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Indoor Soccer Up And Running

Angela Mouly Reporter

The Vermilion Soccer Association (VSA) kicked off their first season of indoor soccer with a practice on November 14. The club has been active for approxi mately 40 years and operates with 240 players in the summer, and so far have approximately 40 children registered for their winter program.

President of the VSA, Gordon Barrett, said soccer is such a great sport and he would encourage children to participate because of the cardio, teamwork, dexter ity, and skills that a person can gain.

“Practice through the winter is so bene ficial because it allows the opportunity to build on technical skills; both individual and team skills in terms of playing as part of a cohesive group. In our district many of the associations we compete with have well established winter programs and are leaving us behind (they are more advanced because of it). Having an indoor season will allow children and parents the ability to keep in touch with the game,” said Barrett.

Because of the condensed space, he

said indoor soccer is more technical than outdoor soccer. He said it allows people to witness the beauty of the sport because it forces participants to learn tight knit passing instead of just running around a player in a large, open space. For now the season will consist mainly of practices and scrimmages, but being in its infancy he hopes it will evolve quickly to become more competitive.

As part of their preparation for next year, they will also be assisting with coaches’ development.

“Next season Alberta Soccer will be pushing the Standards for Quality Soccer (SQS) to create a benchmark of appropri ate level of coaching. They set the mini mum to adhere to in order to get through online training, and our indoor season will help facilitate that for local coaches,” said Barrett.

Many fans are watching as the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 began Novem ber 20. Canada is competing for the first time in 36 years and will have their first match on November 23. Even in the midst of a Canadian winter, the excitement has sparked new fuel and love for the sport in

young players across the country. Accord ing to Scoop Canada, soccer remained the most played team sport with 767,000 youth players in 2018.

Made famous around the world, Barrett said it remains popular because it doesn’t require much equipment. Being held at Vermilion Elementary and J.R. Robson Schools, children any age can partici pate and will only require indoor shoes and water. He said they are tremendously

thankful to the schools and volunteers for being willing to put this season together, allowing children the opportunity to have fun and provide a chance to run, learn and make new friends.

The season will run until February but there are only a couple days left to register before November 24. The VSA is currently developing a new website, so for more information or to registration, you can call Gordon Barrett at 587-217-1995.

Photo submitted

Angela Mouly Reporter

The Vermilion Town Council discussed snow removal, distribu tion of their newsletter, and support for a new potential HUB project in the region during their meeting on November 15.

CAO, Kevin Lucas said that Alberta HUB is moving forward with a Biomass Designated Zone Project and was looking for a letter of support from the Town of Vermilion.

“The Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Initiative is a certification and regional risk rating program that enables economic devel opment agencies and communities to effectively and credibly disclose feedstock-related risks and promote biobased development opportunities to developers and investors around the world,” said Lucas. “The goal of the BDO Zone Initiative is to cata lyze biobased investment, decrease GHG emissions, minimize develop ment risk for new biobased manu facturing plants in low-income rural and urban areas, and thereby create jobs in economically disadvantaged communities across Canada. They will do this by awarding 100 regions with BDO Zone designations over the next four years.”

Manager of Economic Devel opment, Mary Lee Prior said that Ecostrat (the company from Toronto) applied for a $100,000 grant from the Clean Fuel Fund to cover all of the project costs, so there would be no cost to Alberta HUB or individual communities.

“They had to identify wood, barley, oats etc., but this study will be done on wheat waste. Myrnam will be the centre of the project within a 150km

Town Council

villages and municipalities in the HUB region, Bob tried to pick a commu nity in the centre of the wheat area. This allo ws us to include the M.D. of Wainwright and the County of Minburn creating an area with more wheat production. With Myrnam being the hub for the 150km radius, it doesn’t mean any manufacturing will go there, but within the region. This will use unused wheat waste and bring possible manufactures to our area that would use that waste.”

The motion for the letter of support was carried and Mayor Greg Thrond son said, “It sounds like a wonderful project for our area, and if it brings more business that is fantastic.”

He also brought the Talk of the Town newsletter back for discus sion as it had been brought up two months ago, but he said there were still quite a few citizens who were not receiving the information.

“We are here to fulfill everyone in this town. We have to approach this mainly for the seniors and those who do not have internet or Ipads. For the people that don’t have, we need to do it a different way,” said Thrond son.

Councillor Snow suggested a sign up option where if people wanted a paper copy they could sign up, and councillor Whitlock suggested open ing it up to the community and asked

the public to provide some options on how they can work this out. Mary Lee Prior noted the easiest way to reduce the number of pages printed and the cost from 14 to 2-4 would be to remove the photos from what is currently distributed online.

Council and administration had received several comments on the snow removal at the beginning of the season, and chose to address it publicly with the largest issue being currently understaffed in Public Works with one on vacation and two out sick. Director of Infra structure and Planning, Ben McPhee said they also had some mechanical issues, but were hoping to be back to full staff shortly.

“Using the loader and tandem is extremely inefficient to do snow removal that way. It’s a balancing act

because our snow removal requires four staff to do it effectively; one on the grader, one on the blower, and two tandems, and at the time we only had two public works staff. We only have one staff member trained on the grader but we are working on cross training.

Council suggested adding major crosswalks to priority routes to avoid seniors slipping and falling, as well as to wait on hanging winter baskets until more snow removal had been done. They also suggested going out earlier in the morning and consid ering other plans when their policy comes up including plowing to the middle of the road, or on one side one year and the other side next year on streets that would be wide enough to accommodate that style of clearing.

Chai Spiced Tea

Dawn Hames Columnist

Living on the prai ries means experi encing half of the year as cold. Some times extremely cold, thus, our love affair with cozy drinks like coffee, cocoa, tea, and chai. During the winter a hot drink is welcomed and very appreciated to warm up.

The origins of Chai tea go back to ancient India thousands of years ago. In the Kingdom of Assam, the use of tea with spices was developed for health and healing medical purposes. Black tea is usually used, but in Kash mir, green tea is used. For a caffeine-

f ree version, you can use rooibos tea.

Spices in Chai Tea are full of health benefits; cinnamon improves blood sugar and insulin levels. Ginger warms the body and increases metabo lism. It also increases our happiness hormones serotonin and dopamine, which are so important as winter days shorten. Pepper boosts the anti-inflam matory properties of turmeric by 2000 percent! Cloves, allspice, and nutmeg are anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant. Together all of these spices help promote health and weight loss. Sugar-free, black tea catechins balance blood sugar and improve insu lin response. When black tea is drunk regularly, it provides the body with heart-protective antioxidants. These

antioxidants help to prevent fat stor age and are even protective against cancer.

Using whole spices is preferred to ground spices, as they strain out better, with no particles left to cause you to cough, like a piece of pepper caught in your throat. This is a delicious creamy drink, with loads of health benefits that are sure to make cold winter days more enjoyable. I have been drinking this all week, and I love it.

CHAI – spice tea

3 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

1/4 teaspoon ginger or 1/2” of fresh chopped

1/8 teaspoon turmeric or 1 teaspoon fresh chopped

Prairie Wool

Row Toews Columnist

Missing and presumed lost Ever had house hold items go strangely missing from your home?

I’m not talking about socks, the last Oreo, or a book you lent to Aunt Fiona. That sort of stuff always disappears, and we understand it. Well, maybe none of us really gets the sock thing. Socks that go into the washer/dryer and are henceforth never seen again defy explanation. No. I’m talking about things like casserole dishes, expensive sheets, and tablecloths. Stuff that has no business getting up and shuffling out the door to go goodness know where.

At least in my case, the common denominator is children, with a possible dog thrown in for good measure. You can

tell me yours later.

There’ve been countless incidents, but one of the first was when my children were young, and I couldn’t find the set of quality sheets I’d bought for the guestroom bed. I looked everywhere. Naturally, I lined my kids up against a wall and interrogated them closely.

“You must have seen them?” I probed. “They’re new. I washed the bloody things yesterday and hung them on the line to dry.”

The children shook their heads, gazing at me with wide, blameless eyes that reflected innate morality and goodness. Their faces wore the pained expression of decent people falsely accused of a heinous crime. Nearby, the dog sat in a similar state of grovelling innocence.

“You mean those green ones?” Rebecca burst out.

I rounded on her. The kid knew some thing. But before I could pry it forth, her

eyes slid toward Chris, the instigator, and parrot-like she responded. “Nope, haven’t seen ‘em.”

Those kids are now in their 30s and still haven’t broken their vow of silence.

Then there was my best casserole, a small serving bowl, and two springform pans, to name only a few more. I find it hard to believe a heavy, red casserole dish would exit the premises on its own steam and make its way, unaccompanied, to seek the bright lights of the city. However, that was the very story I was given by those same children when I questioned them yet again.

The serving bowl turned up at Dad’s, somehow. He had the grace to look a little abashed when I caught him early one morning, spooning a helping of hot cereal into its depths.

“You won’t take it though, right Helen,” he said in a wheedling tone. “It makes a dandy porridge bowl.”

1/8 teaspoon pepper or 6 whole pepper balls

1/16 teaspoon of cloves or allspice or 6 whole cloves

A sprinkle of nutmeg and/or carda mon or 6 – 10 cardamon pods

2 black tea bags

1 cup milk (I use 3%) or coconut milk

1 tablespoon of sugar, honey or monk fruit sweetener

In a small pot bring to a boil and then simmer the water and all the spices, for 10 -15 minutes, add more water if some has boiled off. Remove from heat and add the tea bags and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the teabags, add the milk and sweetener and reheat. Pour into cups through a strainer. Enj oy

I sighed. No, of course, I wouldn’t take it.

Recently, I was asked to make a dessert baked in a springform pan. I searched high and low for it. Nothing. From past experi ence, I texted my son, the same Chris who led the green sheet brigade back in 1997, and asked him if he’d seen them.

While he initially denied responsibility, lo and behold, he sheepishly showed up at my door with two, along with a sauce pan and several dinner plates, all thrown in for good luck. What a guy! He claims I gave him the dishes to carry food home, but he did lead several family revolts in his glory days, and I’m not sure he can be entirely trusted.

In any case, I got them back and will guard them jealously from this point on. However, the mystery of the missing sheets and my best casserole remain unsolved until this day.

Could you tell a similar tale?

Your only local independent newspaper. Proudly serving Vermilion and area since 2004.

not necessarily shared by the Vermilion Voice. The Vermilion Voice is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher.

Publisher: Susan Chikie

Editor: Lorna Hamilton

Photographer / Reporter: Lorna Hamilton, Angela Mouly Graphic Design: Braxton Hoare

Sales: Susan Chikie, Lorna Hamilton of the Gove nment of Canada

Helen

Threshing Engine vs Bridge

Craig Baird Columnist

In April 1913, the entire community of Vermilion was abuzz with news of an acci dent that thankfully didn’t hurt anyone, but certainly did some damage to an important piece of infrastructure.

It was on April 30, 1913 when a 22-ton threshing engine owned by James Armstrong was traveling along the road when it began to cross a bridge.

Armstrong was taking the engine out to start ploughing as the season was beginning and as he reached the first span of the bridge, the engine began to put too much stress on the bridge.

The engine began to break through the timbers on the bridge and then the bridge collapsed.

As the bridge collapsed and the threshing engine began to fall, Armstrong and his crew jumped from the engine to safety. Thankfully, no one was injured but the bridge was destroyed.

With everyone safe, work began to jack up the huge engine which was expected to take several days to complete. It would be a few days before it could even be moved into a position where it could be moved out.

The bridge though had to be completely replaced and it was expected that a steel structure would be used due to the use of larger farm equipment at the time that needed to cross. The timber bridge at the time of its collapse was old and in dire need of repair with several timbers beginning

to decay.

All in all, it was an exciting start to the season for not only Armstrong and his threshing crew, but Vermilion as well.

Contact Craig at craig@canadaehx. com

Support Craig by donating at www. canadaehx.com (Click donate)

Listen to his podcasts Canadian History Ehx, Canada’s Great War, From John to Justin, Pucks and Cups and Canada: A Yearly Journey on all podcast platforms. 3” wide version

Squeeze Facebook's Rebrand Is Not Going Well

Braxton Hoare Columnist

At the begin ning of 2022 Face book rebranded its company to ‘Meta’ in order to show Mark Zuckerburg (Facebook CEO)’s self proclaimed focus on building a leading virtual reality social media platform. This came conveniently at the same time that Facebook was undergoing antitrust lawsuits and government inves tigations. It seems more than likely that the company was just eager to escape the burning ship that is the Facebook brand.

The truth is that Facebook as a company had already been stagnat ing for years before any questions about integrity were raised. So when the focus became how much data does Facebook save to sell to adver tisers it was clear they needed to try something new.

Meta launched its virtual reality

platform ‘Horizon Worlds’ to much disdain. The platform just wasn’t very good. Featuring an art style that perfectly embodies the lifeless corpo rate cash grab.

The problem is, Meta really strug gles to keep users interested in the platform’s lacking content. Their clos est competitor ‘VRChat’ has roughly the same number of daily users, with more content, and more tools, but it was created by a team of just two people initially. Nothing demonstrates just how ridiculous Horizon Worlds

development has been more than the ‘exciting’ half hour announcement Mark made to show that they are indeed working on adding legs to their avatars; sometime next year.

Horizon Worlds was supposed to be like any other social media platform, where they provide the right tools for users to create the content that keeps people coming back; but that didn't play out at all. At first they had some people make experiences on the platform while they initially paid a few creators for their work. But these

people didn't stick around after the money slowed down since it just isn't fun and does not have the tools they need to make interesting experiences.

Vermilion Soccer Association, will be running an Indoor Soccer season 2022/23.

The season will run from November 14 through to February 2023.

U11 and up Mondays and Wednesdays 7:30 - 9 pm at JR Robson.

U9 and under Mondays 6:00-7-00 at VES (a second night may be added if viable.) Many of our competitors in our district have well established indoor programs with their kids benefiting from increased time to build individual skills and team cohesion. We are looking to achieve the same at VSA and provide children with fun cardio activity through the winter. If you are interested and would like more information email vermilionsoccer@outlook.com or call 587-217-1995.

Horizon Worlds could have been a success considering Meta has sold around 20 million virtual reality head sets to date. Their goal was to have at least 500 thousand users by the end of 2022 but they haven't even been able to retain their 300 thousand users from the beginning of the year; only capturing 200 thousand users actively.

Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association

Alberta

File photo

Garth Rowswell Talks Healthcare

Angela Mouly Reporter

MLA Garth Rowswell

“The three areas I want

focus on are fossil fuels, utility systems (how electric ity and gas are priced) and healthcare,” said Rowswell.

He has been working towards the development of pipelines since he was first elected. In the past seven years, Albertans have seen several projects halted after federal interfer ence. However, Rowswell was recently appointed chair of the Alberta First Cabi net Policy Committee which he says deals with all policies relative to Ottawa. For example, by following the proposed Sovereignty Act, Premier Smith (who sits on the same committee) has commented on plans to eliminate billions of dollars in regulatory costs and get energy projects off the ground.

“It’s a change in the development of policies and the overall caucus gets involved in the process which I think is a real positive thing,” said Rowswell. “As for the reason to run on healthcare, there are a lot of local issues relative to health that

need to be solved. While trying to solve the problems, I became quite involved with the health ministry, and was asked to represent rural Alberta on their tour this year. You’ve got to pick your battles in the political world. Healthcare occu pies a bigger part of my time, it impacts everybody, and there are specific issues that relate to each area in my constitu ency.”

Throughout June, July, September and October, they toured hospitals in 24 communities meeting with doctors, nurses, dietitians, EMS staff, lab techni cians, as well as health foundations and councils. Rowswell said, “They were all asked, what’s working well, what are some challenges, and what are some solutions? We wanted to talk to frontline workers to find ways we can improve the system. It was really worthwhile,” said Rowswell.

They are in the process of writing a report and the health ministry will release a newsletter. One local high light he mentioned was the full body CT scanner being put into Wainwright which he said, “had a lot to do with funds being raised locally and is a real positive; a real win for the community.”

Some of the recommendations for how to improve the EMS system he said were already in place; notably nine new ambulances bought and staffed in Edmonton and ten in Calgary, so rural operators will be less likely to be stuck taking calls in the city when providing transfers.

“From a healthcare perspective trying to recruit and maintain medical staff is a problem right across the province and the country, but some things take time to see results,” said Rowswell.

Long term, he said they plan to get more seats in the University of Alberta and University of Calgary and designate a specific stream for rural students who are more likely to return to their home town and stay there. Midterm they are looking at immigration, he said they just signed a deal with the Philippines to have nurses come over and have their credentials recognized sooner. Bridging courses within the plan will get them up to par from LPN to RN status as fast as possible.

Of the $600 million funded from their last budget for training professionals, he said about half went to the medical field.

“The RN program at the U of C allo

cated eight of their spots to Wainwright so you can take the entire four year program in Wainwright. For people that don’t want to travel, they can do it locally and they are more likely to stay locally,” said Rowswell. “If it works well, they will expand the option to other areas of the province. I think it’s great. So far two groups have went through, and it initially wasn’t funded, but now it is.”

He will be back at the legislature for the next session November 29December 15. Rowswell said it was nice to see highway work being done this year on Highways 16 and 14, and he enjoyed getting out and about meet ing with the public face to face more than the past couple years. He also met with school boards, enjoyed a number of fall suppers, and Remembrance Day ceremonies. He was thankful that people continue to bring their concerns forward.

“For example, I wouldn’t have known if a local producer hadn’t brought it to my attention about the shortage of truck driv ers in the livestock industry. Cattle haul ing trucks are sitting idle due to a lack of drivers, so I talked to the minister and they aware of the issue,” said Rowswell.

Christmas Cantata Back In Full Form

Angela Mouly Reporter

The Vermilion Cantata Choir is returning after a two year hiatus with three performances this season. The Cantata had been previously performed for nearly 20 years in Vermilion.

“There is so much good Christmas music and people don’t always get a chance to sing it, so this group gener ally gets together every year to put on a performance, and we are trying to get

that re-established. A cantata is simply a program of music all connected like chapters in a book, unlike a concert with individual pieces,” said director, Bernie Huedepohl. “Pepper Choplin writes some really interesting cantatas and we will be performing, ‘Lead Me Back To Bethlehem.’ We also picked up an a capella piece this year (that was not part of the cantata but set to a modern piece of music) that was very challeng ing and a lot of fun to do.”

Every year, he said they have to replace a few members and this time they ended up with about 20 singers. Together they’ve had a lot of fun singing twice per week for the past two months.

“ There’s a pile of reasons we like to sing but number one is the comrad ery; we become like a family. There is something viscerally satisfying in sing ing well and singing with a group of people when we take a difficult song and finally master it. The group accom plishment provides a really powerful feeling; like winning the grey cup game. It’s a wonderful thing to get involved in because music does fabulous things for peoples brains, and the people

involved feel that change happening within them,” said Huedepohl.

He noted that it also provides a service to the community having been told that it is a recognizable way to start off the Christmas season. They will be performing at the Vermilion Valley Lodge November 27, at 7 p.m., and at the United Church December 4, at 2 p.m., as well as December 11 at 7 p.m. A reception for people to visit and eat together will follow the perfor mance on December 11. Admission is food or cash donations (on Decem ber 4, they will support Hearts and Hands; and on December 11, they will support the Vermilion Food Bank).

Horizon Ridge Christmas Coming To Vermilion

Lorna Hamilton Reporter

The Vermilion Allied Arts is at it again, this time bringing a familyfriendly Christmas performance to the stage at the Almuni Theatre in Vermilion Lakeland College on November 27. The event will also have an extra twist as the council will be spreading some holiday cheer before the performance by serving Christmas punch with shortbread, as well as having local artisans who will be displaying/selling their wares from 1:30 to 3 p.m. along with the Ratte String Trio.

Storytellers in song, Horizon Ridge is a group of fine multi-instru mentalists and seasoned sing

ers known for their intuitive tight harmonies and polished a cappella singing. Based in Calgary, band members Helen and Steve Good child, Peter May, and Dianne Quin ton have played festivals, music clubs, gala events, and concerts in Canada, the US, and the UK, draw ing musical inspiration from their roots and journeys near and far.

Horizon Ridge is described as a versatile and engaging group whose performances embrace traditional and contemporary folk, country, blues, and gospel.

Dianne Quinton is a singer/song writer who got her first guitar at the young age of 6 and hails from St. John’s Newfoundland. Quinton’s voice

is described as the low, slow burn of the sassy blues and the sweetness of pure folk harmony. She is skilled in guitar, banjo, and bass. Her repertoire draws from the traditions of the East ern Seaboard, deep roots in country music, as well as from blue, folk, and gospel influences.

Steve Goodchild has been perform ing in folk clubs and festivals since he was 15 years old with influences rooted in the North-East of England, via Houston, Texas. His songs draw from the folk tradition from both sides of the pond and include contemporary interpretations and his own composi tions.

Helen Goodchild joined the lineup in early 2013 and is a ‘Geordie’

2022 Snowmobile Expo

Submitted

After taking a COVID break, Snow mobile Expo returns to the Vermilion Regional Centre Saturday November 26. This show, is the largest indoor event of its kind in Western Canada, features vintage and collectible sleds with contributors attending from all over Alberta and Saskatchewan.

I n the 1950s there were a few manufactures attempting to build a machine that could traverse snow but the first practical snowmobile was a Ski-doo invention in the early ‘60s. The craze caught on and by the mid ‘70s over a hundred differ ent manufacturers were building snowmobiles. Some, such as John Deere and Massey Ferguson, relied on existing dealer networks, while many were no more than “mom and pop” shops. As quickly as it started, by 1990 only four manufacturers remained.

This event showcases many old and seemly forgotten models, Snojet, Rolliflex, Kawasaki and many more. In recent years more of the purpose built factory racers have been on display and this trend continues.

Oval racing legend, Russell Liba returns this year with a few of his classic racers. As well as collector sleds, dealers will be on hand with new sleds, and merchandise. There are also door prizes, and a conces sion provided by The Red Brick is available. Come for lunch and enjoy the show! The show date is Satur day, November 26 from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m.at the Vermilion Regional Centre. Admission is $5 and please support those in need by bringing a donation for the Food Bank.

For more info or to enter a sled contact Warren at 1-780 581-0716

from North-East England’s historic Newcastle-upon-Tyne and has a history in music teaching, Choral singing, and classical music. She has also performed at New York’s Carn egie Hall and adds fiddle, keyboards, bass, with her voice that’s described as ‘rich.’

Peter May brings his talent to the band which includes bass, guitars, harmonica, and vocals. May has a certificate from Berklee College of Music and is a longtime board member of the Foothills Acoustic Music Insti tute where he has led workshops and classes.

Tickets are $25 and available through Fantasy Flowers or e-transfer via vermilionalliedarts@gmail.com

Photos submitted

Letter To The Editor

Submitted

Dear Mayor and Council, We are writing this letter as concerned residents of the Town of Vermilion, regarding the unnamed “Broadband Project” aka Primus, VNet, KC Horizontal, ANet, and whichever other monikers you have used since the beginning of this proj ect 5 years ago. Obviously, the fact that we are unable to name the project that we have concerns with, is also of grave concern. Overall, the Councils disregard for providing clear commu nication of information and the lack of transparency provided to taxpayers regarding spending of public funds, throughout every step of this project, has been alarming to say the least!

As public representatives, Mayor and Council are responsible to provide clear communication to Town resi

dents regarding major projects that are planned or underway in our commu nity. Residents of this town have been asking questions, and requesting further information regarding this proj ect in various ways, including on Town Facebook posts (where questions and comments are often deleted), email, public open houses, etc. We were shocked this summer, when out of the blue a construction sandwich board informed us that we would be having pipe installed in our neighbourhoods, and on our front lawns. Of course, as all who seek information nowadays do, we went online to search for infor mation on the Town Website and app. We were disappointed to find nothing. This seems especially odd consid ering we are talking about a digital information network! There has been a ribbon cutting done for this project.

Yet, when did it officially start, and when are you anticipating that it will be finished? Residents of Vermilion need clear communication regarding this project so that we can ourselves make the best decisions possible with our personal spending. We need to be sure that we can pay for the costs that this “increased” service will provide. We can’t make good decisions with out good information, and neither can Town Council. After attending the Town’s Budget Forum on November 8, and asking for clarification regard ing the project, I was disappointed to receive differing information and responses from each of the council lors present. It appears that the inter nal plans and understanding of this project are inconsistent. Again, this is very concerning for a project of this size and importance. As the govern

ing body for our community, surely you would have a cohesive plan for this project, that would be clearly understood by all stakeholders prior to an event such as this?!?

Our biggest concern, however, is with the lack of transparency provided to residents regarding the funding of this project. Who is paying for what and how much is it going to cost? Again, considering this is a digital information project, we should be able to go online to the Town’s website to access this information. Instead, we read about the 2.4 million dollar loan that the Town has taken out to fund this project in our local newspaper, printed in the bottom righthand corner. Good thing we read the paper! How is council providing accountability to the public regarding the spending of taxpayer dollars? This is a genera tional loan. My children will still be paying for this, likely after some new form of technology has taken over years from now. Pacifying the public with a nondisclosure agreement should not supersede the Municipal Government Act.

As a former public servant for the Town of Vermilion, I feel it is my duty to make sure that residents of the Town are aware of the issues, namely the lack of communication and trans parency with regards to the spend ing of taxpayer dollars on this project. Moving forward, I would like residents to be provided with the following:

-A clear actionable plan for this project (including a name, time line, and funding plan).

-Accountability from Town Council and Administration with spending of public dollars.

Sincerely, Derek Young & Anna Svenungard

Dear Editor

Are the UCP really fiscally respon sible?

Alberta’s new Premier, Danielle Smith, recently announced that the road ahead is “going to be a bit bumpy.”

You mean to say it’s been smooth sailing until now?

Over the last 3 years, Albertan’s have watched their governing party disintegrate into a squabbling playground of spending and decision-

Let me say that I am anti-war but I pipe at Remembrance Day ceremonies when asked to acknowledge those who stood up for some (I hope) of what I believe in. Many had never held a gun, many were terrified, many cried, many fought for something they didn’t understand and they did it for us.

Remembrance Day

All those poppies row on row

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award Winner

Carol Coleman, FCSS Coordinator Submitted

We have a medal winner in our commu nity! Leslie Bensch, on behalf of the Advi sory Committee for the Town of Vermilion Family & Community Support Services (FCSS), submitted a nomination for the dedication and volunteerism done by Pat Calyniuk. FCSS has been a partner and a funder for over thirteen years with the Vermilion is Being Empowered (VIBE), a mental health project serving the Vermil ion area. VIBE has an integrated, multi disciplinary team approach to providing promotion, prevention and early interven tion mental health services to children, youth, and their families. Pat has been the first and only Manager of this project. She also contributes her time to multiple other community non-profit groups. She serves with the Lions Club, Vermilion & Area Brighter Beginnings, Friends of the Vermilion Public Library, and Vermilion Allied Arts, just to name a few.

On November 17 at the FCSS Asso ciation of Alberta Annual Conference at West Edmonton Mall, Pat was honored with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal award for being a leader in the community, and a contributor to FCSS and preventive social services, both locally and within her profession.

“I am honoured and humbled by this award. My parents raised me to give back to the community. I know there are many people who deserve this as well,” commented Pat.

Letter To The Editor

making that registers as a national embarrassment. The ‘fiscally respon sible’ UCP lost 8.1 billion dollars on a gamble that the Keystone pipeline would happen and spent 30 million dollars of tax-payer’s money on a ‘war room’ created to refute (unsubstan tiated) claims of undermining the oil industry. They pushed through a new school curriculum, despite the objec tions of 90% of school boards, parents and teachers; tried to sell our parks

and build a coal mine in one of Alber ta’s most pristine wilderness areas, gutted post-secondary institutions (those that were not religious anyway), and did this all while giving corpora tions a tax break of 8 % instead of 12%.

The UCP have targeted Doctors to the point that many have left the prov ince, and continue to work very hard to make our public health system private. Now, they are working to create a

Letter To The Editor

All those lives lost, so we can grow.

We say that they died so we could be free

Seems our vision ran short from what they could see.

Did they fight for division that our politics bring?

Separation of people seems to be the new thing.

Did they fight for the wealthy to rise up

so high?

Leaving those most in need struggling just to get by.

Did they die for MY chance to put MY needs first?

And then call it ‘my right’ or ‘my free dom’, much worse.

Did they die for our flag to represent hate?

Which it has many times at rally’s of late.

provincial police force, in spite of the fact that 70% of municipalities have voted against this. The cost of having the RCMP is 500 million a year, with federal subsidies of $170 million. If Alberta decides to go it alone, the cost will sky-rocket to $735 million a year, with $366 million just to start up.

Are the UCP fiscally responsible and doing the right thing? Think again Alberta.

Jan Scott

May each of us pause for two minutes today

And ask if how we are living is worth what they gave.

May we Remember May we learn May we listen

May we understand that they fought and died so that we might find peace.

Shelly MacDonald (Vermilion)

From left, Pat Calyniuk with her medal and Lori-Ann Stenhouse from Vermilion FCSS.

Photo submitted

Bringing Awareness, Supporting A Cause

Lorna Hamilton Reporter

According to cancer.ca (Canadian Cancer Society,) Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men (1 in 8 men will be diagnosed in their lifetime), and it is the third leading cause of death from cancer in men. Shockingly, it is also estimated that 1200 Cana dian men will also be diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022, with an estimated 35 dying from the disease.

It is commonly known that men’s health issues are not discussed or made aware of as much as health issues in women but times are changing and with the Movember campaign men’s health issues are finally being recognized and made aware of more. Another staggering statistic for men is that over 225 million Farmers worldwide struggle with their Mental Health and 3 out of 4 suicides in Canada are men.

“Movember is the leading charity working to change the face of men’s health. Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach out and support men struggling with their physi cal health, Mental health and Suicide Preven tion, Prostate Cancer, and Testicular Cancer,” states the Movember website.

Chris Frederick who was born and raised on the family farm just south of Vermilion has

stepped up to the plate and has been rais ing awareness and supporting the Movember campaign for the past six years after talking with a customer of his who was diagnosed with pros tate cancer. Chris currently lives in Crossfield, AB. with his wife Jennel and their two children Kristen (age 10) and Arthur (16 months). Chris spoke openly in regard to his own cancer jour ney and his Movember fundraising campaign.

“After I graduated from J.R. Robson High School I started my first year at Red Deer College. Soon after I enrolled, I started to expe rience a stabbing pain in my left testicle. I put up with this as long I could telling myself, “this will go away.” While on Christmas break that year, it got to the point that I couldn’t put up with the pain and discomfort any longer. My Parents made me a Dr. Appointment in Vermilion. That appointment led to an Ultrasound, that led to the Oncologist, and he immediately referred me to a surgeon. When the testicle was removed it was confirmed that the pain was caused by a tumor the size of the end of my thumb. After it was biopsied it was confirmed. I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. Luckily, the cancer was discovered early enough that surgery was able to completely remove it. For 5 years after the surgery I had monthly CT Scans, Chest X-Rays, and check ups to make sure the Cancer was gone,” explained Chris.

Chris went on to explain that while they touched on the subject of testicular cancer briefly in health class he didn’t really know anything about it.

“I had no idea how common it was and

that it is one of the most successfully treated cancers a young man can be diagnosed with,” said Chris. Chris also mentioned how he kept very quiet about his experience for a lot of years after his diagnosis, and that he didn’t want anyone to know what he and his family had went through during the experience. “Even after I met my wife and we got married in 2006 I had a hard time talking about it,” said Chris.

Chris’ personal focus with Movember is to raise awareness in regards to men’s healthfocused around testicular cancer.

“This year, we had a co-worker and Movem ber Team Mate receive his own Testicular Cancer Diagnosis. Luckily, his cancer was caught early, and like mine, was able to be removed. It found it shocking how differently his follow up appointments spaced is compared to how mine were 17 years ago. Information about this kind of Cancer is spreading, research is happening, and treatments and screenings

are changing and Movember is playing a role in these changes,” explained Chris.

Since Chris has started fundraising he has been able to raise just under $5,500 for Movember and his goal for this year is to raise another $1,000 and his fundraising page can be found at https://movember.com/m/ chrisfrederick335?mc=1. In 2019, through what was then Cervus Equipment (Cervus was purchased by Brandt Tractor where Chris works) set up a Movember Fundraising team called the Moustache Machine and over the past four years has raised $36,614, as each team member had set their own personal goals. The team goal this year is to raise another $5,000 of which they have raised $2,350. Chris’s daughter Kristen is also on the team and has raised over $1,500 over the last three years. Her fundraising page is https://movember.com/m/14343872?mc=1

The teams fundraising page is at https:// movember.com/t/the-moustachemachine?mc=1

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Morrow Tchir LLP at Box 336, 5226-50 Avenue St. Paul, Alberta T0A 3A0

By Allen Ronaghan

Anna Svenungard Submitted

On Friday, November 4th, St. Jerome’s held a Remembrance Day ceremony to pay our respects and acknowledge our gratitude to those who have served our coun try and allowed us the freedoms that we have today. The tone was a somber one, as piper Barry Roth led the March of the Colours into the gymnasium to begin the service. The gymnasium was a sea of red as Spartans wore the colour and a poppy to commemorate this special occasion. Ms. Svenungard’s Grade 1 class proudly led everyone in singing “Oh Canada.” High school student president and vice presi dent, Cadence Jackson and Raph Agbay, emceed the service and

St. Jerome’s School News

We were honoured to be joined by Corporal Arie Chubak, an active solider stationed in Wainwright. It was incredible to listen to him define the word “honour” and hear him speak of his experiences serv ing our country, both good and bad. He spoke of comradery, courage, and hope. We were humbled by his strength and resilience. Thank you Cpl. Chubak for your service and your stories. The Grade 5 classes recited Canadian war doctor John McCrae’s famous poem “In Flanders Fields.” Class representatives came forward from Grades 1-12 to place wreaths at the front of the stage during the wreath laying portion of the ceremony. It felt like a bit of a historic moment as Mrs. Martin’s grade 4 class took the stage to perform, for the first time at our

school, “God save the King.” Over all, it was a very touching ceremony to honor our veterans and troops.

Our student Faith Squad, along with VIBE & Miss Ramona, orga nized “Operation Christmas Child” through the Good Samaritan. Dona tion boxes were given to each class room for items to donate to fill shoe boxes. We were thrilled to deliver 79 shoeboxes filled with goods for children all over the world in need at Christmas.

Our Elementary Spartans are already hard at work practicing for the annual Christmas Concert. This year we will be preforming the musical “All About That Baby.” The performance will be held at the Lakeland College Alumni theatre on December 15 at 7:00pm. We hope to see you there!

St. Jerome’s School was honoured to be joined by Corporal Arie Chubak, an active solider stationed in Wainwright, for our Remembrance Day Service. It was incredible to listen to him define the word “honour” and hear him speak of his experiences serving our country, both good and bad.

COUNTY OF VERMILION RIVER LAND USE BYLAW NO. 17-389 NOTICE OF DECISION OF DEVELOPMENT

Discretionary Use

District: Residential Permit No.: 329329-22-D0056

Location: SE-21-53-4W4M; 7-14-8621214; #67J 1st A Avenue

Use Approved: Placement of a 980 sq. ft. Mobile Home for Residential Use

Date of Notice: November 17, 2022

Permit Valid on: December 8, 2022

A Development Permit for a discretionary use does not take effect until twenty-one (21) days after the date of this notice provided that no appeals have been registered with this office.

Any person affected by a development permit for a discretionary use may appeal the decision in writing stating reasons for the appeal along with a four hundred ($400.00) dollar appeal fee. The appeal must be submitted within twenty-one (21) days of notice to the Secretary of the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board of the County of Vermilion River.

Michelle Harvey, EP Development Officer

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Grader Operator

EMCON SERVICES INC., a progressive Road & Bridge Maintenance Contractor in BC, Alberta and Ontario, is looking for a fulltime grader operator in Vermilion or Dewberry. This is a union (AUPE) position.

Our teams perform a large variety of road maintenance related tasks such as installing, repairing and maintaining signs, guiderails, fences, ditches, culverts, but the primary function for the winter season is driving plow trucks.

Quali cations include:

• Must be pro cient in operating grader to blade and maintain roads

• Operate Grader on public roadways, safely and e ciently, with continuous awareness of surroundings.

• Perform routine maintenance and safety check to ensure smooth operation of the grader.

• Valid Class 5 for Grader Operator, class 3 preferred

• 24/7 on call in winter season

• Pre-employment drug screening

Quali ed applicants are invited to submit résumés, along with photocopy of driver’s licence and an up-to-date driver’s abstract: Emcon Services Inc. Fax: 780 449-0574

Email: jobs.alberta@emconservices.ca

Our student Faith Squad, along with VIBE & Miss Ramona, organized “Operation Christmas Child” through the Good Samaritan. We were thrilled to deliver 79 shoeboxes filled with goods for children all over the world in need at Christmas. Photos submitted

Vermilion Elementary School News

Karen King

Submitted

Kindergarten visited the Fire Train ing Center for an action-packed field trip with so many amazing surprises. Students were over the moon when they got to experience spraying a fire hose, trying on some gear and going for a ride in a fire engine. A very special thank you to Quinn’s dad, Mr. Brett Jackson, and the rest of the Lakeland College crew for this unique opportunity. Perhaps we have some future firefighters in the making.

VES teachers spent Novem

ber 7 at school working on Profes sional Learning. We had three virtual presentations from numeracy, liter acy and assessment gurus – Lana Lane, Gerry Varty and Anne Davies. Then on November 8, we travelled to Wainwright for an ATA Professional Development Day. We started our day listening to opening keynote speaker, Dr. Brad Johnson and ended it with closing keynote speaker, Ken Valgard son. In between those sessions were two time slots of several presenta tions and we could choose which two we wanted to attend.

The Canley Cup All-Star game will be take place on December 1. The Student All-Stars will face off against the Staff Dream team. We will be having a Teddy Bear/Stuffie toss after the first Student All-Stars team goal. Every student is welcome even if they don’t have a Teddy Bear/Stuffie to donate and toss out. The Teddy Bears and Stuffies will be donated to Santa’s Anonymous.

We are excited to welcome Mrs. McLean back to VES to teach Grade 2 for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year. VES would also like to

welcome Ms. Krista Bensmiller to our school. Ms. Bensmiller will be doing her practicum with Grade 2A and Mrs. Heinrich. She is currently attending the University of Calgary and says she is looking forward to learning from and alongside the VES students and staff. Dates to Remember: Dec 1 – Plaid or Christmas Sweater Day; Dec 21 –Kindergarten and Grade 1-2 Christ mas Concert at 7:00 at Lakeland College Theatre; Dec 22 – Grades 3-6 Christmas Concert at 7:00 at Lakeland College Theatre; Dec 23 – Pajama Day.

J.R. Robson School News

Raynette Schroeder

Submitted

BTPS Superintendent Rhae-Ann Holoien will be at the Nov. 30 school council meeting and parents are welcome to attend and meet her.

Marauders football lost to Hinton on Novem ber 3rd, which unfortunately means football season is over for them. A great effort by our young team and we look forward to getting stronger next year.

Awards Night was held on Friday, Novem

ber 4. Congratulations to all the awards recipi ents. Thank you also to the local businesses, organizations and individuals who sponsor an award. A complete list of all award winners can be found on our website (jrrobson.btps.ca).

Social Studies 10-1 class is going on a field trip to Blue Quills former residential school on November 23rd.

Important Dates: Dec 22: Ski Trip Dec 23: Pancake Breakfast & Pajamas Day Dec 24-Jan 8: Christmas Break. Grade 7 Awards recipients. Photo submitted

Playground fun. Photos submitted