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Above: Winners of the A event. Andrew Grudecki, Tom Rafa, Dan Grudecki, Tyson Rafa.
Right: After the final, we a do a fun barefoot curling draw to the button. Pictured is Perry Yake. Winners of the draw were Scott Heeg, and Tammy Niwa. Summerspiel is held every July, third weekend of the month.
OYEN LODGE NEWS
BY DIANNE SPATH
Hello everyone. Well, it’s definitely been a hot one. Acadia Valley was the hotspot on Tuesday at 38 degrees. Looks like summer is here. Monday was exercises, one on one with a resident that enjoys walking in the mornings. Bingo was in the afternoon.
Tuesday was our regular bus runs downtown and some walking outdoors before it gets too hot. It was National vanilla ice cream day on Tuesday, so in the afternoon the residents enjoyed the ice cream parlour for a nice cool afternoon.
Wednesday was exercises followed by some outdoor horseshoe games. In the afternoon was shuffleboard.
Thursday morning were horse races. The activity coordinator took Thursday afternoon and Friday off, so there were no activities.
The Jorgenson’s played music Friday evening. Every afternoon when its hot the activity coordinator will take a “cooling cart” to each floor and hand out cold water, freezes, or popsicles to make sure all the residents stay hydrated and cool. Everyone stay cool and hydrated and have a wonderful week.
Dianne Spath
OPINION:
Hatred doesn’t solve problems
BY JOAN JANZEN
This story struck my funny bone; I hope you enjoy it. A group of middle-school girls were so excited about wearing lipstick that they would make lip prints on the school’s bathroom mirror. Their teacher had the girls meet with the janitor, who demonstrated how difficult it was to clean their lipstick prints off the mirror. The janitor took the girls to the bathroom, brought out his long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet and cleaned the mirror.
The janitor’s simple tactic successfully changed the girls’ behaviour. But it’s much more difficult to change harmful government legislation.
One such legislation is the decriminalization of hard drugs. A recent memo from the federal government published by Blacklock’s revealed plans for national decriminalization of hard drugs.
The secretive memo prepared for the Minister of Addictions, Ya’ara Saks, noted that the federal government is willing to use all tools at its disposal, including national decriminalization. The memo also claimed the government’s commitment to working in partnership with any jurisdictions that have a comprehensive plan for
decriminalizing possession of small amounts of substances for personal use.
This memo was released despite the evidence in British Columbia showing the negative outcomes resulting from decriminalization. The province has seen a 400 percent increase in drug overdose deaths, with 2500 Canadians dying in the first year.
However, there are voices offering helpful recommendations to the government. One of those is Grady Munro, a policy analyst at the Fraser Institute who has suggested recommendations to reduce Canada’s deficit while still reducing income taxes for most Canadians.
Munro suggested that the government should cut its spending by 2.3 percent over the next two years, reducing it by $11 billion annually. He relayed his suggestions to a reporter from True North.
He recommended reducing corporate welfare, as it does little to promote economic growth and “prevents resources from being allocated to their most productive use.” Munro suggested that government sector employees’ wages could be another source of spending cuts.
The final suggestion was limiting annual government spending to the
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inflation rate and population increases. According to Munro, this would enable Canada to maintain a balanced budget.
“By addressing tax rates, we could help kickstart economic growth by addressing our competitiveness problem,” he said. He suggested income over $246,000 be taxed at 29%, while everything else could be taxed at 15%, allowing lower marginal tax rates for most Canadians.
Sounds like a plan, right? But will the powers that be listen? Considering the government’s recent purchase of a $9 million condo in New York, it seems doubtful. According to True North, the condo is for Canadian diplomat Tom Clark. The 3600 sq ft apartment located on Billionaire Row comes complete with a wet bar, stone floors, gold quartzite countertops and backsplash.
The government could have anticipated some backlash from their extravagant purchase made during an affordable housing crisis. Disagreeing with such decisions is acceptable, but personal threats are not.
Bridge City News reported two individuals had posted death threats to the Prime Minister and NDP leader. It’s evidence of the increasing division we’ve seen play out before our eyes during the past four years.
Division has caused a tendency for people to feel justified in demeaning and resenting those on the opposite side of the aisle. Revenge and retribution is never a winning strategy.
A poster I saw offered some good advice. It said: “Discussions are always better than arguments. An argument is to find out who is right, and a discussion is to find out what is right.”
As 2020 rolled in, we witnessed an era unfolding when fear and offence were unleashed all over the world. It was everywhere. You could see it on the Internet, in people’s posts. You could hear it in everyday conversations.
Fear and offence combine to build hatred. The definition of hatred is intense hostility and aversion derived from fear, anger or a sense of injury.
However, we can intervene by choosing not to participate in hatred against people, even though we may disagree with their decisions. Hatred produces arguments and makes discussion impossible. We can also intervene against that strategy in prayer.
Trying to solve problems using hatred is much like dipping a squeegee in the toilet and using it to clean up a mess. It’s a helpful reminder when we’re tempted to utilize hatred to try and solve problems. It doesn’t work.
Pop89: UnChristianity
BY MADONNA HAMEL
“You want to know why so many people can’t stand Christians? It’s not for how very Christian we are - but how unChristian we are.” Those are the words of Russell Moore, author of “Losing Our Religion”. After watching the Republican National Convention I had to rewatch his conversation with Tim Alberta, author of “The Kingdom, The Power and the Glory”, to assure myself that Christianity has not gone completely to religious right entrepreneurs posing as followers of Christ.
Moore and Alberta are two Christian evangelicals who have stepped away from their churches but not their faith. In their conversation Moore quotes one of my favourite authors, Wendell Berry: “The most dangerous words in the English language are: Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Well, actually, no, says Moore. The illness at the heart of Christian Nationalism is the absurd sentiment that - “the stakes are too high to follow Jesus. We have to cease being Christian in order to save Christianity.”
But Christ didn’t exactly live in easy times. His high stakes reversal of the “might is right” ethos of the Romans, his care for the poor and his welcoming of the ostracized, were all considered repulsive and abhorrent acts and got him nailed to the cross. And even then he asked that they be forgiven because they didn’t know what they were doing.
Desperate times don’t require desperate behaviour; they require sane measures and calm people thinking clearly. Some of you might recall “Desiderata,” a 1927 poem made popular by Les Crane in 1971. My favourite line remains: “Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in times of sudden misfortune”. Anyone who nur-
tures and exercises daily the precepts and beatitudes of their faith will be able to lean on them in desperate times, the same way we can lean on our own bodies if we exercise regularly.
If we were doing our best to practice our faith, we wouldn’t feel the urge to looking frantically around for others to blame for our collective problems, including drug addiction, job loss and violent crime. If your principles and values, your rules of human engagement, are not assuaging your despair, then perhaps they are not Christian values, but market values.
Unhealed despair can lead to choosing leaders who act like Roman caesars who mistake themselves for gods and are billed as Messiahs. But desperation can also be the crack in the vessel that lets the light in. It can to lead to transformation. As one American friend, who is a member of AA , said to me when struggling with his own concept of God: the Gift of Desperation has become my acronym for God.
Was God anointing Trump when the bullet whizzed past his ear, as many Christian Nationalists are claiming? Or was Jesus whispering a reminder to “be merciful” to the immigrants he was vilifying at the time. “Be merciful, for judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13) Or: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”(Matthew 25:40) Or, maybe: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” ( 2 Timothy 4:3)
I know that many Democrats don’t heed the aforementioned words of Jesus any more than their opponents. And many Republicans do not act or speak like Trump. I’m sure there are many Christians who agree with theologian Marcus Borg when he said: “Jesus did not come to make us rich.” And with author James Finley when he says: “Jesus did not die on the cross to save our personality.”
A t-shirt can say a lot about a culture’s personal-
ity. Like billboards and bumper stickers, their tone, through jokes, insults and/or ultimatums, reflects the tone of a certain population. During this latest campaign there’s one t-shirt that reflects the topsy-turvy state of hero worship in America. The shirt bears an image of Trump in a floor-length fur coat with the words “The Real Don” above it. Beneath Trump is a list: “Capone 5, Gotti 14, Trump 34”. Wearers of the shirt are basically bragging about their candidate having far more convictions than two past mafia bosses combined.
Late-stage despair turns morality upside-down. Where else do the desperate turn? To violent threats. An overwhelming number of t-shirts depict assault weapons, including one that says: “Come and Take it Joe.” Another re-pictures the classic painting, American Gothic, with Trump as the farmer. Ironically, instead of holding a pitchfork, he’s holding a rifle similar to the one used on him. Talk about reversing scripture. The t-shirt basically turns Isaiah 4:4 upside down by suggesting Americans turn ploughshares into swords.
The full actual biblical quote, by the way, reads: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” But I’d bet money there’s not a single self-proclaimed Christian Nationalist who understands that quote, any more than they’d understand that the “shining city on the hill” was never a reference to America. America didn’t exist - Christianity didn’t exist - when those words were spoken as an exhortation to light a lamp and “give light to all in the house.”
The “house” of Matthew 5:14 does not refer to a single country or political party. If it did, the whole point of the teaching would be lost. It’s not about cherry-picking who should be loved, or given refuge, or valued, or listened to, or deemed exceptional. Christ insisted we are all precious in God’s eyes. You don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate Christ. But, you can’t be a Christian AND be a Christian Nationalist.
Alberta and Canada to match Canadian Red Cross donations to support Alberta wildfire response
Minister Sajjan and Minister Ellis announce donation-matching program to help those impacted by wildfires in Jasper and across the province of Alberta.
On Sunday, the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, and the Honourable Mike Ellis, the Alberta Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, announced a donation-matching initiative with the Canadian Red Cross to support wildfire disaster relief and recovery efforts in the province, including in the historic town of Jasper which was severely impacted by wildfires in recent days.
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Both the federal and provincial governments will match all donations to the Canadian Red Cross 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal, which means every $1 donated will become $3 to support the families and individuals most impacted by wildfires in Jasper and across the province. The donation matching will be for 30 days, retroactive to when it first opened on July 25, 2024.
Thousands of people were forced to evacuate the Town of Jasper last week, as the Jasper National Park experienced its worst wildfire in history. Thanks in part to the town preparations for the risk of wildfire, no one was hurt and part of the town was saved. On July 25, Minister Sajjan approved a Request for Federal Assistance from Alberta to provide firefighting resources, strategic airlift capacity, as well as Canadian Armed Forces’ resources and logistics support.
The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta are committed to doing everything they can to support all those affected.
Canadians wishing to make a financial donation to help those impacted by wildfires in Alberta can do so online at www.redcross.ca or by calling 1-800-4181111.
“The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta stand by Albertans and all those affected by the wildfires, and we will continue to work together to do everything we can to ensure public safety and help rebuild. I want to
thank the first responders, volunteers, non-governmental organizations, and emergency managers across all levels of governments and Indigenous communities for their heroic work in the response and recovery efforts in Alberta.”
Harjit S. Sajjan, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness
“The devastating losses from the wildfires in Jasper have touched the hearts of Canadians and people around the world who have spent time in this special part of our province. Alberta’s government stands firmly behind the Jasper community and every Albertan who has been affected by these wildfires, and matching donations to the Red Cross demonstrates our shared commitment to support Jasperites and Albertans throughout their recovery.”
Mike Ellis, Alberta Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services
“As we see the tremendous loss caused by the devastating wildfires in Alberta, including approximately onethird of Jasper, the Canadian Red Cross understands how difficult and uncertain the days ahead will be for those impacted. We welcome the matching funds provided by the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta, as the Red Cross is committed to helping people impacted by the wildfires, as well as working alongside other organizations, Indigenous leadership, and all levels of government to assist with recovery and resiliency efforts in the weeks and months ahead.”
Conrad Sauvé, President and CEO, Canadian Red Cross
Students from five local schools earn Legion Literacy and Poster Honours
SUBMITTED BY KIM WALKER
Vice-President, Royal Canadian Legion #208 in Oyen
Every year the Royal Canadian Legion has a literacy and poster contest during Remembrance Day, where kids from K to grade 12 can write a poem, essay, a black and white poster or coloured poster.
Although this year our number of entries were down (88 total entries) we had some amazing posters come for us to judge.
Judging is done on multiple levels... First branch level, then the 1st place winners are judged at District level, from there all the 1st place winners go to Command, and then National. With the National winners getting an offer to come to Ottawa.
We did not have any National winners this year, but we did, however, have 1 go all the way and take 1st place at Command.
Making the presentations was Imogene Hauck, Secretary-Treasurer of the Auxiliary to Royal Canadian Legion #208.
This years winners.. Black and White posters
Primary:
Blakely Smigelski from Assumption School
Cree Shadlock from Assumption School
Kamille Smigelski from Assumption School.
Junior:
Dorothy Dick from OPS
Taylor Neilson from Warren Peers
Intermediate:
Jersey Girletz from SCHS
Briar Wilson from SCHS
Finley Girletz from SCHS
Colour Posters
Primary
Charlie Berg from New Brigden
Harley Kropf from Warren Peers
Cabrie Tye from New Brigden
Junior:
Quade Tye from New Brigden
Angelina Magadia from OPS
Janessa Stewart from OPS
Intermediate:
Connor
from Warren Peers
Dylan
Senior
District Winners
2nd place B&W in Junior was Dorothy Dick 1st place B&W Intermediate was
Jersey Girletz
2nd place Primary Colour poster was
Charlie Berg
2nd place Junior Colour poster was Quade Tye
Command Winner
1st place Intermediate B&W poster
Jersey
Corbin Skappak from Warren Peers
Skappak
Cade Wilson from Warren Peers
Ortiz from Warren Peers (missing from photos)
Carissa Beauchesne from SCHS
Girletz
2nd place B&W in Junior was Dorothy Dick
1st place B&W Intermediate was Jersey Girletz
2nd place Primary Colour poster was Charlie Berg
2nd place Junior Colour poster was Quade Tye
Briar Wilson from SCHS
Angelina Magadia from OPS
Cabrie Tye from New Brigden Cade Wilson from Warren Peers
Connor Skappak from Warren Peers
Carissa Beauchesne from SCHS
Corbin Skappak from Warren Peers
Cree Shadlock, Blakely Smigelski and Kamille Smigelski from Assumption School
Harley Kropf from Warren Peers
Finley Girletz from SCHS
Janessa Stewart from OPS Taylor Neilson from Warren Peers
In white presenting awards is Imogene Hauck, Secretary-Treasurer of the Auxiliary to Royal Canadian Legion #208. Presenting SCHS awards is Dawn Peers, Principal.
Paul Skenes MLB’s newest pitching sensation
BY BRUCE PENTON
Baseball fans who happen to be Baby Boomers will likely recall the hysteria surrounding pitcher Mark (The Bird) Fidrych in 1976. Ditto for Fernando Valenzuela in 1981. More recently, Steven Strasbourg of the Washington Nationals came into the majors with a Cy Young future almost guaranteed.
BY BRUCE PENTON Sports Columnist
In 2024, we’re saying hello to the newest member of that pitching phenom club, Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The careers of Fidrych, Valenzuela and Strasbourg hardly turned them into Hall of Famers, but Pirates’ fans are hoping the same doesn’t hold true for Skenes, who has been setting the National League on fire as a first-year player and gained the celebratory role of starting pitcher in the recent mid-season all-star game.
Fidrych, who started the all-star game in 1976 after exploding onto the American League scene as a rookie, fizzled out after he posted a rookie-season record of 19-9. He told reporters he talked to himself before every pitch, but reporters suggested he was talking to the ball, adding a layer of mythology to his talent. He played only four more years in the majors and had a ho-hum career record of 29-19.
Valenzuela was a 20-year-old rookie with the Dodgers in 1981 and finished that year with eight shutouts, although
SPORTS TALK
his win-loss numbers (13-7) were hardly overwhelming. His career lasted longer than Fidrych’s, but a 157-137 career record didn’t come close to screaming ‘Hall of Fame.’ Strasbourg came into the majors with a can’tmiss label, but he was hardly spectacular. He won 15 games on three occasions and his best year, 2019, when he went 18-6, was also his last as a regular. He started eight games over the next three seasons, posting a 1-4 record, and retired due to a nerve and blood disorder that required surgery to remove a rib and two neck muscles.
And now there’s the fireballing Skenes. In 11 starts this year prior to the all-star game, Skenes and his ‘splinter’ — a combination splitter/sinker — has confounded NL hitters. He had a 6-0 record going into the midsummer classic and in two of his starts, May 17 vs. the Cubs and July 11 vs. Milwaukee, he pitched six- and seven-inning no-hitters respectively, but was pulled due to pitch-count reasons. He had given up only 48 hits in 66 innings but compiled a whopping 89 strikeouts and only 13 walks. His no-hitter days await.
Skenes didn’t disappoint during his short stint as the all-star game starter. He went the traditional one inning, throwing strikes on 11 of his 16 pitches and giving up no hits and one walk.
The rookie flash is on the verge of joining Shohei Ohtani as the fac of base-
Lloydminster games could be a stepping stone for bigger things
BY GREG BUCHANAN
It was one big week for Lloydminster.
The Saskatchewan Summer Games came and went in the Border City. The summer games haven’t been held since 2016, and the previous games in 2020 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Games showcased 1,504 athletes competing in 14 different sports from 221 communities.
They featured sports like softball, baseball, soccer, basketball, and volleyball, as well as some less-participating ones like archery, canoeing, and kayaking.
Beach volleyball was a highlight at Bud Miller All Seasons Park. There’s quite a big beach volleyball community in Lloydminster, so they were quite excited to be able to add that as an event. We were prepared and able to do some upgrades to their facility in anticipation of the games.
There was also an opportunity for Special Olympics athletes who participated in the sport of bocce ball.
For some of the athletes, Lloydminster could be a stepping stone to bigger things, including wearing the Maple Leaf. As Paris gets ready to light the Olympic Torch and has the world sporting spotlight for the upcoming Olympics, we can imagine that in 10 years time or more, some of those future Olympians may have got their start right here in Lloydminster.
ball, and might soon compare well with LeBron James, Connor McDavid, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Mahomes as major sports icons.
Half a season of sensational play didn’t ultimately pay off for Fidrych, but baseball fans in general and Pirates’ fans in particular are hoping to watch Skenes stymie MLB hitters for many years to come.
• Late baseball great Ted Williams, as reported by Jack Finarelli at sportscurmudgeon.com: “If you don’t think too good, don’t think too much.”
• Headline from onion.com: “Caitlin Clark Supplements Rookie Salary By Taking Adjunct Professor Of Basketball Job”
• RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com: “Jay Cutler said his spouse, Kristin Cavallari, urged him to end retirement and quarterback the Dolphins. Not the first guy told by his wife to take a hike.”
• New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick, who said soon-to-be Fox analyst Tom Brady was getting advice from NBC’s Cris Collinsworth: “That’s like taking singing lessons from Yoko Ono.”
• Vancouver comedy guy Torben Rolfsen: “The Colombia-Uruguay semi-final game (at the COPA tournament) needed 45 minutes of stoppage time due to fake injuries.”
• Rolfsen again: “Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back their ‘Core Four’ again. Meanwhile, word in Vegas is their fans are getting restless about their Stanley Cup drought.”
• Bob Molinaro of pilotonline.com (Hampton, Va.), after the MLB allstar game: “Baseball can now return its All-Star uniforms to the softball teams they borrowed them from.”
• Another one from Molinaro: “WNBA stalwart Diana Taurasi reportedly has recovered from a lower leg ailment in time to compete in her sixth Olympics. Her return saves the U.S. selection committee the trouble of thinking up another excuse for keeping Caitlin Clark off the team.”
• Headline at fark.com, downplaying the ability of Peyton Manning’s nephew, Arch Manning, who enters college with more hype than almost any quarterback in memory: “Texas will need both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning this season. One to play quarterback, the other to bring water to Quinn Ewers.”
• Another fark.com offering, after the mayor of Paris swam in the Seine River to soothe fears about its cleanliness: “Now I want to see the mayor of NYC jump into the East River.”
Care to comment?
Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca
Dolores Christianson celebrated her 90th birthday this July. She is a true Oyenite, spending her entire life in Oyen, raising her two children here and now enjoying watching her grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up, too!
SUBMITTED
Oyen Rodeo Parade!
John and Donna Campbell of Bindloss, representing the Campbell Family, driving a 1946 Willys Jeep CJ2A originally owned by Happy Campbell. The Jeep was delivered to Cavendish by train in 1947 from Willys - Overland Export, Ohio, USA. It was restored to original by John and painted in the original colour “Michigan Yellow.”
East Sounding Creek 4-H Beef Club
Prairieland Athletic Association judged Best Float - from left, Kash Snell, Owen Hausauer, Christopher Peacock with Chairman Snell driving.
Town of Oyen Public Works foreman, Ken Rufus, driving the skid steer.
The Fletcher girls from Cereal - Kaylee on her black horse Mystery, Jessica on her pony Hutch and mom Krista on Nia.
Oyen Liquor Mart - from left, Paige Jackson and her sister Brenda and Corey Reinhardt
Sawyer Houston and her mom Kailee and Jody Olsen
The Shirley McClellan Aquatic Centre float
PHOTOS BY NANCY HANSON
The 2024 Hanna District 4H sale finished with the charity calf, Big Mac, donated by the Adam and Brandi Smith family. Footprint Farms, the Travis and Nichole Foot family, donated animal husbandry. Steve and Sandra Rude sponsored the feed for the steer. This year, the district chose The Ronald McDonald House as its charity and raised over $35,000! The beef was donated to the Oyen and Hanna food banks. More support came from RES (Renewable Energy Solutions) by donating the cutting and wrapping of the meat for the food banks. The district is so proud and thankful to our wonderful community for their generous support.SUBMITTED
KREW KUTS
BY BERNIE KREWSKI
In his new book, “1964 – The Year the Swinging Sixties Began,” Christopher Sandford writes about various events generating memories for those of us living our early lives as well offering a few history lessons for younger generations.
The Beatles had just finished a thirty-seven-day tour in England and “by the spring of 1964 you could almost see their hopeful little heads poking out of the soil.” Several companies were developing transistorized boxes attached to a keyboard that could be installed on a desk, the beginnings of the modern-day computer. The first ATM or cash machine was installed in a bank in north London, England. The “miracle pick-me-up,’ drug Valium first came on the market in 1963. By 1964 its usage had reached “epidemic proportions.” The British Royal College of Physicians announced in 1962 that tobacco-related lung cancer was killing 63 Britons each day, the highest in the developed world. As so often happens, a similar revelation by the U.S. surgeon-general two years later led to international
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
coverage and the onset of many anti-smoking campaigns.
These are some of the highlights from the local scene.
OBITUARY
Charles L. Dunford, 79, died at his home in Sylvan Lake on March 30. He was founder of The Oyen News which he published from 1914 – 1935 before moving to Sylvan Lake.
Born in England in 1884, he was training to become a Scottish architect. When a job application was unsuccessful due to lack of experience, he decided to go to “one of the colonies,” arriving in Montreal in 1905. He was employed in several engineering positions at Fort William (now Thunder Bay) and London, Ontario, before a friend encouraged him to become the manager of a weekly newspaper in Alsask on the Goose Lake Line, later moving to Oyen.
He spent the last half of WWI in Europe with the 187th and 50th Battalions and returned to Oyen in 1919.
He served on the Oyen Village Council, the Board of Trade, the boards of stewards of the United Church, and was master and secretary of the Masonic Lodge. Mr. Dunford was survived by his wife Gladys, sons Warren (publisher of The Sylvan Lake News) and Brian, a professor of chemistry.
ROBBERY
Acadia Valley (June 3) – “Thieves Get $1,700 From Post Office” – Police asked the public to watch for $50 bills in the money taken by “experienced safe crackers” from the post office on June 2nd. The safe was rifled around 4:00 a.m. according to a report from the Oyen RCMP detachment. The stolen property includ-
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ed cash, cheques, unemployment insurance stamps, and two items of registered mail. RCMP asked merchants and other businesses throughout the Calgary and eastern Saskatchewan areas to examine all $50 dollars for specific serial numbers. The robbery was well-planned, police said, an indication the safe crackers were professionals.
RADAR BASE
Alsask, January 9 – “Alsask Base to Open Early in ‘64” – New Heavy Radar Station Listed Among Many to Start Operating in Canada.
Opening of new heavy radar stations in the Canadian Prairies early in 1964 will permit the closing of portions of the Mid-Canada Line which lie generally to their North. This was made known in a statement by Defence Minister Paul Hellyer on Dec. 30.
The new long-range Western radars are located at Dana SK, Yorkton, Gypsumville MB, Penhold AB and Alsask.
OYEN
Modern Machinery operated by Joe Wiechnik opened on January 18.
Mr. Ostrander celebrated his 103rd birthday on February 7.
“Oyen Mutual Telephone Co. Going ‘Dial’” - Ninety subscribers, directors, and guests attended the annual general meeting held at the Legion Hall on March 7. These developments were of special interest for rural subscribers. Information from AGT regarding conversion to the dial system was provided, explaining the procedure to be followed and the establishment of the rate structure.
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FERTILE VALLEY CHAMPIONS! The Oyen Eagles are the champions of the FVBL after defeating the Kindersley Stallions in two straight games. The Eagles soared into Kindersley last week through the smoke and haze and came away with a huge 11-0 victory. They returned to the friendly confines of Doug Lehman Field on Tuesday night in front of a big hometown crowd and came away with the win and their very first Fertile Valley crown! Congratulations on a fantastic
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FARM MACHINERY
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SEEN ACROSS Alberta. The Blanket Classifieds or Value Ads reach over 600,000 Alberta readers weekly. Two options starting at $269 or $799 to get your message out! Business changes, hiring, items for sale, cancellations, tenders, etc. People are increasingly staying home and rely on their local newspapers for information. KEEP people in the loop with our 80 Weekly Community Newspapers. Call THIS NEWSPAPER now or email classifieds@awna. com for details. 1-800282-6903, 780-434-8746 X225. www.awna.com.
FEED AND SEED
WE BUY DAMAGED GRAIN -
ALBERTA FEED GRAIN: Buying Oats, Barley, Wheat, Canola, Peas, Screenings, Mixed Grains. Dry, Wet, Heated, or Spring Thresh. Prompt Payment. In House Trucks, In House Excreta Cleaning. Vac Rental. 1-888483-8789.
HEALTH
HIP/KNEE REPLACEMENT. Other medical conditions causing TROUBLE WALKING or DRESSING? The Disability Tax Credit allows for $3,000 yearly tax credit and $30,000 lump sum refund. Take advantage of this offer. Apply NOW; quickest refund Nationwide: Expert help. 1-844-453-5372.
REAL ESTATE
SELLING MY RETIREMENT HOUSE with river and mountain views on 3.93 acres along the Red Deer River and adjoining 200+ acres of environmental reserve. Buy 4 acres and enjoy the use of 204 acres. For more information and pictures, see MLS listing #A2148481.
SERVICES
CRIMINAL RECORD? Why suffer employment/
CLASSIFIED AD RATES (20 words or less). $10.00 plus GST. Additional words are 20¢ each. Deadline is Friday noon. 306-463-2211
licensing loss? Travel/ business opportunities? Be embarrassed? Think: Criminal Pardon. US entry waiver. Record purge. File destruction. Free consultation. 1-800-3472540. www.accesslegalmjf. com.
PRIVATE MORTGAGE LENDER. All real estate types considered. No credit checks done. Deal direct with lender and get quick approval. Toll free 1-866-405-1228; www. firstandsecondmortgages.ca.
TRAVEL
VISIT OSOYOOS, BC - A haven for snowbirds looking for milder winter weather and an abundance of activities! Hotel suites starting from just $750/month. Learn more at www.osoyoossnowbirds. com; call the Osoyoos Visitor Centre at 1-888676-9667) or email: visit@ destinationosoyoos.com to request digital information on wintering in Osoyoos.
WANTED
COLLECTOR/ ENTREPRENEUR
PURCHASING COINS & COLLECTIONS! CASH PAID! ROYAL CANADIAN MINT COINS, collections, rare & old coins, silver
Joseph Minor 1947-2024
Joseph Patrick Murray Minor of Medicine Hat, long time rancher in the Bindloss area, passed away on Wednesday, July 24th, 2024, at the age of 76 years. Joseph leaves to cherish his memory his sons, Patrick Minor (Jody) and Jason Minor (Kandis, Flora); grandchildren, Toryn Minor, Morrison Minor, Phoenix Minor, Broxx Minor all of Medicine Hat, Hayden Minor, Izabel Minor and Sullivan Minor all of Minooka, IL; partner of 25 years, Mary Kenny; mother of Patrick and Jason, Donna Steele (Sue Higgins); step-children, Richard Kenny , Vivian McClennan, and Anthony Kenny; step-grandchildren, Catlin, Samaus, Liam, Moria, Jameson, and Cillian; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Joseph was predeceased by his father, Perry Minor and mother, Kay Minor of Medicine Hat; son, Aldon Minor of Medicine Hat; brothers, Tony Minor of Bindloss, Tad Minor of Medicine Hat, and Tim Minor of Kelowna.
Joe loved rodeo and horses; in his younger years he loved ranching on the Bar Diamond Ranch in Bindloss. He treasured his summer vacations with family and friends at Muriel Lake, where he and his brother-in-law, Tom would serve as deputies on the
Muriel Lake Beach Patrol. Joe loved spending time with his family and friends and especially enjoyed watching his grandchildren compete in hockey and baseball. Joe will be remembered as a kind loving man who would give the shirt off his back even if he hardly knew you. Joe will be missed dearly by his family and friends.
The Memorial Service will be held at Saamis Memorial Funeral Chapel, 1 Dunmore Road SE, Medicine Hat, AB, on Thursday, August 1st, 2024, at 1:00 pm with Pastor Shane Hein officiating. If unable to attend, family and friends are welcome to participate via livestream by logging on to www. saamis.com and joining the live webcast on Joe’s memorial page at the above date and time. A virtual guest book is available on the livestream page for those participating remotely. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery. Memorial gifts in Joe’s name may be made to Epilepsy Association of Calgary, 316, 4014 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary, AB T2G 2R7 or S.P.C.A., 55 Southview Drive SW, Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 8E8.
Condolences may be sent through www.saamis. com or to condolences@saamis.com subject heading Joseph Minor. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to SAAMIS MEMORIAL FUNERAL CHAPEL AND CREMATORIUM, “The Chapel in the Park”, Medicine Hat, Alberta. Should you wish any additional information, please telephone 1-800317-2647.
Shirley McClellan Aquatic Centre Report
Another season at the swimming pool and it’s hard to believe we are over half way through already. We started off the year on June 10th, a bit later than most years. We were busy right off the start with school rentals as Warren Peers (Acadia Valley), New Brigden, Assumption Roman Catholic (Oyen), South Central High School (Oyen) and Oyen Public schools shuffled students back and forth. The 2024 summer has provided lots of sun and recently some extreme heat which has made the swimming pool especially popular lately as families try to keep cool.
We have finished one set of public lessons so far with two more upcoming. Our next session begins Monday July 29th as we bring back preschool lessons for the first time since transitioning to the new Lifesav-
SIBBALD NEWS
ing Society lessons. Our last session is another round of lessons for swimmers aged 6 and older on August 12-16th. There is still room to register for this session, call 403-664-7946 to sign up.
We have a nice mix of new rookie guards and returning staff for our junior guards but struggled, especially early in the season, to find senior guards to help. Thankfully, a few helpers responded to our senior supervisor advertisement such as Leslie Girletz, Kennedy Mouly, and Kari-Lynn Tucker. We’ve also had a new senior guard apply named Megan Dammann as well as some help from Ki Laughlin who worked with us last year. Many thanks to all the staff so far this year as it has been a scorcher at times and the pool has been a busy facility.
Recipes requested for Amie Eaton’s nuptials
BY WANDA MOLZAN
Well, it is my turn to tell the Sibbald news. If you have any news, you can call or text me at 403-664-5039 or email me at molzan@netago.ca.
On the long weekend of Canada Day, Shaune and Lee joined Lee’s sisters and other family to celebrate her mom’s 92 birthday in Spruce Grove.
Shaune and Lee were away for a week for their annual camping trip to Saskatchewan Landing, joining friends for great fishing (and fish fry suppers), lots of cards and visiting. It was hot but so much fun.
Amie Eaton is marrying Mat Box in Granite Rock, Victoria, Australia, on Sept. 21, 2024. Instead of a Bridal Shower, we request recipes from former and pres-
ent Sibbald Community members. Amie asked for a Sibbald Cookbook to remember the people she knew growing up. Unfortunately, we do not have one, so please share your favourite recipe written/typed on a recipe card and give it to Heather Norris or email heathernorris2017@gamil.com by Sept. 1. Be sure to sign whose recipe it is on it. Cindi and David are leaving on Sept. 15 to attend the wedding and will take them with them.
Ashley D. Herrmann in attendance on Wednesday, July 31st, August 28th
For appointments call 1-800-245-9411 or 1-403-526-2806
John F. Stodalka, Ronald B. Baba, Marilyn A. Herrmann, Bryce R. Farrell, Darren E. Folkersen, Ashley D. Herrmann, Mario M. Mudri, Mikala A. Zubrecki
Summer of love for Alberta’s non-profits
This summer through Crowdfunding Alberta, Albertans can donate to a cause they care about.
Non-profits play a critical role in supporting and building vibrant communities across the province and through the Crowdfunding Alberta platform, Alberta’s government is making it easier than ever to donate to projects that matter to you.
Crowdfunding Alberta is available to
non-profits year-round, making it easier for them to raise much-needed funds when they need them. Alberta’s government matches 50 per cent of funds raised by an eligible campaign, up to $5,000 annually, making every donation even more impactful.
“I encourage all Albertans and non-profits to take advantage of the Crowdfunding Alberta platform. The critical work of
Agricultural Opportunity in RM of Chesterfield No. 261: This offering includes over 600 acres of deeded pastureland, forming a continuous block Located just over 1 mile south of Alsask
PARTICULARS:
The old yardsite on NW 35-27-29 W3* has natural gas and power to the property and a decommissioned 40’ well The land is currently perimeter fenced with 3 & 4-wire fences, most of which was built in 2019.
CONDITIONS:
non-profits never stops. From kids’ camps to animal rescue, donations through Crowdfunding Alberta help non-profits achieve their community goals.”
Tanya Fir, Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women
All campaigns on Crowdfunding Alberta are pre-screened to ensure donations are going to legitimate and cred-
ible Alberta-based organizations. Since it launched in 2021, 220 non-profit organizations have used Crowdfunding Alberta to raise almost $1.2 million, including more than $230,000 in matching funds from Alberta’s government. Make sure to check out the crowdfunding campaigns that matter to you, and let’s make summer 2024 the summer of love for non-profits in Alberta.
ALSASK
SUNDAY, AUGUST 4
- Tours of the Alsask Radar Tower at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
BUFFALO
AUGUST 16-18
• Buffalo Rodeo Daze. Stay tuned for further details!
1) Tenders must be submitted to the law firm, Anderson & Company, by noon on the 29th day of August 2024; Highest or any tender not necessarily accepted;
2) A cheque for 3% of the bid amount must accompany the bid;
3) Tenders considered on the land as a whole or individual parcel(s). Please note the land is perimeter fenced only;
4) If the successful Purchaser will be running livestock on the S ½ of the land they will be required to construct a new fence along the southern perimeter;
5) Tenders must rely on their research and inspection of the property and confirm acres, assessments and other particulars;
6) No tenders subject to financing or other conditions will be accepted;
7) Tenders will not be called to the office of the undersigned to finalize the sale;
8) The land, contents, and fence are offered for sale as is and where is. There are no warranties or representations of the Vendor expressed or implied ;
9) The land is currently rented until September 30, 2024; the Possession date will be October 1, 2024;
Scan the QR Code to view the full Details & Conditions or visit: www.andersonandcompany.ca/land -tenders
Forward bids & inquiries: Neil G. Gibbings, Anderson & Co. File #35577 -001G
BURSTALL
SATURDAY, AUGUST 3
• Roadmen Riot! Poker Rally (Cars & Bikes) 1:00-3:00 PM, Show & Shine 3:00-7:30 PM, Live Music by The Chevelles 8:30 PM; Pin-up girl competition, tattooss. Contact Darell Fitterer at 306-6797147.
CEREAL
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25
• Cereal Kids Rodeo (18 yrs & under) 9:00 AM start. Cereal Rodeo Grounds. Free Admission for spectators.
- Monday Night BINGO. Every Monday except holiday Mondays. Doors open at 6:30 and Bingo begins at 7:30 PM. (April to end of November).
- Tuesdays - Cereal Cottages Weekly Coffee Time 10:30 AM
- Wednesdays - Cereal Quilting Club 10 AM - 4 PM at the CJ Peacock Centre
- Thursdays - Chase the Ace progressive raffle every Thursday 7:00-9:00 PM at the Cereal Ho-
tel & Bar. Chance to win TWICE each week. Ace Jackpot could grow up to $7000! Must be at least 18 years. Winning ticket must be present to win. Cash ticket purchase on site only. AGLC #669949
OYEN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9
• The Oyen & District Farmers Market Acadia Colony will be hosting a turkey dinner complete with turkey, stuffing, dill potatoes, baby buns, salad, dessert, coffee and juice from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. $20/plate.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 17
• Open Farm Day at the BCAS Crossroads Centre
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
• Regular Potluck Supper and Meeting at Oyen and District Seniors Recreation Centre. Supper 6:00 PM. Meeting 7:00 PM.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 & 21
• Ranch Rodeo at the BCAS Crossroads Centre
OCTOBER 4-5
• Prairieland Pheasant Festival. Call 403-664-0878 or 403-6648204 to enter a team.
- Oyen Town Council meet 2nd Tuesday of every month 6:00 PM in Council Chambers.
- Drop in Pickleball Mondays 7:009:00 PM at South Central High School
