Kids have festival fun

Lamont keeps running for Terry Fox

EIPS forced to deal with wild swings in projected enrollments

BY JANA SEMENIUK

Elk Island Public Schools has launched a campaign to highlight the value of public education amid declining enrolment numbers.

During a special board meeting Sept 20, the drop in numbers by 49 students was discussed.

“In looking at Sept 9. enrolment, we are seeing a decrease of 49 students from the spring budget (excluding Home Education and Next Step Outreach).

“Experience from last year has shown there will likely be a further decrease from now to September 30,” stated information in the board package.

EIPS is one of Alberta’s largest school divisions with approximately 17, 000 students in 43 schools.

Candace Cole, secretary treasurer of business services, explained during the meeting why the decrease was significant.

“Typically (enrollment) projections are done in the spring, and then we would chew them up on September 30,” she said. “However, because of COVID, there was a lot of uncertainty about the enrollment. Typically, we might see a swing of five students at a school. Here we saw a swing of 44 at one school and 22 at another, and then the biggest decrease was 17 students. So, 17 students times an allocation rate of $5,000 is a significant amount for a school to reduce in September.”

While some schools had significant decreases, others had significant increases. Ardrossan Elementary School, for example, saw an increase of 44 students.

Final enrollment numbers will not be known until Sept. 30.

Meanwhile, the Education for Everyone campaign highlighting the benefits of public education began on Sept. 14. Each month, over the course of this school year, EIPS will share the story of an individual speaking to the importance of public education and how their learning journey helped shape the trajectory of their life.

The first story shared was that of Sara Canning who graduated from Bev Facey High in 2005, went on to attain a degree from Vancouver Film School and became an actress. To date Canning, 34, has racked up more than 50 film and television credits to her name including roles in The Vampire Diaries, Smallville and Nancy Drew.

Lamont Alliance Church has fun fall festival

Nine-year-old Issa Wishloff of Lamont aims her nerf rifle at some small stuffed animals on a table at the Lamont Alliance Church fall festival Sept. 11. By hitting a certain number of targets, competitors received a treat. Despite cool, fall weather, a good sized crowd attended the afternoon event. Attendees at the Lamont Alliance Church fall festival on Sept. 11, got to play, bounce, run and jump on a large selection of inflatables. Here kids jump four to five feet onto inflatable cushions. The attraction drew a large crowd throughout the afternoon.

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Attention Producers! AgriRecovery Program

With the current drought and crop conditions and many looking for feed, Alberta Forage Industry Network has launched a new online classified site Farming the Web (IB https://farmingtheweb.ca/). This site has replaced Rope in The Web that was run through the Alberta Government. This site helps producers with buying and selling products such as feed. Current search categories are Hay, Feed, Straw & Crop; Livestock, Animals & Products; Land & Property; Equipment & Vehicles; Services & Contracting and Other. It also provides producers with Upcoming Events. If you are in the need for feed and other items, check out the site.

Phone: (587) 678-2346 . Email: info@farmingtheweb.ca

Voting Locations Voting Locations for 2021 Municipal Election

Monday, October 18, 2021 Election Day (10:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m.) Friday, October 8 & Saturday, October 9, 2021 Advance Voting Days The AgriRecovery Program is support for Livestock Producers and Beekeepers to help address the extraordinary costs due to reduced grazing capacity impacted by the long dry weather and extreme high temperatures for breeding females only. AFSC link for more information https://afsc.ca/income-stabilization/agrirecovery/ Applications will be online through AFSC Connect and should be available in early September. AFSC staff is ready to help you access what you need to do your business, your way. Call 1.877.899.2372 or email info@afsc.ca

COVID-19 Vaccinations

Division 1 - Mundare School Division 2 - Chipman Drop-In Centre Division 3 - St. Michael Seniors Lodge Division 4 - Andrew School Division 5 - Lamont Highschool Friday, October 8, 2021 2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Lamont County Admin Building 5303 - 50 Ave Lamont, AB T0B 2R0

Saturday, October 9, 2021 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Lamont County Admin Building 5303 - 50 Ave Lamont, AB T0B 2R0 All Albertans 12+ can book now to protect yourself and those around you. Once vaccinated, find out how to get your proof of vaccination record. Call 811 or visit www.alberta.ca/covid19-vaccine.aspx to book.

Lamont County pharmacies administering COVID-19 vaccines:

Lamont County Pharmacy 5122 - 50 Ave NW Lamont, AB T0B 0R0 780-579-0017

Lamont Value Drug Mart 5030 - 50 Ave Lamont, AB T0B 0R0 780-895-2411 Bruderheim Pharmacy 4901 Queen Street Bruderheim, AB T0B 0S0 780-575-3000

Guardian - Royal Care Mundare Pharmacy 5119 - 50 Street Mundare, AB T0B 3H0 780-764-3036 Andrew Pharmacy & Home Health Care 5022 - 51 St Andrew, AB T0B 0C0 780-365-3832