we finally got confirmation that the School Division (Buffalo
Trail Public Schools) will be paying for the bus from Irma School to the boundary line that is six miles from Hardisty, with money they have received from the Minister of Education. “The parents group will be responsible for the rest of the funds, from the boundary line to Hardisty.” She says that takes the fundraising necessary from $50,000 per year to closer to $5,000. She adds, “The school division also agreed to help us further by lowering the maintenance fees. And the bus contractor generously donated
$1,000 towards the remaining amount we would owe.” MacMillan called it “a huge win” for the families. She says a pancake breakfast this summer has already helped to raise part of the funds for this year, and the group is planning to hold a raffle to raise the rest. She says there are 37 students from Hardisty registered to attend Irma School for the 2022-23 school year. MacMillan says the Hardisty and District Development Group has been a huge advocate of the parents and students trying to find a solution to
the unsustainable private bus situation. “We definitely have them to thank for contributing and to advocate for us!” MacMillan says there are around 75 children in all attending school from the Hardisty catchment
area, either going to Sedgewick, Amisk /Hughenden, or Irma. At the time of closure, BRSD said Allan Johnstone School had 44 students enrolled, citing low enrollment as one of the reasons for closure.