November 2 Lamont Leader

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Chipman 4-H elects new executive

Follows up AGM with Halloween party for the members

BY JOHN MATHER

The Chipman 4-H Beef and Multiclub held its annual general meeting on Oct. 30 and followed it up with a Halloween party for the membership.

“We voted-in our new executive today,” said general leader Crystal McCullough. “Hayden Childs was elected as the president; Torsten Wendorff is the new vice-president; Kyle Mastin is the treasurer; and Julia Yost becomes the club secretary.”

In addition to meeting in Chipman at the community hall, the club has also been donated meeting space at the Walker School in Bruderheim by the Bruderheim Agricultural Society.

“Our monthly meetings will move to the school and we can also use it for project meetings,” said McCullough. This year the club has nine full members and there are about 15 cleaver members.

“It’s a big Cleaver group this year,”added McCullough.

In addition to having beef kids in the 4-H Club this year, McCullough added there is also a motocross group, outdoor living, K-9, photography and culinary groups.

“This is a growth year for us,” said McCullough. “We are a small group right now, but we expect to see it grow further next year.”

She said it is her first year with 4-H and many others in the group are newcomers so “they are all stepping up to help out in any way they can.”

Chipman 4-H member Faith Deng, 10, of Chipman

carves a pumpkin with her group during the Chipman 4-H Beef and Multiclub AGM and Halloween party on Oct. 30. The club is looking forward to an exciting new year with several opportunities for area youth.

Andrew Council votes for a raise

BY JANA SEMENIUK

The Village of Andrew Council has approved a motion made by Councillor Evan Genung for a five percent increase in councillor honourarium in addition to an increase in paid mileage from 58 cents per kilometer to 61 cents.

The change will see councillors receive $315 per month, as opposed to $300, and the mayor

receiving $420 as opposed to $400. The meeting payment of $65, with a cap at three meetings a month, will remain the same.

Earlier this year, the council’s honourarium was decreased from $350 for councillors and $450 for the mayor, to $300 and $400 respectively.

In addition, the meeting fee was increased from $50 to $65 with a

cap set at three meetings per month.

Councillor Genung questioned why the councillor honourarium was decreased earlier this year prior to his election in Aug. to the council. Deputy Mayor Tammy Pickett explained how the fees were structured.

“In the past, if you didn't make it to your meeting, if something

Minor hockey report begins for 2022/23

Elk Island U15 come from behind 3 times to tie Tofield/beat Smoky

KERRY ANDERSON

These are some of the results from Minor Hockey League games held recently. (Please note that scores and scoring is taken from the websites, and some game scores and scoring is dependent on proper league entries).

Elk Island U15 skated to a 5-5 tie against Tofield on Friday at Lamont Arena, coming from behind three times in the game. William Furey scored twice for EI. Also scoring were; Rowan Young (1g 1a), Kayden Winslow (1g 1a), Nicklas Mehlenbacher (1g), Ashton Strickland (1a), and Kyran Belcourt (1a). Liam Ellis stopped 39 shots in the EI goal. On Saturday at Smoky Lake, Elk Island came from behind three times before taking the lead for good in the third period of a 6-4 victory. Andrew Svitich scored twice, while Rowan Young (1g

1a), William Furey (1g 1a), Kayden Winslow (1g 1a), and Cameron Olechow also connected. Picking up assists were; Nicklas Mehlenbacher (2a), Sydney Cossey,

Reid Chudyk, and Kyran Belcourt. Liam Ellis got the win in goal.

Dylan Onushko has two goals and an assist for Fort Sask. U18 AA Rangers this season.

came up and you were sick, or whatever the case may be, you didn't get anything for that month, even though you're accountable for the full amount,” she said.

“What we did, we changed it from the $350 down to the $300. Because regardless, you're still working as a councillor throughout the month, so you still get that $300 and then for our meetings it will be the additional $65 per meeting up to a maxi-

mum of three (per month).”

Genung felt an increase at this point was justified.

“So now that we're on this type of a pay scale, is it not reasonable to suggest we get a bit of a bump because all of the COVID stuff is behind us? Same format, maybe bump our honourarium?” he asked. “How can we all sit here and say, an increase is not justified when the cost of everything is higher?”

Deputy Mayor Pickett

asked interim Chief Administrative Officer Steve Upham for advice.

“There's a variety of different ways of dealing with it,” he said. “You're better off to move up a little bit every year than defer it for six or seven years.”

The motion was passed with two opposing.

The next council meeting is slated for Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the village office.

Bruderheim Agricultural Society is celebrating 50 years & The Queens Park Unveiling

Saturday Nov 5, 2022

12:30 pm:

Queens Park Unveiling @ Queen’s Park 1 ~ 4 pm: Bruderheim Agricultural Society’s 50 Year Celebration @ Walker School

Please join us for refreshments, snacks & live entertainment.

Officials

Island Minor Hockey

Bruderheim Arenas

U15

Clinic

Joanne

assist

training

eiwrefereeinchief@gmail.com

County of Lamont Food Bank approved for two grants ahead of busy holiday season

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Two successful grant applications have volunteers at the County of Lamont Food Bank in good spirits for the upcoming holiday season.

Cenovus Energy awarded them their Cenovus Community Investment grant worth $5,000 and Enbridge approved the Enbridge Fuelling Futures grant worth $2,500.

County of Lamont Food Bank Vice Chair Jodie Conley said the two organizations notified the food bank that the grants were available earlier this year and suggested they apply.

“Cenovus and Enbridge approached us because they usually

support us and let us know these grants were available,” she said. “So we applied for them and got the good news a couple of weeks ago.”

Conley added that the extra money means the Christmas hampers will include a turkey or a chicken plus gifts this year.

“Without this money it would be strictly food, but now we can give gifts as well,” she said.

County of Lamont Food Bank Treasurer Chris Mintenko said food hamper requests are up this year and expects the number of Christmas hampers needed to go up as well.

“Our general numbers have gone up. We usually give between six and

16 hampers a week but for the last few months we have consistently been at 15 or higher,” he said. “We usually give 110 hampers at Christmas but are estimating giving 120 this year. For sure these grants could not have come at a better time.”

Minenko said last year the food bank spent $15,000 on Christmas hampers which $10,000 was covered by grants and the additional $5.000 by donations.

According to their social media page the County of Lamont Food Bank is very short of jars of jam and are looking for donations noting that they cannot accept homemade preserves.

Former Premier Stelmach adds honourary award to resume

BY JOHN MATHER

Former Premier and Lamont County resident Ed Stelmach has added another prestigious award to his resume.

He was awarded an honourary Bachelor of Business Administration by SAIT last week at their annual awards ceremonies.

Stelmach succeeded Ralph Klein to become Alberta’s thirteenth premier in 2006.

In recognition of his public service, Stelmach has been fortunate to receive various honours.  In 2007, he was made an honourary chief of the Blackfoot Confederacy and given the name of ‘Star Chief.’

The Ukrainian government awarded him the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Class III in recognition of his work in the betterment of Alberta-Ukraine relations in 2009. Stelmach continues to be heavily involved in Ukrainian humanitarian aid programs and in helping resettle Ukrainian refugees forced from their homes by the Russian insurgency.

He received the Hetman Award from the Alberta Provincial Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in 2011 and the Michael Luchkovich Award by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in 2013.

Stelmach is also a recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and the Alberta Centennial Medal.

In recognition of his

support of post-secondary education, Stelmach has been awarded an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta, an Honourary Degree of Business Administration from NAIT, and a Bachelor of Applied Business from Lakeland College.

Stelmach was invested into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2022.

$485,000.....................Pending Lamont: 3 Bdrm Bung., $169,000..........................SOLD Lamont NE: 160 Acres, 3 Bdrm Bung, quanset $700,000..........................

Lamont: 4.99 acres, older cottage, $119,000.................SOLD St. Paul: 160 acres 60 cultivated, $279,000.........Pending Gibbons: 1976 bi-level, garage $290,000.............

Former Premier and Lamont County resident Ed Stelmach is readied to receive SAIT’s honourary Bachelor of Business Administration award during the school’s annual awards ceremonies in Calgary last week.

Opinion

The Keystone Kops and the Freedom Convoy, Woe Canada

BY JOHN MATHER

I haven’t been to Ottawa for many years.

What I remember about it is that it’s a beautiful city with many historic buildings.

But after following the Public Order Inquiry Commission for the last few days, I doubt I’ll ever want to near the place again.

The commission is looking into the Freedom Convoy, which blockaded the national capital last February, and whether the Trudeau government over-reacted by invoking the Emergencies Act.

It’s not doing anything to paint the national capital in a positive light.

I’ve maintained for some time now that our national government is in all reality a clown show, but as it turns out the national capital’s police force are the Keystone Kops and the city’s municipal politicians aren’t any better than the Federal Liberals when it comes to denial and passing the buck.

The commission has been hearing from those involved for almost two weeks now, beginning with public officials and the police agencies involved.

We’re hearing that claims of violence and destruction by the protestors were false.

Pat Morris, the intelligence chief of the Ontario Provincial Police said in his testimony, he was very clear that the OPP had produced no intelligence that the protesters would be armed, describing much of the rhetoric around the protests as “hyperbole” and “sensationalized.”

Morris’s testimony also put paid to the notion that the protesters were an irrational and crazy fringe who had no good reason to be in Ottawa. On the contrary, he acknowledged the “multitude of grievances” of the protesters, whom he described as consisting of regular citizens with a “large degree of support” across the country. He saw them as a group that was “organic” and “grassroots.”

Meanwhile it surfaced that the OPP and RCMP had completely lost faith in the Ottawa Police Service by a week after the convoy arrived.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki texted the OPP Commissioner telling him the Federal government was “losing/lost confidence” in the Ottawa Police Service and warned that either the OPP or the RCMP could be asked to lead police response to the protests “if they go to the Emergency Measures Act” (the name of the previous iteration of the current Emergencies Act).

“Not something I want,” Lucki texted. She added that police had to “get to safe action” and “enforcement.”

Lucki then revealed she was texting while on a call with unnamed federal “ministers,” who she was trying to “calm down.”

“But not easy when they see cranes, structures, horses, bouncing castles in downtown Ottawa,” she added, referring to items protesters had set up on Wellington Street in front of Parliament at that point.

CONTINUED

Yep, the Liberals were scared. Meanwhile, soon to be Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre calmly went out and met with the protestors.

The Liberals cowered wherever they could find to hide out… scared witless. What nonsense.

And they invoked the Emergencies Act.

Now, the bureaucrats at the local level and the various law enforcement establishments are busily trying to lay blame at the feet of others.

No one seems to want to take responsibility for the chaos that resulted from three weeks of horn honking and blocked streets in downtown Ottawa.

But at the end of the day will Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act be determined to be an overreaction and will any punishment be meted out.

First the deputy wanna be prime minister Jagmeet Singh has said if the Act was invoked without merit and it wasn’t justified, the NDP will stand by their man, Trudeau, and not use the gross overreaction to break their deal to keep the Liberals in power until 2025.

It’s shameful on his part, but until his party rises up and throws him out of the leadership, what can Canada do?

And, since the Judge in charge of the commission is a Liberal appointee, you can imagine the fix is likely in, to allow people to moan and groan but ultimately do absolutely nothing.

In a best case scenario, the Canadian public might see Public Safety Minister Mark Mendicino or the Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair fired from their ministries.

Or even better, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki might be canned.

She along with her interference in policing matters at the behest of her political masters, is a reason for Alberta to move on with its plan to form its own provincial police force.

While the RCMP argues against such a move arguing Alberta RCMP don’t take their marching orders from Ottawa, Lucki’s interference in the Nova Scotia mass shooting investigation on behalf of the Liberals, and then in the Ottawa convoy at the Feds request, would indicate she will order the Alberta RCMP around whenever she wants.

No, there will be lots of

testimony at these hearings.

Ottawa is being seen as a very different place from the rest of Canada - one where the elite at every level want to live in their comfortable, sterile environment, and have no problems from outsiders intruding from the colonies.

Meanwhile during the past week, RCMP cruisers were torched and vandalized outside a remote B.C. hotel. These were the same RCMP who are investigating the crimes perpetrated at the Coastal Gas Link site earlier in the year where heavy equipment was destroyed and people were attacked by axe wielding assailants. An attack against a legally permitted industrial development!

Wonder if Trudeau will invoke the Emergencies Act to get to the bottom of this? Maybe bring in the army or CSIS to help find the perpetrators.

Not a chance!

It’s an attack on the oil and gas industry so Trudeau probably supports it and it happened in B.C., far removed from the elitist confines of Ottawa.

It’s getting harder and harder to be a Canadian these days when this crap continues.

Kerry Anderson

John Mather

Jana Semeniuk

Crystal Moren

CONTINUED

BY HAZEL ANAKA

Over the past year or so, I’ve hinted at a new all-consuming passion that occupies my time and energy. I’ve hinted at the difficulty and the challenges; the steep learning curve and the feeling I’ve started too late. What’s different this time is that I’m not panicking or applying undue pressure on myself to reach a certain milestone, turn a profit, or become an overnight success. I’m doing this for the love of doing. If any of those other things happen, that’s gravy.

So, let me tell you all about this and ways you can help if you choose to. In late 2019, I acted on a call to action in a fullpage ad in one of those expensive Somerset Studio publications. I registered for a yearlong course called Life Book. Here’s the 2022 pitch: “Life Book, a celebration and honouring of YOU” is a year-long mixed media art class organized by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts. Tam is joined by 31 incredible artists, crafters and healers who are all gearing up to share their art, crafting and personal growth techniques with you! With a holistic approach to creativity, self-development and healing, you’ll be creating several loose mixed media art journal pages per month which by the end of the year you will bind into a glorious journal (a Life Book)!” Right up my alley, right?

That course led to other courses, other teachers, other artists, and finally all the free content on YouTube. It also led me back to the art supplies I’d once used with joy but had since neglected. It felt like coming home.

Somewhere along the way, the interest in art journaling took a fork in the road into the world of junk journals. The appeal was instant; I was hooked. There is much debate about the term

itself (I personally think it doesn’t adequately describe what we do). In the absolute broadest sense, junk journal making means using new, used, thrifted, recycled supplies, materials, substrates, content, and decoration to make a book.

It can be done with the tools, supplies, and precision of master book makers. But more likely is done by people who’d rather eye something than use a ruler; would rather tear something than cut it; would purposely seek out the old and grungy or recreate that vintage look with tools and techniques.

The finished product/ work of art/book can be as tiny as one inch square, a traditional nine by six book, or something oversized. Its construction may consist of salvaged product packaging like cereal boxes, bits of old clothing, junk mail envelopes. It may also be the laciest, frilliest, daintiest thing you’ve ever had the thrill of holding. Or anywhere in between those extremes.

I could go on for days and perhaps I should. The average person has no understanding or appreciation for these journals. They view them with confusion and caution. Some of these books are mostly nude with very little decoration or embellishment. Others seem totally overstuffed with ephemera (bits and pieces) and interactive devices. What does it do? What am I supposed to do with it? I’m not artistic; I don’t write in a journal.

Well, for one thing, like any other artistic creation, it has worth just because exists; it doesn’t have to do anything. No one has ever asked a painting or sculpture or wood carving or crossstitched linen or song or ballet what it does. It just is. A thing of beauty and intrigue; a physical manifestation of the creator’s vision and talent. People use them as travel journals, planners, diaries, a way to chronicle their life, to collect quotations, to create their own art pieces, to hold secrets thoughts and dreams, to track big events like the birth of a baby or the

cancer treatment journey.

The greatest appeals of this book making is the chance to bring so many things I love together in one place: paint, textiles, words, images, vintage and antique bits and pieces. If you’re the kind of person who hangs onto pictures, old ticket stubs, playbills, bar coasters, matchbooks, and other goodies from your travels or your past, you get it. If you love the feel of old paper; appreciate the beauty of engravings, illustrations, and artwork in books of all ages, you get it. If you long for the simple days of your youth cutting and pasting for the sheer joy of cutting and pasting, you get it.

While I could happily play in my studio office for the rest of my days, there are ways to share what one’s doing and become part of the larger community of Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, YouTube. In all those arenas, I’ve moved slowly and with caution. I was never an early adopter or fan of Facebook. Instagram baffled me. And YouTube, forget it. It seemed a place for immature men to film dumb stunts and weirdos to espouse offthe-wall beliefs. Many have a love-hate relationship with Etsy, that international online marketplace for handmade or vintage goods. For buyers, it brings the world into your home…how else could I have purchased hundred-year-old authentic French ledgers? For sellers, it’s one fee after another and a real challenge to break through and be seen.

But, because I love a challenge, I’ve taken baby steps in all those places. I know that just because one builds it, it doesn’t mean others will come. And here’s where you can help if you’re so inclined. I’m not above asking for and accepting help. You may choose to help me because it doesn’t cost anything other than your time. Or you like me. Or you’re curious. Or you’re intrigued by what I’ve explained about this product and process and want to know more.

Algorithms make the world go around.

Placement in search results is driven by numbers, views, likes, comments, shares, subscriptions, regularity of new content, and more mysterious stuff like meta data and tags.

My handle is HazelAnakaDesign across all platforms. If you follow me on Instagram, those same posts will appear on my Facebook page. If you search YouTube for HazelAnakaDesign, you’ll now see I have several videos with more scheduled to appear. If you subscribe to my channel and watch the

videos, you’ll help bump up my numbers. If you comment and like so much the better. If you search for my Etsy shop, you may not find anything you want to buy but the search itself helps. As I begin completing and posting more journals of all sizes and price points, you may find you want to commission one for Christmas or other gift giving occasion.

Or perhaps, you have old books, documents, photos, ephemera, interesting paper, fabric that you’d love to go to a new home. So much is

dumped into landfills because people don’t think they have any other option. I’m a phone call or email away

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a couple other YouTubers (one from Alberta, the other from Montana). It instantly felt comfortable when sharing a common passion even with a stranger.

If you decide to help me, thank you in advance. If you’re not interested yourself, sharing the info with a friend or relative who might be, is also a big help. If you now understand the junk journal concept, that’s great too, from where I sit.

Lamont

The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta),

Village of Andrew Councillors elect new mayor and deputy mayor

BY JANA SEMENIUK

The Village of Andrew council members have elected their new Mayor and Deputy Mayor at their Oct. 26 organizational meeting.

Previous Deputy Mayor Merwin Haight has now become the new Mayor and councillor Tammy Pickett is now the new Deputy Mayor.

During the nomination phase for Deputy Mayor, previous Mayor Barry Goertz nominated the council’s newest member Evan Genung who declined the nomination. Both Mayor Haight and Deputy Mayor Pickett were elected unanimously.

Mayor Haight said, in a later interview, that the response he has received from residents has been positive.

“I’ve had a lot of residents congratulate me and thank us for the work we are doing. I’ve heard them say that council as a whole is

moving in the right direction,” he said. “It’s an honour to be mayor of this village.”

Meanwhile, one resident was not happy with the changes as evident by a note pinned to the village bulletin board the next day reading “Village of Andrew Residents; Attend council meetings and see what your council and the CAO are doing to our village. We need to get rid of them.” The note was left anonymously.

Mayor Haight said it’s not the first time a note like this has been left in public.

“Earlier this year the same note was posted around town on multiple bulletin boards and a few buildings throughout the village,” he said. “It’s not upsetting to me; I’m glad people are encouraging everyone to come to our meetings. Once people start attending, they will be more informed as to what is actually happen-

ing and have more than just rumours to go by.”

There were nine residents in the public gallery for the Oct. 26. council meeting.

Meanwhile, in addition to the newly elected mayor and deputy mayor, the village council also passed a motion to move council meetings from once a month to twice a month, every second and fourth Wednesday.

Mayor Haight said the current schedule of one meeting per month is not enough time.

“Some of the prior councils have had two meetings a month. We had moved to one in the immediate past council,” he said. “Some of our meetings have gone on till 11:30 at night, so I'm in favour of moving to having two meetings per month and shorten the duration of it. And that way we could have more time for public engagement.”

Mayor Haight made the motion for council meeting dates to be the second and fourth Wednesday of each month with a start time of 7 p.m. which was carried unanimously.

& F A M I L Y S O C I A L

St. Michael Community & District Ag Society

Saturday Nov 12, 2022

St. Michael Hall: Supper 5 pm - 7

Tickets: $20 Adults, $10 ages 12-7, Free 6&

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The Village of Andrew's new Mayor Merwin Haight at the Oct. 26 council meeting. Photo: Jana Semeniuk

Town of Lamont officially part of the No Stone Left Alone program

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Lamont Town Council, during their Oct. 25 council meeting, have voted in favour of joining the No Stone Left Alone program for Remembrance Day.

The NSLA program, which began in 2011, supports youth involvement in Remembrance Day by having students place a poppy on the headstones or crosses of fallen soldiers. Currently the NSLA program runs across Canada, in addition to three sites internationally.

Last year the NSLA program saw nearly 8,000 students from 88 communities place just over 67,000 poppies in 131 ceremonies according to their website.

Lamont Town Councillor Linda Sieker is the lead for Lamont’s NSLA committee this year, which includes members Gwynne Hayward, Rick Bastow, Tyler Edworthy, Dawn

Neilson and Betty Malica. Sieker said incorporating the NSLA program is a step in the right direction.

“It (is) important because of the youth engagement. A lot of older people are not going to be around forever (and) we need to get youth involved in this,” she said. “And that was the biggest thing; it was a way to engage youth (to) start to understand about Remembrance Day.”

Sieker said she has been involved in planning Remembrance Day activities in Lamont for

the past 10 years and feels motivated because of the military history in her own family.

“(My Dad) was a signalman, a World War two veteran (and) he had all the medals. I grew up in Nova Scotia, and Remembrance Day in Nova Scotia was a huge thing. My dad used to talk a lot about the war,” she said. “I think some of the happiest and the saddest times of his life were the war, because sometimes he would laugh and sometimes, he would cry.”

Sieker’s father, Wilfred

Barrett, passed away in 2005 at the age of 84.

Meanwhile, Sieker said Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) are on board and helping to arrange the Remembrance Day service.

“In Lamont, we have 26 names on the Cenotaph. FCSS are making 26 Styrofoam crosses, then we're going to have 26 children go up when their soldier’s name is called and place a poppy in the middle of the white cross,” she said. “I think it will be really nice.”

Sieker added that there is no cost to the Town of Lamont to be a member of the NSLA program, and their name will be added to an online list of communities who are participating in the program. The town of Lamont is the only community in Lamont County who is a part of the program this year.

Air monitoring station moves from County location into Lamont

BY JOHN MATHER

The Lamont County air monitoring station operated by the Fort Air Partnership will move into the Town of Lamont by the end of November. The town has had a portable air monitoring station located near the arena for the past several months.

In a release put out by the Fort Air Partnership it stated analysis of the air samples between the two stations showed very similar results. It further went on to state the in-town location will

enable FAP to better meet its monitoring objectives along with providing air quality to Lamont which had been the largest population centre within the FAP airshed with no continuous monitoring.

“Moving the Lamont continuous air monitoring station into the town helps us better meet a key monitoring objective for FAP, which is to conduct air monitoring where people live,” said Nadine Blaney, FAP’s Executive Director. “The new location also

improves overall regional air monitoring in the airshed.”

The Lamont County station is located about six kilometres from the town on a farmsite which was originally selected in 2003.

Date showed there had been no sulphur dioxide exceedance in  FAP’s air quality objectives since the station had been established.

The town location will still monitor and collect data for the same parameters as the previous county station including

sulphur dioxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide, total hydrocarbons, nonmethane hydrocarbons, methane, ozone, and particulate matter, plus weather information.

It will also continue to provide the data required to calculate a daily Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) and forecast.

The Alberta government, as a member of the Fort Air Partnership, approved the relocation.

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A row of medals awarded to Lamont Town Councillor Linda Sieker's father, Wilfred Barrett, from his service as a signalman in World War II. Linda Sieker Photo

BY JOHN MATHER

In a positive sign of support for further economic development in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, the Alberta Midland Rail Terminal located just west of Lamont was sold.

Alpenglow Rail Services Corp. and its partner Connor, Clark and Lunn Infrastructure purchased the terminal in late October, according to CC&L Infrastructure analyst Vrushabh Kamat.

“The sale was closed on Oct. 20, but it has been in the works for a year,” said Kamat. “We think it’s an attractive asset. It very similar to our other holdings.”

The corporate group operates two other short line rail terminals, VIP Rail in Sarnia, Ont. and Port Allen/Port Arthur Orange Rail on the U.S. Gulf Coast, in Texas which Kamat said offered up a variety of synergies between the operations.

“They all serve industrial customers where we think we can bring some operational value and upscaling to the operations and provide some better services to the customers in the area.”

Kamat added while the shipments from the three terminals wouldn’t necessarily overlap, all three would likely have some of the same customers at each locations which would allow bet-

Midland Rail

changes hands

ter service for them.

He added the three locations are all in strong geographic locations and the purchase puts the company into the Alberta marketplace.

The partnership between the two purchasing companies was formed in 2019. Both are privately held companies.

“We are thrilled to add AMRT to our portfolio,” said Rich Montgomery, CEO of Alpenglow. “The AMRT team has developed an exceptional business, and we look forward to continuing to drive growth in Lamont County. Having dual service to multiple Class 1 railroads provides AMRT’s customers competitive options resulting in lower transportation fees and a much larger network of origination and destination locations. We serve many of the same customers as AMRT at our other terminal locations, which provides us a unique opportunity to grow these relationships and continue to add value by expanding into this important market.”

CC&L Infrastructure President Matt O’Brien added, “Our rail business has continued to deliver strong performance throughout the turbulent market conditions we have experienced over the past three years and AMRT represents an important addition to

our growing rail investment portfolio.”

“We look forward to working alongside our partners at Alpenglow to drive further growth at AMRT and create longterm value across our broader rail business.”

Kamat said there were no immediate plans to rebrand the AMRT name.

“If that were to occur it would be further on,” he said. “Right now we’re concentrating on getting our management team on board and familiar with how things work.”

He said there is additional land at the AMRT site and down the road further expansion of the terminal may occur, but not in the immediate future.

AMRT spans 300 acres and offers customers over 1,400 railcar storage spots and a unit train capable loop track. With connections to both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways, AMRT is the only dual-served rail terminal within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.

“We definitely looked long and hard at the Industrial Heartland during our due diligence procedures,” Kamat added. “We made sure the market opportunities are there for us. We have a very favourable outlook of the Alberta area. We think there’s a lot of potential for growth and investment.”

Lamont County Economic Development manager Tom Koep was very positive on the purchase.

“We’re hoping to meet with them,” he said of the new ownership group.

“But I don’t see it having any change of impact in the County in the immediate future.”

“Right now it just means different owners,” he added.

“It’s definitely good news because they’re going from a single owner to a company with multiple operations in two countries, stated Koep. “It’s definitely not a bad thing to have this happen. I’m really happy they are getting involved.”

Christmas Hampers

MLA Report Support our local Legions, during this important time of remembrance

Greetings Friends and Neighbours!

I hope you have all had a safe and exciting Halloween. As we enter early November, I would like to offer a friendly reminder to support our local Legions and purchase a new poppy prior to Remembrance Day. It is especially important to recognize the hardships of conflict with more incoming Ukrainians currently fleeing their homes.

A topic on everyone’s mind right now is how to effectively face rising inflation. There are a few programs that the Provincial Government has initiated already to decrease the cost of living including; Fuel Tax relief, Electricity Rebates, Natural Gas Rebates, Supporting low-income students with additional bursaries, offering affordable childcare subsidies, and providing rent assistance for tenants in between jobs. Other options may be available soon including lowering overall taxes with indexing, and increasing affordable broadband internet in rural areas. For more info please visit this website: https://www.alberta.ca/affordability-programs.aspx

Constituency Achievements

I want to congratulate the City of Fort Saskatchewan on unveiling a timeframe for a new outdoor arena in the Southfort neighbourhood.  And congratulations to the Innisfree 4-H Multi Club successfully reorganizing in-person meetings this month and for the year ahead.

Upcoming Local Events

Community Futures Northeast Alberta Partnership, The Town of Bruderheim, and NE AB Food Marketers Association along with other partners is hosting an event on November 17.

Starting October 12, every Wednesday there will be a Youth Group event at the Bruderheim Youth Centre, located above the area. For more info, please call the organization at 780-895-2233

On November 13 the Myrnam Ag. Society will be hosting a Craft Trade Show and Sale at the Myrnam School Gym. As always, please feel free to reach out to my office any time at fortsaskatchewan.vegreville@assembly.ab.ca

Members of the Lamont Light Up group, Nancy Burns, Greg Huxley, and Jocelyn Harrold, hammer down guidelines Oct. 30 to hold Christmas Lights in position in preparation for the Nov 26 Light Up displays at the Lamont Town Office. The committee also states they want the community to decorate their homes and yards by Nov. 26 with either lights or linflatables. Judges will then tour the town and select the best decorated locations.

This decorated house in Mundare presented a scary scenario for the trick and treaters on Halloween with ghosts peeking from the side of the driveway while smiling pumpkins gazed out from the front hedge.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Office and paper supplies for sale at The Tofield Mercury, Weekly Review, Lamont Leader offices. If we don't have it, we can probably order it for you. Don't forget to ask about custom printing - we can do almost anything either in-house or working with our print shop.

AUCTIONS

TIMED AUCTION: Reliable Truck and Body. Closes November 7. 20940 - 107 Avenue, Edmonton. Shop Equipment, 4 Forklifts, 4 Skidoos, Pipe, Vehicles, Parts. Ed Prodaniuk Auctions. Register with Live Auctions World.

BUILDINGS FOR SALE

INTEGRITY POST FRAME BUILDINGS since 2008 BUILT WITH CONCRETE POSTS. Barns, Shops, Riding Arenas, Machine Sheds and more, sales@integritybuilt.com 1-866-974-7678 www.integritybuilt.com.

CARD OF THANKS

The Family of Ethel Leidl would like to thank everyone who reached out in their own way to help comfort and support us following her passing. Thank you to the Staff at Vialta Lodge and Viking Extendicare for your care during her stay. To the Doctors and nurses who provided excellent care. Thank you to everyone at Viking Funeral Services for your support and kindness, and to Food With Flair for the food. Thank you to everyone who sent cards, flowers, and donations in Ethel's name.

The Leidl Family

COMING EVENTS

Beginner Bridge Learn and Play Basic Bridge Sundays at 7 p.m. starting Nov 6 at Viking United Church For more info contact 780-385-0474

Viking Legion Remembrance Day Service Friday, November 11 10:30 am at Viking Community Hall. Lunch to follow. Poem, poster, essay awards handed out after.

Supper at Legion Hall. Doors open 5 p.m Please contact Elehda at 780-336-3359. Please RSVP by Monday, November 7. Seating limited.

Kinsella Annual Fall Turkey Supper Friday, November 4 at the Kinsella Community Hall Doors open at 5 p.m. $15 Adults $10 6 to 12 Under 6 FREE Everyone Welcome!

Flagstaff Scottish Club Annual General Meeting and Celebration Social. Sunday, November 13 Refreshments at 3 p.m. Meeting starts 4:30 p.m. For more information contact us at info@ flagstaffscottishclub.com

FEED AND SEED

WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN - Heated, Mixed, Tough, Light, Bugs, Spring Thrashed....Barley, Wheat, Oats, Peas, Flax, Canola. "On Farm Pickup". Westcan Feed & Grain 1-877-250-5252.

INTEGRITY POST FRAME BUILDINGS since 2008 BUILT WITH CONCRETE POSTS. Barns, Shops, Riding Arenas, Machine Sheds and more, sales@integritybuilt.com 1-866-974-7678 www.integritybuilt.com.

FOR RENT

Large, quiet, non-smoking 2 bedroom apartment in Killam. For viewing, call Chuck at 780263-7290

HEALTH

HIP/KNEE Replacement. Other medical conditions causing trouble walking or dressing? The Disability Tax Credit allows for $3,000 yearly tax credit and $30,000 lump sum refund. Take advantage of this offer. Apply NOW; quickest refund Nationwide: Expert help. 1-844-453-5372.

HELP WANTED

ROCKY MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT HIRING: AG Equipment Techs, Heavy Equipment Techs - Journeyman, Apprentices, and CVIP/Truck Techs. View Open Roles www.rockymtn.com/careers. Relocation and Signing Bonus Offered

44p

JP's Country Daycare in Daysland is hiring. Please send resumes to jpcountrydaycare@gmail.com

LAND FOR SALE

FARMLAND AND PASTURE LAND BY SASKATCHEWAN RIVER. 160 acres. Best hunting in Saskatchewan. Excellent fishing. Thick pine & poplar bluffs, by water coulee. Old yard site with power and water. Revenue Potential. East of Prince Albert, SK. $248,000. Call Doug 306-716-2671. 44/45p

3 QUARTERS OF CROPLAND South of Weyburn, SK. Distressed sale. Priced below market at 1.27 x assessment, with a 4% return with lease. $594,800.00. Call Doug at 306716-2671.

SERVICES

CRIMINAL RECORD? Why suffer employment/licensing loss? Travel/business opportunities? Be embarrassed? Think: Criminal Pardon. US entry waiver. Record purge. File destruction. Free consultation. 1-800-347-2540. www.accesslegalmjf.com. 43/45p

SERVICES

Drywall Taping/Texturing 35+ Years. No Job too small

Experienced drywall taper/texturer here to help you with any job big or small. Don't want to do it yourself, give me a call! Based in Killam but willing to travel.

Hand taper by trade but have experience with boxes, roller/flusher, taping tube. No bazooka exp. Have own tools (10-12" boxes, pump, angle box, roller, flusher, hand tools, etc.) Also do ceiling texture. Non- drinker, just want to work. Willing to work with existing taping crew. Call 780-3852106 or 780-385-1251.

Shane’s Stucco & Drywall Service Shane Hollar Stucco (Traditional & Acrylic), Drywall, Stone, Textured Ceilings, Tile and Spray Painting 780-336-4832 shanes.stucco@gmail.com

Town & Country Guardian Drugs - Killam

We have:

•a Kodak picture maker. •a colour/b&w photocopier. •cold pop and fresh snacks.

•a great selection of candles, giftware, and fragrances. toys, games,and plush animals.

•a huge selection of Hallmark cards. •plastic gift cards •vitamins, minerals, and herbals.

•free gift wrapping. •prescription service

Open 6 days a week.

Carpet and Upholstery cleaning - residential and commercial. Truck mount unit, sewer backup, and flood cleaning. Auto and RV Cleaning. Call John and Sheri at Fancy Shine Auto and Carpet Care at 780384-3087

Painting Quality Residential and Commercial Painting Betty Tkaczyk 780-632-8749 or 780-688-3564

Roy's Handyman Services. Flooring, Trim work, basement finishing, decks, fences, kitchen cabinet installs and carpentry work. Call 780-232-3097

SERVICES

Need to re-order: •Company Forms?

•Business Cards?

•Score Cards?

•Certificates? •Receipts? •Posters? •Menus? •Invitations? •Calendars? •Letterhead?

Call your local paper with your print order today!

WEEKLY REVIEW Ph. 780-336-3422 Email: vikingreview @gmail.com

TOFIELD MERCURY Ph. 780-662-4046 Email: adsmercury @gmail.com

LAMONT LEADER Ph. 780-895-2780 Email: lmtleader @gmail.com

WANTED

Wanting to buy 2 copies of the history book “Dreams and Destinies, Andrew & District”. Call Brian @ 780-896-2133

Looking to buy old walking axle field sprayer with 500 gallon tank. Don’t need the booms. 780-893-5490

WANTED SASQUATCH

SKULL - Also purchasing silver & gold coins, bars, jewelry, scrap, nuggets, sterling, 999+ Bullion, maple leafs, bulk silver, pre-1969 coins. Coin collector buying entire coin collections, old $ & Royal Canadian Mint coins. TODD 250-8643521.

BY JOHN MATHER

When Keelan Cartagena was just past learning how to walk, he donned a pair of skates and took up hockey.

And he hasn’t looked back.

The Lamont Grade 8 student first started playing in the Lamont Minor Hockey system at sixyears-old with the Lamont Hawks.

“I started off in Lamont and progressed from there,” said Cartagena. “I went through pre Novice, Novice, and Peewee so I guess I played here for four or five year.”

This year he tried out and quickly made the Premiere Hockey League Spartans U-15 team, who play out of Gibbons.

The league features teams from Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and B.C. in the form of a super league which only plays mini tournaments through the year.

Cartagena was thinking of stepping away from hockey when his father asked him if he’d like to try out for the Gibbons team. He had played with some other teams and even trained

under former defenceman of the Edmonton Oilers, Jason Strudwick in a couple of defensive camps.

“I wasn’t sure until we actually went,” he said of deciding to keep playing hockey. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play until I tried out and I was offered a spot on the team within 15 minutes.”

Playing in four games with the squad, the burly defenceman, who is 160 pounds and stands 5’6”, has picked up a single assist. He was also quickly named the captain of the team.

“It’s highly competitive,” he says of the league. “It’s full contact so there’s lots of hitting, the players know how to deke really well, and lots of puck moving.”

He states his own strengths are his backwards skating and shot blocking abilities.

All the games are mini tournaments where they play four or more games during a weekend several times a year. There are, he estimates, five or six of the mini series

throughout the club’s season.

“Everything is condensed so in some situations you might get six games in a weekend,” he added. “And every weekend we have practices.”

There is no hockey during the week, which Cartagena adds was one of the attractions that drew him to the team.

Prior to playing for the Spartans, he played for the Silverbacks, a team that played out of Fort Saskatchewan.

“The Spartans are a great team,” he stated. “I have great teammates, great coaches… everyone gets along. Even the parents are great.”

LAMONT COUNTY

• 15,000 sq. ft. Industrial shop built on 42.8 acres in Lamont County adjacent to the town of Lamont. There is an approximately 15 acres of gravelled yard with partial chain link fencing. located at 195043 HWY 29 Lamont County Price $3,175,000 or inquire about lease price

• W4-18-54-18-NW, 2 parcel farm 158.48 acres 130 ± acres of grain cultivation 3 bedroom house. Property has gas, power, well, septic with aerial discharge, Dug out and a shop. Price: $850,000

• Range Road 203 between Highway 15 and TWP Rd 552, 6.77 acre lot near Bruderheim. Good building site. Price: $160,000

• Office Building 5015 - 50 Street Chipman. 946 sq ft building with reception area, office area and washrooms. Price: $125,000

• W4-18-53-24-SW Plan 0826481 Block 2 Lot 1 5.02 acres yard site in Lamont County. Utilities at the property line. Price $49,000

• W4-18-53-26-SE N ½ Lamont County 80 acres property with a 60‘ by 40’ shop and the remainder of the land currently in hay. Price: $235,000

• W4-20-55-27-SE Plan 1023701 Block 1 Lot 1A Lamont County. 138.09 acres in the Lamont Heartland for industrial use. Located North of Highway 15 on Range Road 202. Price: $4,400,000

TWO HILLS COUNTY RECREATION LAND

• W4-12-55-27 NW 146 acres with 1/2-mile frontage on the North Saskatchewan River. HWY 29 and RR 123 50± acres of cultivation power at property Nicely treed lot for a building site. Price: $325,000

STRATHCONA COUNTY

• SW Part of NW –23 –53 –23 –W4 40.55 acres North of Highway 16 on Range Road 232 in proposed medium industrial zoning with CP rail line at the border of the property. Price: $7,200,000

• Parts of SW and SE-7-53-22 W4 located at HWY 21 and Lakeland Drive 63.62 acres of development land with HWY 21 exposure. The property is within the Bremner and local Employment Area ACP with expected future use of industrial. Price: $6,000,000

• 0.82 acre Lot located in Griffin Industrial Park in Sherwood Park. Land use designation in medium industrial Price: $325,000

Lauren HillSteven HillNorman Hill

Lamont hockey player steps up with new Gibbons team

Keelan Cartagena stands guard in front of his net, while battling oncoming opponents during action with the Gibbons Spartans recently.