September 2 Lamont Leader

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Vol. 15, No. 40, Wednesday, September 2, 2020 www.LamontLeader.com

Ratepayers need to revolt says Councillor Support growing, against provincial assessment changes

BY JOHN MATHER Support is coming for Lamont County from its neighbouring communities as it fights against the four suggested proposals in the rural assessment review panel plan.

That plan could dramatically reduce county revenues from oil and gas wells, and dump it directly on to residential and non residential taxation.

At the Bruderheim Council meeting on Aug. 19, Councillor Len Falardeau brought the issue up and asked that the council write a letter of support for the County.

“I think we need to take a leadership role forward to this government to stop the silliness,” said Falardeau. “I think we should plan together with our surrounding communities to present a motion to this government.”

CAO Patty Podoborozny said the AMA was working to put together a template to give to municipalities for the rural assessment proposal.

Mayor Karl Hauch asked if they should ask for a report from Fort Saskatchewan Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong Homeniuk but Falardeau said, “She doesn’t have the stick … she would be a waste of time. What we need is to get the ratepayers on board … they need to revolt.”

He said things weren’t going very well for ratepayers.

“The province is cutting environmental, cutting education, cutting doctors,” he said. “We’re the taxpayers ... we need a plan to oppose this.”

“We can’t afford this. This time next year we’ll be absolutely broke with the policing costs on top.

“Taxpayers aren’t happy and we need to show the same thing.”

Council will wait for the AUMA template to see if that would satisfy their need for changes.

Falardeau was happy with that, but, “we have to be serious as councillors to protect our towns and counties so if

they continue being silly we can combat it.”

Podoborozny said, Aug. 31, she had received the template from the AUMA and a letter will be presented to council on Sept. 2.

I n Lamont, council will write a letter following a meeting with the c h i e f administrative officers f r o m around the region on Aug. 27, w h e r e Lamont County outlined its concerns.

“Lamont County initiated that because they wanted to make sure we knew it was an urban problem as well as a rural issue,” said Bruderheim’s Podoborozny of the meeting. “I think we knew this but they pointed out the less education tax that gets paid by the oil companies means more has to be paid by ratepayers, the less police taxes that are paid for by the oil companies then the more has to be paid by the ratepayers and so on.

“It’s a trickle effect and the small urbans don’t belong to the Rural Municipalities Association … so they just wanted to keep us updated and ensure we’re all moving on the same train.”

At Lamont’s town council meeting Aug. 25, Chief Administrative Officer

“

Christine Beveridge updated council on the rural assessment review panel and its findings.

“The provincial government says the goal of the review is to modernize the model for oil and gas properties to enhance industrial competitiveness w h i l e showing municipal viability.

T h e impact on r u r a l municipalities is sub- Falardeau stantial,” she told council.

“But there will also be an impact on urban municipalities of course.

“Many rural municipalities will be forced to increase residential and non residential taxes and therefore reduce their service levels or staff.”

Some of the smaller municipalities may have to determine their viability and they may have to amalgamate with the municipalities that surround them.

She added one of the things she was hearing was with regards to the new police funding model where there’s an impact on communities under 5,000.

“We need go tell the MLA about our concerns because as we go into our budget process this impacts all of us.

“This is a timely matter that we have to address together.”

Mayor Bill Skinner said the AUMA

The province is cutting environmental, cutting education, cutting doctors.

We’re the taxpayers... we need a plan to oppose this.

”

put out a report and had supplied a draft template which highlighted some points they felt should be included in the letter.

“After the meeting with the local CAOs we’ll see if any additional information comes out that we feel we need to include in the letter,” he told council.

Councillor Perry Koroluk asked how it would affect the town at this point.

Skinner pointed out the largest impact would be on the County of Lamont since they had the wells and pipelines in their jurisdiction, but he added if the County looked at increases to education and policing taxes the effects could be felt by the town.

“As Christine indicated there are four different levels of assessment being proposed but we won’t know the exact impact on us.”

Beveridge said the province supplied an impact report and the impact on the town of Lamont could range from $124,965 to $266,824 depending on the assessment model chosen for the first year, and increase from there.

She said the data provided was limited and those numbers were just a prediction at this point rather than an exact amount.

Councillor Perrin stated the purpose was to lower the costs for oil and gas producers and he wondered if the report showed what those savings would be.

Beveridge said she didn’t know if that information was available.

Skinner wondered if the entire council had received the material and Koroluk said he had while Perrin said he hadn’t yet.

Koroluk moved the council write a letter to the province following the meeting of the CAOs that was carried.

In an email Aug. 31, Beveridge said the mayor is currently reviewing the draft letter which will then be sent directly to our MLA.

2 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020

ANTONIUK REAL ESTATE

VACANCIES SCARCE The Bruderheim Campground has been operating at near capacity during a recent economic upswing that has made vacancies scarce in town.

Bruderheim: 160 Acres 130 cult,# 1 & 2 soil 1978 1200 sq.ft Bi-Level, 2 garages, barn in the Heartland ............................................$725,000 Chipman: 8.28 acres, 1,500 sq. ft. home, large newer garage, 2 barns, nicely treed, full kitchen in basement .......................$319,000 ....SOLD Chipman: 75 Acres of pasture w/ buffalo fence & dug out...$149,000 Chipman: 160 acres, SW of Village garage, home/out buildings .............................$389,000 ... SOLD Chipman: 1.5 storey, 4 bedroom brick house, rent effective Dec 1 of $800/ month good rental return ......................................... $69,900 Hilliard: 315 acres, well fenced, pasture, dugout ............. $570,000 Lamont: North 80 Acres, #2 Soil, in hay.................................. $230,000 Mundare: North 80 acres, #2 soil, 55 open, 25 bush............ $195,000

Mundare: 160 acres, fenced lots of bush, 1,500 sq. ft. 4 bedroom modular, a second 4 bedroom, 2 storey home, 30’x50’ quonset/barn double car garage,16’x38’ shed....... $599,000 Myrnam: 3/4 sect. land, 1,990 sq. ft. home, lots of out buildings .................................... $1,500,000 Smoky Lake: 154 acres,1,272 sq. ft. home, dbl garage............$450,000 St. Michael: 3 bedroom mobile, needs some work ... $29,000 .. SOLD St. Michael: small acreage, older home, garage ... $59,000 ........ SOLD St. Michael: 5 acres nicely treed, power on road .................. $50,000 Tofield: 80 acres, #2 soil 60 open 20 nicely treed......................$299,000 Mundare: 3.0 acres, 1989 mobile, garage................$59,000... SOLD

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Bruderheim vacancy rates

BY JANA SEMENIUK The town of Bruderheim is experiencing an upswing in its economy and the trend is not slowing down. Areas such as the local campground, Studio 6 Hotel, and the Oasis in the Heartland condo building are all at or near capacity and have been for the past few months.

“This is the fullest we have been for four years,” said Lisa Myers, manager of Oasis in the Heartland apartment building. “The area is finally recovering. We are coming alive!”

Myers’ building has been in Bruderheim for the past nine years. It contains 68 units of oneand two-bedroom suites, made unique by the fact that each one is fully furnished and pet friendly.

“We have some longterm tenants but we specialize in short term rentals, so workers, or executives that just need a place to stay for a little while,” said Myers.

“People need to rent for at least one month then they can rent week to week.”

Myers added that she first noticed more units being rented starting in February.

“It was right before COVID hit,” she said.

“It’s mostly new families coming to town.”

Myers also admits that

the viability of the condo building was becoming uncertain.

“We were really struggling and barely covering utilities,” she said.

“At one point we only had eight units rented.”

Meanwhile, the Studio 6 hotel has also been benefitting from the increase. Studio 6 first made headlines when it was built in 2016 as the largest structure of its kind in North America being built almost entirely out of sea cans at a cost of $6 million. The hotel contains 63 units.

Studio 6 manager, Donna Grekul, has been overwhelmed with the extra business.

“We were at full capacity for about a week,” she said. “But otherwise at almost full.”

Grekul said that three additional part time staff had to be hired to help in maintaining the house keeping. She added that the hotel was nearly closed once COVID came in March.

“The hotel was barely operating once COVID hit. I started back at the hotel in the beginning of June,” she said. “And it was right after that when the business really started to pick up.”

Grekul credits the Shell shutdown with the uptick in business, but recognizes that other companies have also

made use of the hotel.

“The hotel has never been this busy,” she said.

“Shell holds about half of the rooms right now, although there are three or four other companies also staying here.”

Bruderheim Mayor Karl Hauch is very excited with the increased activity in town.

“This is good news for our town’s economy at a time when it was struggling.” he said in a recent message.

Hauch added that the recent economic upswing was a direct result of the Shell Scotford Mega Turnaround at the Shell Scotford Base Plant Upgrader.

“The main contractors were all provided with information regarding accommodations in our community,” said Hauch. “Once again our community has benefited greatly from our affiliation with the Alberta Industrial Heartland.”

Hauch included that another Mega Turnaround is scheduled for 2021/2022.

Additionally, the local Bruderheim campground and the Victoria hotel are also presently at near capacity, while nearby Lamont’s Heartland Hotel has not experienced the same increase.

Ray Cossey 780-916-9025

Allen Antoniuk 780-363-2147

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The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - 3

AUMA president visits Bruderheim as part of annual summer tour

BY JOHN MATHER When Brooks Mayor Barry Morishita was elected president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association in 2017 he began a summer tradition of crossing the province to visit smaller municipalities that were members of the AUMA. On Aug. 4 he visited Bruderheim and met with a number of the town councillors and administration as well as visiting some of the attractions in the town.

“I began visiting municipalities each summer after my election as AUMA president in late 2017 because I felt it was important to continue my relationship building with colleagues and visit parts of Alberta I’d never been before,” he stated.

“The tour has helped me immensely as president because I’m more familiar with the many differences and similarities in urban municipal issues and better able to represent my municipal colleagues on the AUMA board.”

His meeting with Bruderheim officials lasted nearly three hours.

Bruderheim Chief Administrator Officer Patty Podoborozny highlighted some of the achievements of the community.

They discussed the town’s affordability compared to surrounding municipalities.

“We have people who like this town because it is affordable and a great place to raise young families,” she told him. “We do a lot for our families.

Right now we’re working on upgrading our school playground.”

She said while the Covid pandemic has hurt the town, they are weathering the storm.

She added they were proud of the fact the town has its own health clinic and they have a partnership with the Lamont Hospital to provide a doctor so the town’s seniors can see a doctor in the local community.

One of the AUMA’s concerns, Morishita told the group, was the general assumption that municipalities had accu-

mulated cash surpluses held in reserves which wasn’t true.

“That is a rumour which has moved on to the cabinet level,” he said. “We’ve told the minister the accumulated surpluses are not cash money, but money that is in assets, or earmarked for specific infrastructure projects.”

“Urbans don’t have many unrestricted reserves and we have to get that message through to both the province and industry.”

He said many don’t seem to understand that municipalities save money on an annual basis so they can pay for a major project five years down the road.

They further discussed how in the future neighbouring municipalities are going to start partnering on major projects to reduce costs.

How the AUMA can advocate for the municipalities also was discussed.

“Quite often we get provincial announcements and we haven’t had any prior warning or discussions about them,” Podoborozny stated.

“You do an amazing job,” she said, but sometimes feels more can be done.

Policing was also discussed.

Councillor George Campbell explained to Morishita how local policing was handled.

Morishita was told response time in Bruderheim was slow with police coming out from Fort Saskatchewan.

“People come from out of town and cause problems,“ explained Councillor Pat Lee. “It’s not local people.”

They further discussed how police reporting to the community was done. Morishita was interested in how well known in the community the police were.

“Do you or the residents know who the officers are patrolling the area?” he asked.

Councillor Judy Schueler said some RCMP would appear at the seniors breakfast once in a while, but they weren’t well known in the community.

Morishita went on to explain the new policing program which would see an additional 75 members and additional support staff brought in across the province to rural communities.

He said it was unclear whether any of those members were in place.

Morishita added the RCMP were to include all municipalities in their annual service plan and Podoborozny said this did happen.

He said the AUMA was concerned about how the RCMP conducted community policing across the province.

“They’ve told me the staff sergeants are to be driving community policing,” he said.

He explained in his community he knew about all the officers, when new officers arrived, how many officers were in a car, etc.

However, he pointed out, there was a detachment in his town.

He added policing was another of the topics the AUMA discussed with municipal affairs.

“Our goal is to make it better in our communities,” he said.

Councillor George Campbell pointed out the urban communities generally had good policing but rural policing was a concern.

He pointed out both Sherwood Park and the Fort Saskatchewan detachments covered the area around Bruderheim, while Two Hills and Vegreville also covered parts of Lamont County.

“It’s the rural areas that are suffering,” he said.

Morishita said all communities are now paying for policing and they can make demands for additional coverage.

Campbell added besides additional police, people had to be educated on how to make their properties safe.

Morishita went on to explain the AUMA had engaged the University of Calgary to do a study to look at what Alberta communities could look like in the future.

Continued on Page 13

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• 15,000 sq ft Industrial shop built on 42.8 acres in Lamont County adjacent to the town of Lamont. Shop was built in 2006 with drive thru bays and has 24’ clear ceilings, 16’ by 16’ doors, floor sumps, exhaust fans, tool crib, 5-ton bridge crane, 600 amp power and 1,500 sq ft of office space. Site has access to highways 29, 15, 831. There is 15 acres of gravelled yard with chain link fencing. located at 195043 HWY 29 Lamont County. Price $3,175,000 • N1/2 of NE ¼ -7-53-18-W4 71.80 acres 8.77 acres yard with chain link fence, partially gravelled, power, 4 yard lights, could be commercial use if proper permit is obtained. Balance of parcel is fenced with 5 wire and 4 wire.

35± acres of hay. Corner of HWY 16 and RR 185. Price $399,000. Seller is a licensed Realtor™ in the province of Alberta • W4-18-54-10 SW ¼ 160 acres 110± cultivated acres. RR 183 between TWP RD 540 and 542 price: $320,000 • Parcel #1 Plan: 0826846 Block 1 Lot 2 Parcel #2 Plan: 0826846 Block 1 Lot 3 156.60 acres total 145 combined cultivated acres RR 175 and TWP 544 Price: $575,000 • RR 184 and TWP RD 540 85.43 acres SOLD • Range Road 184 and Township Road 540 66.47 acres

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FARMS TOWN OF LAMONT • Price Reduced! Plan:1424641 Block 1 Lot 1 Town of Lamont Hwy 15 RR 193 77.96 acres fenced dugout 15 acres cultivated and the balance pasture.

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FARM LAND IN CHIPMAN • 359.75 acres total consisting of: SE ¼ 29-54-18-W4 121.45 acres 100± cultivated, S ½ of SW ¼ -20-54-18-W4 80 acres Hay and trees.

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STRATHCONA COUNTY HOBBY FARM • Price Reduced 53142 RGE RD 224 40.03 acres with 35 ± cultivation. 1950 built 1000 sq ft bungalow on property with large shop and various other buildings. Future local industrial zoning on property and located in Bremner concept plan. Price $1,595,000

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4 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Opinion Policing and politics should never mix Is anybody but me getting sick and tired of these destructive “protests”? On the weekend a statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald came crashing to the ground in Montreal.

Some vandals, at the end of a march to defund police, unbolted the statue and toppled it from its pedestal several feet above ground. As gravity took effect, the likeness of Sir John A’s head broke from the statue and rolled to the grass in the park. Not disrespectful enough, the vandals then spray painted the statue with graffiti.

It appeared that the police had already been defunded, because they simply stood back and watched the ruination of an expensive piece of public art. The vandals were neither stopped or arrested, and that can only happen on order from some brain-dead politician. Instead, police used a blowhorn to order the crowd to disperse.

Pretty please…

During the day, about 200 people peacefully marched in the rain under umbrellas. Organizers call their group the Coalition for the BIPOC Liberation and demand cities reduce their police budgets by 50 percent. That I would like to see, but not in Alberta.

There are presently some 70,000 police personnel in Canada with wages exceeding $5 billion. So essentially the group is asking for $2.5 billion to be redirected into mental health treatment, civilian conflict resolution services, and trauma-based emergency services.

I don’t think anyone could argue that those aren’t worthwhile goals, and a peaceful protest in Canada is a civilian’s right. But there is greater need than ever for proper policing, and essentially two things seem to occur simultaneously whenever a savage protest occurs.

First, there is often no clear distinction about whether the vandals were even one of the original protestors. A crowd becomes a mob when there is devastation of public or private property during a march to bring attention to change. Mobs lose the respect peaceful protestors gain. This particular group seems guilty by association, failing to deny the vandals weren’t part of their Coalition or even quash reports that they had prior knowledge of the plan to deface public property.

Secondly, police not arresting vandals at a protest doesn’t allow the group to separate itself from simply being a mob. It also sends a terrible signal to taxpayers, that the very things your tax dollars go into paying for can be destroyed by any tiny group of people who don’t like it.

Yes, tiny group. Metro Montreal is a city of 4.1 million people. The defund police protest involved .005 percent of the population, meaning 99.995 percent of Montreal residents didn’t have a problem with the amount being spent on policing. Doesn’t majority rule?

As for Sir John A., a petition with almost 50,000 signatures had asked for the removal of the statue because they don’t feel the first PM did enough to help indigenous communities or stop the residential school system. Although that may be true, there were 18 Prime Ministers following him who had the advantage of better knowledge coming from increasingly modern times. They too, didn’t understand the harm being done to these school children.

Although history is not perfect, and either was Sir John A. Macdonald, he led Canada for a couple of decades at a time when we had no phones, automobiles weren’t even invented, there was no railway, and Canadians had little understanding of anything other than the daily problem of survival and feeding oneself.

Kerry Anderson

COMMENTARY When the left and right hand of government don’t communicate

BY JOHN MATHER I’m not sure what we should call it.

Dome head? Dome virus?

There is definitely something wrong under the dome in the seat of the Alberta government.

The ruling party for the past several months has been doing whatever it can to alienate its rural voter base and just last week it piled it on when Premier, Jason Kenney, announced a very minor cabinet shuffle.

In announcing Tracy Allard, a Grande Prairie businesswoman as the new Minister of Municipal Affairs, he said it will be her job “to help municipalities get through the Covid crisis and to stop them from raising taxes at a time when every aspect of the economy has been hard hit.”

What????

This from the same guy that leads a government that just released recently a change in the rural assessment model that could lead to rural municipalities having no choice but to raise taxes, in some cases by up to 80 per cent, because of changes in how linear taxation is assessed.

Its a mixed message of the worst sort.

The Kenney government already had a rural battle on his hands with rural doctors and the health ministry and increased taxation for communities under 5,000 population for additional policing costs. Now add the battle on rural assessments and its impact on residential taxpayers and then Kenney announces the highest provincial budget deficit in who know how many years?

Yes, we are suffering through a pandemic and a terrible drop in world oil prices.

But this government has lost its way with its voter base.

And then on top of all the troubles, Kenney suggests there will be no raising of taxes.

What’s the dark plan here?

Does he plan to see municipalities, whether Counties, Municipal Districts, or small urban communities go bankrupt and suddenly get absorbed into other municipalities creating super sized communities?

Is there a plan coming forth from Municipal Affairs on just how these might be governed?

If you have a county with five or six divisions and a councillor from each one that’s fine. If you suddenly force that county to absorb a neighbouring county with the same number of divisions, or several small communities within the municipality to form one larger government that’s fine.

Certainly there would be costs savings as areas of duplication are eliminated. But you would have to increase the number of elected representatives on the new community. Suddenly you might has a rural municipal government with more than a dozen elected representatives.

How would that work? How could you achieve a council consensus as each elected rep fought for their own district or area.

And if you increase the amount of area then that increases the amount to be serviced by one municipality.

What’s it cost to maintain a mile of rural road?

How much additional infrastructure will have to be put in place?

Kenney, as always eyeing the bigger prize in Ottawa, hasn’t given any thought to rural Albertans.

And they’re in a fighting mood.

We need a provincial government that thinks before it comes out with conflicting plans and policies. Right now we don’t have that … or so it seems.

The vacuum is there for another party to step up to the plate.

Albertans are waiting and watching.

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The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - 5

FROM WHERE I SIT: Peer Pressure

BY HAZEL ANAKA Like every teenager under the sun, I tried smoking when I was young. I think I was sixteen which is really late by some standards. I don’t recall any undue pressure from friends but any self-respecting teen had to try smoking if only to ‘fit in.’ Problem was, I hated it: the coughing and the stinkyness. At this time, we were living in Andrew but owned an acreage at the outskirts of town.

Before my parents subdivided the property into lots, it had a small barn on it and we had a horse.

What could be smarter than getting a bunch of teenagers together to smoke in a wooden structure with hay and straw in it? Caught hell for that. Any parent with a nose can smell tobacco smoke despite those who believe otherwise. No doubt my dad had been a smoker because everyone in his generation was. All I remember was the pipe smoking. I don’t think my mom ever smoked. No one modeled smoking behaviour in our house.

I never really got into drinking either. Oh sure, I drank, underage, like every other kid. At that time, the age of majority was twenty-one. As an eighteen-year-old, I took a little too much pride in getting into the Saxony Hotel in west Edmonton to hear my uncle’s band, The Final Decision play.

Roy and I started dating when I was sixteen.

Drinking with my own peers all happened before that. When I think back to drinking moonshine with a carload of friends, I shudder. I remember one carload of us rear-ending another carload because of a cloud of gravel dust on some sideroad. I remember a crowd of people chucking their beer bottles into a lake when

someone yelled Cops!

It’s really a wonder we all survived our youth.

Reckless drinking, inexperienced drivers, no seatbelts.

Of course, not everyone survived. Roy and I attended a keg party near Willingdon. The following Monday, the local RCMP Corporal Ed Corson came into my parents’ bakery to talk to me. Were you there, he asked. You’re too young to drink. You know someone died, don’t you? He proceeded to give me a scared-straight type of talk. Talked about potential, bad decisions, stupidity. He, like the school principals of my youth (Marshall Krywaniuk and Andy Goroniuk) were all tough, no-nonsense men who could change behaviour with a simple penetrating look. They commanded and earned respect. Did Corson’s intervention into my life give me the impetus to quit drinking beer forever? How many of us did (or are still doing) things simply to fit in? I hated the taste of beer but overrode that tiny fact to be one of the crowd.

One place I didn’t cave was smoking marijuana or taking drugs. I always felt every brain cell was precious and I couldn’t afford to lose even one.

Remember that image of a pan of scrambled eggs: Your Brain on Drugs.

Somehow, I knew that decline comes soon enough with aging and the disease process. Why speed things along? Plus, I’m a chicken; at least in some situations.

So, it may come as a surprise that I had an

appointment with a “marijuana doctor” for lack of a better term. I have osteoarthritis that is visibly deforming my fingers. It’s also in other joints. The pain is not constant but I have become one of those ‘older adults’ who sometimes can’t open a jar or turn a knob or wield objects or move painfree. In other words, my quality of life is suffering.

I never considered medical marijuana until a family member had excellent results with pain management.

Again, I was a chicken. I talked to my GP who said she didn’t have enough expertise to advise me so she did a referral. Specifically, I was concerned if the medicine I take for my neurotransmitters was a contraindication.

Eventually, I met with a very laid-back doctor who talked about the differences between THC and CBD. THC makes you high which I didn’t want. He thought I could be a candidate for CBD oil for pain management.

He told me he used to spend his summers with his Gido in Mundare.

Best years of your life, I said. No, I hated it, he said. I was a city kid, there was nothing to do in town. FYI, that’s not how these nostalgia conversations usually go.

The fact he was in high school makes it understandable.

Back to the clinic. I said what about the two or three cannabis stores on every block? He laughed and said they are not supposed to be giving medical advice. For

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medicinal marijuana people should be going to a clinic like this one.

He also said the product would be cheaper because it cuts out the middle man. There’s also a three-month follow-up required by government.

Next, I met with the person who handled my registration. She handed me a brochure with a partial list of licensed producers in Canada.

Based on their experience with service, pricing, discounts, and sales, she recommended a particular company because they are quick and rea-

sonable. The product came very quickly in plain packaging by mail.

I got the ten-percent senior’s discount. It would have been cheaper had I bought more but until I know it agrees with me and does what it’s supposed to do, I’m being cautious. The dosing is based on three doses per day starting with .25 ml and working up to 2 ml in eight weeks. Swallowing the oil (as opposed to under the tongue) is supposed to lengthen the effect.

The patient is encouraged to stop the dosage

at whatever level brings them relief.

Apparently, some benefit plans even pay for the treatment. If the CBD oil works for me, I’ll stop the supplements (glucosamine-chondroitin and turmeric) I’ve been taking for years.

I’m just days into this so it’s far too soon to know if this will work.

Besides it doesn’t matter to you if it works (or doesn’t) for me. We’re all way too old to be making decisions based on peer pressure, from where I sit.

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AA Meetings Thursdays at 8:00 pm

Check out: www.lamontalliance.com

Orthodox V Parishes

Roman Catholic Church

All services 9:30am, followed by DIVINE LITURGY 10:00 am unless otherwise indicated.

Cluster of Parishes of Our Lady of Angels

September

Lamont Auxiliary Chapel Saturday Evenings 4:00 pm Our Lady of Good Counsel - Skaro 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays 8:30 am St. Michael the Archangel St. Michael 2nd and 4th Sundays 8:30 am

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6 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020

New programming will teach students of indigenous life

BY JANA SEMENIUK Nine schools, including all eight in Fort Saskatchewan and one in Bruderheim, will enjoy another way to learn about indigenous life this coming school year by way of specially designed outdoor learning spaces that were constructed at each school during the summer.

“Our hope is that eventually every school in Elk Island Public will have one of these learning spaces,” said First Nations/Metis/Inuit consultant for EIPS Cheryl Devin.

Devin explained the necessity of the spaces “Learning the plants and animals whom we share this beautiful space with can’t be taught in a classroom. We have to be outside and we have to meet the plants and meet the animals to develop a relationship with them,” she said.

Devin also explained that each learning space is different and tailored to each school’s unique story in how they relate to the land they are built upon.

“Each school went through the process of working with our Elder, Wilson Bearhead, to learn their individual history with the land they sit on and how it

relates to indigenous life,” she said.

Devin added that the Bruderheim school’s indigenous learning space contains a gathering circle of large stones near the front of the school, while other schools, such as Fort Saskatchewan Christian, constructed a special contemplative walking path to reflect their individual history.

She also explained that each school in EIPS has an indigenous teacher lead whose role is to work with the EIPS elder in helping to develop indigenous education.

Devin said the process to create the outdoor learning spaces got its start a couple of years ago with an idea from the indigenous lead teacher at Southpointe School who was looking for another way for her students to interact with indigenous learning.

“A couple of years ago, Kim Sharpe, a kindergarten and indigenous lead teacher from Southpointe School worked with our Elder, as well as with a grant from Shell, to create the first beautiful outdoor gathering space,” she said. “Shell was very impressed with what she did and suggested another community

grant that the school board was welcome to apply for in order to construct more of these spaces.”

Devin went on to explain that the school board was successful last Dec. in acquiring the $57,000 Sustainability Grant to Support Neighbouring Communities from Shell Canada in order to construct the outdoor learning spaces at other schools in the area.

“Once we got approval for the grant, we reached out to all of the schools to have them start the process of working with our Elder to develop each of the spaces,” she said. “To fit the parameters of the grant application we could only create these spaces in Fort Saskatchewan and Bruderheim.”

In terms of the spaces working with COVID 19 restrictions for schools, Devin stated that the restrictions will have minimal impact on how the spaces are used.

“We know that being outdoors minimizes the risk, so the spaces might be more in demand,” she said.

Although Bruderheim’s outdoor learning space contains a gathering circle of large stones

An indigenous learning space made up of a gathering circle of stones was constructed outside of Bruderhiem School over the summer. This is one of nine spaces created at every school in Fort Saskatchewan, and Bruderheim to facilitate indigenous education. The outdoor learning spaces were made possible by way of a $57 000 Sustainability Grant to Support Neighbouring Communities from Shell Canada. that are set close together, Devin explained that the stones were not meant to be used for students to sit on.

“There is a significance to how many stones are there and where they are placed,” said Devin.

“The stones aren’t meant to be a seat. They can be used that way but that’s not their design. The spaces are not simply to take a classroom and put it outside. The spaces are to take students to and learn from the land.”

Devin also explained that these outdoor learning spaces are just the foundation of a greater vision they hope to achieve.

“We hope to continue add on to these spaces as we can. Definitely more

to come!” she said. “We are hoping to apply for more grant funding in

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8 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020

FINALLY BACK TO SCHOOL TIME FOR STUDENTS

Left, a mom walks her young daughter into her first day of school at Lamont Elementary on Sept. 1. Face masks are mandatory for all staff and students from kindergarten to grade 12. Right, a highschool student arrives for her first day at Lamont High on Sept. 1 wearing her mandated face mask.

Online survey gets a 10% response

BY JANA SEMENIUK An online survey, currently being conducted by the Town of Lamont, has so far garnered 62 responses.

“We’ve had responses from 54 residents and eight businesses,” said Lamont Chief Administrative officer Christine Beveridge during the Aug. 25 council meeting.

“So, from about 10 per cent of our households.

We are pretty happy with the participation so far.”

The online survey is part of their public participation plan to help prepare the town budget for 2021. Originally the

timeframe for the survey was much smaller.

“We adjusted the dates of the survey so it happens over the summer.

We are hoping to get as much public engagement as possible,” said Beveridge during the July 14 Lamont town council meeting.

As stated on their website, town administration wants to include residents’ spending priorities in helping to shape the budget.

The survey takes approximately five to ten minutes to complete and is available online between July 17 and Sept. 11.

Lamont and Bruderheim happy to get stimulus funding for projects

BY JOHN MATHER Two Lamont County communities are receiving special funding under the provincial municipal stimulus plan and must now quickly decide how to spend it in order to receive provincial approval on the projects.

“It’s so awesome,” exclaimed Bruderheim Chief Administrative

Officer Patty Podoborozny. “We’ve ended up getting $165,000.”

She said it was “shovel ready money” which was handed out by the province to stimulate the economy during the pandemic.

“The large cities got a significant amount for repairs to bridges and for transit,” she explained.

“The smaller communities were put together and received a base amount and then additional funding based on the federal gas tax fund model.

“The total cost of the funding amounted to $500 million on an allocation based program similar to the Municipal Sustainability Initiative.

The objective accord-

ing to a government fact sheets were to sustain and create local jobs; enhance provincial competitiveness and productivity; position communities to participate in future economic growth; and to rescue municipal red-tape to promote jobcreating private sector investment.

Any project undertaken with the funding

must be started in 2020 or 2021 and all funds must be spent before Dec. 31, 2021. or repaid to the province.

“I’m going to council this week with a list of projects and we have until October 31 to submit to the government and then they will approve or deny the project.”

In Lamont, Chief

Administrative Officer Christine Beveridge said the town will receive $210,874.

“We have not established a project yet for this program,” she said.

“We’re currently reviewing the guidelines to determine what projects to consider that meet the criteria.”

20091AA3

The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - 9

10 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Lamont school board trustee elected Vice Chair of EIPS

BY JANA SEMENIUK Elk Island Public Schools board of trustees have formally elected, by acclamation, Trina Boymook as Board Chair, and Colleen Holowaychuk as ViceChair during their recent board meeting Aug. 27.

Boymook, who has served as the BoardChair for the past eight terms, is looking forward to another term on the board of trustees.

“I’m honoured to be re-elected and want to thank my fellow trustees for their support as we

focus on a return to learning after almost six months,” said Boymook.

“Over the coming year, as we work through the school re-entry, our focus will remain on the growth and success for all students.”

Boymook also represents residents in urban Sherwood Park.

In her fifth term as Vice-Chair for the board of trustees since being first elected as a trustee in 2010, Holowaychuk feels honoured to be in her role and takes her responsibility seriously.

“It’s a great privilege to be re-elected ViceChair,” says Holowaychuk. “We have a lot of work to do to ensure the transition back to school is smooth and learning continues to take place in the safest way possible. It’s a responsibility the Board takes seriously and trustees will work closely with administration to achieve that end.”

Holowaychuk also currently represents EIPS schools in the Lamont County area including Andrew,

Bruderheim, Lamont and Mundare.

EIPS has a nine-member Board representing approximately 17,4000 students and their families in Sherwood Park, the City of Fort Saskatchewan, the Town of Vegreville, Strathcona County, Lamont County and the western portion of the County of Minburn. Trustees meet as a Board and on committees on a regular basis throughout the year to ensure students receive the best education possible.

Elk Island Public School board trustee Colleen Holowaychuk (L) was recently elected by acclamation to Vice-Chair as well as trustee Trina Boymook (R) was also elected by acclamation to Board Chair to the EIPS Board of Trustees for the 2020/2021 school year.

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Lamont County Reeve David Diduck made a presentation of $1,000 to the Friends of the Lamont Elementary School Society, outside the County building Aug. 11, for the rebuilding and upgrading of the school’s playgrounds. Accepting the cheque are society members Delane Zacharko and Allison Cossey.

Anonymous letter policy created for Town of Lamont

BY JANA SEMENIUK A new policy to manage anonymous letters of complaint received by the Town of Lamont administration was created and passed during a recent town council meeting in Lamont.

The policy was created by first researching what other municipalities do with their anonymous complaints and then it was crafted by Lamont town administration before being brought forward to council members.

The policy was initiated in response to an anonymous letter that was sent by postal mail to each member of council as well as The Lamont Leader in mid-June. The letter was riddled with criticisms of town administration including excessive spending on staff, unanswered calls to the town office, as well

as personal shopping during working hours.

While council was discussing the policy during their Aug. 25 council meeting, councillor Perry Koroluk indicated that he was not clear on why the policy needed to be created as well as what it was intended to do.

“I don’t understand what the premise of this is,” he said. “So, nobody can make a complaint anonymously? Is that the premise of this? And that is why?”

Mayor Bill Skinner explained the reasoning behind the policy.

“We are not going to jump every time someone has a complaint when there is no one to respond to,” he said.

“There would be no way to ask for clarification and no way to get feedback to them.”

Koroluk defended

those that might want to complain anonymously.

“I understand that if it’s anonymous we can’t get back to anybody,” he said “But there’s a lot of people who don’t want to put their name out there who have particular issues and they should be taken care of.”

Skinner held on to his explanation.

“They need to go through the proper channels,” he said. “You don’t want people thinking they can just go to Perry Koroluk and he can fix it.”

Councillor Kirk Perrin further echoed Skinner’s statement “An anonymous complaint is simply information and not actionable,” he said.

Skinner then added that if administration sees something in the complaint that needs to be followed up on, then

they would pass the information along to council members.

“I just don’t want any complaints to be ignored,” stated Koroluk during a phone conversation Aug. 31. “We are here to serve the people.”

The policy was voted in with Koroluk as the only opponent.

The new policy states that once an anonymous complaint is received, the Chief Administrative Officer, Christine Beveridge, will be notified and, if the complaint is of public safety, may be investigated. The complaint, however, will not be placed on the council agenda and will not be acknowledged.

In addition, The Lamont Leader does not publish anonymous letters.

71%

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PRINTED C COMMUNITY OMMUNITY NEW SP PA APE NEWSPAPER APER each week

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The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - 11

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12 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020

From the files of The Lamont Leader Nov. 29, 2005

Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Night & Harvest Dance Close to 175 people supported Lamont Minor Hockey by attending the Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Night in November of 2005. In these Leader photos by Tracy Wytrykush, the crowd was yuking it up as comedians crashed the party. The night of laughter included a dinner followed by a dance and live auction.

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The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - 13

AUMA president Continued from Page 3 “We expect it to launch in September and we’ve invited both the Rural Municipalities Association and the province to participate,” he said.

He added the AUMA convention this year would be 100 per cent virtual due to the pandemic but it meant a reduced cost and he hoped all municipal councillors would be able to participate.

Morishita explained holding meetings with the communities across the province is very beneficial to him when he meets with cabinet ministers, “It’s helps when I meet with a minister and I can refer to a specific issue from a community rather than speaking in generalities.”

They further discussed whether the Rural Municipalities Association and the AUMA would ever merge.

Podoborozny said being a small municipality supported in a great part by the surrounding agricultural base, having access to the RMA would be nice.

Morishita said it would be nice, but it isn’t something he sees happening in the near future.

He did say they do communicate with each other quite a bit. He added the AUMA does a good job of balancing its membership with good representation on the board from the small communities where they were able to be heard despite the large municipalities of Edmonton and Calgary also being on the board.

“Everyone has a role to play,” he said “And all our communities are treated equally and

everyone’s priorities are important.”

He did say competitive grants were tough for small communities and that was another issue the AUMA was working to address.

“When you talk about allocational funding, I think assessment has to be part of the consideration,” said Podoborozny and Morishita agreed.

Podoborozny said Bruderheim was a very diverse community and the council was a good mix of new residents and long-time residents.

“They don’t give themselves enough credit, but they’ve done a great job,” she said.

She spoke of the business incubator centre, the community park and other projects that were all community driven.

“Our clinic is really unique,” she said. “We are able to attract young families.”

“We take our collective

experiences,” said Campbell. “And we build on them to make our community better.”

“This community has always looked forward.

We’ve never looked at the dust behind us.”

Podoborozny said she

felt the AUMA did a great job representing the communities across the province and said she didn’t know what the communities would do without the association to advocate on their behalf.

Alberta Urban Municipalities Association president Barry Morishita talks with Bruderheim Chief Administrative Officer Patty Podoborozny after visiting the youth centre in the upstairs of the town arena, Aug. 4. Morishita visits a number of Alberta communities during the summer months to gather insights to help him better do his job as president. Also in the photo is Bruderheim Councillor Pat Lee.

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The family of the late Norman Scharf would like to acknowledge and thank all the friends and family who attended Norman's funeral.

A special thank you to Carol Rurka for presenting the eulogy, Clayton Maurer for his tribute, A Cappella Catering for the reception lunch, those who gave memorials, donations, cards and flowers.

Thanks to the Tofield Hotel for their hospitality after the funeral.

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Michelle Shewchuk and family.

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14 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Elk Island Park reopens to overcrowding, 42,000 more guests than 2019

BY JOHN MATHER Elk Island closed down due to the pandemic in March and then gradually reopened in June.

Since then the park has been overwhelmed with visitors to such an extent, park officials are suggesting people maybe

come later into the fall to visit the park.

“We’re seeing long lineups and visitors are facing traffic delays and parking issues,” said Park superintendent Dale Kirkland.

He pointed out in some cases the number of vehicles in the park

The boardwalk extending out into Astotin Lake at Elk Island National Park remains closed because of flooding recently. Park officials state since reopening the park in June, it has been overwhelmed by visitors.

Park officials suggest more people try to make weekday visits to the park or wait to visit until the fall when the colours are changing. Photo by Crystal Moren.

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are more than the number of parking spaces available.

Since its reopening, Kirkland said the park has attracted close to 216,000 guests, up more than 42,000 over the same period in 2019.

The park is home to many species of wildlife including bison, elk, and moose and more than 200 species of birds. It also has a diverse variety of landscapes of forest, lakes, wetlands and grasslands.

Kirkland feels one of the attractions of the park right now is the public needing to experience the outdoors after being closed up for several months during the pandemic.

“Being in nature provides a very important physical and mental health benefit,” he stated. “Getting outdoors at Elk Island is a great way to maintain health and wellness and get fresh air.”

But the desire to enjoy the great outdoors, he

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said, has come with a price.

He stated portable washrooms have been rented to ease the pressure on the park’s plumbing system and littering has become an issue within the park boundaries.

“Leaving waste and

garbage puts visitors and wildlife at risk,” he said.

As the Labour Day weekend approaches, Kirkland suggests visitors planning a trip to the park pre-plan before entering the park. He suggests they avoid peak times, and have an option available in the

event the park is full.

He also adds to bring hand sanitizer and water safety gear.

Park officials add that Elk Island National Park is a wonderful place to visit on weekdays and all seasons can make for memorable experiences.

These blanket classified ads are produced through a joint agreement by The Community Press, Viking Weekly Review, Lamont Leader, Tofield Mercury and Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association (AWNA). These ads appear in all AWNA member papers (120 papers) for the cost of $269.00 (+gst) for the first 25 words, $8.00 per word over 25. To place a blanket classified, call a CARIBOU PUBLISHING representative at 780-385-6693 or email ads@thecommunitypress.com.

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HEALTH HEALTH

As sunset reflects on Astotin Lake, at Elk Island National Park recently, a pair of kayaks are at rest on the sandy shore. Meanwhile a gaggle of geese swim along the beachfront. Photo by Crystal Moren.

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The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - 15

16 - The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, September 2, 2020