The Community
Press Volume 114, Issue 35
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
$1 Including GST
Forestburg sweethearts are this year's winners Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Diane and Carl Jahns dropped by The Community Press office last week to pick up their prize as the winners of the 37th annual Sweethearts Draw. The pair received a prize package valued over $600 from participating businesses from all over Flagstaff County. Carl entered Diane’s name at a participating businesses in Forestburg. When they came in to pick up their prizes, Carl mentioned, “It was Feb. 16 40 years ago that we had our first date.” What a way to celebrate! The Jahns’ received a gift certificate from The Purple Scissor in Daysland as well as a gift basket, a Tanqueray gift set from Lakeview Liquor Store in Hardisty, a gift package and carryall from Main Street Medley in Alliance with a retail value over $102, a $30 gift certificate from Coutts Home Hardware in Forestburg, a $25 gift certificate from The Apothecary Shoppe in Forestburg, a $75 gift certificate from Budding Ideas & Paw Prints in Killam, two gift cards from Wild Rose Co-op - Liquor Store and Service Centre in Killam and Sedgewick, a $25 gift certificate from Apple Drugs, Daysland, a $40 gift card from Guardian Drugs in Killam, two $25 gift cards from The Stop Spot in Killam, and a two-year subscription to The Community Press, valued at $85.
Babies of 2021 winner Jack Burden brings parents in to pick up prize Leslie Cholowsky Editor
With a record number of babies featured in our annual Babies of 2021 edition, we had to acknowledge it with a record number of winners. Jack Burden, along with his parents Melissa and Travis Burden, won the grand prize of a two-year subscription to The Community Press, and a $50 gift certificate from Coutts Home Hardware in Forestburg. Along with the Burdens, four other families received a one-year subscrip-
tion to The Community Press: Levi Dickson, Lewis Steel, Beklyn Bitzer, and Maverick Bosshard were the runners up. Winners were chosen by random draw.
Sunday, March 13
Page 10 - The Community Press, Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Twin Oak Farms Ltd. Box 156; Lougheed 780-888-6007 or 780-385-1302 Dan and Shelly Skoberg never set out to build a burgeoning bacon business during the pandemic – it just happened that way. The Lougheed-area farmers had been raising pigs and decided in the spring of 2020 to try making their own bacon. “We usually get our bacon done at the butchers and it’s good, but we just wanted to try and do it ourselves and see what we could come up with,” Dan explains. They went to work, striving to create the optimal recipe to dry cure and process bacon. After a lot of trial and error, and some fine-tuning, the husband-and-wife team eventually settled upon what they deemed to be the ideal original flavour. After more experimenting, Dan and Shelly also came up with what they considered was the perfect maple flavour. They weren’t the only ones who thought so. “We started sharing it with family and friends,” Shelly recalls, “and everybody was: ‘Wow, that’s a really good product!’” Along with glowing reviews for their original and maple offerings, Dan and Shelly were inundated with requests for more. That’s when they decided to go bigger. In December of 2020, the fifth-generation owners of Twin Oak Farms started selling some of their bacon. In January of 2021, their first batch of bacon hit Facebook and – to their utter amazement – sold out in less than a week. From there, it was a steep learning curve for the newly minted bacon aficionados – from nutrition labels, to
packaging, to getting government inspected. But Dan and Shelly plowed ahead, creating an inspiring made-inFlagstaff success story. And along the way, the Skobergs built a new production building, aka the bacon barn. These days, Twin Oak Farms bacon is retailed in 24 locations across Alberta, including grocery stores, as well as some restaurants and distributors. “We never ever dreamt that this would be where we are today,” Shelly says, noting they recently hired a local employee. “It’s definitely bigger than we ever thought.” Consumers now have their choice of seven mouth-watering flavours: original, maple, maple bourbon, honey garlic, jalapeno, apple pie and traditional. “The funny thing is they are all good sellers in their own certain areas,” Shelly notes. “Like, for instance, the Vegreville area is a honey garlic area. The Provost area is a sweet jalapeno area. I would think that our two top flavours would be original and maple, but for the most part, they all sell really well, just in different areas.” The Skobergs take great pride in sourcing their products and services – everything from their pork and specialty spices to their packaging – from as many local and Alberta businesses as possible. For instance, they get all of their pork belly from Trochu-based Sunterra Meats, which gets its hogs out of Alberta. “They’ve been a really good partner and they’ve been a great supplier,” Dan praises. “We get good, consistent, quality products out of them. I couldn't ask for anything better out of Sunterra.” Spices, meanwhile, are sourced from 1908 Barbeque, a Wainwrightbased business owned by Marty Yurchak and Shawn Murphy. “They custom-build all of our spices,” Dan explains. “They’ve been really good. They create all kinds of spices out there, but they create some unique ones just for us.” For Twin Oak Farms bacon, the only two ingredients that don’t come out of Alberta are maple syrup and bourbon. The maple syrup comes from Eastern Canada, while the bourbon comes from Kentucky. “You can't get bourbon in Canada. It’s only produced in Kentucky,” Dan says. “So our bourbon comes out of Kentucky, but yet again, it’s sourced from a local place.” Twin Oak Farms, established in
1905, is located two miles east of Lougheed just off Highway 13. The Skoberg family farms approximately 3,700 acres of cropland, growing wheat, barley, oats, canola and alfalfa, as well as custom farming roughly 2,000 more acres for others. Their diversified farm also consists of a variety of livestock. Dan, a member at large of the Flagstaff County Agricultural Service Board, says they’re poised to expand their bacon business “the best we can economically and feasibly outside of our area” in 2022. Most recently, Twin Oak Farms bacon has been used in two local school fundraisers. The Skobergs see this fundraising involvement as a prime opportunity to help give back to a community that has been so incredibly supportive. “Flagstaff is near and dear to my heart,” says Shelly, who also holds a
full-time position with UFA. “The people are so supportive here. When they try the product, they spread the word, and not just within Flagstaff. They spread it amongst Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan. We can't go into those provinces (B.C. and Saskatchewan), but they spread the word there. They take it in their vehicles and they go there with our product. Flagstaff is just very supportive of local businesses, and Flagstaff County has been great with their opportunities and all their programs that they do for their local Flagstaff County businesses.” For more information, find Twin Oak Farms on Facebook and Instagram, visit twinoakfarmsbacon.com. Be sure to watch the video on The Community Press website at thecommunitypress.com
Pictured below: Dan and Shelly Skoberg of Twin Oak Farms Ltd.
The Community Press, Wednesday, March 9, 2022 - Page 11
Family Hope Hunt passes through Sedgewick Sandra Erickson Ph: 780-384-2030
Sedgewick email: sedgewicknews@gmail.com
Building Blocks, the early literacy program for children between 0-5, is gearing up to be back in person. There's different groups all over the county, and therefore the return to in-person may vary for each group. However, Sedgewick is starting its own group on Tuesdays at the library. Contact Megan Edey for more information and take advantage of this free program to get your children the best possible start for kindergarten. Sedgewick Minor Ball is running a development camp in April. There's a baseball and softball division. The camp will have a strong focus on the core skills: hitting, catching, throwing, fielding, and running. For more information contact Joey Hebert. The Parents for Fun in Flagstaff Society in partnership with many local businesses and organizations kicked off their family hope hunt for 2022. Especially with the winter blues settling in around this time of year, it's important to focus on enjoyable and positive things about winter. The hunt's theme is: “Move your mood” by practicing mindfulness, moving your body, fueling your body, expanding your mind, and building assets. At each stop there is a package of loot and some booklets with challenges or tips about how to practice each of those five habits. During week one the stops were the Killam sledding hill where a crazy carpet was donated by Home Hardware stores from Killam, Forestburg, and Hardisty. Another stop was the Wooden Spoon in
Sedgewick where the prize was a package of hot chocolate mix donated by Parents for Fun and also some coupons for free hot chocolate or coffee from the Wooden Spoon. All this was in addition to some stuff from some of the family resource agencies, like a terrific "What to do in Flagstaff County Communities" from Flagstaff Adult Learning. The Adult Learning Centre also have a pdf version of the brochure on their website for those who'd like to check it out. Or they are available for purchase at their office if you prefer a paper version. During week two, participating families made a stop at the Forestburg Library to pick up a print-out booklet about gratitude along with a blank journal and pen. Their second destination was the Galahad outdoor rink where they could skate and also pick up a goodie bag which
The Village V of of The Village V
•
included a mini-stick from Home Hardware, a bottle of water, and a baggie of snack mix. Great job to the wonderful collaborations so
far. Can't wait to see what's next. Thank you very much for the submission to Laura Burden from Sedgewick.
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES The Town of Killam is accepting applications for the following seasonal positions: • 1 Parks Labourer Student (May 2-August 26) Full Time – Outdoor general and parks work, must have valid driver’s license and be returning to post-secondary education in fall 2022 • 2 Parks Students - Full Time Hours (June 27 – End of August) - Outdoor general and parks work. Must have a valid driver’s license. Must be returning to high school or entering post-secondary in fall 2022. • Recreation Summer Fun Coordinator (May 2 – August 26) - Duties include coordinating programming for children ages 4 to 10. Must be returning to post-secondary education in fall 2022. • Recreation Summer Fun Assistant (June 27 – End of August) - Duties include assisting the coordinator in running the programming for the summer fun camp for children ages 4 to 10. Must be returning to high school or entering post-secondary education in fall 2022. Deadline for applications is March 18, 2022. Please send resume and qualifications indicating the position you are interested in to: Town of Killam, Box 189, Killam, AB T0B 2L0 Fax (780) 385-2120 Email Parks: publicworks@town.killam.ab.ca Email Summer Fun: recreation@town.killam.ab.ca
Employment Opportunity
HEISLER HEISLER
Village of Heisler Public Works Foreman Community Community it off Ch Champions i • C Community ommunity it off Champions Ch i •
• The Village of Heisler is currently accepting applications for the permanent full-time position of Public Works Foreman starting immediately. • Operation of Village Utilities (water treatment/distribution and sewage treatment/ collection) • Road and sidewalk maintenance, signage, snow removal, parks maintenance, and improvements to infrastructure • Equipment and Village owned and operated facility maintenance • Good communication skills • Other duties as assigned by the CAO Preference will be given to candidates who hold certificate in: • Level 1 Water Treatment & Distribution, and Wastewater Treatment & Collection, or willingness to obtain certification • Operation of Village Utilities (water treatment/distribution and sewage treatment/ collection) • Class 5 Driver’s License Qualifications: • Grade 12 or equivalency • Ability to multi-task • This job entails working in inclement weather conditions, physical activity and problem solving • The successful applicant will be required to work a 40-hour work week with overtime as required, and emergency call-out Please submit your resume, outlining education, qualifications, salary expectation and experience in in confidence to: Village of Heisler, Attn: Heidi Rohe, CAO Box 60, Heisler AB, T0B 2A0 Email administration@villageofheisler.ca or submit in person at 128 Main Street Phone 780-889-3774 This position will remain open until a suitable applicant is selected. The Village of Heisler wishes to thank all applicants for applying, however, only those selected for interviews will be contacted.
Help Wanted Looking for a local community member to drive a special needs student to and from school each day.
Must be willing to learn about and accommodate for a neurodevelopmental disability. Patience and tolerance would be an essential asset. Would work out to 2-3 hours per day on school days. Vehicle and criminal check required. Email applications to: wandeling77@gmail.com
EXTENDICARE VIKING 60 bed continuing care facility located in Viking, Alberta invites applications for:
Health Care Aides (Part-Time) If you have experience in this area and enjoy the rewards and relationships that come with a career working with seniors, reply with resume to: dthibault@extendicare.com. Phone (780) 336-4790. We thank all interested applicants, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Discover HARDISTY
Town of Hardisty Employment Opportunity
Municipal Temporary Public Works Position Open Competition #2022-001 (Closing Date: April 14, 2022) Student Position (May – August 2022) SUMMARY: The Student position will be under the direction of the Senior Public Works Operator. This position requires working outside in inclement weather. Watering flowers, weeding flowers, operating small equipment ie mowers, weedeaters, spades/shovels and numerous other hand tools. You may also be required to assist the senior operator with their daily duties and tasks as required. EDUCATION: Currently enrolled in high-school or post-secondary education. Preference to having a valid Class 5 graduated license will be given to those who apply. EXPERIENCE: Operation of small equipment pertaining to flower maintenance, grass maintenance and hand tools. PREFERRED SKILLS: Strong understanding of safety and procedure, undertaking of direction from your senior supervisor and a strong work ethic are essential skill sets along with effective communication in a team related environment. If you see yourself in this role the Town of Hardisty would welcome your application for the hiring of this job competition. Please send your resume/application to: Town of Hardisty Attn: Bobbi Usselman – CAO / Job Competition #2022-001 PO Box 10, Hardisty, AB T0B 1V0 e-mail: bobbi@hardisty.ca
Page 14 - The Community Press, Wednesday, March 9, 2022
March 2022 Meetings
Council Meetings Cancelled Meeting Flagstaff County Co ouncil M Meetings eetings aare re conducted the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month commencing at 9 a.m. unless u otherwise planned. Council and Committ ommittee meeting agendas aare re aavvailable at the County’’ss websit ebsiite te at: flagstafff fff...ab.ca/c .ca/council/mee .ca/ council/meeeetings-andminuutes tes
780-384-4100 1-877-387-4100 Email: Stay Connected with Us: s
Monday to Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Closed Noon - 1 p.m.)
Address: e
12435 TToownship w Road 4442 PP..O. Box 33558 Sedgew e wi wic icck, AB T0B 4C00
The Community Press, Wednesday, March 9, 2022 - Page 15
Show your support: Cut this out and display in your window or door
One way you can help is to donate to Canadian Red Cross https://donate.redcross.ca