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- Your onlY locallY owned newspaper • serving the cnp since 1930 • december 18, 2019 ~ vol. 89 no. 51 $1.00
9 1 0 2 mas t s i Chr eeter Gr side in 12 Days of Christmas
Lisa Sygutek photo
The first ever 12 Days of Christmas Fundraiser at CCHS was a major success. After many donations from individuals and organizations, the first year initiative raised $5756.85 which will provide 30 students with stockings at the high school this Christmas. The stockings include $20 Tim Hortons cards, $20 Subway cards, $25 Chris’ Restaurant cards, $30 Red Apple gift cards, $30 Coleman Remedy’s cards, $50 American Eagle cards, a dental hygiene package and chocolates.
2 – Crowsnest PAss HerALD – Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Crowsnest Municipal Council Briefs pass community
pool Society
AGM
Tuedsay, January 27 6:00 p.m. Municipal Council Chambers 8502, 19th Ave., Coleman
Thank You
Holy Trinity Fundraising Committee with the Crowsnest Pass Health Foundation and the Red Ravens Performing Arts Society extend sincere thanks and appreciation to all who contributed and supported “Hollywood comes to the Mountains” event. A very successful evening made possible by performers and individuals who created 34 beautiful Christmas wreathes rounded out the evening. Last but not least our deep gratitude and thanks to Lisa Sygutek and the Pass Herald for their generous support of this event.
Thank You It is with heart felt gratitude we give thanks to everyone who assisted us with the search for Derrick Robinson. Your support and encouragement during that time meant more than words can express. Thank you to everyone that put up posters, and the business’s that allowed it. Thank you to the Pass Herald and Real Country Radio and other local organizations for posting the information on their websites and to Real Country Radio again and Lethbridge CTV for announcing it live on their stations. This was instrumental in helping us spread the word to find Derrick. Thank you to all of you who showed up to physically search for Derrick and to all of you who took the time to check where we couldn’t. Thank you to Lethbridge Search & Rescue for going to Pincher Creek, finding him and bringing him home. Words again can not express our gratitude. Thank you to Fantin’s Funeral Chapel for the care and honour you gave to Derrick for his final farewell, my son could not have received better care. Thank you to the Coleman Legion for hosting the luncheon, and to the ladies that helped, your time and efforts are appreciated. Thank you to Dave at Leo’s Pub in Pincher Creek who hosted the Celebration of Life. Thank you everyone, who sent flowers, food, gift certificates, cards, cash donations and for the many condolences we received, these were helpful and gave some comfort in our time of need. Thank you to those who donated your time and efforts to ease the burden of our family at this difficult time. Know that we appreciate everything and anything that you all did. You all showed once more, how communities can come together when one of our own need it. Again, words can not express our gratitude. ~ Dawn Macpherson, Lance Ransome & Family
DAviD SelleS
Pass Herald Reporter
The following topics were discussed at the Tuesday, December 10th council meeting. Affordable Rental Housing Bruce Nimmo of Pathmore Homes provided council with information regarding how they can create affordable rental housing in the Crowsnest Pass with no out of pocket cost to the Municipality. His presentation was a starting point for council to look at ways to move forward with this idea. One of the talking points was to try to use unutilized serviced municipally owned sites like 19th Avenue below the Sports Complex in Coleman and 19th Ave in Blairmore between 124 and 126 streets. After a couple of questions of clarification, council decided to continue this discussion in the new year. Fortis Community Grant Council was asked to determine where they would like this year’s $5,000 donation from Fortis to be allocated. The history of these
yearly donations come from a sponsorship agreement between the municipality and Fortis where Fortis indicated their plan was to donate $5,000 annually to the municipality over a five year period from 2016 to 2020 as long as the funds would be used in areas that align with a priority for Fortis. This year’s discussion included using the money for a sidewalk and street crossing near York Creek Lodge as council says it’s currently difficult and unsafe for seniors to cross the street there. After some discussion, Councillor Filipuzzi asked if Administration would be able to check with Fortis to see if this year’s donation could be combined with the 2020 donation to help cover the cost of these additions. After Councillor Filipuzzi asked for that, Councillor Lundy made a motion that this discussion be brought back at a future council meeting and the motion was carried. Cannabis Bylaw Bylaw 1037, 2019 – Land Use Bylaw Amend-
ment – Cannabis Retail Sales and Public Park or Recreation Use Definition Amendment. Council was presented with some proposed amendments to the bylaw. In addition to the recommended removal of the separation distances from Liquor Stores, Public Park(s) and Recreation Use areas presented at First Reading, Administration is also recommending the removal of the separation distance from Public Recreation Facilities. As Retail Cannabis uses are only permitted within the Cannabis Retail Commercial (C-4) district, all new cannabis-related uses must go through a Council approved re-designation process. Through this process, Council can apply separation distance criteria on a case-by-case basis and has full discretion over when and where these uses can be located. During discussion, Councillor Ward brought up that since council will have the ultimate say regarding re-designation, he feels that council shouldn’t get too caught
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up in trying to make the perfect bylaw that solves every situation when council has the ultimate say anyway. After further discussion, Councillor Sygutek made a motion that council remove public recreation facilities from the separation distance and the motion was carried. Resource Extraction Boundary Discussion Mayor Painter asked that council consider creating a bylaw that would limit where extraction of resources could take place in the Crowsnest Pass. “I would like to see a buffer zone to residential or built up areas. I know other communities have a bylaw limiting this type of activity. I would like council to think about this and see a bylaw put in place relatively quickly. I’m going to say 1km so that it's back far enough that it's not deterring from the beauty of our community.” After some discussion, Councillor Sygutek made a motion that administration look into the creation of a resource extraction boundary bylaw to see if it's feasible and the motion was carried. Council Workshop with Dave Wilkes, Mayor of Sparwood Councillor Sygutek made a motion that administration organizes, at Dave Wilkes’ and council's earliest availability, a workshop here in the Crowsnest Pass. The workshop would help council know more about what does and doesn't work regarding mines in the area as Mayor Wilkes has dealt with those types of things over his time as mayor of Sparwood. Power lines Installation Bylaw Discussion Mayor Painter also asked council to consider creating a new bylaw regarding power lines. "This is another bylaw that I hope we can agree on. I would like to see us discuss and put in place a bylaw that if there is going to be any new builds of power lines or renovations on our electrical system that we make it mandatory that they be buried. It would get rid of unsightly poles along our thoroughfares and through our community and clean things up." After brief discussion, Councillor Ward made a motion to bring this back for further discussion and the motion was carried.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 - Crowsnest PAss herAlD - 3
In the lIne of fIre
~ rCMP news ~
cle was towed. Found Found bikes turned into Crowsnest Pass Bylaw
For the week of December 10 to December 16, RCMP responded to a total of 36 calls for service. One (1) assault, one (1) threat/harassment, one (1) theft, one (1) impaired driving, three (3) other provincial statutes, five (5) driving complaints, ten (10) motor vehicle collisions, five (5) assistance to general public, five (5) suspicious occurrences, three (3) assistance to other agencies and one (1) municipal bylaw. Male Charged On December 3rd, 2019, a 23-year-old male received 279 days gaol for charges of assault, theft, possession of stolen property and breach of conditions. On December 9th, he received an additional
45 days gaol for assault. Motor Vehicle collision On December 10th, 2019, at approximately 4:30am on highway 3 west of Coleman, there was a report of a single vehicle motor collision. A 39-yearold female from Lethbridge was charged with no insurance and no registration. She was also arrested for outstanding warrants from Lethbridge Police Service. Traffic Stop On December 12th, 2019, at approximately 12:30am, a traffic stop occurred on highway 3 in Blairmore. A 61-year-old female was arrested and charged with impaired driving. She was released on documents for Pincher Creek Court and the vehi-
Be aware of new scam. Victims get a phone call from someone pretending to be from Service Canada or another government agency, saying their social insurance number (SIN) has been blocked, compromised or suspended. The call might be one of the latests variations on caller ID in which fraudsters disguises the number seen on the ID display in order to trick victims into answering the phone. The person will ask for SIN and other personal info, such as date of birth, address, etc. Victims who provide personal info are at risk of identity fraud. Anyone with information regarding any crime is urged to contact the Crowsnest Pass RCMP Detachment at 403562-2867, or Crimestop-
pers to remain anonymous at 1-800-422-TIPS. Reminder to residents of computer scams, credit card scams, Grandparent scams, Revenue Canada scams asking for money or cash cards and saying warrants out for arrest, do not give out personal information to people you don't know. DO NOT OPEN EMAILS if you are suspicious of its origin. do NOT purchase gift cards for payment to Revenue Canada. Do not send money to person claiming you have won a prize and need to send money for delivery. Crime mapping is available online to residents who are interested can login online at Municipality of Crowsnest Pass website (RCMP crime map for Crowsnest Pass) . Crime mapping shows property crimes that occurred within the past two weeks in our area.
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I was seventeen when I celebrated my first Christmas. In Israel I saw many historical churches but no outward sign of Christmas. The majority were Jews and Muslims and we the minority Christians didn’t say Merry Christmas. No-one stopped us, but it was not the thing to do. It didn’t feel right to wish people a happy holiday that they didn’t celebrate. When I arrived in Canada, I looked forward to seeing what Christmas would be like. There were cards, songs, decorations and mountains of consumer goods in malls and huge stores. Newly-made friends took me to a mall and the first thing I noticed was people carrying loads of purchases to their cars in the parking lot. I went to midnight mass in a Cathedral downtown and it was full of well-dressed people but much fewer than those I saw in the malls. Both shoppers and worshippers wished each other Merry Christmas. I remember being puzzled by people saying that they are waiting for the coming of the Lord when nobody was really coming. He came according to the story 2000 years ago. As the years went by I realized that being in a Christian dominated country didn’t mean that people acted more Christian than the Muslims and Jews which I grew up with. Here the emphasis was on anything but Christianity. A lot of talk about a virgin which I am sure that the mother of Christ would not have wanted to be mentioned. Women are shy about those things. The wise magi from Asia became kings with rich gifts and we gave a lot of attention to a decorated tree. In Bethlehem, there are hardly any trees. The other prominent figure was old Santa Claus that I couldn’t associate with the celebration. To be honest, I expected a culture that focuses on the teachings of the originator of the Christian faith but heard hardly any mention of it. The Christians were more concerned about what to give and receive on the celestial celebration than basing life’s decisions upon Christian values. I heard a lot more about abortions and gay-bashing (it was the sixties) than about forgiving or sharing. I concluded that in my childhood I was removed from Christian values and imagined something by Avner Perl other than the truth. To add insult to injury, I was told that we celebrate the birth of our Lord at a time dictated by older shamanic religions and has no basis in the Christian faith. The years went by and I adjusted my attitude. Christmas became a time for family get-togethers marked by huge deficits in the family budget. Shopping was the big event and every organization claiming to do charitable or religious work expected donations. Eventually, the focal point changed and people began to be concerned with other religions restricting our ability to express our faith openly but we never really tried. We wanted everyone to say “Merry Christmas” but not mention the basic tenants of our beliefs. Now every year the argument pops up. Should we wish everyone Merry Christmas or a more inclusive Happy Holiday? The Muslims, Jews and even Atheists have no problem wishing me Merry Christmas. It’s the Christians who complain. A poor Jewish Rabi in a tiny country started a religion based on love and a belief that we are sons and daughters of the creator. All that the Father has is mine, he said, and through me it’s yours. He also said that love is the first commandment. In his teachings, we learn that people can redeem themselves from mistakes by correcting their ways. Pretty simple and straightforward. The rest is our inventions. It is not wrong for others to believe whatever they want or are born into. It is right for a Christian to wish them the same as what they wish us. We do not base our faith upon the power to subjugate others. If the others do wrong to Christians living amongst them, we may fight for justice. We do not, however, lower ourselves and give up our teachings because of others and their actions. People find discussing love, Christianity and related items boring, corny and useless. A lot of folks don’t discuss politics and religion. Yet they are overly enthusiastic about professional sports, entertainment, games, travelling, and romance. However, they do get involved in defending their group from other groups. It is common to see hate portrayed against minorities or even people in our own country. I am used to hearing abuse hurled at Easterners, Liberals, Quebecers, Muslims, Jews, First Nations and people from countries where the populations are mostly of darker complexion. I think that as Christians we should attend to eliminating prejudices before trying to force others to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. It’s easy to criticize others from the safety of power. The Lord is coming as soon as those who call him Lord will quit saying that they believe him and begin having faith. They will not need robes, suits and gold decorations hung upon their bodies and surroundings nor plastic trees with blinking lights, only the simple faith that can move mountains. That is when the blind will see and the deaf will hear. Those who do, should not fear the pain of death which will not come. He took it. As my favourite professor used to say, Happy Solstice Festivities everybody, and may our works not our words prove that we are Christians.
The Simple Raven’s Post
Christmas Holiday?
Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/ Feel free to check other articles and comment.