U18 Renegades Close Out Season

Angela Mouly Reporter

A tough way to end their season, the U18 Tier 2 Dewberry Marwayne Renegades lost out in playoff game 2 of round 2 against Kitscoty, but with a young team are looking forward to picking things back up next year.

Head coach, Zack Hines, said their game on March 8, was not a normal hockey game. He said it was a penalty filled affair with the Renegades accruing approximately 80 penalty minutes, which is five to ten times what they normally have. However, even with a 9-4 score, there were a couple highlights with a penalty shot from JD Earl, and a hat trick from Brett Saville.

“Brett Saville was likely the best player this year. He changed his whole mentality, quit worrying about everything, and figured out the way to play the game. The way he’s played from Christmas until now is phenomenal. He played perfect defensively and yet he’s scoring more; not taking selfish risks, playing team first hockey but benefiting from it. And he’s coming back so they are in good shape for next year,” said Hines.

Goalie, Aiden Fox, he said had been a stud for them all year. However, Aiden along with Defenceman Ty Hines, and Captain and Forward Gage Tupper will be moving on as they all finished their third year of midget hockey.

“A dozen of the Vermilion Jr. B Tigers played on this midget team before they went on to play junior hockey. This is the youngest team we’ve had in the last several years with only three 3rd year players on a 19 man roster,” said Hines.

Because they were a young team, he has high hopes for them to be a good team next season.

Cross eld, and later on the farm outside of Marwayne, Brenda was instilled with many of the values she would carry with her for the rest of her life- work hard, look after one another, and take pride in all that you do. After completing her education, Brenda worked for Beaver Lumber and Citation Cabinets in Edmonton. It was in her sales role for Citation that she rst met Ed, the love of her life, who she would marry on March 4, 1983, which you may notice is also today’s date. While this is not the party we had been planning for, it is still a time to remember and celebrate a long and beautiful partnership. The four decades of love and commitment would carry Ed and Brenda through many adventures, from business ventures at Home-All, to trips to Hawaii that would grow ever longer until they spent several weeks there every year to escape the Alberta winters. While Brenda loved the feel of the sand on her toes and the sun on her skin - tanning to perfection whenever she got the chance - she had to be persuaded to dip even a toe into any kind of water. One of the great passions of Brenda’s life was service to others, a passion she ful lled with the same drive and e ciency she had turned to other tasks in her life. From childhood on, the “White Tornado” would descend on her mother’s house, or the houses of friends or folks in need, and carry out an organized cleaning up. As an adult, she turned this same skill set toward community service. In earlier days, she was a member of Canadian Girls in Training, where she confessed her faith as a Christian. After moving to Vermilion, she was a member of the Jaycees, where she served on numerous committees and was instrumental in shaping the local section in Vermilion and establishing new chartered divisions in Lloydminster and Fort McMurray, as well as serving as president from 1985-86. She received several awards for her contributions through the Jaycees. In 2001, Brenda joined the Rotary Club of Vermilion and would serve as a member of the club for the rest of her life. It was an ideal match, an organization whose founder declared would be “known by the results it achieves.” Rotary is a place where professionals and community members join to connect and combine resources, to make tangible change in their communities. She served as president of the club for two terms, the Assistant District Governor, and was a key member, involved in a variety of projects and committees, such as the Canada Flag campaign, Rotary calendars, the re school committee, the centennial lookout committee, and the annual Rotary garage sale, which has become famous throughout the district.

No matter where she worked, from MaxClaire Boutique to her time at Lakeland College, to her favorite job with Lloyd Snelgrove during his time as our MLA, Brenda brought an air of calm and solid professional decorum, and unshakeable integrity. On January 17, 2023, to honor a lifetime of service, our sitting MLA Garth Roswell presented Brenda with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal in recognition of her signi cant contributions to the province. She was also honored by the federal government with a Platinum Jubilee pin in recognition of the impact her service has had on the country as a whole. This was an honor she deeply appreciated, which will remain a tangible reminder of the countless hours of devoted service she has given to her community.

And so, on a snowy day, that would have been a perfect beach day in Hawaii, 69 years after it began, a ne and inspiring story came to an end, as all stories must. It was lled to the brim with love, life lessons, and wonderful fellowship. Like nishing a good book, we can feel some sadness as we put it back on the shelf but, like the very best of books, Brenda’s story doesn’t really live in the pages, but in the hearts of everyone she knew and loved. Every time you use one of her recipes, a committee structure she helped to build, or hang an ornament from her on your tree at Christmas, I hope you will cherish your memories of Brenda and feel, as I do, honored to have been a part of this story, a story of exemplary service, beautiful friendship, and deep, enduring love.”

Note of Thanks from Brenda’s Family

The family of Brenda Lee would like to express our sincere appreciation to all who shared kind words, called, messaged, visited, sent cards and brought food. We are incredibly grateful for the exceptional sta of the Vermilion Health Unit for their kind care and compassion during Brenda’s nal days. Our appreciation to Candice Anderson and sta of Re ections Funeral & Cremation Services for their care and guidance in planning the beautiful Celebration of Life for Brenda. Our thanks to Rev Anne McGrath for her words of comfort and encouragement at Brenda’s Celebration; Denise Earle, dear friend, for sharing about Brenda’s life and Lloyd Snelgrove, longtime colleague and friend, for his warm remarks about Brenda. Thank you to Sylvia Hewitt, family friend, for the musical prelude of Brenda’s favorite hymns and songs; Kelsey Earle, honorary niece, for her vocal presentation, and Brenda’s nieces and nephews for singing in Brenda’s honor. Thank you to Charlene Young for catering the lovely lunch for family and friends following the service. Our heartfelt thanks to all who have made donations in Brenda’s honor to the Cross Cancer Institute, Rotary Foundation, and charities of choice. In lieu of thank you cards, the family of Brenda Lee has made a generous donation to the Cross Cancer Institute.

Angela Mouly Reporter

Vermilion Town Council met on March 7, discussing two public hearings for a land use bylaw amendment, and a road closure bylaw. They also discussed street improvement, library funding; and (for information only) a grader purchase and a roll-off bin truck purchase.

A motion to accept the land use bylaw amendment was carried, adding CR1 and CR2 as new Country Residential Districts. Director of Infrastructure and Planning, Ben McPhee, said increasing the maximum lot size would better align with the Inter-municipal Development Plan.

Councillor Rob Pulyk said, “I just want to compliment Ben for working on this one and looking at other communities. It definitely helps us out when looking at development, and when looking at larger lots, it’s great to have a new set of eyes with these things.”

During the road closure bylaw public hearing (49A St. between 49Ave. and Railway Ave.),